Albion Prevails is a Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition campaign set in the militaristic nation of Albion. The story follows four adventurers as they set out to protect the Albionese citizens from various dangers, solve mysterious cases, and navigate intricate the country's intricate political landscape, all while looking to achieve their own personal ambitions.
The first story arc, Blood on the Snow, sees The Party deal with the sudden disappearance of two families in the small town of Vallaki, in the northernmost region of Albion, Targoviste.
The setting of the campaign contains the following tropes:
- Draconic Humanoid: The Dragonborn were the last race to be added to the Albionese roster after a rather bloody war. In fact, they are generally the target of discrimination, with "Lizard" being a common slur to refer to them.
- Dungeon Punk: The setting has shades of this...
- Gaslight Fantasy: ...But also of this.
- Hegemonic Empire: What Albion ultimately is, with the Field Marshall being the de facto ruler of the entire country.
- Horned Humanoid: Tieflings are one of the many races within Albion, hailing from Bael-Turath.
- Humans Are Warriors: Of the "Soldier" type. It's implied that part of what makes Albion so effective is its army's tactical prowess and superior technology, allowing them to triumph against races that possess more "raw power" but lack "finesse" such as Dragonborn and Tieflings.
- Inspiration Nod: The setting is partly inspired by the Video Game/Fable series — in fact, it shares its name with the games' fictional country.
- Magitek: It is a rather large part of the setting.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Dwarves in Albion hail from Kermordhran, a region rich in ore; they are therefore the lead race in the coal business, with their king owning the biggest coal mining company in the country.
- Our Elves Are Different: Elves come in three varieties:
- Dark Elves, whose talent for war and combat make them a numerous presence within the Albionese military;
- High Elves, gifted in the ways of magic and technology;
- Wood Elves, protectors of nature and rural folk.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Many races are renown for their prowess in battle — Dragonborn and Dark Elves in particular.
Blood on the Snow contains the following tropes:
- Bears Are Bad News: Deliberately invoked when the party chases down the last of a pair of mysteriously coordinated wolves into the woods... and is subsequently attacked by a Zombie Bear who almost wipes them all out.
- Close-Knit Community: Vallaki is a very small town, and it seems most of its inhabitants are at least familiar with each other.
- Does Not Like Magic: The town of Vallaki is not keen on magic, seemingly only tolerating the divine kind.
- Hunting "Accident" / This Bear Was Framed: The disappeared families were originally thought to have fallen prey to the wild beasts outside the village. Ultimately zigzagged when the most likely suspect becomes, in fact, a bear... that was turned into an undead killing machine.
- Never Found the Body: Discussed. Technically, none of the victims' bodies have been found... whole.
- Snow Means Death: The title of the arc says it all.
- Track Trouble: The Party's journey to Vallaki is interrupted when their train hits a sudden magic rock wall.
Characters:
The Party
Major Shioznavoyvately Achterberg
The man in charge of the Vallaki expedition and de facto leader of the party, Major Shioznavoyvately Achterberg (affectionately referred to as "Lee") is a Dark Elf Cleric whose domain is Civil Defense — specializing in defense, tactics, and the push of civilization.- The Ace: Implied by his rank and abilities.
- Authority Equals Ass Kicking
- Badass Longcoat: Rarely seen outside of his uniform.
- Church Militant: Is a Major. Is also a Cleric.
- Determinator: Less obviously than Akwa, but Major Achterberg will not back down from a fight until it becomes clear it is unwinnable.
- A Father to His Men: The Major clearly cares for anyone who is placed under his command. This becomes clear when he chases after Akwa both times she rushes in without thinking, and eventually ends up getting ambushed.
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Lawful Good - The Leader
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: His signature weapon is a shield displaying both his domain symbol and the Albionese Torch. It also functions as his holy symbol.
- Majorly Awesome: Obviously.
- Old Soldier: Not *old* per se, but he did fight in the Arkhosian War against the Dragonborn. It makes establishing a rapport with Akwa... difficult.
- Sentient Vehicle: His domain allows him to summon a car that is actually a creature from the Feywild.
- Religion Is Magic: The way his magic works.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome
Lady Klotho Durand
An Aasimar Paladin hailing from a noble family. She fought in the Akrhosian War, and consequently fell from grace, though the specific details are still unknown.- BFG: Her weapon of choice.
- Big Damn Heroes: Successfully brings the entire party back from the brink of death and holds her own against the Zombie Bear until Akwa is back in the fight.
- Combat Medic / Healing Hands: One of her abilities. It proves decisive in winning the fight against the Zombie Bear.
- Good Is Not Nice: It is unclear exactly if her cold, unapproachable demeanor legitimately hides a good nature, but she has only performed acts of heroism so far.
- Ice Queen
- Lady of War: It comes with being both an aristocrat and a skilled fighter.
- Lawful Neutral
- Light Is Not Good: It is, at best, neutral.
- Magic Knight
- Mighty Glacier: She is the only one in the fight against the Un Bear to manage to stay alive.
- Our Angels Are Different / Fallen Angel: She is a Fallen Aasimar, although she has yet to use her full abilities — so far the only way one can tell her apart from a human are her white, pupil-less eyes.
- Statuesque Stunner: Second in height in the Party only to Akwa, and quite taller than the average humanoid.
The Wondrous Symeon Volto
A Tiefling Wild Mage, and self-described performer, arcane advisor, and soldier of fortune.- Agent Peacock: Carries with him a large wardrobe of different outfits, including a number of butterfly masks. Is also a very powerful spellcaster.
- Big Damn Heroes: Downplayed. He rejoins the Party in the fight against the Zombie Bear with a small contingent of town guards, giving them a small yet meaningful distraction and eventually dealing heavy damage to the monster... But ultimately gets taken down in two hits.
- Beware the Silly Ones: For all his quirks and buffoonery, Symeon is actually a deadly competent sorcerer — to the point that he gets the closest to catching the Party's mysterious attacker after they forcefully stop the train with magic.
- Chekhov's Skill: Some of the contingent assigned to investigate the disappearances in Vallaki are perplexed as to why an arcanist would be sent in with them. The answer becomes obvious once the vanishings turn out to involve magic.
- The Face: Despite not being The Leader, he seems to be taking this role. While the rest of the party is ambushed by the Zombie Bear, Symeon manages to quickly reassure the townsfolk that Major Achterberg and his men have the situation under control.
- Horned Humanoid
- Inept Mage: At first sight, at least.
- Magicians Are Wizards: His main profession is "entertainer". He claims that due to the way his magic works, "no act is ever the same".
- Obfuscating Disability: He cannot fully control his powers, which causes random magical effects to occur — such as creating a puddle of slick oil under his feet, or making pink bubbles come out of his mouth whenever he tries to speak. Symeon is quick to use these "accidents" to make himself look less competent than he actually is.
- Pretty Butterflies: His whole motif. He even wears a butterfly mask that covers the left side of his face.
- Reality Warper / Winds of Destiny, Change: How his magic works — it taps into the probability that some event might happen and makes it a certainty. He can use this to successfully perform a task or strike a target, but at the cost of potentially losing control and causing something random to occur.
- Squishy Wizard: By far the weakest in the Party both in terms of strength and constitution. It only takes the Zombie Bear two hits to take him down.
- Technical Pacifist: Is the only member of the Party to have not fought in the Arkhosian War, and repeatedly claims that he has no combat experience and that he deeply dislikes violence. However, he is not above using his magic offensively, and is surprisingly unfazed by the deaths of his little squad of town guards.
- True Neutral
- Wild Magic: Which he uses in various forms, including:
