Character Creation
For creating your character for our new Eberron Campaign, to give yourselves the best experience, consider incorporating the following aspects in developing your character.
Setting: During the last years of the war, your party was recruited and trained to becoming part of the King's Dark Lanterns, the intelligence branch that serve the crown of Breland. On your first mission into enemy territory of Karrnath, seeking a way to stop the endless production of undead forces in the city of Atur, your companion of the Silver Flame, Jerret of the Flame, made a vital mistake seeing the horrors in his eyes, which got you captured and imprisoned.
The story will begin almost 2 years after the war and the mourning. The fear that the mourning was caused by too much use of war magic and could possibly expand, made everyone stop their war efforts within months. Within this time, you were released from the Atur Work Camp -Prison, in which you spend 3-4 years cutting wood, and cleaning and preparing corpses for necromancy. With the end of the war, Karrnath seized its production of the undead, but faced severe economic instability because of it, as a lot of money was made through these undead forces, either as workforce or mercenaries. The Treaty of Thronehold declared what constituted as a war crime and granted rights to displaced citizens, emptying many prisons and work camps, but still holding people accountable for damage caused. As such, you were released within debt to the nation of Karrnath. To repay your debt, you have been placed in the service of Baron Drago Il'Gregus, a local warlord who owns many of the farmlands and forests around Atur. You spend your first weeks "free" doing simple monotonous tasks and errands for the Baron. You are free to travel the country, but you are not allowed to pass the borders without his permission. Because "beds need to be earned" you find your new home in an old barn at the edge of the city of Atur. You've done your best renovating the place, as it has been abandoned for over 60 years, since the plagues started spreading across Karrnath during the last war. If you prove yourselves well, you might get some land as lease from the Baron, to help rebuild the nation's economy.
Mechanical: Level 2 start 1 feat of choice +5 maximum hitpoints Standard background equipment, roll for money Work desirable magic items in backstory Flexible backround/racials allowed At table: Roll 1d100 for amount of silver pieces At table: Roll Health (reroll 1s & 2s)
Standard array: 16, 15, 15, 12, 10, 8 or a point buy variation of this. Note this is more stats than normal point buy.
Story: The following questions can guide you towards rounding out your character for this specific campaign. Use them how you see fit.
What were you doing during the war? Did you work a job? How did you feel about it? How has the war impacted your life and your family's? What is your opinion on how the war (should have) ended?
Who is your family? What did they do and where are they now?
People are not perfect, everyone has something they regret that has shaped their personality. What is it you regret? What happened?
What are your short/medium/long term goals now that you are "free"?
What makes you stay together with the party instead of going to pursue personal goals on your own?
What is it that you have to lose, in case of death or failure? What drives you towards your goals?
Religion: Something we did not discuss during session 0 was religion. In Eberron, there is no actual proof that gods exist. However, few practitioners of faith gain magical powers that cannot be explained through arcane science. The only hard proven religion is the Silver Flame, which draws strength from a force of light to fight evil. Still, the majority of the populace believes gods guide their actions, though there are no known records of proving a gods' interference. Many of the current pantheon are culturally based and created, much like the Greek or Norse Pantheons. It is also not uncommon for new religious ideas to arise. It is good to consider how you think about religion, and whether your belief changed during the war as some might argue that the war proved that no gods can exist as they would not let something like the mourning happen. Though, atheïsm is also not uncommon, it is the most depressing view, because we know that when you die, you go the Dolurrh, the plane of death, as planar travelers have reportedly seen recently died people there before they fade away. Not believing in a god or pantheon means that this would be the end of your soul, while priests of the Sovereign Host argue that your soul gets elevated to a place much higher than the planes we can visit after fading away in Dolurrh.
There are many religions in Eberron, but the most common are: The Sovereign Host (a pantheon of 10 gods that affect many aspects of life) The (Dark) Six (expanded upon the Sovereign Host, these 6 gods deal with the more scary parts of life, though not necessarily evil) The Silver Flame (Force of light that can be drawn upon to fight evil) Blood of Vol (Objects the Sovereign Host and death itself, as divinity lives within everybody)
There are many other religions to consider as well. https://eberron.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Religions
NPCs: You have met many people during the war, from your home, during travel or maybe in prison, though you have no idea who is left alive. Maybe a couple of people are still fresh in your memory, would you like to describe them and where you last saw them? Only a couple of sentences for their story is more than enough. Make as many as you like. This is your opportunity to make the world come alive and give me some roleplaying challenges.
