Eberron Pirates [Archive] - Wizards Community

Eberron Pirates [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
lostone
06-23-06, 01:58 PM I'm going to be starting a game where the characters are pirates. It's starting during the Last War, the year before Airships go into service (so they'll start in an ocean-based vessel). They'll actually be starting as prisoners being transported to Dreadhold.

My game notes are at home so I can't give many examples of the storylines I have so far, but in order to be thorough, I'm posting here looking for plot ideas that I might not have thought of myself. Things for side adventures, quests, goals, plot-hooks (obviously involving treasure and pirate booty).
Flack Jack
06-23-06, 02:13 PM I'm going to be starting a sea going eberron group myself in a couple of weeks. Though actually it will quickly turn into urban acrobatics in the gut of sharn. Either way the swashbuckler class would be able to perform. My ideas are so far that they are guiding an overthrown Lhazaar Prince to exile who is diguised as a bandaged leper. The ship is going to have a very superstitious Valenar captain whos ancestor was slain by a Dahkanni mage. So he doesn't knowingly allow mages on his ship.

As 1st level sea brigands they probably won't have enough cash to really live off of so they're bound to go off looking for work. A fun experience I had one time was when a brawl on an elevated padio broke out between the party and a group of gobliniods. Work was scarce and there was only room for one group to succeed.
shironiku
06-24-06, 06:54 AM I recently did a bit of brainstorming for an upcoming pirate campaign I'm planning on running...hope it helps!

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD PIRATE TALE

Ship to ship combat (chase, broadsides, boarding)
Sailing through a vicious storm (battling the elements)
Buried treasure
Treasure map (multiple pieces?)
Mutiny
Curses
Kidnapping
Stowaway
Woman disguised as a man (not an issue in egalitarian D&D)
Walking the plank
Pirate raid on a port town
Jailbreak or rescue from the gallows
Mysterious islands
Graveyard of ships
Jungles
Savages
Sea monsters (squids, giant whales, mermaids, etc.)
Ghost ship
Revenge
Tavern
House of ill repute
Carriage chase
All-out fight in a mansion (swinging on curtains and chandeliers, etc.)
Flack Jack
06-24-06, 04:49 PM I beleive at least 70% of those were in Pirates of the Carribean. And for that matter the other 30% will probaly be in the next Pirates of the Carribean.
DarkWarriorKarg
06-24-06, 11:57 PM Dn't forget.... any pirate's mortal enemy... Ninjas!
lostone
06-25-06, 10:05 AM ELEMENTS OF A GOOD PIRATE TALEGood list. One thing I have planned for my game that you left out is "Betrayal". Not just limited to mutiny.

Great ideas guys. :)

I actually have my notes with me today, but don't want to post the ideas because I have players that read these forums.

One idea I'll throw out from a past game that would fit into a piratey game and has been kinda touched on is sea monsters.

I had a high level group traveling to a very small mythical island. It was said the island was never found in the same place twice. On this island was said to live an immortal/spirit oracle who could answer a question for them. Once the question is answered, they must defeat the island guardian for their freedom to leave the island. They spoke with the oracle, got their answer, and then got really paranoid when they were not immediately attacked. They boarded their ship and began sailing, that is when they really got paranoid. They get about 100 ft away from the island when the island shudders and rises up. The island itself was the guardian. It was a tarrasque, its shell covered with coral. The group managed to defeat it (once knocked unconscious the oracle is able to put it back to sleep until the next group comes to ask a question, and the tarrasque drifts with the currents which is why it is never found in the same place twice), but the sails were severely damaged which caused a nice little survival at sea adventure because it took them a month longer to limp back to port.
Bluebrush
06-25-06, 12:56 PM They'll actually be starting as prisoners being transported to Dreadhold.Just a possible issue: Why are they being imprisoned, rather than just exiled or excecuted?

In Khorvaire, imprisonment is usually reserved for those too dangerous to allow them to roam free, but too important to kill.
lostone
06-25-06, 01:00 PM Just a possible issue: Why are they being imprisoned, rather than just exiled or excecuted?

