# Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) Q & A thread



## Kai Lord

I thought it might be a good idea to post a "one stop shopping thread" for questions to Eberron creator Keith Baker, to make it easier for us to get Keith's attention as more and more Eberron threads pop up.

Keith, would you be so kind as to participate insofar as your NDA allows?

I'll get the ball rolling.

1.  How are the Drow perceived by residents of Khorvaire or other elves for that matter?  Do they live underground?  Are they highly territiorial/paranoid/xenophobic or just plain evil?

2.  What's your favorite element of Eberron that was *not* your idea, but came from one of the other WOTC lead designers?

3.  What element specific to Eberron (be it a mechanic like action points or flavor like deathless elves) were you most excited about implementing into Core D&D?

Thanks in advance!


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## BrooklynKnight

Kai, great idea for this thread. Kudos. I dont want to hijack it, but i'd like to remind people that in 2 weeks or so Keith will be in the Eberron chatroom for a live Q&A. In the meantime the chatroom is open for general eberron chat and organizing games.

4. What was the original inspiration behind the mournland?


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## dead

*Dear Mr. Baker*

Does the campaign book show a map of the ENTIRE Eberron globe?

Was Eberron your own campaign setting before you decided to publish it?

If it was your own campaign setting, what RPG system were you using for it?


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## Acid_crash

What other PrC from other sources would you say best fit the concept and world of Eberron?  Let's start with official WotC splatbooks for now, then branch off into other companies books.

Can you tell us more about the drow on Eberron?

I know you guys didn't really plan on putting any of the races in the XPH into Eberron (since you didn't know what the races were going to actually be while you were writing Eberron), but if you had your way, how would you put the Elan, Xeph, Dromites, Maenads, and Half-Giants into the world?

Did you dance a happy jig when WotC told you that you were picked?  

How does it feel to be king of the roleplaying world for this brief time period?


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## Gez

Kai, you may want to hunt some of the other Eberron threads to quote questions and answers that have already been posted.


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## Hand of Evil

Can a Warforged become undead?  
--All that I see does not prevent it.


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## Deadguy

Hand of Evil said:
			
		

> Can a Warforged become undead?
> --All that I see does not prevent it.



Surely you've heard of the Ghost in the Machine! QED.


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## Gez

I thought that only living things can become undead.

Of course, warforged are called _living_ construct.


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## Hand of Evil

Gez said:
			
		

> I thought that only living things can become undead.
> 
> Of course, warforged are called _living_ construct.



That is why I asked, it does get confusing but I do have a plot for a Warforged Vampire.


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## Zappo

In this thread, a parallel is drawn between Eberron and post-WW1 Earth. Was this intentional?


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## Plane Sailing

Since the wizards.com boards seem to be down at the moment I'll post my question here (and cross-post on the Q&A thread on the Eberron boards when it becomes live over there again).

Q. The holy symbol for the Sovereign Host is exactly the same shape as the planeological symbol for Dolurrh. Co-incidence or design?

Cheers


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## Ceresco

At the beginning of the races section there are examples of humans and their regional dress. Can you please identify country of origin for those drawings?


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## howandwhy99

From reading the calendar, it looks as if there are 12 moons circling Eberron.  Each of these corresponds to the month when the planet is in closest proximity.  It is rumored that there once was a "13th" moon.  

So, are these the extraplanar worlds from the orreries?  
How is it possible to have a "new" moon.  I noticed that the plane of endless night (name?) came into conjunction at the nearest new moon to the winter solstice.
Does Eberron still only have 1 full moon per month?  
How does this impact lycanthropes?


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## Remathilis

How would you fit the psionics handbook races (dromite, elan, half-giant, xeph, maenad, thri-kreen, duergar) into Eberron? Servants of the Inspired? Just more races with psi-talent? 

The twelve moons correspond to the 12 planes. Does that mean they wax/wane in and out (growing bigger and smaller) as the planes orbit instead of going through "moon phases" like our moon does? Which moon governs lycanthropy (for the few remaining lycanthropes on Eberron)? 

Why the decision to split the demons and devils among several different planes? 
Do these outsiders have any common heritage any longer? (IE, the Balor and the Marilith having any common unity aside from "tanar'ri" traits?)


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## megamania

Lots of questions already!

Mine also involves the War Forged.  Their armor "skin" can have enchantments.  Does this include Glamor?  If so-  does this mean they can appear to be something other than a war forged or does the plateing simpily become more decorative or less?

By the way-  well done.  It's amazing how well you got the world to jive as you have.


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## Driddle

Mr. Baker,
What's the best way to explain to people that we don't need no steenkin' dark elves in Eberron?
Thank you.


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## Hellcow

Hey folks - 

I'm in the middle of a huge deadline right now, but hopefully I will be able to answer some questions either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for your interest!


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## Driddle

Driddle said:
			
		

> Mr. Baker,
> What's the best way to explain to people that we don't need no steenkin' dark elves in Eberron?






			
				Hellcow said:
			
		

> I'm in the middle of a huge deadline right now, but hopefully I will be able to answer some questions either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for your interest!




Thank you for that very speedy, very direct reply. I can't help but note that _MY_ question is the one that prompted your first message on this particular thread. Obviously, the "Drow Issue" is something you'll want to clear up immediately.

But reading between the lines, I see a hint of your stance already: When you say, for example, _"I'm in the middle of a huge deadline," _ it's obvious that you really mean, _"You've got nearly a dozen sentient PC races to pick from already, people!"_ Nicely put; I couldn't have said it better myself.

And when you write, _"Thanks for your interest," _ it's clearly a polite way to express, _"What?! You can't find something interesting enough in this campaign without bringing even more tired old cliches along with you???"_ I appreciate that perspective.

Thanks again. You, sir, are the master of subtlety. I look forward to more of your insights.


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## Henry

Driddle said:
			
		

> Thanks again. You, sir, are the master of subtlety. I look forward to more of your insights.




Y'know, that's kinda how my sister used to pull what she wanted out of my responses, too. You'd be surprised how much _"GO AWAY"_ sounds like _"Just come over anytime, and, please, help youreself to anything in the fridge." _


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## Tzarevitch

Before I ask my question I must say that I love the setting.

That said, do you have any idea roughly how many people or what percentage of the population actually have dragonmarks on the continent of Khorvaire? The DMG has rules to break down percentage of the population that has certain classes and thereby you can figure out how many people of a particular class and level are likely to be in a particular area. I'd like to be able to do that for dragonmarked people as well.

Thanks in advance.

Tzarevitch


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## Remathilis

Ok, heres one more question...

What do you suggest (or don't) about the use of the DMG firearms in Eberron?


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## Olive

Well here's one:

I'm interested in the Eberron book, but as a homebrewer. I like the look of some of the spells and feats etc. but I'm wary about adding new mechanics in such as the dragonshards and action points. Would things like elemental binding work without the mechanics of dragonshards?

Thanks!


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## Tarrasque Wrangler

As a simple, harmless historical curiosity ]), what powers did the Mark of Death provide?


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## Staffan

Tzarevitch said:
			
		

> That said, do you have any idea roughly how many people or what percentage of the population actually have dragonmarks on the continent of Khorvaire? The DMG has rules to break down percentage of the population that has certain classes and thereby you can figure out how many people of a particular class and level are likely to be in a particular area. I'd like to be able to do that for dragonmarked people as well.



From the description of the Dragonmark Heir PrC: "Perhaps as many as one person in a hundred has a blood connection to one of the twelve houses. Of these thousands, however, no more than half actually manifest a dragonmark."

So, roughly half a percent have a Least or better dragonmark. Doesn't say anything about how the progression then goes on to Lesser and Greater marks.


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## resistor

I'll toss my question in while we're at it:

What kind of things does the Order of the Emerald Claw do?  Whenever they're mentioned, it's always to say that they're Vol's military arm.  So... what does a lich in hiding DO with a military arm?  What do they get up to now that the Last War is over?


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## mearls

Keith:

With the book's release, does it give you any comfort knowing that if someone on the Internet spazzes out about Eberron, they may have actually taken the time to read it before posting "Dinosaursontrainsohmygodwehatesitwehatesit"? Or are people still just making up stuff to hate about Eberron?


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## MrFilthyIke

mearls said:
			
		

> Keith:
> 
> With the book's release, does it give you any comfort knowing that if someone on the Internet spazzes out about Eberron, they may have actually taken the time to read it before posting "Dinosaursontrainsohmygodwehatesitwehatesit"? Or are people still just making up stuff to hate about Eberron?




Nice Mike, nice...my laugh for this evening.


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## Hellcow

*Starting with the Drow*

Since there are a bunch of drow questions, I'll deal with them at once. 



			
				Kai Lord said:
			
		

> How are the Drow perceived by residents of Khorvaire or other elves for that matter?




The typical resident of Khorvaire would say "The what?" if you mentioned the drow. As things stand the Drow are found only in Xen'drik, and as such only explorers and sages who had studied Xen'drik know of their existence. Even the elves of Aerenal know little about the drow, as the drow are the elves who remained behind when the ancestors of the Aereni and the Valenar fled from Xen'drik. 



			
				Kai Lord said:
			
		

> Do they live underground?  Are they highly territiorial/paranoid/xenophobic or just plain evil?



This treads on NDA territory, as more information will be released at some point. Just like the other core races, the Drow are culturally significantly different from their counterparts in other settings. A few quick notes:
* The Drow remained on Xen'drik when the ancestors of the Aereni and Valenar left. 
* When the civilization of the giants was destroyed, the majority of the Drow retreated underground to escape the devastation. Today they live both above and below ground, and continue to prey on the surviving giants. 
* While somewhat nomadic, they do possess mystical secrets from the Age of Giants. 
* They are not "just plain evil" as a race, but have little warmth for explorers and looters. Many Drow families revere Khyber or the Shadow, and these are certainly dangerous groups to cross. 
* There's no Lolth in Eberron. If you want driders, they would presumably be the result of magical experimentation or some sort of disaster.    



			
				Driddle said:
			
		

> What's the best way to explain to people that we don't need no steenkin' dark elves in Eberron?




I'd say you've got it covered.

Again, as things stand, Drow are a very obscure part of the world; they're out there, but most people will never hear of them or meet them. If you love Drow, you can decide to have a Drow family migrate to Khorvaire on a secret mission tied to the Cults of the Dragon Below or the Shadow; But don't expect to hear much about them officially unless you're dealing with Xen'drik. 

(Of course, dealing with Xen'drik and sinister elves, you also have the Shadow Elves, though they are not actually a subrace as such... more to be revealed in the upcoming RTS.)


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## Hellcow

mearls said:
			
		

> Or are people still just making up stuff to hate about Eberron?



In general, now that the book is out, there have been fewer of the "St00pid Dinotopia with trainz" posts. I'm sure sooner or later there will be people who read it and hate it (case in point, just got the first negative review on Amazon), but the fact that the book now exists seems to have slowed down the Wild Claims departments. 

I'm looking forward to _The Book of Iron Might_, by the way. The first version of the warforged were called spellborn -- I'll be curious to see how the various iterations of the warforged (they went through a lot of changes in development) match up to your ironborn! And needless to say, it sounds like stunts would be an excellent match for the tone of Eberron.


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## Krieg

Keith, I have been firmly in the "skeptical" category for the past year or so. I was pretty certain that Eberron would do little more than roll my eyes & sigh.

I was wrong.

While I doubt I will ever actually run a game _in_ Eberron, the book is very well done & I will be quite happy to steal bits & pieces of it for my own campaign.

Nicely done.

Oops, almost forgot my question....Chunky or smooth?


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## Hellcow

OK, sorry to bypass those who asked first, but I'm out of time, so I'm going to answer the quick questions. I'll start over again at the begining when I have a little more time for the complicated questions. 



			
				dead said:
			
		

> Does the campaign book show a map of the ENTIRE Eberron globe?



Yes. The map on the end pages is the full globe.



			
				dead said:
			
		

> Was Eberron your own campaign setting before you decided to publish it?



Eberron draws on different aspects of multiple homebrew worlds I have run in the past. I was also inspired by the pulp MMORPG I'd been developing before quitting the computer biz (though that was pure Indiana Jones-style action). However, the product as it stands was invented over the course of the setting search. For what it's worth, I submitted 6-7 ideas to the setting search; I actually just submitted Eberron because I love pulp and film noir and had fun writing the proposal. I was shocked when it made the cut. 



			
				acid crash said:
			
		

> Did you dance a happy jig when WotC told you that you were picked?



For about three days. The hard part was not being able to tell anyone until it was announced.   



			
				Hand of Evil said:
			
		

> Can a Warforged become undead?



Warforged are constructs, not humanoids. As a result, by the rules, they cannot become vampires or liches. I'd rule out skeletons because the effects of the skeleton template don't make sense with the non-decaying warforged body (even if a warforged has something mimicking a skeletal system, it would never rot away until only its skeleton was showing). Given this, my inclination would also be to leave out warforged zombies -- while they may be "living creatures with a skeletal system" on some level, I think the intention of the restrictions is "flesh and blood". I'd be more inclined to create an entirely new template for an undead warforged. 



			
				Zappo said:
			
		

> In this thread, a parallel is drawn between Eberron and post-WW1 Earth. Was this intentional?



In many ways, yes. The goal was not to directly parallel human history. Obviously the technology does not match up even with the use of magic, some things being more advanced, others being less advanced. And the countries are not intended to be direct parallels to any earthly nations. However, the film was patterned on both pulp and film noir, and certain aspects of WWI and WWII certainly have a major impact on that genre. 

So it's not an accident -- but it's not like I sat down and said "OK, these guys are going to be the Germans."

OK, now I must get back to work...


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## Hellcow

Krieg said:
			
		

> Oops, almost forgot my question....Chunky or smooth?



Jif for smooth, Skippy for chunky. 

Thanks for your feedback!


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## Caliban

Is the footnote on the magical artisan feats (indicating that they can be taken multiple times and their effects stack) a mistake?   Otherwise you can have high level casters creating magic items for no XP, no gold, and taking no time...


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## Caliban

The Weretouched prestige class.   Is it's only purpose to make the DM's eyes explode out of their head?     

It just seems a little overpowered, what with the Bear version getting a +16 to strength, on top of the strength bonuses already available through shifter feats and traits. 

Only the Tiger version comes close, and the other creatures seem kind of overshadowed by the Bear weretouched.


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## dwilgar

Keith, a somewhat off-the-wall question: 

Eberron seems to be very sparsely populated.  For a continent that is 2500 by 5000 miles (and maybe on the order of 8 million square miles) a total humanoid and civilized monster population of 16 million seems rather small (2 creatures per square mile - compare this with the USA in 1790 which had 4.5 people per square mile.  If this density is applied to the USA today the population would be just over 7 million as compared to the actual ~290 million).  Was there any particular rationale behind these low densities?  Are they a reflection of toll of the Last War?

Just want to add this is an excellent piece of work Keith.  Kudos to you and and your fellow authors/developers.  I look forward to future Eberron products.

Dwilgar


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## Henry

dwilgar said:
			
		

> Keith, a somewhat off-the-wall question:
> 
> Eberron seems to be very sparsely populated...Was there any particular rationale behind these low densities?  Are they a reflection of toll of the Last War?




I'm not Keith, and I don't have the book, but I may be able to help, by saying you hit the answer right there. If I understand it correctly, the Last War ended MAYBE all of two years before the setting of the campaign. What with 100 years of war, the destruction of Cyre through the Mourning, and the general devastation, it sounds like the population would be depressed for some time to come. Think more along the population figures for Europe post-World War II than the U.S. and the ensuing baby boom.


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## Hellcow

Caliban said:
			
		

> Is the footnote on the magical artisan feats (indicating that they can be taken multiple times and their effects stack) a mistake?   Otherwise you can have high level casters creating magic items for no XP, no gold, and taking no time...



I'll jump on this because it's quick. Yes, this is a mistake. You should not be able to take any of these feats multiple times. Although for what it's worth, their effects stack with one another.



			
				Caliban said:
			
		

> The Weretouched prestige class. Is it's only purpose to make the DM's eyes explode out of their head?



Yes.


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## Krieg

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Thanks for your feedback!



No prob. There's so much bad stuff out there *cough* GWPHB *cough*, that I like to make a point to recognize the folks who are doing a superior job (Midnight, Grim Tales, SWS etc etc etc).


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## Kai Lord

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Just like the other core races, the Drow are culturally significantly different from their counterparts in other settings.



Awesome.  Thanks for responses!  One last quick question on the Drow.  Are they mechanically any different than Drow from other settings?  It seems they would be.


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## coyote6

Hellcow said:
			
		

> However, the *film* was patterned on both pulp and film noir, and certain aspects of WWI and WWII certainly have a major impact on that genre.




The film, eh? Typo/think-o, or a Freudian slip of the typing fingers that hints at possible future examples of Eberron in other media?


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## Hellcow

coyote6 said:
			
		

> The film, eh? Typo/think-o, or a Freudian slip of the typing fingers that hints at possible future examples of Eberron in other media?



The former, I'm afraid -- between work and message boards, I have been typing non-stop for far too long!


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## Goobermunch

coyote6 said:
			
		

> The film, eh? Typo/think-o, or a Freudian slip of the typing fingers that hints at possible future examples of Eberron in other media?




I'm thinking think-o.  I suspect that what Keith meant was that the genres of film were influenced by the two great wars.

Keith--  I just wanted to say good work!

--G

(who remembers gcp and trin)


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## BelXiror

> Eberron seems to be very sparsely populated. For a continent that is 2500 by 5000 miles (and maybe on the order of 8 million square miles) a total humanoid and civilized monster population of 16 million seems rather small (2 creatures per square mile - compare this with the USA in 1790 which had 4.5 people per square mile. If this density is applied to the USA today the population would be just over 7 million as compared to the actual ~290 million). Was there any particular rationale behind these low densities? Are they a reflection of toll of the Last War?





Come down to Australia for low population density


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## Caliban

Not really a question, just pointing out something:

The sample NPC for the "Heir of Siberys" prestige class doesn't meet the prerequisites of the class.   The class requires 15 ranks in any two skills, and Rurik D'Kundarak has 17 ranks of Intimidate, 9 ranks of Spot, and 9 ranks of listen.   At 12th level (when he qualified for the prestige class) it was 15 ranks of intimidate and (at most) 7 ranks of Spot and 7 ranks of Listen.


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## Plane Sailing

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Caliban said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Weretouched prestige class. Is it's only purpose to make the DM's eyes explode out of their head?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yes.
Click to expand...



Ha! I wish there was some way of adequately typing laughter, ROFL just doesn't capture it properly and all the other combinations of letters I chose looked sarcastic. 

This is the funniest one-word answer that I've seen in 2004 to date 

(Although personally I think I'm going to have to come up with some balancing mechanism for the different "weretypes" the weretouched can enter... As Caliban says, the differences are pretty... huge!)

Cheers


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## frankthedm

Plane Sailing said:
			
		

> Ha! I wish there was some way of adequately typing laughter, ROFL just doesn't capture it properly and all the other combinations of letters I chose looked sarcastic.
> 
> This is the funniest one-word answer that I've seen in 2004 to date
> 
> (Although personally I think I'm going to have to come up with some balancing mechanism for the different "weretypes" the weretouched can enter... As Caliban says, the differences are pretty... huge!)
> 
> Cheers




funny?

I find it as irresponsible as the "some weapon has to be the strongest" line of the Sword and Fist author back in 3.0


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## Shadowdancer

coyote6 said:
			
		

> The film, eh? Typo/think-o, or a Freudian slip of the typing fingers that hints at possible future examples of Eberron in other media?



I think this supports the rumor that the campaign setting was originally submitted in a screenplay format.


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## ironmani

Here's a qick question for you Kieth. Do Warforged fell pain? Or do they just acknowledge damage? I mean it would be kinda freaky for the average 1st level commoner to score a crit and say, hack off an arm, and just have the Warforge look down at his stump and then at the attacker and keep advancing. Like a terminator. Makes for intresting scenes. Warforged surviving Fireballs and marching thru the the explosion unfazed, from a pain perspective. The reason I ask, is I was cooking dinner, had some boiling water from a pot scald my finger, about as bad as a nasty sun burn, and it HURT like a mutha!


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## Hand of Evil

Thank you Hellcow


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## MrFilthyIke

ironmani said:
			
		

> The reason I ask, is I was cooking dinner, had some boiling water from a pot scald my finger, about as bad as a nasty sun burn, and it HURT like a mutha!




I'll second that, makes for interesting descriptions of NPCs/PCs wading through horrific combats w/o breaking a sweat.


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## Caliban

bump


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## buzz

frankthedm said:
			
		

> I find it as irresponsible as the "some weapon has to be the strongest" line of the Sword and Fist author back in 3.0


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## WanderingMonster

frankthedm said:
			
		

> funny?
> 
> I find it as irresponsible as the "some weapon has to be the strongest" line of the Sword and Fist author back in 3.0



Irresponsible is Dr. Spock saying, "To get your kid's hand out of jar, shatter the jar with a mallet. LOL."  This is a game. No one really gets hurt.  I think he was trying to be funny.  As he said, he couldn't spend as much time answering questions as he liked.

I love the book, and especially love the Artificer class.  I know my wife will like the Master Inquisitive PrC.  I'm sure we'll be having episodes of CSI: Sharn at our gaming table!

One thing I did notice is a lack of "movers and shakers" in the world.  I'm assuming this was a design choice, ala "No Elminsters!".  I like it, actually.  How will Eberron grow as a world.  If the PCs are the movers and shakers, will we see as much advancing the plot of the campaign setting as we saw in the Realms, or Dark Sun?  Or will Eberron products assume everything can take place in 998YK?


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## Nuddawan

*Psionics*

I haven't entirely made my way thru the book yet, but I've hunted for this specific answer and haven't found it yet...

As a default within the setting, do any of the player races other than the Kalashtar manifest psionic powers or is it unique to those connected to the Quori?  I know that in home campaigns, the DM can decide yay or nay to this, just curious if the official material has a stance on it.

Rob


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## Ashrem Bayle

ironmani said:
			
		

> Here's a qick question for you Kieth. Do Warforged fell pain? Or do they just acknowledge damage? I mean it would be kinda freaky for the average 1st level commoner to score a crit and say, hack off an arm, and just have the Warforge look down at his stump and then at the attacker and keep advancing. Like a terminator. Makes for intresting scenes. Warforged surviving Fireballs and marching thru the the explosion unfazed, from a pain perspective. The reason I ask, is I was cooking dinner, had some boiling water from a pot scald my finger, about as bad as a nasty sun burn, and it HURT like a mutha!




I've wondered abut this myself. I came to the conclusion that yes, the warforged can feel pain. They have to be able to feel or else they would suffer penalties on skills such as open locks and disable device.


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## ironmani

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> I've wondered abut this myself. I came to the conclusion that yes, the warforged can feel pain. They have to be able to feel or else they would suffer penalties on skills such as open locks and disable device.



But thats just sensory imput. A rogue Warforged could be designed to be able to feel the vibrations of a lock more acutely than a Fighter Warforged. I just want to know is if I stab a Warforged with a sword will he cry out in pain, or will he just acknowledge the damage done and continue on. Makes for an intresting scene...
"Fire at will and bring that Warforged down!"
Arrows begin to thunk into the Warforge's body, but dont slow its progress as it rushes the archers position.
"I think we need a bigger bow."
Like in T2 where the kid ask the Terminator if it hurts when he gets shot. He replied that his sensors register the impacts and that could be thought of as pain.


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## Driddle

Which dragonmark would Elminster be most likely to have?

Are kender considered part of the halfling family tree in Eberron?

Were Athasian defilers responsible in any way for the condition of Mournland?

When will WotC be releasing a ninja source book for Eberron?


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## buzz

Driddle said:
			
		

> Are kender considered part of the halfling family tree in Eberron?



AAAUUGGHH!!!

:calms down:

Oh, you're just kidding... Whew...

...

AAAUUGGHH!!!


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## cyferwolf

*Map*

I have an odd question thats been nagging at me since I got the book. I noticed on the map of eberron (in the front and back covers) that there are some lighter lines running across the whole map which seem to serve no purpose discernible. As they mostly run over the seas I origninally though they were current boundaries, but they don't seem to work for that. I was wondering if perhaps they showed where siberys is in relation to the ground, or something else altogether?


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## I'm A Banana

Foist, thanks, congrats, and nice job all in one. Just can't get told that enough. 

Second, I wanna ask you about the Warforged -- specifically their immunities. They appear at first grok to be pretty potent, though they definately fit the Living Construct idea quite snugly. When it came to mechanically balancing them as a LA +0 PC race, was it hard to decide what elements of constructs to keep, and what to ditch? How did you decide what immunities they should have, and what did you decide would be a fitting vulnerability for them to have, though they have these strengths? Did you want to give them a Con, but still make them immune to most things requiring a Fort save? Any advice on how your typical Evil Necromancer could fight a bunch of these guys and still come out on top?

I'm curious to hear the fire and brimstone from the bovine's mouth, if you'd like.

But thanks a whole bunch for answering any Q's in this thread. Yer a stand-up bloke, Keith.


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## qstor

Keith, great job too bad I'm broke and can't get it now! Lol..

Are you going to do a list of monsters that seem out of place? Or as the book says all of the monsters from the Monster Manual fit in Eberron? 

Mike


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## Banshee16

BelXiror said:
			
		

> Come down to Australia for low population density




Or check Canada....3.3 (1999)....I think it may be even lower 

Banshee


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## Banshee16

frankthedm said:
			
		

> funny?
> 
> I find it as irresponsible as the "some weapon has to be the strongest" line of the Sword and Fist author back in 3.0




What's irresponsible about that?  Some weapon has to be stronger.  Personally, I despise the falacy of 3E that the game designers can balance everything equally.

There are going to be better weapons.  That's simply a matter of reality.  

Banshee


----------



## Banshee16

ironmani said:
			
		

> But thats just sensory imput. A rogue Warforged could be designed to be able to feel the vibrations of a lock more acutely than a Fighter Warforged. I just want to know is if I stab a Warforged with a sword will he cry out in pain, or will he just acknowledge the damage done and continue on. Makes for an intresting scene...
> "Fire at will and bring that Warforged down!"
> Arrows begin to thunk into the Warforge's body, but dont slow its progress as it rushes the archers position.
> "I think we need a bigger bow."
> Like in T2 where the kid ask the Terminator if it hurts when he gets shot. He replied that his sensors register the impacts and that could be thought of as pain.



But if they're living constructs, wouldn't they be rather different than actual robots?  Funny though....on seeing them, I kind of thought of Terminators as well.

Banshee


----------



## BryonD

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> What's irresponsible about that?  Some weapon has to be stronger.  Personally, I despise the falacy of 3E that the game designers can balance everything equally.
> 
> There are going to be better weapons.  That's simply a matter of reality.
> 
> Banshee




Reality is one thing.

Good fiction is another.

Good, fun, party oriented roleplaying games are yet another.


----------



## derelictjay

Eberron has made me a believer. Thanks Keith.

My biggest complaint is that I'd love to see were the XPH races fit in. For that matter where do a lot of the creatures from MM, MM2, FF and such fit in the campaign as some of the ecologies these creatures are associated with are turned upside down (ala the drow now not living underground)? Most of the MM races got fitting placements but only the dinosaurs, of the beasties, recieved specific places to live. Eh, well maybe I just like to have sound ecologies, oh well.


----------



## Plane Sailing

Nuddawan said:
			
		

> As a default within the setting, do any of the player races other than the Kalashtar manifest psionic powers or is it unique to those connected to the Quori?  I know that in home campaigns, the DM can decide yay or nay to this, just curious if the official material has a stance on it.




The default in the material is that it is those from Sarlona - humans, Kalashtar and Inspired. Keith has said that since there are Kalashtar enclaves across Khorvaire there is nothing to stop any race from being taught by a Kalashtar how to do it. - if you look under Regions: Riedra (p26) it says that the inspired hunt down any humans who manifest psionics. Adar (p24) shows humans and kalashtar being able to be psionic.

