The War in the Core

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thekristhomas
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The War in the Core

Post by thekristhomas »

As hinted at in the Gaz series, the Nations of the Four Towers is set to be attacked by a combined Falkovnian/Invidian army, with it being assumed/suggested that Borca is not going to fare well in this scenario.

I've touted my ideas about how this might unfold on several threads, so thought it'd be good for me to state them separately, for critique, and also to ask on your ideas of these events.

So, my starting assumptions are:

Malochio has somehow freed himself from the gypsy curse, or has somehow figured a way round it

Vlad Drakov is now an old man, this is his last throw of the dice, which is why he's been planning for so long

Ivan Dilisnya is also old, old, angry and foolish, he hasn't long left to steal his cousin's secret of youth, and he's desperate.

Dominic D'Honaire, also old, slipping, ripe for the Brain (Rudolph von Aubreker) to strike in a bid to become DL

Baron von Aubreker is dead, his daughter (Gerda?) is political head of Lamordia, she sees the benefit of a strong alliance with Falkovnia, and has ambitions of extending her rule outside her borders.

Note, in this possible Lamordia/Falkovnia/Invidia axis, two of the leaders (Drakov and Aubreker) have no real understanding of the mechanics of RL, border closure etc.

Edit:

Jacquleine Renier is old, but her Becoming Plague is either ready or near to it

Lord Weathermay is dead, George Weathermay has, however unwillingly, taken up the reins of leadership

In my version, the plan is simple

Lamordia attacks Dementlieu
Falkovnia attacks Richemulot
Invidia attacks Borca
Once these conquests are completed, Lamordia has been told that Mordent will be offered terms

Richemulot is considered the strongest militarily so in order to isolate it, Borca will be taken first, then Dementlieu.

The Lamordians have a "fifth column" in the form of the Brain, who will use this as an opportunity to take out D'Honaire and become DL

Malochio has been manipulating Ivan somewhat, with his mercenaries crossing into Borca, he has been justifying Ivan's military build up, while at the same time encouraging Invidian merchants to trade in Borca, feeding Ivan's coffers. Both of these ploys have been to strengthen Ivan's position within Borca, to push him towards the assassination of his cousin Ivana. With Ivana dead, Borca's borders would remain open, allowing Malochio to use his border opening abilities elsewhere.

Ivana's assassination would therefore signal the start of the war.

The Invidians would invade Borca while Falkovnia would close it's food markets to the Four Towers. The Brain, whether he was in on the grand scheme or not, would probably use the instability to begin the Revolution in Dementlieu. This would involve him, possibly striking against D'Honaire directly, but definitely distracting him enough that he can't keep the border closed, which would allow the well-equipped Lamordian Army to cross into Dementlieu (possibly under the pretense of supporting the legitimate government).

With Malochio allowing him to leave Falkovnia, Drakov can finally lead his forces into battle against a foreign foe. The border towns fall quickly allowing the Talons to move swiftly to the heart of the domain. When it can have maximum effect, Jacqueline unleashes the Becoming Plague, within a few days, all the Richemulese are infected wererats, as are huge swathes of the Falkovnian military. The Falkovnian rout is absolute, what soldiers do return, return with the Plague, which spreads quickly through the filthy Falkovnian towns. Within a month Falkovnia is all but a region of Richmulot, even if Drakov survives, which is unlikely, the wererats outnumber the humans by a large margin.

So, in this version, Borca is crushed by Invidia, Lamordia takes Dementlieu, and Vlad Drakov gets to see all his allies successfully invade a country before he himself fails and then sees his country destroyed by creatures that he had all but exterminated early in his rule.
Last edited by thekristhomas on Tue Jul 21, 2015 1:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by ewancummins »

It may be too hard to pull off and not his style, given the high level of magic required, but if Vlad can somehow obtain
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by Drinnik Shoehorn »

ewancummins wrote:It may be too hard to pull off and not his style, given the high level of magic required, but if Vlad can somehow obtain
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If two Drakov clones go to war, who wins?
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by Rock of the Fraternity »

Questions to keep in mind:

