1.The sword originally belonged to, & was forged for, Lerel Lethariel, a heroic valley elven prince (or king) who lived thousands of years ago (GA adventures states something to the effect of "the Pinnacles of Azor'alq have been surrounded by mystery for over 3000 years," & why I think Lerel was a valley elf will be detailed below).
2. Lerel dies heroicly, perhaps slain by Vecna. Azor'alq somehow ends up with the sword--perhaps Lerel willed it to him, if they were contemporaries, or if not, Azor'alq finds the sword years (or even centuries) after Lerel's death.
3. After Azor'alq's death, the sword is passed down through his descendants.
4. Meanwhile, the Valley elf royal family have kept alive the legend of Lerel & his sword. Though they don't know where it is, many quests are undertaken to find & recover it, if it still exists.
5. The Valley elf royals finally learn where the sword is about 400 years ago. They ask Azor'alq's descendant, a great Ekbiri warrior (who is nowhere near as honorable as his ancestor), for its return, but are refused either because he doesn't believe they have a claim to it after so long, or because he feels he can put it to better use than they).
6. After a few failed missions to recover the sword, the Valley elf royals set their sights on a target more valuable to the Bakluni people (& not as heavily guarded), hoping to ransom it for the sword.
7. In the early 200s, a group of elves "as tall as men" attack the procession of the Cup & Talisman of Al'Akbar through the city of Ekbir. They sucessfully seize the artifacts & escape astride giant eagles. The Grand Mufti, who was responsible for the artifacts safty, is exiled to the Yatils, where he eventually codifies the precepts for the One True Faith (all this is from the Ekbir entry in the LGG).
8. Shortly thereafter, Azor'alq's descendant is slain by the red dragon Sulziphitus (sp). Perhaps his descendant was even on his way to recover the cup & talisman, as he felt responsible for their loss, & was waylaid by the dragon.
9. Over the next two centuries, several attempts are made to recover the Cup & Talisman, but all fail, due to the remote & very defensible home of the Valley elves, & the power of the Valley elven royals.
10. By the turn of the sixth century CY, after a near successful Bakluni assault claims many valley elf lives, the valley elf commoners exile their king & order him to rid themselves of the artifacts which have brought them nothing but trouble.
11. Shortly thereafter, the valley elf king & his entire entourage show up at the Grand Duke's court in Gorna & are granted an emergency audience with the Grand Duke. The valley elf royals leave the next day & head into the Crystalmists, never to be heard from again. They leave a mysterious box with the Grand Duke, however (all this from the Valley of the Mage entry in the LGG).
12. Bakluni intelligence soon learn that the Valley elf royals have been exiled by their own people, & that the Cup & Talisman no longer reside in the Valley. A few decades later, Jaran Kreemiah (sp) takes over the Valley.
13. The Bakluni to this day still seek the Valley elf royals & their stolen artifacts, but thus far have been unable to find either. Some specualte that the royals may have joined their snow elf kin high in the mountains.
Comments?
Rob Bastard
http://www.bastardgreyhawk.isonfire.com
Home of the Bastards in Greyhawk!
I think the above is awesome, Rob. And I think the concepts presented above have great potential for a genuine Greyhawk adventure. There is a perfect blend of history with extant issues that point to a good oppurtunity for adventure. Perhaps a Racing the Snake-type (Dungeon #105) submission is in the works. What are your intents, Rob?
any way I like what you have done with it, although I still like my suggestion that the baklunish couldn't return the sword because they had already lost it (although they may have been to prideful to admit it).
BTW, I'm happy to share the material for those who don't have WGR2.
With proper citations, of course.however if I were to do an actual conversion I would probably make give it the evil outsider bane property as well.
Originally posted by cwslyclgh
...I would say that Tom Prusa, the writer, was simply looking for a name with Greyhawk "flavor" and thought that Azor'Alq sounded cool, maybe after noticing the pinicles of Azor'Alq in Greyhawk adventures).
Yeah, that does have a nice ring to it... :D
I think you made a good point, Wes. Prusa definitely avoided any reference to Azor'Alq being a person. That is another reason I think Rob's contribution above is a good idea that can potentially offer interesting development.
Do you guys think +4 is a bit much for 3rd Edition? Are there any Answerer Swords that function like the Sword of Azor'alq?
My magical breakdown is as follows.
+1:
5th - 8th level characters, family heirlooms, avail in magic shops at a VERY expensive price although shops of those kind are as rare as a +3!
