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 Shuruppak the Reaper in 4E/5E era
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2022 :  00:48:33  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
I unfortunately missed Erin Evans' novels. Does Shuruppak the Reaper (Sources: Old Empires, Powers and Pantheons, 3E FRCS, and Epic Level Handbook), the previous right hand of Gilgeam of Unther, appear in them. If so, what did he do/what happened to him? Thanks for any help.

Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2441 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2022 :  03:51:35  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
He is not mentioned at all in Erin Evan's novels neither in Richard Lee Byers' novels, that are the novels that deals with the Old Empires area. Neither are other NPCs that were important for the Old Empires before the Spellplague (Ningal, etc.). There is a place named Shuruppak north of Tymanther (in the Sky Riders mts., near the border with Chessenta), but we don't know anything about that place, or if it's related with the Reaper. I guess that the place was about to be mentioned in BRJ article about Tymanther that was ultimately cancelled, so...

For completion's sake, I also searched in the LFR adventures based on Tymanther and Akanûl, that are the only ones that are set in the area during 4e, and there is nothing about him as well. If you want to use the character, I guess you're free to use him as you like.


Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...

Edited by - Zeromaru X on 29 Mar 2022 03:53:05
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2022 :  18:15:37  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks Zeromaru. I appreciate it. I was just goofing writing him up for 5E as both a character and monster and was curious. He's got potential for a psychopath.
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2022 :  19:02:20  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TomCosta

Thanks Zeromaru. I appreciate it. I was just goofing writing him up for 5E as both a character and monster and was curious. He's got potential for a psychopath.



I would check the Alabaster Staff and the Shadow Stone as well.

--
http://www.ericlboyd.com/dnd/
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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6350 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2022 :  20:43:04  Show Profile Send Gary Dallison a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I'd make him Shuruppak semi tragic.

We know almost nothing about his history. He could have been willing in becoming a chosen, but given Gilgeam's personality, it could easily have been a punishment.

Almost certainly Gilgeam's goals and personality traits would have overwhelmed Shuruppak's after a short time, turning him into a remorseless killer and slave to GIlgeam's will. Then suddenly Gilgeam is dead and Shuruppak's original personality (whatever is left of it) is given control once again.

Then we have the problem with doing the same thing for perhaps several centuries without choice. I know after 20 years i'm utterly fed up of doing my chosen career, and honestly find difficulty in enjoying anything of life anymore. Imagine doing the same thing for hundreds of years, and something as visceral and emotionally charged as murder. I'm guessing Shuruppak could quickly get fed up of killing people.

And then there is the problem of the afterlife. Being GIlgeam's chosen meant he almost certainly would have gone to Gilgeam's afterlife (as horrible a prospect as that might have been) in the event of his death. Then Gilgeam is dead, and Shuruppak is free to make his own choices, but also is no longer immortal.


I'm thinking Shuruppak went on a murderous rampage (perhaps out of habit or rage) after Gilgeam's death for many years, but then the weight of his actions and his mortality prompted thoughts (and perhaps more murder, this time motivated by sadness and melancholy). Until he retreats into isolation to ponder his fate.

He is still a supremely dangerous individual, unable to control his anger and killing at the slightest provocation. But perhaps he also might seek to change his fate (whatever that might be) and even help would be passersby. Then motivated by guilt or sickened by the remnants of GIlgeam's influence in his mind, he stalks and murders these travellers as well.

So insane, but isolated. Craving acceptance and company, but knowing he will inevitably murder anyone he comes in contact with. Wanting to change his fate, but despairing of being able to achieve anything like redemption.


Just my thoughts on adding a few extra dimensions to a mindless murderer

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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2022 :  21:04:40  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks all. Pretty sure he's not in Alabaster Staff or Shadow Stone but will double check.
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2441 Posts

Posted - 29 Mar 2022 :  22:54:44  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd

I would check the Alabaster Staff and the Shadow Stone as well.



Well, I read the Alabaster Staff and he is not mentioned either (there are other NPCs from the sources, however, such as Tiglath).

