| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 24 Sep 2010 : 19:47:00
My Siamorphian (sp?) cleric has an interest in history and leadership in Fearun. What famous generals could he have heard of, are active around 1374 or are renowned for a great battlefield they won?
It would be great if he can reference some "Sun Tzu" like tome on warfare like the "Art of War", but specified to the realms. Any sage knowledgable about something like this?
Great Generals - Active Region - Major Battle - Works of Literature
Lady Knight Arya Venkyr - Silverymoon, Silver Marches, the Dales and the North - Crossingpoint of the Ashaba river south of Shadowdale; 1374 - "the Lion of Everlund"
King Azoun IV - Cormyr, Sea of Fallen Stars - Phsant; 1360
Lady Kaitlin Bloodhawk - Citadel of Strategic Militancy (East of Baldurs Gate), The Sword Coast and Thethyr -
Myth Rynn in the Forest of Thethir; 1358 - Red Her Valor
King Beldoran - lost kingdom in monster infested Thar -
Tower of Nauth and the Bastion of Glister; 1288 - Beldoran lore (?)
General Wo Chan - Durkon, Tu Lung - the Mouth of Fenghsintzu; -836 - The Battle of Infinite Darkness
General Dagna and his son Dagnabbit - Old Delzoun, the North - Mithril Hall; 1356 and 1369(?)
King Gareth Dragonsbane - Damara, Bloodstone Lands - Monastery of the Yellow Rose; 1373
Warlord Batu Min Ho - Semphar, Golden Way - Shar's Pass; 1359
Archwizard Ioulaum - Seventon, Old Netheril and the Aunaroch - Plain of Standing Stones; -3145
Imphras the Great - Impiltur - Defeated hobgoblin horde, took on and beat Thay when coming to the aid of Thesk; 1095
Bladelord Jhaam - Jhaamdath, Vilhon Reach - Defence of Naarkolyth; -5800
Strategor Mattick - Netheril, Basin Lake - Pass of Humaithira; -1561
Warchief Reinhar - Dambrath, Var, Luiren and Halruua - Conquest of Southern Shaar regions and invasion of Halruua; 553
High Priest Seiveril Miritar - Evermeet, Evereska and Cormanthyr Forest - Retaking of Myth Drannor; 1374
King Strohm IV - Zazesspur, Thethyr - Plains of Thethyr, Defeat of the goblin chief Delgern the Three-Tusked; 771 - Battle of Brinniq Dell [my character has big shoes to fill! :)]
Lord Sarshell "the True" Elethlim - Westgate(?), Impiltur - Citadel of Conjurers, Defeat of "the Poxxed"; 729
Emperor Yhamun Khahan - Steppes of the East, Golden Way - Breach of the Dragonwall; 1359
Drawn Sword mentor? Ilyndil Fireblade - Mintar (Lake of Steam), Calimshan and Border Kingdoms -
Quyadin (Sadammin General-Wizard) Tulan el Akada - Calimshan - rooting of the entrenched drow in the Forest of Mir; -733 - The Night Wars Chronicles
Chieftain Obould Many-Arrows and sons - Silver Marches and the Spine of the World - Taking of Citadel Felbarr; 1104 Siege of Mithral Hall; 1370 - Battle of Many Arrows
Dwarf King Emerus Warcrown - Silver Marches and the High Forest - Retaking of Citadel Many Arrows/Felbarr; 1367
War Lord Gharl - The Sword Coast, Waterdeep - Defence of Nimoars Hold; 936 - The Orcfastings Wars
War Lord Imphail the Just - The Dessarin Valley, Waterdeep - starts (and falls in the first year of)the hunt for troll gangs along the Dessarin river; 940 to 952 - The Second Trollwar
Troll warlord Harska Thaug - Spine of the World, the North - Sacking of the elven realms of Rilithar with a gathering of orcs and trolls & the destruction of the Selskar order; -585 & -584 DR - The binding of Bozim Gorag
The Headtaker - Kara-Tur
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| 30 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Dennis |
Posted - 22 Mar 2013 : 18:36:02
How about that self-styled lich king who managed to unite a plethora of orcs in The Netheril trilogy? |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 22 Mar 2013 : 17:58:11
Hmmm, one thing that comes to mind with all this is who were the great generals and who were the great leaders. In the case of Imphras that George mentions, for instance, it may have been that he was both. However, I wonder about other instances (for instance, was King Azoun a master general.... or did he just take the advice of master generals and serve as a very powerful leader).
