[Eberron] Wandering Eye Inquisitives: An Eberron Campaign Teaser


Recruitment

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“I needed a drink,
I needed a lot of life insurance,
I needed a vacation,
I needed a home in the country.
What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun.”
(Farewell, My Lovely)

Hello! The holidays are an exceptionally bad time to start a game, but possibly a great time to garner interest in one, so here goes!

I've been working on a game set in the city of Sharn in Eberron. The PCs will play as inquisitives, or private investigators, in a campaign that's pulpy, noir, and somewhat episodic. Enemies will include street gangs, foreign spies, powerful cults, and corporate interests. I plan to have a good mixture of combat and investigative work in this game.

Attached is a super-brief primer I've written up for those unfamiliar with the setting. It's got links to a few outside sources, including the Eberron Wiki and a Pathfinder conversion, as well as a lot of fluff for the setting and some images I thought worked well for it.

Note: This is not a recruitment thread. That will be later. Recruitment will probably be up the last week of December or first week of January, and until then, I'll be around to answer questions regarding the setting and type of game, but I haven't finalized character creation yet. It'll probably be pre-posted as an additional teaser in this thread, and will certainly be with the official recruitment.

Wandering Eye Primer


Super interested, have been trying to get into an Eberron game for a while.


This is interesting.


Is there metaphorical room in Khorvaire for Pathfinder-style changelings, in addition to Eberron-styled ones? Your mention of Droaam reminded me of that.


I always wanted to play a Warforged. Never got the chance. This could be fun.


I'm certainly interested.


Eww Eberron...my favorite setting ever... Sharn and pulp noir setting sounds very tasty.

I'd be interested if you keep this game mainly to PF rules.


From the top!

@All: Glad to see there's interest!

@Redblade: I haven't yet finalized my character creation. That being said, I like the Golarion changeling too, and there's certainly room in the world for them. Let's change the name and they'd work just fine. Hag-born? Something like that?

@Alex Mack: Yeah, I was going to run PF rules, plus conversions for some of the Eberron races, Artificer, and feats. I don't want to re-learn 3.5, even if it's not that different than PF.


Demon Lurking wrote:
I always wanted to play a Warforged. Never got the chance. This could be fun.

As have I though I have a Shifter which has now gone through two defunct Eberron games here on the boards. Bad luck character, perhaps it is time to retire him!

I would probably submit a Warforged but what class I don't know yet. Guess we will see what the DM comes up with for character creation rules! :-)


Eberron is a wonderful setting. It deserves much more love.

@Shadow, I've had a few characters like that. Some have killed both online and in-person games.

Dark Archive

Dotting this for interest. I never did get to play in Eberron though I own ALL the 3.5 books, just in case it ever came up.


Oh hai, Xynen!


Me likey.


i am always down for eberron, i am on the quest to make an artificer that makes himself a warforged, i have yet to succeed at doing so except in games that start high enough that he already did it!


Tenro wrote:
i am always down for eberron, i am on the quest to make an artificer that makes himself a warforged, i have yet to succeed at doing so except in games that start high enough that he already did it!

I had a player in FR attempting that same idea! He dropped out before he could progress very far with it though.


not sure it makes sense in FR, though I am not all that familiar with FR


Big ol' interest dot. Got a few ideas bouncing around already...

Grand Lodge

Dot. Dot. Dot.


Tenro wrote:
not sure it makes sense in FR, though I am not all that familiar with FR

Yeah, I brought the Warforged into FR via Gnome Tinkers.


I am definitely interested. I spotted this as I was considering posting about running an Eberron campaign myself, lol.


mittean wrote:
I am definitely interested. I spotted this as I was considering posting about running an Eberron campaign myself, lol.

Don't let this thread stop you from running an Eberron campaign :-)


Oh, I won't. I've been planning it for awhile. Hopefully GM Aest and I can build off of each other, making both recruitment threads and both games even better. :)


Eberron Pathfinder? Call me interested! Got any problem with a Gnoll PC?
=)


I have posted my campaign as well. :) In case people don't get in this campaign.


@He'sDeadJim: I think I'll do a teaser on my vision for the game first, but I'll include races in it. I'll work on that today so it's what I want it to be.


Dot. I've got a pretty solid idea for Eberron, as well.

Shadow Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I love Eberron, would love to be a part of this.


GM Aest wrote:

@He'sDeadJim: I think I'll do a teaser on my vision for the game first, but I'll include races in it. I'll work on that today so it's what I want it to be.

Since this is Eberron are you using the rules for Psionics Unleashed or the new Occult book? Or both somehow? Neither?


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@Karmid: I'm planning on using the new Occult book and doing some minor conversion of the Kalashtar race to allow for more synergy to make up for it.


I would not mind playing a Shifter barbarian, going into Weretouched master.


Hey GM:

I read your primer and am very interested in applying.

