Post/Author/DateTime	Post
boytbpc 10-02-05, 04:38 AM	After two and a half years of playing in Forgotten Realms (a realm that I have never enjoyed) my group and I started playing in Eberron. The old DM retired and I took over the reigns of DMing for the first (real) time in my life. I gave my players plenty of time to read the ECS, but lo and behold our first game the Dwarf couldn't mention a single thing about the M'ror Hold, everybody looked confused when I mentioned Cyre and the Mournland as the same place (huh? why does it have two names?) and Morgrave Unversity wasn't even recognized. So, after holding their hands and walking them through Sharn I have decided that maybe Cliffnotes(R) are needed. Now, as I am inherently lazy and always looking for a way to lighten my already burdensome load, is anybody interested in sharing the job? We could divide it by country, religion, Dragonmarks, and etc. The entire file should be less than forty pages or so. Does this sound like a something your interested in? Do you have players like this? Boytbpc
Charles Phipps 10-02-05, 05:13 AM	I gave a weekly "This is what everything is" series of essays. Honestly, players have an idea of things but they need visualization to understand a lot. It took me several reads to 'get it.' However, here's the start of "One Hundred things you need to know about Eberron." 1. Eberron is a ringed world with 12 moons that is roughly the size of the planet Earth. The planet is called Eberron, the Ring is called Siberys, and the Underdark is called Khyber. 2. The origin of Eberron the setting is that the planet supposedly was created in a massive conflict between three God-Dragons that have some similarities to Bahamut, Tiamat, and Chrononespis/Gilean. In the setting, the planet/ring/Underdark are literally the bodies piled on each other. 3. Eberron is a world where the gods are distant and seemingly uncaring largely. The Sovereign Host, the most understood pantheon, may not even exist and magic comes from somewhere else. So long as a character believes strong enough...he'll have magic from his gods no matter what his alignment or faith. 3. Eberron is a world which is highly political and there's severe differences between the Four Major Nations of the continent of Khorvaire. Breland, Aundair, Karrnath, and Thrane just exited three years ago a devastating century long Civil War and the only reason they did is because the Fifth largest nation was totally annihilated in the nation of Cyre. This waste is called the Mournland and its a post-apocalyptic undead vision of Hell. 4. Eberron is a world where monsters used to have a civilized series of cultures before humans came and wiped them out largely. Goblins and Orcs were once two relatively civilized races and still are capable of great good as well as evil. The majority of surviving monsters live in the nation of Droam in an anarchic tribal society ruled over by three hags while the Goblins have reformed their nation in the nation of Darguun. Darguun was claimed by the Goblins when mercenary armies of them betrayed the nation of Breland and stole it's Southern half. 5. Dragons in the world of Eberron are civilized but enigmatic and serve a function more akin to Chosen or the gods normally would. Focused on a Prophecy that apparently will tell you everything that ever will and has happened in history, the Dragons rarely intervene and when they do...often do to solely study a situation's prophectic importance. They rule the continent of Argonessan and wield unimaginable magical might. They have fought a devastating war with the Elves of Aerenal in the past and destroyed the civilization of the Giants of Xen'drick. 6. The Dwarves of Eberron are a race of bankers and more exceptionally greedy than they are in other lands. Coming from the M'ror Holds, they were conquered by the human beings (in the nation of Galifar- see 10) and held as part of their Empire for centuries before gaining their independence. Many dwarves settled in other lands and have no loyalty to the M'ror holds though now but identify themselves with a human nation's cause/traits. 7. Elves are almost totally different in Eberron. The Valenar are a race of ancestor worshipping warriors that are umatched horsemen and swordsmen out to achieve glory on the field of battle. Like the Goblins, they were employed as mercenaries during the Last War and betrayed their employers. In this case, they stole the Eastern half of the Nation of Cyre and made it the Nation of Valenar. It is mostly still populated by humans who serve as the elves servants. The Nation of Aerenal is the other nation of Elves and they worship a race of Mummy (called "Deathless" in Eberron) Elves that rule them while hunting non-mummy undead. These mummies include many epic magicians. Like Dwarves, some elves have gone native in human lands. 8. Halflings are largely a race of savage dinosaur wearing warriors that inhabit the Talenta Planes. Some Halflings have become civilized and run two "Dragonmark houses" (see 9) of Inns and Healing. Others have settled in Breland to become gangsters in the city of Sharn (see 11) 9. Dragonmark houses are essentially 12 massive country-spanning guilds that are blessed with magical marks that give each member a single magical effect that can be small or great depending on it's size. These include the ability to heal, control elementals, and the like. These guilds largely provide most of the economic power in Eberron. 10. Galifar is an ancient civilization in Eberron that once ruled all of Khovaire. It's much like Ancient Rome in it's civilization but was composed of five united nations under a single Emperor. When the last Emperor died, the Kingdoms fell to infighting and only stopped because one kingdom was destroyed. 11. Sharn is the largest city in Eberron and is in the city of Breland. Essentially, it's a city of unimaginably tall towers and diverse populations with the center of most intrigue on Eberron. It's sort of the equivalent of Waterdeep or Palanthas.
Rake 10-02-05, 05:56 AM	Actually, there already is "things everyone should know about Eberron" list, and a sort of Cliff's Notes, in the introduction to the ECS. Opening a campaign, I'd go over with my players: the Last War (and the destruction of Cyre), blurry alignment, low-magic and quasi-godlessness, the new race and class options, and the concept of 'dragonmarked houses', and then just provide region-specific common knowledge as necessary as your players tell you about the races and classes they're thinking of playing. Also, you might point out new feats and PrCs that sound like they might be appropriate. Giving your players a week to familiarize themselves with the ECS is a more daunting task than you realize. D&D isn't the type of game you can play 'straight out of the box', like Monopoly, but it shouldn't require homework assignments. I'd simply encourage your players to skim the Talenta Plains entry if he likes the idea of a dino-riding halfling... read the racial fluff regarding Kalashtar if he's into playing one... check out the House Sivis entry if he's thinking 'scholarly gnomish mage'... and so on. As a DM, I kinda feel that it's the DM's job to provide the players with 'common knowledge' before any PC makes any choices that said knowledge might've influcenced, and to make sure the players are 'feeling' the setting. When you introduce the Mournlands to the campaign, for example, you might do so this way: "The mission will take you to Metrol, a city within the ruins that are the Mournlands. Once the great nation of Cyre, this kingdom was subject to a mysterious magical atrophy at the close of the Last War." Not so hard. All that said, though, I do think you're on to something. A set of honest-to-god Cliff's Notes on Eberron would be a teriffic resource. If, by the time I have... time, nobody has tackled it, I might take a whack at it. Perhaps a primer on new game elements first (races, artificers, dragonshards, dragonmarks, bound elementals, etc), followed by regional PC info. On the other hand, the Player's Guide to Eberron will be along shortly, and it is supposed to include spoiler-free regional info (so that your players can have all the info without stumbling across Kaius' 'big secret').
