Need Advice on New Cyre campaign - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Need Advice on New Cyre campaign

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Good_Fellow
May 12, 2011 15:27:17 I'm fairly new to posting on these boards so bear with me if I make any major gaffs. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

I'm starting a new Eberron campaign based out of New Cyre. Basically I plan on having the PCs help out around New Cyre before making a name for themselves and being sent to recover the Crown Jewels in Metrol.

Right now my original plan is have them be noticed by dealing with a new drug that's circulating among the refugees. I have an artificer who spent much time experimenting with the mists find out a way to cook it down into a paste which basically acts as an opiate before having terrible consequences on the user which happen over time.

During the experiment though the artificer himself got sick and ended up wasting away before deciding to undergo the ritual to make himself into a Brain in a jar and having one of his mist-touched minions assume his place through domination. I feel it may be important to note that the artificer wore a breathing apparatus due to his declining health which obscures his features.

It is my hope that the PCs will confront the artificer strike him down and thinking they've won find out that the man in the mask is a red herring.

Where I need the most help is the middle portion of this situation. Does anyone have any ideas to flesh out the portion of the adventure where the PCs are tracking down the source of the drug? Using simple pushers would work but it's not that interesting.
#2
Ogiwan
May 12, 2011 15:48:51 Constructive criticism: I HATE YOU YOU SUCK GO AWAY.

Just kidding. Welcome to the Eberron boards.

Now, a similar option could be to start the party in High Walls, in Sharn. That's a refugee district populated heavily by Cyreans. There's a whole host of problems besetting them.

But, getting back to your scenario in mind, you could spend a few sessions tracking how the materials get brought into New Cyre. Could lead to some strikes against a supply chain that involves bandits.
#3
Good_Fellow
May 12, 2011 16:01:23 I was going to attempt the keep the party out of Sharn for a while as the last campaign was nearly completely within the city.

The supply chain was the direction I was leaning as it would get the party out and about plus set up some different options for encounters. I would also like to perhaps explore the motivation behind the artificer. Seeing as he is now just a brain I have some issue fathoming that cash is his reason for this entire enterprise. I was thinking the whole point of the drug was to weaken New Cyre from the inside out possibly as a plan by Empress Donata (which would tie into the groups trip to Metrol later if they choose that path).
#4
Gilo
May 12, 2011 16:45:35 Could be cool if this drug will be actually based on an herb collected on the Mournland border which the user smokes and the street name will be "Gray Mist".
It could cause hallucinatory effects and sometimes the smoke manifest them for real (usually something good - like favorite food but sometime a shadowy monster which cause havoc on the street).

Maybe the drug allow the user to see/communicate with the spirit of loved one that have perished in the day of Mourning / War (which could be a big attraction in New-Cyre) but sometime the spirit comes as some undead wraith or the user is turned into one.

Could be that the drug turns the user into a shadow, and the PC start by investigating a wave of missing-persons in New-Cyre. They then discover that its related to the drug - but in order to follow those shadowy-users they need to use the drug themselves (skill challenge?) and follow the shadows that now mass (drawn to) the artificer's secret lab.

#5
Good_Fellow
May 12, 2011 17:23:38 Interesting take on the drug angle. Right now the idea revolves around the idea that the drug just makes the user numb, inside and out. New Cyre, in my campaign at least, is in the midst of a painful growth spurt. The roads are muddy and hard to travel on, food is being rationed until farms and outside support start becoming more reliable, and many of the refugees there have no family left since many were soldiers stationed outside of Cyre during the Last War.

Many of the refugees have grown dispondent and the drug, which is cheap to buy comes from a limitless source (the mists), eases the pain and clears their minds. A nasty side effect though is that over time the user wastes away (without really noticing due the effects of the drug) and becomes easier to control mentally (hence the brain in a jar as a villian).

I'm really pushing the idea that these are a people dislocated so the party, hopefully, wants to try and help them and rally them behind all they have left, their Cyran culture.
#6
Gilo
May 13, 2011 21:06:37 Maybe the PCs will encounter the murdered body of a Medani member of the Thousand Yard Stare -he was tracking shipments of the mist/drug from the Mournland to New-Cyre, but was killed by the artificer minions before he could report. just before he got killed he manage to tag a shipment, a magical item found on his body can lead the party to the minions/shipment/lab (clairaudience/clairvoyance type ritual/item can give the PCs clues as they hear minion chat or view a location).
#7
MrCelsius
May 18, 2011 15:53:16 What if, independent of the plans of the drug's manufacturer, the people circulating the drug have an agenda all their own? Cyran refugees aren't very popular with quite a few people, some of them wealthy and sinister enough to give the new drug a push toward really catching on in the communities of the fallen nation's displaced citizenry.

