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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1885 Posts |
 Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 13:18:57
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Im curious to know what people think about adding the Order of High Sorcery to the Realms. If you were going to do this, where would you place the Towers of High Sorcery? How would you meld the history of the Order into the Realms? Would anyone add the three moons of magic to the world? Would anyone 'modify' the pantheon to have similar deities in the Realms similar to Krynn's gods of magic? My own thoughts...
1. There were a total of 5 towers (with 2 more planned) in the Dragonlance setting. If I were to place them it would be in the following locations:
A. High Forest for the Wayreth Tower/Headquarters of the Order and, as such, would be considered a Neutral held tower.
B. Waterdeep for another because, well, it's Waterdeep. It would be a Neutral tower.
C. Cimbar in Chessenta would be a Neutral Tower.
D. Thay would have an evil tower.
E. Zhentil Keep would have an evil tower.
F. Halruaa would have a good tower.
G. Silverymoon or Suzail would have a good tower. I prefer Suzail as placing it in Silverymoon means too many towers in the North but then Silverymoon makes more sense to me.
Note: all of the towers are neutral ground for members but in the original setting one of each tower was primarily held by a given alignment, one was the headquarters, and the last was a sort of storehouse or repository for their knowledge.
2. The history would have to be altered of course but much of it can be worked into the setting...just not as pervasive as Dragonlance. For instance, all wizards are required to be members in DL...this should not be the case in the Realms. Membership should have great privileges though and the gods of magic should severely punish renegades of the Order if it's to survive the ages.
3. Personally, I would add the moons but the neutral moon would be grey (not red) and it's wizards would usually wear grey robes (again, not red...that's for the Thayans).
4. I would have Mystra be the goddess of magic and not actually associated with any one Order. Selune would be the goddess of white magic, Azuth the god of grey magic, and Velsharoon the god of black magic (although I actually have a replacement for him).
5. Other notes:
A. Thay might not be a good fit for a tower as its wizards traditionally disdained Mystra in favor of Bane. The tower slotted for them may be better in Calimshan.
B. Suzail may be a little difficult in that wizards are (IMHO) slightly oppressed in Cormyr (what with having to register and state their travel plans and all). Also, the War Wizards would constantly be trying to pry into the Order's affairs and being a member of both the Order and the WW could be a conflict. I'm not sure Vangey would like their presence in Forest Kingdom.
Anyone have ideas or thoughts on this?
Markustay...I know you aren't sure about adding DL to your Misbegotten Realms, but if you do how would you go about doing it (especially as regards adding the moons)?
Jeremy and Sleyvas, as resident experts on Cormyr and Thay, what are each of your thoughts on adding these additions to those respective areas?
Dalor, as another individual who has added other settings to the Realms, how (or have you?) would you go about melding the them?
I'm also curious (and so please consider this discussion open for these things as well) what people think about similar additions from DL (an order similar to the Solamnic Knights, adding Lord Soth, melding the Cataclysm into the Realms proper, the flavor of the two settings and how best to meld them, etc).
Cheers.
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I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
Edited by - The Arcanamach on 31 Dec 2013 13:23:12
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12189 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 14:51:59
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My thoughts on this would be that if you wanted to submit some idea like this, it would be something where it wasn't divided along the lines of good/neutral/evil for Faerun, but rather along the lines of school specialization. Perhaps the return on investment is that the individual can specialize in multiple schools of magic, but those schools would be specified (illusion/enchantment/transmutation, conjuration/necromancy/evocation, abjuration/evocation/divination). I don't know that I like that idea much.
Another option would be to have them not be the towers of high sorcery and instead be "the towers of Grand Witchery", and the individuals involved aren't wizards... they're warlocks who choose to either make a pact with the fey (green robes), fiends (black robes), or far realms (purple robes?). This would tend to invoke the mystery/awe/suspicion that would surround those who have taken the test... whereas another kind of wizard is less likely to do so. Also, this tends to get rid of the "oh the white robes are just wonderful and you should totally trust them" issue. If the warlocks that went there also learned the art of binding (binders from ToM), then it would be even more fitting (say a prestige class that works with warlock and binder advancement). This gives them the constant reuse of warlocks, plus the somewhat flexible nature of the binder.
