| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| jordanz |
Posted - 03 Jun 2013 : 22:23:29
Or would that seem totally out of character for him?
It seems like most archmages is the realms have at one time played the role of a mentor or for the less "goodly" inclined master...
Larloch is so powerful that another archmage could easily fill that role.
Yes I know he already has dozens of liches (and other powerful undead) under him, but I tend to think they are little more than slaves.
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dennis |
Posted - 22 Jun 2013 : 12:32:19
I believe Richard intended to have Szass Tam establishing an exclusive spa for the undead as the plot of the trilogy. But who would read such a thing? |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 20 Jun 2013 : 14:15:07
The ritual makes no sense. To unmake creation!!? Oh give me a break. Cause world destruction? Fair enough. Challenge a god? Pushing it but it has been done. Unmake the whole of creation.......erm, new plot idea please. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 20 Jun 2013 : 12:25:02
It was working in the sense that it was able to gather a considerable amount of (potentially destructive) magic of yet unknown nature. But whether it works exactly as Szass Tam intends it to still remains a question. |
| strafer |
Posted - 20 Jun 2013 : 08:59:54
quote:
Originally posted by Mirtek
I prefer to think that he knew that the ritual simply could never achieve what it advertised.
The ritual was simply to easy to be as ridiculously effective as it was supposed to do.
Unmake the whole creation, world, planes, greater powers and all just like this and turning the caster in the overgod of the new creation?
If it was that ludicrously easy, than Shar seems like an utter failure for never getting anything like this done.
So Larloch knew that Szass would blow up a sizeable chunk of land, but since he was not there and nothing he cared for was there, he didn't care
This makes sense. It's just too easy, too powerful for there to not have been more nihilistic and more powerful creatures over over the years to have tried.
SPOILER
With Bane's appearance it would seem like he'd have investigated why Tam was willing to sell his soul to serve him just for momentary gain. Maybe Tam is a lot more powerful than he appears though. He did hold Bane against his will for a moment.
Maybe the ritual was exaggerated but it did appear to be working before it was halted. |
| Chosen of Asmodeus |
Posted - 16 Jun 2013 : 22:20:18
As to the original question of whether or not Larloch would take on a student; the answer depends on the needs of a given writer/dm. If you want it to happen, there's plenty of ways to justify it; the potential student impresses him or otherwise piques his interest in some way, it's part of a greater scheme on his part, or he's just bored.
If you don't want it to happen there's an equal number of ways to justify not allowing it.
One of the great things about Larloch is that we know so little about him and his motives that he can do anything a given DM or story teller wants him to do. I think he's the victim of writers keeping him so shadowy and mysterious; players and writers feel that since the novelists can't or don't use him, they shouldn't, either. Maybe they're daunted by the informed complexity of Larloch's schemes, maybe they're not comfortable npc'ing a character who's personality they don't know well, maybe they're worried that the writers are saving Larloch for something big down the line and don't want to use him until that comes to light. Whatever the case, Larloch is one of the great untouchables and it seems no one wants to have him do anything but hang out in the Warlock's Crypt working on that portal network that he'll never finish within our lifetimes.
I have to imagine that this is contrary to developer intentions; that they don't use Larloch specifically so we can; that his motives are left mysterious so we can fill in those blanks ourselves and use him in whatever way suits the needs of our campaign or the story we're trying to write. |
| Xar Zarath |
Posted - 15 Jun 2013 : 04:43:09
I think that as far as the discussion of whether Szass Tam will do the ritual and become a god or Larloch having something to do with it, none of them are as powerful as the WOTC developers, who will remake 5e with epic spells to suit their tastes... |
| Dennis |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 15:01:51
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Since I haven't read the series (its now on my to-do list, since meeting Mr. Byers at Gencon and seeing for myself he did not have horns, and was quite the perfect gentleman), can you fill me in on what, precisely, the ritual was supposed to do?
Why would Szass Tam want to 'un-do' the world? Thats sounds a bit too much like the Thomas Covenant series 'Ritual of Desecration' (which I also never understood - Kevin Landwaster was depressed so he figured he'd just destroy/kill EVERYTHING?) Since when has Szass Tam become a follower of Entropy (which is an aspect of Shar in FR)?
I'm just not getting this whole 'Dread Ring' thing. 
