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View Full Version : Help needed - Planning a 4e Eberron game



Terraoblivion
2010-05-25, 10:55 AM
Recently i decided that once i return from China i will be running a 4e game of Eberron for my friends back in Denmark. To that end i have begun putting a lot of working into planning the greater framework of the plot of the game. While differing opinions are of course always valid, i know the limitations of both myself and my friends and will be running a relatively tightly scripted game, with a clear plot and a fairly narrow range of choices. This forces me to do the actual scripting, however, and for this i believe i might need the advice on others to avoid major plotholes, as well as ensure that the dramatic arc works out properly. And so i come to you, good people of the GitP roleplaying board to hear your advice on how to proceed with the plot that i have been working on.

Synopsis of the plot so far
The game has a typical beginning, with the players starting in Sharn where they get hired by an archaeologist from Morgrave University. He is paying them to recover a symbol of one of the rulers of the Dhakaani Empire, lost since the end of the Age of Monsters. Unlike much of the regalia of that age, however, this item is believed to genuinely be without any magical powers and solely possessing historic and symbolic significance. He cannot tell them the exact location since it has been lost for millennia, but it is known that the oral history of the Dhakaani places the hobgoblin it was the symbol of in the Shadow Marshes when the empire fell. Rather than send them off to search through the mud on their own, however, he directs them to the sole survivor of a previous expedition looking for this very item, a goblin now living in Rukaan Draal. He has already arranged transport with the Lightning Rail to Sterngate and promises to cover their travel expenditures as long as they follow the plan he has outlined.

Should the players investigate the archaeologist and his story, it checks out, though he of course share the shady reputation of the university he is working for.

When the players arrive in Darguun they relatively easily find the goblin in question, but not before drawing the attention of a Dhakaani tribe that in no uncertain terms tell them to stop snooping around. Even so the goblin does talk revealing the general part of the marshes where the ruins that the expedition was searching was when they got attacked and most of them died, as well as the nature of the danger lurking there. He also reveals that they are not the first humans to inquire about this recently and that a scholar from another university was there a few weeks before.

Next leg of the journey is of course to travel to the Shadow Marshes and hiring a local guide to bring them to the ruins. Some monsters and other threats of the marshes occurs to show that it is a dangerous wilderness, but nothing plot central really happens until the players reach the ruins. Here they find some of the young men from one of the local tribes camped at the entrance, under the leadership of a human who is quite intent on keeping his presence there secret. After dealing with him something in the camp will reveal that he is a Karnathi agent after the same item as the players, but otherwise they are free to deal with whatever is in the ruins and retrieve the object.

One their way back they meet a party of the Dhakaani goblins who demand the item back, citing its historical significance to them and refusing to take no for an answer. While less bloodthirsty than some of those tribes, they are willing to pay the characters to hand it over, they won't hesitate to attack should they refuse. This also marks a branching point in the plot, depending on whether they stick to their contract or decide to side with the hobgoblins.

In the first case, they dispatch the Dhakaani party and return to Sharn without further incident and hand the relic over to the archaeologist and get paid and everything seems to have worked out. The next morning, however, they get waken by the police in Sharn wanting to ask them some questions about their association with the victim of a murder committed the day before, that of the archaeologist. Just as importantly the murder is determined to have happened before they handed the object over to him. Provided they are even the least bit cooperative they get released without incident, but immediately gets contacted by one of the Dark Lanters who want to hire them to get the object back. While he is not too forthcoming with detailed information, they do learn that acquiring this object is considered a matter of national security and that the Dark Lanterns cannot do it themselves to avoid causing an international incident.

If they give it to the Dhakaani on the other hand, the two groups part way and the players return to civilization. Sometimes later, they get approached by one of the hobgoblins who tells that they were ambushed somewhere on their way through Droaam and that the ambushers got away with the macguffin. They tracked them to Sharn, but they couldn't quite follow the trail there, since the citizens are not terribly inclined to divulge large amounts of information to a group of militaristic looking goblinoids and since they just don't know the city and how to live in it.

