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I'm preparing to start a campaign based on the githyanki incursion. The general plan is for 4 parts to the campaign:
1. Start with "Into the Silver Realm" from Dungeon 43, retrofitted with the red dragon lair from Draconomicon web enhancement. This leads to a raid on the (prime) githyanki fortress from Module OP1. Incursion plans are discovered.
2. The PCs defend their homeland in several prime-based incursion missions related to gith forces gating in.
3. The PCs are sent to perform several commando missions on the Astral Plane to shut down gates. Included will be "Interlopers of Ruun-Khazai". PCs in tight cooperation with the Githzerai. The final astral Gate explodes during a climactic battle.
4. PCs awaken to discover themselves captured, ending up on Tunarath in prison (from Dark Sun module "Black Spine"). PCs escape and move on to "The Lich-Queen's Beloved"
As you can see, parts 1 and 4 are pretty well defined. Part 2 is a complete mystery, and part 3 has holes.
Does anyone have any suggestions for other pieces to this campaign, from Dungeon or otherwise? I'm particularly stuck on part 2. I'm sure there are other adventures that deal with otherplanar invasions (or even regular invasions), but I couldn't find any. I have several other githyanki-based adventures that don't quite fit in yet (Death of Lashimire - Dungeon 116, Fedifensor - Dragon 67, Citadel of Gith Reborn from Vortex of Madness). I've honestly got all of the githyanki source material available (PS GTTAP and others, Dragon 309, etc.), but what I really need are the ideas to connect all these cool parts of the story arc.
Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks!
I can't believe I have a typo on the subject of my first post...sheesh
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Here's one to try driving around the block, I don't know.
I was thinking about an incursion game a few years ago, then my son was born, and I had my own incursion campaign to deal with.
I was thinking about a 3rd race of gith, living on either the ethereal or plane of shadow, with "ninja" tendancies like the githyanki (IMO) loosely resemble samurai, and the githzerai(IMO)loosely resemble shaolin monks. And they're secretive as all get out; it's why nobody's ever even heard of them.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Here's one to try driving around the block, I don't know.
I was thinking about an incursion game a few years ago, then my son was born, and I had my own incursion campaign to deal with.
I was thinking about a 3rd race of gith, living on either the ethereal or plane of shadow, with "ninja" tendancies like the githyanki (IMO) loosely resemble samurai, and the githzerai(IMO)loosely resemble shaolin monks. And they're secretive as all get out; it's why nobody's ever even heard of them.
That is a very cool idea. Good use of the ninja class.
Pick up a copy of Dungeon issue 100 and Dragon 309. It's basically an incursion setting including monsters, prestige classes, histories and other such from the Summer of 03.
Oh, and don't forget to check out:
http://paizo.com/dragon/resources#v5748eaic9jru
Yes, I have those. There part where I'm stuck is adventures that can lead up to "Lich-Queen's Beloved".
I'd make the transition to the Lich Queen's Beloved proactive. Much of the overall plot arc is reactive: discover the invasion then react to the various elements of the incursion, get caught and imprisoned and do a prison break, etc.
Maybe they actually end the threat of the invasion BEFORE they get to Lich Queen's Beloved. They find some way to kick the githyanki off their world and shut and bar the gates for a good long while. Of course, a good long while will end someday... So maybe (they think) we need to go to the source of the problem and solve it once and for all. More Queen of the Demonweb Pits than Age of Worms.
Maybe, in fact, they are dealing with consequnces of the last attempt to invade. The door got slammed shut back then too. But the githyanki have eternity to wait out there in the Astral, and then door is opening again.
Which brings up the point of why the Lich Queen is so dead set on conquering this particular world out of the infinity of those that are easier to access. Maybe this is the original world of Gith and her rebellion (as suggested above). Maybe the other races descended (from Gith's rebelsperhaps including the gith-something ninja guys) have a vested interest in keeping the githyanki from this world and have been/need to be instrumental in shutting the world off (again).
Thanks very much for all the excellent suggestions!
I'll definitely check out the Warcraft3 scenarios. Sounds like exactly what I need. I still wonder if there are some D&D published adventures along these lines. But considering the scale of a world-invasion war, maybe the format of the individual D&D module is too limited to address something so big at the granular level I'm looking for here. Your specific suggestions are absolutely spot-on, and hopefully I can pull off the feeling of glimpses of a much larger war that you described.
