Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ArnimThayer 01-13-07, 11:33 PM	I had thought about doing a "Dark Realms" type campaign, an alternate version of Faerun much like the old "Mirror, mirror" episode of Star Trek. My question is should this hinge on one major event in Faerun's past being altered, causing a ripple effect, or a lot unrelated changes that caused the Dark Realms to vary from the core Realms? I am interested to hear your thoughts?
ArnimThayer 01-13-07, 11:35 PM	I guess it goes without saying that changing the outcome of"Karsus' Folly" would cause MAJOR ripples, so I expect to see that as a suggestion. Any others?
BadCatMan 01-14-07, 12:04 AM	The Fateful Coin legend from Tymora's entry in Faiths & Avatars might be good. Tymora flips a coin made from the remains of Tyche for every new baby born into the world. Beshaba calls it in the air. If Beshaba gets it right, that person is cursed with misfortune. If she's wrong, Tymora blesses them. (And a few land side on, and make their own luck.) So maybe in the alternate world every coin came down on the side. Those who were once fortunate are now misfortunate and became bad-tempered and evil, and so on. It's odd, but an easy way to do the "everyone has an evil twin" idea. Or maybe there's something similar for good/evil.
ZolDarklock 01-14-07, 12:17 AM	This one is too easy... All that happend was is the novel, module, and accessory writers stopped all the bad guys & creatures from acting like complete retarded wimped-out losers, and Mystra wasn't allowed to have a dozen powerfull god like faithfull followers called the chosen on here side while everyone else got hosed... I play a dark FR game, it was easy, I just went thru every FR book re-inserted every creature that had been killed off, and ran them like you would run your own PC's, I also gave all the gods a single chosen at a time "present chosen must freely relinquish the power or be killed off, too grant it's powers to a new one", all equally powerfull in there own ways, but reduced from the over abundance of ridiculous crap they give npc's like Elminister and such... also added a little ravenloft eerieness/fear, and a little dark sun style hopelessness...
Dark Wizard 01-14-07, 01:14 AM	Just switch the alignments to the opposite for each character and place in general, then play them accordingly including modified histories and cultures. I think you should just say it's lots of minor changes, the dark version is how it's always been. You can have fun with this. Try twisting the domains of the gods around. Perhaps Bane is the bane of hatred and fear, the divine lord of righteous rulership. Torm is the god of blind loyalty and callous duty. Tyr is the letter of the law, draconian and bureaucratic. Selune is the goddess of lycanthropes, and the madness of that condition, the magic of darkness. Helm can stay the same. Sune is the seductress, patron of those who use their charm and looks for entirely selfish gains. Mystra is actually LN leaning evil (Azuth is her utterly irredeemable LE lackey who enforces the rules of wizardry with an iron staff), she manages and protects the weave (actually very much in her self interest, not too far from her current incarnation) at all cost. She's a source of power that must be bargained with to gain the favors of arcane. Etc. Her Chosen are the cruel dictators or the unrivaled powers behind the throne of many nations. Elminster is undisputed master of Shadowdale, though he allows the lords of the twisted tower a level of autonomy while he pursues his own esoteric goals. Alustriel is the feared leader of the Silver Marches, which has instituted a genocidal war against orcs and other humanoids in the north. The Simbul ... is the Simbul, the imperious Witch-Queen of a dark Aglarond, whose populace fear her rages as much as the Thayans, which the propaganda machine of the Simbul have spun as degenerate evil magicians out to conquer Aglarond. While Thay is ruled by Szass Tam and his enclave of cooperative Red Wizards who try to share and promote magic. The Lords Alliance is trying to control all political and economic power in the west, while the Zhentarim originally was a band of scruffy independent business owners working together to keep the lords from moving in on their business, later getting involved in the church of Bane and the like for help. Cormy is ruled by Alusair who is the Steel Queen, having her infant nephew executed to claim the throne for herself, why shouldn't she since she had such plans in the works before Azoun the Tyrant of the Dragon Throne succumbed to his fate at the hands of the Deva Dragon. Tethyr has reformed under Queen Zaranda and King Haedrak, two young monarchs with the beliefs of the old guard. Haedrak's father was the first decent ruler in a long line of decadent kings, but his reign was cut short by corrupt nobles and the idiot masses who would believe their lies. Hopes of a decent heir arising out of the turmoil were misplaced, especially when Haedrak hung out with Elminster all those years as Lhaeo. The Twisted Rune is an organization of enlightened immortal undead who hope to guide Calimshan in a benevolent direction. Don't even get me started on bloody Waterdeep, whose fair streets run red with the blood of periodic purges, being a noble or a guild member in the city is a dangerous role. Ruled by the sinister Masked Lords (masked not to prevent assassination, but so they can use assassination themselves more readily), their mouthpiece is the legendary black knight Piergieron "Paladinslayer." Etc.