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 30 Mar 2022 :  16:33:36  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks.
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 31 Mar 2022 :  16:52:55  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I may be wrong.... but something's ringing a bell that in 4e they had him taking up ruling a city? Something on these forums in say the last 2 years or so.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 31 Mar 2022 :  17:58:12  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks. I did a search for his name before posting and didn't find much. Doesn't mean it's not here somewhere though.
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 31 Mar 2022 :  18:08:46  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23971&SearchTerms=Shuruppak

map of Chessenta included in the Backdrop: Chessenta article in Dungeon 178 (pages 68-77, map on 72).

In the right part of the map, over the border of Chessenta, on the northern shores of the Methmere, we can find a place named Shuruppak (when Unther should have been in Abeir).



Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 31 Mar 2022 :  21:23:56  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks Sleyvas.

FWIW, looking at his 2E stats (such as they are) and 3e stats, he fits nicely as a level 20 fighter (eldritch knight) in 5E. He'd have to start with very high stats, which is fine. Then give him Fighting Initiate (Unarmed Fighting), Great Weapon Master, Mobile, Resilient (Wisdom), and the War Caster feats, the right spell selection (to cover some of his past abilities, like mirror image and give him a flavor of 2E southern magic and Gilgeam inspired spells), and tweak his magic items (so he doesn't have to attune to so many), and you're set. For magic items, bracers of defense, robes of the archmagic (cover multiple items and fit the 3E pic), adamantine vorpal greatsword, +1 longbow and convert dust of appearance and rebuild his skull mask to allow him to use magic items as a wizard. But as a monster....

High Lord Shuruppak “The Reaper”
Medium Humanoid (Human, Wizard), Neutral Evil
Armor Class 22 (bracers of armor, robes of the archmagi)
Hit Points 230
Speed 40 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 (+5) 20 (+5) 18 (+4) 16 (+3) 17 (+3) 16 (+3)

Saving Throws Str +11, Dex +11, Con +10, Wis +9
Skills Animal Handling +9, Athletics +11, Deception +9, Intimidation +9
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Chessentan, Deep Speech, Draconic, Giant, Mulhorandi, Untheric
Challenge 21 (33,000 XP) Proficiency Bonus +6

Special Equipment. Shuruppak wears bracers of defense and black robes of the archmagi. He wields a +3 adamantine vorpal greatsword with the beacon property (Shuruppak can use a bonus action to cause the weapon to shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10-feet, or to extinguish the light). He also carries 5 packets of dust of appearance (see below) and 5 potions of superior healing (28 hp [8d4 + 8]).

Combat Reflexes. When Shuruppak makes a melee attack against a creature, he doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature for the rest of the turn.

Eldritch Strike. When Shuruppak hits a creature with a weapon attack, that creature has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell he casts before the end of his next turn.

Great Weapon Warrior. Shuruppak deals an extra 3 (1d6) damage when he hits with a melee weapon attack that he makes using a weapon he wields with two hands (included below).

Immortality. Shuruppak does not age and is immune to any effect that would age him.

Legendary Resistance (3/day). If Shuruppak fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Magic Resistance. While wearing his robes of the archmagi, Shuruppak has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Weapon Bond. Shuruppak cannot be disarmed of his +3 adamantine vorpal greatsword unless he is incapacitated. If the sword is on the same plane of existence, he can cause it to teleport instantly to his hand.

ACTIONS
Multiattack. Shuruppak makes four greatsword attacks.
+3 Adamantine Vorpal Greatsword. Melee Weapon attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d6 + 8) slashing damage. Whenever the sword hits an object, the hit is a critical hit. The sword ignores resistance to slashing damage. In addition, when Shuruppak hits a creature that has at least one head and rolls a 20 on the attack roll, he cuts off one of the creature’s heads. The creature dies if it can’t survive without the lost head. A creature is immune to this effect if it is immune to slashing damage, doesn’t have or need a head, has legendary action, or the creature is too big for its head to be cut off with this weapon. Such a creature instead takes an extra 27 (6d8) slashing damage from the hit.

