Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Delgar 11-18-05, 01:53 PM	So, I'm thinking about starting up an Eberron campaign, but before I get down to it I really want to have a large series of mystery's for my characters to unfold as the campaign progresses. To start out the campaign, I'm going to pre-generate all of the characters and they will start out knowing nothing about who they are, where they are and how they got there. This will be one of the big mysteries that they will need to solve. Early on they will discover that they were near Cyre when the event happened that created the mourning lands and that they were put in a magical stasis. They were found and kept safe for the last 6-12 months since. They will be given back what was found with them which will not be much, but should provide little snippets for them to follow up on. Of course all great campaigns start out with a bit of action and the town they are in will be underseige (I haven't determined by what yet), this will allow them to test out their martial strength not even really knowing what their abilities are. Now some of the things that I want to do is keep their class and vitals away from them for the first little bit and let them discover or remember what they did in the past. I haven't thought up of a good way to do this yet, without totally frustrating the characters, and I don't want it to drag out too long. Although they will continually discover new things about themselves as the campaign progresses. Also, I haven't decide what sort of mix of races and classes to go with or really what sort of mysterious backgrounds I could have. Which is why I decided to post here. Hopefully you guys can give me some good ideas. Like were they Brelish soliders? Cyran? Other? Were they spies? were some of them spies? Do they belong to any of the houses. Any cool specific or non-specific ideas that you could give me would be a great help. Thanks Delgar
Naudachu 11-18-05, 05:32 PM	As far as the characters I would start by asking your players what they like to play. They may be a group that feels balance is important or likes the challenge of a random group thrown together. You could reveal their stats as they use them (make a Strength check, tell them what their Strength score is) as well as skills. When they attempt to use a sword for the first time, they'll quickly realize if it feels right or if they have a penalty. Spells could be triggered by you depending on what best fits the situation. A defensive spell going off when they are about to be attacked, etc. A spell book could be returned by someone or found being sold by a merchant (who trades with Mournland raiders). A holy symbol could still be worn by a cleric or paladin (or by a someone of another class who reveres that deity to keep them guessing). Or they have a strong calling when they pass by a church dedicated to their deity. They may have to recommune before their abilities are restored (or not, since this is Eberron) or remembered. Here's a couple ideas. They are non-specific without knowing where you want this to take place: Karnnath border, near the Talenta Plains, Breland, Darguun, into Valenar? - They could have been sent to investigate a missing member of House Phiarlan/Thuranni (since they were all conveniently out of the country on that day) - They could have been sent to their deaths by someone who knew the Mourning was going to happen. - This person might not have know the exact effects of the Mourning, but hoped the PCs would die. And until now thinks they did. - Why they were sent? - Because they knew something about this person? Or were about to uncover something? - Maybe they were fleeing from Darguun back into Cyre as the survivors of a raid or scouting mission
LazarusX 11-18-05, 05:33 PM	The first question I would have is: Do the actual players understand that this is going to be the nature of the campaign? What I mean is, are they okay with the fact that you will be dictating class/alignment/etc? If they do not know or agree to this approach, I would highly suggest not doing it. If they are excited about this unique approach to the game, then I'm sure there are plentiful ways to go about making everything interesting, and I'll certainly give you my thoughts and ideas. The only question(if they agree to this idea) would be: How soon into their levels do you want them to fully, 100% realize their true identity?
Delgar 11-21-05, 11:35 AM	The Players agree with the approach and are looking forward to it. I have played with them all before and have a good idea of what sort of characters they like to play. I however am going to throw a little twist or curve ball at them. But they will enjoy what they have. I will not be dictating their alignment or personality. Seeing as they have no memories of the past they can play their character however they want. Perhaps that will change after the realize what they once were, but perhaps not. Also, when I run Eberron I pretty much throw out alignment because really it has no place. Eberron is a game of intrigue and you just never know who is good and who is evil. Why should some lame spell tell you that? So say good bye to Detect Alignment and good riddence. Plus, nobody will be playing a paladin so no big loss there really. As far as I'm concerned a balanced party really isn't necessary. I mean as the DM I can cater the encounters to meet the needs of my players. Play up to their strengths and weaknesses. But the game is going to be very combat light, with most of the players looking for an engaging story and a lot of role-playing opportunitys and I plan to present them with that. As far as how soon I want them to find out their abilities. Well, rather quickly. I'd rather have them find out most of their abilties rapidily because it will suck for them to play in the dark too long and just makes more work for myself than I need. The only reason I contemplated doing it was just for flavor. As far as them finding out about their pasts, what they were doing, well I'll leave that up to them. My goal is to plant some initial clues on their person giving the slightest hint, perhaps just enough to start leading them down the path to discovery and slowly reveal bits and pieces as time goes on. But I want it all known up front so that they can look back at the process and go Wow, that was cool how everything tied together. But I want them to have complete freedom to do whatever they want. In addition to discovering who they are, I want to have a major plot taking place in the background involving one or more of the characters. I haven't quite decided on what I want to do here yet either. I'm probably going to have it revlove around an aberant mark and have a lot of major players be interested in destroying or using the mark for their benefit. I haven't fleshed this out at all yet, so any help on this would be great as well. So here is what I have so far: - I have 5 players (3 women, 2 guys) - They were placed into stasis somehow during the day of mourning - They have been in stasis for 6-12 months - They were found by some Breland scouts - They awake and know nothing of themselves or their past What I'm looking for are ideas as to why they were present during the day of mourning, plus some simple clues they could have on them that can start they're journey of self discovery. Things that I have been toying with: - One of them will have an abberant mark - One will have wild psionics - One will be some sort of strange shifter/lycanthrope cross - One will be a decendent of dragons I'm still toying with other ideas. Any help would be most appreciated. :) Thanks Delgar
Missekat 11-21-05, 12:04 PM	Just a wils question here, and it might have been answered in some other thread: Will the dragons have a problem with a humanoid with dragon blood? I'm referring to the eradication od the House of Vol because of their breeding with dragons. I think the idea is enticing, and I would have loved to be that player, (yeah, so I love dragons.. what about it?!), but if the dragons themselves will be all over the PC to char the **** out of her constantly, then the campaign is dead before it starts.
