Awnsheighs

[Matthew M. Colville]

Jonathan Picklesimer wrote:
>
> Has anyone taken on an awnshegh?

None of my players have even tried yet, and none of them intend on
trying before they get done with Night Below. Rhobhe Manslayer is
currently the Awnsheigh that gives the PCs the most trouble, and he's
15/16! So everyone's biding their time, gaining levels.

On a related note: does anyone know if a PC is intended to eventually
hold the Throne of Anuire?

-Matthew

-

[Jonathan Picklesimer]

Has anyone taken on an awnshegh?

In my group, there is a spy from Keirgaard who has discovered that the
powers that be (puppets of the Gorgon) had murdered his parents in order
to make him into a free agent. Upon discovering this, he rebelled
against the government and left the country. Now he is interested in
taking on the Gorgon in order to reclain Keirgaard's independce. In
addition to this, another one of my PCs is a dwarf who had had it in for
the Gorgon since the day that he made his character. So, they are almost
to the point where they will have a sufficient amount of power to at
least survive a couple of rounds with the Gorgon's army. Now the
questions begin...

HOw does one truly fight an awnsheigh, particularly one of the Gorgon's
strength? If they do manage to successfully eek out a few victories and
weaken the Gorgon's hold on some provinces, then how do you rule those
provinces since there are no PS guides for them and actually very little
info about the provinces in either the box set or any of the campaign
expansions?

I know that you really do not have to have a PS in order to rule a land,
but the info with respect to places like Keirgaard is a little brief.

I could see these PCs giving the Gorgon a hard time, IF they managed to
secure some treaties and launch a simultaneous attack that will spread
the Gorgon out. For example, assuming the Prince of Tuarheivel is
kidnapped by the Gorgon, but the Prince had already anticipated that and
divested himself of his bloodline (as per the Tuarheivel PS). Then if
these PCs could construct an alliance that would bring Tuarheivel,
Mhoried, Seilwode, Baruk-Azhik, and the rebels currently in Keirgaard
together, the Gorgon may find himself fighting battles on several
fronts. That may be enough to cause him to spread his troups and regency
points thin enough to be vulnerable for an attempt to rescue the Prince
and maybe grab some land back in Markazor, or Keirgaard, or both.

Any ideas?
Thak Stonehead

[Undertaker]

At 05:28 PM 1/2/97 -0600, Jonathan Picklesimer(pick@chief.csm.astate.edu)wrote:
>Has anyone taken on an awnshegh?
>
>HOw does one truly fight an awnsheigh, particularly one of the Gorgon's
>strength? If they do manage to successfully eek out a few victories and
>weaken the Gorgon's hold on some provinces, then how do you rule those
>provinces since there are no PS guides for them and actually very little
>info about the provinces in either the box set or any of the campaign
>expansions?
>

My Players have been thinking about little else but how, and when, they will
be able to take on an Awnsheigh. I was kind of hoping TSR would put out a
supplement of Minor Awnsheigh. Like the spider thing(forgot its name)from
Greatheart, or Tara in the Tuarhievel PS. This might draw their attention
away from the Major Awnsheigh's army smashing power, and give them something
to focus on until later in the campaign.

>
>I know that you really do not have to have a PS in order to rule a land,
>but the info with respect to places like Keirgaard is a little brief.
>

As for those virtualy undescribed provinces, well here all you can do do is
sit down, and fleash them out. Just be sure to keep records of everything,
your sure to need it later. If you do decide to do a little work on any of
those little places, might you consider posting any of it? In fact if we all
did that, we could slowly chip away the grey areas. I know if I do any such
work I'd be happy to share it.

>
>I could see these PCs giving the Gorgon a hard time, IF they managed to
>secure some treaties and launch a simultaneous attack that will spread
>the Gorgon out. For example, assuming the Prince of Tuarheivel is
>kidnapped by the Gorgon, but the Prince had already anticipated that and
>divested himself of his bloodline (as per the Tuarheivel PS). Then if
>these PCs could construct an alliance that would bring Tuarheivel,
>Mhoried, Seilwode, Baruk-Azhik, and the rebels currently in Keirgaard
>together, the Gorgon may find himself fighting battles on several
>fronts. That may be enough to cause him to spread his troups and regency
>points thin enough to be vulnerable for an attempt to rescue the Prince
>and maybe grab some land back in Markazor, or Keirgaard, or both.
>

The Gorgon is about as major as you get, when talking Major Awnsheigh. The
PCs should be able to eventualy go against the Gorgon, but they should be
well prepared. As a DM you have to remember an Awnsheigh, like the Gorgon,
is an intellectual giant. He has been around for a long time, and not by
just sitting there. If the PCs attempt an alliance the Gorgon will take
actions to prevent it. Using spys, sabotage, and if need be force. Unable to
the thwart the plot he decides to strike first, and wipe out the weakest
link in their chain, or some such. Then there are the other nations. A lot
of countrys may not like the idea of these nations going against the Gorgon.
After all he has not marched armys into anyone elses lands in quite
sometime. What if the Alliance just wakes a sleeping beast, who destroys
them, and then comes for the lands beyond. With thoughts like these many
would object to a joining of forces against the Gorgon. Still other countrys
might fear the Alliance itself. Many might not believe that they are joining
to fight the Gorgon. They might think they were attempting to make a bid for
the Iron Thone, and you know that would worry quite a few of them. Finally,
a wave of panic would travel through the Human populace if they heard of an
Elven/Dwarven military alliance. There are those all over Cerilia who fear
the possibility of a race war. If you add in that the Gorgon might be
playing on any, or all, of these fears. You could add on a whole political
aspect of their alliance that the PCs had not foreseen. Well thats my two
cents worth. Thanks for your time.

Undertaker, richt@metrolink.net
RL Homepage: http://www.metrolink.net/~veleda/sepulcher.html