ArnimThayer 01-14-07, 09:37 AM	Good suggestions, Dark Wizard! I especially like the ones about Cormyr and Waterdeep. I had thought of Cormyr as still ruled by the Purple Dragon Thanglorous, through his human proxies. At the most basic, would you suggest twisting the alignments of certain races (elves, dwarves, etc) or leaving them the same or just the humans? For that thought, what of goblinoids, and other "monster" races? Are the duergar the only good dwarves, having been liberated by the enlightened illithids? Are the drow the good elves, banished beneath to Underdark? Is Drizzt the lone drow assassin, hell bent on exterminating his whole race? How reaching should I make this?
selunatic2397 01-15-07, 12:09 PM	A truly awesome idea Dark Wizard!!! You can consider it borrowed for my campaign immediately. I'll even use a mirror type gate...they saw my ancient gygax dungeonland modules [wonderland by gary gygax] and made plans for that on next fridays session... They'll never know what hit them...:evillaugh Thanks for the ideas again:D
MarkusTay63 01-15-07, 02:42 PM	Imagine going through a portal and being attacked by knights from the EVIL Empire of Evermeet (The EEE) and their allies from twisted city of Deepwater, and being rescued and brought to the 'Underground', where freedom fighters like the Drow and Illithids are trying to bring back hope and goodness to the world. You'd be doing some major mind-twisting on your players. :D Love this concept BTW, great stuff Dark Wizard.
Lord Karsus 01-15-07, 06:40 PM	-DW, as always, great stuff...
ArnimThayer 01-15-07, 07:55 PM	There have been some really good ideas to come out of this. The question still remains unanswered... How far should this go? Should the chromatic dragons be the champions of the draconic races? I have thought about starting this small. The PCs awaken in a region (such as Cormyr) and have no idea how they got there. The first time they run into a patrol of soldiers wearing the standard of the Purple Dragon and ask for help, the trouble begins. Much like the Decimation storyline from Marvel, I thought this would be fun. Only the PCs know that reality has turned on its head. They must find out the how and the why as they go. Any ideas on what or who could pull such a thing? I would like to try and tie it to one thing or event that they can attempt to undo or fix to restore the Realms to the way they know it should be.
Alac Luin 01-15-07, 09:11 PM	The cause of this, Lathander's dawn cataclysm. The deities got realigned. I wouldn't change EVERYTHIG about the world, that would be to predictable, leave some elements the same, like a few deity alignments. The Harpers are a continent spanning information broker organization, and dabble in smuggling. Zentil Keep- The Bastion of Hope, ruled by clergy of the triad, they fight tyrants and are trying to free the Dalelands from petty warlords such as Randle Morn.
Lord Karsus 01-15-07, 11:54 PM	Zentil Keep- The Bastion of Hope, ruled by clergy of the triad, they fight tyrants and are trying to free the Dalelands from petty warlords such as Randle Morn. -Nah, Zhentil Keep would be ruled by the Clergy of Bane, the only one who can muster forces to fight against the Tyrants of the Triad. Or, perhaps his son, Iyachtu Xvim, who is a captain in his celestial army of freedom. Cyric is an ally, and operates as a "rabble-rouser", commanding his clergy to "stir up trouble" in the enemy camp. -As for why all of this is happening, you can always have something some kind of planar rip caused an alternate Doppel Plane to overlap with the normal Material Plane.
BadCatMan 01-16-07, 12:36 AM	Loreseekers of Oghma are spies and information brokers, seeking out and exposing secrets and selling them to the highest bidder, or threatening to "let the truth be known" and exposing them unless they get they want. There is also a crusading army, who tell people what the Truth is by force and burn all conflicting evidence and the heretics who speak it. The clergy of Gond are obsessed with making mechanical devices of war, torture and exectution. They sell their war machines to all sides and make one hell of a profit on the side. (Or perhaps they already do?) Svirfneblin are ruthless assassins who murder anyone who sees them or learns anything of their existence. Those few who survive are blinded, deafened and gibbering in madness and terror. Few know of them, but all fear them. Ilmateri believe everyone should suffer for the sins of the world, and capture people to torture them. On the other hand, Loviatans suffer to help others and make themselves stronger to do so. (Essentially, just switch the two gods). Tchazzar is a hero of Chessenta, about to unify the land and launch it into a new golden age of prosperity. (Oh wait, he already is.) This is a lot of fun. :D
Ombre 01-16-07, 02:13 PM	Wow, lots of awesome ideas here... As for the reason why... Some time ago, I used an old "dungeon magazine " adventure, The Anvil of Time (by Tracy Hickman, I think) in my FR campaign. In fact the only thing I kept was the concept of the time-travelling artifact and the lost gemstone keys which had the characters go back through time to get them in order to escape... I tied the whole story to the Netherese civilization, the Anvil of time becoming the heart of a fallen city ( which crashed somewhere in the Desertmouth Mountains on the Dale side) , built around the masterpiece of one of the High Arcanists, the Chronomancer (mentioned in the boxed set Netheril, Empire of Magic"...During their exploration, they had to visit the place at three different time periods (as in the original): present-time (where they contend with agents of the Shades they didn't identify as such, since the return of the Shades is still a secret in my campaign), The Fall of Myth Drannor and during the last age of Netheril at the exact time of a phaerim assault. During the course of the adventure, in the Netheril age, the PCs established contact with a Netherese mage with whom they talked for a long time, excited as they were at the opportunity of learning much lore (one of the players' s character has always been fascinated with the legends of ancient Netheril, so it was a dream comme true for him). Confronted with the arrogance of the mage, they lashed back by revealing how the high and mighty Netherese empire would eventually fall...in the end, the mage went back to his time period, the players to theirs. At that exact moment, all of the pieces fell into place: I had the perfect opportunity to put my players at ground zero of the Return of the Shades: I decided that the City of Shade had fled to the Plane of Shadow BECAUSE of what had been revealed by a bunch of strange looking people to a middle-rank mage survivor of a phaerimm attack some 2,500 years ago... When my players eventually learn the pivotal role they have in Faerūn history , I guess they will be quite distraught(...(evil grin) If you push this idea a little bit further, you have a way of altering the Realms ' history: maybe a faction managed to prevent Karsus to undergo his fateful arcane experiment and Netheril never fell (or at least not in this way...) From that point on, lots of things will change... (Being a French-speaker, I hope my long post will be correctly spellt/written)
