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LibraryOgre
2019-05-02, 03:53 PM
(ported over from 5e (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?586942-Workshopping-the-Summer-Campaign), to give me a bit more room to play with it)

My basic plan is based off a forum post... namely, the Githyanki try to take over the Forgotten Realms.

I figure the PCs will be part of a larger battle... like, they'll be fighting on the local level, but the campaign will be global.

We start the party in a town near a marsh or swamp, preferably in the North (because I know it pretty well), though Cormyr has its attractions, too. First adventure involves a raid by lizardfolk and kobolds, possibly stealing someone or something valuable, for obscure reasons. After the party defeats that, which will have some githyanki support (even if it's just a shadowy boss), you have brilliant lances of light destroying a nearby city, and githyanki raiders on dragonback flying through the sky, based, perhaps, in a flying fortress... maybe the corpse of a dead god that was hauled in from the Astral, allowing it to be multiple places at once (as a god might).

This will set up a few different scenarios... protecting family and friends, increased raids from lizard men and kobolds. Introduce classed Dragonborn as intermediate enemies... present them as githyanki-dragon hybrids, or something.

How does this sound?

LibraryOgre
2019-05-02, 05:38 PM
For starting area, I am thinking Daggerford, on the Northern Sword Coast, just south of Waterdeep.

1) Nearby Lizard Marshes make including Lizard Man antagonists easy
2) Lets me blow up Waterdeep, which I have done many times in the past to my great joy.

If I'm going to go with the "Dead God Corpse" as their flying base, do you have any deity you suggest? I kind of want a solution to the problem to be reviving the god who they are based on.

Elves
2019-05-02, 07:24 PM
So a fantasy alien invasion basically?

Since that area has such a familiar fantasy feel, it makes sense to contrast it with the extraplanar weirdness of the gith, in particular, to make the environment increasingly weirder as the gith invade. Making big chunks of the world inexplicably fracture and float is the obvious thing. How about a gigantic magichemical weapon called "the Astral Mist", a magical silver vapor that devours everything and possibly replicates the planar traits of the Astral Plane?

The githyanki are used to the weightless, mentally guided freedom of the Astral, so emphasize how heavy and clumsy they find the Material. It would make sense to have them use flying spells and flying mounts and vehicles; maybe give them disadvantage when they get snared on the ground. This is also conducive to having them be the flying masterminds behind hordes of landbound conscripts, in the case of your initial lizardfolk scenario.

Visually, the githyanki can be a bit plasticky in some depictions. I would replace the weird cosplay/fetish leather outfits with something a bit more grounded, like this (https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/3/3d/Monster_Manual_5e_-_Githyanki_-_p160.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141112214919). Make the magic/weird elements come from their weird powers and tools. They're the only mortal species that has successfully transplanted to and colonized another plane, so they must be quite resourceful. Hazard suits and magic gadgetry seem appropriate.

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I would give the gith a motivation beyond just expansionism.

Something to do with mind flayers seems most likely. Maybe they believe that everyone on Faerun is under the control of mind flayers. Maybe they turn out to be partially right. Or maybe there's been a breach to the Far Realm and the gith are here to take over and protect everyone -- maybe they see it as a stepping stone to their crusade into the Far Realm, since opening a portal to the Far Realm within the Astral Plane would compromise the entire multiverse. Maybe in addition to just using this planet as a launching point, they're here to forcibly conscript and mobilize everyone and everything on Faerun for this great anti-Far Realm crusade they have planned.

Or if using the World Axis, maybe the gods evict the gith from the Astral Plane, where they've become annoying pests/overstepped their bounds/etc, and send them back to the Material? That might be a more compelling campaign idea than a straight-up invasion: ten years ago the gods put a gigantic population of githyanki on Faerun, whether in a big empty area or on another continent (or hey! on Abeir, which would tie in with the dragonborn lore you want, since that's where they're from). Problems arise. Many people are angry at the gods for doing this. The campaign is less a straight-up war than trying to avoid one, as some people on both sides want it.

If the gith were put on Abeir, they might feel highly shafted since it's a harsh and crazy world of elemental magic, which could prompt them to invade Faerun. In addition to the dragonborn, there could be a link between their red dragons and the dragons who live there. You should totally include space dragons in this case, too.