Lightning Round Q&A: Manifest Zones and Magic

Hello, world!

I’ve been off the grid for a month: dealing both with a host of mundane challenges and working on Morgrave’s Miscellany, which will be released in November. This has kept me from posting much here. I will be back online next month, but for now I wanted to do a quick lightning round with some questions from my Patreon supporters.

MANIFEST ZONES

Manifest zones are often portrayed as this Venn diagram overlap between Eberron and another dimension/world, with the overlap recurring cyclically like the orbits of planetary bodies. Assuming that’s an accurate depiction of what you intended them to be… are manifest zones subject to continental drift, ocean levels, etc.?

This isn’t an entirely accurate description; it’s combining two separate ideas.

Manifest Zones are permanent locations: places where the influence of another plane can be felt in Eberron. This isn’t cyclical; it is ongoing and reliable. Sharn is built on a manifest zone that enhances spells tied to levitation and flight, and this supports the great towers and enables skycoaches; if that connection were to fade or be severed, the towers could collapse. Likewise, Dreadhold is built on a manifest zone, and this is tied into its security. Manifest zones are reliable. They are (super)natural resources, like rivers and veins of precious metal; thus many of the great cities and institutions are built to take advantage of them. Generally speaking we haven’t suggested that manifest zones are subject to effects such as tides or rising ocean levels. I think that the location of the manifest zone is static; if the land beneath it drifts or rises or lowers, the zone will remain constant. We’ve presented manifest zones that are small points high in the air or underwater, so they aren’t tied to soil.

Coterminous and remote planes are the result of the constant shifting of planar influence on the world. This is something that occurs cyclically, like the orbit of planetary bodies. When a plane is coterminous, it strongly influences Eberron, causing broad effects not unlike what a manifest zones can produce—but universally across the world. When its remote, the influence of that plane is far weaker.

You could say that while a plane is coterminous, the effects of a manifest zone are increased. So for example: you might say that tieflings may be born when a child is conceived in a manifest zone during a coterminous period. But that;s a double whammy, and critically the effects of a manifest zone continue even while the plane is remote.

The 4e ECG says that some manifest zones are permanent, and others may appear where no one was before. 

It’s entirely reasonable to say that a manifest zone can appear unexpectedly or that an existing manifest zone could suddenly fade. My point is simply that this isn’t how manifest zones USUALLY work. The ebb and flow of planar power—remote to coterminous—is a part of the setting, but it is a separate thing from the functioning of manifest zones, and that’s what I wanted to clarify. But there’s nothing wrong with having a new manifest zone appear.

Are there zones that respond to stimulus at a lower level of magic than eldritch machine?

We often say that manifest zones are a requirement for creating eldritch machines or for performing powerful magical rituals. But it’s not that the zone responds to the machine; it’s that the machine harnesses the existing power of the zone. Most manifest zones have perceivable effects at all times, just not as dramatic as the powers of an eldritch machine.

When I have more time, I’d certainly like to give more examples of manifest zones and the sorts of effects they can produce.

Is there any specific listed canon method to shut off a manifest zone?

In canon? No. Manifest zones also aren’t uniform in size, shape, or power, so I doubt that there’s a single method that would apply to all manifest zones; I’d also expect the method using to have to relate to the plane involved.

With that said, the idea that it can be done has certainly been presented. My novel The Son of Khyber involves an attempt to destroy Sharn using a Cannith weapon that would disrupt the manifest zone. Again, this isn’t canon (Eberron novels are suggestion, not concrete fact); and it is a weapon that critically had to be used in a very specific location and required a massive amount of arcane power. So when it has come up, it’s presented as a difficult challenge. But yes, it’s certainly POSSIBLE.

Could a tinkering arcanist build a music box that opens a foot-sized manifest zone? 

Sure. Anything is possible if it’s a story you want to involve. But something that CREATES a manifest zone certainly isn’t a trivial effect. It’s not something that people casually do. Again, manifest zones are things that must be found and harnessed; they aren’t created (if they could be easily created, we’d have more cities like Sharn). But if you WANT to say that this particular NPC has made some sort of bizarre breakthrough and created an artifact that produces a tiny manifest zone, why not?

