Border Closures
Posted: Thu Aug 25, 2016 8:08 pm
What are your favorite border closures?
Which ones would you perhaps change?
Why?
Which ones would you perhaps change?
Why?
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You know, now that you said that it got me thinking. Border closures are, in a sense, a built-in way to keep RL gothic at its core. If there were no border closures then hell yes, Falkovnia would up its ante and bring war again and again to its neighbours...and in a much more one-sided manner, IMO.ewancummins wrote:
I think that no border closures would make for a much more dangerous Falkovnia. And Darkon.
And more wars in general, I think. Darklords who are rulers are likely to use border closures to stop invasions, but if that is not an option...
Darkon wouldn't be any more dangerous in my opinion because aside from that one "tiff" with Strhad which was more about settling a personal issue (and there's no real chance to properly finish the mater now that Tepest is between their nations) than actual territorial concerns, Azalin is too busy focusing on leaving/resurrecting his son to worry about mundane things like invading people.ewancummins wrote:I think I might have used a border closure only once, and that was an Island of Terror sealed by the Mists.
Try to leave and you just wander back in.
I think that no border closures would make for a much more dangerous Falkovnia. And Darkon.
And more wars in general, I think. Darklords who are rulers are likely to use border closures to stop invasions, but if that is not an option...
Or, could it be that Azalin would be an absolutely useless tactician when it comes to the matter of war? His army, as far as I know, specializes in intel and wetwork, not invasion. Shadows, not trenches. Azalin is wholly dependant on others to assume command, similar to Drakov when his forces are deployed beyond Falkovnia, but I mean dependant in an ignorant sense.jamesfirecat wrote:
Darkon wouldn't be any more dangerous in my opinion because aside from that one "tiff" with Strhad which was more about settling a personal issue (and there's no real chance to properly finish the mater now that Tepest is between their nations) than actual territorial concerns, Azalin is too busy focusing on leaving/resurrecting his son to worry about mundane things like invading people.
Basically, if you imagine Ravenloft as a prison, except for that one time when Azalin had to at least try and shank the jerk who who made him do... several degrading things when he was a new inmate and didn't have his own gang yet, Azalin is now unquestionably the biggest most dangerous dude in the pen, and he's much more interested in digging a tunnel out than trying to knock down the adjoining walls of his cell (the one that lead into other prisons cells) just so that he could have a little bit more room to himself.
If you need proof, just consider the fact that Vlad insists on invading Darkon every decade or so, can't close his own domain, but Azalin has never bothered to send a retaliatory strike of his own... or at least a retaliatory strike of such magnitude/nature that it would be obvious enough that people would notice. (Azalin may have slipped some agents of the Kargat into Falkovnia to help the rebels, but he never tried to unleash an undead army against them the way he did against Barovia...)
ewancummins wrote:But would ambitious Darkonese barons be a threat?
Maybe they are kept on too short a leash for that. All those parties where Azalin makes them debase themselves...
Falkovnia would become a much more dangerous country.
Not necessarily to Darkon, but definitely to the smaller domains.
Maybe Nova Vaasa would try to expand, if Prince Othmar thought adding territory would bolster his position or keep restive nobles busy.
My suggestion is go reread/go find a copy (it's on Auidable if that helps) of I Strhad the War Against Azalin, since I think it covers the one war that Azalin was ever the attacker in better than any other source I know that has.Five wrote:
Or, could it be that Azalin would be an absolutely useless tactician when it comes to the matter of war? His army, as far as I know, specializes in intel and wetwork, not invasion. Shadows, not trenches. Azalin is wholly dependant on others to assume command (similar to Drakov when his forces are deployed beyond Falkovnia, but I mean dependant in an ignorant sense), and his magic is...AoE. If you're close enough to him, then he's close enough to you. But I digress.
What are Azalin's capabilities when it comes to total war? Does he even have any experience outside of "tradecraft"? I honestly don't know...
Thread drift again, I know...haha...and I apologize for it. Seriously. I'm laughing only because it's become my MO, it seems.
jamesfirecat wrote:ewancummins wrote:But would ambitious Darkonese barons be a threat?
Maybe they are kept on too short a leash for that. All those parties where Azalin makes them debase themselves...
Falkovnia would become a much more dangerous country.
Not necessarily to Darkon, but definitely to the smaller domains.
Maybe Nova Vaasa would try to expand, if Prince Othmar thought adding territory would bolster his position or keep restive nobles busy.
Azalin has spies everywhere among both the living and the dead, the human and the animal. People he appoints to rule in his stead who decide to go gavalanting off upsetting things by starting wars/creating international incidents either don't actually live long enough to carry out their plans, or live much longer than they would ever possibly desire to.
In my mind, Azalin rules Darkon in much the same way that Doctor Doom rules Latveria, I can't imagine anyone would think they could get away with something like that and not pay for it quite soon after.
Given that Nova Vassa never closes it's borders, what proof do we have that Prince Othmar has ever even seen a border closure/is aware of that particular quirk of Ravenloft?
In my mind it makes much more sense to argue that Othmar hasn't have Nova Vassa invade Tepest, because he wants to completely get his own house in order/make him being king of Nova Vassa a fact not just in practice but in name also, and probably squish the two families that don't agree with him, then possibly the two that have aligned with him as well eventually so that he can eliminate all others who might possibly ascend to his throne.
Thanks for the recap. I own the book, but it's been...geez, years since I read it. Probably was a new release at the time. I vaguely remember that general you mentioned and some scrying/remote viewing, but that's it man. heh Blank.jamesfirecat wrote:
My suggestion is go reread/go find a copy (it's on Auidable if that helps) of I Strhad the War Against Azalin, since I think it covers the one war that Azalin was ever the attacker in better than any other source I know that has.
To give you the short version of it.
It is open to interpretation but I always took the way Azalin was overthrown as more of a coup than an invasion, basically a bunch of guys with antimagic artifacts kick down the door, put a sword to his throat and say "leave now forever or die and we've already murdered all your servants" that or better yet, they actually did "kill" Azalin, in the sense of since he was a Lich even back then, they destroyed his physical body, forcing him to pull himself back together through his phylactery which he had hidden somewhere safe.Five wrote:
Thanks for the recap. I own the book, but it's been...geez, years since I read it. Probably was a new release at the time. I vaguely remember that general you mentioned and some scrying/remote viewing, but that's it man. heh Blank.
The Black Box mentioned that a band of mercenaries, hired by his neighbors, overthrew Azalin in his pre-RL (yet height of his power) days so that's why I assumed he was a bit of a gimp when it came to war tactics. I guess his obsession with the nature of his prison, and his escape from it, is his one potentially fatal flaw. He has seemingly yet to invest his intellect in the reason(s) behind his first topple from power: his arrogant ignorance of martial matters. Ironically, the complete opposite of Drakov...
And speaking of hired/forced/created help, if the bulk of his command is undead by nature then that's another potentially fatal flaw for his army, by nature of night cycles. Obviously Azalin would have a contingency for a nightshift-only army, but it's still a bit of a gamble to have to rely on a human host and mindless undead (I guess he wipes the memories from the human minds after the war?), even if only during the day...especially given the nature of Talon super-soldiers/primal serum schizfreaks! Nights would be brutal for any invading army (I think of the movie Dog Soldiers myself, only worse), but if that storm could be survived then progressive ground control by fresh troops during the day can be more than possible...in a Walking Dead/Sgt Rock kinda way.
Honestly, after so many campaigns, I can't see why Drakov hasn't gotten any further than he did. Automatic failure aside.