Post/Author/DateTime	Post
arjomanes 12-26-07, 07:09 PM	I'm going to be DMing a solo campaign for my wife, set in Eberron. This is going to be an unusual campaign since she hasn't played D&D before, and she would like to play a character that is not a typical adventurer, at least in the beginning. She wants to be more of a "normal person" at the very beginning. She decided on a female human dairy farmer, with a herd of goats and some cows. She is playing a Dragonmarked member of House Vadalis, with a least Dragonmark of Handling. I suggested this to justify why she would be above average in some ways, and to make it easier to introduce new adventure hooks. Her farm is a new development on the outskirts of a village near Bluevine in Aundair. At her farm she raises a herd of goats and a few cows, and crafts specialty cheeses to sell in the nearby village. The animals are all currently owned by House Vadalis, and they are all magebred. The farm is an experiment by the House to attempt to create some of the finest cheese and wool in all of Korvaire. Most importantly, she has two magebred male mountain goats, and one magebred bull. The nanny goats and cows are also magebred, but in my campaign the magebred traits will be passed on by the males only. No male animals that have not been neutered may be sold outside the House. The farm also includes a few minor magewright items -- a churn that churns butter on its own, an everbright lantern outside her shop, alarm spells on the far pasture gates, etc. For the character, I helped her modify the expert class to suit her purposes. I will allow gestalt expert//PC classes as she determines how she wants to develop her character. The modifications I made are: ------------ House Vadalis Expert Farmer Skill Focus: Craft (cheesemaking) was added as a bonus feat [there was no way I felt justified in requiring her to spend a feat on this] The whip was added to the list of weapons she is proficient with. I feel that this adds a little flavor for someone raised in House Vadalis. In addition I created a shepherds hook weapon; it is a quarterstaff modified to allow trip attempts. Wild Empathy was added as a first level class ability. ----------- We got as far as character creation. Potential adventure hooks include: Wolves (or other monsters) attack goats in pasture and must be killed or driven off. Thieves attempt to break into the farm to steal the very valuable magebred bull. Are they working on their own or were they hired by someone in high position? The mayor has bought a new stallion that no one can seem to control. Perhaps that animal handler from House Vadalis can tame the wild beast. The animated ropes used for executions have somehow gotten loose and are strangling villagers in the town square. A magewright posing as a Cannith tinker is selling pajamas that will put the wearer straight to sleep. What they don't know is that he plans to sneak into their houses and rob them while they're asleep. A representative from House Kundarak approaches the PC to purchase (or rent) magebred goats for hauling carts up and down the slopes of the Ironroot Mountains. If the negotiations between the PC, House Vadalis, and House Kundarak all go well, this could lead to an expedition to the Ironroot Mountains to train the dwarves on using the goats to transport minerals. Any suggestions on running a nontraditional campaign, or any inconsistencies noticed would be appreciated. I haven't run an Eberron campaign before and I'd like to know if these example adventures are too high-magic for Eberron. Does this character fit with House Vadalis, or should she belong to a different Dragonmarked House? To what extent would the House control any profits or property? I'd really appreciate any advice on how best to make this work. Thanks!
Amaril 12-26-07, 09:12 PM	Hmm... Have you seen Keith's Gleaner (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/gk7uKJeF296jRcx1NJw.html) NPC class?
arjomanes 12-26-07, 09:38 PM	Oh hey, that's really interesting. I'll have to read through the gleaner class more. That might be perfect!
Amaril 12-26-07, 09:48 PM	Yeah from what you've written, it seems like a strong fit. As an aside, I've often given PCs the option of starting an LA+1 race with a level in an NPC class that gets changed to a level in a PC class when they level. For example, I once had a player wanting to play a goliath fighter, and I started him off as a 1st-level warrior. When he had enough XP for 2nd level, he was bumped to a 1st-level fighter. This might work for your player who wants to start off as "normal".
