Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gunrock 02-15-05, 04:11 PM	I'm working on making a sea-faring campaign in Eberron. I'm using the Class Armor Bonus Variant from Unearthed Arcana to let fighters and clerics still be viable character choices while rocking on a ship. I'm planning on having them work on a Lhazzar "merchant" vessel, with privateer liscenses and raiding permission for Xen'drick, Argonnessen and Sarlonna. I was planning to make the enemies mostly be Breland Pirate-Hunters, actual merchants, and House Lyrander ships that want to nail the PCs for one reason or another. I was also planning on adding an element of international intrigue by having certain groups send certain merchants and passengers (ambassadors, heirs, etc) into the trade lanes preyed upon by the PCs. The second paragraph is the part I'd like input on. If there are any foes I need to add to the list, if I should change any, and what international intrigues I should use, please tell me. Thanks for all the ideas. Edit: And to all who give useful ideas, I owe a cookie.
Brastan 02-15-05, 04:39 PM	Well since the war stop there really is no need for licensed privateers anymore. However some my have gotten used to the lifestyle and are just pirates. House Lyrander maintains good control of its shipping routes except in the Principalities were there are to many freelance captains. Look at the scale and you'll see how big the world is. Even by ship it takes some time to get around. Are the PCs crew or owners? That determines much about what jobs they do and who they face. Also what to the Pirate Prince think of them? Being an independent ship they are no match for the various pirate fleets. You could have as few as to ships under the control of one pirate lord. That might make for a nice recurring villain. They keep sinking ships that some iterating pirate prince keeps attacking them with. Were does he get the money? From other people who hate the PCs. If they make Lyrander to mad, probably later on, they will bring their Airships to a fight. Also don't forget about aquatic creatures/organizations. There is, supposedly, a whole underwater political system in Eberron. You might want to come up with a aquatic organization.
Gunrock 02-15-05, 05:07 PM	Are the PCs crew or owners? That determines much about what jobs they do and who they face. Also what to the Pirate Prince think of them? I was planning to make them be the ships officers, Captain, First Mate, etc and have a solid NPC Bosun incase they forget to know how to sail. I was figuring on neutral relations with the major Pirate Prince (until they get stupid :) ) Being an independent ship they are no match for the various pirate fleets. You could have as few as to ships under the control of one pirate lord. That might make for a nice recurring villain. They keep sinking ships that some iterating pirate prince keeps attacking them with. Were does he get the money? From other people who hate the PCs. Brilliant, thanks. Also don't forget about aquatic creatures/organizations. There is, supposedly, a whole underwater political system in Eberron. You might want to come up with a aquatic organization. Hadn't thought of that. Tritons, aquatic elves, sauhugin, or should I use something else?
Cairn Stone 02-15-05, 05:34 PM	Hadn't thought of that. Tritons, aquatic elves, sauhugin, or should I use something else? Never underestimate the lethality of bad weather and other adverse conditions when at sea(bitter cold water temperatures, drowning, navigating through a violent storm, etc). I am presently running a seafaring campaign in Eberron which began in the Principalities, and the "perfect storm" can be every bit as challenging as an aquatic monster encounter...if not more so. Placing spies in the PC's own crew can provide for some interesting mutiny opportunities. These could be agents from other pirate organizations, rival vessels from merchant fleets, government agents trying to hinder the pirate operations, Lyrandar agents trying for the same, etc. There are plenty of options for this one.
Edymnion 02-15-05, 05:41 PM	You may find some inspiriation in THIS THREAD.
Gunrock 02-15-05, 05:42 PM	Good old weather. There's nothing quite like being able to tell a party, "You all fall into the sea, get hypothermia, and drown. "I win." However, I don't plan for it to always be hurricane season, so what should I use besides the wrath of nature?
