Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Kayman 08-29-05, 12:03 PM	hi everyone, I have one big problem im not able to solve. Currently Im running a campaign witch is placed in sharn. Actually the characters are well known (one did win the race of 8 winds, another one is a professor at morgrave and so on...). Well the problem that I have is a more general one, but it is far worse in Eberron/Sharn than in other settings I guess. Everytime when the players find out one shocking thing, for example that a prominent person has been replaced by a changeling, they go ahead and tell it someone more powerful than they are, like somebody from a House or something like that or the guards. Do you know that problem? How do you avoid it?
ekomega 08-29-05, 12:10 PM	You could always have the person not believe them, or require definite proof. If any old nobody comes in to the Citadel office and says the King is a changeling, they're not going to accept that. They're probably going to take some people in for questioning.
Sieylianna 08-29-05, 12:13 PM	Have the person they confide in be a changeling who doesn't pass the message along and sends a team of assassins after the party. That will encourage them to be more discreet. Ed
Streamweaver 08-29-05, 12:26 PM	It's a problem that crops up in games from time to time. I generally let the event unfold in my game in a way that makes it painfully obvious that players are better off controling the outcome than leaving it up to chance with NPCs. You can have the outcome of getting NPCs involved be very distasteful, make the NPC incompetent or selfish, or just have the outcome impact the players in a way they wont like very much. The moral of every story the players try to turn over to others should be "If you want things done right, do them yourself". I had a similar situation in my current campaign about two months ago. My players uncovered some Quori possessed humans who were running an insane asylumn, harvesting dreams from innmates for unknown purposes. The players thought they would get cheeky and tell the Kalishtar instead of taking care of it themselves. The Kalsashtar of course take on the situation but in typical fashion wont get "outsiders" involved so they completly cut the players out of the loop from now on. The Kalishtar basically defeated the Quori in the Asylum but not without 5 of them dying and the chief Quori escaping to potentally pester the players again. Not the outcome they wanted at all. In your particular case what if they tell someone about the Changling and they not only take him out but launch an inquisition to find more changelings? What if it exposes a series of events that spirals things out of control with people paranoid that changlings are everywhere. It could be less grand but lead back to suspicion on people the players trust. The outcome of any of this could crop up everytime the players go to do something "sorry but Mr Smith was brought in for questioning by House Mendi over that Changling buisness". It's about player herding.
Tylwyn 08-29-05, 12:31 PM	I guess that the most ideal thing to try to do in that case is to delay the revelation until around the end of the adventure(before which, they're just guessing at why the king/duke/whatever is acting so evil) or making it alot more challenging for them to get away with the information so then that ends up becoming the climatic conflict of the adventure. Aside from that, if the person they're telling is their superior in some way, have him pat them on them back and offer some sort of reward for cleaning up the mess themselves (after subtracting that reward from the treasure table of the final encounter, of course. :devil: )
Gurv 08-29-05, 12:50 PM	I generally have the person told say something sarcastic, like: "Darn it. Now I'm going to have to hire some adventurering-types to deal with that. Where the heck am I going to find someone who can solve problems without running back every time they discover a new one?"
DarkWarriorKarg 08-29-05, 01:08 PM	hi everyone, I have one big problem im not able to solve. Currently Im running a campaign witch is placed in sharn. Actually the characters are well known (one did win the race of 8 winds, another one is a professor at morgrave and so on...). Well the problem that I have is a more general one, but it is far worse in Eberron/Sharn than in other settings I guess. Everytime when the players find out one shocking thing, for example that a prominent person has been replaced by a changeling, they go ahead and tell it someone more powerful than they are, like somebody from a House or something like that or the guards. Do you know that problem? How do you avoid it? so far, it seems that the majority has a "punish/ridicule the characters" attitude. Let's try a different approach. Ummm... at a certain point, your players's characters ARE the most powerful people anybody can go to. But, they may have not reached that point yet... So, my question is... why are they reportting these things? Is it out of duty? Then that's properly RP'ed. Is it because they don't know what to do/can't do anything about it? Then I'd think about the setup of my game. Is it because they prefer to have others do their dirty work for them? Heck, that OK, if that's the kind of characters and game you have (Politics & manipulation). I'm guessing not. Are they law-abiding types? I have a bunch of LG-NG types in my game, including a paladin who likes to negociate (Diplomacy up the wazoo). They wouldn't be adverse to calling the watch, if they didn't know it was corrupt. Are they lazy? Well, that's a player problem...
