Sendell the Curious

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Sendell, in his lifetime of magical research, came up with several innovative spells, most of which were never released to the world in general. The only possesors of them, apart from himself, are the two branches of the Society for Freedom, located in Grunburg and at Alexander. Most of them are of the nature of charm spells, effecting the attitudes and actions of others. In his early years following his apprenticeship to Barton, during which time he continued to work with his old teacher, Sendell worked to improve strains of vegetables, especially the potato. In later years, his research delved into the realm of anti-aging and magically altered genetics. The latter he did with the end of making armies of super-warriors that could defend the land from invading armies of Trolls, which periodically swept down from the north and eastlands.

His research comes from his motivation to improve life for mankind, especially the poorer classes. He has an extreme hatred for war, unless it is to preserve the freedom of the everyday people. He has had much involvement in politics, where he used his charm spells to make legislation that would make Asterland a more free place. He improved these spells to the point of not being tracable, even to higher level mages. This led to his reputation of using magic to wield power during his work in Grunburg, which was true to some extent, but his intentions were motivated by only the good of man. In Alex- ander, he is held as a hero and a legend due to his creation of the strains of vegetables that turned the area from a dustbowl to the 'Fruitful Plain' as it is known.

His hatred for war led to developing magic that could alter a man such that magical talents could be had without the study of magic itself, these talents being invoked by a mental keyword. This work too has brought much bad feelings to him from the mage community, it allowing one to bypass the training that makes a mage special, and still benefit from the use of magic. They see it as a threat to their profession and a rise in power that could be misused.

He is into the somewhat non-pedestrian aspects of magic, of improving on that which exists instead of creating new, for the most part. He is opposed to violence unless freedom would be sacrificed otherwise. He is well known, though his place of residence is not. Some twenty years ago he retired from a position of leader- ship in Grunburg to a sort of personal retreat. His career has been one of one ascent after another. His beginnings are humble. He was born to a impoverish- ed farmer and family near Geyon. He learned the skills relating to agriculture from his father, enough to know that he wasn't cut out for that sort of work. His mind would wander into the world of the fantastic, spending as much time as possible at the local tavern, hoping to hear the stories of passing adventur- ers, things spun mostly from the stuff of ego and their own imagination. He began running errands for a wizard named Barton, a local with a bit of a repu- tation for having let a thief live with him. The thief, a cutpocket of some fame, Cajur the Stealthy, got both himself and Barton into one misadventure after another.

At the age of ten, with the family farm failing miserably from the effects of overfarming and generally nonfertile soil, Sendell convinced his father to let him become an apprentice under Barton, to learn the things of magic. This was with some difficulty, his father having grown up in the old ways, where a son would never think of changing professions from that of his ancestry. When he lost the family farm, the decision became easier. The family was forced to live with relatives in the southern metropolis of Alexan- der. He missed his family badly, but became the son that Barton never had. He learned the principles of magic quickly, being encouraged by Barton to scout out on his own and release his creativity. Still thinking of his family, he researched magic relating to agriculture. Enchanting seeds, he developed new, hardier varieties of potatoes and other vegetables. His father managed to save up enough to buy a small farm/ranch in the south where he tested Sendell's innovative research. It all worked even beyond the young apprentice magician's expectations. Potatoes the size of loaves of bread grew, and were self perpet- uating, making planting a one time chore. Year after year, the plants thrived, never seeming to starve the land. His family went into the seed business, and soon were rich beyond thier wildest fantasies. With their newfound wealth, they were able to send Sendell to the finest magic school anywhere, the Insti- tute of Higher Magic in Grunburg.

