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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Jan 2010 : 12:18:35
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Hi!
I'm about to write the last adventures for a 4 years long campaign. The events unfolds around the deeds of a creature very similar to Pandorym (described extensively in "Elder Evils")...
When I started the campaign I knew nothing about the upcoming Spellplague... and now I would like to link Pandorym to the Plague, sticking as much as possible to the Official Lore.
I've some ideas but none of them satisfies me completely...
(One of them was to change a little the lore in a way that Mystra is killed by a Spellplague originated by a partial release of Pandorym from its prison)
Any suggestion?
Thanks!!!
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jan 2010 : 15:56:32
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More than a year ago I presended my version of SpellPlague here...
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11771
... but as my campaign develops, it no longer suits the my purposes.
I found this old but interesting post http://www.forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11713 by KnightErrantJR... And I'm guessing if instead of a Far Realm rift unleashed by Cyric a (partial) freeing of Pandorym could also work...
What if the Old Staff was one of the Imaskarcana and the Donjon of Facets a gem somehow related to the imprisoning of Pandorym?
After all Azuth as a magister was very active in the study of ancient empires... and found the staff during his researches. |
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2010 : 22:36:46
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After choosing a general approach to the event I divided Mystra's death in blocks, for each block I tried to identify some node/points to insert changes.
Inspired by "Cluedo"/"Clue" (Who knows... it is an Hasbro game too) [:-)] I think the blocks are:
Who: Cyric & Shar
Where: Dweomerheart
Weapon: Azuth's Staff
A source for infinite stories... |
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2010 : 23:04:54
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Here some of the focal points I have identified. It can be considered as a work in progress... The list is not complete, of course.
Who:Cyric & Shar - [knowingly allied] - [unknowingly allied] - [not allied at all] killed an [unsuspetting] - [suspetting] Mystra...
- (Only if true in your campaing) ...to this end [both] - [one of them] started a quarrel into the Heavens to involve [one] - [some] - [most] of the gods there.
- Their goal: to [steal from them something, knowledge or object] - [free from them a creature] to use as a [weapon] - [distraction] against Mystra or simply to keep busy her potential allies.
Where: Dweomerheart. - Into Mystra's home: Cyric [as himself, in his chosen manifestation, confronted] - [under disguise confronted] - [started an *event* that in the end overcame] the goddess, he used [an aware/unaware vessel] - [a cover/hide] - [a distraction] to infiltrate Dweomerheart.
How: Azuth's staff was fundamental to the murder. - It was [stolen from] - [given by a swayed by Shar] Azuth, and used as a [key part of some ritual/event] - [weapon] against the goddess.
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2010 : 23:09:10
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Some of the following details of the story depends of what you decide about the past points.
- The role of the Empyrean Odyssey PNGs in your campaign.
- The Spellplague: consequence of the destroyed Weave or caused by its interaction with some of the plan's aspects?
- The guilt of Cyric. Was he guilty for the murder only? Or for the consequences caused on the Cosmology by the Spellplague? Or just because framed by Shar?
- Which is/are the node(s) that can be influenced by your PC' actions? Do they really have the power to stop such an apocalypse?
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
Posted - 31 Jan 2010 : 23:21:11
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Then I tried to detail each node as much as possible, with a list of the alternatives that I liked most. For example, regarding the first block:
Mystra apparently was not able to foreseen the moves of her enemies. Was this really so? (I agree with Thomas M. Reid opinion that Savras couldn't be of any help because his own death was involved)
- [Unsuspetting Mystra] - Maybe she was busy doing something very important for the Realms? A project of her own (like taking control of the Shadow Weave, etc.) or countering some other menace to Weave? A real menace or simply a diversion faked by her enemies? Or just her enemies devised a good way to elude her attention?
- [Suspecting Mystra] - How much does she foreseen? Was something real or something suggested by the concordant opposition of lies and secrets? If she foreseen what was going to happen, what countermeasures does she take? Why her countermeasures failed? Maybe Cyric e Shar tricked Mystra into believing they were following a different plan than the one the goddess of magic was countering, a plan even advantaged from the goddess countermeasures.
- The Fractured Heavens: the death of Mystra seems somehow related to the death of another deity:Helm. Is this connection true or not in your campaign?
- YES - Is Cyric really responsible of this? Why not Shar? And... why do they did this? Maybe the God of Guardians was watching over something needed by Cyric to accomplish the murder? Maybe Helm, as God of Guardians, could have seen Cyric attemping to enter Dweomerheart/Cynosure to reach Mystra? Cyric released a menace for the Goddess of Magic/Toril guarded by Helm? Or simply all the turmoil in the Skies kept Mystra's allies busy during the attack(s) to her?
- NO - Well... if unrelated with the Spellplague why to bother?
- The alliance: After answering to some of the previous questions can be clearer the nature of the alliance between Darkness and Lies, to understand which role Cyric & Shar each played in the plan. The nature of the deal struck. Was Shar simply in need of a 'tool', someone to do all the dirty work for her and to blame in the end? Or other motivations can be added? Maybe Cyric believed to be the one in command, needing/using Shar for her Shadow Magic and Shar lets him
believing so? Was Cyric aware at all to be allied with Shar?
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2010 : 10:35:13
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Just to close the topic: (I see that it is not so interesting now)
in my campaign Cyric freed Pandorym from his prison in the Celestial Nadir, while the Heavens are troubled by the consequences of Helm's death. Mystra is ready to trick Pandorym into a trap imprisoning him again, a long ago conceived contingency plan. The trap needs Azuth and his Staff to work.
Azuth was robbed of his staff by Shar. [This part could be very interesting to develop: in my campaign it was not so important so I left it undescribed]
Cyric impersonating Azuth, with the old staff helping to conceal his true identity, infiltrates Dweomerheart thanks to the holy symbol Zasian took there.
Cyric faced Mystra who may have noticed something strange about him but in that moment the trap for Pandorym sprang. Mystra turned to face the threat, waiting for Azuth to close the snare as agreed.
Then Cyric/Azuth smiled and did nothing. The staff needed to imprison the creature held firmly in his hands.
Mystra is grasped and absorbed by Pandorym, the Weave begin to fail. Not foreseen by both Cyric and Shar the Shadow Weave is destroyed too... The magic they planned to use to stop the creature no longer available.
Pandorym start attacking the gods, and only the strongest among them survived. Even if engaged in a desperate fight, some of the greater gods despatched low power avatars along with the PGs (My nearly epic level party was, by background, somehow linked to Pandorym) into the Far Realms to close the Imaskari portal from which Pandorym was entering Toril. Given the link the PCs had with the creature they can be to only ones able to locate the portal. The presence of the god' avatars somehow stabilized the environmental conditions of the Far Realm.
Aftermath: Cyric is imprisoned for unleashing Pandorym.
The Spellplague is the part of Pandorym's mind that remained on Toril after the closing of the portal by the Party. The plague started where the only working portal to Abeir was standing. The Imaskari hided Pandorym's body on Abeir and one of my party's nemesis tried to free it. He was killed by my party and the great sphere of distruction disappeared... letting the players believe having resolved the problem.
The presence of the body on Abeir is the explaination of why the two worlds were near the moment Mystra died. Parts of the Celestial Nadir were thrown also on Abeir (like the Earthmotes) as well as strange creatures held there...
Ok.. I'm off with this topic
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Edited by - Arioch on 04 Feb 2010 10:40:57 |
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Concluding a campaign: Pandorym & SpellPlague
