Destroy the Forgotten Realms Part 2
- Thread starter dreaded_beast
- Start date
Im working on a storyline that thay has invaded aglorand because ALL the chosen have gone missing, due to the fact I dont like name bombing, (besides Szass tam). The chosen were summoned to another plane by "mystra" aka Bane and Kossuth and cut off from returning by Wee Jas from Greyhawk. The harpers are in disaray because all there leaders are gone and the Zhents see it as an opportunity to finally get the Dales.
Its more God play then I like to use but it was the only way to get rid of the chosen! Many other NPC's like Drizzt never really care whats going on in the world unless it directly effects them, so there is no need for there interference!!!
Its more God play then I like to use but it was the only way to get rid of the chosen! Many other NPC's like Drizzt never really care whats going on in the world unless it directly effects them, so there is no need for there interference!!!
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
The wall behind you is cold.
Your eyes blink open.
You remember the stories that the cell keeper told you.
Of heroes of might and magic who always won the day.
But those were just stories...
Your eyes blink open.
You remember the stories that the cell keeper told you.
Of heroes of might and magic who always won the day.
But those were just stories...
Patman21967
First Post
Have one of Blackdirges God-Eaters accompany every meteor. That should do the trick...Here she is
The God-Eater
Advanced Paragon Tarrasque of Legend
Colossal Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 100d10+3700 (4700 hp)
Initiative: +23 (+19 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 60 ft.
AC: 85 (-8 size, +12 insight, +12 luck, +19 Dex, +40 natural)
Attacks: Bite +150 melee, 2 horns +145 melee, 2 claws +145 melee, tail
slap +145
Damage: Bite 8d8+55, claw 2d10+40, horn 2d12+40, tail slap 6d8+40
Face/Reach: 40 ft. by 40 ft./25 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison, frightful presence, rush, improved grab, swallow
whole, improved critical
Special Qualities: Haste, damage reduction 50/+10 and 25/--, carapace,
immunities, regeneration 100, scent, SR 60, magic immunity, plane shift at
will.*
Saves: Fort +87, Ref +75, Will +54
Abilities: Str 70, Dex 37, Con 60, Int 20, Wis 31, Cha 33
Skills: Bluff +58, Climb +77, Escape Artist +60, Hide +44, Intimidate +76,
Jump +77, Knowledge (divinity) +52, Knowledge (history) +52, Knowledge
(nature) +52, Knowledge (planes) +52, Knowledge (religion) +52, Listen
+57, Move Silently +60, Search +52, Sense Motive +57, Spellcraft +52, Spot
+58, Swim +77, Survival +58
Feats: Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Deadly Poison, Devastating Critical
(bite), Devastating Critical (claw), Dodge, Epic Damage Reduction (5),
Epic Weapon Focus (bite), Expertise, Fling Enemy, Great Cleave, Greater
Mighty Roar, Improved Bullrush, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved
Critical (bite), Improved Critical (claw), Improved Disarm, Improved
Initiative, Improved Multigrab, Improved Trip, Mighty Roar, Mobility,
Multiattack, Multigrab, Power Attack, Overwhelming Critical (bite),
Overwhelming Critical (claw), Spring Attack, Sunder, Virulent Poison,
Weapon Focus (bite)
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 85
Alignment: Neutral
Frightful Presence (Su): The God-Eater can inspire terror by charging or
attacking. Affected creatures must succeed at a Will save (DC 71) or
become shaken, remaining shaken until they leave the area of effect.
Rush (Ex): Once per minute, the normally slow-moving God-Eater can move at
a speed of 450 feet.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the God-Eater must hit a Huge or
smaller opponent with its bite attack. If it gets a hold, it can try to
swallow the foe or fling him.
Swallow Whole (Ex): The God-Eater can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of
Huge or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside,
the opponent takes 4d8+40 points of crushing damage plus 4d8+12 points of
acid damage per round from the God-Eater's digestive juices. A swallowed
creature can cut its way out by dealing 50 points of damage to the
God-Eater's digestive tract (AC 40). Once the creature exits, muscular
action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way
out. The God-Eater's gullet can hold two Huge, four Large, eight
Medium-size, or sixteen Small or smaller creatures.
