Slavelords of Cydonia

[BryonD]

Is this feat going to appear in Slavelords of Cydonia?

What I would really like to know more, is about this campaign. The info description on the website is really short. when I did buy Grim Tales I had a pretty good idea of what I would find in it. Slavelords of Cydonia is much more nebulous. And now that the price has increased, I would like to know what to expect with it before ordering. I understand that it's a campaign from 1st to 20th level. Okay, but more!! Is there 20 adventures from level 1 to level 20? Is there enough variety so players won't grow bored of fighting the same monsters and solving the same plot over and over again? Is it suggested to mix other adventures in between? Is there a description of a region? Is there many new monsters? etc.

Thanks

As requested, since I also would like to see this information.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

What I would really like to know more, is about this campaign. The info description on the website is really short. when I did buy Grim Tales I had a pretty good idea of what I would find in it. Slavelords of Cydonia is much more nebulous. And now that the price has increased, I would like to know what to expect with it before ordering. I understand that it's a campaign from 1st to 20th level. Okay, but more!! Is there 20 adventures from level 1 to level 20? Is there enough variety so players won't grow bored of fighting the same monsters and solving the same plot over and over again? Is it suggested to mix other adventures in between? Is there a description of a region? Is there many new monsters? etc.

How about I give a detailed breakdown of the whole thing?

Slavelords of Cydonia is for experienced GMs. It's a new kind of adventure, not so much layed out in terms of keyed encounters on a map, but a rich setting with multiple adventure hooks and synopses that advance the epic story without railroading the PCs.

Slavelords of Cydonia is organized into five Books (each detailing a portion of the epic adventure for 4 levels: 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16, and 17-20). There are multiple adventures in each Book, which can be played in any order or not at all. Each adventure details the conditions that are ripe for its launch, the key players and locations, as well as the ongoing effects the adventure will have on the rest of the campaign.

At the end of Slavelords you will find multiple Appendices that provide supporting material: The Sli'ess, The Lethid, Bestiary, Statblocks, Cydonian Tech, Mass Combat, Mutations, and d20 Conversion Notes.

BOOK ONE
Book One takes characters from any genre and provides several hooks to get them into a remote mountain valley where they will soon discover an ancient Cydonian pylon. With or without the PCs help, the pylon activates and the PCs are soon face to face with two horrible alien enemies: the evil reptilian Sli'ess, and the unfathomably evil lethid.

BOOK TWO
Book Two takes place on Cydonia, and by removing the PCs from their environs, many issues of genre are quickly settled. Cydonia becomes the genre for the bulk of the adventure. The PCs will discover a few things about Cydonia, the Sli'ess Empire and its great capital city New Atlantis, and a few harsh lessons about sli'ess politics. The snake-like sli'ess-ra are the rulers here, but the Empire is built on the backs of the tortoise-like yul traders and the myriad bru legions-- croc-headed brutes who know only war. The inquisitive sli'ess-lor are the keepers of scientific knowledge, while the furtive chameleon-like sli'ess-suul wield inordinate power through organized religion.

There are allies here: human and ratman slaves, as well as sli'ess rebels among the outcast sli'ess-got aberrations. The PCs may even find allies among the ra, yul, and lor, all eager to use the PCs in their own political manipulations.

Book Two is a crucible, designed to turn the PCs from wide-eyed human novices to experienced Cydonians. Unlike the enslaved peoples of Cydonia, however, the PCs will grow to realize their importance.

BOOK THREE
In Book Three, the PCs will grow in influence and reputation. Many sli'ess have an interest in using the PCs as operatives, to move unseen amongst the slaves and accomplish things the sli'ess cannot-- or dare not. By the end of this book, the PCs will have uncovered much that had been lost to the sli'ess through centuries of political intrigue. Chief among their accomplishments will be the re-activation of the dormant pylon system and the discovery of the greater lethid threat. As this book comes to a close, the PCs bring the lethid into the light, revealing their lurking threat and reigniting the ancient sli'ess-lethid rivalry that sundered Earth, sank Atlantis, scattered the Sli'ess Empire, and left Cydonia forgotten.

If there were any doubt, by the end of Book Three the PCs will realize their desiny as heroes.

BOOK FOUR
The PCs role in uncovering ancient Cydonian tech forces the lethid into open war. The defining feature of this Book is the mass combat system, allowing PCs to grow from guerrillas and commandos to honored warmasters at the head of their own bru legions. If you choose not to use the mass combat system, there book details a narrative solution instead, and there are plenty of adventure hooks to keep the PCs busy without mass combat:

In one such adventure, the PCs must seek out the outcast Red Cadre, fabled practitioners of Cydonian visceral magick. By imperial decree, the mere mention of their name is a death sentence. If an alliance could be forged with the Emperor, the Red Cadre would make a powerful ally against the mental powers of the lethid...

