Master Aradrine the Owl (pronounced like "AWR-uh-dreen")[3] is a goliath sorcerer and one of five co-leaders of the Consortium of the Vermilion Dream.
Description[]
Appearance[]
When Aradrine is first encountered in 836 PD, she is wearing a red robe and carrying a silver-bladed ruidium dagger. She is also showing signs of ruidium corruption: pulsing ruidium-colored veins are webbed across her forearm.[2] A week later, while wearing a simple, sleeveless tunic instead of her robes, crimson growths and crystalline spines are clearly visible on her arm.[4] (See the Trivia section below for what this implies.)
Personality[]
Occult silvertongues like Aradrine are charismatic leaders. However, exposing themselves to alien mysteries can make them mistrustful and anxious, and lead to hallucinations and imagined conspiracies to usurp them.[5]
Aradrine has little tolerance for failure from her subordinates, and despises obsequiousness. She is manipulative enough to feign vulnerability to gain trust. Her living quarters reflect a degree of obsession and paranoia.[4]
Biography[]
Background[]
As of 836 PD, Aradrine is one of five masters on the council that founded and still lead the Consortium of the Vermilion Dream. The masters were all renowned and influential occult mystics who were primarily fascinated by the Moon of Ill Omen, Ruidus. They each hoped to gain wealth and prestige from their studies, and they gathered like-minded people from across Exandria whose magical talents could help bring in income to support the Consortium's expensive research.[6]
She has a modest apartment in Ank'Harel's Guided District with multiple features to ensure privacy: shuttered windows and a sliding panel on the door that allows her to see who is knocking. She keeps it dimly lit, and the walls are covered with crimson drapery and astronomical charts.[4]
Call of the Netherdeep[]
If the player characters (PCs) join the Consortium, they must complete multiple missions before meeting Aradrine. She summons the PCs to reveal the truth of the Consortium's studies in Ank'Harel, and shows them her ruidium dagger and the physical marks it has left on her. She reveals that the organization learned about ruidium through a spy who had access to Cael Morrow, and had been working through difficulties to try to acquire more of the mineral. She tasks the PCs with stealing a ruidium-infused, marble elephant Figurine of Wondrous Power from the Crystal Chateau.[2] If the PCs deliver the figurine to her, she is delighted, allows them to keep anything else they stole, and arranges to have a ruidium weapon or a suit of ruidium armor produced for them in a matter of days. If they fail, she is initially disgusted and pleas for forgiveness only anger her, but after a week, she is willing to give them one more chance to prove themselves. The PCs are invited to her apartment, where she gives them a new mission: secure the Key to the Netherdeep, a ruidium greataxe, for further study.[4]
A week after that mission is completed, she commands the PCs to slay the aboleth that guards the rift to the Netherdeep to make it easier to harvest ruidium from there. Finally, one week after that is done, she has a crowning mission for the PCs: enter the Netherdeep, find the source of ruidium, and if it is a creature, capture it or make it an ally, within 14 days. The reward is to become fellow masters of the Consortium, with a 1000 gp monthly salary; however, unbeknownst to her, the mission is doomed to fail.[7]
Relationships[]
Character information[]
Notable items[]
- Silver-bladed ruidium dagger[2]
Abilities[]
As a goliath of Exandria, Aradrine would typically have proficiency in the Athletics skill, as well as one or both of the following traits:
- Mountain Born: Resistant to cold damage and naturally acclimated to high altitudes, including above 20,000 feet.
- Powerful Build: Counts as one size larger when determining her carrying capacity and the weight she can push, drag, or lift.[8]
Aradrine had the abilities of an occult silvertongue, which are as follows:[1]
- Saving throw proficiencies: Wisdom, Charisma
- Skill proficiencies: Arcana (expertise), Deception (expertise), History, Perception
- Damage resistance: Psychic
- Senses: Truesight 60 ft.
- Magic Resistance: Advantage on saving throws against spells and magic effects
- Alien Mind: If a creature deals psychic damage to her or tries to read her thoughts, that creature must succeed on a Intelligence saving throw or be stunned until the start of its next turn.
- Actions:
- Crimson Bolt: Melee or ranged (60 ft.) spell attack, deals psychic damage
- Spellcasting (requiring no material components):
- 2/day each: Charm Person, Mage Armor, Sending
- 1/day: Dimension Door
- Elemental Servitor: Once per day as a bonus action, can magically summon an earth elemental in a space she can see within 60 feet for one minute or until she dies; the elemental takes its turn immediately after hers and obeys her commands.
Appearances and mentions[]
- Call of the Netherdeep (1st appearance)
Quotations[]
- "Behold. This is ruidium. A gift from Ruidus, the Moon of Ill Omen, salvaged from the ruins beneath the city. Some recoil at its power, but we embrace it."[2]
- "I have precious little sympathy for failures. Get out of my sight."[4]
- Aloysia Telfan: Master Aradrine has decided to overlook your failure. Your connection to the Apotheon is too strong to allow a single misstep to disqualify you from further service. She requests your presence for a significant assignment—one that will require utmost stealth. Another failure will not be tolerated.[4]
Trivia[]
- Ruidium corruption inflicts levels of exhaustion, the sixth of which brings death. Though the exhaustion itself can be relieved with rest, each level of exhaustion brings progressively more obvious physical signs of ruidium corruption that do not go away with the exhaustion. The web of pulsing crimson veins is the second level, and spurs of crystal indicate at least the fourth level.[9]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 108. See also p. 205.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 108.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 17.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 110.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 204.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, pp. 82–83.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 111.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 85.
- ↑ See Call of the Netherdeep, p. 10.
Art:
- ↑ Depiction of Master Aradrine the Owl, presenting symptoms of acute ruidium exposure, by David Sladek (source). This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.