does this ring a bell for anyone? how would people go about handling this?
-ashy
EDIT: Found the line, Crimson Legion, page 175, half way down the page.
How to get the baddest bad-guy back in your campaign
Mika gently tapped the wall with the tip of her calhulak. The tell-tale deep thump the wall made told the young elven woman she had found precisely what she was looking for: a hidden chamber. She had been searching for something like this, something where treasure might lay, ever since she arrived at the ruins that morning. With his dying breath, Mika’s half-elven half-brother (who fought in Rikus’s army against the Urikites years earlier) had bequeathed her the information that the ruins, the Citadel of Ebe it was called, had lost its guardians (a group of wraiths), and would be “ripe for the picking”. He planned to loot it long ago, but a stubborn leg injury that never healed prevented him from making the trek.
Unfortunately for her, it seemed to Mika that she’d been too late. The first thing she saw when she entered the foul, musty-smelling citadel was a slew of broken statues. Raiders never did have a keen sense for art. But whether it had been raided or not, Mika thought, no one had found the secret chamber that lied behind the wall she stood in front of.
Taking a breath of foul air, Mika began hammering through the wall. Mika clubbed her way through a thin layer of plaster, and then a thick layer of tough granite before she could see inside the next room. It appeared to be a relatively small chamber, spherical in shape. Intricate carvings marked the walls, showing scenes of a lone man slaughtering countless dwarves. The sight sent shivers down her spine. A faint, orange glow caught Mika’s eye, and she then recognized what she saw: a huge gem worth hundreds of silver to the right buyer.
Mika frantically battered her way through the wall until she was standing in the chamber. The room was filled with stone coffins, beautifully carved with pictures of who lied inside. Only one held a gem, and Mika ran over to it instantly. Hands shaking, she began prying out the huge rock from its holding place. Suddenly, a chill shot through her body, and she realized for one horrible instant that her mind was being wiped, and then nothingness.
“It’s good to be back,” said Borys as he stretched his new body and walked away.
When I was reading the second Prism Pentad book, I had already learned that Borys (aka, the Dragon of Tyr) had been killed in the last book. And this little chunk of information popped out to the fore-front of my mind as I read a certain section of the The Crimson Legion. Chapter nine (page 193) tells how when Borys dies, his soul will return to a gem placed in his sarcophagus. It’s really easy to miss, so read carefully.
This can work in any number of ways to hook characters into a campaign. Bringing back the Dragon would be big trouble for the Tablelands, as he’d probably be a little cranky after being killed, and would have fewer enemies than ever now that many sorcerer kings have been destroyed. On the other hand, maybe Borys’s years of experience and great knowledge could turn him into an unlikely ally when the characters are trying to repel Dregoth. Does Borys know something about the undead dragon-king no one else does?
Any number of people can bring about the recovery, whether it be a cult who craves the return of the Dragon, or a hapless elven woman who gets unlucky. Maybe a high level clerical spell (tenth level maybe) could change Borys’s soul back into his corporeal dragon form. Maybe someone thinks that they can resurrect the Dragon and control it. The possiblities are endless!
Due to Sardra's actions, he no longer needs the living tribute in order to maintain the 2000 year old spell the Champions placed to keep Rajaat imprisoned. His old, pre-Clensing Wars, life may beckon him. I’m fairly sure he would lose the acquired templates gained in his life (Champion, Dragon) but he should still be a formidable magic/psionic type. He could have the choice of city-states to choose from (Balic, Draj, Raam or Tyr) as the new ruler. He may even go as far as joining up with the Heroes of Tyr, after all they really did free him from his own type of prison - the Keeper of Rajaat. Depending on his reincarnated level of ambition, he may even allow them to remain in power. Or he could even set about undoing some of the damages he reaped as the dragon (I’m not thinking he going to go the Oronis route, but he might want to have a nicer place to live then the current Tablelands).
Just some thoughts on my part.
This would go a long way in explaining how Atzetuk became a Dragon King per Dragon Magazines take on DS.
That leaves us with Kalak... I never liked him to begin with, just too plain white bread of a bad guy (all of the others had some type of style to go with their evilness) he died in the dragon transformation, like Kalid-Ma, his soul was ripped in two or some such not enough left for the reanimation of a new body :P.
With that said, people can do what they will and bring any number of SKs back from the dead for their own campaigns.
