Stupid, Stupid Question

I don't own the Eberron setting and I was wondering what a dragonshard is. I keep seeing them mentioned in different places (most recently in an adventure in Dungeon), but not with an explanation. I looked on the WotC web site and also googled it, but searching just gave me headache (especially since I got about 100 pages for the videogame). :\

So, what is it?

OK, a Dragonshard, in a nutshell, is a special new kind of gemstone, unique to the Eberron setting, that comes in three different types.

Siberys shards - named for the mythic dragon Siberys the Sky Dragon, yellowish-gold in color, with bright gold streaks in the shape of symbols (almost) that almost seem to move within the crystal. Siberys Shards enhance the special powers of beings who have been Dragonmarked (a whole other topic).

Eberron Shards - named for the mythic dragon Eberron, the Dragon Between, it's said that his body makes up the world itself. Reddish shards with crimson designs inside, they enhance magic spells.

Khyber Shards - named for the mythic dragon Khyber, the Dragon Below, which represents the underworld below eberron, these jet stones with dark markings inside have properties that make them good for binding elementals into them, and using that power to give objects elemental powers.

That's the five-minute explanation, but to learn more about them it would be helpful to take a peek in the Eberron Campaign setting book, where they have their own section.

There are no stupid questions.

eris404 said:

I don't own the Eberron setting and I was wondering what a dragonshard is.

Click to expand...

Geeze! What a stupid question!


(just kidding)


A dragon shard is a ... well ... shard of a dragon. In the Eberron history there were three dragons (sky, earth, underworld) and they fought and Eberron & Syberris (the earth and sky dragon) kinda-sorta won. Or at least they didn't lose. But all three dragons make up the world as we know it today.

The dragonshards are the bits left over. Kind of like, when you bake a pie and take the pie out of the oven there's bits of crust and apple that flake off. Only this is crust and apple that can rip the skin off of people's body and leave them a convulsing, bloodly fleshy pulp that dies slowly on the floor, screaming for mercy.

So, yeah, they're like pie.

Thanks Henry and BG!

The dragonshards are the bits left over. Kind of like, when you bake a pie and take the pie out of the oven there's bits of crust and apple that flake off. Only this is crust and apple that can rip the skin off of people's body and leave them a convulsing, bloodly fleshy pulp that dies slowly on the floor, screaming for mercy.

Click to expand...

So....they're used as weapons?

eris404 said:

So....they're used as weapons?

Click to expand...

More like energy sources if memory serves. Though they're very typed to the dragon they originated from. A Khyber shard isn't going to help you tickle bunnies, for example.

I'm away from my books at the moment. I can produce more for you later tonight.

BiggusGeekus said:

So, yeah, they're like pie.

Click to expand...

I like pie.

eris404 said:

So....they're used as weapons?

Click to expand...

Not as such, but they are useful in the manufacture of weapons and other items.

For instance, you can take some Khyber dragonshards, imbed them in armor or weapons, and then bind an elemental into the shards. This causes some of the elemental's power to transfer into the item. As an example, binding an earth elemental into Khyber dragonshards inlaid in a suit of armor gives damage reduction, as well as other benefits (like the ability to move through stone).

Some members of the Dragonmarked houses (think the Houses from Dune) gain magical tattoos (dragonmarks) which grant them spell-like abilities. Rods and foci made with Siberys shards allow them to use those abilities more times per day or in more powerful way. As an example, a helm made with Siberys shards allows a marked member of the House of Storms to command an airship or a galleon.

Eberron dragonshards have an affinity for "normal" magic. Wizards can take specially prepared dragonshards and, using the spell Arcane Mark, treat them as spellbooks. Also, artificers and magewrights, during the Last War, discovered how to modify normal wands with Eberron shards to make so-called "eternal wands." They possess but two charges each, but replenish them daily and can be used by anyone with arcane spellcasting ability.