Introduction

You will be playing Gravelands Survivors, a survival adventure set in the undead infested Gravelands. In this guide you will find some background information on the location and adventure, as well as suggestions for your character options. If you have any questions or need help, please ask your Dungeon Master (DM)!

Where and When on Golarion?

Our adventure takes place in Yua’s Hope, a hamlet in the country formerly known as Lastwall. Lastwall was a nation founded some 900 years ago at the end of the Shining Crusade with a singular purpose: to be the shield against evil. The brave people of Lastwall were ever vigilant towards the Orcs in the lands to the north, and most importantly kept watch over the imprisoned lich-king Tar-Baphon, who they also call the Whispering Tyrant, and his undead hordes.

For over 900 years their tireless watch endured, keeping the orcs and undead at bay, and the Whispering Tyrant locked in his tower of Gallowspire. Until it all came crashing down some 6 years ago, when the Whispering Tyrant was finally able to break free. After he destroyed Vigil, the capital city of Lastwall, his undead hordes washed over the country like a tidalwave of death, transforming what was once the noble state of Lastwall into the haunted wasteland now known as the Gravelands.

Yua’s Hope met the same fate as so many other unfortunate settlements. You remember that night well. Less than 12 hours after the first panicked survivors had arrived at Yua’s Hope bringing stories not even your worst nightmares could rival, the undead reached your once peaceful town. You, along with several others, fled into the crypts underneath your local temple of Iomedae, sealing the secret door behind you.

Here, in these cramped crypt chambers, you and your group of survivors have held out for over 6 years now, making what passes these days for a life in the Gravelands. Only very rarely do any of you venture outside, since secrecy is the only thing that is keeping your group safe, and you go many months without seeing the sun. Your town of Yua’s Hope is now a silent ruin, and only the dead walk there now.

The Survivors

Thankfully you are not alone. Your little community in the crypt consists of the following people:

Dame Talia Gilder (human woman). This 70 year old is a former captain of the Knights of Ozem, now long retired. It has been her steadfast courage and experienced guidance that has helped keep your group together and keeps people from losing hope that one day they might be rescued, and she is a natural leader for the group.

Constan Russi (human man). It is because of Constan that you all survived. Not only did he lead you all to the secret crypts beneath his temple, but as a devout cleric of Iomedae he has been using his divine magic to create food and water for the survivors for over 6 years. While not the most flavourful food, it’s better than starving or braving the undead to try to scavenge in the wasteland.

Rokvel Hardbrow (dwarf woman). In happier days, Rokvel was the town’s blacksmith, specializing in the crafting of breastplates for crusading knights. Of all the survivors she’s the least bothered about living underground. She enjoys logic puzzles but has little patience for those who can’t (or won’t) carry their own weight.

Garaag Sunbrand (half-orc man). He left his tribe in the orc lands of the Hold Of Belkzen many years ago, though the people of Lastwall always treated him with some suspicion. He is known for his standoffishness and short temper (a trait made worse by constant hunger). Since entering the crypts, he has struggled to connect with the other survivors. However, the they have come to rely on Garaag’s strength whenever heavy lifting needs doing, which brings him great pride.

Jono, Yiluva, Retsnav and Retsnov Brushpaw (Kitsune family). Jono and his life partner Yiluva have ranged Lastwall all their life. When Tar-Baphon’s forces arrived they and their children warned as many settlements as they could, including Yua’s Hope. For their bravery they were offered sanctuary with your group. They spend most of their time in their fox forms in order to consume less food and communicate primarily by crude sign language.

Marko Blightender (human man). Both of his parents were Knights of Ozem who were in the field when the Whispering Tyrant’s forces laid siege to Lastwall. While most of you assume the worst, he still holds out hope that one day he will see them again. He was just 10 when you entered the crypt, but now he is a broody teenager.

The Querulous Quartet: Alyzo, Crasian, Kleb and Bicky (group of performers). This traveling troupe happened to be playing in Yua’s Hope when the undead attacked. Alyzo is a human man (singer-songwriter), Crasian a halfling man (vocalist and flutist), and Kleb (banjoist) and Bicky (percussion) are both goblin women. Their signature melodies have buoyed your group’s spirits over the years, though they have to be careful not to play too often lest their music betrays their location to the undead roaming aboveground.

Hurdauw and Jystolo Pulsoma (human woman + male child). The former chef at the Hope’s Breath Inn, she discovered her no-good, cheat of a husband had run off with another woman the same night Tar-Baphon’s forces attacked. Not long after, she realized she was pregnant. Six years on, Hurdauw still grapples with the fact that the father of her son Jystolo is likely dead. Though she is a kind and hard-working individual, her nervous energy often rubs off on the other survivors.