(IR) Setting up for the IR

[Edena_of_Neith]

Here is the new thread.

And here is the list.
It is the most complete list I could make (If I missed anything, let me know) of all the possible powers, peoples, and nations of the Flanaess.
This list gives you a complete breakdown of all the Powers you may choose from, what kind of people live there, and how capable of making war they are.

* indicates this power has not yet been claimed by anyone

THE OFF-WORLD POWERS

The Shadow Empire (The Empire of Shade in the Plane of Shadow, many kinds of beings with the Shade template or associated with Shadow, Torilian humans, demihumans, humanoids, some Oerthian converts, evil) PL 77
Anabstercorian, Prodigal Heir of Ilsensine (PC illithid from Toril, evil) PL 4

THE OFF-FLANAESS-MAP POWERS

The Celestial Imperium (Oriental humans, Spirit Folk (Oriental elves), Oriental dwarves, Oriental gnomes, Oriental halflings - these races have different names in the Celestial Imperium, all alignments) PL 30
Esmerin (halflings, cloud giants, stone giants, storm giants, titans, neutral and good) PL 10
Varnaith (elves, dwarves, gnomes, Suel and other humans from outside the Flanaess, all alignments) PL 18
The Solistarim (Flannae humans, rogue phaerimm, beholders, illithid, aboleth, some neogi, sahuagin, kraken, intelligent evil sea life, lizard kings, lizard men, efreeti, salamanders, fire elementals, fire giants, frost giants, Nibelungen dwarves, dark gnomes, chromatic dragons, liches, vampires, various undead, various other lawful evil and neutral evil races, evil) PL 20

THE BAKLUNISH HUMAN POWERS

Zeif (Baklunish humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, all alignments) PL 4
Ekbir (Baklunish humans, dwarves, gnomes, all alignments) PL 3
Tusmit (Baklunish humans, dwarves, gnomes, all alignments) PL 3
Yecha (Baklunish humans, dwarves, gnomes, neutral) PL 2
Ket (Baklunish humans, neutral and evil) PL 4
Ull (Baklunish humans, all alignments) PL 2
The Paynims (Baklunish humans, all alignments) PL 2
Istivar (Baklunish humans, dwarves, all alignments) PL 3
The Spirit Empire of Garnak (Baklunish humans, certain types of undead, treants, sentient trees, forest spirits, treants, sentient animals, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, neutral and good) PL 8

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD OERIDIAN HUMAN NATIONS OF THE WEST

Furyondy (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, all alignments but mostly neutral and good) PL 7
Veluna (Oeridian and Flannae humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, heavily good) PL 5
Keoland (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, neutral and good) PL 8

(Lesser Satellite Nations)

Gran March (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, neutral and good) PL 5
Bissel (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, neutral and good) PL 3
Sterich - Overrun by giants, NA, no PL
Geoff (Oeridian human, elves, dwarves, neutral and good) PL 5
The Yeomanry (Oeridian humans, some demihumans, neutral) PL 4

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD OERIDIAN HUMAN NATIONS OF THE CENTRAL-EAST

* Nyrond (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, heavily neutral with some good) PL 8
* The County of Urnst (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, neutral and good) PL 4
* The Duchy of Urnst (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, neutral and good) PL 3

THE EVIL OERIDIAN NATIONS OF THE EAST

United Ahlissa (Oeridian human, dwarves, gnomes, slaves of all types, conjured monsters, undead, neutral and evil) PL 15
The Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdi (Oeridian human, dwarves, gnomes, slaves of all types, conjured monsters, undead, neutral and evil) PL 13
The Sea Barons (Oeridian human, some demihumans, slaves of all types, neutral and evil) PL 4

THE SUEL HUMAN NATIONS OF THE SOUTH

The Scarlet Brotherhood (Suel humans, Hempmonalander humans, dwarves, assorted monsters under magical control, slaves of all types, generally evil) PL 30
* The Hold of the Sea Princes (Suel and Oeridian humans, dwarves, slaves of all types, neutral and evil) PL 4
The Black Brotherhood (Suel humans who have infiltrated the Scarlet Brotherhood, evil) PL 7
The Lordship of the Isles - Occupied by the Scarlet Brotherhood, NA, no PL

THE SUEL HUMAN NATIONS OF THE NORTHEAST

Ratik (Suel and Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, neutral and good) PL 3
The Frost Barbarians (Suel humans, all alignments) PL 3
The Snow Barbarians (Suel humans, all alignments) PL 4
Ice Barbarians (Suel humans, all alignments) PL 2

THE FLANNAE HUMAN NATIONS

* Blackmoor (Flannae human, lizard kings, lizard men, kraken, neutral and evil) PL 5
* Heimmorj (Flannae human, neutral and evil) PL 3
* The Tiger Nomads (Flannae human, neutral) PL 2
* The Wolf Nomads (Flannae human, neutral) PL 2
Perrenland (Flannae human, dwarven, gnome, some halflings, heavily neutral) PL 4
* The Hold of Stonefist (Flannae human, neutral and evil) PL 6
* Tenh - Occupied by the Hold of Stonefist, NA, no PL

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD DEMIHUMAN POWERS OF THE NORTHWEST

The Gnomes of the Sepia Uplands (gnomes, neutral and good) PL 3
The Peoples of the Vesve (elves, gnomes, Oeridian and Flannae humans, treants, forest beings, neutral and good) PL 4
Highfolk (high elves, some grey and wood elves, some Oeridian and Flannae humans, some gnomes, some halflings, heavily good) PL 6
* The Valley of the Mage (valley elves, neutral) PL 4

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD DEMIHUMAN POWERS OF THE SOUTHWEST

* The Duchy of Ulek (demihumans, Oeridian humans, generally good) PL 3
* The County of Ulek (demihumans, Oeridian humans, generally good) PL 3
* The Principality of Ulek (dwarves, elves, gnomes, Oeridian humans, neutral and good) PL 5