What made me think about that was my first thoughts upon seeing him mention Thay was to think of the Thayan uprising against Mulhorand. Without a doubt, they pulled off some pretty amazing tactical moves (such as summoning and then imprisoning Eltab). So, my initial thoughts were that the leader, Ythazz Buvaar, must have been a great general. However, I think successful leadership doesn't necessarily mean being a great general. It may have been that there were others in his ranks that were being the tactical minds while Ythazz was being the guiding figurehead for what was in essence at the time, a rising cult. |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 21 Mar 2013 : 22:00:40
Added Imphras and Thaug to the list.
A troll general is quite rare, but Harska Thaug proved both tenacious and cunning. Trolls ruling over orcs is a rare occurance, but one succesfully leading a horde and sacking whole realms is even more impressive. |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 21 Mar 2013 : 20:34:22
quote:
Originally posted by George Krashos
Imphras the Great of Impiltur. Defeated the hobgoblin horde of 1095 DR and then took on and beat Thay when coming to the aid of Thesk.
-- George Krashos
I didn't know Imphras fought the Thayans...every day a surprise in the Realms!  |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 21 Mar 2013 : 00:27:09
Imphras the Great of Impiltur. Defeated the hobgoblin horde of 1095 DR and then took on and beat Thay when coming to the aid of Thesk.
-- George Krashos
|
| Kno |
Posted - 20 Mar 2013 : 17:19:09
troll warlord named Harska Thaug from the Firebringer adventure |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 18 Mar 2013 : 20:05:12
Added the bold king Beldoran to the list.
This guy and his host carved themselves a kingdom in the orc, ogre and kobold infested badlands of Thar and settled Glister. He fought many of the ogres and orcs that had fled into the Galena Mountains and who tried to reclaim their territories. He built two bastions from which Glister could grow. His demise was in 1303 DR in a fortified stable in long lost Nouth somewhere south east of Glister. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 02 Apr 2012 : 01:42:31
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
quote:
Bladewind
Have there ever been armies on Faerun that had more arcane casters than regular troops? If so, who introduced this tactic?
The answer depends on the "regular troops". Most human armies assign a spellcaster to every unit, or group all the spellcasters together in special-purpose detached units. While I'd expect the bulk of an elven army would be composed of fighter/mage types who outnumber the "regular" warriors possessing no spellcraft.
Well, the Shadovar army is composed mostly of arcane spellcasters. Roughly 95%, and the rest are priests.
And of course, Halruaa as well. Aglarond is near enough, so as Thay. Rashemen would have been, too, if they train 'battle witches' as many as berserkers. |
| Icelander |
Posted - 01 Apr 2012 : 19:21:27
In the Waterdeep novel, Khelben did fine in affecting the flow of the battle with his own magic. Unfortunately, that makes him a good battery commander, not a general.
The existence of magical means of communication and intelligence gathering should mean that it's possible to direct even a large army with precision and knowledge of the situation that would seem miraculous even to a modern radio equipped force. Unfortunately, a lot of authors have their supposedly smart and experienced magic-user characters be as ignorant of what a general's job actually is as they are themselves.
One would think that one of the things to do when writing a book is research, which ought to cover acquiring enough understanding of the things your characters do in the course of the story to make you able to write plausibly about them, but I guess that it's not really a priority for a lot of writers.
To write good stories in a fantasy world, the author must understand how something works in the real world and then how the magic and other different metaphysics of the setting would plausibly affect that. If there are paradigm-altering abilities in the setting and the author ignores their effect, the impression he gives is that the character who failed to make use of his available options is incompetent.
