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WotI: The Northern Reaches

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
innocent_eric
Apr 21, 2006 11:06:51 I've been looking for a while and haven't found any reference to what is happenning in the Northern Reaches during the Wrath of the Immortals. Can anyone point me to the right source or clue me in?
#2
johnbiles
Apr 21, 2006 11:22:41 As I try to remember...

I believe Ostland helps Thyatis beat up regions of the Isle of Dawn, Vestland sits around picking its nose, and Soderfjord does likewise.

Really, not much happens.
#3
Hugin
Apr 21, 2006 11:25:25 I'd love to hear some ideas too. This question relates directly to where my game is heading and I'm not sure what the situation is like there.

I was taking a look at X13 Crown of Ancient Glory and wondering if it can't be tweaked to be used during WotI. My thought was that the current king was involved with warfare outside of Vestland and internal strife was building; likely encouraged by Entropic Immortals such as Hel.

I haven't read the adventure yet so I don't know if this will be feasible, or even if King Harald would even leave the nation. Wouldn't the Northern Reaches (along with Heldann) be involved somehow in the conflict seeing as how the region lies directly between Alphatia and Glantri? Alphatia could certainly see the area as a good place the establish a beachhead from which to strike Glantri.
#4
zendrolion
Apr 21, 2006 11:42:59
Really, not much happens.

Apart from a likely Ethengarian invasion of Vestland (the final battle between the Heldannic Knights and the Ethengars in fought at Tromso, you remember?). :D

Some aspects of WotI really merit to be fleshed out better. ;)

IMC, I've had Moglai Khan starting the invasion of the Heldannic Territories and the Northern Reaches at once. Vestland asked help to the Soderfjord Jarldoms, Ostland and Thyatis. While besieging Freiburg, the Ethengars nearly occupied whole Vestland and attacked the Jarldoms.

At the end I had an alliance of Thyatis, Heldannic Territories and the three realms of the Northern Reaches fighting against the Ethengars in the north and the Ylari in the south (Thyatis consented to aid the alliance if the Jarldoms would attack Ylaruam from the north, thus relieving the north imperial borders from military pressure). Of course Thyatis sent very few troops to the alliance against the Ethengars (and mostly money), as did the HK and Vestland against the Ylari.
#5
Cthulhudrew
Apr 21, 2006 11:52:11 There isn't much of anything said about it. Ostland loses its king (Hord Dark-Eye) during some raiding that they do (taking advantage of the conflict, IIRC). As JohnBiles points out, it is likely that they also send at least some form of tentative support to Thyatis (since they are signatories to alliance treaties with that nation, and since Alphatia comes around the northern head of the IoD.)

I'd suspect that Ostland probably become profiteers about the whole thing. They are said to have set up colonies in the IoD already in Gaz7 (and there are some settlements in Westrourke east of Ostland that have very Ostlandic names; much of those "northern areas of dawn" are only tentatively claimed by Thyatis according to pre-WotI maps). I'd imagine they would help to defend those settlements, assist their imperial allies, and perhaps look to gain some more land for themselves (perhaps even Helskir, which is badly besieged during the war). They'd also be continuing their piratical activities, of course.

None of these things would necessarily alter the course of events too dramatically, but if you are concerned about Ostlandic incursions into the IoD (I know that it has been a concern of pro-Thyatianists in the past), you could always say that the rogue Ostman clans decide to take advantage of the world conflict and stage an uprising, preventing Ostland from getting too involved (as Hord attempts to put them down once again).

Soderfjord is still too divisive to really be a player in the conflict. They likely just step up their piracy, and some of the clans would probably sell themselves to the highest bidder as mercenaries. I could see Alphatia possibly employing some Soderfjord naval forces to assist against Ostland.

Vestland is another question altogether. It seems to be very much out of the loop in KW politics, sadly, despite being a rather progressive monarchy. They may be contending with Ethengarian raids during this period, or shoring up their western borders against possible Heldannic aggression.

X13 could certainly be restaged during this period. In that module, High King Maramet leaves Vestland in order to combat an invading force of Heldannic barbarians. In this case, you could simply change Maramet to Harald, and the barbarians to either Heldannic Knights (most likely) or Ethengarians, trying to invade during the conflict. The rest of the adventure would then follow suit.