As to proactive versus reactive -- you're absolutely right. Getting the players involved in driving the plot is much better than dragging them along. I'll definitely have to think about how to entice the PCs into the long journey towards a final confrontation with Vlaakith. I wonder how I can frame that opportunity in such a way as to make it irresistible, and have it happen fairly early on (end of part 2?).
I'll have to revisit Q1 and see how they did it. This is really helpful.
Don't forget Seekers of the Silver Forge from Dungeon 125.
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Here's one to try driving around the block, I don't know.
I was thinking about an incursion game a few years ago, then my son was born, and I had my own incursion campaign to deal with.
I was thinking about a 3rd race of gith, living on either the ethereal or plane of shadow, with "ninja" tendancies like the githyanki (IMO) loosely resemble samurai, and the githzerai(IMO)loosely resemble shaolin monks. And they're secretive as all get out; it's why nobody's ever even heard of them.
In my campaign setting, which is primarily Forgotten Realms, but has incorporated Rokugan to the east, alongside Kara-Tur, I actually have the Gith in the Shadowlands. They are immune to the taint. The Githyanki have taken up samurai regalia ... stained and blackened with Taint, and the Githzerai are more into subterfuge, along with their typical monastic direction. My campaign has a great a powerful artifact hidden away deep in the Shadowlands and both sides are fighting to locate it.
In my campaign setting, which is primarily Forgotten Realms, but has incorporated Rokugan to the east, alongside Kara-Tur, I actually have the Gith in the Shadowlands. They are immune to the taint. The Githyanki have taken up samurai regalia ... stained and blackened with Taint, and the Githzerai are more into subterfuge, along with their typical monastic direction. My campaign has a great a powerful artifact hidden away deep in the Shadowlands and both sides are fighting to locate it.
That sounds very familiar to my campaign, as far as placing Rokugan in Toril. Rokugan replaced Kara Tur, though, as I don't have any Kara-Tur materials (and 3E Oriental Adventures was lacking in mentioning it at all).
Can you reveal what artifact it is, without spoiling it or revealing too much? I've used the Anvil of Despair to great effect.
Excellent suggestions. Thank you.
You bring up an excellent point about fighting too many githyanki. Part 1 will be milking the sudden unexpected appearance of the githyanki in the red ragon lair, and then a prime fortress/hatchery chock full of low to medium level githyanki. Part 4 features mostly the Duthka'gith (red dragon githyanki hybrids), githyanki undead, and Vlaakith. But it would be very wise to mix it up in parts 2 & 3 so that fighting githyanki doesn't get boring. I will be using the widest possible range of githyanki (all the gith prestige classes, psionics, etc.), but there's no doubt that will still get monotonous if not handled carefully. Having a more nearby githyanki ally, and seeding division between the two, is a fantastic idea that both adds complexity and realism, while also managing fun across the campaign. Brilliant.
One part of part 3 (or 4?) that I just came up with is an assault on an astral githyanki fortress from "Into the Silver Realm" from Dungeon 43. (There should be at least one of these in the story somewhere.) The hook here is that an ally (githzerai) magically disguises the PCs as githyanki, and the PCs must complete their missions while avoiding combat, conversations, etc. due to the overwhelming odds. That's how it was written in that module, and it might be nice as a change from all the combat. Plus, it gives the PCs an up-close look at the bad guys. And it probably will allow less utilized characters to step to the forefront as the tanks are briefly prevented from doing what comes naturally. (For example, a ranger with gith as a favored enemy finds that skill useless when blowing his cover by fighting is suicidal).
Also, thanks for the FR-specific suggestions. Once I get the general plotline established, the campaign setting is the next big decision to make. And unfortunately, I'm not terribly fluent in the popular campaign settings, although I have the books available. Our past modules have not been heavily setting-oriented. But with a major war going on, the names and history of the locale will matter a lot this time. I'd be interested in hearing other suggestions regarding campaign settings and specific locations and personalities that might work well here.
I'll also look into the many other suggestions mentioned, as they all are really good ideas. Thanks for the help!
BTW, STAP = Savage Tide Adventure Path, right? Had to look that one up. I only have up to #135, but that issue does give an overview of the storyline.
