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Chapter 1: The Immortals and the Spheres of Power

The Great Cosmic Cycle
Life doesn’t end, or begin. There are only cycles, the eternal and endless change that permeates all of the Multiverse.
Long ago Chaos filled the universe and it established the natural order of things. The Immortals then were different: the four Spheres of Matter, Energy, Thought and Time comprised part of Entropy that encompassed the Multiverse, and as such they were opposed to the Sphere of Integration (also called Sphere of Life), since they are afraid the order that will bring in Chaos sovereign. But Life was the legitimate daughter born from the primordial Chaos, and for this Chaos is hated and feared, because know that will one day enslave its own father and conquer the universe.
And when at last Life prevails over Death, the domination of Chaos was reversed and established the supremacy of Order that still today governs the Multiverse. The majority of Immortals who belong to the Sphere of Integration together reformed the four Spheres of Matter, Energy, Thought and Time allied with Order, while those who remained faithful to Chaos constituted the Sphere of Entropy. Those Immortals who aligned with neither of the two fronts became instead deprived of a great part of their own powers and became the Faerie People, condemned to an inferior form of Immortality until Order governs the Multiverse.
For now Entropy is a single Sphere that is opposed to the other four representatives of current cosmic Order. But as is logical, from order derives stagnation, and from it finally Death. Here since the four Spheres now combat Entropy (the Sphere of Death) and fear: it is become their daughter, although Order was born from Chaos, and know that sooner or later the fates will again reverse. As the daughter Life has prevailed over the parent Chaos, as the daughter Death prevails over father Order, and the wheel continues to turn.

WHAT ARE THE IMMORTALS
In the Multiverse in which the planet Mystara (Official setting of D&D) is found, exist creatures of supernatural power that govern the lives of mortals from the Outer Planes in which they live*, interfering in a more or less direct way with the events of the Prime Plane (the common universe of characters). These beings are the Immortals, the divinities worshipped, feared and loved (or hated) by the inhabitants of Mystara and by the majority of sentient creatures in all of the Multiverse. The Immortals have various specific aims that differentiate them, and different dictates that every sign to their own faithful for guiding towards that which he judged the right way of existence. All, however, have a common Quest: gaining power (or better Power Points), which allows them to improve their own position and prestige within the hierarchical scale of the Sphere to which they belong. For gaining power, an Immortal must explore and expand the Multiverse and pursuing the objectives of his Sphere (increasing the prestige, maintaining the balance between the powers and hindering the actions of all the other groups of power, in particular of the opposing Sphere). [For the more details see the following section, Spheres of power and Immortal Hierarchy.]
Many of the Immortals at one time have been (more or less) mortal creatures of various species (either of the Prime or of the other planes of existence), who during their own life are thus distinct in a particular way for their own magical and intellectual capacity, either for their own audacious and impossible deeds, or still for their own dedication to a particular cause or to a people, became leaders and legendary heroes or ruthless and blood-thirsty mercenaries. Thanks to this quality, they are successful to discover the way that leads to Immortality [see the paths of Immortality described in the section Paths of Immortality, as well as the manual Wrath of the Immortals for further information on the rules for becoming Immortal and playing a PC Immortal], and have effectively abandoned their own empty mortality to be reborn in body and in spirit as eternal and quasi-omnipotent divinities.
Other Immortals instead have never had mortal status, but belong to the so-called First Generation of Immortals, born at the dawn of time, when till the death had still to make its appearance in the Multiverse. Any of them not remembered as are arrivals to the world, neither because of their existence, while others prefer not to speak of these secrets enclosed in their memory. In both cases, these Immortals occupy any of the highest posts of the Immortal hierarchy, but are not superior to their equals simply by right of birth. In fact, whichever Immortal can achieve the zenith of the hierarchy of the Celestial Spheres, successfully to accumulate enough power.
Although they have enormous power, nevertheless, the Immortals are neither omniscient nor omnipotent, and have instead need of faithful in order to be able to increase their own energy and exercise of consequence their own influence on the Multiverse and on the mortals. For this they give part of their energy to special groups of faithful (called priests or clerics), because they preach their ideas and make proselytes from among the mortals, increasing the importance of the Immortal in the Multiverse. And for the same motive seek to sending forward plan more or less secrets in all the planes of existence, preferring the Prime Plane (and in particular Mystara) perhaps because it is found at the centre of the Multiverse, a place in which the Five Spheres are perfectly balanced and from which therefore depends the competition for supremacy.
Further, the Immortals cannot sire an Immortal race and the few times they tried creating an offspring in mortal form, the children are always results common mortals without particular powers or major probability of succeeding in the climb to Immortality. These interferences have created many problems in the course of millennia, and for not upsetting the balance on the Prime these attempts were abandoned by common accord very long ago. Therefore, given that they cannot reproduce for creating other Immortals, for increasing their own number the Immortals are then forced to inspire in any mortals particularly worthy the will of overcoming the barrier of his body and essence, for becoming Immortals. The Immortals believe it particularly important to recruit new candidates for Immortality for increasing the power of their own Sphere, but well know that not all are capable and that the way for achieving the transcendence is long and difficult. The various Spheres therefore try to protect the mortal species in all the Multiverse in order to have a great possibility of choice between the various candidates, while Entropy seeks to bring destruction and corruption among the mortals in order to increase Chaos and weaken the other Spheres, recruiting at the same time it’s own exponents among those people that have shown themselves more brutal and manipulators.
Finally, the Immortals can also be hurt and may die, even if there is a big difference between the death of the material body of the Immortal and the definitive disappearance of the same Immortal. Indeed, its possible to physically meet with an Immortal and perhaps also prevail over of it (in this last case, the probabilities are higher when the Immortal has assumed a mortal identity, preferably when he is in his more resistant and powerful celestial form, the so-called manifestation form), certain not enough slay the body of an Immortal for ultimately abolishing, since his essence is Immortal and isn’t subject to the same laws that instead bind the body and soul of mortal beings. If indeed his own physical body is destroyed the vital essence of the Immortal can use magic in order to create one new, losing part of his own power in the process, but return in force and set to engage again in battle or to create new in the universe. Also in the case the Immortal decides of remaining however in incorporeal form, he is the likewise able to grant the clerical powers to his priests, until a small spark of his vital essence continues to exist.
There are only two ways to actually kill an Immortal. The first and most difficult is by eliminating the Immortal’s manifestation form (having made sure that he hasn’t invested some of his power into an avatar, which is a physical body that contains part of his Immortal essence), which is found in his Home Plane (where he is even more powerful) and at the same time draining his power (by reduced his Power Points to below 100), preventing him from regenerating, and destroying him forever.
The second method instead disperses the essence of an Immortal reducing it to an immaterial state. This last can be achieved if it succeeds to deprive the Immortal of all his followers: without followers giving power to it, the Immortal begins to slowly fizzle out after a year since the loss of the last follower, loses part of his essence every month, until after ten years he is totally extinguished. For this the initiates share for the first ten years the basis of power given by the followers of their Patron, but must make sure their own followers within that lapse of Time unless willing to risk of vanishing shortly after their rise among the Celestial Spheres. An Immortal that loses his own essence in this way is not considered dead, but continues to exist within his Home Plane as weak spiritual force impossible to identify. If the Plane was also destroyed, then also the Immortal would cease to exist. It is however possible for an Immortal in this immaterial state to return to life in the moment when any being rediscovers his cult and institutes again a base of at least ten followers. In this case the Immortal returned in life in his old body even if as an Initiate of 1st level.
In any case, each Immortal consciously attempted to prevent his disappearance creates at least one avatar (an alternative corporeal manifestation that’s invested with part of his Power, becoming to all the effects his duplicate) or a particular artefact (a powerful magic item created with Immortal magic) that allows his priests to receive likewise the spells also when the Immortal is not present in the Multiverse (and this can happen often, especially to those Immortals that normally explore the alternative dimensions and the planes in which magic doesn’t function) or has been imprisoned for any one violation of the Immortal laws. Naturally, if one of these artefacts should come into the possession of other hostile Immortals or even of a mortal, the cult of the Immortal could be set for serious danger.
Until now, there have been few Immortals who have vanished without trace from the Multiverse. Some of them have effectively been defeated by a heroic mortal, and following their disappearance, their priests have also abandoned them and are now devotees of other Immortals. Others instead have simply dispersed their own energy in their Home Plane in order to be reincarnated as normal mortals and try again the emotional mortal life, possibly tired of the monotony of their own power and hopefully retrace the steps they had taken among the Celestial Spheres; inevitably, only a pair of them has successfully became Immortal again, and the deed has brought them great fame and power.
Finally, other Immortals have disappeared into what is known as the Dimensional Vortex, or the Barrier, a sort of enormous formless cloud that enfolds some outer planes and which cannot be penetrated by the power of the Immortals. Some suspect that behind the Barrier is concealed the truth of the Multiverse and the secret of creation, possibly the creators of the entire known and unknown universe, gifted with an unparalleled knowledge: the Old Ones. Their existence hasn’t been proved, but it’s not just a few Immortals who argue this theory, even if it’s not clear if the Immortals that have vanished so far into the Barrier have effectively achieved a superior state of existence, or have simply vanished forever. What is certain is that the place known as the Dimensional Vortex or Barrier is as dangerous to Immortals as it is to mortals, and those few Immortals who have been lucky enough to return from beyond the Barrier, don’t remember anything of their experience inside it, as if it had been deliberately removed by some higher power. In any case, the Immortals prefer not to risk it and rarely venture in the Vortex…
*For further details on the Inner and Outer Planes refer to the Companion and Master sets, Rules Cyclopedia and Wrath of the Immortals supplement.

