[Eberron] Cleaning up the Mournlands

[TheFallenOne]

We're currently playing to follow-up adventure to The Forgotten Forge(Shadows of the Last War if my google fu doesn't fail me), mild spoilers ahead. You've been warned.

So, I've been looking for a way to retire my current character, Grimmgang Donnerbrecher(Thunderbreaker), a dwarfen Scout/Fighter, because I finally want to play a Martial Adept. Especially after getting acquainted with Eberrons fluff the thought of a Kalashtar crusader is really tempting.

Anyway, our group entered the Mournlands and after a short travel encountered the remains of a vast battle. And since it's the Mournlands, there are more remains than should be after four years: thousands of undecaying bodies, fresh as on the day they were slain. It was quite an experience for my dwarf who was a soldier in the Last War as well, knowing fully well "That could have been me".

In that moment, I had an idea how to retire my character in style and give him something interesting to do as a NPC.
Start getting all those bodies out of there and give them a proper funeral.

Of course, I know that this small gesture won't make the Mournlands habitable again. It's just a manner of honoring the dead, soldiers honor and all that. They lay there for four years and the only one interested in the casualties of the Day of Mourning are some low-life pillagers.
And if I do it right, with all the stuff lying around on the battlefields this project will finance itself once I jumpstart it with some starting money.

My DM already gave me green light on that project, now I have to figure out how to make it reality. Transporting huge numbers of bodies(with their gear let's say 200 pound a piece) requires a lot of logistics. How exactly should should I realize it? How will people react? Will they be grateful that their dead relatives won't lie there as undecaying corpses for eternity or will I just open old wounds everyone tried to forget?

What exactly do I need for this project. Well, obviously transports. The support of a House(Cannith seems to be the best option because of the connections to Elaidrin) and a government bordering on the Mournlands(it has to officially acknowledge that what I'm doing is a service to the public good and no pillaging since obviously I can't do this in secret. Also, if any ungrateful families could lay claim to whatever those guys I gave a burial may or may not have had with them I would go broke). Hired NPCs to deal with various nasty things in the Mournlands(the fog, living spells, beasts, undead, the Lord of Blades...). I'm thinking a couple of fighters, a ranger to find the way, a paladin for some healing that actually works and anyone with Detect Magic to find the most valuable stuff.
But, how expensive will they be? On the one hand, since the end of the Last War there are lots of soldiers looking for work. On the other hand, it IS the Mournlands and I'm asking them to transport corpses. How much will they charge?
And how exactly do burials work in Eberron? Faiths of Eberron gives at least a little detail, but not much. Do they have headstones? If so, how expensive will a headstone and a coffin be(well, since the sacrifice buried with the dead is often only one copper piece I think it's obvious they don't pay updwards of 10 GP for the other stuff)?.
This is the thing I need to figure out: how much do I have to invest at average to get one body transported and buried and how much money can I make on the other hand by selling the gear of them(most of them Warrior 1 I'd assume)?

Also, where to bury them? We're talking thousands of bodies after all(though I'm lucky if I can start with 20 per day). It would be preferable to connect their next of kin(most of them should have identification papers after all) so they can attend the funeral or bury their relative themselves in their hometown. But this seems rather hard to pull off, so my current thought is to offer, once word of my project goes round, that everyone can enter a list to be notified at their own cost(no advance fee fraud ) if a certain body is retrieved. I'd also return personal items(diaries, letters, wedding rings, family heirlooms with engraved dedication) to them. Image is important after all.

Anyway, those are my overtly complicated thoughts on how to turn my dwarfen scout into a large buisness undertaker. Feel free to input and help make the Mournlands a place that isn't a land of milk and honey for canibals

[tahu88810]

Getting the support of House Cannith certainly works, and I would suggest getting Breland and perhaps that disposed prince from Cyre to support you. Then, maybe, get House Sivis to give you some support as well (not monetary, but maybe they'd be willing to contact relatives of the deceased for you?) and get a wagon or two, perhaps some mooks to help with the group you already have planned out, and you should be set.

[TheFallenOne]

Hm, getting all those as allies might prove to be hard because I'm not playing the Shining Hero type, but a Cha 7 dwarf(though he got a temporary +1 when I used that permanent Unseen Servant cleaning clothes in Whiteforge to clean my beard, now it looks nice and smells of rosewater. Though it was rather interesting when the servant tried 'folding' my beard).

Breland was my thought too, wasn't sure if they have a border with the Mournlands, but according to this map they have a narrow strip of land reaching that far east.

But, how exactly will people react to this endeavour? That's a big unknown factor right now

[fryplink]

if you have house canniths help, go for (mindless) constructs instead of hirelings/followers bypassing your low CHA, plus after the initial price constructs require no/little upkeep compared to hirelings, note that I only have a limited knowledge of the Eberron setting, so this might be impossible.

[CTLC]

hire the house that has marks of passage. They can teleport and move large amounts of stuff. its their job.

[TheFallenOne]

hire the house that has marks of passage. They can teleport and move large amounts of stuff. its their job.

That would be House Orien. I thought about them as well, but with the prices the Eberron Campaign Setting gives for their services(Teleport: 10 GP per mile) using magic to transport the bodies won't pay off, unless we're talking a permament two-way portal

Are there anywhere prices given for the elemental-powered carts like Faelyn(sp?) uses in this adventure?

[tahu88810]

I think that the price of those carts would be up to the DM. You could...uh...steal them, though >_>

[TheFallenOne]

That would actually make for a nice motto: We only steal from the living, not the dead

But I better give a pass on that, if I can't afford those elemental waggons it will be normal horse carts

[fryplink]

maybe a portal/teleportation circe (perm) on the wagon? you immediatly transport the body to a processing center off-site, via teleportation?

[TheFallenOne]

maybe a portal/teleportation circe (perm) on the wagon? you immediatly transport the body to a processing center off-site, via teleportation?

Hm, don't know any way to pull that off apart from a Tippyesque teleportation trap and if I try to pull something like that off I might have a DMG flying my way

[CTLC]

That would be House Orien. I thought about them as well, but with the prices the Eberron Campaign Setting gives for their services(Teleport: 10 GP per mile) using magic to transport the bodies won't pay off, unless we're talking a permament two-way portal

Are there anywhere prices given for the elemental-powered carts like Faelyn(sp?) uses in this adventure?

how much is a permanent two way portal?

[TheFallenOne]

how much is a permanent two way portal?

Well, 150,000 GP, and you need a 17th level caster to make it. But that's Faerun material, I'm not aware that Eberron has something like that. Plus, people might definitely will object if I try to build a portal into the Mournlands next door. That place is shunned for a reason