Super Beings in the T&T Universe: Part 6

Super Beings in the T&T Universe
by 'Mad' Roy Cram

Professor Whenn and Yorrdamma Vrash are doing research on entities of the Troll World that possess unusual or extraordinary talents and/or abilities which make them superior to ordinary beings. If anyone has comments or questions they may trollmail Yorrdamma Vrash via Trollhalla, who will be happy to respond to any inquiries.

The Soluna Armor of King Euberon

Long ages ago the great Lord of the Sheedhe Elves invested a great deal of his power into the production of a wonderful suit of magical armor called the Soluna. It was forged by the best of the finest Elven smithies, and enchanted by their most powerful mages, and it was indeed a marvel. It could absorb up to 200 points of damage per combat round, and was a light as a simple suit of silk clothing. It made its wearer immune to all forms of mental magic or control, and protected him from both fire and cold based magic attacks. During the day when exposed to the sunlight it radiated dazzling light and heat that blinded all who looked at it and scorched all who approached it. At night it radiated a dreadful freezing darkness that blinded all but its wearer, and froze its enemies. It made King Euberon invincible in battle and he and his Sheedhe Elves conquered all the lands about them and drove their enemies into hiding. This reign continued until the Winter Queen of the Sheedhe poisoned the King and stole his suit of armor. But before she could learn all its secrets and use it herself, Tithania, the Summer Queen and consort of Euberon, came with all her forces to recover it. A great war raged with many terrible battles, and, in the end, the two warring wizard queens only succeeded in dividing the wonderful suit into two suits: the Solar Suit and the Lunar Suit. Each suit had its own unique abilities, but both were lost to the Sheedhe who were so weakened by the internecine strife that their enemies were able to invade the Sheedhe lands and overthrow them.

Both suits have had a checkered history since those days, passing through the hands of many Lords, Wizards, and other powerful beings. Each has some of its original powers, but, since the separation, there are now some significant drawbacks as well, as follows.

The Solar Suitonly functions during the daylight hours while the sun is shining on it. During this time it can take 100 points of damage per combat round, and is light as an ordinary suit of silk clothing. It protects the wearer from mental magic and from fire based spells, but is vulnerable to cold based magic. While in the sunlight it glows with a blinding radiance and emits powerful heat. It is brightest and hottest at noonday, waxing as the sun rises, but waning as the sun sets. While in the armor during the daytime, the wearer’s Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity will be doubled, but these same attributes will be halved after sundown until the dawn comes again. At night the suit becomes just another suit of gilded plate armor.

The Lunar Suit is just an ordinary suit of black plate armor during the daylight hours. But after sunset it waxes in power until midnight, when it reaches its peak potency, and then wanes until dawn, when it becomes an ordinary suit again. At night this suit radiates a darkness that blinds all but its wearer, and a field of intense cold. It can take 100 points of damage per combat round at night, and its wearer has doubled Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity until dawn, when these attributes become halved for the day. The suit protects its wearer from all mental magic and from cold based spells, but is vulnerable to fire based attacks. It loses all its special virtues during the daytimes.

Both suits also have in common the property that anyone who comes in contact with either of them will become obsessed with having it, and will do anything to satisfy this desire. Once a person has acquired the suit, and put it on, they will not be able to part with it or take it off again. It will take a very high level Curses Foiled spell to free them from the suit’s control. Without the magical aid they will do anything to prevent others from removing them from the armor. Most of the beings who donned the suits have been undone by them, usually during the hours when the suit has lost its powers. Elves are especially attracted to the suits, and will be driven to desperate and awful acts in their frenzy to acquire and possess the suits.

Many Elf scholars and wizards believe that if they can gain possession of both suits that they can recombine them into the original Soluna Suit. This would involve, however, a difficult quest to find the book which tells how the Soluna was made and alone contains the spells needed to put it back together again and make it whole once more. The task of rejoining the armors is also complicated in that the wearers of the Solar Suit and Lunar Suit have a strong natural antipathy towards each other.

Game Masters may find it interesting to put one or both suits into some kind of complex or tunnel matrix, and let the players (given necessary clues) figure out what they have found, and let them deal with the problems that arise when one or more of them is suddenly possessed by the overwhelming desire to own it regardless of the cost. It can also be interesting for a party of players to meet some NPC or ‘monster’ wearing one of the suits (perhaps searching for the wearer of the other), and letting them deal with the suit wearer’s paranoia (YOU WANT TO STEAL MY ARMOR!?!? DIE THIEVING SCUM!!!) or the owner’s megalomaniac delusions (I AM A GOD YOU VILE INSECTS!! WORSHIP ME!!).