I’ve been getting a lot of requests for details on the events surrounding this event. Where to begin…
I will begin with the statement that I’m not an expert on the Forgotten Realms. I’ve played them since they first came out in that lovely grey box, but I’m not a guru or any such thing. I try to run as accurate of a campaign as I can though, but I realize that it is my gaming group’s game world, and not Ed Greenwood’s anymore. I think that’s what he intended anyway, to see what other people would do with his ideas and tales. That’s why I believe, that essentially, there is no such thing as a “wrong” FR campaign. Everyone makes it their own, and that’s what makes it great. This is especially true in a campaign where the entire group plays and DM’s (each with their own knowledge and interpretation of the Realms). We all take turns at the DM’s chairs, but if there was a “main” DM, I suppose that would be me. Anyway, let’s move along…
I guess it all starts when we started a new FR campaign (Run in 3rd edition, but using 2nd edition FR books and upgrading them to 3rd as they came out). My character was a Mulhorandi wizard by the name of Sharantyr (no relation to the ranger). I’ll spare you the long and sad story of Sharantyr’s family; suffice it to say that vengeance against Thayans became a family obsession. This was blessed by Horus-Re himself (before the Times of Trouble), since he still remembers well his once role as god of vengeance. Horus-re gave his family the ability (and a nearly tactile push) to track all those that were responsible for their family’s dark fate. It was part blessing, part curse. The family hobby had a high price to pay, the wiping out of most of the able-bodied, except for the youngest brother, Sharantyr.
The campaign took over two years of real-life time and spanned seven years or so of game time. It was a role-play heavy campaign full of intrigue, ethical dilemmas, and all manner of events. Over that time Sharantyr went from being lawful neutral (nearly lawful good), to lawful evil, to finally neutral evil. He went from being a fervent follower of Horus-Re, to seeing the gods nearly as an enemy and vengeance feeling hollow. The events that had happened during that time shook the foundations of everyone’s ideas of right and wrong, some turning to evil, some turning to good. Enemies became allies, and ally’s enemies. Many close to the group died, and adventuring (and revenge for Sharantyr) begun to loose it’s splendor as the reality of it sunk in. Nothing was clear and the only thing that seemed to have any real foundation were the feelings the characters felt for each other.
In that campaign was that our characters came across a powerful and dark tome holding several spells from the Book of Vile Darkness, Apocalypse from the Sky being one of them (this was when the BoVD first came out). Sharantyr took the tome, hiding it among his books. Quite sometime after that event, the party was journeying in the Nine Hells on a quest to save a friend who had become trapped there. On Avernus they came across a small devil-defended fortress that had been recently damaged in the blood-war. Only a small garrison was left to defend it and the party defeated them and searched the place. There they found what the keep was holding, a powerful artifact of good. The sword of some long lost paladin that had perhaps fallen in that very spot, and the keep was built around it to keep the forces of good from reclaiming it. The power of hell had not yet turned the blade to evil, but it was on that razor’s edge change.
Knowing exactly what was needed for the Apocalypse spell, and a kernel of an idea having germinated, Sharantyr asked for the blade. No one in the group could use the blade, and since the wizard never asked for items they conceded after much discussion. Were in-character lies given and promises made? When have they not been in the search for power?
During this entire game campaign, my wife had kept an in-character journal/diary of all the events therein (the thing is huge, let me tell you). During the times that several in-game months would pass between games and my wife would write detailed accounts of events that transpired (all approved by the gaming group). So in the end the journal encompassed much more then what was done at the gaming table.
When the campaign finally retired Sharantyr had found love and married (to my wife’s character). He had also found a tiny measure of wisdom and had just briefly begun down the road that might one day lead him to redemption.
Though the campaign was finished, over the next year my wife kept writing about what happened to Sharantyr and her character, Runa. She wrote of their life together, the children they had, and all new events. It was great stuff, spawning great characters in the children of the two ex-PC’s.
