Post by Aegir on Jan 29, 2006 22:59:28 GMT -5
As I mentioned briefly in the loot thread, downtime within Shade enclave will offer members of the group to attempt to curry favor with some of the people of power in Shade, using this to their advantage in future dealings within the hierarchy, among other places.
This will be mostly performed using variant Diplomacy rules, which can be augmented through the use of things such as bribes and offers of aid, and the ramifications of actions will carry over to future meetings, possibly even with other power members. I'll be adding names and brief descriptions as inspiration strikes, but for how you've got a few names, and the concept to ponder over for your next period in Shade.
This option is by no means limited to Shadovar; you could try currying favor with foreign powers to secure aid, or barter with a demon in exchange for a service, for example, its simply that I suspect the uses on Shadovar will provide the most potential.
<--Major Contacts-->
Prince Dethud Tanthul (LE Male Human Shade) is by far the most reserved of the Princes of Shade, and is well known throughout the enclave for his comparative silence. He is however often sought by all the Princes when wise advice is needed, for his answers are always intelligent, logical and thoroughly thought out. Among the Princes, he is an oddity for stance that manipulation - as opposed to all-out war - is the best course of action in their current situation; a view shared by fire of the Princes, with the now dead Melegaunt being the one notable exception. Indeed, if there is anyone who would like to see Melegaunt's return from the afterlife, it is Dethud.
Prince Lamorak Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) has been for the last decade the head of the Determinists' Guild; the group singularly responsible for testing and assigning each Shadovar to the role that best suits their particular skillset. Lamorak is also in charge of the process of selection and transformation of deserving Shadovar into Shades. Lamorak's position is rather neutral when it comes to politics, but when pressed he leans towards manipulation as opposed to direct action; though he is not as set in this belief as some.
Prince Yder Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) was the right hand of his older brother Rivalen, until the High Priest met with his death during the battle at Tiverton, though he has continued in that position since Abylon Tanthul has come to power. Prince Yder served in the Shadovar military for many years, earning the rank of Captain before turning to the service of Shar, becoming a warrior devoted to the cause of his Deity. He commands the temple guards of the Hall of Shadow (the main Temple of Shar in Shade enclave) and performs church-sponsored missions. Like his brother Rivalen, Yder would like to see Hadrhune removed from power, though his reasons are far less personal than his; he simply feels that a position should be filled by the will of his deity, not the will of Hadrhune.
Prince Brennus Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) is the youngest of the Tanthul Princes, and by most accounts one of Telemont's favorites. From an early age he showed remarkable arcane aptitude, which was only surpassed by his grasp of history. Telemont ordered the boys tutors to focus on the history of the Shadovar and Netheril, and today he is one of the foremost experts on Shadovar and Netherese history. He is largely responsible for locating and pinpointing the locations of Netherese ruin sites and directing excavation teams in artifact recovery. He believes that it is through the use of caches of Netherese artifacts that the Shadovar shall win its rightful place as the rulers of Faerun, and in this he tends to lean his support towards Hadrhune's conflict-over-manipulation outlook, though he holds no overwhelming loyalty to the man specifically. When dealing with others, Brennus is very gentlemanly and formal.
Abylon Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) is the eldest son and top apprentice of Rivalen, and since his fathers death has assumed the title of High Priest of Shar. Abylon has shown a remarkable grasp of both the arcane and divine arts and an unshakable devoutness to his Deity, and maintains his fathers seething hatred of Hadrhune. Unlike his father, Abylon devotes much of his time towards experimentation with undead beings, a practice that has increased since Rivalen's death. It is known that he has standing orders for any Shadovar slain in battle to be returned to him: though a reasonable guess can be made as to what is being done with the corpses, no concrete evidence has arisen of their exact use.
Zelthod Tanthul (LE Male Human Shade) is a distant relative of house Tanthul, and one of the cities senior instructors in the arcane arts. Zelthod played a significant role in the training of Prince Melegaunt, and through this formed a close connection to Prince Dethud which continues to this day. Zelthod tends to agree with Dethud that manipulation is the best course, though they tend to disagree on where subtly should end and conflict should begin. Zelthod is the father of three sons, two are now dead and one - Amazandar - has been targeted for "removal" by Hadrhune, as his existence is the last remaining evidence of an experiment gone bad.
Leevoth (NE Male Human Shade) is one of Shade's most highly decorated and respected military captains. Starting out as a wizard, he grew tired of the practice and turned his attention to more martial pursuits. His magic now serves mostly to augment his defenses when called upon to quell rogue spellcasters, something he has become quite adept at. Whether he has any particular preference as to the course Shade takes is unknown, and the fact that he serves Hadrhune and each of the Princes equally does nothing to help.
