Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) Q & A thread

[Goobermunch]

#2 -- I noticed that you are located in Boulder. I work at a bookstore in Denver. I don't know if you ever happen to come down our way, but if you ever do, would you consider dropping by and signing our stock of the Eberron book? I've sort of unoffically adopted the role-playing section in my store and I'm always looking for ways to attract attention to the books there. Some bright new 'autographed copy' stickers might just do the trick. Of course, I apologize if I've overstepped my bounds and am asking too much here--it was just an idea that popped into my head.

Hey nonamazing, do you work at the Park Meadows Borders?

--G

 

[Azazyll]

So, I have a player who wants to play a lycanthrope. This is of course still permissable under "the same, but different" concept, but the background makes it really hard for werebeasts to move around, what with the Church of the Silver Flame killing every lycanthrope they can get there hands on. So my player wants to masquerade as a anomalous Shifter and conceal her true nature from the other characters at first. Usually, this would just be a disguise check, but I can't really see that applying in this case. The only time she really needs to fool people is while in hybrid form (she obviously can't turn into animal form, that's going to stretch beyond credibility).

So, what mechanic would you use the conceal the lycanthrope's transformation as a Shifter's shift? The main book doesn't go into too much detail about what shifting looks like. Should it still be a disguise check? Would hide or bluff work better? Any thoughts or ideas on the subject would be appreciated

 

[nonamazing]

Maybe you could organize a "Meet the author" event and autograph session, sounds like you work at a bookstore that'd love the attention, even the old Waldenbooks that used to be near my house did this.

Heh, it's kind of funny, actually--my store (the Barnes & Noble in downtown Denver) has the absolute worst luck with author signing events. All sorts of things have happened, the most memorable being the time that someone actually died in the store while an author was giving a speech. So we try and shy away from doing big events these days.

We still get lots of author 'drive-bys'--when someone just happens to be passing through town and signs whatever we to have in stock at the moment. We also see a suprisingly large number of celebrities, for some unknown reason. It can be a weird store to work at.

 

[Hellcow]

OK, I'm back, so let's get started.

Is there a relationship between celestials and the deities? If so, what is it? Same for fiends and the deities.

I have a feeling that I answered this in another thread, but I can't track it down. Assuming that the deities of Eberron do exist, they exist on a higher plane than mortals or even outsiders can reach. As such, there are no celestials who get to actually hang out with the gods and chat with them. Furthermore, most celestials are fairly concerned with the events of their own plane: the fiends of Shavarath are completely consumed by the war. However, this does not prevent a particular celestial from developing a closer connection to a deity, just like a human cleric; and as a celestial and immortal, at the very least the *celestial* would believe that it had a closer bond to the god than any mortal could ever have.

The short form? It's up to you. As races, the outsiders are not bound to the gods. However, if you want to have a pit fiend who is channeling the essence of the Mockery, or a group of devout bone devils that have taken up residence in the Domain of the Keeper, that would be entirely appropriate.

One notable exception to this is the relationship between the Silver Flame and the native outsiders of Eberron. Many scholars believe that the Flame was first kindled by the collective sacrifice of the couatl in the Age of Demons, when they bound the first fiends of Eberron. As a result, the couatl have a close bond to the Flame, and the rakshasa despise it. But there's nothing stopping a noble archon from also taking up the banner of the Flame.

Or celestials/fiends and the Prime, for that matter.

The native outsiders have an obvious connection: it's where they were born. The true outsiders generally keep to their planes; it's a matter of the individual who breaks from the mold. A celestial could be exiled from her home plane, could be drawn to the prime by religious beliefs, could carry out a feud with a fiend on Eberron, or use Eberron as neutral ground for dealing with other outsiders. A fiend could do the same, and could take up with the native outsiders in the Lords of Dust.

#1 -- {SPOILER} Is King Kaius III being held in Dreadhold, a la The Man in the Iron Mask? Do I win brownie points for being super cool and spotting that? Any other references to classic swashbuckling novels in there (the Breland King's Blades remind me of the Musketeers somewhat; was that intentional?)?