Kayman 08-29-05, 01:46 PM	I think its difficult to explain, and perhaps its my own fault. They have to many contacts to to mighty persons, and that gives oppurtunity to abuse. For example: one character is a secret member of House Thuranni, which the other players do not know (yet; he is one the best way to lose his secret...Told the other players that House Phiarlan deals with information ans espionage :rolleyes: ). He often tries to solve problems through his familiy, which I do not let happen in most cases. However he IS a dragonmarked character, and he should get different help from the house. How far would you go in tis case? What would the house do and what not? (He hasnt got the Favoured member talent). The problem is that my players get to cocky. If they knew that they are already very mighty, even for Sharn (they are lvl 7-9), they would go out of control. For example: there is a goblinoid terror group which is well organized, they killed already about 10 commoners. The players DO know the motives of that group, and they DO know that they are there. BUT: they havent cared yet. Everytime the goblins start a new attack, the charakters kill them, but they do not start investigations. I think there are many many many goblins in Sharn, and almost all of them are possible members of that group. So the attacks continue. I have to admit that the players do have many quests, okay. But I think that the problem with that group of goblins, although it is a public problem (there was an article in the sharn inquisitive), it should not be solved by anyone else but the PCs. The PCs however are wondering why the windguard, although it is investigating since 2 weeks, (or House Lyrandar, which was affectet, too) doesnt solve the problem...
UnkemptSage 08-29-05, 01:54 PM	Sounds like it's time for the goblins to start taking hostages. Seems simple enough to make your PCs concerned: if they don't solve the problem, the problem must get worse. If the goblins aren't stopped, then the goblins will simply become a bigger and bigger problem until the PCs can't ignore them anymore. Try working it like this: the PCs have many opportunities to stop the goblins. They encounter the goblins several times, and have plenty of chances to investigate them. If they never try it, the goblins will then be able to act on their master plan. Then things get really interesting. In a place like Sharn, you can set up all sorts of fun encounters. Watch action movies set in large cities to get some ideas. Sharn can have the equivalent of a medieval car chase!
sus323 08-29-05, 02:01 PM	That can be a tricky situation. Hmmmm..... There are two suggestions that I would go with. #1: They go to a more powerful NPC to report something. Either go with the suggestions above (changeling...etc.), or you can have the NPC act on the info but instead of arresting the foe, the NPCs bungle the job. This way you have a foe on the loose who is looking for revenge. Hopefully, your players will get the idea that they should be the ones doing the job. #2: If the Players won't get involved. What you said about the players not going after the goblin terrorist group sound frustrating since you went through all the trouble to design that group. Why not have the terrorist group start assassinating the player's NPC contacts? I'm sure the players will get more involved once a few of their NPC buddies get wacked. I hope this helps.
ChronosCrow 08-29-05, 02:12 PM	It sounds like the players have a case of "Fortten Realms NPC-idous" or FRNPC-idous (I've gotta think of a better name). Suffice it to say that simple backlash once or twice will learn them really. NPC aren't perfect. Either the NPC screws up, doesn't care, or works against the PC's. Thus forcing the PC's to take matters into their own hands. Also, you could just have the NPC's already know of the problem and do nothing. Sure the Chicago police knew where Al Capone was, but they didn't know how to catch him, he felt to slippery and had too many elements in his favor. It took the IRS watching his taxes to take him down in conjuctio with the FBI and even that took years to take. Sure the problem got solved, but if the PC's really care, they'll take matters into their own vigilante hands and dispose of the situation quicker while doing their best to prevent the most innocent casualties.
