Building a Story - First time Eberron Gamers [Archive] - Wizards Community

Building a Story - First time Eberron Gamers [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Bobfred21
02-25-08, 02:35 PM Firstly, Clayton, Danny, Chris - stay out of this thread. Close it right now.

Alright, for everyone else here's the deal, I'm a moderately experienced DM/Player, playing with a group of people who only barely know anything about the game. I've been interested in Eberron for a while, but never had the chance to run or play a game in it, therefore I'm a little rusty on my Eberron lore and only know the very basics about any organization I'm about to mention. So here are my ideas for the story I'd like some in put.

First session: A call has gone out for adventurers/archeologists from the mage academy in Sharn (can't remember the name), with the promises of riches and fame - the academy needs help investigating some ruins in Xen'drik. Adventurers pour in from all over. Each of the PCs has been interviewed and selected as one of the most promising adventurers. The PCs along with 10-15 others make it into the final round of judgement (whether or not they get the job).

Unfortunately, as they're preparing for the final round of testing and the adventurers are arrange into groups to test for teamwork (conveniently placing all of our PCs together in the same group), a body is discovered in the tower. This person just so happens to have been a major funder of the operations in Xen'drik, so instead these groups of adventurers are sent to investigate the death of this guy while the people who run the academy figure out what to do about the operations in Xen'drik. So they follow a trail of clues which I wont bore you with and eventually are lead to the sewers after some wererat or another all the while competing with these rival adventurers group for the good graces of the mage school. I'm not sure why this were rat killed the man yet, it may or may not be connected - it'd be nice to have another plot hook to throw in here if you have any ideas to bring in more political intrigue with the were rats and mage school/dead guy.

At the very end of the session the PCs will find out that because of the lack of funds the mage schools cutting back on their operation in Xen'drik. Oh noes! Cliff hanger! (sorta)

Next session:
PCs are summoned by one of the members at the arcane college, he wants them to go to Xen'drik funded by him personally even though the college has called it off - his daughter is an archeologist involved in the project. He's arranged for their transport aboard an airship so that they'll beat the colleges sea born vessel to Xen'drik and be able to get out of their with his daughter and all of the information she'd uncovered before the college arrives and takes her findings for themselves to study - basically he wants sole access to her discoveries.

So they go to Xen'drik and discover that she's currently out excavating some ruins - so they'll fight their way to the ruins, then navigate the trap infested ruins (noting some signs where people before them set off certain traps). As they progress toward their destination they'll begin to see signs of a struggle blood and the bodies of what look like archeologists. They'll also note where one trap has been set off and seems to have taken a good chunk out of someone. They'll come to the final chamber and discover three strange and mysterious figures talking over the corpses of what remains of the archeological expedition (notably lacking the mans daughter). They overhear the three talking about something not being there and that kind of deal, the three realize the PCs are eavesdropping - one stays to kill them and the other two leave. PCs win of course and end up going back to town and somehow discovering the mans daughter alive, albeit injured by the trap they spotted earlier. (not sure how they discover her yet)

The girl probably lets the PCs know that she knows what the three were looking for - a set of artifacts; An orb, a ??? and a pedastal. She found a fake version of the pedastel which lead her to the ruins the PCs just came from and she has some clues as to the location of the real artifacts but isn't clear enough yet to chase after them. They, I assume, will take her back to Sharn for their reward. Where they will continue to work for the man.

I'm not sure what happens next, but here's what I've decided about the artifacts: The orb absorbs positive and negative energy and in the right hands can do some funky things with both of them. I'm not sure what the ??? is yet, clearly, but it will have to do with channeling said positive/negative energy into the podium - any other suggestions are welcome, I want it to have some cool effect but nothing that the players can abuse if/when they get a hold of it. And the podium when they find it (the last one they find), will be literally hooked up to a chamber and a weird looking gate way type thing.

The three people they met were inspired agents of the dreaming dark. They want to use the artifacts to open a gate to Dal'Quor (however it's spelled) and open the way for a planar invasion (when the players get to higher levels these enemies will probably begin to take center stage). The Inspired agents will need to gather a bunch of people and a bunch of undead in the chamber with the podium and the gate. They will need to kill all of these people and destroy all of these undead at the same time and let the orb absorb the positive and negative energy from each. The Orb will then release the energy into the ???, and we all know what happens when positive energy and negative energy meet - BOOM! however the ??? channels the blast into a controllable, compact form. The podium will send this controlled blast to the gate where it will be used to tear a rift between realities (made stable by the gate). Voila - portal to Dal'Quor.