I’m away from my library right now, but later, I’ll quote the exact scene where Szass Tam explained to Malark Springhill why he so wanted to be a god, why he “desecrated” all of Thay just to erect the Dread Rings. But the gist is this: Szass Tam sees “rot” in all things, making everything imperfect, including his current condition (undead). He wishes to “cleanse” the world—the reality at large—of such filth, to make it perfect as only he and he alone sees fit. He will destroy and remake the worlds, erasing the gods from the picture. Only by becoming an overgod—or whatever else is higher to that—will he able to do so. And he firmly believes that the Ritual of Unmaking will help him accomplish that. (Malark on the other hand, believes that an imperfect being [such as Szass Tam himself] cannot hope to make anything perfect.)
All right, MT, as promised. Some lines are spoilers, by the way, but they explain exactly what the Dread Rings are.
References to the Dread Rings
quote:
The following is lifted from pages 30 to 31 of Unholy:
“Yes. Dread Rings, the people call them. Mirror and I have seen a couple, and they look exactly like this.” Bareris opened the book and held it out for Aoth to examine. On the exposed pages, Druxus had sketched a black, circular structure with spires rising above the walls in a jagged, asymmetrical pattern.
Aoth realized that at some point and for some reason, the discussion had stopped seeming as ludicrous as it should. He swallowed away a dryness in his throat. “But still, the fundamental idea . . . it’s just not possible.”
“Fastrin,” Mirror said, “was as great a mage as any you have known. And he took this threat so seriously that it unhinged him and drove him to commit unspeakable crimes.”
“I don’t say the untried magic would achieve the promised result,” Bareris said. “I have no way of knowing. Even if I got a look at Fastrin’s book itself, I don’t have the understanding of wizardry it would take to evaluate the contents. But based on what Druxus wrote and Szass Tarn’s manifest interest, I do believe the rite will do something. If it merely unleashes another cataclysm like the Spellplague, that’s bad enough, wouldn’t you say?”
“I guess,” said Aoth. “But it’s hard to believe that even Szass Tam would dare so reckless a gamble.”
“Hard, perhaps, but impossible? You knew him, first as one of your masters and then as your enemy. You have experience of his limitless self-assurance, the grandiosity of his vision, and his ruthlessness. And I tell you again: he’s built the rings. The last one was nearly finished when Mirror and I slipped out of Thay. It may be completed by now.”
quote:
The following is lifted from pages 49 to 50 of Unholy:
“Maybe we don’t have to retake Thay,” Samas said. “The so-called ‘Dread Rings’ define a mystic pattern with the Citadel, where Szass Tam will perform the conjuration, at the center. And we can assume that, gigantic though it is, it’s like any pentacle. Break any part of it, and the whole becomes useless. So all we need to do is seize a single fortress, neutralize its arcane properties with our own countermagic, and that will make the ritual impossible.” He smiled smugly, and Lauzoril surmised that he’d enjoyed playing schoolmaster to the woman who so often mocked and fleered at him.
“Interesting,” Lallara said. “I assume this is Captain Fezim’s idea that you’re passing along to us.”
quote:
The following is lifted from pages 67 to 69 of Unholy:
The huge keep at the center of the Citadel had a round, flat roof. The wind flapping his scarlet robes, Szass Tam floated some distance above it. The elevation afforded him a good view of both the city spread out below him and the peaks of the Thaymount beyond. And, his sight sharpened by magic, he looked for the flaws in everything he beheld.
It was easiest to find them in people, ugly in body with their legs too long or too short, their wobbling, sagging flab, their moles, rotting teeth, and general lack of grace. Ugly in spirit, too, squabbling, cheating, every word and deed arising from petty lusts and resentments. And even the few who could lay some claim to comeliness of person and clarity of mind carried the seeds of disease and decrepitude, senescence and death.
The peoples’ creations were simply their own failings writ large. Some of the buildings in the city were filthy hovels, and even the finer ones often offended against symmetry and proportion or, in their ostentation, betrayed the vanity and vulgarity of their owners. All would one day crumble just as surely as their makers.
It was perhaps a bit more challenging to perceive rhe imperfections in the mountains, snow capped except for the fuming cones with fire and lava at their cores. Indeed, another observer might have deemed them majestic. But Szass Tam took note of the gaping wounds that were gold mines, and the castles perched on one crag or another. Men had marred this piece of nature, and even had it been otherwise, what was nature, anyway? An arena of endless misery where animals starved, killed, and ate one another, and, if they overcame every other obstacle to their survival, grew old and died, just like humanity. As they always would, until the mountains too wore away to dust.
