[Age of Giants] The Fall of Castle Hammerfire

[Havard]

(Fire Giant King Sketch, by Jim Nelson)

INTRODUCTION
A milennia ago, another fortress lay where Blackmoor Castle stands today. Although much less formidable than the current castle, the same cannot be said for its inhabitants. The king of Hammerfire and his kinsmen were Giants. Their ancestors had driven the Dragons out of the North and assumed control of the region. The ruling class were Fire Giants, but other Giants had also been subjugated by Hammerfire. Their culture was a primitive one and tools were made of wood and stone. Their religion was to the Immortal Zugzul. Master of the Dark Flame.

King Jevarin sat comfortably on his Throne. He had few challengers these days. His ancestral enemies, the Dragons had been driven all the way into the southern mountains. The Elven King remained silent and isolated in his woodland fortess and the other Giant Chieftains were too weak to challenge the King of Hammerfire. The humans in the North of the time were the Valemen of the Swamps and the Peshwah to the south. The Skandaharians had not yet built their Longships. King Jevarin considered humans to be a puny and insignifant race.

This was to be King Jevarin's undoing. For as his mind went through these things, a human from the South entered King Uhlmar's Court. The first human to ever to be recieved in the elven court except for the King's adopted son, Halgred. This young man from the south was named Robert of Genova and he had a mind to change how things worked in the North. The Lands of Blackmoor would not be the same.

WHAT'S THIS?
I'm working to develop a scenario dealing with how the Age of Giants came to an end. The details on the Hammerfire Clan and their fortress on the Blackmoor peninsula comes from Dungeons of Castle Blackmoor (DoCBM). From that book we also learn of the various Era's of Blackmoor's history:

• Thonian Year -3000 Cthonic Age (Sar Aigu)
  
• Thonian Year -1000 Age of Dragons
  
• Thonian Year -500 Age of Giants
  
• Thonian Year 1 Bronze Age: Robert of Geneva conquers the Land. Age of Man
  
• Thonian Year 500: "Iron Age" and the Decline of Elves. Thonian Age. (Blackmoor becomes a Thonian Province)
  
• Thonian Year 800: "Modern Age". Age of Blackmoor. (Mage Wars begin)

The exact dates are assumptions of mine as DoCBM is more vague.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
I am working to tie in these events with other events and characters that I have worked on from the same period:

• The Age of Bronze - DoCBM
  
• The Murder of Hurghast and Herutu and the Bannishment of Calelrin (Riders of Hak)
  
• Caradegg the Valeman ("The Giantslayer") - My invention. Appears in the LFC and the Vales Campaign.
  
• King Robert of Genova - Canon, various
  
• King Uhlmar, Grandfather of Menander Ithamis - My invention
  
• Halgred Forestwalker, the First Druid - BMPG, extrapolated alot by me.
  
• Battle Between Valemen and Thonians - My take on Arneson's 1969 adventure
  
• First appearance of Sun Brothers in Blackmoor (Sollux) - DA4

Input and comments are welcome!

-Havard