Major Happenings Within the Five Nations [Archive] - Wizards Community

Major Happenings Within the Five Nations [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
grimfaery
05-26-05, 08:12 AM This is a list of short news articles I wrote in anticipation of running an Eberron game. They are set up with the same kind of feel as the Sharn Inquisitive articles on the Wizards main site. I wrote them to help get the players into the feel of the setting and start some plot threads I intend to use. I don’t plan on all these to be developed into full campaign chapters within my game, some are just ideas that I came up with for setting flavor. I’m putting them up on the board in case anyone wants to use them in their own game or maybe they spark an idea for your own campaign. If anyone wants to post their own news articles please do. :P

Major Happenings Within the Five Nations

More and more villages and towns along northern Mournland border have been being attacked by all sorts of monstrosities. Some are known but more and more are of wholly unknown nature or are never seen at all. It is the same along the entire length of the border regardless of nation. Many of the local people seem to think that some dark and mysterious power is driving the monstrosities out for some reason. The authorities feel this is nonsense and feel that there is no evidence to back up that theory and point to the wide variety of monsters that are coming out of the Mournland is a good indicator that a single controlling force isn’t the cause. Although they do admit that there is an increase in overall activity.

Research teams from several universities including Morgrave are headed to the area to see if they can’t find what is causing the rash of attacks.
______________

House Lyrandar and Zilargo have finished the first of several new shipyards planned for construction. However, these shipyards are all at least several miles from the coast. A little over a year ago the Zilargo government signed a deal for a joint venture that would call for six airship yards to be built. Two of them will be built in Zilargo, two in Breland, one in Aundair, and one in the Principalities. Breland and Aundair are both partial owners of the shipyards within their borders. The first yard just completed is located just south of Wroat next to the King’s Forest. The next to be completed will be located in the Lhazaar Principalities. Karrnath, Thrane, Q’Barra, and the Mror Holds have all also shown interest in entering into similar agreements with House Lyrander. Rumor has it that an emissary from Droaam has also made attempts to start negotiations for a shipyard within their borders but House Lyrander refused to even see the diplomat.

While most of the nations receiving the new shipyards are very eager to start construction there are some in the Principalities who don’t want it in their backyard. High Prince Rygar ir'Wynarn has been very aggressive about bringing industries to the archipelago nation much to the ire of the lesser princes who like things just as they are. Many are trying to convince the High Prince to not have the yard built and some have threatened to even do whatever it takes to stop it. The yard is currently slated to start construction within six months just outside the city of Tantamar.
___________________

Many are upset about a recent promotion of a warforged to the rank of Captain within the Breland military. He was promoted by a direct order from King Boranel. A representative for the crown had this to say on the matter, "We have seen that warforged can exercise an intelligence on the battle field that can match and at time surpass that of any human, elf, or gnome. We allow them to command each other but we have always been afraid to have them command us. This is an irrational fear. Cole was instrumental during the last war and has continued to be a major asset to the protection of Breland. Many of his exploits I won’t go into for security reasons but rest assured that the King has made a wise decision in this."

The king’s decision has angered many military veterans and many of the current officers who have all traditionally been staunch supporters of the crown. A ranking officer, who wished to remain unidentified had this to say, "Warforged were created to be foot soldiers, not leaders of men. If they want to lead each other into battle I have no problem with that but they are a tool and nothing more. They are there to be used when needed and discarded when they have lived beyond their usefulness. The war is over, its weapons need to be put away for now.

Surprisingly many of the soldiers who have served with Cole seem to have no problem with the king’s decision. Captain Toath who was one of Cole’s commanding officers had this to say, "Captains Jursknur’s incompetence during the Siege of Fort Lokatien is well known at this point. The only thing that kept the men from breaking was Cole’s ability to inspire not just the warforged under his command as a Lieutenant but the regular Breland units as well. He made many a split decisions that would save hundreds of lives and kept that siege intact far longer than it should have been. The only reason it failed was because of the command staff overseeing the ordeal."
Another soldier who was at the Siege fighting along side Cole had this to say, "In the name of the Host, he might as well just make him a Captain. Cole has been acting like one for the last few years of the war. On occasion he was called away into the command staffs tent to go on special missions. We all knew what was going on. They were getting is advice on how to best maneuver their forces. They just couldn’t admit it given he was a forged. I for one am glad to see him get his due regardless of what he is. He saved my life; he saved hundreds of men’s lives."

