The Greatest Rune Ring:
Alura
By Josh Hilden
(Authors note: This Item description, and I hope engaging back-story, is designed to be compatible with any Palladium setting, making it a Megaversal resource. When I introduced Alura, it was in the Rifts setting, but in my games, all of the Palladium settings are heavily interconnected, making the transition easy, but her back-story has always been rooted in the Age of Chaos. I hope you all have as much fun using her as I have.)
Introduction
What makes an object mighty?
Is it the destructive potential that it contains?
Is it the power that it grants its wielder?
Scholars across the Megaverse have argued these questions throughout recorded history, with no definite resolution. If you were to ask the average warrior, they will almost always say that the “Great Runic Blades” are the pinnacle of creation amongst the objects of power. But if you were to turn to the learned figures of the Megaverse, they would cite the numerous tomes and volumes of arcane knowledge that have peppered the shores of the Megaverse throughout time.
The sad truth is that this question will never be answered. But there is a shortlist of items that could be placed near the top of any list of such objects. The Legendary swords Castlerake and Frostfoil, The mystic “Book of Thoth,” the great Runic Forge, and of course, the dark and powerful Necrom.
But one item that has been regretfully forgotten by the mighty of the Megaverse is the Rune Ring Alura.
Known written history
One cannot begin to learn the history of the ring Alura without learning the story of Alura the Archer. The only record of her is found in two obscure passages in the Tristine Chronicles:
“As the forces of light were drawn to our world from across many dimensions, many arrived who we would consider fictional in the latter ages. Among their numbers were…….
…...And the beautiful Alura entered the world, her graceful form covered with images of great power, wielding her mighty bow.”
And,
“The city of Sumarat was on the brink of falling to the forces of the Old Ones, all seemed lost to despair when a trumpet sounded from the distance and the Host of Light road toward the city and its beleaguered defenders.
……Alura drew back her bow and let loose the great arrow that Thoth had bequeathed to her. All watched as the arrow pierced the heart of the Bal-Rog General, and he fell from the sky, the day was won.”
In all honesty, there has been very little inquiry into the story of the archer woman and her fate. So many other fragments of tales throughout the Tristine Chronicles tantalize scholars that Alura has been relegated to an interesting footnote, lost to the ebbing tide of time.
True History
During the height of the war with the Old Ones, millions of beings were summoned from countless dimensions by both sides of the conflict. To detail, even a fraction of those called to fight would require many volumes and more time than any sane being would devote to the subject. But there are some exceptions.
Alura was one of the multitudes that joined the war. She accompanied the host that arrived with Thoth in an attempt to change the tide of the war. She was a powerful demigoddess hailing from a forgotten pantheon. And although the Tristine Chronicles tells of her great heroism, it never mentions her end. As her arrow ended the battle for Sumarat, the counter strike from the Bal-Rog general simultaneously ended her existence.
As Alura lay dying on the field of battle, her final thoughts cried out to her mentor and patron, Thoth. Now there are some who would say that Thoth is not a being that ever really considers the beings that serve him, no matter how noble his goals are. But in this instance they would be wrong, Thoth heard the cries and intervened. Although Alura was beyond even his powers to bring back from the edge of oblivion, he offered her a chance to still serve the side of light. Thoth always had many “irons in the fire” and had the perfect use for the noble warrior. He used her essence to power his newest runic creation.
Although Alura was created at the height of the war, she never surfaced as a runic item during it. It was in the years after the war that she was bestowed to an Elven scholar, by Thoth, to help in the reshaping and guiding of the post-Old One's world.
Stats
Name: Alura
Real Name: Alura Menthesa Daughter of Wren
Alignment: Principled
Description: Bright silver band inscribed with ivory runes
Powers and Abilities: All common rune powers plus the following
1) +2 to spell strength, if applicable
2) Defensive aura AR 15, SDC 40 or 20MDC in high PPE environments
3) +15% to all academic skills
4) Speak Elven/Dragonese at 98%
5) +3 to save versus Magic and Psionics
6) Summon Magic Bow (see below)
7) Weapons Proficiency Bow at 10th level
Personality: Alura is very much the same person she was when she became a rune item. Just, noble, and actually a real pain in the butt. She will constantly inform her wielder of what they should be doing at all times.
“Do you really think you need that wine?”
“If you have another piece of cake, you might not fit in your armor.”
“You should be an example to all of those around you, so comb your hair.”
So, while she is honorable and brave, she can also be a nagging shrew. But Alura will always urge the player to do the right thing and try to become a better person than they currently are.
Aluras Magic Bow:
Description: This is the very bow that Alura carried all those millennia ago when she was a flesh and blood being. A beautifully honey-colored recurve bow with a bright silver string. Drawing back the string brings forth a bolt of blue and white energy to be launched at any target.
Payload: a total of 40 draws at full charge, recharges 4 per hour
Damage: 1D4X10 SDC or 6D6 MDC in a PPE rich environment per bolt
Rate of Fire: 1 per action equal to the total number of characters attacks
Range: 1000 yards
Bonuses: +2 to strike
Note: It takes one action to summon the bow. If the bow leaves the wielder's hand for more than 1 minute, it will return to the ring.