Dragons and the Dreaming Dark - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dragons and the Dreaming Dark

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
EnderXenocide0
Sep 09, 2012 18:13:52 So I'm looking for an idea for a campaign I'll be running shortly. The scenario is this: X years into the future, the Dreaming Dark has managed to pull off a major plot, which resulted in the downfall of the Dragonmarked Houses and the Dreaming Dark's eventual rule over Khorvaire and Xen'drik. The Kalashtar have all but been hunted to extinction, Hanbalani have been built across both continents and are being used to influence the masses, and the Dreaming Dark are very close to re-establishing a connection to Dal Quor.

Enter the players. (Now, don't get upset at me for what I'm about to say.) The players arrive X years into the future... via time travel. TRUST ME. I've got this covered. It's not going to end up badly (famous last words).

One thing that I want to have happen in the future is that the dragons send a massive flight from Argonnessen and destroy Khorvaire and Sarlona in the same manner that they destroyed Xen'drik back in the day. But my problem is this: why? What would trouble the dragons about someone controlling Khorvaire? If it doesn't impact the dragons directly, I feel like they have little reason to wage a war (and by "wage a war", I of course mean "perform a bit of pest control").

Any ideas?

PS. Yes, all of this will be resolved by the players... probably. Time travel. Fix things in the past. Unless they do something horribly, horribly, wrong.
#2
areleth
Sep 09, 2012 21:51:07 Khorvaire is tied to the Prophecy (Unlike Sarlona, for reasons unknown) and so are the Dragonmarked Houses. The Dreaming Dark has majorly disrupted the Prophecy by wiping out the Houses and altering Khorvaire, and the Dragons are pissed.

Plus, the Dreaming Dark are players on par with the Dragons. While I'd still give the Dragons the upper hand (because in my Eberron the Fiend-Dragon conflict always gets top billing) the Dreaming Dark is much harder to work with and around. The humans of Khorvaire were just slapping rocks together and making fire, easy enough to manipulate and their role in the Prophecy made them useful for the purpose of further understanding it.

Essentially, the Dreaming Dark is trying to play bully in the wrong sandbox and the Dragons are going to steal their pail and beat them to death with it so they can go back to eating clumps of sand in peace. (Dreaming Dark is messing the Prophecy, so the Dragons are gonna go all homicidal on them.)

Also, never be ashamed to make people travel through time. I intend to run a game where the PCs will face an UNSPEAKABLE EVIL and when the fools step forth to oppose it, get flung into the future, where his evil is law. Then they will seek to return to the past, and undo the future that is me stealing every single plot from every episode of that show and replacing robots with Warforged.
#3
Madfox11
Sep 11, 2012 3:11:18 It should be noted that there are theories it are actually the influence of the quori that has caused Sarlona to be somehow seperated from the "prophecy" (assuming that is actually even the case).

Anyway, look at the past of Eberron. The one time the dragons did attack as a whole was against the giants when they tried to perform a plannar shattering ritual for the second time in a short row. It suggests that the only thing that will stir up all dragons is something that truly threatens the world as a whole on a fundamental level. Although, for all we know, it was actually a Lord of Dust behind the actions of the giants and the giants would actually have released the majority of demon lords imprissoned below Xendrik and the only thing that would stir dragons into action is something simular. Mind you, both could very well happen if the power of the quori becomes too big on Eberron. There would be a certain irony if the magic of the Dreaming Dark disrubts the magic of the Silver Flame and that their actions eventually actually releases the demon lords creating the exact opposite of what they intent to achieve ;) The biggest benefit of that approach is that the Lords of Dust are still at some level the enemies of the PCs. If the quori are actually destroying the prophecy, the Lords of Dust will also be rather peeved.
#4
EnderXenocide0
Sep 11, 2012 10:16:00 One idea I had was that the Dreaming Dark was reconnecting Dal Quor to the Material Plane in order to "create" a second Quor Tarai here on the Material Plane. They figure if they can do that, they may be able to find a way to bind themselves to this permanently nightmarish age they've created. That way, even if the Turning of the Age happens in Dal Quor, they've anchored themselves to their creation on this plane and will survive. This is easily something that could affect the dragons, I'd imagine. A being of pure nightmare manipulating the fabric of reality? Yeah, that might make some waves.

