Credits

Author: Greg A. Vaughan

Artist: Jethro Lentle
Design and Layout: Craig Williams
Legendary Games Team Members: Anthony Adam, Michael Allen, Alex Augunas, Kate Baker, Jesse Benner, Clinton J.
Boomer, Robert Brookes, Benjamin Bruck, Carl Cramer, Paris Crenshaw, Joel Flank, Andrew J. Gibson, Jeff Gomez,
Matthew Goodall, Jim Groves, Amanda Hamon, Steven T. Helt, Thurston Hillman, Tim Hitchcock, Victoria Jaczko,
Jenny Jarzabski, N. Jolly, Jonathan H. Keith, Michael Kortes, Jeff Lee, Nicolas Logue, Will McCardell, Julian Neale, Jason
Nelson, Jen Page, Richard Pett, Tom Phillips, Alistair Rigg, Alex Riggs, Wren Rosario, David N. Ross, Wendall Roy, Amber
Scott, Mark Seifter, Tork Shaw, Mike Shel, Loren Sieg, Neil Spicer, Todd Stewart, Russ Taylor, Greg A. Vaughan, Mike
Welham, Linda Zayas-Palmer, and Clark Peterson
Chief Executive Officer: Jason Nelson
Chief Strategic Officer: Shirline Wilson
Chief Business Officer: Rachel Ventura

Welcome to the Aegis of Empires

Adventure Path
Welcome to the Lost Lands, the campaign setting of the adventures and books by Frog God Games and Necromancer
Games before it! “But this is Legendary Games?” you say. Yes, yes it is, but as the principal developer of the Lost Lands
setting — having the privilege and pleasure of combing through every single product, word-by-word, from those two
companies’ considerable catalog of books to determine how it all fit together into a coherent whole — I had the opportunity
to continue my work with the setting. By mutual agreement upon the end of my tenure with Frog God Games in 2018, I
was able to provide them with the bible of Lost Lands material I had been collating since 2010 and was graciously allowed
to retain the rights to continue to make my own contributions to the setting I had poured so much into in Lost Lands-
compatible products. I also purchased the rights to the Aegis of Empires Adventure Path that had already been in the works
for some time (though under the name Ashes of Empires at that time, and changed due to similarities in titles from other
companies that were being released in a similar timeframe), so I could continue the development I had already started
on it and nurture it through to the end. That Legendary Games was willing to adopt such a project, was icing on the cake
and what has allowed me to put this product into your hands.

Aegis of Empires GM’s Guide ©

2020, Legendary Games; Author Legendary Games
Greg A. Vaughan. 524 SW 321st St.
First printing November 2020. Federal Way, WA 98023
Printed in USA makeyourgamelegendary.com

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 Connecting the Adventures for the
Aegis of Empires Adventure Path
Aegis of Empires is more of a campaign arc than a Lands (or in another campaign setting, as discussed later),
straightforward adventure path, allowing you to insert there is the matter of geography to be considered. If that
your own adventure choices as you see fit to fill out your sort of consistency is important to you and your players,
campaign. In general, you will have the following level then you’re going to want the fill-in adventures to make
gaps available for adventures based on the spacing of the sense as to why the PCs are there and the feasibility of them
adventures in the AP. Of course, this is largely subject to being there.
the XP advancement of your player characters which can
fluctuate a great deal depending on their actions taken
To assist in this matter for those GMs who want it, we
in any given adventure, especially the longer combined
are providing lists of suggested adventures that make
adventures of AE4: Legend of the Burning Star and AE5:
sense to be used to fill in those gaps between the AP’s
Race for Shataakh-Uulm. So be prepared to modify the
adventures. We approaching this list from two different
placement of fill-in adventures according to the needs of
directions. Since this is a Legendary Games publication,
your own campaign.
we will include a list of previously published Legendary
Games adventures that can be used to fill in these areas of
Assuming you are starting a campaign with a party of the campaign (with one exception noted below). Likewise,
brand-new first-level characters, you will need a 1st-level since this is a publication intended for the Frog God
introductory adventure as a lead-in before proceeding Games Lost Lands campaign setting, we will provide a
with AE1: The Book in the Old House, which is an adventure list of previously published Frog God Games adventures
for 2nd-level PCs. AE1 should bring PCs to 3rd level, but that can be used in this capacity. Finally discussed at the
it is unlikely to advance them beyond that. Since AE2: very end will be a resource for placing this AP in another
The Ebon Soul is an adventure for 5th-level characters, published campaign setting entirely and suggested drop-
you will need to bridge the gap from 3rd or 4th level to in adventures for those situations as well.
prepare them for AE2. Likewise, AE3: When Comes the
Moon is for 8th-level characters, so while AE2 might bring
them to 6th level, it is unlikely to get them beyond that, A Legendary Games Adventure Path
requiring another interstitial adventure to prepare for As a Legendary Games publication, this version of the
AE3. AE4: Legend of the Burning Star is for 10th-level PCs, adventure path will assume the (almost) exclusive use of
so a 9th-level adventure will probably need to serve as a published Legendary Games adventures to complement
fill-in between AE3 and AE4. AE4 leads directly into AE5: this AP.
Race for Shataakh-Uulm, and should provide the necessary
XP to bring the party up to 12th level by the start of that
adventure. No adventure should be necessary to serve 1st Level — The Fiddler’s Lament
as fill-in between those. Likewise, it is probable that the by Greg A. Vaughan (2012)
vast scope of AE5 will be sufficient to bring the PCs up The Legendary Games adventure path begins with the
to or near 15th level for them to undertake AE6: Knight adventure The Fiddler’s Lament from the Gothic Campaign
Fall in Old Curgantium, so it is less likely that a stop-gap Compendium. The Fiddler’s Lament is a self-contained,
adventure will be needed between AE5 and AE6 though it horror-based adventure that takes place in the small town
still remains a possibility. of Raven. For the purposes of this AP, Raven can be placed
anywhere upon the plains of the Kingdom of the Vast
where AE1: The Book in the Old House is located. Not only
Though the purpose of the loosely connected design of does it provide a bit of a taste of horror to complement
this adventure path is to GMs maximum flexibility in how the horror theme of AE1, the Kingdom of the Vast’s not-
they organize and run their campaign, it is just as likely too-distant history as the Infernal Realm of Kear under the
that a GM will not have the time or desire to fill in gaps tyranny of the vampire lord known as the Singed Man fits
with their own adventures. Additionally, the gap in XP is in very nicely with the haunted, disconsolate feel of Raven
not the only issue to be considered when stringing together as presented in the adventure.
a coherent campaign. If you are running this AP in the Lost

