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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Edena_of_Neith" data-source="post: 3591957" data-attributes="member: 2020">Of course powerful nations going into Total War pull this stunt (Gating or Teleporting Without Error or Teleporting or Teleporting Spells/Monsters into enemy thronerooms and bedchambers, etc., etc., etc.)  King Belvor of Furyondy, Archcleric Hazen of Veluna, and King Arlon of Calrune, among others, *expected* such things to happen.  There were defenses readied.  But then the Greyhawk Wars occurred, and their attention went to Iuz, Ket, and the Giant Incursions.  They concentrated their magics and efforts on those threats.  They were beaten and killed by four factors:  - The Solistarim achieved total surprise.  - The Solistarim had extremely fine Intelligence gathering, and knew exactly where to strike.  - The Solistarim brought their most powerful magic to bear, magic capable of crushing the defenses and protections around enemy leaders and bases.  - The Solistarim launched a very coordinated attack, hitting everywhere at once, so those under attack could not come to each other's aid.  If King Belvor, Archcleric Hazen, and King Arlon had set up an equally planned out defense, had an equally coordinated defense ready, had their strongest magics and wizards in place, and if they had *known* the attack was coming and nature of the attackers, the result might have been far different.    Once the governments of Furyondy, Veluna, and Calrune were destroyed, the two largest western nations opposing the Solistarim were effectively out of the fight, their armies leaderless and in total confusion.  Strikes on Perrenland easily neutralized that country's government, since Perrenland was far less well equipped to deal with such a threat.  The strike on Chautosbergen actually failed (to kill the ruling family and councillors) and killed many thousands of dwarves instead.  The strike on Delphea, capital of Delrune, was all too easy.  King Callanne Narisae was a man of peace, his guard was small, his secret service nil, his magic weak, his preparations non-existent.  The Delrunian government was obliterated in the first strike.  It was only after the Solistarim had done all they could to neutralize the enemy leadership, kill all the known generals and other military leaders, and thus leave the western nations in chaos, and after their friends the Skydwellers were on the way to war against the eastern and central nations (a nice diversion, and that is exactly what the Solistarim allied with the Skydwellers to achieve), the Solistarim launched their swift Ground Assault.  -  I made a mistake in quoting my timeline, and wish to rectify it.  The Greyhawk Wars went as per Canon, taking about 3 or 4 years.  The subsequent exhausted peace lasted around 15 years.  Then the Solistari War commenced.  The Solistari First Strike occurred over a period of a few days.    The Solistari Second and subsequent Strikes occurred over a period of a few weeks.  The Ground Onslaught took several months, before the battle lines stablized in Keoland.  The war, after that, went on for several years.  After the death of Soloron, the Solistari retreat took a few weeks.  The Great Assault of the Allies on the Godspires went on for months.  The Counterassault of the Solistarim lasted for several months.  Then the war ended, around 5 years after it started.  Delrune spent 20 years in limbo after that, turning to evil.  The Onslaught of Vecna took about a month to reach Delrune.  The Onslaught of Vecna took several days to destroy Delrune excluding Haldendrea only.  It took 20 years before Vecna recognized the threat of Haldendreeva, and thus the elves there had respite from Vecna for that time.  The Haldendreevan-Vecna War went on for 100 years.  -  There is nothing wrong with the setting.  The people of the Flanaess are led heavily warmongers, just as the people of many other fantasy worlds are, and as some peoples in real life are.  Also, there are a large number of evil races who are inherently warmongers, not only led by warmongers but warmongers down to the last being in the community.  The illithid are such a people (in the Flanaess at least.)  Warmongers fight.  Nations shatter and fall.  Civilian populations are massacred (or retained for food.)  The Oerth itself reacts to the bloodshed and reels, with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, lands rising and fall, the bedrock rotting and crumbling under blood.  The survivors build new civilizations and new nations.  They regain their strength.  Nations that survived the wars further strengthen themselves.  And then - unfortunately - they fight again.  For theirs is a world of neverending war.  Paradoxically, Vecna brought a kind of peace.  It wasn't a pleasant peace, but it *did* allow many peoples and nations driven to the edge of extinction to come back and at least partially recover.</blockquote>

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