Tag Archives: 2024

Dragonmarks: Manifestations, Components, Greater Dragonmarks, and More!

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An image of a dragonmarked Sentinel Marshal of House Deneith
Former Sentinel Marshal Rolan Harn by Matthew Johnson

Over the course of this year, I’m going to be writing about a Dragonmarked House each month. I’ll be posting bonus content on my Patreon, including character options and focus items associated with each house. Currently, I’m working on an article about House Orien. But before diving into the individual houses and Dragonmarks, I want to discuss some basic details about dragonmarks themselves—both in broad concept and specifically in how they function in Fifth Edition in 2025, especially considering the recent Unearthed Arcana. 

THE DRAGONMARKED EXPERIENCE

Much has been written about what Dragonmarks DO — about the powers they manifest and the focus items that work with them. But little has been written about how it FEELS to have a Dragonmark. One of the key aspects of a dragonmark is often described as intuition—a natural talent for a particular set of skills or tools.This is a crucial element of how the houses achieved their early dominance in their fields; aside from its spell-like abilities, a Dragonmark makes its bearer better at their speciality. An heir to the Mark of Making has a bonus when using Artisan’s Tools. The Mark of Sentinel enhances Perception and Insight. The Mark of Passage provides a bonus to Athletics and Acrobatics. Set aside the mechanical effect of this for a moment and just think about what it means for the person who bears the mark. When a Cannith heir picks up a tool, they have a sense of what to do with it, even if they’ve never seen it before. The Sentinel heir is always on alert, sensitive to the tics and tells of people around them. The Passage scion yearns to move. When playing an adventurer with a Dragonmark, consider the effect of your mark’s Intuition ability and how your character experiences it. The same holds true for the spell-like abilities of your mark. As an heir to the Mark of Passage, the ability to Misty Step is bound up within you, waiting to be unleashed. With a thought and a word, you can tear through space. What does that feel like? 

A second aspect of the Dragonmarked experience is the question of how your lineage affected your childhood. Were you born in a Dragonmarked house and raised in an enclave? If so, you’ve been surrounded by fellow heirs through most of your life, and you had a clear path for your future—an expectation that you would eventually join one of the house guilds or arms. What was that like? How did it affect you? Are you a devoted member of your house, or have you always harbored a rebellious streak and yearned to escape the path laid out for you? Conversely, if you’re a foundling, what were the circumstances of your childhood? What was the event that triggered the appearance of your Dragonmark in lieu of the Test of Siberys? How did you feel when the Dragonmark first appeared—were you excited to join a house, or did the idea repel you? How were you eventually approached by the house, and did you embrace the offer or refuse it? Or have you yet to be noticed by the house that carries your mark? 

A final point to consider is how the Last War affected you. The houses are neutral forces, and if you were raised in a house enclave you were encouraged to embrace that — to view the warring nations as clients and nothing more. Most scions who served in the war did so in a purely mercenary capacity. Did you embrace this, and if so, is it a viewpoint you maintain today—seeing the houses as a force that stands apart from and above the concerns of the nations? Or did you develop an attachment to the country in which you lived, or another nation? Did you give up your birthright to fight for one of the nations? 

SPELLS OF THE MARK

Magical power has always been a core element of the Dragonmarks. In Fifth Edition, this is represented by Spells of the Mark, a set of spells added to the lists of any Dragonmarked character capable of performing magic. Despite the name, these aren’t supposed to be actual SPELLS; the character is channeling power through their mark in a way that replicates the effects of a spell. When a Cleric with the Mark of Passage uses a spell slot to cast Misty Step, they aren’t doing it in the same way as the prayer to Olladra that produces Cure Wounds. MECHANICALLY it’s just like casting a spell, but it should look and feel different from whatever spellcasting is normally associated with the scion’s class. Consider the following.

