Detail and/or map of Lightning Rail

[KB9JMQ]

In a couple of sessions my players should be taking their first lighting rail ride.
They will be chasing a Medium BEG and their combat may involve all areas of the train itself.

Has anyone mapped out the various cars (engine, passenger, cargo, dining) along with what order they are normally in and what issues may arise in such a fight. ? I don't mind making a map myself ( I have dundijinni) but would like a base drawing to begin with if anyone has one.

Also any helpful hints from those who have ridden large fast trains would also be helpful.

I have ridden an old steam train so I am comfortable with the sounds and feel of a train on the track (and the way cinders beat you to death if you stick your head out the window)

 

[Henry]

Speaking of dundjinni, someone put a "lightning rail" car in their fan repository a while back - I even have a copy of the JPG on my hard drive! I feel a little uncomfortable sharing it (since I don't want to break any wishes of dundjinni by posting it here) but if you do a search on their site, you will likely find it!

in fact:

http://www.dundjinni.com/info/images/lightning_rail.jpg

 

[KB9JMQ]

Thanks Henry, that is a great start. This is why I love EN World.

I used to get all the fan art from there but quit a whiile back because there was so much of it.

 

[KB9JMQ]

No helpful hints about train adventures ? (also known as bump)

 

[Jdvn1]

Sorry, no. I don't have a lot of experience with trains, but I know they always have that cramped feel. Maybe all melee attacks would take a -2 penalty and stuff like Dodge wouldn't be especially useful. Cool train scenes always have bits where the bad guy and heroes climb to the top to fight or climb on the side. Then they have to watch out for tunnels, trees, and such.

 

[ReignMan]

I'm sure there was a train carridge map in one of the adventure booke but I can't remember which one - Think it might be ***emerald claw.*. Anyone else know?

 

[Jdvn1]

Oh, I was under the impression that more material on trains would come out later.

 

[shadowlight]

Oh, I was under the impression that more material on trains would come out later.

I hope so! Any official info on this yet?

 

[Henry]

KB9JMQ (can I just call you KB? ) I did run an adventure on the lightning rail for my Eberron game, and the sights and sounds I included were as follows:

First of all, I stuck the conductor stone on TOP of the train (on a little gantry), not on the bottoms of the cars, and on the tracks. The conductor stones arced lightning occasionally and randomly between the top of the car and the tracks when the train was stationary.

When the train was in motion, the lighting arcs multiplied intensively, to the point that it created an almost tunnel of lightning around the cars, so that (1) you don't need windows because there's little to see but lightning, and (2) it created a serious reason you didn't want to be thrown from the car, in addition to the falling damage at 35 miles per hour. When in motion, the observer beside the tracks would see this large "lightning cylinder" flashing down the track, and only barely make out the form of the cars inside it.

The cars were linked with mechanical latch couplers, for easy release.

If one were standing outside the train while in motion, there would be about a 5 foot tall walkway on the roof, between the roof and the conductor stones on the gantries, so that someone COULD walk on the roof if they were careful, or could fight (at a penalty for medium creatures, and large ones just wouldn't fit without crawling). If you were walking on the roof, you would have the disconcerting feeling of watching lighting cackle chaotically around your head just inches above you, drowning conversation and threatening to sizzle you like a sausage.

God, we had a good train-fight on that roof.

 

[fafhrd]

Take a look here