[Eberron] The Khorvaire Code: a campaign idea

[Dave Turner]

A month or two ago, a short-lived thread appeared challenging people to put a ]i]DaVinci Code[/i] spin on Eberron. It was a call for campaign ideas and stories. After thinking about it for a while, I hit upon what I thought was a great idea for a Code-style Eberron game. At the time, however, I thought that I might run the game as a PbP game, probably here at ENWorld. I’ve recently realized that I won’t have the time to do that, but I wanted to share the idea and maybe get some feedback on it. Hopefully some folks will like it and others will be inspired to expand on or flesh out the idea.

One final caveat: I’ve never read The DaVinci Code, but I’ve seen the movie. This isn’t an attempt to closely model the plot or characters of the book. The core of a Code-based D&D campaign is taking a setting assumption that is considered an inviolate truth and turning it on its head. It’s a subversion of a fundamental assumption about the world.

Without further ado, The Khorvaire Code.

The Dragonmarked Houses occupy a unique position in Khorvaire. They aren’t quite noble houses and they aren’t quite merchant houses. They’re a blend of the two, with emphasis arguably on the latter. The key to their status and power is what distinguishes them from the general population of Khorvaire: the dragonmarks. Dragonmarks appeared mysteriously centuries ago and are passed down through bloodlines. Every House is organized around a particular dragonmark and the emergence of a dragonmark in any particular House member is a mystery.

In truth, the history of the Dragonmark Houses has been anything but mysterious or random. A conspiracy at the heart of the Houses protects the true nature of the dragonmarks and those who bear them. The truth is that every humanoid in Khorvaire actually carries a dragonmark. Dragonmarks are activated by a ritual known to an inter-House secret society, known as The Keepers (it’s a terrible name for the society; it’s a placeholder that I would encourage others to replace).

The Dragonmarked Houses are the result of ancient negotiations between the original Keepers. They agreed to limit each Mark to a particular race and to a particular House, depite the fact that Marks are possessed by a wide variety of races (i.e. there are humans running around with unactivated Hospitality Marks and elves with unactivated Warding Marks). There is a complicated process of politicking and intrigue surrounding which people in a House will actually have their Marks activated. The ritual that activates a Mark is usually woven into some other common ritual that each House engages in, such as a naming ceremony or a rite of adulthood. Naturally, each House only activates Marks that are allowed it. This keeps the number of Marked members artificially low, since the Keepers must find a House member with House’s assigned Mark before they can activate it. Every other member of the House has a dragonmark, but since it doesn’t match the House’s Mark, it remains unactivated.

The Houses wish to keep this secret for a number of reasons. First, there would be irresistible public pressure to reveal the ritual if it became common knowledge that everyone has a Mark. Second, the Houses’ advantage in having the Marks would evaporate as Marks possessed by non-House members were activated. Third, it would destroy the racial identities of the Houses.

A few other implications would have to be considered. Aberrant dragonmarks would not be considered aberrant any longer. The Keepers have long been aware of other Marks in existence, but have not allowed any other Houses to form around them. Aberrant dragonmarks are not aberrations at all, but perfectly legitimate Marks that the Keepers ruthlessly suppress. The same goes for Siberys dragonmarks.

Since the dragonmarks are a manifestation of the Prophecy, what will the dragons think of having these Marks suppressed for so long? Were the dragons complicit in the actions of the Keepers? Do the Keepers work for the Dragons?

There’s plenty to build on, but that’s the core of the idea. As I mentioned at the start of the post, I don’t have the time to properly flesh-out the idea. Hopefully the idea garners the interest of a few and it can be developed in this thread.

 

[Aeric]

I like this idea very much! I also like the idea of turning settings on their heads by revealing something that is the cornerstone of the setting at revealing it as false. I had originally planned on doing this in my last Eberron game by having the PCs arrive in Argonessen and find it as ruined as Xen'drik, the dragons themselves a shadow of their former glory. Who, then, is going around manipulating events in the name of the Draconic Prophesy? Is there even a Draconic Prophesy? Sadly, the campaign took a left turn (as they always do) and the PCs never got to Argonessen. It's something to do for future games, though.

 

[The Lost Muse]

That's quite a great idea - although what would motivate the keepers?

The cultists in the Da Vinci code are attempting to protect the bloodline of Jesus - what are the keepers trying to do? And why do the keepers not restore the mark of death to its former status?

