Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AlricLightwind 01-18-05, 04:07 AM	So I was thinking of doing an Eberron campaign (if I can ever find time to do one) that was episodic, meaning that I want to have several adventures that seem unrelated and yet have an underlying story arc that connects them. For example, while bringing a fugitive to justice, the PCs find out that the ones that set him free/hired him etc. are or are working for the Blood of Vol. The Blood of Vol, meanwhile, is hatching a larger scheme that could spell trouble for all of Khorvaire, a plot that the players are only getting snippets of during each adventure. I’m taking a kind of TV series feel with the “episodes”, having adventures that stand alone but if you’re paying attention you see bits that connect branching though out the whole “season”. There would be some downtime between the “episodes” ranging from a few hours to a week to even a month or two, giving time for research, investigation and what-not. That way the PCs wouldn’t be 20th lvl in only a week, giving it a bit more of a realistic bent. Maybe in the “season” they would reach only 10th or 11th lvl. Maybe even less than that. My story idea is that a Cult of the Dragon Below is working to open the portal to Xoriat and realign its orbit. Through the course of the adventures, the players discover that the Cult is searching for 12 crystal skulls that hold the information to unlocking the dimensional seals. Each crystal skull is what remains of the lead orc druid that preformed the ritual to lock each dimensional seal, and then scattered by the Gatekeepers across Eberron so as to not fall into the wrong hands. The players are approached by a patron that sets them on the quest to find the Skulls before the Cult does. Now, I haven’t decided if the patron is a member(s) of the Chamber, seeing parts of the draconic Prophecy being played out by the PCs, or a member of some other organization that wants to see the Cult fail. If the Chamber is involved then maybe there is more than one dragon, no more than two I should think, but one has a benevolent outlook while the other is waiting patiently to betray and see his vision of the Prophecy come to pass. I don’t see a dragon really wanting total madness to sweep over the face of the planet though, so maybe have an agent of the Chamber dragon and ally of the PCs have his or her own agenda, such as a powerful place in the Cult which is how the Cult found out about the Skulls in the first place. Perhaps have the Cultist be a spokesman of the Dragon who the PCs never meet until the end of the “season”. The Gatekeepers are a natural idea also to send a group out to stop the Cult. Or maybe one of the Dragonmarked Houses that hire the PCs to protect a priceless artifact fresh from Xen’drik only to be attacked by the Cultists, the reasons for the attack a mystery to be discovered a couple of adventures down the road. Perhaps a well known Professor/researcher of Morgrave University (who was studying a Crystal Skull brought from Xen’drik) is killed and the PCs are hired to find his killer which leads them down the path of the Cult and the Skulls, or perhaps the Professor IS the leader of the cult and dupes the PCs into funding the other eleven Skulls. Either way, I would like a patron of the PCs, someone they have come to trust be the leader of this particular Cult. Once the PCs hand him/her all 12 skulls they play their final hand. There would be plenty of traveling, adventuring and intrigue thrown in for good measure, as bit by bit the main plot is revealed, NPCs, big and small, come and go, all leading to the final “season finale” that ties everything together…or does it? Anyway, these are my thoughts. Any ideas or suggestions?
Altaris 01-19-05, 10:41 AM	That sounds pretty cool. Nicely thought out and fairly well tangled.