Odessan Invasion

The Odessan Invasion is a series of events leading up to an Odessan attack on Wydmoor Free City in 1401 Heavenfall. It covers a wide range of events with speculative ties to the takeover of Iros Forge and assassinations in Wydmoor, starting with the unseasonably warm weather and flooding of 1400 Wintercusp/Whitefall.

Significant Events

Late 1400: Unseasonable weather in Wydmoor region

• 1400 Harvest(?)-Wintercusp: unseasonably cold icy rains
  • Centered on Iros Forge
  • Buildup of snow and ice significantly disrupted travel in region
  • Mose detected that the ice and snow were 'somewhat evil'
• 1400 Wintercusp-Whitefall: Weather turns unseasonably warm
  • Buildup of ice/snow leads to immediate flooding
  • Severs ties to Iros Forge completely, washing out roads and bridges
• Warmth ends in Whitefall, and temperatures immediately plummets
  • Road to Iros Forge remains impassible due to road damage and cold/snow
  • Occurs immediately after the party clears the Tomb of the Barbarian King
  • Seemingly no correlation between barbarian mummy and rain
• Significance + speculation
  • Iros forge is a significant source of Wydmoor's economic strength and military equipment
  • As a naval power, Odessans have strong weather mages
  • Cold would have stifled Iros Forge natural resources (food, etc)
  • Following rains would have cut them off from support from the City, and allowed a takeover to operate in secret

Late 1400: Political instability in Wydmoor Free City

• Edrell's ascension to Captain of the guard
  • Apparently outsider in Wydmoor
  • Disrupts a figure loyal to the Mayor
  • Election supported by poor and funded by Thieves' Guild
• Tensions regarding tax collection
  • City guard, particularly under the jurisdiction of Fenn Lynrick in the merchant ward, are not adequately collecting Mayor's taxes
  • Mayor's men disguise themselves as guards and "collect taxes"
  • Frequent conflicts between city guards and mayor's men
• Murder of mayor's men
  • Germain and some guardsmen ambush and subdue Mayor's men
  • Mayor's men turn up dead the next day--Germain didn't kill them! Swear to Alexandria!
  • Men suggested that the Mayor's wrath would be "severe" since Germain stopped them
• Significance + speculation
  • Events were a considerable disruption in Wydmoor defensive structures
  • Much easier to launch an offensive on Wydmoor in its current state
  • Thieves received some extra leeway from Edrell after election
  • Thieves also stood to gain from conflict between guard and mayor--did they antagonize it?

Whitefall 1400: Wydmoor fire

• Fire in the Wydmoor slums and diaspora of Wydmoor's poor
  • Arson sparked a fire that destroyed most of the eastern part of the city--namely slums
  • The cities poor, who were the support base of the current captain of the guard, were largely ejected from the city
  • Led to seizure of slum land by the mayor and the suspension of many economic laws
  • Areas around Wydmoor full of refugee camps
• Significance + speculation
  • Substantially weakened the defenses of Wydmoor in the months leading up to Odessan aggression
  • Destabilized the cities main internal defenders--the city guard
  • Refugees could be a considerable complication defending the city, and may even be a source of discontents that could join or aid the Odessans