Another option would be to have these still be called the "towers of High Sorcery", but one makes them open to certain types of specialized casters who depend more on charisma like a sorcerer. For instance, the black tower be for dread necromancers, another tower for warmages & duskblades, another for beguilers. Not sure that I like that either though.
Finally, it could be truly the "towers of High Sorcery" and its open only to sorcerers. The advantage could be extra spells being known of a specified list. Hell, you might combine it with the aforementioned idea of the dread necro's, warmages, beguilers, and duskblades... wherein you create a prestige class that allows you to dual-build sorcerer with spellcasting from any of those 4 other classes (warmages and duskblades being from the same tower). This gives an interesting reason for sorcerers to go to these towers, and depending on the type of alternate specialization, they may be seen as more like an honorable warrior, mischievous trickster, or dread black robe.
The idea that these towers are located in the wilds and almost impossible to find/enter should be used. This could explain why not every sorcery shows up there. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36963 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 14:53:17
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I don't know that the Orders of High Sorcery would work as well, in the Realms -- part of why they work on Krynn is because of their history. In the Realms, other than on the nation-state level, groups of mages usually don't last for very long at all. I also don't see what purpose they'd serve in the Realms.
There are plenty of smaller knightly orders in the Realms, many associated with deities. Not really sure there is a way to shoehorn in a large order like the Solamnics.
Lord Soth would be the easiest thing to import, though you'd have to change the Cataclysm aspect of his backstory. I don't see much need to do this, though -- per Ed (via email), "Yes, there are death knights in the Realms, and they're generally called, yep, death knights, though of course there are local nicknames and variants such as "doomhelms.""
For the Cataclysm... No. The Realms has been blown up enough, and has already had devastation wrought by things falling from the sky. No need to import more.
Lastly, the flavor... I don't think the flavors are compatible. The Realms has a feel where everything and everyone has a story, or could have their own story. There is a rich, interwoven history, and remnants of the past are everywhere.
Krynn, with its focus on the War of the Lance, feels much more like there is a single story, and that everything else supports that. Krynnish history has been more about the Cataclysm and wars involving dragons, as opposed to the rise and fall of nations and empires.
Even if you don't agree with that, Krynn has one pantheon and large, visible multinational organizations like the Knights of Solamnia and Takhisis, the dragonarmies, and the Order of High Sorcery. Toril has multiple pantheons and its multinational organizations are much smaller, more limited in scope, and generally not at all visible.
I like both, but I'm not at all in favor of trying to blend them, because I don't think the two settings are compatible.
I like ham and cheese sandwiches, and I like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Despite liking both, I'm not putting ham and cheese into my next PBJ. Two great tastes do not always taste great together.
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12189 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 17:14:10
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After thinking about it more and more, I'm thinking that, of the 3 options I mentioned, there's one that stands out. The idea of the warlock/binder combo would seem to me as the best one if you wanted to give the feel of the towers of High Sorcery. The general idea was always that the graduates of the tower were ones that the average person should be leery of. In the realms, warlock/binders would provide that feel. If you divided them along the lines of fey/fiend/far realm, you'd get something where one of them MIGHT be viewed as somewhat good (the fey one). The general idea that the towers would only offer certain types of warlock invocations to fit their respective pact would seem appropriate. Also, the idea that rogue warlocks or binders might be hunted by the members of these societies would also be interesting. Essentially, the practitioners may have been hunted in the past, and by forming this "tower society" they obtained at least a level of legitimacy that people will accept these graduates within society. As a result, they don't want rogue elements that would blemish their names (the fact that it also encourages growth in their ranks helps).
As to where to place the towers...
the fey towers in seldom traveled areas of the High Forest (thinking either star mounts or dire wood), the Erech Forest in Rashemen where the Durthans also stay, and maybe Myrloch Vale in the Moonshaes
the "fiend" towers in the Rawlinswood near Dun-Tharos/ the heart of ancient Narfell, and I could see one in the deep deserts of Calimshan as well, and there may be a "lost" one in the jungles of Chult
the "far realms" I'd probably only do one tower on the surface, and maybe another somewhere in the underdark, possibly near a derro community. Where on the surface? My thoughts turn to Luthcheq only because of the madness there, but the anti-wizard feel of the area wouldn't fit. Maybe in the city of Hlondeth, but hidden from view somehow?
