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Topics - LightlyFrosted
1
« on: April 18, 2017, 12:53:24 am »
Clouds of acrid smoke surround the tinking section of the Hall of Reconstruction, as strained machinery and coal-fired forges wind wire and belch steam, showering the area in sparks, and making a general nuisance of themselves. Despite this, a rough but clearly practiced voice is audible above the cacophany."In time gone by, in sacred halls,
The heroes heard the dragon calls,
And faced the fire and the flood,
And thus was fought the war of Blood.
And heroes fell to chance and blade,
Despite the courage some displayed,
All with their feet of clay, and flaws,
For not all monsters fight with claws.
And we grew old, as ages turned,
And fat on meat and gold we earned,
And heroes rose, but different now,
As circumstances would allow.But we're no safer now, than then,
Though we are different maids and men,
In dire straits are blades still drawn,
Did we feel safe, for Blood was gone?
And whether or not it is fair,
We must now beard the beast in lair,
For dragons stir from slumber old,
And men are sold in chains for gold.
Rise up you heroes, while you may,
And make this now your age, your day,
If you break faith with us gone by,
Then ask for what did heroes die?"
The song ends, and as the eye-watering smoke clears, the singer is gone, with a flash of light and the telltail 'pop' of arcane teleportation, there is little to prove the singer was there at all.
2
« on: April 10, 2017, 07:53:40 pm »
Artificers and arcanists sought for insight on large infrastructure project with the goal of securing Leringard Harbour against invasion or dragon attack.Tower Academy faculty in particular sought.Contact T. Keel, Leringard, for more details.*Beneath, a wax seal of a crossed wand and sword, surrounded by a laurel*
3
« on: April 08, 2017, 11:47:13 pm »
Just figured I'd drop back in and see how the old place was going, and see about picking up somewhat where I left off! Don't know if anyone recalls me all that well, but it's good to be back visiting at least!
4
« on: November 03, 2010, 01:41:17 am »
*A beautiful cursive script rests in dark ink upon the vellum of the page.*
And here we are again.
For years, the only journals I kept were workbooks; the occasional notation in the margin of a travelling spellbook (note to self: need new travelling spellbook. Old one somewhat soggy from Windjammer cave misadventure), the occasional personal essay, and of course the extensive notes of my years of training and research. It would hardly do, after all, to abandon such studies to the slightest gap in memory.
In truth, I had come to feel self-conscious about my humorously-entitled journal from the 'old days'. Deciding that such diaries wwere the providence of the young and vain, I closed my previous journals, and shut them away in a cupboard in my room, where, in the intervening years, they have done little but gather dust. The odd temptation to bring them out was overcome by modesty or disinterest, and so they stayed shelved until just this past week; on a whim, I brought them out, blew off the dust, and sat down to read. My prose was amateurish, my diagrams inelegant, and my ideals somewhat nauseating in their optimism, but there was something wonderfully true about them. A younger me was incautious in his words out of bravado and a sense of immortality. Of course, an older me is less cautious in his words because he's now become a powerful wizard, but that's beside the point.
Still, there rings something true about my older writings, and I hope to recapture this in my new ones. I am not vain enough to imagine that this will ever serve to entertain anyone but myself, but dear reader, I hold this to be true.
There are magics out there which most men - even the great wizards - never capture or grasp. The Art that we know today is but a pale imitation of these magics, but I attest, dear reader, that some of them still survive. I have seen a man flawlessly and effortlessly transmute himself into other various humanoid shapes, an act of disguise I had previously imagined reserved for illusion alone. I have met the ghost of a great golem maker, and hold a journal of his secrets. I have seen magics so powerful that I only just begin now to comprehend them. And, of course, I have experienced first-hand the magic of the bindstones, restoring to life more than once, if imperfectly, a foolish old man. There's the arena of Vehl, which lets no one perish by way of violence while within it; it predates the fort by centuries at least, and its magics are, I affirm, incredible.
