City of shadow [Archive] - Wizards Community

City of shadow [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Land Outcast
05-27-04, 06:12 PM Well, I have the PC's looting a Netherese enclave in the underdark, and the party's wizard(Theurge of Mystra with great renown) was killed by their guide(Shadovar assasin disguised).

I first want to know the opinion of you guys(if it is not written somewhere) about the city of shade being powered by the shadow weave, and so being in kind of a "pact" with Sharr.

Why by the shadow weave? Just because after Karsus' incident not such power to keep the city floating is allowed to be tapped from the Weave.

"Not all that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
Cunning Linguist
05-27-04, 06:19 PM Lord Shadow was working on Shadow Weave long before the Karsus event. Now, the Mythallar in Shade, is indeed powered by Shadow Weave, this Mythallar again powers the city.
The people who live in Shade worship Shar, but I think it's mostly the Shadovar, not the Shades.. Since they are Netherese, and Netheril Wizards don't worship "gods".

As for "why" shadow weave.. Lord Shadow sees Shadow Weave as far more powerful the normal Weave.
Land Outcast
05-27-04, 06:33 PM Thanks Cunning Linguist.

And the story goes on: the PC's are in few time getting to Skullport->Waterdeep->Hopefully, following the "guide",(This wizard is quite determinated in the quest) to wherever the City of Shadow currently is.

The question now is:Has the CoS any defenses against divination, and does it stay in a place for long or does it move around lets say... quite often?

Oh, and, where is the CoS "now"?

"Not all that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
Cunning Linguist
05-27-04, 07:10 PM The City of Shade is now, in Anauroch, in the Empire of Shadow, near the Shadow sea, right where that dot is, where it says "City Of Shade". It might float around now and then.. but never for long. The Shadow Sea might be the only nice place in Anauroch now a days. Not like the old days when enclaves traveld all year long.

As for Shades defense against Divination... If there was anyplace that should have it, (besides The platau of Thay) it would be Shade. But it's really up to you as the DM to decide how hard/easy it would be to find it. The Shades are not afraid of anyone, so they would not go overboard to try to hide there city.

But the Shades don't take kindly to.. well, anyone. Finding it will not be as hard as to stay alive to see it.
Land Outcast
05-27-04, 07:16 PM Thanks Cunning linguist.

Some eyes are doomed to see the future.

"Not all that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
Mumm-Ra
05-28-04, 09:14 AM Hell, the city of Shade would be an impregnable bastion.
I wouldnt have let the chosen get away with a tenth of what they achieved in the novels.
Using the simbul's guides on a mythallar (the poster), Shade would have a dozen epic protective spells anchored to it and running, foiling all sorts of divination, extradimensional travel, etc etc as well as anti dispel wards, alarm wards, dispel weave magic wards etc. The chosen of mystra try sneaking in reduced to ant size, they get slapped with a d20+300plus epic dispel or two followed by all sorts of nastiness.
Lancelot3679
05-28-04, 04:31 PM Ok, First, if you check out "Magic of Faerun" and "Races of Faerun" under the Shade entry, you will see that there is a major connection between Shar and the use of the Shadow Weave by the people of Shade. More than that, they are in a pact now of sorts because she used her power (through enclave wizards that worshiped her and the "mis"guidance that she gave them) to send them into the Plane of Shadow. That's a major reason for the use of the Shadow Weave in there magic now that they have returned to Faerun.

As for the Shadow Weave powering the city, I don't know if that is entirely correct. Shade was one of the floating cities of the Netherese long before the Karsus incident. The people worshiped Mystra really before transfering to the Plane of Shadow under Shar's guidance.

As for their defensive capability, you would be right to generate almost anything that you want. If you want the magics that contro the city to make it undetectable to divination, that is great, but I wouldn't say that it is impossible, or even hard to find. A big mountain top that has the essence of the Plane of Shadow and the Shadow Weave wisping off of it is kinda hard to miss. At the same time, the enclave wizards do not seem afraid of anything or anyone. Atleast, from the books, that is what I gather, and the way that I run the NPC's in my game.

