I've been thinking about alternate history and lateral timelines in Mystara recently. What with the number of retcons in the different editions and timelines of the Known World, and possible meddling from Immortals of the sphere of Time, this seems like one thing that might be worth exploring as a campaign option.
(For those not familiar with the topic, an 'alternate history' is when you assume that some single, momentous change occurred in the past, and then speculate as to how the future might be different. Say, what might have happened if Napoleon hadn't invaded Russia. The French call this 'uchronie', if that helps you all on the other side of the pond. See Wikipedia for more background.)
I'll post a few different alternate history 'seeds' in following posts. These are (a) speculation on my part and (b) done without benefit of source material to hand, so specifics in a first draft may be iffy. I reserve the right to edit posts in order to correct errors and add suggestions from others.
Anyone else who wants to post their own alternate histories, feel free! :D
In this history, Alphaks and the Followers of Flame are victorious. Old Alphatia is still destroyed, but it's the Followers of Air who are cursed and exiled, and Alphaks who leads the survivors' exodus to Mystara.
On Mystara, the Flame-followers build a society which is even more passionate, more impulsive and less organized than 'Prime' Alphatia. They're fearsome in warfare, cutting a swath through the Jennites, Minaeans and people of Eastern Brun, but less capable of holding land and ruling. Places like Bellisaria, Norwold and the Alatians become frontiers claimed as part of the Alphatian empire, but inhabited by people who are effectively independent as long as they don't attract the attention of the local wizard-lord. Alphaks avoids going (more) stir-crazy, and eventually achieves Immortality as the kind-but-stern-but-somewhat-kooky Alphaeos, patron of Imperial wizardry. (Think a pyromaniac bookworm Zeus, here. ;))
Because of the philosophical similarities between the Flame-Alphatians and the early Nithians, contact here is closer to a true partnership than 'Prime' Alphatia. The Nithians are eager to learn fire-magic from the Alphatians; the Alphatians are more than willing to adopt Nithian bureaucracy, and it seems like the two aligned might just merge into a single nation able to conquer the world. That is, until the Followers of Air show up. Led by the mad wizardress Aasla the Accursed, they descend on southeastern Brun and start a guerilla war against the Alphatian empire. Air wizards create neverending storms in the Western Sea of Dawn, and other oceans, start sending monsters and wizardly assassins against Alphatian wizards, and basically act as a sudden sharp hammer-blow against the powerful, but brittle and arrogant Empire.
I haven't plotted out specific history forward from there, but the threads probably continue to spiral forward in a similar vein; the 'present day' Known World has seen twelve centuries' worth of now-stagnated magical war, and all the politics, catastrophe and adventure possibilities that come out of such a mess. Building an adventure thread or campaign around this history is certainly different... but the thought of an Aasla-Alphaks role reversal is just subversive enough to tickle my funny bone.
(Okay, all you Alphatian Empire purists can sit right back down. It's an alternate history, alright? :D)
In this AH, the 'Empire' of Thyatis never really makes it past its first few years. It was originally founded as an Empire by Zendrolion I, and either he never makes his power play, or dies without leaving behind a successor to pick up the pieces. The Thyatian tribes stay in their own small corner of southeastern Brun, forming a 'kingdom' that's really more a group of city-states.
Alphatia turns insular soon afterwards; there's a general decision that the Empire is more than large enough, and that going around grabbing at new territories inhabited by barbarians is just asking for trouble. As a result, they solidify their territories in Bellisaria, the Isle of Dawn and the Alatians, and stop expanding any further.
This leaves a power vacuum in the west that's filled by Darokin. The Kingdom's legions and fledgling navy forces grab Traladara, the northern islands of the Sea of Dawn, and parts of western Ylaruam and Thyatis. (The latter becomes the Kingdom of Hattias, BTW, confined mostly to that single inhospitable island.) The elves of Alfheim, wary of Darokinian imperialism, push their borders north and east to make sure they have their 'backs' to Ethengar and Rockhome.