And here is the secret. I do not believe these arts truly lost.
I am not saying that I intend to build a bindstone; I couldn't if I wanted to, I'm sure. Such workings are beyond me - likely, they will continue to be beyond any mortal providence for centuries if not millenia after my death. But I cannot shake the feeling that they are not divinely crafted; no god has taken credit for their making, and this is not the sort of thing about which gods are classically humble. What's more, they appear in many major temples, regardless of deity - may in fact, predate these places of worship. If they are mobile, I cannot truly say that I have ever seen one being moved. Where then, did they come from?
I say to you, they are workings of some great and ancient magicker, now long forgotten. For all we know, their purpose is far greater than those ends to which we currently use them; perhaps allowing a man to live again a hundred times before dying a final death is but the least of their powers - it is difficult to say, and I hesitate to experiment upon such works.
But the fact that such Art exists - the fact that such magic and magickers have left their influence to be felt in the world fills me full of hope, and wonder, and love of magic. It is not simply a matter of power; there is a nuance to all of these great magics which bespeaks incredible skill. To learn even a fraction of that skill; an iota of the carefully balanced power that flows through those wonders of a prior age and more - that is a dream to which I will someday awaken. Gentle reader, I bid you join me.
Let us learn magic.
- Timulty Keel
5
« on: April 10, 2010, 11:05:35 pm »
Due to a little real life schedule juggling, part two has been put on hold.. until now! Darkstorme and I are looking for the best time to re-assemble the crew from Part 1, and so we're looking for your input!
Our best times in the next few days would be either tomorrow (Sunday), Monday, or Wednesday! Please shout out if one of these works best for you, and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible as to which it'll be!
Thankful as always...
LightlyFrosted
6
« on: January 27, 2010, 12:35:21 am »
The nights are cold and dark, the wind howls, and until quite recently (in a sense), the sun never shone, but was concealed behind a bilious black cloud of volcanic ash. Times are lean, and cheer is often far from the minds of those who have to work for a living. Even as the world rebuilds itself, it tells comforting stories.
Stories of adventure! Stories of Derring-Do! Stories of a world ruled by secret societies and adventure! (Poorly.) Stories of...
ELIJAH STICK! AGENT OF THE TWILIGHT SOCIETY!
Hark, for the bard shall soon begin to spin his tale..
((For complete clarity: this is a work of utter fan-fiction. None of this should be taken as anything in-game, and this is just my attempt to mimic the style of a penny dreadful. Feedback via PM, if sent, will be rewarded with nice thoughts and pie. Pie not guaranteed.))
7
« on: January 11, 2010, 05:55:53 pm »
*The following, written in a distinctive but unfamiliar copperplate hand is listed in an organized, clear manner. Topics are underlined, chapters are discerned, and altogether, this small tome weighs no more than half a pound. The book is bound in a black leather, but is otherwise wholly unremarkable.*
*Notably, this work is not signed.*
To whom it may concern.
The following is a dissertation on potential tactics, mission profiles, and methods which may or may not be implemented in the pursuit of intelligence gathering, security, and threat-removal for the collective free peoples of Mistone and Alindor.
If you are not intended to read this document, please burn immediately.
8
« on: January 05, 2010, 02:22:56 am »
*The crowd is chattering as the musicians - a group of archers on the strings (what with their skill with the bow), a group of fighters on percussion (because hitting things with other things is their schtick), a group of Toranites on brass (because they can occasionally be blowhards.. *innocently*), and a group of druids on woodwinds (because.. well.. wood. And wind, for that matter) - take their seats. A wizard wearing black robes made from malar hide, complete with the panther's slender tail, and a white tunic comes out with a slender wand in hand. Resplendant in his tux with tails, he taps the podium, and begins to play. The bardic vocalists begin to sing..*
When you wander across continents,
To fetch apples for a pie;
No self-preservation sense,
Just respawning if you die;
With your armour dinged with many dents,
And a twinkle in your eye;
And you then recall just why, my gents, ("And ladies!" interposes one halfling bardess.. the crowd laughs.)
