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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11696 Posts |
 Posted - 13 May 2014 : 05:49:36
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I recently decided that I wanted to do something with my main character and some of my other NPC's. I know that the item I designed is extremely powerful compared to your average item. Its not meant to be an item that the player controls. Its meant to be an item that can serve a player well and help drive a story/quest... and if the player abuses it, it can leave of its own free will (noting its ego score should be able to overwhelm many individuals who don't take proper precautions... you know strategic precautions). So, I present to you... a spellbook... I mean a deck of "Wheel-of-Spells".... I mean a longsword.... or was it a warhammer?..... maybe an axe? Hey, where'd it go? I swear I just heard it talking and flapping its pages....
Sleyvas, The Red Book of Spell Strategy
History: In the early 1370's, Sleyvas of Thay, a bounty hunter known for mixing magic and swordplay, found himself being accused of treason against the government of Thay. The fact that the accusations were true only made matters worse. The exact actions which led to this treason have been poorly documented, but they appear to have surrounded his desperate attempt to save his first wife, Melarra, by sending his son (by a later wife) back in time to fake Melarra's death and bringing Melarra back forward through the plane of time. Despite his exhilaration at her return, he soon came to realize that all he had managed to do was paint an enormous target upon her that his fellow red wizards would gladly use to control him. So, in desperation, he had turned to Elminster Aumar, offering to serve as an informant within Thay if Elminster would relocate Melarra to somewhere where she would be safe and able to live out her life in peace. When Sleyvas was discovered later by servants of Aznar Thrul while in communication with a pair of Rashemi witches, the bounty hunter found himself suddenly an enemy of the state.
The next few months found Sleyvas fleeing from one safehold to the next, slaying those mages who came to challenge him. It was taking his toll on him however, and he foresaw that the only way he would make it out of this mess would be to fake his own death. So it was that he found himself breaking into the Tower Terrible of Soorenar, the former mortal abode of Velsharoon the Vaunted, to find a spell of soul transference. Sleyvas then specifically baited one of his former bounty hunter nemesis' into hunting him down, then in a sudden twist used the ritual of soul transference to take the younger body for his own. After gathering enough flesh to begin growing a new clone of himself, he then turned in his own dead body in order to satisfy the Zulkirs who sought his death.
Knowing that if he continued to stay in Thay he would eventually be uncovered, Sleyvas returned to the city of Soorenar in Chessenta. Having no real friends in the area and needing to at least establish some contact with a local temple, Sleyvas was intrigued when he heard that the local temple of the Red Knight would be celebrating the first of Tarsakh, a holy day known as “Queen's Gambit”, by holding a day of feasting and games of strategy. It was here that he met a young priest, ill-fitted to the martial nature of most clerics of the red knight, but possessing a mind for strategy that rivaled his own. Unfortunately, the young priest, Damerik Palenthist, would soon be going out on his first patrol, and he was worried that he may not return.
This tugged at the exiled Thayan's sense of justice, and he decided that he would make sure that Damerik survived by letting the young priest “win” several minor items of magic previously recovered from his assailants by losing several games of lanceboard. It was due to this generosity that Damerik not only survived the patrol, but also managed to save several of his compatriots. When Damerik returned to the temple he thanked Sleyvas, whom he knew as Savyels Aka'Pillihp, for his aid, offering that surely his goddess had smiled upon him the night they had met. Damerik then stated that perhaps it was fate that the Red Knight had called “Savyels” into his life, and he offered to test this theory by challenging “Savyels” in a game of “Wheel of Spells”, and if he should win then perhaps “Savyels” would teach him about arcane magic. Although Damerik lost, Sleyvas admired the young man's perseverance, and he agreed to teach him about magic if Damerik would agree to teach Sleyvas about his goddess.
This began a relationship that would blossom over the next few years, and Sleyvas found himself drawn to this new religion. Damerik continued his studies as both priest and wizard, eventually forming an elite spellcaster mercenary group known as “Damerik's Daredevils” which gained some notoriety serving in Unther's war against Mulhorand. It would gain its most reknown however whenever Thay's civil war started, and Sleyvas encouraged Damerik to lead his mercenaries to his former homeland. Recruiting necromancers, priests, and binders from the church of Velsharoon in Soorenar, for these individuals had received visions from their deity that they should oppose Szass Tam, Damerik decided it was time to leave his homeland (which was also becoming increasingly unfriendly to those who did not worship Tchazzar). Though many of “Damerik's Daredevils” died over the next few years, his wins were more often than not clear victories. It was also during this time that Damerik learned the truth about the identity of his friend “Savyels”, as Sleyvas took this opportunity to reforge relationships with those Thayans, such as Zulkir Lauzoril, whom he felt could be trusted with the truth.
