Fine sword: silver inlaid blade, silver hilt covered in leather (infravsion); two magic missiles (either side of hilt), all “non-detectable”...does that exist now?
Would be nice if he had this.
It depends. How did he get it made? Do you remember?
Yes; there's 200e taken off his character sheet for a weaponsmith to make the sword; he paid for sword and SooS was asked to do crafting on it before he went to Last Chance.
Warlord wants to hear my version of the Ashan Expedition (guessing that it Agate Stane and Temple collapse that never happened(?))
I believe this involved Dworking as a Lion of Engle, which means it cannot have happened.
Agree. Mainly there fro completeness...it does (possibly) mean the temple stands and Agate Stane lives!
Aparrently I had pretentions of becoming a master! Apparently Brand was writing a treatise on psychic powers!!! [This may be after getting back from Gont]. Nathaniels survival apparently meant that there were already a lot of masters: Nathaniel, Solus, Rimstor, Narim and Minton.
Brand as a master of the School of Occult Studies... probably not, though some of the above masters did enter the School through unorthodox means, which means it's not impossible. Though he probably needs to get a few years under his belt before he would be deemed acceptable.
lol, yeah. I was a bit stunned, but I think it came about in the ancient and much-revised time line where his power was to amplify the powers of others. This meant he could help sorcerors, detect people with psi power, and help train them by activating their power. Somehow he also started writing a treatise on powers because he could observe them etc...all non-canon.
At lunch Warlord asks if I want to become a full time member of the ESS; will be invaluable in dealing with Gont.
This probably didn't happen as Brand would have been there as a representative of his father, so the warlord wouldn't have made this offer.
This may have been after either the Last Chance expedition or the Grod expedition, though the dates look like it was before Grod; the day before the lunch he had been asked to report how it went to the Warlord. The next day his father knew something was happening, but only told Brand he should meet the warlord for lunch. I took it to mean that the invitation was given to Brand after discussions he was not privy to.
Accepted mission but asked for some items: Amulet of prot/esp & mm; infravision in longsword hilt. MM placed in sword and mind-over-body in coins. Permanent items are made “non-detectable”.
The medallion would probably not be possible in the world of the books for the warlord at least.
The amulet was made by the SooS at the order of the warlord, iirc.
Finally: the ams school stuff was in 552, so a whole year had passed.
Happy with the above to have happened, so Victor Grasper is probably still out there.
If that's the case, it brings a little more into play: I was never sure the agent in LC was 100% trustworthy, but if he was, then he believes his mission was compromised by a higher-up in Constantin. So the ESS may want to investigate if/how Grasper found out. This would have probably been in my report to the Warlord...;-)
One more objective for Brand...a city residence. Country life is good and all, but only on the weekends. Looking forward to "Mum, Dad, I'd like to move out...".
OMG, but wait, there's more...from the old web site; in this he has a half-Brother (Dalshar) by a previous dalliance. Brand is also a "Priest of Venuss" which means he was too lucky in casinos and was banned from them, but gets free access to their facilities! I have no attachment to this, but it is interesting.
His early childhood was spent much as many other noble families of the time: studying, learning courtly manners, engaging in sports and games, and working as a page at the royal court.
Ditch the last, it doesn't happen in this world.
Contrary to custom, his father Koric did not elect to foster Alaric with another noble family. Forever conscious of the difficulty he had experienced in taking over his own father's estate, Koric was determined that his son understand the management of the family estates, trade and businesses at an early age.
Following on from the last correction, Alaric spent his boyhood at home being tutored by teachers brought in by his family. He is literate and well versed in the history and politics of the Sorendenese Empire, it all being drummed into him at a young age (i.e., History proficiency). He was also taught mathematics, philosophy and rhetoric in an attempt to teach him to be a critical thinker (i.e., Investigation proficiency and his high Intelligence and Wisdom). However his practical side kept him sneaking out to spend time spying on his father's weapons master and all the various individuals who came to the estate for purposes he was not allowed to be privy to. It wasn't long before the weapons master discovered him doing this, but instead of reporting the boy to his father, he started training him in the use of the dagger.
Koric saw to it that his son was effectively excluded from the distractions of court life. While it was neither possible nor desirable to release him from his duties at court, he banned Alaric from most of the social distractions associated with court life.
Alaric was not at court as a young boy, there are lots of good reasons for this, the most important being that Brand's father works for the emperor, not the king of Engle. There is a reason why the Brand estate straddles the Engelian border.
His early teenage years were spent working for his father, then later for his father's deputies, being trained in the running of the family enterprises. While other boys of his own age were serving as adjutants to comanders in the army, Alaric was working for his father, keeping books and delivering instructions to the buyers and sellers in the family trading houses.
Doubtful. He would possibly have accompanied his father, and some officials a few times.
While this life had it's advantages - he was frequently accorded the respect and authority of his father, and had a level of autonomy not usual for boys his age, it nevertheless rankled with Alaric. His own abilities were never truly tested, and his preferences were largely ignored.
No, but yes to the last sentence.
By his mid-teens Alaric rebelled, and his father was forced to allow him to spend a full summmer at court. Alaric soon learned how little interest court life held for him, and was unable to hide his boredom. While the scions of other noble houses comported themselves about court as was befitting, Alaric chose instead to practice arms, and to train with the common soldiers. It was during this time that Alaric met his half-brother, Dalshar.
No. Happy for Alaric to have run away from home, but his father wouldn't have exposed either Alaric or himself by sending his son to the Engelian court. Also happy for Alaric to have been sent to New Nineveh to spend time with his relatives there. And, where did the half brother come from? Unless there is a big difference in their ages, I can't see how this can happen. A recognised bastard perhaps, (FYI, see 'The naming of bastard children' in the Miscellaneous things section of the world site.)
Up until his time at court his martial skills had lagged behind those of his peers. But with an enthusiasm born out of extreme boredom, he quickly became proficient with sword, bow and dagger.
At the end of summer his father saw a different person return from court. In physical terms Alaric was now taller and stronger, but his father saw something more. Alaric had in some way accepted the work he did for his father, and returned to it with maturity and energy. In relief at this change in attitude, Koric turned a blind eye to Alaric's growing interest in the gentleman's sport of gambling, something Dalshar had introduced him to.