  • A character’s Dragonmark glows and becomes warm to the touch they cast a Spell of the Mark. This isn’t dramatic—it doesn’t serve as a source of illumination—but it is noticeable to people in the area.
  • Somatic components—gestures—often involve slapping the mark or running a finger along its lines, or if it’s on a hand, presenting it clearly. However, some marked heirs trace the shape of their mark in the heir, or simply make a dramatic gesture; a Denieth heir using the Mark of Sentinel to cast Shield might raise a palm, fingers spread wide. The point is that the character needs a free hand and it’s clear to observers that the action is associated with the magical effect, but it shouldn’t look like Arcanix wizardry or a divine invocation. 
  • Likewise, verbal components require the character to be able to speak and are clearly associated with the magical effect, but they don’t have to be traditional arcane words of power. Often a scion will give a deep grunt or sharp shout; this sound reflects the focusing and release of energy. However, some heirs devise their own unique words of channeling. Phiarlan bards often sing a note when releasing their power. 
  • Material components can feel strange when associated with a dragonmarked “spell.” However, refined Eberron dragonshards can take the place of any material component, and in the case of a Dragonmark ability I’d just make those the default component for the spell; the character needs the surge of energy from the dragonshards to produce the effect.

When playing a dragonmarked character, think about how you manifest your power. Where is your mark located? What sort of sounds and gestures do you use to focus its energy? 

LEAST, LESSER, AND GREATER DRAGONMARKS

In the original Eberron Campaign Setting book, Dragonmarks were represented by a chain of feats. Each feat allowed you to cast a particular spell once per day, and each level—Least, Lesser, Greater—gave you access to an additional spell-like ability of higher level (in addition to a bonus to a skill check—Intuition!). The idea is that as you improve your feats, the physical dragonmark on your skin grows in size and complexity, and that this is something recognized within the world. People KNOW that someone with the Greater Mark of Passage can teleport, and within the house a larger mark carries some prestige—though not necessarily rank, and there are many unmarked adinistrators! This idea has evolved in later editions. One of the key concepts is that rather than having feats that concretely give you access to more powerful spells, we’ve said that Dragonmarked characters could and should describe class features and spells as coming from their mark. This is the same concept I discussed earlier with Spells of the Mark—it’s about how you describe the spell. So a Lyrandar Storm Sorcerer could describe their lightning and wind spells as being drawn from their Mark, while describing their fire spells as being more traditional arcane magic, even though all of those spells are coming from their Sorcerer class. But in introducing this idea—beginning in Fourth Edition—we dropped the feat chains and the idea of a clear distinction between Least, Lesser, and Greater Marks. 

The latest Unearthed Arcana has a set of Greater Dragonmark feats. However, the EFFECTS of those feats don’t match up to the effects of the Greater Dragonmarks of Third Edition. In the ECS, a Greater Dragonmark allowed you to cast a 5th level spell; the Greater Mark of Passage allowed you to cast teleport. Under the Unearthed Arcana rules, the Greater Dragonmark of Passage lets you take one other person along with you when you cast Misty Step, once per day. It’s a neat trick, but it’s not teleporting your entire party across the world. 

I like the concept of the different levels of Dragonmark. I like it having a meaning in the world, and I like players having a sense of what an NPC is capable of based on the size of their Dragonmark. I think the Unearthed Arcana feats are fine, but I’m not going to call them “Greater Dragonmarks” in my campaign; I’ll call them “Passage Expertise” or “Making Expertise.” Instead, I think the simplest way to handle the idea of a dragonmark evolving through the three basic sizes is to base it on the level of the most powerful spell the character can cast because of the Dragonmark. So a 1st level character or a character with no ability to perform cast Spells of the Mark will have a Least Dragonmark. Once they are capable of casting a 3rd level Spell of the Mark—whether by having the Spellcasting feature or using the Potent Dragonmark feat—their mark grows and they have a Lesser Dragonmark. When they have access to 5th level Spells of the Mark, they possess a Greater Dragonmark. Siberys Dragonmarks remain their own separate thing; by the original Third Edition Rules you couldn’t advance a normal mark to become a Siberys Mark. So it would look like this:  

DragonmarkSpells of the Mark
Least1st or 2nd
Lesser3rd or 4th
Greater5th

NPCS AND DRAGONMARKS

By default, Spells of the Mark are only available to characters that have levels in a spellcasting class. However, there are other ways to access this power. 

