imported>LoreBot: imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

2026-09-18T10:36:21Z

imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:36, 18 September 2026
(No difference)

imported>LoreBot: imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

2026-09-18T10:06:26Z

imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:06, 18 September 2026
(No difference)

imported>LoreBot: imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

2026-09-18T06:44:11Z

imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

New page

{{Infobox event|name=The Winter War|kind=War|participants=[[Winter Elves]] under [[House Ursa]] against the [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] Regency and its allies|location=[[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] and the [[Minor Places#Frostveil Sea|Frostveil Sea]]|status=Ongoing|tier=gm|src=heralds-a#3}}
'''The Winter War''' is the war campaign in which the [[Winter Elves]] set out to conquer the other elven domains and gain power. {{Src|heralds-b#3}} It is fought in the lands of the [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] Regency by [[House Ursa]], whose own homeland is the island of [[Oavenia]], across three land fronts and one front at sea. {{Src|last-winter#643|last-winter#644}} By the campaign's present state roughly a third of [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] has been taken. {{Src|last-winter#643}}

== Method of war ==

Rather than seek a decision in open battle, the Winter Elves follow a strategy of guerrilla warfare, propaganda and the collapse of legitimacy, and they hold [[Grayhost]]. {{Src|heralds-a#3|heralds-a#6}} Their reasoning is stated plainly: to destroy the centralized power entirely, they must destroy the [[Regent]]'s legitimacy. {{Src|heralds-b#182}} To that end they intend to gather every ally who opposes the Empire's Iron Fist rule, and [[Moonward]] and [[Timbermire]] are named as the only powers able to stop them. {{Src|heralds-b#182}}

At the border of [[Iceverf]] they keep to the country around the frontier rather than standing before the walls, and a guerrilla war is fought there. {{Src|heralds-b#146|heralds-b#148}} Raiding and sabotage along that border are continuous. {{Src|heralds-b#165|heralds-b#170}} They fight with an ambush advantage that falls away as an engagement wears on, losing a point every two rounds, and their darkvision makes them dangerous in night operations. {{Src|heralds-b#96}} They have made common cause with [[Gnoll|gnolls]], who fight alongside them. {{Src|heralds-b#94|heralds-b#96}} Their archers are typically stationed outside a settlement, shooting into it from the treeline and the town's edge. {{Src|heralds-b#67|heralds-b#71}}

Against [[Swanhall]], [[Iceverf]] and [[Timbermire]] they use ice magic and attacks made across frozen lakes. {{Src|heralds-b#178|heralds-b#182|heralds-b#183}} They are also described as summoning monsters from beyond. {{Src|last-winter#728}} Their earlier assaults on the cliffs and shores of Rosereach, however, used no siege weapons, no beasts, no magic and no warbands of other races: only arrows and soldiers roping down the cliffs. {{Src|last-winter#779}} They will use ships to strike at the shores or the cliffs, but their object is to land on the shores rather than to take the cliffs. {{Src|last-winter#779}}

=== The Winter Elves and House Ursa ===

[[House Ursa]] is a matriarchal [[Minor Peoples#Winter Elf|Winter Elf]] noble house originating on the island of [[Oavenia]], and it leads the campaign against the [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] Regency. {{Src|last-winter#802|last-winter#804}} [[Oavenia]] is also the seat of the Winter Elf capital. {{Src|last-winter#802|last-winter#804}} The house takes its name from the star of the cold and the north, and counts thirteen living members. {{Src|last-winter#643}} Those members serve as commanders or advisors across the three fronts and at sea. {{Src|last-winter#804|last-winter#834}}

[[Minor Characters#Alyndra Ursa|Alyndra Ursa]] is House Ursa's ruling matriarch and directs the war from [[Oavenia]]. {{Src|last-winter#649|last-winter#657}} [[Frelya Ursa]] is her sister, not the matriarch, and supports the war as the house's war-sorceress. {{Src|owner-form-2026-09-17|last-winter#649}} [[Yvanna Ursa]], the eldest daughter and heir, is a druid who rides the giant polar bear Frostfang and commands the main forces in [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]], on the [[Minor Places#Eastern Front|Eastern Front]]. {{Src|last-winter#643|last-winter#644|last-winter#818}} [[Caerwyn Ursa]] is the commander of the western frontier. {{Src|heralds-b#40}} Winter Elf field units also include a [[Minor Organizations#Reprisal Team|Reprisal Team]], and it was this arm that carried out the attack on [[Grayhost]]. {{Src|heralds-b#39|heralds-b#40}}

