Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-Celadon Fire

Mon Nov 25, 2019 4:08 pm Celadon Fire

The LGG relates a fire of mysterious origin that burned the western half of the Celadon in 571 CY. Was this thread developed elsewhere, perhaps in LG? My PCs are in Nellix in 573 CY and heading into the forest.

Tue Nov 26, 2019 11:03 am

This was around the time of the Temple Coalition Revolt in the Duchy of Urnst, and it seems likely it was part of Duke Justinian Lorinar's tyranny.

The Marklands says the Celadon Forest is traditionally autonomous, but during the Greyhawk Wars this was revoked and Nyrondese men burned part of the eastern edges. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar had happened a decade earlier on the western side.

The Spurned Vale may be the result of part of the western forest being destroyed.

Tue Nov 26, 2019 12:31 pm

Yeah, the fire could be Justinian's goons racketeering to punish woodland priests and druids for joining the Temple Coalition Revolt. Or maybe a magical conflagration broke out if the Seer tried to force the reclusive Keohtom to make some Ointment for the Duke's wounds after healers refused him.

Another development option are the dervishes of the Bright Desert, who are criminally underused compared to Justinian's multitude of plot hooks. Reading GH Adventures and LGG closely, desert dervishes and nomads killed all THREE of Karll's brothers around that time, so whatever "border war" was going on was serious! An interesting plot twist would be to make the dervishes the good guys, with their ties to Heironious and Geshti, struggling against corrupt and decadent Suel/Maure nobles and old wealth in the Duchy (later sources have sadly minimized or dismissed the strange but intriguing references to these Bright Desert gods in GH Adventures and WGR3).

A final possibility is the fire was the result of a trade war. Real-world problems are always refreshing in a fantasy setting and this would allow players to go wherever the DM wants. The Celadon watches one of the quintessential shipping routes of the Flanaess: the Nesser. A fire along its banks could be a crippling financial disruption, or a smokescreen (literally) for pirates. Responsible parties could be anyone trying to hurt the Duchy and Nyrond (South Province, Bandit Kingdoms, a retaliation from persecuted Rhennee in the Duchy) or rivals trying to shunt more traffic to the Selitan & Woolly Bay (GH Thieves' Guild, The Slaverlords based at Darkshelf Quarry, Wild Coast cities, or the Scarlet Brotherhood).

There was a lot of foreign espionage around that time with Karll's sisters assassinated. Maybe the assassins wanted Karll on the throne because he was sympathetic to their trade demands.

Wed Nov 27, 2019 1:16 pm

Wed Nov 27, 2019 3:41 pm

C2: ruinous taxes on all temples, including good alignments; harsh laws and punishments; in cahoots with the sinister Seer.

I personally enjoy giving the ruling class in the Duchy of Urnst evil underpinnings because it's so unexpected in the central Flanaess and adds richness, shades of grey, and surprise to the campaign. And there's plenty of precedent, between the backstory of C2, Kuntz's Maure Castle developments, the rampant corruption in WG8, Robilar's dealings in Selteran, and some of the creepy details in LGG.

IMC, Barovia is an old Maure province in the SW Duchy :)

Thu Nov 28, 2019 7:54 am

All good ideas, folks, and what I don’t use will serve as false rumors for the party. I recall reading something years back about an influx of fire elementals, but I can’t find my source and now am unsure if I didn’t just invent that myself. Middle age is rough.

Sat Nov 30, 2019 12:42 pm

Sat Nov 30, 2019 5:58 pm

It was really the great firestag

Mon Dec 02, 2019 11:37 am

Tue Dec 03, 2019 7:50 am

Tue Dec 03, 2019 12:55 pm

Tue Dec 03, 2019 1:38 pm

Probably just another party of murder-hobos that couldn't be bothered with fire safety.

Sat Dec 21, 2019 1:11 pm