Lightning Rail Enounter [Archive] - Wizards Community

Lightning Rail Enounter [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gurv
11-29-04, 08:33 PM I want to place an encounter, but I'm not sure where. I need a location along the lightning rail lines, near some hills would be ideal. Ideas?

A couple of years ago, an Orien lightning rail was passing through a lengthy section of tunnel cutting through the Greystone Hills, when a terrible thing occurred. The evidence never revealed the cause, only that the engine had become derailed shortly after entering the narrow tunnel. The wreck was complete, and the tunnel was closed for several weeks while iron-stomached crews worked overtime to clear and repair the line.

However, House Orien was set to lose yet more time and money. The Greystone tunnel began to aquire a reputation for being haunted by the souls of those who had died in the wreck. Passengers claimed to see strange fogs appear in the cars, hear echoing screams, and see terrorized faces out the windows, all while the rail passed though the tunnel. Worse, even as House Orien tried to quell these stories, or at least capitalize on the sensationalism, passengers began to die on the run. At first only an occasional death, but soon they became all too common. The dead would be found in positions indicating they were taken by surprise, and died quickly in great terror. Even those asleep in the sleeper cars were found with expressions of fear on their faces. The deaths were always discovered just after Greystone Tunnel.

Realizing that they would soon lose business, House Orien decided to create an alternate line over the Hills, an expensive project which slowed the lightning rail as it was forced to climb a steep grade. Although they had avoided this less desirable route before, it was a vast improvement over dealing with the negative press the death reports were generating. All has been well ever since they did, and the line has run normally for nearly a year.

Unfortunately, on the day the PCs take the lightning rail, things don't go so smoothly. The fugitive they are chasing (an Orien vagabond, as it happens) is ahead of them on his own stolen lightning coach, and to throw them off his trail, he has switched the lines to send the pursuers directly through Greystone Tunnel. The PCs will have the choice of convincing (forcing) the driver to go through and actually beat the vagabond, or stopping before reaching the Tunnel and backing up to the switch again. I think we all know they're going through :plotting:.

Unbelievably, the rumors are right on. The Greystone Tunnel is haunted by the victims of the former wreck, in the form of a Caller in the Dark (XPH, pg 191). Powerless in the sunlight, it waits for the coach to enter the tunnel and then boards, incorporeal-like, moves down the length of the vehicle, car to car doing as much damage as possible before being forced to leave as the Tunnel is left behind. That is, unless the guy at the reins gets hit first, causing the coach to come to a stop within the Greystone Tunnel :plotting:.
EscherEnigma
11-30-04, 02:55 AM sounds like a nifty idea, can't wait to hear how it pans out.

On a side note, what do you plan to do if for some reason they decide NOT to go through the tunnel? I'm sure you're better at predicting what your players will do, but I'm curious.
nyysjan
11-30-04, 03:47 AM what do you mean by an engine they are powered by magic
Klapperman
11-30-04, 04:56 AM what do you mean by an engine they are powered by magic

A magical engine. Plus it's normal to describe the first car of a train, the one which provided the forward momentum, as the engine. Look in the ECS, the picture of the lightning rail train, the first car even looks like a old steam engine, so calling it the engine is quite normal.

Great idea btw. And very handy as my party currently needs some reprieve from the main story and this one looks like fun :cool:
Gurv
11-30-04, 12:20 PM sounds like a nifty idea, can't wait to hear how it pans out.

On a side note, what do you plan to do if for some reason they decide NOT to go through the tunnel? I'm sure you're better at predicting what your players will do, but I'm curious.
I'm pretty sure they'll go through the tunnel. The Orien vagabond they're chasing is wanted for some pretty rough crimes, including using his powers to free criminals who then murdered associates of the PCs. Plus, he is in possession of some very incriminating evidence against the PCs patron within House Cannith.

