Adventures on the Lightening Rail [Archive] - Wizards Community

Adventures on the Lightening Rail [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
kntshade
09-16-04, 12:47 PM Adventures on the Lightening Rail

Does anyone have any ideas for what types of encounters or adventures characters will have while riding on the Lightening Rail? It would be very cool to see some modules published that are adventures that take place on a trip on the rail and are completely contained within the train. It seems like there are so many possibilities for cool things to happen while characters travel from one city to another. Heck, they could also be adventures on airship, or boat too!

My introductory Eberron adventure all the PCs met with the classic “You are all sitting in an Inn” except it was “You are all sitting in the lounge car of the Lightening Rail Express…” They got to meet each other, and they discovered a plot to rob the train, apparently it was carrying a very valuable cargo. They attempted to thwart the robbers and had lots of fun in the ensuing chaos.

Anyone else have any fun adventures on the Lightening Rail they would like to share?
z_rampage
09-16-04, 12:58 PM While I've no specific encounters in mind, the lighting rail provides just the right ambiance for the clandestine meetings. I think of all the films made in the 40s and 50s where the bad guys used the train station and train to get out of town and then there was a pursuit (perhaps via airship) and the ensuing battle from car to car, leap from the train, etc.

Also, the isolation of the rail could also be a good place for a neutral ground meeting a la Mission Impossible.

Food for thought.
kntshade
09-16-04, 01:52 PM Another idea: Terroist attack by agents of the Lord of Blades? A group of Warforged attempt to hijack a Lightening Rail and take it into the Mournland for their own purposes…

This brings up an interesting point, what kind of security would the Lightening Rail have? I would imagine you aren’t allowed to bring weapons on the train, but where would they be stored? Etc…
Kid SixXx
09-16-04, 02:07 PM Come on you guys.

The Lighting Rail is run by House Orien & Master Inquisative is an available PrC.

It has been said before, but bears repeating...

Murder on the Orien Express!!!

:heehee
kntshade
09-16-04, 02:53 PM LOL Murder on the Orien Express? Yeah, seems to be a popular idea… I just might do that… wonder how it would go down exactly? I haven’t read the book or seen the movie… Anyone have any ideas?
Magagumo
09-16-04, 03:03 PM The trick is to take advantage of the extreme speed of their train (you'll hit a stop fairly quickly- they tend to be around 12 or less hr rides, depending), and institute a time limit. Perhaps the victim (the first one at least) was a close associate or friend with a powerful NPC on the train, who might use his/her vast influence to have all the passengers imprisoned, or perhaps even use magic/torture to get the answers (esp. if they are a more villanous NPC).

