Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DrunkMonk 01-26-06, 04:07 PM	I was talking with my DM and a question came up for us that he thought I should address to this board for feedback. We were talking about the US submarine fleet and a though came up about an “end of days” scenario. Assuming that every nation was at war there would have been a full fledged Cyran Navy. Some or even most of their ships could have been at sea when the Morning hit. What happen to those captains & crews? Just a thought, DM
Belabras 01-26-06, 04:33 PM	Good question. They had access to the sea, so it would be logical for there to be a fleet. Perhaps they've turned pirate and are working out of the Lhazaar Principalities? Or maybe they've started a Cyre colony on the coast of Xen'drik. Makes a good plot hook, certainly.
DrunkMonk 01-26-06, 04:41 PM	Belabras, We discussed piracy, but the new colony is an interesting idea. DM
bookwurmneo 01-26-06, 04:45 PM	I see the Cyre navy split into three parts , after the war: 1. The quitters, these guys/ships no longer feel loyal to Cyre and now act as mercenaries and pirates. 2. The mercenary reserve, These guys still act as the Cyre navy acting under the fleet heirachy while taking missions to protect merchant ships in order to pay the bills. If New Cyre ever needed large-scale support these are the guys who come running. 3. The New Cyre fleet, techinically part of the mercenary reserve: these guys are at the beck and call of the Cyre prince and can be found either working with the Brelish navy as payment for their help or going on missions for the prince. I see the fleet being led by a charismatic admiral most likely with a few levels from the Legendary Captain prc from Stormwrack.
talion09 01-26-06, 05:30 PM	Perhaps its only because I watched Serenity this morning, but this thread made me ask myself: "What if Cyre had not only a traditional (ie. ocean going) navy at sea during the Mourning, but also an airship or two that escaped the mourning?" Twisting the original post around, what about a solo airship or a small squadron that escaped the Day of Mourning. Afterall, if civilians on foot near the borders had time to escape the dead-grey mists, then surely airships could of as well. And the logical place for any Cyran airships to be would be aiding in the battles along the borders. EDIT: If the Prince of New Cyre had a squadron of airships to command, then he becomes an even greater patron for adventurers. He could send adventurers all over the globe in relatively short times to search for Cyran artifacts and survivors, clues to the mourning, etc And it would make the job of the New Cyre ambassadors a little easier if they had a military squadron of airships full of marines and adventurers to escort them from place to place, rather than a House Lyrandar airship or taking the Lightning Rail.
Hideous Phidias 01-26-06, 05:53 PM	I think that the idea of a cyran navy being out in the world is one of the better ideas I have seen on this board in awhile. the books talk about how out of the Five Nations tha Crye had the Greatest Navy of them all. I had played around with the Cyran navy in the game I am running but really only touched on it. In fact I look just the Steel Kracons on the Five Nation book. Infact, I have been working I an idea for a new game because the one I am running now is coming to an end, I think that the Cyran maybe a good way to go. I was going to start off the campaign by havng the player shipwrech and trapped in a cave of a gaint or some thing. They would have to get around the gaint or kill it to get out. I was having trouble think of what to have party do next. The wholecyrean navy looking for a newport is a good story hook.
Belabras 01-26-06, 05:59 PM	Infact, I have been working I an idea for a new game because the one I am running now is coming to an end, I think that the Cyran maybe a good way to go. I was going to start off the campaign by havng the player shipwrech and trapped in a cave of a gaint or some thing. They would have to get around the gaint or kill it to get out. I was having trouble think of what to have party do next. The wholecyrean navy looking for a newport is a good story hook. After which they are cursed by an ancient sea spirit and forced to wander for 30 years? Sorry, shades of the Odyssey there. Maybe they could find some kind of Giant Kingdom artifact in the cave, something that the giant's forgot how to use a long time ago, but which (once activated by the PCs) starts attacting the attention of various power groups on Eberron as the PCs desperately try to figure out what the heck it is and stay a step ahead of the factions after it and them.
