AU Giants and Faen in Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

AU Giants and Faen in Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
fuindordm
12-07-04, 05:57 AM In case anyone's interested, I thought I'd post some of the player handout material on my upcoming Eberron campaign. This bit details how I'm working in some Arcana Unearthed material into the Eberron setting. I was trying to figure out how some fragment of the original giant culture might have escaped the devastation of the Quori invasion and the Dragons' retribution.

Giants in the Earth

Long, long ago, while the common races were still figuring out that cooked flesh tasted better, the giants of Xen'drik took up tools and magic and built the first cities in Eberron. They befriended the dragons, uplifted the elves, and built a civilization founded on the power of reason rather than barbarism. The dragons taught them secrets of arcane magic, which they in turn taught to the elves, and the two races enjoyed a long collaboration.

Tales from this time have been recounted to you as distant legends, and it is universally recognized that the true details of Giant history are lost and forgotten. The oldest songs have a wistful and melancholy sound, as the singers recount tales of your race's golden age. The heroes of these tales are not warriors or martyrs, but philospher-kings and lawmakers, explorers and scholars. Ar-Solon, the Third King, is the most common figure in these tales. Ar-Solon was a just ruler who reformed Giant laws, quested in realms beyond Eberron, elevated the status of elves in society, and is said to have bound the last of Khyber's demon children. He also labored under a potent curse (whose nature changes according to the needs of the tale); the epithet 'Third' in his title refers to this curse, not to his succession. He was the most powerful magician of his Age, but he was more proud of his reason than of his magic and most stories end with him showing his adversaries the error of his ways through pointed dialogue; in this way the older tales also serve as moral education for Giant youths.

The Golden Age ended with a great war, as they so often do. Demons from the realm of dreams invaded Xen'drik; their powers were greater than the Giants', and they appeared incapable of reason or logic. Over long centuries of war, Xen'drik was overrun. The demons of these tales have any number of names and powers; storytelling has embellished them beyond recognition.

Ar-Solon was fighting a losing battle, and he saw his civilization crumbling around him. It is said that in a dream he foresaw what he must do to save the world, though he knew it would doom his race in the end. Hoping to preserve some small fragment of the Giant's tradition, he built seven great ships and filled them with skilled giants from across the nation. He then chanted a spell, and the sails filled with a mighty wind, disappearing over the horizon to lands unknown.

This is where your people's history begins. Ar-Solon blew the ships not to another continent, but into another plane of existence—the Faerie Court. The giants did their best to adapt to this land of wild magic and preserve their traditions, but memory and illusion are inseparable in Faerie and the giant culture of today is a pale shadow of its past glory. The giants formed an enclave in Faerie and lived there in peace, calling themselves the Stewards of Memory, and did their best to preserve their traditions and past.

It is said that these were Ar-Solon's words to the exiles before sending them on their way:

“Go now and remain true to yourselves, for I must work a great evil on our race for the greater good. I will defeat the Demons of Dreams by severing their world from our own, but this magic will devastate our continent and the fallout will pollute our race indelibly. The dragons, who were once our mentors, will work a terrible revenge on us for shattering the natural order, and if ever you meet them again you should not trust them. The price is terrible, but only by this means can Eberron be preserved for others to grow and learn in our wake. My works will deliver the future, though none will ever know.

“Seek not the ancient lore, for the High Magic has no place in the world to come and the dragons will never permit its return. Place your faith in none but yourselves, for the Host cares nothing for us or our race. Yet the time will come when the world has need of our guidance again, for the Demons of Dreams will return once more. Be ready to help our younger siblings at that time.”

Fifty generations have passed in Faerie since that time. The giants turned their studies inward and mastered arts of life energy and memory previously unknown. They allied with a race of fey called the Faen, a small race with powerful magic. The faen humor and irreverent attitude towards the divine resonated with the giants, who found themselves in great need of things to laugh about. They diminished in stature, exchanging their greater powers and presence for a life of tranquility as they waited.

