Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) Q & A thread

[Hellcow]

...or even more powerful rust-based beasts bred by Houses who'd like to see the Warforged Menace exterminated... 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...

The Mournland expedition is a great idea, but I could also see such creatures as having been bred by the Ashbound druids in the past, just as the Gatekeepers once created horrid animals.

Thanks, Keith...now off to plan the Eberron campaign that you've convinced me to run...and I'm an avid homebrewer!

You're welcome, and I'm glad you're giving it a try. Have fun, and I look froward to hearing about the twists you come up with in the future!

 

[Pseudonym]

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).

This sort of answers a question I have been pondering. I'm wondering a bit about the general nature of these marks, such as how big they are, and where on the body they usually appear. I take it by your answer above the mark is a manifestation of inherent power, and not the source of it; so if a character who had a dragonmark on the plam of their hand somehow lost an arm, their mark would appear on their stump.

As to the mark itself, are we talking a few inches in area or a considerable amount of flesh? Is it common for those with dragonmarks to wear clothing in a manner which reveals their mark, or are they commonly covered. The artwork shows them as being bluish, but are other colors common? The book notes that the marks get hot to the touch when their power is used, but is there any other visible manifestation from the mark when powers are used?

Thanks for being a good sport and answering our questions, and thanks for creating what has quickly become my favorite setting.

 

[Hellcow]

I take it by your answer above the mark is a manifestation of inherent power, and not the source of it; so if a character who had a dragonmark on the plam of their hand somehow lost an arm, their mark would appear on their stump.

Correct.

As to the mark itself, are we talking a few inches in area or a considerable amount of flesh?

A few inches for least, increasing from there. The picture of the Dragonmark Heir on page 73 shows a lesser mark. Siberys marks are big!

Is it common for those with dragonmarks to wear clothing in a manner which reveals their mark, or are they commonly covered.

It depends on where it is, but it is a status symbol, so most people would show it off unless they are trying to be undercover.

The artwork shows them as being bluish, but are other colors common?

By the book, the pure marks are blue. If you want multiple colors in your game, it's not going to shatter the world. Aberrant marks are more divergant and come in different colors (often black); they notably are not blue.

The book notes that the marks get hot to the touch when their power is used, but is there any other visible manifestation from the mark when powers are used?

In my opinion, the marks glow and shimmer slightly when used, but the bearer can surpress this effect by concentrating; it's a cosmetic effect as opposed to a limitation, so if you are trying to use your mark without anyone noticing, you can.

Thanks for being a good sport and answering our questions, and thanks for creating what has quickly become my favorite setting.

You're welcome on both counts!

 

[Staffan]

As to the mark itself, are we talking a few inches in area or a considerable amount of flesh? Is it common for those with dragonmarks to wear clothing in a manner which reveals their mark, or are they commonly covered.

I'd say about this big:

Comparing to the dragonmark pictures, that looks like the Lesser Mark of Storm - I imagine that Greater marks would be larger.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Comparing to the dragonmark pictures, that looks like the Lesser Mark of Storm - I imagine that Greater marks would be larger.

That pic is of the example Dragonmarked Heir, so it's a Lesser Dragonmark as she's a Sorcerer 4/Dragonmarked Heir 3.

 

[ironmani]

Thanks for answering my other questions Kieth. Heres another one for you to field. If someone decided to play a Warforged Druid, would they suffer the standard Druid penalty for having a body made of metal? And is it possible then for a Warforged to have a non standard body to counter these effects? Say a mostly wooden body?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Hellcow]

If someone decided to play a Warforged Druid, would they suffer the standard Druid penalty for having a body made of metal? And is it possible then for a Warforged to have a non standard body to counter these effects? Say a mostly wooden body?
Thanks in advance!

Warforged never suffer class penalties for composite plating (aside from the 5% arcane spell failure). Composite plating does not count as armor for purposes of warforged druids, monks, or any other class with armor restrictions. There is a fair amount of wood in warforged already; note that they can be repelled by repel wood.

Once built, a warforged cannot completely rebuild its body. You can't buy Adamantine Body after first level; this really doesn't come across in the description of the feat, but the concept is that the benefits of of Adamantine Body or Mithral Body do not simply reflect a layer of metal plates, but rather the entire design of the warforged, through and through. The adamantine warforged is a heavier design with fewer vital spots, and the damage reduction reflects this; the use of adamantine alloy plays a part, but it's not the case that an adamantine breastplate has been fused to the exterior (which is why you can't just pry it off and sell it). So once you've chosen a body, you're stuck with it.

 

[Express]

My question concerns world design I guess, and is a little odd. For the record, since my questions could be interpreted as a troll or a swipe somehow, let me say I'm a fan of Eberron. I think it catches alot of what 3/3.5 is and wraps it all up in an interesting way.

Enough preface.

My question is: WOTC and TSR before it have cross marketed their properties since the 80's. Computer and video games, novels, etc.. Did this play in factor in your choosing and creating non rules elements (fluff) of Eberron?

Thanks.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

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.

We had our first Eberron session last week (using the Adventure in the setting book), and it was great. We had a Warforged Cleric in our group, and he faced many of the problems listed above. His Admantite body made the climbing situation really hard...

 

[Flyspeck23]

We had our first Eberron session last week (using the Adventure in the setting book), and it was great.

I'm envious.

We had a Warforged Cleric in our group, and he faced many of the problems listed above. His Admantite body made the climbing situation really hard...

Now imagine the warforged swimming...