Ask a Loremaster

[MysticTheurge]

It's come to my attention that there are many people playing DDO who know almost nothing about Eberron. Moreover, many of those people don't want to shell out forty bucks for a new book that they may never use. While I can't honestly blame you for that, Eberron is a fantastic setting and so to cut yourself off from all of the amazing information that surrounds this game we play is an unfortunate occurance.

Therefore, I've decided, along with some other knowledgeable fellow players, to create a place where people who want to know more about Eberron can come to ask questions about the setting. I'm going to kick us off with a few frequently asked questions, but from there on, you can ask anything you want about the campaign setting, and I'll do my best to answer it.

To keep things pretty streamlined, and to avoid having a whole bunch of answers, or long discussions about topics, I'm going to ask that for now we leave the answering of questions to me and a few other designated people. Obviously, I have no moderating powers, so I'm going to have to rely on your own good natures to keep the thread nice and clean, so that it makes a good resource for people who genuinely want more information about Eberron. If anyone else feels like they're well versed in the setting background and wants to pitch in with answering questions, just throw me a PM and we'll talk about it. Also to this effect, if you feel the need to get into a really serious discussion about a topic that might involve a lot of back and forth, I'm going ask that you take it to another thread.

On to the questions!

Q. Who put robots in my D&D?!

A. Warforged aren't robots. They're living constructs. This means they are, for many purposes, intelligent golems. Constructed by House Cannith to serve as troops in the Last War, the true origins of the Warforged race is uncertain. Much of the populace believes them to be a creation of the House of Making, but many within the House know better. Aaren d'Cannith returned from Xen'drik with the schema that allowed House Cannith to build the Creation Forges that actually birthed the warforged.

It wasn't until the Treaty of Thronehold that Warforged were given the status of "free and living beings." For much of the Last War they were considered property, and there are many who believe that they should still be considered property. Others continue to associate the race with the ravages of the last decades of the War and fight their inclusion in society.


Q. Woah, slow down. House Cannith?

A.House Cannith is one of the twelve Dragonmarked Houses of Khorvaire. Each of the twelve Houses is made up of what amounts to an extended family, or bloodline. Select members of each house develop Dragonmarks, mystical symbols that give them limited magical powers. Each House has developed a niche industry centered around the effects of their Mark. House Cannith, who's Dragonmarked Scions bear the Mark of Making, run the Tinkers' and Fabricators' Guilds. Given that each mark is tied to a bloodline, most Dragonmarked Houses are made up of a single race. The exception to the rule is House Tharashk, whose members come from both the Human and Half-Orc races, though the reason for this is uncertain. The remaining Houses are as follows:



Mark House Race Influence
Detection Medani Half-elf Warning Guild
Finding Tharashk Human Finders Guild
Half-orc
Handling Vadalis Human Handlers Guild
Healing Jorasco Halfling Healers Guild
Hospitality Ghallanda Halfling Hostelers Guild
Making Cannith Human Tinkers Guild
Fabricators Guild
Passage Orien Human Couriers Guild
Transportation Guild
Scribing Sivis Gnome Notaries Guild
Speakers Guild
Sentinel Deneith Human Blademarks Guild
Defenders Guild
Shadow Phiarlan Elf Entertainer and Artisans Guild
Thuranni Elf Shadow Network
Storm Lyrandar Half-Elf Windwrights Guild
Raincallers Guild
Warding Kundarak Dwarf Banking Guild
Warding Guild

Dragonmarked Houses are made up of three teirs of members. Marked and Unmarked members of the familial bloodline and unrelated members of the house guilds or affiliates. Marked members hold a place of esteem within the House, but all members of the bloodline follow certain protocols. Members of the House bloodline append the house name to their own, and those with a mark preceed it with the d' prefix. So Elaydren Vown d'Cannith is a member of House Cannith who bears a Dragonmark, while Kemellik Kundarak is an unmarked member of the Kundarak bloodline.

Q. And what about this Last War?

A. Over a century ago, King Jarot ruled the Kingdom of Galifar on the continent of Khorvaire. His five children, Mishann, Thalin, Kaius, Wrogar and Wroann, rule what are known as the five nations, Cyre, Thrane, Karnnath, Aundair and Breland, nation-states that made up the core of the Kingdom of Galifar. Mishann being the eldest stood to inherit the Galifar Throne, but three of her brothers ans sisters refused to acknowledge her claim, and so a war for the crown broke out.

This war lasted for 102 years, until a catastrophic event of unknown origin literally destroyed the entire nation of Cyre. This event, and the day it occured, became known as the Mourning and the devastated ruins of Cyre have become the Mournland. The suddenness of this presumed attack, and the threat that it might happen again, drove the present day rulers of the five nations, along with representatives from many nations that had fought or bought their independence over the course of the century-long war, to meet at the ancient seat of Galifar, the island of Thronehold to sign a Treaty ending the war.

The Treaty of Thronehold recognized new nations, including the Talenta Plains, home to nomadic halfling tribes, Zilargo, a nation of gnomes, Q'barra, a swampy rainforest inhabited mainly by lizardfolk and some brave fronteir dwellers, the Lhazaar Principalities, a loose confederation of island nations ruled by pirate princes, the Mror Holds, home to the mountain clans of the dwarves, the Eldeen Reaches, forest wilds inhabited by some hardy farmers and a wide variety of druid sects, Darguun, the remnants of the ancient Goblinoid Empire of Dhakaan, and Valenar, a desert nation of warrior elves.

Q. Ok, I'm starting to like the sound of this. Tell me more about...

A. I'd be happy to, just tell me what you want to know about. Your questions can be as specific or as general as you want. From "Why are there two houses that bear the Mark of Shadow?" to "Tell me about who some of the bad guys are." If you want to know more about Eberron, fire away.

Q. So what is this Khorvaire you keep speaking of? I thought we were on a continent named Xen'drik.

A. (Mystic Theurge) Khorvaire is the continent where the majority of Eberron D&D games take place. It's one of Four (and a half) continents that make up the world of Eberron. It's the most similar to what most people might expect from a campaign setting. Nations, kings and queens, wizarding colleges, cults and evil masterminds of various shapes and sizes attempting to upset the status quo.

Aerenal is its closest neighbor and is home to a nation of Elves who migrated there following the fall of the ancient Giant Empire. The Elves of Aerenal preserve their revered ancestors as members of the Undying Court, a sort of undead powered by positive, rather than negative, energy. The elves worship their anscestors, and the priests of the island continent draw their spells from the combined power of the Court.

Xen'drik, the continent that DDO is set on, is the home of the aforementioned Giant Empire. Centuries ago, the Giants of Xen'drik were brilliant mages who ruled over the entire continent. They civilized the Elves, enslaving them to do many of the things the large giants couldn't. Their civilization thrived, until the residents of the Plane of Dreams, the Quori, attempted to invade Eberron. A long, drawn out war ended when the Giants accomplished some arcane feat that managed to throw Dal Quor permanently out of orbit around Eberron and turn back the invasion. Unfortunately, the same feat began the downfall of the empire, shattering the continent and eventually leading to the ruined lands we currently adventure in.

Sarlona was the cradle of Human civilization. The first humans migrated from Sarlona to Khorvaire led by Lhazaar. Centuries later, events on Dal Quor (yes, the same Dal Quor) led to a number of Quori seeking to escape the plane, through a series of strange events, these Quori managed to find their way to Eberron and bound themselves to a number of human monks living in Riedra. Always seeking to destroy the Kalashtar and restore their people, the Quori followed them, eventually managing to take total control of Riedra and take over the rest of the continent, except for Riedra which became the mountain refuge of the Kalashtar.

The last continent, Argonessen, is home to a nation of Dragons who devote themselves to interpreting the Draconic Prophecy, a series of foretellings that are written all across Eberron (and some speculate even in the Dragonmarks of the "new" races). The island of Seren lies off the northwest coast and is home to tribes of barbarians who worship the dragons. Some members of these dragons travel to the other continents, forming a group called The Chamber, to study the prophecy. Most of the dragons of Eberron call Argonessen their home, and act as one might expect from incredibly intelligent creatures. There are, however, a few "rogue" dragons who fulfill the role one might expect from their D&D dragons (a la Velah).


Q. Warforged were created by House Cannith, but after the "technology" was brought by them, did that "technology" spread? I mean, did the other houses produce their own warforged later, or it was exclusive of the Cannith House?

A. (Mystic Theurge) No, the warforged "technology" has not spread. In fact, since the Treaty of Thronehold declared warforged to be independent and living beings, the creation of warforged has been prohibited. Some people (such as Haywire) continue to attempt to create them, but all Creation Forges were in the custody of House Cannith and have all supposedly been shut down. There's some suggestion that Baron Merrix d'Cannith continues to operate a Creation Forge in secret.

The Warforged were one of House Cannith's main products for sale during the Last War, and like any mercantile enterprise protects the things that are making it money, they jealously guarded the secrets of Warforged Creation from everyone else.

Q. You said that the warforged are "intelligent golems", but that means that they all are sentient? I mean "they think therefore they are"? Or there are some that are simply intelligent on the AI method, compute and solve?

A. (Mystic Theurge) Every modern day warforged is fully sentient. They have personalities and thoughts just like everyone else, though their true nature is a matter of much debate. One of the big controversies at the Treaty of Thronehold was whether Warforged would be given the status of beings of if they would continue to be property. Agents from House Cannith were joined by Advocates from Thrane (which is currently a Theocracy run by the Church of the Silver Flame) argued against Breland in hopes of keeping them as they were. House Cannith obviously wished to retain the rights to produce and sell warforged, but Thrane argued for a different reason. Some within the Church of the Silver Flame believe that Warforged don't have souls and therefore shouldn't be considered living creatures.

Warforged psychology is an interesting topic and one that could go on for a very long time. The main gist of it is that these are beings who know they were created for war, have known nothing but war for their entire lives and now find themselves in a world where war no longer has a place. In many ways, particularly those outside of the role they played in the Last War, warforged are almost childlike. In others, such as combat, discipline and the like, they are like highly trained soldiers.

There are other warforged-adjacent creatures which have very limited intelligence. The Warforged Titan is an example of this. Titans were produced by House Cannith during the last war as well, as living seige engines. Cannith created the Titans before they refined the creation of the warforged, so you could consider the Titan a sort of prototype warforged. The Titan has very limited intelligence and you or I might consider it "AI." It has the ability to follow simple commands and make basic decisions, but it doesn't have the full thinking power of the Warforged.

There are also suggestions of ancient warforged that date back to the Giant Empires, though whether they were created by the Giants or the Quori remains unclear. (Most likely the Warforged Titan we fight in DDO would fall into this category.) As creatures that don't sleep, and therefore don't dream, they would be near-perfect weapons against the Quori, which makes a good argument for them to have been created by the Giants. However, some recent materials have suggested that the quori might have created them, and there's some logic to this as well. The warforged might have been early versions of the Empty Vessels (humans who allow Quori spirits to possess them, the result of which are called the Inspired and rule over Riedra). The early warforged might've been little more than bodies for the Quori to use while in the material plane.

Q. Warforged are made primarily of wood right? That wood is different from ordinary wood? (I mean it's Darkwood? Soarwood?) If not, would the warforged be extra-vulnerable to fire? Or worst, would they decompose, and eventually die of age?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The wood that makes up the majority of a warforged's body is Livewood. Livewood, much as its name would suggest, is a type of wood that doesn't die when cut off from its tree, but continues to function and grow like a normal plant. As such, warforged are no more vulnerable to fire than humans; a living tree has a lot of moisture in it.

The warforged are a very young race on the whole, the old warforged being less than 30 years old. It remains unclear as yet whether they'll die of "old age," though much suggests that they won't (such as the presence of warforged from the ancient Giant Empires). However once a warforged does die, the magical energies and the life force that animated its form leave and the body does decompose at approximately the same rate as a human.

Q. Could you also be pressed into answering differences between Eberron and the old PnP ways - I haven't played since ADnD 2nd edition, and several things are different - some are logical, others, not so much.

A. (Mystic Theurge) I'd rather not go into the rules/game mechanics changes between 2.0 and 3.5, but stick to using this thread to cover Eberron related information. If you want more information on the 3.5 rules however, the core rules set is offered free online from Wizards of the Coast in PDF format, but I prefer to use one of the many html versions on the web (http://www.d20srd.org).

Q. If WF are mostly wood, why do rust monsters find them so tasty?

A. (Mystic Theurge) While much of a warforged's body is made up of wood, those portions are mostly internal. Every warforged is covered in plating of some sort (base warforged get composite plating, mithral and adamantine warforged get plating of the appropriate type). And while warforged are largely wood interally, they do have some metal parts. As such warforged take HP damage from a rust monster, just as human-types take HP damage from acid attacks (which is probably the closest analogy to the breaking down of a substance caused by the rusting effect).

Q. Well, since you suggested it, why are there two houses with the same mark?

A. (Mystic Theurge) House Phiarlan, the original House of the Shadow, was founded over three thousand years ago among the elves of Aerenal. They quickly recognized the potential in their Mark and went about creating one of the first economic dynasties the Dragonmarked Houses would become. However, much more recently, during the Last War, some unspecified secret work within the House led to a schism. Portions of the family favored one side or the other and eventually the two rival factions split into two rival houses. House Thuranni now competes directly with House Phiarlan in the areas of their expertise.

Q. Also, a bit more detail on what the marks actually do for the bearers would be nice.

A. (Mystic Theurge) There are four different "levels" of Dragonmarks: Least, Lesser, Greater and Siberys. In mechanics terms, a mark gives you a small bonus to a certain skill (usually related to the type of job your house performs) and the ability to use a spell-like ability a given number of times per day, with each higher level of mark giving a more powerful ability. With the exception of Siberys Marks, which I'll discuss in a second, the Marks are a progression. A fraction of the members of the house will develop a Least Mark, then a fraction of those with Least Marks will develop Lesser Marks, then a fraction of those with Lesser Marks will develop Greater Marks. As a scion progresses up this path, developing more powerful marks, she retains the abilities granted by her lesser marks.

Siberys Marks are extremely rare, and always develop on persons who have displayed no other mark. They provide extremely powerful abilities, usually emulating a ninth-level spell.

Most Dragonmarked scions use their abilities in the service of their House, offering them up to those who can pay the price. For example, the gnomes of House Sivis use thier mark to offer services like translation or mediation, as well as providing long-range communication. A Least Mark of Scribing gives might allow a scion to use the Comprehend Languages spell, or send a message using the Whispering Wind spell, while a Greater Mark allows the scion to perform a Sending.

House Orien uses its marks to provide courier service as well as to transport people over great distances instantaneously, if you can afford it. The Least Mark of Passage might allow you to use Expeditious Retreat, to speed up your travel, or the Mount spell-like ability to provide yourself with an ever-present steed. Meanwhile the Greater Mark of Passage allows its bearer to Teleport or use Overland Flight.

A note about these effects. Any given person can only ever perform a single one of these tasks. That is, a gnome with the mark of scribing can't choose to use Comprehend Languages one day and Whispering Wind the next. The spell-like ability is determined when your mark develops and never changes from then on.

Additionally, some of the more impressive benefits of having a Dragonmark don't actually come from the Mark itself but with the effects it has on other items, especially those crafted with Siberys Dragonshards, which tend to enhance the powers of Dragonmarks. For instance, a wheel of wind and water allows a Lyrandar captain with the Wind's Favor variety of the Mark of Storm to pilot both the Airships that the House owns and its Wind Galleons (elementally powered sailing ships), while the Speaking Stones that make up House Sivis communication network spread across Khorvaire are only usable by gnomes with the Whispering Wind type of Mark of Scribing.

Q: Are there any lost dragonmarks that are known about?

A: (Thanatos) There's just the Mark of Death, which was possessed by the elven bloodline of Vol. Aberrant Dragonmarks are not stable and tend to change their powers and pattern from one generation to the next.

The Lost Mark
The elves of Aerenal and the dragons of Argonnessen have had periodic wars for thousands of years. The elven family of Vol attempted to forge an alliance with a green dragon by producing a joint heir, who would then be the diplomat for peace between elves and dragons. That offspring was Erandis d'Vol, an elven half-dragon.

She was hidden away until maturity, but when she was introduced to other elves and dragons, both saw the mixing of the races as an abomination, and ironically they did agree to ally for one purpose; to destroy House Vol and the half-dragon. House Vol was eradicated, and Erandis was killed, but the matriarch of the family managed to use the Mark of Death to turn Erandis into a Lich (dracolich?). Her own Mark of Death does not work now that she is undead, but one of the goals she's been working on for the last 2600 years or so is to find a way to restore her own mark and rebuild House Vol.

Interesting notes:
Half-Dragons are possible in Eberron, but are destroyed without question by true dragons.

Half-Dragons seem to be an exception to the rule that a true dragonmark will only appear on members of a very specific race. For example, while a half-orc may develop the Mark of Finding, it's not going to inherit any of the other human dragonmarks because of it's orc blood. Apparently, dragon blood doesn't preclude the development of a true mark inherited from the nondragon side.

Various things in Eberron at one time numbered 13, but now number 12.
There were 13 moons, but one was destroyed.
There are 13 planes (besides Eberron itself) but one was knocked out of orbit to be permanently remote.
There were 13 true Dragonmarks, but the Mark of Death was cast down. (Destroyed)

Q: I would like to know more about elves and the Undying Court.

A. (Thanatos) The original elves were living in very primitive tribes when the Giant Empire began to capture and enslave them. They did benefit in some ways from the accelerated pace of their civilization and magical development, but ultimately they were still slaves, and the giants used them both for suicidally dangerous work and even sacrificed them to power magic rituals. One elf, Aeren, managed to pick up on the principles of the necromantic blood magic from observing his giant master. Over time, he secretly taught other elves, and they planned a revolt. They succeeded enough that they were able to flee to the subcontinent that is now known as Aerenal. Aeren actually sacrificed himself with his own blood magic, but was able to use that power to provide protection for his people, and to transform himself into the first Undying. Over time, a city was built on a manifest zone to Irian (positive energy), where more Undying were created. The Undying councilors as a collective make up the Undying Court, and are the spiritual center of the Aerenal elves. It is the highest dream of most to become Undying, even if it's just as an undying soldier to protect the City of the Dead. Some even use alchemical treatments to give themselves deathlike looks in life, including pale grey skin or skull-like tattoos over their faces.

The Valenar elves are an offshoot that believe it isn't those who effected the escape that should be venerated, but the warriors who stayed behind and died to allow the others to live. Each Valenar elf has a ancestor that she tries to emulate and honor in valorous combat. They live the life of horse nomads in the deserts of southeast Khorvaire, and in fact their horses are considered to be spiritually connected to them as well - they've even declared eternal war on House Vadalis for an attempt to steal a few of the fine Valenar steeds to use as breeding stock. Valenar prefer shortbows to long, as they may be fired from horseback, and prefer scimitars and other curved blades over longswords or rapiers.

Khorvaire elves and "Urban" elves are those that have lived in the human nations so long that they identify more with their nation than they do with their racial history, and are integrated with the cultures of those nations. House Phiarlan left Aerenal after the destruction of House Vol, because they felt it was in their best interests to distance themselves from the culture that had just turned on the other dragonmarked elves. House Thuranni is a recent offshoot of Phiarlan, so they are Khorvaire Elves as well.

The Drow may be considered elves or a seperate race. It is not known for certain if they occured naturally; some evidence suggests that they were created as a result of giants trying to perfect the elves to serve as better troops. There are different drow cultures, which MysticTheurge has covered already. They tend to view other elves as weak for fleeing their homeland instead of attempting to stand and fight the giants until one or both were destroyed.

Q. What are mind flayers doing in Eberron and how do they relate to the Quori?

A. (Mystic Theurge) They don't actually. The mind flayers, along with most other creatures of the Abberation type were created by the Daelkyr, extra-planar lords of madness who inhabit Xoriat.

At some point in the relatively-recent past (at least compared with the Giant Empires), the Daelkyr attempted to invade Eberron as well. The Daelkyr possess immense power to reshape the world around them, and many delighted their insanities by experimenting on the local populace. Chokers, for instance, were halflings before the daelkyr got their hands on them.

The Mind Flayers were some of their more powerful lieutenants during the war.

Eventually, the invasion was turned back by the Dhakaani Empire, a powerful nation of goblinoids, in coalition with the Gatekeepers, a sect of then-orcish druids who had been taught the magic needed to seal the planar gateways by the black dragon, Vvaraak. However, many of the Daelkyr, and their creations remained trapped in Khyber, sealed away through a series of spells and the power of Khyber Dragonshards, which are associated with the powers of binding.

Psionic power in Eberron generally comes from powerful emotions or untapped subconcious potential. The main places we see this is in those related to Madness and Dreams, namely the Daelkyr and their creations, and the Kalashtar and the Quori.

Q. Tell me about the Gods.

A. (Mystic Theurge) People have covered them pretty well so far, but there's something rather important to note, that no one's really brought up yet.

Gods in Eberron are much less involved than those in other settings. In fact, their actual existance is uncertain. Unlike in, say, the Forgotten Realms, where Gods pop in every now and then to chat with their followers, no one in Eberron has actually seen, or even talked to the Gods.

Spells that would normally contact your God instead put you in touch with high-level outsiders who, in theory, serve your god. A cleric of Boldrei who casts Commune doesn't actually speak to Boldrei, but rather a powerful Archon who can answer her questions.

Q. Tell me about the Religions and Guilds.

A. (Mystic Theurge) The main religions in Eberron are the worship of the Sovereign Host and the Dark Six, which often go hand in hand, the Church of the Silver Flame, the Blood of Vol, the Priests of Passage who worship the Undying Court, and the philosophy/religion followed by the Kalashtar called the Path of Light. There are also a variety of cults who worship the darkness under the world collectively called the Cults of the Dragon Below.

There are, of course, a wide variety of variations in how people worship these things, and even some other lesser known religions such as the drow worship of Vulkoor, or warforged who revere the Becoming God.

Adherents of the Sovereign Host like to enfold other religions into their own, believing that other religions are simply a different view of the same Gods. For instance, many among the churches of the Sovereign Host believe that the Silver Flame is simply a manifestation of Dol Arrah.

As for Guilds, aside from the Dragonmarked Houses, there aren't really many. The Houses have a sort of monopoly on much of the economy. There may be other, unaffiliated craftsmen, but the Houses are the only real organized economic force.

Q. Tell me about Famous People.

A. (Mystic Theurge) That's a pretty open-ended question but I'll try to name a few.

King Boranel ir'Wynarn rules Breland and was a major force for peace and advocate of the warforged at the Treaty of Thronehold.

Queen Aurala ir'Wynarn rules Aundair and though she advocates peace as well, she still longs to unite the former nation of Galifar under her rule.

King Kaius ir'Wynarn III is the current ruler of Karnnath, he regrets having forged an alliance with the Blood of Vol and seeks to regain control of his nation.

Oargev ir'Wynarn is the last remining member of the royal house of Cyre, and leads his former nation in exile from New Cyre, in Breland.

Queen Diani ir'Wynarn rules Thrane in name only, the nations is truly ruled by the Church of the Silver Flame

Jaela is the twelve-year-old Keeper of the Flame, leader of the Church of the Silver Flame. She seeks to reform the church to be more modern and accepting, but there are factions within the church, namely led by the Cardinal Krozen who wish to keep to more traditional ways.

House Cannith is currently split, since the main leaders of the House were in Cyre on the day of Mourning. Barron Merrix d'Cannith leads Cannith South based out of Sharn, while Baron Jorlana d'Cannith leads Cannith West from Fairhaven in Aundair and Baron Zorlan d'Cannith leads Cannith East from from an enclave in Korth.

House Tharashk is lead by a triumvirate of leaders, representing the old clans, Daric d'Velderan, Khundar'aasta and Maagrim d'Tharashk.

The other Barons are Baron Kwanti d'Orien, Baron Trelib d'Medani, Baron Morrikan d'Kundarak, Baron Elar d'Thuranni, Baron Yoren d'Ghallanda, Baron Breven d'Deneith, Baron Ulara d'Jorasco, Baron Esravash d'Lyrandar, Baron Elvinor Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan, Baron Lysse Lyrriman d'Sivis, and Baron Dalin d'Vadalis.

The leader of the Wardens of the Wood, a sect of druid that essentially leads the disparate farmers and fronteirsman of the Eldeen Reaches, is the Great Oak Oalian. And yes, he really is an Awakened oak tree.

The Circle of Night is made up of the up the most powerful of the Inspired and is led by the Devourer of Dreams who leads the agents of the Dreaming Dark.

The ancient lich Erandis d'Vol is the last, well not living, but active member of the House of Vol, and now leads the the religion the Blood of Vol, from behind the scenes.

The Daughters of Sora Kell are three powerful Hags who rule of the monster-nation of Droaam. Sora Katra is a green hag who acts as the voice for the trio. Sora Maenya is a annis hag who leads the sisters troops in battle. Sora Teraza is a dusk hag prophet, who dispenses cryptic advice even when dealing with her sisters.

Mordain the Fleshweaver is an outcast elven wizard. Once a member of the Twelve he was cast out for the unorthodox experiments that gave him his name.

The Lord of Blades is a mysterious warforged who believes in warforged supremacy and seeks to create a nation of living constructs in the remnants of Cyre.

The Lhesh Haruuc hopes to return the tribes of Darguun to the former glory of the Dhakaani Empire.

The Sibling Kings of Aerenal, Belaereth and Tezaera, hold temporal power over the island continent, while the Undying Court shapes the destiny of the elves, by selecting, advising and empowering the rulers.

Lathon Halpum leads one of the largest Halfling tribes in the Talenta Plains and so many of the other Laths defer to him, that he was selected to represent the Plains at the Treaty of Thronehold.

King Sebastes ir'Kesslan rules Q'barra in a fuedal system like old Galifar. The grandson of the nation's founder, Sebastes rules from Newthrone, though in many places the dispensation of justice falls to the local lord or magistrate.

One thing to note about Eberron is the setting is designed to allow the PCs to be the real heroes of the story, which means there aren't a lot of very powerful hero-types. Most of the more powerful good guys are very limited in some way, from Oalian who is a high powered druid but utterly immobile, to Jaela who is a low-level cleric except within the confines of Flamekeep where she's empowered by the Silver Flame. This leaves the PCs free to actually fulfill the role of Heroes, rather than being sent to perform (apparently menial) tasks by other more powerful (epic level) good guys.

Q. Anyways, a moon got destroyed? How'd that happen?

Q. (Mystic Theurge) There are currently twelve moons that orbit Eberron, with one additional moon being lost or destroyed.

Exactly how the thirteenth moon was destroyed is unclear, but it likely occured in one of the great cataclysms that ended an age (I think the Age of Giants, but I'll have to check).

Keith Baker, the setting's creator, wrote a free, online article about the moons (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20050307a), that is definitely worth a read.

One interesting thing to note, is that on Eberron, a Lycanthrope is affected by the full state of all twelve moons. Meaning there are months where she's never unaffected and others where she's only unaffected for 3-4 days. This is a large part of the reason for the Lycanthropic Puge, an inquisition led by the Church of the Silver Flame in an effort to wipe the disease of Lycanthropy off the face of Khorvaire.

Certain fanatics in the time of the purge also sought to wipe out the Shifter race, who, while seemingly descended from Lycanthropes, are incapable of passing the disease though wounds or bites and therefore pose no real threat. This resulted in some very real discord between many Shifters and the Church of the Silver Flame.

Q. Is it true that the war ended around two years or so ago?

A. (Mystic Theurge)The suggested starting date for an Eberron campaign is 998 YK. The Treaty of Thronehold was signed in 996 YK. So yes, generally the war eneded "two years ago."

That said, any DM can set their campaign in any year they'd like, and it's unclear from what I've seen in DDO exactly when our "campaign" is set. It remains likely however that we're using the suggested starting date and so the war would have ended two years ago.

Q. I'd like to know more about "shifters."

A. (Mystic Theurge) Shifters are one of the new races introduced with the Eberron Campaign Setting. Sometimes called the "Weretouched," they are the result of Lycanthrope/Human interbreeding far back in the line. Current Shifters "breed true," that is Shifters come from other shifters, not from a Lycanthrope/Human pairing. (A curious aside is that many of the half-elves in Khorvaire are this way as well, particularly the bloodlines of the half-elf Dragonmarked Houses.)

Shifters are unable to completely alter their form, the way their lycanthrope ancestors could, but each one is able to "shift." While shifted, a Shifter takes on a more animalistic appearance and is more powerful than his unshifted form. There are six main types of shifters distinguished by their "Shifter Trait." These are Beasthide, Longtooth, Cliffwalk, Razorclaw, Longstride and Wildhunt shifters. (Further Eberron supplements added additional shifter traits such as Dreamsight, Gorebrute, Swiftwing and Truedive.)

Each different trait dictates how the shifter's abilities improve while shifted, as generally described by their shifter trait. Longtooth and Razorclaw shifters gain bite and claw attacks respectively. Longstride shifters move faster. Beasthide shifters gain a thicker skin.

Even when they aren't shifted, Shifters bear some animalistic qualities. Their bodies often have a lithe nature to them, and the bearing of a large predator. They often move like animals, crouched and springing ahead or around their companions as they travel. Their faces often have animalistic undertones, large, piercing eyes and wide, flat noses. They are also, on average, hairier than humans. They don't have fur, but their body hair is thicker than a humans and grows longer.

As befits their animalistic nature, many shifters avoid highly civilized areas, preferring to dwell in the wild areas of nations such as the Eldeen Reaches. Many also continue to blame the Church of the Silver Flame for the atrocities heaped upon the shifter race during the Lycanthropic Purge by certain fanatics.

Q. What are the novels to read?

A. (Mystic Theurge) Again I'd like to focus on actual setting/background information here. But a search for Eberron Novels on Amazon reveals this (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-9424423-6081505?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dblended&keywords=Eberron+Novels&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go).

Q. Now I'd like to know more about the Giant Empires.

A. (Mystic Theurge) There isn't a whole lot that's known about the Giant Empires except what scholars have been able to glean from the ruins left behind and the legends of the elves.

Scholars estimate the Giant Empire first arose about eighty thousand years ago, becoming one of the first true civilizations in Eberron. They arose into a world that seemed ready for the rise of civilization. According to legend, the Age of Fiends had recently ended as the fiends, rakshasas and their ilk had been destroyed, driven back or bound in Khyber by the Couatls with assistance from the Dragons, in an ages long war.

Many scholars suspect that the Giant Empire arose much as human civilization has, with various tribes being consolidated under the command of a number of warlods, then developing into nations and finally joining together to form the larger empire. Some scholars believe that the individual giant races (Hill Giants, Storm Giants, Fire Giants, et al.) existed at this time and made up the various tribes, but more the commonly accepted theory is that giants during this time were a sort of primordial giant race, and it wasn't until after the fall of the empire that this race split into the races of giants we know today.

Additionally, some scholars question whether the Giant Empire was ever actually a single empire or if, even at the peak of their civilization, the giants dwelt in a number of seperate nations or empires. Proponents of the theory that the various giant races existed during this age often favor the latter theory as well, believing that each race of giant likely had its own nation and that a number of these empires coexisted during the Age of Giants.

Two things are known for certain about the Giant Empire, they enslaved the elves and they were powerful mages. Much of the rest is speculation based on oral history, legend and what can be determined from the ruins the giants left behind.

Q. If the Sovereign Host (also referred to as The Nine) is a pantheon of nine gods and goddesses, why does the holy symbol have eight points and not nine?

A. (Mystic Theurge)The symbol is sometimes referred to as the Celestial Crown or the Octogram and its meaning is often the subject of scholarly debate.

Kol Korran, the only second generation deity not found in the Dark Six, may not be represented by the Octogram. That is, the eight points may represent the eight gods before his "birth."

Another theory suggests that the Octogram actually refers to the entire pantheon made up of both the Hose and the Dark Six. Since the Octogram is made up of two colors and has eight points, it could, in fact, refer to sixteen deities. According to this theory, the Octogram refers to the original pantheon of "the Nine, the Six and the One."

Which of course begs question, who is the One, and again there are many theories. Some scholars believe the One is one of the Progenitor Dragons, mostly likely Eberron, but perhaps Siberys as well. Others say the One refers to the pantheon as a whole, and proponents of this theory translate references to the Nine, the Six and the One as "the Nine and the Six in One."

Some believe that the One refers to a now-forgotten deity, though many scholars believe this to be a ridiculous claim. Those opposed to this their point out that the Dark Six were actively banished from the Host, but were not destroyed or forgotten. To them this makes the idea of a deity being lost from the Host nigh impossible. However, there is some evidence that the goblinoids of Dhakaan worshiped a deity whose name has since been erased from history, so perhaps these scholars are correct.

Q. Eberron is a world full of magic, therefore is implied that magic affects the normal life of the Eberron denizen (the same way technology affects us in the planet Earth). So its implied as well that there are laws or rules to control its use. So the questions are, there is a common law that regulates all magic use, or an institution that enforces it? And if yes, is magic use prohibited somehow, in a way that you need authorization to practice it?

A. (Mystic Theurge) Your question is a good one, and the answer varies from area to area.

There is no overall governing body that regulates magic all across Khorvaire, however most of the more civilized nations do have "police forces" that attempt to protect their citizens from magical dangers.

During the height of the Galifar empire the King of Galifar was advised and assisted by the Arcane Congress. It is likely that during that time the Arcane Congress also regulated the use of magic throughout much of the nation, especially the more civilized areas. And during that time they wrote the portions of the Code of Galifar justice that governed the use of magic in civilized society. Since the fall of Galifar, the remnants of the Arcane Congress survive in Aundair and answer to Queen Aurala.

Sharn has an arm of the City Watch known as the Blackened Book who are responsible for persuing magical criminals as well as dealing with any side effects of magical crimes in the city.

Sharn's laws on the use of magic are the best example we currently have of how these kinds of laws are worded. Based on the Galifar Code of Justice, Sharn's Misuse of Magic laws prohibit the use of any spell to inflict physical harm on another being (including any spell that permanently incapacitates a target such as blindness or flesh to stone), spells that incapacitate a target (such as sleep), spells that tamper with the thoughts of another (such as charm person or confusion), as well as a few other more obscure laws that protect the Dragonmarked Houses' monopolies or limit certain spells to only being used in private. The Blackened Book looks particularly harshly on careless use of Fire magic within city limits.

Additionally, the Dragonmarked Houses tend to police their own. If a member of the House is abusing magic (or really doing anything that will reflect poorly on the House), the House is quick to put a stop it. The Twelve is the arcane arm of the Houses and therefore would likely be responsible for dealing with members who misuse magic.

As for being accredited or licensed to practice magic, this isn't required in any way. There are several schools of magic throughout Khorvaire and many new mages will learn their first skills there. However, there are a number of renegade mages, such as Mordain the Fleshweaver, or simply hermit mages who might take on apprentices.

Q: Wandering around the world we see quite a few of 'critters' that normally upon sight we slaughter first then ask questions. Is there a viable reason for the co-existence of kobolds, minotaurs, vampires, etc? Especially the ones that are freely exposed within the city limits of Stormreach?

A: (Thanatos) Here's one of my favorite quotes from Races of Eberron, as spoken by the leader of the goblinoid kingdom of Darguun:
"We goblinoids are just like you humans, except our empire lasted eleven thousand years." -- Lhesh Haruuc

Goblinoids in particular usually mix freely with the other "player race" humanoids. They have a history of military might, and often work as mercenaries.

Orcs are also not the near-mindless brutes they're portrayed as in some other settings. In fact, they were some of the first druids, and in ages past they saved the world from a planar invasion from Xoriat. To this day, they guard and reinforce the wards to keep the Daelkyr trapped in the depths of Khyber and seal the connections to the plane of madness.

While it's not generally liked by it's neighbors, there's even a "nation" of mixed monster types; particularly ogres, trolls, and gnolls. This nation of Droaam is ruled by a trio of hags called the Daughters of Sora Kell.

The Blood of Vol is a popular religion in the nation of Karrnath, and some temples see undead as the embodiment of victory over death. Note that the common folk don't know that the main branch of the religion is still run by the lich, Lady Erandis d'Vol herself. As far as they are concerned, the religion is more of a philosophy that death is the ultimate evil, because a soul will go to Dolurrh and fade away into nothingness over time, and Undeath is a path to defeating that evil.

My own cleric Lillin is a priestess of the Blood, but she's from a minor sect (of my own creation, not official) that knows the truth about Erandis and avoids the lich's influence. She is trying to find a way to incorporate a balance of positive and negative necromancy - Undead and Deathless - and since Xen'drik is the origin of the giant blood magic which the elves took and developed into both the Vol and Undying religions, she's here to find out more. Is she a villain, simply because of her religion?

Stormreach has a "kobold problem" to be sure, but as you can see, individual kobolds who don't mind respecting the lives and property of other Stormreach inhabitants are allowed to live in relative peace. The Catacombs quests are an example of a situation in which you can't always trust the so-called "good" races and religions, and on the isle of Sorrowdusk, you help a mostly-agreeable tribe of ogres recover their home and drive out the Cult of the Six.

Basically, unless it's a creature that essentially has no mind (lesser undead, oozes, vermin, etc.), you can't really assume you know what it's behavior will be, because in Eberron alignments are not dictated by race, and alignment itself doesn't necessarliy dictate that something is a threat.

Even if you're a paladin or cleric that can use detect evil, the law in most places isn't going to put much stock in your claims about some cheating merchant's "aura" or excuse you for putting your sword in his gut. After all, no one can prove the existence of most gods, and divine magic may just be a manifestation of personal faith, not so different from psionics or sorcery.

It wouldn't be too far off the mark to say that Eberron has a lot of social parallels with Earth. The more civilized nations have come around to the idea that racism is a harmful thing, and that spirituality is essentially unprovable and thus left as a personal matter. Evil is most often defined relative to it's context, and human flaws can screw up even the most noble of philosophies.

Anyway, if you think Stormreach is cosmopolitan, you should see Sharn (I hope we do in DDO someday), and in fact your character probably has, since most expeditions to Xen'drik leave from there. Try to drop some of the predjudices that you're used to roleplaying in worlds like Forgotten Realms, because unless your character is from somewhere pretty remote, they've probably been exposed to and dealt peacefully with civilized "monsters" before.

Q. I see you mention the Quori often in the history of Eberron, what are/were they?

A. (Thanatos) The quori are the natives of the plane of dreams, Dal Quor. They are highly psionic, and the majority of them are evil in the current age. In spiritual form, they are capable of inhabiting and possessing the minds of most humanoids. The more common dark ones have essentially taken over the continet of Sarlona, and the populace there view it as a high honor to host one of these spirits. They believe (because they have been lied to) that the quori are wise and benevolent, but by the time one of the specially bred "Empty Vessels" has a quori in his head and becomes one of the "Inspired", he's totally brainwashed and dominated. The quori are using their subjects to build massive psionically charged monuments at various locations around their empire of Riedra, which some suspect to be a type of planar magnet or anchor. If it is, they may be able to drag Dal Quor back into it's original orbit, and allow the plane to become coterminous with Eberron once more.

Opposing them are the Kalashtar, who were actually the first quori-inhabited humans. These quori believe that it is wrong to possess their host unwillingly, so instead they have formed a symbiotic system with them where their minds have merged and share their strengths. The Kalashtar appear to be "perfected" humans, and they can interbreed with humans and half-elves. because of the way the quori spirit is inherited, the offspring will only be Kalashtar if it is the same sex as the Kalashtar parent.

Naturally, the Kalashtar are some of the world's greatest psionicists. There aren't many of them in the first place, so they are nearly all combat-trained, not "commoners". Psion (psychic mage, essentially) is their most favored class, but they have Psychic Warriors, Soulknives, and Wilders among them in significant numbers as well as various prestige classes such as the Quori Mindhunter.

They use their powers to combat the Inspired where they can, but on the continet of Sarlona they are too outnumbered to do much beyond protecting their haven, Adar. In Khorvaire and elswhere in the world, they seek out and combat members of the Dreaming Dark, hidden Inspired spies and assassins that seem to be working their way into the power structures of many powerful governments and organizations. In a very "X-Files"-ish fashion, the Kalashtar may be all that stands between Khorvaire and a shadow coup engineered by aliens of a nightmare world.

