Lightning Rail Adventure? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Lightning Rail Adventure? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
krocha
01-30-07, 03:30 PM Looking for some suggestions for a short adventure which is based on a Lightning Rail trip. I know the Whispers of the Vampire's Blade has a section that takes place on a Lightning Rail but I was looking for something smaller and more contained on the LR.

Thanks for the help.
Lujayne34
01-30-07, 03:42 PM Looking for some suggestions for a short adventure which is based on a Lightning Rail trip. I know the Whispers of the Vampire's Blade has a section that takes place on a Lightning Rail but I was looking for something smaller and more contained on the LR.

Thanks for the help.

There is one published in Dungeon Magazine that takes place entirely on a Lightning Rail
Cifer
01-30-07, 03:47 PM Murder on the Five Nations Express?
The PCs are hired to steal something which is to be transported from X to Y by lightning rail (they've got to find out who is transporting it first...)?
The PCs are contracted by house Orien to guard the newest train on its maiden voyage because threats from an unknown terrorist have come in?
Lord_Tirian
01-30-07, 04:03 PM There is one published in Dungeon Magazine that takes place entirely on a Lightning Rail

And in the current Dungeon (#143), called "Riding the Rail"... it's a 5th-level adventure, and around a monolith from Xen'drik, that's coincidently on the same rail as the PCs. Involves mooks, artificers, and rakshasas, as well as a time-driven plot. Looks pretty okay-ish.

Fits in every campaign, since the PCs just have to travel with the Rail as a plot, and it is confined to the rail (unless you want to expand the story somehow). It's also short and compact.
krocha
01-30-07, 04:20 PM And in the current Dungeon (#143), called "Riding the Rail"... it's a 5th-level adventure, and around a monolith from Xen'drik, that's coincidently on the same rail as the PCs. Involves mooks, artificers, and rakshasas, as well as a time-driven plot. Looks pretty okay-ish.

Fits in every campaign, since the PCs just have to travel with the Rail as a plot, and it is confined to the rail (unless you want to expand the story somehow). It's also short and compact.

Perfect...
Alex_
01-30-07, 05:32 PM I'm working on a short adventure that involves Warforged terrorists attempting to Hijack a Lightning Rail coach on it's way to Vathinrond and drive it into the Mournland, where the Lord of Blades has unknown plans for it.

The Warforged will hide themselves in large chests and containers, and have allies on the inside who'll have them loaded in the cargo area. At night, before the rail reaches the last stop, they'll break out and begin securing the coaches one by one from the rear, while a pair make their way across the roof of the rail to plant explosives (in case they should fail).

The PCs will be riding high priority in the front coaches of the rail, and will get woken up by all the racket as the hijackers are in the process of busting through the door to their coach.

I plan on having them move from the front to the rear, taking out all the warforged, and trying to calm down frightened passengers, before finally learning that the real threat is all the way at the other end, and on the roof.

It should end with a dramatic battle on the roof of the Lightning Rail against a warforged Artificer wielding crossbows/wands/pistols (I have guns in my setting) using rules from the Explorer's Guide.

Should the PCs fail, the Lightning Rail will be hijacked, and they'll be taken into the Morunland, kept prisoner, and hopefully escape, which is where the campaign will turn more survival/horror as they try to get out of the Mournland alive with followers of the Lord of Blades in pursuit (who never sleep, never get tired, and suffer no ill affects in the mist).
krocha
01-31-07, 09:24 AM I'm working on a short adventure that involves Warforged terrorists attempting to Hijack a Lightning Rail coach on it's way to Vathinrond and drive it into the Mournland, where the Lord of Blades has unknown plans for it.

The Warforged will hide themselves in large chests and containers, and have allies on the inside who'll have them loaded in the cargo area. At night, before the rail reaches the last stop, they'll break out and begin securing the coaches one by one from the rear, while a pair make their way across the roof of the rail to plant explosives (in case they should fail).

The PCs will be riding high priority in the front coaches of the rail, and will get woken up by all the racket as the hijackers are in the process of busting through the door to their coach.

I plan on having them move from the front to the rear, taking out all the warforged, and trying to calm down frightened passengers, before finally learning that the real threat is all the way at the other end, and on the roof.

It should end with a dramatic battle on the roof of the Lightning Rail against a warforged Artificer wielding crossbows/wands/pistols (I have guns in my setting) using rules from the Explorer's Guide.

Should the PCs fail, the Lightning Rail will be hijacked, and they'll be taken into the Morunland, kept prisoner, and hopefully escape, which is where the campaign will turn more survival/horror as they try to get out of the Mournland alive with followers of the Lord of Blades in pursuit (who never sleep, never get tired, and suffer no ill affects in the mist).

