The War in the Core

[The Lesser Evil]

I think most people just leave Markovia alone. Dementlieu and Lamordia have both tried (and failed, badly) to colonize it but have had whole settlements disappear.

What little canon information we have on Blaustein gives us no sign they have any kind of naval presence, or at least organized naval presence. (Blaustein has but a single village in it) They are described mostly as insular, xenophobic peasants and thugs that attack foreign vessels on sight. Blaustein has but a single village on it. At best, they could be raiders and pirates, but not organized conquerors or invaders.

Bluebeard himself has little reason to make an alliance either. He might wish for a source of foreign brides, but with his darklord powers, he can seemingly bring them to him.

[thekristhomas]

I think most people just leave Markovia alone. Dementlieu and Lamordia have both tried (and failed, badly) to colonize it but have had whole settlements disappear.

What little canon information we have on Blaustein gives us no sign they have any kind of naval presence, or at least organized naval presence. (Blaustein has but a single village in it) They are described mostly as insular, xenophobic peasants and thugs that attack foreign vessels on sight. Blaustein has but a single village on it. At best, they could be raiders and pirates, but not organized conquerors or invaders.

Bluebeard himself has little reason to make an alliance either. He might wish for a source of foreign brides, but with his darklord powers, he can seemingly bring them to him.

Yes, I agree that Blaustein as it stands poses little other than a nuisance level of threat, and Bluebeard has little reason to ally (from the description in QtR19 he seems to actually be able to leave his domain for periods, surely unique amongst DL). But, if the VWB were able to gain control of the domain, by killing Bluebeard and replacing him with a minion (granted that's quite a big "if") then the more militarily minded group might make good use of a near impenetrable island fortress, with a large well defended harbour. In the QtR article 15 ships are in the dock, now, while not all of those are truly Blausteiners (they all fly the Blaustein flag) I think the VWB would have little difficulty charming/replacing with minions the crews of those vessels plus any others that arrive to trade, and 15 ships is quite the navy

Also, and again this is quite a big "if", if the VWB, through their vanquishing of Dominiani have gained control over/the support of the remaining cerebral vampires, and (another if) if the slaying of Dominiani has allowed them to create spawn, then the VWB would have access to a peculiarly maritime bloodline of vampire allies, well suited to crewing the ships annexed from Blaustein.

Assuming the Darkonian/Blaustein non aggression pact were to survive the VWB's seizure of Blaustein, with Lamordia and Dementlieu tying each other's navies up, that would leave only Mordent to oppose the VWB for control of the Sea of Sorrows (or at least the section of it nearest the core), and while Mordent probably has many more ships, they would potentially be facing crews of vampires. Even if the VWB don't launch an invasion at this point (after all, they haven't really taken anywhere with the population to create a land army) their grip on shipping would cause the gold to flow to them and establish them as a serious player. By the time the Lamordians have annexed Dementlieu it could be a fete accompli, with little to be done but sign some new treaties.

[The Lesser Evil]

Hmm, I just had another thought for a potential pirate alliance. Baytown in Lamordia/the Isle of Agony is filled with seawolf pirates.

[thekristhomas]

Hmm, I just had another thought for a potential pirate alliance. Baytown in Lamordia/the Isle of Agony is filled with seawolf pirates.

Sea Wolves, Cerebral Vampires and Blausteiners...oh my! Of course Baytown has no real ties to Lamordia in general, and if they kept their business from bothering Adam I can't see him being bothered. Acting as slavers they could seriously depopulate the Mordentish coast, (which would be quite appropriate, whole villages where seized by slavers on the South coast of England).

Timing would be critical, if the VWB moved to dominate the Sea of Sorrows too early, they would face opposition from a combined Dementlieu/Mordent fleet (assuming Lamordia would want to stay out of it to weaken Dementlieu pre-invasion)

Too late and Lamordia has already annexed Dementlieu, uniting their fleets and possibly seeking peace with Mordent. A Greater Lamordian Navy would hardly stand for a pirate fleet controlling shipping unless they had too.

[thekristhomas]

been thinking of making a campaign map of this

[Mistmaster]

Maybe it have been mentioned, I apologize but i didn't read the whole thread, but, to start, this war is needed surly one thing: a pact Azalin-Drakov of non aggression.

[thekristhomas]

Maybe it have been mentioned, I apologize but i didn't read the whole thread, but, to start, this war is needed surly one thing: a pact Azalin-Drakov of non aggression.

