Eberron - Rising from the Last War

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BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES

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ET YOUR OWN EBERRON ADVENTURES UP AND
running using the inspiration in this chap­
ter. Eberron is filled with political intrigue,
extraplanar threats, magical mysteries, and
back-alley detective work-all in the context
of a world emerging from the turmoil of war.
The tables and advice in this chapter expand on the
material in chapter 3 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.
Think of this chapter as an extensive library of ideas­
villainous schemes, interesting locations, adventure
hooks, encounters, and more-to help you flesh out an
adventure you create for your Eberron campaign.
This chapter begins with a look at three key themes
that pervade many Eberron adventures: recurring
villains, action, and intrigue. Following that overview
is an in-depth look at various organizations and other
elements you can use to drive the adventures you create.
Such elements include maps of locations that can serve
as thrilling set pieces; information on the planes of
existence, elemental-powered airships, and the lightning
rail; and an introductory adventure set in Sharn.
Specific monsters and nonplayer characters (NPCs)
mentioned in this chapter can be found either in the
Monster Manual or in chapter 6 of this book. When a
creature's name appears in bold type, that's a visual cue
pointing you to the creature's stat block in the Monster
Manual or in chapter 6. If the stat block appears in chap­
ter 6, the text tells you so.

ADVENTURE THEMES

A group of adventurers leaves the dark, rainy city, put­
ting its mean streets behind them. They board a flame­
ringed airship for a journey across the continent, but
they're attacked by wyvern-riding bandits on the way
and must fight for their lives as the airship hurtles to­
ward the ground!
After surviving the crash through a combination of
quick thinking and heroic effort, they find themselves
stranded in the gray mists of the Mournland, facing the
dangers of a war-ravaged land as they try to find their
way back to their original destination. The greatest hor­
rors they are about to face might be the ones that lurk in
the depths of their own hearts.
As discussed in the introduction to this book, pulp
adventure and noir intrigue are two major themes that
interlace in Eberron. Weaving these themes together,
or exploring either one in isolation, can give Eberron
stories a unique feel. Adventures that take advantage
of those themes help to reinforce a sense of place,
immersing the players (and you) in a world that is still
reeling from the effects of a hundred years of war, that

is shaped by modern ideas and aesthetics, and that is
set apart from the rest of the D&D multiverse by a magi­
cal barrier.
This section is an introduction to those themes, de­
signed to help you tell stories that fit well in Eberron. It
explores techniques for making compelling recurring
villains, and for keeping the action moving over the
course of an adventure. It discusses how to use the Last
War as a theme and a setting for adventures, and details
the Mournland as an adventure location. It goes on to
describe adventures and encounters that can occur in
transit-on airships, on lightning rails, and at resting
spots along the way. Finally, this section discusses the
role that creatures typically defined as "monsters" play
in Khorvaire, and explores Eberron's cosmology.

RECURRING VILLAINS ������������


The most effective villains are the ones that return, over
and over, to plague their heroic nemeses. When the he­
roes foil the schemes of an evil mastermind, the clever
villain escapes to fight another day. A well-developed
recurring villain can put a face to the sinister conspir­
acies that lurk in the darkness and thus strengthen the
players' sense of immersion in the world.
You can make a recurring villain in your campaign
more intriguing by introducing moral ambiguity into the
villain's background, possibly through references to the
individual's experiences during the Last War.

How TO KEEP VILLAINS ALIVE
The first task in crafting a good recurring villain is
ensuring that the villain survives a first encounter with
the adventurers in order to come back and plague them
again. What follows are some tactics to make sure that
even the most resourceful characters can't dispose of
your villain at the first possible opportunity.
Have Lackeys Do the Work. A villain can easily post­
pone that first face-to-face confrontation with the ad­
venturers by having lackeys soften the party up, all the
while making sure that the adventurers know whom
they work for-thus enhancing the villain's reputation.
Use All Available Resources. A smart villain, espe­
cially one with access to magic, can put a lot of obsta­
cles in the way of an adventuring party. Mechanical
and magical traps, wards against divination, and pro­
tective magic items are just a few of the security mea­
sures available to a resourceful villain. Keep in mind
that reports from surviving lackeys-and news about
the adventurers from other sources-can give the vil­
lain enough information about the party's capabilities
to prepare appropriate countermeasures.

CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES
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