Githyanki Incursion [Archive] - Wizards Community

Githyanki Incursion [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
SMW
08-12-04, 05:18 AM I have been running Eberron since it came out, like alot of you, and have run through The Forgotten Forge and Shadows of the Last War with my group, as well as introducing a 'heretic' of the Church of the Silver Flame that believes shifters are the last link to lycanthropes to threaten Khorvaire, and have taken it upon themselves to destroy them (they are small, and currently are the major nemesis of the party).

However, I have slowly been introducing (well, the first one introduced was a few nights ago) githyanki scout parties, coming in from the astral plane to scout out Eberron, and especially Khorvaire, to gain information so that the githyanki can eventually conquer it in the name of Vlaakith.

As of current, the party has no concept of what is happening (the players may, but they have not mentioned anything about it), other than the fact that they were attacked by a near human 'adventuring party', as they called them, outside of Sharn.

But, getting to the point, finally... How should I begin making it slightly obvious (but still somewhat foggy), that an extradimensional empire has their eyes set on Eberron? Should I just have them adventure for awhile longer, maybe until after Whispers of the Vampire's Blade comes out, occasionally encountering scouting patrols of varying makeup and power, and then throw the invasion full force onto Khorvaire, or what? Any opinion is welcome, though I would prefer no "WTF LAME DON'T THROW THE GITHYANKI AT KHORVAIRE DHSFKSJFSFGIFASG!" heh.

Also, I have run an extensive Dragonstar Campaign that I thaught of one day introducing into Eberron, and in that, the Githyanki had technological warships infused with the "stuff" (energy and whatnot) of the astral plane, and also made incursions into the Dragon Empire. I was pondering using their heavily magic space vessels instead of the astral skiffs in Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, to maintain a sense of continuity between my campaigns (something I enjoy doing), and opinions on this are also asked of :)

Thanks ahead of time!
Kid SixXx
08-12-04, 08:54 AM The Githyanki incursion angle was pretty high-level so I really wouldn't introduce it until much later.

As far as getting the rumblings across to the PC's, you could always use your current intro angles, have the Githyanki establish bases of operations in someplace remote like Xen'Drik, or even have the Githyanki take a page from the FR Red Wizards current playbook, & attempt to forge mercantile alliances with some of the nations that they eventually intend to take over.

Check out the Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man. That's a pretty good outline for the "alien race as wolf in sheep's clothing" scenario.

Your most obvious adventure hook would be the Lord of Blades. I'm sure he'd work a deal with the incursion in exchange for a large parcel of land he could turn into the Warforged home state.

If the LoB finds out that he'll eventually be betrayed (naturally), you could even use the LoB as a temporary ally of the PC's, which would be a nice pulp adventure touch to throw in when the endgame arrives.

Also, I hope you give House Lyrandar a sizeable piece of involvement in your story.

IMHO, this tale would not be complete without the cinematic awe of a flotilla of House Lyrandar airships facing off against an armada of Githyanki Voidrakers as the PC's draw closer to the portal that will lead them to the Astral Plane for the final battle!
sh0
08-12-04, 09:05 AM I like this...consider the idea stolen!

I would have the gith drop some strange planar equipment such as armor/weapons in a strange design. The players could take it to one of the universities and the professors would be amazed at the foreign objects and could start dopping hints about their origin. I would also make it a long story arc, so they players are hunting down, researching this gith invasion for many experience levels.
Guttercrawl
08-12-04, 09:19 AM First off ---- great idea for using the Gith Incursion.

Now if you really want to be true to the Gith ---- the invasion should be swift & precise. Involving the Lord of Blades would be a master stroke but I don't believe the Gith would even bother. The heroes could be any level during the invasion provided you have enough contingenvies to help if they're low level. I guess it's up to you as the DM & your intentions.

If your want to conquer Eberron, the Gith are good but the Empire would be better. Bringing your Dragonstar & Eberron campaigns together would be fun & challenging. But ---- if the Empire moves in ----- Eberron is done. Plain & simple.
SMW
08-12-04, 05:50 PM Originally posted by Kid SixXx
The Githyanki incursion angle was pretty high-level so I really wouldn't introduce it until much later.