On a tangent from the "possible enemies":
Is the party going to be getting any covert assistance from the mindflayers? They would sure love to see the githyanki empire fall... So would the githzerai. But finding out you had been working for/with illithids... <shudder>
...but finding out you had been working for/with illithids...
Heads would roll. At least in my party.
That was suggested in the magazine as well. I just don't see anyone volunteering for that, and to find out out after the fact would probably be worse. HOWEVER, it's a valid point that they would be highly interested in stopping any sort of githyanki power grab. The very definition of "strange bedfellows".
And depending on the party makeup, illithids would work better for evil-leaning characters than githzerai anyway. And in either case, revealing the true nature of the ally could be postponed until absolutely necessary. Interesting ideas.
So, any idea for astral excursions, other than the same old "storm the fortress" mission? "Interlopers of Ruun Khazai" is a variation on that, with the PCs and some githyanki scrambling for possession of an astral tower. And there will be one gith fortress scenario, but the players will be disguised as githyanki. Not sure if that's enough -- seems a bit light. Going straight from that into the Lich-Queen may be a bit abrupt.
Previously, it was mentioned that githyanki have been depicted using gear that is very reminiscent of classic oriental (japanese) gear, particularly in the 2E Planscape material. Does anyone have any opinions as to whether the oriental vibe works well with githyanki, or is it too mundane? In other words, are githyanki better served having truly otherworldly gear, or is un-european-medieval gear exotic enough? I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. Using existing oriental armor and such would allow me to easily use visual aids. The published docs generally don't even show githyanki wearing armor at all -- just wrappings.
* bump *
Any thoughts on any of this?
Hey what sorts of reasons do you all normally use to get the Gith to invade Faerun?
Ok well, here is my two cents since I just figured out just about the only way to play it out.
I don't really like or find the reason's given for an incursion campaign to make much sense, from Dragon 309. But I really like the idea.
Now here is my backstory:
#1, the proto Gith peoples were Draconic Humans with some 1/2 Dragons in the mix, bred by the Ithilid's for their usefullness in war.
When Gith visited Tiatmat to ask for aid, Tiatmat gave Vlaakalith the scepter of Ephemelon for three reason's,
#1, the Gith under the leadership of Gith would destroy themselves against the Ithilid's.
#2 they would aid Red Dragons, and therefore the Dragon Queen.
#3 She would convert Gith and then send Gith back to take back control of the Githyanki when the time was right, and that time is now because the DragonFall war has begun in earnest and Tiatmat needs her army, i.e. the Gith people.
So I would actually have two invasions, the first Led by Gith, and her Duthkagith legions, to aid evil dragon kind, including smashing the cult of the dragon, and a second invasion by Vlaakith designed to destroy the renegade/false Gith.
What does the book of nine swords have to do with anything discussed above? I'm reading it now, and I see no connection at all. Please enlighten us.
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Well the whole book screamed, "githyanki" at me.
And the Bloodstorm Blade prestige class was stolen from a sword-cult of githyanki warblades.
I was thinking that the entire incursion could be a githyanki quest to lay hold on all 9 of the swords, and a search for the hinted at 10th sword.
Then, you make secretive cabals of martial adepts the only ones hip to the whole incursion, and whammo!
Hmm...now that's an interesting idea. I can't quite see making all 9 swords githyanki silver swords, and the githyanki don't seem terribly interested in non-githyanki swords, but I do see where you're going with this. It certainly could fit in well if done right.
Ever since I saw "The Matrix," I've wanted to make a 10-level Astral prestige class (+1 Str, Dex, Con per level while astrally projected only) and play a Matrix-style campaign where characters project for Astral missions, with Githyanki (also with PrC levels) playimg the roles of the film's "agents" ... the campaign never quite got off the ground (too focused), but if the idea is of use to you, I submit it for your enjoyment.
I also had one where characters passed through a gate near the Rift Canyon to a planetoid where grimlock slaves mined IOUN stones for their illithid masters (grimlock guards were mounted on Large basilisks, and purple worms inhabited the planetoid interior); upon returning, the PCs were ambushed by a githyanki patrol (who were keeping an eye on the mind flayers) and brought to a githyanki fortress for interrogation by a psionic Knight-Inquisitor...