Meldread 01-16-07, 04:59 PM	I have to agree with everyone else, there are some really good and interesting suggestions put forth here. I have an idea on how to introduce this into a game. Throughout Toril there are ancient artifact obelisks, most are broken or otherwise ruined. They are located at specific points, and at these points there is a "thinness" in the prime material plane. These points, in practice, are similar to node magic. The thinness in the prime allows one to travel between an infinite number of mirror worlds, similar yet different in some way to the world that we are familiar with. In one world, Netheril may have never fallen. In another, Elves may have never existed. In each of these worlds history is altered accordingly. There are even worlds where there are duplicates of yourself, but they may have chosen a different path in life. Suffice it to say, all possibilities are possible, and all possibilities exist - each of them reflected in a mirror world. Now, thousands of years ago during the reign of the Creator Races a group of individuals who are now unknown uncovered the secrets of the Mirror Nodes. They learned how to use these nodes to shift between the various possibilities, and they erected obelisks so that they could travel back and forth. To introduce the players to this, simply have them camp among some crumbling ruins at night. Selune will be shining brightly, so that it appears to be almost twilight. They will be able to clearly spot an ancient obelisk laying on its side, broken into several large chunks. When they go to sleep, they will awaken to find that the obelisk is mysteriously now standing erect. It still looks just as old as it did before, but it is whole - as if it was never broken. If they decide to investigate they really won't find anything out of place. Things will appear exactly as they were when they went to sleep aside from the obelisk. It won't become clear until later that they aren't in the world that they know - everything has turned on its head. Naturally, they will begin investigating to find out what happened. To aid them in this they will run into someone who remembers "them" - or at least, the "them" that existed in that world. Investigating what happened should eventually lead the players to conclude that somehow an "opposite" version of them happened to be at the same exact spot at the same exact time, and somehow activated the obelisk. This in turn, caused them to trade places. This was an accident, brought on by the ignorance of the opposites of the players and the fact the obelisk in their world has malfunctioned. Ultimately, they are then left with the task of trying to find a way to return to their "true" world. This could in and of itself lead to many more interesting journeys - perhaps they find a way to activate the obelisk and are thrown into another Toril and in this Toril Netheril never fell! Perhaps they come face to face with themselves, or perhaps they actually return to the world that they left behind - in turn forcing the opposites of themselves back into their own world. In any case, it opens the possibility to introduce any number of interesting ideas and situations.
QueenOfShadows 01-17-07, 12:43 AM	Just switch the alignments to the opposite for each character and place in general, then play them accordingly including modified histories and cultures. I think you should just say it's lots of minor changes, the dark version is how it's always been. You can have fun with this. Try twisting the domains of the gods around. Perhaps Bane is the bane of hatred and fear, the divine lord of righteous rulership. Torm is the god of blind loyalty and callous duty. Tyr is the letter of the law, draconian and bureaucratic. Selune is the goddess of lycanthropes, and the madness of that condition, the magic of darkness. Helm can stay the same. Sune is the seductress, patron of those who use their charm and looks for entirely selfish gains. Mystra is actually LN leaning evil (Azuth is her utterly irredeemable LE lackey who enforces the rules of wizardry with an iron staff), she manages and protects the weave (actually very much in her self interest, not too far from her current incarnation) at all cost. She's a source of power that must be bargained with to gain the favors of arcane. Etc. Her Chosen are the cruel dictators or the unrivaled powers behind the throne of many nations. Elminster is undisputed master of Shadowdale, though he allows the lords of the twisted tower a level of autonomy while he pursues his own esoteric goals. Alustriel is the feared leader of the Silver Marches, which has instituted a genocidal war against orcs and other humanoids in the north. The Simbul ... is the Simbul, the imperious Witch-Queen of a dark Aglarond, whose populace fear her rages as much as the Thayans, which the propaganda machine of the Simbul have spun as degenerate evil magicians out to conquer Aglarond. While Thay is ruled by Szass Tam and his enclave of cooperative Red Wizards who try to share and promote magic. The Lords Alliance is trying to control all political and economic power in the west, while the Zhentarim originally was a band of scruffy independent business owners working together to keep the lords from moving in on their business, later getting involved in the church of Bane and the like for help. Cormy is ruled by Alusair who is the Steel Queen, having her infant nephew executed to claim the throne for herself, why shouldn't she since she had such plans in the works before Azoun the Tyrant of the Dragon Throne succumbed to his fate at the hands of the Deva Dragon. Tethyr has reformed under Queen Zaranda and King Haedrak, two young monarchs with the beliefs of the old guard. Haedrak's father was the first decent ruler in a long line of decadent kings, but his reign was cut short by corrupt nobles and the idiot masses who would believe their lies. Hopes of a decent heir arising out of the turmoil were misplaced, especially when Haedrak hung out with Elminster all those years as Lhaeo. The Twisted Rune is an organization of enlightened immortal undead who hope to guide Calimshan in a benevolent direction. Don't even get me started on bloody Waterdeep, whose fair streets run red with the blood of periodic purges, being a noble or a guild member in the city is a dangerous role. Ruled by the sinister Masked Lords (masked not to prevent assassination, but so they can use assassination themselves more readily), their mouthpiece is the legendary black knight Piergieron "Paladinslayer." Etc. Wow! That would be a creepy realms *lol*
Old Sage 01-17-07, 12:56 AM	Some time ago, I used an old "dungeon magazine " adventure, The Anvil of Time (by Tracy Hickman, I think) in my FR campaign.It was by Tracy Hickman, yes -- in DUNGEON #86. The adventure was also later reprinted in the 3e DL Legends of the Twins sourcebook.
