Post/Author/DateTime	Post
twistedbutsane 09-08-03, 10:18 AM	I have recently gotten into the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, thanks largely to the Baldurs Gate and Icewind Dale games. One of my players had also played the BG's and is interested in the whole Bhaalspawn thing, I like this idea because I am trying to get some major destinies in line for the group. I would like to hear if anyone else has used Bhaalspawn in their games, how and did it turn out well. I also wondered if there were any novels that covered these events. I still have no Idea on how to make a PC a Bhaalspawn and if anyone has any suggestions about this I would appreciate it. You can see my original post (from the D&D General board) here: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=94634
Charles Phipps 09-08-03, 04:30 PM	I've used Bhaalspawn a great deal as background flavor in my campaign... I ran Bhaal in my games as basically a cross between the historical Bhaal and Set from Conan: The Barbarian in terms of religion. He was a lusty deity who was obsessed with killing and feared across the realms as the destroyer and also a ravager of virgins. Before the Time of Troubles Bhaal's many children were just infamous, especially around Baldur's Gate as superhuman bullies and mass murderers. Many of the most vile villains of Forgotten Realms had Bhaal's blood running through their veins but few ever rose beyond petty warlord status. Post the Time of Troubles though the Bhaalspawn were posessed of an immense killing urge as suddenly all of Bhaal's power was sucked from his dead form and spread across his children as a failsafe he'd created like Xvim and Bane or Mykrul and the Crown of Horns. One of the poor candidates was Akkanas Lighthope....a 3/4th elf whose mother was a member of the famous Lighthope Family and whose father was of course none other than the Lord of Murder himself who in my campaign had been a half-elf when alive in Mulmaster. Akkanas was a ranger whom over the game was obsessed with proving his status as a true elf even if his mother had abandoned him to be raised by a human and he suffered "unnatural urges" (it was never overtly stated but he and his twin sister were implied to have had an incestous relationship and he was psychotic- he simply directed it against orcs and other races that were his species enemy) I as the DM was the one who chose to use my fiat to make him a Bhaalspawn simply because the template fit the character. Slowly but surely I added elements like the Princess of the Elves falling in love with him and also the gods paying a seeming enormous amount of attention to him (Shar and Mystra especially) as during the Time of Troubles Bhaal spared his life for some odd reason...unheard of. Only when he'd killed in the sum 2000 beings did I suddenly make him aware of his true status that he'd fufilled the first requirements of transforming himself into the new God of Death and his urges and hatred would only grow stronger. Like Highlander the Quickening I bestowed then on the character 0-Level deity status and then 1st level deity status after he killed his first Bhaalspawn (it wouldn't raise any higher until all other bhaalspawn were dead when he'd ascend to briefly greater god status and have a contested porfolio contest with Kelemvor and Cyric) The character reacted very sadly against his fate and was tragic even as he remained likeable and despite his....unsavory aspects was clearly a good man trapped in a horrible situation. He eventually embraced his destiny as a chance to stand against the forces of darkness with their own tools. His alignment shifted from Neutral good to chaotic neutral but he suceeded in destroying Velsharoon who had become Myrkul and became Greater God of Death, Vengeance, and Rebellion. The character remains having a tragic love affair relationship ironically with the princess of the elves who ascended to become a good goddess herself of the Seldarine...who of course will not accept such a being into their ranks
FineasBoggs 09-08-03, 06:24 PM	I still have no Idea on how to make a PC a Bhaalspawn and if anyone has any suggestions about this I would appreciate it. Dragon #288 has the Bhaalspawn Template in it. Though it's mostly geared towards evil characters as the disadvantages of the template are but impossible to avoid. http://webpages.charter.net/acamphuysen/manshoon_mage_sigil.gif