Fool's War
Akshus is locked in the fires of conflict, burning between two stubborn warlords: Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin and Azarad. Ibrahim will not relent until he has chieftain Azamat Kale, the man responsible for the death of his wife, in his claws and the anarch is bound by his oath to Akshus, and other more personal reasons. Grand Commander Allexander leads the imperial army, and just wants victory and the conquest of Akshus.
But this war is about more than just Akshus, as it represents The Gold Empire's final conquest of Dain and many look to the events in Akshus to see how it will finally end.
With the forces of the empire moving quickly and a brutal imperial victory close, the Owls must be swift if they wish to secure peace for Akshus without the destruction of the Githzherai or the brutality of Ibrahim immortalized.
But this war is about more than just Akshus, as it represents The Gold Empire's final conquest of Dain and many look to the events in Akshus to see how it will finally end.
With the forces of the empire moving quickly and a brutal imperial victory close, the Owls must be swift if they wish to secure peace for Akshus without the destruction of the Githzherai or the brutality of Ibrahim immortalized.
Components
Goals
Secure peace in Akshus.
Relations
Allies
Elirdain
A zerth of the githzherai, Elirdain broke through the imperial blockade in the hope of fermenting rebellion behind enemy lines. He soon discovered another rebel group, the Church of the Starchildren, who he believed were servants of an astral civilization. He decided to prioritize fighting them, as they could be connected to the First Enemy. He obtained a Warsuit while fighting them, and allied himself with the Witch Hunters. He is a friend to the Owls, especially Po.
With proof of the First Enemy in Akshus obtained, Elirdain supports ending the war as soon as possible, but he sees little more the githzherai can do on Dain. He does not believe that the githzherai should become vassals of the Gold Empire, as their duty transcends such obligations. He wants most of the githzherai to return to Limbo, while a few, led by himself, remain behind to root out the last of the Starchildren corruption.
Andreas
Prince Andreas "the Handsome" Ari of Sceya is Ibrahim's right-hand man, and one of the commanders of the Imperial Army. He sees Ibrahim's pain and wants to convince him that pursuing this senseless vengeance is painful both to him and hundreds of innocents. He has tried for the better part of 2 years, but Ibrahim has grown willfully deaf to his arguments. Andreas wants the Owls to help him convince Ibrahim. He rides the dragon Rhoytas, a young gold dragon.
Madul
Madul is an enlightened of the githzherai, a high-ranking warrior, mentor and leader. She is affectionately called "Um", akshusian for "mother", by the githzherai as she has long been in charge of protecting the Isle of Peace and mentoring many of the younglings. She is also Po's foster mother. She is a strong and capable leader, dedicated to protecting her young ones. In this duty she has fought the legions many times, and even among them she has a fearsome reputation.
Madul wants peace to protect her young ones, and to prioritize fighting the First Enemy. She wants to remain behind in Akshus, even as vassals of the Gold Empire, provided they are a Free State who can continue to fight for Akshus, maintain internal stability and fight the First Enemy.
She is a githzherai enlightened.
Eisenfried
Brother Eisenfried of the Gold Church has manipulated events for decades, and the conquest of Akshus is his crowning achievement.
Karolina Akeshi
Knight-Commander Karolina Akeshi of the Peace Legion has been sent south from her post near the Wasteland in the hopes of negotiating peace with the githzherai. She has tried to get an audience with the anarch for a few weeks now, but the githzherai have refused her every request. She is an essential part of the warcouncil now, balancing Allexander's calm professionalism with Ibrahim's wrath.
Karolina wants to speak with the Owls, especially if they reveal Po's origins, to plan peacetalks with the Githzherai.
A zerth of the githzherai, Elirdain broke through the imperial blockade in the hope of fermenting rebellion behind enemy lines. He soon discovered another rebel group, the Church of the Starchildren, who he believed were servants of an astral civilization. He decided to prioritize fighting them, as they could be connected to the First Enemy. He obtained a Warsuit while fighting them, and allied himself with the Witch Hunters. He is a friend to the Owls, especially Po.
With proof of the First Enemy in Akshus obtained, Elirdain supports ending the war as soon as possible, but he sees little more the githzherai can do on Dain. He does not believe that the githzherai should become vassals of the Gold Empire, as their duty transcends such obligations. He wants most of the githzherai to return to Limbo, while a few, led by himself, remain behind to root out the last of the Starchildren corruption.