When I first read the recruitment post, I thought the game premise would be too restrictive and everyone would be playing 'an inquisitive' and tripping all over everyone else. However, now I see that the game will allow for some sort of diversity (I still don't know how to incorporate the Silver Flame yet :().

I'm thinking you are trying to form some sort of 'A-Team' or 'Leverage', correct?

So a couple of questions:

- what are your posting expectations (quality and frequency); and
- will the PCs start at 1st level or will they be somewhat 'experienced'?.

Thanks for hosting an Eberron game!

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Definitely interested here, been a longtime fan of Eberron (in fact, my first time in the DM's seat was running an Eberron game using the Alpha playtest rules for PF!). A psychic or psychic detective appeals to me (maybe a human with Sarlonan ancestry or a kalashtar), but so does playing someone with ties to Arcanix or House Lyrandar (maybe a raincaller?). Can't wait to see the recruitment thread go up!


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Themes:
A World With Prejudice: There’s certainly going to be tension between the different races of Eberron, whether it’s anti-warforged sentiment, mistrust of changelings, or the feeling that Shifters are stupid savages. I encourage you to be aware of those sentiments when you’re building your characters’ backgrounds.

High-Paced, Kick in the Door Play: That doesn’t necessarily mean a high posting rate, but it does mean that there won’t be a lot of downtime in-game. That’s not to say it won’t happen, and there will be opportunities to explore the city, but for the most part, we’ll be rolling from one adventure to the next. Within adventures, if the pace seems to be slowing from a lack of clues or similar, I’ll do what I can to move things along, often with something to fight.

Film Noir Detective Work: My vision for this game is less “Sherlock Holmes” and more “Tracer Bullet” from Calvin and Hobbes. It’s not always going to be possible to have all the clues before action moves along, and improvisation is going to be as important as information.

Posting Expectations and Etiquette:
Frequency: In my marathon games, which this is going to be one of, I generally put up between 4 and 9 posts/week. I don’t like to make a commitment to a post every day, but I do expect that people will be at least reading everything and making sure they post if they can.

Quality: My most successful game, by far, is my Kingmaker game, and I’m going to try to take some lessons from it. I’m not asking for a novel every time you post, but every post needs to either interact with the scene or with another character in a meaningful way. ”I hit the orc with my sword.” isn’t enough. Show how you’re hitting the orc. The same goes for out-of-combat posts. Give some idea of what your character is doing with his or her body while he’s talking.

Etiquette: The Gameplay thread is for gameplay posts, and the Discussion thread is for everything else. A little out of character joke is fine in Gameplay, but keep the chatter to its place. Finally, feel free to chat about anything you want in Discussion. That means anything. I really enjoy the chatter, and getting to know my players.

@Other Questions: If I didn't answer them above, it means I'm still thinking about them.


I'm thinking either a Gnoll (if allowed) or Warforged...maybe a Psychic or a Magus?

Dark Archive

It would be nice to have a bit of real prejudice between the various races so I'm glad you mentioned that. I find that aside from a distatse for gnomes, most pathfinder races are pretty accepting of one another right from the start.


GM Aest wrote:

Themes:

Posting Expectations and Etiquette:...

Thank you for the prompt responses.

How about some religious prejudice? Would a Silver Flame zealot be a deal breaker for the group or would the RP opportunities just be something to be embraced?

Although lots of ideas running through my head, some of them will not work within the confines of the city of Sharn (Talenta halfling hunter with dino companion, half-orc (or orc) druid from the Shadow Marches, elvish dervish dancer from Valenar, abyssal blood-tainted bloodrager from the Demon Wastes, etc.).

How about a 'true, silver-blooded, Thrane patriot', sick and tired of fighting Karrnathi undead, who comes to Sharn to spread the Truth? I'm not sure what class he would be yet (paladin, inquisitor, warpriest with sacred fist archetype, ?) but he would live to root out evil in all its forms. Oh and also to make sure those shifters behave. One should never trust those people/animals; who knows when they'll revert back to their evil ways? :)

Please let me know if this concept would be considered and I'll continue to develop him further.

Game on!


My submission will be a Warforged Inquisitor.


@Xynen: There's not really a whole lot of unusual prejudice between the core races, other than tensions over jobs and stuff. The biggest ones are the Warforged, which a lot of people don't see as more than machines that are there to steal their jobs and conspire with evil in the Mournland, and the Changelings, because how can you trust something whose very nature is to lie to you? Then there's the goblinoids, who face mistrust both because of Droaam's occupation of a lot of formerly Brelish land and because they're, well, not really humanoid.

@Fabien: I'll address alignment and deities tonight or tomorrow.

@He'sDeadJim: See Fabien's post, but about Races and Classes.

@Storyteller: Warforged Inquisitor shouldn't pose any problems.


I've been debating the merits of a Warforged Investigator vs. a Warforged Artificer. They're similar classes with slightly different feels.

