One Shot Game Night: Eberron Western

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late everyone, life as would have it is very busy. No on with the show.

I suggested this idea to a few people on twitter a while back and wanted to present some more ideas online today. My knowledge on Eberron is limited so if anyone sees me breaking the rules, i appologize but thats the DMs poragtive.

The lightning rail is one of my favorite ideas from Eberron, basicaly its just a train. The idea i have here is for a train heist.

Now your players don't nescerialy have to be bad guys to pull this off, and my suggestions are going to follow the path of good. Feel free to change this around if you want to have a bad guy night.

Backstory

The heroes have been hired by a small mining town, who has lost much of their wealth to a gang of bugbears. The bug bears have stolen the deed to the mine, as well as various jewlery when they robed a casino just before leaving. By the time the players are made aware of everything its already too late, the bugbears just left on the lighning rail and must be stoped.

The Chase

the first thing the players need to do is catch up to the train, this will be the first part of a multi teir sill challenge. Success they get on top of the train. Failure means they lose a healing surge, bugbear guards are on top of the train firing at them.

Once on the train they will need to climb to the top, as where some of the bugbears are keeping watch. Again success means they get to climb to the top of the train, this should be a easy enough skill challenge. However if they fail, another healing surge goes down the drain as they take more damage from the bugbears

Top of the train

This is a great fight seen, and one players will find as a favorite, i would build it 3 squares wide, with each square on the side requiring a athletics check or fall prone. The train is very limiting in combat. After the first round of combat anyone with a high enough perception will see the train is entering a cave and there is not enough room for them. They have 4 rounds remaining. Each round the perception required drops.

The right cart

most of the carts are just storage or have been locked up, the players need to find a way in, or find a good spot to get to ride out the cave. Anyone who drops prone should take ocasional damage as the train passes through the cave for 3 rounds. Anyone droping between carts has a 50% chance to be able to enter a cart, otherwise they have to wait out the cave.

Cart Fight

Once inside the players will find them selves in a cart (again roughly 3 squares by 5 squares) and it might be extremly difficult to fight in, but thats part of the fun. The players need to fight their way through one passenger cart before they can get to a storage cart (seperate fight) that contains all the treasure.

Boss

The last fight occures in the engine room, shortly after the players find all the missing items the train jolts forward and is being pushed to the max. In the engine room is the final boss (elite) who has flung the train at high speed in hopes to knock it off the rails at a sharp turn comming up. Any player can make a history check to know that comming up is a very dangerous part of the track, its a sharp turn just before it goes over a cliff. The players have 3 rounds to stop the train at the controls, after that therey is no stoping the train in time. after 2 additional rounds move to the sudden death skill challenge

Sudden death skill challenge

This is a slightly diffrent challenge then you may be used to, give each player 2 actions, its up to them what they want to do. here are some things they could do.

• Grab some treasure
• lasso a large rock
• jump out of the train (either by using a rope someone used, or tumble)
• tumble once you hit the ground (make a athletics skill check, pass is 1 healing surge, failure is 2 healing surges)

The train goes over the bridge and into a deep ravine. The Bugbears are dead, any player left on the train should immediately be considered at 0 hp, unconscious. other players should get to them as soon as possible.

Over all its all about having fun, so enjoy the train encounter and make it your own. There are lots of variations you can do on this, i just wanted to provide something to you that can be built in a night.

Until next time keep your dice on the table.