Basically, I'm interested in figuring out what sort of realistic changes will have occurred within the ensuing time frame. There's a few changes from my previous campaign I'd like to incorporate but I'd love for everyone to share their own ideas about what happens in the following 12 years until the year 1010. Mostly, I'd like to stick with realistic consequences, though a few shocking developments would be welcome here and there. Here's the stuff from the last campaign which would be incorporated into "history."
1. The Establishment of a Warforged Nation: The main focus of the last campaign was discovering who was behind a network of exceptionally well-armed well-funded terrorist networks which had nothing in common but for the destabilizing of nations. Turns out it was the Lord of Blades. The masterstroke of the LoB was that he made a secret compact that got his new nation, which I named MECHA as a stroke of originality, recognized in the center of the Mournlands. New Cyre protested the loss of a lot of their former territory but...really....everyone else thought it wasn't a problem.
2. The Death of the LoB: Or at least one of them, the PCs managed to defeat the significantly less powerful version before he was godlike.
3. Merrix D'Cannith becomes head of House Cannith: Which I didn't get to develop much beyond that.
4. The Mournlands receding a bit: One of the PCs big adventures was activating a Age of Dragons Eldritch Machine which was designed to absorb Negative-Energy for some purpose. Though the thing overloaded it caused roughly half of the Mournland's to recede. The land which was 'recovered' is dead and monster ridden but recoverable.
5. Erandis D'Vol conquers Aerenal: She somehow bound the Undying Court under a 'Dome' of some kind which seperated their necropolis from the rest of the country. The first campaign ended before the PCs could do something about that. So she's been large and in-charge for almost a decade.
Those are the only real changes I had.
Anyone have any others they'd make?
Also, how did the Valenar react to Aerenal being taken over by Vol? Are they ignoring it or are they turning their attention away from Khorvaire? Maybe Valenar is being flooded with Elven refugees looking for a safe haven. The other nations of Khorvaire could see that as a big problem, like the Valenar are gathering numbers to make a real move.
The Cyrans are probably trying to resettle what bits of the Mournland they can now, but its filled with monsters and it'll take time to get the soil back to something useable, so maybe they've accepted help from Riedra? The chance to have a real base in the middle of Khorvaire (like, maybe they're helping the Cyrans rebuild Seaside) could be a tempting objective for them. Or it might be too bold for their taste. Still, the Cyrans will need help to resettle their land, and there are interesting possibilities for them. Maybe the Daughters of Sora Kell are extending resources and soldiers to help get the Cyrans back on their feet. The Daughters certainly have some angle they're working, but Oargev can hardly turn down an army of trolls and ogres to help him take back his homeland when the other nations are turning away.
And since Merrix is in control of Cannith now, is he getting bolder with his warforged experiments? I think there was talk of him building a creation forge in Stormreach, outside the law of the Five Nations. With the full might of Cannith firmly under his control, he is certainly a powerful figure now. And is he connected with the new Warforged nation? I'm certain they'd like to know the secrets of the Creation Forge. Maybe he's building a creation forge in the heart of the Warforged nation, where the laws of the Five Nations do not bind him.
Aerenal Reprocussions
1. I see the Aerenal becoming sort of a new source of refugees in Khorvaire, which has the opposite effect many people might expect on race relations. Like in the real world, racial tensions get much much worse in many places as the undeath-worshiping elves and their religion freaks many Khorvaire citizens out. The majority end up in the Valenar lands and it's kind of an uneasy partnership as the two sides remain culturally distinct now. The Aerenal are all about breaking the spell, retaking Aerenal, and being a lot more militantly anti-negative undead. However, in Thrane you might see occassionally families getting lynched because they're drinking babies blood or plotting to convert the town into zombies.
2. Karrnath and Aerenal are now pretty much in a Cold War as I see Kaius not wanting to give them an in. Given Keith Baker loves making "social" villains, I like to think Erandis wants to make her island fully integrated into Khorvaire culture. She's and the Emerald Claw are a terrorist NATION now as opposed to just terrorists. Kaius' attitude to that is to sink their ships, harass them with raids, and everything short of war. He'd GO to war but ironically, the Valenar might attack HIM during it. (I see the insane rationale behind that as the Valenar being emboldened to think someone needs to do something about BOTH undead-ridden states)
3. I think people are now pressing the Thrane government to fully go to war with Karrnath on anti-undead grounds. It's been long enough that people are less certain that a Last War will break out or second Mourning happen if the Thranes just try and root out what they see as an evil corrupt empire on their borders.
Cyre reprocussions
1. Because Cyreans are the Woobies I was thinking the poor guys are going to get shot in the foot even by the Mournlands receding. How? I'm not sure but I think there's probably not enough survivors to really populate more than New Cyre and a few other cities. So the majority of the cities present would remain empty. Except that wouldn't happen. I think the other Four Nations will just start resettling them with colonists themselves. This, of course, is a blow to Cyrean's little remaining national pride. Enough that the much smaller nation of New Cyre is probably destined to break itself away from Breland now. Given the territorial additions, that might not be as big a blow as people think. I do see the financial situation of many Cyreans as slightly better though as enough have probably been able to enter the monster hunting business for financial gain and now actually get some.
