Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 EnderXenocide0 Jan 04, 2015 20:20:35	I have a villain whose ultimate plan is to build a device that creates a plane (similar to the Genesis spell) and, in the process, causes bad things to happen to the material plane. I need to design this device and know how it operates. I don't need mechanics for it, per se, as this is an eldritch machine. But I need... plot mechanics. This device will be powered by draining magical energy from dragonmarked individuals. What else do I need for this device?
#2 Beoric Jan 04, 2015 21:50:20	This reminds me of the device in Wyatt's third novel.   i would suggest, a really big khyber shard to bind the dragonmarks, preferably a particular stone mentioned by the Draconic Prophesy.  Or a syberis shard to draw the marks, a khyber shard to bind them to the device, and an eberron shard to manipulate the energies once bound.  You could probably write a "one ring" style prophetic rhyme around that if you tried, or a rhyme symbolically referring to the progenitors.  Or both, as independent clues.  Searching for information regarding the Prophesy could fuel the plot engine for a while.   Maybe build it in an orrery, possibly a specific orrery.   Another possible component is a husk of infinite worlds, from p. 123 of Magic of Eberron.  That is a reality changing device.  Or using the power of a quori monolith to make a dream into reality.   Its hard to think of more without knowing more.  Can you give us anything about the plot to date, or the major villains and their affiliations and motivations? I would think that a device that was part of a Dreaming Dark plot would look different from one that was part of a Lords of Dust or daelkyr plot.  Also, what is the nature of the plane that is being created?
#3 EnderXenocide0 Jan 05, 2015 15:03:09	Thanks for the ideas, Beoric!  The villain and his plan evolved from multiple inspirations. If you've ever seen Fringe, his plot is similar to that of Season 4's villain (while I unabashedly stole his name from Season 1's villain): he plans to create a new, better universe (or, in this case, plane). Using dragonmarks to power the device also came from Fringe a bit, but it did also remind me of the Dragon Forge from Wyatt's series.  If you'd like to read about the plot to date, you're welcome to check out the adventure log of the campaign over at my Obsidian Portal page. Let me attempt to summarize the somewhat convoluted future to the campaign that I've worked out to give you an idea of what is happening/will happen. There are three primary "stages" of villains. That is, three story arcs with a different, yet related villain for each.  NOTE: The campaign is currently taking place in 993YK, less than a year before the Day of Mourning.  Stage 1's villain is Dyrrn the Corruptor and his draconic minion Ilthane. I've been heavily modifying the Age of Worms adventure path for my campaign in which Kyuss is replaced with a Dealkyr experimenting with both undead and aberrations. I already intended for the Husk of Infinite Worlds to be in this stage, so I like the idea of having it reappear in the Genesis device. Perhaps it could be the part of it that calibrates his new world. I'm not strictly following the Age of Worms path, since this stage will only last for a couple more levels. By the end of it, a couple Gatekeeper Seals will have been destroyed/weakened, but Dyrrn's experiments will have been contained within Khyber once more.  Stage 2's villain is Dr. Jones (I'm terrible at names) who will have been an ally of the group until the point where they realize that he is building a device that will be devastating to Eberron. In my mind, he falls under the Well-Intentioned Extremist trope. He wants to create a new world where things can be better. And, you know, you can't make an omelette without stealing the magical energy from a few thousand dragonmarks.  Over the course of the campaign, the party will have encountered a number of terrorist sub-plots that seem unrelated at first, but at the end will be revealed to have been tests of the different components of the Genesis device. Jones has been conducting these experiments to make sure his device will operate as planned. Jones will not have been hiding the fact that he is building a device and the party should hopefully realize near the end (but we all know how that goes) that the device he's building is related to those terrorist attacks they've seen. The first terrorist attack is soon, when one of Jones' associates (who they don't know is working for Jones) is found experimenting with dragonmarks, trying to steal the essence from them and transfer them to others (like Chyrassk's plot in Keith's first Dreaming Dark novel). I haven't decided on the others yet. Once they put the pieces together, they have to stop Jones from using the device because it'll harm thousands of people and, for an added bonus, will accidentally shatter the Gatekeeper Seals, bringing up the threat of Dyrrn one last time.  