Cheers


----------



## buzz

qstor said:
			
		

> Are you going to do a list of monsters that seem out of place? Or as the book says all of the monsters from the Monster Manual fit in Eberron?



I'd imagine the "if it's in D&D, it's in Eberron" philosophy applies. That's one of my favorite things about Eberron; the setting is very unique, yet it's also all core rules. 



			
				BryonD said:
			
		

> Good, fun, party oriented rollplaying games are yet another.



Getting so spastic that you lose all sense of humor and cut so little slack to the harried designer who's being nice enough to answer questions about what is arguably one of the more momentous D&D releases ever that you're using words like "irresponsible" when talking about a role-playing game is, indeed, even yet another.

It's obvious Mr. Baker hasn't been able to get back to the boards since he made his humorous answer. How about letting him finish his day job and then, if it even matters, ask him for a serious answer?


----------



## BryonD

buzz said:
			
		

> Getting so spastic that you lose all sense of humor and cut so little slack to the harried designer who's being nice enough to answer questions about what is arguably one of the more momentous D&D releases ever that you're using words like "irresponsible" when talking about a role-playing game is, indeed, even yet another.
> 
> It's obvious Mr. Baker hasn't been able to get back to the boards since he made his humorous answer. How about letting him finish his day job and then, if it even matters, ask him for a serious answer?




Overreact much?

If you calm down for a moment you just may find that I was responding to Banshee16's comment on the importance of balance.
I have not made a single comment in Keith's direction.


----------



## buzz

BryonD said:
			
		

> If you calm down for a moment you just may find that I was responding to Banshee16's comment on the importance of balance.
> I have not made a single comment in Keith's direction.



It seemed implied that you agreed that the PrC in question was unbalanced and that you agreed with frankthedm that Keith was being irresponsible for not taking the question deadly seriously.

If this is not the case, I apologize for any bile that got spewed your way, or for derailing an otherwise wonderful thread. I guess I'm still in a fanboy froth from the original overreaction. My bad!


----------



## Robbert Raets

a genius said:
			
		

> The Mournland's "Lord of Blades" isn't too far off from being a Warforged Hitler....





			
				some idiot said:
			
		

> Eberron's Lord of Blades has 'Ironman' (by Black Sabbath) written all over him



 Which of these two is a closer match, in your opinion, mr Baker?


----------



## Mog Elffoe

Robbert Raets said:
			
		

> Which of these two is a closer match, in your opinion, mr Baker?




In an earlier post Keith said that the Lord of Blades is more akin to Marvel's Doctor Doom character.  I can't wait to use him now!


----------



## Vocenoctum

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> What's irresponsible about that?  Some weapon has to be stronger.  Personally, I despise the falacy of 3E that the game designers can balance everything equally.
> 
> There are going to be better weapons.  That's simply a matter of reality.
> 
> Banshee




Yeah, like the Tallenta Sharrash.
So, my question: is this weapon due some fixing, or was it meant to crit on 19-20/X4?


----------



## Shadowdancer

Driddle said:
			
		

> When will WotC be releasing a ninja source book for Eberron?



<slaps head> Ninjas! Of course. And where are the samurai? But more importantly: Who uses katanas?


----------



## Ashardalon

Regarding the Sharrash, Keith Baker has said on the WotC boards that is an error:



> [font=verdana, arial, helvetica]The critical modifier on the sharrash is actually in error and will be addressed in errata. I don't remember what they settled on off the top of my head. Both tangat and sharrash are two-handed weapons (the picture on the weapons page is not the tangat; look at the pictures in the races chapter and the Talenta Plains description to see a tangat).
> 
> And hey, for DR/Piercing, don't forget rakshasa...[/font]


----------



## Macbeth

Congrats on the great book! I have yet to buy it (money is tight), but I can't wait. Looks like a great resource.

And a quick "what if" question:

What happens when somebody leaves an Imovable Rod on the tracks of one of those lightening-train-thingeys?


----------



## Mouseferatu

Macbeth said:
			
		

> Congrats on the great book! I have yet to buy it (money is tight), but I can't wait. Looks like a great resource.
> 
> And a quick "what if" question:
> 
> What happens when somebody leaves an Imovable Rod on the tracks of one of those lightening-train-thingeys?




If my reading is accurate, the lightning rail travels _above_ the "tracks" (stones), not on them. So my guess would be, pretty much nothing at all happens.


----------



## DonAdam

> Funny though....on seeing them, I kind of thought of Terminators as well.




I thought of mechaturtle: the hands and the feat are totally TMNT.



> What's irresponsible about that?  Some weapon has to be stronger.  Personally, I despise the falacy of 3E that the game designers can balance everything equally.
> 
> There are going to be better weapons.  That's simply a matter of reality.




Perfect numerical balance of the whole system is impossible, granted. However, balancing the weapons is very, very easy. Realistic? No. Action movie awesome? You betcha.


----------



## Jeremy Ackerman-Yost

Shadowdancer said:
			
		

> <slaps head> Ninjas! Of course. And where are the samurai? But more importantly: Who uses katanas?



Characters with a poor grasp of metallurgy?


----------



## ironmani

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> But if they're living constructs, wouldn't they be rather different than actual robots?  Funny though....on seeing them, I kind of thought of Terminators as well.
> 
> Banshee



I am not saying they are robots, but the Terminators are the closest thing I could think of. I understand they have a "soul" and what not and they can learn new things, I'm just trying to grasp the pysical traits of this race.


----------



## Staffan

Will there be a metaplot for Eberron? In other words, will the world move forward like Forgotten Realms, or will it remain still and just get more details revealed like Exalted?


----------



## BryonD

buzz said:
			
		

> It seemed implied that you agreed that the PrC in question was unbalanced and that you agreed with frankthedm that Keith was being irresponsible for not taking the question deadly seriously.
> 
> If this is not the case, I apologize for any bile that got spewed your way, or for derailing an otherwise wonderful thread. I guess I'm still in a fanboy froth from the original overreaction. My bad!




No problem.  
I was only directly replying to the other comment.

I like that D&D 3E is supposed to be balanced.  However, I don't think that WotC has released a book yet that didn't have something in it somewhere that blew that idea.  So I am not going going to mind if that happens in the Ebberon book in a place or two.  It is just par for the course.


----------



## cignus_pfaccari

About how much does a Conductor Stone cost?  And Hardness/HP?

While a friend mentioned that he'd want to use those to build a big huge railroad around the Outlands in our Planescape game, I figure that's probably impractical for a character...but if one happened to get damaged, the character might be fined the replacement cost.

Brad


----------



## Gundark

It was asked before but not answered. Would firearms be a good fit in Eberron?


----------



## Hellcow

Unfortunately, my "day job" is going to keep going until I fall asleep or my fingers fall off. But I'll try to at least get in a few answers. 



			
				Kai Lord said:
			
		

> What's your favorite element of Eberron that was *not* your idea, but came from one of the other WOTC lead designers?




The big point to make here is that the creation of the CSB was a group/brainstorming process. After Eberron was selected, we had a lot of meetings, conference calls, and emails to discuss various ideas. So it's not like Bill Slaviscek came in and said "OK Keith, we like Eberron, but I'm sticking action points in it."... Although with that said, that is sort of what happened with action points. The 125-page document was a pure story bible, with no mechanics at all. I had specified that the setting would need to have a system allowing the PCs to beat the odds, pulp-style; after some discussion, we decided that it would be best to use the existing action point system as opposed to coming up with something entirely new. 

So it's hard for me to point to things that are not at least partially my idea, because most of the things that were added after the 125-page were _our_ ideas as a group. But let's see... Aerenal is something that emerged from our group discussion; really everyone contributed a different element to it, as I recall. I really like the religion, history and culture of the Aerenal elves, and it's something I hope to see developed in more detail in the future. 



			
				Kai Lord said:
			
		

> What element specific to Eberron (be it a mechanic like action points or flavor like deathless elves) were you most excited about implementing into Core D&D?




That's a hard question. What WASN'T I excited about bringing into core D&D? The whole thing has been a really unbelievable experience. Probably if I had to pick one thing it would be having the chance to experiment with the core races. I've always felt that gnomes got the short end of the stick in most settings, and I wanted to squeeze in the "gnomes you don't want to mess with" (again, a culture I hope to explore more in the future). I really like exploring dreams in fantasy, and Dal Quor and the Quor provide a foundation for doing this in the future. And as a big Over the Edge fan, I'm always happy to bring a little conspiracy and intrigue into the world (not that Eberron is the first setting to do this, by any means). 

So there's a few thoughts.


----------



## Hellcow

Gundark said:
			
		

> It was asked before but not answered. Would firearms be a good fit in Eberron?



In my opinion? No. That's what Iron Kingdoms is for. Eberron is about exploring the use of magic in the world, and I never intended to blend magic and technology. _Eternal wands_ serve something of the same purpose, though economically they are more effective as rare _fireball_ artillery than as a way to replace the crossbow. 

However, if you want to add firearms - whether technological or magical -into your campaign, go for it. It's just not what I personally am looking for from the world. 

And in general, questions are not going to get answered very quickly. I have a very busy week ahead, and it would probably take me hours to answer all of these! I'll get to 'em as fast as I can, folks.


----------



## ironmani

Hellcow said:
			
		

> And in general, questions are not going to get answered very quickly. I have a very busy week ahead, and it would probably take me hours to answer all of these! I'll get to 'em as fast as I can, folks.



[Gestopo officer voice]I'm afraid that wont do Mr. Baker.[/Gestopo officer voice]
   Take your time Kieth! I thinks its pretty coll that your coming here and answer questions!!!! Keep up the goos work!


----------



## Hellcow

frankthedm said:
			
		

> I find it as irresponsible as the "some weapon has to be the strongest" line of the Sword and Fist author back in 3.0



As others have surmised, my answer was intended as a joke, because I did not have time to address the question fully. I do that occasionally. 



			
				Caliban said:
			
		

> It just seems a little overpowered, what with the Bear version getting a +16 to strength, on top of the strength bonuses already available through shifter feats and traits.



I didn't create the weretouched master PrC, so I really can't speak to the thoughts behind this. I believe that it was James' class to begin with, but then it went through changes as it went through the production process, so I couldn't even tell you who DID develop it. But, if you want my two cents:

1. What the weretouched master is doing with alternate form is effectively gaining the alternate form supernatural ability of a lycanthrope, with various restrictions. 

2. The bonuses listed for alternate forms is the exact same table from page 178 of the MM 3.5. Do I think that they are balanced? Of course not. The problem is, the lycanthropes aren't balanced either. Yes, that werebear just kicks everyone's butt, and the wererat blows, which is a personal blow to me as I really like wererats. 

3. If the weretouched master received different bonuses, (some) people would say "Why is the bear weretouched master so much lamer than a real werebear? Why is the rat weretouched master so much cooler than an actual wererat?" (And if you don't believe me, make a roleplaying game and do it. I'll bet you a doughnut.)

4. To get alternate form, you need to be at least 10th level, putting you on a par with a druid being able wild shape (large) and or the power to cast a 5th level spell (or a 4th level spell, like _polymorph_). You can get a +16 str for a few rounds (remember, it's tied to shifting) -- your buddy the wizard can perform baleful polymorph, and the cleric can raise the dead. 

My concern is not the power of the bear -- you've chosen a class with a moderate BAB, 2 skill points/level, and no spell progression to get that cool ability, and as I said, your friend can raise the dead. Two more levels and the druid will be wild shaping into a dire bear, and he's got spells as well. It's more that the rat is just not as cool as you are. I can say "So what, the roleplayer plays the rat anyway, and the min/maxer goes for the bear", but I acknowledge that it's a raw deal for the rat. I believe that WotC just doesn't feel that they can change the pre-existing stat mods given for lycanthropes, since that is exactly what the power is, and I understand that. However, if you want the class to be fairer to the "lesser" beasts, I'd consider adding a Weretouched III providing some lesser ability to the weaker animals.  

Hopefully that's less "irresponsible"...


----------



## Ozmar

derelictjay said:
			
		

> My biggest complaint is that I'd love to see were the XPH races fit in.




YMMV, but I am planning to use Elan, Maenad, Synad, Xeph and Dromites in my Eberron campaign. As to where they fit in:

Elan are living among humans. They are kind of a "secret cabal" of immortals. Some know of them, but they are rare and pursue their own goals.

Maenad live in a few isolated villages among the Lhazaar Principalities. They are not entirely unknown, but few in number. 

Synad are a subculture among the Kalashtar. I decided they should have similar origins as the Kalashtar, but their quori spirits merged differently with the human spirits, producing the unique "triad" spirit in the Synad. Outwardly they look human/kalashtar, so they fit in.

Dromites are living in scattered hive-villages among the Talenta plains. They trade with the halflings and get along with them, mostly. Their small population keeps them from becoming a major regional force.

Xeph come from one unique canyon in the Demon Wastes, where there is a manifestation zone that is linked to one of the planes (of darkness or eternal twilight). Their valley is shrouded in perpetual twilight, but they use magical/psionic lights to illuminate their forests.

Like I said, YMMV, but that's how I intend to write them into my Eberron.

Ozmar the GM


----------



## Azazyll

Sorry, just wanted to add my two cents, as a major in medieval history:

There were a lot less people in medieval times.  You can't have big cities without telephones and mass transit.  The largest cities in the world (In China, mostly) rarely reached a million people.  And those were truly exceptional exception (or is that totally redundant?).  There were only a billion people on this planet even at the begining of the 19th century, and (hard as it may be to believe) there are more people alive now than the total number of dead people, conservative estimate.  Two people per square mile is very reasonable.  Most people huddled around cultivated areas, plagues, infant mortality, war, famine, all dramatically reduced the population, and people usually didn't live past forty.  Even modern dentistry has improved peoples chances of survival, as odd as it sounds (apparently a lot of the things dentists fix can be fatal if allowed to go on for twenty years or so).  Farming was much more primitive than today, 90% of the population was needed just to grow food for the people that were around.  And politics in the West frankly didn't encourage an urban society, which is where big populations really come in.  The middle east did, Islam being a primarily urban religion, and East Asia did, since rice is the most efficient crop and administration was better and centralized.  Most D&D campaigns are INCREDIBLY out of proportion as far as population and cities go.  It's probably the most fantastic part of the game, really.  A fireball spell is paltry compared to upping the demographics 500% or more.

That being said, one of the things that excited me most about Eberron was the promise that this was a campaign where the effects of magic would be felt at all levels.  The idea of the Magewright is truly splended.  But frankly, better irrigation isn't the first thing that most people would think of when they think of Fantasy in our times.  Believe me, it is the first thing the average person would have thought of until about three hundred years ago.


----------



## Saeviomagy

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> If my reading is accurate, the lightning rail travels _above_ the "tracks" (stones), not on them. So my guess would be, pretty much nothing at all happens.



 The train canes on the str check and moves the rod? They only need a DC 30 after all - my guess is a fast-moving train has at least a +20 modifier on checks like that...


----------



## Tarrasque Wrangler

I'll ask again: what did the Mark of Death do?  I'll understand (and be delightfully intrigued) if an answer would tread on NDA territory though.


----------



## johnsemlak

*full color map*

I'm sorry if this info has been posted elsewhere, but I wanted to ask why a color pull-out map wasn't included, and if there will be one with another product.


----------



## I'm A Banana

/me seconds the Metaplot question.

I would hope no, but y'never know. If Forbeck's novel takes wing, it may be inevitable...


----------



## Brekki

Hellcow said:
			
		

> 2. The bonuses listed for alternate forms is the exact same table from page 178 of the MM 3.5. Do I think that they are balanced? Of course not. The problem is, the lycanthropes aren't balanced either. Yes, that werebear just kicks everyone's butt, and the wererat blows, which is a personal blow to me as I really like wererats.




The difference is that the werebear has an ECL of +8 (9 for natural lycanthropes) and the wererat has an ECL of +2 (3 for natural lycanthropes). So the difference in stats in normal lycanthropes is reflected (somewhat) in the difference in animal HD, and thus in ECL.


----------



## Ruland

Concerning XPH-Races: as much as I like them, I won't use them in my Eberron games, because I feel that Eberron ist the Kalashtars' and the Inspireds' playground as far as psionics go.
Just my two cents ...


----------



## Ashrem Bayle

Ozmar said:
			
		

> Elan are living among humans. They are kind of a "secret cabal" of immortals. Some know of them, but they are rare and pursue their own goals.
> Ozmar the GM




There was some discussion of the psionic races over on the WOTC boards.

I'll talk about the Elan here though, since I was a big part of the WOTC discussion:

In my campaign, the elan are living prisons for quori spirits captured by the kalashtar. To make a long story short, a few hundred years ago the kalashtar learned of a psionic ritual capable of fusing a quori spirit into the flesh of a human. This is done with humans who willingly agree to go through the process. 

Unlike the Inspired, who is also a human/quori spirit hybrid entity, the human is dominant. The quori spirit is used as a source of psionic power by the human but is otherwise helpless and innert. The quori suffers for the rest of the elan's life (remember, they are immortal!), unable to escape, use its powers, or even affect its human host in any way. The bonding even makes telepathic communication with the spirit impossible, even for the host.

The human gains power and immortality, but in return, they must swear to stand with the kalashtar against the Inspired. Though the spirit is helpless, it is still aware of everything the host senses. That's its punishment. The trapped quori spirit must sit back and watch as the elan uses its own power against his fellows.


----------



## poilbrun

Hellcow said:
			
		

> The big point to make here is that the creation of the CSB was a group/brainstorming process. After Eberron was selected, we had a lot of meetings, conference calls, and emails to discuss various ideas.




Any chance you could post the one page you submitted for the setting search? Don't know if you'd be allowed to do it, but it would be fun to see where it all started.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle

poilbrun said:
			
		

> Any chance you could post the one page you submitted for the setting search? Don't know if you'd be allowed to do it, but it would be fun to see where it all started.




I'll answer this one since I've probably seen it posted a dozen times in other threads.

Short Answer: No
Long Answer: Kieth has said he isn't sure if Wizards ever plans to make it public, but if they do, it will be a while. Eberron is still really new and Wizards doesn't want people to confuse what Eberron *is* with what it *was*.

Correct me if I'm wrong Keith.


----------



## Cam Banks

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> The human gains power and immortality, but in return, they must swear to stand with the kalashtar against the Inspired. Though the spirit is helpless, it is still aware of everything the host senses. That's its punishment. The trapped quori spirit must sit back and watch as the elan uses its own power against his fellows.




That's an excellent use of the race in the context of the setting. Very cool! I'll have to borrow that if I run Eberron. I'm already surprised that I'm thinking of actually using my Expanded PsiHB, given that I've never had any real interest in doing so before.

Cheers,
Cam


----------



## Buzzardo

Keith,

First and foremost, congratulations!  As one of the 4 billion who submitted a one-pager, I think eberron kicks ass.  I spent 5 hours on a plane 3 days ago and couldn't put it down.  I can't wait to start playing it, and I can't wait for the modules.   As for those who don't care for it... well, there is no accounting for taste is there?

My question is: Can you comment on the Talenta Sarrash?  It is the scythe like reach weapon.   It is a reach weapon with trip ability that does d10 damage (M) and has a threat range of 19-20 and crit damage of x4.   

What is the thinking behind this, and do you feel it is overpowered?   Compared to other weapons available in core rules and expansions it is way more powerful that any other weapon available.  

Parker


----------



## Remathilis

Without hijacking it too far, my take on XPH races...

ELAN: In an attempt to turn the tide on the Inspired, the Kalashtar of Adar began a ritual that gave normal humans a liberal dose of psychic enegy. They were to be the perfect spies/infiltrators of the Inspired, but eventually, the Inspired learned the technique themselves. Now, both sides have created a small amount of these supersoldiers in their psychic war. Like the warforged, others have left the war to go elsewhere, like Khorvaire, and begin life anew.

DROMITE: Another race, found sparringly in Xen'drik and Sarlona

MAENAD: Descendants of A Quorti long ago, found mostly in the Lhazaar Principalities.

HALF-GIANT: Breed long ago from Giant and Quorti inspired stock, but the Giant's portal magic freed them and allowed them to live and grow in Xen'drik. 

XEPH: Demon wastes, living in secret. 

Duergar: Servator race of dwarves corrupted by the those who dwell below. 

Giths: come from the proper planes

Thri-Kreen: Found in the Wilds of Xen'drik.


----------



## Driddle

Is it true that your original concept for Eberonnish elves included a seven-year adult mating cycle which could drive a character into an insane rage every so often if wasn't able to have sex?


----------



## Hellcow

Brekki said:
			
		

> The difference is that the werebear has an ECL of +8 (9 for natural lycanthropes) and the wererat has an ECL of +2 (3 for natural lycanthropes). So the difference in stats in normal lycanthropes is reflected (somewhat) in the difference in animal HD, and thus in ECL.



Yes, agreed, Brekki; I wasn't actually trying to get into a discussion of the lycanthropes themselves, and I apologize if my comment offended you. But the point you riase is _exactly_ the point I was making. The werebear _is_ a more powerful creature than the wererat, just as the bear is more powerful than the rat. If the stat modifiers were perfectly balanced, the weretouched master would either fail to reflect the power of the werebear, or be far more powerful than the wererat he is supposedly duplicating. That is why I would not try to balance the statistic modifiers; the power of the bear is an accurate depiction of the werebear itself. Instead, I would look at providing the weaker forms with a minor additional ability reflecting the lycanthrope it is duplicating. For example, a wererat could spread filth fever with its bite, darkvision while shifted, or gain weapon finesse as a bonus feat (not that Weapon Finesse necessarily balances against +16 Str: I'm throwing out ideas, not carefully thought out solutions). The goal of the weretouched master is to resemble the true lycanthrope; the question is how best to do that in a way in which no form gets cheated, given that the creatures are *not* equally powerful. 

As with everything I say on this board, I should note that this is my personal opinion; I am not actually an employee of WotC, and I did not design the abilities of the Weretouched Master. So don't take my suggestions as official errata.

Speaking of errata...



			
				Buzzardo said:
			
		

> My question is: Can you comment on the Talenta Sarrash?



Yes. The critical modifier on the sharrash is too high and will be addressed in errata, but I don't remember what it is off the top of my head. 



			
				Driddle said:
			
		

> Is it true that your original concept for Eberonnish elves included a seven-year adult mating cycle which could drive a character into an insane rage every so often if wasn't able to have sex?



Of course! But don't forget the +16 Strength during the rage. And the natural psionic abilities...

(Close-captioned for the humor-impaired: no.)


----------



## apsuman

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> If my reading is accurate, the lightning rail travels _above_ the "tracks" (stones), not on them. So my guess would be, pretty much nothing at all happens.





Ok, what happens if someone puts an immovable rod in place above the stones?


----------



## apsuman

apsuman said:
			
		

> Ok, what happens if someone puts an immovable rod in place above the stones?





Oh, I just thought of an answer.  Just like Babbage, yes that Babbage, designed the cow catcher on the front of the 19th century locomotive, their could be a "rod catcher" on the front of the lightning trainy things.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle

apsuman said:
			
		

> Oh, I just thought of an answer.  Just like Babbage, yes that Babbage, designed the cow catcher on the front of the 19th century locomotive, their could be a "rod catcher" on the front of the lightning trainy things.




Wouldn't work. Cows can be moved.

Unless you assume the rod is destroyed on contact and the magic is disrupted, the only result you could have is a "derailment". That rod ain't gonna budge, so the lightning rail will have to. 

BTW - Thanks for the idea! I'm actually going to use that.


----------



## apsuman

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> Wouldn't work. Cows can be moved.




And lighting rails can't actually exist.  It's magic.

And, btw, a DC 30 STR check will move a rod 10 feet.  Really, it is not a strech to think that a lightning rail would simply be moving fast enough and have enough force to push the rods out of the the way.


----------



## Macbeth

apsuman said:
			
		

> Ok, what happens if someone puts an immovable rod in place above the stones?



That was my original idea, one that I intend to put into motion as soon as I get the $ to buy Ebberon. And even if the train could push it out of the way, it would still likely deal a good amoun of damage on impact... it might be reasonable to assume the front of the train would give before the rod would move.


----------



## Ashrem Bayle

apsuman said:
			
		

> And lighting rails can't actually exist.  It's magic.
> 
> And, btw, a DC 30 STR check will move a rod 10 feet.  Really, it is not a strech to think that a lightning rail would simply be moving fast enough and have enough force to push the rods out of the the way.




Ah... See I was thinking the immovable rod was.....well..._immovable_.
Given that 8,000 lbs of force can move one, the lightning rail would knock it out of the way. But, I'd rule there is a good chance of it being jarred off its path of stones.


----------



## poilbrun

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> I'll answer this one since I've probably seen it posted a dozen times in other threads.
> 
> Short Answer: No
> Long Answer: Kieth has said he isn't sure if Wizards ever plans to make it public, but if they do, it will be a while. Eberron is still really new and Wizards doesn't want people to confuse what Eberron *is* with what it *was*.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong Keith.



Sorry, I've not really followed any other thread about Eberron than this one (except the one talking about the printing error, which prompted me to go to my FLGS instead of ordering it online!). Thanks for the reply!


----------



## Macbeth

Ashrem Bayle said:
			
		

> Ah... See I was thinking the immovable rod was.....well..._immovable_.
> Given that 8,000 lbs of force can move one, the lightning rail would knock it out of the way. But, I'd rule there is a good chance of it being jarred off its path of stones.



But which would give first? The front of the train or the rod? Since the rod requires a DC 30 Str check to move (apparently, I haven't checked for myself), you just have to decide if a DC 30 Str check would be enough to derail/destroy the front of/seriously damage the train. I don't have th book yet, and so don't know what the trains are made of, but a DC 30 check is a pretty good amount of force...


----------



## Driddle

_Originally Posted by apsuman: "Ok, what happens if someone puts an immovable rod in place above the stones?"_



			
				Macbeth said:
			
		

> That was my original idea, one that I intend to put into motion as soon as I get the $ to buy Ebberon. ...




No need to wait. You can do it right now, this very minute! 
Just close your eyes (after you read this, of course), and think about a magic immovable rod being placed on magic train tracks in a magical place called Eberron. ... Can you see it yet? Keep using your special thinking muscles as hard as you can ... Keep thinking. Wait for it.

TA-DA! The rod is in place!

It's that easy! _Imagination_ is funny that way!

Heck, right now I'm squeezing the living stuffin's out of a dozen drow for a special blackberry-and-elf pie that I'm going to serve to my good friend, President Al Gore. In my _imagination_ after that we're a couple of rough ol' orc combat mercenaries on our way to pay a surprise visit to naughty Princess Tipper....

So what are you doing with your magic immovable rod now?


----------



## Kesh

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> I'm sorry if this info has been posted elsewhere, but I wanted to ask why a color pull-out map wasn't included, and if there will be one with another product.



 It's going to be in Dungeon 113.


----------



## Psiblade

I just wanted to thank Keith on the great work. I am planning on running my next campaign in Eberron. I was wondering what expansions / accessories are currently planned.

-Psiblade


----------



## Vocenoctum

Macbeth said:
			
		

> But which would give first? The front of the train or the rod? Since the rod requires a DC 30 Str check to move (apparently, I haven't checked for myself), you just have to decide if a DC 30 Str check would be enough to derail/destroy the front of/seriously damage the train. I don't have th book yet, and so don't know what the trains are made of, but a DC 30 check is a pretty good amount of force...




The simple answer really is that the train builders would have thought of that and had an answer to it. Perhaps an antimagic field up front, perhaps a Rod Repulsing effect from the stones.

I'm sure the rods would have been used already if they could be used. The designers (of the settings) can't think of everything, but the godlike intelligence of your average high level wizard surely would have. If not, the first time it happened they'd have prepared for the future use.

They did just have a major war after all.


----------



## MDSnowman

Vocenoctum said:
			
		

> The simple answer really is that the train builders would have thought of that and had an answer to it. Perhaps an antimagic field up front, perhaps a Rod Repulsing effect from the stones.
> 
> I'm sure the rods would have been used already if they could be used. The designers can't think of everything, but the godlike intelligence of your average high level wizard surely would have. If not, the first time it happened they'd have prepared for the future use.
> 
> They did just have a major war after all.




