Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lonecry 01-24-06, 09:52 AM	What does everyone think about playing the Age of Worms storyline in Eberron? With most of the world an open book but it could be a interesting story to play. What do you all think about it?
brightmeadow 01-24-06, 10:22 AM	Kyuss would fit in as a Lord of Dust or a being from Xoriat... or some perverse combination of both! Spawn with symbiots immediately pop to mind, or worm grafts... eeewwww... Are you planning on running this; if you do let us all know how it goes. As to location... have to give that some more thought. Droam or the Marches I think.
Bocklin 01-24-06, 10:28 AM	Hi, I am currently DMing the AoW in the FR, but have also been reading the Eberron conversion notes written by Keith. Since most of the Eberron-specific elements (new races, Dragonmarks, special role of the Dragons, etc.) are not present in the original AoW, it takes quite a bit of work on behalf of the DM to introduce them. On the other hand, Keith is making sure that the storyline can be seemlessly integrated in the canon history of Eberron. Actually, through his Dragon article on the "Lords of Dust", Keith has already introduced Kyuss in an official way to Eberron... Funnily, I find it more difficult to make the AoW backstory fit in the Realms. I.e. Eberron already has an historical clash between primal forces of chaos and evil Vs good and order in its main history and has its history divided in "Ages". On the other hand, the whole Greyhawkish world of the AoW is closer to the FR, so it is a more direct fit when adapting the adventures themselves... I think it is do-able and probably rewarding. You have some good threads on Paizo's boards about it and they contain good ideas, so you might want to check that out (http://paizo.com/dungeon/messageboards). Bocklin
brightmeadow 01-24-06, 10:45 AM	I think the AoW's lack of the new stuff is an asset. Eberron is still new enough that it can be fun for the players using those new elements to feel... well, new. everyone around the table knows it isn't true in game, and the NPCs know it, but it can be fun. From a DM stand point, I don't think it would be much more work to say this innkeeper is a changeling, or this merc is a shifter, or perhaps the local magic shop is run by a warforged. Changing the races of NPCs is relatively easy. Admitedly, changing classes (artificer) is a bit of a chore, but maybe the town's artificer was one of the first victims of one threat or another... been missing a while... perfect oppurtunity for a PC artificer to capitalize on! and Eberron specific gear can be substituted for more "mundane" treasures. I had forgotten about that Lords of Dust article! Good thinking!
Bocklin 01-24-06, 11:20 AM	From a DM stand point, I don't think it would be much more work to say this innkeeper is a changeling, or this merc is a shifter, or perhaps the local magic shop is run by a warforged. Changing the races of NPCs is relatively easy. Quite true for the "background NPCs", but if the actual villains are always from the generic races it will show in the long term. So, replacing some of the antagonists with Eberron critters might be good. For example Keith was replacing the Drow thralls in "Hall of Harsh Reflection" with some Dolgaunt. But one might also want to replace some BBEG. For example the Spellweaver Lich in "Spire of Long Shadow" could be replaced by something more Eberronish, like a "minor" Rakshasa sorceror or necromancer. That's going to be a lot of work to redo the stats for such an opponent, but it is certainly worth it! I had forgotten about that Lords of Dust article! Good thinking! Thanks. I had not seen it during my first reading, but spotted it two days ago. It being in one of the last sentences of the last paragraph does not make it an easy thing to track down! ;) Bocklin
brightmeadow 01-24-06, 11:33 AM	I think they fit perfectly. Honestly, even if I didn't they would stay anyway, they've been a favorite of mine for years!
Deekin 01-24-06, 01:00 PM	I'm running the age of worms in Eberron right now, literaly. It's working fine, becouse my players just chewed throught the dolgonts, and on the way to fight Chyssac(or however you spell it). One of the players has read City of towers, So he is so going to flip out when he realizes it is the same ithillid. Just be sure to get "Age of Worms Overload", and the conversion notes, and everything works fine. One of the players is a warforged miner from the very mines that Ebon Triad was working out of.
Lonecry 01-24-06, 03:31 PM	How do you get the party together and wanting to check out the Cairn in the first adventure? Even if they are all in the same town. It just isnt coming to me.
Deekin 01-24-06, 04:38 PM	For my group, they all had various reasons for going to the carn, and they happend to show up at the same time, and banded together to help each other.
Wraith428 01-24-06, 05:17 PM	My group sorta knew each other before the start of the campaign. As vertrans of the Last War they'd get together and swap stories over an ale at the Emporium. One of the characters had been sent to Allustan to nurture his magical talent. Allustan gave him the job of exploring the Cairn and discovering the nature of the old magics there. Wraith428
Lonecry 01-25-06, 12:40 PM	Allustan gave him the job of exploring the Cairn and discovering the nature of the old magics there. Wraith428[/QUOTE] I had thought about doing something like that. I think I will after all. Did it cause problems later with the group already knowing Allustan?
