Cormyr: Esparin and Orva - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Cormyr: Esparin and Orva

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
motteditor2
Aug 10, 2009 22:39:50 I'm planning an adventure in Arabel (3e) and was looking at the FRCS to bone up on a little history (players are going to be asked to steal some stuff from a museum).

It mentions that "the realms of Esparin and Orva" were absorbed by Cormyr during its ascension. Has there ever been anything on these places? I don't think I've seen them mentioned in Lost Empires. I'm happy to make up my own details, but figured I'd stop and check. (And if I am making up my own details, do we think there are supposed to be real-world analogues for them? Not sure who/what Cormyr would translate to as it's always seemed like one of the base medieval parts of the Realms to me ...)

Thanks in advance.
#2
LordManshoon
Aug 10, 2009 23:34:23
I'm planning an adventure in Arabel (3e) and was looking at the FRCS to bone up on a little history (players are going to be asked to steal some stuff from a museum).

It mentions that "the realms of Esparin and Orva" were absorbed by Cormyr during its ascension. Has there ever been anything on these places? I don't think I've seen them mentioned in Lost Empires. I'm happy to make up my own details, but figured I'd stop and check. (And if I am making up my own details, do we think there are supposed to be real-world analogues for them? Not sure who/what Cormyr would translate to as it's always seemed like one of the base medieval parts of the Realms to me ...)

Thanks in advance.

Well, I can't say I recall reading anything about Esparin and Orva other than the same bit you read. But regarding real world analogues, Cormyr isn't supposed to be linked to one particular nation/monarchy/culture. It's not like Mulhorand, which is an undeniable Realms-Egypt. It seems that the closest (or at least the most championed) RW relatives are medieval England and France.

EDIT: Wait, I think Four from Cormyr had something about Orva in it. I can't remember what though. The FR wiki says Orva was destroyed long before Cormyr rose, so it seems Cormyr absorbed its former territory and lands, not the nation itself. Seems it was based in/around the Vast Swamp.
#3
motteditor2
Aug 11, 2009 8:29:32 Thanks, Manshoon. I downloaded the pdf and here's what it had to say about Orva, just in case anyone was interested:

Two millennia ago, Cormyr did not exist. Most of the
area now known as Cormyr was forest, plain, and
swampland under the nominal control of a small, longforgotten
nation named Orva. That nation''s capital, lost
forever, is sunken beneath what is now the Vast Swamp's
southernmost edge.
This place, Orvaskyte Keep, served as an outpost that
marked the northernmost boundary of the nation and
also a place where magical experimentation was undertaken.
Orva's final king, a petty, power-hungry tyrant
with delusions of empire, ordered his archmage advisors
who resided in the keep to devise a means of expanding
Orva's borders with minimal effort.
Unfortunately, in their haste to please their king and
also to avoid the fatal consequences of failure, they manufactured
a gate that erupted the fabric of the Prime Material
Plane. The gate opened to the plane of Baator-
specifically Minauros, the layer of greed, the layer of
swamps and mire.
The first result of the opening was a massive explosion
that killed most of the archmages. Next came a great
sucking wind that pulled the surviving archmages and
the newly arrived priests into Minauros.
Then a rebound effect spewed a massive torrent of vile
swamp from Minauros into Orva, carrying with it a horde
of vile abominations, curses, and diseases. In a single,
horrifying night of blood and slime, the tiny kingdom of
Orva was annihilated and the Vast Swamp became
doubled in size, to more or less its present dimensions.
#4
BadCatMan
Aug 11, 2009 9:02:47 There's not much to be known about Orva. Cormyr: The Tearing Of The Weave includes a snippet, mainly as an aside summarising Four From Cormyr without adding much. Four From Cormyr is the best source.

Demihuman Deities mentions in Labelas's entry: "Likewise, along forgotten-aspect of Labelas, known as Chronos, Karonis, or Kronus, was worshiped centuries ago in the tiny realm of Orva, now sunk beneath the waters of the Vast Swamp of eastern Cormyr."

There's been plenty of speculation on these boards about the people of Orva, questioning whether they were human or elven or some other race, and the identity of the god Chronos, be it a variant on the Greek Titan, the Chronomancer of Netheril, or something else.
#5
motteditor2
Sep 07, 2009 8:50:01
Don't know if anyone's interested, but I did find a little more on Esparin (in Ed Greenwood's "The Sword Never Sleeps," which was pretty much crap -- remind me not to take anymore of Greenwood's books out of the library as they cost too much; yes, even though they're free).

Territory: It occupied most of the Stonelands and a little of the land along the Ride north of the Hullack.

Symbol: Oval badge of a unicorn's head between two curving trees: an oak and a maple.

The Lost Palace of Esparin is buried in the Stonelands. It's where Vangerdahast's predecessors put wizards who went mad; it also apparently turned them all into liches or something (did I mention this is not a good novel?).