  • The Potent Dragonmark feat presented in the recent Unearthed Arcana gives a Dragonmarked character a single spell slot that can be used to cast a Spell of the Mark, with a slot level equal to half the character’s level (to a maximum of 5). They regain this slot after completing a short or long rest.  
  • Exploring Eberron includes a number of items that allow an heir to cast the Spells of their Mark. The Dragonmark Channel allows a single use of a 1st level Spell of the Mark, once per long rest; this is a common item, often worn as a symbol of house membership. The Dragonmark Reservoir provides access to a 1st or 2nd level Spell of the Mark; the Channeling Rod provides access to any of the spells of the Mark. 

Potent Dragonmark is a feat designed for player characters. It’s flexible—allowing a character to access any spell on the Spells of the Mark list—and recharges after a short rest. But it sets the precedent that there are people in the world who have no spellcasting ability but who can still produce spell-like effects with Dragonmarks. With that in mind, I’d generally give dragonmarked NPCs a form of this, mirroring the original ECS marks. An NPC with a Least Dragonmark would be able to cast a 1st or 2nd level spell from their Dragonmark’s Spell of the Mark list, once per day. An NPC with the Lesser Mark would get a single use of a 3rd or 4th level spell, in addition to the Least Mark. And an NPC with a Greater Dragonmark would gain a single use of a 5th level Spell. Exceptional scions might have a choice of more than one spell at each level, just like a player character with Potent Dragonmark. Dragonmarked NPCs could also carry any of the items presented in Exploring Eberron. 

Keep in mind that these once-per-day spell-like abilities have never been a critical part of the power of the houses. Overall, the most important aspect of possessing a Dragonmark is the ability to use Dragonmark Focus Items, from Channeling Rods to Creation Forges. For a Lyrandar heir, being able to cast Feather Fall once per day is a useful safety net—but it’s the ability to pilot an airship or elemental galleon that drives the industry of the house. 

UNEARTHED ARCANA: DRAGONMARKS AND SPECIES

Traditionally, Dragonmarks have been associated with specific family lines and species. Only humans can carry the Mark of Making; only Khoravar possess the Mark of Storm. The latest Unearthed Arcana presents a new set of Dragonmark Origin Feats that aren’t limited by species. What does this mean?

First of all, this isn’t new. Fourth Edition did the same thing. The point is that this exists as an option for PLAYER CHARACTERS, who are innately supposed to be remarkable individuals. The lore and history of the Dragonmarked Houses isn’t going to change. Again, look at Fourth Edition, which allowed player characters to have unusual Dragonmarks but kept all the lore of the Houses intact. The fact that your halfling rogue can have the Mark of Storm doesn’t mean that there are hundreds of halflings who have it; it means that you are special. Dragonmarks are themselves manifestations of the Prophecy. Player characters are prime candidates for being focal points for the Prophecy, and having an unusual Dragonmark would just be a clear sign of that. Personally, I’d be inclined to say that it’s happened before throughout history, and that the people who have had unusual marks have often been remarkable people who have done great things… But they didn’t pass their marks onto their offspring and so they were blips in history. The point is that with the Houses, it is the FAMILIES that have a role to play in the Prophecy and as such it’s the FAMILIES that carry the Dragonmarks. If you are an INDIVIDUAL who has a role to play in the Prophecy, you might have a mark as a sign of that… but you won’t pass it on. 

Which comes to the question: Will the houses care? Let’s imagine you’re playing a Talenta halfling with the Mark of Storm. Does Lyrandar care? The answer is ultimately up to you and the DM, based on the story you want to experience. But let’s consider the options. 