So in reality only two of the five champions killed/removed have that much of a chance returning. Andropinis, Kalak and Tectuktitlay are gone. Abalach-Re and Borys return diminished in abilities but having "Wild-Card" stamped all over them. Hamanu, Lalali-Puy and Nibenay remain unchanged. Atzetuk, Dregoth, the merchants of Balic and the Tyrian Leaders rise to fill in the voids. I really don't see too much breakage from what could be considered canon.
Not trying to convince you that I'm right, just trying to re-spice the system for myself.
One, only one died by the hand of Rajaat - Tectuktitlay. Andropinis (not mentioned in the above port) was imprisoned. Abalach-Re and Borys were both killed in nearly the same way (what's good for one should be good for the other).
Heh, and he died in a really silly manner, that truly shouldn't KILL a sorcerer-monarch. He was barshed in the 'ead with a large piece of obsidian. Doesn't matter if it's an artifact, it isn't a weapon. It focuses magic and psionics cast through it. Smashing someone with it shouldn't do anything more than the normal physical damage it would. With anyone save the most powerful of beings, yes, Rajaat smashing face with it should indeed kill them quite thoroughly, such that they are a bloody smear on the ground. A 22nd level Dragon, however? No. Just no.
Borys being melted with black ooze that destroys his body? Yes, although I DO like the fact that a contingency plan was foreshadowed in the Pentad itself, setting up a potential resurrection of the Dragon of Tyr later in the mythos, and will likely incorporate that into my own campaigns.
Abalach-Re being killed by a highly empowered preserver, with the aid of the raw magical essence of Rajaat himself, ala Borys' demise? Yeah, sure, absolutely.
Andropinus being banished for 1,000 years as punishment? Heck, yeah, he's not just going to reappear on Athas with a snap of his fingers.
But being bashed on the head by a huge lump of obsidian, merely crushing his skull, and leaving his corpse to float there in the water? Give me a break.
In my Athas, Tectuktitlay had a contingency in place, and Atzetuk was it. Upon gaining access to the king's personal library, he found a scroll detailing a ritual of how to gain the full power of Tectuktitlay for himself. That ritual required an enormous blood sacrifice, Atzetuk literally bathing in the blood of thousands as it poured down the sacrificial altars. When the ritual was completed, however, the young king's essence was utterly destroyed, Tectuktitlay's replacing it wholly and permanently with his own. The old king returned more powerful that before thanks to the insane lifeforce sacrificed for the ritual (becoming a level 23 Dragon, hehe), swept house, and restored proper order to his city-state.
So in reality only two of the five champions killed/removed have that much of a chance returning. Andropinis, Kalak and Tectuktitlay are gone.
Actually, in my campaign, Andropinis RELISHES the fact that he is banished to the Black (after an extended time of madness, anger, and frustration, of course). He ends up finding a way to link with the minds of those he wishes to in Balic, recreating his senate and taking mental control of each senator(s) he needs to at any given time, becoming a shadowy ruler. This requires a modification to the senate, as they cease to be mutilated in their former manner. He also learns to restore his link to his templars with modified foci, restoring the templarate, and destroying the hold the merchant houses had on HIS city-state. He actually ends up researching a way to STAY in the Black after the 1,000 years are up, and create a private paradise in the Black to live in., as he realizes quite swiftly that being able to rule a city-state while simultaneously being vastly more difficult to kill, at the expense of not being able to bring the full brunt of his sorcerer-king powers to bear on a given enemy in the mortal world, is a tremendous advantage (one he refuses to share with his fellow sorcerer-monarchs, although Nibenay immediately begins to research a way to duplicate this ability and utilize it himself).
Abalach-Re and Borys return diminished in abilities but having "Wild-Card" stamped all over them.
Only if Abalach-Re has a similar contingency plan with the same kind of forethought and level of power as Borys. She might, and to include such in a campaign is not out of the question in the least. In my Athas, she did not, and is gone forever. Instead, Raam becomes home to Dregoth's dray, and a stronghold for Dregoth to utilize as he desires when the need arises.
(Incidentally, Tectuktitlay was not my initial choice for a name on this forum. Oronis and Nibenay were both taken, so Tec was my third choice. :D)
it's awesome denning left it open though. who are we to say? man wouldn't it be fun if denning wrote a few more books to extend the timeline.
ha.
fun discussions yall.