The air in Arabel is thick with uncertainty, heavier than the winter chill that creeps through its streets. Change is coming--some whisper that it is already here.

The Helmites, once the city’s vigilant protectors, now march with an iron will, their patrols growing larger, their presence more imposing. Where the Militia falters, the Watchers steps in, unbidden, taking command of situations they deem beyond the competence of local law enforcers. Some call it necessity--others, the first step toward something far graver.

The faithful of Tempus have begun to gather in quiet, voices hushed but fervent. Holy war, they say--not against the city, but against that which lurks beyond its walls. Bands of warriors disappear into the North, returning battered, their bodies weary but their spirits unbroken. They will not speak of what they fight, only that the battle is just.

Sir Malcolm DeSchurr, High Arbiter of Arabel, moves with purpose, his presence noted at the Palace, the Courthouse, and the great temples of Helm and Tempus alike. Some say the weight of the law grows heavier upon his shoulders. Others suspect his hand is at work in the growing alliance between iron and scripture.

And then, in the city’s shadowed corners, there are whispers of the Azure Flame. A fire that burns cold. A flame that does not flicker, only spreads. The slums, beaten down by the burdens of a city that offers them no salvation, turn their ears to the heretics who promise something different. The monarchy is a hollow promise, they say. The gods who do not answer are unworthy of prayer. Better to cast one’s lot into the unknown than to suffer in the known.

The House of Ash, ever enigmatic, is now spoken of in hushed, fearful tones. It is said they have taken to necromancy rather than battling it. Dark arts defended by high coin and higher influence. The dead do not rest easy in Arabel... perhaps they never have.

Not even the noble houses seem immune to the city’s shifting winds. House Delzuld, ever ambitious, has led multiple ventures into the mountains, yet those who return do so wounded and shaken, their confidence cracked, their spirits dimmed. Whatever they sought, it seems they did not find it--or perhaps they did, and wish they had not.

And then there is Lord Braerwinter, uncharacteristically distant, his presence in court and council noticeably absent. He keeps to himself, behind closed doors, while one of his retainers--so they say--has taken an unusual interest in the remnants of the Azure Flame. Some whisper that House Braerwinter has turned to researching these strange shards, an endeavor wholly unlike their reputation for raw strength and rugged, battle-born might. If it is true, then it begs the question: what could drive them to such measures?

With uncertainty rising and tensions thick in the air, the city looks desperately for leadership. For someone--or something--to make sense of the chaos. To bring Arabel back from the edge and restore peace before the storm breaks.

Tilverton in Peril

Word spreads quickly in the aftermath of the Mountain Orc assault on Tilverton. Though the defenders held the walls, the cost was high--too high, some whisper. The dead still smolder where the Azure Flame skeletons burst apart, their icy fire leaving cracks in the stone. Survivors tell of orcs clad in blackened iron, fighting with a savage coordination unlike any Tilverton has faced before.

"Tilverton still stands, but barely," one weary soldier was heard muttering over his drink. "We lost too many good folk, and they took some, too. Right in the middle of the fight, the orcs just grabbed them--ripped them from the line and dragged them screaming into the dark. No one’s saying it out loud, but you can see it in their eyes: they’re scared. Maybe we all should be."

Even in victory, morale wavers. Some claim to have seen watchmen slipping away into the night, their armor left behind, their faces drawn with fear. Others say hushed conversations among officers speak of sending word to Arabel--Tilverton is the last true barrier between the orcs and the city, and its defenses have been shaken.

And then, there are the whispers of Avalanche herself. Some say they saw her at the heart of the battle, wreathed in spectral blue flames, her axe cutting down defenders like wheat before the scythe. "She is not mortal," one wounded man reportedly gasped before succumbing to his wounds. "She is something else. Something terrible."

"You didn’t hear this from me," a blacksmith reportedly told a traveler, "but some of the higher-ups are talking about pulling back. If Tilverton falls, there’ll be nothing between Arabel and that Azure-Flame. Some folk think we should hold. Others? They say we should run while we still can."

For now, the banners of Tilverton still fly, but doubt lingers in the air like smoke from the battlefield. And if the orcs return, there are many who wonder whether the town’s walls--or its defenders--will stand a second time.

Word spreads swiftly through Arabel’s streets, carried on anxious tongues and uneasy glances. House Delzuld led a scouting expedition against the Mountain Orcs--but what they found, if anything, remains a mystery. They returned bloodied and battered, their caravan bearing the dead. Among them, bodies clad in Delzuld’s colors. Some whisper it was an ambush, others claim they stumbled into something far worse than mere Orcish raiders.

Now, uncertainty festers in the hearts of the people. If even a noble house's forces falter, what hope does Arabel have against the coming storm? Merchants clutch their ledgers a little tighter, smiths work longer into the night, and wary eyes turn toward the walls, wondering if they will be enough.

