
Samnell |

What about the other 2 plainsmen?
Sunstar and her brother are going to go off on their own now that you're on the plains. They don't want anything to do with going to Qualinesti or Wayreth. They're very grateful for your help, but this is where they hop off.

Thistletorp Babblebrook |

Caitlyn Weissman |

Jackun asked Caitlyn not to interfere, so she won't. I suspect she'll be deeply unhappy while it's going on...

Jakun Stormhoof |

I could play an NPC Wizard that has already taken the Test while the group is researching Dragons or the Gods and what not at the Tower and if Jakun dies just take over that Wizard as anew character maybe?
Maybe the group meets with the Heads of the Three Orders while I take my test in the Discussion thread?

Caitlyn Weissman |

And besides with the bloodstone amulet he doesn't have to say in one body for very long if he feels like a change.

Jakun Stormhoof |

No way Jakun is accepting help from the dead! Necromancer is an opposition school for him plus, if you are dead and you need my help, how powerful can you really be!

Jakun Stormhoof |

Hmmmm, I thought I bypassed the gate with the skulls and went for the gate with the Mosaics...
Maybe you read my post wrong DM? Well I'm here now, time to crack some skulls!

Samnell |

Hmmmm, I thought I bypassed the gate with the skulls and went for the gate with the Mosaics...
Maybe you read my post wrong DM? Well I'm here now, time to crack some skulls!
You went through the mosaic gate. These are skulls in front of three doors in the area beyond it. :)

Jakun Stormhoof |

Jakun Stormhoof wrote:You went through the mosaic gate. These are skulls in front of three doors in the area beyond it. :)Hmmmm, I thought I bypassed the gate with the skulls and went for the gate with the Mosaics...
Maybe you read my post wrong DM? Well I'm here now, time to crack some skulls!
Ah OK, so many skulls I am getting confused! :-)

Samnell |

This is extremely unlikely to be relevant in-game, but I think about these things and it's implicit in Justarius' dialog. Might as well share. :)
The Nature of the Solamnic State
Solamnia is not a nation so much as a geographical expression or a traditional international fraternity. On paper, it's sovereign is the Grand Master of the Knights of Solamnia...but there hasn't been one of those in centuries and he was never a king or emperor like we might expect. Rather Grand Masters ruled over a collection of diverse, sovereign polities who had many cultural affinities and a few shared "national" institutions (mainly the knights) but were very much sovereign unto themselves and frequently at odds. There are at least half a dozen significant royal families with current possessions, and a score or more who have been dispossessed by the Cataclysm or the vicissitudes of war. Many of these have gravitated toward the Knighthood, which hasn't done much to repair its reputation. To most Solamnic elites, the Knights are a decrepit, derelict order of has-beens trying to rebuild their families at the expense of the rightful lords of the land. The common people have a more mixed relationship. Knights come along and right wrongs or otherwise shield them against nobles gone wrong, but other times the knights are the nobles gone wrong.
If things were working a they used to, the Grand Master would have significant power but still be checked by the Imperial Diet. (The Diet hasn't met since the Cataclysm.) There each sovereign in Solamnia would have a vote (or more) on weighty matters. The Grand Master can't just forfeit someone's titles or otherwise order redress. The rights of the nobility are extensive, frequently written into the law, and backed by a thousand years of tradition. Nor are they uniform. Each kingdom has its own laws, which exist in but depart from general Solamnic tradition. Within them each noble household may have its own laws. All of these are full of odd quirks, exemptions, immunities, and conditions bound to trip people up and cause controversy. It's a mess, and much of that filters down to the ordinary people through a morass of internal customs duties, feudal obligations, rights, and observances. The ways all of this stuff interacts (most especially how it interacts with knightly law, which is a whole separate thing, but also various religious orders have their own laws and things get really hairy with the dwarves, who do not recognize Solamnic overlordship at all) are similarly byzantine.
There is a sense of shared Solamnic cultural identity, but it's much more on the level of being a part of the Anglosphere or Francosphere rather than, say, modern American ideas about nationality. Identification is more with one's immediate lord or community when it comes to political conections.

Caitlyn Weissman |

Yeah that's pretty what I had in mind for Caitlyn and her relationship with her ancestral home. She did dream of being a knight but the reality didn't live up to the stories.

Jakun Stormhoof |

I think it makes sense to research Dragon strengths and weaknesses here in the Towers as they are creatures of Legend, what do you all think?
I would like 3 - 4 days here...
Day 2 - Gaseous Form
Day 3 - Teleport (transcribe into spell book for later use)
Day 4 - Seeming (transcribe into spell book for later use)
I would (finally) create my Arcane Staff.
I would also speak to Justarius about this Fistandantilus character!

