Current Campaign Arcs

These are the campaign arcs I am currently working on/blogging about:

• The Black Age of Bane (this is one option for a campaign set in Elturgard: the other option is Dark Weavings and another possible option is Rise of a Dark Sun); 
• Dark Weavings (despite the same location as The Black Age of Bane and some similar adventure ideas, it really is a different campaign);
• The Dread Rings of Thay;
• The Knights of the North (possible new name: The Ageless One; former name: Fimbulwinter); and
• Neverwinter: Vie for Glory!

Here's a brief synopsis of each of these campaign arcs. It seems that I am only capable of writing a campaign arc that includes either Dread Rings and/or the darkening of the Companion. No wonder my current "favourite" is the Black Age of Bane as it involves both ideas....

The Black Age of Bane

The paladins of Elturgard are distracted by increasingly militant Cyricist Zhents from Darkhold with rumours of a new alliance with the gnolls of the Reaching Wood and even the drow under the Far Hills.

While this is happening Thayan necromancers and Banite runepriests are constructing Dread Ring fortresses around the borders of Elturgard - Elturel and the Companion are in the precise centre - in preparation for a new Dread Ring ritual. 

This time, however, the ritual will not be performed by Szass Tam - rather, a banelich is going to unleash the Dread Ring's magic so that Bane will absorb the power of the Companion and strike against both Torm and Amaunator with one foul blow.

If successful, the Companion will turn into a thing of darkness and the lands of Elturgard will become a haven for undead and those who love the night... particularly as the Dread Ring ritual will also suck all life from the land.

Thus will the Black Age of Bane begin....

(As I think further about this, if I use the drow from Undrek'thoz in this campaign arc, I may also be able to use the Crystal Shard idea as I originally wrote for the Dark Weavings campaign. Hmmm....)

Dark Weavings

The drow of Sshamath are not noted worshippers of Lolth with the exception of one house - House Zauvirr. At the command of the Queen of Spiders, they will try and take the sunlit lands of Elturgard for themselves. To do this, they must extinguish the light of the Companion and tranform it into a think of darkness instead.

House Zauvirr is in possession of the Crystal Shard (I don't care what R A Salvatore's atrocious books say... House Zauvirr has it) and offer it to the Zhents as a sign of good faith in the new alliance. The Zhents use it to mobilise across Elturgard and begin posing a major threat to the paladins.

In due course, the drow use primordial magic stolen from aboleth to assault Elturel from below. In the midst of the chaos caused by earthquakes and sinkholes, a foul ritual is performed that blots out the Companion and causes it to become a thing of darkness... if the PCs fail to stop the drow.

Of course, if that happens, it will only lead to something I have wanted to do for 30 years and that is run D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth, D2 Shrine of the Kuo-toa, D3 Vault of the Drow and Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits (although the last will be heavily influenced by the 3E's The Harrowing from Dungeon 88 and will not contain a giant metal spider ship with a marilith secretary).
 

The Dread Rings of Thay

This is quite simple in concept : Szass Tam is building a network of Dread Ring fortresses around Rashemen and must be stopped before he steals all life and power from that land. This basic idea was more or less the inspiration for this blog a few years ago which is why Szass Tam and berserkers and wychlaran from Rashemen appear as the banner.

There is supposed to be a DDi Backdrop article on Rashemen in the next couple of months so I am actually waiting for that - largely because I want a map better than the baby's butt-wipe which is the 4E map - before I do much more than finally get around to reading The Haunted Lands trilogy - Unclean, Undead and Unholy - by Richard L Byers.

I have been reading a lot on the internet about Dread Rings in the past week or so and I rather like some of the ideas that have been posted about linking the Dread Rings with the Eminence of Araunt from Returned Abeir. It may be that there will be an additional complication in this campaign involving the corruption of the Dread Rings by agents of the Eminence of Araunt. (The same complication could also apply in the Neverwinter: Vie for Glory campaign arc where I really want to make the Thayans the principal villains.)

The Knights of the North

aka The Ageless One

This campaign started out of a desire to use the excellent map of the Moonsea North - and, to a lesser extent, the city of Phlan - by Sean MacDonald in the Monument of the Ancients adventure from Dungeon 170. The sheer excellence of that map really highlighted how the wiping of a baby's defecations across a sheet of paper by Rob Lazzaretti was a complete devaluing of the cartographer's art and an insult to the Forgotten Realms and its fans.

The really annoying thing is that there is no hyperbole in that statement.

The basic theme is this: a weaker clone of Manshoon from 1355 DR has been awakened in the ruins of the Citadel of the Raven and decides to recover what he and the Zhentarim have lost. Concurrent with this, the PCs have taken up the mantles of their fallen parents and are the new Knights of the North, sworn to oppose the Zhentarim.

Manshoon the Night King, the vampire ruler of the Zhents, is now dead, slain in spell battle with Elminster. Beholder mages that infiltrated the Black Cloak ranks of the Zhents have decided to awaken a weaker Manshoon clone - one from 1355 DR - so that they can control him better but still have the Zhentarim led by the sole human that they respect. 

The Citadel of the Raven is now being rebuilt and Manshoon is seeking out ancient spellweaver magic in the Glacier of the Silver Blades to try and regain his mastery of cloning and also to arm himself with the spells and items that he will need in this post-Spellplague era of the Realms that he finds himself in.

The Zhents are gathering resources and allies and the PCs start interfering with their plans before finally facing off with Manshoon in the spellweaver ruins in the Glacier of the Silver Blades.

Neverwinter: Vie for Glory!

I'm not sure if I really like the Neverwinter Campaign Guide or if I really want to like it.

Nevertheless, preparing for the Knights of the North campaign resulted in me reading a couple of campaign journals set in the pre-Spellplague ruins of Phlan and made me realise how much fun it could be to run something like the old Ruins of Adventure module - which involved the retaking of Phlan - albeit one with decent maps and no stupid names.

Neverwinter seems like a possible substitute. It's well detailed, has a great city map and a great regional map, and it allows me to indulge my Dread Ring fetish.

The basic theme of the campaign needs to be driven by the players' choices of themes for their characters but I am really hoping that one player will choose to be the true heir of the Crown of Neverwinter (the original title for the campaign) and aim to rule a rebuilt and recovered city.

As it stands, the biggest threat is going to be posed by the Thayans and their Dread Rings (and this may also include some of the ideas from The Black Age of Bane in that this could all be to Bane's benefit - after all, the Black Lord is a tyrant and having the city of Neverwinter ruled by a Banite dreadmaster would suit him greatly) but the Shadovar with a reactivated flying city might pose an equally dangerous threat depending on how the campaign plays out.

But I am not using the Ashmadai. The last good idea that R A Salvatore had was the Crystal Shard and I am happy to make that the centrepiece of the Dark Weavings campaign.

In Summary

Yes, I like the Dread Rings. Yes, I like the darkening of the Companion. 

It's clear I haven't really come up with anything really original in these campaign arcs. That's no surprise because some of the ideas grew out of a desire of mine to run several classic adventures - including the original drow series that I have wanted to run for 30 years.

These campaign arcs are all basically meant to cover the Heroic Tier. I am hoping that by running them I can use up all the D&D ideas I have ever had - or ever stolen! - and then wear myself out on D&D so I can finally retire from this obsession of mine that I have had since 1981.