On the moons/stars interaction, I'd probably strip it. If you want some mages who are involved with the moons and stars movements, there's several constellation following mage prestige classes though.
If you did the society of sorcerers who also do another spontaneous casting class, then I could see Thay having one of all 3 towers, and these towers might have alliances with the schools of magic that are most similar to theirs (i.e. necromancers with the black tower that makes sorcerer/dread necro combos, evokers with the tower that makes sorcerer/warmage or duskblade combos, illusion & enchantment with the towers that have sorcerer/beguiler combos). While they wouldn't have as much respect for the people in these towers, they would appreciate that these individuals are less intellectually trained but great leaders. Other towers would fit in well with other societies that might have a lot of sorcerers within the list you mentioned. I just don't see why this society would stand out really, other than the fact that it gave a focus on training naturally magical individuals. The general idea of them hunting down rogues would be out. I don't see their graduates being looked at as special per se by the common folk compared to other spellcasters (it'd be like dentists in our world... how many of us note where our dentist graduated?). In the end, you could add it, but I'm just not seeing it being extremely interesting except for the crunch of the prestige class that would go along with it to allow people better sorcerer builds. |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
8027 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2013 : 23:22:07
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I must agree with Wooly - the Orders of High Sorcery aren‘t really well-suited for the Realms without a bit of a major overhaul.
There are a countless number of different magics (and magic-users) in the Realms - even 2E offered wizards, arcanists, high mages, true mages, dweomercasters, alchemists, geomancers, elementalists, wildmages, chronomancers, shadowmages, and many more. 3E easily doubled and redoubled this diversity with the inclusion of sorcerers and numerous hyperspecialists. And then there‘s psionics, entirely unknown on Krynn. This doesn‘t include warlocks or other 4E creations.
So Realms Towers of High Sorcery would be competing (or at war) with dozens of other magical systems. Why would anyone bother to test for a robe when so many other options are available? How could these orders possibly manage to bring all the robeless “renegades“ under their auspices?
Also, the Realms has numerous powerful priests and priest spells, whereas on Krynn these are incredibly rare. This would greatly shift the balance away from orders of sorcery, they have greater power at their command on Krynn because Dragonlance is a low-magic setting occupied by fewer magical items, threats, and creatures.
Let‘s not even mention all the unique magics practiced by everybody in the Realms who isn‘t a human, demihuman, or dragon. Or the stuff brought in by planeswalkers and spelljammers. They could all still fit in, with some work.
And of course Toril has only one moon. Perhaps two, if one was willing to assert that the “black“ moon is invisible to normal observation (except during extraordinarily rare eclipses and such). But definitely not three.
Finally, the Orders of Sorcery were a dominant shaping force throughout much of Krynn‘s history; they were central to many events, the destinies of cities and nations depended much upon them. There is no history of this sort in the Realms.
So it‘s not impossible at all. It just might be easier to play a Dragonlance campaign than it would be to hybridize two very different worlds. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4253 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 01:11:25
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While I do have Krynn in my Forgotten Realms, it is somewhat isolated...almost to the point of being secluded.
Your idea I think is good though.
To me, for the Orders of High Sorcery to actually work in Faerun, they would have to be very ancient, and nearly unknown...perhaps even fostering bloodlines of magic in the world and ensuring that not just MAGIC is widespread, but USERS of magic.
Their towers should be hidden; but could be virtually anywhere: the Forgotten Realms is huge on portals...pocket dimensions holding towers would be just a bonus.
The orders should only be sponsored by the most ancient of powers though...nothing less than powers that existed in the beginning. Azuth is too new in comparison. They don't even have to be human powers.
You don't even have to add moons really. Instead, simply certain astrological alignments that cycle in the same pattern instead. The power of the orders increase when their "signs" are in order and wane when their signs are further away.
Each of these orders isn't just interested in magic, but in ensuring rich lines of powerful wielders of magic. They would be HIGHLY against outside influences in their bloodlines...no Cambions, half-celestials or what have you...but instead they would be devoted to the "natural" growth of bloodlines. Half-Dragon, Yes, Half-Demon, No! The reason being that outside influences would try to draw magic FROM the world (including the souls of users of magic!) which would weaken the magic in the world...or worse, make the world a target for absorption by outside forces (either good or evil).
