Eberron - Rising from the Last War

(Joyce) #1

186


vehicles and grand melees in dramatic locations. Action
doesn't have to mean combat, but ensuring that the
world is in constant motion around the player characters
is a good way to keep their interest high.

KICKING OFF THE ACTION
When you begin an adventure with a bang, you catch the
characters up in the action right away, grabbing their
interest and sending them off on a wild ride. The Story
Kickoff table offers some action-packed ways to get
things moving.

STORY KICKOFF
d6 Event
On a quiet night, the tavern door bursts open and a
group of soldiers calls for one of the party members
by name.
2 An explosion rocks a market, sending things flying.
3 A vehicle crashes near the party: people are hurt
and need help, and whatever caused the crash is still
around somewhere.
4 Two groups of people start fighting each other, blood
is drawn, and bystanders are getting hurt.
5 Chanting words of the Draconic Prophecy, a dragon
appears and starts causing mayhem.
6 A tavern patron suddenly leaps up and attacks one of
the adventurers, scratching and biting in blind fury.

KEEPING THE ACTION GOING
"When in doubt, have a man come through a door with
a gun in his hand." Author Raymond Chandler offered
this advice to writers of hard-boiled fiction, but the ad­
vice applies just as well to an action-driven adventure.
Whenever the pace of the story lags, a new injection of
excitement keeps things moving.
A new arrival on the scene might be an integral part of
the plot or an independent event. The New Development
table presents some ideas.

NEW DEVELOPMENT
d8 Event
One or more minions of the adventure's primary vil­
lain arrive to put a stop to the party's meddling.
2 Someone else with the same goal as the party shows
up to get them out of the way.
3 Someone is out for revenge against the party for a
past wrong (perhaps something that happened in a
previous adventure).
4 Someone has a violent argument with an NPC in the
same room as the adventurers.
5 Someone wants a special item carried by one of the
characters.
6 A jealous person thinks one of the adventurers is
meddling with the person's romantic partner.
7 A person in love with the villain tries to stop the party
from interfering with the villain's business.
8 A monster bursts in looking for food.

CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES

INTRIGUE
Stories in the noir tradition tend to start slowly and
build gradually as the mystery gets deeper and more
convoluted, until the situation erupts in a climactic con­
frontation. In contrast to the pulse-pounding action of a
pulp adventure, noir typically relies on intrigue-in ev­
ery sense of the word-to keep the protagonists engaged
as they move deeper into the story.

SETTING THE STAGE
Putting a mystery in front of the characters at the very
start of the adventure sets the tone for what's ahead and
draws them in to the story. The Story Opening table of­
fers some ways to draw the characters into the mystery.

STORY OPENING
d6 Event

2

3

4

5

The party receives a detailed reading from a street
fortune-teller that lays out the start of the adventure.
A courier escorts the party to an elemental airship,
where a wealthy patron outlines their mission.
At an extravagant costume ball, a masked guest asks
for the party's help.
In a seedy section of town, the disguised heir of a
dragonmarked house approaches the characters with
an offer.
A homunculus delivers an anonymous letter that
contains an offer of employment, but no clue to the
author's identity.
6 A professor from Morgrave University reaches out to
one of the party members, a former student, to ask
an important favor.

'THE PLOT 'THICKENS
A key point in most intrigue adventures is a significant
plot twist. As you plan the trail of clues, events, and
interactions, consider a point where you can shake
things up with a twist like the ones shown on The Plot
Thickens table.

THE PLOT THICKENS
d8 Plot Twist
The apparent victim in the situation is actually the
villain.
2 A supposedly valuable object is actually worthless (or
vice versa).
3 A valuable object doesn't belong to the person who
claims to own it.
4 What's actually precious is not a work of art but
a map or other information hidden on it (inside a
statue, behind a painting in the frame, and so on).
5 Someone is in love with one of the party members, or
with the villain.
6 Someone is a relative of one of the party members.
7 A friend or former ally is working with the villain.
8 The initial plot is a distraction from the actual plot.
Free download pdf