naturax 12-27-07, 10:37 AM	Any suggestions on running a nontraditional campaign, or any inconsistencies noticed would be appreciated. I haven't run an Eberron campaign before and I'd like to know if these example adventures are too high-magic for Eberron. Does this character fit with House Vadalis, or should she belong to a different Dragonmarked House? To what extent would the House control any profits or property? I'd really appreciate any advice on how best to make this work. For someone who's never run an Eberron campaign before, you seem to have a better grasp on the setting than people with experience. I think you've got a lot of really strong plot hooks lined up and I like the way you've set up your PC to have the potential to get involved in bigger things in the future. You've got just the right amount of magic in your plot hooks: low level stuff that's everywhere fits Eberron perfectly. House Vadalis is the least strict of all the Houses, and as an organization has (at least to me) a Chaotic bent, so there is a lot of room for individuals to do things their own way. So yeah, your character fits House Vadalis perfectly. To answer your question about the extent to which the House controls the PC's profits and property, I think you should fill in an aspect of the character that I was going to suggest anyways: what is the PC's relationship with her family? Vadalis is very family oriented, so it would be important to find out what the PC's parents are up to, if she has any siblings, cousins, etc. The land and animals could have been as simple as a gift from someone in the family or as complicated as a loan from a rival of her sibling's new spouse, and I'm sure you can work with the player to come up with seeds for a number of plot hooks there. Another plot hook I may suggest is that a criminal shows up at her farm in the dead of night seeking refuge from the authorities. This might be an exciting way to get an entire campaign kick started once a couple of adventures at home have been played and the player has had a chance to get a feel for the character. I want to add that I was really impressed by what you've written and I think you're geared up to do an excellent job.
arjomanes 12-27-07, 12:03 PM	Thanks! I'm glad to hear that I'm not way off base. I still feel a little overwhelmed by all that's in the Eberron setting, so I'm trying to take it slowly. A village in Aundair seems like a really good place to start, nice and simple to begin with, but really close to the action. I'll want to gradually get my feet wet with the politics and power groups in the world. There really are a number of interesting organizations and motivations, and plenty of material to last several campaigns. We're currently reading Keith's Dreaming Dark series, so I think it would be fun to introduce a few familiar elements from those stories over time. I like your idea of a NPC seeking refuge in an out-of-the-way place like this. It could be a simple black and white matter: a criminal seeking refuge from the authorities. Another option could be a ranger freedom fighter (the Eldeen Wolves maybe) from the Eldeen Reaches sent to spy in Aundair. Was she a friend or acquaintance from the past, or just a stranger from the PC's homeland? Or if I want to create a tie to Sharn, the outlaw could be a halfling from the Boromar clan, on the run from agents of the Dark Lanterns. Do the Dark Lanterns have jurisdiction in Aundair, or for that matter on House Vadalis property?
Jabberwocky888 12-27-07, 12:18 PM	I must say I really like this whole concept. Keep it up! Some more plot hooks: 1) Manufacturing exquisite cheese would certainly invite the attention (positive as well as negative, that is) of Karrnathi cheesemakers and cheesetraders. They might want to learn more (or steal some) of the knowledge, they might want to suppress this new competitor and her production somehow, making her efforts seem unsuccessful in the eyes of the House superiors. 2) Mischievous (or maybe really malevolent?) fey are meddling with the farm processes - spoilt milk, burn food, restless animals, goats that suddenly speak, pranks like that. 3) Changeling posing as an old buyer - taking the goods but paying nothing. And the real customer (let's make him a touchy dwarf, just for fun :-) knows nothing of the contract, of course. 4) This order just HAS to be fulfilled, and on time, otherwise the customer will look elsewhere next time. The problem is, we are kind of short of supplies these days. Maybe, if we bought some milk from the other farmers, but no, that won't work. Long Jim will sell us nothing, he hates us (we should have let him buy that piece of land near the stream...) Or will he? 5) I just could swear that Magda from the Branholm Farm was pregnant. Now, she's not anymore, there's no baby, nothing. And the strangest thing - nobody seems to remember the fact. Am I crazy, or what? 6) Who the heck is that guy who keeps telling my customers that magebred animals won't produce bio-products? And what is a bio-product, in the first place? Yep, I definitely like the concept :-D
arjomanes 12-27-07, 12:29 PM	I must say I really like this whole concept. Keep it up! Some more plot hooks: 1) Manufacturing exquisite cheese would certainly invite the attention (positive as well as negative, that is) of Karrnathi cheesemakers and cheesetraders. They might want to learn more (or steal some) of the knowledge, they might want to suppress this new competitor and her production somehow, making her efforts seem unsuccessful in the eyes of the House superiors. 2) Mischievous (or maybe really malevolent?) fey are meddling with the farm processes - spoilt milk, burn food, restless animals, goats that suddenly speak, pranks like that. 3) Changeling posing as an old buyer - taking the goods but paying nothing. And the real customer (let's make him a touchy dwarf, just for fun :-) knows nothing of the contract, of course. 4) This order just HAS to be fulfilled, and on time, otherwise the customer will look elsewhere next time. The problem is, we are kind of short of supplies these days. Maybe, if we bought some milk from the other farmers, but no, that won't work. Long Jim will sell us nothing, he hates us (we should have let him buy that piece of land near the stream...) Or will he? 5) I just could swear that Magda from the Branholm Farm was pregnant. Now, she's not anymore, there's no baby, nothing. And the strangest thing - nobody seems to remember the fact. Am I crazy, or what? 6) Who the heck is that guy who keeps telling my customers that magebred animals won't produce bio-products? And what is a bio-product, in the first place? Yep, I definitely like the concept :-D Those are really great! I love the light feel of them and how they all revolve around the character concept. I had read that part about Karrnathi cheeses just yesterday, but I didn't think about how they might feel about the threat to their business. Thanks for all these great ideas. +1 for the Eberron community!