Dark Archive

Oh I know the prejudice is not with every race, but my submission is probably going to be some form of Shifter who uses the reputation of his/her kind to their advantage.

Still working out the specifics of class/ shifter trait etc., but it's fun to be able to explore that angle in a setting that set's it up nicely.

Shadow Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber

I'm really excited that you'll be using Occult Adventures in lieu of Psionics. It's a fantastic system for investigation/noir style of play, and I love its mechanics. I'm eager to see what changes you make to the Kalashtar, since I might very well play one of them.

I'm bouncing a lot of ideas around, but it will undoubtedly be something Occult.

One thought was a Kalashtar Id Rager, using the race's powerful connection to dreams to draw strength from the raw emotions of dreams themselves.

Another thought was a Sha'ir Occultist - Eberron loves binding elemental spirits into devices as a power source, and this inventive binder uses elementals bound to specially-crafted coins to power a number of magical abilities.

I've also always been a fan of Dragonmarks. Would those feats be available for our characters?

Dark Archive

A thought occurred to me that the ability shift only 1/day regardless of level as a shifter is kind of a relic from 3.5, and especially since pathfinder seems to be tuned toward a bit more power I was wondering if you'd consider an alteration to the shift ability?

I was thinking maybe it could work similarly to the Pathfinder Barbarians rage. Maybe you can shift for rounds equal to half character level (min 1) + (Ability Bonus connected with your shift) per day. So a beasthide shifter would count rounds based on CON modifier and a longstride shifter would use his DEX.

The way it works now, a level 8 shifter has a potential to shift for 16 rounds 1/day but if combat ends prematurely all that is wasted, whereas with the above change, the rounds are fewer but can be used throughout the day, which to me at least seems more in line with the idea of the race.

Obviously just an idea, no offense if you say: "Well Xynen that's crazy." Just figured I'd throw it out there and see what you think.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Oh lord. You sure know how to tempt a girl. I shouldn't start any more games, but you're an amazing GM and this looks like a great setting.

Hmm


I'm keeping my eye on this one. I love Eberron and I'd love to give a pulpy noir adventure a shot.

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

I've decided that when recruitment begins, I'll be submitting a character whose background is in investigative journalism. Maybe he was a correspondent during the Last War for the Sharn Inquisitive or the Korranberg Chronicle? Not sure yet. I'm leaning towards a human psychic (abomination discipline) whose ancestors were immigrants from Riedra; maybe his psyche is the prison for an evil quori spirit that manifests itself as his dark half...!

Let me know if that is too far afield from the tone that you're interested in.


Looks like a really cool idea for a campaign. I'm thinking of putting together a mesmerist spy who since the war has worked for the Sharn city guard, recently having had a falling out with his superiors due to a sudden attack of conscience, and is now going into business as an inquisitor.

Or, similarly a brawler war hero turned muscle for the guard, who's just severed his ties after an attack of conscience.

Either could work with a pulp noir feel.


I sketched out a Background for my concept, Warforged and the Divine have an interesting relationship never really looked into it before, should be an interesting submission :-)

Shadow Lodge

*whistles*

That is a very sexy primer. kudos to you. Probably won't join but I was interested enough to take a look.


In order!

@Everyone: Busy time of year. May not have another teaser today or tomorrow, because it's Christmas. Sorry. The next one will be basic character creation.

@Fabien: The Silver Flame zealot could be a suitable character. The one concern would be building a character that can encounter the monster gang Daask and not immediately try to wipe them off the map. It's a big city, and things do happen, but massive pointless violence is still punishable by, well, punishment. Alternatively, there's places for all those character concepts you're not sure about in Sharn (just some of them might fit the flavor of the game less than others).

@He'sDeadJim: I'm going to say no to Gnolls. Their overall culture and psychology is just too violent, even in a setting like Eberron where rules get bent.

@The Morphling: Either of those two concepts seem solid for what I have in mind. Of the two, I'm more intrigued by the Occultist, but that's based exclusively on what you've written so far.

@Xynen: On the surface, I don't have a problem with that proposed change. It does seem like a relic from 3.5 times. I'll have to think about the implications of changing it. Maybe a fatigued state on exiting it?

@Hmm: *Waves*

@Mikael Sebag: Cool concept. The background in journalism would be a fun one, going into inquisitive work.

@Fighting Chicken: The Sharn Watch would be a good place for a character to have a conscience attack.


GM Aest wrote:


@He'sDeadJim: I'm going to say no to Gnolls. Their overall culture and psychology is just too violent, even in a setting like Eberron where rules get bent.

I understand completely...and its your game, so no arguments here. My idea was to go with someone who grew up in the underbelly of Sharn in a gang (not a tribe or clan) and became someone's faithful companion (a Chewbacca to someone else's Han Solo) with useful investigative contacts and a gnoll's heightened senses. OR a reincarnated human who just happens to be a Gnoll now.

But a Warforged works too. I have always felt they were an under-used race.
=)

Merry Christmas!

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