How will Strahd react?
The first vampire is not a friend of Borca, but it is his next door neighbour, and I, Strahd: the war against Azalin, suggests he holds Drakov in contempt.
He might be willing to go along with the Drakov/Malocchio alliance for a chance to get out of the Dread Realms (Malocchio fully released would theoretically be able to teleport himself and Darklords out of Ravenloft and he holds no great affection for his own land, so he might be willing to sacrifice it in a bid for freedom - if not for the fact that he wants Tatyana.
As I doubt either Drakov or Malocchio would care about Strahd's love life (or rather his unhealthy obsession life), Strahd has to ask himself what the future would hold if the Drakov/Malocchio alliance crushes Borca. What would be next? Barovia may be a stunted little backwater nation, but once Drakov can finally conquer again, why would he stop?
Given the possibility that Strahd might ally himself with the Borcans if they come under serious attack, how will he impact the flow of the battle? Even if he's stuck inside Barovia, he can always send agents - and he already pulled off an upset against a far superior nation once, to wit: Darkon.

A Fifth Tower?
For some reason, I get the feeling that Harkon Lukas could pull off an upset, if properly motivated. Harkon is ambitious as all get-out - and if properly approached, might see the benefit in lending aid to stopping a Drakov/Malocchio alliance from curb-stomping the Four Towers. Especially if it might land his nation a spot in the Four Towers Treaty, making it more prominent in world affairs.
To wit, my argument for Barovia still stands: once Drakov can start conquering again, why would he stop? Especially a 'weak' target like Kartakass would probably look mighty tempting.
Kartakass by itself might not be able to launch a truly massive attack, but the wolfweres might certainly launch a series of guerrilla attacks on Invidia if Strahd allows them to pass through Barovia to harry the Dukkar's southeastern flank while the mass of his army is concentrated to the northeast in Borca. If Harkon can - even if only temporarily - bully the wolfwere clans into line, their shapeshifting powers and hypnotic voices could do some serious damage. Wolfweres make for interesting assassins, to say the least.

Azrael vs. Malocchio?
Azrael, the self-named king of Sithicus, is crazy, but he's not so far gone that he can't see which way the wind is blowing.
If Malocchio succeeds in breaking the Four Towers, how long will it really be before the Dukkar turns his attention southward to punish Azrael for his failure during the whole series of events as logged in Specter of the Black Rose?
Again, Azrael does not possess a truly impressive military, but he could do some damage to southern Invidia if properly motivated and provided with assurances that other nations would support him.
Of course someone would have to persuade Baron Urik Von Kharkov not to attack Sithicus until the matter with Drakov and Malocchio had been resolved, so as to free up Azrael to fight Malocchio's forces without having to worry about the state of affairs at home.

Can Gabrielle capitalize on events?
If Malocchio pushes all - or just most - of his playing pieces onto the board, will Gabrielle Aderre not find a way to capitalize on the situation? She is still the Darklord of Invidia. She can close the borders. If Malocchio commits most of his troops to the field, they will need a supply train - and unless he is willing to start ferrying supplies himself, Gabrielle can cut him off at the knees by closing Invidia's borders.
If Harkon starts launching guerrilla attacks, as per my previous suggestion, then Matton might be able to hook Gabrielle up with them, enhancing the wolfweres' abilities to strike at sensitive targets thanks to Gabrielle's local knowledge and powers of Enchantment and foretelling.
With Invidia falling apart from the inside out, Malocchio's ability to contribute to an attack on the Four Towers might not be as potent as he and Drakov believe.

All in all, it depends not just on the strength of the Four Towers against a Drakov/Malocchio alliance.
We also need to consider the likelihood that an eruption of open warfare would galvanize the other nations as well as assorted malcontents (;) ) into forming a power bloc of their own and taking a stand to stop the Drakov/Malocchio alliance from reshaping the Core to their own design.
Remember, nobody likes them. Malocchio has been making himself impossible to his neighbours by violating their sovereign borders with his Vistani-hunters, and Drakov has been flailing around, trying to conquer everyone. I'm sure most of the rulers would enjoy the idea of a future where Falkovnia is reduced to a conquered nation churning out food but with zero military might left.