Samnell |

I think it makes sense to research Dragon strengths and weaknesses here in the Towers as they are creatures of Legend, what do you all think?
I would like 3 - 4 days here...
** spoiler omitted **
Spells are a-ok. You can certainly do some research on dragons too. Let's cut to the chase on that one. :)
What Jakun Learns about the Dragons of Krynn
The Gods forged Krynn and all the creatures upon it. In those days, no speaking thing existed and the world abounded only with the dumb cries of animals. The gods rested, and looked upon their work. They then wished creations which would know them, to rule and obey or to care and love the lesser lives. Thus they made the first dragons, fruits of a great coupling between Paladine and Takhisis given material form through the artifice of Reorx.
Takhisis coveted the first dragons, five in number, and wished them for herself alone. Her jealousy became a pustule that she lanced, which was Morgion, and with him breathed lies and rebellion into their souls. They swore themselves to the Dark Queen and Morgion swaddled them in corruption. Iron turned red with rust and burned with anger. Copper became blue as the storm, crackling with spite. Nickel turned green, poisonous like a snake. Lead blackened, its tongue acid with endless curses. Tin became white, emptied of warmth and remade as a thing of icy death. Thus were born the chromatic dragons.
Paladine grieved for their loss, and the gods of good built memorials to his lost children, then breathed life into them: gold and silver, bronze and brass, and copper. Paladine's joy drove him to the arms of Mishakal and from their union quickened five new spirits, which Reorx forged into the monuments. They burst to life, the metallic dragons born in love, who thus serve the Gods of Light.
The ten dragons each possess a deathly breath, their greatest power. It roils always within them, but once spent must take precious moments to gather again. Their scales are likewise proof against it. In its absence, they my rely upon their tremendous strength. A grown dragon is a dire foe, and even the smallest fresh from the egg can easily match a band of trained warriors with tooth and claw. They are cunning, often to a degree unmatched by men, and have mastery of the innate magic of their forms. Their eyes penetrate shadow and see farther by starlight than humans or elves do in the full light of the sun. Their scales are proof against the energies that kindle in their breasts, and also sovereign against many spells. They cannot be cast into ensorcelled sleep nor have their muscles frozen against their will.
You can assume that Jakun knows all the details of the dragon type, in case I forgot any, and also what sort of breath weapon and immunities to expect from a dragon with a given color of scales, as well as all this.
The weaknesses of dragons are few. They may fall prey to the same personal faults as other thinking beings. Only long-lost artifacts are any proof against them, the most famous being the Dragonorbs and Dragonlances. Both are death to dragons of any kind.

Samnell |

Is the decision now to try going straight to Qualinesti, or did the party still want to check up on Solace? I think so, but I'm not positive and would rather dodge the confusion of mistakenly whisking you to the wrong spot. :)
Pal-Salin's warning aside, the forest will dump you in roughly the proper spot either way.

Caitlyn Weissman |

I suspect Caitlyn will worry endlessly about her folks unless she sees they're ok (or not - there's a war on). But I'm happy to go straight to Qualinesti if the party prefer.
Anyway I wonder if a certain blacksmith will be at Solace?

Jakun Stormhoof |

The Staff has the following spells: Magic Missile, Enlarge Person, Resist Energy, and Bear's Endurance.
Justarius
Why do you resist aiding us against the return of Dragons?
Ladonna gave the Kender a gift, is it to follow him around the Tower or is the purpose more sinister? Is there an amulet I can receive to allow him to wear to resist any spells of divination she may cast?
Are there any arcane secrets that we as the Red share with initiates or is it simply whatever I find in the Tower on my own research?
During my test, s apirit named Fistandantilus called to me, was this part of the Test? Show him the spell book Does it have anything to do with this book I found in Xak Tsaroth while we defeated the Dragon?
Out of curiosity, may I see the Staff of Magius? He is the man who inspired me to journey here and take the Test after all.
Have you any further knowledge of the activities of the Dragons?
I will also visit Ladonna:
Tell me, should I find a Renegade working for these dark forces, how should I deal with them?
Know you of any reason why Justarius seems so neutral in these dealings? He must see that the fate of the world hangs in the balance if Dragons have returned, and they have.
Finally I will visit with Par-Salian:
Master, can you offer me any advice on dealing with Dragons outside of what I have learned in my research these past few days?
Is there any who I can seek to aid me in my travels?
Know you of any allies in Qualinesti or are our relations with the elves as bad as I fear they are? There must be some white robed elven wizards no?
Is there any aid that you can give to me? You must see that the return of the Gods of Light has some meaning more than mere coincidence, especially with the reappearance of the Dragons.

Storyteller Shadow |

I will be away from the boards for a few days due to a surgery my daughter is getting tomorrow. I will probably be posting again on Friday. Bot me as needed till then.

Jakun Stormhoof |

FYI, I will be packing and moving and then unpacking again over the next 35 - 40 days so if I have intermittent unexplained absences from the boards this is why.

Mariel Uth Kaldar |

It would be really interesting to play this game out until the characters are really high levels. Would there be a Master of Past and Present? Would there be a War of Souls or Chaos War? The Age of Dragons or the Age of Mortals?