The above is fine is it happened in New Nineveh.
Alaric was surpisingly successful. His exploits at the tables soon became legendary, and his father took a vicarious pride in the stories that circulated among some circles at court. At age 16, Alaric Brand became the youngest person ever to achieve the status of 'Priest of Venuss', and was inducted into the solumn brotherhood in a humorous ceremony. He still wears the remodelled Sorendenese coin around his neck [perhaps a coin that, for some reason, could only have been stolen, or is rare + has a different face on one side (Venuss?) and a special hidden marking, known to Temple owners].
No. In this world, Venuss doesn't have priests, or temples for that matter, as he is not a recognised god of the Mithran pantheon. Gamblers and thieves use his name, and he is more legend than deity, there being some evidence that he was once a real person.
Unfortunately for Alaric, the title meant that he was effectively banned from gambling in any Temple of Venuss, so a substantial source of personal income effectively dried up. It did mean that he could use any of the 'facilities' of the Temple for free (which he did), but it was insufficient to keep his interest, and the payments he occasionally received for his more active assistance at the Temple were no compensation for the notoriety he had enjoyed prior to be sanctified.
No temples, but he can be banned from a number of gaming houses in Constantine if you want ;-)
The change in status did however afford Alaric with the opportunity to acompany Dalshar on his own 'business trips' with greater regularity. Alaric knew that the Temple and his brother were closely connected to the Guild, and so to the darker side of life in Constantin. He had accompanied Dalshar on a few jobs: Alaric's task had been to pretend to be drunk, and stop singing if the guard approached.
I'm happy to have Dalshar as a possible future NPC who turns up, but I don't think he should be included so strongly in Alaric's origin. Brand should make his rogue connections by running away to Constantine and being 'lucky' enough not to get his throat cut while he learns his rogue skills (i.e. lockpick proficiency, stealth, sleight of hand), all the while keeping just ahead of his father's agents who would be out looking for him. Or, Dalshar could be his criminal contact rather than his half brother.
Now he adopted a more active role, and began assisting Dalshar in his work. The inevitable chases, and associated danger, provided Alaric with a real substitute for the adrenalin of the gambling tables. Alaric admitted to himself that his work with Dalshar was more enjoyable that gambling, which had become almost ritually easy toward the end of his career.
Alaric was also introduced to another side of the guild: wives and families of members who had died in the service of the guild were looked after, and on one occasion, Dalshar asked him to find a place for a recent widow on one of his father's estates, which he did.
No. This actually makes very little sense. If they'd known that Alaric was the son of a lord, they would have sold him back to his father for a huge ransom. There may be gentlemen thieves in Constantine, but they are not the leaders of any of the criminal organisations.
Dalshar found that, in collaboration with Alaric, his successes were enhanced. He began thinking of Alaric as his 'good luck charm', and took him on increasingly complex missions, taking increasing risks. Eventually their luck ran out, and they were caught stealing antique weaponry (something which Alaric collected).
Koric Brand found out about his son's activities, and used his influence to get them both released. He immediately sent Alaric to 'country estates', and bade Dalshar to 'never darken my door again'. [This may be particularly unfair, since this particular job may have been *for* Alaric].
I suspect it would be more the case that his father's agents managed to rescue him before he could be identified as the son of Lord Brand.
Alaric spent a year as a virtual prisoner, honing his more traditional skills before 'escaping' and going to Ilbarsis. This escape was aided by the widow who he had placed, luckily, on the same estate in which he was imprisoned; she was able to take a message to the Temple, and they arranged for certain items to be purchased on his 'account'.
The above is okay as long as you change the motivation for the woman.
Koric, believing that Alaric has run off to his brother, hunted for him in Constantin. Eventually Dalshar was brought before Koric (he surrendered himself at the gates), and told Koric his son ran to Ilbarsis to escape from 'his pig-ignorant overbearing fool of a father'. Koric holds Dalshar until he can confirm Alaric is in Ilbarsis, then Dalshar is set free with a warning that he will "suffer the consequences", if he so much as speaks to Alaric.
Sort of okay if Dalshar is a friend, or bastard brother, but not the half-brother idea. I'm also of the opinion that Alaric would not have told his thief associates who was.
A few weeks later, Koric received a note from Dalshar detailing Alaric's location and recent activities. Koric receives further (edited) updates from Dalshar intermittantly, and eventually writes back thanking him for his assistance.
Not sure how the above could be done unless it was Alaric who was actually writing the notes and sending them to Dalshar from Ilbarsis, which he probably didn't have a lot of opportunity to do.
Koric elects to leave his son to explore Ilbarsis for his own reasons.
Notes:
a. This makes Brand probably able to contact his brother if he *really* needed to. He would almost certainly like to, but probably would not choose to, for fear of making matters worse. He might, however, choose to make written contact (this might be fun!) - people at the 'Temple' could be intermediaries.
b. Dalshar probably has a 'Master Thief' as a patron, but Brand has never met him/her (as far as he knows).
c. 'Priest' status possibly gives him a place to run, or at least contact, in some cities. Not necessarily safety.
d. Brand probably knows, and is known by, the 'priesthood' of Venuss: these may just be itinerant show-gamblers, bouncers, card-sharps etc.
e. Koric knows Dalshar must have some power in the thieves guild, and probably suspects he his quite senior. Alaric probably knows very little about Dalshar's position, but may be able to work it out in time (the eyes of a 16 year old are not known for great perspective).
f. Dalshar's rise in the guild may have been aided to a small extent by the good luck he experienced with Alaric.
g. Koric paid a stipend to Dalshar's mother after he married his current wife, and Dalshar's mother ceased his formal education, electing to pay for security not a hobby. As a result he is unable to read much, or write at all. Any communication has to go through the Guild.
How does this all sound?
As you can probably make out from my notes above, I don't agree with a lot of it.
Dalshar as Alaric's criminal contact and mentor in Constantine makes sense, but not as a half-brother.
Having Alaric spend some of his formative years in New Nineveh also makes a lot of sense to me, as it would be a relatively safe place for his father to send him.
