Greyhawk: Thrommel discovered

[haakon1]

Preamble: I have two long-running Greyhawk campaigns -- an email one that's very slow moving, and a live one that meets at best a few times a year. My Greyhawk continuity says both campaigns (and all campaigns I've run or been in for Greyhawk since the 1980s) are part of MY canon and count in my instance of Greyhawk to affect the world of all other games played in it. That's fun, because players get to meet old PC's from other campaigns, hear about what happened in Gygax's Lake Geneva campaign, and get to buy magic items sold by the other party (only one player has been in both the current email and live games). It makes it interesting when they find treasure on corpses in a dungeon: "Was this a REAL PC that died here and was left behind? OK, now we're scared."

I've been playing Temple of Elemental Evil computer game. TOEE would fit by email campaign OK, except the players aren't too interested . . . too long & dungeon crawly for them . . . so I've been thinking this 3e computer game might be "canon" for my world too.

And something important just happened. The C-RPG party rescued an elvish noblewoman from Celene who told them that Prince Thrommel is alive and deeper in the dungeon.

The party immediately returned with this momentous news, to warn Rufus & Burne at the Tower in Hommlett & Canon Terjon of the Church of St. Cuthbert too. Elmo (who, spoiler alert, is secretly not a drunk but an agent of the Viscount of Verbobonc) is in the party, so there's no chance the news to Rufus & Burne didn't reach the Viscount.

So Verbobonc and the Church of St. Cuthbert know, and the Knights of Luna soon will -- I'm making the call that the elvish noblewoman wasn't just a random kidnap victim, but an adventurer for the Knights of Luna. Melf and Thrommel adventured together in the party of the Heartstone in a semi-canonical bit of Greyhawkery I like, so they will be very interested in this. As will be King Belvor IV of Furyondy, who the Church of St. Cuthbert will tell even if the Viscount of Verbobonc sits on the info.

So completely obvious to me that the email party will be chosen to rescue Thrommel -- two have Knights of Luna connections, two have Furyondy connections, one is a cleric of the Church of St. Cuthbert. With most of the dungeon cleared out by the C-RPG party, who I suspect will get TPK'd before the real PC's show up, this might be fun.

But who else would this info leak to? And what will they do with the info?

If the Horned Society finds out, will they seek revenge on Iuz by interfering with Thrommel somehow?

Will the Scarlet Brotherhood and Circle of Eight find out? Will they have agendas?

Seems a fascinating question to me, so perhaps of interest to other Greyhawk grognards.

 

[MerricB]

The Scarlet Brotherhood just wouldn't care. It's too far to the west of their main interest - in my campaign, it's primarily about subverting the Great Kingdom.

The Circle of Eight would be very interested, but possibly just in a "Wait and see" mode, depending on the membership in your campaign. If Tenser is active (or J) then they'll likely send agents to help out.

Veluna and Furyondy would, of course, be very interested. They'd definitely send agents. It's entirely possible that factions hostile to the government would also send agents to interfere. Thrommel was to wed the daughter of the Archprovost of Veluna, after all... is that still on the table?

Celene, who are entirely too close to the Temple, will send agents to keep an eye on things.

The Horned Brotherhood are in a funny place... in my game, they're under siege from both the Knights of the Holy Shielding and Iuz, so they might even want Thrommel to return and to boost Furyondy against Iuz! However, not so much... my feeling is they'd remain neutral.

Iuz? Definitely cares, and would actually try to divert the adventurers so they rescue his lover Zuggtmoy rather than Thrommel!

Vecna, if he's the God of Secrets, knows all about this and just has agents paying attention while he is amused by the strife.

The Cult of Elemental Evil are the perpetrators of this, so I guess they'll be involved.

The Slave Lords, if still a force, couldn't care less.

Iggwilv, if active, might meddle just because her son (Iuz) is involved.

The Great Kingdom has its own problems.

Depending on how you view Lolth/the Elemental Elder God/Tharizdun, it may be that Lolth is involved. (According to one version I've seen, Lolth was actually behind the Temple, having trapped the Elder Elemental God there and drawing on its power. Alternatively, if The EEG and Tharizdun are the same, Lolth will really not want them, and the rebel drow, getting more power.)

Cheers!

 

[howandwhy99]

We need a new T-shirt:

I FOUND
PRINCE THROMMEL​

 

[haakon1]

Thanks Merric, great stuff!

The Scarlet Brotherhood just wouldn't care. It's too far to the west of their main interest - in my campaign, it's primarily about subverting the Great Kingdom.