Wraith428 01-25-06, 06:57 PM	Not in the slightest. In fact it sorta streamlined things as the party knew where to turn. Wraith428
shemov 01-27-06, 01:19 AM	i dm AoW in Eberron. pls find below my base for this Kyuss, the only elf with Siberys Mark of Death had been lost in Xen'drik and in time before the line of Vol was exterminated. Dragotha (main minion of Erandis d'Vol today and fallen member of the Chamber in the forgotten past) and Emerald Claw work hard to release Kyuss once again into the world and their plan is reaching its final stage. Erandis believes that thanks to Kyuss released, the Mark of death revive. She does not know or does not want to know that she must be destroyed in the final stage of the process cause her existence blocks Kyuss (Mark of Death) revive. This is why in "Into the wormcrawl Fissure" PCs may ally with Dragotha who is devoted to Erandis d'Vol. The nation off Redhand I’m going to convert to Karrnath which in time of final adventures will be torn by civil war between Emerald Claw + Blood of Vol followers against Kaius III loyalists. Third party involved in this war will be the Silver Flame crusade. Other nations will be preoccupied with internal omens of cataclysm (AGE OF WORMS), main Darguuns raids and Lord of Blades activity. other thoughts prince Zeech = Kaius III Kyuss binds himself to a dragonshard monolith Katashka (rakshasa or rajah - decision still not taken) teaches Kyuss how to control his powerfull dragonmark. he is Kyuss's mentor on Xen'drik In Labyrinth (demon wastes), I choose Maruk clan (Silver Flame) binding Kyuss again) In 3FoE the cathedral used to be Erandis d'Vol one where she was researching this old forgotten Kyuss and Age of Worm story first time Eberron's Prophecy is in a heavy use by me the Twilight Monastery = based on old forgotten tradition of Maruk's clan relatives protecting Sharn's prophecy touched area 2000 years ago (the time when barbaric humans were getting stronger and stronger). Today the Silver Flame order. Monks there are heavy involved in prophecy research what makes them very distinctive as for Silver Flame standards. 2000 ago orks from Maruk's like clan made Quean of Death retreat from her dark cathedral.
Lonecry 01-27-06, 08:23 AM	I really like your adaptation of the AOW. If you dont mind I will use some of that for mine as well.
shemov 01-27-06, 12:50 PM	of cause :)
Golbez57 01-27-06, 02:51 PM	How do you get the party together and wanting to check out the Cairn in the first adventure? Even if they are all in the same town. It just isnt coming to me. It'll depend heavily on the type of PCs you have in your game, I think. The group I'm DMing--adventures set to begin this coming Monday!--consists of three gestalt characters: a changeling rogue/fighter (Tuuk) who'scraped by as a pickpocket and petty thief, a changeling wizard/bard apprenticed to Allustan, having replaced Marzena when she left for Blackwall Keep two years ago (Del), and a half-orc druid/barbarian with ties to the Bronzewood Lodge (Thokk). Fate will be set in motion in our game with the Tuuk having the mixed fortune of nicking a rucksack belonging to one of Balabar Smenk's couriers; he didn't know the identity of the man, and wouldn't have risked the theft if he did. Most of the documents contained in it are rubbish, but one struck his interest.... Of course, that's the map of the Whispering Cairn's location. He's a friend of Del, having confronted her while she was using her changeling abilities to monitoractivities in the town at Allustan's behest. Tuuk was also once rescued by the druid/barbarian while fleeing into the wilds outside town from a group of angry miners whom he'd cheated in a game of chance. That same towering half-orc who smells of the wilds is in the Feral Dog on the night he meets with Del. Thokk is surveying the situation in the seedy establishment, contemplating how he might go about taking down those who force animals to savage one another in the name of perverse entertainment. And so the action will carry on from there, with Kullen's gang and Smenk already on adverarial terms with at least one member of the group, and another closely tied to Allustan and with a motivation to launch the rescue mission into the Mistmarch in the third adventure. Shemov, those are some interesting twists. Thanks for sharing! Most of my plans for "AoW" in Eberron are based of off Keith's conversion notes, but a lot of your ideas could be incorporated, too. My planned conversions: Diamond Lake is on the banks of the Dagger River and northwest of Sharn, just as Keith suggested Balabar Smenk will be associated with the Aurum, with rings on his fingers suggesting this allegiance Khellek will be a shifter Allustan and Eligos are members of the Esoteric Order in Sharn Blackwall Keep is near the Orien trade road north of Sharn. just west of the King's Forest, again as Keith suggested The "Free City Arena" will see extensive remapping so that I can better justify it instead being Hollow Tower in Sharn; I plan to use the arena poster map that was included in the special gladiators issue of Dragon (or was it Dungeon...?) a few years back for the actual play-field The Pitch Blade team in "Champion's Belt" will be Warforged Juggernauts; the other teams will be reworked to have an Eberron feel, too, and will include a group of Valenar cavalry and Ashbound druid and rangers "Manzorian" is likely to become one of the already-named high-level mages in one of the Eberron sourcebooks, though I haven't decided which just yet; I'll likely base him in Arcanix in place of Magepoint, if I can find an appropriate NPC to transpose over him The Spire of Long Shadows will be in Q'barra "Alhaster" will be located on an island in the Lhazaar Principalities I'm psyched for our game to begin.
