Shal Desanea, also known as Shal Bal before marriage, was a famed wizard[6] who lived in Phlan in the mid-to-late 14th century DR.[1]
Description[]
After her transformation, Shal was a tall woman, well over 6 feet (1.8 meters). Her body was muscled on par with the strongest barbarians, and she weighted over 200 pounds (91 kilograms). Shal wore her auburn reddish hair at shoulder length. She had pale silky skin and emerald-green eyes.[1]
As a wizard, she preferred to wear robe s and gowns of purple hue. When adventuring, Shal wore a tunic of soft black chimera skin leather. She carried her numerous spell components in a many-poached belt around her waist.[1]
Personality[]
Shal was a thin and delicate young woman who accidentally changed her body to that of a powerful statuesque warrior. Initially, the change devastated Shal, but with time and the support of her new friends, she came to peace with her new shape and learned to appreciate the benefits her strength brought.[8][1]
She was a good-natured woman who was willing to give a chance to even the most foul-natured orc. However, she did not hesitate to stand in front of danger to protect those in need.[1] When she was pregnant and close to giving birth to her son, Shal selflessly entered a wizardly duel with a powerful Red Wizards Marcus to protect innocent folk of Phlan.[7]
Despite her physical strength, Shal preferred to use her magics from a distance when forced into combat. In close combat, she was far from defenseless as she could dispose of an opponent with a single uppercut or a swing of her trusted staff.[1]
Abilities[]
By her middle age, Shal became a powerful hero and an accomplished wizard. Some of the most powerful spells at her disposal included power word blind, prismatic wall, and Serten's spell immunity. Among more exotic spells Shal learned during her long career in magery was Rary's mnemonic enhancer. In addition to the knowledge of the arcane, Shal was an expert in the ancient lore of her adopted home – Phlan, a trained herbalist, and a proficient horseback rider.[1]
In addition to her keen mind and arcane prowess, she was granted immense stature and physical strength by a mishandled ring of three wishes. She was also trained in fighting using darts, daggers and quarterstaves.[1]
Additionally, Shal possessed minor psionic talents that gave her a Danger Sense that bristled her hair and sent shivers down her skin when danger was near.[1]
Possessions[]
Shal possessed a cloth of many pockets, an enchanted +2 dagger, a crystal ball, and a spellbook that she inherited from her deceased mage master. Later she acquired an enchanted +1 staff a wand of wonder.[1] In Phlan, Shal claimed Denlor's Tower that once belonged to wizard Denlor of Phlan, Ranthor's friend.[9]
Relationships[]
Shal's first social bond was with her master Ranthor of Cormyr with whom she studied the Art. After his death, Shal magically transported herself to the vicinity of Phlan, where she befriended and bonded with her master's familiar, a magical flying horse she made her own familiar. The sassy steed was cerulean in color and bore the same name. Cerulean was also known by his other name – Mulberry.[10][1] Following her adventures along with Tarl Desanea, and Ren o' the Blade, both men developed romantic feelings for her. Ren thought Shal to look a lot like his dead beloved, while Tarl came to love and respect the wizard for her mind. Eventually, Shal wed Tarl Desanea and took his family name. Subsequently, the couple had a son, a hero in his own right, Kern Desanea.[1] Later in life, Shal became acquainted with Evaine, who proved to be a valiant hero and a good friend.[1]
History[]
Before her schooling, Shal lived with family: her father, mother, and brothers somewhere in the town of Eveningstar[1] in Cormyr. Her family members were professional sellsword. She was too frail and petite to be a sellsword adventurer like both of her parents, so a career in magery was young Shal's future, with her parents' encouragement.[1][5]
Shal entered into an apprenticeship when she turned sixteen years of age when her parents heard that the great Ranthor of Cormyr was interviewing for an apprentice.[5] Shal Bal has been an apprentice magic-user for three years in Arabel,[1] when her master, Ranthor of Cormyr, was struck down by an evil foe with a dagger adorned with a bizarre snake's-head armlet in the Year of the Lion, 1340 DR.[3] Ranthor left his home in Arabel on Kythorn 28, heading to his friend Denlor's tower in Phlan. Two tendays later, on Flamerule 24, he was slain.[11] Her master was thoughtful enough to leave certain magical artifacts about to enable her escape. One of these artifacts was a ring of three wishes that she accidentally used. It transformed her small female frame into a tall, well-muscled body when she wished she was strong enough to remove the saddle and packs off of her master's magical horse's back.[12] This accident was beneficial as it added to the proficiency of her magical skills while she traveled with Tarl Desanea, a cleric of Tyr from Vaasa, and Ren o' the Blade,[13] a ranger-thief from Waterdeep, in their adventures across Phlan to assist her friends and avenge her master's death. The vengeance quest brought the trio to a confrontation with Tyranthraxus the Possessing Spirit who lorded over the monster-infested Old Phlan. The creature used the powers of a fabled pool of radiance to control the monsters. Shal and her companions liberated the old city, dealt with a treacherous First City Councilman Porphyrys Cadorna, and slew the Possessing Spirit who inhabited the body of a dragon[1] on Eleasis 13. Shal and Tarl wed during the Harvestide, in Eleint the same year.[11]
