Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) Q & A thread

[mythago]

On dragonmarks:

Is there a particular age at which the mark manifests? Is there a point where if you don't have a mark, you never will? Are Siberys dragonmarks different?

How easy is it to 'fake' a dragonmark? Changelings can mimic them, but is there some way to tell whether the mark is real or not, other than by its intricacy? (I would imagine the Houses really lay the smack down on posers.)

 

[pensiv]

What name WOULD you give to the faith that YOU are a god - Solipsism?

Solipsism is close, most would call it megalomania, maybe even mysticism. There are a lot of terms for it depending on the reasoning one identifies one's self as a god.

 

[Hellcow]

Whoops! I missed questions.

Ok after reading some of the stuff in the Eberron book I have a question about Bronzewood. Could a Druid have created for him bronzewood weapons and not suffer ther penalties for them due to said weapons not being metal? The same goes for Leafweave armor and Darkleaf armor.

The same does go for leafweave and darkleaf armor, but not for bronzewood weapons. As others have said, the metal content of a weapon is not the factor: daggers, sickles, and scimitars are all metal weapons.

 

[Hellcow]

One thing I've noticed with some of the prestige classes are the relatively low entry requirements. For example, the Master Inquisitive requires one feat, 6 ranks of Gather Information and Sense Motive and 3 ranks of Search. A bard or rogue could get all of those by 3rd level, and start in on their 4th.

Speaking from a mechanical perspective, isn't that a little low level to be taking a prestige class? Has this been errataed, or did you intend for the requirements to be attainable at a low level?

This is intentional. There aren't that many high level NPCs in Eberron, and this is a PrC that you should be able to find represented in the world.

 

[Hellcow]

How much "wiggle" room does one have with a Warforged body in terms of hiding small items? Is it possible to say have a Rogue Warforged who has a small compartment on its thigh or forearm where a set of lock picks or a small dagger could be hidden?

I can see this as being something that could be built in at an appropriate cost. What's an appropriate cost, you say? Well, that I'd have to think about. But sure, I could see it. Small, mind you.

 

[Gargoyle]

I agree with all of this. I might not say that there are NO NPC favored souls -- in some ways they're a good match for the Cults of the Dragon Below -- but certainly very rare.

Thanks Keith, cool idea on the Cult, they would fit in there nicely.

 

[Gargoyle]

I realize the deathless are typically created through a spell such as create deathless or create greater deathless . This is fine for the monsters in the book.

But what about PC's or NPC's as deathless? If I have a heroic elf from Aerenal in my campaign who dies, could someone cast a ninth level version of create greater deathless , or a miracle) to cause him to come back as deathless rather than raising him from the dead? As I understand it, he'd have to be willing.

I notice there is no template for it, and that deathless is treated as a creature type. Is there any plan to create a template for such deathless creatures? I was thinking about doing it myself with the plan of making it a +2 level adjustment. I would assume that a player character who became deathless in this manner would lose two levels in order to return to play as deathless, since you're either deathless or not, and a progression would be weird. Would such a spell work on races other than elves? Instead of a template for deathless, I suppose it would have to be a specific type of deathless, such as an undying template. Otherwise it would be like having an undead template rather than a vampire template.

Just curious about this. The warforged blazed some new trails on what type of player character races can be central to a campaign, and it seemed odd to me that some type of deathless were not also available at least as templates, especially with Ghostwalk breaking ground in that area.

 

[Hellcow]

Is there a particular age at which the mark manifests? Is there a point where if you don't have a mark, you never will? Are Siberys dragonmarks different?

Dragonmarks are unpredictable. In rare cases the mark is present at birth. Generally, it first manifests in response to dangerous and stressful stimuli, though this varies based on the nature of the mark. Each house has a "Test of Siberys" designed to trigger a latent dragonmark. An heir of the house has one chance to take the test; most wait until adulthood, as many of the tests carry some aspect of danger. It is possible to petition the house for a second testing if the first has no results, but it is not always granted. People may also spontanteously develop the mark in response to stimulus in the world -- thus, the character who has no active ties to a house can still get a mark.

How easy is it to 'fake' a dragonmark? Changelings can mimic them, but is there some way to tell whether the mark is real or not, other than by its intricacy? (I would imagine the Houses really lay the smack down on posers.)

-10 penalty to Disguise checks, as noted in the begining of Chapter 3. Plus, a true mark heats up when it's used. So, very hard to do without using magic.

 

[Hellcow]

But what about PC's or NPC's as deathless?

The thing about the deathless elves is that they draw much of their power from the veneration of their descendants. It is also the case that Shae Mordai is built on a manifest zone linked to Irian. So, the Undying Court is very powerful, but the further you go from Aerenal, the more this power might wane (which is why the Undying Court generally remains in the Undying Court...). I think if you want a PC deathless you could certainly do it, and there's interesting story potential there... but I'd probably come up with a modified template, removing most of the powers of the councilor. You'd be more like an Undying soldier. You might also have to carry an amulet providing a conduit to Irian, or something like that.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

I'd just like to remind anyone watching this thread that in about an hour and a half Keith Baker, Chris Perkins, and Bill Slavicsek will be in my Eberron Chatroom to answer your questions LIVE.