Tag Archives: Dragonmarks

Feature length articles about major topics in Eberron

Excerpt: House Ghallanda and the Mark of Hospitality

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A King’s Bounty with a pinch of vazilla, as always. But what’s wrong? I can see it in the slump of your shoulders, my friend; something’s weighing you down. Tell me your troubles. A burden shared is a load lifted. And if I can’t help you solve your problem… Perhaps I know someone who can.

House Jorasco possesses the Mark of Healing. Those who carry this Mark can cure disease and heal physical injuries. The gifts of House Ghallanda are subtler than that. Rather than healing existing afflictions, the Mark of Hospitality grants the ability to provide sustenance and comfort—to maintain health and happiness through times of hardship. Those who bear the Mark can provide food and shelter, and settle disputes before they result in violence. In its earliest days, House Ghallanda used the Mark of Hospitality to help travelers survive the many dangers of the Talenta Plains. Since then, the House has spread across Khorvaire. As innkeepers and bartenders, as bakers, brewers, and chefs, House Ghallanda continues to provide sustenance, shelter, and comfort for those in need. 

In many ways, House Ghallanda is the happiest Dragonmarked House. The majority of its heirs take real joy in the work that they do. A Ghallanda innkeeper takes pride in providing a sanctuary from the grim world beyond their walls. A Ghallanda chef hopes each meal they prepare will give someone a moment of joy. Yes, they charge for their services, because they have to in order to continue to provide them. But even as Ghallanda maintains casinos and luxurious resorts for the wealthy elite, it still continues to look out for those in need. The Wandering Inn is an ancient tradition, traveling across the Talenta Plains and helping travelers. There is no Wandering Inn in the Five Nations, but there are Wanderers. Some Ghallanda heirs know exactly what they want to do in life. They train in culinary arts or hostel management, going straight from their training to service in a thriving establishment, working their way up from within. But other heirs wish to see more of the world before they lay down roots. These heirs can choose the path of the Ghallan—the “Helpful Hound”—or as they are generally called, the Wanderers. Ghallans are charged to travel. They’re encouraged to make as many friends as possible, and to try as many types of food as possible—to learn recipes they might use in the future. But like the Wandering Inn, the primary charge of the Wanderer is to help those in need. This might mean giving goodberries to a starving family, offering a fugitive a temporary shelter in an extradimensional space, or stepping in to mediate a dispute before blood is shed. Wanderers aren’t expected to have an answer for every problem, or to be able to provide long-term support. But they strive to make a difference, to ease burdens and to help where they can. When a Wanderer does settle down, they bring those experiences with them. How is it that the bartender at The Dog & Biscuit knows Prince Oargev? I’ll tell you. It was a few years back, with the war still going then. It was raining cats and dogs… and I don’t mean that as a figure of speech. Lamannia was coterminous and we were in a manifest zone, and, well, I’ve never seen anything else like it. The Prince and I were traveling in the same Orien coach, him in the private chamber mind you, when a brace of falling wolfhounds just shatter the thing. We’re out in the open now, and it’s clear that we’re either going to be crushed by falling beasts or eaten by the ones already on the ground. So I raise my Tiny Hut and invite the prince and the coachman inside, and we spend the next hour eating morsels and playing cards. By the time the storm was over, well, I’d won a fine estate near Metrol and a friend for life. Too bad the manor was lost in the Mourning, but of course the Korth wouldn’t have let me keep it… 

The innate, ongoing gifts of the Mark of Hospitality include an intuitive bonus to using Cook’s Utensils and Brewer’s Supplies. As an heir carrying the Mark, you have an innate appreciation for flavor, as well as an instinctive sense for proper timing and ratios. The Mark also provides an intuitive bonus to Persuasion. This is less about active manipulation, and instead reflects the fact you’re inherently easy to like. People who carry the Mark of Hospitality have a disarming charm; it’s why it’s so easy to open up to the Ghallanda bartender. 

In playing a Ghallanda heir, consider the road you’re on. Most of your cousins know exactly what they want, and they’re willing to take the slow road to get there—cleaning tables, working as cooks, bellhops, or stewards until they eventually have the opportunity to own their own establishment. What is it you dream of? Do you want to own an inn? If so, do you already have a name for it? Are you always tracing out the floorplan or doodling ideas for the inn sign? Would you rather be a brewer or a chef, in which case you might be searching for the perfect flavor or some legendary ingredient? Are you a Ghallan Wanderer, always looking for a way you can lend a hand? Or are you finding your own path—not committed to any tradition or duty, just waiting to see where fortune takes you? Beyond this, consider where you’ve been and who you met along the way. Talk with the DM and ask if you have any interesting friends who might owe you a favor—or who might be expecting a favor from you!

THE MARK OF HEARTH AND HOME

The Mark of Hospitality has three aspects: Food, Shelter, and Soothing. The ability to provide nourishing food is a key aspect of the Mark of Hospitality. Anyone who bears the Mark has the ability to Purify Food and Drink. The greater gifts of the Mark allow heirs to produce food from thin air. When cast through the Mark, Goodberry is called Mighty Morsel; rather than producing berries, the spell creates ten pellets that provide the sequential flavors of a three course meal. Prayer of Healing is called Fortifying Feast: when cast using the Mark, the ten minute casting time involves conjuring a small meal which must be consumed by the beneficiaries. Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall allows the caster to create a meal for up to thirty people! For all of these food related spells, the caster must make a Wisdom (Cook’s Utensils) check to determine the quality of the meal; 10 is acceptable, 15 is excellent, and 20 or higher is superb. When casting Create Food and Water the caster has disadvantage on this check; this food tends to be bland, and it takes an exceptional chef to imbue it with compelling flavor. 

Providing shelter is a second key aspect of the Mark of Hospitality. The Tiny Hut of the Lesser Mark conjures a simple physical shelter that endures for eight hours. It’s an excellent way to escape from unexpected bad weather. There’s a branch of the Hosteler’s Guild that specializes in what we would understand as Glamping—a Ghallanda guide takes you through an interesting stretch of wilderness, producing a Tiny Hut as a secure shelter for the night and preparing a fine meal. Rope Trick has a short duration that prevents it from being terribly useful as a commercial service, but it is the stepping stone toward the most iconic power of the Mark: Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall. This allows an heir with the Greater Mark of Hospitality to open a portal to a small extradimensional space, with furnishings and decor drawn from the imagination of the heir. The 24 hour duration allows any heir with this power to run their own “pop-up” business. Aside from putting a roof over one’s head, the Mark of Hospitality also helps to secure that shelter. Any heir with the Mark of Making can cast Unseen Servant. This is said to draw off a fragment of the heir’s own spirit, calling on their own helpful nature to offer assistance. Heirs with the Lesser Mark can conjure a more palpable force: Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound, or as it’s called when cast in this way, Ghallan Guardian. This typically takes the shape of a spectral Blink Dog formed from the swirling lines of a dragonmark, though occasionally heirs manifest unique shapes for their guardian; Baron Yoren is known to summon a guardian Clawfoot raptor. A Ghallanda innkeeper may offer to cast a Guardian for a customer who seems to have a need for a little extra security for the night. The final gift is quite rare: the ability to cast Hallow, drawing on the power of the Mark to protect an area from malign forces. No heir can cast both Hallow and Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall; even player characters must choose which of the two spells they have access to.  

The final aspect of the Mark of Hospitality is the ability to soothe others, helping people enjoy their food and shelter. At its simplest level, this is seen in the innate bonus to Persuasion granted by the Mark. Any experienced heir can extend this to cast Calm Emotions, which has brought an end to countless bar fights. Some heirs learn how to concentrate this effect, channeling this soothing energy into the ability to cast Sleep.  

What about Prestidigitation? Prestidigitation has always been associated with the Mark of Hospitality. It was one of the optional spells tied to the Mark in the original Eberron Campaign Setting book, and it was a gift of the Mark in Eberron Rising From The Last War. However, Forge of the Artificer has dropped it, instead allowing the bearer of the Mark to cast Calm Emotions. Prestidigitation is an extremely useful spell for an Innkeeper or chef: it allows them to heat, chill, or flavor food and drink, as well as to clean floors and dishes with a gesture. This article already imposes a number of changes to canon in the revised Spells of the Mark list, and I prefer not to change the traits as well. As a result, this article introduces the Innkeeper’s Gloves as a common focus item that allows a Ghallanda heir to cast Prestidigitation. The point being that almost every marked heir CAN cast Prestidigitation—they’re just doing it through a focus rather than through the unassisted Dragomark. 

Kanon vs Canon. My goal with these articles is to strengthen the story of the Dragonmark, ensuring that its abilities paint a consistent picture and support the services the House provides in the world. With the Mark of Hospitality, this has resulted in me changing four Spells of the Mark from those that will appear in Forge of the Artificer. 

  • At 2nd level, I’ve replaced Aid and Enhance Ability with Rope Trick and Prayer of Healing. I like Prayer of Healing because the ten minute casting time allows it to be presented as a form of Heroes Feast (which was originally granted by the 3.5 Greater Mark of Hospitality); the idea being that the heir actually prepares a meal that strengthens the party. This is more compelling to me than the random boost of Aid. Meanwhile, Rope Trick plays to the idea of providing shelter and foreshadows Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall. 
  • At 4th level, I’ve replaced Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum with Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound. This was a difficult decision; Ghallanda inns would benefit from being shielded by Private Sanctum. But Private Sanctum is a spell that becomes permanent if cast enough times, which means that if Ghallanda had it, people would be paying them to cast it for them. Nobles would want Private Sanctums in their homes. And for that reason, I feel that Private Sanctum should be a gift of the Mark of Warding, not the Mark of Hospitality. KUNDARAK is the house you’re supposed to be paying for magical security, not Ghallanda. Furthermore, Private Sanctum primarily protects against Divination and Teleportation, which again feels more like WARDING. By contrast, the Mark of Hospitality already has the ability to cast Unseen Servant. Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound is essentially a strengthening of that existing spell; it fits the Blink Dog iconography of the House; and having an Innkeeper put a dog at your door for the night feels appropriate without stepping on the toes of Kundarak. 
  • At 5th level, I’ve added the option of Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall. Hallow is a powerful spell, but it’s very limited in its use; it has a 24 hour casting time and a 1,000 gp casting cost; it’s not something an adventurer can use on a regular basis. Beyond this: Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion was one of the original options for the Greater Mark of Hospitality in the 3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting, and for me it’s always been part of the flavor of House Ghallanda. Part of the point of the Wandering Inn is that you have mansions inside wagons. With the current structure it’s awkward to give a Dragonmark the ability to cast a 7th level spell; so I’ve created Hospitable Hall as a slightly weaker version of Magnificent Mansion. Note that this is a spell that is only supposed to be available to characters with the Mark of Hospitality—emphasized by making the Mark a component of the spell. For most people, this is still a 7th level effect. 

As always, using kanon content is something that requires DM approval. This is how I use the Mark of Hospitality in MY campaign, but other DMs may prefer to rely on canon material. 

Focus Items

Ghallanda heirs employ the common focus items presented in Exploring Eberron—Dragonmark Channels, Dragonmark Reservoirs, and Channeling Rods. Exploring Eberron also introduces the Ghallanda Cauldron (which reduces the time required to prepare a meal) and the Manor Key, which preserves the 3.5 tradition of Ghallanda Magnificent Mansions. Exploring Eberron also highlights the idea that existing magic items can be reflavored as focus items, calling out the Ghallan Jug as a form of Alchemy Jug that draws on the Mark of Hospitality. In addition to these, here’s a few new focus items to play with. 

Bag of Bounty

Wondrous Item, Uncommon 

This leather bag has three charges. A creature with the Mark of Hospitality can take a Magic Action to open the bag and cast Create Food and Water, expending one charge in the process. When using the Bag, a creature can make a Wisdom (Cook’s Utensils) check to determine the quality of the food; they don’t suffer the disadvantage that normally applies when casting Create Food and Water with the Mark of Hospitality. The Bag of Bounty recovers 1d3 charges at dawn. 

Hosteler’s Anchor 

Wondrous Item, Uncommon (requires attunement by a creature with the Mark of Hospitality) 

The Hosteler’s Anchor is a stone brick engraved with the Mark of Hospitality. If the anchor is placed in an extradimensional space created by the creature attuned to Anchor—such as a Magnificent Mansion, Hospitable Hall, or Rope Trick—it can help maintain the space in the absence of the caster. When the duration of the spell expires, the caster can immediately refresh the spell through the Anchor. This requires the creator to expend the appropriate spell slot or charge from a magic item, but it requires no action on the part of the creator. The creator can even set this effect to occur even if the creator is unconscious, although they must have the appropriate spell slot or item charge available to be spent. A creature who possesses both a Hosteler’s Anchor and a Manor Key can attune to both items using a single attunement slot. 

Innkeeper’s Gloves

Wondrous Item, Common 

If you possess the Mark of Hospitality, you may use a Magic Action to cast Prestidigitation while wearing these gloves. 