Well you can look at it from another angle....

The Average Rod is two to three feet long. Two conductor stones can't be brought closer than five feet to each other. If the proposlation of the lightning rail depends on Conductor stones placed on the lightning rail itself it must float at least five feet off the ground, meaning it wouldn't even touch your immovable rod.


----------



## rangerjohn

That wouldn't matter, a immovable rod can 'float' .  It specifically, mentions using them as a ladder.


----------



## Gez

Unless you live in a world where gravity exerts 8000 pounds of force on items the mass of an immovable rod, of course.


----------



## Hellcow

OK, I'll try to squeeze in a few more answers...


			
				BrooklynKnight said:
			
		

> What was the original inspiration behind the mournland?



There were lots of different sources of inspiration. I've used similar areas in many of my previous campaigns. First, it allows the DM to have dangerous monsters in relatively close proximity to civilization without saying "why haven't they all been wiped out?" Second, it allows the DM to add in his favorite creatures; maybe the abeil don't fit Eberron as a whole, but they've just been found in the Mournland! Third, it's another way of providing dungeon crawls -- instead of exploring ancient ruins that are untouched for some reason, you're exploring extremely recent ruins. There are many more things that I like about it, but aside from all of these, it also serves the purpose of both ending the war and throwing a big monkey wrench into the previous political and geographical layout of the continent.


----------



## Hellcow

Acid_crash said:
			
		

> What other PrC from other sources would you say best fit the concept and world of Eberron?  Let's start with official WotC splatbooks for now, then branch off into other companies books.



In all honesty, I couldn't tell you. I've got a wide variety of books sitting on my shelf waiting to be read (Unearthed Arcana, Complete Warrior, etc, etc) and I just haven't had time to get to them. Originally I was too busy with work; now I'm too busy with work and answering questions.   I'd open this up to general discussion as a separate thread, if I were you. 



			
				Acid_crash said:
			
		

> I know you guys didn't really plan on putting any of the races in the XPH into Eberron (since you didn't know what the races were going to actually be while you were writing Eberron), but if you had your way, how would you put the Elan, Xeph, Dromites, Maenads, and Half-Giants into the world?



There's been a lot of threads discussing this on the WotC boards; I've contributed some thoughts, and other people have thrown in their ideas. Because of my limited time, I have to say "check it out there." In general I think the Elan are the easiest ot add, whether as an experiement of the Quori or an attempt by humans to emulate the kalashtar/Inspired with unforeseen results. Half-Giants work well in Xen'drik, especially given the climactic war between the giants and the Quori; the psionic gifts of the half-giant may indicate a tie to Dal Quor. For the other three, I don't have strong opinions.


----------



## beta-ray

apsuman said:
			
		

> Oh, I just thought of an answer.  Just like Babbage, yes that Babbage, designed the cow catcher on the front of the 19th century locomotive, their could be a "rod catcher" on the front of the lightning trainy things.




Would it work on Hellcows?


----------



## Hellcow

Ceresco said:
			
		

> At the beginning of the races section there are examples of humans and their regional dress. Can you please identify country of origin for those drawings?



Well, I don't know the artist, and I didn't comissission the picture, so I can't say with 100% certainty. But my guess would be, left to right, Aundair, Thrane, Cyre, Karrnath, Breland. The cultures of the five nations will be explored in more detail in the future.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

Keith, quick question.

In the timeline in the book it mentions the creation of 2 (or is it 3) new dragonmarks *after* the war of the mark and the establishment of "the twelve". The war of the mark also happens after the 13th mark was "thought" to be destroyed.

Wouldnt it have been "the ten" of marks appeared after the establishment?

I'm a tad confused, maybe you can clear it up.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

0o0o my previous question was answered. Nice.


----------



## Macbeth

Vocenoctum said:
			
		

> The simple answer really is that the train builders would have thought of that and had an answer to it. Perhaps an antimagic field up front, perhaps a Rod Repulsing effect from the stones.
> 
> I'm sure the rods would have been used already if they could be used. The designers (of the settings) can't think of everything, but the godlike intelligence of your average high level wizard surely would have. If not, the first time it happened they'd have prepared for the future use.
> 
> They did just have a major war after all.



I'm not trying to throw doubt on the whole thing, I'm trying to suggest a plot. Maybe the PCs are ona  train that gets derailed by a rod, maybe the PCs are bandits who use a rod to rob tarins. I didn't mean to suggest this was a logic hole, I'm sure somebody would think of a way around it, but the first time it happe3ns, it could make a good adventure.


----------



## Vocenoctum

Macbeth said:
			
		

> I'm not trying to throw doubt on the whole thing, I'm trying to suggest a plot. Maybe the PCs are ona  train that gets derailed by a rod, maybe the PCs are bandits who use a rod to rob tarins. I didn't mean to suggest this was a logic hole, I'm sure somebody would think of a way around it, but the first time it happe3ns, it could make a good adventure.




Yeah, I'm just saying it seems unlikely that the trains wouldn't have been disrupted already if it was possible to disrupt them in a simple manner. I would think if someone could destroy the whole train by letting it fly into a Sphere of Annihilation, it'd have happened during the war, for instance.

The plotline can work, but IMO it should be something abnormal, not something as simple as a minor item from the DMG


----------



## Macbeth

Vocenoctum said:
			
		

> Yeah, I'm just saying it seems unlikely that the trains wouldn't have been disrupted already if it was possible to disrupt them in a simple manner. I would think if someone could destroy the whole train by letting it fly into a Sphere of Annihilation, it'd have happened during the war, for instance.
> 
> The plotline can work, but IMO it should be something abnormal, not something as simple as a minor item from the DMG



Good point. I just wanted it to be fairly common so that it wasn't nessecarily a single threat. Maybe a good way to not make it too common, but to make it still easily possible would be to have serious political/legal repercussions for disrailing a train. That way it could still be a reasonably possible occurance, anybody with a rod could do it, but not many would want to, since they would have the authorities down on them like a ton of bricks.


----------



## Hellcow

Looking to the lightning rail, you might have a magewright "riding dispel" on the forward coach, ready to use _dispel magic_ to counter some of the magical threats.

Though with that said, many of the rails _were_ disrupted at various points during the war. The system used to be more extensive than it is today, and House Orien is certainly working to rebuild it.


----------



## Shadowdancer

Keith, what level point buy do you recommend for Eberron characters?


----------



## BrooklynKnight

Eberron is ment to work completly with Core D&D.

I actually didnt notice any point buy stuff in the start of the book. But, I think we can assume that its exactly as noted in the PHB.

I'd personally give the heroes 32 point buy.
(or 88 at a 1:1 ratio) or just use the normal rolling method. 4d6 drop the lowest.


----------



## Kai Lord

*Ashbound*

Page 75 states that the Ashbound druid sect considers "arcane and divine magic" to be unnatural. So why are they druids then, which by definition are divine spellcasters? And why does the Ashbound feat specifically enhance one of their divine spells?

Is "divine magic"  in that instance not to be taken in game terms but rather the flavor of drawing power from a deity?  Would it be more accurate to say that the Ashbound abhor _non-animistic_ divine magic?


----------



## BrooklynKnight

I think its intentional.

The Ashbound arent exactly rational. 
It makes sense that a fanatical crazy group of evil druids would also be, among other things, hipocritical.

To them, Druid magic is not divine. Its simply a power they use to control nature. To them, Divine is Clerics and Paladins, and Arcane is Wizards, Sorcs, Bards, etc.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

For the lightning rail.
Here is my take on it.

If you put a bar of steal in front of a new york city train, that took 8000lbs of preasure to move...could a speeding train move it?

I dont see what the hub hub is about. All we need to know, is how fast a lightningrail can move, and how fast it needs to be moving to generate 8000lbs PSI of force in the direction its moving.

If so, then it could knock the bar away with almost no damage. If not.......well.....there would certainly be damage. What happends depends on the construction. It could rip through the frame of the train as it passed through. OR There could be a derailment.

I think that the bar would rip through the train.

Its 8000'bs of oppsing force in a small surfaace area. Think bullets and cannon balls.


----------



## DrZombie

*Totally besides the point.*



			
				Vocenoctum said:
			
		

> Yeah, I'm just saying it seems unlikely that the trains wouldn't have been disrupted already if it was possible to disrupt them in a simple manner. I would think if someone could destroy the whole train by letting it fly into a Sphere of Annihilation, it'd have happened during the war, for instance.
> 
> The plotline can work, but IMO it should be something abnormal, not something as simple as a minor item from the DMG



As the French found out, you can derail a train in real life by cutting out a piece of rails, using tools you can buy in any hardware stores, costing about 100$. In the second world war, instead of trying to patroll endless lines of railways, the germans just used heavy repression, executing villagers at random whenever a train was sabotaged. They even used to have a passanger cabin filled with POW as the first wagon, in front of the locomotive, so that that wagon would get destroyes whenever something happened..... So yes, an immovable rod might derail a train, depending on your GM. And trains undoubtedly (or however you spell it) will have been derailed, and powers that be would have made a very messy example to explain to people at length why it is very bad for your health to even try and think about it. At least it would be in my game, do as you please.

Sorry for the derailing of the subject.


----------



## Flyspeck23

Keith,

first things first: cool setting! I had my doubts, but now I'm a fan 
I've said it before, but I'll say it again: It's the first setting in a long, long time I can't wait to use!


Anyway, as we started making characters for Eberron, there were a few warforged-related questions left unanswered (or at least I didn't find a solution in the book):

- Their composite plating is a sort of armor, so what if the warforged is a druid or monk - does this influence it in any way? Personal guess: no for the druid, yes for the monk (no Wis-bonus to AC).

- They don't need to sleep, but the rules only mention warforged wizards who'd need 8 hours of rest. Is this true for every caster or manifester class? I'd guess so, but that only wizards are mentioned is a little funny.

- A warforged can be enchanted like a piece of armor. But could the enhancement later be changed? For instance, if it's now a +1 warforged (  ), could it later become a +2 warforged? And if that's possible, how much would that cost - the difference to the old enhancement (costs for +2 minus the costs for +1 in this example), or the whole cost?


----------



## Staffan

Flyspeck23 said:
			
		

> Anyway, as we started making characters for Eberron, there were a few warforged-related questions left unanswered (or at least I didn't find a solution in the book):



I'm not Keith, but here's how I'd rule.


> - Their composite plating is a sort of armor, so what if the warforged is a druid or monk - does this influence it in any way? Personal guess: no for the druid, yes for the monk (no Wis-bonus to AC).



I'd rule that the basic plating doesn't count as armor. My reasoning is that the Adamantine and Mithral Body feats specifically say that they count as heavy/light armor for the purpose of limiting class abilities, and the description of the composite armor does not. 


> - They don't need to sleep, but the rules only mention warforged wizards who'd need 8 hours of rest. Is this true for every caster or manifester class? I'd guess so, but that only wizards are mentioned is a little funny.



It would be true for all arcane and psionic classes. Divine casters don't need rest, they're instead limited by having to prepare their spells at a specific time of the day.


> - A warforged can be enchanted like a piece of armor. But could the enhancement later be changed? For instance, if it's now a +1 warforged (  ), could it later become a +2 warforged? And if that's possible, how much would that cost - the difference to the old enhancement (costs for +2 minus the costs for +1 in this example), or the whole cost?



Like any "upgrade" enhancement, you would pay for the cost difference.


----------



## ironmani

Well since you must have missed my question (or your ignoring me    J/k!   ) I'll ask again. Do Warforged feel pain? Keep up the good work and I have Whispers on order at my FLGS!


----------



## Staffan

ironmani said:
			
		

> Well since you must have missed my question (or your ignoring me    J/k!   ) I'll ask again. Do Warforged feel pain? Keep up the good work and I have Whispers on order at my FLGS!



I don't see any reason why they wouldn't. There's certainly no indication that they'd be immune to, say, a _symbol of pain_.


----------



## Driddle

Keith, did you intend for everyone to look so grim, angry or otherwise unhappy in Eberron, or is that just an artist's interpretation? Is it appropriate for my PC to smile every so often?


----------



## apsuman

Driddle said:
			
		

> _Originally Posted by apsuman: "Ok, what happens if someone puts an immovable rod in place above the stones?"_
> 
> 
> 
> No need to wait. You can do it right now, this very minute!
> 
> ...
> 
> So what are you doing with your magic immovable rod now?




I am comparing it to my non-magic immovable rod.


----------



## apsuman

As for the rod and the train.

As I understand it, the original (at leat US) trains were made in the days before the bessemer steel process.  So, the rails were made of pig iron.  Also, there was no good way to secure the end of the rails to the ground.  The result of this is that the trains (heavy with cargo) would exert downward pressure upon on the rail much like a scissor's blade would upon a ribbon, and like scissors and ribbons, the rail would curl... up.

The result was an immovable rod, and it would derail and rip through trains like a knife through butter.


----------



## Hellcow

Flyspeck23 said:
			
		

> Anyway, as we started making characters for Eberron, there were a few warforged-related questions left unanswered (or at least I didn't find a solution in the book)



Glad you like it, Flyspeck! As regards your questions, Staffan has answered them all correctly (thanks, Staffan!).


----------



## Staffan

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Glad you like it, Flyspeck! As regards your questions, Staffan has answered them all correctly (thanks, Staffan!).



You're welcome


----------



## dravot

Hi Keith!

 This is one of the most enjoyable d20 books I've looked at, I think.  The more I read, the more I want to try out a campaign in Eberron.

 Is there a relationship between celestials and the deities?  If so, what is it?
 Same for fiends and the deities.

 Or celestials/fiends and the Prime, for that matter.


----------



## MrFilthyIke

BrooklynKnight said:
			
		

> I'd personally give the heroes 32 point buy.
> (or 88 at a 1:1 ratio) or just use the normal rolling method. 4d6 drop the lowest.




Given the lower levels seen throughout the book, I'd use 28 point.  The fact that the PC's will outstrip most NPC's in level soon enough will counteract any feelings of being "weak".


----------



## Hellcow

*Lightning Round!*

OK. I have less than 24 hours to complete a big deadline, and then I'm going ot be away from the computer for five days. So I'm afraid I have to be as quick as possible. As a result, the more complicated questions (moons, theory behind warforged design) are going to get pushed, and I apologize for that. I hope to answer all questions in time. But for now, I'm going to have to answer the questions that can be answered quickly. Thanks for your patience. 



			
				megamania said:
			
		

> Lots of questions already! Mine also involves the War Forged.  Their armor "skin" can have enchantments.  Does this include Glamor?  If so-  does this mean they can appear to be something other than a war forged or does the plateing simpily become more decorative or less?



I would say that the changes would be cosmetic only. A warforged with an adamantine body could appear to only have composite plating. And you could certainly play up decorative aspects. But you couldn't change into a form other than a warforged. 



			
				Shadowdancer said:
			
		

> Keith, what level point buy do you recommend for Eberron characters?



I would go for 28 or 32, depending on your personal preference. Characters are supposed to be exceptional individuals. I do feel that a flaw adds color to a character, though. 



			
				olive said:
			
		

> Would things like elemental binding work without the mechanics of dragonshards?



You could certainly use elemental binding without dragonshards. 



			
				Tarrasque Wrangler said:
			
		

> As a simple, harmless historical curiosity ( ), what powers did the Mark of Death provide?



I am not at liberty to say -- sorry!



			
				Ironmani said:
			
		

> Do Warforged feel pain? Or do they just acknowledge damage?



Warforged can suffer nonlethal damage, and are subject to the effects of a _symbol of pain_. So they certainly receive an unpleasant sensation that can temporarily render them unconscious as a result of damage. However, I doubt that it is exactly the same way that a human feels pain. If you attain construct perfection -- becoming invulnerable to nonlethal damage -- that most likely represents a change in the way you experience pain. 



			
				Nuddawan said:
			
		

> As a default within the setting, do any of the player races other than the Kalashtar manifest psionic powers?



All races have the potential to manifest powers with proper training; for the quori-touched races, it is a natural gift. 



			
				Johnsemlak said:
			
		

> I'm sorry if this info has been posted elsewhere, but I wanted to ask why a color pull-out map wasn't included, and if there will be one with another product.



You'd have to take the "why" up with WotC. I know there will be a map released in one of the magazines. 



			
				Psiblade said:
			
		

> I was wondering what expansions / accessories are currently planned.



Currently, two adventures and the sourcebook for Sharn have been revealed. Other things are in the works, but until WotC reveals them I can't say nuthin.'



			
				Qstor said:
			
		

> Are you going to do a list of monsters that seem out of place? Or as the book says all of the monsters from the Monster Manual fit in Eberron?



Most anything could be put in the Mournland or Xen'drik, if you really want it in the world and can't see a better place for it. That's one of the goals of the Mournland: to have a place where there _can_ be an odd assortment of monsters in the midst of a fairly civilized realm.


----------



## MrFilthyIke

Driddle said:
			
		

> Keith, did you intend for everyone to look so grim, angry or otherwise unhappy in Eberron, or is that just an artist's interpretation? Is it appropriate for my PC to smile every so often?




No, you are only allowed to frown and scowl, and everything must be dark.  The sun never shines, and it rains...constantly.  If you deviate, the WotC ninjas will come for you.  

You have been warned.


----------



## Hellcow

*Last Answers for Today*



			
				 Resistor said:
			
		

> What kind of things does the Order of the Emerald Claw do? Whenever they're mentioned, it's always to say that they're Vol's military arm. So... what does a lich in hiding DO with a military arm? What do they get up to now that the Last War is over?




Supporting the necromancers and priests as they continue to seek ways to build their power: Searching for weapons hidden in the Mournland or the cause of the Mourning itself. Building horrible eldritch machines. Exploring Xen'drik for lost secrets of the elves and giants. Scheming with the Stillborn to destroy the Undying Court. Trying to find ways to restore the Mark of Death. Fighting a secret war with the Church of the Silver Flame. Working with sympathetic Karrn nobles to seize power in Karrnath. You know, kid stuff. 



			
				 Staffan said:
			
		

> Will there be a metaplot for Eberron? In other words, will the world move forward like Forgotten Realms, or will it remain still and just get more details revealed like Exalted?




This is up to WotC, but I doubt you'd see any major enforced changes for quite some time, if at all. There's a lot of stories to explore without huge changes to the world. Five-ten years from now (if the world is still around, he says, crossing his fingers), maybe. But I don't know of any plans that would impose major changes on the world. 



			
				 BrooklynKnight said:
			
		

> In the timeline in the book it mentions the creation of 2 (or is it 3) new dragonmarks after the war of the mark and the establishment of "the twelve". The war of the mark also happens after the 13th mark was "thought" to be destroyed.




Alder d'Cannith had studied the history of the houses and knew that the Mark of Death was destroyed, and from his arcane studies he was confident that there were indeed twelve pure marks, even though only ten had been discovered, and only ten houses were part of the organization. Alder was highly respected, and the others let it go. 



			
				 Kai Lord said:
			
		

> Is "divine magic" in that instance not to be taken in game terms but rather the flavor of drawing power from a deity? Would it be more accurate to say that the Ashbound abhor non-animistic divine magic?




Yes. Druidic magic comes from the world itself. These people who profess to draw their power from "gods" are most likely the agents of demons or other foul spirits, whether they know it or not. Though frankly, I've always put arcane magic ahead of divine magic for the Ashbound hit list. 

Bear in mind that it is possible to have a moderate Ashbound (which is the only way you'd see an Ashbound PC). While their ranks include violent fanatics, there are Ashbound who will try to reason with spellcasters -- calling on a cleric to question the source of her powers, pointing to the Mournland as a possible consequence of toying with arcane forces. It doesn't have to be "DIE, cleric!" -- it can also be "Do you know what you're doing?"



			
				 Remathilis said:
			
		

> Why the decision to split the demons and devils among several different planes? Do these outsiders have any common heritage any longer? (IE, the Balor and the Marilith having any common unity aside from "tanar'ri" traits?)



I'll address the first question when I have more time. As for the second, my inclination is to say "no"; they draw their identity from the planes. Just like there are felines and canines on different continents, there are demons and devils on different planes. The fiends of Shavarath are part of Shavarath. But I'd like to see what James thinks about this; perhaps I'll change my mind. (And hey, if you want to do things differently, it's your call.)


----------



## Driddle

Keith, is it true that the 13th dragonmark is the Mark of Supersizing, and that anyone who developed it sort of ate themselves to death? (Least mark led to diabetes, greater mark led to heart failure, etc.)


----------



## NilesB

Driddle said:
			
		

> Is it true that your original concept for Eberonnish elves included a seven-year adult mating cycle which could drive a character into an insane rage every so often if wasn't able to have sex?



Wasn't that back when they were going to exchange their bonus proficiencies with swords for one with the Lirpa?


----------



## ironmani

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Warforged can suffer nonlethal damage, and are subject to the effects of a _symbol of pain_. So they certainly receive an unpleasant sensation that can temporarily render them unconscious as a result of damage. However, I doubt that it is exactly the same way that a human feels pain. If you attain construct perfection -- becoming invulnerable to nonlethal damage -- that most likely represents a change in the way you experience pain.



Ok I'll take that as a maybe/yes.     So when I play my Warforged and he is shielding someone from arrow fire and is asked if he was hit he can respond, in a completely monotoned voice, 
"Yes, they shot me several times in the back. Are you well enough to move now?"

"Hey Steel, are you ok?"
"I am....functional. Can you pass me that hammer over there?"


----------



## Zarrock God of Evil

Bump


----------



## Flyspeck23

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Glad you like it, Flyspeck! As regards your questions, Staffan has answered them all correctly (thanks, Staffan!).



Thought so. Thanks.





> You're welcome



And thank you too, of course


----------



## Dr. Harry

Azazyll said:
			
		

> (hard as it may be to believe) there are more people alive now than the total number of dead people, conservative estimate.




 While I hate to seem as if I am picking nits at a good post, this statement has been often repeated, but not strictly true.  The amount of people alive today is roughly equivalent to all the people who have died since about 2500 - 3000 B.C., depending on how you estimate it.


----------



## omokage

You know, if you survey every living person you'll find that very few of them have ever died. From there it's not too much of a stretch to say that "statistically speaking" it is unlikely that I will ever die. Most people alive now haven't.


----------



## Ozmar

omokage said:
			
		

> You know, if you survey every living person you'll find that very few of them have ever died. From there it's not too much of a stretch to say that "statistically speaking" it is unlikely that I will ever die. Most people alive now haven't.




Hmmm... methinks there may be a logical fallacy in that argument somewhere...

But I can't find it, so I'm going skydiving. WAHOO! 

Ozmar the Immortal


----------



## Driddle

Keith, I've read the "cheat" guidebook three times through already, and I can't find a reference to how many dragonshards I need to win the game. And does each dragonmark provide a different ending scene?

(Can't wait for the drow ninja patch!)


----------



## Funksaw

Regarding the Eberron Trains/Immovable Rod question:

Don't you think someone would have invented a Cowcatcher of Irresistable Force?


----------



## Dr. Harry

Ozmar said:
			
		

> Hmmm... methinks there may be a logical fallacy in that argument somewhere...
> 
> But I can't find it, so I'm going skydiving. WAHOO!
> 
> Ozmar the Immortal




  Wear thick-soled shoes, just in case.


----------



## nonamazing

I greatly enjoy your setting, Mr. Baker, and I am preparing to run an Eberron campaign shortly (currently in phase 0.5: searching for more players).  I understand that you are quite busy, but I do have a couple more questions to throw at you.  I won't be offended if you are unable to respond (or even if you just don't want to--that's okay, man).

#1 -- {SPOILER} Is the real King Kaius III being held in Dreadhold, a la _The Man in the Iron Mask_?  Do I win brownie points for being super cool and spotting that?  Any other references to classic swashbuckling novels in there (the Breland King's Blades remind me of the Musketeers somewhat; was that intentional?)?

#2 -- I noticed that you are located in Boulder.  I work at a bookstore in Denver.  I don't know if you ever happen to come down our way, but if you ever do, would you consider dropping by and signing our stock of the Eberron book?  I've sort of unoffically adopted the role-playing section in my store and I'm always looking for ways to attract attention to the books there.  Some bright new 'autographed copy' stickers might just do the trick.  Of course, I apologize if I've overstepped my bounds and am asking too much here--it was just an idea that popped into my head.

#3 -- The setting has a lot of interesting mystery elements to it (like the secret history of the ancient warforged, or the unknown catastropher that destroyed the Mournland).  Do you think that further books in the Eberron setting will adress these mysteries, or will they be left largely for indivdual groups to make their own answers to?

That's about all.  Really do enjoy the setting.  Hope you meet your deadline--don't work yourself too hard!


----------



## MrFilthyIke

nonamazing said:
			
		

> #2 -- I noticed that you are located in Boulder.  I work at a bookstore in Denver.  I don't know if you ever happen to come down our way, but if you ever do, would you consider dropping by and signing our stock of the Eberron book?  I've sort of unoffically adopted the role-playing section in my store and I'm always looking for ways to attract attention to the books there.  Some bright new 'autographed copy' stickers might just do the trick.  Of course, I apologize if I've overstepped my bounds and am asking too much here--it was just an idea that popped into my head.




Maybe you could organize a "Meet the author" event and autograph session, sounds like you work at a bookstore that'd love the attention, even the old Waldenbooks that used to be near my house did this.


----------



## beepeearr

*Undead Warforged*

{Originally Posted by Hand of Evil
Can a Warforged become undead? 

Warforged are constructs, not humanoids. As a result, by the rules, they cannot become vampires or liches. I'd rule out skeletons because the effects of the skeleton template don't make sense with the non-decaying warforged body (even if a warforged has something mimicking a skeletal system, it would never rot away until only its skeleton was showing). Given this, my inclination would also be to leave out warforged zombies -- while they may be "living creatures with a skeletal system" on some level, I think the intention of the restrictions is "flesh and blood". I'd be more inclined to create an entirely new template for an undead warforged. }

 You could always just use the rules for animated objects, and say there powered by negative energy.


----------



## Kaleon Moonshae

omokage said:
			
		

> You know, if you survey every living person you'll find that very few of them have ever died. From there it's not too much of a stretch to say that "statistically speaking" it is unlikely that I will ever die. Most people alive now haven't.





Really hate to throw a stone when I love the comment, but technically, the statistics only show that it is likely you "haven't died" not that you "won't" die. Most of those people polled said they "hadn't died" which places it in the past which means the only conclusion that can be reached is concerning the past. Nice try though


----------



## Pseudonym

A few questions, in no particular order:

For those of us with no interest in psionics, would changing the Kalashtar's favorite class to sorcerer keep the feel of the race, or should we relegate them to NPC status?

Did you give any thought to renaming the "name" spells after Eberron specific wizards as Kalamar has done? Was there a Rary or Leomund or Mordenkainen in Eberron's past?


----------



## Kichwas

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Drow are culturally significantly different from their counterparts in other settings. A few quick notes:
> * The Drow remained on Xen'drik when the ancestors of the Aereni and Valenar left.
> * When the civilization of the giants was destroyed, the majority of the Drow retreated underground to escape the devastation. Today they live both above and below ground, and continue to prey on the surviving giants.
> * While somewhat nomadic, they do possess mystical secrets from the Age of Giants.
> * They are not "just plain evil" as a race, but have little warmth for explorers and looters. Many Drow families revere Khyber or the Shadow, and these are certainly dangerous groups to cross.
> * There's no Lolth in Eberron. If you want driders, they would presumably be the result of magical experimentation or some sort of disaster.



Thing is...

If they're not evil per se, and if they have a more varied culture and no Lolth BS, then that might be the first time I've seen Drow in DnD that caught my interest.


I did find it interesting that this is the only WotC setting without subraces. So far at least. If there's got to be a question in this, I suppose it would be, will it stay that way?


----------



## Kichwas

WanderingMonster said:
			
		

> One thing I did notice is a lack of "movers and shakers" in the world.  I'm assuming this was a design choice, ala "No Elminsters!".  I like it, actually.  How will Eberron grow as a world.  If the PCs are the movers and shakers, will we see as much advancing the plot of the campaign setting as we saw in the Realms, or Dark Sun?  Or will Eberron products assume everything can take place in 998YK?