Andreas
Prince Andreas "the Handsome" Ari of Sceya is Ibrahim's right-hand man, and one of the commanders of the Imperial Army. He sees Ibrahim's pain and wants to convince him that pursuing this senseless vengeance is painful both to him and hundreds of innocents. He has tried for the better part of 2 years, but Ibrahim has grown willfully deaf to his arguments. Andreas wants the Owls to help him convince Ibrahim. He rides the dragon Rhoytas, a young gold dragon.
Madul
Madul is an enlightened of the githzherai, a high-ranking warrior, mentor and leader. She is affectionately called "Um", akshusian for "mother", by the githzherai as she has long been in charge of protecting the Isle of Peace and mentoring many of the younglings. She is also Po's foster mother. She is a strong and capable leader, dedicated to protecting her young ones. In this duty she has fought the legions many times, and even among them she has a fearsome reputation.
Madul wants peace to protect her young ones, and to prioritize fighting the First Enemy. She wants to remain behind in Akshus, even as vassals of the Gold Empire, provided they are a Free State who can continue to fight for Akshus, maintain internal stability and fight the First Enemy.
She is a githzherai enlightened.
Eisenfried
Brother Eisenfried of the Gold Church has manipulated events for decades, and the conquest of Akshus is his crowning achievement.
Karolina Akeshi
Knight-Commander Karolina Akeshi of the Peace Legion has been sent south from her post near the Wasteland in the hopes of negotiating peace with the githzherai. She has tried to get an audience with the anarch for a few weeks now, but the githzherai have refused her every request. She is an essential part of the warcouncil now, balancing Allexander's calm professionalism with Ibrahim's wrath.
Karolina wants to speak with the Owls, especially if they reveal Po's origins, to plan peacetalks with the Githzherai.
Neutrals/Bystanders
Anarch Azarad
Anarch Azarad is the oldest githzherai on the material plane, and a powerful psion. He commands the githzherai warhost from the Citadel, an old githzherai starship that is long past its prime, but which is still a force to be reckoned with. The anarch swore an oath to the Akshusians nearly a century ago: that he would protect them from abberations, elementals and foreign invaders and maintain their peace and prosperity. He clings to this oath as justification for his continued, doomed defiance, knowing that they cannot win against the Empire but bleeding it of warriors and resources while his own people suffer.
But Azarad has another, more personal reason for his defiance: during the war against the Mind Flayers he became a good friend to and eventually lover of Ma Alhaya, water genasi revolutionary. He swore to her that he would protect her children, the Akshusians, and he stands by them. This relationship is incredibly taboo among the Githzherai, and should it come to light he would lose his authority.
If faced with evidence of the First Enemy in Akshus, by Po's documentation of the battle against the Starchildren, he will first try to deny it. Unless the Owl's have evidence directly from the Starchild's guard, he will deny their claims surprisingly emotionally, evidencing that he has another reason than just his general oath to Akshus, a more personal reason for continuing the war.
Azarad is an anarch.
King Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin
King Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin is the conqueror of Akshus, a process driven by his hate for the kaleites and grief over the loss of his wife. He is a brutal and cunning general who will not stop until the man he blames for the death of his wife has faced his justice. He is also Blaecbrand's father, and Blaecbrand could mellow him out as he realizes that he still has a future and a family, and that Lady Jeleneth Edrys, his former lover, needs his help. Alternatively, if Blaecbrand is aggresive and judges his actions harshly, he may react with going further into himself. Either way, he will respect Blaecbrand and come to care for her opinion.
Ibrahim has nothing against the githzherai specifically, but he has no love lost for them either as they failed in protecting his father and family all those years ago.
Nysqwen
Nysqwen is Ibrahim's dragon, a magnificent and ancient creature with radiant golden scales that look like liquid sunlight. Her scales have been sandblasted from her flying in the desert, and her eyes look like molten gold. She is a belligerent dragon and she matches Ibrahim well in this way. She would like to see the kaleite chief burned for his crimes, and she wishes to conquer Akshus for the empire.
Grand Commander Allexander
Grand Commander Allexander Rosenberg of the Conquest Legion is the supreme commander of the Imperial Army in Akshus. He was somewhat surprisingly elevated to Commander just before the war as a chance to prove himself. With his immensely succesful conquest of Southern Akshus, he was elevated to Grand Commander. The succesful prosecution of this war is Allexander's chance to prove himself to the Emperor and Marshals, so he is eager to see it finished with imperial victory.
