| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Darth_Sentinel |
Posted - 14 May 2013 : 19:58:50
Hi all!
I'm running a 3E campaign with the Pathfinder ruleset at 1372DR centered on Cormyr, specifically really close to Arabel, northern Cormyr.
I want to add some Netheril ancient things like some scrolls, books and artefacts.
Trouble is, I'm reading the history from "Netheril: Empire of Magic" and I can't figure out if the Netheril empire went all the way south to the Sea of Fallen Stars or if it was located only on present Anauroch land.
Do you have any idea what was the extension from the Netheril empire, around the Silver or the Golden age, before Karsus, after Ioulaum?
Thanks! |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Markustay |
Posted - 17 May 2013 : 14:28:41
And also don't forget the number one reason mages often go after 'lesser' mages - to keep stuff out of tother people's hands. The Chardalyn may not have been all that great to the all-powerful Netherese, but it would have allowed others to use the stuff against them (the spell-absorbing properties especially).
And then we have the fact that the archwizards all had their own agendas. It could have just been one or several Enclaves that sent troops out for these things, and the rest could have not cared a wit. When dealing with the Netherese, we have the tendency to read something as 'all of them', and in the case of the Netherese the opposite is usually the case. The Archwizards each created their OWN flying cities because they couldn't stand listening to the others.
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
As I recall, a chardalyn just holds a single spell, and only until the gem is shattered.
Well, my idea was to combine the old Ed-lore with the chardalyn stuff, so we didn't have two different gemstones with very similar attributes. The other problem is that the name itself - Glowstone - was commandeered for a fairly common magical item with different properties.
On the other hand, IIRC, the Dwarven Glowstones were not natural - they were manufactured somehow. They may have been a type of 'artificial Chardalyn' (improved?) that the dwarves developed using their own Rune Magic.
I guess all of this is fixable, with a little added lore. The Dwarven Glowstones could have been the 'Cubic Zirconia' version of Chardalyn, and the modern glowstones could be a slimmed-down (reduce in function) version of the dwarven ones. I think the dwarven ones could also explode, which means they were unstable, which gives us a good reason why they may have changed them (and made them less powerful in 3e). I could be misremembering that last bit, getting it confused with something else.  |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 17 May 2013 : 11:37:57
quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal
That's one thing I never really understood about the chardalyns. The Sarrukh and through the terraseer's influence the Netherese went nuts for Chardalyns. Wasting massive effort to recover caches of these stones which don't really seem to me that much better than a potion or a wand.
Maybe the stone required no gold or xp expenditure to imbue it with the spell, but that still doesn't warrant the entire army sent to Old Owl Well in order to recover a few magic rocks.
Does anyone know something about them that I missed?
Was there a master plan involving these stones that I haven't read about yet?
You look at the cost of 9th level spell scrolls (lets say averaging at 4000 gp)? Now make it use activated and you're talking 8000 gp. Then factor in that the Netherese had access to spells above 9th lvl, and factor in that you can create these items without the scribe scroll feat. Also factor in that they have a good chance of absorbing an incoming spell cast at the holder and they make a good defensive item in Netheril. Even non-mages may like them for that. |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 17 May 2013 : 01:50:10
Have a look at Dungeon #88 and the adventure "The Door from Everywhere".
-- George Krashos
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| Eilserus |
Posted - 17 May 2013 : 01:32:45
I think Tempest Valley in northern Cormyr would make a good area for some Netherese ruins. Any one know the story behind the naming of that valley by the way? I'm guessing storm giants, but I'm rather fancying something with Talos myself. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 16 May 2013 : 20:28:58
Natural chardalyn stones can absorb, store, and later discharge any spell directed at them. I think Netherese archwizards would be very interested in anything which could augment their spellcasting power ... or worse, anything which could counter it. Imagine how powerless Netheril would be vs their enemies (orc hordes, elven strike teams, dwarven trade unions) if each enemy carried a number of chardalyns on his person. Imagine the advantage Netheril would gain against foes like the phaerimm if they could negate spells used against them and subsequently study or deploy them at their leisure.
And what Netherese archwizard wouldn't be interested in multiplying his spell array or mass-producing charged magical receptacles for his armies? |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 16 May 2013 : 20:04:22
That's one thing I never really understood about the chardalyns. The Sarrukh and through the terraseer's influence the Netherese went nuts for Chardalyns. Wasting massive effort to recover caches of these stones which don't really seem to me that much better than a potion or a wand.
