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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  04:39:40  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
I was just reading an old article on the WotC site about Diedora Shadow's Child, a priestess of Shar and Shadow Adept who the article describes as Neutral and leaning towards good in spite of her dark associations. Near the end it states:

quote:
Today Diedora is a woman constantly at the crossroads. Secure and happy in her power with Shar, she nonetheless could be tempted toward good if she fell into the right company. This would mean turning her back on everything she knows, and all her power, because the dark goddess does not forgive betrayal. But, it is not impossible for her to be redeemed.


Which brought together several things in my head at once. First, it made me wonder why she could not, like a Blackguard, convert levels of her previous evil classes into levels of a good-aligned class so that she retains her power. It seems like that should be able to work both ways.

My second thought was that it would have to be done, rules-wise, through a PrC. That's when I got the idea that it could be called "Redeemed One," or maybe something more poetic.

Which tied back into our previous discussion about having a God of Redemption. If you do create such a god for your campaign, here's a good idea for a PrC for him. I can't write it up, because I'm no good at balancing out something like that. I just thought I would throw the idea out there.

--
Erskine Fincher
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/index.php

Lord Karsus
Great Reader

USA
3737 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  05:50:12  Show Profile Send Lord Karsus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
-I am not familiar with either the book or the rules too intimately, but I know the Book of Exalted Deeds has information about "redeemed" villains. Information about "how" it can be done, "why" it can be done, all of that kind of stuff, and a PrC or two are likely to be found.

(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)

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Vol. III- Spells of the Elves
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ranger_of_the_unicorn_run
Learned Scribe

USA
292 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  06:02:23  Show Profile Send ranger_of_the_unicorn_run a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Actually, there aren't any prestige classes specific to redeemed villains. There are a few that have a flavor that could work for a redeemed villain, and, ultimately, none of them are off limits, but not have level conversion. What I would be worried about in this particular case is the permanent disconnection from the true weave that a shadow weave user experiences. There may be a way to make an exception to this rule, but I doubt that there would be any published prestige classes on the matter because it would make it seem to easy to regain access to the weave. This sort of situation should be more of a DM exception or a homebrew PrC.
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Lord Karsus
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3737 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  06:19:51  Show Profile Send Lord Karsus a Private Message  Reply with Quote
-Oh well, then. It seemed like the first logical place to look.

(A Tri-Partite Arcanist Who Has Forgotten More Than Most Will Ever Know)

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Vol. VI- Mechanical Compendium
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  06:42:51  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ranger_of_the_unicorn_run

Actually, there aren't any prestige classes specific to redeemed villains. There are a few that have a flavor that could work for a redeemed villain, and, ultimately, none of them are off limits, but not have level conversion. What I would be worried about in this particular case is the permanent disconnection from the true weave that a shadow weave user experiences. There may be a way to make an exception to this rule, but I doubt that there would be any published prestige classes on the matter because it would make it seem to easy to regain access to the weave. This sort of situation should be more of a DM exception or a homebrew PrC.


The key is that the character would have to achieve redemption through his actions. That's definitely a DM-adjudicated sort of thing that's not susceptible to easy rules definition. Most likely it would be an NPC class, but it could be interesting for characters created at mid-to-high level to give them that sort of background.

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malchor7
Seeker

62 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  07:39:31  Show Profile  Visit malchor7's Homepage Send malchor7 a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ErskineF

First, it made me wonder why she could not, like a Blackguard, convert levels of her previous evil classes into levels of a good-aligned class so that she retains her power. It seems like that should be able to work both ways.

Well, as written, she doesn't have any specifically "evil" classes (like blackguard or assassin or the like). Her "cleric of shar" levels become "cleric of Insert Good Deity here." Wizard and Mystic Theurge don't change.

The only sticky point I see is shadow adept, which requires a "non-good alignment," but even that isn't an EVIL class. She'd probably keep her neutral alignment but follow a good deity (technically, clerics are supposed to only be neutral if their deity is neutral, but she already follows Shar with no problem).

