Post/Author/DateTime	Post
treehouse916 05-11-05, 12:20 PM	Josh, James, Chris...don't read! Alright, I know that these sorts of threads surface quite often, but I seriously need to start thinking about what caused Cyre's destruction for my upcoming campaign. So I've come here for advice. Before I go on, it is important to note that two characters in the party are linked to Cyre: One is a Cannith artificer/wizard who was in Breland on business for his House on the Day of Mourning. He is extremely paranoid about the cause of his homeland's destruction, and he highly suspects Karrnath had something to do with it. He went into hiding after Cyre's destruction, assuming the identity of a citizen of Breland. To give you an idea of how paranoid he is, he thinks the residents of New Cyre are extremely foolish; if the Cyrans would only spread out, it would be harder for 'the enemy' to finish them off. I am probably going to feed his paranoia and initial suspicions with several convincing (but ultimately false) leads pointing to Karrnath as the perpetrator. The player has also mentioned a couple of times that he is planning on actively pursuing knowledge of the Day of Mourning's cause. The other party member is an elan psion/monk. I am using the variant elan described in an earlier thread on these boards that has elans as living prisons for quori spirits snatched after an Inspired is killed. During this process, the former human's memories are completely wiped away (though I am going to allow for the power psychic chirugery to reassemble some of the memories). Anyway, (unbeknowest to the player of this character) this elan was once a Cyran as well. He was a bard of some note, and he actually had a pretty good hint as to what caused his homeland's destruction. The lead was tenuous, and the death of his entire family left him with no motivation to pursue it. So he decided to go through with the elan transformation and wipe away those pesky haunting memories. At the last minute, he had some second thoughts, and wrote a few stanzas of a song that contain the only true lead to Cyre's destruction. It is extremely obscure (and I haven't written it yet), and once he went through elan transformation, the song's lyrics had no real significance to him. This is, of course, foreshadowing rather than a riddle they will need to solve at some point. So, it is quite obvious that I need to have some idea as to what destroyed Cyre. I am lacking inspiration. My first plan was to have it be a failed Lord of Dust plot to cause even more chaos, and extend the Last War for a much longer period of time (thus weakening Khorvaire for when the demon lords finally return to conquer the world). But that's so...obvious. It just doesn't have the ring of a good Eberron plot for me. I might just have my expectations set too high. Lords of Dust and the Dreaming Dark are my favorite conspirators here, but I am open to any suggestions.
Grabuto 05-11-05, 12:58 PM	I think it might be more compelling if it was caused by "good guys." It could have been an accident at House Cannith. Or sabatouge gone terribly wrong between the different factions in house Cannith. Or sabatouge of a new and terrible creation forges by Breeland. Maybe they even hired Deneith to do it. This gives you conspiracy involving Breeland, 2 factions of Cannaith and Deneith. No clear villians, no clear hero's. Part accident, part intentional. Who do you blame? Or is could be part of the prophecy. Maybe the prophecy is centered in some way around the creation of a new race who will transcend the limitations of the old races. A race created, in part, through the use of Dragon Shards. Thus the Warforged. The Mournlands HAD to happen, per the prophecy, in order to herald the coming of the Lord of Blades and the creation of new Warforged nation. Could it have been an accident that was actually destiny? Or orchestrated by the Chamber in order to implement their interrpretation of the prophecy? You could even write bits of the prophecy as they become relevant, Nastrodomous style - couplets about the great destruction, and the Warforged king. Stuff like that. Just a few thoughts to get things going. Hope it helps.
Rajorke 05-11-05, 02:43 PM	this is similar to how i'm going to run my next game... the PCs will begin as soldiers for Cyre and participate in a few battles before the Day of Mourning. When that occurs i was going to have that a large number of dragons a sighted in Cyre the night before and on the Day of Mourning. This will be an odd occurence obviously but what will be most odd is one of the dragons actually save the PCs from the Grey Mist... then we will pick up the game four yeasrs later as the PCs decided to leave on their own and try to make something of their lives now that Cyre was gone... and eventually they will be thrown back into finding out what happened on that day.