Cairn Stone 02-15-05, 05:54 PM	Good old weather. There's nothing quite like being able to tell a party, "You all fall into the sea, get hypothermia, and drown. "I win." However, I don't plan for it to always be hurricane season, so what should I use besides the wrath of nature? Haha, well hopefully they have enough sense to stay below deck or tie down if they aren't apt sailors during a storm. And I didn't mean for the lethality comment to be taken as a DM vs. PCs thing. There is no win or lose, just a story. Aside from hurricanes, what happens when the wind dies down and the water calms so much, that the PC's vessel simply stops? How long will their supplies last? Perhaps the ship blows off course and they are marooned in a strange land(the Seren Isle would be one idea). You might draw some inspiration from pirate/sea exploration movies or books. Patrick O'Brian's stuff is worth a look. Apart from that, look to our own history for intrigue and fit it into Eberron where it works. Perhaps a Lhazaar Prince's fleet is contracted secretly by Thrane to seize or attack Aundairian ships and their cargo (comparing history's British sponsored pirates vs. the Spanish Armada). Like I said before, mutinies can always be interesting both encounter and roleplaying-wise. If you are shooting more for the sea monster approach...aboleths, krakens, and some of the things mentioned before come to mind. Another source of ideas will probably be easy to come up with once you have a group of character concepts and backstories from your players as well. Good luck with the campaign.
Gunrock 02-15-05, 06:01 PM	You may find some inspiriation in THIS THREAD. :bow: Many thanks. A VERY useful thread. I can base a pirate refuge city, an underwater dungeon, or half a dozen other things off that. Thank you very much. :D Patrick O'Brian's stuff is worth a look. Apart from that, look to our own history for intrigue and fit it into Eberron where it works. Perhaps a Lhazaar Prince's fleet is contracted secretly by Thrane to seize or attack Aundairian ships and their cargo (comparing history's British sponsored pirates vs. the Spanish Armada). And that's the sort of intrigue-type stuff I wanted. Thank you and I'd love more from whomever wants to share it. At this rate of helpfulness I'm going to run out of cookies...
Gunrock 02-17-05, 02:07 PM	Still looking for any Eberron intrigues anyone thinks might be useful. Anything and everything is welcome and greatly appreciated.
Kid SixXx 02-17-05, 02:41 PM	You may want to pick up the adventure module, Grasp of the Emerald Claw. The module has the specs for a submersible craft (a bound Water Elemental provides the propulsion and a bound minor air elemental keeps the interior air breathable) made by House Cannith which will almost certainly be of use to you.
Siran Dunmorgan 02-17-05, 04:10 PM	Take a look at the maps again, to get a feeling for the spatial relationship between the Principalities and New Galifar, i.e., Q'barra. You have letters of marque and reprisal for Riedra, yes? The only nation on Khorvaire that maintains diplomatic relations with Riedra is New Galifar: it is not out of the question that ships passing through the Principalities to or from New Galifar would have Riedran diplomats or provocateurs aboard. Several matters of intrigue come to mind from this observation: The adventurers strike a merchant vessel carrying—among more mundane cargoes—fine Riedran glassware and ceramics to New Galifar. Unbeknownst to our gentlemen of fortune, an Inspired noble (LE female Inspired, aristocrat 3/psion (telepath) 2 ) is travelling to Khorvaire as supercargo. She will not, generally speaking, act in defense of the ship: it is of New Galifar registry, and is of little concern to her. From her appearance and demeanor, it will be clear to our heroes that this is a lady of exotic beauty, worthy of ransom. Unfortunately, she's an Inspired, and takes pleasure in playing with humans the way a cruel human child would play with a kitten. Her own skills of sense motive, innuendo, and the psionic charm power should quickly set the crew on edge, if not actually at each others throats. Don't forget that she doesn't really care what happens to the body she's currently wearing, and that if she's dreaming at the same time as the adventurers, it's perfectly reasonable for her to walk in—physically, from her perspective—on their dreams. Our heroes strike at a ship carrying fine Riedran glassware and objets d'art. One of these items, a striking pale rose-colored glass sculpture, is actually a psicrystal linked to an Inspired diplomat. If our heroes are not expecting it, the sneaky crystal is perfectly happy to move itself when no one is looking, whisper in the ears of sleeping crew, and otherwise make a nuisance of itself. Of course, a day or so after they've put into port, attempting to unload their booty, the crystal's owner (LE male Inspired, expert 3/psion (telepath) 4) will come looking for it. Our heroes encounter a derelict ship, bound for the Principalities with a smuggled cargo of Sarlonan hardwoods, exotic furs, and spices. An easy prize, since at first glance there seems to be no crew aboard. Closer inspection—boarding the ship—reveals about half the crew still aboard, dead, most of them clutching their heads as if in intense pain; more than one of them have had their skulls crushed (Spot check DC 15 to notice that their brains are missing; Spot check DC 25 to notice that the skulls were burst, not crushed). Our gentlemen of fortune, of course, are still tempted by the rich cargoes aboard, and either prize crew the ship, or take it in tow. Aboard the derelict vessel is an intellect devourer (CE aberration, 6 HD). It will probably take an NPC crewman first; what it does after that depends on how long it will be until landfall: if landfall is less than a week away, it will remain in the first crewman it takes, make port, and then begin a reign of terror in the port town, leaving a trail of consumed brains and paranoia. If it's more than a week until landfall, it will need to seek another body while the adventurers are still at sea. —Siran Dunmorgan
Altaris 02-17-05, 06:27 PM	Wow... Those are great ideas!
