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    Canonfire :: View topic - Twin Cateclysms, Module research and Development
    Canonfire Forum Index -> World of Greyhawk Discussion
    Twin Cateclysms, Module research and Development
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    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
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    From: Montevideo, Minnesota, US

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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:00 am  
    Twin Cateclysms, Module research and Development

    Nearly every Greyhawk fan is at least aware of the Twin Cataclysms as it is often seen as the starting point for the World of Greyhawk. Published materials for the world frequently start at this point in history. I am laying down the ground work for a dungeon crawl which dates back to this time period and in fact includes historical references to what caused this war and describes what the Invoked Devastation and Rain of Colorless Fire exactly were. In order to do this correctly, I need to make certain of my sources in order to include as much published information as possible on this topic.

    I am asking the Canonfire community to assist in posting the more obscure publications on the subject, such as Dragon and Dungeon Magazine or references found in the various sourcebooks scattered throughout the decades.

    The premises of the module will consist of the Baklunish side of the war. I am in need of a better understanding of the government that they had at the time of the Twin Cataclysms as this will play a role in the storyline. Other highlights I plan to include are a magical description of the Rain of Colorless Fire. The module will be written in a manner that will not make it available for PCs to recreate the Rain of Colorless Fire in order to prevent chaos in the campaign. I plan to include a greater understanding of the Baklunish Wizards and Clerics that brought forth the Rain of Colorless Fire and give background to what caused the war in the first place. I suspect by the time the adventure ends, there might even be a time shift to the past in which the PCs can witness the event but no alter or prevent it. No need to shake up campaigns at the basis of there core.

    The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer states the following:

    "The root cause of the animosity between the Suel Imperium and the Baklunish Empire is lost in time, but the end result of their final war haunts even the modern age. After decades of conflict, the Suloise Mages of Power called down the Invoked Devastation upon the Baklunish, resulting in an apocalypse so complete that its true form remains unknown. Entire cities and countless people were purged from Oerth, leaving few signs of the great civilization that thrived from the Salhaut Mountains to the Dramidj Ocean.

    In retaliation, a cadre of Baklunish wizard-clerics, gathered in the great protective stone circles known as Tovog Baragu, brought the Rain of Colorless Fire upon their hated enemies. The skies above the Suel Imperium opened, and all beings and things beneath this shining rift in the heavens were burned to ash."

    It goes on to say that there were several thousands migrants that left these lands prior to the Twin Cataclysms, resulting in the migration of the races.

    My starting point for this adventure appear would be Tovoug Baraqu. The hardcover book Greyhawk Adventures published in 1988 has an good starting description of Tovoug Baragu mixing truth with tale in which can be mined.

    So I'm looking beyond these sources. Also, though I play 5th edition, I would like to make the adventure user friendly for all editions and if someone has suggestions on how to do that in regards to rules and monsters I would be appreciative to any advice they have to pass along.
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    Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods
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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:34 am  

    Hrm, not sure about the Invoked Devestation, but the Rain of Colorless Fire sounds like they opened a controlled rift near a neutron star, or one of the poles of a black hole, and the intense radiation rained down upon the land as Oerth turned beneath the rift.

    Just spitballing here.
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
    Posts: 3310
    From: Michigan

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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:22 am  

    College of Wizardry by Bruce Cordell—Mathghamhna and the Warlock Crisis
    Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk—Zuoken and Slerotin backstory, mention of Han-gra-dan as Slerotin's Baklunish counterpart
    Quag Keep by Andre Norton—Han-gra-dan, the Sea of Dust
    Oerth Journal #3—"Baklunish Delights"
    Dungeon #104—"Paladins of Greyhawk"—Al'Akbar and Azor'alq
    WotC website—"The Fields of Padyr" http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=lg/lgmp/20050524a
    The Scarlet Brotherhood by Sean K. Reynolds
    All That Glitters by Jim Bambra—Terazel and Kahoatep
    Oerth Journal #1—"The History of Oerth"
    Oerth Journal #11—"A History and Timeline of the Suloise"
    Monster Manual 3 (4th edition, 2010)—Herald of Colorless Fire
    Vecna Lives!—Tovag Baragu
    Die Vecna Die!—Tovag Baragu
    Dragon #294—"Artifacts of Oerth"
    Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix—Hordling entry contains references to the Bringer of Doom and the mage Althabazzerid
    Dungeon Master's Guide by E. Gary Gygax—Axe of the Dwarvish Lords
    Monster Manual II by E. Gary Gygax—Hordling entry
    The Star Cairns—references to the Invoked Devastation and Bringer of Doom
    WG7 Castle Greyhawk—mention of Xodast and Suel city of Suendrako
    Polyhedron #139—Xan Yae
    Oerth Journal #12—"Thus Spake Gary Gygax: Ye Secrets of Oerth Revealed"
    Adept Greytalker

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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:41 am  

    There's also a Q&A with Gygax in one of the Oerth Journals where he's asked to describe the exact form of the Invoked Devastation, and he describes accelerated time, babies becoming dead adults through lack of nourishment, old people turning to dust, etc.

