To clip a falcon's wings

[Rock of the Fraternity]

For decades, Drakov has been the terror of the 'civilized' Core, and now he's scheming with Malocchio to start Core War One!

Let's say enough people want to launch a preemptive strike and cut the old mass-murderer down before he can launch his first attack.
How would/should they go about it?
Who do you think would participate in such a venture?
And succeed or fail, what would happen to Falkovnia and its planned collaberation with Invidia to crush the Four Towers nations?
A new Darklord? A subjugated Fslkovnia? Or no Darklord and Falkovnia gets divided between neighbouring domsins? Would the huddled masses of Falkovnia finslly get a taste of freedom?

What do you think?

[Mistmaster]

The point is that if they strike first they will be crashed; In theyr home ground Falkovnian's armies are to much superior, even in canon (In my version, with Drakov at theyr head, they never loose period). Paradoxally, that would still work on Drahov curse, because it woud frustrate his plan of conquest, both in the short and in the medium time.

[Five]

Dementlieu, beefed-up with forces from Mordent, Richemulot and Borca, spearheads the invasion and conducts hit and run tactics in northern Falkovnia, with the true goal of establishing a lateral blockade as far north of Scythe's Crescent as they can manage, all the while anticipating a slow fallback/"retreat" to the south, but with gunsmoke always to the north.

The main forces of Richemulot and Mordent move to seize and secure the wheat fields, where they quickly harvest as much of it as they can. They then torch the rest of it after sending their spoils home and proceed north to meet up with and relieve the northern blockade.

Borca and Richemulot move on Silbervas and begin an assault, biding time for their water assault to set up shop from the safe enough distance of the Scharhag River and then begins pounding the city with barrage after barrage of cannonfire. Their mission? Destroy/Delay.

Mordent longhunters, captaining and training on the fly small crews from their allied nations, all the while are setting up ambush points all throughout the peripheral of Scythe's Crescent, Scythe Road, and the forests north and west of Aerie (Seelewald, ?), rifling Falkovnian soldiers (Talons and officers) as they see fit before ghosting away to their next hit.

Lamordian sandbaggers, loyal to Gerta (who has made her decision as to where Lamordia stands or should stand; far away as possible and free from "barbarian warmongers' shackles") begin their subtle work and Falkovnian supply trains and equipment encounter "technical difficulties", disease-carrier rats (some of which are secretly wererats) are simultaneously (and perhaps unknowingly; Richemulot!) released into every city, and the oil of the Falkovnian War Machine begins to dry up in the long game.

Insurrection begins to raise its bloody fist inside the cities, led perhaps fittingly by the "Lost King" Gondegal (who would no doubt be one of, if not the key strategist in the campaign). And it becomes larger and more violent as the food shortages begin. Gondegal, being the antithesis of Drakov, would probably like nothing more than to corner, call out, and engage the sadistic despot in a one-on-one and very public clash of titans that'll be spoken of for generations, win or lose. If he wins, the tyrant is dead and the people freed from generational oppression. If he loses he becomes a legend of resistance, and the much-needed spark of fight for all present and future Falkovnians. At least, for as long as the story is told...

Should the Hawk fall, I can see the remnants of the Falkovnian loyalists heading south for Invidia, and that realm becoming the future militaristic threat to the Core. Borca is plundered along the way. Just cos.

Should he survive, then the Treaty of Four Towers would probably disintegrate with inevitable finger-pointing (if they're smart about it they should play possum and behave like it has even if it hasn't, in order to bait Vlad's anticipated localised response. Classic wear and tear!). And once the Falkovnian army recovers/rebuilds, it's morale soaring to unheard of heights because of its successful defending of all that it is, then woes be to the Core for when Vlad lashes out in furious retaliation!

That's all I have right now. I probably should put more thought into it. But those are my initial thoughts

[The Lesser Evil]

Always good to have another iteration of Core War discussions. It's been a while since the last one, so if I'm segueing down old territory, please let me know.

