State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond - Act 1 (DM IC RP Only)

The "Year of the Dragon" Campaign
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DM Dialectic
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Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 2:21 pm

State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond - Act 1 (DM IC RP Only)

Unread post by DM Dialectic »

1352 Campaign, The Year of the Dragon - State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond after the Wars Against the Undead in the North

In walking about Baldur's Gate after the recent Siege of the undead Blight and its army, any laybeing would see the massive and profound damaging effects that the siege has had upon the city as well as the wars of the Year of the Crown, 1351, against the undead at large. They would additionally notice that while there has been some effort to repair or reconstruct some of the damage done to Baldur's Gate, the expense and manpower required for rectifying it in majority or full remains to be collected and allocated. A visual tour of the city and speaking to folk in the various city districts would obviously reveal the following observations and rumors as well as clear emerging themes for the newly started Year of the Dragon, 1352 DR, throughout the Sword Coast, the Western Heartlands, and even relating to all of Western Faerun: recovery and repercussions.

The Palace District


-The north wall bisecting the Palace District and Northern Farmlands is heavily damaged with an actual breach in it near the entrance from Northern Farmlands. There is still extensive damage to the northern walls, including smashing of most of the wall towers.

-The Palace District outside of the Duchal Palace citadel, including the nearby The Wide trade area, is for the most part heavily damaged, by far the most worn down district of the city from the siege. Extensive damage has been done to many of this district's buildings, save those that are almost a fortress in themselves, which are more or less unscathed, such as the Duchal Palace, Hall of Wonders, and all of the temples.

-The Duchal Palace itself is in pretty could shape, with only minor amounts of rubble chipped off the side of its external masonry.

-There are still burned out funeral pyres all over the Palace District that have yet to be moved to mass graves outside of the city.


The East Gate District

-The east wall bisecting the Eastern Gate District and Eastern Farmlands is significantly damaged, but it has no breach. Only a couple of wall towers on the east wall are smashed.

-The Northern and Eastern Farmlands after the siege are left desolated, with even the Order of the Radiant Heart compound taking major damage and largely unusable until repaired and rebuilt. It is said that the Order compound and its property of importance were evacuated to the safety of the city walls before the siege was underway, sparing the lives of many, and that its holy aura kept away the undead from damaging it for a time, but in the end it too had its structures ravaged. It is rumored that that Order members now return to guard, rebuild, and repopulate the grounds of the damaged compound. It is also said that the orphanage previously of the Order grounds has provisionally moved into the city to a building near the Ilmateri temple. It is unclear whether it will permanently return to the Order compound grounds after they are rebuilt or remain inside the city walls.

-The East Gate District has only minor damaged, relatively speaking. The only significant damage is from the artillery barrage that killed the Blight, leaving some of the area near Maltz's shop damaged. It is here that any could see a memorial to the siege and war being constructed:

A memorial marker with the inscription "Year of the Crown War Memorial", with Helmite and Tempus religious themes, seems to be placed in the East Gate District square where the Blight approximately was defeated, reading::

The exact spot where the evil Blight, scourge of Baldur's Gate, was defeated in a hail of artillery, sun cannons, and brave defender melee and ranged assaults. Thereby, ending the siege of Baldur's Gate in the Year of the Crown. LONG LIVE THE GRAND DUKES! LONG LIVE BALDUR'S GATE!



These markers honor the courageous defenders of Baldur's Gate and the brave dead that fell to see that the city of Baldur's Gate would not. To see that the Blight and the General and all the undead armies of evil lost to the people of Balduran and their allies in the Year of the Crown -- 1351. Helm protect the fallen martyrs of the city in the afterlife as they never abandoned their posts as long as they gave breath, as did the city's still living guardians. Tempus bless their glorious battle and victory.


It is rumored that a similar marker has been constructed near the site of the Battle of the Trollclaw Fords in the northwest part of the Fields of the Dead.


The Harbor District

-The Docks District is left with only minor damage, with only the western wall of the Docks taking significant damage, but no damaged wall towers. A lot of supply crates pile up in it from Lords' Alliance and other altruistic supply efforts, but fair and efficient distribution of these supplies remains to be seen and is a source of local complaint. Outside of bastions of order at the unloading sites of the docks and supply routes about the city from them, the Lords' Alliance mission, or around the Flaming Fist HQ compound, law and order still remains lacking in many respects in the Docks due to the vacuum created when the guards temporary vacated most of its streets during the siege, even though the City Watch has begun to patrol regularly again. There are also heavy rumors of smuggling attempts given the chaotic post-siege environment and the large amount of relief goods shipped into the city.

