Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 7127787" data-attributes="member: 5100">It's another skill that can be learned, just like arcane magic. The magic, itself, involves invoking the names, iconography, etc. of divine forces, but it also includes force of will. There's no proof that it isn't "just another kind of magic", no different than arcane. There's also no proof that it is, either. The names of the gods might be just other magic words that happen to open up a link to another plane and fuel the magic. Because divine casters are so rare, and the skills so closely guarded there really aren't any known divine casters who aren't also tied to a church. Maybe divine casting only requires a mote of extraplanar energy and the gods aren't gods at all, but practically unintelligent spirits; the ability of demons and fallen angels to grant spells to their cults would seem a strong argument for that. Or... maybe the gods are really gods and they grant spells to those they deem fit and those angels and demons are just riding the wave of Khyber (or even Eberron or Siberys).If the players want answers, and the DM is willing, go ahead and answer. Pretty sure Keith never will.Assuming you're awesome enough to actually do it, does a worse evil step in? Do others know you just took out one of the five major monarchs? If so, what's to keep them from getting all paranoid and having you assassinated. If you're tight with one of the other rulers, what if everyone assumes you killed Kaius as an operative of that ruler and deciding to take them out before a pattern emerged? Congratulations, you've just sparked WW2 and no one knows who dropped the bomb from the first one or what sort of bomb it was. What could go wrong? Alternatively, maybe The Twelve decide they like things without the possibility of more nuclear wastes, so they end you as a threat. Heck, maybe the Chamber decides that it's time to stop these younger races before they blow up a whole continent and/or ruin the Prophecy.Nope. You're asking the wrong question, entirely. It's not caster level. It's maturity of the dragonmarks.The Dragonmarks have very particular abilities. While the houses periodically learn to tap into new ones, it's a slow process -- not unlike industrial achievements. Also, dragonmarks don't just grow on trees. They're in limited supply. Sure, Cannith can create life, but they need a forge that can only be used by one of the 10 or so people who bear the Siberys Mark of Creation. Those 10 people don't necessarily have access to any other noteworthy abilities, either. So, just because they can do this ridiculously powerful thing, on par with a 7th level spell (or so), their next coolest trick might be to turn out +1 swords. By the way, it's also illegal for Cannith to operate those forges, so... politics and more adventure hooks.On top of that, the very, very best toys aren't actually stuff the Houses created, though they're loath to admit it. Strangely, you can go to Xen'drik and find 7,000 year old components that fit warforged perfectly -- stuff that exceeds Cannith's ability to manufacture. What are the odds that the forges aren't all original research and that a good chunk of the work came from something the house found, maybe even a working prototype? In that case, the Mark of Making didn't actually let them create the magic, the Siberys mark is just a skeleton key that let's them use things they don't even understand. Since the biggest forge was in Cyre, for all we know, Cannith decided they wanted self-replicating warforged and the forge jammed and blew up. I don't see that as being the best answer to the Mourning, but it's certainly on list of possibilities.I used Cannith and warforged because I find them somewhat more interesting than building vaults, but the questions and train of thought still illustrate the point well.</blockquote>

Verification