Post/Author/DateTime	Post
chimpman 01-01-05, 10:37 PM	I saw the movie National Treasure the other day, and I thought that with a little modification it would make an excellent Eberron campaign. So in that age old DM tradition, I'm going to stea... err, borrow the parts from the movie that I like, and try to craft something Eberronish from them. There is another thread (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=348901&highlight=National+treasure) dealing with this subject as well, but since I'm taking an entirely different track, I thought it would be good to start a new thread. I'm less concerned with trying to make comparisons between organizations like the RW Freemasons and Eberron's Aurum, and more concerned with trying to make a fun campaign thread - something that will provide my players with hours of intrigue and treasure hunting. So, here is what I have so far: 1) I need an ancient treasure. I'm thinking about tying the treasure to King Galifar somehow. Perhaps there is some item of power tied to the throne of Galifar that was lost just before the outbreak of the Last War. Anyone who can retrieve the artifact might have a chance to reunite the broken kingdom. Perhaps King Jarod (or councilors close to him) hid the artifact from his heirs knowing that none of them was worthy of leading the kingdom. I'm more inclined to make the treasure something like this as opposed to a storehouse of lots of gold trinkets (as in the movie). 2) I need some kind of national treasure to provide the required clues to finding Galifar's Treasure. In the movie this was the Declaration of Independence. At first I was thinking the Treaty of Thronehold would be equivalent... but that's much too recent to work. 3) The PCs (at least one of them) will have some kind of legacy that links them to the legend of the treasure. They should also have some strong nationalism (perhaps for Breland). 4) The PC's patron will be a wealthy ex-patriot of Cyre. A former war hero who inherited his family's entire fortune after all of them were killed in the Mourning. This guy will have nearly unlimited resources, and nearly zero morality. I figure after a few minor adventures with the patron, the PCs will be forced to choose to work for him, or for the good of their own nation (which is why they would be required to have a strong sense of nationalism). The patron's core team would consist of: Patron - Some type of rogue or perhaps rogue/urban ranger. The Sage - A bard with the requisite history and local knowledge skills that will enable him to decipher clues provided by the legend of the treasure. The Diviner - A diviner (or perhaps Kalashtar psychic) whos job it is to help the team locate sites and items of importance. This role might also be filled by a dragonmarked Tharashk. The Artificer – The gadget man. The Muscle - A fighter type, also a Cyre ex-patriot who has ties to the former Cyre military. Denieth and Darguul mercs fill out the ranks, and additional help can be hired as needed - such as Thuranni assassins. 5) I also need some government agency to play against both the PCs and their former patron as needed. I'm thinking the King's Citadel. This should give me a good chance to showcase Eberron to my players. The clues will be placed across Khorvaire and beyond. I see adventures taking place in Aundaire, Thrane, the Frostfell, Q'bara, and perhaps more, with the finally taking place in the heart of Sharn. Ideas and comments are welcomed. I need some help fleshing out what the actual treasure will be, and what clues the PCs could find.
Isran_Imrador 01-05-05, 06:51 AM	1.The Lost Crown of Galifar! 2. Put all dragonmark in a pattern of something….find a item of all the marks, a clue will lead to the next… 3. A dragonmark…I like aundair best…(that’s just me) 4. if Aundair, Adar the queens brother. Or the paliament leader in Breland… 5. sound good!
