Ragebringer

Epic Weapons

Simultaneous with the discovery of Kunark, several adventurers began to speak of fabled weapons of unfathomable power. They told tales of marathon quests that yeilded these weapons to members of each class from Bards to Warriors. These quests would each span the world and often into the planes of the gods. Some tasks could be completed alone, but many would require a small army of commrades to complete. Each class' weapon is easy to spot, not just for their unique design, but because of the particle effects eminating from the weapon. Through the hard work of many pioneers, each class' epic weapon was discovered, some easier than others.

The Ragebringer

The Ragebringer is not an elaborately beautiful weapon, but it gets the job done quite well. The blade itself drips forever with what some say is the blood of Innoruuk himself. The blade boosts a rogues strength, dexterity, agility, stamina, and health greatly. It is infused with a hateful spell known as Seething Fury, which ups its wielder's attack prowess and increases haste by 40%.

The Epic Quest

The rogue epic begins with a Half Elf woman by the name of Malka Rale in the Qeynos Catacombs. She speaks of a job where she was hired to steal a pouch from the guild hall of the Circle of Unseen Hands. Malka is holed up in the sewers for fear of her life from a man named Hanns, the leader of the Circle. She requests that the pouch be taken to a Barbarian man named Vilinus in the bandit camps of West Karana in hopes that the Circle will get word that the pouch is no longer in Qeynos, which will allow her to escape. Vilinus, while indeed a Barbarian, is quite short, and he does not take kindly to jokes about it. He is likely to attack any who get smart with him as well. Handing him the pouch pleases Vilinus to the extent that he will offer a job. He requests a set of blades including Fleshripper from the Solusek kobold king in Solusek's Eye, Painbringer from the kobold champion near the king, a mithril two-handed sword from the froglok king of Lower Guk, and a gigantic zwiehander from Karg Icebear, who is Vilinus' cousin in Everfrost Peaks. Completing this task for Vilinus earns a jagged diamond dagger and another job where he requests a set of robes including the Robe of the Ishva, Shining Metallic Robes, Oracle Robe, and Robe of the Kedge. He says he has no idea where to find them, but he must get them to please Rokyl, one of his best clients. The Rokyl he refers to is the fire giant magus that guards Lord Nagafen.

The Kedge robe, as one could guess, is worn by Phinigel Autropos in Kedge Keep. Defeating this creature will require significant help, but that won't be hard to find since several other classes have Phinigel targetted for their own epic quests. The Kedge robe can also rarely be seen worn by the Dark Elf coercer in Kithicor Forest. The Ishva robe is worn by The Ishva Mal in Splitpaw, and occasionally by the coercer and advisor Dark Elves in Kithicor. The Shining Metallic Robe is worn by the ghoul arch magus in the darkest depths of Lower Guk. And the oracle robe is worn by Oracle of K'Arnon in the Ocean of Tears. Vilinus will offer a Cazic Quill in return and then request a set of rapiers. His buyer now requests an Eyerazzia from the scarelings in the Plane of Fear, Martune Rapier from the Mistress of Scorn in the Plane of Hate, well-balanced rapier purchased from the shady swashbuckler in East Commonlands, and a Burning Rapier. The Burning Rapier is obtained from a lengthy quest offered by Lon the Redeemed in the Temple of Solusek Ro. Delivering these rare rapiers to Vilinus leaves him amazed. He has has no more jobs to offer, so he returns the pouch that was brought from Malka and suggests that it be taken to its new owner, Stanos Herkanor, or at least to his friend Anson McBale.

Anson McBale is in the smuggler camp within the caves of Highhold Pass. Giving the pouch to him will cause Stanos to come out of hiding and laugh at the expense of Hanns and the Circle of Unseen Hands for losing such a valuable item. Stanos led the Circle for over thirty years, and it is still the largest collection of thieves, murderers, con artists, and rogues anywhere on Norrath. He offers a deal by promising a special dagger that he no longer uses, but insists on telling his story first. Johann Krieghor preceded Stanos as the leader. Johann made a seedy deal with a Dark Elf general that would have an assassin take out Joren, a High Elf ambassador, which would rip apart the alliance of Elves and Humans. The ensuing war between the two races would be highly profitable for the Dark Elves. Stanos could not let this happen, so he killed Johann, the general's agent. He made it appear that the two killed each other, then hid the tools of his deed. With the death of the agent though, Stanos was unable to learn the true identity of the Dark Elf general. Hanns is Johann's son, and Stanos raised him as his own after Johann's death. Hanns eventually discovered the truth, siezed control of the Circle, and sent several of its best assassins to take Stanos' head, but they failed.

