The Damn Forum mkIII

Ceremony
Spell Level: 1
Class: Druid
School: Invocation
Sphere: All
Details
Range: Touch
Duration Special
AOE 1 creature, item, or area
Casting Time 1 hr.
Save Special
Requirements Somatic, Material, Verbal
The druidic ceremony is similar to the priest version, having a number of applications within the hierarchy of druids. The ceremony spell does not leave behind an aura of magic (although a know alignment spell or similar magic might reveal the force of true neutrality involved), and the effect cannot be dispelled. Druidic ceremonies include the following, which can be performed by a druid of the indicated or higher level:

1st-level druid: coming of age, rest eternal, marriage
3rd-level druid: dedication, investiture
7th-level druid: initiation, special vows
9th-level druid: hallowed ground
12th-level druid: cast out


The characteristics of the various types of druidic ceremony spells are as follows:

Coming of age is performed upon young people in druidic societies, usually when they reach the age of 14, and is symbolic of the young man's or young woman's entrance into adulthood. A young person receives a +1 bonus to any single saving throw, which can be taken at any time after the coming-of-age ceremony is completed. The coming-of-age ceremony has a symbolic significance in that the adolescent can thereafter enjoy the rights and privileges of adulthood.

Rest eternal is performed upon the body of a deceased creature and hastens the journey of the soul/spirit to its final resting place. The spirit of the deceased will not return to haunt the living


Marriage is essentially identical to the clerical cer­emony of the same name.


Dedication allows the recipient of the spell to be taken into the ranks of the druid's followers/worshipers, provided the individual has a neutral alignment. A recipient of this spell is charged, as are druids, with the responsibility to preserve and protect nature and the balance of forces in the world.


Investiture must be performed upon an individual of true neutral alignment before he or she can become a 1st-level druid.


Initiation imbues the druid with the shape-chang­ing and immunity to woodland charm powers that become available upon attaining 7th level. This ceremony must be performed upon a druid immediately after he or she begins to advance upward through the 7th level of experience; if cast earlier than this, it does not work, and the druid does not have the benefit of the above-mentioned special powers until receiving initiation. Usually, a druid must seek out another druid of 7th or higher level to perform the ceremony, but in unusual cases, a druid can cast it upon himself or herself.


Special vows is a ceremony that operates in the same fashion as the clerical rite of the same name. It does not work upon paladins but will function upon cavaliers of any alignment.


Hallowed ground is cast by the druid on his or her permanent grove. This ceremony ensorcelled the trees of the grove so that they will never be affected by disease or other natural disasters. The ground remains hallowed for as long as the druid maintains this grove as his or her permanent base.


Cast out is a form of excommunication or punish­ment that can be performed by a druid upon some­one who has committed sacrilege upon the natural environment or in some other way violated the principles and standards of druids. Its effects can be lessened at a later date by the casting of a re­versed version of this ceremony, either by the same druid or another one-off at least as high a level as the original caster, but the casting out can never be completely neutralized except by a Hierophant Druid of any level. An individual who has been cast out exudes a powerful negative aura, causing any natural creature encountered to react negatively to the individual. This includes all normal (nonmagical) animals, monsters native to the woodlands, domesticated beasts such as horses and dogs, and all druids and their followers.


Casting out is a very powerful form of punishment and can only be performed by a druid who has received permission from his or her Archdruid to do so. Similarly, an Archdruid must get permission from the Great Druid, and the Great Druid from the Grand Druid. The Grand Druid does not need to obtain permission, but his or her actions can be reversed by a Hierophant Druid at any time. This ceremony is usually only used on occasions where the severity of an offense warrants such extreme punishment; a druid who asks for and is denied permission to perform it, or one who later has his or her actions offset by another druid, may be subject to punishment by higher-ranking members of the hierarchy. An intended recipient of this ceremony who is unwilling receives a saving throw vs. spell, at -4, to negate its effects.

The components of a ceremony spell always include mistletoe, and the rite (of any sort) must be performed in a druid grove or some other natural, healthy patch of forest. Such ceremonies are nor­mally conducted at either dawn or dusk, the times when night and day are in balance.

Notes: Restricted to druids, common.



Other Druidic Ceremonies


Witness (3rd-level) Within their society, druids are legal of¬ficials as well as religious leaders. Having a druid witness an oath makes it binding. The oath taker pronounces the vow, usually an act to be completed within a specified time, calling upon the powers that be, and specifying a penalty if the oath goes unfulfilled. After the ceremony is completed, the oath-taker must fulfill his literal word or suffer the consequences. The druid may advise against rash promises or suggest suitable modifications to an oath, but the final say is the oath-takers. After an oath is wit¬nessed, nothing more can be done about it. Warriors often take oaths to perform certain deeds. While an unfulfilled oath may be binding for years, the death of the oath-taker breaks all but the most terrible oaths.

