User talk:Mswuser

Facebook comments over India’s Thackeray’s funeral lead to arrests

Social media is used every day by people around the world to communicate, send links or images, and share opinions. In many countries, especially ones with democracies, people look to social media sites as one of the best ways to utilize their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Those rights, however, do not allow people to say anything they want without repercussions. In a number of democracies, like the India and the United States, “fighting words” are prohibited as they can incite hatred or violence.

Recently in India, two women were arrested over a comment made on Facebook about a funeral for a widely loved politician, Bal Thackeray. The original post has since been deleted, but news sources report the following as what Shaheen Dhanda wrote: "People like Thackeray are born and die daily and one should not observe a 'bandh' [shutdown] for that." Dhanda, who posted the comment, and Renu Srinivasan, who simply “liked” the comment, were quickly arrested on charges of creating enmity and hatred which are prohibited in India and are not protected by law. After being released on bail, one of the women’s Uncles had his business destroyed in response to the Facebook comment and the both of the women have since been threatened for the post.

While many people might feel that this type of violence and hatred were an inappropriate response to something like a Facebook post, it does show that this piece of speech did in fact cause hatred and enmity. Despite this evidence, was it right for these women to be arrested for this Facebook post? Do they not have right to express this opinion without fear of being imprisoned?

What the topic is about:

The topic is about the search engine Google having to deal with something it has not faced before: international news sites wanting to be paid for their content to show up on their search engine. So far, only Brazilian, French, and some German news sites have really made any big fuss about the issue. The potential result of this would be a few news sites no longer appearing on Google or, in an extreme case, Google/all search engines getting hurt or failing.

Why the image is incongruous:

The image is incongruous because it shows an American Google that would suggest the results would all be American if all the international news sites pulled their pages from showing up on Google. Even if this were to happen, it would not by any means turn Google’s results into purely American ones. Business sites, organization sites, and personal sites that were international or foreign would still show up on search results. The chance of all international news sites pulling their content from Google is so unfeasible that a purely American Google site is equally unlikely. The image Christian constructed is not focused on the loss of international news sites from Google, and that’s the main reason why I find it incongruous with the topic.

Why I think Christian thinks it’s congruous:

I think Christian thinks that the result of losing international new sites from Google would result in a more American website. One that only shows American news media and possibly even only American web sites. If I thought that the result of the potential issue could be the loss of all foreign search results on Google, then yes, this image would be on topic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 170.74.56.83 (talk) 18:38, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Mondokio

Topic:

The coming war: Google vs. International Media

Google is a powerful tool in today’s world. Many of us use it every day. It lets people find news stories, social media, and other important pieces of information. What would happen if Google stopped including stories, pictures, and other content from international news sites from being accessible through their search engine?

Google has recently come under fire after its representatives have said that it would stop showing French Media sites as search results if the country passes a bill which would force search engines to pay to display their content. In their communications with French ministries, Google representatives pointed out that their site “redirects four billion ‘clicks’ per month towards the internet pages” for different French news sites. While Google butts heads with French Media, a large number of Brazilian news sites have already pulled their content from being shown on Google. According to some representatives of Brazilian media, Google is benefiting commercially from their content and has not helped them to grow their digital audiences, and because of that many news sites in Brazil have limited or removed their content from Google and Google News.

Google does help many news sources get their content out to the world. Up until now, however, Google has been able to show links and information to other sites without paying for that content. Should Google have to pay to show search results and news stories from different international media sources or not?

Articles:

Brazilian Newspapers withdraw from Google news service Translation by Darby O’Donnell Source: Ahkbarak, Egypt

Google refuses to pay for the use of newspaper content so Brazilian newspapers withdrew 90 percent of newspapers from Google News Service. The Newspaper association in Brazil said that all 154 members supported the recommendation to prevent the Google search engine for the use of their content. The newspapers said that Google News refused to pay for the use of the content of the newspapers and it takes readers away from the original newspaper sites. Brazilian Newspaper Association and Google conducted an experiment in December 2010 by allowing Google news to put the first line of the news story in order to increase the curiosity of the readers and put emphasis on the link to the story from the original site. But the association said this experiment failed. Marcel Leonardo, director of public policy for Google said, “Google passes more than one billion hits to news sites from the various regions of the world.”

70% of Russian popularly support Internet censorship law Translation by Peter Hsiung Source: China Daily, China

The data published by the All-Russian Public Opinion research center indicated that 73% of Russians support the internet blacklist law. The bill came in very timely, which “the people warmly welcomed the internet blacklist act, preparing relevant departments to monitor the networks together”. Russia’s "The Independent” newspaper stated that once the bill was launched, they immediately got a high rate of support, which they received a large number of report to authorities. Grozny Senanayake, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of Russia expressed support for the act that "This would help strengthen the network service providers and Internet users’ personal self-discipline, before being reported as they take the initiative to clean up websites from adverse information". Russia agreed that this internet blacklist bill can effectively protect children against pornography, violence and other adverse information. Although the majority of the Russian people endorse the bill, there are still some accusations domestically in Russia and in the western world about the suppression of internet freedom. In regards to the accusations and oppositions from the west, Russian internet users believe that “as long as illegal information is not published, regardless of the network company and individual, there is no worry”. The majority of Russian residents that support the bill indicate the people’s need of social stability to avoid unrest. The bill will help prevent network dissemination of information in violation of Russian law can effectively prevent the domestic inter-ethnic conflict from occurring, as to maintain social stability.

Search Engine Users Want Neutral Results By Patrick Beuth Translation by Ashley Wright Source: Zeit Online, Germany


 * Would not recommend using this article in discussion. Does not fit either side of the argument.

Gabriel Weinberg, founder of the privacy-friendly search engine DuckDuckGo, thinks the intense personalisation of search results by Google and Bing is dangerous. Zeit Online: Mr. Weinberg, which search engine is the better one: one that shows every user the same results, or one that provides customized results? Gabriel Weinberg: I believe that most users don’t contemplate that at all. They simply assume that they get all the same search results. Especially when it comes to sensitive topics like politics or health. Zeit Online: You mean, Google or Bing users are not aware that their search results are tailored to them? Weinberg: Right. And if they do know, they believe it’s enough to log out of their Google account, or to browse in incognito mode in order to get neutral results. But that is just not true. Zeit Online: But even if Google were one-sided, is the influence of a search engine on political opinions really so straightforward and so big? Weinberg: It bothers me that such a thing was not yet actually investigated scientifically. But what is evident: small influences from the environment, especially things that are shown to people that they would not have seen by themselves, could significantly change their opinions. Transferred to Google, it means: if search engines show you something again and again that they think you agree with, then the probability that you solidify this attitude increases. Zeit Online: Do you not trust people to critically assess sources? Weinberg: Good question. As a matter of principle, I consider people to be skeptical enough. But search engines and Wikipedia are sacrosanct tools for many, of which they expect to remain neutral. If people want opinions, they take everything beyond search engines. But they expect crude, impartial information from the search engine itself. Zeit Online: Do search engine operators have a social responsibility to administer neutral search results, especially when they are as large as Google? Weinberg: I would not go so far as that. There is enough room for many different search engines. I only think that problem lies in the user’s expectations. In the year 2005, the search results from Google were not as personalised as today. And that was the time when Google was monopolistic. At that time, the conviction emerged that Google’s search results are, and remain, neutral. Zeit Online: Does Google not say clearly enough that their search results are being personalised? Weinberg: No. Zeit Online: In that case, let’s talk about your search engine DuckDuckGo, which operates no personalisation. Most notably, they use interfaces and information from Yahoo, Wolfram Alpha, and Wikipedia. How important is the further development of your own crawler? Weinberg: As far as I know, Google, Bing, Yandex, and Baidu are the only ones that attempt to index the entire network. That is very costly. By contrast, we focused early on to curate the first three search results, and to provide direct answers to queries without the user having to click on a link. However, it will be more important for us long-term to further develop our own crawler if we continue to grow. Zeit Online: Do you not fear that support may be over sometime? Weinberg: No, the world has changed. Many vendors open up and provide interfaces, and we are something like the glue between all these application programming interfaces (APIs), in order to give our users the information they seek. And the bigger we become, the more unlikely it is that Yahoo pulls the plug on us. We pay for the use of interfaces, and we cooperate with the adverts. So they make money off of us. Zeit Online: Do you ever think of your business model as long as you still have risk capital at your disposal? You were called “unambitious” in a “Washington Post” article. Weinberg: That is probably worded in a slightly exaggerated way. Of course I contemplate how we could permanently busy ourselves. And for that to happen, we need to achieve a certain profit. The beautiful thing about search engines is that adverts in this area are rather lucrative, even when you forgo collecting user data. Therefore, we are working together with Yahoo and Microsoft in order to divide ad revenue without having to operate the entire service ourselves. I believe that is enough for us to be able to keep long-term. But it would be good if we would still grow, and perhaps become five times as big as we are today. We are big enough at the moment so that people take us seriously, but not big enough that other search engines perceive us as significant. Zeit Online: Could your refusal of collecting user data be obstructive? Or could you also earn money with data security? Weinberg: The protection of our users’ private spheres was always one of our focal points, but it is not intended to be the only reason to use DuckDuckGo. We also simply try to be a better search engine.

