Romulus' Test of High Sorcery - The Soulforge

8th Day of Hiddumont, 348 AC

Romulus looks out over the road, surveying the path ahead and begins walking. Fog rises from the ground, quickly enshrouding everything within sight. He steels himself, mentally preparing for whatever his next trial might be.

As the mist clears, he finds that he stands within a thick forest that has recently suffered from a forest fire. Despitethe winds howling, the dead trees are strangely still, their twisted branches frozen mid-gesture, reaching for the night sky. All around, dense thickets of leafless
branches surround you. Solinari’s silvery moonlight barely touches this place through the entwined canopy, and yet there is no lack of illumination. An eerie yellow fog rolls across the scorched earth, smelling of sulfur. Bestial cackling rings out from behind a nearby tree, then crescendoes around you from all directions. 

A white-furred hyena-man wearing tattered clothes lumbers from the tree line, their long arms swinging madly back and forth. They slide to a stop, standing atop an ashen mound. The terrible sound of cackling hyenas swirls all  around, though nothing can be seen lurking in the surrounding trees. The gnoll mage raises a wooden staff topped with a human skull into the air. The staff rattles, and fire bursts forth from within the skull.

The final Test has begun...

The two combatants face each other, separated by 20' of charred forest. As if responding to an unspoken signal, both begin moving. Romulus shouts "Каменная кожа" and his skin hardens to the consistency and durability of granite. The gnoll's attack is not physical. Instead, it snarls the words, "Ta-folun ob laugshat." The evil laced into each syllable burns the halfling's ears, causing his head to swim and his feet to stumble.

The archmage catches himself and even though his head is still swimming, he manages to stagger mostly clear of a roaring column of flame that the gnoll calls down from the heavens. Shaking his head to clear it, Romulus draws his scimitar, using it as a cane to help maintain his balance. Gritting his teeth, he mutters "Сжатый кулак Бигби" and a huge glowing fist made of pure energy materializes behind the gnoll. Romulus pantomimes a punch and the fist strikes a glancing blow against the hyena-man's shoulder. The attack is enough to throw off the blinding ray of light that blasts from the gnoll's outstretched hand. The beam only grazes Romulus.

Romulus drops to one knee and punches the ground with his left fist. The giant disembodied hand mimics his his motion and flattens the gnoll with a devastating blow. He follows the attack by chanting, "Ужасное увядание Аби-Дальзима." All of the moisture in the area to instantly evaporate, including the moisture in his gnoll opponent.

The shaggy humanoid shakes his head, manages to drink a potion, and pushes himself to his feet. He stomps and stamps his feet, he starts foaming at the mouth. He unleashes a blood-curdling howl and his eyes blaze red. Fury drives it forward, rushing at the much smaller archmage who points his hand at his charging foe. Romulus calls out "Цепная молния" and a thick bolt of forked lightning strikes the gnoll in the chest, shoulder, and leg. Fur burns away and the monster convulses uncontrollably. As it staggers to the ground, the floating fist strikes another blow, knocking the berserker shaman unconscious.

He carefully approaches his downed foe and kicks the skull staff aside. His eyes sweep over his enemy and opens his arcane sight. As expected, the gnoll is clad in an assortment of magical items. He manages to pull a single ring off of the gnoll's hand before he finds himself standing at the top of spiraling black stone stairs. The doors close with a heavy, echoing bang behind him and Romulus makes his way down the stairs.

The three archmages from the interview are present, as are dozens of other robed wizards. Scattered applause greets the halfling as he reaches the bottom.

"I suppose that congratulations are in order.” The black-robed archmage’s serpentine rasp fills the chamber. “It seems that, just maybe, I underestimated
your skill and resolve. I will not make that
mistake again.”

The red-robed archmage’s voice booms with a mix of pride and curiosity. “Several of your solutions, I had not even considered as a possibility. I will begin
making adjustments to future tests tomorrow—I might inquire about your aid in that endeavor.”

“Shh, shh. Enough talk of work and tests. The newest Mage of High Sorcery has earned themselves a well-deserved sleep on a real bed.” The white-robed archmage interrupts the other two with a gentle
shooing motion. Then they turn toward you to offer a conspiratorial wink.

"So, when do I get keys to the Tower? There are a couple of projects I would like to get to work on. I lost a lot of enchanted items when my last body was burned up in a volcano."

The red-robed wizard pauses, "You will have access to all areas, save those that serve as the personal quarters of other members. But, on a more immediate note, upon observing your actions throughout the Test, you are equally compatible with either the White or Red Orders."

The white-robed archmage adds, "Both groups would be lucky to have you as a member. I do, however, have some concerns over what you did with Darien Ariantal."

Romulus smiles, "I made Darien a promise and I intend to fulfill it at my earliest opportunity. As for Orders, I suppose Red will do just fine for me."