Here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eb/20040413a)'s a good link on the subject.

Just imagine, an expansion with Kalashtar, Psions, and maybe the other three psionic classes, with some mysery adventure where you have to discover who are the Inspired agents of the Dreaming Dark and who are innocent humans... and each time you play it, different NPCs are part of the conspiracy.

(Mystic Theurge) One thing I'd like to add is that the interpretation of Quori as this terrible force for evil is certainly debatable. The Quori and the Kalashtar are in direct opposition because the Kalashtar seek the Turning of the Age and the Quori hope to avoid it at all costs.

There are shadows of the Jedi/Empire conflict. Much of what the "bad guys" did might be considered good. They bring a sense of order and stability, but at what cost.

I think it's difficult to argue that the Riedrans have been duped into doing something that's not good for them. They may have been manipulated into handing power over to a force that doesn't really care for them beyond their use as tools, but that's a trap that's all to easy to fall into.

Q. Who runs or is in control of Stormreach?

A. (Mystic Theurge) Stormreach is very much a fronteir town, so the question of who is in control of it, if anyone, is a little bit tricky. Stormreach was originally built as a pirate haven, and existed as such for quite some time. Finally, the Dragonmarked Houses petitioned the King of Galifar to put an end to the root the pirates out of Stormreach in 800 YK. Two years later, through a combination of diplomacy and naval action, the feat was accomplished. Sort of. The city was then given over to the control of five hereditary nobles known as the Storm Lords, the first of whom were promoted from the ranks of the pirate captains.

The present day Harbor Lord oversees the docks, trade and comings and goings, while the four Coin Lords oversee the maintenance of the city, as well as the city guard. However, to say that they control the city is something of a misstatement. To say anyone controls the city is really untrue. Stormreach close to a lawless city and the analogy to a fronteir town is most applicable. Consider the typical Wild West town. A sheriff is technically in command, but his actual control extends about ten feet away from his person.

The other factions who wield some significant influence in Stormreach are the Houses. Stormreach is very much a trade town, and as befits their station as Barons of Industry, the Dragonmarked Barons have some considerable power in the city. While all of the houses have agents in the city, and many have enclaves, House Lyrandar, House Kundarak, House Deneith and House Tharashk have deep roots in the city and the Storm Lords often go out of their way to accomodate those Houses.

Q. Did the elves and dragons go to war? Could you tell us a little of the battle?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The Elves and the Dragons have clashed on a number of occasions. The first would be at the end of the Giant/Quori war. As the Giant Empires spiraled out of control following the cataclysm the threw Dal Quor out of orbit, it became ever more clear that the Giant Warlocks would turn to the same magic again in an attempt to restore their empire to its former glory. However, the Dragons, ever watchful of the Prophecy, forsee the terrible result and attack the now-weakened Xen'drik. Though this war is not entirely one-sided, the Dragons clearly have the upper hand and in the end the Giant civilization is shattered. Those Elves who still remained slaves to the Giants at the time would certainly have battled the Dragons alongside their masters.

Shortly after the Undying Court was formed in Aerenal (relatively speaking), the elf-dragon wars began. The first of the battles between the new Elven nation and the Dragons occured almost 26 thousand years ago and would kick off a centuries-long period of alternating peace and war. Long periods of peaceful coexistance would be shattered by sudden devastating battles. Not much is known about these battles, though it is commonly believed that they have stopped only because the Undying Court has amassed enough power to truly challenge the Dragons, creating a precarious balance of power.


Q. Aeren actually sacrificed himself with his own blood magic, but was able to use that power to provide protection for his people, and to transform himself into the first Undying. Could you maybe please go into a lil more details? Is Aeren still around?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The legends of the birth of the Aereni nation are many. One goes as you describe. An Elven apprentice by the name of Aeren Kriaddal served a Giant Warlock intent on unlocking the secret power of blood sacrifice. Over time Aeren came to realize that the true potential lay in a willing sacrifice and so banded together with 100 other conspirators to create an opportunity that would allow the Elven people to escape their captivity.

He and his conspirators, on a predetermined day, approached their Giant masters, uttered the final words of a ritual that took their lives and brought destruction down on the heads of the Giants in a cataclysmic first strike. The Elves, led by agents of Aeren and the conspirators, fled to the shore where they found a journal describing what Aeren had done as well as the process to create the Undying. This legend claims that Aeren himself became the first of the deathless and predecessor to what would become the Undying Court.

There are flaws with this legend however. Much of what makes the magic of the Priests of Transition possible is the manifest zone to Irian on present day Aerenal. If this special connection to the plane of positive energy is needed to create an Undying, how then would Aeren have become one on Xen'drik? Proponents of this legend point out that there were other magical forces involved and this might have allowed for Aeren's conversion to an Undying despite the lack of the manifest zone.

Another legend claims the Elves and the Giants had been at war for sometime, as the Elven uprisings sprang up amidst the Giant/Quori war. In this legend, Aeren is an elven visionary who forsees the cataclysmic end to the Quori/Giant/Elven war and convinced a number of Elves to flee the collapsing empire and seek out a new home. As dragonfire shattered the continent of Xen'drik, these Elves landed on the island nation that would become Aerenal. Aeren, however, is said to have died of a wasting disease over the course of the long sea voyage, and never saw the new nation. The Elves who would become the Aereni buried their prophet in the soil of this new land and named it "Aeren's Rest."

The mere fact that legends are unsure of whether Aeren was male or female, seem to suggest that, even if Aeren was one of the first deathless, he or she is no longer among even the Undying.

Q. Are the Undying undead? If so what types?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The Undying are not undead, but rather deathless, a form of creature quite similar to undead. However, where undead creatures are animated and sustained by negative energy, the deathless have the same relationship with positive energy.

Q. The Twelve united and fought a war/crusade against what are called Aberrent Dragonmarks, some of which included intermarried members of the Twelve Houses. Sounds interesting. Can you tell us more?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The War of the Mark, as this crusade is commonly known, occured a relatively-recent sixteen hundred years ago. The body of arcane mages known as the Twelve, wasn't actually created until the end of the War of the Mark. Hadran d'Cannith suggested, during talks to end the war, that the houses work together to create a place where magic could be studied cooperatively, with a focus on dragonmarks and their application in the world.

As for the for the War of the Mark itself, it was mainly a crusade to eradicate Abberant marks, though whether the impetus was the Houses' desire to consolidate power to themselves or if they truly believed those with Aberrant marks to be evil, none know for certain. In the third year of the war, Halas ir'Tarkanan and a woman known only as the Lady of Plagues took control of the city of Sharn and transformed it into a haven for those seeking to escape the Houses' persecution. History shows that the powers of Aberrant marks were once far greater than those seen today, and few displayed more power than Tarkanan and his Lady. However, in the end, those with Aberrant marks and their allies simply didn't have the numbers to withstand the Houses' assault, and it soon became clear that Sharn would fall to the forces of the Pure Marks. Unwilling to accept defeat, Tarkanan and the Lady of Plagues called on the full force of their marks and unleashed forces that would devastate Sharn. Earthquakes rocked the city, causes portions of it to collapse and rivers of lava to flow up from far below the city. Those who died in these catastophes were the lucky ones, however, as vermin and disease ravaged the rest of the city.

In the end, the Dragonmarked Houses were victorious, but Sharn paid a terrible price. For centuries, people refused to resettle in the city, until Galifar the First sent House Cannith forces to rebuild the city. Even today, though, there are some who claim that the curse of the Lady of Plagues still fells the occasional resident of the deeper parts of the city.

Q. Are there any dragonmarked warforged? Or is this simply a "humanoid" trait?

A. (Mystic Theurge) Each Dragonmark is tied to a specific race (or in the case of the Mark of Finding two). Only members of that race, who are also members of the Dragonmarked family or bloodline have the possibility of manifesting a true Dragonmark.

You never see a Mark of Scribing on a Human, or a Mark of Handling on a Halfling.

Any member of a Dragonmarked race (Elf, Human, Halfling, Gnome, Dwarf, Half-elf, Half-orc) has a chance of manifesting an Abberant mark, though it is more likely among those who have Dragonmarked blood somewhere in their family tree.

This means there are no Warforged, Shifters, Changeling, Kalashtar, Gnolls, Bugbears, Goblins, etc. with any kind of Dragonmark.

An interesting note. Eberron avoids using "subraces" in many cases, the argument being that a dwarf is a dwarf is a dwarf. There are however, a few instances where subraces do come into play, most notably the Drow. Technically speaking a Drow is an Elf and therefore has the potential to manifest a mark, however given that the bloodline of the Mark of Shadow is not a Drow bloodline, it's unlikely you'll see Drow with a True Dragonmark. They do, however, have the possibility to develop an Abberant Mark.

Likewise, Half-elves who are Human/Elf offspring (which are rare, most half-elves are born to two other half-elves) cannot develop any of the Half-Elf dragonmarks, because they won't belong to the appropriate families. Nor will they be able to manifest one of the Human or Elven marks because they are of the incorrect race. (The novel, the Crimson Talisman gets this particular point wrong, giving its half-elven protagonist the Mark of Passage.) Like the Drow, a Half-Elf like this could certainly develop an Abberant Mark, though, especially if both of his parents belonged to Dragonmarked bloodlines.

Q. Can you tell me more about the Mournlands? I heard somewhere that healing magic don't work there.

A. (Mystic Theurge) That is correct. Neither natural nor magical healing works in Mournlands. This does not include, however, the magic used to repair Warforged, making it the perfect location for the Lord of Blades to begin his nation.

The Mournlands is the entirety of what was once Cyre. The Mourning affected Cyre and Cyre only. You could have be standing twenty yards outside the nations borders on the Day of Mourning and you would have been totally unaffected.

While this certainly points to magical causes, the exact cause of the Mourning will likely never been known. But whatever it was it utterly destroyed the former Jewel in the Galifar Crown.

Now the Mournland is bounded by a dead gray mist that follows its borders and stretches up over the region to create a canopy above it. This barrier provides the first obstacle for those attempting to enter the Mournlands. Visibility is almost nil within the mists, often hiding falls or other hazards. The mist is thick and cloying and seems to suppress sounds within it, leading to an even higher likelihood of getting seperated or lost.

Once you make it through the mists things don't get much better. The land beyond is scarred and broken. The sun, when it's up, fails to pierce the dead-gray mists, leaving the land in a state of perpetual twilight. Almost nothing natural remains. Plants and animals are twisted, even magic has become unstable. Many spells that were active or cast at the time of the Mourning have become Living Spells, actually oozing about the broken landscape seeking prey.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, the natural process of decay seems to have been halted by the Mourning, leaving fields of warriors in the exact state in which they died. The largest collection of fully preserved corpses can be found at the Field of Ruins, the site of a massive battle between Thrane, Breland, Cyre and Darguun that was in progress when the Mourning occured. Every single soldier exactly as he was the day he died almost four years ago.

Despite the dangers of the Mournlands, or perhaps because of it, expeditions are often sent to explore the ruins of Cyre by a wide variety of groups. The dangers of the area have, until now, kept most treasure-seekers out, ensuring that there's a wealth of goods, both magical and mundane, to be had for those able to find them. And survive the trip home.

Q. Regarding the Twelve, are these the same 12 mages that fought against the abberant dragonmarks? How long ago was that and do they actually live in stormreach? Could Turbine be having trouble figuring out how to mesh the area of the Twelve and established Eberron history?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The Twelve is an arcane college of sorts funded and developed by the twelve Dragonmarked houses. Shecky is correct in that the number twelve in "The Twelve" refers to the number of the houses. However, CrazySamaritan is correct in that the title itself is refering to a seperate institution and not the Houses themselves.

The Twelve wasn't actually around during the War of the Mark. It was, rather, formed immediately following the end of the war. The Twelve isn't twelve actual people, but rather a whole bunch of different mages. (Different mages now than would have been around at the time of the Twelve's founding.)

Members of the Twelve in Stormreach will have various reasons for being there. For some, being sent to Stormreach is likely a punishment, since it's very much away from the cosmopolitan areas of Eberron. Others might be there on research missions. Xen'drik is one of Eberron's main sources of Siberys shards, and House Tharashk in particular sponsors a large number of expeditions into the interior of the continent in an effort to harvest these. Additionally, the Giants of the Age of Giants were extremely skilled in arcane magics, so many members of the Twelve might be in Stormreach in order to seek out artifacts from that Age.

I feel it necessary to point out, that while the Twelve did assist in developing the first Airships, House Cannith is not actual producing them. The secrets of elemental binding are a crucial element in many of the modern wonders but most notably elemental-bound vessels such as the Lightning Rail, Airships and Wind Galleons. And those secrets are jealously guarded by the Gnomes of Zilargo. The great drydocks at Trolanport and Korranberg are responsible for the majority of the Airships produced today, and most of the rest are produced by smaller workshops elsewhere in the Gnomish nation.

Additionally, the Twelve should be thought of more as an independent R&D department for the Houses, than as a tightly controlled arm of them. They take some direction from the Barons, but for the most part they do their own work to advance their magical knowledge and find practical uses for it, which are then shared equally with all the Houses. This however can't stop the rumors of this House diverting funds for secret projects or that House attempting to conceal some incredible new discovery.

Q. What sort of powers can an aberrant dragonmark give its possesor? Do they give a sort of "multi-class" Dragonmark power, I.E. If an aberrant dragonmarked had lineage from House Jorasco and House Cannith, can the aberrant marked heal and repair both, just to a lesser degree?

A. (Mystic Theurge) While the Abberant marks do often result from inter-bloodline breeding among the Houses, their effects are always very different. The dragonmarked half-halfling in your example would not gain powers from his mark like those you describe. Most often Abberant marks give wild and dangerous powers, what we would likely consider "combat" spells, such as burning hands or color spray.

The only modern day Abberant marks are roughly on the same scale of power as the Least Dragonmarks among the pure blooded Houses, though history shows that more powerful marks were once present. Halas ir'Tarkanan and the Lady of Plagues likely had marks of similar power to Greater or even Siberys marks.

On that note, there are some who consider there to be three levels of marks which mimic the three Progenitor Dragons. The most powerful of the Pure Marks are known as Siberys marks. The would then consider the rest of the Pure Marks to be "Eberron" marks and Abberant marks to be "Khyber" marks. This theory has some slight flaws in that, as we've discussed, there are multiple levels of power within the Abberant Marks as well, and if all Abberant Marks are "Khyber" marks, what would the significantly-more-powerful Marks of Tarkanan and the Lady of Plagues be considered?

Q. Who/What were the 7 Daelkyr generals? Specifically, what races were they, what sort of classes, and the like?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The Daelkyr are a race unto themselves. They are powerful outsiders from Xoriat, the plane of madness. In terms of power, the weakest of the Daelkyr would be roughly on par with twentieth level characters.

Present day scholars know the names of a few of the more powerful Daelkyr who were present in Eberron during the Daelkyr/Dhakaani wars.

Orlassk was known as the Master of Stone and is credited with creating many of the present day creatures with petrification powers, such as Medusas or Basilisks. Though the Medusas of Droaam deny this is their origin, it is known that they fought on the side of the Daelkyr in the battle for Orlassk's citadel, Cazhaak Draal.

Belashyrra was known as the Lord of Eyes and is said to have created the Beholders to be living artillery during the war. It is rumored that his citadel contained a room covered in eyes that allowed him to see through the eyes of any living creature.

Even the weakest daelkyr is a force to be reckoned with, its mere presence bringing madness with it, and its touch corruption. The more powerful ones such as Belashyrra or Orlassk were nigh unstoppable. Orlassk is said to have been able to turn legions of goblinoids to stone on a whim.

Q. How did Eberron come into existance? What is the "story of Genesis" for Eberron?

A. (Mystic Theurge) The most commonly accepted creation myth is the legend of the Progenitor Dragons and the Age of Fiends.

According to this legend, the world was originally three all-powerful dragons, Siberys, Eberron and Khyber, that co-existed peacfully for some indeterminate length of time (though that likely doesn't matter at all when you're a progenitor wyrm). It is said that, as they flew through the cosmos, Khyber ate all the stars, consuming them faster than Siberys could place them in the sky. As the two waged this race, it is said Eberron sang and created the first life.

Finally, Siberys tired of attempting to outrun Khyber and turned on him in hopes of stopping him from devouring everything she created. And the two fought a cosmos-shaking battle. In the end, Siberys was defeated, and Khyber shattered her into a million pieces.

Now thirsty for blood, Khyber turned to attack Eberron, but she was too fast for him. As he lunged she dodged aside and enfolded him in her coils. No matter how much Khyber struggled, Eberron just kept wrapping him tighter until he was completely enveloped.

After their long struggle, Eberron and Khyber slumbered, their bodies hardening into the earth. The fragments of Siberys body encircled the pair, becoming the Ring of Siberys. Thus the dragons got their names, Khyber the Dragon Below, Siberys the Dragon Above and Eberron the Dragon Between.

Drops of Siberys' blood fell to earth and became the first of the Dragons, who lived in peace for a long Age. Deep below the surface, Khyber's blood festered and seeped from between Eberrons coils, spawning the first of the Fiends: Rakshasas, Night Hags and other terrible creatures. Slowly, these Fiends found ways to escape their underground prisons, finding their ways through cracks and crevices in Eberron's surface. It wasn't long before they began to threaten the peace of the Dragons.

In an echo of the ancient battle between the Progenitor Wyrms, the Fiends quickly triumphed over the Dragons. The Dragons were driven back, and retreated to Argonessen, while the Fiends divided the rest of the lands among themselves, and this was known as the Age of Demons.

For millions of years, the Fiends ruled Eberron, driving the Dragons back to Argonessen any time they attempted to venture forth, until the Dragons finally discovered The Prophecy. It was through the prophecy that they discovered their greatest allies, the Couatl.

Like the Dragons and the Fiends, the Couatl were spawned from the Progenitor Wyrms. During Eberron's primordial song, they had sprung into life, adding their rythyms to the music. Like the Dragons, they had long since been driven into hiding by the Fiends, but once they joined forces with the Dragons the two races discovered they had enough power to challenge the ruling Fiends.

War rages for eons, as the Couatl and the Dragons clashed with the Fiends all across the face of Eberron, until the Couatl would make the ultimate sacrifice. Only bonds of pure spirit could bind the Fiends in Khyber and so the greatest of the Couatl gave up their physical forms to trap the Fiends once more.

Weakened from their long battle, most of the Dragons retreated back to Argonessen, leaving the rest of Eberron a mostly barren wasteland. But a wasteland ready for new life.

Q. Who or what created the various races?

A. (Mystic Theurge) Unlike many other settings, there are no racial pantheons, meaning individual races' creation myths share much of the same general story as the one above. Some individual races have their own myths on their own creations, though they vary based on religion. Followers of the Sovereign Host often believe that Onatar, God of the Forge, created the Dwarves, while the trickster god The Traveller created the Changelings.

Other, less religious folk might say that the Changelings were instead the product of ages of interbreeding between Doppelgangers and Humans.

One of the nice things about Eberron, in my opinion, is that much of the religion and myth is uncertain. Other settings say "For sure, this is exactly how this race was created and exactly where they came from." Eberron doesn't do that. Much like the debatable nature of the Gods, the origins of most races is simply a matter of opinion or faith.

Q. I have noticed there are drow scorpions and scorrow. What's the difference?

A. (Mystic Theurge) I suspect this is an artificial difference. Scorrow didn't actually have the name "scorrow" until Secrets of Xen'drik came out in July. Since a drider-like scorpion/drow hybrid is an obvious choice, DDO implemented them before they had a real name, simply calling them "Drow Scorpions."

I suspect you'll find that from now on, they're all called Scorrow.

Q. As it doesn't seem that all of the Rakshasa were sealed away in Khyber (since we are to fight them in the Demon Sands), does this mean, too, that the Couatl all aren't gone from Eberron? If so, where do the Couatl reside, and are they as interested in the prophecies as the Dragons?

A. (Thanatos) The raksasha rajahs were sealed away. The difference between a regular raksasha and a rajah is like the difference between just "a demon" and the likes of Orcus, Demogorgon, Baphomet, and so on.

It's likely that there are still some couatls around, but they are very reclusive. The ones that sacrificed themselves to bind the rajahs were likely more powerful than the monster manual version.

The Silver Flame is a combination of the souls of a couatl, the paladin it was guiding named Tira Miron, and the escaping rajah that they fought. Tira's sword had a Khyber dragonshard in it's pommel, so that probably had something to do with them all being bound in the silver flames. The Flamers believe that good and faithful souls join the flame upon death, instead of fading away in Dolurrh.

Some say that the demon in the flame can speak to corrupt the unwary, and that the overzealous purges, inquisitions, and crusades are fueled by such counsel that sounds just and holy, but ends up spreading evil and destruction of it's own. Of course, you shouldn't mention that to a Flamer, as they consider it heresy.

Q. My party and I were on our way to the ruins of Threnal and I was surprised to see so many giants gathered outside the western gates of the city. Why are they out there? Is it safe? Aren't we at war with the giants?

A. The resident giants of the Tents of Rusheme are some of the more peaceful giants in Xen'drik. They've come to the city for trade, knowing that adventurers like us make some of the best customers for lost artifacts and information. The Stormreach Guard leaves them alone for the most part, meaning that the giants of Rusheme police themselves, so make sure you keep a civil tongue as you pass through.

Q. As we sailed to Xen'drik aboard The Stormrider, I couldn't help but notice that Captain d'Lyrandar kept talking to a sort of fish-man. He was covered in scales and had a dangerous look about him. Who, or what, was he?

A. The sahuagin of Shargon's Teeth, north of Stormreach in the Thunder Sea, are a dangerous lot. Divided up into tribes, they war amongst themselves and occasionally raid ships sailing over their realms.

Many ships seeking passage from Khorvaire to Stormreach hire sahuagin guides. Though this can't guarantee safe passage, if the ship passes into another tribe's territory for instance, a guide can generally get a ship through safely.

The sahuagin are only one of the many dangers on the Thunder Sea, not the least of which are the vicious storms which give the sea its name. The sahuagin worship the Devourer as Mistress of the Waves and have been known to give ships up to particularly bad storms, claiming it to be the will of the Devourer and therefore unavoidable.

Giant octopi, huge sharks and the occasional free roaming elemental can also pose significant threat to an unprepared vessel. House Lyrandar's Wind Galleons can outrun the former two, though the elementals of the Thunder Sea can take particular offense at such vessels, given their use of bound elementals for propulsion.

Q. I was just outside of the House Phiarlan enclave, examining a ring of standing stones when an image suddenly appear in the sky over the stones. It was a strange ziggaurat surrounded by jungle. Does that mean something? Why would that happen?

A. There are twelve rings of stones like the one you found throughout Stormreach, and as of yet no one's been able to determine their true function. Known as a Circle of Visions, the ring will project an image approximately once a month. They vary in scope from the simple to the bizarre. Some sages speculate that they might simply be works of public art, left over from Stormreach's time as a city of Giants. Others wonder if the images aren't the continuation of some communique or prophecy left over from that time period.

Q. Last week, several of my friends and I began an expedition into the Jungles to search for a missing drow. Though we knew where we were headed, it took us almost three weeks to arrive. Once we had completed our mission, the return trip to Stormreach took a mere three days. What's going on?

A. You've experienced what's become known as the Traveler's Curse. The Curse seems to twist both our perceptions of time and space, as well as perhaps actually bending both. Trips into the interior may take more or less time on any given day. Two parties could both leave Stormreach headed for the same destination and one party might arrive long before the other. Or you might leave on an expedition, feel as though a short time has passed, but, upon returning to Stormreach, find that it has been months.

Most sages agree that this is a remnant of the magical energies that caused the great cataclysm, but the first human's to reach Xen'drik attributed it to the mischevious Traveler, giving the effect its name.

The Curse seems to most greatly effect explorers who are from other continents. Thus, having a native guide can help to prevent its effects. Likewise, it is said that having a good sense of your destination will help keep your trip stable.

Some suggest that, in fact, it's need which helps speed a person to their destination, or keep them from it. Alask d'Jorasco, proprietor of the Last Chance, often claims that the Traveler's Curse brings those most in need of his services right to his door.

Q. Could you tell us about some of the holidays in Eberron? What are they? How are they celebrated?

A. Holidays in Eberron can be divided into two categories, Holy Days and Secular Festivals. Obviously Holy Days will vary from religion to religion, while Secular Festivals can be very dependent on a number of other factors, such as race or location.

Holy Days of the Sovereign Host
Aureon's Crown is a celebration of knowledge and wisdom in honor of the God of Law and Knowledge. Generally, elders among the community gather together with younger folk to share tales, stories and other wisdom. For many, especially among the academic communities, Aureon's Crown has become a secular holiday, which requires no particular devotion to Aureon or the Host to celebrate.

Boldrei's Feast is a time to honor community and strengthen the bonds between neighbor and friend. Generally taking the form of a true feast, celebration of Boldrei's Feast can range from a simple, but abundant meal in smaller communities, to lavish parties thrown by nobles in larger cities such as Sharn. Boldrei's Feast is also traditionally the time to hold elections and announce government appointments, for Boldrei represents all those forces with make a community work together.

Brightblade is the Holy Day of Dol Dorn. During Brightblade, prizefights, wrestling matches and other contests of skill at arms are held in honor the God of Battle.

The Hunt honors Balinor to celebrate his aspect as Lord of Horn and Hunt. To celebrate how Balinor protects the faithful from marauding bests, The Hunt generally consists of a wild beast being set loose, usually under controlled circumstances. Then, for a small donation to Balinor's clergy, anyone who wishes can participate in tracking the beast down. Generally there is a prize for the hunter who can return with the beast's head.

Sun's Blessing is a Holy Day of Dol Arrah, Goddess of Honor and Light. It is traditionally a day of peace, a day on which enemies can set aside their conflicts, and their arms.

Holy Days of the Dark Six
Long Shadows is a time of darkness and danger. According to legend, The Shadow was spawned from Aureon's own shadow, when he casts the first spell. Long Shadows is a time when the power of dark magics is at its peak, and most law abiding citizens stay indoors at night, huddled away from the darkness.

Wildnight is a celebration of passion and raw impilse. The Fury, Goddess of unbridled emotion, is the patron of all things uninhibited. When the sun sets on Wildnight, and often for several nights before, emotions boil forth. Reserved folk tend to stay away from public places, but many see Wildnight as an excuse to unleash their inner passions. The streets are filled with revelry and other more lurid events. Fights break out, lusts are fulfilled and crimes of passion abound.

Holy Days of the Silver Flame
The Ascension is the most holy of days, for followers of the Flame. In honor of the sacrifice of Tira Miron, who gave her life to give voice to the Flame, members of the Church gather to reaffirm their faith in the Flame and give thanks for the light it brings to their lives. In addition, it is a day to give back to the community, sacrificing of yourself in memory of Tira Miron.

Fathen's Fall is a holy day which memorializes one of the great heroes of the Silver Crusade (The Church's name for the Lycanthropic Purge). Fathen was a great inquisitor in Sharn, and as a result the festival is more prevelant there than elsewhere, and Fathen's Fall is a day of rememberance. It marks the day he was killed by a pack of wererats who tore him limb from limb.

The Silver Flame, more than most other religions has a slew of minor holidays and rites throughout the year including the new year Rebirth Eve, a memorial for the year's deat Bright Souls' Day, a celebration of Tira Miron's birth known as Tirasday, a celebration of nature's bounty known as Promisetide, and several more.

Holy Days of the Blood of Vol
Revelations Day is a day of self-examination for the followers of the Blood of Vol. It is a time to look back on the past year and determine what spiritual progress one has made.

Secular Festivals
The Day of Mourning was something no one could have been prepared for, and members of the Five Nations continue to mark the day as a time of grief and passing. Often people gather together to tell stories of the dead, or remembrances of the Last War. For former citizens of Cyre, the Day of Mourning is an even more poignant day, for it marks the day on which they lost their homes. Every Cyran knows exactly where he was on the Day of Mourning, and why he didn't die with the rest of his nation. Some are tales of narrow escapes, soldiers who had just marched across the border, while others are almost regretful tales of years spent away from home.

Crystalfall is a Sharn specific holiday which marks the most devastating tragedy to occur in the city during the Last Way. In the early years of the way, some magical attack severed the enchantments holding one of the cities oldest floating towers aloft. The Glass Tower plummeted to the ground killing nearly everyone inside it and many in the districts below. Since then, artists and sculptors fashion replicas of the tower in miniature and fling them into the Dagger River. Some find this offensive, but for most of the participants it's a way to memorialize what was lost.

Brightfest is a unique holiday that occurs in the Shifter communities. It is a celebration of the end of winter and preparation for the hard work to come. It is often accompanied by revels that go late into the night as well as athletic competitions.

The Reachrace is a week-long athletic competition held by Shifter communities, which culminates in a day-long marathon. Communities vary in exactly how they hold these competitions, but generally the week begins with tests of strength and agility and ends with tests of endurance.

The Days of Remembrance and the Void of Taratai are Kalashtar holidays. Sixty-seven quori spirits reached Eberron to form the Kalashtar race and each spirit has a five day period each year during which it is honored. A given kalashtar celebrates the Days of Remembrance which are appropriate to his spiritual lineage.

The Void of Taratai is the period which was once the Days of Remembrance for the spirit Taratai, leader of the quori who escaped to become the kalashtar. However, the lineage of Taratai has been completely eradicated, and the Void is a time for all kalashtar to reflect on the exodus from Dal Quor and to ensure that another line is never lost.

Q. I'm interested in naming my character something Eberron appropriate. Could you help me out with some suggestions?

A. (Mystic Theurge) Why of course I could. First I'll address a few naming conventions and then move on to some specific suggestions for various races.

The d' Prefix: The d' prefix on a last name is reserved for members of a Dragonmarked House. There's some internal debate about who exactly uses the d' prefix. Certain sources suggest that the d' prefix can be added to any surname if one is a member of a House. Others (which I find more reliable, being that they're the setting's creator) suggest that the d' prefix is reserved for members of a Dragonmarked House who actually have dragonmarks, and are always added to the House name. Either way, the d' prefix definitely means you're connected in some way to one of the Houses.

The ir' Prefix: You may have noticed that all of the current Khorvaire Monarchs are named Something ir'Wynarn. The ir' prefix is indicative of royalty or nobility. The ir'Wynarns are the royal line of Galifar and other ir' families tend to be offshoots of that line. Some other well known families are the ir'Tarkanans, though that line is somewhat less reputable due to their connection to Aberrant dragonmarks, and the ir'Tains, one of the most influential families in Sharn. In general, if you'd like to play a character with a noble background, such as a younger son exploring the wilds of Xen'drik, you can add ir' to pretty much any last name you want. This is mainly a human practice, though the tradition has extended to the Dwarven lands of the Mror Holds (and the gnomish nation of Zilargo) as well.

Human Names: As usual, Human names run the gamut. There's no real pattern here, just use something creative and fantasy sounding.

Elf Names: All the Elves place a great importance on their ancestry and many are often named after influential ancestors. The Valenar Elves in particular choose a Patron ancestor and are often attempt to emulate them, sometimes including taking the same name. Example Valenar names include

The elves of Aerenal often belong to adoptive families known as Lines. The Line of Jhaelian produces some of the nations most powerful clerics. Other Lines include Melideth, Mendyrian and Tolaen. The current Sibling Kings are of the Line of Mendyrian. The Line is not the same as your family surname, since the Lines are made up of a number of different families, though there is a noble house which gives each line its name.

Aerenal and Valenar names tend to use the same patterns. Vowel sounds tend to predominate, with fewer consonants. Common names include Belareth, Tezaera, Syraen, Aeren, Allais, Dailan, Kylaer, Maellas, Thalaen, Vylae, Fianan, Kaelan, Lia, Niath, Shearan, Tairil, Thail, Vaelas, Vaelin, Xael (elven names don't tend to distinguish between male and female).

Khorvaire Elves, those who no longer consider themselves part of the Aerenal or Valenar nations, tend to use the same conventions as well, though their names are often shorter and have some distinction between male and female names, though there is some overlap. Example male names include Aesha, Daellin, Marrath or Tellian. Some female example names are Innae, Paela, Phaeani, Sailla or X'ennia.

Dwarf Names: Most Dwarves hail from the Mror Holds in northeastern Khorvaire. The Holds were originally made up of thirteen clans. The clans are Mroranon, Doldarun, Droranath, Kolkarun, Laranak, Londurak, Narathun, Noldrun, Soldorak, Soranath, Toldorath and Todrannon. House Kundarak, makes up the last clan, though in the present day most Kundarak dwarves associate themselves more with the dragonmarked community than with their nation. Most dwarves use their clan name as their surname, though obviously each clan is made up of a number of individual families.

Dwarven first names tend to use heavy consonants and be several syllables long. Some example dwarven names are (male) Bruennan, Durunnam, Greddark, Kellark, Tuaranak, (female) Annaka, Gerthin, Karkanna, Menna, and Zranakarak.

Halfling Names: Halflings fall into one of two groups. Those native to the Talenta Plains who come from the old tribal traditions of the halflings and those who have moved beyond their tribal origins to live in the cities of Khorvaire. Most Khorvaire Halflings use the same conventions as the rest of the five nations, though a few do still use the old Talenta names. Most Talenta halflings use a single name, though when among people who are not members of their tribe, they may use their tribe's name as a surname. Within a given tribe, two halflings seldom share a name, in order to avoid confusion, however when they do, they are often given someother appellation based on mannerisms, personality or physical appearance to distinguish them from each other. Example names include (male) Gagi, Kabelund, Lanudo, Mabu, Rathan, Toebo, (female) Dovi, Hebblu, Mebsa, Shenta, Studa, and Tatha.

Warforged Names: Warforged names make no distinction between male and female warforged. In fact most warforged were not born with names, or even given names at creation. Warforged names are often not so much names as words (nouns, verbs or adjectives) that describe the warforged in some way. Bulwark, for instance, is the famous warforged protector of King Boranel. Other examples might be names like Pierce, Aegis or Barricade. Some warforged names are nothing more than nicknames given to them by their comrades-in-arms, and as such can vary significantly.

Drow Names: Drow have personal and family names, though they are very secretive with their family names. Among the drow it's considered an insult to inquire about a family name and conversly sharing your family name with someone is considered a sign of friendship and trust. Most drow still use naming conventions that date back to the giant empire, including multi-syllable names with hard consonants and glottal stops (represented by the apostrophe). Some example Drow names include Ek'ann, Kaxxar, Xen'kar, (male) Curra, Kas'asar, Xen'va, (female) Gen'thac, Torkak, Xar'cha (family).

[Thanatos]

Wow, that's a huge first post, MysticTheurge!

I'll be checking in to answer questions about the setting too, and I'll come up with some mini-articles.

If anyone else has a good deal of knowledge about the Eberron setting (and preferably owns the books for reference as needed) and would like to join the Loremaster team to answer questions here, let us know!

[Viglin]

Now this is one of the best things lve seen posted in sometime.

I for one have the feeling of "l just dont feel alive in this world"...because l know so little about it and its history to play off.

Thank you Mystic and your fellow Loremasters:)

[Vanda]

I think an article regarding the technology of Ebberon should be included. Too many people think that flying ships should be all over. The fact is that they are recent inventions and require large amounts of rare materials such as soarwood. Maybe a bit about the transfer of information via House Sivis or Orien or whichever (would need to read up on it myself). Maybe a brief geography lesson as well. After all Xen'drik is untamed, almost opposite of Khorvaire.

/Oh, and good job!

[MysticTheurge]

Maybe a brief geography lesson as well. After all Xen'drik is untamed, almost opposite of Khorvaire.

Q. So what is this Khorvaire you keep speaking of?

A. Khorvaire is the continent where the majority of Eberron D&D games take place. It's one of Four (and a half) continents that make up the world of Eberron. It's the most similar to what most people might expect from a campaign setting. Nations, kings and queens, wizarding colleges, cults and evil masterminds of various shapes and sizes attempting to upset the status quo.

Aerenal is its closest neighbor and is home to a nation of Elves who migrated there following the fall of the ancient Giant Empire. The Elves of Aerenal preserve their revered ancestors as members of the Undying Court, a sort of undead powered by positive, rather than negative, energy. The elves worship their anscestors, and the priests of the island continent draw their spells from the combined power of the Court.

Xen'drik, the continent that DDO is set on, is the home of the aforementioned Giant Empire. Centuries ago, the Giants of Xen'drik were brilliant mages who ruled over the entire continent. They civilized the Elves, enslaving them to do many of the things the large giants couldn't. Their civilization thrived, until the residents of the Plane of Dreams, the Quori, attempted to invade Eberron. A long, drawn out war ended when the Giants accomplished some arcane feat that managed to throw Dal Quor permanently out of orbit around Eberron and turn back the invasion. Unfortunately, the same feat began the downfall of the empire, shattering the continent and eventually leading to the ruined lands we currently adventure in.

Sarlona was the cradle of Human civilization. The first humans migrated from Sarlona to Khorvaire led by Lhazaar. Centuries later, events on Dal Quor (yes, the same Dal Quor) led to a number of Quori seeking to escape the plane, through a series of strange events, these Quori managed to find their way to Eberron and bound themselves to a number of human monks living in Riedra. Always seeking to destroy the Kalashtar and restore their people, the Quori followed them, eventually managing to take total control of Riedra and take over the rest of the continent, except for Riedra which became the mountain refuge of the Kalashtar.

The last continent, Argonessen, is home to a nation of Dragons who devote themselves to interpreting the Draconic Prophecy, a series of foretellings that are written all across Eberron (and some speculate even in the Dragonmarks of the "new" races). The island of Seren lies off the northwest coast and is home to tribes of barbarians who worship the dragons. Some members of these dragons travel to the other continents, forming a group called The Chamber, to study the prophecy. Most of the dragons of Eberron call Argonessen their home, and act as one might expect from incredibly intelligent creatures. There are, however, a few "rogue" dragons who fulfill the role one might expect from their D&D dragons (a la Velah).

[Arronaz]

Thank you, MysticTheurge, for this thread, was very needed and I was really looking to get information on Eberron.

I have some questions on the warforged:

Q. Warforged were created by House Cannith, but after the "technology" was brought by them, did that "technology" spread? I mean, did the other houses produce their own warforged later, or it was exclusive of the Cannith House?

Q. You said that the warforged are "intelligent golems", but that means that they all are sentient? I mean "they think therefore they are"? Or there are some that are simply intelligent on the AI method, compute and solve?

Q. Warforged are made primarily of wood right? That wood is different from ordinary wood? (I mean it's Darkwood? Soarwood?) If not, would the warforged be extra-vulnerable to fire? Or worst, would they decompose, and eventually die of age?

Thank you!

[MysticTheurge]

Happy to answer.

Q. Warforged were created by House Cannith, but after the "technology" was brought by them, did that "technology" spread? I mean, did the other houses produce their own warforged later, or it was exclusive of the Cannith House?

A. No, the warforged "technology" has not spread. In fact, since the Treaty of Thronehold declared warforged to be independent and living beings, the creation of warforged has been prohibited. Some people (such as Haywire) continue to attempt to create them, but all Creation Forges were in the custody of House Cannith and have all supposedly been shut down. There's some suggestion that Baron Merrix d'Cannith continues to operate a Creation Forge in secret.

The Warforged were one of House Cannith's main products for sale during the Last War, and like any mercantile enterprise protects the things that are making it money, they jealously guarded the secrets of Warforged Creation from everyone else.

Q. You said that the warforged are "intelligent golems", but that means that they all are sentient? I mean "they think therefore they are"? Or there are some that are simply intelligent on the AI method, compute and solve?

A. Every modern day warforged is fully sentient. They have personalities and thoughts just like everyone else, though their true nature is a matter of much debate. One of the big controversies at the Treaty of Thronehold was whether Warforged would be given the status of beings of if they would continue to be property. Agents from House Cannith were joined by Advocates from Thrane (which is currently a Theocracy run by the Church of the Silver Flame) argued against Breland in hopes of keeping them as they were. House Cannith obviously wished to retain the rights to produce and sell warforged, but Thrane argued for a different reason. Some within the Church of the Silver Flame believe that Warforged don't have souls and therefore shouldn't be considered living creatures.

