The Rivengeld offers players and gamemasters material for any game system to adventure in The Chronicles of Ballidrous campaign setting. Though, the main products released by Tacitus Publishing will be using the Dungeons & Dragons 5E game system.
In these pages, you will find information on the continent of Ballidrous and its many cultures. Although just the start of the project, this world will become a well-rounded and fully-developed place for those interested in having access to a campaign setting. The core ideas are derived from many of the past ancient and medieval people found throughout the world. This includes Germanic folklore (such as found in J.R.R. Tolkien), the Near East (Mesopotamia), and the martial and spiritual development in the Far East (such as the martial arts systems.)
The Chronicles of Ballidrous is taking a new approach to product development and releases. The material will be released in a timeline based on story development and regional changes. Each chronicle will have a main storyline that characters can follow or have occurring during their campaign. The idea is that there is not one but multiple adventure paths to take in the main events occurring in the offered storylines. Each has its own critical part in the future events on Ballidrous. Also, as suggested by The Rivengeld, gamemasters should make a fluid campaign with more character involvement. To support this approach, there will be other adventures, storelines, and material to assist in a character's role in the campaign and centered around their life and past.
In these pages, you will find information on the continent of Ballidrous and its many cultures. Although just the start of the project, this world will become a well-rounded and fully-developed place for those interested in having access to a campaign setting. The core ideas are derived from many of the past ancient and medieval people found throughout the world. This includes Germanic folklore (such as found in J.R.R. Tolkien), the Near East (Mesopotamia), and the martial and spiritual development in the Far East (such as the martial arts systems.)
The Chronicles of Ballidrous is taking a new approach to product development and releases. The material will be released in a timeline based on story development and regional changes. Each chronicle will have a main storyline that characters can follow or have occurring during their campaign. The idea is that there is not one but multiple adventure paths to take in the main events occurring in the offered storylines. Each has its own critical part in the future events on Ballidrous. Also, as suggested by The Rivengeld, gamemasters should make a fluid campaign with more character involvement. To support this approach, there will be other adventures, storelines, and material to assist in a character's role in the campaign and centered around their life and past.
The Rivengeld is the staging point for players and gamemasters to become familiar with the material for The Chronicles of Ballidrous. The Rivengeld section of the website is broken down into:
The Order section - giving players and gamemasters a basic understanding of the campaign world, character building devises, and suggestions to give the players the full experience of adventuring in Ballidrous.
The World section - has the campaign setting, adventures, and other detailed information to create great adventures.
The Tradehouse section - provides links to stores and publishers.
The Messenger section - the contact page to email the Rivengeld and forums open for discussion.
The Order section - giving players and gamemasters a basic understanding of the campaign world, character building devises, and suggestions to give the players the full experience of adventuring in Ballidrous.
The World section - has the campaign setting, adventures, and other detailed information to create great adventures.
The Tradehouse section - provides links to stores and publishers.
The Messenger section - the contact page to email the Rivengeld and forums open for discussion.
Welcome!
Thank you for visiting and please enjoy what you find.
I am the creator of The Rivengeld and the campaign world presented in this web site. This project comes from a life of gaming in some of the greatest campaign settings and experiencing various gaming systems. My time gaming could be considered the catalyst that led to my studying anthropology and history (from ancient to the Middle Ages) in college. After becoming more familiar with the many components of the 'real' world and applying the many fields of study I touched on, I felt a need to bring about an advanced form of gamemastering that would provide a campaign that should make each player feel more involved and adventure in a world that has a greater depth in development. Although an arduous task, the beginning is upon us all.
I have found that it is not always the system or campaign that makes the experience memorable, but the people who are your fellow adventurers. This journey started with the first gamers out of the 70's and 80's when adventuring required a continual honing of the blades and an imagination to experience what no one else had dreamt of as a way to play a table-top game. Later, systems began to focus more on the role-playing aspect and developing a greater sense of the fantastic with a touch of realism. Through it all, it was the memorable moments of the players having to survive impossible situations or the interaction with the adventures and settings that drove people to continue on adventuring.
Where will all this lead? That is anyone's guess. This project, although starting from a single mind that has been shaped and influenced by many sources, is intended to create a fluid style of gaming in a campaign world that continually grows and changes. This leaves everything open to all possibilities.
- James S. Austin
Thank you for visiting and please enjoy what you find.
I am the creator of The Rivengeld and the campaign world presented in this web site. This project comes from a life of gaming in some of the greatest campaign settings and experiencing various gaming systems. My time gaming could be considered the catalyst that led to my studying anthropology and history (from ancient to the Middle Ages) in college. After becoming more familiar with the many components of the 'real' world and applying the many fields of study I touched on, I felt a need to bring about an advanced form of gamemastering that would provide a campaign that should make each player feel more involved and adventure in a world that has a greater depth in development. Although an arduous task, the beginning is upon us all.
I have found that it is not always the system or campaign that makes the experience memorable, but the people who are your fellow adventurers. This journey started with the first gamers out of the 70's and 80's when adventuring required a continual honing of the blades and an imagination to experience what no one else had dreamt of as a way to play a table-top game. Later, systems began to focus more on the role-playing aspect and developing a greater sense of the fantastic with a touch of realism. Through it all, it was the memorable moments of the players having to survive impossible situations or the interaction with the adventures and settings that drove people to continue on adventuring.
Where will all this lead? That is anyone's guess. This project, although starting from a single mind that has been shaped and influenced by many sources, is intended to create a fluid style of gaming in a campaign world that continually grows and changes. This leaves everything open to all possibilities.
- James S. Austin
Maps of the world, to include the first and main continent Ballidrous, and its regional maps.
The first Q-Adventure in the Kingdom of Castile has been released - The Disappearing Scrivener.
The campaign information for players and gamemasters.
The first short story to be released - 'The Mirror's Edge' - based on the campaign world.
The first sourcebook - The Kingdom of Castiel.
A deeper look into the cultures found on Ballidrous.
The Kingdom of Glokstun.
The city of Castiel with greater detail and mapping of the districts.
Core world information to include the people and cultures, charts and city maps, adventure ideas, and greater details to build an in-depth campaign.
Opportunities to contribute to and take part in the growth of The Rivengeld's compendium.
Hidden doorways and puzzles within the pages that will lead to exclusive information.