Delgar 11-21-05, 12:29 PM	As I said I'm just toying with ideas as of right now. But perhaps, it was the dragons that did it. Perhaps it was a rogue dragon or perhaps it was done unknowingly to the dragons. Perhaps it was what was meant to come to pass, perhaps it's an abomination. Only time will tell. :) Delgar
Arz 11-21-05, 01:47 PM	I think the main thing you need to think on is what sort of info do they have to start with, ex: What info do the capsules hold? Who released them? Why were they placed in stasis? Was the memory loss unintentional? As for the general ideas I can think of two houses that might try something like this: Kundarak-Your players are prisoners. After being placed in stasis they were supposed to be sent to Dreadhold. The big mystery is who paid the warders to go to all the extra expense for five nobodies? Jorasco-All were suffering from terminal diseases and placed in stasis while major healing was done. Obviously they were all wealthy and lost some family in the Mourning but what else might Jorasco have been doing to their bodies? Have fun!
Missekat 11-21-05, 01:53 PM	I know I'm still focusing too much on the dragonbreed to balance it out, but still: What if one of the reasons for the dragons to kill off Vol, was that the prophecy mentions a humanoid with dragon blood. And the time just wasn't right for that part of the prophecy to come to pass? Maybe the rest of the companions were still missing, (or one or two of them was.. while counterparts for them actually existed, none would be allowed to exist untill all was ready.. was that too convoluted?). A great fate awaits the party, but only if they all use their inheritance etc etc. They might find clues to the extermination of whole families, countries and races, just to keep to the prophecy.. and make them all be born, and live together? To fulfill.. what? This is just brainstorming. Edited for horrible spelling
Delgar 11-21-05, 02:20 PM	Okay, I'm liking this. Perhaps they were in Stasis before the day of mourning and were just being transported, when the event actually happened and for some reason the stasis saved them from the fate of their transporters. This would be the first red herring. The characters would probably believe that the day of mourning somehow caused their stasis, but instead there is some greater force behind it. I like it. :) I think the main thing you need to think on is what sort of info do they have to start with, ex: What info do the capsules hold? Who released them? Why were they placed in stasis? Was the memory loss unintentional? As for the general ideas I can think of two houses that might try something like this: Kundarak-Your players are prisoners. After being placed in stasis they were supposed to be sent to Dreadhold. The big mystery is who paid the warders to go to all the extra expense for five nobodies? Jorasco-All were suffering from terminal diseases and placed in stasis while major healing was done. Obviously they were all wealthy and lost some family in the Mourning but what else might Jorasco have been doing to their bodies? Have fun!
Missekat 11-21-05, 02:32 PM	Try taking a look at this thread for ideas on what might have happened while they were in stasis :-) http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=505463
Arz 11-21-05, 03:00 PM	Okay, I'm liking this. Perhaps they were in Stasis before the day of mourning and were just being transported, when the event actually happened and for some reason the stasis saved them from the fate of their transporters. This would be the first red herring. The characters would probably believe that the day of mourning somehow caused their stasis, but instead there is some greater force behind it. I like it. :) The trick is giving back their stasis capsules to trigger a memory. Maybe they go to see a rivals exhibit in a museum or find the capsules amongst the stolen loot. So why did these people take the capsules and dump the bodies out in the Mournlands? Were they "dead" or just loose ends. I try to incorporate a lot of my ideas from cyberpunk games and books into Eberon. Frankly, it just works.
Delgar 11-22-05, 02:33 PM	Well I wasn't planning on having them in stasis capsules perse. More like just a magical stasis. The trick is giving back their stasis capsules to trigger a memory. Maybe they go to see a rivals exhibit in a museum or find the capsules amongst the stolen loot. So why did these people take the capsules and dump the bodies out in the Mournlands? Were they "dead" or just loose ends. I try to incorporate a lot of my ideas from cyberpunk games and books into Eberon. Frankly, it just works.
ChimericalWolf 11-22-05, 03:10 PM	Remember that if they go stasis during/close to the Mourning, when they wake up, there's no way for them to know right off the bat that the War is over, and they might not believe anyone telling them this. The War's been going on for generations, it's always been there for most characters, with little end in sight, and only knowing what happened to Cyre stopped people from fighting.
Arz 11-28-05, 10:46 AM	Well I wasn't planning on having them in stasis capsules perse. More like just a magical stasis. Yes but then you are missing out on the idea of artifacts and technology that make Eberon vibrant. If its just a spell then you still have to figure out who created such a unique spell that survived the Mourning unchanged. Also by having a physical object instead of a spell the PC's have more leads to investigate: maker's mark & materials to name a few. This will give your non-arcana PC's something to do. I try to give clues that each PC can follow up on which makes the mystery only able to be solved by teamwork.
