The campaign starts with the characters wandering a marketplace, probably in Fairhaven. A stranger approaches them, glancing over his shoulder before addressing the PCs. He hands the PCs a small package, explaining briefly that he's been compromised, and that it is imperative that the PCs deliver this package to a fellow named Fince at the Dancing Dragon Inn, tomorrow evening. He was supposed to deliver it himself, but he's been discovered and his life is likely forfeit.
With that, the stranger runs off into a nearby alleyway. As he disappears into the alley, some menacing-looking fellows enter the marketplace, spotting the stranger and following him into the alleyway. The PCs may or may not follow him - if they do, they can fight the thugs, but not in time to save their ill-fated friend.
Inside the package is a ring. It is missing its gemstone, but is otherwise a beautifully crafted piece of jewelry. On one side is the seal of Aundair's royal house; on the other is the seal of the Kingdom of Galifar. Where the gemstone should be is a mysterious rune.
Thus begins the campaign. The PCs will eventually discover that the ring is actually one of a set of five. They were created hundreds of years ago to defeat one of the Lords of Dust . Afterwards, the rings were divided among the five nations for safekeeping, as they were very powerful artifacts that should only be used under dire circumstances. Lost in history, these rings were forgotten until a group of wizards learned of their existence. They now seek to gain the rings to gain power for themselves.
Throughout heroic tier, the PCs will travel to the five nations (including the Mournlands), fighting these wizards and collecting the five rings (four plus the missing gemstone). They may also encounter some interference from representatives of the Lords of Dust, who will play a larger role later in the campaign. Heroic tier will culminate in a showdown with the five wizards, with the five rings as the final prize.
Along the way, the PCs discover that the mysterious rune was not a part of the rings originally. In Paragon tier, the PCs learn that the rediscovery of the rings was foretold in the Draconic Prophecy. The Prophecy indicates that the Bel Shalor will reappear in the world, and only the rings can be used to defeat him again. While the original group of wizards was not aware of the prophecy, a faction of the Lords of Dust is well aware of it and has taken interest in the party's exploits. They will do whatever they have to do to defeat the PCs and destroy the rings, so that their lord may rule unchallenged. Led by a Rakshasa exarch, this group will hound the PCs as they travel the land, learning what they can of their role in the Draconic Prophecy. Paragon tier will climax as the PCs face the exarch himself.
In Epic tier, the PCs will face Bel Shalor as he enters the world. Demons will spring up all over the land, wreaking havoc which the PCs must stop. Eventually the PCs will have to travel to the Demon Wastes and, with the help of the rings, defeat Bel Shalor and send him back to his imprisonment.
So this is what I have so far. Any suggestions or feedback are welcome! In particular I'm looking to fill out some of the details in the heroic tier:
- * What other power groups are involved, and what are their goals? What groups are allied with the PCs? I expect Fince to be an ally of the party, but I'm not sure what group he should represent. I'm picturing a rogue's guild of some sort, but I'm not sure what motivation a rogue's guild might have here.
- * Who are these wizards who seek the ring? Is it some random group of wizards, or are they part of one of Eberron's power groups?
- * What adventures will the party have to go through to acquire the five rings? Who currently holds them, and what will the PCs have to do to get them?
Thanks for reading! As I said, any suggestions are welcome, no matter how big or small.
One possibility is that they're members of the Mosaic Committee, a secret organization of arcanists that believe the Prophecy will lead to an event of cataclysmic destruction and so seek to alter and destroy pieces of the Prophecy whenever possible. So maybe the Wizards aren't looking to use the rings for power, but want to destroy them and their role in the Prophecy. The Mosaic Committee was centered in Aundair (I think they met in Arcanix, not sure) so that would certainly fit with the notion of the rings being created by the Five Nations. They have access to the original records and designs of the rings, and how to destroy them.
You could involve the Chamber there, trying to stop stupid mortals from dooming us all, as allies to the party. Or just another obstacle to be overcome because to the Dragons, glassing the continent is a suitable solution to preventing the release of a Rajah. Maybe Fince is secretly a dragon and the party will have to stab the crap out of him to stop the rest of the dragons from finding out what's happening. Or he could be a dragon and still be sympathetic to the plight of the PCs and willing to help them stop the Wizards without destroying a continent (which would have its own massive effect on the Prophecy after all). Or he's not a dragon, and is instead a Changeling working for a clandestine governmental organization that doesn't want to see the dragons going nuts. Or he's just a Rogue... who's secretly a Changeling Werewolf unknowingly working for the Dreaming Dark who are trying to frame the PCs for the murder of Queen Aurala for no reason connected to the plot at all!