Let's hope it stays that way...

The last thing I want to see is the iconics in the book turn into 57th level kung-fu psionic ninja bunnies after the novel line comes out...

And you know it will...


I would love to see WotC/TSR do a fixed timeline campaign setting, but I suspect that the attempt would cause a few heads to explode over among the design editors (insert visual of bad 80s sci fi in the movie scanners)...


----------



## Nightingale 7

Hello.Up-and-coming Eberron addict here(and that is saying something,given what a FR fanatic I am!).I have not yet purchased the ECS yet(I am going to buy it very soon,I promise!),but browsing through the book at my FLGS I had a couple of questions.Is there anyway for a Warforged wizard to chuck that annoying 5% ASF?I've seen the feat for "tank" warforged (Adamantine Body),and the feat for the "sneaky" Warforged (Mithral Body),but is there any for the arcane casting one?Also,by skimming through the Artificer,I noticed that he has up to Medium Armor Proficiency,but his Infusions are said to work like spells,that seems to imply ASF too.It seems pretty antithetical to me.
My questions are most likely a matter of my brief skimming of the book,but they've been nagging me to much to wait for me to buy it.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Vocenoctum

Nightingale 7 said:
			
		

> Is there anyway for a Warforged wizard to chuck that annoying 5% ASF?



There's PrC's that do it, Spellsword at least.


> Also,by skimming through the Artificer,I noticed that he has up to Medium Armor Proficiency,but his Infusions are said to work like spells,that seems to imply ASF too.It seems pretty antithetical to me.



They're not arcane or divine spells, so it should be stated, but it's not.
Given that they don't say they have spell failure, but do have armor prof's, I'd say no spell failure for them. (Like clerics)


----------



## Nightingale 7

Thanks for the reply Vocenoctum.Yes,I am aware of the PrC that limit ASF.I was thinking more like a feat.Perhaps by losing the natural armor bonus,it would also remove the ASF?As to the Artificer,I thought as much,but it's nice to have another opinion.That raises another question.Are the Dragonmarks subject to ASF?It would explain why the iconic Heir of Siberys has Bracers of Armor.


----------



## Vocenoctum

Nightingale 7 said:
			
		

> Are the Dragonmarks subject to ASF?It would explain why the iconic Heir of Siberys has Bracers of Armor.



As Spell Like Abilities, I don't believe they would be affected. The Heir of Siberys is just nutty. Heck, he doesn't even qualify for the class!  (Neither does the other Heir in the back, Maagrim d'Tharask on page 238 is a Druid 7/ heir 3)


----------



## ~Johnny~

> For those of us with no interest in psionics, would changing the Kalashtar's favorite class to sorcerer keep the feel of the race, or should we relegate them to NPC status?



Keith has mentioned that as an option in the past, but a less than ideal one. You'd defnietly have to replace the 1 PP/level to something more relevant. If you have no interest in psionics, I'd just keep the psionic-related flavor elements in the background as something your characters never encounter. If that doesn't satisfy you, I guess you could say that kalashtar are sorcerers who draw their power from the plane of dreams (and then create sorcerous versions of Quori and Inspired).




> Is there anyway for a Warforged wizard to chuck that annoying 5% ASF?I've seen the feat for "tank" warforged (Adamantine Body),and the feat for the "sneaky" Warforged (Mithral Body),but is there any for the arcane casting one?



I suspect it'll show up in one of the subsequent sourcebooks, maybe even in Sharn: City of Towers. I would make it look something like this:

*Armored Casting* [General]
*Prerequisites:* Base attack bonus +1, ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells
*Benefit:* Your arcane spell failure chance for casting spells with somatic components is reduced by 5%.
*Normal:* Armor interferes with the gestures that a spellcaster must make to cast an arcane spell that has a somatic component. Arcane spellcasters face the possibility of arcane spell failure if they’re wearing armor.
*Special:* You can take Armored Casting multiple times. Each time, it reduces your arcane spell failure chance by 5%.

Notice that I didn't include AWP in the prerequisites, because they are irrelevant to warforged. You could also change the prerequisite to just being a warforged, but this makes it more versatile.




> Also,by skimming through the Artificer,I noticed that he has up to Medium Armor Proficiency,but his Infusions are said to work like spells,that seems to imply ASF too.It seems pretty antithetical to me.



As stated above, infusions are not quite spells. Keith has said his image of infusion-casting of the artificer is more like the vigorous pulling of invisible strings than the precise, scientific gestures of the wizard:




> As I see it, the artificer works on a fundamentally different level than the wizard. Where the wizard performs an invocation/ritual that triggers a magical effect, the artificer reaches out to the fundamental force of magic (whatever that is, which is certainly a point of arcane debate) and binds it to a physical object.
> 
> Most artificer spells have somatic components, and I tend to see these as being even more involved than wizard gestures; the character is literally weaving the energy into the enchanted item. You may say "Then why doesn't he have arcane failure?" The answer is that he is not trying to perform a single perfect gesture, as a wizard is; he is performing a string of gestures, pulling on different threads of mystical energy, and if he slips up with one he just needs to resolve the error with the following gestures.



Cool, huh?




> That raises another question.Are the Dragonmarks subject to ASF?It would explain why the iconic Heir of Siberys has Bracers of Armor.



Naw. That's probably a case of the stats being written to accomodate an illustration, which was armor-free so we could see the guy's tattoos.  As for the eligibility errors, Keith mentioned they'll be errata'd, and that they were due to the fact that the Heir of Syberis PrC class went through a lot of changes during development.

Quick note: Keith's out of town right now, so don't take it personally when he doesn't answer questions for the next few days! In the meantime, you can also browse the Q&A thread here.


----------



## Kichwas

Pseudonym said:
			
		

> For those of us with no interest in psionics, would changing the Kalashtar's favorite class to sorcerer keep the feel of the race



To me that would seem like removing psionics from Dark Sun, or Elves from Forgotten Realms.

If you don't want psionics in your game, Eberron just might not be an ideal setting choice.


----------



## Gez

Except it would be quite easy to replace kalashtar's fav class to sorcerer, give them Spellcasting Prodigy: Sorcerer and Eschew Materials in exchange for the +1 PP/level, and just say that kalashtars dub their sorcery "psionics".

The fix would be much less noticeable than if you, say, removed elves from the Forgotten Realms and said that what people call elves are actually gnomes.


----------



## Kobold Avenger

+1PP/level essentially allows a Kalashtar to use their most augmented or highest level psionic power another time per day.  Though they could technically divide that cost up.  Thus the Sorcerer equivalent would be to allow them an extra spell slot of the highest level they can cast, in a day.


----------



## Zarrock God of Evil

Bump


----------



## Hellcow

I'm still traveling, but I return tomorrow and will try to address the latest questions then. Nonamazing, I'd be happy to drop by sometime -- send me an email at Keith@bossythecow.com and let me know where you're at and we can figure something out.


----------



## Funksaw

Keith, were you inspired at all by the Misguided Games' "Children of the Sun"?  There's some similarities in tone and focus of the game - magitech and pulp-action occuring as the world is recovering from a great war.


----------



## Melkor Lord Of ALL!

*Demographics*

What was the population of Khorvaire before The Last War? 30 million? It is pretty low now, and it seems society is more advanced than middle ages Europe.


----------



## Flyspeck23

Melkor said:
			
		

> What was the population of Khorvaire before The Last War? 30 million? It is pretty low now, and it seems society is more advanced than middle ages Europe.



[tongue-in-cheek]

Might just be the the people of Khorvaire have some means of birthcontrol. That's one of the benefits of living in an advanced society.

Maybe there's a low-level cleric spell for that, but they didn't include it in the book because Eberron isn't marked "for mature audience"...

[/tongue-in-cheek]


----------



## Goobermunch

nonamazing said:
			
		

> #2 -- I noticed that you are located in Boulder.  I work at a bookstore in Denver.  I don't know if you ever happen to come down our way, but if you ever do, would you consider dropping by and signing our stock of the Eberron book?  I've sort of unoffically adopted the role-playing section in my store and I'm always looking for ways to attract attention to the books there.  Some bright new 'autographed copy' stickers might just do the trick.  Of course, I apologize if I've overstepped my bounds and am asking too much here--it was just an idea that popped into my head.




Hey nonamazing, do you work at the Park Meadows Borders?

--G


----------



## Azazyll

So, I have a player who wants to play a lycanthrope.  This is of course still permissable under "the same, but different" concept, but the background makes it really hard for werebeasts to move around, what with the Church of the Silver Flame killing every lycanthrope they can get there hands on.  So my player wants to masquerade as a anomalous Shifter and conceal her true nature from the other characters at first.  Usually, this would just be a disguise check, but I can't really see that applying in this case.  The only time she really needs to fool people is while in hybrid form (she obviously can't turn into animal form, that's going to stretch beyond credibility).

So, what mechanic would you use the conceal the lycanthrope's transformation as a Shifter's shift?  The main book doesn't go into too much detail about what shifting looks like.  Should it still be a disguise check?  Would hide or bluff work better?  Any thoughts or ideas on the subject would be appreciated


----------



## nonamazing

MrFilthyIke said:
			
		

> Maybe you could organize a "Meet the author" event and autograph session, sounds like you work at a bookstore that'd love the attention, even the old Waldenbooks that used to be near my house did this.




Heh, it's kind of funny, actually--my store (the Barnes & Noble in downtown Denver) has the absolute worst luck with author signing events.  All sorts of things have happened, the most memorable being the time that someone actually died in the store while an author was giving a speech.  So we try and shy away from doing big events these days.

We still get lots of author 'drive-bys'--when someone just happens to be passing through town and signs whatever we to have in stock at the moment.  We also see a suprisingly large number of celebrities, for some unknown reason.  It can be a weird store to work at.


----------



## Hellcow

OK, I'm back, so let's get started.



			
				dravot said:
			
		

> Is there a relationship between celestials and the deities?  If so, what is it? Same for fiends and the deities.



I have a feeling that I answered this in another thread, but I can't track it down. Assuming that the deities of Eberron do exist, they exist on a higher plane than mortals or even outsiders can reach. As such, there are no celestials who get to actually hang out with the gods and chat with them. Furthermore, most celestials are fairly concerned with the events of their own plane: the fiends of Shavarath are completely consumed by the war. However, this does not prevent a particular celestial from developing a closer connection to a deity, just like a human cleric; and as a celestial and immortal, at the very least the *celestial* would believe that it had a closer bond to the god than any mortal could ever have. 

The short form? It's up to you. As races, the outsiders are not bound to the gods. However, if you want to have a pit fiend who is channeling the essence of the Mockery, or a group of devout bone devils that have taken up residence in the Domain of the Keeper, that would be entirely appropriate. 

One notable exception to this is the relationship between the Silver Flame and the native outsiders of Eberron. Many scholars believe that the Flame was first kindled by the collective sacrifice of the couatl in the Age of Demons, when they bound the first fiends of Eberron. As a result, the couatl have a close bond to the Flame, and the rakshasa despise it. But there's nothing stopping a noble archon from also taking up the banner of the Flame. 



			
				dravot said:
			
		

> Or celestials/fiends and the Prime, for that matter.



The native outsiders have an obvious connection: it's where they were born. The true outsiders generally keep to their planes; it's a matter of the individual who breaks from the mold. A celestial could be exiled from her home plane, could be drawn to the prime by religious beliefs, could carry out a feud with a fiend on Eberron, or use Eberron as neutral ground for dealing with other outsiders. A fiend could do the same, and could take up with the native outsiders in the Lords of Dust. 



			
				nonamazing said:
			
		

> #1 -- {SPOILER} Is King Kaius III being held in Dreadhold, a la _The Man in the Iron Mask_?  Do I win brownie points for being super cool and spotting that?  Any other references to classic swashbuckling novels in there (the Breland King's Blades remind me of the Musketeers somewhat; was that intentional?)?



Maybe. It would certainly be an intriguing adventure, wouldn't it? And there certainly are powerful forces in Karrnath who would like to see the king deposed…

As for the Musketeers, I actually think that there's a lot of possibility in Thrane, with the increasing tension between the nobility and the church. Of course, in Thrane the heroes might end up being the cardinal's guard instead of the queen's musketeers – but I think there's a lot of story potential nonetheless. 

I'm certainly a fan of Dumas (and for that matter, Steven Brust's recent Phoenix Guards novels), and I'm not sure how the Musketeer movies missed being on the recommended viewing list, as they combine action and intrigue. Probably because if you're recommending a musketeer movie, you have to get into all the different versions… 



			
				nonamazing said:
			
		

> #3 -- The setting has a lot of interesting mystery elements to it. Do you think that further books in the Eberron setting will adress these mysteries, or will they be left largely for indivdual groups to make their own answers to?




I think that some of the smaller mysteries will be dealt with. I just wrote something dealing with the fall of the Glass Tower in Sharn; on the other hand, that's a small enough mystery that solving it doesn't dramatically change the world, and if you have other ideas, you're not going to find that the world goes completely out of sync if you ignore what I've written. But as for the huge major mysteries, like the cause of the Mournland – my belief is that we'll leave those to you. Something like the Xen'drik warforged is sort of half-way in between; at the very least, I could see that being examined further in a Xen'drik or Magic supplement, even if it's not completely explained. 

But really, I don't know. I don't think WotC will do things that will completely change the flavor of the world – but the smaller mysteries may be developed.


----------



## Hellcow

Pseudonym said:
			
		

> For those of us with no interest in psionics, would changing the Kalashtar's favorite class to sorcerer keep the feel of the race, or should we relegate them to NPC status?



It's a change, but making them sorcerers would certainly work. The idea of granting one additional sorcerer spell slot of the highest level they could cast is a reasonable way of duplicating the racial ability. It's not precisely accurate, as the 15th level kalashtar who only has 1 level of psion could use his extra power points to manifest his 1st-level powers multiple times, but it's reasonably close without getting too complicated and ultimately translating the sorcerer into a psion. 



			
				Pseudonym said:
			
		

> Did you give any thought to renaming the "name" spells after Eberron specific wizards as Kalamar has done? Was there a Rary or Leomund or Mordenkainen in Eberron's past?



Nope, never thought about it. I'm used to writing setting-neutral stuff where you ignore it. The idea of renaming the spells to use Eberron specific wizards makes sense; I'd want to look back to the founders of the Twelve or great Aereni wizards to find such heroes. On the other hand, I could also see using the names of the Sovereign Host. Aureon is credited with the discovery and formulation of arcane magic, and Boldrei might work well for many of the Rary spells. 



			
				Arcady said:
			
		

> I did find it interesting that this is the only WotC setting without subraces. So far at least. If there's got to be a question in this, I suppose it would be, will it stay that way?



I'd like it to. Really, we're treating the drow as a separate race as much as a subrace, and I'd rather go that way if appropriate. Personally, I dislike statistic modifiers based on culture, since the humans cover all extremes and keep the same statistics. There's a much longer discussion about this on the "Ask Keith" thread on the WotC boards. 



			
				Nightengale 7 said:
			
		

> Is there anyway for a Warforged wizard to chuck that annoying 5% ASF?I've seen the feat for "tank" warforged (Adamantine Body),and the feat for the "sneaky" Warforged (Mithral Body),but is there any for the arcane casting one?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nightengale 7 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Also,by skimming through the Artificer,I noticed that he has up to Medium Armor Proficiency,but his Infusions are said to work like spells,that seems to imply ASF too.It seems pretty antithetical to me.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As Johnny has noted, the artificer is not subject to ASF.
> (Spellsword)
> 
> 
> 
> Nightengale 7 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Are the dragonmarks subject to ASF?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Nope!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Funksaw said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Keith, were you inspired at all by the Misguided Games' "Children of the Sun"?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I'm afraid I've never heard of it! I'll have to look it up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Melkor said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What was the population of Khorvaire before The Last War?.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I'll need to discuss this with the other designers to make sure I don't say one thing and then have another number appear later. Certainly there were many deaths in the Last War, and there have been other wars in the past (while it was a long time ago, the War of the Mark was a messy affair). It's also the case that there are large areas of Khorvaire that are very sparsely populated. The Demon Wastes and the Mournland are almost empty. In the Shadow Marches, the Eldeen Reaches, the Mror Holds, Lhazaar, Zilargo, Valenar, and Q'barra, you've always had very small, concentrated communities scattered within a greater wild.
Click to expand...


----------



## Hellcow

Azazyll said:
			
		

> So, I have a player who wants to play a lycanthrope.  This is of course still permissable under "the same, but different" concept, but the background makes it really hard for werebeasts to move around, what with the Church of the Silver Flame killing every lycanthrope they can get there hands on.



True, though at this point they generally think they've done it. She'd need to be careful, and sure, they'd come after her if they realized her true nature, but the actual inquisition is over. 



			
				Azazyll said:
			
		

> So my player wants to masquerade as a anomalous Shifter and conceal her true nature from the other characters at first.  Usually, this would just be a disguise check, but I can't really see that applying in this case.  The only time she really needs to fool people is while in hybrid form (she obviously can't turn into animal form, that's going to stretch beyond credibility).



Well, assuming an animal form isn't hard to believe if she's a druid. And don't forget, as long as she *IS* a shifter (shifters don't look like humans in their natural forms), she just has to pretend to be a weretouched master. 



			
				Azazyll said:
			
		

> So, what mechanic would you use the conceal the lycanthrope's transformation as a Shifter's shift?



As far as I'm concerned, the alternate form ability of the weretouched master looks exactly like a normal lycanthropic transformation. So you have a few issues to bear in mind:
* Does she have the full lycanthropic resistance to injury? Shifters get very minor DR, if any. 
* How long does she maintain a shift? If she's a druid, she can get away with animal form as if it was wild shape (though DR may again give her away); otherwise, a weretouched master can't hold a shift for more than a minute or two.
* Can she spread the curse, or is the a natural lycanthrope? If so and she ever does, she may be exposed by those she transforms -- and this will certainly provoke a response from Church Templars.
* I wouldn't require any check when the shift occurred; I'd require the Bluff check when she tells people "Really, I'm just a druid/weretouched master, it's an aspect of my being so in tune with the forces of nature."
Again, if she is a shifter, she can dodge a lot of base suspicion because shifters *do* shift. However, a human who happens to be a lycanthrope will not physically resemble a shifter while in human form, so that's your issue.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

Welcome Back Keith


----------



## GreyWanderer

*Artificer Questions*

Keith:

First, let me say that I love Eberron; you are a genius. I worship the allmighty hellcow!

So saying, I had a few questions about how Artificers work:

1. What kind of items can an artificer use their Infusions on? The rules are very unclear on this (other than constructs and Warforged). Can they pick up a rock or a stick and say it's an item? That lacks flavor. If not, does it have to be manufactured? What if they use an existing magic item?

2. The same questions for the Spell Storing Item spell.

3. Is Spell Storing Item a spell, or an Infusion? It looks like a spell, but Artificers can't cast spells, correct?

4. When an Artificer creates a Magic Item, does he still have to roll his Use Magic Device check for an item he made? If so, would he get a bonus for that specific item (only) since he made it?

5. Artificers are always going to be searching for new Infusions; does that mean they cannot create new ones themselves - or can they do it as a Mage does creating new spells. Again, if they can create them themselves, they loose flavor and the desire to adventure, yet it shouldn't be impossible. Just extremly difficult. What limits would you suggest?

6. Building on that, for flavor reasons, Artificers should not gain access to certain (probably combat) type spells. What schools/types/specific spells would you suggest should NEVER be Infusions?

Thank you for your time (grovel scrape).

Grey


----------



## GreyWanderer

*Artificer Questions - Continued*

Kieth:

Sorry, I forgot a few (the phone rang):

7. When an item (still need details on what counts as an item - is there a minimum cost perhaps) is 'Infused' must it be used immediately, or can it hold a charge for a time (like a battery)? Future rules perhaps? 

8. Can an item hold more than one Infusion at a tme? If so, how many? One per level perhaps?

9. Maybe Artificers can craft items specifically to hold specific infusions - that might allow them to hold a charge for a time. Perhapsmultiple charges (like a wand). Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Grey.


----------



## howandwhy99

howandwhy99 said:
			
		

> From reading the calendar, it looks as if there are 12 moons circling Eberron. Each of these corresponds to the month when the planet is in closest proximity. It is rumored that there once was a "13th" moon.
> 
> So, are these the extraplanar worlds from the orreries?
> How is it possible to have a "new" moon. I noticed that the plane of endless night (name?) came into conjunction at the nearest new moon to the winter solstice.
> Does Eberron still only have 1 full moon per month?
> How does this impact lycanthropes?



Hi,  I skimmed through the answers, but didn't see mine.  If you cannot answer because of the NDA, it's okay.  Just wanted to give it a bump.


----------



## John Q. Mayhem

Do you think that the articulated armors from Arcana Unearthed fit in Eberron? How about Chaositech or the Dark Plea?

Great setting, by the way.


----------



## Hellcow

howandwhy99 said:
			
		

> Hi,  I skimmed through the answers, but didn't see mine.  If you cannot answer because of the NDA, it's okay.  Just wanted to give it a bump.



Thanks for your patience - it's easy for questions to slip through the cracks. As it turns out, I'm still discussing this question with the folks at WotC; I'll give you an answer as soon as we all agree on it.  If you need an immediate solution -- and I offer this only as a temporary measure, as there are more interesting ideas under discussion -- I'll note that in any given month one moon is closest to the world, and you could use the phase of that moon to answer your questions. 



			
				John Q. Mayhem said:
			
		

> Do you think that the articulated armors from Arcana Unearthed fit in Eberron? How about Chaositech or the Dark Plea?



Unfortunately, I still don't own a copy of Chaositech, so I couldn't say there. I've got no issues with articulated plate, except that it is a product of advanced engineering as opposed to the use of magic -- so the question is who has the skill to produce it. My inclination would be to make it a product of the hobgoblin empire of Dhakaan, which was noted for the remarkable skill of its armorers and weaponsmiths; as a result, such armor could be found in Dhakaan ruins or could still be in use among the Dhakaani clans, such as the Kech Sharaat (p 154 of the campaign setting). If you went this way, the Dhakaani artifact armor described on page 272 might be shifted into articulated armor.


----------



## GreyWanderer

*Artificer Questions - Answered!*

Kieth:

Before you have to repeat yourself, I wanted to thank you for answering my questions over at the Wizards Boards. For anyone who wants to see the answers:

http://boards1.wizards.com/printthread.php?threadid=259293&perpage=30&pagenumber=13

Grey


----------



## John Q. Mayhem

It's really cool of you to answer these questions, Hellcow. I'd recommend Chaositech, the bio-engineering stuff is utterly perfect for the Daelkyr. But then, I'd recommend almost every single Malhavoc product ever made. 

I have another question, if you'd be so kind: One of the things that (IIRC) you have said you wanted was to not have lots of high-level NPCs around. I like that a lot, but when I looked at the Organizations chapter, most of the organizations' typical members were between 5th and 8th level. I haven't played much, only 2 campaigns, and neither one got above 11th level, but that seems slightly high. Do you know if this was a conscious decision?


----------



## Hellcow

John Q. Mayhem said:
			
		

> One of the things that (IIRC) you have said you wanted was to not have lots of high-level NPCs around. I like that a lot, but when I looked at the Organizations chapter, most of the organizations' typical members were between 5th and 8th level. I haven't played much, only 2 campaigns, and neither one got above 11th level, but that seems slightly high. Do you know if this was a conscious decision?



Yes. Our decision to reduce the number of high-level characters specifically refered to characters in the teens and above. Using the DMG Demographics table, you could end up with four 20th level fighters hanging around in a metropolis. In Toril, there are a lot of epic-level NPCs floating around.  By comparison, in Sharn -- generally considered to be the grandest city in Khorvaire -- there's one 11th-level wizard and one 12th-level fighter. So you're not going to be the toughest person in the world at 6th level -- but by the time you reach 12th level, you are one of the best in your field. And by the time you get to 18th level, you're the stuff of legends. 

In regards to the organizations chapter, where you get characters of CR 4 and above, these are rarely supposed to be the rank and file of the organization. Taking the Church of the Silver Flame, it's mentioned in multiple places that clerics are rare. Thus, the cleric mentioned is an exceptional individual. If you want to run into a typical parishioner (say, a 1st level commoner) or a typical priest (a 2-3rd level expert)... you can probably fudge that without even having statistics. The Thuranni assassin is a skilled specialist; they don't have thousands of these rogues, but it makes a more interesting NPC to have on hand that a level 2 rogue (spy).


----------



## ironmani

Glad to have you back Hellcow!    As I have only been able to skim the book, (Damn Bi weekly paycheck!!!!! You are my bane!) can those marked with a dragon mark have it "stripped" as a form of punishment? 
Second question, do you (or for that matter WOTC) plan on advancing the timeline ala Forgotten Realms? Or will events just take place to move things forward? 
Third Question, if you had to pick one class and race to play in the setting, and that was the one you would be locked into, what would you play and why?
Thanks and keep up the good work!


----------



## ConnorSB

A quick question for you Keith:

What level is King Boranel ir'Wynarn of Breland? One page 142 of the CS it says he is an Ari 3/Fighter 8, but two pages later on 144 it says he is an Ari 2/Fighter 8, one level lower. Which one is correct?

Sorry if this question is a little picky.


----------



## Goobermunch

ConnorSB said:
			
		

> A quick question for you Keith:
> 
> What level is King Boranel ir'Wynarn of Breland? One page 142 of the CS it says he is an Ari 3/Fighter 8, but two pages later on 144 it says he is an Ari 2/Fighter 8, one level lower. Which one is correct?
> 
> Sorry if this question is a little picky.



 I can field this one . . . .  Between p. 142 and 144, King Boranel ran into a nasty wight.  He failed his saves and, well, you get the picture . . . .

--G


----------



## WayneLigon

Hellcow said:
			
		

> By comparison, in Sharn -- generally considered to be the grandest city in Khorvaire -- there's one 11th-level wizard and one 12th-level fighter. So you're not going to be the toughest person in the world at 6th level -- but by the time you reach 12th level, you are one of the best in your field. And by the time you get to 18th level, you're the stuff of legends.



If there was nothing else to love about Eberron, that alone might make me buy it  I noticed this when I was looking through one of the country chapters while deciding where to set my secondary game. 

Eberron: Queen Aurala's Consort: Aristocrat3/Ranger2
FR: High Lady Alustriel's Consort: Wizard16

Winner? Eberron!


----------



## I'm A Banana

Sweet, welcome back. I've been waiting for the Warforged to be explained to me before I go write a rant thread about them being too powerful for no level adjustment. 

Take yer time, Mr. Baker. I'm a patient fan. ^_^;


----------



## Funksaw

Hellcow said:
			
		

> I'm afraid I've never heard of it! I'll have to look it up.




The system wasn't well thought out (too complex, too grainy) - but it did have some perks... For example, you had a token system, which allowed you to go whenever you wanted, but at a penalty.  Essentially, you could take as many actions as you had a dicepool for when your turn came up, at -0, -1, -2, -3, -4... etc... (Dicepools usually were around 2-3, with a max of 5, so it wasn't that unbalancing) but you could take an action at any time - so if you wanted to, say, deflect an arrow heading towards your buddy when it wasn't your turn, you were allowed to take a shot at it if you took an immediate penalty to your roll of -1, and -2 every step thereafter, so a person wanting to go before his initiative, to say, stop the bad guy at the last minute, would take his actions at -1, -3, -5, -7... 

The setting however was interesting - it was fantasy, but other than Humans and Elves, the other races were "new."  The history: well, much like Eberron's history mirrors WWII, CotS's history mirrors WWII, with an alliance of races forming against a tyrannical elfish population who wanted to conquer the world.  Like Eberron, Lysiral was destroyed to leave only a scarred, ruined wasteland full of monsters.  