Setting: During the last years of the war, your party was recruited and trained to becoming part of the King's Dark Lanterns, the intelligence branch that serve the crown of Breland. On your first mission into enemy territory of Karrnath, seeking a way to stop the endless production of undead forces in the city of Atur, your companion of the Silver Flame, Jerret of the Flame, made a vital mistake seeing the horrors in his eyes, which got you captured and imprisoned.
The story will begin almost 2 years after the war and the mourning. The fear that the mourning was caused by too much use of war magic and could possibly expand, made everyone stop their war efforts within months. Within this time, you were released from the Atur Work Camp -Prison, in which you spend 3-4 years cutting wood, and cleaning and preparing corpses for necromancy. With the end of the war, Karrnath seized its production of the undead, but faced severe economic instability because of it, as a lot of money was made through these undead forces, either as workforce or mercenaries. The Treaty of Thronehold declared what constituted as a war crime and granted rights to displaced citizens, emptying many prisons and work camps, but still holding people accountable for damage caused. As such, you were released within debt to the nation of Karrnath. To repay your debt, you have been placed in the service of Baron Drago Il'Gregus, a local warlord who owns many of the farmlands and forests around Atur. You spend your first weeks "free" doing simple monotonous tasks and errands for the Baron. You are free to travel the country, but you are not allowed to pass the borders without his permission. Because "beds need to be earned" you find your new home in an old barn at the edge of the city of Atur. You've done your best renovating the place, as it has been abandoned for over 60 years, since the plagues started spreading across Karrnath during the last war. If you prove yourselves well, you might get some land as lease from the Baron, to help rebuild the nation's economy.
Mechanical: Level 2 start 1 feat of choice +5 maximum hitpoints Standard background equipment, roll for money Work desirable magic items in backstory Flexible backround/racials allowed At table: Roll 1d100 for amount of silver pieces At table: Roll Health (reroll 1s & 2s)
Standard array: 16, 15, 15, 12, 10, 8 or a point buy variation of this. Note this is more stats than normal point buy.
Story: The following questions can guide you towards rounding out your character for this specific campaign. Use them how you see fit.
What were you doing during the war? Did you work a job? How did you feel about it? How has the war impacted your life and your family's? What is your opinion on how the war (should have) ended?
Who is your family? What did they do and where are they now?
People are not perfect, everyone has something they regret that has shaped their personality. What is it you regret? What happened?
What are your short/medium/long term goals now that you are "free"?
What makes you stay together with the party instead of going to pursue personal goals on your own?
What is it that you have to lose, in case of death or failure? What drives you towards your goals?
Religion: Something we did not discuss during session 0 was religion. In Eberron, there is no actual proof that gods exist. However, few practitioners of faith gain magical powers that cannot be explained through arcane science. The only hard proven religion is the Silver Flame, which draws strength from a force of light to fight evil. Still, the majority of the populace believes gods guide their actions, though there are no known records of proving a gods' interference. Many of the current pantheon are culturally based and created, much like the Greek or Norse Pantheons. It is also not uncommon for new religious ideas to arise. It is good to consider how you think about religion, and whether your belief changed during the war as some might argue that the war proved that no gods can exist as they would not let something like the mourning happen. Though, atheïsm is also not uncommon, it is the most depressing view, because we know that when you die, you go the Dolurrh, the plane of death, as planar travelers have reportedly seen recently died people there before they fade away. Not believing in a god or pantheon means that this would be the end of your soul, while priests of the Sovereign Host argue that your soul gets elevated to a place much higher than the planes we can visit after fading away in Dolurrh.
There are many religions in Eberron, but the most common are: The Sovereign Host (a pantheon of 10 gods that affect many aspects of life) The (Dark) Six (expanded upon the Sovereign Host, these 6 gods deal with the more scary parts of life, though not necessarily evil) The Silver Flame (Force of light that can be drawn upon to fight evil) Blood of Vol (Objects the Sovereign Host and death itself, as divinity lives within everybody)
There are many other religions to consider as well. https://eberron.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Religions
NPCs: You have met many people during the war, from your home, during travel or maybe in prison, though you have no idea who is left alive. Maybe a couple of people are still fresh in your memory, would you like to describe them and where you last saw them? Only a couple of sentences for their story is more than enough. Make as many as you like. This is your opportunity to make the world come alive and give me some roleplaying challenges.
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