An alternate ending of Wrath of the Immortals hidden in WotI
by LoZompatoreHere is an elaboration of mine to provide for an alternate ending of Wrath of the Immortals events without leading to the sinking of Alphatia, based as much as possible only on canon information and giving final choice of the fate of the world to the hands of the PCs (as it should be, in my opinion). See if you like it and if it can be of inspiration for your own running of WotI events.
A)
As, canonically, any approach of the PCs to the Nucleus of the Spheres will inevitably trigger some major cataclysm (see also below for details) then another route should be taken. To this end, the key event is the naval-aerial battle at Dawnpoint, late in the war between Thyatis and Alphatia, which allows - through PCs' heroic actions - to anticipate by about a year the landfall of the Alphatian army on Thyatian soil.
Here is the description of the event:
WotI, Immortal's Fury page 86:
Summer, Year 1008: Imperial Navies Clash
News Events: In naval action, the Alphatian fleet sails around the northern end of the Isle of Dawn and approaches the mainland coast. Thyatian naval units stationed at Dawnpoint in the Thyatian duchy of Tel Akbir head north to intercept them, as do elements of the Retebius Air Fleet, the elite flying corps of the Thyatian military.
...
So this promises to be a mighty clash of naval forces, and it is. The two sea-navies inflict great harm upon one another, and the Retebius Air Fleet and the Alphatian sky-ship navy lose many of their heroes in bloody fighting.
The engagement is a qualified victory for the Thyatians. The Alphatians are unable to make landfall on Thyatian soil; the Alphatian navy retreats to the Isle of Dawn.
...
What the PCs Can Do: If the PCs are helping the Alphatians, they might be able to turn the tide of the battle against the Thyatian Navy and allow the Alphatians to make landfall on Thyatian soil. This would move up the event described below as "Alphatians Enter Thyatis" - speeding up the conclusion of the Alphatia/Thyatis war by about a year.
B)
Notice that, according to WotI, by this time the construction of the Doomsday Weapon by Rad, Rathanos and Rafiel is not even started, and it will require about one year to be completed:
WotI, Immortal's Fury page 86:
Fall, Year 1008: Rad Grows Desperate
News Events: Rad... is growing desperate... With the help of Rathanos and Rafiel [he] begins constructing a Doomsday Weapon powered by the Radiance.
WotI, Immortal's Fury page 89:
Fall, Year 1009: The Week Without Magic
News Events: Rad, Rafiel and Rathanos finish the construction of the Doomsday Weapon in Glantri.
C)
So, if the PCs actions on the Alphatian side at the battle of Dawnpoint are heroic enough, the following scenario will happen during the Fall of AC 1008 instead of the fall of AC 1009, with the Doomsday Weapon just in its early stage of development.
Notice that the excerpt below, in the "What the PCs Can Do" section, highlights that the PCs' actions (among which, possibly, what they did at Dawnpoint) might have led Thincol to cast out his mistress Anya earlier than the Fall of AC 1009.
With the surrender of Thyatis the Alphatian Expeditionary Army is free to reach Glantri by land in the following months. The expected route to be taken by the Army is also pretty much detailed in the description below (Thyatis - Karameikos - Five Shires - Darokin).
Even by considering that the Alphatians are exhausted by the latest clashes on Thyatian mainland, they still have approx. one year to rest, get reinforcements and reach Glantri before the Doomsday Weapon becomes operational.
This is more than enough time to lay siege to Glantri City without getting shot by the Doomsday Weapon, in my opinion: assuming a sluggish speed of 8 miles / day for the Expeditionary Army, and assuming the Army follows established roads along the Thyatis City - Kerendas - Specularum - Shireton - Athenos - Darokin - Corunglain - Glantri City route (approx. 50 24-miles hexes), then some 150 days - 5 months and 10 days - are needed to complete the march.
Even by assuming 2 initial months spent in Thyatis to rest and resupply and 2 more months spent fighting in the Broken Lands and southern Glantri, the Alphatians will lay siege to Glantri City approx. 9 months after the treaty with Thyatis.
WotI, Immortal's Fury page 88:
Fall, Year 1009: Thyatis Quits the Field?
News Events: In Thyatis City, the Emperor, Thincol I Torion considers the wreckage of his empire and makes a momentous choice. He dismisses his favorite advisor and mistress, Anya, who has been urging him to fight on until the spring, when the Heldannic Knights can send reinforcements ... He sends his magist, Demetrion Karagenteropolus, to see Empress Eriadna. He does not surrender, but sues for peace.
His deal is this: he will withdraw from the battlefield and no longer oppose Alphatia's war on Glantri. Alphatian forces will make a staged withdrawal from Thyatis but may travel across Thyatis en route to Glantri.
...
Since completing the conquest of Thyatis and sending in an occupation force would tie up too many of her troops, Eriadna agrees.
...
Thincol's treaty with Eriadna means that the Alphatian armed forces now have a clear shot at Glantri. They can march across or sail around Thyatis, then Karameikos (owing to the current treaty between the Grand Duchy and Alphatia). Neither the Five Shires nor Darokin have the means or will to prevent Alphatia's full armed might marching on to Glantri.
What the PCs Can Do: If the PCs locate and tamper with the Nucleus of the Spheres at this time... then Alphatia is destroyed and the Alphatian Expeditionary Army surrenders at the gates of Thyatis City!
...
As an alternative, the Week Without Magic... could take place before Alphatia forces Thyatis to sue for peace. Both the death of Eriadna and the absence of magic cause major political upheavals in Alphatia, temporarily bringing the Alphatian advance to a halt, giving the PCs more time to accomplish their goal with the Nucleus.
...
Otherwise, the PCs' actions might have led to Anya being cast out even earlier.