darkthought 02-17-05, 07:04 PM	Wow... Those are great ideas! Remember that the whole north side of Karrnath is on water, and they have a pretty good navy. A shifty cardinal of the Silver Flame might hire the PCs to cause trouble with Karrnath. Damn those undead loving heretics! Karrnath might hire the PCs to raid Valenar ships (since Karrnath still sees themselves at war with the arrogant, expansionist elves). The Karrn navy would do it themselves, but the pirate princes might take offense at a large, heavily armed fleet sailing through the principalities to strike at Valenar. (Yes, I'm a Karrnath fanboy. :D ) I personally wouldn't use aquatic elves. According to Hellcow, sub-races are "teh evil!" (Heavily paraphrased.) ;)
Gunrock 02-18-05, 12:12 PM	Brastan :cookie: Cairn Stone :cookie: Edymnion :cookie: Kid SixXx :cookie: Siran Dunmorgan :cookie: darkthought :cookie: And extras go out to the two who gave me about 6 adventures each, Siran Dunmorgan :cookie: and, less directly, Endymnion :cookie: Thanks all, and others are still welcome.
darkthought 02-19-05, 08:31 PM	Brastan :cookie: Cairn Stone :cookie: Edymnion :cookie: Kid SixXx :cookie: Siran Dunmorgan :cookie: darkthought :cookie: And extras go out to the two who gave me about 6 adventures each, Siran Dunmorgan :cookie: and, less directly, Endymnion :cookie: Thanks all, and others are still welcome. *munches happily* If one of the players has the Lyander mark, you could always slide into an Airship campaign. All sorts of evil things can be done if you approach a ship from above. The biggest threat to our real world navys are from aircraft. One fight can carry 3 missles, which means 3 sunk ships. Think what an airship could do with 3 magewrights/casters will fully charged wands of fireball? Just pray that nobody knows Dispel Magic. If you read the City of Towers book then you know that it is a "Very Bad Thing." (tm)
Ellipsis 02-20-05, 01:54 PM	Remember that the whole north side of Karrnath is on water, and they have a pretty good navy. A shifty cardinal of the Silver Flame might hire the PCs to cause trouble with Karrnath. Damn those undead loving heretics! I don't think the Church of the Silver Flame sees Karrnathi undead that way. They're just another practical use of magic, and not necessarily evil. The Church of the Silver Flame doen't take kindly to ressurection, but I think raising the bodies would be acceptable in their eyes.
Ellipsis 02-20-05, 01:57 PM	I was planning to make the enemies mostly be Breland Pirate-Hunters, actual merchants, and House Lyrander ships that want to nail the PCs for one reason or another. I was also planning on adding an element of international intrigue by having certain groups send certain merchants and passengers (ambassadors, heirs, etc) into the trade lanes preyed upon by the PCs. Um...I wouldn't make the MAIN enemies Brelish - it IS on the other side of the continent. I suppose taht they could just be away form home for an extended period of time, but I think Karrns would be better - they seem like they would take less kindly to pirat-I mean, privateers.