What the long-term effects of the King’s decision are will still be hotly debated years from now but only time will tell what they will be.
___________________

Breland’s border with Droaam is slowly moving closer to becoming a potential flash point between the two nations. An emissary for the Sisters has implied that normalized relations with the rest of the nations would do a lot to placating the restless tribes of Droaam. Many feel that the hags themselves are not only allowing their monsters to push against the border but actually encouraging them to do so in hopes that Breland will give into their demands. However, the Sisters insist that they find it difficult to provide jobs and a decent standard of living for their people given that they do not have a single steady trade agreement with other nations. There is a movement within the Parliament who is trying to push for normalized relations with Droaam. However, Lord Levlin ir’Marterael has been the most outspoken against it stated, "The Sisters are allowing their subjects free reign to push against the border. With the amount of control they have shown in the past why now do they suddenly find it beyond them to keep their forces in check? This is nothing short of blackmail on their part and Breland must not back down from it for one second."

Many are worried that this issue might spark a major conflict with the Hag run nation, a conflict that many feel Breland is not at all ready for. In a related story many people in parliament and the military are worried about the increasing number of migrants coming into Breland from Droaam. Many feel that they are beginning to pose a major security risk to the nation while others argue that it a bigoted and alarmist attitude. Many within the Parliament are trying to push a resolution to strengthen the border and put stricter regulations on who enters the country from Droaam.
__________________________

House Orien and House Cannith have unveiled an ambitious expansion plan for the Lightning Rail. They have plans for creating additional major lines in Thrane, Breland, Valenar and Aundair. Also planed are minor lines through the above mentioned nation plus Zilargo, Karrnath, and Talenta. But by far the most controversial part of the plan is the creation of an entirely separate lightning rail line that starts in Valenar city of Norinath and run fully up the coast through Q’Barra and the southernmost part of the Mror Holds. It will finally end in the city of Tantamar in the Principalities.

While many look forward to expanding overall rail service there is some strong opposition to the project not to mention the engineering difficulties. One might assume that the Valenar elves would object to the project but house Orien has already publicly stated that they have gained permission from High King Vadallia. There are many in Q’Barra who prize being segregated from the rest of the continent and they resent the idea of making their country more accessible to outsiders. Unfortunately for them the King has agreed to the plan but rumor has it that he only agreed after being promised a small fortune in concessions to the crown. In the Principalities House Orien not only had to get High Prince Rygar ir'Wynarn on board but many of the lesser prices as well. This took some time to achieve but fortunately the High Prince supports the plan and with his help House Orien was able to get the support they needed.

The only thing standing in the way now is the actual construction. House Cannith has said the entirely now techniques are being created for this project but they feel that every obstacle can be overcome. Construction is slated to begin in two months.
______________________

Everyone has heard the stories about the Lord of Blades and his followers within the Mournland. While many see these stories as overblown rumors, some are not so quick to dismiss them. Many adventurers and mercenaries that have braved the Mournland bring back stories that seem to lend credence to the Lord of Blades story. Many tell that they were ambushed in the middle of the night by forged who wore an insignia that looked like a ring of blades and that their ambushers actually spoke of serving the Lord of Blades during the encounter. An odd new development in the stories came from a few people who found themselves in dire trouble while within the dead empire. They claim that they were actually helped by a group of enigmatic forged who would not talk about themselves. They only seemed to be interested in helping. What these polarized stories entail is anyone’s guess?
____________________________