Szass Tam turned his regard on himself. Except for his withered hands, he might look like a living man, and, with his lean frame, keen, intellectual features, and neat black goatee, a reasonably handsome one at that. But he acknowledged the underlying reality of his fetid breath, silent heart, and cold, leathery flesh suffused with poison. The idiot priests were right about one thing: Undeath was an abomination. He was an abomination, or at least his physical form was. He could scarcely wait for the moment when he would replace it.
A compactly built man in maroon and scarlet clothing climbed the steps to the rooftop. He had light green eyes and a wine red birthmark on his chin. In his altered state of consciousness, Szass Tam needed a moment to perceive the newcomer as anything more than another bundle of loathsome inadequacies. Then he recognized Malark Springhill and drifted back down to stand before him.
Malark bowed. “Sorry to interrupt whatever you were doing.”
“I was meditating,” Szass Tam replied. “Preparing for the ritual. When the time comes, I have to be ready to let go of everything. If I feel even a flicker of artachment or regret, it could ruin the casting. So I’m cultivating the habit of viewing all things with scorn.”
The outlander grinned. “I hope knowing me doesn’t put you off your game. I mean, since I’m indisputably such a marvelous fellow.”
Szass Tam smiled. “You’ve been a true friend this past century, I’ll give you that. And I tell you again, I can recreate you in the universe to come.”
“Then I’ll tell you again, that’s the last thing I want. I just want to watch death devour the world I know, and fall into darkness along with it.”
quote:
The following is lifted from pages 165 to 166 of Unholy:
Last but most clearly of all, she discerned the Dread Ring itself like a festering wound in the earth. Like a well of unnatural and inexhaustible power. Arcing away from it were lines of force linking it to other such talismans, defining an immense dark circle of death on the face of the land.
That was the Dread Ring that Jhesrhi and her allies had to destroy. Not the stone walls and bastions, although some of those might crack and crumble as an incidental effect of their assault, for battlements and towers could be rebuilt. They had to attack the concept, the potential of the Ring. If they could obliterate that, it would spoil the whole pattern, and none of the similar castles scattered across Thay would serve its intended purpose anymore.
Jhesrhi realized that since she now perceived the true, transcendent form of the Ring, it stood to reason that her partners in the circle must see it too. Lallara glanced around as though gauging whether everyone was ready, then raised her staff and rammed it down with all the strength in her deceptively frail-looking arms. Jhesrhi expected a louder bang than before, and perhaps that was exactly what happened, but if so, she didn’t hear it.
That was because, as the rod plunged down, she felt the power they’d all raised plunge with it. The magic both stabbed a hole to a different level of reality and thrust her—or perhaps just her spirit— into it, as if she were an ant clinging to the flat of a blade.
She cast about. Previously, she’d seen the essence of the Dread Ring as a well. Now she and the rest of the circle seemed to float deep inside it. The curved walls weren’t solid, though, but made up of crisscrossed bands of shadow. Beyond them lay nothing but a sort of twilight, extending as far as the eye could see.
quote:
The following is lifted from pages 249 to 250 of Unholy:
Malark hesitated. “Your Omnipotence, ever since I joined your cause, you’ve been a generous friend and mentor to me. I’ve learned to admire your wisdom, courage, and vision. But you also embody the unnatural vileness of undeath. You’re the last creature who should undertake the task of recreating the world.”
“I intend,” Szass Tam answered, “to make a universe unafflicted with suffering or death.”
“I believe you.” Malark closed his eyes for a moment, and some of the remaining burns on his body faded. He was using a technique he’d learned as a monk to speed the healing process. “But it wouldn’t work out like that. It couldn’t. The new world would reflect your fundamental nature and come out worse than this one.
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| sleyvas |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 14:58:50
Larloch had an enclave (Jiksidur) at least, so he wasn't someone to sneer at. However, it looked like his interested extended outside the empire and not its internal politics, because it crashed near Narfell. Whether Karsus and Larloch knew one another, I don't believe is documented, but then again as we've recently learned... the previous head of the IRS only visited the white house once during his term. Just because they didn't go to the same parties, and pretty much no one knew his name in the public space... I'm thinking no one can say that the head of the IRS was lacking power. I'm thinking a possibly apt comparison. |
| _Jarlaxle_ |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 14:01:27
Is it anywhere mentioned that Larloch and Karsus knew each other?
