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Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 17 Dec 2013 : 13:07:53

I'm busy going through the Vast for my next investigation.

I came across a piece about the battle of Raven's Bluff where the forces of Myrkyssa Jelan were attacked by a great black dragon.

Now i know that Myrkyssaq Jelan is Amber Lynn Thoden. What i dont know is why she attacked Raven's Bluff, other than to try and propel herself into a position of authority, but then to what end.

The mention of the "Great" black dragon gives me an idea though.

Iyrauroth the slayer of Ologh and ruler of Mt Grimmerfang is the only great black dragon i know of in the area and some research of mine shows that he is prone to meddling in the affairs of civilisations in Thar and the Vast.

I wonder if Iyrauroth was the brains behind the whole attack on Ravens Bluff. After all Iyrauroth killed Ologh; overking of Vastar, but wasnt able to occupy Mt Grimmerfang (although it wasnt called that at the time). The dwarves and the orcs then battled for supremacy in the area and the orcs won - for a time - founding Roldilar and Sarbreen on what is now modern day Ravens Bluff.

What if Iyrauroth wanted something in Ravens Bluff, some item of some kind. The orcs had it originally and he didnt manage to get it when he slew Ologh. The dwarves killed Grimmerfang and took the item to Sarbreen. Iyrauroth then finally claims Mount Grimmerfang as his layer but discovers the item isnt there and so spends the next few centuries trying to locate it.

Finally discovering the item is in Ravens Bluff he comes up with an idea to besiege the city to get his pawns into power so they can take whatever it is he wants from the treasury (i believe Amber Lynn robbed the treasury when she fled the city).

Edited by - Gary Dallison on 17 Dec 2013 14:49:10

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 17 Dec 2013 : 14:55:29

Found a few other interesting pieces.

1 - Ravens Bluff is founded on Sarbreen a dwarven city full of magic.

2 - Sarbreen itself was built upon an existing ruin full of magical portals which cormanthor elves opened for them. (After the fall of Roldilar elf warrior mages fought many battles with outsiders to try and close those same portals.

3 - The portals were said to open to many places allowing Beholders and other strange creatures like illithids and lillendi to venture into Sarbreen and trade.

4 - Lizard men are spotted in Ravens Bluff and known to disappear into tentacled clouds of blackness.

So what on Earth/Toril was in the Vast before the orcs of Vastar and before Sarbreen? It was a plane hopping race and very magical in nature.

I'm thinking Sarrukh given the lizard man reference i found. There is supposed to be an "excitement" in the air that gets creatures; sensitive to magic and radiation, drunk just by breathing.

Maybe a baetith outpost that tinkered with planar travel?

9thChapter
Learned Scribe

Canada
110 Posts

Posted - 17 Dec 2013 : 15:31:30

That is an interesting angle, dazzlerdal. I'm actually considering starting my campaign in the area around Raven's Bluff. I like the buried item in Sarbreen. What level is your group?

Fantasy author of The Rithhek Cage series

http://darrentpatrick.com/the-rithhek-cage-trilogy/

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 17 Dec 2013 : 15:38:15

Oh at the moment they are only level 3, but it doesnt really mean much since i rewrote the 3rd edition rules to remove level based progression of attacks and defence scores.

There does seem to be a magical field centred on Ravens Bluff/Sarbreen so it must be some kind of powerful artefact stored underground somewhere. It manifests in a "wildfire" ability that allows people to throw around arcane blasts (like a warlock) that affects only inorganic matter.

There are also hints at plenty of treasures of Myth Drannor ending up in Sarbreen so they probably arrived when people started leaving Myth Drannor in the century before its fall.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 17 Dec 2013 : 15:59:22

Reading more into it.

This magical field grants power to people that have lived in Ravens Bluff their whole lives and who are 3rd generation Ravenaar (ie their parents and grandparents also were born and lived here).

It clearly indicates an abundant magic strong area and it is even powerful enough to keep wild magic and dead magic drifting clouds within this spherical area (rather than them just drift off into the wilderness).