For the current set of circumstances proposed for this thread, the most direct scenario I could imagine is if you took as canon that Strahd/Order of the Ebon Gargoyle was using the Freemen of Falkovnia as messengers and weapon/etc. smugglers through Falkovnia into Darkon for Barovian agents working there. That they have a financial backing that keeps Josephine Chantreaux of Dementlieu from allying with/financing/manipulating them on behalf of Dementlieu, a thread that irritates her to no end. Undoubtedly, Chantreaux will want to learn who's responsible for cashblocking her, and she will probably have some sort of agents/spies. Or perhaps Azalin has found and let her know- they would have a common enemy in Falkovnia, not to mention Azalin's shenanigans with Malocchio/Invidia if they joined the party.

Let's say that Strahd is planning on sending something on the smaller side of a weapon of mass destruction to inhibit Azalin as the lich king goes about his plans to shake up the demiplane (could be the plot to gather the Children of the Gentlemen Caller- maybe he was told of some vague plan by the Gentleman Caller himself?) In any case, Chantreaux discovers the Freemen have been kept out of the loop on the magnitude of the weapon they're delivering and leaks it to the Freemen, who decide to take it for their own purposes and use it in the middle of Falkovnia's capital. At some point, Drakov's forces may discover it, and they rush to intercept. And Strahd's goons also learn about it, so there's a three-way standoff between the Freemen, Strahd's agents, and the Falkovnian military. The Falkovnians are better organized than the Freemen and they're on their own turf, so they're likely to be the better for it. Regardless of who wins, Drakov probably escapes decimation, and the magic nuke goes off by accident in Falkovnia, killing hundreds if not thousands. Or they get ahold of it and perform research on it before unleashing a bomb on a nearby country- like Dementlieu if they knew about it, or maybe Borca if they didn't- Borca's corruption might make it the weakest link in the Treaty of Four Towers.

Either way, the treaty of four towers is put to the test for the first real time. In addition to the Falkovnians, the Invidians launch an attack on an already besieged Borca, going into a pincer attack. Barovia is a wild card- not allied with the Treaty, probably has enmity toward Borca because of the Dilisnyas and if Strahd finds out about Dementlieu's meddling, they're on his hit list too- or at least Chartreaux. On the other hand, he's certainly not a friend of Drakov- especially since the Falkovnians stole his personal goody. And Mallochio's long been violating his borders. And Azalin is lingering in on the background, observing for the moment.

Other possible complications:
-Gabrielle Aderre decides that this is a good time to push for revolution against Mallochio, and sending her lovers Ardonk and Matton to war against her enemies gives her a good way of distracting them from her daughter's true nature. Matton brings in his wolfweres from Kartakass, and the native Kartakans are also super keen to see the tyrannical Invidia fall.
-Seeing Malocchio having to deal with a foreign war and a reinvigorated insurrection, Sithicus attacks Invidia. The relationship between the two domains has become more hostile since the events of the Hour of Screaming Shadows, and it comes to a head here.
-With Sithicus/Azrael distracted, Lady Adeline from Valachan tries to woo the Sithican elves into supporting her, which foments Sithican discord and causes more rebellious upsets in Sithicus. Adeline hopes it will lead to her empowerment in that domain on behalf of her master.

[Five]

I have a hard time seeing Strahd as an offensive player, for reasons I can't quite put into words. I do see him as an overly-aggressive defender (his ego) though. That said it's new ground for me to see him making any moves other than keeping tabs on Azalin, his only real threat (in his mind). However, I am not willing to rule out anything so I'll sit back on this one and just read all about it.

As to Lady Adeline, yes. I always did view her as having greater potential and such a move fits in with my past and current views of her. Once in Sithicus I can she her learning about those Memory Mirrors, and quickly formulating a plan for her to short game rule/hold Sithicus on behalf of von Kharkov (a mixture of legit and lip service) and seed a long game plan for her to eventually make a move to rule Valachan as well, after toppling her affectedly-morose "master". The elves of Sithicus would probably be more open to an elf ruling them (even if they're not actually one of their own), especially if led under the pretenses of rebuilding/restoring their crumbling culture/racial pride. Black Leopards mixed with elven vampires; the Veiled Mistress would stand to be a force to be reckoned with...down the road.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

IMC, he was assassinated by his own people, and Falkovnia disintegrated into civil war, with petty warlords ruling fiefdoms. What's worse than a megalomaniacal tyrant on the throne? A dozen of them vying for it.

[Five]

IMC, he was assassinated by his own people, and Falkovnia disintegrated into civil war, with petty warlords ruling fiefdoms. What's worse than a megalomaniacal tyrant on the throne? A dozen of them vying for it.