My impresion so far was that before the fall of Netheril Larloh wasn't considered one of the top archmages and thus didn't belong to the high society of Ioulaum, Karsus or others in the "top 10". So they probably knew who he was but didn't care for him. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 13:59:29
You know what I'd like better than it blows up a portion of the world? What if its secretly a trap that turns him into a vestige. But, then I've just got vestiges on the brain this week. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 13:52:01
quote:
Originally posted by Nicolai Withander
How on Toril can anyone cast a spell / perform a ritual that is so powerful? If Karsus couldn’t do it with one deity how is a lesser mage like Szass Tam supposed to do it with an Over Deity like AO? If Karsus' Avatar was a level 12 spell... I’d like to see the level of this ritual?
I’m guessing the reason for AO not to interfere is simple because it can’t be done... If AO is in charge of maintaining the realms as is... Permitted by "The Being if Light" or whatever his boss' name was, he would surely not allow Szass to become an equal power and loose control over his sphere. So I’m guessing that if Karsus couldn’t hack it as a god, no way in the nine hells, can Szass Tam.
The Ritual is bound to fail. That is the very reason Druxus Rhym considered the notes of Fastrin detailing the creation of the Dread Rings more as a healthy exercise for the mind to understand a bizarre theory. He never believed it was anything more than a mere theory.
Or you can say the Ritual would work, but not in the way Szass Tam wants it. It will not destroy and remake the world (that is rather pretty obvious). But it might nuke a considerable chunk of Faerun or, at the very least, the east. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 13:50:35
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Mentioning Szass Tam's epic fail and Karsus has given me a strange (and interesting) notion - What if Larloch did the same thing to Karsus? 
Think about it... Karsus got a stupid idea in his head about becoming 'a god', and so did Tam. Both failed miserably... and both knew Larloch. Could Larloch be setting these guys up? And if so, what would be his motive?
I obviously like the idea that Larloch set Tammy up for failure, but I don't see it, with Karsus. Why would Larloch want Mystryl or any other deity to be replaced? That really didn't work out well for anyone... |
| Markustay |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 13:28:18
Mentioning Szass Tam's epic fail and Karsus has given me a strange (and interesting) notion - What if Larloch did the same thing to Karsus?
Think about it... Karsus got a stupid idea in his head about becoming 'a god', and so did Tam. Both failed miserably... and both knew Larloch. Could Larloch be setting these guys up? And if so, what would be his motive?
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by strafer
If Larloch is so powerful why didn't he attempt or find out about the ritual of unmaking?
Hmm, let me see . . . He was busy creating the Blueflame items. His lich-servitors found something of more import and needed immediate action. He knew the Ritual of Unmaking would fail. He was having a beach party in the Sword Coast. Take your pick. The bottom line is, he’s a busy guy, so he takes careful consideration in what undertaking to pursue or ignore.
OO OOO I choose beach party
A bunch of liches in bikini's? 
Sounds just like a super-model party.
Will the Sahuagin and Drow be there?
And now my mind wandered down a strange path... would a subterranean-dwelling group of Sahuagin give birth to Drow-looking Malenti? 
Wow... talk about going off-topic...  |
| Nicolai Withander |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 09:37:11
How on Toril can anyone cast a spell / perform a ritual that is so powerful? If Karsus couldn’t do it with one deity how is a lesser mage like Szass Tam supposed to do it with an Over Deity like AO? If Karsus' Avatar was a level 12 spell... I’d like to see the level of this ritual?
I’m guessing the reason for AO not to interfere is simple because it can’t be done... If AO is in charge of maintaining the realms as is... Permitted by "The Being if Light" or whatever his boss' name was, he would surely not allow Szass to become an equal power and loose control over his sphere. So I’m guessing that if Karsus couldn’t hack it as a god, no way in the nine hells, can Szass Tam
|
| Dennis |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 03:33:57
quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach
I dont think the Ritual was supposed to catapult Tam into an Overgod position (though as the only deity in the Realms it may well have started him well on his way, who knows?). As I interpreted the book, it was supposed to lock out all other deities and allow him to remake Toril (and possibly all of Realmspace). I always assumed Ao would still be the BIG BOSS and Tam would have to defer to him. Mayhaps I'm wrong, but if the ritual would make him an Overgod then the whole plot becomes even more ludicrous, IMO.