Delgar 11-28-05, 01:03 PM	Good point, like I said I just have an inkling of an idea and anything you guys can give is great. I think you're right, having capsules that they can investigate definately gives a great springboard for them to start investigating their past. I'll definately have to go that route. Yes but then you are missing out on the idea of artifacts and technology that make Eberon vibrant. If its just a spell then you still have to figure out who created such a unique spell that survived the Mourning unchanged. Also by having a physical object instead of a spell the PC's have more leads to investigate: maker's mark & materials to name a few. This will give your non-arcana PC's something to do. I try to give clues that each PC can follow up on which makes the mystery only able to be solved by teamwork.
Rain God 11-28-05, 04:16 PM	Just a thought.. Have the capsule contain a dragonshard with a recorded message, that way you can lead the party to whatever location you wish for your campaign, but without the choo choo factor. For an added twist try having one of the characters be a changeling, and use his/her current form as another clue.
Eberik 11-28-05, 05:07 PM	Well I have done something like this serveral times in games in the past, where the party awaken in the bowls of a dungeon with no clue who they or the people around them are. One thing that I have found that makes this somewhat easier to get thigns going is, that the characters know what skills and class abilities they have, but other then that, no knowledge about themselves. That way when the encounter meant to drive them forward comes, its not a huge mess and lots of people going "damn what CAN I do?" As for who and why and all that, leave most of it undone, and only do small bits, just enough from one game to the next, hell even leave massive chunks out of it entirely and make them really work for getting their memories back, its what I have done. The main game that I did this in, the char. started off lvl 1 and are almost lvl 9 right now, and still, a lot fo blank spaces are all over the place, it makes for a constant feeling of tension and paranioa almost, not knowing who is after you, why, and all that good stuff. IMHO
Delgar 12-02-05, 10:29 AM	Thanks for the replies so far. I'm still looking for ideas, anything you got, hand em over. Ah come on, you know you want to. I'm also looking for some sort of special thing that the warfoged could be or become, any ideas in this vein are much appreciated. Thanks Delgar
Arz 12-02-05, 11:24 AM	In addition to discovering who they are, I want to have a major plot taking place in the background involving one or more of the characters. I haven't quite decided on what I want to do here yet either. I'm probably going to have it revlove around an aberant mark and have a lot of major players be interested in destroying or using the mark for their benefit. I haven't fleshed this out at all yet, so any help on this would be great as well. So here is what I have so far: - I have 5 players (3 women, 2 guys) - They were placed into stasis somehow during the day of mourning - They have been in stasis for 6-12 months - They were found by some Breland scouts - They awake and know nothing of themselves or their past What I'm looking for are ideas as to why they were present during the day of mourning, plus some simple clues they could have on them that can start they're journey of self discovery. Things that I have been toying with: - One of them will have an abberant mark - One will have wild psionics - One will be some sort of strange shifter/lycanthrope cross - One will be a decendent of dragons I'm still toying with other ideas. Any help would be most appreciated. :) Thanks Delgar As to abberant marks... In a previous campaign I ran the players dealt with Cyrans who almost escaped the Mourning. These families were very concerned with concealing the fact that a high percentage of them were forming abberant marks as a result of exposure to the dead-gray mists. Try to avoid giving the player an uber-powerful abberant mark. If you want him to have a powerful mark give him a charm or an implanted Syberis shard that is enhancing his abilities similar to a House crafted magic item. Why are Brelish scouts traveling the Mournlands, and what sort of attitude are they going to take to their discovery? Will they be aggressive or helpful?
Delgar 12-02-05, 11:30 AM	My thought process was this: Cyre goes BOOM! Mournland created. I'm assuming that Breland has sent several investigative parties into the Mournlands just to see what's what. Gather intellegence that sort of thing. I'm sure that many of them have disappeared. Hell, my plan was that the group that found the players just barely made it out alive themselves, loosing several members in the process. I'm sure all the nations will have at some point become curious as to what happened to Cyre, and what threat the new Mournland presents. That doesn't even go into the Lord of Blades, etc. As for the Abberrant mark. The person who bears it won't know it right away, perhaps they will discover it later. Perhaps they were a noble of one of the houses and cast out because of the mark. But what does the mark mean? As to abberant marks... In a previous campaign I ran the players dealt with Cyrans who almost escaped the Mourning. These families were very concerned with concealing the fact that a high percentage of them were forming abberant marks as a result of exposure to the dead-gray mists. Try to avoid giving the player an uber-powerful abberant mark. If you want him to have a powerful mark give him a charm or an implanted Syberis shard that is enhancing his abilities similar to a House crafted magic item. Why are Brelish scouts traveling the Mournlands, and what sort of attitude are they going to take to their discovery? Will they be aggressive or helpful?
Delgar 12-05-05, 02:21 PM	bump for more ideas. :)
Arz 12-07-05, 12:21 PM	Your first session seige could quite easily be against the horrors of the Mournland itself. They start in a small town on the edge of the mists when they awake. Take time to explain the horrors of the Mourning from the townies perspective. Then the scout patrol warns everyone to man the walls as they watch the LoBsters followers roll out of the mists with a few pets. Alternately throw some weird living spells and undead spirits with a particular grudge against the town.