D)
From WotI we know that Rad created the Doomsday Weapon as a last resort way to drain magic from the attacking Alphatians and provide some advantage to the Glantrians; we also know that Rad immediately sues for peace as soon as the Doomsday Weapon creates havoc on Alphatia.
Notice also, from quote below, that the Alphatians are, in principle, not so much against a peace treaty with Glantri; in WotI main timeline the treaty is rejected mostly due to the foolish actions of Zandor, acting as regent of the empire after the (temporary) death of his mother.
So, summarizing: you are now in mid AC 1009, Rad's Doomsday Weapon is still not completed and so Eriadna is alive and reigning; moreover the Alphatian Expeditionary Army is laying siege to Glantri City. In case at least some of the Thousand Wizards decide to show up to support the Alphatian Army (and by the excerpts below I would say that the Empress may have some authority to order them around in times of war) then the situation for Glantri is even worse: as per quote below, if just a battered Thousand Wizard's Council shows up - without even considering the Expeditionary Army - Glantri is doomed to defeat.
I would say that, in this scenario, Rad (as Etienne d'Ambreville) would sue for peace and Eriadna would accept it, ending the War of the Wrath. All of this is ultimately triggered by the PCs' key contribution to an Alphatian victory at the battle of Dawnpoint.
The acceptance of a peace treaty is the only assumption I make that it is not strictly supported by canon, but I think it is a fairly reasonable one (of course, if you wish for the destruction of Alphatia at all costs, then there is very little I can do to stop you :mrgreen:).
WotI, Immortal's Fury page 86:
Fall, Year 1008: Rad Grows Desperate
News Events: ...[Rad's] goal is to create a device which will drain magic from anywhere on Mystara that he wants, neutralizing the magical advantage Alphatia currently has over Glantri.
WotI, Immortal's Fury page 89:
Fall, Year 1009: The Week Without Magic
Rad realizes that the Nucleus is out of control. He immediately sends messages to Ixion and Eriadna [as Etienne d'Ambreville] asking for a meeting to negotiate an end to the war.
Winter, Year 1009: Thousand Wizards Convene
News Events: ...[Zandor] convenes the council known as the Thousand Wizards of Alphatia, which consists of the most powerful magic-users of the empire. Many of its members perished in the Week Without Magic... the survivors come prepared to hear Zandor announce his intention to accept d'Ambreville's offer to end the war.
Instead, he shocks them all by ordering them to prepare for an all-out assault against Glantri. Some accept his argument that they must destroy Glantri before d'Amberville can use his weapon against them again; others, including master Terari... think he is simply inviting for disaster... others including... many Shiye-Lawr elves, accept exile instead.
...
As strong as Glantri's mages are, they cannot stand before the might of a whole continent's top-level magic users.
E)
Said all of this, to trigger this alternative ending to WotI, you need a group of PCs aligned to Alphatia. I would say that the barons of Norwold (i.e. Norwold player characters who participated to CM1, CM2, CM3, CM4, M1, M2, M5 events) are a good choice, both because they are of a suitable level to make the difference at the battle of Dawnpoint (in person and with their armies / fleets) both because Norwold contribution to the Alphatian military expedition is also a canonical event:
PWA I page 9 "Alpha (kingdom of)" entry:
In the recent war between Alphatia and Glantri, Norwold, still an Alphatian protectorate, sided with the mother empire and sent troops to help. Many of these troops never returned.
Of course the PCs' intervention in the battle would be opposed at all costs by the Entropic Immortals involved with WotI (Alphaks above the others) who - even if we assume do not know about Rad's Doomsday Weapon project - definitely whish for the war between the two empires to drag as long as possible, without a crucial battle to determine its outcome. This could lead to side adventurers for the PCs, who need to reach the battlefield in time to make the difference, while entropic agents try to delay them or hinder their progress.
F)
A possible hook with the following event can also be established.
Canonically, king Hord of Ostland died in battle while preventing the Alphatian fleet from making landfall on the Thyatian mainland. Looking at the date of his death (a little over a year before the beginning of AC 1010) I would say that king Hord took part to the battle at Dawnpoint with a contingent of Ostlandian ships, or that he was involved in a side battle connected to the Dawnpoint clash, where he died. Possibly he is the one who is preventing the PCs' reinforcements from reaching Dawnpoint in time, and his swift defeat (or avoidance) might become an important part of the PCs' quest.
PWA I page 69 "Ostland" entry:
A little over a year ago, King Hord took a contingent of Ostland's navy south to attack the Alphatian navy, which was then besieging Thyatian territories on the Isle of Dawn and moving toward Ylaruam. Hord was killed.
G)
Finally, if you wish to introduce a shady moral choice for the PCs, you could involve Ala the Seawitch from X13 in the plot. You may assume she is actually the sister of Hord and that she approaches the PCs' fleet sailing south from Norwold, asking for their help to seize the throne of Ostland. In exchange, she will help the PCs against her brother when they meet his fleet at sea.
As Ala is definitely not a good person, the PCs may choose between a "minor" evil (and potential troubles in Ostland at a later time) in order to end the war between Alphatia, Thyatis and Glantri, or deny her any help and risk a defeat for the Alphatian forces at Dawnpoint.
X13 Crown of Ancient Glory page 50:
Ala is obsessed with the desire to rule Ostland. At one time she was a Princess of that realm until she was banished by her father, the late King, for dabbling in dark sorcery. Her brother now rules the island and she despises him, for he sits in grandeur while she inhabits her movable rock in the ocean. Ala has affiliated herself with Vana Cullen because she needs the secular might of another kingdom to overthrow her brother and take his place.
Well, that's all I have to say on the subject. I really hope you enjoyed this elaboration of mine and that it you find it useful as an inspiration for your own campaigns!