"The Dhakaani Code": Modifiying Da Vinci for D&D/Eberron (possible spoilers)

[Remathilis]

Having recently re-read "The Da Vinci Code" in lieu of the movies release on DVD, I got thinking how a treasure-hunt/riddle quest would play out in D&D. I'm thinking of running something like this in my Eberron game, but I want some ideas and suggestions.

(If you are one of the ten people on earth who isn't familiar with the plot, please leave now, as there may be spoilers).




Ok, The big things about it is that it has to have some manner of riddle/code that relates to history. Since Eberron is rich in history, I've got a lot of room to play. So for starters, I want some suggestions on

* What is the Ultimate Macguffin they are searching for? Should it be a "thing" (like the Grail), or a person (the implied Grail) or perhaps stopping an event of some sort?
* Who should be responsible for creating the trail of clues?
* Who should the villainous organization be?
* What places should they visit (Eberron's speedy transit makes it possible to scatter the clues)
* Who should be the traitorous ally?

My first thought is a trail of Gatekeeper clues that lead to an ancient Rajah prison, but I also considered an artifact lost in the Mournlands, The Draconic Prophecy, or a sinister Quori plot to assassinate the Voice of the Flame. The PCs are only 3rd level, but they may level a few before I can get this all together.

Ideas welcome!

 

[Mouseferatu]

Well, my first thought is that they're after the answer/cause of the Mourning. I know it's not nearly as ancient a mystery, but it's certainly a big one.

 

[Remathilis]

Well, my first thought is that they're after the answer/cause of the Mourning. I know it's not nearly as ancient a mystery, but it's certainly a big one.

Ooohh... that would be good, but unless I want to come up with an answer to what DID happen, it will never be "solved"

 

[Mouseferatu]

Ooohh... that would be good, but unless I want to come up with an answer to what DID happen, it will never be "solved"

Unless that's only what the party thinks they're after. Perhaps someone set this whole trail of clues up because they want something to become public knowledge. However, while the final revalation is big, they know that people aren't going to come looking for it on its own. Thus, they cloak the hunt for "Info A" as a hunt for "Info B."

 

[LoneWolf23]

To be in-theme, it would have to be a major shocking revelation connected to the main religion of Khorvaire, which would be the Sovereign Host..

Maybe revelations about how the gods of the Host were actually dragons to begin with?

 

[Boondoggle]

They find a Babelfish, thus proving the non-existence of God? Er, wrong setting.

I do like the idea that what they *think* they're looking for turns out to be a well concocted illusion, ala holy grail being a blood line. Maybe they can be in search of the cause of the Mournland and end up a startling revelation in the draconic prophecy. Or a babelfish.

As an aside, did anyone else get 'apple' from the riddle right away when they read/saw it (assuming they kept the riddle the same for the movie, which I haven't seen)? That immediately came to my mind, but I dismissed it as being too obvious.

 

[icedrake]

The idea of figuring out the Mourning would be a great idea, though I tend to believe there would have been a series of siginifcant events the culminated in a single moment, which produced the devistation known as the Day of Mourning. Three books to check out about dragonmarks and the Prophesy would be the Player's Guide to Eberron, it has such an expansive amount of material in it you're bound to find something, the Magic of Eberron, it has some okay info on the prophesy and it has the dragon prophet feat chain along with the PrC for it- cool stuff, and the Dragonmarked book. I've only done some cursory flipping through it so far, but I think the book's wonderful. I've got a weak spot for most of the DM houses so I'm finally glad they put out a book for it detailing some of their history and suborgainizations.

Like I said, you could do a campaign on several aspects of the mourning, maybe they find hints to a group that tried to prevent it by way of some magical methods. From there they start researching some of the other possible causes and make a few trips into Cyre or talk with various survivers about what they saw. Not to bring up a hard topic, but look into the crazy conspirsy theories about 9/11 as ways of getting inspiration. I don't personally believe in them, but they should serve as a great spring board as examples of what people think could be possible and are possible in a fatasy setting.

 

[arscott]

The church of the silver flame is the best parallel to the catholic church. Their faith-shaking secret would probably have to do with the origin of the flame itself.

IIRC, the flame's origin story has it being the result of a merge between a powerful fiend, a coatl, and a paladin of Dol Arrah. The standard Dogma is that the combined strength of the paladin and the coatl were sufficent to silence the fiend, but some followers hold that the flame occasionally speaks with the fiend's voice.

If the palidin's body was kept somewhere, that would mean that she didn't join with the flame upon it's formation, and without the paladin to turn the tide of the initial battle, It's likely that the fiend has a larger share of the flame's voice and power.

 

[smootrk]

You could center the hunt for truth around the secrets of Warforge creation, or the original origins of the Lord of Blades and his followers.

 

[Dave Turner]

I have a bit of a mixed reply. In crafting my response, I actually came up with a great idea for an Eberron campaign! The problem is that, if I reveal it, then I might spoil it for future use. So I will selfishly keep it to myself!

I will offer this advice, though, which got me thinking about the topic. For this idea to succeed, a fundamental truth about the setting must be subverted. It's a mystery to solve, but the end result of the mystery is that something that everyone knows to be true is really false. What will bring this home for the players, not just the characters, is if one of the game rules that defines Eberron is subverted.

I might start my idea as an PbP game here at EN World, so those who are interested should stay tuned!