The Vortex and the Secrets of the Old Ones
That which lies beyond this barrier that has existed for millennia, as well as the history of its creation is unknown to the current Immortals, and even if one of the more powerful and ancient Immortal has any memory of the events relating to the appearance of the Dimensional Vortex hasn’t ever divulged his knowledge.
In truth the Vortex was created by the entities called Old Ones for separating their dimension, the Sixth, from the rest of the Multiverse, so that to enjoy a privileged place of observation on what was their most important experiment: the creation of Immortals in the Multiverse. The Old Ones are extremely few and the only way for expanding their standing is that of spurring the Immortals to overcome their own barrier and ascend to a superior form of existence. The journey to be made is extremely arduous, seeing that it involves achieving the summit of Immortality not once but twice, and in both cases the candidate must succeed to become as powerful as possible by obtaining the rank of Hierarch of their own Sphere. Only at this point is the memory of the previous life returned and he is called by the Old Ones for joining them in the Sixth Dimension, when the Blackballs appear from the Vortex approach and disintegrate the body of the candidate (in reality transferring its essence across the Barrier).
It isn’t known what the true plans of the Old Ones are, nor if they are fighting against other unknown forces beyond the Barrier: what is certain is that they patiently observe without intervening everything that happens in the Multiverse, and that its preservation represents for them a priority quest. On the nature of the Old Ones and of their goals however, the mystery continues.

SPHERES OF POWER AND THE IMMORTAL HIERARCHY
All the Immortals draw power from two principal sources: from the veneration that they receive from their own followers and especially from the bond they share with their own Sphere. Because of this their ultimate aim is to increase their number of followers in the Multiverse, in order to rise up the hierarchy and reach the zenith of power. However at the same time, they must put before their personal designs the importance of their Sphere of power, and try their best to increase the Sphere’s influence in the Multiverse. These are the two principal reasons for life for every existing Immortal.
The entire universe can in fact be divided into five components called Spheres of Power that are the Spheres of Matter, Energy, Time, Thought and Entropy (or Sphere of Death). Every existing thing in the Multiverse is made up from these five components, mixed in varied percentages. The Spheres of Power are not a defined place of reality, but rather the five primal forces that make up the universe, being invisible and immeasurable that link all the existing things in the Multiverse and which manifest with more or less intensity in the many planes of existence* The Spheres also represent a series of concepts, philosophical essences and ways of seeing the universe that distinguishes the Immortal, a common denominator by which the Immortals are recognised and to which they are joined, since it shares with each the ideas that are its basis, given that everyone represents more of the other element that distinguish the essence of an Immortal.
Every Immortal can serve just one Sphere of power, trying to increase its influence, or to maintain the status quo in the relationships between the various Spheres. The main aim of the Multiverse is in fact, balancing of the Spheres of power. If a Sphere should gain an excessive dominance over the others, the final victory could not be that of Entropy, since all the Spheres are essential for the harmony. Although each Sphere constantly strives for its own predominance and growth, the other Spheres try to keep it in balance, impeding or at least delaying the ascension.
All the alignments are present in each Sphere, but one of them is dominant. Each being philosophically associated to an element that is symbolic to a particular type of alignment, favouring a certain class in the ascension of the mortals among the divine hierarchy (see the section dedicated to the Paths of Immortality for further details), and in virtue of its philosophy is directly opposed to at least one other Sphere.
The Spheres of power in which the Multiverse is divided are explained more thoroughly as follows:

Energy: for the denizens of this Sphere, magic, the vital energy and the imponderable are the most important things that in the universe, and therefore they simultaneously preserve, worship, and enhance it by any means. They seek to create and exploit the energy present in Matter and in Chaos, and at the same time are opposed to any attempt of rationalising and imprisoning the final and immeasurable essence of the universe. Its principal aim is the creation of new energy and activity. Energy is extremely active and dynamic: pursuing the modification and the transformation of things by the means of consuming Matter, the slowing down of Time and the attempt of constraining Thought to liberate more Energy. Energy is extremely creative and has the capacity of channelling the magical essence for creating and moulding real items. Energy is associated with the element of fire, represents the Chaotic alignment (disorder and diversification) and favours the arcane classes. It’s opposed to Thought’s efforts to tighten its control, and attempts to transform Matter, whilst resisting the devastations of Time.

Entropy: for the denizens of this Sphere, Chaos, destruction and anarchy are the fundamental laws of the universe, and the only ones acknowledged and respected. They do their best to increase entropy and confusion in the Multiverse, subvert and destroy the constituted order in order to return the universe to Chaos, and admire any of their particular ways to the destruction of the various mortal races and to the submission of the weak. The other four Spheres are opposed to Entropy, yet acknowledge its importance in the functioning of each of them. Entropy is the weakness of the universe, the waste and the ruin, it is the attempt of bringing everything to it’s end; at the same time, even its existence isn’t conceivable or possible without that of the other powers, afterwards, it seeks to subdue them, before bringing total destruction. The Immortals of this Sphere represent, for the majority of mortals, the faithless, despicable and demonic creatures, whilst for others they are leaders to follow or imitate in order to achieve power and the ultimate freedom. Entropy is opposed to all four of the other Spheres (destroying Matter, draining Energy, arresting the passage of Time and preventing coherent Thought) and being associated with the Void, but doesn’t favour any class in particular in the ascension towards Immortality, even if preferring the Evil and Chaotic creatures.

