Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Save-vs-DM 10-09-04, 11:46 PM	I've been thinking of restarting my Eberron game, as the last one I started is fairly sub-standard. This is the new idea I'm working on, and I'd like a bit of feeback on it. Feel free to use it yourself if you want. Thanks! Requiem of Spirits Series Bible Background During the Last War a wealthy master blade smith by the name of Rickkenmark Torgny made a fortune by selling high quality weapons to the soldiers. It was said that Rickkenmark could forge a blade that was superior to any other weapon. Rickkenmark employed a vast away of magewrights to enchant his blades. Though Rickkenmark was a proud citizen of Cyre he sold his weapons to anyone who could afford them, no matter the side. Rickkenmark quickly grew incredibly wealthy from his business. Yet he began to increasingly sell more and more weapons to foreign nations. Rickkenmark had little conscience, however, and cared little that his fellow countrymen were dying under his own superior weapons. Time and again the Cyran army pleaded with Rickkenmark to stop selling his blades to foreign nations, but his greed overruled his patriotism. All of this changed when his son was slain during the last year of the war. Though Rickkenmark had never been particularly close to his son, his death still touched him deeply. When he was informed that his son would have won if his opponent had not wielded one of Rickkenmark’s own blades, he withdrew from society. Wracked by guilt at his son’s death Rickkenmark sold his business and the family estate and moved to the only other nation that would house him, Breland. Rickkenmark had supplied them with a vast quantity of weapons and the nation was eager to press him into service. Yet Rickkenmark stopped making weapons altogether. He bought a large piece of land outside of Wroat and began to construct a new manor house. He spoke with mystics day and night on how he might repent. They all replied that he must continue to build rooms in his manor for each person who was killed with one of his weapons. Rickkenmark complied with the requests, building an ever growing manor house on the large estate. He also began to obsessively collect the personal effects of any Cyran who had been slain by own of his blades. These items he locked in a great vault room, each in a separate adamantine box. Rickkenmark’s insane collecting and building continued until the day of mourning. On the day of mourning everyone from Wroat said they saw a great white mist rise from the windows and doors of the house from one night. No one dared to enter the house until a week later, when the workers finally returned for their money. They found Rickkenmark chattering insanely in the vault room, apologizing to what seemed to be thin air. Rickkenmark paid the builders more than enough to complete the rooms they had started and then dismissed them. From that day forward no one ventured to the Torgny estate except for a few porters and a House Kundarak representative. Four years later, Rickkenmark died alone and quite rich. He had no known heirs, though he left a will. In the will Rickkenmark stated that he would leave the house and his fortune to anyone who could remain in his large estate, without leaving, for one week. House Kundarak, the executor of his will, has posted an open notice. One week from this day the gates of the estate will be thrown open and then locked for one week. Anyone still inside and alive at the end of the week would retain part ownership of the house and the fortune. Explanation After the death of Rickkenmark’s son, he did indeed build a house for those who had been slain by his weapons. Yet Rickkenmark become convinced that not only did the dead want a room, they also wanted their old possessions at the time of their death. So he began to obsessively scour the five nations for the relics of the dead. Using his vast library and a powerful diviner, Rickkenmark succeeded in recovering nearly one thousand items of personal property, many of them magical. In his madness he labeled each one, then placed it in an adamantine door and then sealed it shut with unknown but greatly powerful magic. When Cyre was destroyed on the day of mourning, part of the magical energy that destroyed it followed the powerful scrying spell of the diviner back to the manor. The resulting blast killed everyone but Rickkenmark, who was in the vault room. During this time Rickkenmark become convinced that the spirits of the dead were actually talking to him and that his manor was haunted. He was right. The same blast that created the Mournlands also altered the manor. It created a very tenuous connection with Dolurrh, one that cannot be felt by the living. Yet the connection was just strong enough to allow the souls of those who had died to gather around an item that they had carried at the time of their death, a tether. Every soul that had been slain by one of Rickkenmark’s blades converged on his manor, near their worldly possessions. They barely had enough power to whisper or move small objects, but whisper they did. They pleaded with Rickkenmark to finish one last task for them, to help them find worldly release and piece of mind. Rickkenmark, wholly insane at this