Need help with a campaign idea [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need help with a campaign idea [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
willywally
10-21-06, 05:23 AM So me and my friends are ready to start our first eberron campaign and i need some help with the design. what i would like to do is make it based on the rise of a new dragonmarked house with my players playing a key role in it's creation/rise in stature. The combination of intrigue between the DM houses, the in fighting of differing factions and nations should lead to plenty of adventure.

the back story is going to be that during the war of the mark a few half-elf families bearing a dragonmark hid from the war and created a small secluded village in which they could live in peace. the village eventually grew in size but remained a little known and little cared about part of Cyre until about 50 years before the end of the last war. At this time the area around the village became part of the battlefield. Fearing for both their lives and that the bloodline of their dragonmark would die out the village leaders sent their people out into the world with orders to spread the blood throughout the land so that it might never die, and to return when the war was over. The destruction of Cyre however has made the last part impossible.

Now a few ambitious members of this far flung community have decided that it is time to start a dragonmarked house of their own. some because they see the acceptance of the house as legitimate as the best way to make sure that the bloodline is not eradicated. some see the economic power of the current houses and lust for the profits they could make. and an even darker few wish to build a power base from which they can renew the war of the mark, this time coming out on top!

this brings us to our players, 4 war orphens raised in breland. a brother and sister and two boys who became fast friends in their childhood, all bearing some token with the same strange symbol on it. then as they reached adolescence that same symbol started to appear on their bodies. and after training in their respective fields they now set out to learn more about this strange magical mark and what it means to their lives.

All 4 players are going to start out with a bonus feat of least dragonmark for this new house. problem is i don't know what powers to give it! the way i see it the mark needs to have some economoic potential that can be exploited in the large scale to make the house on scale with the other houses, also it should be powerful enough so that the house can (if the players are up to the challenge) survive from an upstart to a full fledged house. it would also be interesting to give it powers that slightly infring upon one of the established houses but not so much so that it is not unique. the plot devices and role-playing elements of this could be easily exploited. finally it should have powers that are useful to the players themselves, without unbalancing them,(a wizard, an artificer, a ranger, and a sov. host cleric). seems a waste to give them a bonus feat and just have it for flavor. unfortunately i can't think of anything that meets the requirements.

so what powers would you give the mark? And do you have good ideas for adventure hooks? and what do you think of the back story, anything you would change? let me know i've still got plenty of time to flesh this out and am open to any suggestions.
Tyveil
10-24-06, 10:09 AM Not sure how you're going to implement a new mark appearing out of nowhere. First of all they are not going to be on par with the other Dragonmarked houses. These other houses have been in existance for a long time and are well established entities. If these new marks are inface a "birth of a new dragonmark" then there will be many, many interested parties including The Council and The Twelve. You could run a campaign solely on the powerstruggle between the groups interested in this new mark.

It's a very ambitious idea and not one I think I'd want to tackle.. too many questions. Why did the prophecy only forsee 12 dragonmarks if there are 13? Where did this new dragonmark come from and why? Does this new mark "replace" the vanished Mark of Death? etc. etc.
Njord
10-24-06, 01:09 PM There are a couple ways you could run this

Use House Tarkannan (sp?): They are based in Sharn and they have aberrant marks (which is what every house is going to think that you have anyway) They have been hiding for years and they are good at it. You could have your PCs become involved with them and rise in their ranks until they are almost in control and them make a bid to rise above or eradicate another house. There are lots of problems with this but it might work.

Use the Aurum: They have the cash and if you can make a new mark sound benificial to them, their resources are just about limitless. Getting their backing could be a campaign in and fo itself.

Tie the mark somehow to neutralizing the effects of other marks: Think Xmen 3. That could be interesting and people would pay big for that kind of power.

That is what I can think of off the top of my head. This will be a tough plot to pull off but it can work.
willywally
10-25-06, 02:41 PM Not sure how you're going to implement a new mark appearing out of nowhere. First of all they are not going to be on par with the other Dragonmarked houses. These other houses have been in existance for a long time and are well established entities.

It's not that the mark has suddenly appeared but more that they have decided that now is the time to go public. A powerful NPC fighter/artificer is going to be the patriarch of the new movement to establish a full fledged house. at low levels the PCs will be recruited by him to help find some of the other scattered members, deliver messages to other organizations, and protect the budding new house's base from threats. unless the players do something foolish at this time they should be able to keep their activities under the radar of major orgs. like the 12 houses and the chamber etc. This should let them get a sense of both the house's "birth" and gives them the trust of the house so that they are well placed in the mid to high levels to deal with more major threats once the world at large knows about them.

If these new marks are inface a "birth of a new dragonmark" then there will be many, many interested parties including The Council and The Twelve. You could run a campaign solely on the powerstruggle between the groups interested in this new mark..