Yeah, no doubt.

I like that play. Mercs' slice of heaven, and a bloody nightmare to cut through/navigate...!

[DeepShadow of FoS]

IMC, he was assassinated by his own people, and Falkovnia disintegrated into civil war, with petty warlords ruling fiefdoms. What's worse than a megalomaniacal tyrant on the throne? A dozen of them vying for it.

Yeah, no doubt.

I like that play. Mercs' slice of heaven, and a bloody nightmare to cut through/navigate...!

Glad you like it. Here's the basic timeline:
*760 BC Vlad Drakov is assassinated; Falkovnia descends into total anarchy, with warring factions loyal to various warlords and freedom fighters vying for control. Hundreds of refugees flee to Dementlieu, Lamordia, Richemulot, even Darkon. Thousands more are trapped in Falkovnia under the thumb of various petty tyrants.
*762 BC A handful of warlords and power brokers form the Eminent Council, a new Falkovnian government. Their control only covers about one-third of the previous domain.
*763 BC Having extended their control to two thirds of Falkovnia, the Eminent Council appeals to their neighbors for additional protection. Invoking a provision in the Treaty of Four Towers, several nations bordering Darkon convene a meeting and forge a series of new agreements over the next several years. Sharing their common problems with Falkovnian refugees, Lamordia petitions to join the new council of nations.
*Queen of Orphans Campaign Begins

And of course, the Eminent Council is composed of several familiar warlords:

Marcos Vedarrek--Former Talon, de facto ambassador to Dementlieu, and a wizard of no small renown
Calons Weir--Former Falkfuhrer of Intelligence
Mikhail Drakov--Former Falkfuhrer of the Arcane, and son of Vlad Drakov.
Pol Amarant--Former General-Falkfuhrer of Stangengrad Academy
Gondegal--The so-called "Lost King," former leader of the People's Rebellion insurrection against Vlad Drakov.

They appear to be the region's best hope for relatively peaceful rule, but they have a lot of work ahead of them.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Myself, I'd start any attack on Drakov with a feint: a sudden, sharp assault on Malocchio.

With promises of increased holdings, Harkon Lukas and Azrael Dak execute a pincer attack on Invidia, with Harkon sending as many wolfweres as he can bully to support Matton.
This need not be successful, it just needs to be flashy and loud and prolonged.
Predictably, Malocchio uses his troops to secure his own hide and either calls Drakov for more, or Drakov sends them himself to make sure all their preparations don't go to waste.

While Drakov is preoccupied with the battle down south - and likely expecting a military assault on Falkovnia - secret preparations have been underway for a very special assassination. A series of Enlightened Children, shaped like beautiful women, is being shipped from Paridon to Richemulot and then Borca. En route, some are pumped full of Jacqueline Renier's Becoming Plague; others, the nastiest poisons Ivan Dilisnya and Ivana Boritsi can come up with.
None of this harms the seemingly completely human golems, who are disguised as travelling merchants and moved towards the Falkovnian border.

Just to tip Drakov further off-balance, the Spawn of the Lizard and the Shadow Insurrection, backed with weapons and explosives provided by Dementlieu and Lamordia, start coordinated attacks on key military targets in Falkovnia.

The assassin golems move into Falkovnia and are predictably arrested. Ideally, they would be taken for Drakov's dinner entertainment as suspected foreign agents. Alternatively, he could select one or more for his other entertainment. Either way, Drakov is about to get one of the nastiest shocks of his life when the rigged golems start exploding as soon as they are within striking distance of him, and he (and any members of his inner circle nearby) gets drenched in the Core's deadliest poisons and/or most virulent plague.

[Mistmaster]

How do you assassinate a 17 level fighter who has the HP, the Fortitude and the fighting skill to survive each one, thought? A very lucky critical hit?

[Five]

How do you assassinate a 17 level fighter who has the HP, the Fortitude and the fighting skill to survive each one, thought? A very lucky critical hit?

You gotta believe in the script, and you can't be a slave to game mechanics. I mean, the mighty Alexander the Great died of fever, Julius Caesar got killed by knives, Attila the Hun a nosebleed, Richard I (the Lionheart) a crossbow bolt, Genghis Khan falling off his horse...