Even if she does actually become good, she would keep all her shadow adept levels, just not be able to advance in that PrC. Not a problem, really.

So I don't think an "evil-to-good" level exchange is for her. In fact, wouldn't it be pretty cool to have a "good guy" who can use the shadow weave--thus combating bad guys who've got it?

quote:
My second thought was that it would have to be done, rules-wise, through a PrC. That's when I got the idea that it could be called "Redeemed One," or maybe something more poetic.

I think the closest thing in the BoED is the Sanctified Creature(?) template--the product of an evil creature hit by a Sanctify the Wicked spell. You could probably build a prestige class around that concept, which alters the base character's abilities the way that template does?

Also, you might check the sanctified warlock (forgot the name of the PrC) from Complete Mage. Basically, a warlock who has chosen good instead of evil.

I'd be interested in seeing somebody build something like this.
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ranger_of_the_unicorn_run
Learned Scribe

USA
292 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  07:47:07  Show Profile Send ranger_of_the_unicorn_run a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by malchor7

In fact, wouldn't it be pretty cool to have a "good guy" who can use the shadow weave--thus combating bad guys who've got it?


Shadow Stone Spoiler:








Well, Aeron Morieth is sorta-kinda-almost a good guy with the ability to use the shadow weave. I'm not quite sure, but I think his alignment is listed as CN. However, if I am remembering the book correctly, he seemed to me to be well on the way to good by the end.
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Brynweir
Senior Scribe

USA
436 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  14:58:16  Show Profile Send Brynweir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I think it would be rather cool to have a good character who could use the Shadow weave and who tries to fight the "bad guys" who can use it. Throw in the angst of skating that thin line between good and evil, able to fall over the edge at any moment, and you've got yourself a pretty decent story in the making .
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader

USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  17:25:03  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
You mean someone like Galaeron Nihmedu?

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  18:44:13  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
But I thought that using the Shadow Weave required making a pact with Shar. How can the person do that and not cross the line over into evil? And how could they turn their back on evil, and not have their power to use the Shadow Weave taken from them by Shar?

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Nerfed2Hell
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USA
387 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  19:05:35  Show Profile  Visit Nerfed2Hell's Homepage Send Nerfed2Hell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Rules-wise, characters can turn away from evil and be good with no problem... using whatever rules mechanics you want to continue advancement has some viable options. However, as mentioned, Shar is vindictive and controls the Shadow Weave, including the ability to ban someone from its use. So, while it seems like a cool idea to have someone turned toward goodness trying to use the Shadow Weave to fight evil and skate that line, but I just don't see Shar allowing it.

The most viable option I can see would be to use the optional retraining rules to trade in those spellcasting levels for non-spellcaster levels.

Some people are like a slinky... not good for much, but when you push them down the stairs, it makes you smile.
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Brynweir
Senior Scribe

USA
436 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  19:24:12  Show Profile Send Brynweir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I can totally see Shar allowing it, simply because she would see it as a means to an ends. There could be something that she wants so much that she'd be willing to allow the "do-gooder" to keep using the Shadow weave in order to get it. I've mentioned before that I love the idea of a good guy getting tricked into doing evil without realizing it. Who better than Shar to make that happen?

I'm not saying more than that because I may just have to write something about it -lol
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  20:43:35  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Brynweir

I can totally see Shar allowing it, simply because she would see it as a means to an ends. There could be something that she wants so much that she'd be willing to allow the "do-gooder" to keep using the Shadow weave in order to get it. I've mentioned before that I love the idea of a good guy getting tricked into doing evil without realizing it. Who better than Shar to make that happen?


Oh, absolutely. As long as he was on the path she wanted him to walk, she would totally allow it. And when she was done with him, she would wait until he was in a deadly fight to cut him off from the shadow weave.

I have a game that I was running for my nephew, in which he was playing a shadow adept named Orion. He's wanted to play an evil mage since he read the DL trilogy as a kid. Back then, he was a little too clueless to do it successfully, but after he grew up I offered him the chance to try again. The game is in suspended animation now, but it was going really well for awhile.

