Campaign Overview

This page explains what this wiki is, how it is organized, and how to maintain it as the campaign progresses. For live status (party level, current hook, session list), see the Current campaign state section on the Main Page.

What this wiki is

A working game-master reference for running Princes of the Apocalypse in the Dessarin Valley. It combines:

Official source material — the published module, D&D Beyond references, and chapter text.
A living table layer — session recaps, prep plans, player-character dossiers, and homebrew that has diverged from the book.

The adventure pits a small party against four Elemental Evil cults (air, earth, fire, water) whose prophets seek to unleash destruction through the temples beneath Tyar-Besil. Five major Factions (Harpers, Emerald Enclave, Lords' Alliance, Order of the Gauntlet, Zhentarim) compete for the party's loyalty along the way.

Two layers: canon vs. this campaign

Layer	Meaning	Where it lives
Canon	The module as written — intended plot order, published NPC roles, recommended level for each site.	Module Chapters, cult/faction/location reference pages tagged as book content.
This Campaign	What has actually happened at our table — including off-book choices and reconstructed early notes.	Sessions recaps, Player Characters, tagged homebrew pages.

Tagging rules (use these consistently):

[HOMEBREW]	Table-created or heavily altered content (e.g. Feathergale return assault, Ilmeth amnesia mystery).
[DM-INSERTED]	Deliberate DM additions that aren't in the book (e.g. traveling Zhentarim agent Davron Maerl).

When canon and table history conflict, session recaps win for *what happened*; module chapters win for *what the book says should happen*.

Site map

Each major section has an index page (create these as you migrate content from the vault):

Wiki section	Contents
Player Characters	Genericus Maximus, Kiara, Togar — stats, hooks, relationships, session developments.
Sessions	Prep plans and table recaps; source of truth for updating everything else.
NPC Index	Every named NPC + consolidated cultist/monster stat references.
Locations Index	Regions, towns, Haunted Keeps, temples, nodes, side treks.
Factions	Five major organizations + Minor Factions (cult fronts, regional powers).
Cults	Four Elemental Evil cults — prophets, weapons, tactics, symbols.
Items	Magic items, elemental weapons, relics, loot ledger by location.
Maps	DM-keyed and player/unkeyed map images.
Module Chapters	Raw chapter reference text (Chapters 1–7, Appendix).

Suggested page structure for entities

NPCs — one page per named character (e.g. Kaylessa Irkell).
Locations — hub page per place (e.g. Red Larch) with subpages for shops/sites as needed.
Sessions — one page per session with subpages or sections for Plan / Notes / Encounters if prep is heavy (see Session 06 - Back on Track as the model).

Workflow: prep → play → reconcile

This is the maintenance loop the whole wiki is built around.

1. Prep

Create or open the session's plan page (copy Session Template structure when available).
Mine Player Characters for personalized hooks.
Cross-read relevant NPCs, locations, and Factions pages.
Heavy prep (like Session 06) may add: run-sheet, encounter scaling, cast list — all linked from the session hub page.

2. Play

Run the game. Capture decisions, combat outcomes, and NPC interactions in the session notes page during or immediately after the session.

3. Reconcile

Each session recap should end with a Canon Updates to Apply checklist. Work through it:

Update NPC pages (new allies, deaths, revealed secrets).
Update location pages (discovered sites, changed control).
Update Factions / Cults (standing, intel gained).
Update Items (loot taken, consumables spent).
Update Player Characters (developments, debts, level-ups).
Tick checklist items off when done.

Rule of thumb: if it isn't in a session recap yet, it isn't table canon — even if it's in the module.

Conventions

Linking

Cross-link liberally between people, places, and plot threads — navigation is the wiki's main value.
Use descriptive page titles: `Kaylessa Irkell`, not `NPC/Kaylessa_Irkell.md`.
Link the first mention on a page; repeat links only when it aids navigation.

NPC pages

Named NPCs get their own page (shopkeepers, guards, villains — no matter how minor).
Generic groups (bandits, unnamed villagers, rank-and-file cultists) live on consolidated stat/reference pages (e.g. Crushing Wave Cultists, Generic NPCs).

Player characters

One page per PC. Mechanical stats sync from D&D Beyond; narrative sections (backstory, relationships, DM hooks) are maintained by hand.
See Player Characters for the roster and active hooks.

Maps

Pair DM (keyed) and Player (unkeyed) versions where both exist.
Link maps from session prep and location pages.

This table: setting & status

The Dessarin Valley

The campaign is centered on the Dessarin Valley and towns like Red Larch, with hooks radiating to Beliard, Womford, the four Haunted Keeps, and eventually the temples of Tyar-Besil. The party's stated goal: find the missing Mirabar delegation and learn about the cultists.

Party (level 4)

PC	Player	Summary
Genericus Maximus	Caleb	LE Champion fighter; noble; frontline tank; Ewan debt; Zhentarim angle.
Kiara	Ryun	CG Wild Magic sorcerer; Sage; grudge vs. Genericus; fragile blaster.
Togar	Carter	NG Land (Mountain) druid; astronomer-scholar; Enclave fit; nonlethal instincts.

Major divergences from the book

Early Feathergale clear [HOMEBREW impact]	Party stormed Feathergale Spire at level 3–4 (book expects ~level 3, but they skipped delegation breadcrumbs). Ewan McFeathernuttz survived and rebuilt the spire → Reckoning of Red Larch homebrew arc.
Sessions 01–05 reconstructed	Original notebook lost; early recaps rebuilt from memory (see NOTE SETUP for the intake record).
Ilmeth amnesia [HOMEBREW]	Session 02 hunting-cabin rescue — ties to Believers / Tomb of Moving Stones thread (deferred).
Current rail	Session 06 prep steers back to the Missing Delegation → Rivergard Keep (water cult, level-appropriate next dungeon).

Canonical level guide (don't fight this)

Feathergale Spire	3 (cleared early)
Rivergard Keep	4 ← next
Sacred Stone Monastery	5 (delegates held here)
Scarlet Moon Hall	6

Reference: the four cults (canon summary)

See Cults for full detail. Quick reference:

Cult of the Howling Hatred	Air	Aerisi Kalinoth	Feathergale Spire
Cult of the Black Earth	Earth	Marlos Urnrayle	Sacred Stone Monastery
Cult of the Eternal Flame	Fire	Vanifer	Scarlet Moon Hall
Cult of the Crushing Wave	Water	Olhydra's prophet	Rivergard Keep

All four serve the Elder Elemental Eye — their symbols combine into a fifth sigil (see Cults#The Combined Symbol).

Reference: the five factions

See Factions for renown, contacts, and methods. Party-relevant hooks:

Emerald Enclave	Haeleeya Hanadroum	Togar — elemental corruption
The Harpers	Endrith Vallivoe	Kiara — books, Bruldenthar, cult lore
The Zhentarim	Davron Maerl [DM-INSERTED]	Genericus Maximus — profit, ambition
Order of the Gauntlet	Imdarr Relvaunder	Anyone — smite-the-cults mandate
Lords' Alliance	(no fixed RL contact)	Trade / delegation politics

Maintenance notes (DM)

These tools live in the markdown vault; mirror key outputs here as wiki pages when useful:

D&D Beyond PC sync — roster in `dndbeyond-roster.json`; updates mechanical blocks on PC pages.
Chapter deep-dive playbook — procedure for extracting NPC/location/faction records from each module chapter into wiki-ready pages.
NOTE SETUP — historical intake form used to reconstruct Sessions 01–05 after the original notebook was lost.