Now I have a final question: if, by some combination of luck and temporary alliance of disparate nations, the Drakov/Malocchio alliance were to fall, what would happen next? Would a new alliance arise? Say, Barovia - Kartakass - Invidia? I think we can safely disregard Sithicus and Valachan, and Verbrek isn't even worth considering. With Drakov and Malocchio out of the picture, Azrael would probably fall to Von Kharkov's servants soon. Gabrielle might regain her throne, but might then need to stay on Harkon's good side to keep her wolfwere army in check. But what else would happen?
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Re: The War in the Core

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Rock wrote:Questions to keep in mind:

How will Strahd react?
The first vampire is not a friend of Borca, but it is his next door neighbour, and I, Strahd: the war against Azalin, suggests he holds Drakov in contempt.
He might be willing to go along with the Drakov/Malocchio alliance for a chance to get out of the Dread Realms (Malocchio fully released would theoretically be able to teleport himself and Darklords out of Ravenloft and he holds no great affection for his own land, so he might be willing to sacrifice it in a bid for freedom - if not for the fact that he wants Tatyana.
As I doubt either Drakov or Malocchio would care about Strahd's love life (or rather his unhealthy obsession life), Strahd has to ask himself what the future would hold if the Drakov/Malocchio alliance crushes Borca. What would be next? Barovia may be a stunted little backwater nation, but once Drakov can finally conquer again, why would he stop?
Given the possibility that Strahd might ally himself with the Borcans if they come under serious attack, how will he impact the flow of the battle? Even if he's stuck inside Barovia, he can always send agents - and he already pulled off an upset against a far superior nation once, to wit: Darkon.

A Fifth Tower?
For some reason, I get the feeling that Harkon Lukas could pull off an upset, if properly motivated. Harkon is ambitious as all get-out - and if properly approached, might see the benefit in lending aid to stopping a Drakov/Malocchio alliance from curb-stomping the Four Towers. Especially if it might land his nation a spot in the Four Towers Treaty, making it more prominent in world affairs.
To wit, my argument for Barovia still stands: once Drakov can start conquering again, why would he stop? Especially a 'weak' target like Kartakass would probably look mighty tempting.
Kartakass by itself might not be able to launch a truly massive attack, but the wolfweres might certainly launch a series of guerrilla attacks on Invidia if Strahd allows them to pass through Barovia to harry the Dukkar's southeastern flank while the mass of his army is concentrated to the northeast in Borca. If Harkon can - even if only temporarily - bully the wolfwere clans into line, their shapeshifting powers and hypnotic voices could do some serious damage. Wolfweres make for interesting assassins, to say the least.

Azrael vs. Malocchio?
Azrael, the self-named king of Sithicus, is crazy, but he's not so far gone that he can't see which way the wind is blowing.
If Malocchio succeeds in breaking the Four Towers, how long will it really be before the Dukkar turns his attention southward to punish Azrael for his failure during the whole series of events as logged in Specter of the Black Rose?
Again, Azrael does not possess a truly impressive military, but he could do some damage to southern Invidia if properly motivated and provided with assurances that other nations would support him.
Of course someone would have to persuade Baron Urik Von Kharkov not to attack Sithicus until the matter with Drakov and Malocchio had been resolved, so as to free up Azrael to fight Malocchio's forces without having to worry about the state of affairs at home.

Can Gabrielle capitalize on events?
If Malocchio pushes all - or just most - of his playing pieces onto the board, will Gabrielle Aderre not find a way to capitalize on the situation? She is still the Darklord of Invidia. She can close the borders. If Malocchio commits most of his troops to the field, they will need a supply train - and unless he is willing to start ferrying supplies himself, Gabrielle can cut him off at the knees by closing Invidia's borders.
If Harkon starts launching guerrilla attacks, as per my previous suggestion, then Matton might be able to hook Gabrielle up with them, enhancing the wolfweres' abilities to strike at sensitive targets thanks to Gabrielle's local knowledge and powers of Enchantment and foretelling.
With Invidia falling apart from the inside out, Malocchio's ability to contribute to an attack on the Four Towers might not be as potent as he and Drakov believe.

All in all, it depends not just on the strength of the Four Towers against a Drakov/Malocchio alliance.
We also need to consider the likelihood that an eruption of open warfare would galvanize the other nations as well as assorted malcontents (;) ) into forming a power bloc of their own and taking a stand to stop the Drakov/Malocchio alliance from reshaping the Core to their own design.
Remember, nobody likes them. Malocchio has been making himself impossible to his neighbours by violating their sovereign borders with his Vistani-hunters, and Drakov has been flailing around, trying to conquer everyone. I'm sure most of the rulers would enjoy the idea of a future where Falkovnia is reduced to a conquered nation churning out food but with zero military might left.

Now I have a final question: if, by some combination of luck and temporary alliance of disparate nations, the Drakov/Malocchio alliance were to fall, what would happen next? Would a new alliance arise? Say, Barovia - Kartakass - Invidia? I think we can safely disregard Sithicus and Valachan, and Verbrek isn't even worth considering. With Drakov and Malocchio out of the picture, Azrael would probably fall to Von Kharkov's servants soon. Gabrielle might regain her throne, but might then need to stay on Harkon's good side to keep her wolfwere army in check. But what else would happen?
Worth pointing out in regards to your "fifth tower point" according to Gaz I (1) supposedly Kartakass was ruled over by "an Invidia" for lack of a better term (ruled by a nation named Invidia, not necessarily the same one that currently exists in Ravenloft) until a bard named Harkon Lukas rallied the people to rebel.

So if Grandfather Wolf wants to get in on the action he might have that working in his favor to help rally the people.
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Re: The War in the Core

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thekristhomas wrote:As hinted at in the Gaz series, the Nations of the Four Towers is set to be attacked by a combined Falkovnian/Invidian army, with it being assumed/suggested that Borca is not going to fare well in this scenario.

I've touted my ideas about how this might unfold on several threads, so thought it'd be good for me to state them separately, for critique, and also to ask on your ideas of these events.

So, my starting assumptions are:

Malochio has somehow freed himself from the gypsy curse, or has somehow figured a way round it

Vlad Drakov is now an old man, this is his last throw of the dice, which is why he's been planning for so long

Ivan Dilisnya is also old, old, angry and foolish, he hasn't long left to steal his cousin's secret of youth, and he's desperate.

Dominic D'Honaire, also old, slipping, ripe for the Brain (Rudolph von Aubreker) to strike in a bid to become DL

Baron von Aubreker is dead, his daughter (Gerda?) is political head of Lamordia, she sees the benefit of a strong alliance with Falkovnia, and has ambitions of extending her rule outside her borders.

Note, in this possible Lamordia/Falkovnia/Invidia axis, two of the leaders (Drakov and Aubreker) have no real understanding of the mechanics of RL, border closure etc.

I'll edit this post to expand on this later real life is calling

What about Richemulot? It is the most populous nation taking part in the Four Towers Treaty, has a border right next to Borca, and while it lacks a standing army, it is full of people who have all sworn to practice with at least one weapon in preparation for defense of their homeland in case of Falkovnian Invasion, 7% of the population is Falkovnian ex-pats who may want a chance to strike back at Drakov's butchers who drove them from their homeland ("People forget that the first realm Drakov invaded was Falkovnia") 9% of the population are Borcan Ex-pats who may still have enough loyalty to their old homeland to want to return in its hour of need, and over 4,000 wererats. In short, they could probably put together a powerful force of irregulars.


What the current state of Jacqueline Renier/Richemulot/ is/how much aid they're going to lend their Borcan "Cousins" would probably have a huge effect upon how the war goes....
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Re: The War in the Core

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Rock wrote:
Azrael vs. Malocchio?
Azrael, the self-named king of Sithicus, is crazy, but he's not so far gone that he can't see which way the wind is blowing.
If Malocchio succeeds in breaking the Four Towers, how long will it really be before the Dukkar turns his attention southward to punish Azrael for his failure during the whole series of events as logged in Specter of the Black Rose?
Again, Azrael does not possess a truly impressive military, but he could do some damage to southern Invidia if properly motivated and provided with assurances that other nations would support him.
Of course someone would have to persuade Baron Urik Von Kharkov not to attack Sithicus until the matter with Drakov and Malocchio had been resolved, so as to free up Azrael to fight Malocchio's forces without having to worry about the state of affairs at home.
Malocchio has already tried to invade Sithicus at least once, but IIRC, he had his keister handed back to him on a plate. That was one invasion Drakov wasn't willing to back him up on (specifically ordering his Talons to stay back). I assume this is because Drakov, being from Krynn, knows of Soth's reputation.

Anyway, if Malocchio is going to war against the four towers, that make for strange bedfellows with Azrael wanting revenge/a preventative strike against Malocchio while his back is turned. And if Malocchio wars against Sithicus, it might be a break point in an Invidia/Falkovnia/Lamordia alliance, what with Drakov not wanting to get involved in a war against Sithicus.
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by Rock of the Fraternity »

Soth is gone, though... and everyone knows he is by now. ^_^;
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Re: The War in the Core

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Rock wrote:Soth is gone, though... and everyone knows he is by now. ^_^;
Yes I know that. Considering Malocchio's men invaded when Lord Soth was at his weakest AND got an entire invading force destroyed in the Hour of Screaming Shadows, I doubt that Drakov's mind would've changed much. Soth's reputation is horrific enough on Krynn that he'd probably still not want to go near there despite Soth's seeming demise. And I think that any domain that could seemingly chew up Soth and still have room to devour an entire invasion force would probably make it last on his list of places he would want to invade. Drakov knew that going into Sithicus was "folly" (as Drakov called Malocchio's invasion of that domain in Gaz IV, p.49) even when Soth was weak and out of it. In any case, S. seems to think Drakov wants to save his troops for some big upcoming conflict, suggesting another reason not to get involved with Malocchio fighting Sithicus.
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Re: The War in the Core

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jamesfirecat wrote:
What about Richemulot? It is the most populous nation taking part in the Four Towers Treaty, has a border right next to Borca, and while it lacks a standing army, it is full of people who have all sworn to practice with at least one weapon in preparation for defense of their homeland in case of Falkovnian Invasion, 7% of the population is Falkovnian ex-pats who may want a chance to strike back at Drakov's butchers who drove them from their homeland ("People forget that the first realm Drakov invaded was Falkovnia") 9% of the population are Borcan Ex-pats who may still have enough loyalty to their old homeland to want to return in its hour of need, and over 4,000 wererats. In short, they could probably put together a powerful force of irregulars.


What the current state of Jacqueline Renier/Richemulot/ is/how much aid they're going to lend their Borcan "Cousins" would probably have a huge effect upon how the war goes....
The Richemuloise have previously shown themselves capable of beating back Falkovnian troops in 722 BC with the Executioner's Campaign. (Gaz II, p.94).

However, if any party would betray the Four Towers, I'm guessing it would be Richemulot. Jackie Renier has shown to have some dealings with Drakov despite being a participant in the Four Towers treaty (Gaz III, p.100). It's thought she approved of the treaty more to boost Richemulot's political prestige than out of any fear of Drakov. (Gaz III p.88) She might have some special information on Drakov that other parties don't necessarily have. (Gaz III p.101)
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by thekristhomas »

jamesfirecat wrote:
Rock wrote:Questions to keep in mind:

How will Strahd react?
The first vampire is not a friend of Borca, but it is his next door neighbour, and I, Strahd: the war against Azalin, suggests he holds Drakov in contempt.
He might be willing to go along with the Drakov/Malocchio alliance for a chance to get out of the Dread Realms (Malocchio fully released would theoretically be able to teleport himself and Darklords out of Ravenloft and he holds no great affection for his own land, so he might be willing to sacrifice it in a bid for freedom - if not for the fact that he wants Tatyana.
As I doubt either Drakov or Malocchio would care about Strahd's love life (or rather his unhealthy obsession life), Strahd has to ask himself what the future would hold if the Drakov/Malocchio alliance crushes Borca. What would be next? Barovia may be a stunted little backwater nation, but once Drakov can finally conquer again, why would he stop?
Given the possibility that Strahd might ally himself with the Borcans if they come under serious attack, how will he impact the flow of the battle? Even if he's stuck inside Barovia, he can always send agents - and he already pulled off an upset against a far superior nation once, to wit: Darkon.

A Fifth Tower?
For some reason, I get the feeling that Harkon Lukas could pull off an upset, if properly motivated. Harkon is ambitious as all get-out - and if properly approached, might see the benefit in lending aid to stopping a Drakov/Malocchio alliance from curb-stomping the Four Towers. Especially if it might land his nation a spot in the Four Towers Treaty, making it more prominent in world affairs.
To wit, my argument for Barovia still stands: once Drakov can start conquering again, why would he stop? Especially a 'weak' target like Kartakass would probably look mighty tempting.
Kartakass by itself might not be able to launch a truly massive attack, but the wolfweres might certainly launch a series of guerrilla attacks on Invidia if Strahd allows them to pass through Barovia to harry the Dukkar's southeastern flank while the mass of his army is concentrated to the northeast in Borca. If Harkon can - even if only temporarily - bully the wolfwere clans into line, their shapeshifting powers and hypnotic voices could do some serious damage. Wolfweres make for interesting assassins, to say the least.

