D&D 5E Eberron The Last War - The aftermath

[QuentinGeorge]

But you did have high damage magic prevalent on the battlefield. You have wand guns and flame throwes, killing machines, flying fortresses, etc. Not the same as modern bombs but very close to WWI. the war does seem to have been a testing grounds for new applications of death and war. WWI lasted a bit over 4 years and killed 20-40 million depending on how you count casualties.

The fronts would be destroyed, but then you have to think how did they conscript people into the war? 100 years is 3-4 generations of population.

If the war was more political swagger and a game rather than actual conquest driven battle then the fronts would be destroyed and numbers of populations would be reduced but other parts would be left functional. If the goal was conquest driven and heavy and consistent, all of the countries would have burned through their money and resources leaving shells of themselves left after the war.

Just so you know, the inspiration for the Last War was more WWI than WWII. It wasn't about conquest, so much. They were fighting over who was supposed to be King of Galifar. The victor didn't want to rule over ashes.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I would dial it back to a Napoleonic conflict (which lasted over 20 years): campaigning only during the warm months (for the most part), wars of maneuver (so areas are looted bare but not physically devastated), and an avoidance of urban combat (to keep losses down).

Personal wealth would be devastated in fought-over areas, but the core infrastructure would be largely intact. A key issue would be refugee shanty-towns spring up everywhere the war hasn't reached, driving up the cost of food and housing, undercutting wages, intensifying crime, and reducing the quality of life.

Detroit, in short.

 

[Gradine]

I would dial it back to a Napoleonic conflict (which lasted over 20 years): campaigning only during the warm months (for the most part), wars of maneuver (so areas are looted bare but not physically devastated), and an avoidance of urban combat (to keep losses down).

Personal wealth would be devastated in fought-over areas, but the core infrastructure would be largely intact. A key issue would be refugee shanty-towns spring up everywhere the war hasn't reached, driving up the cost of food and housing, undercutting wages, intensifying crime, and reducing the quality of life.

Detroit, in short.

This. There are a great many stories about war refugees, particularly in Breland and especially Sharn. And the point about infrastructure surviving the war also bears repeating. With the exception of the Mourning, the only major lightning rail line that was lost during the whole course of the war was the White Arch Bridge between Thaliost and Rekkenmark, which happened way back in the beginning of the war.

 

[dave2008]

But you did have high damage magic prevalent on the battlefield. You have wand guns and flame throwes, killing machines, flying fortresses, etc. Not the same as modern bombs but very close to WWI. the war does seem to have been a testing grounds for new applications of death and war. WWI lasted a bit over 4 years and killed 20-40 million depending on how you count casualties.

And Germany recovered quickly enough to go to war again in 20 yrs. If Germany had access to magic I bet they could have cut that time in half at least. Also remember how little the damage was in the USA, a major participant in WW2.

 

[Zaukrie]

I admit, I am sort of with the OP. It seems like there should be more damage.....not devastating, but more.

 

[Bitbrain]

Reply to OP.

Well, in my interpretation of Eberron, the Last War was more like the Hundred Years‘ War up until about 25 years ago. THEN everything went WWI, but more like the Eastern Front rather than the Western.

Also, the entirety of the fighting took place within these two red circles (original map is from 4e, I think). Everywhere outside the circles, spies and saboteurs were the most common problem:

Sharn is close to 500 miles south-west of the “red line”. Well outside the area of conflict.

Those cities and towns inside the area are in very bad shape (except for Atur, Flamekeep, Gatherhold, Korth, Sigilstar, and Thaliost). Most are actually in the process of being resettled.

 

[Aldarc]

The population of this world continent should be devastated. Sharn and other cities should be 1/2 abandon and potentially filled with monsters or the creatures of the under dark or something similar. Skilled labor shortages should be abundant, food supply issues etc. 100 years of non stop hardcore war would leave a shell of those countries.

Am I missing something?

Cyre is destroyed, which probably has decimated the population of the continent.

Warforged in Cyre (and other places) and undead in Karrnath served as proxy soldiers during the war.

Droaam and Darguun are filled with "monster" species. Valenar was conquered and subjugated by elven mercenaries from another continent.

House Lyrandar's Raincallers' Guild was helping support crops and agriculture, but a famine in Karrnath and the war was one reason why King Kaius turned to the Blood of Vol for support.

The Last War was a stop and go affair where alliances shifted, temporary truces, etc. So it was not necessarily a non-stop perpetual war by all sides for one-hundred years straight.

 

[Zaukrie]

Reply to OP.

Well, in my interpretation of Eberron, the Last War was more like the Hundred Years‘ War up until about 25 years ago. THEN everything went WWI, but more like the Eastern Front rather than the Western.

Also, the entirety of the fighting took place within these two red circles (original map is from 4e, I think). Everywhere outside the circles, spies and saboteurs were the most common problem:

View attachment 116540

Sharn is close to 500 miles south-west of the “red line”. Well outside the area of conflict.

Those cities and towns inside the area are in very bad shape (except for Atur, Flamekeep, Gatherhold, Korth, Sigilstar, and Thaliost). Most are actually in the process of being resettled.

Cool. Thanks. I'd think that those areas would be fairly devastated, after 100 years of magical warfare. This isn't like here, we are talking fireballs and lightning bolts and war machines and magical beasts. If/when I run an Eberron campaign, I'm pretty sure one story option will be re-settling....

 

[Aldarc]

Cool. Thanks. I'd think that those areas would be fairly devastated, after 100 years of magical warfare. This isn't like here, we are talking fireballs and lightning bolts and war machines and magical beasts. If/when I run an Eberron campaign, I'm pretty sure one story option will be re-settling....

New Cyre. Q'barra. Valentar. Stormreach. Eldeen Reaches. These are frontier areas that either are or likely will see a lot of settlers.

 

[PsyzhranV2]

New Cyre.

Isn't New Cyre just a glorified refugee camp turned small town explicitly for Cyrans? Prince Oargev might not want to deal with outsiders any more than he has to, especially since he and his people are currently living off of Breland's charity but just might have designs for going independent.

Valentar.

I'm pretty sure the Valeus Tairn aren't just letting anybody and everybody waltz into Valenar. Even if they don't care, the Khunan people would; they massacred Cyran refugees fleeing the Day of Mourning for crying out loud! And if that isn't enough, House Lyrandar is trying to gain enough pull in the country to turn it into a half-elf homeland and might not appreciate the second coming of the New Galifarans going "it's free real estate".