A portal links to the palace from the former mansion of the now-extinct Stagheart noble family, which apparently rebelled against King Duar Obarskyr.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 motteditor2 Aug 10, 2009 22:39:50	I'm planning an adventure in Arabel (3e) and was looking at the FRCS to bone up on a little history (players are going to be asked to steal some stuff from a museum). It mentions that "the realms of Esparin and Orva" were absorbed by Cormyr during its ascension. Has there ever been anything on these places? I don't think I've seen them mentioned in Lost Empires. I'm happy to make up my own details, but figured I'd stop and check. (And if I am making up my own details, do we think there are supposed to be real-world analogues for them? Not sure who/what Cormyr would translate to as it's always seemed like one of the base medieval parts of the Realms to me ...) Thanks in advance.
#2 LordManshoon Aug 10, 2009 23:34:23	I'm planning an adventure in Arabel (3e) and was looking at the FRCS to bone up on a little history (players are going to be asked to steal some stuff from a museum). It mentions that "the realms of Esparin and Orva" were absorbed by Cormyr during its ascension. Has there ever been anything on these places? I don't think I've seen them mentioned in Lost Empires. I'm happy to make up my own details, but figured I'd stop and check. (And if I am making up my own details, do we think there are supposed to be real-world analogues for them? Not sure who/what Cormyr would translate to as it's always seemed like one of the base medieval parts of the Realms to me ...) Thanks in advance. Well, I can't say I recall reading anything about Esparin and Orva other than the same bit you read. But regarding real world analogues, Cormyr isn't supposed to be linked to one particular nation/monarchy/culture. It's not like Mulhorand, which is an undeniable Realms-Egypt. It seems that the closest (or at least the most championed) RW relatives are medieval England and France. EDIT: Wait, I think Four from Cormyr had something about Orva in it. I can't remember what though. The FR wiki says Orva was destroyed long before Cormyr rose, so it seems Cormyr absorbed its former territory and lands, not the nation itself. Seems it was based in/around the Vast Swamp.
#3 motteditor2 Aug 11, 2009 8:29:32	Thanks, Manshoon. I downloaded the pdf and here's what it had to say about Orva, just in case anyone was interested: Two millennia ago, Cormyr did not exist. Most of the area now known as Cormyr was forest, plain, and swampland under the nominal control of a small, longforgotten nation named Orva. That nation''s capital, lost forever, is sunken beneath what is now the Vast Swamp's southernmost edge. This place, Orvaskyte Keep, served as an outpost that marked the northernmost boundary of the nation and also a place where magical experimentation was undertaken. Orva's final king, a petty, power-hungry tyrant with delusions of empire, ordered his archmage advisors who resided in the keep to devise a means of expanding Orva's borders with minimal effort. Unfortunately, in their haste to please their king and also to avoid the fatal consequences of failure, they manufactured a gate that erupted the fabric of the Prime Material Plane. The gate opened to the plane of Baator- specifically Minauros, the layer of greed, the layer of swamps and mire. The first result of the opening was a massive explosion that killed most of the archmages. Next came a great sucking wind that pulled the surviving archmages and the newly arrived priests into Minauros. Then a rebound effect spewed a massive torrent of vile swamp from Minauros into Orva, carrying with it a horde of vile abominations, curses, and diseases. In a single, horrifying night of blood and slime, the tiny kingdom of Orva was annihilated and the Vast Swamp became doubled in size, to more or less its present dimensions.
#4 BadCatMan Aug 11, 2009 9:02:47	There's not much to be known about Orva. Cormyr: The Tearing Of The Weave includes a snippet, mainly as an aside summarising Four From Cormyr without adding much. Four From Cormyr is the best source. Demihuman Deities mentions in Labelas's entry: "Likewise, along forgotten-aspect of Labelas, known as Chronos, Karonis, or Kronus, was worshiped centuries ago in the tiny realm of Orva, now sunk beneath the waters of the Vast Swamp of eastern Cormyr." There's been plenty of speculation on these boards about the people of Orva, questioning whether they were human or elven or some other race, and the identity of the god Chronos, be it a variant on the Greek Titan, the Chronomancer of Netheril, or something else.
#5 motteditor2 Sep 07, 2009 8:50:01	Don't know if anyone's interested, but I did find a little more on Esparin (in Ed Greenwood's "The Sword Never Sleeps," which was pretty much crap -- remind me not to take anymore of Greenwood's books out of the library as they cost too much; yes, even though they're free). Territory: It occupied most of the Stonelands and a little of the land along the Ride north of the Hullack. Symbol: Oval badge of a unicorn's head between two curving trees: an oak and a maple. The Lost Palace of Esparin is buried in the Stonelands. It's where Vangerdahast's predecessors put wizards who went mad; it also apparently turned them all into liches or something (did I mention this is not a good novel?). A portal links to the palace from the former mansion of the now-extinct Stagheart noble family, which apparently rebelled against King Duar Obarskyr.