Present Party: Aria (Avery), Claudia (Alex), Emori (Amelia), and Steve (Hugo.)
Setting: Typical medieval fantasy world with various Greek elements, seen mostly in temples. The gods in this world are part of the Greek pantheon. They are at their home in Blackpool.
At this point in the campaign, Ike - the titan of time - and his spouse Jin just adopted four new infants. These infants are the party, who have been de-aged and retain none of their memories from their past selves. Although they've been renamed, I'll be referring to them by their normal PC names for consistency. The names that they were given by their parents are beside their names above.
The party's family, as it stands right now, is comprised of:
Ike
- Changeling Barbarian
- Your dad
- Also the god of time, but you know, that’s cool.
Jin
- Changeling
- Your other parent - goes by Mom or Dad, your choice
Jonah
- Drow
- Ike’s friend, Hadrion’s dad
- He lives in the barn and doesn’t come out really like… ever.
Phoebe
- Changeling Barbarian
- Your older sister - Twin sister of Achaeus
- Primordial of Day
Achaeus
- Changeling Rogue
- Your older brother - Twin brother of Phoebe
- Primordial of Day
Nyx
- Human
- Your older sister - Twin sister of Hekate, but in her late teens
Hekate
- Human?
- Your older sister - Twin sister of Nyx, but still somehow only 2 years older than you
- She’s really good at magic
Hadrion
- Aasimar, late teens
- He lives in the barn
Soren
- Changeling
- Your older brother
- He is king of Sinner’s Den, and lives with his husband, Adonis
Soaring “Blue” Jay
- Tabaxi
- Your older brother - 12 years older
Lotor
- Dragonborn
- Your older brother - 8 years older
Aryllan
- Sea Elf
- Your older sister - 5 years older
Alaion
- Wood Elf
- Your older brother - 4 years older
Other Members of Your Extended Family
- Uncle Lyre (Half-Drow)
- Uncle Echo (Human / Primordial)
- Uncle Conah (Aasimar / God)
- Auntie Lex (Drow)
- Cousin Avarielle “Ava” - Conah and Lex’s daughter
- Cousin Callan - Conah and Lex’s son
Excuse the 2nd person pronouns; I stole this from our NPCs chat on Discord so I wouldn't have to write it all out again.
There were two other things that remained consistent throughout their whole childhoods. The first thing was the House Rules:
1. Be fair.
2. Be polite. Say please and thank you.
3. Don't steal anything from each other. Ask if you can borrow it first.
4. If someone asks for something, share it if you can. If not, say no and tell that person why.
5. If someone refuses to share and gives a good reason, then they do not have to share with you.
6. See an adult if you have to. Don't be afraid to ask for help.
7. Respect privacy and boundaries. Always knock before entering someone else's room.
8. The following rooms / areas are OFF LIMITS for children UNLESS given permission by an adult:
8a. The center basement room, behind the two double doors. (aka "The Family Room")
8b. The barn
9. If Ike or Jin tell you not to go somewhere, there is a reason why. You are allowed to ask why. Please do not go there yourself.
10. Be nice to the animals and they will be nice to you.
11. Try.
The second thing was a poem that he would recite to them before bed, every night, even into their teens.
The sky will still be up there
The sun will always shine
The stars will keep on falling
For the ones who wish at night
The mountains won’t start moving
The rivers won’t run dry
Just say you’ll always be there
And so will I
Even if the sky is falling
And the sun don't want to shine
If the stars we used to wish on
Disappear into the night
I can move a mountain
But only by your side
Just say you'll always be there
I know you'll always be there
And so will I
(This poem is actually a series of lyrics from Ben Platt's song "So Will I." It's very good. Listen to it below)
The party is currently aging through certain brackets, mostly for the sake of time and fun.
First Bracket: Ages 3 to 6
New Siblings:
Silev
- Firbolg
- Arrives when you are 3 years old
- 7 years older (brother)
Quest
- Tiefling
- Arrives when you are 5 years old
- 4 years younger (brother)
This particular age bracket was spent mostly playing with their other siblings and exploring the house. The players were getting used to how life as one of Ike's many, many children would be. There were multiple shenanigans had, of course. The kids played hide and seek, tag, and had a climbing contest in the trees.