That's exactly why i love this idea so much! it's not just the council and the twelve, it's the 12 houses too, how does this new house effect the economy, it might give one of the 12 houses a partner that can enrich them both making a staunch ally, which they will need because they are seriously damaging house 2's bussiness meanwhile house 3 has an unrelated reason for wanting house 2 down and out so they come with an offer of covert help, but are they really just playing both sides versus the middle? Then of course you have the nations. sure the houses are "neutral", and the last war is "over", but all the nations are going to want the new house on their side, the economic benefits are huge. plus when/if war breaks out again its hard to be completely neutral when the land you live in is under attack. of course if you can't get it on your side maybe it's better if it doesn't exist at all. after all can't have your enemies getting stronger now.

It's a very ambitious idea and not one I think I'd want to tackle.. too many questions. Why did the prophecy only forsee 12 dragonmarks if there are 13? Where did this new dragonmark come from and why? Does this new mark "replace" the vanished Mark of Death? etc. etc.

Well to be honest i am not a big fan of the Prophecy and the whole Baker's dozen thing. so it'll all be downplayed quite a bit. Why are there now 13(14 counting mark of death) dragonmarks? who knows, that's the mystery for scholars not adventurers, and remember the whole 12 houses thing was foretold by a human alder d'cannith. doesn't mean that he has to be right. of course in the long run a house may end up being replaced and we may see 12 again.
willywally
10-25-06, 04:19 PM There are a couple ways you could run this

Use House Tarkannan (sp?): They are based in Sharn and they have aberrant marks (which is what every house is going to think that you have anyway) They have been hiding for years and they are good at it. You could have your PCs become involved with them and rise in their ranks until they are almost in control and them make a bid to rise above or eradicate another house. There are lots of problems with this but it might work.

This could be real interesting, i don't want it to be a take over the house type thing but maybe the new house's patriarch, or one of his leutenants will offer House Tarkanan amnesty or even a minor role in the house's bussiness. or perhaps the PCs might be approached as if they had abberent marks and asked in to the house....hmmm i need to think about this.

Use the Aurum: They have the cash and if you can make a new mark sound benificial to them, their resources are just about limitless. Getting their backing could be a campaign in and fo itself.

