Founders of the Chosen
Founders of the Chosen
The Founders were the nine people who established The Chosen, an organization of people possessing the mysterious powers that distinguish the Chosen from ordinary people.
According to the history taught to new members at the Tower of Plinth, the Chosen were founded roughly fifty years before the Under the Bus campaign. The Founders were described as a group of like-minded Chosen who discovered one another as their powers developed and concluded that they could better serve the world by working together. Their stated purpose was to influence events for the betterment of the entire world. By the time the player characters encountered the organization, the Chosen had grown to more than 300 members.
The nine Founders were:
Four of the Founders—Jessenth, Angar, Stegner, and Serianne—were deceased by the beginning of the campaign. Samos had left the Chosen, as had The Traveller, leaving Effron, Eritrea, and Quentin as the three Founders leading the organization during the early Under the Bus campaign.
The Founders and the Early Chosen
The Founders established an organization based around the idea that people with the mysterious Chosen powers could accomplish more by working together than independently.
The Chosen eventually developed several divisions:
- Military Division — defense of the Chosen and assaults against tangible threats.
- History Division — preservation and dissemination of accurate historical knowledge, particularly because much of the world's history had been lost or distorted.
- Exploratory Division — mapping the world and reestablishing connections between peoples separated by the breaking of the world.
- Recruitment Division — finding people who possessed Chosen abilities and bringing them into the organization.
- Political Division — becoming involved in the leadership and government of towns, cities, and nations in order to influence events.
The Chosen themselves did not understand the origin of their additional powers. Their researchers had found no clear pattern explaining why some people possessed them and others did not. Although some powers were shared, individuals tended to develop unique abilities of their own.
The surviving records do not establish which Founder was responsible for creating which division, and the individual Founders' original roles are mostly unknown.
Jessenth (Uncle Jesse)
Jessenth, known to the player characters as Uncle Jesse, was one of the original nine Founders and was deceased before the player characters joined the Chosen.
Jessenth was personally responsible for recruiting the player characters into the Chosen. When the party later encountered Samos in Toreon, they explained that they had been recruited by their uncle Jesse. Samos immediately recognized the name and referred to them as "Jesse's brood," indicating that he knew Jessenth personally and recognized the connection between Jessenth and the new Chosen. Samos also expressed condolences for Jessenth's death.
Jessenth's role went beyond merely recruiting the party. Effron specifically observed that Jessie had trained and outfitted the party well, pointing to their unusual equipment and preparation. Effron regarded the party's connection to Jessenth as a reason they might feel a personal obligation to investigate the events surrounding the Chosen's recent troubles.
The Traveller also knew Jessenth personally. When the party discovered that the mysterious Traveller was one of the Founders, he already knew of Jessenth's death and was saddened by it. He described Jessenth as a good man, possibly one of the best people he had known, and said that he had liked him very much.
Known information
- Original Founder of the Chosen.
- Known to the player characters as Uncle Jesse.
- Recruited the player characters into the Chosen.
- Trained and outfitted the player characters before their formal involvement with the organization.
- Was known personally by Samos and The Traveller.
- Was regarded favorably by The Traveller.
- Was deceased before the player characters joined the Chosen.
Unknown
The surviving sources do not establish Jessenth's race, class, age, individual Chosen powers, precise relationship to the player characters, date or circumstances of his death, or his other activities as a Founder.
Angar
Angar was one of the original nine Founders of the Chosen.
He was already deceased by the beginning of the Under the Bus campaign. The historical account given to the player characters specifically identifies Jessenth, Angar, Stegner, and Serianne as the four deceased Founders.
No surviving campaign material currently establishes Angar's particular responsibilities within the organization, his individual Chosen powers, personality, background, accomplishments, or circumstances of death.
Known information
- Original Founder of the Chosen.
- Deceased by the beginning of the campaign.
Unknown
Essentially everything else about Angar remains undocumented in the surviving Under the Bus material.
Stegner
Stegner was one of the original Founders of the Chosen and one of the organization's foremost experts on the ancient language used by Pythia the Mad Prophet. He worked with Samos to translate the Chosen's copy of Pythia's prophecies and was later credited as one of the scholars who contributed to The Collected Translations of Pythia the Mad Prophet.
The Chosen believed Stegner had died, and he was listed among the four deceased Founders. In reality, Stegner survived and deliberately concealed his survival.
