Margaret Weis - Amber and Ashes

Background: Basalt is a dwarf of the Theiwar clan, born in the years just after the Cataclysm. Like others of his kind, he studied magic and demonstrated great promise and unwavering devotion to the gods of magic, who granted him the power to battle his enemies. Unlike many of his clan, Basalt wanted to gain in magical power and he believed that the only way to do this was to work with others of his Order. Fifty years before the War of the Lance, Basalt left the mountain kingdoms and journeyed to Wayreth to take the Test. His Test forced him to choose between loyalty to his clan and life under the mountain or the power granted by magic. Basalt was willing to murder his cousins for the power he sought and swore his allegiance to Nuitari upon receiving the Black Robes.

Basalt sided with the Dragonarmies during the War of the Lance, although he always honored the wizards’ pact to devote themselves to magic first and personal or political animosities second. He had the misfortune to be in Neraka at the end of the war and might have died during the destruction of the Temple, but for a fortuitous encounter with the powerful mage Raistlin Majere. Basalt had thought to try to rise to power by assassinating Raistlin, but he soon realized that his powers were no match for the young human mage, and fearing that Raistlin suspected his plotting, Basalt fled for his life.

Like others of the Orders of High Sorcery, Basalt was enraged by the emergence of the gray-robed Knights of the Thorn. Renegades whose powers were enhanced directly by the Dark Queen, the Thorne Knights defied the history, heritage, and traditions of the wizard orders established during the Age of Dreams. The dark dwarf eagerly joined with his fellows in attempting to combat the dark knight wizards. The war against Chaos forced everyone who lived upon Krynn, both good and evil, to become allies in a battle for survival. Basalt fought side-by-side with those wearing white and red robes against the shadow wights and daemon warriors. He was terribly wounded and very nearly died.

Basalt spent nearly a year recovering from the wounds inflicted on him by the minions of Chaos. These were nothing, however, compared to the loss of his magic that came when Takhisis stole away the world. He raged, then despaired, for he was powerless. When the “new magic” of sorcery was discovered, Basalt did not have the heart to try it. For him, true magic came from the power of the moons, and he cursed the pale orb that shone in their stead each night.

Having lost his power, Basalt became a hermit and a vagrant. He wandered Ansalon in a half-crazed state, constantly peering up in the night sky at the void in the stars where the black moon should be. The War of Souls left him untouched, a pitiful shell of his former self, worthy of neither fear nor respect. Then, a miracle happened.

One fateful night, the false moon vanished from the sky. The constellations and planets of the old gods were restored. Lunitari and Solinari shone once more, while Nuitari appeared to those who could look into his blackness and understand. Basalt felt the long-unused power course through his veins. The words of magic that he had mumbled uselessly day by day suddenly burned bright in his mind.

Basalt was among the first of the former Black Robes to realize that Nuitari had returned. He fell to his knees and cried out his praises to the dark god. Touched by his follower’s loyalty, Nuitari appeared before Basalt in mortal guise to make him an offer.

A new bastion of magic was being created—a stronghold where dark magic would reign supreme. Basalt could leave the surface world and serve the god of the black moon in his new abode. Honored by the dark god’s trust, Basalt left his life on land behind to move below the waves. The Tower of the Blood Sea is now his home.

Description: Basalt is an albino, which gives him a truly startling appearance for a dwarf. Both his skin and hair are bone-white; his eyes are pink, tinged with red. He has the short, stocky build of all dwarves, though his pursuit of magic makes him appear thin by dwarven standards. He tends to stand with his arms crossed, warding people away. His fiery-eyed, intense gaze gives him the appearance of glaring malevolently at those he encounters.

Basalt Darkeye: Male dark dwarf (Theiwar) Rog2/Wiz5/Black Robe 9; CR 16; Medium humanoid (dwarf); HD 2d6+14d4+64; hp 114; Ink +2; Spd 20 ft.; AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 15; Atk +13,48 melee (1d4+4/17-20, +3 keen dagger); SA sneak attack +1d6, spells; SQ arcane research +4, black robe order secrets, darkvision 120 ft., dark dwarf traits, evasion, moon magic (Nuitari), trapfinding; AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +13; Str 12, Dex 14, Con 19, Int 20, Wis 13, Cha 7.

Skills and Feats: Balance +6, Bluff +3, Climb +4, Concentration +21, Craft (stonemasonry) +6, Decipher Script +18, Escape Artist +6, Hide +9, Intimidate +14, Knowledge (arcana) +22, Move Silently +8, Search +11, Sleight of Hand +5, Spellcraft +24, Spot +7, Swim +4; Empower Spell, Iron Will, Magical Aptitude, Reserves of Strength, Scribe Scroll (B), Spell Focus (Necromancy) (B), Stubborn, Weapon Finesse.

Spells Prepared(4/6+1/5+1/5+1/5+1/4+1/3+1/2+1/2+1; save DC 15 + spell level): 0—daze, detect magic, ray of frost, read magic; 1st—burning hands, cause fear*, identify (x2), magic missile, ray of enfeeblement* (x2); 2nd—darkness, false lye*, ghoul touch*, locate object, scare*, spectral hands; 3rd—deep slumber, halt undead*, ray of exhaustion*, stonesight, vampiric touch* (x2); 4th—animate dead*, bestow curse*, crushing despair, ethereal flame*, phantasmal killer, wall of ice; 5th—dominate person, empowered lightning bolt, feeblemind, fog of fear* symbol of pain*; 6th—circle of death*, eyebite*, greater dispel magic, symbol of fear*; 7th—finger of death*, forcecage, greater arcane sight.

* These spells belong to the school of Necromancy, which is this character’s enhanced specialty. Prohibited schools: Abjuration, Conjuration, Transmutation.

Order Secrets: Magic of Darkness, Magic of Fear, Magic of Hunger, Magic of Pain.

Spellbook: As an experienced Black Robe wizard and one of Nuitari’s chosen caretakers of the Tower of the Blood Sea, Basalt has access to an incredible array of spells. He has knowledge of all arcane spells listed in the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook and in the Dragonlance Campaign Setting (except for named spells, such as Fistandantilus’s Portal or Magius’s Light of Truth).

Equipment: Bracers of armor +3, ring of protection +2, +3 keen dagger, eyes of doom, robe of bones, necklace of adaption, ring of swimming, wand of acid arrow (22 charges).

A savage heart beats beneath the black robes of the half-elf mage from Southern Ergoth. Ruled by his passions, which can go from icy coldness to white-hot rage in a heartbeat, Caele is unpredictable and highly dangerous.

Background: Caele never found out exactly what the relationship was between his mother, a Kagonesti elf shaman, and the Ergothian sailor who fathered him. His mother made it clear to the half-elf at an early age that any discussion of his father was forbidden. Though ostensibly part of the Kagonesti tribe, the two were never truly accepted and lived in relative isolation. Caele’s early years were spent in the wild—hunting small game, climbing trees, and swimming in clear streams.

For reasons unknown to him (though possibly related to his ostracism by his Kagonesti tribesmen), Caele had what he called “black moods” come over him. During these times, he lashed out at anyone near him, taking perverse pleasure in causing pain and distress to innocent victims. When he was young, he would feel guilty over the torment of small animals or people. As he grew older, he saw that these destructive forces brought him power over others and his guilt waned, eventually vanishing altogether.