Ancient cities and dungeons await Adventurers on their pilgrimage to the Outer ring of the world.

Designed By Austin Keilman

Complexity rating ***

5 years after the first pilgrimage, adventures of all ancestries have come together to explore the Outer Ring. The city of Pilgrims Crest is home to the Pilgrims Guild who provide naval shipwrights and crew to adventurers willing to risk their lives in the treachery of the Outer Ring to bring home power, glory, and fame. All they ask in return is to add knowledge of the artifacts and creatures you find to the Pilgrims codex.

Adventure, Dungeon delver, Grim, Light-hearted

Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity, Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all, The paths of glory lead but to the grave

Beast Feast, Soulsborne, Shaolin Showdown, The Cosmere, RimWorld

The First Pilgrimage to the Outer Ring was launched out of the small coastal village of Pilgrims Crest, 10 pilgrims left, only 2 returned. But with their return came several artifacts from an ancient cliffside city along the shore which changed the course of the little village of Pilgrims Crest, and all residents of the Lyra continent forever.

The sprawling city of Pilgrims Crest is known throughout all Of Lyra and has become a cultural melting pot where distant wars and prejudices are pushed aside in the pursuit of riches and freedom. At the center of the conglomeration is the Pilgrims Guild where the skills of all nations are not only accepted, but needed to ensure a successful Pilgrimage.

The tasks of a Pilgrim begin far before leaving the Crest. They must seek crewmates among their fellow Pilgrims, purchase or build a ship along with a Shipwright, and be endorsed by a Codographer to take with them on their journey. Pilgrims often set up encampments along the coast, some of which have evolved into settlements and even one small coastal city under the protections of a group of particularly powerful retired pilgrims.

When you make a character for this campaign they should meet the following criteria

Have a strong drive for one of 3 goals

HAHA MAYBE!^
As a pilgrim you will be finding artifacts of various powers that may not always seem clear at first. Collecting artifacts that feel safe enough and bringing them to your Codographer is a great way to attain small buffs to your character that may or may not be permanent. Feel free to keep your own codex along with the one your Codographer has as you may not want to share just everything with them (this is against the rules of the guild).

New crest is the primary Settlement on the outer ring. New Crest is a retrofitted cliffside castle Formed by retired pilgrims who successfully amassed a large amount of artifacts. New Crest is somewhat of a technological powerhouse, fueled by the artifacts and the incredible minds collected by the pilgrims whom formed it. Many pilgrims who lose their parties come here to recuperate and are given safe haven. Beyond that, some of these displaced pilgrims join the ever growing city to form businesses and lives on the outer ring within the safety of the castle walls.

Guardians are the enforcers of the Pilgrims Guild. They protect large settlements on The Outer Ring and punish contract breaking Pilgrims. Guardians are rare due to the incredible difficulty of becoming one. Each guardian is outfitted with Unique or Enigmatic gear acquired through their own conquests.

The following mechanics are unique to this campaign

This game uses a more uniform currency system to manage income as the finances of the late game may be more complex.

Handful of gold --> 5 Gold
Bag of gold --> 50 Gold
chest of gold --> 500 gold

all gems exchange rates are per carat weight with an implied pristine cut, clarity, and vivid coloring
Topaz 5G
Opal 10G
ruby 50G
sapphire 100G
Emerald 200G
Phoenix 1000G

The party will create their own codex to be added to "The codex" with the help of their appointed Codographer. During downtime if any Artifacts are found, they should be added to the codex if able to be deciphered by the party.

During session 0 the party will be given the option to form their crew or have it be chosen for them

each crew has essential crewmates required by the pilgrims guild to ensure the relative consistency of a successful pilgrimage.

Codographers are responsible for maintaining their own codex which will be added to Pilgrims Codex upon the end of a pilgrimage. All Codographers go through rigorous study of the Pilgrims Codex and have strong knowledge of the current artifacts within it. Codographer do however have varying degrees of understanding of the mechanics of artifacts. Some lean more toward the magical interactions while others the more mechanical/tangible aspects. Choosing The right Codographer can drastically change how the party interacts with discovered artifacts on the Outer Ring

If players choose to start their journey pre-crew, they must attain their selected Codographers sponsorship. Codographers are very picky as Pilgrimages are extremely dangerous. A Codographer may give the players a fairly difficult trail depending on the quality of knowledge the Codographer has.

The Shipwrights of The Pilgrims Guild Utilize various means of shipbuilding. Some use artifacts to enhance their ship in various ways. While others use tried and true methods of ship building to reinforce their ships for the voyage to The Outer Ring. The shipwright is responsible for building and maintaining the ship designed for the party's Pilgrimage to The Outer Ring. The Guild will pay for a ship to accommodate the final crew size recorded before the beginning of the pilgrimage.

The Shipwright can be chosen by the players after attaining a Codographer sponsorship. The Codographer may have recommendations for a Shipwright that compliment their knowledge base.

Scouts train alongside The Guardians in the jungles directly east of New Crest. They familiarize themselves with the Safer portions of The Outer Ring and develop their skills as Scouts.
Scouts will search The Outer Ring for points of interest their attached pilgrimage can utilize in uncovering more and rarer artifacts, hidden away within ancient dungeons or guarded behind various factions walls.

The party can select a scout after being sponsored by a Codographer. Some scouts may have a preference for a type of Codographer and can outright decline if they dislike the party or Codographer

Depending on the depth of the campaign, the players may want to interact more or less with the settlement system. Non essential crewmates (up to 6 for a total of 9 non party Pilgrims) can make the beginning stages of the settlement system easier. For Players or DMs not as interested in the Settlement system it is recommended to build your starting camp close to New Crest for easier access to trade and early survival essentials.