Meanwhile, under Nahlo’s quiet command, Helmites have begun patrolling the streets--not as city guards, but as watchmen of their own accord. A welcome sight to some, an unsettling omen to others. Stranger still, warriors bearing the crimson of Tempus have been seen at their side. Some call it a show of unity in troubled times, others an act of desperation.

And with each passing day, the weight of uncertainty grows heavier.

Rumors are spreading like wildfire through the streets of Arabel—strange, crystalline fragments, shimmering with an eerie blue light, have begun to surface. Dubbed Azure Shards by those who claim to have seen them, these curious relics are said to hum with unseen power, thrumming like a cold heartbeat in the hands of those who dare to touch them.

No official proclamation has been made, yet the city’s militia has been quietly warning folk to avoid these shards, citing concerns of unknown magical influence. Some whisper of merchants discreetly peddling them in shadowed alleyways, while others claim reckless adventurers have begun hoarding them, seeking to uncover their secrets.

Among the learned, opinions are split—alchemists speak in hushed voices of their desire to test the shards, to distill their essence and unlock whatever power they might hold. Mages mutter of rituals that might be fueled by the shards, their arcane glow hinting at energies not seen since the time of Netheril.

Yet not all welcome their presence. The faithful of Helm and Tempus caution against their unchecked use, citing unknown dangers. Lathanderites have called for their destruction, fearing they are remnants of a power unnatural to the cycle of renewal. Chaunteans and local druids whisper of blighted soil and withering plants where the shards have lingered too long, fearing they carry a sickness that seeps into the land itself. The scribes of Deneir and Jergal seek to catalog and understand them, while Selunite seers murmur of strange dreams—of ice and fire, of something watching.

I voted No because, while Seren has been pushing the HoA's agenda, it's not been through the narrative of faith. He's playing a good deathtouched and necromancer, but I've yet to see him proselytize, which is what I'd want to see from an official clergy.

@Strife-and-Discord

Tested IG. PfE only provided a +2 against Hold Person instead of the additional bonuses against Mind-Affecting detailed in:

@Prof-Misclick said in Spell Changes:

v8038

Update to Protection from Alignment

Protection from Alignment(Law/Chaos/Evil/Good) was changed to be less godly, and no longer gives Mind spells immunity.
Spell description also changed to reflect it:
When this spell is cast, the caster chooses a target to be protected from chaos, evil, good, or law. The target receives a +2 deflection bonus to AC and +2 to all saving throws. Instead of the vanilla mind immunity, a bonus to the saving throw to any mind-affecting spells and spell-like abilities used by creatures of the chosen alignment is granted:

Level 1 to 7	+5
Level 8+	+10
SF Abjuration	+2
GSF Abjuration	Additional +3 for +5 total with SF
Abjuration Specialist Wizard	Additional +5

@Zool

Mountain Orc Thaumaturge is Chaotic Evil.

@TuesdayParade

You're certain you weren't dispelled before the Hold Person was cast?

Amidst the jagged peaks and shadowed valleys of the Storm Horns, strange lights flicker against the craggy stone, their ethereal glow sometimes shifting to a foreboding blue. On nights when the fires burn brightest, the distant pounding of drums and the steady march of unseen forces echo through the cold winds, stirring unease in the hearts of those who dwell below. Once masters of ambush and guerilla warfare, it seems the Mountain Orcs now muster for something far more organized—and far more dangerous.

From Irondrake Rock to Tilverton, the air is thick with apprehension. Bold travelers, or perhaps reckless ones, tell of unnatural storms wracking the mountains—howling blizzards that seem to possess a life of their own. Worse still are the reports of newly raised altars, their construction crude but their purpose unmistakable: devotions not to Gruumsh or any known Orcish deity, but to the fabled Azure Flame.

The city holds its breath as fear mounts. Though the warriors of House Delzuld and House Braerwinter, along with independent adventurers, have struck blows against the Mountain Orcs and their monstrous allies, it is clear that the worst days of the conflict lie ahead. The ominous glow on the mountain’s edge serves as a grim reminder: something ancient stirs, and its wrath may soon descend upon the Realms.

The beating of war drums and the stomping footfalls of orcs filled the Storm Horns this evening. Their wrath and chanting, so loud, was said to have caused numerous avalanches about Chara's Peak, with some traveling rangers even remarking upon a strange blue glow that adorned Chara's crown.

Even more odd are the reports of a gruesome site elsewhere within the mountains. Caravaneers remark upon a grisly scene of dozens of charred, fey remains scattered loosely in the formation of a snowflake.

Commoners and courtiers alike gorge themselves on rumors and conspiracies wrought with fear and superstition.

1. Needs definitive triggers for a lycanthrope.

2. "Research and experiment with fungi from the Helmlands, become a supplier of contraband." I may have missed a forum post related to this, but we may need to clarify the nature of the Helmlands fungi. If they're aberrational in nature, then this is a big no-no for a druid. For context, in the palette some of the spore-creatures are marked as Aberrations while some are marked as Plant.

3. I really didn't see a lot of activity on their previous app character. Are we worried this one won't fade away just as quickly once the novelty of the ECL +2 wears off?