neat history*
Cool=)
When this campaign finally comes to a conclusion what type of ending would you like for your individual character, a happy one or an Eberron one? (satisfying but dark and a bit ambiguous on whether your adventures have really had a positive effect for anyone in the world but you. Basically you get what you want but a question mark is raised about how it effects all those NPCs you've been bantering with the last 20 levels.)
I would prefer a more ambiguous game, since this is Eberron after all. Also the backstory of missing memories just screams out to be resolved by my character being not at all who or what he thought at first.
Back from my retreat and looking over the posts I missed. Will likely write up the narrative of Raeli's backstory tonight (including some connections to Quayne and Ulvak, old and new).
Regarding the conclusion of the game, I'd like a happy ending for Raeli -- or at least, the possibility of a happy ending, depending on the choices she makes.
Who made mention of possibly taking an Aberrant Dragonmark?? As whoever might be could feature into plans of Ulvak.
We should probably settle on the final party split. I've moved Auzshial to the group in Karrnath, switching Lyre to the Mournland crew to even out the witch distribution. Anyone else want to make a change? Elvom still needs a home too...
Proposed Party A: Mournland expedition mounted from Sharn
melee: A-7 Harbinger (motivation: Lord of the Blades?)
amnesiac escaped experiment rogue: Vaelins (searching for lost past in Cyre)
artificer/crafter: Liriel (just got dumped in Sharn when Ceran's Folly was seized)
healing and hexing: Lyre Swiftclaw (open backstory, the "other" witch seems a better fit for the Mournland)
Proposed Party B: Karrnath, something to do with The Twelve
stealthy assassin tracker: Raeli (Thuranni has close ties with the government of Karrnath)
cross-blooded sorcerer: Ulvak Thirkuira d'Phiarlan (focus on the Shadow Schism and the Dragonmarked Houses)
arcanist/crafter: Quayne Dovarr (dragonmarked, House Cannith)
witch: Auzshial (tapping into the resources of The Twelve to find his daughter's body)
Kiralinsee (what party is complete without a mysterious little girl tagging along? :)
Who made mention of possibly taking an Aberrant Dragonmark?? As whoever might be could feature into plans of Ulvak.
That was Saint Caleth's vivisectionist rogue, Vaelins von Tywyn. He's currently in the Mournland group, but he fits well for either party if he wants to come play in dragonmark central :).
If Elvom joins the Mournland expedition, Vaelins could join us in Karrnath without anyone else switching teams.
It might be interesting because the aberrant dragonmark is one of the two most salient sign of what was done to him. If the campaign went that way, I would focus on coming to terms with my existance rather than as overt a focus on my memories.
Also I'm a huge fan of Karrnath.
In that case...
Proposed Party A: Mournland expedition mounted from Sharn
melee: A-7 Harbinger (motivation: Lord of the Blades?)
archer: Elvombor (clue RE the locket leads to the Mournlands?)
artificer/crafter: Liriel (just got dumped in Sharn when Ceran's Folly was seized)
healing and hexing: Lyre Swiftclaw (open backstory, the "other" witch seems a better fit for the Mournland)
Warforged, male elf, female gnome, female shifter. Interesting mix!
Proposed Party B: Karrnath, something to do with The Twelve
stealthy assassin tracker: Raeli (Thuranni has close ties with the government of Karrnath)
cross-blooded sorcerer: Ulvak Thirkuira d'Phiarlan (focus on the Shadow Schism and the Dragonmarked Houses)
arcanist/crafter: Quayne Dovarr (dragonmarked, House Cannith)
witch: Auzshial (tapping into the resources of The Twelve to find his daughter's body)
amnesiac escaped experiment rogue: Vaelins (searching for lost past in Cyre)
Kiralinsee (what party is complete without a mysterious little girl tagging along? :)
Female shifter, male elf, male human, male human, male human (mostly), little girl
So I guess we could call the two groups: the smorgasboard group and the human group.
Any objections to this split?
Party Composition*
I really like this selection, sound off if you agree.
I think Raeli has done a great job. Should Party A have a token male human or would that harm the dynamic ;-) I don't know about the 4/6 split but if the GM can handle that then I'm fine with.
