Need some help fleshing out an Eberron adventure idea [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need some help fleshing out an Eberron adventure idea [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
WayneTheGame
01-31-06, 11:41 AM I'm bored with running my group through the published modules (which are kinda... bland if you ask me, although I do intend to finish it up with GotEC at some point), so I'm finally having to sit down to write up my own. Problem is, I've never written my own adventure before. I have a basic idea of the plot, but it needs fleshing out... so I'm turning to you to hopefully get some good advice and opinions.

First, the party composition:

- Human Artificer 4 (has Mark of Making and is/was from Cyre; New Cyre supporter)
- Warforged Barbarian 1/Fighter 3 (wields a Large greatsword via Monkey Grip.. group's tank and acts like the Terminator... dislikes humans i.e. "meatbags". Presumably created by the Lord of Blades since he's 1 year old.. would join them if given the chance, more than likely.)
- Elf (Aerenal) Ranger/Cleric (1/3 I think but maybe 2/2, he has Mark of Shadow; wants to go for that anti-undead Aerenal class)
- Half-Elf Rogue 1/Spellthief 3 (my girlfriend; her character is a member of the Dark Lanterns)
- ???? Paladin or Sorcerer (player joining the group.. not sure what she'll play yet)

Anyways, the plot I'm thinking of is some kind of terrorist attack from the Swords of Liberty (Brelish extremist group... btw is there any real information on these guys?? I think there's a small writeup in Five Nations and that's about it) that the party witnesses while in Sharn; maybe a relatively easy encounter here made exciting by mobs of people running away (any ideas for the exact nature of the attack? I was thinking some kind of self-destructing Necklace of Fireballs to be like suicide bombers, but that doesn't seem like the SoL style). The PCs would then be contacted by the local branch of the Dark Lanterns (the guy from Whispers of the Vampire's Blade, since I'm not using that module) and asked to investigate (this poses a problem: How to get them to *want* to investigate? Money is the obvious one.. maybe having the gratitude of King Boranel? My gf would go along because she's an agent; I'm planning on the main antagonist and head of this branch being a spellcaster to justify her being assigned to it.. PGtE mentions Spellthieves being used as spies/assassins by the Dark Lanterns against spellcasters).

From here I'm planning on having the Swords be trying to frame someone else... possibly New Cyre and Prince Oargev (the terrorists would be wearing Cyran uniforms) to draw the PC Artificer into the mix and to take advantage of the post-war tension, so the PCs would have to do some investigations to find out the truth. However, I'm drawing a blank here as to what they could be looking for. I didn't plan on having the entire adventure take place in Sharn, but I don't know how to justify them leaving and going to some other town. So I def. need help with fleshing this part out.

I want to tie in previous elements too so I'm thinking of using the airship and/or lightning rail encounters from WotVB, probably with some of the Lord of Blades' followers (who are not happy with the PCs at all for killing Cutter, Rapier [one in the sewers in Forgotten Forge], Saber and Cutlass). I might throw Garrow in too, but not have him reveal himself (I love that part.. they could be talking to him and never know it), but it would only be a side thing not part of the main storyline (since I'm going to run them through GotEC at some point, I could tie it in then... that would make for a good villainous monologue).

So anyways... I want them to eventually be able to discover proof that the Swords are behind the attacks (along with proof that they're trying to frame New Cyre) and then launch an assault on their outpost. I'm not at all sure where this would be, though.

So I guess you can see the problem... I have the basic skeleton of my adventure, but I have no clue how to go about fleshing it out enough to keep it interesting. I need to keep my player's interest, because they tend to like to go for mindless combat... I want to try and sway them away from that with a gritty type adventure, although I do want a few cinematic combats (I have at least three... the initial one with the terrorists, the fight on the rail/airship, and the final assault on the Swords' base). So... what can I do do flesh out this adventure to hopefully make it memorable?

I hope that anyone who reads this can understand what I'm looking for... I sometimes have a hard time explaining what I mean... I will gladly give more insight if necessary. Thanks so much for any assistance!
Actionhank57
02-01-06, 09:56 AM Well, writing adventures can be pretty daunting at first, but remember that you only have to write as much you need. Don't worry about making things as complete as a published module is, after all, someone got paid to write that. What I usually do to come up with a few sessions worth of play, is write a short story. Maybe 2 or 3 pages long, it details the events that led up to the adventure the PCs are going on, and why the various NPCs are involved. This usually gives me enough inspiration for some memorable encounters, and then its just a matter of writing up stats for badguys and such. I generally have a short write up of the most logical order of events, but I am always ready to bend the story. You sound like you have some pretty good ideas in the works, just focus on one of them and flesh it out. Then, during the weeks that you are running that stuff, start working on the next series of events. Also, I find writing up a good ol' fashion dungeon crawl is the easiest. It can give you a break from the more plot heavy writing, and it sounds like your group is pretty into the hack-n-slash so I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Just be sure to give a dungeon that ebberon tone.