In crisis with Google, European newspapers examine Brazil’s example Translation by: Devin Oliver Source: O Globo, Brazil

The dispute highlights a fundamental issue for media agencies around the world: who should benefit from links to online content that are expensive to produce and still generate a fraction of the advertising revenue, which was once responsible for the prosperity of newspapers? … After not managing to reach an agreement with Google last year, the largest newspapers in Brazil –which represent 90% of circulation- decided to boycott Google News for making the content available to any person that uses the search engine. The result: insignificant losses in online traffic. Brazilian newspapers did not discard new negotiations with Google, in case the business [Google] commits itself to pay for the news sites’ content. But, unlike Europe, Brazilian newspapers don’t need the government to play the role of mediator or try to impose a new tax as part of its business with Google. “Newspapers live off of advertising revenues, like Google. They are our competitors and they take in billions and billions in revenues around the world”, said Ricardo Pedreira, executive director of the National Newspaper Association (ANJ) of Brazil. Notwithstanding, Pedreira is not convinced that Brazil is a good example for European countries. “Every country has a specific reality, and I think that probably different models will emerge in each country”, he said. In Brazil, other sources have been warning about the long-term consequences of the Google News boycott. Carlos Castilho, a media critic and TV journalist, writing on the site Press Observer (Observatório da Imprensa), argued that the boycott was a senseless strategy, because “currently news is in all places and fencing it in with barriers of author rights is like trying to dry ice”. … Jeremie Zimmerman, from the French group that defends freedom on the internet La Quadrature du Net, said that getting involved in a dispute with Google is “foolishness”. “This shows that an industry (media) didn’t understand anything about the internet and it’s fundamentally conservative about its future, and it’s defending private interests instead of adapting to technology”. Emma Llanso, from the Center for Democracy and Technology, with its base in Washington, said that, at least in the meantime, the dispute between governments, Google and newspaper businesses are resulting in losses for news readers. “As the internet became the main source of information around the world, governments see it as a threat or as a way of benefitting. I think we’re seeing a ton of governments making efforts to go for one or the other”, she said.

Google giant: "too big not to be evil," now evil? By Ryuichi Otsuka Translated by Laura McGhee Source: Yomiuri Shimbum, Japan

Such is the intense ups and downs of the world of the net. There is no guarantee that Google can remain at the top. To maintain such a huge organization that has swelled up to more than 30,000 people, profit is essential. In improving services to consolidate personal information and increasing advertising revenue, Google has probably done everything possible to continue competing fiercely. However, there is no doubt that anxiety exists as Google, a top commercial company, consolidates extensive personal information. How will Google be able to enforce its founding principle of "don't be evil"? It appears that the controversy surrounding Google's becoming a giant and the protection of privacy will continue on.

La Google: Google Quarreled with the French Media By Sultan Suleimanov Translated by Ashley Johnson Source: Lent, Russia

On October 18th, Google Inc. criticized the bill, which may require search engines to pay for indexed news. The internet giant believes that such an initiative could threaten the existence of search services. In response, Google has threatened to exclude French media sites from its issuance. Having noticed Internet users increased attention to this approach, the corporation has published a post on its blog, which led to the entire text of the letter. In a comment on this document, Google notes that they see a threat to the internet in such laws. "We have publicly spoken out about this over the last three years," - emphasizes the corporation in this blog. French authorities have long been trying to think of some such law, so that the expense of international Internet corporations would support local businesses (often not from the online sphere). Back in January 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy, who was serving as president, promised to introduce a tax on the internet. He planned to spend the profits to support state TV channels (or rather, the fact that they would remove advertising from the air). The bill did not get much support at that time, and they decided to postpone the removal of TV advertising for a better time. But two years later, in 2010, the authorities decided to start an online advertisement. They are not happy that international corporations - especially Google and Yahoo! - are registered and pay taxes in the countries where the rate is lower, but they still show French advertising. The French Senate even managed to endorse the initiative on the introduction of one percent "tax on Google", as the media have nicknamed it. However, in June 2011, the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, refused to pass the bill. Not only were Google and Microsoft against it, but also small, local Internet companies, but only some defenders of copyright laws opposed them. A year later, in March 2012, Nicolas Sarkozy has once again promised to introduce a "tax on the Google" (and at the same time on Facebook and Twitter), if re-elected. At the same Google countered with the fact that the Internet company brings quite a good profit to the French treasury (60 billion euros in 2009), and by 2015, they will create approximately 450,000 jobs in the country. But President François Hollande was elected in the May elections. In August 2012, as reported by Agence France-Presse, the leading newspaper publishers have asked the French authorities to introduce a law that would force search engines to pay for indexed content. They all explain their demand in the same ad: Google earns on their articles, but does not share. In response, the corporation has threatened to solve the problem radically and eliminate the issue of the French media sites altogether. It should be understood that every month the information resources of the country receive four billion hits thanks to Google News, which amounts to a fat share of the traffic for many media outlets. Representatives of the French media business were quick to accuse the Internet giant of its unwillingness to dialogue, and the Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti protested this by the tone of a letter written to Google: "You cannot threaten a democratically elected government." It is difficult to predict what the conflict between Google and the French authorities will eventually lead to. The Corporation has something to be offended by in Paris, where it repeatedly fined, and the latter claims of EU regulators toward the Company's new privacy policy appeared on the basis of an analysis conducted by the French Agency for the protection of personal data. However, the media can certainly survive under "blockade" conditions by the search engine: in the end, they also decided to manually remove the Brazilian edition from Google News. Well, what about the users? Somehow they do not remember the users. Not before this.

