Tag Archives: Xen’drik

IFAQ: Goliaths in Eberron

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The Chib is a troll from my upcoming Droaam campaign, but he IS a big guy. Art by Matthew Johnson.

When time allows, I like to answer interesting questions posed by my Patreon supporters. Questions like…

Now that Goliaths are coming to the PHB with their different forms based on their giant ancestry, do you have any thoughts on how they could be included more commonly than the few paragraphs afforded in Chronicles?

Good question. When the Fourth Edition of D&D added Dragonborn and Eladrin to the Player’s Handbook, we found ways to give each of those species roles in the setting that could easily support player characters—while at the same time, not making dramatic changes that would feel jarring to people in long-term Eberron campaigns, such as saying the people of Thrane are all dragonborn. With this in mind we placed a Dragonborn culture in Q’barra, with the idea that the human colonists hadn’t fully differentiated between the Trothlorsvek dragonborn and the Lizardfolk Cold Sun Federation—we’d always said there’d been reptilian humanoids in Q’barra, it just turns out there was a greater variety than people knew about.

In previous sources I’d suggested that Goliath mechanics could be used the represent the Eneko of Sarlona, an offshoot ogre species largely found in the Syrkarn region. This idea—reskinning Goliaths as an existing species—is still an option. Goliaths with fire giant ancestry could be used as Eneko. Goliaths with hill giant ancestry could be reskinned as ogres from Droaam. Cloud giant goliaths could be recast as Oni. That could work. But with them as a core species in the new PHB, it feels weak to me; it’s valid for people to want a place for Goliaths, something more than just “They’re actually ogres.”

Thinking it over, I’ve come up with not one, not two, but FOUR possible options that could work—each with a very different footprint within the setting and a very different set of roles for player characters. The question is how big a role you want goliaths to play and whether you want them to have a dramatic, active story or if you just want a safe space where they can come from. So, here’s a few ideas to consider.

HOUSE VADALIS: PROJECT GOLIATH

During the final decade of the Last War, the Feral Heart of House Vadalis set up a secret facility in Xen’drik. Far from the eyes of the Five Nations, dragonmarked magebreeders used the abhorrent techniques of the Seryan line to imbue human test subjects with the essence of dead giants. These experiments were agonizing and deadly. The test subjects were criminals, deserters, and others smuggled from Khorvaire. Dozens were slain in the initial trials, but over time the research bore fruit, creating few dozen people each carrying a fraction of a giant’s might. It was then that Project Goliath came under attack. The survivors don’t know who was responsible. Was it Sulatar Drow? The Battalion of the Basalt Towers? The Guardians of Rusheme? Whoever was responsible, the disruption allowed the goliaths to break free from their captivity, destroy the facility from within, and escape.

This idea is what I call a small batch approach. The point would be that there’s only around 24 goliaths in the world, and that if you’re a goliath, you know all the others; you were all tormented in that secret Vadalis facility, and all escaped together. You don’t have a large footprint in the world and most people who meet you will have no idea what you are or what you can do. A few key elements of the story…

  • Project Goliath was a rogue operation run by the Feral Heart. So House Vadalis as a whole isn’t hunting you down. But member of the Feral Heart may have survived the destruction of the facility. Will you investigate and try to track down any survivors? Or wait and see if they rebuild and come after you?
  • How did the Feral Heart capture you? Did they kidnap you directly? Or were you betrayed by someone else? Were you a soldier whose corrupt commander claimed you were a casualty of war before shipping you to Vadalis? A criminal betrayed by your employer? The key point being, are you just happy to be alive, or are you looking for some payback?
  • What’s your relationship with the other goliaths? Are you allies trying to help one another and fighting against common enemies? Or… are some of the other goliaths terrible people the world was better off without? Do you feel an obligation to track down these other goliaths before they can wreak havoc in the Five Nations?
  • What’s your relationship with the giant who’s essence you carry? Are they fully dead and gone? Are you haunted by their spirit? Or do you perhaps have flashes of their memories, glimpses of artifacts and secrets in Xen’drik that could change the world? And if so, are the other goliaths allies who could work with you to uncover these secrets—or do you need to make sure that no one finds the artifacts you see in your giant-touched dreams?

The point of Project Goliath is that it is a clear and easy path for goliath ADVENTURERS, but it doesn’t actually create a goliath CULTURE. Instead it ties the goliaths directly to the giants of Xen’drik, with that idea that adventurers (and possibly, villainous rivals) going follow dreams and memories to uncover deadly secrets in Xen’drik.

LORGHALEN: ELEMENTAL GOLIATHS

Chronicles of Eberron explores the island of Lorghalen, one of the southern isles of the Lhazaar Principality. The island of Lorghalen and the waters around it are a nexus for powerful elemental energies. As depicted in Chronicles, Lorghalen is home to a gnome culture; but the gnomes are depicted as working closely with native elementals. But a generation after the gnomes settled on Lorghalen, the first goliaths appeared—born fully formed in Lorghalen groves, but with the minds of children. The Lorghalen sages believe that it’s the elemental forces of Lorghalen instinctively responding to the presence of the humanoid settlers—creating these giants to work with the tiny newcomers and to protect them. As such goliaths have always been celebrated in Lorghalen; a newborn Goliath is adopted into a gnome family as a “big brother.”

Lorghalen goliaths feel a deep connection to the natural world. The older they grow the stronger this becomes, and as they grow older they begin to grow in size and elemental power. These Elders have the statistics of giants, but have the Elemental creature type rather than Giant. They are tied to the elemental energies of Lorghalen and rarely leave the island; they dwell in its strongest manifest zones, mediating on the flow of energies and advising Lorghalen stonespeakers.

