ACKS II: Clash Over Chrysopolis - Session 2

Across the sea, far from civilization, a new continent has been found, its lands foreign, unfamiliar, and for now, unexplored. Upon the shining shores of the Radiant Bay, stand the ruins of a once great city of an ancient empire: Chrysopolis, which in the old tongue means "The Golden City." This once-sprawling metropolis now lies mostly in ruins, its crumbling streets and dilapidated buildings crawling with foul beasts, monsters, and tribes of evil humanoids. A small part of the city has been reclaimed and rebuilt, held by one of the rival factions at play. But there are other factions who wish to claim the secrets of Chrysopolis and its lands for themselves. Far from the watchful eyes of the empire which forces these factions into a tenuous unity on the home continent, each faction hopes to gain glory, wealth, and power for themselves in these new lands, and each is happy to do it at the expense and exclusion of others. Still other factions simply wish to profit off the fighting, playing all the sides off each other for their own personal benefit. Yet other factions may have their own goals for which they strive to the aid of some, the detriment of others.

Nearby the ruins of Chrysopolis are more mysteries to unravel. The Embermount Isle lies but a few miles off-coast, an active volcano daily spouting plumages of foreboding smoke into the sky. Next to Chrysopolis is the perplexing Hedge Maze, its bushy walls thick and nearly impenetrable. They seem impervious to fire and grow back so quickly they cannot be effectively cut down. Beyond the Hedge Maze stands the Obsidian Tower looming tall, its doors magickally locked, and no one knows what lies within. To the southwest of Chrysopolis a sprawling jungle spreads out below the hills, teeming with danger and where, rumors fly, bands of some wicked, intelligent foes slaughter all who dare enter.

There is much more to explore on this new continent and also room for GMs to expand the size and scope of this continent to even more lands. Clash Over Chrysopolis gives you a good starting base from which to create your own grand, living campaign with as many players as the GM can handle, controlling both factions and individual adventurers (often more than one).

Clash Over Chrysopolis is a campaign-starter module in which the story is not crafted by the GM or dictated by the module, but by the actions of the players and the GM working together. Players can build and determine their own factions to begin play, which starts with a Braunstein style conflict between the different factions. In Clash Over Chrysopolis the story is emergent, never pre-determined, and every group's story of what happens to Chrysopolis and the continent it lies on will be different.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Clash Over Chrysopolis is not an official Autarch product and the creator of Clash Over Chrysopolis has no direct affiliation with Autarch (the publisher of ACKS II)