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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Edena_of_Neith" data-source="post: 67546" data-attributes="member: 2020">The Events of Turn 1I have not been idle during this break.  I have read the 20 pages of correspondence sent to me.  I will read the 45 e-mails I have.  I will go over every post in Turn 1, making sure I have extracted all the correct information for Turn 2.  I did not mean to imply that any of you were vicious!  I do not think anything such!  I was referring to an incident that happened to me several years ago, where my statements were deliberately taken out of context by the DM, who wished to humiliate me, and then by the players, who really did not want me in their game.  Their tactic succeeded.  I quit.  This situation reminded me of that - I feared Dagger would think I had deliberately taken what he said out of context.  I feared Dagger would be greatly offended, and quit.  I wanted everyone to know that Dagger was not at fault in any way - I was the one who decided the dwarven tactic misfired, with the unfortunate results.  I am solely to blame for that one.  Anyways, as I said, I have not been idle.  Some of you stated you thought the mountain was the highlight of Turn 1.  Well, here is a summary, written by myself, of Turn 1.  Have a look:  Summary of Turn 1:  The war began with the march of the  Legions of Kas through Garnak, Istivar, over the Crystalmists, then on through the Yeomanry and Keoland.  Although the Legions of Kas plundered as they went, no major battles were fought, and the Legions of Kas - after some debate - decided not to assault Keoland.  Upon reaching the Principality of Ulek, the Legions of Kas were informed that passage via the ships of the Pomarj and Dark Union were waiting for them.  They embarked upon these ships, and set sail, landing on the south coast of Nyrond.  Once there, the Legions of Kas assaulted Nyrond, which was whelmed by the 5 million strong army invading their nation, although Rel Mord held out for many days.  Upon the taking of Rel Mord and the brutal subdugation of all of southern Nyrond, the  Legions of Kas and their leader looked to particpipate in the Battle of the Flinty Hills, but before they could do so, Vecna and all his Legions appeared throughout Nyrond and assailed them.  The Legions of Kas were overwhelmed, for Vecna had 10 to their 1.  They fought a bitter battle against the hopeless odds, dying by the hundreds of thousands, and they gave as good as they got.  However, in the end they were forced into the cities of Nyrond which they had taken but a week earlier, and besieged.  Vecna and his Legions could have totally obliterated Kas and his troops, but his triumph was interrupted by the arrival of Iuz and a large force from the Empire of Iuz.  Vecna and his Legions disappeared, leaving about 2/5ths of the Legions of Kas still alive, and Iuz and his forces untouched.  Nyrond lay in ruins.    The combined fleets of the Pomarj and Dark Union had been successful in landing Kas and his Legions, but now they came under all out attack from the fleets of Varnaith, aided by forces from Celene, and by an underwater assault from the People of the Shining Grottos.  Although the Dark Union sent mages to aid it’s beleaguered fleet, the poorly prepared ships - which had been stripped of armaments to carry such a large force as Kas’s, were easy prey, and the entire fleet ended up being sunk.  The fleets of Varnaith lost only a few ships, and the People of the Shining Grottos suffered almost no losses.  Early on, the Pomarj was considered an ally of the forces of evil.  They supposedly invaded and conquered the Technomancy of the Lortmils, with surprising ease.  All too easy, for it was a fake, and the treachery of the Pomarj was unmasked ... alas, too late for their erstwhile allies to do anything about it.  The Kingdom of Ulek, long an enemy of the Pomarj, allied with them, and the Lortmil Technomancy joined with these two.  Celene, now allied with Varnaith, also joined, which prompted the Welkwood to also join.  A new confederation of powers had emerged in the southern Flanaess.  It is well for them that this occurred.  The Torilians of the Church of Shade had successfully infiltrated Greyhawk City, then conquered it and the lands about.  They had brought their entire Planar Army into the Flanaess, and with their own people and Shades combined, their army numbered in the millions strong.  They swept west and south out of Greyhawk in a  sudden storm.  The lands of Dyvvers were overrun quickly, and the city fell under a swift siege, and was whelmed by the Shades.  