Excerpt: Eberron Player's Guide: Introduction

[Fallen Seraph]

Eberron Player's Guide Excerpts: Introduction

This preview for Eberron showcases 10 Important Facts about the Eberron Setting. The rest of the preview schedule includes:

May 22: Alchemy
Alchemical formulas and sample items.

May 25: Prestige Class: Self-Forged
"I improve myself by any means necessary."

May 29: Religion
The pantheon and sample deities.

June 1: Prestige Class: Warforged Juggernaut
"Our of my way, flesh bags!"

June 5: Rituals
By level, and sample rituals.

June 8: Epic Destiny: Champion of Prophecy
"Nothing can stop you. You were born for this.
It’s who you are."

June 12: Feats
Heroic tier feat table.

What catches my eye about this schedule is the mention of Prestige Classes. Either this is a mistype for Paragon Path or some such, or Prestige Classes are making a comeback.

 

[Solodan]

I've got a feeling that it'll be implemented something like how Spellscarred multiclassing works. Spend a feat, gain access to different powers. Hopefully it is something better, but who knows.

 

[HardcoreDandDGirl]

I've got a feeling that it'll be implemented something like how Spellscarred multiclassing works. Spend a feat, gain access to different powers. Hopefully it is something better, but who knows.

I heard a rumor last month of a new type of race…

Self-Forged
"I improve myself by any means necessary."

Fits what I heard, about the renegade maker prestige class (3.5) was going to be a race modifier where anyone can be remade. You know the drill Stronger, Faster, Part machine…um I mean ‘warforged’.

From a rather unlikely source came this nugget I dismissed as nothing, but he also told me there was going to be new Alchemy finally, so maybe he was right???

 

[mach1.9pants]

It is funny how many of the Eberron setting ideas have become the norm in 4E:

1. Swashbuckling adventure (vs more simulationist 3E)
2. Everything in every book is here (in 4E now everything is core)
3. Alignment not so important
4. Divine worship of pantheon or selection of deities rather than one in the Cleric description as the norm rather than an optional idea.
5. No standard in built racial antagonism among player races... though there I national prejudice.

I am sure people who know the setting better than me can find some more (and probably dispute what I just said!)

 

[FireLance]

I'm guessing Prestige Class is a typo, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the Self-Forged are a race. The recent Ecology of the Deva article (Dragon #374) and the earlier Playing Dhampyr article (Dragon #371) had bloodline feats that worked similar to multiclassing feats. For example, a character could only have bloodline feats of only one race or type. The Dhampyr article even had power-swap bloodline feats that allowed you to replace utility and attack powers with vampire-themed abilities.

I also doubt that we will see many more multiclass-only classes similar to the Spellscarred. I tried to do something similar myself, and found that coming up with even two encounter, daily and utility powers for each relevant level was a lot of work. I think that future multiclass-only classes will mostly take the form of the weapon mastery feats in the Gladiator, Shadar-kai and Assassin articles: one base feat, and three power swap feats, one each for encounter, daily and utility powers. There is scope to expand beyond this rather basic framework, however: more power swap options (possibly further differentiating the power swap feats into encounter, daily and utility categories and imposing a restriction that a character may have only one power swap feat of each category) and other (non-power swap) feats that have the basic multiclass feat as a prerequisite.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I'm guessing Prestige Class is a typo, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the Self-Forged are a race. The recent Ecology of the Deva article (Dragon #374) and the earlier Playing Dhampyr article (Dragon #371) had bloodline feats that worked similar to multiclassing feats. For example, a character could only have bloodline feats of only one race or type. The Dhampyr article even had power-swap bloodline feats that allowed you to replace utility and attack powers with vampire-themed abilities.

I also doubt that we will see many more multiclass-only classes similar to the Spellscarred. I tried to do something similar myself, and found that coming up with even two encounter, daily and utility powers for each relevant level was a lot of work. I think that future multiclass-only classes will mostly take the form of the weapon mastery feats in the Gladiator, Shadar-kai and Assassin articles: one base feat, and three power swap feats, one each for encounter, daily and utility powers. There is scope to expand beyond this rather basic framework, however: more power swap options (possibly further differentiating the power swap feats into encounter, daily and utility categories and imposing a restriction that a character may have only one power swap feat of each category) and other (non-power swap) feats that have the basic multiclass feat as a prerequisite.

So,who in the D&D 4 team still hasn't got 3.x out of his or her system and still uses the word "Prestige Class"? Tsk Tsk Tsk

 

[Mouseferatu]

So,who in the D&D 4 team still hasn't got 3.x out of his or her system and still uses the word "Prestige Class"? Tsk Tsk Tsk

In all fairness to whoever it was, I still make that occasional slip myself. So far, I've always caught it, but you never know when one'll slip through. Still occasionally do the same thing with "saving throws" when I mean "defenses."

Work with the same terminology for eight years, it gets ingrained.

 

[mach1.9pants]

LOL certainly does, when I saw that post I thought 'Typo, why? It is spelt right...'

 

[webrunner]

We already have the Warforged Juggernaut Paragon Path from Dragon

Which just makes this triply wierd:
1) Why is it listed as a prestige class?
2) If it is a paragon path, why is it an excerpt if we already have it?
3) If it isn't a paragon path, why is it the same name as an existing paragon path?

 

[Shroomy]

We already have the Warforged Juggernaut Paragon Path from Dragon

Which just makes this triply wierd:
1) Why is it listed as a prestige class?
2) If it is a paragon path, why is it an excerpt if we already have it?
3) If it isn't a paragon path, why is it the same name as an existing paragon path?

I bet the part about the "Prestige Class" is a typo. As for the excerpt part, WotC has done this before with stuff that appeared earlier in the DDI; I would expect it is because the warforged juggernaut was a fairly prominent prestige class in 3.5e Eberron and not every knows that you can get it through Dragon 364 or the DDI databases.