While Sleyvas had somewhat adopted Damerik as an almost surrogate son, he still had a true son in the world. Sleyvas felt that contacting him would only endanger the young wizard as it had his wife, Melarra. He did occasionally scry him in his moments of weakness, and he was happy to see that his son had become involved in Waterdeep with a young Deneirran archivist-mage named Lady Jillian Doncastle. Their love however was bright but brief, for each was an individual determined to seek their own path in life, and soon the two had parted ways amiably. Jillian never told Sleyvas' son of her pregnancy, and it was only through happenstance when he could no longer scry his son that he happened to try and spy on Jillian and uncovered her secret. Sleyvas was even more elated when he found out that Jillian had birthed twins, one boy, Petyr, and one girl, Kaedara.
It was then that the rather inept idea was formed in Sleyvas' mind that he could secretly insert himself into the lives of his grandchildren and their mother by using magic to pose as another individual. It possibly might have worked with someone else, but Jillian was a rare form of Deneirran, because she considered herself a “detective”, and of course Sleyvas was a pitiful actor for anything in-depth. Through her contacts at the bard colleges, she learned of stories of a powerful warrior-mage of Thay named Sleyvas, and put together her knowledge of her ex-lover's stories of his “dead” father. Sleyvas had obviously faked his death, and now he simply wanted to see his grandchildren.
Of course, Jillian did not immediately let on that she had uncovered his ruse, preferring instead to further study him and make sure that he could be trusted. In fact, it was her intelligent sai, Lorey, that accidentally let slip that Jillian had uncovered the truth behind Sleyvas' visits. At that point, Jillian had already deduced that Sleyvas would do anything to protect his grandchildren, and she determined that it was more in her interest to have him as a resource than to attempt to try to keep him away. So, it was that whenever Sleyvas was not aiding “Damerik's Daredevils” he found himself spending time in Waterdeep doting on his grandchildren and aiding their mother in her own subterfuges within Waterdhavian society.
By 1383 DR, “Damerik's Daredevils” were suffering from an internal schism over how to handle their business as mercenaries. The followers of Velsharoon had decided that it was time for them to form their own group and negotiate their own contracts with the Thayan rebels. His homeland was no longer as friendly to priests who didn't serve Tchazzar, so Damerik decided it was time for him to start a new church of his own, and Sleyvas convinced him to do so within Waterdeep.
The next few years were enjoyable for Sleyvas. His “daughter-in-law” (as he called Jillian, though she and his son had never married) was using her detective skills to uncover the dark secrets of Waterdeep's dank underbelly. Sometimes she uncovered something which would simply rankle Sleyvas' ire, and he'd set about “handling the situation”. As a result, Sleyvas was not loved much by the Unseen, and he particularly enjoyed robbing unsavory types who were profiting from the misery of others and using his magics to dupe the individuals involved into believing it was another unsavory Waterdhavian faction behind it.
He would, of course, tell Jillian of his antics, and thus she felt her activities were making the world a better place. Of course, he would also receive a stern reprimand for his wayward ways from her intelligent sai, Lorey. The centuries old weapon did not approve of violence at all, preferring to spend its time reading and teaching Jillian's two children, Petyr and Kaedara. It absolutely vexed Lorey when Sleyvas would take his two grandchildren out to spoil them at the local festivals. However, Sleyvas also focused on teaching Petyr the art of strategy through the games they played at the temple of the Red Knight every other tenday.
It was one such day that would lead Sleyvas down the path that would lead to his next incarnation. It seemed that Jillian's inquisitive nature had led her to snooping into the odd behavior being exhibited by an infamous moneylender in Waterdeep. She had initially believed that Mirt had been replaced by a doppelganger, but getting to the truth of the matter led to deeper secrets. Eventually, she had, unknown to herself, stumbled upon a secret which apparently was too close for some powerful individual's comfort. Thus it was that a pair of liches, descended upon her home and captured both Jillian and Kaedara. Luckily, they did not notice the flying sai that fled the scene and headed straight to the temple of the red knight.
Completely unhinged as to what to do, Lorey explained to the aging bounty hunter mage and the mercenary-theurge of the entrapment of Jillian. The two master strategists immediately set about on a plan to discover where they were being held and how to quickly overwhelm their enemy's defenses to extract his granddaughter and her mother. This led to a hidden Ilefarnian spellhold in the Ardeep Forest filled with powerful undead beings. The two spellslingers fought their way down to a central ritual room in which they found Jillian and Kaedara. A powerful undead being was performing some kind of ritual linking Jillian and a nearby spellbook surrounded by mystical blue flames, all while a trio of liches in bound circles worked their own mystic . As had been their agreed upon plan, The mage-priest, Damerik, rushed in to rescue the scared child, using magic to transform her into a mouse and himself into a falcon. Damerik then flew out while Sleyvas attempted to interrupt the magical ritual being performed. Simultaneously sending his bull-rushing, animate sword after one of the three liches, while at the same time using magic to lift another lich and physically hurl it at the final, Sleyvas managed to obstruct the magical ritual seemingly at its zenith.
