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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
877 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Dec 2013 : 10:51:23
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I say we can try to glue it all together with two moves:
1 - Blame it all on the Imaskari
2 - Give some stage time to Fraz-Urb'Luu
3 - ???
4 - Profit
To elaborate i would like to point at this interesting bit in Grand History of the Realms page 18, wholly dedicated to the Imaskari, fourth paragraph:
"In –6422 DR, rampaging krakentua razed the Imperial City of Inupras, forcing the Imaskari to abandon their ancient capital. How the demon spirits entered the city is unknown, but popular opinion later placed the blame on the Cult of Demogorgon, since the krakentua first emerged from the Temple of the Gaping Maw in the city’s center."
While i doubt the Imaskari worshipped demons the classical way, i think that, given their interest in planar magic, they had extensive relationships with them. And if they had a "Temple to Gaping Maw" in their capital city, i bet they had a lot more dealings with demons than with devils (probably viewing the "contracts" and pacts with devils as the same kind of binding relationship a faithful enters with his/her deity, demons on the other hand are as likely to renege on their pacts as any evil selfish human). So it's perfectly reasonable to have the Imaskari forge alliances with demons and maybe renege on agreements from time to time (the destruction of Inupras may very well had been one such occassion in which some smart-ass artificer decided to mess with a pact with Demogorgon) and capturing/binding devils is just one of the hundreds possible ways the Imaskari fulfilled their ends of the bargains. So we have the Imaskari messing around, binding devils and opening portals and planar rifts on a whim (seeing how much they employed traslocation magic and planar magic it's a wonder we don't have MORE reports of Imaskari screwing things up and permanent planar rifts forming anywhere in eastern Faerun/central Toril). In conclusion, we can freely say the Dark Pit was an Imaskari binding/planar experiment gone wrong (noting that at its peak, the Imaskari empire stretched south to the Durpari lands and Ulgarth so a few outposts in modern day Shaar are reasonable).
Some time later (centuries? millennias?) Fraz-Urb'Luu enters the scene, he is involved in a complex backstabbing maneuver that has Eltab bound on Toril with most of his leutanants and servitor demons (Ndulu got banished back home with some buddies only in 786 DR), he (and probably all self-respecting abyssal lords) knows about Astaroth's fate and about the fact Gargauth likes to wander Toril and kill/absorb/bind powerful fiends stranded there. His involvment in the "Eltab affair" ensures that he knows practically everything about him and his binding status at any time (including about the Everlasting Wyrm), we can say he keeps tabs on Eltab (... ok that was bad, sorry!). Eltab gets released by the Myrkulites and is free to do what he pleases, Fraz knows the old bullhead will find a way to renege on his pact with the fanatics and go about his business so he tips off Gargauth about this powerfull fiend bound on Toril and weakened by ages of imprisonment and a pact with lunatic fanatics.
Fraz motives are simple: if the two battle and Eltab bites the dust he has more time to further his schemes and try to seize Eltab's Layer (either because the Adamantine Binding snatches Eltab back inside a Demoncyst or Gargauth beats the crap out of him and Eltab has to spend time reforming in the Abyss and, once reformed, his mightily weakened), if on the other hand is Gargauth that bites the dust then Fraz has won a great victory for the Abyss in the Blood War (using Eltab as a pawn, to add insult to injury) gaining political influence and swaying the opinion of lesser demons to his advantage (thus strenghtening his armies and power in the Abyss).
Thus we have the Eltab-Gargauth fight we were looking for and we have Hilather tipping the balance in Eltab's favor by helping the Myrkulites bind Gargauth someplace outside their "holy realm" of Eltabranar, someplace with planar connections and binding rituals ready to be used, someplace the old Imaskari artificer knows was built to hold, bind and capture devils: the Dark Pit. |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 03 Dec 2013 : 14:02:28
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| I LIKE IT! The Fraz link is great. Then we have a perfectly trapped Gargauth for Hilather to play with as he makes the Shield of the Hidden Lord. Whenever Eltab finds out what Hilather is doing, perhaps that sparks conflict between the two (he worries that the archmage may try to entrap him in a device... which Hilather may have been planning to do). Hilather flees to the Shoon Imperium, where he agrees to construct demonshields. He creates a portal linkage from beneath his tower that actually connects to a major demoncyst somewhere in the Unapproachable East (maybe... I kind of like the idea though... its simpler and more elegant I think), and binds entrapped demons from the demoncyst into shields. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore
United Kingdom
1152 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2014 : 16:38:57
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| Cloak and Dagger (p72) doesn't clear this question up either. Just that it was found in the Fields of the Dead and that Gargauth's followers believe it's a manifestation of Gargauth. |
When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.