The tools Stanos' refers to hiding after the deed are the same dagger he promises. It was created for the assassination of King Tearis Thex of Felwithe and is infused with Teir'Dal enchantments. Before he can rid himself of it, he must prove to Hanns the foul deeds that Johann took part in. Stanos advises that found a parchment on the general's agent, and knowing that he would need it as proof in the future, he entrusted half each to the rogue guildmasters of Neriak and Kaladim. The problem is Founy Jestands, a Dwarven rogue, would betray Stanos in favor of Hanns if he attempted to take it back. And Tani N'Mar of Neriak now holds the other half simplyto spite Stanos. The parchments must be pick pocketed from their keepers. This is a dangerous task, but exciting for any true rogue. Returning the parchment to Stanos causes him to realize he cannot read the documentation on it since it was written in an obscure language in order to hide its intentions from any who may find it.

Stanos suggests taking the parchment to an old friend of his, an Erudite named Eldreth. Stanos has no idea where he is, but admits that it will not be Erudin, as the guards want Eldreth dead for something a while back. Eldreth resides in a tower with an Erudite woman named Cyanelle on an island in Lake Rathetear. Eldreth is often out finding work according to Cyanelle, but when he returns, it is obvious that he does not like visitors. Mentioning Stanos' name gets him to calm down a bit. To translate the note, Eldreth requires a payment of 100 platinum pieces and two bottles of milk. Eldreth, even though languages are his specialty, can only translate a portion of the note. He suggests taking the remainder to a Gnome in Steamfont Mountains named Yendar Starpyre to look at the rest. Even Yendar finds the translation challenging, but does recognize it as the language of the High Priesthood of Innoruuk. He says he has never learned the language because the only known book that could be used to learn is the Book of Souls. This book chronicles the lives Innoruuk has tainted throughout history and is kept in the care of the Maestro of Rancor in the Plane of Hate. An experienced rogue should be able to retrieve this book without being spotted, Any who attempt this will be smart to go naked, leaving their valuable gear safely in the bank in case they do not escape the plane alive.

Upon returning to Yendar, he is able to translate the parchment, but just as he is about to hand it back, a woman snatches it and attacks. Her name is Renux Herkanor, the daughter of Stanos and second in command to Hanns. Defeating Renux will likely require some help from friends. Once she is dead, the parchment can be taken back along with a jagged diamond dagger if the quest with Vilinus has not been completed yet. The note reveals that Stanos was chosen as the assassin that would be sent to slay the ambassador, which is why he was given a blade from the Dark Elves that was a gift from Innoruuk himself, forged in his temple and imbued with rage. The note also speaks of guise handcrafted by a master coercer, which will allow Stanos to pass undetected as a High Elf into the ambassador's quarters. The Dark Elves see value in having a Human in disguise being the one who kills the ambassador, for it will eliminate any notion that the Dark Elves are involved. The note is signed by General Rald V'Ghera.

Upon reading the note, Stanos realizes that the same General V'Ghera has been spotted not far from the granite walls of Highpass in the Kithicor Forest. Stanos hands over a sealed box, which he says if delivered to one of the General's captains will force the General out of hiding to investigate the contents. Once V'Ghera appears, he must be assassinated. This is the one truly difficult part of this journey as it will require a significant assemblance of allies to defeat the General's captains that inhabit his dilapidated house. When one captain remains, a roguecan sneak up behind him/her to deliver the box. General V'Ghera will immediately attack and must be defeated in order to claim the pouch he carries. Occasionally he also carries a Cazic Quill, which could allow one to bypass the robe collection for Vilinus. The pouch, along with the Cazic Quill and Jagged Diamond Dagger, should be taken to Stanos who then leaves to bring the evidence to Hanns. Before he leaves, he makes good on his promise and rids himself of the Ragebringer.

Alternate Ending

The rogue epic is unique in that it many parts of the quest can either done out of order or skipped all together. One could potentially finish the quest without ever seeing Vilinus for example. But the most unique thing about the quest is its alternate ending. There are those that wish to side with the Dark Elves rather than redeeming Stanos. For them, if they bring enough friends of appropriate skill and evilness, they can kill Stanos and deliver his head to General V'Ghera. He will reward these efforts by bestowing Stanos' assassin with the guise that is mentioned in the translated parchment. This guise is a mask that cloaks its wearer in an illusion of a High Elf. The Ragebringer is obviously a much more valuable item to a rogue, but the Guise of the Coercer is one of the rarest items in the world. Just the sight of a dual wielding High Elf will cause many adventurers to stop and wonder.