Speaking of the Lords of Dust, though: the players have to stop the Dreaming Dark from overrunning Adar in the past. In the original timeline (where the players are absent because they're in the future), the Dreaming Dark sent assassins in over time and took out each of the eight stations keeping the Shroud active. Afterwards, it was small measure to clean up the Kalashtar. The players, of course, hear of this in the future and when they return, they succeed in stopping this from happening. What this does, however, is set in motion a backup plan where the Dreaming Dark are now out to control the Teeth of the Three, which could deactivate all the stations in one go. Should they start messing around with it, though... they could risk releasing the Overlord it currently holds at bay.
#5
Ogiwan
Sep 11, 2012 11:16:41
Although, for all we know, it was actually a Lord of Dust behind the actions of the giants and the giants would actually have released the majority of demon lords imprissoned below Xendrik and the only thing that would stir them into action is something simular.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 EnderXenocide0 Sep 09, 2012 18:13:52	So I'm looking for an idea for a campaign I'll be running shortly. The scenario is this: X years into the future, the Dreaming Dark has managed to pull off a major plot, which resulted in the downfall of the Dragonmarked Houses and the Dreaming Dark's eventual rule over Khorvaire and Xen'drik. The Kalashtar have all but been hunted to extinction, Hanbalani have been built across both continents and are being used to influence the masses, and the Dreaming Dark are very close to re-establishing a connection to Dal Quor. Enter the players. (Now, don't get upset at me for what I'm about to say.) The players arrive X years into the future... via time travel. TRUST ME. I've got this covered. It's not going to end up badly (famous last words). One thing that I want to have happen in the future is that the dragons send a massive flight from Argonnessen and destroy Khorvaire and Sarlona in the same manner that they destroyed Xen'drik back in the day. But my problem is this: why? What would trouble the dragons about someone controlling Khorvaire? If it doesn't impact the dragons directly, I feel like they have little reason to wage a war (and by "wage a war", I of course mean "perform a bit of pest control"). Any ideas? PS. Yes, all of this will be resolved by the players... probably. Time travel. Fix things in the past. Unless they do something horribly, horribly, wrong.
#2 areleth Sep 09, 2012 21:51:07	Khorvaire is tied to the Prophecy (Unlike Sarlona, for reasons unknown) and so are the Dragonmarked Houses. The Dreaming Dark has majorly disrupted the Prophecy by wiping out the Houses and altering Khorvaire, and the Dragons are pissed. Plus, the Dreaming Dark are players on par with the Dragons. While I'd still give the Dragons the upper hand (because in my Eberron the Fiend-Dragon conflict always gets top billing) the Dreaming Dark is much harder to work with and around. The humans of Khorvaire were just slapping rocks together and making fire, easy enough to manipulate and their role in the Prophecy made them useful for the purpose of further understanding it. Essentially, the Dreaming Dark is trying to play bully in the wrong sandbox and the Dragons are going to steal their pail and beat them to death with it so they can go back to eating clumps of sand in peace. (Dreaming Dark is messing the Prophecy, so the Dragons are gonna go all homicidal on them.) Also, never be ashamed to make people travel through time. I intend to run a game where the PCs will face an UNSPEAKABLE EVIL and when the fools step forth to oppose it, get flung into the future, where his evil is law. Then they will seek to return to the past, and undo the future that is me stealing every single plot from every episode of that show and replacing robots with Warforged.
#3 Madfox11 Sep 11, 2012 3:11:18	It should be noted that there are theories it are actually the influence of the quori that has caused Sarlona to be somehow seperated from the "prophecy" (assuming that is actually even the case). Anyway, look at the past of Eberron. The one time the dragons did attack as a whole was against the giants when they tried to perform a plannar shattering ritual for the second time in a short row. It suggests that the only thing that will stir up all dragons is something that truly threatens the world as a whole on a fundamental level. Although, for all we know, it was actually a Lord of Dust behind the actions of the giants and the giants would actually have released the majority of demon lords imprissoned below Xendrik and the only thing that would stir dragons into action is something simular. Mind you, both could very well happen if the power of the quori becomes too big on Eberron. There would be a certain irony if the magic of the Dreaming Dark disrubts the magic of the Silver Flame and that their actions eventually actually releases the demon lords creating the exact opposite of what they intent to achieve ;) The biggest benefit of that approach is that the Lords of Dust are still at some level the enemies of the PCs. If the quori are actually destroying the prophecy, the Lords of Dust will also be rather peeved.
#4 EnderXenocide0 Sep 11, 2012 10:16:00	One idea I had was that the Dreaming Dark was reconnecting Dal Quor to the Material Plane in order to "create" a second Quor Tarai here on the Material Plane. They figure if they can do that, they may be able to find a way to bind themselves to this permanently nightmarish age they've created. That way, even if the Turning of the Age happens in Dal Quor, they've anchored themselves to their creation on this plane and will survive. This is easily something that could affect the dragons, I'd imagine. A being of pure nightmare manipulating the fabric of reality? Yeah, that might make some waves. Speaking of the Lords of Dust, though: the players have to stop the Dreaming Dark from overrunning Adar in the past. In the original timeline (where the players are absent because they're in the future), the Dreaming Dark sent assassins in over time and took out each of the eight stations keeping the Shroud active. Afterwards, it was small measure to clean up the Kalashtar. The players, of course, hear of this in the future and when they return, they succeed in stopping this from happening. What this does, however, is set in motion a backup plan where the Dreaming Dark are now out to control the Teeth of the Three, which could deactivate all the stations in one go. Should they start messing around with it, though... they could risk releasing the Overlord it currently holds at bay.
#5 Ogiwan Sep 11, 2012 11:16:41	Although, for all we know, it was actually a Lord of Dust behind the actions of the giants and the giants would actually have released the majority of demon lords imprissoned below Xendrik and the only thing that would stir them into action is something simular.