[greytalk] Chronomancy, Locations of Power, Hags, and Oerth
Friday, March 13, 2009 9:48 AM
From: "Aeolius"
To: "greytalk list"
In my campaign there is a night hag, Xaetra. Currently she is a spirit hag, inhabiting the dreams and nightmares of those she knew in life. It was foretold in an omen that she would one day return to life, before traveling far into the past. I have been mulling over ideas for such an event... I think perhaps in the future she traveled into the past to leave clues she might need. The first such clue is hidden in Turucambi, where my current campaign began. More on Xaetra here - http://web.me.com/aeolius/turucambi/Home/Entries/2009/1/21_The_Hubris_of_Hags.html
And now... the musings...
"Locations of power can be used for various purposes within a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Some, such as the earth nodes described in the FORGOTTEN REALMS product Underdark, might serve as sites for the working of especially powerful magic. Others, such as the planar touchstones described in Planar Handbook, might unlock potential advancement opportunities or special abilities in characters. Still others, such as the rune circles described in Races of Stone, could allow PCs to create permanent magical effects bound to tightly confined areas. But as compelling as those ideas are, at least one interesting concept for magical locations remains unexplored - that of a location imbued with magicalpower that is available for the taking." - DMG II, pg. 235
"Evidence suggests that a group of Guardians-like chronomancers exists on Oerth, but little is known of them. The Codex of Infinite Planes has a cryptic reference to the Monitors of Infinity, "drawn from all places in Time," but this is the sum of the evidence. Chronomancers risk pursuit by the Monitors or by an avatar of a time-related deity if a major disruption of history occurs.
Two quasi-deities, Heward and Murlynd, are thought to be chronomancers or have time-travel powers from devices, psionics, or artifacts. Both have collected items from various periods in Earth history, and both have domiciles with multiple gate links across time and space to many worlds (see DRAGON(R) issue #71, pages 19-21, and module EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror.) The mad demigod Zagyg likely travels Temporal Prime, which is here usually called the Plane or Demiplane of Time; the demigod Vecna certainly knows of chronomancy.
The ancient Suloise-Baklunish conflict may have involved time battles between rival chronomancers. Istus (goddess of fate and destiny) is Baklunish; Lendor (god of time) is Suel. The outcome of such battles (if there were any), and any involvement of the Monitors or godly avatars, are unknown. Rumors circulate from time to time that small groups of hostile, destructive Suel wizards, often loners, appear in the Sea of Dust, either arising from magical suspended animation or arriving from chronomantic travel.
Chronomancy might also be known to elven wizards worshiping Labelas Enoreth, the elven deity of longevity, history, and time; to wizards of Boccob, the Oerik god of magic; and to wizards of Cyndor, the Oerik god of time, continuity, and infinity.
Chronomancers may wish to explore Tovag Baragu, the Stone Circles, whose arches sometimes open into Oerth's past. Some portions of Oerth's distant past appear to resemble our Earth's early Cenozoic period (the Age of Mammals) up to Pleistocene times. (See GREYHAWK Adventures, pages 98-99, and the adventure Vecna Lives!. Chronomancers should be warned that exploring Tovag Baragu might possibly lead to an alternate timeline of Oerth in which the demigod Vecna triumphs (as per the "Vecna Wins" scenario outlined on page 68 of Vecna Lives!. See also the potentially dangerous time-altering properties of the wildspace objects called The Sisters, in Oerth's crystal sphere of Greyspace (see Greyspace, pages 71-72).
There is speculation that the humans and centaurs who live near Tovag Baragu might have knowledge of some basic elements of chronomancy from their years of cautiously observing this artifact, though it is unlikely they openly practice this magic." - Chronomancy and the Multiverse, http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/chrono.rtf
"Tovag Baragu should be treated as an artifact, as described in the Dungeon Masters Guide. Its powers, and the times at which it is activated, depend on astronomical phenomena of Oerth. Each circle is linked to a particular moon or planet and operates only when it is visible in the sky. The actions of those in the circle at such times can affect the outcome, but player characters should not be permitted to learn all that is required for proper control. The most frequent full connection is to a Pleistocene setting. Whether the city seen represents the past or an alternate world or the future is up to the DM. Player characters might be allowed to gather the impression that Tovag Baragu maintains the Sea of Dust's present condition, but they ought not to be able to do anything about it until they
reach extremely high levels, if then. If the campaign includes the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar which are described under Artifacts in the Dungeon Masters Guide, a number of interactions might be set up between it and Tovag Baragu. " - Greyhawk Adventures
"The wreck on the east side of Turucambi is of a clipper ship, such as was known on Earth in the 1800s. (Naturally, the characters will never have heard of such a thing.) Its cargo consisted of china plates and tea, now mostly ruined. Its origin is possibly extraplanar; it might hail from across the Oljatt or simply be unexplained, according to the needs of the campaign." - Greyhawk Adventures
"There is a ship made of metal, with no mast or oars, and charts of unknown seas." - Greyhawk Glossography, pertaining to the Jungle of Lost Ships
