| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Barastir |
Posted - 16 Oct 2012 : 18:09:59
Dear sages,
Can you please help me discovering the exact dates of some battles of the Realms? I have some priests of Tempus in my game that would know the day of these battles, and consider them holy days (as per Faiths & Avatars). So, I'd like to know specifically about:
- The final battle of the Moonshae Druid Queen trilogy, in which Grond Peaksmasher intervenes, in 1365 DR;
- The Battle of Daggerford in 1363 DR;
- The establishment of the Hold of the Battle Lions in the Dragonspear Castle, in 1315 DR;
- The first and second Dragonspear wars, in 1356 and 1363 DR respectivelly.
Thank you in advance, fellows. |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Barastir |
Posted - 16 Jan 2013 : 09:33:07
Thank you once again, Ammag!  |
| Ammag |
Posted - 15 Jan 2013 : 18:59:18
http://www.amazon.com/Baldurs-Gate-Alliance-Official-Strategy/dp/0761543856
The surface map is for crap, but the cellars and caverns are cool. You have to do a little figuring out to mesh all the canon maps to it, but it's not too hard when you add in all the tunnels that split off the underground river that could lead anywhere. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 15 Jan 2013 : 15:35:05
Very good! I have the Atlas, and the Interactive Atlas too. I thought the Elminster Ecologies' reference was similar to the Volo's Guide, so never checked it out paying much attention. I haven't read Dragons of Faerûn because I tend to focus on 2e material, since I'm DMing a 2e campaign, but I'll look into it. And finally, where can I find this Baldur's Gate off-canon material?  |
| Ammag |
Posted - 15 Jan 2013 : 14:06:00
quote:
Originally posted by Barastir
@Ammag: More sources about Daggerford or Dragonspear? Can you tell me where else can I find lore about them? (Oh, besides the Avatar series I forgot to mention earlier...)
I'm not sure about dates, but I can give you other lore sources: Volo's Guide is the best, but there's also a bit of Dragonspear lore in Elminster's Ecologies Appendix II: the High Moor (mostly about Daeros' activities, but Elminster hint's that "it's not that easy" to close the Gate to the lower plains in the castle), and in Dragons of Faerun it says that the Ghost of Daeros' copper dragon Halatathlaer "lives" in the castle still, and that the black dragon Sharndrel (the only known survivor of the fall of Dragonspear Castle) is still alive in the High Moor.
Cross-reference with the fact that ghosts of people (and dragons?) who died in the castle attack anyone who messes with the Gate, and the fact that Ghost Dragons can only be appeased with the return of their treasure, and there's a couple of good adventure seeds right there.
I also go off-canon a bit and use the maps of the Dragonspear Cellars provided in Primo's Guide to Baldur's Gate II: Dark Alliance for the cellars Daeros built. I even use the levers and everything. But in Hordes of Dragonspear as you know it mentions many more natural caverns, and hints of tunnels that predate those, which Vesarius the Cornugon built. No maps of those beyond the labyrinth exist.
The map of the surface of the castle is found in both Atlas and the Waterdeep FRE3 module, which seems to confuse the cellars with the basement of the S/W tower of the inner wall as stated in the novel, but whatever. |
| Lord Bane |
Posted - 15 Jan 2013 : 10:50:24
While digging through the sourcebooks i didnīt come across a specific day mentioned, thatīs why i said i didnīt find anything because i thought you wanted the day and not the month it went down.
The blame is on my interpretation it seems  |
| Barastir |
Posted - 15 Jan 2013 : 10:02:26
@Lord Bane: Days would be perfect, months are fine... If you have something else to share, please be welcome!
@Ammag: More sources about Daggerford or Dragonspear? Can you tell me where else can I find lore about them? (Oh, besides the Avatar series I forgot to mention earlier...) |
| Lord Bane |
Posted - 15 Jan 2013 : 09:21:10
I was under the impression you wanted the exact day when you asked for the date. Meh, guess i could have delievered the months aswell  |
| Ammag |
Posted - 14 Jan 2013 : 18:45:38
And more! :) |
| Barastir |
Posted - 14 Jan 2013 : 18:31:42
True enough... Well, I suppose you have access to "Under Illefarn", "Hordes of Dragonspear", "Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast", "The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier" and the adventure book "Spawn of Dragonspear", or at least to the info on these books... |
| Ammag |
Posted - 14 Jan 2013 : 14:13:17
Yes, it's from the old AD&D one. I'm obsessed with tracking down official Dragonspear lore, and I found a source index that listed Lands of Intrigue as mentioning Dragonspear -- I didn't even realize Amn was involved in that war until then. Feast of the Moon is already holy to Tempus though, hahaha. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 14 Jan 2013 : 09:49:32
Very nicely done, Ammag! I never thought of looking in the "Lands of Intrigue" boxed set... Besides, this info in the Cyclopedia of the Realms, is it from the Old Grey Box? |
| Ammag |
Posted - 14 Jan 2013 : 07:02:02
First Dragonspear War is all I can find. Looks like the Feast of the Moon (Uktar) is the official end date.
