Horror and Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Horror and Eberron [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lord_Butler
02-03-06, 06:34 PM I know that Eberron is supposed to be a pulp noir type of game. So it is supposed to be like an anti-hero filled action flick. I do, however, want to incorporate certain elements of horror into my future game. Namely, I want to include madness into my campaign. I want to keep my PC's feeling vulnerable while still feeling very heroic.

So does anyone have any idea of how to bring Eberron's high-flying action into a realm of horror, illusion, and madness? Any specific movies I should check out that accomplish this?
Belabras
02-03-06, 06:47 PM check out the 1001 ... Mournland threads in people and places.
taski
02-03-06, 06:54 PM Heroes of Horror is a good D&D supplement for ideas.

Event Horizon is the one pulp/horror/madness movie I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there's more.
Rechan
02-03-06, 06:54 PM Seeing as one of the hidden horrors of Eberron is the Daelkyr, creatures from the Realm of Madness, who have created all sorts of aberrations, and how Cults of the Dragon Below (worshippers of Khyber where madness and bad things are common), I don't see how you couldn't link Eberron and The Far Realm.

There aren't many movies that deal directly with Lovecraftian horrors in an action-manner (Unless you count, say, Hellboy). But there are lots of ways you can drive this home. Other movies where "things aren't just quite right" is like Forgotten.

For instance, take the Mournland. You can easily drop Heros of Horror's Taint rules into it, and there are lots of mutated, evil things roaming around the Mournlands. If I were PCs, I'd be nervous as heck going in there - especially if you're walking through an obliterated Cyrian city.

The Inspired can easily get inside your head and start playing with your sanity if they see you as a threat but don't want to kill you outright. Anything that deals with dreams and psionics (which is both up the Dreaming Dark's home turf) can really mess with you.

Once more, the Daelkyr and the Cults mentioned. I find Custom Aberrations in minutes (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=489042) is a great resource for throwing new and wicked stuff at your PCs. Check out Lords of Madness and its use of Illithids and Aboleths - both critters that are influenced by the Daelkyr and Khyber. If you use modules a lot, The Speaker of Dreams is easily edited to fit Eberron - I'd place it in Passage, as the details of that city in the ECS suggest it would fit just fine.

Finally, you might create a Manifest zone to the plane of Xoriat somewhere - a place where the Plane of Madness has started to influence the surrounding area, warping it, etc, etc.
Rechan
02-03-06, 07:01 PM Another idea that pops into my mind: House Jorasco is the House of Healing. This might open up the doorway to the House operating insane asylums. Aside from just taking care of the mentally ill, the halflings could also be doing experiments with the patients - probing how to cure (or induce) insanity, milking liquid pain from the patients (Book of Vile Darkness), and so on - and they might have bit off more than they can chew, perhaps the inmates, exposed to something, had their collective Ids unleash some sort of monster.
Lord_Butler
02-03-06, 07:14 PM I had actually planned on starting the campaign out in an asylum. House Jorasco does sound like a perfect fit. Thanks for all help! By all means keep it coming if you have more though :)
Dipteran_Legacy
02-03-06, 07:14 PM just last night, actually, I posted a thread called "silent hill in eberron". Silent hill is a video game loosely along the same lines as resident evil(everyone's at least heard of resident evil, right?), except that where resident evil maintains a sort goofy monster-bash and run feel with some shock value, silent hill is downright ******* creepy. If you want some ideas, you can check out my thread for a few, and I'd recommend playing the first silent hill if you can get your hands on it(for playstation). SH2&3 are also okay, but the first is the creepiest, despite having the worst graphics. other than that, they're making it into a movie coming out in a few months, though I have serious reservations as to whether or not it will actually be good :(
Splendide
02-03-06, 07:18 PM If you want to drive people insane, use gnomes. `Friendly' folk with an interest in your inner-most secrets and a talent for illusions and deception.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord_Butler 02-03-06, 06:34 PM	I know that Eberron is supposed to be a pulp noir type of game. So it is supposed to be like an anti-hero filled action flick. I do, however, want to incorporate certain elements of horror into my future game. Namely, I want to include madness into my campaign. I want to keep my PC's feeling vulnerable while still feeling very heroic. So does anyone have any idea of how to bring Eberron's high-flying action into a realm of horror, illusion, and madness? Any specific movies I should check out that accomplish this?
Belabras 02-03-06, 06:47 PM	check out the 1001 ... Mournland threads in people and places.
taski 02-03-06, 06:54 PM	Heroes of Horror is a good D&D supplement for ideas. Event Horizon is the one pulp/horror/madness movie I can think of at the moment. I'm sure there's more.
Rechan 02-03-06, 06:54 PM	Seeing as one of the hidden horrors of Eberron is the Daelkyr, creatures from the Realm of Madness, who have created all sorts of aberrations, and how Cults of the Dragon Below (worshippers of Khyber where madness and bad things are common), I don't see how you couldn't link Eberron and The Far Realm. There aren't many movies that deal directly with Lovecraftian horrors in an action-manner (Unless you count, say, Hellboy). But there are lots of ways you can drive this home. Other movies where "things aren't just quite right" is like Forgotten. For instance, take the Mournland. You can easily drop Heros of Horror's Taint rules into it, and there are lots of mutated, evil things roaming around the Mournlands. If I were PCs, I'd be nervous as heck going in there - especially if you're walking through an obliterated Cyrian city. The Inspired can easily get inside your head and start playing with your sanity if they see you as a threat but don't want to kill you outright. Anything that deals with dreams and psionics (which is both up the Dreaming Dark's home turf) can really mess with you. Once more, the Daelkyr and the Cults mentioned. I find Custom Aberrations in minutes (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=489042) is a great resource for throwing new and wicked stuff at your PCs. Check out Lords of Madness and its use of Illithids and Aboleths - both critters that are influenced by the Daelkyr and Khyber. If you use modules a lot, The Speaker of Dreams is easily edited to fit Eberron - I'd place it in Passage, as the details of that city in the ECS suggest it would fit just fine. Finally, you might create a Manifest zone to the plane of Xoriat somewhere - a place where the Plane of Madness has started to influence the surrounding area, warping it, etc, etc.
Rechan 02-03-06, 07:01 PM	Another idea that pops into my mind: House Jorasco is the House of Healing. This might open up the doorway to the House operating insane asylums. Aside from just taking care of the mentally ill, the halflings could also be doing experiments with the patients - probing how to cure (or induce) insanity, milking liquid pain from the patients (Book of Vile Darkness), and so on - and they might have bit off more than they can chew, perhaps the inmates, exposed to something, had their collective Ids unleash some sort of monster.
Lord_Butler 02-03-06, 07:14 PM	I had actually planned on starting the campaign out in an asylum. House Jorasco does sound like a perfect fit. Thanks for all help! By all means keep it coming if you have more though :)
Dipteran_Legacy 02-03-06, 07:14 PM	just last night, actually, I posted a thread called "silent hill in eberron". Silent hill is a video game loosely along the same lines as resident evil(everyone's at least heard of resident evil, right?), except that where resident evil maintains a sort goofy monster-bash and run feel with some shock value, silent hill is downright ******* creepy. If you want some ideas, you can check out my thread for a few, and I'd recommend playing the first silent hill if you can get your hands on it(for playstation). SH2&3 are also okay, but the first is the creepiest, despite having the worst graphics. other than that, they're making it into a movie coming out in a few months, though I have serious reservations as to whether or not it will actually be good :(
Splendide 02-03-06, 07:18 PM	If you want to drive people insane, use gnomes. `Friendly' folk with an interest in your inner-most secrets and a talent for illusions and deception.