History


History


The Legacy of the Gods Campaign has been going (with some interruptions) since the summer of 1991, and as such has a long and sometimes glorious, sometimes ignoble history. We shall attempt to present that history below in as succinct yet helpful a manner as possible, as interpreted from our memories and what we can make out using original documents from the game itself. This historical project was begun in the fall of 2006, so some inaccuracies and omitted details are inevitable, but we shall strive to set forth as accurate a record as possible.

 

Note: The Legacy of the Gods campaign incorporated numerous published adventure modules, adapted and modified to suit the needs, history, heroes and established villains of the campaign. Though they were not run entirely as written, they are still identified below. Such adventures are indicated by italicized titles. Many of their non-published adventures did not have formal titles.

 

A Note on Calendars

The earliest portion of this campaign did not involve timekeeping, and all dates mentioned prior to the Siege on Bachendorf Keep were determined some time later. Calendaring was introduced to the campaign during that story, and the official Warhammer dating system (the Imperial Calendar) was adopted shortly thereafter with the beginning of Mistaken Identity. Beginning in the latter portion of IC 2516, we switched to the Asur Calendar beginning with year XI)352. since the action was taking place primarily in Ulthuan and the New World. Some errors were made in the transition, but efforts have been taken to correct them in this chronology. As of november 2006, we have at least temporarily switched our campaign timekeeping back to the Imperial Calendar (IC 2519, AC XI)355), and are making every effort to make the conversion with a minimum of miscalculation. Undated items in parenthesis do not have a known, specific date attached to them or at least have neither had dates dug out of old records nor assigned post-facto. these items are placed approximately where we believe them to have taken place. Some are less certain in timing than others.

 

Readers that are interested in the Imperial calendar can find some excellent resources such as the various possible combinations of weekday name and date, shorthand calendars and more (plus lots of cool WarHammer stuff that has nothing to do with calendars) at davesgames.net. This shorthand Imperial Calendar is particularly handy as a quick reference.

 

Further Historiography:

See this LJ post and this LJ post for a bit of examination of the campaign's early formation. Note that the first of those has some errors in regards to chronology that were corrected in the second - Hal found some old notes that straightened out some faulty memories.

 

Party Composition

A file is available here that shows who all adventured with the party, when they adventured with them and the rough role they took (mostly in TvTropes terms).


Back-Story

These are items of import that took place before play itself began.

 

IC 2106

The man eventually known as Lungscraper overcomes Gaynor after years of bitter rivalry and ascends to become a Daemon Prince, cursing Gaynor to earthly immortality himself. Gaynor wanders the earth for centuries scheming, plotting, gathering power and manipulating as he seeks an escape from this curse.

 

IC 2302

The Great War Against Chaos rages as the Chaos Wastelands expand southward. Kislev and the Empire are nearly overwhelmed. Gaynor participates in the sacking of Praag and guides many of the Chaos armies that harry Magnus the Pious. Teclis destroys Ferik Kastermann's Coven of Ten (the most dreaded Tzeentchian sorcerers of their day), leaving only the sorcerer's apprentice son Josef alive.

 

IC 2354

Sigmarzeit 12: Astarielle is born. (4/12/2354)

 

IC 2364

Pflugzeit 28: Kreeshana is born. (3/28/2354)

 

IC 2461

Brauzeit 4: Derelek Caravan is born. (9/4/2461)

 

IC 2478

Nachgeheim 11: Erich Brauer is born. (7/11/2478)

 

IC 2479

Sommerzeit 15: Cassandra Laurean is born. (5/15/2479)

Vorgeheim 21: Cedric Enric is born. (6/21/2479)

 

IC 2488

Sommerzeit: Octavius Mors Gunderit murders his brother and flees into the wilds. Before long, he sells his soul to Khorne and becomes one of the Blood God's champions.

Kaldzeit:: Magritte von Liebewitz mutates into a Turnskin. She hides away in her estate for a time.

Ulriczeit: Magritte flees her home to avoid exposure and execution. She is captured and enslaved by Chaos followers, then ends up being taken by Gunderit as his own slave in payment for rescuing her former captors from their rivals. She is badly abused and tormented, and frequently tries to get away.

 

IC 2489

Sigmarzeit: Magritte’s horns are sawn off for her defiance.

Vorgeheim: Magritte realizes that she is pregnant. She ceases her struggles and submits to Gunderit’s orders while looking for a better opportunity to escape. She makes no further attempts to flee until…

Vorhexen: Very pregnant and determined to be free, Magritte escapes into a snowstorm in Kislev while Octavius is dead drunk. She goes into labor within days of her escape.

IC 2489, Hexenstag: Shortly after midnight, Uhlrik Gunderit is born in the ruins of a Kislevite farmstead. Somehow Magritte and Uhlrik both survive. Within months of Magritte's escape, Octavius Mors Gunderit begins a years-long relationship with Redfist, who eventually bears him Carpathian and then Rahann.

 

IC 2490

5 Erntezeit: Ludwig MacRae is born. (8/5/2490)

Erntezeit 24: Rahann and Carpathian Gunderit are born. (8/24/2490)

 

IC 2492

Pflugzeit: Magritte makes her way to the Reikwald forest.

Kaldzeit 10: Richelle is born. (10/10/2492)

 

IC 2499

Magritte is killed by a Sigmarite witch-hunter, but hides Uhlrik in the care of Rolf, who secretly raises the boy as his own son.

Brauzeit 24: Mirrim is born. (9/24/2499)

 

IC 2501

Nachexen 18: Rusikis is born. (1/18/2501)

 

IC 2503

Boris Gorespiller is guided by Khorne to Rolf's cabin. He hacks Rolf to bits and drags the young Uhlrik with him for training and reeducation.

 

IC 2505

Uhlrik beheads Boris in a surprise attack and sets out on his own.

 

IC 2506

Erntezeit: Octavius badly abuses Rahann and kills Redfist, then single handedly butchers most of her warband. Before long, Rahann runs away from him to escape his torments. Embittered, she takes out her anger on virtually anything in reach.

 

IC 2509

Sommerzeit 17: Ludwig marries Laurea. (5/17/2010)

(Laurea is murdered and Ludwig seeks revenge, but is never able to discover the identity of the killers.)

 


The Nuln Period

This period is mostly defined by the fact that it was the beginning, it started in Nuln and, by and large, most of the action within it was geographically undefined but was presumed to be based mostly out of that vicinity. This was the very early era of the campaign.

 

IC 2510

(Cassandra leaves Lothern on a youthful excursion to see the quaint Old World, with two escorts from among her father's servants in tow.)

(Hieronymus Blitzen releases Cedric to see the Empire and practice his magic in a real-world context. He swiftly falls in among bad company on the way to Nuln...)

Sigmarzeit 13: Cedric brings the Heroes together when they meet en route to Nuln. They encounter Goblinoid brigands along the way. An Ogre kills Lord Rampant shortly thereafter. (4/13/2510)

 

The Oldenhaller Contract

The Heroes enter Nuln together, gaining the employ of Albrecht Oldenhaller in a matter of some delicacy and much brutality involving multiple criminal gangs, a coven of Nurgle cultists, a daemon, and a mysterious gemstone.

 

Dungeon Crawls

The Heroes, now counting Thrudd among their number, engage in sundry dungeon bash type adventures, indulging in more than their share of Orc-whacking. They set off in pursuit of the Khornate champion Erdrick the Blooded, finally cornering him in a tunnel lair... with minions and a juvenile dragon to back him up. After this last adventure, Thrudd leaves the party to wander elsewhere.


The Marienburg Period

This is the period where we began to actually keep track of where the action was. Most (though not nearly all) of it occurred in the Reikland, Middenland and Wasteland regions. The Black Dragons began to take form at this time. Since that group mostly operated out of Marienburg at that time, this period is named for that city, despite the fact that none of the Heroes' major adventures actually took place in the city proper. It was more a staging area for their downtime and for Uhlrik's mercenaries than anything else.

Imperial Calendar 2511-2512

 

IC 2511

The Restless Dead

The Heroes, including Fritz Reikwald for this trip, travel from Talabheim to Delberz, seeking the remains of the late bounty-hunter Johann Gespenst, whose amnesiac ghost haunts them and entreats them for aid. They uncover the truth behind his murder, encountering dark rituals and cults, mad scientists, bombers, corrupt watchmen and nobles, ruthless brigands and murder most foul. Cassandra's chaperones die along the way. They finally recover Johann's remains from a cult of the Horned Rat in Delberz and have it properly laid to rest. All this interaction with the spirits of the dead attunes them to a bizarre haunted house outside the world of the living, and they battle mutant reflections of themselves as well as The Haunting Horror. This ghostly monstrosity rips one of Derelek's eyes out of its socket, but the Heroes banish the thing.

Night of Blood

While traveling through a storm away from Talabheim, the Heroes take shelter at an inn where all is not as it seems: the cultist Hans Jinkerst and his mutant confederates have murdered the staff and patrons and taken their places, in preparation for a summoning ritual. It ends badly for the Chaos minions.

