Roekron Plot Update Summer 2019

7/1/19

The Uprising of the Enchanted:

At the end of sixth moon, developments surrounding the odd behavior of magical items in Roekron, particularly around Dsesnor reached a critical state and millions of magical items transcended their physical form all at once and became energy! Apparently, the spirits within these items have been affected in some way that causes them to transform into a form that is a hybrid of the spirit within and the item they have lived in. Though many tried to keep the beings from transforming and some even realized that they had encountered these beings before, not knowing what they were, the effect was unstoppable by any known means (though it is theorized that Astengrad attempted to stop this, and if so, that they considered it Elder Sorcery of mass destruction). Why these items transformed themselves and what caused it, is still being investigated by mage schools all across Roekron and beyond. The main theory seems to revolve around Glimindel, the major source of magical item creation for most of Roekron for the past thousand years. The forges there have been tirelessly hammering out items in massive production lines and have supplied most of the known world with their sought-after treasures. At times, Glimindel has fallen into enemy hands, and during these times, some of the most notoriously dangerous items were crafted, items that took centuries to track down and destroy. Developments in and around Glimindel, where the Shadowlands attempted to complete a functioning gateway between their world and this, and for a brief period of time succeeded, seems to have triggered some kind of effect on the items. An earthquake struck the area only a few months ago and caused huge chasm to open up across the region. Odd sulfuric acid pools were discovered within, and many now believe that between the advancement of the Shadowlands and the event of this earthquake that something has been disturbed that must be repaired for these items to return to their original state. Many also point to the odd increase in those who die passing on, something that seemed to coincide with these events as well. It may very well be that something of the spiritual plane has become damaged in this region and is now spreading, causing chaotic changes across all nations. Only time will tell.

Others believe that these developments are not the reason for the change in magical items form, but rather the catalyst. The beings that these items have become seemed to have appeared first some fifty years ago. Now that people have begun to recognize what these beings are, they can trace back encounters with them for decades, many attempting to solve them or destroy them, both of which seem unsuccessful. Many magical theorists believe that something changed many years ago and has been building to this event. When asked for comment, some of the leading minds on the topic have had little to say. Electra Bosium merely shook her head and said, “Don’t take the shortcuts… any elf can teach you that. How many elven items do you see running around cutting people to pieces… very few.” The lead crafter of Glimindel has been missing for some time, and so no comment from him could be acquired, but Embarcarious was heard to mention sadly in one of his lectures shortly after the event, “one must always remember the laws of magical physics, that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. A home is a prison, unless the one inside is given the key.” When seeking an audience with Celani Newform, once Arch-Mage of the Wizards Trade Orders Nature branch, she was hesitant to comment on the matter, but did venture a tentative guess, “the nature of magic is wild, and we seek to confine it within our needs and our aims. Is it not unlikely then, that the more we try to hold it still, the more it will fight to break free?” When asked to speak on the subject, Twi Junegail said that the Sorikonia Martial Masters were all discussing the situation and that this try of behavior was to be expected, saying “upon the beach I found a beautiful school of fish. Loving them, I gathered them into my arms and carried them home. Somehow, they do not seem as happy as they were in the breakers…”

Hopefully an answer to this problem can be found, for as many have now realized, these relatively low powered items are not the only items to have changed from. Many others of a higher Tier have changed as well, taking on much more formidable and dangerous forms than their smaller brethren. This suggest that this effect is not limited to the lower Tier items and may in fact spread upwards, infecting all the items in our world, leaving us bereft of the millions of tools that, up until now, we have relied on for the functioning of our nations. Should this happen, no one can predict what might befall the stability of the world. Already, there are reports of strange unknown armies coming out of the north, with odd new banners and insignias. The Mists of Shabarax seems to have become cold and frost covered, with strange huge horned beings now being seen within it, draining the memories of all they encounter with a strange Morganti cleaver like arm and claws. Still, there is hope. Two major plague zones appear to have been destroyed, one near Pinnacle and the other near Amir Ford, and it is possible that the loss of so many items across the world could adversely affect the enemies of Roekron just as much if not more than our allies. The Wizards Trade Order seems hit very hard by this effect, as does Svodlun, pointing perhaps to some clue to the effect itself, which doesn’t seem to be of their doing. No dragons seem to have come forward to discuss the issue, and in fact, no dragons seem to have been seen in the skies for some time now. Whether they are indeed staying away, or simply choosing to leave us all in the dark, is unknown, but many consider the sudden absence of dragons to be foreboding, and this historian, for their part, agrees.

