Descripción de los casos de uso en formato expandido

As a result of the Time of Troubles and the coming of the Avatars, three power-ful, evil gods were destroyed and never returned to life. Instead, their powers and portfolios were given to Cyric, the Black Sun. However, these gods still have lowers active in the Realms and these fol-lowers still receive spells and granted abilities, but through Cyric instead of their former masters. How long this situa-tion will last remains to be seen. In addi-tion, there are those who declare that the three are not dead, but only in exile or in hiding and will return to plague the Realms again.

Bane (The Black Lord)

Greater Power of Acheron, LE Portfolio: Strife, hatred, tyranny Requirements: Wisdom 10

Strength 12

Weapons Allowed: All nonmissile bludg-eon weapons and javelins

Armor Allowed: Any

Major Spheres: All, Combat, Divination, Elemental, Guardian, Healing, Necro-mantic, Summoning

Minor Spheres: Sun (reversible effects only), Creation

Magical Items Allowed: Same as clerics

Granted Powers

• Specialty priests of Bane may not turn or command undead. Clerics who worship Bane may turn and command undead normally.

• Priests of Bane are unaffected by fear spells, though they may be affected by other emotion-affecting spells and spell-like abilities.

• Priests of Bane at 5th level may gener-ate an aura of fear, stretching 10 feet away for every level of the priest.

Everything within the area which fails its saving throw will try to escape the area (70%) or attack the source of their fear (30%—the DM may modify these chances based on the situation).

Those who pass their saving throw vs.

spells or are unable to escape are af-fected by ill-ease and a great desire to be somewhere else (no modification to hit or damage dice). This aura of fear can be created at will, once per day. It lasts one round per level of the caster.

It is often used when questioning sus-pects or bullying less powerful indi-viduals. Priests of Bane are immune to this effect.

Other Notes

Specialty priests of Bane have a variety of titles within their organization, depend-ing on location and position. They tend to be grandiose and threatening (high imper-ceptor, grand bloodletter, etc.).

The church of Bane in the Realms is, like the church of Azuth, overrun with wizards, especially near Zhentil Keep.

Unlike the church of Azuth, there is a fierce internal rivalry bordering on holy war between the orthodox (mostly cleri-cal) and transformed (mostly magicleri-cal) or-ganizations. Only 5% of the orthodox and 10% of the transformed priests are specialty priests, and most are kept in low-level positions. There are specialty priests of Bane who operate outside the orthodox/ transformed conflict. These are mostly adventurers and hermits seeking to create their own power base to eventu-ally destroy the others.

The rift between orthodox and trans-formed Banites has worsened with the Time of Troubles and the coming of the avatars. During that conflict Bane was apparently destroyed, and his portfolio given to Cyric. Orthodox Banites hold that Cyric is merely a new form of Bane, expanded to take the powers of Myrkul and Bhaal to show the growing power of

evil. Transformed Banites instead argue that Bane is dead and Cyric takes the mantle and position as god of strife, and it is the “office” of Bane that Cyric holds that is the power that they worship. (Co-incidentally, transformed dogma also in-dicates that if Cyric falls, one of his followers will become the new Black Lord—in other words, godhood is just one more religious office for barter and dealing.) There are scattered sects of hardcore Bane worshipers who believe Bane is still alive and that Cyric, whom they refer to as “the Pretender,” is a usurper, to be punished in the future along with all his faithless followers.

All Banites still receive their spells and special abilities, presumably from Cyric and his minions. This may be because the new god has not mastered his own spell-granting operations or he is gathering strength from all the old cults for the present before consolidating his hold.

Ceremonial dress for Banites, regard-less of their cult and feelings about Cyric, are black armor with blood-red capes.

The more prosperous the priest, the finer the workmanship of the armor. Facial tat-toos are common among Banites, which unfortunately makes them stand out among clear-faced Cyricists. High-level officers in the hierarchy wear gems on their foreheads.

When adventuring, priests of Bane re-tain the black armor. Wizards who follow Bane prefer long, flowing, black and red robes. Neither group would wear such gear if it would expose them to persecu-tion or hamper their service to their god.

Usually, extensive facial tattoos among present and former Banites is enough to identify them.