Augmented Criticals (Ex): The God-Eater threatens a critical hit on a
natural attack roll of 15-20, dealing quadruple damage on a successful
critical hit.
Carapace (Ex): The God-Eater's armor-like carapace is exceptionally tough
and highly reflective, deflecting all rays, lines, cones, and even magic
missile spells. There is a 60% chance of reflecting any such effect back
at the caster; otherwise, it is merely negated. Check for reflection
before rolling to overcome the creature's spell resistance.
Immunities (Ex): The God-Eater has fire, poison, and disease immunity.
Magic Immunity (Ex): The God Eater is immune to all spells and spell-like
abilites from casters below divine rank 15. Deities of divine rank 15 or
higher can still must contend with the God Eaters normal spell resistance
and carapace.
Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals normal damage to the God-Eater.
The God-Eater regenerates even if disintegrated or slain with death magic:
These attack forms merely reduce it to -10 hit points. It is immune to
effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as a sword of
wounding, mummy rot, or a clay golem's wound ability. The God-Eater can be
permanently slain only by reducing it to -100 hit points and using a wish
or miracle spell cast by a deity of at least divine rank 15 to keep it
dead. If the God-Eater loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows
in 1d6 rounds (the detached piece dies and decays normally). The creature
can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.
Poison (Ex): A poison of unimaginable potency drips from the ravenous maw
of the God-Eater and can affect creatures normally immune to poison,
including deities. DC 77 Fort save, 6d6 Con damage primary, secondary
damage death.
Haste (Su): The God-Eater acts and maneuvers with appalling speed, gaining
an extra partial action every round.
It is said that no creature, from the smallest sparrow to the mightiest
dragon, is untouched by the lingering caress of fear. Even the gods
themselves occasionally find reason to tremble in the icy grip of terror.
But what is it that could make a deity fear for his very existence? What
could possibly frighten a being with the very powers of creation at its
fingertips? The answer lies floating deep in the astral plane, slumbering
peacefully amid visions of blood and divine horror.
A beast simply known as the God-Eater has lingered on the edge of every
god’s mind since the beginning of time. It exists simply to keep the power
of the gods in check…and to keep their numbers down. In the deepest realms
of the astral plane the God-Eater slumbers for millennia at a time,
awaking only when the numbers of lesser and demi-gods reach or exceed an
unknown number. Then and only then the God-Eater awakens to stalk the
planes and hunt the blood of gods.
Even the oldest of greater deities cannot remember a time that the
God-Eater did not exist, it very well may have come into being at the same
time mortals first achieved divinity. But regardless of its origin the
God-Eater performs a duty vital to the balance of power throughout the
cosmos. God’s have the power to change and alter reality, to lead mortal
men to the heights of enlightenment or the depths of ultimate folly. This
power cannot go unchecked and when too many hold the fathomless abilities
of divinity, the God-Eater stirs and awakens.
Thousands of lesser deities have fallen to the beast, gods and goddesses
whose names have been erased from the annals of history and forgotten by
mortals. The God-Eater shows now preference for goodly deities or those
devoted to evil, slaying and devouring without discrimination. A bizarre
and unspoken agreement between greater deities prohibits them from
stopping the God-Eater or protecting those it hunts. Those deities that
have achieved the rank of greater god understand the necessary role the
God-Eater plays and reluctantly allow it to glut its desire for divine
flesh.
Description & Tactics
The God-Eater is a terrible engine of ultimate destruction, nothing beyond
the power of a greater deity can stand before it and those that have seen
it cannot begin to describe the sheer majesty of its horror. Superficially
the God-Eater resembles the legendary tarrasque, and in fact its
incredibly rare progeny are the tarrasques that terrorize the worlds of
Toril and Oerth. While its spawn are truly terrible they pale in
comparison to their progenitor. Twice the size of a normal tarrasque and
possessing a fierce intelligence that only serves to fuel its ravenous
desires, the God-Eater is a true nightmare. Its massive maw is lined with
three foot serrated blade-like teeth, harder than adamantine and coated in
a poison so foul that the merest drop is enough to slay a hundred men. A
thick carapace of gleaming metal like scales covers it back and is all but
invulnerable to anything beyond the mightiest of enchanted blades, more
terrible still is its ability to reflect spells cast at it back upon the
caster. The God-Eater’s savage head is crowned with two massive horns that
just from above its two blazing green eyes and huge grasping claws and a
lashing tail complete the beast’s formidable arsenal.