Kayman 08-29-05, 02:16 PM	Thank you for your suggestions. This way you have a foe on the loose who is looking for revenge. Hopefully, your players will get the idea that they should be the ones doing the job. That is exactly the problem i was talking about. The friends of my PCs are to mighty or belong to mighty organizations. I dont know how this happened. They simply hit one party after another with lyrandars, sivis, deneiths and so on...One character even has a liason with a lyrandar. I didnt expect it would lead to such problems... As for the example with the goblins,seems like there are 2 options: 1. Windguards solve the problem. I think the characters think they can thrust them more often and let quests be done by them. Must lead to a horrible catastrophe (in game)!!! 2. Characters solve the problem. Players get cocky and so on. "I can do what I want I am more powerful than the windguarts bla bla bla...". Must lead to a horrible catastrophe either (in game).
DarkWarriorKarg 08-29-05, 02:25 PM	Ahhh... they are reactive, not proactive... let me explain... In the past and present, modules/adventures were and are generally designed as reactive... I'll use the 4 official adventures as examples... note that all 4 have the group hired to do something. (That's a problem for another thread...). They are apssively waiting around until adventure comes to them. Heck, shadows of the last war assumes you're checking the Sivis message station for a call in case your patron has a job for you to do... Now, these types of adventures are rather easy to run and play in. You're given a definite goal. What you're proposing is, basically, that the players take a more active role in the story design and tell you what their characters are doing. FMG, I ask the players what they want their characters to attain, then base the adventure around that. Cooperative story building. So, you're saying that they're wondering why the Windguard & Lyrandar don't do anything? Well, they might... like hire them to solve the problem. Rewards? let's see... Lyrandar can arrange for travel papers, no questions asked. Maybe discount transport. A guard force? Gee, they can rewarded with official or semi-official rank & authority. (We have Diplomatic Impunity...) Your Thuranni character likes bugging his family for help? Without Favored in House? Time for them to return the favor... maybe secretly hiring the group to look into the goblin problem. You're dangling the plot hooks & they're not biting... change the bait. And, of course, you can always solicit player input.
sus323 08-29-05, 02:45 PM	The NPC groups (dragonmark houses...etc.) are so powerful in Eberron that they probably have tons of schemes running at any one time. They have their own interests and goals, so they would not just drop everything to handle whatever the players bring to them. This would be the case, no matter what level the players were. Even if the players reach epic level, they would not be more powerful (in terms of political, social, religious influence) than the entire house. To be sure they would be famous, respected and maybe even feared. But not more powerful than the NPC group. To use Star Wars as an example, it is the difference between Han Solo and the whole Empire. Sure Han could kick some ass, but against the whole Empire he'd get killed. So the NPC groups may just decide that whatever the players are bringing to them is not more important than whatever scheme they already have running. Or perhaps they just don't have the resources to allocate to the problem right now. And like DarkWarriorKarg said, they would just offer to pay the party to take care of it. That way it becomes the player's choice once again. They have to choose to either deal with the problem, or ignore it. Then if the players choose to ignore the problem, you should remind them that their refusal to act has consequences in the game. For example, a goblin terrorist group is killing folks. The players bring the info to Windguard (or someone). But Windguard is busy with something else. They turn things around and offer to pay the party to track down the terrorists, find out who is funding them, and take out the whole problem. If the players decide not to go after the goblins, you can make it hit home by having the goblins take out someone from Windguard, or maybe even frame the party for the murders. The consequences of not acting should be dire.
DoveArrow 08-29-05, 03:59 PM	If you've ever called the police to report a crime, you'll immediately recognize the solution to your problem. The police are often restricted very tightly by the law in regards to how they investigate and prosecute crimes. Therefore, when the PCs report the problem, the Sharn Watch might do the equivalent of taking a police report and keep it on file in case anyone makes a similar report. Meanwhile, the Sharn Watch is often reluctant to deal with situations in the lower districts of the city, partially due to safety and partially due to a limitation of resources. If the PCs are truly concerned about the situation, the Sharn Watch might suggest that they take care of the situation, or in a best case scenario, they might hire the PCs to investigate the situation further.
