| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 25 May 2012 : 18:44:37
Was any of the magic consumed by Ghazneths funneled anywhere?
It occurred to me the other day that having magic-eating monsters at your control is awesome, but having sending-all-or-most-of-that-magic-to-you monsters might be better.
Just wondering if there was more to Nalavarauthatoryl's game then what we saw in the novels. |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Markustay |
Posted - 26 May 2012 : 17:12:20
I really like this a LOT.
The lore surrounding that whole war (and everything else) was so convoluted I couldn't even tell precisely where the characters were half the time. Revisiting that storyline is something I think WotC should do in-depth, because it has so much potential, but then fell way short (probably do to space and time constraints, not any deficit in talent).
Building on what you have there, what if the Goblins of Grodd were cursed into their current situation? Maybe they were there before the Elves - perhaps even being contemporaries (subordinates?) of Thauglor (the Dragon). The Elves force Thauglor out, and the goblins in the northern mountains - the Grod goblins - are eventually defeated and banished as well. From Cormyr: A Novel -
"And that troubled Thauglor more than all the goblins of the northern peaks."
Ergo, the Stormhorns (and lands beyond?) were held by masses of goblins - I think this is when those goblins may have had the time and inclination to rise to that level of sophistication. It only leaves 134 years between the fall of Netheril and the time the dragon was defeated, but thats probably about 14 generations of goblin... and they may have gotten a boost (in culture) from the Netherese themselves (as canon-fodder style troops for the land-based settlements). In fact, the Ancient Roman style army and structure could have come from the Netherese - it seems very much how their military was organized. Even the armor is somewhat reminiscent of Netheril (depending on what artwork you are looking at) - Nethril spanned a very long period, so styles could have easily changed.
As for their metallurgy - it was bronze age, no? (I don't recall, from the module). After Netheril fell, the goblins would not have had the technology of the Netherese, and had to rely on their own primitive techniques. On the other hand, they themselves may have been a hold-over from when Netheril destroyed Thaeravel - the Goblins may have been Thaeravelian troops (and then we have to consider why they had bronze-age weapons still - did the Thaeravelites abhor iron for some reason?)
Lots of ways to spin this. I've been trying to connect all the lore together for that region - the Goblin Marches, Stonelands, and the Tun valley. I find it odd that a Goblin state existed right alongside the dwarven nation of Ogrhann - I'd have to check the timeline to see if there are any conflicts (or George can help me out here). My best bet is that the Goblins (of old) in the Stormhorns were living in some rather sophisticated dwarven settlements/fortifications, long-abandoned themselves (for whatever reason - could be a Thunderholme connection there).
Anyhow, thanks for getting my mind going back into FR's mysterious past - its where I enjoy myself the most.  |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 25 May 2012 : 21:30:42
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I think there might have been a Ghazneth article in Dragon, but I'm not sure.
-DRAGON Annual #4. |
| Jeremy Grenemyer |
Posted - 25 May 2012 : 19:29:48
Thank you Markus.
It’s like you read my mind in a way, because I’m running Into the Dragon’s Lair for the second time and I’ve gone to great lengths to rewrite it to suit a broader story, since none of my players have read the novel trilogy capped by that module.
I wish WotC had more time to spend on that module too. As I understand it the writing was done by one designer and then it got tossed to another to finish in short order, all while 3rd Edition D&D was getting under way.
(There were initially six Ghazneths and six elves trapped by war wizards. So I figured the five trapped elves were fated to become just like Nalavara, by means of absorbing all the magic in Cormyr and funneling it via the Ghazneths into stolen dragon eggs guarded by the goblins of Grod, to “build” suitable dragon bodies for the spirits of the trapped elves to inhabit. That way Nalavara and her sisters and brothers could rise up together and wage war on all of humanity in the wider Realms as practically magic-immune dragons of unstoppable power.)
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| Markustay |
Posted - 25 May 2012 : 19:07:22
IIRC, it healed them, but I can't recall if they were able to use it for anything else. It basically just made them stronger.
I think there might have been a Ghazneth article in Dragon, but I'm not sure.
Nalavarauthatoryl is an interesting notion - her absorption of all magic around her was featured in Into the Dragon's Lair, which (IMO) added to the confusion of what was going on in those novels, rather then solving the deeper mysteries. Definitely an odd module, in that it didn't even try to explain itself (Grod goblins?!), let alone the stories it was supposed to compliment.
Connecting the Ghazneth to her magic-absorption is an EXCELLENT way to tie the two together (since I can't for the life of me figure out what the connection actually was, other then very bad timing for Cormyr). Nice call. |
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