Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ieattrollsforbreakfast 02-19-07, 08:03 PM	The topic of an Inspired invasion of Khorvaire comes up reasonably often, and the reasons for/against and the consequences have been discussed to death...but what about the reverse? What reason could there be for an (unprovoked?) invasion of Sarlona by a union of Khorvaire nations? This is all in the interest of a possible world-changing story arc in an Eberron game :) One idea I did have is admittedly adapted (stolen) from the Dragonshard game: -The Heart of Siberys lands in central Syrkarn. Since such a huge Siberys dragonshard would be extremely useful to both the Five Nations and Riedra, both invade the country simultaneously. An added twist would have the magic of the Heart releasing the rajah bound there, possibly forcing an alliance between Riedra, Syrkarn and Khorvaire to quell the released fiend and its empowered yuan-ti minions. Anyone have any other ideas?
UnderworldLord 02-19-07, 08:11 PM	Once you've got the five nations allied, by the numbers, the Inspired have the upper hand. After all, how do you beat an enemy when every single upper level member meets every night? Though I have not read SoS yet, I think the nations of Khovaire might pull something out only if the d'marked houses also pitched in greatly on their side and their side only. We're talking full blown four nations+12 houses. But thats still an if. I'd also if that the New Darguun, or maybe the Valenar, might find a way to make some sort of strike somewhere... or maybe both might. Their are also the druidic sects that aren't nice, the cults of the dragon below, the thought that Vol/LoBster might make a move... anything can happen. It'd be about like World War 3 for them. And they've already had the Mourning, so who knows what else could happen?
Elemental_Elf 02-19-07, 08:38 PM	Before the Last War it could have been done, theoretically, but now that the Last War is over, there is no way for Khovaire to defeat Sarlona on their own turf. Khovaire's population is far too low to even attempt such a feat. Not to mention once you get to Sarlona, how do you combat the Quori? They can see your dreams and influence your life. Beyond that, the nation of Reidra is organized in such a way that to conquerer it, you'd have to decimate their population; every commoner will fight and die for the inspired not to mention the fact that they will never believe that they are evil. Reidra can not be defeated by Khovaire as it stands now. Now if they were invading Syrkarn... Even then I believe the Riedrans would take offense to foreigners invading their continent and mobilize a force that could beat any Khovaire army, let alone a small invasion fleet coming across one of the worst seas in the world. Now a mobile strike force, now that could work. Say a 10 to a few hundred men and women trained and at the pinnacle of their lives, now that could work in your example. Though the sheer resource base of Riedra would pose a huge problem to the strike force. But it could be done if they act fast enough. Also if the Rakasha was released, I seriously doubt the Riedrans would accept the help of the Khorvairans. ;_;
UnderworldLord 02-19-07, 08:47 PM	And with that, I'll pop in the phrase "You can't kill an ideal." It'll be like Korea and Iraq combined for them to do that. Only with more, and more influential, power players, each tuggng in seperate directions, all with personal agendas.
Subtle Knife 02-19-07, 09:53 PM	Religion: Think about the crusades - almost the entirety of Europe (which is at the time a mass of feuds and wars and territorial shifting) masses together to invade the Holy Land because a powerful religious icon says that they need to claim this region for their own and destroy the nonbelievers who currently inhabit it. Not just once, but repeatedly! All you need is a belief system to become so pervasive and so persuasive as to permit its' representatives to convince the people that Sarlona is important, and should be claimed for the faith. I see the Silver Flame as a solid possibility, with Sarlona being "targeted" as the birthplace of the Couatl (prominent positive historical figures in the religion, of course). Add on to that economic pressures (Dragonmarked Houses seeking to expand ever outward) and political influences (which could be varied), and it wouldn't be difficult to advance a war. The only problem I forsee is actually establishing a religious force large enough to unify all parties, at least in the short term. Alternately, consider invasion as a force of retaliation (we've never seen that on the world stage, have we?). Provide convincing evidence of Riedran duplicity in Khorvaire, of invasion or massive terrorist activity (ie. the Mourning), or some similar nefarious and malignant widely influential action, and you might be able to cobble together a reasonably tight coalition. In my campaign, I am considering (eventually) a war campaign, wherein the Inspired of Riedra attempt a rather ingenious invasion of Khorvaire; only some supremely forward thinking (read: Draconic Prophecy) permits the characters the ability to repel the initial invasion and foil these plans. Properly collected evidence of this sort of activity might help pull things together.... At least, those have been my thoughts of late.... SK
Subtle Knife 02-19-07, 09:59 PM	Regardless of who invades who, however, consider home-field advantage. If Khorvaire invades Riedra, not only does it shift all forces to a distant front, but also a front in a distant land, likely with difficulty in maintaining supply lines, and in territory that the enemy knows well. Without iron-clad solidarity, some strong partisan support, miraculous tactical planning, massive resources, and local allies, you are going to have supreme difficulty against as organized and devoted a fighting force as the Riedrans, regardless of numbers. SK
UnderworldLord 02-19-07, 10:16 PM	At least we have the local allies part covered...