As far as getting the rumblings across to the PC's, you could always use your current intro angles, have the Githyanki establish bases of operations in someplace remote like Xen'Drik, or even have the Githyanki take a page from the FR Red Wizards current playbook, & attempt to forge mercantile alliances with some of the nations that they eventually intend to take over.

Check out the Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man. That's a pretty good outline for the "alien race as wolf in sheep's clothing" scenario.

Your most obvious adventure hook would be the Lord of Blades. I'm sure he'd work a deal with the incursion in exchange for a large parcel of land he could turn into the Warforged home state.

If the LoB finds out that he'll eventually be betrayed (naturally), you could even use the LoB as a temporary ally of the PC's, which would be a nice pulp adventure touch to throw in when the endgame arrives.

Also, I hope you give House Lyrandar a sizeable piece of involvement in your story.

IMHO, this tale would not be complete without the cinematic awe of a flotilla of House Lyrandar airships facing off against an armada of Githyanki Voidrakers as the PC's draw closer to the portal that will lead them to the Astral Plane for the final battle!

Of course House Lyrandar would have a great piece of involvement.. how else would Eberron fight against the Githyanki vessels? :P I have alot of grand cinematic scenes running through my mind for when the group is around 18th level (and high enough to go against the Lich-Queen through that adventure in Dungeon). For now, Gith are in the background, the only words they said in the first encounter were "Primes! Kill them all!"... and then the Gith all died (But they took Slubb, the poor 4 intelligence shifter barbarian PC with them. Slubb like beer.)

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't think I would ever throw the actual Dragon Empire at Eberron until I either A) ran out of other ideas or B) felt that it would liven up the game and the party would enjoy it. Although, I am sure my Githyanki vessels will be my Dragonstaresque ships, with some technology (which really, is alien by a great deal to Eberron's supermagic-centric world), but mostly magical infused weapons, like fireball cannons and whatnot. (Though my Gith never used guns, even in Dragonstar.. just some minor technological personal devices, and their warships.)
Neofish
08-13-04, 07:23 PM Ya'know the Gith incursion could always be linked to the prophecy.

plus the Gatekeepers would play a major hand in a incursion game as they are charged with preventing this kinda stuff from happining in the first place. and i could see a Gatekeeper druid being sent to every nation to help fight the Gith.

But can Khovarie survive another war....
peterson
08-14-04, 08:42 PM I've also considered doing the Gith Invasion idea, but wanted to get the group (and myself) used to Eberron before using it.

Still, I struggled with how to "clue" the characters in and this is what I came up with:

While adventuring/relaxing in Sharn, an old, hunched-over human male with an eyepatch and a pegleg hobbles out into your path. He stops suddenly, as if recongizing you, and slowly raises his bony hand to point at your group's leader.

"They are coming, you know. The skyraiders. They are coming from beyond the gray. Take heed."

Then, just as suddenly, the old man hobbles out of the characters' way.

Now, true, this is customized for maximum "WTF" results with my group, your milage may vary, but basically, this would intice my players to scramble after the old man - who just turned down a dark alley - and find......nothing.

Nothing? Nope - not a thing. Why? Because the polymorphed Silver Dragon just teleported back home - satisfied that he has completed his part in the Prophecy. Chaos and intrigue begins...

Just my thoughts on the matter,

Peterson
StinkyNutz
08-18-04, 04:44 PM Great idea for higher level adventures IMHO. But where is the Lich Queen adventure at (perhaps Dungeon or Dragon magazine?)?
Brastan
08-18-04, 06:01 PM This appears to be a common though. I have had such ideas as well. The Incursion as presented in Dragon Magazine is a compelling story arch involving political intrigue, spy-craft, covert actions, and all out open war. This fits better in to Eberron then most other settings in my view. By the time the invasion gets underway it should have been something like ten or so years since 998 YK (1020 KY bring the incursion into full swing). Or you could time it to contemporary history and the start of World War II. It works at low levels. I'm actually going to be introducing the Githyanki to my group in the near future after they finish my current story arc. I was thinking that they would eventually have to team up with the Blood of Vol and Vol herself. (They have become Real hard core Enemies)

I say start slow and build up as show in Dragon. Use each type of encouter once at the appropriate level. The Players shouldn't get what's going on especially if they have five or six other evil force they are trying to stop while conducting their own business. Don't forget about the Red Dagon pact, this could be part of a Red Dragon's (singular) effort to influence the Prophecy.

