Grail Quest

[David Zenz]

I like the concept of a "blooded relic". I guess my advice would be to
give the chalice a more humble begining. Rather than have the relic be
an item that Haelyn returns to leave his followers perhaps it could be an
item he used while at Deismaar? Many people in the Renaissance used to
carry drinking cups and eating ware (knives). Perhaps after the fall of
Auduiras, Haelyn collected his gods "blood" in such a common and humble
vessel? Instead of a chalice consider a common tankard, leather jack,
pewter goblet, wooden drinking horn, or cermaic mug. Remember the third
Indy Jones movie? I have also heard that the origins of the "Grail"
might be linked to an ancient seasonal game. Perhaps Haelyn might have a
similar feast or holy day? Legends around the grail could also prove to
provide a story line. The re-emergance of the grail could be linked to
the reunification of Anuire, the crowning of a new king, the return of
the Masetians, or something dark and sinister. The powers of the grail
could also prove to be unique. The PC's might seek the grail because
they desire an item of power. Instead they might find that the relic
shows the holder his true nature, or burns those who are not "pure"
enough? Think of the ORB of ALDUR in the Belgraid series, or the ONE
RING in Tolkens tales, or maybe the EYE OF VECCNA??? Power can corrupt.
A twist might be to make the grail a relic with no powers or effects, an
item to test the faithful or decieve the wicked? The grail might only
function if a certain deed is done or if it is filled with a special
fluid? I look foreward to postings that show the results of the grail
quest in various campaigns.

[Verrrucht@aol.co]

In a message dated 97-03-14 13:43:13 EST, you write:

>

You know sometime back I fancied with the idea of an intelligent sword at the
site of Mt. Deismaar becoming an Awnshegh. It would work like a Timaevril
weapon although it was the object of the true power. It would imbue its
wielder with the power long enough to use them to find a more suitable victim
then reclaim the power upon the wielders death.

[Sean Brown]

On the topic of these grail quests, Ihave modified this a little for
my game. In this scenerio, the Sword of Roele was modified to become
an intelligent sword, that can act like a Tighmaevrael (sp??) weapon
if used against Azrai's scion's. The big drawback is that the PC
slowly becomes extremely lawful and caught up in the concept of
Justice. As well, he/she becomes more obsessed with restoring the
empire under his/her rule as well as rooting out all the Awnsheigh
then can get to. The PC's in my campaign are starting to get into
trouble because to this point they have run their respective domains
as a unit, for the good af all. The PC with the sword is now
starting to strike out on his own due to the sword's
influence...where that's gonna go, I'm not too sure yet


Sean

[Undertaker]

At 10:27 PM 3/14/97 -0800, David Zenz(dzenz@glaci.com)wrote:
>
>I like the concept of a "blooded relic". I guess my advice would be to
>give the chalice a more humble begining. Rather than have the relic be
>an item that Haelyn returns to leave his followers perhaps it could be an
>item he used while at Deismaar? Many people in the Renaissance used to
>carry drinking cups and eating ware (knives). Perhaps after the fall of
>Auduiras, Haelyn collected his gods "blood" in such a common and humble
>vessel?
>

>

Thank you. I love the idea of Haelyn gathering the remains of the old gods
into a common item that he carried with him in battle. Also I will have to
work in the idea of some type of festival. I just don't want it to come to
close to the plot from "The Sword and The Crown" adventure. After reading
this, and Verrrucht's, post(Verrrucht spoke of an Awnshegh item, from Mt.
Deismaar)I have started going back over items from the Book of Artifacts,
and the ones from fantasy novels that left enough of an impression I had to
make a note of. I don't plan on using any of the items exactly as presented,
but i should be able to find a host of adventure ideas from their various
origins, and plot lines. When considering the corrupting power of an
Artifact, I have been giving a lot of thought to an item from Raymond E.
Feist's Riftwar Saga. The armor of Ashen-Shugar, this item carries great
powers, but the soul of its former master is constantly attempting to usurp
the body of the current wielder.

This adventure is still deep under construction, the more I think on it the
more I realize I have a lot to do to form the adventure I want. I hope to
make it a grandiose experience that while similar to things the Players have
done(in a RPG), or maybe just read about, but unique enough to be utterly
unforgettable. I'm not asking for much?...am I? BTW, many people have
commented about various items of power that would be a great subject for a
quest. What I was wondering was, has anyone ran a quest style adventure in
thier game? If you have I'd like to hear about them. Particularly the final
confrontation before they claimed the item, and any other encounter that
gave them pause, or everyone(including the DM)really enjoyed. Thanks in advance.