My wife would often consult with me on how Sharantyr would react, so her stories could be as “accurate” as possible. Over time she gained a keen understanding of Sharantyr’s personality and knew his reactions without even needing to ask. One of the events that occurred in her stories is that Runa, while she was pregnant with their first child, was attacked by Thayan assassins. She barely survived the attack and nearly lost the child. She asked me how would Sharantyr react to this?
I thought long on this, I considered what really drove the wizard to action, what burned inside of him. I thought of the weight of being the last of his family line, the weight of two generations seeking vengeance and never having attained it. I thought of the love he had for his wife and unborn child. I thought of the curse and blessing the child would be born with, to seek vengeance against the Thayans. Sharantyr’s father had doomed his bloodline with Horus-Re’s blessing to always seek revenge, regardless of their own desires.
It was then that I told her of the scroll the wizard had made (why memorize it, when you can cast it from a scroll) and why he had wanted the sword. I told her of the plan Sharantyr had long ago, but had decided against. I told her that after such an event… I saw the fire burning inside him and driving him to such an act. The stage was set; all he needed was a few final steps.
Sharantyr made the last of the dark preparations to the blade and went to Thaymount, and flew high above it. He had already prepared a series of contingencies, conditional spells, potions and other protections before casting that horrible spell. Once cast a battle ensued with Tam himself, which didn’t last long. Sharantyr fled crippled from the battle and barely escaped with his life. He went directly to the Pharaoh in Skuld, the representative of Horus-Re on Faerun.
Barely standing from his wounds he explained that he had extracted revenge on Thay in a way that generations of his family never could. Before he collapsed he asked to be free of the “blessing” that his blood and family had. Wordlessly, the request was granted.
In the end Sharantyr’s family had to flee Aber-Toril, not only to escape the Thayans but the Harpers and all who thought that no one person should have such a spell. They fled to Union, where Sharantyr destroyed all traces of that spell.
Anyway, when a new group (different players from those in the original campaign) was ready to tackle the Forgotten Realms, we had the option of setting it in the standard realms, or in the same FR that the previous campaign had taken place in. We had such a rich pool of interesting NPCs, events, and stories that it seemed like a waste not to use them. So we talked to group and they all agreed eagerly, having heard many of the stories and wishing to be part of that world.
We decided that the new campaign should take place one year after the original campaign had ended. This was before the events in Thay, the fleeing of the family and all that.
My wife wasn’t sure what character to play in this new campaign; she spoke of wanting to play something similar to the daughter of Runa and Sharantyr, Nydia. She was very passionate about the character and had written many stories about her. The last story ended tragically with Nydia researching a new spell and accidentally slaying Runa, her own mother, when the spell was miscast. The family called on all the magics they had to bring her back, but nothing worked, she was gone.
Of course, since Nydia hadn’t even been born yet in the campaign setting, she couldn’t play her… That’s when I researched chronomancy from the old 2nd edition book and the Encyclopedia Arcane: Chronomancy. I gave her the possibility and Nydia’s new story was born. She would attempt to turn back time itself to stop her mother’s death.
No one in the party, save one of the other DM’s, knew her true identity or that she was a time traveler. But as with all good plans, they go wrong. I’ll avoid the details of how she traveled back in time, or what exactly went wrong. Suffice it to say that all her powers and abilities were lost, and she was not when she wanted to be, she had gone back too early. She had gone to the time of the current campaign. How very convenient. She's also finding out that time may not be able to be changed... that perhaps sometimes that we have to live with our sins. But, we shall see what her future holds.
The reason for my original post was because the current campaign has come to the time of the apocalypse in Thay. And I simply wanted it to be as accurate as was possible in its effects. I want the gravity of it to be felt by the PC’s, I don’t want to lessen the atrocity any.
Well, I hope that answers some of the questions you’ve had, though I know I’ve left volumes out. If I can provide any other details, please let me know.