=== Velfald and its allies ===

The [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] Regency is the opposing power, ruled by a [[Regent]]. {{Src|last-winter#785|last-winter#789}} Its central authority is weakened and full of cracks. {{Src|heralds-a#3}} The [[Minor Organizations#Imperial Legion|Imperial Legion]] holds the line for the Empire and distributes its forces from Rosereach across the Eastern, Northern and Western fronts. {{Src|last-winter#800}} Legion soldiers and warlocks defend the coasts. {{Src|last-winter#779}} At sea, the mercenary company [[Blue Sails]] keeps a fleet off Rosereach to stop Winter Elf ships from reaching the port. {{Src|last-winter#663}}

The [[Spring Elves]] are the Regency's elven allies and were the hardest-pressed of them: after losing the [[Grayhost]] front they went over to full guerrilla warfare for as long as the last tree stands, and now resist only with small harassment, sabotage and raiding teams. {{Src|heralds-b#40|heralds-b#41}} Having lost ground, they withdrew inside the borders of [[Iceverf]], where they are a burden on the city's resources but also an allied force. {{Src|heralds-b#165|heralds-b#170}} Their leader [[Lady Emyl]] is the Winter Elves' fiercest and longest-enduring enemy and the only elven leader still able to hold her community together. {{Src|heralds-b#154}} She leads the [[Everbloom Court]] and is one of the last great elven war leaders in [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]]. {{Src|heralds-b#190|heralds-b#191}} Elven civilians are to shelter in her castle during the war. {{Src|heralds-b#257}}

[[Iceverf]] itself is defended by [[Spring Elves]], [[Frostwood Rangers]], [[Antler Knights]] and [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] troops. {{Src|heralds-b#187}} [[Moonward]] soldiers hold the cliffs and the coastline on the [[Minor Places#Western Front|Western Front]]. {{Src|last-winter#832|last-winter#835}} The [[Summer Elves]] stand among the war's other elven parties: the youngest of the Ursa killed the son of their ruling leader before dying. {{Src|last-winter#643}}

== The fronts ==

The invasion is fought on three land fronts — Eastern, which carries the main force, Western and Northern — together with a sea war on the [[Minor Places#Frostveil Sea|Frostveil Sea]] between [[Oavenia]] and [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]]. {{Src|last-winter#643|last-winter#644}}

=== Eastern Front ===

The [[Minor Places#Eastern Front|Eastern Front]] is where [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] defends itself against the Ursa-led invasion. {{Src|last-winter#791}} Its defensive line is held by the [[Minor Organizations#Imperial Legion|Imperial Legion]] behind a river, with a small town nearby; a wide open stretch lies between the river and a forest, and the Winter Elves hold the forest's edge. {{Src|last-winter#782}}

=== Western Front ===

On the [[Minor Places#Western Front|Western Front]] the [[Moonward]] soldiers hold the cliffs and coastlines. {{Src|last-winter#832|last-winter#835}} The Winter Elf plan for this front has three prongs: a direct assault on the cliffs [[Moonward]] guards, a second assault on the cliff garrisons launched from another shore reached overland, and the capture of the town of Hollowridge. {{Src|last-winter#832|last-winter#836}} The enemy order of battle on this front is given as Winter Elf Soldiers, Elite Winter Elf Soldiers, Winter Orcs, White-Furred Gnolls, Elven Ambushers and [[Bestiary Appendix#War Beasts|War Beasts]]. {{Src|last-winter#679}}

=== Northern Front ===

The [[Minor Places#Northern Front|Northern Front]] is one of the three land fronts of the campaign. {{Src|last-winter#643|last-winter#644}} The [[Minor Organizations#Imperial Legion|Imperial Legion]] sends forces to it from Rosereach along with the other two. {{Src|last-winter#800}}

=== The sea ===

The naval front lies on the [[Minor Places#Frostveil Sea|Frostveil Sea]] between the two lands. {{Src|last-winter#643|last-winter#644}} There the [[Blue Sails]] fleet works to keep Winter Elf ships from reaching Rosereach. {{Src|last-winter#663}}