When hiring non essential crew the party must adhere to rule 3 (For every four NPCs acquired the fifth must be a type of forager/farmer to aid in feeding the settlement ) of the acquiring NPC rules.

The Outer Ring is teaming with magical items. From various Mana Stones to fully formed mana-tech devices beyond an average Codographers comprehension, Artifacts are the lifeblood of The Pilgrimage.

Any and all artifacts you find must be reported to and appraised by your Codographer. Once appraised you have the option of selling, storing, or using the artifact for future quests. Many artifacts have limited uses and saving them to be combined with other artifacts to make something more powerful is a staple use of your Codographer.

common Artifacts consist of regularly found Outer Ring items that still cannot be attained on lyra. These types of items the party will be comfortable selling.
e.g.
Ring metal basic weaponry 1-3 gold
empty Mana Stones(tier 1 magical item crafting component) 2-4 gold
single use spell tools (tier 1 spells) 3-5 gold
Chunk of Ring metal 5-10
Spell Scrolls 6-10 gold

Unusual artifacts are less commonly found and require a bit of dungeon delving or monster slaying to acquire. These types of items the party would be comfortable equipping or selling depending on the goals of the party.
e.g.
Infused Mana Stones(tier 1 magical item crafting component) 10-20 gold
once per session use magic items(tier 2-4 spells) 15-30 gold
once per session use scrolls(tier 2-4 spells) 20-40 gold
infused Ring metal weapons(tier 2-4 spells) 25-50 gold

Rare Artifacts are powerful items that characters may come across after a significant boss fight or completing a particularly perilous quest. These types of items the party will want to equip and will have a harder time being comfortable with selling.
e.g.
once per scene magical item(tier 2-4 spells) 60-100 gold
Chunk of Mana Metal (tier 2-4 magical item crafting component) 65-90 gold
permanent buff items (+1) 75-125 gold
Infused Mana Crystals (tier 2-4 magical item crafting component) 80-140 gold

Unique Artifacts consist of named gear(weapons, armor, or other items) or otherwise significantly powerful items the party may use to gain a significant power spike if used correctly. These types of items the party should be equipping and would have little to no desire to ever sell.
e.g.
permanent spellcasting items (tier 2-4) 200-400 gold
permanent buff items (+2) 250-450 gold
Named gear(+2/+3 bonuses with unique feature) 500-1000 gold

Enigmatic Artifacts are things that do not seem to follow the laws of physics or nature as the world understands it. These Artifacts hold vast power and players may entirely shift their playstyles after acquiring such items. These items are dangerous in the wrong hands and players should be weary about selling them. Hopefully the Players trust their Codographers loyalty if they seek to appraise such items for sale.
e.g.
A ring that allows the user to infinitely cast their spells at seemingly no cost ???? gold
Ink that once dried, remains flexible but harder than diamond ???? gold
an elixir that ceases aging ???? gold

Once appraised, an artifact can be sent to Lyra to be put up for auction or sold to various NPCs within New Crest. Shipping artifacts back to Lyra can be expensive depending on the ship crews numbers and their food supplies.

The life of a Pilgrim doesn't have to end nomadically. Success stories like New Crest do exist given the right Pilgrims, a plethora of gold, and powerful Artifacts. As Pilgrims, the party has the option to grow their homestead into something great. Each Pilgrimage starts out at the first tier of homesteading "camp" and grows from their--- given they survive long enough to do so.

The Pilgrims Guild encourages this growth and allows Pilgrims full freedoms to create their own governments within The Outer Ring. The guild only asks that at each tier of settlement you allow them certain Liberties to function under your rule. Each tier is gated by population and as it grows so do the privileges of the guild within your territory.

During Downtime at the settlement, Players collaborate with the DM on how they would like to grow their settlement. This means the players and DM will work together to build out the settlement and choose which NPCs to bring into the team to fit the needs of the Party and the Pilgrims they support.

Most NPCs can be acquired by paying for them to make the journey to the Party's settlement.

Once the players decide where to dock on the shores of The Outer Ring, the beginnings of their settlement begin. Start a collaborative map between the Players and DM to track the growth of the settlement as it progresses.

1-9 non party Pilgrims
a camp consists of the essential crewmates required to Begin a Pilgrimage into the outer ring.

10% of the Settlements Gold earnings go to the Pilgrims Guild

10-29 non party Pilgrims
An Outpost may form once the party acquires a few useful NPCs through various means. NPCs like blacksmiths, cooks, botanists, etc.

30-59 non party Pilgrims
Hamlets rarely form due to the dangers of The Outer Ring. Forming a hamlet is a true staple of Settlementary success. This can occur through natural progression of the Outposts slow growth over time or by a significant injection of gold and infrastructural development from the players. Good luck remembering all the NPCs names they will get sad if you forget...

60-119 non party Pilgrims
Villages can happen faster than you think. Once a settlement in The Outer Ring is given hamlet status, folks on the mainland will be begging and pleading for the party to let them live on The Ring and experience its wonders. Within the relative safety of your villages borders of course. At this point the party will have most likely decided on some form of governmental structure to manage the ever growing population and the responsibilities they've tactfully shoved on to NPCs(the feeble DM's free time) so they can continue spelunking dungeons and hoarding precious Artifacts.

120-249 non party Pilgrims
A Party of Pilgrims dedicated enough to form a town truly has a love for the game. Though not every NPC maybe be as critical to the plot and progression as Barry the Blacksmith, they exist thanks to the tireless efforts of the party to make something for themselves in this crazy little game.

250-499 non party Pilgrims
Hundreds of hours of collaborations have gone into making something like this happen. You beat the game at this point. The community the DM and the party have built together is a testament to the power of the human mind our abilities to slowly but surely make something great. Even if it is just a game, hopefully the memories you've made along the way while playing it last a lifetime.