After a couple of expansionist centuries, Darokin begins to fragment into a confederacy - with a strong military on both land and sea, but more interest in trading than fighting. The cities and main trade routes are safe and well-protected, but there are large chunks of frontier and wilderness filled with monsters and forgotten secrets. Counterbalancing Darokin on the continent is a loose alliance of kingdoms, led by those ever-suspicious Alfheim elves, which can field a marvelous army when it acts in unity (Ethengar cavalry, elvish archers, Glantrian mages, Ostlander and dwarvish foot) but rarely acts as a single force. Both sides are interested in establishing closer ties to the mysterious, isolated, alien, oriental Empire of Alphatia... leading to expeditions straight out of Marco Polo...
Of course, they could possibly leave things as is; until they discover that something has changed that they don't wish to live without.
This alternate history diverges with the arrival of Wogar's Great Horde in the Great Valley. Unlike the 'prime' Mystara timeline, the Horde's invasion here lacks any kind of restraint, and the proto-Huleans either flee from their homelands or perish. Some head west, assimilating into the populations of the Savage Coast; some sail south and east, coming around in what will one day be Minrothad and Ierendi; many push eastwards into Sind.
Among the latter is the young Hodasus; his particular brand of divine trickery and malice is imposed on the Sindian culture, making them into a nation very much like Tamerlane's empire on our Earth. (This AH may, in fact, be eerily similar to the history of the Known World as X10 originally described it...)
Other changes from the 'prime' Mystara status quo occur along the Savage Coast, where fleeing Huleans form an ethnic minority - sometimes accepted, often oppressed, sometimes even able to use magic and cunning to achieve dominance. Expect the Savage Baronies and the city-states of the Gulf to be even more fractured and tension-filled than normal. In Ierendi and Minrothad, the Huleans are a notable power bloc that's insular, fairly arrogant, not at all worried about exalting Immortals like Hel or Thanatos, and all set to meddle in the affairs of the other Old World nations.
And of course, this AH also features a small empire of some of the best-organized and warlike goblins you've ever seen, sitting smack dab in the middle of Southern Brun. Exactly what they do over the next two millenia is another whole mess of loose threads waiting to be uncovered...
There are already some ideas for this at the Vaults too - notably the World in Flames series of posts, in which Bruce Heard contributed.
Some short ideas of my own:
- Blackmoor never blows itself up. Mystara becomes a world of technomagic, ruled by wizard-scientists, etc. etc. It could go in many different directions - cyberpunk, steampunk, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.
- Thanatos and Ranivorus fail in their attempts to corrupt the Nithian Empire, and it continues to rule large sections of the world up to the present day. Nithian culture dominates, and many nations in the main timeline probably never come to be.
- The Elves destroy Blackmoor and prevent the Great Rain of Fire at the last minute. Humans are decided to be too dangerous to be allowed to survive, and a holy war wipes them out in huge numbers before the elves realise that they have gone too far. This results in a modern world with elves as the dominant race (possibly other demihumans too), in a world where humans are scarce, often persecuted or relegated to the role of servants. Another interesting factor would be the role of nature, because the elves presumably returned to their traditional ways, and the worship of Ordana, resulting in a nature-rich modern environment.
- Humanoids rule. In this version, the humanoids are the major players in the world, with humans and demihumans as the outlaws and renegades on their borders.
- The Red Curse expanded. At some point, the Curse spreads to ever-wider regions of the world, resulting in a world centred on the Savage Coast, with greatly increased population and power in that area.
- Immortals are no more. The Immortals were exterminated, probably by a powerful adversary such as the Carnifex, something from beyond the Dimensional Vortex, the Draeden (although quite why I have no idea), etc. Clerics are non-existent, and the world is a much grimmer place, where disease and injury are much more serious. And of course the movers and shakers are mortal rulers rather than Immortal manipulators.
- The World with No Magic. The Radiance was discovered much earlier, and possibly remained secret from most of the Immortals for much longer. As a result, it was over-used and ended up draining Mystara's magic much more than in the official timeline.
- Ethengar overruns the Known World. This is a great timeline for an Ethengar campaign. Basically the Great Khan decides to take over the world, and to a large extent manages.
