2d4chan - User contributions [en]

Elminster

2019-06-04T15:32:06Z

2601:602:C700:36D2:1298:C3FF:FE7D:586F:

Elminster was one of the first characters that Greenwood created for the Forgotten Realms. Information about him can be found in virtually all Forgotten Realms game products, but the novels in The Elminster Series are perhaps the most definitive sources of information. The series includes Elminster: The Making of a Mage, Elminster in Myth Drannor, The Temptation of Elminster, Elminster in Hell, and Elminster's Daughter.

Basics

Appearance

Elminster appears as a gray-bearded man of weathered visage, with a hawk-like nose and alert, dancing eyes. He speaks in a gruff tone and generally wears nondescript attire. He is almost always smoking a meerschaum pipe that spouts vile-smelling blue or green smoke.

Personality

Elminster is normally a witty, clever, and very charming man. He can, however, be imperious, grave, and terrible. Furthermore, he is a natural storyteller and a consummate actor. He rarely reveals the full extent of his true nature to anyone who is not an extremely close friend. He can portray himself as a trickster, rake, stern father figure, fool, or any other stereotype that he wants to assume, depending on what he wants to accomplish or what reaction he wants to elicit from those around him.

Family

Readers learn that Elminster has several daughters at the end of Elminster's Daughter. Besides Narnra Shalace, two others are Laspeera of the War Wizards and the dowager queen Filfaeril of Cormyr. He has no known wife, but retains contact with several previous lovers, including the goddess Mystra — although his relationship with Mystra changed when the goddesswas slain during the Time of Troubles and the sorceress Midnight assumed the mantle of the Lady of Mysteries.

Allies

Elminster's allies included the Harpers, the other Chosen of Mystra (especially the Simbul), and his scribe Lhaeo. The Knights of Myth Drannor were also close friends and confidants, and two or three knights were always in Shadowdale in case it was in peril.

Media

In Dragon Magazine articles written by Ed Greenwood, Elminster often appeared as a wise sage imparting knowledge to a fictional interviewer. He divulged lore on various Dungeons & Dragons monsters in "The ecology of ..." articles, such as "The ecology of the ochre jelly". He was used as a source of information for Greenwood's "Pages from the Mages" articles in which various spells were described, as well as various miscellaneous articles such as "Cloaked in magic".

"The Wizards Three", a series of short fiction pieces in Dragon, featured Elminster holding meetings with wizards from other Dungeons & Dragons settings. The metafictional conceit central to the series was that, unbeknownst to the other wizards, the meetings were being held in the home of real-world author Ed Greenwood. Greenwood himself was included in the stories as a character, sequestered in hidden locations in order to eavesdrop and take the notes from which the stories were supposedly written later.

Novels

The Making of a Mage

The first novel in The Elminster Series, The Making of a Mage, recounts the character's origin story, which explains why he has such extensive and varied experience. Elminster was born around 212 DR to Elthryn, the lord of the village of Heldon and a prince of Athalantar, and his wife Amrythale, in the kingdom of Athalantar. His family was killed by a malaugrym posing as Undarl, one of the magelords of the ancient kingdom of Athalantar. Taking up his father's broken sword, the Lion Sword, the symbol of the great king of the Stag Throne (who was Elminster's grandfather), Elminster became a brigand.

He soon realized that he had no taste for killing, and gave it up when he went to become a burglar in the city of Hastarl, the capital of Athalantar. He met and became friends with Farl, a local thief, who knew Elminster as Eladar "the Dark". They worked together frequently, eventually forming a gang dubbed the Velvet Hands in opposition to another local gang, the Moonclaws, who were servants of the magelords. Later, while eavesdropping on a possible thieving mark, Elminster met that era's Magister, the wizard who bore the mantle of Azuth's power. When asked if he was interested in learning sorcery, Elminster refused, hating all mages because of the magelords.

While in a temple, Elminster was visited by Mystra, the Goddess of All Magic. She spoke to and left the awestruck Elminster with the message that he should learn of magic and worship her. Soon thereafter, while he was still a young adult, Mystra transformed Elminster into a woman named Elmara to strengthen his bond with magic and to know what it is to be a woman. This change also allowed him to move within his enemies' circles without their knowledge that he was in fact the last surviving prince of Athalantar. For a few years, Elmara was a priestess of Mystra. Later, an avatar of Mystra (who went by the name Myrjala "Darkeyes") trained Elmara in the ways of a mage and brought her to an ancient Netherese arcanist who taught Elmara a spell that would transform her back into Elminster. In the time that followed, Elminster learned much about magic from Myrjala, reaching the point where he could finish taking his revenge against the evil magelords who had usurped the kingdom. After a terrific battle, Elminster persevered and assumed the throne of Athalantar.

However, after regaining his kingdom, he passed the monarchy to Helm Stoneblade, a knight of Athalantar, stating that he had wanted to avenge his family's death, not rule. As he and Myrjala left the kingdom, the so-called Mage Royal, Undarl, attacked them, and the sorceress revealed herself to be Mystra. She offered to make Elminster one of her Chosen, and he readily accepted.

Elminster in Myth Drannor

A sequel to Making of a Mage, Elminster in Myth Drannor takes place shortly afterwards. In this novel, Elminster travels to the city of Cormanthor. The book details the ancient elven society and its people, as well as highlighting Elminster's continued magical studies, as he serves as an apprentice to a cruel and powerful wizard.

Elminster remains in Cormanthor for over two decades, and is present when the mythal is raised and the city is renamed Myth Drannor.