PsionicMonk 10-02-05, 06:04 AM	first i got to say, great job on al of that, makes me feel bad I only have only thing to add. :weep: 12. Warforged, are not robotmen, or andriods. They are senitient constructs. Also no one really knows why they are senitient, there are different rumors about why they are so.
Majorafire77 10-02-05, 08:29 AM	This is something I had made for my group: What is Eberron? Eberron is a campaign setting made by Wizards of the Coast. While still Dungeons and Dragons, Eberron adds (and subtracts) some aspects of the game to give itself it's own unique flavor. Two sources to help players get used to Eberron can be found here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eb/whatiseberron) and here (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=254109). The first one is on Wizards of the Coast's website with a brief look at what Eberron is all about. The second link goes to JohnnyONeal's "FAQ for Eberron Newbies", found on Wizards of the Coast's message boards. Key Features of Eberron History An Eberron campaign usually starts of in the year 998 YK, or 998 years after the kingdom of Galifar was created. This is a few years after the ending of the Last War, a conflict that lasted 102 years between the 5 nations of Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane, which had previously formed the kingdom of Galifar. When the King Jarot died, however, each of his heirs fought for who should control the crown in their opinion, and the world plunged downhill from there. The only thing that could stop the madness was something epic, the destruction of Cyre and the creation of what is now known as the Mournland. What destroyed Cyre is unknown, but it seems to have been a massive blast of magical energy, apparant due to how the land has mutated since the event. Creatures dubbed as "living spells" move around the land, acting on instinct and using their spell abilities against intruders. A gray shroud surrounds the former nation of Cyre and a mysterious purple light flows from a rift in the northern sections. Those and many other things keep travelers away. Currently the nations have a delicate peace that could be easily destroyed, sending the continent of Khorvaire (where the nations were located) into another conflict. Even now the countries still build up their forces for the inevitable next war, and there are many forces that are quite willing to see a new war happen quite soon. New Races There are four player character races that had been presented in the Eberron Campaign Setting, though they have recently been made core due to the Monster Manual 3 and the book Races of Eberron (despite the name, it is a core rulebook). The four races are the changelings, kalashtar, shifters, and warforged. Changelings are the descendants of humans and doppelgangers, with a limited ability to change what they look like. Kalashtar are the result of the bonding of a creature called a Quori to certain individuals years ago, and have changed into a true-breeding race over time, with two souls in one body. Shifters are the descendants of lycanthropes, with the abilty to "shift" and manifest their limited lycanthropic traits that had been passed down from generation to generation and diluted over time. Finally, warforged were created during the Last War by House Cannith to serve as troops for the countries that bought them. Now, due to their freedom following the Last War due to the Treaty of Thronehold, they are trying to find their way in a world that doesn't seem like it should need them. Each of these races has a lot of roleplaying potential, and each is useful in its own way. Dragonmarks and Dragonmarked Houses There are currently 12 known dragonmarks, kind of like birthmarks that have magical abilities associated with them (and may appear later in life). Each "belongs" to a different family. For example, the Mark of Scribing will never manifest itself on a creature that is not a gnome of House Sivis. The only dragonmark that may manifest itself on members of two different races is the Mark of Finding, which may appear on humans or half-orcs. Changelings, though they may be the child of a dragonmarked person (when a changeling has a child with someone else, there is a 50% chance that that child will be a changeling) will never get a dragonmark. Each dragonmark has specific abilities, and each has three different phases: least, lesser, and greater. Dragonmarked houses are run by the families whose members manifest the mark. Dragonmarks always run in a particular family (though occassionally a member of that family won't manifest the mark), but as stated before, only appear on members of one race (or two in the case of the Mark of Finding). The dragonmarked houses all control at least one aspect of Khorvaire's economy. House Sivis, for example, has enclaves that work as the post offices of Khorvaire, while House Lyrandar controls airships as well as providing assistance to farmers across Khorvaire (with their weather-controlling spell-like abilities granted by their mark). Each dragonmarked house has a leader based in a city in Khorvaire, is not allied with any of the nations of the continent, and is well-respected across Khorvaire. Manifest Zones and Planar Connections The planes in Eberron are different than the planes in standard Dungeons and Dragons, but what is the biggest change between Eberron and other Dungeons and Dragons games when it comes to planes is how they interact with the Material Plane. The way the planes orbit around the Material Plane and the manifest zones that are on the Material Plane are both interesting elements incorporated into the Eberron game. Somewhat like the geocentric model of the solar system (which we now know isn't true), the planes in the setting of Eberron orbit around the Material Plane, moving throughout the Astral Plane. There are 3 phases: coterminous, waxing/waning, and remote. When close (coterminous) to the Material Plane, the Material Plane takes on some traits of that particular plane until the plane ceases to be coterminous with it. For example, when the fiery plane of Fernia is coterminous to the Material Plane, places with usually high temperatures go up in temperature, and it is possible to take more damage from breathing hot air than normal (there are other things in addition to that when it is coterminous, and that is just one example). While waxing/waning the plane acts with the Material Plane just like it would in a normal setting. Finally, when remote, usually the opposite effects of those when it's coterminous occur. Places of high heat get cooler when Fernia is remote, for example. Manifest zones are places on the Material Plane where the barrier is particularly weak between two planes at all times. Within the nation called Breland, for example, a manifest zone connected to the plane of Syrania (kind of like the elemental plane of air) exists. Thanks to the power of the manifest zone, the tower-filled city of Sharn could be built, including the parts of the city that aren't actually on the ground at all, but are instead floating up in the sky, unsupported except for the magical powers that radiate from manifest zone. Clerics, Alignment, and Deities In Eberron, clerics of any god can be of any alignment and still function just as well as any other cleric of that god. Using a "core" deity as an example (as opposed to the ones worshipped in Eberron), a cleric of Pelor could be CE and still get access to all of the spells that a NG cleric would get. In addition, clerics of any alignment can cast any spell on the cleric's spell list (so a good cleric could cast a spell with the evil descriptor, and vice versa). This brings up the question of whether the deities actually exist or not. If they do exist, then why would they grant spells to those who don't do their will but are members of their church anyway? If they don't exist, then where's the divine power coming from in the first place? All of these are questions to consider when making a cleric in the Eberron setting, especially for a church that is known to have many corrupt members within the ranks. NPCs and Action Points Eberron uses action points (presented in Unearthed Arcana and the Eberron Campaign Setting itself). The PCs in Eberron are meant to be heroes of the setting, doing things that NPCs could never do. As a result only a few NPCs have action points in the entire setting. In addition, even the more influential NPCs rarely have many class levels, and fewer still have any PC class levels at all. In addition to providing some realism to Dungeons and Dragons (in Forgotten Realms, another campaign setting, the high priest of a religion might be a level 20 cleric, but in our world, the pope is probably an expert 2/cleric 3), this eliminates the safety net established by so many other settings. There's noone to help the PCs when they're hurting, unlike, say, FR where Elminster could pop in, heal your guys, defeat the BBEG, and pop out in 30 seconds or less. The PCs, as stated before, are the heroes of the setting. It might be helpful (assuming it's correct).