DolArrah 01-05-05, 07:19 AM	Give the first clue to the people (I can't remember their name) that chose to leave the countries (ie. breland, aundair, karnnath, etc.) to form their won nation loyal only to the Galifer crown The next could go to one of the dragonmarked houses. I have no clue about the rest (other than a few more dragonmarked ones). Sorry. Peace, Dol Arrah
chimpman 01-05-05, 01:12 PM	Thanks for the ideas guys. I'll add some additional thoughts below. 1.The Lost Crown of Galifar! I was thinking of something similar for some reason. I suppose an item like this just kind of makes sense. Is this actually detailed in the ECS (or a Dragonshard or something)? or are our thoughts just converging here. Hmmm... When would you say that the Crown of Galifar was actually lost? Just before the Last War breaks out, or much earlier? 2. Put all dragonmark in a pattern of something….find a item of all the marks, a clue will lead to the next… 3. A dragonmark…I like aundair best…(that’s just me) Now, this is an interesting idea, and one that for some reason I hadn't considered. My first inclination would be to tie in The Twelve as the agents who originally hid the artifact/Crown of Galifar. Certian questions have to be answered first though. - Why did The Twelve hid the crown in the first place. They are not quite agents of old Galifar (in fact the Arcane Congres was established to counterbalance their power). Rather their loyalties would lie with the dragonmarked houses first and formost, and to Galifar second. Did they hide the crown for Galifar's benifit, keeping it out of the hands of unfit rulers, or did they hide the crown as part of a conspiracy to actually start the Last War? - If for some reason they hid the crown to protect it from unfit heirs, then the reason to leave clues behind is rather obvious. When a fit heir finally reveals themselves, then the clues can be followed and the crown retrieved. However if they hid the crown to start the Last War (which IMO actually makes more sense), then why leave clues behind? And if we are going to go as far as using dragon marks as phycical clues, then why not go all the way and require the manifestation of a dragonmark in order to reveal the clue. In this way someone from each of the dragonmarked houses would have to use their powers (at some point) in order to unlock all of the clues and retrieve the Crown. From my villian's standpoint, this becomes problematic, since he will either have to pay off, or trick some dragonmarked heir into helping him at some point. For any PCs who actually manifest a dragonmark, this would be an excellent plot hook :). 4. if Aundair, Adar the queens brother. Or the paliament leader in Breland… There are a few reasons why I would choose Breland over Aundaire, though the latter does hold promise. Firstly there is more information dealing with Breland (the Sharn sourcebook for one), and secondly I really want to use the Kings Citadel as the third group of opponents. Hmm... additionally there is another reason. Since there is already struggle in Breland over the Brelish Crown, this makes for some more interesting hooks. The King of Breland might struggle to become King of all of Ancient Galifar, while elements within his own nation will actively try to stop him. I suppose that I could use agents of each of the Five Nations since each of them would be concerned with the recovery of the Crown. Karnath will also be fun to deal with, since KaiusIII is actually KaiusI and one of the original hiers of King Jarod. Kaius and his undead minions might show up fairly frequently as roadblocks for the PCs during their mission. Give the first clue to the people (I can't remember their name) that chose to leave the countries (ie. breland, aundair, karnnath, etc.) to form their won nation loyal only to the Galifer crown This is along the lines of what I'm thinking as well. The colonists in Q'Barra make for perfect pawns in this game, though they may have something to say about its outcome as well. One possibility is that the founders of Q'Barra were actually responsible for hiding the Crown in the first place. I need to think about this a little more, and try to get my timelines straight. Right now they are a jumble (and I am without my ECS).
Isran_Imrador 01-05-05, 07:39 PM	I was thinking of something similar for some reason. I suppose an item like this just kind of makes sense. Is this actually detailed in the ECS (or a Dragonshard or something)? or are our thoughts just converging here. I cant remember any stuff about it, so we were thinking the same thing! it would be fun if there was a Crown Well. As for the timeline, jarot dieds in 894, Q`barra isnt founded until 928, so we are missing some years on the theory! One of the Pcs have the dragonmark that starts the howl thing! The Patron has come a cross a Draconic pophecy fragment, that leads him to the PC in some way! He is after an artifact of his house and it leads them to a hiden location of the house...