I am starting my game in Sharn, which might seem a bit trite, except that most of my players are new to the setting. Also, it seemed like the best place to start not knowing the composition of the party.
I think that the Mournland might be overused. It sounds like every campaign goes there eventually, and it gets a lot of discusion here. Maybe it just doesn't facinate me the way it does others.
Lots of things might qualify as underused from what I can tell. Like the areas of Khorvaire outside of the Five Nations. I've never heard of a game going to Lhazaar or Q'barra. It sounds like Xen'drick is used more often than Droaam.
Of course, none of this really matters to my players because they are so new to the setting, but it might affect what I find interesting.
Yeah, if your players are new to the setting, don't worry about what's trite. There's nothing trite about Sharn. It's a good place to be where you can get almost any kind of adventuring environment. So yeah, just go with what's fun for you.
Are you starting at 1st level with the characters?
I recommend tossing in some national tension from the get-go. Try to get at least two of the Five Nations represented in the party. Karrnath and Thrane are good ones. And plenty of story nuances if one of them is Cyran.
So what are you looking for ideas on?
Included:
Mournland
Warforged
Dragonmarked Houses
Airships
Lightning Rail (specifically: combat on top of while it is running)
Emerald Claw/Blood of Vol
Plots within sub-plots.
Expeditions into the Mror Holds
Never got to:
Kalashtar/Dreaming Dark
Xen'Drik
Demon Wastes
Lhazaar Principalities
Really, I think any campaign can fit into Eberron; my problem usually ends up being that I want to cram the entire sourcebooks into my campaign, and sometimes have to say "No, a plot within a plot to overthrow the plotter's plot to betray this guy is going WAAAY to far."
I do plan on using some Zilargo intrigues. Their second BBEG is a Gnome Warlock who has been cast out from House Sivis.
Other likely villains include House Tarkanan, Daask, Emerald Claw, and the Lords of Dust (in Epic of course).
I do think that people tend to forget just how recently the Last War was and how much that affects things.
I know that when they hit 6th level, I'm doing Madness at Gardmore Abbey. I'll have to read that and see if I could turn part of it into a globe-trotting adventure, searching Khorvaire for the cards of the deck.
One of the characters is from Drooam, and I think it is both cool and underused, so I'll have to send the party there at some point. Maybe Sora Katra has one of the cards, and they have to barter it off of her.
I digress. I really meant this thread to be a more general discussion and not so much specific to my game. But if you want to hear this stuff, it might help for me to have a sounding board.
Admittedly it could be tricky to make interesting maps of the plains themselves. There's only so many open fields you can run encounters on before it gets stale.
I'm a big fan of the Talenta Plains and all the potential conflict in that area. I feel that the Halflings often get glossed over a lot. Despite the fact they are a 'nation', they are far from a uniform people. Each tribe can and should have it's own traditions, rituals and feuds. They also have real external threats from the Valenar and the Karnathi trying to deal with the Valenar.
Admittedly it could be tricky to make interesting maps of the plains themselves. There's only so many open fields you can run encounters on before it gets stale.
Long grass hiding things.
Underground tunnels dug my Bullettes.
Pterodactyl flock decides to get angry.
Brushfire caused by Fire elemental from Fernia (coterminous plane issue).
Now that I think about it, I think I'll send my next group into the planes.
Oh, we're starting at 1st level, absolutely. The group is mostly new to 4E.
I do plan on using some Zilargo intrigues. Their second BBEG is a Gnome Warlock who has been cast out from House Sivis.
Other likely villains include House Tarkanan, Daask, Emerald Claw, and the Lords of Dust (in Epic of course).
I do think that people tend to forget just how recently the Last War was and how much that affects things.
I know that when they hit 6th level, I'm doing Madness at Gardmore Abbey. I'll have to read that and see if I could turn part of it into a globe-trotting adventure, searching Khorvaire for the cards of the deck.
One of the characters is from Drooam, and I think it is both cool and underused, so I'll have to send the party there at some point. Maybe Sora Katra has one of the cards, and they have to barter it off of her.
I digress. I really meant this thread to be a more general discussion and not so much specific to my game. But if you want to hear this stuff, it might help for me to have a sounding board.
Actually, I think the BEST NPC to bring in from Droaam is Xor'Chlick, the Mindflayer ruler of Graywall.
I play him as a cross between Dr. Zoidberg and Antonio banderas. I also place my hands in front of my mouth like tentacles.
As an NPC, I've had unversal success with people loving him. Quite unintentional, I wanted him to be a BBEG, but they loved him so much (and I liked playing him so much), that I turned him into an ally.
You could have some fun with "Escape Argonessen" as an adventure I guess.
"Where are we? How did we get here? Holy Crap is that a dragon? Is that three dragons? Are they having tea? WHAT IS GOING ON!"
Actually, I think the BEST NPC to bring in from Droaam is Xor'Chlick, the Mindflayer ruler of Graywall.
I play him as a cross between Dr. Zoidberg and Antonio banderas. I also place my hands in front of my mouth like tentacles.
As an NPC, I've had unversal success with people loving him. Quite unintentional, I wanted him to be a BBEG, but they loved him so much (and I liked playing him so much), that I turned him into an ally.
That's hilarious. I might have to do that.
As an NPC, I've had unversal success with people loving him. Quite unintentional, I wanted him to be a BBEG, but they loved him so much (and I liked playing him so much), that I turned him into an ally.
Actually, I think this is an excellent example of the sort of convention Eberron turns on its head (and which I think 4E as a whole began to follow). Monsters who may have been traditional D&D bad guys (like orcs and goblins) might just be allies, or even PCs, and monsters who have been traditionally good guys (elves, metallic dragons, etc.) might just be your enemies. In my current campaign, an evil necromancer is one of the PCs' best allies.
In Eberron, a rakshasas of the Lords of Dust might be your pal for most of the campaign, so long as helping you somehow helps his agenda.
Done it. Lil' green guy with a tophat and monocle. Need to do more with him (giving him a name, for starters).
1. Sharn: The players have participated in the Hunt, delved into a vault of heretical knowledge left by House Cannith before the War of the Mark, and chased a thief through the city, nearly getting knocked off narrow bridges to their deaths, and been ambushed in a dark warehouse. So Sharn. CHECK.
2. Thunder Sea: The party fights Droaam coastal raiders on their way to Xen'drik to pursue Lady ir'Tain, who has stolen a secret Cannith artifact with the power to rip out souls, after being told that they will die if they do not pursue her by a prophecy speaker. And because she stole it from them to begin with. They also fight a tropical storm, sahuagin raiders, and a kraken.
3. Xen'drik: The party enters a prison complex built by the giants to seal horrors from the Giant-Quori War within. They fight powerful defense systems and solve puzzles in order to gain access to the upper levels of the facility, which leads to a platform which teleports them to the Prison of Nightmares: an orbital platform in the Rings of Siberys which houses a powerful artifact which helps to keep the Truth in the Darkness sealed within Khyber.
...and they're just about to hit level 6. I just need to find out how to keep things epic.
Granted, this is probably becuase the support for it is practically zero (at least as far as I know), but that's all the more reason to run something up there. Eldritch machines, undead legions, demon hordes, evil bases, secret entrances to Khyber that lead to its deepest and darkest depths...
The possibilities are endless.