World Jumping Query
Okay, we've all had characters that shifted from one campaign world to another when DM's changed. I have found a new group that wants me to take over as DM. The present DM is new at it - and has been running Eberron... the Whispers of the Vampire's Blade adventure... and I will be taking over as it wraps up.
Problem:
I am not running Eberron - I run a home-brew that has many aspects of Eberron, but it is still home-brew.
The crew has about 10,000 gp in the Sharn banking system - which will be gone when they get to my world. I was looking to have them on an air-ship that is in the process of crashing (the end of the module), and have local mages willing to pay - oh - about 10,000 gp for the pieces parts left from the crashed air-ship.
Is this too fabricated? I am second-guessing myself to death on this one.
None of the characters have anything in Eberron to make them want to go "home", so the PC's will live in my world until I kill them or they retire, so at least that concern is moot.
Any suggestions or points of concern that any PnP'er would have? Thanks!!
I think you will be fine on the salvage operation. In fact turn it into a social interaction. Have them auction off the salvage rights or make them go through a bunch of bureaucratic hoops to register it as legal salvage. Depending on how they do maybe they get a little more or less of that 10,000.
Yeah, actually that's a rather good way to go about it. If you make it a bit of a process (going about bidding (have multiple parties put in offers)), it will seem transparent, and the players hopefully won't really notice the numeric effect you're trying to achieve.
Ooh they also have to defend their wreck from pirates and other illegal salvagers until the people who are paying you get there.
Last edited by Bearfoot_Adam; 12-21-2008 at 11:01 PM.
I hate yup yup posts.
YUP YUP!
It works and as said, do it smoothly enough and they won't even notice.
Conversely, you can leave them suddenly broke and they need to do something about it. A reason to adventure maybe?
Garry AKA --Phoenix-- Rising above the Flames.
The Dean of Old School
The Olde Phoenix Inn
Metro Detroit Linux Users Group
Well, they are a little over-stocked by their former DM... it may be a good idea to screw them back into being an average-powered party. A good impetus for further adventure.
Thanks for the input.
Yup yup.
Just a last minute thing, but I have found that starting the game with a disaster is useful for cementing the party as a party. Captured by slavers, a shipwreck, a barbarian raid on your hometown, all have their uses. You can throw an otherwise disparate party together and through adversity get a whole.Originally Posted by Malruhn
Garry AKA --Phoenix-- Rising above the Flames.
The Dean of Old School
The Olde Phoenix Inn
Metro Detroit Linux Users Group
After further thought - it's been a helluva long time since I've used a true disaster like this... hmmmm.
And, then... after the airship crash, they could ALL MEET AT THE INN!!!!
Sorry, I couldn't resist the jab at the overplayed scenario.
Thinking about it, it may be upwards of 25 YEARS since I've used a legitimate disaster as a plot device. Oh, snap, you've just got my creative juices flowing.
Now I can start working on a plan to get a new player with a warlock that wants to play chaotic evil in the guise of true neutral under control. (insert evil laugh here!!) You ROCK!
Moderator
And just like that most of the problem is solved. May I suggest that you not let them get a lot of money for the salvage. Enough that they can get some basic provisions and such with something left over, but not enough that would allow for the buying of really nice stuff that would make things really easy. Like was mentioned previously, adventuring to earn some money and be able to survive.
Barring that, make them face really, really powerful enemies, so that even the purchase of magickal items may not help.
Not that I, who is about to DM for the first time, should be able to tell you, a more experienced DM, how to DM. Sorry about that.
how are you handling the transition between worlds? will they be aware that they are shifting from one reality to another? parallel universes? will the world change even be represented by a mechanic in the game context? why won't they have money in the banking system in the new world? i have a lot of suggestions, but i would prefer more information to go on. in the meanwhile, the salvage idea is workable.
nijineko the gm: AG16, CoS. nijineko the player: AtG, RttToH; . The Journal of Tala'elowar Kiyiik! .
CrystalBallLite: the best dice roller on the planet! . nijineko the archivist: the 3.x archive
Dude, let me say that I've learned more about running games from people that didn't know squat than I EVER learned from master DM's. You guys don't know the RULES and the CONVENTIONS, so you ask strange questions and keep asking, "WHY??" This keeps ME thinking in new and different ways!
nijineko, they are playing "Whispers of the Vampire's Blade" adventure. In it, there is a scenario where they are flying on an airship that is attacked by another. I've modified the scenario slightly, with the second airship being powered by a garantuan AIR elemental rather than a huge fire elemental per the standard Eberron rules. Also, the pilot is NOT from House Lyrandar, so the bindings are not entirely kosher. The scenario has the two ships crashing into each other - and when they do, the scema that bind the elementals will be damaged. Both elementals will attempt to gate out to their respective planes - and the resonance field between the two nearly-overlapping gates will throw the airships into the ethereal plane for just a moment or two.
Keep in mind, this is all the while the party is fighting a vampire... so they won't be able to do anything about the situation.
The gates will allow the departure of the elementals, and the closing of the gates will push the airship into an alternative Prime Material plane... mine. The airships will crash onto an army HQ in the middle of a pitched battle. The destruction will break the back of the army, allowing the "good" guys to win - and all should be wrapping up as the party finally deals with the vampire BBEG.
I have recently (two years or so) introduced many of the mechanics from Eberron into my world (a lightning rail, Dragonmarks). This will be the introduction of warforged (there's one in the party).
They won't have any money in the bank here, because it is a totally different universe... they didn't EXIST here a minute ago, so there is no money in the bank...
I can see this now - a pitched battle, the invaders getting the upper hand. Suddenly a great explosion and a flaming SOMETHING crashes into the invaders' base of operations. We grab the opportunity and attack, winning the day... and in the aftermath, we find four people and an automaton that claim to have come from somewhere else...
This will give a perfect opportunity for role-playing to get out of a tight situation, possibly get some highly ranked contacts - AND learn a bit about my campaign world.
After Tesral's comments, I'm thinking about confiscating the entire crash-site for the Crown - and not let them even grab anything not on their bodies... (insert another evil laugh here!)
Got to love moments of random exposition.
Moderator
Malruhn, how about this for an idea? When the crash site gets claimed for the crown, the commander of the winning force allows the party to take only what they are able to carry themselves. This way the party has to choose specific items to take and which items to leave since they can't carry everything. You could also use the crash to convienently destroy some items that you would prefer the party did not have, since you said the previous DM was overgenerous. <again, insert your evil laugh>
And then they have to outwit, outlast, outplay with only those items they took from the crash site... Oh wait that's a different game
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