I swear I tried to search for threads containing this topic, but I did not find anything that addressed the manner or cause of this heroic figure's death. The wiki says he sacrificed himself in order to defeat the Whispering Tyrant.
It is assumed that he died during the Shining Crusade when he confronted The Whispering Tyrant outside of Gallowspire yadda yadda yadda, but didn't the Shield of Aroden save him by rebounding the powerful magic against TB (and shattering the shield in the process)? Assuming the shield saved him from dying to the Tyrant's wish spell, then how did he die? Just curious what the story is. Thanks!
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Good question. I don't think it was ever explicitly stated. The descriptions of the Shield of Aroden/Shattered Shield of Arnisant all (three different books that thing appears in!) say that he was saved from the Tyrant's wish. But the section on Lastwall in Inner Sea World Guide says that Arnisant "sacrificed himself to imprison Tar-Baphon beneath his own tower at the evil city’s (Gallowspire) heart." Dungeons of Golarion says of Gallowspire that "the dying general Arnisant ordered the place sealed forever."
These aren't mutually exclusive. The shield fragment injured the Tyrant terribly but didn't immediately end the war. It's possible Arnisant survived the wish but died in the fighting to seal the tower. The timelines of the Shining Crusade say that Tar-Baphon was defeated AND imprisoned in 3827 AR.
So at a guess he died during the construction of the great seal, probably while fighting to make sure the seal was put in the proper place and activated.
The implication from the "sacrifice" mention would seem to indicate that he died in the confrontation with Tar-Baphon despite the shield taking the brunt of the wish spell. It could be that he lived through the encounter but was mortally wounded by it even so, such was the power of the Tyrant's magical ability (or the destructive effect of the shield's explosion, although that would be a serious drawback to the artifact), and eventually succumbed after witnessing the imprisonment. At least that way he knew he had succeeded before he passed. It doesn't entirely explain why he wouldn't have been saved (by restorative magic) in the meantime, but it's a story I can live with I guess.
I was just wondering if there was something else to the story that I wasn't seeing. Thanks!
Designer
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I think that the destruction of the shield is what actually killed him, though it took a while for him to die. The shield exploded and lodged a piece of itself in Tar-Baphon's hand; it's reasonable that a piece of the shield might have lodged itself in a part of Arnisant as well, which wouldn't have instantly killed him but could have caused him to die shortly thereafter. The magic repelling nature of the shield (and its fragments) that saved him from Tar-Baphon's wish could even have been the very thing that prevented healing magic from saving him after he survived the initial explosion.
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I think that the destruction of the shield is what actually killed him, though it took a while for him to die. The shield exploded and lodged a piece of itself in Tar-Baphon's hand; it's reasonable that a piece of the shield might have lodged itself in a part of Arnisant as well, which wouldn't have instantly killed him but could have caused him to die shortly thereafter. The magic repelling nature of the shield (and its fragments) that saved him from Tar-Baphon's wish could even have been the very thing that prevented healing magic from saving him after he survived the initial explosion.
It's as good an explanation as any I can come up with, even if it really sucks for Arnisant. His artifact shield saves his life only to cause catastrophic injury and prevent magical healing from saving his life leading to his demise. A tragic end for a heroic figure, but then he was always going to have a tragic fate.