Eberron Campaign Bible

Foundry VTT v12 (build 331) DnD 2024 rules Party: 7 players · L7–L8
Last updated: · Everything here is distilled from our chats and files in this project.

Campaign Overview

System: D&D 2024
Setting: Eberron
Platform: Foundry VTT 12.331 (dnd5e 4.3.6)
Party: 7 PCs (most level 8, some level 7)

This campaign threads present-day Eberron intrigue with echoes of the previous saga. A former PC—Pants, a warforged—now stands poised as the apparent BBEG. The world keeps misreading clues drawn from that prior era (Ely’s Crown, the Tarrasque eggs, the broken hammer, and the giant’s belt) and those myths are being exploited by enemies and opportunists. The players will constantly meet people who think those artifacts matter now; that misbelief is a lever you can use for clues, misinformation, and tension.

Theme: Memory vs. Meaning. The past exists—but only as stories people tell. Who controls the story controls the present.

The Party

Seven adventurers, averaging level 8 (a couple at level 7 due to missed sessions). XP leveling is in use.

Party-facing facts you should surface often
  • Rail travel is fast but political—House Orien runs the show and has enemies.
  • Rumors about four relics circulate, but they’re historical references, not current McGuffins.
  • Signs of Warforged activism can be read many ways; paranoia serves the villains.

BBEG: Pants (Warforged)

Former PC
Best friend: Ely (believed dead)
Iconic gear (past): Broken Hammer · Belt of Giant Strength

Pants is the emotional center of the meta-plot. He’s been told Ely is dead; the world parades her crown as a trophy (or reliquary). The old symbols now surface as propaganda:

  • Ellie’s Crown → used as a rallying icon (“Crown of the Faewild’s Favor”).
  • The Tarrasque Eggs → whispered as The Unhatched Covenant—a cultish promise of apocalyptic rebirth.
  • The Broken Hammer → mythologized as Echo of the Broken Pact, a narrative that Pants betrayed (or was betrayed by) the old order.
  • Belt of Giant Strength → reframed as Shackles of the Fallen Colossus—strength chained to someone else’s agenda.
How to play Pants on stage
  • Voice: measured, brittle calm; cracks under Ely-related pressure.
  • Goal (surface): expose the lie about Ely; retrieve what the Crown actually represents (not just an object).
  • Goal (shadow): make the world admit it used him. Truth, even if it breaks things.
  • Tactics: indirect leverage—rumors, forged manifests, spiked rail schedules, patronized radicals.

Story Arcs & Timelines

Arc A — The Crown Isn’t the Crown

Multiple factions chase “Ely’s Crown,” which is symbolic, not a keystone item. Reveal that different crowns exist (ceremonial replicas, fae-blessed circlets, counterfeit propaganda) and each says something about the wearer—not Ely.

  • Lead: auction rumor in Passage; the lot is a decoy.
  • Lead: a House Phiarlan showpiece crown with embedded message for Pants.

Arc B — The Unhatched Covenant

Apocalypse grifters invoke the old Tarrasque eggs to recruit. Their “eggs” are elemental-binding vessels being rail-shipped. Stopping a shipment reveals a manifesto blaming Pants.

Arc C — Shattered Hammer Echoes

Workers vanish from Cannith sites; each site has a mural of a broken hammer. The culprit is using Pants’ legend to union-bust—or to spark revolt, depending who’s paying.

Beat suggestions (plug-and-play)
  1. Railside theft framed as “warforged terror”—actually Orien rival cartel.
  2. Art opening in Passage featuring “Ely’s Crown” (forged), with hidden ledger.
  3. Warehouse with “eggs” (arcane binds), timed to depart via Lightning Rail.
  4. Ambush by actors wearing Broken Pact insignia to smear Pants.
  5. Reveal: Ely’s message survives in performance, not metal.

Special Module: Dungeon of Doors (Mindra)

A meta-dungeon inspired by Stanley Parable. The narrator Mindra addresses choices, tallies three scores, and shifts tone based on results. Use this when you need a surreal bottle episode or a psyche test before meeting Pants.