Stage 3's villain is the Dreaming Dark, who have been manipulating events all along. I've been dropping hints and clues for the group so it won't come completely out of the blue. This is the... most convoluted of the parts of the campaign, so bear with me. See, this campaign is actually TWO campaigns. The one I've been describing is the second one I started. The original campaign featured the Dreaming Dark as the primary antagonist from the start. The two groups will eventually cross paths and the Dreaming Dark becomes the main villain for both groups.  I intend to use the things that happened in Stage 1 and 2 to aid the Dreaming Dark in Stage 3. For instance, both the party and Jones want to study planar technology... so I plan to have them locate the Moonbreaker (which was described much like a planar orrery in Keith's novels) and potentially repair the link to Dal Quor. Jones also needs to network a whole bunch of dragonmarks together. How? Perhaps he has a dream that shows him how to build something like smaller, more portable Hanbalani Altas (the Quori Monoliths) and he uses these to draw in the power for his Genesis device. There's also a sub-plot revolving the party cleric being a key part of their strategy and the Dreaming Dark trying to get him to accept their possession (by making him think he's channeling an angel).  Anyway, that's a brief, general overview of a campaign that is far more convoluted than I've made it sound. I have a bad habit of making things overly complicated. The main part I'm working on now is the Genesis device and the terrorist attacks. What components does he need and what terrorist attacks would be fitting tests of said components? How do the players discover that the device he's creating is related to the terrorist attacks?
#4 Beoric Jan 05, 2015 8:40:49	Hmm, since I have always assumed dimensional seals would require binding magic, whatever physical presence they have (probably khyber shards) could be collected by your villain to use in his device.  The physical seals (like in the Wheel of Time series) still function when removed from wherever they are, but their magic is broken when he repurposes them to collect dragonmarks.   The terrorist attacks occur in public places where he is experimenting with collecting dragonmarks.  They would have to be in places where lalrge numbers of people, preferably with a disproportionate number of dragonmarked people, would meet.  Maybe start with a sporting event, then move on to enclaves and the Tower of the Twelve (or whatever it is called).   Each time, he is repurposing a dimensional seal, and a number of aberrations are released - both in the vicinity of the original location of the seal, and at the location of the terrorist attack (which is where the seal is being repurposed).  Some journalist notices the correlation and reports on it.  At one of the attacks the experiment is a failure, and the villan is forced to leave the seal behind, which can be traced back to a group of treasure hunters who collected the seal on behalf of the villain.  Or maybe they recognize it from his lab.  Maybe have the trail lead them back to the place where they saw the Husk, and note that it is missing.   What would be the best, if you can pull it off, would be to have them consult with the villain (because he is the expert in these things) and have him send then on a wild goose chase which turns out to be a trap  ("I'm sorry," he says as he pulls the lever sealing them in the chamber).  Even better if he sends them to retreive the seals "before the terrorists can get them," and they actually help him with his plan before they are betrayed.  You will need to be super careful if they are at all genre savvy, and will need a contengency plan for his escape in case they figure it out too soon.    Maybe have them encounter him giving assistance after an attack.  "How could I not help?" he says, "it is such a terrible tragedy".  And an insight check tells them he is utterly sincere when he says this, and he is probably genuinely angry about it.  "The energies used to withdraw the dragonmarks must have opened a rift to Khyber," he muses (he is discovering this himself).  At this point there is a good chance they will start pumping him for information.  They find some of the components used in the ritual, and he tells them exactly what they are and how they might have been used (knowing any other expert could do the same, and that lying will betray him).  They ask him for assistance, and he tells them he will research the matter, and they should come back to his lab in x amount of time (by which time he has figured out what he is going to tell them and how best to use them, without actually lying to them).  He has already (anonymously) hired a second (unsavoury) group to go after the seals, so every time the party goes out, it looks like there is another interested party.   The villain is also collecting and repurposing devices from Xen'drik, but in this case the devices (or maby the location) are those used to separate Dal Quor from Eberron.  Unless you want the showdown to be in a public area, this could also be the location of a hanbalani which is a component in the machine.   Love the Cordelia Chase sub-plot with the cleric, BTW, that is a nice touch.
