Secrets of the Magister

Dungegns&DiagonAdvanced s Secrets of The Magister Ed Greenwood "Of old, the mouths of Mystra made known to all who have Power, that by the blessing of the goddess, one mage shall be the Lady's champion, and master of magery. This one, called the Magister, does not rule, but rather wanderSamples the Realm files doing as desired, for good or ill, and in time is cast down by other mages, and the mouths of Mystra shall name a new Magister. Thus the Art shall live and grow, in strife and mystery, and never know the stifling yoke of law nor of authority. And the Art shall grow stronger, for magely ambition grows with skill-in-Art, and those waxing stronger will seek out incumbent weakness; from strif e-of-art shall come greater strength. In the proper choosing of an enemy, each Magister brings glory, and greater strength, to the office. And in the seeking of that office, each magic brings glory, and greater strength, to the Art." —Albaerum of Neverwinter, Sage The Wonders of Magery " "Iis a lonely thing, to be Magister. All shadows have eyes. Death is never far off, and often charges at one. "Iis not an office for the faint of heart." —Aimer Galarthund Thoughts Before My Slaying "He will be Magister. I know. I have seen the fire in his eyes." —The character, Ferlinus Fooldark, in the play Hearts and Daggers for Them by Sperrus of Athkatla Credits/Dedication Secrets of the Magister Credits Designer: Ed Greenwood Editor: Dale Donovan with Kim Mohan Cover Artist: Fred Fields Interior Artist: David Day Typesetters: Eric Haddock and Angelika Lokotz Graphic Designer: Tanya Matson Creative Director: Stan! Art Director: Paul Hanchette Dedication To Julia Martin, who has served the Realms so long and well—and made a difference. Thanks are due all who contributed ideas and desires about the Magister, in particular Eric L. Boyd, Grant Christie, Bryan Fields, George Krashos, Julia Martin, Bobby Nichols, Steven Schend, Craig Sefton, and Bryon Wischstadt. Magisterial concepts: Eric L. Boyd, Grant Christie, Julia Martin, Steven Schend. Campaign setting based on the original game world of Ed Greenwood. Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Sample file ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, DUNGEON CRAWL, DUNGEON MASTER, MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM, and the Wizards of the Coast logo are registered trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. MONSTROUS MANUAL is a trademark owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Distributed to the toy, hobby, and comic trade in the United States and Canada by regional distributors. Distributed worldwide by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and regional distributors. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events is purely coincidental. ©2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A. ISBN: 0-7869-1430-0 U.S., CANADA, ASIA EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS PACIFIC, & LATLN AMERICA Wizards of the Coast, Belgium Wizards of the Coast, Inc. P.B. 2031 P.O. Box 707 2600 Berchem Renton WA 98057-0707 Belgium (Questions?) 1-800-324-6496 +32-70-23-32-77 Visit our website at www.wizards.com 620-11430 The Magister of Mystra 4 Selected Magisterial Spells 100 A Note about Terms 4 Alter Digits 101 Sigils of the Magisters 4 Plungesoil 101 Tasks of the Magister 5 Hand of Tentacles 102 Becoming the Magister 7 Irithra's Spelltouch 103 The Magisterial Duel 7 Shield of Chains 104 Question Duels 9 Gutsnake 105 Ascendance 9 Battlestar 105 Player Character Magisters 10 Ghosttalk 105 Powers of the Magister 11 Spell Trigger 106 The New Magister 11 Dispel Shunt 106 Personal Powers and Immunities 11 Scouring Wind 107 Spellcraft Abilities 12 Talking Stone 108 Spellcasting Powers 13 Transcribe 108 Active Powers of the Office 13 Greater Spell Trigger 108 Leaving Office 14 Jalensifer's Trident 109 Mystra's Choice 15 Lesser Cleaving 109 The Fate of a Failure 15 Obliviasphere 110 Rewards 15 Weavecall Ill Greentree Haven 16 Dweomerbanish Ill Adriyana's Garter 17 Lauthdryn's Cleaving 112 Crown of the Undying Flame 18 Weavestrike 113 Morglord the Gate 19 Wondercraft 113 Annath the Grell 19 Artifacts 114 Haunted Flagon 20 Magical Items 115 The Reborn 21 Blast-Globes 114 Shadowstaff 23 Gauntlets of Faerglamer 115 Tarsardar 26 Shimmaryn 116 Wingless Wonder 28 Talandor's Helm 117 Magisters Remembered 30 The Magisterial Campaign 119 Select Magisters Sample30 Th filee NPC Magister 119 The Magister Now 83 The PC Magister 120 Recent History 83 Mystra's Other Servants 121 Talatha Vaerovree of Innarlith 84 The Touched 121 Magisterial Magic 91 Pursuivant