  • Honestly, it’s reasonable to say that they just don’t care at all. A single halfling with the Mark of Storm poses no threat to Lyrandar’s airship business. Especially if this HAS happened before and the marked individuals didn’t pass on the mark, your character is a curiosity but not a threat that has to be dealt with. 
  • On the other hand, if it’s a story you like, the Houses could be delighted and celebrate your character as a miracle. They could be eager to recruit you, and if you accepted, to make you a poster child and a special envoy for the house, sending you out to promote Lyrandar interests in the Talenta Plains. Consider the story of Ashi in The Legacy of Dhakaan novels. She’s a foundling with a Siberys Mark of Sentinel, not a halfling with the Mark of Storm, but the point is that Deneith takes her in and makes a big deal about her; they could do the same thing with your halfling.
  • Or, if it’s a story you really want to tell, the houses could see you as an abomination that has to be eradicated and you could have to hide your mark. I find this reaction a little hard to justify; if I was determined to tell this story I’d probably say that it’s a thing that’s happened throughout history and Lyrandar believes that if you have children the Khoravar will lose the Mark and it will be passed on to your offspring. THAT would make it dramatic; you actually do pose an existential threat to their house. But if you’re just one random halfling, I don’t see it as being that big a deal. 

So the main point is that yes, this makes it possible for player characters to have any Dragonmark they want. Because player characters are exceptional. But it doesn’t negate or change the existing lore of the Dragonmarked Houses, and it’s something you can ignore if you choose. In this way, it’s exactly like Rising From The Last War providing an option for there to be contact between Eberron and the rest of the Multiverse if that’s the story you want to tell. But that change in Rising still maintained that until this moment, Eberron has been shielded from the Multiverse by the Ring of Siberys. It presented a new option for DMs who wanted it, as something that could be actively evolving in 998 YK; but it didn’t demolish all preexisting lore. Same thing here. You can be that remarkable halfling with the Mark of Storm; but House Lyrandar is still a Khoravar house. 

WHAT ABOUT FRONTIERS OF EBERRON?

In Frontiers of Eberron I presented my own ideas for Dragonmark origin feats. I like my design, but the short answer is that the Unearthed Arcana content is the CANON content. Because it provides a unique feat for each Dragonmark, it also has the ability to provide more unique benefits, like the Mark of Passage granting +5 movement speed. Personally, I’d allow players to use either one (though not both at once!) in my campaign; it’s up to you to decide what works best for you.

That’s all for now! House Orien will be coming in the future. Thanks to my Patreon supporters for making these articles possible. I’m holding two live Q&As this month for Patrons, and will also be posting further polls and previews about the next Eberron book I’m working on. If you’d like to know more, follow the link! 

Monsters of Eberron: The Gorgon

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A steel bull is on a rampage, with green mist steaming from its nostrils.
The Gorgon, from the 2025 Monster Manual

Eston was the site of countless wonders this last weekend, as the city celebrated the opening of the House of Cannith. This pavilion is the work of an alliance of families from across Metrol, all of whom carry the remarkable Dragon Mark of Making. The festival displayed creations of each of these families, but the most remarkable of all was crafted by the greatest artisans of the families working together—the Grand Gorgon, a massive bull formed of steel and bronze that moves as if it were a creature of flesh and blood, belching gouts of green steam. While each family played their part, all agreed that Castal Harn was the innovator whose vision brought the Gorgon to life. Castal was unable to appear at the festival, but his contributions were commemorated with a wondrously detailed statue. It seems these Cannith artisans are as adept at shaping stone as they are at working steel!

From The Korranberg Chronicle article “A Festival of Steel”

The gorgon has been with D&D since the first Monster Manual, one of the examples of a creature that draws on the name of a mythological creature from our world without making much effort to accurately reflect the source material. Rather than being relatives of Medusa, D&D’s gorgons were bulls with steel scales that breathed petrifying fumes. In Eberron, House Cannith used the gorgon as its symbol, because steel bull, but there was never any actual connection between the creature and the house. Enter the 2025 Monster Manual. A number of old monsters received small but significant changes in the new edition, and the gorgon is one of them. It now has the construct creature type; gorgons aren’t found in nature, but are “created by magic-users to serve as guardians.” There’s been a number of changes to creature types that I’m definitely going to ignore in my campaigns, but I love this particular change for Eberron. It’s an opportunity to tie the gorgon closely to House Cannith and the industry of artifice, rather than just being a random monstrosity. So here’s my story for the revised construct gorgon.