For my part, I will actually be implementing this idea in my Eberron game in a month or so... and the powerful NPC is the mind flayer governor of Droaam :smirk:....
LordofIllusions
09-16-04, 03:18 PM How about an old school murder on the lightning rail ? Have the PCs solve a typical murder mystery while journeying on the lightning rail.

~~~
kntshade
09-16-04, 03:24 PM Now the ideas are flowing, the PCs are going to board the Train at Sterngate, which guards Brelish boarder from humanoid incursions from Darguun. So on the train with the PC’s is an Orcish Ambassador on his way to Wroat to visit the King of Breland. Their trip to Starilaskur would give the PCs time to get acquainted with all the NPCs and make friends/enemies etc… Then on the rout from Starilaskur to Wroat (a much longer journey) The Ambassador is murdered. His retainers and subjects are in an uproar and it is immediately thought that this murder is the result of bigotry or some such thing. This could greatly worsen tensions between Darguun and Breland if the murder is not solved quickly. The finger would of course be pointed at the PCs who would have had nothing to do with the murder and they would be provided with motivation to solve it to clear their names…
Chrys
09-16-04, 03:29 PM a Living Teleport wanders out of the mourlands and port the whole train or maybe one car ( with the Pc in it) gets ported to the depth of some long forgoten ruin
Saurenda
09-16-04, 03:53 PM Instead of the usual, hijacking, murder, why not try a chase on the Train itself?

With ticket prices what they are the party would have to sneak aboard or either stand in a long line to pay full price to follow the villian. They could even attempt to break and enter the lightning rail or stow away in the luggage compartment.

with no where but the train itself to run, a chase could go to the roof of the rail to become more dangerous. The engineers of Orien can tell the party the lay out and possible hiding places.

Even though a High inquisitor is avilible PrC you will not find one on every trip of the lightning rail. So a changeling, or a clever rouge in this case would do well.

Possible hiding places:
Luggage (Hide the item on a Passanger and cause suspicion)
Staff Rooms (Place the item on a Staff member and have them arrested)
Storage (Hide the item in question)
Mail Car (Perhaps in an attempt to send the item to himself with prepaid and signed Sivis packaging)
Dinning Car (As part of the staff or a guest)
Sorage Car (Perhaps his goal in the issue is to steal off the train or hide it till things die down)
:cool:

No need to kill or hijack. Simply enough the ride people. Orien takes the trouble out of your travel.
Save-vs-DM
09-16-04, 03:55 PM Other things you could do:

The elemental bound in the train suddenly goes beserk, and starts speeding out of control. The PCs have to figure out how to get it under control before it plows through the next stop. Some unnamed NPC is aiding the elemental with magic, strengthing it's mind and power (With spells such as Fox's Cunning and Eagle's Splendor)

A dead grey fog always appears at a certain point on the track. Every time a train goes through this mist it doesn't come back out again. The PCs have been hired to discover where the other trains have been going. This mist plane shifts or teleports the PCs to someplace bad, like a demiplane, Dal Quor, etc.

The ghost of a woman who died on the train keeps appearing at the point where she died. This woman begins sobbing and wailing, and nothing can get rid of her. The PCs are hired to discover what happened and why she died (she was poisoned or murdered to cover up a pregnancy between two dragonmarked members of different houses).

The PCs get word by Orien messenger station that they are being followed by an airship/horses/flying monsters. The PCs must deal with the airship/robbers/monster before it can harm the train.

A gang of Hijackers have found their way onto the train. One of them is an artificer that holds a wand of fireball and threatens the entire car. They then rob everybody of their jewelery. The PCs must thwart the crime without anyone else getting hurt. Matters are further complicated by the fact that they have captured a deaf cardinal of the Silver Flame.

Hope these help.
Cheers,
Save vs DM
Khopesh122
09-16-04, 04:17 PM Not every adventure must begin with a typical everyday trip on the lightning rail that goes wrong.

The PC's are hired as guards for a train originating in Passage in Aundar along the rail line to Thaliost in Thrane, and up to the very edge of the ruins of the White Arch Bridge. The train will leave passage in the dead of night, and has planned stops so that the train will pass through Fairhaven and Thaliost at night as well. Aundair wants this train to travel as unnoticed as possible.

The train will arrive at the broken bridge as another train arrives from the Karrnath side. The reason for this meeting is thatthe governments of Aundair and Karrnath are going to exchange POWs of the Last War. But not just any POWs, they're captured spies. The exchange can be conducted at the broken bridge many ways, but of course, the real adventure will be getting there with all the prisoners present and, more importantly, alive.

One of the Karrnathi spies is a double agent, and this exchange will simply be an exchange of one prison for another for him. Fortunately, the long trip will provide a great opportunity for him to escape, or for his true masters to either free or assassinate him.
greatfrito
09-16-04, 04:24 PM ... "deaf cardinal of the Silver Flame"?

Okay, it's bad that I laughed at that.

Other than that, these ideas are way too good. I knew I read these boards for something.

Honestly, I was surprised to see no lightning-rail encounters on the encounter competition. But there was an airship one, so it makes it all better.

I think everything's been covered... wait... maybe I can add something...