Currently I am working on a campaign centered around the return of the Shades and following a number of other events that are listed in the FRCS timeline where the Shades manipulated and use certain powers of the realm against one another to cause a small invasion and retake that which was once the lands of the Netherese and expand the Shadow Weave through their teritory at the same time, while crushing out the normal weave (or at least suppressing it). I love the concept, that's why I'm not willing to give away too much of the plot line. Who knows, my potential PCs could be out there listening.
Tainted One
05-28-04, 11:25 PM From Lords of Darkness it states they although they worship Shar, they are me loyal to Lord Shadow and the city than they are to her.
Land Outcast
05-29-04, 12:30 PM Actually, the city IS protected against divinations, but the main form of movement there are teleportation spells and the like. There is posibility so, to travel in there via spells.

"Not everything that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
primemover003
05-29-04, 02:55 PM The city in and of itself wouldn't be shrouded with anti-teleporting magic... it's just too unfeasible. However the most secure locations of the city would be! You probably could could scry on the a shadovar ortwo you've personally encountered. But I highly doubt you'd be able to snoop on Lord Telemont or any of his sons with any ease. It's just like anyother city in Faerun, well any other city that's home to multiple archmages that is:)
The Simbul
05-29-04, 11:11 PM If the inhabitants of the City of Shade cast a spell ward that arbitrarily blocked all translocation magic, then the city would instantly crash given the fact that proctiv's Move Mountain operates off of the Transport seed. On top of that, it would transform the entire city into a deathtrap since the inhabitants of the now falling city would be unable to teleport away from it
:mage:

Seriously through, they would have a number of spell protections available, and it would be easily concievable for them to have a near Mythal-like protection in terms of blocking divination and the like.

As for the Chosen gaining access to the city or bypassing protections (I havent read books 2 & 3 so dont spoil it for me with details), its still worth noting that Chosen of Mystra have access to magic above and beyond that which exists in the PHB, and certainly if Mystra wanted something to be accomplished through magic, then her active will could render it possible.

As for why they use the Shadow Weave; AFAIC Mystra simply would never allow a Mythallar to function after the fall of Netheril, thus Shade's Mythallar would need to draw off the Shadow Weave to avoid her interference with it.

Edit: Furthermore they would need a Mythallar or similar powerful artifact to help secure the enclave in the first place, since Proctiv's Mvoe Mountain as written in 3E by itself is a very weak and vulnerable spell, since there is nothing that would prevent the spell from being Dispelled, or prevent a more powerful caster from casting the same spell on the enclave and thus seizing the mountain, inverting it, and send it crashing down to the earth. On top of that, since the official Proctiv's Move Mountain is not a variant of the fly spell, there is noting in its description to soften the landing if its duration was ended through Dispelling or similar effects.
Kain's avatar
05-29-04, 11:20 PM Originally posted by The Simbul
If the inhabitants of the City of Shade cast a spell ward that arbitrarily blocked all translocation magic, then the city would instantly crash given the fact that proctiv's Move Mountain operates off of the Transport seed. On top of that, it would transform the entire city into a deathtrap since the inhabitants of the now falling city would be unable to teleport away from it
:mage:

Seriously through, they would have a number of spell protections available, and it would be easily concievable for them to have a near Mythal-like protection in terms of blocking divination and the like.

As for the Chosen gaining access to the city or bypassing protections (I havent read books 2 & 3 so dont spoil it for me with details), its still worth noting that Chosen of Mystra have access to magic above and beyond that which exists in the PHB, and certainly if Mystra wanted something to be accomplished through magic, then her active will could render it possible.

As for why they use the Shadow Weave; AFAIC Mystra simply would never allow a Mythallar to function after the fall of Netheril, thus Shade's Mythallar would need to draw off the Shadow Weave to avoid her interference with it.

This may or may not spoil if for you, though it isn't really something major, so don't read if you don't want to know anything about it, but if you can stand a minor detail, read on...
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Appearantly the Chosen cannot teleport into the city of Shade, because the have to work up an interesting scheme to sneak in.
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End spoiler.
Land Outcast
05-30-04, 09:25 AM *cough*,*cough*...

It would be nice to sneak in there...
But I guess all those wards against physical entrance there might be would difficult the task.
The fact is that sneaking out there would be far more interesting, afther coming in by means of "non-shadow magic".

Here goes my theory:
The entrance can't be blocked without suffering great trouble in passage, but (I've been thinking since the first post), there has to be there some kind of "anti-weave-casting", at least from inside the city.

And, Who said it was a chosen?(does he need to be NG to be so?)