Rumors of an army of lizardmen are coming from the Western border of Breland. The lizard folk have always been a problem in the small lordship of the Freeman family but apparently they have become more organized and have started what amounts to a small military campaign in the area. These stories come from refugees fleeing the area and coming to Sharn. Parliamentary Representative Rasten Delnor has stated that he talked to the Lady Freeman; who represents the city of Dalorn in the Parliament, and he released this statement, "Lady Freeman has said herself that the reports are overblown. Those lands have always had a problem with the scaled tribes and they will most likely continue to have them for some time. If the lizardmen are suddenly getting more organized then it is most likely the Three Sisters who are behind it. This would fall right in line with their agenda of pressuring Breland to normalize relations.
_______________________

More and more the Dark elves launch raids against expeditions into the jungles of Xen’drik. "The attacks do seem to be almost coordinate but that may just be a coincidence." Stated Professor Solmar of Morgrave University to our Xen’drik correspondent Kalen Mettlenmere. Professor Solmar lives in Stormreach as a researcher of the ancient cultures of the continent. The professor also added, "So far we have identified at least a dozen different tribes of drow and these are just the ones that live near the city. I surmise that there are at the very least another hundred on the continent. While it is conceivable that they might band together for a common purpose, in this case to disrupt the follow of research, I doubt that they have. Each tribe has its own very unique outlook on life and some are so dramatically different from each other some have been at war with each other for a very long time."

Others are a little more suspicious than the professor is. Hoven Edlerman, a noble who has turned exploration of Xen’drik into a life passion had this to say, "Of course they have all decided to band together against us. Its only natural that people who are alike band together in their time of need. These elves are afraid of change. They have lived like primitives for so long that not only can’t they conceive of a civilized life but when you present it to them they treat it like something evil and sinister.
Many in the city of Stormreach have a growing suspicion of the elves. Largely in part to the recent raids on expeditions but also that one week ago several fires were started within the city all within minutes of each other. The investigators have concluded that they were all set up by the same person or group of people and they were all coordinated to flare up at the same time. The Inquisitives have stated that at this time they do not have any lead in the case.
ydirbut
05-26-05, 03:10 PM A covert espionage war is launched between House Sivis and House Tharask as House Tharask attempts to learn the secrets of Dragonstone binding so as to cut the middle man (Zilargo) out of the equation and bring them greater profits.
grimfaery
05-29-05, 10:34 AM bump
ussie
06-28-05, 03:21 AM props to you