The God-Eater is completely immune to magic in all its forms except that
cast by a deity of rank 15 or higher, but even the most powerful godly
spells are still subject to its magic resistance and carapace. Even those
blades and spells that can actually harm the God-Eater do not do so for
long. The beast regenerates at a rate that is simply mind boggling,
instantly healing mortal wounds and even regrowing severed limbs,
including its own head.
The God-Eater is no mindless beast and has existed for countless eons. Its
knowledge of planar lore and especially the nature of its divine quarry
are only rivaled by the sagest of deities. It is quite capable of hunting
and tracking a fleeing god for weeks across dozens of planes, running its
godly prey down like a wolf sniffing out an injured deer. Direct frontal
assaults are the beast’s main mode of attack and there is little in the
known universe that could stand before such an onslaught.
To date no mortal has ever seen the God-Eater, as knowledge of its
existence is kept secret by the gods themselves. Only the mightiest of
greater gods know of its exact location but they are bound to keep this
information secret… even to the lesser deities that serve as the monster’s
prey.
The God-Eater
Advanced Paragon Tarrasque of Legend
Colossal Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 100d10+3700 (4700 hp)
Initiative: +23 (+19 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
Speed: 60 ft.
AC: 85 (-8 size, +12 insight, +12 luck, +19 Dex, +40 natural)
Attacks: Bite +150 melee, 2 horns +145 melee, 2 claws +145 melee, tail
slap +145
Damage: Bite 8d8+55, claw 2d10+40, horn 2d12+40, tail slap 6d8+40
Face/Reach: 40 ft. by 40 ft./25 ft.
Special Attacks: Poison, frightful presence, rush, improved grab, swallow
whole, improved critical
Special Qualities: Haste, damage reduction 50/+10 and 25/--, carapace,
immunities, regeneration 100, scent, SR 60, magic immunity, plane shift at
will.*
Saves: Fort +87, Ref +75, Will +54
Abilities: Str 70, Dex 37, Con 60, Int 20, Wis 31, Cha 33
Skills: Bluff +58, Climb +77, Escape Artist +60, Hide +44, Intimidate +76,
Jump +77, Knowledge (divinity) +52, Knowledge (history) +52, Knowledge
(nature) +52, Knowledge (planes) +52, Knowledge (religion) +52, Listen
+57, Move Silently +60, Search +52, Sense Motive +57, Spellcraft +52, Spot
+58, Swim +77, Survival +58
Feats: Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Deadly Poison, Devastating Critical
(bite), Devastating Critical (claw), Dodge, Epic Damage Reduction (5),
Epic Weapon Focus (bite), Expertise, Fling Enemy, Great Cleave, Greater
Mighty Roar, Improved Bullrush, Improved Combat Reflexes, Improved
Critical (bite), Improved Critical (claw), Improved Disarm, Improved
Initiative, Improved Multigrab, Improved Trip, Mighty Roar, Mobility,
Multiattack, Multigrab, Power Attack, Overwhelming Critical (bite),
Overwhelming Critical (claw), Spring Attack, Sunder, Virulent Poison,
Weapon Focus (bite)
Climate/Terrain: Any
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 85
Alignment: Neutral
Frightful Presence (Su): The God-Eater can inspire terror by charging or
attacking. Affected creatures must succeed at a Will save (DC 71) or
become shaken, remaining shaken until they leave the area of effect.
Rush (Ex): Once per minute, the normally slow-moving God-Eater can move at
a speed of 450 feet.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the God-Eater must hit a Huge or
smaller opponent with its bite attack. If it gets a hold, it can try to
swallow the foe or fling him.
Swallow Whole (Ex): The God-Eater can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of
Huge or smaller size by making a successful grapple check. Once inside,
the opponent takes 4d8+40 points of crushing damage plus 4d8+12 points of
acid damage per round from the God-Eater's digestive juices. A swallowed
creature can cut its way out by dealing 50 points of damage to the
God-Eater's digestive tract (AC 40). Once the creature exits, muscular
action closes the hole; another swallowed opponent must cut its own way
out. The God-Eater's gullet can hold two Huge, four Large, eight
Medium-size, or sixteen Small or smaller creatures.