Allexander is a talented and ruthless commander, but not callous and cruel. He often uses unconventional, but effective, tactics in achieving his goals. He is honorable and belives in securing victory with as few losses for both sides, relying on maneuvering and surprise to quickly sezie victory. He is somewhat frustrated that the war has lasted so long, but he knows that victory will soon be his, with the loss of only relatively few legion warriors. Baron Olafr's ship has come south, and he is ready for the final part of the war. The Owls can try to convince him to wait if they are confident they can secure peace, as he wants to kill as few githzherai as possible.
Professor Lazarus Winter
Lazarus Winter is an alchemist of the Crimson Order, specializing in automatons and their use in war. He leads the Crimson Order delegation to the war effort, and has claimed several ancient illithid mines for his projects. He has been working on creating a psionite construct for distrupting the Citadel's defenses. The Psionicte Construct is ready for deployment and it, alongside professor Winter, have both boarded count Olafr's ship and are ready to attack the Citadel.
Anarch Azarad is the oldest githzherai on the material plane, and a powerful psion. He commands the githzherai warhost from the Citadel, an old githzherai starship that is long past its prime, but which is still a force to be reckoned with. The anarch swore an oath to the Akshusians nearly a century ago: that he would protect them from abberations, elementals and foreign invaders and maintain their peace and prosperity. He clings to this oath as justification for his continued, doomed defiance, knowing that they cannot win against the Empire but bleeding it of warriors and resources while his own people suffer.
But Azarad has another, more personal reason for his defiance: during the war against the Mind Flayers he became a good friend to and eventually lover of Ma Alhaya, water genasi revolutionary. He swore to her that he would protect her children, the Akshusians, and he stands by them. This relationship is incredibly taboo among the Githzherai, and should it come to light he would lose his authority.
If faced with evidence of the First Enemy in Akshus, by Po's documentation of the battle against the Starchildren, he will first try to deny it. Unless the Owl's have evidence directly from the Starchild's guard, he will deny their claims surprisingly emotionally, evidencing that he has another reason than just his general oath to Akshus, a more personal reason for continuing the war.
Azarad is an anarch.
King Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin
King Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin is the conqueror of Akshus, a process driven by his hate for the kaleites and grief over the loss of his wife. He is a brutal and cunning general who will not stop until the man he blames for the death of his wife has faced his justice. He is also Blaecbrand's father, and Blaecbrand could mellow him out as he realizes that he still has a future and a family, and that Lady Jeleneth Edrys, his former lover, needs his help. Alternatively, if Blaecbrand is aggresive and judges his actions harshly, he may react with going further into himself. Either way, he will respect Blaecbrand and come to care for her opinion.
Ibrahim has nothing against the githzherai specifically, but he has no love lost for them either as they failed in protecting his father and family all those years ago.
Nysqwen
Nysqwen is Ibrahim's dragon, a magnificent and ancient creature with radiant golden scales that look like liquid sunlight. Her scales have been sandblasted from her flying in the desert, and her eyes look like molten gold. She is a belligerent dragon and she matches Ibrahim well in this way. She would like to see the kaleite chief burned for his crimes, and she wishes to conquer Akshus for the empire.
Grand Commander Allexander
Grand Commander Allexander Rosenberg of the Conquest Legion is the supreme commander of the Imperial Army in Akshus. He was somewhat surprisingly elevated to Commander just before the war as a chance to prove himself. With his immensely succesful conquest of Southern Akshus, he was elevated to Grand Commander. The succesful prosecution of this war is Allexander's chance to prove himself to the Emperor and Marshals, so he is eager to see it finished with imperial victory.
Allexander is a talented and ruthless commander, but not callous and cruel. He often uses unconventional, but effective, tactics in achieving his goals. He is honorable and belives in securing victory with as few losses for both sides, relying on maneuvering and surprise to quickly sezie victory. He is somewhat frustrated that the war has lasted so long, but he knows that victory will soon be his, with the loss of only relatively few legion warriors. Baron Olafr's ship has come south, and he is ready for the final part of the war. The Owls can try to convince him to wait if they are confident they can secure peace, as he wants to kill as few githzherai as possible.