Vharuck 05-11-05, 03:06 PM	Well, it's not that the Lords of Dust are "obvious" (I doubt most people know about the existance of the Rajahs, let alone the fact that they secretly work together and cause chaotic events to uproot society), but that it seems rather... bland. What you need is a web of intrigue. The Lords of Dust created an artifact that, once used, could create clouds of smoke that would put everyone who breathed them under a spell similar to that of a latent Dominate. The Lords would control them at random intervals (usually when they were in the presence of leaders from other nations) and cause the war to last longer and political and military strife to fester. However, being unable to reach the top themselves, they handed their artifact to a fanatical cult of the Dragon Below. And here is where a problem arises: all the logic and intelligence in the world can not tell you what an insane person will do. The cult members, who also worshipped a powerful Daelkyr lord, were all completely mad. They gave the artifact to an illithid servant, who brought it to the Daelkyr lord. The lord twisted the magics of the artifact, returned it quickly to the cult, and watched as his deranged plan unfurled. The cult members, having had a strong tie and relationship with the Rajah, were known in Cyre for what they were. So the plan was never for one of them to set off the artifact, but instead to leave it at a drop-off point. The Rajah contacted a few Inspired he knew in Cyre, attempting to incite their anger by reminding them how House Cannith was quickly becoming a copy of the giants. The Inspired, however, are very intelligent and masters of plotting. They acted enraged and took the artifact. They accepted the offer not out of fear, but because they hatched their own plan. They would repeat their actions in Sarlona, where they would offer aid and leadership after a great war prolonged by the artifact's magic, taking another continent that was down on its luck. However, when the artifact was set off, the spell inside had been changed. Instead of placing everyone in the mists under a Dominate spell, the mists either destroyed anything they touched or transformed them into twisted mockeries of what they once were. The Daelkyr lord was pleased. The Lords of Dust and the Dreaming Dark didn't care overly much about the change. Though different and unexpected, the end result was still one that fit their plans. And so the Mourning occurred.
Cutlass 05-11-05, 04:22 PM	My two cents: The Day of Mourning was not a one time event that lasted only about a day. It is a continuing, ongoing process. This is evidenced by the facts that natural healing won't work in the Mournland, spells of the healing subschool don't work in the Mournland, critters that live in the Mournland can get mutated by the strange energy coming from the glowing chasm, etc., etc., ad nauseum. The bottom line is that whatever caused the Mourning is still ongoing. If it were not, the effects noted would not persist. The "Natural Laws" that hold for the rest of the continent would reassert themselves. Conclusion: somebody has an eldritch machine going, probably located somewhere under the glowing chasm, that created the Mourning and is still in operation maintaining that effect. Following from that analysis, the major players that would be likely to have the potential ability to do that, the desire to do that, and the likelihood of actually enjoying doing that would be the Daelkyr. Why would they have limited its effects only to within the boundaries of Cyre? Perhaps to make it less obvious that they were the ones responsible. As Vharuck has pointed out, there could also have been quite a bit of plotting and counterplotting between various factions. Regardless, the "solution" to the problem would be to do magical research to determine the nature of the energy that is emerging from the glowing chasm. Then spells would have to be developed that would give a person resistance to that energy. Then a group of very high level and arguably slightly crazy adventurers would have to descend into the chasm, fight whatever was guarding the area, and destroy the eldritch machine. With the eldritch machine destroyed, the "Natural Laws" would reassert themselves and the effects of the Mourning would fade. The full effects of the devastation, however, would likely never be healed leaving large sections of Cyre permanently defaced. P.S. Occasionally I sneak a post in when I'm at work. Unfortunately when I end up having to type fast to squeeze a post in while I'm on break I get an incredible number of typos. So, I edited the post to correct an embarassing number of typos as well as to add some new information below: As I see the campaign operating, while the player characters will play the decisive roles in what will happen, they will not be the only people involved in solving the problem of the Mourning. There will be several NPCs playing vital support roles. Obviously GMs will modify my suggestions to suit their needs, but I would like to propose the following potential encounter for player character groups in the Mournland. I will provide only partial details as each GM will have to change things for his campaign anyway. The almost