04.0 · Book 3 - Adventures in the Shattered Sphere

# Book 3 - Adventures in the Shattered Sphere

By the time you read this book, you should already have read through The Astrogator’s Guide. That booklet contains all the basic information concerning the Cluster and its occupants.

If you’re a player, you should stop reading now. The information contained herein is for the DM’s eyes only. Reading further will only spoil much of the setting’s mystery for yourself and the other players.

## The Astromundi Campaign

Between the covers of this book, you’ll find information regarding the secret plans and conspiracies of the Astromundi Cluster’s many factions, the details on how they will go about implementing their plans, and numerous adventure ideas. Many of the adventure “hooks” center around the plots being hatched by the Cluster’s power cliques, while others are entertaining side adventures.

All of this information is here to help you. While we recommend you use this book’s contents as they stand, there’s no reason you couldn’t change whatever you like. Keep what you want and modify or throw the rest out, but take care not to lose the Cluster’s unique spelljamming flavor.

The first chapter of this book is perhaps the most crucial. In it you’ll find tips on starting and running an Astromundi Campaign, whether it involves native characters or “imports.” The information there is relevant to all other kinds of campaigns as well, and beginning and experienced DMs alike should take a good look at it.

The second chapter goes into more depth on the most powerful and influential Astromundi Cluster races: the Antilans, illithids, Arcane, and others. This information is the basis of the feel and uniqueness of Clusterspace.

Chapter Three contains a plethora of short adventure hooks that can be used to sustain an ongoing plot or as asides to the main campaign.

Chapters Four and Five delve into the deepest mysteries of Clusterspace. Here the secret agendas of the illithids and the Arcane are explored in depth and their plans spelled out in step-by-step detail.

Illithid diner

The first thing to understand about the Cluster is that it is different from the other places you may have based a campaign. Most notable among these differences is the lack of planet-sized masses within the Shattered Sphere. This has led to fragmented societies that are dependent on spelljammers for their existence. No one outpost can sustain itself for long without commerce with other settlements.

This creates a situation in which the characters will be disinclined to stay in one place for too long. As a DM, you must encourage travel to distant planetoids or spaceports. Involve the players in the politics and conspiracies that abound within the Shattered Sphere. Stationary characters can stagnate in an otherwise dynamic atmosphere; keep them moving.

Fortunately, this isn’t difficult. No matter where the characters are, there will always be ships coming or going. A lot of those ships will need replacement crewmen for those who have been killed in duty, or are retiring, or have been hired on elsewhere. Having the characters hire on a merchant or exploration vessel is a sure way to keep them traveling from place to place. You might even wish to give the characters their own ship, and set them up as a new trading or exploration company. The options are limited only by the goals and tone of the campaign.

The second important factor to keep in mind is the plots and motivations of the various races throughout the Astromundi Cluster. These will be described in more detail later, but the most important of these plots are being put into action by the Arcane (and their Antilan allies), and the illithids (and their Varan allies). The former plot involves the Arcane’s plan to use Firefall to create a great portal to another dimension (see Chapter 5: Mystery of the Arcane for details). The illithids plan to destroy both of the Cluster’s suns, starting with Denaeb. This plot is covered in Chapter 4: The Sundeath.

These chapters detail the far-reaching goals of the two most powerful factions in the Cluster. Integrating these plots into your campaign will give the campaign direction, as characters strive to thwart one (or both) of the factions.

The third factor is a sense of mystery. Even native characters don’t know everything. After all, most Cluster natives believe that the illithids are essentially minding their own business. And everyone thinks that the Arcane are all right fellows, if a little strange. Both of those concepts are far from the truth.

In a native campaign, then, characters know a lot about the surface of their world, but not much about what’s really going on. Let them read The Astrogator’s Guide. It contains a wealth of useful information, with a few false tidbits thrown in for good measure. Use the characters’ erroneous conclusions to draw them deeper and deeper into the web of deceit that encompasses the Cluster. Perhaps they agree to hire on as bodyguards for an illithid noble. Or they may work as mercenaries completing obscure tasks for the Arcane. In either case, they may think their employers are innocent enough, but over time they’ll learn otherwise and be forced to take action.

Outlander campaigns can be even more confusing, and are probably best left to experienced players and characters. After all, you’re going to be placing these characters in one of the harshest spelljamming settings around. Nothing will be as they have seen it in other places. The neogi are our friends? The illithids too? Such contrasts will bring home the alienness of their environment. This lends a true aura of mystery to the world in which the characters live, but it can be overwhelming for inexperienced players.