Warforged psychology is an interesting topic and one that could go on for a very long time. The main gist of it is that these are beings who know they were created for war, have known nothing but war for their entire lives and now find themselves in a world where war no longer has a place. In many ways, particularly those outside of the role they played in the Last War, warforged are almost childlike. In others, such as combat, discipline and the like, they are like highly trained soldiers.

There are other warforged-adjacent creatures which have very limited intelligence. The Warforged Titan is an example of this. Titans were produced by House Cannith during the last war as well, as living seige engines. Cannith created the Titans before they refined the creation of the warforged, so you could consider the Titan a sort of prototype warforged. The Titan has very limited intelligence and you or I might consider it "AI." It has the ability to follow simple commands and make basic decisions, but it doesn't have the full thinking power of the Warforged.

There are also suggestions of ancient warforged that date back to the Giant Empires, though whether they were created by the Giants or the Quori remains unclear. (Most likely the Warforged Titan we fight in DDO would fall into this category.) As creatures that don't sleep, and therefore don't dream, they would be near-perfect weapons against the Quori, which makes a good argument for them to have been created by the Giants. However, some recent materials have suggested that the quori might have created them, and there's some logic to this as well. The warforged might have been early versions of the Empty Vessels (humans who allow Quori spirits to possess them, the result of which are called the Inspired and rule over Riedra). The early warforged might've been little more than bodies for the Quori to use while in the material plane.

Q. Warforged are made primarily of wood right? That wood is different from ordinary wood? (I mean it's Darkwood? Soarwood?) If not, would the warforged be extra-vulnerable to fire? Or worst, would they decompose, and eventually die of age?

A. The wood that makes up the majority of a warforged's body is Livewood. Livewood, much as its name would suggest, is a type of wood that doesn't die when cut off from its tree, but continues to function and grow like a normal plant. As such, warforged are no more vulnerable to fire than humans; a living tree has a lot of moisture in it.

The warforged are a very young race on the whole, the old warforged being less than 30 years old. It remains unclear as yet whether they'll die of "old age," though much suggests that they won't (such as the presence of warforged from the ancient Giant Empires). However once a warforged does die, the magical energies and the life force that animated its form leave and the body does decompose at approximately the same rate as a human.

[jwbarry]

Great idea, kudos! :D

[ccheath776]

"However once a warforged does die, the magical energies and the life force that animated its form leave and the body does decompose at approximately the same rate as a human."

We need some confirmation on this. From the races of eberron book WF never really die. THey lie Incapped when they reach a point below zero hp. with the right artificer repairing skills a WF can be returned to full working health. They do decay but not at the point of no repair, they can be fully restored at some point if necessary.


Interesting note about houses. It is not unheard for unmarked to gain great power, sometimes more than the marked themselves. But thats all I will say about that as you will need to read some of the eberron novels to understand.

[Tous]

Wow! Great Idea!
I have the Eberron manuals and would be delighted if could assist in any way.

[MysticTheurge]

We need some confirmation on this. From the races of eberron book WF never really die. THey lie Incapped when they reach a point below zero hp. with the right artificer repairing skills a WF can be returned to full working health. They do decay but not at the point of no repair, they can be fully restored at some point if necessary.

Not to debate it too much here, but a) the guy who wrote the warforged section of RoE didn't really know what he was talking about most of the time and b) what you're referring to is an inert warforged.

When a warforged is between -10 and -1 hit points, he is inert. He could stay in that state indefinitely. Likewise other races between -10 and -1 are incapacitated. Warforged don't have to "stabilize" as they don't lose hit points from being incapacitated like human-types. But, conversely, they don't heal naturally either. Whereas an incapacitated human will heal 1 hit point per HD per day, an inert warforged recovers no hit points unless someone takes the time to repair him.

Thus a warforged could theoretically exist forever with something like -5 hit points, until an artificer came across him centuries later, repaired him and then he'd be back in the positive hit points.

However, a warforged with -11 hit points is dead like any other character and can not be brought back to life without the use of some ressurection-esque magic.

[Indel_Eventine]

Hmm.

good post

Could you also be pressed into answering differences between Ebberron and the old PnP ways - I haven't played since ADnD 2nd edition, and several things are different - some are logical, others, not so much.

If WF are mostly wood, why do rust monsters find them so tasty? They must, because WF run from them like a SP-depleted caster from a minotaur.

What are the differences in what equipement (i.e. number of rings, trinkets, etc) you are allowed to wear, and what DDO allows?

More to come, thanks.

And, do WF really sound like C3PO? Just a rumor....:D

[Darkdominion]

Well, since you suggested it, why are there two houses with the same mark?
Also, a bit more detail on what the marks actually do for the bearers would be nice. :)

[D3x2006]

Here to answer questions - but not tonight need to get up for work - will definitely answer questions tomorrow though.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Could you also be pressed into answering differences between Ebberron and the old PnP ways - I haven't played since ADnD 2nd edition, and several things are different - some are logical, others, not so much.

A. I'd rather not go into the rules/game mechanics changes between 2.0 and 3.5, but stick to using this thread to cover Eberron related information. If you want more information on the 3.5 rules however, the core rules set is offered free online from Wizards of the Coast in PDF format, but I prefer to use one of the many html versions on the web (http://www.d20srd.org).

Q. If WF are mostly wood, why do rust monsters find them so tasty?

A. While much of a warforged's body is made up of wood, those portions are mostly internal. Every warforged is covered in plating of some sort (base warforged get composite plating, mithral and adamantine warforged get plating of the appropriate type). And while warforged are largely wood interally, they do have some metal parts. As such warforged take HP damage from a rust monster, just as human-types take HP damage from acid attacks (which is probably the closest analogy to the breaking down of a substance caused by the rusting effect).

Q. Well, since you suggested it, why are there two houses with the same mark?

A. House Phiarlan, the original House of the Shadow, was founded over three thousand years ago among the elves of Aerenal. They quickly recognized the potential in their Mark and went about creating one of the first economic dynasties the Dragonmarked Houses would become. However, much more recently, during the Last War, some unspecified secret work within the House led to a schism. Portions of the family favored one side or the other and eventually the two rival factions split into two rival houses. House Thuranni now competes directly with House Phiarlan in the areas of their expertise.

Q. Also, a bit more detail on what the marks actually do for the bearers would be nice.

A. There are four different "levels" of Dragonmarks: Least, Lesser, Greater and Siberys. In mechanics terms, a mark gives you a small bonus to a certain skill (usually related to the type of job your house performs) and the ability to use a spell-like ability a given number of times per day, with each higher level of mark giving a more powerful ability. With the exception of Siberys Marks, which I'll discuss in a second, the Marks are a progression. A fraction of the members of the house will develop a Least Mark, then a fraction of those with Least Marks will develop Lesser Marks, then a fraction of those with Lesser Marks will develop Greater Marks. As a scion progresses up this path, developing more powerful marks, she retains the abilities granted by her lesser marks.

Siberys Marks are extremely rare, and always develop on persons who have displayed no other mark. They provide extremely powerful abilities, usually emulating a ninth-level spell.

Most Dragonmarked scions use their abilities in the service of their House, offering them up to those who can pay the price. For example, the gnomes of House Sivis use thier mark to offer services like translation or mediation, as well as providing long-range communication. A Least Mark of Scribing gives might allow a scion to use the Comprehend Languages spell, or send a message using the Whispering Wind spell, while a Greater Mark allows the scion to perform a Sending.

House Orien uses its marks to provide courier service as well as to transport people over great distances instantaneously, if you can afford it. The Least Mark of Passage might allow you to use Expeditious Retreat, to speed up your travel, or the Mount spell-like ability to provide yourself with an ever-present steed. Meanwhile the Greater Mark of Passage allows its bearer to Teleport or use Overland Flight.

A note about these effects. Any given person can only ever perform a single one of these tasks. That is, a gnome with the mark of scribing can't choose to use Comprehend Languages one day and Whispering Wind the next. The spell-like ability is determined when your mark develops and never changes from then on.

Additionally, some of the more impressive benefits of having a Dragonmark don't actually come from the Mark itself but with the effects it has on other items, especially those crafted with Siberys Dragonshards, which tend to enhance the powers of Dragonmarks. For instance, a wheel of wind and water allows a Lyrandar captain with the Wind's Favor variety of the Mark of Storm to pilot both the Airships that the House owns and its Wind Galleons (elementally powered sailing ships), while the Speaking Stones that make up House Sivis communication network spread across Khorvaire are only usable by gnomes with the Whispering Wind type of Mark of Scribing.

[Gaunter]

through not having a life outside of work and playing this game..I end up buying Eberron books here and there. And since I have no pnp group to speak of..about all I get done is reading them...so....

If there is one more loremaster needed...please let me know. Will throw out as much as I can on any of the topics that I do have research material on.


and a shameless plug here, just got done reading the first book in the Mark of Death run...good stuff there.

[Mauvais]

Now this is one of the best things lve seen posted in sometime.

I for one have the feeling of "l just dont feel alive in this world"...because l know so little about it and its history to play off.

Thank you Mystic and your fellow Loremasters:)I have to agree with Viglin.

The background adds to the richness of the game. Having to read it in some dialogue box when the rest of the party is already in the mission is not nearly as accessible.

[Mauvais]

Now for my own questions...

What is the relationship of Eberron to the Forgotten Realms? I also assume the World of Greyhawk is no longer in existance?

[Solmage]

What an excellent idea.

I do have a question however. Aren't dark elves supposed to be evil-ish? I mean, if you talk to the dark elves in the new sands area, you clearly get that impression (worshiping blood-thirsty scorpion gods, rituals like get stung nearly to death by tons scorpions for a day as right of passage, etc).

However, before the sands, all the dark elves seemed nice and polite and none of the npcs reacts to a dark elf any different than they'd react to a dwarf or elf or human.

[Vormaerin]

Now for my own questions...

What is the relationship of Eberron to the Forgotten Realms? I also assume the World of Greyhawk is no longer in existance?

There is no connection at all in character. Both the Forgotten Realms and Ebberon have distinct and isolated cosmologies and don't interact at all (though there is the possibility of exceptions via the Plane of Shadow, if you really want..).

The World of Greyhawk still exists and is the setting of a fair bit of D&D material published in Dragon and Dungeon magazine. But its not actively supported by WotC with any sort of published books.

Ebberon and the Forgotten Realms are the two settings which WotC continue to support. Mystara, Greyhawk, Birthright, Dark Sun, and others are still owned by WotC and used by fans, but they are no longer being actively marketed.

[D3x2006]

Greyhawk still exist and is supported by the core material released.

Another note on Dragonmarked & the Dragonmarked Houses:

They form the Twelve and cooperate in big projects like the Lighting Rail, Airships, Wind Galleons. House Lysander which operates all Airships has to get House Cannith to build the Airships, House Dennith provides security for the construction yards, etc.

Also those that are Dragonmarked are the members of the ruling family of the house. Showing that mark at any House Enclave would provide instant access to at least the Enclaves basic services. If a member of House Kundarak showed up in Stormreach they would be provided room & board by the house in its Enclave.

[Aexicas]

Good work MT, and great idea! I've two questions for someone more experienced in Eberron than myself:

1. Can a dragonmark manifest itself in a race not "native" to the house? (I.E. The Mark of Finding might possibly manifest itself in an Elf, or the Mark of Healing might manifest itself in a Gnome?)

2. I was flipping though the MM4 and found a creature called the Lunar Ravager. While the creature isn't exactly what peaked my interest, the "in Eberron" text did. The In Eberron text makes mention to floating castles above the continent of Xen'drik. What are the significance to these castles?

[Tibbar]

See, now you've gone and made me have to buy the source books. I've been trying to avoid it, but now I find I simply must know everything I can about the setting. Curse you and thanks for the information.

[D3x2006]

Q. Can a dragonmark manifest itself in a race not "native" to the house? (I.E. The Mark of Finding might possibly manifest itself in an Elf, or the Mark of Healing might manifest itself in a Gnome?)

A. No, it is not a possiblity. The 12 (13 if the Mark of Death is included but it is only on a single individual and no longer works - Vol as in the Blood of Vol, a half-elf, half-dragon liche) stable dragonmarks do not appear on any race other than the ones designated in the list and only to those 'native' to that house.
Before the formation of Galifar (the human Kingdom that ruled Khorvaire for nearly 1000 years), the Twelve united and fought a war/crusade against what are called Aberrent Dragonmarks, some of which included intermarried members of the Twelve Houses.

Q. I was flipping though the MM4 and found a creature called the Lunar Ravager. While the creature isn't exactly what peaked my interest, the "in Eberron" text did. The In Eberron text makes mention to floating castles above the continent of Xen'drik. What are the significance to these castles?

A. I am not certain - so if someone has a better answer correct me.
The Castles could be Gaint or Quori and left over from their war, much like the basic warforged design dates from this time.

And the only problem with answering questions is that they result in more questions, and I have to get to work.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Aren't dark elves supposed to be evil-ish?

A. One of the changes that Eberron brings to the table, so to speak, is that most of the alignments are more mixed up than in other settings. Eberron pretty much assumes that intelligent creatures can make their own decisions about these things, and they do, leading to a variety of alignments for most races. So where drow might be labeled "Always Evil" in the monster manual, Eberron says "Drow can be whatever they want to be."

(As an aside, one place where this gets particularly interesting is with Dragons. So many people are used to Chromatic Dragons being evil and Metallic Dragons being good, but in Eberron you can have a Good Blue Dragon and an Evil Silver Dragon.)

There are a few exceptions to the rule. Creatures of the Outsider type usually tend towards specific alignment. This is because they aren't actually free and independent thinkers, so much as physical manifestations of a given idea, concept or philosophy. So pretty much all Demons are evil and pretty much all Celestials are good. There are, however, exceptions to the this rule as well, and you occasionally get an Angel that goes bad, or a Devil that's trying to help out.

As for the Drow in particular, like the other elves, they were enslaved by the Giants during the height of their Empire. During the fall of the empire, when many of the other elves took advantage of the chaos to revolt and escape, most Drow remained faithful to their giant masters. Thus, while light-skinned elves escaped to Aerenal, the Drow remained behind in Xen'drik.

Once the Empire had completely crumbled, the Drow were left to their own devices. Most fell into primitive, tribal cultures and now roam the jungles, but a few tribes stand out.

The Sulatar are a group of more civilized Drow who bind Fire elementals and have retained some of the knowledge and magics they had while they served the giants. Their religion centers around a return of their Giant masters and a promised land of fire. The exact number of Sulatar is unknown; there may be only one city of them, or they may stretch across the continent. The Sulatar play a large role in Keith Baker's second novel, The Shattered Land.

Vulkoor is the scorpion god of most of the drow, and we meet more of his worshipers in the sands of Menechtarum. Vulkoor is an evil god who enjoys those sorts of dark rituals you mention, and thus many of his worshippers are evil as well. Though, again here Eberron changes things a bit. There can be good people who worship evil gods and evil people who worship good gods. (Some high ranking members of the Church of the Silver Flame are corrupt individuals, for example.) The Vulkoorim revere scorpions and live scattered across the continent in jungle tribes and dark caves.

The Umbragen are a reclusive group of Drow. They survived the fall of the Giant empire by fleeing into Khyber (Eberron's version of the more common 'underdark'). They battled with dark abberations and other vicious monsters that inhabit those caverns, and soon found themselves in desperate need of a more potent defense. Stumbling across some unknown source of magic, they managed to forge a bond with a mysterious force of shadow and darkness. Unlike the Vulkoorim, the Umbragen have a more developed culture, sophisticated magic and advanced metal-working skills. They make an appearance in the RTS game Dragonshard, but the primary source of information is an article in Dragon Magazine 330.

There are likely other, specialized tribes of Drow out there. Xen'drik is a big place, and it has yet to be (and likely never will be) fully described. The drow that we dealt with prior to Module 3, namely those we play, are likely to belong to a jungle tribe who do not worship Vulkoor, but have a more well-intentioned nature.

Q. Can a dragonmark manifest itself in a race not "native" to the house? (I.E. The Mark of Finding might possibly manifest itself in an Elf, or the Mark of Healing might manifest itself in a Gnome?)

A. No. In fact, a mark can't even really manifest itself on a person who is the right race, but not a member of the dragonmarked family. Of course, given that the Houses have been around for, in some cases, millenia, you might have the blood of a Dragonmarked House in your veins and not really know it.

However, this brings up a good point. The Dragonmarked Houses carefully monitor known members of their bloodline, particularly when it comes to interaction with members of another House's bloodline.

Occasionally, a member of a Dragonmarked race, especially one with the mixed blood of two or more Houses, will develop what's known as an Aberrant mark. Aberrant marks vary in shape, size and power, and do not match any of the more common marks. Long before the start of the Last War, another long and bitter conflict shook the nations of Khorvaire. The more powerful Dragonmarked Houses saw these developing Aberrant marks as a threat to the economic control and power, and so they began a campaign of cleansing.

In the third year of this campaign, Lord Halas Tarkanan began to gather those with Aberrant marks into a more organized force. Tarkanan and his new queen, the Lady of Plagues, used the powerful abilities granted by their marks to take control of Sharn and make it a base of operations for their defense. However, in the end they simply didn't have the numbers to withstand their enemies' assault.

Present day House Tarkanan continues to be a force for organized crime in the City of Towers, but the strength of modern Aberrant marks doesn't come near to the power that Halas Tarkanan and the Queen of Plagues possessed. Still, the Dragonmarked houses continue to seek out those with Aberrant marks and destroy them before they can develop into a legitimate threat.

Q. I was flipping though the MM4 and found a creature called the Lunar Ravager. While the creature isn't exactly what peaked my interest, the "in Eberron" text did. The In Eberron text makes mention to floating castles above the continent of Xen'drik. What are the significance to these castles?

A. They are likely Giant ruins. Many of the ancient giants would have had the magic to create floating castles and some might still remain. Storm Giants in particular might find the appeal of living in the sky impossible to resist.

The Explorer's Handbook makes mention of a ruined city Pra'Xirek. Most the city is built on the ground, and much of that is now underwater, but over it all floats a castle, which used to be accesible by now-shattered walkways.

There are however some "floating castles" on Khorvaire as well. Sharn, the City of Towers, is built in a manifest zone of Syrania, meaning flight and levitation are greatly enhanced. This has allowed the city to grow up, literally in dozens of huge towers that stretch from the bottom of the cliffs the city is built on, up into the very clouds. One of the most presitigious neighborhoods in Sharn is Skyway, which literally floats over the city.

Likewise the mobile fortress of Argonth was developed by Brelish mages during the Last War, with the help of Cannith Makers. Literally a flying military outpost, Argonth traveled along Breland's borders assisting throughout the final years of the Last War. Now it follows a steady patrol around the nation, protecting the Brelish Citizens from raiders and other potential threats.

[Aexicas]

Thanks Theurge and D3 for the responses, they're much appreciated.

I just hope the devs decide to put in one of these Storm Giant castles one day...:D

[Hendrik]

*****

Five stars for the OP!

[Vormaerin]

Greyhawk still exist and is supported by the core material released.



This isn't really on topic but it was asked... GH is NOT the core world any longer and, in a practical sense, it never was under WotC. Some names and places were lifted for a while during the 3.0 era. But if you compare the GH specific source material with the "core" material, you'll find that it does not match in major ways. A perfect example: St. Cuthbert in the "core" is the god of retribution. In all GH specific lists, Trithereon is the god of retribution and St. Cuthbert is god of common sense, zeal, etc.

The core world was based on GH, but it wasn't GH and authors for the core were specifically instructed that they did not need to heed GH publications other than the brief "D&D Gazetteer".

Not that it matters much, mind you. Just thought I'd clarify my statement since it was challenged.

[Calilove]

Very important question on dwarves in Ebberon.

Q: Do dwarves in Eberron have the same relationships to their beards as "normal" dwarves? It seems TONS of the char creation options for the little guys are clean shaved and moustacchioed (sp?). Not complaining, mind you, but is this true to lore?

[angelius]

this is all very interesting and should be a "sticky" ..dev's?

[Lever]

Very important question on dwarves in Ebberon.

Q: Do dwarves in Eberron have the same relationships to their beards as "normal" dwarves? It seems TONS of the char creation options for the little guys are clean shaved and moustacchioed (sp?). Not complaining, mind you, but is this true to lore?

No. In truth, that wasn't even a 'D&D thing' as much as it was a Tolkien thing that was incorperated into some of the middle-worlds of D&D. So, no, dwarves have no great stigma to styling their hair however they like, but yes, they are quite the beard-growers if they choose to be.

[AoD45154]

Every time I do the Grey Moon quest series, I ask anyone if they know what it is and no one has ever known. Your mentioning of Kalashtar reminded me of this.

For those not familiar with the quest, there is a downward sloping hallway that you enter and a DM says something to the effect of you don't have to be a Kalashtar to figure this out. Can't recall the exact text.

Great thread by the way, me and my husband have been wanting to know more about the game setting.

Thanks

[Sojourner]

Vulkoor is the scorpion god of most of the drow, and we meet more of his worshipers in the sands of Menechtarum. Vulkoor is an evil god who enjoys those sorts of dark rituals you mention, and thus many of his worshippers are evil as well. Though, again here Eberron changes things a bit. There can be good people who worship evil gods and evil people who worship good gods. (Some high ranking members of the Church of the Silver Flame are corrupt individuals, for example.) The Vulkoorim revere scorpions and live scattered across the continent in jungle tribes and dark caves.

A bit more on this - I wouldn't exactly call Vulknoor a god of evil. Unfortunately one of the DDO missions, "Stromvaulds Mine" I think, directly equates Vulknoor to "The Mockery".

This is kind of a round-about explanation, but stick with me.

The Sovereign Host as a religion has a strong tendancy to look around at other peoples gods and say "Hey, your god Bob is just like our god Onatar, why don't you start calling him Onatar like we do and then we can all understand each other." They've done that to the point where the names of several peoples gods have been forgotten as they start using the Sovereign Host names.

Typically when people think of the Sovereign Host, they think of the nine "good" gods (Arawai, Aureon, Balinor, Boldrei, Dol Arrah, Dol Dorn, Kol Korran, Olladra, Onatar). However, there is also a related set of "evil" gods known as the "Dark Six". Followers of the Sovereign Host don't typically like to claim them, but these gods are all related to the nine good ones (brother, etc). They Dark Six are (The Devourer, The Fury, The Keeper, The Mockery, The Shadow, The Traveller).

Now, the Mockery is god of treachery, destruction, trickery, war.

The drow as a race tend to prefer "guerilla warfare" when fighting as oposed to open fields of battle with chivilry and rules for gentlemen duels. Having had to learn how to fight by trying to take down the giant civilization this makes sense. Poisoned weapons, assassins, snipers, sneak attacks, ambushes, hit-n-run tactics, etc.

So, of course, Vulknoor, as their god, supports these tactics and methods.

When people from the Sovereign Host came to Xen'Drik, they did what they do best - they looked at the gods being worshipped here and tried to equate them to their gods and then convice people to use their names instead of the original ones. So, when they hear that Vulknoor encourges his people to use treachery, trickery, and all sorts of unchivilrous methods to fight wars, that must mean that he is basically another version of the Mockery, and therefore evil.

Eberron really has almost no Good vs. Evil in a black and white sense. It's all a matter of perspective. To most people of Khorvaire, the way the drow fight is evil and underhanded. To the drow of Xen'Drik the way the people from Khorvaire fight is stupid and naive.

[Tashun]

Wow, and Thank you for doing this.

I hope one day when they introduce houseing and such they will also have ingame lore books, AC1 style, for reading, I would love that.

[Sem34]

LOL I have been doing this for our guild page... most of all these types of questions and answers are on the D&D Eberron home page :) . But to the OP, great idea... I was also thinging about taking my posts from our guild page to DDO's forums.

[DrAwkward]

Q: Could you elaborate a bit on the cosmology? You mention the Quori come from a place that the Giants "knocked out of orbit" but also give the impression of it being another plane.

Q: What are the Quori anyway?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Could you elaborate a bit on the cosmology? You mention the Quori come from a place that the Giants "knocked out of orbit" but also give the impression of it being another plane.

A. The planes of Eberron do actually Orbit the material plane, traveling through the Astral Plane. There's an image of this (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82105.jpg) posted on the Wizards site gallery for the campaign setting.

This has some rather unique effects. When planes are close to Eberron or "coterminous" they cause certain abnormal effects. When Fernia, the plane of fire, is coterminous for instance, volcanos are more likely to erput and fire magic is more potent. Likewise, ice or cold magic is less effective, and it's less likely to rain.

Conversly, when a plane is remote it affects Eberron in the opposite direction. When Dolurhh, the plane of the Dead, is remote, it's hard to cast speak with the dead. When Kythri, the plane of Chaos, is remote, nations are more likely to adhere to their treaties.

Each plane has its own orbit, and therefore it's own frequency of being coterminous and distant. Planes can also be considered to be waxing and waning, indicating whether they're moving toward or away from Eberron.

Most relevant to this particular discussion, travel to or from a given plane is much easier when it's coterminous and much harder when it's distant. The Quori invasion of the Giant Empire occured when Dal Quor was coterminous, and the final defense of the Giants was to knock it out of orbit, causing it to be perpetually distant.

The thirteen planes are:

Daanvi, the Perfect Order.
Dal Quor, the Region of Dreams.
Dolurhh, the Realm of the Dead.
Fernia, the Sea of Fire.
Irian, the Eternal Day.
Kythri, the Churning Chaos.
Lammania, the Twilight Forest.
Mabar, the Endless Night.
Risia, the Plain of Ice.
Shavarath, the Battleground.
Syrania, the Azure Sky.
Thenalis, the Faerie Court.
Xoriat, the Realm of Madness.

In addition to a plane being coterminous or remote, there are also what are called Manifest Zones. These are areas in Eberron that have a connection to one of the other planes. This connection enhances elements or effects that are related to the plane that is Manifest. For example, Sharn, as I mentioned, is in a manifest zone of Syrania, a plane of endless sky and flight, which causes flight related magic to be enhanced within the zone. Deep forests might have manifest zones to Lammania, where the natural plant growth is accelerated and wild animals are just a bit more wild.

Q. What are the Quori anyway? And what about the Kalashtar?

A. I'm going to combine these two answers, because they're closely intertwined.

The question what are the Quori, is slightly complicated, because we're essentially talking about two different types of Quori. There's a concept on Dal Quor called the turning of the Age, where the residents of the plane are utterly eliminated and replaced by all new residents. When the Giants managed to affect the cataclysm that threw Dal Quor out of orbit they cause a turning of the Age. So the present day Quori are not the Quori who fought the Giants eons ago.

Modern Quori are the nightmare spawn of what they call il-Lashtavar, or the Darkness that Dreams. Sometimes called the Heart of the Darkness or the Dreaming Dark, il-Lashtavar is the literal and metaphorical darkness at the heart of Dal Quor. It is il-Lashtavar that guides the current machinations of the Quori and shapes much of the plane of Dreams.

At some point, sixty seven Quori, led by one named Taratai, rebelled against il-Lashtavar. Seeking to escape it's control, they fled Dal Quor and ended up bonding themselves to monks in Adar. As these monks reproduced, a strange thing occured. Rather than remaining bound to their original host, the Quori found their consciousnesses being divided up by all those who carried the blood of the first monks. These offspring, over generations, would become the Kalashtar.

To understand the next part, it's important to understand how Outsiders interact with death in Eberron. Every plane as a given number of outsiders (or powerful outsiders) who reside there, and when one is destroyed, a new one is spawned fresh from the energies of the plane. Thus, all the Quori would have had to do in order to quash the rebellion would be to destroy the rebels, and allow il-Lashtavar to spawn new Quori to replace them.

Now, the spirit of each rebel quori is spread out over dozens or even hundreds of individual Kalashtar. The Quori remain undaunted, however, and continue to seek the extermination of the Kalashtar lines, which will in turn strengthen their own numbers. In fact, one of the greatest Holidays of the Kalashtar is what's called the Void of Taratai. These are days of rememberance, where the Kalashtar mourn the loss of the line of Taratai, for the Quori finally succeeded in destroying all Kalashtar who bore portions of Taratai's spirit.

The Quori are generally incapable of traveling physically to Eberron, due to the remote nature of Dal Quor (thanks to the Giants) and so are forced to act through mortal agents. In Riedra, the nation the Quori have managed to take control of, they raise a certain class of humans to be Empty Vessels, hosts for their possession. A Quori-inhabited Empty Vessel is known as one of the Inspired, and to be selected to become one of the Inspired is a great honor among the people of Riedra.

One might imagine that the Kalashtar's struggle for survival is a battle they cannot help but lose, given that any time they destroy one of the Inspired, the Quori can simply inhabit a new Empty Vessel, and even worse, if they do manage to destroy one of the Quori, il-Lashtavar simply spawns a new one. However, the Kalashtar don't seek the destruction of their enemy, but rather the Turning of the Age, a feat they hope to accomplish through peaceful meditation and a philosophy they call il-Yannah, the Path of Light.

[Shecky]

Q. I was flipping though the MM4 and found a creature called the Lunar Ravager. While the creature isn't exactly what peaked my interest, the "in Eberron" text did. The In Eberron text makes mention to floating castles above the continent of Xen'drik. What are the significance to these castles?

A. They are likely Giant ruins. Many of the ancient giants would have had the magic to create floating castles and some might still remain. Storm Giants in particular might find the appeal of living in the sky impossible to resist.

The Explorer's Handbook makes mention of a ruined city Pra'Xirek. Most the city is built on the ground, and much of that is now underwater, but over it all floats a castle, which used to be accesible by now-shattered walkways.

There are however some "floating castles" on Khorvaire as well. Sharn, the City of Towers, is built in a manifest zone of Syrania, meaning flight and levitation are greatly enhanced. This has allowed the city to grow up, literally in dozens of huge towers that stretch from the bottom of the cliffs the city is built on, up into the very clouds. One of the most presitigious neighborhoods in Sharn is Skyway, which literally floats over the city.

Likewise the mobile fortress of Argonth was developed by Brelish mages during the Last War, with the help of Cannith Makers. Literally a flying military outpost, Argonth traveled along Breland's borders assisting throughout the final years of the Last War. Now it follows a steady patrol around the nation, protecting the Brelish Citizens from raiders and other potential threats.

Don't forget Arcanix. This is a floating city, home to a congress of magic-users.

[Magehound]

Thank you from an old pnp player. I do not have time to buy the rule books and read them anymore:( , so this thread really comes in handy.

So thank you, thank you, thank you.:D


Question: I know the books about the lost dragonmark of death have come out (and are a really good read), is there any lost dragonmarks that are known about?

[Metalheadlawyer]

I'll take a stab, although massive kudos to the OP for starting this:

Q. What is a Kalashtar anyway?
A. Kalashtar a race that long ago bonded with benign creatures from the plane of dreams. These creatures were essentially rebels in their home plane, which is dominated by the negative forces of the Quori. This bonding occurred ages ago, so now a specific "spirit" of is basically tied to Kalashtar by bloodline. It gives them enhanced psionic abilities, basically. Kalashtar are constantly vigilant against the forces of the Dreaming Dark, as the evil Quori are known. Both the Kalashtar and their enemies are primarily based on the continent of Riedra, which although the birthplace of humanity is now almost totally dominated by Quori-possessed leaders, with a small outpost of Kalashtar resistance.

Q. Could you elaborate a bit on the cosmology? You mention the Quori come from a place that the Giants "knocked out of orbit" but also give the impression of it being another plane.
A. The planes "move" so that they go through periods where they are co-existant with our plane (close) or almost unreachable (far). For example, during the last time the plane of Xoriat (madness) was coexistant with ours, an invasion from the plane of madness occurrred. However, the Gatekeeper druids of Khorvaire essentially cast a mighty magic that permanently disconnected Xoriat from our plane, so they no longer may ever be co-existent. In addition, some regions of Eberron are attuned to a plane, like Sharn is with the plane of air.

Q. What are the Quori anyway?
A. The Quori are denizens of the plane of Dal Quor, the plane of dreams. They can no longer directly enter our plane (since the Giants fought a war with them ages ago) but can still enter via dreams or possession. The continent of Riedra is ruled by such vessels, human beings who have had their consciousness totally displaced by the evil Quori. They are to be contrasted with the Kalashtar, who are benevolent beings from the same plane, who long ago agreed to purposefully merge with human beings.

[Shecky]

Thank you from an old pnp player. I do not have time to buy the rule books and read them anymore:( , so this thread really comes in handy.

So thank you, thank you, thank you.:D

If I sound like a convert when I say this... well, it's because I am :) :

1) When you say "old PnP player", I feel your pain. I was VERY skeptical when 3.x came out, but after biting the bullet and purchasing the new PHB, I was convinced - it's a far more consistent and inclusive system. Yes, there are still quibbly little bits and things that can be manipulated, but I think it answers a lot of questions and solves many problems that previous versions had. A very logical, well-thought-out structure. But if you've already gotten into 3.5...

2) ... then this is the only part that will apply to you. I heartily counsel you to buy just the Eberron Campaign Setting and read it when you can. I promise you that you'll be hooked from the start, more so than Faerûn or Greyhawke ever interested me. It does SO much to make 3.5 D&D LIVE... not to mention that a number of things in DDO begin to make at leat SOME sense. :)

[Ziggy]

gratz on the sticky.

[Mizyrlou]

I would like to know more about elves and the Undying Court.

[Mercwrought]

Vary nice helps fill in some of my holes.

Is it true that the war ended around two years or so ago?

[Ulfr]

Thanks for this thread! There is a lot of material online for Eberron in Wizard's archives (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archeb/eb) too. A lot of it is just for flavor, some is current-event like for liveliness, but there is also a bit of core Eberron knowledge in there too.

Q. Could you tell us anything about the Draconic Prophecy or how it relates to the Dragonmarks?

Q. What exactly are Dragonshards and why are they so sought after?

[Sem34]

I would like to know more about elves and the Undying Court.

First Elves of Eberron are far different then elves of FR. The Religion {this mostly applies to elves of Aereni (a continent off the coast of Khorvaire to the South East between Khorvaire and Argonnessen) but elves of Valenar also believe in this.

"The Aereni tradition of ancestor warship has evolved considerably since the birth of the Undying Court. Instead of revering those ancestors long dead, the Aereni venerate the dead that remain. In the eyes of the elves, existence is a spiritual journey that takes thousand of years to accomplish - a journey only the undying can complete. Thus, The Aereni honor the deathless who are on their final path, but their true deity is the combined essence of the ascended councilors, the undying who have journeyed beyond life and death to reach the final destination of the elven soul. While the ascendant councilor can still take physical form, the elves do not worship them as individual deities; instead, they revere the ascendant union as the ultimate embodiment of the elf race."

As a Result of these beliefs, the Aereni do not fear death. On the contrary, it is a state to be desired as the next step on the path to ascension. However, an elf must earn the right to walk this path. The Priests of Transition are the ambassadors to the Undying Court, and it is these clerics who judge the achievements of and elven life and decide the fate of a candidate. Those who have shown tremendous heroism and skill at arms my be reborn as undying soldiers, while the wisest among the elves become undying councilors, An elf judged to be flawed or foolish may be left to die, leaving room for a stronger spirit to enter the community. But more often then not, the Priests of Transition use raise dead to restore a fallen elf so that he may continue his journey along the path of existence.

The elves believe that it is the devotion of the family that preserves the spirits of the undying. As a result, an elf is expected to be deeply familiar with the lives of his undying ancestors, and to show respect to all the undying.

The Tairnadal elves of Valenar and Northern Aerenal have a different focus. While they respect the elders of the Undying Court, they warship the spirits of the warriors of Xen'drik-Elves who fell long before the Undying Court was raised. The Tairnadal priests are known as the Keepers of the Past, and their ranks include both clerics and bards. At Birth (or upon joining the Tairnadal, in the case of a half-elf or Aereni recruit) the Keepers of the Past consult the spirits to determine and elf's patron ancestor. The Tairnadal believe that by emulating the behavior of their patron ancestors, they give those ancestors a chance to live again in the current generation.

[Cavalier]

Question: In the many settings of D&D over the years, there have been some commonalities such as race, monsters, items, etc.

Given that unless it was solely for the benefit of simplicity on the part of the creators and writers of the various campaign settings, how are the races connected? A human in FR and a human in Eberron is essentially the same, so how did they cross over? Did they cross over? Or is all of this, as I mentionned above, simply a way to keep a commonality between settings?

[Metalheadlawyer]

Question: In the many settings of D&D over the years, there have been some commonalities such as race, monsters, items, etc.

Given that unless it was solely for the benefit of simplicity on the part of the creators and writers of the various campaign settings, how are the races connected? A human in FR and a human in Eberron is essentially the same, so how did they cross over? Did they cross over? Or is all of this, as I mentionned above, simply a way to keep a commonality between settings?

I think the basic answer to your question is that its simply a way to keep commonality between settings. WoTC (and TSR before them) are in the business of selling "core" books and then expansions. If you deviate from the "core" concepts in each new setting, no one will by the core books.

Going beyond that, most settings don't bother to explain where the various races "came from", or to suggest that they came from some other world. There are a few exceptions. I know in Forgotten Realms, it has been made clear that, at some point in the very distant past, some (but not all) of the elves emigrated to Faerun from another plane or world. But this happened so long ago that they have long been considered "natives" to Faerun. Other than that, there hasn't been much discussion of why folks in different worlds are so similar, largely b/c none of the "worlds" acknowledges the existence of any other.

[Shecky]

Thanks for this thread! There is a lot of material online for Eberron in Wizard's archives (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archeb/eb) too. A lot of it is just for flavor, some is current-event like for liveliness, but there is also a bit of core Eberron knowledge in there too.

Q. Could you tell us anything about the Draconic Prophecy or how it relates to the Dragonmarks?

The Prophecy is an utter mystery to non-dragons. After their debilitating wars with the giants et al, most dragons retreated to Argonnessen to exist in quiet remove from the rest of the world. Being highly intelligent in general, and with their intrinsic long view due to their extremely long lives, the dragons began to examine seriously their place in the universe and what the universe held in store for them (the dragons, of course, not really considering other races' roles in the unfolding of history and the future).

From a practical standpoint, it means that while many dragons stay in quiet contemplation on Argonnessen and are entirely unaware of goings-on in the rest of Eberron, there are also quite a number who search actively for signs, clues and other bits of the Prophecy or things that might give them an idea on some aspect. As a result, while dragons tend to stay in their own land, they are not entirely unknown in the rest of Eberron; some, especially those able to metamorphose into humanoid shapes, even poke around on the continent of Khorvaire (the central focus of the Eberron campaign setting, since other continents seem to have more monolithic cultures or are embroiled in utter chaos), doing research in humanoid lands and alongside humanoids.

Many dragons were shocked to the core when news came that humanoids began manifesting what were known as dragonmarks, tattoo-like markings on humanoids that give them innate magical abilities and mark them out as being somehow linked to the Prophecy (exactly how, the dragons aren't saying); since they firmly believed that dragons were the only race that truly counted, this was a blow to their collective ego. Whatever the case, it is incontrovertible that dragonmarked humanoids do have a role in the Prophecy, so the dragons have turned at least part of their focus onto other races... sometimes an uncomfortable thing.


Q. What exactly are Dragonshards and why are they so sought after?

Dragonshards are crystals that seem to be infused with an intrinsic magical energy. There are three kinds of dragonshards: Siberys ("The Dragon Above"), Khyber ("The Dragon Below") and Eberron ("The Dragon Between"), corresponding to the heavens, the underworld and the world. Accordingly, Siberys shards fall from the sky (there is what appears to be a shattered moon in orbit around Eberron), Kyber shards are usually found deep underground and Eberron shards can most often be found on the ground or at very little depth below the surface. Dragonshards have different affinities for different things according to their provenance and serve as powerful foci for magical artifacts. They can even be implanted in certain items in a particular process, thereby imbuing those items with special magical effects. Some can be used in the binding of elementals, helping the industry of skyships and such prosper.

None of these are common, and the larger and more powerful shards can individually be worth a kingdom's ransom, if a monetary value could be put on them.

[Viglin]

Could someone list the following please;

*The Gods-Name, alignment, thier sphere of influence, common followers

*Main Religions and Guilds[not the Houses]

*Famous People-Heros, Villians, Rulers, etc

Thanks inadvance.