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3rd/4th Level — Cold Mountain way back into the heart of Foere after having ventured to
by Jason Nelson (2013) its fringes among the peaks of the Cretian Mountains. The
Following completion of AE1, the PCs find themselves PCs just happen to arrive on the night of the Lanterngeist
traveling through the fringe regions of western Foere— Festival and are drawn into the horrors of what appears to
perhaps on their way to the Duchy of Ysser and the events be a case of revenge from beyond the grave but is actually
that will occur there in AE2—when they are approached something perhaps far worse.
by the vagabond Trindon Mosely, who is in search of a
likely group of adventurers. In using this adventure for 14th Level — The Winding Way by Nicholas
Aegis of Empires, remove the reference to the PCs as rulers
or explorers of new lands; they are simply adventurers of Logue (Dungeon #117, Dec 2004)
convenience who Mosely finds and believes that they might As I mentioned above, there is one exception to the
fit the bill. Consider the Ughar to be one of the far-flung suggested adventures for this AP being all from existing
and isolated human tribes descended from the Ancient Legendary Games publications. Jason and I wracked out
Ones that can still be found in the odd corners of Akados. brains to come up with a suitable stand-in here, but of the
Their village of Gloym lies deep beneath the eaves of the ones available for this level range none fit thematically very
Elderwood, not far from the Broken Mountains where well. So I am branching off from the Legendary Games
stands the Sacred Mountain of Istria. catalog for the final suggestion here, though in doing so
I’m drawing upon a classic Indiana Jones-esque tale by the
inestimable Mr. Logue from the halcyon days of Dungeon
6th/7th Level — The Horseshoe Calamity Magazine. Herein the PCs return from their excursion
by Ron Lundeen (2017) deep into the Haunted Steppe in AE4/AE5 brings them
This adventure is easily placed in the Plains of Eauxe, the back to the Conroi Settlements on their return to southern
great grassland wilderness between the Kingdom of Foere lands. In the town of Stonebreach at the base of the
and the coastal kingdoms of North Heath and The Vast. Deepfells Range, they receive a request for aid from undead
Perhaps the PCs are returning to more familiar lands to the incursions descending from the nearby mountain and an
south after having experienced the events of AE2 in Tourse investigation of its temple.
but before they are drawn east to the Cretian Mountains for
AE3. The PCs should be traveling through this barren plain
during the winter months to account for the climate effects A Frog God Games Adventure Path
described in this adventure. Humans and centaurs have co- For Lost Lands purists, provided below is a version of
existed upon these plains for millennia, and the Ovoskich the adventure path that utilizes only published Frog God
of Dolanni can be a combined clan group that descended Games adventures already set in the Lost Lands and
from disparate peoples decimated and hunted during the adhering to their existing geographical locations within
dark years of the Infernal Tyrant’s reign over Kear and who that setting.
formed their own isolated society as a means of survival
in that time. Now more connected to the outside world, 1st Level — TB1: The Crooked Nail
they nonetheless retain their tight-knit clan identity when
by Brandon Hodge (2017)
dealing with travelers from elsewhere.
TB1: The Crooked Nail allows the PCs to start out with a
bad taste in their mouth for the Lost Lands already. This
9th Level — Feasting at Lanterngeist adventure can be run as written with the PCs discovering the
by Greg A. Vaughan (2013)
horrors hidden within the depth of the city-state’s Artists’
Another visit to a Gothic Campaign Compendium adventure, Quarter and the secrets there better left undiscovered.
Feasting at Lanterngeist involves an annual festival and its And after dealing with the likes of Crux the apothecary
ill-fated haunting in the lakeside village of Marshtown. and the legacy of the Fraternitatem Æternam, they will be
Another horror-themed adventure, Feasting at Lanterngeist likely more than ready to quit the precincts of The Blight
serves nicely to bring a different, more down-to-earth altogether. Fortunately it is only a short jaunt across the
brand of horror to the PCs as they recover from their ordeal Fetid Sea to bring the party to the shores of the Kingdom
at Asteria Point in AE3: When Comes the Moon. It easy to of the Vast and its capital city of Eber for the advent of AE1.
bring the PCs into an appropriate place to experience this Furthermore, this campaign start gives the party a foretaste
adventure. Simply place Marshtown as a small nondescript of the Castorhagi and their despicable ways that will be
village on the shores of one of the eastern arms of the Star only all too familiar as they run afoul of representatives
Sea. The PCs pass through the village while making their from this city in later chapters of the AP.

