War

Desires for Dwarven Schism

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

Next up in my writing about Cimmeria is to describe what the dwarves were up to and what led to the schism between the four dwarven subraces.

First up, what have I already written about the dwarves in Cimmeria?

King Karnafaust left the Conclave – 1102BCE
Founded Fangaroot – 1101BCE
War with Conclave – 1097BCE
War ended with single combat between Karnafaust and Drolofo. Drolofo won. – 1092BCE
Resurrection Pact with Hades made and Karnafaust returned to life – 1091BCE
Cooperation with the Conclave in war with Goblins- 1087BCE to 1084BCE
Karnafaust killed by Kinderax. Fangaroot abandoned. – 1046BCE

My plan was that after the Dragon War there would be a king named Cogard. I already wrote that part in with Toffoun’s After the Dragon War post.

Toffoun makes the Fierce Axe of Dwarvish Lords for King Cogard, an item I copied over from the basic Greyhawk D&D setting to my campaign.

King Cogard’s death would lead to the loss of the Fierce Axe and a succession crisis between his four sons. This crisis would result in the Dwarven Schism.

But that’s after the Dragon War. I’ve got over 150 years of history inbetween that point. I need a bad king before Cogard takes the throne. Continue reading →

Cimmerian Timeline Part 18

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

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 17

882BCE: Toffoun joined the royal court of the newly crowned High King of the Dwarves, Cogard. Amalgami and Jovy went with Toffoun.

879BCE: Amalgami left the dwarven royal court to assist with the construction of defenses for the Dragon Orbs.
Jovy left the dwarven royal court as he’d worn out his welcome with the nobles. He gambled and won too often. He slept around with too many nobles’ wives and daughters. He got into too many drunken fights.
Jovy returned to his ship that he’d moored on the eastern coast of the Caspian. He was surprised to find a community had sprung up around his ship, viewing it as a sacred artifact of the Dragon War. Jovy took pleasure in their adoration and resumed his title as King of the Caspian. The town that had grown around the Mira Miro was dubbed Lordodo. King Jovy ruled over his subjects, judged their legal cases, made policy, protected them, and took tribute.

865BCE: Amalgami visited his child in Phoenix. His son was now 48 and had lived most of her life without him. The meeting between the prodigal Dragon War Hero and his progeny did not go well. Amalgami left for his hibernation without the resolution that he desired. He would reawaken when the Copper Orb was destroyed.

861BCE: Tentineh told Captain Jovy that the time had come to retire from his life of luxury. Jovy agreed to go into hibernation in one year’s time. The pirate captain took the Mira Miro on one last pleasure cruise through Those Blasted Islands.

860BCE: Jovy returned the Mira Miro to the town, Lordodo, where he had ruled the Caspian Sea for the last two decades. He joined Tentineh in hibernation to protect the Dragon Orbs, leaving behind many illegitimate children. Jovy would reawaken when the Gold Orb was destroyed. Tentineh would reawaken when the Silver Orb was destroyed.

859BCE: In Jovy’s absence Lordodo was ruled by the captains of various ships that docked there. These captains formed the Navigator’s Guild. They met in the Mira Miro and dispensed law from the beached relic.

-GoCorral

Next: Cimmerian Timeline Part 19

Cimmerian Timeline Part 17

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

Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 16

882BCE: Gorwinua’s wild nature made her unsuited for helping to construct the Orbs’ defenses. She began writing an epic poem that detailed the Heroes’ exploits during the Dragon War.
As work on the defenses for the Dragon Orbs continued, Tentineh and realized that no matter how well-constructed their protections were, they would eventually be breached. Tentineh suggested a solution. Each of the Heroes of the Dragon War would bind his or her soul to one of the Orbs. When the Orb was broken, that Hero would be returned to life, ready to fight the dragons once again. The other Heroes approved of the idea and Tentineh began designing the complicated spell that would put each of the Heroes in stasis when they were ready to “die.” In this stasis each would await the breaking of the Orb their soul protected.

Continue reading →

After the Dragon War: Bigby

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

When the Dragon War ended, Bigby was 103, still young for an elf. He helped the other Heroes to design defenses for the Dragon Orbs. After twenty years most of them had moved on into the stasis. All the other Heroes could only be awakened by the destruction of the Orbs of Dragonkind. Bigby and Toffoun were all that was left.

Bigby was happy to retire to the forest that grew to bear his name. He lived for dozens of years supporting himself by teaching his magic to the elves of his homeland and any others who wished to learn. Romantic relationships came and went, lasting for years or decades and then dissolving amicably as is the way of the elves. Bigby had three children and played an active role in their upbringing. The outside world was not without conflict, but Bigby stayed apart. He had seen and done enough during the Dragon War.