Last but not least: have fun. The Astromundi Cluster is the most detailed SPELLJAMMER® campaign setting ever created. Everything you need to create a true spelljamming campaign is in this box. Use it, make it your own, and enjoy!

### Native or Outlander?

The type of campaign that you chose to run will have a great deal of impact on the characters and their adventures. Native campaigns are more difficult to set up, but the rewards are greater. Of course, characters must be created and outfitted and developed, but this isn’t much different from any other campaign. The advantage of this sort of campaign is the ease with which characters and players are integrated into the setting. Naturally, bringing native characters into the campaign will be no trouble at all; they were born there. The players should read The Astrogator’s Guide, which fills them in on the background of their character races and the Cluster itself.

In this type of campaign, the players can be a big help as well. Since they know something of what is going on in the Cluster, and its basic geography, they can provide their preferences for the campaign’s starting location and the sorts of adventures they’d enjoy participating in. This can be a big help for DMs and makes for a campaign that everyone really feels they have helped to build.

Outlander campaigns are easier to get going, but take some time to bring the players and characters into “sync” with the rest of the Cluster and its inhabitants. Information must be carefully controlled, because the characters will be entering the setting without any preconceived notions. As stated before, this lack of knowledge can lead to confusion and indecision in less experienced players. Even the most experienced players may feel out of their depth when thrust into such an alien environment.

A good DM, however, can help alleviate this problem and use the confusion to further adventures. Characters who unwittingly attack and kill a group of neogi (thinking the neogi are evil) will suddenly find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Not showing proper deference to the masked Sun Mages can lead to trouble too. All of this can make for exciting adventures that serve as an introduction to the various aspects of the Shattered Sphere.

Outlanders may be a bit more difficult to bring into the Shattered Sphere, but a single navigational mistake or flux in the phlogiston can easily force a spelljammer into the Astromundi Cluster. And, of course, once outlanders get in, they’ll have a very difficult time getting out again.

In an outlander campaign, characters may become so obsessed with escaping this strange crystal sphere that they don’t take the time to investigate it. Remember, your players may not know that the Cluster is the setting for your new campaign, and may see it as a trap to be escaped.

The simplest solution is to thrust characters into the heart of the adventure from the start. Involve them in the ticklish business of neogi politics, or have them captured by illithid or Antilan slavers (a simple but nasty trick that never loses its effectiveness). Most importantly, intrigue them. You can’t force characters to stay in one area, but you can manipulate them into hanging around for a while.

And that goes right back to the mysterious atmosphere inherent to the Cluster. As long as you don’t give away too much, too quickly, your players will stay involved and interested in what’s going on.

### Home Port

Now that you’ve decided what sort of campaign to run (native or outlander), it’s time to pick an area in which to start your adventures. This area will probably be the center of your campaign. While spelljamming is vital to the functioning of everyday Astromundi life (and therefore to any campaign set in the Cluster), a sense of stability and a place to call home are also important. A home port gives characters a place to rest between journeys and to store all of their loot and personal items such as spell books.

Also, the contrast between the familiar home port and the bizarre creatures of wildspace and the Fringe will enhance the flavor of your campaign. Of course, it’s also interesting to let the characters feel safe in a certain area, and then stage events that disrupt their cozy home-life. For more information on the places mentioned below, see The Celestial Almanac.

The Inner Belt is a convenient place to set a home port. The abundance of trading posts and merchant houses insures a steady influx of conflicts and NPCs, and gives the PCs a quick and easy way to get into space. The presence of so many Antilans and illithids in the Inner Belt insures that a campaign based there will be rife with intrigue and treachery. Characters will have to be careful which side of the various conflicts they chose to ally with, since their decisions will have far reaching consequences.

Of course, characters in the Inner Belt may chose to steer clear of the in-fighting altogether and make their fortunes as shrewd traders or mercenaries who sell their swords and skills to both sides. They may not make any friends this way, but that just adds to the excitement.

