Somewhere in Viridistan

Unknown date, 4433

Three other people enter the room. Two are clearly guards, tough looking Viridian veterans who stand at attention on each side of Salzige. The third is an old Ghinoran woman: she wears an ornate gown of foreign design, a circlet studded with gems around her brow, her fingers covered with gold rings of various sizes and shapes. Her walnut-coloured hands shake with weakness. Phaidros holds her arm and helps her into his chair, and Salzige sees that she is blind - her eyes are blank and white.

"Allow me to present Lady Metztli, of the distant south," intones Phaidros. "My lady, the subject is before you."

Lady Metztli grabs Salzige's hand and flinches visibly. "Aah! Much darkness I see, in the land beyond shadows! We will purge you of this blight now... Hold him!" The guards each clamp down on Salzige's shoulders and hold his head still. Lady Metztli's sightless eyes stare directly into his and again he gets the sense of having his mind and soul scrutinized -- but this time, the pain is immense!

The agony burns every nerve ending in Salzige's body, as if he were immersed in boiling magma. It seems to last for eternity... at a certain point he begins to hallucinate, entering a waking dream. He hears Lady Metztli's voice echoing in his mind: 

"We will rewrite his future for him..."

Salzige's Dream

The face of the moon was the Hideous Monkey Statue, mocking as it leered down from the sky. Below, Zalan schemed and cursed in a graveyard, calling up the dead for his vengeance. An army of undead rose, devoured their maker, and swept across the land in a great holocaust of blood. A few terrible figures led the charge: at the forefront were a vampire in a jagged pointed crown; and a floating, legless skeleton with a circlet and a staff.

Against them was arrayed a strange army: in the front were the wood elves, painted savages with spears and rocks. Beside them walked more bizarre examples of elfkind: some ghoulishly pale and tattooed, others with night-black skin. Behind these were shadowy creatures, almost like elves, their very skin the stuff of darkness and dream. Behind these, driving the charge, were tall ethereal beings with glowing skin and shining armour, blasting their foes with terrible eldritch forces.

These two armies met in a titanic conflict, a war which spread to every corner of the world. Even the Emerald City was consumed with flames!

The fires died down and acrid winds scoured the dust of the city away until nothing remained. Over the ruins of the Empire rose a massive horned monument to evil: a statue of Yredelemnul, the goat-demon, lord of death!

Lady Metztli's voice echoes: "This is as it may be, not as it must be..."

...

An androgynous figure in black clothes walks down darkened tunnels. It passes a huge, glowing red ruby on a marble platform, then walks down a white staircase, passing beneath three golden gates.

Later, this same being stands in a dark room before an ancient, weathered book written in blood-red inks. On a stone block rest a plain golden cup, an oddly-shaped skull, and a jewelled spear. The cloaked figure intones unpronounceable words from the book, and ripples of darkness flow from the walls, plunging it into a sea of liquid black. From this sea of darkness rise humanoid shapes, bodies of pure blackness which climb the walls, drag it under, and flow out of the room in a flood...

An ibis bird floats on a vast lake dotted with rushes. It is peaceful. The bird speaks, and its words bring a sense of serenity and wisdom, but afterwards they cannot quite be recalled...

A great set of golden merchant's scales... 

A floating fortress inside a storm cloud... 

A crumbling white dome, set amongst the mountain peaks... 

A distant glowing star, streaking blue and pink trails across a silvery-grey void... 

A frozen city beneath an enormous glacier, with a blood-soaked gate guarded by a demon..

...

...

Session 32

RUMOURS OF WAR

Sunstrong 15 - Thistleburn 5, 4433
10 days passed during the session
2 subjective days passed in your most recent trip into the Forest of Dreams

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 4
Robert the Unconstitutional, fighter 5
Eric Withakay, cleric 5
Salzige Brauen, necromancer 2
Lord Fesgate, fighter 4 (NPC)

Smuggling

The group headed out of the Forest of Dreams, ready to sell their ill-gotten gains in Viridistan. The Night Wolf Inn was as normal: some red-skinned Altanians and pale, fiercely painted Amazons were drinking in the tavern. Salzige attempted to interact with the warrior-women but was rebuffed, amidst the jeers of the eastern barbarians.