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD DEMIHUMAN POWERS OF THE CENTRAL FLANAESS

The Technomancy of the Lortmils (gnomes, dwarves under the secret tutelage of the United Commonwealth of Toril) PL 17
Celene (grey elves, wood elves, some high elves, neutral and good) PL 5
* The Demihumans of the Northern Lortmils (dwarves, gnomes) PL 3
* The Demihumans of the Kron Hills (dwarves, gnomes, halflings, some elves, some Oeridian humans, neutral and good) PL 3
* The People of the Gnarley Forest (elves, forest beings, some Oeridian humans, generally good) PL 2

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD DEMIHUMAN POWERS OF THE NORTHEAST

* The Demihumans of the Stonelands (dwarves, gnomes, heavily neutral) PL 4
* The Mountain Nation of Garrel Enkdal (dwarves, neutral and good) PL 4
* The People of the Adri Forest (high elves, wood elves, wild elves, Oeridian humans, gnomes, forest beings, neutral and good) PL 4

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD DEMIHUMAN POWERS OF THE SOUTHEAST

* Irongate (dwarves, gnomes, Oeridian humans, neutral and good) PL 4
* The Dwarves of the Iron Hills (dwarves, neutral and good) PL 3
* The Grandwood (high elves, wood elves, grey elves, gnomes, halflings, forest beings, neutral and good) PL 3

THE NEUTRAL AND GOOD DEMIHUMAN POWERS OF THE FAR EAST

The Lendore Isles (grey elves, high elves, wood elves, wild elves, all alignments) Power Level 7

THE EVIL DEMIHUMAN POWERS

* The Elves of the Great Swamp (wood elves, wild elves, neutral and evil) PL 2
* The Elves of the Lost City in the Adri Forest (If released from the artifact’s hold, all elven, evil) PL 4

THE SIDHE POWERS

The Faerie of the Flanaess (every type of Faerie, neutral and good) PL 20
The Unseelie of the Flanaess (every type of Dark Faerie, evil) PL 13

THE POWERS FROM THE PAST

* Vecna (Suel lich, world’s greatest mage, evil) PL 20
* The Legions of Vecna (Suel human, undead, constructs, monsters of every sort from the MMs, evil) PL 100
Kas (Suel human) PL 4
The Legions of Kas (Suel humans, undead, constructs, monsters of every sort from the MMs, evil) PL 30

OTHER GREAT POWERS

Iuz the Old (demipower, evil) PL 7
The Empire of Iuz (Humans of all types, humanoids, slaves of all types, evil) PL 25

Acererak (Suel demilich, evil) PL 10
Acererak's Minions (various monsters and constructs, usually evil) PL 10

The Drow of the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists (drow, fire giants, frost giants, hill giants, slaves of all types, evil) PL 8
The rest of the Drow of Oerth (drow, slaves of all types, evil) PL 25

* Ivid the Undying and the City of Rauxes (Ivid the Death King, the Tarrasque, death knights, skeletal warriors, other undead, specially chosen monsters, large animated constructs) PL 15

OTHER INTERMEDIATE POWERS

The Orcish Empire of the Pomarj (orcs, other humanoids, slaves of all kinds, monsters cooperating with the orcs, evil) PL 15
The Formidian Giants of the Southern Hellfurnaces (Formidian giants, all types of slaves) PL 7
* The Circle of Eight (Mordenkainen and his fellow Mages, their apprentices, followers, forces, constructs, summoned beings, neutral and good) PL 5

OTHER LESSER POWERS

The Illithid of the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists (illithid, all types of slaves, evil) PL 3
The Non-Solistarim Duergar of the Underdark (duergar, evil) PL 4
The Non-Solistarim Derro of the Underdark (derro, evil) PL 4

The Free City of Greyhawk and it’s Lands (Humans of all types, demihumans of all types, some humanoids, all alignments) PL 5
* The Free City of Verbobonc (Oeridian and Flannae human, demihumans of all types, neutral and good) PL 2
* The Free City of Dyvers (Oeridian and Flannae human, demihumans of all types, neutral and good) PL 2
Rary and his Empire of the Bright Lands (Rary, Oeridian humans, dwarves, humanoids, constructs, summoned beings, slaves of all types, evil) PL 4

* Onnwall (Oeridian human, dwarven, neutral and good) PL 3
* Idee (Oeridian human, dwarven, high elven, heavily good) PL 3
* Sunndi (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, heavily good) PL 4

* The Theocracy of the Pale (Oeridian human, neutral) PL 4
* The Refugees of Fellreev Forest (Humans of all types, demihumans of all types, all alignments) PL 4
The Bone March (Humanoids, undead, evil) PL 3
Rel Astra (Oeridian humans, dwarves, gnomes, undead, neutral and evil) PL 6
Medegia (Undead, humanoids, evil) PL 4
* Kalstrand (Oeridian human, neutral) PL 2

* The Hempmonalander Isle of Touv (Hempmonalander human) 2
* The Hempmonalander Isle of Olman (Hempmonalander human) 2

* The Robots (From the crashed spaceship in the module S3, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks) PL 3

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Who's claiming what

(If there are any inaccuracies in this list, LET ME KNOW.)

IR CLAIMS SO FAR

* indicates the power is contested between two or more people
? indicates a shared power (maybe ), but nevertheless a third person (or even more people) may be contesting the Power

ALYX

The Celestial Imperium (Oriental humans, Spirit Folk (Oriental elves), Oriental dwarves, Oriental gnomes, Oriental halflings - these races have different names in the Celestial Imperium, all alignments) PL 30
Varnaith (elves, dwarves, gnomes, Suel and other humans from outside the Flanaess, all alignments) PL 18
The Lendore Isles (grey elves, high elves, wood elves, wild elves, all alignments) Power Level 7
Celene (grey elves, wood elves, some high elves, neutral and good) PL 5

ANABSTERCORIAN

?

