Dark Echelon 2.0

[Jeff]

I'd like to use this thread to talk about the direction of the game once we do our "flash forward" through time—which won't happen until the current battle and scene has ended, for good or ill. I'll give you a bit of warning before the jump, though.

Note: this thread is also addressed to everyone, including the two "new" players who are about to join the game and whose characters are approaching completion. That's right, two new characters are soon to join the game!

• Mike Ferguson is rejoining DE, this time bringing in an elf avenger! (Personal motto: "Speak softly and carry a big-ass glowing sword.")

• David Wetzel is joining DE for the first time, bringing in a warforged paladin! <-- A race/class combo that brings a more literal interpretation to the gaming term "tank." That's right, the durability of warforged is finally going to work in the party's favor!

Welcome, Mike and Dave! Both of you should feel free to post away in this thread, because this talk now concerns you guys as well.

So what does Dark Echelon 2.0 entail?

We're going to advance the PCs to 5th level. Which means you'll get to pick a few more character options, and you'll even have the opportunity to retrain. That is, to swap out up to two [one for each level advanced] powers, feats, or skills that you haven't found to be too useful, in favor of something else. More about that later.

The events of Chapters 1 through 5 will fade into the past. Everything that happened in DE so far will still have happened, and some of it will connect to future events. The name of the campaign, for example, stays and for a very good reason. But some campaign specifics—like the things that roped Kal, Grafth, and the others into their crazy adventures—will fall away. I want everyone on equal footing going forward.

What hasn't yet really been established yet is:

In what geographic location will we begin?

What geographic locations would you, as players and characters, like to go? Want to see deserts? Mountains? Forests? Plains? Other continents? The high seas?

What sort of game will it be? Without any guidance, I try to mix it up—intrigue, action, war, dungeoncrawling, mystery. But I would appreciate some direction, some real preferences from you guys, so I know what to learn towards and what to steer away from. Not just the passive "I'm okay with what everyone else wants." I know I can't please everyone all the time, but I want to try.

Some random possibilities:

More Indiana Jones-style of adventure: racing against evil organizations to recover ancient artifacts. Eberron has plenty of museums and governments who'd love to get their hands on long list devices. The Last War is still only freshly over, and a shadowy cold war is in effect.

Urban intrigue, some of which we've dabbled with already. Pretty much anything in Sharn, City of Towers, will inevitably involve this to some extent.

Dungeon delving, whether in abandoned castles, crypts beneath cities, or in the far away ruins. Before the dominance of the kingdom of Galifar (whose fracture led to the Last War) and before humans ever set foot on the continent of Khorvaire there were numerous other empires. Hence, plenty of ruins and forts and remnants of older times. Lots of places to explore: Eberron World Map

Please, more thoughts and ideas are welcome! This thread is in no hurry, but we'll keep it going until we're actually ready to begin gameplay after our "restart."

[Jeff's backup]

First thing first: Welcome Mike and Dave! I'm no longer the new guy, and as Jeff so delicately put it to me, "You won't have that new character smell anymore." A warforged PC. Wonderful choice, Dave! Jeff may have mentioned this (and if didn't you may want to look back on some of the posts) but Condign has, er, um, issues with warforged. This is going to be fun.

Where to go and what to do? I would vote for a combination of Indiana Jones meets Dungeoncrawl theme. I very much enjoy the intrigue and roleplaying; however, it may help to spice it up with a bit of beat-the-hell-out-of-something action. Look at how often everyone is posting or checking the posts during this recent encounter! The proof is in the -- acid jello cube?

It may be novel (no pun intended) to get out of Khorvaire. I thought Xen'drix sounded interesting. And it would fit the Indiana Jones/Dungeoncrawl theme. Or Aerenal? The latter could be an unusual setting.

Here's to better rolls in the future.

[Darren]

Well, I think we partially need to talk about why the group is still together, and what's happened to them in the intervening time period. Now, it's likely that Kalarian's Band ( ;D) would have gained a bit of notoriety and that people would begin to seek them out with various requests. This lends itself nicely to the Indiana Jones style adventure, and like Brian, I think it might be fun to mix it up with a bit more action, at least for a little while.

Still, I wouldn't want to be completely devoid of interaction with NPCs. After all, Kal may be able to kick some ass, but he's still a very charismatic guy.

