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Shadows of Greatness, a Forgotten Realms campaign UPDATED February 1, 2008
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<blockquote data-quote="sniffles" data-source="post: 3867266" data-attributes="member: 30035"><p><strong>Behind the scenes</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><em>We have another session scheduled for tonight. Our devious GM, Devo, has imparted the following information to us via email. I've made a few judicious edits</em>.sniffles </strong> <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p>------------------------------------</p><p><strong>Over the coming days, the group have the opportunity to gather and compare what</strong></p><p><strong>you know of Covenant's quest with the prophecy snippets they've heard.</strong></p><p><strong>Between their conversation and access to some of Covenant's journal, they are</strong></p><p><strong>able to piece together quite a bit. (Information missing from the journal</strong></p><p><strong>leads them to believe that what they have is not a full copy, just some</strong></p><p><strong>highlights.) Reading through the Journal, it is obvious that Covenant did</strong></p><p><strong>not understand the depth of Elishar's involvement in all of this.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>They gather at the temple of Elishar to piece it all together, and Horace</strong></p><p><strong>insists that they use the Inner Chamber (the prophecy chamber) to hold their</strong></p><p><strong>discussions. He hopes that a place devoted to knowledge of the Sun God will</strong></p><p><strong>help in their understanding.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Below is some of the prophecy they've been given. Below that is the whole</strong></p><p><strong>story, as they understand it now. They're getting close to true understanding!</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong><u>Prophecy snippets</u></strong></p><p><strong>-- "My sword shall be your Dreadnaught, Shaper of your Destiny"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "The Iron-Bound Hand shall not bear the Sword, but the Heart it once</strong></p><p><strong>protected, shall"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "The Hand that Bears the Gauntlet shall not Bear the Sword, but the head</strong></p><p><strong>it once protected, shall"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "The Sword that Cannot Be Held"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Light guards what shadow must not have. But the Light must take what the</strong></p><p><strong>Light defends, lest shadow win all."</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Seven and Seven and Seven again, seven to proclaim it, seven to fail.</strong></p><p><strong>Seven to accomplish where others but wail."</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Seven and Seven, Five and Five, proclaim the Birth, find Him Alive"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Seven of Seven, born in the light; five of five, shadows they fight; One</strong></p><p><strong>from the seventh, one of the five; five in the shadows, one found alive"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Light of blue, light of gold; fire red, half-moon gold; splintered</strong></p><p><strong>light, fighting bold; lost remembrance, gods foretold"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "dark city sky return fire plague five travel shadows sword shadow</strong></p><p><strong>engage"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "The Light shall be lost in a shadow storm of mortal magic. The gods but</strong></p><p><strong>one will undo the damage, but</strong></p><p><strong>-- "When mortal hands take what to the gods belong, the first gods will be</strong></p><p><strong>lost. By act of the first gods here, all but one shall be found. Mortal</strong></p><p><strong>hands bearing immortal gifts shall restore the last."</strong></p><p><strong>-- "shadows rise and greatness falls from the shadows of greatness will</strong></p><p><strong>shadows fail"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Shall not call it a war of shadow and light, but of light and light;</strong></p><p><strong>when soldiers of light turn one on another, shadows prevail until a single</strong></p><p><strong>light calls"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "...must overcome all of night, in the course of one sun..."