Battle of Hardbuckler

The Battle of Hardbuckler (Elient 21, 1492) was the penultimate battle of the Great Dragon War. The battle served as the Cult of the Dragon's last ditch effort to prevent the allied forces of the Council of Waterdeep from reaching the Well of Dragons. However, the Council of Waterdeep's superior numbers, and the forced retreat of the cult's high marshall, Amara the Green, by the Breadwinners, resulted in an unequivocal victory for the anti-cult alliance.

The Conflict

Prelude

Following the 1491 Baldur's Gate Uprising, gathering forces to oppose the Cult of the Dragon became the number one priority for the Lord's Alliance, Harpers, Order of the Gauntlet, and Emerald Enclave. During the majority of 1492, the Metallic Dragon Council, Zhentarim, Arcane Brotherhood, and the forces of Thay had joined the anti-cult alliance, largely thanks to the efforts of the Breadwinners.
In late Eleasis, these combined forces began their march from Daggerford to the Well of Dragons, located in the northern range of the Sunset Mountains. Within a few days, a forced march was ordered when the Council of Waterdeep realized that Hardbuckler would be the most likely site of a battle and that it would take far too long to besiege if the Cult of the Dragon captured it before they arrived. The Cult of the Dragon's initial plan was to summon Tiamat before the opposing army could arrive, but the army's fast pace quickly showed that decisive action would need to be taken to prevent any interference.
High Marshall Amara, who was recently promoted to be the Green Wyrmspeaker, was dispatched with a sizeable detachment of cult forces to the town of Battle of Hardbuckler to meet the Council of Waterdeep's forces. The town was located between two mountain passes, helping to nullify the advantage of superior numbers the Council of Waterdeep possessed.
Though large, the Council of Waterdeep's forces had no unified leader behind them. Instead, the body acted as many smaller armies cooperating in tandem. Spies had informed the alliance of the cult's plans to fight at Hardbuckler and the alliance prepared.

On the 21st of Elient, the Council of Waterdeep's forces arrived outside Hardbuckler, where the Cult of the Dragon was waiting for them.

Deployment

The Cult of the Dragon had inferior soldiers compared to the Council of Waterdeep's, but they had a few distinct advantages. High Marshall Amara the Green was widely recognized as a brilliant strategic mind. In addition, the cult's forces were unified, with Amara at the top of the hierarchy. Amara's strategy was simple. Utilize the narrow field of fighting to negate the opponent's advantages in numbers, use chromatic dragons to retain air control, and station her magic wielders behind the front lines to be used when needed. Amara herself set up her HQ on a mountainside that overlooked the battle, aided by a blue abishai that could relay real-time instructions to the battlefield. In addition, a small portion of the army was assigned to capture Hardbuckler to try and force the Council of Waterdeep into a protracted siege.
Compared to the Cult of the Dragon, the Council of Waterdeep's forces were much more chaotic. To simplify orders and command structures, the various armies were split into groups, composed of front-line soldiers and spellcasters to back them up. The divisions were as follows:

• Group A: Baldur's Gate (leader) and the Arcane Brotherhood
• Group B: Waterdeep (leader), Amphail, and the Red Wizards of Thay
• Group C: The Silver Marches (leader), Daggerford, and the Emerald Enclave
• Group D: Neverwinter (leader), the Order of the Gauntlet, and the Kingdom of the Woods

The creation of these groups was a heavily contested topic of conversation leading up to the battle. Neverwinter, Baldur's Gate, and Waterdeep each insisted on leading their own group. Neverwinter and the Arcane Brotherhood couldn't be paired together due to historical conflict between Neverwinter and Luskan. There was also concern about Group D not having a designated spell casting group, but it was believed that the superior archery displayed by the elves of the Kingdom of the Woods would offset any issues.
In addition, the metallic dragons would engage rival chromatic dragons in the air in a bid to prevent breath weapons from devastating the armies.
Approaching Hardbuckler, the soldiers of the Council of Waterdeep were tired after a forced march but eager to fight. Groups A, B, and D were positioned before the battle north to south while group C was held in reserve to reinforce any front that began faltering.
In addition, Harper spies had discovered the outcropping that High Marshall Amara was most likely using for her headquarters. In a highly important mission, the Breadwinners were tasked with reaching that outcropping and killing or capturing Amara to throw the cult's army into confusion. Unknown to the Breadwinners was that Amara herself leaked the location of her headquarters, hoping to kill the Breadwinners personally.