Salla 08-29-05, 04:08 PM	Let's consider that the PCs do have proof that, say, the mayor of Sharn is a Zakya Rakshasa in disguise. The PCs are 6th level (if I'm recalling a Zakya's CR right, they could probably take it with a good scuffle). They tell the watch, and provide incontrovertible proof (how, I don't know) that the mayor is a Zakya, and all his talk about Sharn becoming its own city-state and seceding from greater Breland is some kind of plot. The watchman believes them, and they assemble a squad to go arrest the Zakya. 10 2nd level Warriors against 1 Zakya=slaughter. That's 10 deaths the PCs could have prevented ... in fact, that's 10 deaths the PCs are all but personally responsible for. Deaths that would not have happened if the PCs had been heroes. Then, the district sargeant approaches the heroes. "We got a hot tip that the mayor has been replaced by a Zakya ... we need you guys to take care of it, we sent ten men in and they didn't last twenty seconds." Then, hit the rewind button, reveal that as an imaginary sequence, and see if the PCs still want to let the watch handle it. ;)
Chiyo 08-29-05, 04:57 PM	There is a LOT of intrigue in Eberron and Sharn. Even powerful groups such as the dragonmark houses have agendas the PCs know nothing about. Even a favored in the house is not a dragonmark heir and even then they could be left out of some plots. So far NPCs have helped the PCs but at some point, they'll tell them, well we don't want the House to make an official statement and get involved directly in this. In other words, tell the players, you're on your own there. If they don't act on it, have the previously helpful NPC turn the table. "Hey we've helped you in the past, but you know, now would be a good time to make a strong showing of loyalty. There are those in the House who questions your motivations for doing <insert previous PC deeds>. If you could take care of this, it'd quiet them down." Dragonmark Houses are a two way street of favors asked and performed. If you keep asking for favors, you'll exhaust the good will of people. You could kinda give the PC that impression. Staying in the realm of intrigue, you could have NPC listening to their story, not act on it and lie about taking care of it. Maybe that superior is getting weary of their rise in influence and is trying to bring disgrace to them. You could have rival factions in the House trying to frame the PCs for organizing the goblin terror group behind the scenes, maybe bribing some officials to plant false evidence. Nothing like clearing your name and trying to find out who's been framing you as incentive for doing something about those goblins. Or maybe the goblins have finally stolen something important and nobody else but the PCs can be trusted for retrieving this for the House or maybe even for competing Houses that both plan on retrieving it for themselves. It boils down to forcing the PCs to act one way or the other via different motivations. Maybe they don't see it as a big problem. After all, Sharn has lots of crime, why should they do the Watch's work on every single one of them. But if it get personal, that will get them involved. Either way, you're turning into directive mode because you can't wait to have the PCs take the direction you'd like them to take naturally.
Von Ether 08-29-05, 05:30 PM	"friends of my PCs are to mighty or belong to mighty organizations. I dont know how this happened. They simply hit one party after another with lyrandars, sivis, deneiths and so on" ... and you want us to deal with mere goblins? That's the Windguard's job! From my viewpoint it sounds like a few things ... 1.) The players have made some DnD assumptions on Eberron, such as goblins are low-level threats beaneath them. They forget the whole reams of fluff about the Hobgoblin empire and the Dragonshards about "ninja" goblins. My PCs are now 8th level, but they when they see an goblinoid in black studded leather with well-maintained gear, they take notice. 2.) The players (and GM) are discovering that beyond the dungeon, connections and politics can be more effective than combat to get the job done. The first phase of player's figuring this can result in a "tattletale" syndrome where the PC just snitch on everyone and no one lifts a finger to particpate. 3.) Standard NPC passive behavior. Most GMs have NPCs come in two varieties, the sponsor/employer and spear carriers/employees for the PCs. There's already been some great suggestions on this, the simpliest being "That's bad news, I'll be there ... as you will be I'm sure. I'd rather trust my back to the best swords man in Sharn than some of our house guard." 4.) Standard gamer passive/agressive behavor: In the interests of "realism" the GM puts out a ton of threads and see what the PCs bite on as the players listen to all these rumors and try to figure out which one is the adventure and which are "red herrings." Everyone is trying to do everything "in-game." Some suggestions: * Give the golinoids some character levels, back them up with some hobgoblin mercs (check out the Dragonshards for some perfect goblinoid villians for the job) and do some real damage. *Let them solve some of these problems by pulling strings and others by having to get their hands dirty. * Have a good out of game talk about what the players expect and let them know that all the threads are good. *Always bring consequences around.