guaranteed to be friendly group will consist of a pair of warforged. They both have standard composite plating but otherwise have significant differences. The first is a wizard/cleric of Aureon who has taken the magic and knowledge domains. He has bronze colored plating and looks something like C3PO. He is the one that will do the bulk of the talking to any player character group. He is wearing a vest and harness arrangement with a backpack (Heward's Handy Haversack). For weaponry he is carrying a light crossbow, case of crossbow bolts, morningstar and sickle. People talking to him would observe that he has displayed on his forehead in the area that warforged usually display symbols representing their affiliation the crest of the Royal Cyran Institute for Magical Studies (RCIMS). The RCIMS was metaphorically speaking one of the biggest jewels in the crown of Cyre and had a reputation similar to MIT in our world. This individual will introduce himself as "Shelver." The second warforged had a different color to his composite plating. His plating is sort of a dull, nonreflective gray. Kind of like the haze gray color the U.S. Navy paints its ships. And surprisingly effective as a form of camouflage. He is a ranger/artificer. Like Shelver he also has a vest and harness system, with a Heward's Handy Haversack for a backpack. His main weapon is a repeating heavy crossbow, and he carries a morningstar and a throwing axe for melee weapons. He will be introduced as "Hunter." Hunter's affiliation mark indicates that he is/was part of the Royal Cyran Special Forces (RCSF). His initial favored enemy was undead. Hunter is serving as Shelver's guide and guard. Shelver is going around with a detailed map of Cyre taking soil and water samples (as well as flesh samples from some of the nondecaying dead) at various locations which he is referencing to the map. Hunter is making sure that the locations the samples are taken from are truly and accurately described, as well as keeping an eye out for trouble. The idea is that Shelver will take the samples back where they can be alchemically analyzed in detail, and as a result it will be possible to better determine what caused the Mourning and to develop a resistance spell that will protect against the mutational effects. Both Shelver and Hunter carry identification papers declaring them to be duly authorized representatives of Prince Oargev's Cyran government in exile. If asked how they can be working for the Cyran government when they were freed by the Treaty of Thronehold, Shelver will remark that having been freed, they were then able to hire themselves out. Prince Oargev made them an acceptable offer and they took him up on it. The reasons for these two warforged to be encountered could vary. They might make an appearance intervening in some situation in favor of the PC's just because. The PC's might encounter them while Shelver is busy obviously taking samples of some sort with Hunter watching over him. In terms of gear, they can basically have anything the GM thinks they need to have in order to further the plot. The Heward's Handy Haversacks can carry darn near anything. Shelver's original position as a librarian and reasearch assistant at RCIMS gives him access to the entire library system, surviving workshops and supply warehouses of the RCIMS. At the minimum, he has at least one of just about any wand you could think of in his haversack or belt harness. Hunter knows the locations of various supply caches that the RCSF had scattered throughout Cyre. At the minimum he has an almost ludicrous amount of just about any sort of crossbow bolts anybody might conceivably need already set up in the 5 round cases/magazines that his repeating heavy crossbow takes. The harness system that he has enables him to carry 3 spare cases on it, so he would be starting any encounter with 20 bolts ready to go (one 5 round case already loaded on the xbow). Of course, he has made sure that Shelver is similarly equipped for his light crossbow. If they are of high enough level, both Shelver and Hunter will be equipped with crossbows enchanted as at least +1 and with the "distance" feature. Obviously as Hunter is a multiclass artificer the crossbows can both be made bane weapons of whatever needs to be shot at. There is another thing that I would have happen in my world, which other GMs are free to accept or reject. It is known that natural healing does not take place in the Mournland, and that spells of the healing subschool do not function. If Shelver notices that a flesh and blood PC is wounded and that the party has a cleric, he will ask them if they want to try an experiment. If they are agreeable it will proceed as follows. Shelver will tell the other cleric to get ready to cast a cure spell on cue. Shelver will then pull out his Holy symbol of Aureon and engage in an obvious turning attempt, directed at whatever forces are interfering with healing in the Mournland. Roll to determine the maximum level of undead that Shelver could have affected with a normal turning. That becomes the level of healing spell that will now work within a 20 foot radius of Shelver for 1 round. The catch is that such a turning could only be performed by a cleric with the magic domain.