For a wilder, more violent sort of campaign, a Thoric trading settlement out in the Fringe is a natural setting. Characters here will be faced with dangers constantly, from wild Fringe monsters to neogi vessels trying to elbow their way into the ice trade. This sort of campaign requires little subtlety but is big on sword-swinging heroics. Because no one really knows what is lurking out in the Fringe, this type of campaign becomes one of discovery as well. Perhaps the key to defeating the Arcane is to be found in a Fringe ruin…

Thoric characters

Basing a campaign in the Golden Girdle is a way to launch characters full-bore into the schemes of both the Sun Mages and the Arcane conspirators. Of course, this campaign setting can also make for very short-lived PCs. The Antilans control their society very rigidly, and do not look kindly on “adventurers” who may disrupt their carefully regimented lifestyle. Still, the Girdle is a natural staging ground for a “resistance” type of campaign. The key to a campaign based in this area is suspicion. Who can the characters trust? Who might sell them out?

It should be noted that it is possible for a campaign to begin with the characters as allies to the Sun Mages. This would allow involvement in the high intrigue common among the Antilans and their nobility. But what happens when the characters discover what the Antilans’ chief allies are up to?

A campaign based in the Varan Group has many similarities with one set in the Antilan Empire, but there are also some important differences. The intrigues among the Varan are cruder and more violent than those found in the Sun Mages’ courts. Varan warlords have no qualms about cutting down their competitors, or poisoning whole families to further their own ends.

The heavy-handed influence of the illithids is omnipresent as well; the mind flayers are always present. There should be a sense of despair and creeping doom in this depraved section of the Cluster. Characters will be forced to hide their resistance to mind flayer schemes very carefully, or face the wrath of the illithids. Remember, the illithids can read your mind…

A similar but even more oppressive setting is the Dark Group. The main difficulty here is the presence of massive hordes of illithids. Characters should be in constant fear, never knowing when the mind flayers are going to show up.

For any sort of long-running campaign using this setting, it is recommended that characters use Achemon as their home port. As the only area in the Group not under illithid control, it is by far the safest. From there, the characters could stage daring raids into illithid territory, or search the many unusual ruins that litter the Dark Group.

For something really different, you might want to experiment with the Trinona area. This gas giant is home to a large Calidian city-state, and towns that float. Characters can act as Calidian agents, searching out new markets for their mercantile employers. Alternately, they could try to cut out a share of the market for themselves, or even attempt an overthrow of the tumultuous local government. This is an excellent setting for any trading-based campaign, and certainly one that will provide an interesting change of pace.

The dwarves of the Cluster aren’t exactly gregarious, but they aren’t recluses either. It is quite possible to set up a campaign based on Cerekazadh. Naturally, non-dwarves (and outlander dwarves) will have to live on the asteroid’s exterior, making them prey to all sorts of nasty flying things, but that’s part of the adventure. Characters who set up shop here should be similar in attitude to the dwarves: work hard, play hard, and always fight to the death.

Ironport is a dangerous home port, without question. But it has lots of action. While “friendly,” the neogi are endless schemers, and there’s no telling what sort of intrigues the characters could get mixed up with. Considering the neogi rivalry with the Arcane, characters should have no end of excitement here. Most of a campaign set here would involve dealing with the various neogi “tribes” (for want of a better word) and their little plots.

Highport is similar in overall tone to Ironport, but here the tensions between Arcane and neogi are subdued, or at least seem that way. In reality, this artificial port is teeming with agents from both sides. Plot and counterplot are the rule, and characters will often find themselves at the middle of an intricate conspiracy to benefit one side or another.

For another rough-and-tumble setting, the Great Belt offers characters an opportunity to become explorers. People are always in need of new land, air, and water in the Great Belt, and the characters might be just the ones to find it. The Belt is huge, and with so much of it unexplored, characters could literally spend years exploring its vast reaches.

The suggestions above are by no means exhaustive. They are just a few of the many locales that can be used as a home port and provide some insight into the sorts of adventures possible there. There’s no reason, for instance, that characters couldn’t become involved in shady dealings and intrigues in the Fringe, or spend their days fighting through the Inner Belt’s enemies. Turning conventions on their heads can make for exciting play, and such contrasts keeps players on their toes.

### Goals

Now that you know the type of campaign and its location, you need to decide just where your campaign is going to take the characters. It won’t be necessary to plan out every place the characters might visit, or any of the numerous adventures they might have. Instead, come up with a few goals that would be exciting for the characters to achieve.

Essentially, there are two types of goals: short-term and campaign goals. Short-term goals are more important than the objective of a single adventure, and may take some time to complete. If each adventure is a chapter in a book, then a short-term goal is the theme of the novel those chapters are in. For example, your characters might want to eventually buy a spelljammer of their own and start up their own business. That’s a pretty big undertaking, but one that can reasonably be achieved by the characters over time.

