DnD5 Eberron Angel's Breath

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Sharn, City of Towers

above: Sharn, City of Towers

WHAT IS THIS GAME?[edit]

The Angel's Breath As the top associates in Sharn’s most prominent house-independent Inquisitive Agency, your team was the ideal choice to take the Morgrave University case. And as often happens, once the case is underway, all hell breaks loose!

Morgrave’s leading scholar threatened with death! Skycoach chases! Mutant monsters! Mad-Magewright inventions! Fights in and on a runaway lightning rail train! Kidnappers, assassins, criminal gangs, spies, Dragonmarked Houses and the unknowable Cult of the Red Hand in a mad scramble search for the Angel’s Breath - a secret weapon buried among the ashes of the Last War.

What is this game about? This will be a high octane, action packed, D&D 5E adventure set almost entirely in Sharn, the City of Towers. It will be a mix of investigation, action/combat, and social/intrigue interaction. Characters will start the adventure at 3rd level, and can expect to reach 5th or 6th level by the adventure’s end

Game Sources In Use Eberron: Rising from the Last War Dungeon Master’s Guide Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes Mythic Odyssey’s of Theros Player’s Guide Sword-Coast Adventurer’s Guide Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (n.b. including all the origin, race and class options presented) The Tortle Package Volo’s Guide to Monsters Xanthar’s Guide to Everything

What rules options/house rules are we using? To start, we'll be using the Hero Points optional rule from chapter 9 of The Dungeon Master's Guide.

I may introduce other house rules (unlikely, minimal if I do so) as we go through the character planning process, assuming, fingers crossed, we get at least four committed players.

OUR INTREPID HEROES[edit]

Character's Name Played by... Class (Archetype) and Level Species AC Max HP Speed Spell Slots Hero Points
Star @Talisman Sorcerer (Aberrant Mind) 3 Swiftstride Shifter XX 20 30ft 4/2 6
Nyephal Wuzire @SirMoogle Warlock (Great Old One) 3 Blue Dragonborn 15 24 30ft 2 6
Watch @TrojanRat Rogue (Inquisitive) 3 Warforged XX XX XXft XX 6
Zarkoth Brighthelm @Karl Green Fighter (Battle Master) 3 Human 19 25 30ft n/a 6
Althea Moonflower @Aurebesh Monk (Open Hand) 3 Wood Elf XX XX XXft XX 6
Wix @Tarren Cleric (Peace Domain) 3 Changeling XX XX XXft XX 6
Misthel Windsong @camk4evr Wizard (Bladesinger) 3 High Elf 15 15 30ft 4/2 6
Lhoryn Barraks @Donan Ranger (Beast Master) 3 Gnoll 16/18 28 30ft 3 6

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT EBERRON[edit]

The Last War[edit]

The Last War plunged Khorvaire into civil war more than a century ago, breaking the kingdom of Galifar into it's five constituent nations. The war ended a decade ago with the signing of the Treaty of Thornehold, the recognition of twelve recognized nations, and a fragile peace. Even now, many of the conflicts and pain from the long war remain, and the signatory nations to the Treaty of Thornehold jockey for advantage as they prepare for the next war they all presume is coming.

Dragonmark Houses[edit]

The great dragonmarked families are the barons of industry and commerce throughout Khorvaire and beyond. Their influence transcends political boundaries, and they remained mostly neutral during the Last War. Not technically citizens of any nation, the matriarchs and patriarchs of each house live in splendor within their enclaves and emporiums located throughout Khorvaire. These dynastic houses of commerce derive their power from dragonmarks: hereditary arcane sigils that manifest on certain individuals within the family, granting them limited but useful magical abilities associated with the trade guilds each family controls.

Intrigue Abounds[edit]

Ancient threats linger as Khorvaire's nations try to build an age of peace and prosperity. The world needs heroes to help face those threats. The twelve signatory nations compete openly and in the shadows over economic and political power; territory; and magical power. All of them look to improve their status quo by any means necessary short of all-out war. Dragonmarked Houses, churches, cults, crime lords, spies, ancient cabals, secret societies, sinister masterminds, and dragons among others also compete in this shadowy dance for position and power among the ashes of the Last War.

A Continent of Adventure[edit]

From the jungles of Q’barra to the blasted hills and valleys of the Demon Wastes, from the skyscrapers of Sharn to the dinosaur-filled Talenta Plains, Eberron is a world of adventure. Adventures can draw heroes from one exotic location to another across the continent of Khorvaire. Through the use of magical transportation, heroes can reach a wide range of environments over the course of an adventure, and thus deal with a diverse assortment of monsters and other challenges.