Our hopes rely then on a quickly vanishing small group of individuals. A group that with the increase of deaths, loss of items, and increasing odd magical effects finds themselves stretched more and more thin. The odds begin to seem slim that anything will ever be the same, or that we can escape this challenge unscathed. One can only hope that someone, somewhere will discover an answer, and then, against the odds, press on, as only heroes seem to do. In truth, it is all that has ever worked in times like these; a hope, a moment, and a critical choice. Let’s hope that choice is a good one.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT THESE CHANGES IN GAME (Special Effect Description, Item Spirits, Economic Impacts, Shabarax Developments, Morganti Hulk Beings, Death Bag Adjustments, Divine Gift Changes)

Special Effect Description

All magic items that are Tier 1 and have no Tier modifier listed (such as +1 Tier if...) vanish in a flash of light and become a spirit which is under its own control. Items that state that they are Low Powered and don’t read as Magic, or don’t deal magic damage but normally would are excluded from this effect. Ancient items, from the first age, also are excluded from this effect.

These beings are considered Haunts, and are considered hostile to all beings. They cannot be solved (unless a GM specifically says so) and don’t escalate in form, but do in aggression. This effect is all across Roekron, including allies and enemies of Roekron (WTO, Dagdoeth, etc). All said items must be turned into Chris at the next event you attend and should also be removed from the item box, and any other storage locations and turned in. The cause of this is unknown at this time, but most mage school believe it is a combination of strange developments around Glimmindel and the fading of magic.

The item must have the modifier in the Red Text under Flaws (not in the grey text of a set bonus). This modifier could be a bonus or minus (like Tier 1, 0 of a Dwarf) and the item would be fine. Tier 0 items also are unaffected and remain in their original form.

Item Spirits

Players will be running into a lot of transformed item spirits, which we will call Magic Item Spirit Haunts or Item Spirits for short. There are the common type, and the rare ones, and for ease of understanding we will simply call them common and rare. For Helpers and game masters, common ones are those that fall into the category of Tier one items with no Tier modifiers, etc. Rare items spirits are those that do not follow this guideline, but still have become Item Spirits. Their style of play and stats will be important due to their prevalence at this time and so a stat block, notes, and abilities is included below. These beings usually wear an elemental/non-humanoid sash, as opposed to an undead sash, since they do not look undead, but rather like a being made of light and metal. But a GM is allowed to suit them up however they wish for the setting, and if people would recognize them as undead, they would then also wear an undead sash. (Update: 7/30/19) Note- item spirits that are all together as a set share all their set bonuses with each other. Item spirits that are Runic have Healing Factor, and item spirits that are “Indestructible” have Resistance to being dropped by damage. If an item Spirit Haunt that were Weapons and appear to have both hands as weapons, will deal magic damage.

Magic Item Spirit Haunts (or “Common Item Spirits”).

HP 1, Mana 2, AV 0-4, Size Varies, INT Animal/Average.

Creature Type: Elemental, Undead (Spirit), Haunt, Outsider.

Looks: These beings vary in appearance in extreme ways. They can seem like animals with strange mutations, floating objects with light streaming out of them, somewhat humanoid beings wielding odd items fused to them, or bizarre geometric forms flying in formations. Not every item will present itself in the same way, as some seem to focus on one element of themselves or another. Overall, there is usually some aspect of their appearance that relates directly to the item that they were. Though a spirit may appear as a giant cat like being striding through the battlefield, it may have one limb that seems to be a long glaive instead of a paw, and that it strikes with frequently. These clues can suggest what type of item the being originally was, and thus, what it might have originally been. For ease of play, a GM might hand out an item to the players being Item Spirits of it, so that they can reference its abilities and flaws for role play.