Augmented Criticals (Ex): The God-Eater threatens a critical hit on a
natural attack roll of 15-20, dealing quadruple damage on a successful
critical hit.
Carapace (Ex): The God-Eater's armor-like carapace is exceptionally tough
and highly reflective, deflecting all rays, lines, cones, and even magic
missile spells. There is a 60% chance of reflecting any such effect back
at the caster; otherwise, it is merely negated. Check for reflection
before rolling to overcome the creature's spell resistance.
Immunities (Ex): The God-Eater has fire, poison, and disease immunity.
Magic Immunity (Ex): The God Eater is immune to all spells and spell-like
abilites from casters below divine rank 15. Deities of divine rank 15 or
higher can still must contend with the God Eaters normal spell resistance
and carapace.
Regeneration (Ex): No form of attack deals normal damage to the God-Eater.
The God-Eater regenerates even if disintegrated or slain with death magic:
These attack forms merely reduce it to -10 hit points. It is immune to
effects that produce incurable or bleeding wounds, such as a sword of
wounding, mummy rot, or a clay golem's wound ability. The God-Eater can be
permanently slain only by reducing it to -100 hit points and using a wish
or miracle spell cast by a deity of at least divine rank 15 to keep it
dead. If the God-Eater loses a limb or body part, the lost portion regrows
in 1d6 rounds (the detached piece dies and decays normally). The creature
can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.
Poison (Ex): A poison of unimaginable potency drips from the ravenous maw
of the God-Eater and can affect creatures normally immune to poison,
including deities. DC 77 Fort save, 6d6 Con damage primary, secondary
damage death.
Haste (Su): The God-Eater acts and maneuvers with appalling speed, gaining
an extra partial action every round.
It is said that no creature, from the smallest sparrow to the mightiest
dragon, is untouched by the lingering caress of fear. Even the gods
themselves occasionally find reason to tremble in the icy grip of terror.
But what is it that could make a deity fear for his very existence? What
could possibly frighten a being with the very powers of creation at its
fingertips? The answer lies floating deep in the astral plane, slumbering
peacefully amid visions of blood and divine horror.
A beast simply known as the God-Eater has lingered on the edge of every
god’s mind since the beginning of time. It exists simply to keep the power
of the gods in check…and to keep their numbers down. In the deepest realms
of the astral plane the God-Eater slumbers for millennia at a time,
awaking only when the numbers of lesser and demi-gods reach or exceed an
unknown number. Then and only then the God-Eater awakens to stalk the
planes and hunt the blood of gods.
Even the oldest of greater deities cannot remember a time that the
God-Eater did not exist, it very well may have come into being at the same
time mortals first achieved divinity. But regardless of its origin the
God-Eater performs a duty vital to the balance of power throughout the
cosmos. God’s have the power to change and alter reality, to lead mortal
men to the heights of enlightenment or the depths of ultimate folly. This
power cannot go unchecked and when too many hold the fathomless abilities
of divinity, the God-Eater stirs and awakens.
Thousands of lesser deities have fallen to the beast, gods and goddesses
whose names have been erased from the annals of history and forgotten by
mortals. The God-Eater shows now preference for goodly deities or those
devoted to evil, slaying and devouring without discrimination. A bizarre
and unspoken agreement between greater deities prohibits them from
stopping the God-Eater or protecting those it hunts. Those deities that
have achieved the rank of greater god understand the necessary role the
God-Eater plays and reluctantly allow it to glut its desire for divine
flesh.