You could have the party find a ledger which demonstrates quite clearly that A) the drug is being circulated by a third party which is otherwise unaffiliated with the manufacturer and B) the drug is being circulated so aggressively for such a low price that the middle-man is losing money hand over fist in the deal. That should be enough for them to realize that this isn't about profit, it's about something more sinister.

That gives them a good intermediary foe to deal with who's not just a red herring (include the red herring too; this is Eberron, after all) and has different motives and methods from the 'final boss' so it's not just a lesser preview of what's to come. If you wanted you could even make the artificer a greedy catspaw being manipulated by something more supernatural in nature. Maybe the artificer's experiments in drug creation never came to fruition until a mysterious figure stepped forth and provided the key to the gray mist distillation process.

If the artificer is motivated purely by profit (which is being raked in thanks to the loss the wealthy middle-man is willing to take in order to poison Cyrans) and doesn't know or doesn't care about the transformations (or at least didn't until it was too late) then the really freaky and inhuman sort of evil could come from whatever provided the recipe for the drug in the first place. You can wring a lot of good plot mileage out of a setup like this. The artificer wants money, the wealthy and powerful distributor wants to hurt Cyrans, and the supernatural thingy wants to turn people into monsters. That's three separate villains with three unique motives and three distinct roles for the party to figure out and stop.
#8
Good_Fellow
May 20, 2011 1:23:00 To be completely honest MrCelsius that's very close to what I was going with. The more I thought about the process the more it made sense to add more players in the whole distribution game. I was thinking for middle man spreading the disease I'd have possibly a noble from Karnath. Cyre and Karnath weren't on good terms during the war (especially concerning the Valenar that Cyre hired) so they'd have something to gain from spreading this epidemic: seeing their enemies waste away into that pitiful state before death as well as seeing New Cyre rot from the inside out.

The Artificer also started out innocently enough but had beed twisted both by ambition and greed and I think it would make sense to have an illithid master controlling the whole process. One side effect of the late stages of drug use is near mindlessness of the corrupted. Not zombie level persay, but just numb mentally and physically to the point of not caring. This would let some outside entity easily control and exploit those effected.