Matter: for the denizens of this Sphere, what counts is order and immutability. They try to bring a definite form to the universe, to Matter, Thought and Energy, of containing Chaos in the mesh of logic and immutable laws, and especially of withstanding the corruption of Matter caused by Time. The aim of Matter is the resistance to ruin and destruction and is therefore characterised by a tendency to strength and stability. Matter, in its three forms, represents the constituent elements of all things and also, in ruin, uses the elements for creating new orderly forms. Matter is associated with the element of Earth, represents the Lawful alignment (order and form in all things) and favours the warrior classes. It opposes the efforts of the Sphere of Time of changing the creation and supplies to Thought the existing order.

Thought: for the denizens of this Sphere, the capacity of comprehending the unknown and of rating any experience is the ultimate reason of life of any being. They try to make the mind and Thought prevail over Matter and Energy and of escape the passage of Time and the degradation that it brings to things and to knowledge. The ultimate aim of Thought is the application of category to all that exists and the reduction of the other Spheres to its instruments. Thought is the real essence of the Immortals: it is realisation, philosophy knowledge. Thought tries to analyse everything and can manipulate the other powers of the universe. It doesn’t represent any one alignment, but the understanding of all three, and favours the thief class, which is theoretically more eclectic. Thought is associated with the element Water, is opposed to the chaotic excesses of the Sphere of Energy and try of manipulate the effects of Time for creating order and form in Matter.

Time: for the denizens of this Sphere, the flow of Time rules the life of the universe, and it promotes a continuing and regular change. Its aim is the promotion of the changes in all things and the maintenance of the passage of Time. Time is everywhere, running and flowing, recycling the lessons of the past in order to make them relevant in the present. It is a creative force that gives birth and obsolescence in order to change things. For this is the hammer that brings change within Matter and Energy, and in order to avoid total destruction to the ravages of entropy, which would stop any further change. Time is associated with the element water, represents the Neutral alignment, since this is a balance between change and stability, and favours the cleric class. It is opposed to the endeavours of the Sphere of Matter that try to withstand change, causes a loss of Energy through the passage of Time and supply to Thought the lessons from history.

Within each Sphere, the Immortals measure their own power based on a hierarchical scale made of ranks and levels. The lowest rank is that of Initiate, to which belong all the “novices”, (a being who has recently achieved Immortality and still haven’t begun to expand their own influence in the Multiverse), or those that, despite being ‘old’ by Immortal standards, prefer not to actively act within the universe and they concentrate their attention on few projects.

Following next is the rank of Temporal, in which is a large slice of the Immortals; who are mainly active in the Prime and try to always carve out more space personally exploring the outer planes and participate in missions given them by their hierarch superiors.

In the rank of Celestial instead has within it those Immortals whose position has been consolidated for a long time (usually centuries), wisely manoeuvring their own faithful on the Prime and in the Outer Planes, and attempting to climb the summit of power personally engaging in many projects in the Multiverse. However, many of them are by now fixed in the hierarchal scale because of an indolent complaisance of their status, which causes them to not risk anything in order to not lose anything.

The rank Empyreal is populated by Immortals recognised for centuries by mortals; they are creatures that inspire veneration and respect, who are active in the entire Multiverse with different projects, and that happily leave the Initiates and Temporals the exploration of the Multiverse to concentrate instead on the game of power with the members of a higher standing, ultimately risking their mortal identities on the Prime Plane in order to increase their own Sphere of influence. They climb higher before reaching the top rank of Eternal, in which are a few Immortals for each Sphere of power (even if there isn’t a ‘fixed number’ in this regard); millenarian divinities that are able to accumulate power thanks to their unending work of manipulation of the mortals and of their equals, an ability that has the rest frightened but also envious. They are usually at the centre of grand multiplanar projects, of epic and age old quests, and many of them rarely remain inactive for long. They are so close to the summit that they are seen as dangerous rivals by the hierarchs, who try to control and check them, and at the same time they are objects of envy for the lesser ranks, who try to take advantage of their influence and knowledge in order to be able to reach their level.
The rank of Hierarch is finally a privilege of few Immortals millenarians, often identified with some elemental force and known by the majority of the existing cultures in the Multiverse. All the existing members of the First Generation of Immortals have the rank of Hierarch (like Thanatos, Hel, Odin, Ixion and Valerias) and in most cases they are Supreme Hierarchs (Immortals of 36th level as head of the Sphere of Power) of their respective Sphere.
There exists innumerable Immortals of each level, but only one Supreme Hierarch (of 36th level), and each time that an Immortal becomes as powerful he must challenge the current head of his Sphere, the result is a duel (at times physical, but much more often hard-fought strokes of projects and machinations for weakening the rival in the Multiverse) by which one of the two inevitably loses out and is reduced in power (effectively losing a level). This however happens very rarely (as happened to Hel ultimately in the Wrath of the Immortals campaign, in 1009 AC, when she was replaced by Thanatos at the zenith of Entropy), and is always an event that never brings great disruption within of the Sphere (given that the objectives of a Supreme Hierarch coincides with the interests of the Sphere, and they are immutable).

*The Spheres are exactly balanced in the Prime Plane, a condition that all the Immortals with the exception of the Entropics seek to maintain, while each is dominant in the corresponding elemental planes (Energy in Fire, Matter in Earth, Thought in Air and Time in Water) and in other outer planes (for example Pyts is the stronghold of Entropy, Draesten of Energy, Brynn of Matter, Entrem of Time and Mirage of Thought). Finally, the Ethereal and Astral planes are dominated by the Sphere of Thought.

IMMORTALS ON THE PRIME PLANE
For the Immortals assume particular interest the Prime Plane, the only one that abuts with the other planes of existence. A cause of its position in the heart of the astral and ethereal network represents access to all the planes of existence and the only place in which all the elements and the powers are represented. Therefore, many Immortals travel via the Prime, which represents the connection between the native planes of the majority of the Immortals and the infinite Outer Planes, where the powers are in constant change. The Prime is treated as neutral territory for all the powers; the root of its importance is as access to all the other planes. If one of the Spheres tries to invade the Prime Plane the other Spheres unite to repulse the attack.
Because of the special importance that the Prime Plane covers, place of balance of the Spheres and of the elements for excellence, all the Immortals (including the Hierarchs) know they must respect the Laws of Existence, which obliges them to not abuse their powers on the Prime and to maintain the balance in the Multiverse. They can be summed up thus:

