★ This page is meant to provide a (relatively) brief summary of the story of TOHD! Links are currently nonfunctional, but should eventually lead to wiki pages :]

THE WORLD

TOHD takes place in the lands surrounding the Sorrowful Sea, an inland ocean. Although part of a much larger world, the mountains to the North, desert to the West, and waters to the South keep this corner of the continent secluded. With no real need to differentiate themselves from other lands, the peoples of TOHD refer to their world simply as “Home”.

Here, the remains of the once-great Astoran Empire, the ever-expanding theocracy of Solithia, and the enigmatic nation of Dara keep an uneasy peace, until Solithia declares war upon the Empire once again.

Meanwhile, the world is plagued by periods of disaster and the appearance of aberrations, known as the Cataclysms. And the next one may be coming soon...

THE GODS

Although Home has a full pantheon, the goddess of war, Solis, is by far the god with the most influence. After ascending to godhood by killing a king of devils, Mars, she makes her will known on the Material Plane through her incarnation, the Heart of Solis. The other gods, on the other hand, haven’t been seen or heard from in thousands of years… which perhaps has something to do with the fact that travel between planes has seemingly become impossible.

NATIONS

The Astoran Empire

Once, this empire spanned the entirety of Home, after its founder, Astora, led his armies to conquest. In the 2,000 years since then, however, the Empire’s territory and power has slowly dwindled, as Astora and his legendary “Eternal Sword” (rumored to be the sword of Solis herself) have faded into legend…

Solithia

The newest nation in Home, but also the strongest. Solithia is led by the Heart of Solis, the goddess’s eternally-reborn incarnation. With her army of devoted paladins, the current Heart, Mira, wages war against the Empire, just as all her previous incarnations have before her.

Dara

This nation is home to the largest population of elves in Home, and takes great pains to stay neutral in the ongoing conflict.

THE PARTY

After being thrown together by chance (or perhaps something more than that...?), the six members of our party hesitantly teamed up in order to reassemble Astora's magical "compass". When completed, this artifact can allegedly lead them to the Eternal Sword, which was sealed away nearly 2,000 years ago. But with so many conflicting loyalties amongst them, none of them are quite sure what will happen once they get it...

Each member has their own reasons for joining the quest:

• Nora, princess of the Empire, believes the sword and its power are her birthright-- and her only chance at saving her country from destruction.
• Anari, a trained assassin, has been hired by a mysterious employer to ensure that Nora's quest succeeds at any cost.
• Appel, a paladin in the Solithian army, believes finding the sword is the only way for him to prove his worth to Mira, Heart of Solis.
• Blitz, an anti-Solithian resistance fighter, believes finding the sword is the will of his god: the true Solis, and the only way to stop the endless cycle of war.
• Hei, a con artist on a quest of his own, believes traveling with the party just might lead him to his missing twin.
• Mila, a double-agent for the Empire, is committed to helping Nora succeed: even if it jeopardizes her cover as a Solithian spy.

THE CAMPAIGN

A synopsis of the story so far, to help you get caught up! Broken up into arcs based on the party's main location.

Mistport, City of Pirates

• The members of the party run into each other in an abandoned fortress, and are forced to team up to escape. After killing their way through legions of kobolds and claiming a piece of the Compass, Nora convinces them to join her in tracking down the Eternal Sword.
• They head to Mistport, a nearby port city, where they meet tavern owner Mo, catgirl shopkeep Mimi, and Anari’s contact Rin.
• In an effort to find leads on the Compass, the party explores a sacred shrine of the sea god Talos, and learn that a Solithian paladin has attacked its guardian, the couatl Angel Jr.
• Back in Mistport, they witness a mysteriously large box being transported through the marketplace, but decide to ignore this in favor of tracking down the paladin Bingus.
• After running into Bingus, Appel’s old paladin-school classmate, the party promptly jumps him, and then hands him over to the Black Talons pirate crew.
• Mila purchases a journal written by an adventurer named Georga Sen, which the party will continue to read through over the course of their journey.
• Rin asks Anari to go rescue their friend Oliver, who they suspect has been kidnapped by the Black Talons.
• The party sneak into the Talons hideout, free Bingus from jail, steal a cool gun and a big rock, and kill almost the entirety of the pirate crew. They do not find Oliver.
• Appel gets blackout drunk and his new gun is stolen by a mysterious man, who then frees Oliver (he was in the large box from the market all along).
• The party learns that one of the Compass pieces is in the desert, and that Oliver was supposed to be shipped to someone in Kingsglade named M.P.
• Deciding to investigate Kingsglade first, the party sets out on the next leg of their journey…