Dhakaani Heir 10-02-05, 08:44 AM	13. Gnomes in DnD have always had a knack for illusions and a reputation as eccentric and basically harmless. In Eberron this reputation is an illusion too. Gnomes have a paranoid streak a mile wide. The carefully cultivated image is a defense mechanism and also lulls people in to trusting them. Only letting those they trust catch glimpses of their true nature. Gnomes love knowledge, but more than that they understand that they understand the value of knowledge as a weapon. In Eberron Gnomes are Librarians, scholars, teachers, scribes, accountants, barristers and wield a supprissing amount of subtle influence on Khovaire Their Dragonmark is the mark of scribing 14. Shifters are a race connected to lycanthropes. The most widely accepted version of events is that shifters arose from the mixing of Were-creature blood. The Shifters themselves have an older story claiming that were-creatures are Shifters tainted by the Dark moon. Regardless of their origin they have the limited ability to take on the characteristics of were-creatues. They are animalistic (some would say feral) personality, normally not fitting well into "civilised" society, this and the rumors of lycanthropic means Shifters are often met with suspicion As a people they mostly live quiet tribal lives in the wilderness especially the Eldeen Reaches. Still they can be foundin small numbers throughout Khovaire 15. Changelings arose long ago from the mixing of Doppleganger and humans. They have the limited ability to change their shape (this amounts to a +10 to disguise checks, however this is an actual physical change). They also have a natural talent for decption. As a result they are the least trusted of any race. Often they are forced to take the form of another race to avoid harrassment and those who are openly Changelings find it hard to find work that is not intrigue related - most however take pleasure from this line of work as thats where they feel most comfortably
Ineti 10-02-05, 08:47 AM	You might also want to direct them toward Keith Baker's Dragonshards. Lots of good information there. I'm going to be running my first Eberron game soon, and I don't know how many of my players plan to review the book or the setting beforehand. Whether they do or not, I'll be striving to show as much of the setting as I can within the game sessions, rather than handing them pages of material to read beforehand. If they ask specific questions during the sessions, I can simply have them make Knowledge or INT checks and feed them the info they need. Gradually, they'll learn the setting.
Majorafire77 10-02-05, 08:55 AM	Right. A history lesson is never a good way to kick off a campaign, so give them a small amount of information to read and maybe print out a chart saying some general information such as what the names of the dragonmarked houses are, what race gets that particular dragonmark, the names of the moons, etc... Otherwise I like that idea of using knowledge checks, such as making a low-DC knowledge (the planes) check to figure out if the character knows the names of the planes.
WayneTheGame 10-02-05, 12:41 PM	My two cents (for what they're worth.. probably not much :)): Make sure your players understand that Eberron is't like a "normal" D&D world and don't try to apply the standard D&D mindset in your game; I made this mistake with my group (even AFTER giving them a nice overview of Eberron; see my thread "My first foray into Eberron...") and it nearly ruined things.
Charles Phipps 10-02-05, 06:44 PM	16. Breland is a cosmopolitan, America-England like melting pot with a Parliament as well as King. It's ruled by the heroic and bearish King Boranal whom is a military hero of the last war. 17. Aundair is a French-like pastoral autocracy that's ruled by Queen Aurala and her two chief advisors in her brother and supreme general. Queen Aurala is beneficent and kind but deeply wishes to reignite the last war to reunite the realms. 18. Thrane is a theocracy controlled by the pseudo-Catholic Church of the Silver Flame. The current Pontiff (and it is a Pontiff) is the Keeper of Flame Jaela. She's only 12 years old but has been invested with enormous powers by the Flame. 19. Karrnath is the pseudo-German/Russia militaristic state of King Kaius. King Kaius is an effective and brilliant ruler whom seeks to protect the peace of Khovaire at all costs...he's also a brutal dictator that happens to be a vampire in secret. 20. There is a city in Breland called New Cyre where the survivors of the Mournland disaster have moved. Lead by the sole remaining member of the Royal family in prince oargev, they struggle to retake their homeland from the undead.
zambuka 10-03-05, 08:26 PM	After two and a half years of playing in Forgotten Realms (a realm that I have never enjoyed) my group and I started playing in Eberron. The old DM retired and I took over the reigns of DMing for the first (real) time in my life. I gave my players plenty of time to read the ECS, but lo and behold our first game the Dwarf couldn't mention a single thing about the M'ror Hold, everybody looked confused when I mentioned Cyre and the Mournland as the same place (huh? why does it have two names?) and Morgrave Unversity wasn't even recognized. I honestly don't see what the issue here is. The dwarf can quite happily know nothing about the Mror holds, depending on where he is from. A Sharn Dwarf, born and raised in Sharn, will have more knowledge in common with a goblin raised in Sharn than a Dwarf from the Mror holds. The mournland and Cyre issue is something that can be explained to your players very easily. "When the nation of Crye was destroyed it became the mournlands" If they don't get this then you have issues that some Cliff's notes won't fix. So, after holding their hands and walking them through Sharn I have decided that maybe Cliffnotes(R) are needed. Now, as I am inherently lazy and always looking for a way to lighten my already burdensome load, is anybody interested in sharing the job? We could divide it by country, religion, Dragonmarks, and etc. The entire file should be less than forty pages or so. Does this sound like a something your interested in? Do you have players like this? Boytbpc My suggestion is to not worry about it. This is a new setting and your players are treating it as such. As the DM it is up to you to make them a part of the setting and feed them the knowledge they need as they need it, that is after all what knowledge skills are for. On another note you can consider yourself lucky, you don't have players that are going to pause the game with "but page blah of source book foo says something else" type arguments whenever you get something wrong. In other words you have a wonderful opportunity to make Eberron truly your own.
Charles Phipps 10-03-05, 09:05 PM	21. The Church of the Silver Flame worships a gigantic flame at Flamekeep in Thrane that they believe to be the incarnation of all good. The Church is identifiably Catholic in manner and ritual and strongly believing in lawful good. 22. The Church of the Silver Flame believes Lycanthropy to be evil and lead a crusade that eliminated the vast majority of Lycanthropes from the Eberron. Most survivors remain in hiding. 23. The Blood of Vol believes undeath to be holy and the Sovereign Host to be evil. They are not an 'evil' religion by nature as the majority of it's followers are nonevil but deluded. It is a significant, but not the main, religion in Karrnath but illegal practically everywhere else due to it's belief of undeath as a sacred state. 24. Humans immigrated from the neighboring continent of Sarlona and are many races. They were led by a man named Lhazaar. Lhazaar settled in an island archpeligo called the Lhazaar Principalties.
