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| from d3.heroes-centrum.com |
When it was published, I was inspired by Rodney Thompson's "Adapting the Lich-Queen's Beloved" article on DDi. The article goes to describe the author's experiences converting a treasure of an adventure from a (slightly) older edition to 4E and the benefits thereof. The experiences described felt very Fourthcore to me, very much in line with the kinds of adventures I like to run and play in. If you haven't already, please go check it out, as well as the link to the original 3rd Edition adventure. After reading it, I did, however, find myself a little disappointed in the lack of full stat blocks and enough details to really run the adventure in the 4E milieu. I imagine Rodney did what most of us do; print out what you got and wing it! That is a fantastic methods, which often leads to a lot of improv and creativity, but that's not what I wanted.
So when thinking about things and reading the original Lich-Queen's Beloved (LQB), it struck me as a perfect basis of design for creating the capstone to wrap up my D&D campaign. Hence, I have developed a fully written up 4E D&D conversion to LQB, taking many cues from Fourthcore in general and the Fourthcore Armory specifically, going so far as to develop Rumor Cards for my players.
The adventure loosely follows the original LQB plot, so please go check it out. I have modified things to better suit my own campaign. Yusht has replaced the legless Warlock Xam-kras (you might remember Yusht from our podcast).
In the original adventure, the author seems to need to justify everything. This door has hardness X because of spell Y, etc. In the 4E version, all that is glossed over and only the important bits are left in. I show, I do not tell.
Also for my campaign, the Dragonborn are the main villains, so LQB's distinction between githyanki and githzerai is unimportant. I mostly just refer to them collectively as "Gith". If you want to run this adventure closer to the original, please rename and reflavor the dragonborn to githyank by giving them a tekekinetic flying ability instead of the dragon's breath.
INTRODUCTION
The fate of the universe reaches a dangerous precipice as all threats against existence have converged.
The Arkhosian Empire is scattered and defeated. The last remaining stalwart warriors of this doomed race have looked into the face of extinction and kneeled before the banner of The Lich Queen. With the forces of Arkhosia and the Primordials under her sway, Abilene has proclaimed herself “Lich-Queen” and sits upon a throne in her Iron Palace, called Susurrus.
Susurrus itself is an unholy abomination, a structure of twisted metal and the souls of the damned. It lies implanted upon the rotting corpse of the dead god Ioun like an infected canker and feeds off of the fleeing divine energy. The gargantuan body of the dead god forms the last remaining seal against the realms of madness, acting as a cork in the Living Gate that stops a parallel universe of tentacled horrors from reaching into our own.
Abilene works ceaselessly on a dark, year-long spell that is powered by ritualistic sacrifice of her slaves, the Gith race. Once complete, this spell the will drain the divine essence out of the husk of Ioun and funnel it into her own deathless form, transforming her into a god, where she will destroy the plague-stricken divine pantheon, let loose the Living Gate, and destroy the universe forever.
BACKGROUND
+ Abilene the Iron Lich is the mother to one of the crusaders. This adventure allows the crusader to confront his or her unholy progenitor and defeat her. She is a vile tyrant and has masterminded the destruction of the universe and her ascension to godhood.
+ This adventure takes place in the depths of the Astral Sea and assumes the crusaders’ have the power to raise a fleet of Astral Attack Vessel.
+ Yusht is an old comrade of the crusaders that fell to the Iron Lich’s spells and is now one of her faithful servants
+ The Arkhosian Empire is defeated, and its Dragonborn lords have are facing extinction. In desperation, they have pledged their souls to Abilene.
+ In return, she has begun crafting undead dragonborn horrors, The Fiendish Dragonborn Corrupted Deathlords, and hatching them in great number.
+ The gods are all dying from a Divine Plague, created by Abilene the Iron Lich. Ioun has already died, its body clogging the Living Gate and its divine essence being siphoned off through Susurrus.
+ Abilene has allied with the dreaded Illithid and enslaved the Gith race. Both parties work towards the complete genocide of the Gith people.
SYNOPSIS
+ The crusaders attack Susurrus with their fleet of Astral Vessels, attempting to get past its defenses and enter the accursed Iron Palace.
+ Once inside, the crusaders kill monsters and take their stuff; including Abilene the Iron Lich, her dark servants.
+ The crusaders find portals leading them to Abilene's vulnerable locations: the hellfire hatcheries at the abandoned Bael Turathian capital of Vor Rukoth, and inside the heart of Ioun where she keeps her phylactery.
Download the converted adventure here!
Get the original adventure (and map) here!
This adventure is suitable for 21st Level Crusaders.
CRUSADERS' ASTRAL VESSELS
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| Rumor Cards |
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| Rumor Cards |
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| The key to the phylactery |
This is so great! thanks.
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