BLACK OMEGA

The Faerie of the Flanaess (every type of Faerie, neutral and good) PL 20
The Gnomes of the Sepia Uplands (gnomes, neutral and good) PL 3
The Peoples of the Vesve (elves, gnomes, Oeridian and Flannae humans, treants, forest beings, neutral and good) PL 4
Highfolk (high elves, some grey and wood elves, some Oeridian and Flannae humans, some gnomes, some halflings, heavily good) PL 6
Perrenland (Flannae human, dwarven, gnome, some halflings, heavily neutral) PL 4

DAGGER

?

DARKNESS

(The Baklunish Confederation)

(Zeif (Baklunish humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, all alignments) PL 4
Ekbir (Baklunish humans, dwarves, gnomes, all alignments) PL 3
Tusmit (Baklunish humans, dwarves, gnomes, all alignments) PL 3
Yecha (Baklunish humans, dwarves, gnomes, neutral) PL 2
Ket (Baklunish humans, neutral and evil) PL 4
Ull (Baklunish humans, all alignments) PL 2
The Paynims (Baklunish humans, all alignments) PL 2
Istivar (Baklunish humans, dwarves, all alignments) PL 3
The Spirit Empire of Garnak (Baklunish humans, certain types of undead, treants, sentient trees, forest spirits, treants, sentient animals, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, neutral and good) PL 8)

Esmerin (halflings, cloud giants, stone giants, storm giants, titans, neutral and good) PL 10
Rary and his Empire of the Bright Lands (Rary, Oeridian humans, dwarves, humanoids, constructs, summoned beings, slaves of all types, evil) PL 4

MR DRACO

(The Dark Union of Eastern Oerth)

(United Ahlissa (Oeridian human, dwarves, gnomes, slaves of all types, conjured monsters, undead, neutral and evil) PL 15 * ?
The Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdi (Oeridian human, dwarves, gnomes, slaves of all types, conjured monsters, undead, neutral and evil) PL 13 * ?
The Sea Barons (Oeridian human, some demihumans, slaves of all types, neutral and evil) PL 4 * ?
Kas (Suel human) PL 4 * ?
The Legions of Kas (Suel humans, undead, constructs, monsters of every sort from the MMs, evil) PL 30 * ?
Rel Astra (Oeridian humans, dwarves, gnomes, undead, neutral and evil) PL 6 * ?
Medegia (Undead, humanoids, evil) PL 4 * ?
The Bone March (Humanoids, undead, evil) PL 3) * ?

FORSAKEN ONE

The Unseelie of the Flanaess (every type of Dark Faerie, evil) PL 13 *
The Formidian Giants of the southern Hellfurnaces (Formidian giants, every type of slave) PL 7
The Drow of the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists (drow, fire giants, frost giants, hill giants, slaves of all types, evil) PL 8 *
The Illithid of the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists (illithid, all types of slaves, evil) PL 3 *
The Non-Solistarim Duergar of the Underdark (duergar, evil) PL 4 *
The Non-Solistarim Derro of the Underdark (derro, evil) PL 4 *

FRIGID SPLEEN

The Eladrin (see the Planar Arms Race)

GNOMEWORKS

The Technomancy of the Lortmils (gnomes, dwarves under the secret tutelage of the United Commonwealth of Toril) PL 17

JOHN BROWN

Iuz the Old (demipower, evil) PL 7
The Empire of Iuz (Humans of all types, humanoids, slaves of all types, evil) PL 25

KALANYR

The Drow of the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists (drow, fire giants, frost giants, hill giants, slaves of all types, evil) PL 8 *
The rest of the Drow of Oerth (drow, slaves of all types, evil) PL 25
The Illithid of the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists (illithid, all types of slaves, evil) PL 3 *
The Non-Solistarim Duergar of the Underdark (duergar, evil) PL 4 *
The Non-Solistarim Derro of the Underdark (derro, evil) PL 4 *
The Bone March (Humanoids, undead, evil) PL 3 *
Medegia (Undead, humanoids, evil) PL 4 *
The Unseelie of the Flanaess (every type of Dark Faerie, evil) PL 13 *

KALANYR'S FRIEND (Kalanyr, what is his SN again?)

?

KESH

Geoff (Oeridian human, elves, dwarves, neutral and good) PL 5
The Yeomanry (Oeridian humans, some demihumans, neutral) PL 4

MAUDLIN

Acererak (Suel demilich, evil) PL 10
Acererak's Minions (various monsters and constructs, usually evil) PL 10
The Scarlet Brotherhood (Suel humans, Hempmonalander humans, dwarves, assorted monsters under magical control, slaves of all types, generally evil) PL 30

LORD MELKOR (TALOS)

The Shadow Empire (The Empire of Shade in the Plane of Shadow, many kinds of beings with the Shade template or associated with Shadow, Torilian humans, demihumans, humanoids, some Oerthian converts, evil) PL 77
The Free City of Greyhawk and it’s Lands (Humans of all types, demihumans of all types, some humanoids, all alignments) PL 5 (the name will be changed to Shadow Throne if not contested)

RHIALTO THE MARVELOUS

The Black Brotherhood (Suel humans who have infiltrated the Scarlet Brotherhood, evil) PL 7

RIOT GEAR

Anabstercorian, Prodigal Heir of Ilsensine (PC illithid from Toril, evil) PL 4
The Solistarim (Flannae humans, rogue phaerimm, beholders, illithid, aboleth, some neogi, sahuagin, kraken, intelligent evil sea life, lizard kings, lizard men, efreeti, salamanders, fire elementals, fire giants, frost giants, Nibelungen dwarves, dark gnomes, chromatic dragons, liches, vampires, various undead, various other lawful evil and neutral evil races, evil) PL 20

