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[D&D-5E] Eberron: Shadows of the Last War
Zonugal
(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User, Transition Team regular
(He/Him) The Holiday ArmadilloI'm Santa's representative for all the southern states. And Mexico!Registered User, Transition Team regular
"This adventure takes place in Sharn, the City of Towers. It begins, as many incidents in the City of Towers do, with a corpse. A warforged assassin, a mysterious blank book, and an offer from a House Cannith heir leads the adventurers into the depths of Sharn - eventually to an ancient ruin dating back to before the creation of the Kingdom of Galifar. Along the way, if the adventurers are successful, they recover a lost schema - a part of a pattern used by artificers to craft magic items. They also learn that many different agencies are interested in this relic, including those loyal to the various House Cannith elders and agents of the infamous Lord of Blades."
This campaign will follow a group of adventurers as they advance through a series of different quests, missions, challenges, and adventures within the world of Eberron. The first of such quests is 2004's The Forgotten Forge.
HOUSE-RULES
The following are house-rules I am implementing in my campaign setting:
-- Critical hits in combat deal the maximum amount per the initial weapon’s damage die as well as a second roll of said damage die (ex: if you rolled a critical hit with a knife [1d4], you would deal 4+1d4 damage to your opponent).
-- Unarmed attacks are considered legal for utilizing sneak attacks.
-- There are no penalties, such as a critical flaw, for rolling a natural 1 in & outside of combat.
-- There are no bonuses, such as a critical success, for rolling a natural 20 outside of combat.
OPERATION OF THE GAME
This game will be run as a Play-By-Post and as such I'm implementing some adjustments/measures to facilitate this medium.
-- The first is that combat rounds will happen "instantaneously." To save us the laborious time of having to go through everyone's combat actions in their initiative order, I am making each combat round happen "all-at-once" in a sense. What this will look like is prior to the beginning of the first round of combat (and then at the end of each subsequent round of combat), each character will put in their battle-commands. When all battle-commands have been put in, I will roll a new batch of initiative scores and play out everyone's battle-commands. What a sample battle-command might look like is:
D&D Player wrote:Battle-Command: Krunk the Half-Orc Barbarian plans to swing his battle-axe at the skeleton in front of him (+5 atk; 1d10+3).
Back-Up Battle-Command: Should the skeleton move away, Krunk will attack (if granted an opportunity attack). Should the skeleton still be standing, on Kunk's turn he will pursue the skeleton to attack or attack the closest hostile enemy near him (if the skeleton is destroyed or out of Krunk's combat reach for this turn).
Not only will this replicate the chaos of combat but my dearest hope is it will speed up combat for everyone involved. This will also afford me the opportunity to narrate what the entire round of combat looked like, in a narrative sense.
For out-of-combat actions performed, the preferred format will look something like this:
D&D Player wrote:Seeing the Halfling Bard's silver tongue turn to lead, Krunk decides to try his turn at negotiations through intimidation.
Krunk: "If you don't hand over that treasure map, you'll be eating your fingers in a hot minute."
OoC Command: Krunk the Half-Orc Barbarian intimidates the smuggler (Strength (Intimidation) +5).
CHARACTER CREATION
The Eberron Campaign Setting is one which favors the growth of lower-level heroes as they grow into world-known heroes. In terms of planning out a character mechanically, don’t expect any to ever get past twelfth-level.
In terms of stats or attributes, characters in the game are built in accordance with the standard array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8.
Characters are also designed through a combination of their combination of your race, background, and the class your character has for their first character level. These three choices all reflect on your initial ability score increases. Any such combinations are allowed, with the only provision being the prohibition of increasing any single ability score by +3 (so for example you could allot yourself +1 Int/+1 Dex/+1 Wis, or +2 Int/+1 Dex, but not +3 Int).
RACES
This campaign will feature races homebrewed by myself. This decision came as a result of two reasons: the first is that I have chosen to have every character receive a 1st-level feat. This obviously devalues the variant Human, so I had to redesign them in accordance with that campaign choice. The second is that the standard races, as presented in 5E’s Player Handbook, don’t exactly match-up well with their racial counterparts in the Eberron campaign setting. For example, there is no such thing as Tinker Gnomes in Eberron, so the Rock Gnome sub-race just doesn’t fit.
The races I have redesigned are:
-- Changelings
-- Dragonborn
-- Elves
-- Gnomes
-- Goblinoids
-- Half-Elves
-- Half-Orcs
-- Halflings
-- Humans
-- Kalastar
-- Lizardfolk
-- Orcs
-- Shifters
-- Warforged
If you would like to play a race not listed, just ask me and I can take a look at redesigning them to mechanically fit into the campaign setting.