The Wild Coast fared no better, although the people fought back harder, and the cities of this  region fought with all their ancient stubbornness and independence against the invaders.  It was all futile.  Those who survived the attack, and all the civilian population that could be saved, fell back into the Welkwood, into Celene, or even into the Pomarj.  Surprisingly, Gnarley Forest was not attacked.  However, deeming it undefendable, the people of Gnarley Forest fled west and south.  A defensive line has been set up, stretching from Verbobonc in the northwest, southeast through the western Gnarley Forest and Welkwood, to the Pomarj.  The defenders hope they can hold this line against the Shades;  the Shades are already massing an assault line of their own.  Very surprisingly, the Cairn Hills, just east of Greyhawk, were not assailed by the Shades, nor was the Bright Desert.  There was heavy troop movement in both of those regions, but nothing came of it.  The Kevellond League was caught offguard, and totally unable to protect Dyvvers in the east, because they were concentrating on war in the west.  Aided by the Coalition of Light and Shadow, with it’s Faerie, and the elves of Highfolk and Vesve Forest, not to mention the warriors of Perrenland, the main armies of Furyondy and Veluna swept south and then west into the Crystalmists and Barrier Peaks.  Another great force, backed by Keoland and the Yeomanry, swept into the Hellfurnaces.  The demipowers Murlynd, Keogtom, and Heward led the charge against the humanoids of these mountains.  They found most of the defenses abandoned, and the drow and giants had mostly disappeared, apparently into the deeps of the Earth.  Because of this, they easily reconquered all of Geoff from the giants, and the three forests of the region fell to them.  They swept higher and higher into the mountains, wiping out the humanoids, killing them by the tens of thousands, destroying encampment and fortress alike, until the humanoids of the Crystalmists and Barrier Peaks were permanently eliminated as powers of the Flanaess, and only a few humanoids escaped, hiding out in remote areas of the mountains.  The combined forces of the Kevellond League and the Coalition of Light and Shadow met one major setback, and that was when they encountered the robots in the Barrier Peaks.  Thinking these easy prey, the united forces attacked.  They were met by laser cannons, particle beams, and high explosives.  Thousands of men were killed in the swift slaughter, and the united forces made a hasty retreat from the area.  Fortunately for the united forces, the robots did not give pursuit.  The Vale of the Mage was  initially attacked along with the rest of the Barrier Peaks, but when the treason of the Pomarj was discovered, the attack was called off, and a truce was agreed to.  The Baklunish Confederation had set up defensive lines against Ket in the east, and a huge defensive line against the expected arrival of Vecna in Tovag Baragu in the south.  However, no attack came.    Ket remained silent, with little troop movement.  Vecna did not even bother to plunder Garnak, which had been evacuated, but swiftly teleported out to deal with Kas.  The titans and halflings of Esmerin, and the forces of Orcreich, finally arrived to aid the Baklunish, and to fortify their defensive lines.  In the far west, the Alliance of the Crescent prepared for war, but no war came into their lands.  Chaos came into their lands with the Sending of the Wanderer, with many towns and villages burned or looted, and rioting and anarchy in the streets of their cities.  So it was across all of the Flanaess, too.  The situation was made worse when a Second Sending came from the Shadow Empire, and then a Third Sending from Toril itself, and a Fourth Sending from Vecna.  Many people, peasants and soldiers, died in countries where ruthless efforts were made to regain control, and even in more lofty places like Veluna and Highfolk, martial law had to be declared.  Then an even greater wave of chaos hit, as the agents of an unknown force struck, murdering hundreds of important people - mages, clerics, officials low  and high, and spread rumors and propaganda that was all too easily believable in the situation at hand.  Once more, chaos struck at every country, and once more many thousands died as ruthless efforts were made to quell the disturbance.    The Dark Union set up the Olympic Games of Torture, with those who had rioted and looted and been captured, as the first people to enjoy the sport.  The Dark Union invited everyone to show up, and many did .  One showed up by the name of Anabstercorian, who proceeded to throw a psionic blast that deafened everyone in the arena permanently.  