SERPENTEYES

(The Dark Union of Eastern Oerth)

(United Ahlissa (Oeridian human, dwarves, gnomes, slaves of all types, conjured monsters, undead, neutral and evil) PL 15 * ?
The Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdi (Oeridian human, dwarves, gnomes, slaves of all types, conjured monsters, undead, neutral and evil) PL 13 * ?
The Sea Barons (Oeridian human, some demihumans, slaves of all types, neutral and evil) PL 4 * ?
Kas (Suel human) PL 4 * ?
The Legions of Kas (Suel humans, undead, constructs, monsters of every sort from the MMs, evil) PL 30 * ?
Rel Astra (Oeridian humans, dwarves, gnomes, undead, neutral and evil) PL 6 * ?
Medegia (Undead, humanoids, evil) PL 4 * ?
The Bone March (Humanoids, undead, evil) PL 3) * ?

TERRAISM

TURROSH MAK

The Orcish Empire of the Pomarj (orcs, other humanoids, slaves of all kinds, monsters cooperating with the orcs, evil) PL 15

WILLIAM RONALD

(The Kevellond Alliance)

(Furyondy (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, all alignments but mostly neutral and good) PL 7
Veluna (Oeridian and Flannae humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, heavily good) PL 5
Keoland (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, neutral and good) PL 8
Gran March (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, neutral and good) PL 5
Bissel (Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, neutral and good) PL 3)

ZELDA

Ratik (Suel and Oeridian humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, neutral and good) PL 3
The Frost Barbarians (Suel humans, all alignments) PL 3
The Snow Barbarians (Suel humans, all alignments) PL 4
Ice Barbarians (Suel humans, all alignments) PL 2

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

The time of the IR

NOTICE:

The IR will begin on the 20th of February.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Description of Off-Map Powers

I have been asked concerning who the Solistarim are, what is Varnaith, what is Garnak, and what about Kas?

I hope this answers some of that. I went to other other thread on page 5, and copied what I wrote in the thread there to this thread (and cleaned it up):

THE SOLISTARIM

In the normal geography of the Flanaess, the northwest part of that region gives way to the
Black Ice, and a small icy region beyond.
In THIS version of the Flanaess, the northwest region still gives way to the Black Ice, and that
gives way to an anvil shaped region, longest from east to west, and this whole area is filled with high mountains called the Godspires.

Named after the City of the Gods, which sits in a very deep and sheltered valley amidst them, the valley kept warm by vulcanism nearby (or perhaps by magic, science, or all of the above.)
The City of the Gods ... a relic of a high tech civilization that existed thousands of years ago.
In official canon, it is on Mystara, not Greyhawk, yet here it is, on this Greyhawk, and the
Solistarim have been seeking it's secrets for decades.
And for decades it's defenses have foiled even their mighty magic.

The Godspires are eternally cold, climatalogically, with fierce winter storms being the rule the year around, and glaciation extensive.
However, most of the Godspires are volcanically active - so active that a vast lake of lava sits
exposed on the surface in one area, and great rivers of molten rock run down from it to the ocean.
The entire region is covered in fumes, and the snow is stained black - hence the Black Ice at the southern edge, but really most of the Godspires are stained, covered with a mixture of snow and volcanic debris.
Those areas warmed by the lava lake, and the streams of molten rock, and the great underground chambers warmed by the vulcanism, are eternally hot.

When the Oeridians came into the Flanaess, fleeing the Suel/Baklunish War, they immediately set about conquering (and obliterating) the native Flannae population (and everything else that got in their way.)
A large number of the Flannae, led by their mages, retreated northward, and pursued by the Oeridians fled under the Godspires, where they have remained since.

These Flannae bear an immense hatred of the Oeridians, and of all who collaborate with them.
Isolated in the Underdark below the Godspires, this hatred has had 2000 years to fester and grow amongst these people, until it passed beyond hatred into the realm of madness.
The Flannae were aided on their dark road by the necessity of constant war with the other denizens of the Underdark, especially the deep dwarves (who could cast mage spells) and the grey gnomes.
The Flannae would eventually conquer both of these races, and force them into servitude, and from them they obtained many great secrets.
Secrets in metallurgy, smithying, stonecrafting, and in dark magic.

There was a race of the illithid under the Godspires.
These illithid considered their relatives under the Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists to be weak, pathetic, and backward, and the illithid of said mountains returned the favor: the two groups of illithid are enemies.
After long and bitter war with the Flannae, the illithid and Flannae arranged a truce, and eventually forged an alliance. Both races wanted what the other possessed.
The Flannae wanted the secrets of psionics.
The Illithid wanted the secrets of magic.
Besides, the Flannae, now magically powerful, were able to better supply the Illithid with a
steady diet of Oeridian brains than they could ever have done for themselves.

There are a large number of efreeti in the Godspires, with their friends the salamanders,
basking in the lava flows.
The efreeti had long hoped to make of the Godspires a permanent portal to Oerth, for various
reasons ... revenge against the affront of the Oeridians to the efreeti being one of them (The
Codex of the Planes was created by the Oeridians.)
So great had the might of the Flannae grown, along with their allies and slaves, that these beings of fire grudgingly took notice, and the clever Flannae made common cause with them.

The Flannae made common cause with many Lawful Evil and Neutral Evil races, races driven from the good lands, driven into remote places, all desiring the extermination of those who had done this to them.
They made alliance and common cause with the Lizard Kings, Lizard Men, and Flannae of Blackmoor.
They made alliance with the sahuagin of the Drawmij Ocean.
They made alliance with the frost and fire giants of the Godspires.

They kneeled before the great dragons, wyrms of frigid cold and blasting heat, and prostrating
themselves won the favor and goodwill of many of these meglomaniac, superpowerful creatures.