Spellcasting. Shuruppak casts one of the following spells, using Intelligence as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks while wearing his robes of the archmagi). In addition, he has advantage on Constitution saving throws he makes to maintain concentration. He can perform the somatic components of a spells even when he has a weapon in both hands. He knows the following spells:

Cantrips (at will): booming bladeTC (range self [5-ft. radius], one target; 3d8 and if target moves, additional 4d8 thunder), chill touch (+11 to hit; range 120 ft., one target; 4d8 necrotic), green flame bladeTC (range self [5-ft. radius], two targets; 3d8 fire)
1 (4 slots): absorb elementsXG, shield, thunderwave (range self [15-ft. cube], all targets in cube; Con DC 19; 2d8 thunder and pushed 10 ft.)
2 (3 slots): blindness/deafness (Con DC 19), blur©, mirror image
3 (3 slots): counterspell, haste©, lightning bolt (range self [100-ft. line], all targets in line; Dex DC 19; 8d6 lightning), wall of sandXG©
4 (1 slot): fire shield (range self; 2d8 fire or cold), Otiluke’s resilient sphere (Dex DC 19)©, storm sphereXG (range 150 ft. all targets in 20-ft. radius sphere and range 60-ft.; Str DC 19 and +11 to hit; 2d6 bludgeoning and 4d6 lightning)©
© = Requires concentration.

BONUS ACTIONS
War Magic. When Shuruppak uses his action to cast a spell, he can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

REACTIONS
Spellcasting. See above, notably absorb elements, counterspell and shield spells.

War Caster. When a hostile creature’s movement provokes an opportunity attack from Shuruppak, he can make a melee attack or expend a spell slot to cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action and targets only that creature.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS
Arcane Charge. Shuruppak teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space he can see.

Use a Consumable Magic Item. Shuruppak throws out a packet of dust of appearance or drinks a potion superior healing.

Attack (Costs 2 actions). Shuruppak makes one attack with his +3 adamantine vorpal greatsword.


Edited by - TomCosta on 01 Apr 2022 01:54:21
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 01 Apr 2022 :  16:31:56  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Any plans for him lore wise? For instance, do you picture him going to Abeir? Staying in Toril and only now returning? Just curious

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 01 Apr 2022 :  20:34:18  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Rought start is:

The High Lord Shuruppak is the murderous right hand, roving executioner, and assassin of the risen god-king Gilgeam, Son of Victory (who some suspect is not the true Gilgeam, Father of Victory). Rumors of his power and the mighty magic he wields abound. It is said that he is imbued with a number of special powers by his master, and it is next to impossible to even wound him, let alone kill him. As an agent of his lord’s displeasure, he is usually sent to enforce Gilgeam’s will and law or to kill political or dangerous opponents, which he generally does alone or alongside a group of mages and priests in Gilgeam’s service. Despite the fact that Shuruppak is considered an outlaw outside of Unther, he travels freely through Mulhorand, Chessenta, Tymanther, and the Shaar, no one daring to lay a hand on him.
Over his centuries of service, he has rarely failed, though following the death of his god at the fangs of Tiamat during the Time of Troubles, he lost any vestige of sanity he still possessed. With the onset of the Spellplague and the arrival of the dragonborn of Tymanther, The Reaper was seemingly gone (refinding himself among the largely empty halls of the Citadel of Black Ash), assumed dead (and not for the first time), only to reappear mysteriously and claim the village of Maerch on the north shore of the Methmere as his demense, renaming it after himself. The citizenry were helpless before his power. Even Alasklerbanbastos, the Great Bone Wyrm, gave Shuruppak wide berth, allowing the insane warrior to continue slaking his madness on the remnants of the Untheri people, as well any dragonborn that crossed his path. Alassklerbanbastos was said to have called Shuruppak a wild cur, capable of biting any hand that came to close, but not sane enough to play a role in the power plays going on around him. Gilgeam’s return in the wake of the Sundering did little to heal The Reaper’s mind.
Shuruppak is a psychopath with few ambitions beyond wanting to kill, prone to fits of extreme violence, and known to take his sword to anyone in his path when he’s in a bad mood. He is referred to as The Reaper in Unther for his approach is death, and he has been a figure of terror for so long that he truly considers himself The Reaper. He often wanders from city to city, killing anyone he feels is an enemy of Gilgeam. He has also been known to take hostages and carry out public executions to quell uprisings and pacify communities.
The 6’1” Shuruppak wears black hooded robes, a red skull mask that covers the top half of his face, and a belt of brass skulls. His greatsword, crafted by reaves of Acheron, has a golden hue with a crossguard shaped like that of a leering, horned fiend. He has wielded many magic items in his long life, including at one time, a suit of green Baatorian steel plate armor of fire resistance, though that has long since been lost (last seen on the Sword Coast). It is said that he was horribly scarred in battle long ago, but this is untrue. The Reaper revels in the terror his appearance causes among the natives of Unther and the surrounding regions.
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 01 Apr 2022 :  23:25:19  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Just a thought, given his name of "the Reaper".... I know that he has no ties to Nergal, but what if during the intervening years after the spellplague, he went to search the tomb of the god of the dead (i.e. The Great Barrow). Maybe he misconstrued Gilgeams forcing of them to be buried outside of Unther as a sign that when "Unther disappears the tomb would still be available" or something like that. He doesn't have to be right. Not sure where to go with it, but maybe he seeks out some artifact of Unther, the divine spark of Nergal, the godflesh of Nergal, spirits from long ago that he can consult, etc....