If I can use the drow, Graz'zt, Manshoon, the Zhents, some giants and cause the Companion to go dark I think I will have done what I set out to do.

Anyway, there is more to come on this blog. This post was really about summarising the main ideas I am playing with.

Other Campaign Arcs

A brief summary of other campaign arcs I may return to at some point:

All That Glitters/Heretics of the Harlot's Coin: This is about removing the Amnites from Snowdown. The Amnites are actually serving Graz'zt and creating corrupted gold that they are circulating on the mainland as part of the continued corruption by Graz'zt of the church of Waukeen and part of his plan to add three more layers to his Triple Realm. The surprising thing about this campaign is that it is largely an original idea.

Baron of the Stonelands: This is a cross between Paizo's Kingmaker adventure path and the original Keep on the Borderlands with some flavour from the original Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. Essentially the PCs are trying to have one of their own named Baron of the Stonelands and this requires that they clear and hold part of the Stonelands. I'll return to this one when I feel more confident that I can run it well. Really, it's a combination of a sandbox and a hexcrawl.

Doom of Daggerdale: Another Kingmaker clone but one flavoured by the 2E adventure Doom of Daggerdale and 2E's Randal Morn trilogy with a little bit of Keep on the Borderlands thrown in and it involves lots of Zhents and drow. It's not as much of a sandbox as Baron of the Stonelands but it is definitely a hexcrawl.

Dark Weavings - What about a Dread Ring?

Further Ideas for Dark Weavings

Dread Ring

Dungeon 70 contained one of D&D's truly landmark adventures - Kingdom of the Ghouls - by Wolfgang Baur. It was so popular that it was also updated and expanded for 4E (the original was 2E) by Open Design, Wolfgang's company.

I mention this because for about 15 years now I have wanted to run something inspired by Kingdom of the Ghouls. Elturgard would be an interesting setting for such an adventure because, of course, it is protected from undead by the Companion, the second sun raised by Daelegoth Orndeir to the glory of Amaunator.

What if the Thayans determined that Elturgard was the perfect site for their next attempt at a Dread Ring? What if the Dread Ring ritual can be modified - and improved! - by using the Companion as a power source? Of course, that ritual would then leave the Companion as a thing of darkness hanging in the sky... and that is when the ghouls would appear from below ground.

The other thing about the Thayans is that the church of Bane has a special place in Thay as a result of the bargain struck by Szass Tam with the Black Lord. I have been wanting to have a clash between Bane and Cyric for a long time - tyranny versus strife - and Elturgard makes an interesting setting for this because of the presence of the Cyricist Zhentarim in Darkhold.

Furthermore, it may be that Bane is behind the Eye of Justice Heresy that has corrupted many of the Tormite paladins in Elturgard. Perhaps this is also part of Bane's plan for revenge against Torm for slaying his avatar in Tantras during the Time of Troubles?

Gnolls

One of the other things that attracted me to Elturgard as a potential setting for a campaign is the presence of gnolls in the Reaching Wood. 

Gnolls are (IMO) underused - although I used them a lot in 2E - but they are also really mechanically interesting in 4E.

The Thayans use a lot of gnolls in their armies. What if the Thayans promise their gnoll legions dominion over the Reaching Woods and the gnolls that dwell there in exchange for their support for the latest Dread Ring project? What if the Thayans also provide the gnolls with the means to summon a (minor) aspect of Yeenoghu in order to demonstrate their supremacy and right to rule over the gnolls of the Reaching Wood?

There is also a connection between gnolls and ghouls. In 1E, Yeenoghu was owed fealty by a tanar'ri lord, later named Doresain, who was the lord of ghouls. Doresain's loyalties changed over the editions - I forget the details - but Yeenoghu might be persuaded by the Thayans to lend his support for this endeavour in exchange for Doresain's renewed pledge of loyalty.

Obviously, the idea is not exactly developed as of now but I think it would be easy to build a link between the gnolls and the White Kingdom, as the kingdom of the ghouls is known.

Lord of the White Field & Bark at the Moon

4E's adventures have been pretty ordinary but one of the highlights has been Lord of the White Field from Dungeon 184. It was designed for 6th- to 8th-level characters and involves ghouls. If I run with the ideas in this post, I will have a logical reason to use this adventure.

There is also the two-part adventure Bark at the Moon from Dungeon 185 for 5th- to 7th-level characters. This involves werewolves and the werewolf infested Werewoods, formerly known as the Wood of Sharp Teeth, make up part of the western border of Elturgard. While no link with the ghouls or gnolls currently springs to mind, it would be an interesting adventure to run. Perhaps it is the Thayans building one of the Dread Ring towers that has disturbed the werewolves?

What about the Drow?

Of course, the problem with these new ideas - the Thayans and the ghouls - is how also fitting the drow into the story without it feeling too cramped. My original plan was to have the drow antagonists come from the sole Lolthite drow house - House Zauvirr - in Sshamath, the City of Dark Weavings, but perhaps I should have them come from Undrek'Thoz, the segmented drow city that is under Thay?

There have been alliances between the drow of Undrek'Thoz and Thay and this could simply be an extension of one of those alliances. One of the segment-cities of Undrek'Thoz is dominated by House Vrasl who are noted as being expert necromancers. Perhaps House Vrasl now owes fealty to Szass Tam and have sent some of their necromancers with the Thayans to Elturgard to assist with the construction of the Dread Ring? Perhaps they also have some experience with magic involving darkness? (And considering their racial powers, this makes sense.)

How Does This Look?

If I include the Thayans I will have the following power groups/organisations involved in this campaign:

• the Darkhold Zhentarim;
• the beholders of the Gauth Grottoes;
• the drow of Sshamath (?);
• the drow of Undrek'Thoz;
• the Eye of Justice heretical paladins; and
• the gnolls of the Reaching Woods.

Will this feel too crowded?

One big advantage, though: the nature of the Dread Ring - a series of fortresses - provides me with easy inspiration for adventure sites. It would be interesting if one of these fortresses was actually being built by Eye of Justice heretics. The PCs think they're in the stronghold of paladins of Torm only to discover that it is a site of great and monstrous evil! (I am also thinking one of the Dread Ring towers is located underground, directly beneath the companion, and is being built by Banite ghouls.)


(I should also add that I think that Banite runepriests - as opposed to cleric or warpriests - make a lot of sense when it comes to creating the Dread Ring. Rune magic should be a key component in the creation of a Dread Ring.)


Also, the presence of the Thayans adds another reason for opening the campaign with an adventure inspired by the original Slave Lords series. Rather than having the Zhents behind it - although there is nothing stopping their involvement - it could be a Thayan undertaking.


The more I type, the more I think this idea could work....

The Aspect of Bane

At several points during the brainstorming process, I had planned for the corruption of the Companion to be the catalyst for the summoning of an aspect of Bane. (After all, I have the miniature and it cost be quite a bit!)

The purpose of the Dread Ring is to suck the power out of a region and channel it to Szass Tam, ruler of Thay. Tam wants this power to fuel his apotheosis not simply out of a lust for power but because it's the only way to escape the bargain he made with the Black Lord.