Do the deathless need the manifest zone of Irian to stay “alive,” or just need it for their creation?

Deathless require an ongoing supply of positive energy to sustain their existence. There’s two primary sources of this: manifest zones to Irian, and the devotion of loyal followers. So Shae Mordai is located on a powerful Irian manifest zone, and that means that even if all the living elves were wiped out, the Court could survive. But a deathless who spends an extended amount of time outside manifest zone needs to have a pool of positive energy to draw on, which means devoted followers. The deathless counsellor in Stormreach is sustained by the devotion of the local Aereni community, and if they all left, she’d have to leave too.

This was the fundamental divide between the Line of Vol and the Undying Court. Positively charged undead can’t take the power they need to survive; it has to be freely given. Negatively charged undead consume the lifeforce they need; even if every living elf died, the vampire or lich will continue. So Vol asserts that Mabaran undeath is the only way to ensure the survival of the finest souls; the Undying Court asserts that all Mabaran undead consume the ambient lifeforce of the world, and that creating them is unethical and ultimately a threat to all life.

MAGIC IN THE WORLD

How do you imagine ID systems in Khorvaire? Who checks them, how are they authenticated?

We’ve generally suggested that Eberron is at a rough level equivalent to late 19th century earth, NOT 20th century. When you get into magical wards you can have more advanced forms of identification. But when it comes to ID papers, it’s NOT supposed to be on par with our modern day systems of databases, biometrics, or anything like that.

House Sivis fills the role of the notary in Eberron. Originally, arcane mark was one of the powers of the Mark of Scribing. The idea is simple: each Sivis heir can produce a unique arcane mark—a sort of mystical signature. A Sivis heir goes through training and testing to become a notary, and their mark is on record in the house. Like a modern notary, a Sivis notary would make a record of all documents they notarize and this would be held by the house. So: ID papers would be notarized by a Sivis scribe, who would review all materials before placing their mark. An arcane mark is difficult (though not impossible) to forge. A border guard is primarily just going to look at your ID papers and say “This appears to be you, and you’ve got a valid Sivis mark.” IF there was some reason to question things, the papers could be confiscated and referred to a Sivis enclave, who could use a speaking stone to check with the primary house records to confirm that ht papers were legitimately notarized. But that’s a very big step. Generally it’s a question of if you have a valid Sivis arcane mark.

Fifth Edition doesn’t have arcane mark, so instead we added in the scribe’s pen as a dragonmark focus item that allows a Sivis heir to inscribe mystical symbols. This would still work the same way: a Sivis heir would have to go through a process to become a notary, their personal mark is recorded, and records are made of every document they notarize.

So getting all the way to the point: 95% of the time, verification will essentially be on a level of what could be done in the 19th century: a cursory check for obvious signs of forgery, confirming that the material in the document is accurate (IE, it says you’re a dwarf but you’re clearly an elf), and that it has a Sivis mark. Forgery is thus entirely possible; the challenge is forging the arcane mark, because that’s a glowing magical symbol and you’d have to have some sort of magical tool to pull it off.

How do mundane craftsmen and martial characters stay relevant in an increasingly magical world like the Five Nations? I feel like the Houses and magewrights crowd out trade and spellcasting ability seems borderline required going forward for spies and fighters alike.

Magewrights don’t crowd out trade; magewrights are the future of trade. It’s essentially saying “Does a washing machine drive people who are washing by hand out of business?” Sure, so that launderer probably wants to invest in a washing machine. I still have a large article half-written that talks about the general concept of what it means to be a magewright. Essentially, as a blacksmith your life is simply easier if you can cast mending and magecraft (which I see as a skill-specific version of guidance). Now, those two cantrips on their own aren’t that much of a job; it’s the combination of those cantrips and mundane skill that make a good blacksmith. So I’m saying that in Eberron, most successful craftsmen will KNOW a cantrip or two.