Stegner and Filtiarn
Stegner discovered records concerning Filtiarn and his ancient attempt to ascend to godhood, including information that could be used to facilitate another attempt. He also discovered the plague formula in the flooded ruins of Aegea and deliberately left the information there under the protection of lycanthrope-infected Kuo-Toa. The surviving planning material explicitly identifies him as being behind the rise of the wolves.
Stegner's motivation was tied to Pythia the Mad Prophet's prophecy that a new god would rise from among the Chosen. He believed that he could be the one foretold by the prophecy. Rather than simply restore Filtiarn, Stegner sought to become a new incarnation of Filtiarn, using the ancient god's power and the knowledge he had recovered.
Stegner ultimately became Filtiarn and achieved a partial ascension. He was powerful enough that even Thorn, while wielding the final Gift, could not destroy him. Thorn instead imprisoned him.
Important chronology: Thorn had not yet ascended when he defeated and imprisoned Stegner/Filtiarn. Thorn's own ascension occurred afterward, once the three opposing factions had been defeated.
Known Information
- Original Founder of The Chosen.
- Expert on the language of Pythia the Mad Prophet.
- Helped translate Pythia's prophecies.
- Survived despite being believed dead by the Chosen.
- Discovered the ancient records concerning Filtiarn and his attempted ascension.
- Was behind the renewed werewolf threat.
- Killed Eritrea.
- Believed Pythia's prophecy foretold his own rise to godhood.
- Became Filtiarn and partially ascended.
- Was ultimately defeated and imprisoned by Thorn.
Unknown
His early history with the Founders, exact Chosen abilities, precise method of surviving his supposed death, and much of his personal motivation remain uncertain.
Serianne
Serianne was one of the original nine Founders of the Chosen and was deceased by the beginning of the Under the Bus campaign.
Her most significant surviving connection to the campaign is Demetrius.
Necklace of Chosen Suppression
Serianne gave Demetrius a special necklace shortly before her death.
Demetrius had been working as a Chosen agent undercover in Toreon for several years. While wearing Serianne's necklace, his Chosen aura was suppressed and his Chosen powers were completely suppressed as well. Consequently, other Chosen could not Detect him, and he could not Detect them. This allowed him to operate without being identified as a member of the Chosen.
Demetrius remained undercover for years while serving as one of Quentin's agents. He had not checked in with the Chosen for a couple of years by the time the player characters encountered him, which led the organization to believe that he might have died.
The necklace therefore played a direct role in one of the major Chosen storylines of the campaign: the player characters encountered Demetrius without realizing he was a Chosen, and only discovered his identity when he removed the necklace.
Known information
- Original Founder of the Chosen.
- Deceased before the beginning of the campaign.
- Gave Demetrius the Necklace of Chosen Suppression shortly before her death.
- Was therefore directly involved in establishing and maintaining Demetrius's undercover identity.
Unknown
The surviving material does not establish Serianne's race, class, individual Chosen powers, position within the original Chosen, circumstances of her death, or other known accomplishments.
Samos
Samos was one of the original Founders of the Chosen. By the time of the Under the Bus campaign, he had become the Priest-King of Toreon and its Empire and leader of the Church of Demmazon.
Samos eventually left the Chosen after a fundamental disagreement with the organization's methods.
The official explanation given to new Chosen recruits was that Samos had developed ideas that were considered too extreme and that he had been expelled.
Samos gave a different account when speaking privately with the player characters. He said that the Chosen had been manipulating people without their knowledge, working behind the scenes to make people believe that decisions were their own when the Chosen were actually influencing them. Samos regarded this as deceptive and believed the Chosen should be more open about who they were and what they were doing.
When the other Founders rejected his position, Samos left the organization and took followers who agreed with him.
Samos retained substantial knowledge of the Chosen and their powers. He recognized Effron's tracking connection to Tim, could identify the player characters as Chosen, and could teach them additional techniques for developing and concealing their powers.
His later history is documented separately in Samos.
The Traveller
The Traveler was one of the original Founders.
Unlike Samos, he did not leave the Chosen because of an ideological disagreement. He explained that he left simply because it was not in his nature to remain in one place for very long.
The Traveller retained a friendly relationship with the Chosen and continued to interact with its members after leaving. He knew of Jessenth's death and was saddened by it, and he also expressed sadness when the player characters told him of Effron's death. He considered Jessenth an especially good man and said Effron had always had good intentions, although he did not speak of Effron with the same level of praise.
The Traveller also possessed considerable knowledge of the Chosen and their powers. He taught the player characters how to suppress their Chosen aura through concentration so that other Chosen would have difficulty detecting them. When he demonstrated the technique, the party discovered that he had previously been suppressing his own aura. His actual Chosen aura was overwhelming in strength rather than moderate.