Raeli- does Quayne know you're from Lhazaar? If you've spent any time around the Twelve we've probably met on at least a few occasions. Ditto for the others. As a master craftsman, Quayne may well have made someone's magic item/s too.
I don't know about the 4/6 split but if the GM can handle that then I'm fine with.
Yes that is fine. Having talked extensively to Killa Kev about Kiralinsee's role I don't consider her as taking up a character slot exactly so my previously stated hard limit of 5 may be waived here.
I too agree with this split. Is there any sort of general start time for this game? even if its a little vauge, lol
I have no issues with this configuration.
Raeli's party setup works for me too.
I too agree with this split. Is there any sort of general start time for this game? even if its a little vauge, lol
Any day now I imagine. All I need to really know now to begin is who is in what party and that everyone's game mechanics are finished. It will be Monday at the earliest I imagine because Fraust said he prolly wouldn't be completely ready till then and he may want to talk to his group about PvP(well he definitely at least wants to know the level of acceptable antagonism between characters).
Raeli- does Quayne know you're from Lhazaar? If you've spent any time around the Twelve we've probably met on at least a few occasions. Ditto for the others. As a master craftsman, Quayne may well have made someone's magic item/s too.
Yes, I think Raeli will try to keep her story as close to the full truth as possible, so she would say she's from Lhazaar. She'll just leave out the parts about not being a shifter. I'm working on writing up her connections to each of the other party members now that it looks like we have the final party put together (though I have to drive all day tomorrow and thus have to get to bed soon, so likely won't finish until tomorrow night).
I'm not sure where the Paelion holdings were in the Lhazaar Principalities; High Prince Rygar ir'Wynarn granted House Thuranni land on Greentarn (where Regalport is located) shortly after the Shadow Schism, so I'm guessing it was there. Raeli traveled a lot with her mother finding exotic animals to train for Phiarlan carnivals, but Lhazaar is home.
For the recent past, Raeli has been doing mercenary work as a tracker out of Korth while she follows a trail of clues regarding the why of her family's murder. I can see Raeli and Quayne having met, discovered a common thread of history, and developed a friendship (or at least the start of one). She could very well have met him when she was looking for someone to enchant her sword with a rather unusual enhancement (huntsman from the APG).
I am mechanically completed and ready to go, I should probably just add my mundane equipment in there somewhere.
Unless someone has a weapon they want Quayne to have created, he'll currently not have Craft Magic Arms and Armor until next level. I have to be 7th level to bestow Huntsman anyway and that leaves me open to craft scrolls, potions and wondrous items players may have, including much of my own stuff. I could easily have recommended someone to Rae for her sword, and certainly stayed in touch. I've also included the Dragonmark and bonuses into Quayne's stats. He should be good to go, though I better write up his spell book too. :-)
Unless someone has a weapon they want Quayne to have created, he'll currently not have Craft Magic Arms and Armor until next level.
Of course any party with Liriel in it has that covered. :)
Quayne Dovarr wrote:
Unless someone has a weapon they want Quayne to have created, he'll currently not have Craft Magic Arms and Armor until next level.Of course any party with Liriel in it has that covered. :)
Of course, Miss Liriel. And can't you even Craft Homonculii?
Although my background was very sparse are there any shifter communities near the mourneland? I ask because after finding my copy of the campaign setting and reading up on what the Mourneland is it does not seem like the kind of place you go to if you are just working up to it.
Yes, there were shifter communities in Cyre. There were special units of Cyran rangers during the Last War composed entirely of shifters, and they were often used as scouts.
In the Sharn game I run, a large community of Cyran shifters live in Blackbones, down in the Cogs.
(Forgive any weird mistakes -- posting from my phone, which likes to think it is smarter than me).
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Party Composition
I'm okay with the party composition suggested by Raeli. Just as a help, here's a table similar to Raeli's with some hyperlinks to profiles of characters and players.
A-7 Harbinger - LN Warforged Fighter (KMBCross)
Elvombor Isebring + Kumo (cat) - NG Elf Archer 5/Wizard 1 (another_mage)
Liriel - NG Gnome Artificer (LazarX)
Lyre swiftclaw + Fox - NG Shifter Witch (Kevin Mack)
PvP
I was going to write up a section on PvP (re: Fraust). After I saw the alignment spread in the table above, I don't know that it's necessary.
