I tried to use the search function in this forum to see if anyone had written anything about the Radiance before but somehow it told me "no results".
So please pardon me, if this has already been asked or debated a hundred times before.
And now for the question(s):
I am running an AC 1000 campaign, playing the good old X, C and M module series converted (by myself) to 3E D&D. One of the central elements of the campaign is the stopping of the magic drain by the Nucleus of the Spheres beneath Glantri City.
But some of the things about the NoS just doesn't make sense to me, e.g. :
1) The Flaems discovered the power of the NoS in 395 AC (Gaz.3 page 5) but as far as I have read, Etienne (Rad) is the first (and only) to attain immortality through its use?
2) If Rad's primary concern as an immortal is to watch over the Radiance and who uses it, how can he not know about the magic drain the Brotherhood of the Radiance is causing?
3) And if he does know, why doesn't he care about it and put an end to the Brotherhood? Seems to me that regular magic for all of Mystara would be more in the interest of the Immortals of the Sphere of Energy than perhaps having a few more join their ranks at the cost of eventually no magic in Mystara?
4) And what about the Chamber of the Spheres - the nuclear reactor that the Shadow Elves are building for Rafiel? It says in Gaz. 13 that the completion of the Chamber will greatly improve the power of the Sphere of Energy of which Rafiel himself is an immortal. But how exactly? Because it will allow characters to become immortals in the Sphere of Energy just as the use of the Radiance in Glantri did? Or just because it produces a lot of energy?
5) If completed and left alone will the Chamber of the Spheres counter the magic drain from the cursed Nucleus of the Spheres? Or does the Chamber of the Spheres not produce new magic for the Known World?
Any thoughts on these matters will be much appreciated!
:-) Jesper
Spellweaver pondered:
1) The Flaems discovered the power of the NoS in 395 AC (Gaz.3 page 5) but as far as I have read, Etienne (Rad) is the first (and only) to attain immortality through its use?
Well, bear in mind that overuse of the Radiance can have harmful side-effects (ie, Brannart and his lichdom, Harald of Haaskinz and his deformities, etc.). Presumably Etienne is the only wizard smart enough, careful enough, and determined enough to explore and exploit all of the Radiance's properties. Those Flaemish are just too hot-headed to be careful with the thing. At least that's the "party line".
However, what if Etienne *isn't* the first person to use the Radiance to achieve Immortality? Maybe there is some other Immortal out there who is somewhat less than kindly disposed towards the inhabitants of Mystara (and Glantri) than good ol' Rad? Maybe whoever it was didn't join up with the Energy Immortals like everyone hoped, but went a different route? Perhaps he/she/it became something different than Immortal? Something more horrendous, such that no one wants to talk about it.
(Or, alternatively, you might rule that Alphaks stayed with his Flaemish followers all the way to Mystara, and was the first to achieve Immortality via the Radiance before Rad. It is never quite stated when/how he became an Immortal, after all.)
2) If Rad's primary concern as an immortal is to watch over the Radiance and who uses it, how can he not know about the magic drain the Brotherhood of the Radiance is causing?
I think he does know about it, but there are a couple of things to bear in mind.
1) From the events of Wrath of the Immortals, we are supposed to believe that he is so keen/obsessed with the abilities of the Radiance and what it represents, that he doesn't care if "one world loses its magic". Looking at the bigger picture, supposedly.
2) Additionally, (and in my opinion, more importantly), the Brotherhood may be draining the Radiance, but it is better than the alternative- unchecked drainage of the Radiance. With the Brotherhood of the Radiance, under his direct observation, Rad has set up a system whereby he can control a) who has access to the Radiance (people who, generally, seem to be careful about when/how they use it, and who they let know about it), and b) can monitor its usage. Furthermore, the system is set up with its own internal checks and balances even if he isn't able to keep an eye out 24/7. The Brothers are very careful who knows about the Radiance (read, may resort to killing those who know too much), and are careful who they allow to join the Brotherhood. At least this way, Etienne is able to stem the drainage on the Radiance somewhat.
3) And if he does know, why doesn't he care about it and put an end to the Brotherhood? Seems to me that regular magic for all of Mystara would be more in the interest of the Immortals of the Sphere of Energy than perhaps having a few more join their ranks at the cost of eventually no magic in Mystara?
See answer #2, above.
4) And what about the Chamber of the Spheres - the nuclear reactor that the Shadow Elves are building for Rafiel? It says in Gaz. 13 that the completion of the Chamber will greatly improve the power of the Sphere of Energy of which Rafiel himself is an immortal. But how exactly? Because it will allow characters to become immortals in the Sphere of Energy just as the use of the Radiance in Glantri did? Or just because it produces a lot of energy?
Good question. I think it is presumably because of the fact that it can potentially create more Immortals who will (likely) join the Sphere of Energy, yes. But it is unclear exactly what this statement meant.
Additionally, it may also be because the Chamber of the Spheres will create an energy source that is accessible to all potential wizardly/arcane types (recall that arcane magic- at least a vast proportion of it- promotes the interests of Energy). Further, it is an energy source that (according to some later sources on the Radiance) is uncorrupted by the energy drain effect that plagues the Radiance (WotI had it that the Energy Drain was a "curse" laid upon the Radiance by the other Immortals). So it's potentially just a giant heap o' untapped energy.
5) If completed and left alone will the Chamber of the Spheres counter the magic drain from the cursed Nucleus of the Spheres? Or does the Chamber of the Spheres not produce new magic for the Known World?
