Canonfire!

Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:34 am Tovag Baragu and the Cup/Talisman of Al'Akbar

Hello fellow Greyhawkers,

Reading through the "Greyhawk Adventures" hardback, I came upon the following passage in the Tovag Baragu entry (p. 99):

"If the campaign includes the Cup and Talisman of Al'Akbar... a number of interactions might be set up between it and Tovag Baragu."

I have the 2nd ed. Book of Artifacts, which has entries on the Cup and Talisman, but still saw no obvious link between those artifacts and Tovag Baragu... has anyone given any thought to the relationship between these items?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

-- TwiceBorn

Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:50 am

IIRC, the LIVING GREYHAWK Journal 3 article that included Al Akbar mentioned that he got the Cup and Talisman at the Pillars of Azor Alq (or did I dream that)? Certainly Al Akbar and his paladins are strongly linked to the Pillars of Azor Alq

Fri Feb 17, 2006 7:47 am

I believe that the types of interactions have been left to the DMs with nothing further in the cannon about it. Refitting I9 Day of Al-Akbar for Greyhawk by dongul touches on it some. And Secrets of the Twin Cataclysms shows how Maldin incorporated the idea into his campaign.
[/url]

Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:06 pm

Tovag Baragu is a place of shifting gates to other realms. Therefore, the main thing that other artifacts would do is change where the gates lead. The Cup and Talisman would probably open up portals to the realms of the Baklunish gods or other planes that Al'Akbar would have found significant.

Tovag Baragu also seems to be maintaining the Sea of Dust. The Cup and Talisman, as artifacts of healing, might be vital components of some ritual that will end this function of the stone circles, providing forgiveness and absolution to the homeland of the hated enemies of the Bakluni at long last. Simply bring the artifacts to the circle probably wouldn't do it, not alone, but it's not something that could be done without them.

Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:16 pm

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the feedback and the suggestions.

Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:24 pm

Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:28 pm

Mon Feb 20, 2006 9:13 pm

In the webpage linked by Varthalon, not only do I describe how I handled the link with the Talisman of Al Akbar, but I also suggest a mechanism by which PCs can attempt to "fix" Tovag and its connection to the Sea of Dust by way of re-assembling the Ashen Staff... a new artifact that I created to help explain how the Rain of Colorless Fire was created and link several other bits of miscellaneous canon (such as the Wand of the Suloise from Greyhawk Adventures, the Defiled Glades in the Vesve, etc).

Denis, aka "Maldin"
=========================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Loads of edition-independent Greyhawk goodness

Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:27 pm

Maldin,

Thanks for chiming in! I'll admit to being a fan of your work... I also remember the stuff you wrote on the Isles of Woe, and have used it as background info in my campaign... so perhaps your ideas on the Sea of Dust and the Rain of Colorless Fire will as well.

Cheers,

-- TwiceBorn