Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Charles Phipps 12-06-06, 10:24 AM	I was curious about what people wanted to think about the possibility of a Cold War formulating between the Four Remaining Nations as their intelligence services try to head off the war or give themselves an incredible advantage without ever setting off the Second War. The adventures for the player characters for the various agencies from the Royal Eyes to the Dark Lanterns are already hinted at in the books but does anyone think that they really might be able to seriously impact the possibility of war? It might be interesting if the various groups could include the possibility of silencing heirs or even formulating the overthrow of the government or its full compliancy to supporting their regime. A lot of the Last War's description shows the matter to be one that deeply lacks the using of a fully capable intelligence service. More subtle means might mean that the Second War might not even be fought. Plus, there's issues like the Thirteen Houses that could be every bit as important players in this.
Charles Phipps 12-06-06, 08:47 PM	I can just imagine the Artificer made Gadgets ;-)
McFrankPatrick 12-06-06, 10:03 PM	I think that a Bond/Cold War theme would suit Eberron quite well. I agree that during the last war the nations seem to have had underdeveloped intelligence capabilities. Probably the existence of House Thiuranni greatly influenced this, since each nation could access an established, very accurate intelligence network at any time (for the right price). With the Shadow Schism and the proliferation of nations following the treaty of thronehold, the five nations are probably realizing that national intelligence capabilities are a must-have. This makes an ideal beginning for a group of PCs. Say Aundair (just to choose one of the five nations at random) has realized that it must radically expand its intelligence gathering capabilities. In order to expand the abilities of the Royal Eyes of Aundair, Queen Aurala secretly mandates that several new divisions of spies are trained. The PCs are a part of this recruitment drive, and so are in the thick of the spy game from the start. With this sudden increase in manpower, oversight on individuals tends to be a bit lax, since the organization is adjusting to its new size, allowing the PCs a bit more freedom to act than spies and operatives in the real world (to bring it closer the Bond feel of agents on the loose). Sounds great to me! Of course that outline could easily apply to any of the five nations. And your right, Q the gnome artificer would be a great addition to the campaign!
makeshiftwings 12-07-06, 12:00 AM	I'm currently starting a campaign where all the players are working for the Brelish Citadel, basically as Dark Lanterns. I've been playing the other nations as in a somewhat "cold war" state as well. The main thing I'm having trouble justifying is the incredible number of "neutral" groups that seem to be so readily hired for matters of extreme national security. Especially houses Thuranni and Phiarlan. I already mentioned in another thread somewhere that I just can't wrap my head around the idea of a mercenary spy corporation who basically advertises that they are all turncoats and double agents who are going to sell all your secrets to the highest bidder. I just can't imagine why any nation would hire these guys. Most spies in real life have to undergo extensive psychological testing to ensure almost slavish national pride and loyalty, and double agents are rare and dealt with harshly. I can't picture Britain hiring Bond to spy on Russia if Bond was a German and they knew that his corporation was currently selling British secrets to the Russians. Aside from just the spy Houses, there are also the large number of adventurer guilds and freelance adventurers who get hired to do so many things, which I can understand from a game design standpoint, but which doesn't really make that much sense realistically. I think it would be easy enough though to downplay the role of "adventurers" in the government if you've got a group of players who are going to align themselves with one government instead of travelling around working for all of them. All of the other Dragonmarked houses also have a weird neutrality that I can't quite grasp either. I understand that they're somewhat like multinational corporations, but even multinational corporations usually have to deal with the treason laws of their home country, and national leaders just would not trust someone like Cannith who openly said they were going to sell weapons of mass destruction to both you and the violent terrorists that Hate You For Your Freedom, but could they please set up a nuclear weapons factory in your back yard. I thought about trying to tie the Houses to specific nations, so that they had some sort of legal corporate responsibility, but that messes with the setting a lot. Especially if you end up with houses like Lyrandar and Orien having some sort of national loyalty; suddenly during an extreme cold war, you have to either shut down the lightning rail and airships or come up with some excuse as to why Truman is letting Amtrak build a new monorail in communist Russia.
