620_88566_Ghostwalk3.qxd
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CHAPTER 3:
THE GHOSTWALK CAMPAIGN
and sometimes uses her to interrogate prisoners, for The Fang’s charming gaze can be used hundreds of times until the victims succumb. The staircase in this room leads to area 15. 15. Lich Torture The necromancer Tapakan (NE male human lich Wiz14) is imprisoned here, magically fused into the rock of the south wall of his chamber. Tapakan was once a trusted lieutenant of Trun, but he mutinied. In retaliation, Trun destroyed his spellbook and depleted his spells in an extended battle, after which she was able to confine him with relative ease. He now serves as a reminder of Trun’s power and a threat of punishment for those that would betray her. He asks any living creature that enters this place to free him in exchange for information, which would require chipping away at the rock, a stone shape spell, or something similar. Tapakan is barely visible as a skeletal face and hands protruding from the south wall. 16. Bodak Haunt Three bodaks wander around this room, kept deep underground to protect them from dangerous sunlight. The bodaks obey only Managin (because they recognize his ties to Orcus) and disregard orders from anyone else, including Trun.
18. Necroplasm Lair Trun has several necroplasms of the largest size here, which have been ordered to not leave this room. 19. Meditation Chamber This room is decorated with carved stone skulls, some of which are 4 or more feet across. The largest skulls are used as the resting place for Hadran (NE male human vampire Rog15) and his vampire spawn. He and his undead gang were destroyed six years ago by a team of adventurers serving Aluvan and Dracanish, and he still is resentful about this and preferentially attacks servants of these deities. At night Hadran and his slaves act as spies for Trun, their ability to enter spaces in gaseous form making them ideally suited for this work. He wants to eliminate Trun and take her place, but he knows that she is more powerful than he and would return in a year for vengeance, so he sulks.
INSERTING MANIFEST INTO AN EXISTING CAMPAIGN
Manifest can, with only a little work, be inserted into an existing campaign. All that is required is that the cosmology of the campaign be altered (or defined) to include the concept of the physical land of the dead and the entrance as described in this product.
17. Mohrgs Trun keeps five mohrgs magically bound to this room under commands to attack any living creatures they see. The staircase in this room leads to area 18. pqqqqrs USING GHOSTWALK IN OTHER D&D WORLDS While Ghostwalk is intended as a stand-alone campaign, it can be used as part of an ongoing campaign set in an existing D&D world. If introduced in this fashion, Manifest and its environs should be placed in a remote area to explain why the heroes had not heard of it before. Likewise, the magical effects that create ghosts and the disposition of souls to the True Afterlife instead of the outer planes should be a localized phenomena to avoid invalidating existing lore on the nature of the afterlife in the world. All the deities except Aluvan and Dracanish can be replaced by similar deities appropriate to the campaign. The draw of the True Afterlife should extend about 500–1,000 miles from Manifest, and outside that range the normal D&D rules for death and souls apply. In the FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign, Manifest could be on the islands of Lantan or the Moonshaes, or in the realm of Tashalar. Its unique cosmology applies to the entire country in which it lies. Chaniud is Tyr, Durann is Torm, Eanius is Mielikki, Galaedros is Silvanus, Khostren is Talona, Nessek is Kossuth, Phaant is Beshaba, Soggelos is Deep Sashelas, Tephaneron is Tempus, Uhanam is the Red Knight, and Wyst is Selûne. Orcus can remain as he is (since his cult has been found in Damara, it could be elsewhere) or could be replaced
with Kiaransalee or Velsharoon. The campaign should deemphasize the role of drow and other Underdark inhabitants common in other parts of Toril. Alternately, the peninsula could be placed on the continent of Maztica and used in place of what is described there in the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting. This would keep Manifest as an exotic location, allow for the use of the “native” Manifest deities, and give a geographical explanation for why the fate of souls is different in Manifest than in all of Faerûn. In a GREYHAWK campaign, Manifest and its surrounding countries could replace the Yeomanry and the Hold of the Sea Princes or could be an undiscovered group of civilizations in the Amedio Jungle or south of the Amedio. In such a campaign, Chaniud is Lendor, Durann is Heironeous, Eanius is Ehlonna, Galaedros is Obad-Hai, Khostren is Incabulos, Nessek is Wee Jas, Phaant is Ralishaz, Soggelos is Procan, Tephaneron is Erythnul, Uhanam is Delleb, and Wyst is Fharlanghn. Orcus can remain, as he already has an established presence in Oerth lore. If your GREYHAWK campaign is set in the western countries, Manifest could be placed in the Lendore Isles or in the eastern part of the old Great Kingdom so that altering the map and history to fit this book would have little impact on an ongoing campaign.
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