The Temptation of Elminster

The Temptation of Elminster moves the timeline ahead several centuries. At the outset of the novel, Elminster emerges from a dusty tomb, after being trapped there in stasis for many years.

During much of this book, Elminster restricts his use of magic (on orders from Mystra) and he must again learn to survive by his wits and the skills he picked up earlier in his life. He later undergoes further magical training under the tutelage of a wicked sorceress who seeks to tempt him away from Mystra's path.

Following the events of the novel, Elminster served as a foster parent to three of Mystra's other Chosen: Laeral, Storm, and Dove. It is also suspected that he had something to do with the founding of Waterdeep, or at least with the organizing of the city's lords.

The Time of Troubles

Elminster was instrumental in forming the Rangers Three, who aided him in recurring battles with the mysterious Shadowmasters during this time. Elminster also took time to defend Shadowdale from an army of Zhentarim led by the avatar of Bane. Bane and Elminster battled, and both were caught up in the spell that Elminster had called upon to dispose of the avatar. Elminster was originally thought to have been destroyed, but when he later reappeared it became apparent that he had merely been transported to another plane of existence for a time.

The Avatar Crisis

The forces of evil tried to rally in Elminster's absence, but the other Chosen, the Knights of Myth Drannor, and the Rangers Three held them at bay until he returned. With the present crisis averted, all seemed calm, but the Shadowmasters had other ideas. Elminster and the Rangers Three, along with their allies, managed to frustrate and foil the plans of this race of shapeshifters.

Elminster also confronted the overgod, Lord Ao, over his instigation of the Time of Troubles while innocents were being killed. As the critical moment of the Time of Troubles approached, Mystra knew of what was to come and shed most of her power into the human wizard Midnight, so that all of her essence would not cease to exist. Since Elminster obtained his power from Mystra, this change left him personally powerless at a critical juncture.

He recruited one of the Rangers Three, Sharantyr, and they equipped themselves from Elminster's cache of magical items. The two of them were later reunited with the other two members of the band, Itharr and Belkram, but even the Rangers Three could not prevent Elminster from being wounded in battle. Despite this setback, Elminster and the rangers, along with their allies, freed High Dale and defeated Manshoon of the Zhentarim. They also outlasted the Time of Troubles, and Elminster regained his magic.

Elminster in Hell

Elminster in Hell describes what happened after the floating city of Shade returned to Faerûn from the Plane of Shadow. The immortal rulers of the city came to Shadowdale, and one of the shadow princes was struck by Storm's silver fire. The collision tore at the fabric of reality and created a rift to the Nine Hells. Elminster realized that the only way to close the portal before a legion of devils spilled forth onto Toril was to close it from the other side.

In the opening of Elminster in Hell, Elminster narrowly managed to close the portal at the expense of much of his magical strength. Once in Hell he was abducted and enslaved by an outcast Arch-Devil known as Nergal, who wished to discover the secret of Mystra's silver fire. In the most graphic scenes of The Elminster Series, Elminster was subjected to brutal tortures, surviving only because of his exceptional endurance and ability to heal himself with silver fire. While the arch-fiend plundered Elminster's thoughts and memories, Mystra became aware of her favorite servant's plight and entered Hell herself to find him. Realizing that her presence in Hell was less than inconspicuous, due to the Pact Primeval that prohibits the presence of any god in the Nine Hells, Mystra retreated and dispatched more subtle agents to find him; first Halaster Blackcloak, the Mad Mage of Undermountain (who was defeated) and then the Simbul. After much searching, the Simbul found him, and together they defeated Nergal and returned home.

Elminster's Daughter

Elminster's Daughter takes place a few years after Elminster in Hell. A relatively light-hearted book when compared to the more violent Elminster in Hell, it focuses primarily on the life of one of Elminster's children, Narnra Shalace.

Narnra is a thief who was raised by a single mother in Waterdeep. She eventually finds her way to Marsember and becomes involved in the intrigues of the Cormyrean nation. She also meets an old man who turns out to be Elminster, and learns that he is her father.

Effects of the Spellplague

Following the events of the Spellplague caused by the destruction of his patron, Mystra, Elminster lost much of his power but remained unaging. He continued to live in Shadowdale, but he became bitter and withdrawn.

Elminster

2019-06-04T15:24:25Z

2601:602:C700:36D2:1298:C3FF:FE7D:586F: Blanked the page

Elminster

2019-06-04T15:23:40Z

2601:602:C700:36D2:1298:C3FF:FE7D:586F: /* Reason why Elminster doesn't do crap */

{{Dnd-stub}}
Elminster is an old-ass wizard from [[Forgotten Realms]], oft-cited as one of the main reasons why that setting sucks shit. He's powerful enough to solve any problem that would challenge PCs, and no real reason not to do so which isn't utterly contrived. He's an [[Urza]] figure without the apathy or plane-ruining fuckups. Oh, and he's also [[Ed Greenwood]]'s self-insert, the original [[Mary Sue]] of Faerûn from before [[Drizzt]] was a thing.

He's slept with more women than Greenwood ever will, including Mystra, the Goddess of Magic. Just because. Dude's left so many single moms and fathered so many bastards that one of the novels centers around one of his abandoned daughters robbing his home, and he lures her in to be used as a pawn in fighting a conspiracy of wizards. [[Eldrad|What a dick.]]