TYLER DAVIS 1170 Chambers Rd, Columbus, OH 43212 (614) 327-3520, Davis.3087@buckeyemail.osu.edu

EDUCATION The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH B.A., cum laude, English and History with a minor in Professional Writing, Graduated December 2011 Cumulative GPA: 3.6/4.0

WORK EXPERIENCE Assistant Editor-In-Chief, Mondokio International News, Columbus, OH, Sept. 2012 - Present Constructed educational topics for team of translators to find foreign media news articles to be used in high school classroom settings Edited, categorized, and published submitted articles on Mondokio.com Managed correspondences and communications between translators, lead editor, and president Technology Trainer, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Columbus, OH, Aug. 2012 - Present Provided financial advisors and other Morgan Stanley employees with technical assistance and written guides involving functionality and troubleshooting for proprietary MS systems used for everyday business needs including contact management, information lists, financial analysis, etc.; moreover, supported employees with using Thomson-Reuters market tools, Microsoft Office products, and general Windows XP and Windows 7 functionality Client Support Agent, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Columbus, OH, April 2012 - Aug. 2012 Provided MSSB clients with technical support for morganstanleyclientserv.com including online registration, password resets, site navigation, browser troubleshooting, general account inquiries, online bill pay, statement linking inquiries, and more Editorial Intern, The Publishing Group, Ltd., Columbus, OH, Sept. 2011 – Jan. 2012 Proofread content for six print publications (CityScene, Dublin Life, Westerville, Tri-Village, Healthy New Albany, and Pickerington) and an online publication (columbuscityscene.org) Made final corrections and forwarded corrected content to Head Editor for approval Drafted five to six articles per month for print and/or online publication Researched area activities and contacted local organizations and businesses to produce event calendars for each specific publication Took photographs to accompany stories and requested additional images from businesses/organizations Responded to in-person, phone, and e-mail inquiries and performed other administrative tasks Freelance Writer, UWeekly @ OSU, 614 Media, Columbus, OH, June 2011 – July 2012 Researched and drafted articles on a variety of topics, including construction and parking, smoking and student health, and theft and campus safety, for publication in a Columbus area newspaper with a      circulation of 50,000 readers; 24 articles accepted for publication to date Newsletter Intern, The American Red Cross of Greater Columbus, Columbus, OH, June 2011 – Feb. 2012 Designed layout and format for newsletter based on Red Cross branding, color schemes, and other guidelines from multiple supervisors Interviewed individuals concerning their volunteer experiences in order to create awareness of volunteer opportunities available Produced articles from information gathered from various branches of the ARCGC (includes Red Cross offices in Franklin, Fayette, Madison, and Pickaway counties) Researched historical archives to locate and scribed the origins and events important to the ARCGC. Edited and published final product for distribution to over 900 volunteers

SKILLS Language: Working knowledge of written and oral Spanish Computer: Proficient on PC and Mac. Experience with PPT, Word, Excel, Photoshop, Adobe Flash, InDesign, Final Cut Pro, Online research, database searches, and minor experience in HTML

AWARDS AND ACTIVITIES

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management 2012 Top Quality Award (Top quality score out of 500+ employees) October 2012 MVP Award September 2012 MVP and Quality Award August 2012 Quality Award June 2012 Quality Award May 2012 MVP Award

The Ohio State University OSU Student Volleyball Recreational League Coordinator (2009-2011) OSU Sigma Tau Delta Member and Webmaster (English Honors Society, inducted 2010) OSU Phi Alpha Theta Member (History Honors Society, inducted 2010) OSU Mosaic Layout Staff (literary and arts magazine, 2010-2011) OSU Buckeye Gaming League Treasurer (2010-2011) Recipient, Dean’s list, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (quarterly 2009-2011) Recipient, Phi Sigma Theta National Honors Recipient, National Forensic League Recognition Awards (annually, 2005-2009)

Take a walk passion pit Blood In this moment Paddling out Miike Snow Color storm, above and beyond bassnectar Beast Nico Vega It's time imagine dragons Tonight seether No one like you scorpions Little talks of Monsters and Men Die young kesha Tongue tied grouplove Forever papa roach Still counting volbeat Hello karmin Madness muse Finally found you in re K Iglesias Van Halen dancing in the street Ho hey the lumineer Too close Alex clare Imagine Dragons Feel again Home Phillip Phillips 50 ways to say goodbye Cant stop me The a team ed sheeran Rocketman Jason mraz Wonderwall Pound the alarm Kill your heroes awolnation Midnight city m83 remix ep Comeback red light kings Hurricane theory of a deadman Lights Ellie Goulding Tonguetied Group love One more night, payphone maroon 5 I won't give up Jason Mraz Beautiful Tje austin Some nights, the gambler fun Barrets privateer Good time owl city Misery hailstorm

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/disruptions-know-cant-live-without-163824479.html

http://career-services.monster.com/yahooarticle/best-cities-for-gen-y#WT.mc_n=yta_fpt_article_best_gen_y_cities

We all have questions. We all want answers. There are right are right and wrong, Better and worse ways to go about getting them. But when you're the type of person who always looks for answers and you work in a system that is designed to redirect people and stop real answers from being found you eventually become frustrated to the point where you're completely dysfunctional. And that's not right. And that's not helping anyone. Learn to choose your battles, help when you can, and don’t get bogged down in bureaucratic quagmires (when possible).

Hey all,

This is your first email from me, Tyler Davis, and I would like to introduce myself.

I graduated from Ohio State back in 2011, am currently working for an investment firm, and have experience with multiple journalism and professional writing teams including The Publishing Group, 614 Media, and others.

If any of you ever have a question that needs to be more quickly addressed, please feel free to text me at 614-327-3520. Email should work in general, however.

I’m looking forward to working with everyone and can’t wait to be a part of Mondokio. From what I’ve heard from el Presidente Calestro and our Editor-In-Chief, Caitlin, there’s quite a lot to be excited about.

Thanks,

Tyler Davis

UPDATED TOPIC – Most edits to 1st paragraph

Women on religious pilgrimage unexpectedly deported from Nigeria

When travelling a great distance, the strain of transportation complications can be enough to weigh heavily on any person. Imagine that you are travelling in a group to a far away religious site, one you may consider to be the holiest place in the world. It would be understandable if your flight was delayed or rescheduled, but what if you were forcibly detained, all flights to your destination were stopped, and some of your travelling companions were deported from the country because you were not travelling with an adult male escort?

In Nigeria, nearly 1,000 women were detained while attempting to travel to Mecca as a part of the Hajj- a religious pilgrimage that is expected of all members of the Islamic faith at least once in their lives. More than 170 of these women were deported from the country because they arrived without a male escort. In the past, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria had allowed visas to be given to women going to Mecca as long as they are accompanied by Hajj committee officials. Protests in the country have begun, and some reports from inside the country explain that the stopping of these women was a part of an effort to stop people from entering Saudi Arabia, the country where Mecca is located, to work illegally.

Were Nigerian officials in the right to detain and deport women trying to travel to Mecca? The women making this pilgrimage have lost a chance to complete one of the pillars of their religion, and deportation will surely cause issues for them in the future. Nigerians have had issues in the past with people travelling from their country to Saudi Arabia to work illegally, however. Do you think the detaining and deportation of these women was acceptable or did these actions cross a line?