During their conversation, he made an enigmatic statement about the plague being extremely old and the answers lying far in the past. Tim concluded from the Traveller's behavior that he may have been using some form of prophetic Chosen power, although this was the player's inference rather than a confirmed mechanical description.
The Traveller also had a major role in the establishment of the Tower of Plinth. The fortress inside the mountain had originally belonged to Correries and his allies during the Age of Wonders. It was later abandoned and forgotten until the Traveller discovered it and offered it as a headquarters for the Chosen when the organization was formed.
His broader history is documented separately in The Traveler.
Effron
Effron was one of the original Founders and one of the principal leaders of the Chosen during the early Under the Bus campaign.
He served as the party's primary introduction to the organization after they reached the Tower of Plinth. He was responsible for evaluating them, initiating them, and beginning their training.
Recruitment and training
Effron initially challenged the party to a game of Battle Chess. Although the party lost, he explained that the game was not actually their test; he simply enjoyed the game and was always interested in worthy opponents.
The real test involved selecting a party leader. After Nate was chosen, Effron guided the party through their first attempt to consciously access their Chosen abilities. He manifested himself as a flame to give them a focal point and taught them to sense other Chosen. This ability became the foundation of the party's Detect Chosen ability.
After the initiation, Effron showed the party around the Tower of Plinth and explained its history.
He awarded each new member a Badge of the Chosen, a crystal brooch made from the laser-absorbing crystals found beneath the fortress. The badges could absorb attacks from laser weapons, subject to the limitations described at the time. The initiation ceremony also placed new members under a magical oath preventing them from revealing the location of the Tower of Plinth or other information designated as Chosen-only.
Tower of Plinth
Effron was deeply involved in the construction and development of the Tower of Plinth. When the player characters first met him, construction of the fortress inside the mountain had been underway for nearly a year.
The fortress had originally belonged to Correries and his allies before their ascension to godhood. It had later been controlled by Ulanthar, captured by adventurers including Otheron, used as a staging ground by allies of the future gods, abandoned, and eventually rediscovered by The Traveller. The Traveller offered it to the Chosen as their headquarters when the organization was founded.
Effron personally gave the party a tour of the fortress and introduced them to the organization's facilities.
Pythia
Effron was also involved in preserving and teaching the Chosen's knowledge of Pythia the Mad Prophet.
He personally introduced the party to the guarded collection of Pythia's writings at the Tower and explained several of the prophecies preserved there. The Chosen considered these writings sufficiently important to keep them in a protected chamber.
Tracking connection to Tim
Effron possessed a Chosen power that allowed him to establish a connection between the Chosen scrying pool and a person he designated.
When he made Tim the party leader, he used this power on Tim. Chosen using the scrying pool could subsequently observe Tim, and the connection allowed two-way communication if Tim concentrated on the sensor.
Effron normally explained this ability to newly dispatched groups before their first mission away from the Tower, but he died before he could explain it to the party. The resulting unexplained scrying caused the party to believe that someone was secretly watching them.
Death
Effron was killed when the Tower of Plinth was attacked by the creatures responsible for the werewolf threat. Dozens of Chosen and an even larger number of laborers were killed in the assault. The attackers subsequently fled south.
After Effron's death, Quentin became the last Founder remaining at the Tower of Plinth.
The Traveller learned of Effron's death only later. He was saddened by the news and said that although he did not have a great deal of praise for Effron, Effron had always had good intentions.
Known information
- Original Founder of the Chosen.
- Senior leader of the organization.
- Personally recruited, initiated, and trained the player characters.
- Taught the party their initial ability to Detect Chosen.
- Was heavily involved with the Tower of Plinth.
- Introduced the party to the Chosen's historical records and Pythia's prophecies.
- Possessed a Chosen power allowing a scrying-pool connection to a designated individual.
- Established that connection with Tim.
- Died during the attack on the Tower of Plinth.
Eritrea
Eritrea was one of the original Founders and served as Master of the Chosen's recruitment division.
She was also captain of the Sunchaser.
Eritrea was the last Founder encountered by the player characters before the deaths of the remaining Founders. Her individual history, including her role in the Chosen, the Sunchaser, the Trondhammen campaign, the Aegea expedition, and her death, is documented separately in Eritrea.
Quentin
Quentin was one of the original Founders and headed the Chosen's political division.