eridalafar 08-29-05, 05:31 PM	Or the gobelins hit sqad was created by one of their contact to kill demon posseded NPCs and the sqad have gone out of control, and the contact realy don't want the link between him and the sqad know (and worse the sqad is realy killing demon posseded NPC but in a silver flamme fanatisme...). Or the gobelins begin to target the PC after they informed one of their contact that have sold the information to some else that have sold it to the gobelin for some special services. And the contact say sorry boys but I was realy need this money to covert the money I have lost when I have helped you when you asked for..... Also you can use the media in Sharn, let them read some Sharn's inquisitive (wrote be you) saying that they do or don't and create something like fame rating. If they didn't already get a group's name invente one for them depending the news see them; like: the 4 sleping mans, the blind club if they do badly or the 4 fantastics, the incorruptibles if they do goodly. The contacts need to ask for favors too, and something they don't want the situation changed, or worse the contact must do something bad or his little secret will become public knowlage..... They can get as anwser: ya this NPC look as an human, but he alway was a changling, just that he didn't like to be know by the public. Just adding my 2 copper. Eridalafar
Gurv 08-29-05, 05:49 PM	It sounds like the players have a case of "Fortten Realms NPC-idous" or FRNPC-idous (I've gotta think of a better name). We just call it ES, or "Elminster Syndrome". Thus, coming up with a plan that depends on NPCs to act is considered "a bunch of ES." Seriously, I like the idea of having the powerful contact send some NPCs to deal with it, having them bungle the job, and having the bad guys start dishing out revenge, working their way up this "chain of command" that the PCs have placed themselves into.
camble 08-29-05, 06:07 PM	I don't see why the consequences have to be dire this is supposed to be a fun game not the party versus the DM. I think that hiring the pc's to do the job is the best answer if they bring it to the authorities attention. If they still don't bite maybe the adventure doesn't pique there intrests. It happens from time to time maybe just switch gears and go back to it at a latter date. I do alot of the DMing in my group and the tone of Eberron is a lot different from the Forgotten Realms. In the realms you could be the only source of law in the area. Kind of a old west mentality. Eberron's lifes blood is its social groups. How many settings do you have to get a letter of marque to go adventuring or travel papers to move from kingdom to kingdom unmolested. There is a very present bureaucratic tone to the game. Have to make sure the i's are dotted and the T's crossed. The players of a generally good and or lawful party should feel justified in bringing problems they find to the authorities. Otherwise they may not be playing there characters correctly. From what you have said the characters seem to have a high social standing in there respective houses. Furthering there need to conduct themselves in a respectable manor.