As the PCs are lower levels though, their going to have to deal with finding the artifacts and combatting all the different factions that want them. For example, the Emerald Claw wants the orb because Erandis has found a way that she can use it to restore her life, youth and the mark of death.

The Aurum will at some point sponsor the PCs on their mission, only to take whatever artifact they've found "for the money".

The original hiding place of the orb may be house Deneith (making a powerful enemy there) or possibly some other place as the basis for the weapon that destroyed Cyre.

Basically I just want to include as much about Eberron in this campaign as I can, introduce as many of the enemies, factions and action inherrent to Eberron as I can. I'd appreciate any ideas you have as to how to include more factions and classic Eberron enemies into this idea.
skrap-san
02-25-08, 03:49 PM The Sharn/Brelish school of magic is called Mongrave university (spelling might be tad off). And I really like the idea, have loads of good stuff in here that will last you many sessions. Sugestion to the Aurumn idea, make the sponsor the father. He wants to sell it off. Like the Emerald claw link, and the quori link.
Bobfred21
02-25-08, 06:57 PM I've actually been thinking about some of these and I've come up with a few more ideas.

Also, thanks for the suggestions skrap-san, although I think I want their original sponsor to be an actually good guy, that way when they **** the Aurumn off and the Aurumn decide to bring about their political power they can cut the PCs off from their previous patron (possibly by having him killed in the process) and really **** the PCs off. These guys are going to be the real classy, Lex Luthor type villains. The PCs can mash them in a fight, but the Aurumn will be damned before they get in a situation where they have to fight.

I'm thinking the second artifact will have something to do with storing and moving energy (in most cases negative and positive). I'm thinking the Karnathi military will have gotten a hold of it and is using it to create more powerful undead/just more undead. Not 100% sure yet, but it'd be cool to get Kaius involved somehow.

Also, I was thinking WAYYYYYY later if it ever gets that far, probably after the PCs have thwarted the Dal'Quor invasion (and in the process destroyed the gate), the Dealkyr will show up and start reaking havoc. The PCs will of course do battle with them, only to find out later that all this time they've been preparing to use the same gate (they reassembled it and slightly redesigned it) to open a gate to Xoriat.

I was thinking the gate to Xoriat would be more difficult to open and require more energy, but I'm not really sure what happened to Xoriat and Dal'Quor. I know one was shunted out of this reality or something like that by the giants and I cant remember what happened to the other. So any thoughts on the Daelkyr plotline?

Also, I'm wondering what would be so bad about the Mark of Death resurfacing that the PCs would want to stop? Other dragonmarked houses would want to stop it of course, and the Elves of Aerenal but what exactly would Erandis do with it?
skrap-san
02-26-08, 01:57 AM your take on the Aurumn is also quite good. You could start it all of by one of them meeting the players in Stormreach and trying to buy the items of the PCs.
It was Dal'quor who was cut of from the turning cycle. Xoriath is just far away for the time being. You could have the second artifact involve some kind of large Dragonshard.
Bobfred21
02-26-08, 04:43 AM Hmm, I like that idea about one of the Aurum trying to buy the artifacts from them in Stormreach, that'd definately the best introduction I think.

And I think I will use that idea about dragonshards being a part of the second artifact. Perhaps the mechanisms that store the specific types of energy and certain dragonshards will only store certain types of energy for the purpose of this artifact?

Thus, by rearranging how many dragonshards of which type the owner would rearrange what exactly the artifact could do, the artifact works as a power conduit and storage unit, keeping volatile energies (such as positive and negative energy) seperate from eachother so they don't instantly cause an explosion or some such thing. While the Orb is the source of power that the unit is channeling in it's complete state. On it's own, the artifact is capable of drawing power from the dragonshards, however these dragonshards are limited and lose their power quickly when used with this artifact. Now, I just need to figure out what Karnath wants to do with this.

Perhaps... Using a certain combination of dragonshards, the right spells and perhaps even an eldritch machine the Karnath military has found a way to give dragonmarks to undead, despite the fact that usually dragonmarks dont work on undead. Aberrant marks perhaps? Not sure on this, seems a bit wacky.

I'm not sure I want something to be different with the Xoriat gate, but I'm not sure what it could be. Something that makes it more difficult perhaps, but I think the idea of it needing more energy because it's so far away is a bit of a stretch compared with Dal'Quor which has been shunted to another reality. ANy ideas?
masshysteria
03-05-08, 12:32 PM The whole artifact thing sound like you could take a page from The Maltese Falcon.

