Need ideas for Eberron astral plane for game in 12 hours

[blargney the second]

It turns out I'm DMing a game in about 12 hours, and I have nothing at all prepped and no ideas. Here are the parameters I'm working with:

- two level 13 PCs: an artificer and a swordsage (3.5 fwiw)
- they've been dumped somewhere in the astral plane of Eberron
- we'll probably get about 4-5 hours of game time

I'm going to sleep on it and see what comes up overnight.
-blarg

 

[1of3]

OK. I'd start with a town. They are dropped in the wilderness, but soon find clues of some kind of astral civilisation. Angels, Maruts, Githyanki, Devils. Whatever you like (and how ugly you want it to become).

They probably want to get home. So show them a way and tax them a bit.



Maybe the angels first need proof that they are worthy their help. Maybe they got a little more careful with mortals after the Last War.

Maybe the Marut want to make a deal, about... Well, I have no idea what Marut want.

Maybe the Gith have an internal struggle and one party would bring them home, if only they trouble the other side before.

 

[Herobizkit]

The Astral Plane is the plane of thought, memory, and psychic energy; it is where gods go when they die or are forgotten (or, most likely, both). It is a barren place with only rare bits of solid matter; some creatures, such as the tyrannous githyanki, use the petrified corpses of dead gods as floating fortresses. The Astral Plane is unique in that it is infinitesimal instead of infinite; there is no space or time here, though both catch up with you when you leave. The souls of the newly dead from the Prime Material Plane pass through here on their way to the afterlife or Outer Planes.

The most common feature of the Astral Plane is the silver cords of travelers using an astral projection spell. These cords are the lifelines that keep travelers of the plane from becoming lost, stretching all the way back to the traveler's point of origin.

The PC's can save "Christmas" by bringing back a long forgotten deity of generosity and children...?

Also, perhaps one of the PC's fallen foes recognizes them and tries to recruit help to prevent the PCs from returning to the Prime Material... perhaps some Slaadi? They're not that common.

 

[Asmor]

On the astral plane, they find Cyre, un-ravaged by the mourning.

 

[Piratecat]

I had lots of ideas, but happened on this thread too late. How'd it turn out?

 

[blargney the second]

I got inspired by the writeup that Sagiro posted today. Basically they encountered the Bleeding Scourge on the astral.

The PCs failed for several rounds to land on the deck of a minotaur pirate ship that was being assaulted by scourge emanating from a free-floating castle tower with scorched walls. They could only watch in horror as the whole crew was killed and assimilated except the captain. The creatures used some random potent psionic abilities to pound the heck out of the PCs as they flailed around ineffectually. The PCs and minotaur fled for their lives to a githzerai monastery.

Apparently the scourge has been plaguing the astral for the last two years, growing in numbers and attacking increasingly large targets. They found out that the runes on scourge faces were related to letters of the Xorian alphabet. Also, research discovered that the assaulting tower was made of Fernian granite. (I was gratified that the players noticed that this is not the first time they've experienced Xorian influence.)

Their plan now is to travel to a more chaotic city to hire an astral stalker who can track down a scourge assault vessel. They've secured passage on an air elemental vessel that consists of permanent walls of force illusioned into the appearance of a cloud.

Next session: To the wretched hive, Jeeves, and don't spare the subjective gravity!
-blarg

 

[blargney the second]

Behind the scenes: the Mourning was caused by Quori agents. The weapon itself was a Shadow Pearl - a daelkyr weapon created by a horrid aberration under the Isle of Dread. The quori captured and repurposed the weapon to their own ends, not realizing just how deeply chaos and insanity were embedded in it.

When they detonated the Mourning, the quori thought they had succeeded in killing all the inhabitants of Cyre. What actually happened was the souls of all those Cyrans were ripped from their bodies and transported to an ancient daelkyr fortress in the astral plane on the border of Fernia. (Think Bastion of Broken Souls.) Infected with madness, the more evil Cyran souls managed to control some lesser daelkyr servants and rip the tower from the fortress to effect an escape. The servants they controlled were the first of the scourge.