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Mordai#

Mordai Godkin
https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/guyleaver/characters/3288264

  • Warlock / Sorcerer / Wizard
  • Archmage of Neverwinter

Warlock, only took a few levels in it and hid Chronomancy from patron.
Divine Soul sorcerer after. Blessed by devils in Mephistar.
Then learning basics as a Wizard.
Via dahaka gets to redeem himself and end chronomancy.

Backstory#

  • Born to human family (in tiny place - awkward - also innate magic /fire/rebuke)
  • Mother; Sigfrid Godkin, had many children in village, well-looked upon by villagers as virtuous person. Was fair to Mordai as with other children and gave him a Tiefling name because she did not think anything was wrong with it, though was probably judged a lot by others for that, and maybe lost of a lot of respect/admiration
  • this becomes harder over time as Mordai grows up, and when she makes no attempt to contact him and disappears, he considers that she has just given in to the inevitable decision that everyone else has made, and decides to separate himself from his previous life. Does not use surname as a result (not god-kin anyway..)
  • Many brothers/sistes (lots, don't know, only mother liked Mordai)
  • Went on a journey, framed for something (theft of item, new person turned up)
  • Sent to jail (while growing up, framed, rebuke at 15, got taken for 10 years)
  • Tempted by patron
    => Family disappaer
  • Tries to become a spellcaster
  • Meets young elf called Cael Aloro, who is a more equal and accepting companion. Sees him several times as a youth visiting village, and again after leaving jail, becomes adventurer and meets Bron etc. Cael encourages magic use, and Mordai becomes more confident in himself. When adventuring with Cael and Bron and others, Mordai is unable to save him despite learnings in magic, and find himself alone again, where he chooses to be a hermit and learn that way and greive loss of is friend
  • Has a place in the forest (abandoned wizard house)
  • Enough arcana to keep yourself hidden

accidentally roleplayed as stoic, introspective
not really distrusting still
more characterised by inability by insufficiently powerful/knowledgable to prevent disaster
wanting to be in control over those who take control. anger / desperation?

Developments#

  • Got book of Chronomancy on from andariel
  • Hid book from paxos (and avoided a trip to gehenna)
  • celerom helped him learn it
  • his use of chronomancy made hanir go mad
  • now learning wizardry to spite devils (poly-wiz)

Looks#

Black “eyes”, purple skin, horns. Robe.

Motivation#

  • epic lore
  • knowledge
  • power

still have travelling to do
would like to spend time of previous study and recall (at castle never)

Developments#

83-downtime#

Mages Guild
Tome of Clear Thought
Upset at devils. Upset there's a power level progression.
Understands the weave now.

87 chronomancy#

  • DC18 on timepiece spells

Patron paxos#

Arcanoloth in the Gehanna

Patron dahaka (Sahaquiel)#

  • while alive; true Divine Soul/Patron
  • spell DC buffed to 20 somehow
  • modify memory 6th level, overcharge up to 8th level every 2 days
  • can do a once per week full rest refresh (chronomancy refresh 30min ritual)

Endgame#

He would like to go out as a divine soul sorcerer.
Note that mordai was supposed to give back the book to paxos, but he didn't.

  • time magic to eradicate the pact
  • still sorcerer / wizard / warlock (but all under a single patron - sahaquiel as pact patron + sorcerer patron)

depending on patron choice in the epilogue, there's different endgames for sahaquiel/mordai.

there is an opportunity for his patron being sahaquiel all along; i.e. this was meant to be:
- he was never meant to give the book back. it was needed to end arklem/irae
- earlier warlock dreams was actually weird fever dreams of sahaquiel? w/e.
- someone has to place the book there in the past (cycles...)

Patron Quests and Visions#

Fruit Quest#

"Mordai."
“I sense that are entering a place of great power. You should be careful when threading here.”
“I sense an unnatural form of healing magic around this place - which I assume you are here for. But I also sense a different type of magic hidden away.”
“The outcast possess the pale crop of a tree. I need you to stealthily obtain this.”
Whats in it for me? “Heh, I will show you in due time. I promise to make it worth your while however.”
“Keep it hidden. Keep it safe.”