Alaric knows Venuss, both from experience and from his reading of history. Venuss is sort of a legendary figure/concept (e.g., the luck of Riley); a god in the making if you like. But he is certainly not an established god in this society by any means. In a way, Alaric was at one point an avatar of Venuss in that Venuss inhabited his body for a while. Where he went after that, Alaric has no idea, possibly into another person.
And note that the Brand family, while being recognised by the court of Engle because of its importance and wealth, are not of the court of Engle. It is obvious that the king of Engle and the late warlord knew something of Lord Brand's true reason for being in the area, but what they knew is unknown to Alaric. Alaric's father works for the emperor, not the king, in this reality. Note there is also regularly an ambassador for the empire in Constantine as well, but they tend to come and go every year or so.
Anyway, it's almost 1 pm. Time for me to call it a night.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
How about, as a way to move forward, Brand did speak to Nathaniel, has a book, is reading it still, worked with Nathaniel, but suffered a setback of some kind that means he is now only just recovering his ability to travel. IIRC from other stuff, meditation is the key and may be the key to his recovery. As part of his recovery he took the long trip you suggested?
Edit: can I also assume that, because of his delicate health, news of Dworkin was kept from him until recently?
Happy with the first paragraph.
The second one begs the question who would tell him anything about Dworkin? Alaric hasn't seen anyone recently who knows Dworkin. Melitta has been seen at the school, but hasn't tried to contact Alaric for some reason, and Dworkin is not an alumnus of the school and is not from Constantine. (Please note the spelling of the city's name; It has been changed from the old days, but this is what it is in the book. Thorein's map on the site is hand-drawn and has quite a few errors because of this, him not being a skilled cartographer.)
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
But first, is Brand going to stand up his father's weapons master? He is expecting him at training.
Definitely. Exercise every morning, followed by meditation...then, if there are no pressing duties, he will take himself to one of the places that he used to frequent...6 months ago....or do whatever he used to do to contact his "contact".
Cool. I will describe this when I get to the end of the previous list of messages... Fitting this in with all my work.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Regarding Gont, I suspect we'll need to retcon that away seeing as it involved both Dworkin and Melitta, who can't have been involved now. Note, I have horrible visions of waves of kobolds falling under barrages of magic missiles from that session.
lol. I don't want to disappoint you, but we be talking about different things. Are you talking about the tower with Magic Missile in the doors? That was one of my favourite memories. Not often you get the dead piling up semi-plausibly. If that's what you were talking about, I'm pretty sure it was pre-ring.
If there was another incident with bodies piling up, Im sad I missed it!
Another incident from the sounds of it. This happened when the party were exploring some ruins in Gont. The party was charged from one side by a large group of kobolds (or something similar) that were mowed down by Melitta and Dworkin's wands of magic missiles. Then they did the same to the wave that came at them from the opposite direction. Individually the kobolds weren't very strong, but I thought their numbers and tactics might make for an interesting fight. That didn't happen. It was a massacre... of kobolds. Maybe you weren't there.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
First ....this was all postsed for info mainly (and was a direct quote, include the "how does this sound to you". I will italicise quotes in future...
OMG, but wait, there's more...from the old web site; in this he has a half-Brother (Dalshar) by a previous dalliance. Brand is also a "Priest of Venuss" which means he was too lucky in casinos and was banned from them, but gets free access to their facilities! I have no attachment to this, but it is interesting.
His early childhood was spent much as many other noble families of the time: studying, learning courtly manners, engaging in sports and games, and working as a page at the royal court.
Ditch the last, it doesn't happen in this world.
This is actually interesting: I had not realized Lord Brand was outside of the formal structures of Engle. I should have.
...
Following on from the last correction, Alaric spent his boyhood at home being tutored by teachers brought in by his family. He is literate and well versed in the history and politics of the Sorendenese Empire, it all being drummed into him at a young age (i.e., History proficiency). He was also taught mathematics, philosophy and rhetoric in an attempt to teach him to be a critical thinker (i.e., Investigation proficiency and his high Intelligence and Wisdom). However his practical side kept him sneaking out to spend time spying on his father's weapons master and all the various individuals who came to the estate for purposes he was not allowed to be privy to. It wasn't long before the weapons master discovered him doing this, but instead of reporting the boy to his father, he started training him in the use of the dagger.
This sounds fine to me.
...
Alaric was not at court as a young boy, there are lots of good reasons for this, the most important being that Brand's father works for the emperor, not the king of Engle. There is a reason why the Brand estate straddles the Engelian border.
This is also good to know.
...
Doubtful. He would possibly have accompanied his father, and some officials a few times.
Also happy with this; once upon a time the Brands were wealthy traders doing export/import....much more interesting new setting.
...
...
No. Happy for Alaric to have run away from home, but his father wouldn't have exposed either Alaric or himself by sending his son to the Engelian court.
Now I understand the situation, completely happy. I imagine he had a few appearances at the local court at imperial or other functions, but was not a court regular.
Also happy for Alaric to have been sent to New Nineveh to spend time with his relatives there. And, where did the half brother come from? Unless there is a big difference in their ages, I can't see how this can happen. A recognised bastard perhaps, (FYI, see 'The naming of bastard children' in the Miscellaneous things section of the world site.)
Yeah, the bro was the construction for the "second son" stuff. In this version he was the illegitimate son by a pre-marriage dalliance. When Lord Brand married he actually recognized the son, but as a result of him leading Alaric astray, he was told "never darken my doorstep again". Later, when Alaric went to Constantine, Lord Brand recontacted (arrested?) the bro on the assumption he was to blame. The bro then (apparently) helped keep tabs on Alaric in Ilbarsis, unknown to Alaric.
At the end of summer his father saw a different person return from court.
In physical terms Alaric was now taller and stronger, but his father saw something more. Alaric had in some way accepted the work he did for his father, and returned to it with maturity and energy. In relief at this change in attitude, Koric turned a blind eye to Alaric's growing interest in the gentleman's sport of gambling, something Dalshar had introduced him to.
The above is fine is it happened in New Nineveh.
My suggestion is it happened as a result of Ilbarsis, and the mission to Last Chance was the test. Alaric probably agreed to go to New Ninevah because he's paranoid and was weakened and felt vulnerable after "the accident". Also, I assume New Ninevah might be a source of even better artisans!
