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egomann
Acolyte
USA
11 Posts |
 Posted - 01 Feb 2006 : 21:09:40
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Hopefully none of my players see this.
I am just starting the Incursion campain from Dragon 216 and it will lead into Lich Queen's Beloved from Dungeon 100.
Keep in mind I am playing loose with official realms timelines. My players have wormed their way into the good graces of the Royal Family of Cormyr and were just granted Knighthoods and land. Of course one that happened the King was assasinated by an untraceable assasian. It was a Githyanki entering from the Astral plane. Psionics and Githyanki are unknown in the realms, until now, in my game.
A week later, a the corination of his Daughter, the Githyanki invading force attacks the unprepared city, along with Mind Controlled Beholders and Mercinary Fire Giants. The Capitan of the Purple Dragons charges the party with helping the guards get the Royal Family to safety.
My question is where would be a good place for the Royal Family to Hide out if Suzail was burned to the ground, and the population enslaved and rounded up into camps.
Thanks.
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Fletcher
Learned Scribe
USA
299 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2006 : 22:45:51
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Marsembar comes to mind. Arabel is a pretty good second location. The royal family would have guards, and wizards available to begin planning the retaking of Suzail.
If you want to keep the really out of trouble, have them use a portal or teleport to Waterdeep and speak with Khelben. |
Run faster! The Kobolds are catching up! |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2006 : 22:47:48
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| But Marsember is also famous for its scheeming, anti-Obarskyr nobility, so that in and of itself might be a bit dangerous to them. Personally, I think if they withdrew, they would pull back to High Horn with a ton of War Wizards warding the place out the wazoo . . . |
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egomann
Acolyte
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2006 : 23:31:31
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| Well they can't Teleport and they can't use any Divination magic. The Gith have screwed that up. It would make it too easy for them. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 00:16:56
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I would say the Hornshield -- being well defended and also because it is one of the most important areas for the strategic defense of the Forest Kingdom.
Any enemy who had taken Suzail would have a particularly hard time bringing their war to the doors of the Hornshield -- thus it gives the royal family a place to fall back to, and perhaps plan counter tactics with the Purple Dragon Knights and War Wizards. If things get too nasty, the Hornshield provides the family with an escape route to the west if they need to flee the country completely.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 02 Feb 2006 00:17:58 |
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egomann
Acolyte
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 02:27:22
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Where is the Hornshield at?
Also, is there a list somewhere showing the 20 largest cities in Farun, ranked by Population?
Thanks. |
Edited by - egomann on 02 Feb 2006 02:28:09 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 02:48:17
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Hornshield occupies a cleft on Mount Shalandragar in the Storm Horns.
As for the 20 largest cities... Take a look through the FRCS and note each of the population numbers for each major city. There's your list  .
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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egomann
Acolyte
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 03:00:42
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| Yeah, I was hoping that someone had done it already. ;) |
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Volo
Seeker
Canada
58 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 11:24:19
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I could probably do it off the top of my head, but I'm too bloody tired to try.
That said, I'd not be surprised for them to hide in Dawngleam, as that way, they'd be in a reasonably-sized location to start the retaking of the country from, but they'd also be able to flee into Sembia if everything completely fell apart. |
Volo's misunderstood. He's not an idiot. He's a FLAMING idiot! |
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Shadovar
Senior Scribe
785 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 12:27:10
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The Royal Family should hide in the more secluded places and remote in Cormyr. In my experience, fortresses and armed camps seemed very a good choice for hiding but the enemy can be a very intelligent foe, and would likely plant spies and agents in military camps or bases that have (in this case) loyal purple dragons as the enemy might expect the Royal Family to flee to such places. Also, such places risk the chance of siege if the foe really tracks the Royal Family to such armed camps. Even the basic tactician would hit out at any armed military camps in hopes of flushing out the hiding Royal Family which he/she might assume they would flee to.
Fleeing to places beyond Cormyr sounds fine but the foe would likely turn its eyes abroad for the Royal Family and also the populace might think the Royal Family as cowards and the Royal Family popularity might drop. I would recommend Eveningstar, a less obvious place and not too much of an armed camp, this would draw less attention, even so, the Royal Family can hide in Lady Tessaril's special House, which confuses foes. |
We have fostered trust, recruited loyalty, and gathered the faithful. We have trained thousands. Our legions can cover the land, fill the sky and travel through the darkness. We can hunt any and all that would deny our heritage. Now is our time, now is the time of the Dark Reign(Rain) of the Empire of Shadows.
- High Prince Telemont Tanthul, Lord Shadow
In a speech given to the citizens of Shade Enclave
At the celebration of the Shinantra Battle victory when he revealed that he was THE Lord Shadow of legend. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 17:15:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
I would recommend Eveningstar, a less obvious place and not too much of an armed camp, this would draw less attention, even so, the Royal Family can hide in Lady Tessaril's special House, which confuses foes.
That's a very good point. I can't recall the name of that House, but it's a good hiding place. And Volo's Guide to Cormyr (a free download on the Wizards downloads page) mentions the Blueleaf Gate, a portal that goes from the Royal Gardens to a spot just outside Eveningstar. 'Tis on page 230 of that tome. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
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egomann
Acolyte
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 02 Feb 2006 : 21:10:14
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The reason they attacked the city is that the Lich Queen needs 1 Million Souls as a sacrifice to gain Godhood.
They attacked from the Astral Plane and once the city was destroyed they rounded up the surviving civilians and took them back to their pens on the Astral Plane.
They are going from Large City to Large City destroying the defenses and rounding up the survivors.
Any retaliating army will only find what was left of the city in ruins. The Beholders were mind controlled and disintergrated most everything, and anything of value was taken by the Fire Giants.