Charles Phipps 12-07-06, 12:20 AM	Actually, Keith Baker may be the one to clarify this but my interpretation is the fact that the Dragonmarked Houses were once more subdued in the service of Galifar. They couldn't make the kind of demands that they can now because while the Emperor NEEDED the Dragonmarked houses, a United Galifar could punish them severely or probably remove any head that disagreed with him. In the Last War, the Thirteen wield effectively as much power as one of the Five Nations and any that would have betrayed them would have met their gruesome end in the war. I also tend to think that the Five Nations also managed to score more points against the Houses than they are willing to admit. House Cannith is an example as the Three Heads of the House are split amongst three seperate houses. All three seem to have very clear support of their regions and I imagine that they never once betrayed that trust. The other houses were really not involved in the war except for House Deneith and they're mercenaries. Thuranni and Phiarlan I think were never hired by the Five Nations for sensetive spy work either. I tend to think they probably operate independently THEN find a buyer. While I've made comments about SPECTRE being the Lords of Dust or The Dreaming Dark. Technically, the literary Spectre fits those houses the best. They weren't interested in world domination but making money. They would copy documents and carry out missions then see whom would be interested in the matter. No one trusts them completely but they also are loyal to the bottom line to the point that their activities can be trusted to be carried out to the letter of their contract. Again, they have to primarily work for themselves unless someone wants complete deniability. I think that in any Cold War Eberron the behavior of the Thirteen frankly warrants spying and sabotage against them as well. The Four Nations don't have to walk around on egg shells with the Thirteen anymore than they do with each other (which means a lot but a certain amount of hostility will be tolerated). A House Cannith member selling weapons to criminals is theoretically entitled to trial by his own country but if the players eliminate him because he wasn't able to identify himself...well they'll get a hearty pat on the back from the Dark Lanterns. Most of the "patriotic" Intelligence Agents probably have a teeth grinding aversion to the war profiteering of the Dragonmarked Houses. The problem is that no nation can function in the post war economy without them. They could barely function without them pre-Last War and that's debatable. Adventurers' Guilds and Freelance Adventurers I mostly just take in the context of what they are meant to represent in real life. They're independent mercenaries contracted out past the Last War for guard work, dealing with local problems, and probably a lot more crooked activities (for Adventurer's Guilds, I tend to think of them are pretty much dens of assassins and cut throats than plucky explorers). For those of you who don't think that a 1st world nation wouldn't need mercenaries, I point out we have thousands in Iraq. They're spread very thin and had to give up huge portions of their territory like Darguun and Valenar because they couldn't handle it all. The sheer volume of out of work soldiers also contributes to them being a major problem.
Kid SixXx 12-07-06, 08:12 AM	I think that a Bond-themed game would work in present-day Eberron. There are certainly more intel-gathering services than you can shake a stick at, and the DM could make the current detente a bit more tense than is normally portrayed in the sourcebooks. To be fair, the gadgets are movie-driven & are no more distracting than the small arsenal of magical items that you'd get through normal mechanical means. If it were me, I'd read the novels a bit more to get a feel for the more psychological elements found therein (much of which shows up in the most recent Bond film, Casino Royale). Common themes in Bond novels: 1) The enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend. 2) The job of being a 00 will seriously screw with your mind if you're not hardcore. This is something you could play up for flavor, & probably works better in a game taking place as Khorvaire slides helplessly into the Last War. 3) The notion that the UK deludes itself into thinking that she is still a mighty world power because their intel service always saves the day. 4) Rogue upstart nations who dare threaten British sovereignty should shut up and do as they're bloody well told, or face sanctions. Lots of those elements work well for just about any nation, especially Aundair or Breland.
Syltorian 12-07-06, 09:33 AM	While I've made comments about SPECTRE being the Lords of Dust or The Dreaming Dark. Technically, the literary Spectre fits those houses the best. They weren't interested in world domination but making money. They would copy documents and carry out missions then see whom would be interested in the matter. No one trusts them completely but they also are loyal to the bottom line to the point that their activities can be trusted to be carried out to the letter of their contract. Again, they have to primarily work for themselves unless someone wants complete deniability. I've wondered about whether the Aurum was not a good fit for SPECTRE. They share interest in money. They have the financial power (for all those plans) and mastermind members. They are secret societies operating behind business fronts. Their members operate on what appears to be at first individual basis: taking one member of SPECTRE down never threatened the whole organisation seriously. They also have their agents placed nearly everywhere. Conceivably, the Aurum could even want to restart the war between the Five Nations, much like SPECTRE did with the U.S. and the Soviets. War Profiteering alone could be a motive, but they are rich enough to become a financial super-power themselves if everything else breaks down. The Aurum is less organised, of course - at a superficial level: people more important even than those in the Platinum Concord control everything from behind the scenes. The Aurum portrays itself as a "friends of history" society, while SPECTRE has little interest in the past. But any front is as good as any other, and if past-age artifacts of the James Bond world had the power they do in Eberron, SPECTRE would surely be interested. Besides, SPECTRE members wore distinctive rings (with the ghost motive on), and the Aurum is famous for their rings too. ;)
Charles Phipps 12-07-06, 09:41 AM	Well there's A LOT of Spectre analogues in Eberron. The Aurrum is actually outright Spectre. It's not so much subtext as text ;-) Ironically, I always have felt the Aurrum is sort of troubled by being a powerful merchantile conspiracy in a place where the interests are already controlled by much more powerful groups. The Dragonmarked Houses are already pretty much the mafia themselves and the Lords of Dust are the most frightening world spanning conspiracy. So what's left for the Aurrum to scare up?
cancerousmango 12-07-06, 10:47 AM	I can't see why any race other than changelings ever bothers being a spy. Imagine a changeling James Bond, voiced by Sean Connery. God yes.
goblin_pride 12-07-06, 10:58 AM	More subtle means might mean that the Second War might not even be fought. Oh it'll be fought, just not on the battlefield you're expecting.