Note that the nation of Vestland as depicted in X13 is somewhat different from that shown in Gaz7 (why they didn't try to reconcile the two sources better, I don't know). Notably, there is a more feudal system of land dispersal in X13 (baronies, counties, etc.), as opposed to the "clanhold" format of Gaz7. Not a major conflict, as those regions seem to be mostly located along the western border, and Gaz7 notes that the Trollheim Homesteading Acts established by Harald were designed to grant land to settlers in those regions to fortify that area (and since he is trying to bring Vestland into the "modern" era, he could very well have decided to establish a more traditional monarchy, to get power away from the clans).

Wouldn't the Northern Reaches (along with Heldann) be involved somehow in the conflict seeing as how the region lies directly between Alphatia and Glantri? Alphatia could certainly see the area as a good place the establish a beachhead from which to strike Glantri.

Definitely true, although I suspect that, at the core Alphatia is really more interested in taking back Thyatis than actually bothering with Glantri. I know that the whole Glantri thing (and the Immortals) is what prompts the war, but that scenario was always sort of weak. Again, I rationalize it as warmongerers in Alphatia seizing on the Glantri/Alphatia conflict to advance their own agenda, which is to retake Thyatis and to punish the "barbarians" for their defeat in 960 AC.

I think the rationale they give in WotI is that the Alphatians need to take out Thyatis first, so that they won't have to watch their backs as they march on Glantri, but yeah- not really the most strategic of moves. (Norwold and the north should all have played a much bigger part in the conflict, given the path that the Alphatian armed forces took to reach the Known World.)
#6
eldersphinx
Apr 21, 2006 18:18:51 As a thought for Sodefjord/Vestland action, if you want these countries more active during the War - once Rockhome goes underground, the humanoids of the Makkres and Hardangger Mountains begin prowling in some of the Rockhome mines, farms and surface villages, claiming more territory and more defendable lairs.

