Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Talae Dec 16, 2009 17:42:01	First off, this campaign will possibly begin this Saturday and therefore needs to move quickly through the planning stages, but I also forsee a few weeks off due to the holidays to follow. My group has now dropped to a total of two players. We three have decided that we want to try out a two character party. I thought I would look to you guys for suggestions regarding both the campaign itself as well as this new party dynamic. I hope to keep the total player count in the group at one character per player (group request) and therefore we will be leaving the door open to new commers. First, the campaign: I plan on having the campaign be based in Sharn, and possibly even remain there indefinitely. I have not decided specifics (inquisitive-detective style, working for a specific organization, etc.) and could use a nudge in any direction. The campaign needs to keep in mind that there will be few players and potentially players changing characters to suit dynamic of a small group more accurately. I am debating modifying the Eberron specific adventures that are already published to work for a smaller group, but don't know if I should save them for a larger party. I have run a few campaigns in Eberron, but have never used Sharn in game. I am roughly halfway done reading City of Towers, the Eberron novel. I am hoping to bring in a high level of pulp action into this city campaign (collapsing bridges and towers, rooftop chases in the rain at night, multi-level fights with bodies falling below, airborn interactions, etc.) Second, the players: One will most definitely run a leader. Which is unclear thus far. One wil run either a striker or a defender. Again, which is unclear thus far. I will attempt to connect them directly to the storyline moreso than I typically do because of the small party size. I would love to hear anything you have for me (character suggestions, storyline suggestions, ideas for specific plot hooks or encounter that I could weave into a storyline, etc.)
#2 Sarlax Dec 16, 2009 21:51:15	If Sharn is the focus of the campaign, I'd suggest making it a game about urban conflict, which often boils down to resources, class, and poverty. You have a few ready-made villain groups at your disposal: the Boramar, House Tarkanan, and Daask. You also have the Sharn city council.   A key part of Eberron is intrigue. With Sharn as the locus of adventure, I'd make intrigue the name of your game. My first idea for a campaign framework is members of the council hiring the agency to investigate/solve problems related to the 'worst' of the evil groups, the Daask. In time, the PCs may find that the council is working at the behest of the Boramars, so they get to see the seedy side of Sharn's politics. As they gain levels, they have to deal with assassinations between these rival factions, manage riots, and as they transition to paragon tier, act as king-makers, and actually choose the group which will lead Sharn into the future. And maybe you can even have a one-night zombie invasion adventure with Gath (a lich-priest of the Keeper) as the arch-foe!
#3 Talae Dec 17, 2009 7:37:18	Those are definitely some interesting ideas. Thank you and keep them coming. I discussed it with the players and turns out they will most likely be running a Warforged Fighter (possibly with the Mark of Warding) and a Githyanki or Shadar Kai Artificer. They don't have backgrounds yet, but I plan on having them create/expad upon at least one NPC in the word in order to facilitate greater roleplay value.
#4 endless_spiral Dec 17, 2009 12:47:16	Just from a mechanical point of view, with this group set-up I would definitely advise one or both characters to seriously consider multiclasssing into a striker class. For example, for the fighter, mulitclassing into rogue gives him/her sneak attack damage 1/encounter (at the cost of only 1 feat), which could definitely help bring down the bad guys when necessary. Assuming you are designing scaled down encounters for this group, the lack of any sort of controller in the party shouldn't be as much of a problem. As far as story ideas, I would definitely take the opportunity to plan adventures and encounters that don't (necessarily) rely so much on combat, and instead place a greater emphasis on intrigue, stealth, and infiltration...I would go with more of a fantasy James Bond or Mission: Impossible sort of feel than the traditional Lord of the Rings-esque fantasy action--especially if the setting is Sharn. Keith Baker's more recent Thorn of Breland novels are an excellent example of this sort of feel, and Son of Khyber takes place exclusively in Sharn... In fact, stealing Thorn's premise might make a good framework for the campaign: the characters could both be working as agents of the King's Citadel Dark Lanterns, going on whatever missions they are assigned (should they choose to accept them)...
#5 Talae Dec 18, 2009 0:31:31	I really appreciate the ideas so far. Keep the ideas comming guys. I am most interested in how to place the PCs in the city and what kind of connections to give them (even if they have lived there the whole time, what district, etc.). As for the builds, it seems as though Artificer and Warforged Fighter are almost definite. The fighter will be following this build as a guideline. Any advice on the first few encounters and/or NPC interactions?
#6 ellorin Dec 22, 2009 15:15:06	A warforged and an artificer? House Cannith might have a significant presence in the campaign. Perhaps the characters belonged to the same squad during the war or they worked for the dragonmarked house(if so, they could tip the balance between the factions). You could also use the Lord of Blades and his followers as recurring villains.  As for the campaign's beginning, how about a manhunt? The PCs witnessed the murder of an important individual by(insert gang/agency of your choice) and must evade their pursuers through dark alleys.  For a variation, the Tyrants might have framed them for the murder(the reason is up to you).
#7 meshon Dec 23, 2009 13:15:54	I really like the idea of a precarious chase along rooftops and bridges through the rain. The chase could easily be a skill challenge as part of a combat encounter. And since you're going for pulp I recommend using minions liberally. Being chased by twelve Tyrant gang members is pretty scary and dramatic, but with the dynamic movement of a pursuit scene the characters won't be fighting too many enemies at a time and as the chase goes on, they will wear down the "one hit, one kill" gang who is after them. You could have successes in the challenge give the characters good shots at the minions, while failures mean another minion catches up and gets within range to make an attack of her own. Enjoy the small group, it can be really fun. cheers, Meshon