Arcane 122 Forbidden Spells 91 Aspirant Magister 122 Mantles 92 Weavespinner 123 Mantle 93 The Road of Stars and Shadows 127 Baldrics 97 Belorigar's Baldric 97 Combination Spells 98 Filverel's Doorward 99 Nerren's Guardlock 100 Dathchaunt's Deathbolt 100 The Magister of Mystra ew beings in the Realms are so misunderstood, despite numerous ballads, tales, and legends, as A Note about Terms the long line of mysterious wizards who have A successful career as a Magister is all about its holder held the title of "the Magister." exhibiting good judgment, but there is no other connec- Most civilized Faerunians know that the Magister is tion between the Magister of Mystra and the many judges some sort of specially anointed (by Mystra, the goddess (pronouncers-of-laws or criminal sentences) found in var- of magic) wizard, has special powers, and there is only ious cities of Faerun, including Suzail and Waterdeep, one at a time, a new Magister assuming the office when who hold the title "Magister." Nor are the Lords Magister the current one is slain (usually by the successor). ("Just Lords") of Waterdeep's past connected to the cham- The moment inquiry moves beyond these bare ideas, pion of Mystra. the disagreements begin. Opinions are so varied as to swamp any single tome, if set down in full; suffice it to say that sharply conflicting views about the Magister Sigils of the Magisters continue to be hotly contested to this day. The personal symbols of various Magisters appear Access to both Elminster and Laeral allows us to state throughout this book, and rarely vary much from those much more, and the results of the lore they have used by these mages before each became the Magister. imparted appear in this book. Some of the Chosen of There also exists, however, a sigil pertaining to the Mystra promote the belief that to understand the Magis- office and usable by any Magister. (Other mortals who ter is to learn what true mastery of magic is, and there- employ it—drawing it in any permanent manner, as fore, what every wizard should strive for. opposed to tracing its outlines for a few seconds in Briefly, the Magister is the personal champion of ashes or sand—are either feebleminded or struck blind, Mystra, but this does not mean "someone who fights by the grace of Mystra, for at least a tenday, depending for Mystra," in the way a warrior fights for his liege on their intentions when falsely using the sigil). It lord. The mightiest deity of the Realms, capable of per- appears below and at the top of each page of this book. sonally controlling all access to the Weave (the magical When rendered in color, it customarily appears as stars energies and bindings that flow in unending life of alternating white and silver on a field of deep blue. around Toril), hardly needs another wizard to hurl The stars on both ends of the array are silver. spells on her behalf. Rather, the office exists to promote "the Art" (wizardly magic) throughout the Realms, both through the tasks individual Magisters are charged with, and by the striving toward greateSampler mas- file tery of magic that competition for the office causes. Those raised in competitive, magic-strong societies (such as Thay, for example) see the office as a means of "becoming the mightiest wizard of all Faerun," using its special powers to slay old foes and potential rivals. Yet even brief reflection upon the magic-nurturing nature of the Mother of All Magic reveals to the thinking Faerunian that the view of the office as "the hammer to all other mages' anvils" must be mistaken. This book sets forth what it is to be the Magister, from the creation of the office after the Dawn Cataclysm by Mystra, wherein Azuth (the same Azuth who later rose to godhood) became the first Magister, down the long years to the present time. Students of Realmslore will find no exhaustive list of all the Magisters herein, for only Mystra knows the entire roster. Nor does this tome attempt to address all the unique magic employed by Magisters, for a library the size of that at Candlekeep would be needed to address such a topic. However, players and Dungeon Masters alike can glean much from these pages about the most important mortal mages of Faerun to use them in play. hile the office has no formal, written rules and are more likely to use it, rather than hoard it to constrain responsibilities, various Magisters have been others from magic use). Within this prime mission of the charged with specific missions (and placed office, there remains a lot of room for Magisters who revel under particular prohibitions) by Mystra.

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