Dragon mark feats

Obryn · Jun 27, 2011

I ban excessively campaign-specific stuff in my own games. So, in my Dark Sun game, I'm not allowing Dragonmarks or Artificers. (As a note, in my kitchen sink game, artificers were just fine; I just don't like their flavor for Dark Sun.) If I ran an Eberron game, I'd likewise ban Muls and Thri-Kreen. For any non-FR games, I disallow FR deities and their Channel Divinities.

With that said, some fairly generic stuff is in each campaign setting. Swordmages, changelings, and kalashtar, for example. And Artificers, too, for most games. IMO, Dragonmarks don't make the "generic" list.

-O

Akaiku · Jun 27, 2011

A few of them are 'good' for a given build. But the same can be said of quite a few normal feats. Remove the "Also gives you a glowing mystical prophecy tattoo" property and they are just feats.

It's a home game, fluff isn't fixed. Evaluate whatever is being tried, and if it's obnoxious to your sensibilities afterwords, change it.

jimmifett · Jun 27, 2011

Obryn said:
If I ran an Eberron game, I'd likewise ban Muls and Thri-Kreen.

I stuffed the Thri-Kreen underground in Sarlona, sometimes taking up the ruins of the old human civilization. The only way one would be available to join the Party is if they are going through those ruins, or possibly meeting one working the dockyards of a town in Syrkarn. Even finding one in Stormreach would be a possibility, but i'd want a damn good background to explain what it's doing there.

Nemesis Destiny · Jun 27, 2011

The way I usually deal with all the campaign-specific stuff in my home game is through reflavouring. If a given option is not available with default fluff in my world (this is the usual case), then I make every effort to find it a niche with appropriate fluff. Failing that, I will allow a player to use just about anything for their concept, as long as they can explain it in a way that makes sense in the context of the world and their character.

For example, in one game we have a player whose character is a polymorphed dragon taking humand form (cursed so he doesn't know this and also so he can't change back) - so naturally he used dragonborn stats (not otherwise allowed in my game world) and made him a sorcerer. He now wants to change to using a genasi for stats and making him a pyromancer. Another player had his character die [human cleric] , then get sent back by his goddess as a deathless servant, so he is now using the Deva stats (another one not native to my world).

I like this approach because it lets me avoid things whose flavour doesn't mesh well with my world's themes and also does not limit player options unnecessarily like a flat out ban would.

MrMyth · Jun 27, 2011

KaasManiak said:
Thanks for the quick answer.

I didn't now there were such expectations in the Ebberon setting.

Quess it's best to not allow my player to use the dragonmark feats.

Option 1: Don't allow them.
Option 2: Allow PCs to take them just like any other feat.
Option 3: Allow PCs to take them, but preserve the same sort of background - and social and setting ramifications - of having one as they come with in Eberron.

I think option 3 can be the best, but is also the most work. And might not suit characters who want them for a nice power boost, rather than as a core part of their character concept.

If you don't think you want to put that much effort into it, then option 1 - not allowing them - is probably the way to go.

Herschel · Jun 27, 2011

I keep the super-specifics native to their game world. I'm pretty open so for me that's Dragonmark Feats, Muls and (unless they have a darned good reason) Thri-Kreen in my FR game and no Warforged in Dark Sun as a PC (As well as the eradicated races).

DracoSuave · Jun 27, 2011

Obryn said:
If I ran an Eberron game, I'd likewise ban Muls and Thri-Kreen.

Just to be technical... Thri-kreen aren't Dark Sun specific (they were introduced in Forgotten Realms) and muls are just half-dwarves.

Either of those can fit in Eberron, which is a campaign designed to fit everything.

Obryn · Jun 27, 2011

DracoSuave said:
Just to be technical... Thri-kreen aren't Dark Sun specific (they were introduced in Forgotten Realms) and muls are just half-dwarves.

Either of those can fit in Eberron, which is a campaign designed to fit everything.

Sure. And Artificers can technically work in Dark Sun. I'm saying I wouldn't like the flavor. They can fit, but it's not my preference. Kreen are a special case; they're originally an AD&D MM2 monster, but Dark Sun owns them as a PC race, IMO.

-O

cignus_pfaccari · Jun 28, 2011

Honestly, while the Dragonmark feats are more powerful, they're not overwhelmingly so.

I would probably squint at someone trying to squeeze one in in a non-Eberron setting, but as long as the player made a decent attempt at trying to persuade me that they weren't trying to minmax *completely,* I'd probably allow it.

As long as it was decent. Points are accrued based on creativity of the explanation, especially if it's in a rushed run-on sentence.

Brad

DracoSuave · Jun 28, 2011

Obryn said:
Sure. And Artificers can technically work in Dark Sun. I'm saying I wouldn't like the flavor. They can fit, but it's not my preference. Kreen are a special case; they're originally an AD&D MM2 monster, but Dark Sun owns them as a PC race, IMO.

-O

Well, okay... but Eberron IS a kitchen sink setting. One of the founding principles is 'If it exists, there's a place for it in Eberron.' Have them be from one of the tribes of monstrous dudes in Droam, doing some work for the hags.

Done and done. There's no real 'flavor problem' for Eberron.

It's different than in Dark Sun, where, ya, spellcasters based on constructs and items don't really fit in too well.

Dragon mark feats

Obryn

Hero

Akaiku

First Post

jimmifett

Banned

Nemesis Destiny

Adventurer

MrMyth

First Post

Herschel

Adventurer

DracoSuave

First Post

Obryn

Hero

cignus_pfaccari

First Post

DracoSuave

First Post

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