Maybe the stone required no gold or xp expenditure to imbue it with the spell, but that still doesn't warrant the entire army sent to Old Owl Well in order to recover a few magic rocks.
Does anyone know something about them that I missed?
Was there a master plan involving these stones that I haven't read about yet? |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 16 May 2013 : 18:19:22
As I recall, a chardalyn just holds a single spell, and only until the gem is shattered. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 16 May 2013 : 15:42:07
I don't think it would have any power at all outside of a Mythallar, unless it was some form of new, hybrid type of item.
Given that many Netherese Wizards (not the Archwizards) did business outside the cities, and often had to travel to remote locations means that they should have had some non-psuedomagical devices at their disposal. I would imagine a few hybrid items would have been developed, like a psuedo-magical device with a 'battery pack' (gemstone?) that could be tapped when outside the Mythallar.
I believe there are some stones mentioned in Dwarves Deep that would work perfectly (and that could be a Dwarven/Edwardian name for what we now know as Chardalyn, especially since the term 'Glowstone' now refers to something a little different). |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 15 May 2013 : 23:14:33
Aw, nobody likes the idea of (re)enchanting a dormant quasimagical item? A character basically gets a magical item which, in effect, becomes a more powerful magical item within the radius of an active mythallar. In practice this basically means items used by or against the Shadovar would become most potent when used near their cities. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 15 May 2013 : 22:38:13
Yup - the southern portion of Netheril (a region I assume fell-out within the former Realm of Thaeravel, the land of Alabaster Towers) went as far as the Stonelands, which is also part of northern Cormyr, theoretically. That's where you'll find the overlap. The Stonelands should have various Netherese ruins (IIRC, at least one was mentioned in the Spellfire novels).
From a (not so) purely homebrew PoV, the village of Collinwood (originally Colin's Wood) has a small keep on a hilltop... a keep which has one corner tower made of alabaster. What nearly no-one knows is that the tower survived the destruction of Thaeravel, being on the frontier and well hidden within the depths of the Dragonwood - the forest that once covered ALL of Cormyr. The same family has held the keep since before the first Obarskyr sat his throne, and they are considered one of Cormyr's 'secret weapons'. The village itself made it into canon, the rest is still part of my original. Make of t what you will. |
| Darkmeer |
Posted - 15 May 2013 : 22:00:00
So, using Markustay's Stonelands map (which includes northern Cormyr), I suggest the following, all along the Eastern Stormhornts:
North of Castle Kilgrave along the mountains or in the foothills surrounding them, within the Redwoods proper, or within the Helmlands.
There are soooo many options it's almost baffling. It depends on how far away you want to get, with the Redwoods/Castle Kilgrave within about 50 miles or so, while the destinations from there would be within about 30 or so. This allows you to stay near arabel proper, but still go out for adventuring.
Also, if I recall correctly (although I could be wrong). , that the Stormhorns is also home to at least one Aerie for Avariels (possible, but not cannon to my knowledge) and/or Aarakocra (certainly, per Races of Faerun), which could be quite fun to toy with, especially if part of the reason they are there is that they are either guarding or being guarded by said artifact.
Hope this helps. |
| Gary Dallison |
Posted - 15 May 2013 : 20:36:39
I believe the Netherese diaspora of it's fall spread the survivors (and what scrolls, books and artifacts they could carry) across Faerun, so as has been said, the items could be anywhere you want |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 14 May 2013 : 23:17:27
Netherese artifacts could be scattered anywhere from here to Halruaa. I suppose there wouldn't be a large number of actual magical items, but now-dormant quasimagical items were as commonplace to the Netherese - and all the peoples they traded or interacted with - as equivalent techno gizmos would be to everybody in our modern society. Quasimagical items are similar to magical items proper in terms of physical construction; that is, they would always be the purest and most refined materials of the finest quality worked by master craftsmen ... such exquisite quality is usually a treasure in its own right and encourages the possibility of such items being preserved, collected, hoarded, and even perhaps reenchanted. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 May 2013 : 21:06:12
Most of the Netherese enclaves stayed in Netheril proper, but we know some went further afield -- two crashed in the Sea of Fallen Stars, and there is rumored to be one in Firedrake Bay, in Tethyr. With their ability to go just about anywhere, you can conceivably drop Netherese artifacts or ruins wherever convenient. |
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