One day a mage of greater power than all the rest arose amongst the Solistarim, and his name was Soloron.
He conquered or subdued all his rivals, and created a rigid military rule, in which mages were
supreme, and the chain of command was dominated by spellcasters.
He then went on to create a legion of mages.
Taking them on various expeditions, usually to other worlds, he trained and browbeat his trainees into one of the world's most formidable military forces, thousands strong, the least of them 9th level, the greatest up in the Epic category.

Soloron freed the dwarven slaves who could work magic, and the gnomes, and incorporated them into his legion.
He took the illithid forces, and added their psionic strength to his army, and their magic, and
their brilliant minds.
He took in the lizard kings, the sahuagin, anyone and everyone who could work magic.

Under Soloron, the Flannae and their allies went after the truly powerful races of the Godspires, and they conquered the beholder hives, and the aboleth were forced to kneel before them.
The dragons, efreeti, and their fire elemental armies, who had watched with previous amusement the doings of these pitiful mortals, suddenly found themselves faced with a real threat.
Soloron would go on to cow all of them, except the dragons only, and the dragons who were of like mind with Soloron joined him in real alliance, for a common cause.

In Greyspace, the illithid fleet was induced to join the Solistarim.
In Greyspace, the neogi - who never allied with ANYONE - were forced to bow to the Solistarim.

Quite a number of other evil races would join up with the Solistarim.
Some of them were native to the Godspires and the oceans around.
Some came in from the Flanaess, or other continents of Oerth.
Some came from other worlds or dimensions.
All came with one purpose in mind.

The Solistarim believe that usurpers rule a world that was meant for them.
The green and fertile lands of the Flanaess are theirs, and do not belong to humans, demihumans, or humanoids (or drow.)
The Solistarim, each race in it's turn, believe that the time has come to retake what is rightfully theirs.

The Solistarim are not interested in discussing this matter with the humans, demihumans, humanoids, or drow.
The Solistarim feel that the presence of these races is an obstacle that must be removed.
It must be removed, period. Dead people do not cause problems (unless brought back as undead, and the Solistarim command the undead.)

The Solistarim have the attitude of the Daleks from Dr Who: Exterminate. (The illithid are less
extreme: they desire to leave the choicest humans alive for the purpose of setting up cattle farms.)
The Solistarim believe their work will be done when every last human, demihuman, and humanoid in the Flanaess has been killed.
The Solistarim look forward to their work with delight, with eager anticipation.

As for the Flannae, they will thus destroy those who usurped their land, along with all the Flannae collaborators, and all the annoying pests who should never have existed in the Flanaess in the first place.

The Solistarim have an absolute monarch, and that monarch is Soloron, a mage far into the Epic Levels category.
Below him, in a direct military chain of command, are flannae mages of great power.
Below them, are magic workers of lesser power, usually flannae, but sometimes of other races.

These officials have absolute power, and their word is absolute and instantaneous law. INSTANT compliance and obedience, in letter and spirit, is expected from them from all lessers in the chain of command.
The penalty for a lack of instance compliance is death (considered a mild penalty by the Solistarim.)
The penalty for obeying orders, but attempting to pervert them, or for a serious failure to carry them out, or a serious failure to succeed in carrying them out, or for more serious offenses such as treason or thinking of treason, is a one way ticket into a Sphere of Annihilation.

This chain of command, and the stark and rigid enforcement of it, and the invariable enforcement of punishment, is the primary thing keeping the Solistarim from disintegrating into chaos and civil war.
Fear keeps the Solistarim together. Fear, and the united desire of all these evil races to destroy the usurpers and take for themselves the lands and seas of the world.

If you are weak in magic, you are a second rank being in the Solistarim, and treated thus.
Only by improving yourself, and gaining greater magical power (which is encouraged at all levels) will you be treated with anything remotely resembling civility.

If you are a non-spellcaster in the Solistarim, and unable to learn the secrets of magic, you may expect to look forward to a short and unhappy life.
Very short indeed, if you dare to complain about your lot.

The Solistarim will not abide the humanoid races that cannot employ magic (which, because we are discussing a 2nd edition concept here, means most of the humanoid races.)
Humanoids are killed on sight.
The Solistarim need no slaves. Magic provides them with all the slave labor they could ever need.

The Solistarim have no use for the drow, mighty in magic though they are.
The Solistarim expect organized and diciplined behavior amongst their ranks, and the chaotic drow are not capable of this ... the drow are killed on sight, and any magic they possessed is seized.

The Solistarim are considering whether to annihilate Perrenland, or offer it alliance (as they have allied with Blackmoor), for Perrenland is a flannae nation, and potentially useful.
The debate is raging now.

The Solistarim have no use for the savages who live below the Burneal (the Wolf and Tiger Nomads), although they enjoy the fact that these peoples have helped keep the outside world from seeking the icy north, and aided them in keeping their doings a general secret.

Distance is not a factor for the Solistari host, which has mastered mass teleportation, and other ways of getting from here to there.

The Solistarim are not particularly concerned about the safety of their great fortresses and cities under the Godspires ... these are protected by immense magical defenses, protections against scrying, traps against incoming teleporters, and nasty surprises of every sort for the intruder who does succeed in trespassing.

- - -

The Solistarim attack strategy is based around the following:

The dragons, greatest of all their allies, teleport over an enemy city, and open fire with breath weapon and spell contingencies preset.
Beholders teleport into the city proper, attacking strong points and the city's mages and clergy.
Illithid psionically teleport in, assailing strong points and the city's mages and clergy.
Flannae mages back up both in this phase of the assault.
The aboleth teleport in, under the city, attacking underground strongholds, seizing caches of magic, and finding and destroying safeholds.
The neogi and their umber hulk servants bombard the city from their spelljammers, engaging and destroying any aerial opponents.