With that said, you can also say “Why didn’t the microwave drive chefs who use longer cooking techniques out of business?” Prestidigitation allows you to heat food instantly, but you could certainly say that food snobs think that food produced through mundane means is BETTER.

The critical point here is that Eberron in 998 YK is based on the idea that civilization is evolving. The wandslinger is something new, a reflection of improved techniques developed during the Last War and now spreading out to the civilian population. Magic isn’t supposed to be a static force that’s remained unchanging for centuries; we are at a moment in time where people can ask “Can you really be a good spy without knowing magic?”

As I said, I’ll certainly write more about this in the future.

GENERAL

You’ve said that nothing in Eberron is born evil. Does that include aberrations created by the daelkyr, like the dolgrim, dolgaunts, and dolgrue?

My short form is that entirely natural creatures aren’t bound to an alignment; their alignment will be shaped by their culture and experiences. UNnatural creatures can be either forced into a particular alignment (like celestials, fiends, and lycanthropes) or strongly driven in a particular direction (like a vampire, who is driven towards evil by their connection to Mabar)…though you can have good vampires and even fallen celestials.

First of all, I don’t think you can make a single canon ruling on all aberrations. Beyond that, we have given examples of beholders and illithids who are at least neutral in Eberron. I think I see it as the equivalent of the vampire. A dolgrim or illithid is pushed in a particular direction. It’s gone alien brain chemistry. Its mind literally doesn’t work the way the human or dwarf brain does. However, I think that MANY aberrations have the ability to ultimately follow a unique path—that they aren’t absolutely locked into a particular form of behavior.

So let’s imagine a baby dolgrim raised by peaceful goblin farmers. I don’t think it would be just like any other normal goblin child, because IT’S NOT NORMAL. It’s brain was physically shaped in a particular direction by an alien geneticist. It’s tied to Xoriat and likely has vivid visions and possibly hallucinations pushing it in a particular way. And it has two unique (and yet merged) consciousnesses. So it wouldn’t just present as any old goblin that happens to have two mouths. But I don’t think it would necessarily be EVIL; it could find a unique path.

I know that werewolves transform when any moon is full, but do the twelve moons effect them differently in any noticeable way?

Not that we’ve said in canon so far, but I think it’s an excellent idea to explore and develop. In the past we’ve suggested that Olarune is the PRIMARY moon that influences lycanthropes. But if I was exploring the idea in more depth, I’d love to present ways in which different moons influence lycanthropes, suggesting that each moon pushes a particular time of emotion or behavior.

If their ships were made airtight, what’s to prevent House Lyrandar from flying into space? What would they find when they got there?

That depends. How are you viewing space? Are we using spelljammer concepts or modern science? Could a fire elemental exist in a vacuum, or would it be extinguished? Are we going to consider the stresses of re-entry that a rocket actually deals with and the sort of speed and forced required to break escape velocity, or are we going to saying that in THIS universe, magic propulsion overrides gravity? Or that there’s a universal gravity, and that when your Lyrandar airship sails into space people can still walk around as if there was gravity?

Essentially: I like the idea of an Eberron space race, though I’d likely start by exploring the moons. But if I was to propose such a campaign I’d need to stop and answer a lot of questions about the physics of the universe that we haven’t yet answered… and I’d want to think carefully about it before I do. For example, let’s just look at the moons. I can imagine the moons being fantastic wonderous locations, like Barsoom in Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. But I could ALSO imagine the revelation that the moons aren’t celestial bodies at all; they’re actually massive planar portals, allowing an airship to physically sail into another plane. I’d want to think about which story feels more interesting and which I’d like to explore. But as of now, there is no canon answer.

Would you ever allow a player to play as an escaped Chosen vessel?

Sure. I think there’s stats for them in Secrets of Sarlona. But the main issue is that the Chosen have no voluntary say in being possessed. Chosen vessels are genetically designed to be possessed by a particular quori. So my question is how your PC vessel deals with this. Are they a ticking time bomb who could be possessed at any time? Have they been given some sort of Adaran artifact that keeps them safe as long as they don’t lose the item? Or has the particular quori tied to their line been bound?