Abilities: Martial Arts, Minor Undead (though it doesn’t look very undead). Usually can use any abilities of the item it was. Delayed Haunt (if dropped, will reform the next encounter in the same spot, moving up to Aggressive, or to Frenzy if already Aggressive).

Notes: The intelligence of these beings is actually quite high, but their understanding of the world they are in quite low. They seem to behave more like an animal that finds itself in a town. While it doesn’t know what these people are doing, it certainly knows what it would do if it were in the forest, and so it takes those actions. If the item was a weapon, often has some form of it as an attack. If the item was armor, often can increase its AV to that of the armor if it wishes (usually at start of the encounter). If it was a wearable item, often only attacks or interacts with beings via its abilities and doesn’t deal damage with its hands, just attacks for Knockout. These beings often embody the concept of the item. If the item is completely defensive, the spirit may take the form of a giant metal wall or cube, blocking attacks only. If the item seems to have been constructed to attack a lot, the item may appear as multiple blades and only make attacks. As a rule, though, they almost never appear as simply the item itself. They generally always appear more as a being with some aspect of the item attached to them. Behavior wise, they also will embody the flaws of the item. While they are not bound by the flaws the way someone using the item is, they will still tend towards the flaws which reflect their ideals or goals overall.

Rare Magic Item Spirit Haunts (or “Rare Item Spirits”).

HP Tier of the Item times 10, Mana 5, AV 0-4, Size Varies, INT Animal/High.

Creature Type: Elemental, Undead (Spirit), Haunt, Outsider.

Looks: As above but with a tendency towards larger and more illuminated. They often embody more of the name and concept of the item, and less of the actual structure that it was.

Abilities: Martial Arts, Greater Undead (though it doesn’t look very undead). Usually can use any abilities of the item it was. Delayed Haunt (if dropped, will reform the next encounter in the same spot, moving up to Aggressive, or to Frenzy if already Aggressive).

Notes: As above, but these beings often appear within the group of others and seem to take a lead role among them. Common Item Spirits seem to take their cue from these Rare Item Spirits and will sometimes even gain abilities from this spirit. Rare item spirits have a greater understanding of the world around them and how to operate it. They tend to be seeking some kind of goal and know how to obtain it. They appear to need to mana drain things to sustain themselves, and this makes them somewhat of a Feeding Undead, though they don’t seem to need to feed at the normal rate. They also seem to be able to feed on other power supplies such as mana wells, spells cast on them, or any source of magic.

Economic Impacts

With the sudden loss of millions of magic items instantly, and the arrival of millions of new beings which seem set on attacking the population, the economy is rough to say the least. The instability is making everyone nervous and thus the economy is failing.

1. The @ of almost every city has been cut in half!

2. High level NPC’s will no longer be assumed to have Magic Items that give them various abilities, and will only have them if specifically handed one by the GM.

3. Magic items have gone way up in value, and those that are still in circulation should be considered to be at least twice the value they were before.

4. Magic Item traders will no longer be seen in markets, but rather, an individual who is trading an item.

5. Magic Item crafting is banned, except by heads of state, as this activity appears to attract the attention of Item Spirits and can potentially create a monster.

6. The value of currency seems to be unstable. Many appear to be moving their stocks of gemstones and gold into more secure investments like armor, which holds its value in any region. Many fear that gemstones and gold could soon be worthless, and thus, items are the place to invest.

Shabarax Developments

Some obvious changes to the behavior of the Mists of Shabarax have been noticed and should be reflected in the game play. The Mist now appear cold and freezes the ground that it touches. The Poisonous effect that was always a signature of the Mists seems to have been replaced with a Warded Charm effect. While this is good for those who wish not to die in the mists, it is bad for those who hope to maintain control of themselves. It also appears that this effect is no longer a Poison, and thus, all the attempts to protect oneself from poison to defend against the mists are now useless.

1. Mists of Shabarax now cause frost, and anyone who enters the mists (low mist or otherwise) will be Effectively Frozen at the start of every encounter.

2. Mists of Shabarax no longer poison, but instead cause Warded Charm on anyone who is dropped in low mist, or anyone who enters thick mist.