City Wide and Regionally

-Lords' Alliance war camps still remain about the city, with soldiers from Waterdeep, Sundabar, and other reinforcing allied states of Baldur's Gate remaining in them until the Dukes request otherwise, perhaps creating a feeling of "friendly occupation" and even some tension for some local Baldurians. The Army of the New Dawn it is said has returned to the east after helping to lift the siege. After finishing up military efforts and discussions largely out of the public eye during the siege, it is said that Khelben Arunsun of Blackstaff Tower and Piergeiron the Paladinson, the Open Lord of Waterdeep, return to Waterdeep by ship, with their personal guards. Further, the golden flying chariot of the high ruler of Silverymoon, Lady Alustriel Silverhand, noticed by many combating aerial undead during the siege, is said to be seen leaving for the north as well, returning to Silverymoon, mages reporting to her leaving by teleporting for home as well.

-The refuges of Kheldrivver and Unemployed Volunteers still remain in Baldur's Gate, not yet returning to the Kheldrivver. Being largely bypassed by the undead General, Kheldrivver is not heavily damaged, but is still abandoned and there are rumors that trolls may have set up in it. The refuges of Scornubel still remain in Elturel and it is said that a supply effort to reach them via Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate has finally arrived, supplying their desperate needs for a time.

-The Wyrm's Crossing bridge over the Chiontar is completely unharmed, so the link to the southern Trade Way from the city is completely intact. The Trade Way and roads themselves outside of the city are undamaged. Due to city supply and demand shocks, however, trade flow to the south, east, and north of Baldur's Gate by road has fallen into a deep decline, even worse than the plague times earlier in the year. It may quickly bounce back though, merchants with knowledge of regional trade say, given that the economic shocks of the siege could quickly fade with significant business effort. It is rumored that many regional trade powers, government-backed or strictly private, now enthusiastically vie for new opportunities in Baldurian markets, upon the end of chaos of the siege of Baldur's Gate, and new chances for profit, legal or illegal, created by the siege's severe economic disruption. It is also said that the distraction of the Lords' Alliance and Baldur's Gate with the siege and major wars with undead, as well as recovering from them, may produce diplomatic opportunities for other regional political powers or already have. There may be other more ambiguous, yet powerful, forces at work as well in this environment throughout the region.

-The City Watch and Flaming Fist soldiers have returned to normal patrols about the city, ordered to exercise extreme vigilance, as an uptick in crime and smuggling is forecasted by Duchal authorities it is said given the remaining desperation, damage, despair, and chaos coming out of the recent siege.

-There have been some mass graves setup for the dead outside of the city at various reasonable points.

-In a year that saw plague, food and supply shortages in Baldur's Gate, then one of the worst sieges in the city's history, many Baldurians feel as if a more relevant nickname for the Year of the Crown would be the Year of Catastrophe or Cataclysm. It will be some time before life can return completely too normal. Even once the physical damage of the city is repaired, no one can replace the living lost, or quickly make up for the chaos and shortages left after such a tumultuous year for the city of Balduran. It is noted though that a surge of patriotism can be noticed in the population, as against a high evil of the realms, the city still stands, a major beacon still of civilization, law, and trade on the Sword Coast, and the Lords' Alliance, honored again in full in aid of the city's defense, seems to be as appreciated as ever by the Grand Dukes and many Baldurians, but not all. Noting this all, and given its recent dismantling in the previous year, it seems doubtful that any violent or revolutionary resistance to the Dukes, such as a new Virtuous Soil movement, could result again any time soon.

-Rumor spreads that the undead have been eliminated from all quarters of Baldur's Gate since the siege and that enough medical and public health protections have been setup since the Plague of 1351 to make it seem doubtful to most that a new round of serious plague or undead threats could again threaten the city even after the chaos and damage of the siege.

-While most of the City Watch were unharmed, kept in reserve to maintain law and order after the siege, the Flaming Fist has seen its worst depletion of military manpower since the Amn-Gate War, losing roughly a third of its active duty strength. Further, thousands of civilians in the city perished in the siege, a toll that would have been far worse if precautions for evacuation had not been taken or if allies of the Dukes had not come to the city's defense. Many Duchal allies in the Year of the Crowns wars against the undead also have seen significant casualties and losses and are recognized for it with public appreciation from many Baldurian's as well as the Grand Dukes themselves: The Order of the Radiant Heart, Kraak Helzak, The Ebon Blades Mercenary Company, The Thayan Enclave, The Everwatch Knights, Knights of the Silver Rose, Order of the Aster, the People of Kheldrivver, The Blacktalons Mercenary Company, the Lords' Alliance Expeditionary Forces, the Hellriders, the Greyfox and the Militia of Secomber, the Crusade of the Watch, and the Army of the New Dawn.


((IMPORTANT OOC NOTES:

-All of the above information can be taken as IC public rumors or common knowledge IC.

-Please feel free to use this thread or the "Rumors" threads to RP in for 1352 metaplot RP.

-For the structure of the 1352 metaplot, we will be taking into account as much feedback as we can in regards to the 1351 metaplot, noting what worked and what didn't work, and trying to build on that, also taking into account lore considerations resulting from the events of 1351. 1352 is likely to be a guild intensive metaplot year, so to best get involved, we recommend OOC/IC participation in a guild that already has or establishes during the 1352 year a guild forum and forum group.

