Spoiler for all GH-_players_. Do not read any further. DMs eyes only... :-)
Anyone who have made an adventure out of this attack that would like to share some about how he or she did it? I am thinking of making the characters in my campaign accompany the raiding fleet to help destroy Iuz ships. All info about this attack is of use!
Spoiler for all GH-_players_. Do not read any further. DMs eyes only... :-)
Anyone who have made an adventure out of this attack that would like to share some about how he or she did it? I am thinking of making the characters in my campaign accompany the raiding fleet to help destroy Iuz ships. All info about this attack is of use!
Thanks!
Questions to be addressed: Where did the raiding fleet launch from? What was its composition? What was it's route? Magical protections employed? The actual assault should be pretty easy, since wooden ships would be trivial to burn using spells like fireball/flamestrike or hole using repeated lightening strikes. You might even consider some kind of ariel raid a la Pearl Harbor using dragon or hippogriff riding raiders
I am in favor of not using an air raid. I would like it to be as if it were a real war with very little magic involved. I am thinking of it like a special forces raid. Like:
A few Furyondian big war ships sail like half the way towards Dorakaa with forces that are to deliver the strike. Then smaller rowing boats with say 5 men a boat slowly rows in towards Iuz's ships. Then they release hell with oil and magical fire. It is also quite possible that these special forces are meant to be expandable. I mean after hell breaks lose, there will be quite a lot of troops hunting those who did it, although it will take awhile to get them awake and ready to retaliate. Quite a few flying creatures (demons for example) will come after them and maybe orcs and men in smaller boats will row out.
There is also the possibilty the attack could be a full scale one with Furyondy's war ships going all the way in and release hell. But that would not be smart in my eyes.
1) Risk of getting the fleet sunk if Iuz's troops retaliate fast and heavy (quite probable).
2) With a special force, you could always claim they were not from Furyondy. The could have come from Horned Society or Vesve...
Sorry, but the logistics of that plan just won't work. There's no way to get enough men/materials close enough to do any real damage using 5-man row boats. The raid would have to be staged from 2-3 miles off at the most. Well within visual range. An air raid or undersea raid would be the only ways to get close enough to do any appreciable damage and still maintain plausable denial. You say you'd like to do things as if it were a real war, air power and the development of the aircraft carrier changed modern warfare forever. Aircraft are the primary means of force projection and the real ship-killers; why limit yourself?
Are you talking about the raid in 577 mentioned in Dragon # 56? Regardless of whether this is it or not on the big lakes most of the larger vessels are probably galleys. In fact the article I'm talking about says that Iuz was constructing 40 galleys so you can probably bet the Furyondian fleet used the same type of ship. The text of the article says 12 were in the water with 7 captured and 5 sunk, leaving 28 still under construction in the yard that were burned. I've agree with Samored that the small boats would probably not be a good idea but I'd favor a conventional attack where the Furyondians row the galleys in during the night and attack.
From a 300 ft watchtower on a clear day a lookout could see about 12 1/4 miles. A galley can do about 4 knots (about 4.6 mph) at crusing speed and 7 knots (about 8 mph) if the crew is really pulling. So just to be safe the Furyondian fleet would probably want to lay up about 15-20 miles south of Dorakaa until night-fall as far away from shore as they can manage to avoid being spotted by and having to chase down any fishermen. Then when night falls you'd have about 5 hours to get to Dorakaa's harbor, letting the rowers go at an easier pace so they have the energy to race into the harbor for the attack.
Part of the fleet would board as many of the enemy galleys as they can while the other part of the fleet lands footsoldiers to burn the shipyard.
The result of 5 ships sunk in the Dragon article probably indicates that they didn't have enough crew to take the 5 extra ships or were pushed back by stiff resistance and had to sink them instead of taking them.
Does that help any? It sounds like a great idea for an adventure. It's always hard to DM military operations like this but this type of raid will probably be do-able. If I was DMing I'd have the PCs be in the shore raiding party, but that's just me .