Also, when he was statted for 3.5, they gave him levels in wizard, but warlock hadn't been invented yet. Given his ties to Gilgeam, and Gilgeam being a possibility for patron... what if he was a warlock mixed with fighter instead? Having an undying patron slows your aging such that the past 100 years would have acted as only 10. Or maybe he doesn't but he's leading a bunch of warlocks who have a patron of Gilgeam. He might have even have gone to Abeir but established the city of Shuruppak just prior to the transfer, and thus he's returning and needs to retake HIS city. Bear in mind that we have about 13 years between the time he was presented for 3.5 and the spellplague occurring, so plenty of time to create a city. Hell.... not sure if I like this idea, but... maybe HE is acting as the "avatar" (ala ToT version where they inhabit a mortal) for Gilgeam, and as such HE is the person that's been leading the military. Maybe he's searching for Gilgeam's godflesh so that he can restore the "true" form of the godking.

From LEoF
THE STONE OF KEST
In the northern foothills of the Dragonsword Mountains stands a forgotten monument that was once known as the Stone of Kest. This obelisk stands better than 60 feet tall, and though it is somewhat weathered, the tale carved into its four surfaces is still legible. The Stone of Kest records the story of the Orcgate Wars—in particular, the roles of various Mulhorandi deities and the deaths of Untheric gods such as Nergal and Marduk. The stone is scribed in an archaic form of Mulhorandi rendered in hieroglyphs (Decipher Script DC 25).

GREAT BARROW
Just off the Great Road, near the southernmost portion of the Rawlinswood in the Great Dale, lies the Great Barrow, a massive burial mound ringed by numerous smaller mounds. The Great Barrow was built in the heady days of the First Untheric Empire as a tomb for the slain Untheric god Nergal. Gilgeam oversaw the god’s lavish burial and sealed Nergal’s still-living family and servants inside the lesser tombs surrounding that of the deity. Once all the tombs had been buried under earthen hills, Gilgeam slaughtered the builders, raised them as undead crypt things, and set them to guard Nergal and his family. Travelers in the area of the Great Barrow often report encountering skeletal undead that choke and gasp as if desperately trying to breathe. Whether these creatures are Gilgeam’s appointed crypt-things or the restless undead remnants of Nergal’s family remains a mystery.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2441 Posts

Posted - 02 Apr 2022 :  02:37:55  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Wasn't Shuruppak a normal human once he lost his Chosen status? How he'd survived the 100 years time gap? That's something that merits some lore. I also wonder how he would view the new Gilgeam, given that he is different (enough for Enlil to doubt he is son). But if he is insane... well, I don't think he will have a logical opinion about it. He may just believe the new Gilgeam is no different from the old, or he may even see himself as the true Gilgeam, lol

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...

Edited by - Zeromaru X on 02 Apr 2022 02:39:18
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Eldacar
Senior Scribe

438 Posts

Posted - 02 Apr 2022 :  15:38:10  Show Profile Send Eldacar a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X

Wasn't Shuruppak a normal human once he lost his Chosen status? How he'd survived the 100 years time gap? That's something that merits some lore. I also wonder how he would view the new Gilgeam, given that he is different (enough for Enlil to doubt he is son). But if he is insane... well, I don't think he will have a logical opinion about it. He may just believe the new Gilgeam is no different from the old, or he may even see himself as the true Gilgeam, lol


Even losing divine blood/status does in some cases seem to leave the person with some form of longer life. Abdel Adrian is said in Murder in Baldur’s Gate to have lived so long (to 130 or something) largely because the lingering divine blood in him, even after explicitly becoming mortal, has helped him keep going.