Jabberwocky888 12-27-07, 01:04 PM	arjomanes: Thank you. Glad to help, really.
Arz 12-27-07, 01:37 PM	Here is some further info on Vadalis that might help. THey mainly operate as a family first and business second. They each have there own operations that help each other out. Since they were raised in the family business practice they all know the do's and don'ts of the house. They are heavily invested in traditional farming and animal husbandry of all kinds. I imagine it works as a loose collective that bargains deals between family members on an individual basis with some profits from mediation. Success and reliability earn members better credit and interest rates along with access to preferred clients. Another plot hook for you: Grandpa's old goat started talking to me. Nobody told me the goat was intelligent. Why did it suddenly start talking? Is it possessed? an experiment? or grandpa's soul? [Mystery/Horror]
naturax 12-27-07, 01:52 PM	I like your idea of a NPC seeking refuge in an out-of-the-way place like this. It could be a simple black and white matter: a criminal seeking refuge from the authorities. Another option could be a ranger freedom fighter (the Eldeen Wolves maybe) from the Eldeen Reaches sent to spy in Aundair. Was she a friend or acquaintance from the past, or just a stranger from the PC's homeland? Or if I want to create a tie to Sharn, the outlaw could be a halfling from the Boromar clan, on the run from agents of the Dark Lanterns. Do the Dark Lanterns have jurisdiction in Aundair, or for that matter on House Vadalis property? Those are exactly the sort of ideas I had in mind with the criminal seeking refuge and, again, you're demonstrating an excellent grasp of the setting. Personally, I had a really easy time starting my campaigns in Sharn because there is SO MUCH useful material in the Sharn: City of Towers book (I can't rave about that book enough). The Dark Lanterns are the spy agency of the Brelish crown, and so they won't have any jurisdiction in Aundair (though that won't stop them from spying: it's what they do). As for House Vadalis property, that complicates things because technically the Houses aren't allowed to own any property, but yet the members of the Houses are supposed to have diplomatic immunity to local laws. The legal status of the houses is a messy business, and it would take some more research to figure out how to handle the situation canonically. But the good news is that it's so messy you can decide for yourself how it gets dealt with in your game.
Waywalker 12-27-07, 02:37 PM	Let me applaud you first for taking the time and effort to set up a solo campaign with your wife! My wife and I have spoken of this before, but it's always been harder to implement than to talk about. Why? I have no idea. LOL From looking it over, I think you've got everything in place. She is in the correct House, and you've got good ideas so far. I would look into possibly supplying cheese for House Ghalladra to tie in another House (I always like the web of connections that all the Houses end up having, even when they're somewhat in competetion). You can work ties together through common means, and then later when she's got more experience have her overhear something from the representative that leads to further adventure. I would also (if possible this late in the development) consider having the Dragonmark develop later in the storyline. Having a Dragonmark places you in a very specific place within your House, and usually those who carry the Marks are given greater responsibility than others. This fits in -really- well with your having her set up on her own farm! Again, I applaud you! But she could have that anyway, and have the Dragonmark develop later on, thus pulling her into town or possibly to a local enclave to speak with the leaders. And I personally believe that the House would keep a percentage of profits from the farm, if not all of them. She gets room and board and that's about all. While having all of the profits go to the House is mean, it is not without precadent. I would not got that far, but it is a possibility if you need it. Keeping an account of profits would be part of daily life on a farm that was owned by another (although of course you don't want to worry about doing that in game! LOL The horror!). But you could say that she gleans just enough that she can perhaps save up for adventuring gear, if she appears to be headed down that path. Also, there's nothing that says she can't keep it all, and that the House is simply looking into making better cheese. They keep the "patent" as it were. Best of luck!