On the way back to Viridistan, a great traffic jam of farmers, merchants & travellers had formed outside the Great Wall. Daqqa-Jin went up to the gate and learned that due to a distant war, Emperor Seheitt was instituting new taxes. 

The party split up. Gorr, Fesgate and Salzige remained in the Forest of Dreams for a few days. Fesgate still had a broken leg, and Gorr's sanity was beginning to fray after many battles with the undead! Robert and Daqqa-Jin went through the gate on foot and proceeded into Viridistan.

In the Emerald City, everyone was talking about THE WAR! It was clear that news of the disaster on the sacred mountain [Session 18] had finally reached the general populace. Many rumours swirled. The most significiant: Shah Kijdawr is stretched thin and has few troops available to counter this new threat. Everyone is waiting for the Emperor to step in and send one of the Vasthosts north, but so far this has not happened.

Prices are up! Metal ores, lumber, wine & other goods have increased in price, leading to overall higher cost of living. Temples are sending priests & magic to help deal with the threat, increasing prices for religious services, spellcasting, scrolls, etc.

At Seven Visions, mistress Zvezdana Ozi had news. If the group wanted, she could call in that favour and put them in touch with some 'scary characters' who would be happy to buy some of the strange magical items they had recovered a few sessions ago. They decided to table this for now, and worked out a plan to smuggle their treasure into town.

The party brought their treasure to Targnol port [last seen in Session 2] where they contacted a shady character named Tilki who put them in the hold of a logging boat with a nice bribe to the captain. When they got to Viridistan they were picked up in a small dinghy and brought into town by one of the boat-people, a strange folk who live their whole lives in connected networks of boats & rafts on the waters of the Nereus Firth. This got them into the heart of town and past the guards at the Great Wall, for a simple 10% cut to their patron, Zvezdana.

She identified some of the group's items (including a robe of eyes, sweet) and they did a few errands in town & caught up on the news. Patchey, the proprietor of the Dragon's Eye Inn, gave them a letter that arrived a few days prior, which said only:

Meet me at the Green Lion statue at mid-day this week. The pelagic argosy sights land.

Knowing this was their Inquisition contact, Daqqa-Jin and Robert went to the meeting by the Green Lion, an ancient statue in the middle of a wide plaza by the sea. A shifty viridian who called himself Bolivar greeted them. He wanted to know what they had discovered about the Night Wolf Inn, but Daqqa-Jin didn't tell him anything he really liked. Some haggling (and subtle or not-so-subtle insinuations) followed. Bolivar said if they could give him something really useful about the Inn Master, or the overall agenda of the Guild, he could maybe see about helping them with a special gate pass to bypass the tax-collectors at the Great Wall.

Return to the Moonlit Zone

The group caught up with Rain in the Night Wolf Inn's smoking room. They saw a strange enigma - the animal heads on the walls animated and chanted in an unknown language. 

The elven bard explained the workings of the magical Four Winds Bar and the command words to activate it. She once owned one of these rare & powerful magic items, but traded it many years ago for her magical mandolin. The finding of this item seemed a respectable achievement. Rain listened with interest to the group's plans for the future and offered advice about the Inn's cellars.

Back in the Forest of Dreams, the group progressed further into the Moonlit Zone. They passed through the ruins of an old town now overgrown with trees. They passed by an old structure decorated with the sign of a red cross and two snakes, only glancing inside briefly. 

Coming to a clearing littered with buildings, they were spotted by a group of tall humanoids with the heads of snarling jackals & black eyes, covered in silvery fur. Battle was joined! The humanoids charged while a few of their fellows fired bows from cover.

Justin: "Just call me Michael Vick!"
DM: *laughs in horror*
Chris: "Not exactly, you didn't cast charm on them and make them fight each other!"

It didn't take long for the group to defeat their foes, with the last two jackal-men casting themselves on the group's mercy.  

Jackal-man: "We surrender! No kill!"
John: "This isn't a no-kill shelter..."

Chris: "I'll fire at the fleeing archer." *volley of arrows hit, the jackal-man dies*
Justin: "Gorr's arrows sent that one to a farm upstate!"

The group interrogated the survivors, learning a handful of details about the region and the name of their master, a moon-man named Kucmalôg.