Escaping the wrath of the Union, Anabstercorian with a lot of evil laughter returned to his mighty citadel in the Godspires.  Anabstercorian was also seen on the battlefield in Nyrond, where he fought at the side of Kas against a special strike team that had been sent to eliminate Kas.  The result was the death of both Tenser and Philidor, and the Legions of Kas managed to take the bodies, and resurrection of these two is not possible now unless the Dark Union desires it.  Again, a gleeful Anabstercorian retired from the battlefield before he could be caught.  The Solistarim, under Anabstercorian’s command, readied their defenses in case retribution was sought.  The Elven League, led by Delrune, invaded the League of the Warlords.  After a very bloody battle to gain the river crossing, they occupied all of Artonsamay, and threatened Riftcrag.  The Helllord of Riftcrag and Sanctus, leader of the elves, have challenged each other to a  personal duel, and this is expected, although treachery is feared by both sides.  The Dark Union launched it’s great attack.  An attack against many nations.  Almor was invaded.  Almor had been invaded by Aerdi in the Greyhawk Wars, and had  learned many lessons, and they were prepared - but it was for naught.  The strength of the Dark Union was too great, and when the people of Almor attempted retreat, they found Nyrond behind them in flames.  Almor capitulated, begging for mercy from the invaders.  The Dark Union invaded the Grandwood, seeing an easy prey, but it was not to be.  The Grandwood had been made into one giant deathtrap by it’s inhabitants, and when the forces of the Dark Union came in, they blundered into a quagmire that killed thousands of them.  Infuriated at this defiance, the Dark Union summoned Salamanders to burn down the entire Grandwood.  However, the defenders of the Grandwood conjured, through multiple weather summoning spells, one giant thunderstorm,  which covered all of the Grandwood, and which rages to this day.  The efforts of the Dark Union in the south were further hampered when the forces of the Grandwood actually came out of the forest, and struck into the heart of Ahlissa, burning towns, stealing cattle, slashing crops, and causing general mayhem.  They were bolstered by another small force sent from the Hollow Highlands.  Although the Dark Union repelled these attacks easily, it slowed and hampered their efforts.  The Dark Union had far better  luck in the north.  There, in Adri Forest, the Lost Elves awoke from their long, frozen, sleep.  Evil and terrible, and wielding weapons from the Arcane Age, these elves united with the Dark Alliance, and swept through Adri Forest with a vengeance.  Elves, gnomes, and doughty rangers all fell like chaff before them, and when the treants summoned the trees and forest spirits, the Lost Elves  summoned their own fell spirits and dark trees.  Branches and leaves rained down across Adri Forest as tree struggled against tree, and explosions and vapors, and wild magic storms, filled the forests as the spirits fought each other.  The Lost Elves were quickly triumphant, laughing as they put all their foes to the sword, and taking the women and children to their great city as slaves.  The County of Urnst fared  worse than Adri Forest.  The forces from the Isles of Woe, well named, crossed the Nyr Dyv, and entered the County from the west.  Hit by anarchy and  chaos from the Sendings and the effects of so many officials disappearing or turning up dead, the County of Urnst had no effective defense against this invasion from the Unholy Knights of the Isles.  The warriors of the County were massacred;  a few escaped, along with a remnant of the civilian population, into Celadan Forest.  The women of the County were taken as slaves back to the Isles, and the children were either killed or likewise enslaved.   The horrified people of the Duchy of Urnst, who had focused on their northern border against the uproar in Nyrond, now turned and fortified their southern and western borders.  Seeing what had happened in the County of Urnst, every able-bodied man and woman in the Duchy of Urnst voluntarily joined the armed forces, and deployed to the borders or to strategic places throughout the country.  For now, the Duchy of Urnst has hostile forces on all it’s borders.  The main army of the Dark Union, led by the self-proclaimed God Emperor himself, swept into the Flinty Hills on it’s way to Nyrond.  The dwarves and gnomes of the Flinty Hills put up a surprisingly strong resistance, and briefly held back the  invaders.  The Dark Union invaded the mountain nation of Garrel Enkdal, and penetrating into the mountains they broke into the underground chambers and fought the defenders hand to hand.  