No. In this world, Venuss doesn't have priests, or temples for that matter, as he is not a recognised god of the Mithran pantheon. Gamblers and thieves use his name, and he is more legend than deity, there being some evidence that he was once a real person.
I *think* this was quashed last time also; the "Priest of Venuss" was a colloquial term, meaning barred from gambling. I don't see any value in having this ion the current time line. I thought it was a nice construction tho (iirc, you cam up with the concept).
No temples, but he can be banned from a number of gaming houses in Constantine if you want ;-)
Only if the other facilities are free. That would be fun. He'd probably still pay most of the time, on the assumption that the service providers got to keep it all, and it's always good to have friends in low places.
I'm happy to have Dalshar as a possible future NPC who turns up, but I don't think he should be included so strongly in Alaric's origin. Brand should make his rogue connections by running away to Constantine and being 'lucky' enough not to get his throat cut while he learns his rogue skills (i.e. lockpick proficiency, stealth, sleight of hand), all the while keeping just ahead of his father's agents who would be out looking for him. Or, Dalshar could be his criminal contact rather than his half brother.
Yeah, the Dalshar stuff I have no strong recollection of. I am not sure why Dalshar can't be both criminal and half brother. Happy with your call either way, just me know if both, or which.
No. This actually makes very little sense. If they'd known that Alaric was the son of a lord, they would have sold him back to his father for a huge ransom. There may be gentlemen thieves in Constantine, but they are not the leaders of any of the criminal organisations.
OK, this tells me about the role of the guild in Engle then. I had assumed it was more like a real guild in terms of protecting members and families as well as not wanting to attract too much attention. Kidnapping imperial Lord's son is asking for all hell to be brought down on them. I had assumed that they were either (a) not that silly (death wish), or (b) not THAT powerful (withstand the assault)!
Dalshar found that, in collaboration with Alaric, his successes were enhanced. He began thinking of Alaric as his 'good luck charm', and took him on increasingly complex missions, taking increasing risks. Eventually their luck ran out, and they were caught stealing antique weaponry (something which Alaric collected).
...
I suspect it would be more the case that his father's agents managed to rescue him before he could be identified as the son of Lord Brand.
Yes, this seems more likely. And would be a reason Dalshar (bro or no) might owe a debt to Lord Brand. The Lord probably couldn't just release one prisoner, people might have asked "whats special about your friend?" It might also mean Dalsh is dead.
Alaric spent a year as a virtual prisoner, honing his more traditional skills before 'escaping' and going to Ilbarsis.
The above is okay as long as you change the motivation for the woman.
I am happy with no aid. I doubt he'd really have a problem.
Koric, believing that Alaric has run off to his brother, hunted for him in Constantin. Eventually Dalshar was brought before Koric (he surrendered himself at the gates), and told Koric his son ran to Ilbarsis to escape from 'his pig-ignorant overbearing fool of a father'. Koric holds Dalshar until he can confirm Alaric is in Ilbarsis, then Dalshar is set free with a warning that he will "suffer the consequences", if he so much as speaks to Alaric.
Sort of okay if Dalshar is a friend, or bastard brother, but not the half-brother idea. I'm also of the opinion that Alaric would not have told his thief associates who was.
Yeah, agree. Whatever terms works. To me, bastard brother is just any Bro out of wedlock, half-brother is any bro by one of the parents. He's probably more correctly termed an (illegitimate?) bastard half-brother on his fathers side. "The Bro" for short.
A few weeks later, Koric received a note from Dalshar detailing Alaric's location and recent activities. Koric receives further (edited) updates from Dalshar intermittantly, and eventually writes back thanking him for his assistance.
Not sure how the above could be done unless it was Alaric who was actually writing the notes and sending them to Dalshar from Ilbarsis, which he probably didn't have a lot of opportunity to do.
This would, I assume, be predicated on Dalshar being high in the guild with contacts in Ilbarsis, and having sent word out with Alaric's description. Happy it never happened, happy it did happen, Alaric would not know either way.
As you can probably make out from my notes above, I don't agree with a lot of it.
lol. That makes two of us.
Dalshar as Alaric's criminal contact and mentor in Constantine makes sense, but not as a half-brother.
See terminology above: illegitamate bastard half-brother on his fathers side.
Having Alaric spend some of his formative years in New Nineveh also makes a lot of sense to me, as it would be a relatively safe place for his father to send him.
That would also be a common aristocratic process. It probably means he understands the courts of New Ninevah, and would have some contacts there: friends at least, and probably a family he was forstered with "over summer" or whatever?
Alaric knows Venuss, both from experience and from his reading of history. Venuss is sort of a legendary figure/concept (e.g., the luck of Riley); a god in the making if you like. But he is certainly not an established god in this society by any means. In a way, Alaric was at one point an avatar of Venuss in that Venuss inhabited his body for a while. Where he went after that, Alaric has no idea, possibly into another person.
That's intersting: so in this world he DID have venuss. Did the thunder-and-lighting battlw in the SooS happen? iirc. Brand went there and said "wamzut said Im strange", they investigated, there was another spirit in Brand, they got chatty, Donn (Donnae) got interested, things went to pieces.
And note that the Brand family, while being recognised by the court of Engle because of its importance and wealth, are not of the court of Engle. It is obvious that the king of Engle and the late warlord knew something of Lord Brand's true reason for being in the area, but what they knew is unknown to Alaric. Alaric's father works for the emperor, not the king, in this reality. Note there is also regularly an ambassador for the empire in Constantine as well, but they tend to come and go every year or so.
OK, so I get this straight-ish: Lord Brand works for the SSS and ran the ESS? King (Engle) as Warlord (Engle) knew of his role, and supported it. The SSS is tasked with defedning against enemies both foreign and domestic? The ESS is tasked with...then same? When in conflict the SSS interests win? I assume neither care about petty crime so long as it does not threaten the social order, so Arion worship may be a problem, but thefts on docks are not? Is that a fair summary?
Anyway, it's almost 1 pm. Time for me to call it a night.
Another incident from the sounds of it. This happened when the party were exploring some ruins in Gont. The party was charged from one side by a large group of kobolds (or something similar) that were mowed down by Melitta and Dworkin's wands of magic missiles. Then they did the same to the wave that came at them from the opposite direction. Individually the kobolds weren't very strong, but I thought their numbers and tactics might make for an interesting fight. That didn't happen. It was a massacre... of kobolds. Maybe you weren't there.
