Tales from the Rollbooth: Eberron 5e Campaign, Session 1: Strangers on a Train

We began our story in Passage, boarding a train headed for Sharn.


Vedim Nailo, an elven noble, thespian and entertainer, arrived first to the station and produced a first class ticket.


Norsys, a warforged barbarian, also traveled 1st class, having intimidated someone into giving her their ticket. She quickly drew the attention of Vedim, as well as everyone else on board.


Agata, a Cyrei human refugee, boarded with rough trappings and baggage, her ticket afforded to her from a Cyrei relief program.


Orival, a Koravar artificer from Aundair, was the last to board--the very last, nearly missing the train. He boarded with a standard class ticket and luggage.


Ori found himself boarded in the same room as Agata. He was forward and engaging. She was clearly cut deep from past wounds, but perhaps relieved that someone, for once, doesn’t wish to poke those old wounds to see how deep they go concerning Cyre. Rather than having old wounds dug out, she was instead treated to an hour long explanation of airships and how they work.


Meanwhile.


Vedim and Norsys began speaking--Vedim was drawn to her for many reasons--many left unsaid. Said reasons included her strength, the very nature that she was a warforged, and that she was drawing negative attention on board--attention which he helps dismiss for her. He remains in her company for the duration of the trip, taking her with him to first have a sandwich in the dining car. She orders a sandwich as well, although she explains she doesn’t necessarily need to eat--she can. It simply moves through.


They continue from the dining car into the other cars, heading toward the back for the best view.


Agata overhears the sound of a warforged moving. She remembers the sound.


Agata opens the door of the standard passenger room to see the warforged, and accosts it--not understanding what the creature would be doing here. The war is over.


Norsys remains very calm and polite to her, as Agata writhes into a ball of anger and anxiety and pain and loss.


Vedim makes an exit after inviting everyone to talk about their differences over dinner. Norsys can’t help but feel she remembers Agata. She doesn’t know why. Her memory of it is imperfect and bothersome. They leave to the next car.


Orival takes it on himself to calm Agata, explaining what happened with the treatises--that the warforged are free now, and no more can be made. But they are free people. He offers to take her out for air, perhaps explore the gambling cart. Agata agrees.


Meanwhile, Vedim and Norsys move through the empty holding chamber, and finally to the cargo cart--of which they are able to move around the balcony. Norsys, when asked about what she did in the war, says she doesn’t have many memories of it--just that she knows her unit was meant to keep the war going. A sentiment which doesn’t surprise Vedim. Meanwhile, he gushes to her about her latest play-- about an elf and a warforged who become fast friends called “the elf and the warforged.” He smokes a pipe the entire time. They watch a small fleet of Lyrandar airships pass above.


The day is clear, the hillsides beautiful in this area--you can almost forget the war happened for a moment.


Orival takes Agata gambling with him. He begins slowly, but his escalation and intent mannerisms show clear signs of a gambling addiction. He loses half of his bet in his first game. Agata gives him some snark which leads to a fondness from the Zil gnome at the table, who invites her to sit down. Ori goes double or nothing to win 20 gold. When the table dismisses him for another game, he produces a dagger and extends his hand, showing scars on and around his fingers. The halforc at the table grabs his own blade by the hilt and invites him to leave the table. Ori does so, and notices he is nearly pursued by the halforc, if not for one of the other players holding him back.


An elven noble woman pulls them aside near the door, asking if he would like a more interesting game--and also inviting him to bring his Cyrei friend.


Agata is not pleased with the revelation that she’s a sink for tragedy and an attention grabber for the purposes of a gambler. He offers a cut of his gambling pull. They agree on 35%.


At this point we introduce Rasdaar, hobgoblin paladin and second greatest lover in the world. He mosies, looking for good conversation and anyone to talk to. He’s met with some immediate racism from Analeith, an elven woman accompanying a scion of the Orien household, Gain. Gain offers to create a mixer to establish some nicer relations and perhaps get people accustomed to seeing a more diverse group of people--they are heading to Sharn, after all.


