Marches on Eberron - Player's Guide

by vorkane

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Marches on Eberron

Player's Guide

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction


Marches of Eberron

Welcome adventurer, you have ached to gain fame and fortune, a wanderlust to seek new lands. 6 years after The Last War there is still much chaos in Khorvaire. Though Khorvaire has been explored, except for now the wasteland of the Mourning, you want new adventure. To find artifacts and relics of times long ago.To gain new experience and excitement you decide to head to the continent of Xen'drik. Xen'drik is a great expanse of unexplored lands that thousands of years ago was ruled by Giants, Giants with magic and technology more advanced than anything seen even in this age. Traveling to Sharn, you look to charter passage to Xen'drik. Spending days trying to find a cheap passage across the Straits of Shargon you are unable to find passage for the amount you have in your pocket.

Eventually a poster for joining the Finders Guild is found at the city center. They will pay for your trip to Xen'drik, to their outpost of Zantashk. It is a small outpost that has been established to explore for treasures and lore. The only thing the Finders Guild asks for is reports of your adventures, and treasures you find you can sell to the the agents there but they will take a percentage to pay for your voyage. Once you have paid for your voyage cost you are free to explore and earn riches to your wildest dreams.

Introduction

Players' Responsibilities

The difference between the West Marches and home campaigns is how the community interacts with each other between games to achieve goals or explore the wilderness together. In order to do this the players are in charge of creating and joining games as well as making After Action Reports to keep other players up to date. As a player you are expected to do this:

  • Be active on the discord
  • Join the subreddit - Marches on Eberron
    • You will need to Message the Moderators (me) to get approval to join.
  • Create a LFG using the template, and message in the thread of LFG to join adventures.
    • The first 3 people who sign up to the LFG will be the primary people
    • Anyone after the intial 3 will be on standby in case on game day someone has issues they need to let the DM know 2 hours before game so that he can contact the secondary players.
  • Write AARs after games to inform your fellow players of your adventures. This is important as it is one of the main ways to get information in an organized structure for months to come.
  • Be in Discord in the channel for the game 30 minutes before game time and ready to play.
    • This to allow for sound tests and making sure any questions can be answered before game.
    • Be ready at this time as if we were going to play.

Creating or Joining Sessions

  • Post your request on the subreddit using the pinned template.
  • If you have a specific date you want to plan the session then state it, otherwise just put 'Next Available'
  • Currently game sessions will be every other Saturday from 6 PM - 10 PM US Central Timezone. This is until we get used to playing, then sessions may occur more often.
  • The call to arms request will be chosen by the Wednesday before the game, this will give the DM some time to prepare the adventure.
  • When the call to arms has been chosen then the player who submitted will be contacted and told that their call to arms was chosen.

After Action Reports (AARs)

After a session your DM will post an AAR Thread on the subreddit. It is up to the players to write AARs. Writing After Action Reports (Often refered to as AARs) is a very important part of sharing information with the other players in the land of the West Marches. AARs usually contain information on what happened on the mission and often includes the character's outlook on the mission. Feel free to make this an "In Character" report or an "Out of Character" report. Common things to include are: locations visited, NPCs encountered, monsters encountered, points of interest, events of interest.

At the end of each week, the DM team will pick from these AARs and award inspiration to the most helpful/entertaining ones. Inspiration allows you to reroll one roll and take the higher of the results.

Discord

You will be invited to the Discord server before-hand. There will be a number of channels to look through.

  • #call-to-arms : Posting for adventure requests, please post using the template and also join adventures
  • #after-action-reports : When the session is over use this channel to post a report of what happened for others to be regaled of your tales.
  • tavern-chats : Use this channel to talk as if in character to the other players or have other out of sessions RP events.
    • Type a Message with an Asterisk (*) on either side to italicize your message. This is usually used to indicate narration
    • Type a message with two asterisks on either side or quotation marks around it to bold your text. People usually use this to indicate speech.
Players' Responsibilites

Things to know about Eberron

The Last War Has Ended-Sort Of

The Last War plunged the continent of Khorvaire into civil war more than a century ago, shattering the Five Nations that made up the kingdom of Galifar.Just two years ago, the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold and the establishment of twelve recognized nations and a tenuous peace. The conflicts, the anger, and the pain of the long war remain, however, and the new nations seek every advantage as they prepare for the next war to break out on the continent.