Also Myrkyssa was looking for an item. The Eaeraedia...
That might only be the first part of the items name but i have another theory as to what it is.

The orcs of Vastar plagued Cormanthor for nearly a millenia and did considerable damage to Rystall Wood. I propose that the orcs of Vastar on one of their incursions managed to plunder this Eaeraedia artefact from a repository of Rystall Wood or Uvaeren and took it back to their lands. It wound up in Ologhs mountain home that later became Mount Grimmerfang. This was subsequently plundered by the dwarves and the artefact taken to Sarbreen.

Given the magical field it generates i am thinking this might be something like a portable mythal (i dont want to use the term mythallar because that was Netherese specific), but some kind of artefact that drew magic into it and then emitted that magic to nearby beings that could use it to manifest powers.

Maybe the elvish experiment was a failure and they couldnt turn it off and it started causing random people to manifest this wildfire ability that destroyed buildings and anything inorganic that touched them. So they buried in a vault and later the orcs discovered it. There are indications of hidden caches of Uvaeren magic which the Netherese discovered in GHoTR.

Anyway its just an idea, i will have to finish reading "The City of Ravens Bluff" before i decide what i'm doing with the city.

9thChapter
Learned Scribe

Canada
110 Posts

Posted - 17 Dec 2013 : 16:17:07

Sounds like a fantastic campaign (my party is also level 3). I have the books too and am going to crack into them further. Also picked up the novel' (The City of Ravens by Richard Baker) - might provide another angle.

Fantasy author of The Rithhek Cage series

http://darrentpatrick.com/the-rithhek-cage-trilogy/

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 18 Dec 2013 : 15:59:46

Further weight to a portable mythallar.

In the section about goals of the wizards guild it is theorise that a mythal may be interfering with divination spells in Ravens Bluff.

However they wizards have consulted beings that have been in contact with Mythals and (i can only assume they are elves that were consulted) the reports that come back are that it is not a mythal. "Conditions feel different"

So it's not a mythal, but its like a mythal only different. So i'm going to go with a Mythallar.

It isnt impossible that the Netherese set up an enclave of sorts in the Vast to experiment on planar travel (like the Cats Gate), but i prefer an elven experimental mythallar that was stolen by orcs and then stolen from the orcs by the dwarves and it helps weave bits of lore together from the area. It also helps explain why Iyrauroth really, really wanted Mount Grimmerfang as a lair (he was looking for the mythallar).

TBeholder
Great Reader

2391 Posts

Posted - 18 Dec 2013 : 17:36:34

Netherese, or Imaskari... or older?

quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Now i know that Myrkyssaq Jelan is Amber Lynn Thoden. What i dont know is why she attacked Raven's Bluff, other than to try and propel herself into a position of authority, but then to what end.

It's in the novel... could spoiler it, too.

quote:
Iyrauroth the slayer of Ologh and ruler of Mt Grimmerfang is the only great black dragon i know of in the area and some research of mine shows that he is prone to meddling in the affairs of civilisations in Thar and the Vast.
I wonder if Iyrauroth was the brains behind the whole attack on Ravens Bluff. After all Iyrauroth killed Ologh; overking of Vastar, but wasnt able to occupy Mt Grimmerfang (although it wasnt called that at the time).

MJ wanted Bluff weakened and its goblinoid enemies dead when she does the real power grab, Iyrauroth had an opportunity to pick up all the scattered meat. More like "for business and pleasure together", but yeah, these two can be co-conspirators.

quote:
What if Iyrauroth wanted something in Ravens Bluff, some item of some kind. The orcs had it originally and he didnt manage to get it when he slew Ologh. The dwarves killed Grimmerfang and took the item to Sarbreen. Iyrauroth then finally claims Mount Grimmerfang as his layer but discovers the item isnt there and so spends the next few centuries trying to locate it.