No matter whether the characters work for the Dark Lanterns, help the Dhakaani or decide to run off to use this as an opportunity to support a faction they have ties to, the trail to the macguffin leads to Sharn. After investigating there for a while, the details of which i have not yet decided, they track down another Karnathi agent and learn two crucial bits of information. One is that, unsurprisingly, the macguffin is no longer in the city. The other is that under a specific set of planar and geographical alignments the great destructive potential of the item are unlocked, but they don't learn where and when these alignments will happen. The knowledge of where to learn that is obvious, though, the Library of Korranberg is their best bet for finding esoteric knowledge about the movements of the planes and the like, forcing them to travel to Zilargo to investigate in the library.

I currently have a double ambush of the Karrns and whoever they are not working for on the Lightning Rail on the way there, because i have to get them to fight on a magical train at some point. Also helps to show that people are not pleased with having others try to acquire this item.

More importantly, however, they get to Korranberg and then...something. This is where my planning has gotten to so far.

What the players don't know
Most of this should be obvious from the above. The archaeologist doesn't just have a scholarly interest in the macguffin, but is instead a cat's paw for the Dark Lanters maintaining multiple layers of plausible deniability. The object is also not just a symbol of the Dhakaani Empire, though it is also that, but a powerful arcane device that could tip the balance of power between The Five Nations and restart the last war.

The last thing they don't know and which i haven't mentioned yet, is that while most of the Karnathi agents are loyal, patriotic Karns honestly doing what they think is Kaius' orders, the leader of their cell is a member of the Order of the Emerald Claw and their orders have not been coming from Kaius. Indeed his plan is to use the macguffin to strike at the enemies of Karnath and restart the war and bring his country the glory it deserves, since he is not high enough in the hierarchy to know about the true goals of his organization.

What i need help with
There are a few things in this basic framework that i am uncertain about and that i am loathe to work on more detailed aspects of the game before figuring out, however. While i know that in Korranberg they will learn where and when the conditions are right to unleash the macguffin, i do not know where that is, though the when is of course far enough in the future that they can stop it, but not far enough that they can do it leisurely. I need to find a location for the climax of the game.

I also think that something more than just going to the library and checking out a book should happen in Korranberg, but i don't know what and i am also worried about putting too many roadblocks in the way. While there should be enough to make it seem like a major task, too many will just make the players feel foiled at every turn and like the whole world is against them.

The final two things i need to work into this is the revelation of the Karnathi having been subverted against their knowledge and a feeling that i should do something more after having established that one of the agents they are up against is a changeling. Establishing a shapeshifter as an antagonist in a situation where the players cannot truly address the issue pretty much demands that i employ this shapeshifter again. But i am not certain how.

So if any of you have advice on how to deal with these issues, i would love to hear it. Even if i end up not using it, the very need to read and judge your advice will be helpful for me to make a decision on what to do with this plot. So thank you all in advance for any help you might give.

Kalirren
2010-05-26, 01:45 AM
You say an enemy agent is a changeling?

Let's say the changeling agent somehow beat the party to the book at Korranberg; maybe s/he knew about it and went to fetch the book while the party was off in the Shadow Marches. In its place, he has a fake lead planted which sends them somewhere into the Mournland, where a group of (seemingly) rogue undead are waiting under a warforged commander to off the first inquisitive party who looks.

Unbeknownst to Agent Changeling, who simply can't imagine that the warforged he left with this task had any real will of his own, the warforged commander has been recently converted by the Lord of Blades and is himself now curious as to why he was ordered here. He can be talked to. If the party attacks, he starts ranting (however it is a warforged rants) about how he's been double-crossed by the Karrns. In whichever way the party deals with the warforged commander, they receive a second confirmation from him that Karrnath is somehow involved.

With no actual lead and a confirmation that someone slipped them a red herring, the party is forced to personally search out the scholar who led the first expedition, or the spouse (if that scholar, like the one who hired them in the first place, is dead). From that person the critical location and time are available, with possibly even a twist of intentional mistranslation involved.