I will begin with the statement that I’m not an expert on the Forgotten Realms. I’ve played them since they first came out in that lovely grey box, but I’m not a guru or any such thing. I try to run as accurate of a campaign as I can though, but I realize that it is my gaming group’s game world, and not Ed Greenwood’s anymore. I think that’s what he intended anyway, to see what other people would do with his ideas and tales. That’s why I believe, that essentially, there is no such thing as a “wrong” FR campaign. Everyone makes it their own, and that’s what makes it great. This is especially true in a campaign where the entire group plays and DM’s (each with their own knowledge and interpretation of the Realms). We all take turns at the DM’s chairs, but if there was a “main” DM, I suppose that would be me. Anyway, let’s move along…
I guess it all starts when we started a new FR campaign (Run in 3rd edition, but using 2nd edition FR books and upgrading them to 3rd as they came out). My character was a Mulhorandi wizard by the name of Sharantyr (no relation to the ranger). I’ll spare you the long and sad story of Sharantyr’s family; suffice it to say that vengeance against Thayans became a family obsession. This was blessed by Horus-Re himself (before the Times of Trouble), since he still remembers well his once role as god of vengeance. Horus-re gave his family the ability (and a nearly tactile push) to track all those that were responsible for their family’s dark fate. It was part blessing, part curse. The family hobby had a high price to pay, the wiping out of most of the able-bodied, except for the youngest brother, Sharantyr.
The campaign took over two years of real-life time and spanned seven years or so of game time. It was a role-play heavy campaign full of intrigue, ethical dilemmas, and all manner of events. Over that time Sharantyr went from being lawful neutral (nearly lawful good), to lawful evil, to finally neutral evil. He went from being a fervent follower of Horus-Re, to seeing the gods nearly as an enemy and vengeance feeling hollow. The events that had happened during that time shook the foundations of everyone’s ideas of right and wrong, some turning to evil, some turning to good. Enemies became allies, and ally’s enemies. Many close to the group died, and adventuring (and revenge for Sharantyr) begun to loose it’s splendor as the reality of it sunk in. Nothing was clear and the only thing that seemed to have any real foundation were the feelings the characters felt for each other.
In that campaign was that our characters came across a powerful and dark tome holding several spells from the Book of Vile Darkness, Apocalypse from the Sky being one of them (this was when the BoVD first came out). Sharantyr took the tome, hiding it among his books. Quite sometime after that event, the party was journeying in the Nine Hells on a quest to save a friend who had become trapped there. On Avernus they came across a small devil-defended fortress that had been recently damaged in the blood-war. Only a small garrison was left to defend it and the party defeated them and searched the place. There they found what the keep was holding, a powerful artifact of good. The sword of some long lost paladin that had perhaps fallen in that very spot, and the keep was built around it to keep the forces of good from reclaiming it. The power of hell had not yet turned the blade to evil, but it was on that razor’s edge change.
Knowing exactly what was needed for the Apocalypse spell, and a kernel of an idea having germinated, Sharantyr asked for the blade. No one in the group could use the blade, and since the wizard never asked for items they conceded after much discussion. Were in-character lies given and promises made? When have they not been in the search for power?
During this entire game campaign, my wife had kept an in-character journal/diary of all the events therein (the thing is huge, let me tell you). During the times that several in-game months would pass between games and my wife would write detailed accounts of events that transpired (all approved by the gaming group). So in the end the journal encompassed much more then what was done at the gaming table.
When the campaign finally retired Sharantyr had found love and married (to my wife’s character). He had also found a tiny measure of wisdom and had just briefly begun down the road that might one day lead him to redemption.
Though the campaign was finished, over the next year my wife kept writing about what happened to Sharantyr and her character, Runa. She wrote of their life together, the children they had, and all new events. It was great stuff, spawning great characters in the children of the two ex-PC’s.