THE HISTORY OF HOUSE GHALLANDA

There are many ways to die on the Talenta Plains. The easiest is to stand still, to wait for malign spirits and hungry ghosts to find you. But even those who stay in motion face many dangers. Sometimes there’s no shelter to be found when predators prowl or when strange storms are brewing. Sometimes mischievous fey or malevolent fiends steal food or spoil it, condemning travelers to misery and death. The Talenta tell countless tales of those who have fallen on their journeys, warning the young of the dangers that lie ahead of them. Even in these grim tales, there’s always hope. There are hidden oases and helpful allies. Ustukata is the inner spirit that lifts the tired foot, a possessing spirit that animates those too exhausted to carry on and drives them on until they reach safety. Ghallanda is the helpful hound that appears where needed the most, the blink dog who appears with food for starving travelers and guides those who have lost their way. In one tale, a wanderer named Kullikora is caught in a blood storm with her family and friends. Their supplies are ruined and they’re driven off the path of safety. The travelers know that when the storms come again, it will consume their spirits and leave their dancing bones behind—and even if they could find shelter, they would soon starve. Kullikora wanders away from the group and begs the spirits to show mercy to those she loves, offering herself as a sacrifice in exchange for their safety. Ghallanda appears before her, and leads her to a door in the side of a mound of sand. On the other side of the door, Kullikora finds a vast billowing tent filled with soft cushions and piled high with food and drink. She leads her family to this sanctuary and they rejoice, but there is still concern. They have shelter tonight, but they are far from the safe paths; what will happen tomorrow? Ghallanda tells her you didn’t FIND this sanctuary, Kulli. You created it from the love in your heart. You carry it with you, and you can open the door whenever you wish. But you said you would lay down your life for others, and I will hold you to that. You carry the sanctuary within, but you must open that door to those in need. Continue on. Wander where you will. But help those in need, for you are the shelter from the storm. 

The tale of Kullikora is the oldest known reference to the Mark of Hospitality, and while it’s impossible to date it precisely, the scholars of the Twelve believe it is the oldest reference to any Dragonmark. Canonically the Mark of Hospitality first manifested around 3,200 years ago, just before the Marks of Shadow and Death appeared in Aerenal. It’s said that Kullikora wandered the Plains helping those in need, and as she did so she met other halflings who had also been blessed in moments of dire need. Together they established a caravan that would be a mobile sanctuary—the foundation of what’s now known as the Wandering Inn. As their numbers grew, these wanderers named themselves the Ghallandala, the Tribe of the Helpful Hound. 

Tradition is important in the Talenta Plains; following the paths laid out by the ancestors is the key to survival. For centuries the Ghallandala followed in the footsteps of Kullikora. In addition to aiding those in dire need, the Ghallandala found ways to ease the burdens of every traveler. Someone didn’t need to be starving to enjoy a conjured feast, and the Hospitable Halls of the Ghallandala offered a wondrous respite to any weary traveler. They would host celebrations for heroes, and provide food and drink for gatherings of the tribes. The Ghallandala expected compensation for this, and this laid the groundwork for the House as it operates today; the Wanderers and the Wandering Inn perform acts of charity, but innkeepers and tavernmasters are paid for their services. 

The Plains are vast and dangerous, and when humanity spread across Khorvaire most shunned this haunted land. But over the course of centuries, some folk did plumb the mysteries of the Plains. There were Zil explorers, Karrnathi soldiers, would-be settlers from Metrol and more. None stayed in the Plains for long, but they delved deep enough to encounter trouble… and some of them, to be offered respite by the Wandering Inn. Stories of the helpful halflings spread, and the sages of House Sivis took note. The Severin-Harn Expedition was a joint operation of House Cannith and House Sivis, charged to investigate tales of ancient ruins, strange magics, and possible Dragonmarks in the Talenta Plains. Severin-Harn found everything it was looking for, and it was lucky for them that they did; without the assistance of Ghallanda and Jorasco, the explorers would have died a dozen times over. In the wake of this expedition, envoys of the Twelve met with the leaders of Ghallanda and Jorasco in Gatherhold. While some of the Ghallandala resisted the idea of joining these outsiders and expanding into the world beyond, many embraced it. The elder Gray Gavaral said “When these outsiders came to the Plains, they didn’t know the paths and they walked into danger; if not for my kin, they would have died painful, miserable unpleasant deaths, save for those who lingered, praying for death’s release. One lesson to take from this is to stay in our Plains and never leave, for here we know the paths to walk. But some day there could come a time when we had to leave, and on that day we would have no guides. These outsiders are our Helpful Hound, here to show us the path. Let us find our way in the world beyond. Surely there are travelers on the roads beyond our Plains; surely they have need of our gifts.” With the help of House Sivis and the Twelve, the Ghallandala became House Ghallanda. It took time for the halflings to become comfortable in enclaves, and to learn to love inns that stayed in one place instead of wandering. And so they spread and prospered. 

Taken as a whole, House Ghallanda is one of the most benevolent Dragonmarked Houses. Most of its heirs love what they do. The typical Ghallanda bartender isn’t trying to compel you to share your secrets to add to their stockpile of data; they truly do want to help lighten your load. Most Ghallanda like mediating disputes and making their customers happy. At the same time, most won’t ignore their own self-interest. A Ghallada bartender may happily do you a favor; but a time may come when they’ll ask a favor in return. They aren’t trying to steal your secrets, but they won’t forget what you share. And while the Wanderers offer charity to those in need, heirs tied to traditional businesses are expected to do what they need to do to ensure that those businesses prosper. With that said, Ghallanda is a case where the monopoly of the house is largely self-enforcing. House Ghallanda doesn’t seek to sabotage independent restaurants, inns, or taverns. They have gained a degree of monopolistic power because of three things. The first is the quality and reliability of the services they provide. The Hosteler’s Guild has a team of inspectors who travel across Khorvaire ensuring that every business that carries the Ghallanda seal maintains its standards of health and quality. Over the course of centuries, people have come to rely on that Ghallanda seal. The second thing Ghallanda offers is familiarity. While there are countless unique inns and taverns, everyone knows the Gold Dragon Inn and many travelers want the security of that familiarity when they arrive in a new place. So quality and familiarity have helped Ghallanda succeed. The final piece of the puzzle is the simple fact that people like the Ghallanda… and as a whole, the House has earned that trust. 

When people think of Dragonmarked Houses on the fields of the Last War, they typically imagine Deneith soldiers, Jorasco healers, and Cannith magewrights operating arcane artillery. However, House Ghallanda has always had a military role. The quartermasters of the Dragontail Guild have long supported House Deneith and the army of Galifar. The standard Ghallanda quartermaster deals with logistics, supplies, and food for their unit, with the added benefit of being able to supplement shortages with a Bag of Bounty and the power of their Dragonmark. But the most prized quartermasters are those who possess the Greater Mark of Hospitality or a Manor Key—and thus, who can provide a Hospitable Hall or Magnificent Mansion for their unit. The Twelve would often assign a Greater Quartermaster when a large force of noncombatant Dragonmarked heirs were assigned to a dangerous area. When threatened, the heirs would retreat into the Hall until the danger passed. But Greater Quartermasters were in high demand by all of the Five Nations. With Ghallanda’s Hospitable Hall an heir can provide food and shelter for up to 30 soldiers, and when the door to the Hall is closed it is imperceptible—making it an incredible boon for a small force operating behind enemy lines. On an ongoing front, a Hospitable Hall is an excellent shelter for an army’s commanders to plan their strategies, especially as the Hall provides absolute protection from any sort of bombardment. At its height, the Dragontail Guild had over two hundred Greater Quartermasters in the field. This work was something done out of a sense of duty to the house. Most Greater Quartermasters would rather run a pop-up inn or tavern than serve as a portable garrison, and at the moment the Dragontail Guild only has thirty Greater Quartermasters on staff; the rest are out in the world pursuing their dreams and praying that the peace will last. 

Ghallanda Sanctuaries

During the War of Unification, a Ghallanda quartermaster named Kalaba Fullbarrel saved Galifar Wynarn from a deadly ambush. While sheltering in the extradimensional space, Kalaba discussed the principles of the house with the King. When his kingdom was established, Galifar I made an amendment to the Korth Edicts, ruling that the enclaves of House Ghallanda were to be treated as sovereign nations. Ghallanda owns the land upon which its enclaves sit; it can maintain a military force—the Hearth Guard—to defend its enclaves; and those within a Ghallanda enclave are beyond the legal reach of any nation or House. Just as the Sentinel Marshals have retained the right to enforce the law across all nations, House Ghallanda has retained the sanctuary status of its enclaves to the present day. Ghallanda enclaves have long served as neutral ground where enemies could negotiate face to face, and as well as offering sanctuary to all manner of people; a Sentinel Marshal famously observed that Ghallanda Hall in Sharn holds “more fugitives, scoundrels, and mysterious strangers per square foot than anywhere else in Khorvaire.” 

House Ghallanda takes pride in providing sanctuary to those in need. Adventurers may take advantage of this protection, or they may run up against it when an enemy takes shelter in an enclave. There’s a few principles to keep in mind. Keep in mind that these things only apply to Ghallanda enclaves, not to every Ghallanda business! The Gold Dragon Inn isn’t a sanctuary. 

  • Ghallanda enclaves are protected by the effects of Hallow. This has the secondary effect that no creature can enter or exit an enclave using teleportation or interplanar travel.
  • Each enclave houses a garrison of the Hearth Guard, charged to defend the enclave from outside threats and to maintain order within it.  
  • House Ghallanda isn’t obligated to provide sanctuary. An enclave only has room for a limited number of guests, and it’s up to the master of the enclave to decide who will get the beds. This can be revoked at any time, at which point the Hearth Guard will escort the ex-guest from the premises. A guest’s privileges are lost every time they leave the enclave and will be reevaluated upon their return, so it’s unwise to dart in and out. 
  • Any act of violence or theft  will result in a guest being expelled from the enclave. In some cases, a guest can be expelled even for engaging in violence in self defense, especially if their actions endanger others. 
  • Sanctuary isn’t free. The base cost of room and board at a Ghallanda enclave is 5 gp/night. This can be adjusted by the master of the enclave as they see fit, either lowered if the master is sympathetic to the guest’s circumstances or raised if the guest is deemed to be a particular burden. In some cases House masters have been known to bargain with guests, promising ongoing shelter in exchange for some sort of service. Notably, a master might engage the services of a group of investigators to assist a current guest, to investigate a guest, or potentially to convince a guest to leave if such a task is beyond the capabilities of the Hearth Guard. 

What Happens Next?  

House Ghallanda isn’t as hungry for profits and expansion as most of the other Houses. House leadership strives to ensure the security of Ghallanda’s heirs and to continue the charitable work of the Wanderers. However, there are Ghallanda heirs working with the Twelve in the hopes of doing more for the world… whether helping the hungry or finding ways to spread a little joy. But even the best intentioned experiment can go terribly awry!

  • The Lost Mansions. House Ghallanda records suggest that there were at least twenty Hospitable Halls and Magnificent Mansions equipped with Hosteler’s Anchors in Cyre on the Day of Mourning. It’s possible these mansions and their creators were destroyed by the Mourning. But it’s also possible that they are still active. Perhaps the people inside are afraid to venture into the dangerous world beyond… or perhaps the door to the demiplane is sealed and can’t be opened, and the inhabitants have been trapped since the Day of Mourning. A team of researchers from the Twelve have created an experimental orb that should be able to locate and open sealed hall doors, but they need a team to go to the Mournland and find these lost mansions. Of course, it’s possible one of them has become a Living Magnificent Mansion, and now prowls the Mournland looking for victims to draw into its luxurious depths!    
  • Breaking Sanctuary. The adventurers are hired to extract an Aurum Concordian from a Ghallanda enclave. Brute force isn’t the answer, so what will they do? Can they find leverage that will convince the target to leave of their own volition? Find a way to trick them, or to deceive the Hearth Guard? What happens if they discover that the target is a decent person—and that their employer is a ruthless criminal who wants to kill the target?
  • Feed me! The adventurers have been invited to Green Three, an isolated research facility where House Cannith, House Ghallanda, and House Vadalis are working with Conjure Food and Water, Plant Growth, and other techniques to try to create an inexhaustible food supply. The adventurers are supposed to be participating in a taste test, but when something goes terribly wrong, they must defend Greet Three from the rampaging meals! The cake may be a lie, but the pudding will kill you…
  • The Suite Life. An unusual start to a campaign is to have all of the player characters be people who are claiming sanctuary in a Ghallanda enclave. Why are they trapped inside? Are they political renegades? Reformed criminals targeted by ruthless rivals? Innocent people framed for crimes they didn’t commit? Dragonmarked heirs hiding from in-house feuds? Whatever the reason, all of the adventurers are trapped in a hotel. Can they spot and expose the spies and assassins pursuing them? How will they deal with their brutal enemies who are also guests of the enclave? What would it take for them to be able to leave again? Consider John Wick 2 and A Gentleman in Moscow for inspiration.
  • To Serve Galifar. The adventurers are tasked to recover a tome from Sora Katra’s library in the Great Crag of Droaam. It’s… a cookbook! Is it the secret recipe for grist? Is it culinary secrets from the Age of Demons? There’s only one way to find out!  
  • The Haunted Hall. House Ghallanda has been working with House Phiarlan on a new endeavor—Ghallanda’s Haunted Hall! Combining the flexibility of Hospitable Hall with Phiarlan illusion, this is supposed to be a pop up entertainment that provides spooky delights to anyone who dares to pass through. But something’s gone terribly wrong. The Hall is actually haunted, and the creator can’t shut it down! Is it Thuranni sabotage? Was it opened in an unknown manifest zone? It’s up to the adventurers to venture into this very haunted house and find a way to shut it down! 

That’s all for now. But this excerpt is only a third of the full article, which includes Ghallanda Customs, the Structure of the House, a deep dive into its most prominent enclaves, maps, recipes, and more! If you’d like to see the full article — as well as to take part in my monthly Q&As—check out my Patreon!

Excerpt: House Cannith and the Mark of Making

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A smith's anvil with a Gorgon's head displayed on the side
The seal of the Fabricator’s Guild, by Matthew Johnson

The coldfire lantern hanging from the ceiling? That flickering’s due to a poorly etched sigil. Give me five minutes and a crown’s worth of residuum and I could have it steady and brighter. There’s a crack in the cleansing stone, and if it continues another inch it’s going to start soiling instead of cleansing. But that’s not the worst of it. In my mind I can see a better design. I could make a cleansing stone that’s half the size, using half the shards, that would make colors even brighter. I can see it. I could make it. I know I could. I just don’t have the time.  

