Still, our group is about to get into the Epic Tier and I'm trying to come up with a good arc.
The PC's, through their actions, have eliminated the possibility for Tiamat to be released, and that part of the arc is done. However, there are a few loose ends.
First, the warforged fighter keeps getting attacked. He's been called an abomination in the past by a dragon (who they killed). He's got a dragonmark you see, the first ever on a warforged. Zenobaal is the one who keeps sending people to kill him (but why doesn't he send his big muscle now?) So while he's a great BBEG for the end, it's hard to see how to go through 10 levels with him being the bad guy. (although admittedly I'm doubling XP)
Second, the fork of the prophecy has the Queen of Death (aka Lady Vol) rising now that one of the PCs chose to attach the Hand of Vecna. That player knows he's doomed, and I'd like to give him an opportunity to go out with a bang.
The problem here is that while Vol may be an epic threat (ie turning everyone in Sharn to zombies), I find it hard to have any of her minions being an epic threat...unlike say the Lords of Dust. Also, I haven't really had Vol or the Emerald Claw be major recurring villains yet...to start now seems a bit short. It's almost like it'd be better as a Paragon-to-Epic campaign.
Third is that I'd like to bring the Mourning into this, as one of the PC's new characters is from Cyre (an asassin).
Anyone else running an Epic Tier Eberron campaign?
Here is my idea: so far Zenobaal may have taken the subtle approach when dealing with the PCs (sending his stealthy minions to do the job?). But now (with the PCs success in stopping Tiamat) he is moving openly and personally to deal with the PCs.
The PCs don't have a chance in a direct encounter with him and they must flee and hide. But Zenobaal seem to find them wherever they go - he knows the Prophecy like no one else so conventional hiding places do not work. The PC turn into an unlikely ally - Lady Vol (after-all she is the master of hiding from Dragons) or maybe PCs decided that the Mournland is a good place to hide too.
The problem here is that while Vol may be an epic threat (ie turning everyone in Sharn to zombies)
??? Lady Vol is only a Level 19 Controller, her stat block is on p. 250 of the ECG. Did she come back to life in your campaign, regaining the use of the Mark of Death?
I like the Zenobaal idea, but they could also go off-world to hide. Perhaps where ever they have to go, they need to acquire something that will help them fight him.
Zenobaal is also no stranger to the planes ("Zenobaal’s most trusted servant is Jalm D’akrar, a powerful efreeti ninja") so he may still come for them there too. In any case a week on a frozen plateau in Risia can make the PCs very homesick
.Erandis may be able to mask the PC existence by making Zenobaal think they are dead. But she may ask the PCs to pay 'rent' (help her get ascension? revenge against the dragons/undying court?) ask for things that are morally hard for the PCs to accept.
As Hellcow has mentioned elsewhere, those stats are pre-ascension. If she manages to ascend, then she's a bit stronger. :-)
rising = ascention
Got it.
Erandis may be able to mask the PC existence by making Zenobaal think they are dead. But she may ask the PCs to pay 'rent' (help her get ascension? revenge against the dragons/undying court?) ask for things that are morally hard for the PCs to accept.
What about forcing the PC's to mask their existence by becoming undead (somehow)?
Like in Buffy the Vampire slayer: "In every generation there is a chosen one..." -but when Buffy dies and get resurrected the 'prophecy' gets fooled and then there are two slayers in the same generation: What if the warforged PC dies and get resurrected and as a result another warforged gets a dragonmark too. Now the PCs are off the hook as Zenobaal shifts his focus to that unknown warforged as it travel to the Mournland to become the last piece in the Becoming God.
These are taken from someone at WoTC, and I think they are a good guide:
- Heroic: Involves local storylines, and how the heroes get their start; basically, exploring the dungeon and finding the loot.
- Paragon: The camera lens widens, so to speak. The heroes' reputation has been built up, with story ties – and impacts – connected to regional events and consequences. A taste of cross-planar travel.
- Epic: Here, adventures truly invoke a sense of wonder. The heroes find their destiny in the world, becoming mythmakers. Grandiose interactions, with demonic and angelic beings. Epic destinies chosen by the players should tie into campaign themes and events.
Personally, I'm running a game currently in mid-Paragon, and if we keep going to Epic my plan is to start Epic tier off with the PC's needing to descend into Khyber in order to stop the plots of Demororgon (savage tide adventure path, converted to 4e). To get there, they must get past the black dragon Rhashaak, who guards that place in Q’barra, which is the entry point they will need. Once in the Khyber, they will descend deeper and deeper, but probably not return to Eberron until it's all over (if at all).
I personally struggle a lot with the epic tier in Eberron. There just isn't anything that really screams "This is a great place to adventure in Epic tier" in Eberron itself - except maybe the Mournland (but I can't set every campaign there). The planes are good though, so adventures to those are a definite idea but I'm not really so sure if I would want to.
I think that Aragonnessen and Khyber could be good for an Eberron epic locations.
Add the civilisations of Xen'drik too. There are so many possibilities.
- There is the return of the giants. The work of an eldritch machine? A cabal of Giant liches "survived" or a primordial(assuming the route primordials=ascended Giants-remember the discussion on the Eberron lore section?) is breaking his bonds or even a circle of Giant archmages sent themselves 40000 years forwards, to present day.