I'm not sure that it's needed, Azalin's already made it clear that he's not really interested in the war, as long as the Dukkar survives, and IMHO Drakov wouldn't risk what may be his one last chance of leading his armies by going against Darkon

[Mistmaster]

But Darkon and Falkovnia are already in a state of quasi-war. Drakov will never divert troops from the northern border if he hasnotthe assurance he won't get invaded.

[thekristhomas]

But Darkon and Falkovnia are already in a state of quasi-war. Drakov will never divert troops from the northern border if he hasnotthe assurance he won't get invaded.

I'm not sure that Drakov has ever used his army defensively (YMMV), and he has committed to invasions previously without any assurances

[thekristhomas]

The Lamordian Invasion of Dementlieu

1. Falkovnia invades Richemulot and closes it's markets to Four Towers nations. In preparation for the inevitable Falkovnian aggression, D'Honaire sends troops to Chateaufaux, leaving Port-a-Lucine almost unguarded

2. The Brain Strikes! Vive La Revolutione! The old adage that a country is only ever a few missed meals away from revolution is proved, with the assistance of Rudolph von Aubreker

3. The mob storms the Domaines de la Vie Eclairee, blood runs in the streets, cornered in his mansion D'Honaire is led in chains to the guillotine. The Brain becomes DL

4. On the pretext of restoring order, Lamordia sends an invasion fleet, it lands in Sable Bay, occupying the Domaines first and then moving on to the city

5. The Lamordian land army crosses the Musarde and marches on Port-a-Lucine

6. To prevent relief from Chateaufaux a small force is dispatched to Edrigan, resulting in the only significant military action of the campaign, native forces are routed

7. Now only a formality troops are sent to accept the surrender of the Chateaufaux garrison.

For now, peace is declared, Gerda von Aubreker is made Head of the Council of Brilliance she appoints many members of the extended D'Honaire family as ministers.

[thekristhomas]

The Axis Attacks

1. Following the assassination of Ivana Boritsi, Mallochio Aderre sends troops to attack Levcharest

2. At the same time Vlad Drakov sends troops to lay siege to Pont-a-Museau

3. Both men meet in Aerie

4. After successfully guiding Vlad Drakov across the border into Richemulot, Aderre leads his mercenary army into Borca

5. Drakov's army pushes cross country to Mortigny, it falls easily, a forest of impalments results

6. Invidian forces push on to Ilvin, Ivan Dilisnya fails to make use of this choke point and flees north

7. Vor Ziyden is put to siege

8. St Ronges falls, the feast that follows is memorable for the genuine joviality of it's host Vlad Drakov, he hasn't felt this good for decades.

9. Aderre takes Lechburg and captures Ivan, he plans to keep him alive

10. Vlad Drakov reaches Pont-a-Museau and prepares to reduce the walls

[jamesfirecat]

For now, peace is declared, Gerda von Aubreker is made Head of the Council of Brilliance she appoints many members of the extended D'Honaire family as ministers.

Why are we appointing family members of the guy who screwed things up so badly that there was a revolution in the first place?

Shouldn't we be appointing family members of the governor/the guy who the Council of Brilliance was there to advise, Marcel Guignol?

[The Lesser Evil]

Maybe it have been mentioned, I apologize but i didn't read the whole thread, but, to start, this war is needed surly one thing: a pact Azalin-Drakov of non aggression.

I see this as fairly unlikely, given Azalin and Drakov's mutual hatred. HOWEVER, there might be a certain set of circumstances where it might happen.
1) Drakov gets in a war with the nations of the Treaty of Four Towers and gets a bit overwhelmed
2) Drakov retains the alliance with Invidia/Malocchio
3)Malocchio is somehow freed from his binding curse
4) Azalin wants to lure Malocchio in for his purposes relating to the Gentleman Caller, perhaps under the auspices of finalizing a treaty or alliance.

In Gaz IV, Azalin speculates about using Malocchio's border skirmishes with Barovia and Borca (mostly Barovia, as its soldiers could easily overwhelm Malocchio's). It might be fairly easy for Azalin's Kargat to agitate things such that these low-key border skirmishes boil over into open warfare. Malocchio presses Drakov for help and additional aid. Darkon might offer nonaggression (or even, as unlikely as it may seem, limited assistance) in order to get in good with Invidia/Malocchio. Perhaps as the wars go south, Darkon's Kargat help Malocchio get free of his binding and then either abandon Invidia entirely or visit Darkon to formalize a greater alliance. And there, either Azalin springs his trap or keeps Malocchio there under some pretenses (false or not.)