the mark will have economic benefits so the aurum will be involved for sure. as a patron or as an enemy protecting their own intrests i haven't decided yet but i imagine a bit of both.
goblin_pride
10-28-06, 04:10 AM Has anyone considered the relation between the D'marked houses and the portfolio of the gods of the sovereign host, dark six and that upstart the silver flame?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
willywally 10-21-06, 05:23 AM	So me and my friends are ready to start our first eberron campaign and i need some help with the design. what i would like to do is make it based on the rise of a new dragonmarked house with my players playing a key role in it's creation/rise in stature. The combination of intrigue between the DM houses, the in fighting of differing factions and nations should lead to plenty of adventure. the back story is going to be that during the war of the mark a few half-elf families bearing a dragonmark hid from the war and created a small secluded village in which they could live in peace. the village eventually grew in size but remained a little known and little cared about part of Cyre until about 50 years before the end of the last war. At this time the area around the village became part of the battlefield. Fearing for both their lives and that the bloodline of their dragonmark would die out the village leaders sent their people out into the world with orders to spread the blood throughout the land so that it might never die, and to return when the war was over. The destruction of Cyre however has made the last part impossible. Now a few ambitious members of this far flung community have decided that it is time to start a dragonmarked house of their own. some because they see the acceptance of the house as legitimate as the best way to make sure that the bloodline is not eradicated. some see the economic power of the current houses and lust for the profits they could make. and an even darker few wish to build a power base from which they can renew the war of the mark, this time coming out on top! this brings us to our players, 4 war orphens raised in breland. a brother and sister and two boys who became fast friends in their childhood, all bearing some token with the same strange symbol on it. then as they reached adolescence that same symbol started to appear on their bodies. and after training in their respective fields they now set out to learn more about this strange magical mark and what it means to their lives. All 4 players are going to start out with a bonus feat of least dragonmark for this new house. problem is i don't know what powers to give it! the way i see it the mark needs to have some economoic potential that can be exploited in the large scale to make the house on scale with the other houses, also it should be powerful enough so that the house can (if the players are up to the challenge) survive from an upstart to a full fledged house. it would also be interesting to give it powers that slightly infring upon one of the established houses but not so much so that it is not unique. the plot devices and role-playing elements of this could be easily exploited. finally it should have powers that are useful to the players themselves, without unbalancing them,(a wizard, an artificer, a ranger, and a sov. host cleric). seems a waste to give them a bonus feat and just have it for flavor. unfortunately i can't think of anything that meets the requirements. so what powers would you give the mark? And do you have good ideas for adventure hooks? and what do you think of the back story, anything you would change? let me know i've still got plenty of time to flesh this out and am open to any suggestions.
Tyveil 10-24-06, 10:09 AM	Not sure how you're going to implement a new mark appearing out of nowhere. First of all they are not going to be on par with the other Dragonmarked houses. These other houses have been in existance for a long time and are well established entities. If these new marks are inface a "birth of a new dragonmark" then there will be many, many interested parties including The Council and The Twelve. You could run a campaign solely on the powerstruggle between the groups interested in this new mark. It's a very ambitious idea and not one I think I'd want to tackle.. too many questions. Why did the prophecy only forsee 12 dragonmarks if there are 13? Where did this new dragonmark come from and why? Does this new mark "replace" the vanished Mark of Death? etc. etc.
Njord 10-24-06, 01:09 PM	There are a couple ways you could run this Use House Tarkannan (sp?): They are based in Sharn and they have aberrant marks (which is what every house is going to think that you have anyway) They have been hiding for years and they are good at it. You could have your PCs become involved with them and rise in their ranks until they are almost in control and them make a bid to rise above or eradicate another house. There are lots of problems with this but it might work. Use the Aurum: They have the cash and if you can make a new mark sound benificial to them, their resources are just about limitless. Getting their backing could be a campaign in and fo itself. Tie the mark somehow to neutralizing the effects of other marks: Think Xmen 3. That could be interesting and people would pay big for that kind of power. That is what I can think of off the top of my head. This will be a tough plot to pull off but it can work.
willywally 10-25-06, 02:41 PM	Not sure how you're going to implement a new mark appearing out of nowhere. First of all they are not going to be on par with the other Dragonmarked houses. These other houses have been in existance for a long time and are well established entities. It's not that the mark has suddenly appeared but more that they have decided that now is the time to go public. A powerful NPC fighter/artificer is going to be the patriarch of the new movement to establish a full fledged house. at low levels the PCs will be recruited by him to help find some of the other scattered members, deliver messages to other organizations, and protect the budding new house's base from threats. unless the players do something foolish at this time they should be able to keep their activities under the radar of major orgs. like the 12 houses and the chamber etc. This should let them get a sense of both the house's "birth" and gives them the trust of the house so that they are well placed in the mid to high levels to deal with more major threats once the world at large knows about them. If these new marks are inface a "birth of a new dragonmark" then there will be many, many interested parties including The Council and The Twelve. You could run a campaign solely on the powerstruggle between the groups interested in this new mark.. That's exactly why i love this idea so much! it's not just the council and the twelve, it's the 12 houses too, how does this new house effect the economy, it might give one of the 12 houses a partner that can enrich them both making a staunch ally, which they will need because they are seriously damaging house 2's bussiness meanwhile house 3 has an unrelated reason for wanting house 2 down and out so they come with an offer of covert help, but are they really just playing both sides versus the middle? Then of course you have the nations. sure the houses are "neutral", and the last war is "over", but all the nations are going to want the new house on their side, the economic benefits are huge. plus when/if war breaks out again its hard to be completely neutral when the land you live in is under attack. of course if you can't get it on your side maybe it's better if it doesn't exist at all. after all can't have your enemies getting stronger now. It's a very ambitious idea and not one I think I'd want to tackle.. too many questions. Why did the prophecy only forsee 12 dragonmarks if there are 13? Where did this new dragonmark come from and why? Does this new mark "replace" the vanished Mark of Death? etc. etc. Well to be honest i am not a big fan of the Prophecy and the whole Baker's dozen thing. so it'll all be downplayed quite a bit. Why are there now 13(14 counting mark of death) dragonmarks? who knows, that's the mystery for scholars not adventurers, and remember the whole 12 houses thing was foretold by a human alder d'cannith. doesn't mean that he has to be right. of course in the long run a house may end up being replaced and we may see 12 again.
willywally 10-25-06, 04:19 PM	There are a couple ways you could run this Use House Tarkannan (sp?): They are based in Sharn and they have aberrant marks (which is what every house is going to think that you have anyway) They have been hiding for years and they are good at it. You could have your PCs become involved with them and rise in their ranks until they are almost in control and them make a bid to rise above or eradicate another house. There are lots of problems with this but it might work. This could be real interesting, i don't want it to be a take over the house type thing but maybe the new house's patriarch, or one of his leutenants will offer House Tarkanan amnesty or even a minor role in the house's bussiness. or perhaps the PCs might be approached as if they had abberent marks and asked in to the house....hmmm i need to think about this. Use the Aurum: They have the cash and if you can make a new mark sound benificial to them, their resources are just about limitless. Getting their backing could be a campaign in and fo itself. the mark will have economic benefits so the aurum will be involved for sure. as a patron or as an enemy protecting their own intrests i haven't decided yet but i imagine a bit of both.
goblin_pride 10-28-06, 04:10 AM	Has anyone considered the relation between the D'marked houses and the portfolio of the gods of the sovereign host, dark six and that upstart the silver flame?