After five years, I am returning to Dungeons and Dragons, and of course that means restarting a Mystara Campaign.
My last campaign was a globe trotting campaign where the characters never became too involved with political events but traveled from the Duchy of Machetos all the way to Specularum, via the City of Thyatis and the Savage Baronies.
I am thinking about doing the opposite in this game, immersing them in the politics of Karameikos. I have the following general outline for the overall plot and I am looking for suggestions.
I think that these events would occur over a roughly 20 year period, from AC 995 to AC 1015.
Phase I: A Brewing Storm
Thyatian settlers are still pouring into the Ducate of Karameikos pushing the frontiers farther and farther north. Indeed, Traladarans have seen the early success of these settlers and are striking north also. This is increasing the strain on the these northern frontiers causing increased conflicts with the humanoid races in the northern mountians.
Baron von Hendricks, though never committing his own troops, has been aiding his cousin by importing clerics of Vanya (with the collusion of more conservative elements of the CoK) to act as chaplains to the troops in the mountians.
This while a mysterious leader named Bargus, Blargus or Barglus is uniting the northern humanoid tribes.
Phase II: The First Humanoid Wars.
A united army of Orcs and Goblins sack Threshold, burning much of the newer parts of the city. The old city and the fortress hold, though the bridges to the old city are largely destroyed.
The army marches north from Specularum, en mass, to engage the Humanoids. The Orcs and Goblins are driven back into the mountains The Humanoid Army would have been destroyed at the Battle of the Three Armies, near Castellan Keep, had the Imperial Army of the Dragon Empress not shown up and done significant damage to both armies. The IADE is never heard from again, but Kobold travellers become more common in the mountians of Karameikos.*
With both armies near exhaustion, Duke Stafan and the Orc King Ortal make a peace treaty.
Phase III: An Unsteady Peace
Much of the land conceded to the Orcs had been claimed by Traladarans, and this causes much discord among the Traladarans. In addition, further actions by Von Hendriks and the CoK to Thyatianize Karameikos cause add fuel to the fire.
CoK priests are run out of villages and local will not pay taxes to Thyatian speaking officials. The Ambassador from the Five Shires adamantly denies arming peasants in the west in an attempt to overthrough the Black Eagle Baron.
Phase IV: Traladaran Revolt
On Midsummer's Eve, soldiers in the Black Eagle Barony find a stash of weapons, (short swords, short bows and four foot spears) in a coastal village. They respond by hanging all 98 Traladaran residents and raiding halfling "smuggling ships". The next week a Cult of Halav Priest is lynched outside of Luln, for conspiring with the Thyatians. Duke Stefan takes this personally and has five members of the mob drawn and quartered for treason. The Traladarans are now in open revolt.
The revolt is fiercely and quickly put down in the Black Eagle Barony, and Von Hendriks sends troops to help in the rest of the revolt which is largely confined to the shore, Kelvin and Specularum. Black Eagle troops terrorize the lands west of Specularum.
A young Karameikan Naval Captian and his young Kerendan Marine Commander who were captured by rebels witness the devestation when the Balck Eagle Guard free them, but slaughter all of the villagers in the village they were being held in. Using his contacts, as the son of the minister of war, he gets to address the Archduke about the horrors. Stefan dismisses his complaints as "horrors of the battlefield". The archduke is taken aback when the Marine Commander interrupts him, "No, father, there was no battlefield."
The passonate argument of the Duke's returning daughter convinces the duke to make peace with the rebels. Using members of the Cult of Halav as go betweens the Duke makes a number of concessions to the rebels, including abolishing the Thyatian tradition of slavery. The Duke also declare Karameikos an independent kingdom, free of Thyatian domination.
Phase V: The Second Humanoid War
The Black Eagle Baron, outraged at the peace concessions begins to openly encourage the humanoids to revolt, even sending his court wizard Bargle to teach them tactics. Von Hendriks argues that the ban on slavery would apply to them also and says that this is needless interfering, and contrary to the previous peace treaty.
The Orcs and Goblins, predictably march to war. Bargle is able to organize them remarkably quickly, as if they knew him or something.
In the war, the Black Eagle Baron reluctantly send his troops, but unlike the efficiency of the previous war, the troops always arrive a day late. The Baron blames the loss of dedicated Hattians and Thyatians from his troops due to the concessions in the last revolt.
Eventually, the Karameikan Army wins, and a devestated Karameikos settles in to a peace.
Phase VI: Peace
Von Hendriks and local Thyatians continue to plot, but the realm is cautiously peaceful. The years of civil war have taken their toll, but luckily the neighboring nations have fought devestating wars and are unable to interfere as the Kingdom of Karameikos consolidates.
Phase VII: Foreign Invasions
Halflings invade Karameikos and capture the Black Eagle Baron. King Stefan is convinced to stay out of it, and the Halflings turn the Barony back over to King Stefan.