time, thought they wanted his soul. He spent the last few years of his life locked in a warded room muttering to himself. With his death the souls still await one final task for release. They have very little power and their memories fade with each passing day. Yet they still retain the power to open the one box that holds the item they used in life. This connection to the item has infused a new magic in the item, making each one unique to the individual who wore it. The spirits want only release, not to torment. While some are not above possession, they have none of that power. They await a group of people to help them find release. And with release comes the promise of great treasure. Tone Requiem of Spirits is a game that revolves around redemption and last wishes. It is also a game of mystery and exploration, tracking down the truth and bringing closure to spirits and mortals alike. The game incorporates a backdrop of redemption and closure filled with scenes of intrigue and action adventure. Characters can expect to discover hidden plots, lost ruins and old family secrets. With each spirit brought to peace a larger piece of the puzzle that connects each spirit becomes clearer, until all the pieces are in place and a final resolution can be achieved. Players can expect to travel all over the five nations, as well as Aerenal and Xen’drik. Characters with a strong connection to Cyre work best, but any character with at least a small connection to Cyre is suitable. House Cannith will play a major part in this campaign, as will the origin of the warforged. Classes that deal with investigation, artifact recovery, undead and lore are all very appropriate. Good alignments are a prerequisite, as a need to help others will be required. Ghostwalk rules are available for any PC who dies during the game, and characters can adventure for as long as they wish as a ghost. Primary Objective The campaign revolves around a very simple premise: accomplish one last task for a soul who has been bound to a tether located in the Torgny manor. No two requests will be alike and many will seem to be wholly unconnected. Each spirit has a different task it needs accomplished before it can move on to final death. With each task that is accomplished a small change will come over the manor. In addition the tether that once bound the spirit may be reclaimed for use by any character that wishes to use it. Often these tethers will retain a very small portion of the spirit that once wielded in life, grating a small or unique ability to the item. Secondary Objective In addition to bring peace to the tethered spirits, a larger conspiracy must be unraveled. There is a reason that these spirits still remain on the earthly realm, one that must be solved in order to bring true peace to all of the spirits. In the process of discovering this greater truth many characters might discover more about themselves as well. So, questions/comments/feedback? Cheers, Save vs DM
Somebloke 10-10-04, 01:07 AM	I like it. A sort of Ravenloft feel... Reminds me a little of Ghost Hunter.
Save-vs-DM 10-10-04, 01:53 AM	I've not seen/read Ghost Hunter, though it sounds like this is something I should watch. You have more information on that Somebloke? Cheers, Save vs DM
Somebloke 10-10-04, 02:03 AM	I've not seen/read Ghost Hunter, though it sounds like this is something I should watch. You have more information on that Somebloke? Cheers, Save vs DM Sorry, It's a computer game- PS2. It does a good job of mixing humor and horror, and an excellent job at personalising all the ghosts, but good and bad...the main character alone begs for a prestige class.
Save-vs-DM 10-10-04, 02:15 AM	Lucky for me, I have a PS2. I might have to check this out. Thanks for the heads up. Cheers, Save vs DM
Somebloke 10-10-04, 02:20 AM	Lucky for me, I have a PS2. I might have to check this out. Thanks for the heads up. Cheers, Save vs DM No worries...It's very good at making a relatively amusing and light-hearted ghost story.
Gilganarz_the_reporter 10-10-04, 02:28 AM	Great idea SVD! Just one thing. Is there a major villan? If so, who is it?
Somebloke 10-10-04, 02:37 AM	Great idea SVD! Just one thing. Is there a major villan? If so, who is it? Sssssssshhhhhhh.....the players might be watching :D
Brastan 10-10-04, 02:40 AM	Huh, very good. That's some in-depth thought. The one week stay in the manor will be one of the fun parts. I could see at least one member from each major faction presented the ECS being present ( well except maybe the Druids ). One rules nod, make it an actual Manifest Zone. I think one would bring the Eberron flavor up another notch. This will have some very interesting effects. Also it provides a good excuse to bring the spirits back if the PCs decide to *cough* Help the sprits into next life. I would suggest impeded magic to make divinations and other quick answer spells harder to use. Also people inside should feel heavier ( -1 penalty instead of -2). Descriptions of the house and objections in it should be grayer then normal and get grayer as the week progress. This does not effect the Sprite Objects. Combined, that should be make the PCs heads spin from the start. Also most the task will be in the Mournland right? Since most of the sprits are from Cyre.
