Darkstalker Wars

The 'Darkstalker Wars' were a series of battles between the various guild thieves and assassins of Calimshan in the wake of the death of Bhaal. They were the first major event of the Tenth Age of Calimshan.

Bhaal, the god of murder, was killed at the hands of Cyric during the Time of Troubles. All Bhaal-worshiping assassins died themselves of mystical causes in the wake of his death. The criminal underworld in Calimshan was thrown into utter turmoil as the Shadow Thieves, whose assassins, including the entire ruling council of the guild, almost universally worshipped Bhaal, tried to consolidate their sudden loss in power by drastically reorganizing their remaining operatives.

Rashid el Djenispool, the syl-pasha of Calimshan at the time, had long tolerated the Shadow Thieves, as battling a single criminal element in his nation was, in many ways, easier than combatting several different factions at once. The Shadow Thieves had direct control of almost all crime in Calimshan until Bhaal's death whereupon the other guilds and freelancers felt the need to take their place in the power vacuum that had been created. A tense ceasefire ensued, with business as usual continuing between the nine largest criminal organizations operating at the time. They shared out jobs in a way that abated direct conflict for two years but this peace was destined to be disrupted. Various governmental figures tried to reign in the factions but their meddling only caused the delicate peace to be shattered. The Darkstalker Wars dealt grievous blows to the nine main factions participating, four of whom were unwitting pawns of the Twisted Rune.

Casualties were severe for the remaining Shadow Thieves, whose former operatives not officially affiliated with them turned on their former masters along with those who resented the recent complete control that the guild previously had on crime. The Dark Daggers were also almost completely wiped out by the other factions who joined forces to eliminate them. The Dark Daggers were a guild controlled by the drow and the other factions much preferred the idea of crime being controlled by surfacers rather than the dark elves.

The Darkstalker Wars were used as cover to perform various other assassinations and robberies which could easily be blamed on the criminal factions such as the Rundeen or Shadow Thieves. They also led to the rise to power of Ralan el Pesarkhal.