Hopefully Kumo is smart enough not to antagonize Lyre's fox, otherwise he might lose his other ear.
Game Ending
I'd like a happy resolution to Elvom's ultimate goal. As to the amulet and other NPCs involved with it, Elvom knows the world is a dark place and sometimes avalanches are set in motion.
Elvom doesn't want to understand the higher purpose behind the avalanche, he'd just like to escape it, more or less intact.
Elvom is in pursuit of his goal with the timeline of an elf. This is to say, he's not in a hurry by human standards.
He is willing to take advantage of opportunities that arise, but if it takes a decade to find the right person to help, that's just how long it takes.
Party Start
Perhaps the expedition to the Mournland could begin at Morgrave University in Sharn as part of the Morgrave Outreach Association?
I could see Elvom joining the outreach association as a way to make contacts and evaluate if they can be trusted to help.
If anybody else in the party wanted to join the outreach association, we could know one another.
Honestly, my Eberron-fu is weak. I can come up with some more ideas to tie the party together, but they might be not Eberron-specific.
Finished backstory more or less. Might tweak it some, but for the most part Ulvak Thirkuira d'Phiarlan is finished. Stats n such will be worked on later tonight or tomorrow.
Hmmm as we approach the time of actually playing the game I’m thinking about how to introduce the adventure to each group. I have decided how I will do it is by throwing each party immediately into a tense situation (similar to the opening gambits of many fun TV shows) instead of the whole “We are all hanging out a bar, anyone here want to adventure?” or similar idea. This will require the idea that you all have been working together as a coherent team for at least a short time but I think it will be the most fun approach. (I will include spoiler tags for each character explaining why they would likely be involved in the situation.)
Sounds good to me! I'm assuming a history of working with the rest of the party as I'm writing up my backstory anyway. It seems like Ulvak's adventure hook involving the Shadow Gems might be a good place to focus the campaign early on -- Raeli would certainly be keen to help find them, and make sure they don't go to House Thuranni, and her public face as a tracker would certainly be a good fit. And it would make sense for a Cannith rep to be along too.
Of course, just throwing the idea out there. :)
thoughts on my backstory?? I know its a little wonky with the shadow energy stuff, but like my other Eberron's PC, this one's history took on a life of it's own.
thoughts on my backstory?? I know its a little wonky with the shadow energy stuff, but like my other Eberron's PC, this one's history took on a life of it's own.
I like it and I'll work the shadow gems into the story. One thing though, your ambition and Raeli's are at cross purposes in regards to House Thuranni. I have a pretty good idea of how to work it out so you'll both be satisfied but are you ready to perhaps butt heads in game as your characters reveal said cross purposes to each other? I guess this goes back to Fraust's question about what the acceptable level of antagonism is between PC's in this game, which I'd like to leave up to you, the players, to decide.
I guess that all depends on how exactly you plan on handling the reasons behind the killing of the Paelion line. There's a few ideas in Dragonmarked:
The Order of the Emerald Claw fabricated the evidence presented to Elar, or that human agents of the Chamber helped facilitate the split due to the Prophecy. Others that Lord Elar and Baron Elvinor amicably agreed to the split, and used Paelion as a scapegoat to hide their true intentions.
The first two would cause trouble tween us for sure, but could be worked out, while clearly the last would lead to end of problems. Personally, I'm for the Order being behind it, but the Chamber would be fine. I would suggest not using the third, as it means there couldn't really be peaceable interactions with me and Raeli. While I don't mind some problems, disagreements, etc, I would much prefer not to be at total odds with any of my party members.
Cross-purposes? Raeli doesn't see a conflict...Ulvak wants one Dragonmarked House of Shadow, so does she. I guess they might disagree on the means to that end... ;-)
In all seriousness, I don't mind some conflict between the two characters, but I don't think it will come up for a very long time regardless. I would be surprised if Raeli's true past and her goals RE House Thuranni come up for a few more levels (though I don't mind being surprised!).
And Ulvak is right in that if Raeli discovers Lord Elar was manipulated by another group, her focus will shift to that group. I don't know at this point if she'll be able to forgive the Thuranni assassins (inclduing Lord Elar) -- she is haunted by the images of them killing even the children. I would enjoy coming to the point where she has to make that decision, and she might even open up and share her reasons for hating Thuranni. I do think she could be convinced to let most of the house be absorbed quietly back into Phiarlan, so there are ways to navigate this potential conflict with Ulvak should it come up.