[Sem34]

Consists of the deities most commonly worshiped by the majority of Khorvaire’s population; Most people revere the Host as a whole pantheon, offering prayers to different deities in different situations. Even clerics are often devoted to the entire Host rather than to a specific patron. Taken as a whole, the pantheon is neutral good, and its favored weapon is the longsword- the weapon of its martial champion, Dol Dorn.

Arawai: God of Agriculture (NG)
Aureon: God of Law and Knowledge (LN)
Balinor: God of Beasts and the Hunt (N)
Boldrei: God of Community and Hearth (LG)
Dol Arrah: God of Honor and Sacrifice (LG)
Dol Dorn: God of Strength and Arms (CG)
Kol Korran: God of Trade and Wealth (N)
Olladra: God of Feast and Good Fortune (NG)
Onatar: God of Artifice and the Forge (NG)

[Sem34]

In some ways, the Dark Six can be considered a part of the pantheon of the Sovereign Host. It would be more accurate, however, to say that these deities have been cast out of the pantheon because of their evil ways. The Dark Six are the patrons of criminals, outcasts, and villains, as well as of various kinds of monsters. The holy texts show them scheming against the Sovereign Host at every turn for reasons that vary from deity to deity, and their dark minions likewise plot against the followers of the Sovereign Host.

The Devourer: Lord of the Deep waters and master of maelstrom and reef (NE)
The Fury: Revered by those whose passion consumes their lives (NE)
The Keeper: Lord of death and decay (NE)
The Mockery: Treachery over Honor (NE)
The Shadow: the Literal shadow of Aureon, gained a life of its own. Devotes its energy to dark magic and the corruption of nature (NE)
The Traveler: no connection to the other deities of the pantheon. A Consummate shapeshifter; proverbs warn, “Beware the gifts of the Traveler” (CN)

[kenjigoku]

Could someone list the following please;

*The Gods-Name, alignment, thier sphere of influence, common followers

Alrighty here we go. In Eberron there are singular gods as well as a few pantheon. First the Sovereign Host:

Sovereign Host- As a whole Neutral Good- Favored Weapon- Longsword.

The Sovereign Host consists of deities most commonly worshiped by the majority of Khorvaire’s population. Most people revere the Host as a whole pantheon, offering prayers to different deities in different situations. Even clerics are often devoted to the entire Host rather than a specific patron. Taken as a whole, the pantheon is neutral good, and its favored weapon is the longsword-the weapon of its martial champion, Dol Dorn.

Arawai- God of Agriculture- Neutral Good: She claims the domains of Good, Life, Plant, and Weather. Favored Weapon is Morningstar. Followers include- Clerics, Druids, and Rangers.

Aureon- God of Law and Knowledge- Lawful Neutral: He claims the domains of Knowledge, Law, and Magic. Favored Weapon is Quarterstaff. Followers include- Artificers, Clerics, Psions, Psychic Warriors, Sorcerers, and Wizards.

Balinor- God of Beasts and the Hunt- True Neutral: He claims the domains of Air, Animal, and Earth. Favored Weapon is Battleaxe. Followers include- Shifters, Barbarians, Clerics, Druids, and Rangers.

Boldrei- God of Community and Hearth- Lawful Good: She claims the domains of Community, Good, Law, and Protection. Favored Weapon is Spear. Followers include- Shifters, and Clerics.

Dol Arrah- God of Honor and Sacrifice- Lawful Good: He claims the domains of Good, Law, Sun, and War. Favored Weapon is Halberd. Followers include- Clerics, Fighters, Monks, and Rangers.

Dol Dorn- God of Strength at Arms- Chaotic Good: He claims the domains of Chaos, Good, Strength, and War. Favored Weapon is Longsword. Followers include- Barbarians, Clerics, Fighters, Monks, and Rangers.

Kol Korran- God of Trade and Wealth- True Neutral: He claims the domains of Charm, Commerce, and Travel. Favored Weapon is Mace. Followers include- Clerics, and Rouges.

Olladra- God of Feast and Good Fortune- Neutral Good: She claims the domains of Feast, Good, Healing, and Luck. Favored Weapon is Sickle. Followers include- Bards, Clerics, Rouges, and Soulknife.

Onatar- God of Artifice and the Forge- Neutral Good: He claims the domains of Artifice, Fire and Good. Favored Weapon is Warhammer. Followers include- Artificer, Clerics, Psion, Sorcerer, and Wizard.

Dark Six

In some ways, the Dark Six can be considered a part of the pantheon of the Sovereign Host. It would be more accurate, however, to say that these deities have been cast out of the pantheon because of their evil ways. The Dark Six are the patrons of criminals, outcasts, and villains, as well as of various kinds of monsters. The holy texts show them scheming against the Sovereign Host at every turn for reasons that vary from deity to deity, and their dark minions likewise plot against the followers of the Sovereign Host. [quote]

The Devourer- Neutral Evil: He claims the domains of Destruction, Evil, Water and Weather. Favored Weapon is Trident. Followers include- Barbarians, and Clerics.

The Fury- Neutral Evil: He claims the domains of Evil, Madness, and Passion. Favored Weapon is Rapier. Followers include- Clerics, and Wilders.

The Keeper- Neutral Evil: He claims the domains of Death, Decay, and Evil. Favored Weapon is Scythe. Followers include- Clerics, Druids, Rangers, Rouges, and Wizards.

The Mockery- Neutral Evil: He claims the domains of Destruction, Evil, Trickery and War. Favored Weapon is Kama. Followers include- Clerics, Monks, Psychic Warriors, Rouges, Soulknife, and Wilders.

The Shadow- Chaotic Evil: He claims the domains of Chaos, Evil, Magic and Shadow. Favored Weapon is Quarterstaff. Followers include- Artificer, Clerics, Psions, Sorcerers, and Wizards.

The Traveler- Chaotic Evil: He claims the domains of Artifice, Chaos, Travel and Trickery. Favored Weapon is Scimitar. Followers include- Changelings, Shifters, Artificers, Bards, Clerics, Rouges, Soulknife, Wilder, and Wizards (Illusionists).

The Silver Flame
[quote] The lawful good deity called the Silver Flame is an abstract, disembodied force closely associated with a once-human woman named Tira Miron. Herself now immortal, Tira (now known as the Voice of the Silver Flame) serves as the intermediary between the holy Silver Flame and the mortals who can never attain sufficient purity to communicate with the Silver Flame directly. The Church of the Silver Flame is dedicated to protection the common people against supernatural forces of evil, and thus is attracts a great number of paladins to its cause.

The Silver Flame- Lawful Good: It claims the domains of Exorcism, Good, Law, and Protection. Favored Weapon is Longbow (Very important tradition within the church). Followers include- Clerics, Fighters, and Paladin.

The Blood of Vol

The Blood of Vol cult attracts followers fascinated by death and the undead. The most dedicated of these revere and ancient lich who calls herself Vol, Queen of the Dead. The Blood flows into the distant past, through the earliest days of human civilization on Khorvaire, of the elf kingdom of Aerenal, and even to Xen’drik, the continent of secrets. Col and her followers see undeath as a path to dicinity, invoking negative energy in contrast to the positive energy that powers the Undying Court. They are captivated by the figurative and literal meaning of blood and by heredity, seeking to manipulate bloodlines to accomplish some fiendish purpose. Col herself is a powerful necromancer who has unlocked the secrets of undead creation. Clerics of the Blood of Col are lawful evil.

The Blood of Vol- Lawful Evil: The cult has access to the domains of Death, Evil, Law, and Necromancer. The cults favored weapon is the Dagger. Followers include- Clerics, and Wizards.

The Cults of the Dragon Below

The Cults of the Dragon Below consist of a diverse group of fanatical sects that revere the power of the subterranean realms. Some of these cults seek to draw Khyber, the Dragon Below, up from the depths of the world, while others traffic with demons conjured form the deep regions, A few seek a promised paradise in some lost cavern far below the surface, purifying themselves with blood sacrifice to make themselves worthy to find it. Though little unites these mad cults beyond heir reverence for the forbidden powers of Khyber, they are generally neutral evil.

The Cults of the Dragon Below- Neutral Evil: The cult has access to the domains of Dragon Below, Earth, Evil, and Madness. The cults favored Weapon is the Heavy Pick. Followers include- varies.

The Path of Light.

The kalashtar of Adar follow no deity, but they do revere a universal force of positive energy they call il-Yannah, or “the Great Light.” This force is lawful neutral. Most of the followers f the path of Light are psion and psychic warriors, seeking to perfect their bodies, and minds through meditation and communion with this light to prepare themselves for conflict with the forces of darkness-most particularly, the Dreaming Dark of the Inspired of Riedra.

The Path of Light- Lawful Neutral: This group has access to the domains of Law, Meditation, and Protection. The groups favored weapon is Unarmed Strikes. Followers include- Kalashtar, Clerics, Psion, Psychic Warriors, and Soulknife.

The Undying Court

The elves of Aerenal revere their ancient dead as incarnate deities, seeking advice from deathless councilors and petitioning their favor. Unlike undead creatures, the deathless elves of the Undying Court are animated by positive energy and are powerful being of a neutral good alignment.

The Undying Court- Neutral Good: The court has access to the domains of Deathless, Good, and protection. The court Favors the Scimitar. Followers include- Elves, and Clerics.

(Viglin may respond to the rest of yours later... but honestly typing all that killed me :P)

[EccOMyth]

Dragonshards are crystals that seem to be infused with an intrinsic magical energy. There are three kinds of dragonshards: Siberys ("The Dragon Above"), Khyber ("The Dragon Below") and Eberron ("The Dragon Between"), corresponding to the heavens, the underworld and the world. Accordingly, Siberys shards fall from the sky (there is what appears to be a shattered moon in orbit around Eberron), Kyber shards are usually found deep underground and Eberron shards can most often be found on the ground or at very little depth below the surface. Dragonshards have different affinities for different things according to their provenance and serve as powerful foci for magical artifacts. They can even be implanted in certain items in a particular process, thereby imbuing those items with special magical effects. Some can be used in the binding of elementals, helping the industry of skyships and such prosper.

None of these are common, and the larger and more powerful shards can individually be worth a kingdom's ransom, if a monetary value could be put on them.

First off i'd like to say i am happy to see a post like this up. I have almost every book in some form or another all the way up to about feb of this year. But the sad thing is my comp is down and i'm at my bros reading the forums. So i don't have any of the books in front of me either hard copy or scanned.

But i'd still like to add a little about the world which will also tie into the shards somewhat.

Siberys ("The Dragon Above"), Khyber ("The Dragon Below") and Eberron were Dragon gods would be the best words i can think of though it was not really said that way i don't think. But they were Dragons with god like power who came to want a world for themselves. So they start creating one. Each had something they focused on. Such as i think it was Khyber who made the ground and the stone for which would be the core of the world. I think Siberys made the sky and oceans. And Eberron created life such as forests and things of that nature. I think the other two over time made "living" things also like their own races and such. But after a while there seemed to grow a jealousy and rival between Siberys and Khyber. Finally it grew to much and a great battle broke out between the two. They battle without any mind to the world they helped create and the things now living on it. They were destroying so much that it enraged Eberron so much he stepped in and cast two great spells. One on each of his brothers. He cast a spell on Siberys and shattered him and put him into orbit around the world. Thus the great ice ring that surrounds Eberron. Then he cast a spell onto Khyber casting him into the center of the world he helped make and he became the core. After this i can't remember what Eberron does and how he fades out of the picture so to say.(This is where i wish i had my books.)

As far as this and Dragonshards, it is believed that the shards are in fact a part of these great dragons that created the world. It's said that the spell/s in a shard are spells that were know by that dragon. Thus the Sib ones fall from the sky where the ones found in the ground work their way up from the center. As far Eberron ones they have been found almost everywhere even in a growing Flower. What cool about shards is they don't put the spell into your head so to say. They are like books really. Someone who knows magic and can read the runes may stare at one and it'll tell you how to cast the spell like it was written in a spell book. The bigger the shard the more powerful spell/s it is said to hold. Although a few small shards have contained very strong magic. They can be used in magical workings such as binding elementals and such.

I'd love to be able to post more, but not as fun without the books here to ref.

I'm going to get my HD out of my tower and Pet it to my bros comp and transfer my books over there i think. :p That way i'll have at least the ones i have scanned here at his place. Though i'd still have to bring some filler books. I hope i get my comp back up soon!

[Thanatos]

Q: Are there any lost dragonmarks that are known about?
A: There's just the Mark of Death, which was possessed by the elven bloodline of Vol. Aberrant Dragonmarks are not stable and tend to change their powers and pattern from one generation to the next.

The Lost Mark
The elves of Aerenal and the dragons of Argonnessen have had periodic wars for thousands of years. The elven family of Vol attempted to forge an alliance with a green dragon by producing a joint heir, who would then be the diplomat for peace between elves and dragons. That offspring was Erandis d'Vol, an elven half-dragon.

She was hidden away until maturity, but when she was introduced to other elves and dragons, both saw the mixing of the races as an abomination, and ironically they did agree to ally for one purpose; to destroy House Vol and the half-dragon. House Vol was eradicated, and Erandis was killed, but the matriarch of the family managed to use the Mark of Death to turn Erandis into a Lich (dracolich?). Her own Mark of Death does not work now that she is undead, but one of the goals she's been working on for the last 2600 years or so is to find a way to restore her own mark and rebuild House Vol.

Interesting notes:
Half-Dragons are possible in Eberron, but are destroyed without question by true dragons.

Half-Dragons seem to be an exception to the rule that a true dragonmark will only appear on members of a very specific race. For example, while a half-orc may develop the Mark of Finding, it's not going to inherit any of the other human dragonmarks because of it's orc blood. Apparently, dragon blood doesn't preclude the development of a true mark inherited from the nondragon side.

Various things in Eberron at one time numbered 13, but now number 12.
There were 13 moons, but one was destroyed.
There are 13 planes (besides Eberron itself) but one was knocked out of orbit to be permanently remote.
There were 13 true Dragonmarks, but the Mark of Death was cast down. (Destroyed)

[Sem34]

Thanks kenjigoku for the help on breaking it down... didn't really have the time at work to type it all out. :)

[kenjigoku]

Thanks kenjigoku for the help on breaking it down... didn't really have the time at work to type it all out. :)

No biggy Sem34, I happen to not have school today and wanted to help out since I don't do much but lurk on the forums.

Anyways, I will be trying to help whenever I can... if you have personal questions that you feel won't benefit everyones knowlege feel free to PM me with questions. I am a rookie DM but I slave over the books so let me know if you have anything you want to know. Thx la

[Sem34]

There were 13 true Dragonmarks, but the Mark of Death was cast down.

The 13th Dragon Mark (Mark of Death) was not cast out... but completely destroyed.... by both the dragons and the Elves. The only known bearer of the 13th Mark is Lady Vol. unless you read the novels... a young elf now has the mark of death.

[kyebosh]

Just awesome!
This is excellent & should be a mandatory read! It makes the game so much more alive. It also makes the future of DDO potentially very exciting... Dragonmarked PC's? Crafting with Dragonshards? Cool!

Also, I sure hope they bring out the Talenta Sharrash! (ECS p119-120)
1d10, 19-20x4, Slashing 2-Hander... Alllriight!

[Sojourner]

I've written some stuff up for Eberron background material for my guild. Only a couple things have been converted to our new web pages, but I'm adding more as I have time.

Check Here (http://crimsonnexus.ath.cx/pages/Eberron.html) to see what we've currently got converted to the web pages, and we should have a ton more background material over the next week or two.

I think the writeup on Elves may be especially helpful for thost interested in the elves (drow or otherwise) and their history in Eberron.

[Darkdominion]

Thanks guys, this is awesome :D
Anyways, a moon got destroyed? How'd that happen?

[Thanatos]

Q: I would like to know more about elves and the Undying Court.

A: The original elves were living in very primitive tribes when the Giant Empire began to capture and enslave them. They did benefit in some ways from the accelerated pace of their civilization and magical development, but ultimately they were still slaves, and the giants used them both for suicidally dangerous work and even sacrificed them to power magic rituals. One elf, Aeren, managed to pick up on the principles of the necromantic blood magic from observing his giant master. Over time, he secretly taught other elves, and they planned a revolt. They succeeded enough that they were able to flee to the subcontinent that is now known as Aerenal. Aeren actually sacrificed himself with his own blood magic, but was able to use that power to provide protection for his people, and to transform himself into the first Undying. Over time, a city was built on a manifest zone to Irian (positive energy), where more Undying were created. The Undying councilors as a collective make up the Undying Court, and are the spiritual center of the Aerenal elves. It is the highest dream of most to become Undying, even if it's just as an undying soldier to protect the City of the Dead. Some even use alchemical treatments to give themselves deathlike looks in life, including pale grey skin or skull-like tattoos over their faces.

The Valenar elves are an offshoot that believe it isn't those who effected the escape that should be venerated, but the warriors who stayed behind and died to allow the others to live. Each Valenar elf has a ancestor that she tries to emulate and honor in valorous combat. They live the life of horse nomads in the deserts of southeast Khorvaire, and in fact their horses are considered to be spiritually connected to them as well - they've even declared eternal war on House Vadalis for an attempt to steal a few of the fine Valenar steeds to use as breeding stock. Valenar prefer shortbows to long, as they may be fired from horseback, and prefer scimitars and other curved blades over longswords or rapiers.

Khorvaire elves and "Urban" elves are those that have lived in the human nations so long that they identify more with their nation than they do with their racial history, and are integrated with the cultures of those nations. House Phiarlan left Aerenal after the destruction of House Vol, because they felt it was in their best interests to distance themselves from the culture that had just turned on the other dragonmarked elves. House Thuranni is a recent offshoot of Phiarlan, so they are Khorvaire Elves as well.

The Drow may be considered elves or a seperate race. It is not known for certain if they occured naturally; some evidence suggests that they were created as a result of giants trying to perfect the elves to serve as better troops. There are different drow cultures, which MysticTheurge has covered already. They tend to view other elves as weak for fleeing their homeland instead of attempting to stand and fight the giants until one or both were destroyed.

[darkrhavyn]

I just found this today and have to say that it is truly awesome --I know the amount of work it takes to create something like this and maintain it --Thank you a million - it is a GREAT idea!:)

[Thanatos]

The 13th Dragon Mark (Mark of Death) was not cast out... but completely destroyed.... by both the dragons and the Elves. The only known bearer of the 13th Mark is Lady Vol. unless you read the novels... a young elf now has the mark of death.Cast down... as in defeated in combat and executed. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to put it poetically, but I was paraphrasing the words of Alder d'Cannith, the visionary that founded The Twelve. I know the Vol line wasn't just exiled.

I'm not sure that the novels count as offical setting material, so I left that out. A big change like the possible ressurection of the Mark of Death is something I'd consider to be part of that specific version of Eberron, kind of like how another DM's game events aren't going to change the world in mine.

[rfachini]

What are mind flayers doing in Ebberon and how do they relate to the Quori?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What are mind flayers doing in Eberron and how do they relate to the Quori?

A. They don't actually. The mind flayers, along with most other creatures of the Abberation type were created by the Daelkyr, extra-planar lords of madness who inhabit Xoriat.

At some point in the relatively-recent past (at least compared with the Giant Empires), the Daelkyr attempted to invade Eberron as well. The Daelkyr possess immense power to reshape the world around them, and many delighted their insanities by experimenting on the local populace. Chokers, for instance, were halflings before the daelkyr got their hands on them.

The Mind Flayers were some of their more powerful lieutenants during the war.

Eventually, the invasion was turned back by the Dhakaani Empire, a powerful nation of goblinoids, in coalition with the Gatekeepers, a sect of then-orcish druids who had been taught the magic needed to seal the planar gateways by the black dragon, Vvaraak. However, many of the Daelkyr, and their creations remained trapped in Khyber, sealed away through a series of spells and the power of Khyber Dragonshards, which are associated with the powers of binding.

Psionic power in Eberron generally comes from powerful emotions or untapped subconcious potential. The main places we see this is in those related to Madness and Dreams, namely the Daelkyr and their creations, and the Kalashtar and the Quori.

[D3x2006]

Craniums up those of answering - we need to avoid quoting the book if at all possible. I am guessing that WoTC reads these Forums. Linking to other sources (wikipedia fx) is probably a good idea there.

If there is a legal type person from an official source who can give us clear direction, please do.

Vol

She is still around and is a very powerful person - she has an entire religion dedicated to her, with the fanatical joining the Emerald Claw. The undead that are roaming around Stormreach, probably one of her pawns. My characters really need to stop going to give that Vampire in House J items - he smells of Vol. Most Khorvaire Vampires were at some time (before becoming Vampires at the very least) followers of Vol or powerful enemy agents worth turning to her cause.

Just some more fun Vol info.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Tell me about the Gods.

A. People have covered them pretty well so far, but there's something rather important to note, that no one's really brought up yet.

Gods in Eberron are much less involved than those in other settings. In fact, their actual existance is uncertain. Unlike in, say, the Forgotten Realms, where Gods pop in every now and then to chat with their followers, no one in Eberron has actually seen, or even talked to the Gods.

Spells that would normally contact your God instead put you in touch with high-level outsiders who, in theory, serve your god. A cleric of Boldrei who casts Commune doesn't actually speak to Boldrei, but rather a powerful Archon who can answer her questions.

Q. Tell me about the Religions and Guilds.

A. People have covered most of the religions as well.

As for Guilds, aside from the Dragonmarked Houses, there aren't really many. The Houses have a sort of monopoly on much of the economy. There may be other, unaffiliated craftsmen, but the Houses are the only real organized economic force.

Q. Tell me about Famous People.

A. That's a pretty open-ended question but I'll try to name a few.

King Boranel ir'Wynarn rules Breland and was a major force for peace and advocate of the warforged at the Treaty of Thronehold.

Queen Aurala ir'Wynarn rules Aundair and though she advocates peace as well, she still longs to unite the former nation of Galifar under her rule.

King Kaius ir'Wynarn III is the current ruler of Karnnath, he regrets having forged an alliance with the Blood of Vol and seeks to regain control of his nation.

Oargev ir'Wynarn is the last remining member of the royal house of Cyre, and leads his former nation in exile from New Cyre, in Breland.

Queen Diani ir'Wynarn rules Thrane in name only, the nations is truly ruled by the Church of the Silver Flame

Jaela is the twelve-year-old Keeper of the Flame, leader of the Church of the Silver Flame. She seeks to reform the church to be more modern and accepting, but there are factions within the church, namely led by the Cardinal Krozen who wish to keep to more traditional ways.

House Cannith is currently split, since the main leaders of the House were in Cyre on the day of Mourning. Barron Merrix d'Cannith leads Cannith South based out of Sharn, while Baron Jorlana d'Cannith leads Cannith West from Fairhaven in Aundair and Baron Zorlan d'Cannith leads Cannith East from from an enclave in Korth.

House Tharashk is lead by a triumvirate of leaders, representing the old clans, Daric d'Velderan, Khundar'aasta and Maagrim d'Tharashk.

The other Barons are Baron Kwanti d'Orien, Baron Trelib d'Medani, Baron Morrikan d'Kundarak, Baron Elar d'Thuranni, Baron Yoren d'Ghallanda, Baron Breven d'Deneith, Baron Ulara d'Jorasco, Baron Esravash d'Lyrandar, Baron Elvinor Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan, Baron Lysse Lyrriman d'Sivis, and Baron Dalin d'Vadalis.

The leader of the Wardens of the Wood, a sect of druid that essentially leads the disparate farmers and fronteirsman of the Eldeen Reaches, is the Great Oak Oalian. And yes, he really is an Awakened oak tree.

The Circle of Night is made up of the up the most powerful of the Inspired and is led by the Devourer of Dreams who leads the agents of the Dreaming Dark.

The ancient lich Erandis d'Vol is the last, well not living, but active member of the House of Vol, and now leads the the religion the Blood of Vol, from behind the scenes.

The Daughters of Sora Kell are three powerful Hags who rule of the monster-nation of Droaam. Sora Katra is a green hag who acts as the voice for the trio. Sora Maenya is a annis hag who leads the sisters troops in battle. Sora Teraza is a dusk hag prophet, who dispenses cryptic advice even when dealing with her sisters.

Mordain the Fleshweaver is an outcast elven wizard. Once a member of the Twelve he was cast out for the unorthodox experiments that gave him his name.

The Lord of Blades is a mysterious warforged who believes in warforged supremacy and seeks to create a nation of living constructs in the remnants of Cyre.

The Lhesh Haruuc hopes to return the tribes of Darguun to the former glory of the Dhakaani Empire.

The Sibling Kings of Aerenal, Belaereth and Tezaera, hold temporal power over the island continent, while the Undying Court shapes the destiny of the elves, by selecting, advising and empowering the rulers.

Lathon Halpum leads one of the largest Halfling tribes in the Talenta Plains and so many of the other Laths defer to him, that he was selected to represent the Plains at the Treaty of Thronehold.

King Sebastes ir'Kesslan rules Q'barra in a fuedal system like old Galifar. The grandson of the nation's founder, Sebastes rules from Newthrone, though in many places the dispensation of justice falls to the local lord or magistrate.

One thing to note about Eberron is the setting is designed to allow the PCs to be the real heroes of the story, which means there aren't a lot of very powerful hero-types. Most of the more powerful good guys are very limited in some way, from Oalian who is a high powered druid but utterly immobile, to Jaela who is a low-level cleric except within the confines of Flamekeep where she's empowered by the Silver Flame. This leaves the PCs free to actually fulfill the role of Heroes, rather than being sent to perform (apparently menial) tasks by other more powerful (epic level) good guys.

[Mizyrlou]

Going beyond that, most settings don't bother to explain where the various races "came from", or to suggest that they came from some other world. There are a few exceptions. I know in Forgotten Realms, it has been made clear that, at some point in the very distant past, some (but not all) of the elves emigrated to Faerun from another plane or world. But this happened so long ago that they have long been considered "natives" to Faerun. Other than that, there hasn't been much discussion of why folks in different worlds are so similar, largely b/c none of the "worlds" acknowledges the existence of any other.

I think it was in one of the 2nd ed supplimental books was that each race in D&D had a source world where they were the predominant sentience and from there they migrated to other worlds either by magic or ships ala Spelljammer so they had some main commonalities with some occasional deviations here and there.

Greyhawke was concidered the closest to the 'base'.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Anyways, a moon got destroyed? How'd that happen?

Q. There are currently twelve moons that orbit Eberron, with one additional moon being lost or destroyed.

Exactly how the thirteenth moon was destroyed is unclear, but it likely occured in one of the great cataclysms that ended an age (I think the Age of Giants, but I'll have to check).

Keith Baker, the setting's creator, wrote a free, online article about the moons (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20050307a), that is definitely worth a read.

One interesting thing to note, is that on Eberron, a Lycanthrope is affected by the "full moon" state of all twelve moons. Meaning there are months where she's never unaffected and others where she's only unaffected for 3-4 days. This is a large part of the reason for the Lycanthropic Puge, an inquisition led by the Church of the Silver Flame in an effort to wipe the disease of Lycanthropy off the face of Khorvaire.

Certain fanatics in the time of the purge also sought to wipe out the Shifter race, who, while seemingly descended from Lycanthropes, are incapable of passing the disease though wounds or bites and therefore pose no real threat. This resulted in some very real discord between many Shifters and the Church of the Silver Flame.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Is it true that the war ended around two years or so ago?

The suggested starting date for an Eberron campaign is 998 YK. The Treaty of Thronehold was signed in 996 YK. So yes, generally the war eneded "two years ago."

That said, any DM can set their campaign in any year they'd like, and it's unclear from what I've seen in DDO exactly when our "campaign" is set. It remains likely however that we're using the suggested starting date and so the war would have ended two years ago.

[MysticTheurge]

Craniums up those of answering - we need to avoid quoting the book if at all possible. I am guessing that WoTC reads these Forums. Linking to other sources (wikipedia fx) is probably a good idea there.

I'd like to point this out to those of you helping to answer.

It's very important to me that we avoid quoting the source books and that we also avoid providing too much rules information, as that puts us in the distinct position of potentially infringing on copyrights.

The goal of the thread is to give people enough background that they're able to feel immersed in what they're playing, but at the same time it's important that we don't give out information that might act as a selling point for the books.

To that end, I would greatly appreciate it if anyone answer questions would refrain from quoting any sourcebooks directly. I would also appreciate it if we stick to background information and avoid providing rules information (for instance when talking about gods, it's alright to give their general portfolios, but avoid giving their actual Domains or Favored Weapons).

[Sem34]

Cast down... as in defeated in combat and executed. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to put it poetically, but I was paraphrasing the words of Alder d'Cannith, the visionary that founded The Twelve. I know the Vol line wasn't just exiled.

I'm not sure that the novels count as offical setting material, so I left that out. A big change like the possible ressurection of the Mark of Death is something I'd consider to be part of that specific version of Eberron, kind of like how another DM's game events aren't going to change the world in mine.


Completely agree with you Thanatos... I do wonder if Keith Baker is going to bring the 13th Mark in to Eberron, hmmm I wonder if the RPGA will send me a mod on this in the future???

[angelius]

i'd like to know more about "shifters" ?

[Sem34]

Shifters:

Are Descended from humans and natural Lycanthropes. unlike full Lycanthropes they can not change shape fully. They can however take on a animalistic features, they call this shifting. They are also know as "the Weretouched" The shifters are heavily influenced by their animal natures and this affects their personality and behavior .

During 832YK an Inquisition to complelety wipe out all traces of lycanthropes was launced by the beloved (lol) Church of the Silver Flame... this inquisition lasted almost 50 years and almost wipes the lycanthropes to extinction...

[Thanatos]

Great idea, kudos!

Thanks, and thank you for the sticky (or pass on my thanks to whomever is responsible)!



Wow! Great Idea!
I have the Eberron manuals and would be delighted if could assist in any way.

If there is one more loremaster needed...please let me know. Will throw out as much as I can on any of the topics that I do have research material on.

More help is, well... helpful! :p

Just PM MysticTheurge to sign up, as he's the lead Loremaster. (I figured he has the most ranks in "Knowledge: Eberron" out of any of the forum regulars, so I asked him to start things off. :))

One reason for this is because someone may eventually make a significant mistake in one of their answers, and rather than have us call it out here in the thread, it would be better to handle it behind the scenes through PMs and allow the person to edit their answer.

Also, it would be helpful for the Loremasters to add a link to the thread in their sig, to help spread the word that the service is available.



Now this is one of the best things lve seen posted in sometime.
I for one have the feeling of "l just dont feel alive in this world"...because l know so little about it and its history to play off.
Thank you Mystic and your fellow Loremasters

I have to agree with Viglin.
The background adds to the richness of the game. Having to read it in some dialogue box when the rest of the party is already in the mission is not nearly as accessible.

*****
Five stars for the OP!

this is all very interesting and should be a "sticky" ..dev's?

Wow, and Thank you for doing this.

Thank you from an old pnp player. I do not have time to buy the rule books and read them anymore :(, so this thread really comes in handy.
So thank you, thank you, thank you.:)

I just found this today and have to say that it is truly awesome --I know the amount of work it takes to create something like this and maintain it --Thank you a million - it is a GREAT idea!

I figured that there were quite a few people that would like to make their characters "roleplay friendly" with the setting, and some that might have been prejudging Eberron based on scant information. Hopefully this project will help people have a little more fun than the game mechanics alone provide.



See, now you've gone and made me have to buy the source books. I've been trying to avoid it, but now I find I simply must know everything I can about the setting. Curse you and thanks for the information.

That's always good! If you can, try to support your local gamestore (many are also comics stores, so try looking them up that way). As much as we all love DDO, we want the tabletop RPGs to be around forever too.



Craniums up those of answering - we need to avoid quoting the book if at all possible. I am guessing that WoTC reads these Forums. Linking to other sources (wikipedia fx) is probably a good idea there.


It's very important to me that we avoid quoting the source books and that we also avoid providing too much rules information, as that puts us in the distinct position of potentially infringing on copyrights.
The goal of the thread is to give people enough background that they're able to feel immersed in what they're playing, but at the same time it's important that we don't give out information that might act as a selling point for the books.

I agree, and I was planning on coming on this morning to say that we shouldn't post game mechanics, as the only ones that are free content are those in the SRD documents (http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/), and we definately shouldn't quote entire passages of setting material.

Paraphrase whenever you can, but I think giving names of key subjects and the occasional line or two of quoted material should be ok as "fair use", since one of the goals of this project is to spark further interest in the campaign for people that might like to play the tabletop version (you don't have to wait to play a gnome artificer or a shifter druid! ;))

[Shecky]

i'd like to know more about "shifters" ?

Shifters have lycanthropy in their ancestry to some degree or another and are sometimes called "weretouched" as a result. Just like their lycanthrope ancestor(s), they're affected by a curse that has to do with moon phases, and with 12 moons in Eberron's sky (see earlier post on this subject), their curse is not a regular, totally predictable thing. Since they aren't full lycanthropes, they aren't completely at the mercy of their curse and can consciously control their "shift" towards a more feral nature and structure; it isn't entirely at will and can only happen for certain lengths of time and a certain number of times per day (often dependent on feats), but they can actually choose to shift if they haven't exhausted their day's shifts already.

Some shifters have a natural affinity for toughness, some for swiftness, some for sheer savagery, etc. - none of which endear them to adherents of the Silver Flame (see earlier post that mentions the Purge, where the Silver Flame and like-minded people nearly exterminated the lycanthropes and much of the shifter race). There are actually communities of shifters, one shifter being the natural choice for an understanding neighbor for another shifter - they tend to keep to themselves, wisely in the face of widespread hatred and misunderstanding - where they can "be themselves" and not necessarily have to control their shifting as rigorously.

[Klattuu]

Craniums up those of answering - we need to avoid quoting the book if at all possible. I am guessing that WoTC reads these Forums. Linking to other sources (wikipedia fx) is probably a good idea there.

If there is a legal type person from an official source who can give us clear direction, please do.

Legally you simply need to quote your source if you are not paraphrasing.

[ColsonJade]

What are the novels to read? My library (Kansas City Public) it seems is only good at keeping stocked fantasy books by R.A. Salvatore. I have only found one book by Keith Baker. Are there more? Are there different authors?

Thanks. Great Thread.

ColsonJade

[MysticTheurge]

Q. I'd like to know more about "shifters."

A. Shifters are one of the new races introduced with the Eberron Campaign Setting. Sometimes called the "Weretouched," they are the result of Lycanthrope/Human interbreeding far back in the line. Current Shifters "breed true," that is Shifters come from other shifters, not from a Lycanthrope/Human pairing. (A curious aside is that many of the half-elves in Khorvaire are this way as well, particularly the bloodlines of the half-elf Dragonmarked Houses.)

Shifters are unable to completely alter their form, the way their lycanthrope ancestors could, but each one is able to "shift." While shifted, a Shifter takes on a more animalistic appearance and is more powerful than his unshifted form. There are six main types of shifters distinguished by their "Shifter Trait." These are Beasthide, Longtooth, Cliffwalk, Razorclaw, Longstride and Wildhunt shifters. (Further Eberron supplements added additional shifter traits such as Dreamsight, Gorebrute, Swiftwing and Truedive.)

Each different trait dictates how the shifter's abilities improve while shifted, as generally described by their shifter trait. Longtooth and Razorclaw shifters gain bite and claw attacks respectively. Longstride shifters move faster. Beasthide shifters gain a thicker skin.

Even when they aren't shifted, Shifters bear some animalistic qualities. Their bodies often have a lithe nature to them, and the bearing of a large predator. They often move like animals, crouched and springing ahead or around their companions as they travel. Their faces often have animalistic undertones, large, piercing eyes and wide, flat noses. They are also, on average, hairier than humans. They don't have fur, but their body hair is thicker than a humans and grows longer.

As befits their animalistic nature, many shifters avoid highly civilized areas, preferring to dwell in the wild areas of nations such as the Eldeen Reaches. Many also continue to blame the Church of the Silver Flame for the atrocities heaped upon the shifter race during the Lycanthropic Purge by certain fanatics.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What are the novels to read?

A. Again I'd like to focus on actual setting/background information here. But a search for Eberron Novels on Amazon reveals this (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_hs/104-9424423-6081505?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dblended&keywords=Eberron+Novels&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go).

[Mizyrlou]

Thanks for answering my question, but now I'd like to know more about the Giant Empires.

[Thanatos]

Here are some links to the holy symbols of various religions in Eberron. Notice that some of them appear on heavy steel shields in DDO, so clerics and paladins might like to look for one that fits their character's faith.

The Blood of Vol - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82932.jpg

The Path of Light -http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82933.jpg

Khyber, the Dragon Below - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82934.jpg

The Dark Six (Pantheon) - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99880.jpg
The Devourer - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82935.jpg
The Mockery - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99892.jpg


The Sovereign Host (Pantheon) - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82937.jpg
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99863.jpg
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/roe_gallery/88204.jpg
Arawai - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99868.jpg
Aureon - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99869.jpg
Balinor - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99870.jpg
Boldrei - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99871.jpg
Dol Arrah - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99872.jpg
Dol Dorn - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99873.jpg
Olladra - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99875.jpg
Onatar - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99876.jpg

The Undying Court - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82936.jpg

The Silver Flame - http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82938.jpg
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/foe_gallery/99894.jpg

[Gypsy_Mouse]

Q. If the Sovereign Host (also referred to as The Nine) is a pantheon of nine gods and goddesses, why does the holy symbol have eight points and not nine?


On a side note of sorts, I am almost positive that I read in one of the Keith Baker books that the symbol had nine points, but can't find which book it was. So for now I'm passing it off as my misreading the text.


I've noticed a lot of this exact information on Wikipedia, Wizards, and a few other gaming sites, but I think it's great that it's being copied and consolidated here! :cool:

[fefnir3284]

here are some dates.

current year 998 YK (year galifar was created)

Quor invade -40,000 and the giant fight and ultimately win in -39,000 but this weakens then and the elves decide to rebel. The giants try to use the same ritual they used on the Quor on the elves but the dragon intervein and ultimately the giant kingdom crumbles (elves flee to Aerenal)

-38,000 first goblinoid kingdom rises. -16,000 Dhakaani unite and forge the most powerful and advanced kingdom eberron has ever seen. -9,000 Daelkyr War decimates the western reaches of Khorvaire. -500 Dhakaani Empire falls weaken by the Daelkyr invasion, but before this happens the Daelkyr generals are seal below the Eldeen Reaches and Xoriat is made non-coterminal with Eberron.

-3200 dragonmarks start to appear. First the halfling mark of hospitality, then the elven marks of shadow and death. (Dragons take notice of the lesser races) Followed by the mark of healing <halfling> (in -3,000), and mark of scribing <gnomes> (-2,800). The mark of the sentinal is next <human> (-2,600) which is also when the house of vol falls. The marks of making <humans> and warding <dwarves> follow next (-2,500). The half-elven mark of storm is next (-2,000), is followed by the human marks of passage (-1,800) and handling (-1,700), with the final mark appearing in -1,500 on half-orc (mark of detection). This is when the war of the mark takes place and all future mark bears can not have children with other different mark bearers as to keep the marks pure and preserve a balance of power (as non pure marks are aberration marks and can have some or all of their parent marks powers). This is the Twelve forming, but 500 years later (in -1,000) a new 13th mark appears on humans and half-orcs in the shadow reaches call the mark of finding...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

correction to the OPs post.

warforge were NOT created by the house of cannith. The house of cannith nerely found the creation forges that allowed them to make NEW warforge. This is evident by the fact that all docents have only been found in the ancient ruins of xen'drix. The two noted in the campaign setting is the circlet of perservation and the tauric belt. The belt turns a warforge into a centaur warforge (god Id love to see this in ddo ;) ). The circlet perserves a warforges soul and heals 1 hps of damage every 10 minutes. Even if a warforge is reduced below -9 hps he is not killed as long and the circlet is worn and still heals 1 hp/10 minutes til he is at 0 and can stand up (hardness 25, hp 50, heals 1hp/10 minutes as well). If the circlet is removes and the warforge would die the circlet takes the soul with it and preserves the wf's life that way.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

so the cliff notes version :

-40,000 giant kingdom falls

-10,000 most advanced kingdom (kingdom of goblinoids) falls

998 current year ;)

[Thanatos]

warforge were NOT created by the house of cannith. The house of cannith nerely found the creation forges that allowed them to make NEW warforge. This is evident by the fact that all docents have only been found in the ancient ruins of xen'drix.
House Cannith did make the warforged as they are currently known, and no one really knows what the old ones were called by their original makers. Secrets of Xen'drik just calls them "primordial warforged (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/sx_gallery/98378.jpg)", and the few still wandering around Xen'drik look significantly less human. They also have about as much of a mind as a warforged titan. It makes sense that the quori would not have wanted them to have much in the way of free will, as they likely possessed them as host bodies.