Dragonmarked Dynasties

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.

Lands of lntrigue

The war is over, and the nations of Khorvaire now try to build a new age of peace and prosperity. Ancient threats linger, however, and the world needs heroes to take up the cause. Nations compete on many levels-over economic dominance, political influence, territory, magical power, and more-each looking to maintain or improve its status by any means short of all-out war. Dragonmarked houses, churches both pure and corrupt, crime lords, monster gangs, psionic spies, arcane universities, secret societies, sinister masterminds, dragons, and a multitude of organizations and factions join the struggle for position and power in the aftermath of the Last War.

A Continent of Adventure

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. The quest for the Mirror of the Seventh Moon might take the heroes from a hidden mountain shrine in Darguun to a ruined castle in the Shadow Marches and finally to a dungeon deep below the Library of Korranberg. 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

The technology of Eberron has developed not through the advance of science but by the mastery of magic. The widespread use of magic pervades life in the cities and towns. Airships and rail transport make rapid travel across the continent possible. A working class of minor mages, called magewrights, uses spells to provide energy and other necessities. Advances in magic item creation have led to everything from self-propelled farming implements to sentient, free-willed beings created in artificers' forges. With the aid of rare crystals called dragonshards, dragonmarks can be made more powerful, elementals can be controlled and harnessed, and magic items can be crafted and shaped.

New Races

In addition to the common player character races found in the Player's Handbook, players can choose to play orc or goblinoid characters in Eberron. Or they can choose one of four new races: changelings, kalashtar, shifters, and warforged. Changelings have minor shapechanging abilities similar to those of doppelgangers. Kalashtar are planar entities merged with human hosts, giving them telepathic abilities. Shifters developed from the mixing of humans and lycanthropes, a union that grants them limited bestial abilities and feral instincts. The warforged are a constructed race created during the Last War, seeking to find its place in a post-war world.

D&D with a Twist

Every race, monster, spell, and magic item in the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual has a place somewhere in Eberron, but it might not be the place you expect. Eberron has a unique spot in the D&D multiverse, and many familiar elements of the game play different roles in the world. In particular, mortal creatures are products of culture and circumstances, rather than the direct influence of the gods. As a result, you can't assume that a gold dragon is good or a beholder is evil; only in the case of celestials, fiends, and certain other creatures whose identity and worldview are shaped by magic (such as the curse of lycanthropy) is alignment a given.​

Things to Know

Known Map of Xen'Drik


Map

Resources

West Marches Campaign

If you have questions on the game play please check out the following links:

Book Downloads

Resources

Scenario


Starting Point


Town Name: Zantashk (Population: 60)
Known For: Outpost of House Tharashk, provides shelter and supplies to house prospectors traveling out in search of dragonshards.
Location: Continent of Xen'Drik
Goods & Services:
Major NPCs: Duuth Velderan [Local Reeve]


Scenario

Traveling


Traveler's Curse

Traveling in Xen'drik can be tricky. There is a term that the locals have coined called the Traveler's Curse. Shifting zones make this continent a very unpredictable place. The forces at work defy any reason or magical explanation, it encompasses the whole continent but does not work with any predictability. The Traveler's Curse twists time and distance, both in perception and reality. Two adventuring parties can depart from Stormreach in search of the same specific ruins, even following the same path could take the first group a week and the second group three weeks to make the journey. There is no explanation to it. The curse ebbs and flows, but it seems to have the strongest effect on those not native to the land. There have also been discoveries that on the few established roads in Xen'drik it seems weaker. Knowledge of a destination holds back the effect, and a strong-willed individual might resist or even control it.

Roles

Before setting off for the day, every party needs topo have one PC fill each of the following roles. Each PC can only fill one roe and all the roles must be filled if there are at least four PCs.

Role Function
Navigator Makes the Survival roles to navigate and the Discovery rolls to explore
Scout Makes the Perception rolls to spot encounters (front of marching order)
Cartographer Adds locations to the Tavern Map, granting the party XP
Quartermaster Tracks the party's loot, gold, and expended rations (1/day)
Scribe Writes the session summary (reward of 1 extra downtime action next game)

Watches

The day is divided into 6 watches, each 4 hours long. They are:

Watch Name 24 Hr
1 Trence 2:00-6:00
2 Étude 6:00-10:00
3 Prime 10:00-14:00
4 Second 14:00-18:00
5 Tone 18:00-22:00
6 Fête 22:00-2:00

Speed of Travel

A character's speed describes movement in short-duration, life-threatening situations. Here's how far characters can move over an extended period of time.
A standard travel day is 8 hours. Characters may engage in a Forced March to travel for longer, but at the end of each watch they must make a Constitution saving throw against exhaustion.
For each additional hour of travel beyond 8 hours, each character must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of the hour. The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour past 8 hours. On a failed saving throw, a character suffers one level of Exhaustion (see Conditions).