The airship battles could be spectacular. :ayyyy!:

Thank you Kenith and the design team at Wizards for making such a rich but shiftable setting. :bow:

See Dragon #309 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy733u) for story line, Dungeon #100 (http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy72u2) for Lich-Queen adventurer (I need to back order that). Both are 3rd Revised (3.5)
SMW
08-19-04, 06:09 PM Originally posted by Brastan
This appears to be a common though. I have had such ideas as well. The Incursion as presented in Dragon Magazine is a compelling story arch involving political intrigue, spy-craft, covert actions, and all out open war. This fits better in to Eberron then most other settings in my view. By the time the invasion gets underway it should have been something like ten or so years since 998 YK (1020 KY bring the incursion into full swing). Or you could time it to contemporary history and the start of World War II. It works at low levels. I'm actually going to be introducing the Githyanki to my group in the near future after they finish my current story arc. I was thinking that they would eventually have to team up with the Blood of Vol and Vol herself. (They have become Real hard core Enemies)

I say start slow and build up as show in Dragon. Use each type of encouter once at the appropriate level. The Players shouldn't get what's going on especially if they have five or six other evil force they are trying to stop while conducting their own business. Don't forget about the Red Dagon pact, this could be part of a Red Dragon's (singular) effort to influence the Prophecy.

The airship battles could be spectacular. :ayyyy!:

Thank you Kenith and the design team at Wizards for making such a rich but shiftable setting. :bow:

See Dragon #309 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy733u) for story line, Dungeon #100 (http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy72u2) for Lich-Queen adventurer (I need to back order that). Both are 3rd Revised (3.5)