The first law refers to the intervention of an Immortal against or in favour of a mortal creature that involves the use of his own real powers, of whichever nature they have. It is the most important law among the three, and the one is normally sanctioned with the heaviest punishments, usually threatened by a special council of hierarchs or by the same hierarch of the Sphere to which the Immortal belongs. The second refers to the use of any form of Power (or Immortal magic) within of the Prime Plane, independently by the end. The third refers to the discovery of the true nature of an Immortal hidden behind a mortal identity as part of a sensible group of mortals (who therefore have noticed they have been manipulated and of the presence of Immortal creatures on the Prime), and are usually sanctioned by the Hierarch of the Sphere to which the unmasked Immortal belongs. These last two are certainly the most difficult violations to discover and also the less important, unless they create sensitive unbalances within of the Prime.
There are however ways of circumventing the three laws without incurring the ire of the other Immortals, and each Immortal is aware of them. The subtlest form consists in the use of signs or omens of a determined event or of the imminence of a danger, for driving the mortals to accomplish certain tasks. Another form, almost equally common, consists in the inspiring the mortals by means of suggestion or manipulation of inanimate items and non-intelligent creatures. In the attempt of changing the course of history, an Immortal can resort to more direct methods. The most common is the use of an agent, a servant or follower of the Sphere of power. Sometimes, an agent can be given an artefact, or of a specific quest to achieve with his ability and his means. However, the agent will fin he faces mortal risks, in the attempt of carrying out his work. The agents can then adopt a less risky system, try to convince a powerful mortal to take on the task in question. Finally, in cases of extreme necessity, an Immortal can personally commit oneself: always appearing in disguise and tries to never reveal his Immortal nature. However, his personal appearance involves the risk of him losing powers, or risking his status within of the divine hierarchy and sometimes even his Immortal nature. He can indeed act on the Prime by using intermediary mortals (followers or inspired heroes in dream or with prophecy) or exalted creatures (demons, celestial beings or similar, which must nevertheless pay attention to not attract too much attention), by directly manipulating the events whilst in a mortal body (called identity), without revealing their own true nature to the surrounding world. This interference is much more directly controllable by an Immortal, but exposes him to major risks, since if his mortal form is killed he would be exiled on his Home Plane for a number of days equal to his Hit Points (without considering the danger of being unmasked in front of numerous witnesses); and if he is later defeated again by the same mortal, this would mean his immediate fall of a rank in the Immortal hierarchy (loss of a level). In these cases, the Immortal interference is therefore always programmed and calculated with many taking care in order to avoid being unmasked or identified by the Immortal guardians. The use of mortal identities by the Immortal is tolerated by the hierarchs as long as it doesn’t induce a distraction of great proportions in any part of the universe: to this point the other Immortals investigating the matter (using mortals or assuming for a time their mortal identities), until the guilty have been discovered and adequately punished by the Immortal hierarchs. It stands to reason that the majority of the intolerable interferences are caused by Immortals of Entropy, those who instead preach the direct action on the Prime for increasing the power of their Sphere and sweeping away their opposition.
There are however few exceptions to the rule on reporting, that each Immortal acknowledges and approves. Firstly Plane, it is accepted by all without argument. Usually this decision was taken in order to protect the balance of the Prime Plane or even the existence of a culture or of a planet, as happened to Blackmoor during the Great Rain of Fire and with the experiment of the Hollow World, or as happens when they ask an Immortal to ensnare another Immortal guilty of having broken one of the three rules mentioned above.
Secondly, an Immortal can directly intervene on the Prime Plane when he is punishing a follower who has been proven disrespectful or a traitor. Normally, when he verifies a want on the part of a priest or another member of his cult, the Immortal is limited to not granting spell-casting powers until the guilty party’s piety is unquestioned or he has absolved his deficiency. However, in exceptional cases in which a particularly important follower openly denies the Immortal and his doctrine and begins to betray or thwart him, the Immortal is authorised to intervene directly on Prime Plane (or wherever the traitor is found) and personally chastise him, even in the presence of other mortals, without being condemned by his fellows. This provision is necessary to the Immortals so that they can fear and reverence in their own followers, and convey the image of omnipotence that their status needs.
Thirdly and finally, each Immortal can send to the mortals determined prophecies and act until the end to make them happen. Before doing so, he must notify the entity of the prophecy and of his intervention to the Immortals tasked with creating respect for the Laws of Existence, and following their authorisation, can intervene on the Prime for sending celestial signs to their followers (for example a comet that suddenly crosses the sky, or a rain of frogs, etc.). It is clear then that the Immortal can act secretly in order to manipulate events and mortals in a way to realise their predictions, but only need the authorisation of the observers in order to send divine signs on the Prime (without which such “signs” having as a result the death of any mortal or any enemy of the Immortal, or worse mass destruction).

THE PATH TO IMMORTALITY
As he acquires experience and begins to comprehend how the Multiverse functions, the character begins to learn of powers that go beyond mortal perception. He discovers the existence of superior beings that manipulate the world, and maybe the entire universe, pursuing their own mysterious aims, and ever more frequently comes into direct contact with them or their more powerful followers, until, in the mind of the more audacious, the idea of succeeding to achieve the same level of power of the Immortal and also become an Immortal is born. From this spring epic sagas, that serves to appraise the value of the simple mortals and to pursue the mysterious objectives of the Immortals, forging a new legion of individuals that one-day, perhaps, inherit the Multiverse.
Thus begins the journey that brings the more worthy to fill a post among the Celestial Spheres: simply wishing to overcoming their own barrier and becoming something different, some for a pure thirst of power, some to defend good or evil, order or chaos in the universe, some simply for a sense of challenge. But not all are able to realise this dream, in fact only a smallest part of those that begin the journey to Immortality sees his dream crowned, and inevitably becomes aware also that with the absolute power also comes greater responsibility to those of every other being. Once Immortal, the character is able to manoeuvre (more or less directly) the course of events, pursuing the quest of making progress in their Sphere of power and of advancing in the hierarchal scale until he reaches the summit of his own Sphere.
Since therefore nearly all the Immortals were one time mortal and the task of the candidates able to strengthen the standing of each Sphere constantly pursues, the DM can allow characters to research Immortality, undertaking the long journey for entry in the legend. Immortality is difficult by attain and the majority of those people that try, never make it. However, the more tenacious and heroic characters are able to prove their great worth, and once they achieve Immortality, it’s extremely likely that they are taken from the land of the living and live on only in legend and in the words of their priests (since his field of play becomes the Multiverse).
The only way to enter the Celestial Spheres consists in the completion of several tasks of extreme difficulty. There are five paths that lead to Immortality, each one of which corresponds to one of the five Spheres of power. Any intelligent mortal that achieves the last level can try of achieving Immortality covering one of these paths, even if the fifth path, the one that leads to entropy, inevitably is a journey by evil and extremely egoistic individuals, and is the only one which has four variants (everyone of these is opposed to one of the paths of the other four Spheres).

PREREQUISITES FOR CANDIDACY
The candidate for Immortality must be a figure of proven experience and of a certain fame won thanks to his enterprise, in order to be able to enter onto the path towards Immortality*. These paths aren’t commonly known, and the DM should use this task as the basis for a long adventure, at the end of which the candidate must have gained at least one level of experience before being ready to encounter his Patron.
Each path for Immortality begins in the way described in the following paragraph: it is ascertained that the relative ins and outs of the various paths have been well presented before the character makes his choice.