On foot:
Pace Miles per Hour Miles per Watch Miles per Day
Fast 4 16 32
Normal 3 12 24
Slow 2 8 16
Cart with a mule:
Pace Miles per Hour Miles per Watch Miles per Day
Fast 5 20 40
Normal 4 16 32
Slow 3 12 24
On a riding horse:
Pace Miles per Hour Miles per Watch Miles per Day
Fast 10 40 80
Normal 8 32 65
Slow 6 24 48

Animals can only travel at a Fast pace on a road or trail. They can only sustain a Fast apace for a single watch before suffering a level of exhaustion. If they move at a Fast pace for day, they must make Constitution saving throw or die.

Traveling

Navigation

Characters are capable of finding their way in the wilderness through features like the positioning of the sun, direction of the wind, flight patterns of birds, and other natural phenomena. They may also use local landmarks to guide themselves.

If the characters are not following a natural feature or obvious landmark (e.g. following a trail or road, following a river upstream, etc.), they must make a Wisdon (Survival) check each watch (usually two or three times a day) to see if they head in the right direction. The odds can be modified in a few ways:

Modification Effect
Moving at a Slow pace Navigation DC reduced by 2, may roll Stealth check if desired
Clear, step-by-step directions Double proficiency bonus on any rolls
Map of the region Advantage on Survival checks
Inclement Weather Disadvantage on Survival checks
Night Travel Halved proficiency bonus on any rolls

Discovery

At the end of every watch during which the party travelled through the wilderness, players will make a Discovery roll (1d100). The DM will inform you of the result, which could include stumbling across a new location, finding a notable landmark useful for navigation, or encountering a creature. If a useful location is discovered, the Cartographer can add it to the map for XP.

Encounter rolls will also be made during watches where players are not travelling to see if anything shows up while they are camping; players will make a Watch Encounter roll (1d100). Keep in mind that your preparation for nighttime encounters is important: posting watches, not lighting a fire, and finding a good campsite will all help your chances if a wandering monster stops by.

Searching for a Location

When characters have traveled to the approximate location of their destination but haven't found it yet, they must make a Perception check to locate it. This search takes 1 hour, and represents finding vantage point, scouting, looking for fine details mentioned, and other similar tactics.

Searching the Wilderness

The West Marches are a wild place, filled with danger and adventure. The wilderness hides its treasures well, but they are densely packed for those who know how to look.
Characters who choose to search the wilderness can stop making progress in order to explore nearby landmarks, tracks, trails, and other interesting features. For every watch spent this way, the players make an additional Discory roll (1d100) to find what's hidden in the wilderness.

Viewing distances

Altitude Distance
6 feet (humanoid height) 3 miles
40 feet (tree height) 7 miles
100 feet (plains hill) 12 miles
500 feet (hill) 27 miles
1,000 (mountain) 38 miles

*Mountains can be seen from 70 miles away

Special XP Rules

  • Characters gain XP for adding significant locations to the Tavern Map.
    • Adding smaller notes and landmarks is recommended, but doesn't award XP.
    • The party can also choose not to add a location to the map if they want to keep it a secret from other players.
  • At the beginning of every session, the group can set a goal. Characters gain XP for completing a goal according to its difficulty.
  • Characters playing the Scribe role gain an extra Downtime Action in town the following session if they write the Session Summary.
Traveling

Rules

General Rules

Before you start play, consider the following rules. They will be enforced:

  • Don't be a dick!
  • Use common sense! Don't be that guy!
  • Timeout: if you are uncomfortable with anything that happens in game, just say "timeout" and the DM will take a break and give everyone a chance to address the issue.
  • By default, PvP is not allowed, No non-consensual PvP. If the situation requires PvP, try to make it non-lethal. Includes touch other people's possesions.
  • There will be a social contract that the DM and players have come up with on the Discord at (placeholder)

While the world is persistent, each session is self-contained. The party always starts in the safe city of Zantashk, go out on an adventure and return home. If the part are still out in the wild when the session ends, they are presumed to have returned off-screen and will need to start in Zantashk again next session. (**Note: There may be exceptions to this rule in certain cases.)

