BaldAccountant
First Post
I think some of my players might be opposed to using a soul to power magic items. How can I make a way for them to fix the torch without using a soul? Any suggestions?
WotBS Soul Powered Items
emeraldbeacon
Adventurer
A few points to consider...
- To REPAIR the torch, a soul does need to be restored to it... but the fragment of Trilla's soul that they gain in the Temple of Echoed Souls is indeed that, an echo. It's a duplication, a facsimile, a placeholder. It can't fuel the torch fully, which is why it remains at only partial strength, until Trilla is killed or freed. If the party decides to free Trilla, the dragon can voluntarily imbue the torch with that same echo of her own soul, linking her to its power without killing her (much the same way that the Living Blade is linked to one of the PC's souls, to sustain the Seela and allow Innenotdar to regrow).
- For fueling the torch's ability to move armies, a soul must be consumed. The team should conceivably already have some stored souls from Castle Korstull, giving them a couple of functional troop movements. Those souls were Ragesians who willingly gave their essence to the cause; they already consented to lose eternity, on behalf of their nation. There may be some non-essential NPCs willing to sacrifice their own life for the greater good; possibly one whom was gravely injured in battle, or was losing a long battle against a chronic illness.
- Beyond that, when it comes time to send the troops into the final battle, you will likely have some high-ranking Ragesian prisoners between the liberation of Gate Pass and saving Seaquen from the Tempest. Unrepentant combatants, including Inquisitors who are fanatically loyal to Leska, could be found guilty of high crimes, and sentenced to death... such executions are distasteful, yes, but in the scope of this universe, are neither unlawful nor evil. Alternately, if they have the sword "Shaalguenyaver" from Rhuarc Knightsbane, they may be able to remove the tiny diamonds that contain its consumed souls, and liberate those for the purpose of the torch.
- Finally, if you simply find the idea of consuming souls to be unacceptable, as the DM, you can simply change the story. Maybe the torch can be fed with either a soul, or by consuming the remaining life of a living being (which would subsequently let that soul escape to the afterlife).
Fuzzybear
Explorer
To build on this, if you were feeling more brave, you can always just ignore it soul aspect entirely. Either by allowing them to use the torch without the soul, or by saying by fixing the torch they would fix the Burning Sky effect. This would open them up to more traditional teleportation magic and might make some of the later events in need of some fixing up, but it would remove the troublesome aspect for you.
emeraldbeacon
Adventurer
Similarly, you could say that The Torch does normally consume souls to operate its higher functions, but that they could research alternatives, and just let the players come up with their own alternatives, however wacky... and see if any of those concepts pique your interest. (I suggest that you feed the NecroCheddar to the torch to sate its hunger for the immortal life essence of the mortal realms)
In the end, though, it's SUPPOSED to be a moral quandry. Do the heroes go through with an act that could be construed as evil, in order to serve a greater good? Do they compromise their own morals, in pursuit of a swift end to a devastating war?