Since a lot of aspiring authors think that writing is a matter of imagination, not a lot of work and research, a fair bit of people who manage to get published aren't knowledgable about much at all, except possibly how to meet deadlines and polish style enough to suit an editor. Hence, there are a lot of supposedly intelligent and able characters in fiction, particularly fantasy fiction set in shared worlds*, whose abilities are mostly informed, not shown.
*While the best authors in the world might indeed choose to write stories set in shared worlds, and some of them have, the geniuses at the height of the writing craft have a choice of many other books to write, many of which pay more and provide them with more artistic freedom. A lot of authors do not have the choice, at least not yet, because their name recognition or their talent alone won't suffice to sell books without a pre-established market and a setting brand, so the general level of talent, education and intelligence is lower among writers who write shared-world fiction on spec. Just a consequence of talent often going where the money is. |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 01 Apr 2012 : 19:15:18
quote:
Bladewind
Have there ever been armies on Faerun that had more arcane casters than regular troops? If so, who introduced this tactic?
The answer depends on the "regular troops". Most human armies assign a spellcaster to every unit, or group all the spellcasters together in special-purpose detached units. While I'd expect the bulk of an elven army would be composed of fighter/mage types who outnumber the "regular" warriors possessing no spellcraft. |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 01 Apr 2012 : 19:03:36
Khelben is more of a schemer though, not a bad quality for employing tactics; but as a full on general I doubt Khelben would be a great one. I'd guess particularly the Simbul as better suited for the task. Good battle awareness, aquired through battlefield experience, would be a good quality for a mage-general. Being at or affecting the right place at the right time is one of the major advantages a good wizard has when on a battlefield. If such a wizard combines that ability with an aptitude for predicting the flow of a battle, you'll see why a single high level mage can disable an opposing army.
I guess in ancient times that the Imascari Sorcerers where very skilled generals who might have written a book on battlespell tactics or two. With high level magic so prevalent on the battlefields of that time, the generals had to account for the specialised arms race this entails. Developement of efficient battlespells could change a tried and true tactic from effictive to disastrous.
A figure like the Simbul has immense firepower, unpredicatble movement methods, immunities and high defences at its command, making fighting it with a troop formation next to impossible. What tactics could have been devised to counter such a force of nature on a battlefield? A specialised horsebreed bred to not fear flashy magic effects, mounted with horse archers with high powered bows might be able to manage, as would a charge of a fully buffed winged cavalry of blessed warriors like paladins.
Another thing. Have there ever been armies on Faerun that had more arcane casters than regular troops? If so, who introduced this tactic? |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 Apr 2012 : 16:06:08
quote:
Originally posted by Lord Karsus
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
He wasn't even that effective a Chosen in the said trilogy, and I wouldn't necessarily blame Troy for that.
-Given other depictions of him, and what we cannonically know about Khelben, I would.
Ditto, but I'd also add in, as further evidence, the way other non-Denning NPCs were handled in the trilogy. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 01 Apr 2012 : 15:46:00
quote:
Originally posted by Dennis
He wasn't even that effective a Chosen in the said trilogy, and I wouldn't necessarily blame Troy for that.
-Given other depictions of him, and what we cannonically know about Khelben, I would. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 01 Apr 2012 : 04:57:12
quote:
Originally posted by Icelander
Khelben may have served as a general in Realmslore. He has never shown any aptitude for the job in anything I've read.
Looking back, I think I might have been incorrect in saying otherwise. He wasn't even that effective a Chosen in the said trilogy, and I wouldn't necessarily blame Troy for that. |
| Icelander |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 18:36:32
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
So ... you're suggesting Khelben should've marched his army through the cold portal he normally keeps in his pantry?
No. I was pointing out that among the dozens of portals he has in his tower, many of them appear to be cheap, safe and reliable enough to use for utterly mundane things. He uses them for cooling stuff, he uses others for short vacations, others for getting around to a few favourite places.
