Wednesday, August 19, 2015

[Campaign Idea] Eberron - The Moiras Foundation

Another campaign idea for Eberron which I would like to run one day (compare with Morgrave University Archaeologists).

During the Last War, Moiras d'Cannith became very, very rich thanks to the numerous magical constructs he sold to the Five Nations - but the devastation he saw during the war made him restless. He researched the Draconic Prophecies and was plagued by dreams of doom. When, at the end of the war, the proud nation of Cyre was destroyed in a single day through a magical cataclysm, he became convinced that the end of the world was a very real possibility. He spent the last two years of his life traveling to distant countries in order to learn more about possible threats to the world - and his will established the creation of a foundation which would allow others to do the same.

The player characters have been selected by the newly-established Board of the Moiras Foundation. They receive a generous stipend, room and board in the mansion at the outskirts of Wroat (the capital of Breland) which serves as the headquarters of the Foundation, as well as free travel with all regular Orien lightning rail and caravans and Lyrandar ships (second class only). In exchange, they are obligated to research the Draconic Prophecy as well as any groups and powers that might pose a threat to the safety of the world - and, if possible, thwart their schemes (although their primary mission is to gather information). Such groups include (but are not limited to) the Cults of the Dragon Below, the Lords of Dust, the Children of Winter, as well as other groups that seem rather suspicious and secretive (like the Blood of Vol).



The actions of the player characters - and any other agents of the Foundation - are reviewed at least annually by the Board if they are making a good efforts towards these goals, and if they fail to make a satisfactory account of their actions, they might be kicked out. Apart from that, they are free to set their own priorities on how to tackle those goals, although individual members of the Board sometimes pass on hints on suggestions on what kinds of activities they would consider to be worthwhile.

Of course, while the stipend and the other perks are sweet, this job comes with quite a few enemies. All these cults, for example, will object most violently to their activities getting exposed. Furthermore, the three surviving splinter groups of House Cannith would love to get their hands on the Moiras inheritance to help rebuild their House, and will fight the Foundation in the courts, in the eyes of public opinion (especially if the PCs mess up), and possibly through more underhanded means. Finally, the members of the Board might have their own hidden agendas which are not necessarily the same as that of the Foundation - what if an agent of the Aurum sits on the Board? Or of the Chamber?


Basically, this campaign framework is my excuse for running Call of Cthulhu-esque adventures in Eberron, while also providing a framework why player characters would participate in such adventures again and again. In fact, this was based on a similar framework for 1920s Call of Cthulhu which I saw on a website somewhere (unfortunately, I lost the link), and I figure it was well worth stealing for Eberron, with some further modifications to suit the setting.

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