Pulp and action were certainly encouraged - and there was a big final-fantasy feel to the game, and the system encouraged one-on-one swashbuckling (with parries and riposts) - however, the system wasn't well developed, and a couple tactical errors insured it was never a big hit.  For one, many of the races (well, just three) were kinda "furry" in nature - much like the shifters in Eberron.  The other problem was that it supported a "dieselpunk" type atmosphere with magic and technology as one in the same - and it was supported in the artwork but not so much in the actual text.  (In my home campaign, I added an inter-city highway system, and one of the PCs was a half-fish trucker who worked to defend himself against half-elven biker gangs.) 

Eberron probably comes closer in feel to CotS than Exalted, now that I think of it... 

You should pick it up.


----------



## apsuman

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Yes. Our decision to reduce the number of high-level characters specifically refered to characters in the teens and above. Using the DMG Demographics table, you could end up with four 20th level fighters hanging around in a metropolis. In Toril, there are a lot of epic-level NPCs floating around.  By comparison, in Sharn -- generally considered to be the grandest city in Khorvaire -- there's one 11th-level wizard and one 12th-level fighter. So you're not going to be the toughest person in the world at 6th level -- but by the time you reach 12th level, you are one of the best in your field. And by the time you get to 18th level, you're the stuff of legends.




Should I then infer that 6th level spells and above are veeery rare, and PCs shoudl not expect to see any, or very few at most, in treasure?

Not that I think this is a bad idea or anything, but I was wondering...


----------



## Goobermunch

apsuman said:
			
		

> Should I then infer that 6th level spells and above are veeery rare, and PCs shoudl not expect to see any, or very few at most, in treasure?
> 
> Not that I think this is a bad idea or anything, but I was wondering...




I'd say that depends on where they're adventuring.  If they're in Xen'Drik, they might well find an Eberron Shard containing the spellbook of a long-dead archmage with a few seventh level spells, maybe 2 eights, and a ninth.

If they're shopping around at the Sharn Spellbook Emporium, I'm thinking probably nothing over 3rd.

Then, there's always that Aundairan Magical Academy . . . I'd let them find anything up to 7th there.

--G


----------



## Hellcow

ironmani said:
			
		

> can those marked with a dragon mark have it "stripped" as a form of punishment?



No. You can be expelled from your house, and back in the day that would symbolically flay the exile's dragonmark, but it's permanent and the power cannot be remove (and the mark will return even if the skin is cut away). 



			
				ironmani said:
			
		

> Second question, do you (or for that matter WOTC) plan on advancing the timeline ala Forgotten Realms?



That's entirely WotC's decision. I don't think they're in any hurry to make dramatic changes to the setting: for now, they want to make sure everyone gets comfortable with the world. A few years from now, who knows. I think that the idea of a sourcebook focused on the tensions that could lead into the next war (dealing with border disputes, political intrigue and espionage, the tension with nations like Droaam, Valenar, and Darguun, and a greater focus on the ways in which magic has been used in warfare) would be an interesting one -- not necessarily starting a new war, but giving DMs the tools to play with the possibility.  


			
				ironmani said:
			
		

> Third Question, if you had to pick one class and race to play in the setting, and that was the one you would be locked into, what would you play and why?



That's a very difficult question. The warforged fighter is simple and solid, but has fun philosophical issues to explore. The shifter Eldeen Ranger gets fun shifting abilities, and you get to explore the druidic sects. But I think that if I had to pick one, I'd be a gnome artificer. I like the intrigue associated with Zilargo (which is something I hope to develop further in the future), and I enjoy the flexibility of the artificer.


----------



## Hellcow

ConnorSB said:
			
		

> What level is King Boranel ir'Wynarn of Breland? One page 142 of the CS it says he is an Ari 3/Fighter 8, but two pages later on 144 it says he is an Ari 2/Fighter 8, one level lower. Which one is correct?



Ari 3/Fighter 8. He dallied with a succubus, but earned it back.


----------



## Hellcow

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> Sweet, welcome back. I've been waiting for the Warforged to be explained to me before I go write a rant thread about them being too powerful for no level adjustment.



My suggestion would be to actually play in a campaign with one. It's hard to judge the value or restriction of some of the racial abilities until you actually see them in action (so far, no sleep has simply meant that the warforged in the games I've run have always gotten to be the designated watchdogs while everyone else gets a good night's sleep, instead of having a system of watches). My quick observations:

* If your group doesn't have an artificer, or is relying on a druid for healing, the reduced effect from magical healing can really slow you down. Try it out!

* Adamantine Body is unquestionably a powerful feat that makes you a bad ass at the first few levels. But eventually, people catch up with you. Sooner or later, the human fighter can buy his own set of adamantine plate -- now he's just as tough as you are, and he's got an extra feat as well. And when you find the _resplendant armor of Dhakaan_, he can wear it and you can't.  Your armor can't be taken away, but neither can you remove it if you need to, say, Climb. 

* You're immune to poisons and disease, and if these play a big role in your game, that can be a big deal. Heaven know I love the immunity to level drain. On the other hand, a rust monster will kick your ass, and you are vulnerable to both Inflict Wounds and Inflict Damage spells. 

* With permanent arcane spell failure and penalties to Wisdom and Charisma, you will have a difficult time with spells. No problem if you want to go straight combat, but it limits your multiclassing options. 

People have a lot of strong opinions about them. Some people think they aren't tough enough; others think they're way overpowered. I've had warforged in every Eberron campaign I've run. At the moment, my current campaign has a warforged fighter and a Valenar ranger, and there's never been a sense of the Valenar being outclassed or made obsolete by the warforged. Like I said, try playing one and see what you think in practice as opposed to on paper; they may not be as tough as you think.


----------



## Hellcow

apsuman said:
			
		

> Should I then infer that 6th level spells and above are veeery rare, and PCs shoudl not expect to see any, or very few at most, in treasure?



Yes. Rare but not unheard of. As Goobermunch has suggested, Xen'drik is an excellent place to find high level spells, as the giants possessed power beyond that of the mortal age. High-level wizards are out there -- Vol, Mordain the Fleshweaver, Jaela Daran, powerful members of the Lords of Dust, dragons -- and there have been skilled members of the Twelve who have lived and died over the centuries. Artificers can craft as if two levels higher than their actual level, so an 11th-level artificer can craft a 7th-level scroll. 

So they should be rare and remarkable -- but the heroes are remarkable, adn it's always possible for them to find amazing things.


----------



## Hellcow

*Eberron in Colorado*

By the way, if you're in the Boulder/Denver area and want to talk about Eberron in person, I'm going to be at two events this Saturday (July 3rd). From 12-2 PM I'll be at It's Your Move on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder; and from 3-5 PM I'll be at Stonebridge Games in Longmont. So come by with questions!


----------



## I'm A Banana

Thanks for answering, man, and I appreciate your patience with me. 

I guess my campaigns may rely slightly heavy on 'annoying things that require a Fort save'. Poisons are key, diseases are fun, nausea and such is great. I like makin' the high-level PC's feel like they're vulnerable, and filling a room with water and venomous fish is a good way to say 'you're still mortal, no matter how many fireballs you can fling.' Ditto with traipsing through a sewer (which is probably a great use for Warforged -- immune to disease, nausea, and can go underwater without flinching, they can unclog those like nobody's business!). It's just that level drains, pioson, disease, etc. are pretty common, while Rust Monsters really aren't (compare the number of things with Rust attacks in the MM to things with poison attacks...).

....though I guess there's a good idea to have Rust Monsters be more prevalant, now that their prey is becoming prevalent...or even more powerful rust-based beasts bred by Houses who'd like to see the Warforged Menace exterminated (methinks _I, Robot_ will give a lot of ideas. ). I'm imaginging multi-clawed Rust Horrors being found in the Mournland, and being brought to the druids who defend the natural purity of the land -- and who hate the unnatural freaks that are the Warforged, a "Warbred" template for creatures designed to fight the warforged (which deal rust damage and normal damage, and capitalize on speed and agility). Perfect reason to send a party into the Mournland...

Either way, I feel safe house-ruling here to just a +2 or +1 bonus to those saves....unless I decide to make Dwarves immune to poison and give them a (low) SR, Warforged should be on par with them...because while it's not game-breaking, I'd prefer if the folks in my group felt as confident being a orc, elf, halfling, or dwarf as being a warforged...and right now those immunities eclipse anything that the other +0 LA humanoids get for my milage.

Still, nice to know the ideas for 'em.  Thanks, Keith...now off to plan the Eberron campaign that you've convinced me to run...and I'm an avid homebrewer!  Still, when I did "something Forgotten Realms" I made the Cthulu Mythos invade the place, so we'll see if I can think of something world-shattering to do over the course of 20 levels for my group.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

Makes me wish I lived in Boulder.

I have a suggestion on how to deal with high level spell items such as scrolls.

I think that the various libraries, specificall Korranberg (sp?), Morgraive University, The Arcane Congress, and the Twelve would have a store of spells of any level.

Just because they HAVE the scrolls does not mean they are available. The lack of high level casters to create them would inflate their value by untold degrees (between 4 and 10 fold).

So While these places may have them, you wont be able to buy them at the DMG cost at all. If you offer to give them quaduaple the listed value, plus a trade of some rare item, AND/OR complete a huge quest in their name, then MAYBE you can get the scroll for your caster to use, or one of their casters to use upon you.

This works out well because not only does it keep these spells and effects in the game/world for your players to use,but it actually establishes the need for quests and adventures.

Unlike in FR or Grayhawk you cant just hire any wizard to create them, you must actually find them.

Right now on IRC I'm playing an Artificer who once worked in Cyre's Creation Forges. His wife and him got caught in Cyre during the Day of Mourning, but survived. They were both affected strongly however. Both were level drained back to first level, AND his wife lost the ability to have children.

Now his driving ambition to adventure is to regain his abilities and talents, and find some sort of healing magic to restore his wife to fertility. That means either Greater Restoration, Heal, or Wish.

Not only does he have to level back up to afford the magic, but he has to find it...Maybe in Xen'drik, maybe the elves of Aerenal will help. Who knows? But it makes for a GREAT hook, AND it leaves possiblities in the game. Thus everyone is happy and the settings flavor and balance is preserved.


----------



## Hellcow

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> ...or even more powerful rust-based beasts bred by Houses who'd like to see the Warforged Menace exterminated... I'm imaginging multi-clawed Rust Horrors being found in the Mournland, and being brought to the druids who defend the natural purity of the land -- and who hate the unnatural freaks that are the Warforged, a "Warbred" template for creatures designed to fight the warforged (which deal rust damage and normal damage, and capitalize on speed and agility). Perfect reason to send a party into the Mournland...



The Mournland expedition is a great idea, but I could also see such creatures as having been bred by the Ashbound druids in the past, just as the Gatekeepers once created horrid animals.



			
				Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> Thanks, Keith...now off to plan the Eberron campaign that you've convinced me to run...and I'm an avid homebrewer!



You're welcome, and I'm glad you're giving it a try. Have fun, and I look froward to hearing about the twists you come up with in the future!


----------



## Pseudonym

Hellcow said:
			
		

> No. You can be expelled from your house, and back in the day that would symbolically flay the exile's dragonmark, but it's permanent and the power cannot be remove (and the mark will return even if the skin is cut away).



This sort of answers a question I have been pondering.  I'm wondering a bit about the general nature of these marks, such as how big they are, and where on the body they usually appear.  I take it by your answer above the mark is a manifestation of inherent power, and not the source of it; so if a character who had a dragonmark on the plam of their hand somehow lost an arm, their mark would appear on their stump.

As to the mark itself, are we talking a few inches in area or a considerable amount of flesh?  Is it common for those with dragonmarks to wear clothing in a manner which reveals their mark, or are they commonly covered.  The artwork shows them as being bluish, but are other colors common?  The book notes that the marks get hot to the touch when their power is used, but is there any other visible manifestation from the mark when powers are used?

Thanks for being a good sport and answering our questions, and thanks for creating what has quickly become my favorite setting.


----------



## Hellcow

Pseudonym said:
			
		

> I take it by your answer above the mark is a manifestation of inherent power, and not the source of it; so if a character who had a dragonmark on the plam of their hand somehow lost an arm, their mark would appear on their stump.



Correct.



			
				Pseudonym said:
			
		

> As to the mark itself, are we talking a few inches in area or a considerable amount of flesh?



A few inches for least, increasing from there. The picture of the Dragonmark Heir on page 73 shows a lesser mark. Siberys marks are big!



			
				Pseudonym said:
			
		

> Is it common for those with dragonmarks to wear clothing in a manner which reveals their mark, or are they commonly covered.



It depends on where it is, but it is a status symbol, so most people would show it off unless they are trying to be undercover. 



			
				Pseudonym said:
			
		

> The artwork shows them as being bluish, but are other colors common?



By the book, the pure marks are blue. If you want multiple colors in your game, it's not going to shatter the world. Aberrant marks are more divergant and come in different colors (often black); they notably are _not_ blue.



			
				Pseudonym said:
			
		

> The book notes that the marks get hot to the touch when their power is used, but is there any other visible manifestation from the mark when powers are used?



In my opinion, the marks glow and shimmer slightly when used, but the bearer can surpress this effect by concentrating; it's a cosmetic effect as opposed to a limitation, so if you are trying to use your mark without anyone noticing, you can. 



			
				Pseudonym said:
			
		

> Thanks for being a good sport and answering our questions, and thanks for creating what has quickly become my favorite setting.



You're welcome on both counts!


----------



## Staffan

Pseudonym said:
			
		

> As to the mark itself, are we talking a few inches in area or a considerable amount of flesh?  Is it common for those with dragonmarks to wear clothing in a manner which reveals their mark, or are they commonly covered.



I'd say about this big:






Comparing to the dragonmark pictures, that looks like the Lesser Mark of Storm - I imagine that Greater marks would be larger.


----------



## MrFilthyIke

Staffan said:
			
		

> Comparing to the dragonmark pictures, that looks like the Lesser Mark of Storm - I imagine that Greater marks would be larger.




That pic is of the example Dragonmarked Heir, so it's a Lesser Dragonmark as she's a Sorcerer 4/Dragonmarked Heir 3.


----------



## ironmani

Thanks for answering my other questions Kieth.    Heres another one for you to field. If someone decided to play a Warforged Druid, would they suffer the standard Druid penalty for having a body made of metal? And is it possible then for a Warforged to have a non standard body to counter these effects? Say a mostly wooden body?
Thanks in advance!


----------



## Hellcow

ironmani said:
			
		

> If someone decided to play a Warforged Druid, would they suffer the standard Druid penalty for having a body made of metal? And is it possible then for a Warforged to have a non standard body to counter these effects? Say a mostly wooden body?
> Thanks in advance!



Warforged never suffer class penalties for composite plating (aside from the 5% arcane spell failure). Composite plating does not count as armor for purposes of warforged druids, monks, or any other class with armor restrictions. There is a fair amount of wood in warforged already; note that they can be repelled by _repel wood_.

Once built, a warforged cannot completely rebuild its body. You can't buy Adamantine Body after first level; this really doesn't come across in the description of the feat, but the concept is that the benefits of of Adamantine Body or Mithral Body do _not_ simply reflect a layer of metal plates, but rather the entire design of the warforged, through and through. The adamantine warforged is a heavier design with fewer vital spots, and the damage reduction reflects this; the use of adamantine alloy plays a part, but it's not the case that an adamantine breastplate has been fused to the exterior (which is why you can't just pry it off and sell it). So once you've chosen a body, you're stuck with it.


----------



## Express

My question concerns world design I guess, and is a little odd. For the record, since my questions could be interpreted as a troll or a swipe somehow, let me say I'm a fan of Eberron. I think it catches alot of what 3/3.5 is and wraps it all up in an interesting way.

Enough preface.

My question is: WOTC and TSR before it have cross marketed their properties since the 80's. Computer and video games, novels, etc.. Did this play in factor in your choosing and creating non rules elements (fluff) of Eberron?  

Thanks.


----------



## Mustrum_Ridcully

Hellcow said:
			
		

> My suggestion would be to actually play in a campaign with one. It's hard to judge the value or restriction of some of the racial abilities until you actually see them in action (so far, no sleep has simply meant that the warforged in the games I've run have always gotten to be the designated watchdogs while everyone else gets a good night's sleep, instead of having a system of watches). My quick observations:
> 
> * If your group doesn't have an artificer, or is relying on a druid for healing, the reduced effect from magical healing can really slow you down. Try it out!
> 
> * Adamantine Body is unquestionably a powerful feat that makes you a bad ass at the first few levels. But eventually, people catch up with you. Sooner or later, the human fighter can buy his own set of adamantine plate -- now he's just as tough as you are, and he's got an extra feat as well. And when you find the _resplendant armor of Dhakaan_, he can wear it and you can't.  Your armor can't be taken away, but neither can you remove it if you need to, say, Climb.
> 
> * You're immune to poisons and disease, and if these play a big role in your game, that can be a big deal. Heaven know I love the immunity to level drain. On the other hand, a rust monster will kick your ass, and you are vulnerable to both Inflict Wounds and Inflict Damage spells.
> 
> * With permanent arcane spell failure and penalties to Wisdom and Charisma, you will have a difficult time with spells. No problem if you want to go straight combat, but it limits your multiclassing options.
> 
> People have a lot of strong opinions about them. Some people think they aren't tough enough; others think they're way overpowered. I've had warforged in every Eberron campaign I've run. At the moment, my current campaign has a warforged fighter and a Valenar ranger, and there's never been a sense of the Valenar being outclassed or made obsolete by the warforged. Like I said, try playing one and see what you think in practice as opposed to on paper; they may not be as tough as you think.



We had our first Eberron session last week (using the Adventure in the setting book), and it was great. We had a Warforged Cleric in our group, and he faced many of the problems listed above. His Admantite body made the climbing situation really hard...


----------



## Flyspeck23

Mustrum_Ridcully said:
			
		

> We had our first Eberron session last week (using the Adventure in the setting book), and it was great.



I'm envious.




> We had a Warforged Cleric in our group, and he faced many of the problems listed above. His Admantite body made the climbing situation really hard...



Now imagine the warforged swimming...


----------



## I'm A Banana

> Now imagine the warforged swimming...



Dude, who needs to swim?..swimming's for those pansies who need to breathe. I'll just walk under the water for a while, I'll hit shore eventually. You guys take the ship to Xen'drik, I'll walk. 

And asides, they're not any worse at that then anybody else wearing armor.

Hmmm...maybe I should start a Tactics thread for how someone would go about defeating a stronghold full of Warforged...see if they're any harder to weed out than Elves.


----------



## Gez

Flyspeck23 said:
			
		

> Now imagine the warforged swimming...




They don't need to breath...

Barbossa: "Gents, take a walk."
Jack: "Not to the boats?"


----------



## Flyspeck23

Depending on the lake, the warforged might well need climb to get out


----------



## WanderingMonster

I suppose a balsa/aluminum warforged wouldn't take off.


----------



## Hellcow

Express said:
			
		

> My question is: WOTC and TSR before it have cross marketed their properties since the 80's. Computer and video games, novels, etc.. Did this play in factor in your choosing and creating non rules elements (fluff) of Eberron?



Sure. Knowing that they wanted a setting that could have the scope of FR, it seemed logical to assume that they would want to expand into novels, computer games, or even CCGs (not something that's being planned, to the best of my knowledge). So certainly, in writing up the basic idea, I had in the back of my mind that it should be able to support each of those.  The Last War creates tension and tragedy that has a lot of novel applications (as shown by the War Torn series they're developing), but also sets up tensions that can be used for skirmish miniature battles or computer games. To be honest, I was surprised that the RTS wasn't set during the Last War -- though with that said, I worked with Atari and Liquid on the story for the RTS and I'm quite pleased with it.

But yes, it is something I kept in mind when developing the world. However, it's not like I said "Oh, I'm going to throw out this idea I like because it would screw with RTS potential" -- it was simply a matter of making sure the world could support the different options.


----------



## Gez

Flyspeck23 said:
			
		

> Depending on the lake, the warforged might well need climb to get out




Which makes me think -- is there any rule giving you a circumstance bonus relative to your volume when climbing under water? Because Archimedes would be pushing you...


----------



## ironmani

Thanks for the quick answer again kieth! You said that the Warforged are effected by _repel wood_ would it be safe to assume that spells such as _antiplant shell _and _warp wood_ would also have an effect? Also would _warp wood_ cause hit point damage to a Warforged since it is in effect twisting the wooden skeleton out of shape? It seems to me that a properly prepared Druid could wreak havoc on a Warforged.


----------



## GrayIguana

Azazyll said:
			
		

> Sorry, just wanted to add my two cents, as a major in medieval history:




Forgive me for jumping ahead and repsonding to this post.  I normally try to read an entire thread before responding, but I have to agree strongly with this.  I majored in history as well (Ancient History focus).  Populations were extremely small.  There were some impressive populations in Rome, but still the average city did not have these huge populations to draw from.  So it is nice to hear that the populations are less dense in Eberron.  

My question is in regards to PrC classes (and again I apologize if this has been asked).  I don't have the book yet (yet being the operative word).  From the reviews I have read there is a PrC for most races.  Is there a unique PrC to be come the ultimate changling?


----------



## Caliban

ironmani said:
			
		

> Thanks for the quick answer again kieth! You said that the Warforged are effected by _repel wood_ would it be safe to assume that spells such as _antiplant shell _and _warp wood_ would also have an effect? Also would _warp wood_ cause hit point damage to a Warforged since it is in effect twisting the wooden skeleton out of shape? It seems to me that a properly prepared Druid could wreak havoc on a Warforged.



They aren't affected by warp wood because they aren't objects.  Both repel wood and repel metal and stone affect warforged, as do chill metal and heat metal.  This is covered under the warfarged racial information. 

I don't believe they would be affected by antiplant shell, because they aren't actually plants.


----------



## Tarril Wolfeye

GrayIguana said:
			
		

> Is there a unique PrC to become the ultimate changeling?



Alas, No. In fact, changelings are the only race in Eberron that got nothing. The PH races got their dragonmarks, shifter and warforged got PrCs, kalashtar got some nice background and the whole XPH.
Apart from the race chapter, the rogue example character and the racial statistics in some lands, changelings don't even seem to exist.


----------



## Dirigible

Probably because they're so well... integrated, Tarril.


----------



## Robbert Raets

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Ari 3/Fighter 8. He dallied with a succubus, but earned it back.



 "These are not grounds for impeachment, they are grounds for divorce."

 Okay, my question:
 Can a quori possess a _clone_ or the body of someone under the effect of _trap the soul_?


----------



## Robbert Raets

Tarril Wolfeye said:
			
		

> .....changelings don't even seem to exist.



  Isn't that an advantage when you're literally born to be sneaky and disguise-y?



			
				GrayIguana said:
			
		

> Is there a unique PrC to be come the ultimate changling?



  Nope. Only the Warforged Juggernaut and the Weretouched (=Shifter) Master.


----------



## ironmani

Caliban said:
			
		

> They aren't affected by warp wood because they aren't objects.  Both repel wood and repel metal and stone affect warforged, as do chill metal and heat metal.  This is covered under the warfarged racial information.
> I don't believe they would be affected by antiplant shell, because they aren't actually plants.



Hey Thanks for the answer. I am going to pick up my copy today so I am sure alot of my questions will be answered then. I still think a properly prepared Druid will lay the smack down on a Warforged. **begins to research druid spells to torment the Warforged that will be in his group.....    **


----------



## ironmani

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Ari 3/Fighter 8. He dallied with a succubus, but earned it back.



"And let me be clear. I did not have sexual relations with that succubus."


----------



## apsuman

Hellcow said:
			
		

> * If your group doesn't have an artificer, or is relying on a druid for healing, the reduced effect from magical healing can really slow you down. Try it out!




Isn't this like saying "Man this tates bad, it must have soiled, here you try it!"


----------



## apsuman

Can a warforged character use a shield?


----------



## Gez

Why couldn't they? They have an arm, they can wield a shield.

There's a special rule saying they're, in effect, constantly wearing armor, but wearing armor doesn't prevent you from using a shield.


----------



## Hellcow

apsuman said:
			
		

> Isn't this like saying "Man this tates bad, it must have soiled, here you try it!"



My point is that if someone thinks it's overpowered and is saying "It tastes great!", perhaps they should actually try to see if it's spoiled, instead of disagreeing with those who already have. 

With that said, I don't think it's "spoiled". I said that it would slow you down. I ran a campaign with a warforged and no artificer. The group did just fine. But the reduced effect of healing was a significant challenge than they had to overcome. It didn't make me say "We need to change this"; they knew what they were getting into from the start, and they dealt with it. But it was certainly a balancing factor for the power of the warforged. 

And yes, a warforged can use a shield.


----------



## apsuman

Since warforged character can not wear armor but can be enchanted as if they are armor, I was wondering...

Since warforged casters can not wear robes can they be enchanted as if they were wearing a robe of the archmagi?

Also, if a character had the necessary feats and resources, could they enchant themselves instead of relying upon another person to do the work?


Thanks.


----------



## ironmani

Hellcow said:
			
		

> I said that it would slow you down. I ran a campaign with a warforged and no artificer. The group did just fine. But the reduced effect of healing was a significant challenge than they had to overcome.



 Agreed. When I first saw the Warforged, my first response was "These guys are going to OWN!" But after you relized it takes *twice* as much healing to heal *half* the amount of hit points your cleric could have healed on the human fighter, that made me see that there were some serious drawbacks to these guys. Are they powerful? Yes. Are the game breaking, end all, apcolyptic warriors of the Munchkin end times? No. The simple fact is, every class can be abused in the wrong hands. Warforged are no diffrent. The only way I could see them being unbalancing in a games is if everyone in the group played a Warforged and insted of a cleric had a artificer for healing. Now wheres the fun in that?
*** sound of two pennies hitting the table*** and keep the change.


----------



## I'm A Banana

> But after you relized it takes *twice* as much healing to heal *half* the amount of hit points your cleric could have healed on the human fighter, that made me see that there were some serious drawbacks to these guys.



The thing I have is in the pacing of adventures......never before in my campaigns have people lacked for enough healing...the moment the bard, druid, or cleric gets their hands on a wand of _Cure Light Wounds_, that's 50d8+50 of healing -- enough to get a part of almost any level back up to full speed if they have the time, and it's a pretty cheap magic item...once you can afford one, you're never going to need sleep for healing ever again, and the party's always interested in getting you a new one. Even reduced to half, 25d8+25 is often more than enough to keep you going each and every night.

The exceptions to this are grinders -- encounter after encounter with very little rest time in between -- and healing during battles. In this case, a Warforged will feel the pain, but it's still nothin' doin'. Half healing just means the Warforged invests in more hp and more AC than offense, and he's still clickin' along, assuming you don't have a dedicated artificer/Warforged healer....which in any party with a Warforged being the tank, your Artificer *better* be, or he's not contributing to the party.

Half healing, IMXP, is a strain, but it's nothing that compensates for, say, being immune to level drain. It's a pain in the butt, but it won't result in your untimely demise. But immunity to level drain will save your hide.

Half healing -- it hurts, but not nearly enough, I think. Especially with the availability of a wand of CLW or RLD....it's meh.

But I'm giving them their first try-out this week, so we'll see what it's like.


----------



## Kabol

Hey KB - Like everyone before me let me jsut say, I really Love the setting - really clicks well with me. Very detailed and full of flavor and excitement.

Ok, my Question/Comment type thingy ( brought it up at http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=93337 )

Ok - reading thought the Artificer, it looks really nice, im loveing the ability to make and use magic items.  But, When i look up Use Magic Device it just seems that the DCs are very very high ( quicken wand spells up to 40+ ). This seems to put low lvl Artificers are a very hard disadvantage.  As you wont be able to use wands/scrolls reliably untill around 5-8th level or so ( 20+ DCs ). I can understand that for a Rogue, but an Artificer jsut seesm very High

Did you really mean for an artificer to only have a +2 advantage over a rogue in activating magical items?   Am i seeing the class wrong, that i feel that the use of magical items should be Much easier for them?


----------



## DanMcS

Hey Keith, thanks for popping in here to do this.

Can you say anything about the development of the map of Khorvaire?  Was this something you came up with, was it part of your 10 page submission or the 100+ page setting bible?  The similarities between the map of that continent and the map of Cerilia (from Birthright) are striking.