From Cyclopedia of the Realms:
"Year of the Worm Dale Reckoning 1356
Hammer (January)
There is fierce fighting in the Sword Coast lands just south of Water-deep. Dragonspear Castle has been besieged and set afire by the troop of Waterdeep, but devils are loose in the Open Marches and there is no safe travel thereabouts. The merchant-kingdom of Amn is said to be massing armies along its northern borders."
"Tarsakh
(April)
Savage fighting continues in the Open Marches about the blazing ruin of Dragonspear Castle. A sorcerous mist has arisen and cloaked the land for a tenday now, but within it small companies of men and goblins and devils still clash. Caravan travel in the vicinity has turned aside, south to Baldur's Gate. Amn's armies have gathered on its northern border but have not yet moved into a fray. It is rumored in Waterdeep that all of the master mage Khelben's magic cannot dispel the strange mist. The fearsome carcasses of slain devils have been carried in triumph through the streets of the city. Some fear a way has been opened between the Nine Hells themselves and our world, as more or more reports of devils seen in greater numbers than ever before come to the city."
Year of the Prince
Dale Reckoning 1357
"Ches (March)
All is quiet around Dragonspear Castle. The armies encamped there report that no devils or other foes have been seen since The Feast of the Moon (previous Uktar). But at least one caravan from Calimshan, heading north-wards from the borders of Amn at the beginning of Ches, has vanished without a trace in the lands between Amn and the Way Inn, where Waterdeep's forces have a guard on the road. Knights of the Waterdeep Watch are readying griffons for aerial patrols along the caravan-ways as soon as spring comes. Young griffons and intact, warm griffon eggs are sought,and Piergeiron will pay top prices for any brought to him in Waterdeep.
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| Ammag |
Posted - 14 Jan 2013 : 04:33:21
I just found something in Lands of Intrigue about the first Dragonspear War:
"1356 Year of the Worm
(Tarsakh) Amn's armies move to the Green Fields to
guard against the forces of Dragonspear Castle. A
vapor cloaks the lands, hiding skirmishes and people;
Khelben Arunsun cannot dispel the strange mist.
(Mirtul) Amn's armies turn back the baatezu and
pursue them north. All trade traffic heading north
from Amn or west of Iriaebor stops.
(Uktar) The war against Dragonspear Castle ends
in late summer, but straggling troops and deserting
monsters delay the army's return. By the Feast of the
Moon, Amn's armies come home to victory parties."
I'll see if I can dig up some more specific dates about the Dragonspear Wars. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 11:43:16
Thank you guys!
Markustay, I've already checked the Atlas. And I'll send my question to Eric. Thanks for the clues!
Hoondatha, the Hold of the Battle Lions is cited on the Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast and, IIRC, is also mentioned in GHoTR. However, it misses a specific date. Besides, I've read the trilogy of the Druid Queen, but I think it only gives us an approximate time of the year. And finally, about the Dragonspear Wars I was asking of the final/climatic battles (like the day in which the dragon destroyed the Way Inn). But based in your response, at least the Second War would depend on the adventurer's timing, since it's tied to the Battle of Daggerford.
Anyone else? |
| Markustay |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 20:06:26
The FR Atlas has exact dates for the first Moonshae trilogy. Can't find anything on the rest (and I think you are looking for info from the 2nd trilogy, correct?)
Erik Boyb might have a date for you on the Daggerford one (and perhaps the others as well). |
| Hoondatha |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 20:04:11
In order:
1) I haven't read that trilogy, so I don't know. You might want to check the book and see if you can work it out from references in the text; sometimes that's really easy, sometimes not.
2) That battle is from an adventure and is contingent on the PC's arriving. So no firm date can be given; in essence, the date is "whenever you manage to get out of the castle, the battle is about to start"
3) I've never even heard of this one, so if it's not in Grand History, you're on your own.
4) These are wars, not battles, and so by definition have multiple dates.
I'd say just go by DM fiat and assign them dates. Unless the Moonshae druid book says something about time of year, they're all probably going to be in the summer and early fall, as that's when almost all campaigning is done. Very little fighting happens during the winter, especially the further north you go. |
| Lord Bane |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 19:02:40
I couldnīt find any referance on the exact date in the sourcebooks aside the date of year. |
| Barastir |
Posted - 18 Oct 2012 : 17:47:54
Hey, folks!
Two days past and nobody has answered until now... No one knows those dates? No lore available? |
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