Lorghalen goliaths are a half-step further than Project Goliath. They have a small footprint in the world and their culture is intertwined with the Lorghalen gnomes. Part of what’s interesting about the Lorghalen goliaths is to play up their elemental connection—they aren’t tied to giants, they’re tied to EBERRON and to the forces of nature. The idea that they are essentially immortal—seeds that will grow into giant elders—can also be a fun thing to explore. As a goliath adventurer, this is your time to see the world before you settled down and become an elder bound to a place of power. You might be a seed cast on the wind looking for a new elemental stronghold out in the world—you could be very interested in meeting druids or other primal cultures. However, this idea of an elemental culture closely tied to gnomes may not be what people want from goliaths. So…

LHAZAAR: THE STONEHEART PRINCIPALITY

Long before humanity came to Khorvaire, a massive airship crashed on the eastern coastline. The ship was built by giants—a unique vessel designed to explore the world beyond the land of Xen’drik. The ship fell because it entered a powerful Lamannian manifest zone, releasing bound elementals and causing the ship to plummet into what is now known as the Forsaken Forest. The wood possesses the Primordial Matter trait of Lamannia, and its vegetation is strong and vibrant—and refuses to be conquered by civilization. The survivors of the crash built a settlement in the woods, but despite their valiant struggles the forces of nature overcame the giant pioneers. Ruins are scattered around the ancient ship, overgrown and worn down. Planar scholars might note the resemblance to the layer called Titan’s Folly in Lamannia—another place where giants fought the power of Lamannia and lost. But this expedition left a lasting mark on the region: Goliaths. When Lhazaar landed in the region that bears her name, she found being already dwelling on the mainland—orc, dwarves, and the mighty goliaths that lived on the edge of the Forsaken Forest. Lhazaar and her peers were ruthless and determined to carve out a home in this new land, and in the days ahead they would slaughter and oppress goblins and other denizens of Khorvaire. But the Goliaths of Skairn were too strong and too well entrenched to be easily conquered. The newcomers established treaties with the giantfolk, establishing what is now known as the Stoneheart Principality. The Stoneheart capital of Skairn plays an important role in the Principalities. The goliaths have little interest in seafaring and take to the water only to fish; but the Lamannian-touched lumber they harvest from the Forsaken Forest is some of the finest available in the region, and traders come from across the Principalities to purchase lumber for their shipwrights. The Stoneheart don’t have a fleet on the water, and Skairn remains neutral in the feuds of the Sea Princes; it is a friendly port for all.

The Stoneheart Goliaths are proud of their ancient ties to the land. They believe they are descended from the ancient giants that fell in the forest, and that they have ties to the region older even than those of the dwarves. Mechanically, there is one important element. Goliaths are born with the Powerful Build trait—they are large and powerful. But upon reaching adolescence, they make a pilgrimage into the Forsaken Forest, traveling to the ancient shipwreck and touching an artifact within it: a massive stone charged with mystical energy, which they call The Stone Heart. Touching the stone sends a surge of mystical energy through the young goliath, triggering their Giant Ancestry trait (and providing access to Large Form, though not all goliaths manifest this power). one aspect of this is that the Giant Ancestry trait isn’t directly hereditary; the child of two goliaths with fire giant ancestry could manifest Stone’s Endurance or Storm’s Thunder. There are also goliaths in other principalities—notably, the Cloudreavers—who don’t possess Giant Ancestry, as they have never been to the Stone Heart to activate this latent power.

The Stoneheart Principality is prosperous, buoyed by the lumber trade and the strength of its people. Stoneheart goliaths have never sent a fleet onto the water, but they have often served as mercenaries for other princes. A small number of elite Stoneheart mercenaries sell their services through House Deneith, and the princes of Karrnath have traditionally had a goliath bodyguard. As such, while goliaths are rarely seen in the Five Nations, they are recognized and renowned for their strength, endurance, and commitment to a task. During the Last War, Deneith brokered the services of an elite company of goliaths known as the Stone Hammer. Throughout most of the war they served Karrnath; but toward the end of the war Cyre lured them away. Because of this, most members of the Stone Hammer died in the Mourning. Many of the survivors have chosen to remain with communities of Cyran refugees, holding to their last contract to protect Cyre. The former captain of the Stone Hammer, Skuldaran, now protects Prince Oargev in New Cyre.

The point of the Stoneheart Principality is to give the goliaths of Khorvaire a unique culture, role in history, and tie to the giants of Xen’drik without having such an overwhelming presence that it feels strange not to have encountered them before. People across the Five Nations have heard of goliaths due to royal bodyguards and the tone Hammer, but they are still quite rare outside the Lhazaar Principalities. Within the Principalities they have an important role, but they are a mainland force that has no strong ties to piracy. They were there before Lhazaar, and they are the people of wood and the stones of the coast. They have no interest in sailing on the water, but it is their lumber that makes it possible. And this is also a way to add flavor to the canonically undeveloped port of Skairn and the Forsaken Forest. What is the Stone Heart, and what other secrets could be hidden in the ancient ruins around it?

THE GOLATHARI: THE TITAN’S BLADE

In the last days of Xen’drik, the immortal titan Golath foresaw the plans of the dragons and led a small force into a Khyber demiplane. Golath was a target of interest, and he sealed the gate to the plane behind him so that the dragons would find no trace of him and believe him dead. Golath and his kin conquered the native denizens of the demiplane, and over the course of tens of thousands of years they built a mighty empire. Now they have returned… and they want vengeance.