The Gorgon of Eston

When dragonmarks first manifested in Khorvaire, each one appeared in a particular region… but they weren’t limited to a single bloodline. The Mark of Making appeared on multiple families in the realm then known as Metrol. The Vowns were based in Eston; the Harns in what is now Making; the Jurans were a nomadic clan. Along with the other Making bloodlines, these families slowly discovered the powers of their mark as the numbers of marked heirs grew. Most of these families were already known for some form of craftwork, and the mark enhanced their gifts with artifice and industry. Over time, the leaders of these families debated whether they should join together. As part of this process, artisans from each house came together to work on a number of projects, seeing what they could accomplish when they combined their skills. The Gorgon of Eston was the a dramatic result of this process: the most sophisticated construct ever constructed by humans of Khorvaire. Previous human artificers had worked with homunculi, but such constructs required an ongoing bond to their creator. The Gorgon is self-sustaining and independent, even capable of making simple decisions in pursuit of the directions given by its creators. To the houses, it was the first child of their union. The Gorgon led the parade in the festivals in Eston, and stood in the square outside Cannith Hall bellowing the hour. The Gorgon was considered a wonder of the age, and the allied families took it as the sigil of their new house; when the Twelve came together, House Sivis suggested that all of the Dragonmarked Houses follow this example. But for Cannith, the gorgon isn’t just a beast; it’s a symbol of their house and its power.

Over the course of centuries, Cannith made many gorgons. As the house spread, most forgeholds had a gorgon standing in their atrium, serving both as a symbol of the house and a guardian of the forge. But while they were once found across Khorvaire, the gorgons were the first constructs made by House Cannith and had many flaws. Those old models slowly leak petrifying gas, which can build up to dangerous concentrations if the construct is kept in an enclosed space. The rudimentary sentience of the gorgon had flaws; random individuals could be identified as threats, and a handful of gorgons went berserk. They were occasionally sold as weapons of war, but while a gorgon is a terrifying spectacle, they aren’t especially practical as war machines. And the process of creating a gorgon was time consuming, expensive, and dangerous. Today, there are still a few gorgons on active duty, but most have been mothballed or set guarding obscure vaults; while the original Grand Gorgon can be seen in the Clockwork Menagerie of Eston, what stands outside the Cannith Enclave today is a SCULPTURE of a gorgon… while the Cannith enclave in Korth has a BRAZEN GORGON, described later in this article.

Why petrification? Why did the creators choose to imbue the gorgon with petrification? Why didn’t they have it breathe fire, or emit busts of force? In my Eberron, the petrifying breath of the gorgon was an unexpected benefit. Gorgons were developed over a thousand years ago, before the rise of House Tharashk and modern techniques for finding and refining dragonshards. The arcane power source of the gorgon slowly produces a substance called stone mist. Normally this is produced in trace quantities that harmlessly disperse in the air—much like the poisonous fumes produced by the combustion engines of automobiles. But like carbon monoxide, in an sealed space stone mist can build up over time—and once it reaches a high level of concentration, it petrifies organic creatures. After an unexpected accident revealed the danger posed by the stone mist, the Jurans came up with a solution. Instead of continuously releasing low levels of gas, the gorgon would build up containment in a chamber within its body—and when the chamber reached capacity, expel it in a direction where no one would be harmed, usually venting it toward the sky. It was later in the process that the Vown magewrights suggested that this venting could be used as an offensive weapon. While they COULD have equipped it with the ability to breathe fire, the Vowns observed that the petrifying breath only affected organic creatures and carried no risk of collateral property damage. On top of that, it was technically nonlethal… although Greater Restoration isn’t a trivial thing in 998 YK and was surely even harder to come by in the days before Galifar. So the Gorgon engineers didn’t originally intend to build a creature with petrifying breath; they meant to build an imposing iron bull, and it was only over the course of development that they discovered its potential for petrification.