In Khorvaire, imprisonment is usually reserved for those too dangerous to allow them to roam free, but too important to kill.My group is aware of it, and I am letting them make that part of their character histories. I'm curious to see what they come up with.
Melvin the Mediocre
06-27-06, 04:21 PM That was a good list, but I'll add a few:
Scurvy
bad teeth
grog and rum

Oh, and singing about women, scurvy, and rum.
Cutlass
06-27-06, 06:00 PM Ahem.

In the list of things that have been presented so far I noticed that something was missing. It could also provide a possibe explanation for how a group could get started in piracy.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
An old, established pirate decides that he wants to retire and then selects and grooms a replacement. See "The Princess Bride". ;)
Cannibal_Penguin
06-28-06, 09:50 PM I'm probably gonna get killed in my sleep by the Eberron purists for saying this, but...I think no pirate captain is complete without a flint-lock pistol :gah: Gah! NO! Please dont hurt me!!! Not in the face!!!!
Melvin the Mediocre
06-29-06, 09:46 AM I'm probably gonna get killed in my sleep by the Eberron purists for saying this, but...I think no pirate captain is complete without a flint-lock pistol :gah: Gah! NO! Please dont hurt me!!! Not in the face!!!!
I was thinking about that - and cannons as well.
yrogerg
06-29-06, 10:39 AM I'm probably gonna get killed in my sleep by the Eberron purists for saying this, but...I think no pirate captain is complete without a flint-lock pistol :gah: Gah! NO! Please dont hurt me!!! Not in the face!!!!

I'm a bit of a no-guns purist myself, but I do have to agree with you here. Let's say he found it in Xen'drik, and give it decent damage (2d6, maybe?), but a 30' range increment, and looong reload time. Basically, he can use it once per combat, in a pinch, but the rest would be equally classic swashbuckling. *That's* how I'd put a pistol in a character's hands in Eberron.
Thorfeld
06-29-06, 11:08 AM I "WAS" running a pirate game in Lhazaar until the party decided they wanted to follow a mage through a one-way portal no matter what (they are now in a House Cannith secret research facility in Xendrik at the next portal... there are a series of 12 that go all over Eberron).

As far as firearms go, I am using one that I believe was originally posted on these boards. I can't remember the original name, we are calling it a Cannith Firebrand, but it is a magical handheld device that shoots spells from it. It requires the use of a dragonshard with a spell stored in it (calling them spellshards). Whatever spell is in it has X number of charges at X level. Basically it is the same as a wand, but it can be used by anyone and the spellshard can be changed out to effectively giving access to multiple spells. Currently, the groups fighter is carrying one with searing light loaded.
yrogerg
06-29-06, 11:38 AM Clever. It sounds quite a bit like the Caster from Outlaw Star, a weapon that I really wanted to adapt, possibly as an artifact.
lostone
07-02-06, 09:40 AM I had been considering something along the lines of an eternal wand in pistol form, but instead of having a 2/day limit, make it only targeted offensive spells of low caster level (limited to short range, 30 or 60ft probably) and be usable once every 2d4 rounds. Possibly useful multiple times in a single combat, but not often, and you might waste a round trying it only to find out it isn't ready yet.
bromleylaerchenheim
08-04-06, 10:46 AM I'm going to be starting a game where the characters are pirates. It's starting during the Last War, the year before Airships go into service (so they'll start in an ocean-based vessel). They'll actually be starting as prisoners being transported to Dreadhold.

My game notes are at home so I can't give many examples of the storylines I have so far, but in order to be thorough, I'm posting here looking for plot ideas that I might not have thought of myself. Things for side adventures, quests, goals, plot-hooks (obviously involving treasure and pirate booty).