An organization secretly bribed its way to getting a special storage car on the train at the last minute. Once the train is on its way, people discover that this last car is in fact an eldricht machine which is drawing the power that the train generates with the conduit stones and using it to do something terrible (like tear a planar rift, or maybe a gateway to deepest khyber to unleash a Dealkyr or something of that sort). As always, the players must stop them.
kntshade
09-16-04, 05:09 PM The elemental bound in the train suddenly goes beserk, and starts speeding out of control. The PCs have to figure out how to get it under control before it plows through the next stop. Some unnamed NPC is aiding the elemental with magic, strengthing it's mind and power (With spells such as Fox's Cunning and Eagle's Splendor)

Kinda like an eco-terrorist? That's too cool! Isn’t there a group who protests the mistreatment of Elementals in Eberron?
Save-vs-DM
09-16-04, 05:14 PM That would be the ashbound.

Or, if you want a really good twist on that, I'd suggest a Holy Liberator. They're CG, but dedicated to non-imprisonment and freedom. Confining an elemental is definitely imprisonment, so he would work well.

Cheers,
Save vs DM
ieattrollsforbreakfast
09-16-04, 06:18 PM I wrote an encounter on the Lightning Rail for the Eberron Bestiary, complete with a map, you can find it here. (http://www.geocities.com/ieattrollsforbreakfast/ENvalenarLR)
I used a valenar warband as the enemies, making use of the classic action scene of fighting on top of a fast moving vehicle.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
kntshade 09-16-04, 12:47 PM	Adventures on the Lightening Rail Does anyone have any ideas for what types of encounters or adventures characters will have while riding on the Lightening Rail? It would be very cool to see some modules published that are adventures that take place on a trip on the rail and are completely contained within the train. It seems like there are so many possibilities for cool things to happen while characters travel from one city to another. Heck, they could also be adventures on airship, or boat too! My introductory Eberron adventure all the PCs met with the classic “You are all sitting in an Inn” except it was “You are all sitting in the lounge car of the Lightening Rail Express…” They got to meet each other, and they discovered a plot to rob the train, apparently it was carrying a very valuable cargo. They attempted to thwart the robbers and had lots of fun in the ensuing chaos. Anyone else have any fun adventures on the Lightening Rail they would like to share?
z_rampage 09-16-04, 12:58 PM	While I've no specific encounters in mind, the lighting rail provides just the right ambiance for the clandestine meetings. I think of all the films made in the 40s and 50s where the bad guys used the train station and train to get out of town and then there was a pursuit (perhaps via airship) and the ensuing battle from car to car, leap from the train, etc. Also, the isolation of the rail could also be a good place for a neutral ground meeting a la Mission Impossible. Food for thought.
kntshade 09-16-04, 01:52 PM	Another idea: Terroist attack by agents of the Lord of Blades? A group of Warforged attempt to hijack a Lightening Rail and take it into the Mournland for their own purposes… This brings up an interesting point, what kind of security would the Lightening Rail have? I would imagine you aren’t allowed to bring weapons on the train, but where would they be stored? Etc…
Kid SixXx 09-16-04, 02:07 PM	Come on you guys. The Lighting Rail is run by House Orien & Master Inquisative is an available PrC. It has been said before, but bears repeating... Murder on the Orien Express!!! :heehee
kntshade 09-16-04, 02:53 PM	LOL Murder on the Orien Express? Yeah, seems to be a popular idea… I just might do that… wonder how it would go down exactly? I haven’t read the book or seen the movie… Anyone have any ideas?
Magagumo 09-16-04, 03:03 PM	The trick is to take advantage of the extreme speed of their train (you'll hit a stop fairly quickly- they tend to be around 12 or less hr rides, depending), and institute a time limit. Perhaps the victim (the first one at least) was a close associate or friend with a powerful NPC on the train, who might use his/her vast influence to have all the passengers imprisoned, or perhaps even use magic/torture to get the answers (esp. if they are a more villanous NPC). For my part, I will actually be implementing this idea in my Eberron game in a month or so... and the powerful NPC is the mind flayer governor of Droaam :smirk:....
LordofIllusions 09-16-04, 03:18 PM	How about an old school murder on the lightning rail ? Have the PCs solve a typical murder mystery while journeying on the lightning rail. ~~~
kntshade 09-16-04, 03:24 PM	Now the ideas are flowing, the PCs are going to board the Train at Sterngate, which guards Brelish boarder from humanoid incursions from Darguun. So on the train with the PC’s is an Orcish Ambassador on his way to Wroat to visit the King of Breland. Their trip to Starilaskur would give the PCs time to get acquainted with all the NPCs and make friends/enemies etc… Then on the rout from Starilaskur to Wroat (a much longer journey) The Ambassador is murdered. His retainers and subjects are in an uproar and it is immediately thought that this murder is the result of bigotry or some such thing. This could greatly worsen tensions between Darguun and Breland if the murder is not solved quickly. The finger would of course be pointed at the PCs who would have had nothing to do with the murder and they would be provided with motivation to solve it to clear their names…
Chrys 09-16-04, 03:29 PM	a Living Teleport wanders out of the mourlands and port the whole train or maybe one car ( with the Pc in it) gets ported to the depth of some long forgoten ruin
