Eberron DM Block - Dreaming Dark Campaign - Help! - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Eberron DM Block - Dreaming Dark Campaign - Help!

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
rednightmare
May 22, 2011 16:16:45 Ok, so I have a little problem with my Eberron campaign: I've got DM writers block, sort of. since a few weeks I just can't seem to get myself excited anymore. I'm thinking that I may need to take it into a completely new direction, but I've locked myself in pretty hard. Here's the current state of the campaign.

The party have been trying to find out who caused the Mourning. they have recently found out (In the Scepter Tower of Spellgard, moved neatly to the Mournlands) that the Dreaming Dark caused it and that they used a very potent magic item as its catalyst. They know of the rough location of 3 of them, thanks to a knowledgable artifact and a lead on the other 2. They are currently heading toward Arcanix to dig up info on one of the lost items, on board a Elemental Airship.

Now my problem with all this is (I'm self diagnosing here, so may be off) that:

1. Up until now, the campaign hasn't felt very Eberron like. I have a feeling I can do more with it, but the world just keeps staying in the background.

2. For some reason I just can't sit down and prep. I have a cool idea for when they reach Arcanix (Eureka), but I just can't seem to sit myself down and work it out.

Sorry for my rambling, but I though I might as well see if the vast collective intellegence of the wizards forums could help me out
#2
SinisterInfant
May 22, 2011 18:57:46 If you want to radically change the direction of the plot I would suggest you litterally make it impossible to proceed along the lines you've already setup.

The party is looking for pieces of a powerful artifact? Destroy one of the pieces. You don't need to be overtly despotic when you take this action. Obviously the party will be looking to repair the damage of Mournland using the artifacts they are searching for? I don't know why they would be searching for them otherwise. The dreaming dark will be looking to stop them so just have them send whoever the current big bad of your story show up with the item in tow, and destroy it right in front of them laughing at their helplessness. Well I guess that's pretty despotic. :p

The Kalashtar are natural enemies to the Dreaming Dark. A Kalashtar could arrive and, seeing an artifact that was used in service of the Dreaming Dark, likely want to destroy it. Kalashtar are pretty powerful dudes, so having one (or a group of them) purposely overpower the party, destroy their artifacts and then set them on the "true path" to peace and prosperity seems reasonable.

Perhaps to find one of the missing pieces they could infiltrate the Dreaming Dark organization itself and find that assembling the artifact isn't going to be the great thing they thought. Maybe assesmbling the artifact would only result in the creation or expansion of the Mournland.

As for making the campaign feel more like Ebberon....I mean you've got your people on an elemental airship. That's pretty Ebberonish. When I feel stuck for world building stuff, I like to puruse the eberron.wikia.com/wiki/Eberron_Wiki and look for little known facts or sects that i can insert into the story and make it a bit more authentic.

Good luck and have fun.
#3
SpacyRicochet
May 23, 2011 9:38:50 Some advice on making your campaign feel Eberronish; don't be afraid to make outlandish encounters!

So far my players have

had skyship battles,

fought an experimental, cockpit-controlled automaton (a mecha, if you will),

fought a dragon that used to be their patron and is now bent on immortalizing himself through self-forging (he also managed to corrupt one of the party members, who then turned evil),

destroyed a significant portion of the Cogs in Sharn in combat, causing the sewer pipes in Sharn to run amock,

found an underground clan of somewhat friendly goblins under the Cogs,

and destabilized Dar Jin by knocking out their mindcontrolling obelisk for a good time to come, because they decided to aid the Path of Light in a terrorist attack.

