Subject: A Patron of Law

From: Shannon Appel appel@chaosium.com

System: Elric!

In V3.2 of the Digest, I presented Jormen Clearthough, a patron of the
Balance for use with Elric!  Just to be fair, here's another patron
for your use, this one a follower of the White Lords.  The final
member of this trio, a patron of Chaos will be presented in a future
issue of the digest.

Alondra Whiterobe, Agent of Donblas

Originally, Alondra was the wife of Moritoff Goldenteeth, a very
prosperous merchant of the Purple Towns.  Together, they lived in
decadent luxury, a vast financial empire speading out before them.
Moritoff, however, grew too greedy, and in the pursuit of profit, he
allowed his mercantile activities to interfere with the plots of
Hartut Ghaz, a sorcerer of Pan Tang.  The sorcerer was most
displeased, for a very costly enchantment was upset by the greedy
merchant.  On one dark morning, Moritoff met an end more gruesome than
any seen upon the isles of the Purple Towns in a decade.

Shattered, Alondra floated listlessly through life for several months,
until the priests of Goldar pointed her towards the worship of
Donblas, the God of Righteous Vengeance.  She took up the religion
with a great fervor, and soon became one of Donblas' most devoted
followers.  Since then, she has used her late husband's financial
resources to raise a small shrine to Donblas in Menii, the capital of
the Purple Towns.

Alondra is utterly devoted to her deity.  Currently, she has two
goals: final vengeance against the sorcerer Hartut, and the ascendance
of Law in the Young Kingdoms.  She is very dedicated, and, unlike many
weaker followers of the White Lords, would never use the sorcerous and
demonic weapons of the enemy.  However, in other ways, she may be just
as bad as the foes that she fights.  She is cruel and uncaring.  The
destruction of hundreds would mean little to her if it brought the
world closer to law, or if it moved her along the path of vengeance.

The players will probably first meet Alondra when they hear of the
great rewards that she offers to those who advance her cause.
However, as the players move through her service, they might find her
means somewhat distasteful, and perhaps even question the gods of Law
who would permit such atrocities.

Chaos 15, Balance 21, Law 87

STR 11		
CON 12		
SIZ 11		
INT 18		
POW 18
DEX 14		
APP 12						

HP  12

Damage Bonus: none

Weapons:
Dagger 48%, damage 1d4+2

Armor: none

Spells: none

Skills: Bargain 131%, Common Tongue 141%, Evaluate 119%, Fast Talk
127%, Insight 102%, Million Spheres 01%, Natural World 82%, Oratory
113%, Unknown Kingdoms 29%, Young Kingdoms 82%

Appearance:

Alondra is a middle-aged woman who might once have been a striking
beauty.  Now, her appearance is a reflection of her interal austerity.
Her black hair is usually cropped very short, while her dress is
rarely more luxurious than a simple white robe.  Alondra's sole
ornament is a golden amulet about her neck, which bears the symbol of
Law, a single white arrow.

Demeanor:

A woman of fiery passions, Alondra too often allows her emotions to
escape her control.  It is a need for vengeance which obsesses
Alondra, and this is what governs her action.  When she is temporarily
distracted from her goals, Alondra can be a quite pleasant person, but
the majority of the time, she is a driven tyrant who will stop at
nothing to increase the power of Law within the Young Kingdoms.
Alondra has been named cruel and heartless by those who have opposed
her, and they are not entirely incorrect in that assessment.

Story Ideas for Alondra's Agents:

* (campaign idea) An interesting campaign could be built about
Alondra's need for vengeance.  This might involve infiltrating
organizations in Pan Tang, in order to get closer to Hartut, finding a
way to wreak vengeance upon him, and, afterwards, exploring the
intrigues of the country, trying to discover if anyone other than
Hartut was involved in the murder.

* It is discovered that a famous priest of law has been imprisoned
deep in a church of chaos, within the evil land of Pan Tang.  There,
the sorcerers of that land are extracting the inner secrets of Law
from him.  The players are assigned to find a way either to rescue the
priest, or to kill him (the STORMBRINGER supplement, WHITE WOLF, gives
an excellent description of a Temple of Chaos).

* It is the Time of the Conjunction of the Million Spheres, and thus
it is easier to travel between the worlds than it will be until
another cycle of the universe has passed.  In her recent studies,
Alondra has realized this, and thus she has hatched a daring plan.
She will use the greatest secrets of the White Lords in order to
thrust the adventurers into a world of law.  She hopes that they can
find great artifacts of law there, and then return to the Young
Kingdoms with them.  However, the world of law which Alondra sends the
adventurers to is also one of utter stagnation.  In it, the
adventurers will see law ascendent, the ultimate result of the war
that they fight.

Shannon