2. I see Warforged and Cyrean relations as having plumeted like a stone so that New Cyre is no longer a nice place for warforged, even those built in Cyre.
House Cannith
1. I think House Cannith has benefited under Merrix's rule and lost as well. Merrix is a capable administrator so there's been some Discworld-esque radical technology inventions. In my games, I might include the magical equivalent of motion pictures just for fun and maybe more prevalent Magicpunk-esque technology throughout Eberron.
2. The fortunes of the House are probably as good as they've been anywhere near the war. However, Merrix's attitude has started trickling down to the common Cannith so there's a lot more "Mad Scientist Villains" in the setting. Merrix, himself, isn't acting like Lex Luthor but there ARE a bunch of 1930s Pulp villain types in the setting now. Artificers Merrix has been encouraging to push boundaries (in a way totally untraceable to him).
3. Ironically, House Cannith also has a lot better relations with Warforged than most of the setting now under Merrix. If he doesn't see them as equals, not being Dragonmarked "family" they certainly are the closest thing outsiders can come to being. I also think people probably have suspicions he's manufacturing new Warforged but can't quite figure out how. (I.e. the Forge in xen'drick is up and running. He's also probably "fixed" the one in MECHA in exchange for considerations).
I was debating Merrix "raising the LoB from the dead" as a plot point.
Some other ideas
1. Go West...and East: There's something of a Baby-Boom happening Post-Mourning with lots of people having lots of children and seeking to form new lives elsewhere. As a result, this has sparked an aggressive campaign of colonization by the Four Nations (and New Cyre). This, really, is going to be the source of the next war as I see the Shadow Marches and Droam being the best place to push this.
It's a nasty, brutish, and unpleasant business of settlers versus natives. I see it also manipulated by the Dragonmarked Houses hoping to push their markets outward. Similar settlement issues are occurring in Reclaimed Cyre and other places, which curiously will have the effect of making many of these settlements more cosmopolitan than anyone expected.
Just not for the locals.
(Obviously, Aundair is doing this settlement in the Eldeen Reaches specifically to reclaim the territory by squatting with loyalists)
2. Regicide/Death of Kings: Twelve years is a long time for monarchs to live and it's going to be inevitable something happens. Maybe Aurala catches a cold, maybe Boranal dies of a heart-attack, maybe Kaius starts to realize people are whispering about how little he's changed and the fact there's not a new near-identical son is a problem. Jaela, alone, is in a good position as she's coming into adulthood.
That doesn't mean any of the above can't be targeted too.
3. Balkanizing: Something I'm questioning is whether or not the Treaty of Thronehold meant there's now a precedent for people establishing their own states. While I suspect the Last War strengthened the monarchies in some ways and weakened them in others (I doubt there's much power at the local level anymore) it's still interesting to think we might see more cases of Oargev's plan of establishing new nations via revolt.
Also nations fighting via proxy.
A ton of intelligent, well-connected, and bitter Cyrans now live in enclaves in the other four nations, and Q’Barra, with no real hope of returning home. This is a powerful constituency, and are ignored at peril, but they are largely ignored in the Four Nations. In our Eberron, Cyrans have become the dominant political force in Q’Barra, and King Sebastes has taken embraced his new constituents and power base. The Cyran population of Q’Barra have largely embraced their new king back, and have done great work in gentrifying Hope, as well as building bridges with other communities. Even Prince Oargev in New Cyre has embraced the opportunity of the burgeoning community. Because of the now entrenched refugee community, Q’Barra could actually be a player if there is another war.
Drawing up Sides
The 5 Nations all fought against each other at various times. With the war dormant, the nations of Khorvaire are seeking to build the strongest coalitions to put themselves on top from the start if there is another war. Now, they are currying favor from the new sovereignties as well. In my campaign, the rapidly strengthening alliance between Karrnath and Breland is a key point that my own character is at the center of. Building alliances is a great thing for the diplomacy part of the game.
Our Characters get Richer
You know it’s true.
Lady Gaga
You can’t get away from it, not even in Khorvaire.
Lady Gaga
You can’t get away from it, not even in Khorvaire.
Don't tell me. She's really a Rakshasa? Or a Changeling of the Cabinet of Faces? A Chamber Observer?
No, you can't read -her- Pokerface. :P
Also, I'd wager on the CotSF being willing to start a crusade on the undead-conquered nation of Aeranal. Why hasn't it? Has Krozen's corruption infected the church? Is Jaele being held back for fear of restarting the Last War?
Also, how is Argonnessen reacting to Erandis' big play?
... Also, I'd wager on the CotSF being willing to start a crusade on the undead-conquered nation of Aeranal. Why hasn't it? Has Krozen's corruption infected the church? Is Jaele being held back for fear of restarting the Last War? Also, how is Argonnessen reacting to Erandis' big play?
I'd be more concerned about the Dragons launching a crusade against Aerenal than the Church of the Flame. The Dragons understand Vol's true nature and have the potential firepower to launch a direct assault on Aerenal. The Church... not so much. First off, I doubt the majority even know that Vol exists, let alone who or what she really is. Aerenal is already swarming with "death obsessed shriveled up magical elf corpses" who aren't particularly welcoming to outsiders. That one of them launches a coup and takes the island completely isolationist wouldn't come as much of a surprise.
Alternately, warforged wearable armor.