Hello everybody Jorphdan here the PH is silent. But why…? I’m often asked why is the ‘PH’
silent, and I’d like to clarify. If it wasn’t silent my name would be Jorfdan. If we lived
in such a world, we’d pronounce words like “IS-Land” or “balleT” perhaps “Pa-neumonia”.
Those words would sound weird, and so would Jorfdan. If you took the W in answer, the
H in ghost, the extra A in aardvark, and the T in listen you could keep saying "WHAT?"
but no one would hear you because the whole word would be silent! Unfortunately we live
in a world of silent letters, and some of us have fallen victim to the english language.
Remember to keep the PH silent, I’ll try to remind you at the beginning of every video.
On this channel I talk about Dungeons and Dragons history and lore! Today I’m going
to talk about a small piece of lore concerning a wizard named Mhzentul and the magical rings
he crafted. Specifically “The Seven Lost Rings of Mhzentul”. Let’s dive in!
Magical items are plenty throughout the Forgotten Realms. It’s funny that all these zombies,
orcs, or beholders are guarding vast hoards of treasure but never bother to use that Amulet
of Health, or Animated Shield. But it’s sitting there in a vault somewhere for adventurers
to find and use! This was not the cause with Mhzentul, he was a great wizard who crafted
many magical items throughout his lifetime. The most famous of which was the Seven Rings,
now known as the Seven Lost Rings of Mhzentul; because well.. They are lost.
Not much has been written about Mhzentul, and I’m not sure if he’s in any Forgotten
Realms novels; but I suspect he isn’t. So we know little about him. He was a very powerful
and respected mage who traveled much of Faerun during the 13th and beginning of the 14th
century. It was rumored that he had a mountain abode, hidden that contained much of his magical
items and wealth. He experimented with magical item creation and excelled at it, creating
the famous Seven Lost Rings. He also studied and perfected the art of flame magic.
In 1340 DR, the forces of Sembia engaged the Cult of the Dragon in battle at Featherdale.
Mhzentul was there and tragically lost his life. But he went out with a bang. Known as
the Battle of the River Rising, Mhzentul magically transformed into a living pillar of flame
and burned his way across the field of battle. Decimating the Cult of the Dragon, his flame
body kept going and blazed out into the sea of fallen stars. It is believed that Mzhentul
died, however a body was never found. Perhaps consumed entirely by the fire of his spell,
or perhaps he sunk into the sea. Lots of story potential to bring him back, or go looking
for the body.
He is also known for a magical book he penned known as “Mzhentul’s Runes.” The book
and the rings are powerful artifacts, and although from 2nd edition I feel they could
easily be brought up to whatever edition of D&D you currently play!
The second edition art doesn’t depict how amazing these rings are, so maybe glamar up
their description when you hand them to your players. Each ring acts as a Ring of Spell
Storing, but on top of that they regenerate spells natively, filling the spell slots.
Plus each ring has unique abilities. There is the Ring of burning, ring of coldfire,
ring of night, ring of scribes, ring of stone, ring of the tshala, and ring of wayfaring.
The book “Mhzentul’s Runes” was a spellbook that contained the precise details on how
to create these enchanted rings. There was also a section on fire magic where if you
studied it long enough it would provide you a decrease in time and research for fire-related
spells. The spells fireball, fire shield, fire trap, and delayed fireball were present
in the spellbook as well.
After his death many searched for his hidden mountain home, hoping to get rich and powerful.
It was eventually found by a party of treasure seekers but they did not find the rings or
the book. Rumors started to fly as to the where-a-bouts of each magical artifact. Six
years after the mage’s death the book somehow came into the possession of a half-orc thief
named Uthmang. As word got out he was challenged by a Red Wizard of Thay named Alail Thang
who killed him quickly. This wizard took the book who was then defeated by a group of priests
at Greenstone Keep. Finally it found its way to Lhegrand the Sage until he lost it and
evil parties gained control of it. Which the ownership trail goes cold there.
It is rumored that the Zhentarim Mage Whisper (which let’s be honest is a pretty fantastic
name for a Zhentarim Mage) found the spellbook Mhzentul’s Runes. He also found two of the
rings. A mediocre mage, his arcane power was supplemented by the rings and spellbook. But
Whisper was then killed by some Knights who took the two rings he had and they were given
to a temple of Lathander for safekeeping in Cormyr. The spellbook was never found.
Four of the Lost Rings and the Tome might be hidden in Whisper’s sanctuary known as
Whisper’s Crypt. However the seventh Lost Ring was believed to be on Mhzentul when he
died. It might be in the Sea of Stars, the beach, or at the battlefield site against
the Cult of the Dragon. There is belief that his essence may be trapped in the ring; making
it a sentient artifact. Whispering advice to any who put it on.
Each ring was a simple band of mithral, with complex runes placed on it, and treated with
dwarven everbright. Everbright was a process to make an item especially beautiful and would
be immune to rust and corrosion. Each of the rings shared the power to heal a wearer when
the user willed it, which could also be used to purge the wearer of poisons, charms, and
other curses. Kind of like a powerful Lay on Hands ability tied to the ring.
The Ring of Burning had various flame spells in it. The Ring of Coldfire had ice spells
such as wall of ice, cone of cold. The Ring of Night granted darkvision out to 90 feet
and once a week you could change the ring into a powerful Margoyle, which is a stronger
version of a gargoyle. This creature would follow telepathic orders of whoever summoned
it. You could even magically teleport and swap places with the margoyle.
The Ring of Scribes had various spells like comprehend languages, true seeing, and wizard
mark. And you were immune to magical effects that harmed you while reading magical writings
or inscriptions.
The Ring of Stone allowed you to cast stone shape twice a day, and it too could transform
into a stone guardian once a week. Where telepathically you could control the creature for 24 hours
or until it was destroyed. The Ring of Tshala also had fire spells locked within it such
as meteor swarm. If you used the ring to cast meteor swarm there was a 20% chance you were
transformed into a greater firetail, also known as a Tshala. This was a 2nd edition
monster that I don’t know if it made its way into later editions. It is essentially
a living flame with attacks that cause fire damage and ignite flammable objects. Perhaps
a living spell creature could be used from 5e for the transformation. This was the ring
Mhzentul was wearing when he died.
Finally the Ring of Wayfaring contained spells such as unseen servant, and find the path.
For a 5e version perhaps locate object or creature. Also there were custom spells that
accompanied these rings which you can read up on in the 2nd edition supplement “Volo’s
Guide to All Things Magical”. I’ll put a link in the description below. Thanks for
watching everyone, thank you for liking and subscribing! If you really want to support
me, join my patreon where you gain access to my podcasts and actual plays I make. Here
on this channel I make videos like these, as well as reviews of supplements and adventures
I enjoy. Check out my playlists for info on the Forgotten Realms or Eberron! Thanks again
and I’ll see you all in the next video!