[Jeff]

Here's the way it's going to go. When Chapter 5 ends (a matter of days, not weeks), I'll be creating an Interlude 2 thread, which will summarize that intervening time you're talking about, Darren. Based on that, we can better determine the state of "Kalarian's Band*," and whether they're simply taking adventure requests from NPCs or seeking out their own adventures.

But that still doesn't stop us from talking now about what sorts of things you, as players (not as characters) would enjoy. In short, there's no dodging my questions. I'll hound each and every one of you until I get my answers.

*Name which may need to be revised depending on whether Kal survives the current battle.

[Dave W.]

Hi gang! I'm glad to be able to to take the new guy smell... See, I'm alreadybeing helpful. And in some ways I am a newbie... This is my first time in Eberron and my first time with play by mail. I do have a lot of years with rpg'ing though, including 4e.

I don't know enough Eberron well enough yet to talk geography, but I will put in my vote on style. First and foremost the story is always the most imoptant thing for me. There should be a purpose to whatever we're doing. A dungeon crawl is more interesting if it's not just looking for new toys.

It doesn't need to be intrigue per se, but I like a good mystery. I remember an event at a con that started with the pc waking up in an inn where every one else was dead... We had 4 hours to figure out what happened before the authorities would show up. It was a d&d murder mystery.

Obviously our pcs are repleate with combat statistics and there's a reason for that. There should be combat as well. I like to test my tactical mind from time to time.

Indiana Jones is one of my favorite films... I'm love the idea of pulpy action, conspiracies and artifacts. Borrowing those elements could be fun.

[Joe]

I, too, am for an Indian Jones style frolic-in-the-forest. I wouldn't mind trying it out in the Reaches, but Xen'drik is the obvious choice for that type of an adventure. Welcome back Mike and cheers, Dave! Glad to have y'all around for the fun.

[Jeff]

Ah, right. Didn't mean to imply that Mike and Dave are newbies to D&D. Hell no. Both are veterans. Although, Dave, you keep making me laugh when you call this play-by-mail. Talk about long combats...

[Dave W.]

Jan 16, 2010 22:13:32 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Although, Dave, you keep making me laugh when you call this play-by-mail. Talk about long combats...

Well. I'm nothing if not amusing...

[Ken]

Dave: A warforged paladin? NICE.
Mike: Delighted to see that you're coming back.

OK, some thoughts: I, too, like the idea of an "Indiana Jones"/pulp-style campaign, although I'd prefer to see it tweaked toward something of a Mission: Impossible or Man from U.N.C.L.E. concept, where we're tasked to accomplish difficult and important missions, quietly.

I'll disagree with some of the earlier comments that we need to amp up the frequency of combats. As far as I'm concerned, the balance of combat:non-combat has been perfect. Your mileage may vary. But for all the coolness of the combats, some of my favorite memories of the campaign to date have been the non-combat scenes: the interrogation of the raven, the attempted bluff of Lady ir'Turien, the dinner with the traitorous she-witch Lamara (!!!), and the wonderful bits of conversation that Belarin has had with the other PCs. The recent stroll with Streko was great, as is the growing brotherly banter with Kal.

As for location, deserts and mountains sound interesting, and as I mentioned in the other thread, Sharn would be cool.

And ... Kalarian's Band? I shall invoke my inner Stan Lee and offer alternatives:

Belarin's Brigands
Streko's Strikers
Condign's Howling Commandos

[Darren]

The Killer Kal's?

[Jeff]

he Killer Kal's?

Well, this name is dismissed immediately simply for the apostrophe abuse alone!

Also, one thing you'll learn soon enough: if your group doesn't have a name, people naturally give it one.

And as for Lamara, Ken, surely Belarin of all people would appreciate a good nemesis, and a good betrayal. Especially when little clues were dropped right and left all along...

[Mike]

Jan 16, 2010 22:13:32 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Although, Dave, you keep making me laugh when you call this play-by-mail. Talk about long combats...

As someone who participated in play-by-mail during the Eighties, I can attest to the fact that play-by-mail - yes, with envelopes and stamps - is slow. But probably not as slow as you think.

Based on my previous experience with DE - and based on what I've read of late - I have to agree with Ken. I think the balance between combat/non-combat has been really, really good. I don't see the need to tip the scales in favor of one option or the other.

As for direction ... I would also be in favor of perhaps some Indiana Jones-styled adventures in the near future, if only because that's one of the strengths of the Eberron setting. I think it might be fun to take advantage of that. But I would also like to mix in some intrigue and mystery with that as well.

