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[Raesene Andu]

Was this the crown you were thinking of?


The Shadow Crown

History:
Two thousand years before Deismaar the god Azari the Proud was patron of the people of the Adurian Empire. His priests, originally driven away by the worshippers of Anduiras, returned in force with the support of the new Emperor of the Adurian people. In return for the Emperor's support Azari directed his priests to forge an artifact to aid the Adurians in their dreams of conquest. This artifact became what is now known as the Shadow Crown.
Originally just a simple gold band it has been altered over the millennia to become perhaps the most powerful artifact in all the lands of Aebrynis. It original function was to allow Azari to shift a portion of his power into the body of the wearer. The wearer could not hold such power for long, but while he did was protected from any normal weapons and was able to drain the life out of those he touched. Who ever used the item however was forever changed, as part of Azari was left behind in them, twisting their souls and minds.
Even these horrible powers were not enough for the Emperors of Aduria though, and more were added as the centuries went past. First of these new powers was the ability to alter the wearers shape, and the hide the crown at will. This enabled the Adurian Emperors to slip into crowds, and escape assassins if needed. It was also used widely by the last Emperor of the Tibius lineage to escape the throne room in the palace and indulge his passions in the city below. Following the death of Kalis Tibius the priests of Azari claimed the throne and would rule for most the next thousand years.
During this time many of the crowns other powers were added, mainly through the assistance of Azari and his High Priests. These powers include various protective magics and the ability to charm worshippers of Azari into following the wearer anywhere, even if it resulted in their death. With these powers and their own powerful spells the Adurian Priest Emperor's spread their will across the whole continent, driving all who resisted before them. The northern tribes, the Andu, Masetian, Vos, and others were all attacked and driven from their lands. Of the three initially attacked only the Vos resisted, but the corruption of Azari was soon to spread to their people and they also fell before the Adurian legions. Many were killed or enslaved but most fled, heading north to Cerilia.
Nearly five hundred years later when the Adurian Empire had now conquered all of Aduria the tale of the Crown of Shadows takes a new turn. By now it had been rebuilt so many times that its original form was no longer recognisable. It had been enlarged and was now covered with valuable jewels of all kinds and sizes. The last alteration had been the addition of a massive emerald, originally from the sceptre of a Neha prince. This emerald was now the centre piece of the crown, a gem that dominated the whole artifact. At this time Aduria was ruled by a priest of Azari known as Yurin Tarniem, a evil man who delighted in torturing his own family, and anyone else who crossed him. It was he who had ordered the sacking of the ancient Brecht city of Chorbrag, at the cost of over thirty thousand lives. Following his gods orders his legions had now spread across the entire continent conquering all who stood in their way. Only the isolated southern cities, and the barren grasslands of the Juh had so far escaped his control. He was sitting in his throne room planning the attack on the southern cities when Azari appeared before him and ordered him to send his armies north to a land he had never heard of and attack the tribes that had fled there centuries before.
What happened next is well recorded in the histories of Cerilia, but was is less known is that the moment that the god Azari died and his power was scattered among his followers the Emperor Yurin also died. It is said that his body was destroyed in a ball of black fire that descended from the heavens to destroy the throne room and all who were within it. The only thing that survived was the crown, but it had been forever altered.
In the days following the death of the Emperor a civil war broke out in the Empire. The priests of Azari were no longer receiving spells from their god and the old noble families took their chance to break their rule of the empire. Led by Lutrius Tibius, a descendant of the ancient Imperial family the nobles seized the throne and claimed the Shadow Crown as their own. Although in time the new gods who had taken Azari's place took up Azari's mantle and granted the prayers of his priests they would never regain their lost power. The death of the last Emperor Yurin by what looked like the hand of Azari, the loss of the priests spells after the cataclysm, and the almost total destruction of the armies sent north to Deismaar had caused the people to loose faith with the priests. They would over time to recover much of their lost influence they would never again claim the throne or the crown again.
The new wielders of the crown found that it was changed greatly from the cataclysm. Its appearance was now the most notable change with the gems now all altered to become black sapphires and the gold darkening into a black metal of unknown composition. The new crown still retained many of its old powers, although it had lost the ability for the user to call on Azari's power in times of need. The new Emperors found though that crown now bound their lives to that of the land, and they could influence much more now than the minds of their subject, they could now influence entire provinces while they wore the crown.
In the years after the cataclysm the reason for the change in the powers of the crown have been speculated on many times. Some have said that the crown now contains a part of Azari's very essence and while the Emperor wears it he gain the powers of Azari himself. Others have said that its new powers are a gift from Azari in return for the sacrifice of the Adurian soldiers at Deismaar. What ever the truth the crown does not leave the brow of the Emperor from the day he ascends to the throne to the day he dies, even when he sleeps or bathes.
It is also said that one day the crown shall pass into the hand of a champion of Azari and on that day the god himself will come into the world and bring about a day of judgement when only those who follow Azari will be spared.

