[Eberron] Faking Dragonmarks

[Jürgen Hubert]

My players are making steady progress in their quest to reactivate the prototype Creation Forge they have found - they have already gathered most of the raw materials.

However, one significant problem remains: The instructions they found claim that for operating the Creation Forge, you need two people with the Dragonmark of Making, and none of the PCs have it - and because of some past incidents, they are leery of approaching House Cannith about this (which is of course entirely sensible for a large number of reasons...). So they want to find out if there is another way of circumventing this restriction.

I thought about it, and decided to make this possible, since it would make for a cool story. However, I need to come up with some ideas how they can do it, and why. So I'd like to hear some of your theories regarding:

- What, exactly, are dragonmarks? Where do they come from? Where do they get their power?

- Given these origins, how would it be possible to dublicate their powers sufficiently to operate a Creation Forge?


Oh, and another question: What price could you get for a newly imprinted warforged on the black market, and who might be interested in buying them?

 

[Glyfair]

- What, exactly, are dragonmarks? Where do they come from? Where do they get their power?

It's generally known they they are tied into the Dragon Prophecy in some way. How and why is deliberately vague. It's one of the great mysteries that were put in specifically not to be solved, i.e. for flavor.

- Given these origins, how would it be possible to dublicate their powers sufficiently to operate a Creation Forge?

It seems that the design decision was made to make dragonmarks completely unique. You aren't supposed to be able to fake one.

That being said, there is precedence in the campaign setting for getting around dragonmarks in all but the major, campaign changing matters. For example, in the lightning rail & airships you need the right dragonmark to automatically get the elemental to cooperate. However, someone without it can try to persuade the elemental to cooperate with a Charisma check.

From comments Keith has made, it seem clear that the intent is the current creation forges aren't supposed to be operated except by someone with the Mark of Making. Indeed, it's supposed to be a mystery about how the Lord of Blades has a functioning forge. Someone he must have the dragonmark helping him, but how (examples that have been given is he's kidnapped someone with it, he's actually a Cannith heir pretending to be warforged, someone he has a Cannith ally).

I think the general assumption, given the heroic tone of Eberron, is that the players aren't supposed to be setting up creation forges. They are expected to be the ones trying to shut them down. Creating living beings just to be slaves doesn't seem particularly heroic.

However, since you've looked at these and decided it's appropriate for your campaign, I'd recommend sticking with the requirement to have the Mark of Making. Now the players' problem is how to convince someone with the Mark to help them get it going.

Another option would be for them to find out how to get around it by exploring Xen'drik. While the creation forges are new, it seems clear the information that lead to them being built came from there. Certainly what was there is different (Keith has pointed out that the current ones require the Mark of Making, which wasn't around back then, so what was there must have been something else - and what was there didn't make warforged, but something related in some way).

 

[Volaran]

I believe it has been suggested before that the designs for a creation forge, or something related to them, may have originally come from Xen'drik. Their primary purpose was to create the warforged, and the warforged-compatible components on Xen'drik suggest some connection with the giant civillizations. The giants didn't have the Mark of Making, so it suggests another path.

The main benefit of the dragonmarks, on a large scale, are the shortcuts they let the houses take. Message stones, easier airship piloting, ect. Keith has suggested that Cannith has other sorts of fantastic locations that would allow, for example, a holder of the Mark of Making to ignore some magical item creation requirements.

In addition, the campaign setting mentions the Lord of Blades having a working creation forge, which either suggests one or more renegade Cannith working with it, or some alternate means of activation.

Given these, I would suggest that the Mark of Making might not be the 'correct' path to operate a creation forge at all, but a shortcut that House Cannith was able to exploit. If the party intends to look for another 'key', Xen'drik may be the place to start. Locating an item that would let anyone activate a creation forge could make for an excellent excursion into the unknowns of Xen'drik.

Alternately, given that the dragons were the ones who taught the giants the basis of their spellcasting, draconic ruins, the Seren, or the dragons themselves may hold the secrets the party is looking for. Come to think of it...why not kobolds?

 

[Flyspeck23]

Oh, and another question: What price could you get for a newly imprinted warforged on the black market, and who might be interested in buying them?

Well, what's the price for old warforged? Or are the new warforged significantly better than the old ones?
Anyway, I'd stay away from slavery...

Who'd buy them? Criminal organizations anywhere, and maybe some less illegal ones in Thrane or Karrnath (as warforged are considered inferior beings there).