On the Road

The Heroes assist a pair of werecats with a jailbreak and agree to assist the amnesiac ghost Johann Gespenst in finding his corpse with the assistance of his own semi-animated, severed hand. This search is a recurring plot thread through the course of the next several adventures.

Eureka

The Heroes are recruited to protect the deranged inventor Wolfgang Kugelschreiber against a gang of extortionists led by Manfred Kessler, a sergeant in the Volgen city watch. Things go badly southward and the Heroes are obliged to flee the city using Kugelmatic Flying Devices (essentially, hang gliders). The inventor himself flees in a submersible. One of Cassandra's two retainers is shot down, and Derelek crashes into a merlon on the city wall (losing a tooth but ultimately escaping).

The Affair of the Hidden Jewel

 

The Ritual

 

The Haunting Horror

 

Siege on Bachendorf Keep

Brauzeit 2511 (mid month): Siege on Bachendorf Keep begins with Tanis finding the Heroes in Marienburg and recruiting them to help his embattled countrymen.

 

(After a perilous voyage to Bachendorf Keep, the Heroes lead the Black Dragons and help hold the castle's defenders together. They investigate the castle's secrets, squabble with Lord Vargo and other knights, defy Octavius mors Gunderit and befriend Duke Oswald. The siege is dire and savage. Cassandra takes Vanye as her squire and defeats Vindar in a duel. Duke Oswald falls ill and the heroes strive to revive his spirits. Lord Vargo dies in an act of vainglory, sallying forth with a large portion of the castle’s Druzhinas to be slaughtered. Acting as Gunderit's chief advisor, Gaynor repeatedly taunts and offers the defenders terms while enacting intrigues and assassinations, including bringing the dying Vargo back to them to deliver news of his failures. This butchery brings the Duke from his bed in a towering rage, just in time to lead his forces in staving off a major storming action by the Chaos hordes. Tanis Aran sacrifices himself to hold the gates of the inner bailey and the castle nearly falls.)

 

Ulriczeit 11, IC 2511: (11/11/2511) The adventurers discover the truth about the castle's builder and unleash a legion of ghostly soldiers from the Great War Against Chaos in time for the climactic struggle. Gaynor defeats Duke Oswald by overloading his body's endurance for the powers imbued when his blade absorbs the force of magical assaults. Octavius brutalizes Cassandra. In the most spectacular fit of his Black Rage to date, Uhlrik carves a way through Gunderit's retinue and attacks the Warlord of Khorne. Disarmed, he kills Octavius Mors Gunderit using the downed Oswald's sword. Gaynor reveals himself as the puppetmaster behind the siege and retreats, having fulfilled some inscrutable goal. The Chaos army is routed.

 

The war rages on for months to come, but does not touch Bachendorf Keep again.

 

IC 2512

Nachhexen (1): (1/1/2512) Randle & Nickolai join the adventurers. Gunderit is freed from his tomb, now an Undead Champion. (The actual Imperial Calendar was introduced to the campaign at this time)

 

(Duke Oswald dubs the preexisting Heroes knights/druzhinas of his own Order of the Falcon, and the Tsar has him issue them the Silver Star of Kislev as well. Since the war dies off, the Black Dragons are dismissed from service in Kislev and return to The Wasteland, where they have another garrison contract waiting for them. Uhlrik and the others set forth back to the Empire seeking other opportunities for themselves and for the ‘Dragons… and trying to track down Gaynor, who has hinted that he will see them in Altdorf.)

 

The Enemy Within

During this period, we played Mistaken Identity, Shadows over Bögenhafen, Death on the Reik and The Grapes of Wrath.

 

Mistaken Identity

Jahrdrung 26: (2/26/2512) the events of The Enemy Within begin at the Coach and Horses inn between Delberz and Altdorf.

Jahrdrung 27: Kastor Lieberung is killed by mutant brigands and discovered by the Heroes. He is discovered to be Randle's double. The Heroes travel with Ernst Heidlemann.

Jahrdrung 29: The Heroes depart Altdorf, (having failed to find any sign of Gaynor’s presence and now following the Kastor Lieberung lead) with Adolphus Kuftsos on their trail.

Jahrdrung 30: Adolphus Kuftsos and his henchmen ambush the Heroes. He is killed but the information that he uncovered sets Bertolt Brecht on the Heroes' trail.

 

Shadows Over Bögenhafen

Mitterfrühl Day: The Schaffenfest begins in Bögenhafen. The Heroes uncover clues to the schemes of Johannes Teugen and begin to investigate.

Pflugzeit 2: (3/2/2512) The Schaffenfest ends. Gaynor is sighted in Bögenhafen, delivering a sacrificial victim to Teugen. Gideon murders Councilor Magirius and Nickolai dies in battle against the Daemon. Teugen’s ritual is disrupted. He and Gideon are dragged to Hell.

Pflugzeit 4: Vanye ends his squireship to Cassandra. Now on the run from the local authorities, the Heroes depart Bögenhafen.

 

Death on the Reik

Pflugzeit 5: (3/5/2512) Purple Hand cultists contact the Heroes again in Weissbruck, instigating a long period of cult pursuit and harassment.

(interim: the Heroes travel the rivers of the Reikland, trading, gathering information, evading cultists and skirmishing with Bertolt Brecht's witch-hunters.)

Sigmarzeit 6: (4/6/2512) The Griffon Shadowfell is hatched.

(interim: more of the above. Plus, the ailing Emperor Karl-Franz issues an edict that there are no mutants in the Empire, and declares that killing of the mutated or deformed because of their affliction is a capital crime. Uhlrik keeps his head down as best he can anyhow. Tensions between the cults of Sigmar and Ulric are coming to the surface again at this time.)

Sigmarzeit 27: The Heroes arrive in Delberz, staying with Heironymus Blitzen. They learn of Etelka Herzen.

Sommerzeit 9: (5/9/2512) The Heroes depart Delberz to look for Etelka Herzen.

Sommerzeit 12: The Heroes pass through Altdorf, spotting Ernst Heidlemann on his way to meet Etelka Herzen.

Sommerzeit 21: The Heroes battle the Goblins of the Twisted Maw at Black Peaks (Grissenwald), where Herzen had lived.

Sommerzeit 31: The Heroes pass through Unterbaum and depart for Devil's Bowl under Corrobreth's guidance.

Vorgeheim 2: (6/2/2512) The Heroes encounter a ghost and battle Skaven at Devil's Bowl. Corrobreth is killed. Noting that they have missed Herzen, they turn back in pursuit.

Vorgeheim 11: The Heroes battle Etelka Herzen and Ernst Heidlemann at Dagmar von Wittgenstein's Observatory/the Semaphore Machine, 15 miles upriver from Schloß Reikguard.

Vorgeheim 20: The Heroes storm Schloß Wittgenstein with the help of rebel bandits led by Sigrid. The castle is undermined by Skaven and collapses. Randle is buried in the rubble and presumed dead. The spirit of Magritte von Wittgenstein possesses Sigrid.

 

Interlude in Delberz

Nachgeheim 3: (7/3/2512) The Heroes return to Blitzen's home in Delberz. Cedric Studies with him further. The party remains there until Erntezeit.

(The Heroes, long acquaintances to both Uhlrik and Cassandra and well aware of the pair's feelings for each other, begin cautiously, tentatively encouraging them to court and arranging a beginning to this process.)

(Uhlrik opens correspondence with his distant cousin Countess Emmanuelle von Liebewitz of Nuln, trying to learn about his mother’s family. This correspondence continues through the time of his residence at Middenheim and beyond.)

Nachgeheim 30: (7/30/2512) Uhlrik and Cassandra enjoy a private dinner and a pleasant evening dancing and walking in Hieronymus' gardens, all facilitated and arranged by their friends. Uhlrik confesses his love for Cassandra and they kiss for the first time. They begin their brief courtship.

Erntezeit 2: (8/2/2512) The Heroes depart Delberz for Middenheim to look for Gotthard von Wittgenstein. Iluwingmaris and Heinrich Hayfoot accompany them.

 

The Grapes of Wrath

Ernteezeit 4: The Heroes investigate the mysterious attacks on the village of Pritzstock.

Erntezeit 9: The Heroes battle Dieter Maranaeur and his Death Skulls, then a band of Skaven. Mayor Henri-Phillippe Rocheteau is arrested for the murder of Stefan Maranaeur.


The Middenheim Period

This segment of the campaign shifted geographically, and was the first time that the group established a base of operations in any one city for an extended period of time, and was also the period where they finally achieved any appreciable degree of legitimacy.

Imperial Calendar 2512-2516

 

Power Behind the Throne

Erntezeit 11: (8/11/2512) The Heroes reach Middenheim.

Erntezeit 12: Wellentag: The Middenheim Carnival begins. The Heroes are drawn into the Purple Hand's web of intrigues yet again, and begin investigating.

Erntezeit 15: Backertag: Uhlrik defeats Dieter Schmiedehammer to become Graf's Champion.

