D&D Launches New Eberron-Themed Playtest With Dragonmarked Feats

The D&D design team has launched a new Unearthed Arcana playtest focused on the upcoming Eberron: Forge of the Artificer book, featuring Dragonmarked feats and a new Artificer subclass. The new packet contains rules for a Cartographer subclass for the Artificer, along with a handful of new magic item options and over 25 Dragonmarked feats. The Artificer base class rules also received a few tweaks to some of its features, with an eye towards more general versatility.

The other big feature is the new Dragonmarked feats, most of which are considered either Dragonmarked Feats or General Feats. The Dragonmarked Feats are specifically limited to Eberron campaigns and allow only one Dragonmark per character (thus preventing Warlocks from accumulating Dragonmarks). The General Feats are Greater Marks and specifically upgrade existing Dragonmarks as a requirement. It's interesting that D&D is keeping with campaign setting specific feats and feat trees, as both of these design traits were found in the Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen book.

You can check out the full playtest on D&D Beyond.

 

[Parmandur]

I don't think that would make a difference to the type of person that gets the sads because their elf can't get these kewl pwrz.

Making their skin out iof Adamantium...?

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Making their skin out iof Adamantium...?

He's a cyborg d00d!

 

[Parmandur]

He's a cyborg d00d!

I mean, maybe, fair point: the Anvilwrought Supernatural Gift from Theros (which h is really just an Origin Feat) already does that, so why not?

 

[mellored]

Survival, not investigation. Investigation is figuring out how a trap works, not navigation. Survival is navigation.

Advantage to navigate and find secret passages using Survival or Investigation. Including the Maze spell.

 

[TwoSix]

The list of options for the Epic Boon are all 8th level or lower spells, but Sorcerers get access to Wish, rendering the list mute. Plus, it restores on a short or long rest, not just long.

Yea, that's not going to make it out of UA, lol. Wish 1/SR is crazy, even for a Epic Boon.

3 of the bonus spells for the subclass are already present in the list of Artificer spells in this PDF itself.

That's pretty common when the bonus spells are giving the character extra spells prepared. (See: Life Cleric.)

 

[Gradine]

A few points based off Eberron lore...

-Boon of Siberys might be too powerful with the any Sorcerer spell of any level, as that means something like Meteor Swarm or Wish once per short rest. They probably need to restrict the spell to one's specific to the dragonmark type, adding 1 Dragonmark feat as a prereq, and for Aberrant Dragonmarks either come up with a particular choice or limit the level of the Sorcerer spell picked.

I agree with pretty much of all of this, with the exception of the bolded; in the lore, the Mark of Siberys specifically only appears on those without a Dragonmark originally. I was actually happy to see that they didn't add that in as a prereq.

Some thoughts as an artificer main;

1) Still really fuckin mad that they gave us true strike but took away guns. At the very least, artillerists should also get firearm proficiency at third level. With guns in the DMG, why not?

My guess would be that, at least in this particular product, they are carrying on the tradition that guns don't exist in Eberron. While this has always been more Kanon (Keith Baker's canon) than legitimate Canon, there are a lot of fans of the setting that agree that Eberron shouldn't have guns. In particular, the reason magical artillerists exist in the setting is because there is no gunpowder/firearms/cannons/etc that would otherwise take their place in war.

It's possible that any advice for porting the class out of Eberron might include adding firearm proficiency, but I don't think anyone would bat an eye to giving it to them, especially if your Eberron does have guns.

 

[mellored]

Well, less "Species locked" and more "Prerequisite: Creature Type Construct", so itnwould work for Autogbomes and maybe Rogue Modrons eventuslly too. I'm talking stuff like armor mods and what not.

Sounds less like a feat, and more like just species feature.

I.e.
Warforged
Integrated Components: you can spend a week attaching equipment to yourself. Doing so makes it impossible to disarm.

 

[Kurotowa]

-Most of the Dragonmark feats are +1d4 to a skill roll, 2 or 3 free castings of a spell and a bunch of bonus spells known. I feel more of them should have cantrips as cantrips offer more to non-spellcasters, these feats definitely favour spellcasters, but that's often been the case with dragonmarks.

Just to clarify, because it took me a couple of reads to get it right. The base Dragonmark feat's "Spells of the Mark" adds those spells to your class spell list if you have Spellcasting or Pact Magic. You still have to select them as Prepared Spells from your normal allotment to be able to cast them. It's only if you take the Potent Dragonmark general feat that the entire Spells of the Mark list is added to your Prepared Spells.

And speaking of which, Potent Dragonmark seems like a really good deal. Up to nine additional Prepared Spells and an additional spell slot to cast them with that scales up to 5th level and recharges on a Short Rest. That's amazing for Artificers and Warlocks, and I'm sure others will find it useful too depending on the Mark.

Like, Mark of Passage has Find Steed. That's a flying mount at 7th level with Potent Dragonmark. I'm going to have to do a slow read through all the Marks to see what that enables.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

I mean, maybe, fair point: the Anvilwrought Supernatural Gift from Theros (which h is really just an Origin Feat) already does that, so why not?

I guess you could use it that way, but that Gift I just took as you are a construct made to mimic this species.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

A few points based off Eberron lore...

My guess would be that, at least in this particular product, they are carrying on the tradition that guns don't exist in Eberron. While this has always been more Kanon (Keith Baker's canon) than legitimate Canon, there are a lot of fans of the setting that agree that Eberron shouldn't have guns. In particular, the reason magical artillerists exist in the setting is because there is no gunpowder/firearms/cannons/etc that would otherwise take their place in war.

It's possible that any advice for porting the class out of Eberron might include adding firearm proficiency, but I don't think anyone would bat an eye to giving it to them, especially if your Eberron does have guns.

I've always felt that it was the Goblins who use guns. It might be a more recent invention that Goblins started to use or guns were something that the ancient Dhakaani used and it's something that was only recently uncovered. But that was what I felt about their place in Eberron.