I think it is simply unconnected either way. It isn't at all clear from any of the sources exactly what would happen... but, frankly, the whole Radiance/Energy Drain didn't seem terribly clear to me from the start anyway (if you drain the energy from a planet, can you still use magic in space? Could an Astral traveler reach Mystara, or would he be blocked? Etc.). Later sources (WotI, for instance) only muddied the issue further.
From what I can tell, the Chamber of the Spheres would not reverse or stem the drain of magic, but would simply be an independent energy source. What could this mean?
1) If the Radiance were to drain all the magic from Mystara somehow, and the CoS were completed prior to that, then presumably the CoS would be the only magic on Mystara. And the Shadowelves, with the sole access to it, would potentially be the inheritors of the earth (at least the most powerful people on the planet).
2) If, as in#1, the Radiance were to drain all the magic, and the CoS was completed prior to that, maybe someone could find some way of using the CoS to replenish the magic of the planet (rewiring it, or something).
Come to think of it, that could be an interesting "future" campaign. The Radiance has drained Mystara of its magic. The only magical race left on the planet are the shadowelves, who dominate the world with their unnatural magical might. A small band of humans (or something), desperate to save themselves from extinction, are contacted by Immortals/receive a vision/read a prophecy that they can save their planet by using the source of the shadowelves' power to return Mystara to the way it once was... the catch is that they have to fight/lie/cheat/steal/hide their way across enemy lines right into the heart of the shadowelf territories themselves! Sort of a postapocalyptic Mystara.
Anyway, hope this helps!
Looking at the requirements to become a Radience Immortal (and the chance of ending up a Radience Lich instead) I do not find it at all unlikely that Rad/Ettiene should be the only being to do so.
OK, since the reactor powering the artifact is Blackmoor technology, it is also completely outside Rad's experience as a magician and his immortal's perspective on the universe.
(Note that Blackmoor technology was developed from a crashed space-ship, with a suugestion, as Mystara was developed from the Known World, that the ship had come from a different universe (or plane). If you look at the Immortal modules (IM1 I think) planes with technology do exist, but the Immortals do not understand it.)
Hence it is quite easy for him not to realise that it is drawing power form the Sphere of Energy. E.g. If it draws power from cosmic radiation, would Rad know the origin of that power?
OK - the Chamber of the Spheres. Since Rafiel is both an immortal (with a bit of experience) and a Blackmoor scientist it makes sense for him to know exactly what he is doing. The comment about power for the Sphere of Energy is probably just a careless line from the author, and not thought out, but it is a very nice point to develop...
I like your idea that it would have cancelled out the effect of the Nucleus, all other actions being neutral, but with the Old One arbitrarily changing the Nucleus it seems unlikely that they would not look to balance the Chamber somehow...
Also the Chamber of the Spheres might well have been a wonderful new power-source. Just how much subtle, unnoticed damage did it take from shockwaves from the meteorite strike? A few small cracks tucked away in a 'finished' part could be really bad news when it gets switched on...
Kheldren
I am not sure I buy the story about Rad not knowing about the curse. It says in Gaz 3 page 78 that the "Immortals of Energy bestowed their energy upon it" (the NoS) and that "immortals... intervened... and gave the artifact a nasty side effect".
Etienne may not have known about the curse while he was mortal but surely the other immortals of the Sphere of Energy would inform him of the punishment laid upon them by the other immortals when he joined their ranks?
Here is a thought: The immortals are not allowed to directly intervene against mortals (if I remember their "code" correctly) right? So it follows that even if Etienne wanted to, he just cannot go around killing everyone who learns of the Radiance. The best he can do, as you pointed out, is to monitor that only worthy members join the Brotherhood and then inform them to use it with caution. If it is the fate of the races of Mystara to rid their own planet of magic... then so be it (although that must be a bitter pill to swallow for the Energy Immortals).
I read a plot in the Great Netbook of Plots many years ago, which was modeled around Glantri and the Shadowelves. In this campaign plot the NoS was a jewel - and the source of all magic. And it was slowly failing. The Chamber of the Spheres was the only place where the jewel could be recharged, thus returning magic to the world. Unfortunately, the conditions in the Chamber were such that no mortal could even approach it and live. The dilemma of the campaign was that an evil elf, caught in a state between mortal and immortal when his quest for immortality in the Sphere of Entropy somehow failed, was the only one capable of carrying the jewel into the chamber. But in doing so, he would then become a full immortal of evil...
I like the dilemma and so would like to construct a campaign goal around the NoS and CoS but I need some reasonable way of returning magic to Mystara without going back in time and destroying Glantri.
:-) Jesper
I like your idea that it would have cancelled out the effect of the Nucleus, all other actions being neutral, but with the Old One arbitrarily changing the Nucleus it seems unlikely that they would not look to balance the Chamber somehow...
Perhaps, if the two will be cancelling each other out, then this is the "fix" that the Old Ones had in mind. After all, the Chamber is completed only a few years after the war.
As for the ancient Flaemish, it was always my interpretation of things that they weren't using the Radiance directly, or at least not as described in the Gaz. They detected large quantites of magic in the area and settled there, but they didn't really know what it was or how to tap it and spent centuries studying it. Their descendants, and other arrivals such as the D'Ambrevilles, built upon that knowledge, and Etienne was the first person to finally crack the puzzle. And then, once he realized what he had, built up and entire country around it in order to keep things under control.