Pre-dragonrise timeline of sartar and prax

[Bran the Brainless]

Hello, first time post, so be gentle, and if moderators deem this in the wrong place, please let me know. 

I thought people may find the following a useful reference. My Runequest campaign started in the years before Dragonrise (there’s too much cool stuff happening). I wanted to collate the events in those years. So, I could then tie key events into the characters lives and their adventures. Some will have a direct influence and be able to participate in. Others like the Windstop, the characters and their families, will be affected by, although they can’t do anything about it.

I hope people find it useful. It’s very much a work in progress. I’ve dragged this from a number of different sources and tried to as accurate as I can.

Timeline of Dragon Pass Prax and River of Cradles

1613 First battle of Moonbroth, kallyr’s failed rebellion.

1615: Duke Raus founded Ronegarth. Grantlands established.

1615/1616: lady Varna, Duke Raus’s wife dies of plague.

1618: incomplete Watchdog of Corfu is assembled and animated.

1618 dark season; A troll insect  caravan  from  Dagori  Inkarth arrives in New Pavis  and then enters the Big Rubble. 

A circular wall of defense is built to protect the New Temple. Initially timber, it is quickly being upgraded to stone walls. 

Tatius the Bright orchestrates the destruction  of  the  Dundealos Tribe.

 

1619: lunars stage surprise naval assault on Karse (invasion of Hendrikiland/Heortland) from Corfu. Troops moved and preparations performed over the last two years in secret.

King Broyan of the Hendrikings retreated to the fortress temple of Whitewall.

New Temple; building continues. Timber buildings house thousands of  slaves, workers, soldiers, and priests.

Thousands more slaves  are obtained as a result  of  the  Conquest  of  Heortland.

Earth Season: The  Bat  arrives  in Sartar. It tours the area until Fire season of the following year. 25 souls are sacrificed each week. More before battle. Over a thousand victims are fed to the bat in preparation for the Whitewall siege.

1620 

Lunar Coders arrive in Pavis.

Bridge  Battle  takes  place  in the  Big  Rubble, a huge struggle  between  Uz  and Aldryami  (who  are aided by Yelmalio  cultists). 

Priests  arrive at the New Temple complex from the Lunar Heartland. 

1621:

Sea: A Giant’s Cradle floats down the Zola Fel to the sea. The Lunar army’s attempts to seize it were thwarted by its defenders.

Sea: Light Son Wulf, Proxy for Count Solanthos, fails to perform the River Ritual. He is found dead in the river.

Sor-eel replaced as Governor of Prax.

Earth season: In Pavis, the new Lunar governor Halcyon Var Enkorth is installed.

Dark season: Whitewall falls.

The gods Orlanth and Ernalda proclaimed dead and the Great Winter comes to Dragon Pass, the Holy Country, and Prax. 

The Red Emperor decrees a full year of celebration. 

Starving from the Great Winter, refugees from the countryside flee to the towns. Pavis, Sun Dome and Corfu are inundated.

Nomad allies of Pavis and the Sun Dome bring in some provisions from the Wastes. But this is not enough food to stave off impending mass starvation.

Sacred Time: Rites to renew the world utterly fail. At the Sun Dome Temple, evil spirits assail the worshippers, and in horror they realise some in the crowd were the undead of Nontraya, those who had already died of hunger.

1622: 

Sea Season:

Fazzur replaced by Tatius the Bright. Fazzur then appointed general of Tarsh armies by King of Tarsh.

Out of the Great Bog (Grantlands) come swarms of locusts, accompanied with gangs of ravenous wild trollkin and other beasts.  They sweep through the farmlands, stripping all vegetation in their path. 

Construction of the New Temple of the Reaching Moon continues.

King Broyan re-emerge and his Hendriking tribe rise in rebellion.

Hordes of scorpion men emerge from Larnste’s Footprint.

The pro-Lunar queen of Esrolia was overthrown in a coup d’état and civil war erupts in that land.

Earth: Count Solanthos is killed by trolls at Angle Fort. Invictus now rules Sun County.

The Great Winter continues until the Battle of the Auroch Hills, when Broyan’s rebel army ambushed and defeated the Lunar army.

Great Winter begins to lift.

Dark/Storm Season?: The hardship continues. Food stores have long since run out, people are still starving. In Sartar one in six people die from the effects of the Winter.

The Great Winter is followed by a massive flood down through the River of Cradles. Wreaking destruction from the Boathouse Ruins as far as the Great Bog.

