The First Invasion of Prax.

[Darius West]

Does anyone know where to find more info on this than is in the RQG rules?

[Joerg]

From the context, I suppose you mean the 1607 Lunar attempt to conquer Prax.

The composite History of Dragon Pass has details, e.g.  in the King of Sartar hardcover edition (or pdf) p.118 (bottom paragraph) and 119. The Sourcebook gives significantly less detail. 

[David Scott]

12 hours ago, Darius West said:

Does anyone know where to find more info on this than is in the RQG rules?

There is not actually much to more to say about it. The 1608 "Invasion" was a small affair with the Lunars testing the waters. They were hoping for a simple surrender by the Paps due to the Antelope Lancer connection and little resistance. They underestimated. However, it did allow the Sable tribe and the Hungry Plateau Sable Tribe to reconnect and begin the Lunarisation, that would help two years later. It also allowed them to scope out Moonbroth and connect with its deep moon secret.

[JMV]

1 hour ago, David Scott said:

There is not actually much to more to say about it. The 1608 "Invasion" was a small affair with the Lunars testing the waters. They were hoping for a simple surrender by the Paps due to the Antelope Lancer connection and little resistance. They underestimated. However, it did allow the Sable tribe and the Hungry Plateau Sable Tribe to reconnect and begin the Lunarisation, that would help two years later. It also allowed them to scope out Moonbroth and connect with its deep moon secret.

Hi, what deep moon secret? is there a moon connection? I read somewhere that moon and lunar are not the same because "lunar" refers to the Red Goddess. Sorry if this is explained in other post but I am new to Runequest.

 

Thanks.

[Nick Brooke]

I wrote a short piece about the first invasion @Darius West, it's in one of my Gloranthan Manifesto collections, qv.

Yes @JMV, Moonbroth Oasis has always been connected to the Lunar cycle, since before the rise of the Red Moon, centuries before the Lunar Empire came to Prax. There are many heterodox and indeed somewhat heretical Lunar worshippers at the Oasis, blending Pelorian and Praxian traditions: the Treaty of the Paps kept them safe from imperial reprisals during the Lunar occupation of Prax, but things are different now the Pol Joni and White Bull Cult are back in the saddle. My old article in Tales of the Reaching Moon #15 covers some of this, and there'll be much more in a future Jonstown Compendium release.

(Not many people know this, but the Red Goddess herself is said by some residents of Moonbroth to have visited the Oasis during her Goddess Quest)

[JMV]

1 hour ago, Nick Brooke said:

I wrote a short piece about the first invasion @Darius West, it's in one of my Gloranthan Manifesto collections, qv.

Yes @JMV, Moonbroth Oasis has always been connected to the Lunar cycle, since before the rise of the Red Moon, centuries before the Lunar Empire came to Prax. There are many heterodox and indeed somewhat heretical Lunar worshippers at the Oasis, blending Pelorian and Praxian traditions: the Treaty of the Paps kept them safe from imperial reprisals during the Lunar occupation of Prax, but things are different now the Pol Joni and White Bull Cult are back in the saddle. My old article in Tales of the Reaching Moon #15 covers some of this, and there'll be much more in a future Jonstown Compendium release.

(Not many people know this, but the Red Goddess herself is said by some residents of Moonbroth to have visited the Oasis during her Goddess Quest)

Is this a YGMV thing? or is this in the Guide? We have only the Starter Set and the old Pavis-Rubble module

Thank you.

Edited December 3, 2021 by JMV

[jajagappa]

1 hour ago, JMV said:

Is this a YGMV thing? or is this in the Guide?

The Guide p.454 references some of this: "Famed for its geysers and hot springs, as well as the mysterious prophetic spirit of the oasis, Moonbroth was the location of the decisive battle between the Lunar Empire and the tribes of Prax. Traditionally held by the Pol-Joni tribe, Moonbroth is now garrisoned by the Empire, and is currently the religious center of Lunar Prax."

Also referenced way back in Cults of Prax p.39: "Long before the coming of the Lunar Empire, the oasis of Moonbroth was an enigmatic source of wisdom and power in Prax. Even before the Red Moon was known, the oasis exhibited some of the cyclical nature of the Lunar way, raising its steamy jets high on each Wildday and whispering prophecies of The Moon To Come. Now arrived, the Empire has driven the Pol-Joni tribe into the desert again, and taken the oasis as a stronghold. To celebrate the completion of their new fort, the Lunar commanders opened a marketplace, calling all merchants and buyers to come and to celebrate."