The lethid become bolder in this Book. Where they previously played the puppetteers from the shadows, now they roam the streets in broad daylight, slaughtering all who will not convert. Shibboleth lurk in the catacombs and repositories. Rgleth, hosted on massive Cydonian barruk, appear suddenly from shadows or corners, carrying away victims to join their ranks. Nihileth appear to assault the PCs with mental powers, hosted on sli'ess the PCs may once have called allies. And two new lethid creatures-- not detailed in Grim Tales-- are revealed in Book Four: the insidious burrowing mohldaleth (moles) and the overseers of the lethid, the true aboleth.

But by the end of this book, the PCs will have reactivated several devastating Cydonian technologies, including the ominously named Deimos Starhammer Array. They must turn back the lethid, or die alongside the sli'ess.

BOOK FIVE
With the lethid threat subsiding, the PCs stand as grand heroes. The Sli'ess Empire is victorious-- and with their complacency at long last shaken loose, the spirit of conquest is rekindled, and their hungry eyes turn towards Earth.

The PCs reputation has bought them many enemies among the sli'ess. By the end of this Book, the PCs must find a way to topple the Sli'ess Empire and save Earth.

And most importantly: Can they ever return home?

APPENDICES
The Sli'ess: Details on the Sli'ess race, castes, society, religion, and magick.

The Lethid: Rgleth, shibboleth, nihileth, mohldaleth, and the true aboleth.

Bestiary: New monsters indigenous to Cydonia: barruk, scarabor, leercats, nulataks, plasma defense golems, afghar, seif beetle swarms, skreet ratmen, and a few others.

Statblocks: Named NPCs are listed in the adventure where they appear. All "common" statblocks appear here, in alphabetical order.

Cydonian Tech: A list of equipment found on Cydonia, as well as rules for creating your own crystalline energy weapons: blasters, lances, and disruptors with energy effects.

Mass Combat: A very simple mass combat system that uses Grim Tales' EL system (and a bit of Sun Tzu) to emulate both Strategic and Tactical warfare that is fast, scalable, and fun.

Mutations: Much of Cydonian tech is powered by mouldstone. Whether mouldstone is magical in nature or simply a form of radioactivity is up the GM and the genre you're playing, but the unpleasant side effects are the same. This section lists many common mutations along with CR values for each. You can also use this section to randomly generate sli'ess-got mutants.

d20 Conversion Notes: Notes for adapting Slavelords of Cydonia to standard d20 play without the Grim Tales rulebook.

 

[scourger]

It sounds like an interesting story. I like the mention of the d20 conversion notes for playing the adventure with standard d20 rules without Grim Tales. How does that work?

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

It sounds like an interesting story. I like the mention of the d20 conversion notes for playing the adventure with standard d20 rules without Grim Tales. How does that work?

Most statblocks will play no matter what version of d20 you're playing, but there are talents, feats, and some skills that require conversion notes or substitution notes.

 

[Turanil]

Well, this looks interesting, but at the same time very much self-contained. I will have to think if I could adapt that to the setting I am preparing.

Anyway, thanks for the long description!

 

[BryonD]

Thanks

 

[CalicoDave]

Thanks for the description.

I'm really looking forward to this one!

 

[Victim]

Sounds very exciting. Thanks for the description. When is this campaign coming out?

How detailed will each adventure be? Further, how much will each genre matter to Slavelords? Will Modern vs. Fantasy matter only in Book 1, or will the prescence of guns and modern technology persist throughout the adventure? (For example, some players might be disappointed if Personal Firearms Proficiency turns out to be a waste of a feat)

 

[S'mon]

Sounds interesting - a little bit linear-story-railroad; the way it's described - maybe acceptable for this genre, but I can never get my players to stick with mega-modules beyond a few sessions, they bore very easily.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Sounds very exciting. Thanks for the description. When is this campaign coming out?

At GenCon or very shortly after.

How detailed will each adventure be?

Adventures are aimed at experienced GMs and described in both broad strokes (locations, NPCs, what's going on) as well as more detailed notes needed to make the adventure flow into the greater story. Two or three pages per adventure I'd guess; remember that Slavelords is organized into Books > Chapters > Adventures. At the simplest level, you can think of an adventure as enough to fill one or two gaming sessions.

There are dozens of adventures; not all of them need be played nor must they be played in any order. To answer Smon's concerns, I am very "railroad sensitive" and as the project manager for this book, hammered home that point many times.

Further, how much will each genre matter to Slavelords? Will Modern vs. Fantasy matter only in Book 1, or will the prescence of guns and modern technology persist throughout the adventure? (For example, some players might be disappointed if Personal Firearms Proficiency turns out to be a waste of a feat)

There won't be any wasted feats, don't worry. The players will either have their own equipment at hand, or they will be able to pick up better Martian stuff that uses the same feats. (Some Cydonian tech, in fact, is usable with Simple Weapon Proficiency: even the most combat-inept Smart Hero can manage to point a fire lance in right direction.)

Wulf