Or maybe Shuruppak just drank potions of longevity.

"The Wild Mages I have met exhibit a startling disregard for common sense, and are often meddling with powers far beyond their own control." ~Volo
"Not unlike a certain travelogue author with whom I am unfortunately acquainted." ~Elminster
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 02 Apr 2022 :  15:47:53  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X

Wasn't Shuruppak a normal human once he lost his Chosen status? How he'd survived the 100 years time gap? That's something that merits some lore. I also wonder how he would view the new Gilgeam, given that he is different (enough for Enlil to doubt he is son). But if he is insane... well, I don't think he will have a logical opinion about it. He may just believe the new Gilgeam is no different from the old, or he may even see himself as the true Gilgeam, lol



Yeah, that's why I mentioned POSSIBLY changing him to warlock with undying patron instead of the levels of wizard. Granted that does totally change canon, but at the times he was published warlock didn't exist. In 3.5e, I could definitely see him being reworked into something like a triple classed fighter with wizard/abjurant champion/eldritch knight/binder/anima mage (bearing in mind that he was a 30th level character) and playing on the concept that he was learning the art of binding in order to figure out how to find the vestige of Gilgeam. With that concept in mind, if he does learn to channel the vestige of Gilgeam, he might become a conduit to the release of the god. It definitely plays into making him act even more insane.

UNDYING NATURE
Beginning at 10th level, you can hold your breath indefinitely,
and you don't require food, water, or sleep,
although you still require rest to reduce exhaustion and
still benefit from finishing short and long rests.
In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10
years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are
immune to being magically aged.

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

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Posted - 02 Apr 2022 :  15:58:37  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Eldacar

quote:
Originally posted by Zeromaru X

Wasn't Shuruppak a normal human once he lost his Chosen status? How he'd survived the 100 years time gap? That's something that merits some lore. I also wonder how he would view the new Gilgeam, given that he is different (enough for Enlil to doubt he is son). But if he is insane... well, I don't think he will have a logical opinion about it. He may just believe the new Gilgeam is no different from the old, or he may even see himself as the true Gilgeam, lol


Even losing divine blood/status does in some cases seem to leave the person with some form of longer life. Abdel Adrian is said in Murder in Baldur’s Gate to have lived so long (to 130 or something) largely because the lingering divine blood in him, even after explicitly becoming mortal, has helped him keep going.

Or maybe Shuruppak just drank potions of longevity.



Sammaster, too, remained more than human after his Chosen status was stripped away.

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hashimashadoo
Master of Realmslore

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Posted - 03 Apr 2022 :  22:40:12  Show Profile  Visit hashimashadoo's Homepage Send hashimashadoo a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Dragon #358 says that Shuruppak disappeared on Midsummer of 1375 DR. He hasn't appeared in any other source since.

Myself and a fellow over on the Forgotten Realms Discord server have both been playing around with the idea that Shuruppak was abducted by the mists of Ravenloft where he became a darklord, completely consumed by the loss of Gilgeam.

When life turns it's back on you...sneak attack for extra damage.

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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
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Posted - 05 Apr 2022 :  07:15:07  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Interesting. So, Shuruppak (the place) may be a settlement that grew around the (actual or presumed) tomb of Shuruppak (the NPC).

I like the idea.

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...
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TomCosta
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
948 Posts

Posted - 09 Apr 2022 :  22:02:58  Show Profile Send TomCosta a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Back from vacation. First, thanks Hashimashadoo. I completely missed taht Dragon 358 article.

I figure Shuruppak was blessed with immortality. I did wonder if perhaps he was the one masquerading as the new Gilgeam since he no longer goes by the Father of Victory but the Son.

Sleyvas, I could see going the route of a warlock, but thought eldritch knight was too perfect a fit with what little we knew about him from his 2E and 3E stats. When I made him as a monster, it wasn't necessary to list him as an eldrtich knight, so I just labeled him a wizard. I tried to be true in his conversion, though I did drop his bow and unarmed strikes as unnecessary for his monster stats, and reconfigured some of his items into his robes of the archmagi.
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Lord Karsus
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Posted - 10 Apr 2022 :  17:50:10  Show Profile Send Lord Karsus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by hashimashadoo

Myself and a fellow over on the Forgotten Realms Discord server have both been playing around with the idea that Shuruppak was abducted by the mists of Ravenloft where he became a darklord, completely consumed by the loss of Gilgeam.