Question should be: Would the power(s) behind Drakov "allow" him to be assassinated in this way, or would they somehow give him a new lease on his sentence?

[Five]

Here's the basic timeline:
*760 BC Vlad Drakov is assassinated; Falkovnia descends into total anarchy, with warring factions loyal to various warlords and freedom fighters vying for control. Hundreds of refugees flee to Dementlieu, Lamordia, Richemulot, even Darkon. Thousands more are trapped in Falkovnia under the thumb of various petty tyrants.
*762 BC A handful of warlords and power brokers form the Eminent Council, a new Falkovnian government. Their control only covers about one-third of the previous domain.
*763 BC Having extended their control to two thirds of Falkovnia, the Eminent Council appeals to their neighbors for additional protection. Invoking a provision in the Treaty of Four Towers, several nations bordering Darkon convene a meeting and forge a series of new agreements over the next several years. Sharing their common problems with Falkovnian refugees, Lamordia petitions to join the new council of nations.
*Queen of Orphans Campaign Begins

And of course, the Eminent Council is composed of several familiar warlords:

Marcos Vedarrek--Former Talon, de facto ambassador to Dementlieu, and a wizard of no small renown
Calons Weir--Former Falkfuhrer of Intelligence
Mikhail Drakov--Former Falkfuhrer of the Arcane, and son of Vlad Drakov.
Pol Amarant--Former General-Falkfuhrer of Stangengrad Academy
Gondegal--The so-called "Lost King," former leader of the People's Rebellion insurrection against Vlad Drakov.

They appear to be the region's best hope for relatively peaceful rule, but they have a lot of work ahead of them.

And what local factions oppose the Eminent Council? A third of Falkovnia is No Man's Land. Do they run blatant interference against the Council? Are they outlaw bands that skulk and strike with classic military precision (a neat twist/moral opposite to Gondegal and all that he stood for, pre-"V-day")? What are the politics when it comes to these other warlords both amongst themselves and with outsiders? Are they "old school" Falkovnians, working to restore a Drakov to power/to bring back the DMC era? What happened to the various Ministries?

[The Lesser Evil]

How do you assassinate a 17 level fighter who has the HP, the Fortitude and the fighting skill to survive each one, thought? A very lucky critical hit?

You gotta believe in the script, and you can't be a slave to game mechanics. I mean, the mighty Alexander the Great died of fever, Julius Caesar got killed by knives, Attila the Hun a nosebleed, Richard I (the Lionheart) a crossbow bolt, Genghis Khan falling off his horse...

While I agree to some extent that that what happens in the "plot" doesn't have to perfectly match game rules (as game rules will vary, Drakov is both a 2nd and 3rd edition character), I also don't think it's fair or plausible to compare high level D&D characters to real life people, as there's a good argument to be made that (3.5) D&D characters eclipse the best real world (and many fictional) people at levels 6-7+. IIRc, Julius Caesar was said to have been stabbed approx. 23 times by knife, which on average 2.5 damage per hit would be about 57 damage, which is about on par with that range.

The situation is further complicated by the existence of magic in the fantasy world that doesn't exist in the real world. Alexander wouldn't have died from that fever thanks to cure/remove disease, for example. Drakov is said not to favor any priests, but if he has the resources to get gargoyle golems, he should have access to some kind of magical healing.

So while I think we don't need to take into account exact game rules, I think it's more plausible to take into consideration some factors (Drakov's fighting prowess/skill exceeding anything we've seen on earth, the presence of magic) we couldn't consider on real world earth. And Drakov's not an idiot, he's probably survived many attempts on his life through his many years on the throne, not to mention his mercenary work back on Krynn working for/fighting necromancy using priests.

Therefore, I think it will take both extraordinary meas and extraordinary efforts to take him down. Perhaps some sort divide and conquer type efforts that cause Drakov and his forces to be spread really thinly, like Bane did with Batman when he broke eveyrbody out of Arkham before ultimately breaking Batman's back.

Question should be: Would the power(s) behind Drakov "allow" him to be assassinated in this way, or would they somehow give him a new lease on his sentence?