The efreeti, salamanders, and fire elementals are assigned the task of massacring the civilian population, and torching the city (they will remain until the last stone ruins are reduced to glowing puddles.)

The lizard kings and lizard men, and the grey gnomes, are assigned the task of surrounding the city to prevent any escape by land or air, and to prevent any relief from reaching the city by land or air.
A great part of the flannae mages, and all of the non spellcasters, are with them to aid them in this endeavor (if there is a major relief force nearby, the greater Flannae mages and some of the powerful monsters will be at hand also.)

The deep dwarves have a special mission.
Their mission is to prevent what is mentioned above: to prevent reinforcements or aid from reaching the city.
To do this, they will teleport in, and attack a second city, or a number of villages, or even a host encamped in the field, for the purpose of drawing attention and drawing off any help that might have gone to the main target.

Usually, the lich lords and their undead hosts work with the deep dwarves on this (the dwarves
and the undead are particularly good at working together), and the lesser undead are considered expendable - the Solistarim can always generate new undead.

The Solistarim make extensive use of the spell Sphere of Ultimate Destruction (creates a temporary Sphere of Annihilation.)
The Solistarim version of this spell is new and improved.
Once created, it draws in air - if the Solistari mage wills it - as if a vacuum was present.
Winds of super hurricane force roar into the Sphere from hundreds of feet around, drawing in
all those unlucky enough to be caught in the maelstrom, sent shrieking into oblivion.
Of course, the winds will uproot trees, tear down wooden buildings, shake stone buildings, and fan fires, amongst other useful things.
The Solistarim are still working on this spell ... only a few of them can cast it in this devastating configuration (in this configuration, it is a 10th level spell, really), but they hope to
eventually make widespread use of it.
Instead of being content with making strikes against select targets only, taking out enemy leaders and great mages, or otherwise nearly invulnerable enemy positions.

The Solistarim generally will stop their attack on the city above when:

A: The city is obliterated, or:
B: When a force great enough to be a real threat shows up.

The Solistarim know that the CITY is the center of Oerdian civilization.
Destroy the enemy's cities, and you break the backbone of his strength.
Destroy the enemy's cities, and you deprive him of his moral, his arsenals of weapons and magic, his centers of learning and culture, and his government and chain of command.

And cities are pathetically easy to attack and destroy (once you know how to mass teleport your army in and out.)

Once the enemy's cities are destroyed, their rural population is easily hunted down and slaughtered.
If they attempt to build fortresses in the wild, these are the next to be destroyed after the city
(destroying the enemy chain of command is paramount.)

The Solistarim expect that any intelligent foe will have hidden fortresses, backup chains of command, contingencies for mass destruction, and otherwise will be prepared to fight a guerilla war against them.
That is fine with them.
Once the enemy's cities are destroyed, his forests burned away, his crops leveled, they will be happy to engage him in guerilla warfare.
They have practiced at that too.


CONCERNING VECNA (and, thus, to some extent Kas)

Now, about Vecna.

Officially, Vecna got snatched from Oerth and placed in Ravenloft.

In THIS Oerth, that did not happen.
Instead, the events of the 2nd edition module Vecna Lives! occurred (or, might occur.)

Vecna, who lived as a supreme lich in the Arcane Age, foresaw his own doom at the hands of Kas, and devised a way out for himself.
He, along with all of his legions, would step forward through time, to emerge in the present day out of Tovag Baragu (in the Spirit Empire of Garnak, west of the Crystalmists, in what most people call the Dry Steppes.)

But Vecna wasn't satisfied with just that.
He devised a way to alter the Oerthian pantheon, so that when he emerged, he would become Oerth's singular Greater God, and ALL the other Gods would drop one place in stature (Greater to Intermediate, Intermediate to Lesser, Lesser to Demi, Demi to non-Divine.)
This happens within a few minutes of his emerging in the Now, and the Gods CANNOT stop this from happening ... Vecna must be defeated by Kas, Iuz, Yagig, or the like, to stop his ascension ... of course, being hit with a nuke from high space might help also ...

If Vecna becomes a Greater God, he's out of the picture (he's not involved in the IR from then on.)
However, his legions are another matter.

Someone asked, on the ENboard before it converted to this new format, just how powerful Vecna's legions were.
And someone answered: think of countless thousands of beings, all given the Lich Template.

That's not too far off.

Vecna's legions are tens of millions strong, they bring the full might of the Arcane Age with them (the Arcane Age returns to Oerth if Vecna successfully enters the world), and they have a host of undead with them the likes of which would humble Ravenloft.
This host is fanatically loyal to Vecna ... they have been magically conditioned to this fanaticism.
It would be fair to say that the living minions of Vecna are only slightly more in control of their
own minds that his undead are.

Their intention, of course, is to make the rule of Vecna supreme across all of Oerth.
All other religions must be utterly destroyed.
All nations must accept abject slavery to Vecna and his legions.
All people must prostate themselves before Vecna, begging his mercy and accepting his absolute mastery.

The Baklunish people must be eradicated.
Period.
NO exception.

The War will continue indefinitely, until all of the above are accomplished.

Note concerning Kas: Kas is also very evil, for he was Vecna's second in command!!
But he betrayed Vecna, and killed him, and thus the Eye of Vecna and his Hand alone survived to pass down through the years and bring ruin and evil to those daring to claim them.
But Vecna is altering time - he foresaw his own death, and is leaping into the future over the time period when Kas killed him, to cheat death.

Well, Kas can pull this stunt also, and Kas has legions of millions of living Suel fanatics (and some undead), who aren't much more reasonable than Vecna's legions - they also are ready to exterminate their hated foes, the Baklunish.


CONCERNING VARNAITH


I was asked about Varnaith on the ENBoards before they changed.