Nice... I may steal this one as well.
Yakman
01-31-07, 01:19 PM Watch The Great Train Robbery...
skerbgs
02-02-07, 02:57 AM I'm working on something like this myself. It's going to involve a murder on the train that the PC's will investigate, similar to the story in The Last Express. In fact I'm even stealing the main characters from The Last Express and modifying them to fit in Eberron!

NOTE: The Last Express was an excellent PC game released in 1996 to rave reviews but very little public exposure due to the collapse of the games publisher.
Rocksa
02-07-07, 10:24 PM There was an old thread about converting various video games to Eberron. One of them was Metal Gear Solid, and one of the people posted a nice little idea about a group of terrorists boarding a lightning rail and the PC's having to sneak around, taking out guards, and making sure that they're not detected in freeing the captive passengers, because, well, that would get everybody killed. Think the poster had some ideas for over-the-top characters that would basically be bosses.

Anyway, other ideas.

Bandits are hot on the trail of the lightning rail that the PC's are riding on. The crew and PC's know this, and know that if they stop then the bandits will board the rail and likely kill everyone inside. Bad enough, but the real problem lies in the sealed cargo car that was tacked onto the rail just before departure. The PC's have no idea what's inside the sealed car, they only know that they've been paid handsomly to make sure that nobody touches it or gets a peek inside. Thing is that they don't realize that a small hole was torn in the roof of the car, and that that tiny opening is all the creature inside needed to get out and begin wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting passengers.