 

[Flyspeck23]

The main benefit of the dragonmarks, on a large scale, are the shortcuts they let the houses take. Message stones, easier airship piloting, ect. Keith has suggested that Cannith has other sorts of fantastic locations that would allow, for example, a holder of the Mark of Making to ignore some magical item creation requirements.

So a person with a specific item creation feat might suffice. Perhaps one character with the create magic armor feat and another with the create wondrous item feat? Or one character with both?

But maybe House Cannith has build the creation forge in a way to prevent non-house members to operate them - without deactivating the "mark detection". So it'd be theoretically possible to operate the forge with the feats mentioned above, but you'd need to tinker with the forge first (obviously the Lord of Blades succeeded here, so it's possible).

The means to deactivate the detection is up to you, and it could be nearly anything. Dragonshards, creation patterns, a special fluid (blood from a House Cannith member for instance), all of it, or something else - have fun

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Well, what's the price for old warforged? Or are the new warforged significantly better than the old ones?

Old-style warforged, I'm afraid - they got their hands on the original creation forge where the very first warforged created by House Cannith were built, but whose precise location was lost thanks to the Mourning...

Anyway, I'd stay away from slavery...

Well, I would, too - but the PCs seem to enjoy planning this out, so who am I to tell them otherwise?

Now, Hours Cannith assassins or the Brelish Royal Navy (if they aren't careful about whom they involve in their plans), on the other hand...


In general, I just let the PCs attempt to do and plan whatever they want, with the provision that the players give me some advance warning for bigger plans so that I can prepare appropriate adventures. It seems to work so far.

Who'd buy them? Criminal organizations anywhere, and maybe some less illegal ones in Thrane or Karrnath (as warforged are considered inferior beings there).

The first thing that came to my mind was "logging expeditions and plantation owners in remote parts of Q'berra"...

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

It seems that the design decision was made to make dragonmarks completely unique. You aren't supposed to be able to fake one.

Isn't there some sort of prestige class in one of the supplements that can do so, at the cost of annoying lots of dragons if they get wind of it?

I think the general assumption, given the heroic tone of Eberron, is that the players aren't supposed to be setting up creation forges. They are expected to be the ones trying to shut them down. Creating living beings just to be slaves doesn't seem particularly heroic.

Well, at the moment they are just trying to make a buck. They aren't really sure if they want to go all the way with the slave-trading, but at the very least they want to "test" the Creation Forge...

Another option would be for them to find out how to get around it by exploring Xen'drik. While the creation forges are new, it seems clear the information that lead to them being built came from there. Certainly what was there is different (Keith has pointed out that the current ones require the Mark of Making, which wasn't around back then, so what was there must have been something else - and what was there didn't make warforged, but something related in some way).

That would work, but they've just returned from Xen'drik, and I am looking for other possibilities...

 

[Klaus]

Well, the Draconic Prophecy first appeared in the Ring of Syberys, and from the get-go the dragons of Argonessen have been studying them through their observatories.

Then the marks started appearing in the landscape, one the side of a hill, in flowing lava, etc (any similarity to crop circles is to be fully exploited).

Then, FINALLY, it started popping up in certain bloodlines of the major races (to which the dragons go 'The HORROR! THE HORROR!').

Given the fact that the giants had something very similar to Creation Forges waaaay before the Mark of Making appeared, they might have had a way to circumvent its need. But the dragons had the giant civilzation go boom. So, as the last witnesses of the giant magic, the dragons of Argonessen could have the lore needed.

So I say ship 'em off to Argonessen (you can use the Observatory described in the Explorer's Handbook, and it's CR 26 keeper...) to find the forge's "key". Of course, they'd have to go through the Seren barbarians, and they don't take kindly to non-dragonmarked people...

 

[Stormborn]

That would work, but they've just returned from Xen'drik, and I am looking for other possibilities...

Then perhaps the "key" needed is no longer in Xen'drik, but was brought back as an artifact by someone - the gnomes most likely - who has yet to figure out what it is. However, the Lord of Blades has spies who have gotton a chance to look at it (warforged catalogers in the Library perhaps) and have sent him a desctiption. He knows what it is, since an identical device is used to operate his creation forge. Now he is after this new key as well. The problem with this is how to let the PCs know that there is a key available. Are they searching for ways to activate the forge? You might lead them down the Xen'drik reaserach route that leads to the information above.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Maybe you could make a really high Use Magic Device check - each time you want to make a warforged.