Edymnion 08-29-05, 06:33 PM	I handle it in a very simple way. I say to them: "Okay, the guard thanks you for alerting them, the captain barks a few orders, and an entire squadron jogs out to take care of things. He gives you each a gold piece as a reward. Welp, you got 1 gp each, and no xp since you didn't do anything, and thats all I had prepared for tonight, was you guys busting in there and being heroes. Anybody wanna watch TV?" Seriously, you do that once, and stick to your guns, and they'll never do it again. No real cash, no xp, and no game for the night. I promise they'll be trying to strangle the guy that said "Hey, lets tell the guards!". :D
Splendide 08-29-05, 06:40 PM	You're running a game in a world full of media. With massive mercantile entities that want to save face. What you need to do is make the secrets be secrets that need to be kept. Secrets that will harm the house that one of the PCS belongs to if it gets out. Secrets that will make all veterans of a battle look evil by association, including the PC veteran (babykilling for example). You need to give the PCs an incentive to deal with it personally...don't worry about the carrot, time for a big helping of stick.
Just another user 08-29-05, 08:11 PM	After you refered your news the sergeant of the watch he looks back at you and says"so you are sayng that the major is actually a changeling, uh? look, even if I believe you (and I'm not sure I do, have you ideas how many loonies came to me every night to tell me the craziest stories?) what do you expect me to do? go to him Ask if he want to go under the eye of Aureon to be tested? I'll be sent to to patrolling the Mournland* before I've even time to blink. If you want to me to do something about this I need some serious proofs, lads, If you don't have them don't waste more of your time, or of mine. * Patrolling the mournlands, sent to the mournland: is an expression used to mean "sent to the most remote and god-forsaken place you can think of"
makeshiftwings 08-29-05, 08:39 PM	You should just talk to the players out of game and see what sort of adventures they see their characters going for. Unless your characters are inquisitives working for the city guard, they might not have a valid reason to care about some goblin uprising in Sharn. Especially if they're of neutral alignment, and spend their time travelling around and mingling with the rich and powerful. You definitely should NOT punish them in-game without any explanation (ie, assassinating all their contacts, giving them all 1 xp and telling them to go home, etc.). They might just be trying to RP their characters as they envision them (and they sound like power-hungry diplomats to me from your description), which is a good thing. I'd say ask them what would get their characters interested in something, and rewrite your hooks to fit them better. Like letting it be known that there's a vacancy in a powerful seat in the Thuranni enclave in Sharn that could go to whoever deals with those troublesome goblins, or that the goblins are in possession of a valuable artifact from Morgrave that certainly shouldn't fall into the possession of the City Watch, etc.
DoveArrow 08-29-05, 09:00 PM	We just call it ES, or "Elminster Syndrome". Thus, coming up with a plan that depends on NPCs to act is considered "a bunch of ES." That so needs to go into your signature, Gurv.
Charles Phipps 08-29-05, 09:06 PM	Your only solution is to kill them and take their stuff.
Edymnion 08-29-05, 09:10 PM	Your only solution is to kill them and take their stuff.Not the characters, the players ;)
zambuka 08-29-05, 09:33 PM	Ok. The first problem. Going to NPCs to get things resolved is easy enough to deal with. At the level they are (7-9) anything the PCs tell an NPC about is going to be relatively powerful. There should not be any NPCs more powerful than the PCs in most matters. Just have the NPC they tell turn up dead (don't be afraid to kill off official NPCs). A few of these and the watch gets suspicious. The alternative, as one person suggested is to cut them out of the loop. I mean seriously cut them out of the loop. No XP for dealing with that changeling imposter, after all they haven't actually dealt with it. For example: there is a goblinoid terror group which is well organized, they killed already about 10 commoners. The players DO know the motives of that group, and they DO know that they are there. BUT: they havent cared yet. Everytime the goblins start a new attack, the charakters kill them, but they do not start investigations. I think there are many many many goblins in Sharn, and almost all of them are possible members of that group. So the attacks continue. Simple solution. Goblins know about the PCs offing their kind. Simply have a set up, drop a hint that a group of goblins will be at point X on day Y to perform dastardly deed Z. PCs turn up and off the goblins. In the mean time the goblins have made sure an inquisitive or someone else with judicial authority is nearby. One or two goblins call the inquisitor over as the PCs finish off the goblins and say something like "See.. these are the thugs what 'ave bin offin' our kind". Remember.. the goblins are still citizens and are still able to use the law. It is still murder to kill a goblin! We have now have a situation where we have witnesses of the goblins and a pile of bloody victims. It is up to the PCs to prove their own innocense here. if they choose to tell someone more powerful, they spend the next 6 months in a lockup somewhere while the sharn watch drag their feet on the issue, after all they do have goblins and an inquisitive as witnesses.