Description & Tactics
The God-Eater is a terrible engine of ultimate destruction, nothing beyond
the power of a greater deity can stand before it and those that have seen
it cannot begin to describe the sheer majesty of its horror. Superficially
the God-Eater resembles the legendary tarrasque, and in fact its
incredibly rare progeny are the tarrasques that terrorize the worlds of
Toril and Oerth. While its spawn are truly terrible they pale in
comparison to their progenitor. Twice the size of a normal tarrasque and
possessing a fierce intelligence that only serves to fuel its ravenous
desires, the God-Eater is a true nightmare. Its massive maw is lined with
three foot serrated blade-like teeth, harder than adamantine and coated in
a poison so foul that the merest drop is enough to slay a hundred men. A
thick carapace of gleaming metal like scales covers it back and is all but
invulnerable to anything beyond the mightiest of enchanted blades, more
terrible still is its ability to reflect spells cast at it back upon the
caster. The God-Eater’s savage head is crowned with two massive horns that
just from above its two blazing green eyes and huge grasping claws and a
lashing tail complete the beast’s formidable arsenal.
The God-Eater is completely immune to magic in all its forms except that
cast by a deity of rank 15 or higher, but even the most powerful godly
spells are still subject to its magic resistance and carapace. Even those
blades and spells that can actually harm the God-Eater do not do so for
long. The beast regenerates at a rate that is simply mind boggling,
instantly healing mortal wounds and even regrowing severed limbs,
including its own head.
The God-Eater is no mindless beast and has existed for countless eons. Its
knowledge of planar lore and especially the nature of its divine quarry
are only rivaled by the sagest of deities. It is quite capable of hunting
and tracking a fleeing god for weeks across dozens of planes, running its
godly prey down like a wolf sniffing out an injured deer. Direct frontal
assaults are the beast’s main mode of attack and there is little in the
known universe that could stand before such an onslaught.
To date no mortal has ever seen the God-Eater, as knowledge of its
existence is kept secret by the gods themselves. Only the mightiest of
greater gods know of its exact location but they are bound to keep this
information secret… even to the lesser deities that serve as the monster’s
prey.
Slobber Monster
First Post
Should probably give the God-Eater flight and a dig speed, otherwise it's too easy to avoid. (Its Jump score only gives it a vertical reach of about 150').
Well considering most of the uber powerful NPC's in the realms are all closely tied with dieties, the dieties could simply resurrect them or reincarnate them in some form or another. With divine intervention the meteors would bring chaos into the world, but in the Forgotten Realms it wouldn't really permenantly get rid of any of the powerful NPC's.
The way the realms is setup such things can easily be undone, or avoided, unless of course there is DM intervention where you can create some sort of way for divine intervention to be impossible for the NPC's or forbidden. Either way its a tall order to come by with so many famous NPC's roaming around, but there are isolated areas in the realms that you could use without encountering any of these NPC's, making your players in those area's the power mongers.
The way the realms is setup such things can easily be undone, or avoided, unless of course there is DM intervention where you can create some sort of way for divine intervention to be impossible for the NPC's or forbidden. Either way its a tall order to come by with so many famous NPC's roaming around, but there are isolated areas in the realms that you could use without encountering any of these NPC's, making your players in those area's the power mongers.
Nyeshet
First Post
I too like the idea of a 'reversed alignment' FR, but I would do it more as a Twilight Zone game. The players, say in their early mid levels, are in a dungeon that partially exists in the Shadow Plane. In succeeding to destroy the BBEG at its heart they learn too late that the shadowy aspects of the dungeon were somehow empowered directly by the BBEG. Without his stabilizing influence everything goes wild for a few moments. Afterwords, they find that all shadowy sections of the dungeon are now just large empty spaces - all traces of the Shadow realm absolutely removed. They managed to find their way out, but upon exitting they find things much altered. Their momentary exposure to deeper shadow has drawn them into another version of the FR - with no obvious way back. Here Shar is good, the comforting darkness, and Selune and Mystra are evil. Here the drow are good but forced into the underworld by the evil non-drow elves, etc. And eventually the PCs will discover that their evil opposites also exist in this realm.
Anyway, that is how I would do an alignment reversal FG.
Back to the main question of this thread. I would destroy Faerun more subtly. A few of the evil deities work together to bring about the end of Mystra. Perhaps Cyric spreads misinformation with the aid of Shar and Mask. Perhaps a few of the dieties, with Shar's help, manage to create a divine disease. It will have to involve at least one deity higher in rank than Mystra for this to work. I think Shar is high enough.