House Cannith's early models, made by Merrix d'Cannith (the elder) were hardly any smarter than a golem. To make better soldiers, they needed to be able to interpret the intent rather than literal word of orders, understand what the overall mission was, and be able to improvise when plans fell apart. Aaren d'Cannith was able to make them fully sentient, but then realized that it would be slavery to use them for their original purpose. Unfortunately, Merrix overruled him, and Aaren abandoned the House and hasn't been seen again.

In the end, the quori were responsible for making warforged as semi-intelligent golems, but House Cannith is responsible for improving the design and making them into a creative and adaptable people.

Hey, I found a wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warforged

[Arronaz]

A new question to you guys, and I'm sorry if my questions are not too specific, but I'm trying to get a picture of the "socials" in urban eberron.

So the question:

Q. Eberron is a world full of magic, therefore is implied that magic affects the normal life of the Eberron denizen (the same way technology affects us in the planet Earth). So its implied as well that there are laws or rules to control its use. So the questions are, is there a common law that regulates all magic use, or an institution that enforces it? And if yes, is magic use prohibited somehow, in a way that you need authorization to practice it?

Thanks in advance!

[MysticTheurge]

Q. If the Sovereign Host (also referred to as The Nine) is a pantheon of nine gods and goddesses, why does the holy symbol have eight points and not nine?

The symbol is sometimes referred to as the Celestial Crown or the Octogram and its meaning is often the subject of scholarly debate.

Kol Korran, the only second generation deity not found in the Dark Six, may not be represented by the Octogram. That is, the eight points may represent the eight gods before his "birth."

Another theory suggests that the Octogram actually refers to the entire pantheon made up of both the Hose and the Dark Six. Since the Octogram is made up of two colors and has eight points, it could, in fact, refer to sixteen deities. According to this theory, the Octogram refers to the original pantheon of "the Nine, the Six and the One."

Which of course begs question, who is the One, and again there are many theories. Some scholars believe the One is one of the Progenitor Dragons, mostly likely Eberron, but perhaps Siberys as well. Others say the One refers to the pantheon as a whole, and proponents of this theory translate references to the Nine, the Six and the One as "the Nine and the Six in One."

Some believe that the One refers to a now-forgotten deity, though many scholars believe this to be a ridiculous claim. Those opposed to this their point out that the Dark Six were actively banished from the Host, but were not destroyed or forgotten. To them this makes the idea of a deity being lost from the Host nigh impossible. However, there is some evidence that the goblinoids of Dhakaan worshiped a deity whose name has since been erased from history, so perhaps these scholars are correct.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Eberron is a world full of magic, therefore is implied that magic affects the normal life of the Eberron denizen (the same way technology affects us in the planet Earth). So its implied as well that there are laws or rules to control its use. So the questions are, there is a common law that regulates all magic use, or an institution that enforces it? And if yes, is magic use prohibited somehow, in a way that you need authorization to practice it?

A. Your question is a good one, and the answer varies from area to area.

There is no overall governing body that regulates magic all across Khorvaire, however most of the more civilized nations do have "police forces" that attempt to protect their citizens from magical dangers.

During the height of the Galifar empire the King of Galifar was advised and assisted by the Arcane Congress. It is likely that during that time the Arcane Congress also regulated the use of magic throughout much of the nation, especially the more civilized areas. And during that time they wrote the portions of the Code of Galifar justice that governed the use of magic in civilized society. Since the fall of Galifar, the remnants of the Arcane Congress survive in Aundair and answer to Queen Aurala.

Sharn has an arm of the City Watch known as the Blackened Book who are responsible for persuing magical criminals as well as dealing with any side effects of magical crimes in the city.

Sharn's laws on the use of magic are the best example we currently have of how these kinds of laws are worded. Based on the Galifar Code of Justice, Sharn's Misuse of Magic laws prohibit the use of any spell to inflict physical harm on another being (including any spell that permanently incapacitates a target such as blindness or flesh to stone), spells that incapacitate a target (such as sleep), spells that tamper with the thoughts of another (such as charm person or confusion), as well as a few other more obscure laws that protect the Dragonmarked Houses' monopolies or limit certain spells to only being used in private. The Blackened Book looks particularly harshly on careless use of Fire magic within city limits.

Additionally, the Dragonmarked Houses tend to police their own. If a member of the House is abusing magic (or really doing anything that will reflect poorly on the House), the House is quick to put a stop it. The Twelve is the arcane arm of the Houses and therefore would likely be responsible for dealing with members who misuse magic.

As for being accredited or licensed to practice magic, this isn't required in any way. There are several schools of magic throughout Khorvaire and many new mages will learn their first skills there. However, there are a number of renegade mages, such as Mordain the Fleshweaver, or simply hermit mages who might take on apprentices.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Now I'd like to know more about the Giant Empires.

A. There isn't a whole lot that's known about the Giant Empires except what scholars have been able to glean from the ruins left behind and the legends of the elves.

Scholars estimate the Giant Empire first arose about eighty thousand years ago, becoming one of the first true civilizations in Eberron. They arose into a world that seemed ready for the rise of civilization. According to legend, the Age of Fiends had recently ended as the fiends, rakshasas and their ilk had been destroyed, driven back or bound in Khyber by the Couatls with assistance from the Dragons, in an ages long war.

Many scholars suspect that the Giant Empire arose much as human civilization has, with various tribes being consolidated under the command of a number of warlods, then developing into nations and finally joining together to form the larger empire. Some scholars believe that the individual giant races (Hill Giants, Storm Giants, Fire Giants, et al.) existed at this time and made up the various tribes, but more the commonly accepted theory is that giants during this time were a sort of primordial giant race, and it wasn't until after the fall of the empire that this race split into the races of giants we know today.

Additionally, some scholars question whether the Giant Empire was ever actually a single empire or if, even at the peak of their civilization, the giants dwelt in a number of seperate nations or empires. Proponents of the theory that the various giant races existed during this age often favor the latter theory as well, believing that each race of giant likely had its own nation and that a number of these empires coexisted during the Age of Giants.

Two things are known for certain about the Giant Empire, they enslaved the elves and they were powerful mages. Much of the rest is speculation based on oral history, legend and what can be determined from the ruins the giants left behind.

[ddjunks]

Hey MysticTheurge,

Can you tell me more about the Mournlands? I heard/read somewhere that healing magic don't work there.

[Flash_Aron]

Thanks, but is there anywhere a printable version of that Q&A Thread ?
Would like´to download it and print it, so I could read it before going to sleep.

Have a nice day

[zranktor]

Not to debate it too much here, but a) the guy who wrote the warforged section of RoE didn't really know what he was talking about most of the time and b) what you're referring to is an inert warforged.

When a warforged is between -10 and -1 hit points, he is inert. He could stay in that state indefinitely. Likewise other races between -10 and -1 are incapacitated. Warforged don't have to "stabilize" as they don't lose hit points from being incapacitated like human-types. But, conversely, they don't heal naturally either. Whereas an incapacitated human will heal 1 hit point per HD per day, an inert warforged recovers no hit points unless someone takes the time to repair him.

Thus a warforged could theoretically exist forever with something like -5 hit points, until an artificer came across him centuries later, repaired him and then he'd be back in the positive hit points.

However, a warforged with -11 hit points is dead like any other character and can not be brought back to life without the use of some ressurection-esque magic.


Brings up a question, I didn't read through the rest of the posts so it may already be answered.

The "heal 1 hit point per HD per day"

Has anyone tested this theory out to see if you actually get back a point if stabilized? since game time is faster than real life time?


great post by the way, I have the book but have'nt read the full story line,

[D3x2006]

Q. Can you tell me more about the Mournlands? I heard/read somewhere that healing magic don't work there.

A. The Mournlands are the remains of Cyre after it was destroyed on the Day of Mourning, 994 YK. The cause of the cataclysm is as yet unknown and only streteched to the exact borders of what remained of Cyre.
The first thing anyone entering the Mournland is the Dead-Grey Mist and here you have little knowledge of what direction you are actually headed or a sense of what time of day it is. Adventures get lost in this Mist and die all to often if not prepared.
Once in the Mournland proper you may encouter living spells - spells that have a life of their own and seek the destruction of all living things. You may run into a Carcass Crab, a monsterous crab that covers it self in the debris of the Mournland.
You will also run into the remains of Cyre and even the dead from that day 4 years ago, as if they had been killed minutes ago. Whole battlefields where it appears the battle has just finished.
You immediate question is do Curing Spells work in the Mournland - the answer to that is yes most of the time. There are instantances where they will fail depending on the local Arcane situation. There is even the possiblity of finding pools of healing liquid in the Mournland, take care though - these could harbor other dangers.
My advice to everyone - stay out of the Mournland, unless you must enter it. Go around the tortured landscape - there is no telling what horrors ly within.

Hope I answered your question.

[Ransacked]

Here's a question for you...

Wandering around the world we see quite a few of 'critters' that normally upon sight we slaughter first then ask questions. Is there a viable reason for the co-existence of kobolds, minotaurs, vampyres, etc? Especially the ones that are freely exposed within the city limits of Stormreach?

[Shecky]

Here's a question for you...

Wandering around the world we see quite a few of 'critters' that normally upon sight we slaughter first then ask questions. Is there a viable reason for the co-existence of kobolds, minotaurs, vampyres, etc? Especially the ones that are freely exposed within the city limits of Stormreach?

Location, location, location. When an area is known to be overrun by hostiles, or at least by those who are hostile to your allies, it's usually a safe bet that critters you run across there aren't around to sell goods or to swap business cards. It's an even safer bet when, upon spying you, they out sword and charge. :D

As for the rest of the world, if you see another race set up with a marketstand of stuff to sell or wandering around looking for particular goods, there's no reason for you to draw your axe and have at them - chances are they aren't hostile to you.

In short, if it starts attacking the minute it sees you, it's safe to attack it. If it doesn't attack, chances are you'll get by with a nod or a word - or at least have a chance to ready yourself if talk just ticks him off.

[baylensman]

Thanks, but is there anywhere a printable version of that Q&A Thread ?
Would like´to download it and print it, so I could read it before going to sleep.

Have a nice day

i agree a pdf or doc file of this post would be great. i'd even be willing to compensate somewhat for the privalage.
Also any way to get the dev's to comment on some of this as to the future mods to the online game, so we are waorking from the same mythos viewpoint..

[Viglin]

Just want to give a big thanks to all you Loremasters..l spent last night logging on all my characters[around 20:D ] and redoing their Bios with the information provided here:)

Sometime back, l suggested an ingame Library so players could read about Eberron and its history...if this ever comes to pass, they should use scrolls and books of Lore using the information you guys and girls have provided...maybe even mentioning your Forum names on the book title or scroll.

Great work all:D

[Shecky]

Hey, MT, how about this - maybe compile all of the questions and answers into a single post (possibly just as an edit to the first post) so searchers can get their answers on the spot? Just a thought - I've seen it work on some other stickied threads. I'd offer to do it myself, but I see that I don't know Eberron quite as well as some, and the editor needs to be the leading authority thereon (for accuracy's sake as well as consistency).

[Dyer]

Wandering around the world we see quite a few of 'critters' that normally upon sight we slaughter first then ask questions. Is there a viable reason for the co-existence of kobolds, minotaurs, vampyres, etc? Especially the ones that are freely exposed within the city limits of Stormreach?

Eberron is very permissive in terms of social interactions. Dwarf can befriend elves, humans can befriend hobgoblins, orcs are not to be exterminated on sight and monsters such as minotaurs and gnolls now have a kingdom (Droaam). House Deneith is known to hire merceneries from monster races originaly from Droaam. Sure, some nations have more radical views regarding certain races (Thrane and the lycanthropes, for example), but generally, most races can cohabit together, especially in large cities.

Since Stormreach is the only city with ties to Khorvaire on the continent of Xen'drik, it would be logical to expect more tolerance and helpful behavior from those living there: it's a matter of survival. So, once you've proven yourself, you could become an accepted member of society, no matter your race, albeit not liked by everyone.

Religion can bring diffrent people together as can the land of origin. It might be more difficult for a Thrane palladin to accept a warforged as equal than for a Breland dwarf to enjoy a beer with a "civilized" Breland hobgoblin. Also, don't forget that alignement is not all black and white in Eberron. You could as easily have lawful good ogres than evil dwarves.

I hope this helps you make a bit more sense of the logic behind the presence of monsters in the walls of Stormreach.

[MysticTheurge]

Hey, MT, how about this - maybe compile all of the questions and answers into a single post (possibly just as an edit to the first post) so searchers can get their answers on the spot? Just a thought - I've seen it work on some other stickied threads. I'd offer to do it myself, but I see that I don't know Eberron quite as well as some, and the editor needs to be the leading authority thereon (for accuracy's sake as well as consistency).

I actually have been doing that with the first post. All of my answers, as well as Thanatos' are there. If you use the direct link (http://www.ddo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=720708&postcount=1), you should find an printable-esque version of most of the answers. Or at the very least, you can copy all that text to your text editor of choice (Notepad, TextEdit) and print it out from there.

I'll work on answering the newest questions (Mournlands, Coexistance with Monsters) tonight.

[Shecky]

I actually have been doing that with the first post. All of my answers, as well as Thanatos' are there. If you use the direct link (http://www.ddo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=720708&postcount=1), you should find an printable-esque version of most of the answers. Or at the very least, you can copy all that text to your text editor of choice (Notepad, TextEdit) and print it out from there.

I'll work on answering the newest questions (Mournlands, Coexistance with Monsters) tonight.

My big mouf. :) Good work! If you need someone to edit for clarity/grammar/spelling/etc., may I offer my services? I'm a professional translator and bilingual editor, so it's in my bailiwick.

[Nimblefinger]

Q: I see you mention the Quori often in the history of Eberron, what are/were they?

Q:Are there any dragonmarked warforged? Or is this simply a "humanoid" trait?

[kenjigoku]

Q:Are there any dragonmarked warforged? Or is this simply a "humanoid" trait?

No there only the standard races are capable of developing dragonmarks. Shifters, Changelings, and Warforged cannot develop dragonmarks.

[Thanatos]

Q: Wandering around the world we see quite a few of 'critters' that normally upon sight we slaughter first then ask questions. Is there a viable reason for the co-existence of kobolds, minotaurs, vampires, etc? Especially the ones that are freely exposed within the city limits of Stormreach?
A: Here's one of my favorite quotes from Races of Eberron, as spoken by the leader of the goblinoid kingdom of Darguun:
"We goblinoids are just like you humans, except our empire lasted eleven thousand years." -- Lhesh Haruuc

Goblinoids in particular usually mix freely with the other "player race" humanoids. They have a history of military might, and often work as mercenaries.

Orcs are also not the near-mindless brutes they're portrayed as in some other settings. In fact, they were some of the first druids, and in ages past they saved the world from a planar invasion from Xoriat. To this day, they guard and reinforce the wards to keep the Daelkyr trapped in the depths of Khyber and seal the connections to the plane of madness.

While it's not generally liked by it's neighbors, there's even a "nation" of mixed monster types; particularly ogres, trolls, and gnolls. This nation of Droaam is ruled by a trio of hags called the Daughters of Sora Kell.

The Blood of Vol is a popular religion in the nation of Karrnath, and some temples see undead as the embodiment of victory over death. Note that the common folk don't know that the main branch of the religion is still run by the lich, Lady Erandis d'Vol herself. As far as they are concerned, the religion is more of a philosophy that death is the ultimate evil, because a soul will go to Dolurrh and fade away into nothingness over time, and Undeath is a path to defeating that evil.

My own cleric Lillin is a priestess of the Blood, but she's from a minor sect (of my own creation, not official) that knows the truth about Erandis and avoids the lich's influence. She is trying to find a way to incorporate a balance of positive and negative necromancy - Undead and Deathless - and since Xen'drik is the origin of the giant blood magic which the elves took and developed into both the Vol and Undying religions, she's here to find out more. Is she a villain, simply because of her religion?

Stormreach has a "kobold problem" to be sure, but as you can see, individual kobolds who don't mind respecting the lives and property of other Stormreach inhabitants are allowed to live in relative peace. The Catacombs quests are an example of a situation in which you can't always trust the so-called "good" races and religions, and on the isle of Sorrowdusk, you help a mostly-agreeable tribe of ogres recover their home and drive out the Cult of the Six.

Basically, unless it's a creature that essentially has no mind (lesser undead, oozes, vermin, etc.), you can't really assume you know what it's behavior will be, because in Eberron alignments are not dictated by race, and alignment itself doesn't necessarliy dictate that something is a threat.

Even if you're a paladin or cleric that can use detect evil, the law in most places isn't going to put much stock in your claims about some cheating merchant's "aura" or excuse you for putting your sword in his gut. After all, no one can prove the existence of most gods, and divine magic may just be a manifestation of personal faith, not so different from psionics or sorcery.

It wouldn't be too far off the mark to say that Eberron has a lot of social parallels with Earth. The more civilized nations have come around to the idea that racism is a harmful thing, and that spirituality is essentially unprovable and thus left as a personal matter. Evil is most often defined relative to it's context, and human flaws can screw up even the most noble of philosophies.

Anyway, if you think Stormreach is cosmopolitan, you should see Sharn (I hope we do in DDO someday), and in fact your character probably has, since most expeditions to Xen'drik leave from there. Try to drop some of the predjudices that you're used to roleplaying in worlds like Forgotten Realms, because unless your character is from somewhere pretty remote, they've probably been exposed to and dealt peacefully with civilized "monsters" before.

[Shecky]

Q: I see you mention the Quori often in the history of Eberron, what are/were they?

The Quori are natives of Dal Quor, the Plane of Dreams. Millennia ago, when the plane of Dal Quor was coterminous with Eberron (i.e., "touching" each other) and allowed direct access between the two, Quori invaded but were repelled by the ancient giants. Many believe that the backlash of the powerful magics used by the giants to accomplish this led directly to the degradation and devolution of a once-powerful race into the scattered, less-than-noble groups found today. At any rate, the only access that Quori still in Dal Quor have to Eberron is through dreams.

Both the ancient invasion and the current attempts to enter dreams in Eberron are for a particular purpose: to control the Quori's own existence. Dal Quor is affected by changes in Eberron; a new age in Eberron remakes Dal Quor and the Quori alike into forms more attuned to the new forces. Most Quori, serving an idea/force called the Dreaming Dark, essentially want to freeze Eberron in a life of nightmare, thereby establishing a static continuum that will allow Dal Quor to remain as it is and keep the Quori from being involuntarily remade - i.e., they want to stay as they are and keep the power they have taken or will take.

The invasion created or gave rise to two different pseudo-manifestations of the Quori in Eberron: the Inspired and the kalashtar. The kalashtar derive from an escaped rogue group of Quori determined to fight the other Quori in their attempt to reshape Eberron for their purposes. They found a sympathetically-minded group of people who were willing to share their bodies with these rogue Quori, a group now known as the kalashtar. These humans have a natural affinity for the psionic nature of the Quori and are eager to allow part of a Quori spirit to inhabit their bodies (also called "vessels"). They are almost supernaturally beautiful and graceful but are otherwise physically indistinguishable from other humans.

The Inspired are seemingly identical on the surface to the kalashtar but are philosophically violently opposed. Quori in power at the time of the invasion used the same techniques to inhabit vessels as do the kalashtar's Quori, but these had darker motives, the spread of the Dreaming Dark. With the knowledge of these techniques, some centuries ago there was another Quori incursion into Eberron, but this one was purely psionic, the planes not being coterminous - they posed as beneficent representatives of good gods to trick their way into taking control of human vessels. The possession spread rapidly and the Inspired (as the human vessels are called) quickly took control of Sarlona and imposed widespread order on that continent, establishing the almost-continent-wide nation of Riedra.

It is somewhat to their credit that Riedra is very ordered and superficially peaceful; Riedrans have come to love their Inspired/Quori overlords and assign great honor to being chosen as a vessel. Be that as it may, there is no question that the Quori have no benevolent intentions toward the Inspired or toward Riedrans in general - humans are merely special cattle among the hordes that inhabit Eberron, there to be used as tools and discarded at the end of usefulness. The Inspired/Quori are opposed primarily by kalashtar in remote mountain monasteries on Sarlona, and kalashtar agents work to uncover Inspired plots in the rest of Eberron.

[Thanatos]

Everytime I go to answer one, someone else does so first!
Oh well... :)


Q: I see you mention the Quori often in the history of Eberron, what are/were they? The quori (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/moe_gallery/91499.jpg) are the natives of the plane of dreams, Dal Quor. They are highly psionic, and the majority of them are evil in the current age. In spiritual form, they are capable of inhabiting and possessing the minds of most humanoids. The more common dark ones have essentially taken over the continet of Sarlona, and the populace there view it as a high honor to host one of these spirits. They believe (because they have been lied to) that the quori (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/moe_gallery/91500.jpg) are wise and benevolent, but by the time one of the specially bred "Empty Vessels" has a quori (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82160.jpg) in his head and becomes one of the "Inspired (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/roe_gallery/88219.jpg)", he's totally brainwashed and dominated. The quori are using their subjects to build massive psionically charged monuments (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82131.jpg) at various locations around their empire of Riedra, which some suspect to be a type of planar magnet or anchor. If it is, they may be able to drag Dal Quor back into it's original orbit, and allow the plane to become coterminous with Eberron once more.

Opposing them are the Kalashtar (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/roe_gallery/88247.jpg), who were actually the first quori-inhabited humans. These quori believe that it is wrong to possess their host unwillingly, so instead they have formed a symbiotic system with them where their minds have merged and share their strengths. The Kalashtar appear to be "perfected" humans, and they can interbreed with humans and half-elves. because of the way the quori spirit is inherited, the offspring will only be Kalashtar if it is the same sex as the Kalashtar parent.

Naturally, the Kalashtar (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82091.jpg) are some of the world's greatest psionicists. There aren't many of them in the first place, so they are nearly all combat-trained, not "commoners". Psion (psychic mage, essentially) is their most favored class, but they have Psychic Warriors, Soulknives, and Wilders among them in significant numbers as well as various prestige classes such as the Quori Mindhunter (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/moe_gallery/91472.jpg).

They use their powers to combat (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/roe_gallery/88215.jpg) the Inspired (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82157.jpg) where they can, but on the continet of Sarlona they are too outnumbered to do much beyond protecting their haven, Adar. In Khorvaire and elswhere in the world, they seek out and combat members of the Dreaming Dark (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/roe_gallery/88253.jpg), hidden Inspired spies and assassins that seem to be working their way into the power structures of many powerful governments and organizations. In a very "X-Files"-ish fashion, the Kalashtar may be all that stands between Khorvaire and a shadow coup engineered by aliens of a nightmare world.

Here's a good link on the subject: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eb/20040413a

Just imagine, an expansion with Kalashtar, Psions, and maybe the other three psionic classes, with some mysery adventure where you have to discover who are the Inspired agents of the Dreaming Dark and who are innocent humans... and each time you play it, different NPCs are part of the conspiracy. :eek:


Q: Are there any dragonmarked warforged? Or is this simply a "humanoid" trait? Warforged have never manifested dragonmarks of any sort, not even the unstable Aberrant Dragonmarks. Then again, weird versions of warforged have been developing at a rather fast pace since the War- Reforged (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/roe_gallery/88257.jpg), Psiforged (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/moe_gallery/91495.jpg), Landforged (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/sx_gallery/98829.jpg),and who knows what else... and the Draconic Prophecy reveals itself in mysterious ways... but it's pretty doubtful there will ever be Dragonmarkforged. :p

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Are there any dragonmarked warforged? Or is this simply a "humanoid" trait?

A. Each Dragonmark is tied to a specific race (or in the case of the Mark of Finding two). Only members of that race, who are also members of the Dragonmarked family or bloodline have the possibility of manifesting a true Dragonmark.

You never see a Mark of Scribing on a Human, or a Mark of Handling on a Halfling.

Any member of a Dragonmarked race (Elf, Human, Halfling, Gnome, Dwarf, Half-elf, Half-orc) has a chance of manifesting an Abberant mark, though it is more likely among those who have Dragonmarked blood somewhere in their family tree.

This means there are no Warforged, Shifters, Changeling, Kalashtar, Gnolls, Bugbears, Goblins, etc. with any kind of Dragonmark.

An interesting note. Eberron avoids using "subraces" in many cases, the argument being that a dwarf is a dwarf is a dwarf. There are however, a few instances where subraces do come into play, most notably the Drow. Technically speaking a Drow is an Elf and therefore has the potential to manifest a mark, however given that the bloodline of the Mark of Shadow is not a Drow bloodline, it's unlikely you'll see Drow with a True Dragonmark. They do, however, have the possibility to develop an Abberant Mark.

Likewise, Half-elves who are Human/Elf offspring (which are rare, most half-elves are born to two other half-elves) cannot develop any of the Half-Elf dragonmarks, because they won't belong to the appropriate families. Nor will they be able to manifest one of the Human or Elven marks because they are of the incorrect race. (The novel, the Crimson Talisman gets this particular point wrong, giving its half-elven protagonist the Mark of Passage.) Like the Drow, a Half-Elf like this could certainly develop an Abberant Mark, though, especially if both of his parents belonged to Dragonmarked bloodlines.

[D3x2006]

Q. Are there any dragonmarked warforged? Or is this simply a "humanoid" trait?
There is the Mark of Becoming - but it is crafted into Warforged by themselves as members of the Godforged who follow the Becoming God, a uniquely warforged religion.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Can you tell me more about the Mournlands? I heard somewhere that healing magic don't work there.

A. That is correct. Neither natural nor magical healing works in Mournlands. This does not include, however, the magic used to repair Warforged, making it the perfect location for the Lord of Blades to begin his nation.

The Mournlands is the entirety of what was once Cyre. The Mourning affected Cyre and Cyre only. You could have be standing twenty yards outside the nations borders on the Day of Mourning and you would have been totally unaffected.

While this certainly points to magical causes, the exact cause of the Mourning will likely never been known. But whatever it was it utterly destroyed the former Jewel in the Galifar Crown.

Now the Mournland is bounded by a dead gray mist that follows its borders and stretches up over the region to create a canopy above it. This barrier provides the first obstacle for those attempting to enter the Mournlands. Visibility is almost nil within the mists, often hiding falls or other hazards. The mist is thick and cloying and seems to suppress sounds within it, leading to an even higher likelihood of getting seperated or lost.

Once you make it through the mists things don't get much better. The land beyond is scarred and broken. The sun, when it's up, fails to pierce the dead-gray mists, leaving the land in a state of perpetual twilight. Almost nothing natural remains. Plants and animals are twisted, even magic has become unstable. Many spells that were active or cast at the time of the Mourning have become Living Spells, actually oozing about the broken landscape seeking prey.

Perhaps most disturbing of all, the natural process of decay seems to have been halted by the Mourning, leaving fields of warriors in the exact state in which they died. The largest collection of fully preserved corpses can be found at the Field of Ruins, the site of a massive battle between Thrane, Breland, Cyre and Darguun that was in progress when the Mourning occured. Every single soldier exactly as he was the day he died almost four years ago.

Despite the dangers of the Mournlands, or perhaps because of it, expeditions are often sent to explore the ruins of Cyre by a wide variety of groups. The dangers of the area have, until now, kept most treasure-seekers out, ensuring that there's a wealth of goods, both magical and mundane, to be had for those able to find them. And survive the trip home.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. I see you mention the Quori often in the history of Eberron, what are/were they?

A. One thing I'd like to add is that the interpretation of Quori as this terrible force for evil is certainly debatable. The Quori and the Kalashtar are in direct opposition because the Kalashtar seek the Turning of the Age and the Quori hope to avoid it at all costs.

There are shadows of the Jedi/Empire conflict. Much of what the "bad guys" did might be considered good. They bring a sense of order and stability, but at what cost.

I think it's difficult to argue that the Riedrans have been duped into doing something that's not good for them. They may have been manipulated into handing power over to a force that doesn't really care for them beyond their use as tools, but that's a trap that's all to easy to fall into.

[fefnir3284]

House Cannith did make the warforged as they are currently known, and no one really knows what the old ones were called by their original makers. Secrets of Xen'drik just calls them "primordial warforged (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/sx_gallery/98378.jpg)", and the few still wandering around Xen'drik look significantly less human. They also have about as much of a mind as a warforged titan. It makes sense that the quori would not have wanted them to have much in the way of free will, as they likely possessed them as host bodies.

House Cannith's early models, made by Merrix d'Cannith (the elder) were hardly any smarter than a golem. To make better soldiers, they needed to be able to interpret the intent rather than literal word of orders, understand what the overall mission was, and be able to improvise when plans fell apart. Aaren d'Cannith was able to make them fully sentient, but then realized that it would be slavery to use them for their original purpose. Unfortunately, Merrix overruled him, and Aaren abandoned the House and hasn't been seen again.

In the end, the quori were responsible for making warforged as semi-intelligent golems, but House Cannith is responsible for improving the design and making them into a creative and adaptable people.

Hey, I found a wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warforged

1. Who is Xulo?

and

2. It doesnt say warforge were mindless. If the giants did create them them, the help fight the quori, then maybe they thought what house cannith did. Need smarter soldiers. Maybe the primodial ones are the 1st run and only wonder cause the others later model either left with the elves, have a hidden city somewhere, evolve over the last 40,000 years and left eberron or they are with the dragons. Noone knows...

[Thanatos]

1. Who is Xulo?

and

2. It doesnt say warforge[d] were mindless.
1. I think Xulo is possibly the Titan of the Twilight Forge, but that's just a guess.

2. Oddly enough, neither did I. ;)

Warforged titans, early model Cannith warforged, and the primordial warforged are all sentient, but marginally so. As far as anyone can tell, the docents were the real brains of the primordials.

I can understand disliking House Cannith and not wanting to recognize them as creators, though. Merrix the elder sold them when he knew they were thinking beings, Merrix the younger is basically a mad scientist, secretly creating new ones and turning them loose in weird situations to see what they'll do or become, and Aaren, the only one that respected the fact that they were creating life, took off to who knows where. Still, I don't think they were all bad. If you prefer to give the giants full credit, well that's the cool thing about how they leave mysteries in Eberron. Here we are debating it as if our characters were discussing it. (Keovar has trace Cannith blood :p ).

[Tous]

Wow!
I find myself too busy reading all the answers and not looking any up, or even playing the game.
Would be nice to see as its own Forum, the information you guys are putting out is overwhelming!:D

Sweet post with the image links Thanatos.:D

[Mauvais]

That offspring was Erandis d'Vol, an elven half-dragon.
How, pray tell, does one mate a humonoid and a dragon? Seriously, is there some ritual/magic that produces on off-spring? Or do dragons assume human form for this part of the movie?

And while we are on the topic, can any two races interbreed...regardless?

[MysticTheurge]

1. Who is Xulo?

He's the warforged at the end of the published adventure Grasp of the Emerald Claw.

[CrazySamaritan]

How, pray tell, does one mate a humonoid and a dragon? Seriously, is there some ritual/magic that produces on off-spring? Or do dragons assume human form for this part of the movie?

And while we are on the topic, can any two races interbreed...regardless?
A. If you're thinking of a humanoid having a 'physical relationship' with a dragon, then yes, it would be rather difficult. Fortunetly, the magic of Dungeons and Dragons says that the scruffy-looking traveler who just tipped well, or that good-looking bard could be dragons, of the same or different alignment. This ability is in the form of an 'alter-self' special ability. Some Dragons can cast spells to turn them human/goblin/gnome/etc. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/dragonTrue.htm)

Truthfully, most dragons do not interact much with the populace in these terms (so far as the average Khorvairian knows). However, there is the Draconic Phrophesy, which DMs can us to say "well, a Dragon did this" for just about anything. In fact, there's a little quest that involves getting rid of a dragon before she discovers something in the Draconic Prophesy.

So no, not every race can interbreed, but you arrange for a mad wizard, or artificer with too much time on his hands, or a misinterpretation of the draconic prophesy.... Let's just say nothing is tuely safe.

[Gypsy_Mouse]

MysticTheurge, THANKS!

I honestly thought there was no answer to my question. I figured there was a reason for using the Octogram and not a Nonagram(?). The information you gave though is exactly what I was looking for, but had no idea where to look for it as I don't have the source books. :D

I'm still going to look through the books I do have to see if I can find that discrepancy.

[D3x2006]

I know for certain the information provided about the Celestial Crown/Octagram is present in Faiths of Eberron.

[Aexicas]

How, pray tell, does one mate a humonoid and a dragon? Seriously, is there some ritual/magic that produces on off-spring? Or do dragons assume human form for this part of the movie?

And while we are on the topic, can any two races interbreed...regardless?

In all core DnD worlds, almost any humanoid (and arguably giantoids and goblinoids) can breed with each other (hence, half-orc, half-elf). From everything I've read, theres been no ruling against or for combinations, such as a Half-Dwarf/Half-Halfling, but you also have to take in mind physiologies (in other words, it would be pretty hard to breed a gnome and an ogre).

As for dragons, Bronze, Silver, and Gold dragons can all assume the form of a medium sized or smaller animal or humanoid a few times a day. Many other dragons (chromatic in particular) in many books and stories who are high level wizards tend to take the Alternate Form spell as well (often to use humans and the like to do their bidding).

When it comes to Half-Dragons, though, the most common blend would most likely be that of a Silver Dragon and Human parent, as Silver Dragons are the most social of all the dragon species, and often spend long amounts of time among humanoids, observing with an almost child-like curiosity at how the short-lived humans live their lives (and often theyre taught to live their lives much like a human would due to this). Bronze Dragons and Gold Dragons might also choose a more mortal mate, but Bronzes are a bit more seclusive than Silvers, and Golds are usually involved with their own affairs and are a bit Regal to commonly have mortal affairs.

[useroo1]

Q. who runs or is in control of stromreach?

Q. Did the elves and dragons go to war? could u tell us a little of the battle?(what happen to that time line that was posted, not the dragon marked one.)

Aeren actually sacrificed himself with his own blood magic, but was able to use that power to provide protection for his people, and to transform himself into the first Undying.

Q. could you maybe please go into a lil more details. is Aeren still around? are the undying undead? if so what types?

Q. the Twelve united and fought a war/crusade against what are called Aberrent Dragonmarks, some of which included intermarried members of the Twelve Houses. sounds interesting can you tell us more?

thanks great posts, would be really cool to get a stotyteller in-game.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Who runs or is in control of Stormreach?

A. Stormreach is very much a fronteir town, so the question of who is in control of it, if anyone, is a little bit tricky. Stormreach was originally built as a pirate haven, and existed as such for quite some time. Finally, the Dragonmarked Houses petitioned the King of Galifar to put an end to the root the pirates out of Stormreach in 800 YK. Two years later, through a combination of diplomacy and naval action, the feat was accomplished. Sort of. The city was then given over to the control of five hereditary nobles known as the Storm Lords, the first of whom were promoted from the ranks of the pirate captains.

The present day Harbor Lord oversees the docks, trade and comings and goings, while the four Coin Lords oversee the maintenance of the city, as well as the city guard. However, to say that they control the city is something of a misstatement. To say anyone controls the city is really untrue. Stormreach close to a lawless city and the analogy to a fronteir town is most applicable. Consider the typical Wild West town. A sheriff is technically in command, but his actual control extends about ten feet away from his person.

The other factions who wield some significant influence in Stormreach are the Houses. Stormreach is very much a trade town, and as befits their station as Barons of Industry, the Dragonmarked Barons have some considerable power in the city. While all of the houses have agents in the city, and many have enclaves, House Lyrandar, House Kundarak, House Deneith and House Tharashk have deep roots in the city and the Storm Lords often go out of their way to accomodate those Houses.

Q. Did the elves and dragons go to war? Could you tell us a little of the battle?

A. The Elves and the Dragons have clashed on a number of occasions. The first would be at the end of the Giant/Quori war. As the Giant Empires spiraled out of control following the cataclysm the threw Dal Quor out of orbit, it became ever more clear that the Giant Warlocks would turn to the same magic again in an attempt to restore their empire to its former glory. However, the Dragons, ever watchful of the Prophecy, forsee the terrible result and attack the now-weakened Xen'drik. Though this war is not entirely one-sided, the Dragons clearly have the upper hand and in the end the Giant civilization is shattered. Those Elves who still remained slaves to the Giants at the time would certainly have battled the Dragons alongside their masters.

Shortly after the Undying Court was formed in Aerenal (relatively speaking), the elf-dragon wars began. The first of the battles between the new Elven nation and the Dragons occured almost 26 thousand years ago and would kick off a centuries-long period of alternating peace and war. Long periods of peaceful coexistance would be shattered by sudden devastating battles. Not much is known about these battles, though it is commonly believed that they have stopped only because the Undying Court has amassed enough power to truly challenge the Dragons, creating a precarious balance of power.


Q. Aeren actually sacrificed himself with his own blood magic, but was able to use that power to provide protection for his people, and to transform himself into the first Undying. Could you maybe please go into a lil more details? Is Aeren still around?

A. The legends of the birth of the Aereni nation are many. One goes as you describe. An Elven apprentice by the name of Aeren Kriaddal served a Giant Warlock intent on unlocking the secret power of blood sacrifice. Over time Aeren came to realize that the true potential lay in a willing sacrifice and so banded together with 100 other conspirators to create an opportunity that would allow the Elven people to escape their captivity.

He and his conspirators, on a predetermined day, approached their Giant masters, uttered the final words of a ritual that took their lives and brought destruction down on the heads of the Giants in a cataclysmic first strike. The Elves, led by agents of Aeren and the conspirators, fled to the shore where they found a journal describing what Aeren had done as well as the process to create the Undying. This legend claims that Aeren himself became the first of the deathless and predecessor to what would become the Undying Court.

There are flaws with this legend however. Much of what makes the magic of the Priests of Transition possible is the manifest zone to Irian on present day Aerenal. If this special connection to the plane of positive energy is needed to create an Undying, how then would Aeren have become one on Xen'drik? Proponents of this legend point out that there were other magical forces involved and this might have allowed for Aeren's conversion to an Undying despite the lack of the manifest zone.

Another legend claims the Elves and the Giants had been at war for sometime, as the Elven uprisings sprang up amidst the Giant/Quori war. In this legend, Aeren is an elven visionary who forsees the cataclysmic end to the Quori/Giant/Elven war and convinced a number of Elves to flee the collapsing empire and seek out a new home. As dragonfire shattered the continent of Xen'drik, these Elves landed on the island nation that would become Aerenal. Aeren, however, is said to have died of a wasting disease over the course of the long sea voyage, and never saw the new nation. The Elves who would become the Aereni buried their prophet in the soil of this new land and named it "Aeren's Rest."

The mere fact that legends are unsure of whether Aeren was male or female, seem to suggest that, even if Aeren was one of the first deathless, he or she is no longer among even the Undying.

Q. Are the Undying undead? If so what types?

A. The Undying are not undead, but rather deathless, a form of creature quite similar to undead. However, where undead creatures are animated and sustained by negative energy, the deathless have the same relationship with positive energy.

Q. The Twelve united and fought a war/crusade against what are called Aberrent Dragonmarks, some of which included intermarried members of the Twelve Houses. Sounds interesting. Can you tell us more?

A. The War of the Mark, as this crusade is commonly known, occured a relatively-recent sixteen hundred years ago. The body of arcane mages known as the Twelve, wasn't actually created until the end of the War of the Mark. Hadran d'Cannith suggested, during talks to end the war, that the houses work together to create a place where magic could be studied cooperatively, with a focus on dragonmarks and their application in the world.