Delgar 12-12-05, 09:45 AM	le bump
Incudine 12-12-05, 10:17 AM	Just thinking about your characters not remembering what they where doing... let them start from scratch, let them start to "like" each other and then... let them remember! one of them may have been the villain the others were trying to kill, or maybe they were two groups attacking each other (I.e. blood of Vol and Silver Flame?). let them find out they were not friends, they were competitors, enemies... how will they react? will they continue to cooperate or will theystart again the fight that was interrupted 12 months earlier? see which characters are "bonding" more and put them on the two different factions... Are they deciding based on their past or on their future? I played something similar as a character and it was veeery good fun to play. we completely forgot who we were and started as commoner1 then replaced by Class(fighter,rogue...)1, we went quite quickly through 6 Lvs (DM giving 2Xexperience) as we remembered what we were able to do (before we lost our memories we were 6lv characters) and then going on straight from there on cheers
Delgar 12-13-05, 01:45 PM	Alrighty. So here is a quick overview of the races and classes of the characters. Kalashtar Monk - Will probably have some sort of wild psionic talent Shifter Ranger - Some sort of strange shifter/lycanthrope cross Warforged Sorcerer - Not sure what strange thing to do with him yet Human Artificer - Aberrant mark will develop Elf Bard - Part dragon So not only will there pasts be mysteries but so will their furtures. I still need something for the warforged. But here is the brief intro that I wrote up for the Human Artificer: You awake in a small room lit only by a small fire crackling at the base of the bed you are lying in. You are confused, you have no idea how you got here, where here is or even who you are. You close your eyes and you strain to try to remember anything about your past but nothing comes forth, nothing, absolutely nothing. Panic begins to set in. Examining your surroundings further you notice that you seem to be in some sort of small bedchamber and appear to be wearing some sort of bedclothes. For a moment you wonder how you can remember words and objects but nothing of your past, none of this makes any sense. Beside the bed is a small wooden table with a bowl filled with water with a rag draped over the side, as well as a full pitcher of water and a ceramic cup. Suddenly your throat feels parched and dry and you poor yourself a glass of water. As you continue your examination you let the cool water trickle down your throat, the bed you are sitting in is comfortable but not extravagant and the only other piece of furniture is a wooden chair resting near the bed. A log in the fire pops and your heart skips a beat, but you manage to calm yourself down. The room itself is devoid of any decoration except for a mirror hanging by the door. At that moment you realize that you have no idea what you look like. You rise from your bed, your heart beating wildly with a mix of fear and excitement and you move towards the mirror. Staring back at you from the reflective surface is the face of a young beautiful woman with long golden hair and blue eyes, one with a regal or noble bearing. A wave of disappointment passes through you as you had hoped seeing your face would bring back some memory of your past of who you are. You are startled as the door to your room opens and standing in the doorway is an older round woman wearing a stained apron. You hear the crash as something the woman was holding drops to the floor and breaks. “M..M..Milady, p..p..please return to your bed, y..y..you should not be on your feet.” She places an arm on your shoulder and leads you back towards the bed. Before you can protest she starts yelling out, “She’s awake, she’s awake, someone quickly check on the others.”
Missekat 12-13-05, 03:19 PM	Wow. Well you got me entranced, (I wanna play in that adventure!!), so I'm pretty convinced that the players are all in too :D It sounds exciting, and generates a lot of questions right from the start. It's - in short - great for this. As to the warforged: A warforged sorcerer in itself is special. Magic comes from within, and the whole question of where House Cannith gets the souls that fills the newly created warforged in the forges arises: Is he the reborn soul of a dragon? An angel? Something different or dangerous? Edited for spelling
Aloïsius 12-13-05, 03:25 PM	I like this idea. As a way of reveling their past, could I suggest dreamlike "flashback" adventures ? If they have lost all memories, they have lost all their level, too. So, you may have a "twin campaign", with PC gaining XP and level in both. The problem is that WF, elves and Kalashtar do not dream. Just use some Deus Ex machina plot item, like special places or circumstances, that trigger the flashbacks. If done correctly, they may have doubt about what is real and what is not.
Eberik 12-13-05, 03:49 PM	Love it, sounds great, the only thing that kinda makes me cringe is the elf bard being part dragon. It seems that the dragons and elves both have gone to great lengths in the past to make this kinda thing a mute point (Vol and her house). If so, how is he/she part dragon, and what has kept elves and dragons both so far from taking a notice, let alone interst in the char if above all else from killing said char? Aside from that, it all works for me.... IMHO
Delgar 12-13-05, 03:53 PM	Pehaps it's another part of the prophecy? Perhaps she's being protected? By Whom? Clearly she doesn't have as much power behind her as Vol, so perhaps she's not a threat, perhaps she's slipped under the radar? Thats not to say that it's not going to cause problems in the future. Besides the player in question that will be playing the character ALWAYS has delusions of grandeur, so I'd like to see how it plays out. :) Love it, sounds great, the only thing that kinda makes me cringe is the elf bard being part dragon. It seems that the dragons and elves both have gone to great lengths in the past to make this kinda thing a mute point (Vol and her house). If so, how is he/she part dragon, and what has kept elves and dragons both so far from taking a notice, let alone interst in the char if above all else from killing said char? Aside from that, it all works for me.... IMHO
Delgar 12-16-05, 01:09 PM	Still looking for ideas!
