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The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 5

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Previous: The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 4

Githyanki invaders touched every part of Cimmeria. Rather than target the politically powerful they attacked mortals skilled in the martial or magical arts. Powerful warriors, magicians, and clerics disappeared as the adlishar and sarath elite of the Githyanki swept across Cimmeria. With the strongest protectors removed the Githyanki infantry invaded. They attacked the city-states, pillaged their treasuries, and enslaved the urban people of Cimmeria to provide resources and servants to the Astral Plane.

Tereman had been spying on the Githyanki using dimensional portals. He learned of the attacks before they occurred, but underestimated the scope. Thus Tracy and the Gish Trio had only been able to organize defenses for Shalerton, Crafterton, and Nomingburg. After the initial attacks failed on the strongest of those cities the Githyanki didn’t follow up with a full-scale invasion. The Lich-queen was content with the prizes she had earned across the rest of Cimmeria.

Tracy and the Gish Trio began planning how to drive back the Githyanki and defeat Bavastatner. The problems would undoubtedly be easier to manage if the alliance between the Lich-queen and Bavastatner was destroyed. Tereman’s divinations revealed that the pair had sworn their alliance on the River Styx and that Bavastatner was searching for a way out of his oath. Tracy came up with a plot. The Gish Trio would help Bavastatner achieve his goal and then with their enemies divided they would strike.

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The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 4

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Previous: The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 3

The Blue Dragon menace had returned to Cimmeria, but there was a silver lining; Tracy had returned as well. The magic tying her return to the breaking of the Blue Orb also controlled the location of her return. Tracy reappeared next to the people most likely to help her fight the blue dragons. Those best suited for reimprisoning Bavastatner and Renvesharhialisv were the Gish Trio, Galandir, Tereman, and Blendegad.

Tracy cheerfully introduced herself to the Gish Trio and the four agreed to a partnership in their mutual goals of ending the threat of the Githyanki and the blue dragons. Galandir, Tereman, and Blendegad were accomplished warriors and magicians. Additionally, they had the most experience out of anyone in fighting the Githyanki. Tracy was a trickster thief of legend and could call on the resources of Nomingburg and Crafterton to help their struggle.

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The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 3

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Harssafs look like sand demon people

Previous: The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 2

The Blue Dragon Cult had gotten closer and closer to the Blue Dragon Orb in the years since it was sealed away. They knew it was in the Shacklack Desert. They even knew which region of the desert, but that region belonged to the Harssaf people who violently repelled any intrusion.

The Githyanki provided the power the Blue Dragon Cult needed to reach the Orb’s resting place. The Lich-queen sent her best troops, the sarath, to assist in the Blue Dragon Orb’s extraction. They cut through the Harssaf warriors with ease and reached the dungeon containing the Orb. Powerful magical defenses prevented the sarath from safely penetrating the dungeon. Rather than risk their own lives, the sarath sent members of the Blue Dragon Cult ahead to their grisly deaths. With this trial and error method the Githyanki reached the inner sanctum of the dungeon. There the sarath defeated the plant and golem defenders placed by Bigby and Tentineh. With that, only one barrier stood between the villains and the Dragon Orb, Bavastatner, the blue dragon patriarch set by Tentineh to guard the Blue Orb.

Bavastatner tore through the Githyanki sarath, killing many and forcing the others to retreat. They reported their failure to the Lich-queen. She sent one of her most powerful servants, an adlishar, to capture the Blue Orb. The adlishar entered the minds of the surviving sarath to study their battle with Bavastatner. He determined that the dragon was beyond his ability to defeat. Instead of fighting it, the adlishar stole the Orb and teleported away. The Orb would not be safe for long though. Bavastatner had a powerful connection to the Orb’s magic and could sense its location. The Githyanki and the Blue Dragon Cult would have to act fast in their plan to destroy the Blue Orb.

