| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 05:21:53
Hero Battle: Elminster
quote:
An Encounter for Paragon or Epic Tier Characters
Elminster has absorbed the Spellplague energies the Simbul once kept in check. Now he is crazy. In his insanity, he has learned he can tap the land for sustenance and power. His tapping into the geomagical power has begun to infect the nearby land with what he carries in his body, creating warping effects like those of the Spellplague. The infection is spreading, and someone must stop it ... but that means confronting Elminster himself.
WHAT. THE. HE##?
No, really. What is going on here? An encounter so your character can beat up Elminster?
They kill Mystra, warping El so he's barely able to cast a cantrip and now it's HEROIC to beat on him? |
| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Diffan |
Posted - 07 Aug 2010 : 03:30:13
Actually I'm not suprised in the least they did a Hero Battle with Elminster, that crazy iconic mage. There was some speculation on what his "stats" (for lack of a better 4e term) would be in the Post-Spellplague/4e Realms and now we know he's much, MUCH less beefy without his Mystra aided powers.
I, however, am somewhat dissatisfied that he's only a 19th level Solo controller and not something in the higher 26th to 28th level range (Drizzt was a whopping 21st level Solo skirmisher for AO's sake!!). That being said, I'm comfortated that A). None of this is actual Canon (ie. he hasn't really lost his mind and is probably not going to wreak havoc like the adventure said.) and B). I have the Adventurer Tool program so I can easily level him up (and add specific homebrew powers) to which ever level I damn well please.
But take this article for what it is, a hypothetical encounter to take on one of the most powerful mages in D&D. I wouldn't be suprised that we'll see more of these later down the road (probably villians like Lord Soth for example). |
| Alystra Illianniis |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 19:44:45
They did an article on Drizzty too? Aw, nuts- just when I thought the Realms might have finally evaded the WotCbro death-ray....
|
| Brace Cormaeril |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 12:37:21
quote:
Originally posted by Menelvagor
Ashe - I know an ex-goddess who was married to Chaos who'd be willing to help. All she requires is that we sacrifice to her young handsome males (or females, acttually). I'm sure there's no shortage of those in Candlekeep.
Gross! |
| Menelvagor |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 06:45:54
Ashe - I know an ex-goddess who was married to Chaos who'd be willing to help. All she requires is that we sacrifice to her young handsome males (or females, acttually). I'm sure there's no shortage of those in Candlekeep. |
| Brimstone |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 03:05:34
Right... |
| Markustay |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 02:37:37
We are talking about some really uber-kewl, 4e, post-apocalyptic wild-magic a'la Chosen power here.
Time is irrelevant. 
TSR tanks... Lisa starts Paizo with many now-jobless TSR designers, and then buys the defunct TSR, along with all its juicy Intellectual properties, and the Realms undergo a 'Golden Age'.
Chris Perkins 'accidentally' falls into a drum of radioactive waste and is relegated down to 'mop boy'.
All is right in the world... except the PCs still need to gather-up all those puppies. As a result, the Dales institute a 'pooper-scooper' law - no-one likes puppy poop.
They decide to live with the rainbows (The Shades invent sunglasses). |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 02:30:11
quote:
Originally posted by Brimstone
Didn't Lisa Stevens start Paizo AFTER Hasbro bought WotC?
Pshaw... We'll just use the DeLorean. By slingshotting it around the Sage's to-do list, we can take the Paizo crew back in time just like in Star Trek IV. |
| Brimstone |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 02:28:07
Didn't Lisa Stevens start Paizo AFTER Hasbro bought WotC?
|
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 02:24:40
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
What if.....
Elminster used his crazy-kewl new power to make it so Paizo bought WotC instead of Hasbro, and now nothing but puppies and rainbows spring-up wherever Elminster walks.
The PC's are needed to gather up all the puppies and find good homes for them.
I like these exercises. 
Hmm....you got me thinking Markus.
What if Cyric was getting to uppity for the realms and was planning something that almost no one besides himself would beneifit from.......hmm...can't think of anything specific, And the pcs are needed to stop this from happening and save the realms? |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 02:16:34
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
*Sigh* Looks like it's back to dreaming about one day attending the US GenCon.
Well, you can take the money you would have spent at GenCon Oz, put it into a savings account and save up for next year! |
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 01:45:24
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Balduran Lavidah
What is this curse ? (I 've not said that I was curious?)