The idea of the Golathari is to take many of the traditional tropes of the Githyanki and recast them onto Goliaths. They are a brutal, powerful extraplanar raider culture ruled by a godlike immortal tyrant. Goliaths are descended from the giants who accompanied the titan Golath and the humanoid natives of the demiplane; over the course of tens of thousands of years they have become a unique species. Unlike what I’ve suggested for the goliaths of the Stoneheart Principality, the Giant Ancestry of the Golathari goliaths would be hereditary, and furthermore, this is where I’d use the Ordning.The giants of ancient Xen’drik didn’t have this tradition, but it is something established by Golath and maintain among his goliaths as well as the actual giants of his demiplane; goliaths with hill giant ancestry are expected to show respect to those further up the Ordning.

The idea of the Golathari is that they are a brutal martial culture that has held onto and built upon some of the mystical traditions of Xen’drik, as well as working with unique materials and energies found in their demiplane. For millennia, Golath has been plotting a way to take revenge against Argonnessen, and he is finally putting that plan into action. He has found a way to open portals from his demiplane into Eberron, but it is currently impossible for anyone to enter the demiplane against his wishes. He has developed weapons uniquely suited to fighting dragons. Dragonbane weapons are an easy option, but this could also be the source of Orbs of Dragonkind. I could also imagine him having developed artifacts that can temporarily strip a dragon of its inherent arcane abilities. If you wanted to borrow a further twist from the traditional Githyanki story, Golath could have forged a dangerous alliance with the Daughter of Khyber—who is content for Golath to slay and enslave dragons and break the current civilization of Argonnessen knowing that when she herself is freed her children will destroy the last titan. But for now Golath’s weapons—like Orbs of Dragonkind—could be empowered by the overlord, and he could Spawn of Tiamat fighting alongside his goliaths.

If I used this story, I would make the Golathari Incursion something that’s unfolding RIGHT NOW. Across the world, Golathari raiders are striking Chamber operations and assassinating rogue dragons. They may be gathering parts for a devastating weapon that could strip the arcane power of all the dragons of Argonnessen. The Golathari goliaths believe in their righteous cause and are utterly devoted to their immortal tyrant; again, this is a space where you could borrow the relationship between the Githyanki and Vlaakith in other settings. And with that in mind, that’s a key element for Golathari goliath adventurers: are you a loyal servant of the Titan King on an important mission requiring you to work with these tiny denizens of this backwater world? Or are you a rebel and a renegade, someone who knows that Golath consumes the essence of those goliaths who become too powerful, and who sees him for the tyrant he is?

EVERYDAY GOLIATHS

The four ideas presented above are all designed to give goliaths a STORY within the world—whether it’s a very recent story like Project Goliath, or if they’ve been around for a while, like the Stoneheart Principality. However, you don’t HAVE to give goliaths a deep story. And even if you DO use the Stoneheart Principality, you can make a goliath who’s just descended from a family of goliaths that immigrated to Karrnath centuries ago and think of themselves as Karrns. Just as Brelish dwarves and elves are BRELISH rather than having ties to the Mror or Aereni cultures, if you just want to play a goliath from Sharn who works for the Boromars and doesn’t CARE where he came from, that’s fine. Likewise, I said above that I wouldn’t turn the entire population of Thrane into dragonborn… but I have no problem with the idea that there may be dragonborn living in Thrane. Someone raised the idea that it would be cool to have a community of wyvernborn living in Thrane, and I love that; I just wouldn’t completely change the established culture and history of Thrane in adding them. But as long as player and DM are on the same page, you don’t have to use a story that’s as exotic as any of these options to add a new ancestry to your campaign.

IN CONCLUSION…

While these ideas aren’t mutually exclusive, I personally would choose one of them for my campaign. Project Goliath is the least intrusive, as only a handful exist. The Lorghalen goliaths have a very small footprint; they have a place to call home, but haven’t made much impact. The Stoneheart Principality is a way to give goliaths a clear and unique culture while still interweaving them with the existing story of the Lhazaar Principalities. And the Golathari are both an active and entirely new threat, rising up from Khyber with an aggressive agenda. And if they CAN actually strip Argonnessen of its power, what will that do to the balance of power in the world? Who will stand against the Lords of Dust?

Feel free to discuss these ideas in the comments, but I am unlikely to have time to answer questions here. If you do want to ask me questions — like the one that inspired this article! — check out my Patreon.

Dragonmarks 3/12/15: Origins, Authors and Thrane

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It’s been a busy few months for Twogether Studios. We’re continuing to work towards the Phoenix: Dawn Command Kickstarter campaign, and I’ll be writing more about Phoenix soon. But it’s been nearly three months since my last Eberron Q&A, and I figure it’s time to get to some questions!

With the recent Unearthed Arcana release of the Eberron material, do you like the 5e work up of the material? Would you change it any further from what is currently “playtesting?” Do you think the Artificer should be re-designed in 5e as a stand-alone class, or would you like to see it supported as a Wizard (or other) type of sub-class?

At the moment, I’ve held off creating my own 5E Eberron material, beyond the vague first drafts I’ve presented for the warforged and artificer. I’m keen to develop new Eberron material, but until it’s been authorized by WotC I’ve got more things to work on than I have time. I’ve been focused on playtesting Phoenix Dawn Command for the past year, and there’s always more to do there – not to mention the Gloom variations and other projects I can’t talk about yet.

Given that: I’m glad to see WotC exploring Eberron in Unearthed Arcana. Personally, I would like to explore different approaches to the material, but the UA article specifically states that it’s an exploratory first draft… and it’s always good to explore multiple directions. The 3.5 warforged went through seven drafts before the final one. In one version warforged could attach extra limbs. In another, they absorbed the energy from magic items to gain enchantments. I don’t see a version I’d want to consider final in the UA material, but if I have an opportunity to work on official Eberron material I’ll certainly consider the UA drafts and the feedback people have given about them. Which comes back to my previous request: tell ME what you think about them, and what you would keep, add or change.