He used to be part of an article series in [[Dragon Magazine]] called The Wizards Three, where he would meet up with two other wizards to swap tales, gorge on Earthly junk food, and share custom spells, which were reprinted at the article's end for use in your D&D games.

Not to mention that he is an ally of the Harpers. The organization that is (in part, the other being the gods themselves) responsible for Forgotten Realms to be locked permanently in a state of medieval stasis (due to them taking away all the various technologies made by people even if those technologies are beneficial to everyone). Thus he, along with them, is the reason why nothing changed in the setting.

Despite the whole Mary Sue levels he generates, Elminster didn't always used to be some OP Wizard like he is these days. Back in the past, when D&D was new and Forgotten Realms was slowly shaping itself, Elminster used to be a max-level Wizard with additional abilities other Wizards didn't have access to and some nice gear. His only shtick was appearing as a ex-machina to the players in case the latter had a really hard time with a truly difficult situation.

His [[Greyhawk]] counterpart is [[Mordenkainen]], being the supreme (and supremely-useless) wizard of that world and Gygax's self-insert.

He appears in the MMORPG Dungeons and Dragons Online, as a guide for your character to (spoilers) cross the Lloth's abode in the Immaterium as one of her sisters, The Spinner of Shadows, was one of the Demon Overlords of Ebberon's history. He then takes you to Eveningstar to help the Purple Dragon Knights kick Drow butt and stop both Faerun and Ebberon from becoming one with the Demonweb

Mystra

2019-06-04T15:18:58Z

2601:602:C700:36D2:1298:C3FF:FE7D:586F: /* Midnight / Mystra (2e/3e) */

{{Infobox Deity
|Name = Mystra
|Symbol = Circle of seven blue-white stars with red mist flowing from the center
|Alignment = Neutral Good ''(Formerly LN and CN)''
|Divine Rank = Greater Goddess
|Pantheon = Faerûn
|Portfolio = Magic ''(all of it)''
|Domains = '''3E:''' Good, Illusion, Knowledge, Magic, Rune, Spell<br>'''5E:''' Arcana, Knowledge
|Home Plane = '''[[Great Wheel]]:''' ''Dweomerheart'' ([[Limbo]], [[Arcadia]], then [[Elysium]])<br>'''[[World Tree]]:''' Dweomerheart
|Worshippers = Any spellcaster
|Favoured Weapon = ''Seven Whirling Stars'' (Shuriken)
}}
'''Mystra''' is the goddess of magic in the [[Forgotten Realms]], probably the most powerful of the pantheon, when you don't include [[Ao]] in the list.

Mystra is probably the most well-covered of the FR deities, because she undergoes an extensive rewrite with every edition in order to explain in-universe how and why the rules get changed.

==History==
===Mystryl (2e arcane age)===
Born from the conflict between [[Selûne]] and [[Shar]], the original Mystryl was a Chaotic Neutral entity that was relatively flighty and carefree; A real rainbow chick.

She either created '''The Weave''', embodied it, or was a side effect of its creation, but in any case she was in charge of it. Her attitude towards the use of the weave was ''"do as you please, but just don't piss me off"'', which meant that magic wielders could perform spectacular feats that were unheard of in later times.

However, this also opened the weave up to abuse, where one particular spellcaster called '''[[Karsus]]''' decided to create a 12th level spell that would give himself control over the weave itself.

The spell worked... for all of five minutes. While he wrestled control over the weave from the goddess; he couldn't actually control it and caused magic all over the world to get screwed up. Destroying his own empire of floating cities and essentially reverting everything back to the stone ages.

Mystryl figured she'd rather die than let some idiot ruin the fundamental forces of magic, so she sacrificed herself to restabilise the weave and gave birth to her successor '''Mystra'''

===Mystra (1e)===
The next Goddess was an entirely different creature. Immediately imposing rules and restrictions on the weave, preventing those kinds of abuses from ever happening again. Capping spellcasting ability to a maximum of 9th level spells, while changing how magic works.

Furthermore, upon realising that you can do pretty much anything using the power of magic and that Mystra is the god of ''"all magic"'' in an uncharacteristically active move, the overdeity '''[[Ao]]''' manipulated events to ensure that Mystra was forced to spread her power around so that she did not become ''"all powerful"'' and either upset the balance or try something stupid like usurp Ao himself. So the second Mystra was made to be more more active and had to spread her power around.

She fell in love with a human [[Wizard]] called [[Azuth]] and sponsored him as the first '''Magister''' giving him a humongous power boost and helping him on his journeys through the realms, to the point where he became a god himself, then continuing the tradition of magisters by starting a chain of them.

Then she started appointing Chosen amongst mortal followers, granting them a portion of her divine strength. Though the gifts not as powerful as the Magister outright, there were a lot more of them. But unfortunately she realised that sometimes, all this power just burned through mortals if they weren't already strong enough to wield it, or some of them became corrupted by the power and became tyrants. To counter this "power corrupts" problem, she decided to have children and spawned a set of daughters who were imbued with the abilities of her Chosen from birth and raised to appreciate their gifts.

All told, Mystra had about half of her divine power wrapped up between her Chosen, her Magister and her servant Azuth. Yet even with much of her power spread across the cosmos, she was ''still'' the most powerful deity in the Pantheon.

So when the Tablets of Fate were stolen from Ao and he kicked all the Gods except [[Helm]] out into the mortal realm until somebody owned up to it; Mystra figured she could just barge her way back in.

Unfortunately; powerful mortal avatar of a god that she was, in this instance she was still no god. So Helm got the upper hand and cut Mystra down in front of an city's worth of audience.