Logos7 12-17-05, 10:01 AM	instead of Stasis perhaps the idea of being in a stone guarden might be more appropiate (Petrified Creatures should stay fine as far as i can tell) and they were just discovered by a bunch of realatively good hearted raiders who brought them up As for discovering the past Do a Star wars and have the character's past be more or less how they level, if they start shooting for the dark art's right away then their character was oringinally inclined towards it. That should keep the back story relavant to the players as for why Maybe they were prisoner's (stasis seems like an ineffectiveway of keeping prisoners in my opinoninon), perhaps innocent or victums of the houses and even scape goats who tried to stop the morning ( That said playing off what your players give you should provide more than a little That said things to include are the required a sorc or cleric without components or symbol are sort of unduely challanged compared to a monk without gear, either try to make them all self sufficient or be prepared to let them know their basic abilities preety fast (i think i'd get tired of not seeing my character sheet after more than one session) That said a nifty idea is to do up the character sheet's and then let the players actions in the first session determine which one they get Logos
Delgar 12-19-05, 12:43 PM	I think I'm going to stick with the stasis for now but thanks for the idea. I plan on letting them decide on how they're character acts and feels, and perhaps I'll throw them a curve ball later down the line, just to mix things up. The reason for stasis, in my mind is that "Someone" knows what they are has gathered them and was still deciding on how to play it out. But then the "Day of Mourning" happened and all bets were off. No plans on having a cleric in the party and the sorcerer will just need a spell component pouch and he'll be good to go. My plan is to have them see some action rather quickly and they'll need to solve a minor mystery before even begining to try and figure out who they are. instead of Stasis perhaps the idea of being in a stone guarden might be more appropiate (Petrified Creatures should stay fine as far as i can tell) and they were just discovered by a bunch of realatively good hearted raiders who brought them up As for discovering the past Do a Star wars and have the character's past be more or less how they level, if they start shooting for the dark art's right away then their character was oringinally inclined towards it. That should keep the back story relavant to the players as for why Maybe they were prisoner's (stasis seems like an ineffectiveway of keeping prisoners in my opinoninon), perhaps innocent or victums of the houses and even scape goats who tried to stop the morning ( That said playing off what your players give you should provide more than a little That said things to include are the required a sorc or cleric without components or symbol are sort of unduely challanged compared to a monk without gear, either try to make them all self sufficient or be prepared to let them know their basic abilities preety fast (i think i'd get tired of not seeing my character sheet after more than one session) That said a nifty idea is to do up the character sheet's and then let the players actions in the first session determine which one they get Logos
Delgar 12-19-05, 12:54 PM	Okay, so greater things about my campaign are still percolating in my head and I still need to write up 4 more intros (I'll post those here as well for your perusal). But I'm thinking of my initial session. This will be a jumbled mess of thoughts but hopefully you can help me fill in some of the holes. Okay, so my players will have their introduction. Where they will have woken up in a strange place knowing nothing. The first thing that I was planning on happening is a meeting at some sort of town council, this way the players will meet some of the major players in the town and also learn some information about what has happened to them. The meeting will be interupted by the town bells ringing. The mayor will tell them to stay put and that they will be safe and the elders will leave the town hall off to defend their town from the threat. If I know my players they won't sit idly while action is going off around them. They are sure to investigate. Hence the siege and battle, they will be able to find some weapons and armor and help out however they wish. I will plan several events that can be mitigated by the hereos. Perhaps a breach over the back wall, or rescueing a troop cut off, or anything else you guys can throw my way. The attack will go on for awhile and then end. My plan at the moment is to have a force of Undead attack them. Basically they'll find out that every day at a certain time a wave of undead throws itself at the town, and then stops and then does it again the next day. When if first started there were only a few, but on this day when they look out on the crowd, they see hundreds even thousands of red beads of light staring back at them. The horde seems to keep growing in size. The Mystery: Why is the undead horde attacking the town? Where are they coming from? How can they be stopped? At this point the town has been under siege for weeks, with no end in sight. People are very demoralized and no help is forthcoming. What I haven't figured out quite yet is: Why is the horde attacking? What would be a good plausible reason? I figure I'll just throw that out there and see where that gets me. I won't taint you with my idea in hopes that you can give me something better.
Arz 12-19-05, 03:11 PM	We are not a horde. The uncultured Brelander townies stopped us at the border on the Day of Mourning. We can only escape this immortal torment after they repent, dance the tago, and we eat their brains. In no particular order. Dibs on Mayor Fat-Head!
Missekat 12-19-05, 04:30 PM	An artifact hidden in some basement is calling them? I know. Cliché. But it was the first thing that came to my mind. As to the "From where": They are all people from the city the heroes are in. And they all fell during the last war. The longer ago they fell, the longer it takes before they wake up. But thousands of people from this one city has fallen in that centurylong war, and now they are all amassing.. to go home. To take back their lives, houses, and jobs. To go back where they remember living. And now these strangers are keeping them out!! Or is that too far fetched? Solving the mystery could involve questioning one of the horde. He/she/it would be like an elderly demented person, who kept repeating that: "this is where I live! This is my city! What are all these strange people doing here? Ferris the Cooper should be in that shop, why is that lady selling fruit in there now?! The voices said I was free to go. I can go home now. Why are you keeping us all out from our homes?! We just want to go home!" Just a thought, really.