The Mark of Making provides an intuitive bonus to any ability check made using Artisan’s Tools. This isn’t Proficiency, though it stacks with it; it’s an intuitive understanding of tools. Weaving, painting, baking, smithing—you instinctively know how to make things. This guidance goes beyond the mundane. The Mark of Making provides the same intuitive bonus to any Intelligence (Arcana) check, and anyone who carries the Mark has the ability to cast Magic Weapon once per day. Magic comes naturally to you, and one of the first things you learned to do was to weave it into wood and steel. So when you look at a weapon, you know you could improve it. When you see a broken object, you know you could mend it. And if you had the tools and the time, you know that you could make something better.

For some Cannith heirs, this knowledge becomes an obsession. They can’t pass by a broken object without Mending it. Others may seem socially awkward or absent minded, because the designs they’re working through in their minds are always more interesting than the conversations around them. But for most Cannith heirs it’s a background detail and a point of pride. They are confident in their skill, and find it soothing to create things; Cannith heirs often have some project they’re working on, something small that keeps their hands busy. But they don’t have to work on it at all times; they can set it aside to focus on the needs of the moment. 

House Cannith has long been seen as the most powerful Dragonmarked House and the heart of the Twelve. In part, this is due to the commercial success and wealth of the house. Cannith goods have long been part of everyday life across the Five Nations, from the Everbright Lanterns that light the streets to the coaches that drive along them. Cannith supplied the armies that fought in the Last War, producing arcane artillery, armor and weaponry for soldiers, and with the warforged, soldiers themselves.  But beyond that, many Houses rely on Cannith for the tools that are integral for their success. The Lightning Rail, Elemental Airships, Speaking Stones—all of these were designed with the assistance of Cannith artificers and produced in Cannith factories. This in turn has nurtured a cultural arrogance within the House itself; Cannith heirs consider themselves the equals of any noble, seeing their House as the greatest power in Khorvaire. At least they did until the Mourning. The loss of Eston and of the Patriarch Starrin d’Cannith has sown the seeds of chaos. Almost every heir supports one of the three leading candidates to replace Starrin, and no compromise has emerged in the last four years. The divided House was unable to block the edict in the Treaty of Thronehold that shut down the creation forges, further weakening House Cannith. The House continues to move forward, sustained by its infrastructure and its momentum, but pressure is building. If the House can’t mend itself and unite behind a single leader, it could soon splinter into three. 

THE MARK OF MAKING

The most basic gift of the Mark of Making is Mending—the ability to repair things that have been broken. While the most obvious manifestation of this cantrip is repairing a break or tear, in my campaign I also allow it to undo other sorts of minor damage: smoothing out dents, restoring burnt cloth or leather, lubricating rusted metal, and similar minor transformations. Cannith Tools amplify these gifts in small and sustainable ways, while the Spells of the Mark allow a Cannith Heir to perform instant, dramatic effects. Some say the Mark of Making draws on Onatar’s Forge while others claim it’s tied to the Fires of Fernia. Whatever the truth, a Dragonmarked heir can instantly Heat Metal or Grease a surface. Fabricate allows an heir to visualize a creation and use the Mark to impose their vision upon raw materials; while the ultimate power of Creation manifests matter from pure arcane essence to make the vision real. This is also the basis for the dramatic Conjure Barrage, which allows a Cannith heir to temporarily create a swarm of weaponry. 

Summon Construct lies between Fabricate and Construction. While the spell normally requires “a lockbox worth 400 gp” as a nonconsumable material component, when cast with the Mark of Making the caster instead needs to be holding a set of Artisan’s Tools with which they are proficient. While no materials other than the tools are required to cast the spell, Canith heirs usually draw on raw materials in the area and fill in the gaps with manifested matter; the final appearance of the construct depends on the materials used and the imagination of the heir. Many younger heirs manifest constructs similar in appearance to warforged, because they are used to working with warforged; but others could create animated armor, metal insects, or even clockwork beasts. When the spell expires, the manifested matter dissipates and the construct collapses back into raw components. Regardless of the materials used to create the construct, when it is summoned the caster decides whether it possesses the Heated Body, Stone Lethargy, or Berserk Lashing trait.

An heir capable of casting Spells of the Mark can cast Identify as a ritual. Here again, the heir needs to have a set of Artisan’s Tools they’re proficient in rather than the traditional pearl component; when casting Identify, the heir is essentially running a series of tests on the object they are studying. Meanwhile, Magic Weapon is a fundamental power of the Mark that any heir can cast—while those with access to Spells of the Mark can master the more powerful Elemental Weapon. 

Kanon vs Canon. Three of the spells on the list above are marked with asterisks, and that’s because they vary from what’s presented in Forge of the Artificer. In the original Eberron Campaign Setting, two of the Mark of Making’s spells were taken up with Repair Damage; Mending was a full spell rather than a cantrip; and Creation was split into two spells. So in translating the Mark of Making to 5th Edition, there’s a lot of space to fill… but I don’t love the choices made in canon. I associate Cannith with metal, so using the Mark to lubricate and heat metal makes sense to me—more sense than Floating Disk and Spiritual Weapon, both of which are more about projection of force and levitation. At 4th level, I prefer Summon Construct to Stone Shape. I don’t feel like stone is something we’ve called out as playing a major role in Cannith, while constructs have been part of its story since the first Gorgon!

ARCANE FORGES AND CREATION PATTERNS

The most iconic tool of House Cannith is the Creation Forge used to create the Warforged. These eldritch machines draw on the full potential of the Mark of Making, working with the principles of Creation and Fabricate to manufacture construct bodies and draw the spark of life into them. The Treaty of Thronehold demanded that House Cannith shut down its Creation Forges and cease the production of Warforged, and the House appears to have done so. But the Creation Forges are just one of the many arcane tools House Cannith employs to streamline its production process. Arcane forges are stationary tools that amplify the powers of the Mark of Making. The standard arcane forge can only be operated by someone with the Greater or Lesser Mark of Making—which is to say, someone who can cast Fabricate as a Spell of the Mark. Arcane forges are limited in a number of ways. 

  • A forge requires a Schema, which is a blueprint for a particular object. The forge has to be attuned to the Schema, which takes time; so on a typical day, an arcane forge is only producing a specific thing. 
  • Most arcane forges are specialized tools that can only work with a particular type of material—metal, wood, stone. 
  • Likewise, most arcane forges are limited in the size and complexity of object they can fabricate.
  • An arcane forge requires a small amount of residuum (refined eberron dragonshards) to operate. This is a minor cost that’s far outweighed by the speed and efficiency of the forge, but it is a requirement nonetheless. In the past, this has been a limitation on how many forges the house could operate. The rise of House Tharashk ensured a steady flow of dragonshards, which has allowed Cannith to expand its use of arcane forges.  

A Grand Forge provides access to the full scope of Fabricate, allowing an heir to, for example, produce a fully formed longsword from the raw materials presented. However, the more common Base Forge is typically used to produce components which are then assembled by workers on a line. It dramatically speeds production and helps to ensure uniformity of product, but it’s still a process that requires a significant amount of human labor. Whether using a Base Forge to produce simple elements or a Grand Forge to produce finished goods, the heir operating the forge is required to be proficient in the type of tool that would normally be used and to make a check to ensure the quality of the product. In essence, the heir walks through the process of production in their mind and the forge uses the Mark of Making to make it real. While the operator has to have the ability to cast Fabricate through their Mark, they don’t actually cast the spell when using a forge; like a Sivis heir operating a Speaking Stone, it’s something that they can repeat indefinitely—provided they have rare materials and residuum.

Arcane Forges are a form of Eldritch Machine. They’re large, stationary objects tied to a specific f. However, Cannith has smaller tools that help them accelerate production. Creation Patterns are metal rods or tablets engraved with arcane sigils. A Creation Pattern holds the imprint of a particular magical device. This reduces the time and cost to create the item embedded in the Pattern by 33%, provided the artisan has the Mark of Making and has access to the Pattern throughout the creation process.  

FOCUS ITEMS

House Cannith is the primary source of Dragonmark Focus Items in Khorvaire. Cannith heirs regularly make use of Dragonmark Channels, Dragonmark Reservoirs, and Channeling Rods. Exploring Eberron calls out that House Cannith can produce objects that duplicate effects of existing magic items but with the additional requirement of having the Mark of Making to use them. A few examples of these…

  • Onatar’s Gift has the powers of an All-Purpose Tool. A +1 Onatar’s Gift is standard issue for any capable Cannith Artificer, and is generally shortened to Ony—as in, “You got your Ony?”
  • Cannith’s Marvelous Miniatures are identical in effect to Quaal’s Feather Tokens, but they appear to be small metal objects in the shape of the token effect (Anchor, Bird, Fan)
  • Talin’s Compact Constructs duplicate the effects of Figurines of Wondrous Power, but they appear to be articulated metal models rather than statuettes; they expand in size when activated. 
  • Merrix’s Instant Fortress works like Daern’s Instant Fortress; the Cannith model was created by the same artificer who developed the Warforged Titan (the grandfather of the current Merrix d’Cannith).
  • The Apparatus of Cannith is similar in effect to the Apparatus of Kwalish. Cannith developed the Apparatus over the course of the last decade as a potential submersible for use in the Last War, but has been unable to produce a version that doesn’t require the use of the Mark of Making. 

The idea is that all of these items are drawing on the power of the Mark of Making. In the case of the Compact Constructs, Instant Fortress, and Onatar’s Gift, the item literally builds itself when activated, using the principles of Creation to fabricate temporary matter. In the case of the Apparatus, the idea is that the heir has to use the power of the Mark of Making to keep the Apparatus stable and functioning. I might allow a player character Artificer (especially a Battle Smith) to operate an Apparatus of Cannith, with the idea that they can use their own remarkable skills to hold things together. So in choosing Focus Items for Cannith, look in particular for things that are used to create objects or that could be depicted as creating themselves. The Rod of Lordly Might is another example of this, with the idea that the Rod constructs and deconstructs the various weapon forms it can take. 

The silhouette of a gorgon's head above a crossed wand and smith's hammer.
The seal of the Tinker’s Guild, by Matthew Johnson.

THE HISTORY OF HOUSE CANNITH

Cyre was said to be the heart of Galifar, and with good reason. The central region of Khorvaire is blessed with a blend of fertile soil, abundant resources, and beneficial manifest zones. When humanity spread across Khorvaire, the Metrol League was quick to prosper. Initially a single city, the League expanded to include the city-states of Metrol, Eston, and Tolan. The Mark of Making appeared approximately 2,500 years ago, appearing in three families. The Harns of Tolan traced their roots to Nulakesh in Sarlona, and had established a reputation as armorers and weaponsmiths; the first marked heir, Costa Harn, forged a set of magic swords that would feature in countless legends and tales in the centuries to come. The Vowns of Eston were Pyrinean. Eliasa Vown declared her Dragonmark to be a blessing from Onatar, and she crafted reliquaries and Octograms charged with mystic power. The Jurans were wanderers with Rhiavhaaran roots. They traveled the roads between the great cities, carrying goods and news and using their skills to repair broken things. Ellos Juran gained renown for his ability not just to fix broken things, but to transform wood and steel into finished goods. Each family prospered in their own way; the most dramatic moment came in the following century when the heirs of Costa Harn led a coup in Tolan and seized control of the city. They placated the other leaders of the Metrol League by promising a tribute of Harn weaponry. They shifted the city itself to support their vision, fortifying it and building up its foundries and its forges; it was Castela Harn who changed the name of the city to Making as a celebration of her family’s skills.  

The reputation of the Making families grew over the course of decades, as their goods spread out to distant markets; the warlords of Karrlakton and Korth prized weapons forged in Making. It was Dedra Vown who engineered the alliance of the Making families. A charismatic woman with a grand vision, Dedra wooed the Jurans and Harns with stories of the marvels they could create if they pooled their resources and diverse talents—not to mention the economic advantages to building a regional monopoly. Cannith was the name of a legendary shrine of Onatar in Sarlona, and Dedra convinced the others to join together as the House of Cannith. Castal Harn and Dedra Vown were wed, and it was said at their time that they gave birth to a Gorgon, as this was the first joint product they unveiled. As centuries passed, the House of Cannith prospered. They developed the first Arcane Forges, which were initially used primarily to refine ore—turning raw iron into ingots of fine steel. They developed the earliest form of Magecraft. As the house extended its reach across Khorvaire, they eagerly sought out new arcane techniques and tools, sending adventurers into ancient ruins and adapting any innovations they found in other cities (as they would one day use Desa Cane’s Truelight Lamp as the model for Cannith’s Everbright Lantern). One of the most remarkable forces they encountered were the Edoros of Thaliost, a family of innovative alchemists. Though the Edoros didn’t carry the Mark of Making, their skills and techniques were so valuable to the House that it slowly absorbed the entire family. Today the Edoro are considered one of the founding families of House Cannith, and the Mark of Making is firmly rooted in their lines. 

