Planning an episodic Eberron Campaign - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Planning an episodic Eberron Campaign

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
skritz_the_lizardmen
Jul 22, 2009 17:20:40 Ok, this is my...third D&D campaign? The second one is coming to an end. And by end I mean possibly the end of the world.

Since making up a whole world can be painfull, espcially when you have a hard time deciding the genre, I decided to use one that was already made. Eberron isnt that much of a change for my players, since I used a good deal of material that come from the setting (Warforged, Changeling, Artificers...).

I decided I wanted to keep it more episodic, unlike the previous campaign. Once the story is over, its over and nothing else happen. There is a clear line of where an adventure begin and where one end. Thats what I want to do.

Now, as for the whole theme. I was thinking Eberron meet Torchwood, except with a whole lot less sex. ;). It just occured to me and the setting work perfectly (honest!). Just replace aliens with regular D&D monsters...wait, scrap what I said. Daelkyr and their little aberration buddies are exactly*this. :D Also, instead of alien objects, replace them with relics from species like the Giants, the Daelkyr, the Quori and stuff like that.

Well, yeah. Thats pretty much and it work EXACTLY into the world of Eberron. Any tips on how this could run smoothly would be apreciated. If you think im unoriginal, I would like to remind you that D&D 4.0 encourage inspiration from other work (look at it in the DMG).

PS: I use 3.5
#2
Arcane_Guyver
Jul 22, 2009 20:14:00 Shouldn't be tough, just design your adventures to be of a suitable length (2-4 encounters a night). Throw in the occasional more-complex two-parters. Finally, try to insert an undercurrent of a major story in the background; every once in awhile you can have a 'main story' episode that develops this.

Non-lich recurring villains can be really tough to do in 3e, so you might want to keep such things out of the PCs' reach.
#3
skritz_the_lizardmen
Jul 22, 2009 20:38:58
Shouldn't be tough, just design your adventures to be of a suitable length (2-4 encounters a night). Throw in the occasional more-complex two-parters. Finally, try to insert an undercurrent of a major story in the background; every once in awhile you can have a 'main story' episode that develops this.

Non-lich recurring villains can be really tough to do in 3e, so you might want to keep such things out of the PCs' reach.

The Blood of Vol can give me PLENTY of undead baddies to use. :D As for larger story arc, I can easily do that.

The big question is: Who could the PC work for? Im toying with the idea of ultimately revealing they are pawns of the Lords of Dust, yet at the same time I really want to use them as villain.

Beign the Lord of Dust, I can easily do both. :D
#4
Arcane_Guyver
Jul 23, 2009 2:46:50 Sounds like a neat campaign - one of the LoD needs to have the Lich Vol destroyed and her religion thrown into disarray as part of the requirements for his 'unbinding.' The PCs think they're doing the world a huge service by eliminating the near-epic threat of Vol, when they realize Levistus or one of the other 30 rajahs are one step closer to release.

Of course, don't let the PCs know until the very last battle that their deaths at that particular battleground would be the final key to letting the demon lord out.
#5
skritz_the_lizardmen
Jul 23, 2009 8:30:08 Could be interresting, however the Blood of Vol would be only a "one-time villain" since there is so much to explore and use in the Eberron world. As for the Lord of Dust, im not sure IF I could pull them off well.

The prophecy can be such a mess. :D
#6
rekko
Jul 23, 2009 10:10:08 Here's an idea for your campaign.

Maybe your campaign could be something along the lines of: Stormreach wants to extend its borders, maybe build a neighboring village to exploit some resources a few miles out of Stormreach. However, the Traveller's Curse and the creatures of Xen'drik makes it a perilous voyage to leave Stormreach to this other village, some npcs need guarding and guiding through the wilds. Moreover, later in the game, Stormreach could suffer the Anti-Community Curse there's on Xen'drik, and some civil war explodes. The PCs, step by step, find themselves on a mission to heal the cursed lands of Xen'drik, to enable humans to establish nations.

As you can put about anything in Xen'drik, you can have them fight about anything ;) Moreover, maybe some Dragons in Argonnessen won't let their curses be removed, while others could argue that the Prophecy says that Xen'drik suffered long enough and it is about time that the curses are lifted.

This could lead you to other stories, as healing Xen'drik would make some of the continent's underwater sections rise to surface, it could give the giants an opportunity to slowly rise to power once again, it could as a side effect heal the connection between Dal Quor and Eberron enabling Quori to walk the real world once again, maybe one of the Rajah's prison is now more accessible than ever and the Lords of Dust can easily release the Overlord, maybe healing Xen'drik will also heal the Mournland.

In Dragons of Eberron, on p.136, there's a campaign arc named the Mark of Xen'drik. Basically, it seems that there are mirrors and crystals across Xen'drik, and if oriented in the right way could light up a dragonmark, but no one knows what it does. You could choose that the Mark of Xen'drik could heal Xen'drik, or you could change the mirrors to beacons in key locations across Xen'drik that need to be ignited with the Silver Flame, or you need to build a certain altar that radiates a certain magic in key locations.