Save-vs-DM 10-10-04, 02:41 AM	The only real "villain" is greed and time. It basically traces the story of a man who sold out his nation for gold. The good thing about this is that it is so open ended: I've intentially left the "villain" blank. Depending on what backgrounds and characters my PCs play, the villain will change. This camaign works fine without an enemy. Really the enemy is death, in a way. The PCs have to constantly help someone from beyond the grave. Most of the time the enemy will be time itself: the war has ended and most of the people the PCs will have to interact with have moved on from Cyre. Oh, and the items? The items actually increase in power with the more spirits the PCs help. What might start as a simple Ring of Protection +1 might grow into a very powerful item. Cheers, Save vs DM
Save-vs-DM 10-10-04, 02:45 AM	I thought about making the house a manifest zone, but I have one reason not to: the PCs will be living there. I might compromise and make the vault/masoleum a separate building from the house and make it a manfiest zone. Also, most of the adventures will actually take place outside the mournlands. I mean some of them are as simple as "say goodbye to my wife and tell her I loved her." Unfortunately the wife might have gone missing, or might have changed her name, etc. A lot of it is actually tracking down who the spirits want closure with. But yes, there is definetly going to be more than a few adventures in Cyre. Cheers, Save vs DM
PlaDeDump 10-10-04, 07:52 PM	Wow, I'm impressed. This campaign sounds intriguing, to be sure. It has a definite Eberron feel to it. Good luck to you. :)
Doctor X 10-10-04, 08:09 PM	Very cool. There is one detail that you might want to add in, though, to make the background of the story fit a little better into Eberron. What was Rickkenmark's relationship with House Cannith while he was still producing these blades? Cannith has always had a near monopoly on manufactured items, and doubtless Rickkenmark's craft would be famous enough to attract their attention. So what did they do? Did they help him out? Compete with him? Try to ignore him?
ImmortalBlueMage 10-10-04, 08:58 PM	Reminds me a bit of the story of Sarah Winchester. Good work.
Gurv 10-10-04, 10:04 PM	I am IMPRESSED. The campaign idea includes a great way to get the players together, by surviving the week. Then a mechanic to reward the players for what are really just random adventures. I assume that the players are likely to run across other adventures along the way, the kind of thing that can't be ignored (along the way to tell the wife he loved her, they come to a village plagued by <enter element the PCs have the unique ability to deal with>)? Some of the people weilding the weapons might not be good people; perhaps a spirit or two might want vengence? Or worse, might lead the PCs into accomplishing some vile deed. Having the mansion be a manifest zone all the time might reduce the value of the place to the PCs, but what about some plot hooks revolving around a coterminous phase? Considering that it only happens every 50 years, and lasts for a full year, that would have long term effects. Couple of concept ideas: what if one of the PCs is related, perhaps unknowingly, to one of the spirits? What if one of the spirits does develop full-fledged ghost status, complete with powers? And then takes off with a possessed NPC to deal with its own goals? What happens when other people learn of the haunted mansion? No one expects the Thranish Inquisition! (Sorry, I had to throw that in). Will they try a more traditional cleansing of the house. Aerenal characters might have an aversion to the idea, or they might like it, depending on how close to 'undead' the spirits actually are or are not. For the same reason, Blood of Vol and/or other necromantic interest groups might want to investigate the phemomina.
Flamy 10-10-04, 10:08 PM	That is an awesome game idea SvD. I hope it works really well for you. You deserve to have a wonderful Eberron game after all the work you do for other fans.
xcorvis 10-11-04, 11:40 AM	Wow, awesome idea. Well written, too. Reminds me of the Winchester Mystery House (http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/). One idea - Rikkenmark's soul is there too. In the end, he killed himself with one of his own blades. But he won't show himself until near the end. Or maybe he shows himself early on. He's quite mad, so the PCs can't get a lot of info out of him, but he would be a good way to dump clues and tidbits. They could prod him about who the owner of a specific item is, but only if they could find him. Maybe Rikkenmark's task is to free all the other souls, or maybe to find the body of his son. Or find his son's spirit and ask him for forgiveness - might be very hard, considering the way the afterlife tends to work. Another thought - if it's too connected to Dolurrh, the PCs may not want to stay there. I mean, how much time could you spend living in a place that depressing? Maybe there's a small guest house that was unaffected by the "event".
Bluebrush 10-12-04, 12:46 PM	Mansion for sale. Would suit necromancer, goth poseur or lich on a budget. Enquire at Trustworthy Lettings, Street of Worship. Great idea! I'd love to play in a game like that.
Makseb 10-12-04, 06:47 PM	wow. I really like your backstory on Rickkenmark. It's hard to comment on the larger campaign without more details, but here are a few things up front that don't mesh well with me. It sounds like Rickkenmark made hundreds of blades. Each blade took possibly dozens of lives. This leads to a manor house with many thousands of rooms. That would mean a house the size of a large town, and endless quests for the PCs. So many individual quests with similar premises might quickly become tedious. Maybe there were only a few weapons that somehow bound their victims souls to unrest? Maybe only a handful of quests? I dunno. One other thing I thought was what if Rickkenmark placed the objects from each victim in their respective rooms (which were all sealed by the blast), and the vault would house only his son's remains. Then the quests must be done in order to gain access to more distant rooms, and more clues to solve the greater puzzle? anywho. Sounds like you've come up with a great storyline. Thanks for sharing it!