His parents (or the people he thinks were his parents) were killed when he was ten. He lived on the streets of Waterdeep until he was discovered by a nobleman who provided him a place to live and paid his tuition at the mages' guild. He only saw the nobleman one time, but the payments continued come in on time every month. (The nobleman serves Shar, and the Shadow Thieves. IMC, the Shadow Thieves work with the Sharran clergy rather than Mask's.)

He begins trying to solve the mystery of why his parents were killed, and who the nobleman is. Eventually, he discovers that he is descended from a long line of shadow weave users. He makes contact with the Sharran clergy, goes through a ritual, and becomes a shadow adept. He cannot recall the exact details of the ritual, but he has nightmares about having sacrificed a black ram. Around the same time the ritual took place, one of his friends went missing, a priestess of Sune. She had thick, black, curly hair.

What he hasn't discovered yet is that his father was Caledan Caldorien. His mother was a tavern wench and one of Caledan's one-night stands. The Sharrans raided the tavern where she worked, and stole Orion when he was just two. Shar has wiped his memory so that he only remembers his life after arriving in Waterdeep with his "parents", two servitors of Shar.

The Harpers discovered what the Sharrans were up to, and eventually tracked them down in Waterdeep. They raided the house, and in the battle it was burned to the ground. Orion's mother made sure he escaped unnoticed. Only one Harper survived the battle. The body of a young boy was discovered in the ruins, so it was assumed that Orion had died. In fact, the body was a street urchin that the Sharrans had kidnapped.

Orion knows it was the Harpers who killed his "parents" and he's seen the one survivor in a dream. He also knows that the survivor was arrested, but released by the authorities of Waterdeep. He wants revenge on all of them. When/if he finally tracks down the survivor, he will learn the truth about his past.

It'll be fun if we ever pick the game up again. A lot of RL stuff was getting in the way, and it was going off the rails when I put it on hiatus. Anyone interested can read the story at my website (link below). Just click on the "Into the Shadows" button.

That story is one reason why this question interests me so much. Originally, I had hoped that Orion would eventually turn away from Shar when he realized how badly he was being manipulated. I wasn't sure how that would play out ruleswise though.

--
Erskine Fincher
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Nerfed2Hell
Senior Scribe

USA
387 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  21:27:32  Show Profile  Visit Nerfed2Hell's Homepage Send Nerfed2Hell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Brynweir

I can totally see Shar allowing it, simply because she would see it as a means to an ends. There could be something that she wants so much that she'd be willing to allow the "do-gooder" to keep using the Shadow weave in order to get it. I've mentioned before that I love the idea of a good guy getting tricked into doing evil without realizing it. Who better than Shar to make that happen?

I can see Shar allowing good characters to access the Shadow Weave as a means to an end, trying to lure them down the path of evil or whatever... what I can't see is someone that's moving away from Shar's belief structure (toward good) after turning away from her faith. If Shar just allowed that, everyone would start using the Shadow Weave all willy-nilly because the goddess doesn't enforce her rule over it... and if Shar doesn't assert her control over it, it'd only be a matter of time before another god tries to usurp it.

Some people are like a slinky... not good for much, but when you push them down the stairs, it makes you smile.
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Erik Scott de Bie
Forgotten Realms Author

USA
4598 Posts

Posted - 17 Jan 2009 :  21:54:10  Show Profile  Visit Erik Scott de Bie's Homepage Send Erik Scott de Bie a Private Message  Reply with Quote
If you're interested in my two cents . . .

I think Shar "works in mysterious ways"--she can allow someone to *think* she's escaped from her clutches, become a good guy, and get herself well placed into, say, Selune or Mystra's faith, or the Harpers, and then arrange matters to snap her back to evil.

Now Shar's got a high-level, extremely influential sleeper agent who can corrupt and corrode good organizations from the inside. Perhaps she could start an entire "secret operations" wing of the Harpers (ala Moonstars, calling them instead, maybe, "Darkstars") who think they're supporting the cause of good, whilst really working against the Harpers.

