Ruins of Lordaeron

Ruins of Lordaeron was a Genesys campaign which took place on the world of Azeroth in the year 23 after the First War, after the events of Warcraft III but before the events of World of Warcraft. The campaign followed the exploits of The Party, a disparate group of adventurers who came together while traveling through the Sourge-infested Plaguelands. The Big Bad of the campaign was the former High Elven Magister Dar'Khan Drathir.

The GM for the campaign was Jonathan, with Caitlin, (B)Aaron, A-a-ron, Aimee, Zander, and Luke playing. Megan guest-starred in the "one shot" session.

The story continues 10 years later in The Blood War.

The "One Shot"
Ruins of Lordaeron began as a one-shot game intended to playtest the Warcraft setting book created by Jonathan for the Genesys RPG by Fantasy Flight Games. The group later decided to return for a full campaign in the world of Azeroth, continuing the adventure from where the one-shot left off.

'''Warning: This section contains spoilers for the Genesys Archives Podcast. If you wish to spare yourself from spoilers, turn back now.'''

The session began aboard the ship of a Kul Tiran merchant, the captain of this particular vessel sailing to the Eastern Kingdoms with some very unusual passengers. These passengers included Vol’wark, a two-headed Ogre mage, Dimagsha, an old Forsaken mage, Altheron, a High Elven druid, and Mendax, a mad Pandaren warlock, who wore strange mechanical armor. Just as they were within sight of the shore, their vessel was attacked by a massive Kraken. The ship went down, and they would have died if not for the unexpected aid of a naga siren.

The siren, Lady Poisson, unknown to them, had commanded the kraken to attack, hoping to use those aboard as tools in her plans to ascend in power, with their “rescue” a ploy to earn their trust. They discovered that they had landed on the shore of Silverpine Forest, on the edge of what was once the Kingdom of Lordaeron. They traveled east, the group ambushed by savage worgen on their way through the woods. They killed the beasts and found their way to the road, seeking someplace to rest, the group kept together only by necessity.

On the road they were attacked by waves of undead ghouls, but just as they were about to be overwhelmed the ranks of undead were consumed in a blast of blinding Light. As the group recovered their sight they saw a woman riding a giant bat flying in the air above them, leveling a gun at their heads. The woman, a Paladin of the Argent Dawn by the name of Evanth, took them into her custody, not trusting the motley band.

She took them south to her home of Pyrewood Village, just outside the immense Greymane Wall. Along the way they were surrounded by Forsaken Dreadguard from the Sepulcher, a nearby Forsaken outpost. Mendax and Dim agreed to go with them, while Evan took the rest of the party south. Within the Sepulcher Dim accidentally discovered one of the apothecaries creating a second Plague of Undeath at the command of a Dark Ranger. He was certain the Dark Lady would never allow such a thing, and determined to take this news to her. The Dark Ranger sought to silence the mage, but he and his Pandaren ally were able to teleport away, escaping her poisoned arrows.

They portalled directly into Pyrewood, which was not a good idea. The locals immediately held them at gunpoint, throwing them both in the local jail. The others in the party arrived soon after, and Evan, with some assistance from the persuasive Naga, convinced them to return the two to Evan’s custody. Evan, not knowing where else to take them, went to her home, where her mother allowed them to spend the night in the barn.

That night, they discovered the horrible truth: the entire village had at some point become afflicted with a variation of the Worgen curse, the village’s populous transforming into savage wolf-beasts at night and then returning to normal in the morning without any memory of the events. With Evan ensuring they did not kill any of the villagers, the group escaped in the night. They went their separate ways after that, despite the Lady Poisson’s attempts at keeping them close enough to influence. Evan swore them to secrecy as she returned to the Argent Dawn, while Altheron went to speak about the matter to his old teacher, and Dim returned to the Undercity to speak with the Banshee Queen, Vol’wark accompanying him.

The Campaign
'''Warning: This section contains spoilers for the Genesys Archives Podcast. If you wish to spare yourself from spoilers, turn back now. '''

The Adventure Begins
Three months later, Evan was sent on a mission by the Argent Dawn, along with her protégé Alexia Dremundd, to investigate the ruins of the town of Darrowshire for unusual Scourge activity. There they were ambushed by a pack of ghouls and several abominations, all under the control of a powerful necromancer. As luck would have it, Altheron was nearby, traveling home to Quel’Thalas, as were Vol’wark and Dim, who had been sent that way on a secret mission by Sylvanas. Also nearby was a young woman named Jaqueline Edwards, a former Dalaran apprentice seeking a mysterious arcane treasure.

This unlikely group battled the undead together and killed the necromancer, Alex delivering the final blow with a mighty swing of her greataxe. Despite Evan’s frustration, the group decided to travel together for a time, as their paths lay on the same road. Together they accidentally discovered a Scourge army gathering at the ruins of Corin’s Crossing, preparing to launch an attack on Light’s Hope Chapel. Most terrifying was the presence of a massive Frost Wyrm.

OCs
All the characters created specifically for the campaign.

PCs
Evanth

Alexia Dremundd

Jaqueline Edwards

Hayden Edwards

Altheron Drathir

Vol'wark

Dimagsha

Tuk

Arden Grimmountain

Lady Poisson

Mendax

NPCs
Terence Lionguard

Alendros Dremundd

Alana Drathir

Rekuun Coldstone

Bloodmage Alkor

Adam

Notes & Trivia
The "One Shot" Lore Discrepancies
 * The Dark Ranger who sought to silence Dim did so not to keep him from telling Sylvanas about the New Plague, but instead to keep word of the project from spreading, as it was a secret project commissioned by the Dark Lady herself. When Dim told Sylvanas of the project, she feigned ignorance and thanked him for bringing the news to her, making him vow to speak of the matter to no one else while she took care of it.
 * In World of Warcraft, Light’s Hope Chapel was just a solitary chapel until after the events of the war against the Lich King (year 27). In the Ruins of Lordaeron version of events, Light’s Hope Chapel is already a fortified outpost by the events of the campaign (year 23).
 * In World of Warcraft, the Forsaken joined the Horde in the year 22. In the Ruins of Lordaeron version of events, the Forsaken do not join the Horde until late in the year 23, after the events of the campaign.