Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) Q & A thread

[Funksaw]

I'm afraid I've never heard of it! I'll have to look it up.

The system wasn't well thought out (too complex, too grainy) - but it did have some perks... For example, you had a token system, which allowed you to go whenever you wanted, but at a penalty. Essentially, you could take as many actions as you had a dicepool for when your turn came up, at -0, -1, -2, -3, -4... etc... (Dicepools usually were around 2-3, with a max of 5, so it wasn't that unbalancing) but you could take an action at any time - so if you wanted to, say, deflect an arrow heading towards your buddy when it wasn't your turn, you were allowed to take a shot at it if you took an immediate penalty to your roll of -1, and -2 every step thereafter, so a person wanting to go before his initiative, to say, stop the bad guy at the last minute, would take his actions at -1, -3, -5, -7...

The setting however was interesting - it was fantasy, but other than Humans and Elves, the other races were "new." The history: well, much like Eberron's history mirrors WWII, CotS's history mirrors WWII, with an alliance of races forming against a tyrannical elfish population who wanted to conquer the world. Like Eberron, Lysiral was destroyed to leave only a scarred, ruined wasteland full of monsters.

Pulp and action were certainly encouraged - and there was a big final-fantasy feel to the game, and the system encouraged one-on-one swashbuckling (with parries and riposts) - however, the system wasn't well developed, and a couple tactical errors insured it was never a big hit. For one, many of the races (well, just three) were kinda "furry" in nature - much like the shifters in Eberron. The other problem was that it supported a "dieselpunk" type atmosphere with magic and technology as one in the same - and it was supported in the artwork but not so much in the actual text. (In my home campaign, I added an inter-city highway system, and one of the PCs was a half-fish trucker who worked to defend himself against half-elven biker gangs.)

Eberron probably comes closer in feel to CotS than Exalted, now that I think of it...

You should pick it up.

 

[apsuman]

Yes. Our decision to reduce the number of high-level characters specifically refered to characters in the teens and above. Using the DMG Demographics table, you could end up with four 20th level fighters hanging around in a metropolis. In Toril, there are a lot of epic-level NPCs floating around. By comparison, in Sharn -- generally considered to be the grandest city in Khorvaire -- there's one 11th-level wizard and one 12th-level fighter. So you're not going to be the toughest person in the world at 6th level -- but by the time you reach 12th level, you are one of the best in your field. And by the time you get to 18th level, you're the stuff of legends.

Should I then infer that 6th level spells and above are veeery rare, and PCs shoudl not expect to see any, or very few at most, in treasure?

Not that I think this is a bad idea or anything, but I was wondering...

 

[Goobermunch]

Should I then infer that 6th level spells and above are veeery rare, and PCs shoudl not expect to see any, or very few at most, in treasure?

Not that I think this is a bad idea or anything, but I was wondering...

I'd say that depends on where they're adventuring. If they're in Xen'Drik, they might well find an Eberron Shard containing the spellbook of a long-dead archmage with a few seventh level spells, maybe 2 eights, and a ninth.

If they're shopping around at the Sharn Spellbook Emporium, I'm thinking probably nothing over 3rd.

Then, there's always that Aundairan Magical Academy . . . I'd let them find anything up to 7th there.

--G

 

[Hellcow]

can those marked with a dragon mark have it "stripped" as a form of punishment?

No. You can be expelled from your house, and back in the day that would symbolically flay the exile's dragonmark, but it's permanent and the power cannot be remove (and the mark will return even if the skin is cut away).

Second question, do you (or for that matter WOTC) plan on advancing the timeline ala Forgotten Realms?

That's entirely WotC's decision. I don't think they're in any hurry to make dramatic changes to the setting: for now, they want to make sure everyone gets comfortable with the world. A few years from now, who knows. I think that the idea of a sourcebook focused on the tensions that could lead into the next war (dealing with border disputes, political intrigue and espionage, the tension with nations like Droaam, Valenar, and Darguun, and a greater focus on the ways in which magic has been used in warfare) would be an interesting one -- not necessarily starting a new war, but giving DMs the tools to play with the possibility.

Third Question, if you had to pick one class and race to play in the setting, and that was the one you would be locked into, what would you play and why?

That's a very difficult question. The warforged fighter is simple and solid, but has fun philosophical issues to explore. The shifter Eldeen Ranger gets fun shifting abilities, and you get to explore the druidic sects. But I think that if I had to pick one, I'd be a gnome artificer. I like the intrigue associated with Zilargo (which is something I hope to develop further in the future), and I enjoy the flexibility of the artificer.

 

[Hellcow]

What level is King Boranel ir'Wynarn of Breland? One page 142 of the CS it says he is an Ari 3/Fighter 8, but two pages later on 144 it says he is an Ari 2/Fighter 8, one level lower. Which one is correct?

Ari 3/Fighter 8. He dallied with a succubus, but earned it back.

 

[Hellcow]

Sweet, welcome back. I've been waiting for the Warforged to be explained to me before I go write a rant thread about them being too powerful for no level adjustment.

My suggestion would be to actually play in a campaign with one. It's hard to judge the value or restriction of some of the racial abilities until you actually see them in action (so far, no sleep has simply meant that the warforged in the games I've run have always gotten to be the designated watchdogs while everyone else gets a good night's sleep, instead of having a system of watches). My quick observations:

* If your group doesn't have an artificer, or is relying on a druid for healing, the reduced effect from magical healing can really slow you down. Try it out!

