Pre-War skirmishes and WG8 (was: When did the REAL Greyhawk Wars begin?)

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Date sent: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 12:29:07 -0400
Send reply to: Keith Horsfield afn09454@afn.org
From: Keith Horsfield afn09454@AFN.ORG
Subject: [GREYTALK] Pre-War skirmishes and WG8 (was: When did the REAL Greyhawk Wars begin?)
To: GREYTALK@MITVMA.MIT.EDU

Remember this post:

> So you think it is a trick question, see Dragon #65.
>
> Answer: 578 CY – Kingdom of Nyrond, Prelacy of Almor and their
>allies proclaim war on the Great Kingdom.
>
> Oh, and btw the Grandwood Forest was possibly in for a world of
>hurt in 578 CY, see Dragon #63.

Here is more fuel to add to the pre-FtA maneuvering.

From WG8: Fate of Istus, pg. 69 (center column, 1st full paragraph)

“Ivid has become more obsessed with extending his lands in order to form the “Greater Aerdi Empire” ever since his declaration of war against Almor and Nyrond. The Herzog’s subsequent blunting of the armies of the Golden League (Nyrond, Almor and those countries comprising the Iron League; see Guide to the World of Greyhawk, “An Overview of Political Divisions”) has added only fresh fuel to his monomania. The aforementioned battle(s) transpired after the events detailed in T1-4 (The Temple of Elemental Evil) and spanned two years, ending in a minor strategic victory for Ivid’s field army under the leadership of the Herzog, and seeing the withdrawal of Almorian and Nyrondese armies to the west of the Harp River.”

Taking all of the above into account, the following might be surmised:

578 – Mutual declaration of war; No actual campaigning due to the Golden League trying to come to some census of the proper strategy and Ivid having to deal with the insurrection of the Grandwood Forest.

579 – ToEE takes place (need to reread this module to see if there is any mention of events to the east); Campaigns begin between the GK and the Golden League.

580 (late) or 581 (early) – The Golden League retreats behind the Harp River.

This also leads to a narrowing of when WG8 takes place:

Under the section for Rel Mord:

The Iron Fist Guild is founded in 504 CY. When describing the Guild’s building it is mentioned that mercenaries have been gathering there for over 70 years.

With the understanding that WG8 is a transitional module prior to the wars, this makes sense and places it between 576 and 582 (each over 70 years but less than 80). The above notes on the war with the Golden League further narrow down the window to 580 to 582.

There are other clues as to the timeframe of WG8, one of the best so far is that Ivid has replaced Xaene with Karloolck six months ago. Anyone know when this took place?

Comments, suggestions, opinions?

Keith Horsfield
Member Team OS/2
“To a person with a hammer, everything looks like a nail”
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