Kinger 10-03-05, 10:23 PM	16. Breland is a cosmopolitan, America-England like melting pot with a Parliament as well as King. It's ruled by the heroic and bearish King Boranal whom is a military hero of the last war. 17. Aundair is a French-like pastoral autocracy that's ruled by Queen Aurala and her two chief advisors in her brother and supreme general. Queen Aurala is beneficent and kind but deeply wishes to reignite the last war to reunite the realms. 18. Thrane is a theocracy controlled by the pseudo-Catholic Church of the Silver Flame. The current Pontiff (and it is a Pontiff) is the Keeper of Flame Jaela. She's only 12 years old but has been invested with enormous powers by the Flame. 19. Karrnath is the pseudo-German/Russia militaristic state of King Kaius. King Kaius is an effective and brilliant ruler whom seeks to protect the peace of Khovaire at all costs...he's also a brutal dictator that happens to be a vampire in secret. 20. There is a city in Breland called New Cyre where the survivors of the Mournland disaster have moved. Lead by the sole remaining member of the Royal family in prince oargev, they struggle to retake their homeland from the undead. Just to point out, you should feel in no way obligated to use the various analogies made above, as they are just one person's likenings. One great thing about the Eberron setting is that everyone can draw different comparisons to real-world cultures without much problem. Granted, I agree with some of those made by Charles above (I won't say which), but I encourage you regardless to make your OWN allusions, rather than relying on anybody else, as those interpretations will then be second-hand, rather than based directly on the source material. The ECS is quite good (in my opinion) at giving you enough information to make your own (varied) interpretations, but never goes so far as to say "This is Indo-China and Japan. They have Samurai, Ninja, and Elephant-Headed Spirits. Insert OA here." What was I getting at? I would refrain from using Charles's (or anyone else's for that matter) above comparisons unless you yourself get the same impression from your own reading. I haven't read Five Nations (where it might actually be spelled out) so I could be wrong about the whole thing, but I don't know if you have either. Remember, it's your campaign, and I'm confident the ECS doesn't make any really direct real-world-nation comparisons. There's nothing stopping you from saying "Thrane is rather like pharaonic Egypt, with the Speaker being both political and religious leader (and a child), the advisors being the true powers, and a rigidly defined class system exists beneath it all," despite the fact they don't have pyramids or mummies (or DO they?). And before anyone pipes up with "But ancient Egypt had tons of gods, and Thrane has the one Flame," there was a period of Egyptian history where the ruling dynasty enforced monotheism focused around the Sun. So there. Besides, I never said it was a perfect comparison. That's the point. :)
Charles Phipps 10-03-05, 10:26 PM	I do have to ask though whether or not you can come up with any better analogies that will distill the "essence" of a particular country down into a specific paragraph. At heart, I don't think you should give that sort of post unless you offer an alternative explantion of equal but clearer point.
Kinger 10-03-05, 10:43 PM	Giving analogies of my own actually goes against the point of my post in the first place. :) You have seen various comparisons to real-world nations, some of which I share and some of which I don't. For example, I don't get much of a Russian vibe from Karrnath at all, aside from the weather. Certainly not in the military side of things. The Red Army was so intimidating not because of their skill at arms, but because I think every male in the USSR between the ages of 15 and 45 was part of it, and could be called on at any point. Karrnath on the other hand is renowned for its military academies and the skill of its warriors. So things are far from perfect with the analogy, to me, and I believe that was the intention. You can't really point to Breland and say "This is America, with a King." Rather, you can say "This is Breland, and I see it as mixing various traits from X, Y, and Z". Unless boytbpc himself (and apologies if you're not a him) makes identical analogies, I think he should make his own. Having said that, however, I agree with all your descriptions aside from the country references. For example: 16. Breland is a cosmopolitan, America-England like melting pot with a Parliament as well as King. It's ruled by the heroic and bearish King Boranal whom is a military hero of the last war. Absolutely. Same goes for the rest.
makeshiftwings 10-03-05, 11:13 PM	Yeah, I don't think any of the nations in Eberron really fit that well with anything in the real world. They all seem mostly British/American to me. A lot of people seem to think Karrnath is Germany because it's militaristic, but there's a whole lot more to Germany than just being militaristic. I mean, the defining movie trait of stereotypical Germany is that is was full of nazis, and none of Karrnath's policies, religions, or war efforts seem remotely nazi to me. I don't quite see why Aundair would be French either... I guess the word "Aundair" sounds nice when pronounced with a French accent, but nothing else in the description particularly sounds French to me.
boytbpc 10-04-05, 12:52 AM	I honestly don't see what the issue here is. The dwarf can quite happily know nothing about the Mror holds, depending on where he is from. A Sharn Dwarf, born and raised in Sharn, will have more knowledge in common with a goblin raised in Sharn than a Dwarf from the Mror holds. I failed to mention that the dwarf is from Mror holds. The character who didn't know anything about Morgrave University is from Sharn, etc. I feel that this is a problem. The reason that I complained about these things is because I spend a large portion of my free time making a game and a world has fun and realistic as possible. It also comes down to the fact that my players and I have a difficult enough time with the "suspense of disbelief", so by creating a textured, three-dimensional world with references to places and events outside of the PCs direct realm, I create an environment conducive to role-playing. Unfortunately though, one person who doesn't know the relevance of an important place or event can burst the bubble. Now, back to the original purpose of the topic (I do appreciate the "100 things ... thread) does anybody want to actually sit down in front of their computer with the ECS, SCoT, 5 Nations, R.o.E. and start making a condensed cliffnotes? If we get five people then no one has to do that much work. One person could easily do the Dragon Marked houses and how they work, three people could handle the countries, and the fifth could take the odds and ends. I don't have my books in front of me or I would make a tentative list of responsibilities. Again, if anyone is interested let me know. Boytbpc
GuruChaz 10-04-05, 01:01 AM	After two and a half years of playing in Forgotten Realms (a realm that I have never enjoyed) my group and I started playing in Eberron. The old DM retired and I took over the reigns of DMing for the first (real) time in my life. I gave my players plenty of time to read the ECS, but lo and behold our first game the Dwarf couldn't mention a single thing about the M'ror Hold, everybody looked confused when I mentioned Cyre and the Mournland as the same place (huh? why does it have two names?) and Morgrave Unversity wasn't even recognized. So, after holding their hands and walking them through Sharn I have decided that maybe Cliffnotes(R) are needed. Now, as I am inherently lazy and always looking for a way to lighten my already burdensome load, is anybody interested in sharing the job? We could divide it by country, religion, Dragonmarks, and etc. The entire file should be less than forty pages or so. Does this sound like a something your interested in? Do you have players like this? Boytbpc Not everyone is going to have time to learn the history of the game world like they're cramming for a college history test. I think a lot of D&D books need Cliffnotes, especially the core books.