- Drow are usually used in heroic or paragon campaigns, but consider the notion of the Sulatar finally reaping the rewards of their devotion. The mysterious Promise of Fire finally bestow its gifts on them and a great conflagration begins, intending to burn all other mortal civilisations. Furthermore, the Umbragen struggle against impossible odds. Willthe PCs aid them against a truly epic threat? Or will their desperate measures force the players to fight against them?
- The curse of the Durashka Tul, like a sword of Damocles, is waiting to destroy any sufficienlty advanced civilisation. This time it is Stormreach's time...can you stop it? Which parties of mortals and/or immortals won't accept the lifting of the curse and how far do they intend to do?
- Remember the Qabalrin? Suppose that the powerful undead elves rise again. Even the ancient giants feared and loathed them...who will stop the most ancient humanoid vampires and liches on Eberron?
- The Yuan-ti are mighty creatures full of hate. Where will their abominations lead them? What dark magic are they willing to use against those that stand against them? Will they target the dragons or the Inspired? And what will happen to those that may find themselves in the middle? Furthermore, so far it has been hateful tribes and clans-what if a warlord rises and unites them?
I think that Aragonnessen and Khyber could be good for an Eberron epic locations.
And what's wrong with Khorvaire? I think Khorvaire's an excellent place for epic adventure because when you're enmeshed in political intrigue, your personal power is pretty much meaningless. A 22nd level hero isn't going to have much better luck, say, stopping the Next War than is a 2nd level hero. The movements of nations are beyond the power of a hero to control.
I would always bring the characters back to Khorvaire, regardless of tier, to show that no matter how powerful they become, the world moves without them.
I think that Aragonnessen and Khyber could be good for an Eberron epic locations.
And what's wrong with Khorvaire? I think Khorvaire's an excellent place for epic adventure because when you're enmeshed in political intrigue, your personal power is pretty much meaningless. A 22nd level hero isn't going to have much better luck, say, stopping the Next War than is a 2nd level hero. The movements of nations are beyond the power of a hero to control.
I would always bring the characters back to Khorvaire, regardless of tier, to show that no matter how powerful they become, the world moves without them.
Not saying you can't, but it really depends how you run your game: I'm assuming that the PCs will need to run some skill challenges like peace negotiation with the different factions - there is a difference in skill DC when you face someone with low insight, bluff, perception skills as skill scale with level.
When negations fail there could be also combat encounters: facing the king's guards is probably not the same as facing the dragons of the Light of Siberys, where the soldiers patrolling outside are giants and homes are guarded by iron golems.
Also given that the PCs already started the campaign in Khorvaire and spent most of their heroic, paragon tiers there - why not give them a new continent to explore and a political arena in which the stakes are not just war among the five nations but the fate of the world of Eberron as an all.
Not saying you can't, but it really depends how you run your game: I'm assuming that the PCs will need to run some skill challenges like peace negotiation with the different factions - there is a difference in skill DC when you face someone with low insight, bluff, perception skills as skill scale with level.
That's a fair point, but you need not run challenges simply against one PC. Rather than trying to convince a single noble to take an action, now the PCs might be speaking before the entire Parliament of Breland. With so many people, the difficulty can reasonably shoot up - such a body doesn't normally bend to the persuasive abilities of small groups like PCs. Crafting an argument that can sway hundreds of lords at once is no small feat.
Failing such a challenge can be more disastrous, because you cannot fall back on combat to save the day - unless the PCs intend to slaughter the government of a nation.
If we're gunning for Zenobaal, why not work on the Prophecy thing. At the early stages of the Epic Tier the party are up against the uber-dragon himself. Remember that the Prophecy Incarnate has been covering his tracks, so in the eyes of the other dragons he is still the Paragon of Virute he once was some thousand years ago. The party needs to gain access to a vast repository of knowledge and the Draconic Prophecy if they are to beat Zenoball at his own game. And with Zenobaal still chummy with his draconic allies, Argonessen won't be offering any help. Now the only other group with nearly as much knowledge of the Prophecy happen to be the Lords of Dust.
And they are in fact willing to help the players, more or less. Various factions are vying for control of this pivotal moment in history. So while the players may have an "enemy of my enemy is my friend" ally in the pocket, they still have rival Rakshasa factions trying to kill them. As such the player needs to somehow sneak into Ashtakala and steal a very ancient tome, the "Invocate Oblivion". Pennned during the height of Demons power, it is perhaps the only book with the knowledge of how to actually "kill" a piece of the Prophecy (aka Zenobaal).
Of course the twisted tome has it's own will and begins wreaking havoc upon any nearby elements of the Prophecy. So now the players are walking Dragonmark Pariahs. Any Dragonmarked individuals nearby find their marks malfuction, don't work or even twist into Aberrant marks. You can imagine how the Twelve and the Dragonmarked Houses are going to appreciate that. The party is now dealing with two very vast and powerful enemies, the Dragonmarked Barons (for the latent danger that the players and their tome posses) and Zenobaal. Oh and of course Zenoball is manipulating the Dragonmarked Houses from the shadows. He saw this possible thread of fate centuries in advance...
Hope that provides something interesting for an Epic Tier campaign.
However, the mention of the Qalbarin in this thread gave me one of those great lightbulb moments.
So your Vol is ascended right? She's literally the Queen of Death now. She has command over the dead and undead through her dragonmark. So... Make the ancient, epic Qalbarin undead her soldiers now.
Along with a certain ancient green dracolich that an outcasted kightly order was named after.... mwaha.