Description:
The crown is a band of dark metal, covered with thirty black sapphires of various sizes. When not being worn it appears to draw shadows around it and disappears from the view of all who search for it. It is said however to call to its chosen user, and if he accepts the crown embrace then he will become the next Emperor of Aduria. While wearing the Crown of Shadows the Emperor can make it hide itself from view, effectively invisible. This enables the Emperor to use the crown's abilities to hide from view, or move among his people without them noticing him. The crown effects the mind of the Emperor, slowly over time twisting his desires and morals until they match those of the crown. This is one of the reason why Aduria still remains the most feared nation on the entire continent. Any who attempt to steal the crown are in for a shock. The crown bonds with its user and if taken from him while he is still alive it will attack the thief with a powerful blast of lightning, usually killing him, although some have managed to drop the crown in time.

Primary Powers:
- Grants +80 bloodline points (1 3", 9 prince, 20 knight sielshegh gems).
- If the wearer has no bloodline it grant him one (Az, true, 80).
- Grants various blood abilities (see below).
- Shadow Walk at will.

Blood Abilities Granted:
- Detect Life (Minor).
- Major Resistance (Magic - 25%).
- Regeneration (Normal & Major).
- Wither Touch.
- Charm Aura (Great).
- Alter Appearance.
- Poison Sense

Secondary Powers:
- Invisibility/Shadow Cloak at will (area of effect is crown only).
- Shadow Cloak, 4 hrs/day (area of effect is user).
- Protection from Normal Missiles, always in effect.
- Minor Globe of Invulnerability, always in effect.

Penalties:
- Alignment of user shifts to Lawful Evil.
- User can not remove the crown without dying.
- Anyone who tries to steal the crown will be subject to the equivalent of a 10d6 lightning bolt each round.
- If anyone with a bloodline derivation other than Azari who tries to wear the crown they will be killed instantly, in a rather messy explosive manner.
- On his death the user's mind is transported to the shadow world and he is given the body of a skeleton. He will still have any former abilities, and is the same level and class as before. If Azari should ever return to Aebrynis then these former Emperors would be returned from the Shadow World to serve as generals in his army. At the moment they just wander the Shadow World seeking living being to kill. Although they are undead they can not be turned by priestly power.
- If the crown choses someone as its next wielder and they reject the title then they will die. The crown will only chose a new wearer if the previous Emperor is dead and it usually selects the person with the highest bloodline who is eligible for the job. It would not for example select a blooded hero from Cerilia just because of his bloodline. It will only select an Adurian of noble birth, usually the son of the previous emperor, or other relative. There have been cases however when someone thought most unlikely to claim the throne has been chosen over the selected heir of the Emperor. This usually occurs when the Emperor's heir is somehow unworthy for the position, for example he may be a paladin or something similar.

Notes:
- This Crown is designed for Aduria and would not suit a Cerilian based campaign. I would hate to think what would happen if a PC got his hands on such a powerful artifact. I created it mainly as part of a set of three powerful artifacts that the Emperor of Aduria wields. The other two are the Blood Sword, and the Sceptre of the Emperor.
- The Shadow Cloak ability mentioned above is similar to invisibility. It has two functions, the first is on itself which is 100% effective even in bright sunlight. The second effects the user and work similar to a thieves hide in shadows ability. It only operates for 4 hrs a day, and is not effective in bright sunlight.
- Much of the history mentioned above will make more sense when I finish my history of Aduria. I have not included date these particular events took place, but they will be mentioned in the history document in more detail.