Cutlass 01-27-06, 02:11 AM	This is part of the back story of a character that I was working on. Feel free to steal and or modify it to your heart's content :) The RCS(*) Making wasn't the most heavily armed ship ever to sail the seas. But she could run rings around the ships that carried more and heavier weaponry than she did. The RCS Making wasn't the fastest ship ever to sail the seas. But her weaponry was powerful enough to blow the faster ships to matchwood at range, and she wasn't that much slower than they were. In a nutshell, even though some ships were faster than she was, and some ships were more heavily armed than she was, it was the RCS Making that had the reputation. In fact, her enemies had a name for her. They called her the Keeper's Daughter. Her Commanding Officer was Captain Issahull ir'Siannodel. He was an elf who had started his career in the Navy as a cabin boy back when it was the Royal Galifaran Navy and Jarot's father was the King of Galifar. Captain ir'Siannodel benefited greatly from the fact that his cousin Enialis Xiloscient, a wizard of considerable power who specialized in weather control and modification, served alongside him. It was said that Xiloscient was able to exercise more power and more control over weather than any Lyrander heir could ever hope to. When the Day of Mourning occurred, the RCS Making had been raiding Karrnathi shipping. Captain ir'Siannodel did not find out what had happened until two weeks later. Captain ir'Siannodel immediately set course for homeport at Northfork, Cyre. Upon arrival the Captain and most of the crew conducted a rapid search of the base hoping to find the crew's dependents. They found that the situation was even worse than they had heard and there were no survivors to be rescued. As they surveyed the devastation, the Captain and his cousin came to the conclusion that Aundair must have been responsible. From that moment on the RCS Making conducted a one ship war against the entire Aundairan navy, stopping only long enough to sell the ships and cargoes that were seized to raise money for their operations and perform the occasional needed repairs. By the time that the negotiations for the Treaty of Thronehold were underway, Queen Aurala was beside herself. The RCS Making operating with minimal support had just about single handedly shut down Aundair's seaborne commerce. The RCS Making was so brutally effective in combat that the Aundairan Fleet Admiral had been forced to issue orders to the Aundairan Navy that the RCS Making was not to be engaged unless there were at least 4 frigate class Aundarian ships taking part.(**) However, the incident that really got Aurala's goat was when the RCS Making used her warforged Marine boarding party to stage an amphibious operation that resulted in the seizure of the Aundairan royal yacht, Mermaid. Part of Mermaid's cargo consisted of Her Royal Majesty's frilly underwear and other assorted racy undergarments as well as one of her diaries containing some rather "earthy" and detailed descriptions of activities that she liked to engage in with her husband behind closed doors. Captain ir'Siannodel arranged for Aurala's assorted undergarments and diary to be auctioned off to the highest bidders at the most expensive brothel in the Firelight district in Sharn. It was said that the money raised by that one auction was enough to fund the construction of another 3 Making class frigates. Once the changeling prostitutes had time to digest the information in the diary, the "Aurala Special" became quite popular. For a mere 100 gold pieces you could get EXACTLY what Aundair's Royal Consort got. When news of all this reached Queen Aurala it was said that she departed rationality for a period of several days. There were several instances that ocurred during the two years leading up to the Treaty of Thronehold when Aundairan diplomats had approached Prince Oargev in an attempt to get him to stop RCS Making's depradations of the Aundairan coast. Prince Oargev actually tried to do so. However, he was working under two serious handicaps. The first was that without the resources that normally would have been available to the Cyran Admiralty, Prince Oargev simply had no easy way that he could contact the RCS Making. The second was that Prince Oargev also lacked access to the military code keys that he needed in order to generate the proper order code that Captain ir'Siannodel would have had to recognize. Thus, Captain ir'Siannodel was technically within his rights as a senior Captain exercising independent command under the Cyran Admiralty's War Plan Black (which had been approved by Queen Dannel) when he basically replied to one of Prince Oargev's communications that did get to him with, "Get lost." However all tales have, if not an end, at least a part where they have a break before the sequel starts. After the Treaty of Thronehold was signed Captain ir'Siannodel reevaluated his position. He desperately wanted to continue carrying out his one ship war against Aundair. Especially because a reasonable case could be made that he was close to winning it. However, at the same time, he knew that the operations he was conducting could have long ranging detrimental impacts on Cyran refugees. Thus it was that the RCS Making pulled into port in Sharn a month after the Treaty of Thronehold was signed. Captain ir'Siannodel released the warforged and most of the rest of the crew from service. He started to make preparations for turning the RCS Making over to the Royal Brelish Navy. However, that night the RCS Making caught fire and sank at the anchorage spot assigned to her. Captain ir'Siannodel and the remaining crew who had been on her were not heard from again. Or were they? It was several months later that some strange things were noticed. The first was when the Royal Brelish Navy had warforged salvage divers commence operations on the charred remains of the RCS Making resting in the bottom of the bay. They wanted to retrieve her heavy weapons. But for some bizarre reason the RCS Making's heavy weaponry could not be found. The second occurred over a year later. A pirate ship started operations in Aundairan waters. Her name was the Avenger. Those who saw her were able to determine based on details of her hull construction and rigging that she had been constructed in the Lhazaar Principalities. She wasn't quite as fast as the RCS Making had been, but she didn't miss by much. She seemed