I kneel before the Eberron Loremasters on this site, and pray to Olladra that my questions may be answered...
Questions:
1) Major shipyards/shipbuilding nations. Who are they, where are they? I am looking for a nation or city that would possess some of the best shipbuilders in Khorvaire. Ones that could construct a Water Elemental bound cargo transport vessel.
2) Islands off the coast of Q'barra. Specifically Dreadwood isle, Lorghaire, Windlost and Krag. Does anyone have any information on what is on any of these islands (inhabited? Creatures that would be there?). I am considering shipwrecking the PCs here temporarily.
3) Also looking for more information on Newthrone (capital of Q'Barra) and Cliffscrape, north of Stormwreck Bay.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
As for whats on the islands, I have no idea, but it could be anything you want.
2) Those islands, despite their proximity to Q'barra, are more or less the territory of the Lhazaar Principalities- although the territory of this mostly lawless land is basically wherever the strongest decides to rule.
Nevertheless, considering their proximity and comprable climate, I'd imagine that the inhabitants would be similar to that of Q'barra. Some jungle animals, Lizardfolk, Kobolds, and Dragonborn, with the occasional more civilized vilage, town, or pirate haven.
Port Krez on the island of Krag is home to the Cloudreavers fleet. They are led by a ruthless female dwarf with a tendency to fly into murderous rage and have launched raids along Khorvaire's southern coast and have yet to be stopped.
3) Newthrone was founded when loyalists to the old Kingdom of Galifar saw how the last war was going to tear the empire apart. They gathered their stuff and went to a place where nobody would bother them. Newthrone has become the capital of these communities.
Since then, they've tried to recreate the once grand kingdom, all the while having to deal with the dangers of the Jungle and raids by Lhazaar pirates from the north and Valenar from the south. As a result, most of the communties are heavily fortified.
Newthrone also has strong links to Redria. The leaders of the eastern continent see Q'barra as a key stepping stone into Khorvaire and the people of Q'barra are eager for assistance and trade, but don't seem to particularly trust those from the west, particularly the Five Nations. I would assume they still blame them for the last war that destroyed old Galifar.
Introduction (DM read to PCs)
"You are all aboard a large cargo vessel called “The Wealth of Olladra”. It is considered the state of the art of transport ships, built less than 1 year ago by House Lyrandar. The water elemental was bound to the ship courtesy of the Gnomes of Zilargo. This ship was built specifically to handle a difficult shipping route. Stormwreck Bay, and the Tempest Strait have been named appropriately. They have been known to destroy a large number of ships, both pirate and merchant, and even the most seasoned captains tend to avoid sailing through these areas where possible."
"'The Wealth of Olladra' has changed all that. Powered by arcane magic with a water elemental bound as the engine, this ship managed to survive the severe storms that destroy other lesser vessels attempting this trek. Prior to this, goods were mostly transported on land from areas north of Cliffscrape, through the Mror Holds and into the greedy hands of the dwarves, who like to take a large cut of the merchant profits, since they had the only safe path through to the nations beyond the mountains. The only other route is south, down the coastline into the jungles of Q’Barra and Basura Swamp, which makes the storms of the seas seem a minor inconvenience."
"Yes, the powerful ship quadrupled profits. The transporting of goods was faster over sea than through the mountains, and more could be carried at once. Pirates rarely dared to patrol these seas, as the risk of losing their own ship was never worth the reward. Quickly the Half-Elf Captain, Corben Plaike, has become one of the most sought after transporters of goods on the east cost. The dwarves find his ship a threat to their profits. He is paving the way for others to circumvent their highly profitable trade route."
"You have been hired as shipmates, to help protect, and transport the goods. Mostly your job is to assist in protecting the shipment as it is being loaded and unloaded, and delivered to and from the warehouses. Seems like an easy job, and the pay is great. One thousand gold pieces each per trip to stand around and look important! Over 4,000 applicants wanted the 5 offered positions, so Captain Corben decided to hold a lottery to determine who would be chosen. He is letting Olladra decide…"
"You have each won a spot. What luck!!!"