Adventuring

Adventuring in a West Marches Campaign follows several principles.

  • The town is surrounded by a large wall and is considered safe with the exception of special events that the players will know in advance.
  • Adventures will not take place in town. Explore the wilds and find your story.
  • The wilds generally grow more dangerous the furhter you travel, this is not always true and remeber: running is always an option.
  • The players have persistent effects on the world and it will dynamically change around them.

Major Quests and Adventuring Motives

The Major Quest and Adventuring Motives is a modification of what gives the players experience. As a consequence, "Common Rumors" ( the quuests in town at the start of the game) no longer give a gold reward and beyond the spoils found on the quest, and there are no "session goals" or "group goals" for granting extra XP. Those rewards have been rolled into the rules below.

Rule One: Major Quests

Major Quests are quests the characters invent and choose to undertake. In this case quests posted in the Call to Arms. When you know of something in Xen'drik that few others know of, and it inflames your passions, write yourself a major quest. Tell the GM.
If the party is not currently on a major quest, you may reveal yours. Tell why you care, and ask your allies for aid. If they agree to help you, everyone immediately gains XP. If your group completes the major quest of anyone in the gorup, everyone immediately gains XP.

Rule Two: Adventuring Motives

Why are you adventuring? Choose a motiviation below, or tell the GM your own. At the end of each session, if you did something clearly in support of your motiviation, tell the group. If everyone agrees, you gain xp.

  • Personal glory
  • Protecting the weak
  • Accruing riches
  • Uncovering secrets
  • Establishing order
  • Internalizing the wilds
  • Repaying a debt
  • Redeeming a failure

Rules

Downtime Activities


Downtime Rules


At the start of the session the DM will ask each player what they have been doing in the time between advenntures. Periods of downtime can vary in duration, but each downtime activity requires a certain number of days to complete before you gain any benefit, and at least 8 hours of each day must be spent on the downtime activity for the day to count. The days do not need to be consecutive. If you have more than the minimum amount of days to spend, you can keep doing the same thing for a longer period of time, or switch to a new downtime activity.
Downtime activities other than the ones presented below are possible. If you want your character to spend his or her downtime performing an activity not covered here, discuss it with your DM.
Lifestyle Expenses
Lifestyle Price/Day D20 Modifier
Wretched - -10
Squalid 1 sp -5
Poor 2 sp -3
Modest 1 gp +0
Comfortable 2 gp +3
Wealthy 4 gp +5
Aristocratic 10 gp min +10

After the lifestyle has been chosen the DM will ask you to roll a d20 and add the modifier to the roll. This will determine if any events occured during the past downtime.

Downtime Activities


Hard Work

Spend your Downtime Action doing a little extra hard work. Tell the other players what you did for work, and gain (Level x Tier)d8 gp.

Fitness Training ( Level 0 )

Engage in fitness training with the local guard. Spend your Downtime Action to choose one of the follow options:

  • Spend 25 gp to gain a Fitness Die (d4). You can spend this die at any time in the next adventure on any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check, saving throw, or skill use. In case of a multi-session adventure, the die can be spent once per session.

Study ( Level 0 )

Spend your time in study at the library. Spend your Downtime Action to choose one of the following options:

  • Spend 25gp to gain a Study Die (d4). You can spend this die at any time in the next adventure on any Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma check, saving throw, or skill use. In case of a multi-session adventure, the die can be spent once per session.

Improve Zantashk

Spend your Downtime Action building an improvement to Zantashk. Pay the cost to establish a new town feature or level up an existing town feature.

Alchemist ( Level 0 )

Visit the alchemist. At the current level basic alchemist items are available
Upgrades:

  • Level 1 - Visit to get a free Potion of Cure Light Wounds
  • Level 2 - TBA

Blacksmith ( Level 0 )

Visit the blacksmith. At the current level armor and weapon repair is available. Along with Non-masterwork weapons and armor.
Upgrades:

  • Level 1 - Spend 40g to reforge one weapon into any other type in the same category.
  • Level 2 - TBA

Harbor ( Level 0 )

The harbor will have traveling merchants that have sailed down from Stormreach or Sharn, and possibly other places.
Upgrades:

  • Level 1 - Rarer items may appear from travelling merchants
  • Level 2 - TBA

** Note: If players have ideas of town improvements please send a note to the GM to have the discussion.

Downtime Activities

Character Creation

Here are the guidelines for character creation. These rules help to keep the game fair and balanced for everyone involved.