The task of an Immortal and the petition for obtaining his sponsorship constitutes the first of many difficult tasks. The task of a Patron often takes the quester to the summit of remote peaks that are famous for being particularly dangerous and inaccessible places.
Once the location is chosen, the mortal must obtain a treasure of incredible wealth and adapted to the Immortal’s Sphere (this obviously implies that the mortal must be informed on the significance of the Spheres of power and on their objectives, before he selects which Immortal to devote himself to). This gift must be of particular beauty and have characteristics corresponding to the nature of the Immortal’s Sphere. The possibility of a positive response on the part of the Immortal is directly proportional to the value of this gift.
At this point, the journey can begin. It must demand at least one year in game time; again, in the course of the journey, the character must advance one level#. The journey must be very treacherous and filled with a series of collateral events that should distract the character from his final quest. The gift must be guarded with diligence therefore avoiding theft or damage; if this should happen, the damage must be fixed or the gift retrieved, before being able to continue the journey. Also the scaling of the mountain must be obligatory.
The DM must set up seven encounters, each one of which acts as a test for the following qualities:

These characteristics can be adjusted based on the quester’s alignment. It’s not always necessary to defeat an encounter to continue the ascent; although it is necessary to demonstrate the possession of the qualities shown above. Reaching the summit, the character must meditate for 1–6 days, praying with fervour to the Immortal, which has always been achieved by the invocation, but, before responding, carry out an appraisal of the character’s nature. To establish the Immortal’s response, roll 1d10, applying the following modifiers:

Modifiers to the Petition
–5 - If the Alignment of the character differs from that preferred by the Sphere to which he would like to join
–5 - For each person with the character
–3 - If the character has revealed any secrets relating to the path for Immortality to others
–3 - For each test failed during the scaling of the mountain
–3 - If the character is a follower of an Immortal disliked by his Patron.
–2 - If the character’s Alignment differs from his Patron’s
+1 - For every test passed
+1 - If the character is a follower of an Immortal of the same Sphere of his Patron Immortal (but not of the Patron)
+1 - If the character’s Alignment is the same as his Patron’s
+1 - If the character has always been a follower (although not a cleric) of the Patron Immortal or if the Immortal is favourably disposed to the character
+1 - If the character brings a Minor Artefact
+2 - If the character brings a Inferior Artefact
+3 - If the character is a cleric of his chosen Patron.
+4 - If the character brings a Major Artefact
+8 - If the character brings a Superior Artefact$

Despite the modifiers, the final result cannot be lower than 1 or greater than 10.

Result of the Petition
1–2 - The Immortal reacts adversely and communicates to the character, sending a sign within 1–6 days, that he won’t respond to the prayer.
3–8 - The Immortal arrives in 1d100 days. Within 1d4 days sends a sign that heralds the imminence of his arrival.
9–10 - The Immortal is very impressed and arrives in 1d6 days.

During the period before the arrival of the Immortal, the character must remain on the summit of the mountain and spend 80% of his waking time in meditation. If he leaves the mountain, it is necessary to check again the Result of the Petition, applying a penalty of –2 to the result. If the Immortal responds, he sends a sign to invite the character to return to the mountain. If the second result is 9 or 10, the Immortal manifests wherever the character is at the appointed time, but not while the character is in the company of another individual.
The arrival of an Immortal always represents a particularly wonderful or mysterious event. In the first case, the Immortal materialises in elemental form, according to the Sphere to which he belongs:

Matter: emerges from the earth or appears as any one mortal creature with perfect form and features;
Energy: arrives on a beam of light in a flaming and particularly bright form;
Time: it appears in liquid form or like a whirlwind;
Thought: it appears in the form of an illusion or as a savage being enveloped by the wind.

The appearance immediately causes the paralysis of all the mortals present in the area; the Immortal can release any creature caught from the paralysis. He examines the character and then communicates with him, verbally or telepathically, to inquire of what is the aim of his invocation. The mortal must explain his desire of attaining the sponsorship of the Immortal for aspiring to Immortality and humbly present his gift as a sign of respect and devotion. To determine the response of the Immortal roll a 1d10, that is subject to the following modifiers:

Modifiers to the Presentation
–8 - If the character has failed most tests of this path
–5 - If the character seems arrogant
–4 - If the character has already asked other Immortals for sponsorship
–2 - If the gift’s value is less than 25,000 gp
+1 - If the gift’s value is equal to or greater than 25,000 gp
+1 - Every 25,000 gp of value over 25,000 (gift’s value 50,000 gp: +2, gift’s value 75,000 gp: +3, etc.)
+1 - If the class of the character is that favoured by the Sphere of the Immortal contacted£
+2 - If the character has passed more tests than he failed
+3 - If the character has passed all of the tests

Final Response of the Immortal
1–2 - Petition rejected. The Immortal destroys the gift and sets the character a difficult quest, before he can return again to put forward his petition.
3–8 - Petition accepted.
9–10 - Petition enthusiastically accepted. The Immortal gives to the character a small magical item of his Sphere of power and teleports him home together with all of his gear.

Whatever his response, the Immortal takes the gift, and in 50% of the cases also all the treasure and magic items that the mortal and his companions have with them.
If the Immortal grants the petition, he conveys to the character the instructions relating to the next steps to undertake in the following the path to Immortality. He responds, in kind, to the demand, as long as they are reasonable. He then states the conditions for the following encounter, and then goes without leaving any trace of his passage.
After his departure, the Immortal will not be seen until at the end of the path or until the character returns to propose the petition. From this moment forward the Immortal, even though invisible, places obstacles and difficulties in the path of the character.

Notes
*For the Classic D&D rules (Rules Cyclopedia and Basic-Master sets), for candidacy towards Immortality a human character must have achieved at least 30th level, while a demihuman must have at least to 2,000,000 XP. For the D&D Third Edition rules it’s necessary that the total levels of the character be at least 18th and that he has at least 5 levels in a single class (considered his preferred class).
#Or by gaining at least 150.000 XP in the case of the Classic D&D (Rules Cyclopedia and Basic–Master sets) rules system.
$The division in Inferior, Minor, Major and Superior in the power of divine Artefacts derives from the system introduced in the Master set for Classic D&D and if necessary refer to that rule for determining the type of artefact. For the D&D Third Edition rules it’s considered that for each 3 powers possessed by the Artefact it belongs to one category higher.
£For this see the Third Edition rules for multiclassed characters, it is intended that the primary class of the PC (that is the one in which the PC has the most levels) must be one of those preferred by the Sphere.

THE PATHS OF THE FIVE SPHERES
The following quest of a mortal to gain a patron consists in achieving the last experience level [36th for Classic D&D, 20th for D&D Third Edition]. The principal to which he must aspire, from this moment in future, bring fidelity to the Sphere of power he preselected, to which he must bring glory and honours in the course of the tests which he will undergo.
Every path includes five difficult hurdles, which naturally the mortal must overcome:

After finishing all the stages of this journey (in no particular order in the majority of cases), the character must return to the mountain and rendezvous with his Patron. If the character hasn’t passed one or more tests, the Immortal can impose further objectives necessary to the obtaining of Immortality.
If all the tests have been overcome, roll 1d10. On a result of 1, the Immortal states that (at his whim) the character has failed and has not gained Immortality; can therefore lay down new tests or give a definite denial. If he is successful the mortal has a year to put affairs in order, before leaving the Prime Plane and ascending to the Celestial Spheres. The paths for Immortality in the five Spheres are shown next in alphabetical order.

Dynast (Time)
This is the path for the Sphere of Time that favours the Cleric and Druid classes (and in general whichever spellcasting classes purely with divine magic).