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
grimfaery 05-26-05, 08:12 AM	This is a list of short news articles I wrote in anticipation of running an Eberron game. They are set up with the same kind of feel as the Sharn Inquisitive articles on the Wizards main site. I wrote them to help get the players into the feel of the setting and start some plot threads I intend to use. I don’t plan on all these to be developed into full campaign chapters within my game, some are just ideas that I came up with for setting flavor. I’m putting them up on the board in case anyone wants to use them in their own game or maybe they spark an idea for your own campaign. If anyone wants to post their own news articles please do. :P Major Happenings Within the Five Nations More and more villages and towns along northern Mournland border have been being attacked by all sorts of monstrosities. Some are known but more and more are of wholly unknown nature or are never seen at all. It is the same along the entire length of the border regardless of nation. Many of the local people seem to think that some dark and mysterious power is driving the monstrosities out for some reason. The authorities feel this is nonsense and feel that there is no evidence to back up that theory and point to the wide variety of monsters that are coming out of the Mournland is a good indicator that a single controlling force isn’t the cause. Although they do admit that there is an increase in overall activity. Research teams from several universities including Morgrave are headed to the area to see if they can’t find what is causing the rash of attacks. ______________ House Lyrandar and Zilargo have finished the first of several new shipyards planned for construction. However, these shipyards are all at least several miles from the coast. A little over a year ago the Zilargo government signed a deal for a joint venture that would call for six airship yards to be built. Two of them will be built in Zilargo, two in Breland, one in Aundair, and one in the Principalities. Breland and Aundair are both partial owners of the shipyards within their borders. The first yard just completed is located just south of Wroat next to the King’s Forest. The next to be completed will be located in the Lhazaar Principalities. Karrnath, Thrane, Q’Barra, and the Mror Holds have all also shown interest in entering into similar agreements with House Lyrander. Rumor has it that an emissary from Droaam has also made attempts to start negotiations for a shipyard within their borders but House Lyrander refused to even see the diplomat. While most of the nations receiving the new shipyards are very eager to start construction there are some in the Principalities who don’t want it in their backyard. High Prince Rygar ir'Wynarn has been very aggressive about bringing industries to the archipelago nation much to the ire of the lesser princes who like things just as they are. Many are trying to convince the High Prince to not have the yard built and some have threatened to even do whatever it takes to stop it. The yard is currently slated to start construction within six months just outside the city of Tantamar. ___________________ Many are upset about a recent promotion of a warforged to the rank of Captain within the Breland military. He was promoted by a direct order from King Boranel. A representative for the crown had this to say on the matter, "We have seen that warforged can exercise an intelligence on the battle field that can match and at time surpass that of any human, elf, or gnome. We allow them to command each other but we have always been afraid to have them command us. This is an irrational fear. Cole was instrumental during the last war and has continued to be a major asset to the protection of Breland. Many of his exploits I won’t go into for security reasons but rest assured that the King has made a wise decision in this." The king’s decision has angered many military veterans and many of the current officers who have all traditionally been staunch supporters of the crown. A ranking officer, who wished to remain unidentified had this to say, "Warforged were created to be foot soldiers, not leaders of men. If they want to lead each other into battle I have no problem with that but they are a tool and nothing more. They are there to be used when needed and discarded when they have lived beyond their usefulness. The war is over, its weapons need to be put away for now. Surprisingly many of the soldiers who have served with Cole seem to have no problem with the king’s decision. Captain Toath who was one of Cole’s commanding officers had this to say, "Captains Jursknur’s incompetence during the Siege of Fort Lokatien is well known at this point. The only thing that kept the men from breaking was Cole’s ability to inspire not just the warforged under his command as a Lieutenant but the regular Breland units as well. He made many a split decisions that would save hundreds of lives and kept that siege intact far longer than it should have been. The only reason it failed was because of the command staff overseeing the ordeal." Another soldier who was at the Siege fighting along side Cole had this to say, "In the name of the Host, he might as well just make him a Captain. Cole has been acting like one for the last few years of the war. On occasion he was called away into the command staffs tent to go on special missions. We all knew what was going on. They were getting is advice on how to best maneuver their forces. They just couldn’t admit it given he was a forged. I for one am glad to see him get his due regardless of what he is. He saved my life; he saved hundreds of men’s lives." What the long-term effects of the King’s decision are will still be hotly debated years from now but only time will tell what they will be. ___________________ Breland’s border with Droaam is slowly moving closer to becoming a potential flash point between the two nations. An emissary for the Sisters has implied that normalized relations with the rest of the nations would do a lot to placating the restless tribes of Droaam. Many feel that the hags themselves are not only allowing their monsters to push against the border but actually encouraging them to do so in hopes that Breland will give into their demands. However, the Sisters insist that they find it difficult to provide jobs and a decent standard of living for their people given that they do not have a single steady trade agreement with other nations. There is a movement within the Parliament who is trying to push for normalized relations with Droaam. However, Lord Levlin ir’Marterael has been the most outspoken against it stated, "The Sisters are allowing their