Stone Mist? If you embrace this story, it means that House Cannith has had the ability to produce a petrifying mist for centuries. To which I say… why not? Among other things, canonically House Kundarak uses petrification as a form of imprisonment in Dreadhold. The Mror Holds aren’t known for their arcanists (though the present warden of Dreadhold IS a legendary abjurer) so… who petrifies these people? Why, stone mist provided by House Cannith! The thing about stone mist is that it’s not a very practical tool in most cases. The mist produced by the arcane process is thin and diffuse—generally harmless. The engine that allows a gorgon to concentrate the mist into a weapon is a large component within its body; it’s not like a small bottle of mist would accomplish the task. So looking to Dreadhold—and other prisons in Khorvaire that maintain stone wards—petrification is actually accomplished using a Mist Chamber. The victim is placed in a sealed room and held until the mist builds up to a sufficient level to cause petrification. This is a slow process, and typically the victim is rendered unconscious so they don’t have to experience the unbearable tension of waiting for the mist to reach effective concentration, then slowly feeling your flesh transform.

So, Cannith has long had the ability to induce petrification. Aside from serving as a form of imprisonment, it is also something that’s been used throughout the history of the house to preserve individuals. A number of Cannith forgeholds have their own stone wards containing such “sleeper statues.” Some of the people in these wards resorted to petrification in the hopes that the future will have a way to cure an affliction that couldn’t be countered in their own time. Others nearing the end of life hope that the future will have a way to defeat death itself; “Restore me when you can transfer my consciousness into a construct body.” A few remarkable individuals chose to be petrified in the belief that their knowledge or skills could play a critical role in the future. And just in the last century, a number of wealthy individuals chose to “sit out” the Last War, and a few of them are now being restored; consider Today in Eberron’s story of Hale Davon, the Pastry King of Wroat.

Today in Eberron, 12/18/998: Aurum concordian Hale Davon, the “Pastry King of Wroat,” was voluntarily petrified in 900 YK to wait out the Last War. Today Davon was restored, and he’s seeking a group of capable adventurers to find his missing possessions and help reestablish his connections.

Throughout history, Cannith has experimented with other ways of weaponizing stone mist. They’ve experimented with devices that are essentially small bags of holding filled with concentrated mist. In general, these haven’t proven to be effective on a large scale. The gas disperses quickly and as a gas, it can also blow in the wrong direction based on wind. So it hasn’t played a major role in warfare, but there are still a few sites where mist weapons were deployed—battlefields with dozens or even hundreds of soldiers trapped in stone.

The Brazen Gorgon from the 2025 Monster Manual

What about the BRAZEN GORGON?

Throughout much of the Last War, Karrnath was the nation that was least dependent on House Cannith for its weaponry. Karrnath had its own strong tradition of forging weapons of war, and its use of undead soldiers meant it had little need of Cannith warforged. When Zorlan d’Cannith became Lord Seneschal of Cannith operations in Karrnath, he was determined to shift that balance—to show Regent Moranna that cooperation between Karrnath and Cannith could produce deadly wonders. Moranna was receptive to the idea, as she was actively seeking to reduce her army’s dependence on the undead. As his proof of concept, Zorlan presented Moranna with the first brazen gorgon. More durable and deadly than the stone mist gorgon, the brazen gorgon—which soon became known as “The Zorlon”—radiates deadly heat and can overrun squads of infantry with ease. Moranna was impressed, and over the next decade Zorlan led the development of many weapons for Karrnath. The brazen gorgon was never widespread, but a few score were spread out among Karrnathi forces, and Cannith enclaves in Karrnath often have a brazen gorgon as a symbol and guardian. Zorlan himself uses a brazen gorgon as his personal crest—a gorgon’s head wreathed in flames.

