Artwork: Tree of Time by Josephine Wall
Introduction
10,000 years after the Last War, the whole of Eberron is covered by the World Forest, a green utopia where nature and civilization coexist in harmony. The dragonmarked warforged and druid artificers of House Lorien are bearers of the Mark of Time and caretakers of the D’Lorien Tree. Using the powers of this living eldritch machine, they send their intrepid chrononauts hurtling through time and space to brave the tumults of history and put right the wrongs of the past.
The Branches of Time is a time travel campaign inspired by the TV show Quantum Leap, Back to the Future films, and the X-men’s Days of Future Past storyline. History is mutable, and the players’ decisions will determine the fate of Eberron’s timeline.
Background
The Dragonmarked Houses
The Dragonmarked Houses are transnational dynasties whose members carry a dragonmark, a symbol that manifests on the body and bestows magical abilities. The Mark of Making grants powers over artifice and creation; the Mark of Healing gives the ability to heal wounds and ailments. There are a total of 12 dragonmarks, and 13 dragonmarked houses. Each house has gained a monopoly over a specific industry using the powers of its mark. House Orien conductors use their Mark of Passage to operate the Lightning Rail; the gnomes of House Sivis use the Mark of Scribing to transmit messages and provide long-distance communication across the continent.
The Last War (894-996 YK)
The Last War was a century-long conflict and war of succession that followed the death of King Jarot, the last ruler of the kingdom of Galifar which once spanned the continent of Khorvaire. The five provinces and their governing princes and princesses declared themselves kings and queens of their own nations and waged war for the throne of Galifar for the next 100 years. Advances in magic made by the dragonmarked houses gave the nations new weapons with which to fight one another, most notably the Warforged, sentient constructs built for war and mass produced by the Creation Forges of House Cannith.
After a century of bloody conflict and shifting alliances, the fighting finally ended on the Day of Mourning (994 YK), when the nation of Cyre was destroyed in a mysterious cataclysmic event called the Mourning which transformed this once beautiful country into a barren waste now known as the Mournland. Due to the uncertainty of the cause of the devastation, it led to a ceasefire between the warring nations. Two years later, the Treaty of Thronehold was signed, formalizing the tenuous peace, recognizing numerous other territories as independent states, granting equal rights as sentient beings to the warforged, and outlawing the Creation Forges of House Cannith.
The Present Day (998 YK)
The present day begins two years after the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold which officially ended the Last War. Tensions persist between the numerous nations that survived the war. House Cannith, once the most powerful among the dragonmarked houses, took heavy losses when its patriach, Baron Starrin d’Cannith, and many of its enclaves in Cyre were lost on the Day of Mourning, causing the house to become divided into rival factions vying for control.
Seasons
The campaign takes place across multiple seasons, like a TV series. Each season is a story arc that consists of several campaign adventures (usually three or four adventures). The campaign may be interspersed with one-shot adventures, usually set in the present day. Season 1 takes place during the Last War. Dates are based on the True and Accurate Timeline of the World of Eberron.
https://eberron.fandom.com/wiki/Eberron_Timeline.
Years, Months and Days
The most common method of tracking time is the Calendar of Galifar, which counts the years from when the Kingdom of Galifar was founded. There are twelve months in a year, each named after one of the twelve moons of Eberron: Zarantyr (January), Olarune (February), Therendor (March), Eyre (April), Dravago (May), Nymm (June), Lharvion (July), Barrakas (August), Rhaan (September), Sypheros (October), Aryth (November), and Vult (December). There are seven days in a week: Sul (Sunday), Mol (Monday), Zol (Tuesday), Wir (Wednesday), Zor (Thursday), Far (Friday), and Sar (Saturday).
Player Characters
The player character (including background, class, race, memories, personality, gear) belongs to the present era (circa YK 998, a few years after the Last War) or the recent past (some time during the Last War). Each PC is the embodiment of a temporal self that comes from the far future but has no memories of events to come, only an awareness of their current mission and its importance. PCs recognize their teammates by the blue aura of chronomancy that surrounds them (visible only to the PCs).
The following sources can be used for character creation:
– All D&D 5e hardcover books (excluding material specific to other settings, such as Ravnica and the Forgotten Realms)
– One Unearthed Arcana article (excluding Class Feature Variants)
Players who wish to introduce additional content must get approval from the group.