Sage is known to have a list of objective goals and jobs that has been in queue for months (or years, maybe decades even).
And now that I think about it.........
It's gotten much, much worse since the spellplague , I'm thinking about putting together a team of scribes....going down under and trying to save him from himself.
I think my first recruit shall be Lady K.
There's a problem with your theory. See, the Lady K has begun to see the wisdom of having a "To-Do" list of her own. So you'd better move quickly.
quote:
Any volunteers? we're going to need a rogue to find a path through the stacks of " to do's"....maybe a cleric with the wisdom to make Sage see the danger he is courting.......a spellcaster or three to make some of the stuff disappear....and maybe a pair or two of fighters to do the grunt work......that just leaves Zlady K free to look beautiful as always, keeping Sage focused and calm 
You'll probably need a Titan, or Primordial, or perhaps just an Overdeity like Ao to help you as well. Because only they'd have the mental capacity necessary to comprehend the meandering depths of complexity that is my ever-growing "To-Do" list.
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
Y'know, I was going to make a witty comment about how you could arrange it so we'd all be down under for GenCon OZ, but then I saw this.
Indeed, that's disappointing. It was the only GenCon I was planning to attend this year, but the financial pressures of the recent "hard times" seems to have taken its toll on the gaming industry here in Australia as well.
*Sigh* Looks like it's back to dreaming about one day attending the US GenCon. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 01:40:26
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Balduran Lavidah
What is this curse ? (I 've not said that I was curious?)
Sage is known to have a list of objective goals and jobs that has been in queue for months (or years, maybe decades even).
Heh. The longest and most distant uncompleted task on my "To-Do" list is dated March 2002. So almost a decade.  |
| Markustay |
Posted - 06 Aug 2010 : 01:34:20
What if.....
Elminster used his crazy-kewl new power to make it so Paizo bought WotC instead of Hasbro, and now nothing but puppies and rainbows spring-up wherever Elminster walks.
The PC's are needed to gather up all the puppies and find good homes for them.
I like these exercises. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 23:32:36
Y'know, I was going to make a witty comment about how you could arrange it so we'd all be down under for GenCon OZ, but then I saw this. |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 23:26:18
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart
quote:
Originally posted by Balduran Lavidah
What is this curse ? (I 've not said that I was curious?)
Sage is known to have a list of objective goals and jobs that has been in queue for months (or years, maybe decades even).
And now that I think about it.........
It's gotten much, much worse since the spellplague , I'm thinking about putting together a team of scribes....going down under and trying to save him from himself.
I think my first recruit shall be Lady K.
Any volunteers? we're going to need a rogue to find a path through the stacks of " to do's"....maybe a cleric with the wisdom to make Sage see the danger he is courting.......a spellcaster or three to make some of the stuff disappear....and maybe a pair or two of fighters to do the grunt work......that just leaves Zlady K free to look beautiful as always, keeping Sage focused and calm |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 18:20:00
quote:
Originally posted by Balduran Lavidah
What is this curse ? (I 've not said that I was curious?)
Sage is known to have a list of objective goals and jobs that has been in queue for months (or years, maybe decades even). |
| Balduran Lavidah |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 17:36:55
What is this curse ? (I 've not said that I was curious?) |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 17:27:12
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Batman would, but unfortunately for the Realms he (Khelben) is already dead
Oh, so you haven't heard the latest? Apparently, Khelben didn't die at the end of Blackstaff. He was actually struck by an ancient Netherese spell [supposedly derived by an Arcanist named Darkseid] called the Omega Beam. As such, Khelben was actually deposited in the distant Realms past. He'll have to overcome amnesia and "history itself" in order to make his way back to present-day Waterdeep and retake his rightful place as the Blackstaff.
...
[And in case my fellow scribes haven't realised, this is a joke -- playing on the recent DC story-lines Batman RIP, Final Crisis, and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.]
I'd smite you if you didn't already have the curse of the 'to-do' list. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 17:22:36
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Batman would, but unfortunately for the Realms he (Khelben) is already dead
Oh, so you haven't heard the latest? Apparently, Khelben didn't die at the end of Blackstaff. He was actually struck by an ancient Netherese spell [supposedly derived by an Arcanist named Darkseid] called the Omega Beam. As such, Khelben was actually deposited in the distant Realms past. He'll have to overcome amnesia and "history itself" in order to make his way back to present-day Waterdeep and retake his rightful place as the Blackstaff.
