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Welcome;

     Good travels to ye or gotraye as we say in Baledar, weary traveler.  You have arrived at the gateway to Baledar - The Old World.  Welcome to our campaign setting - the world of Baledar.    Adventure, Danger and Fortune awaits those brave enough to travel the dusty roads and byways of  The Old World.

    Baledar and The Old World Campaign began life in 1980 as an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Campaign using the original 1st Edition Rules - actually it was a campaign that originated from the Dungeons & Dragons Boxed Set.  For almost seven years  Baledar was the campaign setting that housed the adventurers from "The Company of the Black Hand."   Many years have passed since then and many of the original players of those cherished adventures have moved on to bigger and better things.  Including the fact that I moved to the continental United States and took my world and my love of roleplaying games with me.

     By the time TSR had released the second edition of AD&D our interest in the game had waned and we were not even playing AD&D anymore.  We had moved on to other games and other pursuits.  The introduction of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons brought back to life my interest in this game that I so dearly enjoyed and loved.  So with a joyful heart I dusted my old books and notes and brought Baledar back to life after a very long hiatus.  The legendary adventurers of "The Company of the Black Hand", Dantor, Rufus, Skull, Nikon, Kroin Ironfinger and the others, exist no more but new heroes have appeared and have picked up were those legends left off.  Here you will find the adventures, mishaps and general information about these new heroes and their travels through The Old World.

    This information will mostly benefit players in the Old World Campaign.  However, don't be discouraged.  A lot of this information and ideas are generic enough that they can be easily adapted to other campaign worlds. 

    It is my sincere hope that what you find here can provide you with ideas for your own heroes, adventures and campaigns.

Introduction

     The world of Baledar, also known as the Old World, comprises several vast continents in a planetary sphere orbiting the star known as Ujaar.  Some of these continents are home to large civilizations and some of them remain completely uncharted or  unexplored.  Kingdoms, Empires and whole civilizations have come and gone since the beginning of recorded history yet Baledar continues.

    Adventures will take place in various locations throughout the Old World.   The campaign may take characters from the savage, pirate infested Dragon Coast all the way to the Northern Wastelands - homeland of the Nordmaan, from the Crystal Sands Desert to the far reaches of the Taean Empire and the great cities of Thaybet, Merkati and Merilia.

    The players should have complete control of where they choose to travel.  Parties of characters new to the campaign should have a mix of character classes with at least one cleric and one wizard in the adventuring party.  The campaign is designed to gradually advance the player characters from the beginning levels 1-3 to the higher levels 14-18 and beyond.  Once the Epic Campaigns Sourcebook is published by Wizards of the Coast, the heroes in the campaign might even reach into those levels.

    Baledar is a dangerous place.  Goblin hordes inhabit desolate areas and surround civilization ready to attack.  Only their lack of organization has kept them at bay.  Depraved cultures hide among the ruins of lost cities and plot their return to the limelight.  Dragons keep mostly hidden, some believe them to be extinct.  Their sightings are so uncommon that on those rare occasions when they are seen their path of destruction is so great that many pray to the gods never to see one again.

    Great Empires have risen out of the ashes of long lost civilizations.  Evil Mages scheme and maneuver, while the armies from the Chaos Waste advance at a slow but constant pace.  Just beyond the Rekanar Mountains flying citadels criss-cross the skies, the works of demented wizards of long-ago.

Welcome to Baledar.  This is the Old World.  Do you feel lucky?  Well, do you?