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Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="James McMurray" data-source="post: 1135838" data-attributes="member: 743">"Hello, we've seen each other before but not met. My name is Raffi."The group recognizes him and introduces themselves, wracking their memories for things they've seen him do. They remember seeing him introduce the parents of Iuz, thus setting in motion one of the greatest evils this continent have ever witnessed. They also saw him work to lessen that evil.Toshiro, having focused on hi homeland most in his journey through time, saw Raffi being instrumental in the foundation of ancestor worship, and in steering the clans towards reverence of honorable forebears over deities. Raffi was also instrumental in bringing several great houses to their current power.Introductions are completed when Farlight says, "What can we do for you?""It is not so much what you can do for me, as what we can do for one another." To the party's quizzical looks he continues, "You have seen that pantheons can rise and fall. What you have not seen is that this happens over and over throughout time. That great being you saw watching everything was the universe itself. Everything you see and hear, including yourself, are all just ways for the universe to try to understand himself."To that end he has created the world, and set countless little bits of itself into motion, to see where they would lead him. Whenever the current incarnation of the earth has taught him what he sought to learn, he starts anew. The old powers fall and new ones rise. I survived the last passing of power, and I wish to survive another."At times this change is violent, but in this cycle the gods have decided to place their powers in the hands of champions. Having seen your deeds, a few have decided to test your capabilities. You should soon be visited by an envoy of the gods, who will explain all of this to you anew. A task will be set before you, and if you succeed, the power of the gods of light will become yours for the next cycle."For my part, I would like to see another cycle pass. For that purpose I have allowed the treacherous Vecna and the rest of the gods to believe that I was killed and that Vecna rose to my station. If the others knew I was attempting to be a part of another cycle, they would most likely try to stop me."I would ask that I be able to impart a small measure of myself into one of you. Traveling with you I will rise again when you do. I tried this once before with another group, but my subtle ministrations could not stop their headlong charge into battle in an eternal quest for glory, and they failed in their task."This speech is met with great silence, and then the group begins to talk amongst themselves, oblivious for the moment to Raffi's presence. Farlight theorizes that the one who gains the spark would also gain great power, but Raffi quickly stifles that notion. Should his power flare like that , the gods would know it and would stop them. He can help, but his help must be subtle.Raffi goes around the group in turn, asking each if they agree. Rikus, warrior from the past, and Bumtin, the human wizard-become gnome sorcerer (also from the past) admit that they are merely along for the ride, and don't care either way. Farlight would be honored to take Corellan's place, and Toshiro wishes to bring honor to his people, but has seen Raffi's hand in other clans and refuses to be the vessel. Once all have agreed or stated their indifference, Raffi merely says, "Excellent," and once again Jarla stands before them, continuing to talk in mid-sentence.A bit of confusion passes and the group finishes their consignment orders. When they hear that it will be almost a year before their purchases are ready, they decide to take their two friends from the past on a grand tour of Greyhawk, and then to the various Pools of Power that they have found.The first pool they visit is the Pool of Glory, and they learn from its guardian that only those who need to prove themselves may enter the pool, and so Tsura, Greyhawk, Rikus, and Bumtin look down into the pool to see a terrifying sight. Three bipedal creatures with five tentacles each and great maws covering their entire faces crash through a field towards a vast city. The guardians crystalline lilting voice explains."Beyond the planes are the Far Realms, a nightmarish land of unending hunger. From time to time a rift opens to those planes and things come through. These are from there. Their only desire is to subvert our world and draw it into the Far Realms. They head towards that city, and if they can overtake it and drag it into the realms, the surrounding lands will be drawn in by the gravitic force created. They must be stopped."The four newest heroes prepare themselves, but just like the last time at the pool, the foe spies them before their preparations are complete, and begins preparations of their own.Rikus is the first to step through, and as he appears on the open grass some 30 feet from the creatures, he suddenly finds himself surrounded by them. His greatsword swings, but the beasts have terribly hard skin, and he only manages to slightly hurt one, whose wounds begin to rapidly heal.Greyhawk steps through next, and attacks another of the pseudonaturals. Focusing the power of his mind into his attacks, he slams the creature several times.Tsura follows, and attempts to burst the creatures into flames from the inside, but fails to affect them. Finally Bumtin comes through, and begins to rain fire upon the scene, taking care not to strike his allies.The two martial heroes continue their assault, but both are grabbed up in the flailing tentacles of two of the creatures. Bumtin takes invisibly to the air, and Tsura again tries to blast smother the creatures with Internal Fire. This time she manages to hurt one, but not destroy it. As Rikus wriggles free, Greyhawk gets torn to shreds and a blast of fire drops two of the creatures. Combined assaults quickly drop the last one, and a few more blasts of eldritch fire from the Wujen and the sorcerer stops their lives permanently. Where the creatures fall, the grass comes to life and grows razor sharp fangs, but another searing blast of fire stops that.Unsure even of what world they are on, the four heroes elect to rest the night before having Bumtin Planeshift them to the negative material plane. Although the vast chill of the place is only against their flesh for a moment before the sorcerer teleports them to Moil, it drains a small measure of their strength, which Farlight's magics return to them.Their next stop is the Pool of Love. When asked why he is worthy to bathe in the pool of love, Rikus answers in a way that shows his understanding of self is great, "I am not." The dryad accepts the answer easily, as it has been her answer for a decade.Bumtin tells her that it is his love of magic, and his hope that the pool will grant him great power that makes him worthy. He is told to return when he truly understands love.</blockquote>

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