Other Things That Happened

Gorr rested in the Forest of Dreams in the boughs of Grandfather Tree for a subjective 5 months! [recovering 5 fear points in this time] The wise tree spoke of many obscure & ancient things through the sighing of branches and the whistling of the wind. The ranger can't remember much, but perhaps in time this lore will come back to him...

Gorr is still suffering from madness at this time - he is capable of fighting at a distance with a bow but if things get too stressful or monsters/strangers get too close, I will have to make a roll to see if he loses his composure!

Salzige has been learning spells! The stone idol of a winged, monkey-like humanoid speaks to him in his dreams. After a few weeks, he awoke feverishly one morning and transcribed the spell chill touch into his spellbook. A few days later, he had terrible nightmares. Although he could not afterwards recall them, he was so shaken that for two days, even ordinary tasks were quite difficult [if he had been adventuring some penalties would have applied]

Monsters Defeated:

10 white gnolls - 8 killed, 2 surrendered (470 xp)

Treasure Found:

none

Treasure Turned In:

giant gold statue of Ahmon-Ibor
2x purple gemstone eyes (Robert kept these)
2x crimson incense (Eric kept for tithing)
silver grave trinket
silver plate set
2x silver scimitars
9x jewelry from Tannoch crypts (Gorr kept a red cross medal, Daqqa-Jin kept a gold chain)
glass-fronted scroll case (magic scrolls inside were kept)
scroll of sanctuary

Money Awarded:

Young Joe Spruce: 801 sp 

Cost of Living:

[I didn't want to spend time calculating this during the session. I will remind each of you next time]

Gorr: 235 sp
Daqqa-Jin: 97 sp
Eric: 163 sp
Robert: 168 sp
Salzige: 40 sp
Cassia: 11 sp
Xénos: 27 sp
Joe Spruce: (already deducted above)

Experience Totals:

Daqqa-Jin has reached level 4!
Robert the Swift has reached level 5!
Young Joe Spruce has reached level 3!

Session 15

THE PLOTS THICKEN

Longrass 17-20, 4433

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 4

Suba-Jin, cleric of Hextor 4

Robert the Swift, fighter 3

Eric Withakay, cleric of Solaris 4

Meep, dwarf fighter 3

Lord Fesgate, fighter 3

Seven Visions

Carousing at the high-class Dockside establishment went quite well, all things considered.

- Eric Withakay went on a drunken spending spree, buying 100 sp worth of useless trinkets from a street vendor. 

- Robert the Swift spoke too freely in his cups and let slip some vital piece of information to another reveller, but he can't remember what.

- Regetus Rex also went on a spending spree, and bought 200 sp worth of things he didn't need or want. He didn't have the money on him, and now owes the merchant. 

[Both of you who bought things, feel free to make up what they are or I'll roll for it later]


A few rumours were gleaned in the night: 

- The boat-people fished the body some smuggler out of the Firth last night with a bloody spider carved into his chest! 

- The Gloaming Tower is having a special event in two days. A new sanctioned apprentice is undergoing the test to be raised up to full rank, and everyone is going down to the river to watch.


In the morning, Robert the Swift was woken by his mechanical bird singing him awake in a lovely woman's voice. The sounds of argument drew him downstairs, where the madame Zvezdana Ozi and her bouncer Hakan were arguing with someone at the front door. 

"We're paid up this month! What's the problem?"
"Sorry Lady, new orders. We're doing a spot-check!"
"What is this bullshit?"

"Filthy cop," pfffffffff "'Eyy em trying to run ey beez-ness!"

Realizing the guards were probably coming in, Robert woke up the group. They were preparing to jump out the window but a few of Zvezdana's girls took pity on them (Suba-Jin's coins didn't hurt) and hid the group in their rooms. After the guards left, the gang had Zvezdana identify a few magic items - some bracers of defense AC 13, a potion of longevity and a scroll of Invisiblity, 10' radius.

She bought the potion for a princely sum (she's getting on in years), and asked them for a favour. One of her girls (named Etelvina) joined a theatre troupe at The Theatre of Sutrali Khibari in the Old City. In the past week, nobody had heard from her and Zvezdana was starting to worry. Was she OK? Had she started working somewhere else? What happened? The group agreed to check it out.

Around Town

The group split up and did a few things throughout the city, bought gear, went to the Night Wolf Inn to pick up some of their savings, etc.