Campaign goals are much more demanding and should be the major achievements of a character’s career. Defeating the Arcane and halting their plans of interdimensional conquest is an admirable campaign goal. It might take years of a character’s life and perhaps years of playing to achieve, but it will certainly be a tale worth telling.

Continuing the analogy from above, campaign goals are the driving force behind a whole series of exciting novels. Campaign goals are the stuff of which legends.

When deciding the short-term goals for your campaign, it is advisable to get input from your players. They are the ones who will be playing in the game, after all, and it is part of your responsibility as a DM to keep them amused. That doesn’t mean that you should pander to their every whim, but their interests should be taken into consideration. If the characters seem bent on becoming a major trading power in the Cluster, then it’s probably a good idea to slant your adventures in that direction and make it a short-term goal.

Campaign goals are harder to decide, because they will shape the tone and texture of your adventures and determine the primary antagonists. For now, don’t worry too much about choosing a campaign goal. Later, when you’ve read through all the booklets in this set, you will be better prepared to make an informed decision. For now, read through the following examples of both short-term and campaign goals. Again, the information presented here is just a starting point. Use those goals that you like, or create your own.

The choice is yours.

Some of the goals presented below are keyed to the adventure “hooks” found in Chapter 3 of this book. DMs can use the hooks to construct adventures that tie into their chosen goals.

#### General Short-Term Goals

#### Power

This refers to the attainment of a specific position or level of power. Wanting to become the most powerful group in the Cluster is an admirable goal, but not one that is likely to be realized in a short campaign. Plotting to take control of a shipping lane, on the other hand, is a short-term goal worth pursuing.

#### Discovery

Whenever characters go looking for anything (whether known or unknown) their goal is discovery. Perhaps the characters have heard rumors of a vast sprawl of ruins found somewhere out in the Fringe, or an artifact buried somewhere in the labyrinth of Ironport. This sort of short-term goal can also concern characters desperately searching for the one spell that can save a cursed comrade.

#### Escape

If characters have been kidnapped, imprisoned, or otherwise detained against their will, they are going to want to escape. Many interesting adventures can be based around characters plotting and then attempting to escape from a merciless Antilan slaver. Or perhaps the characters have sold themselves into indentured servitude to a neogi captain as payment of a debt, only to find the contract lasts a lifetime.

#### Independence

In a sphere riddled with deadly politics, some characters may decide that they would be better off outside the range of the various power groups. Such characters might wish to start their own colony or trading post. A difficult venture, this short-term goal is one that will require careful thought and planning to pull off. It will also be one of the most satisfying most players have ever encountered.

If you chose to use this sort of goal make the characters and players work for it. Have them figure out trade schedules and methods of transporting the necessary goods, defense, and means of attracting colonists to their new world. And of course, other powers are going to look at the new colony with hungry eyes. A longer goal than most of the short-term variety, it is very possible for this to become a campaign goal.

#### Wealth

All characters want and need money. While at first this may seem like a greedy, simplistic sort of goal, DMs should realize the consequences of a massive accumulation of wealth. Tax collectors from various governments, unscrupulous “investment counselors,” and out and out con men will all seek out wealthy adventurers.

Outside of the obvious complications of thieves and frauds, wealth can also tie in well with other sorts of goals. After all, the characters are going to have to spend that money sooner or later, and what they spend it on can be the start of another journey to a new goal. Perhaps they’ll purchase a haunted ship (unknowingly of course) or an occupied asteroid mine that they’ll have to clean out. Money is a great springboard for adventures, as long as its accumulation doesn’t become the overriding motivation for characters in a campaign.

#### Truth

This is perhaps the most elusive of all goals. For this to work as a short-term goal the DM must set up a situation that will prompt the characters to find out “what’s really going on.” Perhaps the characters learn of a one-time companion accused of some wrong-doing of which he or she must be cleared. Or a renegade Arcane passes on the beginning of a secret to the party before being slain by neogi assassins. Similar to a goal of discovery, the quest for truth can be as simple or elaborate as you like.

Note that the goals listed above are described only in the broadest, vaguest terms. They represent some of the more common types of short-term goals that characters may pursue. Specific short-term goals are listed below, with their basic type noted in parentheses.

