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Running Commentary on Rel's 4e Campaign (Complete 8/2/10)
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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 5256427" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>The rest of the party cried out and reached for their weapons but Mayheine fixed them with an icy gaze and they held for a moment. Then she began a low chant over Eshik's body, which seemed to become infused with a pale white light. Some of the color seemed to bleach from his dark purple scales...and he twitched. Then his eyes opened, now emanating a faint light of their own.</p><p></p><p>"What have you done to him?!" cried Mialain.</p><p></p><p>Mayaheine stood from where she had been crouching over the Dragonborn and said, "I have unlocked his soul to all that it has ever been. But I hold the key." She gestured with the ice shard that she'd used to slay Eshik, whose blood had etched small and unique imperfections in its surface. She turned and spoke to Eshik directly, "If you are ever killed then I can use this key to bring you back to life here. But doing so requires considerable effort on my part so if you make a frequent habit of it then know that I shall exact some sort of repayment." Eshik stumbled back over among his companions where he stood unsteadily, his mind crowded with memories of events that he had never experienced.</p><p></p><p>Once sure that his companion wasn't about to fall over, Astavian stepped to the fore to ask his question. He had considered long and hard whether to also accept the immortality as he knew that his upcoming path would be a dangerous one and he didn't want death to bar him from success. But he had suspected, and those suspicions were now fully confirmed, that Mayaheine's offer of immortality had strings attached. Astavian was dedicated to Ryukaar and would not subjugate himself to another god. His choice affirmed, he spoke, "I wish to know how best to go about defeating the Dracolich."</p><p></p><p>Mayaheine nodded, "Well of course you know that he is a Lich first and foremost and that means that he must have a phylactery. That phylactery must be destroyed if he is to be ended permanently. But I think the more valuable piece of information is that his True Name is Kruxicor. He wears the bones of the Dragon Baelthrax now, but his soul remains his own and that was his name from the time he was an egg."</p><p></p><p>Astavian thanked her, knowing how essential having the True Name of Baelthrax had been in defeating it (and STILL Eshik had died in that battle!). He stepped back to let Zanne ask what she will.</p><p></p><p>Mayaheine called his attention once more, "I warn you though...something has begun that may make Kruxicor the least of your worries. He has begun a ritual that, if completed, will have far reaching consequences."</p><p></p><p>That hung in the air a moment before it became obvious that it was all she had to say on the subject. Zanne then posed her question:</p><p></p><p>"How can I slay the Besieger and end his hold over me?"</p><p></p><p>Mayaheine paused for a moment, almost as though she hadn't expected this (an embarrassing event for an omniscient being). "An interesting question. The answer is that you cannot slay him while he DOES have a hold over you. By your agreement he owns your soul. And that is a powerful, powerful thing. Face to face, you shall be his puppet."</p><p></p><p>This was not welcome news to Zanne but she had feared as much. Mayaheine continued: "I would suggest that your best course of action is to place your soul somewhere that the Besieger cannot get to it." She paused meaningfully. "You have just recently come into the possession of such a receptacle."</p><p></p><p>The Urn!</p><p></p><p>Zanne's mind was racing and she immediately began asking another question, "How do I..." Mayaheine interrupted, "You traffic in souls constantly. I'm sure you can figure out a way."</p><p></p><p>She then addressed the entire group, "I believe that concludes our business. I think you'd agree that I've been quite forthcoming with the information you have requested. As such I would appreciate you telling my brother that I would like a <em>word </em>with him when he's not too busy saving the world."</p><p></p><p>The PC's looked at each other with some confusion. Astavian spoke for the group, "Your brother?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes," replied Mayaheine, "He's on his way here to save the Dwarves."</p><p></p><p>The party definitely appeared as though they were about to ask another question and thus Mayaheine did the same thing she did last time they visited. With a puff of her breath, they vanished from her fortress and reappeared far down the mountain, a few minutes walk from the top of the Dwarven Lift.</p><p></p><p>"How does she DO that?!" asked Mialain. They started walking.