Head admin of the FR wiki:
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/ |
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader
United Kingdom
6361 Posts |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2014 : 23:14:47
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| One thing to consider. Once Gargauth was FREED from it (assuming he had been entrapped), the abilities may have changed. Essentially, having an entrapped devil in it may have given it some interesting abilities fueled by the entrapped being. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Tigon
Acolyte
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 15 Feb 2018 : 12:48:40
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Another case of thread necromancy...
In regards to the "Everlasting Wyrm", is there ever a description given for this dragon?
As I pointed out on another thread, on page 23 of Powers & Pantheons:
"Gargauth is a loner. His few servants are undead and other creatures he can control with his charm monster ability, such as snakes and blue dragons He is often encountered astride Rathguul, a great blue wyrm with maximum hit points who serves as his steed as part of an ancient contract..."
Could this everylasting wyrm be Gargauth's own steed... Rathguul? Certainly would be an attractive lure for the COTD as well. |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2018 : 00:28:46
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From 3.5 Dragons of Faerun, Roll Call of Dragons. They give the name and make it a green dragon.
Xavarathimius, CR 27 Dracolich Male great wyrm green Sharawood, Shaar “The Everlasting Wyrm”
However, thank you for the thread necromancy... I had forgotten Demzer's interesting ideas involving Fraz'urb-luu, Hilather, Gargauth, and Eltab.
Even moreso, I'm now picturing Hilather/Halaster as an anima mage (mixing wizardry and binding magic), and that maybe part of his craziness is that he did this creating of link form the dark pit of maleficence to wells of darkness/shattered night using a ritual that had his mind touch into the wells of darkness and the place where vestiges go. Given my interests in Peleveran, this is a great find. Now ... how to work it....
Even more fits that I want to have Thayd's disappearance around the time of the formation of the Zulkirate, the fall of Peleveran, and the release of Gargauth. If Thayd is going to the Pit of Maleficence because he's Imaskari, and the Imaskari made the Pit, and he knows Halaster did something there... maybe he goes there and Halaster shows up (because he got the alarm that Gargauth is free) and entraps Thayd as a vestige (because my original story also had Thayd as an anima mage... a lot of Imaskari in my book were anima mages.... as were the Theurgist Adepts). Halaster may have also entrapped Jorgmacdon, the first Zulkir of Conjuration, there somehow, since I want him freed in Peleveran.
Hmmm, gotta remember was also having Thayd possessing a dragon simply because it was the only creature he could find with enough hit die for his "suel lich" type form... and the dragon rage was going on too.
Hmmmm, what if Halaster's shattering also had something to do with the Dark Pit of Maleficence and the wells of darkness.... what if Halaster is now a vestige?
Hmmm, several things to tie together, but it could make a good story. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
Edited by - sleyvas on 16 Feb 2018 00:56:48 |
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cpthero2
Great Reader
USA
2286 Posts |
Posted - 01 Mar 2020 : 00:23:17
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Great Reader sleyvas,
I dig the idea of Halaster being associated somehow with the Dark Pit of Maleficence. That is frickin' cool!
BTW, other than the Shining South, do you know of any materials that discuss it?
Best regards,
quote:
Originally posted by sleyvas
From 3.5 Dragons of Faerun, Roll Call of Dragons. They give the name and make it a green dragon.
Xavarathimius, CR 27 Dracolich Male great wyrm green Sharawood, Shaar “The Everlasting Wyrm”
However, thank you for the thread necromancy... I had forgotten Demzer's interesting ideas involving Fraz'urb-luu, Hilather, Gargauth, and Eltab.
Even moreso, I'm now picturing Hilather/Halaster as an anima mage (mixing wizardry and binding magic), and that maybe part of his craziness is that he did this creating of link form the dark pit of maleficence to wells of darkness/shattered night using a ritual that had his mind touch into the wells of darkness and the place where vestiges go. Given my interests in Peleveran, this is a great find. Now ... how to work it....
Even more fits that I want to have Thayd's disappearance around the time of the formation of the Zulkirate, the fall of Peleveran, and the release of Gargauth. If Thayd is going to the Pit of Maleficence because he's Imaskari, and the Imaskari made the Pit, and he knows Halaster did something there... maybe he goes there and Halaster shows up (because he got the alarm that Gargauth is free) and entraps Thayd as a vestige (because my original story also had Thayd as an anima mage... a lot of Imaskari in my book were anima mages.... as were the Theurgist Adepts). Halaster may have also entrapped Jorgmacdon, the first Zulkir of Conjuration, there somehow, since I want him freed in Peleveran.
Hmmm, gotta remember was also having Thayd possessing a dragon simply because it was the only creature he could find with enough hit die for his "suel lich" type form... and the dragon rage was going on too.
Hmmmm, what if Halaster's shattering also had something to do with the Dark Pit of Maleficence and the wells of darkness.... what if Halaster is now a vestige?
Hmmm, several things to tie together, but it could make a good story.
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Higher Atlar
Spirit Soaring |
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Imaskari info
