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Hello everybody Jorphdan here the PH is silent.
Today I’d like to talk about Khelben Arunsun. Also known as Blackstaff.
He wielded a trademark black staff and was Lord Mage of Waterdeep, as well as a masked
Lord of Waterdeep.
He was a powerful archmage and is featured as a prominent character in the Forgotten
Realms.
He is a six foot tall bearded man, well muscled for a wizard.
He is a master mage and has taught many the ways of magic.
His most important student is probably Laeral Silverhand who captured his heart.
He is a known Harper, working for good within the world of the Forgotten Realms.
Khelben’s father was a half-elf named Arun Maerdrym from Myth Drannor and his mother
was a human ranger.
It’s common in elven culture to not name the child at birth.
Later a child comes into their name through their actions.
He had plenty of nicknames growing up and by the age of twelve started learning magic.
He left Myth Drannor in 449 DR and took the name he was most proud of “Arun’s Son”
or Arunsun.
Proud of his heritage he actually wasn’t close to this father at all, and only saw
him a handful of times before leaving Myth Drannor.
Khelben died in 464 DR in the Anauroch desert with his father.
The two were overrun by phaerimm and out of spells.
The Phaerimm are native to the Anauroch desert and were the main enemy of the Netheril back
in the day.
In desperation his father destroyed a magical item called the Duskstaff of Sarael.
It exploded and created a crater of glass destroying both themselves and the Phaerimm.
However Khelben was resurrected by Mystra and at this point became a Chosen of Mystra.
As a Chosen of Mystra Khelben had certain benefits, obviously.
A chosen of any deity gains power; in the case of Mystra those chosen have greater command
over magic and the weave.
They are protected from certain spells, and have certain immunities to magic.
The most sought after benefit was Silver Fire.
A unique ability to conjure a silver flame that had a plethora of functions.
It could be offensive and deal tremendous damage, destroying magical barriers or banishing
undead.
It could also be activated within the body to purge magical or psionic influences.
Finally once a day an individual can teleport without error to the last location he or she
used the silver fire in any of its forms.
Truly a powerful gift.
It wasn't until 1150 DR that Kehlben finally arrived in Waterdeep and built Arunsun Tower.
Later known as Blackstaff Tower, it was renamed by Khelben in 1322 DR.
It’s one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Castle Ward of Waterdeep.
It’s made of smooth black stone with no windows or doors.
It also had some space bending magic, from the outside the structure appeared to be three-stories
tall.
But inside there were at least a dozen levels, some that could only be reached by magical
means.
There was a central stairwell that everything was connected too, but certain magical passwords
were needed to arrive in areas of the stairwell.
This tower also had the ability to repair itself.
This was relatively fast for a building, and after an attack the tower would be back to
normal within a day.
In 1367 Khelben Arunsun unmasked himself as a Lord of Waterdeep and resigned.
It was believed he was the most powerful masked lord and solely ran much of Waterdeep during
his time.
It was a large surprise to the populace and his fellow Lords, always believed to be a
masked lord to openly resign was uncommon.
Khelben was originally part of the Harpers but felt that the organization unfairly treated
others.
So he created his own called the Moonstars that had similar goals but was under his orders.
Also known as the Silverstars of the Twelvestars they were a super secret group out against
the forces of evil.
They were dedicated to Mystra, Oghma, and Sehanine Moonbow.
Formed in 1370 DR they were unsurprisingly based in Waterdeep because that’s where
Khelben was.
More or less they operated much like the Harpers but more secretly and with less freedom.
Blackstaff wanted to know exactly what they were doing and would give orders if he disapproved.
Their headquarters was Blackstaff Tower.
When Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun died (spoilers) the Moonstars seemed to break apart but never
went away completely.
It was during the second sundering that sleeper agents reactivated and the organization came
back on a massive scale.
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Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun died, well twice.
The latter being a bit more permanent.
He coordinated a massive magical project to resurrect the Hidden City of Hope.
To reconstruct an ancient Library.
Located in the High Moor the city was raised but the mages who cast the ritual lost their
lives.
After his death his spirit settled in Blackstaff Tower to aid and advise future “Blackstaffs.”
Blackstaff became a title after Khelben, and others have since held the title of Blackstaff
and reside in blackstaff tower.
Khelben had children, and currently would be a great Grandfather.
The current Blackstaff is a young woman from Tethyr named Vajra Safahr.
She is descended from Khelben through his great-grandson Count Gamalon of Spellshire.
And that’s where we’ll end for today.
Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun can be found in Forgotten Realms novels, Video games, and
supplements.
If you want to know more about him I recommend the book “Blackstaff.”
Thanks for watching everybody thanks so much to my patrons on patreon that keep these videos
going.
If you’d like to become a patron click the link on the screen.
Thanks for sharing these videos with your gaming group and let me know if a Blackstaff
makes an appearance in your game.
I’ll see you all next week with another video.