Need ideas to introduce the Dreaming Dark. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need ideas to introduce the Dreaming Dark. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Red Mage Klonoa
01-27-05, 12:22 PM Hello, I'm new so please forgive my ignorance. I've been DMing Eberron for quite some time, and now that I have a feel for it I will start my first real adventure (the others were just go here and there for experience deals). I need help introducing the Dreaming Dark without revealing too much about them. This is how I started it, I just need help finishing it.

My PCs are a well-known group of adventurers known as The Wanderers. Though each has their own reasons, ultimately they are bound together by greed, specifically, gold. They make their home in Upper Dura. One of their missions, a failure, was to retreive a 40lb cat and deliver it to the owner. Since the cat returned to his master by himself, the owner felt no need to pay them. That said, the angry PCs walked back to the Drunken Dragon in hopes to dissolve the painful failure of chasing this beast all around Sharn for nothing. Along the way, a body falls from the sky, holding a pendant. The pendant has an eye covered by a single feathered wing. Just then four Inspired drop from the sky, and attacks the group for "seeing too much" reasons. After the fight, the Inspired dissappeared.

That's about all I have down. How do I carry this out without revealing too much until the time is right?
Sharn Inquisitor
01-27-05, 01:20 PM I introduced the Dreaming Dark/Inspired of Riedra to my group in a more subtle and dangerous way. My PCs, now of some reknown decided that it was time to buy some fancy clothing and dine in some expensive restaurants in Skyway floating above Sharn. During their meal as a House Phiarlan group of entertainers were performing a waltz, two of the characters (new to this part of town) were asked to dance with two gorgeous female members of the Riedran Consolate. Of course, they are both agents and were hoping to probe the PCs for information on where they've been and who they work for...since information is the best currency in Eberron. The female half of the party got terribly jealous and was very suspicious.

To add a danger element, a female member of a prominent "The Sixty of Sharn" approached the female PCs, and informed them that the males were dancing with suspicious women, and that her own brother had mysteriously jumped off a tower after dancing with one of them. They then trailed the women to a night spot and were attacked by some Dreaming Dark agents. It worked great. It all added that Eberron suspense and intrigue element and my players are now thoroughly scared of Sarlona/Riedra.
Cloud Divider
01-27-05, 04:57 PM The Eberron campaign I've been planning has the Dreaming Dark/Inspired/Riedrans playing the major villian. The overall feel I'm going for is something rather more conspiratorial and X-files-ish (yes, I did much of my brainstorming while watching X-files reruns). Sharn: City of Towers was absolutely wonderful to mine for information, and in fact, the Sharn book inspired my fascination with the Inspired and the Dreaming Dark.

We have:
1) Riedran diplomats placed in every national capital and major city in Khorvaire.
2) An Inspired that has strong ties to Morgrave university (not that anyone knows he's Inspired)
3) Inspired moles within MANY major organizations within Sharn, from the government and even a Dragonmarked house (and furthermore, a very well placed and powerful one within Sharn). They are particularly well placed for any dirty work.
4) Sharn as the "Gateway to Xen'drik"
5) Xen'drik as the site of the Quori's last invasion of Eberron - this means there's likely to be Quori relics to be found in Xen'drik (along with everything else of interest in Xen'drik).
6) Sharn as the Riedran's largest "friendly port" in Khorvaire.
7) A "new" recreational drug on the streets called Absentia, that just happens to allow Quori to possess someone that might otherwise be unwilling.
8) Absentia that is being imported by one of the organized crime groups in Sharn - whether they know their distribution of Absentia is furthering the plans of the Inspired or not
9) Sarlonan Inspired that are noted as planning their expansion beyond Sarlona.
10) A little subtle footnote somewhere that suggests that the Quori got their foothold in Sarlona by inciting civil wars between the political powers of Sarlona, and then taking over the ashes and the weakened victors.