Varnaith is not a country that exists on official Greyhawk.
It does exist here.

The geography south of the Sea of Dust and the Amedio Rainforest is not the same here as in canon Greyhawk.

Here, if you follow the Hellfurnaces south, you will find an ancient, low, and broken set of mountains running west from the Hellfurnaces at about the level of the lower Amedio.
This broken range was devastated by the Rain of Colorless Fire, which is the reason it is so broken, eroded, and the peaks are not above 5,000 feet.
Follow the Hellfurnaces a little further south, and they end, but a narrow and very high mountain range springs westward from them, with peaks reaching 20,000 feet.

Between the broken, ruined, low mountains, and the straight, narrow range of high mountains, is the Akkis-Caltheath, a tropical desert of relatively high attitude that runs along the southern border of the Sea of Dust for many hundreds of miles.

On the south side of the high range (known as the Varnaith Range,) however, everything is different.

For over a thousand miles, east to west, a highland region of hills and valleys (everything is
above 7,000 feet) is to be found south the Varnaith Range.
This highland region of hills and valleys gives way, in turn, on the southward side to another
lofty east-west mountain range.
The Midrange Mountains, this third east-west range, run from the ocean in the east to the Bay
of Varna in the west, paralleling the Varnaith Range.

Thus, the highland region between the Varnaith Range and the Midrange is very long, but
narrow.
Slim and long is the next region south, although more irregular, for it lies between the Midrange and the Coastal Range.
The Coastal Range also runs generally east to west, from the ocean to Varna Bay, but outcroppings and twists in it make the coast to the south irregular.

In effect then, there are three regions between the mountains.
The hilly highlands between the Varnaith Range and the Midrange.
The slim, long lowland region between the Midrange and the Coastal Range.
And the near sea-level region south of the Coastal Range.

The Akkis Caltheath is not a part of the realm of Varnaith, and the rulers of that land generally ignore it and it's sparse peoples.

The upland region between the Varnaith Range and the Midrange is the cradle of Varnaithian civilization.
The climate is tropical, but not excessively hot due to the altitude, and the soils are fertile and
heavily farmed.

The region between the Midrange and the Coastal Range is at low attitude, and it is insufferably hot and humid, having an equatorial climate.
It is the home of many monsters and dangers that Varnaith cannot control or eradicate, even though Varnaith claims the entire region.
It is also the home of the single greatest population of wood elves in this part of the world; a people who have adapted to the extreme environment.
The region south of the Coastal Range is insufferably hot and humid, and nearly all the
people who live here live on the coast itself, having built various seaports, and living on trade.

Varna bay, where the Coastal and Midrange slope down to water's edge, hemmed in on the north by the Varnaith Range, is also a place of insufferable equatorial heat, but here the power of Varnaith is supreme, and the entire region is heavily populated and farmed.

The people of Varnaith have great cities ... and they are almost invariably up in the mountains themselves.
This is especially true of the lofty Varnaith Range and Midrange.
The capital city itself, Varna, lies on the westernmost heights of the Midrange.

The cities of the Coastal Range are there because the inhabitants prefer the mountains to the insufferable conditions closer to sea level.

Varnaith has four great ethnic groups.

Elves.
Dwarves.
Gnomes.
Humans (a mixture of the descendents of Suel, Oeridian, and types that are totally non-Flanaess.)

Elves are the supreme rulers of Varnaith, and all the peoples of Varnaith acknowledge this.
Varnaith has a strong caste system, in which elves stand at the top, dwarves are next, gnomes
follow, and humans are last.
All of the government officials of Varnaith are elven: even in the deep dwarven cities of the mountains, elves are the rulers and dictate what shall be.

In general, the elves live in the mountain cities or in the southern lowland, or around Varna Bay.
The dwarves, live in cities within the mountain ranges, are welcome in the mountain cities, and also live in great numbers in Varna Bay.
The gnomes, are found everywhere, but are second class people in the mountain cities, Varna Bay, and are not welcome amongst the wood elves.
The human peoples are the farmers, growing almost everything Varnaith produces, and they live for the most part in the hilly highland region between the Varnaith Range and the Midrange, where the climate is tolerable.

Slavery is legal in Varnaith: slaves have no caste.
Any race is subject to slavery, including elves (although elven slaves may only have elven masters or mistresses, and they are treated quite well.)

Varnaith is a rather stagnant society, where one knows that one shall inherit one's father's position and caste, as he did his father, and he his father, and so forth.
Elves produce magical items, form the elite parts of the army, oversee the building and piloting of ships, and in general live a high faluting life.

The dwarves produce the raw wealth of Varnaith, which the elves trade to make themselves ever richer ... gold, silver, iron, and precious metals are common in the mountains.

Gnomes are the common workers, to be found in every city, hustling and bustling as is their wont, servicing the elves and dwarves, sweating and toiling so that others may live without sweat and toil.

And humans, produce the food supply.
They work all day, every day, except for holidays six times a month, and they work until the day they die, toiling in the fields, producing every manner of foodstuff.
Much of what they produce is shipped to other lands, after magical preservation.
Very little of the more exotic foodstuffs they grow, are allowed to be retained for consumption
by those who grew it.

The elven overlordship is not particularly harsh (a comparison with Thay is not in the works), but it is firm, and those who break the law are well disciplined for it (death or maiming is rare ... the elves wish to recriminate, not retaliate, in general.)
Most know better than to break the law.
And, most of the people of Varnaith are quite happy with the way things are, accustomed to their
lot, and expect no more and no less out of their situation than what society decrees.

Varnaith used to engage in a great deal of shipping with the peoples of Oerth, prior to the
Greyhawk Wars.
Now, the seas between them and the Flanaess are held by the Scarlet Brotherhood, whose fleets are a match for Varnaith's.
So ... Varnaith simply abandoned trade with the Flanaess, and compensated by trading with the Scarlet Brotherhood (with whom they carefully avoided war), and with the Celestial Empire to their northwest.