Anointing (14th level): This ceremony is used to raise kings, high-level druids, and other important persons to their stations. Sovereignty is a goddess to be wooed and wedded. The candidate is expected to make offerings to the holy groves, conduct great sacrifices, and give away vast amounts of wealth to the poor to please his bride. Displays of the candidate's physical prowess lead up to the anointing. Finally, the anointing takes place. If the candidate proves himself good, wise, liberal, and powerful, he is accepted by the Sovereignty and is allowed to take up his station. At Tara, the kingstone upon which the new High King stood was supposed to cry out for the true king when he stood upon it. (King Arthur's pulling the sword from the stone is much the same.) While the anointing is the seal of station, dis¬putes can arise about whether a person is the rightful possessor of the office. A successful anointing raises the recipient's Wisdom and Charisma by one point each (to a maximum of 18). The saving throw for this spell is special.

Assuming the candidate is properly qualified, he is rated on a scale of 1-4 (1 being highest) in each of five areas by the DM. The rating in each area is added, generating a saving throw of 5 to 20. If the number or above is rolled on 1d20, the individual is confirmed as not only the lawful, but the rightful possessor of the office.

Alignment: Has the recipient displayed good character and faithfulness to the druidic cult?

Duty: Has the recipient shown himself responsible and reliable in all his past dealings, and loyal to the kingdom, sect, or organization?

Leadership: Has the recipient been a strong and fair leader?

Performance: Did the candidate perform well in the rituals, games, demonstrations, offerings, and generosity during the festivities prior to his anointing?

Breeding: Is the recipient of good family connections, and does he act as befits his station?



Seasonal Ceremony Spells


The seasonal spells of spring, summer, autumn, and winter have the following in common. These affect the land and people under the druid's care, large or small. (A druid is off on his own, in his own charge: a party of adventurers of the druidic religion also might be considered his charge.)

A druid of insufficient level to conduct a seasonal ceremony is part of another druid's charge, as are the people and lands under the lower-level druid. The junior druid must participate in the ceremony conducted by the senior druid for those in his charge to benefit. The lower-level druid is expected to conduct the ceremonies of which he is capable and to attend and assist when senior druids conduct seasonal ceremonies that he cannot. Failure in either case could mean disaster for the druid's charges.
These ceremonies are all-night affairs, during which the druids keep vigil, chant, make offerings, and perform certain actions important to the community's or kingdom's welfare for the coming year. Ordinary worshipers are also participants, although the druids do much of their work withdrawn from the masses (and in secret).


5th level druid: Spring (Beltane)

7th level druid: Summer (Lugnasad)

9th level druid: Autumn (Samain)

12th level druid: Winter (Imbalc)



Spring: The spring festival (Beltane) celebrates the sun's power to give life. Great fires are lit, and cattle are passed between them. Druids and people process between the fires, waving shoots of grain. The fiery sun is associated with health and the destruction of disease. The main point of this festival is to ensure protection from disease for animals, crops, and the faithful. The cere¬mony reduces the chance of disease for the year to come by 10%. Beltane is a major civic festival associated with the spring planting.


Summer: The summer festival (Lugnasad) begins with the all-night vigil of Midsummer, the shortest night of the year. All is in full flower. Those involved in the ceremony wear garlands, which are later offered as sacrifices, beginning on Midsummer's Eve. This is the night when druids gather their mistletoe for the coming year. Each druid must gather his own mistletoe on this night for his spells to work at full potency during the next year. A druid who cannot perform the summer ceremony must join with other druids, or the mistletoe he gathers will be nothing more than lesser mistletoe. The penalty for neglecting this festival is a loss of spell potency throughout the coming year. On the night of the first full moon following Midsummer, great fairs are opened.


Autumn: The autumn harvest festival (Samain) is a time of feasting. All the folk assemble to offer their first fruits to the gods. Great bonfires are built on prominent hills, and dancing and drinking go on all night. The harvest's bounty is meant to stave off hunger in the winter. Neglecting this festival brings dearth and poverty for the coming year (extra expenses will be accrued, various treasures collected will be deficient in value, etc.). (The DM handles this condition of misfortune until the next Samhain. A monthly loss of at least 100 gp per level is suggested.)