Robert & Gorr investigated the theatre, a dingy place beneath Uugen's Market in the Old City. A staircase beside a statue of the pangolin-armadillo goddess of luck Kettkí led down below, infested with beggars and strewn with garbage. The ticket-taker told them that a skeletal apparition with glowing eyes had kidnapped Etelvina right off the stage at the climax of a performance! The play was a lurid romance called "The Bleeding Skeleton." Since then business has boomed as folks hope to see a repeat of this thrilling & macabre event. That play wasn't on that night, so they moved on.

Uugen's Market, Old City

Suba-Jin gave his tithe at the church of Hextor and was urged to deal with this "Inquisition Problem" by Votgauum, his immediate superior. He went to Fort Penitence and managed to get a bit more information on why Eric's name was on wanted posters around the city [Session 1 - No Salvation For Witches].

That night the group went down to the docks and watched the wizard's initiation. It turned out that the apprentice was none other than Lothos the Undesirable himself! He walked and acted differently since the group last saw him. Gorr called out his name, but he didn't appear to notice. As the sun set, Lothos demonstrated his newfound magical power - stepping off the docks onto a sparkling bridge of lights, walking up & over the water and into the Gloaming Tower itself before the whole scene faded from view.

The group returned to the theatre the next day while it was closed. Banging on the door brought the attention of Barzhánu, a mean & imperious-looking woman. She introduced herself as the impresario and allowed the group to come in and explore the "alleged ghost problem" if they didn't disturb rehearsals. The actors were an ill-favoured lot, clearly drawn from the city's unfortunates.

Behind the stage was a carving on the wall of a madly dancing skeleton clad in wild rags. This seemed somehow related to the haunting but they didn't get around to investigating it, instead exploring a backstage storage room with a spiral staircase. Downstairs was a deep basement area that showed no signs of travel. 

A great stone face of a scowling, helmeted warrior blocked passage forward. After a few tries opening it, Suba-Jin wondered if the content of the play might be relevant. Barzhánu said "The Bleeding Skeleton" was about a cursed warrior named Kadurghán - when the name was uttered, the stone face opened with a great grinding sound! A pastel rose-coloured mist issued forth, smelling of flowers and causing a light-headed dizziness.

The Realm of Kadurghán

This soporific mist was also poisonous - a few of the group tied wet rags around their mouths and this helped a little bit, but they still felt their strength slowly ebbing as they progressed through the tunnels. 

They passed a few old storage rooms filled with couches, rotting clothes & a lady's makeup table, but didn't look inside. Next was a large hall with the words "THE NARCOTIC THRONE: THE COURT OF KADURGHÁN" carved above the doorway. Within the richly decorated & marbled hall, an imposing figure in blue-black ceremonial armour sat on a brass throne, lost in thought or asleep. The party's spellcasting caught his attention and he demanded to know their purpose here.

They explained their search for the missing girl. He told them the monster they sought was called Uromén, the Chortling Death. Its domain was deeper into the undercity, but more than that he didn't know. Kadurghán (for it could only be him) said he did not harm women, and sought only the heart of a powerful warrior strong enough to beat in his own chest - indicating a small hinged panel on his armour. After some more chatter he made it clear the party would pay dearly for disturbing his repose, while a pack of sinister horned ghosts coalesced out of the red mists.

The battle was short and furious. Kadurghán didn't even join, only exhorted his ghostly minions from his throne. The poisonous mists began taking their toll and the group decided to flee. Meep the Dwarf was knocked out by a ghost's parting strike but Gorr carried him, and everyone made it up the stairs.

Back in the Theater 

Upstairs, a tense stand-off occurred with Barzhánu's guards while Robert the Swift dragged her downstairs to prove how dangerous the Undercity was. When Suba-Jin went down to see how it was going, he found her shoving Robert's lifeless body down into the mists! A Light spell and the sudden appearance of a pack of horned ghosts kept her busy, while Suba-Jin dragged his friend back upstairs. It seemed that she had stabbed him with a poisoned dagger, but the lucky use of a Neutralize Poison spell stabilized Robert for the moment. 

The group explored the rest of the theatre shooing out the scared players and sullen thugs, none of whom had much reason to stay with their employer gone. They found the bloody clothes of some former lover in Barzhánu's room, along with her stash and some treasure.