What's the creature? No clue. May be an deadly ooze, may be some kind of twisted abberation, may even be a bunch of deadly snakes, either way you have a situation where the PC's are trapped with some kind of unknown horror lurking about, unable to stop and get away from the thing. There also happens to be the dillema about what to do about the creature(s). Kill it and incur the wrath of whoever paid that huge payment for the job upfront? Recapture it and put themselves, the passengers, and the crew at risk? Kick it off the train and leave a dangerous creature to run free in the middle of nowhere?
DBlizzard
02-08-07, 01:54 AM There is also a pretty good lightning rail adventure called "No Ticket" that was part of the Mark of Heroes RPGA campaign. It's not available anymore, but I believe it was part of the monthly store kits, so copies are floating around.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
krocha 01-30-07, 03:30 PM	Looking for some suggestions for a short adventure which is based on a Lightning Rail trip. I know the Whispers of the Vampire's Blade has a section that takes place on a Lightning Rail but I was looking for something smaller and more contained on the LR. Thanks for the help.
Lujayne34 01-30-07, 03:42 PM	Looking for some suggestions for a short adventure which is based on a Lightning Rail trip. I know the Whispers of the Vampire's Blade has a section that takes place on a Lightning Rail but I was looking for something smaller and more contained on the LR. Thanks for the help. There is one published in Dungeon Magazine that takes place entirely on a Lightning Rail
Cifer 01-30-07, 03:47 PM	Murder on the Five Nations Express? The PCs are hired to steal something which is to be transported from X to Y by lightning rail (they've got to find out who is transporting it first...)? The PCs are contracted by house Orien to guard the newest train on its maiden voyage because threats from an unknown terrorist have come in?
Lord_Tirian 01-30-07, 04:03 PM	There is one published in Dungeon Magazine that takes place entirely on a Lightning Rail And in the current Dungeon (#143), called "Riding the Rail"... it's a 5th-level adventure, and around a monolith from Xen'drik, that's coincidently on the same rail as the PCs. Involves mooks, artificers, and rakshasas, as well as a time-driven plot. Looks pretty okay-ish. Fits in every campaign, since the PCs just have to travel with the Rail as a plot, and it is confined to the rail (unless you want to expand the story somehow). It's also short and compact.
krocha 01-30-07, 04:20 PM	And in the current Dungeon (#143), called "Riding the Rail"... it's a 5th-level adventure, and around a monolith from Xen'drik, that's coincidently on the same rail as the PCs. Involves mooks, artificers, and rakshasas, as well as a time-driven plot. Looks pretty okay-ish. Fits in every campaign, since the PCs just have to travel with the Rail as a plot, and it is confined to the rail (unless you want to expand the story somehow). It's also short and compact. Perfect...
Alex_ 01-30-07, 05:32 PM	I'm working on a short adventure that involves Warforged terrorists attempting to Hijack a Lightning Rail coach on it's way to Vathinrond and drive it into the Mournland, where the Lord of Blades has unknown plans for it. The Warforged will hide themselves in large chests and containers, and have allies on the inside who'll have them loaded in the cargo area. At night, before the rail reaches the last stop, they'll break out and begin securing the coaches one by one from the rear, while a pair make their way across the roof of the rail to plant explosives (in case they should fail). The PCs will be riding high priority in the front coaches of the rail, and will get woken up by all the racket as the hijackers are in the process of busting through the door to their coach. I plan on having them move from the front to the rear, taking out all the warforged, and trying to calm down frightened passengers, before finally learning that the real threat is all the way at the other end, and on the roof. It should end with a dramatic battle on the roof of the Lightning Rail against a warforged Artificer wielding crossbows/wands/pistols (I have guns in my setting) using rules from the Explorer's Guide. Should the PCs fail, the Lightning Rail will be hijacked, and they'll be taken into the Morunland, kept prisoner, and hopefully escape, which is where the campaign will turn more survival/horror as they try to get out of the Mournland alive with followers of the Lord of Blades in pursuit (who never sleep, never get tired, and suffer no ill affects in the mist).
krocha 01-31-07, 09:24 AM	I'm working on a short adventure that involves Warforged terrorists attempting to Hijack a Lightning Rail coach on it's way to Vathinrond and drive it into the Mournland, where the Lord of Blades has unknown plans for it. The Warforged will hide themselves in large chests and containers, and have allies on the inside who'll have them loaded in the cargo area. At night, before the rail reaches the last stop, they'll break out and begin securing the coaches one by one from the rear, while a pair make their way across the roof of the rail to plant explosives (in case they should fail). The PCs will be riding high priority in the front coaches of the rail, and will get woken up by all the racket as the hijackers are in the process of busting through the door to their coach. I plan on having them move from the front to the rear, taking out all the warforged, and trying to calm down frightened passengers, before finally learning that the real threat is all the way at the other end, and on the roof. It should end with a dramatic battle on the roof of the Lightning Rail against a warforged Artificer wielding crossbows/wands/pistols (I have guns in my setting) using rules from the Explorer's Guide. Should the PCs fail, the Lightning Rail will be hijacked, and they'll be taken into the Morunland, kept prisoner, and hopefully escape, which is where the campaign will turn more survival/horror as they try to get out of the Mournland alive with followers of the Lord of Blades in pursuit (who never sleep, never get tired, and suffer no ill affects in the mist). Nice... I may steal this one as well.
Yakman 01-31-07, 01:19 PM	Watch The Great Train Robbery...
skerbgs 02-02-07, 02:57 AM	I'm working on something like this myself. It's going to involve a murder on the train that the PC's will investigate, similar to the story in The Last Express. In fact I'm even stealing the main characters from The Last Express and modifying them to fit in Eberron! NOTE: The Last Express was an excellent PC game released in 1996 to rave reviews but very little public exposure due to the collapse of the games publisher.
Rocksa 02-07-07, 10:24 PM	There was an old thread about converting various video games to Eberron. One of them was Metal Gear Solid, and one of the people posted a nice little idea about a group of terrorists boarding a lightning rail and the PC's having to sneak around, taking out guards, and making sure that they're not detected in freeing the captive passengers, because, well, that would get everybody killed. Think the poster had some ideas for over-the-top characters that would basically be bosses. Anyway, other ideas. Bandits are hot on the trail of the lightning rail that the PC's are riding on. The crew and PC's know this, and know that if they stop then the bandits will board the rail and likely kill everyone inside. Bad enough, but the real problem lies in the sealed cargo car that was tacked onto the rail just before departure. The PC's have no idea what's inside the sealed car, they only know that they've been paid handsomly to make sure that nobody touches it or gets a peek inside. Thing is that they don't realize that a small hole was torn in the roof of the car, and that that tiny opening is all the creature inside needed to get out and begin wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting passengers. What's the creature? No clue. May be an deadly ooze, may be some kind of twisted abberation, may even be a bunch of deadly snakes, either way you have a situation where the PC's are trapped with some kind of unknown horror lurking about, unable to stop and get away from the thing. There also happens to be the dillema about what to do about the creature(s). Kill it and incur the wrath of whoever paid that huge payment for the job upfront? Recapture it and put themselves, the passengers, and the crew at risk? Kick it off the train and leave a dangerous creature to run free in the middle of nowhere?
DBlizzard 02-08-07, 01:54 AM	There is also a pretty good lightning rail adventure called "No Ticket" that was part of the Mark of Heroes RPGA campaign. It's not available anymore, but I believe it was part of the monthly store kits, so copies are floating around.