ADDITIONAL CHARACTER CREATION RESOURCES
-- BACKGROUNDS
-- FEATS
-- EBERRON CAMPAIGN LORE
If you are interested, just post below with INTERESTED! I'm looking for four to five players maximum.
Zonugal on
+2
Posts
CAMPAIGN LEDGER
Players//Characters
-- Cello: Pierce (a Warforged Bard)
-- Centipede Damascus: John Merchant (a Half-Orc Monk)
-- jdarksun: Gator (a Shifter Ranger)
-- See317: Faber Ferrarius (a Warforged Forge Cleric)
-- AustinP0027: Lewkosh (a Kalastar Paladin)
Previous Players//Characters
-- Sneaks: Owenn Kemble (a Halfling Rogue)
-- Tox: Zedaar (a Dragonborn Fighter)
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Edit: Do you have a link to your redesigned races?
Eberron is great.
@see317, its embedded in the RACES header in the thread's first post.
Is anybody not planning to play a high-Cha character? I feel like I tend to see a lot of those
Though, I'm also liking the idea of going for a fighter/artificer multiclass.
Sorry @Sneaks, but seven is one too many for this airship...
@zonugal thinking about it more I'm already in another PbP on these boards and I probably shouldn't commit to another, so I'll withdraw
I'll give you guys a week to create your characters and to establish the following:
-- Your characters need to have a Personality Trait, Ideal, Bond, & Flaw as described in your background. I'm fine with you creating your own (as long as it works with the theme of the background) but I'd like everyone to have those four cemented for their character.
-- You all need to work together and decide why you would all be together. Perhaps you were all soldiers in the same company during the Last War and decided to stick together afterward? Maybe you're all from the same guild and have been working as a mobile-office of coworkers? Maybe you're all childhood friends who started a private investigation business? Its up to you guys, you just need a concrete reason why you're all traveling/working together.
-- This adventure begins in Sharn, the City of Towers. You need to determine why you (individually and/or collectively) are in Sharn, how long you've been here, and what you're doing in the city.
I hope you the best!
@Sneaks, you're back in if you want?
I do want! Thank you! And thank you very much, @Tynnan !
Per the Korth Edicts:
Just something to keep in mind that if your character is part of a Dragonmark family they can be aristocratic, but they aren't a true noble in any legal way.
Part One: Death In The Upper City
They say if you can make it in Sharn, you can make it anywhere... Located atop a cliff above the mouth of the Dagger River in southern Breland, The City of Towers is the most populated city in all of Khorvaire (and likely all of Eberron). Formerly a Goblin city called Ja'Shaarat, it was destroyed when the Daelkyr invaded Eberron. Thousands of year later, the site would be re cultivated through the efforts of Malleon the Reaver and his explorers from Sarlona. Enslaving the destitute goblins, the rubble was renamed Sharn. Destroyed once again as a result of the War of the Mark, the current version of Sharn you call home is in its third revision (thanks to the efforts of Galifer I).
Your adventure begins at around 3 a.m. within the Upper Menthis Plateau. You all smell of cheap ale and spicy cider, all though that isn't to say you have spent the night drinking. Having come together since the Last War concluded two years ago, you've established a minor investigative service, operated out of a corner of The Broken Anvil (a small tavern located in Mason's Tower). Gator (a Shifter Ranger) and Owenn Kemble (a Halfling Rogue), after legally escaping prison decided to go into business together helping the less unfortunate from ending up behind the same bars they shared for far too long. Pulled into detective work are two Warforged. One clothed in smithing gear & a heavy sense of devotion, Faber Ferrarius (a Warforged Forge Cleric) has found a kinship with the two investigators (and the side money helps in their research into the fundamental truths pertaining to the constructed soul). The other is flamboyant, ostentatious, and lacking in any attempt at subtely, painted in gold. This particular Warforged is Pierce (a Warforged Bard), a soldier from the Eldeen Reaches. Designed to rally her compatriots, Pierce has decided this operation is in need of an "official figure-head" and has volunteered her talents at "guiding" this small troupe towards "heroic" ends. Dragging along Zedaar (a Dragonborn Fighter), who she fought alongside in during the Last War, Zedaar has found good money as the muscle of the group. As for John Merchant (a Half-Orc Monk), the urban brawler? As a bouncer for The Broken Anvil, he occasionally dabbles in business dealings with this unsavory lot. Keeps life interesting, and what is life without something new to do? John Merchant speaks on your behalf to his bosses as The Broken Anvil and allows you to operate out of it (for a very minor tax to the establishment). This business arrangement is cultivated by the fact that you also help in flipping chairs & cleaning up the tavern after closing. A routine that was practiced this very evening. You have just helped Merchant in closing up the tavern and now shoot the shit as you walk home collectively as a group.