<--Minor Contacts-->
Serechule (LE Male Human Shade) is an instructor in the ways of the Shadow Weave and an Arcane Devotee of Shar. He is an expert in Netherese and Shadovar history, and often consults with Prince Brennus on his research into finding ancient ruin sites. He is also adept at the creation of magic items that tap into the power of the Shadow Weave. Despite his close working relationship with Prince Brennus, his beliefs tend to side with Yder and his church regarding the best course of action for the Shadovar, as well as his opinion of Hadrhune.
Ravenia (NE Female Human) is the eldest daughter of one of the more prominent noble houses in Shade, until a scandal caused by her brother destroyed it. The events destroyed Ravenia, who devoted herself to the Lady of Loss shortly after. She is a cold, bitter woman who spends her time performing duties within the Hall of Shadow, hoping that one day her Lady will deem her worthy of death and the cessation of her consciousness.
Telpe (LE Male Moon Elf) has been the personal servant to house Geland (Shades most powerful and influential merchant house) for several generations, as his family has been stretching back hundreds of years, since before the fall of Netheril. Believed to be a direct descendant of the Eaerlanni Elves, his status in Shade is an odd one. Despite his Elven blood, he is afforded a measure of respect even from the Princes, as the nobles of Shade are aware that getting on house Geland's bad side tends to, at the very least, greatly complicate the acquisition of most any Shade import.
Haokor (NE Male Human) is a Lieutenant under captain Guryn, and served with Amazandar before he was transferred out by Hadrhune. He has since earned a promotion to Lieutenant, and given his military history, is likely on the cusp of Shade transformation.
Guryn (LE Male Human Shade) is the captain in charge of Amazandar's former unit. A brutal but fair commander, his tactics with those under his command tend to follow two paths; lenient at first has he gages their true abilities, then brutally strict - even lethally so - if you ever deviate from said ability.
Cinya (LE Female Human) Is the owner/operator of 'Cinya's House of Couture', arguably the most prominent tailor in Shade. Her shop is the primary tailor for the Determinists' Guild, and is known to cater to several of the Princes and many of the cities nobles.
Cassidy de'Flourne (CN Female Human) is a pirate captain operating along the Sword Coast north between Waterdeep and Luskan, though she is known to have contacts as far east as Westgate and the Fallen Stars region.
This will be mostly performed using variant Diplomacy rules, which can be augmented through the use of things such as bribes and offers of aid, and the ramifications of actions will carry over to future meetings, possibly even with other power members. I'll be adding names and brief descriptions as inspiration strikes, but for how you've got a few names, and the concept to ponder over for your next period in Shade.
This option is by no means limited to Shadovar; you could try currying favor with foreign powers to secure aid, or barter with a demon in exchange for a service, for example, its simply that I suspect the uses on Shadovar will provide the most potential.
<--Major Contacts-->
Prince Dethud Tanthul (LE Male Human Shade) is by far the most reserved of the Princes of Shade, and is well known throughout the enclave for his comparative silence. He is however often sought by all the Princes when wise advice is needed, for his answers are always intelligent, logical and thoroughly thought out. Among the Princes, he is an oddity for stance that manipulation - as opposed to all-out war - is the best course of action in their current situation; a view shared by fire of the Princes, with the now dead Melegaunt being the one notable exception. Indeed, if there is anyone who would like to see Melegaunt's return from the afterlife, it is Dethud.
Prince Lamorak Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) has been for the last decade the head of the Determinists' Guild; the group singularly responsible for testing and assigning each Shadovar to the role that best suits their particular skillset. Lamorak is also in charge of the process of selection and transformation of deserving Shadovar into Shades. Lamorak's position is rather neutral when it comes to politics, but when pressed he leans towards manipulation as opposed to direct action; though he is not as set in this belief as some.
Prince Yder Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) was the right hand of his older brother Rivalen, until the High Priest met with his death during the battle at Tiverton, though he has continued in that position since Abylon Tanthul has come to power. Prince Yder served in the Shadovar military for many years, earning the rank of Captain before turning to the service of Shar, becoming a warrior devoted to the cause of his Deity. He commands the temple guards of the Hall of Shadow (the main Temple of Shar in Shade enclave) and performs church-sponsored missions. Like his brother Rivalen, Yder would like to see Hadrhune removed from power, though his reasons are far less personal than his; he simply feels that a position should be filled by the will of his deity, not the will of Hadrhune.