That's conspiracy GOLD in there. You've got your subtle "aliens" with that have their talons in high places. You've got your (evil) Men in Black in the "turned" government and Dragonmarked house agents. The "aliens" want to INVADE, but are biding their time for an opportunity. The "aliens" may be sowing the seeds of the Next War (and they may have had a role in the Last War, too) to speed their invasion plans.

Heck, in my campaign, I plan on stealing the idea for cigarettes in Eberron as a relatively exotic luxury, and having my very own "Cigarette Smoking Man" who may or may not be on the side of the PC's or the Inspired.

So how do you introduce them? I'd leave them as Men In Black (ie leave out any of the distinguishing features like the eye/wing amulet), that tend to send their other assets to take care of the dirty work (ie members of the various influenced organizations). I definitely wouldn't introduce them by name. However, what you can do is show their influence in all kinds of places...

Even once the PC's discover the Inspired conspiracy, what can they do about it? Certainly, the Council will likely deny it (...because the major power bloc is in on it). The Deneith are involved in everything (they're bank guards, neighborhood escorts, and are quasi-involved in the Sharn Watch). So they should probably be warned (...by Cigarette Smoking Man) against that route. The trick would be to slowly expose the size of the Inspired conspiracy...

I'd play it in the campaign such that few people are aware of the Riedran threat, maybe up to and including the local Kalashtar being unaware at the level of Inspired influence.

I'd even want to have one PC playing as a Deneith scion (from outside of Sharn)...because the drama there would just rock.

In any case - so you've had the Dreaming Dark show up shortly after finding a dead body. An Inspired goon squad show up to "sanitize" the area, but the PC's survive.

How will the Inspired act now? Do they care that the PC's survived (random attacks happen everywhere in Sharn...)? Will they try to cow the PC's using more subtle methods ("speak of this to no-one...")? Will they use their considerable assets to make the PC's lives difficult? Will they try and assassinate the PC's (they'd be particularly subtle on this one - I vote for Absentia "Zombies")?

What was the dead Dreaming Dark agent (that is, assuming the guy with the amulet WAS a DD agent) doing when he was killed? Was he someone that stumbled across the DD conspiracy, and was silenced? Was he a DD agent that had outlived his usefulness? What do you want the PC's to do about it? Try to find out what that amulet means ("Grok say his Feather Fall Token is fake...Sucks to be him!")? Maybe the victim was on his way to the Kalashtar enclave to try and warn them of something before he was ambushed by the Inspired (and in the melee, he managed to yank the amulet from one of the Inspired before falling to his death)? Or perhaps he found the amulet, but had gotten some clue that the Kalashtar would know what it was...but that's when he ran afoul of the Inspired (maybe he had a Greyblade bodyguard that pushed him off the bridge several stories up)? I think you'll do well to do some thinking about the Who/What/Why that led up to the victim's demise...

You could have a lot of fun with the Absentia thread - it's a clue and a red herring all in one. The Quori possession is subtle (most people think it's just sleepwalking). The distributor of Absentia is a crime gang. It'd be pretty easy to guess that Absentia are just "bad drugs" that make you "go crazy" and wiping out the dealers is the solution...

Then you segue into clues about Councilmembers who aren't who they say they are (depending on how you interpret Mind Seed to work - the spell description implies it's a mindwipe plus a personality overlay of the manifester; which is not as useful for how it's used in Eberron - I'd go with it being a subtle but extensive brainwashing).

Segue from there into a major power battle between Councilmembers and the void formed when the indicted one gets himself "perished"; throw in a gang war at the same time. Are Sharn's riots related to the Inspired or not?

If you haven't resolved the Absentia subplot, you can have all kinds of fun by having an assassination attempt on King Boranel (or any other major visiting dignitary) by an Absentia-doped killer (shades of your various JFK conspiracy theory).

The method I was going to use in my campaign was to have a string of murders - everyone associated with a certain Xen'drik expedition starts turning up dead (or comatose, due to violent mind-reading). The Inspired are interested in the expedition, but don't want anyone else to know about it...