Score 1: Obedience
Score 2: Curiosity
Score 3: Mercy
How the scoreboard drives Mindra’s mood
  • Obedience high: Mindra is smug, railroady, gifts clear hints.
  • Curiosity high: Mindra becomes whimsical; extra doors appear.
  • Mercy high: Mindra is warm; offers shortcuts that spare foes.
  • Any score low: Mindra gets snide; add hazards or looping corridors.
Inline Scoreboard (client‑side) — paste into a Foundry Journal or run locally
<div id="mindra" style="display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(3,1fr);gap:8px;max-width:520px">
  <label>Obedience <input type="number" id="s1" min="0" max="100" value="50"/></label>
  <label>Curiosity <input type="number" id="s2" min="0" max="100" value="50"/></label>
  <label>Mercy <input type="number" id="s3" min="0" max="100" value="50"/></label>
  <button onclick="mindraResult()" style="grid-column:1/-1">Evaluate Mindra</button>
  <div id="out" style="grid-column:1/-1"></div>
</div>
<script>
  function mood(v){ if(v>=80) return "Radiant"; if(v>=60) return "Pleased"; if(v>=40) return "Neutral"; if(v>=20) return "Irritable"; return "Hostile"; }
  function mindraResult(){
    const s1=+document.getElementById('s1').value||0;
    const s2=+document.getElementById('s2').value||0;
    const s3=+document.getElementById('s3').value||0;
    const m=[mood(s1),mood(s2),mood(s3)];
    let advice = [];
    if(s1<40) advice.push("Adds contradictory instructions and fake exits.");
    if(s2<40) advice.push("Removes optional doors; repeats rooms.");
    if(s3<40) advice.push("Replaces captives with traps; harsher failures.");
    if(s1>=60) advice.push("Gives explicit hints when stuck.");
    if(s2>=60) advice.push("Reveals hidden paths and curios.");
    if(s3>=60) advice.push("Offers nonlethal outs and shortcuts.");
    document.getElementById('out').innerHTML=
      `<div class="stat"><div>Mindra Mood (O/C/M): <strong>${m.join(' / ')}</strong></div><div>Composite: <strong>${Math.round((s1+s2+s3)/3)}</strong></div></div>`
      + `<ul>` + advice.map(x=>`<li>${x}</li>`).join('') + `</ul>`;
  }
</script>
100-layer outline tip

Use a 10×10 structure: each layer has 3 choices (obey, explore, spare). Every tenth layer reveals a mirror of a prior outcome with an alternate tone from Mindra. The top row culminates in a door engraved with a cracked crown—leading to the Crown-myth reveal.

The Necklace Soul & Possession (Retcon Bridge)

One executed PC’s soul is bound to a necklace. If freed, it may ride within the new PC (the same player). Control swaps occur at Long Rest based on the Release Roll made during the freeing ritual.

Mechanics (simple, % based)
  • On release, roll 1d100 and record the result R.
  • At each Long Rest, roll 1d100. If the roll ≥ 100 − R, the old soul surfaces until the next Long Rest.
  • Only the magic of the old PC is accessible when surfaced (use the host’s physical stats).
  • On a natural 100 at release, the old soul can surface only on a 100 thereafter (rare).
Play guidance

Use surfacing to deliver memories that correct the relic myths. Make it costly but cathartic: advantage on checks to debunk propaganda during possession, exhaustion on the host after.

City File: Passage & the Lightning Rail

Passage at a Glance

  • House Orien stronghold; rail hub with repair yards and scheduling offices.
  • Industrial quarters, lakeside leisure, and a bustling auction scene (great for the fake Crown).
  • Shady sidings used for off-manifest freight swaps at night.

Lightning Rail Notes

  • Elemental-bound coaches; manifests are warded and bribable.
  • Security mixes Orien house guards, Deneith mercs, and local watch.
  • Adventure seeds: timetable heist; elemental sabotage; passenger with a false crown.
Encounter Seeds
  • Manifest Maze: PCs must reconcile three conflicting cargo copies before departure.
  • Egg Crates: Arcane vessels mislabeled as “porcelain”—timer starts when the train moves.
  • Platform Theater: Phiarlan troupe wearing Broken Pact motifs to bait Pants into showing.