I do try to have at least an idea of what will happen if the players do not do what I expect. In this case, if they chose to not take the Tunnel, they'll lose him again. And chasing a Dragonmarked member of House Orien will have already proven difficult enough without giving up whatever advantages they can get. So making the non-adventurous course will mean the bad guy gets to plague them some more.
GoldenEye
12-05-04, 01:36 AM I'm thinking about a 'rail' encounter as well. Only thing is, I'm actually having a bit of a adjustment here, there are different rail companies and they are rivals obviously; what is going to happen is that on the Fire-line, the actual "fuel" (fire elementals) break free and start burning the train down and attacking passengers.
Investigation will lead to one of the other train companies, one that will do anything to become the one and only training company in the 5 nations!

any tips/hint/comments/critique/comments on this one?
EscherEnigma
12-05-04, 01:48 AM to Goldeneye:

Are you talking about your own hybrid-home brew based on eberron?

Because I was under the impression that the lightning rail used air elementals, and were all owned by House Orien.

If you ARE using your own hybrid-home brew, then continue on. Just a bit confused there.

However, having House Lyrander sabotage a lightning rail, to try and make them look "unsafe" and thus promote their own forms of transportaion... might work!
grey muse
12-05-04, 02:27 AM Wow, neat idea. I may steal it for my game. :)

grey muse
Ramses III
12-05-04, 03:49 AM I like this. Good luck!
Lara Flynn
12-05-04, 09:57 AM Hillarious! Consider it stolen immediately.

Maybe there's some trick to, uhm, "redeem" the Caller. Once the PCs are stuck within the mountain tunnel (as the driver's dead) they can find another way to do get rid of it than killing the poor incorporal undead.
Or: Maybe the PCs are going to find out what happened in the past before the Caller was present. Maybe it's some even greater and mightier force which caused the accident within the tunnel or maybe just some band of what the heck who made its home in the tunnel and imprisoned the Caller in a dragon shard and only let's him out when a train approachs. Perhaps the Inspired made up a secret base there or it's a mind flayer who seeks to find a secret seal deep under the mountain and uses his slaves to dig deeper and deeper while abusing the Caller to keep out anyone too interested in the old tunnel.