Rasdaar, interested in meeting a warforged, seeks out Norsys through the cars. They talk for a bit, and he introduces himself as a knight of Deneith, a House of protection and bodyguards. He tells them of the mixer in the Gallery for later that evening. Word of this also gets to Agata and Orival separately, however they still have their sights set on attending the higher stakes gambling table in the first class car.


Vedim and Norsys prepare for the party--Vedim dressing himself, and also her in some of his clothing that will fit her. Between the two of them they fashion for her a feminine, billowy blouse with gold accoutrement down the collar, and bloomers made from a cape.


Orival works for a bit on his prototype which “is the future,” showing Agata his first creation: an arm which retrieves anything he needs from his pack. Everything goes back in its proper place. He pressures her for information on her library, and whether she knows anything about binding elementals. She could assist in the binding of one, however all the information she knew died with the library. Although the khyber crystals that were not destroyed still remain there--no one touched them during the event. They were worried about the fact they still stood intact.


The party happens.


Vedim pretends to get too drunk, in a very practiced way.


Norsys stands awkwardly at the bar.


Rasdaar finds himself a halfling dance partner from the Talenta plains who matches him move for move.


Agata and Orival stay at the party for only a little while until they move to the first class cars. Vedim follows, but the half orc guard out front does not allow him entrance despite looking like a rube. Within they are betting magical items, spellshards, and other artifacts that make Orival itch.


As he gambles, the elven noble pressures Agata for her knowledge on Cyrei geography, that her knowledge is very valuable to certain people. Agata is horrified and disgusted at the straightforward and predatory nature of this woman. The noble explains that these relics they bet now were all artifacts of Cyre, and are incredibly valuable things in the right hands.


Orival wins his bet.


An airship attacks.


4 goblins, a half orc bandit and a human bandit, descend onto the train from harpoons fired into the chassis of the gambling cart which lay between the gallery and first/second class cars.

The goblins get to work on dismantling the nails that hold the gambling cart together as the human and halforc secure the doors on either side.

The human wanders immediately down the hall to subdue any and all targets in second class he can find--which are surprisingly -- none. He shoots the halforc guard he sees posted outside of one of the first class doorways.

The halforc opens the door to the gallery, and blindly fires a crossbow inside. He yells out for everyone to back into the same car. He is surprised to find they have already done this. He stares down nearly all passengers in the same car. With their weapons. Fully armed. His ears lower and he chuckles nervously.


Vedim takes down two goblins on his own, effortlessly, climbing outside of the window and attacking them by surprise on the first/second class side of the gambling cart. He strikes the first one through the neck. The second laughs and attempts to take out his knees with a scimitar. Vedim sweeps himself into the shadows, activating his Thuranni dragonmark, and takes the creature out from behind.


Between Norsys and Rasdaar, they take down the halforc bandit with a walloping brick and some martial maneuvers and strength. The goblins are killed with little injury done to the actual cart itself--all pitons intact here. The halforc they take captive.


Orival gathers his winnings, and prepares to strike anyone who comes through the door next. The halforc guard is taken down outside of the gambling cart, having survived the first blow. He is still alive, and angry. The Cyrei human takes him out after resisting a COMMAND spell from Agata, having aimed his crossbow at her--but perhaps unable to strike her after seeing her garb and face. Ori rushes him with a blade, and misses.

Agata talks down the human bandit and he hands off the crossbow to Ori, telling him he only wants to get off the train at this point. Orival takes the crossbow happily, and charges down the carts--to find the damage done to the links between the second class car and the gambling car.


The airship cuts its ties to the train car, the cords falling down around the train, still moving, and lashing against the sides and top of the car, threatening to break the sides of the windows, or perhaps the conduction crystals beneath themselves. The airship remains over the train, however.


There is little time left before the links break between the train-cars. It is unclear whether or not the warping and breakage will cause the cars to derail.


We continue next week.