It was meant to demonstrate how weird it was that suddenly, Khelben did not know of any portals relevant to travelling to Everaska from Waterdeep or any way to change one so that it was useful for such a trip.
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
It's magic. For all we know Khelben's refrigerated pantry required a lot of research, some exotic components, and months of effort to produce, just like any other magical construct. Or he might have simply cast a cold spell not unlike continual light with an indefinite duration, easy to use but limited in actual application.
It is canonically described as a portal, not a cooling effect.
And while I agree that any portal might be expensive and take months to make, I think that the expense would have been worth it, judging by the casualties suffered by the Waterdeep forces while marching for all those months. And that's if he decided to make a new permanent portal.
If he simply did as less powerful mages have done previously in Realmslore and what he himself has done multiple times in prior Realmslore and used his magic to find a suitable portal or to adjust the terminus of one for a few days, it would have taken between hours and days. And that's assuming that he didn't already know of a portal, which, frankly, would be illogical. There are portals that go from Waterdeep to much closer to Everaska than Waterdeep is, even if none go directly there. Are we supposed to believe that Khelben does not know about them, where he has previously been shown to be very effective at gathering information and extremely interested in anything that affects Waterdeep's security in the way that portals there do.
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Perhaps Khelben deliberately chose a non-magical method of approach because he was convinced the phaerimm could detect, block, or even control local magical mass-transport methods. Teleporting your entire army single file into a phaerimm ambush is something best avoided. But hey, it might work - Heroes in that trilogy can use teleport as the ultimate sneak-stealth-attack form, while teleported Villains are always disoriented and stunned enough on arrival that the Heroes can get a free shot or two.
Using a non-magical method of transport meant that the phaerimm had time to detect his slow-moving army, ambush it multiple times, kill staggering numbers of people and get repeated chances of taking Everaska before it ever arrived. How could it possibly have been less safe to transport the army between Waterdeep and into the heart of the elven defences?
That was a risk only if the phaerimm were so much more magically powerful than the 'good guys' that they were better at controlling or blocking portals on Khelben's home ground (and whatever area of Evaraska was the safest), which they had no way of visiting for aeons, during a time of his choosing, while all of his allies, even ones not prepared to spend months on the war, could help him. Which would also have meant that the army he was sending was useless anyway.
Khelben chose a strategy that carefully maximised the strength of the enemy and avoided using any of his own. That it did not result in a complete defeat was due to actions of other characters that he had no way to predict, unless he is omniscient. If he did know about everything that was happening and still did this, he's a worse enemy of Everaska and Waterdeep than the phaerimm.
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Bad stories just mean bad generals poorly fighting useless battles against even worse opponents.
I agree that the RotA is a terrible trilogy and I wish it were not canon. But it is and it portrays Laeral and Khelben as terrible at strategy.
The only other time I recall a canonical appearance of Khelben as a general, it was during the sahuagin war. The city was woefully unprepared, the defences were almost useless against the threat and the fighting developed into isolated skirmishes where the commander had no control over what happened.
Waterdeep 'won', but that was due to a massive advantage in numbers, magic and weapons, not generalship. The sahuagin inflicted damage out of all proportion to their military capabilities, mostly because the city had no effective defences against them. As one of Waterdeep's political rulers as well as the general in command, responsibility for the failure to adequately prepare for the threat must fall on Khelben, at least partially. He did not warn anyone soon enough and he did not prepare the city in any way for the possibility of a large-scale undersea attack even in the absence of direct threats*.
From all appearances, he allowed the sahuagin to gain not only strategic surprise, but operational and even tactical surprise. He did not appear to have a staff and his methods of coordinating the forces under his command were primitive and ultimately proved insufficient. He did not deploy for any kind of defence in depth, he failed to anticipate less than perfect success and he did not have any idea where reserves were and how he would deploy them.
Khelben may have served as a general in Realmslore. He has never shown any aptitude for the job in anything I've read.