[Nick Brooke]

1 hour ago, JMV said:

Is this a YGMV thing? or is this in the Guide? We have only the Starter Set and the old Pavis-Rubble module

Thank you.

We say YGWV nowadays. By definition, your Glorantha will vary. So yes, it's a YGWV thing.

Tales #15 isn't the Guide - it's a RuneQuest magazine from the nineties. I think Jeff added the comment that Moonbroth is "currently the religious center of Lunar Prax" to the Guide text because he liked what I'd done with the place fifteen or so years earlier, but that's just, like, my opinion, man. I took the basic framework from an old Digest post by Malcolm Serabian, and added the missing religious dimension (with pilgrims and heresiarchs). My Moonbroth had several grandiose imperial construction projects (a big new Temple, Moonbroth New Town, the Governor's Palace, the Spa complex, etc.), because I wanted the Empire to leave some impressive ruins behind in Prax for the tribes to fight over in the Fourth Age. Nowadays I get a lot of wistful pleasure contemplating post-Lunar Prax...

[JMV]

10 minutes ago, Nick Brooke said:

We say YGWV nowadays. By definition, your Glorantha will vary. So yes, it's a YGWV thing.

Tales #15 isn't the Guide - it's a RuneQuest magazine from the nineties. I think Jeff added the comment that Moonbroth is "currently the religious center of Lunar Prax" to the Guide text because he liked what I'd done with the place fifteen or so years earlier, but that's just, like, my opinion, man. I took the basic framework from an old Digest post by Malcolm Serabian, and added the missing religious dimension (with pilgrims and heresiarchs). My Moonbroth had several grandiose imperial construction projects (a big new Temple, Moonbroth New Town, the Governor's Palace, the Spa complex, etc.), because I wanted the Empire to leave some impressive ruins behind in Prax for the tribes to fight over in the Fourth Age. Nowadays I get a lot of wistful pleasure contemplating post-Lunar Prax...

Thanks Nick for explain this. I hope to see your work in a module someday

[David Scott]

The easiest way to visualise Moonbroth is as a sprit cult, that as usual gives just one Rune spell - very similar to Divination. However it works as Annila's divination in the upcoming cults book, using the moon rune. "The ceremony is performed normally, but the caster asks no question, instead simply getting a random bit of wisdom. As always, the caster must roll his POW×5 or he fails to interpret the answer properly. The reply cannot exceed seven words per point in the spell and is always a bit of data previously unknown to the caster." You also can find this spell in the troll cults book of yonder.

The Jakaleel shaman wove this into the Red School of Masks spirit society which includes other aspects of Praxian and Lunar spirit shenanigans.

You can see the 1610-1625 Praxian cult structure here: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/4533-the-praxian-tradition/#comment-69997

And the 1625+ version here: https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/4533-the-praxian-tradition/page/7/#comment-154240

 

 

and mix that in to what @Nick Brooke wrote above.

[jajagappa]

22 hours ago, Darius West said:

Does anyone know where to find more info on this than is in the RQG rules?

Also WF #15 p.54 (reprinted from original DW article IIRC): "(First) Invasion of Prax (1608) The Lunar army hopped from oasis to oasis but was raided and harried until it accepted peace before being allowed to enter the Paps. Despite propaganda, this was a nomad victory."

The Army Activity chart on p.52 shows that it included units from the Lunar Army only (i.e. not Tarsh Provincial Corps).

 

[Darius West]

So here's the thing.  

What was the Lunar motive for the invasion?

We know that the Lunars were more than a little interested in having a path to the Ocean, but they needed a context for an invasion.  Had the Praxians been raiding into Dragon Pass or even raiding Etyries merchants going to New Pavis?  Or perhaps the Praxians had been offering protection to members of the Sartarite Royal house? 

Which oases did they get to and in what order? 

It is logical to assume that they started in occupied Sartar, but did they follow the Pavis Road or did they go down Caravan Alley?  At what point in the campaign do they head home?  Did they make it to the oases in the Head Acres?  We can assume that the treaty meeting in the Paps didn't involve the entire Lunar army encamping there.

Who led the Lunar expedition? 

While we can assume that Fazzur is in charge of the army, was he the leader of this campaign?  Was this Sor-Eel's first foray?  Whoever led the invasion hardly covered themselves in glory, and no doubt the propagandists had to work hard to make the fiasco seem like a victory of sorts.