Charles Phipps 12-07-06, 11:31 AM	I can't see why any race other than changelings ever bothers being a spy. Imagine a changeling James Bond, voiced by Sean Connery. God yes. Well James Bond changeling sort of defeats the point ironically. He after all, is the worst spy in the world. "What's your name?" "Bond, James Bond." Yes, he gives his REAL name. It also works because James Bond has higher levels than everyone else and that scares the hell out of the enemy. ;-)
Shady314 12-07-06, 05:54 PM	I'm currently starting a campaign where all the players are working for the Brelish Citadel, basically as Dark Lanterns. I've been playing the other nations as in a somewhat "cold war" state as well. The main thing I'm having trouble justifying is the incredible number of "neutral" groups that seem to be so readily hired for matters of extreme national security. Especially houses Thuranni and Phiarlan. I already mentioned in another thread somewhere that I just can't wrap my head around the idea of a mercenary spy corporation who basically advertises that they are all turncoats and double agents who are going to sell all your secrets to the highest bidder. I just can't imagine why any nation would hire these guys. Most spies in real life have to undergo extensive psychological testing to ensure almost slavish national pride and loyalty, and double agents are rare and dealt with harshly. I can't picture Britain hiring Bond to spy on Russia if Bond was a German and they knew that his corporation was currently selling British secrets to the Russians. Aside from just the spy Houses, there are also the large number of adventurer guilds and freelance adventurers who get hired to do so many things, which I can understand from a game design standpoint, but which doesn't really make that much sense realistically. I think it would be easy enough though to downplay the role of "adventurers" in the government if you've got a group of players who are going to align themselves with one government instead of travelling around working for all of them. All of the other Dragonmarked houses also have a weird neutrality that I can't quite grasp either. I understand that they're somewhat like multinational corporations, but even multinational corporations usually have to deal with the treason laws of their home country, and national leaders just would not trust someone like Cannith who openly said they were going to sell weapons of mass destruction to both you and the violent terrorists that Hate You For Your Freedom, but could they please set up a nuclear weapons factory in your back yard. I thought about trying to tie the Houses to specific nations, so that they had some sort of legal corporate responsibility, but that messes with the setting a lot. Especially if you end up with houses like Lyrandar and Orien having some sort of national loyalty; suddenly during an extreme cold war, you have to either shut down the lightning rail and airships or come up with some excuse as to why Truman is letting Amtrak build a new monorail in communist Russia. 1. Because they are better than their own intelligence services. 2. Because they don't betray clients like you suggest. You can't hire Phiarlan to give up its own secrets which is what you'd be asking them to do if you asked them to tell you everything they'd ever done for anyone else. They don't accept missions for one group and then immediately turn around and get paid to do the exact opposite of the last mission by a new group. In fact Phiarlan and Thuranni play favorites. Especially Phiarlan who feel they have a duty to keep balance. Though this is subtle and for the most part they have proven their neutrality over the entire history of Galifar and the Last War. A more apt analogy would be like if Britan hired a Swiss not a German. Or maybe a German-American. They have no national ties to any of the five nations (in fact Phiarlan has at least one demesne in every nation) and so the Brelish Monarch doesn't see Phiarlan as being in Thrane's pocket or anything. 3. They are proactive not reactive. Their usual MO is NOT to be hired to go out and find information, they find stuff out then decide who should know and come to you with an offer. You can turn them down and thus blind yourself to important information they may then sell to someone else that will use it against you. 4. Not everyone knows it's secret role. Someone could buy Phiarlan or Thuranni obtained info never even realizing where it comes from. It's not like a marked Phiarlan member just comes up to you at the Tain Gala, introduces themselves Bond style, and asks if you want anyone killed or something. It's more like a mysterious letter urges you to meet someone at the docks with urgent information for you. 5. Because when Galifar was united the fact they were mercenary was pretty much a non-issue and their support and service for Galifar over the years obviously generated much goodwill for the house to the monarchs of the Five Nations. When the Last War broke out the 5 Nations didn't really have their own intelligence services because Phiarlan had handled it for them. Each Monarch kept using them because they were the best, had always used them, and had no other recourse till their own fledgling services began to take shape, which they formed for the same reasons you have trouble understanding how Phiarlan works. 6. Don't forget spying is not what actually defines Houses Phiarlan and Thuranni. I'm sure they make much more money from the legal side of their business and the legal side of their business is what the majority of their own people do. If you just cannot wrap your head around it you can always eliminate the spying aspects of the two houses and keep them as simply entertainers.