The Dark Union would easily have conquered both nations, especially since the Lost Elves were now joining them, except that other developments happened.  The Elven Alliance of Delrune had sent it’s largest army south, to pass around the Rakers and join up with the Swanmays of Timberway Forest.  This force ran straight into the advancing army of the Dark Union, and the battle was on.  To the aid of Delrune came the Gnomish Spelljamming Fleet, having been forced off the battlefield of Nyrond.  To the aid of Delrune came forces from Nyrond, who had been stationed there to assist should an attack come from that direction (and it is fair to say they were in despair, for their country was burning behind them, and they fought mostly out of pride and long held hatred.)  To the aid of Delrune came large forces of Good Cloud and Storm Giants from the Rakers.  This combined force drove the Dark Union out of Garrel Enkdal, and the battle became centered over the Flinty Hills.  It would afterwards be called the Battle of the Flinty Hills.  Evil forces from the Dark Swamp came up behind the Dark Union, obstenably to aid them, only to fall upon them from the rear.  The Swanmays and their allies swept down through Ratik, and also charged into the rear of the Union forces.  The battle swayed to and fro with great slaughter, huge losses on both sides.  The dwarves of Greyspace then arrived, in their giant spelljamming mountains.  They sent one, however, as a suicide missile, straight into the Union army, hoping to obliterate it.  This move misfired badly.  The mountain was travelling at extreme speed, and friend and foe were entwined, and it is now thought that the dwarves somehow accidentally misaimed the mountain.  In any event, the mountain slammed into the very center of the battle.  The explosion was massive, and was heard in Rauxes, 1000 miles away.  It killed a large part of all the forces present at the battle, and it effectively destroyed the people of the Flinty Hills.  They lived in underground chambers, and these collapsed in the earthquake caused by the explosion.    It seemed the Battle of the Flinty Hills was  over, as all sides began the retreat, carrying their wounded and trying to regroup.  However, both the Union forces and the Seldanoran forces, after regrouping, charged back into the combat, and the battle resumed.  Many of the other forces involved also returned, bringing reinforcements, and from the Dark Union hundreds of thousands of peasants, believing that the Emperor was truly a God (he had survived the mountain falling on him!) came rushing onto the battlefield,  cheering the Emperor and willing to sacrifice blood and life for his glory and the greater glory of the Dark Union.  The battle of the  Flinty Hills is still raging today, a terrible stalemate in which neither side has gained the advantage, and hundreds of thousands of people  and beings lie dead and unburied on the battlefield, along with the wreckage of many spelljammers, flying ships, and several Flying Citadels the Sky-Sea League lost.  In the far south, the Hive Cluster turned it’s full might on the people of the Amedio Rainforest.  Fleets of spelljammers came to their aid.  The unaided people of the Amedio Rainforest were whelmed and destroyed, and their villages put to the torch.  Too late, the forces of Varnaith arrived, and establishing many beachheads swept the invaders back into the forest.  That battle rages to this day, with death and pitiless deeds throughout the tropical rainforests.  Further west and south, Suhfang landed a large naval force on the shores of Zindia.  Help arrived shortly after from Erypt, as a massive fleet of ships arrived, and their warriors debarked.  Varnaith would also send up overland, across northern Varna Bay.  However, only the Varnaithians were accustomed to jungle warfare.  The people of Erypt and Suhfang were desert and semi-desert people, and accustomed to fighting in that terrain.  They met a determined force of lizardmen, riding raptors and with dinosaurs charmed into service.  Backing this force was the unholy magic and creative genius of the star dwarves and star gnomes.  The intial attack was thrown back with great loss, until the Varnaithians arrived, and began to instruct their allies in how to fight in such an environment.  Now, battle rages all across Zindia, the invading forces and the defenders running circles around each other.  Strikes have been made successfully into the great chambers of the star dwarves below ground, and there is death and slaughter in those dark places as a game of cat and mouse is being played by both sides amidst the endless passages and gloom of the Underdark.</blockquote>

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