History

The origin of the githyanki race is lost to time. They existed within a mortal realm at one point, but moved to the Astral Plane. Were they escaping a threat? Or had they consumed all resources in their home plane and moved on to find greener pastures? Whatever their reason the githyanki abandoned their home dimension and took up permanent residence in the Astral Plane between dimensions.

Residing in the Astral Plane left the githyanki without sources of food or inspirations for artistic endeavors. To fulfill those needs, the githyanki began visiting other planes. Their main residence remained a mobile fortress city in the Astral Plane, but they sent out scouting parties to other planes. A promising plane received a full scale invasion. After an initial invasion destroys organized resistance, the githyanki occupy the plane and drain it of resources. Once the plane has been milked for all they can get, the Lich-queen orders a return to the Astral Plane. The githyanki have repeated this cycle countless times. Scout, invade, occupy, consume, and depart.

The githyanki altered their strategy slightly for the invasion of Cimmeria. The wealth of magic in the region sparked great interest in the Lich-queen, but also caution for the githyanki soldiers could not easily overwhelm the local residents. The Lich-queen orchestrated an alliance with the blue dragons. Their sovereigns had been imprisoned by the Heroes of the Dragon War. By breaking the Blue Dragon Orb, the Lich-queen won a debt from Bavastatner. She collected the debt in the form of an alliance. The blue dragons would assist the githyanki invasion of Cimmeria.

With blue dragon mounts the githyanki rained down across Cimmeria. All the most powerful heroes of the day were slain or captured and fed to the Lich-queen. Most of Cimmeria was conquered within a few days. The two holdouts were Crafterton and Nomingburg, led by the Dragon War Hero, Tracy, and the Gish Trio of Galandir, Tereman, and Blendegad. Tracy kept her halfling people safe and led a resistance movement against the githyanki. Meanwhile the githyanki looted their conquest for all of its riches.

Tracy and the Gish Trio sought to drive a wedge between the Lich-queen and Bavastatner. They learned that Bavastatner had sworn on the River Styx to uphold the alliance. As a divine being he was bound to this oath but there was a way to undo such an oath. If his soul was freed from the Styx, then he would no longer be bound by an oath on it. Tracy devised a plan and executed it. Bavastatner learned how to free his soul. He did so, becoming more powerful in the process. His escape set off the Draco-Gith War. Bavastatner led his blue dragon family against the githyanki. The war between the two powers allowed people across Cimmeria to rise up in rebellion.

Tracy and the Gish Trio struck the final blow against the Lich-queen by banishing her from Earth. Her minions could come to the plane, but she would never be able to. The Lich-queen devoured Tracy in the process, but the damage was done. Unable to enjoy the world for herself, the Lich-queen ordered an evacuation of Cimmeria. She would have to undo her banishment before returning to finish what they’d started. The Lich-queen now has a goal with the githyanki’s wandering. She seeks a method to unbind her soul and reclaim the one conquest that was taken from her.

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I’m Isaac

Welcome to the GoCorral website! I’m Isaac Shaker and this is a place for me to write about D&D and occasionally other topics. I host a podcast called Setting the Stage that interviews different DMs about their campaigns. I’m currently focused on completing the Cimmeria campaign setting and turning it into a book.

Setting the Stage Podcast

83 – Call of Cthulhu's Garden (Hem and The Sprouting) Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

Hem tells us about their actual play campaign, The Sprouting. Within the world of The Sprouting, Earth's history diverged during the 1800s when an eldritch horror was summoned into our reality. The horror lay in wait for centuries, building up a secret army of plant monsters. In 2020, the plant monsters struck, ruining infrastructure and attacking population centers across the world. One hundred years have passed and our heroes learn that the next stage of the plant apocalypse has begun…We also discussed some of the difficulties and pleasures of actual play podcasts and how the RPG community varies internationally (Hem is in Iceland).If you want to try listening to The Sprouting its available on all major podcast platforms. You can learn more on The Sprouting's website.For other shows produced by Hem check out Blighthouse Studio's website.Hem mentioned The Lucky Die actual play show of theirs several times which used D&D 5e.And the broader network of Fable and Folly has their website too.Check out the Setting the Stage website!Want to be on the show? Fill out this survey.Join our Discord!Support Setting the Stageon Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  1. 83 – Call of Cthulhu's Garden (Hem and The Sprouting)
  2. 82 – Tarot Ghosts (George and Fears & Fortunes)
  3. 81 – Biopunk 2287 RPG (Seiya and Synesthesia Synthetica)
  4. 80 – Dynamic RPG Countries (Travis and Tetara)
  5. 79 – Dragon Age Degenerates (Zoe from Degenerates with Dice)