- Thyatis is taken over by the Hattians. Oh dear, this sounds bad. Obviously the Storm Soldiers would become a much bigger issue, and we end up with a World War II style situation with Nazi-like racial hatred and so on.
- The Milenian Empire in Davania never failed. Something or someone managed to save it from its corruption and eventual fragmentation, and it becomes a major player in the modern world. This one is interesting because it is actually relatively easy to fit into the modern setting.
- The Hollow World unleashed. The Spell of Preservation fails, and the residents of the Hollow World become free to expand with impunity. Smaller cultures are wiped out, and the massive powerhouse nations (Nithia, Azca, Milenia, possibly others) begin a land grab to get as much territory as they can. Eventually they discover the Outer World, and the entire world, inside and out, is embroiled in a huge power struggle. The most interesting part here is that most of the Hollow World nations have access to resources built up over thousands of years, and quite vast amounts of power.
- The Sylvan Realm never dies. The elves manage to defeat Moorkroft, and they maintain their kingdom up to the present day. This results in a more powerful position for the elves, possibly with Alfheim as a colony subservient to the Sylvan Realm.
- The Canolbarth Expanded. When the Alfheim elves arrive to create the Canolbarth Forest, they underestimate their powerful magics, and end up creating a much larger forest. It overtakes a large part of Darokin, possibly even encompassing a large tract of the Streel River. This puts the elves at the centre of the Known World, with Darokin just a small nation around Lake Amsorak.
- Immortal War. Something catastrophic leads the Immortals to all out war between themselves. The spheres fight each other, eventually culminating in the Sphere of Entropy taking advantage of the situation to try to force a power shift, allowing Entropy to regain its previous position of power and split into four Spheres, with the current "good" Spheres merging back into one Sphere of Life. (As explained in PC1.) Of course, during the war the rule of non-intervention collapses, with literally earth-shaking results. Immortals descend to Mystara where they control their followers directly.
- The Gnomes Live! I have always been sad that there are so few communities of gnomes on Mystara. Well, in this timeline, that problem is no more. The gnomes of the Known World drive out their kobold enemies, retaining their strongholds and cities, and prospering into the present day. Serraine is just one among a large number of flying skygnome cities, and under the ocean there are large numbers of seagnomes living in domed cities with leaky submarines. Of course, fantasy technology is rampant in this version of the world, and the gnomes probably form significant subcultures in most nations, providing them with weapons as well as everyday appliances.
- Dark Nithia. The Nithian Empire is fully corrupted, but the Immortal Council of the Hierarchs votes against interfereing. The dark nation runs riot around the world, corrupting everything and leaving large areas in dark, twisted ruin from their evil destructive magics.
- Alphatia Rules All. The Alphatian Empire's spike attack on Thyatis in 959 succeeds, and Thyatis is assimilated into the Empire. From then on, Alphatia takes the nations of the Known World one by one, until only a few undesirable places are left outside the Empire's grip.
As a last note, a great source of reference for this project would be the TV show Sliders from the late 90s. It dealt with alternate timelines in every episode, and could easily give tons of interesting ideas, both minor timeline variants as well as quite major ones.
New alternate history spins off around 900 AC, with the first battles between Wendar and Denagoth. Here, Landryn Teriak is a lot more capable, and defeats Wendar quickly and efficiently. The new Denagothian empire soon expands eastwards into Heldann and southern Norwold, establishes a military alliance with the tribes of Ethengar, and becomes a fairly serious threat to the rest of the Known World.
The Shadow Lord isn't unopposed, of course. The wizards of Glantri, threatened to both north and east, build up their armies and start seeking spells to destroy this new adversary. The Northern Reaches kingdoms are also endangered, especially after Denagothian mages and priests of Idris start infiltrating and meddling in local politics. The loss of the trade routes across the Ethengar plains reduces Darokin's influence considerably, and Alphatia and Thyatis are both mildly concerned by the emergence of a new power in their long-running conflict.