(In the crypt of on the item is the clues for the next location, but yhat belonges to another house....Xeks, if he is of house lyrandar they must go to a long lost vault on stormhome the heir\pc must reclaim an important artifact or wond item, but also discover a link to another house... A kryptic referance to a blade of house Deneith hidden deep bellow a city in Karrnath! on the blade is the next....They all contain a exstra very hidden message when all brought together... And if we are going to go as far as using dragon marks as phycical clues, then why not go all the way and require the manifestation of a dragonmark in order to reveal the clue. In this way someone from each of the dragonmarked houses would have to use their powers (at some point) in order to unlock all of the clues and retrieve the Crown. at the end one from each house have to come together and use their mark to reveal the final message.. the PC with the dragonmark is commanded by a high member of the twelve, he dosnt know that someone else is a the look out for the pc to! the fun part wil be to find the 13th clue! lol :-) Actually the Arcane congress hide it somewere and used the markes of the twelve to be sure to get out of any suspision! the patron could be a paw of the pailament leader! i agree that breland fites more....but anything the congress does will be followed up by Adar! he might send a rival grup out in them same mission! iguess every nation will want to claim the Crown for with it they can reforged the lost kingdom of Galifar! Hope you got some sense out of this! Ps: The Crown could be a mini Ring of Sauron, uniting all the people of Khorv. (humans that is, lol)
Lord Psynister 01-06-05, 10:31 AM	Here's a few suggestions that I might make. These are all items/artifacts that I'm considering stashing throughout Xen'drik for my PCs to "potentially" stumble across. Ring of Dominion These heavy gold rings are all set with gemstone-cut dragonshards and inscribed with ancient elven text that reads (in common), ”For what was lost, and what shall be, wild this power, and rule forever peacefully.” When the powers of the rings are used, the dragonshard begins to glow with a rich violet color which lights up the inscription as well, though the amount of light given off is of no use in itself. The rings grant the wearer the following: +2 Reputation bonus to Leadership Score (all races) When dealing with your won race, double your Charisma modifier to determine the bonus to Leadership. (i.e. – if you have a +2 bonus, it counts as a +4 when dealing with your own race.) Use of the suggestion spell 1/day (5 hour duration, Will DC 15 negates) Use of the heroism spell 1/day (1 hour duration, +2 attack, saves, and skill checks) Tiger’s-Eye Ring This beautifully engraved silver ring is set with a tiger’s eye stone cut in the perfect likeness of a roaring tiger’s head. The engravings are so minute that it’s nearly impossible to tell what they are, though many resemble the body, fangs, claws or stripes of a tiger. The ring grants its wearer use of the following spells and abilities: 1/day: Clairaudience/clairvoyance as the spell (CL 15) 1/day: Take on the form of a were-tiger for up to 5 rounds, granting the following – (Str +12, Dex +4, Con +6, Claws (1d6+4 damage), Pounce [When charging, you may make a full attack.]) Astral Burst This +3 keen, flame burst, icy burst, shocking burst mercurial greatsword truly lives up to its name. The full story of its creation is unknown, and a large part of what is known is most likely myth. The only facts ever proven within recorded history is that the blade was forged by a frost giant sorcerer named Girgalakthrix with the aid of her phoenix familiar, Zhon, who taught her the process of crafting magical arms.
chimpman 01-06-05, 12:30 PM	I like the Ring/Crown of Dominion idea. Perhaps a ring for each (ruling) scion, and a Crown (with similar but more potent powers) for the king. That means 5 rings and a crown. Kaius probably still has his ring, while I'd say that Borenal or one of his recent ancestors) lost his. The others I need to think more about. Finding the rings would make for fine adventure opportunities, and trying to bring 5 rings together in order to find the Crown is slightly less tedious than trying to bring 12 dragonmarks together. Here is a neat little tid-bit I pulled from the ask KB FAQ: Q- You never mention if there is a special resting place for each Scion in thier respective lands that are named after them. Are there Tombs of Galifar around? A - Traditionally, royals who rose to govern a land were interred on Thronehold. Since the collapse of Galifar, the royal families are most likely interred in their capitols, though following the treaty there may be discussion of shifting remains to Thronehold. I'm thinking of placing the first clue in Q'barra. It would have been taken by the colonists and hidden away there by them when they first decided to leave the five nations. The Q'barra clue will lead the party to the next clue located somewhere in the Frostfell. I really liked the movie idea of a ship frozen in the ice, so I might just lift that wholesale. The next clue will lead the party to Thronehold, where they will have to get past the Denieth guards and defile the grave of none other than King Jarot. I'm hoping that I can produce some kind of fallout between the PCs and their Patron sometime before this. Where King Jarot's clue will lead them, I'm still not sure yet, but I want to place another adventure or two between Jarot and the final showdown in Sharn. Finally the PCs will journey to Sharn... to the District formerlly known as Godsgate (now known as Fallen). Here in one of the ancient (and now undead infested) temples they will find the object of their search, and have a showdown with their former patron and whoever else is after them. What they do with the Crown afterward will be up to them, but I figure the end of this campaign can lead into the start of a campaign to re-unify the Kingdom Galifar. ... and after that who knows ;) Perhaps they will meet the threat from Reidra...
