INCARNUM CAMPAIGNS
CHAPTER 8
own sake, although some do seek power for their own evil ends. Similarly, the Azure Sentinels are secretive and mysterious, and while they include militant members who wouldn’t hesitate to steal or kill to protect the order’s secrets, they are not all evil. Thus, adventures involving the conflict and competition between these two groups will not necessarily devolve to each doing its level best to kill all the members of the other. Once the PCs get involved in this conflict, however, it is difficult not to choose a side. And once they choose a side, their involvement only escalates. Soon they are leading raids on the Society’s extradimensional vaults—or defending those vaults against Sentinel raids. Naturally, they continue to search for the lore at the center of the dispute, always finding themselves at the heart of the conflict. As these adventures progress, the PCs can learn, from friend and foe, more about incarnum along the way. This gradual learning about incarnum is the heart of this campaign arc, at least in terms of bringing the rules in this book into play. The PCs’ adventures might take them to distant lands where skarns and rilkans dwell or to the home plane of the dusklings, which could provide the players with an opportunity to replace a fallen PC with a new character from one of these races. Their acquisition of incarnum-related lore is certain to include the discovery of incarnum magic items, and PCs could gradually learn the incarnum feats they need to gain essentia to invest in those items. Eventually (and it is best to delay this), one or more of the PCs might learn the secrets of meldshaping. If they are working for the Azure Sentinels, they might reach such a level of trust and respect within the organization that they become full members, eligible to study under the incarnate and soulborn masters of the Sentinels. On the other hand, if they work for the Society or remain free agents, they might simply piece together enough information to learn meldshaping independently, simultaneously making themselves very dangerous to the Azure Sentinels and extremely valuable to the Society of the Learned. Eventually, however, a new threat emerges that forces the PCs to negotiate a truce between the Sentinels and the Society. Something schemes to stop the free flow of incarnum through the planes. Perhaps a powerful necrocarnate sets up a great black monolith (similar to the Wellspring described in the previous section) designed to corrupt or harvest souls as they pass between mortal life and the worlds beyond. Maybe the minions of a demon prince seek to divert those souls to the Abyss to feed their master so he can ascend to godhood. Or perhaps a mighty dragon situates himself at a font of soul energy to feed on raw incarnum at the point where it comes into the Material Plane. In any event, the plans of this malevolent force threaten the very existence of incarnum and all who use it. To overcome this threat, the PCs must force the Society of the Learned and the Azure Sentinels to put aside their differences and work together to defeat the evil forces.
CAMPAIGN ARC: THE LAST MISHTAI
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Another way to present the idea that incarnum and all the incarnum-related creatures and effects in this book have always been around is to assume that the use of incarnum is geographically isolated—on another continent or another
plane. The location might be unimaginably remote, on a demiplane that connects to the Material Plane for only one year out of every 10,000 years, or simply in a distant country the PCs have never visited or heard much about. Wherever the incarnum-users have developed, in this campaign arc, they infiltrate an existing setting with a purpose, bringing intrigue and adventure with them. The campaign arc begins when the skarn Vishtek II, Potentate Perfect of the city Nor, discovers a tantalizing reference in a recently recovered planar codex. The text refers to “the last mishtai,” a survivor of the cataclysm that destroyed the mishtai progenitor race. According to the codex, a lone mishtai avoided his race’s destruction by making a flight to the homeland of the PCs (or someplace much nearer the center of your campaign’s action). The dominant skarn culture still seeks to attain the mishtai’s great goal: perfection of form. They believe that they are close, thanks to incarnum and centuries of meldshaping. After reading the reference to the last mishtai, the Potentate Perfect stops at nothing to fi nd the mysterious survivor and learn his or her secrets. The highly ordered skarn society is immediately mobilized. The hammers of smiths ring loud, lurid flames burn through the night in the high tower windows of the Temple of Wee Jas, and the Ceremony of Seekers is postponed at the Mishtoran amphitheater. The spine fighters begin to prepare for a war of conquest over anything that might stand between them and the last mishtai. As the skarns send an exploratory vanguard to the PCs’ homeland, the characters’ first encounter might be with lost creatures tainted by wisps of stray incarnum that seem to waft before the approaching skarn forces. For great effect, consider turning an acquaintance or friend of the PCs into a lost. As the PCs research the bizarre ailment afflicting their friend, they learn of more lost appearing in ever-increasing numbers as the skarns draw closer. While the city of Nor’s military searches for the last mishtai, other factions also join in the hunt. A lawful evil band of skarns known as Bones and Spines has no qualms about leaving dead bodies piled in the streets of the heroes’ city while searching for the last mishtai. The PCs’ fi rst encounter with a meldshaper could be when they face Bones and Spines. During this encounter, emphasize the alien quality of the invaders. Use soulmelds whose visual and mechanical effects are not easily duplicated by spells. If the PCs capture one of the Bones and Spines band, they can interrogate him and learn more of the forces that are marching toward their homeland. The rilkans are not immune to the lure of finding the last mishtai, and they follow the skarns in two main groups. First come various rilkan daredevils, looking to write their names in the history books by being the first to locate the last mishtai. One or more of these daredevils undoubtedly offers to join the PCs’ adventuring company, praising their spirit and reputation for derring-do. The second group of rilkans to arrive consists of merchants. Always happy to supply goods and services to opening markets, the rilkan merchants might provide the first opportunity for the PCs to purchase incarnum magic items. Dusklings seem to be drawn to areas where incarnum is used, and the arrival of skarns and rilkans lures these fey from
