Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Fusecase 06-10-07, 07:53 PM	Hello all, I posted a thread in What's a DM to do, and even though I spelt Eberron wrong (I didnt have the book on hand, and I didn't check here) I posted my idea for a roleplaying campaign, and its both my first RP heavy campaign and my first true eberron campaign. Hello all, I am going to DM a new campaign in a couple of weeks. I want to see if my friends can actually enjoy roleplaying heavy situations and I want to use the Eberron setting for the first time, but I only have access to the campaign setting, Five Nations, and Races of Eberron. So I decided to improvise on what I have. I will bring up the rules for the campaign in what I feel is order of importance: 1. The roleplaying is much, much more important than the rollplaying. 2. The only sources will be: Core 3.5 (With DM restrictions on spells, some are just outrageous, alter self etc), Eberron, Races of Eberron, Five Nations, Expanded Psionics Handbook, and any homebrew that is agreed upon from the start (I'll take that problem out to the classes board and my friends). 3. The starting ECL will be 2, only Eberron races (most savage races welcome, because they seem to be common), and only base classes, psionic classes, and the artificer (if restricted to be within reason). 4. Prestige classes are trained for from the get-go (i.e. there is no "dipping" because of pure advantage). My players have decided to play 2 humans, a gnome, and a warforged. The classes are Cleric/Sorcerer going for Silver Pyromancer, Champion (homebrew class that uses avatars, but the roleplaying problems I'll make for it will be fun, for me), Bard, and Fighter going Warforged Juggernaught respectively. The friend that wants to play the Silver Pyromancer is a devout Catholic in life, and is thinking about becoming a priest one day. So I want to make him rely on his religious thinking for his character. Below I will bring up the main plot, and why it will appeal to him. The player of the champion has stated that the character will have the LG paladin avatar conflicting with a CE avatar, and there will be a third personality (I think it is the N youth that is becoming the champion). I will talk with him, but I hope he will agree that the young boy was originally going to become a CE person, yet the paladin was sent by the Silver Flame to stop him from doing the horrible things he was destined to do. The LG paladin would be very strict on the boy because of his knightly past, but he would be very harsh. In a sense the CE avatar is birthed from the teenage tendency to fight against authority. The Bard's player wanted to be centered around death and the macabre. I allowed it only because I figured I could use it to tie his destiny into the campaign story. My father gave me the idea that the Silver Flame would have sent him back with the intention of having him record the great deeds about to be done for the world so the mistakes that happened long ago would not be repeated. The bard would grow to accept the idea of being dark in manner because of his brush with death and the player would be happy, but the bard would only know he was sent back and his purpose would become very clear in due time. The 'forged would be a soldier from the war who is now trying to get used to the idea that his existence is not being used to only fight for Breland. He would be learning about how people are and about how peace works. The only thing about the character I want to be custom is I want to make a prestige class based on a warforged becoming a defender of life and peace, rather than a better construct. I think giving him a bonus on social skills and defensive abilities as he progresses in the class while not forcing him to lose his ability to fight would be a more roleplaying friendly way to progress his character, but I'll work that out elsewhere. I hope the campaign opening will be the Pyro and the Bard are coming from the direction of Thrane, the Bard will be a wanderer from Cyre looking to make a living on the road and the Pyro will be on a mission to learn about the peace time activity of other nations. They will meet in Breland when the Bard talks his way into a mugging and the Pyro saves his gnomish behind. After talking, I hope they will agree to traveling together while they share a destination. On the other half of the group will be facing life after the war. The 'forged will be living from job to job just so it doesn't lose its grip on sanity to boredom and restlessness. The Champ will just have gotten used to being the host of a highly devout paladin of the Silver Flame, and will be looking for work to find money to live on. Both happen to find the same job from two different employers, so they meet at work (I don't know what the job will be, probably hunting vermin or searching for something valuable in a place that is slightly unpleasant). The two will learn about each other through conversation over a little bit of time (The 'forged won't know much about people, and the boy won't know too much about the war, so I figure they can start a friendship by that). From the four people forming two groups, I hope to use one house to bring them all together into a coherent group. I'm thinking a retrieval mission into some upper section of underground ruins, something small at first. The end I figure will be when the entire group finds its purpose, and takes their own destiny into their hands. The reason why I reference the Silver Flame is that the BBEG I want to use is the current keeper of the flame. She will have been a Werewolf Lord from the beginning of the Silver Flame's foundation, and she would have been the representation of the Flame's power used for pure order, an order without mercy. Her machinations will be to have eliminated all forces she perceives as possible threats, like the other lycanthropes, and then to align the plane of nature and one plane of evil with Eberron, so that when the moon turns full her powers would be at their peak and she would reign unopposed over all. The characters would have been sent on missions out to find artifacts to help her because she pays well and one character is a priest in her church. The ending would be "The Keeper taking her soul through a marut giving a dramatic dialogue about how she has evaded death for far too long, and then taking her soul while leaving her blade behind". The Champion would approach the blade while his two avatars are in heated combat for control, it would come down to the youth to decide to trust in the paladin or his rebellious side. If he chooses to accept the blade, his character will be changed from the ground up. First he will become a paladin of the silver flame, he will gain wings of silver