Which tribes were involved in harrying the Lunars? 

It is more than likely that the Bisons and Impala's were involved, but who else?  Had the Sables gone fully pro-Lunar yet?  Were the High Llamas involved?  What about the morokanths, ostriches, bolo lizards, pol joni?  We can assume the foot tribes weren't especially interested or necessary for this one?

Which Lunar units were involved?

Were they cavalry-heavy or mainly hoplites and peltasts?  Which units went?  Does Nomad Gods perhaps have a scenario that might be the first invasion? (Idk, as I don't own Nomad Gods).

[Nick Brooke]

2 hours ago, Darius West said:

Which tribes were involved in harrying the Lunars? 

It is more than likely that the Bisons and Impala's were involved, but who else?  Had the Sables gone fully pro-Lunar yet?

Obviously not. The other tribes were surprised when they changed sides at the Battle of Moonbroth. Ha ha ha ha ha.

[David Scott]

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

Does Nomad Gods perhaps have a scenario that might be the first invasion?

No, there are no lunar pieces in the game. You can obtain it here:

Rules: https://www.chaosium.com/nomad-gods-rule-booklet-pdf/

system: https://vassalengine.org

module: https://vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Nomad_Gods (board & counters)

[David Scott]

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

What was the Lunar motive for the invasion?

We know that the Lunars were more than a little interested in having a path to the Ocean, but they needed a context for an invasion.

acquisition of magical power is another major thing from the Praxians, Prax andthe Wastes.

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

Had the Praxians been raiding into Dragon Pass

Likely

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

or even raiding Etyries merchants going to New Pavis?

Likely

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

Or perhaps the Praxians had been offering protection to members of the Sartarite Royal house?

Not sure how they might know that, but possible.

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

Which oases did they get to and in what order? 

It is logical to assume that they started in occupied Sartar, but did they follow the Pavis Road or did they go down Caravan Alley?

If they followed the Pavis road, there are no oases.

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

At what point in the campaign do they head home?

They were likely escorted out with a large nomad force.

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

Did they make it to the oases in the Head Acres?

very unlikely. I would suggest the order was Moonbroth, Pimpers Block, Day's Rest, Tourney Altar, Paps. With an increasingly large nomad continent gathering after every oasis. Remember, Day's Rest is a Waha Holy site, Tourney Altar an intertribal Humakti one and with the block not far, the Storm Bulls would also be appearing.

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

We can assume that the treaty meeting in the Paps didn't involve the entire Lunar army encamping there.

Likely yes, within the Sacred Ground no fighting is permitted.

3 hours ago, Darius West said:

Which tribes were involved in harrying the Lunars? 

It is more than likely that the Bisons and Impala's were involved, but who else?  Had the Sables gone fully pro-Lunar yet?  Were the High Llamas involved?  What about the morokanths, ostriches, bolo lizards, pol joni?  We can assume the foot tribes weren't especially interested or necessary for this one?

All who were in the area at the time. An argument can be made for every tribe taking part. At this point the morokanth would not have been neutral, but forming the tribal guard for the Most Respected Elder (they became neutral after the Armistice of Prax). I would suggest that it was the Pol-joni who first sent out the alert (that was as usual ignored).

 

 

[AndreJarosch]

4 hours ago, Darius West said:

So here's the thing.  

What was the Lunar motive for the invasion?

We know that the Lunars were more than a little interested in having a path to the Ocean, but they needed a context for an invasion.  Had the Praxians been raiding into Dragon Pass or even raiding Etyries merchants going to New Pavis?  Or perhaps the Praxians had been offering protection to members of the Sartarite Royal house? 

A path to the Ocean: 
IMHO
They Invaded and occupied Sartar, but to get to the ocean they had to conquer Esrolia to the south-east or Heortland to the south. 
Both regions were part of Belintars Holy Country, and this would be a much more costly campaign to go there then march through densly populated Prax to the River of Cradles, and travelling down the river to the river delta to reach the Ocean. At least they thought that at that time...

 

[Eff]

As far as motives, this seems fairly simply motivated by the Building Wall Battle two years earlier. The road south was firmly blocked (and would remain so for nine more years), so the Lunar command looked to Prax. 

The immediate justification according to the CHDP was heavy Praxian raiding against the Pol-Joni, who it seems immediately turned around and began raiding the Lunar expedition once it jumped off (from Swenstown, probably).