Perhaps not in treasury, but... If it was in Sarbreen, more likely Iyrauroth would have to deal with that deep dragon to get it, and if negotiations failed, it's dead-end: a big black would be at a disadvantage in tunnels. But that pesky Sarbreen dragon was standing on MJ's way too, so she would have to remove this obstacle sooner or later.

quote:
Originally posted by dazzlerdal

This magical field grants power to people that have lived in Ravens Bluff their whole lives and who are 3rd generation Ravenaar (ie their parents and grandparents also were born and lived here).
It clearly indicates an abundant magic strong area and it is even powerful enough to keep wild magic and dead magic drifting clouds within this spherical area (rather than them just drift off into the wilderness).
[...]
Given the magical field it generates i am thinking this might be something like a portable mythal (i dont want to use the term mythallar because that was Netherese specific)

Mythallars power up arbitrary quasimagical items in area, mythals have their own effects, give pre-set "magic item" power triggers for all and powers to bound individuals.
Wildfire gave random powers to bound individuals, so it's an unique secondary power source, providing an entirely new form of quasimagic - different from Mythallars, Mythals and drow radiation enchantments. Somewhat like mythals, but not quite as vulnerable and dangerous (in the broken state it occasionally spawned DMA/WMA bubbles, but compared to conditions all the time, in the whole area of a corrupted mythal that's still cuddly) and not as Weave-drying as mythallars (elves don't show any inclination to give the place a wide berth, quite the opposite).

Which leads me to another thought. By the look of it, the Wizards Guild of Raven Bluff would have to add the Quasimagic Research branch soon after events of the novel.
They are even well equipped for this. What's with a collection of talented wizards from everywhere from Kara Tur to Halruaa. They must be able to pick at least some Netherese crumbs. And locals deal with the drow all the time, of various allegiances, both openly and secretly.
What is a chance that, for example, the first traveling wizard from Sshamath wouldn't notice what goes on even before that? And after getting the picture, won't find some right-minded Mystrans and propose discreet cooperation? These two places are almost sister cities, after all.

People never wonder How the world goes round -Helloween
And even I make no pretense Of having more than common sense -R.W.Wood
It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo. -Ed Whitchurch

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 18 Dec 2013 : 19:33:08

I haven't read any of the novels, I only do sourcebooks, but if it contains any more information than the sourcebooks I would be very grateful if you could tell me about it.

I know of a bronze dragon looking after the treasury in Ravens Bluff but what deep dragon is in Sarbreen and where?

As for the mythallar, I was just using the name to indicate a portable mythal as a mythallar allows spells to be powered into the area as well like a mythal (how else do they keep the mountains afloat - the mythallar powers a permanent proctiv's move mountain spell).

The reason I think the elves might have experimented with making a mythal portable is due to the changing nature of the forests. The great glacier encroached on much of the borders of cormanthor and expanded and contracted which posed a danger to the elves, also the orcs were a constant threat, and the netherese in the west might have given the elves an idea that one day they might have to abandon their homes and the mythals they had erected. It would be much easier if they could take the mythals they had created with them.

Netherese and Imaskari are popping up all over the place and is becoming far too common an explanation for things. A portable elven mythal is kinda unique and besides. There is no mention of the magical field in the writeup for sarbreen when they founded the city, merely that it was a good site on a river. The dwarves must have acquired it after founding the city and the war with orcs of Vastar is a good place to acquire magic gear, and the orcs could have gotten it from the elves but not Netherese.

Plus Netherese tend to leave artefacts all over the place, they are not very careful. I think if there was a Netherese enclave based on Ravens Bluff there would be other more definable evidence of it in the surrounding area, like a blast sceptre or two, or anything else to indicate their presence.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 07 Jan 2014 : 09:08:12

Well i might not have found the Earaedia the elves speak of but looking through some polyhedron magazines i discovered an article on Ravens Deep and it mentioned an artefact known to the dwarves of Roldilar that supposedly fell from the sky.

They call it the Annasherion.

This orb is known to negate all magic.

Now its not too much of a twist to suppose that this thing actually drains magic when activated and then emits it back into the environment the rest of the time.

And it actually fits in nicely with some of my other suppositions.

What if this Annasherion did fall from the sky i.e. it was the meteor that smashed into Uvaeraen and annihilated it.

