Lore:Neverdeath Graveyard

A Handy Summary
The clockmakers were masters of metallurgy and mechanical engineering. They harnessed the power of flowing water to turn the weighty gears of their immense time-pieces.

Living by the moving hands of time, they only thought it fitting to rest eternally in clockwork catacombs.

About Tempus
Tempus, called Lord of Battle, is the god of war and patron of all warriors.

He is by far one of the most powerful gods because his followers are so plentiful; almost every soldier prays to Tempus.

He favors no side over another, demanding only that his followers fight honorably and bravely.

About The Red Knight
The Red Knight, also known as the Lady of Strategy, was a follower of Tempus, the god of war, in life. It was he who raised her to divinity and she regards him as a surrogate father.

She is worshipped by warriors, paladins, and tacticians who recognize that a good plan is the best way to win both battles and the war.

Her church is called the Red Fellowship, her clerics are reffered to as holy strategists, and her symbol is a red knight from a chess set with stars in place of eyes.

Bone Golems
Constructs are magically animated automatons bound to the creator's will.

The creator must build a body for the construct and then bind an animating spirit into it. In the case of a bone golem, creating this body requires a large number of bones grafted and fused together to form a larger whole.

Such a project would probably require the creator to have easy access to a battlefield or graveyard...

Burning the Dead
Cremation has become the popular custom for those who pass away in New Neverwinter. This is due in large part to the shattering of the Neverdeath graveyard, and the disturbing tendancy for corpses to rise again as zombies in the vicinity.

Many citizens have already faced the horror of a loved one rising from the grave. Few are willing to risk inflicting the same terror on others. Even those without close friends and family have come to fear the neverending torment of undeath.

Cult of the Dragon
The Cult of the Dragon is an organization that venerates undead dragons and to a lesser extent, living ones. They were founded by the wizard Sammaster to bring about his mad vision of a world ruled by his ultimate creations, the dracoliches.

With Sammaster destroyed, the knowledge and rituals required to animate dracoliches is kept alive by his faithful cult. Even today they travel the north, promising power and eternal unlife to the evil dragons they encounter.

Desecration
Few spells are as frowned on by the Doomguides of Kelemvor as Desecration. Necromanctic (sic) magic infusing the very soil with dark energies, and causing the dead to rise readily at the necromancer's call.

Most clerics can counter the spell by consecrating the earth, but in some cases a direct appeal to Kelemvor is required. Especially powerful magic, or an already disturbed place of rest such as a disenterred (sic) tomb makes overcoming desecration all the more difficult.

Dirt-covered Children's Toy
A dirt-covered children's toy that shows evidence of having been unearthed by a gnoll.

This was clearly a beloved possession of child that died at a young age.

Fine Craftsmanship
The face of the clock is ornate, a true work of art. Beneath the face the artist's name is inscribed, Saborn Rendel.

Graveyard History Since the Ruining
The last 26 years, following the Ruining, have been unkind to Neverwinter. For the most part, the city has been in ruins. Only a small, determined population has hung on and kept the city from being overrun by outside forces.

During these years, the dead have been buried in any available space. These recent graves have much simpler markers than those from prior time periods, and are clearly hand made by the mourners left behind.

Graveyard: Body Snatching
Since the Spellplague, the Graveyard has seen a great deal of body snatching. While the Lord Protector has devoted few of his resources to stopping the practice, so far it has been sporadic and piecemeal. Lately, though, bodies have been disappearing with much greater regularity and in far larger numbers.

A tattered ledger sheet from the Clockmaker's Catacombs sheds light on why: columns and rows fill the page, listing hundreds, maybe thousands, of bodies -- where they came from, where they've been shipped, and what they're being used for. Someone is gathering corpses at an astonishing rate.

Luskan
(Available to Trickster Rogue players only)

Once a friendly and prosperous port for pirates, thieves, and other disreputable elements, Luskan suffered horribly during the Spellplague. Building lay in ruins, food was scarce and spoiled, and monsters freely roamed the streets. Since then, not much has changed.

Law and order cannot be enforced within Luskan's walls, as no ruler holds power for long. The city has become a haven for escaped criminals and outlaws. Refugees who flee Luskan are met with suspicion and short shrift, and are often forced to steal to survive. Fortunately, stealing is something about which Luskanites know a great deal.

Necromancy
Necromancy is the magical art of manipulating death and unlife. The greatest of necromancers attain such power over death as to stave it off indefinitely.

A note left in the depths of the Clockmaker's Catacombs describes several necromantic spells and their application. Apparently the bodies gathered in the Catacombs are being used as undead laborers; carted off to a location east of Helm's Hold, they are raised to unlife and bound in unending servitude to the will of the Thayans there.

Red Wizards of Thay
Red Wizards are specialized magicians who hail from the Kindgom of Thay. Originally they were an organization whose members devoted themselves to mastering a single school of magic. Each school within the Red Wizards was lead by a "Zulkir" who was the most skilled among them.

