Post/Author/DateTime	Post
dsivis 08-11-07, 01:12 PM	Such a thing would be really useful if House Orien tried to fix the lightning rail lines through the Mournland... Maybe have its primary weapon be a dragonshard array that can direct excess electrical energy at a target? Such a vehicle would be a boon to House Orien as well as any explorers of the Mournland...
Bluebrush 08-11-07, 07:39 PM	Assuming that the conductor stones are still there and functioning as intended. Otherwise you're looking at a 20 mph derailment or battling a spontaneously created fifty foot tall conductor stone golem. And "Adventurers" isn't really a large enough market to justify the cash outlay.
Rechan 08-12-07, 12:11 PM	And "Adventurers" isn't really a large enough market to justify the cash outlay. Orien is hurt because the Mournland prevents them from getting a rail going from Breland, Karrnath and Thrane. The Western side of Khorvaire is cut off from the Rail due to the Mournland being in the way. It would be a large economic boon for Orien.
Bakho 08-12-07, 01:21 PM	I can see House Orien investing money to repair the broken conductor stones going through Mournland. And to do so, they would commission a larger number of such vehicles to perform the needed work, and later on travel through the Mournland. This would be a major project, and they would spend a lot of cash to do so, but imagine the coolness of lightning rail lines going through the Mournland, armed to the teeth, with LOBster's warforged hijacking the trains every now and then. You can argue that it wouldn't be that much profitable, but it would definitely be cool. The Oriens were hurt badly in the Last War, and they do need a large project to pull out from the depression. This could be it!;)
Bluebrush 08-12-07, 01:48 PM	Orien is hurt because the Mournland prevents them from getting a rail going from Breland, Karrnath and Thrane. The Western side of Khorvaire is cut off from the Rail due to the Mournland being in the way. It would be a large economic boon for Orien.Point, but considering the crazy and unpredicable nature of the Mournland, the basic problem is going to be keeping the line itself working. Even if they can do it kind of reliably, Orien and their customers aren't going to want to send their trains and goods along a dangerous line when they can ship it by sea. I could maybe see it if Cyre or Cannith can scrape together enough money and have something large or numerous enough to need to transport it out of the Mournland. (Like a dismantled creation forge or a great supply of rare materials.)
InkBlot 08-12-07, 10:57 PM	Of course it would be a disaster, but with the PCs on the maiden voyage, it would also be an adventure! It's really a perfect pulp plot hook. And think of all the set battles you could do on the train, and at the station. House Orien believes they have the solution to sending a lightning rail through the Mournlands: a train powered by a positive energy elemental! All seems well for the maiden voyage, but starting with the return voyage, rumors start flying of passengers mysteriously dissapeering from the cars. Has Orien's hubris doomed hundreds of passengers? Can the PCs discover the cause of the mysterious goings-on before they meet an untimely end? Tune in next time, for the thrilling conclusion!
Alex_ 08-13-07, 11:17 AM	The dangers of the mournland aren't just from the monsters and living spells. The very mist alone can cause sickness and extreme mutations in otherwise normal individuals. Crossing Scion's Sound is a much more practical option.
InkBlot 08-13-07, 03:47 PM	That's where the positive energy elemental comes in. It cancels out the evil mists of the mournlands, and since it's at the front, it essentialy punches a hole in the mists for the train to ride through. Or at least, that's what Orien's top minds theorize. Perhaps it does work, but the mists close in faster than expected. The eerie mists slowly seep into the last few cars on the train. People who sleep there sometimes disappear, or wake up with strange scars they didn't have when they went to sleep. Other passengers report stories of things scurrying in the shadows, creeping towards the front of the train. Just imagine the final battle, with a huge shadow beast chasing the heroes along the broken down train, as the mists swiftly close in behind them! They barely manage to fight it back long enough to bust in the door to the engine room. They manage to get the elemental bindings back in order, but there's too much weight! They have to cut loose the rest of the train in order to escape! The shadow beasts and the deadly mists are closing in on their tiny delicate bubble of safety! Will our heroes survive? Will they abandon the passengers of the lightning rail? Tune in next time to find out.
androkguz 08-13-07, 10:41 PM	That's where the positive energy elemental comes in. It cancels out the evil mists of the mournlands, and since it's at the front, it essentialy punches a hole in the mists for the train to ride through. Or at least, that's what Orien's top minds theorize. Perhaps it does work, but the mists close in faster than expected. The eerie mists slowly seep into the last few cars on the train. People who sleep there sometimes disappear, or wake up with strange scars they didn't have when they went to sleep. Other passengers report stories of things scurrying in the shadows, creeping towards the front of the train. Just imagine the final battle, with a huge shadow beast chasing the heroes along the broken down train, as the mists swiftly close in behind them! They barely manage to fight it back long enough to bust in the door to the engine room. They manage to get the elemental bindings back in order, but there's too much weight! They have to cut loose the rest of the train in order to escape! The shadow beasts and the deadly mists are closing in on their tiny delicate bubble of safety! Will our heroes survive? Will they abandon the passengers of the lightning rail? Tune in next time to find out. What the ...? where are the weapons in that story? We are talking about an armed train. That thing can happen with a typical train with a positive energy elemental... something that I just found out that existed because of you. Something that by the way doesn't exist in my world for a reason that can me summarized in this: a living force of life sounds to me like a redundancy.
dsivis 08-15-07, 03:46 PM	Glad people got some good adventure ideas from this one! It wouldn't surprise me if Orien, Cannith and Prince Oargev would try to pull $$$ together to hire adventurers (who also tend to be fairly wealthy) to inspect the old routes in Earth Sleds (from MoE). The Unicorn Spear could follow behind with a cargo of replacement conductor stones for any that had been lost/damaged/etc.
DarkPawn 08-15-07, 05:23 PM	My original Eberron campaign had to do with House Cannith experimenting with a new device that stabilizes the surrounding area. The device is meant to work in wild magic, dead magic, different planes, and specifically for the mournlands. The party was supposed to enter the mournlands and travel directly east through it. The first trip they took the device malfunctioned and they were forced to find their way out without it's help. The second trip worked a bit better but a freakish acid rainstorm caused another "glitch". The third time they got about halfway through before another issue cropped up. The party then got irritated with House Cannith and refused to enter again as sacrificial lambs. House Cannith was hoping to eventually sell this device to use on airships and lightning rails.
nyysjan 08-19-07, 03:50 AM	Realistically speaking, it would be easier, and cheaper, to make a new rail through Karnath. Sounds cool though.
hecknoshow 08-23-07, 12:35 PM	Just a random thought. Ghost train? Possesed by the spirits of its passangers that died on the day of mourning. Maybe it can Create its own conductor stones.