</strong></p><p><strong>-- "servants of gods, friends of the stars, glory will find the nameless</strong></p><p><strong>shapers of destiny in caverns of deepest shadow"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "delivered in the gloved hand of bittersweet discovery; fortune and</strong></p><p><strong>glory, ally turned against ally, and one shall die"</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Three Hands against the Shadow, who strike from below against heart and</strong></p><p><strong>magic, stand still, locked away with a terrible purpose, defending the Dread</strong></p><p><strong>not-Sword from gate's opening, and triumphant return."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong><u>End of the Tale </u> -- (from the burried "temple" above Camber)</strong></p><p><strong>-- "Striking heart and magic from below. We who remember the young god's</strong></p><p><strong>Promise came here to this place."</strong></p><p><strong>Start of the Tale:</strong></p><p><strong>-- "The legacy of the Dawn Bearer is put here, in it's truth, for the</strong></p><p><strong>remembrance of all. The pagan ramblings that existed here before have been</strong></p><p><strong>recorded and placed in the Solaris Vault. We begin now with the Truth."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>"Through the Dawn, the Messenger strides. the DawnStrider, child of Radiant</strong></p><p><strong>Emergence. And this One, Renewed, shall be welcomed in all of the Houses of</strong></p><p><strong>the Sun. For when the Day arrives, when the Time of Shadows Lifting comes to</strong></p><p><strong>pass, the Golden One, the Messenger, will end all things"</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong><u>From Tyrion Sinistral's sword</u>:</strong></p><p><strong>"Injustice! Constructed by immortal artefact, not divine.</strong></p><p><strong>This question cannot be answered by cosmic being,</strong></p><p><strong>For this place is hidden from cosmic sight;</strong></p><p><strong>Mortal eyes must find the way.</strong></p><p><strong>Spirit and form sundered one from another.</strong></p><p><strong>Great injustice to the Elf Lord, who has not collected his due.</strong></p><p><strong>Greatness is measured in deed and intent, And only in the Shadows of</strong></p><p><strong>Greatness will you find your answer."</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong><u>The Reveal</u>:</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>The Sword of the Dreadnaught may be Elishar's sword, reportedly thrown out</strong></p><p><strong>into the world to protect his faithful while he was away. It is said that</strong></p><p><strong>the Sword cannot be held, though, so perhaps it is not a real blade.</strong></p><p><strong>Regardless, prophecy says that the Sword will defend against a great evil --</strong></p><p><strong>a great shadow that falls over the world.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>That shadow seems to be the return of the Shades. They were once great</strong></p><p><strong>wizards who ruled the now-fallen empire of Netheril. Their ancient enemies,</strong></p><p><strong>the phaeretim, were a three-armed race of beings that lived below ground.</strong></p><p><strong>They attacked from below, spreading disease and weakening magic itself.</strong></p><p><strong>Arguably, their involvement lead to the city of Shade being cast out into</strong></p><p><strong>the Plane of Shadow. Now, thousands of years later, that city has returned.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>We next move half a world away, where the Imaskari have pierced the veil</strong></p><p><strong>between worlds to capture hundreds of thousands of human slaves from another</strong></p><p><strong>realm. The Mulan. For better or worse, though, these people had gods.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>In the same moment, Elishar was brought into this world and cast out again</strong></p><p><strong>as he followed his lost peoples. Supposedly, he and the Mulan under his care</strong></p><p><strong>are still alive, lost, or locked away from this realm. An obscure piece of</strong></p><p><strong>prophecy says that the Dawnstrider will walk out of Elishar's realm, and</strong></p><p><strong>behind him will be all creatures of Light. Another says that the Sword of</strong></p><p><strong>Elishar is a gate to where he now resides.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>There were some who believed in Elishar, but were not lost. Those of the</strong></p><p><strong>Mulan who truly believed in Elishar tried to keep his faith active in the</strong></p><p><strong>world and prepared for his return. The strongest of these were called</strong></p><p><strong>Soldiers of Light, and bear within themselves Elishar's light.