"Captain Corben has asked you to get to know each other and work on your combat tactics while traveling. He wants to make sure you are ready for any threat. He grumbles about the Dwarves, and some threats he’s received, and is expecting some type of sabotage or attack on his vessel or goods. Most likely it will be when they are close to port or in port because they would never risk going out into the open sea during the stormy season."
And I would have used house cannith for making the ship...
But other than that I see no Lore breaking here. And besides the Lore of Eberron is quite flexible., so breaking it isnt that much of a problem.
I might even steal you hook.
When it comes to your inquiery on what sort of things to find on the islands around Q'barra. Well then I would sugest the following.
First of Dinosaurs, or drakes and Behemoths as they so lovingly has been named in 4th edition. And I'm thinking Jurasic park here. So really big dinosaurs would be needed :D
Second: Maybe they could stumble upon an ancient lab of some sort (or maybe not so ancient). and then in order to get home they would have to activate some eldritch machine that then would start a process they then would have to stopp. If you want to, this could in fact be spanning over all of the heroic tier.
I have only seen the first season of Lost, but I imagine that could be used as inspiration for this sort of thing. Or you could use the rocket thingy from sky captain and the world of tomorow.
Oh and you could use some lizardfolk/kobold/dragonborn/human tribes runing around in the forrest.
I hope this helps, its what I could produce on the top of my head.
OH! I almost forgott, a scene with the players running away through the jungle is almost mandatory in a place like this.
Yes I was planning on making the only way off the island via an ancient teleport device they would find in a ruin. They would have to find the ritual and components to activate it, and it would teleport them to Mar'saval, another ruin in the Basura Swamp (though they would have no idea where they teleported to). This would of course set up another adventure. Once they get out of that, they can hit civilization for a breather. But I am thinking they would be level 7-10 by then. heh heh.
I was thinking similarly about having Lizardfolk and Kobolds. But I was also thinking of adding Jungle Spiders (leaping predators), Snakes, Ants, and Ankheg to start. I think it would be funny the first time they are walking through the jungle and a spider leaps out of nowhere and pins someone to the ground and poisoning them. Talk about scary.
I also think having things like centipedes in the ruins would be fun too.
Once they hit the ruins, it will take them underground, and there are definitely more options for subterranean creatures there.I want some crew to survive. I would use them to transport supplies that would hit the shoreline for the PCs. They would be disposable, and keep the PC's on their toes. Spiders, snakes, and stuff will poison, cause disease, or kill outright. I would consider some of these crew members minions, though the PCs would not know that, and sometimes the crew member would survive some fights, sometimes they would be ripped apart. It will keep them guessing on how powerful things are and they will start to be scared of everything. haha.
I think your idea of using a monster like a dinosaur might keep the party moving and not want to camp out in the open. Does that sound too mean? It would be obviously overpowering, and would gobble up the extra crewmen now and then to keep them scared, finally killing the last one when they reach the safety of the ruins. Of course the ruins would be anything but safe...
I think your idea of using a monster like a dinosaur might keep the party moving and not want to camp out in the open. Does that sound too mean? It would be obviously overpowering, and would gobble up the extra crewmen now and then to keep them scared, finally killing the last one when they reach the safety of the ruins. Of course the ruins would be anything but safe...
Not at all, in fact I think I would steal it. But to give it a bit more Eberron feel, maybe you could cause a split in the group of "minnions". If for example house Cannith buildt the ship for house Lyrandar then the two factions could blame each other for the shipwreck, constantly trying to get the PCs to choose sides.
And don't forgett to add the mortaly wounded but not yet dead guy, that they have to drag with them... and if you have any PCs with the healskill then they could determine that he has a certain amount of days left. And they don't have suplies enough to feed both him and them for that long. Thus creating the discussion of do we drag him with us, leave him to be eaten or do we kill him in pure mercy. Have a few crew members being for every solution and we have ourself a good time. And if the players go for bringing him, someone could try to assasinate him during the night... because they feel he is going to doom them all.