Erntezeit 19: Festag: Final night of Carnival. Graf Boris is nearly assassinated, but the Heroes rescue him. Wasmeier is unmasked as a traitor and killed while fleeing the city, after collapsing one of the city's viaducts.

Erntezeit 21: The Heroes are taken before Graf Boris and each in turn refuses the oath of the Knights Panther. Uhlrik unmasks himself. Bertolt Brecht, arriving too late to unmask Uhlrik first, fails to convince the Graf to have the Heroes executed. The Heroes quietly establish residence in Middenheim's fashionable Geldmund district.

 

Marriage and What Comes After

Erntezeit 30: (8/30/2512) Uhlrik marries Cassandra in a secretive ceremony at their residence.

(The Black Dragons are hired to garrison Middenheim.)

(Uhlrik and Cassandra set out for Bretonnia on something of a honeymoon journey. Richelle separately sets out for the land of her birth to visit her family.)

Brauzeit 3: (9/3/2512) Cedric goes into seclusion with Heironymus, striving together to break down the barriers to a 5th circle of magical power.

Brauzeit 31: Richelle arrives at Couronne, meeting the Gunderits there and they then proceed together toward Bordeleaux.

(In Bordeleaux, Daffydd assassinates Richelle’s mother; he and other Chaos minions operating out of Mousillon torment Richelle and the Gunderits. Cassandra obtains a cryptic note written in a mix of Khazalid and the Dark Tongue from a slain cultist. Their honeymoon well and truly spoiled, the Gunderits return to the Empire, with Daffydd hot on their trail. Nightmares dog them just as viciously thanks to a combination of the Dreamspinner and Khorne’s influence. Upon their return, Derelek sets to interpreting and researching the note, which turns out to be a map of the Vaults. Somewhere in all of this, Uhlrik obtained his father’s memoirs.)

 

IC 2513

Nachhexen: Shadowfell is fully grown and trained.

 

(Interim: Iluwingmaris and Heinrich Hayfoot are murdered in Middenheim.)

 

Jahrdrung 3: (2/3/2513) Heironymus dies in an explosion that destroys Cedric’s laboratory, unable to contain the magical energies of their fateful experiment. Cedric internalizes the vast energies involved and achieves 5th Circle magic, but is left marked with an eagle’s talon in place of his right hand.

 

(interim: Within days of the explosion, members of the Middenheim Wizards' Guild hire Erich to steal from Cedric's library. Cedric catches the spy red-handed; Erich begs for mercy and sells out his erstwhile employers. He even bargains Cedric into taking him as an apprentice. Erich joins the Heroes henceforth, providing them a much-needed specialist in stealth and mischief. He also turns out to have a surprising aptitude for sorcery, rapidly achieving journeyman status.)

 

Dwarf Wars

Jahrdrung 9: (2/9/2513) The Heroes depart for the Vaults, following clues in a cryptic map that they uncovered and rumors that Gaynor seeks a potent artifact down there.

Jahrdrung 33: The Heroes reach the lost Dwarfhold Kadar-Gravning. The place has already been uncovered by two rival factions in the pending Dwarf civil war, both of whom seek Hargrim's Crown: the Royalists and Mendri's Army. The Royalists have occupied the hold and Mendri's forces are encamped outside. The Heroes negotiate with the Royalists' machiavellian leader Cranneg and obtain permission to assist in his forces' excavations.

 

(The Heroes explore Kadar-Gravning and uncover many of the place's secrets, racing against time and against both Dwarf factions.

 

Pflugzeit 3: (3/3/2513) Gaynor steals the Crystal of Water from Hargrim’s tomb and brutally beats the pregnant Cassandra with a mace, causing her to lose her first child. A magical barrier prevents the other heroes from coming to her aid before Gaynor makes good his escape. The Heroes retrieve Hargrim's Crown from his violated tomb and escape the hold out from under Cranneg's nose.

(The Heroes carry Hargrim's Crown to Mendri at Karaz-a-Karak, bringing an end to the civil strife. This rich prize allows them to negotiate for another ancient talisman: the Phoenix Crown of Ulthuan, taken as a trophy by the Dwarves during the War of the Beard.)

 

Sommerzeit 5: (5/5/2513) The Heroes return to Middenheim with the Phoenix Crown.

 

Empire in Flames

Sommerzeit 10: (5/10/2513) At Graf Boris' behest, The Heroes depart Middenheim to escort Anastasia Schelepin to Talabheim.

Sommerzeit 20: In Talabheim, they deliver the noblewoman to her fiance. The next day, they receive a summons from Law Lord Ehrlich to attend Graf Boris in Altdorf. Rumors and portents have been swirling for some time now, and Big Things are clearly afoot. The Heroes still remain wary of the Emperor's edict outlawing the out-of-hand slaying of mutants.

Sommerzeit 31: Emperor Karl-Franz delivers a rambling speech at the Volkshalle, plainly revealing his madness. He is assassinated during his address and the assassin immediately commits suicide. A melee nearly breaks out between Electoral factions. The Heroes arrive in Altdorf, delayed by problems on the river and too late for the meeting.

Sommerzeit 32: The Heroes attend the Imperial Election at the Volkshalle. Graf Boris refuses to vote for Crown Prince Wolfgang, prompting a murderous tantrum. Wolfgang's illusionary appearance shatters and the mutant kills Graf Boris before the Heroes can stop it. They do, however, avenge their late patron and cut Wolfgang to ribbons. A general melee erupts, leaving several more electors dead or wounded. The Heroes guard Ar-Ulric and break from the hall along with a band of Knights Panther.

 

The Hammer Quest Begun

Vorgeheim 1: (6/1/2513) With the Empire in panic and falling rapidly into civil war, the Heroes depart on the Hammer Quest to Karak-Kadal at the behest of Ar-Ulric, Arch Lector Kaslain and in accordance with the wishes of the late Graf Boris. Signs and portents multiply. They employ Kaslain’s riverboat the Comet to facilitate their journey.

 

(En route, they are attacked while the boat is tied up for the night by the Cult of the Twisting Serpent, who are aware of their mission. The cultists employ incendiaries, firearms and fire spells, but the Heroes retaliate fiercely and wipe them out.)

(The Jade Sceptre cult attempts to take the Comet by subterfuge, hoping to capture Kaslain whom they mistakenly think is aboard. The Heroes see through their deception and dispatch the Slaaneshi cultists in a three-way battle also involving Khorne followers that have been tracking the cultists.)

(Sigmarite fanatics Gotthard and Karin Krumbach also dog the “Ulrican sympathizers,” convinced that they are up to no good, harassing them and preaching against heresy. The Krumbachs soon draw witch hunter Frederik Munster to their cause and eventually discover the Heroes’ true mission from one of the crew of the Comet. The fanatics recruit the Wuppertal militia to accompany them and pursue the Heroes beyond Hochsleben and through Black Fire Pass.)

Karak-Kadal

(After a dangerous journey, the Heroes reach the ruins of Karak-Kadal, which rests in a wide crater and a field of bones. They battle their way through a fearsome storm and phalanx of constantly re-animating skeletons and penetrate to Sigmar’s shrine. At midnight, a remarkable manifestation signals them the course that they are to follow for the remainder of their quest.)

(The murderous Sigmarite fanatics and their troops catch up to them at Karak-Kadal, so the Heroes spring an ambush amidst the ruins. Derelek flings a bomb into the midst of the militiamen and the Heroes charge. With the fall of their spiritual leaders, the remaining militiamen are routed. Some flee; others surrender and are allowed to withdraw in peace.)

(The Heroes, acting on the guidance that they received in the shrine, set off through the mountains. They pass through a mysterious and enchanted hidden valley populated by isolated Wood Elves, fey strangeness and a horrific life-stealing… cloud-thing. They destroy this nightmare and earn the help of the Wood Elves, who tell them that long ago Sigmar passed through this way, and the course that he took.)

The Hammer Found

(The Heroes finally reach Kadar-Khalizad, the last place where Sigmar walked the earth. They learn of the place’s history from Yodri. They descend into its depths, through the goblin-infested upper levels, past the sleeping Earth Dragon and into the haunted lower levels. There, they encounter the unquiet spirits of the hold’s late residents and battle some of them, including the Dwarf Liche Mankir Fargazer. In the deepest recesses of the hold, they find the loremaster’s halls, which are inhabited and partially animated by the bitter, insane ghost of the former Loremaster Wulfan Merglord. From his moldering records, they piece together some of what occurred so long ago, of Sigmar’s battle against the Daemon that Wulfan had foolishly tried to summon and bind to a weapon of power and that Sigmar pursued the Daemon into the aether. At last they find Ghal-Maraz hanging in the air, blocking a warp-gate that it has sealed. They retrieve the Hammer, freeing an insubstantial Sheerargetru into the world and bringing about the destruction of the lower reaches of Kadar-Khalizad. Wulfan plunges into the gate and disappears. The Daemon possesses the Stone Dragon, slays Yodri and flies North towards Altdorf long before the Heroes can escape the destruction. For an unknown reason, the gate collapses in on itself. An avatar of Sigmar appears to the Heroes and commands them to carry Skull-Splitter to Wolfenburg, to seek an heir of Sigmar there in this dire hour of war.)