Bhaal (Lord of Murder)

Lesser Power of Gehenna, LE Portfolio: Death

Requirements: Wisdom 14 Constitution 12

Weapons Allowed: All bludgeoning and piercing weapons

Armor Allowed: Chain mail, no shield Major Spheres: All, Astral, Charm,

Com-bat, Elemental, Healing, Necromantic, Summoning

Minor Spheres: Divination, Creation, Guardian

Magical Items Allowed: Same as clerics Granted Powers

• Bhaal priests may turn and command undead as do clerics.

• Bhaal priests of sufficient level may summon an aerial servant (as the spell), but in addition, the aerial ser-vant will fight for the priest and can be used as a magical assassin.

• Specialty priests of Bhaal may at 10th level engage in plane skipping. Plane skipping involves the priest traveling to Bhaal’s area of Gehenna, moving through that slanted plane, and then back into the Prime Material plane at his destination. In general, each 10 feet moved through Gehenna equals one mile of distance on the Prime Ma-terial Plane. Direction does not matter in Gehenna, since the will of Bhaal and the intention of the traveler deter-mine where he comes out. The plane skip takes a turn to prepare for the movement into Gehenna and another turn to return, plus travel time in Ge-henna. This form of travel is 100% re-liable under normal circumstances, but cannot pierce magical shields, ar-eas sanctified to the forces of good, anti-magical areas, or areas which cannot be reached from the Outer Planes. The traveler is not protected while in Gehenna (Bhaal considers anyone capable of traveling to his homeland capable of protecting him-self). A traveler may take another per-son with him for every two levels of experience over 10th.

Other Notes

Bhaal priests tend to be clerics in the ur-ban areas of the Realms, while in remote areas (such as the Moonshaes), they tend to be specialty priests and priestesses. Re-lations between the city-bred and country versions of the god’s followers are fair, but cool and distant. The difference be-tween the two factions has increased with the apparent demise of their god in the Time of Troubles.

Priests of Bhaal have no organized hier-archal organization. The highest level of Bhaal-priest is the high priest of that part of the faith—this may vary from a 1st level terrorizing the locals to an evil high priest with a heavily-defended temple

deep beneath Waterdeep.

Priests of Bhaal prefer to wear full robes and a deep cowl, both either purple or black with violet streaks. The inner lin-ing is always black, and a black veil is worn over the face to make the hood seem empty. Both specialty priests and clerics wear ceremonial daggers at their belts—

large, curved blades of Eastern design.

Only the specialty priests, however, may use the blades in combat.

When adventuring, Bhaal priests prefer standard armor, usually but not always with black capes and leggings.

In the Time of Troubles, Bhaal was ap-parently destroyed after his banishment from the Moonshae Islands. The fol-lowers of Bhaal in urban areas have al-most universally switched to worshiping Cyric, to the extent of adopting the new god’s vestments and ceremonies. They re-fer to the power they venerate as Cyric, or Cyric-Bhaal, to differentiate him from the lesser aspects worshiped by former Bani-tes, whose god was utterly destroyed, and who have erroneously declared Cyric to be their god as well. Relationships be-tween the Bhaal-Cyricists and the factions of the other believers of Cyric are heavily strained and often break into open con-flict.

The rural followers of Bhaal retain their belief in the god, pointing to the fact that they still receive their accustomed magi-cal spells, so someone must be home. The schism between urban and rural Bhaalites continues to grow, with ambushes re-ported between rival factions.

Myrkul (Lord of Bones)

Greater Power of Hades, NE

Portfolio: The dead, decay, corruption, Requirements: Wisdom 14dusk

Intelligence 14 Strength 14

Weapons Allowed: All bludgeoning weapons

Armor Allowed: Any

Major Spheres: All, Combat, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Summoning Minor Spheres: Charm, Divination,

Ele-mental

Magical Items Allowed: Same as clerics

3 8

Granted Powers

• Specialty priests of Myrkul may com-mand undead normally. They can af-fect up to triple the normal number of skeletons and zombies when com-manding undead.

