Future Eberron - Post apoc world

[ssampier]

This thread got me thinking.

What if Eberron nearly destroyed itself and civilization rebuilt itself on the ashes?

This has interesting implications. The knowledge to create trains and flying ships would be long-gone, Sharn itself would be a smoking crater. Of course there would be lots of interesting ruins to find and explore.

Just to keep things interesting I would figure the destruction occurred approximately one thousand years ago. Most people regarded the incident as myth or story. However, the same things that caused the event could still be out there, lurking in the shadows.

My goal would be to combine multiple disparate elements together. I could combine more Call of Cthulhu elements to eventually explain what happened. I would also utilize some well known third-party cities in my world (Freeport and Ptolus).

I just bought the core 3.5 book at an online auction site, so I only know the basics of Eberron. What should stay and what should go?

 

[Somebloke]

No! You took Fareun- don't you dare take the Dragon between!

...

In all seriousness though any sort of post-apolcalyptic scenario involving Khorvaire practically screams to use the Mornland. The most obvious step would be to have the players wandering the Mist-Shrouded, shattered landscape of 'Mournvaire' a few days after the event, desperately attempting to determine if any cities or civilizations remained. It would give you a chance to describe in cruel, vivid detail the broken remains of Sharn, etc. and the slow collapse of society.

 

[malraux]

In eberron's history, there have been multiple cataclysmic events ending various ages. The Age of Giants ended and then the Age of Monsters began. If the current age of civilization were to fall, its important to thing about who would be doing the rebuilding. Would the nations of the sea take the opportunity to expand to land? Or would the kalastar follow the path of the humans from sarlona? Or perhaps the cataclysm was Dal Quor becoming coterminous again and just as the Giant civilization was destroyed, the civilized nations were torn apart trying to repel the plane. In that case, far realms creatures would have easily slipped all around Eberron, waiting for the stars to be right again.

Of course, if Dal Quor did become coterminous, likely anyone surviving that time would be half mad, and thus an entire generation had to raise itself. That would help to explain why tech has fallen, history forgotten, etc. The actual history wouldn't get written, only mad ravings.

 

[Holy Smokes]

There's some synchronicity with Earthdawn you could crib from too...

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

No! You took Fareun- don't you dare take the Dragon between!

...

In all seriousness though any sort of post-apolcalyptic scenario involving Khorvaire practically screams to use the Mornland. The most obvious step would be to have the players wandering the Mist-Shrouded, shattered landscape of 'Mournvaire' a few days after the event, desperately attempting to determine if any cities or civilizations remained. It would give you a chance to describe in cruel, vivid detail the broken remains of Sharn, etc. and the slow collapse of society.

I agree with this. It would allow you to play hunt the survivors as well. Alot of ways you could do this. Myself I would go with a diff timeline say the war lasted until 1015 or something then mass "bombings " or some kind of backlash pretty much mornlaned everything.

Oh the fun you could have, ruined cites, bodies that don't rot, things changed by the blast yeah great fun

 

[drothgery]

I kind-of sort-of did that for a PBP game I ran here (though it fizzled out, largely my fault). The idea was basically that...

A few hundred years from 'now', the Inspired's project in Riedra allows the Quori to physically manifest in Eberron, touching off an apoclyptic struggle.

A few decades later, rogue elements of the Arcane Congress free several Daelkyr and Rakasha Rajahs in hopes that they'll fight the Quori.

Over a century after that, Flamekeep is the last outpost of civlization in Khorvaire, and the Keeper of the Flame sacrifices himself to defeat the last of the great evils walking Eberron.

As a result of all of this
- the connection with the plane of dreams has been shattered, and so there are no more psionics on Eberron
- only the most pure divine magic, drawing strongly on positive or negative energy, works
- 'book magic' works, but lore has been mostly destroyed

However, the game started over 800 years after that, in a world with roughly 1850s-level technology.

Here was the setting info thread

 

[an_idol_mind]

Seeing that Eberron has a post World War II vibe to it, I would probably look at science fiction and pulp cinema/literature from that era that depicted everyone's greatest fears about the Cold War. There are some interesting apocalypse stories that emerged in the 50s and 60s due to the fear of nuclear war. Replace the nukes with some epic-level magic and there you go.

 

[ssampier]

Seeing that Eberron has a post World War II vibe to it, I would probably look at science fiction and pulp cinema/literature from that era that depicted everyone's greatest fears about the Cold War. There are some interesting apocalypse stories that emerged in the 50s and 60s due to the fear of nuclear war. Replace the nukes with some epic-level magic and there you go..

I know Fallout uses inspiration from this era. Good idea. I don't want to go too far, however. This is Dungeons & Dragons not Rayon & Rayguns.

Instead of nukes, how about evil artifacts? I am thinking a quasi magic - technology solution. Sort of like a Eberron version of the Ring of Doom from LotR.

There's some synchronicity with Earthdawn you could crib from too...

I almost ran a campaign in ED. I do know that people were hiding out from the horrors. I always found that neat and good explanation for dungeons. I didn't really care for the gonzo magic level and odd-ball races, though.

No! You took Fareun- don't you dare take the Dragon between!

That's the last thing I want. Rabid Eberron fans mad at me. I'd have villagers with torches outside.

Hey, what's that noise? Do I smell lots of small fires burning....

 

[Somebloke]

I know Fallout uses inspiration from this era. Good idea. I don't want to go too far, however. This is Dungeons & Dragons not Rayon & Rayguns.

Instead of nukes, how about evil artifacts? I am thinking a quasi magic - technology solution. Sort of like a Eberron version of the Ring of Doom from LotR.



I almost ran a campaign in ED. I do know that people were hiding out from the horrors. I always found that neat and good explanation for dungeons. I didn't really care for the gonzo magic level and odd-ball races, though.



That's the last thing I want. Rabid Eberron fans mad at me. I'd have villagers with torches outside.

Hey, what's that noise? Do I smell lots of small fires burning....

Everburning torches. We have an artificer.

 

[Derulbaskul]

Eberron combined with Gamma World?

Hmmm, I like that....