Not that I'm complaining.


----------



## fredramsey

*Things Not to Do in Future Products (IMHO)*

Love the setting, it beat out my $200 worth of Kalamar stuff to be my next campaign.

That said, a bit of advice: Don't put out products that enforce an overall story. Let us advance Eberron the way we see fit. Reason being; I love using good expansions that come out, but I hate having to filter out decisions that have been made for me that I have already arrived at story-wise.

Also, I would love to see a lot of the mysteries of the world NOT revealed in products. For the same reasons as above.

I know it's not up to you, but maybe you can pass those thoughts along.

Thanks for your time.


----------



## Zhaneel

fredramsey said:
			
		

> Love the setting, it beat out my $200 worth of Kalamar stuff to be my next campaign.
> 
> That said, a bit of advice: Don't put out products that enforce an overall story. Let us advance Eberron the way we see fit. Reason being; I love using good expansions that come out, but I hate having to filter out decisions that have been made for me that I have already arrived at story-wise.
> 
> Also, I would love to see a lot of the mysteries of the world NOT revealed in products. For the same reasons as above.
> 
> I know it's not up to you, but maybe you can pass those thoughts along.
> 
> Thanks for your time.




Out of curiosity, what products would you like to see then?  

I mean, we know they've got at least 3 novels planned already.  Most of which should just be setting style stuff, but might have some more advance about the wars/allainces.  And I can't see certain campaigns being planned for the higher level characters that don't involve secrets being revealed and/or advancing the plot.

On the theory that WotC is a company that wants to make money, they have to release products.  So, what products do you want that don't advance the story or reveal secrets?

Zhaneel


----------



## Dr. Harry

Keith,

    While I have not yet purchased Eberron, I have enjoyed Crime & Punishment, the book you wrote for Atlas.

    I recently reread the Terry Pratchett novel *Feet of Clay*, and the questions dealt with in the book (concerning the sentience of golems, and their struggle to get this recognized).  The applicability of this book to a world/campaign including the warforged will (I hope) be immediately apparent to anyone who has read the book.  

   I would like to ask Keith if he has read this book, and recommend it to anyone playing a Warforged character.


----------



## BigFreekinGoblinoid

Zhaneel said:
			
		

> So, what products do you want that don't advance the story or reveal secrets?
> 
> Zhaneel




How about products that detail historical events, leaving the future to DM's?  There are hundreds of book possibilities here, both RPG and novel. A novel with a climax of Cyre's destruction and creation of the Mournland would be no less compelling just because we know the end result in advance. The devil is in the details! - Most people still enjoy reading WW2 fiction/movies even though we know the Axis lost. 

Current plots/adventures/novels that don't involve a complete restructuring of the multiverse and/or the planetary diety portfolio are just fine too IMO.


----------



## Hellcow

I'm afraid I have a lot of work piling up, so it will be a few days before I can answer all of these questions. I'll get to everything as time permits. 



			
				apsuman said:
			
		

> Since warforged casters can not wear robes can they be enchanted as if they were wearing a robe of the archmagi?



I don't see why not, but I'd personally rule that this supercedes armor enhancement, so you can't end up with a +5 warforged of the archmagi and etherealness. Treat your body as a robe or as armor, your choice, and enchant it accordingly. 

But as always, bear in mind that my answers are _not_ official and may be contradicted in future products. 



			
				apsuman said:
			
		

> Also, if a character had the necessary feats and resources, could they enchant themselves instead of relying upon another person to do the work?



Since a warforged can use Craft skills on itself, I'd allow it. But remember, even though the warforged doesn't need to sleep, 8 hours is the maximum time that can be spent working on a magic item each day. It's not about the need for sleep (as elves only need 4 hours, but suffer the same limitations) -- it's the laws of magic at work.


----------



## Hellcow

Kabol said:
			
		

> When i look up Use Magic Device it just seems that the DCs are very very high ( quicken wand spells up to 40+ )



Well, first off, I have to agree with the other folks: Artificers are really going to want to pump up Use Magic Device. They don't have to put all their feats into it -- in one of my campaigns, the artificer went for Magical Aptitude and Point Blank Shot -- but there's a lot to be said for doing so. Just as a fighter is going to focus on combat feats and wizards will draw on metamagic feats, an Artificer should seriously look at Skill Focus and Magical Aptitude. 

With that said, a focused artificer can get very good with UMD. At, say, 3rd level, any artificer could have the following:
6 ranks Use Magic Device
5 ranks Spellcraft
14 Charisma
Magical Aptitude
Skill Focus (UMD)
Creation Feats: Scribe Scroll, Brew Potion, Craft Wondrous Item
Artisan Bonus
This would provide a base +13 UMD, +15 if using wondrous items, +17 if using scrolls. 
At this level, it would be odd for the character to be using scrolls of spells above 2nd level, which would put the DC at 23 -- not bad odds with a +17 modifier. 

At the same time, you say that a wand could have a DC of up to 40. From my read of UMD, wands have a flat use DC of 20; the spell level is not a factor. *Scrolls* are an issue, and yes, a scroll with a caster level of 20 will have a DC of 40. But with a caster level of 20, this is some of the most powerful magic on the planet. And if the Artificer is a 20th-level artificer who's kept pace with his UMD, we're talking about a +34 UMD bonus, not counting any increase in Charisma, Charisma-enhancing items, skill enhancement, or cross-class Decipher Script. If he's kept his focus and is using items that match his level, he should be fine. If he's working outside his level, it will be more difficult. 



			
				Kabol said:
			
		

> This seems to put low lvl Artificers are a very hard disadvantage. As you wont be able to use wands/scrolls reliably untill around 5-8th level or so ( 20+ DCs ). I can understand that for a Rogue, but an Artificer jsut seesm very High.



Well, at 3rd level the artificer can't create a wand, so the idea that he should be able to use it because he can create it doesn't add up. 7th level is when he automatically gains the feat, and at that point he can have a total UMD modifier of +19 for Wands (assuming he hasn't increased Charisma)... which against a DC fixed at 20 is pretty good odds. Below that, yes, it's a challenge -- but even the 3rd level character with a +13 UMD has a better that 50% chance of getting a wand to work. 



			
				Kabol said:
			
		

> Did you really mean for an artificer to only have a +2 advantage over a rogue in activating magical items?   Am i seeing the class wrong, that i feel that the use of magical items should be Much easier for them?



One could argue that the rogue should have a greater edge over the artificer when it comes to disabling devices or picking locks. Both have the potential to do either task -- use a magic item or pick a lock. The question is, which are you going to focus on? If the rogue dedicates his character idea to being able to use magic items, buys the feats, invests the skill points -- I'm happy to let him almost match the artificer (since the artificer will *still* have the edge from his Artisan bonus). Likewise, the artificer *could* match the rogue's lockpicking skills if that's where he puts his points -- but that will keep him from investing them in crafting abilities. There's the potential of the character, and then there's the logical point spread; my guess is that the typical artificer will be much better with UMD than the typical rogue, but that's a choice he makes. 

The other thing to remember is that UMD is a cross-class skill for almost every class. The fact that it's already a class skill for the artificer is a huge advantage in this field. 

In a sense, the artificer is like an auto mechanic, while the rogue with UMD is a car thief. Both know how to hotwire cars if they have to -- the artificer because he knows how they're designed, the rogue because he's learned the tricks of his trade. But any time the artificer wants to use a car without the keys, he still has to hotwire it, and that's still a chore; he can't just slap the car on the hood and make it start. The artificer's specialty is _making_ magic items, and that gives him access to the ability to use them -- it doesn't automatically allow him to do it. 

I'll also note that UMD is extremely important for spell storing item -- so the feats are definitely a worthwhile investment, whether you get them right away or later in life.


----------



## Saeviomagy

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> The exceptions to this are grinders -- encounter after encounter with very little rest time in between -- and healing during battles. In this case, a Warforged will feel the pain, but it's still nothin' doin'. Half healing just means the Warforged invests in more hp and more AC than offense, and he's still clickin' along, assuming you don't have a dedicated artificer/Warforged healer....which in any party with a Warforged being the tank, your Artificer *better* be, or he's not contributing to the party.



Well - if he's investing more in hp and defense, he's sacrificing offense. IOW he's made a sacrifice fo his powers... So where's the problem?


> Half healing, IMXP, is a strain, but it's nothing that compensates for, say, being immune to level drain. It's a pain in the butt, but it won't result in your untimely demise. But immunity to level drain will save your hide.



Level drain is exactly the same as hitpoint damage for effect - it's a little nasty when it happens, but after the fight you just let the cleric refill you and the problem is over. And if he can't refill you, you leave, rest up and then get him to refill you. It's just different spells. I've never known anyone willing to continue adventuring with negative levels onboard.

The only thing the warforged has over a flesh-and-bone adventurer is that he personally doesn't need to stop for that. But if the rest of the party does, being able to continue doesn't actually aid him.

Frankly IMXP, level drain has just made the cleric's job much more boring, because he's memorising an entire spell level of restorations instead of actually being able to have fun. He loses the big bennie to clerics in 3rd, which is spontaneous catering to party needs, and is back to being a heal machine. And that sucks. More or less the same goes for poisons - except that the penalties for poisons are much more tenable, and people are much more likely to continue adventuring while poisoned - providing it doesn't hamper their character too bad.


----------



## fredramsey

Bump


----------



## robotron666

*Dragonmarks*

Heya Keith! Glad to see you are so active in responding to the questions of everyone here on the board.

I have a couple of quick questions regarding Dragonmarks.

1.) Is it possible for a 1st level PC to take 2 house dragonmarks? Right now I can't seem to find any mechanical restrictions that prevent me from creating a character that does so. The only thing I can see are potential ramifications for GM's and storylines.

2.) If this is the case, and a player can take 2 house dragonmarks, how would you treat the dragonmark heir prestige class. Would the class have to be taken trwice in order to exploit the power of both dragonmarks?

3.) Will the powers and uses of Dragonmarks be expanded upon? Right now they seem like an interesting side branch of (SP) abilities for player characters. In the future will we see feat trees that allow for spontaneous, heightened, and quickened use? Is there a chance that some metamagic effects can be applied to a dragonmark's spell like abilities? 

4.) Xen'Drik is a pretty interesting place, and I'm hoping we get to see some material on it soon, any chance you can give us a bit of a heads up on when we can expect a Xen'Drik book or adventure?


----------



## apsuman

I thought of a new question:

When you designed eberron, did you only consider the core 3.5 books (PHB, DMG, MM, etc.) or did you also consider other third party products as well?


----------



## Knight Otu

robotron666 said:
			
		

> 1.) Is it possible for a 1st level PC to take 2 house dragonmarks? Right now I can't seem to find any mechanical restrictions that prevent me from creating a character that does so.



 As a single feat, Least Dragonmark can only be taken once. So, no, you cannot gain multiple dragonmarks.


----------



## robotron666

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> As a single feat, Least Dragonmark can only be taken once. So, no, you cannot gain multiple dragonmarks.




Ah! Of course. There is no *special* text saying that you can take it more than once. My bad .

Ignore question 2 then.


----------



## I'm A Banana

*My Experience: Part ONE!*



> Level drain is exactly the same as hitpoint damage for effect - it's a little nasty when it happens, but after the fight you just let the cleric refill you and the problem is over.....Frankly IMXP, level drain has just made the cleric's job much more boring, because he's memorising an entire spell level of restorations instead of actually being able to have fun.



See, here's the rub, and here's why level drain isn't the same as hp damage. There's a lot of hp's. There aren't that many levels. One or two _enervations_ could off ya, and hinders you a LOT while you're wounded...hit point damage doesn't make you loose magic, loose attack bonus, loose save bonus...level drain hurts a lot more than a sword wound.

Similarly, with poison...it's dangerous to your life BECAUSE it doesn't hurt hit points....it goes right around them to ability scores, and it hurts more than your ability to take a sword blow -- it affects your ability to take the next poison.

And like you said, the cleric can't spontaneously heal these things -- this also makes them more dangerous, because if the cleric *hasn't* prepared a _restoration_ for the day, doesn't have a wand or a couple of scrolls, you're not so easily filled back up...and they sap a resource that hp's don't. Higher level magic, more effort involved, a bigger drain on the resources, a more powerful attack, that at least one member of the party can avoid. There's entire creatures built around the fact that they can level drain or CON damage with poison, and those are powerful abilities. With a Warforged as a front-line fighter, these become trivial things that it's only a matter of time before you kill, and that's something that makes an encounter easier, mandating a shift in the CR/XP meter....blahblahblah....

But hey, had my first Eberron session last night...found out what the party was and I have my suspicions already. Two Warforged (Barbarian and Fighter, named "Atat" and "Killingyouguy" respectively), an Elf Necromancer ("Aeshe"), a gnomish artificer ("Tonks"), and a human paladin of the Silver Flame ("Jonas of the Shifter's Bane"). Some memorable comments (note that some of the jokes are a bit ribald, hope not to offend Eric's Grandma).


> _During Character Creation:_
> Me: "What, no halflings? No dwarves? No _cleric_? That might make things tough, guys..."
> Warforged Barb: "Well, halflings are tribal, we're starting in Sharn, it's a metropolis, *something* tells me our first few levels won't be taming dinosaurs."
> Warforged Fighter: "I looked at dwarf, but when I'm going for a tank...compared to Warforged, whadda they get, no Wis penalty? No stability bonus? (sarcasm) OH NOES!!! NO BULLSRUSHES FO MEEE! (/sarcasm). It's okay, because killin' things works good. Where's a feat for dwarves that gives 'em 50% dagger immunity? DR, baby! I'm totally immune to peasants."
> Human Paladin: "Well, I can lay on hands, that'll help a little, in the abscence of a cleric."
> Elf Necromancer: "Oh! I've got some spells that let me steal hp! [DM's Note: We're using some of my homebrew stuff, there's a 1st level ranged touch spell that transfers 1d2 hp/caster level from enemy to spellcaster] I don't have that many, so with Lay on Hands I should be fine...just make sure to keep things away from me, tanks. And you better!"
> Warforged Barb: "Remember, Aeshe, Killingyouguy and me are immune to a lot of your magic, so if you've got area-affect ownage, lay it down."
> Gnome Artificer: "And I can heal you two pretty easy...with SCIENCE!"
> Warforged Barb: "Ah, but can you Blind us with it? Because that would be my cue!"
> Gnome Artificer: "No, but if I was a cleric, I'd be able to...I wanted to be one, but with our tanks being robots, I figured you guys needed me like this."
> Elf Necromancer: "I could pull a bit of healing duty, too..."
> Gnome Artificer: "Not with four hp, you can't. Go hide behind your wall of skeletons, girlie, we'll tackle these guys."
> Me: "If you wanna be a cleric, be a cleric, it's my job to adapt the adventure, not yours to play a class you don't like."
> Gnome Artificer: "No, I like it, I wanna try it out...I just figure a cleric of artifice would almost be cooler. But I've got that if Tonks dies."
> Me: "You guys don't have a rogue/bard/diplomat thing, do ya?"
> Gnome Artificer: "I've got astonishingly high charisma for a woman who spends all her time indoors playing with wands. I need it for UMD."
> Warforged Fighter: "Hey, do you guys remember that joke where you replace ever occurance of "wand" in a harry potter book with "wang."...."
> *laughter ensues*
> Gnome Artificer: "Yes, my _female_ gnome has amazing charisma because she's always playing with "wands", you perverts..."
> Warforged Barbarian: "Well, if she's got high Charisma, she's probably a huuuuuge wandslut."
> Gnome Artificer: "And you're a walking vibartor. Let's play."
> *******
> [DM's Note on Adventure Design: My quests involve a load of treasure and a load of encounters because my advancement for parties is very fast...usually once every adventure...so if you're wondering why they're at 900-2,700 gp apeice so quickly, and why I've got CR 3 critters vs. level 1 party, it's because of that -- they're risky, but they're profitable! Plus, I usually don't map things out...when there's a maze, I call for Survival checks to avoid getting lost, and depending upon the difficulty, up the DC. I may map out a combat environment, but otherwise, largely, no...]
> Later, on the adventure:
> ...
> Me: "Okay, the guard takes one look at you striding down the staircase, and raises his lips to his horn, blown to alert the tower..."
> Atat: "What are you doing, Dave? I don't think that's a good idea, Dave."
> *minor scuffle ensues*
> Me: "The guard looks terrified from his place on the ground, you can see the whites of his eyes as he looks up, saying "With what authority?! By whose command?! Who are you?""
> Killingyouguy: ""I am Robocop." Then I put my sword through his face. "Justice has been served.""
> Jonas: "Would you like fries with that?"
> ...
> Tonks: "I take out my wang...er...wand...and repair you with it"
> Atat: "You touch me with your wang and repair us with science?"
> Tonks: "*sigh* yes."
> Atat: "Wierd sciecne..."
> Tonks: "You know, if you don't stop your '80's-fu, I'm going to start calling you Tron."
> Atat: "Trons....formers! I'm red alert!"
> Killingyouguy: "Shut up, Bumblebee."
> Atat: "awwww...."
> Tonks: "This is going to happen every time I repair you hosers, isn't it..."
> ...
> Me: "All right, one of the dwarves lifts his workman's hammer high and charges at Atat."
> Atat (already wounded): "Eep!"
> Killingyouguy: "He's passing through the area I threaten with my glaive, I get a potshot."
> *rolls dice, hits, kills the dwarf*
> Me: "As the dwarf runs, Killingyouguy thrusts out his..its...polearm, and clotheslines the dwarf at neck hieght. The dwarf falls down, and doesn't move again."
> Atat: ""Domo argigato, Mr. Roboto.""
> Tonks: ""Okay, that's it, zip your lips, or whatever, Tron.""
> Atat: ""Zip my lips...._with science?!"_"
> Tonks: *throws dice*
> ...
> *they had reached the BBEG for the adventure, a slavemaster who was recruiting dwarves to make Warforged parts deep in the bowels of Sharn*
> Jonas: ""I've faught off your guards, I've killed some of your workers, I even gave the Meenlocks you hired to kidnap the poor dwarves a stern beatdown...now, I face you, with my staunch companions, Nulla, and I ask, in all seriousness: Why dwarves?""
> Me (as Nulla): ""I'm sorry, what?""
> Jonas: ""I mean, yeah, they make it *pretty*, but so what? I've got two warforged here that never need to eat, never need to sleep, and never get fatigued...it wouldn't even be *cruel* to make them work for you...I'm sure they'd be happy, insofar as they can comprehend human emotion!""
> Me (as Nulla): ""Uhm...are....wait, are you suggesting I get rid of my workforce of dwarves and recruit Warforged instead?""
> Jonas: ""Look, in a city this size, there's bound to be some Warforged who've just broken...let your dwarves go, sign me on as co-crafter so I can watch over you and make sure you're being upright and moral, and my artificer friend and I will scour the streets, repair constructs, and deliver them right to you, for a reasonable cut of the profits...y'know, as penance, for enslaving the dwarves.""
> Me (as Nulla): ""You...you don't want to kill me for my evil acts?""
> Jonas: ""Oh, my dear, the Church preaches not vengeance! Simply to eradicate evil! If you let the dwarves free, you won't be doing evil, you'll be doing good! And that'll start you on the path to reform! You don't even have to give up your industry, just change the creatures working for you!""
> Me: "Uhm, Jonas, this is a pretty extreme deviation...make a Diplomacy check..."
> Tonks: "I'll aid another for him. I like the idea."
> *rolls some dice, succeeds in convincing Nulla to convert*
> Me (as Nulla): ""Well...I suppose all that you say makes sense...and you will help me and aid me and support me in this industry?""
> Jonas: ""For the proper penance, my poor, misguided soul, of course! In fact, I'll start you off with these two! Isn't that right, Killingyouguy...Tron....""
> Killingyouguy: ""Well, as long as I'm repaired, I guess I'm not doing anything else with my time...just sitting there...thinking robot thoughts...hey, I even have the Craft skill.""
> Atat/Tron: ""I can go into rage and forge twice as hard! This probably means we also get a discount on the items we make for 'em.""
> Jonas: ""Bingo. So whaddaya say, Nulla? Release the dwarves, pay the penance and all will be forgiven!""
> Me (as Nulla): ""You sure that it's okay to enslave Warforged?""
> Jonas: ""Of course! They're merely machines! Constructs! They are made, not born...we may as well use them while they're around, for the betterment of the sentient peoples! They are tools! We must use them! And since they don't get tired or suffer from deprivation, it's not only not painful to them, it also means you can have 24 hours of straight production a day!""
> Me (as Nulla): ""Well, I'll be rich! And you won't kill me! Can't object to that!""
> >>>END ADVENTURE<<<



Things I Noticed:
#1: The Artificer was annoyed at only having Repair duty, and not being able to do much else.
#2: DR makes you immune to peasants, Construct makes you immune to necromancy
#3: Aye, the jokes!

So question to Keith, if he hasn't ignore-listed me: 

What was the average jokes about warforged/session with warforged in it? It's probably just my group, or the fact that it's new, but man...


----------



## Patlin

*Half Giants in Ebberon*

I know that "If it's in D&D, it has a place in Eberron" but I was wondering if you would comment on the idea of Half-Giants in Eberron.  Do you have any idea where they would fit in best?

I've been toying with the idea of a Half-Giant PC from Sarlona, decended from some of the few survivors of an alternate and ultimately abandoned genetic experiment -- an off branch of the process that created the Inspired.  The Rierdrans want to exterminate them, of course, and to get off the continent my PC served as a mercenary in the Last War.

The other major possibility is Xendrick, but I can't see the Giants as described willingly mixing with humans.  However, if the inspired have some fiendish ancestry, Giant ancestry shouldn't be too hard...


----------



## Saeviomagy

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> See, here's the rub, and here's why level drain isn't the same as hp damage. There's a lot of hp's. There aren't that many levels. One or two _enervations_ could off ya, and hinders you a LOT while you're wounded...hit point damage doesn't make you loose magic, loose attack bonus, loose save bonus...level drain hurts a lot more than a sword wound.



True, but there are other powers which do the same. And instant, or near instant death were never fun.


> Similarly, with poison...it's dangerous to your life BECAUSE it doesn't hurt hit points....it goes right around them to ability scores, and it hurts more than your ability to take a sword blow -- it affects your ability to take the next poison.



Meh. If you poison people, it'll be one of two kinds - 1: it doesn't really do much, and the adventure continues. The poisoned individual heals up naturally. 2: It's really nasty, and the adventure halts to get it fixed. Both scenarios still happen in a party containing warforged.


> And like you said, the cleric can't spontaneously heal these things -- this also makes them more dangerous, because if the cleric *hasn't* prepared a _restoration_ for the day, doesn't have a wand or a couple of scrolls, you're not so easily filled back up...and they sap a resource that hp's don't. Higher level magic, more effort involved, a bigger drain on the resources, a more powerful attack, that at least one member of the party can avoid. There's entire creatures built around the fact that they can level drain or CON damage with poison, and those are powerful abilities. With a Warforged as a front-line fighter, these become trivial things that it's only a matter of time before you kill, and that's something that makes an encounter easier, mandating a shift in the CR/XP meter....blahblahblah....



Higher level magic involved isn't really that much.
Furthermore, almost all the level and stat drainers are paper tigers - their level or stat draining will happen once, maybe twice, and then the party kills them.

My point here is that once you've hit one or two level/stat drainers, or even better, someone finds the tracks of one of these things, and makes the right skill roll, the party are likely to retreat and prepare counters. 

And all of those counters are cleric-supplied.

Which means the cleric gets put on "fix stuff" duty, a role which is the big reason that people don't like to play them in the first place, and is the reason that spontaeneous healing was invented.

Unless the game is crucially time-limited, then warforged won't actually change much. And if it IS time-limited, then the vulnerabilities of warforged (reduced healing and the like) will maintain that pressure.

The only time this is really going to change is if you have an all-warforged party going into the pits of disease, poison and level-draining undead. And really - who's going to do that?


----------



## I'm A Banana

> Unless the game is crucially time-limited, then warforged won't actually change much.



True, and that's why they're not game-breaking. But if you had a choice between a dwarf and a warforged to make a front-line armored tank, which one would you choose?

They're both filling the same 'racial niche,' so to speak: a race that's good at being the Fighter-type.

Take the Halflings and the Changelings...they both fill (mechanically) the same racial niche: a race that's good at being the rogue-type. They take it in different directions (small lucky atheletes vs. masters of disguise), but do so in ways where which one you choose is mostly a matter of style, not power.

But a Warforged Fighter and a Dwarven Fighter...the choice seems goofily obvious. One gets tired, gets level drained, gets poisoned, the other doesn't.

Yes, this doesn't screw over a general party in any way (unless they're all warforged, but that's not likely and they'll have obvious weaknesses). But it does make that person who wants to play a straight Dwarven Fighter at the same time their friend wants to play the straight Warforged Fighter feel a bit like they're being overshadowed...whlie a changeling rogue and a halfling rogue could be beside each other and neither one would feel generally useless...

They're not game-breaking. But they are more powerful than the standard races, from what I've seen, heard, and played (admittedly, not much yet). Like FR's regional feats: not game-breaking, but more powerful than standard feats. This makes me want to know the motives for it, how they played out in testing, why they were Construct (living) and not Humanoid (constructed), to see how the designers themselves made their decisions.

But perhaps if we wish to continue this, a new thread is advisable....hmmm....


----------



## fredramsey

Bump


----------



## BrooklynKnight

Keith is currently catching up on some work and recovering from his birthday yesterday folks. He'll get back to answering questions soon!


----------



## Staffan

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> But a Warforged Fighter and a Dwarven Fighter...the choice seems goofily obvious. One gets tired, gets level drained, gets poisoned, the other doesn't.



Though the dwarf does have a few advantages over the warforged. The most notable is a net +3 to saves vs. mind-affecting spells (+1 due to the warforged having -2 to Wis, and +2 because of the dwarven save bonus), something which is traditionally the fighter/barbarian's achilles heel.


----------



## Destil

At 1st level the dwarf takes Weapon Focus: Dwarf War Axe
The Warforged takes one of the armor feats.
The dwarf has +1 to hit and +1 damage (d8 vs d10 damage) vs. the warforged if using similar weapons.


----------



## I'm A Banana

We got a thread for Dwarf vs. Warforged now.

Leave this one to the Q&A.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR KEITH!


----------



## fredramsey

bump


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## Vaxalon

Since when does a 14-page thread need a bump?


----------



## Ozmar

Saeviomagy said:
			
		

> The only time this is really going to change is if you have an all-warforged party going into the pits of disease, poison and level-draining undead. And really - who's going to do that?




Me! If I'm going into pits of disease, poison and level-draining undead, then I want to play a warforged. And I'd like my whole party to be warforged barbarians and artificers, please.

Hmmm... that's an interesting thought. Warforged seem to really undermine the traditional party balance, no? Typically you want to have a fighter, cleric, rogue and wizard to cover all the bases. But I think that a party composed entirely of warforged artificers could cover the same bases: They are reasonably tough and can fight, they can heal themselves, they can access all the arcane spells as needed, and they can disable traps and pick locks. What more do they need?

Later!
Ozmar the Independent


----------



## buzz

Okay, I was reading the Reserach feat last night.

How does research work for PCs who don't have the feat? I would assume that wizardly types have been doing research long before the feat got invented.


----------



## nute

_ But I think that a party composed entirely of warforged artificers could cover the same bases: ...__What more do they need?

_Someone with GOOD hit points, who can actually fight? It'd be like having a party of all bards - you can do everything, but nothing very well.


----------



## WizarDru

buzz said:
			
		

> Okay, I was reading the Reserach feat last night.
> 
> How does research work for PCs who don't have the feat? I would assume that wizardly types have been doing research long before the feat got invented.



 I don't know.  Maybe they've been taking 20?  You could always ask the Sorcerors in Greyhawk how they'd been casting out of wizard spellbooks for the previous 20 years prior to 3e.  Imagine their suprise when they woke up and found they'd been a different class, all these years.


