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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Mar 2011 : 12:18:04
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Ok I read in Savage Frontier about Radoc, who now (at that time) dwells inthe Star Mounts.
Details in Savage Frontier pg.58
But further details in module I12 The Egg of the Phoenix.
Anyone know if this module links with the realms other than this tidbit of information? Is it a good module regardless?
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Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Thauramarth
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
735 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2011 : 15:30:12
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Ah, one of my hobby horses. Other than the crossover of a couple of characters and concepts (Gate, Grintharke, Radoc) into FR5-The Savage Frontier, there's no Realms connection, beyond the fact that Paul Jacquays was the/an author of both (the original R-modules were written by Frank Mentzer, I think; Paul supplied the additional material).
As for the module - I very much liked it, because it's one of the first "Big" modules that I ever ran, and I've used it, and its concepts, in several campaigns over the course of almost 25 years now (I even adopted it for Realms use once). The I12 "Egg of the Phoenix" was an abbreviated re-packaging of a series of four older tournament modules (R1-R4) - it's basically four separate dungeons, with some in-between action. I liked it, because it's got a decent setting (classic evil overlord vs. scattered good guys; a bit Tolkien-esque), a villain (Krelokk the Tangg-lord) who's very much in the background, and is not a direct adversary, and some memorable NPCs, as well as one hell of a magic item - the titular Egg of the Phoenix, which has been a constant presence in almost every campaign I've ever run, and which was the seed from which my unified theory of the 2E multiverse sprang from. So there. I'm not what you could call "unbiased" when it comes to this module.
Drawbacks - occasionally it's a bit too much "tongue-in-cheek". There's the sitcom fire giant family; there are the oddly named NPCs (Mikhail Gorchabov, anyone?), but nothing I could not iron out. Rename NPCs, turn the fire giants into a bunch of control-freaked supersoldiers, and there you go.
(The setting, apparantly, was a continent to the east of the Flanaess called "Aquaria".) |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2011 : 15:58:13
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| Sounds like a good module (series). |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2011 : 17:37:12
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I was thinking about placing Empyrea in the Realms - actually have it BE the old Kalmyk Empire (on the eastern shore of the Great Ice Sea, Yal Tengri). Its a near-perfect fit, and the cultures work as well.
I figure 'Doc' only got exiled far from home, but not necessarily to another world (which makes it work better for the SF info, IMHO).
Would anyone be interested in seeing such a conversion? |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 03 Mar 2011 17:42:23 |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2011 : 18:37:14
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I was thinking about placing Empyrea in the Realms - actually have it BE the old Kalmyk Empire (on the eastern shore of the Great Ice Sea, Yal Tengri). Its a near-perfect fit, and the cultures work as well.
I figure 'Doc' only got exiled far from home, but not necessarily to another world (which makes it work better for the SF info, IMHO).
Would anyone be interested in seeing such a conversion?
Of course. Work your magic Markus.  |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2011 : 01:08:17
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Okay, this went into ultra-back burner mode, first because of the very low level of interest it generated (or rather, DIDN'T), and second because I had a continual slew of computer problems, all of which (hopefully) have been worked-out.
So last night I was toying with the conversion again, mostly because I've been interested in the region I want to put it (the NE Hordelands, where it fits perfectly), and also because of the Hobgoblin thread (and my HB Fan-Kiang/Drummer lore).
I have only lightly perused this module before - it never really grabbed me. However, I have started going through it and discovered an amazing coincidence - the people of Empyrea worship the Finnish gods! 
Anyone familiar with some of my more esoteric conjecture knows I have felt for quite some time that FR's few Finnish gods originated with the Kalmyk, of this precise region. Talk about serendipitous.
The story goes like this: ancient war, good vs, evil, yadda yadda yadda, war ends with 'great catastrophe' wherein both armies and the imperial city vanish (presumably destroyed) in a mighty magical backlash. Fast-forward to the time of the module Egg of Phoenix*, and we have 'Doc' assist the PCs, but gets banished to 'elsewhere' for originally being on the bad side... and he lands in The Forgotten Realms, in the Star Mounts. That's the module-canon, with a little FR canon at the end.
My conversion (WIP) goes like this: Hundreds of years ago, the city and armies didn't disappear... everyone else did! What the backlash of power did was open up a tremendous rift which sent the lands of Empyrea from Toril to Abeir. The city and armies remained on Toril, nearly wiping each other out (except for the clever hobgoblins, who avoided being in the forefront of the engagement). The only evidence of the long-ago confrontation was buried beneath the harsh sands by the unrelenting winds of the Northern Wastes.
The original events of the module (which had to have occurred pre-OGB given Doc's presence in The North) took place on some strange continent on the world of Abeir - one of the few left unmolested by the Dragonlords. Everything plays out as it did, but assume most of the issues were unresolved (the Egg was replaced, and evil was stopped, but not really defeated). At the end, Doc is still banished for his part, but the spell used was divine in nature, basically allowing the "powers that be" to decide where doc belongs.