But the Mosaic Committee might be a good idea for the Wizards.
I have one idea for you (one I used personally). Have the fight with the exarch inside the atrium of the Cathedral in Flamekeep. Highly dramatic! You can even have some corrupt priests from the Voice in the Flame have reinforcements at bay during this climatic battle.
Another possibility for Fince is the Royal Eyes of Aundair. Maybe they're initially allies of the PCs, but once the party collects all five rings they decide they're too much of a risk to Aundair and they try to take them from the PCs.
They want to destroy the Prophecy because they think it will destroy the world, and the Dragons disagree. Though how many dragons know about them is up in the air.
But as a possible alternative, you could say that these Wizards are members of the Royal Eyes themselves, seeking to capture objects of incredible power for Queen Aurala! :P They could work as any number of national institutions, really.
That being said, I think you should reveal the source of the Ring's power over time, it's best to do that with the Lords of Dust and their dark masters, I'd think. If you want the Fiends involved at lower levels, it might be a good idea to use proxy groups of some kind.
If you think about it, any power group could fit in!
Finch could be a Chamber proxy agent, could have the party meet their -real- patron in Paragon tier, help them figure out the true significance of the Rings they have.
Finally, one particular idea that makes me grin is: Assuming you go with the option of not telling them about the origin of the Rings early on, say that whenever they use their power it makes Bel Shalor stronger, essentially add certain statistic bonuses to the PC's more demonic enemies depending on the more they use the Rings. Another option there, you could slowly have the PC's develop demonic traits the longer they wear these Rings.
Ech, forgive me, the ideas are flowing like a river now!
As for the Mosaic Committee, I like this idea but I'm trying to figure out exactly how it's going to work.
The exact nature of the rings I haven't quite figured out yet. I like the idea of Bel Shalor gaining power as the rings are used, but seems counter to their intended purpose. Maybe they've been corrupted somehow? Remember the runes aren't part of the original design - they "grew" there somehow during the time the rings had been forgotten.
Anyway, considering the nature of the Rings, instead of connecting them to Bel Shalor himself, you could connect them to his prison, the Silver Flame? They burn the Souls in the Flame for a power source, this could be especially awesome when a Flamer finds out.
As to why this might be the case, perhaps the Rings are meant to either be used only after the Shadow in the Flame gets out again, in order to shove him back in - or, to be used as a sort of mortality bomb on Bel Shalor, actually kill a Rajah (I've been particularly fond of this idea, players killing a Rajah that is, especially if the Dragons don't know about it.).
Edit: Ogiwan, that sounds pretty awesome - you could connect them to Tira Miron's unnamed companions, have the player's discover their fates, eventually. Maybe bring a survivor in as an enemy or ally. *Evil Finger Pyramid*
Anyway the ideas so far have been great, and I'm adding a lot of them to my campaign. Thanks a lot!
That being said, I don't think I've even used the traditional MacGuffin trope, so maybe I'm just thinking in a weird double subversion sort of way? I don't think that makes any sense-... Things were so much easier before I was a Troper!
Are the rings connected to Bel Shalor somehow? Could the rings been present at Tira's sacrifice, perhaps with the bearers arranged around Tira as she stabbed Bel Shalor and the Couatl?
Minor point, Tira did not stab the couatl. She was engaged in combat with Bel Shalor, and the couatl flew in (which was completely unexpected by all parties involved), enveloped them both, and then the font of silver flame was born. Sort of reminds me of the Siberys-Eberron-Khyber battle, which is not an unfair comparison, since it is believed that most dragons formed when Siberys' blood hit Eberron (and are thus a mixing of both), but that couatls formes from Siberys' blood BEFORE it hit Eberron, and are thus a more pure incarnation of his power. Tira, as a mortal, obviously represents Eberron, and the demon, ebing a child of Khyber, represents his creator.
For the OP: What about the missing gemstone in the ring? Do they need to find the original/replacement? Also, are all the rings thus divided? If so, was the gemstone separated in order for someone to place the rune there? The runes could be an attempt by Bel Shalor's cult to corrupt the rings, and perhaps their presence on the ring is what is weakening his prison. If the cult pried the gemstones from the rings to inscribe the runes in order to weaken the prison, maybe part of the quest (paragon tier?) could be to either find the original gems or find/create replacements.
But the rings remain corrupted by the runes, and Bel Shalor will eventually break free of his prison, and it will take the newly reforged rings to bind/destroy him.