Delgar 12-20-05, 01:30 PM	Okay so here is the intro for the Shifter character, let me know what you think: You awake in a small room lit only by a small fire crackling at the base of the bed you are lying in. You are confused, you have no idea how you got here, where here is or even who you are. You close your eyes and you strain to try to remember anything about your past but nothing comes forth, nothing, absolutely nothing. Anger begins to set in. You leap from the bed lithely knocking over a small table that rested beside the bed, causing its contents to crash to the floor. You begin to seethe with anger, who did this to you? You notice that the chamber you are in is small and dark, lit only by the fire, but your eyes adjust quickly and you can make out almost everything that is in the room. It appears to be sparsely furnished with only the bed and the knocked over table. There seems to be some sort of mural over the bed, of what looks to be some city filled with enormous towers; Sharn. Wait, how is it that you know what the city is but you can’t remember anything about yourself. None of this makes any sense and your anger continues to grow. You pick up the ceramic bowl and launch it at the far wall, where it shatters into hundreds of tiny pieces with a loud crash. Just then you notice the door to the room, and you quickly bound towards it. Someone is going to pay for this, they are going to give you answers and they are going to pay. As you are about to open the door you notice a reflection of yourself staring back at you. Your face appears to be harsh and feral, and your eyes almost seem to glow yellow in the firelight. Your hair is a light brown, long, unkempt and wild, interspersed with several braids. Perhaps they have some special meaning to you but you can’t remember. You can’t remember anything about yourself. You roar in rage, and you’re teeth almost seem to grow sharper, and then you smash your fists into the mirror causing it to crack and shatter and your image disappears. You look at your bleeding hands and notice that they too appear strong and callused. Not the hands of a princess but the hands of a worker or a fighter. Then you hear footsteps, moving quickly towards you. The footsteps stop outside the door, you can hear the fumble of keys and your heart beating rapidly in your chest. Quickly you reach down and grab a large shard of glass, and try to melt into the shadows behind the door. You can hear the turning of the lock and you hold your breath. Your heart begins to pound rapidly and more loudly than before. Surely they can hear you. The door creaks open slowly and more light filters into the room. You step out of the shadows, towering over a small motherly woman, wearing a discolored smock, wielding a large shard of glass over your head ready to strike. The small woman standing before you lets out a small shriek and falls to the floor with a large thud.
Delgar 12-20-05, 02:08 PM	Both definately interesting ideas. I myself was leaning towards an artifact/magic item that was luring them into the town. Perhaps it was a weapon that was used during the war or perhaps it's an old eldritch weapon. I'm not sure how I would resolve the other one. How would the players resolve that issue? An artifact hidden in some basement is calling them? I know. Cliché. But it was the first thing that came to my mind. As to the "From where": They are all people from the city the heroes are in. And they all fell during the last war. The longer ago they fell, the longer it takes before they wake up. But thousands of people from this one city has fallen in that centurylong war, and now they are all amassing.. to go home. To take back their lives, houses, and jobs. To go back where they remember living. And now these strangers are keeping them out!! Or is that too far fetched? Solving the mystery could involve questioning one of the horde. He/she/it would be like an elderly demented person, who kept repeating that: "this is where I live! This is my city! What are all these strange people doing here? Ferris the Cooper should be in that shop, why is that lady selling fruit in there now?! The voices said I was free to go. I can go home now. Why are you keeping us all out from our homes?! We just want to go home!" Just a thought, really.
NathanD 12-20-05, 02:56 PM	Delgar You may want to have a control person in place. Someone who is with the group, but has all of their memories intact, but will go along with the party to observe them and prod them down the chosen path. Who that would be would depend on who was behind the stasis project. If it was house Cannith, the Artificer comes to mind.
Delgar 12-22-05, 08:47 AM	Come on you know you want to help me out.
Missekat 12-22-05, 09:51 AM	At 1 am last night I woke up from a nasty fever, (I'm currently down with the flu.. this shouldn't spread via the net, though :P ), and wrote down this idea. But since I was pretty far gone, it might not be worth anything. :plotting: Here goes anyway: The characters are mentioned in the prophecy, but not as individuals. As a whole. They mght have some minor powers or talents that makes them standout from the crowd on their own, but the reason for their apperance in the draconic prophecy is what happends if they are gathered in a manifestzone, near a large, (you decide the size, amount, or value to go by), cache of dragonshards for a set period of time. This will trigger a magical event. The opening of a portal, a gate, or a window into one of the planes. It could be any plane. What plane is reached, (and how big an opening), is decided by the manifestzone, the type of shard, the value or size of it, what moon is full, What they are doing or what tehir mood is, etc. (Again, you decide). This would make the part enourmously valuabul, (spelling??), to a lot of factions in Eberron. The dreaming dark would love to get them. I am sure both the Emerald Claw and Blood of Vol could make something of a gate to Dolurrh or some other plane. I'm not that good at intrigue and politics on a high level, so do the rest of the math yourself :-) Anyway.. if you use this setup, you would have to make a change or two in your adventure. The first adventure in the town would be something like this: The mayor of the town has a pretty big cache of khybershards set aside in his basement. Maybe it's his own, maybe it's an inheritance, he could have embezzeled it from the town, or he could be safekeeping the towns assets in a form easy to sell on, and easy to manage, (shards.. the new diamond). Anyway.. with the party witin a reasonable distance from the shards, but withput concience, and with large amounts of dead nearby, (old battlefields), a small tear - the size of an eye - to Dolurrh is created in the aforementioned basement, and the souls of the tormented dead sense a way out of this world. They start to amass, trying to get to the tear and salvation, and the town defends itself from the horde. As the party gains conciousness the tear enlargens to a fistsized hole and the horde increases in size and frenzy, feeling the now stronger pull of the plane of the dead. If the party finds the hole, (maybe led there by disturbaces caused by things from the other side, or by spirits that break through the defences), the window will become a window gate and all hell might break loose, as larger "things" now are free to get through - both ways. This way the party might get a - not overtly obvious - hint about their "powers", and you have foreshadowed some of the upcoming conflicts. The "powers" only works under special occult requirements, so you are free to use it when you want to. They will never be able to say: "But we were near shards then and nothing happened!", because the moon might not havebeen full, they might not have had blue boots on, or that guy from the Eldeen Reaches wasn't drunk. Thats the great thing about Eldritch stuff.. the design is so grand that only the dragons get it, and they won't tell ;)
Delgar 12-22-05, 10:46 AM	Now, that my friends is a great idea. Most definately better than what I was actually planning. :) Keep em coming. At 1 am last night I woke up from a nasty fever, (I'm currently down with the flu.. this shouldn't spread via the net, though :P ), and wrote down this idea. But since I was pretty far gone, it might not be worth anything. :plotting: Here goes anyway: The characters are mentioned in the prophecy, but not as individuals. As a whole. They mght have some minor powers or talents that makes them standout from the crowd on their own, but the reason for their apperance in the draconic prophecy is what happends if they are gathered in a manifestzone, near a large, (you decide the size, amount, or value to go by), cache of dragonshards for a set period of time. This will trigger a magical event. The opening of a portal, a gate, or a window into one of the planes. It could be any plane. What plane is reached, (and how big an opening), is decided by the manifestzone, the type of shard, the value or size of it, what moon is full, What they are doing or what tehir mood is, etc. (Again, you decide). This would make the part enourmously valuabul, (spelling??), to a lot of factions in Eberron. The dreaming dark would love to get them. I am sure both the Emerald Claw and Blood of Vol could make something of a gate to Dolurrh or some other plane. I'm not that good at intrigue and politics on a high level, so do the rest of the math yourself :-) Anyway.. if you use this setup, you would have to make a change or two in your adventure. The first adventure in the town would be something like this: The mayor of the town has a pretty big cache of khybershards set aside in his basement. Maybe it's his own, maybe it's an inheritance, he could have embezzeled it from the town, or he could be safekeeping the towns assets in a form easy to sell on, and easy to manage, (shards.. the new diamond). Anyway.. with the party witin a reasonable distance from the shards, but withput concience, and with large amounts of dead nearby, (old battlefields), a small tear - the size of an eye - to Dolurrh is created in the aforementioned basement, and the souls of the tormented dead sense a way out of this world. They start to amass, trying to get to the tear and salvation, and the town defends itself from the horde. As the party gains conciousness the tear enlargens to a fistsized hole and the horde increases in size and frenzy, feeling the now stronger pull of the plane of the dead. If the party finds the hole, (maybe led there by disturbaces caused by things from the other side, or by spirits that break through the defences), the window will become a window gate and all hell might break loose, as larger "things" now are free to get through - both ways. This way the party might get a - not overtly obvious - hint about their "powers", and you have foreshadowed some of the upcoming conflicts. The "powers" only works under special occult requirements, so you are free to use it when you want to. They will never be able to say: "But we were near shards then and nothing happened!", because the moon might not havebeen full, they might not have had blue boots on, or that guy from the Eldeen Reaches wasn't drunk. Thats the great thing about Eldritch stuff.. the design is so grand that only the dragons get it, and they won't tell ;)
Missekat 12-22-05, 11:41 AM	Heh, thanks :embarrass Guess that fever was good for something then.
Delgar 12-23-05, 12:27 PM	Okay here is the warforged's intro: You awake in a small room lit only by a small fire crackling at the base of the bed you are lying in. You are confused, you have no idea how you got here, where here is or even who you are. You close your eyes and you strain to try to remember anything about your past but nothing comes forth, nothing, absolutely nothing. Confusion begins to set in. You appear to be lying in a small bed and the room seems to contain very little furnishings. Just the bed you are lying in and a small table. You sit up and look at your hands and body and see that they seem to be made of metal and wood. You are warforged, but how is it that you know what you are but nothing of your past. It makes no sense. Examining your body closer you can see that it appears that runes have been inscribed all over your body. A further examination of the runes leaves you more confused than before. Where am I? Who am I? What happened? All these questions begin swirling around your head. Examining the room further you notice that the only decorations seem to be a small mirror by the door and a painting on the far wall. Rising from the bed you move over to examine the painting. It appears to be off a metal train speeding along a raised track; the lightning rail. How is it that you know what it is, but can’t remember who you are? None of this makes any sense. Perhaps seeing yourself in the mirror will help spark some memories? Moving over towards the mirror, you see the metal and wood composite face staring back at you. It appears that there are no runes carved into your face, actually there is nothing carved in your face. This is odd because most warforged have a makers mark carved into their forehead. Again, how do you know that? “Who am I?” you call out, “Who am I?” Just then the door to the room opens and staring at you in shock is a portly woman wearing a stained apron. “Oh my,” she gasps. “Who am I?” you ask.