Songs

We run the night havanna brown No hands waka flocka satellite rise against Remember everything Rocky mountain way Strobo pop A warrior's call volbeat 9:48 03282012 soldiers otherwise Drive by train Love bites haelstorm Face to the floor chevelle I don't want to die the unicorns

CHECK Closer nine inch nails CHECK Give your heart a break Demi lovato CHECK The show goes on Lupe fiasco CHECK Live to rise soundgarden CHECK Sweet dreams Marilyn manson CHECK Yeah! Usher lil jon CHECK Feel so close CHECK Wild ones Flo rida

CHECK So cold breaking Benjamin CHECK Take care drake CHECK A quiet mind, hate me blue october CHECK Ocean breathless salty CHECK Seether rise above this CHECK Glad you came the wanted CHECK Part of me Katy Perry CHECK Somebody that I used to know CHECK Lights Ellie goulding CHECK Give me all your luvin Madonna lmfao CHECK Turn me on CHECK We are young fun CHECK club can't handle me flo rida CHECK Tonight is the night outasight CHECK Young wild and free khalifa CHECK I like it like that CHECK I believe in a thing called love darkness CHECK not over you gavin degraw CHECK The next girl the black keys CHECK Howling for you the black keys CHECK The island part 1 2 pendulum CHECK 99 problems hugo CHECK Call me maybe CHECK Violet hill cold play CHECK narcissistic cannibal

CHECK

Charge-punk (spell charge melee)

pic

Using his trusty chain and custom-made steam punk mechanisms, Chester has developed the ability to store active spells that can be released simultaneously through a melee or ranged touch attack.

Chester can store the elemental qualities as well as damage from various spells on his person until he strikes an enemy, essentially enabling him to deal a massive amount of damage in a single strike to an enemy. Chester has also developed enough mental control, coupled with some of his own ingenious inventions, to hold the charge until a target is hit (charges will not dispell until Chester successfully lands a strike)

Over time, Chester could train to allow him to charge his possessions to makes spell bombs, traps, or even discharge only single or choice spells through melee attacks… truly, the sky is the limit for the rogue innovator known as Chester.

Restrictions -Cannot charge non-offensive spells including spells like charm or sleep. -Cannot charge spells over the course of days, charges will dissipate after combat, and half of any unspent charges will be returned to Chester’s spendable spells per day. -Cannot release chain or mechanisms without losing charges, cannot use charges in AoO.

Dire Flame

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Jarik has been in some tight spots in his life. As a man who’s had to fight for that life, he’s learned to channel his pain and need to survive into a devastating magical force. Upon taking a single burst of damage during combat that significantly threatens his life (at least 1/3 of his maximum health in one hit), Jarik can summon power within himself to maximize the damage potential of his next spell.

Example: A fireball affected by Dire Flame, when fired by Jarik with 4th level magic (normally 4d6), would automatically hit for 24 damage to all targets hit by the resulting explosion. The seething magical energies that radiate from Jarik once Dire Flame becomes active also act as a barrier to damage for a time. For three rounds after Jarik’s Dire Flame is activated, all damage taken is halved. Any enemies attacking Jarik with melee attacks take 1d8 damage per attack.

Dire Flame can be reactivated after the duration of the barrier is over, but after the combat session is over, the ability needs 24 hours to become available again. In absolute emergencies, the ability can be activated again, but it will cost Jarik 2 points from his constitution stat (with a chance to become a permanent stat drain). If the ability is re-activated before the 24 hour period, when the ability wears off again, he must wait 72 hours or suffer another 2 points penalty to his constitution.

Class-Morph

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After foolishly launching his massive book at the masked enemy who siphoned the souls from the people of Till’s Edge, Samson was brokenhearted when his book was warped and altered in front of him. The information inside, the source of his bardic knowledge, was seemingly lost, and now appears only as slowly moving magical blurs and waves on the pages.

The twisted book, that was thrown back at the feet of the bard, was imbued with strange magic. Upon recovering the book, Samson opened the book mysteriously to a page with a handprint that looked like it had been made when paint was thrown on a hand that had been laid on the page. While disturbing, the effect did not stop Samson from placing his hand onto the print.

Samson’s body locked into place, and his vision became blurry until he could see no more. A few moments later, he blinked his eyes to find himself standing in dimly lit, featureless room that contained what looked like mannequins in various types of garb. As Samson approached the statues, he realized what they truly were: likenesses, or more accurately, exact copies of himself in armor, robes, and other garments. As he neared that closest copy, one dressed in full plate armor brandishing a nasty looking flail, he felt his mind overwhelmed with images and memories of things he knew couldn’t be true, though they seemed so real. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself training with broadswords and spears and, of course, the menacing flail. He saw himself besting opponents who had no faces, either by running them through or crushing them soundly.

He stumbled back, more cautious of his surroundings than before. He inched toward another copy, this one covered in rich blue and gold robes, holding an ornate staff. He again was drowned in memories and sights of things he had not experienced. Yet, as he watched himself conjure fire and summon lightening, he felt as if he could do these things at a moment’s notice.

He stepped back again, and looked around him to see all of the possibilities. He also saw mirror behind him, and instantly knew it was an exit because instead of his reflection, he saw himself holding his book, hand firmly pressed against one of the pages. He touched the surface of the mirror, and again his vision blurred and all became darkness. He blinked awake again, clutching the book he had just seen in the mirror. A strange new power was his to command. At the same moment that thought came across his mind, he noticed that the adjacent page held an image of himself, holding his book, and another handprint lay underneath it. This one was detailed with the fingerprints and lines he knew to be true to his person, and somehow intuited that putting his hand on that page would return his book, and thus his bardic abilities, to normal. Despite this revelation, he chose to close the book, and leave the decision for another time.

Samson now has the option to Class-Morph, where he can reroll his stats and also transform his possessions into possessions for that new class worth the same amount of gold (Role play suggestion: Have the book be a part of all the morphed classes, i.e., have the big book act as the shield for a paladin, or have the book be a giant spell book for a mage). Once a class is chosen, Samson will always morph with those same stats and same items whenever he Class-Morphs. If Samson ever chooses to transform back into a bard, he will lose his ability to Class-Morph, though he may or may not gain a new magically-touched ability. He will, however, gain back his old book and gain 1 point in Charisma and Intelligence from the imbued power of the book.

Meta-restrictions:

- Samson can only Class-Morph once per session.

- Samson must Class-Morph before the actual role-playing session begins.

- Samson cannot stay the same class for more than one session.

Eye of the Shaman

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10 Jasmine Root	Criala Leaf	Singana	Qwam Berries	Regal Roots	Tear Moss	Lily Pads	Sanguine Flowers	Horn Grass	Red Breathe Flowers +2 to hit on spell rolls	+15 foot speed increase for one hour	+2 AC derived from barkskin-like effect (natural armor bonus) for 2 hours	Heal 4 HP per round for 1d10 rounds	5 on all bluff, charm, etc rolls > 10 hours duration	Energy resistance 10 against cold or acid	Allows water walking for 4 hours	Next touch/melee attack is vampiric, restores half of damage as hp	User grows small horns on skin. Enemies inflicting melee damage take 1d4 damage per attack	Energy resistance 15 against fire

11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20 Elder Berries	Elves' Charm	Wild Turnips	Beast Dung	Briar Vines	Drooping Bonsai	Vin's Root	Opal Pears	Bone Rose	Choose 3 of any components Cures poison (but not diseases) Gain the benefits of Suggest spell for one suggestion. (Normal suggestion rules apply, has to be worded well, cannot be obviously dangerous to the person, etc.)	Allows enraged individuals to maintain their rage for an additional 2 rounds though suffering an additional -2 AC for those extra two rounds	Add 1d6 to all offensive spells for 10 minutes

Any enemies who melee attack the individual are nauseated for 1 round	+8 to all checks involving making or holding a grapple	Energy resistance 15 against electricity or sonic	Individual can cast one spell twice, regardless of the level, without having it count against their spells per day	Combine 5 Opal Pears to create a drink that give the drinker +1 to a stat of their choice	Next attack gets a +4 to hit and also acts as a sunder attempt on armor, weapons, or the target. On sunder attempt, add +4 to attack roll against the defender	Limited to one of each component chosen

Marcus’ years of upbringing with the Gnolls of Qora have brought him non-human insight into the world around him. He is able to scavenge and forage for various natural components that can be used to create voodoo-like concoctions.