+2:
9th - 12th level characters, lords and other notable NPCs may carry +2
+3:
13th+ level characters, powerful items, minor artifacts
+4:
Better be killing a deity for this kind of +
+5:
Please....I think when I was a 12 year old DM, I may have handed 1 out. This is right there with Platemail +3. My gawd.
Do you guys think +4 is a bit much for 3rd Edition?
not realy, considering a 12th level character can purchase a +4 weapon using less then half of his starting cash (if you go by the starting characters above 1st level rules in the DMG).
while I generaly give out items less often (or less powerful) then the core rule books say I should because I like a more chalenging campaign, it is noce to have some powerful, non artifact weapons out there from time to time.
(although if the sword ever did infact belong to Azor'Alq, I might indeed make it a minor artifact).
Bane of Evil Outsiders
+1 Longsword, +3 versus Evil Outsiders; AL NG; Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 10; Speech, Telepathy; 120 ft. Darkvision and Hearing; Ego 18 (so far...)
Lesser Powers: I am not sure about these because the original Detect Evil, Detect Invisible Objects and Flyare inconsistent with 3.5 Ed's. DMG table on page 269. I abrbitrarily picked the following from said table - Bless 3/day, Cure Moderate Wounds on wielder 3/day, Knowledge (Planes) 10 Ranks. They are by no means definitive. May a DM depart from the Lesser Powers table on page 269 without breaching balance issues?
Special Purpose: Defeat/Slay Evil Outsiders
Dedicated Power: Wielder gets +2 Luck bonus on attacks, saves and checks against Evil Outsiders.
Personality: Under Construction.
Do you think the addition of the Disintegrate power is too much? If this power is retained, at what level is it applied to the sword?
Azor'alqs weapon is a flaming scimitar so it seems to me he doesn't necessarily have to be tied all that closely with the longsword in any case. Might there be another reason it was called the Sword of Azor'alq?
Perhaps the weapon was claimed from the Pinnacles by someone else entirely, a Bakluni, and thats how the name was bestowed?
This might fit better as there are supposed be many dragons that live among the Pinnacles, perhaps a hatchling of the great dragon that destroyed Lerel?
sword for a hero my arse....
;)
And if it was a red wyrm then it doesn't make much sense for the sword to end up at the pinnacles considering all the dragons there are goldens, silvers, mists, etc.
(I don't even have that adventure but I am thinking about running a campaign in the Drawmij so this thread is pretty interesting.)
Originally posted by cwslyclgh
good god you whussified it... no way I am taking on a red wyrm for that.....
Take a look through the Epic Level Handbook. There are examples of +6 swords aplenty. As the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar are rumored to be in the region of the Pinnacles (per Greyhawk Adventures) and the two artifacts are mysteriously linked to the Tovag Baragu, I would be tempted to somehow involve Faruk; perhaps as a sort of compass.
Azor'alq is described with the Domains of Good, Sun, and War. His helm is topped with peacock feathers. This screams phoenix, to me, so I added one in my campaign. If I created Faruk from scratch, I would attribute phoenix powers to it.
Originally posted by cwslyclgh
good god you whussified it...
All righty then, that's what I wanted to know - how you guys felt about the above. How about this:
Sword of Azor'alq
Bane of Evil Outsiders
+2 Longsword, +4 versus Evil Outsiders: AL NG; Int 17, Wis 17, Cha 10; Speech, Telepathy (Common, Elven, Abyysal and Infernal); 120 ft. Darkvision and Hearing; Ego (Undecided)
Lesser Powers: As Above
Greater Power: Disintegrate at +1 Wielder level against Evil Outsiders.
Special Purpose: Defeat/Slay Evil Outsiders.
Dedicated Power: Damage Reduction/+3 against Evil Outsiders.
Any better? Am I getting closer to a sword for a hero/heroine?
Originally posted by Lassiviren
Well if Lerel took on a great red wyrm with that he must have had brass ones the size of bowling balls.
Indeed, Lassiverin. But Prusa is using AD&D 2nd edition language when he describes Sulphacitezus as a "... great red wyrm ..." The Red Dragon in the adventure is 20 HD, again using AD&D 2nd Ed. So, Sulphacitezus is only a Young Adult or Adult Red Dragon in 3.5 Ed. language. Not a "real" 37 HD Great Wyrm.
And the adventure, Sword for a Hero, is designed for a party with an 18th level average in 2nd Ed. rules.
The swords name is an interesting issue, too. I imagine the name Azor'alq was applied since it was in the hands of Balklunish families for so long. Lerel probably had a different name for the weapon, shared with him when the sword was given to his charge.