Eled_the_Worm_Tamer 12-07-06, 06:05 PM	The big problem with a true cold war in Ebberon is the lack of low tier nations and colonys in witch phony wars can be fought. The great powers clashing by proxy, wich was a feature of the era through africa and the gulf areas clean to Cuba. Small nations with powerfull patrons there conflicts worn like gloves over there patrons actual contention.
goblin_pride 12-07-06, 06:23 PM	The big problem with a true cold war in Ebberon is the lack of low tier nations and colonys in witch phony wars can be fought. The great powers clashing by proxy, wich was a feature of the era through africa and the gulf areas clean to Cuba. Small nations with powerfull patrons there conflicts worn like gloves over there patrons actual contention. Q'Barra? Droaam? Eldeen Reaches? Shadow Marches? Even in Darguun, a fresh corpse in an alley won't raise eyebrows, just don't be surprised if the fight is joined by over-exitable goblinoids. The Lazhar principalities just screams "the Carribean" to me, lots of open spaces where a corpse of an intelligence operative could find itself disappeared without a trace.
Charles Phipps 12-07-06, 06:33 PM	I created a "Spy" spell list when I was working on converting the Bard class into a James Bondian class for dealing with the enemy. I kept influencing reactions but dropped inspiration and counterspelling before replacing them with appropriate rogue abilities in Sneak Attack + Evasion. I also encouraged players to draw from this spell list of low level "Spy" spells. Some useful spells I disregarded for the fact that they don't seem very bondish. 0-Level Spy Spells Detect Poison, Daze, Flare, Detect Magic, Ghost Sounds, Light, Read Magic, Resistance 1st Level Spy Spells Alarm, Endure Elements, Comprehend Languages, Detect Secret Doors, True Strike, Charm Person, Change Self, Ventriloquism, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Jump, Message, Sleep, Spider Climb 2nd Level Spy Spells Arcane Lock, Protection from Arrows*, Detect Thoughts, Locate Objects, See Invisibility, Darkness, Daylight, Blur, Invisibility, Misdirection, Alter Self, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Darkvision, Endurance, Knock, Whispering Wind 3rd Level Spy Spells Dispel Magic, Nondetection, Protection from Elements, Clairaudience, Clairvoyance, Tongues, Suggestion, Displacement, Illusionary Script, Invisibility Sphere, Secret Page 4th Level Spy Spells Stoneskin, Arcane Eye, Detect Scrying, Locate Creature, Charm Monster, Emotion, Otiluke's Resistant Sphere**, Improved Invisibility 5th Level Spy Spells Prying Eyes, Rary's Telepathic Bond, Dominate Person, Sending, Dream, False Vision, Seeming, Permanency*** 6th Level Spy Spells Antimagic Field, Globe of Invulnerability, Guards and Wards, Analyze Dweamnor, Legend Lore, True Seeing, Geas, Mass Suggestion, Contingency, Mislead, Veil * James Bond has this spell on all the time ** Ever wonder why Bond girls stand there looking useless but unharmed during fights? *** Best used for things like Spider Climb, Darkvision, Detect Thoughts and the like
Charles Phipps 12-07-06, 06:34 PM	The big problem with a true cold war in Ebberon is the lack of low tier nations and colonys in witch phony wars can be fought. The great powers clashing by proxy, wich was a feature of the era through africa and the gulf areas clean to Cuba. Small nations with powerfull patrons there conflicts worn like gloves over there patrons actual contention. I imagine that Throneport is Casablanca.
Eled_the_Worm_Tamer 12-07-06, 07:02 PM	Q'Barra? Droaam? Eldeen Reaches? Shadow Marches? Even in Darguun, a fresh corpse in an alley won't raise eyebrows, just don't be surprised if the fight is joined by over-exitable goblinoids. The Lazhar principalities just screams "the Carribean" to me, lots of open spaces where a corpse of an intelligence operative could find itself disappeared without a trace. I didn't say there were none, but when you split the lesser nations youve listed between Aundar, Breland, Thrane and Kranath there just arent enough pupet kingdoms to go around for the feel needed. The cold war was fought, under many difertnt names and cuses, all through africa, the caribean and the near east. Russian guns and american hardwear in every theater of war in that period. A start might be to narrow the fight, politics and hapenstance have for what ever reason taken Aundar and thrane out of the runing. But Breland and Kranath are unwilling to comit themselves, so the phony wars, testing oneanothers streght, and intreages, gaining or denying access can begin.