(I don't know if anyone's seen Alias, but it would be much like that.)

That seems like a great theme for a campaign, particularly one with lots of skullduggery and intrigue.

Cheers

EDIT: Also, the highly placed good person might not know that she's evil, thinking that instead she's doing *good* things. And at some point she might start *doubting* whether her actions are her own doing, or Shar's influence through her. Did she just fail in a good task, or was she *programmed* to fail? (Guess I'm in a BSG mood too!)

Erik Scott de Bie

'Tis easier to destroy than to create.

Author of a number of Realms novels (GHOSTWALKER, DEPTHS OF MADNESS, and the SHADOWBANE series), contributor to the NEVERWINTER CAMPAIGN GUIDE and SHADOWFELL: GLOOMWROUGHT AND BEYOND, Twitch DM of the Dungeon Scrawlers, currently playing "The Westgate Irregulars"

Edited by - Erik Scott de Bie on 17 Jan 2009 21:56:54
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader

USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 18 Jan 2009 :  07:18:22  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Rules-wise, accessing the Shadow Weave only requires taking a feat. The prerequisite for the feat is either Wisdom of 15 or Shar as a patron deity.

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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Brynweir
Senior Scribe

USA
436 Posts

Posted - 18 Jan 2009 :  13:14:33  Show Profile Send Brynweir a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie

If you're interested in my two cents . . .

I think Shar "works in mysterious ways"--she can allow someone to *think* she's escaped from her clutches, become a good guy, and get herself well placed into, say, Selune or Mystra's faith, or the Harpers, and then arrange matters to snap her back to evil.

Now Shar's got a high-level, extremely influential sleeper agent who can corrupt and corrode good organizations from the inside. Perhaps she could start an entire "secret operations" wing of the Harpers (ala Moonstars, calling them instead, maybe, "Darkstars") who think they're supporting the cause of good, whilst really working against the Harpers.

(I don't know if anyone's seen Alias, but it would be much like that.)

That seems like a great theme for a campaign, particularly one with lots of skullduggery and intrigue.

Cheers

EDIT: Also, the highly placed good person might not know that she's evil, thinking that instead she's doing *good* things. And at some point she might start *doubting* whether her actions are her own doing, or Shar's influence through her. Did she just fail in a good task, or was she *programmed* to fail? (Guess I'm in a BSG mood too!)



Although I wasn't going to add anymore in a post, as I was thinking of writing something about this, I would like to say that I like the way you think and you and I think a lot alike (especially the EDIT).
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 18 Jan 2009 :  14:35:32  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart

Rules-wise, accessing the Shadow Weave only requires taking a feat. The prerequisite for the feat is either Wisdom of 15 or Shar as a patron deity.


I didn't notice that they had changed the description in the PGtF. I assume, though, that Shar's control over the Shadow Weave is still in place, and no one may access it without her acquiescence?


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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader

USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 18 Jan 2009 :  15:38:42  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
IMO, Shar doesn't reserve access to the Shadow Weave for the same reasons that Mystra doesn't reserve access to the Weave. She is able to, but it requires focusing her attention.

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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Edited by - Ashe Ravenheart on 18 Jan 2009 15:44:41
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Nerfed2Hell
Senior Scribe

USA
387 Posts

Posted - 18 Jan 2009 :  21:39:05  Show Profile  Visit Nerfed2Hell's Homepage Send Nerfed2Hell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Erik Scott de Bie

If you're interested in my two cents . . .

I think Shar "works in mysterious ways"--she can allow someone to *think* she's escaped from her clutches, become a good guy, and get herself well placed into, say, Selune or Mystra's faith, or the Harpers, and then arrange matters to snap her back to evil.

Now Shar's got a high-level, extremely influential sleeper agent who can corrupt and corrode good organizations from the inside. Perhaps she could start an entire "secret operations" wing of the Harpers (ala Moonstars, calling them instead, maybe, "Darkstars") who think they're supporting the cause of good, whilst really working against the Harpers.