What if, at the moment that the Dread Ring starts to drain the power from the Companion, an aspect of Bane is summoned? Rather than the unleashed power being diverted to Szass Tam, it is instead absorbed by Bane via his aspect. This is the reason for the presence of the Banite runepriests during the construction of the Dread Ring. It's also the primary reason that the centre of the Dread Ring is underground beneath the Companion because the ghouls of the White Kingdom are actually servants of Bane.


When this happens, the Black Age of Bane begins. The sun loses some of its brightness - after all, a massive blow has been struck against Amaunator now that the Companion has been not only extinguished but turned into a thing of unnatural darkness - and across Toril, temperatures fall. The Black Lord is truly ascendant.


If I go with this option, Dark Weavings is no longer an appropriate title. This campaign is truly better named:

 

Possible Adventure Synopses

The Carrion Caves
Levels 1-3

This is remarkably simple but it may actually work as the entire idea is based on the Caves of Chaos in the much-loved B2 Keep on the Borderlands.

There is a defile in the Reaching Woods surrounded by numerous caves. These caves may be the remnants of Netherese-era mines or even dwarven delves (there are dwarves in the Sunset Mountains and Far Hills).

Representatives of the gnoll tribes are gathering after receiving gnoll dread legionnaire emissaries from Thay (these have the dread warrior template from the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide - cf the section on Thay - and may also be half-vampires).

It boils down to this. The Thayans plan to have their gnolls summon an aspect of Yeenoghu (albeit a minor one). This will unite the gnolls of the Reaching Woods and the Thayans will be able to use them, more or less, at will.

The way I picture this adventure concluding is for the aspect of Yeenoghu to be successfully summoned in the middle of the defile so that all of the gnolls present can witness this. This happens while the PCs are also in the middle of the defile - possibly fighting a veritable horde of gnoll minions trying to prevent the summoning from happening - and then they have to face the Beast of Butchery himself.

If the PCs win, all of the gnolls present turn on each other making it easy for the PCs to fight their way to freedom. If the PCs lose, then any subsequent campaign set in this region will involve wandering gnoll packs led by undead Thayan gnolls.

The summoning of even a minor aspect of Yeenoghu requires a lot of fresh carrion. The Slave Lords - this may be a placeholder term - have been supplying the Thayan gnolls with slaves and they are currently manacled to a series of sacrificial rocks in the defile. The PCs are fighting for the lives of these slaves. Not all will live but it will make for an interesting gaming story later.

The Slave Lords of Scornubel
Levels 3-5
The rescue of the slaves from the Carrion Caves should put the PCs on the trail of the Slave Lords. Going with an earlier idea, these should be traceable to the Dungeon of the Inquisitor in Elturel.

Frankly, I will just use my earlier notes for this.

The Dread Ring Forts
Levels 5-7
I think I can get two Dread Ring fortresses into one adventure.

The first one is actually a Zhent fortress, or so the Zhents think. The Cyricist Zhents don’t realise there are Banite Zhents in their midst who have allied themselves with the Thayan Banites. The first adventure is a simple “clear the dungeon (fortress)” exercise and the primary enemy is the Zhentarim.

The second one is in the Werewoods so I can use werewolves in conjunction with the Thayan Banites. They are linked by portal and the portal key is an unholy symbol of Bane or the words of Bane’s dogma.

This second tower may also include drow necromancers of House Vrasl plus their House soldiers.

Of course, the PCs may at this point be wondering what is going on. I don’t want them to really uncover the Dread Ring plot yet and I am thinking that they aren’t able to undo the Dread Ring network. That leaves following the clues I need to include to lead them underground into....

The White Kingdom
Levels 7-9
This should basically rip-off Wolfgang Baur’s masterpiece from Dungeon 70... except that it ends in the middle of the ghoul’s capital city where there is a tower very similar in form to the two towers or fortresses of the previous adventure but which is also clearly a temple of Bane.

Anyway, the bulk of this adventure is set in the Underdark. Now I have a good story-based reason for including Uzaglu, the myconid vampire, from one of the 2E Dungeon magazines.

(I would like to include an event involving the PCs acquiring dire bat mounts so they can fly through the White Kingdom. Something about this visual appeals to me.)

The Dread Temple
Levels 9-11
I need to think some more about how this adventure will work but this is how I see it concluding.

Two Thayan liches with various undead minions appear on the top of the temple to fight the PCs. (Alternatively, this battle could be against a lich vestige of Szass Tam - created as a level-appropriate elite or solo rather than a 26th-level minion.) While this is happening, the Dread Ring temple rises up through the earth directly into the centre of Elturel, appearing beneath the Companion the light of which is strangely muted due to the dark energies being shed by the Dread Ring temple.

With the defeat of the Thayans, the light of the Companion flares briefly once more and the PCs receive the benefit of an extended rest plus one or more boons. As this happens, an aspect of Bane appears and starts to devour the Companion.

The PCs must now fight the aspect of Bane. It is a fairly potent solo. It may be possible with powers or appropriate skill checks to weaken the aspect by “disconnecting” it from the Companion. Followers of Amaunator, in particular, are going to have a better chance of this and also an intuitive understanding that this is possible; ditto for followers of Torm.

An army of true ghouls from the White Kingdom begins to rampage through Elturel while the party fights the aspect of the Black Lord. If the aspect is still standing after a certain number of rounds then the Companion is lost. The aspect roars in triumph and disappears while the Companion hangs overhead shedding an unholy darkness. All the PCs can do now is escape... but there is still the Paragon Tier if they wish to fix what they failed to stop.

If the PCs successfully defeat the aspect of Bane in the time allowed, the Companion returns to its former glory and the true ghoul army bursts into flames as the Companion’s light removes their undead flesh from existence. This is a tremendous achievement for the PCs and they will receive numerous rewards from the High Observer and Elturgard. After all, the PCs have stopped the Black Age of Bane from happening.

This would make a more than satisfying conclusion to the Heroic Tier and I would be happy to end the campaign there.

Reskinning the Outline to be more Drow-centric

In the three or so hours since I typed the above I have been thinking about how the same sort of outline might work if I still wanted to use drow as the principal antagonists. 

Obviously, there would be no Dread Ring nor do ghouls - true ghouls or otherwise - feel appropriate. 

What could work is something like what happened to Sulasspryn as noted in the 2E supplement, The Moonsea. The drow are beneath Elturel and cause great sinkholes to open to swallow parts of the city. And in the midst of this unnatural disaster, a great spider-like temple rises up through the stone from the Underdark and, instead of an aspect of Bane syphoning off the power of the Companion, it is an aspect of Lolth.

If I go with this option, maybe I can also use the Crystal Shard. Instead of Dread Ring towers, I can have a series of Cryshal-Tirith towers created by Crenshinibon. And maybe the drow tricked the Zhents into thinking that they found the Crystal Shard when the reality is the drow want the Zhents to wield it. The drow knows its strengths and weaknesses but a Zhent Black Cloak soon discovers he is merely a pawn of the 'Shard.

If I run with this, I rather like the LFR-inspired idea that Crenshinibon is a splinter from the Shard of Evil at the heart of the Abyss. That also means that, if used to pierce the a vital place in the Demonweb Pits, it can cause the Lolth's astral realm to unravel as it seeks to reunite with its former abyssal home.