Charles Phipps 12-07-06, 07:14 PM	I didn't say there were none, but when you split the lesser nations youve listed between Aundar, Breland, Thrane and Kranath there just arent enough pupet kingdoms to go around for the feel needed. The cold war was fought, under many difertnt names and cuses, all through africa, the caribean and the near east. Russian guns and american hardwear in every theater of war in that period. A start might be to narrow the fight, politics and hapenstance have for what ever reason taken Aundar and thrane out of the runing. But Breland and Kranath are unwilling to comit themselves, so the phony wars, testing oneanothers streght, and intreages, gaining or denying access can begin. Good point, if I were to add a spot for a good "Cold War" then I'd definitely make a lot of fictious colonies for the Four Nations in Xen'drick and all along the islands between the continent of Khovaire and it. That would allow there to be plenty of "Colonial vs. Natives" type business and also there to be a political situation pretty much catered to whatever the GM needs for the moment of the conflict.
Eled_the_Worm_Tamer 12-07-06, 07:28 PM	A less monolithic continent in Sarlona, with other Narions like Adar standing aginst Riedra might be another good addition, not quite client states, but potentualy valuable allys and expolitable in there own way. The key thing for this kind of intreage is balance with the potental for imbalance. the Main players should be very evenly matched, the client states allinaces should change often and frequently be unclear. This creates the climate of suspicion and dowbt needed. This is a climate where agents are asighned to see if its even safe to asighn other agents, where a loss may be more valuable than a victory, and every agent in the end is a chess pice, valuable, but with the potental, even the expectation, to be sacrificed for greater gain. This, gentlemen is what Kipling reffered to as 'the Great game'
goblin_pride 12-07-06, 11:50 PM	I imagine that Throneport is Casablanca. What a delicious idea. I had always pictured Stormreach as more of the Casablanca, but Throneport puts it alot closer to home.
makeshiftwings 12-08-06, 01:38 AM	Thanks for all the information on Phiarlan and Thuranni. I guess I can sort of see how they might work. I sometimes forget that things all probably made much more sense legally when Galifar was united, and that now all the courts in Eberron are still somewhat unsure as to how exactly they are supposed to handle the extranational powers of the Dragonmarked Houses.
Charles Phipps 12-08-06, 03:36 PM	Some generic plots I think might be good for Spy games.... Any of these don't work you think? Feel free to add your own. 1. An interested party sets up the assassination of the King of Darguun. They fully intend to start a civil war that they hope will cause the state to self destruct and make it simplicity for Breland to reconquer it. 2. Merrix D'Cannith intends to arrange for the murder of the other two candidates for House Cannith's rulership even as he is supported by one of the Nations that he fully intends to break neutrality for. 3. Spies for King Kaius prepare to cause a massive explosion in the Mror Holds lowest mines that will release a huge amount of Khyber creatures into the region. King Kaius intends to offer to rescue them with his endless forces of the expendable dead in exchange for their return to serving him. 4. A Forge used in the creation of warforged has been discovered that hasn't been destroyed. Whatever of the Four Nations that manages to acquire it will have a huge advantage over the other nations that have forbid their creation. 5. The Aurrum has begun working on a magical curse with the aid of an Argonessan dragon that will target the Dragonmarked members of the 13 houses. They hope that it will allow them to be wiped out and the Aurrum to pick up the slack in the resulting chaos. They also have the specialized magical cure in scroll form so the lower ranking Dragonmarked can be brought under their control. 6. Prince Oargev still has access to many highly placed Cyrean spies and intends to punish the other nations for ignoring him. His strategy with the "Black Watch" is to keep all the other parties guessing while he profits from the chaos until the time he can build a new country. 7. Zilargo is a center for intrigue and subterfuge. It's current leader intends to prevent the next war by using his race's prospensity towards illusions to substitute changelings for the current monarchs of three of the Four Nations. He's aware that no one would think to suspect the gnomes. 8. Q'Barra has recently become a very wealthy center for trade with Xen'drick and Lhazaar due to its vast plantations. The nation of the PC's preference has decided to negotiate its candidate for leader to support their joining formally one of the Four Nations. The others will do anything to stop this...or bring it under their reign. 9. King Kaius has worked on his wizards to create a vast magical plague that will wipe out the warhorses of the Valenar. The resulting blow to morale and their prestige will not annihilate their ability to make war but it will allow King Kaius to invade the nation and probably wipe its leadership clean away. 10. Queen Diani is pregnant with her first child and the Thrane are in an oddly nationalist mood. She intends to exploit this by arranging to frame Cardinal Kronzen for kidnapping Queen Jaela. This she hopes will mire the church in scandal and allow her child to be named monarch of the land. 11. Queen Aurala has recently had one of her wizard's executed. His crime was consorting with forbidden weapons of the Last War and experimenting to build a super-weapon. This "Spell Bomb" essentially is a supercharged Fireball spell that has enough power to level a city. Too bad that the prototype has been stolen and is being charged for use somewhere. 12. A Rogue Cyrean Admiral has established his own secret base and is targetting the shipping out of the Four Nations. Their goal is to build enough wealth to hire mercenaries from House Deneith in order to overthrow the Brelish government. The players are assigned to destroy this base before another war occurs.