ArnimThayer 01-17-07, 12:56 AM	While reading through the ideas posted here, I had a great way to introduce this campaign to the players (though I did like the Dawn Cataclysm idea). Suspiciously missing from my new and twisted pantheon (kudos for the many ideas) is Cyric. This is because the the events of The Crucible never happened... Cyric read the Cyrinishad and created this alternate Realms. It exists in a corner of his mind, a version of the Realms more to his perspective. The Dark Realms are how he veiws the world. What do you think?
Dxzauvrinn 01-17-07, 12:59 AM	Just switch the alignments to the opposite for each character and place in general, then play them accordingly including modified histories and cultures. I think you should just say it's lots of minor changes, the dark version is how it's always been. You can have fun with this. Try twisting the domains of the gods around. Perhaps Bane is the bane of hatred and fear, the divine lord of righteous rulership. Torm is the god of blind loyalty and callous duty. Tyr is the letter of the law, draconian and bureaucratic. Selune is the goddess of lycanthropes, and the madness of that condition, the magic of darkness. Helm can stay the same. Sune is the seductress, patron of those who use their charm and looks for entirely selfish gains. Mystra is actually LN leaning evil (Azuth is her utterly irredeemable LE lackey who enforces the rules of wizardry with an iron staff), she manages and protects the weave (actually very much in her self interest, not too far from her current incarnation) at all cost. She's a source of power that must be bargained with to gain the favors of arcane. Etc. Her Chosen are the cruel dictators or the unrivaled powers behind the throne of many nations. Elminster is undisputed master of Shadowdale, though he allows the lords of the twisted tower a level of autonomy while he pursues his own esoteric goals. Alustriel is the feared leader of the Silver Marches, which has instituted a genocidal war against orcs and other humanoids in the north. The Simbul ... is the Simbul, the imperious Witch-Queen of a dark Aglarond, whose populace fear her rages as much as the Thayans, which the propaganda machine of the Simbul have spun as degenerate evil magicians out to conquer Aglarond. While Thay is ruled by Szass Tam and his enclave of cooperative Red Wizards who try to share and promote magic. The Lords Alliance is trying to control all political and economic power in the west, while the Zhentarim originally was a band of scruffy independent business owners working together to keep the lords from moving in on their business, later getting involved in the church of Bane and the like for help. Cormy is ruled by Alusair who is the Steel Queen, having her infant nephew executed to claim the throne for herself, why shouldn't she since she had such plans in the works before Azoun the Tyrant of the Dragon Throne succumbed to his fate at the hands of the Deva Dragon. Tethyr has reformed under Queen Zaranda and King Haedrak, two young monarchs with the beliefs of the old guard. Haedrak's father was the first decent ruler in a long line of decadent kings, but his reign was cut short by corrupt nobles and the idiot masses who would believe their lies. Hopes of a decent heir arising out of the turmoil were misplaced, especially when Haedrak hung out with Elminster all those years as Lhaeo. The Twisted Rune is an organization of enlightened immortal undead who hope to guide Calimshan in a benevolent direction. Don't even get me started on bloody Waterdeep, whose fair streets run red with the blood of periodic purges, being a noble or a guild member in the city is a dangerous role. Ruled by the sinister Masked Lords (masked not to prevent assassination, but so they can use assassination themselves more readily), their mouthpiece is the legendary black knight Piergieron "Paladinslayer." Etc. I like. It sounds like a mirror world material plane recently described in the latest Dungeon Magazine. So in this world, Drizzt Do'Urden would be like a serial killer who killed his father and only comes to the surface to slaughter the goodly races. Artemis Entreri I guess would be some sort of Arabian hero like Simbad. Hmmm....who else...Arilyn Moonblade is a real assassin and kills off the Moonflower family members so their souls can empower her corrupt moonblade, giving it additional powers. Another neat tweak would be that the dark elves and gold elves won the Crown Wars and Araunshee, who never turned to Lolth, is the head of the elven pantheon instead of Corellon because he was killed by Grummsh during their battle because he was never able to draw his sword from the sheath Araunshee wove for him just before battle. So I guess with this sort of spin, Drizzt would be an evil Illythiiri swordmaster whose an important general in the Illythiiri and Vyshaantar empire, which have allied with one another and rule half of Faerun. With this version Malkizid would be a dark angel of Araunshee's court.
