Was anyone else annoyed that a ultra-powerful being like the Lady of Pain could have her senses thwarted by a magical item? In the adventure "Harbinger House", there's a item called the Focrus (I think) that prevented the Lady from sensing what was going on inside Harbinger House! Now, I suppose it could've been an Artifact, but according to the book it appears to be something that was created by the Godsmen fairly recently (and it states their intention to create ANOTHER one, if the first was destroyed during the course of the adventure...) Also, Artifacts usually require special means to destroy, but this one just needs a few good whacks with a sword to destroy! Also, the Focrus is credited with making Harbinger House bigger on the inside than the outside, and several other such affects, yet when it is destroyed, the House stays the same???
"Harbinger House" and the Lady's abilities...
Nope. Who says the Lady of Pain is ultra-powerful? I think it's wonderful that she has weaknesses.
The Focrux is an artifact, though probably a lesser one. Some artifacts are easier to destroy than others. The resources of a planar faction are truly vast - I can easily imagine that the Godsmen could make an artifact if it wanted.
The Focrux is probably an Artifact, yes, and maybe the Planarity as well, but Harbinger house is an Artifact beyond Artifacts. The Focrux is probably just designed to minutely alter a few of Harbinger house's powers to cloak it from The Lady.
You know, there's a lot of talk of Sigil changing and growing at The Lady's will and all, but what if Harbinger house is an extention of that? Maybe, just maybe, it's Sigil trying to reproduce. The place acts just like a little Sigil, and it would make sense for The Lady to not be able to see in, or at least for it not to occur to her to look in. Who expects to find dangerous invaders inside an unhatched egg?
Ironically, that would make the Lady the male of the species and Sigil the female, since Sigil is where the egg is developing. And maybe the dabus are just drones that care for the huge, overdeveloped female, and make sure that it's many and various parasites don't do too much damage to her.
Ok, I've gone off on a tangent, but it's one that I like, at least from a theoretical point of view. . .
It's not the only artifact that has thwarted the Lady either. There's a reason Jeromo doesn't take off his hat.
I ran Harbringer House for my players and one PC (in character) commented to the effect of a magical item's ability to block the senses of the Lady of Pain and wondered about trying to capitalize on it.
To this another player (in character) asked, "Who says the focrux actually worked or that the Lady decided to let work that way it for her own reasons?"
And THAT is why I love my PCs!
"Wait, so this city is on top of an infinitely tall spire (impossible though that is) and magic works here when it does not at the spire? There is no sun or windows but you have a day and night? There is no sky but there is a breathable atmosphere? How does the ruler do all this?"
"Because she's the Lady of Freakin' Pain, Berk!"
If you mean the Helm of the Dabus, I thought that just let him talk in Dabus-style rebuses... not hide him from the Lady somehow!
If I recall correctly, it effectively causes the Lady to believe he's a renegade Dabus. Hence the reason she's taken no action agains him ever, despite good reason.
Ahh, I see! But I couldn't find that in the text...?
Not at all. I think little things like that make the Lady more enigmatic and interesting.
Pants of the North!