Gurv 08-29-05, 09:39 PM	That so needs to go into your signature, Gurv. Put it in your sig. I think there is an old saying about never quoting oneself, and I have to agree with the sentiment there. If the OP's issue doesn't stem from lazy players who simply wish to have someone else deal with the problems, but rather because the characters would realistically be expected to call on such resources, then there are a few options. The first, and the one the players won't like, is to take away that power. Having the fall from favor so that no one is willing to aid them any further. One of the best way to do this is to have the bad guys discredit them so that no one believes the wild stories anymore. Frame them, or better: trick them into doing something that causes loss of face. A classic is where the bad guy tricks them into busting in on someone important, proclaiming them to be a fake, and then trying to "unmask" them...only to realize that the VIP is the real deal. Another way to deal with it is to have something come up that requires a more subtle touch than the authorities or minions can be expected to use. Make it clear what the policies are for various groups: if the Sharn guard are known to deal with in a certain way, create a situation where that method would be a problem. The classic example of this is a kidnapping where the victim is being held hostage against any action by the authorities. Have the players discover that some VIP has been replaced by an infamous war-criminal who is wanted by the Crown; this VIP has hostages, people who are important or close to the PCs, and if anyone comes busting down his door, they're done for. Naturally, catching this infamous felon is more important to the authorities (who will get major recognition for the task)...the capture is far too important to risk on saving a couple of nobodies. The last thing I can think of is to just let it ride. Have the varous groups follow the leads handed to them by the PCs. Get them involved in the politics of doing so. They might enjoy being masters of behind the scenes action. Maybe you are such a good storyteller that they are happy to nudge things in a direction and have you describe what happens. If they're happy, play along. Eventually, I think they will want to get their hands dirty again, and then they'll be begging to get into a dungeon or bust down some doors.
Charles Phipps 08-29-05, 10:14 PM	Not the characters, the players ;) Whoops, I thought that was obvious :D
Guerron 08-30-05, 08:56 AM	Just think of what would happen without the characters being involved. Make this happen and end this part of the story. So either someone else gets the fame or something really horrible happens. It's only important that the players can't change the outcome afterwards. Adds to the darker Eberron tone and shows that it doesn't matter how powerful you are, you can't be everywhere. Flesh out only the plots in which the players get involved and leave others scetchy, saves u alot of work. U could even work out a timeline what happens when and determine xp-rewards by regarding how much of the problems have been solved.
realdm 08-30-05, 09:43 AM	it is perfectly right for them to do something like that in a city like sharn. my suggestion is to make your campaign more like "sim fantasy life". make them do everyday things, like teaching at morgrave, or train for races. you will see that either they are going to have lots of fun, either they will change behaviour or pcs.. (i got a professor and a 8 wind winner as well)
Salla 08-30-05, 03:09 PM	Hmm. I just thought of another fun way to handle this. "So ... you're going to just tell the watch? Okay ... the watch handles it. Nice game, guys. No experience since you didn't actually do anything. Same time next week so we can play your heroic adventurers sitting around having other people do their job for them?"
Kayman 08-31-05, 09:42 AM	I think I will let them choose whether they do it themselves or not. Tomorrow there is our next session, and they have another great opportunity (a magical tournament in Korth). This thing with the goblins should be just an example anyway, I didnt make up anything for the cause they start investigating. It wasnt an essential part of my campaign... Thank you for your suggestions!!! I think I will find my way in handling this problem. Eberron is the world of intigue, so I will start some more... ;) I think then the PCs will think twice before say something like "we have to tell the guards that we found out that X is a rakshasa and that Y is dealing with Z" and so on...