As for the for the War of the Mark itself, it was mainly a crusade to eradicate Abberant marks, though whether the impetus was the Houses' desire to consolidate power to themselves or if they truly believed those with Aberrant marks to be evil, none know for certain. In the third year of the war, Halas ir'Tarkanan and a woman known only as the Lady of Plagues took control of the city of Sharn and transformed it into a haven for those seeking to escape the Houses' persecution. History shows that the powers of Aberrant marks were once far greater than those seen today, and few displayed more power than Tarkanan and his Lady. However, in the end, those with Aberrant marks and their allies simply didn't have the numbers to withstand the Houses' assault, and it soon became clear that Sharn would fall to the forces of the Pure Marks. Unwilling to accept defeat, Tarkanan and the Lady of Plagues called on the full force of their marks and unleashed forces that would devastate Sharn. Earthquakes rocked the city, causes portions of it to collapse and rivers of lava to flow up from far below the city. Those who died in these catastophes were the lucky ones, however, as vermin and disease ravaged the rest of the city.

In the end, the Dragonmarked Houses were victorious, but Sharn paid a terrible price. For centuries, people refused to resettle in the city, until Galifar the First sent House Cannith forces to rebuild the city. Even today, though, there are some who claim that the curse of the Lady of Plagues still fells the occasional resident of the deeper parts of the city.

[EccOMyth]

How, pray tell, does one mate a humonoid and a dragon? Seriously, is there some ritual/magic that produces on off-spring? Or do dragons assume human form for this part of the movie?

And while we are on the topic, can any two races interbreed...regardless?

Under the Half-Dragon section of the Monster Manual it say something along these line. (Won't type it word for word.)

The Magical nature of a dragon allows it to breed with almost any creature. Conception usually happens while the dragon is changed in shape. It will almost always abandon the crossbreed. Half-Dragons are more powerful then the others of their kind who do not have dragons blood. They gain features from the Dragon side such as reptilian eyes, scales, elongated features, large teeth/claws and sometimes wings.

They also tell how to create a Half-Dragon so you can have your own version to use in PnP. Dragons are the only ones who can crossbreed with such a large number of creatures. Most others race are limited in what they can crossbreed with.

[D3x2006]

The second most capable cross breeder is the Human. Beyond Half-Orcs & Half-Elves there are Half-Ogres, Half Drow, Half Gaint, etc. Some of these will require magical assistance but are possible.

[MysticTheurge]

I'm thinking about writing a few short bits about some different topics, choose one of the following and PM me (http://www.ddo.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=17499) your choice (Please don't post votes as it'll clutter up the thread):

More about the city of stormreach.

Information about Eberron-appropriate names.

More background on each non-warforged race in Eberron. (Tell me your preference)

More about specific Dragonmarked Houses. (Tell me your preference)

Starting tomorrow after work, I'll get started on the more popular ones, though I hope to get to them all eventually.

[Mauvais]

I'm thinking about writing a few short bits about some different topics, choose one of the following and PM me (http://www.ddo.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=17499) your choice (Please don't post votes as it'll clutter up the thread):

More about the city of stormreach.

Information about Eberron-appropriate names.

More background on each non-warforged race in Eberron. (Tell me your preference)

More about specific Dragonmarked Houses. (Tell me your preference)

Starting tomorrow after work, I'll get started on the more popular ones, though I hope to get to them all eventually.
I'll add one topic:

Famous half-breeds of Eberron.:)


The second most capable cross breeder is the Human. Hilarous. Guess they are the most adaptable playable race.

[Mauvais]

How did Eberron come into existance? What is the "story of Genesis" for Eberron?

Also...

Who or what created the various races?

[fefnir3284]

Q1. How did Eberron come into existance? What is the "story of Genesis" for Eberron?

Also...

Q2. Who or what created the various races?

A1. In the beginning the world was one. No heaven, no earth (aka eberron), no hell. All were one and all were ruled by the first 3 great wyrms : Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber. These three great wyrms created (or discovered0 the Prophecy (that world tells the future in a mystic was and that which the dragons study to this day trying to unlocks its secrets). Some time after this a world-shattering battle occurred splitting the world into three, scattering the prophecy all over creation.

As a result of this battle the three progenitor wyrms accended and became more than mere dragons. Siberys became the ring of dragonshards that circle the planet (eberron) and know aas the Dragon Above, Khyber was sealed in the darkness depths of creation and bbecame known as the Dragon Below. While Eberron healed the world between the light and darkness by becoming one with it, giving birth to Eberron (the planet).

A2. After ascending Siberys called forth the next generation of dragons. Khyber released the demon. devils, and fiends. While Eberron gave birth to everything else. This is the sotry of the creation of the world as we know it today. Here is a little bit of what happened next.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Khybers fiends overran the earth at first as the children of Eberron were meek and small, while the dragons only cared for peace being protected by the Dragon Above. This hell on Eberron lasted for 8,500,000 years until the dragons rediscovered the Prophecy and did battle with the fiends. Eberrons children ran and hide from these godlike creatures as their battles were titanic. After 1,400,000 million years of war the good, snakelike dragons known as Couatls sacrificed nearly all their numbers to bring the battle to an end by banishing the most powerful demon lords and nearly all of the fiends eternally back to the darkness. 20,000 years later the giants rose to power and their kingdom began.

The giant kingdom lasted 51,000 years and survived the Quor invasion (the Dream Dark, a race of incoporeal beings that had no physical forms). But fell when they tried to destroy the elves the was they defeated the Quor (the dragons stopped them). Less than a thousand years later the giatns had reverted to a barbaric race of cretins, some say Xen'drix is cursed and any civilization that becomes too advanced is doomed to fall like the giants did, and Stormreach is rapidly aproaching that level.

8000 (-30,000) years later the orc kingdoms are born and compete with the goblinoids for supremecy. In 5 millenia later the Undying Court is born, after this it is 9 millenia before the Dhakaani Goblins rise to power (this is when the gatekeepers appear in the Orc kingdom). This mighty nation only lasts for 9,000 years before civil war rips it apart. The Orc Kingdom falls 5,000 years before hand during the Xoriat invasion, but not before sealing away the 7 immortal generals of the Daelkyr race and making Xoriat non-coterminal.

In -4100 (900 years after the fall of the goblin kingdom) Oalian the great druid is given life (he is the most powerful being on Eberron <that is listed with character levels : lv20 druid>. 900 years later the dragonmarks appear and the age of mortals being as the dragons take notice of the "lesser" races power and undeniable link the to Great Prophecy.

The next 4300 years is filled with the appearance of 13 dragonmarks, the descruction of one, war between elf and dragon, and the rise of Galifar, followed by the 100 year war that ended 4 years ago at which time the instruments of war for the last third of that war are given freedom and now walk Eberron as the newest race, called warforge. Circa year : 998 (after the birth of Galifar)...


Hope this helps ;)

[Aexicas]

Two Questions for the Loremasters...

1. What sort of powers can an aberrant dragonmark give its possesor? Do they give a sort of "multi-class" Dragonmark power, I.E. If an aberrant dragonmarked had lineage from House Jorasco and House Cannith, can the aberrant marked heal and repair both, just to a lesser degree?

2. Who/What were the 7 Daelkyr generals? Specifically, what races were they, what sort of classes, and the like?

[fefnir3284]

Two Questions for the Loremasters...

Q1. What sort of powers can an aberrant dragonmark give its possesor? Do they give a sort of "multi-class" Dragonmark power, I.E. If an aberrant dragonmarked had lineage from House Jorasco and House Cannith, can the aberrant marked heal and repair both, just to a lesser degree?

A1. Aberrant Dragonmark are exactly what you stated them to be : multi-class dragonmarks, but 2500 years ago the War of the Mark occurred and the "pure" dragonmark families destroyed the "corrupt" dragonmark families. In reality the pure bloods saw the power and potential if "aberrant" dragonmarks were allowed to flourish, ie one mark, all the powers, so they killed them all out of jelousy, greed, or fear? Noone knows cause they won and the victors write the history. This is why multi-class dragonmarks are called "aberration" dragonmarks. Today when an aberrant dragonmark appear it is of the lowest power, and can be traced back to any of the "corrupt" families that were destroyed.

With the exception of the date the 2nd post on this page, by MysticTheurge, has far more detail then me, but I still dont believe that an Aberrant Dragonmark bear as strong as that Lady of Plagues would just give up and destroy everything. I biase belief is that the destruction of the city was the pure marks attack to destroy the aberrants, and maybe the aberrants plane gated out. But the victors write the history and usually villify the losers ;)


Q2. Who/What were the 7 Daelkyr generals? Specifically, what races were they, what sort of classes, and the like?

A2. The Daelkyr look like humanoids without pupils only a whole lot more powerful. They are immortal, and upon further research, six (maybe more) <as the monster stat states, thought I swore it was 7 sealed> of them are sealed below Eberrons surface.

But in short, the Daelkyr are the Lords of Xoriat (the plane of madness), they are immortal and endlessly patient. Their mere tough causes disease and corruption. Their mere gaze triggers madness and confusion. In essence they are chaos incarnate. Their desire to destroy worlds seems to me nothing more then a form of art. Their preferred canvas is flesh and they personally created the following monsters : dolgrims, dolgaunts, beholders, mind flayers, and all other aberrations. They are sealed behind the Eldreen Reaches and this seal also keeps Xoriat non coterminal (ie can not come into alignment to allow movement between planes)...

[Thanatos]

A1. Aberrant Dragonmark are exactly what you stated them to be : multi-class dragonmarks, but 2500 years ago the War of the Mark occurred and the "pure" dragonmark families destroyed the "corrupt" dragonmark families. In reality the pure bloods saw the power and potential if "aberrant" dragonmarks were allowed to flourish, ie one mark, all the powers, so they killed them all out of jelousy, greed, or fear? Noone knows cause they won and the victors write the history. This is why multi-class dragonmarks are called "aberration" dragonmarks. Today when an aberrant dragonmark appear it is of the lowest power, and can be traced back to any of the "corrupt" families that were destroyed.)Aberrant Dragonmarks, not aberration, that's a creature type. Your mark has nothing to with your class, and each mark feat gives one power. Not all of the aberrant marks are from mixed pure marks, some just randomly happen. They are called "aberrant" because they are not stable, and they usually provide an offensive spell power. Saying the Queen of Plagues gated out of Sharn after unleashing her mark is a pretty huge speculation, since most NPCs don't have that level of magic. My bet would be on the combined forces of all 11 (at the time) houses being more numerous and powerful than all the aberrant marks that had gathered in Sharn.

[fefnir3284]

Aberrant Dragonmarks, not aberration, that's a creature type. Your mark has nothing to with your class, and each mark feat gives one power. Not all of the aberrant marks are from mixed pure marks, some just randomly happen. They are called "aberrant" because they are not stable, and they usually provide an offensive spell power. Saying the Queen of Plagues gated out of Sharn after unleashing her mark is a pretty huge speculation, since most NPCs don't have that level of magic. My bet would be on the combined forces of all 11 (at the time) houses being more numerous and powerful than all the aberrant marks that had gathered in Sharn.

Its 7am here give me a break, and Oalian is the strongest character in eberron now being marked as a level 20 druid. Even a level 20 druid would have a hard time pulling earthquakes, plagues, and lava into a city. Yet all level 20, not even that. All level 13 wizards and sorcerer could cast the 7th level spell Plane Shift. And it is generally noted that the magic of today (in eberron) is nothing compare to what it once was. Plus what of a contingency spell. If all hell breaks lose get me and a-z out of here? I mean a mark bear isnt ONLY a mark bear they could have classes. And since the queen of plagues is a historic figure we dont know what her classes were, now do we, my good friend?
But yes, an aberrant mark could appear out of nowhere, but the campaign setting states most can be traced back to a "corrupt" family. And to be fair it has been over 2000 years. Look at our history, you cant trace bloodlines that easily, so the same would go for a fantasy world ;)


Saying the Queen of Plagues gated out of Sharn after unleashing her mark is a pretty huge speculation, since most NPCs don't have that level of magic. My bet would be on the combined forces of all 11 (at the time) houses being more numerous and powerful than all the aberrant marks that had gathered in Sharn.

And what do you mean by this? Do you mean the 11 houses did that attack with lava and plagues, or that she did and then used it as a distraction? It could have been a mix of magics, but I still stand firm and believe that if they possessed that much magical might that the Queen of Plague must have known what was coming and planned ahead. I mean she tried to make Sharn a safe haven. So she was either dumb and suicidal, or she wanted to gather as many aberrant markbearers together to plane shift out of there at the right time, who knows. That is what is so great about a new world, we just dont know. Well dont know until Keith Baker write about it ;)

[rfachini]

Please tell us more about Stormreach. One thing I'm not clear on is... that part of the Marketplace called The Twelve. Are these the same 12 mages that fought against the abberant dragonmarks? How long ago was that and do they actually live in stormreach? Could Turbine be having trouble figuring out how to mesh the area of the Twelve and established Eberron history?

I also would like to hear more about races. Dwarves, halflings, drow, elves, warforged, and humans; in that order.
:)
Thanks!

[Shecky]

Please tell us more about Stormreach. One thing I'm not clear on is... that part of the Marketplace called The Twelve. Are these the same 12 mages that fought against the abberant dragonmarks? How long ago was that and do they actually live in stormreach? Could Turbine be having trouble figuring out how to mesh the area of the Twelve and established Eberron history?

"The Twelve" refers to the twelve dragonmarked houses, simply put. "The Twelve" is the name for their loose association.

[CrazySamaritan]

Sorry, but Shecky is wrong. The Telve refer to an Arcane college.

[D3x2006]

Actually it is both. The Twelve is an Arcane College of sorts where members of each of the 12 Dragonmarked Houses meet and discuss combined uses for their specialities.

House Lysander does not build the Airships its marked can control - House Cannith does that. House Orion runs the Lighting Rail built by Cannith, who are defended by Dennith. Think of the Twelve as a cooperative group of mega-corps working to make the most coin they can.

A quick quote (not even a full sentance) from pg 245 of the Eberron Campaign Setting.


The Twelve
An arcane instiution funded by the dragonmarked houses, ...

In our game the Message Stations would be the product of the Twelve.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Regarding the Twelve, are these the same 12 mages that fought against the abberant dragonmarks? How long ago was that and do they actually live in stormreach? Could Turbine be having trouble figuring out how to mesh the area of the Twelve and established Eberron history?

A. The Twelve is an arcane college of sorts funded and developed by the twelve Dragonmarked houses. Shecky is correct in that the number twelve in "The Twelve" refers to the number of the houses. However, CrazySamaritan is correct in that the title itself is refering to a seperate institution and not the Houses themselves.

The Twelve wasn't actually around during the War of the Mark. It was, rather, formed immediately following the end of the war. The Twelve isn't twelve actual people, but rather a whole bunch of different mages. (Different mages now than would have been around at the time of the Twelve's founding.)

Members of the Twelve in Stormreach will have various reasons for being there. For some, being sent to Stormreach is likely a punishment, since it's very much away from the cosmopolitan areas of Eberron. Others might be there on research missions. Xen'drik is one of Eberron's main sources of Siberys shards, and House Tharashk in particular sponsors a large number of expeditions into the interior of the continent in an effort to harvest these. Additionally, the Giants of the Age of Giants were extremely skilled in arcane magics, so many members of the Twelve might be in Stormreach in order to seek out artifacts from that Age.

I feel it necessary to point out, that while the Twelve did assist in developing the first Airships, House Cannith is not actual producing them. The secrets of elemental binding are a crucial element in many of the modern wonders but most notably elemental-bound vessels such as the Lightning Rail, Airships and Wind Galleons. And those secrets are jealously guarded by the Gnomes of Zilargo. The great drydocks at Trolanport and Korranberg are responsible for the majority of the Airships produced today, and most of the rest are produced by smaller workshops elsewhere in the Gnomish nation.

Additionally, the Twelve should be thought of more as an independent R&D department for the Houses, than as a tightly controlled arm of them. They take some direction from the Barons, but for the most part they do their own work to advance their magical knowledge and find practical uses for it, which are then shared equally with all the Houses. This however can't stop the rumors of this House diverting funds for secret projects or that House attempting to conceal some incredible new discovery.

[MysticTheurge]

In our game the Message Stations would be the product of the Twelve.

Actually, I suspect the Message Stations in DDO are nothing more than boxes where we can put messages which are then carried to their recipients by Orien couriers.

There's nothing magical about them, and therefore it's unlikely that the Twelve was involved in their creation.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What sort of powers can an aberrant dragonmark give its possesor? Do they give a sort of "multi-class" Dragonmark power, I.E. If an aberrant dragonmarked had lineage from House Jorasco and House Cannith, can the aberrant marked heal and repair both, just to a lesser degree?

A. While the Abberant marks do often result from inter-bloodline breeding among the Houses, their effects are always very different. The dragonmarked half-halfling in your example would not gain powers from his mark like those you describe. Most often Abberant marks give wild and dangerous powers, what we would likely consider "combat" spells, such as burning hands or color spray.

The only modern day Abberant marks are roughly on the same scale of power as the Least Dragonmarks among the pure blooded Houses, though history shows that more powerful marks were once present. Halas ir'Tarkanan and the Lady of Plagues likely had marks of similar power to Greater or even Siberys marks.

On that note, there are some who consider there to be three levels of marks which mimic the three Progenitor Dragons. The most powerful of the Pure Marks are known as Siberys marks. The would then consider the rest of the Pure Marks to be "Eberron" marks and Abberant marks to be "Khyber" marks. This theory has some slight flaws in that, as we've discussed, there are multiple levels of power within the Abberant Marks as well, and if all Abberant Marks are "Khyber" marks, what would the significantly-more-powerful Marks of Tarkanan and the Lady of Plagues be considered?

Q. Who/What were the 7 Daelkyr generals? Specifically, what races were they, what sort of classes, and the like?

A. The Daelkyr are a race unto themselves. They are powerful outsiders from Xoriat, the plane of madness. In terms of power, the weakest of the Daelkyr would be roughly on par with twentieth level characters.

Present day scholars know the names of a few of the more powerful Daelkyr who were present in Eberron during the Daelkyr/Dhakaani wars.

Orlassk was known as the Master of Stone and is credited with creating many of the present day creatures with petrification powers, such as Medusas or Basilisks. Though the Medusas of Droaam deny this is their origin, it is known that they fought on the side of the Daelkyr in the battle for Orlassk's citadel, Cazhaak Draal.

Belashyrra was known as the Lord of Eyes and is said to have created the Beholders to be living artillery during the war. It is rumored that his citadel contained a room covered in eyes that allowed him to see through the eyes of any living creature.

Even the weakest daelkyr is a force to be reckoned with, its mere presence bringing madness with it, and its touch corruption. The more powerful ones such as Belashyrra or Orlassk were nigh unstoppable. Orlassk is said to have been able to turn legions of goblinoids to stone on a whim.

[Gypsy_Mouse]

Q. I have noticed there are drow scorpions and scorrow. What's the difference?

[D3x2006]

So how long and in how much detail do we need to make an answer if we are answering, in order to avoid having 3 or 4 of us respond in bits and pieces to have them combined and updated in another post?

Q.I have noticed there are drow scorpions and scorrow. What's the difference?

A. It is my understanding that the Drow Scorpion is a magical creation. The mages (wiz/soc/art/clr/drd/adp) of a Drow community create the Drow Scorpion from a monstrous Scorpion & a Drow.
The Scorrow breed true as a species and do not nessecarily mingle with Drow tribes.

Hope this answers the basic question.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. How did Eberron come into existance? What is the "story of Genesis" for Eberron?

A. The most commonly accepted creation myth is the legend of the Progenitor Dragons and the Age of Fiends.

According to this legend, the world was originally three all-powerful dragons, Siberys, Eberron and Khyber, that co-existed peacfully for some indeterminate length of time (though that likely doesn't matter at all when you're a progenitor wyrm). It is said that, as they flew through the cosmos, Khyber ate all the stars, consuming them faster than Siberys could place them in the sky. As the two waged this race, it is said Eberron sang and created the first life.

Finally, Siberys tired of attempting to outrun Khyber and turned on him in hopes of stopping him from devouring everything she created. And the two fought a cosmos-shaking battle. In the end, Siberys was defeated, and Khyber shattered her into a million pieces.

Now thirsty for blood, Khyber turned to attack Eberron, but she was too fast for him. As he lunged she dodged aside and enfolded him in her coils. No matter how much Khyber struggled, Eberron just kept wrapping him tighter until he was completely enveloped.

After their long struggle, Eberron and Khyber slumbered, their bodies hardening into the earth. The fragments of Siberys body encircled the pair, becoming the Ring of Siberys. Thus the dragons got their names, Khyber the Dragon Below, Siberys the Dragon Above and Eberron the Dragon Between.

Drops of Siberys' blood fell to earth and became the first of the Dragons, who lived in peace for a long Age. Deep below the surface, Khyber's blood festered and seeped from between Eberrons coils, spawning the first of the Fiends: Rakshasas, Night Hags and other terrible creatures. Slowly, these Fiends found ways to escape their underground prisons, finding their ways through cracks and crevices in Eberron's surface. It wasn't long before they began to threaten the peace of the Dragons.

In an echo of the ancient battle between the Progenitor Wyrms, the Fiends quickly triumphed over the Dragons. The Dragons were driven back, and retreated to Argonessen, while the Fiends divided the rest of the lands among themselves, and this was known as the Age of Demons.

For millions of years, the Fiends ruled Eberron, driving the Dragons back to Argonessen any time they attempted to venture forth, until the Dragons finally discovered The Prophecy. It was through the prophecy that they discovered their greatest allies, the Couatl.

Like the Dragons and the Fiends, the Couatl were spawned from the Progenitor Wyrms. During Eberron's primordial song, they had sprung into life, adding their rythyms to the music. Like the Dragons, they had long since been driven into hiding by the Fiends, but once they joined forces with the Dragons the two races discovered they had enough power to challenge the ruling Fiends.

War rages for eons, as the Couatl and the Dragons clashed with the Fiends all across the face of Eberron, until the Couatl would make the ultimate sacrifice. Only bonds of pure spirit could bind the Fiends in Khyber and so the greatest of the Couatl gave up their physical forms to trap the Fiends once more.

Weakened from their long battle, most of the Dragons retreated back to Argonessen, leaving the rest of Eberron a mostly barren wasteland. But a wasteland ready for new life.

Q. Who or what created the various races?

A. Unlike many other settings, there are no racial pantheons, meaning individual races' creation myths share much of the same general story as the one above. Some individual races have their own myths on their own creations, though they vary based on religion. Followers of the Sovereign Host often believe that Onatar, God of the Forge, created the Dwarves, while the trickster god The Traveller created the Changelings.

Other, less religious folk might say that the Changelings were instead the product of ages of interbreeding between Doppelgangers and Humans.

One of the nice things about Eberron, in my opinion, is that much of the religion and myth is uncertain. Other settings say "For sure, this is exactly how this race was created and exactly where they came from." Eberron doesn't do that. Much like the debatable nature of the Gods, the origins of most races is simply a matter of opinion or faith.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. I have noticed there are drow scorpions and scorrow. What's the difference?

A. I suspect this is an artificial difference. Scorrow didn't actually have the name "scorrow" until Secrets of Xen'drik came out in July. Since a drider-like scorpion/drow hybrid is an obvious choice, DDO implemented them before they had a real name, simply calling them "Drow Scorpions."

I suspect you'll find that from now on, they're all called Scorrow.

[CrazySamaritan]

Sorry, but Shecky is wrong. The Telve refer to an Arcane college.
Sorry, I meant to type a lot more but had to run while posting.

The Houses themselves control a lot of magic going on, and therefore many of the Houses are sent to study there and gain experiance in various aspects of collegiate magic. Artificers, advanced Magewrights, and Wizards are common classes that result from study at the Twelve.

The founder is quoted in the EBCS as saying "The moons themselve indicate that the perfect number is Thirteen, but we shall call ourselves the Twelve." (Note that this is when there are only 12 moons in the sky, so the founder is also considered a madman) Part of the college's mission statement is to study the Aberrant Dragonmarks, and it was highly involved with the Houses as an association.


For a RL explaination, the Twelve is like Harvard, and the Houses like corporations. Just because the corporations have common interests that involve the Collage, doesn't mean that the college itself was formed as an association of the corporations.

Therefore, the Twelve isn't responsible to any of the other houses, and can even be found to be operating contraty to the House's wishes (such as keeping an aberrant marked person for study instead of killing them).

[Aexicas]

Thanks MT and everyone for answering all these questions, its really good to learn about the not-so-obvious things of Eberron ^^

One more question here...

Q: As it doesn't seem that all of the Rakshasa were sealed away in Khyber (since we are to fight them in the Demon Sands), does this mean, too, that the Couatl all aren't gone from Eberron? If so, where do the Couatl reside, and are they as interested in the prophecies as the Dragons?

[Thanatos]

Q: As it doesn't seem that all of the Rakshasa were sealed away in Khyber (since we are to fight them in the Demon Sands), does this mean, too, that the Couatl all aren't gone from Eberron? If so, where do the Couatl reside, and are they as interested in the prophecies as the Dragons?

The raksasha rajahs were sealed away. The difference between a regular raksasha and a rajah is like the difference between just "a demon" and the likes of Orcus, Demogorgon, Baphomet, and so on.

It's likely that there are still some couatls around, but they are very reclusive. The ones that sacrificed themselves to bind the rajahs were likely more powerful than the monster manual version.

The Silver Flame is a combination of the souls of a couatl, the paladin it was guiding named Tira Miron, and the escaping rajah that they fought. Tira's sword had a Khyber dragonshard in it's pommel, so that probably had something to do with them all being bound in the silver flames. The Flamers believe that good and faithful souls join the flame upon death, instead of fading away in Dolurrh.

Some say that the demon in the flame can speak to corrupt the unwary, and that the overzealous purges, inquisitions, and crusades are fueled by such counsel that sounds just and holy, but ends up spreading evil and destruction of it's own. Of course, you shouldn't mention that to a Flamer, as they consider it heresy.

[Kaz_The_DM]

This is an awesome thread!

[MysticTheurge]

Q. My party and I were on our way to the ruins of Threnal and I was surprised to see so many giants gathered outside the western gates of the city. Why are they out there? Is it safe? Aren't we at war with the giants?

A. The resident giants of the Tents of Rusheme are some of the more peaceful giants in Xen'drik. They've come to the city for trade, knowing that adventurers like us make some of the best customers for lost artifacts and information. The Stormreach Guard leaves them alone for the most part, meaning that the giants of Rusheme police themselves, so make sure you keep a civil tongue as you pass through.

Q. As we sailed to Xen'drik aboard The Stormrider, I couldn't help but notice that Captain d'Lyrandar kept talking to a sort of fish-man. He was covered in scales and had a dangerous look about him. Who, or what, was he?

A. The sahuagin of Shargon's Teeth, north of Stormreach in the Thunder Sea, are a dangerous lot. Divided up into tribes, they war amongst themselves and occasionally raid ships sailing over their realms.

Many ships seeking passage from Khorvaire to Stormreach hire sahuagin guides. Though this can't guarantee safe passage, if the ship passes into another tribe's territory for instance, a guide can generally get a ship through safely.

The sahuagin are only one of the many dangers on the Thunder Sea, not the least of which are the vicious storms which give the sea its name. The sahuagin worship the Devourer as Mistress of the Waves and have been known to give ships up to particularly bad storms, claiming it to be the will of the Devourer and therefore unavoidable.

Giant octopi, huge sharks and the occasional free roaming elemental can also pose significant threat to an unprepared vessel. House Lyrandar's Wind Galleons can outrun the former two, though the elementals of the Thunder Sea can take particular offense at such vessels, given their use of bound elementals for propulsion.

Q. I was just outside of the House Phiarlan enclave, examining a ring of standing stones when an image suddenly appear in the sky over the stones. It was a strange ziggaurat surrounded by jungle. Does that mean something? Why would that happen?

A. There are twelve rings of stones like the one you found throughout Stormreach, and as of yet no one's been able to determine their true function. Known as a Circle of Visions, the ring will project an image approximately once a month. They vary in scope from the simple to the bizarre. Some sages speculate that they might simply be works of public art, left over from Stormreach's time as a city of Giants. Others wonder if the images aren't the continuation of some communique or prophecy left over from that time period.

Q. Last week, several of my friends and I began an expedition into the Jungles to search for a missing drow. Though we knew where we were headed, it took us almost three weeks to arrive. Once we had completed our mission, the return trip to Stormreach took a mere three days. What's going on?

A. You've experienced what's become known as the Traveler's Curse. The Curse seems to twist both our perceptions of time and space, as well as perhaps actually bending both. Trips into the interior may take more or less time on any given day. Two parties could both leave Stormreach headed for the same destination and one party might arrive long before the other. Or you might leave on an expedition, feel as though a short time has passed, but, upon returning to Stormreach, find that it has been months.

Most sages agree that this is a remnant of the magical energies that caused the great cataclysm, but the first human's to reach Xen'drik attributed it to the mischevious Traveler, giving the effect its name.

The Curse seems to most greatly effect explorers who are from other continents. Thus, having a native guide can help to prevent its effects. Likewise, it is said that having a good sense of your destination will help keep your trip stable.

Some suggest that, in fact, it's need which helps speed a person to their destination, or keep them from it. Alask d'Jorasco, proprietor of the Last Chance, often claims that the Traveler's Curse brings those most in need of his services right to his door.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Could you tell us about some of the holidays in Eberron? What are they? How are they celebrated?

A. Holidays in Eberron can be divided into two categories, Holy Days and Secular Festivals. Obviously Holy Days will vary from religion to religion, while Secular Festivals can be very dependent on a number of other factors, such as race or location.

Holy Days of the Sovereign Host
Aureon's Crown is a celebration of knowledge and wisdom in honor of the God of Law and Knowledge. Generally, elders among the community gather together with younger folk to share tales, stories and other wisdom. For many, especially among the academic communities, Aureon's Crown has become a secular holiday, which requires no particular devotion to Aureon or the Host to celebrate.

Boldrei's Feast is a time to honor community and strengthen the bonds between neighbor and friend. Generally taking the form of a true feast, celebration of Boldrei's Feast can range from a simple, but abundant meal in smaller communities, to lavish parties thrown by nobles in larger cities such as Sharn. Boldrei's Feast is also traditionally the time to hold elections and announce government appointments, for Boldrei represents all those forces with make a community work together.

Brightblade is the Holy Day of Dol Dorn. During Brightblade, prizefights, wrestling matches and other contests of skill at arms are held in honor the God of Battle.

The Hunt honors Balinor to celebrate his aspect as Lord of Horn and Hunt. To celebrate how Balinor protects the faithful from marauding bests, The Hunt generally consists of a wild beast being set loose, usually under controlled circumstances. Then, for a small donation to Balinor's clergy, anyone who wishes can participate in tracking the beast down. Generally there is a prize for the hunter who can return with the beast's head.

Sun's Blessing is a Holy Day of Dol Arrah, Goddess of Honor and Light. It is traditionally a day of peace, a day on which enemies can set aside their conflicts, and their arms.

Holy Days of the Dark Six
Long Shadows is a time of darkness and danger. According to legend, The Shadow was spawned from Aureon's own shadow, when he casts the first spell. Long Shadows is a time when the power of dark magics is at its peak, and most law abiding citizens stay indoors at night, huddled away from the darkness.

Wildnight is a celebration of passion and raw impilse. The Fury, Goddess of unbridled emotion, is the patron of all things uninhibited. When the sun sets on Wildnight, and often for several nights before, emotions boil forth. Reserved folk tend to stay away from public places, but many see Wildnight as an excuse to unleash their inner passions. The streets are filled with revelry and other more lurid events. Fights break out, lusts are fulfilled and crimes of passion abound.

Holy Days of the Silver Flame
The Ascension is the most holy of days, for followers of the Flame. In honor of the sacrifice of Tira Miron, who gave her life to give voice to the Flame, members of the Church gather to reaffirm their faith in the Flame and give thanks for the light it brings to their lives. In addition, it is a day to give back to the community, sacrificing of yourself in memory of Tira Miron.

Fathen's Fall is a holy day which memorializes one of the great heroes of the Silver Crusade (The Church's name for the Lycanthropic Purge). Fathen was a great inquisitor in Sharn, and as a result the festival is more prevelant there than elsewhere, and Fathen's Fall is a day of rememberance. It marks the day he was killed by a pack of wererats who tore him limb from limb.

The Silver Flame, more than most other religions has a slew of minor holidays and rites throughout the year including the new year Rebirth Eve, a memorial for the year's deat Bright Souls' Day, a celebration of Tira Miron's birth known as Tirasday, a celebration of nature's bounty known as Promisetide, and several more.

Holy Days of the Blood of Vol
Revelations Day is a day of self-examination for the followers of the Blood of Vol. It is a time to look back on the past year and determine what spiritual progress one has made.

Secular Festivals
The Day of Mourning was something no one could have been prepared for, and members of the Five Nations continue to mark the day as a time of grief and passing. Often people gather together to tell stories of the dead, or remembrances of the Last War. For former citizens of Cyre, the Day of Mourning is an even more poignant day, for it marks the day on which they lost their homes. Every Cyran knows exactly where he was on the Day of Mourning, and why he didn't die with the rest of his nation. Some are tales of narrow escapes, soldiers who had just marched across the border, while others are almost regretful tales of years spent away from home.

Crystalfall is a Sharn specific holiday which marks the most devastating tragedy to occur in the city during the Last Way. In the early years of the way, some magical attack severed the enchantments holding one of the cities oldest floating towers aloft. The Glass Tower plummeted to the ground killing nearly everyone inside it and many in the districts below. Since then, artists and sculptors fashion replicas of the tower in miniature and fling them into the Dagger River. Some find this offensive, but for most of the participants it's a way to memorialize what was lost.

Brightfest is a unique holiday that occurs in the Shifter communities. It is a celebration of the end of winter and preparation for the hard work to come. It is often accompanied by revels that go late into the night as well as athletic competitions.

The Reachrace is a week-long athletic competition held by Shifter communities, which culminates in a day-long marathon. Communities vary in exactly how they hold these competitions, but generally the week begins with tests of strength and agility and ends with tests of endurance.

The Days of Remembrance and the Void of Taratai are Kalashtar holidays. Sixty-seven quori spirits reached Eberron to form the Kalashtar race and each spirit has a five day period each year during which it is honored. A given kalashtar celebrates the Days of Remembrance which are appropriate to his spiritual lineage.

The Void of Taratai is the period which was once the Days of Remembrance for the spirit Taratai, leader of the quori who escaped to become the kalashtar. However, the lineage of Taratai has been completely eradicated, and the Void is a time for all kalashtar to reflect on the exodus from Dal Quor and to ensure that another line is never lost.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. I'm interested in naming my character something Eberron appropriate. Could you help me out with some suggestions?

A. Why of course I could. First I'll address a few naming conventions and then move on to some specific suggestions for various races.

The d' Prefix: The d' prefix on a last name is reserved for members of a Dragonmarked House. There's some internal debate about who exactly uses the d' prefix. Certain sources suggest that the d' prefix can be added to any surname if one is a member of a House. Others (which I find more reliable, being that they're the setting's creator) suggest that the d' prefix is reserved for members of a Dragonmarked House who actually have dragonmarks, and are always added to the House name. Either way, the d' prefix definitely means you're connected in some way to one of the Houses.

The ir' Prefix: You may have noticed that all of the current Khorvaire Monarchs are named Something ir'Wynarn. The ir' prefix is indicative of royalty or nobility. The ir'Wynarns are the royal line of Galifar and other ir' families tend to be offshoots of that line. Some other well known families are the ir'Tarkanans, though that line is somewhat less reputable due to their connection to Aberrant dragonmarks, and the ir'Tains, one of the most influential families in Sharn. In general, if you'd like to play a character with a noble background, such as a younger son exploring the wilds of Xen'drik, you can add ir' to pretty much any last name you want. This is mainly a human practice, though the tradition has extended to the Dwarven lands of the Mror Holds (and the gnomish nation of Zilargo) as well.

Human Names: As usual, Human names run the gamut. There's no real pattern here, just use something creative and fantasy sounding.

Elf Names: All the Elves place a great importance on their ancestry and many are often named after influential ancestors. The Valenar Elves in particular choose a Patron ancestor and are often attempt to emulate them, sometimes including taking the same name. Example Valenar names include

The elves of Aerenal often belong to adoptive families known as Lines. The Line of Jhaelian produces some of the nations most powerful clerics. Other Lines include Melideth, Mendyrian and Tolaen. The current Sibling Kings are of the Line of Mendyrian. The Line is not the same as your family surname, since the Lines are made up of a number of different families, though there is a noble house which gives each line its name.

Aerenal and Valenar names tend to use the same patterns. Vowel sounds tend to predominate, with fewer consonants. Common names include Belareth, Tezaera, Syraen, Aeren, Allais, Dailan, Kylaer, Maellas, Thalaen, Vylae, Fianan, Kaelan, Lia, Niath, Shearan, Tairil, Thail, Vaelas, Vaelin, Xael (elven names don't tend to distinguish between male and female).

Khorvaire Elves, those who no longer consider themselves part of the Aerenal or Valenar nations, tend to use the same conventions as well, though their names are often shorter and have some distinction between male and female names, though there is some overlap. Example male names include Aesha, Daellin, Marrath or Tellian. Some female example names are Innae, Paela, Phaeani, Sailla or X'ennia.

Dwarf Names: Most Dwarves hail from the Mror Holds in northeastern Khorvaire. The Holds were originally made up of thirteen clans. The clans are Mroranon, Doldarun, Droranath, Kolkarun, Laranak, Londurak, Narathun, Noldrun, Soldorak, Soranath, Toldorath and Todrannon. House Kundarak, makes up the last clan, though in the present day most Kundarak dwarves associate themselves more with the dragonmarked community than with their nation. Most dwarves use their clan name as their surname, though obviously each clan is made up of a number of individual families.

Dwarven first names tend to use heavy consonants and be several syllables long. Some example dwarven names are (male) Bruennan, Durunnam, Greddark, Kellark, Tuaranak, (female) Annaka, Gerthin, Karkanna, Menna, and Zranakarak.

Halfling Names: Halflings fall into one of two groups. Those native to the Talenta Plains who come from the old tribal traditions of the halflings and those who have moved beyond their tribal origins to live in the cities of Khorvaire. Most Khorvaire Halflings use the same conventions as the rest of the five nations, though a few do still use the old Talenta names. Most Talenta halflings use a single name, though when among people who are not members of their tribe, they may use their tribe's name as a surname. Within a given tribe, two halflings seldom share a name, in order to avoid confusion, however when they do, they are often given someother appellation based on mannerisms, personality or physical appearance to distinguish them from each other. Example names include (male) Gagi, Kabelund, Lanudo, Mabu, Rathan, Toebo, (female) Dovi, Hebblu, Mebsa, Shenta, Studa, and Tatha.

Warforged Names: Warforged names make no distinction between male and female warforged. In fact most warforged were not born with names, or even given names at creation. Warforged names are often not so much names as words (nouns, verbs or adjectives) that describe the warforged in some way. Bulwark, for instance, is the famous warforged protector of King Boranel. Other examples might be names like Pierce, Aegis or Barricade. Some warforged names are nothing more than nicknames given to them by their comrades-in-arms, and as such can vary significantly.

Drow Names: Drow have personal and family names, though they are very secretive with their family names. Among the drow it's considered an insult to inquire about a family name and conversly sharing your family name with someone is considered a sign of friendship and trust. Most drow still use naming conventions that date back to the giant empire, including multi-syllable names with hard consonants and glottal stops (represented by the apostrophe). Some example Drow names include Ek'ann, Kaxxar, Xen'kar, (male) Curra, Kas'asar, Xen'va, (female) Gen'thac, Torkak, Xar'cha (family).

[useroo1]

just wondering why is there warforged females?

you said there is a warforged religion,tribe and/or city. are they bitter against there old masters? are they hostile to non-warforged? could you tell us more

[Zzorr]

just wondering why is there warforged females?

Warforged are sexless. They are neither male nor female. Most Warforged, however, make a conscious decision to adopt a male or female persona and the mannerisms that go along with it in an effort to better fit into society and strengthen their sense of identity as perceived by non-WF.