As for the question of player motivation, try to find something that can be a common goal among the group. Maybe a common foe or a patron. Or, find a way to encourage comradery. That way, whatever is motivation for one member, should be good enough for the rest. Also, i find that players generally create their own motivation. I mean, if your choices are go adventure, or sit around in town while everyone else does, what are you gonna choose.
WayneTheGame
02-02-06, 09:57 AM UPDATE: The fifth player is going to be making a Changeling Wizard (specialized in Transmutation and Illusion [Racial sub level from RoE]), who is an associate (not full member) of the Tyrants crime organization in Sharn.

Still would appreciate more advice/comments on how to further flesh out this adventure... as I said I have some ideas but I'm having difficulty adding the details...
Naudachu
02-02-06, 07:50 PM Here's an idea. The Sons of Liberty are attacking a tower holding a shipment or some kind of moveable object about to be shipped out.

The attack fails, due to PC involvement, and is due to ship out the next day. The Dark Lanterns contact the spelltheif in your group asking her to gather a group to investigate.

I like the tie-in with New Cyre which pulls in another member of your group. If the other PCs need convincing, drop some hints as to what the shipment might be or have the Dark Lanterns contact the group outright and negotiate.

They can do some preliminary investigation that night or the next morning: checking out the crime scene, talking to the workers and supervisor (someone here was probably in on it).

Then the PCs follow the shipment, aboard lightning rail or airship, waiting for another attack. This could be an airship headed to Xen'drik, carrying an experimental Cannith device bound for a new settlement there. And Garrow could be aboard.