== Lands lost ==

[[Swanhall]] was the first place to be invaded, three to four years ago, and has been fully occupied ever since; its Duke is in custody. {{Src|heralds-b#178}} The duchy was known for its strategic position and its deposits of precious ore and gems, and its mines, foundries and castles are now in Winter Elf hands. {{Src|heralds-b#150|heralds-b#151}} Its fall was purely a Winter Elf military conquest, with no serpentborn or worm-god involvement of any kind. {{Src|heralds-b#152|heralds-b#153}}

[[Grayhost]] is held by the Winter Elves. {{Src|heralds-a#5}} Its forest, where the [[Spring Elves]] had held the line, was destroyed by a joint attack of the western and eastern fronts under [[Caerwyn Ursa]], and the [[Spring Elves]] lost the front. {{Src|heralds-b#40|heralds-b#41}}

[[Hollowbridge]] lies under Winter Elf occupation and in ruins. {{Src|heralds-b#60|heralds-b#64|heralds-b#67}}

== Lands holding ==

[[Iceverf]] is not under siege, but it has been rotted from within and carries both political and mystical threats. {{Src|heralds-a#3|heralds-a#4}} Its noble councils advise against open-field war with the Winter Elves, which leaves the city's forces stuck inside the walls. {{Src|heralds-b#166}} With the hard winter it is not safe for anyone to be outside. {{Src|heralds-b#166}} The city also suffers political instability: the Count is absent and his daughter has taken over the running of affairs. {{Src|heralds-b#148}}

[[Moonward]] is described as the one land that would remain safe after the loss of [[Timbermire]] and [[Iceverf]], and it would never bend the knee to the Winter Elves. {{Src|heralds-b#178|heralds-b#182}} It wishes to be the protector of [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]], yet it does not want to interfere with the Winter Elf mission to capture [[Timbermire]]. {{Src|heralds-b#182}} On the coast its soldiers have fought around the shores of the Rosereach peninsula, taking losses but striking back and holding their ground against one more attempt at invasion. {{Src|last-winter#751}}

[[Timbermire]] is a fertile and culturally powerful duchy on the [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] frontier, and with [[Moonward]] it is one of the two powers named as able to stop the Winter Elves. {{Src|heralds-b#182|heralds-b#183}}

== Rosereach and the war in the south ==

Rosereach was a strategically vital port city defended by the [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] Regency, indispensable for supply and reinforcement routes, and the seat of the war council. {{Src|heralds-b#5|heralds-b#6}} It is the only port in the invaded region, standing on the main trade road to the northern and eastern fronts and on the supply line feeding the [[Spring Elves]]' armies. {{Src|last-winter#663}} Walls were raised in the city and preparations made against a possible siege. {{Src|last-winter#663}} A landing was launched from the Winter-held western front to the south of the city, beside a village belonging to the county. {{Src|last-winter#663}} When the invasion of [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] intensified, the Empire sent [[Naevys Duskbloom]] of the [[Magnus Arcanum]] to Rosereach with special wartime authority. {{Src|heralds-a#50}}

To stop the Winter Elves and the forces of [[Bella Worthmore]] at the gates, [[Naevys Duskbloom]] sacrificed the city with a modified [[Rules Appendix#Cloudkill|Cloudkill]] ritual, and Rosereach became a dead but moving city. {{Src|heralds-a#51|heralds-a#117}} After the Winter Elf army withdrew from the plains of Rosereach they have not entered [[Deadreach]] at all. {{Src|heralds-a#48|heralds-a#51}}