*The existence of a capability to do so on the part of unfriendly powers ought to have been reason enough to build defences with it in mind, not to mention establish procedures for dealing with it and training men in doing so. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 18:35:32
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I agree that Khelben (and everybody else) really sucked in that trilogy, but I don't put the blame for the suck directly onto Khelben - I put it on the trilogy he was forced to march through. Troy Denning has written some great stuff, but Return of the Archwizards was a definite fail, boldly emblazoning an FR logo upon the cover doesn't make it well written.
Bad stories just mean bad generals poorly fighting useless battles against even worse opponents.
I have to agree. One of the reasons I so dislike that trilogy is because any non-Denning character came across as foolish, incompetent, or both, despite all the source material and novels that say otherwise. The established FR characters he used in that trilogy were very badly mischaracterized. |
| Aulduron |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 18:07:50
Khelben led the successful defense of Waterdeep against the sahuagin |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 18:06:58
So ... you're suggesting Khelben should've marched his army through the cold portal he normally keeps in his pantry?
It's magic. For all we know Khelben's refrigerated pantry required a lot of research, some exotic components, and months of effort to produce, just like any other magical construct. Or he might have simply cast a cold spell not unlike continual light with an indefinite duration, easy to use but limited in actual application.
Perhaps Khelben deliberately chose a non-magical method of approach because he was convinced the phaerimm could detect, block, or even control local magical mass-transport methods. Teleporting your entire army single file into a phaerimm ambush is something best avoided. But hey, it might work - Heroes in that trilogy can use teleport as the ultimate sneak-stealth-attack form, while teleported Villains are always disoriented and stunned enough on arrival that the Heroes can get a free shot or two.
I agree that Khelben (and everybody else) really sucked in that trilogy, but I don't put the blame for the suck directly onto Khelben - I put it on the trilogy he was forced to march through. Troy Denning has written some great stuff, but Return of the Archwizards was a definite fail, boldly emblazoning an FR logo upon the cover doesn't make it well written.
Bad stories just mean bad generals poorly fighting useless battles against even worse opponents. |
| Icelander |
Posted - 30 Mar 2012 : 13:33:48
Indeed. In Return of the Archwizards, Khelben and Laeral performed so badly as generals that one must either approach the trilogy with the mindset that they were deliberately trying to get elves and humans killed for some nefarious goal of their own or lose all respect for their intellectual abilities.
A man who uses a magical portal to keep his pantry cold* made the decision to march an army over difficult terrain for months when reinforcing the elves immediately was militarily vital. One of the worst examples I can name of characters 'conveniently' forgetting abilities that they demonstratably have in order to adjust to the story the author wants.
I'm not going to demand that just because the Chosen live for centuries they be experts at everything. On the other hand, a pretty good working definition for wisdom is knowing when one doesn't know something. If Khelben didn't even have the first idea about military logistics and strategy, he should have turned to someone who did and had him command. And passed on such vital information as 'Oh, by the way, physical distance is fairly meaningless to me, because I know untold secrets of magical portways through the cosmos.'
*And who knew enough about portals to elven realms to be able to reverse engineer one and have his less puissant nephew cast the spell that moved the terminus. Just repeating that process and moving the elfgate again to Everaska would have been enough to save hundreds and even thousands of lives. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 29 Mar 2012 : 23:17:44
-He's a man of many roles. As I remember, he wasn't a particularly good general. |
| Dennis |
Posted - 29 Mar 2012 : 16:47:20
How about Khelben? He was like the unofficial general in Return of the Archwizards. |
| Lord Karsus |
Posted - 28 Mar 2012 : 14:30:56
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Wasn't Regis a halfling? Able to hold his mead well enough I suppose, but not a true dwarf!
Aye, not a dwarf, but perhaps a general of sorts, just the same.
-Like Cattie-Brie, by virtue of time spent among their kind and positions held within their society, Regis more than qualifies as an 'honorary Dwarf'. |
| Thauranil |
Posted - 28 Mar 2012 : 11:22:32
quote:
Originally posted by Bladewind
[quote]Originally posted by Thauranil
I believe that Eldrith the Betrayer was once considered to be among the greatest generals of her age ,before her fall from grace of course.