I could use undead too since mindless prey make for great feeding. Perhaps a vampire who has settled in or near New Cyre.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Good_Fellow May 12, 2011 15:27:17	I'm fairly new to posting on these boards so bear with me if I make any major gaffs. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. I'm starting a new Eberron campaign based out of New Cyre. Basically I plan on having the PCs help out around New Cyre before making a name for themselves and being sent to recover the Crown Jewels in Metrol. Right now my original plan is have them be noticed by dealing with a new drug that's circulating among the refugees. I have an artificer who spent much time experimenting with the mists find out a way to cook it down into a paste which basically acts as an opiate before having terrible consequences on the user which happen over time. During the experiment though the artificer himself got sick and ended up wasting away before deciding to undergo the ritual to make himself into a Brain in a jar and having one of his mist-touched minions assume his place through domination. I feel it may be important to note that the artificer wore a breathing apparatus due to his declining health which obscures his features. It is my hope that the PCs will confront the artificer strike him down and thinking they've won find out that the man in the mask is a red herring. Where I need the most help is the middle portion of this situation. Does anyone have any ideas to flesh out the portion of the adventure where the PCs are tracking down the source of the drug? Using simple pushers would work but it's not that interesting.
#2 Ogiwan May 12, 2011 15:48:51	Constructive criticism: I HATE YOU YOU SUCK GO AWAY. Just kidding. Welcome to the Eberron boards. Now, a similar option could be to start the party in High Walls, in Sharn. That's a refugee district populated heavily by Cyreans. There's a whole host of problems besetting them. But, getting back to your scenario in mind, you could spend a few sessions tracking how the materials get brought into New Cyre. Could lead to some strikes against a supply chain that involves bandits.
#3 Good_Fellow May 12, 2011 16:01:23	I was going to attempt the keep the party out of Sharn for a while as the last campaign was nearly completely within the city. The supply chain was the direction I was leaning as it would get the party out and about plus set up some different options for encounters. I would also like to perhaps explore the motivation behind the artificer. Seeing as he is now just a brain I have some issue fathoming that cash is his reason for this entire enterprise. I was thinking the whole point of the drug was to weaken New Cyre from the inside out possibly as a plan by Empress Donata (which would tie into the groups trip to Metrol later if they choose that path).
#4 Gilo May 12, 2011 16:45:35	Could be cool if this drug will be actually based on an herb collected on the Mournland border which the user smokes and the street name will be "Gray Mist". It could cause hallucinatory effects and sometimes the smoke manifest them for real (usually something good - like favorite food but sometime a shadowy monster which cause havoc on the street). Maybe the drug allow the user to see/communicate with the spirit of loved one that have perished in the day of Mourning / War (which could be a big attraction in New-Cyre) but sometime the spirit comes as some undead wraith or the user is turned into one. Could be that the drug turns the user into a shadow, and the PC start by investigating a wave of missing-persons in New-Cyre. They then discover that its related to the drug - but in order to follow those shadowy-users they need to use the drug themselves (skill challenge?) and follow the shadows that now mass (drawn to) the artificer's secret lab.
#5 Good_Fellow May 12, 2011 17:23:38	Interesting take on the drug angle. Right now the idea revolves around the idea that the drug just makes the user numb, inside and out. New Cyre, in my campaign at least, is in the midst of a painful growth spurt. The roads are muddy and hard to travel on, food is being rationed until farms and outside support start becoming more reliable, and many of the refugees there have no family left since many were soldiers stationed outside of Cyre during the Last War. Many of the refugees have grown dispondent and the drug, which is cheap to buy comes from a limitless source (the mists), eases the pain and clears their minds. A nasty side effect though is that over time the user wastes away (without really noticing due the effects of the drug) and becomes easier to control mentally (hence the brain in a jar as a villian). I'm really pushing the idea that these are a people dislocated so the party, hopefully, wants to try and help them and rally them behind all they have left, their Cyran culture.
#6 Gilo May 13, 2011 21:06:37	Maybe the PCs will encounter the murdered body of a Medani member of the Thousand Yard Stare -he was tracking shipments of the mist/drug from the Mournland to New-Cyre, but was killed by the artificer minions before he could report. just before he got killed he manage to tag a shipment, a magical item found on his body can lead the party to the minions/shipment/lab (clairaudience/clairvoyance type ritual/item can give the PCs clues as they hear minion chat or view a location).
#7 MrCelsius May 18, 2011 15:53:16	What if, independent of the plans of the drug's manufacturer, the people circulating the drug have an agenda all their own? Cyran refugees aren't very popular with quite a few people, some of them wealthy and sinister enough to give the new drug a push toward really catching on in the communities of the fallen nation's displaced citizenry. You could have the party find a ledger which demonstrates quite clearly that A) the drug is being circulated by a third party which is otherwise unaffiliated with the manufacturer and B) the drug is being circulated so aggressively for such a low price that the middle-man is losing money hand over fist in the deal. That should be enough for them to realize that this isn't about profit, it's about something more sinister. That gives them a good intermediary foe to deal with who's not just a red herring (include the red herring too; this is Eberron, after all) and has different motives and methods from the 'final boss' so it's not just a lesser preview of what's to come. If you wanted you could even make the artificer a greedy catspaw being manipulated by something more supernatural in nature. Maybe the artificer's experiments in drug creation never came to fruition until a mysterious figure stepped forth and provided the key to the gray mist distillation process. If the artificer is motivated purely by profit (which is being raked in thanks to the loss the wealthy middle-man is willing to take in order to poison Cyrans) and doesn't know or doesn't care about the transformations (or at least didn't until it was too late) then the really freaky and inhuman sort of evil could come from whatever provided the recipe for the drug in the first place. You can wring a lot of good plot mileage out of a setup like this. The artificer wants money, the wealthy and powerful distributor wants to hurt Cyrans, and the supernatural thingy wants to turn people into monsters. That's three separate villains with three unique motives and three distinct roles for the party to figure out and stop.
#8 Good_Fellow May 20, 2011 1:23:00	To be completely honest MrCelsius that's very close to what I was going with. The more I thought about the process the more it made sense to add more players in the whole distribution game. I was thinking for middle man spreading the disease I'd have possibly a noble from Karnath. Cyre and Karnath weren't on good terms during the war (especially concerning the Valenar that Cyre hired) so they'd have something to gain from spreading this epidemic: seeing their enemies waste away into that pitiful state before death as well as seeing New Cyre rot from the inside out. The Artificer also started out innocently enough but had beed twisted both by ambition and greed and I think it would make sense to have an illithid master controlling the whole process. One side effect of the late stages of drug use is near mindlessness of the corrupted. Not zombie level persay, but just numb mentally and physically to the point of not caring. This would let some outside entity easily control and exploit those effected. I could use undead too since mindless prey make for great feeding. Perhaps a vampire who has settled in or near New Cyre.