Lord Karsus 01-17-07, 11:18 PM	-Also, Amn, a nation barely surviving due to monetary inflation, and other financial problems, is currentl under siege. A group of beings, who call themselves 'Mazticans' have come from across the sea, with foreign and advanced technology. Amn is currently seeking aid from the benevolent Sythilistian (sp?) Empire, but things are still being hammered out.
Old Sage 01-17-07, 11:31 PM	It's "Sythillisian" Empire. ;) Don't worry... it gets the better of almost everyone at one time or another. :D
Lord Karsus 01-17-07, 11:35 PM	-Eh, I was pretty close. I gave it a 'Middle-Eastern' -istan, though. Oh well...
BadCatMan 01-18-07, 12:11 AM	Sothillisian now days. :) Psionics is the pure, clean and safe form of magic, practiced by goodly beings such as Illithids, Yuan-Ti, Duergar and a few human psions. Unfortunately the corrupt arcane magic users have wiped the human psions out, and only a few survive in hiding. The really fun part about this is changing everything yet leaving it just the way it was.
Dark Wizard 01-18-07, 01:17 AM	Good suggestions, Dark Wizard! Thanks for bringing up the idea. How can one neglect the idea of the classic evil mirror universe. I'm surprised none of the novels have explored this idea, even some of the weirder ones. The really fun part about this is changing everything yet leaving it just the way it was. I agree, I think one of the most effective ways of going about this is changing something to the polar opposite, but keeping the general premise the same, though still allowing for the logical edits to make sense and fit into the larger picture. Of course the mirror Faerun's Drizzt would sport a goatee, it builds character.
MarkusTay63 01-18-07, 02:55 AM	Don't forget Drizzt's companions (band of Frauds and charlatans)... Wulfgar - the insane raging barbarian who is always frothing at the mouth (not much of a stretch there) Cati-Bri - the buxom little strumpet who's always willing to 'turn-a-trick' to make a couple of bucks so she and her band of 'hustlers' can eat Bruenor 'always-hammered' - Catie's foster father, the drunken midget con artist who is always trying to pass himself off as a Dwarf (and a King no less!) and sell some of his phoney 'elixir' Regis - smallish well-dressed fellow who is constantly asking "Is that your final answer?" and spends his time pining about losing his Cathi-lei Wait... thats not right... Regis - The spunky little halfling who Bruenor forces to play a crippled kid named 'tiny Tim' in one of his many scams. His conscious is plagued by the others dishonesty and he tries to be the moral compass of the group. Unfortunately, the others control him by way of his cursed pendant that allows ANYONE to boss him around. They would be persued by Artemis (our Arabian hero) and an Illythiiri cop named Jarlaxil Elminster would be on his second arrest... for bringing children back to his tower and promising to bring them to Neverland through his 'portal' ;)
Lord Karsus 01-18-07, 05:46 PM	-What would Dūd Onahorz be like in this dark, doppel world? :)
BadCatMan 01-18-07, 06:58 PM	Dūd Orffahorz? Myth Drannor was a cesspool of corruption and crime, and a centre for all kinds of villainy, until hordes of yugoloth paladins drove out the vile elves, dwarves and humans, and cleansed the site. Now they guard the place eternally against evil adventurers seeking to steal its dark magic relics and restart the horror of Myth Drannor.
Lord Karsus 01-18-07, 11:06 PM	Dūd Orffahorz? -Heh. Or, Dūdette Orffahorz. -Also, the Eldreth Veluuthra is an organization of Elves that realizes that their kin are the crux of so many problems, and fight to make sure that Elves do not cause any more troubles... -Oh, and the Aashivar, residents of the Netherese city of Opus that was wisked away right before Karsus' Avatar was cast, has returned, and floats above Lake Anauroch. Their current plans are unknown...
MarkusTay63 01-19-07, 01:32 AM	-Heh. Or, Dūdette Orffahorz. Or Dudette Withahorz (She puts on one helluva show) ;) -Also, the Eldreth Veluuthra is an organization of Elves that realizes that their kin are the crux of so many problems, and fight to make sure that Elves do not cause any more troubles... Don't forget their 'breeding program', where they all mate with humans to remove the evil Elven taint from their blood. -Oh, and the Aashivar, residents of the Netherese city of Opus that was wisked away right before Karsus' Avatar was cast, has returned, and floats above Lake Anauroch. Their current plans are unknown... I'm confused, did that spell WORK? Did he 'lend' his power to the failing Mystryl, who was running out of power? (making karsus a Christ/sacrifice figure {Saint karsus?}). Or did the Archmage Mystryl cast the spell and steal the God Karsus' power? :confused: God, I'm sooo confused. Famous Thayan designer and International Beauty School entepreneur Szass Tam is starting a new traveling show - Magic Eye for the Straight Guy, bringing the world of magical accessories to the average man. His significant other, Larloch, has no comment.