If the Du’rashka Tul tale proves to be true, could it be neutralized or dispelled? And could its effects go to Khorvaire?

For those not familiar with it, the Du’rashka Tul is mentioned on page 53 of Secrets of Xen’drik. According to legend, it is a powerful curse laid on the continent of Xen’drik by the forces of Argonnessen when the dragons destroyed the civilization of the giants. The theory is that the Du’rashka Tul is triggered any time a civilization or settlement reaches a certain level of size or sophistication. The curse drives members of the civilization into a homicidal madness; they turn on each other and destroy themselves. In this way, the dragons ensured that the giants would never rebuild their ancient power. As a result, there is evidence of a number of civilizations that have risen only to suddenly disappear over the course of the last thirty thousand years.

As it stands, details about the Du’rashka Tul are far too nebulous for me to be able to answer the questions that are posed here. So the question is how do you WANT it to work for purposes of your campaign? If you don’t want it to be possible for it to be dispelled, then it’s a curse leveled on the entire continent using a form of magic human mages can’t even begin to understand. On the other hand, if you want to be able to break it, the first thing is to define it. Perhaps it’s tied to an artifact: the skull of the titan emperor Cul’sir, engraved with draconic runes and imbued with immense magical power. First you have to find it; then you have to decide what to do with it. If it’s an artifact, it may be impossible to destroy or dispel it. You don’t know how far its radius is (it’s currently affecting all of Xen’drik). Do you drop it in the ocean and potentially destroy the civilizations of the sahuagin and merfolk? Take it back to Argonnessen and see what happens? Or might someone bring it back to Khorvaire not knowing what it is and accidentally trigger an apocalypse?

If you don’t like that approach, you could decide that it’s actually tied to a living creature. Ever since the destruction of the giants, there has been a dragon stationed in Xen’drik maintaining the Du’rashka Tul. Can you find it? Do you need to kill it, or could you just convince the guardian that the time has come to end the curse?

About the Du’rashka Tul… If it could be dispelled, would it bring about an era of colonization of Xen’drik by the great powers? If so, that could bring about potential conflict not only between the great nations of Khorvaire, but also with the Riedran empire, who already have a settlement therein. Do you think more cities would be created? And could the traveler’s curse be removed as well?

The Du’rashka Tul is an unproven myth, so I don’t think THAT’S what’s stopping the colonization of Xen’drik. The Traveler’s Curse is unquestionably real and a serious hindrance to colonization; who wants to establish a colony if you might not be able to find it later? If you posit that you remove BOTH curses, then the main issue is that you’re dealing with a continent that’s still full of powerful monsters… and the fact that Khorvaire isn’t exactly overcrowded right now. The main draw to go there is untapped resources and treasure hunting. So if you took away all the curses, I certainly think you’d get an expansion of settlements there to claim and harvest resources, in a sort of Wild West gold rush development… but I don’t think you’d see a vast proliferation of permanent settlements. Heck, if you’re looking to live on a dangerous frontier because you want a chance to strike it rich with dragonshards, you can already do that in Q’barra.

As for bumping into the Riedrans over territory, Xen’drik is the same size as Khorvaire, and KHORVAIRE still isn’t overcrowded, so it seems a little hard to imagine it happening in a hurry. Personally, I’d make it more about conflict between settlers from the Five Nations and the Dragonmarked Houses. Tharashk would definitely want to harness the resources as quickly and efficiently as possible, and any number of the other houses could see this as a way to establish lands outside of the Korth Edicts. So you could certainly have conflict between would-be independent prospectors hoping to strike it rich and dragonmarked Tharashk.

If my goal was to run a campaign focused on territorial conflict between Riedra and the Five Nations, I’d actually create a new massive island in the Lhazaar Sea. Let’s say that it’s a chunk of another plane that suddenly drops in during an odd planar conjunction – so a piece of Lamannia, filled with natural and mystical resources never even seen before on Eberron. This gives a new desirable territory directly between Khorvaire and Sarlona; lets it be small enough that forces can quickly come into conflict; places it in a region where Lhazaar pirates can pose an interesting threat; and lets in be filled with unknown threats and commodities. I think that could make for a very interesting campaign… though I’d also throw the Dragonmarked Houses in as a third player in the conflict.

There are some fairly close thematic similarities between the kalashtar and the githzerai: both use psionics, both have extraplanar connections, both are at eternal war with a race of shared origin. Were these similarities intentional when the kalashtar were designed? If so, were they meant to be a playable version of the githzerai for your campaign (ie, lacking in level adjustment)?

Interesting theory, but no. The kalashtar have the distinction of being the one new race that was mentioned in the original ten-page overview of Eberron in the setting search (though the idea of a playable doppelganger was also there in the ten-pager). For me, the defining elements of the kalashtar are that they are mortal humanoids tied to immortal spirits and their unique connection to the world of dreams, something that’s been a long-time interest of mine. My first published piece of RPG material dealt with a conspiracy of people who shared dreams and affected the world through dream manipulation (more than a decade before Inception, mind you). So no, I’m afraid it’s just a coincidence.

Meanwhile, I’ve always used the Gith as a race whose world was destroyed by the Daelkyr before they came to Eberron. I consider the Illithids to be to the Gith as the Dolgaunts are to hobgoblins; they are creatures the Daelkyr created from Gith stock. Thus the Gith are a race who have lost their world, and they despise the Mind Flayers both as the instruments of their destruction and a mockery of their people.