Professor Lazarus Winter
Lazarus Winter is an alchemist of the Crimson Order, specializing in automatons and their use in war. He leads the Crimson Order delegation to the war effort, and has claimed several ancient illithid mines for his projects. He has been working on creating a psionite construct for distrupting the Citadel's defenses. The Psionicte Construct is ready for deployment and it, alongside professor Winter, have both boarded count Olafr's ship and are ready to attack the Citadel.
Adversaries
Azamat Kale
Chief Azamat Kale of the kaleites was the heir to Akshus' most powerful military machine, with plans to establish hegemony over the other tribes. With the collapse of the mustarites in the north, kaleite domination was closer than ever, but a more dangerous opponent had united the north: Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin. Azarad Kale conspired to have him killed, but the attempt failed, and he then led the war against Ibrahim's imperial retribution.
When the City of Towers fell, Azarad and his family fled to the Gith mountains. Today Azarad tries to lay plans to reconquer Akshus, but knows that it is a futile endeavour. He hopes to be spared and that his family can be spared, with his oldest daughter taking over as ruler of the City of Towers and lady of the Akshusian south. He suggests a marriage of her to Asher Tanin, to solidify the alliance. He himself is willing to face imperial justice for his crimes, including exile and being sent to the Wasteland.
He is an akshusian champion. He is devious and ruthless, but he is a smooth operator who wants his family to succeed.
Chief Azamat Kale of the kaleites was the heir to Akshus' most powerful military machine, with plans to establish hegemony over the other tribes. With the collapse of the mustarites in the north, kaleite domination was closer than ever, but a more dangerous opponent had united the north: Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin. Azarad Kale conspired to have him killed, but the attempt failed, and he then led the war against Ibrahim's imperial retribution.
When the City of Towers fell, Azarad and his family fled to the Gith mountains. Today Azarad tries to lay plans to reconquer Akshus, but knows that it is a futile endeavour. He hopes to be spared and that his family can be spared, with his oldest daughter taking over as ruler of the City of Towers and lady of the Akshusian south. He suggests a marriage of her to Asher Tanin, to solidify the alliance. He himself is willing to face imperial justice for his crimes, including exile and being sent to the Wasteland.
He is an akshusian champion. He is devious and ruthless, but he is a smooth operator who wants his family to succeed.
Backdrops
Locations
The City of Towers
The City of Towers is named after the colossal curved dark towers made by the illithid during the dominion. It was the capital of the Illithid realm in Akshus, and afterwards it became the seat of power of the Kaleites. The empire took it during the war and are today occupying it. The streets are patrolled by Sceyan soldiers, and the only original inhabitants are non-combatants, with the kaleite soldiers being interred in prison camps to the east. The towers are used by the legions for barracks and keeping prisoners, with the Devotion and Conquest legions staying here.
To the south of the City hobgoblin mercenaries recruited by the Crimson Order camp, while to the north akshusian tribes under Ibrahim's command camp. Ibrahim and Nysqwen and Andreas and Rhoytas stays in the northern camp.
The Gith Mountains
The Gith Mountains is the mountain-range in the far south of Akshus. They are quite low mountains, but still difficult to navigate due to the many deep valleys and steep cliffs that crisscross the mountains, making them difficult to traverse on foot. The Gith mountains are filled with dozens of monasteries, hidden caves and bunkers from where the githzherai prosecute their guerilla war.
Clashes between the githzherai and imperial forces, primarily legionaries, are a daily occurrence in the mountains as the imperial army is trying to map the way to the Citadel and the Isle of Peace.
The Citadel
The Citadel is the starship the Githzherai arrived on a hundred years ago. The Empire believes that it currently serves as mobile headquarters for the githzherai resistance, and intend to destroy it to force the githzherai to surrender. The Citadel is a massive ship, more like a fortress than a starship, and the anarch leads the resistance from here. It has landed on the shore opposite of the Isle of Peace.
The Citadel is a fearsome weapon, with mighty pylons for shooting psionic energy at the anarch's command and the ability to move with frightening speed. It could easily pose a significant threat to the Imperial Army on its own, but it is low on energy. It cannot both be a powerful warengine and make the trip back to Limbo. If the Citadel is forced to defend itself, it won't be able to get home.