In 1377 DR the then zulkir of necromancy Szass Tam siezed power and killed or exiled his peers, the zulkirs of the other schools. Consolidating his political power within Thay. Today Thay is still magocracy, albeit lead by Tam and with a distinctive focus on necromancy.

Thayan Ritual Magic
Ritual Magic has become rarer among arcane spellcasters in the aftermath of the Spellplague. The Red Wizards, however, are something of an exception.

Due to their extreme focus on one school of magic Red Wizards often delve deeply into ritual methods for their school. And with Thay's focus on necromancy, Red Wizards have become particularly adept at their favored school's dark rituals.

The Binding of Maegera
A sun elf named Lucan Greenharrow met a human clockmaker by the name of Saborn Rendel, and together they founded what would become the powerful Waterclock Guild, in time making Neverwinter's waterclocks among the city's most famous artisan creations.

In truth, artisanship was only part of the reason for the wonders of the guild's waterclocks; their most prized guild secret was that a similar conjuration magic to that which bound Maegera the Inferno with water elementals also was the basis for the waterclocks which none outside Neverwinter's Waterclock Guild could ever seem to reproduce.

The Clockmaker's Guild: Trials
A tome found within the Clockmakers' Catacombs describes the Trials of the Clockmaker.

Most of what's written inside is useless jargon and obscure ritual, but a few fragments are intelligible.

It seems the Clockmakers placed great value on the act of accurately setting their clocks. Particularly important is the ability to set one clock based on the time displayed on another.

Vague references are made to the Catacombs and the various mechanisms within.

The Clockmaker's Lament: Part 1
The Clockmaker's Lament

by Enki the Carver

My youth did tick away in vain, As I toiled at my trade. Had I the hours back again, Such mischief I'd have made...

The Clockmaker's Lament: Part 2
...for minutes pass in triple-time Hunched o'er a carver's bench. Far better had I stopped my hands To drink, and fight, and wench...

The Clockmaker's Lament: Part 3
...no second chance will I have now My winding spring has sprung! That tolling is no call to prayer -- Too soon, my death knell's rung.

The Eternal Order of Kelemvor
Kelemvor is the God of Death. He teaches death is a natural end to the cycle of life that should not be feared.

The priesthood of Kelemvor serves both the dead and the bereaved. They perform funerary rites, council the bereaved, and ensure the dead are allowed to rest peacefully.

Death is part of the natural order. The undead are not. They are anathema to the cycle of life and death in all ways, and thus Kelemvor demands their destruction.

The Rivalry with Luskan
The cities of Luskan and Neverwinter have a long history of bitter rivalry and war. As the two northernmost port cities on the sword coast, their conflicting interests often brought them to the brink of battle. In addition, the darker nature of Luskan society contrasted with the more egalitarian of Neverwinter, breeding mistrust.

After the Spellplague and the cataclysm, both cities were reduced to near-ruins. Many thought this would finally be an end to the conflict between them, but as Neverwinter rises, rumors abound that Luskan may also be stirring back to life.

The Seal of Thay
A freshly broken wax seal of the Empire of Thay.

This seal appears to have been marking the Thayan provenance of some sort of payment to the gnolls.

The Shadowfel (sic)
Created by the goddess of night, the Shadowfell is a darkened reflection of Toril. Malicious creatures and pervasive necromantic energy are all one can hope to find in its bleak wilds.

Fortunately, crossing into the Shadowfell is difficult, often requiring a complex ritual. In some places, however, the veil between worlds is weak enough to ease passage.

The Shadowfell - Evernight
A fragmentary map found inside the Clockmaker's Catacombs charts the arcane paths and necessary rituals to enter the city of Evernight, hidden within the Shadowfell.

Several notes inscribed in the margins indicate areas controlled by Thayans; apparently they have setup a makeshift base of operations there. The map is incomplete, however, and gives only the most rudimentary idea of the city's scope.

The Succession of Neverwinter
(Available to Human players only)

Neverwinter as it exists today is largely the work of Dagult Neverember. As the Open Lord of Waterdeep, Neverember used his considerable resources to rebuild the Protector's Enclave in Neverwinter. This effort alone does not grant him the right to rule. It is whispered that Neverember plains to claim the crown of Neverwinter. But should he wish to present such a claim, he will need the support of his people.

Some scholars suggest that Neverember's claim may rest with his relation to Vers Never, bastard son of Nasher Alagondar. If this claim can be substantiated, the political stability of Neverwinter would be greatly improved.

Trappings of the Cult
As the inheritors of Sammaster's legacy, the Cult of the Dragon utilizes many magical artifacts. One of the most revered and holy of these artifacts is the Ring of Dragons.

Each cell leader within the cult is gifted with a ring which allows them to speak with dragons over great distances, and even to conjure illusions of the mighty beasts in times of need. Beyond their practical applications, the rings are held as status symbols of great import. It is worth more than a cell leader's life to lose their ring.