Also, I have read elsewhere that warforged and shifters were elements introduced to Eberron only after WotC accepted it as their contest winner. In the pre-WotC conception of Eberron, did elements related to warforged and shifters exist?

That’s not quite true. The Warforged and Shifters weren’t present in the TEN page submission, because I made the assumption that WotC wouldn’t be interested in adding lots of new races when so many already existed. As such, the kalashtar were the only NEW race I presented. When WotC chose Eberron as a finalist, I had the opportunity to talk to the D&D R&D team and they discussed the aspects of Eberron they liked and what they wanted to see more of in the 100-page final story bible. In particular, they wanted to see more races – specifically races that addresses the magic-as-part-of-life aspect of the world. Sentient war golems and playable lycanthropes both fit that bill. So warforged, shifters and changelings were all in the 100-page story bible that was submitted in the final round of the setting search… and then after Eberron was selected, they were further defined and refined for inclusion in the 3.5 Eberron Campaign Setting.

Is it conceivable for a 5e Great Old One Warlock to have a bond with a Quori? If so, how would you interpret a warlock bond with a Quori outside of the Kalashtar case?

You can certainly have a Great Old One Warlock tied to Dal Quor. Here’s a few ways I could see it working.

Higher Power. The Warlock isn’t dealing with the lesser entities of the Quori; rather, he is dealing directly with one of the greater spirits of the plane. If he tends towards evil, this would be the dominant spirit, il-Lashtavar, the Darkness that Dreams. If he’s benevolent, this would be il-Yannah, the Dawn Yet To Come.

Essentially, the Quori are the creations and servants of il-Lashtavar. If a PC warlock is directly chosen by the great spirit, he is being elevated above the Kalashtar or even the rank and file members of the Dreaming Dark; among the Quori, only the Devourer of Dreams communes directly with il-Lashtavar. This would make the PC a remarkable special person… as a PC should be. The question then becomes HOW the power communicates with him and why. Does it have specific requests, and if so why can’t those be handled by Kalashtar or Quori? Or does it simply need a mortal vessel for some other reason?

Enemy of Higher Power. Twist the concept of the Warlock. The PC isn’t a SERVANT of il-Lashtavar. Instead, the Warlock has essentially hacked into il-Lashtavar and is draining its power by casting spells. This concept works well if you don’t plan for a lot of direct warlock-patron interaction. Alternately, you could say that the power is taken from il-Lashtavar, but the patron is il-Yannah; by weakening the darkness, you speed the coming of the light.

Quori Stooge. The player’s patron is a malevolent quori, likely one of the most powerful of the Kalaraq (such as the Devourer of Dreams). It is posing as some awesome dream entity; it is only through play that the PC will realize that the missions he’s being given are pushing the world in a subtly sinister direction. At this point he’ll need to find a new patron, such as…

Lost Kalashtar. The rebel kalaraq Taratai started the Kalashtar rebellion, but all of her kalashtar hosts have been eliminated and her spirit is lost, presumed to have been reabsorbed by il-Lashtavar. But perhaps it still survives, and has managed to reach out to the warlock. While this bond wouldn’t be the same as being a Kalashtar, it would make the warlock incredibly important to the Kalashtar.

If you named a bunch of books, or films, or TV shows, or whatever, whose inspiration has been critical in creating Eberron, in a sort of multimedia Eberron Appendix N, which would they be?

I could swear there’s a two page list in one of the 3.5 sourcebooks, but a quick search isn’t turning it up. Putting together a list of every book, show or film that I think could possibly inspire people working on Eberron would take more time than I currently have. For example, I have a FEELING that some people might find China Mieville’s books to be inspiring for Eberron, but I’ve never actually read them (which is embarrassing, as all accounts suggest they are awesome – I’ve just never gotten around to it). Likewise, I’ve never played a Final Fantasy game. So I’m going to list a few things, but these are simply a few things that personally inspired me – not every possible source of inspiration.

Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and almost any Film Noir movie.

The original one sentence description of Eberron was “Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Maltese Falcon meet Lord of the Rings.” Anything in this vein will help inspire adventures tied to dirty dealings on the mean streets of Sharn… and I’ve always described Graywall in Droaam as “Casablanca with ogres.” For what it’s worth, I prefer The Maltese Falcon as a movie and The Big Sleep as a book.

Two-Fisted Tales of Adventure!

The Mummy. Any Indiana Jones movie. Any Republic serial (such as “Nyoka and the Tigermen”). Anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs or Jules Verne. I originally came up with the idea for Eberron because I’d spent a few years working on a pulp-flavored MMORPG that ended up being cancelled, and I’d been watching a LOT of pulp serials.

Neuromancer

William Gibson’s Neuromancer is one of the early cyberpunk novels. It combines aspects of a dystopia future with some basic film noir tropes. There are certainly ways in which the Dragonmarked Houses are inspired by the classic cyberpunk megacorps, with the basic question of what happens when corporate power equals or exceeds the relevance of nations. Almost any cyberpunk novel can provide inspiration for a House-heavy game, but Neuromancer remains my favorite.

Steven Brust

Brust’s Taltos series are pulp stories set in a fantasy world, and deal with many of the same issues as Eberron… though Dragaera is more magically advanced than Eberron; teleportation and resurrection are basic tools available to civilization and everyone effectively has a psionic cell phone. I’ve often considered running a Taltos-style campaign in Eberron, in which the PCs are small time operators in the Boromar Clan trying to hold their turf and expand their reputation and influence. I also like Brust’s Phoenix Guards series, in part because it’s set in an earlier age and there’s an opportunity to see how the science of magic evolves. And as long as we’re mentioning The Phoenix Guards, you also can’t go wrong with anything by Alexandre Dumas.