The elves found the "orb" or piece of meteor rock and dubbed it the Earaedia and buried it in a vault somewhere in the Rystall Wood.

The orcs of Vastar invade millennia later and locate it and drag it back to Vastar. Iyrauroth wants this orb for whatever reason (probably to kill a rival or just to have it sitting around on his hoard looking pretty) and has Ologh become overking of Vastar so that he can get his grubby hands on it.

Ologh refuses and dies by Iyrauroth's hands, but in the process he wounds Iyrauroth enough forcing him to retreat from the Court of the Hollow Mountain (where the Annasherion/Earaedia was kept).

Grimmerfang becomes king of Vastar and the dwarves of Roldilar sneak in and butcher then all with special orc killing blades. They discover the orb and drag it back to Sarbreen.

Finally many years later Iyrauroth finally takes Mt Grimmerfang (THe Court of the Hollow Mountain) as his new lair and discovers that the Annasherion isnt there. He spends many centuries trying to locate it before discovering it is buried under Ravensbluff in the ruins of Sarbreen.

He gets Amber Lynn Thoden on side and the plan is to get her elected as mayor (the great black dragon that helps destroy Myrkessa Jelans army in the final battle is Iyrauroth himself). Amber Lynn becomes mayor and sends Lord Charles Blacktree into the ruins of Sarbreen to look for this Annasherion which she intends to sell to Iyrauroth for a lot of money.

And that way i can tie the history of Thar and Vastar together and explain why Iyrauroth bothered meddling in the affairs of Thar at all.

Seems to work. Of course Amber Lynn gets discovered and goes on the run, so the question is did she get hold of the Annasherion and what does Iyrauroth intend to do with it once he has it.

iemckinnon
Acolyte

USA
1 Posts

Posted - 25 Aug 2014 : 18:41:48

Myrkyssa Jelan was for a year or two before attacking Ravens Bluff on Midwinter's day of 1370 was slowly building up her army, and was largely considered a "bogey man" by the towns surrounding Ravens Bluff. Bands of brigands, often rumored to be part of her troops would terrorize the villages all around the vast.
On Midwenter's day in 1370, she struck a twofold attack on Ravens Bluff. While celebrants of Midwinter's day were at their revels, pirate forces landed at the Dragon's Reach facing docks devastating the Crow's Foot, Seaglimpse and Silverscales neighborhoods. Unbeknownst to the inhabitants, this was part of a larger attack. The Warlord's forces has stolen a march to ravens bluff, its outriders stopping any warning from the outlying towns from reaching the City. Most of the towns from Dragon Falls to Orlimmin were razed. While revelers struggles to battle the pirate incursion, and largely stopping them from entering the city itself, the city was attacked on the landward side by the forces of The Warlord, led by Myrkyssa herself. Tired from throwing back the pirate assault, the inhabitants of Ravens Bluff races to the landward walls to battle the brigands, and monsters that comprised the main body of the army that had appeared on their doorstep. They barely managed to throw back the landward forces and the battle settled down into a siege of Ravens Bluff that would last into the summer of 1370, when the warlord's forces were defeated and the warlord herself disappeared.
I am currently running a group in classic Forgotten Realms (Summer 1369) in Ravens Bluff using much of the RPGA Living City materials I have collected over the years and but turning many onto full adventures instead of one off games.

Gary Dallison
Great Reader

United Kingdom
6354 Posts

Posted - 25 Aug 2014 : 19:07:07

Well thanks to a Forging the Realms article I figured out what Iyrauroth wanted with the Annasherion.

The artefact itself seems to radiate magical energy.

Iyrauroth's sister (Embrurshaille) died in a ritual of some kind which required enormous amounts of magical energy. I think the ritual was supposed to augment her own magical abilities but she didn't have enough magic to power the ritual to completion so it kind of imploded in on itself and took her with it (and possibly disembodied Tyranthraxus in the process).

Iyrauroth intends to use the Annasherion to power the same ritual his sister was working on.

I still haven't figured out what all those portals are doing in Raven's Bluff, but someone spent a lot of time and energy creating them and I wonder if the Star Elves didn't come through one of these portals.

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