That also makes for an interesting Paragon Tier adventure. Perhaps it is a cleric of Waukeen (actually a thrall of Graz'zt) who suggests such a course of action to the PCs after Lolth's defeat at their hands. If so, that lets me run D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth, D2 Shrine of the Kuo-toa, D3 Vault of the Drow and Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits - with a smattering of the 3E Dungeon adventure The Harrowing - just like I have wanted to do for close to three decades now.

And, in a perfect world, that would then segue into For Duty & Deity allowing the PCs to free Waukeen from Graz'zt's grasp. However, I have no idea how I would make that work for a low- mid-Paragon Tier party. (While I have already weakened the basic tanar'ri to a level matching their 1E hit dice, it still doesn't solve the problem of how to deal with the Dark Prince who is very much an Epic Tier entity. Unless, of course, he is distracted by the unravelling of the Demonweb Pits....)

Fimbulwinter (?) - The Return of Manshoon

The Last Clone

I'm back!

Deep in the ruins of the Citadel of the Raven is the last remaining stasis clone of Manshoon, the founder of the Zhentarim and former First Lord of Zhentil Keep.

This clone has remain untouched by the Spellplague - and was immune to the massive awakening that preceded the Clone Wars - as its magic was tied to the portal leading to the extra-dimensional space where it was secreted.

There is a faction within the Zhentarim that believes that if the Zhents are to return to greatness, Manshoon must be the one to lead them. They feel that there is something --wrong-- with the current Manshoon and so they have been researching the locations of his other clones for years hoping to find another Manshoon to lead them.

From the journal of a noted Zhent mage loyal to Manshoon recovered from the ruins of Zhentil Keep, they finally have the clues they need to locate the last remaining clone from an extra-dimensional space within the ruins of the Citadel of the Raven. Now all they need is the portal key....

(I could also use this same general background for a clone of Manshoon secreted in the dungeons beneath Darkhold. Perhaps I could use this for my Dark Weavings campaign instead?)

Manshoon is Dead; Long Live Manshoon!

Another option is to have Manshoon the Night King slain by adventurers off-screen, as it were. Zhents encountered in the campaign could actually be looking for one of his clones in order to replace him. A weaker clone might be seen as a way for an ambitious Zhent black cloak to increase his or her own influence in the organisation with the black cloak believing that the weaker Manshoon can be their pawn.


More food for thought....


(I also rather like the idea of a campaign set in Loudwater and the Fallen Lands where the Zhents have gone to the Sceptre Tower of Spellgarde to ask Lady Spellgarde just where they can find one of Manshoon's clones!)

General Comments

Manshoon is one of those characters who has been harshly dealt with by various RPG and novel authors, largely because of the old TSR policy that evil could never be seen to be successful.

If you read Ed Greenwood's comments about Manshoon over at Candlekeep, it is clear that Ed saw him as a true master villain. That's the Manshoon I want to include in one or more of my games at some point.

I don't like the idea of Manshoon as a vampire. Actually, it's not so much that I don't like it as I prefer the idea of more than one clone still running around. And Manshoon the Night King is both too high in level for my preferred campaign levels and I don't like the whole notion of Stormkeep. It's too high magic for the sort of game I want to run. (Yes, there is a certain irony in rejecting high magic when my preferred campaign setting is Forgotten Realms.)

Suffice to say, I want to bring Manshoon back but as a lower-level protagonist and as someone who has the potential to make the Zhentarim a force in the Moonsea again. Manshoon the Night King can have Darkhold and the Western Heartlands; "my" Manshoon wants the Moonsea....

Dark Weavings - Appendix Two: Darkhold

The Leadership

First Rank: The Tolak

LADY AVREZT, CASTELLAN OF DARKHOLD AND TOLAK OF THE ZHENTARIM
FEMALE HUMAN WIZARD (POLYMORPHED BEHOLDER MAGE)

Avrezt is one of the Tolak that lead the Zhentarim. She commands the three elite corps quartered at Darkhold and oversees the training of much of the Zhentarim. Since Manshoon rarely leaves Stormwatch, Avrezt has near complete autonomy. Avrezt commands the three elite corps quartered at Darkhold and oversees the training. Since Manshoon rarely leaves Stormwatch, Avrezt has near complete autonomy. She is a dark, brooding beauty and carries an undeniable aura of command. She looks you over with an imperious eye.

In reality, “she” is an “it”. Avrezt is actually the beholder mage, Ixathinon, polymorphed into human form. Since rising to the rank of Tolak, Ixathinon has been working to make the Zhentarim an instrument of beholders.

Key Traits:    Domineering. Haughty. Imperious. Xenophobic.
Goal:   
Motivation:   
Fears:    It doesn’t remember any.
Weaknesses:    Ixathinon is extremely xenophobic and openly contemptuous of humans and other “lesser races”. She is also a glutton with a penchant for eating gnomes and finds fresh gnome next to impossible to resist.

Second Rank: Senior Black Cloak

TAALOR DARKHOPE, SENIOR BLACK CLOAK OF DARKHOLD
MALE HUMAN SUMMONER WIZARD

Taalor Darkhope is an incredibly intelligent man with eclectic tastes in literature and is widely read. Taalor is often called "The Binder"
because of his expertise in summoning creatures and binding them to his will. He has created helmed horrors and homunculi.

Taalor is particularly concerned about the recently arrived cleric of Bane and her designs upon him.

NOMBRAIL CALIST, WATCHFUL SKULL OF CYRIC
MALE HUMAN CLERIC OF CYRIC

Nombrail Calist is the high cleric of Cyric at Darkhold and spreads the word of the Black Sun through the Zhentarim. A treacherous weasel of a man who delights in abusing his underlings, he despises Fzain and longs for the day that Avrezt gives him leave to crush the hated Banite. Until then, he taunts and provokes her at every opportunity. Nombrail’s long-term goal is to free Cyric from his imprisonment, and he urges Avrezt to pursue this goal at every opportunity.


Honorary Second Rank: Ambassadors

FZAIN NERIST, BANITE EMISSARY FROM MULMASTER
FEMALE HUMAN CLERIC OF BANE

Fzain Nerist is the representative of the High Imperceptor in Mulmaster to the Zhentarim. A stunningly beautiful woman with honeyed locks and
dressed in the red and black vestments of Bane approaches you.

Born in a family of dedicated Banites, Fzain was named in honour of Bane’s exarch, Fzoul. Manshoon will not permit her into Stormwatch so she stays at Darkhold. She is a strong-willed woman and a brilliant speaker who is able to sway crowds. This, combined with her good looks, has made her popular among the sellswords at Darkhold and brought some into the service of the Black Hand. She is convinced that Bane is the future of the Realms and will triumph over all other gods. She has occasional liaisons with Tomias, but she has her eye on Taalor.

APOSTROPHE DOUBLE APOSTROPHE, DROW EMISSARY FROM SSHAMATH
FEMALE DROW CLERIC OF SHAR OR MALE DROW SHADOW ADEPT


Third Rank: The Captains

GRON, CAPTAIN OF THE STORM WATCH
MALE DRAGONBORN PALADIN OF CYRIC

Gron left his homeland of Tymanther for reasons that have never been specified. Because of Gron’s horrible temper, it is commonly believed that he murdered someone important during one of his rages and had to flee the country. Gron is a devout follower of Cyric and revels in the strife of physical combat. He has little respect for Tomias and believes him to be a two-faced cad. If he finds out that Tomias is passing information to Fzain, Gron will kill him.