Not a single bell is ringing. Must be post-ring? Or in another xmas break for me.
Edit: can I also assume that, because of his delicate health, news of Dworkin was kept from him until recently?
...
The second one begs the question who would tell him anything about Dworkin? Alaric hasn't seen anyone recently who knows Dworkin. Melitta has been seen at the school, but hasn't tried to contact Alaric for some reason, and Dworkin is not an alumnus of the school and is not from Constantine. (Please note the spelling of the city's name; It has been changed from the old days, but this is what it is in the book. Thorein's map on the site is hand-drawn and has quite a few errors because of this, him not being a skilled cartographer.)
Brand would have sought Melitta if she was around; in two of the timelines she stayed at Lord Brand's residence. I get she might be terse; I doubt she would have failed to pass on news. Failure to speak to Brand would be OOC, I believe, and would itself signal more considerable concern with Brand. He would probably send messengers to the tower in Ilbasis and to Skinny Kol, if she continued to be non-communicative. He'd probably also ask his father. This would be something he would not drop: he viewed Dworkin as a friend and mentor and would have expected him to be there with Melitta.
Edit: This actually gives a reason for his "accident". He was making good progress with Astral Travel (with Nathaniels and Mintons help), but either (a) got not answers from Melitta , or (b) was told Dworkin had run off with Thoth Amon's ring. As a result from either set of events, he decided to focus his travels searching for Dworkin. He was found unconscious in bed one morning. He has no recollection of what happened; he did however conclude that it might be a bad idea to keep searching, and possibly an even better idea to put some miles between himself and Ilbarsis and Constantine for a while.
Fine sword: silver inlaid blade, silver hilt covered in leather (infravsion); two magic missiles (either side of hilt), all “non-detectable”...does that exist now?
Would be nice if he had this.
It depends. How did he get it made? Do you remember?
Yes; there's 200e taken off his character sheet for a weaponsmith to make the sword; he paid for sword and SooS was asked to do crafting on it before he went to Last Chance.
Okay, he can have this, except that instead of Magic Missiles, which are now a spell called Arion's Arrows (read Arioch for Arion), the sword hilt contains two single-use Fire Bolt cantrips along with the Darkvision spell in the hilt. The reason for this is that the Arion's Arrows spell is not available at the School of Occult Studies. Dworkin and Melitta got this spell from elsewhere. I have added the weapon to Brand's character sheet, and you can see the details by clicking on the name.It is a longsword.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Okay, he can have this, except that instead of Magic Missiles, which are now a spell called Arion's Arrows (read Arioch for Arion), the sword hilt contains two single-use Fire Bolt cantrips along with the Darkvision spell in the hilt. The reason for this is that the Arion's Arrows spell is not available at the School of Occult Studies. Dworkin and Melitta got this spell from elsewhere. I have added the weapon to Brand's character sheet, and you can see the details by clicking on the name. It is a longsword.
Didn't we retcon this to a Scimitar (the "Brand" version that is slightly longer but which has no effect on it's stats in game terms)? This was part of the whole ftr/rog/whatever discussion.
Edit: Otherwise, looks good. 10 days is a long time for recharge, but I assume that's a mechanical thing about spell level? Re: non-detectable, in the old system this was about avoiding Brand glowing like a street lamp under mage sight.
Accepted mission but asked for some items: Amulet of prot/esp & mm; infravision in longsword hilt. MM placed in sword and mind-over-body in coins. Permanent items are made “non-detectable”.
The medallion would probably not be possible in the world of the books for the warlord at least.
The amulet was made by the SooS at the order of the warlord, iirc.
If the amulet was made at the order of the warlord, Alaric probably wouldn't have been allowed to keep it anyway, it being the property of the throne. So it's a moot point as he doesn't have it.
The coins with the mind-over-body spells in it are an interesting memory, which has a contemporary counterpart that we will use instead. See 'The Stink of Life' entry under the 'Magical things' category on the world site that I have just made accessible to you. Let me know if you can't see it. If you can, you should also see a 'secret' part of the article, which deals with game effects. If it isn't in an inset box, you should find it in the 'secrets' tab down below.
Finally: the ams school stuff was in 552, so a whole year had passed.
'ams school stuff'? What do you mean by this?
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Finally: the ams school stuff was in 552, so a whole year had passed.
'ams school stuff'? What do you mean by this?
One of the things you said didn't happen was setting up the School or Arms with Narim; this was actually in 552, so a whole year ahead, and well after everything else.
Re: Stink of Life:
I can't see a tab, but I can see the details. 1 con per does. Bandolier here we come (steel phials).
Alaric knows Venuss, both from experience and from his reading of history. Venuss is sort of a legendary figure/concept (e.g., the luck of Riley); a god in the making if you like. But he is certainly not an established god in this society by any means. In a way, Alaric was at one point an avatar of Venuss in that Venuss inhabited his body for a while. Where he went after that, Alaric has no idea, possibly into another person.
That's intersting: so in this world he DID have venuss. Did the thunder-and-lighting battlw in the SooS happen? iirc. Brand went there and said "wamzut said Im strange", they investigated, there was another spirit in Brand, they got chatty, Donn (Donnae) got interested, things went to pieces.
I will have to retcon the bit about Wamzut and the School of Occult Studies, but I'm happy to have Brand aware of the existence of Venuss, and to have been a host for him, during his 'lucky' gambling period. He might have talked with Nathaniel about his experience with Venuss during one of his visits to the School, but I'm going to have to veto Wamzut having any knowledge of the actual existence of Venuss.
And note that the Brand family, while being recognised by the court of Engle because of its importance and wealth, are not of the court of Engle. It is obvious that the king of Engle and the late warlord knew something of Lord Brand's true reason for being in the area, but what they knew is unknown to Alaric. Alaric's father works for the emperor, not the king, in this reality. Note there is also regularly an ambassador for the empire in Constantine as well, but they tend to come and go every year or so.
OK, so I get this straight-ish: Lord Brand works for the SSS and ran the ESS? King (Engle) as Warlord (Engle) knew of his role, and supported it. The SSS is tasked with defedning against enemies both foreign and domestic? The ESS is tasked with...then same? When in conflict the SSS interests win? I assume neither care about petty crime so long as it does not threaten the social order, so Arion worship may be a problem, but thefts on docks are not? Is that a fair summary?