In terms of what they learned about their other siblings:
- Hekate has strange and extreme magical abilities, but nobody in the house seems disturbed, bothered, or worried about it.
- Blue has long scars on his back and despite being a tabaxi, has no claws.
- Lotor is a black dragonborn, and has always been particularly tall and large for his age. He's also protective of his younger siblings.
- Aryllan is a little bit competitive and always down for a game or some kind of activity.
- Alaion is a very easy-going kid, and goes along with most things.
- Silev is also, like Lotor, very big, but not quite as loud. He keeps mostly to himself, and enjoys reading.
Aria, Steve, and Emori spent a one particular night awake late when they were five. They tried to steal cookies from the kitchen. They were caught by Ike, who gently told them to go to bed, but when they refused, he didn't fight back. They played, brought some of their instruments upstairs, and had a concert. Emori went running to go wake up her other siblings, but found that when she knocked and tried to open their doors, she couldn't.
"They're sleeping right now," Ike told her.
Eventually, they all fell asleep due to some failed Constitution Saves. The next morning, Ike forced them all awake and off to school.
This continued to be a pattern if they stayed up really late. Ike would remind them that they made their own choices. Now they have to face the consequences of those choices.
Steve had a particularly odd request for a set of loaded dice. Ike gave them to him with three rules: "If you're going to scam someone, get some money out of it. Only scam the people who deserve it. Don't get caught." So far, Steve hasn't done anything necessarily nefarious with his dice, other than conning six gold pieces out of Achaeus and Uncle Conah without them realizing the dice was loaded.
Claudia spent a lot of time reading, even trying to read books beyond her level of comprehension. Ike admired her determination, and helped where he could.
The party also attended school in the city. Their first few years went really well for their academics, but not so much in the way of making friends outside of their family.
Second Bracket, pt. 1: Ages 7 to 10
New Siblings:
Myev
- Half-Orc
- Arrives when you are 7
- 1 year older (sister)
We only just started this age bracket before our time was up for our game. There were a couple of things that occurred.
Myev joined the family - a new half-orc sister. Despite being a little older than the party, she didn't seem to quite understand the family dynamic when she arrived. She relies on them quite a lot during this age bracket. Quest is now old enough to toddle around, and frequently gets up to mischief with the party (specifically Emori, Steve, and Aria.) Blue has finished school, but as far as the party can tell, has no intention of leaving home quite yet.
Claudia and Aria were the first two party members to find some friends outside of their family. Both of them gained a mutual friend: Velma Hilless, a Yuan-Ti Pureblood girl in their class. Velma was a bit bookish and considered to be very smart. Aria also found another friend: Gavin Caskin. He's a human, and his best quality is probably his humor and his ability to kind of fit into multiple groups. Aria is always the one person that he circles back to.
In terms of studies, Claudia seemed to struggle during these years of school. Ike sat with her, and told her that it would get better. She just had to keep trying. He frequently helped her study and helped with her homework. Emori, meanwhile, was top of their class. Ike was very proud of her.
Lotor also informed the party that he would be moving out - going to Norbury to work with their Uncle Conah for a while. Emori, in her seven-year-old logic, tried to convince Uncle Conah to stay here, so that Lotor could stay too. Unfortunately, as Conah explained, that wasn't something he was able to do. They said their goodbyes. Each party member received a short letter from their brother after he left.
Emori had one conversation with Ike when the party turned eight, about how to become a god. He told her essentially what Conah told them in the last session. Emori said that she was going to start practicing to be one.
Ike laughed, and he said, "Okay, but remember... I did what I did because I had to. I don't regret what I did, but there are days when I wish that I never had to do it."
~~~~~
Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!
Additionally, thank you to my friend @bandcat5313 - the original homebrewer and DM for the world of Eushora. This setting and some NPCs were inspired by hers.
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