the 'what if' game

[Nightfire]

You forgot to post a question.

What if the Joseph bell never got delivered to Redwall Abbey?

[Icefire]

They would have had to keep beating that log!

What if Grath Longfletch had died in the massacre of her holt?

[Nightfire]

Viola Bankvole would have drowned.

What if the Deepcoiler had been able to go on land as well as in the sea?

[Icefire]

The badgers would have killed it long before it attacked the shrews

What if Slagar had tried to attack the abbey rather than kidnap the kids?

[James Gryphon]

Well, it depends on his method of operation.

His basic premise of sneaking in under the guise of players was a good one, so if we assume the plan works as before up until then, everyone would have been knocked out, and from there it should have been simple for him to kill everyone off.

However, I have the feeling that if Slagar was about to kill everyone in Redwall Abbey, Martin's spirit would intervene and wake up Matthias, and with his sword, he would easily make mincemeat out of Slagar and his entire band.

What if Martin didn't somehow survive at the end of Mossflower, and died as a result of the wounds inflicted on him by Tsarmina, thus resulting in a double-kill? How would this affect Redwall history?

[Tiria Wildlough]

There would not be half the Redwall books there are now, I guess. 
That's unthinkable! 
What if Ungatt Trunn had kept Salamandastron?

[James Gryphon]

If Brocktree perished fighting for Salamandastron, then Boar the Fighter's life and times would have been substantially different. As he would have gone to Salamandastron, there would have inevitably been a massive conflict waged between the Fighter and the aged wildcat ruler Ungatt Trunn, which would be a story too long to tell here. If we assume his eventual victory, Redwall history as we know it is virtually unchanged, except that Lord Boar, not Lord Brocktree, would be the best-remembered badger lord of history, and it would be his story that we read about, "Lord Boar", the tale of how Boar came to Salamandastron and recaptured it from the wildcats, instead of "Lord Brocktree".

If, however, Boar perished in this conflict, this spells disaster for Redwall history. If Boar isn't at Salamandastron, then there is no quest to Salamandastron for Martin to go on; hence Martin's sword will never be reforged, and the heroes will never capture Bloodwake, which means that Timballisto would not be freed, which means that Kotir would be just as invulnerable and immovable as Tsarmina predicted. The Corim would do their best, but in the end they would either succumb to the Thousand Eyes Army, or leave Mossflower country. There would probably still be an Abbey built by the Loamhedge mice, but it would not be located in Mossflower country, nor would it be known as Redwall (since they wouldn't have access to sandstone to build it with). The descendants of King Mortspear would rule over their domains, at Salamandastron and Kotir, into perpetuity.

What if Klitch survived (by not drinking the poisoned water), and escaped Salamandastron?

[Taggerung_of_Redwall]

He probably would have escaped while the victors were busy. After that, he would have gotten himself some sort of vermin gang/horde and done some damage to plenty of creatures.

What if Slagar hadn't killed Vitch? Always an interest to me ever since I first read Mattimeo

[Icefire]

Well, Vitch would probably have still unintentionally alerted the warriors to his presence and either Matthias or Orlando would have killed Slagar......Of course Slagar would still have had his weapon...He'd probably let it fly at Orlando (as he would seem the bigger threat) and, while Orlando was ducking it, Matthias would have had a short struggle with Slagar that would end in Slagar's death. And Orlando would then argue that he had prior claim to Slagar, but they'd make up in the end again because Slagar was already dead.

What if Martin's sword hadn't been reforged?

[Taggerung_of_Redwall]

Then someone doesn't know the use of good hard fallen star I guess. For the future though, Martin would have used a different sword. It's a weapon, and it can kill fine enough, regardless of its heritage.

What if the dibbuns in Marlfox hadn't taken to playing as 'Marmfloxes'?

[Icefire]

The book would have been slightly less interesting (but only slightly!)

What if Bucko hadn't "insulted" Dotti in Lord Brocktree?

[Nightfire]

Then he would still be acting like a jerk and Dotti would be a clueless haremaid.

What if Verdauga had poisened Tsarmina instead of the other way around?

[James Gryphon]

Well, that's kind of implausible since there's no reason for an adult, male wildcat to poison his daughter -- we can safely assume he's larger and stronger, so if he wanted to dispose of her, he could easily just kill her himself, or have his troops put her in prison just like they did with Gingivere.

That said, if Lord Greeneyes' reign continued and Tsarmina was out of the way, we wouldn't have had anything like what we saw in Mossflower. Martin would have been released from prison at the proper time, and with his nemesis Tsarmina taken care of, would have no need to seek vengeance on her. He may or may not have left the country. The Corim would likely not have had as much of a cause to revolt in the first place, since with only Lord Verdauga and Gingivere ruling Kotir, it's likely that their reign over Mossflower would be fair and relatively benevolent. If the Corim was still to fight, though, it's likely that Verdauga would put an end to it -- as it was Tsarmina already nearly won the war with what she had, and we know that under Verdauga, the army was much more disciplined and orderly, ready and suitable for warfare. Ashleg would not have needed to leave Verdauga's service, and would have probably remained distant second to the wildcat ruler.

So the revolt would not have happened, or if it did, the woodlanders would have lost the war just like they did the first time, and be forced to either leave the country or sue for peace.

Eventually, Lord Greeneyes would pass away and Gingivere would ascend to his father's throne. Under Gingivere's benevolent rule, and that of his descendants, the once menacing fortress Kotir would gain a reputation like Redwall's, and it's quite possible a new Abbey would never be built. Generations later, Lord Julian Gingivere, the last of the cat rulers of Kotir, would successfully defend Kotir and the country from the great warlord Cluny the Scourge. Martin's sword wouldn't exist as we know it, but there would be a very nice tapestry of the first of the good cat rulers, Lord Gingivere, hanging up in Kotir's hall.

What if Matthias didn't think to chop down the Bell, and instead went down the stairs to continue the duel with Cluny?

[Nightfire]

He would have been spike by Cluny's tail and poisinged, and Redwall Abbey would be toast.

What if Abbess Germaine had wanted to stay at Brockhall instead of building Redwall?

[rakkety tam]

then there would not be a book called mossflower

what if rakkety tams sheild wasnt sharp enough to kill gulo