Gurv 05-11-05, 05:33 PM	Conclusion: somebody has an eldritch machine going, probably located somewhere under the glowing chasm, that created the Mourning and is still in operation maintaining that effect. I like this. I may change the details a little, but the idea that the Mournlands can be stopped is awesome. It doesn't even mean that the other theories are wrong: such an eldritch machine might have been built as a defensive tool and gone terribly wrong when activated. Or it might have been meant as a weapon all along. Not only should the goal in such a case be to turn the thing off and allow nature to return to the Mournlands, but it would also be to discover who did it in the first place...and prove it. Maybe the daelkyr were behind it (it has their fingerprints all over it, with the warped nature and reality of the Mournlands), but perhaps they didn't do it alone. Nothing more amusing than handing people something and claiming it is a weapon and then sitting back to and watching them screw themselves over...all in the name of progress and daelkyr art. But which force was it given to, and who actually did the deed? Or were parts given to multiple groups who did not have any knowledge of the others...or of what would happen if all went online at the same time?
Jarlaxle_The_Rogue 05-11-05, 07:26 PM	My two cents: The Day of Mourning was not a one time event that lasted only about a day. It is a continuing, ongoing process. This is evidenced by the facts that natural healing won't work in the Mournland, spells of the healing subschool don't work in the Mournland, critters that live in the Mournland can get mutated by the strange energy coming from the glowing chasm, etc., etc., ad nauseum. The bottom line is that whatever caused the Mourning is still ongoing. If it were not, the effects noted would not persist. The "Natural Laws" that hold for the rest of the continent would reassert themselves. Look at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the echoes of the nuclear bombs that were dropped there are still being felt today. People are still being affected by the radiation. Are you saying that the bombs are still there and giving off radiation? Maybe the daelkyr were behind it (it has their fingerprints all over it, with the warped nature and reality of the Mournlands), but perhaps they didn't do it alone. Nothing more amusing than handing people something and claiming it is a weapon and then sitting back to and watching them screw themselves over...all in the name of progress and daelkyr art. But which force was it given to, and who actually did the deed? Or were parts given to multiple groups who did not have any knowledge of the others...or of what would happen if all went online at the same time? What if it was given to someone desperate to end the war? Kind of like a suicide bombing on a massive scale. Whoever activates the machine is killed in the aftermath. I don't really picture the Daelkyr, Lords of Dust or any other extremely powerful group like that involved. I always thought of it as a defense mechanism - an Eldritch Machine meant to create a shield around Cyre. Maybe someone or something intervened and made it go terribly wrong? Or maybe it was just built wrong. One of my characters was in Cyre on the day of mourning. He ended up alive but with no memory, I always pictured him as having something to do with the day of mourning. (I should also mention that he remembered training in the Karrnathi military before the war began - that was a fun character...) I've also seen this idea mentioned somewhere aroud here: On the dar of Mourning several manifests zones opened up at once in Cyre (or maybe somehow a manifest zone to Dal'Quor was opened), this caused Cyre to get sucked into another plane of existence (or maybe made into a plane all on it's own) where it would wait and bide it's strength (or maybe this plane gives them a new weapon of some kind) until something occured that pushed Cyre back onto Khorvaire, now with an army capable of conquering all of Khorvaire. Maybe someone was trying to create a weapon? maybe mixing different types of dragonshards. Maybe it was caused by an Abberant dragon mark.