The actual assault should be pretty easy, since wooden ships would be trivial to burn using spells like fireball/flamestrike or hole using repeated lightening strikes. You might even consider some kind of ariel raid a la Pearl Harbor using dragon or hippogriff riding raiders
Fireball and lightning bolt are third level mage spells, flame strike is 5th level priest.
If Belvor has access to druids (probably those of Ehlonna), I would say druids are the more economical way to go, if you are more concerned about sinking the ships than capturing them. Warp wood is a second level druid spell, which makes it pretty cheap (especially in 1st edition, where it can be cast by a second level druid!). Combine that with a third level druid spell, water breathing, and you can have a druid SEAL team go under water and sink with impunity while the surface assault is just a distraction. _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
The problem with trying to keep a "medieval" navel battle "real" is the fact that magic is pretty much is ubiquitous in Greyhawk. One Boneheart would reek havoc on the Furyondian fleet.
As for "real" here are a few ideas:
Prior to the invention of gunpowder and the navel cannon ship battles were up close and personal. The main way of capturing or sinking an enemy vessel was to grapple/ram it and board it with your own troops.
Shipboard weapons were limited. Balistas were for troop support, not ranged battles. Catapults would be laughably inaccurate.
Greek fire was used until the process was lost, but essentially a galley used a mixture that ignited when water was added and sprayed it on a nearby vessel. Alchemist fire, super sized, might be a way to do this.
Another option would be to sacrifice some ships by loading them up with tinder and fuel sending them in burning into the parked Iuzian fleet. It would be a hit or miss affair but some damage could be done.
Magic on the other hand, if used judiciously would be a way to tip the balance for a small naval force to inflict a crippling blow on Iuz's navy. Balisatas enchanted with energy enhancements could be effective anti-personnel and rigging weapons.
A single Apparatus of Kawalish could place delayed blast fireball "mines" below the waterline.
Summoned or called water/fire elementals could reek havoc.
The actual assault should be pretty easy, since wooden ships would be trivial to burn using spells like fireball/flamestrike or hole using repeated lightening strikes. You might even consider some kind of ariel raid a la Pearl Harbor using dragon or hippogriff riding raiders
Fireball and lightning bolt are third level mage spells, flame strike is 5th level priest.
If Belvor has access to druids (probably those of Ehlonna), I would say druids are the more economical way to go, if you are more concerned about sinking the ships than capturing them. Warp wood is a second level druid spell, which makes it pretty cheap (especially in 1st edition, where it can be cast by a second level druid!). Combine that with a third level druid spell, water breathing, and you can have a druid SEAL team go under water and sink with impunity while the surface assault is just a distraction.
Ever hear of scrolls? Load up a pack of 2nd-3rd level magic users and blaze away.
Warp wood only has enough of an area of effect to spring the seems and cause hull leaks. It's not all that hard to stop-gap a leaky hull, a couple pieces of sail cloth drapped across the gap, slather on some tar or pine pitch, and you're good to go. It takes forever (relatively speaking) to sink a ship unless you put a big honkin' hole below the waterline. And even they it can still be salvaged fairly easily. I'd assumed the raid was intended to take out enough surface tonnage to put a dent in Iuz's surface lift capacity.
My bad. From the Dragon article the attack took place in 578 not 577, specifically before Iuz's northern host "stood before Eru-Tovar" of the Wolf Nomads. The northern host massed in the Howling Hills in Flocktime (early Summer) and didn't reach Eru Tovar until the following month (Wealsun). At the same time Iuz himself was in the south stirring up trouble in alliance with the Horned Society (presumably including considerable numbers of his forces) and another force invaded the Vesve and western shore of Whystil Lake. This might be one reason why Furyondy felt relatively confident of success in their raid although even the garrison force left in Dorakaa would still be more than enough to match the forces Furyondy could land by galley.