HULT IRONTOE, MASTER OF RECRUITS
MALE DWARF BRAWLER FIGHTER

Hult Irontoe is a dangerous and aggressive dwarf, a bully. The position suits Hult fine as he likes hurting people and his rank gives him plenty of opportunity to do so. Hult Irontoe hired on as a mercenary to the Zhentarim about twenty years ago. Always a dangerous and aggressive dwarf, Hult bullied the other Zhents. After Hult killed the former Master of Recruits in bare-fisted brawl and then intimidated a room full of observers into silence, Avrezt made him the new master. The position suits Hult fine as he likes hurting people and his rank gives him plenty of opportunity to do so.

TOMIAS PALESUN, CAPTAIN OF THE GREY FEATHERS
MALE HALF-ELF RANGER

Tomias Palesun is a seemingly easygoing man with a quick wit and many jokes, but he has the cold eyes of a killer. Tomias is a firm supporter of Bane, and is having a liaison with the cleric of Bane. During their trysts, he feeds information to Fzain about Zhentarim activities.


JESYM DREIN, CAPTAIN OF THE OUTRIDERS
FEMALE HALFLING RANGER/ROGUE

Jesym Drein, a halfling, intends to build up her cult of personality among the Zhents of Darkhold until she has enough support to split from the Zhentarim and form her own mercenary band.

Jesym Drein is very friendly with the PCs as she sees them as potential recruits to her future plots. She recently rose to command after she managed the “accidental” death of Hallook Breidorlzan, the former captain. Once she has the Outriders consolidated under her control, she intends to build up her cult of personality among the Zhents of Darkhold until she has enough support to split from the Zhentarim and form her own mercenary band.

NYTH “GREYCLOAK” ARILANTHER, BLACK CLOAK
MALE HUMAN WIZARD

Signature Spells: sleep, glitterdust, fly, Evard’s black tentacles, missile mastery (swats away arrows)

PROBOLAR, BLACK CLOAK
MALE HUMAN WIZARD

Linked to the Cult of the Dragon. Signature Spells/Items: flaming staff (dragon head), fireball.

CYRICSON MOLTAR, STRIFELEADER OF CYRIC

Dashingly handsome, engaging smile, perfect white teeth, cruel, pragmatist: this is Cyricson. His robes are of purple velvet from the hide of a displacer beast and his unholy symbol is solid platinum. Signature spell: blade barrier. His bodyguard, Briemulk, would sacrifice himself for Cyricson.

MELITHUA, STRIFELEADER OF CYRIC
FEMALE HUMAN CLERIC OF CYRIC

SMOLITUNG, STRIFELEADER OF CYRIC
MALE HUMAN CLERIC OF CYRIC

Smolitung lacks subtlety. He is just a thug. He prefers to fight with a morningstar. He is muscular and has a large scar on the left side of his face from the claw of a dragon. He hates dragons and dragonborn.

Fourth Rank: The Jacks

Dardres Halamer, Strifeleader of Cyric

Laerdan Istus, Strifeleader of Cyric

Thorak Srasam, Zhent War Mage (prefers fire spells)

LERILENANIEL, BEAST TAMER OF DARKHOLD
FEMALE ELF RANGER

Lerilenaniel is quiet and doesn't like people very much. She bears scars from torture at the hands of inquisitors under the command of the High Observer.
Lerilenaniel has a deep and lasting hatred of the High Observer of Torm who rules Elturgard over his barricading of the Reaching Woods. She uses monsters to kill or harass the paladins of Elturgard, even though Avrezt has ordered her not to provoke the city.

Lerilenaniel is cool and distant to the PCs, especially any elves or eladrin. If any of the PCs are drow, she spits on the ground. Lerilenaniel mostly wanders the wilds of Western Heartlands, hunting for monsters, trapping them, and then moving them to places where needed by the Zhentarim. She is quiet and doesn't like people very much. Lerilenaniel has a deep and lasting hatred of the High Observer of Torm who rules Elturgard over his barricading of the Reaching Woods. She uses monsters to kill or harass the paladins of Elturgard, even though Avrezt has ordered her not to provoke the city. The hippogriff that Lerilenaniel is petting is named Bitey.

RIKLA ULGRYM, QUARTERMASTER OF DARKHOLD
FEMALE HALF-ORC THIEF

Rikla Ulgrym is harried by the constant requests for supplies. Rikla is particularly angry at Jesym as the old captain of the Outriders was her embezzlement partner. Hult Irontoe has taken an instant dislike to Rikla and considers her weak and therefore a target. Rikla has to actively avoid the dwarf or suffer his beatings.

Others

Orto, Peltham; Zhent Soldiers
Thusk Tharmuil of Glister, Zhent War Mage (cold spells)
Menzel, apprentice to Thusk
Malunko, half-orc fighter; Grognar, Argrath- human fighters
Zzygarn, black dragon

VARLOSH, ARCHIVIST OF DARKHOLD

Varlosh is a vampire and follower of Shar. He is disliked by many Black Cloaks as he keeps close tabs on the amount of income they are supposed to be reporting.

Varlosh keeps track of all the contracts, reports, and intelligence gathered by the Zhentarim. He greets the PCs with polite condescension. They are expendable fodder that makes money for the Zhentarim. He informs the part that they will be filing their reports and contracts here.

A vampire and follower of Shar, Varlosh works closely with Avrezt to receive reports from many of the Zhentarim corps working around Faerûn. He is disliked by many Black Cloaks as he keeps close tabs on the amount of income they are supposed to be reporting.

He has survived numerous assassination attempts, mostly because no one knows he’s a vampire. Varlosh has noticed Tomias’s relationship with Fzain and is blackmailing the archer captain. This is mostly for show. In reality, he has already reported the treachery to Avrezt, and they are feeding Tomias false information.

Varlosh’s Prisoner: The woman chained to the desk is Nualla A’Ashemmi. She is the daughter of Sememmon and Ashemmi, the Renegades of Darkhold who turned from the Black Network before the Spellplague. She has made it her life’s work to oppose the Zhentarim at every turn, but was recently caught by the Zhents and held prisoner. Varlosh believes that he has her dominated and cowed, but she fought off his control some time ago. She pretends to still be under the influence to avoid Varlosh re-dominating her.

If rescued, Nualla can be a source of vital information.


EYEBITER, BEHOLDER OF DARKHOLD
SOLO ARTILLERY 9

Eyebiter is one of a group of beholders who want the Banites back. More importantly, Eyebiter and its fellows believe that the Black Network can become a completely beholder-led organisation.