Anyway, I've gone on much longer than I should. I hope something in there was useful.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Red Mage Klonoa 01-27-05, 12:22 PM	Hello, I'm new so please forgive my ignorance. I've been DMing Eberron for quite some time, and now that I have a feel for it I will start my first real adventure (the others were just go here and there for experience deals). I need help introducing the Dreaming Dark without revealing too much about them. This is how I started it, I just need help finishing it. My PCs are a well-known group of adventurers known as The Wanderers. Though each has their own reasons, ultimately they are bound together by greed, specifically, gold. They make their home in Upper Dura. One of their missions, a failure, was to retreive a 40lb cat and deliver it to the owner. Since the cat returned to his master by himself, the owner felt no need to pay them. That said, the angry PCs walked back to the Drunken Dragon in hopes to dissolve the painful failure of chasing this beast all around Sharn for nothing. Along the way, a body falls from the sky, holding a pendant. The pendant has an eye covered by a single feathered wing. Just then four Inspired drop from the sky, and attacks the group for "seeing too much" reasons. After the fight, the Inspired dissappeared. That's about all I have down. How do I carry this out without revealing too much until the time is right?
Sharn Inquisitor 01-27-05, 01:20 PM	I introduced the Dreaming Dark/Inspired of Riedra to my group in a more subtle and dangerous way. My PCs, now of some reknown decided that it was time to buy some fancy clothing and dine in some expensive restaurants in Skyway floating above Sharn. During their meal as a House Phiarlan group of entertainers were performing a waltz, two of the characters (new to this part of town) were asked to dance with two gorgeous female members of the Riedran Consolate. Of course, they are both agents and were hoping to probe the PCs for information on where they've been and who they work for...since information is the best currency in Eberron. The female half of the party got terribly jealous and was very suspicious. To add a danger element, a female member of a prominent "The Sixty of Sharn" approached the female PCs, and informed them that the males were dancing with suspicious women, and that her own brother had mysteriously jumped off a tower after dancing with one of them. They then trailed the women to a night spot and were attacked by some Dreaming Dark agents. It worked great. It all added that Eberron suspense and intrigue element and my players are now thoroughly scared of Sarlona/Riedra.
Cloud Divider 01-27-05, 04:57 PM	The Eberron campaign I've been planning has the Dreaming Dark/Inspired/Riedrans playing the major villian. The overall feel I'm going for is something rather more conspiratorial and X-files-ish (yes, I did much of my brainstorming while watching X-files reruns). Sharn: City of Towers was absolutely wonderful to mine for information, and in fact, the Sharn book inspired my fascination with the Inspired and the Dreaming Dark. We have: 1) Riedran diplomats placed in every national capital and major city in Khorvaire. 2) An Inspired that has strong ties to Morgrave university (not that anyone knows he's Inspired) 3) Inspired moles within MANY major organizations within Sharn, from the government and even a Dragonmarked house (and furthermore, a very well placed and powerful one within Sharn). They are particularly well placed for any dirty work. 4) Sharn as the "Gateway to Xen'drik" 5) Xen'drik as the site of the Quori's last invasion of Eberron - this means there's likely to be Quori relics to be found in Xen'drik (along with everything else of interest in Xen'drik). 6) Sharn as the Riedran's largest "friendly port" in Khorvaire. 7) A "new" recreational drug on the streets called Absentia, that just happens to allow Quori to possess someone that might otherwise be unwilling. 8) Absentia that is being imported by one of the organized crime groups in Sharn - whether they know their distribution of Absentia is furthering the plans of the Inspired or not 9) Sarlonan Inspired that are noted as planning their expansion beyond Sarlona. 