No. When Szass Tam said he saw imperfection in everything, in everyone, that included the gods and all beings higher than they. Remember, he wants to be in total control. How will he do that if there is someone there beyond him? |
| Arcanus |
Posted - 14 Jun 2013 : 00:24:51
I think Ao gradually wiped the minds of the people who saw him, IIRC. |
| The Arcanamach |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 23:53:24
I dont think the Ritual was supposed to catapult Tam into an Overgod position (though as the only deity in the Realms it may well have started him well on his way, who knows?). As I interpreted the book, it was supposed to lock out all other deities and allow him to remake Toril (and possibly all of Realmspace). I always assumed Ao would still be the BIG BOSS and Tam would have to defer to him. Mayhaps I'm wrong, but if the ritual would make him an Overgod then the whole plot becomes even more ludicrous, IMO. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 16:00:12
quote:
Originally posted by _Jarlaxle_
quote:
Originally posted by Quale
How does Szass even know about overgods?
Why would he not? Ao made at least one public appearance in Waterdeep at the end of the time of troubles.
Besides Tam never mentions Overgods anywhere.
Even without the grand appearance of Ao in Waterdeep, Szass Tam (or any archmage of note) would still have known via careful deduction: gods are big fishes, but there is always a bigger fish in the pond.
True, he did not mention about overgods. But what he intends to do (remake the world and destroy all the gods) is something only an overgod can do. |
| _Jarlaxle_ |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 14:42:08
quote:
Originally posted by Quale
How does Szass even know about overgods?
Why would he not? Ao made at least one public appearance in Waterdeep at the end of the time of troubles.
Besides Tam never mentions Overgods anywhere. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 14:17:46
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
quote:
Originally posted by strafer
If Larloch is so powerful why didn't he attempt or find out about the ritual of unmaking?
Hmm, let me see . . . He was busy creating the Blueflame items. His lich-servitors found something of more import and needed immediate action. He knew the Ritual of Unmaking would fail. He was having a beach party in the Sword Coast. Take your pick. The bottom line is, he’s a busy guy, so he takes careful consideration in what undertaking to pursue or ignore.
OO OOO I choose beach party |
| Quale |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 14:09:57
How does Szass even know about overgods? |
| Dennis |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 12:10:35
quote:
Originally posted by _Jarlaxle_
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
It makes it even more fun if Larloch gave Tam the artifact that drove him down this path of "greater and greater evil" via its curse just to break his political hold on what was becoming a burgeoning magocracy. Larloch may have seen Thay as a growing threat, and giving Tam the death moon orb to drive him out of his controlled scheming and into "insane mage scheming" and not care that he destroys his country to do it. Hell, he may have told Tam the story of Karsus and Netheril just to put the idea of becoming a god and remaking the world into Tam's head....
I like that idea
Nice one. And it ties neatly to past lore. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 12:07:32
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I like the idea that there was some critical flaw in Szass Tam's thinking - some 'missing ingredient' he didn't realize he needed.
He is indeed mad (albeit in a calculating, dangerous way). He himself admitted that.
I know that when viewed outside the context of Szass Tam’s background, becoming an overgod is boring. But let’s consider two important things . . . First, he has been one of the rulers of Thay for decades, with no one in particular to pose as a great threat to his position, save the unity of all the zulkirs against him (which was close to impossible that time). He gets almost anything he wants. He kills almost anyone he wants. But his targets have been relatively “small.” So to expand his playground, so to speak, he’d be targeting bigger, nastier fishes, gods included. Second (and this, I suspect, is the main reason) is that deep inside, he has always abhorred his undead condition (which by the way, he said so himself). It screams imperfection. And if he wants to cure himself of such affliction, everything else must be “cured” as well. Everything has to look perfect in his eyes. And what better way to do it than be in control of everything? Sometimes madness knows no bounds . . . |
| Dennis |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 11:55:23
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Since I haven't read the series (its now on my to-do list, since meeting Mr. Byers at Gencon and seeing for myself he did not have horns, and was quite the perfect gentleman), can you fill me in on what, precisely, the ritual was supposed to do?