Hope that helps. I think the key unlocking the rest of the adventure is figuring out the reason for the attack.
atanyx
02-02-06, 10:45 PM Another idea for the terrorist attack could be an assassination attempt, successful or not up to you. I have been toying around with the idea of a message delivered to a NPC that is actually an exploding rune or other magically trapped missive. That would allow for your desire to have the ain adversary be a magic user. Additionally, with an assassination you would have a plausible reason for the chase to lead out of Sharn - the higher profile the target, the less likely the perpetrators would stick around the city.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WayneTheGame 01-31-06, 11:41 AM	I'm bored with running my group through the published modules (which are kinda... bland if you ask me, although I do intend to finish it up with GotEC at some point), so I'm finally having to sit down to write up my own. Problem is, I've never written my own adventure before. I have a basic idea of the plot, but it needs fleshing out... so I'm turning to you to hopefully get some good advice and opinions. First, the party composition: - Human Artificer 4 (has Mark of Making and is/was from Cyre; New Cyre supporter) - Warforged Barbarian 1/Fighter 3 (wields a Large greatsword via Monkey Grip.. group's tank and acts like the Terminator... dislikes humans i.e. "meatbags". Presumably created by the Lord of Blades since he's 1 year old.. would join them if given the chance, more than likely.) - Elf (Aerenal) Ranger/Cleric (1/3 I think but maybe 2/2, he has Mark of Shadow; wants to go for that anti-undead Aerenal class) - Half-Elf Rogue 1/Spellthief 3 (my girlfriend; her character is a member of the Dark Lanterns) - ???? Paladin or Sorcerer (player joining the group.. not sure what she'll play yet) Anyways, the plot I'm thinking of is some kind of terrorist attack from the Swords of Liberty (Brelish extremist group... btw is there any real information on these guys?? I think there's a small writeup in Five Nations and that's about it) that the party witnesses while in Sharn; maybe a relatively easy encounter here made exciting by mobs of people running away (any ideas for the exact nature of the attack? I was thinking some kind of self-destructing Necklace of Fireballs to be like suicide bombers, but that doesn't seem like the SoL style). The PCs would then be contacted by the local branch of the Dark Lanterns (the guy from Whispers of the Vampire's Blade, since I'm not using that module) and asked to investigate (this poses a problem: How to get them to want to investigate? Money is the obvious one.. maybe having the gratitude of King Boranel? My gf would go along because she's an agent; I'm planning on the main antagonist and head of this branch being a spellcaster to justify her being assigned to it.. PGtE mentions Spellthieves being used as spies/assassins by the Dark Lanterns against spellcasters). From here I'm planning on having the Swords be trying to frame someone else... possibly New Cyre and Prince Oargev (the terrorists would be wearing Cyran uniforms) to draw the PC Artificer into the mix and to take advantage of the post-war tension, so the PCs would have to do some investigations to find out the truth. However, I'm drawing a blank here as to what they could be looking for. I didn't plan on having the entire adventure take place in Sharn, but I don't know how to justify them leaving and going to some other town. So I def. need help with fleshing this part out. I want to tie in previous elements too so I'm thinking of using the airship and/or lightning rail encounters from WotVB, probably with some of the Lord of Blades' followers (who are not happy with the PCs at all for killing Cutter, Rapier [one in the sewers in Forgotten Forge], Saber and Cutlass). I might throw Garrow in too, but not have him reveal himself (I love that part.. they could be talking to him and never know it), but it would only be a side thing not part of the main storyline (since I'm going to run them through GotEC at some point, I could tie it in then... that would make for a good villainous monologue). So anyways... I want them to eventually be able to discover proof that the Swords are behind the attacks (along with proof that they're trying to frame New Cyre) and then launch an assault on their outpost. I'm not at all sure where this would be, though. So I guess you can see the problem... I have the basic skeleton of my adventure, but I have no clue how to go about fleshing it out enough to keep it interesting. I need to keep my player's interest, because they tend to like to go for mindless combat... I want to try and sway them away from that with a gritty type adventure, although I do want a few cinematic combats (I have at least three... the initial one with the terrorists, the fight on the rail/airship, and the final assault on the Swords' base). So... what can I do do flesh out this adventure to hopefully make it memorable? I hope that anyone who reads this can understand what I'm looking for... I sometimes have a hard time explaining what I mean... I will gladly give more insight if necessary. Thanks so much for any assistance!
Actionhank57 02-01-06, 09:56 AM	Well, writing adventures can be pretty daunting at first, but remember that you only have to write as much you need. Don't worry about making things as complete as a published module is, after all, someone got paid to write that. What I usually do to come up with a few sessions worth of play, is write a short story. Maybe 2 or 3 pages long, it details the events that led up to the adventure the PCs are going on, and why the various NPCs are involved. This usually gives me enough inspiration for some memorable encounters, and then its just a matter of writing up stats for badguys and such. I generally have a short write up of the most logical order of events, but I am always ready to bend the story. You sound like you have some pretty good ideas in the works, just focus on one of them and flesh it out. Then, during the weeks that you are running that stuff, start working on the next series of events. Also, I find writing up a good ol' fashion dungeon crawl is the easiest. It can give you a break from the more plot heavy writing, and it sounds like your group is pretty into the hack-n-slash so I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Just be sure to give a dungeon that ebberon tone. As for the question of player motivation, try to find something that can be a common goal among the group. Maybe a common foe or a patron. Or, find a way to encourage comradery. That way, whatever is motivation for one member, should be good enough for the rest. Also, i find that players generally create their own motivation. I mean, if your choices are go adventure, or sit around in town while everyone else does, what are you gonna choose.
WayneTheGame 02-02-06, 09:57 AM	UPDATE: The fifth player is going to be making a Changeling Wizard (specialized in Transmutation and Illusion [Racial sub level from RoE]), who is an associate (not full member) of the Tyrants crime organization in Sharn. Still would appreciate more advice/comments on how to further flesh out this adventure... as I said I have some ideas but I'm having difficulty adding the details...
Naudachu 02-02-06, 07:50 PM	Here's an idea. The Sons of Liberty are attacking a tower holding a shipment or some kind of moveable object about to be shipped out. The attack fails, due to PC involvement, and is due to ship out the next day. The Dark Lanterns contact the spelltheif in your group asking her to gather a group to investigate. I like the tie-in with New Cyre which pulls in another member of your group. If the other PCs need convincing, drop some hints as to what the shipment might be or have the Dark Lanterns contact the group outright and negotiate. They can do some preliminary investigation that night or the next morning: checking out the crime scene, talking to the workers and supervisor (someone here was probably in on it). Then the PCs follow the shipment, aboard lightning rail or airship, waiting for another attack. This could be an airship headed to Xen'drik, carrying an experimental Cannith device bound for a new settlement there. And Garrow could be aboard. Hope that helps. I think the key unlocking the rest of the adventure is figuring out the reason for the attack.
atanyx 02-02-06, 10:45 PM	Another idea for the terrorist attack could be an assassination attempt, successful or not up to you. I have been toying around with the idea of a message delivered to a NPC that is actually an exploding rune or other magically trapped missive. That would allow for your desire to have the ain adversary be a magic user. Additionally, with an assassination you would have a plausible reason for the chase to lead out of Sharn - the higher profile the target, the less likely the perpetrators would stick around the city.