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The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 2

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: The First Vampire of Cimmeria Part 1

Galandir, Tereman, and Blendegad split the work of investigating the Githyanki. Galandir inspected the unusual silver swords the Githyanki wielded. He discovered that they somehow attacked the body, mind, and spirit simultaneously cutting through every aspect of their victim. Tereman used divination magic to probe the other side of the dimensional portal the Githyanki used. He saw the void of the Astral Plane where the Githyanki made their home on the titanic corpse of a dead god. Blendegad examined the various alchemic items the invaders brought with them. He determined that they could be used to collect some form of energy from the Githyanki’s captives. Galandir, Tereman, and Blendegad’s investigative and adventuring work together would earn them the name “The Gish Trio.”

Gish is a word in D&D that refers to a character who is good at using magic and fighting in melee combat. The term originally described the Githyanki style of fighting! Over the years gish came to refer to all D&D characters that know how to swing a sword and cast a spell.

While the Gish Trio did their work, the Githyanki spied on the Material Plane and their eyes fell on the dragon cults of Cimmeria. After the Dragon War groups of the Draconic side’s followers began to worship the primordial beings as gods. These dragon cults ultimately sought the return of their gods by destroying the Draconic Orbs. Applying the old saying of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” the Githyanki began building an alliance with the dragon cults. Trading arcane knowledge and information about their two locations made both sides stronger.

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Cimmerian Timeline Part 29

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 28

973BCE: Shivara and Tikanile coronated one of Sadroston’s weakest children, Tachydorn, as King of Nox. The stronger of Sadroston’s remaining descendants were taken back to the White Dragons’ lair at Doom Peak. The White Dragons changed their forms and mated with their captives to produce human-dragon crossbreeds. They were raised by Shivara and Tikanile. Their draconic parents taught them magic, combat, and an icy hatred for their human ancestry.

950BCE: The white dragon children of Shivara and Tikanile were sent back to Nox to act as viceroys for the draconic couple.

876BCE: The leader of the Hobgoblins, Kruk-Sho-Kar, invaded Eastern Cimmeria. He and his army destroyed the settlements around the Aral Sea. Toffoun, Amalgami, and Jovy responded, but the scattered people of the region were unable to form an effective army.

875BCE: Jovy brought in reinforcements from Those Blasted Islands. Toffoun negotiated a deal for supplies, weapons, and armor from Queen Shortrastor of the Dominarie Mountains. Amalgami avoided open battle while training and drilling the soldiers around the Aral Sea.

874BCE: The tide of the war between the Aral Sea people and the Hobgoblins turned. The unified resistance of Toffoun, Amalgami, and Jovy’s efforts deflected the Hobgoblin advance. Kruk-Sho-Kar’s progress stalled. His leadership came into question within the Hobgoblin command structure and Kruk-Sho-Kar was forced to retreat to secure his position.

873BCE: Knowing that the Hobgoblins could return at any time, Toffoun and Amalgami organized their people into a city-state at the Dirt Plateau. They named the city, Jipangu. With the Hobgoblin threat passed, Toffoun and Amalgami left to continue their work with Tentineh to secure the Dragon Orbs.

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 30

Kingdoms Sprouting Up Part 4

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Kingdoms Sprouting Up Part 3

Dalleer
Shaelin left Dalleer in the hands of his trusted friend, Bjorn, when he left to reclaim Fangaroot. Bjorn guided the city through the Dragon War and through the Dwarven Civil War. They emerged as a city-state that nominally owed their fealty to King Yentbern in Jord.
Bjorn ruled through a golden age for Dalleer as the metropolis grew and welcomed people of all races. Eventually Bjorn died as one of the most loved rulers in all Cimmeria. The lordship did not pass to his son. Instead , Bjorn willed his position to a wise human friend of his, Ballath. Ballath took the position gladly. Outraged, Bjorn’s living family moved to Jord. Many Dwarves followed suit, not wishing to live under the rulership of a human. Ballath wished to keep a hold on the city’s past, so he took the name of Bjorn as a title in a failed attempt to keep the peace. He lead the city well, but it was not what it once was. Continue reading →