Yes, that's basically it, except that Lord Brand is still the local spymaster for the emperor.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand would have sought Melitta if she was around; in two of the timelines she stayed at Lord Brand's residence. I get she might be terse; I doubt she would have failed to pass on news. Failure to speak to Brand would be OOC, I believe, and would itself signal more considerable concern with Brand. He would probably send messengers to the tower in Ilbasis and to Skinny Kol, if she continued to be non-communicative. He'd probably also ask his father. This would be something he would not drop: he viewed Dworkin as a friend and mentor and would have expected him to be there with Melitta.
Edit: This actually gives a reason for his "accident". He was making good progress with Astral Travel (with Nathaniels and Mintons help), but either (a) got not answers from Melitta , or (b) was told Dworkin had run off with Thoth Amon's ring. As a result from either set of events, he decided to focus his travels searching for Dworkin. He was found unconscious in bed one morning. He has no recollection of what happened; he did however conclude that it might be a bad idea to keep searching, and possibly an even better idea to put some miles between himself and Ilbarsis and Constantine for a while.
The 'accident' aside for the moment, Brand was never able to find any sign of Dworkin. Melitta he heard occasional things about for a while and he knows she visited the School a couple of times.
Then, for whatever reason ('accident' maybe), he was unable to continue searching and none of his contacts were able to help him. Perhaps this might be something to put on his 'to do' list.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
I'm going to have to veto Wamzut having any knowledge of the actual existence of Venuss.
No problem; Wamzut only referred him to the SooS because he was "strange"; psi (and maybe a sense of odd-ness) would probably cover that.
if he knows about Venuss: when did he leave? I assume it was not the dramatic event at the Soos?
Venuss was able to come and go, if he wanted to, perhaps he was 'seeing' other hosts and eventually decided Brand's lifestyle was too dangerous. If he is nothing else, Venuss is a survivor.
[OOC: I don't believe it. Am I caught up? ... I'll try to start the narrative later tonight, but I have a couple of things I have to do first.]
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Venuss was able to come and go, if he wanted to, perhaps he was 'seeing' other hosts and eventually decided Brand's lifestyle was too dangerous. If he is nothing else, Venuss is a survivor.
Total slut then. Noted.
[OOC: I don't believe it. Am I caught up? ... I'll try to start the narrative later tonight, but I have a couple of things I have to do first.]
Will check, Longsword -> Scimitar only outstanding atm.
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Re Sword:
Fine sword: silver inlaid blade, silver hilt covered in leather (infravsion); two magic missiles (either side of hilt), all “non-detectable”...does that exist now?
Would be nice if he had this.
It depends. How did he get it made? Do you remember?
Yes; there's 200e taken off his character sheet for a weaponsmith to make the sword; he paid for sword and SooS was asked to do crafting on it before he went to Last Chance.
Warlord wants to hear my version of the Ashan Expedition (guessing that it Agate Stane and Temple collapse that never happened(?))
I believe this involved Dworking as a Lion of Engle, which means it cannot have happened.
Agree. Mainly there fro completeness...it does (possibly) mean the temple stands and Agate Stane lives!
Aparrently I had pretentions of becoming a master! Apparently Brand was writing a treatise on psychic powers!!! [This may be after getting back from Gont]. Nathaniels survival apparently meant that there were already a lot of masters: Nathaniel, Solus, Rimstor, Narim and Minton.
Brand as a master of the School of Occult Studies... probably not, though some of the above masters did enter the School through unorthodox means, which means it's not impossible. Though he probably needs to get a few years under his belt before he would be deemed acceptable.
lol, yeah. I was a bit stunned, but I think it came about in the ancient and much-revised time line where his power was to amplify the powers of others. This meant he could help sorcerors, detect people with psi power, and help train them by activating their power. Somehow he also started writing a treatise on powers because he could observe them etc...all non-canon.
At lunch Warlord asks if I want to become a full time member of the ESS; will be invaluable in dealing with Gont.
This probably didn't happen as Brand would have been there as a representative of his father, so the warlord wouldn't have made this offer.
This may have been after either the Last Chance expedition or the Grod expedition, though the dates look like it was before Grod; the day before the lunch he had been asked to report how it went to the Warlord. The next day his father knew something was happening, but only told Brand he should meet the warlord for lunch. I took it to mean that the invitation was given to Brand after discussions he was not privy to.
Accepted mission but asked for some items: Amulet of prot/esp & mm; infravision in longsword hilt. MM placed in sword and mind-over-body in coins. Permanent items are made “non-detectable”.
The medallion would probably not be possible in the world of the books for the warlord at least.
The amulet was made by the SooS at the order of the warlord, iirc.
Finally: the ams school stuff was in 552, so a whole year had passed.
Happy with the above to have happened, so Victor Grasper is probably still out there.
If that's the case, it brings a little more into play: I was never sure the agent in LC was 100% trustworthy, but if he was, then he believes his mission was compromised by a higher-up in Constantin. So the ESS may want to investigate if/how Grasper found out. This would have probably been in my report to the Warlord...;-)
One more objective for Brand...a city residence. Country life is good and all, but only on the weekends. Looking forward to "Mum, Dad, I'd like to move out...".
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
First ....this was all postsed for info mainly (and was a direct quote, include the "how does this sound to you". I will italicise quotes in future...
OMG, but wait, there's more...from the old web site; in this he has a half-Brother (Dalshar) by a previous dalliance. Brand is also a "Priest of Venuss" which means he was too lucky in casinos and was banned from them, but gets free access to their facilities! I have no attachment to this, but it is interesting.
His early childhood was spent much as many other noble families of the
time: studying, learning courtly manners, engaging in sports and games, and
working as a page at the royal court.
Ditch the last, it doesn't happen in this world.
This is actually interesting: I had not realized Lord Brand was outside of the formal structures of Engle. I should have.
...