Undertaker, richt@metrolink.net
RL Homepage: http://www.metrolink.net/~veleda/sepulcher.html

[swords]

When considering the corrupting power of an
>Artifact, I have been giving a lot of thought to an item from Raymond E.
>Feist's Riftwar Saga. The armor of Ashen-Shugar, this item carries great
>powers, but the soul of its former master is constantly attempting to usurp
>the body of the current wielder.

What I was wondering was, has anyone ran a quest style adventure in
>thier game? If you have I'd like to hear about them. Particularly the final
>confrontation before they claimed the item, and any other encounter that
>gave them pause, or everyone(including the DM)really enjoyed. Thanks in
advance.

I'm currently in the midst of a campaign such as this. So far my PC's have
made more enemies than friends. They have just started to understand that
on this quest one of their allies is the White Witch. The group has several
very dense people and two fairly devious ones. The big encounter to gain a
piece of the item was against a wizard named Asharak, he was also looking
for the artifact. It was the longest battle I've ever played out in AD&D.
There were the 7 PC's against two stone golems, thirty huge goblins, five
trolls, one goblin cleric, and Asharak. The PC's walked into an ambush in a
cave that was housing the artifact piece and had to fight their way out of
it. During the battle they lost track of Asharak and he made off with the
piece. They have since started hunting him across Cerelia.

Michael

[Undertaker]

At 12:36 PM 3/16/97 +0000, Matthew Colville(mcolville@earthlink.net)wrote:
>
> I suggest, as I believe I have before, that you make the item quested
>for the Rod of Seven Parts, for which there is already a nice boxed set
>out for.
>

I agree its a great adventure. Unfortunatly my GH campaign already had PCs
of appropriate level for it, so I used it in that game. Your right though it
would work perfectly in BR. Let us know how the adventure goes when you run
it. Thanks.

Undertaker, richt@metrolink.net
RL Homepage: http://www.metrolink.net/~veleda/sepulcher.html

[JConley368@aol.co]

For those of you that have not already heard about it, Sierra On-Line has
just about finished a computer version of Birthright called BIRTHRIGHT: The
Gorgon's Alliance. It is expected to ship soon or so and since I've been
working on it for over a year, I can answer questions about it if there are
any.

[Pan]

How's it going o'programming god.
I was wondering if maybe you could let me know why the game is taking this
long.
Wasn't it supposed to be released in December.
The only reason that I am asking is that I am anxious to rush out and buy a
copy.
Thanks, Bob

- ----------
> From: JConley368@aol.com
> To: birthright@MPGN.COM
> Subject: Re: [BIRTHRIGHT] - Grail Quest
> Date: Sunday, March 16, 1997 8:36 PM
>
> For those of you that have not already heard about it, Sierra On-Line has
> just about finished a computer version of Birthright called BIRTHRIGHT:
The
> Gorgon's Alliance. It is expected to ship soon or so and since I've been
> working on it for over a year, I can answer questions about it if there
are
> any.
>> To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the
line
> 'unsubscribe birthright' as the body of the message.

[TSRRich@aol.co]

In a message dated 97-03-14 13:43:13 EST, you write:

>On another note, it appears our own "Grail" quest has come to a happy end.
>Our "Grail" being one of our favorite TSR employees, Mr. Rich Baker. I want
>to say hello to him, and thanks for joining us. I know I speak for everyone
>when I say that we really apprieciate your time, and effort. We know your a
>very busy man, and the fact that you have decided to offer your personal
>input to this List, is something we will be hard pressed to repay. Once
>again thanks for your trouble, and we're glad to have you aboard.
>
>

Well, you guys kinda twisted my arm...I'm afraid I can only check in once or
twice a week, but I'll be lurking about. BTW, the Civ II scenario using
Cerilia sounds extremely cool. I just got Civ II and I've been playing in my
copious spare time, and when I saw that idea, I jumped out of my chair and
said "Zoinks! Why didn't I think of that?" or something to that effect.

Rich Baker
Birthright Designer

[Verrrucht@aol.co]

In a message dated 97-03-19 00:16:40 EST, Rich Baker writes: