The War in the Core

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thekristhomas
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Re: The War in the Core

Post by thekristhomas »

These really feel like the climactic actions of the campaign, a covert strike against Strahd for the soul of the land set against a backdrop of Barovia at war, good stuff! It probably doesn't need the added complication of a Tatyana subplot, but maybe let's put a pin in that.

EDIT

So thinking of that backdrop, any invasion of Barovia by the Vaasi would be surely based from Bergovitsa, which is in the hands of the Rivtoffs and the Vistin family. How might their feud manifest within the invasion force?
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Re: The War in the Core

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I've very wroughly (note the incorrect placement of Bergovitsa, which is in it's pre-Upheaval position) knocked this up to give some ideas as to how the Vaasi might approach taking Barovia

The most obvious approach, and to some extent the least welcoming, is through the svalich pass straight to the village of Barovia and the Castle Ravenloft (marked as 1). This has to happen, of course, Castle Ravenloft is both a mighty redoubt and the siege of government, but one would imagine the Vaasi forces canny enough to not invest the whole, even a majority share, of their army to becoming trapped within the wall of fog. This might be a point of contention between the Rivtoff and Vistin factions, the commander who conquers the castle will bring much honor to his family, but it might be something of a poison chalice, it is choc-a-bloc with monsters, even if Strahd and select minions are away conquering Borca, and once in the logistics of getting back out become an issue.

If the Vaasi believe they have learnt a thing or two about forest fighting from their "successful" Tepestian adventure, they could well also strike north, skirting the choking fog and attempt to take Vallaki by crossing Lake Zarovich (marked as 2). This would give them access to the rest of Barovia, but would still not give them free access to the Svalich Pass due to the choking fog.

Would Vaasi forces seek to head into the former Gundarak via the eastern pass (marked as 3) to circumvent the svalich pass altogether? This would give them access to the rest of Barovia via either the Dread Pass or the Tsolenka Pass (only the dread pass is marked on this one it's based on an old map) and access to the rest of the core via the Crimson Road
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Re: The War in the Core

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So if we assume that from a Vaasi general's perspective it would be preferable to run the logistical gauntlet of cutting through a forest crossing a lake, laying siege to and then sacking Vallaki, and from there moving on to control the rest of Barovia, rather than attacking and occupying Castle Ravenloft, then does that suggest that if a Rivtoff is selected to attack Ravenloft, a Vistin will be selected to attack Vallaki? Seems like a way it could go to me, Othmar seems to be fueling their rivalry when he can.

If that is the case, it seems to me, that rather than commit his whole force to attacking Ravenloft, said Rivtoff might instead take the bulk of his forces south, leaving a lieutenant in charge of the castle's occupation, hoping to beat the Vistin to the booty of the towns of southern Barovia. While not in direct defiance of Othmar's order, it would seem in keeping with the Rivtoff disdain for Othmar. It might also allow him contact with the Hazlani authorities (such as they are) in Immol.

So the Rivtoff left behind with the task of taking Ravenloft, I imagine them to be a junior member of the highest ranks, if that makes sense, the most disposable of those good enough to be trusted to get the job done, satisfactory. For myself I imagine he would first occupy the village of Barovia, I say occupy as I can't imagine Barovian villagers offering resistance (expecting rightly that the lord will sort it all out eventually) Billeting the troops shouldn't be much of a problem either, as much of the village is unoccupied.

The Vaasi general might be cautious enough (I mean, he's got to have heard stories, right?) to not investigate the castle straight away. Maybe he orders some watchtowers and other fortifications added (stakes, yeah lots of stakes, it's always stakes in the stories, right?) and maybe everything will be quiet...at first.

The village of Barovia might be mistaken for a happy little village at festival time, for a week or so, as the Vaasi, unmindful of the ways of the locals continue to carouse into the night. The soldiers might grumble that the Tavern shuts tight at sundown, but at least they were willing to sell a barrel or two to be consumed by the troops back at their billets. The barrels however, never made it back to the billets as the soldiery consumed them in the streets, the warmth of summer having run far later than was normal in these parts. After the first night, the locals, to their credit, did try to warn the soldiers, these warnings were accepted kindly, but ignored, not because the Vaasi leader didn't believe their tales, far from it, he was attempting to turn the village into a trap, and he was using the "rabble" amongst his troops as bait.

His scheme would I expect be a partial success, at some point some of the "feeders" from the Castle would be lured down, and those troops that the Vaasi had kept sober and prepared would spring into action. I'm imagining however that these would be probing attacks.

I'm guessing that the "brides" would be running the show on behalf of Strahd, but I'm open to other suggestions (Rahadin from CoS for example)

I'm thinking that attack would escalate until the Vaasi had to take their force into the Castle. Given the Church of the Lawgiver's involvement with Vaasi society, I'm going to go ahead and say that I think this army has some priests, probably higher level priests than other less theocratic societies would produce, but definitely some priests, so the mission is not "doomed" as such, but that being said, Castle Ravenloft is so huge, that as I'm trying to picture it occupied by an invading force, I'm still seeing whole sections of the castle occupation doesn't reach.

So I'm also imagining that maybe by the time of the final climax when Strahd returns and the Tripartite Fang are defeated and their now trapped to the land souls are used to re-establish the borders of the new Kingdom of Barovia, the Vaasi are still locked in a struggle with the various monstrous forces that call Castle Ravenloft home (basically a few levels of the castle redrawn and redescribed to fit occupation, where a confrontation between the Tripartite Fang, Strahd and maybe even the Vaasi and the PC could occur)
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Re: The War in the Core

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Out of all the participants in this scenario, the Vaasi seem like the closest to "good" and therefore the side most likely for the PCs to side with
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Re: The War in the Core

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thekristhomas wrote:
How George would respond to the death of Natalia is interesting. She was his nemesis, and the only woman he loved. Also after years of hunting it was his nieces that succeeded, that might break some men. On the other hand, it's now over because with the death of her trigger Gennifer's lycanthropy will never again manifest, in fact Genn is now immune to lycanthropy, quite a bonus now that the twins can return to monster hunting full time.
The alternative to this is that Genn could spend some time taking levels in Moonchild and gain complete control of her lycanthropy (level five of Moonchild causes a pathological lycanthrope to become a natural one) if you wanted to have her take the lycanthropy to its fullest extent/gain complete control of her transformations/be in control even when she transforms.

That could also be antoher way of trigger the trap by the way, because by reach level five of Moonchild you become the start of your own bloodline, and thus would no longer be able to be controlled by the one who originally made you a pathological lycanthrope...
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Re: The War in the Core

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Worked on a better map

1. Niall MacGranin, in a bold move spurred on by a combination of the Pave of Hazlan's urging, and the funding of the Hazlani branch of the Ildithaan, lays claim to a territory which he dubs Forfaria (marked in a white dash) which he defines as the land to the south and west of Mount Sawtooth. This "Forfaria" lies across three domains, it includes the Kilovan March in Hazlan, which is territory that MacGranin's people have "held" since their settlements formation, also the entirety of the domain of Forlorn, MacGranin here is thinking that no-one else is laying claim to it, so why not? and finally, and most problematically it includes a chunk of Barovia, including the town of Immol. This would represent a unification of the two Forfarian settlements, and amusingly, link Forfarmax to the country it already belongs to (Hazlan) via the Warlocks Road.

2. Niall leads his "army", a ragtag bunch of highlanders and a bagpiper, to Immol, where they are welcomed as liberators by the towns burgomeister (which is where a lot of the Hazlani funding went)

3 Othmar makes his selection of generals, to the Rivtoffs goes the glory of taking Castle Ravenloft, to the Vistin, the spoils of Vallaki and beyond.

4. Duke Rivtoff divides his forces, he places his cousin in charge of the smaller force and orders him to take the village of Barovia and the Castle beyond.

5. Duke Vistin leads his men through the densely forested valleys to the shores of Lake Zarovich, several days are spent constructing rafts in the forest and at night the army slips across the lake and besieges the town, which promptly surrenders

6. While not in direct defiance of Othmar's instructions, Duke Rivtoff demonstrates a certain level of scorn for the Prince by leading his larger army south, through the eastern section of the Tsolenka Pass, hoping to make his way to the southern towns of the former Gundarak before the Vistin forces.

7. Duke Rivtoff reaches the southern poin of the Tsolenka Pass and faces a decision, does he turn west and strike at the southern towns immediately, or does he move his forces to occupy the seemingly unoccupied ruin just over the border in Forlorn? If the journey through the Svalich woods has been harrowing enough, maybe the Castle Tristenoira seems like a shelter of sorts. If so it seems unlikely that this force will get any further
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Re: The War in the Core

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jamesfirecat wrote:
thekristhomas wrote:
How George would respond to the death of Natalia is interesting. She was his nemesis, and the only woman he loved. Also after years of hunting it was his nieces that succeeded, that might break some men. On the other hand, it's now over because with the death of her trigger Gennifer's lycanthropy will never again manifest, in fact Genn is now immune to lycanthropy, quite a bonus now that the twins can return to monster hunting full time.
The alternative to this is that Genn could spend some time taking levels in Moonchild and gain complete control of her lycanthropy (level five of Moonchild causes a pathological lycanthrope to become a natural one) if you wanted to have her take the lycanthropy to its fullest extent/gain complete control of her transformations/be in control even when she transforms.

That could also be antoher way of trigger the trap by the way, because by reach level five of Moonchild you become the start of your own bloodline, and thus would no longer be able to be controlled by the one who originally made you a pathological lycanthrope...
That certainly is a way that Genn could remove any threat she might be to others, and if Natalia was expecting to create a pack member but instead found a rival alpha, armed and with allies, that would be a nice turnabout. I think as well that if the progress in Moonchild was framed in terms of mystical discipline (TBH I don't know the mechanic) that might suit Genn's studious nature.

I'm not sure that embracing the "monstrous" nature of her curse would suit one of the heirs of Van Richten, however. Again, I'm not familiar with how it works, but if Moonchild has associated risks then I can't see Genn accepting those risks while the "progenitor" lycanthrope is known and therefore a cure is possible. Once Natalia was dead and the threat removed. though, I'm not sure Genn would actually go through with the cure, because IIRC there are also risks involved in that. That is not to say that I see Genn as in any way risk averse but I think she might consider it unnecessary (also if she's not cured she is effectively immune to lycanthropy) YMMV
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Re: The War in the Core

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If the castle invasion force loses some of the higher level priests (and associated loss of church power), it could cause the simmering between the Hazlani branch and the Vassi branch to explode into a full blown schism. Especially when spell slingers are shown to be rather effective against 'night feeders' and troops start thinking naughty thoughts about how useful arcane magic can be.

An idle side note: If things go completely pear shaped for the Castle invasion force, they may go for scorched earth. If they can't have the castle no one can - so they have their sappers start a little excavation project - at the bottom of the pillar that the castle sits on.
Someone sent me a postcard picture of the earth. On the back they had written, "Wish you were here."
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Re: The War in the Core

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DustBunny wrote:If the castle invasion force loses some of the higher level priests (and associated loss of church power), it could cause the simmering between the Hazlani branch and the Vassi branch to explode into a full blown schism. Especially when spell slingers are shown to be rather effective against 'night feeders' and troops start thinking naughty thoughts about how useful arcane magic can be.

An idle side note: If things go completely pear shaped for the Castle invasion force, they may go for scorched earth. If they can't have the castle no one can - so they have their sappers start a little excavation project - at the bottom of the pillar that the castle sits on.
I'm thinking that the war definitely brings the division between the churches of the Lawgiver to a head, not only because the value of arcanists is proved, but also because of the losses involved in this and the Tepestian campaign, Othmar's position, and possibly the position of most of the Vaasi establishment, is under threat of revolution. There is even the possibility that the seat of Lawgiver orthodoxy might transfer to Hazlan if Nova Vaasa descends into chaos.

It falls outside the focus of this thread, but there seems to exist the possibility that Hazlik might kinda succeed in his genocidal schemes around about this time. I imagine that while his plan to kill the mulan might succeed, his plan to swap bodies with Eleni probably won't go smoothly, leaving him dead, or not fully in control of Eleni's body etc, regardless, one would have to assume that Eleni of Toyalis would be a different kind of leader, assuming she could become leader, in a country where the ruling race has just died.

The fallout for Nova Vaasa, to a large extent, depends on Malken's plans for, not just the nation, but also the Hiregaard scion to which Malken is transferred. I'm imagining that the curse would be transferred to Stepan Ivan Hiregaard, skipping a generation to saddle Malken with a youthful vigorous opponent. If that happened it might wrong foot Malken, who probably assumes he will possess one of the older Hiregaards.

It has already been suggested that if the prestige of the Church of the Lawgiver falls far enough, that Malken might resurrect his Cult of Sehkmaa, another possibility is that it re-emerges independently of his schemes, possibly in the hands of a rival.

As for Othmar, I'm guessing that the war against Barovia will be an adventure too far for Malken. I'm guessing that in general, Malken was not particularly opposed to the Tepestian campaign, in fact because of the specific difficulties and turmoil that it caused the elderly Tristen he might have enjoyed it, he certainly would have profiteered in some way from it. The war in Barovia, though, is simply foolishness from Malken's perspective, and as useful as Othmar has been to him, his time has passed.

I'm thinking that first Malken would release the details of Othmar's criminal dealings and behaviors, and wait for the Hiregaards loyalty to the law to do the work of dragging him toward trial. I don't imagine he'd make it to trial, particularly if Malken had switched to Stepan, I think he would want to place evidence that made it clear to the young lawman that it was actually he who had assassinated the disgraced Prince.
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Re: The War in the Core

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Had another thought (well, an extension of an earlier thought really) on Malken's motivation with regards the Tepestian conquest.

I imagine it might be a point of pride for Tristen Hiregaard that he is regarded as a hero in Tepest. Sure, he is thought of very highly in Nova Vaasa, but in his home nation he is aware that all his good works do not compare to the evil he does while he is Malken. Kelee, on the other hand lies over the border, where Malken cannot touch it, and as the elderly Tristen nears death, he takes some small comfort in knowing that the good that he did for the people of Tepest will never be despoiled by his evil alter-ego.

That doesn't sit well with Malken, the prayers of the population of Kelee sting him, not from any power inherent to them, but merely because he is aware of them, but he has a plan. There was talk of a road to Darkon through Tepest even before the tortuous Strygoi Road was opened, and Malken encouraged it. Something of a speculation bubble was formed as Malken's agents spread rumors of the profits to be made. His criminal network began purchasing the debts of any investors in the plan so that he could apply pressure when needed. Pushing the country to war became a simple matter once most of the Five Families were heavily invested.

He might have been a little surprised by the calls for government action from representatives of the lower classes, the speculation bubble having spread passed it's normal bounds, luring in those who could ill afford to lose. In fact, small collectives of shopkeepers and merchants had been formed for the purpose of investing in the Tepestian Road, and it was with a combination of annoyance and amusement that Malken discovered that even some of those who had been paid to spread false positive rumors were also investing. None of this ran contrary to Malken's plan for Tepest though, so he paid it little mind.

Malken's victory over Tristen will be complete when Othmar puts Tristen in charge of the invasion force, because Tristen will know that he will not be able to cross the border, and therefore the horrors that follow will be done in his name and he will be unable to stop them. I'm thinking that this would be a good place for Tristen to die and the curse move to Stepan, particularly if Tristen was hoping that Stepan could lead in his stead. For myself, and you might disagree on this, I would quite like Malken to leave Tristen a little while before Tristen dies, enough time for them to have a face to face conversation. Tristen would have a moment of feeling free of him, and then Malken would explain how he had pushed the country to war just to spoil Tristen's memory in Kelee and the rest of Tepest, and how he would now spend a lifetime tormenting Tristen's own grandchild, and through him the rest of Tristen's family, and how Othmar, to whom Tristen had remained loyal, was nothing but a depraved pawn of Malken's the whole time.

Malken seems to think he has completely defeated Tristen, and he has, but in doing so he has unleashed forces that he cannot (or at least fails to control) Othmar's success in Tepest makes him think he is a great military leader who no longer needs to listen to Malken, and invades Barovia. Those investment collectives quickly become a political force once the Tepestian campaign is over and the road still fails to be built. To top it off Stepan Hiregaard is a young, vigorous lawman, who, it should be pointed out, grew up in Nova Vaasa (unlike Sir Tristen, or indeed Malken) and knows it's ways.

I imagine that the revolution that follows the Barovian war could see a complete dismantling of Malken's power base, from top to bottom. He will choose to eliminate Othmar himself, but the shift in power that follows this could see most of Malken's agents useless if not dead. Stepan's hounding should see to a large proportion of the rest, as one could easily see anti-corruption/organised crime to be a priority of the new regime.

Malken then, would be left, to some extent, as we first found him, an enraged serial killer trapped in the body of the lawman hunting him, his victory over Tristen seeming hollow but compelled to do the same.
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Re: The War in the Core

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Assuming that the Barovian expulsion of Nova Vaasi is the final phase of the war, then it breaks down into basically three stages, with a prologue, some interludes and an epilogue.

Prologue

Somehow (this is something that we still haven't figured out, any ideas?) Mallochio frees himself from Madame Eva's curse, allowing him free movement again. He attends a secret meeting in Falkovnia attended by both Drakov and Gerda von Aubreker, newly Baroness of Lamordia (who is under the malign influence of her "therapist", Celeste Loverde-D'Honaire). There an accord is struck, Lamordia will join the alliance against the Four Nations, attacking Dementlieu when the time is ripe, Invidia will attack Borca, and Falkovnia shall invade Richemulot. With it's allies eliminated, Gerda is told, Mordent will have no option but to come to terms, and peace shall be restored swiftly. Once Gerda leaves Drakov admits that he will destroy Mordent once Richemulot is fallen, then march on Dementlieu and kill the Lamordian bitch before she has had chance to warm the throne. Malochio also plans to invade Barovia, once Borca has been dealt with, and for Borca to be dealt with requires a certain event to occur.

The Axis Attacks

Malochio' dual strategy of sending Invidian merchants to trade in Borca and mercenaries to raid it's borders has the desired effect. Both channel money and power into the hands of Ivan Dilisnya, who eventually feels in the position to strike against his cousin. Ivana Boritsi is murdered, and Ivan becomes darklord of Borca. Which was what the Axis was waiting for, immediately Drakov closes the food markets to foreign trade, Dementlieu is hit hard and unrest begins to ferment within days. As Falkovnia mobilises, Dementlieu moves it's forces to the Falkovnian border. Invidian forces mass on the Borcan border, but Malochio is with Drakov, transporting him across the border to Richemulot so that Drakov can finally lead his troops into battle. Once Drakov is in Richemulot, Malochio leads his Falkovnian mercenaries into Borca.

Drakov's advance through Richemulot is swift, and this pleases the Kingfuhrer. The cities surrender after their troops have joined in classical warfare and been defeated by superior troops and tactics. Drakov is delighted, he hardly impales anyone. He finally leads his army to Pont-a-Museau, the last Richemuloise city to fall, where an advance force has already established the lines of a seige. He looks forward to the glory of the victory ahead.

With Richemulot and Borca under attack, and the food supply running out, unrest in Dementlieu (fueled in part by the Living Brain) breaks out into all out Revolutione, the mob storms D'Honaire's palace (along with several others, Guignol included) and swift executions take place. The Living Brain becomes darklord of Lamordia, and for Gerda von Aubreker, the time is ripe. Using marine forces Lamordian troops storm the capitol under the banner of "restoring order". The Living Brain is delighted with this turn of events, with his sister within reach he might finally regain his birthright as heir to Lamordia, and so his influence which fueled the uprising, also helped calm it. By the time he finally gets to Gerda and discovers that she is already "controlled" and beyond his grasp, the Lamordians are firmly ensconced.

Ivan might be darklord of Borca, but he still hasn't got control of the nation's borders, even though he expected to gain that ability once his cousin died (perhaps because he expected it, the Dark Powers can be cruel). Malochio may or may not have been banking on it but two things happen once Malochio's mercenaries start attacking and it becomes apparent that the borders are not closed, Ivan retreats to his estate and refuses to lead his nation, and Malochio teleports to Invidia and leads his massed forces across the border. One by one the Borcan cities fall, until Malochio has Ivan trapped in Degravo. Ivan is left there, under guard, as Malochio doesn't want to risk becoming Borca's darklord. He intends to rule Borca as he did in Invidia, with the true lord of the land powerless.

to be cntd...
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Re: The War in the Core

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Interlude: the Verbrekan Situation

Canny business man Nathan Timothy, has been able to smell the war coming for some time. He knows that when the metal starts hitting the meat, people are going to want the basics, food and guns. He is also aware that come that time, there's a fair chance that those who normally supply said resources, namely Falkovnia and Lamordia, may be indisposed to trade. With that in mind he has been stockpiling guns, gunpowder, ammo and foodstuffs in warehouses up and down the Musarde, mostly in Verbrek but also in Invidia. He intends to profit greatly when the supply of these materials dries up from other sources.

Alfred Timothy doesn't care about Nathan's schemes, but he does want his father to accept a direct challenge. Alfred knows his father has been avoiding him since the GC meant they were no longer separated by a border. He sees the stocked warehouses as useful pricks in his fathers skin, hoping that Nathan will turn and face him if annoyed enough by his losses. Alfred hopes that by defeating his father, werewolf to werewolf, any doubts as to his position as "Alpha of Alphas" will be removed.

When the hostilities break out, Alfred orders his followers to raid the warehouses of his father and torch them, to burn their "human taint" from the land. Most of the raids are committed by bands of Stonebreakers (those werewolves who favour the man-wolf form and tend toward primitive lifestyles) loyal to Alfred, but the warehouse in Alyssum is taken by the Sheepskinners (werewolves who favour human form and who live among people) who opt to hide the food and munitions, for trade or use later.

The Fall of the House of Drakov

It did not occur to Drakov that he was walking into a trap, but months before, wererat "scientists" had created a "usable" strain of the Becoming Plague, while not as virulent as originally hoped, the disease could not spread outside the domain for example, but it had the advantage that every human infected with lycanthropy by the Becoming Plague could only be triggered by Jacqueline Renier who also fully controlled them while transformed.

The Plague had been released hours after the Falkovnians first crossed the border, every step they had taken in Richmulot just infected more of their number. Drakov was himself unaffected by

to be cntd... real life...

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the Plague, but the vast majority of his troops had unknowingly already succumbed. When Jacqueline triggered the transformation, the Falkovnian camp became a boiling mass of chaos as the infected transformed into ratmen and started savagely attacking their comrades. Drakov fled from the camp, slaying wererats branded with the falcon to get a horse and trying desperately to make it to the border. The horde of rats took his horse from under him, eating the beast even as they lifted Drakov's still alive body off it, and carried him to Jacqueline.

In front of a crowd of wererats (most of whom would remember nothing of this in just a few days) Jacqueline executed Drakov, by pushing him off a tower and onto a waiting stake, impaling him. It took him a while to die, as he slid down the length of the spike piercing his abdomen he watched as the Renier woman descended from the tower to look directly into his eyes as his last breath left him. Jacqueline Renier becomes darklord of Falkovnia.

All that is left to her now is the actual conquest of Falkovnia. She orders those remaining Falkovnian soldiers (still in wererat form) into cells and transformes the rest of the populous back to human form. A rousing speech is given to the gathered (and confused) crowd, vague explanations involving battle magic and the fog of war are given and the call is put out for the liberation of Falkovnia. The Shadow Insurrection, led by Gondegal takes it's chance and, with the assitance of the Spawn of the Lizard, starts an uprising against Drakov Loyalists in the east, even as Jacqueline Renier leads her forces to liberate the west. They meet at Lekar and together take the city and finish off remaining Drakovs (with the possible exception of Vigo, brother/uncle of Malochio)

Meanwhile, in Borca Malochio's (for those who haven't been paying attention, Malochio is, unknown to Drakov, and probably himself, Drakov's grandson) victory nears completion, with only the siege of Vor Ziyden left to resolve. That is the moment that Strahd von Zarovich chooses to strike. First he strikes at Ivan, sending vampire minions to strike the darklord down in his cells in Degravo. Malochio experiences a moment of panic as he fears he might have become darklord in Ivan's stead. Instead, Borca's borders go into flux, allowing Strahd to cross the border, and lead a force to relieve Vor Ziyden personally. With a fully mobilised Barovia against him, Malochio's war in Borca begins to falter. Unbeknownst to Strahd, his crossing into Borca temporarily weakens his own borders.

Gabrielle Aderre (Drakov's daughter) seizes the opportunity of her son's absence and attempts an uprising against him in Invidia. Desperate for more troops she sends Matton to request the aid of the wolfweres of Kartakass, and Harkon Lukas, who hopes to rule over a country of renown, agrees. He sends his army, a small but well intentioned group of peasants, farmers and youths, into the Nharov valley in Barovia,

to be cnted...

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taking those small southern villages, including Lowenturm, with the assistance of a shadowing force of wolfweres lead by Matton(who the peasants believe to be rangers and scouts). By the time they reach Invidia, they feel like hardened veterans.

Enraged by the presence of a wolfwere army so close to his territory and determined to strike at those warehouses of his fathers that lie outside Verbrek, Alfred declares a "holy" war, and encourages his werewolf followers to attack and raid in Invidia. The Sheepskinners of Alyssum pick up their lately seized guns and head to Karina, which surrenders more to gain access to Alyssum's stores of food than from fear of their guns. Azrael of Sithicus also seeks to profit from the chaos and sends troops north into the Breadth forest, they head toward Karina, but are warned off by the sight of Alyssum guns guarding the town walls.

Gabrielle leads the bulk of her forces, now bolstered by Kartakaan troops and wolfweres, to Curriculo, to liberate the town from forces loyal to her son and to prevent further expansion of Alfred's raids. Werewolf scouts report the approaching force to Alfred who gathers a horde of Stonebreakers to face the enemy. Possibly inspired by the Wolf God, he declares that each of them shall represent him, the Silver Wolf, in the coming battle, to this end, white lime warpaint is applied to the werewolf warriors' coats, and for the select few, a dusting of metal filings (not silver obvs) applied by the High Priest himself.

Early in the battle, while facing Malochio loyalists with her mother, Lucita Aderre (grand-daughter of Drakov) is struck down by a blow from a pole ax, she dies instantly. Matton had been running to save the life of the girl he believed to be his daughter, and saw everything, as the girl died, he realised that he had been played for a fool for years, for if the girl had been his, her wolfwere blood would have turned the blade aside. As much in grief for the daughter that was not his as in anger over his lover's betrayal, Matton abandons Gabrielle, taking the wolfweres with him.

The battle soon turned into a nightmare for Gabrielle as a horde of silvered werewolves descended on the town. She staggered about the town in grief and shock, killing wolf-man after wolf-man, each she struck down seemed to wear the face of Bahkolis, the werewolf king who she had slain all those years before to take the land of Invidia for herself. One by one what was left of her army fell, as each died it horribly resembled Gabrielle's mother in her death throws, killed all those years ago by the Silver Wolf. The horde fell upon her and though she fought hard, she fell, as the last breath left her, she saw her reflection in a puddle for an instant, and realised that she had become her mother, doomed by her daughter despite everything. Invidia's borders go into flux.

The flux of Invidia's borders combined with the weakness in Barovia's borders causes a border shift which opens up the Nharov valley to Harkon Lukas. Sensing his opportunity he bounds across the border, heading at breakneck speed to meet up with his wolfweres already in the theatre of war. Eventually meeting up with the remains of Mattons force he leads them back to Castle Hunadora, where they kill the last of the Gundar rebels and begin to prepare for the werewolves' inevitable assault.

Meanwhile Alfred has also sensed his opportunity and heads across the border, ordering his Stonebreaker troops to take Castle Loupet, while he himself heads into Karina. For Karina is the home to the last of Nathan's warehouses, and is probably the location of the old dog himself, the time has been appointed for the confrontation. Nathan isn't hiding, and Alfred finds him in Bog Street, after issuing a sermon on the ways of the Wolf God (which amuses Nathan) Alfred issues a challenge. Nathan beats Alfred, Alfred gets back up. Nathan beats Alfred again, Alfred gets back up. Nathan refuses to kill his son, not out of love, but because he doesn't want to be trapped into being a darklord again, and he walks away. As he does so, in desperation Alfred grabs a silver-loaded pistol and shoots, catching Nathan in the arm, the old dog turns and laughs "The works of man can be useful, hey son?". Abandoned by all but his most loyal followers, Alfred occupies Castle Loupet and prepares for the inevitable wolfwere assault.

With Invidia now in the hands of "beasts" and under pressure from Barovian forces in Borca, Malochio vanishes. The borders begin to stabalise, Falkovnia is now gone, absorbed into Richemulot, likewise Borca is absorbed into Barovia (though Barovia's borders remain unstable while Strahd is in Borca) Invidia is divided between Verbrek in the west and Kartakass in the east, with Sithicus gaining the Breadth forest, Kartakass also gains the Nharov Valley which links to it's new territory in the former Invidia.
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Re: The War in the Core

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Interlude: Inajira and the Tripartite Fang

Harkon Lukas was not the only one to sense the weakening of Barovia's borders, the fiend Inajira, ever the foe of Strahd, was also aware and sought to use this to his own ends, putting several plans into motion.

He had, for some time been aware of certain items, baleful to Strahd, which always seemed to return, though some unknown means, to Barovia, most often to the Castle Ravenloft itself. With Strahd away, the fiend quickly gained possession of these items and sought to put them in the hands of "heroes" who might strike the vampire down while he was still not yet returned from Borca, which might, the fiend surmised, kill Strahd finally.

Not wishing to rely on one plan, the fiend, through intermediaries contacted Lyssa von Zarovich, herself only recently recovered from a bout of poisoning induced by Strahd, gave her the location of the remains of one Leo Dilisnya, who attempted to assassinate Strahd and was turned into a vampire for his troubles, and the means of harnessing the now bestial former Duke Gundar, a vampire lord whose territory now belonged to Strahd.

Lyssa recovers Leo's bones, leaving some dead Wachters in her wake, and performs a blood ritual in her defiled druidic grove. As the blood of a virgin drips over the bones, Leo's spirit, trapped for centuries within the dusty bones, begins to awaken. The mist begins to creep across his bones, and suddenly Lyssa's chants change to a ritual of binding. Leo finds himself permanently trapped in mist form, bound by spells to his bones which Lyssa keeps in a trapped ossuary, he wishes his revenge upon Strahd but chafes under Lyssa's control, nevertheless he is an intelligent advisor and wily tactician.

Gundar was not difficult to find, the near-animal intelligence of the brute had led him back to near his home and he wandered the forested hills of Southern Barovia, the former Gundarak. Leashing a vampire of such an age, let alone one driven mad, proved a more difficult task, and Lyssa sacrificed many of her druidic minions to the task. Once it was done, the Tripartite Fang was ready to strike against not just Strahd's control of, but also his connection to, the land of Barovia.
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Re: The War in the Core

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The Iron Crusade

It was Myar Hiregaard, Nova Vaasan ambassador to Darkon and son of Sir Tristen Hiregaard of Faerhaaven, who negotiated the construction of the road from Mayvin through Tepest to Liara, and he who arranged the contracts with the gnomish elders of Mayvin for the construction of the Darkonian end with it's expensive bridges. The final bridge, to be located in the north of Tepest, crossing the River of Tears, became the responsibility of the Vaasi Engineering Corps after earlier Tepestian expeditions failed. Though they completed the bridge, they were never heard from again as vast numbers of goblins swarmed their camp and seized the bridge as their own.

The Nova Vaasan elite were heavily invested in the road venture, and under pressure from their creditors to see a return on that investment. They turned to Othmar to send a military force to pacify the Wretchwood and finish construction of the road. This was a plan of Malken's to enact a final revenge upon the elderly Sir Tristen who nears death. Sir Tristen, while well regarded in his home land was also thought of as a hero in Tepest, early in the nation's history his generosity had saved many lives, and prayers were still said for his health in services in Kellee. The old knight drew some comfort from the fact that while the good that he did in his own country was despoiled by the chaos wrought by his alter-ego, Kellee, and it's remembrance of him was beyond the darklord's reach. Malken knew this and had financed much of the roads construction himself, as well as extending loans to those nobles investing in the speculation bubble that had grown around the scheme.

Cruelly, Malken had Othmar make Tristen leader of the invasion force, knowing the old man could no more cross the border than he could. With Othmar and the assembled troops watching Tristen Hiregaard suffered some form of apoplexy at a point along the road to Kellee. Stepan Ivan Hiregaard, the old duke's grandson and Constable of Kantora, who had been accompanying his grandfather as one of his lieutenants, rushed him back to Faerhaaven while Othmar himself led the army into Kellee.

Back in his chambers in Faerhaaven it was clear that Sir Tristen was dying, much of his family was scattered by their duty, but his grandson stayed by his bedside. As evening drew near, a lightness of being overcame him and he called his grandson to him, "He is gone, I can feel it, after all this time, at the end, I am free of him!"

"No, old friend, I am not gone, I am merely reborn," replied Malken through the lips of Stepan, now twisted and grotesque, "I'll admit, I had hoped it would happen this way, this moment of release for you, this promise of an afterlife untainted by my presence. It gave us the chance for a face to face, how different things might be now if we had this chance before now hey? I wanted you to know a few things before you went to your reward, some things to chew over for eternity. First, and this should be obvious by now, I now inhabit the body of your grandson, as I was to you, so shall I be to him, all his loves and achievements I shall destroy, and through him I shall continue to torment your family. Once I am done with him I shall move into his son or grandson, and so on for ever. That suicide you've thought about so many times, you should have done it before you had any children, and boy am I glad I stopped killing yours."

The old man tried to reach for the monster, but failed. "Second, also I'm sure you've guessed at least partially that I'm behind this action in Tepest. Sure, the army are only there to kill goblins, but once those puffed up village priests start blustering around Vaasi nobility, the blood will run faster than a plains cat. It's all in your name, of course, your son negotiated all the deals, you were appointed as leader of the army, and just for fun, once your dead, I'll have someone suggest they name it "Hiregaard's Road", you'd like that wouldn't you? To be remembered by the people of Kellee as the man responsible for the war dead? Yes, Tristen that's right the reason I'm killing them now is because you helped them then, because you thought they were safe I had to show you they weren't, I know you understand that."

"All this was made simple by Third, Prince Othmar, your king, the boy you raised after the death of his father, who you served as Regent for, who you stepped aside for, who you supported when he broke the Cycle of Stewards and who you have remained loyal to despite his obvious desire for tyranny...murdered his own father, your friend, and what's more, he did it at my prompting and has been my willing agent for decades!" Malken looked down, the old man had passed, "Shame, I hope he heard all of that." and left.

Meanwhile, the Pave of Hazlan was worried by the actions of his Vaasi neighbour. There had long been friction between the Hazlani branch of the Church of the Lawgiver and the Nova Vaasan branch. For while the Vaasan branch was a powerful political entity, the Hazlani church existed by the sufferance of Hazlik the Red Mage, and the Himmelsk Naeve's insistence that arcane magic was a heresy and Hazlik and his apprentices heretics was an impractical position for the church to take. The Pave feared a schism, what's more with Othmar flexing his muscles in the north, the Pave feared that the schism might be followed by an invasion.

The Pave hit upon a plan to re-direct Othmar's power away from Hazlan, without involving Hazlik, who might just decide that having priests around was more trouble than it was worth (like he used to do with wizards). He approached Niall MacGranin, lord of Forfarmax with a proposition, if Niall could raise a force to take Immol in Barovia, thus unifying the Forfarian population, the Pave would provide funding and see that Nial gets recognised as Lord of Forfaria, a vassal of Hazlan (the Pave cannot promise this, but he knows MacGranin has been uncomfortable with the unofficial nature of his people's settlement within Hazlan). In a bold move, Nial agrees, provided his claim on the lands of Forlorn also be recognised (Nial knows enough to know that claim to be essentially worthless, but still, the Castle Forfarmax lies over the border in Forlorn, and he does have a claim on it).

Funding is provided by one Rasputin Khritnikov an interested moneylender from Toyalis, and secretly the leader of the Hazlani branch of the Ildithaan, based in Immol. The Ildithaan are interested because the area in question is largely in that section of Hazlan that was once Bluetspur, and hope that increased access to that area will yield relics of the Thaani or items of power used by their Illithid masters.

The Forfarian army, a ragtag collection of highlanders and a bagpiper march on Immol, fortunately for them, with Strahd in Borca, there is no threat of choking fog at the border, possibly equally fortunately they come heavy with bribes for the burgomeister, and the town soon declares it's liberation from the devil Strahd. Immediately the Pave sends messengers north to Othmar, congratulating him on the first conquest of the Iron Crusade, and telling him that his Hazlani brethren under Bane had taken his example and struck against the unbeliever in the south and had been victorious. He then sat back and prayed to Bane that Othmar would take the bait.

He needn't have worried, Malken's predictions for Tepest had come true and the Nova Vaasans had ended up in armed conflict with the Tepestians, and Othmar now considered himself something of the military leader. When the Pave's messages reached him, Othmar's war had reached something of an impasse, as Tespestian forces occupied the northwest bank of the Vaughn Dnar river having burnt the bridge. Content that the Tepestians were no longer a threat, contained as they were, he ordered a small force remain to complete the road, and began gathering forces from across the whole nation for an assault on Barovia.

As the rival lords of Bergovitsa, the Rivtoffs and Vistin compete to lead the force into Barovia, Othmar chooses the Rivtoffs to lead the assault on Castle Ravenloft, taking all the glory, and the Vistin to avoid the village of Barovia and take Vallaki, taking all the spoils. A disgruntled Duke Rivtoff divides his force in two, sending the smaller force to complete the ordered mission of taking the castle, while leading his larger force into the eastern end of the Tsolenka Pass, hoping to take the towns of southern Barovia before the Vistin.

Meanwhile, in Borca, Strahd's conquest is complete and he stands as liberator of the Balinoks and unifier of the Balok people. The lost lands of his father's kingdom, gone for generations, that he had often gazed upon from Yester Hill, were now restored to his family. An evening coronation would be held in Levcharest, and he would finally wear his father's crown, as King of Barovia. Strahd never made it to his coronation, as adventurers, aided by Inajira, struck him down with weapons brought from his homeland. Strahd's connection to the land was weak (he had intended to include some version of the "I am the Land" ritual in the coronation) and at that moment Barovia lost the territories of Immol and the Nharov Valley. His spirit flees towards Castle Ravenloft to be made anew from the land.

to be cntd
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Re: The War in the Core

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OK I'll admit it, it gets a bit sketchy here, Strahd returns to the castle in spirit form (?) to find it occupied by the Vaasi army, with the Tripartite Fang attempting to usurp DLship through some ritual.

I'm thinking that there just aren't enough adventures based in or around Castle Ravenloft :lol: so I thought that we could take a section of said Castle and divide it up between monstrous Loyalist forces of Strahd, the Vaasi troops and the Tripartite Fang with Lyssa's druidic minions.

I'm wondering about some Macguffin to get PCs involved, how about this? The PC's are the ones who struck down Strahd with the weapons of Barovia (sunsword, holy icon etc) and in doing so formed some kind of psychic bond with the dispossessed darklord, who informs them of the threat posed by the Tripartite Fang and goads them into action.

Maybe Barov's crown needs to be carried back and placed in Strahd's family tomb, to allow the DL to re-establish his connection to the land. Which would force the PCs into the area of the castle controlled by Strahds servants, who of course, will be difficult to persuade of the fact that the same heroes who struck down Strahd now seek to restore him.

Then with Strahd weakened (if he's even cohesive at this point) the heroes have to face the Tripartite Fang alone, fighting their way through Lyssa's druidic minions to the upper floors (?) to stop the dread ritual that would bind the land to them.

As the campaign thus far has been "world changing" I'm suggesting (tentatively) that an "ultimate victory scenario" would involve the PC's actions not only leading to the defeat of the Tripartite Fang, but also, potentially, if they've done really well, trapping Strahd within the choking fog ring that surrounds the village of Barovia. Yes, Strahd has conquered Borca and unified the Balok people, but trapped he cannot govern it, the towns and cities south and west of Barovia begin to organise themselves. Maybe the Vaasi construct a road through the Tsolenka Pass, eliminating the need to use the Svalich Pass, within a generation or two, Castle Ravenloft and the village of Barovia might have all but vanished from the minds of most Barovians. Vallaki might return to a holiday village on the lake, where urbane city dwellers from Levcharest or further afield might come to take the air and stroll through the picturesque valleys.

"What a quaint village" one might say

"And look, there's a castle overlooking it!" the other might reply

"I'm sure I can see a light on, if we hurry we can make it there by nightfall"

"Yes, that seems like a fine idea, ooh look, gypsies!"
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