 

(The Stone Dragon flies to Altdorf, and is shot down by Grand Theogonist Yorri’s magic, but Sheerargetru possesses the priest for his troubles and further foments disaster in the Empire.

(Back in the hidden valley, the Heroes borrow pegasi from the elves and fly northward almost to Wolfenburg and then loose the beasts to fly home. They march right into the focal point of the horrors of civil war.)

 

Civil War and the Hammer Restored

Erntezeit 3: (8/3/2513) The Battle of Wolfenburg. Siegfried Prunkvoll is shot dead. The Heroes save Bertolt Brecht and he grudgingly makes peace with them. The Heroes follow the Hammer’s guidance, fighting their way to Graf Heinrich. Heinrich receives Ghal-Maraz and a divine manifestation brings the battle to a halt. Heinrich is promptly elected Emperor.

Erntezeit 12: The Heroes return to Altdorf, meet with Grand Theogonist Yorri and cultists attempt to assassinate the Heroes in their lodgings.

Erntezeit 13: The Electors and their armies return to Altdorf and preparations are made for a swift coronation. The Heroes ceremonially bear the Hammer into the Volkshalle. There, Ghal-Maraz reacts to Sheerargetru’s presence and Uhlrik smashes the Grand Theogonist’s face with the Hammer, which then flies to the hands of Heinrich. Sheerargetru slays Kaslain and feeds on his magical energies, then bursts from within Yorri’s body and attacks, backed by numerous cultists among the “Sigmarite priests”. Heinrich and the Heroes, themselves backed by the Knights Panther, banish the Daemon and slay the cultists. Ghal-Maraz vanishes as it drives the noncorporeal Sheerargetru back to the Warp. After the battle site has been cleared and the wounded tended to, Countess Emmanuelle crowns Heinrich, with the Heroes acting as his honor guard.)

 

(Heinrich marries Grand Countess Emmanuelle. Katarina Todbringer becomes Gravin of Middenheim. Bertolt Brecht is appointed a Midden Marshal, among many other changes in the Empire’s hierarchies.)

 

Brauzeit 10: (9/10/2513) Cedric marries Richelle in Altdorf.

Brauzeit 16: The Heroes return to a celebratory welcome in Middenheim.

 

(Interim: Rallane Lafarel introduces Cassandra to Morvael, who offers to teach her the way of the Wardancer. She accepts his tuition.)

 

(Interim: Cassandra officially joins the Black Dragons. She seeks an officer's commission. To avoid coddling her and to force her to step up, Uhlrik assigns her to lead the newly formed band of Ogres, of which Thrudd is a member. She whips the Ogres into shape, beginning to teach them discipline and respect. She forges Thrudd into a leader as well.)

 

Know Thy Enemy

Ulriczeit 9: (11/9/2513) A force of Black Dragons takes one of Gaynor's fastnesses, destroying the forces of Draken Doom. Uhlrik is separated from his forces while trying to prevent certain death for Cassandra (who is leading her ogres in actual battle for the first time). Cass finds him, possibly dead, in a pile of corpses: the Chaos Lord and his retinue of Chaos Warriors. Uhlrik is revived and pledges himself to Asuryan's service. Cassandra and Uhlrik both claim visions, and Uhlrik consequently becomes a worshiper of Asuryan. (I think this is the time of this battle. Further research is necessary to determine if it happened at a totally different time, but it was definitely while Cass was pregnant with the twins, and a significant battle did occur on this date.)

 

IC 2514

 

(Somewhere in the end of 2513 or beginning of 2514, Uhlrik and Cassandra make their first voyage to Lothern, taking the Phoenix Crown with them. They enter into negotiations with King Finubar and parlay the crown for a reward and agreement to hire the Black Dragons to fight the Dark Elves at a future date once their obligation to Middenheim is discharged. Their mission there is not only one of business, however: Cassandra brings Uhlrik to meet her parents. The Gunderits' stay with the Laurean family is a fiasco, with her father Delean and brother Filtholindel demanding a dissolution to the marriage. When Cassandra refuses, Delean threatens to disown her, but backs down under his wife's influence. He does maintain that he will do so if she bears Uhlrik any children. Frustrated and hurt, Cassandra retreats from her family with her husband. Her feelings become increasingly conflicted as she increasingly feels remorse for marrying Uhlrik, though she maintains that she still loves him. This angst festers and poisons their relationship.)

 

(The Morvael incident nearly destroys Uhlrik and Cassandra's marriage. Cassandra runs away from home with the Wardancer after a falling-out with Uhlrik and continues to study the Wardancer's art with him. He seduces her, but she kills Morvael in a duel when he tries to keep her from returning to Uhlrik. Ashamed, she stays in the Hochland wilderness for a while and poses as a Dark Elf, meeting the pregnant Rahann Man-Killer and tempts fate by attending a Brayherd in her company. She learns of the female Khornegor's relation to Uhlrik. Cassandra manages to avoid Vindar when he arrives, thus keeping her true identity a secret. Sobered, contrite and bearing news, she races back to Middenheim, Uhlrik and safety.)

 

19 Nachgeheim: (7/19/2514) Artag Gunderit is born.

11 Erntezeit: (8/11/2514) Tanis and Rahann (the Gunderit twins) are born.

 

Defeats and Debacles

Ulriczeit 30: (11/30/2514) Daffydd kidnaps the twins and nearly kills Erich, who was minding the Gunderit home while Uhlrik and Cassandra were out.

(Interim: Josef Kastermann and members of his Coven of Ten attempt to capture Cedric. The archmage, outgunned by the Coven and finding all of his spells negated by Liver-Gnawer, is forced to flee and seek help. Kastermann retreats when Cedric evades him, vowing to return and add him to his "collection.")

(The Heroes frantically search for any sign of the twins’ whereabouts and uncover a disturbing chain of events indicating that Gaynor is on the move for something big.)

 

Castle Drachenfels

Gaynor literally steals Emperor Heinrich's living heart. He and his minions engage in a brutal campaign of murder, depravity and robbery that mostly targets cultists and villains, and indications are that the twins’ kidnappings are connected to it all. Several of the Heroes' past enemies are disposed of in this purge (notably Gotthard Goebbels/Wittgenstein, Magritte von Wittgenstein and Franz Steinhäger). At Heinrich's urging, the Heroes set off for Castle Drachenfels to intercept the Emperor's heart and stop Gaynor from whatever it is that he is up to. They continue collecting clues as to his plans, growing ever more worried at the implications. They discover that Drachenfels has recently returned from the grave and is at least theoretically allied to Gaynor.

 

When they reach the vicinity of the castle, Rahann ambushes Erich while he is watching the camp. She spares him for the moment since she means to ally with the Heroes, but makes a point of intimidating and terrorizing him. The Heroes strike an uneasy truce with the Khorne follower, but play on her uncertainties and feelings for her infant son Artag, causing her to question her loyalties to the mindlessly hateful Blood God. Her daemonic steed, a Juggernaut, suddenly turns on her in camp and attempts to kill her. Cassandra banishes it.

 

The Heroes enter the castle and learn much about Gaynor's plans, what he wanted the twins for and about Drachenfels' role in it all. Erich takes a witch-hunter's sword stroke that was meant to kill Rahann, confusing her greatly. Also, The Oracle temporarily erases many of Cassandra's memories, creating a terrible mess since she is accompanied by multiple beastmen, one of whom claims to be her husband.

 

The Heroes recover Emperor Heinrich's heart and lay the Great Enchanter back in his unquiet grave. They arrange for artillery and siege equipment to demolish the castle, accompanied by a considerable force of troops. Hopefully the hellish place will not rebuild itself, and its master will rest in peace.

 

The Bretonnian Gambit

In this story, the Heroes follow Gaynor's trail of clues and bodies to Bretonnia, racing against the clock to rescue the twins and stop him from absorbing the power of Arianka into himself. They follow this trail to Oisillon and the royal palace of the King of Bretonnia, which has been surrounded by an armed camp. They infiltrate the palace and defeat the flower of Bretonnian chivalry in a pitched battle in the very throne room itself due in large part to Cedric's quick thinking and a well-timed Corrode spell.

 

In the dungeons beneath the palace, they break Josef Kastermann's Coven of Ten, seemingly killing the sorcerer (after Cedric blasts him through a wall, he eventually manages to regenerate and crawl to safety). They finally bring Gaynor and his personal retainers to a decisive battle. During this fight, Gaynor murders King Charles, transforms Cedric’s other hand into a talon and otherwise devastates the Heroes. Most of the Heroes are either killed or taken out of action. They finally break Gaynor’s curse, rendering him mortal. He rises up again to destroy the ragged remnants of the party, but the Chaos Gods pull him screaming into the Hells. The Heroes release the Mardagg and Viydagg that were chained to Arianka’s coffin. These two Greater Daemons immediately attack one another, and the surviving Heroes help the Viydagg prevail. The Daemon of Law restores the slain Heroes to life. Arianka is freed from her crystal coffin and the Law Goddess vanishes with the Viydagg after blessing the Heroes for their services.

