Plot Help Needed

[Zephrin the Lost]

Player's in Greg's Eberron campaign 'Corsairs', please stay out!













Hey all,

In my Eberron campaign, the Mark of Death has been preserved in a khyber shard. The PC's are about to recover it (steps ahead of the Emerald Claw and the Lords of Dust) but you know what? I have no idea who they could turn it over to keep it from falling into the wrong hands.

The Deathless Court and the dragons seem out, as they put it where the PC's are taking it from. The Dragonmarked Houses seem super-out, as Cannith already had it for a while and got up to some terrible mischief.

The Gatekeepers? It's not really a far realms threat. Perhaps Mohrgrave University, where it is studied by 'top men?' Fun, but doesn't seem very safe. I'd like it to end up somewhere where the Emerals Claw/ Lords of Dust would have trouble getting at it.

Any ideas? Thanks!

--Z

 

[ValhallaGH]

Leave it with the players?

Hand it over to the Crown? (Thrane's a great option for this, but any of the royals should be able to hold it for a while.)

Just find a corner to stick it in until you're ready to do more plot-stuff with it. And if you can't find the corner then let the Players find it for you (those meddlesome kids are good for something if you trick them into doing your work for you).

 

[Storminator]

Not really your job is it? They pick who they leave the shard with, and you decide what happens when they do...

PS

 

[the Jester]

Why are you trying to decide what the pcs are going to do?

 

[Zephrin the Lost]

Not really your job is it? They pick who they leave the shard with, and you decide what happens when they do...

PS

True, but I don't want to sucker them either. I'd like to present the players with valid choices, including keeping it, but I don't want the campaign to become endless raids by the Emerald Claw/Lords of Dust unless that's what THEY want - that is, protecting the maguffin for the rest of their lives is one choice, I want to provide others in case they would like to have other adventures and not worry about this plot hook anymore.

The problem I've created for myself is that the shard is important to powerful forces, and was stored in secret in the tomb of Horrors on the Isle of Dread, word is out now and bad folks will be looking for it. So I feel I should provide a choice for the repository for the artifact that's at least as safe as where it was before word got out. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Twelve, as they look at marks as something larger than a means to an end. I wonder if they will appear tough enough, however.

--Z

 

[Whisper72]

Why not create a new secret society. One that pops up, which was specifically created to keep the mark of death from causing mischief. Kind of like those guys in the Mummy movie series...

 

[Storminator]

There's the Trust in Zilargo, or the Lair of the Keeper in the Demon Wastes (I kind of like this one...), or perhaps the Dreaming Dark. There's also the Silver Flame. One or another of the Five Nations might want it in the vault as well.

Maybe they could build an eldritch machine and launch it to one of the moons, or drop it to the bottom of the sea (I always wanted to do a warforged salvagers campaign...). Wait for a conjunction and move it to another plane?

PS

 

[Zephrin the Lost]

These are good suggestions... one of things I'm enjoying is the PC's are speculating on the powers and purpose of the 'shard, and are giving me ideas as they discuss possibilities. They recently learned House Cannith had possession of the shard during the war so now the players believe it played a role in whatever caused the Mourning. That assumption will color who they might trust with it.

The secret society is an excellent idea. I'll have to bat that one around a little...

--Z