Other Locales & Hooks

  • Sharn: Source of the “Mysterious Egg” rumor; black-market binders sell fake Tarrasque lore.
  • Crown Island: Pageant site where Ely performed; replicas abound; a real message is hidden in choreography, not jewels.
  • Niern (Eldeen Reaches): Rural node for Covenant recruiters; they love empty barns and lantern-lit sermons.
  • Varna: Dockside auctions; an Orien quartermaster fences confiscated goods there.
  • FrostMantle, Mirror Lake (deep): A rumored antimatter rifle bait-hook. Treat as urban legend or as a Chekhov’s gun for much later.

DMPC: Blister of Thought (Psion · Level 8)

Party-adjacent utility DMPC for playtest value and fun tricks. Built using UA 2025 Psion (Telepath or Psi Warper both fit the themes). Primary ability: INT. Dice: Psionic Energy Dice (d8 at level 8).

Slotless/Signature

  • Subtle Telekinesis (invisible Mage Hand).
  • Psionic Modes: Attack (pierce Psychic resist) / Defense (Psychic resist, reaction bolster).
  • Telepathic Connection for party comms.

Combat Use

  • Open with Defense Mode if ambushed; Attack Mode to push damage turns.
  • Disable: Raulothim’s Psychic Lance, Hypnotic Pattern, Hold Person.
  • Control: Telekinetic Crush (prone field), Telekinesis later.
Quick prep list (Level 8 sample)

Cantrips

  • Minor Illusion
  • Mind Sliver
  • Telekinetic Fling

L1–L2

  • Charm Person, Mage Armor, Dissonant Whispers
  • Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Tasha’s Mind Whip

L3

  • Hypnotic Pattern
  • Telekinetic Crush
  • Sending

L4–L5

  • Raulothim’s Psychic Lance
  • Dimension Door
  • Synaptic Static or Telekinesis (as slot permits)
Telepath flavor beats

Blister often “quotes” the party’s surface thoughts as punchlines, then helps reframe relic myths in real time during social scenes.

Foundry VTT: Assets & How‑Tos

Inline Enrichers (DnD5e)

[[/damage 2d6 thunder]]    → Roll thunder damage
[[/heal 2d4+2]]            → Healing roll
[[/damage activity=UUID]]  → Use item/feature damage
[[/damage extended]]       → Let user pick mode

Tip: Tags like [[Condition Prone]] are cosmetic unless you add modules (e.g., DFreds, Midi‑QOL).

Example RollTable (JSON)

Import the provided rolltable_example_enrichers.json to see enriched entries (damage rolls directly in results).

Monster: Tarrasque (2024 rules port)

Included actor export aligns with 2024 rule updates (AC calc, Legendary/Resistances, Reflective Carapace, Thunderous Bellow, Swallow, etc.). Use as myth-bait in Covenant plots; footprints, reflected spells, or a shield-sized russet scale make great evidence drops.

Journal workflow
  1. Create a Campaign Bible Journal and paste this HTML in a Text (HTML) page.
  2. Split major sections into subpages so you can share per‑scene redacted versions with players.
  3. For the Mindra scoreboard, paste the snippet into a GM‑only page and run Evaluate in the sheet.

Execution “Fate” Table (post‑trial callback)

Used previously as an in‑world Magic 8 Ball of Fate to determine execution style. Keep it for flashback cuts or for NPC justice scenes.

1: Instant (clean, political theater)
2–3: Trial by Elemental (fire/air/water/earth)
4–5: Duel of Champions (proxy combat)
6: Commuted to Soul‑Binding (necklace hook)

Legacy Thread: Tarrasque

The last campaign hatched two Tarrasques in the final battle. In this era those memories are monetized—street posters, sermons, counterfeit scales. Use wild but plausible signs (reflected spells, city‑wide tremors, a diverted stream bed) as atmospheric set dressing and rumor fuel. Keep the real thing rare.