 

The Heroes manage to rescue the twins. Daffydd, Lise and Rusikis escape on Wyverns. The heroes help pave the way for a new queen to take the throne of Bretonnia. Rahann, now bereft of an infernal patron, remains with her brother's family and obtains an officer rank in the Black Dragons.

 

IC 2515

Nachhexen 7: (1/7/2515) Cassandra leaves Uhlrik, blaming him for allowing the twins to be endangered, but does not take the children with her when she leaves. She moves over to the Enric family’s home for a while to clear her head but still be near her babies, and refuses to see Uhlrik through most of the Battle of the Fauschlag. Uhlrik immerses himself in a combination of doting over the babies and obsessively drawing up plans and logistics for the forthcoming battle.

 

The Battle of the Fauschlag

This storyline centered on a military campaign planned by the Heroes that found itself ballooning into a much larger battle than originally anticipated as a second enemy entered the fray...

Pflugzeit 25: (3/25/2515) Uhlrik and Albrecht meet with the Midden Marshals and the High Wizard's council, laying the plans for driving the lurking Chaos cultists from the Fauschlag. The plan is ratified then passed to the Gravin, who approves it. Watch Commander Heinrich Stark dissents, stating that the Chaotic threat is vastly overrated.

Pflugzeit 28: The Black Dragons, along with elements of the Knights Panther and Knights of the White Wolf, initiate the Battle of the Fauschlag, which soon involves the entire military might of Middenheim. They battle mutants and cultists in this early stage of the conflict.

Sigmarzeit 1: (4/1/2515) Chaos cultists attempt to flee through the lower Fauschlag and are destroyed by waiting forces, which trace their secret exits and gain access. Dwarven tunnel fighters enter and encounter stiff resistence from the mysterious Skaven. The battle begins to bog down.

Sigmarzeit 9: A Skaven assassin gravely wounds Marshal Johann Schwermutt.

Sigmarzeit 11: A bomb used against Nurglesque mutants in a tunnel fight blasts through the roof of a Skaven temple balcony, baring the Skaven underworks to attack from above and the sides.

Sigmarzeit 12: Clans Skryre and Moulder deploy in force against the Human and Dwarf aggressors. The Skaven resist viciously and the battle hangs in the balance.

Sigmarzeit 14: Deathmaster Snikch of Clan Eshin stabs Uhlrik in an attempt on Uhlrik's life. Uhlrik fights back and chops the assassin apart, but the skaven’s extremely concentrated blade venom sickens Uhlrik badly. He nearly succumbs.

(When Cassandra learns that her husband has come so close to death, she can’t wait for much more than a day before returning home to make peace and ensure that he is all right. His spirits enlivened by her return, his body healing under Richelle’s ministrations and his resolve hardened after the assassination attempt, Uhlrik recovers swiftly.)

Sigmarzeit 17: The Grey Seer Skralkrich is captured alive by the Black Dragons.

Sigmarzeit 18: Under torture, Skralkrich reveals information that proves the undoing of the Skaven and Nurglesque forces in Middenheim. Heinrich Stark assassinates him and is unmasked as a cultist of the Horned Rat. General Bertolt Brecht personally kills his fellow Midden Marshal for treason.

Sigmarzeit 19: The Skaven are routed. The Battle of the Fauschlag ends with a victory for the Middenheimer forces.

 

The Passing of Oswald

Sommerzeit 30: (5/30/2515) Uhlrik and Cassandra reach Bachendorf Keep to spend Duke Oswald's final days with him.

(Interim: Erich and Rahann, both still living in Uhlrik and Cassandra's large house, spend a lot of time together and become lovers.)

Vorgeheim 13: (6/13/2515) Duke Oswald dies of natural causes in his castle, with Uhlrik and Cassandra at his side. He bequeaths his magical greatsword Death-Fang to the couple's son Tanis in recognition that the duke and his late nephew are the child's namesakes.

Vorgeheim 24: The Gunderits return to Middenheim. Erich request's Uhlrik's blessing for him to marry Rahann. Uhlrik gladly grants his blessing.

Brauzeit 23: (9/23/2515) Dietrich Enric is born.

 

The Scraper of Lungs

(Chaos cultists steal locks of hair from Uhlrik and Cassandra, allowing them to cast a ritual enabling Lungscraper to smash his way into the physical reality of the Gunderits’ bedchamber. The Daemon Prince surprises them and sucks them into his own Warp-realm, where he mocks and harasses them, then sets packs of his daemons to pursue them for his sport, intending to slay them himself once they have been worn down. They manage to escape back the way they came; they are much disturbed at the awareness that the late Gaynor’s archrival has taken an interest in them.)

 

IC 2516

Jahrdrung 12: Erich Brauer marries Rahann "Man-Killer" (Gunderit) in a private ceremony.

(Cassandra runs away and quickly takes the rakish highwayman Torandil Dorhil as her lover.)

 

The Emperor's Tournament

Jahrdrung 33: The Emperor's Tournament begins. Torandil goes to Altdorf to take part in the contests and Cassandra comes with him, partially to watch him and partially to observe Uhlrik’s matches. Derelek, Adolf and Albrecht also compete.

Mitterfrühl day The Emperor's Tournament comes to a conclusion, with Uhlrik victorious against a variety of opponents from across the Old World and beyond, including Nipponese Samurai Yuan Sun-Tzu, who in turn had already defeated Gotrek Gurnisson, the famed Trollslayer.

(Before long, Uhlrik tracks the adulterous lovers down and confronts them. Torandil draws his pistol and shoots the Beastman, but Uhlrik savagely gores the Wood Elf to death for attacking him. Awed and shocked at his display of brutality, feeling powerless and also acutely guilty for drawing Torandil to his death, Cassandra retreats. Her emotional state rapidly deteriorates. She does head north separately, planning to at least see the Black Dragons off, however.)

Pflugzeit 20: (B)


The Ulthuan Period

By this time, the characters were national heroes in the Empire and were established as power players in their own right. Here they took much greater control of their own destiny and forged off to explore the wider world and make a place for themselves within it.

Imperial Calendar 2516-18, Asur Calendar XI)352-354

 

(In Marienburg, Cassandra takes up residence at an inn and takes the ambitious and star struck young warrior Stuyvesant into her bed. Uhlrik, also in town making the last preparations for his fleet’s departure, learns where she is and comes to visit and say his goodbyes. Cass spitefully flaunts her infidelity before Uhlrik. Stuyvesant attempts to challenge him, but Uhlrik dismisses the lad summarily and Stuyvesant departs in haste. Uhlrik himself leaves shortly thereafter.)

 

(Cassandra comes to see Uhlrik on his flagship and suffers a complete personal breakdown, goes berserk and attacks Uhlrik less than a week before the fleet's departure from Marienburg. He staves off her flurry of blows and kicks her legs out from under her. She lies sobbing hysterically on the floor and asks him to take her home to Ulthuan. He assents on the condition that she does so as a ‘Dragon, not as a passenger. She spends the first few weeks of the voyage with him, but they remain apart for most of the early Ulthuan Period, coming together for the occasional night of passion, sometimes spending up to a few weeks at a time together. )

 

Pflugzeit 27: The Black Dragons' fleet departs Marienburg and heads into the Sea of Claws to hunt pirates before departing for Ulthuan, per their agreement with the Emperor.

Pflugzeit 31: The Black Dragons fight (and win) their first serious naval battle, against pirates off the coast of Nordland.

Sigmarzeit 15: The Black Dragons' fleet crushes a pirate flotilla in the Sea of Claws.

Vorgeheim 32: Ulthuan reached.

(Cassandra finds herself unwelcome in her parents' home and suffers serious chastisement due to her shameful conduct. Instead she shares a ship’s cabin but never a bunk with Albrecht. Her primary lover of the time is Adolf, but she dallies with Otto and a few others as well. Ironically, Delean's attitude towards Uhlrik gradually softens due to Uhlrik's care for the twins and the favorable contrast between his own actions and Cassandra's. Uhlrik strives unsuccessfully to convince the nobleman to take Cassandra back home so that she can get out of the self-destructive lifestyle that she is in.)

 

The Siege of Lothern

(The Black Dragons spend a brief while in Lothern, then sail west around the coast to Tiranoc. There, they head off a Dark Elf fleet. While they are fighting that fleet, another and larger one sails around them heading South. Cassandra flies to warn the High Elves of this new menace as the Dragons' fleet is obliged to pursue this new threat. Cassandra's journey to Lothern takes her through Caledor, and Shilandrel Dragonfriend and Gilauvron join her in order to ensure her safe arrival and delivery of her warning to the Phoenix King. The Black Dragons finally catch elements of the invading fleet at Dragon Spine and battle them there inconclusively. They continue to harry the heels of the more powerful Dark Elf fleet, and are delayed attempting to destroy a force of corsairs that disembark and set about ravaging the coast. Cassandra reaches Lothern and the Phoenix King strives to ready his defenses in time for the next step of the war.)