Were a particular quori to be made incapable of possessing its Inspired hosts, whether by destruction or imprisonment, would it be possible that the Chosen and Inspired of that particular line be “reassigned”? Would Dal Quor remove the Inspired as well if they removed the quori? Would an “unused” Chosen be given to a new quori or share the fate of the “used” Inspired?

The principle that’s been established is that the bond between quori and vessel is in some way biological. So Dal Quor can’t simply reassign a Chosen line; they’d have to breed a new one. With that said, Chosen CAN be possessed by any quori; it’s simply that they have to ALLOW themselves to be possessed, while they have no choice when dealing with the quori bound to their line. So there could easily be Chosen who are serving as voluntary vessels for other quori; it’s just that it can’t be forced.

That’s all for now! If you have questions related to these topics, post them below!

42 thoughts on “Lightning Round Q&A: Manifest Zones and Magic

  1. Building off the Chosen PC question; were a particular quori to be made incapable of possessing its Inspired hosts, whether by destruction or imprisonment, would it be possible that the Chosen and Inspired of that particular line be “reassigned”? Would Dal Quor remove the Inspired as well if they removed the quori? Would an “unused” Chosen be given to a new quori or share the fate of the “used” Inspired?

    Basically, the scenario is a Chosen who’s quori is “unavailable” on the day they’re supposed to be possessed getting shunned as a freak or oddity by their family and therefore becoming a PC.

  2. I have also considered the Eberron space race, not just for the ability to visit the moons, but I could see the Dragonmarked houses wanting an easier way to get Siberys shards straight from the source.

    • Yes, that makes sense. Are the rings uninhabited? Have dragons established cities in the shard belts? Are there still couatl? Lots of possibilities dealing with the Ring.

  3. Additional question about manifest zones that is great timing since it deals with the next adventure I’m running in my 5e Eberron campaign: Is there any specific listed canon method to shut off a manifest zone? I know you’ve frequently referenced that if the manifest zone Sharn is located in were to go away, Sharn would collapse, but what would this theoretically take to accomplish? (The PCs are about to discover a manifest zone to Dolurrh that has trapped dead spirits to the manifest zone, unable to fade away to ascend with the Sovereigns/join the Silver Flame/ect. and if they decide they want to try and free the spirits by dispelling the manifest zone I want to know if there’s already a canon way to do this)

    • In canon? No. Manifest zones also aren’t uniform in size, shape, or power, so I doubt that there’s a single method that would apply to all manifest zones; I’d also expect the method using to have to relate to the plane involved. 

      With that said, the idea that it can be done has certainly been presented. My novel The Son of Khyber involves an attempt to destroy Sharn using a Cannith weapon that would disrupt the manifest zone. Again, this isn’t canon (Eberron novels are suggestion, not concrete fact); and it is a weapon that critically had to be used in a very specific location and required a massive amount of arcane power. So when it has come up, it’s presented as a difficult challenge. But yes, it’s certainly POSSIBLE. 

      • I though a Dimensional Seal, as presented in the Wayfinders Guide, can shut off Manifest Zones? Though they are only used to shut off ones from Xoriat,wouldnt it be entirely possible that someone has found a way to reverse engineering one that works for other planes?

        • You’re absolutely right! But the main point is that a dimensional seal is an eldritch machine. An eldritch machine can essentially do ANYTHING you want it to do for purposes of the plot. But eldritch machines aren’t simply a standard part of the magical economy; they are wonders that can only be created in specific locations, using exotic components, when specific planes are aligned. The whole point is that if you destroy Lady Vol’s eldritch machine, she CAN’T just build another one tomorrow.

          So you are correct: A dimensional seal is a tool that would shut down a manifest zone. But it’s entirely up to the DM if it’s POSSIBLE to create a dimensional seal, and if so what it’s going to take. It’s not like making an airship or a siege staff, simple tools that follow basic arcane principles.