Azrael vs. Malocchio?
Azrael, the self-named king of Sithicus, is crazy, but he's not so far gone that he can't see which way the wind is blowing.
If Malocchio succeeds in breaking the Four Towers, how long will it really be before the Dukkar turns his attention southward to punish Azrael for his failure during the whole series of events as logged in Specter of the Black Rose?
Again, Azrael does not possess a truly impressive military, but he could do some damage to southern Invidia if properly motivated and provided with assurances that other nations would support him.
Of course someone would have to persuade Baron Urik Von Kharkov not to attack Sithicus until the matter with Drakov and Malocchio had been resolved, so as to free up Azrael to fight Malocchio's forces without having to worry about the state of affairs at home.

Can Gabrielle capitalize on events?
If Malocchio pushes all - or just most - of his playing pieces onto the board, will Gabrielle Aderre not find a way to capitalize on the situation? She is still the Darklord of Invidia. She can close the borders. If Malocchio commits most of his troops to the field, they will need a supply train - and unless he is willing to start ferrying supplies himself, Gabrielle can cut him off at the knees by closing Invidia's borders.
If Harkon starts launching guerrilla attacks, as per my previous suggestion, then Matton might be able to hook Gabrielle up with them, enhancing the wolfweres' abilities to strike at sensitive targets thanks to Gabrielle's local knowledge and powers of Enchantment and foretelling.
With Invidia falling apart from the inside out, Malocchio's ability to contribute to an attack on the Four Towers might not be as potent as he and Drakov believe.

All in all, it depends not just on the strength of the Four Towers against a Drakov/Malocchio alliance.
We also need to consider the likelihood that an eruption of open warfare would galvanize the other nations as well as assorted malcontents (;) ) into forming a power bloc of their own and taking a stand to stop the Drakov/Malocchio alliance from reshaping the Core to their own design.
Remember, nobody likes them. Malocchio has been making himself impossible to his neighbours by violating their sovereign borders with his Vistani-hunters, and Drakov has been flailing around, trying to conquer everyone. I'm sure most of the rulers would enjoy the idea of a future where Falkovnia is reduced to a conquered nation churning out food but with zero military might left.

Now I have a final question: if, by some combination of luck and temporary alliance of disparate nations, the Drakov/Malocchio alliance were to fall, what would happen next? Would a new alliance arise? Say, Barovia - Kartakass - Invidia? I think we can safely disregard Sithicus and Valachan, and Verbrek isn't even worth considering. With Drakov and Malocchio out of the picture, Azrael would probably fall to Von Kharkov's servants soon. Gabrielle might regain her throne, but might then need to stay on Harkon's good side to keep her wolfwere army in check. But what else would happen?
Worth pointing out in regards to your "fifth tower point" according to Gaz I (1) supposedly Kartakass was ruled over by "an Invidia" for lack of a better term (ruled by a nation named Invidia, not necessarily the same one that currently exists in Ravenloft) until a bard named Harkon Lukas rallied the people to rebel.

So if Grandfather Wolf wants to get in on the action he might have that working in his favor to help rally the people.
This seems to me to be part of a possible "phase 2" of the ongoing war

Barovia would,at the least move troops to their Borcan/Invidian borders. There's no way (IMHO) that Strahd would side with Malochio, the levels of disrespect shown have been too much, I think, for Strahd to tolerate. However, Borca is ruled by the hated Dilisnya, so I equally cannot see him coming to their aid. I would imagine, that Strahd would try to use the situation. Remember, the Dilisnya were Strahd's vassals, so on one level he has a legitimate claim to Borca, and if the twins have been removed by Malochio, might not Strahd attempt to "reclaim" Borca?

If Barovia and Invidia are tied up in a war in Borca, might that assist Gabrielle Aderre not just in Invidia, but also in the former Gundarak? Actually, this might well help Gundarak nationalism at the expense of Invidian liberation, but initially it might allow Invidian/Gundarak rebels to maybe gain control of the Nharov river valley allowing Lukas's wolfweres access without Strahd's permission

Would Haarkon Lukas come as a liberator or to expand his influence (maybe even his domain)? Well probably the latter, but he would make it look like the former. Maybe, with the Gundarak nationalists abandoning Invidia, Aderre turns to the wolfweres accepting that Lukas will gain in power. Maybe Lukas plans to kill Aderre and hopes Kartakass will absorb Invidia (and a small chunk of Barovia) as a result. In terms of Lukas's curse, I'd suggest that this might actually work, Lukas is cursed not to be the great leader he desires to be (similar on some levels to Drakov), Invidia is a collection of independent towns and farmsteads, much like Kartakass, unlikely ever to accept central authority, the increase in the size of his realm might simply serve to increase his frustrations.

