Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Apr 24, 2005 7:43:40	Graytch is said to have been a former lackey of Kalak's who ran off and became a dragon all on his own. This is what I think makes a decent explanation for that: Kalak, while preparing for his huge epic spell and ceremony, had to be sure it owuld work. To that end he experimented upon one of his defilers, Graytch. In essence he cast a form of the dragon metamorphosis spell, turning Graytch into a dragon in an accelerated fashion similar to what he would do for himself (making graytch a stage-5 dragon as per the tsr card, but not a full-on dragon with awesome spell and psi abilities). Once he knew the process was going to work, he no longer needed Graytch, but Graytch managed to escape and even get a little more powerful. Since then he's been wandering the wastes and dreams of seizing tyr for himself. His build would be some sort of defiler/psion mix, but very weak with the psi, and if at all epic, he is just barely so. Think of him as a defiler under kalak that kalak taught a little psi to in order to prepare him for the experiment. Then kalak cast the spell on him, saw that it worked, and Graytch escaped before kalak could get rid of him. That's my take anyway. For those who don't know, Graytch is a level 25 NE dragon on one of the old TSR trading cards from the 90s.
#2 terminus_vortexa Apr 24, 2005 10:46:29	Thanks for the enlightenment. I knew about Graytch, just didn't know anything about him.
#3 squidfur- Apr 24, 2005 20:04:42	I got to say that I see a ton of holes with this idea. First off, the energy needed would require a good chunk of Tyr's population (ie. way more than what could reasonably go unnoticed). And secondly, I just don't see Kalak elevating someone to a power level that he would be unable to contend with. Look what happened when the last two guys were elevated so quickly. Borys snapped and destroyed near everything in his path, and Kalid-ma was on his way to do the same before meeting his untimely death. No. Kalak's not going to put himself in the path of a possibly raging dragon. Nor is he going to help someone to be more powerful than him. He wants the power for himself. Besides, as it's been hypothesized on these boards, it's fairly likely that Kalak got his information for completing the metamorphosis from information left by Kalid-ma. So he already knows the chance of success is quite good. When you take into account how long he'd been building towards his moment, its not a stretch to say that he blinded himself to the possibility of failure, anyways. Think about why the heroes of The Pentad were able to surprise him. That being said, I think the story of Graytch is quite a different one. Still, one that I'm eager to hear.
#4 zombiegleemax Apr 25, 2005 4:42:14	If Graytch was just a level 13 defiler with a level or two in psion, then elevating him to stage-5 dragon won't mean squat. He'll still be a wimpy little wannabe who can't take levels in the PrC. As for the requirements of population, maybe Kalak used another means? Or he just jumped him partway and Graytch got some more levels. Or we could interpret the card to mean he's a level 25 character who happens to be a dragon as well. I dunno. The idea is to come up with ideas on who he is and why in 2e he was a lackey of Kalak who was written up as more powerful than all the sorcerer-monarchs except borys and dregoth.
#5 Pennarin Feb 26, 2006 4:06:44	Greyorm has had a fabulous idea for Graytch: make him a Monarch's Chosen of Kalak. After Kalak's death he decides to strive for dragonhood. Last I checked Greyorm was working on a short fiction story on the guy. Sounded like fun. Grey?
#6 greyorm Feb 26, 2006 19:40:52	Yep, that was the idea I am going with for the story. It is coming along slowly, as I haven't had much free time to work on hobby-things lately (and thus have devoted most of what I do have to working on a novel I hope to publish next year at latest). I originally heard about Graytch on the boards here, and became very intrigued with the character: enough to start working on a piece about him. Cap'n Nick's musings are the same sort I engaged in and I drew some of the same conclusions: that he was a lackey that Kalak experimented on with magics similar to the Dragon Metamorphosis spells, etc. He then escaped before Kalak could have him killed, banished to the deep deserts (where he served as an unwitting battery for Kalak's spells as one of the Monarch's Chosen -- draining the living and being drained in turn by Kalak). Of course there's more to it, like how Graytch becomes a dragon, what Kalak's experiment upon his underling did to him, the foes that pursue him, and what he does after he discovers Kalak is slain (delusions of godhood, anyone? Poor, poor Tyr...). That's proabably as much as I should reveal without spoiling the story for anyone who is looking forward to reading it when it is finished.
#7 kalthandrix Feb 26, 2006 19:47:47	Cool idea - now about your book- I think maybe some of use could, oh I don't know...get a sample chapter :D When you do publish it- I expect to be able to send it to you to get signed when I buy my copy- I will of course return the favor when I actually get to doing more writing on mine.
#8 Pennarin Feb 26, 2006 22:49:48	I hope to one day see that Graytch story Grey! Sounds as exciting as last you described it to me. You pitched it like a theatre piece: one man confronted with his inner self during a journey across the desert. Yippy! (What genre is your novel in Grey? Fantasy or some other fiction genre?)
#9 greyorm Mar 02, 2006 13:50:05	(What genre is your novel in Grey? Fantasy or some other fiction genre?) It is in the fantasy genre, with a good foot in the horror genre, and set in a setting similar to the one those of you who have read the Misha stories may recall, perhaps even the same setting, with some twists on the whole thing. So it is probably right up the alley of folks here. Cool idea - now about your book- I think maybe some of use could, oh I don't know...get a sample chapter :D I can post a notice about it here when I do, as I plan to put a sample chapter of the book up on either my LiveJournal or on my website. I'm currently considering options for it, as I've been told it is bad to let work you plan on publishing "go wild" on the 'net. (Part of the reason my short stories/writing journal is offline right now.) When you do publish it- I expect to be able to send it to you to get signed when I buy my copy- I will of course return the favor when I actually get to doing more writing on mine. It's a deal, man! (and I'd sign it for you even if you didn't offer the exchange)