----------



## Kabol

*Yet Another Artificer Question*

How do you See Artificers with Psionics?  If they use Feats to Gain Psionic Crafting Feats, and Get skilled in the Use Psionic Device Skill - can they then use that skill like they use Use Magic Device to Created Psionic Arms/Armor and Dorje and Such?

Or, can they Use thier Use Magic Device Skill for Useing Psionic Items?


----------



## Hellcow

OK, I'm back, but it will take me a while to answer everyone's questions. I also advse folks to check the WotC message board's "Ask Keith" thread -- as they pay the bills (though not, unfortunately, for posting on message boards) I've been devoting a little more time to that thread. 



			
				DanMcS said:
			
		

> Can you say anything about the development of the map of Khorvaire?  Was this something you came up with, was it part of your 10 page submission or the 100+ page setting bible?  The similarities between the map of that continent and the map of Cerilia (from Birthright) are striking.




I provided a map as part of the 100 page setting bible, but it was different from the map that appears in the final book. The original map was functionally similar, but some names were changed, and the shapes were adjusted by the art team. So I really couldn't say. And while I had lots of fun with The Gorgon's Alliance, I never actually owned the Birthright setting itself.


----------



## Hellcow

Dr. Harry said:
			
		

> While I have not yet purchased Eberron, I have enjoyed Crime & Punishment, the book you wrote for Atlas.



Glad to hear it. I think there's a lot there that can be used in Eberron, but of course I'm biased.   



			
				Dr. Harry said:
			
		

> I would like to ask Keith if he has read (Feet of Clay), and recommend it to anyone playing a Warforged character.



I haven't read Feet of Clay, but you're not the first person to mention it -- I'll certainly check it out next time I'm in a bookstore.


----------



## Hellcow

fredramsey said:
			
		

> That said, a bit of advice: Don't put out products that enforce an overall story. Let us advance Eberron the way we see fit. Reason being; I love using good expansions that come out, but I hate having to filter out decisions that have been made for me that I have already arrived at story-wise. I know it's not up to you, but maybe you can pass those thoughts along.



You're right, it's not up to me. But I don't think WotC is in any hurry to do this. As I've said before, based on discussions I've had with the WotC designers, I doubt you'll ever see an adventure that says "this is exactly what happened in the Mournland" -- you might get things that MAY have been responsible, but nothing conclusive -- nothing that would force a massive change to the world. Take the power struggle between the Blood of Vol and Kaius of Karrnath. If you want to shake things up and have the Emerald Claw seize power -- with all the attendant chaos that would cause -- go for it. But I can't imagine WotC declaring "Oh, Kaius has been deposed" in November -- it's too major a change, and would throw off stories and plans of many DMs. The books that I know of are things like the Sharn sourcebook: providing more information for you to use as you see fit.  

In terms of novels, you can do a lot of interesting stories with low and midlevel characters; heroes don't have to be epic-level godbreakers. Plus, you can have major events without changing the world. For example, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, if the bad guys had somehow turned the power of the ark into a weapon, maybe they could have conquered the world. But as it was, the ark ended up in a box in a basement, and the world at large never knew anything dangerous had occured. It would have changed the world if it hadn't been stopped -- but it was stopped. On the other hand, the Maltese Falcon is an excellent story that doesn't involve any sort of threat to the world -- just greed, intrigue, and murder. 

Anyhow, I don't believe that any of the upcoming products I'm aware of will cause you concern, Fred. We'll see.


----------



## Hellcow

robotron666 said:
			
		

> 1.) Is it possible for a 1st level PC to take 2 house dragonmarks? Right now I can't seem to find any mechanical restrictions that prevent me from creating a character that does so.



To possess a dragonmark, you must be a member of a dragonmarked house or trace descent from a house. You cannot belong to two houses. If you mix the blood of two houses, you generally end up with an aberrant dragonmark (if you end up with a mark at all). 



			
				robotron666 said:
			
		

> 3.) Will the powers and uses of Dragonmarks be expanded upon?



It seems likely. However, a lot of the expanded uses of dragonmarks come through the use of dragonshard focus items as opposed to inherent power. As it stands, a channeling rod will let you apply metamagic feats to dragonmarks, and focus items like _speaking stones_ allow the powers of marks to be used in entirely different ways.



			
				robotron666 said:
			
		

> 4.) Xen'Drik is a pretty interesting place, and I'm hoping we get to see some material on it soon, any chance you can give us a bit of a heads up on when we can expect a Xen'Drik book or adventure?



I believe that part of Whispers of the Vampire's Blade is set in Xen'drik. I'm planning to occasionally profile Xen'drik locations in the Dragonshards articles I'm writing for the WotC website. I don't know when a full book may come out. Bear in mind that such a book would be a sourcebook of things that _could_ be found in Xen'drik. It's both huge and intentionally mysterious, and we never want to fill it entirely; there should always be room for you to add your own touches.


----------



## Hellcow

apsuman said:
			
		

> When you designed eberron, did you only consider the core 3.5 books (PHB, DMG, MM, etc.) or did you also consider other third party products as well?



Only the core books. My hope was that the world had enough versatility (especially with the presence of the Mournland and Xen'drik) to allow people to incorporate ideas from other products, but only the core books were fixed. Case in point, my own work in Crime & Punishment overlaps some concepts in Eberron (the Master Inquisitive, the Investigate feat, etc) but handles them in an entirely different manner.


----------



## Hellcow

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> So question to Keith, if he hasn't ignore-listed me:
> What was the average jokes about warforged/session with warforged in it? It's probably just my group, or the fact that it's new, but man...



Huh. I haven't dealt with many. But people may just be afraid to joke about the setting around me. 

Sorry to hear about the bored artificers. Both the artificers I've played with have gone the crossbow route; crossbow + personal weapon augmentation can be pretty effective. On the other hand, when you've got two warforged demanding healing... still, he could always say "Not my problem! Hammer out your own dents!"


----------



## Hellcow

Patlin said:
			
		

> I know that "If it's in D&D, it has a place in Eberron" but I was wondering if you would comment on the idea of Half-Giants in Eberron.  Do you have any idea where they would fit in best?



I know there has been a lot of discussion of this on the WotC boards (by others). Xen'drik is a good place because it has giants and because the giants fought the Quori long ago; thus the psionic ability of half-giants could be related to this, either the result of a taint or giants trying to breed their own psions before the collapse of their society. Others suggested Droaam -- the other location where giants can be found; one idea was that they may be being bred as a warrior force but that the people in charge are secretly agents of the Dreaming Dark and the half-giants are being created as future vessels for an Inspired invasion of Khorvaire. But your idea -- an Inspired experiment in the quest to creat a superior host -- is certainly a sound one.  [/QUOTE]


----------



## Hellcow

Kamikaze Midget said:
			
		

> This makes me want to know the motives for it, how they played out in testing, why they were Construct (living) and not Humanoid (constructed), to see how the designers themselves made their decisions. But perhaps if we wish to continue this, a new thread is advisable....hmmm....



I'm afraid it is, because it's really not a question I can answer. Remember that the 100 page story bible was just that -- a story bible, without mechanics. During the development of the setting, the first pass at warforged mechanics went to James Wyatt, and they went through dozens of rewrites in the 16 months between the time the setting was selected and released. But while I was involved with the discussions and used various versions of the warforged in my campaigns, the final decisions fell to the WotC developers.


----------



## Hellcow

buzz said:
			
		

> How does research work for PCs who don't have the feat? I would assume that wizardly types have been doing research long before the feat got invented.



I think this has been covered officially (IE by Bill Slaviscek) on the WotC boards, but the short form is that it's the difference between me going into a library and trying to find out as much as I can about snails and someone with professional training in digging up information doing the same thing. I'd probably get a bonus to my Knowledge check if I had Knowledge, or a very basic outline of the subject if I didn't, and it would take X amount of time. The person with the Research feat would perform the same task faster and would get more detailed and reliable information. It's not that you can't do research without the feat, rather that the feat represents a talent for locating, sifting through, and organizing information far above just skimming through a bunch of books and looking for "snail".


----------



## Hellcow

Kabol said:
			
		

> How do you See Artificers with Psionics?  If they use Feats to Gain Psionic Crafting Feats, and Get skilled in the Use Psionic Device Skill - can they then use that skill like they use Use Magic Device to Created Psionic Arms/Armor and Dorje and Such?
> 
> Or, can they Use thier Use Magic Device Skill for Useing Psionic Items?



If you wanted to make a psionic version of the Artificer, I'd swap Use Magic Device with Use Psionic Device, Spellcraft with Psicraft, Knowledge (arcana) to Knowledge (psionics), all of the creation feats with their psionic equivalents, spell-storing item to "power-storing item" (same idea but with psionic powers), and change the augmentation infusions to use psionic abilities. There may be other changes, but you get the idea. I wouldn't allow the artificer as it stands to cover psionics *and* magic. In Eberron, psionics and magic come from different sources (psionics from Dal Quor, Xoriat, and the human mind, while the common theory is that magic is drawn from the three progenitor dragons) -- I think that overlap makes sense for purposes of dispel magic/antimagic field, but the artificer should have more focus.


----------



## I'm A Banana

Thanks a lot K-dog. I very much appreciate your answering the Q's.


----------



## GreyWanderer

*Dragonshards*

What is the point of incorperating Dragonshard crystals into magic items? There are no rules reducing cost or increasing ptency. Or is it purely for flavor?


Grey


----------



## mythusmage

The Wizard's Boards are acting up (again), so this gets asked here.

Keith, is Khorvaire 5,000 miles east to west or 500 miles east to west?


----------



## Hellcow

GreyWanderer said:
			
		

> What is the point of incorperating Dragonshard crystals into magic items? There are no rules reducing cost or increasing ptency. Or is it purely for flavor?



Purely for favor. The conceit is that many magic items - including existing items from the DMG - cannot be built without the use of dragonshards.


----------



## RPGgirl

I don't know if this has already been covered or not, but I understand WotC is coming out with Living Eberron in January.  DO you know what format it is going to take?  That is, the region, circle, triad format of LG or the open module format like LGr and the other campaigns.


----------



## Hellcow

mythusmage said:
			
		

> The Wizard's Boards are acting up (again), so this gets asked here.
> 
> Keith, is Khorvaire 5,000 miles east to west or 500 miles east to west?



Despite the concerns about population density, it's still 5,000 miles across. Certainly, increase the population if it makes you feel better!


----------



## pogre

Keith,

Thanks for doing this - your openness and generous attitude has gained WOTC a usually reluctant customer for this product. I'm sure some of these queries are irksome, but your patient, friendly responses are much appreciated.


----------



## RPGgirl

pogre said:
			
		

> Keith,
> 
> Thanks for doing this - your openness and generous attitude has gained WOTC a usually reluctant customer for this product. I'm sure some of these queries are irksome, but your patient, friendly responses are much appreciated.



ditto ... nice to see someone take the time.

Tracy


----------



## mythusmage

Hellcow said:
			
		

> Despite the concerns about population density, it's still 5,000 miles across. Certainly, increase the population if it makes you feel better!




Keith; the population says 500 miles, the politics say 500 miles, the history says 500 miles, the lands say 500 miles, the geography says 500 miles, the look of the map of Khorvaire says 500 miles. Call 5,000 miles a typo and make life easier. The book better fits a land 500 miles from east to west. Listen to the book.


----------



## I'm A Banana

> Thanks for doing this - your openness and generous attitude has gained WOTC a usually reluctant customer for this product. I'm sure some of these queries are irksome, but your patient, friendly responses are much appreciated.



Thirded.


----------



## MrFilthyIke

mythusmage said:
			
		

> Keith; the population says 500 miles, the politics say 500 miles, the history says 500 miles, the lands say 500 miles, the geography says 500 miles, the look of the map of Khorvaire says 500 miles. Call 5,000 miles a typo and make life easier. The book better fits a land 500 miles from east to west. Listen to the book.




Um,...16 million+ in a 500 mile wide landmass leaves:
a)No room for monsters to hide.
b)No room for ruins to be discovered.
c)Too many people in one area.

from http://www.npg.org/states/fl.htm and http://www.fact-index.com/f/fl/florida.html



> At about 16 million people, an 23 percent increase since 1990, Florida's population growth is overwhelming the state's growth management efforts, straining schools and highways, drying up already scare water supplies, swallowing valued open space, and destroying the state's quality of life. Florida adds 750 people every day.




Using my state as an example.  Miami, Ft Lauderdale, and Palm Beach are essential one continous city.  Tampa is almost a continous city down to Sarasota (other side of the bay).  Orlando is BOOMING with people trying to run the tourism industry there.  Jacksonville covers a huge land area with 1 million+ residents.  Within an 800km area, there are 15,982,378 humans.

Now where are the mosters?  The ruins?  Anything other than human cities?

5,000 miles is appropriate, and gives more to add in stuff as a DM.


----------



## Gez

I can't understand why people wants to have 21st century-like worldwide population figures AND wide unexplored wildlands AND lost worlds AND non-humanoid civilizations with high numbers of people AND untamed wildernesses full of monsters AND forgotten kingdoms full of ruins AND the aftermath of several massive wars that claimed enough lives to build a tower of bones climbing up to the moon AND all that on a single continent the size of Australia.

And find it "unrealistic" and "breaking the suspension of disbelief" when they're told that, no, numbers are much lower.

Go figure.


----------



## buzz

MrFilthyIke said:
			
		

> 5,000 miles is appropriate, and gives more to add in stuff as a DM.



I have no problem with the size of the continents... I am a bit puzzled by the individual area maps, though. Each one's scale says that it's about 500 miles on a side, but the maps look like maps of much smaller regions. I mean, according to these maps, there are hardly any towns less than 50-100 miles apart, and most of the forests are about 100 miles.

I know that these maps are just highlighting the major centers of population, but it just seems a little big and sparse. I mean, each one is about 5 times the size of England!


----------



## Hellcow

mythusmage said:
			
		

> Keith; the population says 500 miles, the politics say 500 miles, the history says 500 miles, the lands say 500 miles, the geography says 500 miles, the look of the map of Khorvaire says 500 miles. Call 5,000 miles a typo and make life easier. The book better fits a land 500 miles from east to west. Listen to the book.



You can do so if you want, MM -- that's the beauty of running your own campaign. But I disagree. As I've said before, in my mind the degree of open and potentially unexplored space is a critical part of being able to adventure in the world. There are Dhakaani ruins that no one has discovered, manifest zones that no one has found. There could be a lost tribe of grimlocks tucked away in the middle of Breland. With Eberron, we aren't *trying* to make a world that feels like medieval Europe; we are trying to make a world with as much room for adventure as possible. Vast stretches of uninhabited lands means put what you want in those spaces. 



			
				Buzz said:
			
		

> I have no problem with the size of the continents... I am a bit puzzled by the individual area maps, though. Each one's scale says that it's about 500 miles on a side, but the maps look like maps of much smaller regions. I mean, according to these maps, there are hardly any towns less than 50-100 miles apart, and most of the forests are about 100 miles.



I didn't actually work on the final maps for the book. All I can say to this is that I think they've only picked out a few towns to mention. Just adding up the population listed for Breland as is, you're talking less than a 1/6th of the population accounted for by the settlements as listed. The nations will be developed further in the detail, but at the moment, use what's there as a guideline but feel free to drop communities in as you see fit. 

In general, anywhere there is a settlement on the map, I would assume a circle of thorps, hamlets, and villages spreading out around it, with some gap between it and the next population center. The spots on the map presumably indicate the areas most suitable to habitation, either due to fertile land (and remember, geography aside, magic may play a role here; a place set on a manifest zone to Lammannia will be the most fertile land around, even if geographically this doesn't add up), lack of natural predators, pre-existing fortifications, or what have you. As noted above, it is supposed to be the case that there are significant gaps between major population centers; here again you have some room to place Dhakaani ruins, remnants of the Daelkyr War, monstrous enclaves, or what have you.


----------



## fredramsey

Amen! I love the distances between towns. I hate having population centers 1 day or less walk from each other. Boring! As other people have said, this is not Europe, this is not earth, this is not a real place. Magic and monsters and ruins and other planes of existance. The land can be laid out any way the DM wants it. If you want overpopulated land masses, I suggest Kalamar.

Thanks Keith, for a great adventuring world!   



			
				Hellcow said:
			
		

> <snip> As I've said before, in my mind the degree of open and potentially unexplored space is a critical part of being able to adventure in the world. There are Dhakaani ruins that no one has discovered, manifest zones that no one has found. There could be a lost tribe of grimlocks tucked away in the middle of Breland. With Eberron, we aren't *trying* to make a world that feels like medieval Europe; we are trying to make a world with as much room for adventure as possible. Vast stretches of uninhabited lands means put what you want in those spaces. <snip>


----------



## Enforcer

I posted this on the WotC "Ask Keith Baker" thread as well, but just in case:

The text description of Leafweave armor says it's not only as tough and as flexible as leather, but less weight and encumbrance. In the stats, Leafweave is certainly as tough (+2 armor bonus) and as flexible (same Armor Check Penalty, better Max Dex Bonus, better Arcane Failure %), but it weighs exactly the same (15 lbs.). Is Leafweave Armor supposed to be lighter than Leather Armor? I can't imagine anyone paying 75x the cost of Leather Armor for Leafweave as is.


----------



## ironmani

Ok after reading some of the stuff in the Eberron book I have a question about Bronzewood. Could a Druid have created for him bronzewood weapons and not suffer ther penalties for them due to said weapons not being metal? The same goes for Leafweave armor and Darkleaf armor.


----------



## SpuneDagr

ironmani said:
			
		

> Ok after reading some of the stuff in the Eberron book I have a question about Bronzewood. Could a Druid have created for him bronzewood weapons and not suffer ther penalties for them due to said weapons not being metal? The same goes for Leafweave armor and Darkleaf armor.




That's the whole point of having them, so yes.


----------



## Staffan

ironmani said:
			
		

> Ok after reading some of the stuff in the Eberron book I have a question about Bronzewood. Could a Druid have created for him bronzewood weapons and not suffer ther penalties for them due to said weapons not being metal? The same goes for Leafweave armor and Darkleaf armor.



Druids don't have problems with metal weapons - they have a small list of weapons they're proficient in, but they can use any weapon if they get the training (this is a change in 3.5e). It would work for armor, though.


----------



## ironmani

Staffan said:
			
		

> Druids don't have problems with metal weapons - they have a small list of weapons they're proficient in, but they can use any weapon if they get the training (this is a change in 3.5e). It would work for armor, though.



Ah. Thanks for some reason I thought if they used certain weapons, they lost powers and stuff....


----------



## Pseudonym

One thing I've noticed with some of the prestige classes are the relatively low entry requirements. For example, the Master Inquisitive requires one feat, 6 ranks of Gather Information and Sense Motive and 3 ranks of Search. A bard or rogue could get all of those by 3rd level, and start in on their 4th.

Speaking from a mechanical perspective, isn't that a little low level to be taking a prestige class? Has this been errataed, or did you intend for the requirements to be attainable at a low level?


----------



## Macbeth

Pseudonym said:
			
		

> One thing I've noticed with some of the prestige classes are the relatively low entry requirements. For example, the Master Inquisitive requires one feat, 6 ranks of Gather Information and Sense Motive and 3 ranks of Search. A bard or rogue could get all of those by 3rd level, and start in on their 4th.
> 
> Speaking from a mechanical perspective, isn't that a little low level to be taking a prestige class? Has this been errataed, or did you intend for the requirements to be attainable at a low level?



Given the general low levels of Ebberon NPCs I wouldn't be suprised if they were right. I don't think 4th is too low, but it should be easy enough to house rule those up. Add another feat and raise the ranks in each skill by 2-3, and you've raised the minimum level by 2-3 (i.e. the same number as the increase in skill ranks). 
But remember, not every PC will want to max out the skills required for the class. Sure, a PC can take it at 4th level, if they dedicate a fair amount of thier resources to it. Seems like a fair trade off. But that's just my opinion.


----------



## MDSnowman

Pseudonym said:
			
		

> One thing I've noticed with some of the prestige classes are the relatively low entry requirements. For example, the Master Inquisitive requires one feat, 6 ranks of Gather Information and Sense Motive and 3 ranks of Search. A bard or rogue could get all of those by 3rd level, and start in on their 4th.
> 
> Speaking from a mechanical perspective, isn't that a little low level to be taking a prestige class? Has this been errataed, or did you intend for the requirements to be attainable at a low level?





Man I hope that doesn't get Errated... once we inevitably get a TPK in the return to tomb of horrors we're starting an Eberron game... and I want to play a shifter Urban Ranger/Master Inquistive/Weretouched master like you wouldn't believe.


----------



## ironmani

How much "wiggle" room does one have with a Warforged body in terms of hiding small items? Is it possible to say have a Rogue Warforged who has a small compartment on its thigh or forearm where a set of lock picks or a small dagger could be hidden?


----------



## Dr. Strangemonkey

Macbeth said:
			
		

> Given the general low levels of Ebberon NPCs I wouldn't be suprised if they were right.




I would guess that this is right.  I would also guess that they came very close to statting up Inquisitor as a seperate core-class.

The world sort of needs something like that or an Akashic from AU, but I would guess that what with page length requirements they compromised with a very low level prestige class.

I do love the idea of a singing detective.  So it all worked out ok in the end.


----------



## mythusmage

Dr. Strangemonkey said:
			
		

> I would guess that this is right.  I would also guess that they came very close to statting up Inquisitor as a seperate core-class.
> 
> The world sort of needs something like that or an Akashic from AU, but I would guess that what with page length requirements they compromised with a very low level prestige class.
> 
> I do love the idea of a singing detective.  So it all worked out ok in the end.




Or they were going to include Advanced Classes (d20 Modern) but lack of space reared its head.


----------



## Terramotus

*Clerical power in Eberron?*

After reading the sections on Clerics and the gods, some things have been bugging me.  I think I understand the direction that Eberron is taking religion - to more of a real-world situation.  Not everyone who worships a good deity is necessarily a good person, and even if a church is mostly good, the best people may very well be the grunts.

That's all well and good, but the fact that I don't have to obey the tenets of the faith to keep spellcasting powers is...  weird.  So I could go around burning libraries and braining sages and Aureon's still going to grant me my spells?  The Devourer's still down with giving me healing spells to heal the sick and be kind to small children and animals?  That almost seems to be direct evidence that the gods don't exist, at least not in the way most people conceptualize them.

It's stated that clerics without a deity gain their power "from the spiritual remnants of the Dragon Above".  Is this where all clerics gain their power?  What's necessary to channel this power?  Could I be an athiest priest?  Is divine power simply a matter of learning how to go through the right motions similar to a wizard, completely disconnected from any actual divinities?  If so, why can they turn and get domain powers while wizards don't?  Were regular D&D clerics not actually part of the setting as originally conceptualized and then shoehorned in later?

Further, and I can't recall if I gathered this from somewhere I can't now find in the book, or whether I've pulled this from the numerous posts I've read about the setting, but I recall that religion is more of an article of faith -  no direct communication from the gods, no obvious divine intervention.  Some people believe, some people don't.  This seems to jive with all of the above.    Is this a correct interpretation of how religion works in Eberron?  Am I missing something?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Plane Sailing

Terramotus said:
			
		

> and Aureon's still going to grant me my spells? The Devourer's still down with giving me healing spells to heal the sick and be kind to small children and animals?




In other threads I've seen it said that the spells don't come directly from the gods, they come from the faith of the spellcaster (which is why someone could serve a pantheon or even just a principle and get spells - a nice explanation for what is otherwise core rulebook strangeness in other words).

Personal opinion: When I run Eberron I'm going to be using a single caster class to replace clerics and wizards - something akin to the Magisters from Arcana Unearthed. This won't be suitable for nearly everyone else naturally, and Eberron is designed (quite properly) to support the standard PHB classes as-is.

I'm sure Keith will turn up with a succinct and accurate answer to your question shortly though


----------



## I'm A Banana

I'm guessing this works in Eberron as it has in 99% of my campaigns:

Faith grants spells, Gods don't.

So while you may worship a particular deity, there's no divine babysitter sitting over your shoulder who's going to tell you when you're doing evil and when you're not. The fact that you worship is still important, since it's that power of faith and philosophy that allows you to manfiest spells without the aid of rigorous physical trianing (psion) or complex formulae (arcanist). But the fact that you worship is more important than WHAT you worship.

Which means that while someone who was trying to be a Good Person would never resort to, say, summoning a fiendish creature, if you do, you won't be penalized, because there's no personality to karmically whip you for stretching the reigns. There's just your faith, directed to a particular conceptualization and personalizatoin of a philosophy.

So, yes, you could have an athiest preist, a non-theist priest, a priest of banjo the puppet god, a priest of a particularly lovely lady, a priest of l33t n1nj4 p0w3r, a priest of yourself, or, in a particularly Pratchettesque moment, a priest of a turtle who _swears_ that he's really a deity.

Of course, there being things to direct your worship to (these gods), it'd be weird for someone not to ally themselves with those who already practice worship and agree with your general ideas. An athiest wouldn't be accepted just because he can cure light wounds, too. But that doesn't mean he can't cure wounds, just that he's not in with the group who can.


I used this in a monotheistic campaign based off of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish mysticism, and it really helped explain why three different faiths can worship the exact same God and all be right, and also why someone in that world could not worship God, or worship Lucifer, and still gain divine powers. It helps add mystery to the deities, when they're not looking over your shoulder to see if you've been naughty or nice.


----------



## Dr. Strangemonkey

From my reading of the book, mostly the fact that everyone appears to have the same gods no matter where they are,

I am arguing that there are gods, they provide spells with a certain character, inspire faith, and don't do much else.

The shards of the dragon also provide those spells for people who have a certain attitude and certain practices in common with those who do worship the gods.


----------



## glass

Terramotus said:
			
		

> That's all well and good, but the fact that I don't have to obey the tenets of the faith to keep spellcasting powers is...  weird.  So I could go around burning libraries and braining sages and Aureon's still going to grant me my spells?  The Devourer's still down with giving me healing spells to heal the sick and be kind to small children and animals?  That almost seems to be direct evidence that the gods don't exist, at least not in the way most people conceptualize them.




Does it actually say that? I must have missed it.

In any case, I'd fall back on what I used to say to my players in 2e days when they tried to claim that because they didn't follow a particular god they could do what they liked and still keep their abilities:

'If there is no god involved, there is noone to forgive you!'


glass.


----------



## Henry

Strictly speaking, I could get behind all those faith-based examples, except for a strictly atheist priest. I would say, that in order to cast, you must place faith in SOMETHING - even if it's the turtle who swears he's a deity.  Or a philosophy. Or even yourself - I would think you're more humanist in that instance.

What name WOULD you give to the faith that YOU are a god - Solipsism?


----------



## Klaus

Egocentism?


----------



## fredramsey

Michael Valentine Smithism?

(Thou art God, Grok me?)



			
				Henry said:
			
		

> What name WOULD you give to the faith that YOU are a god - Solipsism?


----------



## Gargoyle

It is interesting to note that paladins are still mystically held to a high standard of behavior, and cannot become corrupt without losing their powers.  It seems that clerics gain their power from a source ungoverned by the deity or church, while paladins gain their power directly from a source of power (faith/deity/pantheon/force/church/philosophy/themselves) that is governed by someone or something (faith/deity/pantheon/force/church/philosophy/themselves).  

The faith that clerics seem to be tapping into must be their own faith, and their skill at casting divine spells reinforces this faith even if they stray from the tenets of the church.  Nowhere does it say (that I can find) that a church can excommunicate them, so it is not the faith of the church that powers a clerical spell.  So most corrupted clerics probably believe that they are doing the right thing, or at least convince themselves of as much.  "I had to summon that demon, it was the only way to save the village"  or "So I took some money from the coffers, I know how best to spend it for the glory of our god."   or "Of course I am doing the right thing by hiring this vampire, otherwise how could I be receiving power from the Silver Flame."  

My conclusion is that the various mortal churches must be paranoid organizations who constantly oversee their clerics yet simultaneously depend on them for their power.  I can imagine ocassional battles between the church and corrupt clerics, where player characters would be needed to assist the church or a falsely accused cleric.  I could easily see a paladin being sent to watch for corrupt clerics of a lawful good religion.  Here comes the inquisition!  