Kingdoms Sprouting Up Part 2

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Previous: Kingdoms Sprouting Up Part 1

Jipangu
While the races of the defunct Conclave were distracted by the Dragon War, the Hobgoblins of Eastern Cimmeria were preparing for war. In 876BCE the leader of the Hobgoblins, Kruk-Sho-Kar, invaded, laying waste to all of the small settlements around the Aral Sea.
Toffoun had been trying to stop the Dwarven Civil War. He realized that his efforts were getting him nothing and that his talents could be better used defending his old home in Eastern Cimmeria. Toffoun went with his old friends, Amalgami and Jovy, to stop the Hobgoblins. Together they organized the Eastern Cimmerians into an army. Continue reading →

Kingdoms Sprouting Up Part 1

Mister Ed Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , ,

The end of the Dragon War is a climax for the history of Cimmeria. I knew pretty well what built up to it. I knew the relative timing for events that happened during the war. The activities of the heroes after the war is largely dictated by the natural length of their lifespans depending on their race. It’s the transition to the next stage of Cimmerian history that I never figured out. Most of the harsh challenges of settling in the new land are resolved, so now the people just… settle. I don’t have any large conflicts for another 200 years after the Dragon War.

My next step is to set the stage for the next conflict and mix in a few smaller problems that the successors of the Dragon War Heroes will have to deal with.

Kingdom Sprouting

Smaller Settlements
After the Conclave dissolved, the Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, and Orcs of Cimmeria spread out. They settled in small communities across the land. These communities would eventually develop into the various tribes, cities, and towns that are spotted across the landscape.

Nox
Most of Sadroston’s descendants died defending Nox when the dragons attack. The remaining few signed their lives away to the White Dragon pair, Shivara and Tikanile. The White Dragons disliked ruling personally in the relatively warm city. They coronated one of Sadroston’s weakest children, Tachydorn, as King of Nox. The stronger of Sadroston’s remaining descendants were taken back to the White Dragons’ lair at Doom Peak. Continue reading →

Cimmerian Timeline Part 28

Mister Ed Classics, Dungeons and Dragons, Writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 27

1091BCE: Hephaestus presented Karnafaust with a gift, the Fierce Axe of Dwavish Lords. With the Axe came a promise, that the Dwarves were Hephaestus’s favorite people, even beyond death. King Karnafaust adopted the Axe as a symbol of his right to rule.

1045BCE: With Karnafaust’s death the Fierce Axe of Dwarvish Lords passed to Cogard. The Dwarven Regency Council held the Axe to Cogard came of age, just as they held his governmental powers.

996BCE: King Cogard turned 50 and came of age. He was coronated, but the Dwarven Regency Council did not relinquish governmental control to their designated sovereign. Cogard received the Fierce Axe of Dwarvish Lords at his coronation. Continue reading →

Mortals and Dragons

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There was no isolated incident that instigated the Dragon War. Toffoun and Amalgami killed Blackheart. Tentineh revealed his army in Greshendale. Lord Shaelin killed Kenderax. Gorwinua’s army was earliest of all, waging a guerrilla war against Bavastatner for six years before the Dragon War officially began. The combination of these events led to the meeting of the ten heroes of the Dragon War.

While the ten heroes of the Dragon War were united in their efforts, the same could not be said for all the leaders of Cimmeria. The heroes asked for help from the mortal leaders of Cimmeria and most came to their aid. King Cogard of the Dwarves wished to remain out of the war, but Shaelin’s attack on Fangaroot made neutrality impossible. He joined the fight against the dragons. The Elves of Valor and Hardtop fought for the mortal armies. Tracy brought Crafterton and Nomingburg into the fight. The human settlements of Nox and Phoenix joined the mortals as well. Continue reading →