(I don't know if anyone's seen Alias, but it would be much like that.)

That seems like a great theme for a campaign, particularly one with lots of skullduggery and intrigue.

Cheers

EDIT: Also, the highly placed good person might not know that she's evil, thinking that instead she's doing *good* things. And at some point she might start *doubting* whether her actions are her own doing, or Shar's influence through her. Did she just fail in a good task, or was she *programmed* to fail? (Guess I'm in a BSG mood too!)


I could see that... if the individual was evil to begin with. If they were evil and were influenced toward goodness, that "snap back to evil" would be easier. However, someone who was neutral to begin with and leaning toward goodness seems more like a lost cause for Shar to begin with. She never fully embraced the goddess's darkness, so bringing her back to it seems more than a little unlikely.

You could go the whole double agent route as you described, Erik, but then the initial description of the character is erroneous. If it were a description specifically for the DM to read to players to mislead them, that's one thing... but its another to be so undercover that the character description is misleading the DM, too.

Some people are like a slinky... not good for much, but when you push them down the stairs, it makes you smile.
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 18 Jan 2009 :  23:40:54  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart

IMO, Shar doesn't reserve access to the Shadow Weave for the same reasons that Mystra doesn't reserve access to the Weave. She is able to, but it requires focusing her attention.


The FRCS says the opposite: "Shar has full control over the Shadow Weave and can isolate any creature from it or silence it entirely without any harm to herself." (p.57)

Was that overturned with 3.5?

Personally, I prefer it that way, because I would not want the Shadow Weave to become neutral ground. It's Shar's domain, and I would rather leave it that way.

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Ayunken-vanzan
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Germany
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Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  06:05:32  Show Profile  Visit Ayunken-vanzan's Homepage Send Ayunken-vanzan a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ErskineF


Personally, I prefer it that way, because I would not want the Shadow Weave to become neutral ground. It's Shar's domain, and I would rather leave it that way.




Exactly. The Shadow Weave is Shar's personal playground, tightly controlled by her; and whereas Mystra is liberal and allows access to the weave no matter what motive one has, Shar is the exact opposite.

"What mattered our lives now? When our world had been torn from us? Folk wept, or drank, or stood staring out over the land, wondering what new horror each dawn would bring."
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Ashe Ravenheart
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Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  06:19:11  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
It wasn't overturned in PGtF, but it's my opinion that through the novels and adventures that were published that she's not as 'in control' as when it first came out (right when the Shade Enclave comes back). Return of the Archwizards ends with Galaeron infusing Evereska's mithal with Shadow magic. And by the time of the Weave trilogy of adventures (Cormyr/Shadowdale/Anauroch), shadow weave magic items are becoming more widespread such that the Bedine tribes are selling them to the adventurers. My take on the Shadow Weave is probably different from most, though.

I also view the Weave differently than most as well. Since Grand History came out and it was revealed that the Elves 'bent' reality and the Weave to attach Evermeet permanently to the Feywild, I see it as their fault for wild and dead magic in the Realms. In fabric terms, they took a needle and thread and pulled the fabric up to attach it to the Feywild, this pulled the fabric 'out of warp' throughout the rest of the sheet so that gaps (dead magic) and bunches (wild magic) appear throughout the fabric. With the appearance of these warps in the Weave, it set up Shar being able to pull her own Weave from errant threads. Afterall, the Weave and its Shadow are still attached. This means she's can show who she chooses how to access it, but some can find it on their own way.

Anyway, that's my take on it.

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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Sian
Senior Scribe

Denmark
596 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  09:07:53  Show Profile  Visit Sian's Homepage Send Sian a Private Message  Reply with Quote
as far as i remember Baravar Cloakshadow found a hidden way in for tapping the shadow weave, and is sercetly spilling the beans to his illusionist followers

what happened to the queen? she's much more hysterical than usual
She's a women, it happens once a month
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  14:45:10  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart

It wasn't overturned in PGtF, but it's my opinion that through the novels and adventures that were published that she's not as 'in control' as when it first came out (right when the Shade Enclave comes back).