Have the real climax location be in Stormhome. Nothing like ending with a bang in the greatest casino island known to Khorvaire.

kamikasei
2010-05-26, 04:59 PM
When the players arrive in Darguun they relatively easily find the goblin in question, but not before drawing the attention of a Dhakaani tribe that in no uncertain terms tell them to stop snooping around.

How certain are these terms? Do the Dhakaani attack them?


Here they find some of the young men from one of the local tribes camped at the entrance, under the leadership of a human who is quite intent on keeping his presence there secret. After dealing with him something in the camp will reveal that he is a Karnathi agent after the same item as the players, but otherwise they are free to deal with whatever is in the ruins and retrieve the object.

What happens to this guy? Are they expected to kill him, or does he flee? What if they take him captive?


One their way back they meet a party of the Dhakaani goblins who demand the item back, citing its historical significance to them and refusing to take no for an answer.

How come these guys didn't get there before the PCs, if they're the same as the ones who had already been at the knowledgeable goblin's place?


The next morning, however, they get waken...

This makes me wonder how you intend the players to be connected to one another. Are they an established adventuring group who would naturally stay at the same inn or whatever? A minor point though.


No matter whether the characters work for the Dark Lanterns, help the Dhakaani or decide to run off to use this as an opportunity to support a faction they have ties to, the trail to the macguffin leads to Sharn. After investigating there for a while, the details of which i have not yet decided...

The obvious approach would seem to be to make the archeologist's murder the common point in any investigations. If they help the Dhakaani, it turns out that the one who stole the artifact from the goblins was seen entering the archeologist's rooms and is the prime suspect (may be the changeling himself, may be an accomplice).


The knowledge of where to learn that is obvious, though, the Library of Korranberg is their best bet for finding esoteric knowledge about the movements of the planes and the like, forcing them to travel to Zilargo to investigate in the library.

Where they will fight GNOME NINJAS. *nods*


I need to find a location for the climax of the game.

You could always make it somewhere in Xen'drik.


I also think that something more than just going to the library and checking out a book should happen in Korranberg, but i don't know what and i am also worried about putting too many roadblocks in the way. While there should be enough to make it seem like a major task, too many will just make the players feel foiled at every turn and like the whole world is against them.

Try hiding your iron fist in a velvet glove. Make the roadblock not an obstacle, but a challenge. They don't need to dispose of something in their way to get to the book. They have to do something that actually gives them a power boost instead. I have no particular ideas for this at the moment though, and you'll want to tailor it to the players anyway.


The final two things i need to work into this is the revelation of the Karnathi having been subverted against their knowledge and a feeling that i should do something more after having established that one of the agents they are up against is a changeling. Establishing a shapeshifter as an antagonist in a situation where the players cannot truly address the issue pretty much demands that i employ this shapeshifter again. But i am not certain how.

The changeling is a Karnathi agent, right?

Terraoblivion
2010-05-26, 05:52 PM
How certain are these terms? Do the Dhakaani attack them?
It is good form to start with intimidation. Not to mention it saves your resources. But i can see a battle cropping up, however, it is not terribly relevant at the level of planning i am working on at the moment. The important thing here is that they learn that this Dhakaani tribe wants them to avoid snooping around, but i plan on restricting myself to intimidation at this point.


What happens to this guy? Are they expected to kill him, or does he flee? What if they take him captive?
If he flees he will still be out of their hair, he would be left alone in the middle of an enormous, undeveloped marsh hundreds of miles from civilization. Similarly if they take him captive they will learn a bit more than they would otherwise, but will have a prisoner on their hands in the middle of said marshy wasteland. However, no matter what he would not know the major things that could reveal much of the plot, being a lower level operative.