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Four brothers, perhaps the original Soldiers of Light, set out from ancient</strong></p><p><strong>lands. They created a temple in what is now called the Cloven Mountains,</strong></p><p><strong>where they captured all of the light in their hand and held it for a day and</strong></p><p><strong>a night. This let many evils into the world. This light, or the vessel that</strong></p><p><strong>contained it, is referred to as the Gauntlet of Dawn, and is a necessary</strong></p><p><strong>component to finding the Sword of the Dreadnaught. How it is to help,</strong></p><p><strong>though, none now know.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Once they had the gauntlet, the four brothers were at odds as to how to</strong></p><p><strong>continue. They went their seperate ways. One came to Calimport and built</strong></p><p><strong>another temple to Elishar, which is where you stand today. It is said that</strong></p><p><strong>when these four brothers parted ways, they each created a different faction</strong></p><p><strong>within the Soldiers of Light. Over the centuries Elishar's true wishes have</strong></p><p><strong>been re-interpreted by these various factions. Osaze, for example, is a</strong></p><p><strong>Soldier of Light (though he considers that to be a lesser title behind</strong></p><p><strong>priest of Lathander), who has tasked himself with removing evil from the</strong></p><p><strong>world so that they will not contribute to the Final Battle. Nekaya, on the</strong></p><p><strong>other hand, seeks to keep Elishar's light in the world while looking for the</strong></p><p><strong>lost god.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>The Gauntlet of Dawn went north, where it was lost for many years. (A ruined</strong></p><p><strong>temple in Cormyr was connected to the temple in the Cloven Mountains.</strong></p><p><strong>Perhaps this is where one of the brothers ended up?) The Gauntlet turned up</strong></p><p><strong>again in hell, in the treasure trove of a duke of the lower planes. When</strong></p><p><strong>this duke decided that he did not want to rule in hell, he fled to a place</strong></p><p><strong>where he could live the rest of his days in privacy. This duke was</strong></p><p><strong>Sussurathrax, the abyssal dragon. Osaze heard of this great evil slumbering</strong></p><p><strong>under the realms and went to him to convert him away from evil. He was held</strong></p><p><strong>by the dragon an questioned endlessly. Covenant heard of Osaze's</strong></p><p><strong>imprisonment and went to rescue the great man. Between the two of them, they</strong></p><p><strong>converted Sussurathrax away from evil, but they were told never to return.</strong></p><p><strong>The great dragon would give up his evil ways, but wanted nothing more than</strong></p><p><strong>his privacy.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Many years later, Covenant was deep into his quest to uncover the Sword of</strong></p><p><strong>the Dreadnaught. He had heard that the Gauntlet of Dawn would lead to the</strong></p><p><strong>Sword, then learned later that the Gauntlet was part of Sussurathrax's</strong></p><p><strong>hoard. Gathering his friends together one last time to finish his quest, he</strong></p><p><strong>went to speak to the dragon. He hoped to trade a powerful artifact for the</strong></p><p><strong>Gauntlet, knowing that Sussurathrax wanted his privacy, but believing that</strong></p><p><strong>he could convince the dragon of his needs.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Covenant and his friends have not been heard from since.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>You know from the journal that scrying of any type does not work on the</strong></p><p><strong>dragon nor on his demesne. Teleportation and planar travel are likewise</strong></p><p><strong>barred somehow. The knowledgeable amongst you might reason that any who were</strong></p><p><strong>imprisoned within the halls of the dragon would be completely unreachable</strong></p><p><strong>through magic. If it were some artifact that kept sight from piercing that</strong></p><p><strong>realm, then perhaps it is powerful enough to even block a god's vision.</strong></p><p><strong>Assuming such a thing is possible, then perhaps the artifact that keeps</strong></p><p><strong>interplanar travel from happening is keeping the souls of the dead from</strong></p><p><strong>reaching their final destination. (See Tyrion's prophecy.) That is a thought</strong></p><p><strong>too horrifying to contemplate, though.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Covenant's journal hints that he knows how to find the Sword of the</strong></p><p><strong>Dreadnaught, but thinks that the Gauntlet of Dawn is key to it's recovery.