D&D 5E (2014) my First Eberron campaign!

[pukunui]

Hi all,

I’m am running my first ever campaign in Eberron! It's an episodic campaign, built mostly around the Keys from the Golden Vault.


Adventures I have run so far:

1. "Fired & Forgotten" (Convergence Manifesto #1)
2. "The Murkmire Malevolence" (Keys from the Golden Vault)
3. "Trust No One" (Fear Reveals Truth #2)
4. "Forgotten Relics" (Eberron: Rising from the Last War)
5. "Reach for the Stars" (Golden Vault)
6. "The Stygian Dolurrhi Gambit" (Golden Vault)
7. Pudding Faire (DMs Guild)
8. "Prisoner 13" (Golden Vault)
9. "Wedding Bells" (Dungeon #89)
10. "Dino World" (DMs Guild)
11. "Tockworth's Clockworks" (Golden Vault)
12. "Masterwork Imbroglio" (Golden Vault)
13. "Axe from the Grave" (Golden Vault)
14. "The Last Word" (Oracle of War #6)
15. "At Death's Door" (Convergence Manifesto #10)
16. “When a Star Falls” (Quests from the Infinite Staircase)
17. "Beyond the Crystal Cave" (Infinite Staircase)
18. "Vidorant's Vault" (Golden Vault)
19. “Song of the Sky” (Oracle of War #7)
20. “The Forgotten Forge” (Eberron Campaign Setting 3.5e)
21. "Steel Shadows" (Dungeon #115)
22. "Shard of the Accursed" (Golden Vault)
23. "Pharaoh" (Infinite Staircase)

Next up: Grasp of the Emerald Claw (upscaled to 8th level)
On deck: "Heart of Ashes" (Golden Vault), "Parliament of Gears" (DDAL Oracle of War #8), Eyes of the Lich Queen

Here’s an updated list of what else I might run:

Spoiler

9th level

• "Affair on the Concordant Express" (Golden Vault)
• "No Way Out But Through" (K Meza, DMs Guild)

10th level

• "Party at Paliset Hall" (Golden Vault)
• "The Deathless Skies of Cyre" (Amber Litke & Sadie Lowry, DMs Guild)

11th level

• "Fire and Darkness" (Golden Vault)
• "My Undying Heart" (DDAL Oracle of War #11)

EDIT: I wasn’t originally going to run any longer adventures, but now I am thinking about running an Eberron-only version of Vecna: Eve of Ruin (with Vol in place of Vecna) for the second half of the campaign, and so I’m thinking I could run Eyes of the Lich Queen as a sort of prelude after all (running through it quickly as a 9th level only adventure).

I’ve also finished playing through the Oracle of War series, so those are all on the table now as well.


Cheers,
Jonathan

 

[pukunui]

I should add that I will be running this campaign for a party of gnomes.

We’ll have an artificer, a paladin, a ranger, a dragonmarked (Sivis) bard, and possibly a fighter or barbarian.

 

[Warforged DK]

Seekers of the Ashen Crown is fantastic! It's a lvl 2-5 adventure; focusing on a Dakhaani relic.
May not work great for Zil Gnomes, but maybe so if they want to depose a warlard and install a new govt that owes Zilargo some favors (not included in the AP, but strongly hinted at)

 

[pukunui]

Seekers of the Ashen Crown is fantastic! It's a lvl 2-5 adventure; focusing on a Dakhaani relic.

Good to know. Thanks! Could it be run as a single-level adventure or perhaps with other adventures interspersed? Or maybe even adapted for a higher level?

I was also wondering if Eyes of the Lich Queen could be adapted for a higher level.

I’d like to avoid Sharn as much as possible, as I’d like this to be more of a globe-trotting “red lines on a map” Indiana Jones style campaign. That’s why I haven’t included any of the Sharn-based AL adventure series, although I might have to go back and see if there’s one or two that could plug some of the gaps.

Not sure yet if I should use XP or milestones for this one.

 

[Leatherhead]

Something you might not have considered:
The Mourning After, from Dread Metrol: Into the Mists. Levels 1-4.

 

[pukunui]

Something you might not have considered:
The Mourning After, from Dread Metrol: Into the Mists. Levels 1-4.

I didn’t include that one on my list because of its length. I might look at it again and see if it works as a level 3 only adventure.

My youngest daughter, who is 11, will be joining us for her first D&D campaign, so I also need to be mindful of that. Is Dread Metrol particularly scary or gross in any way?

 

[Leatherhead]

Is Dread Metrol particularly scary or gross in any way?

Yes. Might be for the best if you swerve on it then.

 

[pukunui]

I wasn’t that keen on Keith Baker’s Curtain Call, but the follow-up, Trust No One, sees the PCs working for an agent of the Trust. Could be worth throwing in for a group of all gnomes. I’ll add it to the list.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Danger at Dunwater (Ghosts of Saltmarsh)

This is an interesting choice, I haven't run it, but by all accounts it's difficult to make work. You are right that it doesn't need the other adventures in the series though. Sinister Secret was the only pre-written adventure I did drop into my Eberron campaign, which was largely homebrew.

But lets limit my comments to adventures I have run:

The Curious Tale of Wysteria Vale (CM)

This one caused me trouble. "entering the paintings" simply didn't occur to my players, and after some frustration turned into a full-on brawl with a beholder and a bunch of stone golems, almost leading to TPK.

The Canopic Being (CM)

You need to seriously buff the main boss for this, they are a pushover.

Alkazaar‘s Appendix (CM)

This one will be a cakewalk at level 15. I would suggest moving it down to 13 or 14. My players where frustrated that they didn't get to permanently kill the main boss. It draws quite heavily on FR law, so the backstory will need some rewriting. I added a rival party of treasure hunters for the full Indiana Jones experience.

Shadow of the Sun (RC)

This worked quite well, but you will probably have to rebalance the final fight to allow for number of party members, or cap the number of available flying mounts at 4. Six manticores can almost win on their own! Come to think, since your PCs are gnomes, you could stick two on each. I sketched out a "what would Picard do?" alternative path that lead to a courtroom drama, but in the end my party sided with Team Chaotic.

Orchids of the Invisible Mountain (RC)

Running this one at the moment. It's going well so far, but my party seriously distrust "Sugar Man". The thri-kreen NPCs are fun.

The only additional one I can think of to suggest at the moment is The Styles (GoS).

 

[pukunui]

@Paul Farquhar: Thanks for the feedback. To be honest, I haven‘t even read Danger at Dunwater, but I’ve heard it’s one that can be resolved without combat, and I thought it might potentially fit in well with all the heists and mysteries and stuff.

I’m basically just trying to string together a bunch of shorter adventures together into an episodic campaign, with the core being the old 3.5e adventures and the Golden Vault adventures, plus whatever else catches my fancy.

As for The Styes, I’ve got that on my handwritten list. I must have forgotten to put it on the list here. I’ll add it now. (I’ve both played it and run it and it is enjoyable! Another fun one in a similar vein might be the Last Breaths of Ashenport.)