The PCs never know the artifact is actually dangerous or magical. To them it is just an expensive piece of art.

Fearing for her life, the pretty young archaeologist escaped back to Stormreach with the artifact and stuffed it into a crate to be shipped back to Sharn. Because it was going by sea, the PC's (and their enemies) can easily get back to Sharn before the shipping boat.

The original patron is happy to have his daughter back doesn't want her mixed up in all this dangerous business and forbids her to go after the artifact for her own safety and that he is now longer interested in obtaining the artifact. After dismissing the daughter, he pulls the PCs aside into his richly decorated library and says he is infact interested in the artifact and he only said otherwise to protect his daughter. He offers them a large sum of money/or whatever bribe works well to work for him.

But all is not what it seems, he owes a large debt to the Aurum and promises to retreive the artifact for them so that once again he is in their good graces. The whole reason he sent his daughter to get it, was so that it could be traded to the Aurum. His daughter doesn't know any of this and was being played.

Later that night, the daughter comes to the PCs in the middle of the night wet with rain and tears. She says he father has been killed and she knowns it is because of the "wretched artifact". She pleads with the PCs to recover the artifact before it gets into the hands of those who killed her dad.

Of course the daughter has a motive of her own. She is actually and agent of the Emerald Claw. When her father forbid her from going after the artifact, she had him killed so she could obtain it for the claw. She never reveals that she knows the artifact is magical and just says she has to have it so it can be safe.

So now the PCs are embroiled in a terrible situation. They must race the agents of the dreaming dark to the recover the artifact (oh, and the agents were the ones that hired a wererat to kill the original patron of the expedition to keep the artifact from getting into anyone else's hand as they had a good lead on it and didn't need adventurers getting invovled). All the while they are picking up clues the daughter isn't who she seems to be, while she tries to seduce and play them off one another to keep them distracted. Of course being paranoid like she is, the daugher frames the PCs for her father's death. Now they have the Aurum and the city guard on their tails.