Later that year, Von Hendricks escapes and is seen in the court of the Thyatian Emperor, pleading his case. At the same time conservative Thyatians are pressuring Stefan Karameikos to return to Thyatian traditions. And there are rumors of a strange wizard organizing the humanoids to the north.
The Castellan of Foot Doom is murdered in the streets the day before Von Hendricks and several hundred Thyatian mercenaries arrive in the Baron of Halag. A day later a messenger presents a list of charges to King Stefan, including treason against the Empire and failing to defend a vassal from foriegn invaders. Thaytian troops march in from the east, von Hendricks from the west and Bargle's humanoid army from the north.
Luckily, by this point the King of Karameikos is being advised by those odd, magical heroic beings, known as PCs.
*The IADE is an underground Kobold Empire. Kobolds are a horrorific, silly nuisance in my game that inject some humor and terror into my game. A strictly Lawful Evil race that is devoted to the Dragon Emperoress, Kobolds do not use metal, live underground, are immune to fire damage, construct elaborate paper mache' homes, are martial arts masters (monks) and sorcerors and domesticate rust monsters for mounts. Players hate them, because you can fireball them, they turn magic items into pet food, cast magic missile and punch, hard.
Sorry about spelling, it is late.
Roger
I like the fact that it stays true to the original spirit of the Karameikos campaign, allowing for development while still keeping Bargle and Von Hendriks as the main adversaries even though their fate follows the Alamac timeline. Moving Von Hendriks to the Thyatian court makes alot of sense to me. He probably has many allies in Thyatis. If still following the Almanacs, the death of Thincol may be beneficial for Von Hendriks. The old emperor may have had his suspicions about this guy, but his son might not have been aware of that.
The sacking of Threshold is really a good way of showing players that you mean business too.
Not sure how I feel about the IADE. If you introduce them I think they should make a reappearance at a later stage.
Good post! Hope to see more of your ideas!
Havard
I agree, sounds like a very good basis for a campaign.
I like the fact that it stays true to the original spirit of the Karameikos campaign, allowing for development while still keeping Bargle and Von Hendriks as the main adversaries even though their fate follows the Alamac timeline. Moving Von Hendriks to the Thyatian court makes alot of sense to me. He probably has many allies in Thyatis. If still following the Almanacs, the death of Thincol may be beneficial for Von Hendriks. The old emperor may have had his suspicions about this guy, but his son might not have been aware of that.
The sacking of Threshold is really a good way of showing players that you mean business too.
Not sure how I feel about the IADE. If you introduce them I think they should make a reappearance at a later stage.
Good post! Hope to see more of your ideas!
Havard
In my previous games, Von Hendricks has always had a strong connection to Hattias and to the Storm Soldiers. I figure that is where he would go for shelter. The loss of the Grand Duchy is probably a great blow to the Empire and may have put the Torion Dynasty at some risk, so Eusebius would have been particularly eager to reclaim it, even with Von Hendricks as Archduke.
The IADE are a huge underground kobold empire in my campaign, but they are generally isolationist. A China or Japan during their periods of imperial isolationism. In my previous games, the kobold have gotten a little more daring around the year 1000, largely due to the activities of the patrons of the Shadow Elves, who use the empire to harass the Shadow Elves and eventually drive them to the surface. My previous campaign, which one of the players participated in, had an odd diplomatic encounter between the Thyatians and the Kobolods in 998 under Machetos. The IADE is essential an empire created by an ancient red dragon to protect her lair several centuries ago. She unfortunately underestimated the social need of Kobolds and found her self the living god of a very organized and large underground empire. Fearing this would draw attention, She closed the borders. I figure huge numbers of fleeing orcs and goblins pouring into the caves above one of their cities would be enough of a threat for them to respond. After two incursions, it is likely that they would start to build a "wall".
In previous games it has also been established that the dragon will try to become a dynast, which causes a great war.
In my previous games, Von Hendricks has always had a strong connection to Hattias and to the Storm Soldiers. I figure that is where he would go for shelter. The loss of the Grand Duchy is probably a great blow to the Empire and may have put the Torion Dynasty at some risk, so Eusebius would have been particularly eager to reclaim it, even with Von Hendricks as Archduke.
This makes alot of sense. IMC I made the assumption that the Black Eagle and the Iron Ring were major suppliers of slaves for the Thyatians. Another way for the Baron to have gained allies in the Empire.
Havard
What you have posted looks more like an atemp to flesh out the events stated in the "Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure" boxed set. If your players know the histery of Mystara then they will already know what to expect unles you toss a wrench in the mix to keep them guessing.
My first post!
What you have posted looks more like an atemp to flesh out the events stated in the "Karameikos: Kingdom of Adventure" boxed set. If your players know the histery of Mystara then they will already know what to expect unles you toss a wrench in the mix to keep them guessing.
The timeline is a little off, and there is no real concern about them getting K:KoA.