The political division's purpose was to become involved in the leadership and government of towns, cities, and nations in order to influence their decisions.
After Effron's death, Quentin became the last Founder of the Chosen in residence at the Tower of Plinth. He took responsibility for leading the organization through the escalating werewolf crisis and worked closely with the player characters.
Leadership during the later campaign
Quentin was responsible for coordinating the Chosen response to the growing plague and werewolf threat. When the party returned from its southern expedition, they reported their findings to him, including the ceramic disk containing the ancient plague formula. Quentin consulted the Chosen's historians and researchers to determine what could be learned from it.
Later, after Eritrea and the Sunchaser's crew were killed, Quentin was explicitly described as the last remaining Founder.
By this point, age had taken a substantial toll on him. He was described as particularly frail and recognized that he could no longer provide the same sort of battlefield leadership that the Chosen required. He therefore decided that the organization's leadership needed to be strengthened.
Quentin promoted Tim and Marcus to Senior Chosen, a position explicitly described as equivalent to being a Founder, although neither had actually founded the organization. He also appointed Tashiro Sunshine Eastforest as the new captain of the Sunchaser.
Mentoring Marcus
Quentin subsequently became an important mentor to Marcus.
As Quentin became too old to lead the Chosen in battle, Marcus assumed a major battlefield leadership role. When they were not fighting, Quentin taught Marcus the subtleties of diplomacy and politics. Marcus also spent considerable time at the Tower training new Chosen recruits in combat.
This represents an important transition in Chosen leadership: the last surviving Founder was deliberately preparing a younger generation to carry the organization forward.
Known information
- Original Founder of the Chosen.
- Head of the political division.
- Last Founder remaining at the Tower after Effron's death.
- Investigated the plague and ceramic disk with the Chosen's researchers.
- Led the Chosen during the later werewolf crisis.
- Became physically frail with age.
- Mentored Marcus in diplomacy and politics.
- Promoted Tim and Marcus to Senior Chosen, equivalent to Founder status.
- Was still alive during the later Under the Bus material.
Fate of the Founders
The surviving campaign material gives a fairly clear picture of the Founders' gradual disappearance from the Chosen.
At the beginning of the campaign, the nine original Founders had already divided into three broad groups:
Deceased
Former members
- Samos — left after disagreements over the Chosen's use of political manipulation and secrecy.
- The Traveler — left because he did not remain in one place for long.
Active Founders
This left Effron, Eritrea, and Quentin as the organization's remaining Founder leadership.
Effron was subsequently killed in the attack on the Tower of Plinth. Eritrea later died during the events surrounding the werewolf attacks. Quentin consequently became the last surviving Founder.
Quentin recognized that the Chosen could not depend indefinitely upon a single aging Founder and promoted Tim and Marcus to Senior Chosen, explicitly making their status equivalent to that of a Founder.
This marked the effective end of the Founders' era within the Chosen, even though the organization itself continued.
Historical Significance
The Founders were responsible for transforming a collection of individuals with mysterious supernatural abilities into an organized institution. Their most important legacy was therefore not necessarily their individual accomplishments, most of which are poorly preserved, but the creation of the Chosen as an organization.
The surviving Under the Bus records preserve very different legacies for the individual Founders:
- Jessenth is remembered through the people he personally recruited and trained.
- Angar is remembered almost exclusively as one of the original Founders.
- Stegner is associated with historical scholarship and Pythia, but he later played the main role in the werewolf plot.
- Serianne is remembered through her role in providing Demetrius with the means to operate undercover.
- Samos became a powerful political and religious leader after leaving the Chosen.
- The Traveller remained an independent wanderer while retaining considerable knowledge of the Chosen.
- Effron became one of the organization's principal early leaders and directly trained a new generation of Chosen.
- Eritrea led recruitment and commanded the Sunchaser.
- Quentin ultimately became the last surviving Founder and oversaw the transition to a new generation of leadership.
By the end of the surviving Under the Bus material, the original nine Founders had effectively passed from leadership. Their organization survived them, but its continued existence increasingly depended on people who had not been present at its founding.
Source Notes
The primary surviving description of the Founders comes from the party's introduction to the Chosen at the Tower of Plinth. That source states that the organization was founded approximately fifty years earlier by nine like-minded Chosen and identifies the nine Founders by name.
Individual Founder information is scattered throughout the Under the Bus campaign recaps, adventure planning documents, and later campaign notes. Where those sources conflict—particularly concerning Stegner—the conflict is preserved rather than resolved.