#### The Ruins of the Dark Group (Discovery)

Nestled in the confines of the illithids’ major power base are countless alien ruins. No one really knows what they contain, and even the illithids generally avoid them. They could contain vital clues in the fight against the mind flayers. Characters may be called upon to investigate and learn their secrets.

Naturally, this will be no easy task. Illithid patrols can disrupt the most carefully laid plans. Varan traitors might find their way into the characters’ confidence and betray them to the mind flayers. Strange creatures live in the ruins, making an unexpected appearance to harass or attack the PCs. Whatever the characters do in the Dark Group, it won’t go unnoticed.

#### Our Own Business (Wealth)

The Shattered Sphere is the perfect environment for enterprising player characters. With the demand for trade goods constant, the Cluster can easily support more merchants than it currently does. Perhaps the characters would like to fill this position, starting up their own trading house. Or they could opt to lead other groups into the wilds of the Fringe, or conduct hunting expeditions in the dangerous corners of the Great Belt. The possibilities are endless, but so is the danger of ruthless competitors.

This type of campaign works best with a group of players who enjoy focusing on the role-playing aspects of the game. If your characters decide to start their own business, make it a challenging undertaking. Remember the magic word: overhead. Costs for a simple courier mission can far exceed profits, forcing characters to engage in other work to make ends meet. Another tactic to liven the careers of entrepreneurs is to introduce loan sharks. Characters low on funds may well take out a loan whose payment may be the performance of a dangerous task for the lender.

Owning and running businesses can lead to all sorts of exciting adventures, and DMs should use the trials and triumphs to good effect.

#### The Way Out (Power)

Though reclusive and few in number, the elves of the Astromundi Cluster hold a position great power since only they can find their way out of the sphere. Characters may try to discover the secret and use it to undercut the elven monopoly on intersphere travel. This will be very difficult to do, but would cement the characters into a position of power within the Cluster. Of course, if the characters can discover the secret, so can someone else…

#### Slaves! (Freedom)

With Antilan slave patrols constantly cruising the sphere, it is quite likely that the characters may find themselves on the wrong side of the shackles. Characters who find themselves captured by the Sun Mages may be transported back to the Shakalman Group and put into labor camps.

Escape from such a place would involve hijacking a spelljamming ship or stowing away. Of course, only Antilan ships are to be found within the Shakalman Group, and those are likely to be heavily guarded. Characters could also start a slave uprising, seizing a crystal ship by force and fighting their way out of Antilan space! Whatever method the characters use, they must be extremely clever and resourceful to escape the clutches of the Sun Mages.

#### Campaign Goals

Campaign planning

The basic short-term goals listed above are also adaptable to campaign goals. The key is the difference in scope. Short-term goals may involve the search for a powerful magical item, whereas campaign goals would involve the quest to stop the Sundeath (see Chapter Four) by using the item. As said before, accomplishing a short-term goal is no small thing, but completing campaign goals can make the PCs legends.

Below are some different campaign goals characters may chose to pursue, and some of the steps necessary to accomplish such goals.

#### Founding Fathers

Some characters may decide to begin forging their own free colony. This can make for a number of short-term goals (as shown below), all leading up to a major campaign goal (the creation of a viable colony).

Players should come up with a detailed plan of just how they are going to handle their new colony. Some things they should remember:

1. Location - The characters need a place to put the colony, and most of the prime real-estate has already been claimed by other factions. Finding a good location to start a colony can become an adventure goal in its own right.
2. Clearing the nasties - Most unpopulated sections of the sphere are not inhabited for good reasons. Typically this involves some very nasty critters that need to be removed. Characters may spend a lot of time tracking down one large beast, or several small ones, before they can begin building a home for themselves.
3. Supplies - Because most of the Shattered Sphere is not hospitable, characters are going to have to find a way to get the necessary food, water, and other raw materials to their colony. They may be forced to bribe neogi captains into starting a trade route out to their new home, or ship the stuff in themselves, which is a very expensive proposition.
4. Building - Once the characters have managed to find a place to put their new outpost, cleared out the less savory life-forms and gotten the supplies out there, they need to build something. Carpenters and stonemasons aren’t cheap, especially when they have to be transported to a region lacking amenities.
   After paying exorbitant prices for skilled laborers, characters may have to deal with pay increases, labor strikes and other problems. While these may seem mundane on the surface, imagine if the problems originated with Varan infiltrators working on behalf of their mind flayer masters…
5. Colonists - Once a few buildings are up, the characters need to convince people to colonize the new place. Will characters offer free land to homesteaders (whom they can later tax) or come up with some other scheme? Convincing businesses to set up shop in the new colony could be difficult, but once the population begins to rise, opportunistic merchants will arrive in abundance.
6. Protection - Even after all that hard work, the colony could be crushed beneath the heel of a larger military force. Diplomacy and treachery may be necessary to keep the Antilans or illithids from turning the new colony into a member of their burgeoning empires.

