Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JulesCARV 05-08-07, 08:06 AM	My idea is that a small unit of warforged (say, 3-10 warforged) stayed behind in the Mournland, loyal to Cyre and determined to defend their homeland to the death. As the Mournland's malign influence has affected the minds of the Cyrean loyalist holdouts, they, especially their commanding officer, have become increasingly paranoid, delusional, and insane -- which has manifested in increasingly zealous Cyrean nationalism, xenophobia, and hatred of the other nations, the Lord of Blades and company, etc. They believe that the Day of Mourning was caused by a conspiracy among the other four nations, that the Lord of Blades is actually a puppet of the other four nations, that the Treaty of Thronehold was a fraud, that any indications that Prince Oargev thinks that the war is over are fabrications, and that they (and other Cyreans) are the only people who have any right to be in the Mournland. In spite of their delusions, these Cyrean warforged holdouts have a tough, survivalist practicality. Although they hate the Lord of Blades' movement, they know that any direct confrontation would lead to their death, so they generally avoid them, and, in truth, spend most of their time hiding. Nonetheless, a Brelish or Karrnathi adventurer who runs across this group of tough, canny, and zealous survivors had better be prepared for a tough fight. (Many would be inclined to draw comparison to Hiroo Onoda, although the analogies aren't perfect, of course.) Thoughts?
Cloud Divider 05-08-07, 07:25 PM	It's a neat concept...but... The followon question is... "...and?" The concept is missing something. I like to think of it as the "So What?" factor. So you've got some paranoid holdouts in the Mournlands, who'll most likely try to kill anyone they run across (they pretty much hate everyone equally, except Cyrans...but then, unless they're the "right" Cyrans, they hate them too). But they spend the majority of their time trying to keep a low profile. It's a neat concept, but it needs a better hook - as it stands it's a pretty basic justification for a "You encounter 2d4 heavily-armed hostile Warforged, and they are unwilling to negotiate..." The problem with that, is that unless you (the GM) do a lot of out-of-character plot exposition, there's no reason for the PCs to find out their interesting backstory... They're just Yet Another Random Encounter. And it's too cool an idea to waste like that. So you need to flesh out a few hooks - reasons why the PCs would encounter these guys (beyond flavor text to why they were jumped by some rampant Warforged that don't work for the LoB). Where are they based? The Mournlands are pretty big, all kinds of funky things to do. What were they doing there? Why do they stay? Are they defending something? If so, what? What do they do in their spare time? Other than stew on how Cyre was unfairly "nuked." Are they planning something (maybe proving who did it)? If so, what? Perhaps they're waiting for something. Again, the question is "for what?" Let's say a mixed-national party (including a Cyran and a Karrnathi) runs into these guys. What happens? What if none of the PCs are wearing anything that particularly identifies them as Cyrans/non-Cyrans? How would they treat a Cyran-veteran who's now working for Breland? There's a lot of interesting potential here. Maybe this detachment were assigned to escort some Cyran magewrights transporting something spectacularly important when the Mists appeared, killing the non-Warforged (including their human(oid) commanding officers). So they've got this McGuffin, and perhaps the PC's are after it. Problem is, these guys have probably buried/hidden it, so there's no way to find it without interacting with the Warforged remnant (maybe there's a map, but it's a heavily encoded map). So by forcing communication, you get the opportunity to explain the unit's backstory. Maybe they're one of the only groups out there that actually know anything substantial about the Lord of Blades and his Warforged army. So the PCs need to gather intelligence by somehow getting it out of these guys. Again, you've now got the opportunity for some interaction that goes beyond shooting at each other... Also, as isolationist as you describe, how are they so well informed of the state of the world outside of the Mournlands? If they were a unit that was all but left for dead in the middle of Cyre when the Mists showed up 4-5 years ago, how/why would they know about the treaty of Thronehold? Perhaps they don't quite kill on sight anyone they encounter - perhaps a rather severe "military" interrogation, followed by evaluations of what to do with POWs (eventually the victims' rations run out, or they stop being able to heal injuries...like the ones that were inflicted during said interrogations). It tweaks the story a bit (but not dangerously) if they still believe the war is ongoing, and justifies a great deal of their behavior (much like the Hiroo Onoda). A related question then, is what they think of the Lord of Blades. They think he's a puppet of the Four Nations. Why? The LOB seems pretty equal-opportunity in his hatred for all fleshies. Perhaps they're offended more by his opportunism (building a WF state in the husk of Cyre) and lack of patriotism and sense of duty (assume, for the moment, that the LOB was Cyran). What do these WF do when they encounter other WF that aren't allied with the LoB? IE Warforged that have come into the Mournlands looking for the LoB (but haven't located/joined yet). Do they befriend them (and try to strengthen their numbers)? Do they kill them with (or without) remorse? Perhaps they may someday form a second Warforged party in the Mournlands, to rival the LoB.