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View Full Version : DM Help Dragonmarks, Backstabbing Politicians, and Prophecies - Seeking Campaign Advice



fishyfishyfishy
2015-01-13, 03:05 PM
I am hoping to get a bit of advice on how to construct the upcoming adventure I am preparing for my players. Currently the PC’s are level 11 and will be hitting level 12 in 2 or 3 sessions. The campaign is set in Eberron, and the political climate has recently undergone a major shift. King Boranel was found dead and the number one suspects are the PCs. Lord Ruken has successfully completed his plans on changing the nation into a Democratic Republic and has been “elected” as the Prime Minister. He has declared the PCs to be enemies of Breland and there is a reward for their deaths or capture. The PCs are famously known for saving the kingdom from the army of Azarr Kul (we ran through the Red Hand of Doom before branching out into our own story), and few people really believe they murdered the late King. But Ruken has the trust of the people, and the Dark Lanterns are looking to bring them in for questioning. The PC’s are NOT hiding at all. When the death of Boranel was announced, their ally Prince Oargev of New Cyre declared New Cyre an independent nation and all land east of the Dragon’s Crown to belong to the people of New Cyre. The PC’s own a fortress on a mountain slope just east of New Cyre and have openly supported this aggressive move.

Most recently, Queen Aurela of Aundair has approached the PCs via emissary with an alliance. She was formerly supporting Prime Minister Ruken while his cause was disruptive to the rule of King Boranel, but now she wants to help the PCs continue to destabilize her enemy. Her emissary brought a fortune to the PCs to entice them (effectively 26,000gp) and requested that they help her by traveling to the Mournland and retrieving the Silaxerus Shard, a large dragonshard containing the largest portion of the Draconic Prophecy humans ever controlled, from the Grand Library of Metrol. The PCs have decided that they are probably going to either keep the shard for themselves or destroy it, but they haven’t told her that. If they end up keeping it I could have a side quest to track down someone capable of reading it/using it. They plan on sending a letter back with the emissary saying they’ll help her out with a request for additional payment for their help.

One idea I ripped off from a discussion I saw online a while back was to have Metrol overrun by mutated humanoids with aberrant dragonmarks. These would be “Magebred” people who were created by House Vadalis as an answer to Warforged during the last days of the Last War. The Day of Mourning occurred before they could be unveiled. I was thinking of using custom a Monstrous Humanoid with 3-4 HD and decent physical ability score adjustments. The Aberrant Dragonmarks are the attempts of their leader to replicate the Mark of Death using some ancient tomes and such she found in the Library. This is an important piece of the puzzle, because one of the players wants to take Heir of Siberys to gain the Mark of Death (which I have allowed and have already figured out how we’ll handle that) and the PCs have already come across a fragment of the Prophecy that predicts the return of the Mark of Death.

So that's where I am at. I know it's a lot to take in but... any tips?

phlidwsn
2015-01-13, 04:04 PM
If you want to glance over the fluff on Magebred Humans in Metrol, see if you can borrow a 4th Ed Eberron Campaign Setting from someone. That was one of the fluff bits they added in 4th, and there's a page or three on them that you could steal from, ideawise.

fishyfishyfishy
2015-01-13, 05:31 PM
Oh cool! I didn't know that at all. I just liked the sound of that and went with it. I'll look into that thank you!:smallbiggrin:

Afgncaap5
2015-01-14, 03:56 AM
Looks pretty good, honestly, not sure what I could say to improve the core of what you've got here.

If you need some extra side missions that'd fit your framework, though... the regime change in Breland would probably interest more than just the human nobility of other nations. A strike force sent by warlords from Darguun or Droaam to instigate further problems could easily come into conflict with the PCs. Droaam in particular might pop up given that massive chunk of the prophecy, since the Daughters of Sora Kell sometimes have great interest in such things (depending on your interpretation.)

fishyfishyfishy
2015-01-14, 08:36 AM
That's an idea I hadn't considered actually. I could even have one of the competing factions attempting to retrieve this shard could be from Droaam. A strike force of Trolls and Ogres sounds like an interesting combat encounter.

Allianis
2015-01-14, 09:16 AM
If they're heading into the Mournland, you may be able to simplify the matter a bit. Instead of putting together all of the aberrant dragon marks / monstrous humanoids, you could simply let them come into conflict with the Lord of Blades.

