D&D 5E (2014) [Poll] Are Dragonmark races allowed in your game?

[Weiley31]

Hell yeah. I really wish they had included Greater Mark feats as well, but what we do have is great for all sorts of stuff like that.

IIRC, Exploring Eberron has Greater Mark feats.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

And that's a fine way to do it. My preference is to keep some things limited to each setting. The Supernatural Gifts of Theros, for example, change when taken out of the context of a world where the gods are active participants/meddlers. I think it goes back to the confluence of flavor and crunch (and, like I said, a bad experience at a con...).

Fair enough.

IIRC, Exploring Eberron has Greater Mark feats.

Yeah, I think it does. I haven't purchased it, mostly because my group generally is pretty happy with the options we have for Eberron, but I will get it eventually.

 

[delericho]

Yes, but only in an Eberron or Eberron-adjacent campaign (that is, a Planescape, Spelljammer, or Ravenloft (or similar) campaign with a reasonably strong link to Eberron). I don't allow them in other campaigns because I generally prefer to emphasise the distinctiveness of different settings.

 

[cbwjm]

I leave them as eberron only races.

 

[Azzy]

Only in Eberron.

This.

 

[TheSword]

Absolutely in Eberron.
Absolutely not outside of Eberron.

The Dragonmarked house are Eberron to me. At least they’re the single most substantial thing that makes Eberron unique.

Same reason I wouldn’t allow defiling in a regular d&d game but would expect it to be an option on Athas.

 

[Weiley31]

Honestly, refluffing the Dragonmarks Subrace character variant options would pretty much work and would be awesome. I think a Mark of the Shadows Shadar-Kai would be a fantastic method or way of thinking about refluff options. Sure the Dragonmark is the subrace, but since Mark of the Shadows is elves only, you can pretty much just flavor it as being a Shadar-Kai that has recieved not the Dragonmark of Shadows, but instead the "Gift of the Raven Queen." Its still an Elf subrace and Shadar-Kai, in this edition, are yet another Subrace of Elves. You can even tweak this even further by allow the Mark of the Shadow's Cunning Intuition feature with allowing the option to replace the Intuition Die bonus to Performance (Charisma) Performance checks with your one choice of any of the Charisma Skills.(of course it you would be stuck to the choice you make in that regard.)

I mean, you all can do whatever you want in your games, and that's fine, but restricting the Dragonmarks to Eberron only, in regard to options, is handicapping character ideas, roleplay, and concepts.

Editor's Note: All final say depends on DM's approval with voter consideration from/and or the cat.

 

[CleverNickName]

If I were going to use Dragonmarks in a generic 5E campaign, without the Eberron setting or its trappings, I would make them subraces of Dragonborn. And not just because both of them have the word "dragon" in their names; I think the lore of the Dragonborn would mesh nicely with the lore of the different Houses. You could almost do a Search-And-Replace with the lore for each.

Spoiler: From the PHB

Self-Sufficient Clans​

To any dragonborn, the clan is more important than life itself. Dragonborn owe their devotion and respect to their clan above all else, even the gods. Each dragonborn’s conduct reflects on the honor of his or her clan, and bringing dishonor to the clan can result in expulsion and exile. Each dragonborn knows his or her station and duties within the clan, and honor demands maintaining the bounds of that position.

A continual drive for self-improvement reflects the self-sufficiency of the race as a whole. Dragonborn value skill and excellence in all endeavors. They hate to fail, and they push themselves to extreme efforts before they give up on something. A dragonborn holds mastery of a particular skill as a lifetime goal. Members of other races who share the same commitment find it easy to earn the respect of a dragonborn.

Though all dragonborn strive to be self-sufficient, they recognize that help is sometimes needed in difficult situations. But the best source for such help is the clan, and when a clan needs help, it turns to another dragonborn clan before seeking aid from other races—or even from the gods.

Spoiler: From Eberron: Rising from the Last War

All about the Houses​

Every dragonmarked house has traditions and secrets. Here’s a few facts that apply to most of the houses:

Enclaves. Most dragonmarked houses maintain enclaves in major cities. These serve as strongholds and hubs for house business. A city may also have any number of businesses tied to the house, but these are simply providing services and don’t have any direct connection to house leadership.

Names and Ranks. Any heir of the house who develops a dragonmark is allowed to add the d’ prefix to the house name: for example, Merrix d’Cannith. Despite the Korth Edicts' proscription against house member holding noble titles, regional leaders within the houses are called barons. Most houses are led by a matriarch or patriarch, though some are led by a council.

Emblems. Each dragonmarked house has an Emblem, a distinctive symbol that features on their heraldry, official seals, crafted goods, and anything else that warrants the house’s stamp of authenticity. Each house's Emblem appears along with the related dragonmark on the following pages.

The Twelve. The Twelve is an organization that facilitates cooperation among the dragonmarked houses.

Excoriates. Excoriates are dragonmarked heirs who have been cut off from their houses.

Foundlings. Foundlings are people who have a dragonmark yet have no tie to a dragonmarked house.

Test of Siberys. Dragonmarks manifest around adolescence. Each house puts its heirs through a trial called the Test of Siberys. The specific trials vary by house, but they place the heir in circumstances where they are likely to manifest the mark, if they have it. About half of the members of a bloodline manifest the mark.

Korth Edicts. The Korth Edicts prevent the houses from owning land, holding noble titles, or maintaining military forces (with an exception for Deneity). The edicts were established when the Five Nations were united. Today, many in the Houses feel the edicts have become obsolete in the wake of the Last War.

So I'm thinking if I replace "clan" in the PHB with E:RftLW's "House," I'd be 90% of the way there.

Spoiler: Mashing the two together

Many dragonborn belong to one of twelve revered clans, known as the Dragonmarked Houses.

To the dragonborn nobility, their House is more important than life itself. Dragonborn owe their devotion and respect to their House above all else, even the gods. Each dragonborn’s conduct reflects on the honor of his or her House, and bringing dishonor to the House can result in expulsion and exile. Each dragonborn knows his or her station and duties within their House, and honor demands maintaining the bounds of that position.

The Dragonmarked Houses are:
(Curated list of Dragonmarks that I wish to allow, from Eberron)

About the Houses:
(Copied directly from Eberron)

For the game mechanics, I'd just let the racial features for the new Dragonmark overwrite the features for the PHB dragonborn, except for maybe Draconic Ancestry, Draconic Resistance, and Breath Weapon. But that might be a little overpowered for some game tables (it would probably be fine with my group, but your group is different.)

I don't know what Fitzban's is going to bring to us, but I hope it's something similar.

 

[Tom Bagwell]

Sure. I even have one in my Wildemount game...but there's a very specific reason for it. If I was running Eberron there would be no problem.

 

[TheMightyJoe52]

I have dragon marks be something that happens uniquely to an individual so instead of their being an entire race or house only one person through supernatural or extraordinary circumstances