* Adamantine Body is unquestionably a powerful feat that makes you a bad ass at the first few levels. But eventually, people catch up with you. Sooner or later, the human fighter can buy his own set of adamantine plate -- now he's just as tough as you are, and he's got an extra feat as well. And when you find the resplendant armor of Dhakaan, he can wear it and you can't. Your armor can't be taken away, but neither can you remove it if you need to, say, Climb.

* You're immune to poisons and disease, and if these play a big role in your game, that can be a big deal. Heaven know I love the immunity to level drain. On the other hand, a rust monster will kick your ass, and you are vulnerable to both Inflict Wounds and Inflict Damage spells.

* With permanent arcane spell failure and penalties to Wisdom and Charisma, you will have a difficult time with spells. No problem if you want to go straight combat, but it limits your multiclassing options.

People have a lot of strong opinions about them. Some people think they aren't tough enough; others think they're way overpowered. I've had warforged in every Eberron campaign I've run. At the moment, my current campaign has a warforged fighter and a Valenar ranger, and there's never been a sense of the Valenar being outclassed or made obsolete by the warforged. Like I said, try playing one and see what you think in practice as opposed to on paper; they may not be as tough as you think.

 

[Hellcow]

Should I then infer that 6th level spells and above are veeery rare, and PCs shoudl not expect to see any, or very few at most, in treasure?

Yes. Rare but not unheard of. As Goobermunch has suggested, Xen'drik is an excellent place to find high level spells, as the giants possessed power beyond that of the mortal age. High-level wizards are out there -- Vol, Mordain the Fleshweaver, Jaela Daran, powerful members of the Lords of Dust, dragons -- and there have been skilled members of the Twelve who have lived and died over the centuries. Artificers can craft as if two levels higher than their actual level, so an 11th-level artificer can craft a 7th-level scroll.

So they should be rare and remarkable -- but the heroes are remarkable, adn it's always possible for them to find amazing things.

 

[Hellcow]

Eberron in Colorado

By the way, if you're in the Boulder/Denver area and want to talk about Eberron in person, I'm going to be at two events this Saturday (July 3rd). From 12-2 PM I'll be at It's Your Move on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder; and from 3-5 PM I'll be at Stonebridge Games in Longmont. So come by with questions!

 

[I'm A Banana]

Thanks for answering, man, and I appreciate your patience with me.

I guess my campaigns may rely slightly heavy on 'annoying things that require a Fort save'. Poisons are key, diseases are fun, nausea and such is great. I like makin' the high-level PC's feel like they're vulnerable, and filling a room with water and venomous fish is a good way to say 'you're still mortal, no matter how many fireballs you can fling.' Ditto with traipsing through a sewer (which is probably a great use for Warforged -- immune to disease, nausea, and can go underwater without flinching, they can unclog those like nobody's business!). It's just that level drains, pioson, disease, etc. are pretty common, while Rust Monsters really aren't (compare the number of things with Rust attacks in the MM to things with poison attacks...).

....though I guess there's a good idea to have Rust Monsters be more prevalant, now that their prey is becoming prevalent...or even more powerful rust-based beasts bred by Houses who'd like to see the Warforged Menace exterminated (methinks I, Robot will give a lot of ideas. ). I'm imaginging multi-clawed Rust Horrors being found in the Mournland, and being brought to the druids who defend the natural purity of the land -- and who hate the unnatural freaks that are the Warforged, a "Warbred" template for creatures designed to fight the warforged (which deal rust damage and normal damage, and capitalize on speed and agility). Perfect reason to send a party into the Mournland...

Either way, I feel safe house-ruling here to just a +2 or +1 bonus to those saves....unless I decide to make Dwarves immune to poison and give them a (low) SR, Warforged should be on par with them...because while it's not game-breaking, I'd prefer if the folks in my group felt as confident being a orc, elf, halfling, or dwarf as being a warforged...and right now those immunities eclipse anything that the other +0 LA humanoids get for my milage.

Still, nice to know the ideas for 'em. Thanks, Keith...now off to plan the Eberron campaign that you've convinced me to run...and I'm an avid homebrewer! Still, when I did "something Forgotten Realms" I made the Cthulu Mythos invade the place, so we'll see if I can think of something world-shattering to do over the course of 20 levels for my group.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

Makes me wish I lived in Boulder.

I have a suggestion on how to deal with high level spell items such as scrolls.

I think that the various libraries, specificall Korranberg (sp?), Morgraive University, The Arcane Congress, and the Twelve would have a store of spells of any level.

Just because they HAVE the scrolls does not mean they are available. The lack of high level casters to create them would inflate their value by untold degrees (between 4 and 10 fold).

So While these places may have them, you wont be able to buy them at the DMG cost at all. If you offer to give them quaduaple the listed value, plus a trade of some rare item, AND/OR complete a huge quest in their name, then MAYBE you can get the scroll for your caster to use, or one of their casters to use upon you.

This works out well because not only does it keep these spells and effects in the game/world for your players to use,but it actually establishes the need for quests and adventures.

Unlike in FR or Grayhawk you cant just hire any wizard to create them, you must actually find them.

Right now on IRC I'm playing an Artificer who once worked in Cyre's Creation Forges. His wife and him got caught in Cyre during the Day of Mourning, but survived. They were both affected strongly however. Both were level drained back to first level, AND his wife lost the ability to have children.

Now his driving ambition to adventure is to regain his abilities and talents, and find some sort of healing magic to restore his wife to fertility. That means either Greater Restoration, Heal, or Wish.

Not only does he have to level back up to afford the magic, but he has to find it...Maybe in Xen'drik, maybe the elves of Aerenal will help. Who knows? But it makes for a GREAT hook, AND it leaves possiblities in the game. Thus everyone is happy and the settings flavor and balance is preserved.