Maybe. It would certainly be an intriguing adventure, wouldn't it? And there certainly are powerful forces in Karrnath who would like to see the king deposed…

As for the Musketeers, I actually think that there's a lot of possibility in Thrane, with the increasing tension between the nobility and the church. Of course, in Thrane the heroes might end up being the cardinal's guard instead of the queen's musketeers – but I think there's a lot of story potential nonetheless.

I'm certainly a fan of Dumas (and for that matter, Steven Brust's recent Phoenix Guards novels), and I'm not sure how the Musketeer movies missed being on the recommended viewing list, as they combine action and intrigue. Probably because if you're recommending a musketeer movie, you have to get into all the different versions…

#3 -- The setting has a lot of interesting mystery elements to it. Do you think that further books in the Eberron setting will adress these mysteries, or will they be left largely for indivdual groups to make their own answers to?

I think that some of the smaller mysteries will be dealt with. I just wrote something dealing with the fall of the Glass Tower in Sharn; on the other hand, that's a small enough mystery that solving it doesn't dramatically change the world, and if you have other ideas, you're not going to find that the world goes completely out of sync if you ignore what I've written. But as for the huge major mysteries, like the cause of the Mournland – my belief is that we'll leave those to you. Something like the Xen'drik warforged is sort of half-way in between; at the very least, I could see that being examined further in a Xen'drik or Magic supplement, even if it's not completely explained.

But really, I don't know. I don't think WotC will do things that will completely change the flavor of the world – but the smaller mysteries may be developed.

 

[Hellcow]

For those of us with no interest in psionics, would changing the Kalashtar's favorite class to sorcerer keep the feel of the race, or should we relegate them to NPC status?

It's a change, but making them sorcerers would certainly work. The idea of granting one additional sorcerer spell slot of the highest level they could cast is a reasonable way of duplicating the racial ability. It's not precisely accurate, as the 15th level kalashtar who only has 1 level of psion could use his extra power points to manifest his 1st-level powers multiple times, but it's reasonably close without getting too complicated and ultimately translating the sorcerer into a psion.

Did you give any thought to renaming the "name" spells after Eberron specific wizards as Kalamar has done? Was there a Rary or Leomund or Mordenkainen in Eberron's past?

Nope, never thought about it. I'm used to writing setting-neutral stuff where you ignore it. The idea of renaming the spells to use Eberron specific wizards makes sense; I'd want to look back to the founders of the Twelve or great Aereni wizards to find such heroes. On the other hand, I could also see using the names of the Sovereign Host. Aureon is credited with the discovery and formulation of arcane magic, and Boldrei might work well for many of the Rary spells.

I did find it interesting that this is the only WotC setting without subraces. So far at least. If there's got to be a question in this, I suppose it would be, will it stay that way?

I'd like it to. Really, we're treating the drow as a separate race as much as a subrace, and I'd rather go that way if appropriate. Personally, I dislike statistic modifiers based on culture, since the humans cover all extremes and keep the same statistics. There's a much longer discussion about this on the "Ask Keith" thread on the WotC boards.

Is there anyway for a Warforged wizard to chuck that annoying 5% ASF?I've seen the feat for "tank" warforged (Adamantine Body),and the feat for the "sneaky" Warforged (Mithral Body),but is there any for the arcane casting one?

Also,by skimming through the Artificer,I noticed that he has up to Medium Armor Proficiency,but his Infusions are said to work like spells,that seems to imply ASF too.It seems pretty antithetical to me.

As Johnny has noted, the artificer is not subject to ASF.
(Spellsword)

Are the dragonmarks subject to ASF?

Nope!

Keith, were you inspired at all by the Misguided Games' "Children of the Sun"?

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

What was the population of Khorvaire before The Last War?.

I'll need to discuss this with the other designers to make sure I don't say one thing and then have another number appear later. Certainly there were many deaths in the Last War, and there have been other wars in the past (while it was a long time ago, the War of the Mark was a messy affair). It's also the case that there are large areas of Khorvaire that are very sparsely populated. The Demon Wastes and the Mournland are almost empty. In the Shadow Marches, the Eldeen Reaches, the Mror Holds, Lhazaar, Zilargo, Valenar, and Q'barra, you've always had very small, concentrated communities scattered within a greater wild.