This is also right after the Wolf Hunt and 1607 also sees 3000 casualties in the Far Place, so quite possibly this expedition was in fact primarily aimed at getting relief from the Praxians and winning concessions for trade at a time when Lunar forces are at an ebb. In that sense, it was a clear success- peace was made, the Lunars had a minor victory at the Tourney Altar to point to as cause for that victory, and they could begin studying Prax's magic in detail. 

If we take the references to an incarnation of Waha in CHDP as meaningful, it was an enormous success and laid the groundwork for First Moonbroth and a lasting peace with Waha that would require a resurrection of Jaldon to break. Of course, the troops on the ground got a rough handling, but that seems to be the soldiers' lot for the 17th century. 

[jajagappa]

5 hours ago, Darius West said:

What was the Lunar motive for the invasion?

Unknown.  I don't believe it has been discussed in any detail.  Trading rights with the Praxians is the most likely.  Much like the Spanish explorers trying to find a new route to the Indies, the Lunars only received from the East what the Holy Country passed on, so if they could get around that then they'd benefit heavily.  Given the subsequent effort to settle the Zola Fel Valley and develop Corflu, this would fit.

At the time of the invasion, Sartar was conquered, so they don't need particular help there.  Perhaps the Pol-Joni were raiding heavily though, so alliance with the beast-riders to break the Pol-Joni could also have been a factor. 

1 hour ago, David Scott said:

I would suggest the order was Moonbroth, Pimpers Block, Day's Rest, Tourney Altar, Paps.

This seems likely.  Otherwise, you might go Pimper's Block, Moonbroth, Copper Caves, then down to the Paps, but some longer stretches to cross that way.

 

[David Scott]

45 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

Copper Caves

Not an oasis, but may have been after Dwarf technology (https://basicroleplaying.org/topic/7315-scenario-ideas-for-dwarf-knoll/?do=findComment&comment=102295)

 

 

[scott-martin]

16 minutes ago, David Scott said:

may have been after Dwarf technology

Great thread. I know this isn't your authorial intent here but in the context of persistent questions about the Lunar motivation the turn of phrase got terrible wheels grinding in my head.

From earliest days I've always gotten a whiff of palpable desperation from the way the Lunar thrust into Prax has been portrayed. It's a "mad rush" to the sea or whatever their primary target was, leaving the rest of us to make excuses for the fundamental strategic errors they apparently committed along the way. Something must be broken within the Lunar High Command, we hear, for them to commit to this irrational frontier before they really have the resources to do it right. The best military minds in the empire must not be thinking clearly.

Or the target might have felt like an extreme priority and there might have been enough urgency around the timeline that the military geniuses decided they had to roll the dice before all the pieces lined up in their favor. A lot of these "irrational" strategies in Glorantha revolve around magical thinking: prophecies need to be fulfilled or overcome, the stars are as right as they get or can be nudged, the goddess told us to do it.

Moonbroth and the Book of Dale are extremely important tactical objectives but not to the point of opening up yet another economically unviable front without some hope for gaining some near-term transformational advantage. If somebody in the high command believed Lunar Prax could tip the map against Belintar, then maybe it made sense to commit to a generational presence here. I think this is true, personally. Belintar was up to something within the Moon Rune itself that they hoped to not only counter by absorbing lunar vestiges in his big desert backyard but also maybe exploit them for themselves.

BUT that doesn't really explain the urgency. They'd already committed to a long magicopolitical struggle with the Holy Country and were actually grinding the frontier south decade to decade. They had the long win on their side. No need to throw that away on a premature victory lap. We know how that works out for them. And if they simply needed a frontier to bleed off malcontents and bring home propaganda victories, Eastpoint is wide open and begging for support. Go West, especially if you want a route to the sea. Or if West is not a politically attractive target, let's explore why not.

Suddenly I wonder if there's another prophetic timeline in play important enough to force the illuminated geniuses to gamble their edge against the Holy Country away . They had been alerted to something catastrophic on the horizon. I think in order to forestall it they went "after Dwarf technology" where they could find it, pushing into the Copper Caves on the way toward Diamond Mountain. This was important enough for them to open up another front. I don't think they were successful enough to continue . . . or else they learned things that demoralized them. 

They had a shot at derailing the dwarf plan for the cosmos and failed. There was a deadline and it expires. Arguably it was already too late in 1607 but they had to try.  After that, the strategy gets a little more febrile. It drives the empire a little crazier. Why not? No matter what happens with the Holy Country you've already lost in conventional terms. Only thing left is to seek increasingly unconventional definitions of victory (killing gods) because the Dwarf Prophecy is online and the crimson wonder will roll. Sometime after 1607 the world ended. Most people just don't know that yet.