That makes sense. IMC, their main interest in the Azure Sea basin, especially the Hold of Sea Princes and Onnwal (which are very close to the canon version in the Living Greyhawk Gazeteer), and the southern Solnor Coast. Their influence is somewhat limited, because everyone is wary of their treachery . . . all the other sea powers of the region -- Keoland, Greyhawk, Hardby, Nyrond, Ahlissa, Sunndi, Rel Astra, the Sea Barons, and the North Kingdom -- show no quarter to ships with the scarlet sail. Even ships flying the Jolly Roger are less likely to be attacked!

The Circle of Eight would be very interested, but possibly just in a "Wait and see" mode, depending on the membership in your campaign. If Tenser is active (or J) then they'll likely send agents to help out.

In theory, they are active IMC, but in reality last seen "on screen" in a campaign that ended about 12 year ago (in which the PC's saved Tenser's clone). So "wait and see" makes sense.

Veluna and Furyondy would, of course, be very interested. They'd definitely send agents. It's entirely possible that factions hostile to the government would also send agents to interfere. Thrommel was to wed the daughter of the Archprovost of Veluna, after all... is that still on the table?

If Thrommel can be recovered (and isn't suspected of being a doppleganger or whatever), it will be. Both King Belvor and Canon Hazen don't have much time left, and would feel stronger together.

IMC, the political & economic situation in Furyondy is close to what's described in the Marklands, with the exception that the Flare Line doesn't exist and was never a single connected "Greyhawk Wars" per se, or a treaty of Greyhawk to end it. Instead, Furyondy's "Great Northern Crusade" is fighting Iuz along the Veng River border, in the fallen Shield Lands (a small fraction of it now recovered), on Lake Whyestil, and in the SE corner of the Vesve. There have been amphibious raids into northern Furyondy, but not a wholesale loss of territory there. (Militarily, that line holding makes no sense to me.)

Meanwhile, Ket invaded Bissel, but failed, because Keoland & its military-run dependency (IMC) Gran March helped defend it (not being distracted as in the Greyhawk War scenario by Giant invasions of Sterich & Geoff, as PC's ended that threat in G123/D123/Q1). Veluna and Highfolk are also helping Furyondy and the locals fight Iuz in the Vesve, and Veluna has troops guarding the rear in Bissel (especially around Thornward), though not many are on the front lines. Perrenland is neutral, but its mercenaries serve Ket.

Celene, who are entirely too close to the Temple, will send agents to keep an eye on things.

Though the Queen of Celene and Prince Melf don't get along, I think she'll leave it to his Knights of Luna to keep an eye on it. It will be of surpassing interest to Melf, though, as Thrommel is so important and his personal friend.

The Horned Brotherhood are in a funny place... in my game, they're under siege from both the Knights of the Holy Shielding and Iuz, so they might even want Thrommel to return and to boost Furyondy against Iuz! However, not so much... my feeling is they'd remain neutral.

IMC, they were "destroyed" by Iuz, just as in Living Greyhawk Gazeteer. However, they survive as an insurgency. They have a guerrilla movement in the Fellreev Forest (in alliance with the surviving Rovers of the Barrens and the survivors of the Wolf Nomad's failed expedition against Iuz led by Tang the Horrific). They are also trying hard to get a new homeland, wherever power vacuums exist . . . actually similar to Al-Qaeda in that way. One of the new Hierarchs is in Verbobonc, so she might find out. (Roll a d20, roll high: rolled 18! OK, they know all about it!)

This is actually the hardest and (to me) most important part to figure out. Neutral, you think, since Iuz is their nemesis, but Furyondy is not their friend? Or positive because the enemy of my enemy is my friend . . . the later seems more Grey.

Iuz? Definitely cares, and would actually try to divert the adventurers so they rescue his lover Zuggtmoy rather than Thrommel!

Vecna, if he's the God of Secrets, knows all about this and just has agents paying attention while he is amused by the strife.

The Cult of Elemental Evil are the perpetrators of this, so I guess they'll be involved.

The Slave Lords, if still a force, couldn't care less.

Iggwilv, if active, might meddle just because her son (Iuz) is involved.

The Great Kingdom has its own problems.

Yup. The Slave Lords are done IMC -- Turrok Mosh and his orcs have the Pomarj and parts of the Wild Coast and Principality of Ulek. Low priority issue to the great powers of the world, as it's only the Wild Coast.

Depending on how you view Lolth/the Elemental Elder God/Tharizdun, it may be that Lolth is involved. (According to one version I've seen, Lolth was actually behind the Temple, having trapped the Elder Elemental God there and drawing on its power. Alternatively, if The EEG and Tharizdun are the same, Lolth will really not want them, and the rebel drow, getting more power.)

Lolth is dead in my campaign and the Underdark has its own problems. The Kingdom of the Ghouls is beating up on the duergar, Kuo-Toans, troglodytes, and snirvneblin (sp?), causing rippling problems as the latter groups flee to other areas, like the Forge of Fury. The Drow are neutral opportunists, having taken a major blow in the G123/D123/Q1 series.