Eberron - Rising from the Last War

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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.