My hovercraft is full of eels.
This campaign will be strictly Eberron (no spells, feats, deities, Prestige classes, etc. from other “worlds”), and with races and classes found in either the Eberron Campaign Setting or Races of Eberron. All characters will be based on “3.5” rules.
Characters can be made with 32 points using the Point Buy method. Everyone starts at 3rd level in the hamlet of Mossmantle, a small farming community just outside the Towering Wood in the Eldeen Reaches— a wilderness setting. PCs should be from there, or have a reason to be there (Hugh will supply a reason if you are from elsewhere).
Players are strongly encouraged to email the entire group (not just Kristin, who thinks it’s funny to have an “all rogue” group) with ideas for their new characters. We’ll use the January 14th session to make a cohesive party and begin play the next session.
Character sheets will be in PCGen format (give your changes to Kristin so she can add them to the DM’s roster) or the sheets here: https://rpgs.wererat.net/pcs/ so that the DM has access to them as needed.
In addition to experience points for game play and attendance, Hugh is also basing experience awards on timely-written journal entries, bios and other things character-related that help evolve the game world and make it easier for him to spend what time he has working on the campaign. A good background will lend itself to plot hooks for the characters.
No character or inventory item, etc. is in play unless it has been approved by the DM. This includes characters that have gone up a level since the last time Hugh has okayed a character sheet. Things discussed between characters that effect game play do not happen if the DM is not made aware of them.
Main books/sources used for character creation:
PHB 3.5
DMG 3.5
Eberron Campaign Setting
Races of Eberron
Player’s Guide to Eberron
All 3.5 Eberron Campaign Accessories
Materials from other WotC 3.5 books may be used on a case-by-case basis (if it was referenced in one of the Eberron books, such as the Prestige Classes listed on pages 167-168 of the Sharn book, it will likely be fine).
Some materials from Eberron Official Home Page, approved on a case-by-case basis.
Some 3.5 Dragon Magazine articles, approved on a case-by-case basis.
Character Death & New Characters
Character deaths happen, and resurrection isn’t always an option. If a character dies heroically, the player may create a new character at the level the old character would have been at had they been resurrected, with the addition of that session’s experience points. Characters coming into the game in this fashion have to make sense for the story line.
The new character’s starting funds are shown in the DMG on table 5-1. All magic items must be approved by the DM.
Bandit cave in woods, Eldeen Reaches
1 displacer beast
17 human bandits
Towering Wood, Eldeen Reaches
1 wraith
Ruins in Towering Wood, Eldeen Reaches
1 stone guardian, missing arm
13 horrid rats
2 large monstrous spider
3 medium monstrous spider
18 small monstrous spider
4 gricks
11 hobgoblin skeletons
South of Mossmantle
1 horrid wolf
1 unknown attacker?
Varna, High Saddle Inn
1 unknown attacker?
Creature Types:
- aberration
- animal and beast
- construct
- dragon
- elemental
- fey
- giant
- humanoid
- magical beast
- monstrous humanoid
- ooze
- outsider
- plant
- undead
- vermin
Bandit cave in woods, Eldeen Reaches
925 gold pieces
619 silver pieces
30 copper pieces
1 carnelian (50 gp)
2 potions of cure light wounds
1 masterwork longsword, Alunys
2 onyx (50 gp each), Tomas
4 freshwater pearls (10 gp each), Tomas
1 black pearl (500 gp), Tomas
1 potion of delay poison, Tomas
Ruins in Towering Wood, Eldeen Reaches
1 adamantine map/key with inset ruby, carried by Ravanquar
8 gold pieces
141 silver pieces
51 copper pieces
1 dark blue spinnel (500 gp)
1 gold statue of Eberron/dragon (1000 gp), carried by Ravanquar
1 clay tablet
1 everburning torch, Defender
1 adamantine map/key with inset sapphire, carried by Ravanquar
*stuff in this color has already been used or divided up for funds
**stuff in italics hasn’t quite been identified....
Family from one of the settled shifter villages; plenty of exposure to evil / aberrations loose in the woods. Began my ‘career’ by protecting my own kith and kin, but began to range further and meet new folk. Interest in defending my people led me to become a ranger, interest in defending wood / homeland led me to the druids. Orcish Gatekeepers willing to give me a chance, and as I learned from them, I made a friend of the (completely ordinary female) wolf I call Fang.