Have a look at the "Savage Tide" preview in Dungeon #138
Its a pirate-style campaign (12 modules bringing the players from lvl 1 to 20) with rival pirates, aquatic monstres and a visit to the god ol´Isle of Dread. It is the author-teams attention to enable this adventure path for the use in Eberron and other settings. I bet, the Isle of Dread is Xen'drick...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
lostone 06-23-06, 01:58 PM	I'm going to be starting a game where the characters are pirates. It's starting during the Last War, the year before Airships go into service (so they'll start in an ocean-based vessel). They'll actually be starting as prisoners being transported to Dreadhold. My game notes are at home so I can't give many examples of the storylines I have so far, but in order to be thorough, I'm posting here looking for plot ideas that I might not have thought of myself. Things for side adventures, quests, goals, plot-hooks (obviously involving treasure and pirate booty).
Flack Jack 06-23-06, 02:13 PM	I'm going to be starting a sea going eberron group myself in a couple of weeks. Though actually it will quickly turn into urban acrobatics in the gut of sharn. Either way the swashbuckler class would be able to perform. My ideas are so far that they are guiding an overthrown Lhazaar Prince to exile who is diguised as a bandaged leper. The ship is going to have a very superstitious Valenar captain whos ancestor was slain by a Dahkanni mage. So he doesn't knowingly allow mages on his ship. As 1st level sea brigands they probably won't have enough cash to really live off of so they're bound to go off looking for work. A fun experience I had one time was when a brawl on an elevated padio broke out between the party and a group of gobliniods. Work was scarce and there was only room for one group to succeed.
shironiku 06-24-06, 06:54 AM	I recently did a bit of brainstorming for an upcoming pirate campaign I'm planning on running...hope it helps! ELEMENTS OF A GOOD PIRATE TALE Ship to ship combat (chase, broadsides, boarding) Sailing through a vicious storm (battling the elements) Buried treasure Treasure map (multiple pieces?) Mutiny Curses Kidnapping Stowaway Woman disguised as a man (not an issue in egalitarian D&D) Walking the plank Pirate raid on a port town Jailbreak or rescue from the gallows Mysterious islands Graveyard of ships Jungles Savages Sea monsters (squids, giant whales, mermaids, etc.) Ghost ship Revenge Tavern House of ill repute Carriage chase All-out fight in a mansion (swinging on curtains and chandeliers, etc.)
Flack Jack 06-24-06, 04:49 PM	I beleive at least 70% of those were in Pirates of the Carribean. And for that matter the other 30% will probaly be in the next Pirates of the Carribean.
DarkWarriorKarg 06-24-06, 11:57 PM	Dn't forget.... any pirate's mortal enemy... Ninjas!
lostone 06-25-06, 10:05 AM	ELEMENTS OF A GOOD PIRATE TALEGood list. One thing I have planned for my game that you left out is "Betrayal". Not just limited to mutiny. Great ideas guys. :) I actually have my notes with me today, but don't want to post the ideas because I have players that read these forums. One idea I'll throw out from a past game that would fit into a piratey game and has been kinda touched on is sea monsters. I had a high level group traveling to a very small mythical island. It was said the island was never found in the same place twice. On this island was said to live an immortal/spirit oracle who could answer a question for them. Once the question is answered, they must defeat the island guardian for their freedom to leave the island. They spoke with the oracle, got their answer, and then got really paranoid when they were not immediately attacked. They boarded their ship and began sailing, that is when they really got paranoid. They get about 100 ft away from the island when the island shudders and rises up. The island itself was the guardian. It was a tarrasque, its shell covered with coral. The group managed to defeat it (once knocked unconscious the oracle is able to put it back to sleep until the next group comes to ask a question, and the tarrasque drifts with the currents which is why it is never found in the same place twice), but the sails were severely damaged which caused a nice little survival at sea adventure because it took them a month longer to limp back to port.
Bluebrush 06-25-06, 12:56 PM	They'll actually be starting as prisoners being transported to Dreadhold.Just a possible issue: Why are they being imprisoned, rather than just exiled or excecuted? In Khorvaire, imprisonment is usually reserved for those too dangerous to allow them to roam free, but too important to kill.