Half revised, anyway. Most of it is revised content, but some of it still refers to old stuff, like Githyanki Silver Swords, which have changed between the two editions. The invasion stuff still references old material. I don't know if there are any others, but its just something to look for.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
SMW 08-12-04, 05:18 AM	I have been running Eberron since it came out, like alot of you, and have run through The Forgotten Forge and Shadows of the Last War with my group, as well as introducing a 'heretic' of the Church of the Silver Flame that believes shifters are the last link to lycanthropes to threaten Khorvaire, and have taken it upon themselves to destroy them (they are small, and currently are the major nemesis of the party). However, I have slowly been introducing (well, the first one introduced was a few nights ago) githyanki scout parties, coming in from the astral plane to scout out Eberron, and especially Khorvaire, to gain information so that the githyanki can eventually conquer it in the name of Vlaakith. As of current, the party has no concept of what is happening (the players may, but they have not mentioned anything about it), other than the fact that they were attacked by a near human 'adventuring party', as they called them, outside of Sharn. But, getting to the point, finally... How should I begin making it slightly obvious (but still somewhat foggy), that an extradimensional empire has their eyes set on Eberron? Should I just have them adventure for awhile longer, maybe until after Whispers of the Vampire's Blade comes out, occasionally encountering scouting patrols of varying makeup and power, and then throw the invasion full force onto Khorvaire, or what? Any opinion is welcome, though I would prefer no "WTF LAME DON'T THROW THE GITHYANKI AT KHORVAIRE DHSFKSJFSFGIFASG!" heh. Also, I have run an extensive Dragonstar Campaign that I thaught of one day introducing into Eberron, and in that, the Githyanki had technological warships infused with the "stuff" (energy and whatnot) of the astral plane, and also made incursions into the Dragon Empire. I was pondering using their heavily magic space vessels instead of the astral skiffs in Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, to maintain a sense of continuity between my campaigns (something I enjoy doing), and opinions on this are also asked of :) Thanks ahead of time!
Kid SixXx 08-12-04, 08:54 AM	The Githyanki incursion angle was pretty high-level so I really wouldn't introduce it until much later. As far as getting the rumblings across to the PC's, you could always use your current intro angles, have the Githyanki establish bases of operations in someplace remote like Xen'Drik, or even have the Githyanki take a page from the FR Red Wizards current playbook, & attempt to forge mercantile alliances with some of the nations that they eventually intend to take over. Check out the Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man. That's a pretty good outline for the "alien race as wolf in sheep's clothing" scenario. Your most obvious adventure hook would be the Lord of Blades. I'm sure he'd work a deal with the incursion in exchange for a large parcel of land he could turn into the Warforged home state. If the LoB finds out that he'll eventually be betrayed (naturally), you could even use the LoB as a temporary ally of the PC's, which would be a nice pulp adventure touch to throw in when the endgame arrives. Also, I hope you give House Lyrandar a sizeable piece of involvement in your story. IMHO, this tale would not be complete without the cinematic awe of a flotilla of House Lyrandar airships facing off against an armada of Githyanki Voidrakers as the PC's draw closer to the portal that will lead them to the Astral Plane for the final battle!
sh0 08-12-04, 09:05 AM	I like this...consider the idea stolen! I would have the gith drop some strange planar equipment such as armor/weapons in a strange design. The players could take it to one of the universities and the professors would be amazed at the foreign objects and could start dopping hints about their origin. I would also make it a long story arc, so they players are hunting down, researching this gith invasion for many experience levels.
Guttercrawl 08-12-04, 09:19 AM	First off ---- great idea for using the Gith Incursion. Now if you really want to be true to the Gith ---- the invasion should be swift & precise. Involving the Lord of Blades would be a master stroke but I don't believe the Gith would even bother. The heroes could be any level during the invasion provided you have enough contingenvies to help if they're low level. I guess it's up to you as the DM & your intentions. If your want to conquer Eberron, the Gith are good but the Empire would be better. Bringing your Dragonstar & Eberron campaigns together would be fun & challenging. But ---- if the Empire moves in ----- Eberron is done. Plain & simple.
SMW 08-12-04, 05:50 PM	Originally posted by Kid SixXx The Githyanki incursion angle was pretty high-level so I really wouldn't introduce it until much later. As far as getting the rumblings across to the PC's, you could always use your current intro angles, have the Githyanki establish bases of operations in someplace remote like Xen'Drik, or even have the Githyanki take a page from the FR Red Wizards current playbook, & attempt to forge mercantile alliances with some of the nations that they eventually intend to take over. Check out the Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man. That's a pretty good outline for the "alien race as wolf in sheep's clothing" scenario. Your most obvious adventure hook would be the Lord of Blades. I'm sure he'd work a deal with the incursion in exchange for a large parcel of land he could turn into the Warforged home state. If the LoB finds out that he'll eventually be betrayed (naturally), you could even use the LoB as a temporary ally of the PC's, which would be a nice pulp adventure touch to throw in when the endgame arrives. Also, I hope you give House Lyrandar a sizeable piece of involvement in your story. IMHO, this tale would not be complete without the cinematic awe of a flotilla of House Lyrandar airships facing off against an armada of Githyanki Voidrakers as the PC's draw closer to the portal that will lead them to the Astral Plane for the final battle! Of course House Lyrandar would have a great piece of involvement.. how else would Eberron fight against the Githyanki vessels? :P I have alot of grand cinematic scenes running through my mind for when the group is around 18th level (and high enough to go against the Lich-Queen through that adventure in Dungeon). For now, Gith are in the background, the only words they said in the first encounter were "Primes! Kill them all!"