The Forgotten Realms Cormyr Campaign

[DM Hawk]

It is a time of darkness…it is a time of hope…

It has been eleven years since the realm lost its beloved king Azoun Obarskyr the Fourth, the Crown Princess Tanalasta, and many heroes in the terrible war with Nalavarauthatoryl the Devil Dragon, the accursed Ghazneths, and their minions. The bereft kingdom was left with an heir too young to rule. In the interim, the spirited Steel Princess Alusair Obarskyr became the Steel Regent.

Under the weight of the expectations of noble and common folk alike, Alusair Obarskyr knew there were big shoes to fill. She faced the daunting challenge of ruling a kingdom kneeling on the brink of collapse while being surrounded by old foes and new opportunists waiting to take advantage of any exposed weakness. The ranks of the War Wizards and Purple Dragons had been depleted by the war and the caravan city of Arabel was a smoldering ruin. To the west Zhentarim raiders, agents, and spies were moving in from Darkhold. To the north the City of Shade lurked somewhere over the desert of Anauroch. Eastward the infamously greedy merchant lords of Sembia contemplated what might be gained from their bleeding neighbor. Within the realm tribes of goblins, orcs, and giants roamed the land unchecked while powerful nobles whispered treason in the shadows.

The years were not kind to the Steel Regent’s reign. Tilverton was lost in conflict with Shade and the irreplaceable Royal Magician Vangerdahast resigned his post. In the southwest the city of Redmist would suffer beneath an infestation of fiends from the lower planes and the instability that followed provided an opportunity for the city to rebel against the Crown and steal a sizeable territory from the kingdom through the Western Reach Accord. Glimpses and hints of a society of vampires were reported throughout the kingdom. Zhentarim from the west tested the kingdom’s strength and Drow from beneath the Tun Valley overran the last holdout of the dwarven Clan Oghrann and drove the survivors to the surface.

From the bowels of the Underdark, an illithid lich sought to impose its Silent Dominion over the Forest Kingdom, conquering parts of the realm through its army of thralls and vast psionic power. Only the sacrifice of one of the realm’s brightest heroes won the kingdom free from the imposing will of the Alhoon.

An unresolved conflict from ancient times returned to the Forest Kingdom with the arrival of a planar mage named Arkreneous Daevreon. The mad mage brought with him a fiendish host from the planes, an abyssal wyrm, and hellish golems with which to storm the kingdom. His purpose was to complete a quest set upon him by his ancient fiendish master who had been driven from the region by elves of the distant past. The stronghold of Castle Crag was seized by the Mad Mage and the city of Arabel was once again brought to ruin. Cormyr’s Purple Dragons were bolstered by forces from Waterdeep, a remnant of elves in the Forest Kingdom, and an alliance of Cormyrian adventurers. The defenders were able to slay the Mad Mage before he was able to complete his quest but not before the kingdom once again endured the ravages of war.

The Year of Rogue Dragons did not spare the Forest Kingdom from the wrath of dragon kind. Here however the Steel Regent’s fortune would turn for a time. In a brilliant campaign known as the Silent War Alusair Obarskyr conscripted soldiers from the lands of disgruntled nobles to march into the Western Reach and join in the defense against rampaging chromatic and metallic dragons. In tandem secret diplomacy, a large payment of gold, and a contingent of War Wizards discouraged Thayan intervention as the Steel Regent defended and secured the Western Reach. In the Wake of the Dracorage the Western Reach Accord was dissolved and the territory was brought back into the fold of the Forest Kingdom. To mark the change of times in the west, Redmist was renamed Valkur’s Roar and the settlement of Isinhold was renamed Greatgaunt.

The next few years provided a respite for the Steel Regent’s reign and the kingdom was able to recover some of the strength lost over the years of turmoil. Arabel reconstruction continued without interruption. A new baron was appointed in Valkur’s Roar who established a structure of fifes and councilors to aid in his rule. New Purple Dragon regiments were trained in Castle Crag and High Horn. The town of Greatgaunt established a volunteer militia of Cormyrian adventurers. The Dwarven refugees from Oghrann rebuilt an old stronghold beneath the Storm Horn mountains. A new religious knightly order was founded.

The kingdom’s recently recovered strength was put to the test again in the Year of the Haunting when negotiations between the kingdom, Sembia, and Myth Drannor failed to deliver a trade treaty. Forces and mercenaries staged in Sembia stood ready and initiated a surprise invasion into eastern Cormyr to seize territory disputed by the Merchant Lords for nearly five hundred years. The shock of the Sembian aggression and the reported brutality of mercenaries in Sembian employ sent a multitude of refugees flooding into Cormyr’s heartlands. Cormyr lost ground until it was finally able to halt the Sembian advance in Wheloon and withstand a Sembian attack on Marsember by sea. With the Sembian advance halted an elite unit of Purple Dragons was able to bring an end to the dispute.

The years that followed allowed the kingdom to begin mending its wounds once more. Troubles sprang up but remained localized and were mostly brought under control until the Year of the Blazing Hand. While Immersea sponsored the holiday of Shieldmeet an ancient red dragon terrorized parts of the kingdom. Kobolds, lizardfolk, and scattered humanoids of all sorts rallied to the dragon’s banner until they were defeated at Suzail. The dragon and his army retreated, pursued by Purple Dragons and Cormyrian adventurers. The dragon was ultimately overtaken and driven from the kingdom but not before the final battle destroyed another Cormyrian town.

The most recent troubles have been surfacing in the Western Reach. Valkur’s Roar struggled to contain the political intrigues within its council and was beset by vengeful enemies. The Mistwood suffered a supernatural blight. Monsters and undead from the Tun Marsh marched to trouble the settlements of Skull Crag and Greatgaunt. Greengrass, Midsummer, and Soul’s Harvest were celebrated yet the kingdom looks ahead to the Year of the Vindicated Warrior and wonders what it will bring…