And it works. Mystra sickens. Nothing seems to help her. But this is only the beginning. Unforeseen, as Mystra sickens so too does the magic of the Weave - and all that draw upon it. Upon the first day it affected all arcanists of Mystra's level (ie: only herself). Then, two days later, it affected all those of a level less. Three days after that fell all those of two levels less. After a few weeks the deities with highest levels in arcane casting classes that were not adherents of the Shadow Weave also began to suffer (although not as greatly as Mystra). After a month or two epic level characters also start to suffer, but unlike the deities they are less able to resist the divinely created disease. Most die within a few days of contracting it, and short of permanently separating themselves from the Weave there is no way to prevent exposure.
Within a little over two months Mystra is dead - along with all other deities having only arcane casting classes and no access to the Shadow Weave (and Shar will not grant access to her enemies). All arcane casters - Bards, Sorcerers, Wizards - that have not abandoned the Weave are also dead. Those deities with levels in other classes are reduced in power by one grade (from greater to intermediate, lesser to demi, demi to mere mortal), with the levels as a caster all but lost as they cannot lose them but also cannot cast arcane spells without suffering greatly - perhaps risking death. The Weave continues to exist, but it is permeated with disease. Mystra is affectively dead, alive only in the sense that the Weave continues to exist. She might possibly be raised, but she would certainly die again the next instant due to the continued presense of the divine disease within the Weave - her body.
Thus is faerun tossed into turmoil as most of its heighest ranking NPCs and many of its deities are slain. Entire countries collapse amidst the disturbance, a second "Time of Troubles" effectively rocks the world as it tries to come to grips with a new order where only the Shadow Weave allows use of arcane magic.
This scenario works best in a world where clerics gain their powers from their deities and druids gain theirs from the essense of the natural world / order. Otherwise all deities having only casting classes and no access to the Shadow Weave are dead, making the world a much worse place than I intended. In such a world where all clerics cannot gain spells without Shar's permission, Evil rules unopposed.
Note that all potent magical beings (Magical Beasts, Dragons, Fae, some others), unless able to swich over to the Shadow Weave, are also dead - dragons, outsiders, undead, constructs, some fae, some magical beasts, etc. Personally, I would allow magical creatures to continue as normal if the Druids could continue as normal. They draw their power from the natural world, which draws equally upon both Weaves and acts as a filter from both Shar and the diseased essense that taints the Weave.
Outsiders I would say are empowered either by their deities (as are Clerics) or by their plane - a sort of extraplanar natural world / order empowerment. The latter would result in those Outsiders not drawing upon the Shadow Weave to weaken significantly while upon the Prime (or risk death by exposure to the Divine Disease).
Constructs would be dead. Undead I consider all but joined to the Shadow Weave already, so they are okay. Aberrations would vary greatly, as some would draw upon one weave or the other, and perhaps some that draw upon the Weave are somehow immune. That could be a quest by itself. Perhaps an extract from a rare aberration would allow say a day's exposure to the Weave without consequence. Of course, I would likely have such an aberration develop years after Mystra's death - no use for the epic beings, and hunted near to extinction by loyal users of the Shadow Weave (who do not wish to see the Weave reemerge as the dominate web of power in FR). I might also make the extract a drug like substance with either negative &/or additctive traits. (Say, 1d3 dmg to an ability (cha? con? both? wis?) after it wears off for the negative aspect.)
As for the penalties for using the diseased Weave. I'm thinking perhaps 1 Con drain +1 per level of spell cast, and 1 Cha + one level drain (arcane classes only) per day connected to the Weave (even if no casting occurs). The level drain only affects magical traits of the class - not other specials (such as bardic lore), skill use, or combat ability. Of course, for pure casters this is nearly as bad. After Cha is 0 Con starts being drained.
Growing up in such a world could be interesting for the PCs. Once they are high level they might attempt a quest to restore the Weave. Magic items from when the Weave was pure can still be used with Use Magic Device, and most permanent magic items still work (although intelligent items had the Cha reduced to 0 due to the disease and so are all comatose).
Anyway, that is how I would do an alignment reversal FG.
Back to the main question of this thread. I would destroy Faerun more subtly. A few of the evil deities work together to bring about the end of Mystra. Perhaps Cyric spreads misinformation with the aid of Shar and Mask. Perhaps a few of the dieties, with Shar's help, manage to create a divine disease. It will have to involve at least one deity higher in rank than Mystra for this to work. I think Shar is high enough.