== Known battles and operations ==

* '''[[Winds of Emberfrost Battle]]''' — the youngest of the Ursa was killed here, having first killed the son of the ruling summer elf leader of the land. {{Src|last-winter#643}} The battle became a rallying symbol for [[House Ursa]]. {{Src|last-winter#804|last-winter#805|last-winter#807}}
* '''Grayhost Forest Campaign''' — a joint western and eastern attack under [[Caerwyn Ursa]] destroyed the forest of Grayhost County; the [[Spring Elves]] lost the front and turned to guerrilla war. {{Src|heralds-b#40|heralds-b#41}}
* '''The holding of the first line at Grayhost''' — Greywind held the first defensive line with twenty archers so that the retreating could reach [[Iceverf]], killing some fifty enemy soldiers. {{Src|heralds-b#170}}
* '''The fall of [[Swanhall]]''' — the duchy fell completely to the Winter Elves, with all its mines, foundries and castles taken. {{Src|heralds-b#150|heralds-b#151}}
* '''The Iceverf border guerrilla war''' — a guerrilla war on the frontier of [[Iceverf]], during which the [[Spring Elves]] fell back into the city. {{Src|heralds-b#148}}
* '''The Hollowbridge ambush''' — while the [[Snowshield Count]] and fifty soldiers camped in ruined [[Hollowbridge]], gnoll agents planted explosives in the buildings and Winter Elf archers outside the town rained arrows into it. {{Src|heralds-b#71}}
* '''The Snowshield engagement''' — [[Snowshield's Forces]] met an allied force of Winter Elves and gnolls, the Winter side fighting with ambush, darkvision and positional advantages. {{Src|heralds-b#94|heralds-b#96}}
* '''The western landing at Rosereach''' — the Winter Elves put troops ashore south of Rosereach near a village of the county, and the county's knights and the duchy's soldiers moved to stop them. {{Src|last-winter#663}}
* '''The Moonward coastal defence''' — [[Moonward]] soldiers threw back three waves of invasion on the Rosereach shores, with a fourth expected. {{Src|last-winter#751|last-winter#752}}
* '''The fall of Rosereach''' — [[Naevys Duskbloom]] stopped the invading army with a modified [[Rules Appendix#Cloudkill|Cloudkill]] ritual, killing it and raising its dead as a defending force, but the magic escaped her and turned the city into [[Deadreach]]. {{Src|heralds-a#51}}
* '''The Elnaril assassination operation''' — an assassination team sent by [[House Ursa]] in reprisal for the death of a family member is in Rosereach hunting [[Elnaril]], with one of the assassins holding the escape plans down in the sewers. {{Src|heralds-b#27|heralds-b#34}}

== Behind the lines ==

{{Spoiler|GM:The Winter War}}

== Unsettled points ==

{{Unresolved|Which member of House Ursa fell at the Winds of Emberfrost: the battle is given both as the death of Silvan Ursa, the youngest son, and as the death of Thalen Ursa.|last-winter#657|last-winter#804}}
{{Unresolved|Whether Yvanna Ursa or Serida Ursa is House Ursa's heir and commander of the main force|last-winter#818|last-winter#805}}

== Related pages ==

* [[Winter Elves]] — the people waging the war
* [[House Ursa]] — the noble house that opened and commands the campaign
* [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] — the Regency under invasion
* [[Oavenia]] — the Winter Elf homeland and capital island
* [[Spring Elves]] — the Regency's elven allies, driven from [[Grayhost]] into [[Iceverf]]
* [[Lady Emyl]] — the Spring Elf leader, the Winter Elves' longest-enduring enemy
* [[Swanhall]] — the first duchy to fall, occupied for three to four years
* [[Grayhost]] — the county whose forest was destroyed and which the Winter Elves hold
* [[Iceverf]] — the northern county fighting a guerrilla war on its border
* [[Moonward]] — holder of the western cliffs and coastline
* [[Timbermire]] — with [[Moonward]], one of the two powers named as able to stop the invasion
* [[Deadreach]] — the port city sacrificed to halt the invasion in the south
* [[Blue Sails]] — the mercenary fleet keeping Winter Elf ships off Rosereach
* [[Minor Places#Frostveil Sea|Frostveil Sea]] — the sea between [[Oavenia]] and [[Velfald Regency|Velfald]] where the naval front is fought
* [[Minor Items and Relics#Sacred Frost Relic|Sacred Frost Relic]] — an objective named in an unconfirmed war-planning document
* [[Summer Elves]] — a Regency ally named as a target of weakening in that same document

== Unconfirmed ideas ==
''The source conversations contain proposals for The Winter War that the campaign owner never confirmed. They are collected on [[:Idea:The Winter War|Idea:The Winter War]] so they cannot be mistaken for canon.''

[[Category:Events]]
[[Category:Aenarch: Last Winter]]
[[Category:Heralds of the Cycle]]

The Winter War - Revision history

imported>LoreBot: imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

imported>LoreBot: imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)

imported>LoreBot: imported from campaign transcripts (pages/The_Winter_War.wiki)