I am planning on starting a campaign for some friends set in Eberron, 4th edition. I have an idea for the start of the story, but need some help fleshing it out.
Basically it will start off as an Indiana Jones type adventure, with the players being attached to a Xen'drik expedition funded by Morgrave University.
They will be either students, tutors, hired security, or someone hired on for their expertise.
They travel to Stormreach from Sharn, and leave from there on a contracted airship to travel to a base camp near Pra'Xirek.
Once at the base camp they are supposed to trek to Pra'Xirek where the lead professor believes he will be able to unearth a very powerful artifact called the Titan's Eye.
This maguffin a very powerful gem/shard construct that can be used to open and power a Giant machine that can breach or seal dimensional portals. I plan on it being used in the Giant/ Quori wars as a defense item to prevent invasion breaches by the Quori.
Various other powers have learned of this, and want the Titan's Eye for themselves. I'm thinking the Dreaming Dark to use it themselves to breach the planes, maybe the Dalkyr to get around the Gatekeepers, and or a nation or 2 that want it for their own ends.
The players will never reach their base camp. The adventure will start with them waking up amidst wreckage, finding that the airship has been shot down by a powerful beam of energy, and crashlanded into the jungle canopy miles from their base camp.
They will have to deal with a Drow hunting party that saw the ship crash, and either run from them, fight them, or negotiate with them.
Once they get away they will have to get back to their base camp (via skill challenge) through the jungle, eluding further drow parties, as well as other beasties (giants etc).
I'm stuck on where to proceed from there.
I'm thinking have them reach base camp, and head for Pra'Xirek to continue the search for the Titan's Eye, or try to salvage the Airship if possible.
Once the airship crashes, who else might they encounter? Anyone other than drow patrols? Who else is vying for the Titan's Eye? It might be neat for the PCs to witness the other factions clashing. Like if agents of another government are caught up in a drow snare. Just to make what's going on seem more realistic.
Well they will have a small contingent of the expedition to escort back to the base camp. Professor, some associates, grunts etc. There will also be an exiled drow from the region acting as a guide, but he complicates things. If any of the drow see him, they will demand the party turn him over for execution.
One of the party members is going to be playing a warlock. Backstory is he is a minor tutor at the University assigned to the expedition as arcane help. He may or may not be working for another faction to gain the Titan's Eye.
That is a good idea about a rival adventuring party shadowing them. I could maybe have one caught in a drow snare for them to find. They could then learn about the other faction/s, and either help or leave them for the Drow.
The Stormreach day trip does sound interesting. I could give them a "sights and sounds of the city", and maybe some glimpses that other groups are shadowing them.
As far as the post-crash pickup. I plan to start with the drow finding the ship and they have to get away somehow (diplomacy, fight, turn over their guide to appease them). Then they need to make it through the jungle to a river tributary and back to base camp. Not an easy task. Various jungle hazards in terrain, skill challenge, and monster form.
Post base camp they can head into the ruins to look for the item while dealing with the shadowing adventure party or other faction party beating them to clues. Think of Indiana Jones here. All sides racing to find the next clue and be in the right place at the right time to uncover something new.
I have the 3.5 Secrets of Xen'drik book, and can pull ideas from there. I will probably send them over to the other Giant city in the book to look for clues/the item there.
Edit:
Thought of something. I did think about starting them in the wreckage, with no memory of the past few days. But then play a session with a flashback showing how they got to Stormreach, and the other factions shadowing them.
Or perhaps a member of one the rival groups is being mugged, and the PCs witness it and can help save them. Adds some complex fun later if a member of a rival group "owes them one." But perhaps they won't know it until later. They save the guy now, and then meet him again when encountering the rival group. And for rescuing him in Stormreach the guy gives them a break, lets them go (just this once), or whatever. Perhaps the PCs can temporarily join forces with a rival group against a common foe.
The memory loss and flashback thing is interesting but would be tricky to pull off. Amnesia is a dodgy thing; not everyone would be affected the same way.
But it's certainly a memorable way to kick off a campaign.
The mugging sounds like something I can incorporate. I'm sure they will be shocked to see the guy they helped a couple days before on the other side of the issue ;)
I was going to explain away the memory loss as a result of the huge magical blast that takes their airship out of the sky before they reach the base camp. "It's magic!"
The airship also had some cargo aboard that the PCs didn't know about (and ultimately is the reason it's shot down by enemies, one of the rival organizations?). Perhaps it's a few barrels of some new alchemical solution. And if the airship is powered by a fire elemental, perhaps the crash erupts the solution, and that causes powerful, but short-term memory loss equally among all who breath in the fumes.
How's that?
Yeah, I guess that sounds better than "It's magic" heh.
An experimental alchemical solution the professor wants to use to help him clean or preserve relics that are found in the ruins, and it has bad side effects when released with the crash.
So for right now plot line is:
PC's meet in Stormreach and have brief interaction with rival PC (save from mugging, bar fight etc)
PC's load up on Airship and head out for Base Camp near Pra'Xirek.
Airship is shot down/elemental freed (sabotage) short of base camp.
PC's survive crash into jungle canopy with day or 2 short term memory loss due to alchemical solution.
PC's will have to scavenge for some supplies to make trip to base camp, leaving cargo and heavier supplies.
PC's must deal with Drow hunting party investigating crash sight (witnessed crash). PC's can bargain for passage; turn over Drow scout; fight; or run. Each option triggers a different thing.
Trek to camp will depend on outcome of previous encounter. If they still have scout they can progress with skill challenge bypassing predators. No scout they can still progress, but may have random jungle encounter with predator.
Win skill challenge for trek: PC's make good time and reach base camp in days.
Lose skill challenge for trek: PC's become lost or encounter terrain that hinders their travel more than normal. Lose 1 or 2 surges and take a full week to reach camp.
Once they reach camp I haven't decided where to go. Rest there for a day or so, til Prof decides to push forward to ruins? Have rival team/s raid base camp depending on outcome of previous skill challenge? (PC's win, no raid - or fight ensues) (PC's lose, camp is in tatters and workers scattered in jungle taking time to round up?)
After that.. PC's will make it to ruins regardless. They have an Eye to find. They will have to deal with Drow and/or Giants in the city either by stealth or diplomacy (won't be able to beat Giants in fight).
Rival team/s will be racing them to dig up relic. Only clues will be found by either team, leading to another set of ruins on other side of mountain range (Undead Giant city). PC's can find one of multiple ways to get there (fix airship, overland trek, use teleportation portal uncovered in ruins after solving puzzle to unlock it).
Location of Titan's eye is revealed in other city. PC's must then travel to another location on Xen'Drik to find it. Once it is located they find it is but a key for a Schema or eldritch machine of the Giants, and they must find the location of the Machine.
Travel back to Stormreach, then to Sharn for research into location. (This allows me to throw some intrigue enounters in, have rival factions attempting to get Eye, or learn location of machine).
I think that will work in the short term. We're only going to be able to play one, maybe 2 sessions a month...