House Sivis and House Cannith both claim credit for the early unification of the Dragonmarked Houses. Cannith accounts say that the Vowns considered the Dragonmarks to be blessings of the Sovereigns and thus thought it logical to bring them together—not to mention profitable—inspiring others with their own structure and organization. Whoever laid the bricks, it was the War of the Mark that served as the mortar, laying the foundation of the Houses as we know them today. As the Houses initially spread, it was natural for them to forge alliances through marriage. The Harn line of House Deneith is one of the few concrete relics of this time, reflecting strong ties between the weaponsmiths of Metrol and the warlords of the north. This blending of bloodlines produced a wave of Aberrant Dragonmarks. It took generations for people to truly recognize the impact of this—critically, that someone who manifested a “mixed mark” lost all connection to the Dragonmarks of their parents and couldn’t pass either Mark to their own children. While this was a general concern to all of the Dragonmarked families, the Vown in particular saw it as an act of blasphemy. If the Dragonmarks were gifts of the Sovereigns, and crossing the lines both produced an unpredictable, dangerous Mark and stripped the bearer of their former connection to the Sovereigns—how could this be anything but the work of the Shadow? While the Vowns were driven by religious fervor, the Lyrrimans of House Sivis recognized the power of a manufactured enemy to bring people together and willingly embraced and amplified the Vown message. This was the beginning of the War of the Mark. Sivis and Phiarlan propagandists worked together to spread terrifying tales of Aberrant Dragonmarks, some based in truth and others entirely false. As Deneith troops armed with Cannith weapons pursued Aberrants across the land, most people believed that the Dragonmarked forces were heroes defending them from a deadly threat. The War of the Mark showed what the Houses could accomplish when they worked together, and the leaders of the houses weren’t about to let that go. Hadran Vown Cannith and Alysse Lyrriman Sivis forged the proposal for a permanent alliance between the Dragonmarked Houses—though it was the architect Alder Juran who pushed to have that alliance named The Twelve. 

The next great shift came with the rise of Galifar Wynarn of Karrnath. House Deneith strongly supported Galifar’s ambitions, believing he would succeed where Karrn the Conqueror failed. Deneith arranged negotiations between Galifar and the Twelve, and pushed the other Houses to accept the terms of the Korth Edicts. This placed significant limits on the political and military power of the Houses, but promised them vast economic influence. House Cannith was severely impacted by this, as the Harns were the Lords of Making and the House had vast holdings in Eston. But while the House would have to give up its absolute claim, Galifar promised they would retain their enclaves and forgeholds. This was accomplished in part by Galifar’s dismantling of the nobility of Metrol, a more severe restructuring than took place in any of the other Five Nations; Galifar built his new nation of Cyre around the pillars of House Cannith. 

House Cannith prospered during the golden age of Galifar, helping to support the expanding infrastructure of the united kingdom. Cannith steel and the Flying Buttresses supported the great towers of Sharn. New enclaves and forgeholds were established throughout the Five Nations; while Making continued to thrive, the House shifted much of its heavy industry to Breland. While the House made a slow and steady profit, this period also saw it splinter into what Baron Starrin d’Vown once described as “The hundred kingdoms of Cannith.” Viceroys and ministers built their own tiny empires, diverting funds for their personal projects. Rivalries escalated between forgeholds. This was never so severe as to threaten a true splitting of the House itself, and some of the Barons even encouraged these little wars; overall, House Cannith continued to grow and prosper. But it’s a key aspect of Cannith’s culture that can be seen throughout the Last War and in the present day. A strong Baron could hold the House together and force it to move in a single direction—but the Cannith Seneschals were always looking out for their own projects and interests. 

As centuries passed, Cannith helped construct the Orien trade roads and spread everbright lanterns throughout the kingdom. Speaking Stones, Elemental Galleons, the Lightning Rail—these were remarkable innovations that transformed daily life. And yet, these advances occurred slowly. Cannith and Galifar both grew at a careful, steady pace. It was King Jarot ir’Wynarn who shifted this tempo. Some say Jarot was shaken by the events of the Silver Crusade, or even by reflection on the Year of Blood and Fire that had rocked Thrane centuries earlier. By some accounts, Jarot feared armies rising up from Khyber; others claim he was certain that the forces of Riedra were preparing to invade. Whatever nightmares drove him, King Jarot demanded that the Twelve provide him with weapons. Not just arms and armor for common soldiers; Jarot urged Cannith to devise new forms of arcane artillery and to “Change the face of war.” Across Khorvaire, forgeholds devoted to civilian goods shifted to produce tools of war. Soon the hundred kingdoms of Cannith were competing, each seeking to shine. Hungry for inspiration, Cannith Viceroys launched a new series of expeditions to search for forgotten secrets; Cannith teams traveled to Xen’drik, explored Dhakaani ruins, and even made their way into the Demon Wastes. 

Cannith’s achievements over the course of the Last War are too numerous to list here. With each decade, they improved the design of their Siege Staffs, Long Rods, and Blast Disks. The development of the Warforged forever changed life in Khorvaire; what began with the semi-sentient Warforged Titan ended with the terrifying Warforged Colossus. Throughout the course of the war, the competition within the house continued, with each Viceroy vying for resources, each determined to make the next stunning breakthrough. Of course, Cannith didn’t want to create a weapon that would end the war; the perfect weapon was one that required rival nations to purchase their own counter to it. Cannith thrived in the Last War… until the Mourning. 

The Mourning devastated House Cannith. The death of Baron Starrin created a crisis of leadership. But beyond the loss of a leader, Cannith lost its oldest and most important enclaves—the centers where young heirs of the House were raised and trained. It lost a host of forgeholds and factories, the full impact of which is yet to be seen. Cannith forgeholds aren’t interchangeable. White Knight was a small forgehold near Kalazart that focused on the creation of Focusing Nodes. While these have no function on their own, they are crucial to maintaining the flow of power through large-scale arcane systems—and as such, are necessary for the creation of a Lightning Rail engine, an Elemental Airship, a Warforged Colossus, a Floating Fortress, or anything of similar size. This is just one example of a specialized facility that supplied Cannith forges across Khorvaire; the wounded house is scrambling to repurpose existing facilities to compensate for what was lost in Cyre. Other forgeholds were engaged in research that had been intentionally held in isolation by the Holdmaster—potentially decades of specialized work now lost to the House. Beyond forgeholds and enclaves, Cyre held countless Cannith warehouses filled with raw materials and finished products. The Mourning claimed vital resources, facilities, skilled staff, and House officers, along with historical records and relics of the House; it was a shattering blow. 

The surviving officers of House Cannith—the Seneschals and Viceroys—gathered in Sharn at the end of 994 YK. Over the course of a week of meetings, these ministers developed plans that would allow the Fabricator’s Guild to continue to operate, redirecting supply lines and resources to account for the loss of Cyre. But try as they might, there was no consensus on a replacement for Starrin d’Cannith. There was a formal process for succession that traditionally occurred in Eston, with relics, rituals, and a vote amongst the officers. But Eston and its relics were lost, and many of the ministers were dead and had yet to be replaced. In addition to a bitter divide over the proper candidate, many ministers insisted on filling the empty offices first and attempting to reclaim lost relics, either out of a legitimate loyalty to tradition or a belief that more time would help their chosen candidate gain additional support. Ultimately, the Sharn Accords split House Cannith into three administrative regions, each overseen by a Baron; the Accords dictate that the officers of the House shall gather at Vult each year to discuss the process of succession. 

This is the state of things in 998 YK. The House remains divided in its loyalty to the three Barons. It remains to be seen if one of them can restore the House to its former glory, or if the House will fracture. But should House Cannith break apart like the Shadow Schism of Phiarlan and Thuranni, the smaller Houses would be far weaker than the Gorgon of old. Cannith South and Cannith East rely on alchemical solutions produced by Cannith West, while Cannith South has the bulk of the steelworks; a full separation would dramatically limit what each of the smaller factions could produce. 

What Happens Next?  

  • Just How Bad IS House Cannith? Eberron is a setting in which the DM is expected to make key decisions about their version of the world. One of those questions is whether House Cannith is a villainous force. Cannith can be presented simply as a resource that produces useful tools for adventurers. Its inventions are a vital part of everyday life. On the other hand, it’s possible to present House Cannith as a force that acts with ruthless efficiency to maintain its monopolies, stifling or stealing independent arcane resources, acting carelessly in its dangerous research (IE did it cause the Mourning?), and using its economic power to demand favors from governments, criminal organizations, or others who rely on its services. You can present the typical Cannith heir as feeling remorse for the fact that the House treated Warforged as weapons, or you can present the House as having no sympathy for the Warforged and scheming to regain control of the Creation Forges and the Warforged themselves. Canon material generally walks a middle line between these extremes; it’s up to the DM to decide what’s true in their version of the world. 
  • The Three Headed Gorgon. The Sharn Accords split power between three Barons: Jorlanna Edoro in Fairhaven, Merrix Vown in Sharn, and Zorlan Harn in Korth—has a strong case and a faction that supports them. But Cannith is a machine that needs all its pieces working together to prosper. The Sharn Accords have kept it going so far, but if the three factions can’t come to an agreement soon it may begin to break down. Any of the three Barons might employ a capable group of adventurers to help with their schemes, whether they seek to elevate their own standing (recovering treasures from the Mournland, completing an arcane breakthrough, performing a major act of philanthropy) or to sabotage their rivals. 
  • Profiting from Prophecy. House Cannith’s leadership crisis could be a key decision point in the Draconic Prophecy, with the future taking different paths based on which Baron claims the crown. If this is the case, each Baron could have a greater power promoting their cause. Canon has already suggested that one of the Lords of Dust is influencing Jorlanna. But there could be a different Lord of Dust backing one of the other Barons—perhaps Mordakhesh is supporting Zorlan, knowing that his leadership will lead to devastating war—while the Chamber may be supporting the third Baron. On the other hand, it could be that the fall and dissolution of House Cannith is the outcome an immortal faction is seeking.   
  • The Bounty of the Mournland. There are countless Cannith facilities in the Mournland, ranging from warehouses stocked with mundane goods to hidden forgeholds where secret weapons were being designed. Perhaps the Mourning itself was the result of an accident at just such a facility—and if that’s the case, the weapon responsible could be there just waiting to be found. Adventurers already exploring the Mournland could stumble onto such things, or they could be hired to recover Cannith goods from the Mournland. The patron could be a Cannith heir, or it could be someone with nefarious intent. The dwarf who pays the adventurers to recover a sealed chest—an extradimensional locker filled with Blast Disks—could be an Aurum arms dealer looking to resell them for a prophet, or they could be one of the Swords of Liberty planning to blow up King Boranel. The lost forgeholds weren’t spared from the effects of the Mourning, and Cannith ruins might contain warped constructs, living spells, tormented ghosts, or even greater dangers. 
  • Endless Rivalries. House Cannith has always suffered from corporate intrigues and internal divisions. While Zorlan, Merrix, and Jorlanna vie for control, there are countless lesser intrigues between rivals fighting over resources, contracts, and simply for prestige. Adventurers could be employed to steal a rival’s research, to embarrass them at a gala, or any sort of minor scheme. 
  • The Fate of the Forged. House Cannith created the Warforged and sold them into servitude as weapons. Some heirs of the House seek redemption by helping the Warforged in the present day. Some are indifferent to the overall plight of the Warforged as a species, but seek to continue their research—secretly creating new Warforged, whether using hidden Creation Forges in violation of the Treaty of Thronehold or pioneering new means to create sentient constructs. And then there are those who still consider Warforged to be assets of House Cannith, villains who seek to impose their will on Warforged with tools like the Master’s Summons. On the other side of the equation, there are Warforged who yearn for vengeance on their creators, and others who seek Cannith aid in solving the challenges faced by their species. 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW MORE? This is an excerpt of an article written for my Patreon supporters. The full article is three times the length of this one, and includes the Structure of House Cannith (with details on the Fabricator’s Guild, the Tinker’s Guild, the factions of the three Barons, prominent forgeholds and enclaves, and more), the Families of House Cannith, Cannith Customs, new focus items, and more!

Excerpt: House Deneith and the Mark of Sentinel

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A heraldic image showing three heads -- a gdragon, a lion, and a goat -- over a shield.
The sigil of the Defender’s Guild, by Matthew Johnson.

Those two have been watching you since you came in. The dwarf in the conveniently nondescript chainmail recently drank a Potion of Giant Strength—see the way his muscles are trembling, barely able to contain the power? The Khoravar’s a mage. That’s a wand of Xorian wenge in his hand, so she’s probably an enchanter. Which probably means they intend to take you alive… probably. Do you want to try your luck and see how it turns out? Or shall we discuss my rates for protection? 

The Mark of Sentinel sharpens your senses. It provides an intuitive bonus to Perception and Insight. But this isn’t just about keen sight and sharp ears. It’s an intuitive bonus—an instinctive evaluation of all possible threats. The Dragonmark keeps you alert, every ready. When you enter a room, you always check the exits. When you meet a stranger, you’re always searching for signs of hidden weapons or hints as to their combat capabilities. It’s not a conscious thing; it’s been drilled into you and enhanced by your Mark. House Deneith has never abandoned its martial roots. If you were raised in the House, your education was on par with any military academy in the Five Nations. And once you survived your Test of Siberys—whether you manifested a Mark or not—you had to serve a tour in the Blademarks or the Defender’s Guild. Whatever path you’re following now, you were raised in a culture of martial discipline and service. 

When creating a Deneith adventurer or NPC, consider how this upbringing has affected them. The majority of Deneith heirs serve as Blademarks or Defenders for their entire careers; that service is all they know and all they need. What about the Deneith you’re making? Do they still serve the house or have they turned their back on it? Or is it something in between—they’re a mercenary licensed by the Blademarks, but they’ve chosen to follow an independent path? Regardless of the answer, consider this. A Deneith heir was raised with a strict code of discipline and bound to a chain of command. Do they maintain that discipline as an adventurer, and possibly seek to impose it on others? Do they want the party of adventurers to function like a military unit? Or have they rejected their upbringing, choosing to celebrate their independence and freedom? Is war second nature to them, or are they trying to bury their blade? 