If you are really struggling for inspiration, try this. Take a cool science fiction element of a movie or story that you like and insert it into your campaign, altered where necessary. Also works wonders.
#4
reviler
May 24, 2011 21:07:56 if the world is staying in the background, then bring it into the forefront. it doesn't have to be anything major, like checking travelling papers, or seeing a dragonshard item on an npc. The 4 races that are "eberron" are the warforged, changeling, shifter, and kalashtar. Have characters of those races show up and interact with the party. If you want major, use the many organizations. Think of what other organizations would would do if the got their hands on the "doomsday device" and have them rival the pcs and show up to get it for themselves. the lightning rail, all the elemental vehicles, dragonshards, dragonmarks, national loyalty and pride; these are the musts for eberron campaigns if you want the eberron feel. just as the pcs are gathering the pieces of the device, have the villians acquire some of the pieces as well. Think of the indiana jones movies. high action, deadly traps, vile villians, a traitor in the midsts, the exotic locations, add these elements in with the major feel of eberron and your problems will cease to be.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 rednightmare May 22, 2011 16:16:45	Ok, so I have a little problem with my Eberron campaign: I've got DM writers block, sort of. since a few weeks I just can't seem to get myself excited anymore. I'm thinking that I may need to take it into a completely new direction, but I've locked myself in pretty hard. Here's the current state of the campaign. The party have been trying to find out who caused the Mourning. they have recently found out (In the Scepter Tower of Spellgard, moved neatly to the Mournlands) that the Dreaming Dark caused it and that they used a very potent magic item as its catalyst. They know of the rough location of 3 of them, thanks to a knowledgable artifact and a lead on the other 2. They are currently heading toward Arcanix to dig up info on one of the lost items, on board a Elemental Airship. Now my problem with all this is (I'm self diagnosing here, so may be off) that: 1. Up until now, the campaign hasn't felt very Eberron like. I have a feeling I can do more with it, but the world just keeps staying in the background. 2. For some reason I just can't sit down and prep. I have a cool idea for when they reach Arcanix (Eureka), but I just can't seem to sit myself down and work it out. Sorry for my rambling, but I though I might as well see if the vast collective intellegence of the wizards forums could help me out
#2 SinisterInfant May 22, 2011 18:57:46	If you want to radically change the direction of the plot I would suggest you litterally make it impossible to proceed along the lines you've already setup. The party is looking for pieces of a powerful artifact? Destroy one of the pieces. You don't need to be overtly despotic when you take this action. Obviously the party will be looking to repair the damage of Mournland using the artifacts they are searching for? I don't know why they would be searching for them otherwise. The dreaming dark will be looking to stop them so just have them send whoever the current big bad of your story show up with the item in tow, and destroy it right in front of them laughing at their helplessness. Well I guess that's pretty despotic. :p The Kalashtar are natural enemies to the Dreaming Dark. A Kalashtar could arrive and, seeing an artifact that was used in service of the Dreaming Dark, likely want to destroy it. Kalashtar are pretty powerful dudes, so having one (or a group of them) purposely overpower the party, destroy their artifacts and then set them on the "true path" to peace and prosperity seems reasonable. Perhaps to find one of the missing pieces they could infiltrate the Dreaming Dark organization itself and find that assembling the artifact isn't going to be the great thing they thought. Maybe assesmbling the artifact would only result in the creation or expansion of the Mournland. As for making the campaign feel more like Ebberon....I mean you've got your people on an elemental airship. That's pretty Ebberonish. When I feel stuck for world building stuff, I like to puruse the eberron.wikia.com/wiki/Eberron_Wiki and look for little known facts or sects that i can insert into the story and make it a bit more authentic. Good luck and have fun.
#3 SpacyRicochet May 23, 2011 9:38:50	Some advice on making your campaign feel Eberronish; don't be afraid to make outlandish encounters! So far my players have had skyship battles, fought an experimental, cockpit-controlled automaton (a mecha, if you will), fought a dragon that used to be their patron and is now bent on immortalizing himself through self-forging (he also managed to corrupt one of the party members, who then turned evil), destroyed a significant portion of the Cogs in Sharn in combat, causing the sewer pipes in Sharn to run amock, found an underground clan of somewhat friendly goblins under the Cogs, and destabilized Dar Jin by knocking out their mindcontrolling obelisk for a good time to come, because they decided to aid the Path of Light in a terrorist attack. If you are really struggling for inspiration, try this. Take a cool science fiction element of a movie or story that you like and insert it into your campaign, altered where necessary. Also works wonders.
#4 reviler May 24, 2011 21:07:56	if the world is staying in the background, then bring it into the forefront. it doesn't have to be anything major, like checking travelling papers, or seeing a dragonshard item on an npc. The 4 races that are "eberron" are the warforged, changeling, shifter, and kalashtar. Have characters of those races show up and interact with the party. If you want major, use the many organizations. Think of what other organizations would would do if the got their hands on the "doomsday device" and have them rival the pcs and show up to get it for themselves. the lightning rail, all the elemental vehicles, dragonshards, dragonmarks, national loyalty and pride; these are the musts for eberron campaigns if you want the eberron feel. just as the pcs are gathering the pieces of the device, have the villians acquire some of the pieces as well. Think of the indiana jones movies. high action, deadly traps, vile villians, a traitor in the midsts, the exotic locations, add these elements in with the major feel of eberron and your problems will cease to be.