Post/Author/DateTime	Post
cactusblue 08-02-05, 02:51 PM	I'm a DM of 23 years and I've been DMing a DarkSun campaign for 3 years now and starting in a few months we're changing over to Eberron for something new, and the excitement of running 1st level characters again. I'm planning on running the published adventures plus the Queen with the Burning Eyes from Dungeon. I would like to hear from DM's running an Eberron campaign what type of adventures they are running and if there is an overall type of campaign they are running (such as battling the Inspired, recovering schemas, exploring Xendrik). I don't want to DM the same old stuff that I have been doing for the past two decades (i.e. find missing weapons of power). How does a DM capture that Eberron feel that I like but have a hard time wrapping the creative part of my brain around? I don't want it like a mundane Forgotten Realms campaign or a kick-in-the-door DarkSun campaign. My favorite skills to have the players use are Gather Info and Diplomacy, though Intimidate is fun too. Thanks for your input. :) Note: Sharn is the coolest D&D city since Sigil. Mile tall buildings. Ya gotta luv it!
Steelpunk 08-02-05, 04:09 PM	We've been running Eberron almost since its release, and we're loving it - definitely has a feel of its own. Our party bases itself in Sharn, so most adventures happen out of there. Unfortunately, the published adventures are a bit shaky. On their own they work fine, but linked together they sometimes don't share the same "feel", especially the second installment of the three-part "Last War" adventure series. My players didn't really care for it much, though it has since been useful as a place to draw adventure hooks from, since it acquaints them with different organizations and people, and gains them some enemies in the form of the Emerald Claw and the Lord of Blades. Currently the party is working on the Clockwork Fortress adventure from Dungeon magazine, which is going to be used as a springboard for an political intrigue campaign involving the Lord of Blades and the hags of Droaam. They've also clashed with the Inspired ambassadors in Sharn and learned of some of their manipulationsof the ir'Tain family and House Deneith, and an old enemy of the party is currently forming alliances with the Cult of the Dragon below in Undersharn in an effort to recreate the Circle guild of wizardry so she can act against the Esoteric Order and Starlight & Shadows. Should something happen to the party, we'll be starting fresh at level one on the Age of Worms campaign from Dungeon, adapted for Eberron as per the conversion notes - it seems to have a good flow to it, and the dark feel matches what my players enjoy - a good mix of social, intrigue, and dungeon crawling.
Save-vs-DM 08-03-05, 07:10 AM	Welcome to the Eberron Boards. Can't stop the signal, baby! Well, I can give you my campaign bible synopsis, that might help you out. Campaign Synopsis Here Background During the Last War an independent association of magewrights and artificers began working on a secret project for the nation of Breland. Officially labeled Project Overlord, this project was highly classified and very few people even knew the name of this project. Arcane and psionic researchers were attempting to create an Eldrich Machine of vast and terrible power to grant Breland an extra edge during the war. Project Overlord was conceived by one Alain Colworn, a Brelish artificer loyal to the crown and one Tamra d’Cannith, a powerful telepath and house excoriate who was excoriated for selling Cannith secrets to the Dark Lanterns. Tamra received her psionic powers during a strange lab accident that rendered her permanently insane due to a brush with Xoriat. The Eldrich Machine dubbed the Overlord was an extremely powerful beacon capable of mass mind control. Though it was never completed, according to the schema Overlord was capable of controlling thousands of humanoids at one time for a lengthy period of time. The thinking of the time was that this machine could be used to control enemy armies which could be used as double agents and expendable forces. The project was started in 988 YK and was near completion when the Treaty of Thronehold was signed. Alain, Tamra and their staff of nearly thirty magically and psionically adept workers were silently notified to cease work on the project, dismantle Overlord and never speak of the project again. Unfortunately, the secret arcane forge located far below Sharn was overrun by a local Cult of the Dragon Below who falsely believed the Eldrich Machine was a powerful war weapon (it was, but not as they thought). Led by the mind flayer Isk’Rit, the cult quickly killed most of the workers, save for Alain and Tamra, who used their magic to escape. Isk’Rit