lostone 06-25-06, 01:00 PM	Just a possible issue: Why are they being imprisoned, rather than just exiled or excecuted? In Khorvaire, imprisonment is usually reserved for those too dangerous to allow them to roam free, but too important to kill.My group is aware of it, and I am letting them make that part of their character histories. I'm curious to see what they come up with.
Melvin the Mediocre 06-27-06, 04:21 PM	That was a good list, but I'll add a few: Scurvy bad teeth grog and rum Oh, and singing about women, scurvy, and rum.
Cutlass 06-27-06, 06:00 PM	Ahem. In the list of things that have been presented so far I noticed that something was missing. It could also provide a possibe explanation for how a group could get started in piracy. . . . . . . . . . An old, established pirate decides that he wants to retire and then selects and grooms a replacement. See "The Princess Bride". ;)
Cannibal_Penguin 06-28-06, 09:50 PM	I'm probably gonna get killed in my sleep by the Eberron purists for saying this, but...I think no pirate captain is complete without a flint-lock pistol :gah: Gah! NO! Please dont hurt me!!! Not in the face!!!!
Melvin the Mediocre 06-29-06, 09:46 AM	I'm probably gonna get killed in my sleep by the Eberron purists for saying this, but...I think no pirate captain is complete without a flint-lock pistol :gah: Gah! NO! Please dont hurt me!!! Not in the face!!!! I was thinking about that - and cannons as well.
yrogerg 06-29-06, 10:39 AM	I'm probably gonna get killed in my sleep by the Eberron purists for saying this, but...I think no pirate captain is complete without a flint-lock pistol :gah: Gah! NO! Please dont hurt me!!! Not in the face!!!! I'm a bit of a no-guns purist myself, but I do have to agree with you here. Let's say he found it in Xen'drik, and give it decent damage (2d6, maybe?), but a 30' range increment, and looong reload time. Basically, he can use it once per combat, in a pinch, but the rest would be equally classic swashbuckling. That's how I'd put a pistol in a character's hands in Eberron.
Thorfeld 06-29-06, 11:08 AM	I "WAS" running a pirate game in Lhazaar until the party decided they wanted to follow a mage through a one-way portal no matter what (they are now in a House Cannith secret research facility in Xendrik at the next portal... there are a series of 12 that go all over Eberron). As far as firearms go, I am using one that I believe was originally posted on these boards. I can't remember the original name, we are calling it a Cannith Firebrand, but it is a magical handheld device that shoots spells from it. It requires the use of a dragonshard with a spell stored in it (calling them spellshards). Whatever spell is in it has X number of charges at X level. Basically it is the same as a wand, but it can be used by anyone and the spellshard can be changed out to effectively giving access to multiple spells. Currently, the groups fighter is carrying one with searing light loaded.
yrogerg 06-29-06, 11:38 AM	Clever. It sounds quite a bit like the Caster from Outlaw Star, a weapon that I really wanted to adapt, possibly as an artifact.
lostone 07-02-06, 09:40 AM	I had been considering something along the lines of an eternal wand in pistol form, but instead of having a 2/day limit, make it only targeted offensive spells of low caster level (limited to short range, 30 or 60ft probably) and be usable once every 2d4 rounds. Possibly useful multiple times in a single combat, but not often, and you might waste a round trying it only to find out it isn't ready yet.
bromleylaerchenheim 08-04-06, 10:46 AM	I'm going to be starting a game where the characters are pirates. It's starting during the Last War, the year before Airships go into service (so they'll start in an ocean-based vessel). They'll actually be starting as prisoners being transported to Dreadhold. My game notes are at home so I can't give many examples of the storylines I have so far, but in order to be thorough, I'm posting here looking for plot ideas that I might not have thought of myself. Things for side adventures, quests, goals, plot-hooks (obviously involving treasure and pirate booty). Have a look at the "Savage Tide" preview in Dungeon #138 Its a pirate-style campaign (12 modules bringing the players from lvl 1 to 20) with rival pirates, aquatic monstres and a visit to the god ol´Isle of Dread. It is the author-teams attention to enable this adventure path for the use in Eberron and other settings. I bet, the Isle of Dread is Xen'drick...