Now that is the REASON I would have them there. As to how they worked:
Their Towers of High Sorcery should be just that, powerful towers where powerful magic was worked in the past...possibly by beings that were not even human. These towers would have existed in Faerun before humans had fully crawled from caves and elves had not even come to the world yet. These early races, predicting their own fall, may have encouraged other races.
Depending on the rules edition you use, this order could be Sorcerers or wizards or "magic-users". Instead of hunting down "renegades" they might instead fight to keep their orders a secret and try to dispose of those that threaten them.
Lots of different ways to play the Orders if you want really.
The Cataclysm could have been the pride and overwhelming arrogance of the Elves...or you don't even have to have much about a cataclysm.
Dragon Armies would not be a hard thing to do in the Forgotten Realms...and certainly not draconians. If someone were to gain one (or more!) of the Orbs of Dragonkind at the behest of Tiamat, a powerful army could quickly be formed that had dragons at their core. It isn't unthinkable in the Forgotten Realms.
Organizations like the Knights of Solamnia already exist in Faerun among the many orders of the Gods' Knighthoods. If you wanted a much larger and more powerful order to evolve...well, after the Spellplague that happened too in the Western Heartlands after all! It wouldn't be out of order for a large and well disciplined order of Knighthood backed by three goodly gods (see where I'm going with this) to emerge as a powerful force somewhere in Faerun...or have been there for a very long time already. If (like me) the only sources you are using for the base of your campaign are the original printing of each campaign world, it is much easier to do. You could say that the Knights of Solomnia for your world (I would name them something else) controlled or control one specific region and not be so world dominating though.
They could have been the knightly order of Impiltur, they could have been the knights of Tethyr, or they could in fact easily become the Purple Dragon Knights of Cormyr...which is something I tried a long time ago and it works really well. The Triad are the patrons of the Purple Dragon Knights. There are Crown Dragons, Sword Dragons and Rose Dragons. The High Clerist controlled High Horn (yes, I placed the High Clerist's tower there, facing out toward the Goblin Marches). The orders were long ago started to protect the Forest Kingdom. By slightly altering them, and also making them a little less prominent in the world, I had a ready to go order of knights right in the middle of the campaign world.
I didn't think of it until now, but you could also have Dragonlances. Created long ago after the elves caused the Dragon Rages, the lances were intended to help defeat the flights of dragons. Dragon Mountain could be placed somewhere in Faerun and need to be found again when the new Dragon Armies show up (maybe in Thar/Vaasa).
One thing I NEVER let loose in Faerun however were Kender! Dangerous business that...and best left on their native soil!  |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 11:11:21
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quote:
Originally posted by The Arcanamach
Jeremy and Sleyvas, as resident experts on Cormyr and Thay, what are each of your thoughts on adding these additions to those respective areas?
Thank you for asking. 
I’m wondering if a whole different take is in order.
Not so much about Cormyr, but rather looking at the Order of High Sorcery as the latest incarnation of a society of magic users (of all class types) that stretches way back in time, with each of the ‘tears' floating along in Selune’s wake the remnant of a moon that once symbolized and focused the power or previous Order incarnations.
When the races associated with each Order lose sufficient power or otherwise become weak or die out, the potential to control the Order (and thus Magic) passes on to the next race in line with the most cumulative magical power.
When this happens, the moon is remade and a new tear is added in its wake for all to see.
The face of the moon changes based on the alignment of the majority of individuals in a given race who are members of the Order, and the markings on the moon denote which deity of the race in control matches that alignment.
Thus, some Towers are not new, but very old, and so younger races that supplant older races flock to those parts of the Realms where Towers already exist, such as in Cormyr, as well as to already extant great fortresses (like Darkhold) that were built to protect the environs around a nearby Tower, or once held a Tower themselves that at some point in the past was destroyed.
So each great place in the Realms has, or had, a Tower: Candlekeep has one, Waterdeep has one (Blackstaff Tower), Myth Drannor has several (some in worse shape than others) and the strivings of all the races in the Realms are to be mightiest in magic and reclaim their territory, so as to reclaim their Towers.
The King Killer’s Tear is a special tear: the last shred of Draconic magical might. Something made the way it is to drive dragons mad at the Thought Most Unthinkable (that they could ever be supplanted by tiny, two-legged beings) and give them a taste of their former arcane glory, before it’s taken away from them and they are left weak from tear-spawned madness. This was how the elves gained control of the Order.