Plant white fruit for staff quest!
- Guiding staff creation http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/ryOD5kAxQ

Plant quest continued:
Send me parts of the fruit. Concentrate on me. (Banishment 4th level spell on it through Paxus). Red hexagonal cage of sylindrical spokes appear around.
Beautiful. This will do greatly.
Do with the rest as you wish. But if you have people you value, do not feed it to them.

future: Rewarding increasingly evil quests

Paxos Vision 1#

Mordai vision in Kruthik Dungeon:
You find yourself in the midst of an endless sea of mist - rising about 2ft up from the ground, extending seemingly endlessly out into the horizon. However around your person is a circle of red fire about 1ft tall clawing at your feet.

Walk into/over/touch the fire -> Fire forms into a path leading to some sort of elevated feature.

Walk towards it - see large 10ft circle out of makeshift stone around faerzress fire. At the edges is a one-ft-wide smaller circle. Seemingly empty and no fire.
Quick flash of a jackal-headed figure. FEED.

You are in a different room, standing in the middle of a room filled entirely with white spherical eggs, about the size of an adult head.

Another word echoes; “ENERGY”

Pick one up, flash back to the other room.
It can light up in the smaller circle. He will be enveloped and woken up in center afterwards.

Vision 2 - this was bad#

Mordai's patron can earn him Misty Visions:
You wake up in a room full of mist. As you step along, you hear squidgy of something splattering.
You've stepping on large orange larva, as you look down to investigate you see it's not dead.
Its head seems enormous, and then it turns towards you and smiles. The face is humanoid, but contorted. Horns, dark hair, orange skin, but a familiar all-encompassing black eyes. You see yourself staring back and you with a smile.
"What are you doing here Mordai?" - dual toned voice.
Stepping further (suddenly) / investigating (pull and pull):

Vision 3#

unused
If mordai studies the book. Recursive knowledge First.
He can get an invocation to cast a 4th level chronomancy spell.

Vision 4#

unused
Sou see yourself walking backwards throughout a maze. Candles burning down.
oos chtum rewuop

Level 15 ultimatum#

Fiend he's ultimately related to Mephisto(pheles)

Waylain mid teleport. Mephistar. Cania.
Or infernal:
infernal: e·tir tot zo·ga·ment a·tle ho·ha·har
common: child, your presence is required

All info sent in a locked soulbound tome to mordai via an imp with the message.

High level: Contract shit, voiding patron. Reasons: 9 hells and gehanna opposed? Cannot receive more power. Throughput? Data breach issue.

Pit fiend. Azeryx. High Level Relations at Caina.
Eriness. Tryx(ira) Senior Operations at Mephistar.
Annoyed she has to do this.

Look. Your divine claim is important to us. Your contributions in the material plane is valuable to us, you've clearly put a lot of energy into legitimizing your continued claim to the "divine".
But your path is really no longer going to work at high level operations. The fact that a creature on Gehanna can eavesdrop on our divine gifts to you is not acceptable at this level. In fact, at any higher order gifts, would be considered a weave breach. And we take our security very seriously. As does my friend Azeryx over here.

Azeryx (stops hands).
Common: "I am ready to turn your faces into hood ornaments"
Infernal: ath hant gu·te ew zont tot du·zo hop mun e·to·gent

So we are going to need some sacrifices from you. You need to sever your relations to your patron. Which means that active patron gifts will have to stop working. Eldritch invocations will cannot work as it is magic proxied through Gehanna, and that is the security hole we have to close. So eldritch blast, has to go. Find familiar we can migrate to a divine blessing. We have enough imps to spare. Eldritch sight can also be migrated.

However. We realise that this leaves you feeling a little lessened by this contractual revision. So we are prepared to offer you a gracious selection of divine offerings, at greatly discounted rates.

However, we need one thing of you if you wish to continue your service with us. You need to start a Cult. It doesn't need to be a big thing at first, but you do have to tend to it at least every week, or get someone you trust on it. As a leader of a Cult of Mephistoles, you'll be able to grant signature spells to your fellow cultists; Fire Bolt, burning hands(2nd), flaming sphere (3rd). Which is going to be necessary for you to get enough weave throughput at your higher level adventures.
Goal: Magical skill and power, backed with the will to use it to crush rivals. Find eager recruits willing to study magic. Any monsters that use spells can be convinced to follow, but wizards or other conclaves of sages are also good.

As a result; can keep EB benefits, but it becomes a Mephisto Blast (cold dmg / fire swappable great deal, adding spell casting power (cha modifier) to spell dmg also purchasable). Same dmg.

Bonuses;? wish stones?