Following on from the last correction, Alaric spent his boyhood at home being tutored by teachers brought in by his family. He is literate and well versed in the history and politics of the Sorendenese Empire, it all being drummed into him at a young age (i.e., History proficiency). He was also taught mathematics, philosophy and rhetoric in an attempt to teach him to be a critical thinker (i.e., Investigation proficiency and his high Intelligence and Wisdom). However his practical side kept him sneaking out to spend time spying on his father's weapons master and all the various individuals who came to the estate for purposes he was not allowed to be privy to. It wasn't long before the weapons master discovered him doing this, but instead of reporting the boy to his father, he started training him in the use of the dagger.
This sounds fine to me.
...
Alaric was not at court as a young boy, there are lots of good reasons for this, the most important being that Brand's father works for the emperor, not the king of Engle. There is a reason why the Brand estate straddles the Engelian border.
This is also good to know.
...
Doubtful. He would possibly have accompanied his father, and some officials a few times.
Also happy with this; once upon a time the Brands were wealthy traders doing export/import....much more interesting new setting.
...No. Happy for Alaric to have run away from home, but his father wouldn't have exposed either Alaric or himself by sending his son to the Engelian court.
Now I understand the situation, completely happy. I imagine he had a few appearances at the local court at imperial or other functions, but was not a court regular.
Also happy for Alaric to have been sent to New Nineveh to spend time with his relatives there. And, where did the half brother come from? Unless there is a big difference in their ages, I can't see how this can happen. A recognised bastard perhaps, (FYI, see 'The naming of bastard children' in the Miscellaneous things section of the world site.)
Yeah, the bro was the construction for the "second son" stuff. In this version he was the illegitimate son by a pre-marriage dalliance. When Lord Brand married he actually recognized the son, but as a result of him leading Alaric astray, he was told "never darken my doorstep again". Later, when Alaric went to Constantine, Lord Brand recontacted (arrested?) the bro on the assumption he was to blame. The bro then (apparently) helped keep tabs on Alaric in Ilbarsis, unknown to Alaric.
At the end of summer his father saw a different person return from court.In physical terms Alaric was now taller and stronger, but his father saw
something more. Alaric had in some way accepted the work he did for his
father, and returned to it with maturity and energy. In relief at this
change in attitude, Koric turned a blind eye to Alaric's growing interest
in the gentleman's sport of gambling, something Dalshar had introduced him to.
The above is fine is it happened in New Nineveh.
My suggestion is it happened as a result of Ilbarsis, and the mission to Last Chance was the test. Alaric probably agreed to go to New Ninevah because he's paranoid and was weakened and felt vulnerable after "the accident". Also, I assume New Ninevah might be a source of even better artisans!
No. In this world, Venuss doesn't have priests, or temples for that matter, as he is not a recognised god of the Mithran pantheon. Gamblers and thieves use his name, and he is more legend than deity, there being some evidence that he was once a real person.I *think* this was quashed last time also; the "Priest of Venuss" was a colloquial term, meaning barred from gambling. I don't see any value in having this ion the current time line. I thought it was a nice construction tho (iirc, you cam up with the concept).
No temples, but he can be banned from a number of gaming houses in Constantine if you want ;-)Only if the other facilities are free. That would be fun. He'd probably still pay most of the time, on the assumption that the service providers got to keep it all, and it's always good to have friends in low places.
I'm happy to have Dalshar as a possible future NPC who turns up, but I don't think he should be included so strongly in Alaric's origin. Brand should make his rogue connections by running away to Constantine and being 'lucky' enough not to get his throat cut while he learns his rogue skills (i.e. lockpick proficiency, stealth, sleight of hand), all the while keeping just ahead of his father's agents who would be out looking for him. Or, Dalshar could be his criminal contact rather than his half brother.Yeah, the Dalshar stuff I have no strong recollection of. I am not sure why Dalshar can't be both criminal and half brother. Happy with your call either way, just me know if both, or which.
No. This actually makes very little sense. If they'd known that Alaric was the son of a lord, they would have sold him back to his father for a huge ransom. There may be gentlemen thieves in Constantine, but they are not the leaders of any of the criminal organisations.
OK, this tells me about the role of the guild in Engle then. I had assumed it was more like a real guild in terms of protecting members and families as well as not wanting to attract too much attention. Kidnapping imperial Lord's son is asking for all hell to be brought down on them. I had assumed that they were either (a) not that silly (death wish), or (b) not THAT powerful (withstand the assault)!
Dalshar found that, in collaboration with Alaric, his successes were
enhanced. He began thinking of Alaric as his 'good luck charm', and took
him on increasingly complex missions, taking increasing risks. Eventually
their luck ran out, and they were caught stealing antique weaponry
(something which Alaric collected).
...
I suspect it would be more the case that his father's agents managed to rescue him before he could be identified as the son of Lord Brand.
Yes, this seems more likely. And would be a reason Dalshar (bro or no) might owe a debt to Lord Brand. The Lord probably couldn't just release one prisoner, people might have asked "whats special about your friend?" It might also mean Dalsh is dead.
Alaric spent a year as a virtual prisoner, honing his more traditional
skills before 'escaping' and going to Ilbarsis.
The above is okay as long as you change the motivation for the woman.
I am happy with no aid. I doubt he'd really have a problem.
Koric, believing that Alaric has run off to his brother, hunted for him in
Constantin. Eventually Dalshar was brought before Koric (he surrendered
himself at the gates), and told Koric his son ran to Ilbarsis to escape
from 'his pig-ignorant overbearing fool of a father'. Koric holds Dalshar
until he can confirm Alaric is in Ilbarsis, then Dalshar is set free with a warning
that he will "suffer the consequences", if he so much as speaks to Alaric.
Sort of okay if Dalshar is a friend, or bastard brother, but not the half-brother idea. I'm also of the opinion that Alaric would not have told his thief associates who was.
Yeah, agree. Whatever terms works. To me, bastard brother is just any Bro out of wedlock, half-brother is any bro by one of the parents. He's probably more correctly termed an (illegitimate?) bastard half-brother on his fathers side. "The Bro" for short.
A few weeks later, Koric received a note from Dalshar detailing Alaric's
location and recent activities. Koric receives further (edited) updates
from Dalshar intermittantly, and eventually writes back thanking him for
his assistance.
Not sure how the above could be done unless it was Alaric who was actually writing the notes and sending them to Dalshar from Ilbarsis, which he probably didn't have a lot of opportunity to do.