Winter: The winter festival (Imbalc) celebrates lambing season, and offerings of milk are in order. Like a lamb, the year is born as the sun begins to wax again. The ceremony takes place on Yule, the longest night of the year, the longest sea¬sonal ceremony is a petition for strength. Neglecting the ceremony produces a -5% penalty in experience points earned for the next year, and the Hit Dice of animals born in the new year have a penalty of -1 hit point per Hit Die.

Hello,

Going to give an update. I have been in contact with Karnea's player. He's been on vacation, doing school, and a job. So he has had to prioritize things, but he is back. We have been in contact. We are laying down some groundwork for what will be the Second Gaming Session of Karnea's Third Story. It is at this point that the story version of this Second Chapter might have to be broken into Three Parts on the Forum. We are determining the size of the Island. I had been limiting it to pretty small, but nothing says this had to be very small; I might be able to expand it 8 or 10 miles. We are trying to come down on a number we are both comfortable with now that I have brought certain things to his attention, and he is taking a more active hand in its development.

The influx of mercenaries and sellswords, adding twenty to the sixty residents on the island, made it need more food brought to the island. Then, we will have a captain of the City Guard, but we don't have any guards who are not politically compromised, so we are working on that. So now we are going to need a barracks for the Guards.



9/10 Additions

There will be a big overhaul for the Island where the Tower of Blood Sea is located. Karnea's Player, Adam, and I have been discussing the island in full for the first time, and I sent him away to do a wish list, and what I have gotten back surpasses what I asked for. The shape of the island Area: Approximately 75 square miles (Roughly 8.5 miles x 8.5 miles in a square or a circle with a diameter of 9.8 miles)

The Tower and its Grove are assumed to occupy at least one square mile in the center of the island. Based it on a Greek Isle, modeled after Thassos in appearance, but has the land size of Tinos. There is some land to be self-sufficient, with trade to supplement the island, instead of being completely reliant on Trade, like we were. This will allow for some different farms, cow pasture, and swine, giving sufficient room to graze. Vineyards and an olive grove, separate from the Tower Grove, are used to make olive oil, and any surplus can be sent out for trade. They will take 5 years to get up to production, unless the Hierophant intervenes during a visit. Moving the port and the town around a little bit. 

As written, the farm, grazing land, orchards, and vineyards only comprise about a square mile of area. If the Tower and the Grove take up a square mile, and the town and port take up another square mile, there's still a lot of space on the island to work with. Greenhouses, warehouses, farming expansion, and even a second town could easily be in the works for the future.

The guards will wear black uniforms with white and red stripes down the pants legs, and white and red striped epaulets. Standard leather armor for daily wear, with chain and half plate in the armory in case of pirates or minotaurs. Spear, short sword, and short bow. Patrolling guardsmen will carry cudgels, since they aren't really trying to kill townspeople. The guards enforce the collection of all farm and trade goods. I am currently getting the info into a presentable format and will post it. 

I am very happy to get this nailed down after all this time.



Back to original Post====

I have fallen down a rabbit hole of finding out who the Guardians of Merwellyn are, the ones before Talidaar.

I have determined some things about the first Grand Druid of the Age of Despair, the Guardian of Merwellyn, before Talidaar

Kaelan the Hermit

Kaelan was born in 236 AC

A six-year-old Kaelan gets led into a forest by mischievous fey and becomes lost. A Treant hears him crying and tells him how to survive the storms and the cold nights.   

First Met Talidaar in 281 AC.  Kaelan was 45 years old. (I think the Actor Lee Pace would do the character justice with Kaelan's eccentricities at this age.) 

Kaelan is 131 years old in 367 AC when he abdicates in favor of his chosen heir, Talidaar.

I have determined some other information and I am using it in a future Tale. It's been super helpful figuring this stuff up. I have had some moments of clarity about how Talidaar became the Grand Druid. I am more comfortable than ever that the Druids that show up in Dragons of Autumn Twilight are from Merwellyn/Dire Wood.

I am committed to getting most of the fights done for the next Posting for Wydara, hopefully done this weekend. Lashia can not go forward until I get Wydara Done, so I am under the gun. At work on Knights of Neraka, War to Reclaim Qualinesti, Talidaar, and spending a lot of time finishing touches of Gaming Session Two for Karnea. Lots of things happen in this Chapter. I had to name a bunch of people, which is a huge chore that kills creativity, though the internet makes it much easier.           

Been doing a lot of intense potting, planning, and writing over the last couple of weeks.                 


Take care and talk to you again soon.