1623: 

The new Esrolian queen gains a new ally when King Broyan and his ragged army of volunteers arrived and defeat the Grazeland Horse Army (the Feathered Horse Queen was killed soon after by her own bodyguards). 

The Lunar Army arrive in Esrolia and besiege Queen Samastina and King Broyan in Nochet. Lunar fleet refused landing at Nochet City. Nochet besieged (largely unsuccessfully) by Lunars.

Fire season: The farmers of the Cradle Valley once again enjoy a bumper harvest. Governor Halcyon’s plans to enrich himself, vexed by demands for men, beasts, equipment and slaves needed for the Reaching Moon Temple project in Dragon Pass. 

Sor-Eel’s abrupt departure (along with his soldiers) tempt increasing numbers of nomad bands to raid along the borders. 

Halcyon var Enkorth reneges on paying his mercenaries. The mercenaries then plunder along the valley.

Dark Season: In the north of Dragon Pass a great army of trolls, trollkin, Dehori, and insects of every variety crossed over the Western Rockwoods from Halikiv and entered Dragon Pass en route to the Castle of Lead.  

1624: 

Sea Season; Duke Raus sends a Grantlands delegation led by his daughter to Furthest to complain about Governor Halcyon. 

A new planet (the Boat Planet) appears in the Sky, prophesizing doom and change. 

Harrek the Berserk and his Wolf Pirates arrive in the Holy Country. With Queen Samastina and King Broyan, they rout the Lunar Army at the Battle of Pennel Ford. 

During the battle, Orlanth is freed, and the constellation Orlanth’s Ring appears with additional stars and quickly rose to the top of the sky. 

Dark Season:

Nomad outriders sweep through the Grantlands on their way to Moonbroth II

Harrek and Broyan sack the City of Wonders. 

Humakti kill the Lunar client, King Temertain of Boldhome.

Argrath, summons the Praxian demigod Jaldon Goldentooth at the border of Sartar and Prax, to recognise him as the White Bull.

Argrath and White Bull Brothers liberate Corflu.

Moonbroth II and the expulsion of the Lunars from Prax. Any Lunars not quick enough to flee or change allegiance are massacred or enslaved, and the Grantlands are wiped from the map

Many Grantland settlers began fleeing – either upriver to Sun County or downriver to the port of Corflu – even before they had heard that Pavis too had fallen.

Storm ‘Time of Two Counts' - following the death of Invictus at Second Moonbroth, both Belvani and Vega are proclaimed Count; Belvani announces an alliance with Argrath and the resumption of Sun Dragon worship, and later sets up rival court in the Old Sun Dome.

Argrath Whitebull liberates Pavis. Putting the city to the sword.

Golden Wyrm destroys the Watchdog of Corflu before the walls of Pavis.

Rurik Runespear leads Suntown assault on Lunar HQ and personally kills Halcyon var Enkorth (a double). The real Halcyon and Marusa escape.

The Armistice of Prax now broken. Duke Raus flees the Grantlands to Corfu.

Vega Goldbreath proclaimed Countess. Belvani sets up rival court in the Old Sun Dome. 

1625 

Sea Season: Argrath’s invading army is repulsed by the Lunar College of Magic in Sartar; Daystar and the Sun Dragon contingent are utterly destroyed.

Belvani and Vega continue their disagreements. The river ritual is successfully completed by Vega’s proxy.

King Broyan killed by Lunar sorcery and demons.

The Lunar Empire gather magicians, priests, and nobles, intending  to consecrate the new Temple of the Reaching Moon.

Earth Season

Dragonrise: Sartarites led by Kallyr Starbrow invade the Lunar ceremony and summon a True Dragon beneath the temple. The dragon devours the temple and the attendees; in minutes, most of the military and magical might of the Lunar Empire in the Provinces is annihilated. 

King Moirades of Tarsh seizes Aldachur

Dark season:

Kallyr gains the loyalty of the Telmori, Thunder Brothers, & Argrath White Bull

Kallyr becomes Prince of Sartar

Fazzur relieved of command by Pharandros of Tarsh.

1626

Sea Season: Belvani and Vega clash at the riverbank, and Belvani's forces are driven away. Soon after Belvani is driven out of the Old Sun Dome. 