Every once in a while the elders would send a lone giant to wander Eberron and bring back news. In your lifetime, this wanderer returned with rumors of a new race in Khorvaire, the kalashtar who share their minds with spirits from the realm of dreams. Your elders didn't seem unduly concerned, but decided that the time had come to return to the world in numbers. They selected five hundred of their most promising youths to accompany a handful of elder scholars into Khorvaire to explore further and bring back news. After establishing themselves on the island of Thronehold with the permission of local governments, they sent off adventurers in ones, twos and threes to all parts of the continent. You are one of these, and your instructions are simple. Make friends and
learn the ways of these people and their nations. Investigate anything unusual related to dreams, in particular the Quori (a word previously unknown to you), but do not reveal your people's connection to Xen'drik; you are to be natives of Faerie. Be cautious, and return with what you have learned.

It is in the nature of giants to grow in stature as they grow in wisdom, and the elders on Thronehold can perform the appropriate ceremonies for you to gain racial levels. Some elders grow taller yet than you can hope to achieve, towering as much as sixteen feet high! Giants have access to the following classes from Arcana Unearthed in addition to the PC classes: Akashic, Greenbond, and Mage Blade. They have begun teaching the ways of the warrior-mage and the greenbond to the people of Khorvaire, but so far the secrets of the Akashic they have kept to themselves. None of them are clerics or druids; their spiritual leaders are Greenbonds and Bards.
okaynowa
12-07-04, 08:55 AM Pretty well done, and a good integration, I'd say. Personally, I'd love to run an Eberron campaign using Arcana Unearthed rules (the magister class seems like a perfect way to explain clerics of Eberron's remote deities), but I suspect I'd have to spend too much time re-educating my players, who are old and set in their ways.
fuindordm
12-08-04, 05:15 AM Pretty well done, and a good integration, I'd say. Personally, I'd love to run an Eberron campaign using Arcana Unearthed rules (the magister class seems like a perfect way to explain clerics of Eberron's remote deities), but I suspect I'd have to spend too much time re-educating my players, who are old and set in their ways.

What's wrong with players these days? Getting them to read a 300-page setting book is like pulling teeth!

Thanks. I had one taker who is playing a Giant Monk. I'm also working on the Greenbond and Mage Blade conversions, although it doesn't seem like the PCs are interested in those options yet.