How come these guys didn't get there before the PCs, if they're the same as the ones who had already been at the knowledgeable goblin's place?
Because it was the Karrns who got there first, not the Dhakaani. Also the Dhakaani are at a distinct advantage when it comes to traveling given how much they stick out and how much trouble they have with fairly mundane things. For example i can imagine that an arrogant group of goblins in Roman armor would be somewhat discriminated against when they try to book passage on a ship.


This makes me wonder how you intend the players to be connected to one another. Are they an established adventuring group who would naturally stay at the same inn or whatever? A minor point though.
I will leave that up to them. But i am sure that Sharn has a large enough police force to get some uniformed officers to get them all taken in even if they stay individually.


The obvious approach would seem to be to make the archeologist's murder the common point in any investigations. If they help the Dhakaani, it turns out that the one who stole the artifact from the goblins was seen entering the archeologist's rooms and is the prime suspect (may be the changeling himself, may be an accomplice).
This certainly makes a lot of sense, however, i would need to secure an explanation for why the Karns would kill the archaeologist, if not to gain the macguffin. It would draw attention to them that they would need a plausible reason for wanting. If the players hand the macguffin over to the archaeologist, then the motive is to get it from them. I can definitely come up with a reason why they had to expose themselves to the risk it entails, but i had not planned for it at the moment.


Where they will fight GNOME NINJAS. *nods*
Tempting, however, i try to avoid cluttering up the plot with further plot threads creating a huge tangle. Gnome ninjas seem to add that, so i will keep them out, even though The Trust is indeed cool.


You could always make it somewhere in Xen'drik.
Could do, could make it a lot of places. I will probably go for somewhere closer to civilization. A super weapon loses a lot of its punch when it blows up a tract of thinly populated wilderness populated by no one in the conflict at hand. I am thinking of putting it in Throneport actually, since that is the neutral city and everything would be total chaos if that was blown up. Also i like that city and the paranoia that runs rampant in it.


Try hiding your iron fist in a velvet glove. Make the roadblock not an obstacle, but a challenge. They don't need to dispose of something in their way to get to the book. They have to do something that actually gives them a power boost instead. I have no particular ideas for this at the moment though, and you'll want to tailor it to the players anyway.
Hmmm, it definitely makes sense, but i have no clue what it could be either or how to get the players pointed in the right way. Or to keep up the sense of urgency, while still giving them time to handle this.


The changeling is a Karnathi agent, right?
The changeling is one of the Karns, yes. Really, with the exception of the goblin from the original expedition and the unnamed police officers all the NPCs either belong to or work for one of the three groups fighting over the macguffin. However, if i go with Throneport then the changeling would fit right in there.

That just leaves an event for Korranberg. I might actually axe that in favor of just the attempts to stop them from reaching the city. That just means that i need to figure out what to do in Throneport to have the top level planning done and be able to begin working on the details of the major characters and the macguffin, after which i can hopefully work on the individual stages of the plot, where especially Sharn and Throneport needs a great deal of effort.

kamikasei
2010-05-26, 06:04 PM
This certainly makes a lot of sense, however, i would need to secure an explanation for why the Karns would kill the archaeologist, if not to gain the macguffin.

Oh, I was under the impression the archaeologist had been replaced perhaps even before the players first met him.


Could do, could make it a lot of places. I will probably go for somewhere closer to civilization. A super weapon loses a lot of its punch when it blows up a tract of thinly populated wilderness populated by no one in the conflict at hand.

And here I figured the weapon might just be usable from a distance rather than only on its immediate surroundings - it needed to be completed or charged in one particular place, but after that it can be used with impunity.

I'll try and come up with actual ideas for the Korranberg quest and the changeling's antics.

cupkeyk
2010-05-26, 09:00 PM
Off Topic: I spent a year in Shanghai, China and had difficulty looking for other players. The only other player was a guy six hours north of Shanghai, Jinan, I think. We tried recruiting local MTG players to DnD. I went home to Manila and he went home to Canada and although we talked about starting a game in China it never really took off. The guy would take a train to Shanghai every weekend and we'd just geek out.

Now I miss Shanghai (but not that much).