I would be interested in Keith's take on adding the favored soul core class to Eberron from Complete Divine/Miniature's Handbook.   I think I would put them in the same boat as paladins, since they are best implemented as being faithful to a particular deity rather than a pantheon or philosophy.   Demographically, I would make them more rare than clerics, with perhaps no NPC favored souls.


----------



## Hellcow

Just checking, Terramotus -- have you read the Religion in Eberron article on the Wotc website?



			
				Terramotus said:
			
		

> So I could go around burning libraries and braining sages and Aureon's still going to grant me my spells?  The Devourer's still down with giving me healing spells to heal the sick and be kind to small children and animals?  That almost seems to be direct evidence that the gods don't exist, at least not in the way most people conceptualize them.




This is ultimately up to the DM. My fundamental feeling is this: if the cleric can justify her actions within her faith, she's golden. So the cleric of Aureon could burn down a library if it's full of "false, tainted knowledge" (in her eyes, and quite possibly only her eyes). This would likewise be how you get your chaotic priest of Aureon. In her *view* she is serving the god, and it is her faith that matters. Does this mean that there is no Aureon? Not necessarily. It means that Aureon responds to her faith and isn't watching over her shoulder or carefully considering her every action; because of her faith, she comes up OK on the god-o-meter. 

Next, you have the adept of Aureon who isn't terribly devout and is more about taking bribes to give people government positions. I like this less that what I descried above, but you can argue that he isn't actively going against the goals of Aureon, so if he performs all the right rituals and goes to all the services, that gets him off the hook. 

Finally, you have the "Cleric of Aureon" who flat-out hates knowledge and wants to burn down libraries because books suck. This I wouldn't allow as a DM, because such a person clearly has no faith in the religion they profess to have. ALignment isn't the issue -- belief is. 

So in short: you can go against the commonly perceived traditions of the church if you have strong enough faith, and you can have weak faith if you are true to the traditions, but if you have neither faith or tradition, I'd make you pick a different religion. 



			
				Terramotus said:
			
		

> It's stated that clerics without a deity gain their power "from the spiritual remnants of the Dragon Above".  Is this where all clerics gain their power?



Many scholars of the Twelve believe that this is the case. Some say that divine power comes from Siberys, and arcane power comes from Eberron. But this has never been proven, and many consider it to be a heretical belief. 



			
				Terramotus said:
			
		

> What's necessary to channel this power?  Could I be an athiest priest?



Quoting the Religion in Eberron article, "it still requires a strong commitment to an ideal or a philosophy". Basically, you can devise your own religion -- but it's still a matter of a deeply held spiritual belief. So you can't be a cleric who believes in nothing at all. And if you're just cherry-picking domains, you need to justify how those domains form the basis of your system of beliefs, and the DM has the right to say "bull."



			
				Terramotus said:
			
		

> Further, and I can't recall if I gathered this from somewhere I can't now find in the book, or whether I've pulled this from the numerous posts I've read about the setting, but I recall that religion is more of an article of faith -  no direct communication from the gods, no obvious divine intervention.  Some people believe, some people don't.  This seems to jive with all of the above.    Is this a correct interpretation of how religion works in Eberron?  Am I missing something?



Pretty much. Yes, you get guidance from _commune_, but the atheist can argue that it's coming from the collective unconscious or a powerful outsider. You can summon a planar ally, but this is simply an outsider who shares your religious beliefs. If you believe, you may see divine intervention in what others consider to be simple good fortune. But the gods do not walk the earth.


----------



## Hellcow

Henry said:
			
		

> What name WOULD you give to the faith that YOU are a god - Solipsism?



I don't know. But when someone asks if you're a god, you say YES!


----------



## Hellcow

Gargoyle said:
			
		

> I would be interested in Keith's take on adding the favored soul core class to Eberron from Complete Divine/Miniature's Handbook.   I think I would put them in the same boat as paladins, since they are best implemented as being faithful to a particular deity rather than a pantheon or philosophy.   Demographically, I would make them more rare than clerics, with perhaps no NPC favored souls.



I agree with all of this. I might not say that there are NO NPC favored souls -- in some ways they're a good match for the Cults of the Dragon Below -- but certainly very rare.


----------



## mythago

On dragonmarks:

Is there a particular age at which the mark manifests? Is there a point where if you don't have a mark, you never will? Are Siberys dragonmarks different?

How easy is it to 'fake' a dragonmark? Changelings can mimic them, but is there some way to tell whether the mark is real or not, other than by its intricacy? (I would imagine the Houses really lay the smack down on posers.)


----------



## omokage

Henry said:
			
		

> What name WOULD you give to the faith that YOU are a god - Solipsism?



Solipsism is close, most would call it megalomania, maybe even mysticism. There are a lot of terms for it depending on the reasoning one identifies one's self as a god.


----------



## Hellcow

Whoops! I missed questions. 



			
				ironmani said:
			
		

> Ok after reading some of the stuff in the Eberron book I have a question about Bronzewood. Could a Druid have created for him bronzewood weapons and not suffer ther penalties for them due to said weapons not being metal? The same goes for Leafweave armor and Darkleaf armor.



The same does go for leafweave and darkleaf armor, but not for bronzewood weapons. As others have said, the metal content of a weapon is not the factor: daggers, sickles, and scimitars are all metal weapons.


----------



## Hellcow

Pseudonym said:
			
		

> One thing I've noticed with some of the prestige classes are the relatively low entry requirements. For example, the Master Inquisitive requires one feat, 6 ranks of Gather Information and Sense Motive and 3 ranks of Search. A bard or rogue could get all of those by 3rd level, and start in on their 4th.
> 
> Speaking from a mechanical perspective, isn't that a little low level to be taking a prestige class? Has this been errataed, or did you intend for the requirements to be attainable at a low level?



This is intentional. There aren't that many high level NPCs in Eberron, and this is a PrC that you should be able to find represented in the world.


----------



## Hellcow

ironmani said:
			
		

> How much "wiggle" room does one have with a Warforged body in terms of hiding small items? Is it possible to say have a Rogue Warforged who has a small compartment on its thigh or forearm where a set of lock picks or a small dagger could be hidden?



I can see this as being something that could be built in at an appropriate cost. What's an appropriate cost, you say? Well, that I'd have to think about. But sure, I could see it. Small, mind you.


----------



## Gargoyle

Hellcow said:
			
		

> I agree with all of this. I might not say that there are NO NPC favored souls -- in some ways they're a good match for the Cults of the Dragon Below -- but certainly very rare.




Thanks Keith, cool idea on the Cult, they would fit in there nicely.


----------



## Gargoyle

I realize the deathless are typically created through a spell such as _create deathless_ or _create greater deathless _.  This is fine for the monsters in the book.

But what about PC's or NPC's as deathless?  If I have a heroic elf from Aerenal in my campaign who dies, could someone cast a ninth level version of _create greater deathless _, or a _miracle_) to cause him to come back as deathless rather than raising him from the dead?  As I understand it, he'd have to be willing.

I notice there is no template for it, and that deathless is treated as a creature type.  Is there any plan to create a template for such deathless creatures?  I was thinking about doing it myself with the plan of making it a +2 level adjustment.    I would assume that a player character who became deathless in this manner would lose two levels in order to return to play as deathless, since you're either deathless or not, and a progression would be weird.  Would such a spell work on races other than elves?  Instead of a template for deathless, I suppose it would have to be a specific type of deathless, such as an undying template.  Otherwise it would be like having an undead template rather than a vampire template.

Just curious about this.  The warforged blazed some new trails on what type of player character races can be central to a campaign, and it seemed odd to me that some type of deathless were not also available at least as templates, especially with Ghostwalk breaking ground in that area.


----------



## Hellcow

mythago said:
			
		

> Is there a particular age at which the mark manifests? Is there a point where if you don't have a mark, you never will? Are Siberys dragonmarks different?



Dragonmarks are unpredictable. In rare cases the mark is present at birth. Generally, it first manifests in response to dangerous and stressful stimuli, though this varies based on the nature of the mark. Each house has a "Test of Siberys" designed to trigger a latent dragonmark. An heir of the house has one chance to take the test; most wait until adulthood, as many of the tests carry some aspect of danger. It is possible to petition the house for a second testing if the first has no results, but it is not always granted. People may also spontanteously develop the mark in response to stimulus in the world -- thus, the character who has no active ties to a house can still get a mark. 



			
				mythago said:
			
		

> How easy is it to 'fake' a dragonmark? Changelings can mimic them, but is there some way to tell whether the mark is real or not, other than by its intricacy? (I would imagine the Houses really lay the smack down on posers.)



-10 penalty to Disguise checks, as noted in the begining of Chapter 3. Plus, a true mark heats up when it's used. So, very hard to do without using magic.


----------



## Hellcow

Gargoyle said:
			
		

> But what about PC's or NPC's as deathless?



The thing about the deathless elves is that they draw much of their power from the veneration of their descendants. It is also the case that Shae Mordai is built on a manifest zone linked to Irian. So, the Undying Court is very powerful, but the further you go from Aerenal, the more this power might wane (which is why the Undying Court generally remains in the Undying Court...). I think if you want a PC deathless you could certainly do it, and there's interesting story potential there... but I'd probably come up with a modified template, removing most of the powers of the councilor. You'd be more like an Undying soldier. You might also have to carry an amulet providing a conduit to Irian, or something like that.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

I'd just like to remind anyone watching this thread that in about an hour and a half Keith Baker, Chris Perkins, and Bill Slavicsek will be in my Eberron Chatroom to answer your questions LIVE.


----------



## Gargoyle

BrooklynKnight said:
			
		

> I'd just like to remind anyone watching this thread that in about an hour and a half Keith Baker, Chris Perkins, and Bill Slavicsek will be in my Eberron Chatroom to answer your questions LIVE.




Gosh BK, he's answered everyone's questions already.  

Thanks Keith.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

You can always come and ask more! ;-D


----------



## seankreynolds

I have a pair of Mournland question for you, Keith.

On page 188 it says that neither natural healing nor spells and spell-like effects do not work in the Mournland.

1) Do fast healing and regeneration count as either of those types of healing? In other words, do creatures with fast healing or regen get the benefit of those abilities in the Mournland?

2) If creatures in the Mournland cannot heal, how are there any living things there left alive at all? There are few or no natural creatures left in the Mournland, which means the monstrous things have to hunt each other in a series of predator vs predator battles. After just one or two of those, any victorious predator is going to be left with just a handful of hit points and never be able to heal them, which means they're easy prey for the next creature that gets a hit in first. Since we're talking 4 years between the destruction of Cyre and the present day, that's four years of predation and therefore a lot of fighting. I don't think there would be any predators left except for one "lucky" monster that now has only 2 hit points left from all of his battles over the past four years.


----------



## BrooklynKnight

I think by natrual healing he means the healing gained from rest.

Regen and Fast Healing should still work, as does Lay on Hands. At least thats how I understand it.


As for the creatures in the Mournland.


The Mournland very much a DM Plot Device.
New creatures and monsters are appearing all the time, either mutating from something else or otherwise.

When the mournland gets more detail in products I wouldnt be suprised to see creatures with supernatrual healing abilities, and/or creatures that heal from eating other creatures (with some monstrous feat) or being healed from that pit of energy.

again, IMO.


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## haiiro

I wanted to wait until I'd read the Eberron CS cover to cover to ask my questions (and Keith, this is an amazing book -- one of the most engaging D&D books I've read in a long time!). Here they are:

- I found Argonth intriguing -- can you share any other details about it, or about the second mobile fortress (which the text suggests is also in Breland)? Also, just how large are these fortresses?

- What do elemental galleons actually look like? The description in the book leaves me scratching my head, for some reason.

- Do healing potions and curative wands work in the Mournlands?

- On the regional map for the Mror Holds, Korunda's Gate is marked with a symbol that doesn't appear on any of the other maps, or in the legend: a black square with a white line on top of it. Is this a misprint, or is it significant?

- In the timeline, is the year -1,000 one thousand years before the present day, 998 (IE, the year "-2"), or does it follow the BC/AD model -- which would make it 1,998 years before the present day?

Thanks in advance, and I can't wait to see what you've got in the works for this setting.


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## I'm A Banana

I think it means No Healing. Period. 

And as for how natural creatures fare, I'd say pretty much how they do in the real world, where a gore doesn't really heal, either. They attack weak prey, they attack sick prey, they attack dying prey, they attack young prey...to attack that horse in the prime of it's life is suicide. To attack that old nag with some vague Mournland illness....now that's good eatin's. And much less risk, too!

Creatures evolve strategies for avoiding damage in the first place...group tactics, high Dex, high Wis, Alertness, Improved Initiative, higher HD, Toughness, Scent, Blindsense, Blindsight, high speeds....these are all symptoms of a world where one wound will kill you eventually, which is a perfect fit for the Mournlands.


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## Cam Banks

Hellcow said:
			
		

> This is intentional. There aren't that many high level NPCs in Eberron, and this is a PrC that you should be able to find represented in the world.




WOTC on occasion has relaxed its usual "must have 5 levels already" requirement for prestige classes in order to strengthen the flavor of the setting. The knights of Solamnia and wizards of High Sorcery in the Dragonlance Campaign setting can each take their first level of the prestige class as their 5th character level, rather than their 6th.

Cheers,
Cam


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## DanMcS

haiiro said:
			
		

> - In the timeline, is the year -1,000 one thousand years before the present day, 998 (IE, the year "-2"), or does it follow the BC/AD model -- which would make it 1,998 years before the present day?




That one is easy, since on the timeline, the year 1 is marked -998.  -1000 is 2 years before the founding of the kingdom (the startpoint for the year-counting).


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## SteelDraco

Is it possible to use the Use Magic Device skill to emulate having a dragonmark for the purposes of activating mark-based magic items? For example, to fly a skyship or drive a lightning rail? If so, what's the DC?


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## Hellcow

seankreynolds said:
			
		

> On page 188 it says that neither natural healing nor spells and spell-like effects do not work in the Mournland.
> 2) If creatures in the Mournland cannot heal, how are there any living things there left alive at all? .




The limitation on healing is something that is still being debated by the design team. I have two thoughts on the matter:
a) I believe that any creature that is native to the Mournland - whether it's a new species that has appeared since the Mourning, or a mutated being - should be immune to this effect, If you wanted to be odd about it, you could say that such creatures don't heal naturally OUT of the Mournlands; that their physiology has adapted to the unnatural nature of the region. But I agree, it would be hard to imagine such a predatory environment with no healing on the part of the native creatures, case in point, the young carcass crab in Shadows of the Last War is described as "recovering" from its battle. 

b) Given that the Mournlands is as dangerous and as large as it is, I think that it is important to allow characters access to some form of healing in the region. A few possibilities: disallow natural healing and reduce any other healing effect to 50%; have their be certain regions within the Mournland (manifest zones to Irian or Lammania?) where healing still functions; or provide something rare that can be found in the Mournland itself - a warped herb, or something like that - that can be used to craft a "Mournland healing potion". The goal is to emphasize the unnatural nature of the Mournland, to challenge adventurers, and to make it a region that clearly can't be reclaimed by settlers - but the complete ban on healing may be too harsh. 



			
				seankreynolds said:
			
		

> 1) Do fast healing and regeneration count as either of those types of healing? In other words, do creatures with fast healing or regen get the benefit of those abilities in the Mournland?



I would apply the previous answer to this. A Mournland troll should get full benefit of its regeneration. A troll that handered into the Mournland would either get no benefit, 50% benefit, or full benefit but only in select areas, using the possibilities mentioned above. 

But again, my answers are not official rulings, and an official decision on this will be forthcoming. 


There are few or no natural creatures left in the Mournland, which means the monstrous things have to hunt each other in a series of predator vs predator battles. After just one or two of those, any victorious predator is going to be left with just a handful of hit points and never be able to heal them, which means they're easy prey for the next creature that gets a hit in first. Since we're talking 4 years between the destruction of Cyre and the present day, that's four years of predation and therefore a lot of fighting. I don't think there would be any predators left except for one "lucky" monster that now has only 2 hit points left from all of his battles over the past four years.[/QUOTE]


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## haiiro

DanMcS said:
			
		

> That one is easy, since on the timeline, the year 1 is marked -998.  -1000 is 2 years before the founding of the kingdom (the startpoint for the year-counting).




Bugger. Now how did I miss that?  Thanks, DanMcS.


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## Hellcow

haiiro said:
			
		

> I found Argonth intriguing -- can you share any other details about it, or about the second mobile fortress (which the text suggests is also in Breland)?



Not at this time, I'm afraid. Hopefully we can cover it soon in a web article or sourcebook. 



			
				haiiro said:
			
		

> What do elemental galleons actually look like? The description in the book leaves me scratching my head, for some reason.



It's hard for me to explain without being able to draw a picture. It's sort of like a hydrofoil. The air elemental is bound into a ring mounted at the rear of the vessel, like the fire elemental pictured on the airship.  



			
				haiiro said:
			
		

> Do healing potions and curative wands work in the Mournlands?



As it stands, spells and spell-like effects of the healing subschool do not function. This includes wands. However, see my previous answer.  



			
				haiiro said:
			
		

> On the regional map for the Mror Holds, Korunda's Gate is marked with a symbol that doesn't appear on any of the other maps, or in the legend: a black square with a white line on top of it. Is this a misprint, or is it significant?



I didn't design the final map, so I couldn't say. It may be that it was supposed to indicate the "capital" of a dragonmarked house. 



			
				haiiro said:
			
		

> In the timeline, is the year -1,000 one thousand years before the present day, 998 (IE, the year "-2"), or does it follow the BC/AD model -- which would make it 1,998 years before the present day?



As DanMcS has said, -1000 is 2 years before the founding of the kingdom.


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## Hellcow

SteelDraco said:
			
		

> Is it possible to use the Use Magic Device skill to emulate having a dragonmark for the purposes of activating mark-based magic items? For example, to fly a skyship or drive a lightning rail? If so, what's the DC?



No, it's not possible.


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## Gargoyle

Hellcow said:
			
		

> The limitation on healing is something that is still being debated by the design team. I have two thoughts on the matter:
> a) I believe that any creature that is native to the Mournland - whether it's a new species that has appeared since the Mourning, or a mutated being - should be immune to this effect, If you wanted to be odd about it, you could say that such creatures don't heal naturally OUT of the Mournlands; that their physiology has adapted to the unnatural nature of the region. But I agree, it would be hard to imagine such a predatory environment with no healing on the part of the native creatures, case in point, the young carcass crab in Shadows of the Last War is described as "recovering" from its battle.
> 
> b) Given that the Mournlands is as dangerous and as large as it is, I think that it is important to allow characters access to some form of healing in the region. A few possibilities: disallow natural healing and reduce any other healing effect to 50%; have their be certain regions within the Mournland (manifest zones to Irian or Lammania?) where healing still functions; or provide something rare that can be found in the Mournland itself - a warped herb, or something like that - that can be used to craft a "Mournland healing potion". The goal is to emphasize the unnatural nature of the Mournland, to challenge adventurers, and to make it a region that clearly can't be reclaimed by settlers - but the complete ban on healing may be too harsh.
> 
> 
> I would apply the previous answer to this. A Mournland troll should get full benefit of its regeneration. A troll that handered into the Mournland would either get no benefit, 50% benefit, or full benefit but only in select areas, using the possibilities mentioned above.
> 
> But again, my answers are not official rulings, and an official decision on this will be forthcoming.




I'll be looking forward to the ruling.  I like the Mournlands as an area in the generally low-level continent of Khorvaire that can easily challenge higher level characters, and where lower level characters would tread lightly...a sort of danger zone. 

My thoughts on it for the design team, if anyone is interested:

- I like the harshness of the Mournlands, and wouldn't want to see "Mournland potions of healing" or other portable ways to get around it.  After all, if the player characters are hurt badly, they can always leave and come back, and this would keep them from going deep inside the Mournlands, preserving some of the mystery for later in the campaign.  

- I do like the idea of manifest zones of Irian or Lammania within the Mournlands.  Finding such an oasis, and interacting with the creatures there would be an interesting twist.  This is much better than the potion idea in my opinion, it keeps the Mournlands dangerous instead of replacing one type of potion with another.  Assaulting the fortress of the big bad guys becomes much more difficult without being able to heal on the spot, and allying with the residents of these zones becomes important, and most importantly, *tactics such as retreating become part of the player character's playbook.  * 

- If you are going to have "native" creatures of the Mournland be able to heal and regenerate, I would define that with a template and a possible CR adjustment.  Saying that such native creatures cannot heal normally outside of the Mournlands is irrelevant...we'll never see Mournland trolls outside of the mists.  It would be like a player character druid who could cast spells at +1 caster level in the forest...but who suffers a -1 elsewhere, all in a campaign where he never leaves the forest.  It's a false balance.

- Player characters will use whatever method they have to in order to heal themselves while in the Mournlands, so any method you allow will be something they will use.  If regeneration works there, higher level parties will craft _rings of regeneration_ for each member.  If Mournland potions are needed, they'll craft plenty of them.  

- There is a paradox in a land where no healing takes place.  The way I would deal with it, and plan to handle it in the meantime, is to say that no healing can take place in the Mournlands of any type (except possibly in those rare manifest zones).  Creatures that die are replaced by other creatures from some horrible source, possibly eldritch machines that caused the devastation in the first place.  If it becomes too harsh, maybe I'll allow some limited magical healing.  Having healing spells work for half the effect, like they work on warforged, might be good enough to make life hard.   Shutting down one of the eldritch machines in the Mournlands might be what the player characters need to do to let healing magic work at half strength.  It would make a great adventure for higher level characters who want to feel like they are changing the world.


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## haiiro

Hellcow said:
			
		

> It's hard for me to explain without being able to draw a picture. It's sort of like a hydrofoil. The air elemental is bound into a ring mounted at the rear of the vessel, like the fire elemental pictured on the airship.




This helps quite a bit -- I'm picturing a cross between a hydrofoil, a galleon, and one of those bayou swamp boats with the big fans on the back. Pretty neat, in any case.

Thanks for answering my questions.


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## Henry

I'll add "ditto" on Gargoyle's post, and have discussed this on the Eberron Official Site, as well. Even allow half-healing, and you allow the Mournland to become a distinctly less dangerous place. In my experience, characters will have access to one or two wands of cure light wounds and clerics, and will have access to a ton of healing - whether that's a ton, or a half a ton, makes little difference. If the Mournlands mean NO healing, it means creatures will rely on stealth and getting in surprise to survive, and it means creatures with high damage capacities and high movement rates will dominate, as will undead.In fact, unless I missed something, the Mournland has no porohibition against Inflict spells, so undead would absolutely LOVE the place.

In short, I prefer it with no healing, if nothing else to make it the players think THRICE before going.


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## I'm A Banana

I like the concept of minimized healing....all dice rolled to heal hit points are considered 1's. Or limited levels...your caster level for healing spells = your Wis modifier. Or attracting attention....every healing spell cast automatically increases the chance of random encounter by x amount, and increases the CR of the creature you will encounter by the level of the spell. 

But yeah, ditto to Gargoyle, basically.


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## Plane Sailing

They could even go for "impeded" healing, requiring a DC35 spellcraft check to allow the healing spell to work (for instance).

(although in my campaign I think the most likely thing I'd do is allow circumstances where natural healing can take place and ALWAYS keep magical healing blocked out)


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## mythusmage

How about _unnatural_ healing? That is, healing appears to take place, but this perversion of healing is only effective within the Mournlands. When the recipient returns to normal environs the 'healing' is undone and all accumulated damage returns to the subject.

If this is used I would recommend adding a transition zone between the Mournlands and the outside world where the Mournlands healing remains effective, and natural healing can take place. Or the loss of unnatural healing takes place at the same rate natural healing occurs. But natural healing cannot then commence until all the unnatural hit points are gone, and only magical healing can be done to replace the points lost.


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## Hellcow

mythusmage said:
			
		

> How about _unnatural_ healing? That is, healing appears to take place, but this perversion of healing is only effective within the Mournlands. When the recipient returns to normal environs the 'healing' is undone and all accumulated damage returns to the subject.




Interesting idea, MM, and the mists could serve as the transition zone. 

Just to let folks know, I am going to be attending Comic Con and will be traveling for the next week, so I won't be answering any questions for a while. I will do my best to address any backlog when I get back. Until then, thanks to everyone for their interest in the world!


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## eternus

While you can't use UMD, you CAN use a lvl 3 infusion called "Surpress Requirement" that lets you by pass any racial, alignment, class, or ability score requirements.  I would think that this would do the trick (for the duration of the infusion anyway.)

_EDIT: bah... meant to quote the original post asking if you could use UMD to "fake" a dragonmark for piloting and stuff_


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## SteelDraco

eternus said:
			
		

> While you can't use UMD, you CAN use a lvl 3 infusion called "Surpress Requirement" that lets you by pass any racial, alignment, class, or ability score requirements.  I would think that this would do the trick (for the duration of the infusion anyway.)



Hmmm. I don't know. The reason I asked that is because I wasn't sure if dragonmark items use the power of the mark to generate the effect, or if the mark is like a key, built into the item by the House to prevent anyone that isn't marked from using it. If it's actually what's powering the item, then surpressing the requirement isn't going to help, because it still won't have a power source, as it were. If the mark is just a key, then IMO the Use Magic Device skill should be able to emulate it.

Keith's answer (and some further reading) suggested to me that it's the first one, so UMD and Surpress Requirement would both not really help. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I'd rule if I was running a game, based on what Keith said.


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## Volaran

Just a thought on healing in the Mournlands, but would treating wounds something like those from Vile damage be appropriate?  Maybe even somewhat more severe, allowing a Hallowed or similar area be used to heal?  Though given the flavour of the place, I still think I'd use minimalized healing.  This also gives the characters the added problem of finding a Hallowed area to heal their wounds even after the leave the Mournlands.


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## MavrickWeirdo

eternus said:
			
		

> While you can't use UMD, you CAN use a lvl 3 infusion called "Surpress Requirement" that lets you by pass any racial, alignment, class, or ability score requirements.  I would think that this would do the trick (for the duration of the infusion anyway.)
> 
> _EDIT: bah... meant to quote the original post asking if you could use UMD to "fake" a dragonmark for piloting and stuff_




Dragonmarks are Feats, does "Surpress Requirements" let you bypass Feat Requirements? (I believe the answer is no.)

That being said, on page 267 It explains how you can pilot an Elemental Vessel without a Dragonmark. (Essentially you need to talk the elemental into it.)


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## seankreynolds

Thanks, Keith, I think the "native creatures can heal just fine" is the best answer (and I don't think it merits the CR bump ... the creature isn't more of a challenge just because it can rest and heal between encounters ... though DMs should consider increasing the EL for Mournland encounters because the lack of healing available to the PCs does make high-damage encounters more difficult).


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## Knight Otu

MavrickWeirdo said:
			
		

> Dragonmarks are Feats, does "Surpress Requirements" let you bypass Feat Requirements? (I believe the answer is no.)



 Indeed, it only bypasses class feature, race, ability score, or alignment. The infusion even requires an UMD check to be used properly.


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## Gumby

Everything I've seen about dragonmarks implies that they're heavy parts of whatever metaplot exists/will exist in Eberron, and hence are likely untouchable as far as faking them goes, by any means.


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## Galen44

It looks like the last post to this thread was over a month ago. Is Keith no longer answering question on the EN World boards?

Thanks,
Galen


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## Knight Otu

As far as I understand, Keith was pretty swamped with work for some time, and away some other times. Thus he concentrated on the WotC forums. Maybe he'll be here again after GenCon?


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## Hellcow

Knight Otu said:
			
		

> As far as I understand, Keith was pretty swamped with work for some time, and away some other times. Thus he concentrated on the WotC forums.



Unfortunately, this is the case. The amount of time I've been spending on message boards has been impacting my ability to get work done -- plus, I often have to deal with the same questions on multiple boards. So at the moment, I'm focusing on the WotC Eberron board. 

I'm a big fan of ENworld, and I will certainly try to keep my eye on the threads here, but don't expect any especially quick answers. 

Thanks!


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