===Midnight / Mystra (2e/3e)===
The third incarnation began life as a mortal woman called '''Midnight''' who was also a travelling companion of mortal versions of [[Kelemvor]] and [[Cyric]] as well as cleric of [[Sune]] called '''Adon'''.

Midnight was pivotal in the recovery of the Tablets and was rewarded with Mystra's portfolio, creating a new goddess of magic but taking the old name.

This third Mystra, under the tutelage of [[Azuth]], took a while to learn the ropes of her new role. She tried to maintain her original human outlook while doing the job and started shifting the church of Mystra from Neutrality over to Good while attempting to influence how magic was being used in the realms, unfortunately while this sounds noble it wasn't actually the best of ideas. She, along with her former mortal-turned-god companions [[Kelemvor]] and [[Cyric]] were placed on trial by the other gods as being negligent in their duties as deities by ''incompetence through humanity.'' Cyric managed to argue that his [[Chaotic Stupid|lolrandumb behaviour]] was fitting for the chaotic God of Lies and Betrayal (even if it was pissing off everyone else in the Pantheon by risking drawing [[Ao]]'s attention again); Mystra and Kelemvor realized they were screwing their new jobs and agreed to get back in line. In the end, all three started playing by the divine rulebook.

===Mystra (4e)===
She was killed when [[Shar]] and [[Cyric]] teamed up. The whole Spellplague was caused because there was no god of magic keeping the Weave in check. Only the minor god of note keeping: [[Deneir]] managed to keep the universe from turning itself inside out by writing himself into the Weave and causing all the mechanical changes to magic rules in 4e.

===Mystra (5e)===
The return of Mystra in 5e was actually done quite elegantly: playing on plot hooks laid several editions earlier. Even though Mystra as a deity was "dead" she lived on as a [[Binder|Vestige]]. Despite this, remember that half her power was invested elsewhere in the cosmos.

Her most powerful Chosen, a woman called '''The Simbul''', gathered up a whole bunch of magical energy and combined it with that of [[Elminster]] who in turn used it to resurrect the goddess, creating a new amalgam of 1e Mystra & 2/3e Midnight all in one package.

==Worshippers & Servants==

===Spellfire Wielders===
''"Once in every generation a <s>slayer</s> Spellfire Wielder is born..."'' or at least they thought there was. Turns out there are a lot more Spellfire Wielders than anyone knew about.

Probably because the people who have it; generally don't want it, while those that don't have it; usually want it. Unfortunately, you can only ever obtain Spellfire at birth, but that hasn't stopped unscrupulous arcanists from attempting to gain it anyway.

Spellfire is raw magic than can be shaped and applied in various ways, but not quite as useful or all powerful as "spells".

The bearer of Spellfire acts like a living ''Rod of Absorption'', being able to nullify incoming magical spells and store the energy inside them, then they can either fling it back out as raw destructive power, or to heal others with a touch.

So at its most basic, Spellfire is a powerful tool for anyone, regardless of your class, since it doesn't require you to actually learn how to use it. It also explains how so few people actually know they have it, since the common person in the Forgotten Realms doesn't usually come into contact with magic.

Spellfire can be mastered though: With the proper training a person can become a '''Spellfire Channeler''', who can increase their capacity to store raw magic inside them, building up a visible glow as they accumulate even more power, but becoming risky to be around as the Spellfire has a risk of spontaneous overload. However, they can use their power in different ways, such as the ability to blast more often, heal more effectively, drain magical items of power, knock incoming projectiles out the air, melt weapons that strike them, ''FLY'', and even go nuclear with their discharge rather than fling it precisely.

It should be noted that the [[Spellthief]] class is very similar to Spellfire, and aught to be a viable alternative to those who want to be like Spellfire Wielders, but weren't born that way. Comparatively, Spellthieves can recast the spell that was used on them, while Spellfire is converted into raw energy which can only be used in simple ways, and a Spellthief can take levels in the class at any point in thier career rather than excluded from it by birth. However, Spellthieves still suck though. Spellfire Wielding is a feat that can be taken regardless of class ''(but still only at character creation)'', Spellfire also has a 100% success rate of absorbing magic, rather than a mere chance like the thief. Stored Spellfire has no use-by duration, unlike stored Spellthief magic which must be used quite quickly or it is lost, and Spellfire use is a ''supernatural ability'', rather than a spell or ''spell-like ability'' so it cannot be interrupted or resisted. There is no class that couldn't be made better with Spellfire, except the Spellthief because it make their abilities redundant.

===Chosen of Mystra===
As part of Mystra's need to spread her power around, she spawned quite a few of Chosen, rather than having one like any normal god.

Their ranks include [[Elminster]], Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun ''(Voiced by [[Awesome|Patrick Stewart]])'' as well as a set of seven sisters directly descended from Mystra.

While they are all powerful in their own right, there is no strict need for them to be Arcanists, though most of them have some ability. Nor are they given as much power or responsibility as the Magister ''(see below)'', even though the most powerful chosen: '''"The Simbul"''' is easily the most powerful spellcaster in the realms in her own right, regardless of any external "granted" power. So the purpose of the chosen is to simply to hang on to Mystra's power for safekeeping.

Each one of them us immune to aging, disease, poison, disintegration and sleep. They gain an immunity to one spell of each level ''(like the Magister)'' as well as gaining one spell of each level on their spells list, good if they are Sorcerers, less so for Wizards who can just learn spells anyway.