Lord Karsus 01-19-07, 05:44 PM	I'm confused, did that spell WORK? Did he 'lend' his power to the failing Mystryl, who was running out of power? (making karsus a Christ/sacrifice figure {Saint karsus?}). Or did the Archmage Mystryl cast the spell and steal the God Karsus' power? :confused: -I like that idea. Mystryl was failing, and Doppel Karsus, a priest of unimaginible power, lent her massive amount of power to prevent the Weave from tearing. Greedly Mystryl continued to syphon the beloved Karsus dry, and he had no choice to interrupt the spell that was linking the two together, killing himself. Maddened with power, Mystryl, who now renamed herself Mystra, had to be contained. Ever the opportunist, Azuth tore excess energy from her, creating Mystra's Chosen. He hoped to usurp her, but alas, she was still too powerful. Famous Thayan designer and International Beauty School entepreneur Szass Tam is starting a new traveling show - Magic Eye for the Straight Guy, bringing the world of magical accessories to the average man. His significant other, Larloch, has no comment. -Ha, ha, ha!
Dark Wizard 01-19-07, 06:25 PM	Famous Thayan designer and International Beauty School entepreneur Szass Tam is starting a new traveling show - Magic Eye for the Straight Guy, bringing the world of magical accessories to the average man. His significant other, Larloch, has no comment. That works somehow, not sure why, but it just seems like it would work. Ever the opportunist, Azuth tore excess energy from her, creating Mystra's Chosen. He hoped to usurp her, but alas, she was still too powerful. Maybe there are a lot of Magisters, but only one Chosen.
Lord Karsus 01-19-07, 06:30 PM	Maybe there are a lot of Magisters, but only one Chosen. -But you said before: Her Chosen are the cruel dictators or the unrivaled powers behind the throne of many nations. Elminster is undisputed master of Shadowdale, though he allows the lords of the twisted tower a level of autonomy while he pursues his own esoteric goals. Alustriel is the feared leader of the Silver Marches, which has instituted a genocidal war against orcs and other humanoids in the north. The Simbul ... is the Simbul, the imperious Witch-Queen of a dark Aglarond, whose populace fear her rages as much as the Thayans, which the propaganda machine of the Simbul have spun as degenerate evil magicians out to conquer Aglarond.
Dark Wizard 01-19-07, 07:07 PM	I'm just throwing fun ideas around. I guess for a moment there my own setting got mingled in my thought process. It's not like my words are the official version of the Dark Realms. I mean just because I'm the Dark Wizard doesn't automatically make me master of the Dark Realms ... or does it... Maybe in this mirror Faerun I'm not a dark wizard... ::slowly fades from existence due to identity crisis:: Nooo!!!
Lord Karsus 01-19-07, 07:12 PM	Maybe in this mirror Faerun I'm not a dark wizard... ::slowly fades from existence due to identity crisis:: Nooo!!! -Whoops...See, kids? That's what happens when you delve into philosophy, but aren't prepared.
MarkusTay63 01-19-07, 08:19 PM	So in the mirror FR you might actually be peasant with pitchfork #2..... That works somehow, not sure why, but it just seems like it would work.Well, they wear red, and Kossuth is REAL popoular over there, so I kinda was thinking 'Flaming Wizards' of Thay. The rest just writes itself after that. Mirror Thay is a bright sunny country filled with all sorts of Faerie creatures, sparkling springs, pretty meadows, and prancing unicorns. It reminds me of San Francisco - just watch out for the bath houses. :P Westgate has a thriving brothel called '"Finder's Place", He made a bunch of clone women to work for him, and enjoys playing bawdy tunes on an old beat-up harp even though he has NO talent what-so-ever. The madame (Olive Pusskettle) runs a tight ship, and uses a very young Half-dragon named "Jailbait" as a bouncer.
Lord Karsus 01-19-07, 11:19 PM	So in the mirror FR you might actually be peasant with pitchfork #2..... -Heh, go figure. Susrak was the powerful priest who I alluded to before, then.
ArnimThayer 01-25-07, 11:14 AM	I really liked the idea of completely twisting the Gods. How would you percieve Talos or Malar?
BadCatMan 01-25-07, 06:44 PM	Malar, nature god of the noble hunt and foraging and the predator-prey relationship. He guides predators, hunters and rangers; he helps prey creatures flee; he helps people find food when times are scarce; and brings piece to a prey creature in its final moments.
Lord Karsus 01-25-07, 07:28 PM	-Talos is the deity of gentle spring rainfalls, and cool, breezes. Vestige Binders often capture some of his powers, and put them into lanudry soaps. -Of course, he is often overshadowed by his more malevolent sister Eldath, who causes destructions with windstorms, hurricanes, thunderstorms, tsunamis, and other destructive weather events.
MarkusTay63 01-27-07, 11:57 AM	Love the laundry soap part, I picture him looking like the Snuggles bear. Eldath's fury can't touch you out on the water though, where Umbriel, the loving puppy, pacifies the waves and winds and gives sailors a calm sea, gentle breezes, and a kiss on the nose.