Isran_Imrador 01-06-05, 02:01 PM	The 5 Rings of Rulership the heirs to the throne of Galifar before the war. 1. Thalin of Thrane, The keeper of the flame or the wannabe Queen has the ring now! Or it migth be lost on a ship as the heir tried to save the ring from the silverflamers...The High Cardinal would want a ring of his own..! 2. Kaius I\III, Has the ring in a safe place...maybe even Erandis d`Vol has it. 3. Wroann of Breland, The Breland ring was lost when the glass tower fell! it was keept there for safty but it might be the reason for the fall of the tower! 4. Mishann of Cyre, She never got her ring as her father had the cyre ring and the Crown! Or it can be founed in the former capital of Cyre..Or as you say the founder of Q`barra somehow got to it an gained the inpiration to start anew.. 5. Wrogar of Aundair, Either its Auralas most prizesd possesion or it to is lost somewere...Or it lies on Thronehold, as the king used the Aundair ring as hes own, Jarot and Wrogar had a close relationship.. In one of the old temples there was an ancient map over Eberron, gather all the five rings and the point out were it is! that is where the showdown begin! in the temple of the traveler...
chimpman 01-07-05, 12:44 PM	Thanks all (especially Isran), this discussion has been really helpful. I thought about things yesterday and I have a few more ideas so I'll just throw them out. I've been planning this campaign as a series of continent hopping adventures, specifically designed to show off Khorvaire (and perhaps some other continents as well). That just seems very Eberron to me, and I think it's a great way to introduce new players to the setting (which mine will be). Along those lines I also thought, wouldn't it be great to introduce more of Eberron's history to the players as well, so I looked over the timeline again and decided to push things back a bit. At first I was focused more around King Jarot's death and the subsequent start of the Last War, but then something else caught my eye in the timeline. It seems that sometime around -1005 King Galifar I went to the Twelve (who numbered only 10 at the time - with Kundarak and Tharashk not being recognized Houses yet) and asked them for help in taking over the world ;). They lent him aid, he conquered the five nations, and then not 20 years afterward (in the year 15) Galifar I created the Arcane Congress. So here is the interesting part. In the span of 20 years King Galifar goes from including the Twleve (or Ten or whatever) as co-conspirators in his bid for power, to kicking them to the curb and replacing them with an alternative arcane entity. What happened within that span of time? Was there a fallout between Galifar I and the Twelve? I want to take the history of the treasure back to this point, and play a bit off of that. Here is what I figure: 1) The Twelve (really Ten) built for Galifar I some kind of ancient eldritch machine, the purpose of which was to channel power through his person and enable him to conquer the world through word and deed. Galifar's Crown would have been the key to operating/focusing the power of this machine. 2) After Galifar took over the other 4 nations, he turned his sights to the only other power that could oppose him... The Twelve. 3) The Twelve saw Galifar as a way to stabalize the region, and thus as a means to insure the growth of their own wealth and power... however after his conquest it was quite clear that Galifar had gone mad with power. The Twelve could not destroy what they had created... somehow the power of the Prophecy held it together. Instead they stole the key to the device (Galifar's Crown) and secreted it away. 4) Throughout history many of the lesser scions of the Galifar Throne have sought out this device, in order to dispute an older siblings claim to the throne. Although some have come close, none have ever found it. One of Jarot's scions came closer than any others before him... perhaps it was Kaius, and made his bid for the throne too early (before he actually obtained the item). The kingdom was thrown into the chaos of the Last War. I think it makes sense that Kaius was onto something. Galifar I's powerbase was in Karrnath after all. Perhaps the eldritch machine is built under the very foundations of Thronehold, the ancient capitol of Galifar. Now some years after King Jarot's death (and well into the Last War) Kaius is getting very close to his goal. Unluckily for him a group of "Galifaran Nationals" (perhaps secretly backed by the Twelve) recovers the clues he needs and redistributes them. These are the people that eventually form the nation of Q'barra. A portion of the prize they take with them (first leading the PCs there), and another portion was lost at sea (to later find its way to the Frostfell). Perhaps the Crown itself is the portion of the treasure that was lost at sea (and will be found on the Frostfell). It may radiate faint magic, but nothing else, however it will contain (inscribed upon itself) clues needed to uncover and use the eldritch machine. Ok, that's all for now. Hope this stirs up some more ideas.
Isran_Imrador 01-08-05, 02:09 PM	Nice!! It was fun to help you chimpman! Let us\me know how it turnes out! Your players must become Eberron fans now! lol