Where is this figure from?
____
Eldrith The Betrayer is the main villain in the video game Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance. She was a general in the city of well Baldurs Gate and never lost a battle. Until the day her pride lead her to attack the Black horde against the express command of the Grand dukes. However she failed to win this final battle as the Dukes refused to provide her with any reinforcements. Enraged by the 'treachery' she attacked the city herself but lost yet again and perished in the Marsh of Chelimber only to rise again in undeath. Until you slay her again that is. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 17:50:00
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Wasn't Regis a halfling? Able to hold his mead well enough I suppose, but not a true dwarf!
Aye, not a dwarf, but perhaps a general of sorts, just the same.
(I am reminded of Adam Sandler's "Happy Hannukah" song, in which he sung of O.J. Simpson, "NOT a Jew!") |
| Ayrik |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 17:33:16
Wasn't Regis a halfling? Able to hold his mead well enough I suppose, but not a true dwarf! |
| BEAST |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 16:44:35
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
Good list, Beast. 
The dwarven measure for success in battle seems to be raw body-count. No valiant last stand is a failure if the dwarf fells dozens and dozens of worthy foes before being overrun.
Well then, by that measure, all of them dwarfs'd be right proper generals, no doubt.
Only the wee one, Regis, should be questioned, as he felled few, in his day. He was more of an administrator, than general, I s'pose.
King Obould's apparent mastery of mistaken identity in his political propaganda might be enough to make him qualify as a very effective general, regardless of his massive body-count. He won the battle for his troops' hearts and minds, which is the true measure of a leader. Body-count is more of a measure of a warrior-technician, while finding ways to inspire others to up their count is more of a measure of a leader.
Seen in that light, then maybe Steward Regis would qualify, as well, after all. He surely inspired his troops in largescale battles, in two different eras. He was even promoted to steward over the likes of Generals Dagna, Dagnabbit, and Banak.
And thanks for a reminder about that old article, George. I had completely forgotten about that! |
| Erik Scott de Bie |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 16:14:15
I seem to recall there was a thread a while back about the various Oboulds from history, with confusion circulating around the so-called "Obould" (of 1370s fame) but the "current" Obould XVII (of the 1480s era). In fact . . .
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14875
Tangent from the OP, about Generals of the Realms. Sorry about that!
Cheers |
| George Krashos |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 16:01:55
Tom Costa sorted out Obould in an old WotC website article titled "THe Hunter's Blades Trilogy: A History of Many Arrows". That article relevantly said:
Unfortunately, the mountain orcs of the Ice Mountains had other ideas. The humans were under attack from their first day in the Citadel. Some fifty years later in 1104 DR, an orc horde came down from Dead Orc Pass in such numbers that it simply overwhelmed the defenders. Heedless of losses on both sides, the Battle of Many Arrows lasted for more than four months. It ended with the fall of Citadel Felbarr and outright slaughter of the remaining garrisons. Some 40,000 orcs crammed into the fortified city, renamed the Citadel of Many Arrows, which now stood as an example of how orcs could conquer the weaker folk of the south.
One survivor, a wizard who fled by teleport, said the orcs simply "hurled themselves at the walls. We slew them with arrows. . . . The sky rained arrows, with orcs packed so close together that no shaft could miss. But the time came when all our arrows and spells were gone. By then, there were so many dead orcs that the living ones just piled them up against our walls in a heap. It was so high that they could climb it like a mountain and walk in over our battlements. The end wasn't long in coming, then."
Since that day of slaughter, known as the Battle of Many Arrows, orcs have ruled the city. After much bloodletting, Obould, an enormous, bald-headed orc said to be as tall as any two orc warriors (perhaps due to some giantish blood), proclaimed himself King Obould I of the Many-Arrows. The first of his line, Obould still pledged allegiance to the orc kings of the Ice Mountains that had supported him. Obould held his throne largely because he seemed immune to any poisons his rivals could get hold of and also because he shrewdly entered alliances with evil human mages and mind flayers of the Underdark. However, the king was careful to devoutly obey the demands of his shamans so he couldn't be accused of turning from the gods to embrace the magic of outsiders.