[D3x2006]

Warforged Characters have personas that they are created with.

There is no Warforged city.

There are various groups of Warforged out there. One close to home for those of us in Stormreach is the Iron Guards - warforged hired by the Coin Lords to police the city.
There is the Lord of Blades and his followers throughout the world. He & his immediate followers are in the Mournlands. The Lord of Blades believes that the Warforged are the next master race of the world and that all other races will soon bow before them
There are also the Godforged, a group of Warforged who are seeking to be one and create their god - the becoming god. They believe each Warforged carries part of the Godforged in him.

I am sure that brings up other questions - for that I would reference "Faiths of Eberron" & "The Eberron Campaign Setting".

[Zzorr]

OK, Mr. Loremaster...I have a question about Eberron (that has nothing to do with DDO):

Do Artificers have to make a UMD check to use a magic item or scroll they create themselves? I think the answer, dictated by common sense, would be "No". I'm just wondering if you have read any documentation to the contrary of (or affirming) my conclusion.

[MysticTheurge]

OK, Mr. Loremaster...I have a question about Eberron (that has nothing to do with DDO):

Do Artificers have to make a UMD check to use a magic item or scroll they create themselves? I think the answer, dictated by common sense, would be "No". I'm just wondering if you have read any documentation to the contrary of (or affirming) my conclusion.

Yes they do. Though they get a +2 bonus to do so, because they'll have the creation feat associated with the item.

[Aexicas]

Here's a question I thought of while dying on the demon sands, Loremasters. Who are the Wayfinders, and what do they do exactly? Are there any famous Wayfinders?

[Dyer]

Q: Here's a question I thought of while dying on the demon sands, Loremasters. Who are the Wayfinders, and what do they do exactly? Are there any famous Wayfinders?

A: The Wayfinders are members of the Wayfinder Foundation, an exclusive organization funded by the fortune of its founder, the great philantropist Lord Boroman ir'Dayne. Lord ir'Dayne participated in number of expedition throughout Eberron and, after getting a debilitating disease in Xen'drik, he decided to start this organisation to continue living the adventures through the tales of the adventurers and explorers funded by the Foundation. He also hopes that one day, one of his funded expedition could find the cure to his debilitating curse.

Membership is by invitation only and offers must be earned. The Wayfinder Conclave manages the affairs of the Foundation from Aundair, a realm of Khorvaire, but any decision taken by the Conclave can be vetoed by Lord ir'Dayne for as long as he lives.

As for the members themselves, many are there more for pure profit or glory more than any scholarly or for the reputation of the Wayfinders. So each Wayfinder can vary greatly from one another. As for famous Wayfinders, beside Lord ir'Dayne, I haven't found any, but you can assume that anyone who's a member of the Foundation is known as a great explorer, based on the requirements to become a Wayfinder.

[D3x2006]

Was beat to it.

Q. Who are the Wayfinders and what do they do? Are there any famous Wayfinders?

A. Lord Boroman ir'Dayne founded the invitation only organization after he went to Xen'drik and returned with a slow acting curse that made it impossible for him to continue adventuring and exploring. He used his wealth to fund the organization. The foundation puts together Expeditions to exotic & dangerous locations. Its members range from those seeking pure knowledge to glory to personal gain.

To compare it to a Earth organization - the National Geographic Society in its early years (later part of the 19th Century).

[MysticTheurge]

I apologize for my laxness in answer questions lately. Other people have been filling in the gaps for the most part, but I thought I'd go ahead and put my answers up here as well.

Q. Why are there warforged females?

A. Gender is slightly different for warforged than the way most people think about it. Warforged technically don't have a gender, so much as a gender-identity. In physical terms, all warforged are built with the same parts, and those parts lack any reproductive organs. This means that they are without gender. However, each warforged has an individual personality, just like anyone else. There are a few warforged who are comfortable considering themselves as genderless, but many have a gender-identity that gravitates towards male or female. (While we, as humans, often connect gender-identity with physical gender, they aren't always the same.) Whether this gender-identity is something that the warforged has adopted to better interact with other non-warforged, or if it's something that was born into them with their personality is something that varies from warforged to warforged.

It's technically incorrect to refer to male and female warforged. Rather the more often used term is male-personality and female-personality warforged.

Q. You said there is a warforged religion,tribe and/or city. Are they bitter against there old masters? Are they hostile to non-warforged? Could you tell us more?

A.There are rumors that the Lord of Blades is organizing a "tribe" of warforged, so to speak, in the remnants of old Cyre. The Lord of Blades is the posterchild for warforged who are bitter to their old masters and hostile to non-warforged. The Lord of Blades and his followers believe in warforged supremacy, considering "fleshbag" "meatsack" people like us to have many flaws, such as our need for food, sleep, shelter and our vulnerability to poisons and disease.

They are something of a splinter group, though; there are plenty of warforged around today who believe in peaceful coexistance with non-warforged. Many consider Bulwark, the warforged body guard of King Boranel of Breland, to be something of the anti-Lord of Blades. Though he hasn't been seen since the Treaty of Thronehold (and some wonder if in fact he has since gone on to become the Lord of Blades, for the Lord's true identity is something of a mystery), many warforged consider him to have been instrumental in convincing Boranel to fight so hard for warforged freedoms, and thus give him credit for the earliest example of good warforged-humanoid relations.

Q. Here's a question I thought of while dying on the demon sands, Loremasters. Who are the Wayfinders, and what do they do exactly? Are there any famous Wayfinders?

A. The Wayfinder Foundation is an organization devoted to the philosophies of exploration and discovery. Founded, as has been mentioned, by the famed explorer Boroman ir'Dayne, the Wayfinder Foundation is partly a place for professional explorers and those in related fields to network and partly a philanthropic source for funding. The Foundation sponsors two expeditions a year. The first, Spring, expedition always sails for Xen'drik, the second heads for a variety of locations selected each year by the trustees.

Lord ir'Dayne himself never travels as the wasting sickness which ended his career keeps him confined to his home in Sharn (and some rumors about his motives for founding the organization do suggest that he hopes to find a cure for the disease which is slowly sapping his life) but any other members of the Foundation are welcome to participate in the expedition. Organization and gathering of all the requisite members can take quite some time, and cities and towns vie for the honor (and economic boom) of hosting a Wayfinder Expedition Launch. Foundation trustee Vikan Buristal, one of Lord Boroman's early adventuring companions. is in charge of the logistics for each of the major expeditions. The other trustees are Shensari Damilek, head of the Relics and Antiquities arm of the Foundation, Dorein Rauthevvit, who is responsible for selling shares in the Expiditions, Giff Rapelje, editor of the Foundation newsletter, The Rope and Piton, Imre Levalle, the Foundation's Curator of Acquisitions, and Lord Boroman ir'Dayne himself.

Individual Wayfinders, such as Wayfinder Dael, often travel on smaller missions, hoping to explore lost ruins, forbidding jungles, frozen wastes, parched deserts or any other area that calls out to those hungry for adventure.

Membership in the Foundation is by invitation only. One of the Trustees must extend a personal invitation for a candidate to even be considered. Generally, impressive feats of exploration are enough to get a character invited to the Foundation, unless one has managed to get themselves blacklisted by one of the Trustees.

[Metalheadlawyer]

There is no Warforged city.

That isn't entirely true. In the Novel "Marked for Death" by Matt Forbeck, the characters find themselves in a mobile Warforged City that continuously meanders around the Mournland. Its mobile because the entire city is built on platforms of primitive warforged/golems that contnually walk the city around. While the Lord of Blades wasn't there, the book had the city ruled by one of his Lieutenants.

[MysticTheurge]

That isn't entirely true. In the Novel "Marked for Death" by Matt Forbeck, the characters find themselves in a mobile Warforged City that continuously meanders around the Mournland. Its mobile because the entire city is built on platforms of primitive warforged/golems that contnually walk the city around. While the Lord of Blades wasn't there, the book had the city ruled by one of his Lieutenants.

Most people don't consider Eberron novels to be canon in the way that novels in most other settings are.

Mr. Forbeck's novels also, for instance, ressurect the Mark of Death, which is contradicted in almost every Eberron supplement available.

Most novels are considered one possible Eberron, just like the campaign that I run may have certain events occur that don't take place in the Eberron that you (or some other DM) run.

[EspyLacopa]

No there only the standard races are capable of developing dragonmarks. Shifters, Changelings, and Warforged cannot develop dragonmarks.

Out of curiousity. . .isn't that just because they haven't gotten one yet? After all, they probably figured Half-Orcs can't get dragonmarks either at first.

[D3x2006]

In the case of Warforged there is a Mark of Becoming - but it is a symbol (with a varient of patterns) that believers in the Becoming God - the Godforged inscribe on themselves. So it is artificial much like themselves.
Source: Faiths of Eberron

Speculation on my part:
The Shifter race and Changling race probably can not develop a Dragonmark because unlike Half-Orcs & Half-Elves they are not the off-spring of purely natural races, Shifters being of Lycanthropic (were-creature) and Human origins and Changlings being of Doppleganger and Humanoid origins.

[Dyer]

And, to continue with the last question, it should be noted that there seems to be a tie between the moons and many things of importance in Eberron: 13 moons, 13 dragonmarks. And, with the 13 dragonmarks already in existance with the known races, it is highly unlikely that we'll see new, authentic ones appear on new races like shifters, changelings or kalashtar. But eh! who knows what could appear in your game! However, don't think it will be sanctioned by the formal authorities...

[Metalheadlawyer]

Most people don't consider Eberron novels to be canon in the way that novels in most other settings are.

Really? I hadn't seen anything about that on the WoTC website or books, but I'll take your word for it. Is it fair to say that the Keith Baker series of books is Canon, since he's the creator and all? I know I saw the stuff about primordial warforged in X'endrik came from his novels before I saw it in gaming sourcebooks. And the Mark of Death was widely discussed in the source materials as being possibly "out there", since the Lich of Vol (the last known living bearer of the Mark, before she became undead) has been actively looking for signs of its survival - that suggests that there was always some possibility that it would be found.

[MysticTheurge]

Really? I hadn't seen anything about that on the WoTC website or books, but I'll take your word for it. Is it fair to say that the Keith Baker series of books is Canon, since he's the creator and all? I know I saw the stuff about primordial warforged in X'endrik came from his novels before I saw it in gaming sourcebooks.

Mr. Baker does a pretty good job of not drastically changing the setting, or adding stuff that alters the world-scape in his books. So considering them canon or not doesn't really change much. Everything stays in the hands of the DM.


And the Mark of Death was widely discussed in the source materials as being possibly "out there", since the Lich of Vol (the last known living bearer of the Mark, before she became undead) has been actively looking for signs of its survival - that suggests that there was always some possibility that it would be found.

Yes the possibility is there, but it's supposed to be just that, a possibility. Essentially, you'll have some DMs that want the Mark of Death to be lost for all time and some that want to introduce its rebirth. If you consider that particular line of novels as Canon it doesn't become a DMs choice any more.

Maybe it's just me that doesn't consider Eberron novels to be canon, but I kind of had the feeling that it was a semi-accepted solution to the "novelist get stuff wrong and/or change things I didn't want changed in my Eberron" problem. I mean, you have other settings where the fans hotly debate the canonicty of certain novels anyway. But for me, it's easier to consider the Eberron novels as "one person's possible Eberron" than try to explain why half elves can't get the mark of passage or why there's no Mark of Death still alive in my Eberron.

[D3x2006]

Also the Canon of Eberron (the Source Books from WoTC) give the concerte information with some of the rumors added on.

Since this is largerly in regards to the presence of a Warforged City - I will retract my statement and say instead:

There is no known Warforged City - there is however the possiblity of large settlements of Warforged in the Mournland, since this is a vastly unexplored region and an easy place to hide in.

[Metalheadlawyer]

Maybe it's just me that doesn't consider Eberron novels to be canon, but I kind of had the feeling that it was a semi-accepted solution to the "novelist get stuff wrong and/or change things I didn't want changed in my Eberron" problem. I mean, you have other settings where the fans hotly debate the canonicty of certain novels anyway. But for me, it's easier to consider the Eberron novels as "one person's possible Eberron" than try to explain why half elves can't get the mark of passage or why there's no Mark of Death still alive in my Eberron.
Hey, I hear you man. Heck, the very first PnP campaign I ever played in was a Greyhawk campaign where the players wound up building a mini-empire in the desolate nation of Ull, which was described by the Greyhawk sourcebooks as largely insignificant (and in fairness to our DM, it was at the start). But that's what being a DM is about, being free to create your own world.

I guess I don't see the Eberron books as being any more of a departure from the Canon than the Forgotten Realms books are. In my last PnP Realms campaign, a few years back now, I would've never allowed so much "shadow-this" and "shadow-that" in the manner to which the FR fiction and sourcebooks seemed to move. It almost became that if you hadn't visited the plane of shadow you were a hick, they had so many plotlines around Shades, Shar or Shadow magic (which I guess is better than having every plotline involve Drow, which they tried as well). What ever happened to a good old-fashioned Demon? I actually see the Eberron books as remarkably similar in tone, compared to how much the "feel" of the FR books varied from author to author.

[Barkingmad]

I have no knowledge of the Ebberon setting other than what has been released here. I know that aside fro mactual Spell Resistance (Drow, Smurfnibblers, the like), there is no inate racial spell resitance or weakness (for PC Races that are non-monster templates).


However, Warforged created mostly out of living wood. In the PnP setting, do they have any weakness to fire? Or does does the magical nature of the wood cause the system to assume it's a non-flamable object?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Warforged are created mostly out of living wood. Do they have any weakness to fire? Or does does the magical nature of the wood cause the system to assume it's a non-flamable object?

A. Warforged don't have any special vulnerability to fire, though it has more to do with the fact that's it's living wood than some other magical nature. Living plants (and therefore the Livewood that makes up a large part of a warforged's body) are generally full of water and don't really burn any better than, say, human flesh.

Warforged are vulnerable to certain other spells though, such as rusting grasp (and a rust monster's rust ability), heat and chill metal, or repel metal or stone.

Some other spells that you expect might affect them, such as Warp Wood or Stone to Flesh, explicitly affect "objects" only and therefore won't affect warforged (who are creatures).

[Barkingmad]

I had considered that fact, but knowing what I know about the core DnD ruleset, I didn't think it made much of a distinction between a sappling pine tree and deadword in regards to flamability :) That would be more of those "Player Options" that we love so much. That confirms what I was wondering though, thansk again Mystic!

[The_One_Pie]

What's the origin of drow scorpian?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What's the origin of drow scorpion?

A. Unlike the more familiar Driders, Scorrow (or drow scorpions) are a true breeding race. That is, while Driders are created either by Lloth or her priestesses as a punishment, Scorrow are born to other Scorrow. Though the truth of their origins is lost to the mysteries of time, the Scorrow themselves claim to have once been the most skilled tribe of drow hunters in Xen'drik. According to the legend, their god Vulkoor looked down upon their skill at the hunt and sent them a blessing in the form of a giant scorpion. The scorpion stung every member of the tribe and though the poison caused them excruciating pain it also transformed them into the first Scorrow.

The Scorrow still worship Vulkoor and the Great Scorpion, and some believe that it still resides deep in the jungle ready to bless those who are worthy of Vulkoor's gifts. However, there's no record of Drow becoming Scorrow through the work of the Great Scorpion within recorded memory.

[EccOMyth]

They do fit Driders into Eberron.

Drider
In the context of the drow worship of the Mockery, driders
do exist, but not as outcasts punished by the Spider Queen.
Rather, the drow of Xen’drik believe that driders are specially
chosen servants of the Mockery. They do not seem to be
individually created but are a distinct race that breeds
true. There is said to be a different race of driders with
the bodies of scorpions, possessing great innate ability
as fighters, rangers, and monks. ~Races of Eberron~

[DrAwkward]

Just finished reading Races of Ebberon, and had a very creepy thought.

What exactly is the difference between the Players in DDO and the Quori?

*We live in a completely foreign and separate world from Ebberon.
*We have a stable of Ebberon Natives that we can "possess" at any time.
*Thier deaths are but a mere inconvenience for us.
*When not possessing our slaves we hang about in our own realm discussing tactics amongst each other.

Our characters are basically just like "Inspired"

Long live the Dreaming Dark!

(Wouldn't that have been an awesome premise to DDO? The characters are all secretly Quori possesed mortals. Talk about blurring the fourth wall!)

[Thanatos]

Just finished reading Races of Ebberon, and had a very creepy thought.

What exactly is the difference between the Players in DDO and the Quori?

*We live in a completely foreign and separate world from Ebberon.
*We have a stable of Ebberon Natives that we can "possess" at any time.
*Thier deaths are but a mere inconvenience for us.
*When not possessing our slaves we hang about in our own realm discussing tactics amongst each other.

Our toons are basically just like "Inspired"

Long live the Dreaming Dark!

(Wouldn't that have been an awesome premise to DDO? The toons are all secretly Quori possesed mortals. Talk about blurring the fourth wall!)

I was with you until you started saying "toon". :P

[Cliffopold]

Q. What is known about Dar Qat and Riedran motives in Xen'drik generally? Any information on geography and internal make-up of the city, diplomatic relations with Stormreach and other political entities on Xen'drik, level of threat posed to adventures, or other relevant data would be most appreciated.

Thank you, Loremasters. This thread is an invaluable reference tool!

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What is known about Dar Qat and Riedran motives in Xen'drik generally?

A. Not much, in truth. Dar Qat is generally closed to outsiders, and the Riedrans view the "barbarians" of Stormreach with no small amount of contempt.

One can pretty safely guess that the Inspired lords have turned their sights on Xen'drik for much the same two reasons anyone else goes: Siberys Dragonshards and the lost lore of the Giant/Quori war. The latter is likely of quite some interest to the present day Quori. Keep in mind that, due to the Turning of the Age, the modern day Quori are not, in fact, the same ones who fought the giants. Given that the Quori seek to prevent another Turning of the Age, and the ancient Giants somehow managed to bring one about, they likely seek to determine what exactly the Giants did, and how best to prevent it.

They may also seek a method to undo what the Giants did to Dal Quor itself. If they could manage to get Dal Quor orbiting again, their work on Eberron would only get easier.

They likely also seek out the great falls of Siberys Shards that are scattered across Xen'drik. Inspired (and Kalashtar) can use Siberys Shards to make what are known as Quori Imbedded Shards, psionic items that allow them to heighten their connection between humanoid shell and quori spirit. These shards can provide them with a number of new powers from hiding their alignment, to providing psionic armor, to heightening their skills and abilities.

In terms of relations with others, they're nearly non existant. There's little, if any, political contact between Stormreach and Dar Qat. Most of the interactions with Riedra take place in the Riedran Embassay in Stormreach, rather than in Dar Qat itself.

The city itself is said to be made up mostly of humans, with a scattering of Inspired to lead them. There is also rumored to be a slave force made up of half-giants and the strange, insectoid Dromites.

Save for their war against the Kalashtar, the Riedrans are generally content to go about their work without posing much overt threat to anyone else. As to what their more covert plans might mean for Stormreach and the adventurers living there, it's anyone's guess.

[mrtreats]

WOW thats realy nice work guys i have one question i have a few friends that play with this setting but never ventured with them to the far off lands BUT they argue one half say that the orcs (half-orcs) are in ebberon and the others have said that they are no longer in ebberon can ya clear this up plz (i love orcs) cus i would not be able to play with them without a outside answer they fight to much if ya ask this question

[MysticTheurge]

Q. One half of my friends say that the orcs (and half-orcs) are in Eberron and the others have said that they are no longer in Eberron. Can you clear this up please?

A. There are most certainly orcs and half-orcs in Eberron. (Though they aren't, yet, in DDO.) The House of Finding, House Tharashk, is made up of Humans and Half-Orcs. Orcs, pure-blooded Orcs, (like the Goblinoids) have a long and rich history in Khorvaire. They founded the Gatekeepers, a sect of druids, some say the first, which were taught their craft by the black dragon Vvaraak. The Gatekeepers were directly responsible for the planar seals that ended the Daelkyr invasion. (The guy who hires you to recover the Xorian Cipher is a Gatekeeper.)

Present day orcs live predominantly in the Shadow Marches, a marshy nation far to the west of Khorvaire. Orcs, Humans and Half-orcs make up the majority of the population. Some likely also live in Droaam, the nation of monstrous humanoids established by the Daughters of Sora Kell.

Unlike most other settings, Orcs in Eberron aren't roaving hordes that border towns need to fear, and which (low-level) adventurers are hired to wipe out. Orcs, like most other humanoids, live lives like anyone else. It wouldn't be out of place to see a family of them in Sharn, a village of them in the Eldeen Reaches, or even a single one in most other metropolitan areas of Khorvaire.

[eldaye]

oh great lore master, once i got my dragonshard, i was really excited, but decided to save it because i couldn't decide what feat i wanted to trade out. Since then, i've leveled up and need a different dragonshard...am i just SOL about using it, or is there a way to get a different dragonshard? (or am i in need of tutoring about the dragonshard system?)

[MysticTheurge]

or am i in need of tutoring about the dragonshard system?

Yeah. Check the other parts of the boards, or ask there (you might try general discussions). This isn't really the kind of question that's getting answered in this thread. It's more about the rules (in fact, the DDO rules), than about the Eberron setting. But I think I'll take this opportunity to answer an unasked question...

Q. Could you tell us more about Dragonshards? What are they? Where do they come from? What do they do?

A. Dragonshards come in three varieties, named after the progenitor wyrms: Siberys, Eberron and Khyber. Each one can be found in a different place, and generally serves a different purpose.

Siberys shards fall from the sky, presumably from the Ring of Siberys, the glowing ring that surrounds the planet Eberron. They tend to fall more in certain areas, and Xen'drik seems to be one of the places where Siberys shardfalls are most prevalent. They're quite rare in Khorvaire. In fact, prospecting for Siberys shards is one of the most common reasons that expeditions travel to Xen'drik.

Siberys shards can be used to great effect to enhance the powers of a dragonmark. They are utilized in nearly every dragonmark item from the Speaking Stones of House Sivis which allow for long distance communication to the Wheel of Wind and Water that allows heirs of Lyrandar to steer their Airships and Wind Galleons. They can also be used to create some more generic dragonmark-enhancing items such as a Dragonshard Reservoir, which allows an heir to use the ability of their mark more frequently, or Metamagic Channeling Rods, which allow heirs to apply the results of a metamagic feat to their dragonmarked ability.

As I mentioned before, the Quori and the Kalashtar can also use Siberys shards to craft Embedded Shards.

Eberron shards are often found inside geodic rock. These seemingly normal stones can generally be found anywhere, though a large number seem present in the Shadow Marches. When broken open, the hollow interior reveals a collection of Eberron shards.

Eberron shards can be used to craft a number of items that alter or enhance magic and spells. The everbright lanterns that light Sharn and a wizards spell book of choice, an Aureon's Spellshard, are both made from Eberron shards. Eternal wands (which function like normal wands but have 3 charges per day) were commonly used in the Last War to allow magewrights to replace their fallen war-wizard comrades on the battlefield. An eberron shard is central to the craft of such an item.

Psionic characters (whether they're Quori, Kalashtar or some other race), can also use Eberron shards to create power stones (essentially the psionic version of scrolls, see the psionic rules for more information).

Khyber shards are found deep within the earth, in the caverns below the planet's surface known collectively as Khyber Below. The crystals seem to grow from the ground and what causes such growth remains undetermined. Prospecting expiditions into the depth of Khyber are fairly common as well, though the dangers there may be even greater than the ones faced by Siberys-seeking expeditions to Xen'drik.

Khyber shards hold the power of binding, and some speculate the Gatekeepers harnessed some of this power to bind the Daelkyr lords (and many of their minions) in Khyber Below. In more present-day applications, Khyber shards are used in elemental binding. They crucial to the creation of elemental-bound vessels, such as the mighty Airships of House Lyrandar or the Lightning Rail of House Orien. Additionally, the gnomish enchanters who discovered (and jealously safeguard) the secrets of elemental binding, have discovered methods of binding elementals to weapons and armor as well.

If there is some psionic use for Khyber shards it remains to be determined.

[Thanatos]

Khyber shards are used in elemental binding.
And this may be a good in-story reason why we don't see gnomes around Stormreach (yet?). The people of Khorvaire have the gnomes to thank for bringing them the art of binding elementals, but the gnomes' claim of having discovered the technique themselves is not the case. In an expedition to Xen'drik, they found a tribe of drow that had mastered the art, and used their diplomatic skills to get access to the information, which the gnomes then stole. That drow tribe has sworn genocidal intent towards all gnomes for that, but as yet have not been able to take the fight into Khorvaire.

[D3x2006]

There is at least one gnome in Stormreach - an item collector in the Harbor from Breland. I do not at the moment recall his name.

[Valandriel]

Question to the Loremaster!

Well, a request, really.

I am one of those players who like reading the quests' descriptive text given by the NPCs. While I can find out a thing or two about the quest and the locations they are set in, from those NPC 'grumbling's, that knowledge is nowhere near in depth.

Now, my request is, perhaps the Loremaster(s) can provide some more indepth background data, story or information regarding some of the more popular/infamous quests of DDO?

For example, given as they are known in-game:
Waterworks(how did the kobolds end up there, anyway?), STK(What is the Seal, other than a 'symbol' which can be used to rally Giants?)
Tangleroot(there has got to be more at work in that place than two hobgob tribes at war)
Delera(We all know she was a great woman, but we know nothing more...and what's the deal with "the girl" which she speaks of?)
Stormcleave(The fact that it's set in some ancient giant ruins with a dimension gate involved, speaks volumes about the depth of that place)
Greymoon/Co6(There should be way more under the surface than what we have seen...The fact that only an altar of The Fury is a temple called 'Temple of the Six' is strange. Where are the altars to the other five of the Six?)
The Church and the Cult
Tempest's Spine
HiPS/Twlight Forge
Velah(really interested in more background on this, more than what's revealed to us in game)
Desert(Is this place even mentioned in the Campaign Setting? I don't remember anything about the Queen or the Wiz King in there...?)..., etc, etc.

While I know that the above are pretty much spoilers to the max, this IS a Lore thread, so it is only appropriate...?

[Rook]

I just wanted to say Mystic Theurge, you have my utmost respect. I have seen this thread since its inception and Eberron History and Lore is one of my personal favorite hobbies. I would like to think of myself as yoru equal but i know it to not be true. You have always presented Eberron knowledge with the touch of a true Historian, relaying facts and such with just a hint of interpretation. I bow to you good sir. /bow

And now, a Question for the Loremaster, this one is purely subjective, but I would like to hear your learned opinion on the subject...

What do YOU think happened on the Day of Mourning?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What do YOU think happened on the Day of Mourning?

A. Well isn't that the million dollar question. Personally, I'm very happy that the Eberron team at WotC seems committed to not revealing the true answer to this mystery. I enjoy that it remains up to any given DM to answer the question (or not) however they choose.

That said, I've seen some very interesting theories around. One, in particular, that springs to mind was one that involved Truename Magic from Tome of Magic (http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Truename-Dungeons-Dragons-Supplement/dp/0786939095/sr=8-1/qid=1165949802/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-4844791-0203121?ie=UTF8&s=books). This explanation has some particular appeal to it, given that the effects were limited to the very borders of Cyre, the nation (or perhaps more appropriately, the concept). It seems strange that any other type of magic or catastrophe would limit itself to political boundaries, but if it were a Truename catastophe, involving the Truename of Cyre... well it would explain why the effects stop at the border.

It seems likely that the source of the disaster lies with House Cannith, if one chooses to believe that the Mourning was the result of an error or accident within the boundaries of Cyre. Cannith is a House of innovation, but innovation never comes without a cost. A magical experiment gone awry or a new, powerful weapon that misfired might lead to a result such as the Mourning. However, there's always the possibility that the Mourning was some attempt at attack, perhaps either unrepeatable or accidental, thus explaining why there hasn't been a repeat performance. The question in this case seems to be which of the other nations would resort to such a tactic, and do they still seek to be able to regain the weapon they may have lost? Alternatively, one might look at who benefited the most from the Thronehold Accords. Many new nations were able to establish their sovereignty at Thronehold and some, such as the Daughters of Sora Kell in Droaam, though unrecognized by the Accords may have hoped to gain more than they did.

Though, the possibility that some other force caused the Mourning not as an attack on Cyre, but rather as an attempt to end the war or prevent some other, worse catastophe from occuring certainly exists. One might, if one so chose, see parallels between the Mourning and the catastrophe that caused the eventual destruction the Giant Empire. Perhaps the Draconic Prophecy dictated that Cyre be destroyed, or perhaps the Dragons foresaw some greater disaster nearing as the Last War labored on. Either way, one must consider the possibility that a force such as the Dragons, intelligent, mysterious, magical and powerful, could, in all likelihood, cause such an event.

And there remains the possibility that Mourning was, in fact, not caused by anyone. A strange conjunction of planar orbits, or a misalignment of manifest zones might have unforseen repercussions in the material plane. A particularly powerful natural disaster, combined with nearby magical laboratories or workshops might result in a nation-wide catastophe.

In the end, the source of the Mourning remains something for scholars (and DMs) to debate at length, and will likely remain so for some time to come.

[Winslow_D'Cannith]

I happen to be lucky enough to have a regular group that PnP Eberron,
and for a while i was asked many of the questions you have posted.
while fortunate to have the funds to get every book on eberron to date,
I am pleased as punch to see your information( if they think about it could help sell the game ) . i do have questions but they maybe to soon for a lot of readers.

Q What about the Missing dragon mark, why is the Blood of Vol looking for the bearer of the mark?

[Metalheadlawyer]

I'll defer to MysticTheurge, but I believe that the Vol herself, a powerful lich, was the last living bearer of the Mark of Death. Now that she is a lich, she can't use it anymore, and her entire line (and House) were exterminated by the combined forces of Elves and Dragonkind alike. So the search is for two reasons, largely for power, but also because any living bear of the Mark of Death would be perhaps the last blood relation to Vol herself. Of course, I'm sure MT will correct me if any of this data is wrong and/or incomplete. Just trying to pitch in.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What about the missing Dragonmark? Why is the Blood of Vol looking for the bearer of the mark?

A. The Mark of Death was one of the first Dragonmarks to develop, along with the Mark of Shadow, among the Elves of Aerenal. Found in the House of Vol, the knowledge of what powers the mark granted have long since been lost to time. Several things are known though, to modern day sages.

After ages of war between the Dragons and Aerenal, the House of Vol sought a solution. And though in the end they succeeded in ending the wars, it was likely not in the way in which they had hoped. The House of Vol joined together with a green dragon (whose name I can't recall at the moment) in an attempt to blend the lines of Elves and Dragons. The result was Erandis d'Vol, a dragonmarked scion, half-elf, half-dragon. For years she was raised in secrecy, House Vol's hope for a peaceful future.

However, when Vol was revealed to the world, the reaction was not as the leaders of House Vol had expected. Both Elf and Dragon turned against the House for creating what they viewed as an abomination. The Dragons and Elves sought to destroy the Line of Vol, starting with Erandis and her parents. The initial assault caught House Vol offguard and it was only through a combination of necromantic magics and, likely, the power of her Dragonmark that Erandis' mother was able to save her daughter. Through some unknown ritual or sorcerery, Erandis was spirited away from the slaughter, and converted into a Lich, likely in hopes of preventing the Dragons from tracking her. In the years that followed, all other members of the House of Vol were tracked, hunted and killed, thus ending the Line of Vol and removing the Mark of Death from the face of Eberron.

However, what is known to very few is that Erandis d'Vol survives to this day. And leads the religion known as the Blood of Vol from the shadows. For most practioners of the Blood of Vol, Erandis and her kin are legends. They instead simply follow the ancient ways of the House, seeking to find an alternative to the dismal afterlife that faces those who travel to Dolurrh. They see the gods of Eberron, both the Host and the Silver Flame, as selfish beings who seek to keep immortality for themselves while sacrificing their followers to the fading eternity of the Plane of Death.

All followers of the Blood of Vol seek to find a means to become immortal, and some accept the path of Undeath as a viable alternative to death. Though the Undead aren't the ideal that is truly sought, it is a step in the right direction. Ageless, immune to the ravages of time or disease, the undead are as near to immortal as any living creatures has been able to come, as yet. The Blood of Vol continues to search for another means, a means to remain alive forever.

Some practioners of the Blood of Vol know of Erandis, though. Generally those higher ranking members of the church and those close to the lich herself. These agents, and their followers by extension, seek to find a means to restore the line of Vol, and the Mark of Death. Rumors that a living elf might have manifested the Mark would be of great interest to Erandis, and her followers would bring word of such an elf in all haste. The exact nature of Erandis' interest in offspring of her House is unclear, though one must wonder whether she hopes to use fell magics to transfer herself into a living body which bears the Mark she once bore in life.

There are other forces who would take great interest in such an elf as well. The Undying Court and the Dragons of Argonessen are unlikely to look favorably on the reemergence of the Line of Vol, and might seek to destroy an elf who manifests the Mark of Death, just as they have destroyed all the others. The other Dragonmarked Houses might also harbor some significant interest in the reappearance of the Mark of Death, though whether they would seek to wipe out a potential competitor or welcome such an elf as an equal is uncertain.

[Valandriel]

Question to the Loremaster!

Well, a request, really.

I am one of those players who like reading the quests' descriptive text given by the NPCs. While I can find out a thing or two about the quest and the locations they are set in, from those NPC 'grumbling's, that knowledge is nowhere near in depth.

Now, my request is, perhaps the Loremaster(s) can provide some more indepth background data, story or information regarding some of the more popular/infamous quests of DDO?

For example, given as they are known in-game:
Waterworks(how did the kobolds end up there, anyway?), STK(What is the Seal, other than a 'symbol' which can be used to rally Giants?)
Tangleroot(there has got to be more at work in that place than two hobgob tribes at war)
Delera(We all know she was a great woman, but we know nothing more...and what's the deal with "the girl" which she speaks of?)
Stormcleave(The fact that it's set in some ancient giant ruins with a dimension gate involved, speaks volumes about the depth of that place)
Greymoon/Co6(There should be way more under the surface than what we have seen...The fact that only an altar of The Fury is a temple called 'Temple of the Six' is strange. Where are the altars to the other five of the Six?)
The Church and the Cult
Tempest's Spine
HiPS/Twlight Forge
Velah(really interested in more background on this, more than what's revealed to us in game)
Desert(Is this place even mentioned in the Campaign Setting? I don't remember anything about the Queen or the Wiz King in there...?)..., etc, etc.

While I know that the above are pretty much spoilers to the max, this IS a Lore thread, so it is only appropriate...?

Have my questions been promptly ignored? :(

[MysticTheurge]

Have my questions been promptly ignored? :(

Nope, sorry. I've been without internet at home all week, and while I can kind of finagle answers to the other questions from work based on my knowledge of the campaign setting, yours require a little bit more research inside DDO. I just got internet back this morning, so I'll do some looking into them this weekend and try to get you answers soon.

[Rock_Head132]

I have a quick question. What happened to Gnomes and Half-orcs? do they not exsist in this world?

Thank you for the background on this new to me at least world. Forgotten realms is all i have ever known.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. What happened to Gnomes and Half-orcs? Do they not exist in this world?

A. They most certainly do, and play quite significant roles in both present day and historical Eberron. The reasons we can't play them in DDO are likely more rules-based (and/or a question of animation costs/time), than a setting-based.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Can the Loremaster(s) can provide some more indepth background data, story or information regarding some of the more popular/infamous quests of DDO?

A. I've decided to treat this rather daunting question in a series of answers, rather than trying to collect them all in one big answer. I'll try to address one or two quests a week as we go through. Some I may skip as they don't really have too much backstory.

The Vault of Night

As you may know from reading the in-game conversations, the Vault of Night is a extra-dimensional bank space built by House Kundarak and designed by Arach d'Kundarak. The vault uses an pocket-dimension known as the Plane of Night to hold items which need extra security.

You are first approached by Barrow d'Kundarak when it is discovered that the Aurum has broken into the vault, led by the red-haired sorceress Velah who seems to have secuded Arach into revealing the vault's secrets. Barrow suggests that you acquire the assistance of the Laughing Knives, renowned band of thieves and adventurers. However when you approach Marek Malcanus, leader of the Knives, he informs you that the band has split up and gone their seperate ways. Your task is to enable each of the former Knives to return to active duty and assist you into breaking into the Vault of Night.

This task first sends you into the Tharashk Arena, an underground fighting club populated mostly by monstrous humanoids and other socially outcast types. House Tharashk operates a mercenary force of such monsters, mostly from Droaam, and likely runs the Arena to keep them entertained. Your task, however, is to recover the fabled axe the Oath of Droaam and return it to the Dirge of Karnnath. Unfortunately, the Oath resides within the arena itself, forcing you to find away into the competition and defeat some of Stormreach's most powerful gladiators.

The second member of the Knives you seek to hire is Mistress Orphne, a master of poisons. I'm not entirely clear on what it was that Orphne did, but she somehow upset a number of Quori, who have since trapped her in her own mind. Speaking to her companion, Shen Kulle, you are told that he has prepared a potion which should allow you to enter her dreams and attempt to rescue her. Once there you find that the Quori have scattered her memories and your task is to recover them from the various parts of her fragmented mind.

Your third quest takes you deep into the jungles of Xen'drik in an attempt to sway the drow Veil to your cause. Veil, however, has become a vampire and has attracted the attentions of minions of Daanvi, the perfect order. Maruts are inevitables who hunt down those who seek to cheat death and attempt to restore things to their natural order, generally through the final death of their target. Veil's band of drow, the Luridae, seem to have joined forces with the Blackheart Trolls and a group of Beholders in an attempt to stop the inevitable from reaching Veil. Unfortunately, this also makes your quest to find the drow vampiress equally difficult. Still you must fight your way through Veil's defenders, delve deep into the caverns of Khyber and convince the vampiress to return to the Laughing Knives.

The last of the Knives is Haywire, a brilliant, if slightly unhinged, dwarf who has a knack for magical creation. Rumor has it that, after leaving the Knives, Haywire has attempted to recreate one of the warforged creation forges, despite the outlaw of such under the Treaty of Thronehold, and actually met with some success. You must seek out Haywire's new foundry and find a way to gain access. Once there, you make the unfortunate discovery that Haywire's warforged creations have been coopted by some outside force, a parasite from another plane, and have taken over the foundry. Haywire has retreated to a sanctum which he hopes the warforged will not be able to breach. Your task is to restore control of the foundry to Haywire by defeating the Master Control Unit, a golem designed to maintain the foundry. Haywire then plans to destroy the foundry, hopefully destroying the parasite as well.

Once you've gathered the Knives together, you delve into the Vault of Night itself. You must face and overcome a variety of the Aurum's agents in an attempt to restore some control of the vault and gain access to the portal to the Plane of Night. This culminates in a battle with Arach d'Kundarak, or rather with a number of his construct defenders.

Once you defeat them, you can pass into the Plane of Night itself. Once there you make a startling discovery. Velah, the sorceress who seems to have orchestrated the theft of the Vault of Night is no sorceress at all, but rather a Dragon. Velah has managed to set up some defenses which prevent you from reaching her for a time. It becomes clear that she doesn't expect to leave the Plane of Night, however, her sacrifice, she claims, is not in vain. She has set this entire series of events into motion so that she might gain access to the dragonshards used to create the Vault of Night and to bind the Plane of Night to it. She claims that these dragonshards hold some crucial aspect of the Draconic Prophecy, and, one suspects, once she has interpreted them she passes the information on to her companions in the Chamber through some magical means.

The answers she provides only serve to pose more questions. What could be so important that a dragon such as Velah would give up her life in order to discover it? What end will this information serve? Who were Velah's companions in this venture, which is to say, who are the other Dragons and what will they do with the information gleaned from the Vault of Night's dragonshards? All these questions remain, as yet, unanswered.

[Dragonhyde]

Does Eberron have creatures such as unicorns, wemics, centaurs and the like?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Does Eberron have creatures such as unicorns, wemics, centaurs and the like?

A. Absolutely. One of the things that's said right at the front of the Eberron Campaign Setting book is "If it's in D&D it has a place in Eberron." Which isn't to say a DM has to put in everything, just that a place can be found if the DM does want to include it.