In this AH, Saga of the Shadow Lord is undoubtedly an entire campaign. :D The Denagothian army has a solid core of elite heavy infantry, backed up with mounted cavalry skirmishers drawn from the Ethengarian tribes and strong magical support. The Bone Elves are another weapon in Teriak's arsenal - pitiable souls who chose to submit to Denagothian rule rather than perish, and are now acting as torturers and assassins on the Shadow Lord's behalf. (In 3E, Bone Elves are often wizard-rogue multiclassed characters; in 0E, use Joe Mason's Elven Thief variant.) Overthrowing the Shadow Lord in open battle may be impossible; working through the intrigue of spies and treachery to encourage Glantri, Darokin, Thyatis and Alphatia to unite against the madman is an equal challenge...
In the years that followed, the orcs, heady with victory, consolidated their position and spread outwards, overrunning the depleted garrisons of Fort Runnels and Fort Fletcher (which had spent themselves trying to retake Corunglain). Ardelphia, the only other centre of Darokinian might in the north, was besieged in AC 529, and finally fell several months later. Lurid tales of unbelievable suffering and slaughter meted out to the Ardelphians spread like wildfire among the villages of the northern Streel Plains, spurring a panicked flight southwards to the relative safety of Favaro and Darokin City.
Desperate to regain his northern territories, the Darokinian king appealed to other realms for aid, but to no avail - the elves of Alfheim were reluctant to help a kingdom that had warred with them less than 30 years before, the hin did not respond (but used the information to fortify their border with Darokin), and no messenger made it to Rockhome or to the lands that would become Glantri.
The much-feared orcish invasion finally came in AC 537, when a massive orcish horde descended on Favaro, which fell after a month of intense fighting. The orcs then marched on Akorros (the Darokinians expected them to march on Darokin City), which fell after a brief, but deadly siege. The Darokinian king mounted a counterattack, destroying much of the orcish force but failing to retake the city.
Darokin's preoccupation and position of weakness did not go unnoticed. Seeing the attention of its occasional rival directed elsewhere: Sind invaded the western and part of the southern shores of Lake Amsorak in AC 538, taking Akesoli and forcing Darokin to accept the territoral loss in exchange for peace, and an alliance against the orcs (Sind had no desire to share a border with orcs). The people of Selenica, separated from their fellow Darokinians by fairly great distances, and having little faith in their king, declared independence and established separate ties with Alfheim and Thyatis.
With Sindhi aid, Darokin managed to retake Akorros in AC 540, and pushed the orcs back to Favaro, but there things degenerated to a bloody stalemate. Surprisingly, the orcish chieftain approached the Darokinian king with peace terms, realising that he had succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, and that he did not have enough warriors to mount another large-scale attack. Knowing that he could not retake all of his lost territories, the king agreed, recognising orcish authority over all lands north of Favaro. The king did not live long after making his unpopular decision.
The result of all this is that Darokin, much reduced in territory, resources, and pride, never became the economic power it could have been. The king's assassination touched off a period of civil war and revolt, from which the land never really recovered. The merchant houses remained minor players in the highly unstable world of Darokinian politics, and the kingdom never became "the land of leftovers", as no one wished to settle there. Neighbouring realms, such as Sind, seized more territory when the opportunity struck, and now, overshadowed by Sind in the west and orcish lands to the north, and further reduced in size, Darokin is a kingdom in name only, dominated by competing nobles (backed by Sind and other nations) and treated as a buffer state by its neighbours.
Geoff
I was just flipping through a copy of B11 King's Festival that I found at a used book store today
, and happened to see that it says "Trade routes pass beyond the borders of Karameikos here, and go on to Selenica, capital of the Republic of Darokin." 
It obviously is only an editorial error since Darokin City had been established as the capital in published material nearly ten years before B11, but it could make for an interesting AH if Selenica was able to wrestle the seat of government away from Darokin City. For that matter, this could be an interesting plot in current play!
