Argrath and the Feathered Horse Queen unified Dragon Pass in 1632 and were its King and Queen for the next quarter-century, despite major counter-invasions from the Lunar Empire (which twice came close to overthrowing them but ultimately each invasion was a major disaster for the Empire).
The years 1632-1634 typify the early period of the Kingdom of Dragon Pass. Argrath and Inkarne jointly lead an alliance of tribes and cities – some which owe direct fealty to one or the other leader, some of which are merely allies. Argrath is also acknowledged as the paramount ruler in Heortland and is allied with Esrolia and Prax. Traditional arrangements in Sartar and the Grazelands are largely intact; however, his companions have been rewarded with rule over parts of Tarsh.
This kingdom is very rich, primarily from trade between allied Kethaela and the hostile Lunar Empire which all goes through Dragon Pass. The native Sartar tribal militia and the first initial units of the Sartar Free Army and the Sartar Magical Union, reinforced by Praxian nomads and some Holy Country volunteers, carried the weight of the early fighting. Argrath’s successes and personal achievements led his people to become a unified and armed state at the pinnacle of their rush to power. During this time many local peoples were allied to him as well, like the Grazelanders and the Tarsh Exiles.
After forcing the Lunar Empire out of Dragon Pass, the Kingdom of Dragon Pass enjoyed a prolonged period of relative peace from 1639-1643. Much of the Lunar Provinces were either directly subject to the Kingdom of Dragon Pass or were allied with it.
Thanks to the disruption of the Lunar invasion, many old tribal structures were broken even in Sartar, and new tribes were formed, usually around companions and magicians. The Kingdom’s revenues grew, largely through greater and more efficient taxation and tribute, which had been necessary during the reversals of 1635-1637.
As the lengthy war began to wear even upon the magically supported morale of the native populace, Prince Argrath was able to almost release them from their military responsibilities to him, letting them return to their homes and lands. Naturally, they continued to muster to the defense of their lands, but the brunt of the fighting even then was carried by the volunteers. The Sartar Free Army and Magical Union grew in importance. Militia units on campaign were paid as if mercenaries.
The later Kingdom of Dragon Pass (1647-1658) was radically changed from the earlier kingdom. Argrath and Inkarne directly ruled Dragon Pass and the Lunar Provinces, and much of Kethaela. Few tribes survived intact the second Lunar invasion of 1644-1646; some moved, others were replaced by new tribal groups. Argrath’s kingdom included Lunars, Lodrilli, and Solar worshipers. He also increasingly relied on his draconic alliances.
The kingdom was nearly constantly at war during this period, and was hit by many magical and natural disasters. The army by now consisted primarily of volunteers and mercenaries. Argrath’s friendship with the dragonewts extended to wyrms and even dream dragons. Such draconic allies were increasingly common in his later campaigns.
Note that the center of conflict steadily moved north during the Hero Wars. It started in Sartar and the Holy Country, moved to Tarsh, and then Saird and the Lunar Provinces. By the late Hero Wars, war was even in the Lunar Heartlands and Glamour.
BTW, this is not *new* material (although I doubt many have seen it). When we were putting together the Guide and then working on the new edition of RQ, Greg gave me his drafts for the Grand Argrath Campaign and all the earlier drafts going back to the late 1970s. Although the dates and chronologies changed a lot, what was very interesting is how much the core story of the Hero Wars remained constant – and most of the above could have been written as early as 1980 (although the final dates are from later).
The Principality of Sartar at Argrath’s acclamation has something south of 200k plus another 400k of Praxian allies (if you assume he can call upon all Praxians, which is probably a mistake).
The Kingdom of Dragon Pass has something around 900k humans, and somewhere around 2.5 million allied peoples. After the First Lunar War this goes up to 1.7 million plus 2.5 million allies – which means that it has a comparable (albeit smaller) manpower base to the Lunar Heartlands, enabling Argrath to recruit new armies. The same is true of the Lunar Empire, which replaces army after army. Of course these numbers are off – I am sure the wars reduce these numbers significantly, but are a starting point for comparison.
In the later Hero Wars, I am not even certain it makes sense to talk about the resources of the kingdom so much as the resources of the armies and magicians.