Signup
Welcome to... Canonfire! World of GreyhawK
Features
Postcards from the Flanaess
Adventures
in Greyhawk
Cities of
Oerth
Deadly
Denizens
Jason Zavoda Presents
The Gord Novels
Greyhawk Wiki
#greytalk
JOIN THE CHAT
ON DISCORD
    Trollbar Part III
    Posted on Fri, June 30, 2017 by LordCeb
    Osmund-Davizid writes "Part Three of Three, this article gives more detail on the relationship between the garrison commander Drazen and the Boneheart Archmage Cranzer.

    These two powerful wizards were born on an isolated moor in Iuz's realm.  Their father was a minor local warlord and their mother was his mercenary court wizard.  They both grew skilled in the dark arts at early ages and through their skills, became war wizards in the armies of Iuz.  Through hard campaigning and occasional adventuring, they grew powerful, with Cranzer showing exceptional talent and skill in a meteoric rise to power.

    As a member of the Lesser Boneheart, Cranzer is one of the top wizards of Iuz and administers the Riftcrag region.  Alone among Iuz's servants, he takes  Drazen's advice and has found success because of it.  In addition to his considerable magical skills, Cranzer is an able administrator and a careful planner.  His one flaw is that he lacks a strong will, that is something Drazen has in large amounts.  So the two complement each other well when they are together, Cranzer's power with Drazen's support makes them formidable foes.  Drazen often describes his issues at Trollbar to Cranzer and Cranzer in return provides sound tactical and technical advice.  So the two wizards had hidden resources in each other that can give them an edge in their administrations and scheming.     

    Their cooperation makes them especially dangerous.  They have developed a system of codes that the two of them can relay to each other on the battlefield that communicates a variety of instructions and information.  The code is a complex series of numbers that the mages can either shout to each other in battle or relay through other means.  They thoroughly plan ahead their spells so as to best complement each other, but use this code to adjust to conditions on the battlefield.

    Cranzer is a short, middle aged man who, like Drazen, is physically unremarkable.  He is noted for being a better dressed wizard, eschewing the standard black robes of evil wizards for a flashy dark-blue, bakluni-influenced, customized ghastrobe (he can control the scent to be released at his will).  Indeed, Cranzer's two hobbies are alchemy and tailoring.  Drazen respects his brother's sense of style and skills and always tries to earn his approval.  Drazen is described in Trollbar Part I.    

    Through the use of their magic boxes, the two keep in constant contact with each other.  While they can only pass on small items in this manner, potions, scrolls, luxury items, and small magical devices can travel vast distances in a short amount of time.  Recently, Drazen managed to get a traveling band of merchants to sell him a new set of clothes.  Wishing to show off to his more dapper brother, he stuffed them into the box with a note asking for Cranzer's opinion on his "high northern fashion".  Cranzer is attempting to formulate a response but is having difficulty.  He is ruthless and all, but he does not really have the heart to tell his brother that not even Zagyg would be caught dead wearing anything so tacky!

    Adventuring possibilities with these two characters.  Drazen and Cranzer share a tight bond.  Either of them would go to save the life of the other.  An assault on Drazen at Trollbar or Cranzer at Riftcrag can earn any adventurers a long term villain to hound their steps from that point on.  Cranzer has all the intrigues of being a Boneheart wizard to occupy his time, while Drazen is practically exiled.

    Cranzer's problems with governing Riftcrag and the Bandit Kingdoms are detailed in Iuz the Evil.  Basically, he has to keep the valuable silver mines in the Rift Canyon flowing back to his master in Dorakaa.  Cranzer is plagued with corrupt underlings and problems with rebels in the rifts, so he is always in a very difficult position.  Drazen is still setting up the schemes described in Trollbar Part I.  The notes that Drazen took in his tour of the Empire of Iuz would be invaluable to the good nations that oppose the cambion.  Because the powers that be in Dorakaa have not taken any of Drazen's notes seriously, they may be relatively easy to steal.  The notebook was last seen somewhere in the headquarters of the Boneheart in Dorakaa.  

    For an additional twist, maybe Drazen and Cranzer's mother is still alive.  This can open up an unforeseen challenge if your players have a habit of hacking and slaying their way through the lands of Iuz.  That old minor hedge wizard your adventurers slew out of hand may have some surprising sons out for vengeance (even vile wizards love their mama).  A variation on that theme is perhaps their mother is more (or can become more) powerful than either Drazen or Cranzer, giving one more powerful foe seeking revenge should an adventuring party cross paths with these deadly wizards.  

     

    "
     
    Related Links
    · More about Mysterious Places
    · News by LordCeb


    Most read story about Mysterious Places:

    Postfest II: Spikerift

    Article Rating
    Average Score: 0
    Votes: 0

    Please take a second and vote for this article:

    Excellent
    Very Good
    Good
    Regular
    Bad

    Options

     Printer Friendly Printer Friendly

    Associated Topics

    Mysterious Places

    The comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content.

    No Comments Allowed for Anonymous, please register

    Re: Trollbar Part III (Score: 1)
    by JellyMin on Wed, July 19, 2023
    (User Info | Send a Message)
    The notes that Drazen took in his tour of the Empire of Iuz would be invaluable to the good nations that oppose the cambion. home remodeling Caruth Terrace




    Canonfire! is a production of the Thursday Group in assocation with GREYtalk and Canonfire! Enterprises

    Contact the Webmaster.  Long Live Spidasa!


    Greyhawk Gothic Font by Darlene Pekul is used under the Creative Commons License.

    PHP-Nuke Copyright © 2005 by Francisco Burzi. This is free software, and you may redistribute it under the GPL. PHP-Nuke comes with absolutely no warranty, for details, see the license.
    Page Generation: 0.28 Seconds