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Beware, spoilers ahead.
The first is in issue #138 - Urban Decay. The blurb says that it's about a wererat plotting to destroy the city. Can someone clue me in on HOW the wererat is doing so? Is it a general "just bite as many people as I can/poison the water supply" type deal, or is it more involved or unique than that? I'm trying to run a mystery campaign, and so I'm looking for something a little more involved than "Kick in the door and kill the monster" style.
Also, are there any interesting cinematic events in the story? For instance like it taking place in a burning building, or the climactic fight on a slippery bridge or something? Anything really that can be ported over for use elsewhere.
"Urban Decay" is definitely an investigative scenario. Basically, some wererats have taken over the garbage collector' and sewer-workers' guilds, and are in the process of taking over the ratcatchers' guild. They're letting the filth pile up in the city, thus driving out many of the ruling class citizens, and plan to team with the thieves' guild to slaughter the rest and take over the city. No crazy combat scenarios, the setups are pretty straightforward, but that's not unusual for a short (7 pp.), low-level adventure.
Now, if you want cinematic fight scenes, "The Weavers" in the same issue can hardly be beat. It also has "The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb" and a "Challenge of Champions" scenario, which are both great for their respective styles.
The second is Issue #143 - Riding the Rails. Is it just "the PCs are on the train when some simple bandits strike", or is there more to the plot than that? Does the artifact do anything except be the MacGuffin - i.e. does it activate half-way through the adventure thus causing the train to do something funky?
And, I saw a slightly larger blurb that said you fight on the train's roof - are the rules interesting for that, or is it just 'roll a balance check or you hit the dirt'?
Yes, the PCs just happen to be on the train, but the bandits are not simple, and represent quite a variety of threats in such a confined space (both literally, within the adventure, and in terms of length (9 pp.)). The artifact is primarily a McGuffin, but it does partially activate, creating a hazardous area around it.
The rules for fighting on the roof are contained in a sidebar, and include effects of wind on ranged attacks, climbing the side of a coach, falling from the train, and even getting back on after falling off.
"Riding the Rails" looks like a fun interlude adventure for an Eberron campaign.
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Thank you very much! While I doubt that wererats could slaughter everyone in Sharn (even if most moved out due to the garbage) that does sound *useful*.
Agreed, Sharn wouldn't be an effective target, but the adventure is set in a generic small city.
What is the investigation part of Urban Decay? As in, someone hires them to see what's up beyond the public BS from the garbage-collecting guilds?
There are several hooks provided, including being hired, but basically it starts with a search for a missing member of the ratcatchers' guild.