3. Skeletal Goblins are a major troop within the mists now. They are Dense, but Low INT for combat purposes, Full Undead (and all the Skeleton stats), but usually Infinite in numbers!

4. Most of the Undead of Shabarax use the Template model and are hybrids of the species and the undead.

5. Most of the Shabarax minions’ encountered will always have a leader of some type which has abilities to take over the mind of those that it drops.

Morganti Hulk Beings

Large Cave Troll like beings with one arm longer than the other, and a huge black curved horn on its head have been seen, hunting down people and destroying their memories Morganti. This being appears to have Cave Troll Stats, plus Greater Undead, Outsider Regenerating, Morganti Level Draining body tag attacks, as well as innate Morganti claws. Some of these have been defeated, and they fade and become just a mutated Cave Troll when they do. These beings seem also to be Immune to missile spells, terror damage, holy damage, and some other types of attacks.

Death Bag Adjustments Update: (7/19/19)

Due to unknown changes in the game world, believed to be linked to the Dsesnor area, the death bag is operating differently this summer. The first three two Red/Orange stones that are pulled from the bag vanish, and replacement stones must be pulled in their place. This drastically increases the odds of Pding and thus many in the world are treating death as a much more serious crime due to this development.

Also, it seems that a new effect has taken shape in the past week. Four blue stones now replace four of the clear stones. Their effect is unknown, other than that they seem to trigger when someone PD’s with these blue stones in the pull.

Divine Gift Changes (general flow update- not plot related).

For the remainder of the season, Divine Gift will only give standard abilities from the chart within the rule book. There is no way to “upgrade” or “improve” this effect via sacrifices or quests. The same is true of Pact, Familiar, Party Blessing, and any other Rank 1-2 variable ability. Any Customized effect will be reserved for Rank 3 and above abilities such as Bless Self, or for temporary blessings and Divine Interventions. This is not to say that doing a sacrifice to a deity will not get you a Custom blessing “for the day.” But Rank 1-2 variables set abilities should be chosen by the player and not the GM and only include the standard listed choices.

Update - Sorikonian Development (7/19/19)

During the third week of seventh moon, many events occurred in Sorikonia that have shifted the power structure in the area and beyond. A new leader of heaven was chosen, a young girl, only fifteen year old Ch’ien Tifiterra, who is reported to have changed the direction Sorikonia has been heading and given new focus to the region. She was chosen due to the change in the Item Spirit Haunts. Sorikonias believe that the change in the items causing them to become animated is a sign that the Heavens are unhappy, and that they are asking for a change. Tifiterra apparently took charge of a group of adventurers in the region and sent them on a quest. She was reported of have vowed be fasting until they returned. She has now passed into a coma, and the group has not been seen since. Another master is missing, Chen Hobai, and many fear that Hobai has passed on and that a new Thunder leader must also be chosen. During her fast, the island was attacked by a plague zone moving in from the south and the Wizard Trade Order making Soldier Statues to the north. The Soldier Statues were never dealt with by the adventurers or the Martial Masters, much to the disappointment of the Wizards Trade Order as the entire invasion appears to have been an illusion! The fact that no one engaged with it means it was less than useful. Sorikonia stills seems to be dealing with a large influx of undead, particularly animals with demonic traits. The masters are preparing for a long defense of their island and HELM (the Honored Elite League Military) is not there in force to help keep the island from falling, though getting troops there is very difficult as the only access is through Temnor.

Dsesnor appears to be fighting a major conflict from within as undead from underground begin to flood the region. Glimmindel is overrun with undead and the forces there have not been destroyed as planned by Estorock. The battle to control the forges continues and Dsesnor appears to be losing. Fortunately the Wizards Trade Order seems also to be struggling and this no threat to Dsesnor at this time. Many have described a strange effect upon dying which seems to have started in this region, now easing and making divine intervention easier, and also becoming more mysterious as some begin to feel their grip on their afterlife beginning to slip. What these changes mean is still unknown.

Game World Effects From This:

Players now only remove the first two red stones they pull and repull for those two. All death bags need to replace four clear stones with four blue stones. If anyone PD’s with any Blue Stones, they must see the GM for Effects).