 

[Dave Turner]

That's quite a great idea - although what would motivate the keepers?

The cultists in the Da Vinci code are attempting to protect the bloodline of Jesus - what are the keepers trying to do? And why do the keepers not restore the mark of death to its former status?

Keeper motivation? Nowadays, it would be the simple preservation of the status quo. The Houses have done well through the centuries and there's no reason to upset things. Revealing this secret would rock Khorvaire to the core (!) and there's sure to be a (lethal?) backlash against the Houses.

Initially? I'm fuzzy on that part.

What are the Keepers trying to do? Aside from preserving the status quo for the Houses, there's plenty of room for the Keepers to be involved in deciphering the Prophecy themselves. Maybe they have insight that the dragons don't have because the dragons haven't realized that all creatures bear a Mark? What Prophetic knowledge are the Keepers suppressing by hiding the existence of other Marks? What secrets might the Mark of Time or the Mark of Destiny contain?!

 

[Deadguy]

Just throwing thoughts out. I would say that the Dragons - or rather a group of them - would have to be complicit with the Keepers. Partly because activation magics sound like they should belong to the dragons who understand the Prophecy better than anyone else. And partly because they presumably are the means by which the dragons who disagree with this choice can be kept at bay.

The Keepers would have to keep a very very close eye on everyone in Khorvaire, since a single example of a 'wrong' Dragonmark could potentially force a re-evaluation of the true nature of the 'mark. One idea is that all Aberrant Marks are in fact standard Dragonmarks manifesting in the 'wrong' race. Or maybe Aberrant Marks are the true spontaneous Marks, and those that appear in the House Bloodlines are in fact the 'false' potentiality created by the Keepers' intervention.

As for motivation: well the 'marks are the Prophecy writ into the flesh of mortals. Control the expression and you control the Prophecy (to a degree). You might consider what exact event - or better event chain - that the Keepers (and their draconic allies) are trying to bring about or avert. if you want to be really nasty, then maybe the objective is a reasonable, even desirable one. That way when the PCs start to uncover the truth they are forced to decide whether the actions of the Keepers are justified.

Of course in proper conspiracy style, it's likely that whatever the Keepers original motives, someone or some group with have at least tried to subvert the ideals. And there are plenty of such agencies to choose from. Indeed there's every likelihood that it's more than a single intervention. From something as 'lowly' as the Aurum, through to the Dreaming Dark or the Lords of Dust, or even the Daelkyr. They might all very well have a finger in the pie. Interestingly, if they all see advantage in the program, then they might all work to preserve the conspiracy. That might be very frightening to PCs when even known enemies don't want to hear what they've uncovered.

Finally, you must answer: what are the PCs expected to uncover? And what effect might success have on the game? A world where the truth is exposed wouldn't be the standard Eberron as written.

It would be a lot of work plotting this out, but it might well prove to be a very memorable campaign. The danger (as with any complex conspiracies) is that the players lose track of the plot and despair.

Still good luck with the game, and let us know if you go ahead with it.

 

[kigmatzomat]

My current campaign, started in 2001, was based on a similar concept. In mine, the Gods of Krynn were interlopers who imprisoned the local divinities. Some of them escaped as the High God Chaos.

The ability to use 99.9% of the setting as canon but to invert very key aspects of the world is excellent from a GM standpoint. NPCs act according to canon, PCs use "weird" logic with otherwise incoherent priorities. New PCs are introduced with a familiarity of the world in general but get the fun shock of learning key un-truths.

Plots almost write themselves. Players have to decide whether they should release the secret, both from the standpoint of surviving those who would keep it a secret and as to whether it would be beneficial if the truth were known.

Mine went with secret indoctrinations, trying to get enough people out there who knew the truth below the radar that the secret wouldn't die with the players in a worst-case secenario. They managed to go public on a global scale only by positioning their "spiritualism" as the only defense against a massive threat. Now that the threat is defeated, the conflict between the existing societal structure and this new political power is boiling to the surface.

All in all, it has gone so far beyond my original intentions that I can't help but recommend it.

The biggest caveat, though, is that your players will start seeing consequences or interactions that you did not. I suggest most emphatically that you maintain a poker face and take copious notes of their better ideas. It will take the game into their apparent area of interest, reinforce their immersion, and help widen the scope of your game farther than you would have on your own. If you hold too tightly onto your notion of world events, the game will quickly become a rail-road and the game will suffer.