  4. The 4e ECG (p. 260) says that some manifest zones are permanent, and others may appear where no one was before. I like this idea more, of new ones being able to “pop up” unexpectedly

    • It’s entirely reasonable to say that a manifest zone can appear unexpectedly or that an existing manifest zone could suddenly fade. My point is simply that this isn’t how manifest zones USUALLY work. The ebb and flow of planar power—remote to coterminous—is a part of the setting, but it is a separate thing from the functioning of manifest zones, and that’s what I wanted to clarify. But there’s nothing wrong with having a new manifest zone appear.

      • Thanks so much for the clarification! I would like to add that Manifest Zones are one of those unique things to Eberron that make it awesome

  5. Does Eberron have any sort of invention similar to the printing press? I currently imagine a collaboration between Cannith and Sivis but would like your thought.

    • Yes, I believe that it does, and I agree that a mystical press would be a collaboration between Cannith and Sivis.

    • Eberron has newspapers. A printing press or magical substitute would be required for that.

  6. Are denizens of the other planes aware of manifest zones to Eberron? As an example would azers know if they mill around X place in Fernia they can slip through the Fist of Onatar?

  7. Victor Bulatov:
    Regarding planes and manifest zones.

    The premise of *Khyber’s Harvest* is that there’s “a rare alignment with both Mabar and Xoriat” in a certain region.

    What does that mean? Xoriat wasn’t coterminous for several thousand years, so this phrase probably doesn’t refer to that. How often do these alignments happen and what effects they have on the Material Plane?

    • This sort of a planar alignment is intended as a story hook for the DM. I’ll talk more about it when I have time to write a planar sourcebook, but the short form is that we don’t WANT to establish an absolute planar calendar that shows the precise date of every possible alignment, because we want you as a DM to be free to CREATE such an alignment when it serves the needs of the story, just as it does in Khyber’s Harvest. The effects of such an alignment might be similar to a coterminous effect (though as you note, Xoriat can’t be coterminous)… or it could be that there are NO obvious effects, and that it’s only something that is relevant to people performing magic. Essentially it’s a way of saying “The Stars Are Right.”

  8. “With that said, you can also say “Why didn’t the microwave drive chefs who use longer cooking techniques out of business?” Prestidigitation allows you to heat food instantly, but you could certainly say that food snobs think that food produced through mundane means is BETTER.”

    With the microwave example you have “normal” things like a stove/oven,cast iron pan/barbecue grill, even a smoker or fryer are kinda normal. But the prestidigitation options are IMO more like using a sousvide tool like an anova/joule/etc. Sousvide can do some incredible stuff & even replicate and/or dramatically enhance nearly every one of the traditional options, but on it’s own there are few things (veggies mostly) that you can cook right without some kind of finishing to bring out the Maillard reaction (the caramelization/crust) & not doing that hurts the results. I’m going to post some links because they have looots of pictures and great breakdowns on how small tweaks can influence the result
    Sousvide smoked brisket:
    https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/food-lab-complete-guide-sous-vide-barbecue-smoked-bbq-brisket.html
    sousvide beef wellington
    https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/sous-vide-beef-chuck-wellington
    sousvide *overnight* bacon
    https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/11/overnight-sous-vide-bacon-recipe.html
    sousvide fried chicken
    https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/sous-vide-fried-chicken-2
    sousvide mashed potatoes
    https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/sous-vide-garlic-and-rosemary-mashed-potatoes
    sousvide steak
    https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak.html

    so on & so forth. When paired with other traditional cooking methods (and some less traditional ones like a bleeping blow torch!), you can do incredible things like make a 13 pound prime rib that is rare edge to edge like I did last christmas, a rare burger that is not a quarter second from both blue & medium rare, & more… but on its own almost everything is going to be just almost good instead of amazing because our taste buds evolved over thousands of years to like the results of fire & fire on stone/metal. People who didn’t like those results tended to have problems with various food bacteria/parasites & found themselves naturally selected against :D. Prestidigitation can do incredible things like heat your steak to 130f (54c) just like a sousvide stick can, but it can’t do things like trigger the maillard reaction or bake/fry bread(ed) stuff. Prestidigitation could have similar limitations

    • That is some incredibly cool insight. I particularly like the idea that Prestidigitation (at least, as a cantrip) can’t do anything chemical that isn’t accomplished by warming alone. It can warm and flavour your leftovers and poor cuts, but it’ll never be quite the same consistency or experience as freshly and masterfully cooked food.