"Some eyes are doomed to see the future"

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Land Outcast 05-27-04, 06:12 PM	Well, I have the PC's looting a Netherese enclave in the underdark, and the party's wizard(Theurge of Mystra with great renown) was killed by their guide(Shadovar assasin disguised). I first want to know the opinion of you guys(if it is not written somewhere) about the city of shade being powered by the shadow weave, and so being in kind of a "pact" with Sharr. Why by the shadow weave? Just because after Karsus' incident not such power to keep the city floating is allowed to be tapped from the Weave. "Not all that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
Cunning Linguist 05-27-04, 06:19 PM	Lord Shadow was working on Shadow Weave long before the Karsus event. Now, the Mythallar in Shade, is indeed powered by Shadow Weave, this Mythallar again powers the city. The people who live in Shade worship Shar, but I think it's mostly the Shadovar, not the Shades.. Since they are Netherese, and Netheril Wizards don't worship "gods". As for "why" shadow weave.. Lord Shadow sees Shadow Weave as far more powerful the normal Weave.
Land Outcast 05-27-04, 06:33 PM	Thanks Cunning Linguist. And the story goes on: the PC's are in few time getting to Skullport->Waterdeep->Hopefully, following the "guide",(This wizard is quite determinated in the quest) to wherever the City of Shadow currently is. The question now is:Has the CoS any defenses against divination, and does it stay in a place for long or does it move around lets say... quite often? Oh, and, where is the CoS "now"? "Not all that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
Cunning Linguist 05-27-04, 07:10 PM	The City of Shade is now, in Anauroch, in the Empire of Shadow, near the Shadow sea, right where that dot is, where it says "City Of Shade". It might float around now and then.. but never for long. The Shadow Sea might be the only nice place in Anauroch now a days. Not like the old days when enclaves traveld all year long. As for Shades defense against Divination... If there was anyplace that should have it, (besides The platau of Thay) it would be Shade. But it's really up to you as the DM to decide how hard/easy it would be to find it. The Shades are not afraid of anyone, so they would not go overboard to try to hide there city. But the Shades don't take kindly to.. well, anyone. Finding it will not be as hard as to stay alive to see it.
Land Outcast 05-27-04, 07:16 PM	Thanks Cunning linguist. Some eyes are doomed to see the future. "Not all that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
Mumm-Ra 05-28-04, 09:14 AM	Hell, the city of Shade would be an impregnable bastion. I wouldnt have let the chosen get away with a tenth of what they achieved in the novels. Using the simbul's guides on a mythallar (the poster), Shade would have a dozen epic protective spells anchored to it and running, foiling all sorts of divination, extradimensional travel, etc etc as well as anti dispel wards, alarm wards, dispel weave magic wards etc. The chosen of mystra try sneaking in reduced to ant size, they get slapped with a d20+300plus epic dispel or two followed by all sorts of nastiness.
Lancelot3679 05-28-04, 04:31 PM	Ok, First, if you check out "Magic of Faerun" and "Races of Faerun" under the Shade entry, you will see that there is a major connection between Shar and the use of the Shadow Weave by the people of Shade. More than that, they are in a pact now of sorts because she used her power (through enclave wizards that worshiped her and the "mis"guidance that she gave them) to send them into the Plane of Shadow. That's a major reason for the use of the Shadow Weave in there magic now that they have returned to Faerun. As for the Shadow Weave powering the city, I don't know if that is entirely correct. Shade was one of the floating cities of the Netherese long before the Karsus incident. The people worshiped Mystra really before transfering to the Plane of Shadow under Shar's guidance. As for their defensive capability, you would be right to generate almost anything that you want. If you want the magics that contro the city to make it undetectable to divination, that is great, but I wouldn't say that it is impossible, or even hard to find. A big mountain top that has the essence of the Plane of Shadow and the Shadow Weave wisping off of it is kinda hard to miss. At the same time, the enclave wizards do not seem afraid of anything or anyone. Atleast, from the books, that is what I gather, and the way that I run the NPC's in my game. Currently I am working on a campaign centered around the return of the Shades and following a number of other events that are listed in the FRCS timeline where the Shades manipulated and use certain powers of the realm against one another to cause a small invasion and retake that which was once the lands of the Netherese and expand the Shadow Weave through their teritory at the same time, while crushing out the normal weave (or at least suppressing it). I love the concept, that's why I'm not willing to give away too much of the plot line. Who knows, my potential PCs could be out there listening.