Also, Dragon magazine issue 344 (back when they were print) had an article on Dreadhold prison. One of the wards in dreadhold is the Stone Ward, where some prisoners are turned to stone and kept in a chamber. One of the statues is Melysse Miron, who is the chosen hand of the Shadow in the Flame (Bel Shalor), she is his herald and speaker like the Keeper is the voice for Tira. She was turned to stone, because it was believed that if she were killed, the Shadow would choose a new herald.
Just thought I'd bring that up, in case you want to work that in somehow. Maybe the players need to break into Dreadhold and free her to gain some information that she has. If so, she could end up escaping and become a powerful foe later on.
Thanks to everyone's suggestions, I have a pretty good idea what I am going to do now. Through heroic tier, the party is going to try to find the lost gemstone from the first ring, and then the remaining four rings in the other four nations. This should make for a nice series of adventures in different locations throughout Eberron, including the Mournlands. The party will be aided by Fince and his gang, and opposed by a subset of the Mosaic Committee. The main bad guys in heroic will be a set of triplets, the Triad Mosaic, who seek to destroy the rings. Other power groups will be TBD depending on character backgrounds.
In late heroic, the party learns that while Fince is their ally, their true patron is a dragon from the Chamber, who is pulling Fince's strings. This dragon may or may not be blind
. At this time they also learn that the rings are part of the prophecy. The rings did not originally have runes - they seem to have "grown" runes at some point in the past.In Paragon tier the group will be working directly with the dragon, researching pieces of the prophecy and fighting the Exarch. The Silver Flame will also be involved, possibly with different factions both aiding and hindering the party. I like the idea of the final battle in Flamekeep cathedral, so we'll probably finish Paragon there.
Then in Epic tier, the prophecy is realized. Bel Shalor returns to Eberron, wreaking havoc throughout Khorvaire. The PCs, armed with the rings, travel throughout Khorvaire, uniting the five kingdoms and fighting the demons that spring up everywhere. Finally they venture through the Demon Wastes and, with the help of the dragon, some Silver Flame paladins, and a friendly barbarian tribe, they find and defeat Bel Shalor.
Further suggestions are still welcome! My next task is to start filling in details of what the PCs are doing to capture the rings. Each ring will be found in one of the five kingdoms, and will be a level or two worth of adventuring. One of them is going to be in Sharn, where I'm hoping to put a nice urban adventure. The Mournlands are going to be interesting. I think Ikar's Salvage will help them find the ring, and then try to double-cross them once they have it.
One of the rings is in Sharn? OOO! OOO! Crystalfall!
Now....if you want to have them go to really exotic locations, remember that a lot of the nations that arose out of the Treaty of Thronehold were once part of the Five Nations. The Mror Holds, for example, were once part of Karrnath (Hmm...when did Noldrunthrone go dark? About 400 years ago?).
Are the rings connected to Bel Shalor somehow? Could the rings been present at Tira's sacrifice, perhaps with the bearers arranged around Tira as she stabbed Bel Shalor and the Couatl?
Minor point, Tira did not stab the couatl. She was engaged in combat with Bel Shalor, and the couatl flew in (which was completely unexpected by all parties involved), enveloped them both, and then the font of silver flame was born. Sort of reminds me of the Siberys-Eberron-Khyber battle, which is not an unfair comparison, since it is believed that most dragons formed when Siberys' blood hit Eberron (and are thus a mixing of both), but that couatls formes from Siberys' blood BEFORE it hit Eberron, and are thus a more pure incarnation of his power. Tira, as a mortal, obviously represents Eberron, and the demon, ebing a child of Khyber, represents his creator.
Minor point, if you read the Thrane entry in the 3.5 campaign setting, it says specifically that Tira fought the dark creatures that had come to worship Bel Shalor, but the Couatl was the one to fight Bel Shalor itself. When the Couatl took a crippling blow from the demon, it used the last of its strength to bind the demon, wherein Tira Miron lept into the fray to stab it, piercing both the serpent (who had had encircled Bel Shalor) and the demon.
Your point about the Khyber-Eberron-Siberys battle still stands, and the actual account mimics the conflict closer with the agent of Eberron not intervening until it was clear that the agent of Siberys lost. But yes, Tira Miron stabbed both the Couatl and the Demon.
And the Couatl wasn't exactly unexpected I would say, it gave Tira visions of the evil to come to drive her to become the hero that would save the world. That Couatl was Obi-Wanning the crap out of this.