Prince Brennus Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) is the youngest of the Tanthul Princes, and by most accounts one of Telemont's favorites. From an early age he showed remarkable arcane aptitude, which was only surpassed by his grasp of history. Telemont ordered the boys tutors to focus on the history of the Shadovar and Netheril, and today he is one of the foremost experts on Shadovar and Netherese history. He is largely responsible for locating and pinpointing the locations of Netherese ruin sites and directing excavation teams in artifact recovery. He believes that it is through the use of caches of Netherese artifacts that the Shadovar shall win its rightful place as the rulers of Faerun, and in this he tends to lean his support towards Hadrhune's conflict-over-manipulation outlook, though he holds no overwhelming loyalty to the man specifically. When dealing with others, Brennus is very gentlemanly and formal.
Abylon Tanthul (NE Male Human Shade) is the eldest son and top apprentice of Rivalen, and since his fathers death has assumed the title of High Priest of Shar. Abylon has shown a remarkable grasp of both the arcane and divine arts and an unshakable devoutness to his Deity, and maintains his fathers seething hatred of Hadrhune. Unlike his father, Abylon devotes much of his time towards experimentation with undead beings, a practice that has increased since Rivalen's death. It is known that he has standing orders for any Shadovar slain in battle to be returned to him: though a reasonable guess can be made as to what is being done with the corpses, no concrete evidence has arisen of their exact use.
Zelthod Tanthul (LE Male Human Shade) is a distant relative of house Tanthul, and one of the cities senior instructors in the arcane arts. Zelthod played a significant role in the training of Prince Melegaunt, and through this formed a close connection to Prince Dethud which continues to this day. Zelthod tends to agree with Dethud that manipulation is the best course, though they tend to disagree on where subtly should end and conflict should begin. Zelthod is the father of three sons, two are now dead and one - Amazandar - has been targeted for "removal" by Hadrhune, as his existence is the last remaining evidence of an experiment gone bad.
Leevoth (NE Male Human Shade) is one of Shade's most highly decorated and respected military captains. Starting out as a wizard, he grew tired of the practice and turned his attention to more martial pursuits. His magic now serves mostly to augment his defenses when called upon to quell rogue spellcasters, something he has become quite adept at. Whether he has any particular preference as to the course Shade takes is unknown, and the fact that he serves Hadrhune and each of the Princes equally does nothing to help.
<--Minor Contacts-->
Serechule (LE Male Human Shade) is an instructor in the ways of the Shadow Weave and an Arcane Devotee of Shar. He is an expert in Netherese and Shadovar history, and often consults with Prince Brennus on his research into finding ancient ruin sites. He is also adept at the creation of magic items that tap into the power of the Shadow Weave. Despite his close working relationship with Prince Brennus, his beliefs tend to side with Yder and his church regarding the best course of action for the Shadovar, as well as his opinion of Hadrhune.
Ravenia (NE Female Human) is the eldest daughter of one of the more prominent noble houses in Shade, until a scandal caused by her brother destroyed it. The events destroyed Ravenia, who devoted herself to the Lady of Loss shortly after. She is a cold, bitter woman who spends her time performing duties within the Hall of Shadow, hoping that one day her Lady will deem her worthy of death and the cessation of her consciousness.
Telpe (LE Male Moon Elf) has been the personal servant to house Geland (Shades most powerful and influential merchant house) for several generations, as his family has been stretching back hundreds of years, since before the fall of Netheril. Believed to be a direct descendant of the Eaerlanni Elves, his status in Shade is an odd one. Despite his Elven blood, he is afforded a measure of respect even from the Princes, as the nobles of Shade are aware that getting on house Geland's bad side tends to, at the very least, greatly complicate the acquisition of most any Shade import.
Haokor (NE Male Human) is a Lieutenant under captain Guryn, and served with Amazandar before he was transferred out by Hadrhune. He has since earned a promotion to Lieutenant, and given his military history, is likely on the cusp of Shade transformation.
Guryn (LE Male Human Shade) is the captain in charge of Amazandar's former unit. A brutal but fair commander, his tactics with those under his command tend to follow two paths; lenient at first has he gages their true abilities, then brutally strict - even lethally so - if you ever deviate from said ability.
Cinya (LE Female Human) Is the owner/operator of 'Cinya's House of Couture', arguably the most prominent tailor in Shade. Her shop is the primary tailor for the Determinists' Guild, and is known to cater to several of the Princes and many of the cities nobles.
Cassidy de'Flourne (CN Female Human) is a pirate captain operating along the Sword Coast north between Waterdeep and Luskan, though she is known to have contacts as far east as Westgate and the Fallen Stars region.