 

[Hellcow]

So, I have a player who wants to play a lycanthrope. This is of course still permissable under "the same, but different" concept, but the background makes it really hard for werebeasts to move around, what with the Church of the Silver Flame killing every lycanthrope they can get there hands on.

True, though at this point they generally think they've done it. She'd need to be careful, and sure, they'd come after her if they realized her true nature, but the actual inquisition is over.

So my player wants to masquerade as a anomalous Shifter and conceal her true nature from the other characters at first. Usually, this would just be a disguise check, but I can't really see that applying in this case. The only time she really needs to fool people is while in hybrid form (she obviously can't turn into animal form, that's going to stretch beyond credibility).

Well, assuming an animal form isn't hard to believe if she's a druid. And don't forget, as long as she *IS* a shifter (shifters don't look like humans in their natural forms), she just has to pretend to be a weretouched master.

So, what mechanic would you use the conceal the lycanthrope's transformation as a Shifter's shift?

As far as I'm concerned, the alternate form ability of the weretouched master looks exactly like a normal lycanthropic transformation. So you have a few issues to bear in mind:
* Does she have the full lycanthropic resistance to injury? Shifters get very minor DR, if any.
* How long does she maintain a shift? If she's a druid, she can get away with animal form as if it was wild shape (though DR may again give her away); otherwise, a weretouched master can't hold a shift for more than a minute or two.
* Can she spread the curse, or is the a natural lycanthrope? If so and she ever does, she may be exposed by those she transforms -- and this will certainly provoke a response from Church Templars.
* I wouldn't require any check when the shift occurred; I'd require the Bluff check when she tells people "Really, I'm just a druid/weretouched master, it's an aspect of my being so in tune with the forces of nature."
Again, if she is a shifter, she can dodge a lot of base suspicion because shifters *do* shift. However, a human who happens to be a lycanthrope will not physically resemble a shifter while in human form, so that's your issue.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

Welcome Back Keith

 

[GreyWanderer]

Artificer Questions

Keith:

First, let me say that I love Eberron; you are a genius. I worship the allmighty hellcow!

So saying, I had a few questions about how Artificers work:

1. What kind of items can an artificer use their Infusions on? The rules are very unclear on this (other than constructs and Warforged). Can they pick up a rock or a stick and say it's an item? That lacks flavor. If not, does it have to be manufactured? What if they use an existing magic item?

2. The same questions for the Spell Storing Item spell.

3. Is Spell Storing Item a spell, or an Infusion? It looks like a spell, but Artificers can't cast spells, correct?

4. When an Artificer creates a Magic Item, does he still have to roll his Use Magic Device check for an item he made? If so, would he get a bonus for that specific item (only) since he made it?

5. Artificers are always going to be searching for new Infusions; does that mean they cannot create new ones themselves - or can they do it as a Mage does creating new spells. Again, if they can create them themselves, they loose flavor and the desire to adventure, yet it shouldn't be impossible. Just extremly difficult. What limits would you suggest?

6. Building on that, for flavor reasons, Artificers should not gain access to certain (probably combat) type spells. What schools/types/specific spells would you suggest should NEVER be Infusions?

Thank you for your time (grovel scrape).

Grey

 

[GreyWanderer]

Artificer Questions - Continued

Kieth:

Sorry, I forgot a few (the phone rang):

7. When an item (still need details on what counts as an item - is there a minimum cost perhaps) is 'Infused' must it be used immediately, or can it hold a charge for a time (like a battery)? Future rules perhaps?

8. Can an item hold more than one Infusion at a tme? If so, how many? One per level perhaps?

9. Maybe Artificers can craft items specifically to hold specific infusions - that might allow them to hold a charge for a time. Perhapsmultiple charges (like a wand). Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Grey.

 

[howandwhy99]

From reading the calendar, it looks as if there are 12 moons circling Eberron. Each of these corresponds to the month when the planet is in closest proximity. It is rumored that there once was a "13th" moon.

So, are these the extraplanar worlds from the orreries?
How is it possible to have a "new" moon. I noticed that the plane of endless night (name?) came into conjunction at the nearest new moon to the winter solstice.
Does Eberron still only have 1 full moon per month?
How does this impact lycanthropes?

Hi, I skimmed through the answers, but didn't see mine. If you cannot answer because of the NDA, it's okay. Just wanted to give it a bump.