"Very well indeed! I am Justarius, head of your order and I do believe that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Note: The vast majority of the posts regarding the Test of High Sorcery comes directly from the original adventure module. Some changes were made to adjust for edition and character level. I changed the "BBEG" into something a bit more "polar opposite" of a halfling wizard/druid and a gnoll barbarian/cleric of Morgion was just that. 

Bloodsnarl: male Spotted Gnoll Barbarian 7/Cleric of Morgion 16
CR: 23     Medium Humanoid (Gnoll)
HD: 2d8 plus 7d12 plus 16d8     Hp: 126 (+64 during Rage)
Init: +0     Spd: 40'     AC: 20 (+1 Natural, Amulet of Natural Armor +3, Bracers of Armor +6); t: 16, ff: 20
Attacks*: (BAB +19/Grap +23); +28/+23/+18/+13 Flaming Burst Skull Staff: 1d8+7 plus 1d6 fire plus 1d10 fire on Critical Hit (20/×2) and +19 Bite: 1d8+4 (20/×2) or +25/+20/+15/+10 Keen Silver Ritualistic Dagger +3: 1d4+6 (17-20/×2)
     * includes bonus from Belt of Strength
SA: Ambush, Divine Spells (CL16; DC14 + spell level), Rage (2/day), Spontaneous Casting
SQ: Aura (Overwhelming Chaos and Evil), Darkvision 60', DR 1/--, Fast Movement +10', Hardy, Improved Uncanny Dodge, Rebuke Undead (2/day), Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +2
Align: CE    Saves: Fort +21, Ref +11, Will +19
Str: 15 (19 w/ belt), Dex: 10, Con: 11, Int: 10, Wis: 18, Cha: 8
Skills*: Read/Write and Speak Common and Gnoll; Climb +8; Concentration +16; Handle Animal +9; Jump +4; Knowledge (Religion) +16; Listen +11; Spot +9; Survival +14; Swim +8
     * includes bonus from Belt of Strength
Feats: Brew Potion; Cleave; Combat Casting; Craft Staff; Great Cleave; Improved Natural Attack (Bite), Multiattack, Power Attack
Gear: Tattered Cloak of Resistance +5, Belt of Giant Strength +4, Amulet of Natural Armor +3, Bracers of Armor +6, Major Ring of Fire Resistance; Flaming Burst Skull Staff +5 (12 chg), Keen Silver Ritualistic Dagger +3, Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (×3)
• Prepared Spells: 0th: Create Water, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Guidance, Light, Read Magic; 1st: Cause Fear, Command, Divine Favor, Obscuring Mist, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith + Inflict Light Wounds; 2nd: Enthrall, Hold Person, Inflict Moderate Wounds (×2), Silence, Spiritual Weapon + Summon Monster II (1d3 Fiendish Dire Rats only); 3rd: Blindness/Deafness, Deeper Darkness, Magic Vestment, Protection from Energy, Searing Light (×2) + Contagion; 4th: Divine Power, Freedom of Movement, Poison, Spell Immunity, Summon Monster IV + Inflict Critical Wounds; 5th: Flame Strike, Insect Plague, Righteous Might, Spell Resistance + Plague of Rats*; 6th: Blade Barrier, Greater Dispel Magic, Heal + Harm; 7th: Blasphemy, Repulsion, Word of Chaos+ Scourge*; 8th: Fire Storm, Unholy Aura + Create Greater Undead
     * Plague of Rats and Scourge can be found in the 3.5e Dragonlance Campaign Setting

• Ambush (Ex): Spotted gnolls are trained in the art of banditry, and gain a +2 on attack rolls during a surprise round.
• Domain Abilities (Su): Destruction (Smite 1/day, +4 hit, +16 damage); Pestilence: Immune to disease but is still contagious when exposed to diseases
• Hardy (Ex): Spotted gnolls dirty living conditions have rendered them resistant to disease. Spotted gnolls get a +3 bonus on saves vs disease.
• Rage (Ex): 2/day, gains +4 Str/Con and +2 Will saves for 5 rounds, suffers -2 penalty to AC during rage and is fatigued afterwards
• Spontaneous Casting: Can "lose" one bon-Domain prepared spell in order to cast any Inflict spell of the same spell level or lower
• Trap Sense (Ex): +2 Dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves vs attacks from traps
• Uncanny Dodge/Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Never flat-footed; cannot be flanked by a rogue of less than 11th level

• Flaming Burst Skull Staff +3: in addition to being a +3 Flaming Burst Weapon, this staff has the following abilities:
     • the Staff can be recharged by leaving it in a fire large enough to envelope it (gains 1 charge/hour to a max of 18 charges)
     • Resist Energy - Fire (1 chg)
     • Cause Fear (1 chg)
     • Ghoul Touch (2 chg)
     • Scorching Ray (2 chg)
     • Flame Strike (3 chg)
     • Mass Inflict Moderate Wounds (3 chg)
Caster Level: 12th or as Wielder, whichever is greater