Unicorns and centaurs are probably present in the Eldeen Reaches, a forest in northwestern Khorvaire that has many manifest zones of Thelanis and Lammania. Unicorns undoubtedly are also present on Thelanis itself, given the plane's nature as "the Faerie Court."

Wemics, unless I'm misremembering live in deserts and plains, thus probably placing them largely in Eastern Khorvaire, in the Blade Desert and the Talenta Plains. Given that both they and the Talenta halflings dwell in nomadic tribes, you could make quite an interesting inter-species dynamic.

[Rock_Head132]

I am I correct to assume the the "spelljammer" crafts are a part of Ebeorron and might be in game as well ?

I have heard rumors.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Am I correct to assume the the "spelljammer" crafts are a part of Ebeorron and might be in game as well ?

A. In general, no. The longer answer here, of course, being "If the DM wants them to be."

Spelljammer (and Planscape to a lesser degree) were second edition constructs that attempted to bind together (and, one assumes, sell more of) the various campaign settings produced. And even then there were some problems, such as with a setting like Dark Sun or Ravenloft, where allowing people to come and go essentially ruins the flavor of the setting.

Third edition has, for the most part, done away with this rather clumsy goal. Eberron has, for instance, completely different cosmology than Faerun and Oerth. You can't just hop from one "prime" plane to any other plane then back to a different "prime." Likewise, you can't just hop on your spelljammer and travel the phlogiston to a different crystal sphere.

Much of what makes various campaign settings unique is dependent on them being independent from other campaign settings where things work differently. Eberron has, for instance, a noticable lack of "Helpful" or "Good" NPCs. This is lost when Elminster (or whoever) can just hop on over.

Part of the reason Spelljammer doesn't tie into Eberron is no doubt due to the simple fact that Spelljammer is no longer supported by Wizards of the Coast. But the independence and uniqueness of campaign settings makes a good argument that leads to the same results.

To touch, briefly, on Ilithids, who are often fairly closely tied to Spelljammers. Ilithids were subjugated and/or created by the Daelkyr and dwell in or have ties to the Xoriat, the plane of madness. The ilithids currently in Eberron likely came with the Daelkyr during their invasion of Khorvaire. (If one chooses to include Neogi, another race closely tied to Spelljamming, their origin is likely to be similar.)

[Thanatos]

Here's something I was thinking about, and I can't recall it being mentioned in any of the Eberron books I have...

Are there any Apocalypse myths? Earth is rife with them, with many religious beliefs and scientific theories about the end of the world (http://www.exitmundi.nl/). Certainly the Draconic Prophecy must have something in it along these lines, but I haven't seen anything mentioned about it.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Are there any Apocalypse myths?

A. Presumably there are some that are inherent in the Progenitor Dragon Creation Myth. If, somehow, Khyber were to get free it would likely spell disaster for the children of Eberron and Siberys (humanoids and Dragons). Scholars might even debate whether such an unleashing of Khyber would be a true dragon reborn (akin to the Norse Ragnarok) or if it would simply be a matter of a massive freeing of demons. Either one would probably spell equal doom for humanity.

Likewise, there are enough semi-historical accounts of apocalyptic disasters that whether or not such philosophies are "myth" might be the real question. Given the disasters that accompanied the end of the Giant Empire and the Daelkyr Invasion, the possibility of another "Cataclysm" is very real to some. There's even a cabal of mages who study past Cataclysms in order to glean arcane knowledge from their results.

Additionally, though one might never know for certain, the Draconic Prophecy is likely to hold some closely-guarded foretellings of disaster. Much of the Prophecy is structured in an "If this, then that" fashion. Thus one might never know whether some small set of events set into motion (or prevented from happening) by an agent of the Chamber, such as the reforming of a certain band of thieves or the destruction of a specific bank vault's guardians, will prevent some other, more disastrous set of events from occurring.

[Rook]

Q. What about the missing Dragonmark? Why is the Blood of Vol looking for the bearer of the mark?

A. The Mark of Death was one of the first Dragonmarks to develop, along with the Mark of Shadow, among the Elves of Aerenal. Found in the House of Vol, the knowledge of what powers the mark granted have long since been lost to time. Several things are known though, to modern day sages.

After ages of war between the Dragons and Aerenal, the House of Vol sought a solution. And though in the end they succeeded in ending the wars, it was likely not in the way in which they had hoped. The House of Vol joined together with a green dragon (whose name I can't recall at the moment) in an attempt to blend the lines of Elves and Dragons. The result was Erandis d'Vol, a dragonmarked scion, half-elf, half-dragon. For years she was raised in secrecy, House Vol's hope for a peaceful future.

However, when Vol was revealed to the world, the reaction was not as the leaders of House Vol had expected. Both Elf and Dragon turned against the House for creating what they viewed as an abomination. The Dragons and Elves sought to destroy the Line of Vol, starting with Erandis and her parents. The initial assault caught House Vol offguard and it was only through a combination of necromantic magics and, likely, the power of her Dragonmark that Erandis' mother was able to save her daughter. Through some unknown ritual or sorcerery, Erandis was spirited away from the slaughter, and converted into a Lich, likely in hopes of preventing the Dragons from tracking her. In the years that followed, all other members of the House of Vol were tracked, hunted and killed, thus ending the Line of Vol and removing the Mark of Death from the face of Eberron.

However, what is known to very few is that Erandis d'Vol survives to this day. And leads the religion known as the Blood of Vol from the shadows. For most practioners of the Blood of Vol, Erandis and her kin are legends. They instead simply follow the ancient ways of the House, seeking to find an alternative to the dismal afterlife that faces those who travel to Dolurrh. They see the gods of Eberron, both the Host and the Silver Flame, as selfish beings who seek to keep immortality for themselves while sacrificing their followers to the fading eternity of the Plane of Death.

All followers of the Blood of Vol seek to find a means to become immortal, and some accept the path of Undeath as a viable alternative to death. Though the Undead aren't the ideal that is truly sought, it is a step in the right direction. Ageless, immune to the ravages of time or disease, the undead are as near to immortal as any living creatures has been able to come, as yet. The Blood of Vol continues to search for another means, a means to remain alive forever.

Some practioners of the Blood of Vol know of Erandis, though. Generally those higher ranking members of the church and those close to the lich herself. These agents, and their followers by extension, seek to find a means to restore the line of Vol, and the Mark of Death. Rumors that a living elf might have manifested the Mark would be of great interest to Erandis, and her followers would bring word of such an elf in all haste. The exact nature of Erandis' interest in offspring of her House is unclear, though one must wonder whether she hopes to use fell magics to transfer herself into a living body which bears the Mark she once bore in life.

There are other forces who would take great interest in such an elf as well. The Undying Court and the Dragons of Argonessen are unlikely to look favorably on the reemergence of the Line of Vol, and might seek to destroy an elf who manifests the Mark of Death, just as they have destroyed all the others. The other Dragonmarked Houses might also harbor some significant interest in the reappearance of the Mark of Death, though whether they would seek to wipe out a potential competitor or welcome such an elf as an equal is uncertain.

It is said in rumor and myth that the green dragon father of Erandis was called "Emerald Claw". Whether this was his true name or simply a translation is of course lost.

[Speccer]

Q: I see that many responses are limited to "what explorers could find" or "what scholars could determine"; since this is a high magic setting, is there anything stopping mages from simply divining these answers?

Keep up the great work.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. I see that many responses are limited to "what explorers could find" or "what scholars could determine." Since this is a high magic setting, is there anything stopping mages from simply divining these answers?

A. This is a question with a slightly complicated answer. And it's an answer which somewhat begs the question.

Eberron isn't, really, a "high magic" world. Eberron is more of, what a number of people have coined as, a "wide magic" world. Hopefully I can explain the difference. One would expect, on a high magic world, for there to be a cadre of powerful wizards, mages and sorcereresses who could do just what your describing. However, Eberron is generally lacking in very powerful NPCs, especially ones who would fall into the "good guys" category.

Eberron replaces this idea with a lot of low level, less powerful magic that takes the place of technology in our society. The ubiquitous Everburning Torch, the various Dragonmark technologies and so on. These are often created by Artificers who lack the access to more powerful magics that Wizards do. And in the case of some of the more powerful devices the artificers even require Schema or access to older magics which they can then copy for their own use.

That said, there are certainly people out there who should know the answers to many of these questions more definitively. The Dragons, Sora Kell, even some of the Primordial Giants of Xen'drik, surviving Demons, Rakshasa Rajahs, Erandis d'Vol herself, and so on. The distinction is that unlike in other settings where someone like Elminster stops in to chat with the PCs and you're left wondering "If he's so powerful why doesn't he just fix this problem?" all of those folks either aren't telling or are the kinds of folk that the PCs don't really want to hang out with.

There are a few powerful "good guy" NPCs but they are all restricted in some way. Jaela, the keeper of the flame, has the stats of a 17th level cleric, but only within the confines of Flamekeep itself. Beyond it's walls she's a mere 12 year-old 4th-level cleric. Similarly, Oalian the Great Pine is a druid of immense power (also in the high-teens in level), but is, in fact, an Awakened tree and thus bound to one place. The Undying Court is quite a powerful force, on the whole, but individually their power is much less. Further, many of them can't travel beyond the manifest Zone to Irian that enables them to exist.

Eberron leaves room for the PCs to be the heroes, and also attempts to leave some mystery for them to discover. As such, many of the things that are "known" are presented as things which may or may not be, and it's up to the PCs (and the DM) to determine if they're true.

[Metalheadlawyer]

The recent Eberron series "Mark of Death" dealt with the possible rediscovery of a survivor of the line of Vol, but it is fairly ambiguous as to whether or not the Mark of Death was, in fact, rediscovered. Without giving more away, it is clear from the way the series concluded that the world at large still believes the Mark of Death to be "lost".

[ccheath776]

Hopefully yu still answer these.

Question:
Me and my guildies were wondering.
What is the basic political structure of stormreach?

I was more under the impression it is like say Mos Eisley spaceport full of mercanaries and ruled by what is essentially the mob, being the houses.

But I wanted to get the full word.

[MysticTheurge]

Hopefully yu still answer these.

Question:
Me and my guildies were wondering.
What is the basic political structure of stormreach?

I was more under the impression it is like say Mos Eisley spaceport full of mercanaries and ruled by what is essentially the mob, being the houses.

But I wanted to get the full word.

I kind of address some of these questions in post 122 (http://www.ddo.com/forums/showpost.php?p=730443&postcount=122). Give that a look and let me know if that answers your questions. You might also want to read up on the Houses (which are covered in the first post). Some of them have slightly mob-esque qualities, but they're more like giant corporations (which often have mob-esque qualities of their own) and less like the Sopranos.

[Cliffopold]

Q. I originally saw this question posted by Viglin on the new explorer/slayer/rare encounter thread. What is known about the new adventure areas slated for MOD 4, namely the Cerulean Hills and Gianthold? Are these simply a DDO creation or do they tie into the macroscopic Eberron storyline?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. I originally saw this question posted by Viglin on the new explorer/slayer/rare encounter thread. What is known about the new adventure areas slated for MOD 4, namely the Cerulean Hills and Gianthold? Are these simply a DDO creation or do they tie into the macroscopic Eberron storyline?

A. To my knowledge they aren't written up anywhere. Obviously there's some tie in between the ancient Giant civilizations and a place called Gianthold. And personally, I speculate that the "Reaver's Bane" in the module's title refers to the Stormreaver, who we know from Tempest Spine to be an ancient giant legend. Given the destruction of the ancient giants at the hands of the Dragons, it's entirely possible that the "Reaver's Bane" would be a dragon, or a few...

I'll be able to give a better interpretation of the story and how it meshes with Eberron cannon once the module is released and I get in to look at the adventures and plots therein.

[Ghoste]

A little note regarding the remnants of the creation forges. Two remain in operation. The first is run by Merrix d'Cannith, hidden deep within the towered city of Sharn. It is used sparingly so as not to attract attention; the warforged produced there are sold on the black market. The second is run by the Lord of Blades in the Mournlands. That one is partly damaged and often results in crippled/mutated warforged being produced, but also whole ones.

Regarding warforged and undead. The Karrnathi government has secretly experimented in the creation of undead warforged. They never succeeded. The closest result was a cross between a warforged and a flesh golem.

Regarding the Mark of Death. Despite being lost for thousands of years, the Mark of Death reapeared on the shoulder of a young Karrnathi boy near the end of the Last War. He is able to use the Mark in a way that duplicates the chill touch spell. Kasmir ir'Dramon was exiled from his family upon their discovery of the mark, and has since lived as a mercenary in Karrnath. Kasmir andhisfamily have both kept the mark a secret. -Source "Blood and Honor: The War-Torn Book 4" (Disclaimer - the source does not specifically say it is the Mark of Death, but it is a dragonmark that exhibits necromantic effects, and is recognized by the family of the boy on whom it was found. Upon its discovery, without explaining it much to him, they disowned him and attempted to distance theirselves from him as much as possible).

[MysticTheurge]

-Source "Blood and Honor: The War-Torn Book 4" (Disclaimer -

I tend to not include novels in Eberron cannon and instead consider them one persons version of Eberron. Just as a DM who runs a campaign will have certain things happen that may not be true in my Eberron game, so to do certain things happen in a novel which may not be true elsewhere. The fact that the Eberron team keeps the novels simple enough that this can happen is one of the things that I highly enjoy about the setting. There's no big Eberron Story that's happening that everyone has to incorporate into their game whether they like it or not. Most of what happens in an Eberron novel might actually even go completely unnoticed except by the novel's participants.

That said, the trilogy The Lost Mark deals with the possible reappearance of the Mark of Vol, as well.

[Cliffopold]

A. To my knowledge they aren't written up anywhere. Obviously there's some tie in between the ancient Giant civilizations and a place called Gianthold. And personally, I speculate that the "Reaver's Bane" in the module's title refers to the Stormreaver, who we know from Tempest Spine to be an ancient giant legend. Given the destruction of the ancient giants at the hands of the Dragons, it's entirely possible that the "Reaver's Bane" would be a dragon, or a few...

I'll be able to give a better interpretation of the story and how it meshes with Eberron cannon once the module is released and I get in to look at the adventures and plots therein.

Wonderful insight! I certainly will be delighted to see more dragon meddling in the affairs of us wee folk.

On a tangent to the dragon and giant wars, and the emergence of the elves as an important race, it got me thinking... - Q. Why is it that life unnaturally sustained by raw negative energy (i.e. necromancy) seems much more prevalent than that sustained by positive energy (e.g. the Undying Court)? Is "normal" life considered positive by default? If an arcane caster can channel death energy into a corpse and create a neutral evil zombie, can he also channel positive energy into a corpse and make a neutral good... zombie...?

[Mad_Bombardier]

Q. Why is it that life unnaturally sustained by raw negative energy (i.e. necromancy) seems much more prevalent than that sustained by positive energy (e.g. the Undying Court)? Is "normal" life considered positive by default? If an arcane caster can channel death energy into a corpse and create a neutral evil zombie, can he also channel positive energy into a corpse and make a neutral good... zombie...?*pssst*, thats called Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection. Players that always die and need constant rezzing are pretty much that; mindless zombies. :p

No, I get what you mean from the Undying Court. You mean artificially sustaining life, beyond natural death. In 'The Faithful Departed' we have the Venerated. And Avanti Moonwillow is an agent of the Undying Court. These Elven mummies are undead, but not evil (although I think they are still typed as negative energy creatures and Mass Cures hurt them?).

[Cliffopold]

*pssst*, thats called Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection. Players that always die and need constant rezzing are pretty much that; mindless zombies. :p

No, I get what you mean from the Undying Court. You mean artificially sustaining life, beyond natural death. In 'The Faithful Departed' we have the Venerated. And Avanti Moonwillow is an agent of the Undying Court. These Elven mummies are undead, but not evil (although I think they are still typed as negative energy creatures and Mass Cures hurt them?).

I strive to never be a burden to the cleric if I can help it. I play a sorceror that can rez, for example, during those times that the cleric can't heal himself fast enough :p

If I'm not mistaken, the Venerated are technically evil and are hurt by Cure spells until they "go green" when all the accosting drow and scorrow are killed. I'm wondering if there are any other examples of the Undying (I believe that type of creature is called deathless)? I've seen no such precendent in the Monster Manuals. I'm glad you see what I mean though - not immortal creatures, not resurrected creatures, but the Deathless. Perhaps it is just a matter of syntax and semantics, and the Undying Court is merely immortal elves.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Why is it that life unnaturally sustained by raw negative energy (i.e. necromancy) seems much more prevalent than that sustained by positive energy (e.g. the Undying Court)? Is "normal" life considered positive by default? If an arcane caster can channel death energy into a corpse and create a neutral evil zombie, can he also channel positive energy into a corpse and make a neutral good... zombie...?

A. Some of this is kind of out of the scope of Eberron lore, but I'll try to address it from that perspective.

Yes, "regular" life is "positive." This is evidenced by the fact that Cure spells (which channel positive energy) heal living creatures. Additionally, the Deathless have surpassed their mortal frames, continuing in state which is nearly pure positive energy, what some might call a soul. Many of the Deathless in Aerenal continue to be wrapped in their mortal remains, but this isn't true for all Deathless.

Clerics, not wizards, tend to be the true masters of positive and negative energy, especially when it comes to the Undead and the Deathless. Certainly some wizards choose to focus their attentions to the Undead and their creation, but the control and manipulation of the forces of positive and negative energy comes as second nature to a cleric.

It is, therefore, mainly clerics, known as the Priests of Transition, who ferry the venerated Elves from their deathbeds to join the Undying Court as Deathless. The precise magic required is known to few outside this order, though many speculate the continued strength and presence of the Undying Court relies heavily on the manifest zone to Irian which surrounds Shae Mordai. Few Undying Councilors leave Shae Mordai and the precise effects of prolonged withdrawal from the manifest zone remain uncertain.

As a side note, pertaining to the Faithful Departed. The Venerated are not, in fact, Deathless, but rather Undead. I believe I cover this somewhat more in detail earlier in the thread, but it seems unlikely that the Elves learned to create Deathless while still residing on Xen'drik. Most scholars believe that the first Deathless appeared after they reached Aerenal, supporting the belief that the manifest zone plays a crucial role in the process.

[Metalheadlawyer]

I tend to not include novels in Eberron cannon and instead consider them one persons version of Eberron. Just as a DM who runs a campaign will have certain things happen that may not be true in my Eberron game, so to do certain things happen in a novel which may not be true elsewhere. The fact that the Eberron team keeps the novels simple enough that this can happen is one of the things that I highly enjoy about the setting. There's no big Eberron Story that's happening that everyone has to incorporate into their game whether they like it or not. Most of what happens in an Eberron novel might actually even go completely unnoticed except by the novel's participants.

That said, the trilogy The Lost Mark deals with the possible reappearance of the Mark of Vol, as well.

Along the lines of what Mystic said, even if you "buy into" the stories in the novels, the books tend to be vague about whether that was the "actual" mark of death or not. First of all, everyone that knows what the Mark looks like (aside from Vol herself, presumably) has been dead for hundreds of years. Second, the effects and appearance of the Mark of Death can be somewhat duplicated by various Aberrant Dragon Dragonmarks, some of which produce similarly destructive manifestations. The "Lost Mark" novels never fully answered the question, leaving room for either interpretation by individual DM's.

[Sun-Tzu]

Great thread! I've just started reading about the world of Eberron and this thread helps to put the pieces together. I've been trying to tie in the Xen'drik in DDO and the Xen'drik that Keith Baker Created. In the Secrets to Xen'drik, Keith states that he left it mostly open for the DM to create just about any kind of adventure he/she wanted which makes it a perfect setting for an MMO.

I've been wanting to breath a little bit of roleplaying into my DDO play and to that end I have been reading a whole lot of background material for Eberron. Within DDO itself I know that there are many great story arcs. And I would love to use those story arcs to try and weave them into the backgrounds of my characters.

The main problem that I face is that most of the time the groups that I am with plow through the quests, giving very little time to absorb the story. What I would like to know is if there is anywhere on the internet where I could, at my leasure, read the story arcs in DDO?

[MysticTheurge]

What I would like to know is if there is anywhere on the internet where I could, at my leasure, read the story arcs in DDO?

Not to my knowledge. However, most of the story takes place outside the quests, I suggest you pick up quests before your groups are ready to go on them, that will allow you to read the dialogue at a more leisurely pace. Failing that, just don't let anyone rush you.

[Velexia]

New premium service! For just 20 bucks I'll take your questions straight to Keith Baker, have a question about Eberron, get a response from it's creator =D !

(He lives here in Colorado, I've been to his house =P)

[Ghoste]

New premium service! For just 20 bucks I'll take your questions straight to Keith Baker, have a question about Eberron, get a response from it's creator =D !

(He lives here in Colorado, I've been to his house =P)
Trying to make money over the forums goes against the EULA. Hope for your sake that you can convince the devs who read that post that you were just kidding.

[Symar-FangofLloth]

Alright, so I'm looking at a map of Xen'drik, I see Stormreach, the desert, and so forth, but where about is Gianthold? I kinda get the feeling down in the southeast.

[Velexia]

Trying to make money over the forums goes against the EULA. Hope for your sake that you can convince the devs who read that post that you were just kidding.

It was facetious, obviously, a spoof on Turbines attempt to con you out of your money by paying 20 bucks to change your guild name, when you can do it yourself.. for free.

[Ghoste]

***edited***
I agree, not the right thread for that question.
The mount question might be an opportunity to give some more info on house Orien. Would like to know more about elemental and golem based vehicles myself.

[deeogie]

I like to learn the history of a place i come to. So this is a great resource. One thing though, does everyone in Eberron walk or do they hide the mounts from me specifically?

[Thanatos]

Ghoste and Deeogie... thanks for reading, but this isn't the place for game mechanics/stats or trying to beg devs to add mounts.

[mistharm]

I have a question at long last!

I'm just about to join an Eberron campaign with some friends: So my lore question is this...

My character is a Shifter - now, I've noticed in the art for Shifters that they vary *greatly* in how 'feral' they appear - and I'm wondering... just how 'humanlike' could a shifter be, presumably?

The character I'm playing wouldn't be affected regardless - my DM said it was OK if I was human except for cat ears and a tail (Yes, I'm playing a D&D catgirl >.> don't hurt me!)

But I'm curious about in the setting itself really...

I mean would it be possible for a shifter to look totally human save for animalistic ears? (I know shifters don't have tails... at least that I've seen... Actually <o.@> Nother question - does anyone know if shifters never have tails, or if its just been something the artists haven't used much?)

Like I said, they vary more greatly than any PC race that doesn't transform completely into things >.> at least in the artwork. Thus my curiousity.

[MysticTheurge]

Q. I've noticed in the art for Shifters that they vary *greatly* in how 'feral' they appear - and I'm wondering... just how 'humanlike' could a shifter be, presumably?

A. Nicely enough, this is one of the things that's left up to individual DMs and groups.

On minor distinction though. A shifters appearance will actually alter when they Shift, tending to grow more animalistic at that time. In fact, it's highly likely that you wouldn't display any outright animal characteristics (ears, claws, fangs, etc.) except while you were shifting. Most shifters, while unshifted, appear essentially human-like, though perhaps with more faint animal-like qualities (hairier than average, predatory eyes and especially a hunter-like bearing). When unshifted a shifter is just as likely to be recognized by the way they carry themselves than by actual physical characteristics.

That said, there's also no reason that you couldn't play a shifter with some animal features that were always visible, but I would suggest that you explore exactly how your Shifting makes you more animal-like (since it should).

There also aren't, to my knowledge, shifters with tails. (But again, there's nothing stopping you from making one, provided it doesn't give you an in-game advantage.)

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Alright, so I'm looking at a map of Xen'drik, I see Stormreach, the desert, and so forth, but where about is Gianthold?

A. All maps of Xen'drik are actually mere approximations. Due to the cataclysms that ended the Giant-Quori war, travel and time often fluctuate oddly in Xen'drik. It's known as the Traveler's Curse. (And I've actually already done a little blurb on it.)

But that said, since they're essentially making up Gianthold out of whole cloth, they can put it where ever they want. ;)

[mistharm]

Q. I've noticed in the art for Shifters that they vary *greatly* in how 'feral' they appear - and I'm wondering... just how 'humanlike' could a shifter be, presumably?

A. Nicely enough, this is one of the things that's left up to individual DMs and groups.

On minor distinction though. A shifters appearance will actually alter when they Shift, tending to grow more animalistic at that time. In fact, it's highly likely that you wouldn't display any outright animal characteristics (ears, claws, fangs, etc.) except while you were shifting. Most shifters, while unshifted, appear essentially human-like, though perhaps with more faint animal-like qualities (hairier than average, predatory eyes and especially a hunter-like bearing). When unshifted a shifter is just as likely to be recognized by the way they carry themselves than by actual physical characteristics.

That said, there's also no reason that you couldn't play a shifter with some animal features that were always visible, but I would suggest that you explore exactly how your Shifting makes you more animal-like (since it should).

There also aren't, to my knowledge, shifters with tails. (But again, there's nothing stopping you from making one, provided it doesn't give you an in-game advantage.)


Thanks <^.^> that's pretty cool.

Also - I'm a Dreamsight shifter, because it suits her personality better than some of the other options... well that, and while I'm a very imaginative person - one of the pieces of art that I thought was just stellar was the one with the pair of shifters fighting invisible stalkers...

Something about the Dreamsight shifter's eyes glowing and ripping the heck out of the stalker... <@.@> it was neat. I appropriated it. <. .> *gank* Glowy eyes ftw! <@_@>


<._.> *will stop bothering people*

[MysticTheurge]

Also - I'm a Dreamsight shifter, because it suits her personality better than some of the other options... well that, and while I'm a very imaginative person - one of the pieces of art that I thought was just stellar was the one with the pair of shifters fighting invisible stalkers...

Something about the Dreamsight shifter's eyes glowing and ripping the heck out of the stalker... <@.@> it was neat. I appropriated it. <. .> *gank* Glowy eyes ftw! <@_@>

Yeah, that's a pretty awesome picture.

[Thanatos]

That said, there's also no reason that you couldn't play a shifter with some animal features that were always visible, but I would suggest that you explore exactly how your Shifting makes you more animal-like (since it should).That's always been a point where the art conflicts or misleads, since every shifter is drawn with very noticeable animal features. I don't think shifting lasts long enough to have it running constantly, so to have them always in shifted form in the art would naturally lead people to believe that they are easy to tell apart from pure humans.


There also aren't, to my knowledge, shifters with tails. (But again, there's nothing stopping you from making one, provided it doesn't give you an in-game advantage.)That might be a good shifting feature for those with the Cliffwalk trait in particular.

When fleshing out the shifter looks for my own use, I just looked at various werewolf legends. They have slightly weird hair growth patterns, limb and digit proportions, ear or tooth shape, etc. Then when they shift they look like the old "wolfman" style werewolf. No drastic changes to body shape or stance (not turning fully into the animal, or the "hybrid" form with an animal's head), just lots of animal details; fangs, claws, pointed ears, fur, etc. Of course, exceptions would abound, since they are a race of shapechangers, so I guess catgirls and other shapes popular among furries would be represented too.

[kr0n0van]

I'm really impressed with this Lore guide; job well done. I'm wondering why there's so little information in it on dwarves. It's just not fair that the elves get all the press <hmph>. My questions more specifically are:

Can you give us information on the Mnor holds and the 12 dwarf clan/kingdoms that comprise it; are they at war with one another or are they all in peace?
What's the realtionship, or how strong is the relationship, between Kundarak house in Stormreach and the dwarven Kundarakhold in the Mnor holds?
As well, could you give more information on what churces and deities a dwarf Cleric or Paladin would follow? You hinted in another response to a question about the deity Onator, but I thought most dwarves actually followed another deity?
And last but not least, can you tell us something about the dream dwarves and the duegar; just who are these dwarves? And are they still supposed to arround at the date in which our events in DDO are set?

Cheers,

Nordhri Dolkafar
Dwarven Cleric 4/Fighter 1
Thelandris

[MysticTheurge]

Q. Can you give us information on the Mror holds and the 12 dwarf clan/kingdoms that comprise it; are they at war with one another or are they all in peace?

A. There isn't a whole lot of information available on the Mror holds and most of it can be found in Keith Baker's two dragonsards on the topic, here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20041101a) and here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebds/20041108a).

Generally speaking, the dwarven clans are not in any sort of open battle, at least not with each other, though they do compete in other subtler ways, generally political and commercial. The clans of the Mror Holds do have some problems with the nearby orc and goblinoid clans.

Q. What's the relationship, or how strong is the relationship, between Kundarak house in Stormreach and the dwarven Kundarakhold in the Mror holds?

A. House Kundarak originated in Kundarakhold, before joining the other Dragonmarked Houses in a more worldwide community, though much of the House's operations are still based out of Kundarakhold. The House Kundarak that is present in Stormreach is that same House Kundarak, though, as I've said elsewhere, the members running the House in Stormreach probably aren't the most powerful or popular members of their House.

Q. As well, could you give more information on what churces and deities a dwarf Cleric or Paladin would follow? You hinted in another response to a question about the deity Onatar, but I thought most dwarves actually followed another deity?

A. Religions in Eberron aren't race-specific for the most part. Most of the modernized races of Khorvaire follow the same major religions with worship of the Sovereign Host being the most popular. Dwarves might gravitate more towards Onatar, as god of the forge, artifice and crafting, or towards Kol Korran, as the god of commerce, mercantilism and such. But, that said, a dwarf might just as easily devote himself to the Silver Flame or one of the Host's other deities.

Q. And last but not least, can you tell us something about the dream dwarves and the duergar; just who are these dwarves? And are they still supposed to around at the date in which our events in DDO our set?

A. I'm going to have to get back to you on this one. I believe the duergar are a clan of dwarves who were manipulated by the Daelkyr, but I'll check up on it when I get home.

[Qwert]

I just found this thread. This is awesome. Thanks for putting it together. This will be my first stop for all my questions about Eberron.

[DianWeiYan]

In Eberron, dryads can be bound to Livewood trees as well as traditional Oaken trees. Livewood is an integral part of the Warforged. Purely academic here, but would it be possible to have a warforged with an attached Dryad?

[MysticTheurge]

Q. In Eberron, dryads can be bound to Livewood trees as well as traditional Oaken trees. Livewood is an integral part of the Warforged. Purely academic here, but would it be possible to have a warforged with an attached Dryad?

A. Using a strict interpretation of the rules it would seem possible. However, there's a whole lot that happens to a warforged's component parts before they end up in their final state as a warforged. The exact process that a creation forge performs is entirely undocumented. It seems unlikely that a dryad would survive the process.

It would certainly make a very interesting campaign concept and/or twist, though. And as such, I'd suggest that a DM do such a thing if they wish to, but I'd avoid making it too prevalent.

[Symar-FangofLloth]

I know that everything that is in D&D supposedly has a place in Eberron. But does the dragon shaman base class fit in at all? I suppose particularly for someone from Argonessen/Seren it should fit in.
I guess it's the "detached" role of dragons that's making me wonder- like would a half-dragon exist at all? Or the dragon disciple PrC?
While I'm asking, are there any other classes that just don't fit in Eberron (aside from deity-specific ones like Fang of Lolth).

[EspyLacopa]

I know that everything that is in D&D supposedly has a place in Eberron. But does the dragon shaman base class fit in at all? I suppose particularly for someone from Argonessen/Seren it should fit in.
I guess it's the "detached" role of dragons that's making me wonder- like would a half-dragon exist at all? Or the dragon disciple PrC?
While I'm asking, are there any other classes that just don't fit in Eberron (aside from deity-specific ones like Fang of Lolth).

They can exist. Half-Dragons just aren't that popular with the Dragons. Just look what happened to Vol. . .

[Symar-FangofLloth]

Okay, got more questions now :p.
Could a half-elf with an elf and human parent manifest either a human or elf dragonmark, assuming one of the parents is from the appropriate line? I think I read they could, but would like clarification.
Also, since subraces can manifest aberrant marks, could an empty vessel, and by extension an Inspired, have an aberrant mark?

[MysticTheurge]

(I'll answer you're other questions later cause they're a bit more complicated.)

Q. Could a half-elf with an elf and human parent manifest either a human or elf dragonmark, assuming one of the parents is from the appropriate line?

A. Technically speaking, they shouldn't be able to. Dragonmarks are tied both to the bloodline and to the race of the Mark. Therefore, someone with a Marked Human parent and an unmarked Elven parent shouldn't manifest the Mark of their Human parent. As I mentioned before, if you read The Crimson Talisman you'll find the main character is a half-elf with the Mark of Passage, but by all rights, that shouldn't happen. Of course, as a DM (or author) you're free to bend these rules a bit, even going so far as to allow one of your players to play just such a character.

But it would be far more likely that a half-elven child of Marked parentage would manifest an Aberrant mark. In fact, Dragonmarked Heirs are strongly discouraged from breeding with members of other Houses (marked or not) because of the mere possibility that such breeding could result in Aberrant Marks. It seems likely that a similar taboo is placed on interracial breeding among members of the Dragonmarked Houses.

Q. Since subraces can manifest aberrant marks, could an empty vessel, and by extension an Inspired, have an aberrant mark?

A. The answer here boils down to bloodlines. Theoretically, yes it would be possible for an empty vessel to manifest a mark, but Aberrant marks usually manifest on those members of a subrace who have a dragonmarked ancestor somewhere in their past. Since the Human Dragonmarks didn't manifest until long after Lhazaar and her people emigrated from Sarlona, it would take a member of one of those dragonmarked lines returning to Sarlona and then interbreeding with the empty vessel lines somehow. Given the overt xenophobia of the Sarlonan people this is unlikely to begin with. Add on top of that, the fact that the quori carefully monitor the breeding and reproduction of the Empty Vessels and it becomes even less likely.

As for an Inspired having the mark, no, that shouldn't be possible either. It seems likely that the manifestation of the mark would alter the Empty Vessel is such as way that they would no longer be a suitable candidate for Quori possession. If a Quori did manage possess an Empty Vessel with a mark, it seems likely that the result either wouldn't be one of the Inspired or that the process would somehow interfere with the magic of the Mark and thus prevent its use.

[Symar-FangofLloth]

Okay, thanks. I wasn't sure when the marks originated and if they had any connection back to Sarlona.

[Symar-FangofLloth]

Ah... the ECS lists dragon disciple as an appropriate PrC for those of Argonessen origin. That answers that part of my question, and by extension I'd say dragon shamans are allowed as well. Found my own answer basically!

[leafman343]

What kind of creature is Lei d'Cannith in The Gates of Night: The Dreaming Dark? The book speaks of her being created rather than born, and she can heal herself in the same way she repairs warforged. And could you tell me about the Reforged prestige class?

[Spakerman]

I have a quick question... If the crafting method for warforged was shut down ... where do new warforged come from? Or is the race simply dieing off?

Edit: oh wow ... haven't posted since I played Rumblebelly over a year ago!

[Spakerman]

Another Question if you'll excuse the double post... The Drow of Forgotten realms incur heavy penalties when roaming the realms outside the Underdark. If the Drow of Eberron are not similarly bound to the lightless world what is their origin?

[Symar-FangofLloth]

I have a quick question... If the crafting method for warforged was shut down ... where do new warforged come from? Or is the race simply dieing off?

Edit: oh wow ... haven't posted since I played Rumblebelly over a year ago!

There's a Creation Forge or two still around, although not in the best of conditions. The Lord of Blades supposedly has one under his command. But, yes, the race is "dying off", although there's no evidence that they cease functioning from old age; the races is only a few years old.


Another Question if you'll excuse the double post... The Drow of Forgotten realms incur heavy penalties when roaming the realms outside the Underdark. If the Drow of Eberron are not similarly bound to the lightless world what is their origin?

Drow in Eberron were one of the slave races of the giants, along with elves. You can still see evidence of that whilst playing DDO. If I'm not mistaken, the elves successfully rebelled, while the drow sorta stayed behind. Once the giant empire fell, they were pretty much freed, however. I hope that's right :p.

[Ghoste]

There's a Creation Forge or two still around, although not in the best of conditions. The Lord of Blades supposedly has one under his command. But, yes, the race is "dying off", although there's no evidence that they cease functioning from old age; the races is only a few years old.
The creation forge owned by the Lord of Blades is damaged; it still produces warforged, but they often end up being produced with serious defects. He and his followers are eager to get the information they need to repair that forge and begin pumping out new warforged.

There is a fully functional creation forge in Sharn, but it is kept a secret since its existence is illegal. The Sharn forge produces few warforged which end up sold on the black market.

The Quori long ago learned to produce warforged by psionically stealing the plans from the dreams of giants before the fall of their empire. So the Quori are an other source of warforged, however those warforged do not have the modifications developped by Merrix d'Cannith and his son which eventually resulted in "living" warforged. Not that the Quori couldn't just steal that information in the same way they originally did.

Sources unknown? There are warforged with psionic abilities known as "psiforged" which were not produced in the House C forges, nor were they made by the ancient giants. A good guess would be that they were made by the Quori, being a race of great psionic ability, but that is not known for certain.

[Ghoste]

What kind of creature is Lei d'Cannith in The Gates of Night: The Dreaming Dark? The book speaks of her being created rather than born, and she can heal herself in the same way she repairs warforged. And could you tell me about the Reforged prestige class?
Can't tell you about Lei d'Cannith, but I can tell you plenty about the Reforged.

Requirements: race warforged and Craft or Profession 8 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks.
Lvl 1: BAB +0, Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +2, extroverted, natural healing
Lvl 2: BAB +1, Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3, reforged insight, magical healing
Lvl 3: BAB +2, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3, embrace emotion, final reforging

extroverted: bonus equal to class lvl on bluff, diplomacy, sense motive, gather info
natural healing: heal from restinglike other living creatures.
reforged insight: +2 insight bonus on wisdom checks and wis based skill checks
magical healing: 100% benefit from healing magic
embrace emotion: become very emotional, +1 xtra benefit from morale bonuses
final reforging: lose any warforged feats (gaining an equal number of free feats), lose ability to use warforged components, lose any plating, spikes, etc., gain unarmored body as a free feat, able to wear clothes, robes, armor, etc like fleshlings.

Benefits from this prestige class are mostly from a roleplaying perspective since it means giving up what you could have gained by advancing in your base class. Not to mention it's the most blasphemous path a warforged could take, and will likely earn you the contempt of more hardcore organizations like the followers of Lord of Blades, the godforged, or The Mithril Hand (http://www.guilduniverse.com/themithrilhand).

The first reforged was a warforged by the name of Hatchet.

[Namelessone]

I have been surfing the web looking for this information but have been unsuccessful in finding the information. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Who was the Queen to King Jarot? King Jarot's death in 894 YK was what sparked the 100 year war a.k.a. The Last War, but who was his wife?

[Katrina]

Can't tell you about Lei d'Cannith, but I can tell you plenty about the Reforged.

Requirements: race warforged and Craft or Profession 8 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks.
Lvl 1: BAB +0, Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +2, extroverted, natural healing
Lvl 2: BAB +1, Fort +0, Ref +0, Will +3, reforged insight, magical healing
Lvl 3: BAB +2, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +3, embrace emotion, final reforging

extroverted: bonus equal to class lvl on bluff, diplomacy, sense motive, gather info
natural healing: heal from restinglike other living creatures.
reforged insight: +2 insight bonus on wisdom checks and wis based skill checks
magical healing: 100% benefit from healing magic
embrace emotion: become very emotional, +1 xtra benefit from morale bonuses
final reforging: lose any warforged feats (gaining an equal number of free feats), lose ability to use warforged components, lose any plating, spikes, etc., gain unarmored body as a free feat, able to wear clothes, robes, armor, etc like fleshlings.

Benefits from this prestige class are mostly from a roleplaying perspective since it means giving up what you could have gained by advancing in your base class. Not to mention it's the most blasphemous path a warforged could take, and will likely earn you the contempt of more hardcore organizations like the followers of Lord of Blades, the godforged, or The Mithril Hand (http://www.guilduniverse.com/themithrilhand).

The first reforged was a warforged by the name of Hatchet.



Ghoste that's cool! Where did you find that info?