His creations can range from defensive to healing and buffing to offensive, but each of his designs is a unique thing that only a man, raised in a savage’s world, could have created.

Marcus can locate 3 components per day (the components are determined by rolling 3d20.

5 components needed to make a potion/poultice/etc., put the components in an order of 1st through 5th.

Shaman Crafting Roll: Roll D20 after the fact to see which effects will be active in the creation:

1-4 = 1st effect 5-8 = 1st and 2nd effect 9-12 = 1st, 2nd, and 3rd effect 13-16 = 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th effect 16+ = All 5 effects 20 = All 5 effects + increased effect to all bonuses (except opal pears, can only be combined together with other opal pears)

General rules of character creation: Races available: Human, Elf, half-Elf, half-Orc, or Dwarf Starting level: 3 System: 3.5, rolling for stats. Starting gold: 3,000 per character with more soon to follow Perk: In accordance with the history of the game-world, every player (whether they are a caster or not) is considered to be magically touched. Depending on your character, the DM Gods will gift you one ability or spell in accordance with your play style at a certain point in the first session. History: The largest continent on the world of Aquilatera, known only now as “the Singed Realm,” was made uninhabitable by a cataclysm that has since been lost in time to the survivors, many of which became the denizens of Qora, also known as “the Sanctuarial Realm” or “the Saved Lands,” on the new continent of Takkana. Following the cataclysm, there was a Diaspora of thousands of humanoids via both large and small ships that spread across the oceans in every direction in hope of finding a new home. Of these thousands, many likely sank in storms or failed to find land and ultimately died at sea. However, a small flotilla, headed by the human ship, the Dawnseeker, sailed with luck in her sails and came upon land after months of hard sailing. Captain of the Dawnseeker, a man known as Jarim for which the future capital of Qora would be named, helped each of the different ships to run aground safely. After a week of clearing areas on the pristine beaches and calm coastline, the ships were finally disassembled and turned into housing. Over the course of their trek, the different races that made up the flotilla developed a rapport with one another which managed to outshine previous prejudices in their old homeland (the instinct for survival has a way of lessening petty differences). Many of the races, including the Humans, the half-Elves & half-Orcs, along with a few skilled Elves and only one clan of dwarves (30), made their way North and North-West to seek out a site for a more permanent place to rebuild their lives and civilization. The rest, the majority of the Elves and almost all of the Dwarves, made their own ways North-East and East, respectively. They promised to honor the brotherhood their exodus had created, whereby they would never take up arms against Jarim, his followers, or their descendants, but otherwise they intended to venture out and rebuild their societies free from racial diversity. To the present day (when the game begins in the new 4th Age), the dwarves and Elves remain somewhat isolationist. With the separation of the voyagers, the new 1st Age began in earnest. The New 1st Age Uncontested in the East and North-East against the far side of the Talon Mountains, the Elves carved out a swathe of land for themselves in the forest. Without their magics, which had ceased since their departure from the Singed Realm, the Elf kind took many years to build their first town. They began to commune with nature, despite a magical connection, and recultivated their culture and population in solitude for hundreds of years. Instead of spreading and conquering like their ancient ancestors may have done, the Elves remained complacent though focused on their martial training, and simply fortified their original town to the point where it became seemingly impregnable by the end of the 1st Age. The honest village became the vast and unbreakable city of Sinodil. The Dwarves found their new homes at the foot of The Reserves, their name for the rich mountain range that land-locks the Eastern part of Qora. The mountains are known by another name, however. The Shinerock Mountains were already inhabited when the Dwarves arrived: by a vast and advanced race of Grimlocks. The creatures had spent decades burrowing into the mountains to create miles of networks of tunnels which both acted as their mines, but also as their homes. After months of preparation and war-engineering, the Dwarves set out on a path of destruction as they brutally assaulted the entrances to the mines and underground cities of the Grimlocks. After nearly four years of constant fighting, the Dwarves managed to push the Grimlocks back to their deepest burrows. The Grimlock leader, tired and war-weary after the unwanted conflict with the Dwarves, made a bold move. With the effort of a platoon of enslaved stone giants, the Grimlocks collapsed scores of tunnels, thereby annihilating over two thirds of the Dwarvern army. This came at cost, however. Ultimately, the Grimlock leader was defeated when Dwarvern sappers managed to map and sabotage a number of Grimlock passageways vital to the Grimlocks’ access to the outside world. The war ended with neither side defeated, but both unable to continue. The Grimlocks’ hopelessly retreated to their two remaining underground cities and were not heard from again until the 4th age. Nearly destroyed and near hopelessly defenseless, the Dwarves dug deep into the Earth surrounding the entrances to the tunnels and mines. From their original settlement of Dromdirk, they spread over the new 1st and 2nd Ages to create the towns of Teyfiin, Inganarum, and Draal. Their focus on mining, smithing, and Dwarvern culture (over military rebuilding) kept them as a supplier, not a participant, in most conflicts until the end of the new 3rd Age. Under the continued leadership of Jarim, the majority of the original survivors set out to the north. A small contingent of the Humans stayed behind at the original landing site of the Flotilla, and created the coast town of Pahal (meaning first). The town’s original design was meant to be a beacon for any other cataclysm survivors on ships to come to. A large lighthouse exists in Pahal that remains forever lit, both to help today’s fisherman find their way to land, but also to symbolize the hope that Qora gave to the original Flotilla. Moving on, Jarim’s flock traveled for two years, moving from location to location until they eventually made their way to the Fertile Plains which lay in the shadow of the Talon Mountains at the center of Qora. The land was also home to a fierce fissure, which the new inhabitants of the area came to refer to as the Chasm. The site they choice was close to a large river, which would provide fresh water, but it was also close to the plains, where the travelers could hunter and breed the various roaming herds of the Plains. The land also provided plentiful indigenous plants which became one of the main food sources for the people. Jarim seemed to have led his people to the perfect place to begin their new lives. Or so he believed. Within weeks of building their first homes from thin trees and mud, the settlers of the Plains became victim to raids by an nomadic groups. At first, they thought their new enemies were limited to a few bands of hobgoblins and gnolls. They quickly learned they had much more dangerous enemies to face. Different roaming tribes of bugbears, orges, wild elves, orcs, and even centaurs all traveled throughout the Fertile Plains. Many warred with each other constantly for territory, but many focused their attacks on the newest intruders upon their lands: Jarim and his followers. In the first few weeks of the attacks, Jarim’s people lost 75 people, almost a 5th of their group. Fortunately, Jarim, in his wisdom, had never abandoned his weapons during the Flotilla’s flight, and while his people were tired and afraid, they were also equipped with bows, arrows, broadswords, cutlasses, and other fighting implements. Soon after the initial raids, under command of Jarim, nighttime guerrilla raids began on the Nomads. Jarim’s men cut down solitary bands of marauders and set fire to the towns and supply caches of the larger groups. After months of bloody conflict, a final battle took place between Jarim’s forces and an motley alliance of orges, orcs, and bug bears. The situation was desperate for both sides, but more so for Jarim’s people. Again, Jarim proved his cunning as his half his men had established a perimeter around the Chasm, while rest of his men dug and upturned earth to lengthen the Chasm’s western edge into a deadly slide. Using blinds that imitated plants and basic huts, Jarim’s men formed a perimeter around the Chasm, hoping to draw the horde’s attention to their “dwellings” as a target. The bloodlusting humanoids, tasting the closeness of victory, charged headlong toward the decoy. They were confident that their goal was true as Jarim himself stood in the center of the false target, shield raised with a number of other men, half-Elves, and half-Orcs. In a moment that exemplified sacrifice, Jarim and his men took the full force of the charge of the horde, more than half of them falling almost instantly. As the waves of nomadic rage tore at Jarim’s men, the ones that passed fell headlong down the 75-yard slide of flat dirt that sloped downward into the gaping maw of the Chasm. Not until all but a quarter of the horde had fallen prey to the ruse did they halt their charge. Know he had been defeated, the Ogre chieftain, a gargantuan brute named Holg’Tok, charged Jarim and his three remaining men. As they charged, the largest part of Jarim’s forces circled back from behind the blinds and rained arrows down on the