Two bricked-up archways in backstage rooms led to parts unknown and Gorr used his mining tools to smash a few bricks out. On the other side of one was a ratty-smelling room with some veiled figures wearing soiled black and purple robes. They were priests, and this the Temple of Sürü Miklári. Entry was forbidden but they were willing to offer oracles about matters in the city from "the little brothers" for one talent of silver (500 coins). They insisted the door not be knocked down further, but reluctantly allowed for a small hole through which communication could be made.

After exploring the theatre, they took Robert to the church of Hextor for more healing and the poison was finally over with. Votgauum again urged Suba-Jin to deal with Eric's legal troubles. They decided to turn Eric in to the Inquisition, claim the reward and hope that the priests' magical abilities discerned the truth of events.

Fort Penitence

"We got him!" Gorr cried when they walked into the Inquisition's headquarters. Once he was identified, Eric was quickly ushered away. The rest of the party were given their reward and ushered by a large group of guards through twisting tunnels underneath the Fort. They quickly got lost and were finally ushered into a large interview room -- where Eric himself was sitting! After a few minutes of uncomfortable waiting an imposing Viridian with piercing eyes entered the room. The guards seemed afraid of him and made themselves scarce. 

A long conversation ensued with the man, Phaidros Imad, covering many topics:

- He had enough dirt on the group to have them all condemned. For the Drydale Massacre [back in Session 1], possession of contraband, their trips to the Undercity and possibly more he wasn't saying.

- The Inquisition knew about Bishop Gray all along, and wanted his magic book. The party told him about Lothos carrying it and the attribute-trading statues [Session 9]. He was frustrated by the book moving out of his reach, for now.

- His main concern at the moment was the Night Wolf Inn. All his attempts to place agents in the Adventurers' Guild had failed. Now that he had the group in his power and most of them were already members, he wanted to learn more about the place. He didn't believe for a second it was a "simple adventuring guild."

His questions included:

Who runs the Inn? 
What are his or her capabilities, resources, goals, agendas?
How long will the Inn be operating outside Viridistan? Is it intended to be permanent?
What else is inside the inn?
Who else is a member of the Guild?
What kind of agenda is driving the Guild's activities?
Any other information on the Inn itself, the Guild and those involved with it.

Phaidros spoke with narrowed eyes, in an ominous whisper: "I don't have to tell men in your position that there is a war going on... behind things." He would be watching the group carefully but they'd only meet him again if they did extremely well or extremely poorly. Their next contact would be known by a password: "The Pelagic Argosy Sights Land." 

He cautioned that they were not official Inquisition troops and he was neither willing nor able to help them out in future. After this stern dismissal they were escorted out of a side-exit from the Fort. Back in the city and free of the manhunt, the party contemplated their next move, and the renewal of hostilities with that mysterious bastard Kadurghán...

*****

Monsters Defeated:

3 horned ghosts (240 xp)

Treasure:

silver & gold coins (divided amongst the group)

a gilded theatre-mask

some bloody clothes

Experience Totals:

Session 9 Downtime - Viridistan

Suba-Jin

Reports to the great Battle-Dome of Hextor on the Street of the Gods to make his devotions. The dark edifice looms over nearby buildings. It is surrounded by statues of warriors and adorned with stained-glass windows, friezes and murals featuring scenes of historic battles against goblins, elves, monsters and just about everyone else. The clanging of weapons, shouts of battle and cracking of whips ring out at all hours. He passes by Hextor's red-robed priests & soldiers, naked slaves, and the familiar if unnerving skeletal temple guardians to the sanctum of his superior Votgauum, a severe & scarred Viridian.

The clergy finds the mournful, ethereal scent from the Forest of Dreams a bit sensitive, but are pleased at Suba-Jin's diligence & piety for bringing treasure wrested from his enemies. Votgauum also suggests Suba-Jin consider choosing one of the "arms of Hextor" to become proficient with, and he selects the falchion. Votgauum presents him with one as a gift to the promising acolyte.

[Offerings of roughly this value are expected from crusading clerics such as yourself regularly. As you donate more, Hextor will favour you with other benefits: special one-use abilities, magical buffs, guidance, followers or even magic items.]

