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.

 

[Gradine]

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.

I will say, as a staunch "no guns in Eberron" fan of the setting, this has always been my favorite take on how they would be introduced.

 

[Remathilis]

I will say, as a staunch "no guns in Eberron" fan of the setting, this has always been my favorite take on how they would be introduced.

I was very much in that camp, but I've given up on that. I never saw wandslingers filling that same niche and every mechanical attempt to make it viable was more work than it was worth. I stopped trying to make fetch happen and just said firearms exist but aren't as popular as wands.

 

[pukunui]

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.

Yes, although I'd like to point out that the picture of the goblin holding what appears to be a flintlock pistol in Rising has been clarified somewhere to be an artificer's arcane firearm rather than an actual gun. Same with Vi's laser pistol looking thing.

 

[Parmandur]

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

Sure, and that makes for a good Origin Feat.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

My first job was Cartographer, and I didn’t get any of those abilities!

It makes the alchemist damage output look better!

The group initiative bonus is pretty strong, but the rest of it is trying to think of ways to exploit its weird abilities. Can I slight of hand a map into someone’s pocket, then a couple of days later when I’m out of the country, assassinate them with a spell?

 

[Parmandur]

I will say, as a staunch "no guns in Eberron" fan of the setting, this has always been my favorite take on how they would be introduced.

It does give the Dhakaani a Thing.

 

[Yaarel]

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.

Even a Humanoid might have an artificial limb or incur "golem enhanced" alterations.

There is usually no need to make a feat species-specific, or even type-specific, since there are various ways to commingle origins.

 

[Osgood]

I really like the dragonmark feats... except for the fact that they removed species prerequisites, which (IMHO) make them garbage. They tried this nonsense in 4E, it didn't work for me then and it doesn't work for me now.

I get the idea that a DM may want to tell the story of the one in a million warforged with a mark of making or a human with a mark of healing, but the way you do that is to make the prereq optional. Otherwise, every other player will pick whatever dragonmark makes their character more powerful. I will have so much scathing commentary when the time comes to review these feats.

 

[Yaarel]

Otherwise, every other player will pick whatever dragonmark makes their character more powerful.

From my perspective as DM, great! If all the players want a specific dragonmark, now they all have a place in the world, relationships with a specific dynasty, and reasons for how they know each other. Lots of adventure hooks. The players dont need to do anything. This is great for me as a DM to riff. The narrative implications will unfold during the adventuring. Win-win.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

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.

Personally, I can't envision Eberron without at least SOME firearms, but admittedly, that's in no small part because I've had an Eberron Savage Tide conversion stewing in my head for way, WAY too long and one of the immediate aesthetic touchpoints I'm working from is the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Certainly not going to replace Eberron's magical artillery in my game, by any means - particularly when a stockpile of gunpowder can be set off by any errant fire bolt with potentially devastating results - but trying to "play pirate", whether as a player or DM, without at least the option of pulling out flintlock pistols and cannon broadsides just feels wrong to me, even with comparable magical artillery available.