quickly discovered the true power of Overlord, though at this time is unsure of how to use the great machine. He knows that it is not completed and is searching for a way to complete it in order to expand his herd of thralls. Alain and Tamra both went to ground, fearing retribution by Isk’Rit and the Brelish crown for their failure. Alain started posing as a simple wood carver and took great pains to mask any magical talent. He managed to purchase fake identification papers and passed himself off as a simple Cyran refugee in search of a new home. Tamra managed to hide for a week until she was discovered by the Dreaming Dark. After a month of intense psychic interrogation the Dreaming Dark discovered the truth of Project Overlord. Led by the Inspired Tirashana, the local Dreaming Dark agents seek to root out Isk’Rit and his cult in order to use Overlord. Tamra was mind-seeded and extensive psychic surgery warped her flesh into a new visage. Using extensive training and high placed contacts, the Dreaming Dark managed to place Tamra as a minor noble of House Cannith, granting her the name Elaida d’Cannith. She has kept a low profile and is now a key agent for the Dreaming Dark in their scheme to procure the Overlord. Through Tamra the Dreaming Dark discovered that Isk’Rit controls the Overlord currently, the Overlord is unfinished and that the Dark Lanterns know of its existence. Tirashana has determined that the best course of action is using a third and neutral party to obtain the supplies needed to finish the Eldrich Machine, root out the Cult of the Dragon Below and take the fall for working on the machine. They know that Alain still lives and is needed to complete the machine, as he has the only surviving the schema. They plan to use Tamra as an agent to get the PCs involved in the project. They want her to hire the PCs to obtain the needed supplies, root out the Cult of the Dragon Below and hopefully flush Alain out of hiding. The Dreaming Dark has also been working to eliminate anyone who knew about the project, including one Ebra Bakker, a Half-Elf merchant who delivered two shipments to the arcane forge. He was told that the project involved Brelish security and nothing else. He was murdered in his sleep using a subtle poison. His friend, a freelance inquisitive named Brogan Murphy, was called in to investigate. Brogan was an older Khoravar who recently hired the PCs to help him with his business. Brogan was murdered after he uncovered evidence about Ebra’s work, though the files were taken from his residence before the PCs could discover them. The campaign begins one week after Brogan’s death. Tone Dreams of Darkness is a rather dark and moody campaign with occasional doses of black humor. The campaign is filled with heavy intrigue and features shady deals and untrustworthy contacts. The PCs are never quite sure who they can trust after the death of their mentor and are completely unaware of Project Overlord at the start of the campaign. Player Synopsis You never managed to get a break in your life, moving from one occupation to the next in the great city of Sharn. You thought that your life would be an endless series of bad luck and poor living conditions. All of this changed when you met Brogan Murphy, an older Khoravar inquisitive who ran a small inquisitive agency in Lower Tavick’s Landing. Brogan was a Cyran refugee who managed to build a small but successful inquisitive business in High Walls. He saw in you a spark of something great and lifted you from a life in the gutter. He taught you all that her knew and took you on as an apprentice. One week ago Brogan died in his sleep. While he was an old man you feel that perhaps something greater is going on than meets the eye. Brogan left you and your companions his business and what small savings he had. You are unsure what to do with yourself now, though you have a small business with a reputation for doing good work. You have a way to make a living and perhaps a way to discover what truly happened to your mentor. You now live and work in Sharn. You have the skills that Brogan taught you and the memory of the kind old Khoravar. You are unsure of what the future holds. You are an inquisitive in the greatest city of Khorvaire. This is your life and the beginning of a great adventure. Friendly Factions Alain Colworn: During his exile Alain has had time to think upon the project he started creating. After living in the slums of High Walls he has come to discover that such a terrible weapon will bring more harm than good to the world. He is terrified for his life and intends to erase his past mistakes though a third party. If the PCs can discover who he is, he might be able to help them destroy Project Overlord. Alain holds the only known copy