HILL GIANT MERCENARY

OGRE CAPTAIN

GEDRETH, GOBLIN SHAMAN

NERETH THE FLAMESKULL

OROKOTH THE BLACK CLOAK

 
Basic Stat Block Roster

Black Cloak    solo artillery 6 (1,250 XP), elite artillery 11 (1,200 XP), artillery 15 (1,200 XP)
War Mage    solo artillery
Mageling    artillery 1 (100 XP), minion artillery 9 (100 XP)
Apprentice    minion artillery 1 (25 XP)

Watchful Skull    solo controller 5 (1,000 XP), elite controller 10 (1,000 XP), controller 14 (1,000 XP), minion controller 22 (1,038 XP)
Strifeleader    solo controller (leader) 2 (625 XP), elite controller (leader) 7 (600 XP), controller (leader) 11 (600 XP), minion controller (leader) 19 (600 XP)
Dark Adept:    elite controller 2 (250 XP), controller 6 (250 XP), minion controller 14 (250 XP)
Dark Acolyte    controller 1 (100 XP), minion controller 9 (100 XP)

Jack    solo soldier (leader) 2 (625 XP), elite soldier (leader) 7 (600 XP), soldier (leader) 11 (600 XP), minion soldier (leader) 19 (600 XP)
Soldier    elite soldier 1 (200 XP), soldier 5 (200 XP), minion soldier 13 (200 XP)
Sellsword    soldier 1 (100 XP), minion soldier 9 (100 XP)
Recruit    minion soldier 1 (25 XP)

Slaver    elite brute 1 (200 XP), brute 5 (200 XP), minion brute 13 (200 XP)

Assassin    elite lurker 2 (250 XP), lurker 6 (250 XP)
Apprentice    lurker 1 (100 XP), minion lurker 9 (100 XP)

Dark Weavings - Appendix One: Elturgard

Background

The Secret History of Elturgard

Before the Spellplague, the rise of the faith of Amaunator was in the hands of Daelegoth Orndeir. He was considered a heretic by the followers of Lathander - Amaunator’s predecessor in a sense - and was persecuted by same until the day he caused the Companion to shine in the skies over Elturel.

A miracle on this scale demonstrated the power of Amaunator and caused many Lathanderites to doubt. Over a period of two decades or so, the majority of Lathanderites converted to the worship of Amaunator and Orndeir himself became the Supreme Potentate of the Sun Lord.

The land of Elturgard was named by Orndeir and he ruled beneath the light of the Companion, the second sun he had caused to be created. Then, some 30 or so years ago, Orndeir was on retreat in Fort Morninglord, a noted bastion of the faith and the Supreme Potentate’s favourite place for study and meditation. A great beam of sunlight struck the fort at high noon and the inhabitants of the fort were seen no more. It was told that Orndeir was taken by Amaunator to be an exarch of the Sun Lord but Elturgard changed suddenly thereafter.

The church of Amaunator in Elturgard had long been allied with the church of Torm and the Tormites enjoyed a similar status to the followers of Amaunator within the borders of the Land of Two Suns. After the disappearance of Orndeir, high-ranked clerics of Amaunator met in secret with the senior clergy of the church of Torm. After that, the official faith of Elturgard was changed to Torm and the clergy of Torm replaced the clergy of Amaunator in all official positions.

It became part of Amaunatori dogma that this change not be questioned by the faithful. Indeed, all discussion of Orndeir, Fort Morninglord and the change in government of Elturgard became prohibited. Too much talk would lead to a visit by a church inquisitor and, it was rumoured, in some cases the disappearance of the one who questioned the church’s decisions.

The reality was that Orndeir was a heretic blinded by pride and tempted by the blandishments of Graz’zt the Dark Prince. The Supreme Potentate had captured a minor aspect of Graz’zt within a golden cage of binding. Rather than simply consigning this shard of the Dark Prince to eternal imprisonment, Orndeir revelled in his ability to command and control - to dominate - such a potent creature.

Graz’zt bided his time but was soon able to manipulate Orndeir to his own ends. He explained the history of Amaunator and twisted ancient Amaunatori teachings to show that Amaunator should be supreme on Toril. The Sun Lord should be the supreme lawgiver: he should even replace Bane as the deity of rulership!

Part of Orndeir’s pride was based on his deep knowledge of the Three-Faced Sun Heresy. He believed Amaunator to be one aspect of three faces of the sun: Dusk, Dawn and High Noon. Myrkul was the last deity to hold the portfolio of Dusk and Orndeir secretly sought after any information he could find on the Lord of Bones. He even visited the Mere of Dead Men and gathered some of Myrkul’s essence and traded with the yuan-ti for knowledge about the Crown of Horns, a malefic relic containing the last of Myrkul’s identity.

This heresy also became a topic of conversation with the imprisoned aspect and the Dark Prince also used this as fuel for his own blandishments. In due course, Orndeir’s fall was complete on the day he attempted to perform a ritual within the grounds of Fort Morninglord to absorb the essences of Myrkul and Bhaal (whose black blood still stained the [name] River near the Boareskyr Bridge) and to replace Amaunator but as the Three-Faced Sun.

At this point, Amaunator struck. A mighty blast of sunlight rent the sky and Orndeir was no more and Fort Morninglord became the blackened husk under the ban of Elturgard to this day. In reality, Orndeir was transformed into an undead thing - something like a skull lord, with three heads representing the three sources of power he now wielded - but, although not destroyed, the divine wrath of Amaunator consigned Orndeir to a darkened prison beneath Fort Morninglord with the caged aspect of Graz’zt his only company.

The Dark Prince was - and still is - playing a dangerous game. Ultimately he wishes to steal the portfolio of tyranny from Bane, the Black Lord, and properly enter the pantheon of the Realms. His masquerade as Waukeen, a result of the Time of Troubles, means he is already a member of the pantheon, albeit in disguise.

As for Orndeir, he waits beneath Fort Morninglord, a weakened pawn of the Dark Prince, for the day when someone might free him and he can return to his plans for apotheosis anew.

(Alternatively, I could replace the aspect of Graz’zt with a glabrezu in the service of Lolth. In 3.5E terms, it would have the fiend of temptation prestige class.)

The Present Day

“The High Observer is dead! Long live the High Observer!”

The highest-ranking cleric of the church of Torm has died and been replaced by [name], a Vigilant Seer of the Eye of Justice from Westgate.

The Eye of Justice arrived in Elturgard some three or so years ago. Introduced to the population as experts in combatting the Zhents, they soon showed their value by bringing many Zhent agents to justice and defeating a large Zhent force sent to secure the Boareskyr Bridge.

The leader of Eye of Justice is one of five Vigilant Seers with oversight of the entire order. He has been chosen as the new High Observer and promises a new era of vigilance and justice under his rule. However, things seem darker....

Dark Weavings - Incorporating the Crystal Shard

Why, when I detest R A Salvatore's books?

I am a fan of the original Crystal Shard novel by R A Salvatore. While it never made me want to play an emo drow, an emo ranger, a drow ranger or even a drow ranger with two scimitars (after all, I preferred the Lawful Evil human Prince Rann from the War of the Powers double trilogy when it came to warriors wielding a pair of curved blades [and which pre-dated the Drizzt phenomenon by a decade or so]), it made me want to run an adventure incorporating the titular Crystal Shard. (And, really, it was only the books after the first double trilogy which were utter crap. Unfortunately, R A Salvatore is the George Lucas of fantasy writers: he got off to a great start then devolved into a parody of his former self... and he really shouldn't be allowed to invent his own character names.)

The most important point about the Crystal Shard for me is that it can create crystal towers and allow the wielder of the shard to move himself and his forces between those towers. This would be a perfect artefact for an organisation like the Zhents to control because it would allow them to move their forces - and even their mercantile cargoes - safely and swiftly and then, unlike a fixed portal, the shard tower can be collapsed to prevent pursuit.