What happened next neither Sleyvas nor Jillian truly understand. What little they actually know of that happened was relayed to them from the viewpoint of the animated sai, Lorey. The powerful being guiding the ritual uttered a word and disappeared in a flash of light. Crying out in pain, Sleyvas called for the aid of the Red Knight, even as Jillian called upon her god, Deneir. The whole room burst into a blaze of blue fire which utterly destroyed the three liches, as well as the bodies of both Jillian and Sleyvas. Meanwhile, the book which had been the centerpoint of the ritual shot forth a light to each of the three warded circles which had previously held the liches, utterly destroying the dancing blade and a deck of cards which had fallen from Damerik's pocket in his rush into the room. When things calmed down, Jillian found herself to be some kind of mystical, ghostly form unable to interact with the physical world, and thoroughly confused as to where she was and what had happened over the past few weeks. Sleyvas' wits appeared to be unimpaired, however he found himself entrapped within the magical spellbook. Luckily, for them both, Lorey was there to guide Jillian and use a satchel to carry Sleyvas to safety
Over time, Sleyvas discovered that he was able to assume other shapes, such as that of his former magical sword or even the deck of cards, a Wheel-of-Spells deck. For over a dozen years afterward, Sleyvas, in his book form, served at the side of his long-time friend, the mage-priest Damerik Palenthist. The talking book became known as “The Red Book of Spell Strategy” to members of Damerik's church, few of whom knew its actual origin story. They were amazed however when the book began to actually teach members of the congregation in both spell and swordcraft. Then one day the book disappeared. There were rumors that the book had been sighted in the years following being carried by the young cerebremancer, Petyr Doncastle, or his Lurue worshipping sister, Kaedara Doncastle. There have also been many rumors that “The Red Book of Spell Strategy” has been seen with a floating sai with a propensity for waxing eloquently about all manner of topics (and at times it has even been rumored that the sai and the book have been overheard to argue repeatedly over numerous inane topics ranging from history lessons, the proper way to cook a rothe steak, the best religion, the most effective combat techniques, and the responsibility that comes with the burden of power), all while a ghostly, dark-haired woman wearing a symbol of Deneir looks on and smiles.
Price —; Aura strong; CL 24th; Weight 1 lb.
Alignment lawful neutral;
Senses 120 ft., blindsense, read languages, speech, telepathy, read magic
Intelligence 20; Wisdom 12; Charisma 10; Ego 59
Language speech (Common, draconic, Mulhorandi, Infernal, Thorass, Netherese)
General Powers in any form
Item can change shape into 3 possible forms: a spellbook, a “Wheel of Spells” card deck, or a long sword
Greater Invisibility 1/day
Ghorus Toth's Magnetism 1/day (source UNA, 6th lvl)
Blacklight 1/day (source FRC)
illusory script 1/day (used by the book to protect itself via suggestion or to hide its spells from those it does not like)
erase 3/day
death armor 1/day (source MoF)
shield 3/day
magic missile 3/day
greater magic weapon 1/day
electric jolt at will (source MoF)
mage hand at will
launch bolt at will (source MoF)
Special Purpose: Defend the servants and interests of the church of the red knight
Special Purpose Power: Cast Greater Ironguard (source MoF) at will
In Spellbook Form
Description: This rather thin book is bound in red leather sheathing adamantine covers. Its stark red color is highlighted by elaborate knotworks of silver and gold coloring, which if one pays close attention to seem to change shape periodically (most commonly appearing as a burning flame, a pair of crossed swords, a twisting wheel, or a pair of eyes). It has a superior lock (DC 40) cast in adamantine. The very first page of the book has explosive runes cast upon it, which Sleyvas can flip to at any time in defense of itself, though it covers this page with a secret page spell. If this page is ever erased, Sleyvas will try to get its owner to renew it. In addition, another page also has a sepia snake sigil (covered also with a secret page spell) and another page is covered with illusory script.
Powers in Spellbook form
amanuensis 1/day (source MoF)
Secret Page 1/day
Sepia Snake Sigil 1/day
Bookish: The living spellbook can open and close itself and flip instantly to any page it desires, including the current scroll page if it also has the scroll page power (see below). If the book has a physical lock, it can lock and unlock itself as an immediate action. A Strength check with a DC equal to 10 + the spellbook’s ego modifier is required to close it or pry it open against its will (or tear out a page).
