AoW in Eberron: the XPs issue

[Bocklin]

Hi all,

I am not DMing the story in Eberron, but was wondering how those of you doing so were handling the issue.

Eberron is supposed to be this low-level world where the heroes are (nearly) the only one with straight PC class progressions and there are no known Epic level NPCs to save the day if things go awry. There are even some optional rules in "S:CoT" to handle games which gives less XPs to the heroes, so as to brake their progression and maintain the feeling.

On the other hand, the AoW is a pretty fast campaign catapulting beginners to Lvl 20 in less than a year of in-setting time.

So I was wondering how you were handling this: simply ignore it and go ahead with the AP as is? Stretch the timeline and space out the various AP modules with breaks and side trecks in between? Or something else?

Bocklin

[Jarrod]

Go with it. Mostly because the PCs enjoy being high level.

Eberron's weird, though. I get the distinct feeling there are Epic Level People (tm) around, just that you never hear about them. Heck, the kings never hear about them. Advisors... well, they probably do.

There are some seriously nasty bad guys (Rajahs, Daelkyr, Quori), and I would expect some big guns to keep them sealed away should anyone get the idea of letting them out. Heck, the entire Age of Worms is really just someone trying to let Kyuss out. So either a lucky group of PCs goes 20 each time this happens, or there are high-level PCs out there that stop them.

... you just never hear about 'em.

[Golbez57]

We're creating the hereos for our Age of Worms game tonight.

With three players, we're going to try the gestalt rules.

Like our other ongoing Eberron campaign, the PCs will be THE heroes of the world. Sure, they'll rise from humble beginnings, but it'll soon become clear to those with whom they interact--and those who study the Draconic Prophecy--that these individuals who are quickly developing extraordinary abilities are destined for great things.

To make the Adventure Path more Eberron-esque, I'll be retooling some NPCs to have levels in NPC rather than PC classes. For instance, the Clerics of Diamond Lake are likely to become Adepts.

The biggest challenge I see in my future is Alhaster, where many of the townsfolk are intended to be threatening, but there are altogether too many mid-level Fighters for a port-of-call in the Lhazaar Principalities. Zeech, Lashonna, and the Blessed Angels are fine, and the one surly hobgoblin will be okay, too, but I don't want tavernkeeps whose skills are on par with the celebrated hero-king of Breland, heheh.

[Russell Jones]

My Eberron party is finished with the Champion's Belt and taking on Ilthane this Friday. So far the relatively low level of their surrounding NPCs isn't that big of a deal, they just realize there's very little support in the way of high-level spells that they can gain access to. For that purpose, a few of the players have joined groups that give them such access, like the Esoteric Order of Aureon.

As for the Alhaster problem, I believe the general idea for Eberron is that it's one of the Lahazaar Principalities, a pirate kingdom. As such, many of its residents have likely seen more action and adventure than Joe Commoner, but I would feel free cutting a few NPCs' levels to keep the overall balance. The weaker the people living in Alhaster, the more likely the PCs may feel to champion their plights.