-The 1351 metaplot was one of the most dynamic and player character choice affecting metaplots in the history of the BGTSCC server, so we are trying to build on this by having many opportunities for player character choice to affect the 1352 metaplot.

-Otherwise, we encourage all players hoping to get involved to send in player requests that are 1352 metaplot related for the DM team forum group in a private message for us to review. Guidelines on player request submissions are located here: http://bgtscc.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=48188. If you previously sent in a player request post-siege for the 1352 metaplot, please send it in again if you have not heard back from the DM team, as we may have missed it in the post-year administrative shuffle or at least need a reminder.

-We look forward to your RP in the new metaplot year of 1352! Please send the DM team a private message if you have any metaplot related questions!))
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DM Theophanies
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Re: 1352 Campaign, State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond - Act 1

Unread post by DM Theophanies »

A document is produced and circulated through the Duchal Palace. It has been easily leaked and circulated for others to see.
Of Faith and Morale
This document was prepared for Duchal oversight of the City of Baldur’s Gate in a post-seige environment of 1352. Temples were monitored and high priests and practitioners questioned.

Ilmater - Extremely highly increased attendance – Thanks to the relief effort supplied through the temple for both the plague and the seige, the activity of the soup kitchen and the general easing of burdens supplied by the faith.
Umberlee – Moderately increase attendance – Only temple in the docks, aid given during the plague.
Helm – Increased attendance – Prayers and donations in thanks for the defenders of the seige.
Tempus – Increased attendance – Many thankful prayers to the Lord of Battle.
Mystra – Regular attendance
Torm - Regular attendance
Tyr - Regular attendance
Tymora – Regular attendance
Gond – Regular attendance

-Scribe Thomas
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DM Theophanies
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Re: 1352 Campaign, State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond - Act 1

Unread post by DM Theophanies »

As the effects of the war start to settle, many of the locals in the tavern begin to gossip about where some of the forces ended up going. A keen ear would hear such discussions:

Flaming Fist Companies - Returned to Baldur's Gate.

Hellriders of Elturel - Returned to Elturel.

Crusaders of the Watch - Disbanded.

Silver Rose Knights and Triage Station - Returned to the Silver Rose Keep.

Knights of the Radiant Heart Auxiliary - Currently within Baldur's Gate, Triadic Temples and Temple of Helm, watching over the Orphans near the temple of Ilmater and the former order grounds.

Order of the Aster - Moved to Beregost to reinforce the Song of the Morning.

People of Kheldrivver - Currently still in Baldur's Gate.

Kraak Helzak Forces - Returned to Kraak Helzak.

Scornubel Refugees - Remaining in Elturel.

Army of the New Dawn - Returned to the East.

Blacktalons Mercenaries - Returned to Iriaebor.

Lord's Alliance Forces - Reinforcing Baldur's Gate though some returning home.

The Greyfox and the Secomber Militia - Returned to the North.
DM Dialectic
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Re: 1352 Campaign, State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond - Act 1

Unread post by DM Dialectic »

*The general scene of the Baldur's Gate area immediately post-siege in pictures.*
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//Credit to Duster for the great screenshots and credit to Duster and the entire dev team for an incredible map update to reflect Baldur's Gate post-siege!//
DM Dialectic
Posts: 6235
Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 2:21 pm

Re: 1352 Campaign, State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond - Act 1

Unread post by DM Dialectic »

//Campaign outline and structure posted for public viewing here:

http://www.bgtscc.net/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=49799

The team highly recommends that all players read this to best participate in the 1352 Metaplot.//
DM Dialectic
Posts: 6235
Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 2:21 pm

Re: State of Baldur's Gate and Beyond - Act 1 (DM IC RP Only

Unread post by DM Dialectic »

Recovery and Clean Up in Baldur's Gate

Cleanup efforts by good samaritan adventurers have begun to show effect in Baldur's Gate after the siege, although there is still a good amount of "siege-litter" about the streets and Farmlands of Baldur's Gate. Still, much of the rubble, burnt wood, dead bodies, and funeral pyres that polluted the streets for tendays after the siege of the city have been cleaned up in the adventurer and city-government lead effort. Perhaps one more major undertaking would see the cleanliness of the city and its environs restored to roughly peacetime normality many gossip. There is even rumor of some final cleaning push initiatives already in the planning stages.

In terms of remaining damaged or destroyed structures left from the siege of the city, however, much work still lies ahead in rebuilding and recovering the city back to peacetime conditions.

Many goods, services, capital, material, and labor shortages also still run rampant in the city and its local economy, especially when related to rebuilding and recovery initiatives, although not as severe as immediately after the siege in some respects, but still a serious economic problem needing to be overcome to have a chance of the city returning to prosperity.
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