LYCO`s DARK VAULT

-Karsus as described in Temptation of Elminster

?!KARSUS?!

I wanted to save some of these for a Karsus Handbook 2, but lately Ive started to realize that there may not be enough Karsus(s) to make a round 2 (or some of them I dont feel like drawing at this moment). To prevent these works from rotting on the shelves I decided to post some ahead anyway (including some wip)

Of course, of course

Glad you like them

Arcanists something something

thank you, see you next time

Update

OP is currently on a road trip with ugly Karsus(s)

I`m very happy to share some of my *very personal* thoughts on him! Karsus can be a very interesting choice for a patron, because although he is a higher power, his current life might be 1000 times more miserable and hellish than his warlocks lol

🔺Karsus`s characteristics

For starters I will go for words like: shattered, tortured, madness. Karsus was a proud and enthusiastic mage who shined brightly among his colleagues, until he disastroulsly failed. Having never faced any setbacks before that point, you could say Karsus was somewhat naive with a sense of omnipotence. And when that blind confidence was shattered, I don`t think he was able to pick himself up very soon (if ever). The guy was all over the place. Canon lore rarely showed Karsus speaking in his current status, I tend to think that his soul is so broken, that forming any intelligible sentence is hard.

🔺Vestige and Binder

Karsus after the folly became a vestige, which is a being stuck between the cycle of life and death, the time they have spent in this senseless void will inevitably let them descend into madness. In 3R, an individual who forms a pact with a vestige is called a binder (FYI binder will be introduced in 5R as a warlock subclass in the upcoming supplement Arcana Unleashed). The only way a vestige can influence the reality, is through sharing part of its soul (how deep...) with the binder.

"Since vestiges constantly hunger for any small taste of reality, they always answer the call of any binders powerful enough to draw them forth from the void."

This creates an interesting dynamic between a vestige and the warlock: Unlike many other powerful patrons among the realms, a vestige really *needs* the player. They are more like a pair of broken souls on a bumpy trip.

🔺The aspect of body horror

Karsus`s image after his death was kind of gory. He literally swelled and turned into a rock upon death. His gigantic heart beat heavily inside the remain, cultist worshippers of the momentum god would chant in sync with this endless beating. Karsus`s binder would bleed nonstop from even the slightest wound, and his manifestation as a vestige is a red boulder than burbles blood when it speaks. I think a living piece of flesh as his manifestation can also be cool.

So, Karsus, wallowed in shame, a hollow shell of his former self, unable to gather enough consciousness to make coherent actions. He binds with warlocks out of the instinctive desire to walk on faerun again. It is ironic to see him like this, while people across Faerun are fighting tooth and nail using his legacy, and the story of his might and folly still spreads across the land.

🔺Sources

My take on Karsus can be shitty, because I irrationally like this guy and my brain had melted away through time. In that case here are some materials I referenced:

Tome of Magic 3.5E

Power，Pantheons

Dungeon #159

Legacy of the green Regent

Return of the Archwizard: The summoning

these five more or less includes some lore on Karsus as a patron(or as a worhipped"deity").

The Chosen

thank you!

Yea...i think hes really ...hot? ....the inconsistency of this character is hot. like on one hand he could be immature and passionate, but at the same time he was also cruel, extremely calculating and was fully capable of involving in the complicated politics between the enclaves. Not to mention his Str19. Like wtf, a muscled wizard..?! He lived too long and was too smart, so he simply learned everything, that`s a inhumane aspect of him I like.

currently no.