You first gave Layo a try!
Whether tanning hides,
Or slaying orcs,
Or finding old
Rusty pitchforks,
Or reinventing
Gnomish sporks,
Or whatever else you do...
As you gather treasure,
Gems and gold,
Or face those villains,
Brave and bold,
Or defeating some
Slime, ooze, or mold,
We put forward this as true...
That's Layonara! Layonara! Layonara!
Through and through!
*A bow. Thundrous applause. Enterprising food crafters sell slices of apple pie to the crowd, and are mobbed with a veritable swarm of halflings. Much like pirrahna can skeletonize a cow in under a minute, the pie seems to vanish all but instantaneously, leaving the vendors bewhildered, and the poorer for the loss of pie. Alas. Now they have to walk halfway across the world if they want to make another...*
9
« on: May 25, 2009, 01:51:12 am »
Greetings, gentle reader.
This is no record of my personal affairs; such, if they may be safely disclosed at all, shall find lodgings in a different tome indeed. For years, I have lived the life of a warring mage, attempting to inflict upon the world that which I believe to be right and good, and all of that is, barring specific examples drawn from those anecdotes, wholly irrelevant to what I would contain within this tome. Indeed, I rather prefer to believe that this work shall be received in the manner to which I intend it to be written; as a philosophical work, with annotations for any who desire that which the title promises.
I hesitate to leave out a warning to those that found this work and intend to seek within it some kind of mighty arcane strength or warrior's insight. While such may be derived from proper application of that which shall unfold should you choose to take my words to heart, the true gift that I seek to impart here is knowledge. It cannot be stolen, unmade, or undone; once you possess it, knowledge is a treasure yours until the end of your days. Like a fire, this knowledge illuminates all the more for being spread.
I hope that there will be some that find useful that which I now impart.
If not, a pox on thee, and thy illiterate ways.
T. Keel.
10
« on: November 21, 2008, 02:57:17 pm »
By the Permiffion of His Excellency
The Black Cat Players
Are Pleased to Present:
The Humerouf Tale of Lord Froffenjay
A Comedic Play in Three Acts
Complete With Clowns and Performing Dog
A WORLD PREMIERE by Playwright DARVIAN ASHGROVE!
To Be Prefented in the City of Port Hempftead
In the Month to Come!
CHEER! At the heroism of Forthright, Our Hero, Defeating Froffenjay's Wicked schemes!
JEER! At Froffenjay's ill-begotten wicked plans!
BEER! Made available for purchase thanks to our friends at the Scamp's Mug
11
« on: October 25, 2008, 02:03:07 pm »
To all those involved in "A Daring Rescue"
- The second quest will be the same time a week later, and will be on the Calender.
- It's officially time-bubbled (i.e. the events of the second quest will pretty closely follow the events of the first), however as this quest will be starting in Brennuth, it will be (unless there are strenuous objections), open attendance with preference given to those who attended the first.
- Any questions or in-character discussion that needs to happen between now and then may be posted in this thread.
12
« on: September 11, 2008, 01:30:40 am »
Extracted from the journal of a prominent wizard who will remain nameless, here are some useful hints, written, it would seem, as notes for treatises or dialogues, for those who must deal with spellcasters on a day to day basis, occasionally, or at all...
On the Difference Between Wizards And Dragons
"In what way," asks the young adventurer, "Is a wizard different from a dragon? Scales and fangs and tails and wings aside, they both may have massive strength (the wizard aided by magic, the dragon having it come naturally), they both use magic to some degree of effectiveness, and they both can project some form of elemental damage - the dragon with a breath weapon, the wizard using a fireball spell, or an acid sheathe, or whatnot."