[Joerg]

8 hours ago, Darius West said:

What was the Lunar motive for the invasion?

We know that the Lunars were more than a little interested in having a path to the Ocean, but they needed a context for an invasion.  Had the Praxians been raiding into Dragon Pass or even raiding Etyries merchants going to New Pavis?  Or perhaps the Praxians had been offering protection to members of the Sartarite Royal house? 

The city of Pavis used to be a city of fabled riches, and quite a few items in the Royal Palace of Boldhome had been taken from the Big Rubble in the seventy years prior to Sor-eel's first expedition, but his force did not push towards Pavis but towards the Paps. Probably assuming that a successful conquest of the place would have given them control over all the Beast Rider nomads in Prax and the Wastes, and with sufficiently powerful Lunar sorcery applied there, that may have been possible. There is a passage in Argrath Saga (p.16 King of Sartar) suggesting such coercion:

Quote

The imperial sorcerers  had  created  invisible  red  ropes  which  had  lassoed  the  leading  beasts  of  all  the nomads in the area, and were slowly hauling them into the city .

footnote 46: Invisible and red? This is a description of a magical effect.

Now Argrath Saga is not the most accurate possible source, but the notion that Lunar magic would be able to do that is there.

 

 

8 hours ago, Darius West said:

Which oases did they get to and in what order? 

It is logical to assume that they started in occupied Sartar, but did they follow the Pavis Road or did they go down Caravan Alley?  At what point in the campaign do they head home?  Did they make it to the oases in the Head Acres?  We can assume that the treaty meeting in the Paps didn't involve the entire Lunar army encamping there.

From what I can see, they would have followed Biturian's path to the Paps (excluding the side trip to the Block), marching along Caravan Alley.

It sounds like Sor-eel's force barely made it into Sacred Ground, accepting the peace taboo for the place and negotiating a safe (if hungry) return to Moonbroth.

8 hours ago, Darius West said:

Who led the Lunar expedition? 

While we can assume that Fazzur is in charge of the army, was he the leader of this campaign? 

Definitely not. Fazzur was sent home after almost succeeding when Euglyptus failed in 1605, and being outspoken about that fact. Sor-eel may have reactivated him as a personal companion, but I think that happened only for the second, successful attempt in 1610.

8 hours ago, Darius West said:

Was this Sor-Eel's first foray? 

Presumably yes, at least as head of an expeditionary force like the one Fazzur led deep into the Marzeel Valley in 1605. Targeting the most important Earth temple in the region sounds like a proven Eel-Ariash strategy, and may have been underwritten by Moirades of Tarsh.

8 hours ago, Darius West said:

Whoever led the invasion hardly covered themselves in glory, and no doubt the propagandists had to work hard to make the fiasco seem like a victory of sorts.

Whoever organized the force and assigned troops and resources was a failure.

There is a high likelihood that Euglyptus may have been involved in staging that expedition.

8 hours ago, Darius West said:

Which Lunar units were involved?

Were they cavalry-heavy or mainly hoplites and peltasts?  Which units went?  Does Nomad Gods perhaps have a scenario that might be the first invasion? (Idk, as I don't own Nomad Gods).

There is no such published scenario, but the Composite History of Dragon Pass suggests at several passages that the board games may have been used to simulate (if not play out) the major campaigns of the region.

 

Checking the digest archives with a simple use of the search engine (sor-eel paps), I suggested that this could be played as a combo scenario when I presented my ASCII maps for extending the board slightly, and Nick Brooke suggested that Fazzur would be riding as second-in-command for the 1610 campaign. No battalia were discussed, or what kind of herd the Lunars would bring. (Dinosaur herds?)

 

https://glorantha.steff.in/digests/GloranthaBoard/

Edited December 5, 2021 by Joerg
Link

[Eff]

48 minutes ago, scott-martin said:

Great thread. I know this isn't your authorial intent here but in the context of persistent questions about the Lunar motivation the turn of phrase got terrible wheels grinding in my head.

From earliest days I've always gotten a whiff of palpable desperation from the way the Lunar thrust into Prax has been portrayed. It's a "mad rush" to the sea or whatever their primary target was, leaving the rest of us to make excuses for the fundamental strategic errors they apparently committed along the way. Something must be broken within the Lunar High Command, we hear, for them to commit to this irrational frontier before they really have the resources to do it right. The best military minds in the empire must not be thinking clearly.