Ability Scores
Players can use standard ability scores (15,14,13,12,10,8) or customize their ability scores with 27 points using the variant rule in the Player’s Handbook.
Alignment
Player characters may be of any non-evil alignment.
Backgrounds
Players can use backgrounds from any source or create a custom background using the rules in the Player’s Handbook. Backgrounds for other campaign settings should be customized to fit the Eberron setting. For inspiration, see the suggested backgrounds in the Oracle of War Player’s Guide.
Eberron Races and Artificers
Player characters that choose one of the unique Eberron races (changeling, kalashtar, shifter, warforged), dragonmarked subraces, or the Artificer class may use the version found in the Eberron: Rising from the Last War hardcover book or one of the Unearthed Arcana articles below:
Unearthed Arcana: Eberron (2015)
Unearthed Arcana: Artificer (2017)
Unearthed Arcana: Dragonmarks (2018)
Unearthed Arcana: Races of Eberron (2018)
Unearthed Arcana: The Artificer Returns (2019)
Equipment
1st level characters begin with normal starting equipment and a trinket (optional).
Level Advancement
The party begins the campaign at 1st level and advances to the next level after each adventure. Starting at 4th level, the party advances to the next level after each season.
Lifestyle
Players must choose a lifestyle for their character (wretched, squalid, poor, modest, comfortable, wealthy, or aristocratic) but do not need to pay lifestyle expenses. The cost of maintaining a lifestyle is paid for by the group patron (see below). NPC reactions may vary depending on a character’s lifestyle. Lifestyles can be changed between seasons as part of rebuilding a character.
Rebuilding Characters
Players may change or rebuild their characters between seasons, including their starting equipment. Gold and items found during adventures cannot be changed.
Treasure
Gold and items found during the course of the adventure are divided up among the player characters. Unclaimed items are placed in a special temporal vault managed by the dragonmarked dwarves of House Kundarak. Players can visit the Vault and purchase, sell, or trade items between adventures. Mundane items are sold at half their listed prices. Magic items and items without listed prices cannot be sold. The Vault cannot be accessed in an era before -1,500 YK when the dragonmark of House Kundarak, the Mark of Warding, first appeared.
Warforged Characters
A warforged PC traveling to a time period before 965 YK (when the modern warforged were perfected) may be seen as an animated armor, clockwork automaton, iron golem, shield guardian, or other construct belonging to that era.
Group Patron
The player characters have a group patron that is based in the far future. The group patron sends the party on missions that take place in different eras of history, while providing benefits including access to the temporal vault and paying for lifestyle expenses.
Optional Rules
The following optional rules from the Dungeonmaster’s Guide will be used.
1. Hero Points
A player starts each adventure with 1 hero points. Unused hero points are lost at the end of the adventure. A hero point can be used at any time to add +1d6 to an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. A hero point can also be used to change a failed death saving throw into a success.
2. Plot Points
(modified from the DMG)
A player begins each adventure with 1 plot point. Unused plot points are lost at the end of the adventure. A plot point can be used to introduce a story element to the setting or situation involving a character’s bond, flaw, ideal, personality trait, or the theme of time travel. For example, a player could spend a plot point and state that their future self left a message in the past for their present self to discover. A player who wants to spend a plot point in this way should take a minute to discuss the idea with everyone at the table and get feedback before settling on a plot development.
Optional Rules to Ignore
Flanking and Encumbrance optional rules will not be used. Other optional rules may be adopted or ignored on a case by case basis.
Player Character Sheets
Players may submit their character sheets to the DM for upload to this website before the start of a new season, using one of the following:
– a PDF or image(jpeg/pdf) of your sheet (file size should be under 10 mb)
– a scan/photo of a physical sheet (the writing must be clear and legible)
– a text-only character sheet using the template below
https://trpg.bumlee.com/character-sheet-template/
Mobile character sheet apps may be used for personal reference, but screenshots from mobile phones will not be uploaded.
Etiquette
Gaming is an inclusive hobby, and gaming is open to all attendees who uphold a culture of respect toward all their neighbors. We ask everyone to be mutually accountable to maintain an enjoyable experience for everyone.