Born and raised in the Lhazaar Principalities, specifically Greentarn (Regalport), wanted to see more of the world, ended up in Korth where she has been working as a tracker and wilderness guide for various members of The Twelve. The curious wanderer, interested in the draconic prophecy and “what role my people might play in it.”
I write this journal not because I want to think about what happened, but because I must remember and I cannot trust my mind to hold the knowledge for me. This is the second time I have returned from death, reborn from Eberron’s flesh, and each time it becomes harder to remember my life and my purpose. When I first awoke, in the weak and alien frame of a Halfling, I remembered almost nothing but blurred images of violence in darkness. It was only when I stumbled across the pyres they were building to burn my family that I remembered who I was, and now I hold on to memories with the desperation of a broken bird trying to protect its nestlings.
I retreated from the world, at first, and at the behest of my faceless teacher -- who I begin to think was a pure incarnation of nature formed for the purpose of training me, or at least to keep me from tearing myself apart. It must have been a year before I could deal with the dreaming. A mind freed from rational thought is more terrifying than death. I am told there is such a thing as pleasant dreams, but I have not experienced them. Once I overcame that terror, I spent a decade learning the secret lore of nature, though the secret of my rebirth still eludes me.
In that meadow, Eberron taught me what I needed to survive, but there was always an itch in my blood to understand why I was murdered, why we were all murdered. I can’t imagine an answer to that question that will satisfy me, but I will ask it. And then I will make them pay.
Eventually even the mystery and wonder of the world around me could not keep me from returning to my home. It was a foolish maneuver, an attempt to recover some family heirlooms I could not bear to see used by our murderers. I should have known better than to brave the displacer beast in its den – am apt symbol for the usurper House. I paid fully for my foolishness, for they killed me again. I suppose I can’t add that to my grievances, for I was an intruder, but the weight of their guilt is so great that it would only be a feather upon a great pile of rocks anyway.
And now, I pay even further. I have returned as a half-human, half-orc. And as a male. I wonder, are all men controlled so by their bodies, or is it the orc blood that overwhelms with passions for violence and lust? It is getting easier to control this body, but at first, I could only scream in frustration and, deep-down, cry in relief, that I was alone and could not vent myself on any other being.
When I finished running I crumpled from exhaustion, finally succumbing to the terrors waiting in my dreams, and I discovered that the human-orc dreams are even worse. Primal, visceral, barbaric…is this body revealing something that was always hidden in the depths of my soul, or is it changing me?
But a surprise greeted my awakening, a saving grace. A thick wet tongue licked the sweat from my brow, and I started up in fear, naked and weaponless. Then I laughed for perhaps the first time since I stopped wearing my own body. Kalemar I have named him, and how a Valenar warhorse found its way to Greentarn is beyond me. But he was meant for me, a boon companion who senses my true blood, else he would never let me near him.
***following in the journal is a description of a few years in Regalport, getting up to speed on current events and House Thuranni’s goals, finally following two remembered assassins on a ship to the mainland of Khorvaire, killing one on the way and tracking the other through the woods of Karrnath; the account picks up in a slightly different hand***
Falko d’Thuranni lies dead in the depths of the Karrnwood, feeding the wolves. Next to him lies a male half-orc. The memory of seeing what had been my body turns this new stomach of mine. I now realize that something inherent in the magic of my rebirthing draws me to my previous shell. I will not miss being a male, though I am already missing some of the advantages of the last body. Darkness is darker, but I have never been afraid of shadows.
I will call this shifter-self Raeli, for I am far from home and far from my old self. In the morning I travel on to Korth. Thuranni has always had close ties to the Karrnathi crown, and I am sure I will find some of the assassins there, if not Elar himself. I will have an elven curve blade made there – it will be fitting for him to die on the same weapon he used to spill out my lifeblood.
--Why does she use an exotic elven blade?