(Anyhow, I thought I'd share my surprise with you and figured this might be the best place to put it)
The result is the Domain of Aenglyr, a rapidly-expanding realm built on elven longevity, Blackmoor magic and technology, and a certain degree of arrogance in the middle of southeastern Brun. The humans of the region, proto-Nithians, Traladarans, Daro and Sindhi, are no threat to the new domain; they're subjugated or driven off. The Immortals are worried about the sudden growth of this new kingdom, but refrain from direct action initially - and before they can make up their mind to do anything, the Aenglyr elves have discovered the Nucleus of the Spheres and started to tap its power, and direct intervention becomes impossible to contemplate.
Some details of the present-day world follow:
- Aenglyr: The domain itself covers almost all of 'prime' Mystara's Known World, with the exception of the Northern Reaches and parts of eastern Rockhome and Heldann, and north across Wendar and Denagoth and west to the Black Mountains as well. The elves of this realm are counterpart to 'prime' Mystara's Shadow Elves and Schattenelfen (both!) and so have their own fair share of hubris; the power of their Blackmoor technology only heightens matters. Though somewhat 'thin on the ground' near the edges of the territory they claim, they're easily the dominant power on the planet.
Blackmoor technology and the Radiance are exploited by the Aenglyr elves, though cautiously; the slower pace of elven culture means that even thirty two centuries of research hasn't caused explosive progress. A greater understanding of the Nucleus has resulted in a nearly fivefold increase of its range, allowing its power to be drawn on across the Dominion; the Aenglyr elves have worked out certain makeshift tricks to keep the magic-draining effects of the Nucleus at bay. (Some of these - like periodically encouraging a powerful mage to attempt the Transcend Life Force ritual, and then insuring that said worthy fails and sends their lifeforce to feed the Nucleus - aren't that nice, mind you...)
Humans under the rule of the Domain are sometimes treated benevolently, as junior partners, sometimes abused or enslaved, depending on the whim of those in power. Both attitudes have led to the occasional revolt, of course, which generally gets flattened; this is one of the reasons why Aenglyr doesn't yet rule the planet. Exactly which attitude prevails in the present day is up to DMs to determine.
- Alphatia: When the Alphatians first arrived, twelve hundred years after the rise of Aenglyr, they got a rude shock - no longer were they the top dogs in matters of wizardry. Fortunately, the elven technomages weren't interested in aggressive expansionism, and Alphatia had the chance to establish its own sphere of influence over the home islands and western Skothar.
In the present day, Alphatia is seen by many as the best available opposition to the Domain - skilled wizards in their own right, somewhat able to adopt the use of Blackmoor technology and refreshably human. (They aren't that much different, attitude-wise, from 'prime-world' Alphatians, mind you; it's just that compared to the Aenglyr elves, they're a lot easier to live with.) The empire still has as many individuals interested in excellence, power and eventual Immortality, but these worthies are less inclined to pursue wizardry and the path of the Paragon than otherwise - which means more interest in clerical magic, and more Dynasts and Epic Heroes.
- Antalian Clanholds: In this history, the Antalian people responded to the Aenglyr threat with a renewed stubbornness and vigor - part inborn, part inspired by a watchful Odin - and survived as a free people through the present day. They claim most of the old Northern Reaches, Heldann, and Norwold as their territory, and are fractious among themselves but absolutely unified in the face of any 'stinkin' tricksy elven threat'; they hold out against the Domain through fighting prowess, strong Immortal backing, defense pacts forged with the dragons of the Wyrmsteeth, and pure raw stubborn refusal to roll over and die. So far, this has worked.
- Great Hule: Aenglyr's presence in this world's history has actually done much to help Great Hule, giving it a secure border to the east and drawing away the humanoid hordes that ravaged it across 'prime history'. Not, of course, that the Huleans would be very grateful if they knew; they consider the elves bad neighbors, and are mightily interested in seeing the Domain defeated. Unfortunately, no real means exists to bring this about; the Huleans can defend well enough, with a desert and a mountain range between them and Aenglyr, but pushing forwards is something else.
