Wizard's Items of Power

[Sigurd]

Find an Existing 'Permanent' Spell

I like your Idea and have contemplated something similar myself.

My timeline needs the Characters to find an existing permanent spell cast by the God at his\her height. The permanent spell is sort of a life support for his essance. Absorbing the spell and converting its power back to life force might also be a requirement.

The other thing I'd consider is can the God benefit from elements in earlier times or other dimensions? I like the reciprocal nature of finding the most far flung but still faithful adherants to the God and giving them a role in his rebirth.

S

 

[Ahzad]

I like your Idea and have contemplated something similar myself.

My timeline needs the Characters to find an existing permanent spell cast by the God at his\her height. The permanent spell is sort of a life support for his essance. Absorbing the spell and converting its power back to life force might also be a requirement.

The other thing I'd consider is can the God benefit from elements in earlier times or other dimensions? I like the reciprocal nature of finding the most far flung but still faithful adherants to the God and giving them a role in his rebirth.

S

That permanent spell idea is neat as well I think that will go into the ritual blender as an idea to mull over.

No can't have any other followers, when ever some one is born w/ the capablity of magic since then it's this god trying to collect enough to essence to start the process, and it could be multiple some ones. Every attempt has failed until the party's turn and they may fail as well, who knows. The illithids ruthless stamp out any percieved arcane threat. If a village has a child who has the spark and they find out, the entire family line is exterminated, if it happens more than once the entire village is put to death, and should it happen a third time the entire planet is turned into livestock. This applies to any cults/religions dedicated to this god. So the local populace is just as likely to turn you in to keep the tentacles off of them.

These two passages one from The Planewalker's Handbook and The Illithiad (the old 2e products) have done more to fuel this idea for this campaign over the years. It's one I've been tinkering w/ for years now, but have never really set down to do it b/c I don't have the right players for a face to face game but I have been mulling over attempting to do it pbp style of game.

"“Past all knowledge of present worlds, before the crowning of Ra, when the outer planes were yet in flux, and while the elemental planes remained untouched by counter-contamination, the illithids held an ancient empire.
Boundless, the Illithid influence enfolded worlds without number; mind flayer domination infested the Astral, the Ethereal, and even threatened the Outer Planes themselves! Vast planar armies marshaled to defend their respective realms, and even the eternal Blood War was stayed for a time to assess the illthid threat.”
- From The Planetreader’s Primer, a tome of truly ancient and useful lore reputedly published in Sigil itself.

Despite the dearth of corroborating histories, it is clear that the illithid’s once held incredible power. Never again has a single force so threatened the cohesion and process of the entire cosmos on a scale so grand and encompassing; entire humanoid populations were exterminated in the course of feeding the illithid appetite; the energy of suns was rechanneled for works of interplanar conquest; whole planes were set aside for the slave-races whose only purpose was to serve every illithid desire as beast of burden, military fodder, and livestock.”
- The Illithiad

 

[Sigurd]

Spark in animals?

So the spark has been ruthlessly hunted out of intelligent races. What of unintelligent races? animals? places of spontaneous healing? Reflections on the water? etc....

I imagine to get the shades of the progression right you will have to find subtle manifestations to encourage the players. Sweet water, colourful sunsets? In your campaign world all manner of normal things might be touched by magic if they were seen the right way. By showing average people the possibility of magic the characters might kindle the spark.

The role of semi intelligent creatures might be an Illthid weakness. How does a mind flayer appraise a lion except as a weak brained animal? If you can believe that animals have spiritual strengths, courage etc... they might make a hidden site of growth. Their lack of intelligence could make them vessels for the diety's power. Since the animals don't even understand their role they cannot be psionically probed etc...


S

Interesting idea

Also just because a God's followers are dead doesn't mean they are entirely unreachable Some sort of Dreamland contact would allow the characters to get information from various places and have a place the Ilthoids might not be able to reach.

Some sort of judas like figure originally cursed by the God for ever and ever might be useful as well. The curse is terrible but it has the necessary element that it creates permenance and a path back to the dim past of the diety's vitality. The last remaining priest of the god of magic might yet be burning in the bottom of a volcano somewhere cursed for his sins. Even it the Ilthoids knew of him they might have no compassion or interest to concern themselves with his curse.

Of course you would have to be careful not to have too many exceptions. I'd be interested in what you finally do.

 

[Ahzad]

So the spark has been ruthlessly hunted out of intelligent races. What of unintelligent races? animals? places of spontaneous healing? Reflections on the water? etc....

I imagine to get the shades of the progression right you will have to find subtle manifestations to encourage the players. Sweet water, colourful sunsets? In your campaign world all manner of normal things might be touched by magic if they were seen the right way. By showing average people the possibility of magic the characters might kindle the spark.

The role of semi intelligent creatures might be an Illthid weakness. How does a mind flayer appraise a lion except as a weak brained animal? If you can believe that animals have spiritual strengths, courage etc... they might make a hidden site of growth. Their lack of intelligence could make them vessels for the diety's power. Since the animals don't even understand their role they cannot be psionically probed etc...


S

Interesting idea

Also just because a God's followers are dead doesn't mean they are entirely unreachable Some sort of Dreamland contact would allow the characters to get information from various places and have a place the Ilthoids might not be able to reach.

Some sort of judas like figure originally cursed by the God for ever and ever might be useful as well. The curse is terrible but it has the necessary element that it creates permenance and a path back to the dim past of the diety's vitality. The last remaining priest of the god of magic might yet be burning in the bottom of a volcano somewhere cursed for his sins. Even it the Ilthoids knew of him they might have no compassion or interest to concern themselves with his curse.

Of course you would have to be careful not to have too many exceptions. I'd be interested in what you finally do.

since the idea of familiar's have popped up, one of my players mentioned it a few days before i posted i've been considering the animal angle. unfortunately i've been toying w/ this campaign idea for years constantly tuning and retuning it as something else comes to mind.

the dreamlands concept is something else that i hadn't considered. i don't bounce this campaign idea off of to many people, but recently i've decided to do that b/c i would like to eventually get it out of the notebooks and into play, and after the last epic campaign there are things that i just will not have thought about that someone else may.

if there were a judas figure he would've had to been cursed by divine means, b/c anything arcance doesn't work/went dormant.