Another option for the fate of Invidia: the former DL of Invidia was a werewolf, it still has a high level in the population. Alfred Timothy is aggressive, expansionist (look at how his realm has grown) and full of religious zeal. Add to this the possibility of wolfweres in Invidia, and that might be all the reason Timothy needs to launch an invasion/massacre
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by IrvyneWolfe »

This is pretty comprehensive so far. We have pretty much the entire Western core turning into a chaotic mess over this. My question is....

What happens back east?

The Vaasi have a history of being conquerors and you can bet Prince Othmar would jump at the chance to expand his power base. Not being the Darklord he'd be able to lead his armies in person. Would they operate solo? Would they ally with Hazlan? Ally with Falkovnia?

Who would they set out to invade? Darkon? That's a losing bet and I think everyone in this equation knows it. Forlorn? I'm sure the Vaasi wouldn't see it as much of a conquest and as soon as their armies started getting wrecked by Goblyns and man eating plants they'd regret trying.The FoS report on the Nocturnal Sea makes Graben a very likely target.

Me though I keep coming back to Strahd. What if everyone's favourite vampire lord is too busy to weigh in on the central conflict because he's dealing with an invasion from the East. If Hazlan was brought into the fold they may have the magical might to make a pretty good show of it, at least until Strahd realizes it's a ploy to soften Barovia up by the secret Falkovnian/Invidia/Lamordian/Vaasan alliance. The idea is for the main alliance to offer Strahd a non-agression treaty in exchange for closing his border to refugees. However the Vaasan are secret part of the alliance as well and launch an "independent" invasion in the East. As soon as Barovia's back in turned Invidian forces invade from the West. Throw in Strahd's reaction when he finds out a certain Ezran priest from Hazlan is wandering the battlefields healing anyone she comes across. He's suddenly going to be very very interested which bodes ill for the invasion force.
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by Rock of the Fraternity »

I think Barovia's forests would be very difficult for Nova Vaasan horses to navigate. Also, Strahd would probably clamp down the poison fog as soon as people tried to enter his country with an eye to invasion.
I can't quite see Harkon joining an alliance to attack Barovia; he got his tail handed to him by Strahd once before, and he's right at Barovia's border with little space to flee. Should Strahd want Harkon dead, he could probably do it by killing off every wolf in Kartakass with alchemically-infused Strahd Zombies.

Azalin might be slightly tempted to lend a helping hand to any alliance that tried to crush Barovia, though.
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by jamesfirecat »

thekristhomas wrote:
Malochio has been manipulating Ivan somewhat, with his mercenaries crossing into Borca, he has been justifying Ivan's military build up, while at the same time encouraging Invidian merchants to trade in Borca, feeding Ivan's coffers. Both of these ploys have been to strengthen Ivan's position within Borca, to push him towards the assassination of his cousin Ivana. With Ivana dead, Borca's borders would remain open, allowing Malochio to use his border opening abilities elsewhere.
This part i have trouble believing.

All past examples of a Darklord dying (and staying dead) tend not to lead to a domain with an open boarder and no new darklord sitting around, they tend to lead to the domain gaining a new darklord, that's what happened when Ivana killed her mother, that's what happened when Malochio's mother killed the old darklord of Invidia, that's what happened when Soth left...

Granted, we know nothing about exactly how long it takes, and how quickly the new darklord learns to use their new powers. So Ivan (who would be the obvious shoe in for the new darklord if his sister dies) might not know how to close the border, also Borca's border close (under Ivana at least) is a "soft close" that only keeps people from leaving, not stops invading armies from coming in.
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

jamesfirecat wrote:This part i have trouble believing.

All past examples of a Darklord dying (and staying dead) tend not to lead to a domain with an open boarder and no new darklord sitting around
right, but Borca would still have 1 darklord if Ivana died. Whether Ivan would suddenly gain control of the border or not would be at the whims of the DPs (DMs). Drakov never was able to close his, so it's possible Ivan could continue to reign alone without that ability.

I love this whole complicated, entwined allegiances bit. If Falkovnia were to fight Barovia after conquering Borca, I wonder which side Azalin would back. He hates Strahd but has nothing but patronizing contempt for Drakov. He'd probably just be content to let them duke it out and weaken each other. (keeping both out of hair while he does more important things.)
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