Dungeon #124, p.53, says that Lazare was a dragonchess champion in Greyhawk "some 20 years ago," & used his winnings to buy a mine in Diamond Lake. The it says he was bankrupted withing 3 years & forced to sell his mine to Balabar Smenk.
Assuming Lazare moved to Diamond Lake soon after winning, he would've arrived in 575 or so, the sold his mine to Smenk around 578. The problem is that Smenk has only been in Diamond Lake 10 years (page 52).
Which of these figures is wrong:
1. Lazare's reign as dragonchess champ (575);
2. Lazare's bankruptcy (578); or
3. Smenk's arrival in Diamond Lake (585)?
I have a suggestion for the next AP. I don't want it to sound like a negative criticism, so first some praise: I'm DMing this AP for my 10-yr old son, and we're having a blast! I have really enjoyed all of the first three adventures, and am eagerly awaiting more!
That said, here's my suggestion for designing the next AP: Use a master timeline. Any time anyone puts a date on anything or writes something like "X years ago", they have to put it down on the timeline, and make sure that it actually makes sense with everything else on the timeline. That's really the only way to avoid these kinds of mistakes (which are really popping up with too much frequency in AoW so far).
Creative Director
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Smenk doesn't have to live in Diamond Lake in order to own a mine in the area. In fact, if I recall correctly, the thinking was that he'd been buying mines in the Cairn Hill region for some time while living in the Free City. When something happened that made him flee the city (one too many murders, perhaps?) he chose Diamond Lake as a new home since it was close to the center of all the mines he'd been purchasing over the last several years.
So as I see it, none of these dates are off.
A timeline of events would be nice, but it's unfortunately something that we can't really do unless we have all 12 adventures in house OR provide a campaign outline so draconian and detailed that it stifles the creativity of the individual authors. That said, we've certainly got an in-house timeline for the major events in the campaign. It just doesn't cover every little event that occurs in the adventures themselves.
Draconian, eh? That makes me wonder, has there ever been a draconic alphabet printed in a D&D product? I know the 3e FRCS has Dethek, Thorass, and Espruar in it.
Contributor
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Draconian, eh? That makes me wonder, has there ever been a draconic alphabet printed in a D&D product? I know the 3e FRCS has Dethek, Thorass, and Espruar in it.
IIRC, the written form of Draconic is ideographic and bears a strong resemblance to ancient Chinese writing. It doesn't really have an alphabet that can be printed. Not sure where or when I heard/read this, but it's what I've always gone with in my settings.
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So as I see it, none of these dates are off.A timeline of events would be nice, but it's unfortunately something that we can't really do unless we have all 12 adventures in house OR provide a campaign outline so draconian and detailed that it stifles the creativity of the individual authors. That said, we've certainly got an in-house timeline for the major events in the campaign. It just doesn't cover every little event that occurs in the adventures themselves.
James, any chance we could pull a cut/paste and share said timeline now that the "AoW" has concluded? I think it'd be especially appreciated by DMs who are just getting going in the campaign and who have been following it for some time. Count me among both groups.
On (very old) topic, the character of Lazare is one of my favorites. It seems inevitable in our campaign that the PCs will move against Smenk, and soon. When that happens, they're also likely to try to align the many forces that they know have been rubbed the wrong way by Smenk, and at the suggestion of potential NPC allies, the conspiring will take place at the dragonchess parlor.
I'm considering making a fighting faction for the Champion's Games sponsored by a brother or sister of Lazare, with the team members bearing name, dress, and abilities derived from dragonchess pieces. It'd be one of those cases of misdirection, where they have well-developed appearances and mannerisms and all the trappings of "major NPC characters"... only to be cut down ruthlessly by either Pitch Blade or Auric's Band, future opponents of the PCs.
James, any chance we could pull a cut/paste and share said timeline now that the "AoW" has concluded? I think it'd be especially appreciated by DMs who are just getting going in the campaign and who have been following it for some time. Count me among both groups.
Sounds like a good idea. Alternatively, we could make a timeline on the boards, or even create an AoW timeline article on Wikipedia.
Here are some more dates (some with refs), using the World of Greyhawk dating system:
Prehistory;
Great war between the Wind Dukes of Aaqa and the Queen of Chaos. Rod of Law created by the seven Wandering Dukes. The Wind Duke Icosiol slays the demon Kizarvedexus (sp?). The Wind Dukes Icosiol and Zosiel slain by Miska the Wolf-Spider on the volcanic fields of Pesh. Miska the Wolf-Spider defeated by the Wind Duke Qadeej, wielding the Rod of Seven Parts, at Pesh. Rift Canyon formed. (DMG1; BoA; Ro7P; DNG#124)
Whispering Cairn constructed by the Wind Duke Nadroc in the Cairn Hills. (DNG#124)
525 CY:
A mine collapses near Diamond Lake, Cairn Hills. Over 300 miners die in the disaster. (DNG#124.62)
c 535 CY:
The Seeker Ulavant leads an expedition into the Whispering Cairn in the Cairn Hills, where the entire band meets its death. (DNG#124)
c 545 CY:
Ulgo Fant's iron mine near the Whispering Cairn near Diamond Lake in the Cairn Hills goes dry. (DNG#124.16; DR#333.62)
Ragnolin Dourstone of Greysmere, after intentionally collapsing part of one of his family's mines on his agitating workers, is run out of Greysmere and moves to Diamond Lake, where he aquires the rights to some of the mines in that region of the Cairn Hills. (DNG#124.52; AoWO.22)
555 CY:
Felanore, a young giantess of the Cairn Hills, is captured by memebers of the Diamond Lake Garrison and "granted" to the owner of the Spinning Giant to serve as mascot. Thereafter, she becomes known as "Flailing" Felanore. (DNG#124.58)
564 CY:
Anders Land dies.
