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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
 Posted - 22 Nov 2011 : 11:21:47
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Hi, sages.
I'mm trying to find specific info about the invasion of the sahuagin over the coastal cities of the Sword Coast, could you help me? My questions: I know the invasion occurred in 1369 DR, but how long was the war, and exactly when it was started? Can someone provide me a list of invaded cities? I'm specially interested about the invasion duration in Waterdeep and its vicinities (was Daggerford somehow affected?), but I think the attack probably had the same duration in all the invaded places.
The attackers came from the Sea of Fallen Stars, right? Where was located the arrival portal at the Sword Coast? They were only sahuagin, or there were other creatures, or even sahuagin variants? Any special weapons or equipment?
I know most of the info is in the "Threat from the Sea" trilogy, but which other books make reference to this war? I'd preferably like to have references from game sourcebooks, but any info about novels is also welcome.
Thank you in advance.
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"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 22 Nov 2011 : 13:55:03
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What was later dubbed the Deepwater War is the central action of the Threat from the Sea trilogy and its accompanying short story book (Realms of the Deep?). It was later described both greater and lesser detail in the 2e game book Sea of Fallen Stars (which is one of the top 3 Realms products ever printed; get it if you don't have it).
The short version of the war is this: a big mean ancient nasty (Iakhovas) is freed from his imprisonment in the Outer Sea. Much of his power was stored in a series of magical items that had been gifts from the gods or that he'd stolen milennia ago. Those items were stripped from him prior to his imprisonment, and scattered across Faerun, so he goes on a rampage to get them.
The result is a year-long nightmare for anyone anywhere close to the sea. Iakhovas has a close relationship with the sahuagin, and he quickly unites if not all the Outer Sea sahuagin, at least a great number of them, under his banner. He leads major one-night assaults on several big cities along the Outer Sea coast (Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, maybe a few others I can't remember), and his minions, all stirred up, attack others on their own, along with other things like ships.
About midway through the year, Iakhovas finished gathering everything that was on the Sword Coast, so he takes a few followers and gates to the Sea of Fallen Stars, inadvertently triggering a volcano and wiping about 10,000-15,000 sahuagin in the process. He installs himself as king right after, and they go on a merry rampage for several months before he's finally killed. Unlike on the Sword Coast, however, all of the action in the Sea of Fallen Stars (with the exception of some pirates) happens under water, so the human cities don't notice much.
Anyway, that's the short version. The five books you want for the full version are the four Threat from the Sea novels/short story compilation, and Sea of Fallen Stars. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
Posted - 22 Nov 2011 : 14:39:03
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Thank you very much, Hoondatha. I do have the "Sea of Fallen Stars", but I didn't read all of its history section. What I read, however, told me what happened under the sea, and I wanted more info about how it was seen in Waterdeep and its vicinities. It seems the 3e Waterdeep book tells a bit of how it happened up there, and I remember seeing the sinopse of a book where an adventurer fights a sahuagin in Waterdeep streets, but I can't remember which book was this.  |
"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
Edited by - Barastir on 22 Nov 2011 14:43:48 |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 22 Nov 2011 : 15:54:20
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I think you might be thinking of the short story about the attack on Waterdeep in Realms of the Deep. It's called Fire is Fire, or something like it. Or just the TftS books themselves, I think the main characters are in Waterdeep for that attack, but it's been several years since I read them, so I'm not sure.
There isn't a whole lot of detail given beyond those books, just some oblique references, like "Trade disrupted with Maztica for this year" in places like the Grand History. I think it's fair to assume that all cities suffered at least minor raids, and some got hit with larger attacks even without Iakhovas leading the charge (I think that happened to some down around Calimshan). |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2011 : 15:19:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Hoondatha
I think you might be thinking of the short story about the attack on Waterdeep in Realms of the Deep. It's called Fire is Fire, or something like it. Or just the TftS books themselves, I think the main characters are in Waterdeep for that attack, but it's been several years since I read them, so I'm not sure.
I'm sure it wasn't from the TftS, I wondered if it was from the Waterdeep novel from Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham, but I'm not sure. Maybe it was a short story from an anthology, but I don't remember reading "Realms of the Deep". But then again, maybe I read an excerpt over the internet. Can anyone else help me? |
"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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Icelander
Master of Realmslore
1873 Posts |
Posted - 23 Nov 2011 : 15:22:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Barastir
I'm sure it wasn't from the TftS, I wondered if it was from the Waterdeep novel from Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham, but I'm not sure. Maybe it was a short story from an anthology, but I don't remember reading "Realms of the Deep". But then again, maybe I read an excerpt over the internet. Can anyone else help me?
It was the opening of the Waterdeep novel. |
Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela!
Forgotten Realms fans, please sign a petition to re-release the FR Interactive Atlas
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
Posted - 24 Nov 2011 : 09:57:36
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Thank you, guys!  |
"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
Posted - 28 Nov 2011 : 10:04:39
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So, only to confirm: which of these questionsthe trilogy answers to?