--She’s had Karmel as a companion since her previous incarnation; someone might tie the horse to the male half-orc who boarded a vessel from Regalport with two important Thuranni agents who never made it to Korth
--If the Shadow Hunter has the “sense shadows” ability, they might realize she has the mark of shadow and that would draw SERIOUS attention; she is aware of this possibility, however, and tries to guard against it – partly by relying on the fact that no one would expect a shifter to have the mark and thus wouldn’t look for it, partly by staying close to Ulvak whenever she’s around other elves in the hope that they would assume what they are sensing is from him; regardless, the ability is rare enough that it wouldn’t come up much
--Her journal is the most important and most dangerous of her possessions; the truth of her history and identity is laid out clearly within. It is written in druidic (she re-wrote the earlier portions once she learned the secret language), but it contains drawings of herself as she remembers her original form, her mother, her father, and every face she can remember from the night she was killed; she keeps it strapped to her body, and when she makes a strike against a Thuranni assassin she buries it in a safe location and drills the location into her mind in case she is killed
--Her dragonmark is what brings her back when she dies; perhaps the draconic prophecy requires a Paelion to exist; perhaps the extinguishing of so many Marks of Shadow around her at the same moment her mark manifested imbued it with extra power?
--Her father sent Karmel (her horse) to her; maybe he assumed his daughter was killed in the slaughter of the Paelion line but decades later felt an urging to scry on her and discovered she is alive, though in a different body; Valenar warhorses are mystical creatures very closely tied to Valenar elf blood
--That the head of her family line was supposedly plotting to eliminate the other Phiarlan families and kill the other House heads so he could take control of Galifar
--That Lord Elar Thuranni was tipped off by the Emerald Claw; she has assumed this was an entirely internal affair
I think that Vaelins' character arc will focus mainly on him finding a purpose and place in the world, gathering what peices of information he can as to his missing past.
Self-Revealed Backstory
Since the end of the war, Vaelins has apparently drifted rather aimlessly as an adventuring mercenary type, a fate shared by many veterand of the Last War who have known no other life. The little that you can gather is a vauge story that he fought for Cyre and spent much of his involvement in the war as a prisoner only to be released , although the more perceptive people who hear this story may notice that the details of this story seem to change and do not quite seem to add up.
While this is what Vaelins legitematley remembers, he has a strong suspicion that these memorie are wrong somehow and incomplete, and he often dreams of other, different sets of memories. He does not want anyone to know this, since Vaelins thinks that people already see him as dangerous, and wants to fit into society somehow.
-Vaelins was not taken prisoner, but was truly a member of the Cult of The Dragon Below who voulenteered for augmentation. However, when the first attampt failed, he was discarded and used for experimentation, which erased his personality and replaced it with the memories of other, less willing, victims of the same experiments.
In reply to Ulvak and Raeli given your responses I think this will all work out quite well with what I have planned. PvP shouldn't be a problem especially once the truth behind it all is revealed. Also love Raeli's detailed backstory, really draws me in and gives me alot to work with(you all have great backstories but Raeli's is presented in such a way as to inform me of the experiential as well as the historical, very nice)
Good stuff*
Hehe alright I think we will have alot of fun with this character.
Alright I am almost ready to begin. Having reviewed everything the two things I think I still need on my side of the DM's screen are a little more of an idea about what Lyre Swiftclaw's goals are(unless you would like to leave it real open ended, which would be fine) and for Fraust to check in and establish with the group the level of acceptable interparty conflict for the game. After that once everyone gives the go ahead we will begin. The title of the play by post threads will be formated as follows: Eberron: -game title- (group*). I am calling party A. (A-7 Harbringer, Elvombor, Liriel, Lyre) the Siberys group. Group B. (Raeli, Ulvak, Quayne, Auzshial, Vaelins and Kiralinsee) the Khyber group.
Alright I am almost ready to begin. Having reviewed everything the two things I think I still need on my side of the DM's screen are a little more of an idea about what Lyre Swiftclaw's goals are(unless you would like to leave it real open ended, which would be fine) and for Fraust to check in and establish with the group the level of acceptable interparty conflict for the game. After that once everyone gives the go ahead we will begin. The title of the play by post threads will be formated as follows: Eberron: -game title- (group*). I am calling party A. (A-7 Harbringer, Elvombor, Liriel, Lyre) the Siberys group. Group B. (Raeli, Ulvak, Quayne, Auzshial, Vaelins and Kiralinsee) the Khyber group.