For the next 250 years, a long line of orc monarchs ruled the Citadel, pillaging their neighbors and providing a relative safe haven for the orc kin of the Savage Frontier. In turn each king paid some sort of tribute to the orc kings of the Ice Mountains. However, as the Citadel stabilized and became a power in its own right, such fealty became little more than an exchange of gifts and kept promises of continued trade relations.
The Fall of the Citadel of Many Arrows
The current Obould Many-Arrows is descended from the first orc to hold that name and seize the Citadel of Many Arrows. From a young age, the adepts of the Citadel noted Obould was fated for a great destiny among his people. Smarter and more intuitive than most of his kind, he completed quests for his father (and king) and for his tribe's clerics before slaying his father and taking control of his tribe. He faced challengers without suffering injuries amounting to more than some attractive scarring. Skilled in the arts of war and capable of fierce rages, Obould became a fearsome opponent in battle. Obould now has four wives (and at least one mistress, the assassin Numath the Serpent) and eight sons, including his heir Urlgen Threefist, the ambitious Scrauth, the cleric Brymoel, and the ferocious Ugreth. He expects the time will come soon enough when he must fight his upstart children to defend his throne, and he is ready for it.
There you have it.
-- George Krashos
|
| Ayrik |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 11:33:47
Good list, Beast.
The dwarven measure for success in battle seems to be raw body-count. No valiant last stand is a failure if the dwarf fells dozens and dozens of worthy foes before being overrun. |
| BEAST |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 02:36:20
quote:
Originally posted by Ayrik
I'm surprised there's little mention of dwarven generals. Dwarves like battle just as much as they like recounting in-depth accomplishments of their ancestors (accomplishments often measured in terms of prowess at warfare and slaying).
Bah! I was getting around to it...
Is winning a major battle the only legitimate measure of a great general? What about simply stalling an enemy long enough to allow for other operations to succeed? What about failed, but valiant last stands?
King Bruenor Battlehammer - Icewind Dale, Mithral Hall, the North, the Sword Coast - Battle of Ten-Towns, Battle of Icewind Dale (The Crystal Shard); Battle to re-take Mithral Hall (The Halfling's Gem); Battle for the head of the spider (Siege of Darkness).
Steward Regis - Calimport, Icewind Dale, Mithral Hall, the North, the Sword Coast - Headed preparations of the Hall for mass drow invasion (Starless Night); Oversaw all Hall operations while under siege by King Obould Many-Arrows (The Lone Drow).
General Dagnabit Waybeard - Citadel Adbar, then Mithral Hall - originally credited with being co-leader of the Battle to re-take Mithral Hall (The Halfling's Gem); as King Bruenor lay dying, impersonated Bruenor and Rallied the troops during the Siege of Shallows (The Thousand Orcs).
General Dagna Waybeard - Citadel Adbar, then Mithral Hall - subsequently credited with being co-leader of the Battle to re-take Mithral Hall (The Legacy); Battle for the Undercity (Siege of Darkness); Battle to protect Nesmé refugees from relentless drow-led trolls (The Two Swords).
(The above confusion was later clarified by making Dagna the father, and Dagnabbit {new spelling} the son {The Thousand Orcs; The Lone Drow}. 'Twould appear that General Dagnabit/Dagnabbit was indeed the one who helped to re-take Mithral Hall; but General Dagna, being the elder, was appointed to the formal position of commander of King Bruenor's military forces.)
High Cleric of the Halls Stumpet Rakingclaw - Citadel Adbar, then Mithral Hall, then Icewind Dale - Battle of Keeper's Dale (Siege of Darkness).
Warlord/General Banak Brawnanvil - Icewind Dale, then Mithral Hall - Battle to delay invading orcs along the northern plateau overlooking Keeper's Dale (The Lone Drow). |
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