The actions of the small city-states and petty baronies to Hule's south and west are another concern. Aware that their northern neighbor would likely swallow them should Aenglyr disappear, these states are more than willing to stir up unrest and cause trouble for Great Hule. Recently, the Huleans have begun to investigate the Red Curse, hoping that agents empowered by it will be able to cause enough trouble for Aenglyr to allow Hule to act elsewhere.
- New Dengar: The creation of the Domain of Aenglyr doomed the dwarven homeland almost before its creation; there was no way the dwarven people could live in mountains under the domain of elves armed with Blackmoor technology. Instead, the dwarven people dispersed in all directions, seeking to found new homes elsewhere. Not all survived, but enough did to found several outposts of dwarven blood in mountainous areas around Mystara.
Today, the united dwarven kingdoms are likely Aenglyr's greatest foe, opposing elven growth wherever it comes from and encouraging others to do the same. Though widely dispersed, they have developed magical effects that allow rapid communication and travel between their holdings (possibly using planar travel through the plane of Elemental Earth) and consider themselves one people.
- Shazharai Imperium: Located on Davania's northern coast, this kingdom was founded by Sindhi nobles fleeing south across the Sea of Dread. These nobles met and joined with the Thyatian and Hinterlander tribes of the region, offering them the benefits of civilization - including improved weapons and means of making more. In the present day, this empire has expanded across much of northern Davania, and has a cavalry force unequalled on Mystara (similar to RW-Sassanids) plus a capable navy.
- The Sylvan Realm: Moorkroft Elvenbane's rage was redirected in this world's history, and the Sylvan Realm survived through the present day. It's only a minor power, however, far removed from the larger empires, and its people are not often trusted. A few of the Sylvan elves choose to travel abroad, opposing the actions of their 'corrupt' cousins; others become intoxicated with the potential for power offered by the Aenglyr, and choose to join the Domain.
Campaigns in this AH can take one of two forms - subjects or allies of the Domain of Aenglyr, seeking to defend it against enemies inside and out (culminating, possibly, with a race to stop another Blackmoor Event), or alternately natives of one of the other great nations, opposing the actions of the Aenglyr elves and trying to make their own culture supreme.
Interesting AH you developed there. Only one small error that I noticed -- if there never was a Nithian Empire, there never would be Thyatians or Hinterlanders, as it was the Nithians that brought the Antalians to the southern continent!
Of course, the could be descended from a lost colony of Antalians, who were trying to find a way around the Domain...
Edit: Another minor item: the petty states south of Hule would not exist, either, as they were founded by peoples from the Known World, ranging from Nithians and Traldar to Ispans and Traladarans (none of which exist in this world). At best, there would be Oltec-descended barbarian tribes, as was the state before the Nithian invasion of 700 BC. Or perhaps, when some of the Sindhi fled to Davania, others fled to the west, and settled in that region... making it a mix between Oltec savagery and Sindhi strangeness. Plus, as I note in another post, possibly a French Empire...
Here's an idea for you: the king of the Domain of Aenglyr? Atziann the Eternal, a Radiance Lich, he who first discovered the power of the Radiance. Or perhaps he is the "power behind the power," the Great Uncle to every King of Aenglyr. From the description of the relationship between Aenglyr and the Immortals, he cannot be an Immortal. He's kinda like what would have happened to Rad if Rad had made a mistake in his investigation into the power of the Radiance...
And of course, there's no Rad here, either, or any of the Laterre peoples, as Etienne chose Mystara for settlement because of the Radiance... and having no access to it, he would have chosen to take his people elsewhere, I think...
Or maybe... maybe he decided to settle for the power of Red Steel, and the lands of the Savage Coast are now part of a French Empire, which challenges Hule for supremacy in the west?
Eldersphinx--
Interesting AH you developed there. Only one small error that I noticed -- if there never was a Nithian Empire, there never would be Thyatians or Hinterlanders, as it was the Nithians that brought the Antalians to the southern continent!
Of course, the could be descended from a lost colony of Antalians, who were trying to find a way around the Domain...