Bonus sales:
- Grafitti a house of a Good deity when in a city. "Mephisto judges all who serves under {{WORSHIPPED GOD}}". Simple spreading of fear. We probably won't even do anything with that, but we sow a seed of doubt.
- The carcasses of 49 cats, to be delivered in a single bulk payment.
- Soul of Umnos; early access otherworldly wings (14th sorc feat)
- Nickname fo summoning.
(Not as powerful as your true name, but need one of emotional significance. So we can summon you to Cania every now and then. Only in a form where you cannot be permanently injured.)
(Though can still force him to fight. Can command you to perform duties (as you are a summoned creature), but torture will not have any real effect.)
Can also come and collect any high level creatures you kill in the next 3 days.

Wagers:
- +2 CHA/ +2 INT for a random -1d4 STR
- If you dies in the next 3 days. We get your soul. Prevents resurrection magic. GET: one ability bonus of your choice +1.

CULT BONUSES (if you get at least 3 followers, then 10)
3 Bonus; Spell Shield (adv saving throws vs spells, on save, temp hp == spell level)
10 Bonus; Spell Leech; bonus action grab lowest level spell of spell slot of creature it can see within 30 ft (and you gain it).

Abandoned Paxos staff concept#

Was meant to be a thing from the Gulthias Tree.
Maybe: Make it a modified wand of lightning bolts if he attunes.
Maybe: Make it a modified wand of binding ? Spells are too good though..
Make other spells in a staff!
Or a +1 Wand of the War Mage with extra warlock cantrips!
Use the tweaks to it so it's relevant! Chill touch!
Or maybe just a daily counterspell. WIll be VERY good though..
Negative effect? Needs to be slightly evil to use it?

Also redesign legendaries.
Blackrazor too good. Whelm is probably ok for dwarf only (worth lots of money).
Wave also pretty powerful.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?247815-Legendary-Swords-(Weapons-)

https://5thsrd.org/spellcasting/spells/enhance_ability/
Give him that as a pact bonus. (Needs concentration, but is a nice team buff). Variety.

Dropped level 15 sketches#

mordai sketch 2#

Infernal: Mephisto is happy to have received so many corrupted storm giants. They are great for his experiments. From Cania in the Icy Citadel of Mephistar conducts series of arcane experiments. Highly irregular mind control that affected these giants.
(he's also happy to see weird magic from him, and they're trying to study it, but hard from afar)
P.S. We can sense magical energies we've never detected before from you or your vicitiny. Please keep doing what you are doing.
P.P.S. You are welcome at any time to visit Cania.

mordai sketch 1#

Path outside where the weather is serene. Pass by a house with purple flowers and light. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/312859505366843177/ inside, much bigger.

See a specral jackal headed figure standing behind your parental figures. The ones you have not seen in years. The figure slices through your parents, but they retain their smiles. But as he does, a winged figure from the heavens descends and sends a beam of white energy towards the jackall. His power over you, is no more. You are favoured by the gods, do not forget it. You see the what's left of the jackal (his spectral form filled with burn marks) begrudgingly look at you. "You have served me well. You have earned your powers."
(see into his eyes and you can see his powers, and he dislikes it).

-> find familiar must be one of the standard from the spell list (no imp)
-> eldritch blast gains the 17th level ability
-> cannot take another level in warlock

alternatively, find familiar starts malfunctioning (up to pit fiend)

maybe he can choose to fight it or not.
solar would like like to gift something, but you would have to leave this dark creature from gehanna; then have to battle it 1v1 / solar does it.
solar: "according to elysial rule, i cannot gift you this..."

Imp Notes#

The invisible scouting can be a little OP. Use complications:
- Roll stealth.
- Wings flat frequently. Can be heard. 4 gnolls attack with disadvantage.
- Can collide with something large, in tight spaces.
- Goes through, enemy runs into you.

E.g.
- You see a beholder eyes now see through you
- A spear from the dark.
- Tiny string, vision goes dark.
- Something sees you and range attack at you.

Rejected Infernal#

Stygia's Codex#

re-skin of Spire of Conflux

Will have more spells and less randomness later on. Boosts CHA.
Add custom invocations to it later.

Sinister part
Slowly corrupting text. Charms into sacrificing parts of you.
Think about this. Books needs a reason to charm the players.
Why is book sentient to begin with.
Demon locked original creature into book. Convinces them to go to 9 hells and deal with original daemon. Can activate when going to 9 hells.