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Balmar Foghaven
Learned Scribe
Canada
124 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Feb 2018 : 16:27:41
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| I'm liking where this train of thought is going. It also just reminded me that despite it not technically being considered "canon", in the video games Halaster was explicitly seen having a clone of himself in Undermountain serving as a decoy during a drow invasion of Waterdeep while the 'real' Halaster was waiting to spring a trap on their leadership. |
"Despair not, for in the end all things shall work out for the best - in at least one timeline." |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2018 : 18:55:26
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I had several reasons for coming up with this plot-device, with the original one being that I wanted him around, while canon said he was in suspended animation. I felt this was a really cheap way of shoving him off-camera for a few thousand years, because no-one wanted to try and back-fill all that history for him (and like Masked Mage pointed out - his EP level is way too low). Whether you like my idea of having him founding Thaeravel - and keep in mind the folk would have been at least 95% Talfir - only a few dozen 'retainers' (apprentices & staff) would have gone with him - its not such a bad idea having him 'muck about' in the background all that time, and even having him interact with the Netherese (there was that one odd sourcebook entry that refer to the Netherese as Halaster's 'contemporaries', or some-such).
Which brings us full-circle to Larloch - they have a 'thing' going on, and I would say it goes all the way back to Netheril, which is why I would want to keep him around. Maybe they were rivals of a sort, for Mystryl's 'affection'... who knows? (so, like maybe it was like Larloch is to Khelben what Halaster is to Elminster?)
I also love the idea of Halaster and Arthindol (The Terraseer) having their own 'thing' going on - both of them aware that the other was 'not what he seems', but keeping each other's secret, and just giving each other that knowing 'appraising eye' across the room, whenever the archmages of Netheril had to get together for something. Almost like 'secret friends', because both of them would look at the Netherese like 'children playing at magic' (so you can picture the looks they would exchange when the exuberant Karsus - or anyone else - was discussing 'magical breakthroughs'; a heavy-sigh expression of, "oh... so they finally figured that one out, did they?" I think that could make for an AMAZING novel... or just a scene in a novel about Halaster 'getting back together' with himself). |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 27 Feb 2018 03:08:44 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 26 Feb 2018 : 19:36:07
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What if Halaster of Undermountain is himself the clone of someone else? Maybe some mage that we've not previously identified cloned himself, and went off to do something else, leaving the clone with his memories, while the more powerful original is somewhere else?
The original could be someone we've seen tiny little amounts about, but never the whole picture... Someone like Hesperdan, for example. |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 27 Feb 2018 : 03:22:44
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Well, we DO have two names. What if Halaster IS the clone, as you say, and IS the one that was in suspended animation? That would explain his abnormally low level.
Then the real Hilathar went traveling the planes, or whatever, stopping back at home from time to time. He may have even been one of the 'known' Netherese Arcansists (a few 'disappeared', whereabouts unknown, post-Fall).
Still, it feels 'weird' for ours (The Undermountain one) to be the false one. I suppose we could say he popped-in every so often, checking up on things, so sometimes it WAS the real Halaster/Hilathar. I could still have the real one found Thaeravel, and then 'go off somewhere', so he was either not there at all when the attack came, or the clone was there, and he's the one who hid or fled the Netherese (which actually makes more sense, since I don't think an Imaskari Artificer would have been caught that easily unawares - the clone just wasn't 'as good' as the original).
Which brings me right back to Halaster being one of Mystryl's Chosen, and perhaps being able to create an avatar of himself - something demipowers (Exarchs) aren't normally able to do. Perhaps he split himself just as he was about to ascend to lesser godhood? And by doing the split, he adverted the forced ascension? (his power level was halved when split). Something along those lines, maybe. Also, it may have made his mind 'weaker', which was how he ended up going mad - half his mind stayed with Arcane Magic and The Weave, while the other half studied Umbral Magic and the Shadoweave. And, of course, easily explains how he could be so friendly to adventurers at one meeting, then so bat-crap crazy and murderous the next. I actually recall Doctor Manhattan (or as I like to call him, "the big, naked blue guy") doing this, and it pissed his GF off no end.
The 'two sides of Halaster Blackcloak'.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 27 Feb 2018 05:25:31 |
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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
Posted - 05 Mar 2018 : 12:40:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
So I just had a thought... Keep in mind that I've not read that novel, so I don't know how in line this would be, with that book...
But what if Mystra 1.0 was never intended to be a permanent replacement?
Karsus targets Mystryl for his spell. To break the spell, Mystryl casts away her divinity -- if she's not a goddess, Karsus's spell won't work. So she promotes one of her Chosen, who becomes Mystra 1.0.
Mystra 1.0 had two jobs: fix the Weave, and resurrect Mystryl. However, Mystra 1.0 either opted against that -- perhaps she considered her predecessor a failure, because of Karsus's spell, --- or perhaps she didn't understand her purpose. Either way, she stayed around instead of bringing back Mystryl.
The bit of Mystryl that was in Larloch was not down with this, but couldn't do anything about it. Millennia later, she finally saw a chance to act, and possibly even took over Larloch, pushing him to try to become a deity so that she could return (she would have taken the divinity for herself, not allowing Larloch to have it; if he survived, Larloch would have been a discarded shell). Thus, it wasn't a power play by Larloch; he was just a vessel for Mystryl to try to complete her intended resurrection.
Going this route, you could even spin it that she was somehow influencing Cyric, and had a part in his attack on Mystra 2.0.
Of course, none of this is canon, aside from Larloch being a Chosen of Mystryl and the many flavors of magic goddess. It just occurs to me as a fun alternate spin on things.
Not so much forcing Larloch, I could see some contingency was put in place. Either as a baseline objective of the Chosen of Mystryl or simple a personal agreement with him...
Makes you wonder what Ioulaum is waiting for!  |
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What If: Larloch succeeded?