Character Sheet

The character sheets will be in Roll20. During character creation you will be created a sheet and it will be assigned to you.

Starting Level

All new characters start at 3rd level with 0/2700 XP. Upon PC death, where the Dead PC's level is X a new PC may be made at the lowest level of the level tier X is in:

  • Tier 1: 3
  • Tier 2: 4-7
  • Tier 3: 8-11
  • Tier 4: 12-15
  • Tier 5: 16-20

The new character can also be the lowest level of a lowest tie. I.E Sam dies at leve 11, the character can be the maximum of level 8, but could start at level 3, 4, or 8.

Hit Points

You may either roll your hit points or use the average. If you choose to roll, you must keep it. Each level you may decide which way to generate HP for that level.

Ability Scores

For ability scores, Point buy will be used. You will be given 27 points to allocate to scores. All abilities start at 8.

Character Races

Character races have the following restrictions

  • No races with a flying speed
  • Races:
    • Dwarves
      • Restricted: Duergar
    • Gnomes
      • Restricted: Svirfneblin (aka Deep Gnomes)
    • Tieflings
      • Restricted: Winged Variant
  • No monstrous races
    • Kobold
    • Orc
    • Yuan-ti
    • Etc

Character Classes

The following character classes are allowed

  • Player's Handbook
  • Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
  • Xanathar's Guide to Everything
  • Revised Ranger (UA 2016)

There is a lot of material out for D&D and no enough time to cover it all. The DM reserves the right to restrict something during character creation and during gameplay as it comes up. The DM will work with you if there is something a player is wanting for story purposes.

Feats

The following are feats that are allowed or disallowed

  • Restricted: Lucky
  • Racial Feats (Xanathar's Guide to Everything)
  • Skill Feats (Unearthed Arcana)
  • Weapon Feats (Unearthed Arcana)

Spells

The following spells are allowed

  • Player's Handbook
  • Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide
  • Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Starting Equipment

Players may choose to use the starting equipment given by their characters class and background or they can roll the starting wealth. Either way, they also start with an additional 1d4x10 gp.

For characters starting at higher levels, refere to the following table:
3 1d4 x 10, normal starting equipment
4 100 gp plus 1d4 x 10gp, normal starting equipment
8 1,000 gp plus 1d4 x 10gp, normal starting equipment
12 5,000 gp plus 1d4 x 10gp, normal starting equipment
16 10,000 gp plus 1d4 x 10gp, nomral starting equipment

Character Development

Character development relies heavily on the player. Please be sure your character has a reason for having come to Orthon. From there you can develop your character in the role-play channels. You man also request quests that help to progress your characters story or goals.

Individual DMs are not likely to know the narrative of your character. You will need to share that with them if you expect it to be written into a quest.

Character Creation

Appendix

Not quite Markdown

Although the Homebrewery uses Markdown, to get all the styling features from the PHB, we had to get a little creative. Some base HTML elements are not used as expected and I've had to include a few new keywords.

  • Horizontal Rules are generally used to modify existing elements into a different style. For example, a horizontal rule before a blockquote will give it the style of a Monster Stat Block instead of a note.
  • New Pages are controlled by the author. It's impossible for the site to detect when the end of a page is reached, so indicate you'd like to start a new page, use the new page snippet to get the syntax.
  • Code Blocks are used only to indicate column breaks. Since they don't allow for styling within them, they weren't that useful to use.
  • HTML can be used to get just the right look for your homebrew. I've included some examples in the snippet icons above the editor.

Images

Images must be hosted online somewhere, like imgur. You use the address to that image to reference it in your brew. Images can be included 'inline' with the text using Markdown-style images. However for background images more control is needed.

Background images should be included as HTML-style img tags. Using inline CSS you can precisely position your image where you'd like it to be. I have added both a inflow image snippet and a background image snippet to give you exmaples of how to do it.

Crediting Me

If you'd like to credit The Homebrewery in your brew, I'd be flattered! Just reference that you made it with The Homebrewery.

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