The Doomforge: The Aftermath

The cataclysmic eruption could be seen for miles in the dark.

The Doomforge

We had a truly bloody RPG campaign this time.  As war closed in on the Khazid Grimaz from all sides, the campaign was a race against time to find a new source of power for the clans and defend the hold from it's most imminent foe - the Bloo Moonz tribe, currently rampaging on the eastern side of the Grey Mountains in Bretonnia.

This time, rocks fell.  Everyone died.

Why did this happen exactly?  Well, in practical terms, our allotted time limit was well past.  The Doomforge ran for 18 weeks, which is a large chunk of time for a single game at the Wargate, and if you add to that all the other sessions played in the last two years, well...it adds up to a lot of time.  Which brings us to the next point...

We had advanced the player party a little fast for the long haul we gave them.  Fluctuating experience levels, encounter strength, and a large pool of rotating players and the game was simply "out of balance", to use a nonsensical term.  In the end, it was time for something new, and we needed to move past this.  After a few weeks of the players sitting in the dungeon without a full group to tackle the final perils, we could wait no more.

Of course our narrative continues on, though now without the assistance of the Deeping Well...but what happened to them is still very important.  Everyone was aware of what was on the table with what could happen to the Khazid - after all, this RPG game influences our tabletop battles in many ways.

There is now an active volcano in the Grey Mountains, where Khazid Grimaz used to stand.  The dwarfs there are tough and resilient, though their numbers depleted and their families torn.  The strongest thane and the wisest runelord are both gone.  Parts of the upper hold still stand, and the towers above the craggy peaks seem more stable than the land itself, but can the dwarfs continue to live here?  The coming war for Greystone Pass will be quite different now.

Yet, what exactly happened to cause all this?

The Seal at the Core of the Mountain

So long ago that the dwafs have no recollection of it, the servants of the Old Slann brought forth a set of mystical artifacts they would use to control the seismic upheaval of the upper hemisphere of the Warhammer World.  Reptilian warriors fanned out over the world, seeking the areas of the world most fraught with primordial upheaval.  Within the deepest volcanic vaults, beneath the mightiest glaciers, within the nexus of the deadliest fault lines, the servants of the Slann used their golden discs to quiet the elements and promote life in that region.

Wherever these shining discs were raised, they quieted the forces of the earth itself.  These discs were great elemental seals, made of purest gold and consecrated to the power of the Slann.  The artifacts were sealed away magically, and connected to the elemental threads that run deep into the heart of the world.  From their temples across the world, the Slann could connect to those threads and manipulate them.  In this way, the natural order we now know began to take shape.

As the Slann began to decline and lose their influence, many of the temples across the world were destroyed.  In the Old World especially, very little remains to tell of the ancient glory of the Slann.  After centuries of decline and neglect, the mystical connection of the temples to the elements began to erode.  As the world marched on, daemons and other creatures of chaos were drawn to the secret hiding places of the Slann's mystical seals, and all connection to the elemental threads were lost.  The world became a place of upheaval and dread, and the elements ravaged it through and through.

The Lady of Woe

In the year 2522 I.C., the connection to the Elemental Seal in the deepest parts of the earth under the Khazid Grimaz was severed.  A Dark Elf Sorceress known only as the Lady of Woe had been searching the world for them for quite some time, and her arcane power waxed so great she could nearly wrench the Seal from its extradimensional cradle.

Naturally, the Sorceress has many enemies.  High Elves of the dragonship The Venger and even the servants of the Old Ones themselves attempted to halt the Lady of Woe and her plans, which involve using the elemental powers of the seals to unleash massive destruction against her enemies in her own homeland.  Prince Spiridane and the Skink shaman sent to ward the seal were able to join forces, and pressed towards finding The Tower of Iron Woe, the Black Ark that is the Sorceress’ base of operations.

The Lady of Woe is a master of dark magic, and specializes in teleportation and extradimensional manipulation.  The Black Ark can manifest it’s spires all over the Old World from the safety of the deep sea, and the Sorceress can further her plans whenever and wherever she needs.

So, deep beneath Khazid Grimaz, the Sorceress and her enemies met in mortal combat.  The resulting power destabilized the elemental seal, causing its vast power to well up in an uncontrollable surge.  This surge set the volcano alight, and the earth trembled. 

Raw elemental energy, kept bottled up for countless centuries, lashed out and destroyed much of the mountain where the Khazid stood.  Earthquakes caused the upper city to split, and molten magma choked the Alderhalls.  Where the Delve once stood, now a great split crag seeps lava as the cracked and blackened towers of the Khazid keep silent watch.

The volcanic power continues to rip through the Grey Mountains, causing upheaval and tremors miles away. Nearby Karak Norn and Nuln are abuzz with the tales of horror spread by the regugees pouring in, even as the Storm of Chaos abates.  Enterprising individuals are already investigating the tales of the mountain of fire 

Ruins of Khazid Grimaz

The ancient dwarven hold sundered and burned, and now the throng of the Khazid seek refuge in Karak Norn or in refugee camps at the edge of Wissenland.  The military might of this bastion of good is finally broken, and at much cost to the lawful races of the Old World.  With no more army of the Khazid to help defend the borders, it will be a short time before Wissenland is threatened and the Empire must react.

The now ruined Khazid is far from deserted, however.  The warpstone beneath the Khazid is active once more, and all the Chaos worshippers from beneath the Delve have migrated to the surface following the quakes.  Cultists and beastmen flourish in some of the abandoned halls and towers all over the area that the Khazid once kept.

Yet there are those who still carry on the fight.  Even in this dark time, the thanes of the throng of the Khazid Grimaz rally their people to persevere and stick together.  Dwarven heroes still battle inside the ruinous Khazid to reclaim some of their ancient honor, yet none have returned from this perilous place in months.

Perhaps sometime soon, the throng of the Khazid will muster again.  To reclaim their ancient hold from the dark forces that hold sway there will be an undertaking that will likely claim countless dwarven lives and last for generations of men.

Fantastic Game, Grim Ending

I want to thank everyone for taking part in our long term campaign.  We're going to try to keep the length of time between campaign segments much shorter from now on, so we can stay more focused and keep the same thematics going with each RPG campaign.  We got to see how far we could push the advancement system, and all in all it was quite enjoyable.

Thanks for the grim ending!  Destruction is winning more and more campaigns these days, and if we have a total party kill on many more of these RPG scenarios there might not be much for our armies of Order to fight for.  Now we have a centerpiece for our perilous adventure - the ruined, fiery crag of Khazid Grimaz!

We'll return to the Warhammer World next season for the Greystone Pass War!  That will be the first chance to help reclaim the lost Khazid, or make sure it stays firmly in the hands of evil.