A decade later, in the Year of the Morningstar, 1350 DR, Shal and Tarl were happily married adventurers and defenders of Phlan, and the brawny mage was pregnant with Kern Desanea. However, that was the year when Phlan was in grave danger once again. Cities of the Moonsea came under assault by the forces of fiends led by the Red Wizard Marcus and a being claiming to be Bane, the God of Tyranny. Many of the cities were transported to another plane while Phlan was moved to a massive fiend-filled cavern underneath Marcus' tower. The wizard planned to feed Phlan to another pool of radiance, a corrupted pool of darkness, to fuel his quest for power. As Shal and her husband led defenses of the besieged town, a group of heroes led by Ren worked to defeat the evil alliance.[1][14] During the siege, Shal used her most powerful spells to defend Phlan and battle Marcus despite being ready to give birth very soon. The onslaught of magics unleashed in the battle affected her yet unborn son, giving him a strange gift of being completely unaffected by all magic and unable to use magic items.[15] As the crisis was averted and evil defeated, Evaine, a new ally and friend helped deliver Shal's child.[16]
In the late 14th century DR, Phlan was menaced yet again. Sirana, a half-fiend daughter of Marcus, found a pool of twilight and aimed to use its powers to rain destruction on the Moonsea. Shal and Evaine combined their powers to track the location of the accursed pool of magic, but they faced a magical backlash. Shal ended up almost dying in the process but, with time, recovered as her adult son Kern embarked on his heroic journey.[1]
By the late 14th century DR, Shal and her husband both retired from the full career of adventuring and concentrated their skills on Phlan. Shal was spending her retirement researching magics and spells as a sage of Phlan, offering tutoring in the arcane in exchange for services in support of Phlan.[1]
By the Year of Rogue Dragons, 1373 DR, Shal Bal was renowned as one of the greatest heroes of the Moonsea region, inspiring younger generation of adventurers, do-gooders, and Harpers, including Sharalyn Lockleaf who stood against the fiendish armies of the Order of the Crippled Fang.[17]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
The Paladins
Video Games
Neverwinter Nights: Tyrants of the Moonsea
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 Dale Donovan, Paul Culotta (August 1996). Heroes' Lorebook. (TSR, Inc), pp. 109–110. ISBN 0-7869-0412-7.
- ↑ Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), p. 97. ISBN 978-0880388573.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 James Ward, Jane Cooper Hong (November 1989). Pool of Radiance. (TSR, Inc), p. 17. ISBN 0-8803-8735-1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 James Ward, Jane Cooper Hong (November 1989). Pool of Radiance. (TSR, Inc), p. 135. ISBN 0-8803-8735-1.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 James Ward, Jane Cooper Hong (November 1989). Pool of Radiance. (TSR, Inc), p. 24. ISBN 0-8803-8735-1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 James Ward, Anne K. Brown (February 1992). Pools of Darkness. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6318-3.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 James Ward, Anne K. Brown (February 1992). Pools of Darkness. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6318-3.
- ↑ James Ward, Jane Cooper Hong (November 1989). Pool of Radiance. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 0-8803-8735-1.
- ↑ James Ward, Anne K. Brown (February 1992). Pools of Darkness. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6318-3.
- ↑ James Ward, Jane Cooper Hong (November 1989). Pool of Radiance. (TSR, Inc), p. 315. ISBN 0-8803-8735-1.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Karen Wynn Fonstad (August 1990). The Forgotten Realms Atlas. (TSR, Inc), p. 112. ISBN 978-0880388573.
- ↑ James Ward, Jane Cooper Hong (November 1989). Pool of Radiance. (TSR, Inc), p. 28. ISBN 0-8803-8735-1.
- ↑ James Ward, Anne K. Brown (November 1993). Pool of Twilight. (TSR, Inc), p. 8. ISBN 1-5607-6582-8.
- ↑ Strategic Simulations, Inc. (1991). Designed by Ken Humphries, David Shelley. Pools of Darkness. Strategic Simulations, Inc.
- ↑ James Ward, Anne K. Brown (November 1993). Pool of Twilight. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6582-8.
- ↑ James Ward, Anne K. Brown (February 1992). Pools of Darkness. (TSR, Inc). ISBN 1-5607-6318-3.
- ↑ Ossian Studios (August 2019). Designed by Luke Scull. Neverwinter Nights: Tyrants of the Moonsea. Beamdog.