Kingsglade, the Conquered Citadel

• On their way to Kingsglade, the party saves Blitz’s cowardly ex-resistance friend Cravyn from being captured by Anari’s old teacher Gaius.
• In the woods, the party is captured by corrupted tree monsters and must fight their way out! This somehow leads to Appel realizing he is gay, but he remains deeply closeted.
• They finally make it to the city, which is now under Solithian occupation. After gaining access to the castle, Appel is challenged to a duel by Bingus’ younger sister and aspiring paladin, Augusta. He easily wins, and she declares him her rival.
• The shady court wizard Octavius agrees to let the party into the castle library’s restricted section if they can deal with a ghost problem in the city.
• The party explores a haunted house. In the basement, they find research notes on some kind of human experimentation, a lantern that burns with black flames, and the remains of Hei’s missing twin.
• Unable to find any leads in the library, the party leaves Kingsglade– with a horde of Solithian guards in pursuit!
• After losing their pursuers in the woods, the party ends up in another town of kobolds, where they soon find themselves on trial for murder! After proving their innocence and adopting a chicken they dub Ms. Pretty, they set off into the ruins of an ancient dwarven city, hoping to find a passage across the border into Solithia.
• While exploring an ancient dwarven laboratory, Ms. Pretty leaves the party. Don’t worry about it. In her place, Blitz adopts a fire toad, which he names Poptart.
• After solving the laboratory puzzles, and defeating a boss behind the Big Door, the party hits a dead end. Luckily, they are rescued by a mysterious cleric known as The White Dwarf.
• Back aboveground, the party sets off for the desert!

Sha, the Point of No Return

• The party gets into a saloon brawl and a high noon duel in the town of Paradise, then runs into famed outlaw of both the West and the high seas, pirate captain Eltia! She assures the party that she plans to return to Mistport soon, after she’s dealt with some “family business” in the desert.
• After finally reaching the city of Sha, Anari realizes the strange rock she picked up in Mistport is actually a dragon egg, and it hatches into baby dragon Akagane.
• At the tavern, the party learns that a man named Aifread is the only one able to cross the raging sandstorm in the desert, and that another Solithian paladin is in town.
• The party visits a temple of Solis and meets Lianata von Himmel, another of Appel’s old classmates. After being forced to team up with Appel to defeat a hydra, she reluctantly apologizes for bullying him in paladin high school.
• The hunt for Aifread leads the party to a secret theater, which is showing a play based on…Blitz’s grandpa?! Their attempts to sneak in go awry when Appel falls into the audience, and the party is forced to duel the cast onstage!
• After winning their duel, and the audience’s approval, the party finally finds Aifread, who turns out to be Eltia’s brother! After making a deal with him, he agrees to take the party through the sandstorm– which was apparently created by his mother.
• On their way out of Sha, the party sees Eltia and Lianata together, but choose not to investigate.
• In the ruins of Soma, the party meets Aifread and Eltia’s mother, the earth spirit Yawalon. She says the Compass piece they’re searching for lies inside her former temple, which has been taken over by “the creature”. If the party can kill the monster, the piece will be theirs.
• Inside the temple, the party quickly gets lost in an endless maze, as the dungeon begins to drive them slowly insane. Eventually, they manage to make it to the inner sanctum and encounter “the creature”: a beholder!
• They defeat the beholder, but Appel’s mind is shattered in the process, leaving him a husk. While investigating the temple’s treasure, they find the Compass piece, and also the body of Georga Sen, who perished here along with most of his adventuring party.
• Upon returning to Yawalon, the party finds out that she’s been killed! Apparently Eltia and Lianata had a deal to try and rob her… but Lianata murdered her instead, and escaped. Eltia and Aifread grapple with the consequences together.
• The party restores Appel’s mind, then heads off in search of another Compass piece…

Tower, the College Town

• The party heads for the city of Tower, after learning that another of the Compass pieces is located at the school of magic, Tower Academy.
• On a tour of the campus, they meet Guy, who placed a curse on Hei as a teenager, Lily, who looks inexplicably identical to Mimi, and Cade, who invites them to a dorm party.
• While shopping for new outfits, they encounter Loretto, an amnesiac student who seems to be from another world. In their efforts to send him home, they inadvertently teach Professor Mercuria Psyne the secrets of Plane Shift– before realizing she’s actually the villainous M.P.
• Unable to stand up against M.P., the party tries to drink their problems away at the party. Cade’s eclectic group of friends seem strangely intent on getting Hei alone with him, and he successfully invites Hei up to his room.
• Hei is trapped in a magic circle, and introduced to Cade’s warlock patron, a mysterious devil intent on possessing Hei’s body. He strikes a deal with them, agreeing to duel for control of his body. On the roof of the tower, the devil possesses Hei’s echo, and the fight begins!
• Meanwhile, downstairs, the rest of the party realizes something is wrong, and begins fighting their way through the partygoing warlocks.
• Hei narrowly wins his 1v1 duel, and manages to restore the devil’s lost memories, revealing that they’re actually Haudi, his missing twin! He takes a level of warlock, reuniting the siblings at long last.
• After recovering, the party finally goes to break into Luminate Tower to retrieve the next Compass piece. After clearing nine floors of puzzles, they reach the top and succeed.
• Hei jumps off the roof of the Tower out of embarrassment over his crush on Guy, then goes to hide in the bushes outside Guy’s classroom covered in blood. Guy is confused.
• With all the wizard shenanigans finally out of the way, the party heads back to Mistport in search of leads on the next piece.

