[Eberron] Alien Invasion

[Stormborn]

Perhaps the Neogi didn't travel through normal space at all, but used planar conjunction to bring their ships to Eberron. This could either mean that the Neogi originated on the other plane, or simple use it as a vehicle to raid other worlds and in fact originate from the same solar system as Eberron itself. As someone else mentioned, they could have been doing this for millenia, waiting for the right conjunction between there world and Eberron to open a window, perhaps one that is in a low stationary orbit above Khorvaire to come and raid before disappearing again. Thus it would seem as if they are arriving from space and returnign to it. This conjunction, however, could last longer than the others - and if their civilization is dying out they may have come with more than just a raiding party and are intent on full conquest and colonization of Eberron.

 

[Kunimatyu]

For a fun War of the Worlds vibe, consider having the Neogi come from the "lost" thirteenth moon of Eberron.

 

[Ilium]

For an alternative to the arachnid walker: how about a whole line of ground vehicles that are circular or spherical and roll (with the crew in a counter-rotating interior)? There are real-world "motorcycles" like this (basically a big wheel and you sit in the middle) though I don't think they're practical yet. You could have tanks that work like the Omnidroid from The Incredibles. They could come in sizes from Huge on up. So they roll over the opposition, then when they need to get more precise sprout limbs and weapons.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Perhaps the Neogi didn't travel through normal space at all, but used planar conjunction to bring their ships to Eberron.

This might be fun for other campaign worlds, but personally I think Eberron has had more than enough planar invasions already...

 

[werk]

That sounds great to me. Maybe you could tie it in with some of the eberron original monsters.

Neogi are aberrations, and the daelkyr are aberration masters, maybe they should come to an agreement to mount an attack from above as well as below. Maybe the Neogi's planet is open to xoriat, and they have come to eberron to break the seals or to free the daelkyr trapped in khyber.

Maybe the neogi are psionic rivals with the Quori, and have followed them here and are 'emancipating' eberron from them by destroying all hosts.

 

[NAENTOLLO]

Wonderful concept here, I think it fits the world wonderfully.

Here's some brainstorming ideas...


I wonder how the Dragons would respond. They are elusive, preferring to spend their time deciphering the Prophesy....might this be a sign of its return? Perhaps this is a threat to it?

What if dragonmarks had a role in the Neogi invasion? Maybe the Neogi were responsible for thier apppearance, and perhaps the dragonmarks are key to thier invasion. Dragonmarks might somehow be the weakness that ultimately allows the citizens of Eberron to prevail.

The Gatekeepers could be in play here, as this could be the abberation invasion that the Green Dragon VVaraak was alluding to.

An alliciance with the Daelkyr is a great suggestion, as is the waraforgd as the secret army of the Neogi.

The key to the War of the Worlds was its representation of the coming of the industrial age; mechanized versions of spiders (the tripods) were key to putting this feel in place. Any Neogi invasion vehicle should represent this too, I think. As abberations, they could be shaped like a mechanical version of some strange, vaguely natural (but still strange) creature. Something that looks like a benthic fish or a squid might work, as would a pulsing, metallic jellyfish thing with mile long tendrils that sweep the ground.

Perhaps the Mournland is their invasion point. The great mystery surrounding its appearance could have been caused by an event similar to the "embedding" Speilberg used to plant the martians below the ground in the film version.

There's a great deal you can do with this, kudos for the idea.

 

[Nifft]

This is a secret for my campaign setting.

[sblock]IMC, there is a border plane of earth and shadow called "Riven". It is the murky, slowly oozing darkness within the world, and it is the darkness between the worlds. Dwarves travel in huge stone ships, sailing just out of phase between stone and the shadow of stone.

Dwarves kill to keep this means of travel a secret. They're none too keen on outsiders using the spell shadow walk, either.

All worlds are accessible through Riven. Some that you'd like to visit. Some that you'd like to run away from. Some that are coming for you...

Anyway, for your Eberron game: insect ships that burrow. Umber hulks for front-line burrowing "surface marines". Metal arachnid things that burst from the soil and lay waste to the countryside with their heat ray beams.
[/sblock]

 

[Stone Dog]

My first thought about this that the neogi are the next effort Xoriat is sending to wipe out the world. The mindflayers didn't cut it the first time, so the forces of Madness have abandoned them.

They slipped through the cracks between Xoriat and sane space shortly after the Gatekeepers hurled the plane far far away and have since been slowly collecting the strange creatures that dwell on the outer moons as their slaves on their way back.

One of the only ways to defeat them is to ally with their only rivals. The illithids.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I wonder how the Dragons would respond. They are elusive, preferring to spend their time deciphering the Prophesy....might this be a sign of its return? Perhaps this is a threat to it?

Well, for practical reasons their first response should be:

"D*mn! Argonessen is under attack! Everyone, come home right now!"

This is done so that the war doesn't become an NPC versus NPC fight that the PCs can only watch - it should be their fight to win...

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

What of the arachnid-ish Tyranids from WH40k?

Keep the umber hulks as shock troops but some native species (like PC races) get infected and mutate towards something like genestealers, lichtors, hive tyrants, tyranid warriors or a carnifex for ground troops (there's winged tyranids too). As for warforged, the neogi equivalent of the red weed thrives on warforged bodies, bursting from between their joints. Imagine the fun of a neogi'd bulette all Cthulhu-ey charging a party, especially after the warforged npc screams in agony as the weed forces its way out of its faceplate.

How did they arrive? Giant pods 'vomited' from another planet and take root upon impact. Troops erupt from the ripened fruit while tendrils protect the initial pod like the lurkers or sunken colonies from Starcraft. The tendrils might also absorb their dead to be recycled into new soldiers, which some rank n file troops might do as well, leaving nothing behind to be studied yet animates any other dead in a mockery of life or just the warforged (conscious but unable to do anything).

For some sadistic fun, make 'em magic resistant and rather powerful psychically. At least initially. As they mingle with the natives, they gain weaknesses to magic or whatever plot device you wish (dragon shards?). However as they are biological, they might gain resistance to whatever initially defeated them.