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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1293 Posts

Posted - 09 Jan 2025 :  20:42:02  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
While we know that Finder gave Alias her false memories of being an sell-sword adventurer; the sisters like Jade, Cat, Zhara also had some memories and skills (as a thief or mage or priestess) when they awoke. Do we think Phalse gave them their backstory and memories, or was it Tymora/another god?

Cat could recall her hometown of Ordulin but nothing else, and she knew how to cast spells when the Zhents captured her and gave her a minor spellbook. She was primarily motivated to get back her memory from Flattery which obviously didn't exist.


Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36823 Posts

Posted - 10 Jan 2025 :  01:44:39  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I would assume Phalse did it.

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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
973 Posts

Posted - 10 Jan 2025 :  16:20:38  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Agreed.
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11886 Posts

Posted - 10 Jan 2025 :  20:16:21  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I really need to go back and reread these old books with the foresight that I have now. I bet there's a billion twists I could throw on things

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1293 Posts

Posted - 11 Jan 2025 :  11:24:04  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks all - my argument against it being Phalse would be that unlike Finder, Phalse would not know a lot of Realms lore and history that would make up the base knowledge needed for someone born in say Ordulin, Sembia - BUT - on reflection, if Phalse copied some base memories from the Alias clone and left most of it blank, then it works. Cat didn't know nearly anything other than where she was from (vs Alias having a full selection of adventures and Shadowdale that she remembered) - and Jade seemingly had no memories but didn't care which Olive loved about her. For Zhara we really don't get much of her memories/back story, so it could be she's like Jade/Cat with limited memories - in which case only Alias had a really fleshed out history beyond the amensia of the past year before her "birth" which was blank.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36823 Posts

Posted - 11 Jan 2025 :  17:28:04  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

Thanks all - my argument against it being Phalse would be that unlike Finder, Phalse would not know a lot of Realms lore and history that would make up the base knowledge needed for someone born in say Ordulin, Sembia - BUT - on reflection, if Phalse copied some base memories from the Alias clone and left most of it blank, then it works. Cat didn't know nearly anything other than where she was from (vs Alias having a full selection of adventures and Shadowdale that she remembered) - and Jade seemingly had no memories but didn't care which Olive loved about her. For Zhara we really don't get much of her memories/back story, so it could be she's like Jade/Cat with limited memories - in which case only Alias had a really fleshed out history beyond the amensia of the past year before her "birth" which was blank.



That works. Phalse could have also skimmed some memories from the members of the Fire Knives, too, and used those.

I figure that since Phalse was expanding on the idea of the vessels being assassins that could be aimed at particular targets, he likely would want them to have at least enough memories and knowledge to be able to do what was expected.

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TBeholder
Great Reader

2446 Posts

Posted - 12 Jan 2025 :  05:30:17  Show Profile Send TBeholder a Private Message  Reply with Quote
We won't know, in that if it's possible for a mid-level mageling, it's possible for Phalse, and if it's possible for Phalse, obviously it's possible for a deity.
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

That works. Phalse could have also skimmed some memories from the members of the Fire Knives, too, and used those.
I figure that since Phalse was expanding on the idea of the vessels being assassins that could be aimed at particular targets, he likely would want them to have at least enough memories and knowledge to be able to do what was expected.

Even if not particular targets (yet), Phalse seemed to have an idea of where he wants them to operate. He had the "second generation" cosmetically tweaked, clothed and equipped with particular places in mind.
Alias had mostly memories lifted from an actual adventuress. Phalse could copy or steal relevant memories too.
The simplest (if not with guaranteed quality) plan for stealing memories could indeed be done by any mageling with the right spells:
1. Procure some capability for handling obliviax safely. Spells blocking common mind probes (L2-L3 Abjuration spells - Mind Mantle / ESP Barricade / Iron Mind) would probably suffice.
2. Locate a growth of obliviax. Isolate a specimen and move it to some deserted place.
3. Arrange the known specimen feeding on the right people, or at least right sort of people. Many possible approaches at various levels of subtlety. The simplest is plain abduction under knockout poison.
4. Feed loaded obliviax to the intended recipient, possibly even unconscious (if going through the motions of eating can be stimulated).
5. ???
6. Profit!

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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11886 Posts

Posted - 12 Jan 2025 :  11:53:12  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Seravin

Thanks all - my argument against it being Phalse would be that unlike Finder, Phalse would not know a lot of Realms lore and history that would make up the base knowledge needed for someone born in say Ordulin, Sembia - BUT - on reflection, if Phalse copied some base memories from the Alias clone and left most of it blank, then it works.



Unless Phalse was a Leiran avatar in the form of a deepspawn.... I mean look at the description.... and the idea that he was a hordling fiend was ... well... a lie.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6367 Posts

Posted - 12 Jan 2025 :  21:02:36  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
They gave Alias a soul.

A soul (to my mind at least) is an amount of positive energy that gives life to matter. This positive energy is expanded by experience (living life).

When the positive energy separates from its original matter it retains some memories.

Look at souls when they travel to the Outer Planes, they retain some memory (not lots) of their former life. That is because some of it is imprinted upon the positive energy. The larger / more powerful the soul, the more it retains.

So Alias was given a portion of Dragonbait's soul, she gained some of her knowledge from him (she trusted him without ever knowing him, she was an excellent warrior without ever having used a weapon before), the rest was manufactured by stealing memories from others and imprinting them on Alias (magic can induce dreams and those dreams can be made into whatever Finder wanted - this can impart knowledge but not necessarily the skill to use it).

The other clones likely had their souls taken (in part at least) from other beings. They therefore gained some memories from those whose souls were used.

At least thats how i figure it working. Take someone's soul to provide a base blueprint, use dream induced memories to add a layer of story on top of that base.

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Seravin
Master of Realmslore

Canada
1293 Posts

Posted - 12 Jan 2025 :  21:19:34  Show Profile Send Seravin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I like that Gary - and I think Phalse supplied Dragonbait to the group (and it was his soul they used in Alias) so it makes sense that Phalse would have access to souls when he made his clones. Less sure is what Phalse wanted with a bunch of femme fatales in Faerun, or why he wanted to work with Moander his sworn enemy.
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6367 Posts

Posted - 12 Jan 2025 :  21:59:52  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Yes, those motivations are obscure to me as well.

Best I could guess is that everyone got what they wanted at least a little bit out of the deal, although I forget what most of those wants were now.

Phalse however seemed to get nothing other than the first successful prototype for his clones.

He then made more, presumably using the same methods as learned from the others, and he sent these tools throughout faerun.

Now if you wanted perfect assassins that now how to kill but don't know who they are and so cannot be detected, then these are your tool for the job.

They are women because the majority of rulers are men.

You send them out and when they encounter a king they activate and murder him.

The chaos that would cause across faerun is immense if even a few were able to hit there marks. It is especially useful in a land like cormyr where mind reaming is used to vet those with access to the king, I'd be willing to bet it could not find these sleeper agents.


Of course the other motivation for phalse I think was to screw over the other members of the cabal. If you wanted to help alias break her bonds of servitude then finder might be able to do it, but he was under constant watch and the only member of the group under suspicion. He would be more likely to succeed and help alias if he was secretly being helped by phalse and finder would then work as a scapegoat.

Of course I don't think phalse intended for alias to come after him, but no plan should ever work 100%.

That's what I'm thinking for now. Phalse wanted to screw over the others and then use his army of clones to eliminate targets across toril.

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