Quest: the candidate must found a dynasty (or set his own protégée at the head of a dynasty), who must rule the kingdom for at least 20 years, during which the character must face at least 4 obligatory tests for his government (as regnant or as protector of the regnant in place). During this period, it is necessary that the character (or the regnant who watches over the Dynast) has a living grandchild, in a position to perpetuate the dynasty. It’s not important whether the grandchild is a blood relative or adopted, but he must be officially announced in his role of heir.

Trial: the Dynast must travel into the future to three different periods, and aid three different descendants to keep their kingdom and perpetuate the dynasty. These descendants must exist in a period of time following that of the grandchild who inherited the kingdom after the first 20 years (see Quest). Once he finishes the Trial, the character has completed his path of the Dynast and is made an acolyte in the Sphere of Time by his Patron, this could happen at the time in the future in which he completed the third journey, or, if he successful returned back, shortly after the time of his first jump forward in time.

Task: the candidate must find an artifact that permits time travel. This artefact should always be difficult to use, and thanks to this he learns the importance of preserving the flow of time (instead of changing things to suit him) for avoiding disasters.

Testimony: the Dynast must create a kingdom with a human population not less than 50,000 people (of not less than 10,000 individuals for any other race that the character belongs to). Further, he must design and construct a new capital for his kingdom.

Epic Hero (Thought)
This is the path for the Sphere of Thought that favours the Barbarian, Ranger and Thief classes (and in general any class with few arcane or divine powers and without a rigid mental set up).

Quest: the Epic Hero must base his existence on the heroic ideals of courage, firmness and dedication. He must carry to completion a nearly impossible task, for example drive away all the dragons of the world or build a castle in the sky. The deed must require about five years. Furthermore, his Patron must constantly observe and test him to pin point signs of yielding or of corruption. Naturally, minor failures are allowed (after all the candidate is still only a mortal and as such imperfect), but if the Patron finds out that the candidate cheats or simulates a heroic behaviour only for achieving Immortality, can ordain that the Quest has not been completed until the candidate has profoundly reformed.

Trial: The Epic Hero must get hold of, and destroy, an artifact of the Sphere of Entropy; obviously, this will cause many encounters with assassins and followers of entropic demons in epic battles.

Task: the candidate must find a Superior Artefact of the Sphere of Thought. Which is in the hands of enemy agents of the Sphere or simply forgotten in a lost site and good guards, is a deed that is worthy of becoming legendary.

Testimony: the Epic Hero must name and train a successor (which can also be the character of another player). It’s not necessary that the successor belongs to the same class as the Hero, but must share the same ideals. The successor must gain at least 12 levels in the company of the Epic Hero and must succeed the candidate in a position of prominence (for example as leader of a cavalry order or of a band of pirates).
Furthermore, the candidate must create a new legendary weapon. If he is a spellcaster, he must use his own powers for rendering magic; otherwise he must recruit someone to enchant the weapon. In whichever case he must personally undertake the Task of acquiring the special components with which the weapon is made, and once it is created, use it in a series of epic deeds until the name of the weapon becomes legendary. Once he achieves Immortality, the character must then hand on the weapon to his legitimate successor so that he can follow in the path of the Epic Hero.

Polymath (Matter)
This is the path for the Sphere of Matter that favours the Fighter, Paladin and Monk classes (and in general whichever class with few magic powers and a leaning to a lawful code of conduct).

Quest and Task: the Polymath must face a trial that requires him to be reincarnated in three different lives (becoming each time a being of a different class or race than before) and succeed in the same deed in all of them. In the course of each of these three lives, he must, in fact, find and recover the same artefact that can belong to any Sphere (excluding Entropy). It can be of different form and with a different history each time, even if in reality it is always the same item that nevertheless the Patron slightly changes for putting new tests and barriers in the way of the candidate, in a way that each task’s outcome is different from the previous, even if it is always dangerously real. Very often in fact the tactic of the Patron Immortal is that of placing the item in the middle of a situation which needs changing or of a group of enemies that needs eliminating, exploiting the intervention of the Polymath to his own advantage.
Each new career starts at first level, without any memory of his previous life, but always keeps his original alignment, even if this could give unusual results for the class or race in which he reincarnated. He, further, keeps his characteristic scores, even if he has to assign a different characteristic based on the new reincarnation (eg. If at the beginning he was a Wizard with the high score 18 in Intelligence, in the first incarnation he could be a Fighter with Strength 18, and in the second a Cleric with Wisdom 18, and so on, at the discretion of the DM). The Polymath can maintain the same sex in all three reincarnations, based on the choice of the Patron and of the situation in which he was placed. Furthermore the Immortal should provide false memories to each of his reincarnations, or should make the character suffer from amnesia and remember nothing of his infancy in this reincarnation; in whichever case, in each incarnation the candidate is always found in adult form and not have to mature before starting his task (unless the Patron decides otherwise as a joke). The selection of the new form of the Polymath can happen at the discretion of the DM or leave it to chance and use this table based on 1d100 (remember that if the character changes race he doesn’t necessarily have to also change class in the new incarnation, the choice is at the discretion of the DM):

New Class
01–09 - Barbarian
10–18 - Bard
19–27 - Cleric
28–36 - Druid
37–45 - Fighter
46–54 - Rogue
55–63 - Wizard
64–72 - Monk
73–81 - Paladin
82–90 - Ranger
91–00 - Sorceror

New Race
01–09 - Elf
10–18 - Giant
19–27 - Gnome
28–36 - Goblinoid
37–45 - Halfling
46–54 - Half-blood
55–63 - Monster (intelligent)
64–72 - Shapechanger
73–81 - Dwarf
82–90 - Human
91–00 - Monstrous humanoid

The real task for the artefact only starts when the character reaches 5th level. After the first two searches have been successful, the Patron appears within 10–200 (1d20 x 10) days, reclaims the artefact; then returns the character to 1st level, makes him forget the past, before he commences his new life. The third time, the Polymath concedes tenure of the artefact and returns all the memories of the previous lives.

Trial: after he has completed the last part of the task and has erected his monument (see Testimony), the Polymath must adventure alone on a quest that requires him to achieve 12th level. He starts again at 1st level in the preferred class of his first incarnation (the real one), advancing until 12th level, but can draw on the abilities of the various classes of the played character, and advances in all the classes at the same time, using the best Saving Throws and Attack Rolls based on the classes or races in which he was incarnated. However in order to advance in all four of the classes, he must divide the XP equally between the four classes, and which, therefore, takes a long time (he cannot advance to the next level if he hasn’t first achieved the XP necessary for advancing in all four classes)*. Once he reaches 12th level, the Patron Immortal presents himself before the Polymath and admits him into the reselected Sphere.

Testimony: the Polymath must be accompanied in his adventures by at least 4 characters, each of which must be one of the following classes: Fighter (or Ranger or Monk), Cleric (or Druid or Paladin), Wizard (or Sorceror or Bard) and Thief (or Barbarian). None of these companions should be of a higher level than the character. If any of these is killed, the aspiring Immortal must find a way of reviving him, putting aside his principal quest, in the case that it is necessary. After completing the task and the first of the trials, the character must erect a monument at least 30 metre high, to the memory and glorification of his adventures. The monument must remain in position for at least 10 years.

Paragon (Energy)
This is the path for the Sphere of Energy that favours the Wizard, Bard and Sorceror classes (and in general whichever spellcaster class just with arcane magic).

