Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Exposed_Wires 11-26-07, 11:37 PM	I'm looking for some ideas on stories to add to an Eberron campaign I'm running where the PCs are members of a crew aboard an Airship. The captain and first mate are NPCs, as are the cook and most of the muscle. Captain is a half-elf woman, first mate is a female shifter. I already have an idea for a stow-away. An orphan or something they won't want to boot off when they get to the next port, but I'm looking for more. Generally I'm looking for plot, nothing specifically for an Eberron campaign, just stuff that would be cool in a campaign with a good handful of NPCs that they will have to be dealing with all the time. Thanks!
Tsochar 11-27-07, 03:32 AM	Airship... Airship... let's see... Running rescue missions might be good. Rescuees with complex pasts that come back to haunt them, some rescues turning out to be more than they seem, unwittingly saving a bad guy... There's some good monster-fighting opportunity, and a lot of plot potential. Perhaps a mercenary/special ops team, flying in from wherever to execute whatever missions need to be done. Or a merchant vessel fighting off pirates on particularly piratey routes. Or a pirate vessel robbing merchants on particularly piratey routes! Maybe a taxi service, even. Never know what'll happen to a taxi in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe take a page from RL and fight terrorists after one tries a hijacking. These are all starting points, but I find plot works best when you plan it out yourself. That way you have more control.
Exposed_Wires 11-27-07, 04:01 PM	Thanks. I already have an overall plan, but since delivery is kind of boring, i want to start a bunch of sub-plots. Thinking mystery. Had idea for a stow-away, maybe some stolen goods where the only suspects are on board.
Tsochar 11-28-07, 12:51 AM	Delivery doesn't have to be boring. Sometimes, cargo needs to be delivered regardless of how dangerous the journey may be. One might race against the clock, fight pirates trying to get the cargo, or sometimes the cargo might be part of a plot to destroy the crew (it might be rigged to explode, or teleport a few monsters in). In some cases, the clients and recipients of the delivery might offer interesting conflict, like maybe the contents are actually illegal and they need your help to stash it somewhere, or maybe it's something less than the recipient asked, and they need your help to get the rest, using force if necessary. Drug cartels, arms trading, all kinds of dangerous cargo can be easily transferred to a high-magic setting like Eberron; magic items could be in the cargo instead of guns, for example. Or maybe the captive escaped its cage. The possibilities are endless.
Exposed_Wires 11-28-07, 04:45 PM	Thanks
Magus888 12-06-07, 01:59 PM	Maybe you could do a couple bush pilot missions, where the crew goes out to the back end of no-where to supply some mining camp or other. Of course, if the first camp is under attack by something, the PCs are going to pitch in, aren't they (dead customers don't pay for supplies, after all)? And if the airship gets a little damaged, you have tension: return to civilization and repair, leaving the rest of the camps in the lurch, or jury rig it and finish the run?
Calium 12-07-07, 02:07 AM	AIR PIRATES FROM TAILSPIN. nuff said.
Kelmourne 12-08-07, 01:44 AM	Alot of inspiration could come from the movie/book Stardust by neil gaiman or from the edgeland chronicles series of books. Both are great stories.
Goldenmaxter 12-09-07, 09:07 PM	Air Pirates! If you don't want to use air pirates, then have whatever powers the ship (crystals, batteries, etc.) run out and have them crash land on an unfamiliar island. Have a gnome mechanic whiz guy have the desired parts to restore the ship, but make them go on a wild goose chase to earn the parts.
cheezgrater 12-09-07, 10:28 PM	1.) Hijackers. 2.) Contracted to make a standard delivery run, but "that's not food in those crates". Potentially dangerous/illegal cargo...do they deliver it anyway, track down the plot, or just dump the cargo and run? All three may have far-reaching consequences. Pirates may be after the contraband too. 3.) Provide transport for a Justiciar (Bounty Hunter, whatever) and the criminal he has just captured. Hijinx ensue as the criminal tries to escape and/or his buddies try to rescue him... 4.) See 3, but if the PCs investigate, the Bounty Hunter is actually the evil one, and the "criminal" is not a criminal at all... 5.) A large, well-organized band of pirates/bandits has blockaded a city/town. They fully intend to let all the townspeople starve to death if their demands are not met. They have sufficient ground/air power to stop every previous attempt to get supplies to the blocked area. Getting a shipment of food through will require quick thinking, superb strategy, and outstanding piloting..... 6.) (Some ties to 2). A shady character hires them to deliver a bunch of crates to Sharn (or wherever). Shady is actually a nasty necromancer, and the crates contain undead. Deliver the crates, and they just unleashed a skeleton army *inside* Sharn (how many skeletons can you stuff in a crate, anyway?). Perhaps some of the crates open early and the skeletons try to overrun the airship mid fight? 7.) An assassin hires them to serve as his getaway vehicle after a hit. Perhaps he even hires them before the hit. Do they know he is an assassin? ("I have an urgent business meeting in Sharn. I will pay you X gold to get me there. I will pay double for a round trip after the meeting. Triple if you can have me home in time for dinner"). Hijinx ensue...
Lelander_the_L 12-10-07, 08:47 PM	Losing they're landing equipment. try that out.
Anuvrix 12-13-07, 11:28 AM	I ran a little airship campaign once, they worked on a small ship, which was making a large food supply trip to a far away area. They discovered that the entire hold was filled with dragon eggs. Fun watching the look on their faces go from :D upon finding them, to :eek: :weep: when the parents found them.