Phillip K. Dick

I prefer PKD’s short stories to his novels, but I love the questions he raises in his work. The warforged essentially spring from my long love of Blade Runner, bringing us back to cyberpunk. What is the nature of life? What do you do if you were made to be a weapon and there is no war?

H.P. Lovecraft

If you’re going to get into the Cults of the Dragon Below or the Lords of Dust, you should delve into some Lovecraft.

I’m going to stop here because I could keep this list going for pages, and I’m out of time… but anyone reading, post your inspirational films and stories in the comments! For honorable mention, as authors I’ve read and enjoyed who may or may not have directly influenced Eberron: Jack Vance (anything to do with the Dying Earth); Tanith Lee (Night’s Master or Tales From The Flat Earth); J. R. R. Tolkien; George R. R. Martin; Michael Moorcock; Robert E. Howard; Sheri S. Tepper; Neil Gaiman; Patrick Rothfuss; William S. Burroughs (maybe not useful for Eberron, but great if you’re running Over The Edge)… I’ll stop there, but I’m sure I’ll think of a dozen more as soon as I post this.

And now, the Thrane and the Silver Flame questions…

Is there any cardinal who is seriously opposed to Krozen or is suspicious about him? Does Jaela Daran mistrust Krozen?

As with many things about Eberron, it depends on your campaign. In MY campaign, I might decide to have Jaela be a canny politician who’s quite suspicious of Krozen and seeks personal agents to help her carry out personal missions. However, more often I cast Jaela as the truly spiritual leader of the Church, who has little interest in politics and thus tends to trust Krozen and rely on him to handle that side of things. I hate to say this with so many questions, but it’s really a question of how you want the story to go; there’s no wrong answer.

In the 4e ECG it’s mentioned that Aundair refused to return lands to Thrane and that is why Thrane kept Thaliost. Why did Aurala attach more importance to those lands than to such a city? Magic, strategic importance, or other settlements?

Personally I see this as an oversimplification. It’s not that Thrane offered to return Thaliost and Aundair said “No deal,” it’s that each nation had made territorial gains and neither one was willing to give ground. Remember that Aurala in particular believes in the righteousness of her claim to the throne of Galifar and has the least interest in the peace process. What’s been said in other sourcebooks is that Aundair claimed the land that is currently home to Arcanix during the war; note that as Arcanix is a set of floating towers, it was moved to this location to help secure the claim. However, if you consider what makes specific locations strategically important in Eberron, if I were to write something about Arcanix in the future I’d propose that the current location is a powerful manifest zone that is valuable for the research conducted at Arcanix… which would explain both why Aundair attaches such importance to the location, why they moved the university there, and why they aren’t prepared to surrender it.

Wasn’t it mentioned somewhere that Overlord Sul Khatesh is imprisoned under Arcanix?

Good catch! You’d think I’d remember that, since I wrote it (it’s on page 31 of the 4E ECG). In my opinion, this isn’t something anyone KNOWS – it’s a fact for you, the DM. But it’s an excellent reason to say “Arcane magic is remarkably effective in this region and people are far more likely to make amazing breakthroughs in arcane studies.” People think it’s because of a manifest zone, but in fact it’s the influence of Sul Khatesh. So Aundair does believe it’s an ideal site for the University. If I was looking for a plot hook, I’d have some Church scholar figure it out and Thrane suddenly urgently pushing to take back the region, which threatens to escalate into open conflict.

What kind of discrimination (if any) would an aristocrat face who is a devoted follower of the Silver Flame but who holds lands in Cyre, Breland, Aundair, etc.  Having that kind of dual loyalty would strike me as fertile ground for rivals to nibble away at holdings. 

The Silver Flame was widespread across Galifar before the Last War. Ever since the Lycanthropic Purge it’s been especially strong in Aundair, which has always been the stronghold of the Pure Flame. However, devotion to the Flame DOES NOT EQUAL LOYALTY TO THRANE. Many of the Purified don’t approve of the theocratic government of Thrane, asserting that involving the Keeper and cardinals in secular politics distracts the Church from its true mission and breeds corruption.

The purpose of the church is to protect the innocent from supernatural evil. Mortal politics don’t enter into the equation. So a Brelish noble who is loyal to the Flame can absolutely oppose the soldiers of Thrane when they are engaged in military action on behalf of Thrane. If, say, an army of demons pops up, all of the Purified would be expected to join forces against this supernatural threat; once that’s out of the picture they could return to their secular conflict.

So: an Aristocrat who is devoted to the Flame is unlikely to suffer significant prejudice in any nation other than Karrnath. However, a noble who vocally supported his national government being dissolved in favor of Thranish theocracy would likely suffer trouble.

How prolific is the CoSF in Karnath and to what degree would the Karnathi Purified have been persecuted?

The CoSF has never had a strong presence in Karrnath. The people of Karrnath are pragmatic and pessimistic by nature, and the Silver Flame is fed by optimism and altruism. Beyond this, the Blood of Vol was deeply rooted in Karrnath a thousand years before the modern CotSF was even formed… and the Blood of Vol is fundamentally opposed to the Silver Flame, as it embraces what the Church would call “Supernatural Evil”. So it was weak to begin with, and most SF loyalists would have risen in revolt when the state embraced the Blood of Vol as the state faith and began employing undead in the military. This is also the reason Thrane and Karrnath have the deepest emnity of any of the Five Nations. There are surely some in Karrnath who embraced the faith of the Flame… and even if most immigrated or revolted during the war, some could have chosen to hold position and endure so that they could continue to protect the innocents of Karrnath. But they would certainly be viewed with distrust and disdain by those around them, and could easily be accused of treason (true or not).