Quest: the Paragon must be recognised as superior to all the other exponents of his class (or of the primary class for a multiclass) present within a radius of 160 km from his abode. To achieve this result, he must obtain from the rivals found within his territory a declaration of manifest superiority and must also meet with at least 7 characters of his class and with at least 1 arcane spellcaster (wizard or sorceror) thus defeating at least 8 characters of high level#. If none are present in the area he inhabits, he must look in the surrounding area, and these may also ally against the Paragon, while the candidate must face them by himself. It’s not important that he kills them, simply sacks their territory (assuring however that the exiled cannot return, and then blocking any trespass) or forces them to submit: the important thing is that at the end of the duel he has clearly showed his superiority over the adversaries. The duel is always a one-on-one fight, which follows a challenge declared openly by the Paragon. It is possible for the challenger to bring seconds with him (or assistants or witnesses), and only in this case is it allowed to the Paragon of doing likewise. The seconds must remain out of the encounter, and only if those of the challenger intervene, the assistants of the Paragon can do likewise, but may concentrate their efforts only and exclusively against the allies of the antagonist, abandoning the Paragon only in the challenge with his adversary; in the opposite case instead, any interference by the seconds of the Paragon renders the challenge void in the eyes of the Patron Immortal.

Trial: the Paragon must create a totally new and unique magical item of its kind$. The components must be extremely rare and difficult to obtain, containing at least one unreal item, like the tread of a cat or the roar of a lion, that that forces the player to exercise his creativity in order to find a method that allows him to get possession of this element. The physical creation of the item must happen by the hands of the same character (in the case these are capable of creating a magical item), or by the hands of a skilled spellcaster that was hired by the Paragon, and whose cost contributes to the total expense of the item. The time employed for creating the item will amount to one week plus a day for each 1,000 gp of final value of the item.£

Task: the Paragon must find an Inferior artifact of Energy after a long task and extremely difficult which must last at least 5 years.

Testimony: the Paragon must recruit at least 6 apprentices, who must gain at least 12th levels whilst they are in his service. Furthermore, he must transform the region around his abode, confined to an area of at least 160 km radius, giving it a characteristic aspect and transplant at least 1,000 inhabitants of an uncommon type (for the region in which he’s found).

Entropy
This is the path for the Sphere of Entropy that doesn’t favour any class in particular. Given that Entropy is opposed to the other four Spheres, in its case there exist four distinct paths for achieving Immortality, each one of them is directly opposed to one of the four paths of the other Spheres in a sort of negative or compensatory parody.

Destroyer
This is the path that is opposed to that of the Epic Hero and in general to the Sphere of Thought. The people that follow this path are brutal and violent individuals without scruples, who enjoys in inflicting pain, humbling the most weak and especially in destroying those with any good within them. Those who reach the end of the path of the Destroyer remain obsessed by the pursued ideals of death and cruelty, suffocating free Thought and replacing it with sentiments of grief and desperation (thus becoming a sworn enemy of the Sphere of Thought, in particular).

Quest: the Destroyer must base his existence on violence, sadism and impiousness. He must be without scruples and never show mercy to anybody and for this he must always surround himself with followers who fear him without loving him, and kill any individual who has shown him any love, beginning with the members of his own family (who must always be sacrificed to the patron Immortal). Further for achieving his Quest the candidate must commit an atrocity of enormous scope against a group of innocents without any subterfuge (like quartering or devouring the babies of a village or raping vestal virgins of all the temples in the region, or even ravish and burn alive the mothers of a community, etc.). The deed must be of a unique kind and can also being completed in a long period, but requires the sacrifice of at least 500 victims.

Trial: the Destroyer must succeed in permanently destroying an artefact of Thought after having had made it with exponents of that Sphere, after torturing and humiliating them.

Task: the Destroyer must find a Major artefact of the Sphere of Entropy, which must have been lost or in the hands of a group of guardians (often members of a rival or opposing cult). The candidate must recover the artefact with brute force (openly facing his enemies without deceit or subterfuge) and kill whoever attempts to stop him. If he had the aid of allies in completing his Task, once he is in possession of the artefact he must also eliminate them (with the only exception of his successor, if he’s present, in this case it doesn’t happen until he gains the 12th level – see Testimony).

Testimony: the Destroyer must find and train a successor who is dedicated to the same ideals as he is, and this successor must gain at least 12 levels whilst in the service of the aspiring Immortal. The Destroyer must treat his pupil in the most brutal way possible, having take care to raise him in his traditions of violence and cruelty, even while preventing from being killed by anyone (even if he can remain disabled), until he is not able to stand him. In any case the successor must not be removed and if necessary must be made a slave in order to constantly accompany the Destroyer in his exploits; if the candidate should kill him before the Testimony is completed or he isn’t able to avoid the death of his successor, he must find a new pupil and start afresh with him.
It’s a further task of the candidate to create an item of legendary destructive power that corrupts its user, increasing the influence of entropy in the world. The Destroyer must then have this item fall into the hands of his successor, and when he uses it against the candidate in order to usurp his position, the Destroyer must liquidate his disciple in a spectacular and painful manner in front of many witnesses. The candidate isn’t allowed to create an item that immediately causes the death of its user: to the contrary, it must be made in a way that his disciple can come to know of all the items powers and is able to use it against him. It’s not important if the successor uses allies in the battle or faces the Destroyer alone: the candidate must take part in the encounter without any outside aid, facing everyone else before killing the successor.

Manipulator
This is the path that opposes that of the Polymath and in general to the Sphere of Matter. Those people who follow this path deceiving and betraying anyone for attaining what he desires, adores manipulating people and infringing the rule for personal gratification, and for this attract the attention of the entropic power as a perfect representative of Chaos. Whoever successfully completes the path of the Manipulator will be obsessed by the idea of corrupting and destroying order and Matter (thus becoming a sworn enemy of that Sphere, in particular).

Quest: during his Task (see below) the Manipulator must be accompanied by at least 4 characters, each of these must belong to one of the following classes: Fighter (or Monk or Paladin), Cleric (or Druid), Wizard (or Sorceror or Bard) and Thief (or Barbarian or Ranger). His companions should be no higher than five levels more than the character. During the task the Quest of the Manipulator is to obtain the confidence of his companions saving then betraying them one after the other and causing their deaths. The betrayal must be noticed by each of the victims at the moment of his death, in such a way that the Manipulator gets enjoyment from his deed; the Quest is achieved when the preselected fourth victim dies.

Trial: after having achieved his Quest and completed his Task, the Manipulator must seek a candidate to Immortality in one of the other four Spheres and join him as allied, pretending to help but in reality hindering in his mission. The aim of the Trial is of corrupting the soul of the aspiring Immortal, making him become a part of Entropy or doing in such a way that his attempt to become Immortal ultimately fails, afterwards causing the death of the candidate, which nevertheless must not happen by the direct hand of the Manipulator (usually the Manipulator is able to lead his victim to suicide or is able to get him killed by an adversary by avoiding to aid him at the most critical moment). If the attempt fails the Manipulator can try again as long as his victim doesn’t unmask him: in this case is forced to abandon the candidate and must find another.

Task: the Manipulator must recover an artefact of the Sphere of Entropy to use during his Testimony, preventing it from being destroyed until he becomes Immortal. If the artefact becomes lost or ruined, the Manipulator must find another and keep it until the moment of his ascension. It isn’t necessary that he always carries it with him, but he must find the way of using it in the Testimony (he can naturally also use it at other times if the need arises).