Cutlass 05-11-05, 07:54 PM	Look at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the echoes of the nuclear bombs that were dropped there are still being felt today. People are still being affected by the radiation. Are you saying that the bombs are still there and giving off radiation? Have you been to Hiroshima and Nagaski? They are fully functional and living cities in Japan. They are not overrun with mutants and the level of radiation there is such that it is not a problem anymore. That is at least partially because the warheads used were so small compared to what is available today, and also because what happened did not have a lasting effect (i.e., that could still be measured after the rebuilding that took place) beyond scattering a rather small amount of radioactive material around. The laws of physics in those cities functioned just the same before, during and after the bomb attacks. You could move to either one of those cities today and experience a thoroughly enjoyable and long life without having any real worries about lingering effects from what happened. The situation with Cyre is much different. For one thing there was no "bomb" as we would understand the term. Baker stated in another thread that when he used the term "explosion" to describe the event he was speaking metaphorically. In any case, it was not the sort of thing that happened just once and then died off. If that were the case, "Natural Law" would be operating normally in Cyre right now. Just as the laws of physics have always operated normally in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The analogy that I would use would be more along the lines of a nuclear reactor that was in continuous operation without adequate shielding. That would maintain a given level of effect over a certain area for an extended period of time. That is the sort of scenario that, depending on the fluff one dreamed up to describe it for a given game world (note: not the real world), would supposedly interfere with "Natural Law" and yield the sort of effects that are being experienced in the Mournland. The appropriate term for such a thing in Eberron speak is an "eldritch machine," which need not actually have anything to do with what we would regard as the real world physics surrounding nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, radiation induced mutations or any other sort of thing.
Gurv 05-11-05, 07:59 PM	What if it was given to someone desperate to end the war? Kind of like a suicide bombing on a massive scale. Whoever activates the machine is killed in the aftermath. I don't really picture the Daelkyr, Lords of Dust or any other extremely powerful group like that involved. I always thought of it as a defense mechanism - an Eldritch Machine meant to create a shield around Cyre. Maybe someone or something intervened and made it go terribly wrong? Or maybe it was just built wrong. What if it was all of these things? What if the daelkyr (and by that I mean the Cults of the Dragon below, with secrets gained from a daelkyr), gave some desperate soul the means to build a machine, or machines, that promised to end the Last War? He might have been lied to and told it was defensive in nature. Or he might have known what it was, and like a suicide bomber thought that his desperate act of murder would change people's opinions about the War (frightening, because he was right). Perhaps the Cults intervened and made it go terribly wrong, changing it from a small scale demonstration into the Mourning. Or maybe the daelkyr knew the machines would be built wrong, either due to human limits or because the purposely mislead the builders.
Jarlaxle_The_Rogue 05-11-05, 09:18 PM	Have you been to Hiroshima and Nagaski? They are fully functional and living cities in Japan. They are not overrun with mutants and the level of radiation there is such that it is not a problem anymore. That is at least partially because the warheads used were so small compared to what is available today, and also because what happened did not have a lasting effect (i.e., that could still be measured after the rebuilding that took place) beyond scattering a rather small amount of radioactive material around. The laws of physics in those cities functioned just the same before, during and after the bomb attacks. You could move to either one of those cities today and experience a thoroughly enjoyable and long life without having any real worries about lingering effects from what happened. The situation with Cyre is much different. For one thing there was no "bomb" as we would understand the term. Baker stated in another thread that when he used the term "explosion" to describe the event he was speaking metaphorically. In any case, it was not the sort of thing that happened just once and then died off. If that were the case, "Natural Law" would be operating normally in Cyre right now. Just as the laws of physics have always operated normally in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The analogy that I would use would be more along the lines of a nuclear reactor that was in continuous operation without adequate shielding. That would maintain a given level of effect over a certain area for an extended period of time. That is the sort of scenario that, depending on the fluff one dreamed up to describe it for a given game world (note: not the real world), would supposedly interfere with "Natural Law" and yield the sort of effects that are being experienced in the Mournland. The appropriate term for such a thing in Eberron speak is an "eldritch machine," which need not actually have anything to do with what we would regard as the real world physics surrounding nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, radiation induced mutations or any other sort of thing. Hiroshimo and Nagasaki didn't happen just 2 years ago (or did the Mourning happen 4 years ago? either way) also they were nuclear bombs not magic. The point is the bombs dropped on Hiroshimo and Nagasaki DID indeed have a lasting effect, maybe not forever, but it did last for quite a white, and cancer is a more common disease there then in other parts of the world (the radiation and junk, you know the drill). Obviously there are vast differences between the day of mourning and Hiroshimo/Nagasaki, especially considering it's the difference between reality(technology) and imagination(magic). Your idea could perfectly well be possible, but it's just as possible that it was actually a 1 time event, that's all I was trying to say.