 

(Then, several Black Arks converge on the Glittering Tower to assault it along with the already-powerful fleet that the Dragons had been dogging. Uhlrik's fleet makes a daring breakthrough and lures several Dark Elf vessels into range of the siege engines on the Emerald Gate and to their destruction. They succeed in linking up with the Asur fleet behind the Gates and a great sea battle commences. In the very hour in which the Dark Elf fleet is forced to retire for the moment, and as a celebration is about to begin, Athgorond arrives to punish the High Elves and their human cohorts, beginning the Siege of Lothern from the air and buying time for the Dark Elf fleet to regroup.

Vorhexen 5: Adolf Lundgren marries Isolde Gruber.

Vorhexen 11: (6/11/2516) Octavius Brauer is born.

 

IC 2517

(Interim: the Dark Elf fleet blockades Lothern and Athgorond besieges the city, waging aerial terror attacks in an effort to force surrender, but their fleet cannot break through the Emerald Gate to bring a significant enough ground force to bear for a proper invasion of the city. Cassandra returns to her family home to help defend it against attack by Manticores. Delean, though too crippled to stand and fight, shoots one of the beasts dead. Cassandra attempts to mend fences with him and is chastized for her bad behavior, though she is also thanked for her help.)

 

The Battle of Athgorond

Nachhexen 17: Imrian Shadow-weaver attacks Cedric, Cassandra and Richelle, gating them to the underworks of Athgorond. They are separated and a game of cat-and-mouse ensues between them and Imrian's minions. Cassandra and Richelle are captured and Cedric is mortally wounded while trying to escape Imrian and discovers the identity of Soulslayer. Gated back to his laboratory to die, Cedric transforms himself into a Liche and warns his comrades of the kidnapping and of Gaynor's return.

Nachexen 20: The Battle of Athgorond brings the Siege of Lothern to a close. The Black dragons take the Floating Palace of Degradation and Imrian flees, wounded. The fall of Athgorond demoralizes the besieging Druchii and their fleet finally retires as further reinforcements from the Inner Sea bolster the Phoenix King’s forces.

 

Pilgrimages

Jahrdrung 12: Cassandra departs on a pilgrimage to the Gaean Vale and across the inner kingdoms of Ulthuan.

Jahrdrung 27: Uhlrik reaches the Tower of Hoeth, bringing the twins to Teclis. He meets Astarielle for the first time. While Teclis studies little Rahann's inborn magical talents, Uhlrik studies blade work with the Sword Masters.

 

(Interim: Cassandra joins Uhlrik at the Tower of Hoeth for several days and attempts to persuade him to give up on trying to repair their failed marriage. By the time she departs, Uhlrik and the Sword Mistress have become lovers.)

 

Pflugzeit 7: Cassandra returns to Lothern, her pilgrimage over but her marriage still in shambles.

 

(Interim: Uhlrik leaves the Tower of Hoeth with the twins, parting amicably with Astarielle. He returns to Lothern, then Athgorond and the Black Dragons.)

 

Sigmarzeit 26: Imrian attacks Derelek, gating him to Nippon. (see Tangent - Nippon)

 

The Endless Halls

(Interim: Erich discovers the Endless Halls deep in Athgorond and is trapped therein for a time, uncovers part of their secrets and finally escapes. He encounters the diminutive and harmless-seeming Kathaekeen in that place and it trails him to the exit, finally freed after centuries of captivity. It lurks in the halls of Athgorond for some time. Erich returns with Cedric and the others to plumb the secrets of the Endless Halls further.)

 

Sommerzeit 12: In its true form as a Keeper of Secrets, Kathaekeen assaults Erich and Rahann. During the attack, Imrian offers to save the pair and gates them and the daemon to disparate parts of Lustria. (see Tangent - Lustria)

 

(Interim: with the birth of their next daughter looming, Cassandra convinces a reluctant Uhlrik to take her back and she moves in with him again for the baby's sake. Reconciliation is difficult, but they work at it. Cassandra finds it nearly impossible to win Uhlrik’s confidence again.)

Sommerzeit 16: (5/16/2517) Katarina Gunderit is born. The baby is severely mutated and very sickly, and nearly does not survive. Only careful and constant care keeps her from dying in the months ahead.

Erntezeit 18: Genevieve Enric is born, having been conceived just about a month before her father's demise. Richelle remains in grieving.

 

(Interim: Imrian attempts to assassinate Uhlrik and Cassandra, but the Beastman brutally maims him and has him locked in the dungeons of Athgorond. Cassandra takes pity on her enemy and secretly arranges his escape.)

 

Erntezeit 31: Uhlrik encounters Astarielle briefly, a few days before the Dragons' departure for the Old World. She conceals her pregnancy from him and expresses encouragement over his efforts at reconciliation with Cassandra. He does not see her again before Erich discovers her existence and secret. She departs on a mission to the Black Spines, planning to complete it then stop and rest in Arnhelm to have her baby.

(Interim: Uhlrik and Cassandra renew their wedding vows in an Asur wedding ceremony.)

Mittherbst: The Black Dragons depart for the Old World.

 

Tangent - Nippon

This was a solo storyline Hal ran for Andrew Gray focusing on the exploits of Derelek.

From Sigmarzeit 26, 2517-Nachexen, 2518

Derelek is gated through time and space, ending up in rural Nippon. He has to make his way in a vastly foreign culture and land, as well as learning the local language and traditions. He befriends Hachimasa Jubei and Tokibi Kaede and is embroiled in political intrigues. The dwarf falls in love with Kaede. News reaches the Shogun’s court that the Hobgoblin Hegemony has invaded the coastal region of Imperial Cathay. Derelek offends Hachimaru Ogun and wins a duel against one of the daimyo’s greatest samurai, shattering the warrior’s magical sword in the process. A band of yamabushi warrior-monks led by the mighty Yurishima Hakimashi (servant of the thunder-god Raiden) comes to the Shōgun’s court, claiming that Heaven mandates military aid for beleaguered Cathay. They explain that visions have shown that an avatar of the Hobgoblins’ dark gods leads the invaders, and his next target is Nippon.

 

Derelek sides with the monks, but is unsuccessful in winning the aid they seek. A few of the smaller clans help arrange a single ship to deliver the monks and a small fighting force to penetrate a beleaguered Cathayan city to strike down the Hobgoblins’ leader and then retreat. Derelek volunteers, as does Jubei. Kaede accompanies them as well, revealing that she is not all that she seems. They arrive together on the eve of the city’s storming, and fight their way to where Kozakawa is overseeing the progress of the invasion. They manage to locate him and assault his retinue in a dramatic clash atop a Cathayan palace. Kozakawa destroys Kaede’s physical form and kills several of the monks, demonstrating spectacular supernatural powers. Enraged at Kaede’s fall, Derelek mounts a determined attack on the more powerful Kozakawa, succeeding in getting the frenetic fiend to stay in one spot, distracting him long enough for Hakimashi to sieze him. Hakimashi pulls Kozakawa high into the storm-ridden sky and the two God-spawn engage in a heavenly duel to the death. Raiden’s messenger slays Urtak’s, but succumbs to his wounds within moments of proclaiming his victory. Derelek accompanies his companions back to Nippon and spends a time in grieving, then departs and travels back around the world to rejoin his friends on their quest to crush the Dark Elves. In all, he spends over a year in the East, though to the Heroes he was only gone for about 9 months.

 

Tangent - Lustria

This was a solo storyline Hal ran for Peter Gray focusing on the exploits of Erich.

From Sommerzeit 12, 2517-Jahrdrung, 2518

Erich, Rahann and Kathaekeen are all gated to different parts of Lustria. Erich roams the rainforest alone, barely surviving to find a tribe of Pygmies. He awes them with his showmanship and powerful magic, convincing them to aid rather than eat him. They send a guide to help him reach the coast. As the two traverse a waterfall, degenerate jungle Slann shoot the Pygmy, who loses his footing and falls to his death. Erich loses a potent magic scroll along with the boot he had hidden it in, but gets across the river safely. He manages to follow the river to the ocean, where he comes upon the aftermath of a battle in which small bands of Dark Elves and Norsemen all but exterminated each other. The only survivor he finds is Kreeshana, who joins him for mutual protection. As they travel, Kreeshana repeatedly attempts to seduce Erich and nearly succeeds.