Battlefield

Thanks to the forced march, the Council of Waterdeep's armies arrived before the Cult of the Dragon had taken Hardbuckler. Therefore, the battle was fought predominately around the town, nestled in a canyon. The area was rocky, but mostly flat. Therefore, most of the cover that was created during the battle was the result of magic users on both sides.

The Engagement

The initial engagement happened at dawn on the 21st. Groups A, B, and D of the Council of Waterdeep's forces marched towards Battle of Hardbuckler, arranged North to South. Group C stayed in reserve. The Council of Waterdeep had fewer dragons than the Cult of the Dragon, so initial aerial engagements were kept to hit-and-runs, quick maneuvers designed to distract any dragons from attacking the ground forces.
The initial clash was cautious. Both sides opted to test each other's mettle before committing to any all out attacks, as this was the first time the two armies had met on the field of battle. Unbeknownst to the Cult of the Dragon, however, was that the Council of Waterdeep was attempting to bide their time for the Breadwinners' operation, though they knew that a more cautious attack benefited the Cult of the Dragon who only needed to stall for enough time to take Hardbuckler.
During the initial meeting of forces, the Breadwinners made their way through a series of tunnels to reach High Marshall Amara's headquarters. The Green Wyrmspeaker had prepared for this possibility, leading to the Breadwinners needing to fight through a massive tower and gate barricade, a kobold nest, and Amara's personal guard. The cave opened up onto a a cliff side overlooking the battlefield, where Amara had set up her tent. The Breadwinners challenged her to a fight, and the High Marshall revealed her true nature as a fallen asimar. Amara revealed that she had purposefully leaked the location of her headquarters to try and personally finish off the Breadwinners and the two sides clashed. Ultimately, after a brutal fight, Amara was teleported to safety by her abishai attendant, unable to kill her foes.
Following Amara's retreat, order eventually began breaking down on the battlefield. While Group B had been suffering the heaviest fighting, hampered by Amphail's inability to utilize their cavalry effectively in the narrow gorge, the Council of Waterdeep waited until they detected a weakness in the cult's lines before committing all their troops. That weakness was found with minutes of Amara's absence. A mostly kobold force that was engaged in combat with the Flaming Fist over committed to a charge. Without coordinated assistance, the charge faltered and was cut down, opening a hole in the cult's lines. Group A exploited this hole, pouring troops in and sending the cult's battle lines into chaos and, in short order, a general retreat.
Now on the offensive, the reserve forces of Group C were committed to the battle, determined to cut down as many fleeing forces as possible during the rout. This resulted in the lopsided casualties from the battle, as most of the cult's forces were unable to effectively fight back, the entire battle breaking down into individual engagements. The fighting continued into the mid-afternoon until the forces of the Council of Waterdeep were recalled to Hardbuckler.
In the air, the engagements between the two types of dragons was intense. The chromatic dragons had superior numbers but operated as individual combatants while the metallic dragons worked in teams to cover one another. Aside from an occasional breath weapon attack on the ground, fighting in the air predominately stayed in the air.
During the rout, the chromatic dragons' inability to work together was to their detriment and, thanks to the cooperation of the metallic dragons, 3 chromatic dragons were slain as opposed to only one copper dragon that fell during the initial engagement.

Outcome

The battle was a success for the Council of Waterdeep, though not a perfect one. The escape of High Marshall Amara was an unfortunate failure, as denying the Cult of the Dragon  her leadership and military experience  would have dealt them a massive blow. In addition, Amara wore the Belt of the Green Dragon during her confrontation with the Breadwinners. Had the adventurers acquired it, they not only could have enhanced their own abilities but further increased the time it would take to summon Tiamat by removing a piece of the Armor of Tiamat from the ritual.
The gnomes of Hardbuckler felt indebted to the Council of Waterdeep for arriving before their city was taken and offered to help heal and feed the army as much as they possibly could. The complete rout also allowed the army take a much needed break, one they had not had since they began their forced march.