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 01:03 AM	Well if I can try I'll do this.... Everyone take a number of this... ************************ EBERRON Cliffnotes The Planet itself Races of Eberron Gnomes Shifters Dwarves Elves Changelings Humans Kalashatar Warforged Halflings Goblinoids Monsters The Nations of Eberron Aerenal Valenar Mror Holds Breland Aundair Thrane Karrnath Cyre (Mournlands) The Eldeen Reaches Q'Barra Darguun Droam The Shadow Marches The Talenta Planes The Demon Wastes Zilargo Riedra Lhazaar Principalities Xen'drick Argonessan Khyber The History of Eberron The Age of Dragons The Age of Giants The Age of Goblins Galifar The Last War Present The Dragonmark Houses More or less them all, one by one The Religions of Eberron The Role of Gods in Eberron The Silver Flame The Undying Court The Path of Light The Sovereign Host The Dark Six The Blood of Vol The Gatekeepers and other Druid Faiths Magic and Other Dimensions in Eberron The 12 Planes The Role of Magic in Eberron Miscellanious Facts The Quori Erandis D'Vol The Mark of Death The Mystery of the Mourning The Rakashasas The Rajahs The Daelkyr The Dragons
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 01:16 AM	OOC: Thank you Dhakaani Heir... Eberron the World Eberron is a ringed world (like Saturn though Earth sized) with 12 moons that is roughly the size of the planet Earth. The planet is called Eberron, the Ring is called Siberys, and the Underdark is called Khyber. The origin of Eberron the setting is that the planet supposedly was created in a massive conflict between three God-Dragons called the Progenitor Wyrms. In the setting, the planet/ring/Underdark are literally the bodies piled on each other. The planet has five continents with Frostfell, Argonessan, Khovaire (the settings home), Xen'drick, and Sarlona. Each of the continents has it's own unique traits though Sarlona and Argonessan are largely unapproachable due to the hostility of their inhabitants and Frostfell is an arctic wasteland. Gnomes in Eberron Gnomes in DnD have always had a knack for illusions and a reputation as eccentric and basically harmless. In Eberron this reputation is an illusion too. Gnomes have a paranoid streak a mile wide. The carefully cultivated image is a defense mechanism and also lulls people in to trusting them. Only letting those they trust catch glimpses of their true nature. Gnomes love knowledge, but more than that they understand that they understand the value of knowledge as a weapon. In Eberron Gnomes are Librarians, scholars, teachers, scribes, accountants, barristers and wield a supprissing amount of subtle influence on Khovaire Their Dragonmark is the Mark of Scribing, which is magical beneficial to them. Gnomes live in the nation of Zilargo and are the produces of Airships there. The Gnomes protect the peace of their country with a strong relationship with the nation of Breland and a powerful Alliance with the Dragonmark House of Lyrander, creating airships for them. Gnomes are widely believed to be a Machiavellian and political race by those whom overcompensate for their intiail shock when they discover a gnome's true nature. Shifters in Eberron Shifters are a race connected to lycanthropes. The most widely accepted version of events is that shifters arose from the mixing of Were-creature blood. The Shifters themselves have an older story claiming that were-creatures are Shifters tainted by the Dark moon. Regardless of their origin they have the limited ability to take on the characteristics of were-creatues. They are animalistic (some would say feral) personality, normally not fitting well into "civilised" society, this and the rumors of lycanthropic means Shifters are often met with suspicion As a people they mostly live quiet tribal lives in the wilderness especially the Eldeen Reaches. Still they can be foundin small numbers throughout Khovaire. Shifters were initially hunted by the Church of the Silver Flame due to their ties with Lycanthropes and only later ceased their genocide against them. For this, many shifters hold the Church with everlasting hatred while others helped them hunt lycanthropes. Most people are uncomfortable with the humanlike race that nevertheless has many signs of animal heritage. Changelings in Eberron Changelings arose long ago from the mixing of Doppleganger and humans. They have the limited ability to change their shape (this amounts to a +10 to disguise checks, however this is an actual physical change). They also have a natural talent for decption. As a result they are the least trusted of any race. Often they are forced to take the form of another race to avoid harrassment and those who are openly Changelings find it hard to find work that is not intrigue related - most however take pleasure from this line of work as thats where they feel most comfortably. Changelings are able to shift sexes and breed children even though they are born with a sex. This ability has drastic consequences on changeling sexuality and many people are also uncomfortable with the race. In Sharn, changelings of both sexes take up the prostitution trade. A group called the Cabinet of Faces uses their ability to manipulate society in Eberron.
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 01:27 AM	Dwarves in Eberron The Dwarves of Eberron are a race of bankers and more exceptionally greedy than they are in other lands. Coming from the M'ror Holds, they were conquered by the human beings (in the nation of Galifar- see 10) and held as part of their Empire for centuries before gaining their independence. Many dwarves settled in other lands and have no loyalty to the M'ror holds though now but identify themselves with a human nation's cause/traits. Dwarves in Eberron show no particular affinity for stone (other than gemstones) or metal or hard labor that other dwarves do in other settings. They nevertheless maintain their natural toughness and longeviety. Furthermore, their racial pride and clannish nature is actually even stronger in Eberron than it is in other worlds. It has only been a short time since the Dwarven clans were united and tensions still run deep. Dwarves possess the Mark of Warding in House Kundarak (banking clan) Elves in Eberron Elves are almost totally different in Eberron. The Valenar are a race of ancestor worshipping warriors that are umatched horsemen and swordsmen out to achieve glory on the field of battle. Like the Goblins, they were employed as mercenaries during the Last War and betrayed their employers. In this case, they stole the Eastern half of the Nation of Cyre and made it the Nation of Valenar. It is mostly still populated by humans who serve as the elves servants. Valenar do not sell their warhorses to outsiders on pain of death. The Nation of Aerenal is the other nation of Elves and they worship a race of Mummy like undead (called "Deathless" in Eberron) Elves that rule them while hunting non-mummy undead. These Deathless include many epic magicians. They gain power from the Positive Material Plane rather than the Negative Material plane. Aerenal culture is built around the propagation of these spirits and they are the homeland of almost all elves. Drow in Eberron exist but do not worship Lolth but instead live topside in the nation of Xen'drick where they are the largest inhabitants of the savage continent. Whereas the Aerenal fled the slavery of the Ancient Giants to their island home, the Drow stayed in the land they were born in. They are tribal and feral with a fierce hatred of outsiders mixed with a worship of a scorpion god that demands human sacrifices. Like Dwarves, some elves have gone native in human lands. Humans in Eberron Humans in Eberron are from the continent of Sarlona originally but immigrated to Khovaire and are typical of D&D largely. Unlike in other racially homogenious cultures, humans in Eberron are a mixture of stock that encompasses every racial appearence on Earth largely and they blend together in Eberron. Due to the nature of the politics of Eberron though, human society is not racially divided in Khovaire and can only be told apart by cultural traits of which the humans of the Five Nations and beyond cling to fanatically. Humans tend to identify themselves by their nation first above any other factor in Eberron.