 

Together, they find a Slann city and meet the mighty mage-priest Tlaloc, who has foreseen their coming and welcomes them. Erich befriends the ancient amphibian and learns from him for a time. The mage-priest shows great interest in Erich’s account of Uhlrik’s “condition,” and provides a bit of explanation for Erich. He also tells Erich that a similar being exists at this time among the Slann cultists of the Night-God Camaxotz, in the person of the bat-like priest Tloxotz. Erich agrees to seek out and put a stop to (and learn about) the cultist in exchange for Tlaloc’s aid. Tlaloc sends the Slann Alligator-Totem Warrior Tenochklilan to accompany Erich and Kreeshana. On their journey, they find a pyramid-temple of the Amazons and discover Rahann living among them. Together, this party finds Tloxotz’s lair and battles the Cult of the Night-God. A stone-swimming Daemon bites off Kreeshana’s hand. Tloxotz nearly wipes the adventurers out, gravely wounding all of them, deafening Rahann and taking one of Erich’s eyes. In a desperate effort, Erich manages to penetrate the bat avatar’s anti-magical defenses with a blasting spell at point blank range, killing it. The party limps back to Tlaloc, who honors his bargain and helps them travel North out of the jungles towards Arnhelm. Tenochklilan parts ways with Erich, remaining in Lustria.

 

IC 2518

Nachexen:Derelek returns, meeting the Heroes in Altdorf and regaling them with tales of his adventures, particularly dwelling on the similarities that Kozakawa and Hakimashi had to Uhlrik.

Nachexen 8: Rahann Brauer bears (Name? I haven't been able to find the kid's name anywhere in my notes. It's the mer-kid. In fact, I haven't been able to find the date either but I know that it occurred during this general time frame.)

Jahrdrung: Return to Ulthuan.

(Richelle finally devises a regimen of medicines that enables little Katarina’s health to make significant improvements.)

 

Arrival in Arnhelm

(Interim: Erich returns, meeting up with the Black Dragons when they reach Arnhelm. He and Uhlrik meet with Teclis to discuss Tlaloc’s theories. Josef Kastermann attempts to collect Teclis and sends a horde of daemons to attack Uhlrik and Erich while he battles the High Wizard. The three mighty heroes beat the Tzeentchian sorcerer off and destroy his minions. Teclis returns to Saphery. Rahann retires due to her continuing deafness, but Kreeshana has a trident fitted on her arm stump and joins the Black Dragons. The Dark Elf quickly develops a reputation as a mercurial wanton with a nasty temper. Ironically, Cassandra tries to counsel her to moderation.)

(Later, Erich discovers Astarielle while he is avoiding the high and mighty at an affair of state in Chancellor Rilenin’s palace of Rainbow Hall. Suspicious of her, he corners the Sword Mistress and draws her identity and that of her unborn baby's father out of her. He brings this shocking news to Cassandra and is dragged along when she goes to confront her husband. To his (and Uhlrik's) shock, she delivers Uhlrik a demand that he offer Astarielle a place as his second wife, or Cassandra will divorce him. Upon consideration Uhlrik accepts Cassandra's terms.)

Jahrdrung 13: Uhlrik marries Astarielle in a small private ceremony.

 

(Rilenin mostly keeps the ‘Dragons guarding shipping lanes and his orders keep them from making really decisive actions against the enemy that they know is lurking somewhere not far away. They grow restive and eager for a real scrap with the Druchii)

 

The Assault on Arnhelm

(Malekith personally mounts an invasion of Arnhelm and northwestern Ulthuan, bringing great force to bear.)

 

Jahrdrung 29: (B)(The Battle of Finval Plain. Uhlrik accepts the challenge that the Dark Elves issue for the Dragons’ bravest warrior to meet their champion in a duel. That champion turns out to be the summoned Keeper of Secrets, M’kleakeen. Olegnya intercepts planned skullduggery by shooting an interfering Dark Elf wizard dead during the duel. Uhlrik narrowly defeats the Daemon and the Black Dragons win the day. – I’m not sure whether this battle took place on this date or not, but this was definitely the date of a battle.)

Pflugzeit 10: Gita Lundgren (Adolf's daughter) is born.

Pflugzeit 18: Teclis Gunderit (Uhlrik & Astarielle's son) is stillborn.

Pflugzeit 21: Filtholindel Laurean is killed by Druchii.

Pflugzeit 33: The Black Dragons arrive in Arnhelm again. (or is it something else? "A" on calendar)

 

(Cassandra and Uhlrik scout around Arnhelm and have a series of very unsettling encounters with strange creatures and warriors who claim to come from the heavens.)

 

The Daemon War Begins

(The Daemon War starts in Naggaroth as opposing camps of Chaos followers penetrate the country from the North and paradoxically wage war on one another as well as on anyone else within reach, employing a shocking number of Daemons and strange portable portals with which to unleash them. The two principal sides in this free-for-all seem to be servants of the opposing Daemon Princes Soulslayer and Lungscraper.)

Sigmarzeit 3-6: (B) The Battle of Arnhelm. Malekith stages a two-pronged naval and land-based assault on the city itself involving multiple Black Arks. Uhlrik and the Black Dragons defy orders from Rilenin and come to the city’s rescue. Rilenin dies under suspicious circumstances. Tyrhalion refuses to become Chancellor and Aglareth Brightcloak assumes the position. Malekith receives news of the Daemon War’s southward expansion and withdraws to defend his own lands, determining that he cannot afford to continue his offensive with the Chaos hosts rampaging behind him. His overall invasion stalls and the Druchii begin a hasty yet organized withdrawal, hoping to avoid being bogged down in a multi-front war.

Sigmarzeit 7: (L) (more to come... is this the day that Uhlrik disappeared?)

 

Labyrinth of Souls

(Soulslayer magically captures Uhlrik and has him incarcerated within a Jailor-Daemon in his Labyrinth of Souls.)

 

(Aglareth commands the Black Dragons to pursue Malekith’s forces with every available hand and at all haste, yet denies them any High Elven support against a force that, though under retreat, is far greater than their own, and that still contains several Black Arks, both the Witch King and Morathi. With Uhlrik missing under mysterious circumstances and with Arnhelm still vulnerable, Albrecht assumes command of the ‘Dragons and consults with the Heroes. He agrees with them rather than the Chancellor and refuses to make such a suicidal gesture. Instead, he positions his forces to protect Arnhelm from further assault so that the city can be rebuilt and reinforced... and to allow the Heroes to find the ‘Dragons’ leader. Becoming suspicious, they begin to investigate Aglareth.)

 

(Ludwig comes on the scene, encountering Lise and Daffydd in Marienburg. They force him through a portal into the Labyrinth of Souls.)

 

(The Heroes eventually discover a portal into the Labyrinth on the grounds of Rainbow Hall (the Chancellor’s palace in Arnhelm city) and plunge through to rescue Uhlrik. They encounter Josef Kastermann and Ludwig in the Labyrinth, teaming up with them to survive the place's daemonic horrors. Once Kastermann has achieved the ends that brought him to the place, he turns on them and flees into the Realm of Chaos after striking Cedric with a Globe of Change, which inflicts grave mutations on the Liche. Once Richelle manages to break down the Globe's field of effect, the Heroes press on and find Uhlrik entrapped and in a trance mock-crucified along with Rusikis and two unknown mutants. Their rescue experiments leave the two mutants dead but successfully free the pregnant Rusikis and then Uhlrik, both of whom remain comatose until carried out of the Labyrinth to Athgorond. Rusikis reveals that she has fallen out of favor with Soulslayer and been used to breed with Uhlrik. Cassandra convinces Uhlrik and Astarielle to take the fallen minion of darkness in since it is Uhlrik's baby that she is carrying.)

 

(Now that they have proof of Aglareth’s treason, the Heroes corner him in Violet Wood, his estate outside the city of Arnhelm. They challenge and slay the sorcerous chancellor.)

 

(Ludwig befriends Kreeshana, but rejects the wanton Dark Elf’s sexual overtures. He does, however, become her confidant.)

 


The Naggaroth Period

This period began when the characters began embarking upon a serious invasion of Naggaroth, and witnessed the transformation of the Black Dragons from a mercenary army into a nation in their own right.

Imperial Calendar 2518-19, Asur Calendar XI)354-355

Current Period

 

The Fall of Clar Karond

(The Black Dragons and Asur take the fight to the retreating Naggarothi, still only partially aware of the implications of the raging Daemon War. Athgorond travels north through the Doom Glades while naval forces brave the Dire Strait, but all are headed for Clar Karond.)

Sommerzeit 25: The Heroes slay the contingent of Druchii holding the shrine at the Naggarothi version of Vaul's Anvil.

Sommerzeit 29: The Heroes enter Hotek's Column and slay the ancient heretic priest, freeing Lester from his clutches and bringing Hotek’s young daughter Sylia back with them as well. Two of the Forged Elves are slain, Yeurl of Hag Graef is captured and Imrian flees.