Wouldn't it be great to have a meeting between the daughter and Emerald Claw agents, the Aurum, the agents of the dreaming dark, and the PCs in a run down warehouse where the PCs produce the artifact only to show to everyone that it is a fake?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bobfred21 02-25-08, 02:35 PM	Firstly, Clayton, Danny, Chris - stay out of this thread. Close it right now. Alright, for everyone else here's the deal, I'm a moderately experienced DM/Player, playing with a group of people who only barely know anything about the game. I've been interested in Eberron for a while, but never had the chance to run or play a game in it, therefore I'm a little rusty on my Eberron lore and only know the very basics about any organization I'm about to mention. So here are my ideas for the story I'd like some in put. First session: A call has gone out for adventurers/archeologists from the mage academy in Sharn (can't remember the name), with the promises of riches and fame - the academy needs help investigating some ruins in Xen'drik. Adventurers pour in from all over. Each of the PCs has been interviewed and selected as one of the most promising adventurers. The PCs along with 10-15 others make it into the final round of judgement (whether or not they get the job). Unfortunately, as they're preparing for the final round of testing and the adventurers are arrange into groups to test for teamwork (conveniently placing all of our PCs together in the same group), a body is discovered in the tower. This person just so happens to have been a major funder of the operations in Xen'drik, so instead these groups of adventurers are sent to investigate the death of this guy while the people who run the academy figure out what to do about the operations in Xen'drik. So they follow a trail of clues which I wont bore you with and eventually are lead to the sewers after some wererat or another all the while competing with these rival adventurers group for the good graces of the mage school. I'm not sure why this were rat killed the man yet, it may or may not be connected - it'd be nice to have another plot hook to throw in here if you have any ideas to bring in more political intrigue with the were rats and mage school/dead guy. At the very end of the session the PCs will find out that because of the lack of funds the mage schools cutting back on their operation in Xen'drik. Oh noes! Cliff hanger! (sorta) Next session: PCs are summoned by one of the members at the arcane college, he wants them to go to Xen'drik funded by him personally even though the college has called it off - his daughter is an archeologist involved in the project. He's arranged for their transport aboard an airship so that they'll beat the colleges sea born vessel to Xen'drik and be able to get out of their with his daughter and all of the information she'd uncovered before the college arrives and takes her findings for themselves to study - basically he wants sole access to her discoveries. So they go to Xen'drik and discover that she's currently out excavating some ruins - so they'll fight their way to the ruins, then navigate the trap infested ruins (noting some signs where people before them set off certain traps). As they progress toward their destination they'll begin to see signs of a struggle blood and the bodies of what look like archeologists. They'll also note where one trap has been set off and seems to have taken a good chunk out of someone. They'll come to the final chamber and discover three strange and mysterious figures talking over the corpses of what remains of the archeological expedition (notably lacking the mans daughter). They overhear the three talking about something not being there and that kind of deal, the three realize the PCs are eavesdropping - one stays to kill them and the other two leave. PCs win of course and end up going back to town and somehow discovering the mans daughter alive, albeit injured by the trap they spotted earlier. (not sure how they discover her yet) The girl probably lets the PCs know that she knows what the three were looking for - a set of artifacts; An orb, a ??? and a pedastal. She found a fake version of the pedastel which lead her to the ruins the PCs just came from and she has some clues as to the location of the real artifacts but isn't clear enough yet to chase after them. They, I assume, will take her back to Sharn for their reward. Where they will continue to work for the man. I'm not sure what happens next, but here's what I've decided about the artifacts: The orb absorbs positive and negative energy and in the right hands can do some funky things with both of them. I'm not sure what the ??? is yet, clearly, but it will have to do with channeling said positive/negative energy into the podium - any other suggestions are welcome, I want it to have some cool effect but nothing that the players can abuse if/when they get a hold of it. And the podium when they find it (the last one they find), will be literally hooked up to a chamber and a weird looking gate way type thing. The three people they met were inspired agents of the dreaming dark. They want to use the artifacts to open a gate to Dal'Quor (however it's spelled) and open the way for a planar invasion (when the players get to higher levels these enemies will probably begin to take center stage). The Inspired agents will need to gather a bunch of people and a bunch of undead in the chamber with the podium and the gate. They will need to kill all of these people and destroy all of these undead at the same time and let the orb absorb the positive and negative energy from each. The Orb will then release the energy into the ???, and we all know what happens when positive energy and negative energy meet - BOOM! however the ??? channels the blast into a controllable, compact form. The podium will send this controlled blast to the gate where it will be used to tear a rift between realities (made stable by the gate). Voila - portal to Dal'Quor. As the PCs are lower levels though, their going to have to deal with finding the artifacts and combatting all the different factions that want them. For example, the Emerald Claw wants the orb because Erandis has found a way that she can use it to restore her life, youth and the mark of death. The Aurum will at some point sponsor the PCs on their mission, only to take whatever artifact they've found "for the money". The original hiding place of the orb may be house Deneith (making a powerful enemy there) or possibly some other place as the basis for the weapon that destroyed Cyre. Basically I just want to include as much about Eberron in this campaign as I can, introduce as many of the enemies, factions and action inherrent to Eberron as I can. I'd appreciate any ideas you have as to how to include more factions and classic Eberron enemies into this idea.