The founding of a new colony is no task to be undertaken lightly. Characters who set such lofty goals should have a hard time of it, but their rewards should be commensurate with their effort. What could be more satisfying than visiting the colony one of your retired PCs founded?

#### Homeworld

The characters may find themselves working with the lizard men, searching for others of that kind. This sort of campaign goal insures near constant travel, and adventures aplenty with the scaled folk. Because this sort of goal is rather loose, other campaign goals can be worked in with it as well. For instance, the characters may decide to establish a base of operations for their search. If the lizard men are seeking others of their race in the Fringe or Great Belt, a goal similar to Founding Fathers (above) may enter into play. Short-term goals of discovery and wealth would also be common to a campaign goal of this type as characters travel far and wide, trading as they go. And there’s no telling what the characters might find out there. . . .

#### Against the Arcane

The Arcane are pursuing their own agenda and the characters may have to find a way to stop them. This campaign goal is described in more detail later in this book, and is sure to add excitement to any game. After all, how often do your characters have the chance to save not just a world, but an entire crystal sphere?

#### The Sundeath

The Arcane aren’t the only race with something nasty up their sleeves. The illithids intend to put out the Astromundi Cluster’s two suns in order to make the sphere more suitable to their needs. This nefarious plot is detailed in Chapter Four, and, like the Arcane plot, is on a grand scale.

The short-term and campaign goals presented above are just a start of the many you may decide to include in your campaign. Feel free to use them as is, mix-and-match or discard them altogether, but it is recommended that you use either the Mystery of the Arcane or the Sundeath, or both, in your campaign. These two conspiracies are central to the setting, and eliminating them can steal a great deal of the Cluster’s flavor.

In Chapter Three of this book you will find a number of adventure ideas that can also form the basis of short-term goals for your campaign.

#### Story Arcs

Another concept that can add a sense of continuity and connection to your campaign is over-arcing storylines. While it may sound complex, creating story arcs is really quite simple. All you need to do is find the common points in several of your short-term or campaign goals. These points serve as the foundations for your arcs, which are short storylines that connect your goals as a whole.

For example, in a sample campaign there are currently three short-term goals and one campaign goal which the characters are pursuing. The first of the short-term goals centers around an NPC friend of the characters who has fallen desperately and mysteriously ill. Thus, the first of the short-term goals is the discovery of the cure for this illness. The second goal involves a mage PC’s long-standing feud with a more powerful sorcerer. Naturally, the only way to fulfill this goal is to do away with the evil sorcerer. The last of the short-term goals can only be fulfilled by discovering what purpose an ancient statue may serve in the bizarre culture of the illithids. The campaign goal is to stop the Antilans tinkering with the central sun of the Astromundi Cluster, before the near to inevitable cataclysm.

The first arc is somewhat obvious: the sick NPC has been afflicted by a magical disease by the nefarious sorcerer, which neatly ties together the first two arcs. Only by completing the second goal can the first be achieved. The third short-term goal can be tied into the first two by having the characters discover an identical statue in the possession of the sorcerer. Thus, from three separate, simple goals a complex situation has arisen. The characters want to defeat the sorcerer, but must do so in a way that will leave their friend cured and themselves richer with knowledge concerning the statue. All the short-term goals have been joined by arcs, so that characters pursuing any of the goals find themselves involved in all the others.

The campaign goal can be a little trickier to hook in with the short-term goals. In some cases it may be necessary to work backward from the campaign goal into the short-term goals.

To tie in the campaign goal to the rest of the arcs, the DM decided that the statues were powerful icons of the illithids’ god. The characters discover that the icons can be used to thwart the Antilans’ plans, as they interfere with the Sun Mages’ magic. What the characters don’t realize (yet) is that using the icons only furthers the illithids’ insidious dream of the Sundeath. And with that stroke, not only are all of the main plots of the campaign drawn together, a second, connected campaign goal has been added, making matters even more intriguing!