...
[And in case my fellow scribes haven't realised, this is a joke -- playing on the recent DC story-lines Batman RIP, Final Crisis, and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.] |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 17:07:34
Yes...one target at a time...slowly vanishing...like a creeping doom both unseen and unheard...
...too late. |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 16:56:25
quote:
Originally posted by The Red Walker
Batman would, but unfortunately for the Realms he (Khelben) is already dead
Great minds think alike... |
| The Red Walker |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 16:53:35
Batman would, but unfortunately for the Realms he (Khelben) is already dead |
| Brace Cormaeril |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 15:53:36
I'll add that this scenario has been debated at my game table in the past. The growing madness of the Chosen is a serious issue, and one that good-aligned characters in my games have added to their own "what-if?" type preparations. I'd be suprised if others had not considered the implications of one of the great stalwarts of the Realms losing it.
I know Batman would... |
| Bakra |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 15:07:43
quote:
Originally posted by Brace Cormaeril
Crumbs! I didn't get to delete my (cross-chatter) post re: this topic on the "Q's for Ed" thread before it got sniped... Yikes!
Anyway, Ashe-man, I thought that one metric of canonicity was publication on Hasbro/WotC web sites.
Is this incorrect?
I see that some in the community have applied the term "thought experiment" to these types of scenarios, but I am unfamiliar with its use by Hasbro/WotC.
Does anyone have a source for "thought experiments" as an alternative to "Adventure Hook", "Clack", etc.?
I quote from the Chris Sim scenario:
“This scenario assumes much about the nature of
the Simbul’s sickness, and it presupposes that Elminster
finally fails in his attempts to help her.”
To me this says it is a ‘thought experiment’
“If we assume A happens then B occurs.”
|
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 14:47:07
In my opinion, it is a thought experiment/adventure hook, but I've never considered them to be 'true' canon. In other words, they could have happened, and they might have happened, but it's more of a rumor of a story to those in the Realms. It comes down to the fact that I feel that this article was written for those players that want to be able to say "I beat XXXX! See how cool my character is?" |
| Brace Cormaeril |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 14:10:10
Crumbs! I didn't get to delete my (cross-chatter) post re: this topic on the "Q's for Ed" thread before it got sniped... Yikes!
Anyway, Ashe-man, I thought that one metric of canonicity was publication on Hasbro/WotC web sites.
Is this incorrect?
I see that some in the community have applied the term "thought experiment" to these types of scenarios, but I am unfamiliar with its use by Hasbro/WotC.
Does anyone have a source for "thought experiments" as an alternative to "Adventure Hook", "Clack", etc.? |
| Brace Cormaeril |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 13:57:48
I commented on this topic on the "Saith Ed" scroll, didn't see it here.
It's a great scenario. Elminster, lost in the throes of madness, has become a threat to himself and Shadowdale. PC's must save him from himself.
The article does not infer that Elminster is a bag of XP and loot to be cracked open.
To Sims: Kudos! |
| Ashe Ravenheart |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 13:47:13
I agree that it's a thought experiment and not a canon article. But it still grates me as much as stuff like Batman killing someone (Batman Forever - Bomb in henchman's pants or Batman Begins with blowing up Ra's al Ghul's temple) or the 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo. It just points to someone in a position of power going "wouldn't it be cool if..." without knowing the basics of a character or story they are mucking with. |
| Bakra |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 13:24:33
quote:
Originally posted by Thauramarth
quote:
Originally posted by Brimstone
They did the same type of Article for Drizzty.
Oh, right then. So, basically, it's a thought experiment.
In that case, let's not make a deal out of this? After all, players and DMs who don't care for fighting-Elminster-just-because-he's-there probably won't care for this little article either, and players and DMs who like to duke it out with El have probably been doing so ever since he got statted up, back in the days of yore...
I totally agree with you. I personally don't care for the article and it will never be used by me. |
| Bakra |
Posted - 05 Aug 2010 : 13:20:58
Did anyone read the scenario? 
That is all it is by the way, a scenario/'thought experiment'.
Just like the non-canon Drizzty scenario there is nothing to it. No grand conspiracy here...please move along... |