Gunrock 02-20-05, 03:00 PM	Um...I wouldn't make the MAIN enemies Brelish - it IS on the other side of the continent. I suppose taht they could just be away form home for an extended period of time, but I think Karrns would be better - they seem like they would take less kindly to pirat-I mean, privateers. They were privateers during the Last War. Now they are "honest merchants." But that's a good point about using Karnath rather than Breland. Of course, they need to either **** off Karnath or I need to have them do that during the introduction. Still, good advice and much appreciated. Now, if they interfere with the Xen'drik route then they can deal with Breland. And the Sauhugin. Speaking of aquatics, is there anything I should avoid (besides the aquatic elves)?
darkthought 02-21-05, 02:57 PM	I don't think the Church of the Silver Flame sees Karrnathi undead that way. They're just another practical use of magic, and not necessarily evil. The Church of the Silver Flame doen't take kindly to ressurection, but I think raising the bodies would be acceptable in their eyes. I will disagree with you. One of the main purposes of the Silver Flame is to protect people from supernatural threats and supernatural evil. There is no gray areas in their mind. Remember they exterminated EVERY lycanthrope, even the non-evil ones, even children, because there was a threat that the disease could spread. An army of undead soldiers pretty much fits both catagories, in their minds, of threat and evil.
Siran Dunmorgan 02-22-05, 03:19 PM	Returning to the subject of the Lhazaar Principalities—I'll get to Karrnath and their ambitions in the Principalities in another post, don't you worry!—the ECS states that they're not particularly religious, and that no particular religion or belief has much sway among them. Now, I have no cause to believe otherwise; sailors in general are not known for their piety. But sailors are known for their irreverence and superstition: just because Lhazaar aren't religious doesn't mean you can't pepper their speech with imprecations to the gods every third or fourth sentence: "All right, you louts! Aloft! Or by Kol Korran's brass round ones, I'll see the lot of you flogged!" "I don' like the looks of this, Mister Kaban: last time we tangled with Red Darby's crew, they had the Fury with 'em... we barely got out with five men, aye, of twenty we sent aboard." "Arr, Cap'n... she's flying Aundair colors, aye... but sure as Balinor loves whales, she's dressed and rigged the Cloudreaver way." "It's every man for himself, lads! And Keeper take the hindmost!" "...so we should be making landfall in Cliffscr... Blood! Get that lanyard tied down, man, before it pulls someone overboard!" "Gah! Look at them! 'tis the Traveler's own luck they slipped by those reefs!" "If we can't make Regalport by nightfall, it'll be the Shadow with us, mark my words!" One of the nice things about most of the gods in Eberron is that they're distant enough that you can swear by—or at—them without looking over your shoulder. —Siran Dunmorgan
darkthought 02-22-05, 03:46 PM	"All right, you louts! Aloft! Or by Kol Korran's brass round ones, I'll see the lot of you flogged!" :uh-huh: ROTFL! Heh, I'd like to see that in other campaigns. By Paladine's poop-chute, I'll *ZAT*. So would you think of Regalport as a Eberron Tortuga (ala Pirates of the Caribean) or a little more civilized?
Gunrock 02-22-05, 07:44 PM	I thought Regalport was a bit too visible and civilized to base them out of. If anyone has a city that I could use for their home base, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise I'll have to make one up (which is cool too).