</p><p></p><p>********</p><p></p><p>Ok there was a TON of consideration and debate that went on about what questions they were going to ask of Mayaheine. Dozens of e-mails were flying around considering all kinds of options. I note that a recurring theme was how Mayaheine was probably going to be a complete ball buster in terms of giving them straight answers. Watching them plan some of their questions reminded me of the old 1e days when players tried to figure out the proper, airtight wording of a Wish spell.</p><p></p><p>It was my great pleasure to surprise them by NOT being a Rat Bastard about this. Not only did she not try and weasel her way out of answering their questions, she went above and beyond in providing information they didn't even ask for! Could have knocked them over with a feather! <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>So the bit where Eshik got the immortality, basically he became part Deva, including gaining their Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes power. He's now aware of all the past lives his soul has led, which will be helpful in some very specific ways coming up.</p><p></p><p>Zanne's tip about putting her soul in the Urn was something that I'd been planning for a while. Stobil had made it clear a couple or so months prior to this that one of her long term goals would be to get her soul of out hock to The Besieger. I began toying with ideas about how to make that a possibility and bringing Zhomkar and the Urn back into play was one of the tie-ins to previous stuff in the story that I thought was appropriate.</p><p></p><p>There was actually some groundwork for the purpose of the Urn that I didn't cover in this thread previously. The PC's learned that King Klo of Opkhar was supposed to be "afraid of dying". Actually he was less afraid of the dying than he was what was going to happen to his soul afterward. Worship of The Dweller was the state religion of Opkhar and The Dweller was not known as a nicey-nice deity. King Klo was never terribly religious and was worried that he was headed for some serious damnation in the afterlife.</p><p></p><p>So, based on that knowledge, Emperor Vond (Zanne's patron), who, being a Warlock, knew a lot about channeling souls, had fashioned the Urn to be capable of holding King Klo's soul such that he needn't fear what might happen after he died. Vond figured that this would encourage King Klo to get off the fence and put Opkhar squarely on Vond's side of the impending troubles with the Arcanon Confederacy. Of course the Urn was intercepted by agents working for the AC who tried to make it look like Vond was instead going to assassinate King Klo thus pitting Opkhar against Vond and giving the AC free reign in the south (probably targeting Semma next).</p><p></p><p>Anyway, I was quite pleased at how that all tied together.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rel, post: 5256427, member: 99"] The rest of the party cried out and reached for their weapons but Mayheine fixed them with an icy gaze and they held for a moment. Then she began a low chant over Eshik's body, which seemed to become infused with a pale white light. Some of the color seemed to bleach from his dark purple scales...and he twitched. Then his eyes opened, now emanating a faint light of their own. "What have you done to him?!" cried Mialain. Mayaheine stood from where she had been crouching over the Dragonborn and said, "I have unlocked his soul to all that it has ever been. But I hold the key." She gestured with the ice shard that she'd used to slay Eshik, whose blood had etched small and unique imperfections in its surface. She turned and spoke to Eshik directly, "If you are ever killed then I can use this key to bring you back to life here. But doing so requires considerable effort on my part so if you make a frequent habit of it then know that I shall exact some sort of repayment." Eshik stumbled back over among his companions where he stood unsteadily, his mind crowded with memories of events that he had never experienced. Once sure that his companion wasn't about to fall over, Astavian stepped to the fore to ask his question. He had considered long and hard whether to also accept the immortality as he knew that his upcoming path would be a dangerous one and he didn't want death to bar him from success. But he had suspected, and those suspicions were now fully confirmed, that Mayaheine's offer of immortality had strings attached. Astavian was dedicated to Ryukaar and would not subjugate himself to another god. His choice affirmed, he spoke, "I wish to know how best to go about defeating the Dracolich." Mayaheine nodded, "Well of course you know that he is a Lich first and foremost and that means that he must have a phylactery. That phylactery must be destroyed if he is to be ended permanently. But I think the more valuable piece of information is that his True Name is Kruxicor. He wears the bones of the Dragon Baelthrax now, but his soul remains his own and that was his name from the time he was an egg." Astavian thanked her, knowing