Item Type book; Price Modifier: 1,000 gp; Ego Modifier: +1
Scroll Page: The living spellbook always contains one spell, among all the spells transcribed within it, that the owner may cast directly from the book as if it were a scroll. Once the spell is cast, another spell randomly (other than the one just cast) becomes the next spell that can be cast directly from the book. The owner must spend a standard action to flip pages and find the new scroll-page spell. Once found, the scroll page can be marked for future reference. The owner does not need to provide a material component if it costs under 100 gp, and casting the spell does not remove it from the living book. This power does not grant the living book the ability to cast this spell itself. The price and ego modifier scale with the range of spell levels from which the scroll page can manifest.
Item Type book; Price Modifier: varies Levels for levels 0–9 19,000 gp; Ego Modifier: Levels 0–9, +3
Transcription: Once per day, the living book may inscribe a single spell or formula onto one of its own pages. It may alternately use this ability to reorganize its contents, to either its own preferences or that of its owners—depending on their relationship. The book must be able to read magic and is intended for spellcasting classes that rely on spellbooks (including alchemists).
Item Type book; Price Modifier: 2,000 gp.; Ego Modifier: +1
Spell Contents of the Spellbook- The Red Book of Spell Strategy is meant to modify itself (thus having the erase ability and the transcription ability). There should always be at least 30 spells of each level of 1st-3rd lvl, 15 spells of each level of 4th-7th lvl, and 10 spells of 8th-9th lvl already transcribed within the book (still leaving about 1/3 of the book empty). This spell list should be designed by each individual dungeon master as befits his own campaign setting, but a large majority of these spells should be aimed towards personal defense or enhancing physical combat capabilities.
Spell Strategy Addendum – In addition to its abilities as a spellbook, Sleyvas, the red book of spell strategy doubles as a learning guide to teach the art of spell dueling. Once per day, the owner can read these story chapters at the end of the book to imbue upon himself one of the following abilities for the day.
+1 insight bonus on saves versus spells for a specific school of magic (randomly chosen)
+1 competence bonus to caster lvl
+1 added to save DC's for a specific school of magic (randomly chosen, does not stack with spell focus or similar bonuses)
+1 competence bonus on ranged touch attacks
+4 competence bonus on spellcraft checks to identify a spell being cast in front of you.
In Wheel of Spells Card Deck Form
Description: This appears to be a Thayan version of the Wheel of Spells card deck. The deck's back is red with golden flames weaving around the outer edges of the card. The word “Alavairthae” is inscribed in black letters written in infernal script. This text encircles a wheel of eight stars, each of a different color, on a white field. The spokes of this wheel twist inwards and appear to be red, black, white, and gold lines interwoven such that the lines appear to be continuous and inseparable.
command word activation (command is “Alavairthae”)
Activation Power: Once per day, the character may deal himself and up to two other people cards from the deck. If dealing to an individual, said individual receives 5 cards, if 2 people they get 3 cards each, if 3 people 2 cards each. These cards correspond to wizard spells found within the spellbook. The spell drawn is instantly memorized in the individual's mind IF HE IS ABLE TO CAST WIZARD SPELLS. The spell remains in the individual's memory until either it is cast or 24 hours pass. When the cards are dealt, roll percentile dice to determine the spell levels for each card as follows. The spells are randomly chosen by the dungeon master from the spells inscribed within the spellbook.
1-10 0-lvl spell
10-34 1st lvl spell
35-54 2nd lvl spell
55-69 3rd lvl spell
70-79 4th lvl spell
80-89 5th lvl spell
90-94 6th lvl spell
94-96 7th lvl spell
97-99 8th lvl spell
100 9th lvl spell
In Long Sword Form
Description: This appears to be an adamantine longsword that is slightly broader and heavier than normal. Its hilt is shaped to appear to be a man in a tunic and breeches. His arms extend outwards from each side of his body to form the crossguard, with his hands palm up and shooting forth small gouts of flame. A large red garnet is inset in the pommel. However, this sword is also transformative, allowing it to take the shape of any medium one-handed melee weapon, including weapons that would not normally have a hilt. As a result, Sleyvas may actually change its form in order to appear to hide itself from a master that it despises.
Powers in Longsword form
Adamantine Longsword +1 spell-storing, ghost touch, defending, tranformative, brutal surge, defensive surge, flaming, dancing (note: greater magic weapon is usually cast upon this weapon by itself)
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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The Red Book of Spell Strategy