Testimony: the Manipulator must complete a corrupting deed of epic proportions, like replacing the official creed of a nation with an entropic religion, creating or using an artefact that corrupts (physically or psychologically) at least 1,000 people, and so on, in a way that increases the influence of entropy in the world. This deed must be of such extent that it attracts all possible adventurers drawn from the ranks of order and of Good that acts in the region, in a way that he must face while completing his work of corruption.

Dungeon Master
This is the path that opposes that of the Paragon and in general to the Sphere of Energy. Those people who follow this path are tremendously ambitious and astute (very often also paranoid and megalomania), but usually too proud or cowardly for directly facing their enemies, and prefers to create elaborate traps or surround himself with a vast network of flunkies and monstrous servants for carrying forward his own schemes and eliminate his enemies. Whoever successfully completes the path of the Dungeon Master remains obsessed by the quest for power and by the idea of draining Energy (thus becoming a sworn enemy of that Sphere, in particular).

Quest: the Dungeon Master must face a long series of enemies to prove his superiority and defend his underground lair (see Testimony), protecting at the same time the artefact he created (see Trial). However the confrontation with his enemies must not be in a direct way, but he must manoeuvre the traps and creatures which infest his lair per overwhelming and killing all the adventurers that seek to confront him. In practice, each time that a group of adventurers succeeds in penetrating in his dungeon that much to approach the inner sanctum in which is guarded the artefact created with the Trial, the Dungeon Master must send against the invaders the successor of lowest level (among those he trained, see Testimony) to face them as “final enemy”. If the invaders win, the candidate will not be able to prevent them stealing what they want and must next recover or recreate the artefact (if it has been stolen or destroyed) and once more fill his lair of traps and guardians, even if he isn’t able to replace the slain follower in the final conflict. However if in the deed at least one member of the group of adventurers loses his life, he counts towards the quota of eight adventurers killed that helps the candidate in achieving his Quest.
It is necessary however that the eight individuals killed are each of a higher level than the previous (deaths of lower level aren’t counted), and only when it reaches the last victim must the Dungeon Master personally face the intruders, totally annihilating the group which has entered his underground complex. Given that the candidate cannot control the access to his lair, it can happen that a group can arrive in which there are characters of higher level than of the last victim killed, and if he successfully kills one this makes it much more difficult to find other victims of higher level (example: the third victim is 7th level, and arrive in the dungeon a group where the minimum level of 15th; even if he kills the weakest member, he would then have a very difficult task attracting a character of higher level into the dungeon, and it would similarly be an arduous task to kill him). The only way to successfully resolve this difficult situation is by capturing the intruder and putting him in a situation of extreme danger, except for a way of escape that he smoothly exploits: in this way protecting the lair without necessarily killing the victim. In any case however the candidate can decide to not take account of a slain victim, even if this satisfies the prerequisites for the quest. The patron of the Dungeon Master always helps the candidate to recover the artefact if it is stolen, but on the other hand he will always place new challenges in front of his pupil encouraging ever more powerful groups of adventurers to invade his lair.

Trial: the Dungeon Master must create a completely innovative item (a destructive artefact or which permits the creation of a race of dangerous monsters) that constitutes a threat for at least a thousand living beings. In the case the aspirant isn’t able to make it with magical means, he must hire someone that can help him, also if the fundamental idea must be his by him, and the Dungeon Master must supervise the process of creation of this new menace. The candidate must personally go in search of the more rare components used for the creation and must recover at least one “impossible” component. The time taken for creating the item is based on the normal rules of creation of the items. The candidate must finally use the item at least once to demonstrate his devastating power to his enemies.

Task: the Dungeon Master must undertake a difficult Task lasting at least 5 years for finding an artifact of the Sphere of Entropy, which must be hidden within of a construction (fortress, labyrinth, dungeon or similar) full of dangerous traps and terrible guardians that the candidate must overcome.

Testimony: the Dungeon Master must train at least 6 followers who must progress until 12th level while they’re in his service, and who he should exploit to achieve his Quest. Furthermore he must create an enormous underground complex of at least 6 levels, each of which must be an expansion of over 2,500m2, for guarding his artefact. This underground lair out of necessity must be for attracting heroic adventurers who try and stop the Dungeon Master, and he must overcome all the difficulties that this entails (see Quest) for completing the construction.

Tyrant
This is the path that is opposed to that of the Dynast and in general to the Sphere of Time. Those people who follow this path are individuals attuned to conquest and to rulership with an iron fist, often violent and warlike, who base their power on strength and terror. Whoever successfully completes the path of the Tyrant remains obsessed with the idea of bending the natural order of things and the running of the events to his own incontestable will (becoming therefore a sworn enemy in particular of the Sphere of Time).

Quest: the Tyrant must maintain the balance his own power on the conquered territory (see Testimony) until the end of his mortal life, facing at least three important challenges during his tyranny that the Patron arranges to provide: a hostile military invasion, an attempted state coup and a religious schism. At the death of the Tyrant by natural or unnatural causes (it can not only be the result of conspiracy or open conflict, but also of disease or old age, etc.) the throne must not pass into the hands of a heir, but the candidate must make sure that there are several different pretenders that fight among themselves bringing the civil war within the state.

Trial: following his death after having achieved the set Objective, the patron Immortal takes the soul of the Tyrant and reincarnates it in an inhabitant of the kingdom embroiled in a civil war. The Tyrant has all the memories of his previous life, but starts as a common character of 1st level, and must act in ways to resume the reins of government and reconstruct his reign of terror, returning to occupy the position that he had at his death. It’s also necessary that he completes a memorable action during this return to power that is handed down in centuries to come. If the candidate dies during this phase of his path, he would have lost for ever the possibility of succeeding in his deed. One he has completed the Trial the Tyrant will finally become an Immortal in the Sphere of Entropy.

Task: the Tyrant must find an excellent war machine or an artefact that will enable him to influence the course of a battle in his own favour, and use the object for attaining victory in at least three battlefields within three consecutive years.

Testimony: the Tyrant must conquer a territory with a human population of not less than 50,000 people, or not less than 10,000 individuals for any other race. Moreover, he must convert the majority of the inhabitants of the territory to his own faith.

Notes
*According to the D&D Third Edition rules, in practice during the final phase of the Task the character uses the best ST and BAB of all his classes and races, as well as getting the class abilities and weapons and armour proficiencies from all four of his preferred classes, but the score in XP necessary to achieve the next level is always tripled in respect to the normal. He must, also, select in which of the four classes advance from time to time in order to determine the ability points and the HP available, the skills and the magical ability that advances with the increase in level, and in addition at 12th level he must possess at least 3 levels in each of the preferred 4 classes.
#According to the Classic D&D rules, these challengers must be of at least 25th level. According to the D&D Third Edition rules, the challengers must be of at least 17th level of the character and be of the same preferred class of the Paragon.
$The DM must screen the ideas presented by the player comparing it with the magic items available into his campaign until the proposal seems valid and only in his kind; from that moment the PC is given for creating the item with the powers described.
£According to the Classic D&D rules, the cost for the task necessary to create an item of that kind amounts at least to 1/5 of the XP of the character. According to the D&D Third Edition rules, the cost for the task necessary to create an item of that kind instead amounts to at least 400,000 gp