Delgar 12-23-05, 12:36 PM	Okay here is the elf's intro: You awake in a small room lit only by a small fire crackling at the base of the bed you are lying in. You are confused, you have no idea how you got here, where here is or even who you are. You close your eyes and you strain to try to remember anything about your past but nothing comes forth, nothing, absolutely nothing. Curiosity begins to set in. The bed that you are laying in is not very comfortable and rather small. Come to think of it the entire room seems rather small and drab. You stretch out your arms and yawn and wonder just how long you were sleeping for? Where am I? Who am I? Looking at yourself you seem to be wearing some sort of simple cotton nightshirt. You slowly slink out of bed and stretch out your back and legs. The stone floor is cold on your feet and you feel a draft waft by your legs. You plop back in bed and cover yourself with the blanket as you continue to wonder about your predicament. You close your eyes and try to conjure up an image of the past but nothing seems to come to you. Looking around the room you see that it is sparsely furnished, just the bed and a small table beside the bed. The room’s only decorations appear to be a small painting above the bed and a mirror on the wall near the door. Sitting up and looking at the painting you can see it appears to be of some large ship floating in the air with a ring of fire around it; a lyrander airship. How is it that you know what the ship is but nothing of yourself? None of this seems to make any sense. Perhaps if you were to look into the mirror, an image of your face might spark a memory? Then you remember just how cold the floor is and contemplating just pulling the covers up and relaxing. You quickly get out of bed and move towards the mirror. Staring back at you is a thin face, with emerald green eyes and long flowing blonde hair mostly covering your small pointed ears. Your facial features are small, distinguished and beautiful. Seeing your appearance doesn’t seem to trigger any memories, your past still seems to be a blank slate. You feel another chill as another waft of cold air sneaks under the door. You start to head back towards your bed, when you hear some sort of roar, and a crash and then you hear another female voice and then there appears to be a flurry of footsteps outside.
Delgar 12-23-05, 01:14 PM	Here is the Kalshtar Intro: You awake in a small room lit only by a small fire crackling at the base of the bed you are lying in. You are confused, you have no idea how you got here, where here is or even who you are. You close your eyes and you strain to try to remember anything about your past but nothing comes forth, nothing, absolutely nothing. Fear begins to set in. You close your eyes and begin to focus on calming yourself. Your heart rate begins to slow to a steady beat and you focus all of your energy on trying to remember who you are? Where you are? And how did you get here? Your breathing becomes shallow and slow, your fear is replaced with peace as you try to reach into the deepest recesses of your mind, but you can’t seem to grasp on to anything. More focused now you try to examine your surroundings. Noting that you are lying in a small bed and that beside you is a table with a pitcher of water and a cup. You pour yourself a cup of water and begin to drink while continuing your examination. The room appears to be sparsely decorated, with the only things of note being a painting of some sort above the bed and a mirror above the fireplace. Looking at the painting more closely you can see that it appears to depict a battle between elves and dragons with the caption, “The Extermination”. Perhaps it is a representation of the extermination of one of the great dragonmark houses. How is it that you know these things but know nothing of yourself? Rising from the bed you head over to the fireplace and gaze into the mirror. Staring back at you is an image of a man of regal bearing with dark hair and dark eyes with well defined features. But looking upon your face is like seeing it for the first time. You still have no memory of who you are or where you came from. You begin to feel frustrated. Just then you hear a crash and a roar, from what appears to be the room next to you and then there appears to be a flurry of activity outside. Once again you begin to calm yourself and focus yourself for whatever may happen. The door creaks open revealing a beautiful young female human, wearing a stained apron with a kerchief keeping her hair out of her eyes. A look of shock crosses her face as she stares at you standing by the fireplace. “Where am I? What’s going on? Who am I?” The questions just begin to pour out. A look of confusion crosses her face.
Missekat 12-23-05, 04:25 PM	hmm.. This is not to be taken as a negative critique of your writings, as I really do think highly of them, (like I've previously wrote: I wish I could write like that :D ), but perhaps it could be done more.. in character? Everyone thinks and act differently to the thing they encounter, due to instinct, phobias, etc. that they have amassed. These reactions, and even the words they use when they think.. and - indeed - the way they percieve their own thoughts, will be a constant even if they have amnesia. Example: Lets assume the elf is a sorcerer, (I know that is not the case.. this is just an example), and that he resents the dragons for exterminationg the Mark of Death.. and furthermore is ashamed of the role his own race played in that conflict. Then he would react very strongly to the picture described from the Kalashtars room. So.. to foreshadow these informations, you should put the picture in the room of the elf, and detail the reactions he has when seeing it. Outrage, shame, maybe sorrow? Let us furthermore assume that since he is a sorcerer - and thus approaches magic in a much more intuitive fashion than a diciplined mage or a logical thinking artificer - he wouldn't think a sentance like: "This doesn't make sence!" or "There is no logic to it". Instead he would think "This feels completely wrong!" or "This makes me confused!", concentrating more on his feelings and inner tormoil than on what makes sense or is logical. He would probably also search for familiar feelings, going around the room, touching things that should seem familiar to him, trying to spark some instinctive memory. The shifter on the other hand would probably think in smells, sounds, instinct, and corporal sensations. Sense and react instead of thinking. In that I completely agree with her rage and attack. As to how the warforged in question would react to all this, I have no idea. Warforged are suppossed to be very logic and sqarethinking.. but he is a sorcerer, who lives and fights with the magic his feelings and inner energy conjures. You've got me baffled there :embarrass Hope you can use this bit of thought. If not, then just forget I wrote it :)