For those of you who have read the Dreaming Dark trilogy

[Aaron]

Spoiler alert: the following post contains spoilers regarding the Dreaming Dark trilogy.

[sblock]I have enjoyed the Keith Baker's first trilogy, and I wanted to implement some parts of the adventures of Daine and co. in my future campaign, but I have a plot problem I can't overcome.

If Lakashtai is an Inspired, and an agent of the Dreaming Dark, couldn't the Dreaming Dark simply take Lei and Pierce with other means?

Heck, we are talking of very high level psionic PNCs here, with a goal that could justify the use of massive forces, since they have found a way to re-allineate Dal Quor to Eberron. Why use only a single, low-level agent?

A Draming Dark squad could take our heroes against their will, or charming/dominating them to do the DD will, teleport to Xen'Drik, and have the job done in a few hours.

Or, if you like a more evil approach, they could simply threat Daine or Jode to get the same result.

In this way they could avoid the risks involved in the long journey described in the novels, and the perils they encountered, not to mention Gerrion's plan for Daine and Lakashtai (remember how mad Lakashtai went when Gerrion teleported her and Daine away from Lei and Pierce?).[/sblock]

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

[sblock]

Spoiler alert: the following post contains spoilers regarding the Dreaming Dark trilogy.

I have enjoyed the Keith Baker's first trilogy, and I wanted to implement some parts of the adventures of Daine and co. in my future campaign, but I have a plot problem I can't overcome.

If Lakashtai is an Inspired, and an agent of the Dreaming Dark, couldn't the Dreaming Dark simply take Lei and Pierce with other means?

Heck, we are talking of very high level psionic PNCs here, with a goal that could justify the use of massive forces, since they have found a way to re-allineate Dal Quor to Eberron. Why use only a single, low-level agent?

Because in Eberron, high-level NPCs aren't common, at all, and I believe the quori themselves can only go to Eberron in special circumstances.

Take a look at those warforged. They were on an important mission too, and it seemed to me they were about the same level as the PCs.

A Draming Dark squad could take our heroes against their will, or charming/dominating them to do the DD will, teleport to Xen'Drik, and have the job done in a few hours.

I don't think such squads are really available, but to be honest, I haven't read the Dal Quor part of the Eberron books in a while. (If anything, making such high-level NPCs available "whenever" could break the setting. A single pit fiend could cause a lot of damage, so DMs and authors need to ensure that doesn't happen just anytime.)

Or, if you like a more evil approach, they could simply threat Daine or Jode to get the same result.

That wouldn't work. In fact, Lei and Daine were both threatened (the first by the warforged, the second by the Dreaming Dark) and it didn't really work out for the bad guys. Only villains who aren't genre savvy still do that A better approach would be to threaten non-combatants they care for, but the quartet didn't have those given their backstories![/sblock]

 

[Aaron]

[sblock]

Because in Eberron, high-level NPCs aren't common, at all, and I believe the quori themselves can only go to Eberron in special circumstances.

Take a look at those warforged. They were on an important mission too, and it seemed to me they were about the same level as the PCs.

Well, In Secrets of Sarlona, page 54-56, we have a list of high level inspired, going from 14th to 20th level.

I don't think such squads are really available, but to be honest, I haven't read the Dal Quor part of the Eberron books in a while. (If anything, making such high-level NPCs available "whenever" could break the setting. A single pit fiend could cause a lot of damage, so DMs and authors need to ensure that doesn't happen just anytime.)

But we aren't talking of an everyday mission of Dreaming Dark agents.

In the novels the Quori have found a way to come back on Eberron, and strike with a massive army. I think they would do anything to achieve such a goal.

That wouldn't work. In fact, Lei and Daine were both threatened (the first by the warforged, the second by the Dreaming Dark) and it didn't really work out for the bad guys.

Actually, Lei did cooperate with Lakashtai in order to help Daine.

But Lakashtai had to overcome a few risky obstacles on her way, obstacles that could be easily removed by higher level DD agents. (I mean, Lakashtai had to protect herself and Lei during the mission).

The only thing I have come up to is that Lakashtai was simply arrogant, and searching for a chance to advance herself/itself in the DD ranks, with a secret mission on her own.[/sblock]

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

[sblock]

Well, In Secrets of Sarlona, page 54-56, we have a list of high level inspired, going from 14th to 20th level.

There are also pit fiends, a single one of which could break the campaign. (Or maybe it was a balor, whichever one has Domination.)

Just because they're in the rules doesn't mean it's a good idea to use them.

But we aren't talking of an everyday mission of Dreaming Dark agents.

There's still the risk of pulling a reverse Chosen of Mystra problem.

Compare the Dreaming Dark to, say, the Blood of Vol. I believe the BoV has Vol, 13 high-level agents... and that's it. (And those are high-level agents by Eberron standards, as far as I know.) If you can drop high-level NPCs wherever you want, regardless of alignment, that faction wins. Period.

There might only be one or thirteen of each of those high-level types of quori, and they could literally all be busy.

In the novels the Quori have found a way to come back on Eberron, and strike with a massive army. I think they would do anything to achieve such a goal.

That's a problem I've seen in a lot of settings, like StarGate and Doctor Who. The big bad villain (eg replicators or daleks, or in this case the quori) come up with a plot device that can destroy reality, which means the villains must be destroyed utterly, usually with a hackneyed plot device. In other words, perhaps it wasn't a good idea for the author to make it possible to launch such a massive army against Eberron in the first place.

This creates the precise problem we're talking about now.[/sblock]