of the schema used to create Project Overlord. Goals: Use the PCs to destroy Project Overlord without revealing his true purpose in the scheme of the project. Neutral Factions The Dark Lanterns: The Dark Lanterns have a vested interest in Project Overlord. They would either like to see it in the hands of the Brelish crown or to see it destroyed. They don’t care too much either way, so long as the general populace remains oblivious to the weapon. They have an inkling that something is wrong with the project and are keeping close tabs on any suspicious activity. One of their members, one Nebra Aggan, has been mind seeded. She has been passing information to the Dreaming Dark for months now and hopes to use the Dark Lanterns as a means to reclaim Project Overlord. She will take every advantage to set the PCs up as the ones who want to use Project Overlord for themselves. Goals: Dismantle or control Project Overlord though a third party. Nebra will attempt to use her position to aid the Dreaming Dark and to set the PCs up to take the blame. Dekmar the Twisted: At first glance Dekmar may seem a mortal enemy. He is part of the Cult of the Dragon Below led by Isk’Rit and has several aberration grants. He has recently grown weary of the Overlord and his old master and would prefer to take leadership himself. The PCs may be able to use him to destroy the Isk’Rit. Goals: Destroy Isk’Rit and assume leadership of the Cult of the Dragon Below for himself. Enemy Factions The Cults of the Dragon Below: Led by the mind flayer Isk’Rit, the Cults want to use the Overlord for simple domination and to expand their influence. They are unsure of how to complete the machine and Isk’Rit will true and bend the minds of anyone he thinks is knowledgeable about the machine to his end. There is some in-fighting in the cult and a hidden power struggle. The cult will most likely attempt to capture artificers and mage-wrights in an attempt to get the machine functioning, though without the schema they are bound to fail. None of the group has been mind seeded, though the Dreaming Dark has been keeping tabs on them and would prefer to simply eliminate the group with a third party. Goals: Use Project Overlord to expand the size of their cult and garner more thralls for Isk’Rit. They are unsure of how to finish the machine and will attempt to capture artificers and magewrights in order to gain some insight. The Dreaming Dark: The Dreaming Dark wishes to gain control of Project Overlord in order to expand their influence. Tirashana has discovered a way to use the machine to enhance and extend the range of her mind seed powers and feels that this machine would be an excellent way to start gaining control of Sharn. Her long term goals include mind seeding major leaders of Breland in order to start the Last War anew. To this end several characters have been mind seeded in order to help with this goal. Goals: Gain control of Project Overlord using a third party. Use Tamra to gather the needed materials to complete the project using a third party. Obtain the schema by flushing Alain out of hiding using a third party. Destroy the Cult of the Dragon Below using a third party in order to gain access to Project Overlord. Set the PCs up to take the fall for finding and completing Project Overlord using their mind seeded Dark Lantern. Player Goals The players have several goals throughout the course of this campaign. They must discover the truth behind Brogan’s death, that he was murdered because he had a clue about Project Overlord. They must root out the mind seeds placed by the Dreaming Dark and destroy the Cult of the Dragon Below seeking to control Project Overlord. They must destroy Project Overlord completely in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Discovering the truth about the project and rooting out the dreaming dark will be a rather large task. Eventually they will destroy Tirashana and Isk’Rit if they wish to destroy Project Overlord. Here are a few things I've found that make a campaign distinctly "Eberron" * Bait and Switch: Most of the time, things shouldn't be taken at face value. It's hard to tell enemies from friends a lot of the time. Think Hitchcock plot twists. * Pulp Action: Combats should be fewer but more intense. Elaborate set-piece battles are good for Eberron. A fight aboard a crashing airship, in a church during mass, or in a huge clock-tower are all possible encounters. * Noir Tone: Think old noir films for this one. Dark mood, shady characters. Stuff like that. As for the published adventure paths? I've run a few of them and I found them to be enjoyable. I personally like creating my own adventures a bit more, but these are a good start to get the feel of Eberron. Good luck and happy gaming, Save vs DM