BloodyRoots 05-12-05, 01:38 AM	My guess is that the Mournland is a (forced?) manifest zone to a realm of the dead. Dolurrh perhaps, but also maybe something else. A deeper realm or region of Dolurrh (mostly becuse the mournland and Dolurrh arent exactly the same thing). This simiularity(sp?) was hinted at in an Eberron book (i.e. novel) that was recently released. Another hint given in another Eberron book (novel) suggested that the warforged souls might be taken (stolen?) from Dolurrah. This makes me belive that someone (the Keeper?) came looking for the souls and found that they were being used to create the WF. In retaliation, the someone (Keeper?), destroyed the offending nation (hence the mornland only extending to Cyres borders). Concider also that perhaps some giant creation forge (which steals the souls from Dolurrah?) exploded or was sabotaged, creating the manifest zone to the realm of the dead. This theroy however leaves open the mystery of the mournlands border. Speaking of the mournlands border. I belive that the hobgoblin nation had annexed some of southern cyre near the end of the war, yet the gray mist wall only extended to Cyres current borders. hmmmm. At least thats how im going to run it. Until I hear otherwise.
zambuka 05-12-05, 02:14 AM	Personally I'd take a different path. I'd put in a whole load of contradictory evidence and plots and let the players pick one. There may be an eldritch machine pumping out mutating arcane energies below the glowing chasm. There may be a plot from the lords of dust that got a little out of hand. There may be manifestations from the realm of dreams driving the mourning. It may be the keeper come to reclaim the stolen souls that are warforged. It may be all of these things unwittingly happening together due to some wierd conjunction in the prophesy. It may even be the result of someone, or something, trying to alter the prophesy. I just wouldn't give an absolute answer to my PCs. I would give an answer or two and let my players believe thay have figured it out. Later I would throw in some more contradictory evidence, like some old Canntih documents describing a machine that would repair the damage to the mournlands. Then have a trail of clues leading to the machine they so helpfully destroyed a few months earlier.
kaor 05-12-05, 02:30 AM	I blame the elves, specifically the elves of Aerenal. Let's see for close to 30,000 years they have been creating positive energy undead. Many are Lich equivalents and presumably concentrate a great deal of positive energy. I'd say that 'normal undead' like skeletons' storage of negative energy is a couple of orders of magnitude less than an ascended counselor's storage of positive energy. A lich is comparable, but this isn't like the Forgotten Realms where they are under every other rock. There are a buttload of these ascended things in Aerenal. Much greater numbers than exist for negative energy undead in all the rest of Eberron. So we have an enormous imbalance of positive energy on Eberron (taken from whatever positive energy plane exists in the cosmology). This is an irresistable attraction for negative energy. "Nature will find a way." Just as lightning eventually falls to earth (or does it come up from earth?) sometimes, in a spot that seems random to us, since we don't usually see all the conditions in the atmosphere and the potential differences.... There was a huge battle ongoing in southern Cyre when the Mourning happened right? Things being summoned, teleporting, dimension doors, etherealness, blinking... all weakening the barriers that normally separate Eberron from other planes, particularly the negative energy plane. Wounded people, require healing during battle. Making the positive energy concentration higher. Then it happened: Negative Energy jumped through the barrier between worlds, just as the current flowing through the air superheats the air and produces a plasma which is an ideal path between sky and earth, so did the negative energy produce a permanent sort of portal. There was no reason, it just happened because conditions were right. Though it didn't have to. Cough* cough* of course the magical principles of sympathy, contagion, and umm symbolism explain why the affected area was confined to the map area of Cyre, a notion which exists only in the minds of Khorvaire natives basically. (uhhh of course.) Consider what this theory does for us: -It explains why the Dragons engaged