Not at all, in fact I think I would steal it. But to give it a bit more Eberron feel, maybe you could cause a split in the group of "minnions". If for example house Cannith buildt the ship for house Lyrandar then the two factions could blame each other for the shipwreck, constantly trying to get the PCs to choose sides.
And don't forgett to add the mortaly wounded but not yet dead guy, that they have to drag with them... and if you have any PCs with the healskill then they could determine that he has a certain amount of days left. And they don't have suplies enough to feed both him and them for that long. Thus creating the discussion of do we drag him with us, leave him to be eaten or do we kill him in pure mercy. Have a few crew members being for every solution and we have ourself a good time. And if the players go for bringing him, someone could try to assasinate him during the night... because they feel he is going to doom them all.
Excellent ideas!
I've looked through the MM1 and MM2, and came up with the following bestiary for the first 1 to 4 levels.
Snake
Crocodile
Ants
Ankheg
Lizardfolk or Kenku (not sure which)
Centipede
Stirge
Drake
Cavern Choker
Fey Panther
Bloodthorn Vines
Snake
Crocodile
Ants
Ankheg
Lizardfolk or Kenku (not sure which)
Centipede
Stirge
Drake
Cavern Choker
Fey Panther
Bloodthorn Vines
Looks good, Kenku are said to be living in the forests of Karrnath. But nothing wrong with having them living here, Humans are everywhere after all. And dont forgett about the wonderfull power of rescinning the fluff. I once used a crocodile as an animated tree. It fitted the LvL I needed, and had a grab function.
I was thinking, when they finaly reach the laboratory, it could be guarded by something large, for example a warforged or other golem/construct. Sort of to give them a boss fight. And dont forgett about traps ^^
I invented a little card game quickly, which I tried to make Eberron-ish... Make them gamble away or win a bunch of money (that they may lose in the ship wreck) lol... I am so mean...
Here is the game, let me know if it looks decent, or if there is anything you would change. I want to keep it simple, so it doesn't take long to teach them.
Here are the rules:
The Captain asks if any PCs would like to play ‘Four Crowns’. It is a game taught to him by one of the Pirate Princes two years ago shortly after the cataclysm. The ‘Four Crowns’ represents the final four Human nations vying for control over Khorvaire with Cyre destroyed. Entry into the game will be 1 gold. The winner will win the pot.
Each round, the player who won the hand can force all other players to spend 1 gold to stay in the game, or the winner may decide to not up the ante. If he ups the ante, all the other players may draw one card as compensation for being forced to spend another gold to stay in the game, potentially increasing their odds to win the next hand.
The person deciding to up the ante does not draw up.
RULES: (use a normal deck of 52 playing cards without the jokers)
GOAL: The player with the most points once a person runs out of cards wins, and wins the pot (gold).
Cards 2-10 = infantry size of 2 – 10 units. = Each card is worth 10 points.
Jack = Spy = 0 points
Queen = 50 points
King = 100 points
Ace = Assassin = 0 points
To play: Each player is dealt a hand of 5 cards. Each round, a player will secretly play one card from their hand and put it face down on the table in front of them. Once all cards have been played each player turns them over. The person with the most powerful card wins all of the other cards on the table.
Card Power:
Suits: In order of power: Spade, Heart, Diamond, Club. This determines who wins in a tie. (i.e. A King of Spades beats a King of Hearts)
A 10 beats a 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
A 9 beats a 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Etc..
The King is the highest card. It beats everything, except the Assassin.
The Queen beats everything except the King and Assassin.
Playing a Jack of any suit allows you to steal any card on the table and put it into your victory pile before the winner of the round is determined. This can change who would have won the round, and the winner will receive one card less because the player who played the Jack stole the card.
Once one person runs out of cards, each person adds up their victory points. The winner takes the pot. If the deck runs out of cards, no more can be drawn, and no one can up the ante any more. If by upping the ante, some players can not draw cards, they do not have to spend a gold piece to stay in the game.
Whatcha think? Has Eberron flavour? A little gambling fun on the ship before the devastation starts...