Maragaine, ancient queen of Blackmoor

[Dartamian]

Asked a question about Greyhawk Blackmoor in the Greyhawk forum. See viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10909

[Havard]

Looking through "The Doomgrinder" and came across the Queen's Regalia of Blackmoor.

Apparently they once belonged to "Maragaine, an ancient queen of Blackmoor. She is thoroughly evil and utterly insane, nad bent on restoring Blackmoor to the glory it knew in her lifetime."

Anymore information on Maragaine out there?

Great find! I have never heard of this character before. Since Blackmoor did not become a Kingdom untill the reign of King Uther, she must have been a ruler after him. Possibly she could have been his wife, but I think it is more likely that Uther would eventually wed Rissa Aleford from DA2.

Most likely Maragaine married Uther's son, or a later descendant. The bit about restoring Blackmoor to glory would also suggest that she ruled at a time when Blackmoor was in fact at a point in its history where it was quite powerful.

I am inclined to ignore the bit about her being evil/insane and rather write that off as false myths. What is the exact effect of the item? Does it depend on the Queen being evil when she was alive? If it is a cursed item, perhaps it can be restored to being a benign item if brought to the Throne Room of Castle Blackmoor?

It is interesting to note that both Uther and Maragaine (Morgana) are variants of the naming Arthurian myths. Perhaps this is where Doomgrinder author Steve Miller got the idea for Maragaine's name from?




-Havard

[Dartamian]

Queen's Regailia of Blackmoor consists of a diadem, a pair of bracelets, and a choker. Only the choker is given a description
"It looks like a ruby-set choker of fine elven workmanship...and it magically compels the first character touching it to travel to distant Blackmoor. Once the hero reaches Blackmoor, he is drawn to the locations of the rest of the Regalia. A character with all four items instantly transforms into Maragaine, an ancient queen of Blackmoor..."
The only description of Maragaine was given in the first post. The powers of the Regalia are lift up to the DM.

[RobJN]

Queen's Regailia of Blackmoor consists of a diadem, a pair of bracelets, and a choker. Only the choker is given a description
"It looks like a ruby-set choker of fine elven workmanship...and it magically compels the first character touching it to travel to distant Blackmoor. Once the hero reaches Blackmoor, he is drawn to the locations of the rest of the Regalia. A character with all four items instantly transforms into Maragaine, an ancient queen of Blackmoor..."
The only description of Maragaine was given in the first post. The powers of the Regalia are lift up to the DM.

Oh my. Oh, my oh my....

... Silva reached into her robe and produced a pale yellow-gold stone, mounted in silver, dangling from a delicate chain about her neck....
...Her lower arm adorned with a network of brightly glowing metal, an impossibly intricate pattern of weaves and sworls and braids, radiating from a brightly glowing reddish crystal set along the top of her wrist....

Atop the pile of rubble, jammed up against the northern section of wall and partially hidden in shadow is a worn leather sack. Though old, it has not been there long, based on the lack of dust or debris atop it.

Jasna was nearly through the gap when she had a change of heart and chose to go back to save the others in the dungeons below. She was interrupted by a kobold patrol, and is currently hiding in Room 12. Jasna’s Hoard: The sack contains two bundles of oilcloth: one holds a jewel-encrusted sheath (moonstones, opals, and rubies, 175 gpv); the other holds a silver circlet, its lace-like pattern of impossibly intricate silver threads woven around three large moonstones set along the front (1,500 gpv) DMs wishing to introduce Blackmoorian artifacts as part of Bargle’s research may substitute a Val’kira circlet for the tiara in Jasna’s horde. Her dagger would likewise be substituted for a red- dragonstone-bejeweled Spellshear knife +1.

Now I'm scaring me

[Morfie]

I saw the title of this thread and read it as Margarine..

[Havard]

I saw the title of this thread and read it as Margarine..

-Havard

[Havard]

Most likely Maragaine married Uther's son, or a later descendant. The bit about restoring Blackmoor to glory would also suggest that she ruled at a time when Blackmoor was in fact at a point in its history where it was quite powerful.

Or perhaps Uther's sister? After Uther passed away apprently with no heir, Maragaine claimed the throne. However, when Uther's son with Rissa appears out of nowhere, she is dethroned, leading to Maragaine's insanity? I could see some Elizabeth/Mary Queen of Scots type rivalry going on here?

-Havard

[RobJN]

Most likely Maragaine married Uther's son, or a later descendant. The bit about restoring Blackmoor to glory would also suggest that she ruled at a time when Blackmoor was in fact at a point in its history where it was quite powerful.

Or perhaps Uther's sister? After Uther passed away apprently with no heir, Maragaine claimed the throne. However, when Uther's son with Rissa appears out of nowhere, she is dethroned, leading to Maragaine's insanity? I could see some Elizabeth/Mary Queen of Scots type rivalry going on here?

-Havard

Snippity-snip for future Crystal Chronicle exploration...

[Havard]

Snippity-snip for future Crystal Chronicle exploration...

Cool,
you might also be interested in looking up some of the MMRPG epsiodes then, where Uther's Cousin is introduced. Could he be Maragaine's son?

-Havard

[jacquesriesling]

I wondered if Uther's kid was "the one not yet born" named in the Afridhi/Well of Souls prophecy. It could be a reference to Rissa's progeny as well.

[Havard]

I wondered if Uther's kid was "the one not yet born" named in the Afridhi/Well of Souls prophecy. It could be a reference to Rissa's progeny as well.

Indeed, that seems likely. And of course, Rissa's progeny and Uther's child may very well be the same person...?

-Havard

[Yaztromo]

Maragaine could be a Fey Queen. This way, she could be a Queen of Blackmoor before Uther, like we had other kings and queens of Elves etc. while Blackmoor was still a Barony and not yet a Kingdom.
A bit of a long shot, but...

[Zeromaru X]

On the other hand, she can be living in the Age of the Wolf. Maragaine can be a broodmother (eww), and that can explain her insanity and evilness.

[Yaztromo]

Actually, Elves have Kings and Queens during Blackmoor timeline, so Maragaine could be an Elf Queen, perhaps mother of King Uhlmar...

[Yaztromo]

...or perhaps she could be superimposed to the Black Queen of the Westryn...

[Aldarron]

So looking at this from the perspective of the Oeridian Record timeline (more herehttps://boggswood.blogspot.com/2019/09/ ... ecord.html ) I think the best solution is to see her as a cousin of Uther and heir to Ra-all.

There is a bit of a gap between the FFC and the events of GPoD where Bakula is head of the Regency Council that are pretty fuzzy. We know that there is a king in place in Vestfold during the years of the FFC and the only such king mentioned is Ra-all. (FFC 1980 p 21)

Blackmoor is at its best/strongest at the time between Ra-All and Rua Morgaiste, and in that time period Uther was the last king of Blackmoor. (He dies without heir in 1055 according to the MMRPG final season). So theoretically Maragaine should fit in there somewhere.

Bakula might or might not be King at the time of GPoD - all we know for sure is that he is head of the Regency Council. Since Maragaine is basically evil, but we don't really have any indication of an oppressive ruler in this period of Blackmoor history, it seems to me that she could have left the running of her kingdom up to her cousin Baron Bakula. So I have postulated that she is the daughter of Ra-all and "rules" between Ra-all and Uther, dying without heir. Normally Bakula would be the heir apparent, but we know that Uther's father is killed in an ambush, and if Bakula is Uther's father, as seems reasonable, Uther is next in line to the throne at vestfold and the baronage at Blackmoor after his father. He then becomes King in 1015 (371 CY of Greyhawk)