The elves internecine battles resulted in their worst magic: the power to make a portion of their own race into a whole other race, and so the Drow were cut off from the elves, Corelon having turned his back on them for their weakness of magic, and lost much of their magical power and might.
This diminution of the elves, accompanied in time by the theft of the Scrolls of Creation by the humans of Netheril, presaged the fall of the elves.
(Note the Scrolls of Creation are the very scrolls by which the gods created Toril; also the objects which Bane and his ilk attempted to abduct and bring with them into the heavens in order to assure the supreme rule of humanity on Toril forever [and resulted only in a divine backlash that sent all deities to the Prime.])
Despite Karsus’ failure to rest the whole of magic from Corellon Larethian, he gained sufficient power to hand over to the lesser human deity of magic (Mystryl) and remake her as Mystra, Goddess of All Magic.
This allowed humans to learn the One True Spell to unlock the gates of several Towers, and so Karsus is credited with paving the way for humans to gain control of enough Towers to control the Order.
So it was the first humans to settle in Cormyr didn’t so much acquire territory by mutual agreement from Iliphar Lord of Scepters as they took it from him and his kind, who were already weak from battling dragons and lessened in magic thanks to the treachery of Baerauble the Slave. They laid claim to the Tower where the mighty Shield Maiden Suzara fell in battle. Thus Suzail came to be and so women have ruled on the throne ever since, and the most cunning of Order mages resident in Cormyr elevated to the position of Mage Royal.
In this reality, the idea that the deposed elves would return to claim the Wolf Woods (i.e. Cormyr) if the last Obarskyr dies out is a firm threat, not a circumstance born of ancient understanding.
Different races can still hold one or perhaps two Towers (the elves controlling a Tower at Evermeet, for example, and possibly Evereska), but each tower is greatly lessened in power and has no connection to the current ruling Order.
Before the Time of Troubles, the pantheons of all races not in control of the Order were held in a diminished state by the will of Ao, until the ruling race was dramatically lessened in population, or extinguished outright.
It used to be that one Tower always held the Scrolls of Creation, and capturing those Scrolls would go a long way towards one race overcoming another, but now thanks to the actions of the human deities and their theft of the Scrolls from Candlekeep Tower, Ao holds the scrolls and he sits patiently in judgment of all races, having declared that all deities are now equal (and portioned away power from human deities to the gods of other races to make this a reality), and that only supreme magical might will win a race the right to once more claim the Scrolls of Creation.
So the Realms is an open field of play, the prize is up for grabs and the gods are working furiously with their followers to see their Chosen race succeed above all others.
The elves have already succeeded in a partial elf-drow reunification, much to the alarm of men, and work to reclaim Myth Drannor as well as their other lost cities.
Dragons awaken from long slumber, the Beholder hives hum with activity and Illithids link their minds to concoct devious plots to overtake the minds of men.
Shar has spent a great deal of her power to return her ace in the hole to the Realms (Shade).
And even the Dwarves--who previously shunned all magic for eons--have gained skill at Art and doubled their numbers thanks to the Thunder Blessing, and seek to dominate the World Above in a way the Drow could only dream of.
Heh...this is probably not what you were looking for at all, but it constitutes my ramble on how I’d do it.
quote:
Originally posted by Dalor Darden
... or they could in fact easily become the Purple Dragon Knights of Cormyr...which is something I tried a long time ago and it works really well. The Triad are the patrons of the Purple Dragon Knights. There are Crown Dragons, Sword Dragons and Rose Dragons. The High Clerist controlled High Horn (yes, I placed the High Clerist's Tower there, facing out toward the Goblin Marches). The orders were long ago started to protect the Forest Kingdom. By slightly altering them, and also making them a little less prominent in the world, I had a ready to go order of knights right in the middle of the campaign world.
THIS is pretty cool.
It's one of those campaign world fusion ideas that fits well and remind me of some of the off the wall campaign ideas my old DMs (from 20+ years ago) tried on us.