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 01:38 AM	Kalashatar in Eberron A race of willowy, elf like appearing beings, the Kalashatar are the result of an alien race form the world of Dreams known as the Quori bonding with human beings escaping persecution from their homeland. They are also immigrants from Sarlona but much more recent ones. They hail from the refuge country of Adar and have not yet established a significant presence in Eberron in their few centuries here. The Kalashatar are a psionic race that gains their power from the mixture of their human souls with their Quori host spirits. The Kalashatar are almost all Lawful Good and follow a religion called the Path of Light that preaches the transformation of the world through the ending of the present Age. The Kalashatar are clannish and a bit paranoid due to the relentless persecution they suffer from the mainline Quori whom dominate the nation of Riedra as gods and whom have established diplomatic contact with Khovaire. The Quori can furthermore possess people in the world and they can never truly trust non-Kalashatar completely for this reason. Warforged in Eberron Warforged are a race of constructs made from metal, wood, and some interior parts that are enchanted to come alive. They were created by House Cannith (and at present have no way of reproducing themselves save with House Canniths' forges that have almost been entirely destroyed and publically have been entirely) and some suggest were created originally by the Giants of Xen'drick but no warforged of that time has surfaced. Used as shocktroopers by all nations during the Last War, they achieved their freedom in the Treaty of Thronehold when King Boranal especially labored for their liberation. Now immortal and having known no life but battle, the warforged struggle to adjust in their new existences as free beings. The warforged have only a single leader having emerged amongst them in the Lord of Blades. The Lord of Blades teaches that the warforged are superior to flesh based races and should rise up and conquer them. The Lord of Blades runs this insane crusade from the Mournland, a place the warforged are the only ones able to survive indefinitely in. Halflings in Eberron Halflings are largely a race of savage dinosaur wearing warriors that inhabit the Talenta Planes. They teach a warrior and hunter culture that is built around the principles of taming their great beasts as mounts. The halflings are in no way "cute" or friendly in Eberron and are indeed, rather hostile in many respects to outsiders until they have proven themselves. Some Halflings have become civilized and run two "Dragonmark houses" (see 9) of House Ghallandra who possess the Mark of Hospitality and House Jorasco who posses the mark of healing. Others have settled in Breland to become gangsters in the city of Sharn in House Boranal. Strong ties still exist with their savage cousins though.
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 01:45 AM	Goblinoids Goblins and Orcs were once two relatively civilized races and still are capable of great good as well as evil. Goblins once ruled the mighty nation of Dhakaani and had a civilization rivalling present day Khovaire. The civilization was unfortunately eradicated by the emergence of the Daelkyr (flesh twisting demons from the dimension of Xoriat). The survivors scattered across Khovaire and now serve as a slave cast in many parts of Eberron where they live in filth and are abused or ignored as pests by the human overclass. This does not include hobgolins though. The exception to goblin pain is the nation of Darguun where hobgoblin mercenaries seized power and now rule a land that's meant to revive the glories of ancient Dhakaani. It is a clannish, tribal, and nearly anarchic collection of various goblinoids seeking a homeland though and barely held together by King Haruuc whom has no heir. Orcs are a race that has a history of magic and power in Eberron. The first race of druids, the orcs used their magic to defeat the Daelkyr in Ancient Dhakaani and still pass along their secrets in the Eldeen Reaches. The believers in the ways of natural cycles, the "Gatekeeper" religion is their greatest contribution to the world. Half-orcs form House Tharashk and are miners, inquisitors, and bounty hunters with the Mark of Finding. Monsters Monsters in Eberron are primarily races that were driven by human expansion into the nation of Droam from the Ogres, Giants, and Medusa to various things like Trolls or gorgons. The nation of Droam is even more anarchic than Dargunn but has recently come under the control of the "Daughters of Sora Kell", hags whom wish to be recognized as a united nation more than anything else. Aside from them are abberations that are the result of the Demon Wars or Daelkyr's twisting. These creatures are in no way related to 'other' monster races but the sad perversions of fleshy races for their dark masters. Illithids, beholders, aboleths, and the like fall under this.
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 01:55 AM	Aerenal An island nation off the coast of Khovaire, the nation of Aerenal is the homeland of the elves after the race fled the slavery of the giants of Xen'drick. The nation has fought a centuries long conflict with the Dragons of Argonessan (whom they learned many things from) but made peace with them after they hunted down and butchered the Elves who possessed the Mark of Death. The only survivor of this House was the "abomination" to both races in the half-dragon Erandis D'Vol, who became a lich as a result of this. Aerenal trades Soarwood, necessary for airships, to Khovaire under regimented conditions and largely is left to its own devices by the majority of individuals in the 12 nations. Aerenal is ruled by the Ascendent Councillors whom are effectively the Deathless Elves whom were allowed to be transformed into undead to carry on their wisdom forever. Aerenal has a rising problem with elves whom wish to become deathless early and seek the forbidden paths of negative material energy undeath. Valenar The other nation of elves is a collection of warriors whom largely rule over their kingdom of conquered humans with a light fist. The Valenar have a distaste for half-elves due to their reverence for lineage but many elves have moved here and half-elves in hopes of solidifying a half-elf nation. There is a substantial human population in Valenar that is made up of former citizens of the nation of Cyre. The humans are mostly farmers and did not particularly consider themselves citizens of Cyre, so they have not much complaint with the Valenar whom deal fairly and protect them from the wrath of Karrnath above them. Many of them would prefer to have their own nation though and resent they are forbidden from leaving. Valenar elves routinely raid across the border into Karrnath and run a thriving horse trade, though not warhorses.
