Welcome to the high-level alternate campaign set within the world of Andurin.  If you're reading this, you're most likely interested in joining the Saturday game, and have probably been directed here at my request.

Recent developments in the Saturday game have caused the storyline to split into two parts:  the main campaign -- in which player characters are 9th level -- and an alternate campaign, in which player characters are 16th level.  In order to gain an appreciation for why this turn of events has come to pass, it's highly recommended that you begin reading the main Saturday (Damrosil) logs from the very beginning.  The main storyline of the Saturday game involves an epic "save-the-world" quest and has quite a convoluted plot, even by my standards….and that's saying something.  In one sentence or less, it involves extremely powerful magicka which has caused the alternate campaign PCs to split their consciousness from their primary selves.  Got that?  I didn't think so.  Like I said, you'll appreciate the why and the how that much more if you take it upon yourself to read through the logs.  Begin at log 49, which is an OOC primer on the campaign, then read from log 1 to log 48, then from 50 through 57.  (You can read from 58 through the most recent log, which is 61 as of this writing, but those have no relevance to the alternate campaign.)

Some things that you will want to be aware of:

1.  The PCs begin in an amnesiac state of mind.  They know their identities and abilities, but have no recollection from a certain point in time onwards.  As you will see when you read the first log, they awaken from a coma in a place far removed from their last known location.  Far is an understatement.  More like half a continent away.

2.  They are vastly increased in power and ability.  Again, why this is remains to be seen.  The campaign will explore philosophical questions of identity and knowledge (epistemology); on a storyline basis, the plot delves into the characters' attempt to rediscover their missing (or stolen?) memories.  Why they are in their current state, how they traveled a great distance, what is their purpose?  The answers to these questions and more remain to be discovered.

3.  You cannot join the alternate campaign without becoming a player in the primary game.  As of this writing (7 November 2005), there is room for one (1) more player.  However, since this IS Open RPG after all, and players come and go, it might be worthwhile to go on the waiting list.

4.  The Empire of Mel'Cendia is a rough amalgam of elements inspired by late Roman culture, Morrowind from the Elder Scrolls series and various set pieces taken from the novels of the Conan saga by Robert E. Howard and the Elric saga by Michael Moorcock.  It was my intention to create something that while familiar to some fans of fantasy literature, would also be seen as something mostly original, and serve as a homage to my sources of inspiration.

5.  It will be increasingly apparent to the PCs that they are in an environment wholly unlike the one they are used to.  Magicka is quite common as opposed to uncommon in their homeland.  The semblance of order has given way in many areas to just teetering on the verge of chaos.  Attitudes towards foreigners and individuals of higher or lower station are different.  Different cultures, different races, some never before seen.  It is an adventure in all senses of the word.  At its most basic, the alternate campaign is the story of how the player characters resolve being in an alien environment that at times seems at polar opposites with their own.

Enjoy your stay, and peace be your sword.  --TaliesinNYC, 7 November 2005