Gunrock 02-24-05, 04:20 PM	:bump: Because I can never have enough good ideas.
depolarization 03-07-05, 11:32 AM	Although I like the idea of Riedran letters... Just a little un-sourced historical context. Letters of Marquee were issued by England to "pirates" in the carribean that raided the Spanish (their enemies at the time and arguably the most powerful nation in Europe). Bascially, these letters gave you a get out of jail free card with the Brittish navy. I believe the French had similar impliments. So, I would see letters of marquee given by legitimate nations in Khorvaire. Karrnath in particular, I bet, would love having folks raid Thrane and Aundarian ships of other nations. Of course Karrnath would patrol it's waters rather fiercly with their militaristic, totalitarian monarchy. Although other things depend as well, such as how prominent you make Lyrander overseas shipping dominant in your world. It can make raiding ships rather dicey as you now have ****** off two factions, the dragonmarked house of Lyrander and the nation it was shipping for. Also, I bet the L.P. have loose agreements with Lyrander, or more specifically, individuals of repute so that they can cross their waters rather easily. After all, it would give Lyrander the edge which is what non-allied factions tend to broker since they have less of a stake in nationalistic politics. Of course the nations would still probably have to maintain some sort of trade done on their own crown (money). Federal trading is where its at! I usually have it that aristocratic merhcant houses hold sway over these, shunting logistics away from the central government and creating more factioning within Khorvaire as nobles vie for power and intrigue in the courts of Khorvaire. Great inspiration I find for this is the Song of Fire & Ice series of books by George R. R. Martin. He gives some great insight in digestible form of how political intrigue is carried out. It's often not as clandestine as people would like to think it is. Basically people have ambitions and carry them out under guises of legitimacy (kinda like trying criminals in courts of international law). Sometimes, master tacticians weave intricate machinations involving 3 or 4 layers of underlings. Yet, when you have too many layers, your plans get muddled and misinterpreted. That can also lead to fun stuffs. Backstabbing is the most common. Weaken defenses by forming treaties, then launch a sneak attack to break treaty. This really happens all the time around the world and I'm sure Khorvaire is no stranger. So here's an intrigue right from the book: Houses Tanar & Lannath of Karrnath desire a break in the accords. They've gathered much power in the war, defending the homeland -a strong grassroots following promising ethical treatment of troops...not relegating dead to the fate of undead servitude amongst other occurences that have shaken the countryside. As such, Tanar especially has aggressively sought out legitimate letters of Marquee from King Kaius. He's accomplished this by hiring saboteurs (perhaps your own players) to destroy one of the Eldritch machines hidden in the shadowcap mountains where the harvesters drop off the dead to add to the ranks of the Karrnathian undead army. He wants to make it look like Thranesh troops have done it...be sure to have the players wear colors and slay hapless workers in the name of Thrane...and make sure somebody survives to tell the tale...well you can just monkey wrench the machine and the Tanar will pin it on a nation of choice. Thus, he'll make it so that 3rd party raiders are going to counter attack by raiding ships. Seeing as how caravan routes are cut off by the Mournlands, pirating on the high seas appears to be the way to go. Alex
Siran Dunmorgan 03-07-05, 01:03 PM	Gunrock, this thread inspired me to write an entire—30 pages, a dozen or so encounters, about the same size as Shadows of the Last War—adventure concerning a Karrnath naval Commander bent on revenge for the death of his father at the hands of a "customs patrol" in the Lhazaar Principalities... I have all of it outlined, and I'm about a third of the way through the text. If you're interested, let me know: I'll be happy to post it for critique when I get it done later this week. —Siran Dunmorgan
Davy Jones' Locker 03-07-05, 01:12 PM	If you want to knock the socks of yer players and let them know they're dealing with a "salty sea dog" of a DM, you can never have enough pirate slang (http://www.io.com/~sj/PirateTalk.html) . There are a couple of books out there with more piratey lingo in them as well, should the internet not suffice.
Gunrock 03-07-05, 04:00 PM	Gunrock, this thread inspired me to write an entire—30 pages, a dozen or so encounters, about the same size as Shadows of the Last War—adventure concerning a Karrnath naval Commander bent on revenge for the death of his father at the hands of a "customs patrol" in the Lhazaar Principalities... I have all of it outlined, and I'm about a third of the way through the text. If you're interested, let me know: I'll be happy to post it for critique when I get it done later this week. —Siran Dunmorgan :bow: I am in awe sir. If you finish this please send it to me. I'm fairly certain that I will owe you a box of real cookies. And I try to pay my debts.