And where did these mysterious 'powers that be' decide Doc belonged? Back on Toril, of course (since that is where Empyrea came from, in my conjecture). 
So whether he knew it or not, Doc "went home", and everything continued on as it has in canon. Then the spellplague hit... and Empyrea 'snappeed back' to its original spot on Toril (like so much else in 4e). Doc - now Radoc - had been searching the Universe in-vein for Empyrea, even using a powerful scrying artifact called Palan's Tear, but to no avail... until now. He doesn't understand precisely how it happened, but Empyrea is now on the same world as he, and he has traveled back there to start his schemes anew.
Map: {coming soon}
*Which coincidentally came from the same series as the Desert of Desolation, which was later shoe-horned into the Raurin, which is just south of this area. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 31 Mar 2011 04:29:56 |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2011 : 04:27:03
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| He was also stat'd up in The North box set, and that info said that he disappeared. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2011 : 04:36:44
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That works just fine.
Anyone wanting to use the conversion earlier then the Spellplague (or just doesn't plan to use the Spellplague, EVER) can say the region swapped-back during the ToT (which also had a lot of that chaotic carp going on). That would make even more sense in-light of when doc 'disappeared', doesn't conflict with FR (or Kara-Tur/Hordelands) sources, and also takes care of the little snafu of Greyhawk lore (which actually covers when Empyrea was founded). If it happened during the ToT, then that place could have come from Oerth (without any prior attachment to Toril - that's actually a much cleaner back-story).
Now I just want to know what the heck a Tangg-lord is. 
I could just make him an Oni... sounds like an Oni... {MT walks away muttering to himself} |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 31 Mar 2011 04:39:07 |
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Kno
Senior Scribe
452 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2011 : 17:38:19
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| Tang-lord is a boss of tsnngs |
z455t |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 31 Mar 2011 : 19:43:21
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Was that a joke?
I think it was, but I can't really tell.
I've now decided he is an ex Russian Cosmonaut. Although the soviet gov't claims some of its spacemen were killed in tragic accidents, the truth is their ship fell through a wormhole (Gate) and crashed on Oerth.
And everyone knows astronauts LOVE tang. 
EDIT: I'm running into some minor problems (if anyone cares) regarding this, which I had originally conceived to be a 'quick & dirty' project. It seems that a few places that look 'major' (on the map) aren't even detailed, so I tried to track down more, ran into some great Rip-Van-Wormer postings, and found out that the guy who created Empyrea is trying to get it published (he announced it at last year's Gencon).
Ummmmm... if Empyrea appeared in a TSR product, and 'Aquaria' is part of Greyhawk's history, how can he legally publish his setting anymore? I would think that a major chunk of it is now owned by WotC/Hasbro.
The name 'Empyrea' is even used for a city on Mount Celestia in Planescape material. Seems to me Frank Mentzer has his work cut out for himself.
And his setting includes spaceships that occasionally 'fly by' his world and dump debri in junkyard-like locals, so PCs can be walking around with .45's. Yup... that goes a bit beyond 'Steampunk'... no wonder he was introducing 'petroleum' in the EoP modules. And cloud beings named 'blimpies', and cthulhu-esque Krakens that do bio-engineering...
Anyone still interested in a conversion? LOL |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 01 Apr 2011 01:20:50 |
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althen artren
Senior Scribe
USA
780 Posts |
Posted - 01 Apr 2011 : 02:08:15
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Did you know that Tang is great for cleaning toliets as well.
Lots of acid and a fresh smell!
I like tang. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 01 Apr 2011 : 02:24:32
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Well, the only description of the Tangg-Lord says he is "neither dead, nor alive". His hands are described as 'withered' - he may be something akin to an old-school mummy. Considering some of the 'Middle-Eastern feel' of parts of this, that might be a good guess.
And Oerth/Greyhawk had beings called Animus, which were kind of like 'half-dead'.
How is someone selling a setting that is a little over 200 miles across? I think Nentir Vale is bigger then that! I'm thoroughly torn on whether to continue or not. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2011 : 19:51:17
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Well, I needed to practice a bit before getting back to Nentir Vale, and working on something I no longer care (much) about is the simplest way to do this, so I'm proceeding, whether anyone else cares or not.
After I am done, the original author may have issue with me, but since the property we both seem to want to use belongs to Hasbro, I consider it a non-issue. I am the one trying to adapt it to a current, also-owned-by-Hasbro, setting, and NOT trying to make money off of it (and seriously, I doubt I could make it any worse).
And by that, I mean the 'lore'. It was obviously designed with Oerth in-mind - it has a definite 'Greyhawkian' (non-serious) flare. Although this setting was on his homebrew world, the nicest thing I can say about it is that it fits the World of Greyhawk very well.
Which is why I plan to continue in this vein - there are several locales not named, and others I've decided to add whole-cloth (because the area is sparse, and I like tinkering).
So expect some silliness, like my Boot Lake goblins and their music-recording Napsta-Stones. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 03 Apr 2011 19:52:16 |
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Radoc - Star Mounts and Egg of the Phoenix