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 02:27 AM	Mror Holds The homeland of the Dwarves, the Mror Holds are the home of the feuding clans of the violently antagionistic race. Ironically, the endless combat of the race was stopped by Galifar when the nation conquered the dwarves and made them subjects of Galifar's subject nation of Karrnath. The dwarves existed under the reign of Galifar and it's subject state of Karrnath for close to a thousand years (not very long in dwarf years). The Mror Holds revolted during the Last War and declared their independence, wielding their considerable economic clout to gain their independence. The Mror Holds border Karrnath rather peacefully now as they work to largely try and keep the land from exploding into civil war again. Breland Breland is the most prosperous of the Four surviving nations of Galifar. The Brelish are a cosmopolitian group of individuals that incorporate many of the other races into their population and the shining jewel of their country is the city of Sharn that remains the largest city in Eberron. The Brelish still follow the code of Galifar that bans the undead from rights but otherwise guarantees equal treatment for all. King Boranal is also believed to the fairest and most just of the Four Kings. Sharn is the largest city in Eberron and is in the heart of Breland. Essentially, it's a city of unimaginably tall towers and diverse populations with the center of most intrigue on Eberron. It's sort of the equivalent of Waterdeep or Palanthas of Eberron. The city is in a "Manifest Zone" that effectively allows it to defy gravity because physics are subtley altered by it's proximity to the Realm of Air. Breland is afflicted with horrible amounts of corruption though from it's Parliament (the only one in Khovaire) to it's society that is home of the Illuminati-like Aurrum. It is a land of intrigue and where money talks. New Cyre is also located as a city on it's edge. Aundair Aundair is the second most powerful of the surviving three nations and ruled by Queen Aurala, her brother, and her war minister. Aundair is a nation wildely believed to be the cultural heart of Khovaire and a land of magic. The Arcane Congress makes it the largest center of magical learning in all of the lands of Khovaire and it is the only nation to incorporate magic into it's own knighthood in the Knights Arcane. Queen Aurala is a compassionate, wise, and decent monarch but she is also megomanically ambitious with the conviction that she can conquer the other four nations and the beliefs that it is the right thing to do. She employs massive numbers of spies throughout Khovaire in the "Royal Eyes" to seek information to forward this goal and foil the plans of the other nations. The Eldeen Reaches and the Thranish city of Thaliost are former possessions of Aundair, both lost by the Treaty of Thronehold. Thrane Thrane is the theocratic heart of the Four Surviving nations, lying nestled between Aundair and Karrnath. Formerly a monarchy like the other nations, it's monarchy was overthrown by the papacy when it weakened. The people largely supported this move out of their own strong religious devotion that is largely fanatical in its devotion to the Silver Flame. The Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops now handle most of the administration in Thrane and the monarchy is reduced to nothing more than a figurehead in their own country, even as the Queen wishes it to be otherwise. Curiously, Thrane is currently ruled by an 11 year old girl named Jaela. The Silver Flame, which exists physically in the Keep of Thronehold, chose the little girl when she was eight to be Keeper of the Flame/Pontiff of the religion. While in the Keep of Thronehold, she possesses near unmatched priestly arcane power and becomes almost powerless when she leaves. Her chief advisor is the conniving Cardinal Kronzen whom has no particular known evil alliances but is simply a horrible person whom supports the worst aspects of the church. Thrane's second largest possession is the city of Thaliost that was formerly a city of Aundair. The people of Thaliost almost uniformly hate the Thranites and hate Aundair for abandoning to them. Their bishop rules them with an iron fist. Karrnath Karrnath is a militaristic and autocratic state that is the military heart of the former Empire of Galifar. The conqueror Karrn the Conqueror who later became ancestor of Galifar the First (the founder of the Empire of Galifar that covered most of Khovaire) gave his name to this kingdom and largely pushed most of the nonhuman races under his heal or to near extinction in his time. The nation of Karrnath was a favorite to win the Last War but failed due to a plague and a series of disasters that brought them to near ruin. Their king, Kaius the First, decided to make an unholy pact with Erandis D'Vol the Lich to provide himself with the power to conquer the other four nations. This transformed him into a vampire and he began making a huge army of the undead to conquer the various nations. Ultimately, Kaius betrayed Erandis D'Vol and turned against the Blood of Vol religion in the ranks of his country. He now supports the Sovereign Host as the chief religion of the land. Opposing him is the Emerald Claw that is a terrorist group of knights that worship Erandis D'Vol and include many undead within their ranks. Undead are still plentiful in Karrnath as they are used as a silent guardianship for the land but he hides his undeath and impersonates his grandson. Many Karrns still worship the Blood of Vol and prefer a hard and cruel governorship to a more liberal one. Karrnath's chief nobility are called warlords and largely resent the believed-human Kaius for making the Treaty of Thronehold and steadfastly honoring it despite being a ruthless tyrant. Cyre (Mournlands) The nation of Cyre was once the most progressive in forms of combining magic into useful items (technologically) and also the home of the arts in Eberron. Cyre was also a chief candidate for winning the war due their use of Warforged in massive numbers and their strategic location at the center of the Five Nations. The nation is now totally destroyed and known as the "Mournland." In a cosmic cataclysm called the 'Day of Mourning' (whose cause remains completely unknown), the entire nation was reduced to an undead ridden blasted ruin that was haunted by mutations and in which healing is impossible (magic or otherwise save for a paladin's touch). The ruined cities that still hold many treasures despite their dangers are called the "Mournlands." It is inhabited chiefly by the lord of blades who considers the ruins to be the new homeland for the warforged with him as their King. The few survivors of Cyre have largely gathered in a city called new Cyre in Breland. The Eldeen Reaches The Eldeen Reaches are less a nation than a frontier collection of individual villages and townships that absolutely refuse rulership from the nation of Aundair. Revolting against Aundair, the Eldeen Reaches inhabitants are masters of gurellia warfare and transformed all attempts by Aundair to reconquer it into a brutal war of attrition that the Aundarians could ill afford to wage. A wild and untamed forrested region, the Druids of the Eldeen Reaches rule the land with reasonable care. There is a substantial population of Orcs and Half-Orcs in the region along with Shifters. The Darker regions of the area that border Droam are called the Shadow Marches and are filled with all sorts of unnameable horrors that are better left undisturbed. Q'Barra A nation settled by individuals from the Five Nations whom didn't wish to fight in the Last War and which largely still consider themselves citizens of the nation of Galifar. The place has become a haven for those whom don't wish to be found and for those whom wish to take part in the lucrative trade that goes along with Riedra and other sea going peoples here. The nation has a substantial population of Lizard Men and they live in an uneasy coexistence with the humans of the nation.
makeshiftwings 10-04-05, 11:58 AM	Here are two really nice intros that I gave to my players. I'm not sure who wrote them, but they were linked on an old post on these boards. http://home.comcast.net/~tcarroll777/EberronPrimer.pdf http://homepage.ntlworld.com/m.blunden/dnd/eberron.htm
Streamweaver 10-04-05, 12:45 PM	I hand out a modified version of the pdf primer makeshiftwings linked above. The players find them very useful. Charles Phipps added some great write ups as always, personally I don't use them for my players since it needs to be extremely brief for my players to find it useful as a reference guide. They try to keep in character and flip through a few pages of notes for a quick god or contry name as reference, but they don't find anything more than a single sentance useful. When it comes to getting to know things more in depth they usually talk to me and ask for a decription outside the game, borrow a book if they're really interested (but that is very rare), or buy one (even more rare). Generally getting the flavor and detailed description of a place is a part of my GMing. It's an enjoyable part but it also tends to slow things down more than I would like. Case in point was when I was running Shadows of the Last War. I had to do a lot of modification because in the module they shoot through about 1500 miles in a paragraph. In the actual game though I wanted to slow things down, give them encounters to actually give a feel for the place they were in and let them learn it that way. Anyway, rambling as usual but there you are.
Grabuto 10-04-05, 06:10 PM	My group played FR since 1st edition so the transition was difficult. We knew more about the Forgotten Realms than we did about Earth but Eberron was kind of a blur when we started. I just made sure to keep it really simple. We started in Sharn since it was well documented with a sourcebook. All the characters had to come from the Breland, prefereably Sharn. An exception was made for a player who took it upon himself to learn a great deal about the Kalashtar. Since he knew more than I did I used him as a resource and let his character explain anything related, from a perspective biased in the favor of Kalashtar of course. I figured this was good since the players and their characters had the same level of understanding so it made for some good roleplaying. I started them off in a small area of Sharn, and expanded the area as I felt comfortable. I made a point of introducing an Eberron specific detail every session, like a gnome reporter or member of the Silver Flame (or even an ogre buying groceries, which for a FR player can be hard to intellectualize). My first plot thread involved goblins who were being framed. I did this in order to make a strong point regarding alignment and the place of "monster" races in Eberron. I knew they would expect the worst from goblins and would be prone to attack them. Call it a hard and fast lesson Essentially, don't make learning the setting homework, make it part of the fun of the game.
