Café de Nuit

I'm wracking my brains for a reference, and unfortunately the Catalogue doesn't cover the books I'm looking for. Anyone remember a lich from Hazlan? Care to give me a reference?

A Hazlani lich named Moonbane was mentioned in VRG to Liches....

That must be the one. Funny, I even read about Moonbane today, but missed the fact he was Hazlani.

Do you think Van Richten finally did away with him?

The Moonbane wiped out VR's party, then was apparently destroyed in turn. Upon reflection, VR suspected that the lich didn't really 'give it his all' and had just put on a show of being 'destroyed' so that it would be left alone. VR announced his 'success' publically and left the area, but then later assembled a new party and returned to the site to find the lich had returned. That's the last statement I recall from his private journal, did he actually destroy it in Round 2, or did it play a double charade and escape again? You could make a case for either, depending on what your needs for this lich are in your game.

How many liches has Van Richten successfuly destroyed?

I have no idea, but that's an interesting question.

I would also like to know, who were the different party members that VR campaigned with?


PS: Deepshadow: Seems I'll have to readup on the Reckonings camapgin soon. So one of them is in Hazlan now???

That's one of my pet projects I keep pushing back: a comprehensive listing of VR's companions. Mangrum's timeline is a starting point, but I don't think it covers all of them. Someday maybe I'll get to it... sigh...

The Giamarga wrote:PS: Deepshadow: Seems I'll have to readup on the Reckonings camapgin soon. So one of them is in Hazlan now???

No on is in Hazlan yet. This may or may not have any bearing on the Reckonings game. It is merely one of many tangents I will be exploring.

That's not to say, of course, that you shouldn't go read up. Please do. We miss you on the observation deck!

alhoon wrote:How many liches has Van Richten successfuly destroyed?

According to Van Richten's to the Lich, Van Richten only destroyed two liches in his career - the Crimson Arcanus and Bloody Hand.

The Crimson Arcanus was a Falkovnian lich lairing in Barovia; Van Richten destroyed him and his phylactery. My speculation is that Strahd manipulated Van Richten and his companions into destroying a nuiscence for him. Alas, I have no proof - just a hunch. Also, this was Van Richten's first adventure with the Forfarian sword-dancer Bantur.

Bloody Hand was a Souragnean lich. Van Richten and his companions destroyed the lich, but never found his phylactery. Van Richten claimed an amulet from Bloody Hand's hoarde - it is entirely possible that this is the phylactery (as Van Richten himself points out).

As for Moonbane, he appeared in some of the notes that didn't make it into the published version of Hazlan. I pegged him as a diviner, with a focus on astronomy and astrology. His lair was a site called the Inverted Observatory near the Black Iron Shield. Moonbane was going to be linked to several astrological cults across the Core and speak to spirits he called down from the Misty stars.

Andrew Cermak and I also discussed another lich designed to be an antagonist toward Hazlik - a reflection of Hazlik necromancer rival from back in Thay. That never got particularly far, but I still add a bit to the concept occassionally.

Chris Nichols