Of course, according to Forgotten Realms canon, the Crystal Shard has a weakness: it draws its power wholly from the sun. Without the sun's rays shining upon it, it is powerless. However, when thinking about Elturgard and its second sun, the Companion, this weakness can be mitigated against because the Companion provides perpetual sunlight.

According to the novels and, in-game, Volo's Guide to All Things Magical, the Crystal Shard possesses a range of other powers but these are not particularly importantly in the context of my campaign's requirements. I also seem to recall that it is supposed to be a splinter from the shard of evil that created the Abyss. This latter piece of information definitely suits my purposes and caused me to start considering how to include the Crystal Shard in my Dark Weavings campaign.

Inspiration from the LFR Epic Adventures... and a Dungeon Adventure

The third LFR Epic adventure, EPIC3-3 The Tangled Skein of Destiny, involves the consequences to Lolth's astral demesne, the Demonweb Pits, being pierced by a fragment of the abyssal shard of evil. This causes the Demonweb Pits to unravel as they seek to "migrate", as it were, back to their birthplace in the Abyss. Lolth is effectively powerless for a time as she attempts to weave the Demonweb Pits back together.

This plot was instigated by Graz'zt as part of a plan to weaken Lolth and, for in my campaign at least, part of a plan to take the drow as his own people. As Graz'zt is basically the Big Bad Evil Guy behind every plot and plan I have for my version of the Forgotten Realms this suits my needs perfectly.

Also, I have always wanted to run the adventure, The Harrowing, by Monte Cook from Dungeon 84. I think I can combine these ideas with those I already have for the Dark Weavings campaign so that I now have an extraplanar adventure set in the Demonweb Pits after my already-planned equivalent for D3 The Vault of the Drow: Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits, here we come!

Putting it All Together

(I am basically ignoring the post-Crystal Shard novel history in favour of my own version. Ahhh, the joys of determining your own canon.)

After the events of the Crystal Shard, the titular artefact was lost in the snows of the North. In due course it was found by drow from Menzoberranzan before making its way to the drow arcanists of Sshamath and, ultimately, to a follower of Graz'zt.

If the Crystal Shard can be implanted into one of the key locations of the Demonweb Pits, the entire plane will unravel freeing numerous imprisoned tanar'ri which Lolth used to power her ascent to greater power as well as those drow and other souls that worshipped Lolth in life.

The effort to stop the unravel and then rebuild the Demonweb Pits will prevent Lolth from exercising her formidable powers for a number of years and her followers will not be able to use their encounter, recharge and daily divine powers during this new Silence of Lolth. In other words, it will ensure that drow society is ripe for infiltration by cultists of Graz'zt, particularly when - thanks to his imprisonment and impersonation of Waukeen - the Dark Prince is also able to grant divine powers.

The Lolth-worshipping House Zauvirr of Sshamath has obtained the Crystal Shard. The artefact is effectively powerless within the darkness of the Underdark but a cultist of Graz'zt has managed to persuade House Zauvirr to use it as the price of obtaining Zhentarim aid in repelling the advances that the Shar-worshipping Netherese are making in Sshamath.

The Zhents of Darkhold are delighted with their new acquisition - the price for sending 500 Zhent soldiers to Sshamath in the service of House Zauvirr for a year and a day - because it has the potential to revolutionise their ability to move their soldiers and their trade goods. In addition, if combined with the Companion the Crystal Shard would never be in darkness and this its utility would effectively double.

Graz'zt believes that the Zhents will ultimately over-stretch themselves in relation to their use of Crenshinibon and that Elturgard will mount an effective retaliation. His ultimate goal is to manipulate the forces of good into taking the Crystal Shard to the Demonweb Pits and planting it there to weaken Lolth. It will take time but, unlike the other abyssal powers, the Dark Prince possesses patience.

The Factions of Sshamath

Council of Blue Fire

Sharns, spellscarred.

Council of Darkness

Warlocks.

Council of Lolth

House Zauvirr and clerics of Lolth.

Council of Wizards

Wizards.

The Crystal Shard - from Volo's Guide to All Things Magical


(This is for AD&D Second Edition.)



Crenshinibon the Crystal Shard is an ancient relic of chaos and evil. This vile artifact appears as a 1-foot-long, four-sided, pulsating crystal that is tapered like an icicle.


History


The Crystal Shard was forged by a conclave of seven liches millennia ago in a distant crystal sphere. The forging consumed the seven; Crenshinibon stole the magical strength that preserved their undeath to fuel its own first flickers of life. A tanar’ri lord, Errtu, was present
at the creation of Crenshinibon, but was hurled back to the Abyss by the burst of power that heralded the artefact'’s coalescence. Errtu presumed the crystal had not survived that explosion until it stumbled across the shard’s trail centuries later with the discovery of a crystal tower, Cryshal-Tirith, whose pulsating heart was the exact image of the Crystal Shard. In the interim, Crenshinibon had molded countless bearers into iron-fisted tyrants and orchestrated military onslaughts to deliver its purpose of destruction in many worlds. Before the fiend could recover the relic, it was seized by Al Dimeneira, a solar of the Upper Planes. Errtu was banished to the Abyss by the aasimon, but the angelic being could not destroy the Crystal Shard. It burned his skin terribly, and he was forced to hurl the relic across the planes, hoping it would never be found.


Crenshinibon came to rest in the snow of a bowl-shaped dell deep in the northern mountain range on Toril known as the Spine of the World. There it lay for centuries, sought for its strength by many evil lords, including Errtu—, but found by none. The Crystal Shard was eventually discovered in the Year of the Crown (1351 DR) by a weak-willed apprentice wizard by the name of Akar Kessel who stumbled across the relic after being left to die in the snowy wastes by his erstwhile allies, several wizards of the Hosttower of the Arcane in Luskan. Under Crenshinibon’s influence, Kessel gathered a servitor army of goblinkin, trolls, and giants. Errtu had noticed a surge of power in the Realms hinting at the artifact’s location and eventually managed to take advantage of a faulty summoning to the Prime Material Plane to arrive in Icewind Dale and seize the artifact. Kessel, warned of the fiend’'s impending arrival by Crenshinibon, convinced Errtu to serve as his general with the promise that the tanar’ri lord could seize the relic after the human died of old age, —a relatively short amount of time to the immortal Errtu.


Spurred by the Shard'’s malignant intelligence, the self-styled “Tyrant of Icewind Dale” then turned his army against the humans of the Ten Towns and the dwarves of Clan Battlehammer in his bid to carve out an empire. Kessel and his army were eventually defeated by the humans and dwarves of the region with the aid of several adventurers who later formed the Company of the Hall. Crenshinibon was buried under half the snow on Kelvin’s Cairn, entombed with the late, unlamented Kessel by an avalanche of its own creation.


Campaign Use


The Crystal Shard is endowed with an utterly evil, power-craving intelligence that serves the cause of pure chaos. It is still actively sought by many fiends of the Lower Planes, including Errtu, though that tanar’ri lord has been exiled from the Prime Material Plane after
its defeat by Drizzt Do’Urden. Any of these evil beings will seek out the artifact if an opportunity presents itself.