Charles Phipps 10-04-05, 07:00 PM	Well I guess my work is useless...
Streamweaver 10-05-05, 03:59 AM	Well I guess my work is useless... Definitly not useless, my players are just lazy. I've seen you do several of these write ups, all good and interesting. If you leave them in the forums though they are going to have a somewhat short halflife. In the electronic age nothing is forever of course, but it could save you some duplication if you set something like that up on a website and link it when posts come up. Just hate to see all that good work go by the wayside is all, keep it up either way though, it's good to see active members of the community who produce stuff.
Rake 10-05-05, 05:44 AM	Woah, woah. Missing the point. If your players won't read the ECS blurb about the Mror Holds, they won't read all of this. You need to explain pertinent information as you go along, and learn to do it in an interesting way so that it sticks.
Streamweaver 10-05-05, 10:41 AM	You need to explain pertinent information as you go along, and learn to do it in an interesting way so that it sticks. I agree this can be a good way to do it and it's how I generally try to approach things in my own campaign. I like to give a really quick overview of things so I'm not stepping away from the game for a lecture, then try to relate things in a way that impacts the characters as they move through the world. This can only be more interesting but it's an active, rather than passive, form of applying the background. My goal with most things is to include as much as I can at the actual table rather than feeling like I'm doing a history lesson. As an example, let me try to explain how I did this with Darguun for my players in the last campaign. They were traveling there from Breland as part of the SotW module, which I heavily modified. All I really explained to them about Darguun on the way was "At one time the region belonged to Cyre until the Dearth of Goblin mercenaries stationed there during the war turned on the humans inhabitants, slaughtering or enslaving all of them in a single night of terror." To me this was enough, and I even tried to have a tavern bum tell the players that instead of me as the GM telling them. The first real encounter to set up was the situation along the border, I wanted to use this to build the tension and anticipation. So they arrive in Sterngate and it's a very militaristic town, there are signals all over the area from patrols out skirmishing with the Darguul coming across to raid, everyone is on high alert. The goblins who actually live in the area are constantly groveling to other humanoids trying to make sure nobody confuses them with "the stinking darguul". They hit the Sivis station to get their papers stamped for travel to Darguun and there is a painted line across the floor of the building and the table used to process the papers. On the Brelish side sits a human who asks many times if the players are sure they want to go and advising them on what banners of passage to buy and shaking his head. On the other side is the Goblin inspector, cool and a little too happy to see everyone. I basically modeled this place after the DMZ in Korea. Traveling in Darguun over the next two sessions I beat the players over the head with images of slavery and the terrible conditions people live under. Mud strewn peasants stare longingly to the players as they pass, caravans of beleaguered humanoids are driven past them by cruel taskmasters. The slave auction in the capitol is very active. What's more is as players pass most major intersections I have them see these wooden boards with humanoid body parts nailed to them sitting there with words like Thief, Liar, Escapee written in goblinoid above them. These obviously correspond to the body part nailed there and they can only imagine what happened to the poor soul they originally belonged to. This build the tension to a climax really, so when I ran a session in the Darguul capitol where the players had to help out an agent of the Dark Lanterns with what was basically a underground railroad (there were smuggling slaves out in Orien astral pocket shipping containers), they were all for it and it made them feel better about the situation. A few sessions later, with the tension and disgust as high as it could go for the kingdom I wanted to throw them a curveball so I made up a big background for Olkhaan that would take them by surprise. I made the place this exquisite city of divine architecture (the small goblin tribe of builders ran it) that was kind of a Mecca for the Goblinoids. I gave them a background where they had these very strong religious convictions that the Dakanni (sp?) empire fell because they offended the gods and Olkhaan was their cultural penance. I had several mystical hot springs that gave chances of special blessings and abilities, amazing architecture as tribes took it as a badge of honor to build bigger, better and more beautiful than other tribes to honor the gods. Folks basically got along and Bugbears wearing red robes waiting in line for the hot springs with the players would encourage them to share stories of their ancestors bravery, courage, and strength. They basically treated the players as a cute novelty as long as they showed respect. Anyway, past that place it went back to being terrible. I'm glossing over 5 or so session in Darguun but there you go. The best part is all that made an impression, the players from my last campaign who are in the new one explain to the new folks with glee all about the horrors of Darguun. Almost like they've been there and honestly that is one of the best pay offs as a DM I can think of. I've got the write up I did for Olkaan somewhere and will post it to my site sometime this week
sh0 10-05-05, 12:13 PM	Definitly not useless, my players are just lazy. I've seen you do several of these write ups, all good and interesting. If you leave them in the forums though they are going to have a somewhat short halflife. In the electronic age nothing is forever of course, but it could save you some duplication if you set something like that up on a website and link it when posts come up. Just hate to see all that good work go by the wayside is all, keep it up either way though, it's good to see active members of the community who produce stuff. Agreed. I apprecaite your work Charles, keep it up. If it was me, I'd put it on a website.
Streamweaver 10-05-05, 12:19 PM	Agreed. I apprecaite your work Charles, keep it up. If it was me, I'd put it on a website. My own campaign website is starting to grow beyond my original intent. If anyone would like I could add a "other fan material" section and could easily post stuff folks are creating here so they don't scroll away in the forums. If you're interested let me know by PM here, IM me, or email me at streamweaver@mindspring.com
GuruChaz 10-05-05, 12:47 PM	Definitly not useless, my players are just lazy. I've seen you do several of these write ups, all good and interesting. If you leave them in the forums though they are going to have a somewhat short halflife. In the electronic age nothing is forever of course, but it could save you some duplication if you set something like that up on a website and link it when posts come up. Just hate to see all that good work go by the wayside is all, keep it up either way though, it's good to see active members of the community who produce stuff. People are lucky to find 5% of this stuff in all the posts in this forum. There needs to be a seperate Information Forum where all the important things are stickied and seperated into categories.
Streamweaver 10-05-05, 12:51 PM	People are lucky to find 5% of this stuff in all the posts in this forum. There needs to be a seperate Information Forum where all the important things are stickied and seperated into categories. A forum of all stickies is really just another forum. Plus there is the problem of maintaining it and WotC doesn't have that kind of staffing. Besides just maintaining the area and cataloging the content you'd need some kind of way to approve content or it would just be the exact same forum scroll every other forum has. You'd start having mod names like "Wiz-O'please-shoot-me-now" :) The really is no replacement for a web site, forums are great for discussion and ideas, but you need a website if you want to host information.