The above being said, I would say yes it's possible. Other than slow-aging and a level of spell-resistance, Drakov has no special powers, his "gifts" from the Dark Powers were mostly sociopolitical. There are also a long line of potential replacements (Vladimir Ludzing, Vjorn Horstmann, Drakov's many children such as Vlad Drakov II) that could be just about as bad or just as bad as Drakov I. My eye is on Vigo Drakov, as one of the Children of the Gentleman Caller. Malocchio Aderre was a potential darklord-to-be in the Evil Eye, and even though it didn't play out that way, he was nonetheless bound to the land of his birth by that Vistani curse. So the DPs might have an interesting in binding one of the Children down as a formal darklord for their own unknowable purposes.

[Five]

While I agree to some extent that that what happens in the "plot" doesn't have to perfectly match game rules (as game rules will vary, Drakov is both a 2nd and 3rd edition character), I also don't think it's fair or plausible to compare high level D&D characters to real life people, as there's a good argument to be made that (3.5) D&D characters eclipse the best real world (and many fictional) people at levels 6-7+. IIRc, Julius Caesar was said to have been stabbed approx. 23 times by knife, which on average 2.5 damage per hit would be about 57 damage, which is about on par with that range.

The comparison was to show that in our history great warriors (as written history tells us; we all know leaders lead the true warriors) have, can, and will die in the strangest, sometimes most ironic of ways. Real world historical reference really, should anybody care about that sort of thing. If we bring that strange to fantasy/D&D then explosive, pestilence-ridden golems, even rigged with Borcan poison outside of Borca (which could be the cause of Vlad's survival btw, ala several queer reasons why attempts failed on Hitler, and could only serve to add depth to Vlad as a dark lord/character), is not really a far cry from (at all) or an ignominious end to a high-level fighter should the assassination attempt succeed. Dice be damned.

The situation is further complicated by the existence of magic in the fantasy world that doesn't exist in the real world. Alexander wouldn't have died from that fever thanks to cure/remove disease, for example. Drakov is said not to favor any priests, but if he has the resources to get gargoyle golems, he should have access to some kind of magical healing.

This is true, and non-debatable as far as I'm concerned, IF the priests are loyal and unafraid of this new and unknown disease. Just as possible that Vlad is hated by all and left to literally rot; a perfect excuse for all to maneuver, and an interesting development for both Falkovnia and the Core (all eyes on and with bated breath, as the flames of all-out war simmer but just won't go away). But if Vlad stubbornly clings on, as a sort of Ravenlofted version of Baldwin IV...it could be the intro to Vlad becoming supernatural, like some of his other cell mates.

Could this (Rock's idea) be or act as Strahd's (down-sized) hot potato bomb that you spoke of earlier?

Hell, it could even be intentional smoke and mirrors/false flagging on Strahd's part, an effort to raise and enrage Vlad, who hates Azalin almost if not more than himself. Either Azalin falls, or is distracted from his current plans that Strahd has become aware of. Or, to buy time for him to execute his own. Maybe it's an elaborate "one up" world chess/message between rivals.

Example: Strahd has found out that Azalin, through top tier Kargat spy or spies, is the force behind the current Falkovnian-Invidian alliance. Malocchio's hatred for Vistani has a bite now that he's Vlad-backed. And those minor border skirmishes/Vistani hunts in Barovia are nothing but a "hello" from Azalin. Strahd intends to sick Vlad back on Azalin as a sort of "Muck around..."

Or some such thing.

And as to the rest, I agree as well for the most part. Though, Ludzig and Horstman aside, if the DPs were to hand down an identical sentence then why would they out Drakov? Could they "take pleasure" in corrupting/exposing bloodlines? Cool thought, and not new ground for such an argument really.

[Epically]

IMC, Dracov invaded Dementlieu again and was actually winning. My players were trying to find potential allies to help with Mother Fury's lycan uprise in Kartakass, under plee from Harkon Lucas.
Eventually the PCs became quite friendly with Dracov (it was an evil campaign and one of the PCs had met Dracov 10 years earlier in a different campaign) and he agreed that he would send troops south to aid with the lycan problem, if they facilitated Dementlieu surrendering Chateaufaux to Fallkovnia. They did that, and Dracov sent his men south. The PCs went ahead of them to let the southern domain leaders know that the army was passing through, and under a friendly intent.
What they didn't know however is that Gondegal had also been talking with all the Four Towers Treaty members and set up an ambush south of Borca and wiped out the Falkovnian force. From there they stormed Lekar and Gondegal killed Dravoc.