[Raesene Andu]

Originally posted by Fearless_Leader@Oct 31 2003, 10:37 AM
Much like the campaign I've been running for the last two years. At some point I'll have to post a summary, but the basic gist is that the followers of Azrai are re-organizing in the south following the escape of the Cold Rider from the Shadow World (a long story). Unfortunately, the peoples of Cerilia spent too much time warring with each other to recongnize the threat (which has only been revealed recently). Now Cerilia is plagued with disease, war, famine, cults of Azrai and a surge in anwnsheghlien activity, effectively preventing Cerilia's regents from stopping the threat as it gathers in Aduria.

My current campaign is set in Aduria, but it is only just starting off. The PC left the Imperial City as body guards for an Anuirean lord off to check on his family's holdings in Aduria and have only made it as far as Broken Cape, a rough copper mining town about 200 miles west of Mieres. Since then they have been fighting against the gnoll tribes of the Sere Coast, and are just about to board their vessel and set sail again.

I'm not sure if it will continue to remain in Aduria, but I do have a vague plot running involving an assassin/cleric of Eloele who is travelling with them, as well as a cleric of Azrai who is one of the ship's crew. The assassin has been hired to kill the king of Lurech, a small nation in the north-west of Aduria that was once home to the Rjurik people. Her ship was attacked by the Seadrake soon after it left Mieres though, and she was rescued by the PCs early on in their adventure. It remains to be seen if they can learn of her mission before she completes it and frames them for the death of the king. That is still some way off though, and at the moment she is assisting them in their adventures. In the game tomorrow though she is going to kill the cleric of Azrai after an argument. It is likely that the PCs will find out about the dead cleric's allegience though, so could get interesting.

By the way, none of my players visit this forum, so I can talk about the plot without them finding out.

[lordofallandnothing]

i love your plotline for your campaign setting is very sweet sounding i wish i was able to play in any birthright campaign so i am waiting for someone to start up another one cause i Hate to be a dm i have been a dm enough times i dont want the job any longer,lol.
and yes that is the EXACT item i was talking about earlier.that was YOUR website then? wow man i LOVE your work i used quite bit of it in the past to make up a campaign or three are you ever going to post any of that really sweet stuff on the web again by any chance?i would love to let my greedy little imagination run wild ith some really nice adurian material and all and then maybe i can make up my own adurian campaign in the "real" world ya know?

[lordofallandnothing]

i had a another question for you okay...i was perusing the older forum threads down in the aduria area and noticed a thread about the ADURIA FAQ
was there ever an adurian set of rules posted by you and if so are they on the net and if so(lol lot of if so's) where can i find it?

[Fearless_Leader]

Originally posted by Raesene Andu@Oct 30 2003, 10:06 PM
My current campaign is set in Aduria, but it is only just starting off. The PC left the Imperial City as body guards for an Anuirean lord off to check on his family's holdings in Aduria and have only made it as far as Broken Cape, a rough copper mining town about 200 miles west of Mieres. Since then they have been fighting against the gnoll tribes of the Sere Coast, and are just about to board their vessel and set sail again.

Indeed. My campaign is currently in Aduria and is in fact based on the same material.... Captain Caele Fieren of the Lady Ghesele...
One of the first adventures was set in Broken Cape where the PCs rescued a bunch of the miners who had been enslaved by the gnolls. However, in my campaign, the PCs aren't apart of a guild operation... the government of the Imperial City dispatched them on the mission in order to try to gain some measure of credibility among the other Anuirean states (as the city was under the control of the Imperial Legion ever since the Gorgon's armies had come through a shadow gate beneath the College of Sorcery and ravaged it).
One of my players does in fact frequent this forum, so I've always been careful about what I've said regarding the plots of my campaigns... but now that the great secrets of Azrai's return have been revealed, that's not so much of a concern any more.

[lordofallandnothing]

i am sorry to hear that one of your players frequets these hallowed halls.

[Raesene Andu]

Originally posted by lordofallandnothing@Oct 31 2003, 06:12 PM
and yes that is the EXACT item i was talking about earlier.that was YOUR website then? wow man i LOVE your work i used quite bit of it in the past to make up a campaign or three are you ever going to post any of that really sweet stuff on the web again by any chance?i would love to let my greedy little imagination run wild ith some really nice adurian material and all and then maybe i can make up my own adurian campaign in the "real" world ya know?