      Perhaps it’s also highly challenging to create anything more than basic flavours; analogous to modern chemical flavouring, sometimes you do need a specific process because there’s something a little indefinable about the taste experience. On the other hand, much like chemical flavouring, perhaps there are certain Prestidigitation-based flavours that can’t quite be found naturally, perhaps especially prized by those with the Mark of Detection (though especially loathed by Wildhunt Shifters). Definitely, there’s no reason why Hobnob d’Ghallanda can’t make her candied wares arbitrarily sweet for the kids, though her more expensive and artisan-made flavours are nuanced and, more importantly during the holiday season, permanent. Ooo, that’s an idea, dishes or sweets with a pretty standard nutritionally satisfying (but tasteless) base, but with a flavour completely tailored to order.

      But now, for something completely different…
      Concept: Makte d’Sivis and Dunnik Ulds, Arcane Trickster-esque Gnomish Magewrights who’ve seen a bit of a hole in the Ghallanda market, and have trained to be able to use Mage Hand with incredible speed. Prestidigitation might heat a plate in five seconds, but nothing matches a deep-fat fryer for crunch… Plus, they can do it all free-hand, reducing burn risk and allowing them to work on multiple orders at multiple stages across the kitchen. Just between the two of them they can make the order of any harried Sivis scribe or Kundarak warden far faster than the Ghallanda slowpokes. Plus, hey, if anything’s accidentally a little over-or-under, they never said they /hated/ Prestidigitation. One little trick, and suddenly they’ve invented fast food and are selling to commuters in the Middle Wards faster than even they can match. Might be the time to branch out, poach some of Ghallanda’s talent too…
      Makte ‘n’ Ulds’ restaraunt sure is taking off, sealed with Makte’s iconic golden Sivis seal, a single initial. I’m lovin’ it.

      …One of my dumber pun ideas I’ve had, but still.

        • Ahaha, fantastic! Plus, it sent me down a rabbit hole of posts which is always fun. I swear I’ll have read this entire blog someday…

          This is just making me think of a Ghallanda-affiliated experimental venture simply called “Joe’s”. It’s experimental because, well, it’s not just that every establishment has a guy called Joe at the bar, it’s that every establishment has /Joe/ at the bar. Same old guy, same weird chitchat and wonky opinions, same excellent ale and rubbish wine, from Sharn to Arcanix to Zilargo. All because Ghallanda finally saw the business potential in the use of Changelings in their chains. I can imagine them having a system of Sivis-esque stones too, so they can keep each other updated on newfound character developments for “Joe”… It’s experimental though; no-one’s quite sure whether it’ll be charming or distinctly creepy, but it seems to work for Nurse Jorasco in those Pocket-Construct plays…

  9. “With that said, you can also say “Why didn’t the microwave drive chefs who use longer cooking techniques out of business?” Prestidigitation allows you to heat food instantly, but you could certainly say that food snobs think that food produced through mundane means is BETTER.”