9/14/2025
I have been working on things still, and doing final touches to the upcoming gaming session for Karnea Story III Power Moves. I am letting him see and edit most of Part One, as it is things we have worked out over email previously. This is mostly a final check, some opening dialogue, because the player plays Mother and Daughter. I have done everything from Selene and Karnea, but I don't have anything down for Aravis in the conversation. So once that is ironed out, I think we can go forward and start gaming.

I have done several fights for Wydara, and I have a few more to go. That is going to take another week. I am focused on Karnea Chapter 2 of Story III. I am also focused on building the Information for Master Karnea. I have to get a couple of things back from the player, and it is taking a little bit of time. Things will start moving from the Information for Karnea to the Information for Master Karna

Bye for now.             

Call the Hunt (Conjuration/Summoning)
Level: 7 Components: V,S,M
Range: Special CT: Special
Duration: Special ST: Special
AE: 10-mile diameter
Explanation/Description: This is truly an awful spell, for it summons the Wild Hunt itself! The druid selects a location that will be the Hunt’s place of summoning (see Legends & Lore, pages 30-31, for details on the Wild Hunt) and begins to cast the spell. The spell cannot be started until the full darkness of night sets in (moonlight is no hindrance). The caster must continue to call the Hunt until the Hunt is heard in the distance, or until the first light of dawn. If first light comes before the Hunt, the spell did not succeed. Note that it is extraordinarily difficult to summon the Wild Hunt, since the Hunt is, by its very nature, beyond ordinary control (nor will the Hunt be in any way under the caller’s control if it does come). The Master of the Hunt has a saving throw of 2 in all categories, and his is the saving throw used in determining the success of this spell. Every half hour that the druid is casting this spell, 1d20 is rolled. A 1 indicates that the Master has felt the summons and his horn is heard in the night, 10 miles away.

Thereafter, the Hunt proceeds normally. While engaged in casting this spell, the druid can spend only one round every half hour in other activities. The druid must be standing upon the spot which is to be the summoning source until the Hunt begins to come (if it does).

Legends & Lore says: “The Wild Hunt exists in all the lands where Druids and their deities dwell.” However, should the particular campaign being played exclude the Hunt from its mythos, or if the DM wishes to expand the possibilities of this spell in other cultural settings, Call the Hunt can be used to summon other powers of a similar nature. The mode of casting would be the same, and the powers’ saving throws also would be. Great discretion should be employed in such a case, making the powers called approximately equivalent to the Hunt, which has at least 21 beings in it worth a total of 27,500 xp. Some suggested powers from other mythoi that might be called by this spell are as follows:


The Wild Hunt
As the Hunt approaches, the wind howls and thunder booms. Characters that see the Wild Hunt must make a successful saving throw vs. spell or join the Hunt, accepting the Master as their leader. The Hunt hurls itself against evil, and the hounds and Master will fight to the death. If slain, they return the following night.



Guardian of Chislev 
Pure Spirit of Nature
An Actaeon serves the Master of the Hunt
A solitary being, the Actaeon is a protector and hero among woodland creatures. Some call it an "elk centaur" because, like a centaur, its 9-foot-tall body combines human and animal elements. The actaeon has the torso, arms, and facial features of a human, but the antlers and lower legs of an elk. Brown, elk-like hide covers its entire body. It does not speak. It appears to have ghostly light coming from its eyes AC 0; HD 20; hp 200; THAC0 1; #AT 3: Dmg 1d6+9 (spear +3, Strength); if slain returns with next Hunt; MR 25%; AL LG; SZ M; ML Fearless (20); S 18/00, D 18, C 18,1 17, W 17, Ch 9. Often does not fight until most of the pack has been slain; his tactics are usually an immediate frontal assault on evil.


Twenty (20) Wolves of Zhan(Chislev’s Fury)
(20): AC 2; MV 21; HD 5; hp 30; THAC0 14; #AT 1; Ding 2d4; SA cause fear in pursued being, swarm (no limit on number at¬tacking one foe), flame tongue (1/turn, +5 to bite damage if attack hits); SD continuous protection from evil, cannot die, if slain returns with next Hunt; MR 15%; AL LG; SZ M (3' at shoulder); ML Fearless (20). Wolves of Zhan (Chislev’s Fury) are like huge beasts with green flame coming from their mouth and eyes.

Eastern Ansalon
Blood Sea of Istar
Aboard the Explorer

Not long after they left port in Nordmaar, they came across a very strange scene indeed. Two Minotaur Marauders, outracing the storm clouds, they are bearing on a ship that Darius is sure is one of Master Karnea’s vessels.