Jabberwocky888 12-27-07, 03:59 PM	Another one from me: 7) A very old and very ill goblin comes to the farm, claiming the land be the home of his ancestors (well, technically, he's right) and he be allowed to die there peacefully and be buried properly. There is a lot of possibilities now. Will the PC allow for this? If so, is the goblin really sick? What if he's just seeking a comfortable life before being expelled and trying his trick elsewhere? He may be even no goblin at all - remember the changeling who "bought" your cheese? Well, he's pushing his luck a bit now, but why not? Or the goblin really dies there. Is it good for business? Will the local people be still into your Old Dead Goblin Cheese, as they call it now? Or the goblin is refused and leaves with a curse on his lips. As for the curse: From that night on, the **** keeps crowing (or how you people call it in English - my dictionary sometimes plays tricks on me) in the middle of the night instead of in the morning, waking of course everybody and their brother. Who could know that the old little bugger could really bestow curses? Edit: Hm, I understand that certain words are not supported, but how the heck am I supposed to call the bird? He-hen?
arjomanes 12-27-07, 04:40 PM	Let me applaud you first for taking the time and effort to set up a solo campaign with your wife! My wife and I have spoken of this before, but it's always been harder to implement than to talk about. Why? I have no idea. LOL Well I'll see how this goes. Hopefully it won't cause any unforeseen problems. "Honey, I'll give you 100 XP if you iron my shirt before work tomorrow." From looking it over, I think you've got everything in place. She is in the correct House, and you've got good ideas so far. I would look into possibly supplying cheese for House Ghalladra to tie in another House (I always like the web of connections that all the Houses end up having, even when they're somewhat in competetion). You can work ties together through common means, and then later when she's got more experience have her overhear something from the representative that leads to further adventure. I like that kind of thing too. I think the more connections there are, the more potential plot hooks will be available. Hopefully this will make it seem like she isn't getting railroaded while still making it easy to pick up an adventure cue. I would also (if possible this late in the development) consider having the Dragonmark develop later in the storyline. Having a Dragonmark places you in a very specific place within your House, and usually those who carry the Marks are given greater responsibility than others. This fits in -really- well with your having her set up on her own farm! Again, I applaud you! But she could have that anyway, and have the Dragonmark develop later on, thus pulling her into town or possibly to a local enclave to speak with the leaders. I'm not sure yet about how to integrate the dragonmark. I'll need to get feedback on whether she would rather be a more important person in her House or less important; I think that will determine when the mark manifests itself. An earlier manifesting mark and a parent with a dragonmark would indicate higher position in the house, whereas a later manifesting mark and normal parents would make for a lower position. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be an aristocrat. And I personally believe that the House would keep a percentage of profits from the farm, if not all of them. She gets room and board and that's about all. While having all of the profits go to the House is mean, it is not without precadent. I would not got that far, but it is a possibility if you need it. Keeping an account of profits would be part of daily life on a farm that was owned by another (although of course you don't want to worry about doing that in game! LOL The horror!). But you could say that she gleans just enough that she can perhaps save up for adventuring gear, if she appears to be headed down that path. Also, there's nothing that says she can't keep it all, and that the House is simply looking into making better cheese. They keep the "patent" as it were. I want the house to own most of the animals, buildings and equipment, since otherwise she could hardly have much of a farm with beginning gold. She hardly will get any character benefit from the farm or the animals, but they will serve as great props for the setting and story. This also grants me more control over the farm and allows me to have wolves attack her animals, for instance, without penalizing her character. Over time if she invests her personal resources into growing the farm she will receive some "treasure" as income from the farm. For example, she took Profession: farmer, Craft: cheesemaking, Craft: toolmaking, and other skills that won't come into play in combat. I think these should get a reward in treasure and XP, just as ranks in UMD or climb can help combat-oriented PCs win encounters. I think I will allow her make craft checks to gain treasure and XP, using the craft rules, and compete in contests. For example a high DC craft check in a county fair may give a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place prize, which would have an XP value and cash value. Likewise, profession checks could allow higher or lower profits with rewards or challenges as a result. I'll have to look into this more in-depth and read the rules about profession and craft more closely to best solve this aspect. Thanks for all the really great comments and suggestions. One question: if House Kundarak wanted to transport minerals from their mines using pack animals, would they purchase or lease the animals directly from House Vadalis, or would they have a contract with House Orien, which would obtain the animals from Vadalis?