They also gain the use of '''Silver Fire''' which is a lesser form of Spellfire described above. It has a range of minor uses: like generating light and warmth, but can only be used in the more powerful ways similar to true spellfire just once an hour or so as it had to recharge. It cannot drain incoming magic, nor can it reach the supreme heights of charged Spellfire, but at least they don't have to rely on draining magic to use it.

===The Magister===
Mystra's foremost servant in the realms is the Magister and comes with the responsibility for promoting the understanding and availability of magic to the people. Unlike the Chosen of Mystra who need not necessarily be spellcasters at all, the Magister is ''always'' an arcane spellcaster, and typically always a [[Wizard]] as well; because other arcanists like [[Sorcerer]]s or unusual classes like [[Warmage]]s or [[Dread Necromancer]]s are too limited to be able to fulfil the job requirements.

It used to be that the position of Magister was transferrable by defeating the holder in a mage-duel, which would be an impressive feat considering the sheer number of buffs the Magister gets by default. But then it ended up that the Magister would just be hounded by a queue of ambitious dickhead wizards looking for more power with no guarantee they would actually be any good in the job, thus the Magister would become a recluse and hide rather than doing the job themselves. [[Azuth]] put a stop to transfer by mage-duels and instead sponsors candidates he thinks is worthy. Though that doesn't stop the dickheads who never got the memo from lining up, hoping to have a go anyway.

When appointed, the personal sigil of the Magister appears in every temple of Mystra of ten minutes and every magic user in the world feels a ripple, informing them the position has changed. Mystra has also decreed that her priests must reveal the identity of the Magister if they know it, subject to a suitable donation to the church of course.

Thankfully, the new Magister gets a 10 day grace period, where they get teleported to a pocket dimension so they can get instructed by heralds of [[Azuth]] in the requirements of the role, while usually getting access to the spell book of every previous holder of the role, a significant prize in itself.

When they get released back into the general population, because it is their duty to spread magic around, they are able to recover half of the experience cost for items they create if they give them away, turning them into the arcane Santa Claus.

Other abilities include:
*A complete immunity to enchantment, and a +2 holy resistance to all magical effects
*Spell Resistance 20
*The ability to sense wild or dead magic zones
*They can hear whenever their name gets mentioned ''anywhere'' in the world along with the following nine words and the general direction of the speaker
*constant ''Mindblank'' protection
*The ability to cast levitate, true seeing, read magic and feather fall at will, and cast dimension door and water walk 6/day
*They can pass through ANY magical barrier of 6th level or lower without ill effect
*Complete immunity to a chosen spell of each spell level
*The ability to imbue permanency on any spell they know
*They get Spell Focus for ''every'' spell
*They prepare their spells in ten minutes.

So no wonder everyone wants the job...

Holders of the role can step down from the role voluntarily and allow someone to take it from them ''(presumably subject to Mystra's and Azuth's approval)''. But considering it usually takes some substantial magical power to get the role in the first place, the gods would like you to keep serving. In which case the previous holder can relegate themselves to being a Chosen of Azuth, or become a sentient magical item, or start-over by being reincarnated as a whole new person with magical gifts.

===Militant Orders===
Mystra has a few Militant Orders of non-Arcanists dedicated to her service: '''The Order of the Shooting Star''' ''([[Ranger]]s)'' and '''The Knights of Mystic Fire''' ''([[Paladin]]s)''.

The Shooting Star Rangers lose the ability to gain an animal companion, the bonus Endurance feat and the Trackless Step ability, but in trade they get one bonus spell slot of each spell level, as well as a +2 caster level bonus when using ranger spells and also get a slightly expanded spell list.

Mystic Fire Paladins lose the ability to Turn Undead and cannot remove disease. But they augment their Smite ability to stagger victims and make it difficult to cast spells unless they pass a concentration check. They also get bonus spell slots for each spell level and the ability to dispel magic as part of a melee attack once per day.

Both orders can take a feat that allows them to take Wizard/Sorcerer spells in their Ranger/Paladin spell list without any other restriction that having to use a spell book to keep them in. Which can radically improve how useful these classes function in a normal game.

===Dweomerkeepers===
Mystra's specialist priests are the Dweomerkeepers. As expected for a deity of magic they are familiar with both arcane and divine spellcasting, but are not equally good at both in the same way that a '''Mystic Theurge''' would be.

Entry requirements include being able to cast level 2 Arcane and Divine spells and access to the Magic ''(or Spell)'' domain, so [[Druid]]s need not apply. They get a casting increase every level, but have to choose which class to use. Meaning unless you have the ''"Precocious Apprentice"'' feat from '''Complete Arcane''' you are essentially giving up three levels of your primary spellcasting class to use this prestige class.

The benefits for doing so allow them to choose a spell at every other level and be able to spontaneously convert prepared spells -whether Arcane or Divine- into those chosen spells. Which can be very useful if you choose combat spells, meaning you can prepare your slots for utility encounters without being defenceless.

Other class features are interchangeable: in ''Faiths and Pantheons (FR 3.0)'' they gain bonus feats similar to a wizard, but in ''Complete Divine (Core 3.5)'' they gain the ability to cast some prepared spells as supernatural abilities, rendering them impossible to counter or interrupt. Your GM should decide which version of the class is most appropriate to your campaign, but the FR version is more difficult to qualify for, needing more feats and for your [[What|race to be human]]

==Realm==
Mystra's domain of Dweomerheart is/was a magical mountain located in '''Eronia''' the second layer of [[Elysium]]. Dweomerheart is located at the summit where all spells cast are automatically Enlarged, Extended and Empowered without any modification to the spell level or casting time. Her servants '''[[Azuth]]''', '''[[Savras]]''' and '''[[Velsharoon]]''' all occupy various caverns and chambers within the mountain.