565 CY:
Alastor Land runs away from his home near Diamond Lake and dies in the Whispering Cairn in the Cairn Hills. (DNG#124)
575 CY:
Zeech succeeds his father as ruler of Redhand.
Izenfen, Mistress of the Twilight Monastery in the Cairn Hills, refuses to use the Censer of Symmetry to predict unclaimed ore deposits for a cadre of miners from naerby Diamond Lake. The miners invade the monastery, seeking to steal the Censer, but fail, though Izenfen's daughter Imonoth dies in the conflict. In retaliation, Izenfen gathers her best warriors and sends them into Diamond lake, where all fifteen survivors of the ill-fated raid are assassinated. This event becomes commemorated yearly as Darkstar's Kiss. (AoWO.20)
The rogue Balabar Smenk befriends the necromancer Filge. (DNG#124.46)
Lazare wins Greyhawk dragonchess championship and uses winnings to buy a mine in the Cairn Hills northeast of Diamond Lake. (DNG#124.53)
576 CY:
The Red Death plague ravages the Flanaess. Bemissa, Coldaran, and Gertia Land die. (WG8; DNG#124.36)
578 CY:
Lazare nearly bankrupted, forced to sell mine to Balabar Smenk of Greyhawk City. (DNG#124.53)
581 CY:
Chaum Gansworth moves to Diamond Lake. (DNG#124.61)
583 CY:
Loris raknian retires from his life as a gladiator & goes on to buy Free City Arena.
585 CY:
Balabar Smenk arrives in the Cairn Hills mining town of Diamond Lake and begins amassing his fortune. (DNG#124.52)
Professor Montague Marat's traveling sideshow comes to Diamond Lake, Cairn Hills. The Professor is seduced by, and joins forces with, Zalamandra to create the Emporium. (DNG#124.52)
The Whispering Cairn is rediscovered in the Cairn Hills by a Diamond Lake teenager. (DNG#124.16)
First year of the Champion's Games.
589 CY:
Local Diamond Lake girl vanishes, devoured by a snake in the Whispering Cairn. Visits to the Cairn by Diamond Lake's youth taper off. (DNG#124)
592 CY:
Professor Montague Marat leaves Diamond Lake.
Luzane Parrin and her husband are forced by waning finances to sell their home to Balabar Smenk and move into a smaller manor in Diamond Lake.
593 CY:
Ilthane infects Twisted branch eggs.
A small cell of Vecna cultists led by the Faceless One unearths evidence of spawn of Kyuss in the Cairn Hills south of Diamond Lake. Knowing that Vecna himself had once conducted experiments in the same region, the Faceless One leads his band to Diamond Lake, where they discover Vecna's old laboratory located deep underground, near a mine owned by Ragnolin Dourstone. The Faceless One corrupts Dourstone and convinces him to carve a secret shaft to this chamber. (DNG#125.18)
Luzane Parrin's husband dies mysteriously in Diamond lake, Cairn Hills. (DNG#124.52)
Amon Kyre, high priest of Heironeous at the Diamond Lake Garrison, vanishes under mysterious circumstances. (DNG#124.57)note: The name is my own creation--a pun on the name of the DL backdrop's author.
Valkus Dun, a priest of Heironeous from Greyhawk City, replaces the missing Amon Kyre as high priest of Heironeous in Diamond Lake. (DNG#124.57)
Loris Raknian begins relationshsip with Lahaka.
Auric's Warband wins Champion's games for first time.
594 CY:
Auric's Warband wins Champion's Games for second year in a row.
Lahaka spurns Loris Raknian & he murders her.
Loris Raknian makes deal with Bozal Zahol.
595 CY:
Ragnolin Dourstone asks Balabar Smenk to run secret shipments of food and supplies to the branch of the Ebon Triad living in the Black Cathedral in Dourstone Mine in Diamond Lake. Smenk agrees, but only on condition of seeing the Black Cathedral and meeting the Faceless One. (DNG#124.40)
The necromancer Filge arrives in Diamond Lake at the behest of Balabar Smenk and sets up shop at the abandoned Diamond Lake Observatory. (DNG#124.40, 44)
The Faceless One sends a lurking strangler into the Whispering Cairn near Diamond Lake, Cairn Hills, where it becomes trapped.
AoW AP begins.
Thanks for posting your time line, Rob.
I posted a more detailed history and chronology for Zeech's career in Redhand, which is buried somewhere and could be dredged up by anyone who is interested. I added a bunch of things, but tried to make it consistent with the published materials.
A timeline of events would be nice, but it's unfortunately something that we can't really do unless we have all 12 adventures in house OR provide a campaign outline so draconian and detailed that it stifles the creativity of the individual authors. That said, we've certainly got an in-house timeline for the major events in the campaign. It just doesn't cover every little event that occurs in the adventures themselves.
Just as a suggestion, there must be a way to keep an in-house collaborative document (ms word table or whatever) where all of the contributors can post any dates/historical events they add to the master timeline as they develop background for their individual modules. Editors can then look at this and make sure it's consistent/reconciled before it goes to print. (Yes, I know you're busy and the problems are minor--just an idea).