• Specialty priests of Myrkul are unaf-fected by disease or parasites. They are not immune to parasites or disease (as the paladin is), but are unaffected by the disease’s debilitating game ef-fects. A specialty priest of Myrkul could have the gray death obvious in his rotting, dry face, spreading it through the land, but would suffer no penalties from the disease. Fatal dis-eases will continue to rot the body un-til the priest drops over, but have no game effect until that time.

• Specialty priests of Myrkul gain a +1 on their saving throws vs. death magic. This bonus does not apply when using or defending against the Hand of Myrkul (see below).

• At 1st level, the specialty priest of Myrkul can feign death, once per day, as the spell.

• At 10th level, the specialty priest of Myrkul can summon a minor death to fight for him. The minor death ap-pears as a skeleton in a robe with a scythe. The minor death always has an initiative roll of “1” and its THAC0 is 0. It is unaffected by cold, fire, elec-trical energy, and sleep or enchantment/charm spells. The priest may summon the minor death once per week to fight for up to 10 rounds—at the end of 10 rounds, or when the combat is over, the minor death disappears. If the minor death disappears before killing its opponent,

•

another minor death cannot be sum-moned until the priest slays a living creature himself. Characters slain by a minor death can be raised normally (as opposed to those slain by a minor death from the Deck of Many Things, who are dead forever).

Minor death (1): AC –4; HD na; hp 33;

#AT 1; Dmg 2d8; MV 12; THAC0 0.

At 15th level, the specialty priest can call up the Hand of Myrkul. This is a very dangerous power, and will only be used by the priest in the most dire of situations. Invoking the Hand of Myrkul causes the priest’s hands to flame for six rounds. The hand must be used in this time, or the power will be wasted, never to be used by that priest again (a wish can reverse this).

If the Hand of Myrkul touches any living being (regardless of size), the being must make a saving throw vs.

death magic. If the target fails, it is slain and the body reduced to dust. If the target succeeds, the priest must then make a saving throw vs. death magic (without bonuses for being a priest of Myrkul) or suffer the same fate. If both target and priest make their saves, then the Hand of Myrkul is still operating and may be used the next round, up to the six round time limit.

Other Notes

The faith of Myrkul is not popular, nor are its priests numerous. Many venerate Myrkul, and offerings are made in his name at funerals and other solemn occa-sions, but few actually worship the god as their primary faith. There are those ro-manced with death who follow the god

and his teachings, and of the priests who do this about three-quarters are specialty priests. Relationships between the various branches of the faith of Myrkul are very good, primarily because no single person holds enough power to confidently direct it against others.

Priests within the hierarchy of Myrkul are given the honorific “death” as in

“Death Williamson,” or “The Most Holy Death Trollslayer.”

Ceremonial dress of priests of Myrkul are black robes with a hooded cloak. A single sash of bone-white cloth ties round the waist. The upper half of the face is concealed by a skull mask that extends from the forehead to the upper cheeks.

Exposed flesh is darkened with ash.

During the Time of Troubles, Myrkul was destroyed and his portfolio handed to the new god Cyric. The followers of Myrkul have enthusiastically embraced the new god, who they refer to as Cyruk in their writings. Of the three evil gods who were slain and their powers given to Cyric, the followers of Myrkul have pro-vided the best response. New priests of Cyric/Myrkul have the powers of priests of Cyric, but are accepted into the hierar-chy without objection by the old-line priests.

The overwhelming acceptance of Cyric by the older priests is attributed to the similarity of the two gods as well as a be-lief that Myrkul himself may be a replace-ment for an older, unnamed death god who was destroyed and whose portfolios

were given to Bane, Bhaal, and the other evil gods. Cyric/Myrkul dogma states that Cyric now lives in the Land of Al-ways Night (Hades), building a golden palace on the ruins of the Castle of Bones.

Magic has weathered the recent unpleas-antness caused by the Avatars mostly in-tact or, if anything, strengthened by the physical merging of the old Mystra into the natural magical aura of the world and the rising of the new Mystra, called Mid-night. As a result of the upheaval, how-ever, many spells have been altered either in their level of power or their effects.

Those changes are reflected in the spell de-scriptions in the AD&D^® 2nd Edition Player’s Handbook and in the new spell descriptions in this chapter. In cases where earlier texts disagree with Second Edition texts, the Second Edition takes precedence.

Schools of Magic and