charging orge. It was too late though. Even as arrows pierced his hide from haunch to shoulder, the beast plowed headlong into Jarim, wrapping an arm around him as he barreled down over the edge of the slide, down the dirt incline, and soundlessly into the depths of the Chasm. With the demise of their chieftain, the horde lost its cohesion and confidence. Conversely, the fall of Jarim inspired rage and hatred in the Humans, half-Elves, half-Orcs, and the few surviving Dwarves and Elves. They fiercely hunted the Nomads to the point of near extinction, propelled by utter hatred and racial opposition, until the remnants of the horde scattered into the forests and rivers to the North-West. The surviving 250 people returned to their town, and with heavy hearts, began to build. At the center of their village, that would soon grow into a city, a statue was build of the heroic captain, Jarim, for which the city that was to become Qora’s capital would be named. The New 2nd Age Over time, the previously elusive force of magic began to appear across Qora. From the capital of Jarim, the first of the new magic users emerged. The random common man would develop the gift to lift objects without touching them while another could summon a flame and yet another could enchant regular items into relatively remarkable ones. Over the course of a couple generations, magic began to pervade every part of life in Jarim. The citizens of the capital had long since ventured out to build a number of smaller towns across the land, including Sprinklock, the hill town co-inhabited by native Gnomes; Turen, the village that stood at the Western edge of Lake Negrala; and Till’s Edge, the far Easten burg that sat South of the Dwarf Clans’ Mining settlements. With the help of magic, a new age of progress fell upon the people of Qora. Alchemists and Enchanters experimented to create fantastic magical items, wizards spun webs of magic to promote crop growth along the Southern half of the realm, and Sorcerors battled and trained to act as the protectors of the communities across the land. Meanwhile in the North-Western and North-Eastern corners of the map, magic continued to stir. The long dormant Elves of Sinodil were rejuvenated as magic began to course through their veins once again. Some remained fairly unaffected, gaining only slight magical abilities, and they became referred to as the magically touched. These Elves often gained the ability to detect magic, use a few low level spells, and study magic with a greater degree of understanding than, say, a Dwarf, but they were not the accomplished spell casters like many throughout Qora were becoming. The 1/3 of the Elves that were lucky enough to become fully imbued with magical powers focused and meditated on their new abilities. They studied magic and worked to record their findings thereby creating the single largest magical library in the Realm known as the Archives. Despite the fact that the Elves sensed powerful magic surging from the forests to the West, they had grown to complacent over the centuries of isolation, and dared not venture out to investigate. Instead, the Elven magicians worked to fortify Sinodil to a new peak of defensibility. With countless charms, barriers, and wards, the city became nearly impervious to physical assault, direct scrying, and magical attacks. Meanwhile to the South-East of the Elven stonghold, the Dwarves have built up their four sizeable, separate mining settlements along the base of the Reserves. They have successfully found and continued to mine different types of ore as well as a number of precious gems far from the potential dangers of the long-collapsed Grimlock tunnels. The Dwarvern-Grimlock conflict led to a racial hatred between the two groups that exists to the present day, but the conflict also relieved the Dwarves of whatever had once been their drive for war. They were content to spend most of their time rebuilding their culture and their crafts, and eventually through trade caravans with the Western cities where the newly awakened mages dwelled came to hoard a fair bit of wealth. The main city that facilitated the trade caravans between the Dwarves in the East and the cities in the West was the trading city of Istara. More than just an epicenter for commerce, Istara was also home to the guilds of Illusion and Divination, and contracted many of their magicians out to locate items and person or to create illusions to protect traveling traders and important persons. The city of Bulane came to be home to a unique type of magic in Qora: the “magic” of the blessed. Bulane exists as the only place in the realm where one can study, pray, and be blessed by deities. A “Bulane Chosen” refers to any type of paladin or cleric due to the fact that they must have been trained, or at least, blessed there at one point in time. The farm lands surrounding the city are not a mistake; moreover, the magicians interested in healing, growth, and transmutation work that originated from the Capital eventually relocated to Bulane in order to be closer to the other healers, the Bulane Chosen, but also to be closer to the farm lands that helped sustain the lives of so many. To the West of Jarim, the emergence of the city of Sur’ata was another point of interest in the new 2nd Age. The city became known for its circular fields dedicated to one-on-one dueling and combat practice. Here the guilds dedicated to the study of Evocation and Conjuration were founded. It was an ideal place for such study, as roaming bands of roaming Gnolls made for excellent live target practice. This where many of the “Peace-keeping Sorcerors” would typically travel to learn about magic, proper judgement, local law structures across the land. Eventually, much in the same way the Elves sense powerful magical forces in their neighboring forests, so too did the mages of Sur’ata. They gathered a party to investigate and traveled for days into the uncharted forests while two sentry mages waited at the closest road. After three nights of quiet, the sentries saw terrible flashes of red lightening in the sky, and felt the hot wind fly past them as explosions and torrents of light pierced the trees and the night sky. After almost two more days, the sentries saw less than half of the party that exit the forest, most of them in some way scorched or injured. They reported to Sur’ata and then to the capital: Strange magics protected large encampments in the forests. The escaping members of the party also managed to kill a few of their pursuers as they tried to flee the forest. The hunters were unnaturally quick and strong Orcs and Orgres. They had managed to survive and repopulate, and had somehow acquired some kind of magical means to defend themselves. Scrying attempts revealed only glimmers and blurs of the life in the forests, but it was obvious that strong magics stopped any type of divinations from seeing more. Fearing the worst, all the cities and towns were put on alert: there were strong numbers of their ancient enemies in the forests to the West. Despite the mystery of what may lie in the shaded trees beyond the cities, a much closer and much more immediate threat loomed from atop the Talon Mountains: Dragons. The wealth, power, and growing magical qualities of the inhabitants of Qora had slowly drawn the gaze of the brood of dragons that lived on the Talon Mountains. Unbeknownst to many of the humans and elves of the cities, Dragons began to pray on caravans of gold, ore, and other valuables. After weeks of losing supplies and lives to the winged beasts, the mages of Jarim gathered a council to decide how to address the dragon problem. Calling mages from the different cities to join them at the summit, the mages of Qora set out a number of ways of dealing with the dragons. Illusionists would fabricate false images of caravans that a rogue dragon might pray upon. These would either serve to simply distract their enemy from real cargo or it would be used as a trap to lure overly confident dragons. Bands of magicians would simultaneously seek to subdue or hold a dragon, either with spells of binding and magical tethers or by assaulting it from the sky to the point where it had to run low to the ground to flee. The overwhelming response and organization of the magic users shocked the bombastic dragons. Unfortunately, as one might’ve guessed, a startled dragon is not an enemy to be taken lightly. The thunder of dragons, 15 strong, began terrorizing the countryside at a blinding speed. They ravaged farmlands, nearly stopped all travel and commerce, and in a vengeful attack after one of their own was felled by an invisible floating tower covered in spears that it skewered itself on, they completely razed the town of Ref, a sizeable town that acted as a halfway marker between the Dwarvern mines and the city of Istara. In the night, on the anniversary of the death of the first dragon, the Dragons began an aerial assault, burning everything from their the base of their mountain homes all the way to Jarim. The cloudy night sky seemed to eb and flow as dragons dropped in and out of the clouds, spraying flames and dropping boulders into the crowds of warriors and mages that stood outside the city’s walls. The burning plants and cottages cast a perverse flickers and silhouettes across the battlefield. From a distance, the scene may have looked like a shadow puppet show, one put on by a sadistic fuck of puppeteer. The battle raged for hours, until a deafening roar pierced the cold air, making everything still. At once, the dragons rose into the air, seemingly to retreat, and the defenders below took the chance to re-gather themselves. Minutes went buy, and the world stood still. Sweat began rolling down the faces of the men and women as they waited, terrified, but ready. FWUM. The sound of sails filling with air. FWUM. That air hitting the ground. FWUM. The clouds buckled. FWUM. A mountain fell out of the sky. A gargantuan Thorn