Aron Times's Notes

[Aron Times]

A collection of notebooks, looking similar to but much, much cheaper than wizards' spellbooks, containing Aron's notes on everything under the sun. Doodles, rough sketches, and random writings are scribbled all over them.

Day 1 - Arrived in Baldur's Gate. A bit backwards compared to Halruaa, but then again not much compares to it. Decent law enforcement and relatively friendly citizens make it livable even for one accustomed to the comforts of the Shining South.

Learned about the ghostly voice in the Elfsong Tavern. Apparently it she has resisted all attempts at exorcism. Possible Enchantment spell-like effect in her song that causes a calming effect on listeners and draws customers to the establishment.

Can the ghost be communicated with? Must find out. I think I can develop a spell that harnesses the calming effect of her song. With a little tweaking, the spell can induce other emotions in the target, up to even absolute loyalty (and obedience).

Adventurers seem to gather around a semi-permanent merchant camp along the Trade Way. Met several interesting individuals who happened to be fellow adventurers. Also met a recruiter for the Flaming Fist who was looking for battlemages.

Summary: The life of an adventurer is surprisingly liberating. Getting to unleash my full repertoire of magic for a just and worthy cause feels good. Quite different from back home, where people learn magic through "careful" (read: slow and boring) study, and you don't even get to use it whenever you want to; Halruaan politeness does not allow going all-out on a regular basis.

Day 2 - Lathander's Light! Almost got killed by Bhaalist cultists today. My life was saved by the eccentric elf in red, Lanaya. What a fiery woman! She kicked me in the gonads just a few hours later. Only my Halruaan mental discipline kept me from screaming in pain. It still hurts, and I hope I haven't been ruined forever; I plan on having children (possibly half-elf) in the future.

Met the Chosen of Ilmater today, who glowed with divine radiance. I felt oddly at peace around her. Learned about a siege on Baldur's Gate by Bhaalists months ago. How can Bhaal have enough followers to mount a siege on one of the most secure cities in the region? Does the faith of Bhaal not work openly for fear of imprisonment, or more likely, execution? Must learn more about this.

Almost forgot... Yesterday, I told the story of Karsus the Mad and Little Red Robin Hood. The people gathered at the campfire seemed interested in my storytelling. Today, I told the story of the Sword of Damocles the Archwizard. Tomorrow, I might start with the first tale of the 1,001 Zakharan Evenings as told by Queen Shahrazad.

Developed more spells today. Spell capacity also increased. My power grows. Hail Lathander!

[Aron Times]

Day 3 - A chance encounter in the hilltop ruins south of Baldur's Gate leads into the biggest adventure of my life so far. Five strangers, all with the intent to explore the ruins, banding together to survive what can only be described as a small army of extraplanar creatures, their kobold minions, and the wyrmling that obviously was their master.

We barely managed to survive the hordes beneath the earth, only to be ambushed by bandits on the surface. Fortunately, they attacked right after we had camped and rested; fighting a sorcerer and his companions at full power is a foolish course of action.

The hilltop ruins is most likely home to a manifest zone or an erratic portal to another plane. The presence of imps makes me fear that it leads to Baator.

Analyzed the magical loot from our adventure, and I learned a new way to improve my defensive abilities. Note to self: Record spell repertoire on paper.

Day 4 - With my new defensive wards in place, I thought I could take on the gnolls and other humanoids that infest the road to Beregost (had a job as a courier for Maltz the weaponsmith). The leader of a gnoll pack charged at me alone, and for a while, my wards held. However, he was easily able to parry my spear over and over again, so neither was I making any progress in bringing him down.

The gnoll's brute force eventually overwhelmed me, and as I lay there bleeding, my salvation came in a tiny package. The unassuming archmage, whose name I cannot recall (must find out what his name is next time I run into him). He escorted me to Beregost, singlehandedly fending off gnolls and goblins. It was amazing seeing his tiny form annihilating everything in his path.

Thanks to him, I managed to get the supplies back to Baldur's Gate.

Could learn much about spellcasting from him, if I ever meet him again.

Note: Beregost has a temple of Lathander. Might go there sometime to donate to the cause.

[Aron Times]

Some rough diagrams detailing how to weave mind-affecting magic are drawn on this page.

Elves seem to be highly-resistant to mind-affecting magic, being outright immune to attempts to render them asleep. Makes sense, since elves trance instead of sleeping. So far, my research on charms and compulsions is at a dead end. All I am able to do is to trick the target's mind into falling asleep, and it only lasts a short time before the effect wears off.

So far, all my attempts at establish emotional or mental control results in simulating the effects of inebriation on the target. I think I might be able to I can modify my sleep spell to induce a feeling of friendship instead of tiredness, but I need more "volunteers" to test this hypothesis.

If everyone obeys the law, everything will be better. The criminal elements of society will benefit from corrective charms and compulsions to enforce good behavior - a better alternative to imprisonment and execution.

[Aron Times]

Day 5 - I am writing this entry in the Candlekeep Inn. Died earlier today to a gnoll's axe, and woke up in the Temple of Oghma in Candlekeep. My benefactor was a man named Jake, a strange man who took the time to carry a complete stranger's body to be brought back to life.

Dying was painful. I have a vague impression of a dull and dreary place as if it were a dream. Probably the Fugue. My brush with death has given me new insight into the powers of death. I have developed a new spell that, in theory, can temporarily age the target by drawing power from the Fugue and channeling it into a ray that speeds towards the target.

Another spell I've learned thanks to my deathly insight allows a group of people a slowed perception of time, in practice allowing them to move faster. Unfortunately, the increased speed has no effect on spellcasting, but otherwise, the sky's the limit. I have tested it on a few trained warriors, and they say the spell makes combat much easier to follow.