HEY!! why are we the group of madness, evil and demons??
HEY!! why are we the group of madness, evil and demons??
Lol. No reason in particular simply an easy to remember tag.
Alright I am almost ready to begin. Having reviewed everything the two things I think I still need on my side of the DM's screen are a little more of an idea about what Lyre Swiftclaw's goals are(unless you would like to leave it real open ended, which would be fine)
Well seeing how she is in the Mourneland group I'm thinking a possible motivation is looking for an item or plant of somesort in the Mourneland (looking for a cure/ cause of some sickness happening in nearbye a shifter community perhaps?)
Glad you liked the backstory! Had to edit it down quite a bit, as it ran out of control last night and I didn't want to distract from the important bits.
Excited for the game to start! If you could give me a heads-up RE what type of mission we're on in Khyber group, I'll pick Raeli's spells for the day. Mechanically she's good to go. The only change I've made recently was to drop Spellcraft for Craft (drawing). I have some gold left, but I think I'll save it for later unless any of my fellow party members have a suggestion/request.
Khyber party:
Auzshial - N male Human Witch (gravewalker) (Fraust)
Quayne Dovarr + Gartha (raven) - NG male Human Conjurer, Mark of Making (Pryllin)
Raeli + Karmel (horse) + Missy (dog) - CN female Shifter Druid (Elora)
Ulvak Thirkuira d'Phiarlan - NG male Elf Sorcerer, Mark of Shadow (Monkeygod)
Vaelins von Tywyn - CN male Human Vivisectionist Rogue (Saint Caleth)
Kiralinsee - N female human child (KillaKev)
Checking in with my pants firmly around my ankles. Just got hit with a load of online classes that all started monday and I'm further behind than normal. Should have character up late tonight, maybe by miday on tuesday.
As for party conflict, it sounds like it wont be an issue, and sounds like if it is it's best kept to a minimum. About what I would like regarding an online game with strangers.
Well seeing how she is in the Mourneland group I'm thinking a possible motivation is looking for an item or plant of somesort in the Mourneland (looking for a cure/ cause of some sickness happening in nearbye a shifter community perhaps?)
Ok, So thematically is your character going to be kinda a Hero of the People(tm)type?
Excited for the game to start! If you could give me a heads-up RE what type of mission we're on in Khyber group, I'll pick Raeli's spells for the day. Mechanically she's good to go. The only change I've made recently was to drop Spellcraft for Craft (drawing). I have some gold left, but I think I'll save it for later unless any of my fellow party members have a suggestion/request.
Khyber group will begin the game confronting a vicious thief who has stolen an artifact from The Twelve, you are recovering it to get in the good graces of that organization and there are a few curve balls to the situation to make it interesting. Prepare for a challenge.
Raeli, unless I'm missing something, I don't see anything about us working together or even knowing each other, beyond the one comment about being near me should a Shadow Hunter with Sense Shadow be attempting to sense you.
Checking in with my pants firmly around my ankles. Just got hit with a load of online classes that all started monday and I'm further behind than normal. Should have character up late tonight, maybe by miday on tuesday.
As for party conflict, it sounds like it wont be an issue, and sounds like if it is it's best kept to a minimum. About what I would like regarding an online game with strangers.
It's all good dude do what you can, we are in no rush. Check on the party conflict level.
Raeli, unless I'm missing something, I don't see anything about us working together or even knowing each other, beyond the one comment about being near me should a Shadow Hunter with Sense Shadow be attempting to sense you.
For the purposes of the opening gambit you will have been in an adventuring band together for several weeks having been assigned by The Twelve to perform a mission after that player autonomy takes over and you can figure out where you stand.
Siberys group will begin the adventure in the den of a crime boss who is looking for "volunteers" for a particularly dangerous Mournland excursion. If you'll accept his proposal or just trash the place depends on how ornery you're all feeling...
Ok, So thematically is your character going to be kinda a Hero of the People(tm)type?
Well seeing how she is in the Mourneland group I'm thinking a possible motivation is looking for an item or plant of somesort in the Mourneland (looking for a cure/ cause of some sickness happening in nearbye a shifter community perhaps?)
Wouldent go as far as that. She helps people (Shifters) but she is not realy a hero.
How are we doing experience? Just curious. :-)