D&D 5E 5e Eberron dragonmarks?

[hbarsquared]

So, in both 3e and 4e, Eberron dragonmarks are mechanically represented withfeats. In 5e, not only are feats optional, but you don't get one until 4rh level (1st if you're human and lucky).

I'm starting an Eberron xampaign yestetday. Any dragonmark ideas?

One) All characters get a bonus feat at level 1. At least balanced against each other?

Two) A dragonmark variant subrace for each Eberron race? Ie, you choose between mountain dwarf, hill dwarf, or Mark of Warding dwarf.. Possibly incorporate dragonmark feays as well to emulate "Lesser," "Greater," etc?

 

[fba827]

Disclaimer:I do not know anything about power levels of dragon marks ( I'm only vaguely aware of the concept) so some of this may not be appropriate.....

Assuming house rules....

1 option. Everyone gets a choice of a bonus feat or a lesser dragon mark. At the start of every tier another bonus feat of increase existing dragon mark from lesser to greater, or whatever

Another option.... Instead of taking a background, you can take one skill and a dragon mark

Another option. At the start of every tier (ie 1st, 5th, etc), you can take a dragon mark or increase an existing dragon mark( from lesser to greater). If you do, you take a -1 to ability checks (or -2 if it's a greater dragon mark, or whatever the stages of dragon mark are)

 

[Gradine]

Subrace/variant racial features sound like the way to go with Least Dragonmarks. Lesser and Greater Dragonmarks could be separate feats with a +1 ASI and/or a few other benefits (double proficiency bonus and/or advantage on a relevant skill/tool, for instance).

 

[dd.stevenson]

I would go for a nice, balanced background that serves as a prerequisite for your dragonmark feats.

 

[MarkB]

In Eberron I'd certainly have Backgrounds representing membership of the dragonmarked trading houses, but I'd keep actual dragonmarks separate.

Generally speaking the lowest-powered dragonmarks provide only a minor benefit, so I'd be happy to allow a character to substitute one for one of their starting skill or tool proficiencies.

For higher-level dragonmarks I'd still go with feats, and consider either boosting dragonmarks' capabilities, or else making the low-to-mid-level dragonmark feats include a +1 ability score boost, to match the power level of 5e feats.

 

[dd.stevenson]

In Eberron I'd certainly have Backgrounds representing membership of the dragonmarked trading houses, but I'd keep actual dragonmarks separate.

Generally speaking the lowest-powered dragonmarks provide only a minor benefit, so I'd be happy to allow a character to substitute one for one of their starting skill or tool proficiencies.

For higher-level dragonmarks I'd still go with feats, and consider either boosting dragonmarks' capabilities, or else making the low-to-mid-level dragonmark feats include a +1 ability score boost, to match the power level of 5e feats.

I really like that idea.

 

[Paraxis]

In Eberron I'd certainly have Backgrounds representing membership of the dragonmarked trading houses, but I'd keep actual dragonmarks separate.

Generally speaking the lowest-powered dragonmarks provide only a minor benefit, so I'd be happy to allow a character to substitute one for one of their starting skill or tool proficiencies.

For higher-level dragonmarks I'd still go with feats, and consider either boosting dragonmarks' capabilities, or else making the low-to-mid-level dragonmark feats include a +1 ability score boost, to match the power level of 5e feats.

I also realy like this idea, and exactly the way I would handle it.

Dragonmark Background
1 skill, 1 tool proficiency or language, least mark ability from 3e adapted to 5e.

Better dragonmarked abilities, tied to a feat.

 

[Crothian]

I really like the background idea as the Dragonmarks are so much more then just a magically tattoo. They can't make it part of the feat rules as those are optional and it would force people to play with rules they might not want to play with.

 

[Jer]

I really like the background idea as the Dragonmarks are so much more then just a magically tattoo. They can't make it part of the feat rules as those are optional and it would force people to play with rules they might not want to play with.

I think they could make it similar to the Feat rules, in that for Eberron you could say that "Dragonmark Progression" replaces Ability Score boosts just like Feats do. That would allow campaigns that wanted to have Dragonmarks but no Feats (or, frankly, vice-versa) to have one without the other.

I like this idea - especially the idea that the "basic" dragonmark would be something that was mechanically similar to either a tool proficiency or the kind of benefit you get from a Background. That would also make it easy to allow a character to manifest a dragonmark during play without worrying much about it throwing the balance out of whack with the other characters.

 

[DEFCON 1]

When I was thinking about how I'd do dragonmarks, my conclusion was similar. I wouldn't create new Backgrounds themselves, I used the same ones already in the book... but I did make a new Feature called Favored In House, which replaced the feature of whatever Background you were using to symbolize the House you were in. So if you wanted to be a Sentinel Marshal, you would still use the Soldier Background, but then replace the feature with Favored In House-- being a prominent member of a dragonmark house and all the privileges that provides.

Then for the marks themselves... I was going to basically commandeer the Magic Initiate feat and use it for dragonmarks only. So if you wanted a dragonmark, you gained the three abilities that came with that feat-- two cantrips and a 1st level spell usable once per long rest. I'd probably go ahead and pre-select the three spells for each of the dragonmarks in the book, making sure they all worked well and hopefully matched several of the spells that were in the 3E Eberron campaign setting book for Least dragonmarks.

I didn't go much further than that with it... but I figured in my head that if players eventually wanted to get a Lesser and then Greater dragonmarks, I'd probably have them cost another feat... which would be something along the lines of having a prerequisite of level 8 for a Lesser mark, but which makes the 1st level spell you already have now usable once every short rest, and you gain a 4th level spell usable once every long rest. Then at level 16 you could use a feat to take the Greater mark, the 1st level spell becomes at-will, the 4th level becomes once a short rest, and you gain a 7th level spell usable every long rest.

But then I ended up deciding to set my campaign in the Forgotten Realms and promptly stopped worrying about it.