Aftermath

With the Council of Waterdeep's victory, the pathway to the Well of Dragons was open. In a little over a tenday, the Council of Waterdeep and the Cult of the Dragon would clash in the Battle at the Well of Dragons, the final battle of the Great Dragon War.
The Battle of Hardbuckler proved that the Council of Waterdeep had to superior fighting force on the ground, but its leaders knew this was not an adequate gauge of the army's skill when faced with the true threat of fighting the chromatic dragons that would be guarding the Well of Dragons and began training their soldiers quickly in anti-dragon combat.
High Marshall Amara also learned lessons from this battle. It was clear that, despite the Council of Waterdeep's decentralized nature, her opponent's soldiers were better trained and equipped than hers, not to mention that they possessed superior numbers. In planning for the upcoming battle, Amara began incorporating her draconic allies into her battle plans, hoping their ruthlessness and fearful aura would be enough to stall the Council of Waterdeep long enough for Tiamat to arrive and destroy them all.

Historical Significance

Legacy

The Battle of Hardbuckler is often forgotten about when discussing the climax of the Great Dragon War, due to its lower body count and proximity to the Battle at the Well of Dragons. Predominant discussion about the battle often focuses on the way it played into the strategies showcased in the Battle at the Well of Dragons, such as the cult's reliance on dragons.
However, a subset of historians have argued in favor of the Battle of Hardbuckler as the moment the Great Dragon War was truly over. Once the Cult of the Dragon proved unable to delay the Council of Waterdeep from arriving at the Well of Dragons, then the later battle was simply clean-up. Other historians argue that such a view trivializes the sacrifices made in the later battle and how narrowly the Breadwinners were able to avoid Tiamat's summoning.
The Battle of Hardbuckler would also fundamentally shift Amara the Green's views on how the Cult of the Dragon should operate. As one of the only two wyrmspeakers to survive the Battle at the Well of Dragons, Amara began to believe that the cult's interests could best be served through clandestine and underground operations, as it will never have enough popular support to operate in the open. This stood in direct contrast with Galvan the White and would ultimately sow the seeds of the Cult of the Dragon Civil War.

In Literature

Like all things related to the Breadwinners, the definitive telling of their exploits during this battle can be found in the Wrath of Dragons, Esme Heavensong's comprehensive recounting of their adventures.

Included under Conflict

Great Dragon War

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

21st of Elient, 1492

Ending Date

21st of Elient, 1492

Conflict Result

Decisive victory for the Council of Waterdeep; path to the Well of Dragons opened

Location

Hardbuckler

Belligerents

Anti-Dragon Cult Alliance

• Arcane Brotherhood
• Breadwinners
• Council of Waterdeep
• Emerald Enclave
• Harpers
• Lords' Alliance
• Metallic Dragon Council
• Order of the Gauntlet
• Red Wizards
• Silver Marches
• Zhentarim

Led by

• Dagult Neverember
• Laeral Silverhand
• Taern Hornblade
• Ulder Ravengard

Cult of the Dragon

• Cult of the Dragon

Led by

• Amara

Strength

Around 7,000 soldiers, comprised of:
2000 Flaming Fist
1000 soldiers of the Silver Marches
1500 members of the Waterdeep Guard
200 soldiers and lancers from Amphail
1200 members of the Neverwinter Guard
800 members of the Order of the Gauntlet
300 archers from the Kingdom of the Woods
50 members of the Arcane Brotherhood
35 Red Wizards of Thay
130 members of the Emerald Enclave
Around 10 metallic dragons

Around 5000 soldiers comprised of:
2000 cultists
700 kobolds 
200 guard drakes
Roughly 2000 mercenaries of various skills and races
Around 15 chromatic dragons of various types

Casualties

Around 300 soldiers killed
More than 800 injured
1 copper dragon killed

Around 900 killed
At least 1000 injured
3 dragons killed

Objectives

Clear a path to the Well of Dragons Prevent the capture of Hardbuckler

Buy time for Tiamat's summoning
Capture and hold Hardbuckler