10) A little subtle footnote somewhere that suggests that the Quori got their foothold in Sarlona by inciting civil wars between the political powers of Sarlona, and then taking over the ashes and the weakened victors. That's conspiracy GOLD in there. You've got your subtle "aliens" with that have their talons in high places. You've got your (evil) Men in Black in the "turned" government and Dragonmarked house agents. The "aliens" want to INVADE, but are biding their time for an opportunity. The "aliens" may be sowing the seeds of the Next War (and they may have had a role in the Last War, too) to speed their invasion plans. Heck, in my campaign, I plan on stealing the idea for cigarettes in Eberron as a relatively exotic luxury, and having my very own "Cigarette Smoking Man" who may or may not be on the side of the PC's or the Inspired. So how do you introduce them? I'd leave them as Men In Black (ie leave out any of the distinguishing features like the eye/wing amulet), that tend to send their other assets to take care of the dirty work (ie members of the various influenced organizations). I definitely wouldn't introduce them by name. However, what you can do is show their influence in all kinds of places... Even once the PC's discover the Inspired conspiracy, what can they do about it? Certainly, the Council will likely deny it (...because the major power bloc is in on it). The Deneith are involved in everything (they're bank guards, neighborhood escorts, and are quasi-involved in the Sharn Watch). So they should probably be warned (...by Cigarette Smoking Man) against that route. The trick would be to slowly expose the size of the Inspired conspiracy... I'd play it in the campaign such that few people are aware of the Riedran threat, maybe up to and including the local Kalashtar being unaware at the level of Inspired influence. I'd even want to have one PC playing as a Deneith scion (from outside of Sharn)...because the drama there would just rock. In any case - so you've had the Dreaming Dark show up shortly after finding a dead body. An Inspired goon squad show up to "sanitize" the area, but the PC's survive. How will the Inspired act now? Do they care that the PC's survived (random attacks happen everywhere in Sharn...)? Will they try to cow the PC's using more subtle methods ("speak of this to no-one...")? Will they use their considerable assets to make the PC's lives difficult? Will they try and assassinate the PC's (they'd be particularly subtle on this one - I vote for Absentia "Zombies")? What was the dead Dreaming Dark agent (that is, assuming the guy with the amulet WAS a DD agent) doing when he was killed? Was he someone that stumbled across the DD conspiracy, and was silenced? Was he a DD agent that had outlived his usefulness? What do you want the PC's to do about it? Try to find out what that amulet means ("Grok say his Feather Fall Token is fake...Sucks to be him!")? Maybe the victim was on his way to the Kalashtar enclave to try and warn them of something before he was ambushed by the Inspired (and in the melee, he managed to yank the amulet from one of the Inspired before falling to his death)? Or perhaps he found the amulet, but had gotten some clue that the Kalashtar would know what it was...but that's when he ran afoul of the Inspired (maybe he had a Greyblade bodyguard that pushed him off the bridge several stories up)? I think you'll do well to do some thinking about the Who/What/Why that led up to the victim's demise... You could have a lot of fun with the Absentia thread - it's a clue and a red herring all in one. The Quori possession is subtle (most people think it's just sleepwalking). The distributor of Absentia is a crime gang. It'd be pretty easy to guess that Absentia are just "bad drugs" that make you "go crazy" and wiping out the dealers is the solution... Then you segue into clues about Councilmembers who aren't who they say they are (depending on how you interpret Mind Seed to work - the spell description implies it's a mindwipe plus a personality overlay of the manifester; which is not as useful for how it's used in Eberron - I'd go with it being a subtle but extensive brainwashing). Segue from there into a major power battle between Councilmembers and the void formed when the indicted one gets himself "perished"; throw in a gang war at the same time. Are Sharn's riots related to the Inspired or not? If you haven't resolved the Absentia subplot, you can have all kinds of fun by having an assassination attempt on King Boranel (or any other major visiting dignitary) by an Absentia-doped killer (shades of your various JFK conspiracy theory). The method I was going to use in my campaign was to have a string of murders - everyone associated with a certain Xen'drik expedition starts turning up dead (or comatose, due to violent mind-reading). The Inspired are interested in the expedition, but don't want anyone else to know about it... Anyway, I've gone on much longer than I should. I hope something in there was useful.