It was the dawn of a golden age. Peace fell across the world and unprecedented advances in science and technology were made.

And then, one day, the sun didn't rise.

It didn't rise the next day, or the day after. Darkness fell across the world and remained there. People tried everything - prayer, magical rituals. Travelling beyond the plane in the hopes that Inferno or the Astral Sea might hold an answer. While some temporary, local fixes have been put in place, nothing has worked to bring the sun back.

It's been dark for nearly a year now. Across the world, the biggest immediate problem has been a shortage of food. Without the light of day, plant life across the world has suffered dramatically - and with it, the creatures that rely on those plants for food. Creatures of all kinds are starving, and experts agree that this is only the very start of the ecological disaster.

Sapient civilisations have adapted, to varying degrees of success. Dwarves and other races who dwell underground have weathered the change relatively well. Large population centres have mostly found themselves relying on magical means of producing food, with the majority of clerics finding themselves pushed quickly into creating food and, in some cases, artificial daylight. The magically advanced nations around the Ribbonsea have looked to technology for solutions, quickly manufacturing 'sunlights' that can be used in high intensity farming. Still, it is very clear that there is not enough food in the majority of the world.

And as everyone knows, hungry people are dangerous people. War is brewing in the north, and there are persistent murmurs that the Drow civilisations, viewing the endless night as a blessing from Lelya, are planning to make a move on the surface civilisations. Surface dwellers, in turn, feel as though the gods have abandoned them, and are turning increasingly to unorthodox forms of religion.

In the midst of all of this, you find yourself on the Broken Isle. Formerly home to a powerful magical civilisation, successive arcane disasters have rendered it a cold and barren wasteland. However, the arcane history and legends of ruins have rendered it a point of fascination for the magical community for centuries. With the world in a tailspin, the International Arcane Council (IAC) are looking to Brekan for a solution.

What secrets lie beneath the charred and frozen surface of the land? What motives stir its leaders to action? What's happened to the sun? Will you find out - or will you die in the process?

The Broken Dale is a campaign for the Apogee of Ages setting drawing on the 5e Adventure, Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. Similar to ROTFM, Broken Dale is a low-mid level adventure set in a desolate and horrifying waste. Some of the themes - of isolation, darkness and fear - are similar, but the campaign will also explore some of its own themes.

This campaign is significantly darker and edgier than the majority of games in the AoA setting, and some elements of the setting have been changed to reflect that. Although characters are unlikely to experience these directly, homophobia, gender-based discrimination, serious mental health issues, domestic abuse and sexual assault are all things which exist in setting. If any of these is an issue for you, I'm absolutely open to talking, but there's a chance this may not be that campaign for you (don't worry, I plan to run many more campaigns in the future!)