Karameikos - Vaults of Pandius

Fort Doomunaffected non-combatants canhave spells active.All armies (both friends and foesof the caster) fighting in this zonewill never retreat, surrender orshow mercy. The caster's armygets a +10 bonus to Morale andignores any Fatigue if using WarMachine. Enemy armies don’treceive a Morale bonus, but willnot be subject to fatigue either.The spell remains in effect untilone side is annihilated.New spell:7th level magic user spell.Range: Touch (victims mind has tobe broken down first).Duration: Permanent.Effect: One living human,demihuman, or humanoid.The victim has first to be mentallybroken down until it is lethargicand in a state of total apathy. Thenthe caster imprints his mind onthe "tabula rasa" - the blank slate.The victim gets no saving throw,since it is already broken mentally.The victim is then convinced thathe is the caster (it is after all theonly "mind" in its skull now), butbeing controlled by somesupreme being. The victim isutterly loyal to this supreme beingand will not act on its own accord.The caster can control the puppetthrough his own thoughtsRitter Konrad von Messerfeld,High priest of VanyaFreiherr Ludwig von Hendriks has a trusted"lieutenant" (as much as it is possible for him totrust anyone), Ritter Konrad von Messerfeld (C12).Von Messerfeld is the high priest of Vanya in theBarony and is an utterly fanatical Hattianconservative. He is most grateful that Vanya hassuch a warmongering benefactor. In case of a civilwar with the Duke, the high priest will order hisfollowers to side with Ludwig von Hendriks againstthe Duke. Konrad von Messerfeld and his men areready for war and has personally been blessed byVanya with a new spell recently, Vanya’s Battlefield.Bargle the Sybarite 4Spionagechef (Spymaster) Bargle (MU15) is amuch less trusted "lieutenant". Bargle is head of the"Iron Ring" network. He is not its creator, but hastaken control of it, which makes him able toprovide Ludwig von Hendriks with intelligencefrom the underworld outside his realm. Not thatthe Baron fully trusts this intelligence -- he hasnumerous Thyatian informers of his own acrossboth Karameikos and Thyatis. Bargle, however,gives him enough information to remain importantand the two men have an uneasy truce. So long asBargle knows his place, the status quo is preserved.Bargle appears to Freiherr von Hendriks as a flashy,30 year old dandy magician interested insophistication and fine dining. He tries to appearmuch less powerful and ambitious than he actuallyis, though he suspects that the paranoid Freiherr isnot easily fooled. For now Bargle is not interestedin rulership, since he is quite bored by politics.Being a crime kingpin is much more fun.4Sybaris was an ancient Thyatian town known for itshedonist population, which caused its fall as the populationgrew weak.137THRESHOLD: The Mystara Magazine Issue #1