The swords name is an interesting issue, too. I imagine the name Azor'alq was applied since it was in the hands of Balklunish families for so long. Lerel probably had a different name for the weapon, shared with him when the sword was given to his charge.
I like the idea of the sword somehow being found at the pinnacles and thats how it received it's name. I guess the common theme here is the dragons who roost on the pinnacles and the dragon that killed Lerel. Is there some connection to be made through that? I don't have the module so I don't know how it treats the sword or what other background there is.
If we are to assume that the sword became the Sword of Azor'alq after passing into Baklunish lands then an interesting point arises. Why does the sword allow such a name change? It does exert some control of its user, and it must have had a name previous to this. Why would it want or let it's name become something else? And why does an elven weapons choose to be in the hands of the Bakluni?
Indeed, Lassiverin. But Prusa is using AD&D 2nd edition language when he describes Sulphacitezus as a "... great red wyrm ..." The Red Dragon in the adventure is 20 HD, again using AD&D 2nd Ed. So, Sulphacitezus is only a Young Adult or Adult Red Dragon in 3.5 Ed. language. Not a "real" 37 HD Great Wyrm.
actually I think you are misupdating it... everything in the module indicates that the dragon is age catagory 11 (including a passage saying that it is 1100 years old). there for when you update the module for 3e there is no reason to base the dragons age on its HD, infact the dragon will get alot more powerful, since you would need to give it the stats of a red wyrm.
Originally posted by Robbastard
2. Lerel dies heroicly, perhaps slain by Vecna. Azor'alq somehow ends up with the sword--perhaps Lerel willed it to him, if they were contemporaries, or if not, Azor'alq finds the sword years (or even centuries) after Lerel's death.
3. After Azor'alq's death, the sword is passed down through his descendants.
I asked myself the same question, Lassiviren - why would an intelligent weapon allow its name to change? When Azor'alq finds the weapon, it reveals its true name and nature to him. As Azor'alq passes from the ken of mortals, his descendants shroud the sword's name from history. They begin to call it the Sword of Azor'alq to diminish the elven connection to the weapon. This trend perpetuates through history and general knowledge eventually refers to it by the wrong name out of Balklunish effort to "usurp" the weapon's propriety. Maybe the sword, wherever it lies, does not even know it is being called by the wrong name.
WGR2 does not detail the weapon's history very well. I left the module at home, but I will post some notes later, unless someone else has it handy.
As for Lassivirern's point about why the blade didn't return to the valley elves, perhaps it grew to love its Bakluni masters better &/or remained with them because it would always (or so it thought) be well-cared for.
Originally posted by Lassiviren Azor'alqs weapon is a flaming scimitar so it seems to me he doesn't necessarily have to be tied all that closely with the longsword in any case. Might there be another reason it was called the Sword of Azor'alq?
Nice idea!
[b]Perhaps the weapon was claimed from the Pinnacles by someone else entirely, a Bakluni, and thats how the name was bestowed?
Or it may have been made famous among those islands, or have originated among those islands, rather than being associated with the holy paladin of yore....
As for Lassivirern's point about why the blade didn't return to the valley elves, perhaps it grew to love its Bakluni masters better &/or remained with them because it would always (or so it thought) be well-cared for.
Here's where I was going with this... Perhaps Lerel split with the valley elves much as the rest of the elves of Oerth have and for much of the same reasons. (I don't know if this fits in with the timeline since the breaking was rumored to be around the time of the drow becoming evil badguys....err girls.) Even if Lerel is much later in the timeline of valley elves being ostracized perhaps he finds out the truth of why the valley elves are hated, it makes sense that if they did do something dastardly in the past their leaders would hide the true facts of the matter. Lerel finds out this information and leaves his tribe taking "The Sword of the Vale" with him. The valley elves aren't too happy about one of their greatest heroes abandoning them and taking one of their artifacts with him, so they spend time trying to track him down.
At some point in the future they learn about the "Sword of Azor'alq" which turns out to be the "Sword of the Vale" and has been in Baklunish hands for quite some time. The sword itself very much doesn't want to be in the hands of the valley elves because it knows the truth of their betrayal. Also it enjoys being weilded by paladins (there being none among the valley elves) which allows it to pursue its purpose.
As far as how it gained the name of Azor'alq, I still like the idea of a paladin (a faris in this case - NG) taking the test of the pinnacles and finding the Sword of the Vale, therforth being known as the Sword of Azor'alq. The sword itself would be more than happy changing its name from one associated with the dastardly valley elves.
Thoughts?