Thanqol 12-08-06, 06:10 PM	Note on Dragonmarked Neutrality: All of the other Dragonmarked houses also have a weird neutrality that I can't quite grasp either. I understand that they're somewhat like multinational corporations, but even multinational corporations usually have to deal with the treason laws of their home country, and national leaders just would not trust someone like Cannith who openly said they were going to sell weapons of mass destruction to both you and the violent terrorists that Hate You For Your Freedom, but could they please set up a nuclear weapons factory in your back yard. ON THE OTHER HAND, should you decide to not let them set up the nuclear weapon's factory in your back yard, they'll do it in the terrorist's back yard and *you'll get the business end*. House Cannith, being the only supplier of the Warforged, had a monopoly and could sell 100% of their supply - and if *you* didn't buy them, Aundair *would*. So all the Five Nations *had* to let the Dragonmarked Houses in, or they'd lose a critical advantage and maybe even the war. If two or more (important) Houses boycotted Karrnath, it wouldn't last the week.
Eled_the_Worm_Tamer 12-08-06, 06:14 PM	13. Breland is massing troops in the Elderine Reaches under the guise of a traning exersise. But us that there real purpose, or does the exersies proximity to the Aundar border have more meaning? And how can this new allaince between Breland and the Reaches be halted without political consequenses? 14. The Lord of Blades invites representiaves of each nation to meat with him, offering an allaince to the strngest. But what does he realy want, and who could be sentinto such an obvius trap withiut insulting him?
Charles Phipps 12-08-06, 07:00 PM	Some outright Bond plots ripped off. 15. Doctor No: House Lyrander's airships have been failing lately and they're suffering a massive embarrassment as existing airships are becoming a more valuable commodity. This is unknowingly because a Aurrum Artificer has created a device that allows him to cast hexes onto the construction due to the facility he's set up. If the man isn't stopped then House Lyrander will soon be replaced by Cannith created substitutes and cease to exist. 16. From Russia with Love: The players are contacted by a secretary of a rival agency whom wishes to defect out of a crush for them. Everyone suspects a trap even as the opportunity for intelligence is too great. What no one realizes is that she's actually under a phialter of love and the players are being lured in to eliminate the agents that they'll draw out so the Aurrum can make off with a list of foreign agents spread throughout the other four nations. 17. Goldfinger: The Aurrum intends to bankrupt House Kundarak. Building up a large reserve of gold, they have bred a very virulent form of Rust Monster that eats gold and will release it by the hundreds into the Mror Holds vast gold treasuries in a special attack. These Rust Monsters are very small and will breed by the thousands before they die out. The players become involved as they are called to investigate the stockpiling of gold and find House Validis members involved in creating the creatures having been murdered. 18. Thunderball: The Aurrum has stolen a forbidden weapon from House Cannith in a Greater Fire Elemental that was rendered impossible to banish by special magics around it. Indeed, they have stolen two of these captured demons. They intend to release them in one of the four Nations unless their ransom is not paid. 19. You only Live Twice: The Dreaming Dark has started to increase tensions rapidly with a series of sabotages, high profile assassinations, and worse acts carried out. The players are aided by the Kalashatar whom believe there is another party to benefit even though their home organizations denies it. Can they work with the foreigners in order to prevent the Second War? 20. On Her Majesty's Secret Service: In what is almost too unbelievable to be true, the players have recieved word that one of the worst war criminals of the Last War has been spotted. Can they ally with a corrupt Abberant Dragon Mark Gangster of Sharn and his beautiful daughter long enough to win the location of the man's hidden fortress in the Demon Wastes? What will they do when they discover he's actually a Lord of Dust with a plot to release plague and famine on the other lands unless they cede him Throneport? 21. Diamonds are Forever: Someone is smuggling Dragonshards in from the Eldeen Reaches straight into the Casinos of Sharn. The number of murders being carried out by a pair of Changeling lovers is considerable even the players are asked to discover whose the party responsible. In truth, the Aurrum is using it as an opportunity to repair an Eldritch machine that uses the massive power requirements to fire magical blasts anywhere in the world. 