Questions like these simply show the lack of the young adventurer's understanding about how both wizards or dragons work. Indeed, the role of any upstanding wizard is to instruct, or inform, whereas many dragons spend a good deal of time eating. If you do not think this sufficient difference, consider this.
If you have just cheeked a dragon, the dragon may well eat you. If you have just cheeked wizard, the more rambunctious mage may cast a slaying spell, or convert you into a pile of ashes, or perhaps skip the middle man, and simply turn you into a toad.
Either way, you are no longer a cheeky young adventurer. In this way, dragons and wizards are very much the same. However, the difference is this.
Regardless of the fact that you have just cheeked the dragon, it may well have just eaten you because it was hungry. The wizard, on the other hand, has doubtless performed his or her action in order to instruct you. Or perhaps those around you. At the very least, your next of kin will think twice about cheeking a wizard in the future.
What? You disagree?
How well do you like the taste of flies?
13
« on: September 02, 2008, 11:29:07 am »
After I posted some spells that got cut from Bioware's Neverwinter Nights to the amusement of some, my source on all things nixed by the Bioware execs mysteriously dried up. Recently, it's been in contact again, so here are a few monsters you won't be seeing anytime soon...
1. Garden Slaad: Made up principally of lettuce, this extra-planar creature was cut from Hordes of the Underdark due to some complaints that the magical item 'Decanter of Ranch Dressing' had also been cut.
2. Dire LOLcat: Remarkably prescient about how irritating the meme was going to be, Bioware pulled the plug on this monster concept after it got stuck on 'I Can Has Critical Hitz?"
3. Plutonium Dragon: The most powerful possible metallic dragon, it's a pity that this monster got pulled. I'm sure it would have been the basis for some new, clear adventures...
4. Heckhounds: Like hellhounds, but less so.
5. Grassy Gnolls: A truly deadly foe, capable of ranged sneak attacks, these creatures were the bane of elected officials everywhere. Bioware yanked them because the conspiracy theorists saw it coming.
6. Ketchup Golem: Easy to slay (particularly with +5 french fries of deliciousness), but you can never get the stain out if it hits you.
7. Snake Elementals: An elemental plane of snakes? Snakes on a plane! Bioware just couldn't get Samuel L. Jackson to record the monster's sound-bites cheaply, and the cost just addered up.
8. Abominable Sno-Cones: 'Yeti' had already taken up the slot of 'irritating winter-terrain creature', and taking these beasts into warmer climates meant that they melted all down your hand into a sticky mess. Sno cone? Sno way.
9. Groper: A variation on the traditional D&D monster the 'Roper', this one just goosed adventurers as they walked by. It was abandoned for being 'More creepy than frightening.'
10. Bacardi 151 (tm) Zombie: About the only type of zombie that Bioware FAILED to include, this was pulled from the pallet after it was discovered that the people 'designing' them had been spending the budgeted money on drinking them instead.
14
« on: April 16, 2008, 06:06:57 pm »
Location: Wherever fine infused products are made!
Bug: Using metamagic feats to get more castings/day of spells for the purposes of infusion, I noticed that instead of just adding up the spells available for the purposes of crafting, the crafting table multiplies the number of spells available which are of higher level than the original spell by some varying number. The spells are still consumed when the items are crafted, but crafting multiple gems at the same time can exploit this, as it thinks that there are multiple spells available. Therefore, even if I only have three spells left, if they're empowered, it might read as having '15 spells of' whatever left.
Reproducable: For varying levels of wands. I've only done much infusing in Hempstead, so I'm not sure if it's just the tables there or a general problem.
15
« on: April 13, 2008, 02:19:37 am »
... seems to be impossible. It doesn't appear in the average scribing station list of scribeable (that's not a word, but oh well) scrolls, though it's innate level 6. Nor does it appear in the level 4 one, which I checked as it's bard level 4..
... *Shrugs* Not a big qualm, but is this intentional?