Saurenda 09-16-04, 03:53 PM	Instead of the usual, hijacking, murder, why not try a chase on the Train itself? With ticket prices what they are the party would have to sneak aboard or either stand in a long line to pay full price to follow the villian. They could even attempt to break and enter the lightning rail or stow away in the luggage compartment. with no where but the train itself to run, a chase could go to the roof of the rail to become more dangerous. The engineers of Orien can tell the party the lay out and possible hiding places. Even though a High inquisitor is avilible PrC you will not find one on every trip of the lightning rail. So a changeling, or a clever rouge in this case would do well. Possible hiding places: Luggage (Hide the item on a Passanger and cause suspicion) Staff Rooms (Place the item on a Staff member and have them arrested) Storage (Hide the item in question) Mail Car (Perhaps in an attempt to send the item to himself with prepaid and signed Sivis packaging) Dinning Car (As part of the staff or a guest) Sorage Car (Perhaps his goal in the issue is to steal off the train or hide it till things die down) :cool: No need to kill or hijack. Simply enough the ride people. Orien takes the trouble out of your travel.
Save-vs-DM 09-16-04, 03:55 PM	Other things you could do: The elemental bound in the train suddenly goes beserk, and starts speeding out of control. The PCs have to figure out how to get it under control before it plows through the next stop. Some unnamed NPC is aiding the elemental with magic, strengthing it's mind and power (With spells such as Fox's Cunning and Eagle's Splendor) A dead grey fog always appears at a certain point on the track. Every time a train goes through this mist it doesn't come back out again. The PCs have been hired to discover where the other trains have been going. This mist plane shifts or teleports the PCs to someplace bad, like a demiplane, Dal Quor, etc. The ghost of a woman who died on the train keeps appearing at the point where she died. This woman begins sobbing and wailing, and nothing can get rid of her. The PCs are hired to discover what happened and why she died (she was poisoned or murdered to cover up a pregnancy between two dragonmarked members of different houses). The PCs get word by Orien messenger station that they are being followed by an airship/horses/flying monsters. The PCs must deal with the airship/robbers/monster before it can harm the train. A gang of Hijackers have found their way onto the train. One of them is an artificer that holds a wand of fireball and threatens the entire car. They then rob everybody of their jewelery. The PCs must thwart the crime without anyone else getting hurt. Matters are further complicated by the fact that they have captured a deaf cardinal of the Silver Flame. Hope these help. Cheers, Save vs DM
Khopesh122 09-16-04, 04:17 PM	Not every adventure must begin with a typical everyday trip on the lightning rail that goes wrong. The PC's are hired as guards for a train originating in Passage in Aundar along the rail line to Thaliost in Thrane, and up to the very edge of the ruins of the White Arch Bridge. The train will leave passage in the dead of night, and has planned stops so that the train will pass through Fairhaven and Thaliost at night as well. Aundair wants this train to travel as unnoticed as possible. The train will arrive at the broken bridge as another train arrives from the Karrnath side. The reason for this meeting is thatthe governments of Aundair and Karrnath are going to exchange POWs of the Last War. But not just any POWs, they're captured spies. The exchange can be conducted at the broken bridge many ways, but of course, the real adventure will be getting there with all the prisoners present and, more importantly, alive. One of the Karrnathi spies is a double agent, and this exchange will simply be an exchange of one prison for another for him. Fortunately, the long trip will provide a great opportunity for him to escape, or for his true masters to either free or assassinate him.
greatfrito 09-16-04, 04:24 PM	... "deaf cardinal of the Silver Flame"? Okay, it's bad that I laughed at that. Other than that, these ideas are way too good. I knew I read these boards for something. Honestly, I was surprised to see no lightning-rail encounters on the encounter competition. But there was an airship one, so it makes it all better. I think everything's been covered... wait... maybe I can add something... An organization secretly bribed its way to getting a special storage car on the train at the last minute. Once the train is on its way, people discover that this last car is in fact an eldricht machine which is drawing the power that the train generates with the conduit stones and using it to do something terrible (like tear a planar rift, or maybe a gateway to deepest khyber to unleash a Dealkyr or something of that sort). As always, the players must stop them.
kntshade 09-16-04, 05:09 PM	The elemental bound in the train suddenly goes beserk, and starts speeding out of control. The PCs have to figure out how to get it under control before it plows through the next stop. Some unnamed NPC is aiding the elemental with magic, strengthing it's mind and power (With spells such as Fox's Cunning and Eagle's Splendor) Kinda like an eco-terrorist? That's too cool! Isn’t there a group who protests the mistreatment of Elementals in Eberron?
Save-vs-DM 09-16-04, 05:14 PM	That would be the ashbound. Or, if you want a really good twist on that, I'd suggest a Holy Liberator. They're CG, but dedicated to non-imprisonment and freedom. Confining an elemental is definitely imprisonment, so he would work well. Cheers, Save vs DM
ieattrollsforbreakfast 09-16-04, 06:18 PM	I wrote an encounter on the Lightning Rail for the Eberron Bestiary, complete with a map, you can find it here. (http://www.geocities.com/ieattrollsforbreakfast/ENvalenarLR) I used a valenar warband as the enemies, making use of the classic action scene of fighting on top of a fast moving vehicle.