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Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
Edited by - Jeremy Grenemyer on 01 Jan 2014 11:59:45 |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
12189 Posts |
Posted - 01 Jan 2014 : 14:01:32
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| On the Solamniac Knights, I'd just go with the Triad, with different deities corresponding to different orders (though they would revere the triad... not if in X order revere Y god). The same thing was done with the Solamnic knights (they were devoted to Paladine, Habba-kuk, and Kiri-Jolith for their orders). Torm ethos is akin to the Crown order (i.e. the loyal followers) , have another arm devoted to delivering healing where needed, Tyr for the rose order who embodies the bring of justified ruling. As another option, we know that Tyr was also in close alliance with Helm and Siamorphe, so there could be two alternative orders of the knighthood devoted to these deities that one gains after the equivalent of the initial order. If you did that, I'd name the orders as follows Sword (Torm), Hand (Ilmater), Lily (Tyr), Shield (Helm), Crown (Siamorphe). |
Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1885 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2014 : 09:56:36
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Some decent ideas being presented here and I'm actually considering adding multiple organization based on some of them (but will withhold comments on them until more opinions have been shared). What I'm considering now, in light of the events of The Sundering (starting with the ToT) and culminating this year with Ed's book, is Mystra and Azuth deciding that enough is enough and there needs to be a change (in MY Realms, that is).
There have been too many cataclysmic events (the Fall of Netheril, the Time of Troubles, the Spellplague) and severe abuses of magic (the creation of Anaurach, the 'killing storm' used by the elves, and [again] the Fall of Netheril). To this end, I see Mystra (who is a N deity in my world) contacting many mages (some through overt contact ['in the flesh'], some through dreams and visions, and others through subtle nudgings) to set up the Order of Wizardry (I will come up with a better name later). The idea is to have a large cabal of arcane spellcasters (of all stripes and classes) who desire to mitigate the damage caused by abuses of magic by both policing other arcanists and by repairing what damage they can.
I do NOT intend for this to be done in a heavy-handed manner. All of the policing/mitigating has been done by her agents for centuries already and establishing the Order is meant to be another layer of security in this regard. All of the various teaching of the gods of magic will be upheld, including the distribution of magic (through teaching both magic and its responsible use) and the Order would receive the direct and OPEN backing of the gods of magic and likely the gods of knowledge as well.
Wizards would not be required to join in order to practice magic (so no inquisitions against wizards who refuse to join) but former members would be labeled renegade and dealt with accordingly. On this note, I think folks could be just Associates (not full members and therefore not privy to the Order's secrets...and thus not labeled as renegade if they sever ties to the Order), Members would receive full benefits of the Order but would be required to take the Test. However, failure does not mean death...it simply means one must remain an Associate of the Order and may only make use of the more limited benefits offered. Then there is the Master level of the Order which requires another Test that IS fatal if failed. These few members are accorded access to far more secrets (and responsibilities) than standard members.
Associate Benefits: Likely very similar to the Arcane Order prestige class so access to research facilities and libraries, the right to copy spells provided a new spell or a modest payment is made, access to a Spell Pool device, able to buy spell components and some magic items from merchant wizards, access to taverns/inns where available, etc.
Member Benefits: All of the above at cheaper rates (if applicable), become attuned to the moons/stars (or whatever I decide on) to increase one's spell power (I wont use a waxing/waning model, instead there will likely be a stable power increase with certain times providing even more power...but never a power 'dip' as in DL setting). A set of 'flaws' that really just mean an oath to the Order and the gods to do certain things and act in a certain manner where magic is concerned (but open to all alignments, even evil persons can act with restraint and be 'evil' in private so as not to get caught). These flaws will have a corresponding number of bonus feats (including the stellar attunement mentioned above) that are lost if one becomes renegade.
Master Benefits: Dunno yet but very very good. Likely a template placed on the member and only offered to those who have acted in the highest accordance with the Order's mandate. One must be invited to this level after the gods have made their wishes known for a possible candidate.
That's all I can think of for now. The main point I want to stress is that this isn't meant to be exactly like DL...so it's not 'all encompassing' of arcane casters. Such folks will be encouraged to join and not at all forced. They are meant to act as a balance in Faerun to those wizards who are wantonly destructive and openly cause fear in the populace. The common man who has dealings with them should be able to say (even of an obviously evil member) that "these individuals understand that society needs to function without too much interference from spell hurling wizards on high!"
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I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Order of High Sorcery