The Northerners soon face an unexpected threat from goblinoid raiders equipped with dwarven weapons (old and abandoned dwarven weapons, true, but still better than anything the humanoids ever had before), who have excellent new places to retreat to and fort up in, and possibly the occasional bit of Syrklist techno-wackery to boot. This proves to be more than enough of a problem to keep the military forces of the two nations, and many of their best native adventurers, occupied throughout the duration of Wrath.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 innocent_eric Apr 21, 2006 11:06:51	I've been looking for a while and haven't found any reference to what is happenning in the Northern Reaches during the Wrath of the Immortals. Can anyone point me to the right source or clue me in?
#2 johnbiles Apr 21, 2006 11:22:41	As I try to remember... I believe Ostland helps Thyatis beat up regions of the Isle of Dawn, Vestland sits around picking its nose, and Soderfjord does likewise. Really, not much happens.
#3 Hugin Apr 21, 2006 11:25:25	I'd love to hear some ideas too. This question relates directly to where my game is heading and I'm not sure what the situation is like there. I was taking a look at X13 Crown of Ancient Glory and wondering if it can't be tweaked to be used during WotI. My thought was that the current king was involved with warfare outside of Vestland and internal strife was building; likely encouraged by Entropic Immortals such as Hel. I haven't read the adventure yet so I don't know if this will be feasible, or even if King Harald would even leave the nation. Wouldn't the Northern Reaches (along with Heldann) be involved somehow in the conflict seeing as how the region lies directly between Alphatia and Glantri? Alphatia could certainly see the area as a good place the establish a beachhead from which to strike Glantri.
#4 zendrolion Apr 21, 2006 11:42:59	Really, not much happens. Apart from a likely Ethengarian invasion of Vestland (the final battle between the Heldannic Knights and the Ethengars in fought at Tromso, you remember?). :D Some aspects of WotI really merit to be fleshed out better. ;) IMC, I've had Moglai Khan starting the invasion of the Heldannic Territories and the Northern Reaches at once. Vestland asked help to the Soderfjord Jarldoms, Ostland and Thyatis. While besieging Freiburg, the Ethengars nearly occupied whole Vestland and attacked the Jarldoms. At the end I had an alliance of Thyatis, Heldannic Territories and the three realms of the Northern Reaches fighting against the Ethengars in the north and the Ylari in the south (Thyatis consented to aid the alliance if the Jarldoms would attack Ylaruam from the north, thus relieving the north imperial borders from military pressure). Of course Thyatis sent very few troops to the alliance against the Ethengars (and mostly money), as did the HK and Vestland against the Ylari.
#5 Cthulhudrew Apr 21, 2006 11:52:11	There isn't much of anything said about it. Ostland loses its king (Hord Dark-Eye) during some raiding that they do (taking advantage of the conflict, IIRC). As JohnBiles points out, it is likely that they also send at least some form of tentative support to Thyatis (since they are signatories to alliance treaties with that nation, and since Alphatia comes around the northern head of the IoD.) I'd suspect that Ostland probably become profiteers about the whole thing. They are said to have set up colonies in the IoD already in Gaz7 (and there are some settlements in Westrourke east of Ostland that have very Ostlandic names; much of those "northern areas of dawn" are only tentatively claimed by Thyatis according to pre-WotI maps). I'd imagine they would help to defend those settlements, assist their imperial allies, and perhaps look to gain some more land for themselves (perhaps even Helskir, which is badly besieged during the war). They'd also be continuing their piratical activities, of course. None of these things would necessarily alter the course of events too dramatically, but if you are concerned about Ostlandic incursions into the IoD (I know that it has been a concern of pro-Thyatianists in the past), you could always say that the rogue Ostman clans decide to take advantage of the world conflict and stage an uprising, preventing Ostland from getting too involved (as Hord attempts to put them down once again). Soderfjord is still too divisive to really be a player in the conflict. They likely just step up their piracy, and some of the clans would probably sell themselves to the highest bidder as mercenaries. I could see Alphatia possibly employing some Soderfjord naval forces to assist against Ostland. Vestland is another question altogether. It seems to be very much out of the loop in KW politics, sadly, despite being a rather progressive monarchy. They may be contending with Ethengarian raids during this period, or shoring up their western borders against possible Heldannic aggression. X13 could certainly be restaged during this period. In that module, High King Maramet leaves Vestland in order to combat an invading force of Heldannic barbarians. In this case, you could simply change Maramet to Harald, and the barbarians to either Heldannic Knights (most likely) or Ethengarians, trying to invade during the conflict. The rest of the adventure would then follow suit. Note that the nation of Vestland as depicted in X13 is somewhat different from that shown in Gaz7 (why they didn't try to reconcile the two sources better, I don't know). Notably, there is a more feudal system of land dispersal in X13 (baronies, counties, etc.), as opposed to the "clanhold" format of Gaz7. Not a major conflict, as those regions seem to be mostly located along the western border, and Gaz7 notes that the Trollheim Homesteading Acts established by Harald were designed to grant land to settlers in those regions to fortify that area (and since he is trying to bring Vestland into the "modern" era, he could very well have decided to establish a more traditional monarchy, to get power away from the clans). Wouldn't the Northern Reaches (along with Heldann) be involved somehow in the conflict seeing as how the region lies directly between Alphatia and Glantri? Alphatia could certainly see the area as a good place the establish a beachhead from which to strike Glantri. Definitely true, although I suspect that, at the core Alphatia is really more interested in taking back Thyatis than actually bothering with Glantri. I know that the whole Glantri thing (and the Immortals) is what prompts the war, but that scenario was always sort of weak. Again, I rationalize it as warmongerers in Alphatia seizing on the Glantri/Alphatia conflict to advance their own agenda, which is to retake Thyatis and to punish the "barbarians" for their defeat in 960 AC. I think the rationale they give in WotI is that the Alphatians need to take out Thyatis first, so that they won't have to watch their backs as they march on Glantri, but yeah- not really the most strategic of moves. (Norwold and the north should all have played a much bigger part in the conflict, given the path that the Alphatian armed forces took to reach the Known World.)
#6 eldersphinx Apr 21, 2006 18:18:51	As a thought for Sodefjord/Vestland action, if you want these countries more active during the War - once Rockhome goes underground, the humanoids of the Makkres and Hardangger Mountains begin prowling in some of the Rockhome mines, farms and surface villages, claiming more territory and more defendable lairs. The Northerners soon face an unexpected threat from goblinoid raiders equipped with dwarven weapons (old and abandoned dwarven weapons, true, but still better than anything the humanoids ever had before), who have excellent new places to retreat to and fort up in, and possibly the occasional bit of Syrklist techno-wackery to boot. This proves to be more than enough of a problem to keep the military forces of the two nations, and many of their best native adventurers, occupied throughout the duration of Wrath.