in hostilities with the elves to begin with. They knew what the elves' unnatural activities would lead to. -It explains all the death that occured when the enormous negative energy burst emerged in Cyre. -It explains why bodies don't rot. (organisms that produce decay like bacteria just die when when they are in a manifest negative energy field, no matter how slight. Normal ones anyway.) -It explains why healing using positive energy is so handicapped in the mournland. -You could come up with a reasonable explanation for why it changed so many creatures in the mournland and created living spells. But what now? The elves knew. They always did. They had to. The most advanced group of spellcasters on Eberron, if one ignores the dragons and the stories of what lurks below... They had to have known. Tomorrow we abduct the Aerenal representatives in Sharn, including the recently arrived ascended one. The aboleth thrall I enslaved in our expedition to Khyber will give us the confirmation we need, as well as clues to the exact strength and nature of our enemies. Whatever magical protections they have for the knowledge in their skulls will not avail them, my pawn will see to that. If my theory is untrue? Well the destruction of our homeland has taught us all that a dozen or so lives are an acceptable loss. After all that would be the end of this theory so far as I'm concerned. If true? Then they shall pay. Oh Fury they shall pay. The enemy is of great strength. The past century has taught us much of war. We must learn other things. The knowledge we must seek exists in Khyber, perhaps among the Rakshasas if they exist. The dragons might be of use. It is perhaps convenient that their gods walk among them, since we are going to utterly destroy them and all that they ever were. If the theory is true. Tomorrow will tell. Regardless we shall continue our plan to seize the flying fortress of Breland. Why one so young was picked to command it puzzles me still, but the unwitting defenders of the vessel should be easily dealt with by our organization. Remember mercy and justice as we practiced it accomplished nothing for our home and our families. The phrase "Terminate with extreme prejudice" is our creed now. Luck to all. Tomorrow vengence for our homeland begins. Telemachos, Archmage of Cyre Founder and Commander of the Cyran Revenge Squad
Grabuto 05-12-05, 11:19 AM	Personally I'd take a different path. I'd put in a whole load of contradictory evidence and plots and let the players pick one. I agree with this one. Throw some interesting stuff out there. Have a few contingency plans. Figure out what the players are most interested in a go with it.
gutterball 05-12-05, 12:26 PM	I like the idea of the Day of Mourning as a last ditch effort to stop the war. That was honestly the first thing I thought of when I read the Eberron campaign book. I also see I'm not alone in that guess. It reminds me of what Ozymandias does in The Watchmen...the world is on the eve of World War Three and he perpetrates an act so horrible it makes the globe stop and retreat from the brink of destruction. He sacrifices hundreds of thousands of lives to save millions or billions. Twisted, yes, but it worked. Plus, he was one of the supposed good guys.
Targos 05-13-05, 08:15 AM	I've heard rumors that the mourning was intended as a defensive mechanism, hence the expansion of the mists to Cyre's borders. I believe Keith said there were armies from all five nations in Cyre when the mourning occurred. I would think Cyre was on the brink of defeat and acted out of desperation. Of course an eldritch machine was involved, it's Eberron. (I'd guess two: Glowing Chasm & Plateau of Glass) Maybe it was supposed to be a force shield of some kind that would forever separate Cyre from the rest of Eberron. Maybe they attempted to transport their entire nation to another plane. I've seen modules do it and SciFi shows do it with entire planets. Something obviously went wrong whether is be sabotage, an accident, or the timing was off. (The planes / moons might not have been properly aligned or maybe the two eldritch machines were not activated simulateously or out of sequence.) Perhaps there are pieces and/or copies of Cyre on the shadow plane or elsewhere, whether intact or twisted. The top members of House Phiarlan were not in Cyre that day. Obviously the elves didn't want to be there whether the mourning functioned as it was intended or not.