Using some lesser mages among the Furyondian forces to help spread fire among Iuz's ships probably wouldn't violate Graazzt's wish to use very little magic.
Exactly. That would be totally fine. The important thing was that all should be as secret as possible (no direct clues to Furyondy) and that magic should not rule what happens in the world.
Exactly. That would be totally fine. The important thing was that all should be as secret as possible (no direct clues to Furyondy) and that magic should not rule what happens in the world.
I have to ask why you need both of these?
1) What benefit does Furondy get from keeping the raid's origin secret.
2) Why is magic hidden from the world?
As to #1 Iuz knows who is coming for his fleet. The Furondians are the only one that can project the navel power necessary to destroy it. As far as I can tell the only thing that needs to be secret is the operational details so that suprise can be achieved.
As for #2, Iuz already uses magic to a large degree. His forces are not constrained on its use. The Bonehearts, the various fiends that he emloys will not hesitate to drop magic on an invaders head. I would think that Furondy would use the resources at hand to make sure that the raid works.
Having read the article in the Dragon that mentions the raid, only a few ships are on the water, the bulk of them are being built and a force needs to either land and destroy them or some way of hitting them from a distance needs to be employed.
Furyondy would in my opinion not want to be those that draw first blood. They want to be able to say to its people that. We did not start it. Iuz did and we only defend ourselves.
Magic should not be hidden from the world, but I do not want to have a too magic heavy world and I do not consider Greyhawk to be that anymore. It was (as you know), but is no more although magic is still a something powerful to be counted on.
Now that we are talking old Dragon articles... I am from Sweden and the selling of old Dragon magazines are almost non existent here. I am desperately seeking some old articles, for example the details of the war, in issues 55-57, 59, 63 and 65. Anyone of you guys that could give me an idea how to get them for a reasonable price?
A naval attack? Well since there will be combined arms (i.e. ground forces to hit the yards and navy to hit the ships) Belvor would probably use diversions. A mass illusion or mist could shroud the attacking forces. Pre-dawn attacks by marines would neutralize watches and guards. Smaller vessels being sent in loaded with tender and oil could help knock out ships (the English used them against the Spanish Armada). Finally there is the magic issue. Dock yards are not fortresses. Dockyards, based on any medieval history, would be open and not truly secure. Heck, whose going to attack Iuz anyway, right?
Now we have ships fighting, ships on fire, marines fighting Iuz's forces on the ground and probably the bane of all civilized society (adventurer's) causing all manner of damage to the dockyards and ships themselves. It takes a l-o-n-g time to build a ship by hand, even with skilled laborers. Marines would kill the laborers (a valid target as they are part of the war machine) and military, adventurer's escorting sappers or engineers would destroy frames, ships, hoists, supplies, retaining walls, etc. Setting a fire somewhere else ties up a lot of forces that should defend the dockyards. Perhaps Furyondy gained intelligence that powerful spell casters would not be in the area at the time of the raid? You unleash one Fire Elemental on land and dang, that's a whole lot of destruction. Unleash a Water Elemetnal on an unprepared navy and it's going to have a very bad day. A little magic goes a long way. Finally, some groups may be solely reponsible for stealing tools. Acid on an anvil causes all kinds of problems with regard to manufacturing tools. :-) I miss the military sometimes.
Furyondy would in my opinion not want to be those that draw first blood. They want to be able to say to its people that. We did not start it. Iuz did and we only defend ourselves.
What for? Iuz is evil and aggressive. End of story. Why concoct some elaborate justification for not hitting hard, fast, and as often as possible? Furyondy is Good, but Good isn't stupid.
Don't forgot the use of waterbreathing spells, potions and items as well as ones that affect the wind and storms. Trident of Fish Command(I think that's what' is was called, my books are 4,000+ miles away). Monser Summoning would be useful as well.
Also, the galleys are probably filled w/ slaves to row them, as well as forced laborrers in the shipyards, brothels, and children somewhere.
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