Edit: Another minor item: the petty states south of Hule would not exist, either, as they were founded by peoples from the Known World, ranging from Nithians and Traldar to Ispans and Traladarans (none of which exist in this world). At best, there would be Oltec-descended barbarian tribes, as was the state before the Nithian invasion of 700 BC. Or perhaps, when some of the Sindhi fled to Davania, others fled to the west, and settled in that region... making it a mix between Oltec savagery and Sindhi strangeness. Plus, as I note in another post, possibly a French Empire...
Um, ooops? :D
Looks like this is one of those AHs that suffers more than most from 'awayfrommybooksitis'. When I have time, I'll see about proper replacements for the 'missing tribes' - though one of the sneaky tricks of writing alternate history is saying that similar geography, climate, etc. lead to similar outcomes even if the specific people are different. (In other words, if there's good land and a nice harbor to build the city of Slagovich on, someone'll build a city there - whether it be Nithians and Ispans, or Oltec barbarians, or someone else entirely - drifting colonizers from Zuyevo, perhaps?)
I admit i was niffed at the sinking of Alphatia, during the WotI.
So got to thinking about alternatives. Namely a large scale war who's outcome does not redraw the geographical map or leads to magic dissappearing slowly from the world. One culture dissappearing into the HW and another slowly desending into darkness from within, Glantri. A major Elven nation scattered by Shadow elves.
Thyatis and Minrothad already compete against each other and the similarties are striking, like the conflict that grew between Rome and Carthage. It would still draw the Immortals.
With the conflict based on Thyatian expansion stalled to the East by Alphatia, a tenuous link to the Hinterlands that seems to be stalling. Caused by Minrothad merchants setting up trade links themselves in the region and wanting to protect these interests.
Thaytis discovering that Minrothad Merchants power is growing, soon minipulate the situation to their advantage. Initially Thyatian navel power is not sufficient, and has to develop new tactics and ships to overcome Minrothi dominance. Alphatia involment to the east would lead to escalation once again on the Isle of Dawn.
In this scenario, the main protagonists are the more mundane nations of Minrothad and Thyatis, with Glantri and Alphatia giving magical support to the escalating war. Reducing the need for major magical destruction.
Territory gained by Thyatis would be the Island of Alfeisle, this would need pacifying. Would protect Thyatis shipping to the Hinterlands, giving more secure access.
Similar to the 1st Punic war where Carthage lost Sciliy in the war, then soon after Sardinia as Rome seeing Carthage recover far quicker then expected seized Sardinia after the war creating more bitterness.
Minrothad opens new markets in the Hinterlands discovering the more prosperous city states further west from the Jungle coast.
Karameikos neutrality is broken by both sides, leading to full declarartion of independence and a call for the Northen Defense League.
Further conflict grows similar to the Punic Wars, 2nd with Minrothand recovered attempts to regain lost territories.
This is interesting - in my own work, I had Minrothad make inroads into the city-state of Telos Takesidhi (info is somewhere in the Vaults), but other markets for Minrothad include Garganin, Kastelios, and Kalavronti, as well as the lizard man tribes of the Amalur Lowlands (which are described in PWA II).
Geoff
With the Isle of Dawn blocked by N.A.C.E. and Thothia, southern territories acquiring independence.
The reduced trade with the dissappearance of Alphatia to the East, means that new markets would be sort elsewhere namely the new markets been discovered on the southern continent.
Alphatia would also be trading more with the Minrothi anyway. Plus Raiders from the Nothmen would reduce shipping.
This could fit into a fairly 'prime' Known world - where the 'reachmen' avoid attacking Thyatis - but are quite happy to raid up into Norwold, and (like the Normans in 11th century Europe) down into Ierendi, Minrothad, along the Ylaruam coast (which with a little twisting and turning could lead to some crusader style action...) and even on the Eastern side of the Isle of Dawn.
And, given the abilities of reachmen as explorers in this AH, they may well find themselves in Skothar, and even making a legendary crossing into the Hollow World.
Who the reachmen attack, and how powerful they are could vary dramatically - and it might be fun to have them as a major thorn in Thyatis' side - or to see them as regular, and unwelcome, visitors to Karameikos' southern coast