Sendell's talents began to bloom in the university atmosphere. The flair for the creative that Barton had taught him well served to add flavor to his work and drive to learn. He never forgot his humble beginnings, and worked to employ magic to help the everyday man. This met with much opposition. Many magickers used their craft to separate themselves from the lower class, which they say as unintellegent serfs of the upper class. Sendell didn't see it that way, and upon graduation with honors, entered the field of politics. He saw nothing wrong with employing the use of charm spells to convince key individ- uals in the community to make decisions which broke down barriers of class. The cause of freedom for the everyday man knew a real champion in Sendell. He was found out more than once, that he had used magic to influence others. This encouraged him to research new ways of disguising magic, especially to erase the traceability of charm spells and other magic. His ability to specialize in one field of study and to concentrate all of his attention made his work an excellent endeavor in magic in Asterland. His influence spread like wildfire, bringing a new age of awareness of the lower class and of individual rights. The tide began to turn in the politics of Asterland, beginning with Grunburg and extending to Alexander, the capitol city of Asterland, where his love of the people was legendary. Within the space of ten years of the introduction of Sendell's new varieties of vegetables, the capitol city, which had formerly been Grunburg, moved to Alexander. The surrounding countryside became the best farmland in the whole country. The plants not only did not drain the soil, but somehow seemed to actually make it more fertile. Research indicated that the plants have deep roots, which tap the very source of magic itself, the earth itself. The entire feel of the countryside began to be aglow with happiness and prosperity, which many said were products of the magic which the plants brought to the surface. A rennaisance began to flower in Alexander as people had more time to pursue the things of the mind, rather than just to get by. The new strains of plants served as a catalyst for pursuit into magic, higher learning, and the things of technology. Alexander became the home of the best school of learning that Asterland had ever known, the Freeman's University.

In Alexander, Sendell is somewhat of a legend. He had several honorary titles in the government there, but the real power that he wields is in the hearts and minds of the people. He spent four years there, using his influence to make changes in their system of government. He organized a school of train- ing into his ways of thinking, as well as training in the secret knowledge that he had developed to influence for good. Care was taken in the selecting of candidate, so that this power of influence would never fall into the hands of those seeking only for personal gain. With this society intact, he said good- bye to the land that he had grown to love, leaving to go to Grunburg again, where he felt that he could do the most good.

There he found things in much disarray, not at all how he had left it. Sucess in turning the minds of the wealthy and the beurocracy toward the cause of freedom had been short lived without the influence that Sendell had over them. Over the next ten years, he repeated what had been done in Alexander, setting up a society to safeguard free thought in Grunburg. By this time he had risen to the level of wizard himself. His causes self-functioning, he felt the desire to dedicate himself into the study of magic again. His pur- suits were mostly in the fields of anti-aging and in developing new animal strains, both those that would provide for meat for the masses, something that had become expensive to the point that only the upper class could afford it, and for the defense of the country. He dabbled in genetic altering, with the goal of making an army that could secure the free thought of the people by protecting them from outside invasion. He studied the works of Scinton, who had sought to make a eutopian society separated from the world, and thus from its enemies. Scinton had made a floating city, a town that the ground beneath which had been made to float. Little information left the cloud city of Mir- ril, where Scinton had lived, done his work, and died, leaving no apprentice. It seemed that Scinton had never trusted another with the knowledge, and at his death, it appeared lost forever. Sendell mourned the loss of this magical knowledge. Drawing upon his philosophy for a safe world, Sendell began to develop permanent magical abilities to bestow upon defenders of freedom. He draws critisism from those that do not wish to put magical abilities in non- mages. These abilities require no knowledge of magic, but the ability is given to the recipient by magical bestowal. The recipient must then be given some limited training as to how to make it work. It normally works by means of a key word that the person must but think. It is a magic word, so that it will never come up in random conversation. These talents include such things as the ability to dematerialize, increased hand-to-hand damage, or invisibility as examples. These can usually be used unlimitedly, but while the person is yet learning how to use the ability, it may be limited as to the number of times a day (between rest periods) that it can be used. These abilities will never be granted without Sendell, or whoever is administering the ability, being totally convinced as to the character's loyalty to country and freedom. Only lawful characters will be deemed worthy, whether lawful good, neutral, or evil. The requirement is not to imply moral cleanliness, but to ensure an unchanging, stable thinking.

These abilities are to be let out extremely sparingly. Sendell has learned to brew potions that will endow characters with these abilities without a magician casting a spell over them. The keyword is printed on the vial. If read once, the word will disappear. Being magical in nature, the reader will never forget the word, being imbedded in his or her mind permanently.