Like most petitioners of Elysium, those who end up here in the afterlife get to keep some memories of their former life. In fact, petitioners of the gods of magic also gain spell resistance and damage reduction, making this realm a veritable fortress of spellcasters.

Unfortunately with the 4th Edition Spellplague, the realm exploded upon the death of Mystra's, taking the other resident gods with it.

{{D&D5e-FR-Deities}}

Mystra

2019-06-04T15:18:16Z

2601:602:C700:36D2:1298:C3FF:FE7D:586F: /* Midnight / Mystra (2e/3e) */

{{Infobox Deity
|Name = Mystra
|Symbol = Circle of seven blue-white stars with red mist flowing from the center
|Alignment = Neutral Good ''(Formerly LN and CN)''
|Divine Rank = Greater Goddess
|Pantheon = Faerûn
|Portfolio = Magic ''(all of it)''
|Domains = '''3E:''' Good, Illusion, Knowledge, Magic, Rune, Spell<br>'''5E:''' Arcana, Knowledge
|Home Plane = '''[[Great Wheel]]:''' ''Dweomerheart'' ([[Limbo]], [[Arcadia]], then [[Elysium]])<br>'''[[World Tree]]:''' Dweomerheart
|Worshippers = Any spellcaster
|Favoured Weapon = ''Seven Whirling Stars'' (Shuriken)
}}
'''Mystra''' is the goddess of magic in the [[Forgotten Realms]], probably the most powerful of the pantheon, when you don't include [[Ao]] in the list.

Mystra is probably the most well-covered of the FR deities, because she undergoes an extensive rewrite with every edition in order to explain in-universe how and why the rules get changed.

==History==
===Mystryl (2e arcane age)===
Born from the conflict between [[Selûne]] and [[Shar]], the original Mystryl was a Chaotic Neutral entity that was relatively flighty and carefree; A real rainbow chick.

She either created '''The Weave''', embodied it, or was a side effect of its creation, but in any case she was in charge of it. Her attitude towards the use of the weave was ''"do as you please, but just don't piss me off"'', which meant that magic wielders could perform spectacular feats that were unheard of in later times.

However, this also opened the weave up to abuse, where one particular spellcaster called '''[[Karsus]]''' decided to create a 12th level spell that would give himself control over the weave itself.

The spell worked... for all of five minutes. While he wrestled control over the weave from the goddess; he couldn't actually control it and caused magic all over the world to get screwed up. Destroying his own empire of floating cities and essentially reverting everything back to the stone ages.

Mystryl figured she'd rather die than let some idiot ruin the fundamental forces of magic, so she sacrificed herself to restabilise the weave and gave birth to her successor '''Mystra'''

===Mystra (1e)===
The next Goddess was an entirely different creature. Immediately imposing rules and restrictions on the weave, preventing those kinds of abuses from ever happening again. Capping spellcasting ability to a maximum of 9th level spells, while changing how magic works.

Furthermore, upon realising that you can do pretty much anything using the power of magic and that Mystra is the god of ''"all magic"'' in an uncharacteristically active move, the overdeity '''[[Ao]]''' manipulated events to ensure that Mystra was forced to spread her power around so that she did not become ''"all powerful"'' and either upset the balance or try something stupid like usurp Ao himself. So the second Mystra was made to be more more active and had to spread her power around.

She fell in love with a human [[Wizard]] called [[Azuth]] and sponsored him as the first '''Magister''' giving him a humongous power boost and helping him on his journeys through the realms, to the point where he became a god himself, then continuing the tradition of magisters by starting a chain of them.

Then she started appointing Chosen amongst mortal followers, granting them a portion of her divine strength. Though the gifts not as powerful as the Magister outright, there were a lot more of them. But unfortunately she realised that sometimes, all this power just burned through mortals if they weren't already strong enough to wield it, or some of them became corrupted by the power and became tyrants. To counter this "power corrupts" problem, she decided to have children and spawned a set of daughters who were imbued with the abilities of her Chosen from birth and raised to appreciate their gifts.

All told, Mystra had about half of her divine power wrapped up between her Chosen, her Magister and her servant Azuth. Yet even with much of her power spread across the cosmos, she was ''still'' the most powerful deity in the Pantheon.

So when the Tablets of Fate were stolen from Ao and he kicked all the Gods except [[Helm]] out into the mortal realm until somebody owned up to it; Mystra figured she could just barge her way back in.

Unfortunately; powerful mortal avatar of a god that she was, in this instance she was still no god. So Helm got the upper hand and cut Mystra down in front of an city's worth of audience.

===Midnight / Mystra (2e/3e)===
The third incarnation began life as a mortal woman called '''Midnight''' who was also a travelling companion of mortal versions of [[Kelemvor]] and [[Cyric]] as well as cleric of [[Sune]] called '''Adon'''.

Midnight was pivotal in the recovery of the Tablets and was rewarded with Mystra's portfolio, creating a new goddess of magic but taking the old name.