shemov 01-27-06, 04:50 PM	my problem was that AoW was not eberron like and that is why i needed strong blow. Keith's changes are like face lifting only but I understand that he is not allowed to do more. anyway, mark of death and erandis d'vol history + church of silver flame and holy crusade + binding flame and orks + demon wastes + karrnath + of cause prophecy and demons make AoW very eberron like. I even think that AoW should be written for eberron :D Keith's suggestions i use for considered details and I take most of these nice details. thanks Keith :)
Romulus LoneWolf 01-27-06, 06:27 PM	The only use for AoW I've had so far was this month's version, the "Making an Entrance" one. It can easily be adapted to Eberron, which is definetly a setting where social rules should matter.
Wraith428 01-27-06, 09:07 PM	In my Eberron campaign the Last War is getting ready to start up again. With all the Spawn of Kyuss suddenly showing up in the Diamond Lake area the Brelish start getting suspiscious. Plant some info and they start thinking this might be a sneak attack from Karnath. Breland doesn't have direct access to Karnath because of the Mournland so they start talking to Thrane. Aundair sees Breland and Thrane talking and starts getting jumpy. Tensions rise and when the Brelish start noticing the Spawn of Kyuss are running east they become convinced the creatures are heading back to Karnath... but they're wrong. The spawn are heading for the Mournland with all its nicely preserved bodies ripe for the picking. Suddenly an undead horde of unkillable zombies comes out of the Mournland and who wouldn't blame Karnath for that. Wraith428
Jarrod 01-29-06, 11:37 AM	I'm having some fun with it. I'm not pulling in all of the Eberron organizations, but quite a few will be making an appearance. Lessee.... The Warforged were originally created to help stop an infestation of worms in Xen'drik. They aren't immune to the worms (in their modern form), but don't rise again as Kyuss spawn if they die. Anyone around from then will immediately notice the warforged, of course, and target them first. Speaking of Warforged, one is a cleric looking for the God of the Warforged. He's taking a variant of the Draconic Prophecy feats (Machine Prophecy). First time he uses it, he's going to start spewing prophecies about the Age of Worms. That should be fun... Three Faces of Evil got the religion makeover. Scythes = x4 crit = nasty, btw :cool: Blackwall Keep moved to a set of islands southwest of Sharn. One of the PCs is a Lhazar pirate (on the run), and that gave him a ship when the lizards attacked. Poor captain, he never had a chance. Illthane was removed, with the lizards instead getting grafts from an insane healer. He was controlled, of course, but the PCs won't know that. He snagged some worms from the sorceress and started experimenting with them. The lizards attacked for much the same reason, but the ones that did were obviously "augmented". Drow thralls => dolgrim as mentioned. A lot of the dopples are going to be changelings. The mind flayer will be an Evil Mastermind (TM) of Sharn, and will agree to leave the PCs alone if they leave him alone. He was hired to do a job, but it isn't worth his life. The teams in Champion's Belt are getting a makeover. I'm thinking Valenar cavalry, a team from New Cyre, a team of goblinoids... sort of an Olympic Games with blood. Illthane doesn't show up in a Gathering of Winds. Instead, I'm thinking that the creature that controlled the insane healer will send another pet to deal with the PCs. Instead of them getting back to a destroyed town, it'll attack while they are there. Allustan will run through the portal, but the PCs won't be able to follow for long enough to slow them down. I'm thinking of a Screaming Terror (MM3). They're fun. More fun if the heads look like the Faceless One, Theldrick.... I need to get the PCs an airship. It's a staple. I'm thinking Gathering of Winds... a friendly air elemental so that they don't need the Mark of Storms. Or the sorceress can make Diplomacy checks. Finally, Manzorian is a dragon. A red, I think, it seems to fit the personality. On Argonessen -- should be fun. The Prophecy of the Age of Worms is a corrupted version of the Draconic Prophecy that most people don't know about. A lot of people aren't going to get raised and their roles mushed into others.