Hope it helps

Rekko
#7
identitystolen
Jul 24, 2009 10:07:21 If you're into reading, the Inquisitive series is a good example of a series of one shot adventures. Pacing gets a little rushed at the end of a few of them, but they're good over all.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 skritz_the_lizardmen Jul 22, 2009 17:20:40	Ok, this is my...third D&D campaign? The second one is coming to an end. And by end I mean possibly the end of the world. Since making up a whole world can be painfull, espcially when you have a hard time deciding the genre, I decided to use one that was already made. Eberron isnt that much of a change for my players, since I used a good deal of material that come from the setting (Warforged, Changeling, Artificers...). I decided I wanted to keep it more episodic, unlike the previous campaign. Once the story is over, its over and nothing else happen. There is a clear line of where an adventure begin and where one end. Thats what I want to do. Now, as for the whole theme. I was thinking Eberron meet Torchwood, except with a whole lot less sex. ;). It just occured to me and the setting work perfectly (honest!). Just replace aliens with regular D&D monsters...wait, scrap what I said. Daelkyr and their little aberration buddies are exactly*this. :D Also, instead of alien objects, replace them with relics from species like the Giants, the Daelkyr, the Quori and stuff like that. Well, yeah. Thats pretty much and it work EXACTLY into the world of Eberron. Any tips on how this could run smoothly would be apreciated. If you think im unoriginal, I would like to remind you that D&D 4.0 encourage inspiration from other work (look at it in the DMG). PS: I use 3.5
#2 Arcane_Guyver Jul 22, 2009 20:14:00	Shouldn't be tough, just design your adventures to be of a suitable length (2-4 encounters a night). Throw in the occasional more-complex two-parters. Finally, try to insert an undercurrent of a major story in the background; every once in awhile you can have a 'main story' episode that develops this. Non-lich recurring villains can be really tough to do in 3e, so you might want to keep such things out of the PCs' reach.
#3 skritz_the_lizardmen Jul 22, 2009 20:38:58	Shouldn't be tough, just design your adventures to be of a suitable length (2-4 encounters a night). Throw in the occasional more-complex two-parters. Finally, try to insert an undercurrent of a major story in the background; every once in awhile you can have a 'main story' episode that develops this. Non-lich recurring villains can be really tough to do in 3e, so you might want to keep such things out of the PCs' reach. The Blood of Vol can give me PLENTY of undead baddies to use. :D As for larger story arc, I can easily do that. The big question is: Who could the PC work for? Im toying with the idea of ultimately revealing they are pawns of the Lords of Dust, yet at the same time I really want to use them as villain. Beign the Lord of Dust, I can easily do both. :D
#4 Arcane_Guyver Jul 23, 2009 2:46:50	Sounds like a neat campaign - one of the LoD needs to have the Lich Vol destroyed and her religion thrown into disarray as part of the requirements for his 'unbinding.' The PCs think they're doing the world a huge service by eliminating the near-epic threat of Vol, when they realize Levistus or one of the other 30 rajahs are one step closer to release. Of course, don't let the PCs know until the very last battle that their deaths at that particular battleground would be the final key to letting the demon lord out.
#5 skritz_the_lizardmen Jul 23, 2009 8:30:08	Could be interresting, however the Blood of Vol would be only a "one-time villain" since there is so much to explore and use in the Eberron world. As for the Lord of Dust, im not sure IF I could pull them off well. The prophecy can be such a mess. :D
#6 rekko Jul 23, 2009 10:10:08	Here's an idea for your campaign. Maybe your campaign could be something along the lines of: Stormreach wants to extend its borders, maybe build a neighboring village to exploit some resources a few miles out of Stormreach. However, the Traveller's Curse and the creatures of Xen'drik makes it a perilous voyage to leave Stormreach to this other village, some npcs need guarding and guiding through the wilds. Moreover, later in the game, Stormreach could suffer the Anti-Community Curse there's on Xen'drik, and some civil war explodes. The PCs, step by step, find themselves on a mission to heal the cursed lands of Xen'drik, to enable humans to establish nations. As you can put about anything in Xen'drik, you can have them fight about anything ;) Moreover, maybe some Dragons in Argonnessen won't let their curses be removed, while others could argue that the Prophecy says that Xen'drik suffered long enough and it is about time that the curses are lifted. This could lead you to other stories, as healing Xen'drik would make some of the continent's underwater sections rise to surface, it could give the giants an opportunity to slowly rise to power once again, it could as a side effect heal the connection between Dal Quor and Eberron enabling Quori to walk the real world once again, maybe one of the Rajah's prison is now more accessible than ever and the Lords of Dust can easily release the Overlord, maybe healing Xen'drik will also heal the Mournland. In Dragons of Eberron, on p.136, there's a campaign arc named the Mark of Xen'drik. Basically, it seems that there are mirrors and crystals across Xen'drik, and if oriented in the right way could light up a dragonmark, but no one knows what it does. You could choose that the Mark of Xen'drik could heal Xen'drik, or you could change the mirrors to beacons in key locations across Xen'drik that need to be ignited with the Silver Flame, or you need to build a certain altar that radiates a certain magic in key locations. Hope it helps Rekko
#7 identitystolen Jul 24, 2009 10:07:21	If you're into reading, the Inquisitive series is a good example of a series of one shot adventures. Pacing gets a little rushed at the end of a few of them, but they're good over all.