"They were only sahuagin, or there were other creatures, or even sahuagin variants? Any special weapons or equipment?"
I suppose there were only sahuagin, and the sources state that the strike lasted for just one night, even if it was later called a "war". Am I right?
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"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 28 Nov 2011 : 15:41:18
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In the Outer Sea Iakhovas used primarily sahuagin, with some support from human pirates and a kraken or two.
In Seros, sahuagin were again the backbone of his forces, but he also used undead, renegade merfolk, some deep water monsters, and maybe (can't remember for certain) koalinth.
The only special equipment I can think of is a sahuagin boat, sort of like a submarine powered by dozens or hundreds of sahuagin swimming, letting them travel great distances and also carry larger items or people. One of them was enchanted, and Iakhovas's personal ship.
As for varients, a malenti priestess was the one to free Iakhovas and played a key role in the conflict, and a mutant four-armed sahuagin was one of Iakhovas's primary rivals in Seros.
Finally, you're confusing battles with a war. The "war" is what humans later called the entire year's worth of stirred-up sahuagin attacks. There was always some attacks at sea, of course, but this was the first time in a long while that the sahuagin had made a concerted effort over a wide area. It was also the first time in decades or centuries that there were concerted attacks on multiple port cities. Each city battle only lasted a single night, since sahuagin don't like sunlight, but the attacks were spread over weeks and months. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2011 : 13:43:02
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| Thank you for the explanation, Hoondatha. I think I saw some of those sahuagin submarine ships in one of the Moonshae novels, are they the same? |
"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 29 Nov 2011 : 16:10:31
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| They might be. I barely remember the Moonshae books, and I don't think I ever got around to reading the last one or two of the second trilogy, though, so don't take my word for it. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 10:43:02
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| I think the sahuagin that capture King Tristan employ one or two of those ships in attacks against the rescue mission sent after him. IIRC, it was in the second book of the second trilogy (I think the king was inside a building with an air bubble under the Sea of Swords, guarded by a kraken). |
"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 15:14:28
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The Moonshae novels were the second trilogy I read (after the original Drizzt one), and I thought it was great. I also enjoyed the second one, but was a bit confused by it.
Then I got to know the Realms, and realized why there was confusion in the second novel - they were trying to fix a bunch of problems.
I re-read it years later (the first series), and didn't enjoy it nearly as much; once you get familiar with the Realms, you realize the feel is all wrong in those books (which is only natural, since they were actually written for an entirely different setting. I felt the exact same way about the Giants trilogy the second time I read it - it didn't feel like it belonged in the Realms at all - it was like some other setting entirely.
As for the thread subject - I enjoyed the TftS novels right up until the very end.
************************* Spoiler Alert!!! ***************************
You see, all the clues pointed to Jherek becoming a Paladin of Ilmater, so I thought the author was cleverly going to have him become something unique, like a paladin of Umberlee, which would have been way-kewl.... but alas, there was no 'clever ending', only the predictable one the story was pointing straight-at all along. What I thought was a 'red herring' turned out to be a very badly hidden finale, and it ruined the entire series for me.
Also, the events suffer from the same thing all FR RSEs suffer from - "Hey, the world ended yesterday... hows your potato crop this year, Clem?" In other words, a setting-spanning major event that has NO consequences past the end of the series... positively ridiculous.  |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2450 Posts |
Posted - 01 Dec 2011 : 16:44:57
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| My problem with the end of TftS wasn't the storyline on the surface, it was how badly Seros got short-changed. They'd spent so much time on the Outer Sea in the previous books, and then they create a wholly new and fascinating place in Seros, but jump through it on fast forward. I read the third TftS book after I'd gotten Sea of Fallen Stars and read the in-depth timeline of the war, and was really looking forward to seeing all that dramatised. Except it wasn't, most of it was skipped, glossed over, or just sped through. It was really disappointing, since I really liked the first two books. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Barastir
Master of Realmslore
Brazil
1607 Posts |
Posted - 02 Dec 2011 : 10:48:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
I re-read it years later (the first series), and didn't enjoy it nearly as much; once you get familiar with the Realms, you realize the feel is all wrong in those books (which is only natural, since they were actually written for an entirely different setting.
It was written for a different setting, and yet, part of the Realms were born there. And a friend of mine told me he read somewhere that the birth of the Drizzt/Guenhwyvar characters was kind of inspired in the partnership between young Tristan and Canthus, the moordog. |
"Goodness is not a natural state, but must be
fought for to be attained and maintained.
Lead by example.
Let your deeds speak your intentions.
Goodness radiated from the heart."
The Paladin's Virtues, excerpt from the "Quentin's Monograph"
(by Ed Greenwood) |
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Deepwater War
