Karasten revelas the following in boxed text from page 23 of Five Shall be One:
"The legends say that if the five blades are brought together again, greatness shall come upon the barbarian people. The legends say that a great force is unleashed which will beat down the enemies of the barbarians. The power of the weapons themselves will be greatly magnified and expanded when the Five Become One and a greater force will inspire the barbarian folk to glory and dominion. I speak of a Power: the Great God of the North!"
He never says the words Vatun or Iuz. He says, throughout the adventure, "Great God of the North." Neither does Five Shall be One say anything about destroying imposters. It is in Iuz's description block in Howl from the North, where it clearly says that Iuz can be destroyed when the Blades of Corusk are brought together.
In later text on page 23 it is noted that Karasten knows that when the blades are blades are brought together that a "Potent magical ritual fraught with danger must be enacted to draw upon the Power ..." At that point, however, Karasten "... doesn't know exactly what the ritual is, nor does he know how to find out." He finds out the ritual near the end of Howl from the North.
More information might be revealed in Dreamsinger's dreams. But I have not read through those. They might be a good place to get some more insight.
I hope this helps a bit. _________________ Don (Greyson)
Last edited by Greyson on Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:46 am; edited 2 times in total
CT:
The legend of the Five Blades as told in Five Shall Be One is not quite so explicit. The NPC that passes on the gist of the legend states that the five weapons will become more powerful when brought together, and that this will facilitate the awakening/loosing of Vatun, ushering in a return to greatness for the barbarians of the Thillonrian peninsula. Nothing is said in regards to "false" Vatuns, although it seems doubful that the god would be amused, particularly if that subterfuge was being used to manipulate the barbarian peoples to the benefit of another power (or demipower).
BTW, if I'm not mistaken, the original timeframe for the adventure precedes Iuz's "Great God of the North" scheme.
Potent magical ritual fraught with danger must be enacted to draw upon the Power ..." At that point, however, Karasten "... doesn't know exactly what the ritual is, nor does he know how to find out."
[u]He finds out the ritual near the end of Howl from the North. [/u]
I don't belive that Karasten alone discovers the Ritual of Summononing.
Only with the help of dreamsinger and the other 4 swords, will Karasten find the answer.
Each sword holds its own riddles and special abilities needed to summon the Nothern God.
Quote:
As you indicate "More information might be revealed in Dreamsinger's dreams"
Pg 63 5 shall B 1 Dream Handout #3
" You hear voices, voices raised in song, but this song is much more than just hearing a song. This is the direct impression of music on the soul,the perfect harmonies of chants out of time,endless and spinning away into the eternal.The songs convey powerful feelings of a culmination and initiation of a new cycle of affairs,a begininning and an ending together..."
Since the adventure is based on Suel Barbarians, I have assumed the ritual must be recited in the old Suel tounge.
The ritual is a combination of verbl, somatic, & material components for each sword which allows the approprite special purpose powers to access its sphere of control spell which opens the gate for the God of the North.
Quote:
He never says the words Vatun or Iuz. He says, throughout the adventure, "Great God of the North."
Since the Frost,Ice, and Snow Barbarians revere Kord the Brawler, I have also assumed that Vatun is a Son of Kord. According to Dragon Mag 7/24/1984 offspring of Kord are entitled to demigod status.
Quote:
Neither does Five Shall be One say anything about destroying imposters. It is in Iuz's description block in Howl from the North, where it clearly says that Iuz can be destroyed when the Blades of Corusk are brought together.
This is the great unknown. What if the 5 sword of cursck were successfully united and Iuz's plans failed?
The last dream I had regerding Iuz's false God plot was as follows:
Five sovereign fingers taxed the breath
doubled the globe of dead and half a country
these five kings did a king to death.
The mighty hand leads to a sloping shoulder
the finger joints are cramped with chalk
a goose's quill has put an end to murder
that put an end to talk.
The hand that signed the treaty bred a fever
and famine grew, and locusts came
great is the hand that holds dominion over
man by a scribbled name.
The five kings count the dead but do not so often
the crusted wound not put the brow
a hand rules pity as a hand rules heaven
hands have no tears to flow.
Last edited by starbreaker on Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:25 pm; edited 2 times in total
BTW, if I'm not mistaken, the original timeframe for the adventure precedes Iuz's "Great God of the North" scheme.
Indeed it does - it is, in fact, the trigger!
Iuz, noticing the barbarians having completed the quest for the Five Swords of Corusk, scatters them before the ritual to summon the Great God of the North (Vatun) can be completed, and appears to the barbarians as the Great God.
He then leads them on a crusade against the southern nations... so begins the Greyhawk Wars.
Yeah the bit about Iuz getting killed by Vatun, or at least banished is on page 51 of howl from the north in the description of Iuz and his specialty priests.
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