</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="sniffles, post: 3867266, member: 30035"] [b]Behind the scenes[/b] [B][I]We have another session scheduled for tonight. Our devious GM, Devo, has imparted the following information to us via email. I've made a few judicious edits[/I].sniffles [/B] ;) ------------------------------------ [B]Over the coming days, the group have the opportunity to gather and compare what you know of Covenant's quest with the prophecy snippets they've heard. Between their conversation and access to some of Covenant's journal, they are able to piece together quite a bit. (Information missing from the journal leads them to believe that what they have is not a full copy, just some highlights.) Reading through the Journal, it is obvious that Covenant did not understand the depth of Elishar's involvement in all of this. They gather at the temple of Elishar to piece it all together, and Horace insists that they use the Inner Chamber (the prophecy chamber) to hold their discussions. He hopes that a place devoted to knowledge of the Sun God will help in their understanding. Below is some of the prophecy they've been given. Below that is the whole story, as they understand it now. They're getting close to true understanding! [U]Prophecy snippets[/U] -- "My sword shall be your Dreadnaught, Shaper of your Destiny" -- "The Iron-Bound Hand shall not bear the Sword, but the Heart it once protected, shall" -- "The Hand that Bears the Gauntlet shall not Bear the Sword, but the head it once protected, shall" -- "The Sword that Cannot Be Held" -- "Light guards what shadow must not have. But the Light must take what the Light defends, lest shadow win all." -- "Seven and Seven and Seven again, seven to proclaim it, seven to fail. Seven to accomplish where others but wail." -- "Seven and Seven, Five and Five, proclaim the Birth, find Him Alive" -- "Seven of Seven, born in the light; five of five, shadows they fight; One from the seventh, one of the five; five in the shadows, one found alive" -- "Light of blue, light of gold; fire red, half-moon gold; splintered light, fighting bold; lost remembrance, gods foretold" -- "dark city sky return fire plague five travel shadows sword shadow engage" -- "The Light shall be lost in a shadow storm of mortal magic. The gods but one will undo the damage, but -- "When mortal hands take what to the gods belong, the first gods will be lost. By act of the first gods here, all but one shall be found. Mortal hands bearing immortal gifts shall restore the last." -- "shadows rise and greatness falls from the shadows of greatness will shadows fail" -- "Shall not call it a war of shadow and light, but of light and light; when soldiers of light turn one on another, shadows prevail until a single light calls" -- "...must overcome all of night, in the course of one sun..." -- "servants of gods, friends of the stars, glory will find the nameless shapers of destiny in caverns of deepest shadow" -- "delivered in the gloved hand of bittersweet discovery; fortune and glory, ally turned against ally, and one shall die" -- "Three Hands against the Shadow, who strike from below against heart and magic, stand still, locked away with a terrible purpose, defending the Dread not-Sword from gate's opening, and triumphant return." [U]End of the Tale [/U] -- (from the burried "temple" above Camber) -- "Striking heart and magic from below. We who remember the young god's Promise came here to this place." Start of the Tale: -- "The legacy of the Dawn Bearer is put here, in it's truth, for the remembrance of all. The pagan ramblings that existed here before have been recorded and placed in the Solaris Vault. We begin now with the Truth." "Through the Dawn, the Messenger strides. the DawnStrider, child of Radiant Emergence. And this One, Renewed, shall be welcomed in all of the Houses of the Sun. For when the Day arrives, when the Time of Shadows Lifting comes to pass, the Golden One, the Messenger, will end all things" [U]From Tyrion Sinistral's sword[/U]: "Injustice! Constructed by immortal artefact, not divine. This question cannot be answered by cosmic being, For this place is hidden from cosmic sight; Mortal eyes must find the way. Spirit and form sundered one from another. Great injustice to the Elf Lord, who has not collected his due. Greatness is measured in deed and intent, And only in the Shadows of Greatness will you find your answer." [U]The Reveal[/U]: The Sword of the Dreadnaught may be Elishar's sword, reportedly thrown out into the world to protect his faithful while he was away. It is said that the Sword cannot be held, though, so perhaps it is not a real blade. Regardless, prophecy says that the Sword will defend against a great evil -- a great shadow that falls over the world. That shadow seems to be the return of the Shades. They were once great wizards who ruled the now-fallen empire of Netheril. Their ancient