While it varies by family, Deneith heirs tend to be stoic and serious. Heirs of the house were raised to be soldiers, and furthermore, trained to be ever alert for danger. It’s nearly impossible for a Deneith heir to fully relax and let their guard down; it simply isn’t in their nature. Likewise, Deneith heirs are driven by their desire to protect the people and things they care about. In making a Deneith character, consider who or what you’re protecting. Is it your entire adventuring party? Is it a particular individual? Or is a concept—a nation, a faith, a village? This is one of the main reasons heirs end up leaving House Deneith, whether voluntarily or as excoriates. As a Blademark or a Defender, you serve the client only as long as gold continues to change hands. You could be defending a noble one day, and serving their mortal enemy the next day. The House does its best to push heirs to see themselves as, ultimately, defending DENEITH—protecting the family and ensuring its prosperity through their hard work. But there are always Sentinels who develop an attachment to their clients or to ideals beyond pure profit. As a Deneith character, are you driven by gold and the good of your House? Or have found something that’s more important to you than platinum?  

Deneith upbringing is much like a military academy, but that doesn’t mean that Deneith adventurers have to be fighters. Heirs initially train with spear, club, dagger, and crossbow, and those that excel at physical combat focus on martial training. But magic is part of everyday life in Eberron, and heirs who have the potential to become Wizards, Sorcerers, or Bards receive specialized training to develop those skills. Blademark mages are trained to focus on Evocation, Conjuration, and other spells that can play a powerful role on the battlefield; those destined for the Defender’s Guild will focus more on Spells of the Mark and personal defense. Meanwhile, a Deneith Bard is primarily trained to lead. They’re warlords, not entertainers; their Inspiration reflects this leadership, and they are driven toward the College of Valor. These paths—martial and magic—are the common choices; heirs without the exceptional potential of player characters will still be tapped as player characters. Other classes could reflect unusual training or focus. The Peacekeepers are an elite force within the Defender’s Guild, trained to protect clients in environments where no weapons are allowed; they are an order of Monks with the Warrior of Mercy subclass. While there’s no schooling for it, Deneith has produced a number of champions whose mastery of the Mark of Sentinel allows them to reduce the damage from attacks; this is a different way of playing a World Tree Barbarian, presenting their Rage and other class features as being manifestations of the Dragonmark. Other classes are less common in House Deneith. A Rogue or Warlock with the Mark of Sentinel likely developed their skills outside of the House; Deneith doesn’t typically traffic with spirits, and while the Peacekeepers are subtle, the Blademark and Defender’s Guild primarily focus on strength rather than stealth. Deneith heirs with a religious calling typically follow this beyond the House. An heir who becomes a Paladin may return to Deneith once they have mastered their gifts, and such champions often become Sentinel Marshals; but the house itself doesn’t have the depth of faith required to train Clerics of Paladins, let alone Druids.

A list of spells associated with the Mark of Sentinel.

THE MARK OF SENTINEL

The Mark of Sentinel allows its bearer to protect themself and the people around them. Many of its gifts are straightforward, whether deflecting an attack with a wave of force (Shield) or providing slightly weaker protection over a longer period (Shield of Faith, although no faith is required). Heirs who possess the Lesser Dragonmark can disrupt other forms of energy, as seen with Counterspell and Protection from Energy. Heirs with the Greater Mark have the ability to cast Bigby’s Hand; this draws on the same force manifested with Shield, amplified and wielded with more finesse. Guardian of Faith draws on this same power, manifesting a being formed from this shield energy. Typically, a Deneith Guardian of Faith draws on the appearance of the heir’s family beast—a Ram, Lion, or Dragon. However, there have been heirs of the House whose Guardians have taken other forms; Matriarch Dalia d’Deneith was celebrated for manifesting a full Chimera with her Dragonmark.

Most of the spells of the Mark of Sentinel revolve around the projection or disruption of energy, but there’s a second thread that’s more subtle: Compelled Duel and Warding Bond. While adventurers with the Mark of Sentinel have access to all of its powers, NPCs are often more limited. Deneith NPCs from the Ravan line tend to develop Compelled Duel and Warding Bond, while those of the Wyrn families are more likely to be able to cast Shield of Faith and Barkskin. The children of the Lion—the core Deneith—are equally likely to manifest either or both sets of spells. 

Kanon vs Canon. One spell on the list above is marked with an asterisk, and that’s because it’s a change from the list that appears in Forge of the Artificer. By canon rules, the Spells of the Mark for the Mark of Sentinel include Zone of Truth… and I don’t like it. Zone of Truth is a great spell for a Sentinel Marshal, and could be a useful one for a bodyguard. But thematically, it feels quite different from the other spells; it’s about investigation rather than defense. Which ties to the fact that we’ve previously said that it’s House Medani that licenses Truthtellers—Magewrights that can cast Zone of Truth. If Zone of Truth was a core ability of House Deneith, I’d expect Deneith to be licensing Truthtellers. So, in my campaign I replace Zone of Truth with Barkskin. This allows the heir to give a willing individual an Armor Class of 17 for up to an hour, with no concentration required. Thematically, I see it as an extension of Shield and Shield of Faith, describing it not as “giving the target’s skin a bark-like texture” but rather as surrounding them with a faint but noticeable shimmer of energy. This flares up when it deflects a blow, manifesting as a web of blue-purple threads. This is something people have been working with for centuries, commonly used by Defenders to protect charges who either can’t wear armor or aren’t proficient in it. So while the shimmering is subtle, it’s an effect observers will notice and recognize. 

A warrior with the Mark of Sentinel projecting a shield of energy from his right hand.

THE HISTORY OF HOUSE DENEITH

Some say war is bound to the roots of Karrnath. The area is infamous for its Mabaran manifest zones, but perhaps Shavarath and Daanvi have a subtler, broader influence. Maybe there are shards of Rak Tulkhesh’s prison buried beneath the great cities of Karrnath, whispering of violence. Or maybe it’s just that the land is cold and harsh, and that the people there must be strong to survive. That, too, is part of the mystery of Karrnath. It’s a grim land, harder on its people than the green fields of Aundair… and yet those born in Karrnath often feel a fierce love for their bleak homeland, finding the more hospitable lands of the Five Nations to be uncomfortably soft and warm. 

The Mark of Sentinel was the first Dragonmark to manifest on humans. At that time, what is now Karrnath largely followed the model still seen in the Lhaazar Principalities of the mainland—a scattering of domains carved out by those with the strength to hold them. When the Mark of Sentinel first appeared on Jarla Deneith, she kept it hidden while she mastered its powers. When three of her children developed the Mark, Jarla and her kin used its power to challenge the tyrant Dynass. Though Jarla was slain in the battles that followed, the Deneith triumphed. Jarla’s eldest son, Karrlak, laid the foundations of Sentinel Tower in the city that still bears his name. At that time, almost every heir of Deneith developed the Sentinel Mark, and the legend of these mystical warriors spread across the land. It was a century later when new stories arose of Sentinel-marked champions in other realms—the Wyrns of Korth, and the Ravans of Vedakyr, which was then called Ravanloft. The Ravans were crueler than the Deneith, and ruled through force and fear. The Wyrns were loyal servants of the lords of Korth when the Mark appeared among them, and they remained loyal to their oaths, using the Mark of Sentinel to defend their liege lords rather than turning against them. From the beginning there was bad blood between Deneith and Ravan, and the next century was marked by an escalating series of duels and raids which weakened both families and their cities. The Deneith were valiant warriors, but civic administration proved to be their weakness, especially when plague and famine wracked Karrlakton. This led to the rise of a new leader, whose charisma and strategic brilliance helped him rally the common people of Karrlakton behind him: Karrn. While some tales say Karrn defeated Orrin Deneith in battle, the official account of the house says that Karrn invoked the lords of Korth and their Sentinel Guard and urged Deneith to follow their example. Karrn swore that if Orrin and his family would stand by his side and defend him, they would share in his glory. According to the Annals of Deneith, Orrin believed that Karrn was guided by the Sovereigns of War, and said that the gift his family was given was meant to be a shield, not a crown. In the decade that followed, Karrn’s fortunes soared, and the Deneith prospered at his side. One by one, the great cities fell to Karrn’s blade or submitted to his rule. The lords of Korth chose to join Karrn, and the Wyrn came with them. The Ravan resisted; they were driven from Ravanloft, and Karrn claimed the castle built by the Sentinel family as his personal sanctuary. The Ravans opposed Karrn throughout his campaign, and had things gone another way, they might have fled into the Lhazaar Principalities and remained independent to this day. But during the Battle of the Bastion, Orrin Deneith called out the matriarch Syele Ravan. Orrin said that those who carried the Warrior’s Mark should stand together, and Leodan Wyrn stood with him on this. If Syele defeated Orrin, both Wyrn and Deneith would join with Ravan and oppose Karrn. But if Syele fell to Orrin, the Ravan would join their fellow Sentinels. The Annals say that Orrin compelled Syele to accept the duel through the power of the Mark they both carried, and that magic flowed through all those who bore it, binding them to this bargain. Had Syele won that fateful duel, House Ravan might be a power in the world today. But Orrin emerged victorious, and that was the beginning of House Deneith. 

The Sentinel Families stood alongside Karrn as he forged the kingdom of Karrnath and stretched his hand beyond. They fought alongside him as he crossed the river and claimed the lands to the south. And when Karrn went too far—when his army was broken and his forces scattered—it was his Sentinel Guard who saw him safely back to his castle in Ravanloft. Orrin Deneith died in the battle of Daskaran, flinging himself in the path of a ballista bolt that would have slain Karrn. While his death was a blow to his family, the story of Deneith’s commitment and courage spread wide… and when the war was finally over, Queen Lycia of Daskaran sent messengers to Karrnath, seeking a force of Sentinel Guards of her own. It was at this moment that Deneith embraced the path of the mercenary—not bound to a single king, but promising loyal service to any who would pay their price. 

Karrnath persisted even after the death of Karrn the Conqueror. Karrlakton remained the stronghold of Deneith, and over time the house expanded its mercenary operations. Karrlakton became the proving ground for a force of soldiers ready to serve under any banner. Over time they spread out across Khorvaire, propping up nobles and warlords and establishing new garrisons in those cities they protected. When the War of the Mark unfolded, it was Deneith that organized and commanded the combined forces of the Dragonmarked Houses… And Halas Tarkanan, who organized the Aberrant resistance, was the son of a Deneith heir trained in the tactics of the House. When the Twelve was established in the wake of the War of the Mark, Deneith was a proud member. In the time that followed, Deneith’s ranks grew. Merchants (and House Orien) employed Deneith mercenaries to guard their caravans. City-states relied on Deneith soldiers to serve as peacekeepers. Some scurrilous accounts suggest that members of the Ravan line engaged in acts of banditry in order to drive up the demand for Deneith’s services, but these accusations were never substantiated. 

While Deneith served clients all over the continent, its heart lay in Karrnath. The lords of Karrnath leaned heavily on the House, and more than once Deneith helped “adjudicate” a conflict between heirs. While the House maintained its general principle that the Mark of Sentinel was a shield, not a crown, there’s no denying the fact that they helped the Wynarn family achieve and hold power—and the Wynarns were unmarked cousins of the Wyrn. The ties between House and Crown remained close, and it was common for a Wynarn prince to reside in Karrlakton and to drill with the Deneith. This was the case with the young Prince Galifar. When that prince became a conquering king, the offer he made to the Twelve — the terms of the Korth Edicts — were modeled on the role House Deneith had played throughout the history of Karrnath. Deneith’s endorsement of Galifar played a vital role in pressuring the other Houses to accept the arrangement, and it’s no coincidence that Deneith alone retained the right to maintain significant military forces under the Korth Edicts. Nonetheless, the golden age of Galifar proved to be a challenging time for House Deneith. With the nations united, the people of Sigilstar no longer feared Aruldusk raiders, and the lords of Athandra and Danthaven resolved their disputes through the courts rather than on the battlefield. There was still some need for the Blademarks—defending merchants, battling brigands, suppressing unrest, fighting monsters. But it was clear House Deneith needed to explore new paths, and this led to the foundation of the Defender’s Guild and the Sentinel Marshals. The Blademarks had always served as bodyguards to powerful lords, but now the role of guardian was more important than that of soldier. And the Sentinel Marshals quickly became a trusted force that could be called upon to pursue fugitives from justice and to enforce the King’s laws from one end of Galifar to the other. 

One might expect that the Last War would find House Deneith heavily invested in the Defender’s Guild, ill-prepared to take to the battlefield. Little could be further from the truth. In the final years of his reign, King Jarot became obsessed with the defense of Galifar. In addition to building up the Royal Army, Jarot commissioned increasingly powerful weapons of war from House Cannith and called on House Deneith to provide elite units and to prepare reserves. Patriarch Halden Harn d’Deneith could smell blood on the air, and he worked quickly to revitalize the Blademark and to draw together the scattered mercenary bands licensed by the House. It’s worth noting that the Sentinel Marshals largely opposed the Last War, and the Lord Commander Brashin Halar d’Deneith met with each of the rival Wynarn heirs, urging them to honor tradition and to preserve the united kingdom. Some say that Brashin’s assassination, six months after the death of King Jarot, was the true death knell of Galifar. 