Ben

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
fuindordm 12-07-04, 05:57 AM	In case anyone's interested, I thought I'd post some of the player handout material on my upcoming Eberron campaign. This bit details how I'm working in some Arcana Unearthed material into the Eberron setting. I was trying to figure out how some fragment of the original giant culture might have escaped the devastation of the Quori invasion and the Dragons' retribution. Giants in the Earth Long, long ago, while the common races were still figuring out that cooked flesh tasted better, the giants of Xen'drik took up tools and magic and built the first cities in Eberron. They befriended the dragons, uplifted the elves, and built a civilization founded on the power of reason rather than barbarism. The dragons taught them secrets of arcane magic, which they in turn taught to the elves, and the two races enjoyed a long collaboration. Tales from this time have been recounted to you as distant legends, and it is universally recognized that the true details of Giant history are lost and forgotten. The oldest songs have a wistful and melancholy sound, as the singers recount tales of your race's golden age. The heroes of these tales are not warriors or martyrs, but philospher-kings and lawmakers, explorers and scholars. Ar-Solon, the Third King, is the most common figure in these tales. Ar-Solon was a just ruler who reformed Giant laws, quested in realms beyond Eberron, elevated the status of elves in society, and is said to have bound the last of Khyber's demon children. He also labored under a potent curse (whose nature changes according to the needs of the tale); the epithet 'Third' in his title refers to this curse, not to his succession. He was the most powerful magician of his Age, but he was more proud of his reason than of his magic and most stories end with him showing his adversaries the error of his ways through pointed dialogue; in this way the older tales also serve as moral education for Giant youths. The Golden Age ended with a great war, as they so often do. Demons from the realm of dreams invaded Xen'drik; their powers were greater than the Giants', and they appeared incapable of reason or logic. Over long centuries of war, Xen'drik was overrun. The demons of these tales have any number of names and powers; storytelling has embellished them beyond recognition. Ar-Solon was fighting a losing battle, and he saw his civilization crumbling around him. It is said that in a dream he foresaw what he must do to save the world, though he knew it would doom his race in the end. Hoping to preserve some small fragment of the Giant's tradition, he built seven great ships and filled them with skilled giants from across the nation. He then chanted a spell, and the sails filled with a mighty wind, disappearing over the horizon to lands unknown. This is where your people's history begins. Ar-Solon blew the ships not to another continent, but into another plane of existence—the Faerie Court. The giants did their best to adapt to this land of wild magic and preserve their traditions, but memory and illusion are inseparable in Faerie and the giant culture of today is a pale shadow of its past glory. The giants formed an enclave in Faerie and lived there in peace, calling themselves the Stewards of Memory, and did their best to preserve their traditions and past. It is said that these were Ar-Solon's words to the exiles before sending them on their way: “Go now and remain true to yourselves, for I must work a great evil on our race for the greater good. I will defeat the Demons of Dreams by severing their world from our own, but this magic will devastate our continent and the fallout will pollute our race indelibly. The dragons, who were once our mentors, will work a terrible revenge on us for shattering the natural order, and if ever you meet them again you should not trust them. The price is terrible, but only by this means can Eberron be preserved for others to grow and learn in our wake. My works will deliver the future, though none will ever know. “Seek not the ancient lore, for the High Magic has no place in the world to come and the dragons will never permit its return. Place your faith in none but yourselves, for the Host cares nothing for us or our race. Yet the time will come when the world has need of our guidance again, for the Demons of Dreams will return once more. Be ready to help our younger siblings at that time.” Fifty generations have passed in Faerie since that time. The giants turned their studies inward and mastered arts of life energy and memory previously unknown. They allied with a race of fey called the Faen, a small race with powerful magic. The faen humor and irreverent attitude towards the divine resonated with the giants, who found themselves in great need of things to laugh about. They diminished in stature, exchanging their greater powers and presence for a life of tranquility as they waited. Every once in a while the elders would send a lone giant to wander Eberron and bring back news. In your lifetime, this wanderer returned with rumors of a new race in Khorvaire, the kalashtar who share their minds with spirits from the realm of dreams. Your elders didn't seem unduly concerned, but decided that the time had come to return to the world in numbers. They selected five hundred of their most promising youths to accompany a handful of elder scholars into Khorvaire to explore further and bring back news. After establishing themselves on the island of Thronehold with the permission of local governments, they sent off adventurers in ones, twos and threes to all parts of the continent. You are one of these, and your instructions are simple. Make friends and learn the ways of these people and their nations. Investigate anything unusual related to dreams, in particular the Quori (a word previously unknown to you), but do not reveal your people's connection to Xen'drik; you are to be natives of Faerie. Be cautious, and return with what you have learned. It is in the nature of giants to grow in stature as they grow in wisdom, and the elders on Thronehold can perform the appropriate ceremonies for you to gain racial levels. Some elders grow taller yet than you can hope to achieve, towering as much as sixteen feet high! Giants have access to the following classes from Arcana Unearthed in addition to the PC classes: Akashic, Greenbond, and Mage Blade. They have begun teaching the ways of the warrior-mage and the greenbond to the people of Khorvaire, but so far the secrets of the Akashic they have kept to themselves. None of them are clerics or druids; their spiritual leaders are Greenbonds and Bards.
okaynowa 12-07-04, 08:55 AM	Pretty well done, and a good integration, I'd say. Personally, I'd love to run an Eberron campaign using Arcana Unearthed rules (the magister class seems like a perfect way to explain clerics of Eberron's remote deities), but I suspect I'd have to spend too much time re-educating my players, who are old and set in their ways.
fuindordm 12-08-04, 05:15 AM	Pretty well done, and a good integration, I'd say. Personally, I'd love to run an Eberron campaign using Arcana Unearthed rules (the magister class seems like a perfect way to explain clerics of Eberron's remote deities), but I suspect I'd have to spend too much time re-educating my players, who are old and set in their ways. What's wrong with players these days? Getting them to read a 300-page setting book is like pulling teeth! Thanks. I had one taker who is playing a Giant Monk. I'm also working on the Greenbond and Mage Blade conversions, although it doesn't seem like the PCs are interested in those options yet. Ben