 

(interim: In the campaign to take Clar Karond, Cassandra leads an assault on a major Druchii logging operation, which happens to be a trap. The Black Dragons prevail but Cassandra is taken out by the Combustion of Magic spell, Lester is missing in action and Rusikis draws Daemonic attention by the desperate act of casting the Gaynorite spell Gate to Hell, which saves the downed Cassandra and breaks the center of the Dark Elf lines. Before the city falls, Daffydd kidnaps Rusikis in a daring commando raid on Athgorond itself. Cassandra is bedridden for the remainder of the taking of Clar Karond, and is only restored by bathing in the Cauldron of Blood in the ruins of Khaine's temple on the night Clar Karond fell, just before Uhlrik orders the rest of the city sacked and razed to the ground. The Order of the Ebon Rod and the Order of the Abomination, the city’s two magical societies, are both decimated in the city’s fall. Under the orders of Teleus, the High Elf Admiral and overall commander of this expedition, the Black Dragons join the Asur in exterminating every Dark Elf that can be caught in the city other than small children. The Black Dragons free and recruit throngs of former slaves. Uhlrik instructs his men to build a fort where Clar Karond once stood and names the place Kalterhafen. The massacre at Clar Karond horrifies Uhlrik and a great many of its participants, eventually leading to much subsequent debate and serious reexamination of Black Dragon policy with regards to the Druchii.)

 

The Daemon War Escalates

(Bent on vengeance, Imrian attacks the Gunderits again, revealing his newly-rebuilt body's armaments. He stabs Albrecht with his arm-blade and the weapon's erratic magic turns the middle-aged soldier into a dragon. Recognizing the better part of valor, Imrian uses Albrecht's transformation as a distraction and flees. Uhlrik and Ludwig barely manage to transfer Albrecht to open air before his draconic body bursts out of its fragile human shell.)

 

(The Daemon War rapidly expands southwards, spilling over to Arnhelm, the Shadowlands and Chrace, particularly around the Blighted Isle.)

 

Vorgeheim 15: Rusikis bears her child, which is immediately taken from her by Daffydd and removed to an unknown location by his minions.

Vorgeheim 18: Ludwig passes through a portal of dubious nature and finds himself in one of Gaynor’s old hideouts in the Old World. He finds and rescues Rusikis, but fails to find or recover her newborn whelp(s). Lise barely escapes Ludwig with her life. Ludwig retreats from Daffydd, escaping back through the portal. Daffydd pursues him, devolves into Chaos Spawn and is subsequently killed by Ludwig and Cassandra.

 

(Ludwig helps Albrecht come out of his draconic torpor and the depression attached to his sudden transformation, and brings the old wyrm back into the affairs and planning of the Black Dragons. Shilandrel and Gilauvron are called upon, help Albrecht come to terms with dragonhood and teach him how to fly.)

 

(Receiving news that the Daemonic forces are threatening the Blighted Isle, the Black Dragons leave their naval strength and a force of ground troops to hold Kalterhafen and rush southward in their flying castle.)

 

The Blighted Isle

Vorgeheim 31: The beginning of the Daemonic battle for the Blighted Isle. Ludwig captures and interrogates a Chaos Sorceror in service to Lungscraper. Ludwig courts a receptive elfmaid, a standard bearer in the Maiden Guard Erumara.

Geheimnistag: The Blighted Isle is shrouded in a thick, shrouding reddish mist. Daemonic forces storm the Blighted Isle and are repulsed in a furious three-way battle against one another and a combined Black Dragon and Asur force, including elements of the Maiden Guard. Atop the Shrine of Khaine, after Uhlrik contemplates the Sword of Khaine and refuses its call, Soulslayer attempts to ensorcel Uhlrik into drawing the blade, but Lungscraper swoops in and tackles Uhlrik then battles Soulslayer. Stalemated, the two Daemon Princes retreat back to their respective Hells. Ludwig and Erumara save one another’s lives and both are wounded in the battle.

Nachgeheim 1: Cassandra resigns her commission as an officer in the Black Dragons, devoting herself to the care of her children and regaining her emotional center. She retires from active adventuring and military action.

(Ultimately Ludwig and Erumara decide not to act on their mutual attraction, agreeing that neither is willing to leave their current duties or loyalties for the other. Their relationship ends and they part ways.)

Nachgeheim 9: With the Blighted Isle finally secured, the Black Dragons set forth for Arnhelm.

(High Elves, Black Dragons and Naggarothi forces destroy caches of the portable daemon gates. The Daemon War begins to peter out and the mad hosts retreat northward again. The fighting continues in Naggaroth for a bit, but ends before winter… or moves to other parts of the world.)

Nachgeheim 15: The Black Dragons return to Arnhelm.

Nachgeheim 24: Schloß Drache departs Arnhelm

Nachgeheim 28: The Heroes return the Hammer of Vaul to his priests at the great shrine of Vaul's Anvil.

Erntezeit 2-4: Schloß Drache pauses in Lothern before continuing east towards the Old World.

Erntezeit 23: Schloß Drache reaches Altdorf.

 

Interim - Gunderit

(Cassandra prevails upon Uhlrik to properly marry Rusikis.)

Erntezeit 27: Uhlrik marries Rusikis in another small private ceremony, bringing him to a total of three wives.

(Uhlrik, his wives and children travel to Nuln and visit his human relatives in the region. They meet with extremely mixed reactions and return to altdorf and Schloß Drache.)

 

(Uhlrik begins the process of selecting and training several members of the future DragonWolves, though he keeps this project secret. He later involves Ludwig in the planning and together they finalize the membership of the 'Wolves.)

 

Interim - Ludwig

Erntezeit 29: Ludwig takes a leave of absence and departs Schloß Drache to pursue personal and family business.

(Ludwig meets and travels for a time with Mirrim Brauer. He visits the Wolfmar estate and, in a conflict with his adoptive father, learns the identity of his real mother as well as his father's origin. He travels into Nordland, meets Lodin Ironbrow and escorts Katya Lubova through the forests and attacks by winter wolves. Trapped by a blizzard in an abandoned cabin, Ludwig wages a tense several-day battle against both the elements and the possessed Berrik Ironbrow and shatters the chain that held the dwarf's will captive. Lodin and Berrik are reunited and directed to Schloß Drache. The blizzard broken, Ludwig travels into the Wasteland and has a disturbing encounter with Cedric, who is on a quest of his own. Ludwig returns to Schloß Drache.)

 

Interim - Erich

(Erich roves across the Empire, seeking out agents and operatives at Uhlrik's behest as well as engaging in more than his share of trickery on his own behalf. He poses as an elderly mercenary and performs espionage work for Albrecht Oldenhaller, having a strange conflict with a Dirach Fimir named Gobhniu. He meets (and hires) Randle, bringing the targeteer back into contact with the Heroes after a years-long separation.)

 

IC 2519

Nachhexen 22: Schloß Drache departs the Old World.

 

The Rise of the Dragon Brethren

 

Nachhexen 23: Ludwig, Uhlrik, Albrecht and Cedric finalize the plans for the transformation of the Black Dragons into the Dragon Brethren, having been working on the problems inherent to an enterprise such as theirs for some time. Ludwig and Cedric convince a reluctant Uhlrik to take on the role of The Great Dragon. Uhlrik shares a vision of Asuryan's glory with Ludwig, and grants him the gift of three Griffon eggs: one for himself, and two to be given to men that Ludwig deems worthy after Uhlrik's departure.

Nachhexen 24: Uhlrik and the War Council officially create the Clans of the Brethren, selecting leaders for the new social and military structure. Erich and Vanye are nominated Councilors in absentia. Ludwig devises the Blood Oath and several other ritual observances, adding them to the life of the newly-minted Dragon Brethren in the great feast at which the planned changes are formalized and celebrated. Uhlrik ritually bestows his sword Dread-Fang upon Ludwig to symbolize his place as Chancellor, and then the Blood Oath is sworn.

 

Albion

Nachhexen 26: Schloß Drache arrives in Albion, discovering that the island is racked with war, dissensions and famine.

Nachhexen 27: Ludwig and Uhlrik halt the Battle of Og-Agog between factions led by clans Forsyth and MacRae. That night, Ludwig slays the Necromancer with help from Tovril. He then brokers a tentative truce between several of the warring clans.

Nachhexen 28: Ludwig confronts Robert MacRae about his suspicions, and learns that the Albionish chief is his father. This revelation puts paid to his budding romantic interest in Robert's daughter Claire. Ludwig turns to his friend Kreeshana and they become lovers.

(Ludwig attempts to recruit large numbers of Albionish clansmen to join the Dragon Brethren and stake a claim to New World lands, thus escaping Albion's famine conditions. Clans MacRae, Forsyth and Craig send small contingents with him to investigate the situation and see if it is worth a broader commitment.)

 

Return to Naggaroth

Jahrdrung 17: Schloß Drache penetrates deep into Naggaroth both on a scouting expedition and to drop off the DragonWolves, then turns south to reinforce Kalterhafen.) The DragonWolves head north. (See Tangent - The Chaos Wastes)

This story segment contains a few short incidents that occurred the day after Uhlrik's departure.

(estimated time to reach Kalterhafen from there: 4 days. About 12 hours to get back to the coast from where they dropped the crew)

This post contains a letter that Uhlrik wrote to Finubar I during the journey back across the ocean and left with Ludwig to have delivered.

 

Tangent - The Lords of the North

Uhlrik and a handpicked band of companions calling themselves the DragonWolves have ventured north disguised as a Chaos warband. This is a storyline that Matt Small is running for Hal, titled "Lords of the North"

This story segment details part of one night early in their journey.