And if we wanted to muddy the waters even more, the Tribe of Hyskosa show up and kidnap the Dukkar or otherwise disrupt Azalin's plans relating to Malocchio. Of course, the actions of the Tribe of Hyskosa may cause a rupture between the various factions of the the Vistani on how to properly respond to the threat. (On the one hand, there's preventing the Time of Unparalleled Darkness, and on the other, there is the rebinding of the Dukkar. Both goals may not involve the same solutions.)

[thekristhomas]

For now, peace is declared, Gerda von Aubreker is made Head of the Council of Brilliance she appoints many members of the extended D'Honaire family as ministers.

Why are we appointing family members of the guy who screwed things up so badly that there was a revolution in the first place?

Shouldn't we be appointing family members of the governor/the guy who the Council of Brilliance was there to advise, Marcel Guignol?

This is actually a central pillar in Celeste D'Honaire-Loverde's plan to wrest DLship from the Brain, she wants to ensure the Council of Brilliance is largely "clean" and the D'Honaires are immune to mind control, when the time comes however, they will be easy scapegoats
for her to mark as "collaborators" and "Lamordian lackeys" when La Resistance regains control.

The "public" story is that the Lamordians are acting as "peacekeepers" supporting the "legitimate" government (are all the quotation marks irritating?) but that Marcel Guignol (or whoever has replaced him by this point in time) has lost his mandate from the people, so Gerda von Aubreker will act as a "caretaker" Governor in his stead.

For me, this ties in with how I imagine the Brains victory over Dominic soon turns to ashes in his mouth (if he had a mouth). Once he kills Dominic and becomes DL, he imagines that gaining control of the Council of Brilliance will be easy. His sister, Gerda, should make a suitable puppet, and he is pleased by how events have conspired to have him, the true heir to Lamordia, DL over a now Lamordian controlled domain, and once he gains control of his sister, he will finally be the ruler of Lamordia, as it was always supposed to be. However, when he tries to control one of the new appointees to the council, he fails, they are seemingly immune. When he manages to get into range of Gerda he finds that she is already controlled by another. The political system, his sister, Lamordia, all snatched away when they seemed so close. It is his curse to never gain control over the political power in Dementlieu, he earned his DLship through decades of criminal activity within the Dementlieu underground and in the underground he is fated to remain. Under him the domain becomes a kind of negative reflection of itself under D'Honaire, the class struggle that existed goes on but this time the DL is running the mob (in both senses)

[jamesfirecat]

This is actually a central pillar in Celeste D'Honaire-Loverde's plan to wrest DLship from the Brain, she wants to ensure the Council of Brilliance is largely "clean" and the D'Honaires are immune to mind control, when the time comes however, they will be easy scapegoats
for her to mark as "collaborators" and "Lamordian lackeys" when La Resistance regains control.

The "public" story is that the Lamordians are acting as "peacekeepers" supporting the "legitimate" government (are all the quotation marks irritating?) but that Marcel Guignol (or whoever has replaced him by this point in time) has lost his mandate from the people, so Gerda von Aubreker will act as a "caretaker" Governor in his stead.

For me, this ties in with how I imagine the Brains victory over Dominic soon turns to ashes in his mouth (if he had a mouth). Once he kills Dominic and becomes DL, he imagines that gaining control of the Council of Brilliance will be easy. His sister, Gerda, should make a suitable puppet, and he is pleased by how events have conspired to have him, the true heir to Lamordia, DL over a now Lamordian controlled domain, and once he gains control of his sister, he will finally be the ruler of Lamordia, as it was always supposed to be. However, when he tries to control one of the new appointees to the council, he fails, they are seemingly immune. When he manages to get into range of Gerda he finds that she is already controlled by another. The political system, his sister, Lamordia, all snatched away when they seemed so close. It is his curse to never gain control over the political power in Dementlieu, he earned his DLship through decades of criminal activity within the Dementlieu underground and in the underground he is fated to remain. Under him the domain becomes a kind of negative reflection of itself under D'Honaire, the class struggle that existed goes on but this time the DL is running the mob (in both senses)

That explains what happens but not really why, is is Gerda mind controlled by another D'Honaire into appointing a bunch of them to the Council of Brilliance?

Sorry I must have missed this particular part of the plotline/plan...