22. Live and Let Die: A half-Drow Q'Barra plantation owner has started working for the Dreaming Dark and producing vast amounts of dreamlilly that he's flooding the streets of the major capital with. He's using the lower classes to spread this drug while he's turning Q'Barra into a gigantic drug farm. Can the players kill his gangster accomplice, destroy the vast fields of dreamlilly, and rescue his beautiful Kalashatar fortune teller prisoner? 23. The Man with the Golden Gun: The players are being hunted by a Valenar Elf with a crossbow shot that never misses. Part of this is due to his +5 bolts that are manufactured nowhere else in the world and made of solid gold for slaying a specific target. Who has hired the world's greatest assassin and why are they after the players? In truth, it is his Valenar mistress whom holds to take his place due to their shared distant ancestor whom she believes he's disgracing. 24. The Spy Who Loved Me: A Mad Deathless Elf is preparing to cover his island in a force shield before using ancient magics that the Dragons destroyed the Giants over in order to raise the Sea-level of the world and drown all of the "evil humans" that he despises in an apocalyptic plot. The players are aided by a member of the Chamber whom organizes a member of the Dreaming Dark to aid them. 25. Moonraker: (Book not Movie) A wealthy philanthropist deformed in the war in the home nation is building a spectacular armored vessel for the country's Navy. This device will have incredible magical armaments like cannons that shoots fireballs and ballistas whose arrows detonate earthquakes. It is to be the crowning glory of their nation. What no one realizes is this ship is nothing more than a giant magical powderkeg that will decimate the port its constructed in. The philanthropist is actually a Mourner whom had his entire body burned before he was accidentally picked up by the enemy sides. This will be his 'revenge' for the Day of Mourning 26. For Your Eyes Only: A powerful Noble and member of the PC's home nation is supplying weapons to one of the terrorist groups inside their land (The Swords of Liberty, the Emerald Claw, The Flame Heretics, or a new group for Aundair). Any attempt to inform on him without catching him in the act will get them branded as traitors. 27. Octopussy: A mad Karrnath General doesn't believe the war can lead to another coup and intends to eliminate King Kaius and takeover the land for himself to begin the war anew. He will use the next Carnival in the capital as a cover for a mammoth magical explosion that will kill Kaius, the attending warlords, and many civilians to immediately allow him to ascend to the throne and arrest any dissenters. Aiding him in this plot are confederates in Lhazaar. 28. A View to A Kill: Aaron D'Cannith has prepared a ritual that will shift Sharn away from the Plane of Air and thus crash the entire city. He intends to do this in order to destroy Merrix D'Cannith and his faction (rather like swatting a fly with a Meteor Swarm spell) plus the profit from the resulting collapse of Brelish society. And one non Bond plot 29. Merrix D'Cannith takes over the Aurrum as part of his scheme to gain more power over Breland. With the power of his faction added to the Aurrum, they stand to become one of the predominate powers in Khovaire. Can the players stop him from eliminating his rivals in the organization?
Syltorian 12-09-06, 09:35 AM	Excellent work, Charles! Those adaptations are great! :)
Huzzah! 12-11-06, 01:38 PM	Going with the superagent theme, you could definetely pull off a Bourne Identity/Supremacy riff. The party is a team of highly-skilled agents previously in the employ of one of the intelligence corps of the four nations. Unfortunately, their last orders placed them in Cyre just prior to the Mourning. With their memories skewed at best by magical backlash, they cannot remember where their abilities and training come from. Believed turncoat by their former employers, they are hunted as double agents by their home nation as well as by the operatives of other nations for the information they are believed to hold concerning the Mourning. The best part is, the party doesn't know which of the four nations they used to work for; they just know that everyone wants them dead!
Wymarc 12-11-06, 03:05 PM	I thought this was what the setting ment in the intro under "The Last War is over... sort of"
3nigma 12-11-06, 10:27 PM	I thought this was what the setting ment in the intro under "The Last War is over... sort of" Yeah, no kidding... Sorry to bust the bubble of the thread, but Eberron is nearly synonymous with "cold war." The entire setting already is a pre-packaged cold war. -3nigma
Charles Phipps 12-11-06, 11:50 PM	Well just because the Cold War is going on doesn't necessarily mean the players are going to be spies. This is a thread about incorporating said kind of plots.