Side note: While the state no longer supports the Blood of Vol, the cultural tone of Karrnath is still a better match for the BoV – which is a bleak faith based on the concept that the universe and the gods are our enemies and ultimate dissolution is inevitable – than the Silver Flame.

After the Day of Morning, Thrane turned away Cyran refugees.  Would the Purified of Cyran birth been exempt from this prohibition?

Well, here’s the thing. In the extended aftermath of the DoM I could see Thrane refusing to admit refugees. However, in the IMMEDIATE aftermath, it’s the only nation I CAN’T imagine refusing refugees. The entire purpose of the church is to DEFEND THE INNOCENT FROM SUPERNATURAL EVIL. Not “Defend the citizens of Thrane” or “Defend the followers of the Flame”, DEFEND THE INNOCENT. The Mourning is about as “supernatural evil” as things get. It is utterly bizarre to suggest that when faced with clear evidence of supernatural attack that anyone devoted to the Flame would turn back civilians to fend for themselves.

So frankly, the first thing I’d do would be to rewrite whichever history book says that they turned away refugees in the immediate aftermath. After that, I’d have to come up with an explanation that would make sense to me as to how they would justify turning away refugees in a long-term situation. I do feel that they would accept anyone who wished to serve the church itself, because again, the purpose of the church transcends politics. I could see AUNDAIRIAN Templars aligned with the Pure Flame taking such actions (turning back any who didn’t support the Flame) because the Pure Flame is an extremist movement that frequently ignores the core principles of the faith (as shown by Archbishop Dariznu burning people)… but it’s very out of character for Thrane Templars, and personally I’d ignore it in any campaign I run.

I can see the explanation for turning away refugees to involve something along the lines of, “In our capacity as worldly rulers, we are forced to separate ourselves from our spiritual roles as leaders of the Church. So, it is with a heavy heart we are forced to look at what is good for Thrane, rather than what is good for for the suffering souls of Cyre. We are therefore closing our borders to any, and all, refugees from the event known as the Day of Mourning.”

Certainly. If I had to come up with an explanation for it, it would the the reasons that any government turns away refugees. I’m just saying that of all the Cyre-adjacent countries, Thrane seems like the strangest one to make that decision. Consider our options…

  • Karrnath. A very logical choice. Not only are they a highly pragmatic, militant culture used to making harsh decisions, they are also called out as dealing with famine and thus legitimately lacking the resources to suddenly support refugees. If I was picking one of the Five Nations to turn away refugees, it would be Karrnath.
  • Breland. On the one hand, you have Breland’s egalitarian character; on the other, Breland is often also presented as pragmatic and opportunistic. It wouldn’t surprise me to have some corrupt border patrols lining their pockets in exchange for safe haven.
  • Thrane. The odd duck. Thrane isn’t noted as suffering from a crippling lack of resources that would prevent it from accepting refugees. The fundamental principle of the Silver Flame is protecting the innocent from supernatural threats… like the Mourning. Thrane abandoned its secular government in favor of a theocracy based on this faith, and this faith is widespread throughout the nation – so even if the secular leaders gave such an order, I’d expect many border forces to ignore it and follow their faith. Bear in mind that when Aundair was threatened by a plague of lycanthropy a few centuries early, an army of Thranes threw themselves in harm’s way to protect their neighbors. They are the one nation with a proven history of altruistic behavior. Now, I have no problem with Thrane turning away immigrants under any other circumstance… but specifically turning away refugees fleeing from a horrific supernatural threat is bizarrely out of character for Thrane.

Historically, Thrane has the least consistency in its presentation by different authors. The corruption is often blown out of proportion, when a) the CotSF isn’t supposed to have MORE corruption than any other faith in Eberron, it’s simply that there IS corruption even in this altruistic institution; and b) the majority of that corruption is based in Breland. The zealotry becomes a focus, when Aundair is supposed to be the stronghold of the Pure Flame and Thrane the seat of the moderate faith. Heck, we can’t even get consistency on the fact that archery is an important cultural tradition.

So: there is a book that says that Thrane ruthlessly turned away refugees on the Day of Mourning. I could come up with an explanation for that if I had to. But in MY campaign, I’m simply going to ignore it and say it was Karrnath that turned people away… which was an unfortunate necessity due to their limited resources.

So, in your view the Cyran refugees problem presented in the books happening in Breland, it also exists in Thrane? With ghettos and maybe a big refugee camp( like a smaller New Cyre). If not, why the refugee problem exists only in Breland? They have gone there BECAUSE of New Cyre? The Thrane refugees adopted quickly the faith and culture of Thrane and are more keen to mingle and adapt than the Brelanders?

All good questions! To be clear: My issue is the concept that Thrane would turn away people fleeing from a severe supernatural threat. Once that imminent threat is over, I have no issue with them placing political reality ahead of altruism. It’s the same idea that Thrane followers of the Flame can fight Brelish followers of the Flame, but if that demons appear they should both stop fighting to deal with them. For followers of the Flame, a supernatural threat should override political concerns – but once that threat is resolved, politics are back in play.

I believe that Cyran refugees are a problem across Khorvaire (and heck, as far away as Stormreach). If there’s a nation where they aren’t a problem, I’d pick Karrnath… both as the nation legitimately most likely to reject them in the first place (famine!) and as the nation most use to draconian enforcement (Code of Kaius). However, I think that Breland is unique in embracing the refugees… specifically creating New Cyre, a place where their culture is allowed to flourish. Thrane could well be pushing its refugees to abandon their culture and assimilate into Thrane and the Church… given which, those with the means to do so would likely have made their way to New Cyre.