    With the microwave example you have “normal” things like a stove/oven,cast iron pan/barbecue grill, even a smoker or fryer are kinda normal. But the prestidigitation options are IMO more like using a sousvide tool like an anova/joule/etc. Sousvide can do some incredible stuff & even replicate and/or dramatically enhance nearly every one of the traditional options, but on it’s own there are few things (veggies mostly) that you can cook right without some kind of finishing to bring out the Maillard reaction (the caramelization/crust) & not doing that hurts the results. I seem to be unable to post the links(?). When paired with other traditional cooking methods (and some less traditional ones like a bleeping blow torch!), you can do incredible things like make a 13 pound prime rib that is rare edge to edge like I did last christmas, a rare burger that is not a quarter second from both blue & medium rare, & more… but on its own almost everything is going to be just almost good instead of amazing because our taste buds evolved over thousands of years to like the results of fire & fire on stone/metal. People who didn’t like those results tended to have problems with various food bacteria/parasites & found themselves naturally selected against :D. Prestidigitation can do incredible things like heat your steak to 130f (54c) just like a sousvide stick can, but it can’t do things like trigger the maillard reaction or bake/fry bread(ed) stuff. Prestidigitation could have similar limitations

  10. On the topic of an Eberron space race, I’d assume the best approach wouldn’t be to worry about escaping gravity wells the normal way at all, but to figure out how to create a sealed vessel that possessed the ability to safely and reliably teleport 6000+ feet straight up, some means of propulsion, and a Feather Fall effect to safely land places. The trick would be what sort of creature you could bind to power the teleportation part, or if you’d need a different methodology entirely; no normal elemental has the ability to teleport, after all, and that’s the sort of creature normally bound in a Khyber shard to power inventions of this scale.

    • That’s a really good point. All you would really need is a station in some kind of lagrange point or equivalent so it doesn’t fall back (or with enough thrust to keep it stable). Once you have that, you can just travel to a house Orien outpost with teleport capabilities & visit $cityInTheSky where if needed you could walk to the docks.

      I think that teleport for “space” access is problematic because spelljammer ships have already been established for so long as the route & the actual stellar cosmology is unlikely to be very much like ours (specially given Keith’s moons=portals comment supporting a more spelljammeresque cosmology).

      Depending on how high they can channel that manifest zone in sharn, the city itself could function as a space elevator where even a hypothetical multiday climb could be spread out with local dining & last chance luxury hotel stays over the course of several days akin to island hopping cruises, but that raises an interesting question 😀

      • If Eberron’s moons are physical objects, and gravity works in at least a Newtonian (if not Einsteinian) way, then I would think that the notion of a LaGrange point in orbit around Eberron won’t work. You could conceivably have a LaGrange point (points, actually) in Eberron’s orbit around its sun, though, but that would require one heck of a long-range teleport.! A different approach might be to define what height above the surface would be an “Eberrosynchronous” orbit – perhaps it’s in the Ring of Siberys? – and establish CitiesintheSky over the equator that would serve as your waystations to the moons and beyond. If these were possible, I would assume that the Dragons have established one or more in position over Argonessen to prevent any enemy from gaining the “high ground” over them. Would they have others? Perhaps one over the islands north of Xen’drik to keep an eye on that troubled continent? Would they dare to have one over equatorial Sarlona? They avoid that continent, but perhaps a station in the Ring over it would appeal to them? Or would the Inspired or Adari have claimed that space? Would the Aerenali have a station over equatorial Aerenal? Just throwing these speculations out there.

      • I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the Sharn manifest zone extending outside the planet’s atmosphere, but it doesn’t strike me as especially likely. I suspect rather that vertical development of Sharn would naturally extend as far as the zone can support it, such that the altitude of the Skyway is determined by when you start running out of manifest zone. That said, it could be that the city is *still* under active vertical expansion, and the skyway gets a little higher every year…

    • Sounds like a perfect use of an Eldritch Machine. Which could conveniently serve as a spaceport as well.

  11. here in florida you can fairly regularly take 2-3 day cruises for 50$ (especially during the off season) with seven & ten day ones not too much (more 100-200$?) according to radio ads. Obviously the moon/planar equivalents would be more expensive, but what would the “safe” pleasure/honeymoon planar cruise look like?

  12. Something occurred to me: In Wayfinder’s Guide you mentioned the possibility that the Ring of Siberys was shielding Eberron from the gods of the multiverse to give races like Orcs and Drow more free will. If this is the case, then it would make sense for the Progenitor Dragons to have put some safeguards in place against just that kind of manipulation of mortals. That would definitely make it a lot harder for the daelkyr to produce truly consistent alignments (assuming that is their goal).