Curtains of water fall from the sky as you traverse the labyrinthine walkways of Sharn back towards where each of you call home. The stone and wooden paths wind around and between the towers and spires high above the ground, forming a complex latticework that can be very confusing on evenings such as this. The rain falls hard, running off higher walkways and balconies in drenching waves, making it difficult to see much more than a few feet ahead of you. The distant glow of everbright lanterns, barely visible in the soaking gloom, does little to light the paths on this warm, wet evening.
At the current moment you're all entangled in a deep debate over what you all think may have caused the Day of Mourning, a popular topic to theorize about ever since it happened four years ago.
@Cello, @Centipede Damascus, @jdarksun, @See317, @Sneaks, & @Tox engage in small light discourse than give me a Wisdom (Perception) rolls through the forums (which I think is "1d20+x</roll"???)
“…You don’t need a conspiracy to explain someone terrified making a mistake.” It was audible—even over the downpour—but not insistent. They’d all had this discussion before and they’d probably have it again.
The halfling had been moving from awning to awning to stay out of the rain… but the street had just run out of them. He grimaced, then removed his jacket to hold over his head as he dashed ahead, looking for the next piece of architectural cover.
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Perception
"It certainly seems likely that it was desperate experimentation gone awry, and clearly someone got reckless, since the obliteration of an entire nation in a single flash of light hardly seems like a desirable outcome. even for the attackers. It hardly benefits anyone to reduce a nation to the current state of Cyre.
The real question is what they were researching or experimenting on. Such a release of power, of sheer transformative energy...
If it could be harnessed, controlled, directed... It could reshape the foundations of the world."
His voice trails off in contemplation of the possibilities of such power focused into productive ends.
Geth roll 1d20+3 for perception
"Mistake's one thing. Covering it up's another." He said, a hint of judgement in his voice. "A man takes responsibility."
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Perception
"Ah....yes! I agree with John. He has the right of it. Responsibility! How thrilling!"
Geth roll 1d20+2 for Perception
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"How does one even take responsibility for such destruction? It's one thing to mistakenly trample a farm, or even poorly aim a cannon. But a whole city? Even if you survived the thing, what restitution do you offer?"
Geth roll 1d20+2 for Perception
Faber Ferrarius
The rest of you remain entangled in discourse, as you proceed along the skybridge's pathway. This far up in the City of Knives, few surprises leap out at you but at this time of night. The skybridge ahead spans the distance between platforms attached to the sides of two different towers—Dalannan Tower and the Kelsa Spire. A body lies on the floor of the bridge, and you can see a mixture of rain and blood pooling around it. A leather satchel, still clutched tightly in the body’s hand, lies in the expanding puddle of water and gore.
@Cello, @Centipede Damascus, @jdarksun, @See317, @Sneaks, & @Tox, what will each of you now do?
Just a reminder of Out-of-Combat command format:
ALSO, I AM IMPLEMENTING A HASTE MECHANIC FOR THE GAME. IF YOU DON'T POST WITHIN 12 HOURS OF A DM'S POST, I WILL MOVE FORWARD AS IF YOU HAD ABSTAINED FROM ROLLING/PERFORMING AN ACTION.
Faber: "Fellow gentle beings, is that a common occurrence in this city? It's not been my experience, but I am a fairly recent arrival... I saw a cloaked figure jump over the edge of the bridge there.
OoC Command: Faber approaches and checks the body to see if it's too late for anything to be done.
Geth roll 1d20+5 for medicine check
Jacket still in hand, Owenn ran to where Faber had indicated and peered through the sheets of rain into the night. As he quickly became drenched, the halfling realized that what he was doing was futile… but he didn’t let that stop him.
OOC Command: Owenn moves to the edge of the bridge and looks for the escaping figure.
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Perception
‘Damn,’ he grimaced to himself. He turned, wiping the water from his face (for a moment, anyway) and looking to Faber to confirm what he already suspected: ‘We just missed a murder.’
Owenn Kemble peers down over the edge of the bridge but sees only darkness that swallows the lowest street levels of Sharn. With the rain, discerning anything more is beyond his initial capacity.
