Demon-infested lands west of Ravenland, The Bloodmarch is a setting for the Forbidden Lands. This setting is a great location to launch a new brand new campaign with plenty of worldbuilding support provided.
The default for a campaign in the Bloodmarch is for players characters from Ravenland to travel west after Shadowgate Pass, which has been magically closed, mysteriously opens after several battles in Ravenland. PCs need a reason to want to leave Ravenland. Dark Secrets, part of creating a character, offer an option to provide an incentive for PCs to travel west.
Dark Secrets of The Bloodmarch
Each of these Dark Secrets can only be taken once. They replace the more generic ones from the book with hooks directly tied to the Bloodmarch. The legends provided by some of the Dark Secrets are found in The Bloodmarch.
Dark Dreams: something calls to you from the magma beneath the settlement of Taregyll. It offers the Arrow of the Fire Wyrm but requires a sacrifice to be freed. You learn the legend of the Arrow, the Dreamstress, and Oxengelder. You have given in to a voice at least once, and the cost was great.
Kinslayer: Elf fights elf in the Bloodmarch. Whether you are an elf or not, you were caught in one of these conflicts. You aren’t sure if everyone you killed was on the wrong side and their elven kin, especially Vaerfor Van Reiben, may have hard questions for you if you’re caught. You know the legend of Vaerfor Van Reiben as well as Fiena Fromelei. You think if you help Fiena resolve her sin that might absolve you of yours.
Horn Calling: You were possessed by a demon. People died, and their kin hunt you still. First Keeper Gest of the god Horn exorcised your demon and let you flee from the vengeance of the kin of those who had died. Now Horn haunts your dreams, saying Gest needs you to free him from his prison in the Silent Tower in Taregyll.
Return to the Horse Clans: You are descended from Aslene and one of the five horse clans. You killed a Rust Brother in your home settlement. Now seems like a good time to depart for your real homeland now that the pass is open. You know the legend of Selligar Horne of Havenmark and Watch of the Sisters.
Bonds of Blood and Nature: You are either identify with or have befriended Vasnians, orcs, and/or wolfkin all of whom have a bond with nature and with the land of the Bloodmarch. You have used violence in defense of these people before, in Ravenland, and decided it was a good time to return to your native land despite the dangers the horse clans pose to you. You know the legend of Konana.
Blood on Your Hands: You used to be a Rust Brother and have committed atrocities for your god. You left due to a crisis of faith because of your conscience. The Bloodmarch is a place to start over and avoid your former brothers. But sometimes you miss your old life, even the dark parts.
Flight of the Raven: You follow the Raven Church and have killed Rust Brothers in her defense. You also killed a Rust Brother not in battle but as cold blooded murder which conflicts with your beliefs. Torn by guilt but also the thrill of killing an enemy, you have fled to the Bloodmarch to start over.
Visionary and Madman: You express yourself through crafting and admire or follow the god Huge. But part of you also revels in destruction and fire and wars with the part of you that wants to create. You know the legend of Tribolia of the Kogler.
Deserter: You left someone behind in the wilderness to save yourself or deserted your post to live another day while your companions died. You seek redemption in the Blood Marches or at least you will die trying to find it.
The Bloodmarch Setting
The plants in certain areas of the Bloodmarch have been tainted by demonic influences. Such places are commonly known as Crimson Forests. From a distance, the forest looks as if a mountain of entrails has been poured over the ground. Legend has it that the vegetation has a mind and will of its own. It harbors predators that are neither plant nor beast. People living near these places say that a Crimson Forest inflicts a malady on visitors. Red elves are the only kin that live in the Crimson Forests.
Before the PCs start exploring, they will leave Shadowgate Pass to find the settlement of Taregyll. Taregyll will feel more familiar than some of the alien locations on the Bloodmarch and is full of people and intrigue unique to the new land.
The Silent Tower
A great first location to kick off a new campaign is the Silent Tower. First Keeper and exorcist Gest is possessed and has become a demonic ooze filling the tower. The other priests have abandoned the tower and hope it will keep Gest locked away. However, Gest continues to grow and will eventually break free.
While PCs may arrive hoping to help Gest, they will eventually discover he is beyond saving. At that point, they may decide to kill the First Keeper to end his suffering and the danger he poses to the settlement.
The other priests may not want to reclaim the tower. If not, the Silent Tower could become the new stronghold for the PCs.
With the other NPCs and intrigue in the settlement, adventures will follow from there. If Strunde the priest of Horn used the holy lantern to help battle Gest and the flame went out, he may ask the PCs to travel to Ashenstead temple on Mount Faltenvil.
Continuing Adventures and Worldbuilding
The Dark Secrets the PCs carry may come back to haunt them, creating further adventures as well. The PCs know very little about the Bloodmarch, including its people, its feuds, and its danger. Taregyll can serve as a more familiar home base as the PCs range farther afield, seeking adventure and dealing with their past misdeeds and enemies. And all the while doing new misdeeds and creating new enemies. The Bloodmarch supports adventure creation and worldbuilding from the first adventure and going forward as the campaign continues.
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