-That's a really cool concept. He would fit in very well there.

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Zeromaru X
Great Reader

Colombia
2441 Posts

Posted - 11 Apr 2022 :  04:43:54  Show Profile Send Zeromaru X a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by TomCosta

I figure Shuruppak was blessed with immortality. I did wonder if perhaps he was the one masquerading as the new Gilgeam since he no longer goes by the Father of Victory but the Son.



This take makes sense and do resonates with a theory of mine I'm thinking about recently. The final chapters of "The Alabaster Staff" present us mummy Gilgeam, who was resurrected by his priest using the staff, so they could use him as a puppet ruler. However, the mummy had some "urges" and "some memories" of Gilgeam. It also had some of his divine powers, which spelled doom for the rogue priests. The protagonists of the novel eventually got the Alabaster Staff and destroyed mummy Gilgeam. The novel describes he got disintegrated alongside the staff... but what if the divine power of Gilgeam was just somehow absorbed by the soil or something and then transported to Abeir, as is canon Gilgeam II appeared there.

In "The Devil You Know" (by Erin Evans), Enlil says that Gilgeam II was either his son in a diminished form, so diminished that he was different than the last time he saw him, or either someone who had stolen a measure of his divinity and now was impersonating him. If we go by the first option, it doesn't make sense because of the mummy... but the second option makes more sense: Shuruppak may have went to Abeir and recovered Gilgeam's remaining divinity, and absorbed it to "become" him. Namshita and the other Untheran rebels describe Gilgeam II as insane, so...

It makes me modify some plans I had for Messemprar (as mummy Gilgeam died there, meaning Messemprar must go to Abeir for this theory to work), but it makes a lot of sense, really.

Instead of seeking change, you prefer a void, merciless abyss of a world...

Edited by - Zeromaru X on 11 Apr 2022 04:47:05
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist

USA
11686 Posts

Posted - 11 Apr 2022 :  19:58:38  Show Profile Send sleyvas a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Yeah, ever since I mentioned that he might actually be the one leading the army in Gilgeam's name, the more its been feeling like I like that idea best. One thing I've proposed in some things I've done is that the Theurgist Adepts were anima mages (as in Tome of Magic, spellcasters that combine the arts of the binder and arcane spellcasting). That makes them different and can explain even more why the godkings would oppose the spread of their worship. However, following the death of his god, Shuruppak may have uncovered some lost lore of the Theurgist Adepts (and their link to the Theurgian Society from ToM) .... and maybe he pursued it to find a means to bind the vestige of Gilgeam. The study of binding vestiges may have been a form of magic that Nergal's followers actually secretly supported as well, and so Shuruppak may have sought out the Great Barrow / Nergal's tomb. Having him be a multi classed fighter/wizard who then began to study the combining of wizardry and binding... and then uncovered how to bind the vestige of Gilgeam... he wouldn't be "wrong" to say that he kind of IS Gilgeam, and he would be even more insane with another mind in his head having some measure of control over his personality. In 5e, I made the theurgist adept into a feat for someone who combines warlock and wizard, and I made a subclass of warlock that I called "occultist binder" that works a little different than a regular warlock (i.e. they don't have a standard patron, but can make pacts with vestiges). I'd probably ultimately design him using my own house rules to have him as fighter, wizard and warlock with the occultist binder version of warlock and the theurgist adept feat (an irony mind you, that Thayd's teachings might resurrect a godking).

Alavairthae, may your skill prevail

Phillip aka Sleyvas
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore

Australia
6638 Posts

Posted - 12 Apr 2022 :  04:08:53  Show Profile Send George Krashos a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It's unclear whether the Alabaster Staff Gilgeam undead actually holds a part of his divine essence or whether using the corpse of a divine being mucks around with the standard necromancy dealing with creating undead. I suspect then latter rather than the former, and I'm not sure that the undead Gilgeam has any link with the returned from Abeir "Gilgeam". Interesting idea to make him Shuruppak in disguise ... I wonder if Erin Evans will reveal some secrets now given that her chances of revisiting this story are practically nil ... ?

-- George Krashos

"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus
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