Although Crenshinibon was defeated, it was hardly destroyed or even particularly well-hidden. A skilled wizard employing widely known spells could locate the Crystal Shard and retrieve it from its icebound tomb. Alternatively, the heat radiated by the artifact might cause it to slowly sink through the snow until it falls into a deep-running stream. Fate might then bear the artifact into the Underdark to be discovered by some powerful denizen of the Land Below. If the finder bears the artifact south, it could reappear in the hands of a subterranean tyrant anywhere in the Realms. Player characters might then be forced into confronting the rapid rise of an empire in the depths that threatens the surrounding surface
world—for Crenshinibon needs exposure to the sun to employ most of its powers.


Powers


Crenshinibon is an enigma: a force of darkest evil that draws its strength from that which good-aligned beings find most precious— the light of day. For every hour of daylight the Crystal Shard (or Cryshal Tirith if it contains the artifact) is directly exposed to the light of the sun, Crenshinibon absorbs 12 power levels of energy. The artefact can store a maximum of 144 power levels at any one time, and additional exposure to the sun has no effect. Every two hours, Crenshinibon slowly loses two power levels. (The energy simply dissipates.)


The relic burns power levels to create spell effects at its bearer’'s will at a cost of one power level per level of a spell effect. Although spell effects can be maintained at night, no new spell effects may be created by the relic while the sun is completely below the horizon. When spells are cast, the ambient light of the sun diminishes as the relic actually steals its radiance.


Crenshinibon is sentient, with an effective Intelligence of 19, Wisdom of 18, and Charisma of 18. It is 100% magic resistant and immune to psionics and physical attacks. The relic prefers weak, indecisive bearers as they are easier to dominate. It desires to conquer and command
and has an insatiable hunger for absolute power.

Constant

Crenshinibon burns any creature of good alignment who physically touches it with bare skin for 1d10 points of damage per round. Even while wearing leather or metal gauntlets, a good-aligned bearer suffers 1d6 points of damage per round.


The ultimate perversion of light, Crenshinibon radiates warmth with an ambient temperature of approximately 80° Fahrenheit. It provides the benefits of a ring of warmth to anyone holding it in direct contact with his or her skin.

Invoked

The bearer of the Crystal Shard can create and maintain magical towers known as Cryshal-Tirith at a cost of 24 power levels per day. A tower is created from a duplicate of the Crystal Shard that splits off from the actual artefact and expands into a gigantic edifice when the bearer (or someone she or he gives the duplicate shard to) invokes it with the command ibssum dal abdur.” These incredible fortresses can serve as a shelter and home for those who dare to wield the artefact.


Each Cryshal-Tirith can teleport without error (itself and all items and beings within it) at a cost of 12 power levels at the will of the bearer of the Crystal Shard, who also chooses the destination.


Each incarnation of Cryshal-Tirith has four palatial square-walled floors constructed of smooth, strong crystal. The first is entered via a dark hallway and serves as the main chamber of the tower and guard post. Stairs lead up from the back of the chamber to a small platform. A secret door hides a second stair that continues up to the second floor, a comfortably adorned sleeping chamber. A stair leads to a landing opening onto the third floor of the tower. This room, known as the Hall of Scrying, is filled with numerous magical scrying
devices, including dozens of mirrors, and a grand crystal throne. A small ladder leads to the fourth floor which houses the Crystal Shard (or a duplicate) and a single mirror. The relic (or duplicate) levitates in the centre of this small chamber, powering Cryshal-Tirith and any other spell effects employed by the bearer.


Cryshal-Tirith and its occupants are invulnerable to all forms of external magical, psionic, or physical attack. No magical or psionic effect cast within Cryshal-Tirith can affect the bearer of Crenshinibon unless she or he so desires. All spell effects cast at the tower are reflected back at the caster. Only a creature not native to the plane on which Cryshal-Tirith is currently located or those allowed by the bearer of Crenshinibon (or by the artefact itself) can locate the entrance to the tower—, an invisible door opening onto the first floor of the tower.


The bearer of the Crystal Shard can destroy any Cryshal-Tirith at will. The tower then collapses into a mound of black stonework that slowly disintegrates into dust. This also occurs precipitously if the artefact runs out of power levels. Anyone trapped in a tower during its destruction is instantly crushed to death.


Both Cryshal-Tirith and the Crystal Shard can pulse with a burst of blinding light that temporarily blinds any sighted creature who observes the pulse for 1d6 rounds. This ability does not cost any power levels. The Crystal Shard also, without draining power levels, functions as a maximum strength ring of telekinesis.


Crenshinibon enables its owner to cast numerous spell effects as an 18th-level wizard. Spell effects issue from the bearer if Cryshal-Tirith is not close by, but otherwise issue from the tower itself. All spell effects (except for those of the enchantment/charm school) appear as a ray of blindingly bright light.


The Crystal Shard can act as a powerful instrument of destruction. Its bearer can cast any offensive wizard spell from the school of invocation/evocation at a cost of one power level per spell level. All such spells have unlimited range, but are effectively limited by the horizon.


The relic can also serve as a means of manipulation; its bearer can cast any enchantment/charm spell at a cost of one power level per spell level. In addition, the Crystal Shard serves as a rod of rulership for its bearer without needing charges. Few bearers have known that every 10 successful uses of the wizard spell domination through Crenshinibon’'s magic permanently lower both their Wisdom and Intelligence by 1 point.


Crenshinibon can act as a powerful tool for scrying. The magical mirrors located on the fourth floor of Cryshal-Tirith function as crystal balls. The bearer of the Crystal Shard can cast any wizard spell from the schools of lesser or greater divination or employ the rod of rulership functions through the mirrors at a cost of one power level per spell level.


If a mirror is removed from Cryshal-Tirith, it can function as a two-way communication device between the bearer of the Crystal Shard in the mirror room of Cryshal-Tirith and anyone who stands in front of the remote mirror. Simply standing in front of the mirror alerts a bearer of the Crystal Shard that communication is requested.


By stepping through a tower mirror, it is possible for the owner to travel to a remote mirror.


The shard also facilitates magical transportation of a more conventional sort. Its bearer can cast any wizard translocational spell of 8th level or less (as adjudicated by the DM) - including dimension door, teleport, teleport without error, and gateway - at a cost of one power level per spell level.

Curse

Initially Crenshinibon communicates with its bearer via subconscious suggestions in a fashion similar to the 5th-level wizard spell dream (or its reverse, nightmare). After 1d4+1 years of moulding its owner’s personality and goals, Crenshinibon can communicate silently to its owner while she or he is awake. Although the relic cannot force its bearer to sleep, it can cast suggestion on its bearer as an 18th-level wizard at will. These spell effects can affect the bearer of the Crystal Shard regardless of any normal immunities. While the bearer is awake, she or he has a normal saving throw vs. spell, but while asleep his or her saving throw suffers a -6 penalty.


Crenshinibon'’s “suggestions” always advance its plans to foment chaos and evil and to extend its dominion over a larger and larger area. Effectively Crenshinibon can force its bearer to do anything it wishes through repeated use of suggestion spells. Finally, Crenshinibon chooses its bearer and cannot be coerced to perform any task— it can reject and withhold its powers from a bearer if it decides to.