Tainted One 05-28-04, 11:25 PM	From Lords of Darkness it states they although they worship Shar, they are me loyal to Lord Shadow and the city than they are to her.
Land Outcast 05-29-04, 12:30 PM	Actually, the city IS protected against divinations, but the main form of movement there are teleportation spells and the like. There is posibility so, to travel in there via spells. "Not everything that is gold glitters nor all who wander are lost"---J.R.R.Tolkien
primemover003 05-29-04, 02:55 PM	The city in and of itself wouldn't be shrouded with anti-teleporting magic... it's just too unfeasible. However the most secure locations of the city would be! You probably could could scry on the a shadovar ortwo you've personally encountered. But I highly doubt you'd be able to snoop on Lord Telemont or any of his sons with any ease. It's just like anyother city in Faerun, well any other city that's home to multiple archmages that is:)
The Simbul 05-29-04, 11:11 PM	If the inhabitants of the City of Shade cast a spell ward that arbitrarily blocked all translocation magic, then the city would instantly crash given the fact that proctiv's Move Mountain operates off of the Transport seed. On top of that, it would transform the entire city into a deathtrap since the inhabitants of the now falling city would be unable to teleport away from it :mage: Seriously through, they would have a number of spell protections available, and it would be easily concievable for them to have a near Mythal-like protection in terms of blocking divination and the like. As for the Chosen gaining access to the city or bypassing protections (I havent read books 2 & 3 so dont spoil it for me with details), its still worth noting that Chosen of Mystra have access to magic above and beyond that which exists in the PHB, and certainly if Mystra wanted something to be accomplished through magic, then her active will could render it possible. As for why they use the Shadow Weave; AFAIC Mystra simply would never allow a Mythallar to function after the fall of Netheril, thus Shade's Mythallar would need to draw off the Shadow Weave to avoid her interference with it. Edit: Furthermore they would need a Mythallar or similar powerful artifact to help secure the enclave in the first place, since Proctiv's Mvoe Mountain as written in 3E by itself is a very weak and vulnerable spell, since there is nothing that would prevent the spell from being Dispelled, or prevent a more powerful caster from casting the same spell on the enclave and thus seizing the mountain, inverting it, and send it crashing down to the earth. On top of that, since the official Proctiv's Move Mountain is not a variant of the fly spell, there is noting in its description to soften the landing if its duration was ended through Dispelling or similar effects.
Kain's avatar 05-29-04, 11:20 PM	Originally posted by The Simbul If the inhabitants of the City of Shade cast a spell ward that arbitrarily blocked all translocation magic, then the city would instantly crash given the fact that proctiv's Move Mountain operates off of the Transport seed. On top of that, it would transform the entire city into a deathtrap since the inhabitants of the now falling city would be unable to teleport away from it :mage: Seriously through, they would have a number of spell protections available, and it would be easily concievable for them to have a near Mythal-like protection in terms of blocking divination and the like. As for the Chosen gaining access to the city or bypassing protections (I havent read books 2 & 3 so dont spoil it for me with details), its still worth noting that Chosen of Mystra have access to magic above and beyond that which exists in the PHB, and certainly if Mystra wanted something to be accomplished through magic, then her active will could render it possible. As for why they use the Shadow Weave; AFAIC Mystra simply would never allow a Mythallar to function after the fall of Netheril, thus Shade's Mythallar would need to draw off the Shadow Weave to avoid her interference with it. This may or may not spoil if for you, though it isn't really something major, so don't read if you don't want to know anything about it, but if you can stand a minor detail, read on... . . . . . . . . . . Appearantly the Chosen cannot teleport into the city of Shade, because the have to work up an interesting scheme to sneak in. . . . . . . . . . . . End spoiler.
Land Outcast 05-30-04, 09:25 AM	cough,cough... It would be nice to sneak in there... But I guess all those wards against physical entrance there might be would difficult the task. The fact is that sneaking out there would be far more interesting, afther coming in by means of "non-shadow magic". Here goes my theory: The entrance can't be blocked without suffering great trouble in passage, but (I've been thinking since the first post), there has to be there some kind of "anti-weave-casting", at least from inside the city. And, Who said it was a chosen?(does he need to be NG to be so?) "Some eyes are doomed to see the future"