The “Zorlon” brazen gorgons have a few features that are worth noting. The Zorlon can activate or deactivate its flame aura as a bonus action; when a Zorlon is stationed in the lobby of a Cannith enclave, they don’t want it incinerating the customers. In addition, the so called “flame aura” of the Zorlan isn’t actually mundane fire. The rules for the Flame Aura say that it damages each CREATURE within 5 feet of the gorgon, but make no mention of igniting flammable objects, as many fire spells do; again, this is important for a construct that may be stationed in a forgehold! The Zorlon radiates a field of energy that causes fire damage to creatures, but doesn’t set buildings on fire. The Zorlon grapples using two prehensile tentacles that it can extend from its lower neck; it can also use the tentacles to manipulate objects. However, brazen gorgons only possess limited sentience, similar to warforged titans; they can follow orders and make simple decisions, but they don’t have the intelligence and personality of a warforged.

What does this mean for you?

Gorgons are typically tied to House Cannith. The base design is somewhat obsolete today; they aren’t as reliable as warforged or warforged titans. But a Cannith enclave may still have a guardian gorgon. In general, however, they are obsolete—but still durable. So gorgons can be found guarding abandoned forgeholds, isolated Cannith vaults, and hidden enclaves long forgotten by the modern Cannith heirs. They can also potentially be found as surplus—a gorgon that was thrown on the scrap heap centuries ago, only to be recovered and reactivated by the villains of your story. In these cases I would be sure to emphasize that the gorgon is OLD and decrepit. This doesn’t have to affect its statistics, but it should feel like something that ought to be in a museum. And speaking of museums, the original Great Gorgon is still there in the Clockwork Menagerie of Eston; there could be some sort of National Treasure story where the original founders of the house hid a vital clue in the heart of the first gorgon!

Aside from gorgons themselves, stone mist provides possibilities for a number of interesting stories. In addition to explaining how Kundarak petrifies the prisoners at Dreadhold, it introduces the potential for Cannith to have vaults of people who chose voluntary petrification—people like Hale Davon. Perhaps a Cannith heir wants to send adventurers into the Mournland to recover statues from a stone ward in the Mournland; could Starrin d’Cannith have petrified himself before the Mourning struck? Beyond this, having adventurers find a statue in a ruin—perhaps with a note promising a reward if they restore the figure to flesh—can have all sorts of outcomes. Is this a good person who will indeed reward them and serve as a valuable patron going forward? Or were they a terrible villain who chose to throw themselves into the future in order to enact a grand scheme? Beyond this, Cannith could still be working at weaponizing the mist to create weapons of mass petrification; the house could send a team into Cazhaak Draal to try to steal secrets of the medusas or an artifact tied to Orlassk!

Meanwhile, brazen gorgons can be found in Karrnath. In addition to be used as weapons of war, many city watches in Karrnathi cities have a brazen gorgon in reserve for deadly crowd control duty. They can be found guarding Cannith enclaves and vaults, and it’s also possible someone could get control of one as a surplus weapon.

But wait, why do gorgons contain actual bull skeletons?

So, the default lore in the new Monster Manual says “The process for creating a gorgon is labor intensive and dangerous, with one method requiring the skeleton of a bull, the blood of a medusa, and the brain of a basilisk fused into a frame of ensorcelled iron.” First of all, the lore in the Monster Manuals is always a foundation that can and should be altered to fit a particular setting or story. But beyond that, even in this default lore, it says that this is ONE POSSIBLE WAY to create a gorgon. In the example I’ve given here, the gorgon is made from inorganic material; the original Cannith founders didn’t use ANY of those components to create it. With that said, I think it could be very interesting if Zorlan d’Cannith trying to build a better version of the original gorgon fueled by medusa blood—and meanwhile, a truly half-steel half-organic gorgon sounds like something you might find in Mordain’s Forest of Flesh!.

That’s all for now. Thanks as always to my Patreon supporters for making these articles possible! If you’ve been considering becoming a patron, now is a good time: for the next few days, patrons are helping me finalize the topics of my next Eberron book. Follow the link if you’d like to take part!

An image of an online poll, with entries including The Eldeen Reaches, The Talenta Plains, and Zilargo.
The poll is running for the next few days on Patreon!