Siduakal 03-07-05, 04:15 PM	Gunrock, here are a few good ideas for pirates.. er "merchants" - A wealthy figure of some sort, from whatever place informs them that a ship loaded with cargo (But heavily guarded) is traveling the seas soon. He knows where it's leaving, and where it's heading. However, he wants their word that they'll give him the item he seeks on the ship.. When they agree, he turns it over. The ship will be on the sea for (Insert a number of your choice) weeks. They have to find it, board it, take the treasures, and escape. Returning the desired artifact/item to the wealthy figure. - Someone has burned a captain they knows ship, it is believed House Lyrandar did it. Now they will raid every Lyrandar ship they encounter. But Lyrandar expects this, and has upped the guard on their ships. - Treasure Map..X Marks the spot..nuff said. - A strong vessel has been taking out pirate vessels left and right, but no one knows anything more than what the flag it flies looks like. It appears to be working by itself for some purpose of revenge for something pirates did. Their ship gets attacked. - A ghost ship.. =) Um..that's all I got.
Gunrock 03-07-05, 08:53 PM	depolarization, thanks for the history and the reading suggestions. I learned about letters of Marque quite a while back, and agree that they are for wartime combatants (mostly). That's why there are no such letters for the PCs on Khorvaire; I don't want to restart the Last War in my game. At least not yet. Plus, I like the idea of Lhazaar pirates. Thanks for the book suggestions. I've read the first three already and enjoyed them a lot. I hadn't thought to model some of my intrigue on that type of intrigue, since I wanted 3-30 year plans that have 5-16 layers of flunkies and manipulation, but it's not a bad idea. :cookie: Davy, good slang. :cookie: Siduakal, solid hooks. :cookie:
Gunrock 03-07-05, 08:55 PM	I had an idea earlier. Comments welcome. I was thinking of a three route adventure with the retrieval of an artifact from a Demon waste excavation, raiding a "wealthy ship", or later running into a major storm that sweeps them into an arcane ritual. It's all the same adventure, and bad guys. Basically a new artifact was uncovered and if used would unleash the Daelkyr upon Eberron (again). The Cult of the Dragon Below (and possibly some foolish Emeral Claw types) will be trying to cause this catastrophe. The PCs will interact with it one way or another. And save the world or die trying, despite their evil ways. After all, you can't destroy the world. It's where they keep their loot. How is up to them but they will interact. Oppinion, ideas, comments?
Onatar 03-07-05, 09:25 PM	Gunrock, this thread inspired me to write an entire—30 pages, a dozen or so encounters, about the same size as Shadows of the Last War—adventure concerning a Karrnath naval Commander bent on revenge for the death of his father at the hands of a "customs patrol" in the Lhazaar Principalities... I have all of it outlined, and I'm about a third of the way through the text. If you're interested, let me know: I'll be happy to post it for critique when I get it done later this week. —Siran Dunmorgan Well when you finish this could you send it to me as my Dm had been looking for adventures for us when we are at lvl 6. Also if you really wanted to get creative you could make them find something or somone inportant to the Draconic porphecy so now they are in charge of delivering it ect. Also I had a question about the ships themselves. Wouldn't they be really weak since the first lvl spell Fiery Eyes in the hands of a spellcaster could light their ship on fire if they got close enough. Also if he an animal so he could get within range I'm sure he could light the masks on fire ot cripple the ship or go directly for the hull. I started page two my first time i'v acomplished such a feat. ;) ;) ;)
Siduakal 03-07-05, 09:39 PM	Erm, ship warfare in this type of environment. I'd really refer to RA Salvatore to see Wizards roles. I liked that he had wizards as a part of the crew(Each ship had one, pirate or not) They were there to counter the enemy wizard, as well as attack the enemy ship.
Gunrock 03-11-05, 08:32 PM	Erm, ship warfare in this type of environment. I'd really refer to RA Salvatore to see Wizards roles. I liked that he had wizards as a part of the crew(Each ship had one, pirate or not) They were there to counter the enemy wizard, as well as attack the enemy ship. I don't think my players are that far thinking. Nor do I intend to cover all their lacks. Besides, Wizards in Eberron are rare.