X4, X5, X10 Modified Campaign Outline
by Ray AllenThe overall goal is to kill the Master by making him mortal and then killing him again! The PCs must find the Star of the Sind, place it in the hilt of the Crystal Dagger of Cymorrak, and plunge the dagger into the Soul Gem in area C17 in the Temple of Death to release the Master's soul back to his body. At that point the PCs can kill him, as he is mortal, but his soul will travel to the body of Hosadus in area B3, The Hall of Laws. Hosadus won't pursue the party immediately but will return to fight them again at a later time in your campaign.
-- Hule as a replacement for Sind --
I've never been a fan of the Sind as a country so I simply replaced it with a smaller version of Hule. I placed the major encounter areas as follows:
1) Magden is a town just to the north of the Salt Swamp. The caravan in "Key to the Caravan Track" is travelling there, so be sure to place the party a good distance from Magden when they exit the swamp.
2) Gola Keep is renamed to Gola Abbey, moved north to the foot of the mountains and is used as the location of the Evil Abbey. After we completed playing the campaign I realised that I should have put the Great Pass in the mountains and used it "as is" as Gola Pass. The Evil Abbey should have been just to the north of the pass. Oh well..... Maybe next time. The Star of the Sind is located in "K3. The Abandoned Shrine" but isn't a huge gem. It needs to fit into the hilt of the Crystal Dagger of Cymorrak.
3) The Temple of Death/Great Realm is in Sayr Ulan on a peninsula on Lake Tros. Sayr Ulan is surrounded by the base of the Legion of Doom from X10 in a large tent city/military camp. If the party spends enough time searching outside of the tent city, they may find the secret door to D4, The Secret Exit.
4) Dark Wood is just to the east of Magden, west of Sayr Ulan, and northeast of the Salt Swamp. The Tomb of King Alevar is located here with the Crystal Dagger of Cymorrak.
-- Maps --
-- Starting the Adventure --
This is the party's early history of my campaign .
The party started as part of the reserve unit that has moved up the Asanda river to the village of Pramayama. I used Promas the river guide and the Mad Hermit to hook the party.
Promas: "The men rode camels. Well, they were mostly men and creatures very like men. There were also other beasts. Houses on wheels, a large flying lizard and a flying boat with wizards raining death from above. They did not take any slaves and killed each man who surrendered. A group of soldiers came near where I was hidden. I kept my head down and heard them pledge, "by the command of the Master" after receiving orders to burn the village. Who is this Master?"
Mad Hermit: "The eyes! They can see! They can't see! They can see!" This is a reference to the statues outside the Evil Abbey (Gola Abbey).
The cleric that is attacked by the Soul Eater has a map of the region. This the party can acquire at the cost of a Quest spell.
"The Evil Patrol" encounter has the first Amulet of Finding. I used it to introduce a modified amulet (as a two-way party line video-phone) to the party. Be sure to go through the modules and make note of the rooms and locations of the amulets and be ready to describe them and the NPCs. The Master will of course play with the party as we as use the amulet to zero in on the PCs. Other NPCs may do the same or just be annoyed at being called when they have just gotten out of the shower!
I have found that the "3. Friend or Foe" encounter in X4 does not run well. I would suggest changing it to an encounter with a Hulean Hermit instead. This is what I used.
This encounter should be the last one the players have while travelling with the caravan. It should occur at some point when the characters are separated from the rest of the caravan, either when riding back from The Buried Temple or while acting as advance scouts.
"You are riding through a narrow draw, along the only trail suitable for your animals. The desert is starting to become uncomfortably hot. As you come around a bend in the ravine, you see a man on foot, standing in the shade of the rock. There is a small boy holding a lamp and a mangy-looking dog lying nearby."
This is Talel el Hareidin, a Hulean Prophet. If asked who he is, he will answer, "I'm just a traveller. Have you been to the abbey?" The PCs obviously haven't so Talel will continue, "I have been sent to find you. On your way, seek these things: first a land where terror sleeps beneath the earth; second, four strong men who can not move; and last, a man who is not a man." If asked why he is here with a small boy and a dog, he will answer, "All Prophets travel with a boy and a dog. Bozdogan has ordained it." If asked why he and his two companions are here, "We're not. You just believe that we are." If asked why he is telling the party this information, Talel replies, "Bozdogan is the trickster. You must be a part of some trick." If the party has the amulet of finding and is wearing it openly, he will continue: "That which is behind this evil can see you through an amulet you possess. Always keep it covered." When the party is finished asking him questions, Talel and his companions will leave. Strangely, the party will not be able to find how they left. It will seem as though the party just turned away for a moment, to find Talel suddenly gone.
Once I had the major encounter areas laid out, I ran the encounters from the modules without much change other than converting to 3e (mostly on-the-fly).
-- What to do if the party tries to go to Sayr Ulan immediately --
The land is open and flat from the Asanda River north to Sayr Ulan. Keep throwing harder and harder encounters at them. Start with Enemy Patrols #1, #2, and #3. If they don't get the hint to move back toward the Asanda River, throw a whole division of the Master's army in their path. Besides, they should have picked up on the fact that the Republic's army has been completely defeated. If they surrender, put them in the cells below Great Realm and let them have a meeting with the Master, but what happens next is up to you!
-- Battles --
I only ran one battle as the players were on their own in enemy territory the whole time and that was one I made up for use in Karameikos. I used the counters from the Battle System but the rules were War Machine. Each unit of each army was setup separately.
-- Wrath of the Immortals --
I did not run this adventure as linked into WotI. However, the Master (as either the old man or an undead lord) will return when we are ready to start WotI.