arjomanes 12-27-07, 04:50 PM	Another one from me: 7) A very old and very ill goblin comes to the farm, claiming the land be the home of his ancestors (well, technically, he's right) and he be allowed to die there peacefully and be buried properly. There is a lot of possibilities now. Will the PC allow for this? If so, is the goblin really sick? What if he's just seeking a comfortable life before being expelled and trying his trick elsewhere? He may be even no goblin at all - remember the changeling who "bought" your cheese? Well, he's pushing his luck a bit now, but why not? Or the goblin really dies there. Is it good for business? Will the local people be still into your Old Dead Goblin Cheese, as they call it now? Or the goblin is refused and leaves with a curse on his lips. As for the curse: From that night on, the **** keeps crowing (or how you people call it in English - my dictionary sometimes plays tricks on me) in the middle of the night instead of in the morning, waking of course everybody and their brother. Who could know that the old little bugger could really bestow curses? Edit: Hm, I understand that certain words are not supported, but how the heck am I supposed to call the bird? He-hen? I wouldn't worry about the censorship. You used the appropriate word. It's too bad that some words get ruined by vulgar associations. Another word you can use for a male chicken is rooster. I like the goblin idea. I like it that all the goblins in Eberron aren't automatically fodder for random adventuring parties.
Jabberwocky888 12-27-07, 05:12 PM	Well, thanks the Sovereigns for the rooster word, then. I was afraid that farmers would have to keep cockatrices, due to censorship ;-)
Nerdicus 12-27-07, 08:48 PM	If you wanted to give her a DMPC to adventure with her I would suggest a warforged ranger or fighter. I used this idea for a solo campaign that involved a House Vadalis scion and it worked great. It could be something along the lines of: Your father gained the services of a warforged fighter/ranger during the last war. Perhaps he saved the warforged's life, or just gave him refuge in a time when all warforged were expected to fight and kill for others. This warforged, didn't want ot fight for the sake of fighting though, and so reneged on his contract and became a farmhand. This would essentially be the ultimate farmhand. Loyal, strong and hardworking(never sleeps!!!) plus he doesn't eat. In my campaign the warforged ranger NPC was actually responsible for the death of the PCs father. he lead the invading group to the Fathers lands, and watched as the leader of the group he was guiding killed the father out of hand. The warforged then reneged from his contract with Aundair and pledged hia life to the family. It wasn't until suring gameplay that it came out that the warforged was actually responsible for the PCs father to have been killed. It was great for plot and depth to the background and the characters in general! But yeah, great ideas going on here!! Can't wait to hear how it goes!
Jabberwocky888 12-28-07, 05:00 PM	Ok, two more plot hooks before going to bed (GMing the whole day long and being very tired): 8) A small magical beast (or a rogue familiar?), e.g a weasel, with a phasing or teleporting ability, stealing eggs from the henhouse. The hens ale locked all night long but the eggs just keep vanishing. 9) This one isn't original - it has been used by my friend a long time ago in Greyhawk but it's a cool one. There's a magical stove in the kitchen with a bound fire elemental. Somebody has fed the elemental a bit more firewood/coal than usually, causing the creature leave the stove and wander the kitchen. The elemental is not evil, just curious and a bit hyperactive from all the burning. The same can't be said about the other creature in the kitchen - as a byproduct of the elemental going free, there arose some kind of a food golem. It is malicious and angry. My friend made the creature a spaghetti "golem" and it was a nasty strangler, I must say.
OctaviusIII 12-29-07, 02:47 PM	Just a thought that might catch your fancy: the human paragon class in Unearthed Arcana. Why? It makes her normal but better than normal. Just a left-field thought.
Arz 12-31-07, 10:23 AM	One question: if House Kundarak wanted to transport minerals from their mines using pack animals, would they purchase or lease the animals directly from House Vadalis, or would they have a contract with House Orien, which would obtain the animals from Vadalis? It comes down to a question of scale. A large operation would have a long term contract with Orien to provide shipping. A smaller operation might bid it out piecemeal to any of the Lyrandar, Orien, or Vadalis local branches. An exploratory mining op would probably need the services of a full-time wrangler and so would hire a Vadalis accredited expert. Take your pick. The usual practice of the house is to geld and sell their animals. They are more worried about the quality of the product than customer service.
Alas 01-08-08, 10:24 AM	Sounds like a fun idea for a campaign. For a non-standard game like this, have you considered using an alternate ruleset? Something like The Shadows of Yesterday or Trollbabe that might shift the mechanical focus from monster slaying to interacting with NPCs? I ran a fairly successful one-off session set in Sharn using the TSOY rules-- it proved very adaptable to the player characters' personal goals. For a plot point: The Edicts of Korth are very particular on Dragonmarked Houses and land ownership. Does this Vadalis farm pay rent? To whom? What's that relationship like? Cozy, or competitive? Mr. Roper, or Mr. Furley?