to pack a punch that was as powerful as the RCS Making's had been. In battle it was observed that there were usually two elves visible on her quarterdeck and the weather was always in her favor. It was said that in place of a flag the Avenger flew a frilly lady's undergarment that was reputed to have belonged to Queen Aurala. (*) RCS = Royal Cyran Ship. In a nutshell, the RCS Making as a sailing ship is what Jarlot and the crew of the Forgotten Freedom would like to be when they grow up as a real combat airship and crew. As a real world historical analog, the RCS Making was able to pull off some of the stunts (and more) that the USS Constitution (aka "Old Ironsides") pulled off during the War of 1812, and that the Germans wanted to be able to pull off with the Bismark during WW II. (**) Historical fact. During the War of 1812 the British Admiralty issued orders to the British fleet that US Navy Constitution class frigates were not to be engaged by fewer than 2 British frigates. Some time later USS Constitution engaged and defeated two British frigates in combat. P.S. added in edit. After the Day of Mourning Cyre would have effectively ceased to have a navy. Those ships that were engaging in operations away from Cyre would eventually need to pull into port somewhere in order to obtain supplies, repairs, etc.. Without the backing of the Cyran government to pay the bills they ran up getting those needs taken care of they would have eventually had to cease operations. The only hope they would have over the long haul that would enable them to operate would be to turn pirate. Turning pirate, however, is a lot easier said than done. Depending on the class of ship that was involved, it simply might not be a viable option. Then there are the other factors to consider such as the skill level of the ship's captain and the motivation of her crew. In the RCS Making's case, all those and other factors came together to enable her to become a truly formidable pirate. But that would not have been the case for all surviving Cyran ships. After the Treaty of Thronehold, Cyre would essentially have had to give what little navy it had remaining away (or at least try to sell the surviving ships to one of the other governments). The reasons for that heartbreaking decision would be: 1) IIRC New Cyre is landlocked. The closest port would be something on the order of several hundred miles away. Thus there would be no way for New Cyre to build the facilities it would need to maintain a fleet. 2) Loss of tax base resulting in loss of funds to build facilities that would enable ship construction and repair as well as the funds to pay crews and cover other administrative costs. 3) Loss of manpower resulting in inability to man a sufficient number of reasonable ships with loyal Cyran crews. So, after the Treaty of Thronehold and the end of the Last War, ships that were exercising the "pirate" option under Letters of Marque and other similar instruments that had been issued by Cyre would have lost their "legitimacy" as combatants fighting a declared war. In the case of the RCS Making, it was one thing for Captain ir'Siannodel to enagage in a one ship war against Aundair as long as the war was declared. However, he would have had no right to give orders to his crew as a ship's Captain in the Royal Cyran Navy to engage in activity that would have been illegal after the war had ended to engage in what would then be actual crimes. So, he did the honorable thing. He went to a neutral port, let everybody who wanted to leave as well as those that the Treaty of Thronehold forced him to let go depart. Then he staged things such that when he resumed oprations with a new ship and mostly (but not entirely) new crew, it was under conditions that New Cyre could not be held responsible for his actions and the people who served under him were with him of their own free will.
DrunkMonk 01-27-06, 11:01 AM	Cutlass, Great ideas. After thinking about the Destruction of Cyre I am more confused than ever. Sorry for the long post – After some consideration and talking with Ryan (my DM), we started to think that Cyre (whatever you want to call the survivors) probably has the highest concentration of high level npc’s and able body citizenry anywhere. This may have been covered before (if so – sorry), but who would have survived the Mourning? We came up with a pretty impressive list: 1) The Cyran Navy at sea or even out a little from a harbor. 2) All of the private merchant vessels, as well as any land merchants that were out of the country. 3) Any airships that could make it to the border or were high enough to miss being caught by the mists. 4) Any soldiers fighting on someone else’s soil (Mr. Baker’s books – thanks for the world – its fun to play in). 5) Any POW’s – there had to be some. After Thornhold, they would be released? 6) All the foreign diplomats and traveling state officials. 7) Here’s one that makes a difference – Every spy/covert operative/assassin for Cyre would have survived if they were out of Cyre. This lists puts a much more powerful group of displaced Cyrans out in the world than I first imagined. They may be scattered and never come together, but if they could find some kind of unity, they would be a very powerful group anywhere. This concentration of resources would allow for a fair amount of self-determination. We did run into some questions about who would survive and where would they go: 1) Did the warforged who were in Cyre die or were they just disabled? 2) How deep below the surface (ground or water) did the Mourning strike? 3) What would happen to someone caught at the border – literally half in/half out? 4) Did the gray mists have to touch the person to have them affected by the Mourning? Protected by wall of force, under water, whatever…. 5) What about undead – there had to be some in Cyre? I hate when I start thinking about these things, then I want answers. The fewer “it’s whatever your DM says happened” – the better. I like to have some ideas to bring to the couch when we hammer these things out. DM
Belabras 01-27-06, 11:39 AM	1) Did the warforged who were in Cyre die or were they just disabled? By all accounts, neither. They were largely unaffected by it. As a DM you are welcome to play around with the idea though. 5) What about undead – there had to be some in Cyre? Karnathi troops and Emerald Claw agents perhaps? You could have all kinds of wierd effects on them post-mourning.