Appelton, the Tiefling Village

• Rin informs the party that the next Compass piece is hidden in Astora’s birthplace, Arnor, a kingdom which has long since fallen into ruin. The closest settlement is Appelton, which happens to be Appel’s hometown.
• The party purchases a used cart to take their road trip to Appelton. The cart dies a fiery death in battle one session later. RIP.
• Blitz notices the party is being watched, but the only sign their observer leaves behind is a mysterious leaf brooch.
• Outside Appelton, the party encounters a bumbling squadron of Solithian soldiers, led by Garf and Yobbo. The squad is in the middle of hunting down the “Hammer Elf”... who apparently looks nothing like Blitz.
• Appel attempts to reconcile with his childhood best friend, Cindy, who he ghosted five years ago. It goes badly. Also, for some reason, Cravyn is hanging out with her.
• The party discovers that Appelton’s “Hammer Elf” is actually Anari’s ex-girlfriend, Yukiko! She’s working together with Cindy and Cravyn to try and free Appelton from Solithian influence. Blitz is not happy about having his identity stolen.
• Anari and Appel attempt to work things out with Yukiko and Cindy, who agree to take their resistance activities elsewhere. Appel comes out as gay for the first time.
• The party meets Veracity, a historian interested in the ancient city of Arnor, and agrees to travel with her. They borrow another cart from Appel’s grandmother and set off into the mountains.

Arnor, the Lost City

• On the outskirts of Arnor, the party finds the ruins of a tower, where it looks like a young girl was once imprisoned.
• Nora finally confesses her true identity to Hei, leaving Appel as the only party member unaware she is the princess.
• The party fights some extremely overpowered mountain goats who seem to have it out for Hei in particular.
• Appel discovers that somehow the entire city is imbued with celestial power, while Veracity urges the party to head to the castle at the center of the city as quickly as possible.
• In the castle courtyard, the party discovers the grave of Legolas’ companions. Inside is a Compass piece, but as soon as Nora retrieves it, Veracity knocks her out and attempts to kidnap her!
• A mysterious masked elf shows up and engages to party in combat, giving Veracity an opening to escape on a giant eagle– but the party shoots it down, forcing her to retreat into the castle.
• Anari and Hei chase after Veracity, who throws Nora down the stairs as a diversion. Nora dies.
• Meanwhile, Blitz manages to break his enemy’s mask, revealing that the mysterious elf is almost certainly his father.
• Anari carries Nora to Blitz, who manages to bring her back to life just in time. Blitz’s dad attempts to escape with Veracity, but Blitz manages to knock him out. Veracity escapes alone, but takes the Compass pieces with her.
• Nora confesses her identity to Appel, who takes it badly.
• Blitz attempts to connect with his father, Huon, and learns that he is a member of The Order of The Seal, an order of monks in service to Solis. Despite this, he despises the goddess. Blitz’s mother apparently once sacrificed herself to Solis, an action which Huon can never forgive.
• Nora vows to fight for herself from now on, and takes a sword from her ancestor’s castle.
• After an extremely awkward cart ride back to Appelton, the party releases Huon, who leaves Blitz with the warning that Solis is only using him.
• The party heads to Tower and attends the disastrous Tower Academy Graduation Ceremony of 1857.

Nova, Mira's Domain

• Rin tells the party that all the Compass pieces are now in Nova. They insist that their best chance to steal them is during a party Mira is throwing for high-ranking Solithians– tomorrow!
• The party gets dressed up, and goes to teleport to Nova with Rin, but only Rin and Appel disappear, leaving the rest of them behind.
• The party manages to get to Nova, but the unstable teleportation leaves them extremely injured. Nevertheless, they dash towards the cathedral in hopes of saving Appel.
• Meanwhile, Appel and Rin enjoy an awkward evening at the party, before Appel is summoned to speak with Mira.
• While waiting for Mira, he learns that Blitz’s mother, Elowen, was once a Heart of Solis.
• Mira tells Appel she’s willing to forgive his past transgressions, if he finds the Sword for her. She even wants to make him more powerful, something Bingus and Lianata apparently already failed at.
• While Appel is being blasted with radiant energy, the rest of the party fights their way past Lianata, now transformed into a horrifying angel-like being. They kill her and reach Appel just as he drops to 0 HP.
• The party is able to save Appel and steal back the Compass, forcing Mira to flee.
• They quickly make their own escape from Nova, aided by a group of mysterious monks attacking the cathedral.
• Shaken by the events in Nova, the party goes to hide out in the abandoned fort where they first met. Outside, Blitz and Appel have a major fight, which culminates in them finally kissing.