04-30-2011, 10:25 AM
Worth a read:
Download the entire web enhancement rtf file here.
-Havard
Quote: MYSTARA®/BLACKMOOR®/HOLLOW WORLD®/RED STEEL® campaign: Chronomancy was known to the wizards of Alphatia, but all Alphatian chronomancers were destroyed by an unknown Immortal after they attempted to visit the long-lost techno-magical empire of Blackmoor during its last few years and at the time of the global disaster that destroyed that nation. One investigator of the loss of the Alphatians believes the Immortals Rafiel and possibly Rad (a.k.a. Etienne d'Amberville) are defending a prehistoric secret somehow connected with the Radiance of Glantri.
Despite the dangers associated with visiting Blackmoor, some adventurers have reported actually visiting a place called the Kingdom of Blackmoor, meeting personages known to current historians to have lived at that ancient time. Such voyages were accomplished by accident; the adventurers said they were trapped in the basement of a ruined building in the Broken Lands, and were then transported to Blackmoor of 3,000 years past by a magical time gate that was possibly controlled by the rulers of Blackmoor. This ruin is of obvious interest to chronomancers; if it exists, it likely opens into a long-duration vortex in Temporal Prime. (For more information, see the D&D® modules DA1 Adventures in Blackmoor, DA2 The Temple of the Frog, DA3 City of the Gods, and DA4 The Duchy of Ten.)
No Guardians-like group of chronomancers is known here, as the Immortals of Time do a fine job of policing. Unobtrusive chronomancers would have considerable freedom; furthermore, they might gain the cautious notice of Immortals from Energy or Time (particularly Ixion or Khoronus), who might be bribed at tremendous expense to reveal other secrets of chronomancy or Mystaran history. Immortals of Time carefully shunt time travelers "around" critical events in history, so that all attempts to reach those times are missed by days, months, or years. Time travelers perceived as dangerously hostile to Mystaran history are located and destroyed without ceremony or delay. No chronomancer can use time-travel powers, either arriving or departing, during the Day of Dread (Kaldmont 28), from AC 1009 onward.
The most important Immortals of Time are described in the Wrath of the Immortals boxed set, in Book One: Codex of the Immortals; see especially Ixion (page 23), Khoronus (pages 25-26), Rad (pages 33-34), and Rafiel (page 34). Several major elven Immortals are from the Sphere of Time, but they are largely concerned with maintaining the elven race and the natural environment.
One curious aspect of time travel here concerns the future of magic on Mystara. Some sages believe, for reasons they will not disclose, that all magic on Mystara is doomed to fade away in the far future. (This situation seems somehow connected to the actions of Rad and the Radiance of Glantri.) Indeed, for a time there were reports of humanoid creatures called "oards" appearing across the Known World. Oards, who seemed to all look alike, were said to have been manufactured in the far future, and their bodies were both flesh and machine. They were able to disguise and defend themselves using means other than magical, and were extraordinarily powerful. A few wizards have attempted to go into the far future of Mystara to investigate these creatures and their world first-hand, but none have returned. Perhaps they were (will be?) stranded there, far in advance of our time, with no magic left in the world to bring themselves home. Or perhaps they were (will be?) caught by the oards or other beings, suffering fates that cannot be guessed. Questioning Khoronus or other Immortals on the nature of oards yields no responses. (See the 1986 edition of the D&D Creature Catalogue, pages 42-43, for more on oards.)
Rumors sometimes pass through Glantri that a local wizard has rediscovered the lost secrets of chronomancy, but this has never been proven. Note the mention of a time-traveling Glantri wizardess from Averoigne (see Historical Reference) in Mark of Amber (page 62). Though not a true chronomancer, she could be encountered all across Mystara's timeline, using her potions to cross time itself.
Humans, elves, and half-elves are the most likely chronomancer races here. However, time travelers might also meet up with a jackal-headed humanoid race also using Temporal Prime: the hutaakans of Karameikos, who can achieve chronomancer levels roughly equal to those gained by half-elves.
Download the entire web enhancement rtf file here.
-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