Getting more specific, from a character perspective, I'd love to head into Karrnath and see what sort of trouble we can get into there. My character has a couple of reasons for wanting to explore that part of Eberron. From a player perspective, I would love to at least explore part of Xen'drik before heading to other parts of Eberron.

[Jeff]

OK, some thoughts: I, too, like the idea of an "Indiana Jones"/pulp-style campaign, although I'd prefer to see it tweaked toward something of a Mission: Impossible or Man from U.N.C.L.E. concept, where we're tasked to accomplish difficult and important missions, quietly.

Accomplish a difficult task...and not be publicly acknowledged for it? You do realize Kal's in your party, right?

Sounds like Belarin wants to be a spy. Adventure: Impossible

While driving an hour and a half yesterday through snow, rain, and ice, I had some cool ideas concerning the new direction of the game. Taking what you've said so far regarding possible "other continent" explorations, Indian Jones style of adventure, and a general drive towards upping the combat side of the game (but not too strongly, per Ken). I can't share my ideas with you just yet, but I suspect it'd be a good fit. Plus, I'd still like to hear more of your thoughts.

So far Sharn, Karrnath, Xen'drik, and to a lesser extent the smaller continent of Aerenal have been put on the table. Let's leave off Aerenal for now, although I assure you there may be reason to go there someday. My ideas definitely account for the first three, though. I think I know a good way to catch some of that Indiana Jones vibe.

Belarin, Kal, Condign, and Streko will stay together...presumably out of budding friendship, then? Because past events still happened, and not 100% of all mysteries have been solved, there may be reason for them to stay together in case the old threats arise again.

As for Mike's and Dave's characters...although I do like giving PCs a solid starting reason to get along, their characters are probably worth meeting in-game. To roleplay their arrival. And I have an idea or two for why they'd work together with your group.

[Darren]

I think friendship would have a lot to do with it, and I think the fact that, for the most part, each of these characters has a goal they wish to accomplish, and the people they are traveling with are a means to get there.

Plus, even if it's only been a few days, what these characters have been through together already is probably enough to bond them for quite some time.

[Dave W.]

Jan 18, 2010 10:03:19 GMT -4 Mike said:

Getting more specific, from a character perspective, I'd love to head into Karrnath and see what sort of trouble we can get into there.

(Hey! Look! I made color!)

I only know Karrnath from the book I'm reading, but I think we could get in a tremendous amount of trouble there! I'm sure they'll be friendly with an independent warforged.

[Dave W.]

Ohh, I loved the Man from UNCLE, though I always preferred Illya Kuryakin over Solo. And Mission Impossible (more the old series than the movies) would be cool.

Hmmm, I'm beginning to suspect my (16-year-old) daughter is right... I'm old.

[Jeff]

Since I don't know what Man from UNCLE even is...

[Ken]

Jan 18, 2010 17:01:50 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Since I don't know what Man from UNCLE even is...

Here, young Jedi, be enlightened:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGp_OtEQqbY&feature=related

[Darren]

Kal could have an interesting time in Karrnath, I suppose....

[Mike]

Jan 18, 2010 17:01:50 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Since I don't know what Man from UNCLE even is...

Or this:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_U.N.C.L.E.

Dragon Magazine once did a whole write-up of U.N.C.L.E. and THRUSH for the Top Secret game. It was pretty damn cool.

[Mike]

I only know Karrnath from the book I'm reading, but I think we could get in a tremendous amount of trouble there! I'm sure they'll be friendly with an independent warforged.

They'd probably like you a lot better than they'll like me.

That being said, I think there's a lot of potential for some interesting adventures there. We'll never be bored, that's for sure ...

[Jeff]

About the only solid thing I can say about my ideas so far is this: we'll definitely start things off in Sharn, the City of Towers, in the nation of Breland. Basically, the largest city in the world, and it serves as an excellent launching point for many directions. I've come up with some good reasons for both Dave's and Mike's characters to be going there.

Karrnath, definitely. But probably not right away. Let's build up to that one a little bit. It remains the cold, grim land near and dear to my heart, so I'll want to do it right.

[Dave W.]

We could start in Sharn and have to go to Karrnath to investigate the murder of a Brelish noble and his family who were vacationing there...

Seriously, I'm all for going anywhere we can get ourselves in trouble. I'm just saying we're likely to stand out a bit...

[Jeff]

But you'll stand out less in Sharn than anywhere else in the world. So that's good.