Masters of Argent

Cataclysm mages live in the ruins of the past and the shadows of the future, paying the vagaries of the present little mind. Preoccupied with ancient knowledge, they fit perfectly into a campaign that features tombraiding and dungeon-crawling. Devoted to prophecies of the future, the cataclysm mage spends a good deal of time seeking to fulfill his personal prophecy, providing a natural reason for him to go exploring and to seek out the dangerous corners of the world.

Organization

The far-flung hierarchy of the cataclysm mages is loosely organized along lines of personal power. The Masters of Argent are in constant communication through sending spells, and they set the agenda for the order. It is not a strict agenda, though, for each master is focused on his or her personal goals as well as those of the society. For many high-level cataclysm mages, the main goal is simple survival, since an unusually high number of their fellows have been killed by foes more powerful than they were thought to be, or by freak natural accidents. Most suspect the dragons of engineering these “accidents,” but despite the threat of assassinations ordered to protect the dragons’ secrets, most cataclysm mages are too obsessed with their studies to abandon them for a safer profession.

The daily life of a cataclysm mage centers on his quest to fulfill a personal prophecy and his studies of the doomed civilizations of past ages—the Dhakaani, the giants, the demons, and the couatls. Because his personal prophecies often take him far into the field, a cataclysm mage typically maintains strong ties to adventuring groups. Airship pilots, thunder guides, and extreme explorers are all valuable contacts for a cataclysm mage, allowing him to travel wherever his prophecies take him, with his books safely secured in his haversack and the road stretching before him.

During the most recent convocation at Zaenya’s Well on Aerenal, whispers told of a group of cataclysm mages who were eager not only to study the cataclysms of the past, but to bring on the cataclysm that will end the Current Age. Members of this Flooding Dawn movement, as it is called, are said to believe that the Last War heralds a new age just as did the daelkyr-Gatekeeper war and the giant-quori war. What happened to Cyre, it is whispered, will happen to all. Virtually no one openly claims to be a member of the Flooding Dawn, though, and the conventional wisdom is that the Last War and the Day of Mourning are not linked to any coming cataclysm. After all, the elves and dragons have fought brief but vicious arcane wars on and off for centuries without heralding any imminent apocalypse.

NPC Reactions

Most citizens of the Five Nations are only dimly aware of the existence of the cataclysm mages. Those who have knowledge of the order tend to look on it with a great deal of suspicion. Decades of subtle dragon propaganda have seeded the universities and arcane colleges with doubts, questions, and fear concerning the mages’ activities. Focused as always on the past and the future to the neglect of the present, the Masters of Argent have failed to mount an effective campaign to counter this slander.

Beyond the Five Nations, virtually the only two groups aware of the order’s existence and purpose have histories that go back to the previous ages—the drow of Xen’drik and the elves of Aerenal. While the Sibling Kings and the Undying Court take no action against the cataclysm mages (some say they welcome anything that irks the dragons), the drow utterly despise the order. Just as they hate the giants for enslaving their race and shattering their lands, they view the cataclysm mages as successors to the giants and pretenders to the storm thrones of Cor’dran and Eshtarn. The drow reaction to a known cataclysm mage borders on frenzied bloodlust, and they attempt to kill members of the order as quickly and ruthlessly as possible.

Playing a Cataclysm Mage

You are obsessed with the past and haunted by visions of the future. One of the first cataclysm mages, Nestanridh, observed that only by seeking the truth of past cataclysms could those of the future be avoided. You seek the lost power of giants and demons, either hoping to prevent the Current Age from befalling their fates or to save yourself when the inevitable doomsday dawns. The civilized lands of Khorvaire hold little interest for you. You seek the secrets of the ages in the giant ruins of Xen’drik, the glass towers of the Demon Wastes, and Argonnessen’s glittering caves.

Among cataclysm mages, there is little actual organization and even fewer ranks. The exceptions are the Masters of Argent, the name given to the most powerful cataclysm magi upon mastery of the cataclysm of silver. They are considered the de facto leaders of the sect, and direct the general research efforts for the mages as a whole.

There is an annual convocation of cataclysm mages, but the site of this occult gathering varies. Recent locations have included Zaenya’s Well in Aerenal, Adar in Sarlona, and the ossuary under Stormreach. The locations are always in the proximity of a site with a long, mysterious history rife with struggle. The Masters of Argent choose the location. Constant rumors circulate of the Masters’ intent to someday call a convocation in Argonnessen—there to meet with agents of the Chamber and begin formal study of the Age of Dragons.

September 19th, 2019

Cataclysm Mages in the Game

A cataclysm mage can take one of many roles in a campaign—a visionary who hires the PCs to accompany him on a quest to stave off a coterminous reunion with Xoriat, a crazed lunatic whose personal prophecy dictates that he immerse one of the PCs in a pit of a thousand lemures, or a lonely old woman who believes that with the PCs’ help she can rescue a couatl trapped in Ashtakala. The class’s prophetic qualities allow almost any plot hook to be introduced as the vision of a cataclysm mage.

Prophecies are also the key to keeping a character advancing in the class, and both player and DM should work hard to make the cataclysm mage PC’s personal prophecy fit within the overall story arc of the campaign. No one will be happy if the adventuring company has to suddenly drop its pursuit of Rendark Flamefoot, scourge of the Blade Desert, to hop a ship to Seren so that the cataclysm mage can seek out a barbarian, fulfill his prophecy, and gain his next level. Instead, combine the two goals. Perhaps Rendark fled to Seren, and the PCs can pursue him there; or perhaps Rendark is still in the desert but long ago purchased a Seren slave from Darguul pirates.

Alter the prophecy table to suit the story needs of the game, though take care not to make the prophecies too obscure or difficult. They are a feature of the class and meant to be fulfilled in a reasonable time frame, and a cataclysm mage character frustrated in an honest attempt to fulfill his prophecy will likely make for an unhappy player.

Adaptation

For campaigns in which dragons take a more active role, a conflict could be staged between conservative dragons and certain agents of the Chamber who support the cataclysm mages’ quest to study the Age of Dragons. Keeping the dragons completely removed from the campaign is equally easy—simply declare that there is no 10th level of the class, for the world was fundamentally different before the Age of Demons. The dragons do not prevent the cataclysm mages from studying this age; it simply holds nothing of benefit for them