Novels? You mean there are novels set in the Realms?

Which adventures alter the rule? I have Cormyr, but I haven't read it all the way through. I bought CSQ for our DM, but he set it in Mystara, so I don't know how much he changed it.

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Ashe Ravenheart
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Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  14:57:45  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Sorry, there may be some spoilers for the Adventure Trilogy below. You have been warned.



They don't so much alter it as create a bunch of loopholes. In Cormyr, there's the malfunctioning portal that adds the dark template to characters (if they survive) and recovering the shadow shard. In Shadowdale, not so much, but Anuaroch establishes the prevalent availability of Shadow Weave items through defeat of the enemies and purchasing from the Bedine merchants. The fact that Shar is causing all these Dead Magic zones to appear in the adventures to 'tear' the Weave, yet the dead magic does not affect Shadow Weave users or Shadow Weave magic items shows how the Shadow Weave is truly the shadow of Mystra's Weave, i.e. it's the absence of the Weave (think matter/anti-matter).

If she has complete control of the Shadow Weave and can deny it to anyone at anytime, then why would Shadow Weave magic items (everything from potions and scrolls to weapons and armor) work if they fell into the hands of her enemies? Wouldn't she simply cut those items off from their source, preventing the adventurers from having any magic at all in the Dead Magic zones?

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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Nerfed2Hell
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Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  19:36:55  Show Profile  Visit Nerfed2Hell's Homepage Send Nerfed2Hell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
She's a goddess... magic items have no will of their own and if they are captured by those who might use them for good, they can also be retaken by those with darker (pun intended) intentions. On the other hand, someone who didn't just happen upon the Shadow Weave but learned of it through her shakey faith in Shar but then turns away from the goddess's teachings, that's a blatant slap in the face to Shar.

Additionally, if she's capable of using the Shadow Weave after leaving Shar to turn towards goodness, who's to say she won't just start teaching use of the shadow weave to anyone and everyone who wants to learn (and meets the Wisdom prerequisite)? As more and more people gain access to the Shadow Weave, Shar would be forced to take control of it or risk losing it... and cutting one individual out preemptively is easier than cutting out dozens or hundreds or who knows how many given time. Cutting her off from the Shadow Weave may not prevent her from telling others about it, but who'd listen to a teacher who can't back up their teaching?

Some people are like a slinky... not good for much, but when you push them down the stairs, it makes you smile.
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Ashe Ravenheart
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Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  19:40:18  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ahhh, but here's the rub:

The more people use the Shadow Weave, the less people use Mystra's Weave.


I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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Nerfed2Hell
Senior Scribe

USA
387 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  19:58:05  Show Profile  Visit Nerfed2Hell's Homepage Send Nerfed2Hell a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't think Shar could or would consider that this sort of tactic would ever replace the Weave with her Shadow Weave.

Some people are like a slinky... not good for much, but when you push them down the stairs, it makes you smile.
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ranger_of_the_unicorn_run
Learned Scribe

USA
292 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  20:02:52  Show Profile Send ranger_of_the_unicorn_run a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Depending on how a spellcaster wants to use the Weave, that may not be a bad thing in Mystra's eyes. I remember reading somewhere that Mystra does not like it when spellcasters attempt to overdraw the Weave. When they sacrifice some of their own strength, such as elven high magic, they use less of the Weave, but items like Mythallars draw much more of the Weave. Mystra may not be opposed to people who attempt things like mythallars using the Shadow Weave, because it means that that high energy drain is not on her own power. However, she may just not take kindly to things such as mythallars anyway, and therefore she wouldn't want even the Shadow Weave users making them.
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader

USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 19 Jan 2009 :  20:46:54  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Nerfed2Hell

I don't think Shar could or would consider that this sort of tactic would ever replace the Weave with her Shadow Weave.


Wasn't that the purpose of the Shadow Weave in the first place? To supplant the dependency of accessing magic through Mystra?

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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