Sendell carries on his research in secret. His work, if imitated by enemy forces to Asterland, could prove its downfall. From within his society of freedom in Grunburg, a traitor, armed with vital knowledge of Sendell's improved charms, defected to the side of the Trolls to the north. Sendell fears that this could happen with his current research. Potions of his spells are transported via teleport spells to his society headquarters in Grunburg and Alexander. In secret, the armed forces there, especially their leaders and spies, recieve the transformations that make them powerful agents of good in those regions. The societies' leaders determine the worthiness of recipients. Their position also applies to the periodic screening of their own ranks for traitors. After Bender, the traitor to the society, escaped, measures were put into place to ensure that such could never happen again at either headquar- ters of the society.

The following is a list of some of the spells that he created.

AGRICULTURE

These spells are cast upon the seeds that are to be used in farming in a particular area. Once the seeds sprout, the powers of the seeds are passed along to the ground into which it is planted. The fruit of the plants will bear seeds with the same magical properties as the original seeds. Many of these transform the ground itself, their effects lasting many years, making cultivation yield better even with other crops.

Increased Size of Fruit Hardiness/Immunity to disease Foul taste to Insects Increased number Fruit Soil Fertility Improved Soil Fertility Draw moisture from below (water is pulled up into the roots from water sources deep within the ground) Draw moisture from above (take moisture from the air) Self perpetuating plants (makes planting unessesary year after year) Frost immunity Immunity to Water Damage Deep Roots Sweeten Fruit Decreased Seed Size Fly Trap Pods vs. Insects Propagating Runners (Plants multiply year to year) Propagating Spores/Airborn Seeds Heat/Sun Immunity Foul Taste to Birds/Fowl Tall Vines (To harvest as pole beans, makes more fruit per square foot) Thin Skin (Makes it unessesary to peel potatoes, etc.) CHARM PERSON Basic Influence (traceable) Habit Forming (traceable) Seduction (traceable) Improved Seduction (non-traceable) Friends (NT, permanent) Heightened Persuasion (NT, affects all that hear) Persuasive Argument (passes on affects of spell to those that hear the person charmed, NT) Make Fool (those that hear will always disagree with the charmed) Insanity (NT, permanent) Confuse (NT, area effect) Stutter (NT, causes speaker to have severe speach impediment,permanent) Rage (NT, makes all listeners furious with speaker) Make Idiot (NT, reduces IN by 6) Change Mind (NT, makes one change his opinion, permanent) Change Mind II (NT, area effect) Forget (NT, area effect, make all in affected area forget one point/ principle/fact) AGING Erase years (1-6 years' aging reversed) Erase Years (2-12 years' aging reversed) Return to Youth (makes one the age of most vitality (20'ish)) Reversed Aging (each year that passes makes the character younger) Youth Health (reverses health problems incurred in later years) Cause Aging (add 1-6 years' aging) Cause Aging II (add 2-12 years' aging) Death's Door (makes one age to the age of usefulness (80+ for humans)) MUTATION Any power listed in the Champions Rulebook can be conferred. Its effect will be permanent. This can be either in spell form or in the form of a potion that will transfer the power. No scrolls exist that will cause these effects. The caster must be convinced as to the sincerity of the recip- ient before they will even consider endowing one with the benefits of these powers. They are to be given out extremely sparingly, and the spell caster will only reveal how to cast it to a member of the Society for Freedom, and then only after the character proving himself thoroughly. In addition to the powers listed, the following misc. spells are available to true followers of the Society for Freedom. Jello Bones (turns all bones in victim to a gelatenous form) Barkskin (makes one's skin turn to a woodlike substance. AC=5) Steelskin (" " " " " " steellike " AC=2, DX--2) Leoprocy, Quick Acting Obesity Skin Rot Excessive Body Hair Shocking Hands (uncontrollable) Clumsiness (DX--8) Cattle/Livestock Related Spells Increased Size Reduced Body Fat Resistance to Disease Resistance to Cold Resistance to Heat Increased Propagation Immunity to Insects Scare Predator (cause predators to be afraid of them)

Morton the Many (Sendell's Assistant)

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Powers

Regeneration (2 h.p./round)
Shapechange (to basset hound or stirge)
Shield (as spell, always on)