Most of that material is still available for download from birthright.net. Go to this page http://www.birthright.net/download/ and it should all be archived there. Most of it is not about Aduria though, it is various material for BR in general.

If you are looking specifically for magical items and weapons then the archives you want are...
http://www.birthright.net/download/magical_items.zip
http://www.birthright.net/download/magical_weapons.zip

My Adurian page is offline at the moment (I'm too busy working on the Atlas of Cerilia and the BRCS revision), but you can still dowload the map from http:users.chariot.net.au/~hoss/ADURIA.JPG and the background material for my current campaign is also online at http://users.chariot.net.au/~hoss/BRART.rtf
Hope that is some help.

My PCs are currently riding back to Broken Cape from the ruined gnoll fortress, having rescued the captured miners and killed the Gnolls (with a little help from Gael the assassin). Once they return they will set sail for Oried, although they will likely stop at Tuole Ariele along the way. By the way, the Knights-Marinier mentioned in the section of Tuole Ariele are going to be the Peaceful Seas of Nesirie in the Atlas of Cerilia, I've already written them up for the Atlas.

Peaceful Seas of Nesirie

Alignment: Neutral Good (Recommended: Cleric)
Holdings: Temple 20 (Brosengae 4; Taeghas 16)
Treasury: 7 GB / 39 RP
Income: 14 GB / 20 RP
Expenses: 11.5 GB (Navy 7.5 GB; Court 4 GB)

The Peaceful Seas of Nesirie is the last remnant of once proud faith, the Knights-Mariner of Nesirie, an immensely rich and powerful temple that once rivalled the Imperial Temple of Haelyn in influence at the Imperial Court. Founded in 790 HC by a group of noble families seeking to expand their holdings into newly conquered northern Aduria, the temple was soon charged by the emperor with the task of ensuring the protection of the colonists and overseeing trade from the colonies. From their fortress-city of Tuole Ariele, the Knights-Mariner sat atop a virtual river of wealth flowing from the colonies into the heart of the empire.
However, following the collapse of the empire many of the new colonies and conquered territories in Aduria broke free of Anuirean control and the priests of the Knights-Mariner soon found the source of their wealth slipping from their grasp. Then, in 1060 HC, a particularly dark day in Anuirean history, the sorcerer Noruimor attacked the fortress at Tuole Ariele, slaughtering most of the population in a single night. Those few priests who survived the slaughter at Tuole Ariele returned home and reorganised their surviving holdings as the Peaceful Seas of Nesirie, but the temple has never regained anywhere near its former strength.
The current head of the temple, Daffyd Tamaere (MA; Pal2/Clr6; Scion of Anduiras, major, 29), is a young priest with a burning desire to see a return to the days of glory for his church, but he know that faces urgent problems at home that must be dealt with first. Only five years ago the Peaceful Seas dominated religion in Taeghas, but since then the influence of the Western Imperial Temple of Haelyn has spread to Taeghas. Daffyd fought the temple of Haelyn’s expansion as best he could, but has had trouble competing with a church that has the support of not only Prince Avan, but also the Count of Taeghas, Harold Khorien.

[morgramen]

Hello again everyone! Bloodsilver.com is still around, but as Anakin mentioned, it's in the midst of redisign at the moment. I've been really busy with work and school so far this year, so haven't really had time to turn all the 'theory of web design' into something concrete yet. I've gone through a few test designs, but nothing sits well with me yet.

It's not gone though, and will return. h34r:

Thanks for all the cudos though! I always figured only a few folks ever swung by the place, and never really considered it to be an "assett'. Now I have pressure.... :blink:

[The Jew]

Could people type in any birthright web sites that they think are good. This thread could be a database.

[morgramen]

Bloosilver.com is back on the net and live at last! There is still some things to finish porting into the database, and some minor navigation errors and such, but the bulk of the site is there.

THe design is alot simpler this time as well, since I went for something that could be easily updated over my usual desire for eyec andy.

Anyway, I will be finishing porting the site in the next few days, and then start adding the new content.

http://www.bloodsilver.com