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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Graf" data-source="post: 3237579" data-attributes="member: 3087">I disagree completely with your interpretation.I could see someone, a DM, advancing the arugements you have so that their version of Eberron could both include the events of KB’s novels AND allow for “free” Dragonmarked PCs.But you’re basically rewriting the events of the books to make that happen.I think we’ve read different books.She describes herself as being normal and ordinary (except for slightly reserved/distant parents) several times in the book.Her parents secret background is, well, it’s a secret. After the events of the second book her “true history” starts to come out. But I’m talking about her life prior to the events of the books.She is. But that’s because she’s Dragonmarked. Not because her parents secret history has somehow made her obliged to follow lots of special rules that other Dragonmarked are immune to.The evidence that she is a normal Dragonmarked like others (or perceived that way until the events of the novel bring the secret background to light) is basically overwhelming.She says so, other people say so, other people treat her that way. Etc etc.Regarding the Dragonmarked and their prevalence in the house: Reread the ECS. I did last night actually and it specifically describes the Dragonmarked as the nobility of the house providing magic while the other non-marked members do the heavy lifting. It’s hard to stress this enough but anyone who is Dragonmarked is a merchant princess.Later on in the books it turns out that Lei’s family participated in some crucial history/research but it is make explicitly clear in her dealings with other members of the house that they don’t know why she is being targeted.If nobody knows her secret history that can’t be the reason why she’s a slave to the will of the house, can it?Furthermore it’s similar for Dane. All the events in the books suggest strongly that they had little choice in their lives (other than the choice to break with the house). These two sentences are contradictory. If, in the course of her dealings with lots of different Housemembers, as well as dealings with members of other Houses and third party narration discussing her role in the house she is not identified as being special then a normal reader will assume that she is, in fact, normal.If you read in a book that the character says “I am standing in front of a fireplace” it’s not an ‘assumption’ to say that they’re standing in front of a fireplace.She treats her whole life being decided by the house as normal, Dane treats it as normal (and complains about it constantly). If she were some kind of special person whose life was different from other Dragonmarked members of the house then the dozens and dozens of pages of conversation and third party narration going over her participation and role in her house would have called it out.There are contexts where you could be considered correct; like in the case of an unreliable narrator but (unfortunately) this book lacks things like that.You’re wrong.Liking a novel is subjective. What is written in a novel forms the basis for an objective reading of the events it describes (especially in WotC type novels that lack complexities like unreliable narrators).I’m not, btw, saying that you should or shouldn’t like the books. I’m glad you like them. While I personally find things to criticize about the novels it doesn’t really mean that I’m saying “nobody should like these books” I’m just criticizing decisions the author made.Since KB wrote Eberron and was deeply involved in designing the world I do assume a high degree of understanding of it (which is not something that you normally assume about authors of WotC books). But I think that’s a fair thing to do.</blockquote>

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