This third Mystra, under the tutelage of [[Azuth]], took a while to learn the ropes of her new role. She tried to maintain her original human outlook while doing the job and started shifting the church of Mystra from Neutrality over to Good while attempting to influence how magic was being used in the realms, unfortunately while this sounds noble it wasn't actually the best of ideas. She, along with her former mortal-turned-god companions [[Kelemvor]] and [[Cyric]] were placed on trial by the other gods as being negligent in their duties as deities by ''incompetence through humanity.'' Cyric managed to argue that his [[Chaotic Stupid|lolrandumb behaviour]] was fitting for the chaotic God of Lies and Betrayal (even if it was pissing off everyone else in the Pantheon by risking drawing [[Ao]]'s attention again); Mystra and Kelemvor realized they were screwinh their new jobs and agreed to get back in line. In the end, all three started playing by the divine rulebook.

===Mystra (4e)===
She was killed when [[Shar]] and [[Cyric]] teamed up. The whole Spellplague was caused because there was no god of magic keeping the Weave in check. Only the minor god of note keeping: [[Deneir]] managed to keep the universe from turning itself inside out by writing himself into the Weave and causing all the mechanical changes to magic rules in 4e.

===Mystra (5e)===
The return of Mystra in 5e was actually done quite elegantly: playing on plot hooks laid several editions earlier. Even though Mystra as a deity was "dead" she lived on as a [[Binder|Vestige]]. Despite this, remember that half her power was invested elsewhere in the cosmos.

Her most powerful Chosen, a woman called '''The Simbul''', gathered up a whole bunch of magical energy and combined it with that of [[Elminster]] who in turn used it to resurrect the goddess, creating a new amalgam of 1e Mystra & 2/3e Midnight all in one package.

==Worshippers & Servants==

===Spellfire Wielders===
''"Once in every generation a <s>slayer</s> Spellfire Wielder is born..."'' or at least they thought there was. Turns out there are a lot more Spellfire Wielders than anyone knew about.

Probably because the people who have it; generally don't want it, while those that don't have it; usually want it. Unfortunately, you can only ever obtain Spellfire at birth, but that hasn't stopped unscrupulous arcanists from attempting to gain it anyway.

Spellfire is raw magic than can be shaped and applied in various ways, but not quite as useful or all powerful as "spells".

The bearer of Spellfire acts like a living ''Rod of Absorption'', being able to nullify incoming magical spells and store the energy inside them, then they can either fling it back out as raw destructive power, or to heal others with a touch.

So at its most basic, Spellfire is a powerful tool for anyone, regardless of your class, since it doesn't require you to actually learn how to use it. It also explains how so few people actually know they have it, since the common person in the Forgotten Realms doesn't usually come into contact with magic.

Spellfire can be mastered though: With the proper training a person can become a '''Spellfire Channeler''', who can increase their capacity to store raw magic inside them, building up a visible glow as they accumulate even more power, but becoming risky to be around as the Spellfire has a risk of spontaneous overload. However, they can use their power in different ways, such as the ability to blast more often, heal more effectively, drain magical items of power, knock incoming projectiles out the air, melt weapons that strike them, ''FLY'', and even go nuclear with their discharge rather than fling it precisely.

It should be noted that the [[Spellthief]] class is very similar to Spellfire, and aught to be a viable alternative to those who want to be like Spellfire Wielders, but weren't born that way. Comparatively, Spellthieves can recast the spell that was used on them, while Spellfire is converted into raw energy which can only be used in simple ways, and a Spellthief can take levels in the class at any point in thier career rather than excluded from it by birth. However, Spellthieves still suck though. Spellfire Wielding is a feat that can be taken regardless of class ''(but still only at character creation)'', Spellfire also has a 100% success rate of absorbing magic, rather than a mere chance like the thief. Stored Spellfire has no use-by duration, unlike stored Spellthief magic which must be used quite quickly or it is lost, and Spellfire use is a ''supernatural ability'', rather than a spell or ''spell-like ability'' so it cannot be interrupted or resisted. There is no class that couldn't be made better with Spellfire, except the Spellthief because it make their abilities redundant.

===Chosen of Mystra===
As part of Mystra's need to spread her power around, she spawned quite a few of Chosen, rather than having one like any normal god.

Their ranks include [[Elminster]], Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun ''(Voiced by [[Awesome|Patrick Stewart]])'' as well as a set of seven sisters directly descended from Mystra.

While they are all powerful in their own right, there is no strict need for them to be Arcanists, though most of them have some ability. Nor are they given as much power or responsibility as the Magister ''(see below)'', even though the most powerful chosen: '''"The Simbul"''' is easily the most powerful spellcaster in the realms in her own right, regardless of any external "granted" power. So the purpose of the chosen is to simply to hang on to Mystra's power for safekeeping.

Each one of them us immune to aging, disease, poison, disintegration and sleep. They gain an immunity to one spell of each level ''(like the Magister)'' as well as gaining one spell of each level on their spells list, good if they are Sorcerers, less so for Wizards who can just learn spells anyway.

They also gain the use of '''Silver Fire''' which is a lesser form of Spellfire described above. It has a range of minor uses: like generating light and warmth, but can only be used in the more powerful ways similar to true spellfire just once an hour or so as it had to recharge. It cannot drain incoming magic, nor can it reach the supreme heights of charged Spellfire, but at least they don't have to rely on draining magic to use it.

===The Magister===
Mystra's foremost servant in the realms is the Magister and comes with the responsibility for promoting the understanding and availability of magic to the people. Unlike the Chosen of Mystra who need not necessarily be spellcasters at all, the Magister is ''always'' an arcane spellcaster, and typically always a [[Wizard]] as well; because other arcanists like [[Sorcerer]]s or unusual classes like [[Warmage]]s or [[Dread Necromancer]]s are too limited to be able to fulfil the job requirements.