Once the war broke out in earnest, demand exploded. In most nations, nobles were expected to provide military forces to their ruler. This could be accomplished through conscription, but a lord could avoid this by paying for a unit of Blademarks to take the place of their subjects. Karrnath and Thrane were both culturally well prepared for war and had little need of such forces, but Cyre leaned heavily on House Deneith. Breland adapted over time, but also relied on Deneith in the early years of the war. Coincidentally, this meant that Deneith soldiers were often fighting their distant cousins in Karrnath. Despite this, the Karrnathi rulers respected Deneith’s neutrality, allowing the house to maintain its power in Karrlakton even as Deneith soldiers laid siege to Loran Rath. With that said, there’s a common myth that Blademark soldiers wouldn’t fight other Blademarks. Such a restriction would complicate warfare and seriously diminish the value of Deneith forces. However, there are two motes of truth to this tale. When blooded Deneith heirs faced one another in battle, they would surrender after suffering any injury—a tradition known as the first and felling blow. In situations where heirs expected to face other heirs, they would often carry a baton in addition to their primary weapon, using the club when fighting other heirs. The point being that they would fight, and to the best of their ability, but they would try not to kill their kin. It was also well known that Deneith would pay a ransom for its heirs, so even enemy soldiers would often try to take blood heirs alive. However, when heirs of Deneith fought against licensed mercenaries with no blood ties to their house, no holds would be barred. It was for this reason that Deneith was always seeking to increase the ranks of the Blademarks. When Deneith scouts discovered the strength of the hobgoblin bands in Southern Cyre and the Seawall Mountains, they were all too eager to recruit forces from the clans of the Ghaal’dar. The Ghaal’dar weren’t enacting some carefully planned scheme, and had Deneith shown more restraint or spread the Ghaal’dar forces more widely across Khorvaire, they might have averted the disaster than became Darguun. As it was, the soldier Haruuc recognized the shifting balance of power, and rallied the lords of the Ghaal’dar to support the bloody treachery that followed. In another time, the rise of Darguun might have destroyed House Deneith. But as it was, the nations employing Deneith were simply too reliant on the House to change their ways. But the shadow of that grand betrayal still looms large over the House, and it was this that allowed House Tharashk to gain support for its own mercenary endeavors. 

Another point often misunderstood is the relationship between House Deneith and the elves of Valenar. House Deneith didn’t recruit the Tairnadal Elves, and it played no role in their initial arrangement in Cyre. The Eberron Campaign Setting states “When the Last War began, Cyre came under attack from all sides and quickly sought allies. While the Undying Court of Aerenal had no interest in returning to Khorvaire, the Cyrans drew the interest of the Valaes Tairn.” Queen Mishann ir’Wynarn dealt directly with the var-shan Shaeras Vadallia, against the advice of Halden d’Deneith. It was only after Vadallia’s betrayal that Deneith brokered deals with Valenar shans for the services of individual warriors and warbands. Deneith is very careful in how it assigns warbands, and their contracts with the elves hold many penalties for oathbreakers. Notably, each warclan that deals with Deneith has a representative residing in Sentinel Tower in Karrlakton—a hostage for their clan’s good behavior. 

With the end of the war, Deneith once again finds itself with a surplus of soldiers. Within the house, the focus has shifted back to the Defender’s Guild. Many of the Blademark Viceroys believe the current peace won’t last, and are thus working hard to keep their best bands together. But many Blademarks have been released from service until circumstances shift. 

What Happens Next?  

  • The Lure of Conquest. The importance of neutrality has been drilled into the house for generations. The Mark of Sentinel is a shield, not a crown. But the heirs of Deneith are only human, and there will always be those who dream of what Deneith could accomplish if it chose to act in its own interests instead of serving others. The Lord Commander of the Blademarks, Shirin Ravan d’Deneith, has such dreams. A recent convert to the Seeker faith, Shirin has been making contacts within the Order of the Emerald Claw and talking with Karrnathi warlords frustrated by Kaius III’s pursuit of peace; he may also be in contact with the Blades of Karrn in Stormreach, or Zorlan d’Cannith. Ultimately it’s up to the DM to decide if Shirin has enough support to actually move against Baron Brevan, or if his ambitions are far from being realized. A second question is whether Shirin envisions himself to be a second Karrn the Conqueror, establishing a resurgent Karrnath—or if his dream is to rally the Houses behind him in an echo of the War of the Mark, creating a realm governed by the Twelve. 
  • What’s Going On In Sharn? While some houses have well-established nefarious forces within their ranks—such as the Hurricane Harvest of House Lyrandar and the Feral Heart of House Vadalis—it’s important to remember that in Eberron, there’s always room for a new cult. The Hurricane Harvest and Feral Heart have history. But Cults of the Dragon Below can take root anywhere. Likewise, anyone could potentially be mind seeded by the Dreaming Dark. Because there’s no precedent in history, no one’s looking for cults in House Deneith… but it’s an excellent place to drop a cult of the Vigilant Eye (from Exploring Eberron) or a shard of Rak Tulkhesh. With that in mind, some people say there’s something strange about the Deneith enclave in Sharn; if you want to know more, check out Sharn: City of Towers. 
  • Hunters and Sentinels. The rift between House Tharashk and House Deneith has been simmering for a century. Sentinel Marshals have increasingly found themselves in competition with Tharashk bounty hunters, and now Tharashk is intruding on Deneith’s core business by brokering the services of Droaamites. Tharashk wields considerable influence as the primary source of refined dragonshards, and the Twelve has refused Deneith’s requests to censure the Dragonne’s Roar. This feud is a source of tension between heirs of the two Houses, and there have been bitter conflicts between individual Marshals and Hunters in the shadows. It’s up to the DM to decide how this will escalate. Will it remain limited to clashes between individuals? Could Deneith try to sabotage the reputation of the Dragonne’s Roar by manufacturing a disaster involving Droaamite mercenaries? Open conflict between mercenaries is unlikely, but anything could happen…

This article is an excerpt. The full version is three times the length of this, and includes the structure of the house, customs, details on the founding families, and focus items tied to the Mark of Sentinel. To access the full article, check out my Patreon!

House Lyrandar and the Mark of Storm: Preview

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The crystal shows love Lyrandar. How many times have we seen a dashing Lyrandar captain facing off against pirates, dancing on the wind, landing blows with their rapier and rapier wit? That’s the story we’re sold—they’re daring, they’re bold. The House wants us to like them, to admire their adventurous spirit, to trust they’ll take us where we want to go. But just you look at the seal of the Windwright’s guild. You see the ship, riding the water or the wind. But around it and below it lies the Kraken, its tentacles reaching out to seize the world. Lyrandar has always been driven by ambition. They began with their feet caked in river mud, and now they’ve laid claim to the sky. I know, I know. You think I spend too much time reading the Voice of Aundair. But I tell you this: the sky won’t be enough for House Lyrandar.

There’s a storm inside of you. It was born when you first manifested your dragonmark, and it’s whirled within you ever since. Sometimes you want to move like the wind, to dance across the hall or dart through the rigging of a ship. Sometimes you want to let it out—to unleash your tension with a single clap of thunder, or to let it pour out of you in a massive gust of wind. There’s a storm inside of you, but only you know what it feels like. Is it cold and wet, full of ice and sleet, relentless hail that will wear down your foes? Or does the wind inside of you lift people up, catching you when you fall and shielding you from harm? What is the storm inside of you, and how do you reveal it to the world? 

The Mark of Storms has gone through many changes over the editions. This article considers it in its latest incarnation, as it was presented in Unearthed Arcana and will appear in Forge of the Artificer. If you have the Mark of Storm, you have an intuitive bonus to Acrobatics and navigation. You have resistance to Lightning Damage. You know Gust of Wind and can cast it once per day without expending a spell slot… and you can cast the Thunderclap cantrip at will. These gifts are far more dangerous than the powers of most other Dragonmarks. A Cannith can mend, a Sivis can send messages, a Phiarlan can weave illusions. But your mark can flow out of you with explosive force. Every Lyrandar enclave has a fortified storm suite, where heirs are kept in isolation after manifesting the mark until they learn to control it; though an heir can go to the storm suite at any time if they just want to unleash their power without restraint, with no risk of hurting anyone. Due to this intensive training, Lyrandar heirs are very aware of their personal space—a Thunderclap strikes everyone within five feet. A trained heir runs no risk of accidentally unleashing their power, but releasing a Thunderclap is an exhilarating feeling and many will do it to accentuate a dramatic point to to express joy or anger; but again, they are careful to know when such an act could put innocents at risk. 

House Lyrandar has always been driven by pride and ambition. A Lyrandar captain is the monarch of their own tiny kingdom, and considers themself to be the equal of any king or queen. From childhood, Lyrandar heirs are encouraged to dream big and to believe in their own potential. If you’re making a character who bears the Mark of Storm, consider how its power affects them. Do they love wild motion and dramatic displays? Or are they more akin to still water with hidden depths? 

THE MARK OF WIND AND WATER

The spells of the Mark of Storm follow two paths. Feather Fall, Levitate, and Wind Wall are tied to the wind, while Fog Cloud, Sleet Storm, and Control Water are tied to water. While some exceptional heirs (including any player character) can draw on all of these powers, most Lyrandar heirs have an affinity for one or the other; thus, a typical Lyrandar NPC might be able to cast Feather Fall or Sleet Storm, but probably not both of them. The ability to conjure elementals is common to both paths, but heirs are usually only able to conjure the type of elemental associated with their affinity (Air or Water). Shatter is a focused form of Thunderclap and it’s something any Lyrandar heir can master with effort, but many don’t bother to do so; it requires an aggressive outlook, and heirs pursuing a peaceful life may not want to wield such power. 

Conjuring Elementals. Where did the idea for the Elemental Galleon come from? Why was it associated with Lyrandar to begin with, if Lyrandar don’t bind elementals? The answer is that the heirs of House Lyrandar have been using elementals since the Mark of Storm first appeared—just in a far less efficient manner. The Lesser Mark of Storm allows the bearer to cast Conjure Minor Elementals. The Greater Mark gives access to Conjure Elemental. Lyrandar heirs quickly learned how to use air elementals to fill their sails and water elementals to propel larger vessels. However, doing this directly is a considerable effort for the heir manifesting the elemental and it lacks precision. The invention of the Elemental Galleon demonstrates the purpose of the Twelve: to combine the expertise of the Dragonmarked Houses to create things no house could create on its own. The first galleons still relied on a Lyrandar heir to produce the elemental, but channeled that spirit into ship systems—creating the iconic elemental ring. By working with the Zil, the Twelve made the breakthrough that led to the modern elemental vehicles—summoning an independent elemental that could be bound to the ship itself. Because the point is that when a Lyrandar heir conjures an elemental, it’s not coming from Lamannia. 

When you conjure an elemental you’re drawing out the storm that lies within you; it is your spirit made manifest. Bear in mind that (under 2024 rules) when a Lyrandar heir conjures an elemental, it’s not an independent, sentient entity. Conjure Minor Elementals creates an emanation that radiates out from the heir, a storm that enhances their attacks. Conjure Elemental summons a “Large, intangible spirit” that doesn’t move once cast—a swirling storm core. It’s a manifestation of elemental power, not an independent entity. The key point is that the 2024 rules as written only describe the combat effects of these spells; but Lyrandar has developed focus items that can harness that elemental power to use it as motive force. It’s further the case that even though Lyrandar heirs don’t summon independent elementals, an heir’s relationship with their inner storm gives them an affinity for interacting with elemental forces… which is enhanced by the Wheel of Wind and Water, and which in turn is why airships currently rely on Lyrandar pilots for reliable control of the elementals. 

Purely by the rules, someone who casts Conjure Elemental or Conjure Minor Elementals can draw on any elemental. Lyrandar NPCs should be limited to Air or Water. If a Dragonmarked player character is conjuring an elemental through the Mark, they should also be limited in this way. If they are a spellcaster using a spell slot to cast the spell, then they can call on any element; they may be guided by their Mark, but they are drawing on additional magic in casting the spell. 

Storm Sorcerers and Lyrandar NPCs. Lyrandar NPCs are generally presumed to have a form of the Potent Dragonmark feat, granting them a single spell slot for each tier of their Dragonmark—Least (1st or 2nd level), Lesser (3rd or 4th level), and Greater (5th level). A typical heir is limited to either Wind or Water spells. Player characters with spellcasting ability have access to all of the Spells of the Mark and can use spell slots to cast those spells. Exceptional Lyrandar NPCs (including agents of the Hurricane Harvest) can have this same level of power, with the ability to cast all of the Spells of the Mark and to do so more than once per day per tier. Beyond this, Lyrandar spellcasters can choose to ascribe some or all of their spellcasting abilities to their Dragonmark. A Lyrandar Storm Sorcerer is an obvious candidate for this, but a Fathomless Warlock could say that their “patron” is their Mark itself. Under such circumstances, a DM could slightly reflavor existing spells to better fit the idea that they are tied to the dragonmark. For example, Lyran’s Shield is identical to Armor of Agathys, but inflicts Lightning damage instead of Cold damage. Storm of Selavash is a Fireball that inflicts Lightning Damage. The Aegis of the Firstborn is Fire Shield, but with the choice of Wind (inflicting and granting resistance to Lightning Damage) or Water (inflicting and granting resistance to Cold Damage).  

Controlling the Weather. In the original 3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting, the Greater Mark of Making gave the bearer the power to cast Control Weather. The idea that Lyrandar had this ability was an important part of the house’s identity; the Raincaller’s Guild is a major part of its business. However, later editions balked at this, with Rising—and now, Forge of the Artificer—granting Conjure Elemental in place of Control Weather. From a design perspective, there’s two solid reasons for this. In Fifth Edition, Control Weather is an 8th level spell. The 3.5 ECS didn’t care that the Mark of Storms had access to a spell higher level than that of most Greater Dragonmarks. But the “Spells of the Mark” approach to Dragonmark powers doesn’t support giving a character access to an 8th level spell. And there’s a second important reason: Control Weather isn’t that useful to a typical adventurer. In either of its 5E forms, Conjure Elemental is a spell with clear value in an encounter. Control Weather is a highly situational spell that has a lot of flavor and story potential—but which is likely to be useless in a typical dungeon crawl. So I understand the rationale behind this switch. Nonetheless, the lore of House Lyrandar is based on the idea that they can control the weather. Rising From The Last War sought to bridge this by introducing the Storm Spires: Eldritch machines that allow Lyrandar heirs to control the weather around the Spire. I think the Storm Spire is great: in my campaign, a Storm Spire amplifies and expands the power of the mark, controlling weather over a wider area and for an indefinite duration. It’s an excellent tool for a large community with an established Lyrandar presence. But I still want the traveling Raincaller who can come to your farm during a drought and turn things around. With this in mind, in my campaign I’m implementing the idea that controlling the weather is a specialization within the house. Some heirs learn to externalize the storm they hold within; if they develop the Greater Dragonmark, they have the ability to cast Conjure Elemental. Others—those that emulate the still water with hidden depths—learn to manipulate the storms around them rather than to unleash the storm within. Those that follow this path replace Conjure Elemental on the Spells of the Mark list with Control Weather. They are able to cast Control Weather once using a 5th level spell slot, and regain the ability to do so after they complete a long rest; otherwise, they can cast it using an 8th level spell slot. So, Raincaller NPCs with the Greater Mark of Storm can control the weather; if a Lyrandar adventurer wants this power, it comes at the expense of Conjure Elemental. 