My wife would often consult with me on how Sharantyr would react, so her stories could be as “accurate” as possible. Over time she gained a keen understanding of Sharantyr’s personality and knew his reactions without even needing to ask. One of the events that occurred in her stories is that Runa, while she was pregnant with their first child, was attacked by Thayan assassins. She barely survived the attack and nearly lost the child. She asked me how would Sharantyr react to this?
I thought long on this, I considered what really drove the wizard to action, what burned inside of him. I thought of the weight of being the last of his family line, the weight of two generations seeking vengeance and never having attained it. I thought of the love he had for his wife and unborn child. I thought of the curse and blessing the child would be born with, to seek vengeance against the Thayans. Sharantyr’s father had doomed his bloodline with Horus-Re’s blessing to always seek revenge, regardless of their own desires.
It was then that I told her of the scroll the wizard had made (why memorize it, when you can cast it from a scroll) and why he had wanted the sword. I told her of the plan Sharantyr had long ago, but had decided against. I told her that after such an event… I saw the fire burning inside him and driving him to such an act. The stage was set; all he needed was a few final steps.
Sharantyr made the last of the dark preparations to the blade and went to Thaymount, and flew high above it. He had already prepared a series of contingencies, conditional spells, potions and other protections before casting that horrible spell. Once cast a battle ensued with Tam himself, which didn’t last long. Sharantyr fled crippled from the battle and barely escaped with his life. He went directly to the Pharaoh in Skuld, the representative of Horus-Re on Faerun.
Barely standing from his wounds he explained that he had extracted revenge on Thay in a way that generations of his family never could. Before he collapsed he asked to be free of the “blessing” that his blood and family had. Wordlessly, the request was granted.
In the end Sharantyr’s family had to flee Aber-Toril, not only to escape the Thayans but the Harpers and all who thought that no one person should have such a spell. They fled to Union, where Sharantyr destroyed all traces of that spell.
Anyway, when a new group (different players from those in the original campaign) was ready to tackle the Forgotten Realms, we had the option of setting it in the standard realms, or in the same FR that the previous campaign had taken place in. We had such a rich pool of interesting NPCs, events, and stories that it seemed like a waste not to use them. So we talked to group and they all agreed eagerly, having heard many of the stories and wishing to be part of that world.
We decided that the new campaign should take place one year after the original campaign had ended. This was before the events in Thay, the fleeing of the family and all that.
My wife wasn’t sure what character to play in this new campaign; she spoke of wanting to play something similar to the daughter of Runa and Sharantyr, Nydia. She was very passionate about the character and had written many stories about her. The last story ended tragically with Nydia researching a new spell and accidentally slaying Runa, her own mother, when the spell was miscast. The family called on all the magics they had to bring her back, but nothing worked, she was gone.
Of course, since Nydia hadn’t even been born yet in the campaign setting, she couldn’t play her… That’s when I researched chronomancy from the old 2nd edition book and the Encyclopedia Arcane: Chronomancy. I gave her the possibility and Nydia’s new story was born. She would attempt to turn back time itself to stop her mother’s death.
No one in the party, save one of the other DM’s, knew her true identity or that she was a time traveler. But as with all good plans, they go wrong. I’ll avoid the details of how she traveled back in time, or what exactly went wrong. Suffice it to say that all her powers and abilities were lost, and she was not when she wanted to be, she had gone back too early. She had gone to the time of the current campaign. How very convenient. She's also finding out that time may not be able to be changed... that perhaps sometimes that we have to live with our sins. But, we shall see what her future holds.
The reason for my original post was because the current campaign has come to the time of the apocalypse in Thay. And I simply wanted it to be as accurate as was possible in its effects. I want the gravity of it to be felt by the PC’s, I don’t want to lessen the atrocity any.
Well, I hope that answers some of the questions you’ve had, though I know I’ve left volumes out. If I can provide any other details, please let me know.
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.![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