  13. On the point of procedure around verifying (or not verifying) identification papers, this also strikes me as part of why the presence or absence of a portrait would be a potentially significant matter; the portrait matching gives a stronger sense of connecting to someone’s identity than just race/gender/etc. and the expense involved in getting it suggests wealth and importance.

    I do wonder if you have any thoughts on the validation of portraits. Would anyone bother, or is the idea of getting a portrait made and substituted a bit too absurd for even paranoid officials? (After all, a check of the papers would likely find issues if they were forged, why bother associating a portrait?) While you could presumably stick an arcane mark on the portrait itself, would it really be worth it as general practice?

    • Perhaps it’s comparable to a vanity plate on a car? Indicates someone is a bit of a showoff, has enough money to blow on a trinket like that and a bit too full of their pun.

      Alternatively or supplementary certain positions, the ones you’d want to impersonate, could require papers have a picture.

  14. I’m very curious about how lycanthrope genetics work. I know it’s a supernatural thing and probably don’t follow any scientific logic at all, but bloodlines and heritage are still strong symbolic themes to play with. I would imagine in tribal communities Is it correct to assume that the children of a natural or afflicted lycanthrope with a humanoid is a shifter (albeit one with far more obvious bestial traits than average)?

    In addition, what happens when:

    – a natural lycanthrope mates with a natural lycanthrope of the same breed?
    – a natural lycanthrope mates with an afflicted lycanthrope of the same breed?
    – a natural lycanthrope mates with an afflicted lycanthrope of a different breed?
    – an afflicted lycanthrope mates with an afflicted lycanthrope of the same breed?
    – an afflicted lycanthrope mates with an afflicted lycanthrope of a different breed?

    The systems I use are Pathfinder and 5e, if that matters. I’m more concerned with the lore than the mechanics, which I can always alter or refluff for whatever purpose.

  15. I bet there’s a cleric or warlock who believes that magic is essentially creating very specified manifest zones (when you cast fireball for a brief second create a manifest zone of Fernia).

  16. With the Chosen empty vessel (the stats for that are in the original Eberron book, BTW) with an artifact to prevent possession, I immediately pictured Agatha Heterodyne and Lucrezia Mongfish.

  17. I know this article is old now but I had a question about common magic.

    If I’m remembering things correctly, arcane magic is a sort of science in Eberron but divine magic is still something not anyone can be gifted with. So how do adepts and magewrights learn divine spells like guidance or thaumaturgy?

    • If you haven’t read this article, it may help.
      http://keith-baker.com/dragonmarks-61816-faith-and-wisdom/

      First of all: What determines if a spell is “divine” or “arcane” is who’s casting it and the method they are using to cast it. If a cleric casts guidance, it’s a divine spell. If a magewright casts it, it’s an arcane spell. The fact that the EFFECT of the spell is the same doesn’t change the fact that IN GAME FICTION they are two entirely different spells—one using arcane science, another driven by divine power. This is the same principle we see in the fact that a bard can cast cure wounds… but that doesn’t mean that the spell MANIFESTS in the same way as when a cleric casts the spell. So: if an arcane class can use their arcane spellcasting feature to cast a spell, that spell is an arcane spell—even if it’s a spell more commonly associated with divine casters.

      Adepts are divine casters, and this means that their spells are driven by transcendental faith. Anyone can become a magewright through sufficient hard work and intelligence. Not everyone can be an adept. Some discover a divine gift and choose to apply it as an adept; others undergo training—learning the mundane skills associated with the desired trade and pursuing religious studies—and hope that the divine gift comes to them.

  18. Is there any class/subclass that focuses on Manifest Zones? In the 3.5 era there was one prestige class but as far as I remember they were outsided by the arcane community.

    I miss that no major wizard/sorcerer order is specialized for utilizing manifest zones. Not only local initiatives (such as Artificers with their lying devices in Sharn) but as a widespread path.

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