Although Hempmonaland is quite distant, across the Denzac Ocean, there has been a state of constant war between Varnaith and the Yuan-Ti Empire there.
Ship to ship battles are frequent, teleportation raids are more than frequent, and occasionally one side or the other will launch a large assault via teleportation against the other.

Why the two powers are at war is not certain, and they are only half-hearted about it, having fought on and off for many hundreds of years.
The only lasting effect of this war has been that the Yuan-Ti have gathered slaves, the elves have gained useful combat practice, and a fair number of innocent people have been killed.

CONCERNING GARNAK AND ISTIVAR


There is no change in the geography.
The Spirit Empire of Garnak occupies the Dry Steppes north of the Sea of Dust and west of the
Hellfurnaces and Crystalmists, it's capital city being near Tovag Baragu and on the shores of Lake Udrugandar.
Istivar is much smaller, bounded by the Spirit Empire on the west, and by the mountains on the east and south.

Several hundred years ago, a tribe of the Baklunish secretly (not that anyone cared) came back to this desolate area, led by a prophesy.
They were greeted by their ancestors, the spirits of the dead Baklunish who had fallen in the Invoked Devastation.
Following the instructions of the spirits, the tribe began the building of a new city on the shores of the lake, and the restoration of the immediate area to farming.

The task should have been impossible, for the effects of the Invoked Devastation still linger in the soil, but where the incomers worked, the soil regained it's fertility, and canals from the lake supplied water.
With the spirits of the dead actually walking in their midst, and instructing them, the tribe grew
into a people, and the people into a truly mighty nation under the domination of their clergy and their undead advisors.
One of the great accomplishments of Garnak, for which it's druids and clerics are renown, is the permanent alteration of a vast part of the Dry Steppes back into forest, and an accompanying alteration of the climate into a humid, subtropical regime.
Another of their great accomplishments are their huge cities of stone, each one built around a Temple of the Ancestors which stands tall and imposing over the city it nurtures.
They have regained writing, regained many of the great arts and crafts of the ancient Baklunish Empire, regained the will to fight - throwing aside the notable Baklunish fatalistic mindset, regained much of the stature of their forefathers.

Their culture is as steeped in mysticism as the Aztecs, and heavily resembles Aztec culture.
The spirits of the dead walk in their lands, and are often amongst them, if rarely seen. All of them hold the dead in awe, and would do their bidding ... but now the dead offer only council, and do not bid them do anything.

The spirits have hinted they would play their part in any conflict, and if they mean fighting by
that, then woe to the foes of Garnak.

The forests they created are filled with treants and with the Faerie, but unlike most nature spirits these also bow to the spirits of the ancient Baklunish, and if bid they would march out to war.
The treants and woodland spirits reverence their creators, the living Baklunish, and protect them, cherish them, if they come into the woodlands they themselves created.

Istivar is a similar place, created by a smaller tribe of Baklunish who were given a slightly different vision by the dead.
Their land is still arid, but their cities are mighty fortresses, and all their people are warriors.

Ull and the Paynims regard the new nation to their south with awe, and the ambassadors from Garnak and Istivar are treated like Gods when they appear in the north.
The Empire of Zeif, further north, regards the situation with alarm, for here is a powerful nation
that just might decide to invade their decadent, sedentary (and militarily weak) nation, and claim all their land for the ancient Baklunish.
Ekbir and Tusmit are similarly dismayed, but Ket is secretly delighted.
Ket is a warrior nation, and they are pleased mightily to see their people, the Baklunish, rising
out of their self-pity and weeping, their fond wishing for what is long lost, rising to military
prowess, great courage, and hopefully great deeds.

Ket and Garnak are already allies, and Istivar and Ket soon will be.

The Suel people are not welcome in Garnak.
Suel people found in Garnak are captured and given to the spirits, who then either kill them, or take them away for magical reeducation and the showing of insights.
The result of said insights and reeducation is never a human being; those given to the dead change into non-humans, into various types of beings, into sentient constructs, or even into sentient plants and animals, all fanatically loyal to the Spirit Empire of Garnak and her people.

The Spirit Empire of Garnak maintains a powerful guard and watch over Tovag Baragu, but they are not capable of stopping Vecna from coming through.
If Vecna comes through, his legions - who are Suel fanatics - will make the destruction of Garnak a priority (after Vecna ascends, of course.)

Now, I hope this answers some questions that have been long standing.

This information you will not find in official Greyhawk Canon, except maybe for Vecna if you look at the module Vecna Lives! (but not anywhere else.)

 

[Darkness]

Heh. Be careful with these long posts, Edena!

(Mental note to myself: Must not forget to save the new IR threads...)

 

[LordMelkor{Talos}]

Of course I claim Shade Empire, which is my creation, and Free City of Greyhawk as its base on Oerth.

 

[Darkness]

I closed the other thread now. Also, I saved it to my hard drive.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Thank you, Darkness.
And thanks for joining in!

 

[LordMelkor{Talos}]

I finally found a map Edena, but where is Vault of The Drow, Kalanyr`s Stronghold? Also what are the borders of Greyhawk controlled territory?

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

The Vault of the Drow is somewhere under the Hellfurnaces or Crystalmists west of the Yeomanry or Geoff.
Greyhawk controls everything from the southern shores of the Nyr Dyv down to Harby, the port to the south.

Greyhawk also controls the Wild Coast, that strip of land running southwest then south between the Gnarley Forest (Celene further south) in the west and the sea to the east.
It runs up to the northern border of the Orcish Empire of the Pomarj, and abruptly stops.

Greyhawk controls the open lands for about 50 miles east of the city, but has no control over the Abbor Alz, the Bright Desert, or the swamplands.