Why would Szass Tam want to 'un-do' the world? Thats sounds a bit too much like the Thomas Covenant series 'Ritual of Desecration' (which I also never understood - Kevin Landwaster was depressed so he figured he'd just destroy/kill EVERYTHING?) Since when has Szass Tam become a follower of Entropy (which is an aspect of Shar in FR)?
I'm just not getting this whole 'Dread Ring' thing.
I’m away from my library right now, but later, I’ll quote the exact scene where Szass Tam explained to Malark Springhill why he so wanted to be a god, why he “desecrated” all of Thay just to erect the Dread Rings. But the gist is this: Szass Tam sees “rot” in all things, making everything imperfect, including his current condition (undead). He wishes to “cleanse” the world—the reality at large—of such filth, to make it perfect as only he and he alone sees fit. He will destroy and remake the worlds, erasing the gods from the picture. Only by becoming an overgod—or whatever else is higher to that—will he able to do so. And he firmly believes that the Ritual of Unmaking will help him accomplish that. (Malark on the other hand, believes that an imperfect being [such as Szass Tam himself] cannot hope to make anything perfect.) |
| Dennis |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 11:44:22
quote:
Originally posted by strafer
If Larloch is so powerful why didn't he attempt or find out about the ritual of unmaking?
Hmm, let me see . . . He was busy creating the Blueflame items. His lich-servitors found something of more import and needed immediate action. He knew the Ritual of Unmaking would fail. He was having a beach party in the Sword Coast. Take your pick. The bottom line is, he’s a busy guy, so he takes careful consideration in what undertaking to pursue or ignore. |
| _Jarlaxle_ |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 09:43:30
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
It makes it even more fun if Larloch gave Tam the artifact that drove him down this path of "greater and greater evil" via its curse just to break his political hold on what was becoming a burgeoning magocracy. Larloch may have seen Thay as a growing threat, and giving Tam the death moon orb to drive him out of his controlled scheming and into "insane mage scheming" and not care that he destroys his country to do it. Hell, he may have told Tam the story of Karsus and Netheril just to put the idea of becoming a god and remaking the world into Tam's head....
I like that idea |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 01:10:11
Oh, and I just noticed this... hadn't noticed it before. That it combusted in his hands.... well, with a cursed item, that just sends shivers down my spine. Makes me think of holding a bottle of plague material and having it burst....
Created by Larloch[1] the orb found itself in the possession of Szass Tam.[2] He used it to a great extent in his war against the other Zulkirs and to bind the demon lord Eltab.[1] The orb combusted in Szass Tam's hands at the moment Mystra was murdered by Cyric.[5] |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 13 Jun 2013 : 01:05:56
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I like the idea that there was some critical flaw in Szass Tam's thinking - some 'missing ingredient' he didn't realize he needed.
Now, that means Larloch (and whoever else is in his league) would realize this, and let Szass Tam continue with his folly.
It makes more sense if Larloch was SURE there was no way Tam would succeed.
It makes it even more fun if Larloch gave Tam the artifact that drove him down this path of "greater and greater evil" via its curse just to break his political hold on what was becoming a burgeoning magocracy. Larloch may have seen Thay as a growing threat, and giving Tam the death moon orb to drive him out of his controlled scheming and into "insane mage scheming" and not care that he destroys his country to do it. Hell, he may have told Tam the story of Karsus and Netheril just to put the idea of becoming a god and remaking the world into Tam's head.... |
| Mirtek |
Posted - 12 Jun 2013 : 20:39:11
I prefer to think that he knew that the ritual simply could never achieve what it advertised.
The ritual was simply to easy to be as ridiculously effective as it was supposed to do.
Unmake the whole creation, world, planes, greater powers and all just like this and turning the caster in the overgod of the new creation?
If it was that ludicrously easy, than Shar seems like an utter failure for never getting anything like this done.
So Larloch knew that Szass would blow up a sizeable chunk of land, but since he was not there and nothing he cared for was there, he didn't care |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 12 Jun 2013 : 18:36:02
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I like the idea that there was some critical flaw in Szass Tam's thinking - some 'missing ingredient' he didn't realize he needed.
Now, that means Larloch (and whoever else is in his league) would realize this, and let Szass Tam continue with his folly.
It makes more sense if Larloch was SURE there was no way Tam would succeed.
I think the idea is a lot more fun... And it uses Larloch in a fun way -- he's one of my fave NPCs, and manipulating Tam like that seems right up his alley. |
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