dragon plummeted down to the ground. It’s legs easily accepted for force of the impact, even as the being’s head stayed still along at the end of its barbed neck. The Dragon easily tripled the size of the largest previously seen dragon, though it held none of the hostility in its demeanor that all of the others did. It spoke, with a voice that echoed that of the inner mind of every person that heard it, “While the beauty of this conflict is not lost on me, I must speak against its continuation.” The steady breathing of the dragon became present in the minds of all who watched, transfixed. “The enemy is not those who you fight against, but you fight beside.” Those words, seemingly spoken from the inner minds of every person on the plains, caused a visual disturbance in peoples’ stances. No one quite believed the words entirely, but the warriors and mages had become more cautious of their surroundings. “The ones you call ‘magic-users,’” the voices said, contritely, “are novices, at best. They stumble and bruise themselves with their efforts. They know not what they yield.” Shifting looks and racing thoughts seemed to ignite the air. “A precision tool, built for an advanced purpose by the most skilled of craftsman, becomes nothing but a blunt instrument with which to subjugate others, in the hands of fools. Much the same can be said for all newcomers to this land.” Many of the mages began to look at one another, hopelessly trying to decide what to do. “Dragons never meant harm to the normal people of this land, but the power-grabbing and abuse of magic could not be allowed to continue.” The Dragon’s eyes narrowed. Out of the crowds of unmoving bodies, a flicker of motion, followed by a static hum through the air. All of a sudden, from deep in the earth, lightening lashed out and violently seized the great dragon by its limbs and neck. The thorny giant screeched and writhed as the tethers pulled it to the ground. More and more magic tethers shot out from the mages around the beast, struggling to keep him down. Some of the warriors fired arrows, uselessly, but most just stood there, cemented to the ground by confusion. Deep in the ranks of the mages, a steady glow began coming from a group of four of the oldest mages as their hands danced in patterns and their mouths formed soundless words. The fang dragon tore at the ground, tearing swathes or hard ground away, and eventually managed to roll over onto its back. With its claws and razor teeth, the dragon tore ferociously at its bonds, severing enough to loose its torso from captivity. With a swift sweep of its neck, the dragon raked a crowd of nearby mages, leaving them torn apart. Many limbs and more than a few bodies remained skewered and struggling on its massive neck spines. With a great push, the dragon spun over and freed its wings from the web of light and began beating them furiously. Seeming to doubt their abilities to hold the dragon, a number of mages began peppered the behemoth with spells of all kinds. Fireballs flew past magic missles as bolts of ice collided with the hide of the dragon. Ignoring the paltry attacks, it squirmed and came loose from its last shackle, barreling into a battalion of archers, most of whom died standing mouth agape. As the dragon began to climb, the roars of the other returning dragons could be heard whistling toward the battlefield. From behind clouds, flames could be seen, light began to slowly grow, the dim red of burning coal. The soldiers on the field shook themselves from their stupor and prepared to face the dragons once more. The din of the red grew to that of a inferno and a wall of fire penetrated threw the bottom of the clouds, head to reunite with the fang dragon. The flaming mass drew closer to the fang dragon, with no obvious slowing or course change visible. In fact, whatever it was was increasing in speed. The fang dragon turned its massive head up and to the right, to stare down its approacher. Thousands of gasps stole the air from the world as the source of the flames came into view. A meteor, easily the size colossal sailing ship, slowly tuned and barreled towards the fang dragon. With fire licking the front of the mass, it descended and quickly closed the distance between it and the beast. A flash of light seemed to stop time as an immense explosion engulfed the area where the dragon had been. The blast knocked over all but the glowing mages who had been chanting for minutes on end. One of them passed out from the effort, the three remaining stood tall. Dust and bits of falling rock created a shroud over the plains, and one of the three mages let out a bellowed yell and shot forth a speeding vortex through the smokescreen. The spell shot through the darkness, and pulled with it the debris clouding the view. There was no dragon to be seen. There were no beating wings to signal reinforcements. The fight was over and, miraculously, the people of Qora stood as the victors. The New 3rd Age The new 3rd age began with the memories of victory over the dragon conflict, but also with the realization that new war might be on the horizon. Magic users had clearly been identified as the saviors of the land, which led to thousands being quick to reward and elevate them in society. Some wizards refused, but many, often ones who were already the de facto leaders of towns and cities, accepted their calls to lead. Magic use and power spread to every corner of Qora over a century of peace, and this brought with it some rapid and sudden changes in society. There were many, however, who remained rattled by the warnings of the fang dragon. The enemy is not those who you fight against, but those you fight beside. Magic began to connect people in Qora in ways it never had before. Magical communication networks were set up for the use of any man across the realm. In the mage’s colleges and towers that had become common place in every city, at least on portal was erected by which items and supplies could be sent quickly and over great distances. This enabled healers to hear of sicknesses miles away, research and prepare cures, poultices, and potions, and then quickly send them to those in need. The majority of the farmlands across the realm began to fall under the care of magicians, not just farmers. Food supplies increased as field hands were sustained, improved, and assisted by all means of magic. And with new research from the evocation specialists in Sur’ata, magical traps and protections kept smaller towns and villages safe from raids by bandits and roaming creatures. Magic truly revolutionized the way people came to live. At least, for the majority of the population. While mages took up governorships and mayor-like roles over every sizeable settlement in the central and western half of the realm, the cities of Sinodil and the Dwarvern settlements grew wary of the increased presence of magic in the lives of people. The Dwarves, seemingly the only race immune to the benefits of magic, came to distrust the rule of magicians, even if their effects were barely felt in Dwarvern territory. The Elves of Sinodil, however, continued to have magic be a part of their lives, but it was not so all encompassing as it was in the rest of the land. Mages operated as normal citizens of Elven society, though they were becoming quite advanced in their abilities. The city was, as it always had been, governed by a council representing its people. So when a man by the name of Bron Hammerstrike, a human warrior who was the descendant of soldier present at the final battle of the dragon conflict, came to these isolationists with a plan to strike at the power of the mages, they were more than eager to listen. Summary of following events: Eventually a conglomeration of non-magic using humans, half-elves, regular and Sinodilian elves, dwarves, and even many of the magic using elves of Sinodil came together to form an army that moved from their base at former city of Ref, previously destroyed by the dragons, to march on the capital, where the presence of governing magic was most felt. Along the way, the army stopped across towns and other cities and murdered or captured a number of magicians, and kept them drugged with poisons developed by the Sinodilian elves. An uprising came with the army, it was brutally put down. From this came the call for an actual organization of magicians, both to rule the cities and towns, but also to act as police to ensure the protection of mages. The Syndicate of Magic, also know as the Divinai, established their rule, and their emblems can now be seen on the robes of magicians across all of Qora. The New 4th Age It is the current age, and the Prime-mage of the day is Vanderion. He lives in and technically rules the capital. While Jarim has managed to stay pretty free of problems, a number of places including Turen and Sur’ata have fallen prey to sizeable corruption. There’s also word that the old nomadic populations have reestablished sizeable populations and are actively moving in the forests in the Northwestern corners of the map. Many mages are still loved by the population and are typically viewed by the majority of the non-magical population as their defenders and benefactors. They are, however, hated by man, and feared by most. Miscellaneous information: - Half-orcs are the smallest population in the land. They typically only mate with other half-orcs now, but they are quietly being whittled down over time to non-existence. There is some residual racism against them as they are sometimes associated with the old nomads who threatened the fleeing peoples of so long ago. - The Dwarf Clans, while they agree on many things, are very competitive with one another when it comes to making profits and gaining respect and influence. They also have an extreme racial hatred of their old enemies, the grimlocks, who have begun to plague the Eastern part of the realm again after years of silence.’
 * Please do bring two characters to the game*