A fountain of ideas... I love it.
GoldenEye
12-06-04, 12:29 AM Yeah, yeah bit of my own bit of eberron... that's the way we'll go, have to have an outlet for creativity in both adventures and the world a bit but creating a full world is a bit to much... Anyway I've got it covered, it will be sabotaged indeed by the lightning rail owners: Orien. They don't like rivals at all... (lightning uses air elementals indeed...)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gurv 11-29-04, 08:33 PM	I want to place an encounter, but I'm not sure where. I need a location along the lightning rail lines, near some hills would be ideal. Ideas? A couple of years ago, an Orien lightning rail was passing through a lengthy section of tunnel cutting through the Greystone Hills, when a terrible thing occurred. The evidence never revealed the cause, only that the engine had become derailed shortly after entering the narrow tunnel. The wreck was complete, and the tunnel was closed for several weeks while iron-stomached crews worked overtime to clear and repair the line. However, House Orien was set to lose yet more time and money. The Greystone tunnel began to aquire a reputation for being haunted by the souls of those who had died in the wreck. Passengers claimed to see strange fogs appear in the cars, hear echoing screams, and see terrorized faces out the windows, all while the rail passed though the tunnel. Worse, even as House Orien tried to quell these stories, or at least capitalize on the sensationalism, passengers began to die on the run. At first only an occasional death, but soon they became all too common. The dead would be found in positions indicating they were taken by surprise, and died quickly in great terror. Even those asleep in the sleeper cars were found with expressions of fear on their faces. The deaths were always discovered just after Greystone Tunnel. Realizing that they would soon lose business, House Orien decided to create an alternate line over the Hills, an expensive project which slowed the lightning rail as it was forced to climb a steep grade. Although they had avoided this less desirable route before, it was a vast improvement over dealing with the negative press the death reports were generating. All has been well ever since they did, and the line has run normally for nearly a year. Unfortunately, on the day the PCs take the lightning rail, things don't go so smoothly. The fugitive they are chasing (an Orien vagabond, as it happens) is ahead of them on his own stolen lightning coach, and to throw them off his trail, he has switched the lines to send the pursuers directly through Greystone Tunnel. The PCs will have the choice of convincing (forcing) the driver to go through and actually beat the vagabond, or stopping before reaching the Tunnel and backing up to the switch again. I think we all know they're going through :plotting:. Unbelievably, the rumors are right on. The Greystone Tunnel is haunted by the victims of the former wreck, in the form of a Caller in the Dark (XPH, pg 191). Powerless in the sunlight, it waits for the coach to enter the tunnel and then boards, incorporeal-like, moves down the length of the vehicle, car to car doing as much damage as possible before being forced to leave as the Tunnel is left behind. That is, unless the guy at the reins gets hit first, causing the coach to come to a stop within the Greystone Tunnel :plotting:.
EscherEnigma 11-30-04, 02:55 AM	sounds like a nifty idea, can't wait to hear how it pans out. On a side note, what do you plan to do if for some reason they decide NOT to go through the tunnel? I'm sure you're better at predicting what your players will do, but I'm curious.
nyysjan 11-30-04, 03:47 AM	what do you mean by an engine they are powered by magic
Klapperman 11-30-04, 04:56 AM	what do you mean by an engine they are powered by magic A magical engine. Plus it's normal to describe the first car of a train, the one which provided the forward momentum, as the engine. Look in the ECS, the picture of the lightning rail train, the first car even looks like a old steam engine, so calling it the engine is quite normal. Great idea btw. And very handy as my party currently needs some reprieve from the main story and this one looks like fun :cool:
Gurv 11-30-04, 12:20 PM	sounds like a nifty idea, can't wait to hear how it pans out. On a side note, what do you plan to do if for some reason they decide NOT to go through the tunnel? I'm sure you're better at predicting what your players will do, but I'm curious. I'm pretty sure they'll go through the tunnel. The Orien vagabond they're chasing is wanted for some pretty rough crimes, including using his powers to free criminals who then murdered associates of the PCs. Plus, he is in possession of some very incriminating evidence against the PCs patron within House Cannith. I do try to have at least an idea of what will happen if the players do not do what I expect. In this case, if they chose to not take the Tunnel, they'll lose him again. And chasing a Dragonmarked member of House Orien will have already proven difficult enough without giving up whatever advantages they can get. So making the non-adventurous course will mean the bad guy gets to plague them some more.
GoldenEye 12-05-04, 01:36 AM	I'm thinking about a 'rail' encounter as well. Only thing is, I'm actually having a bit of a adjustment here, there are different rail companies and they are rivals obviously; what is going to happen is that on the Fire-line, the actual "fuel" (fire elementals) break free and start burning the train down and attacking passengers. Investigation will lead to one of the other train companies, one that will do anything to become the one and only training company in the 5 nations! any tips/hint/comments/critique/comments on this one?
EscherEnigma 12-05-04, 01:48 AM	to Goldeneye: Are you talking about your own hybrid-home brew based on eberron? Because I was under the impression that the lightning rail used air elementals, and were all owned by House Orien. If you ARE using your own hybrid-home brew, then continue on. Just a bit confused there. However, having House Lyrander sabotage a lightning rail, to try and make them look "unsafe" and thus promote their own forms of transportaion... might work!
grey muse 12-05-04, 02:27 AM	Wow, neat idea. I may steal it for my game. :) grey muse
Ramses III 12-05-04, 03:49 AM	I like this. Good luck!
Lara Flynn 12-05-04, 09:57 AM	Hillarious! Consider it stolen immediately. Maybe there's some trick to, uhm, "redeem" the Caller. Once the PCs are stuck within the mountain tunnel (as the driver's dead) they can find another way to do get rid of it than killing the poor incorporal undead. Or: Maybe the PCs are going to find out what happened in the past before the Caller was present. Maybe it's some even greater and mightier force which caused the accident within the tunnel or maybe just some band of what the heck who made its home in the tunnel and imprisoned the Caller in a dragon shard and only let's him out when a train approachs. Perhaps the Inspired made up a secret base there or it's a mind flayer who seeks to find a secret seal deep under the mountain and uses his slaves to dig deeper and deeper while abusing the Caller to keep out anyone too interested in the old tunnel. A fountain of ideas... I love it.
GoldenEye 12-06-04, 12:29 AM	Yeah, yeah bit of my own bit of eberron... that's the way we'll go, have to have an outlet for creativity in both adventures and the world a bit but creating a full world is a bit to much... Anyway I've got it covered, it will be sabotaged indeed by the lightning rail owners: Orien. They don't like rivals at all... (lightning uses air elementals indeed...)