They're about the right level if you want them to have to take him head on. Say, for instance, that the LoB has taken up headquarters in the grand library in his ever-present quest to start up his own forges and create a warforged army. The stats I found on him don't make him particularly powerful by himself, but the thing about generals...you also need to deal with their armies.

Afgncaap5
2015-01-14, 07:42 PM
If they're heading into the Mournland, you may be able to simplify the matter a bit. Instead of putting together all of the aberrant dragon marks / monstrous humanoids, you could simply let them come into conflict with the Lord of Blades.

They're about the right level if you want them to have to take him head on. Say, for instance, that the LoB has taken up headquarters in the grand library in his ever-present quest to start up his own forges and create a warforged army. The stats I found on him don't make him particularly powerful by himself, but the thing about generals...you also need to deal with their armies.

Plus, he's more than just a general, he's a general in a library on a continent dotted with monasteries and bizarre fighting techniques. I just got a mental image of the LoB sitting on a cache of Martial Scripts from Tome of Battle. (You can argue that his levels in Artificer might not let him use those... but if ever there was a character where it'd be justified to handwave things like that, I'd say it would be him.)

fishyfishyfishy
2015-01-14, 07:51 PM
It's a Gestalt campaign, and I could easily make that work. Warblade/Warforged Juggernaut//Artificer would be easy enough to build and run.

That could actually make a really great rival to the Warblade//Artificer in the party...

Blackhawk748
2015-01-14, 08:04 PM
Plus, he's more than just a general, he's a general in a library on a continent dotted with monasteries and bizarre fighting techniques. I just got a mental image of the LoB sitting on a cache of Martial Scripts from Tome of Battle. (You can argue that his levels in Artificer might not let him use those... but if ever there was a character where it'd be justified to handwave things like that, I'd say it would be him.)

SCROLLS FOR THE SCROLL THRONE!!

In a more serious vein, Warblade/Warforged Juggernaught//Artificer would be horrifying, as well as sitting on that throne of Martial Scripts. Also "The Battle in the Library" would be a great boss fight, even if he has no intention of killing the PCs. Honestly a battle between him and the party Beatstick for the Shard would be really cool, i see the Lord of Blades accepting a challenge for it.

Afgncaap5
2015-01-14, 09:34 PM
It's a Gestalt campaign, and I could easily make that work. Warblade/Warforged Juggernaut//Artificer would be easy enough to build and run.

That could actually make a really great rival to the Warblade//Artificer in the party...

Ooh, there's already a Warblade/Artificer? Yeah, then I'd say that dealing with the Lord of Blades with some extra gestalt class stuff could have some *definite* potential.




SCROLLS FOR THE SCROLL THRONE!!

In a more serious vein, Warblade/Warforged Juggernaught//Artificer would be horrifying, as well as sitting on that throne of Martial Scripts. Also "The Battle in the Library" would be a great boss fight, even if he has no intention of killing the PCs. Honestly a battle between him and the party Beatstick for the Shard would be really cool, i see the Lord of Blades accepting a challenge for it.

This is sounding more and more like one of those giant videogame set piece battles. I half expect the PCs to also get to the library just as the Lord of Blades is about to finish working on some sort of earth-shattering doomsday device. "You deliver a fragment of the prophecy into my hands, just as I finish the construction of the Malleus Mundi Device? Truly, our time is now... Minions! Keep them busy while I activate the countdown hourglass!"

Blackhawk748
2015-01-14, 09:39 PM
This is sounding more and more like one of those giant videogame set piece battles. I half expect the PCs to also get to the library just as the Lord of Blades is about to finish working on some sort of earth-shattering doomsday device. "You deliver a fragment of the prophecy into my hands, just as I finish the construction of the Malleus Mundi Device? Truly, our time is now... Minions! Keep them busy while I activate the countdown hourglass!"

Ive always wanted to do one of those on the table top, could be a ton of fun if done right.

Also i was sorta leaning towards an honor duel for the shard. The Lord of Blades has no quarrel with them and doesnt really care about the shard (hes probably already accessed it) and simply wants to see if they are "worthy"

fishyfishyfishy
2015-01-14, 11:50 PM
I like this idea. I think what I'll do is I will introduce both as competing factions within Metrol, vying for control of various parts of the city. I plan on having some Living Spells for sure but what other types of creatures could inhabit the city?