2027: Rurik Runespear installed as count of Sun County by Argrath

[French Desperate WindChild]

I would say 1627 not 2027, but great thing, thanks

 

by the way, if you add the main events since 1580 (~ grizzly peak) it would be perfect. A question (for all) is the season for each event. For example, to start a new campaign, I would like to know the boldhome campain season ? Is there a source somewhere for this kind of things ?

 

[Zodgrod]

One Quibble: "Fazzur replaced by Tatius the Bright". 

I believe Tatius had taken over as Governor General of Dragon Pass and the siege of Whitewall by Sea 1621. Fazzur was still active with a small force in Esrolia and would eventually retreat back to Tarsh in time to take back over after the Dragon Rise.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

[Joerg]

Tatius was given command over the Siege of Whitewall in addition to overseeing the New Lunar Temple in 1619, after the Bat was repelled. Fazzur was busy securing Karse as a real sea port for Tarsh and the Empire, and then making inroads into Nochet by courting Queen Hendira (politically at least).

The exact consequences of taking Whitewall must have suprised even Tatius, as the New Temple site appears to have been as unprepared for the winter side-effects of the WIndstop as the rest of the affected region. While news from the triumph might have made it to Glamour within less than a week and demotion letters probably having been prepared in advance, there would have been some delay to get the seals and dates added to those letters to relieve Fazzur from the governorship and top command. 

King of Sartar (Hardcover pdf p.138) makes it clear that while imperial orders forced Fazzur to send most of his assembled invasion force to Whitewall, he still was in overall command over the rest of the troops, and that he had the authority to send a corps of specialists to Nochet to take it from within with a "hearts and minds" approach.

p.140 makes the failure to deliver a specific winter beer to an orgy in Glamour the last straw that ended Fazzur's governorship. Given the mood swings of Argenteus (imitated by a certain orange- if not ruddy-skinned head of state in the Real World) I won't say that this course of events would be improbable. The events 12 days ago...

Anyway, Sea Season 1622 fits with the Fazzur narrative in King of Sartar, which has only the tiny little flaw of naming Moirades as King of Tarsh in 1613, three years after his official demise, and is otherwise fully compatible with canon.

Edited January 16, 2020 by Joerg
beer, not bear - although the image of Harrek being carved up in the imperial orgy as the main dish has its attraction

[Bran the Brainless]

What’s a 400 year time passes... I’m sure Rurik would still look good!

my campaign is currently in 1618, having started a couple of years before that. So, that where the focus for this is.

From the books I’ve read, although events are recorded in previous years it gets increasingly harder to allocate seasons to them. 

[Oracle]

Have you seen this page in the Well of Daliath:

https://wellofdaliath.chaosium.com/home/gloranthan-documents/timeline-dragonpass/ ?

Ok, also no seasonal details, but the source references given provide a good opportunity for further research ...

 

Edited January 15, 2020 by Oracle

[Bran the Brainless]

There’s some good stuff on that list, and, as you say, with the book references, some follow up work can be easily done.

with my Runequest campaign, I tend to run one “event” per season. In a similar pattern to the “Great Pendragon Campaign”. My plan is to have historical events tie in with their adventures, and the players can feel that they are part of a bigger world. If things effect the characters directly, it’s an excuse to give characters passions from it. It’s also easier to generate relevant rumours and gossip from what’s happening in the greater world.

[Bill the barbarian]

On 1/14/2020 at 2:34 PM, Bran the Brainless said:

Hello, first time post, so be gentle, and if moderators deem this in the wrong place, please let me know. 

 

Congrats on a good and useful first post, keep it up... (or I might not be so gentle next time)... kidding!

Edited January 16, 2020 by Bill the barbarian

[Darius West]

Ah, Rurik.  I remember when he got into his first fight in Gimpy's.  He was using a club no less, and badly.  I doubt he's even allowed to touch a club unless he's being belted with one these days.

[Akhôrahil]

On 1/14/2020 at 10:34 PM, Bran the Brainless said:

Dark season: Whitewall falls.

The gods Orlanth and Ernalda proclaimed dead and the Great Winter comes to Dragon Pass, the Holy Country, and Prax. 

The Red Emperor decrees a full year of celebration. 

Starving from the Great Winter, refugees from the countryside flee to the towns. Pavis, Sun Dome and Corfu are inundated.

Nomad allies of Pavis and the Sun Dome bring in some provisions from the Wastes. But this is not enough food to stave off impending mass starvation.

It seems unlikely to me that starvation would hit this early - you just had your harvests in Earth season, and you expect to need to last through Dark and Storm. It’s when the winter just goes on that you get in trouble.