Votgauum also passes along a request: a seedy-looking pawnbroker in the Old City named Morthevole has asked the church for help, saying his shop was taken from him unlawfully. Suba-Jin found him staying at a bar in the Old City (a lower-class district against the northern city wall. Filled with crumbling tenements, narrow alleys and outlandish structures left by the city's original builders, whoever they were). "The White Egg" is a lousy dive bar on the Avenue of Power, in the shadow of the great aqueduct. It's only made tolerable by a few tough-looking serving girls who work the crowd for tips. The pawnbroker probably picked it because it isn't very busy.

Morthevole is a wienery-looking Antillian in once rich, but now shabby clothes. He looks scared shitless. He is evasive about questions. He says he didn't have dealings with "the things," but that they are so dangerous he fears returning to his shop. They came up from a hole in his basement, and there are at least six or seven he's seen - but he has heard the sounds of more. He wants this whole thing kept secret, and says if nobody finds out, you can keep any treasure you find. His shop is in a part of town called The Nest. It's a district of adobe & brick structures built on top of each other in layers upon layers, until it forms a 3-dimensional maze. Most of the neighbourhood never sees the sky at all. As you would expect it is populated with criminal gangs, scum, mutants & drug fiends. Morthevole can give you directions & the key to his store which is not too far inside, but doesn't know the district well other than that. 

["A hole in his basement" is significant. It is commonly believed that dungeons exist underneath the city. But everyone knows it is illegal to explore below, on pain of death.]

Lothos

Studies magical tomes. From The Starless Stars, Lothos is able to decipher several spells easily: charm person, allure, shocking grasp, jump, scare & arcane lock are added to his spellbook.

To decipher the encoded text of Obliteration Without Glory, Lothos locks himself in his tiny rented room in Otherside, poring over the ancient & forbidding tome for three days straight! At the end of the third day, his efforts bear mixed success. He has decoded one of the spells, but its magic is unusable to him - it requires a spellcaster devoted to the forces death! 

There are several more spells to be deciphered, and each attempt will take three days. There is no guarantee which ones will be usable by elves and magic-users, and which require a dedicated necromancer.

Vanished!!

When you are done resting and get ready for your next adventure, Lothos the Undesirable is nowhere to be found! The rooming-house where he stayed does not remember when he left. With him go the two aforementioned spellbooks, as well as the mysterious engraved staff lifted from Eralion's tomb, and the 'talking book' Pheldrazash.

His whereabouts are unknown. Amongst the indifferent masses of the Emerald City, a determined elf could hide for a long time. Perhaps you will see Lothos again, perhaps not. I am sure you can all guess what might have happened. Mike will need a new character for the time being.

Spotted Around Town

On the third day, you spot some parchment handbills posted around the city:

Unlocking New Character Classes

When player-characters die, this is my gift to you. Each unique death will unlock a new playable character class or sub-class. Lothos didn't exactly 'die' but was taken out of play, so it's close enough for this purpose. For being 'killed' by a magical effect, this class is now available to everyone:

"The Incantrix"

A dimensional guardian specializing in divinations, wards and metamagic. Viewed with suspicion by established magic-users for their dangerous spell-stealing ability.

Requirements: INT 9, WIS 12

Casts a mixture of Magic-User and Illusionist spells up to 7th level

17 INT to cast 6th level spells, 18 INT to cast 7th level spells

Special Abilities:

1st level - charge healing - Drain charges from magical devices to heal (2d4 hp per charge). This takes a full round and does not work on artifacts or items without charges. This can raise hp above max, but these phantom hp last for only 10 rounds.

2nd level - spell steal - The incantrix can steal a memorized spell from another spell caster. The spell to be stolen is determined at random and the incantrix knows nothing about the stolen spell. This special ability by-passes magic resistance and there is no saving throw. The stolen spell may be cast by the incantrix immediately or held for later use, and can be cast without any material components. When cast, the spell functions as if cast by the being it was stolen from (with regards to level). Any spell already in the process of being cast cannot be stolen. 

The incantrix can erase the spell from her mind and inscribe it on a scroll or in a book with the Write spell, though this does not allow her to use it if it is forbidden by her class. Only by such scribing can the stolen spell be identified. The incantrix may use this special ability 1/day at levels 2-4, 2/day at levels 5-6, 3/day at levels 7-8 and so on at a range of 10'/level. There is a small chance of spell-steal victims being mentally damaged in the process, especially after successive strikes.

3rd level and up - other abilities which help fight ethereal & undead creatures, etc.