Lord Karsus 01-27-07, 05:46 PM	Eldath's fury can't touch you out on the water though, where Umbriel, the loving puppy, pacifies the waves and winds and gives sailors a calm sea, gentle breezes, and a kiss on the nose. -They still have to worry about Ruklav, the Pirate Lord, patron of pirates, and his first mate, Shaundakul. Their followers sail on the high seas, looting and pillaging.
MarkusTay63 01-27-07, 11:52 PM	Shaun Dakul? Didn't he wrestle for the WWF? ;)
ArnimThayer 02-06-07, 10:26 PM	I have used decided to use Prince of Lies as the start of my Dark realms campaign. Cyric read from the Cyrinshad athis trial and thus subverted the other gods to his will, twisting both them and the realms to reflect his perspective, retroactively. Only a few stand against him in this Dark version of the Realms. I have chosen the following as mentor type NPCs for the party, aiding them as they can. 1). Larloch - A lich who now wanders the Realms trying to right what wrongs he can. 2). Semmenon - He watched as his honorable master, Manshoon, was slain by the wizard tyrant Elminster, and now seeks the aid of any who will oppose him. 3). Waukeen - This deity was locked away on another plane when the Cyrinshad was read, and is the sole god who remembers the Realms as they should be. It is she who has "awakended" the PCs, seeking champions to put right the Realms. Any other suggestions?
Dxzauvrinn 02-07-07, 10:04 PM	The Dark Lord Corellon Larethian leads the Dark Seldarine (the old Seldarine) against his ex-betroved, the kind-hearted Weaver of Fate Araunshee and her twin godlings, the fiendishly evil huntress that believe in butching prey creatures, Eilistraee, and the playful comical rogue Vhaeraun. Selvetarm is the elven lord of the dance, taking after his mother Zandalier the Dancer. The illithyri Drizzt Do'Urden was corrupted by Corellon's evil and is now his champion. Drizzt seeks to eradicate his kind hearted illithyir kindred, slaying them one by one with demon-possessed scimitars he was given by the balor Errtu. He often works with Corellon's chosen people, the demon-loving a magic addicted blood elves....err... I mean gold elves.
ArnimThayer 02-26-07, 11:59 PM	It's been awhile since this was originally posted. So the general idea is to twist the deities... Godd becomes Evil and vice versa. But what about the Neutral Gods? And what about those that fall between the cracks? In particular, how does Mask become revisioned in this Dark Realms. Someone suggested not changeing everything, because that would make the general premise of this campaign too predictible. I agree. Any suggestions on what to keep the same? I'm determined to run this campaign, but I have at least another month of prep time before it becomes my time to DM, since we "round robin" that task amongst my group, each of us running an extended "story-arc" beofre passing off the DM task to another. I have determined that some constant themes will make the skeleton of my run. 1). Cyric (and the Cyrinishad) are the trigger event that causes the formation of the Dark Realms. 2). Only the human pantheon of deities are truly affected... but not only the human cultures. I have some sound suggestions as to which human cultures will change. 3). Elven culture is retroactively changed. Since elves are closely bound to the Weave, anything that effects the Weave will have reprecussions with them (and thier culture). Thus, the elves have always had an untrust of the humans, since the Nethril culture is a lesson in "keep elven secrets (.e. magic) away from non-elven hands." This has lead to a insular elven culture... they know that somehow something is not right with the Realms and humans are the reason, but they can't quite narrow it down to an exact cause. 4). Shar is the a benevolent goddess of magic in the Dark Realms, allowing arcane spellcasters access to the Hidden Weave she has created since Mystra is a miser with her power if a spellcaster is not one of her worshippers. 5). Shar is the REAL reason the Dark Realms exist. By making spellcasters use her "Shadow Weave," she is aligning them with her against Mystra. Even if the Dark Realms become "fixed", there will still be quite a number of magic users forced to pay the price of being cut off from the true Weave. And only by turning to the worship of her can that price be avoided. 6). The PCs awaken to find that, much like the elves, the Realms don't seem right, and they start recieving dream visions showing how the Realms should have been. These dreams are a gift from the one Goddess unaffected by Cyric reading the Cyrinshad (other than Shar)... Waukeen, who wasn't even on Toril at the time the trial for Cyric was held. She knows the Realms have been twisted by Cyric, and seeks to return them to thier rightful state. Any other suggestions now?
MessiahOmega 02-28-07, 04:26 AM	i would suggest the fey'ri dabbled in the dark art of celesti-ology, even going so low as to LOVE some of the outsiders, breed and create a new line of twisted, law abiding, freedom loving, kind hearted half breeds. they of course were locked away by the Quissir (sp?) Empire at beneath Heavensportal Tower, and forgotten about. also, elves have to all have goatee's. also, modrons are all crazy. also, gnomes become a playable race. also, the Forgotten Realms becomes completly supported by WOTC again. also, eberron never existed...............ooooohhhhhhh.