jesterjeff 12-18-06, 12:26 AM	Khorvaire Special Protectorate we all know the history of the last days of the final war, the signing of the treaties and so on... but there was a second treaty signed on that day. This " Shadow Treaty" had one purpose; to fund a covert organization dedicated to insuring the lasting nature of the peace. The Khorvaire Special Protectorate draws it's staff from all of the 5 nations, all operatives are dedicated to the lasting peace above even their own national allegiances. The Khorvaire Special Protectorate is separated into 6 sections: Section 1, Operations, responsible only to the leaders of the five nations operations organizes and manages the KSP- Ran currently by an elderly noble referred to only as "M" in the common script. Section 2, Archives, keeping documentation on all intel. viewed as relevant to KSP operations. Section 3, Shop, staffed by skilled artificers and powerful magi, provides all equipment used by KSP. Section 4, Intelligence, ordered to gather information and observe all subjects but unauthorized to take any action. Section 5, Field, agents trained in counter espionage and other active endeavors. All players in my game will be Field agents. Section 6, Unnamed, legendary in KSP, agents of Section 6 are culled from all other sections, report only To "M", and take extreme actions...I.E. trained and covert assassins. My campaign is simple I plan to run my players through the bond books and movies... LeChiffre-mysterious nobleman who lives in his exclusive casino on an island in the Mror Holds. He is the Figure, and funds and funnels coin, artifacts and staff to various criminal, terrorist, and cult organizations. Operations send the fledgling team from Section 5 to infiltrate the casino and beat him in the highest of high stakes games of chance. The Figure is untouchable, but if his money is lost- his clients will remove him, hindering their activities. plus, the moneys won will be a valuable addition to KSP funding coffers. Dr. No- Cyran refugee and general, organizing an military/scientific expedition to enter the mournlands for humanitarian efforts for possible survivors. in actuality is organizing a force capable of dominating the mournlands and using it as the base for a New Cyran Nation. Auric Goldfinger- dwarven transmuter with a plan to make eberron's gold poisonous and thus shatter international trade, leaving his vast holding's in silver mines even more profitable. Ernst Stavro Blofeld- Changeling head of a vast espionage organization; Wraith, aim's global domination through fear and knowledge. Emilio Largo- Blofield's chief naval officer and head of extortion operations. Plots to salvage a sunken Draconic engine of destruction. Colonel Rosa Klebb- abandons Breland army to join Wraith, plots kidnaping of "M". Buonapart Ignace Gallia- head of vast criminal empire- smuggles rare drugs and stolen gold to ruin the economies of Khorvaire. Viktor Lavrentievich Zokas a.k.a Renard, the Anarchist- rogue assassin and anarchist; sells services to the Lords of Dust, plots random assassinations, destruction of military installations, and an attempt to release the bound elementals. The Spangled Mob a.k.a. Jack and Seraffimo Spang- gnome twins who organize various criminal enterprises. Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd- the personal assassins and bodyguards of Jack and Seraffimo Spang. Colonel Sun- Assimar paladin of the Silver Flame. plots take over of the church and Thrane as a prelude to a fullscale war upon the Demon Wastes. Count Konrad von Glöda- vampiric Gnoll, plots takeover of Droaam and invasion of Draguun. Francisco Scaramanga- Assassin extrordinare. hired to eliminate the heroes after a few of their successful adventures. Sir Hugo Drax- hobgoblin artificer, organizing a coven of goblinoid druids and clerics to sterilize the other races via curses and viral agents, insuring a proper Goblinoid world within a generation. Max Zorin- Elven Blackguard of the cult of the dragon below, a plan to selectively destroy dragonmarks by both a complex ritual and his hostages, a dragon of each of the 'breeds'. Alec Trevelyan- a former hero, has made a pact with various Quori; build their 'Gate of the sleeping eye' and he will be given rule over the races of eberron, under their guidance of course. Sir Gustav Graves- constructs an experimental airship and flies high into the night sky, harvests massive amounts of dragonshards, then constructs weapons of great power in order to rule the world. poses as a simple businessman noble.
Thindelock 12-18-06, 01:45 PM	Best. Thread. Ever. Now I have to decide if my next campaign is going to be Ravenloft, as originally planned, or another Eberron campaign focusing on this cold war angle. There's just so much potential here!
Charles Phipps 12-18-06, 06:05 PM	Good work on U.N.C.L.E in Eberron JesterJeff. :-) Glad you're enjoying it Thindelock.
jesterjeff 12-25-06, 12:56 PM	As ya can see i've a serious bond collection, inherited my grandfather's 1st editions of the original fleming books and have bought the canon books written by the 2 new guys... The KSP is closer to Bond's MI6 with 00 agents than U.N.C.L.E. but I tossed a bit of Section from the La Femme Nikita TV series. As that series went on Nikita discovered that she worked for one branch of section and each had a specific role... Been dying to run this but my friends never really liked bond and I couldn't talk em into a black ops Eberron game. :weep:
jesterjeff 12-25-06, 01:33 PM	so...anyone else think this would be a good idea for an online forum campaign? Not sure wiether I should run it or get someone else to do so and just play... GRRR choices suck.