It used to be that the position of Magister was transferrable by defeating the holder in a mage-duel, which would be an impressive feat considering the sheer number of buffs the Magister gets by default. But then it ended up that the Magister would just be hounded by a queue of ambitious dickhead wizards looking for more power with no guarantee they would actually be any good in the job, thus the Magister would become a recluse and hide rather than doing the job themselves. [[Azuth]] put a stop to transfer by mage-duels and instead sponsors candidates he thinks is worthy. Though that doesn't stop the dickheads who never got the memo from lining up, hoping to have a go anyway.

When appointed, the personal sigil of the Magister appears in every temple of Mystra of ten minutes and every magic user in the world feels a ripple, informing them the position has changed. Mystra has also decreed that her priests must reveal the identity of the Magister if they know it, subject to a suitable donation to the church of course.

Thankfully, the new Magister gets a 10 day grace period, where they get teleported to a pocket dimension so they can get instructed by heralds of [[Azuth]] in the requirements of the role, while usually getting access to the spell book of every previous holder of the role, a significant prize in itself.

When they get released back into the general population, because it is their duty to spread magic around, they are able to recover half of the experience cost for items they create if they give them away, turning them into the arcane Santa Claus.

Other abilities include:
*A complete immunity to enchantment, and a +2 holy resistance to all magical effects
*Spell Resistance 20
*The ability to sense wild or dead magic zones
*They can hear whenever their name gets mentioned ''anywhere'' in the world along with the following nine words and the general direction of the speaker
*constant ''Mindblank'' protection
*The ability to cast levitate, true seeing, read magic and feather fall at will, and cast dimension door and water walk 6/day
*They can pass through ANY magical barrier of 6th level or lower without ill effect
*Complete immunity to a chosen spell of each spell level
*The ability to imbue permanency on any spell they know
*They get Spell Focus for ''every'' spell
*They prepare their spells in ten minutes.

So no wonder everyone wants the job...

Holders of the role can step down from the role voluntarily and allow someone to take it from them ''(presumably subject to Mystra's and Azuth's approval)''. But considering it usually takes some substantial magical power to get the role in the first place, the gods would like you to keep serving. In which case the previous holder can relegate themselves to being a Chosen of Azuth, or become a sentient magical item, or start-over by being reincarnated as a whole new person with magical gifts.

===Militant Orders===
Mystra has a few Militant Orders of non-Arcanists dedicated to her service: '''The Order of the Shooting Star''' ''([[Ranger]]s)'' and '''The Knights of Mystic Fire''' ''([[Paladin]]s)''.

The Shooting Star Rangers lose the ability to gain an animal companion, the bonus Endurance feat and the Trackless Step ability, but in trade they get one bonus spell slot of each spell level, as well as a +2 caster level bonus when using ranger spells and also get a slightly expanded spell list.

Mystic Fire Paladins lose the ability to Turn Undead and cannot remove disease. But they augment their Smite ability to stagger victims and make it difficult to cast spells unless they pass a concentration check. They also get bonus spell slots for each spell level and the ability to dispel magic as part of a melee attack once per day.

Both orders can take a feat that allows them to take Wizard/Sorcerer spells in their Ranger/Paladin spell list without any other restriction that having to use a spell book to keep them in. Which can radically improve how useful these classes function in a normal game.

===Dweomerkeepers===
Mystra's specialist priests are the Dweomerkeepers. As expected for a deity of magic they are familiar with both arcane and divine spellcasting, but are not equally good at both in the same way that a '''Mystic Theurge''' would be.

Entry requirements include being able to cast level 2 Arcane and Divine spells and access to the Magic ''(or Spell)'' domain, so [[Druid]]s need not apply. They get a casting increase every level, but have to choose which class to use. Meaning unless you have the ''"Precocious Apprentice"'' feat from '''Complete Arcane''' you are essentially giving up three levels of your primary spellcasting class to use this prestige class.

The benefits for doing so allow them to choose a spell at every other level and be able to spontaneously convert prepared spells -whether Arcane or Divine- into those chosen spells. Which can be very useful if you choose combat spells, meaning you can prepare your slots for utility encounters without being defenceless.

Other class features are interchangeable: in ''Faiths and Pantheons (FR 3.0)'' they gain bonus feats similar to a wizard, but in ''Complete Divine (Core 3.5)'' they gain the ability to cast some prepared spells as supernatural abilities, rendering them impossible to counter or interrupt. Your GM should decide which version of the class is most appropriate to your campaign, but the FR version is more difficult to qualify for, needing more feats and for your [[What|race to be human]]

==Realm==
Mystra's domain of Dweomerheart is/was a magical mountain located in '''Eronia''' the second layer of [[Elysium]]. Dweomerheart is located at the summit where all spells cast are automatically Enlarged, Extended and Empowered without any modification to the spell level or casting time. Her servants '''[[Azuth]]''', '''[[Savras]]''' and '''[[Velsharoon]]''' all occupy various caverns and chambers within the mountain.

Like most petitioners of Elysium, those who end up here in the afterlife get to keep some memories of their former life. In fact, petitioners of the gods of magic also gain spell resistance and damage reduction, making this realm a veritable fortress of spellcasters.

Unfortunately with the 4th Edition Spellplague, the realm exploded upon the death of Mystra's, taking the other resident gods with it.

{{D&D5e-FR-Deities}}