Yea, in my current Git'riban campaign, Vlaakith is presumed dead by most, because nobody can get near Tu'narath. The dragon pact is officially broken, but one bloc of githyanki, the Cult of Tiamat, maintains it, and a de facto cool war exists between various power blocs.
Campaign Modes vs. Epic Story Arcs
Something I notice paging through is that we keep confusing campaign modes (that is, parameters for a game setting) with story arcs (that is, modules and adventures that happen within a game setting).
Once we establish which modes and adventures are interesting to people, maybe we can take a stab at divvying them out for a first draft. Different authors could tackle the different campaign modes and could certainly start work on the adventures.
As far as I have been able to glean, the Campaign Modes that have been debated are...
[*]Vlaakith is alive. Well, now we're back to the default setting presented in much of 3E. Dull, but it doesn't make waves.
[*]Vlaakith is dead, the Red Dragon Alliance Still Stands. This seems to be the best "default" mode. Githyanki have factionalized but the reds are still there to support them on the Prime. It has major changes but does not rock the whole structure to its' core, and allows the reds to step up a little and do more for the alliance than just be mounts. Just who is in possession of the Scepter is a matter of debate, but in all probability, the highest levels of the remaining Astral military has it.
[*]The Scepter of Ephelomon is Broken. Vlaakith is dead, and the alliance is broken. Big troubles. This is probably the most politically and socially chaotic mode. Duthka'gith are probably choosing sides between the reds and the Githyanki. Some young reds still bear loyalty but the older ones have shuffled off to find better things to do. Tiamat and Ephelomon's reactions are unclear.
[*]Astral War. With the majority of their military trapped on the prime, the fractious Githyanki are set upon by an outside force which has caused the various Githyanki factions to put aside their problems and defend themselves. Suggestions have included Illithids and Githzerai as well as Fiends or even Primes. Though Tu'nanarth seems safe for now, many smaller cities in the Astral have fallen or come under heavy seige. The tables are turned on the Githyanki, and they have now become the hunted.
Then, there are ideas that are more clearly Story Arcs, such as...
[*]A royalist faction proclaims they've found Vlaakith's heir.
[*]A powerful Githyanki arrives in Tu'Nanarth, claiming to be Gith herself.
[*]The Scepter of Ephelomon is missing, and must be found.
[*]Vlaakith is in the process of regenerating herself.
[*]Reunificationists make a move to end the millennia of hostilities between the Githyanki and Githzerai.
Does that sound about right, as a summary of Campaign Modes and proposed mid-to-epic level adventures?
- 373 reads
Mon, 2007-11-19 10:15
#3
Campaign Modes vs. Epic Story Arcs
Tue, 2007-11-20 16:39
#4
Campaign Modes vs. Epic Story Arcs
What I see:
Vlaakith is dead. Cue rumors about her returning, or never having been quite destroyed properly, or having orchestrated the whole thing. Mostly as far as we're concerned, she's out of the picture.
The Dragon Pact is broken. One sect of githyanki cling to their loyalty to Tiamat as the one source of legitimate authority from the old days. The duthka'gith, to name one significant bloc. They still benefit from the alliance with the red dragons. They're basically evil, kill-happy maniacs bent on bringing fiery holocaust to everyone and everything. No one really likes them, but they have dragons, so they don't go down easily.
Although I love the image of githyanki Astral galleons flying past each other in some kind of nightmarish Pirates-meets-Star Wars combination, it's probably a bad idea to actually put a raging conflict at the middle of this. I'd say that there was some open fighting at first while the groups established themselves, and some groups may be openly hostile toward certain other groups, but open military operations are controlled. They're into raiding and power-grabbing, not full-out warfare.
It's the same principles as Eberron not being set during the Last War. It'd make the whole shebang about one specific thing and that conflict would drown out any other coolness that could be brought in. Tensions are high, and the course of any campaign could lead back to war, but for now characters can do right by trying to maintain the current standstill.
If the githyanki are under seige, I'd rather it be the illithids than someone else. Githzerai could be doing something else cool right now, but I'd like to see what the squid-heads can muster when it comes to trying to re-assert their domination over their little wayward pets. What do the illithids do when they get a chance to actually step out of the shadows and do something bold and risky? It's an unusual move for the traditional always-a-conspirator-never-a-bride villains.
I think as far as official 'canon' on this site goes, Vlaakith is dead.
Personally I go with the Git'riban way of things, since I'm playing in that campaign -- Vlaakith is dead (or at least presumed dead), the Dragon Pact is broken, but there isn't open war (yet).
BoGr Guide to Missile Combat:
1) Equip a bow or crossbow.
2) Roll a natural 1 on d20.
3) ?????
4) Profit!