A sailboat with the Mark of Storm on its sail and the wind behind it.
The symbol of the River Windwrights, depicted by Matthew Johnson.

FOCUS ITEMS

Lyrandar heirs regularly employ the focus items described in Exploring Eberron—Dragonmark Channels and Reservoirs. Exploring Eberron mentions Storm’s Embrace, a focus item that duplicates the Ring of Feather Falling. In general, any item that deals with wind or water can be reframed as a Lyrandar focus item. Here’s a few additional focus items. The Hurricane Cloak is beloved by Lyrandar swashbucklers. The Windwright’s Anchor and Raincaller’s Crown are tools used by members of the Lyrandar guilds. The Windwright’s Anchor is a key tool for Lyrandar riverboat captains, who fill their sails with Gust of Wind, while the Raincaller’s Crown allows a wandering Raincaller to maintain a shift in the weather for a full day—and to go indoors after casting the spell. Scepters of the Firstborn are rare weapons treasured by champions of the Hurricane Harvest.  

Hurricane Cloak 

Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement by a creature with the Mark of Storm)

While wearing this cloak, you can take a bonus action to make it billow dramatically for one minute. You can take a Magic action to catch the wind within the cloak, lifting you just off the ground. While the cloak remains active, you have a Fly speed of 40 feet and can hover. You must maintain concentration to sustain this flight, as if you were concentrating on a spell. The cloak keeps you aloft until you end your concentration. 

Windwright’s Anchor  

Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement by a creature with the Mark of Storm)

This amulet enhances the powers of the Mark of Storm. When you cast Gust of Wind, Fog Cloud, Wind Wall or Conjure Elemental, you can use the Anchor to enhance the duration of the spell. This requires intense focus and ongoing concentration. While using the Anchor in this way, you are Restrained. In addition, you must use an action on each of your turns to maintain the effect. As long as you do so, you can maintain the spell effect indefinitely. 

Raincaller’s Crown

Wondrous Item, uncommon (requires attunement by a creature with the Mark of Storm)

When you cast Control Weather, you can maintain concentration on the spell for up to 24 hours. You must be outdoors to cast the spell, but it doesn’t end early if you go indoors after casting it. When you end concentration, the weather you have created continues for eight hours before fading. 

Scepter of the Firstborn

Rod, Rare (requires attunement by a creature with the Mark of Storm)

This rod has 7 charges and can be wielded as a mace. 

Mighty Thunder. If you cast Thunderclap while holding the Scepter, the damage is increased by 1d6 and the saving throw DC is increased by 2. 

Storm Unleashed. While holding the Sc epter, you can expend up to 3 charges to cast Lightning Bolt (Save DC 15) from it. For 1 charge, you cast the level 3 version of the spell. You can increase the spell’s level by 1 for each additional charge you expend. 

Regaining Charges. The Scepter regains 1d6+1 expended charges daily at dawn. 

This is a preview of the full article available to patrons. The full article is four times the length of this one, and includes information on this history, structure, family, and customs of House Lyrandar. If you’d like to read the full thing—and to help support my creating more of these articles—check out my Patreon here!

House Medani: Medani Miscellany

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A stylized basilisk's head
The seal of the basilisk’s Gaze, by Matthew Johnson

You’ve heard of the Basilisk’s Gaze, then? Medani operatives, charged under the Treaty of Thronehold to hunt down the worst war criminals of the last century. It’s kind of odd, right? If you want to FIND someone, you go to Tharashk. Why Medani? Well, it could be that Breland objected to Tharashk because of their close ties to Droaam. But you know what I think? I think it’s because these people the Gaze is hunting, they aren’t common criminals. They’ve got money, influence, magic. These people can shield themselves from divination, establish new identities. Finding a person like that, it’s more of a puzzle than a job for a simple bounty hunter. And apprehending them… that’s a thing that would have to be done quietly and carefully. You’d have to be able to anticipate their routine, know where they’d start their day. Know their favorite strain of tal. Have a paralytic poison on hand, slow-acting but undetectable, and have sufficient charm to keep them talking until the poison takes effect. What do you think? Hmm? Can’t respond? Don’t worry. My friends and I will help you out. You’ve got a tribunal waiting for you at Thronehold, Viktor ir’Cazin.

The Mark of Detection enhances the bearer’s Insight and Investigation. This isn’t about broadly improving eyesight or hearing. Instead, Medani intuition calls attention to details. A marked Medani is always noticing things about their surroundings others might ignore. When talking to someone, a Medani instinctively catalogues their twitches and tells, evaluates their accent and how it aligns with their supposed nationality, observes their equipment and its quality… and does all of this without even thinking about it. But when the details matter, all of these observations will come flooding back. The greater powers of the Mark of Detection go beyond personal observation. While some within Medani say that their house is blessed by Aureon, the dominant belief is that the Mark of Detection connects everyone that carries it, and that a Medani with a powerful mark can draw on the memories and observations of every marked scion of the house. Because of this, the house strives to constantly expand its knowledge base. In many of the Dragonmarked Houses, heirs of a house are often raised in house enclaves and educated in trade schools tied to their guilds. By contrast, House Medani encourages its heirs to be active in local communities and to cultivate a diverse group of friends. Before undergoing the Test of Siberys, a Medani heir must complete an apprenticeship outside of the house. The point of this isn’t to pursue a long-term profession, but to meet people and to make connections… to learn seemingly inconsequential details that could be of use to some other heir of the house at some point in the future. In addition to the Watchers of the Warning Guild, House Medani maintains a corps of “Private Eyes”—Inquisitives tasked to travel across the world and learn things, unraveling mysteries when they find them and pulling on interesting threads. This is a possible path for a Medani adventurer. Watchers of the Warning Guild typically work out of a particular office in a particular town. But Private Eyes are encouraged to keep moving, searching for the most interesting situations and people that they can find. As a Medani heir, ask questions and explore even tiny mysteries. Even if the answers to your questions don’t have an impact today, they could help your family in the future!  

Perception or Investigation? In Rising From The Last War, the Deductive Reasoning feature of the Mark of Detection provides a bonus to Investigation and Insight. However, in the recent Unearthed Arcana, the Mark of Detection feat provides a bonus to Perception and Insight. These are the same two skills that are boosted by the Mark of Sentinel, and in my opinion, Rising’s approach makes more sense. Sentinel helps you spot the immediate threat with Perception; Detection helps you examine the scene and draw conclusions. We don’t yet know what the final text of Forge of the Artificer will be. For now, the DM will have to decide what they want to do. But in MY campaign, I’m keeping Detection as benefitting Investigation and Insight.

The Mark of Deduction

Beyond an intuitive knack for Investigation and Insight, anyone who carries the Mark of Detection can cast Detect Magic and Detect Poison and Disease. Because they always have these spells prepared, they can cast them as rituals. But producing a spell-like effect through a dragonmark isn’t the same process as casting a spell. When performing the ritual to cast Detect Magic, a Medani heir doesn’t invoke words of power. Instead, most use one finger to trace the design of the Mark of Detection on a palm while murmuring observations about the room they’re in—temperature, sound, contents, meditating on each detail until their senses reach beyond the physical and they can feel the flow of supernatural energies around them. If you have the Mark of Detection, that’s just something you can do. Spend enough time contemplating your surroundings and you can sense supernatural energy. Other Spells of the Mark go beyond any sight or sense; they are about intuitive knowledge. An heir with the Lesser Mark can Identify magical objects. This is another spell that can be cast as a ritual, meaning that it’s something an heir with the Potent Dragonmark feat can simply do, provided they have time. If they take ten minutes to study an object, they know its magical properties. With the Lesser Mark they can study an individual and know what they are thinking. With the Lesser Dragonmark (meaning access to 4th level spells) they can simply ask a question and know the answer, by casting Divination. 

All of these gifts flow from the same source. While a Medani heir has to go through the same steps a spellcaster does to produce these effects—speaking and gesturing in some way—Medani’s Divination doesn’t feel like a priest calling upon divine guidance. Instead, to the Medani it feels like DEDUCTION. When they cast Identify, they take time to study the object—its weight, its composition, signs of wear, traces of arcane energy—and within ten minutes it becomes obvious what it does. When a Medani casts Detect Thoughts, they aren’t using telepathy as a Kalashtar would; they are simply observing, but through observation they deduce what the target is thinking. The verbal components of a Medani’s Detect Thoughts are questions; the Medani asks a few pointed questions, and draws conclusions from the most minute reactions. “Tell me, did you know Donal Gelder? Ahhh, you worked together, didn’t you? And you hated him.” Should the target succeed on their saving throw and resist the effect, the Medani can’t draw deeper conclusions about them. To be clear, this effect is magical. The Medani also has to provide somatic components—typically touching their dragonmark or tracing its pattern on a palm—and the mark does grow warm while they’re engaged in deduction. They can gain access to information that they couldn’t possibly deduce from available information. But to the Medani, and to observers, it feels like deduction—like they are leaping to certainty from minor details of a scene. 

Divination and Deductive Reasoning. Medani heirs with the Lesser Dragonmark often have the ability to cast Divination, and this is the hallmark of Medani’s master inquisitives. While the Augurs of the Voice of Aureon call this gift Divination, Medani inquisitives refer to it as Deductive Reasoning; they aren’t calling on a higher power, they’re evaluating a question and drawing conclusions. With this in mind, what exactly can Medani learn from using this spell? When performing Deductive Reasoning, the Medani draws on two potential sources of information. The first is the scene itself. Is there any possible way the Medani could deduce the answer from their surroundings, at least in part? Otherwise, the question is does any other Dragonmarked Medani know the answer to this question? So when a Medani inquisitive looks at a corpse, casts Deductive Reasoning (Divination) and says “Who killed this man?” the first question is if there’s a living Medani who actually knows the answer. If so, the inquisitive could just get that concrete answer; Alina Lorridan Lyrris poisoned him at dinner two hours ago. Assuming that’s not the case, think of all the greatest detectives you’ve seen in any form of media and the conclusions they might draw.  A strand of silver hair… a stray thread from a glamerweave gown… the placement and size of the chair… It was a wealthy female gnome. He knew her, and they were conversing when he died. See the faint scratches on the surface of the table? She was wearing rings, at least one on each finger. The point being that it’s not a randomly cryptic riddle—but it can still be a set of clues that point the inquisitive in the right direction rather than providing a concrete answer. Likewise, if the marked Medani asks a entirely abstract or philosophical question—What is the true nature of the Sovereigns—they’ll either receive no answer, or an answer that summarizes the dominant opinions of the Medani gestalt, with the clear note that it’s not a certainty. 

Legend Lore and Background Checks. Under the rules of 5th Edition, the Greater Dragonmark of Detection grants the ability to cast Legend Lore. But Legend Lore is an odd spell. 

Name or describe a person, place, or object. The spell brings to your mind a brief summary of the significant lore about the thing you named. The lore might consist of current tales, forgotten stories, or even secret lore that has never been widely known. If the thing you named isn’t of legendary importance, you gain no information. The more information you already have about the thing, the more precise and detailed the information you receive is.

The limitation that “If the thing you named isn’t of legendary importance” bothers me. Critically, who makes that determination? It also seems like an arbitrary limitation on a spell that is supposed to be the greatest power of the Dragonmark. With this in mind, in MY campaign, the Greater Dragonmark doesn’t allow you to cast Legend Lore; instead, it allows you to run a Background Check. Name or describe a person, place, or thing. The spell brings to mind a brief summary of lore about the thing you named based on what is known about them by living bearers of the Mark of Detection. Think of a gestalt consisting of both the conscious and subconscious memory of living Medani. Has any Medani ever seen the person you’re asking about? Do you already have information that could be combined with another Medani’s observations to draw a new conclusion? So like Legend Lore, the more information you already have, the more information you will receive; and likewise, if the individual or object is well known in the Five Nations, then Medani will know more. And again, this is the function of the Private Eyes—to gather as much random information as possible, which may mean nothing to the observer in the moment, but which can be added to the gestalt for Background Checks. So if you ask about someone who is truly unremarkable or about an obscure relic from tens of thousands of years ago, you might not get any information (although here again, the Voice of Aureon includes sages who study history, and their knowledge is part of the gestalt). But if you ask about a criminal, you might draw on the information of a Medani inquisitive who solved a previous crime they were involved in… and you might know that they were seen in Sharn a week ago. As always, it’s entirely up to the DM to decide what information is provided, and the bearer of the Mark can’t ask for clarification; they get the information they get. But even if we imagine a random commoner—let’s say Jurian Cooper—who’s definitely not LEGENDARY, a Medani Background Check might say Jurian Cooper is a male human in his thirties who’s been living in the Callestan district of Sharn for at least a decade. He has been seen in the company of Ilsa Boromar on multiple occasions. Last week he was seen in the Broken Mirror in Callestan, drinking Old Bender and eating a tribex pie. This also touches on the difference between the Mark of Finding and the Mark of Detection. A Background Check can’t tell you exactly where to find Jurian Cooper. But it may point you to known associates, recent haunts, or provide useful details you’re not going to get from Locate Creature. 