Keep in mind in my game Githyanki and Githzari are unheard of outside the Mind Flayer population and Psionics do not exist outside of the exceedingly rare race that has them.
Eveningstar to Arabel to rally the troops sounds like a plan. Thanks for the suggestion. |
Edited by - egomann on 02 Feb 2006 21:17:04 |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2006 : 00:47:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Shadovar
The Royal Family should hide in the more secluded places and remote in Cormyr. In my experience, fortresses and armed camps seemed very a good choice for hiding but the enemy can be a very intelligent foe, and would likely plant spies and agents in military camps or bases that have (in this case) loyal purple dragons as the enemy might expect the Royal Family to flee to such places. Also, such places risk the chance of siege if the foe really tracks the Royal Family to such armed camps. Even the basic tactician would hit out at any armed military camps in hopes of flushing out the hiding Royal Family which he/she might assume they would flee to.
Fleeing to places beyond Cormyr sounds fine but the foe would likely turn its eyes abroad for the Royal Family and also the populace might think the Royal Family as cowards and the Royal Family popularity might drop. I would recommend Eveningstar, a less obvious place and not too much of an armed camp, this would draw less attention, even so, the Royal Family can hide in Lady Tessaril's special House, which confuses foes.
Eveningstar is a worthwhile suggestion, but it's also hampered by similar problems that a fortified keep would experience -- namely siege and attack.
The enemy is likely to have spies in and around Cormyr, and eventually they will happen across information that the Royal Family is currently holding up in a small, unfortified farming village north of Suzail. Granted, Eveningstar is a smaller community, and isn't likely to draw too much attention to itself, but the danger lies in the fact that if the enemy discover them there... there will be very little to prevent the enemy from striking at Eveningstar and either capturing or eliminating the family itself. And since it's a small community, the enemy may just simply decide to raze the village rather than trying to conquer it.
My suggestion of the Hornshield was based on the premise that the security of the Royal Family should be paramout... and thus, they would fall back to a position that is well-defended and capable of holding off the enemy for quite some time so that suitable defensive strategies can be developed and the Purple Dragon Knights and War Wizards could be properly brought to bear upon the enemy force.
However, the two locations could work in conjunction -- Eveningstar first, then the Hornshield second. The Royal Family, after fleeing to Eveningstar, will likely employ their own "spies" out into the populace in order to learn about the enemy's current deployments and intentions. If they get a whiff that the forces of the enemy are starting to concentrate on the village itself, then perhaps the Royal Family could then use the High Road straight into the Stormhorns and then to the relative safety of the Hornshield.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Shadovar
Senior Scribe
785 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2006 : 12:18:18
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quote:
Originally posted by egomann
The reason they attacked the city is that the Lich Queen needs 1 Million Souls as a sacrifice to gain Godhood.
Wow! An undead turning into a god! Sounds astounding! So if I am permitted to ask, will the Lich Queen attain a demi-power or lesser power status if she succeeds?
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We have fostered trust, recruited loyalty, and gathered the faithful. We have trained thousands. Our legions can cover the land, fill the sky and travel through the darkness. We can hunt any and all that would deny our heritage. Now is our time, now is the time of the Dark Reign(Rain) of the Empire of Shadows.
- High Prince Telemont Tanthul, Lord Shadow
In a speech given to the citizens of Shade Enclave
At the celebration of the Shinantra Battle victory when he revealed that he was THE Lord Shadow of legend. |
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egomann
Acolyte
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2006 : 14:48:59
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The one great weakness that Githyanki have is that they have no Divine Sponsor. In my game world that and their single minded focus on destroying the Mind Flayer and Githzari race is the only thing that has kept them from conquring reality. They poseess Psionic powers that almost no other race has, in addition to being powerful Magic Users and having a strong alliegence with Red Dragons.
Her plan is to trap the divince essense of a long forgotten god whos corpse her city is built upon on the Astral Plane. With One Million Souls sacrificed that will allow her to claim the Divince Essence of the God and she will attain Demi God status.
Of course it is up to the players to stop her before it is too late. |
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egomann
Acolyte
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2006 : 02:11:15
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| You guys are a lot freindlier than that batch at the Wizard boards. Some of them are acting like I just wrote an offical suppliment destroying Suzail, and they seem pretty upset. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 04 Feb 2006 : 03:30:21
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quote:
Originally posted by egomann
You guys are a lot freindlier than that batch at the Wizard boards.
That's something we like to tout here at Candlekeep .
So, enjoy...
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
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Rhewtani
Senior Scribe
USA
508 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2006 : 20:14:30
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Dhedluk would be a good hiding spot.
You've got a bunch of retired Purple Dragons in the area, there's a portal from Suzail to Dhedluk ... and there's a tapesty in the inn that if activated properly could send them just about anywhere.
The popular expectation would be Arabel, I would thing ... since it's been the capitol at one point, right? |
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TonyMontana1638
Acolyte
18 Posts |
Posted - 06 Feb 2006 : 23:21:38
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quote:
Originally posted by egomann
You guys are a lot freindlier than that batch at the Wizard boards. Some of them are acting like I just wrote an offical suppliment destroying Suzail, and they seem pretty upset.
I know, I'm a candlekeep fan myself... I've been a longtime lurker at both places and always thought this place was much more user-friendly: more love for the Realms here, less anal-retentive dice-rollers who shoot Dm's ideas down.
Anyways...
Rhewtani makes a good point about the portal: they get to Dhedluk, they get the retired Purple Dragons to assist in the flight and eventualy fortification. Whether they should remain there I don't know but... |
"Don't give up... Don't ever give up."
-Jimmy Valvano
The V Foundation for Cancer Research
http://www.jimmyv.org/ |
Edited by - TonyMontana1638 on 06 Feb 2006 23:25:14 |
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I destroyed Suzail