This would, I assume, be predicated on Dalshar being high in the guild with contacts in Ilbarsis, and having sent word out with Alaric's description. Happy it never happened, happy it did happen, Alaric would not know either way.
As you can probably make out from my notes above, I don't agree with a lot of it.lol. That makes two of us.
Dalshar as Alaric's criminal contact and mentor in Constantine makes sense, but not as a half-brother.
See terminology above: illegitamate bastard half-brother on his fathers side.
Having Alaric spend some of his formative years in New Nineveh also makes a lot of sense to me, as it would be a relatively safe place for his father to send him.
That would also be a common aristocratic process. It probably means he understands the courts of New Ninevah, and would have some contacts there: friends at least, and probably a family he was forstered with "over summer" or whatever?
Alaric knows Venuss, both from experience and from his reading of history. Venuss is sort of a legendary figure/concept (e.g., the luck of Riley); a god in the making if you like. But he is certainly not an established god in this society by any means. In a way, Alaric was at one point an avatar of Venuss in that Venuss inhabited his body for a while. Where he went after that, Alaric has no idea, possibly into another person.
That's intersting: so in this world he DID have venuss. Did the thunder-and-lighting battlw in the SooS happen? iirc. Brand went there and said "wamzut said Im strange", they investigated, there was another spirit in Brand, they got chatty, Donn (Donnae) got interested, things went to pieces.
And note that the Brand family, while being recognised by the court of Engle because of its importance and wealth, are not of the court of Engle. It is obvious that the king of Engle and the late warlord knew something of Lord Brand's true reason for being in the area, but what they knew is unknown to Alaric. Alaric's father works for the emperor, not the king, in this reality. Note there is also regularly an ambassador for the empire in Constantine as well, but they tend to come and go every year or so.
OK, so I get this straight-ish: Lord Brand works for the SSS and ran the ESS? King (Engle) as Warlord (Engle) knew of his role, and supported it. The SSS is tasked with defedning against enemies both foreign and domestic? The ESS is tasked with...then same? When in conflict the SSS interests win? I assume neither care about petty crime so long as it does not threaten the social order, so Arion worship may be a problem, but thefts on docks are not? Is that a fair summary?
Anyway, it's almost 1 pm. Time for me to call it a night.
Fair 'nuff. Slacker.
Another incident from the sounds of it. This happened when the party were exploring some ruins in Gont. The party was charged from one side by a large group of kobolds (or something similar) that were mowed down by Melitta and Dworkin's wands of magic missiles. Then they did the same to the wave that came at them from the opposite direction. Individually the kobolds weren't very strong, but I thought their numbers and tactics might make for an interesting fight. That didn't happen. It was a massacre... of kobolds. Maybe you weren't there.
Not a single bell is ringing. Must be post-ring? Or in another xmas break for me.
Edit: can I also assume that, because of his delicate health, news of Dworkin was kept from him until recently?
...
The second one begs the question who would tell him anything about Dworkin? Alaric hasn't seen anyone recently who knows Dworkin. Melitta has been seen at the school, but hasn't tried to contact Alaric for some reason, and Dworkin is not an alumnus of the school and is not from Constantine. (Please note the spelling of the city's name; It has been changed from the old days, but this is what it is in the book. Thorein's map on the site is hand-drawn and has quite a few errors because of this, him not being a skilled cartographer.)
Brand would have sought Melitta if she was around; in two of the timelines she stayed at Lord Brand's residence. I get she might be terse; I doubt she would have failed to pass on news. Failure to speak to Brand would be OOC, I believe, and would itself signal more considerable concern with Brand. He would probably send messengers to the tower in Ilbasis and to Skinny Kol, if she continued to be non-communicative. He'd probably also ask his father. This would be something he would not drop: he viewed Dworkin as a friend and mentor and would have expected him to be there with Melitta.
Edit: This actually gives a reason for his "accident". He was making good progress with Astral Travel (with Nathaniels and Mintons help), but either (a) got not answers from Melitta , or (b) was told Dworkin had run off with Thoth Amon's ring. As a result from either set of events, he decided to focus his travels searching for Dworkin. He was found unconscious in bed one morning. He has no recollection of what happened; he did however conclude that it might be a bad idea to keep searching, and possibly an even better idea to put some miles between himself and Ilbarsis and Constantine for a while.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Okay, he can have this, except that instead of Magic Missiles, which are now a spell called Arion's Arrows (read Arioch for Arion), the sword hilt contains two single-use Fire Bolt cantrips along with the Darkvision spell in the hilt. The reason for this is that the Arion's Arrows spell is not available at the School of Occult Studies. Dworkin and Melitta got this spell from elsewhere. I have added the weapon to Brand's character sheet, and you can see the details by clicking on the name. It is a longsword.
Didn't we retcon this to a Scimitar (the "Brand" version that is slightly longer but which has no effect on it's stats in game terms)? This was part of the whole ftr/rog/whatever discussion.
Edit: Otherwise, looks good. 10 days is a long time for recharge, but I assume that's a mechanical thing about spell level? Re: non-detectable, in the old system this was about avoiding Brand glowing like a street lamp under mage sight.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Finally: the ams school stuff was in 552, so a whole year had passed.
'ams school stuff'? What do you mean by this?
One of the things you said didn't happen was setting up the School or Arms with Narim; this was actually in 552, so a whole year ahead, and well after everything else.
Re: Stink of Life:
I can't see a tab, but I can see the details. 1 con per does. Bandolier here we come (steel phials).
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
I'm going to have to veto Wamzut having any knowledge of the actual existence of Venuss.
No problem; Wamzut only referred him to the SooS because he was "strange"; psi (and maybe a sense of odd-ness) would probably cover that.
if he knows about Venuss: when did he leave? I assume it was not the dramatic event at the Soos?
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Venuss was able to come and go, if he wanted to, perhaps he was 'seeing' other hosts and eventually decided Brand's lifestyle was too dangerous. If he is nothing else, Venuss is a survivor.
Total slut then. Noted.
[OOC: I don't believe it. Am I caught up? ... I'll try to start the narrative later tonight, but I have a couple of things I have to do first.]
Will check, Longsword -> Scimitar only outstanding atm.