A WORLD OF MAGIC[edit]

Eberron's technology developed not through the advance of science but through the mastery of magic on an industrial scale. The widespread use of such arcano-tech pervades life throughout the land. Airships and rail transport have enabled rapid transit. A working class of minor wizards called magewrights use spells to provide and power such arcano-tech. Everything from self-propelled farming implements to free-willed sentient beings are becoming ever more common in daily life through the aid of rare crystals called dragonshards. These crystals can enhance a dragonmark's power, control and harness wild elementals, and more easily create and mold magical items of all sorts.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SHARN[edit]

GEOGRAPHY OF SHARN[edit]

Sharn is the largest city in Khorvaire, with a population of close to a million sentients. This city is a cosmopolitan metropolis, with no species holding a demographic majority. Thriving communities and individuals of all Khorvaire's sentients can be found within its confines. Beyond the permanent population, tens of thousands of people pass through Sharn every day. Refugees still find their way to the city, along with tourists, spies, merchants, and folk hoping to find their fortune in the grandest city in Eberron.

Sharn stands above the Dagger River and its eastern tributary, the Hilt. It’s an important port for anyone dealing with Aerenal, Xen’drik, or Sarlona. Mountains line the shores of the Dagger, and Sharn can’t spread out. So instead it has grown ever upward.

The city is primarily made up of these quarters: Central Plateau; Dura; Menthis Plateau; Northedge; and Tavick’s Landing.

At the hub of each of these quarters is a cluster of enormous core towers. A web of bridges and platforms connects many of these vast spires, and smaller turrets sprout from the edges of the core towers. The district of Skyway floats above the highest towers, while the tunnels of the Cogs stretch out below the lower city.

In between those extremes, each of the quarters is divided into an upper ward, a middle ward, and a lower ward. Each ward is made up of a number of districts, so that the location of a place in Sharn can be expressed with a combination of a ward name and a district name.

GOVERNANCE IN SHARN[edit]

Sharn has many people in positions of power: beadles, ministers, bailiffs, and all manner of minor functionaries and officials. But ultimate power rests in the hands of the City Council. That body has seventeen members: one for each ward in the city, plus representatives from Skyway and the Cogs. Each ward has its own process for selecting a councilor, and there are no legal restrictions on who can govern.

The current Lord High Mayor is Janus Treyvailyn, whose served in the post for almost two full terms. Elected right after the end of The Last War, he's been an advocate for peace within Sharn, Ireland, and across Khorvaire.

CRIME IN THE CITY[edit]

Under the laws of Sharn, crime takes many forms. Any sort of theft is illegal, including “malicious theft of identity”—the use of shapeshifting abilities or illusion magic to impersonate someone with the intent to cause harm. Assault, murder, and fraud will all land you in hot water. Other activities walk the edge of legality. Gambling and prostitution are legal in Sharn, but these industries are heavily taxed and regulated.

Sharn is large enough to boast four major organized criminal organizations:the Boromar Clan, Daask, House Tarkanan, and the Tyrants. It's also large enough to have room among those crime syndicates for unaffiliated gangs and independent criminals of all stripes. The Boromar Clan and Daask are currently engaged in near open turf warfare across the city, with blood spilled on both sides - and among civilians on an almost daily basis.

THE FORCES OF LAW[edit]

The law is a force to be reckoned with in Sharn. Even in places where the watch is notoriously ineffective, those who would break the law still need to be wary of zealous guards resistant to bribes or threats.

There are three law enforcement groups with overlapping jurisdiction in Sharn: The Sharn City Watch; The King's Citadel; and The Redcloak Battalion.

The Sharn Watch is responsible for enforcing the laws of the city. The sentinels of the watch patrol the streets of Sharn, to all outward appearances vigilant for signs of unrest. They wear brass-yellow tunics with the city's livery emblazoned on them. These tunics are ensorcelled by magewrights to reject stains, dirt, and filth of any kind - to metaphorically signal the incorruptibility of the Watch. To those who've spent any time in the city, this metaphor is either the height of irony, or aspirational at best. In addition to the sentinels, the Watch employs inquisitive whose job it is to investigate more complicated crimes, and ensure the guilty are brought to justice before the magisterial courts.

The members of the King’s Citadel are the direct agents of the Brelish Crown. As such, the King’s Citadel stands above the Sharn Watch. Its members have the authority to take control of any investigation and to command the service of any guard or sentinel. Typically the Citadel leaves the daily chores of law enforcement in the hands of the Sharn Watch. The Citadel is concerned with forces that threaten the entire city, or even the kingdom. Foreign spies, mad necromancers, and ancient fiends—these are the foes of the King’s Citadel, rather than pickpockets and burglars.

The soldiers of the Redcloak Battalion are among the deadliest warriors in Sharn. When a situation calls for extreme military force, both the Sharn Watch and the King’s Citadel turn to the Redcloak Battalion. This elite unit fought in the forefront of the Last War, and the bards in Menthis today sing of the exploits of Khandan the Hammer and Meira the Huntress. At the end of the war, the battalion was split up, and one unit was assigned to Sharn. Its headquarters is located in the Daggerwatch district of Upper Dura.