... and then the Gith all died (But they took Slubb, the poor 4 intelligence shifter barbarian PC with them. Slubb like beer.) Thanks for the suggestions. I don't think I would ever throw the actual Dragon Empire at Eberron until I either A) ran out of other ideas or B) felt that it would liven up the game and the party would enjoy it. Although, I am sure my Githyanki vessels will be my Dragonstaresque ships, with some technology (which really, is alien by a great deal to Eberron's supermagic-centric world), but mostly magical infused weapons, like fireball cannons and whatnot. (Though my Gith never used guns, even in Dragonstar.. just some minor technological personal devices, and their warships.)
Neofish 08-13-04, 07:23 PM	Ya'know the Gith incursion could always be linked to the prophecy. plus the Gatekeepers would play a major hand in a incursion game as they are charged with preventing this kinda stuff from happining in the first place. and i could see a Gatekeeper druid being sent to every nation to help fight the Gith. But can Khovarie survive another war....
peterson 08-14-04, 08:42 PM	I've also considered doing the Gith Invasion idea, but wanted to get the group (and myself) used to Eberron before using it. Still, I struggled with how to "clue" the characters in and this is what I came up with: While adventuring/relaxing in Sharn, an old, hunched-over human male with an eyepatch and a pegleg hobbles out into your path. He stops suddenly, as if recongizing you, and slowly raises his bony hand to point at your group's leader. "They are coming, you know. The skyraiders. They are coming from beyond the gray. Take heed." Then, just as suddenly, the old man hobbles out of the characters' way. Now, true, this is customized for maximum "WTF" results with my group, your milage may vary, but basically, this would intice my players to scramble after the old man - who just turned down a dark alley - and find......nothing. Nothing? Nope - not a thing. Why? Because the polymorphed Silver Dragon just teleported back home - satisfied that he has completed his part in the Prophecy. Chaos and intrigue begins... Just my thoughts on the matter, Peterson
StinkyNutz 08-18-04, 04:44 PM	Great idea for higher level adventures IMHO. But where is the Lich Queen adventure at (perhaps Dungeon or Dragon magazine?)?
Brastan 08-18-04, 06:01 PM	This appears to be a common though. I have had such ideas as well. The Incursion as presented in Dragon Magazine is a compelling story arch involving political intrigue, spy-craft, covert actions, and all out open war. This fits better in to Eberron then most other settings in my view. By the time the invasion gets underway it should have been something like ten or so years since 998 YK (1020 KY bring the incursion into full swing). Or you could time it to contemporary history and the start of World War II. It works at low levels. I'm actually going to be introducing the Githyanki to my group in the near future after they finish my current story arc. I was thinking that they would eventually have to team up with the Blood of Vol and Vol herself. (They have become Real hard core Enemies) I say start slow and build up as show in Dragon. Use each type of encouter once at the appropriate level. The Players shouldn't get what's going on especially if they have five or six other evil force they are trying to stop while conducting their own business. Don't forget about the Red Dagon pact, this could be part of a Red Dragon's (singular) effort to influence the Prophecy. The airship battles could be spectacular. :ayyyy!: Thank you Kenith and the design team at Wizards for making such a rich but shiftable setting. :bow: See Dragon #309 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy733u) for story line, Dungeon #100 (http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy72u2) for Lich-Queen adventurer (I need to back order that). Both are 3rd Revised (3.5)
SMW 08-19-04, 06:09 PM	Originally posted by Brastan This appears to be a common though. I have had such ideas as well. The Incursion as presented in Dragon Magazine is a compelling story arch involving political intrigue, spy-craft, covert actions, and all out open war. This fits better in to Eberron then most other settings in my view. By the time the invasion gets underway it should have been something like ten or so years since 998 YK (1020 KY bring the incursion into full swing). Or you could time it to contemporary history and the start of World War II. It works at low levels. I'm actually going to be introducing the Githyanki to my group in the near future after they finish my current story arc. I was thinking that they would eventually have to team up with the Blood of Vol and Vol herself. (They have become Real hard core Enemies) I say start slow and build up as show in Dragon. Use each type of encouter once at the appropriate level. The Players shouldn't get what's going on especially if they have five or six other evil force they are trying to stop while conducting their own business. Don't forget about the Red Dagon pact, this could be part of a Red Dragon's (singular) effort to influence the Prophecy. The airship battles could be spectacular. :ayyyy!: Thank you Kenith and the design team at Wizards for making such a rich but shiftable setting. :bow: See Dragon #309 (http://paizo.com/dragon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy733u) for story line, Dungeon #100 (http://paizo.com/dungeon/products/issues/2003/v5748btpy72u2) for Lich-Queen adventurer (I need to back order that). Both are 3rd Revised (3.5) Half revised, anyway. Most of it is revised content, but some of it still refers to old stuff, like Githyanki Silver Swords, which have changed between the two editions. The invasion stuff still references old material. I don't know if there are any others, but its just something to look for.