So if I was creating a Flamekeep sourcebook, I would certainly address the presence of Cyran refugees within it. But again, I’m happy with the idea that they are under significant pressure to assimilate, and that NEW refugees aren’t welcome. It’s not that Thrane is the kindest, gentlest nation; it’s that it is specifically altruistic when it comes to fighting supernatural threats, and the actual event of the Mourning would fall under that umbrella.

The accounts of the spread of the Mourning suggest it was very fast (it was the Day of Mourning, not the Week of Mourning or the Month of Mourning, and the Field of Ruins was certainly overrun that same day). If that is the case, how are there any significant number of refugees at all? For that matter, how was there time for any official policy on refugees to be formed? It doesn’t seem like anyone other than border guards would have had time to react before the refugees were already there.

Another excellent set of questions. You’re absolutely correct: it’s called the Day of Mourning for a reason. The first point is that the effects of the Mourning bizarrely conform to a particular set of borders. In my opinion, the bulk of the “refugees” weren’t actually in Cyre when the Mourning occurred; they were soldiers and support staff either in enemy territory or land temporarily seized. This raises one of the long-term issues of dealing with Cyran refugees: most of them were actually enemy combatants, and the war wasn’t over.

In terms of civilian refugees, start with those already out of the borders. Add to those communities on the very edge of Cyre… it was the Day of Mourning, not the Hour of Mourning, after all. The cloud could be seen from a great distance away, and you could easily have had a few places where there was communication – a Speaking Stone station sends a message out saying “Cloud approaching” and then drops off the grid. People on the edge who discover that no inner city is responding might have time to make it to the border… though given that they wouldn’t have known it would stop at the border, odds are good that you’d just have general panic and “SOMETHING IS COMING!!!” – again, the sort of supernatural threat Templars are supposed to defend the innocent from.

HOWEVER, at the same time, it was a time of war and for all border guards would know, it could be a trick. In a time of war, it’s not unreasonable for any nation to act with fear and suspicion; it’s simply that of all the nations, Thrane has the most compelling reason in the very short term to set that suspicion aside to defend those endangered by a supernatural threat.

So for refugees, this gives us Cyrans in enemy territory already; civilians on the very edge who were able to flee before the Mourning reached them; and one more category: survivors. The effects of the Mourning weren’t entirely predictable, and not everyone exposed to it died. The Storm Hammers in Stormreach (City of Stormreach, p.73) are a group of such survivors. So you could have had people in border communities who didn’t escape – but who survived and then fled in a panic.

In any case, you’re right: we’re not talking about large numbers of refugees, and it would be the border guards that would be making the initial decision.

What’s your take on the event leading to the creation of the Church of the Silver Flame?

Well, the 3.5 ECS has this to say…

In 299 YK, the event that started the religion of the Silver Flame took place. In that year, a terrible eruption split the ground and a great pillar of crimson fire emerged from the resulting chasm. No one understood the significance of the blazing column of flame, but most who dared approach it felt unrelenting malevolence in its radiating heat… Tira Miron, a paladin dedicated to Dol Arrah, received a powerful vision about this strange fire while exploring the western reaches of the realm. In her vision, a great rainbow-winged serpent warned her that a terrible evil was emerging in the east, riding crimson fire from the depths of Khyber itself. Tira rallied the forces of Thrane and defeated the dark creatures that had come to venerate the crimson fire and help free the malevolent entity trapped within its flames.

A key point here that’s sometimes missed is that Bel Shalor was never truly free; he just got VERY VERY close to being released. This caused the appearance of demons. Some were likely drawn to the region from other points (such as his followers in the Lords of Dust), but many were probably just released from the Flame itself in advance of him… imagine a fishing net pulled from the ocean with one big fish trapped in it and hundreds of smaller fish tumbling out through the gaps. So: Demons were afoot in Thrane, and their numbers were increasing over time. However, I think that the actions of mortals were more noticeable than the presence of demons. As Bel Shalor’s influence over the region grew, he brought out the worst in people. As noted in the 4E ECG, “People who fall under his sway become selfish and cruel, turning on one another instead of standing against him.” So you’d see feuds and vendettas taken to extremes, the rise of petty tyrants, widespread banditry, and far worse. It makes me think a little of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles – there ARE demons in the darkness, but the people are more concerned with increasing banditry, war, taxes and the like… not realizing the darker forces that are influencing things.

Tira becomes aware of the threat, but in my opinion she doesn’t just rush over and dive in. Personally, I feel that it took her the better part of a year to prepare – gathering mortal and immortal allies, traveling across Khorvaire and even the outer planes to learn about Bel Shalor and how he could be defeated. In my personal campaign, she went to the Demon Wastes to obtain Kloijner; the greatsword was forged by the couatl (technically it’s a couatl frozen in steel) in the Age of Demons and was previously in the possession of the Ghaash’kala orcs.

In coming back through Thrane, the first step was uniting people and helping them break free of Bel Shalor’s influence; then she led these forces and her allies to the site of the breach, where she defeated the demons and sacrificed herself to force Bel Shalor back into the Flame. Those she left behind then laid the foundation of the modern church. As a side note, in my opinion Tira was essentially one member of a party of adventurers. Dragon 417 includes an article called Miron’s Tears, which identifies an Avenger named Samyr Kes as one of these allies. Others haven’t been named – but these would be the people who established the Church.

One other point: While Bel Shalor was never fully released, it seems likely that his prakhutu, The Wyrmbreaker (described on page 30-31 of the 4E Eberron Campaign Guide) would have been commanding the forces defending the breach… so likely Tira and her allies had to defeat him before they could reach the Flame.

Phew! That’s all for this installment. I’ll certainly let you know as soon as I have any news about Eberron development of 5E. Next up: More about Phoenix: Dawn Command!