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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4212 Posts |
 Posted - 10 Mar 2011 : 07:56:31
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The game went on from there...but it was not really my character then...he was an NPC madman god/god-killer wannabe.
However, the pain that Dalor Darden knew at the loss of his people was more than he could take...so it drove him to desire the end of all Gods...the end of magic...
He thought it would be better for mortals to simply exist on their own and not be beholden to the whim of gods. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4212 Posts |
Posted - 29 Mar 2011 : 21:23:12
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Sometimes I find it very fun to wonder "what would have been if..." with old characters of mine.
I have to admit that I keep coming back to Dalor Darden very often, and think on what his adventures in the Forgotten Realms might have been like if I hadn't had a DM that wanted to take me down a dark path in the service of Shar...and I hadn't agreed to it in the game.
What would Dalor Darden have been like if he had remained simply a broken hearted man...and not a man that became obsessed with revenge?
So giving that some thought, I think he would have eventually redeemed himself and pulled away from the path of evil. I don't picture him as ever having been a "good" aligned character...too much war, strife and personal conviction against being good would have prevented that in him. He was a Warrior, despite being an illusionist and wizard.
In his youthful years of rebellion he had been an Illusionist, always seeking the easy way...but later after trying events in his homeland he had opted for the path of a soldier...and his magic reflected that then as he left behind the sword and again took up the staff.
In essence, I think Dalor (in the Forgotten Realms) might have become a man dedicated to fighting the sorts of people he had become in the game I played him in! Men obsessed with things beyond their mortal understanding...because after all, if he had not so heavily delved into the maddening depths of the Abyss and Nine Hells (and planes in between!) then he may not have lost his own mind to madness and nearly all consuming insanity.
What I've argued on other scrolls here at Candlekeep is that Dalor thought he could "end" the Gods if he learned enough, if he found their secrets and then exposed them to the light of truth so that they were weakened and thus could be destroyed. A few have thought that my attempts to argue that Dalor could destroy gods is how I felt about all characters...but in truth it is more a characteristic of a character of fantasy and not a trait that I personally possess in my own mental faculties.
So going back a bit...what would Dalor Nal'Raesik Darden have been like had he simply left the Empire of Alphatia a dissatisfied subject of an Empire in which he could not have the Love that he wanted instead of an exiled Wizard who had already become somewhat mad because of his dealings with such fiends as Yeenoghu and Balor.
"What if..." is a fun game of rethinking the things that have happened, my kids play it every day; so I think I'll do the same with a character who was at one time my favorite in the game that I still so dearly enjoy even as I approach my fourth decade of life here on this little ball of dirt and water called earth. |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
Edited by - Dalor Darden on 29 Mar 2011 21:24:37 |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4212 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2011 : 07:45:20
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Dalor had a fondness for his staff...because it wasn't just a staff!
His first major possession that he created after coming to Faerun was an orb, staff, a sword, and a longbow! Yep, it changed forms at his command; much like another magical weapon that could change into all sorts of items: a Rod of Lordly Might I think it was? It didn't have the "charge" powers however.
At any rate, usually Dalor carried his "Darkhaft" to any place he might be going. At a command it would take one of four shapes:
A Two-Handed Sword: in this form "Darkhaft" functioned just as a Flametongue sword. So it was +1, +2 vs. regenerating creatures, +3 vs. cold-using, inflammable or avian creatures and +4 vs. undead. This form was used very often.
A Longbow: "of distance" which doubled its ranges, but was otherwise a +1 bow. I should note that the bow would fire an arrow by simply being drawn, fabricating a new shaft each time drawn. I rarely used this aspect of the item; but in large battles it became my weapon of choice if in command of my soldiers...as I would use it from the rear while giving orders.
A Staff: acted as a +3 staff in all respects; but also acted as a Broom of Flying. I often used the "Broom" aspect of the staff to call it back to my hand!  I almost always carried Darkhaft in this form.
An Orb: The only non-combatant aspect of the item, in its Orb shape it made it easy to store in my robe as it was then only about the size of a Softball. In this form it did act as a "Pearl of Power" however, allowing Dalor to recall a single spell per day (I honestly don't remember what level spell it was, but I'm sure it was a high-range level...and I'm thinking it was 7th level to allow me to recall Teleport Without Error as a Wizard or Alter Reality or Shadow Walk as an Illusionist).
It took a great deal of effort to create this weapon, though I honestly don't recall the many steps...I do recall that it did include as its components a Flametonge Sword, a Broom of Flying, a Pearl of Power, a Magical Staff and I did lose a point of Constitution at the end. I wanted to make it intelligent too; but Brian (the DM) said intelligent items couldn't be created.
I also had to fight a few battles over the thing...when something nice is made...lots of folks want it. It was a nice item though; but eventually it was destroyed.  I was fighting a really vicious band of adventurers for hire who had attacked me, and their wizard used a damnable Disentegrate to try and disarm me...and it worked...rolled a damnable one on my saving throw.
I actually retreated from that battle very quickly...and then hunted them all down one by one after and turned them into various statues, toads and ashes which I then sent to their hiremaster on his birthday. That was one sorry enemy when I crashed his party...with Darkhaft in hand; wonderful what a Wish will do to restore a disintegrated item! |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2011 : 11:45:52
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| I did once hand out a cursed rod of lordly might (or might not) ... it, uh, wasn't well received. Likely because the cursed hammer, +3 dwarf thrower was getting all the glory. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 30 Mar 2011 11:46:35 |
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Dalor Nal'Raesik Darden
