Tales of Xenia 3: Resurrecting Rashamoric
Xenia is a high-fantasy, high-magic, deity-centric homebrew world I dreamed up as a teenager. It is a place where Light and Dark are ever in a perilous balance. The gods and minions on one side seek to throw that balance out of whack while their diametrically opposed foes work ceaselessly to preserve it.
There are pious factions and seedy cults. Otherworldly travelers are commonplace, so much so that they rarely raise an eyebrow. The people of the land gauge and remember every action, and as a living, breathing world, it changes based on the actions of the characters in the story or campaign. Those actions may even cause a new cult or cause to arise in response!
To that end, I have penned numerous short stories in the World of Xenia. I have countless characters who have shaped, for better or worse, the world from secret hovels to the seats of power in the capital city of Lex Xaia.
Perhaps most significantly, I have run two multiyear campaigns of Dungeons & Dragons in Xenia. They are open-world games with minimal railroading (here is the broad concept - save the world…or don’t…or take your time and chase all the shiny objects).
Clearly, if you have sat around my table, I wear my MMORPG influences on my sleeve. There is the primary campaign…and then there is ALLLLLL this other stuff you can do. As Xenia is such an open society with fantastical people and events happening seemingly everywhere, every day, my player characters have a tremendous license to build and roleplay the characters they want.
Some would call it a total sandbox. Others would characterize it as a total shit show. I fully admit it’s not for everybody, but it works for the wonderful, creative souls I have been fortunate to surround myself with for nearly 25 years. They confound the DM, and I throw curveballs at every opportunity. There’s like 200 years of combined TTRPG experience at the table. “You’re surrounded by orcs” ain’t gonna cut it.
I say all this to bring me to this point: Since I finished Tales of Xenia I, I’ve had an idea in my head for a story I wanted to tell in this world. I don’t want to give too much away here since my players are also readers, but I intend to include a lot of genres and outside ideas to create an absolutely bonkers campaign. I’m pretty positive they will love it. I hope you will, too.
When Tales of Xenia II came along, I didn’t have the bandwidth to do the things I am now about to attempt. I’ve had years to prepare for this, however, and a steadily growing note on my phone to capture every wild idea.
I hope you will join me and my party of carefree (careless?) adventurers as we embark on this journey of many months, adventures, laughs, and stories to be retold over beers and bourbon for years to come.
We meet every other week, kicking off on July 17, so check back often for updates. Or, hey, just subscribe and get notified of updates!
Note that out-of-game updates in this space will often be posted after they occur so as not to spoil the fun of the party!