    In my campaign, I went with the idea (which I borrowed from someone or other on these boards) that the Suel power mages accomplished this by forcing a planar conjunction of Erivatius' Quicksilver Hourglass (from an old Dungeon magazine) and the Baklunish empire.

    I actually just dramatized both of these cataclysms in my campaign just last Saturday (via time-travel vision of one of the PCs).
    Adept Greytalker

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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:42 am  

    Oh, I think it's in the Oerth Journal 12 that Rasgon mentioned.
    Adept Greytalker

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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:44 am  

    double post

    Last edited by edmundscott on Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:03 am; edited 1 time in total
    GreySage

    Joined: Aug 03, 2001
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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:44 am  

    edmundscott wrote:
    There's also a Q&A with Gygax in one of the Oerth Journals where he's asked to describe the exact form of the Invoked Devastation, and he describes accelerated time, babies becoming dead adults through lack of nourishment, old people turning to dust, etc.


    That's Oerth Journal #12—"Thus Spake Gary Gygax: Ye Secrets of Oerth Revealed."

    Quote:
    In my campaign, I went with the idea (which I borrowed from someone or other on these boards) that the Suel power mages accomplished this by forcing a planar conjunction of Erivatius' Quicksilver Hourglass (from an old Dungeon magazine)


    That's from Dungeon #123.
    Master Greytalker

    Joined: Jun 28, 2007
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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:22 am  

    Awesome, thanks guys, I have some reading to do. Once I sort out the known details I'll start putting the project together. I would like it to match as much canon as possible for not just myself but anyone else who cares to read it in the future.
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    Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods
    GreySage

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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 12:25 pm  

    Oh, maybe also read "Legacies of the Suel Imperium" in Dragon #241.
    CF Admin

    Joined: Jun 29, 2001
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    From: Wichita, KS, USA

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    Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:43 pm  

    From Zavoda's index (which is still only current through 2003):

    Quote:

    Invoked Devastation [BTL]
    AOE - 83
    C2 - 2
    DMG1 - 156
    DRG#225 - 49,50
    DRG#263 - 48
    DRG#294 - 92
    DRG#299 - 101
    FTAA - 3,25,44,61,62,66
    FTAC - 29
    FTAR#1
    GA - 89,98,99
    LGG - 3,5,9,13,68,83,94,122,136,154,155,165
    LGJ#5 - 17,20
    MMII - 75
    PGTG - 9,14,36
    SOD - 152
    SOOC - 71
    TSC - 38
    WG8 - 25
    WGA4 - 47,60
    WGG - 5,9,21
    WGR2 - 24
    WGR5 - 63
    WOGA - 8,9,21,60

    Rain of Colorless Fire (Invisible Firestorm)[BTL]
    C2 - 2
    DRG#230 - 12,13,14,16
    DRG#241 - 40,43,52,79,95
    DRG#256 - 46,47
    DRG#263 - 48,51
    DRG#294 - 92
    DUN#70 - 76
    DUN#77 - 55
    FTAA - 3,62
    FTAR#1
    GA - 90
    LGG - 5,8,12-14,54,64,68,94,142,155,162,187
    LGJ#4 - 8,12,16
    LOG - 41,57
    PGTG - 7,9,14,15,36,37
    POLY#101 - 31
    SOD - 129,132,224,234,239
    TAB - 55
    TD - 33
    TSB - 2,3,12,15,36,47,63,76
    TSC - 38
    WG8 - 105
    WGG - 5,8
    WGR2 - 24
    WOGA - 8,9,16
    WOGG - 27

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    Allan Grohe (grodog@gmail.com)
    http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/greyhawk.html
    Grandmaster Greytalker

    Joined: Jul 09, 2003
    Posts: 1358
    From: Tennessee, between Ft. Campbell & APSU

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    Thu Mar 31, 2016 8:35 am  

    I was just surfing at random, and happened to see this:

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5851594/Downloads_Section/Oerth_Journal/OJ_22pf.pdf

    I haven't read it yet, myself.
    Apprentice Greytalker

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    Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:22 pm  

    The Living Greyhawk Gazetteer has an interesting reference in its write up of the Plains of the Paynims (p.83-84). It mentions the Marid Shah of Lake Udrukankar giving a Jacinth (of Inestimable Beauty one assumes) to merchants, bidding them give the Jacinth to the Sultan of Zeif.

    The Paynims assert that had the Jacinth found its way to the Sultan, he would have been identified as the heir to the Imperial Baklunish family, becoming the new Emperor of the Baklunish and founder of the 12th Dynasty. This would imply that at the time of the Invoked Devastation there was a Baklunish Emperor and he/she was of the 11th Dynasty.

    Not a great deal of crunch there, but a bit of fluff for the pre-Cataclysm Baklunish government.
    Master Greytalker

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    Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:49 pm  

    Tons of reading to do. Thank you all for your posts I should have nearly all of these resources available to me. Undoubtedly much of the information will be the same information rewritten, but much is to be learned. Ah I love research!
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    Eileen of Greyhawk, Prophet of Istus, Messenger of the Gods
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