And it works. Mystra sickens. Nothing seems to help her. But this is only the beginning. Unforeseen, as Mystra sickens so too does the magic of the Weave - and all that draw upon it. Upon the first day it affected all arcanists of Mystra's level (ie: only herself). Then, two days later, it affected all those of a level less. Three days after that fell all those of two levels less. After a few weeks the deities with highest levels in arcane casting classes that were not adherents of the Shadow Weave also began to suffer (although not as greatly as Mystra). After a month or two epic level characters also start to suffer, but unlike the deities they are less able to resist the divinely created disease. Most die within a few days of contracting it, and short of permanently separating themselves from the Weave there is no way to prevent exposure.
Within a little over two months Mystra is dead - along with all other deities having only arcane casting classes and no access to the Shadow Weave (and Shar will not grant access to her enemies). All arcane casters - Bards, Sorcerers, Wizards - that have not abandoned the Weave are also dead. Those deities with levels in other classes are reduced in power by one grade (from greater to intermediate, lesser to demi, demi to mere mortal), with the levels as a caster all but lost as they cannot lose them but also cannot cast arcane spells without suffering greatly - perhaps risking death. The Weave continues to exist, but it is permeated with disease. Mystra is affectively dead, alive only in the sense that the Weave continues to exist. She might possibly be raised, but she would certainly die again the next instant due to the continued presense of the divine disease within the Weave - her body.
Thus is faerun tossed into turmoil as most of its heighest ranking NPCs and many of its deities are slain. Entire countries collapse amidst the disturbance, a second "Time of Troubles" effectively rocks the world as it tries to come to grips with a new order where only the Shadow Weave allows use of arcane magic.
This scenario works best in a world where clerics gain their powers from their deities and druids gain theirs from the essense of the natural world / order. Otherwise all deities having only casting classes and no access to the Shadow Weave are dead, making the world a much worse place than I intended. In such a world where all clerics cannot gain spells without Shar's permission, Evil rules unopposed.
Note that all potent magical beings (Magical Beasts, Dragons, Fae, some others), unless able to swich over to the Shadow Weave, are also dead - dragons, outsiders, undead, constructs, some fae, some magical beasts, etc. Personally, I would allow magical creatures to continue as normal if the Druids could continue as normal. They draw their power from the natural world, which draws equally upon both Weaves and acts as a filter from both Shar and the diseased essense that taints the Weave.
Outsiders I would say are empowered either by their deities (as are Clerics) or by their plane - a sort of extraplanar natural world / order empowerment. The latter would result in those Outsiders not drawing upon the Shadow Weave to weaken significantly while upon the Prime (or risk death by exposure to the Divine Disease).
Constructs would be dead. Undead I consider all but joined to the Shadow Weave already, so they are okay. Aberrations would vary greatly, as some would draw upon one weave or the other, and perhaps some that draw upon the Weave are somehow immune. That could be a quest by itself. Perhaps an extract from a rare aberration would allow say a day's exposure to the Weave without consequence. Of course, I would likely have such an aberration develop years after Mystra's death - no use for the epic beings, and hunted near to extinction by loyal users of the Shadow Weave (who do not wish to see the Weave reemerge as the dominate web of power in FR). I might also make the extract a drug like substance with either negative &/or additctive traits. (Say, 1d3 dmg to an ability (cha? con? both? wis?) after it wears off for the negative aspect.)
As for the penalties for using the diseased Weave. I'm thinking perhaps 1 Con drain +1 per level of spell cast, and 1 Cha + one level drain (arcane classes only) per day connected to the Weave (even if no casting occurs). The level drain only affects magical traits of the class - not other specials (such as bardic lore), skill use, or combat ability. Of course, for pure casters this is nearly as bad. After Cha is 0 Con starts being drained.
Growing up in such a world could be interesting for the PCs. Once they are high level they might attempt a quest to restore the Weave. Magic items from when the Weave was pure can still be used with Use Magic Device, and most permanent magic items still work (although intelligent items had the Cha reduced to 0 due to the disease and so are all comatose).
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