treehouse916 05-14-05, 01:24 PM	Thanks for all of the replies. My favorite idea so far is the country-wide defense mechanism (eldritch machine) that was corrupted by the daelkyr. It does seem rather odd that the Gray Mist stopped right around the borders of Cyre. Now, I'll combine the ideas I'm using into one cohesive explanation of the events leading up to the Day of Mourning. See if the logic works: 1) Cyrans fear that the Last War will finally consume their nation entirely. Top Cyran officials secretly commission a top-notch magic defense system from House Cannith. (992 YK) 2) Servants of the daelkyr (Cultists of the Dragon Below) learn of the defense system. They infiltrate the artificer team working on the project. (992 YK) 3) The Cannith artificers finish the defense system's main component (for now, Eldritch Machine A), which is placed underneath a government building in the capital. The system required a large amount of power to operate, so they developed an arcane power generator (Eldritch Machine B) made of a complex pyramid of dragonshards and placed it deep underground. Unbeknowest to the Cannith team, the Cultist mole had corrupted the project. He made subtle but powerful connections from Eldritch Machine B to another eldritch machine (Eldritch Machine C), deep in the bowels of Khyber. Eldritch Machine C taints the power source provided by Eldritch Machine B, but it is hard to detect without turning the defense system on. (993 YK) 4) The Cannith artificers place small beacons (similar in appearance to conductor stones) all around the borders of Cyre. This activity is noticed by some scouts from other nations, but it is disregarded as a more mundane defense (magic landmines, anyone?). (994 YK) 5) Armies from Thrane, Breland and Darguun are seen heading towards the Cyran borders. With the defense system completed, the Cannith artificers decide to test it. They warm it up, and it seems to work well in lower power settings. However, one member of the team working from the location of Eldritch Machine B notices that there is a strange fluctuation of power. The normal fields of abjuration are being pushed out to Eldritch Machine A (and then out to the border markers), but several other auras are detected. He shuts down Eldritch Machine B and begins investigating. However, the Cultist Mole arrives on the scene just as the artificer discovers the hidden connection to Eldritch Machine C. They struggle, and the Mole eventually kills the artificer. Meanwhile, the armies of four different nations clash in an epic battle not far from the location of Eldritch Machine B. The Mole manages to get Eldritch Machine B powered up again, and the defense system is completely powered up. The corruption of the defense system is suddenly apparent to the other artificers, but they cannot shut off the machine. They watch helplessly as their project falls apart, and the madness of the daelkyr takes form in a nation-spanning arcane disaster unheard of since the fall of Xen'drik. (20 Olarune, 994 YK) 6) The next day, the chaotic destruction subsides somewhat, and the terrible reshaping of Cyre is apparent. Of particular note here is that where Eldritch Machine B is, now stands the Glass Plateau. The ground has opened up where Eldritch Machine C is located (or rather, above where Eldritch Machine C is located) and that place is known as the Glowing Chasm. If anyone cared to look, they would notice that there are still tenous lines of magic energy flowing between The Glass Plateau, the Glowing Chasm, and the ruined city of Metrol. If this triangle were noticed by explorers in the Mournlands, they would have their first clue as to what happened to the nation of Cyre. So, what do you all think?
Cutlass 05-14-05, 02:08 PM	Sounds good. I may steal it :D
treehouse916 05-14-05, 02:58 PM	Well, as liberal portions of it are your idea in the first place, I'd hardly call it stealing. Glad you liked it though. :D Edit: By the way, I didn't see it before because you added it after I read your original thread, but that pair of warforged researchers is so totally nabbed for my campaign. I work at a library, so I have a soft spot for 'Shelver' already...
Jarlaxle_The_Rogue 05-14-05, 03:39 PM	I just may have to 'yoink' that. EDIT: Hmm... interesting idea. Eldritch Machine A and B are still running - the reason the mists still surround Cyre. If someone could make some slight modifications and restart Eldritch Machine C... Well now you have a full blown campaign.
treehouse916 05-14-05, 04:11 PM	You are on to something big, Jarlaxle. Possible daelkyr plot: An unintended side-effect of the border stones around Cyre is that they ended up containing the destruction that occured on the Day of Mourning. The power generated by the combined might of the three Eldritch Machines was enough (theoretically) to spread the destruction that occurred on Cyre to the rest of Khorvaire. So, if a crazed cultist or some other minion of the lords of madness could remove enough of the border stones, and then restart Eldritch Machine C, they'd make the the Day of Mourning look like a picnic in the park in comparison to the massive holocaust to follow.