fire, and the sword happens to be the Holy Avenger *Cue Dramatic, Triumphant Music*. The Pyro will become the first Arcane Keeper of the Flame. The Warforged will have his soul become charged with pure positive energy as he replaces the dragon dog, who dies in the fight against the old corrupt keeper, as the Guardian of the Keeper. The bard is the one I had the most trouble with, I decided his duty will be as I wrote before. The gnome will record the legacy of the group so the future of Ebberon will not have to face such a deep religious corruption within the church of the Silver Flame. Comments, questions, or suggestions? I am completely open to ideas on this venture. *Edit* Thank you Rerecros, The Keeper will not make any direct contact, but a marut will be sent to collect the soul instead. Recently I have learned that the Sorcerer didn't want to become a Silver Pyromancer, but they would consider it for roleplaying reasons. I took the time to work out four different paths for them, and I will be talking to them about what they want to do. If the sorcerer doesnt become a holy caster, then I will talk to the warforged character about him becoming the next keeper of the Flame. Yes I know its odd, but I like the idea of a "Metal Pope" as it would be. The bard will become the Marut, his full duty is to take back the corrupted soul and to record the legacy. Also: I was advised that the deities should be portrayed as something else so that there would be no definite proof of any of their existances, I'm going to have the marut give the dramtic dialogue not The Keeper (for clarification), I'm going to consider allowing the complete series and the Player's Handbook Two (But I want to keep this campaign simple), and I have the Warforged's prestige class as a rough draft. Please post what you think about this for an Eberron prestige class, based on the Dwarven Defender: In the time after the latest Great War, the Warforged have found themselves lost in the society of people. Some refused to give up on their wartime training while they look for someway to adapt to life with people. Recently, the first of an order of guardians has emerged. They call themselves the Lifewatchers, and they take on living wards to look after while the people teach them how to interact with other living things and people. The stories of these 'watchers tell of heroic acts of bravery in almost impossible situations. The rumors say that they are men of adamantine with hearts of light. Race: Warforged Allignment: Non-Chaotic Base Attack Bonus: +5 Feats: Combat Reflexes, Pursue, Combat Expertise One living humanoid must accept the warforged as a guardian. Levels: 10 Pre-Epic Hit Die: d10 Base Attack Bonus: Good Fortitude: Good Reflex: Poor Will: Good Skills: 4+int Craft, Diplomacy, Handle Animal, Listen, Ride, Sense Motive, Spot AC Bonus: +1 dodge bonus to AC for every three levels (3,6,9...). Wards: A Warforged Lifewatcher must have at least one living humanoid as their ward, the warforged learns how to live with and understand people from their ward while the ward recieves protection from the warforged. A warforged may have at maximum one ward at first level, and they may accept a new ward every three levels after first (1,4,7,10...). Guardian's Assistance: Once per day plus one for every two levels above first (1,3,5...), the Warforged may make use of three defensive abilities First, whenever a ward is the target of a charge attack the Lifewatcher may make a charging bullrush against the attacker as an attack of opportunity if the Warforged could normally charge the attacker, the Warforged provokes attacks of opportunity as normal for a charging bullrush. Second, the Warforged can forgo its own initiative to act on one of their ward's initiative, while using this ability the ward recieves a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and Resists and the Warforged must stay adjacent to the ward being defended, and this ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to 4 + the Lifewatcher's constitution modifier. Third, the Warforged may assume a defensive stance while withing thirty feet of a ward in order to better protect the ward before an attacker can get too close. The Warforged recieves a +2 bonus to strength, a +4 bonus to constitution, and a +2 bonus to all saves. While in the stance, the Warforged may move only half speed because they must remain in a stable position yet they must remain near a ward. This stance lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the Warforged's newly modified constitution modifier. Iron Hard Abs: At second level, the Lifewatcher may apply their constitution modifier to armor instead of their dexterity bonus. This bonus is not limited by armor's maximum dexterity. People Sense: At second level and every two levels thereafter (2,4,6...), the Warforged recieves a cumulative +1 competence bonus to Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks. Uncanny Dodge: The Warforged Lifewatcher becomes more of a pure shield for life as time goes on. At level six the Warforged gains the benefit of Uncanny Dodge, and at level eight the Warforged gains the benefit of Improved Uncanny Dodge. Damage Reduction: At sixth level the Warforged is able to absorb some of the damage they would normally take from blows. The Lifewatcher gains DR 2/- which upgrades by 2/- every four levels thereafter (6,10...). P.S. Please pardon any spelling or grammar errors. I'm trying to make good quality posts. Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Please post them.
fiendish_platypus 06-10-07, 08:28 PM	It looks really, really good, by the way, just my little nitpick before someone else catches it: under the Uncanny Dodge thing for the Warforged Lifewatcher you referred to it as a Warforged Lifegiver.
Fusecase 06-10-07, 11:29 PM	So I did :P, and i noticed another error lol *Go Go Poor English*
Rechan 06-10-07, 11:35 PM	I'm confused. What do you need help with? You specified what you're doing, but then just asked for comments or suggestions. Are you having any overall actual problems? Is there anything specific you want? Or just want us to critique your campaign?
Fusecase 06-10-07, 11:44 PM	Critique would be lovely, and I'm having a horrendous time with what I should do for the bard... I'm planning on letting this group take on Xoriat or even the Quori as the next target, but turning the bard into a marut might complicate things. Maybe I could get help in writing up a prestige class around turning a bard into a marut, but thats kinda silly...
Need_A_Life 06-11-07, 04:30 AM	Sounds like FR would be a better setting for that... You're actually asking what a Bard might be able to do in a setting built around betrayal and deception? Think about it. Good luck with your campaign,