The Isle of Peace
The Isle of Peace is the only permanent settlement that belongs exclusively to the githzherai, and it is here that their children are raised and trained. Before the Isle of Peace was a beautiful place of learning, but today it serves as an infirmary for wounded githzherai and barracks for githzherai waiting to be moved to a new monastery in the Gith Mountains. The isle is protected by a few of the best githzherai monks.
The City of Towers is named after the colossal curved dark towers made by the illithid during the dominion. It was the capital of the Illithid realm in Akshus, and afterwards it became the seat of power of the Kaleites. The empire took it during the war and are today occupying it. The streets are patrolled by Sceyan soldiers, and the only original inhabitants are non-combatants, with the kaleite soldiers being interred in prison camps to the east. The towers are used by the legions for barracks and keeping prisoners, with the Devotion and Conquest legions staying here.
To the south of the City hobgoblin mercenaries recruited by the Crimson Order camp, while to the north akshusian tribes under Ibrahim's command camp. Ibrahim and Nysqwen and Andreas and Rhoytas stays in the northern camp.
The Gith Mountains
The Gith Mountains is the mountain-range in the far south of Akshus. They are quite low mountains, but still difficult to navigate due to the many deep valleys and steep cliffs that crisscross the mountains, making them difficult to traverse on foot. The Gith mountains are filled with dozens of monasteries, hidden caves and bunkers from where the githzherai prosecute their guerilla war.
Clashes between the githzherai and imperial forces, primarily legionaries, are a daily occurrence in the mountains as the imperial army is trying to map the way to the Citadel and the Isle of Peace.
The Citadel
The Citadel is the starship the Githzherai arrived on a hundred years ago. The Empire believes that it currently serves as mobile headquarters for the githzherai resistance, and intend to destroy it to force the githzherai to surrender. The Citadel is a massive ship, more like a fortress than a starship, and the anarch leads the resistance from here. It has landed on the shore opposite of the Isle of Peace.
The Citadel is a fearsome weapon, with mighty pylons for shooting psionic energy at the anarch's command and the ability to move with frightening speed. It could easily pose a significant threat to the Imperial Army on its own, but it is low on energy. It cannot both be a powerful warengine and make the trip back to Limbo. If the Citadel is forced to defend itself, it won't be able to get home.
The Isle of Peace
The Isle of Peace is the only permanent settlement that belongs exclusively to the githzherai, and it is here that their children are raised and trained. Before the Isle of Peace was a beautiful place of learning, but today it serves as an infirmary for wounded githzherai and barracks for githzherai waiting to be moved to a new monastery in the Gith Mountains. The isle is protected by a few of the best githzherai monks.
Encounters
Prison break
During a conversation with one of the characters, they will hear a scuffle in the yard. Several githzherai have managed to break free and are trying to flee the City of Towers, while being charged by Sceyan soldiers.
The Tower insurrection
If the Owls choose to teleport south, they will be greeted by war in the streets, as the githzherai make a desperate gambit to seize one of the voidships and slam it into the flying fortress. As they move out they will be hear the sounds of battle in the tower they are in, and they will be met by a group of githzherai, equivalent to a medium encounter (16,000 xp):
These githzherai are blooded and damaged, as they have fought legionnaire son the way up, and they have lost a few of their number.
This area is open to the air, and after three turns Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin will fly in on Nysqwen.
After this the party will meet all the imperial personnel in turn, starting with Allexander, as the insurrection is brought under control.
During a conversation with one of the characters, they will hear a scuffle in the yard. Several githzherai have managed to break free and are trying to flee the City of Towers, while being charged by Sceyan soldiers.
The Tower insurrection
If the Owls choose to teleport south, they will be greeted by war in the streets, as the githzherai make a desperate gambit to seize one of the voidships and slam it into the flying fortress. As they move out they will be hear the sounds of battle in the tower they are in, and they will be met by a group of githzherai, equivalent to a medium encounter (16,000 xp):
- 5 Githzherai monk CR 2 1850 XP
- 2 Githzherai zerths CR 6 4600 XP
- Githzherai Enlightened with 2 legendary actions CR 12 8400 XP
These githzherai are blooded and damaged, as they have fought legionnaire son the way up, and they have lost a few of their number.
This area is open to the air, and after three turns Ibrahim al-Iliesar Tanin will fly in on Nysqwen.
After this the party will meet all the imperial personnel in turn, starting with Allexander, as the insurrection is brought under control.
Related Characters
Related Organizations
Related Locations
Related Session Reports
Comments