how essential having the True Name of Baelthrax had been in defeating it (and STILL Eshik had died in that battle!). He stepped back to let Zanne ask what she will. Mayaheine called his attention once more, "I warn you though...something has begun that may make Kruxicor the least of your worries. He has begun a ritual that, if completed, will have far reaching consequences." That hung in the air a moment before it became obvious that it was all she had to say on the subject. Zanne then posed her question: "How can I slay the Besieger and end his hold over me?" Mayaheine paused for a moment, almost as though she hadn't expected this (an embarrassing event for an omniscient being). "An interesting question. The answer is that you cannot slay him while he DOES have a hold over you. By your agreement he owns your soul. And that is a powerful, powerful thing. Face to face, you shall be his puppet." This was not welcome news to Zanne but she had feared as much. Mayaheine continued: "I would suggest that your best course of action is to place your soul somewhere that the Besieger cannot get to it." She paused meaningfully. "You have just recently come into the possession of such a receptacle." The Urn! Zanne's mind was racing and she immediately began asking another question, "How do I..." Mayaheine interrupted, "You traffic in souls constantly. I'm sure you can figure out a way." She then addressed the entire group, "I believe that concludes our business. I think you'd agree that I've been quite forthcoming with the information you have requested. As such I would appreciate you telling my brother that I would like a [I]word [/I]with him when he's not too busy saving the world." The PC's looked at each other with some confusion. Astavian spoke for the group, "Your brother?" "Yes," replied Mayaheine, "He's on his way here to save the Dwarves." The party definitely appeared as though they were about to ask another question and thus Mayaheine did the same thing she did last time they visited. With a puff of her breath, they vanished from her fortress and reappeared far down the mountain, a few minutes walk from the top of the Dwarven Lift. "How does she DO that?!" asked Mialain. They started walking. ******** Ok there was a TON of consideration and debate that went on about what questions they were going to ask of Mayaheine. Dozens of e-mails were flying around considering all kinds of options. I note that a recurring theme was how Mayaheine was probably going to be a complete ball buster in terms of giving them straight answers. Watching them plan some of their questions reminded me of the old 1e days when players tried to figure out the proper, airtight wording of a Wish spell. It was my great pleasure to surprise them by NOT being a Rat Bastard about this. Not only did she not try and weasel her way out of answering their questions, she went above and beyond in providing information they didn't even ask for! Could have knocked them over with a feather! ;) So the bit where Eshik got the immortality, basically he became part Deva, including gaining their Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes power. He's now aware of all the past lives his soul has led, which will be helpful in some very specific ways coming up. Zanne's tip about putting her soul in the Urn was something that I'd been planning for a while. Stobil had made it clear a couple or so months prior to this that one of her long term goals would be to get her soul of out hock to The Besieger. I began toying with ideas about how to make that a possibility and bringing Zhomkar and the Urn back into play was one of the tie-ins to previous stuff in the story that I thought was appropriate. There was actually some groundwork for the purpose of the Urn that I didn't cover in this thread previously. The PC's learned that King Klo of Opkhar was supposed to be "afraid of dying". Actually he was less afraid of the dying than he was what was going to happen to his soul afterward. Worship of The Dweller was the state religion of Opkhar and The Dweller was not known as a nicey-nice deity. King Klo was never terribly religious and was worried that he was headed for some serious damnation in the afterlife. So, based on that knowledge, Emperor Vond (Zanne's patron), who, being a Warlock, knew a lot about channeling souls, had fashioned the Urn to be capable of holding King Klo's soul such that he needn't fear what might happen after he died. Vond figured that this would encourage King Klo to get off the fence and put Opkhar squarely on Vond's side of the impending troubles with the Arcanon Confederacy. Of course the Urn was intercepted by agents working for the AC who tried to make it look like Vond was instead going to assassinate King Klo thus pitting Opkhar against Vond and giving the AC free reign in the south (probably targeting Semma next). Anyway, I was quite pleased at how that all tied together. [/QUOTE]
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