When Toffoun retired, the dwarf took one last trip to see Bigby. The two reminisced about their times together. The visit was what Bigby needed to say goodbye to the world. He made his farewells to his family, his friends, his children, and the places he knew. After all was finished Bigby was the last to enter the Dragon Orb slumber.

-GoCorral

Next up I’ll be turning each of these After the Dragon War articles into timelines. After that I’d like to explore the Dwarven Kingdom a bit more. I’ve laid the foundations with Toffoun, Cogard, and the Fierce Axe. Just gotta hammer out the specifics.

After the Dragon War: Shratalanda

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

Shratalanda was a mystery to the people of Cimmeria. No one knew how old Shratalanda was at the end of the Dragon War. She had emerged from nowhere to orchestrate the rebellion against the dragons’ rule. She was part of no community and had no family. Many suspected she was a god, one of the Fates, sent to walk the Earth and ensure that the proper events occurred. Others thought her simply an elf with the natural talent needed for psionic magic. Continue reading →

After the Dragon War: Toffoun and Amalgami

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

Toffoun was 77 and still in the prime of his life when the Dragon War ended. Toffoun’s people called for him to take up the crown of the High King of the Dwarves; however, Toffoun remember his duty and gave his support to Cogard, the rightful heir of Karnafaust. Toffoun’s accomplishments and loyalty earned him a council seat in the new Dwarven High King’s court. Continue reading →

After the Dragon War: The Dungeons

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

The Heroes of the Dragon War pooled their resources to erect defenses around the Orbs of Dragonkind. They decided that five of the Orbs would be defended in the same location by a nearly impassable obstacle. The other five Orbs would be hidden separately within dungeons that the Heroes would build and protect. Continue reading →

After the Dragon War: Hibernation

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

Tentineh labored to build defenses for the Dragon Orbs entrusted to his care. Shratalanda, Bigby, and Danar assisted in designing the protections for the Orbs. While working they discussed the inevitability of their deaths and the release of the dragons. No matter how well-designed their protections were, they would eventually be breached. The Orbs would be found and broken, releasing the terrible scourge of dragons upon the world again. No matter how well defended, the Orbs simply could not be locked away for all eternity.

Tentineh suggested a solution. Each of the Heroes of the Dragon War could bind his or her soul to one of the Orbs. When the Orb was broken, that Hero would be returned to life, ready to fight the dragons once again. There was only one problem with this plan, in order to bind a person to the Orb, that person would have to voluntarily give up their life. A death without the afterlife. Their souls would not pass on to Erebos and Elysium. They would remain with the Orbs ready to reappear when they were needed.

Shratalanda, Bigby, and Danar approved of the idea. They would get their affairs in order before binding their souls to the Orbs. Danar left to inform the other Heroes of the Dragon War who had spread out across Cimmeria. Shratalanda, Bigby, and Tentineh set to designing the specifics of this unusual soul-binding spell.

Cimmerian Timeline Part 16

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 15

883BCE: As word spread the people of the land rejoiced. The dragons were sealed away, hopefully never to return. Cimmerians no longer feared elemental breath raining down on them from above. People went about their lives, happy and safer than they’d ever been.
The Heroes remained concerned that one day the Orbs would be broken and the dragons would be released. Tentineh suggested that the Heroes split the Orbs among themselves and place permanent protections around them. Some of the Heroes did not have the resources to defend an Orb of Dragonkind for eternity. Tentineh volunteered to guard those unallocated Orbs along with his own. The Heroes split up and began constructing defenses around the Orbs and rebuilding their respective societies. Continue reading →

Cimmerian Timeline Part 15

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Previous: Cimmerian Timeline Part 14

887BCE: Eathirilu and Davonisi patched up their differences and worked together to re-energize the dragon-allied elves. While he and many others feared the war was already lost, they were not prepared to surrender just yet. With the new army formed, Eathirilu awaited the command of the dragons.

886BCE: The remaining dragon patriarchs gathered with their armies in Apollo’s Plains. The red dragons, Invernix and Sartoria; the green dragons, Cordax and Hashterainon; the gold dragons, Agohimano and Hontalawi; and the bronze dragon, Langudina. Rilopenaril the traitor did not join his brethren. Giants, ogres, humans, and elves made up the dragons’ armies.
The draconic forces marched eastward and burnt everything as they went. No settlement, no person, no blade of grass escaped the wrath of the dragons. Directly in their path was the old seat of the Conclave, Phoenix. Continue reading →