Character sheet: Alayi Longwalker [Shifter Ranger2⁄Druid1]
Companion sheet: Fang [Wolf Companion of Alayi]
Was raised by a Kalashtar couple in Mossmantle. Was only told by them that they found him “abandoned” as a child. After they passed away, he found a note that led him to believe otherwise... basically saying “please watch over him, I am fearful for his safety. Will return when it is safe.”
Dragonmark on Left shoulder/upper arm. Has always been good at figuring things out/finding lost items. Aiming to be explorer/investigator/treasure hunter. Also, would like to find out who his real parents are, and what happened to them.
Character sheet: Tomas [Human Rogue (Dragonmark of Finding)]
Alunys Glimmergaunt is a Khorvaire elf of some 130 years. As a newborn, she was found inside the Grand Cathedral in Thrane (in a small basket near the back of the narthex); no one had been seen leaving her there, and she could not have been more than a few hours old. Stranger still, the infant had no pigmentation to her hair, skin or eyes. Thankfully this was not regarded as some ill omen, and she was taken in by the clergy. It is even rumored that the Flame itself named her, but no one alive now can verify that.
Knowing no other life, Alunys was always fascinated by all the goings-on of the Cathedral, and when she was old enough, decided she would become a Templar Knight. The appearance of an ugly, red aberrant dragonmark in her early adulthood may have been considered another ill omen by some, but strangely, the mark allows her to produce a silver flame in the palm of her hand, and so is considered a blessing.
At 130 years old, she finally has achieved her dream of becoming a Templar Knight and left Flamekeep to travel, to combat evil wherever it may manifest. She finds herself traveling west to the Eldeen Reaches after hearing a voice, the Voice, whisper, “Evil falls from the stars at the mantle of moss.”
Character sheet: Alunys Glimmergaunt [Elven Paladin of the Silver Flame (Aberrant Dragonmark of Produce Flame)]
Map of Mossmantle (population 95) in the Eldeen Reaches.
“You’re free to go.”
These were the last word he was told before everyone left. Just a few weeks ago Defender stepped out of the forge and almost immediately started his military training. That day he was supposed to get his orders, who to report to and where he was to go. This was a shock and one that took him and all the other with him by surprise. Slowly they all walked away, one by one till only Defender stood alone in a now empty field.
“Free to go.”
These words just echoed through his mind. Not knowing where to go he looked up and watched the sun rise and set three times before the strangest thought occurred to him.
“It doesn’t matter where he goes as long as he follows his training.”
He started by walking towards the rising sun and hopes he’ll find something along the way.
Character sheet: Defender [Warforged Fighter]
Nymm 2 —
When they told me I had to “volunteer” to find out what happened to the caravan, I kind of figured I could just go along for the ride... but it wasn’t that simple.
Defender seems to be concerned with protecting the rest of us, but I fear his thoughts are not very deep. Alayi and Fang I know from town. They usually hang around in the outskirts. She seems awfully wiling to run off and get into trouble, though. The other member of our group is an elf ‘Alunys’... she says she is a paladin and keeps talking about some silver flame. I found out more about this “flame” obsession of hers!
So far, we have only made it a few hours out of town. No sign of the caravans we were assigned to protect, but we have embarked on the trail of some presumed arsonists. Maybe they are related?
In any case, the other members of the group blundered into a trap, and were stuck fighting a Displacer Beast while I frantically tried to get in to save them! Finally getting through the locked trap, I saw that Defender was in dire condition! I immediately drew my sword and ran in to help! The elf yelled something about “get back”, but somebody had to get in there in help! I tumbled past the beast and started swinging!
Unfortunately, “get back” apparently meant “I’m going to start throwing fire!” Wish someone had mentioned this before! Anyway, crazy elves aside, me and Alayi managed to finish off what Defender had started, and after some heated words, the group of us even found some loot.
I’m all for heading back outside and looking for the caravan, but the rest of them seem to want to continue on.... I’m not sure any of them have any real sense.
— Tomas