MarkusTay63 02-28-07, 04:38 AM	The Fey'ri would be Celadrin then, or half-celestial Elves. The Edreth Veluthra would give out alms to the poor humans, and teach them that there is a better life to be found, unlike the rest of the Elves who enslave humans and use them for sacrifices to the dread lord Cyric.
bloodtalon 03-01-07, 03:44 PM	i did something like this in my game. i do not have all the up to date books so mine started 1372 the year of wild magic. to stop all the havoc the areas of dead magic and wild magic, mystra comes up with a radical plan to cure the world. and being new to the goddess thing she does not think it all the way threw. first she takes down the weave to deprive the wild and dead magic of "food". the promblem comes when she tries to set it back up and finds out she does not know how to. now comes the fun part. since magic no longer works in the realms alot of changes happens. FIRST all undead who is not self willed and very powerful are destoryed. that leaves only liches, vampires, mummies, shades and death knights SECOND since thier is no magic or undead the rulers of Thay can no longer control the large portions of the slaves they have and a general slave rebellion happens and the zulkirs are forced to flee south to Mullhorand. Third Cormyr is turned into a bloody cival war. the purple dragons are being decimated with out the war wizards to back them up by nobles back by Sembia merchants making money by selling them wepons on credit and planning on calling in trhe debts when the nobles win and therefore taking the country as payment. FOURTH the dalelands are given a break because the drow use mostly magical wepons and when they no longer work they stay home to regroup. FIFTH Evermeet is hit bad by alot of storms. the ancient elven magic that protected it and kept the weather ideal fail and it seems nature gets revenge for all the years it was "tamed" 6TH the Zhentarim uses the lack of magic to it advantage. first it uses it large trained armise to offer protection to the upperclasses in various cities and caravan gaurds and to help destory the city of shade. 7Th The High Forest also uses the time to regroup and to chase out all the hunters and woodcutters out. and by transplanting and the use of forest creature to make it even bigger. 8th Silverymoon was hit hard and the Confederation are also hurt bad. the biggest blow came when a group of drow snuck in since the wards were disable and assassinate Alustriel, King Emerus Warcrown (citial felbar), first elder Kayl Moorwalker(evermoors), and the other members of the council were gratly injured. they were discussing what they should do about the lack of magic. after the attack the confederation fell apart and the various kingdoms went thier own ways. 9TH Water deep was thrown in trumoil when the Lords of Water deep identies were found out. 3 were known to be paid assassins. 10Th the barbarians of Rashemen helped in the rebelion of Thay as did alot of thays neighbors. this all happend in about 8 months till the other dieties contacted AO and he was able to put the weave back together. for Mystra part Lord Ao stripped her alot of her power and dividied it between her, Azuth, Savras, Velsharoon, Shar, and Isis. by his decree the weave my not ever be tampered with ever again including shadow magic and all must agree before any god my loose thier magic. as for Mystra's faith it fell hard. when the common people found out what she did and how thier suffering was the cause of her the priesthood was hunted down like never seen before. most magic users went to Isis and she is now the main goddess of magic and Mystra is slowly fallin g to the status of lesser goddess.
MarkusTay63 03-01-07, 09:58 PM	Are you sure that when Mystra went to 'reboot' the Weave, Shar wasn't doing something behind the scenes to prevent it? Maybe she even made the Shadow Weave the 'main' Weave, so now most magical folks have to learn new ways of doing things. I kind of like that, puts everyone pretty much back on equal footing. For some reason, I found the idea of the Thayans losing all their magic particularly amusing. :D this all happend in about 8 months till the other dieties contacted AO and he was able to put the weave back together. for Mystra part Lord Ao stripped her alot of her power and dividied it between her, Azuth, Savras, Velsharoon, Shar, and Isis. by his decree the weave my not ever be tampered with ever again including shadow magic and all must agree before any god my loose thier magic.I like the part about Ao re-installing the Weave and making it pretty much indestructable. I have to think about the rest but Mystra just being goddess of magic (its uses and what-not) and not the power behind magic sounds good to me.
bloodtalon 03-02-07, 07:04 AM	Are you sure that when Mystra went to 'reboot' the Weave, Shar wasn't doing something behind the scenes to prevent it? Maybe she even made the Shadow Weave the 'main' Weave, so now most magical folks have to learn new ways of doing things. I kind of like that, puts everyone pretty much back on equal footing. For some reason, I found the idea of the Thayans losing all their magic particularly amusing. :D I like the part about Ao re-installing the Weave and making it pretty much indestructable. I have to think about the rest but Mystra just being goddess of magic (its uses and what-not) and not the power behind magic sounds good to me. i never thought of Shar doing that. The reson behind Mystra loosing alot of her powers as that I thought she was too powerful.
Ramar Aulinvox 03-04-07, 06:15 PM	I would have the gods seem to be strange at times....they act as you've put out but sometimes they are struggeling (like they're trapped in a dream that they can't wake from...not to far from the truth I suppose). Question, if Cyric remade the Realms in his vision, why would he allow other dieties to exist at all? Doesn't he want to be the supreme overgod? Did he slay Ao? How can Shar be the benevolent goddess of magic and the true cause of the Dark Realms? This maybe a little late, but I think a good "real" cause of all of this is that the party is trapped in a nightmare of Cyric's that Dendar the Night Serpent let loose through the cosmos after being stabbed in the events of Prince of Lies. You keep eveything the same but in the end nothing really has to make absolute sense b/c it was a dream from a mad god; however, if they ever fix it (a.k.a. wake up), then they keep all their levels, powers, personal items, etc. due to the fact that the nightmares of gods have some corpural qualities.