He is not privy to its mission, but he is not going to let them take her. He calls for “Battle Stations", and the ship comes alive with everyone taking their places assigned to them. Darius casts a spell that grips the main mast on one ship and tears it asunder. They are dead in the water, and their broken main mast and sail are caught up in rigging and endangering the ship, and might drag it down. 

They steer clear of the first ship and close on the other ship in the following rounds, when Darius throws Fireballs from his wand, and his own magic until the Minotaur sails, and the main deck is ablaze and in danger of causing the other Maurader to catch on fire as well. 

The storm dissipates as he thought it would. The Tower of Blood Sea was trying to protect its ship. He wonders who it might be, but he has other plans to do today, so they wave, and the ships move away from each other.  He brings them back on their original heading to the Tower. A few more days left across the Blood Sea, and we should arrive. He stands down the crew and posts a watch. Darius tells the wheelman to watch the weather and make sure those clouds continue to go away, and let him know if they do anything different. The response that he gets is “Aye,” and Darius moves from the wheel and goes below and into his Captain’s chambers and collapses in his bunk. Spent from the multiple magic castings

Western Ansalon
Northern Ergoth
Gwynned, Capital of Ergoth


Early the next morning, Lashia flew on the back of Sovost, her lifelong friend, and Griffen mount, soaring above the snaking Dermount River and its many bridges over the city so that Lashia could get a sense of direction in the city. Once she has taken it in, she has Sovost climb into the sky and fly out over the Northern Ergoth countryside outside the Capital’s walls, she directs Sovost to the north, and tries to stay away from any horse riders and horse-drawn wagons. It has been a little while since they got to fly together.  They do not fly too far. Lashia wanted to see Lancton, but could not from here. She eyes the Dermount River and sees that some boats are transporting people, and cargo is flowing both ways. She wants to take the kids to Lancton in the future here soon.

Lashia can see Landfall to the south.  She knows Sovost is hungry, so she has Sovost take her back to Las’s, and then, Lashia sends her griffin off so she can find something to eat. 

Las and Mik are making Breakfast for the assembled family (Marilee, Daera, and Sator).
Wheat cakes with honey and a berry jam. 

After breakfast,
Lashia has some things on her agenda before she can fully turn her attention to the children. The first thing is to report to the chapterhouse that she is in the city and plans to stay for a time.

Lashia hails a carriage ride to the Wizard’s Chapterhouse, where she reports to the White Robe Representative of the Triumvirate Mission in Ergoth. Leila DiThon is a highly regarded voice in the White Robe order of Solinari for what she has accomplished beyond who her famous parent are, Conclave Representative of the White Robe Bram DiThon and Dagamier of the Black Robe,  Conclave Representative, student of Lodonna.

Lashia knows the story of Bram and Dagamier taking refuge in a fey dimension for a time, surviving the chaos wight attack on the southern tip of Northern Ergoth. It also kept them from aging for a long while. Dagamier returned to the world first and thus has aged a bit more than Bram. Leila DiThon also spent many years in the fey lands. Leila walked the path of Good, like her father, her own daughter, on the other hand, has favored her Grandmother’s influences.
       
Coming here and meeting like this is all mostly a formality, just taking into account who is about practicing magic. The Chapterhouse governs magic in Northern Ergoth since no Tower is present. The Chapterhouse represents the Conclave of High Sorcery on this island. Leila takes the opportunity to invite Lashia and the children to her Father’s Fiefdom for Dinner one night. Besides their library at the estate, also of significance to the area is the standing orthostat henge and the fey glen.  They ink out a possible date for the Dinner and say their goodbyes, and Lashia heads back to Las’s via a carriage.
   
An invitation comes at noon from Princess Mercidith to get fitted for a dress for the Ball that she wants made for Deara. They will come to her at (11 am) the next day at Las’s House for their convenience.

They are readying their villa for the next day’s visitors. Once Lashia arrives and reads the invitation, she assists Las in whatever needs to be done. 


The Next Day, 

Royal tailor picks up a measuring tape and addresses Daera, “You’ll be wanting to get out of your overclothes and then come back to be ready to stand tall for me for measurements.”

Daera disappears into her room and gets ready, while Lashia looks over the designs they have laid out on the table, along with the intended color palette. Daera comes back under a bathrobe and prepares herself to be poked and prodded.

After an afternoon of measuring and fittings. The tailors depart, saying they will be in touch soon. Life gets back to normal around Las’s place. Over a late lunch, Lashia tells her children of two excursions she wants them to go on before the weather gets too bad. One, to the  DiThon Estate, and tells them about the standing stones and the fey circle. The next excursion we will be taking is to Lancton, to the Bard’s College.