2
3rd/4th Level — QOD4: The Covered Bridge around Elet before heading up into Yolbiac Vale after the
by Kevin Wright (2017) spring thaw. When they reach the town of Coleum in the
QOD4: The Covered Bridge, one of the stand-alone softcover southern reaches of the Vale, they can then be introduced
releases of the Quests of Doom 4 series, was practically to the events of AE3.
written for this adventure path. In fact, its manuscript was
received not long before that of AE2: The Ebon Soul and 9th Level — LL9: The Mountain That Moved
was already ear-marked for the Quests of Doom series
by Gwendolyn Kestrel (2015)
or it might have found a place within Aegis of Empires.
The Covered Bridge takes place in the Saymere Valley at From the LL9: Adventures in the Borderland Provinces
the western extent of the Kingdom of Foere. In fact, it adventure anthology, The Mountain That Moved brings
lies along the old road which was once one of the main the PCs to the area of headwaters of the Gaelon River on
thoroughfares connecting the cathedral-city of Nains with the eastern slopes of the Cretian Mountains. Following
the Rheman regional capital of Panetoth, both locations their return from Yolbiac Vale and the trepidations of the
that figure heavily into AE4. Likewise the hero of Saymere Asterian Abbey in AE3, the PCs can travel along the eastern
Valley, Sir Varral the Blessed, played a major role in the fringe of the mountains in the Duchy of the Rampart.
western reaches of Foere and the Kingdom of the Vast, as it While there they can come to the town of Deadfellows or
was he who led the resistance against and ultimately struck hear rumors of the disappearance of Vulture Pass to draw
down the vampire tyrant, the Singed Man. The adventure them into the events of this adventure.
can easily be placed in the AP as the PCs travel north from
Eber towards Tourse and the coming events of AE2 that 14th Level — QOD: The Isle of Eliphaz
take place there.
by Casey Christofferson and Bill Webb (2003)
Another selection from the Quests of Doom collection
6th/7th Level — QOD: Perils of Ghostwind Pass (and the L2: Vampires and Liches anthology before that),
by Matt Finch (2015)
The Isle of Eliphaz is set in the northern waters of the
From the first Quests of Doom collection, Perils of Crescent Sea, not far from the great port city of Reme. It
Ghostwind Pass is an old-school wilderness hex-crawl is a simple matter for the PCs, upon return from their
combined with an evocative dungeon adventure centered adventures beyond the Wizard’s Wall in AE4/AE5, to be
around a compelling plot and internal mystery (the players traveling through Reme to find the quickest passage back
might not even discover the true nature of the mystery until to southern lands where their careers began in and around
midway through the adventure). The adventure itself is set Castorhage, Eber, or points beyond. From there they are
on the mountain pass at the north end of Yolbiac Vale. The only a chance encounter with the isle upon the Crescent
adventure works best if, after having completed AE2, the Sea or the research of old rumors of a lost wizard’s tomb
PCs make their way towards Yolbiac Vale by the northern in Reme for them to make their way to that accursed island
route, through Aachen Province. They can winter in or and the ancient entity imprisoned there.

3
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Identity and is an enhancement over the prior as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in Feasting at Lanterngeist, © 2013, Legendary Games;
art and any additional content clearly identified another, independent Agreement with the owner Author: Greg A. Vaughan.
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not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability The Fiddler’s Lament, © 2012, Legendary Games;
means any work covered by this License, including Author: Greg A. Vaughan.
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law, but specifically excludes Product Identity; (e) conjunction with a work containing Open Game The Horseshoe Calamity, © 2017, Legendary
“Product Identity” means product and product Content except as expressly licensed in another, Games; Author: Ron Lundeen.
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trade dress; artifacts; creatures; characters; stories, Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of 2004, Wizards of the Coast; Author: Nicolas Logue.
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not constitute a challenge to the ownership of Aegis of Empires GM’s Guide, © 2020, Legendary
incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, Games; Author: Greg A. Vaughan