Aaron: Lorean tassadar. Elf, archer, snooty higher elf, 224 years Samson the trugador, human bard, big book bard

Zach: nikolai vescilica, combat he’s a fighter but uses different spells, not sure what he is, evil cleric, tall well groomed blackened armor, magical half plate, ornamental, rapier, not very smart, giving a classical education, always seems like he’s scheming, constantly Marcus asalari: thick accent, gnoll accent, growly, slurry, avoided by Samson, pack name, title, visions of the end of the world, plays the bagpipes, carries claymore and lights it on fire, bardbarian. Wears kilt.

Matt: human sorceror, jarik marley, leather trousers, had a shirt that’s torn and in bits, somoan looking guy, got really fucked up in last fight, cut up, first time people are seeing: torso is covered in tribal tattoos, used to wear poofy shirt to cover, sipping on drink after a long hard dang, father important in sur’ata, but jarik washed out. Kicked out because he stopped trying. Chaotic good is jarik Clarence santorum: Generic paladin in half plate, stoic, loosens clasps on half, nods to tassadar

Jimmy: chester green, sorceror fighter - sipping whiskey, large individual, weathered, wearing duster + mithril,+ wide brim hat, under the jacket he has steam punk gizmo, electro chain, pack with gizmo, off by himself drinking, Rala: druid, half-elf, long hair, refined, street clothes, elegant dancing with local for fun,

Tavern:

Different reactions Bards enjoy each other but Samson afraid Jarik is feeling too old for this Rala tries to get more people involved Nikolai drinks died Barmaid leaves key to Samson, gives key to Clarence, chester runs off with her Jarik is laughing

Dwindle the mayor comes in.

Scary cleric approaches rala, cuts in on dance, rala wraps up with evil cleric

Samson uses big book, steals rala from evil cleric, cleric tries to use hold person on Samson, Samson gets held and falls on his face then turns it off so it looks like he fell. Cleric waltzes with rala, rala perplexed cleric, cleric explains that his mother is an influential lady in a fiefdom that grows wine, rala interested in his heritage and mother

Mayor talks with paladin, movements of the divinai, mayor warns jarik and the paladin.

Samson talks to the claric. Tassadar is being a moody bitch in the corner. Jarik talks to tassadar about the mayor.

People drink and are merry.

Big divinai walks in, tells Samson to fuck off, Samson makes music louder.

Tassadar and divinai face palm

Spot check to see divinai get a package from hooded figure. Rala, aarson characters, and jarik notice. People dance, rala and nikolai dance.

Zach fails, rala hears convo hears news about something coming soon, divinai gets up to leave, Jarik watches with tassadar, Clarence wants to investigate, tassadar wants to mind own business, party knows barbarian is a medicine man, battle rattle shaman… everyone laughs at zachs bardbarian, jarik after hooded figure, Samson following divinai,

Aaron opens door after following divinai to mayors house, uses sly to fortune to re-roll, samason takes mayors hat after hearing mayor agreeing to think with divinai.

Jarik follows hooded man up to room, door locks. Listen check, fail, listen check, hears unlatch and wind. Matt leans on door, breaks lock and stumble, sees window open, goes to look, sees nothing, spot check, nothing, gets bit by window viper, tries to burning hands the viper, kills viper, viper was summoned

Chester listen checks to hear matt groan, chester hears nothing, barmaid hears things, yells about matt, barmaid runs from chester, chester finds matt, helps matt down, wins fort save, matt thrown on table, chester goes back to find barmaid, bardbarian tries to, fails, rala identifies poision correctly, matt healed by bardbarian, rala heals light wounds, rala druid heals jarik.

Samson shares mayor story, worried about the thing in an hour. Samson asks about jarik. Chester trying to stop Samson from worrying. Bardbarian doesn’t think things are too important. Cleric turns in, everyone except chester goes to bed, chester apologizes to barmaid, barmaid 20, will come later.

Break

Barmaid comes to chester, warns him about something, misses spot check, barmaid alerts people outside, runs upstairs, mages come in and hold persons jimmy. Barmaid gets upstairs and wakes people up, rala gets up, tassadar falls behind everyone else gets downstairs

Z1: 21 Z2: 16 J1: 3 J2: 6 A1: 17 A2: 2 M1: 5 M2: 15

Mage 1: 22 mage 2: 7 mage 1 misses shanking

Zach quick draws great sword, screams in gnollish, rage, charge, power attacks for 5, misses bad Tassadar double shots mage, miss and hit, mage takes 8 damage, jarik magic missles mage, 6 damage, cleric uses produce flame, hand ignites, throws fireball, misses, minor fireball, everyone but rala and jarik takes 12, they take 6 dmage, rala uses call of the wolf, goes wolf, lawful order paladin asks why, no response, paladin charges, hits for 8, jimmy does nothing, samsons turn, Samson flips to a page and inspires everyone to +1 to hit and damage, bardbarian nat 20s running mage, after whiffing the first time, barbaring cuts him half vertical and throws body with claymore across room which crit hits other mage body and sets him on fire and he dies.

Win

Matt goes outside, sees civilians surrounded by semicircle of mages plus main mage. Chesters unfrozen, matt lookout. Out of combat. Chester shocking grasps his chain

Mages, 3, 15, 3, 13, 14. Main mage 18. Uses scepter on civilians, other mages leave. He turns and talks to the party, simply says it was necessary, and then paladin charges and hits wall of force.

Rala: 10 instant + Chester: + charge-punk (spell charge melee)

Tassadar: - Samson: + class-morph possible loss with bardness choice return of knowledge

Clarence: - Jarik: + dire flame (1/3 hp lost, can max effect of next spell)

Marcus: + eye of the shaman (random find to make things to have crazy effects) Nikolai: -

Flys away. Bard throws book, mage catches, viscous text, knowledge, bard cries, loss of his knowledge.

Mayor is still there, puts head down, tries to walk away, marcus runs up to mayor, says this will keep happening. Session ends with items repo’d from soulless people, dunno whether people can be restored, they don’t know where they want to go