And finally, a chance encounter almost turned deadly when I inadvertently ran into not one, but two necromancers. The first one claimed to be hunting for a gnoll that had killed his family, but I now think that it may have been an excuse to acquire materials for reanimation. Once I get back to Baldur's Gate, I'm going to report them to the Flaming Fist. Can't have would-be necromasters running wild, you know.

Progress on emotional and mental control magic stalled. I need to take a break from research. Facing one's own mortality does that to you.

[Aron Times]

Aron's notes on his spell repertoire.

Level 1

1. Lesser Orb of Sound

This spell involves spinning a thread of air into a dense ball in my hand. This ball (which emits a near-subsonic hum) can then be hurled at a target. Upon impact, the ball unravels and rends the target.

Easy to cast, and quite lethal... at close range. The orb can only travel a short distance before unraveling and dissipating harmlessly. Powerful for the amount of magic required to cast, but impractical due to its extremely short range.

2. Mage Armor

Interlacing threads of Air and Earth produces a shimmering field of force that serves as weightless armor. Very useful in this dangerous region of Faerun.

By putting more magic into it, I think I can improve its protective abilities by 50%. I need to look into this.

3. Shield

Similar to Mage Armor, but involves weaving Air and Water together. Requires more magic to maintain over time than Mage Armor, but has the side effect of blocking Magic Missile.

4. Magic Missile

By weaving all four elements together, I can launch a barrage of missiles at the enemy. This spell never misses, and has a much longer range than Lesser Orb of Sound. Has the side effect of being 100% effective against incorporeal targets like some undead.

5. Ray of Enfeeblement

A weave of Earth that temporarily ages the target. Learned this spell when I had an epiphany after being raised from the dead. The ray dissipates at close range, but the sheer potency of this spell far outweighs this minor drawback.

Level 2

1. Scorching Ray

A pure spell of Fire that has good range and is excellent for incinerating targets from afar. When I began using it, I could only produce one Scorching Ray. Now I can fire two of them per casting, and I think I can further increase the spell's efficiency to three rays.

2. Invisibility

By weaving Air, Fire, and Water, I can turn invisible. This spell is as much folded light as clouded sense as doing anything that draws attention ends the spell, as if I weren't truly invisible and the spell simply makes those around me to ignore my presence.

Very useful for traveling the dangerous roads leading to and from Baldur's Gate. One casting for myself and another for my horse means no trouble from bandits or marauding humanoids.

3. Ghostly Visage

Weaving Air and Earth in a certain way shifts my body partially into the Ethereal Plane, I take on a ghostly appearance. My partially incorporeal body is immune to level 1 and lower spellls and also provides some of a ghost's immunity to nonmagical weapons. This does not let me pass through walls, as about 90% of my body is still in the Prime.

Level 3

1. Haste

A weave of Air and Water dramatically slows down the targets' perception of time, improving reaction time and allowing for a more efficient execution of physical feats. Being able to move faster has no effect on spellcasting, which still takes the same amount of real time. Virtually doubles the fighting ability of trained warriors.

2. Fireball

A weave of Fire with a little Air added to make it spread, this spell immolates a large area from a long range. A spell with deadly applications in warfare, annihilating entire companies of soldiers in an instant. I think I can increase the blast force by increasing the amount of magic used per casting.

Very, very effective against the shambling hordes of undead.

"As the sun is a ball of fire, so shall the Morninglord scour the world of the living dead. Thus spoke his prophet, the Dawnbringer."

[Aron Times]

More spell notes by our favorite sorcerer in yellow.

1. Protection from Evil

A trip to the Temple of Lathander in Beregost led to a lengthy philosophical discussion with the head priest whose name I cannot recall right now (I should really learn how to remember people's names). He gave me the idea for an arcane version of Lathander's Protection from Evil. This spell of Air, Earth, and Fire protects the target from those with dark intentions.

How the spell is able to detect and protect against evil is beyond me, as is who to thank for this addition to my repertoire: Mystra or Lathander?

Maybe both.

2. Animalistic Power

Another weave of Air, Earth, and Fire, this spell improves the body's physical limits. Works really well with Polymorph Self (see below). A more efficient use of this spell would be to cast it on trained warriors, who have the right training to make full use of it.

3. Heroism

A weave of Fire that, for the lack of a better description, makes the target more optimistic. Basically the spell of positive thinking. Causes no physical change in the target.

This is the latest product of my research into mind-affecting magic. This is a limited form of emotional control, and would not work on targets that for some reason have no emotions.

4. Stoneskin

Related to Flesh to Stone, threads of Earth turn the target to stone while interlaced threads of Water allow for fluid mobility. Target becomes as hard as stone with no perceptible effect on mobility. Can be overwhelmed with extreme physical force, resulting in the spell cracking and falling to the ground as if the target was surrounded by a form-fitting eggshell of stone.

It takes something much harder than stone to penetrate the spell's protective capabilities. Possible vulnerability to starmetal or adamantine? This needs more testing.

[Aron Times]

Day 10 - My analysis of the Charm Person scroll led me to a breakthrough in my studies. I have mastered a more powerful version of Charm Person known as Dominate Person.

The goblin raiders of the Trade Way shall make good volunteers for testing this spell.

Also, I have volunteered my services to the Wardens of Beregost, a group of warriors who follow Lathander. I left Moon in Beregost so I'll know if they need my help. Speaking of Moon, I can feel his satisfaction through our bond. Looks like he just had a very good meal. I hope they aren't spoiling him.