shemov 01-30-06, 08:44 AM	Libris Mortis, Part One By Keith Baker "The overlord Katashka possesses power over death. In the ancient battle against the dragons, Katashka raised a host of horrors, and those that survived the war are now the oldest undead creatures in existence. Katashka was imprisoned at the end of that conflict, but a number of his rakshasa servants still remain at large among the Lords of Dust. At the DM's discretion, these malefic spirits may have any of the new sorcerer/wizard spells presented in Libris Mortis, or possibly even levels in the pale master prestige class. A wizard can learn this magic by dealing with the rakshasas, but what price will he have to pay? Katashka is not truly a god, so he cannot grant spells. However, he can guide the thoughts of those who worship him and help them to draw dark magic from the heart of Khyber itself. Death cults have appeared throughout history -- the Dhakaani records speak of a sect of necromancers wiped out by a powerful emperor, and several stories of human death cults predate the rise of Galifar. Katashka's cultists gain access to the Deathbound, Undeath, and Evil domains. In addition, people born in the vicinity of his prison may be further touched by his darkness. It's up to you as DM to decide exactly where he is buried, but this concept forms a good basis for the Tomb-Tainted Soul feats." wonderful! thx Keith thx again! In my Aow Katashka teaches Kyuss d'VOL how to control his powerful death dragonmark. he is Kyuss's mentor on Xen'drik
Golbez57 01-30-06, 11:43 AM	Ah, cool! This'll make incorporation even easier. The idea of Siberys-marked "Kyuss d'Vol" is intriguing, and so I might run with that, too. Manzorian as a dragon works for me, too, especially since I was unable to find an equivalent for him in the many sourcebooks I dug through this weekend. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of a 19th-level cleric in Khorvaire, so am doing away with that character entirely and meshing his role with that of Celeste (who as a ghaele has the ability to raise dead). She'll also have been part of the force that constructed the containment ring around the Spire of Long Shadows. I'm considering tweaking Eligos so that he was once part of the Flame-worshipping clans that seek to contain the evils of the Demon Wastes, justifying his Fighter levels and tying him closer to other thematic elements in the Adventure Path. I'd really like to introduce the Children of Winter to the story at some point, thinking that they'd want to hasten the Age of Worms so that the rotting impurities of the current age can be devoured, making way for a new natural order. A good way to incorporate them or transpose a druid character over an existing villain hasn't come to me yet, though. Ideas?
Deekin 01-30-06, 01:04 PM	Umm, KB begs to differ. Found Here Here, as Dungeon 128 Expansion (http://paizo.com/dungeon/news) You will want Age of Worms overload, and all the expasions. They have conversions written by Keith. Who is Kyuss? The Age of Worms is driven by the schemes of the Cult of Kyuss. But how does this group fit into Eberron? In this adventure, Eligos tells the party of the threat that lies ahead. In Eberron, Kyuss is not a god. He is a wizard born in Sarlona over two thousand years ago, who was driven to Khorvaire by those who feared his dark magics. He established a city in the region now known as Q’barra, where he continued his study of necromancy. But Kyuss was not content with mortal magic. He learned of an ancient power of undeath: Katashka the Gatekeeper, one of the overlords of the Age of Demons. Kyuss pledged himself to Katashka and learned his terrible secrets, including the creation of worm-infested spawn. Ultimately Kyuss sought to become a physical vessel for Katashka’s power, and he sacrificed his city of followers to accomplish this task. But somewhere along the way he had miscalculated, by joining his soul to the spirit of Katashka, he bound himself into the demon’s prison. Kyuss had doomed himself for eternity.
Golbez57 01-30-06, 03:14 PM	I don't think anyone here has said Keith's suggested "tweaks" are without merit, Deekin. Instead, we're idea-sharing as to how the adventure and the campaign world can be meshed in different ways. Like I'd imagine others who've posted here have done, I've printed out, read through, and considered all of the conversions. I'll be using a good part of the conversion material, tweaking other parts of it to bring focus on the parts of the world and campaign I'd like to highlight at our gaming table, and also incorporating extra stuff not in the adventures-as-written or the conversions. The hard-working Dungeon staff is now quite a ways behind on online supplements, with no definitive word on when conversions for the most recent few "Age of Worms" adventures will be available, so it can't hurt to toss around some ideas, right?