(Reply to #4) EnderXenocide0	Some pertinent info I neglected to menion earlier: Dr. Jones is Merrix d'Cannith's assistant. He is also the head of a secret society known as Societas Liber, an organization that believes information and knowledge should be free and not hoarded by political or corporate entities. He's been using his position as Merrix's trusted assistant to steal information from the Houses whenever he can and use it for his own research. He has spies and informants in other Houses and organizations (such as the Arcane Congress, which is currently part of the Aundairian military).   So far, I have the following:   1. Power Source - Dragonmarks   There is a scientist by the name of Dr. Rudolph von Aubrecker working beneath Sharn in the Citadel of the Closed Circle. He is a former member of the Societas Liber, but was driven out when Jones discovered he was selling information to the highest bidders. Not wanting to lose a good scientist, though, Jones became the highest bidder and Aubrecker is, unwittingly, conducting experiments on Jones' behalf. His current work is on Dragonmarks. He's trying to understand the "essence" of dragonmarks and see if they can be used for energy transfer. I always viewed dragonmarks as a conduit for arcane energy. I see them as a filter between a massive pool of arcane energy that underpins the world and the users that bear the mark. Aubrecker has had some moderate success in his research. He's managed to create aberrant dragonmarks by distilling true dragonmarks (Keith's Dreaming Dark series was some of the inspiration for this) and giving it to unmarked people. These marks seem to be unstable. Those with the marks are absorbing latent arcane energy from around them... and then violently exploding when they've absorbed too much (think Iron Man 3 extremis or something like a Spellfire Channeler from Forgotten Realms). Aubrecker made a deal with House Tarkanan to supply them with new Aberrants and they have been using these unstable Aberrants in suicide bombings in Sharn.   2. Transmitter - To network dragonmarks and collect power globally.   I'm still thinking the portable Hanbalani-like devices for this. Perhaps strategically placed around Khorvaire to draw in energy from dragonmarks in a more refined way than the experiments going on beneath Sharn at the moment. Maybe with the risk of "burning out" the individuals being used as conduits.   3. Calibration Unit - To "dial in" the right settings for the plane.   Definitely thinking the Husk of Infinite worlds, which will make an appearance at the end of Stage 1. Perhaps he starts experimenting with increasing the range of the Husk's effect. Instead of it being contained inside the Husk chamber and a single individual being altered, he makes his own containment field of some sort and starts experimenting on changing small areas, working his way up to village size. People and matter are rearranged, resulting in horrible monstrosities (the likes of which won't be seen again until the Day of Mourning).   4. Transporter - Something replicating Gate or Plane Shift.   I'd like to steal something shamelessly from Fringe again. There's an episode called "Safe" that opens with a bank heist where the perpetrators are using an experimental device to vibrate themselves through the walls. Of course, things go wrong and the device shuts off before one man can get all the way through and he gets stuck in the wall and dies. BUT ANYWAY. I'd like something like that for the terrorist attack. Perhaps their device tunnels through the Astral Plane and they use it to break people out of Dreadhold or for a bank heist or somesuch.   I'm not sure how well that works, though. The easy thing to do would be to have buildings or chunks of land start vanishing. There's a perfectly-shaped crater where something might have once been. What's really happening is these things are being shifted into another plane. While the players investigate, maybe something from another plane gets transported to the material plane. Part of Fernia suddenly arrived in the middle of this crater! Something like that.   5. Planar Orrery - To track the movements of the planes and monitor planar energies.   I'm not really sure what to do for this. Maybe the final device is built at the Moonbreaker? And what tests would be done?   How does that all sound?