Nondetection. Everyone knows that the Mark of Detection lets its bearer uncover secrets. Fewer people know that it can help bury them, as well. The Wolves of the Warning Guild specialize in counterintelligence and in making problems go away. In doing so, they often employ the Lesser Mark’s gift of Nondetection—whether to conceal themselves, a client, or an inconvenient object (or body) until a case can be closed or a problem solved. This ability is especially prized by the hunters of the Basilisk’s Gaze, whose quarry often protect themselves with divination. This comes to a minor house rule. The 2024 rules have reduced the number of effects that say a creature cannot be surprised; notably, the Weapon of Warning no longer provides this benefit. But I personally say that if any magical source provides immunity to surprise (as opposed to a skill or mundane class feature) that the benefit will not help against someone who is shielded by Nondetection. Likewise, in my campaign Nondetection protects from magical effects that are clearly forms of divination even if they are not identified as being divination spells—notably, a Wand of Enemy Detection. 

Clairvoyance and Arcane Eye. These abilities are a form of extrasensory perception and have more in common with Detect Magic than Identify or Legend Lore. The heir concentrates on their Dragonmark and meditates on the location they wish to see, envisioning it in their mind… and soon finds that the vision in their mind is real and accurate. Sensors created by these spells appear as globes formed from stands of blue energy to those who can see them; sometimes the Mark of Detection appears within the globe, mimicking the iris of an eye. 

Detect Good and Evil? Good and Evil may feel like abstract concepts for an inquisitive to monitor. But keep in mind that Detect Good and Evil doesn’t actually detect alignment or morality. The spell effect is “For the duration, you sense the location of any Aberration, Celestial, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, or Undead within 30 feet of yourself. You also sense whether the Hallow spell is active there and, if so, where.” For the sensitive Medani, this isn’t much different from using Detect Magic to sense the flow of arcane energy. The Medani heir concentrates, extends their perceptions, and essentially finds what doesn’t belong, drawing on the Medani gestalt to further clarify the specific nature of the entity.

Dragonmarked NPCs 

In a previous article, I  discussed how I generally handle NPCs with dragonmarks. Here’s the key piece.

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.

Now, as noted above, if a Spell of the Mark is a Ritual spell, then the bearer can cast it repeatedly as long as they have time to do so. But the key point I want to call out is that player characters get access to ALL the Spells of the Mark. Exceptional NPCs may as well. But most marked NPCs will have access to a subset of the Spells of the Mark, and this will often reflect their placement in the house. Members of the Basilisk’s Gaze are generally chosen because they have the ability to cast Nondetection and Detect Thoughts. Members of Aureon’s Voice are sure to have Divination and Identify. The point being that ALL Medani heirs have the ability to Detect Magic and Detect Poison & Disease, but even though it’s a power of the Least Mark of Detection, not every Medani heir can cast Identify. 

Focus Items. Medani heirs regularly employ the focus items described in Exploring Eberron—Dragonmark Channels and Reservoirs. Exploring Eberron notes the Medi Spectacles and Medi Dowser, dragonmark bound versions of Eyes of Minute Seeing and the Wand of Secrets. Here’s two more Medani focus items—one that’s useful for undercover operatives, another that helps the Inquisitive investigating a murder.

That’s all for now! This article is just a glimpse at the full House Medani article I wrote for my Patrons, which includes the history and structure of House Medani, as well as discussing its major enclaves and providing additional hooks for Medani characters and stories. This support is what allows me to take the times to write articles like this. You can become a patron here!

House Rules: Forensic Magic and Investigation

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A stylized basilisk's head
The seal of the basilisk’s Gaze, by Matthew Johnson

“What do you see, Wyattson?” 

“The emanations suggest a spell of the sixth circle, and the glimmering resonance is the celestial signature of the Silver Flame. There’s only one woman in Sharn who wields the Flame with such power—Ythana Morr.”

“Well reasoned, my friend, but look more closely. That celestial resonance that drew your attention is merely sprinkled atop the true signature of the spell. I don’t recognize the energy… but it has the stink of Mabar about it.” 

I’ve just published an in-depth look at House Medani, one of the main sources of inquisitives in Eberron, so I’ve been thinking about how I like to run mysteries and investigation campaigns. Magic is a part of everyday life in Eberron; it’s a tool people use in place of the technology we use in our world. There are countless ways spells can be used to commit a crime—but how can an Inquisitive investigate this? I love the image of a detective using Detect Magic to pick up details of the crime, like someone in our world would evaluate ballistics or DNA. However, by default, Detect Magic only provides details of the school of magic associated with an effect. I like to go deeper. If an adventurer who’s proficient in both Arcana and Investigation and who’s capable of casting Detect Magic studies a scene, I will give them the opportunity to find traces of spells that have been used in the recent past, potentially gaining any of the following details… typically in this order. 

  • Traces. How many spells have been used in the area that’s being studied in the last 24 hours? This is the first step; the investigator might have a vague sense of relative power and time. If they pick a spell to study, they have an opportunity to obtain additional information. 
  • School of Magic. This is the easy default; Detect Magic allows anyone to do this, with no proficiency or check. 
  • When was the spell cast? This will be approximate, but it’s something. 
  • What level spell slot was used to cast the spell? This is a basic mechanical element of spells and in my opinion, it’s a concept people understand within the world itself; it’s a basic measure of the power of a spell. I generally prefer to use “circle” instead of “level” just because I prefer the sound of it. But I’ll allow an expert to recognize the level of a spell effect. 
  • What is the Power Source of the spell? Broadly, what type of magic is it? Arcane? Divine? Primal? Generally, I will allow a professional who’s able to cast Detect Magic to make this determination without being familiar with the magic in question; you don’t have to be a cleric to identify divine magic. However, if the spell is something more exotic, I might limit things; psionic spells or something associated with an exotic warlock might show up as “an unknown form of energy manipulation”—unless the investigator has prior experience with that form of magic. 
  • Spell Signature. Once the investigator has identified the power source of a spell, they may be able to glean more specific details about the spell or the spellcaster. For a Divine spell, the basic signature reveals the faith of the spellcaster: Sovereign Host, Path of Light, Silver Flame. With a Primal spell it will reveal the druidic sect or tradition. For an Arcane spell, it reveals the literal school where the caster learned magic; Arcanix has an entirely different style from the war magic of Rekkenmark, the workhorse training of the Twelve, or the esoteric precision of Aereni magic. If the user is self trained, that will be evident; “It’s an unconventional, haphazard style, probably self-taught.” If the DM doesn’t know these specific details, it might provide a broad sense of nationality of the caster; we’ve never named any schools of magic in the Mror Holds, but Mror arcane spells have a signature that’s broadly different from those of Breland or Aundair. When appropriate, the DM can also say that the investigator identifies the distinctive style but doesn’t recognize it—this would be appropriate for the magic of Argonnessen, the Lords of Dust, or a unique Cult of the Dragon Below. The point is that once they’ve encountered in once, they’ll recognize it when they encounter it again. 
  • Further Details. The power source and signature provide a solid foundation: It’s a divine spell associated with the Blood of Vol or it’s an arcane spell cast by someone trained at Rekkenmark. But an exceptional investigator could potentially pick up additional information. A simple discovery would be information about the components used in the spell: did they use sulfur to cast this Fireball or did they use a pinch of refined dragonshard? Were they rushed—casting in the middle of a fight—or did they take their time? What sort of arcane focus did they use—a rod or a wand?

So, how much of this information can a specific adventurer get about a particular spell? My first question is How much information do they NEED to progress the story? A basic rule I live by is never ask a player to roll a die if I’m not prepared for every possible outcome. If the adventurer is a professional inquisitive trained in Arcana and Investigation, it may be that they just get the information if they choose to look at it; it’s their specialty. Or it may be that I ask them to make an Intelligence (Investigation) check, but they’ll always learn that the spell was divine magic cast six hours ago; it’s just that if they get at least 15 they’ll also learn that it was a Seeker of the Divinity Within and if they get 20 or higher they’ll know it used a 5th level spell slot. 

On the other hand, if it’s a totally random search and failure is on the table, I might use a formula like this: 

Investigation—Arcane Forensics. Spend ten minutes studying the area; this includes casting Detect Magic as a ritual. This provides a sense of spell effects that have been used in the area within the last 24 hours and the schools of magic involved. To study a specific spell, make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. The base difficulty is 10, increased by 3 for every six hours that have passed since the spell was cast. If the check is successful, the caster can learn one detail: time of casting, power source, or spell level. For every 3 points above the required difficulty, they can learn one additional detail. Once the power source has been identified, this can include the signature and further details. 

Another example of using Investigation in conjunction with a spell to gain more detailed results would be Locate Animals and Plants, which I could see as a light version of looking for traces of DNA. Once again, I might just let the Inquisitive with the spell get basic information without a roll. But if I asked for a roll, it would be something like this…

Investigation—Traces of Life. Spend ten minutes studying the area; this includes casting Locate Animals and Plants as a ritual. This provides a vague sense of the types of creatures that have been present in the area over the last day.  To study a specific spell, make an Intelligence (Investigation) check. The base difficulty is 10, increased by 3 for every six hours that have passed since the creature was present. If the check is successful, the investigator knows the species of the creature. For every 3 points of success, they can learn an additional detail chosen by the DM. This could be age, hair color, whether they were injured, something about their clothing; whatever could be reasonably deduced. So with a result of 22 they could learn There was an old male dwarf who was wearing heavy armor.   

Right away, these two options highlight a difference between the Medani inquisitive—who can innately cast Detect Magic—and the Tharashk inquisitive, who can Locate Animals and Plants. Medani gets more information about the mystery, while Tharashk excels at finding people! Of course, there’s other skills that can help an investigation without the use of magic. By the rules as written, Medicine allows someone to “determine what killed the recently slain.” Based on the results of the check, this could be as simple as the types of damage they suffered in their final moments (“acid damage”) to a more detailed analysis (“a massive gout of acid that struck them with significant force—perhaps the breath of a dragon.”) Survival allows someone to “follow tracks,” but I’ll also let them use Survival to reconstruct a scene—ranging from “You can tell there were three different humanoids here” to “They entered together, there was a struggle, and the smallest of the three was dragged out.” In both these cases, anyone could make a check to get the basic information, but I’d limit the more advanced details to a character who’s proficient in the skill. A d20 roll is a wild spectrum, and in my campaign I like to give a little weight to Proficiency; it’s not just that you get a bonus to the role, it’s a skill that’s important to you and that you’ve invested time in. 

Of course, there’s a secondary aspect to this: The ability of a master criminal to cover their tracks. Starting with skill alone, Deception is the key. If someone if proficient with Deception and with the skill associated with their style of magic (Arcana for Arcane, Religion for Divine, Nature for Primal) I’ll allow them to attempt to disguise their spellcasting. This works much like using Deception against Insight in a conversation; I’ll have the schemer make a Deception check using their spellcasting ability score, and describe the false signature they are trying to create. With skill alone, I wouldn’t allow this to change Power Type or School; but they could alter the signature, trying to make their Karrnathi Seeker spell feel like a Brelish Vassal spell. Note the Deception score and compare any subsequent Investigation to that score; if the Investigation check is lower, they will be fooled. For someone trying to stage a scene or hide cause of death, I’d likewise require proficiency in both Deception and the relevant skill (Medicine, Survival). Depending on nature of the scene or the injury, true deception might be impossible; it’s hard to make someone who’s been burnt to death appear to have been killed by slashing damage. On the other hand, I’d likely allow the deceiver to try to conceal the actual cause of death—IE, if someone was killed by having their throat cut and the deceiver bashes their skull in with a mace, it’s easy to determine that the creature suffered both slashing and bludgeoning damage; it will take an excellent check to determine which injury was post-mortem. For this sort of use of Deception, I’d personally use an Intelligence (Deception) check.

Since blocking divination tends to be higher than accessing them, what kinds of magical countermeasures could lower casters take to mask their signatures or otherwise throw off the scent of a Wolf?

Mechanically, the core of this is Deception, as described above. The point is that you can do lots of things—cast your Fireball using guano instead of sulfur, using a staff instead of a wand, and so on; but we need a mechanical measure to tell whether the Inquisitive is able to see through your ruse, and that’s where we employ the test of Deception vs Investigation. That’s where we get You can see that they tried to emulate the Aundairian style by using a wand, but the Rekkenmark training is still clear in the scent of the ashes. A commenter suggests the use of unusual components, such as Mabaran crystals, and I think that’s an excellent option; that’s the sort of thing where I’d a) allow someone to make a Deception check even if they don’t have the appropriate proficiencies or b) give someone with appropriate proficiencies advantage on their Deception check. But the point is that the expert investigator should always have a chance to see through the ruse; if there’s a foolproof way to fool even the greatest inquisitive, there’s not much point to telling stories of investigations!

I will say that we haven’t done much discussion on TOOLS that help people get away with murder. An assassin may not have the ability to cast Nondetection or Pass Without Trace, but they could have an amulet that erases their aura to Locate Animals (although in this case, the expert inquisitive might notice the absence of an aura; they can’t get specifics, but they can tell magic was employed to conceal it). Likewise, there definitely should be a “Wand of Silence” that allows someone to drop verbal components when using it as a focus to cast evocation spells. But that’s a concept to explore in another article…

Anyhow, these are house rules I use in my campaign; they may or may not be right for yours! Thanks as always to my Patreon supporters, who make articles like this possible. And since I’ve got Medani on the mind, here’s a bonus: a Medani focus item that amplifies the divinatory powers of the Mark of Detection!