enemies, the phaeretim, were a three-armed race of beings that lived below ground. They attacked from below, spreading disease and weakening magic itself. Arguably, their involvement lead to the city of Shade being cast out into the Plane of Shadow. Now, thousands of years later, that city has returned. We next move half a world away, where the Imaskari have pierced the veil between worlds to capture hundreds of thousands of human slaves from another realm. The Mulan. For better or worse, though, these people had gods. In the same moment, Elishar was brought into this world and cast out again as he followed his lost peoples. Supposedly, he and the Mulan under his care are still alive, lost, or locked away from this realm. An obscure piece of prophecy says that the Dawnstrider will walk out of Elishar's realm, and behind him will be all creatures of Light. Another says that the Sword of Elishar is a gate to where he now resides. There were some who believed in Elishar, but were not lost. Those of the Mulan who truly believed in Elishar tried to keep his faith active in the world and prepared for his return. The strongest of these were called Soldiers of Light, and bear within themselves Elishar's light. Four brothers, perhaps the original Soldiers of Light, set out from ancient lands. They created a temple in what is now called the Cloven Mountains, where they captured all of the light in their hand and held it for a day and a night. This let many evils into the world. This light, or the vessel that contained it, is referred to as the Gauntlet of Dawn, and is a necessary component to finding the Sword of the Dreadnaught. How it is to help, though, none now know. Once they had the gauntlet, the four brothers were at odds as to how to continue. They went their seperate ways. One came to Calimport and built another temple to Elishar, which is where you stand today. It is said that when these four brothers parted ways, they each created a different faction within the Soldiers of Light. Over the centuries Elishar's true wishes have been re-interpreted by these various factions. Osaze, for example, is a Soldier of Light (though he considers that to be a lesser title behind priest of Lathander), who has tasked himself with removing evil from the world so that they will not contribute to the Final Battle. Nekaya, on the other hand, seeks to keep Elishar's light in the world while looking for the lost god. The Gauntlet of Dawn went north, where it was lost for many years. (A ruined temple in Cormyr was connected to the temple in the Cloven Mountains. Perhaps this is where one of the brothers ended up?) The Gauntlet turned up again in hell, in the treasure trove of a duke of the lower planes. When this duke decided that he did not want to rule in hell, he fled to a place where he could live the rest of his days in privacy. This duke was Sussurathrax, the abyssal dragon. Osaze heard of this great evil slumbering under the realms and went to him to convert him away from evil. He was held by the dragon an questioned endlessly. Covenant heard of Osaze's imprisonment and went to rescue the great man. Between the two of them, they converted Sussurathrax away from evil, but they were told never to return. The great dragon would give up his evil ways, but wanted nothing more than his privacy. Many years later, Covenant was deep into his quest to uncover the Sword of the Dreadnaught. He had heard that the Gauntlet of Dawn would lead to the Sword, then learned later that the Gauntlet was part of Sussurathrax's hoard. Gathering his friends together one last time to finish his quest, he went to speak to the dragon. He hoped to trade a powerful artifact for the Gauntlet, knowing that Sussurathrax wanted his privacy, but believing that he could convince the dragon of his needs. Covenant and his friends have not been heard from since. You know from the journal that scrying of any type does not work on the dragon nor on his demesne. Teleportation and planar travel are likewise barred somehow. The knowledgeable amongst you might reason that any who were imprisoned within the halls of the dragon would be completely unreachable through magic. If it were some artifact that kept sight from piercing that realm, then perhaps it is powerful enough to even block a god's vision. Assuming such a thing is possible, then perhaps the artifact that keeps interplanar travel from happening is keeping the souls of the dead from reaching their final destination. (See Tyrion's prophecy.) That is a thought too horrifying to contemplate, though. Covenant's journal hints that he knows how to find the Sword of the Dreadnaught, but thinks that the Gauntlet of Dawn is key to it's recovery.[/B] [/QUOTE]
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