16
« on: March 28, 2008, 03:46:38 am »
How much, roughly, would it cost to set up a magical scrying pool in a home? Just a ballpark figure here?
17
« on: March 23, 2008, 04:55:49 pm »
It's a cool spell.
It's incredibly useful for someone who's banned school is conjuration.
It's.. transmutation?
I'm wondering how the spell Moraken's sword works. It's not conjuration, because if it were.. well, it'd be a conjuration spell. The 'transmutation' suggests that I'm turning something mundane INTO the helmed horror that's summoned, but as I don't actually have to carry around a spare sword/armour... am I just weaving the helmed horror out of weave and air?
I'm curious, because it's been asked of me.
18
« on: March 20, 2008, 07:07:10 pm »
How 'in character' are the cardinal alignments? I've seen quests in which paladins actively attempt to 'detect evil' - even if no one is actively being evil at the time, evil characters have still registered as being so. This may in fact indicate that although we have some trouble completely defining all of the traits of anyone good or evil, it is not a wholly subjective term. Similar concepts could be pointed out when looking at summons - someone who summons a demon (quasit, imp, whatever..) is probably not on the picnic lunch invitation list.
I will grant, perhaps, that 'neutral' wouldn't register for many in character checks of alignment, and might therefore be notable only in this absence. In a setting where characters can be rendered physically incapable of using a tool or a weapon on the basis of their alignment, can we still claim that good or evil - or even to a lesser degree, law and chaos - are wholly subjective terms from an in-character perspective?
Any suggestions to this extent would be useful and appreciated. I'm not looking to go around in an Order of the Stick-esque world, calling people 'Lawful Good' or 'Chaotic Neutral', but if such terms can be objectively measured, it's a question to be considered.
19
« on: February 09, 2008, 10:13:56 pm »
*Opening up a paper from some fantastic realm might get you a treasure map.. or just the want-ads.*
Wanted:[/i][/b] Strong-willed, low-level Hob-.. halfling, to accompany 13 dwarves & Wizard on quest. Thief skills a plus.
For Sale: Slightly Rust-monster eaten longsword. Useful for bashing people over the head with what's left of the hilt. Will take best offer.
Missing: Capable manservant answering to the name 'Renfield'. May eat some bugs. If found, please leave somewhere near the entrance to the Vehl crypts.
See the world!: But only those continents appropriate to your level.
20
« on: January 31, 2008, 02:48:49 pm »
I know this has been discussed before, but the jury has always seemed a little open to the idea, so I'm throwing this idea in again. I'd suggest/request that healing spells in general, but Raise Dead and other associated 'restore life to a fallen ally' spells in specific be moved to necromancy, from Conjuration, where.. well, I'm not entirely certain why they're there to begin with.
The nearest explanation I've gotten for why healing spells are conjuration spells is that they 'conjure' positive energy to heal someone. By this logic, I'd think that healing spells would actually fit better under evocation - granted, most evocation spells tend to deal horrific burn scars or suchlike, but it IS about bringing forth magical energy. In contrast, you ARE affecting someone's state in the whole living/dead thing, by removing possibly scarred or dead tissue, and replacing it with shiny pink healed tissue, or something along those lines.
Raise dead, to extend this, actually entails bringing someone back to life from the dead. Unless you're conjuring their spirit back into their body, and then conjuring their wounds closed (or vice versa..), it would strike me as being somewhat more cut-and-dryly necromantic. You are reversing the terrible effects of something-or-other, and restoring life to someone where no life remained.
I'll grant you that necromancy has had somewhat of a bad rap, so far as 'evil' is concerned. However, this isn't to say that all necromantic spells need to be evil - just that some of the less moral ones are. The distinctions between the schools of magic aren't just sentimental ones though: be it through scribing, or through the specialist mage's banned schools of magic, schools of magic have an in-game effect beyond a moral one.
I'll grant you that I'd stand to benefit if this change were brought about, but I only make the argument because I think it would make sense.
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