subjects free reign to push against the border. With the amount of control they have shown in the past why now do they suddenly find it beyond them to keep their forces in check? This is nothing short of blackmail on their part and Breland must not back down from it for one second." Many are worried that this issue might spark a major conflict with the Hag run nation, a conflict that many feel Breland is not at all ready for. In a related story many people in parliament and the military are worried about the increasing number of migrants coming into Breland from Droaam. Many feel that they are beginning to pose a major security risk to the nation while others argue that it a bigoted and alarmist attitude. Many within the Parliament are trying to push a resolution to strengthen the border and put stricter regulations on who enters the country from Droaam. __________________________ House Orien and House Cannith have unveiled an ambitious expansion plan for the Lightning Rail. They have plans for creating additional major lines in Thrane, Breland, Valenar and Aundair. Also planed are minor lines through the above mentioned nation plus Zilargo, Karrnath, and Talenta. But by far the most controversial part of the plan is the creation of an entirely separate lightning rail line that starts in Valenar city of Norinath and run fully up the coast through Q’Barra and the southernmost part of the Mror Holds. It will finally end in the city of Tantamar in the Principalities. While many look forward to expanding overall rail service there is some strong opposition to the project not to mention the engineering difficulties. One might assume that the Valenar elves would object to the project but house Orien has already publicly stated that they have gained permission from High King Vadallia. There are many in Q’Barra who prize being segregated from the rest of the continent and they resent the idea of making their country more accessible to outsiders. Unfortunately for them the King has agreed to the plan but rumor has it that he only agreed after being promised a small fortune in concessions to the crown. In the Principalities House Orien not only had to get High Prince Rygar ir'Wynarn on board but many of the lesser prices as well. This took some time to achieve but fortunately the High Prince supports the plan and with his help House Orien was able to get the support they needed. The only thing standing in the way now is the actual construction. House Cannith has said the entirely now techniques are being created for this project but they feel that every obstacle can be overcome. Construction is slated to begin in two months. ______________________ Everyone has heard the stories about the Lord of Blades and his followers within the Mournland. While many see these stories as overblown rumors, some are not so quick to dismiss them. Many adventurers and mercenaries that have braved the Mournland bring back stories that seem to lend credence to the Lord of Blades story. Many tell that they were ambushed in the middle of the night by forged who wore an insignia that looked like a ring of blades and that their ambushers actually spoke of serving the Lord of Blades during the encounter. An odd new development in the stories came from a few people who found themselves in dire trouble while within the dead empire. They claim that they were actually helped by a group of enigmatic forged who would not talk about themselves. They only seemed to be interested in helping. What these polarized stories entail is anyone’s guess? ____________________________ Rumors of an army of lizardmen are coming from the Western border of Breland. The lizard folk have always been a problem in the small lordship of the Freeman family but apparently they have become more organized and have started what amounts to a small military campaign in the area. These stories come from refugees fleeing the area and coming to Sharn. Parliamentary Representative Rasten Delnor has stated that he talked to the Lady Freeman; who represents the city of Dalorn in the Parliament, and he released this statement, "Lady Freeman has said herself that the reports are overblown. Those lands have always had a problem with the scaled tribes and they will most likely continue to have them for some time. If the lizardmen are suddenly getting more organized then it is most likely the Three Sisters who are behind it. This would fall right in line with their agenda of pressuring Breland to normalize relations. _______________________ More and more the Dark elves launch raids against expeditions into the jungles of Xen’drik. "The attacks do seem to be almost coordinate but that may just be a coincidence." Stated Professor Solmar of Morgrave University to our Xen’drik correspondent Kalen Mettlenmere. Professor Solmar lives in Stormreach as a researcher of the ancient cultures of the continent. The professor also added, "So far we have identified at least a dozen different tribes of drow and these are just the ones that live near the city. I surmise that there are at the very least another hundred on the continent. While it is conceivable that they might band together for a common purpose, in this case to disrupt the follow of research, I doubt that they have. Each tribe has its own very unique outlook on life and some are so dramatically different from each other some have been at war with each other for a very long time." Others are a little more suspicious than the professor is. Hoven Edlerman, a noble who has turned exploration of Xen’drik into a life passion had this to say, "Of course they have all decided to band together against us. Its only natural that people who are alike band together in their time of need. These elves are afraid of change. They have lived like primitives for so long that not only can’t they conceive of a civilized life but when you present it to them they treat it like something evil and sinister. Many in the city of Stormreach have a growing suspicion of the elves. Largely in part to the recent raids on expeditions but also that one week ago several fires were started within the city all within minutes of each other. The investigators have concluded that they were all set up by the same person or group of people and they were all coordinated to flare up at the same time. The Inquisitives have stated that at this time they do not have any lead in the case.
ydirbut 05-26-05, 03:10 PM	A covert espionage war is launched between House Sivis and House Tharask as House Tharask attempts to learn the secrets of Dragonstone binding so as to cut the middle man (Zilargo) out of the equation and bring them greater profits.
grimfaery 05-29-05, 10:34 AM	bump
ussie 06-28-05, 03:21 AM	props to you