Or the target might have felt like an extreme priority and there might have been enough urgency around the timeline that the military geniuses decided they had to roll the dice before all the pieces lined up in their favor. A lot of these "irrational" strategies in Glorantha revolve around magical thinking: prophecies need to be fulfilled or overcome, the stars are as right as they get or can be nudged, the goddess told us to do it.

Moonbroth and the Book of Dale are extremely important tactical objectives but not to the point of opening up yet another economically unviable front without some hope for gaining some near-term transformational advantage. If somebody in the high command believed Lunar Prax could tip the map against Belintar, then maybe it made sense to commit to a generational presence here. I think this is true, personally. Belintar was up to something within the Moon Rune itself that they hoped to not only counter by absorbing lunar vestiges in his big desert backyard but also maybe exploit them for themselves.

BUT that doesn't really explain the urgency. They'd already committed to a long magicopolitical struggle with the Holy Country and were actually grinding the frontier south decade to decade. They had the long win on their side. No need to throw that away on a premature victory lap. We know how that works out for them. And if they simply needed a frontier to bleed off malcontents and bring home propaganda victories, Eastpoint is wide open and begging for support. Go West, especially if you want a route to the sea. Or if West is not a politically attractive target, let's explore why not.

Suddenly I wonder if there's another prophetic timeline in play important enough to force the illuminated geniuses to gamble their edge against the Holy Country away . They had been alerted to something catastrophic on the horizon. I think in order to forestall it they went "after Dwarf technology" where they could find it, pushing into the Copper Caves on the way toward Diamond Mountain. This was important enough for them to open up another front. I don't think they were successful enough to continue . . . or else they learned things that demoralized them. 

They had a shot at derailing the dwarf plan for the cosmos and failed. There was a deadline and it expires. Arguably it was already too late in 1607 but they had to try.  After that, the strategy gets a little more febrile. It drives the empire a little crazier. Why not? No matter what happens with the Holy Country you've already lost in conventional terms. Only thing left is to seek increasingly unconventional definitions of victory (killing gods) because the Dwarf Prophecy is online and the crimson wonder will roll. Sometime after 1607 the world ended. Most people just don't know that yet.

There is another timeline counting down, of course. Though not a prophetic one, at some point the Seventh Hell will pop open like a kinder egg to reveal a Sheng Seleris with another few hundred years of austere meditation under his belt. Historically, Sheng secured Prax and Teshnos to find weapons, and it's possible that with the Holy Country stalled, the goal became securing the Praxian weapon sites and possibly dismantling or containing them. 

Granted, this seems to have failed, but the Self tends to fail against the Other. 

[jajagappa]

29 minutes ago, Joerg said:

I suggested that this could be played as a combo scenario when I presented my ASCII maps for extending the board slightly, and Nick Brooke suggested that Fazzur would be riding as second-in-command for the 1610 campaign. No battalia were discussed, or what kind of herd the Lunars would bring. (Dinosaur herds?)

The obvious unit is the Antelope Lancers (i.e. Hungry Plateau sable riders).  Whether they would have dared use horse cavalry is a question - I don't recall if they did later in 1610.

[Corvantir]

It seems to me that going east was a good strategical move :

- A territory that can be conquered quickly with limited resources;

- Allies that will help conquering and holding the said territory, allowing most of the invading army to come back to Dragon Pass without too much delay;

- A city controlling the access to ruins known to hide artefacts from the second age;

- Access to the sea through Corflu...

The colonization of the Bordelands has more to do with opportunity rather than something planned from the start, in my opinion.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Corvantir

[Joerg]

35 minutes ago, jajagappa said:

The obvious unit is the Antelope Lancers (i.e. Hungry Plateau sable riders).  Whether they would have dared use horse cavalry is a question - I don't recall if they did later in 1610.

Given that Euglyptus was providing the troops, I would expect phalanxes and horse skirmishers. The Tarshites had experience entering Prax on horse-back, too - they were allies of Derik under Yarandros.

The main Praxian force the Lunars had encountered previously were the Pol Joni. Weird cavalry beasts are abundant throughout Dragon Pass, but avoiding horses may have been the last thing Euglyptus may have wanted.

IMO the Lunar Army was sent to make a statement, claiming Prax for the empire, without any such reservations or respect for local sentiment.