Pierce rushes towards the body, eager to find clues as well. She looks to the immediate area to determine if any hints to the attacker's identity were left behind.
OOC Command: Pierce moves closer to the body and looks at its surroundings.
Geth roll 1d20+1 for Perception
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OoC Command Faber joins Owenn at the edge of the bridge, placing a shielding hands above his eyes, peers into the darkness after the cloaked figure trying to pick up on any traces they may have left.
Geth roll 1d20+3 for eyes in the dark
OoC Command John walks over next to the body and squats down to get a closer look at the corpse's face, looking to see if they are familiar.
Geth roll 1d20+4 for Perception
OOC Command: Gator joins the other two on the bridge, and prepares to give chase to the figure - if Faber can point it out.
OoC Command: Zed scans the area on this side of the bridge, and back the way they came, searching for any additional clues, staying within a couple dozen feet of his team.
Geth roll 1d20+0 for Investigation (searching for clues)
John Merchant looks upon the face of the elderly man and tries to summon where he might know him. Where... He's seen him... Somewhere... AHH!!! Morgrave University!
Joining Owenn on the edge of the bridge, Faber Ferrarius examines the edge of the walk-way but sees very little what with the commotion of hard rain. But Faber does seem to hear the smallest routine. A quiet clank, clank, clank in a sort of rushed rhythm. And down at Faber's feet he spots the most minor of impact tremors in a small puddle.
Zed joins Pierce in looking for clues around the victim. He steps on the loose papers that were thrown aside and immediately focuses his attention on obviously the most important clue: the wrapped apple.
“Gator,” he began, purposefully marching up to the others gathered around the corpse. “Could you ask around in the nearby shops if anybody saw this guy alive recently? I’d do it, but…” Owenn cast his eyes skyward, and heaved a great sigh into the rain. He was not looking forward to what came next. “…One of us is gonna have to get the Watch involved, and I think it should be me. I think—I hope—that I can keep them from hanging this on us. I know it’s a risk: the Watch isn’t known for doing anything but what’s expedient, and we’re here now. But we’ll all be worse off in the long run if we don’t get them involved right away.”
Owenn scanned the faces of the others, looking for the one among them that would have the fewest objections to dealing with so-called law enforcement. “Pierce,” he said after a moment. “I’d appreciate having you with me for that, if you’re amenable. Gator… or anyone who wants to canvas the shops: you shouldn’t go alone either.”
OOC Command: Owenn gives the area a cursory glance to notice the more obvious leads on who the victim was, most notably the journal. If he notices it, he’ll pick it up, hand it to one of the others, and suggest they get it out of the rain. Either way, he’ll head to either the nearest busy area or the nearest visibly open and occupied building in an effort to flag down or contact the Watch.
Geth roll 1d20+5 for Investigation
Hopping one foot over the corpse to meet the other, Pierce launches towards and past Owenn into what feels like the direction a Watch lookout would be. Suddenly, she pauses; turning in Zed's direction, she calls, "Excellent work, Zed, of course! Do not forget to ask the local fruit sellers for what they know. A conspiracy may be afoot!"
OOC Command: Pierce blithely ignores the remaining clues and agrees to accompany Owenn to speak with the Guard. When Owenn decides to depart, so will she.
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Faber: Does anyone else hear that?
OoC : Can I get some clarification as to what Faber hears? Is this a clank clank clank like a poorly made wind chime? Is it more like a person running into the darkness in armor? A mechanical sounds like an over-sized clock or some kind of gear engine?
Does it sound like it's moving towards the party or away?
CLANK, CLANK, CLANK
Owenn grabs the journal. Its cover carries the image of a stylized anvil and hammer inside a circle.
CLANK, CLANK, CLANK
While examining the cover of the journal Owenn steps on the small pouch, loosening it open to reveal 10 silver pieces and 2 gold pieces as they slowly roll across the ground. One gold coin dances all the way to the other side of the walk-way where it stops at a wet foot.
A storm-wracked stranger stands, artificial eyes fixated on the journal in Owenn's grasp. Having just climbed across the under-side of the walk-way, the menacing intruder reveals a blood-stained battle-axe from underneath his weathered cloak. She bears the mark of Karrnath on her brow and a furious look upon her iron face.
"THE JOURNAL. GIVE IT HERE, LITTLE ONE. SAVE YOURSELF FROM WHAT MAY BE SET UPON YOU. THE JOURNAL, TOSS IT OVER, NOW."
Am I able to tell if Cutter's axe is a weapon capable of inflicting the wounds on the body?