skrap-san 02-25-08, 03:49 PM	The Sharn/Brelish school of magic is called Mongrave university (spelling might be tad off). And I really like the idea, have loads of good stuff in here that will last you many sessions. Sugestion to the Aurumn idea, make the sponsor the father. He wants to sell it off. Like the Emerald claw link, and the quori link.
Bobfred21 02-25-08, 06:57 PM	I've actually been thinking about some of these and I've come up with a few more ideas. Also, thanks for the suggestions skrap-san, although I think I want their original sponsor to be an actually good guy, that way when they ** the Aurumn off and the Aurumn decide to bring about their political power they can cut the PCs off from their previous patron (possibly by having him killed in the process) and really ** the PCs off. These guys are going to be the real classy, Lex Luthor type villains. The PCs can mash them in a fight, but the Aurumn will be damned before they get in a situation where they have to fight. I'm thinking the second artifact will have something to do with storing and moving energy (in most cases negative and positive). I'm thinking the Karnathi military will have gotten a hold of it and is using it to create more powerful undead/just more undead. Not 100% sure yet, but it'd be cool to get Kaius involved somehow. Also, I was thinking WAYYYYYY later if it ever gets that far, probably after the PCs have thwarted the Dal'Quor invasion (and in the process destroyed the gate), the Dealkyr will show up and start reaking havoc. The PCs will of course do battle with them, only to find out later that all this time they've been preparing to use the same gate (they reassembled it and slightly redesigned it) to open a gate to Xoriat. I was thinking the gate to Xoriat would be more difficult to open and require more energy, but I'm not really sure what happened to Xoriat and Dal'Quor. I know one was shunted out of this reality or something like that by the giants and I cant remember what happened to the other. So any thoughts on the Daelkyr plotline? Also, I'm wondering what would be so bad about the Mark of Death resurfacing that the PCs would want to stop? Other dragonmarked houses would want to stop it of course, and the Elves of Aerenal but what exactly would Erandis do with it?
skrap-san 02-26-08, 01:57 AM	your take on the Aurumn is also quite good. You could start it all of by one of them meeting the players in Stormreach and trying to buy the items of the PCs. It was Dal'quor who was cut of from the turning cycle. Xoriath is just far away for the time being. You could have the second artifact involve some kind of large Dragonshard.
Bobfred21 02-26-08, 04:43 AM	Hmm, I like that idea about one of the Aurum trying to buy the artifacts from them in Stormreach, that'd definately the best introduction I think. And I think I will use that idea about dragonshards being a part of the second artifact. Perhaps the mechanisms that store the specific types of energy and certain dragonshards will only store certain types of energy for the purpose of this artifact? Thus, by rearranging how many dragonshards of which type the owner would rearrange what exactly the artifact could do, the artifact works as a power conduit and storage unit, keeping volatile energies (such as positive and negative energy) seperate from eachother so they don't instantly cause an explosion or some such thing. While the Orb is the source of power that the unit is channeling in it's complete state. On it's own, the artifact is capable of drawing power from the dragonshards, however these dragonshards are limited and lose their power quickly when used with this artifact. Now, I just need to figure out what Karnath wants to do with this. Perhaps... Using a certain combination of dragonshards, the right spells and perhaps even an eldritch machine the Karnath military has found a way to give dragonmarks to undead, despite the fact that usually dragonmarks dont work on undead. Aberrant marks perhaps? Not sure on this, seems a bit wacky. I'm not sure I want something to be different with the Xoriat gate, but I'm not sure what it could be. Something that makes it more difficult perhaps, but I think the idea of it needing more energy because it's so far away is a bit of a stretch compared with Dal'Quor which has been shunted to another reality. ANy ideas?
masshysteria 03-05-08, 12:32 PM	The whole artifact thing sound like you could take a page from The Maltese Falcon. The PCs never know the artifact is actually dangerous or magical. To them it is just an expensive piece of art. Fearing for her life, the pretty young archaeologist escaped back to Stormreach with the artifact and stuffed it into a crate to be shipped back to Sharn. Because it was going by sea, the PC's (and their enemies) can easily get back to Sharn before the shipping boat. The original patron is happy to have his daughter back doesn't want her mixed up in all this dangerous business and forbids her to go after the artifact for her own safety and that he is now longer interested in obtaining the artifact. After dismissing the daughter, he pulls the PCs aside into his richly decorated library and says he is infact interested in the artifact and he only said otherwise to protect his daughter. He offers them a large sum of money/or whatever bribe works well to work for him. But all is not what it seems, he owes a large debt to the Aurum and promises to retreive the artifact for them so that once again he is in their good graces. The whole reason he sent his daughter to get it, was so that it could be traded to the Aurum. His daughter doesn't know any of this and was being played. Later that night, the daughter comes to the PCs in the middle of the night wet with rain and tears. She says he father has been killed and she knowns it is because of the "wretched artifact". She pleads with the PCs to recover the artifact before it gets into the hands of those who killed her dad. Of course the daughter has a motive of her own. She is actually and agent of the Emerald Claw. When her father forbid her from going after the artifact, she had him killed so she could obtain it for the claw. She never reveals that she knows the artifact is magical and just says she has to have it so it can be safe. So now the PCs are embroiled in a terrible situation. They must race the agents of the dreaming dark to the recover the artifact (oh, and the agents were the ones that hired a wererat to kill the original patron of the expedition to keep the artifact from getting into anyone else's hand as they had a good lead on it and didn't need adventurers getting invovled). All the while they are picking up clues the daughter isn't who she seems to be, while she tries to seduce and play them off one another to keep them distracted. Of course being paranoid like she is, the daugher frames the PCs for her father's death. Now they have the Aurum and the city guard on their tails. Wouldn't it be great to have a meeting between the daughter and Emerald Claw agents, the Aurum, the agents of the dreaming dark, and the PCs in a run down warehouse where the PCs produce the artifact only to show to everyone that it is a fake?