Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ieattrollsforbreakfast 11-05-06, 03:46 PM	As we all know, the months are named after the moons, with each month spanning the period when its moon is 'ascendant'. The question is...just how accurate are those periods? More specifically, what happens at midnight on the last day of each month? One answer is that a single moon is ascendant the whole night/morning, despite it technically being a different month in the early hours...but where's the fun in that? If the change in ascendency occurs at midnight (or some other time during the night), this will lead to a pretty spectacular event. Most transitions will just lead to a subtle change in the colour of the ambient light (for example, on the 28th of Zarantyr the light will become more orange when ascendency switched to Olarune) since neighbouring months tend to have moons of similar apparent size. However, at the New Year the transition is between Zarantyr and Vult, the apparent largest and (one of the) smallest moons. I think the crowds gathered in the streets to watch the disc of Zarantyr light up to mark the occasion is a great image, almost like a sudden, second dawn, and one I hope to use eventually :) If something like that actually happens, I can imagine the New Year evolving into an even bigger celebration in Eberron than it is IRL. So, how should one mark the occasion?
Siberys 11-05-06, 10:09 PM	I'd love to help with this, as the image is ABSOLUTELY wonderful. However, I'd like to know why it would happen. Perhaps, at the turn of each month, magical energy surges to a certain moon, visibly brightening it's surface. This magical energy would have some tie to the prophecy, and would at least partially explain the numbers of 'marked births incertain houses in certain months. I imagine the surge looking like arcane symbols - either through a telescope or just the naked eye, I haven't decided. If this were the case, I'd allow a feat like this: Ascendant Birthright Prerequisites: first level, member of appropriate Dragonmarked House and Race. Benefit: The CL of any of your Dragonmark abilities you have is increased by one in the month of your birth. This month must be the month appropriate to your house. You gain a +2 insight bonus on skill checks during this time. You also gain one bonus action point every level, reflecting on the favor the prophecy has bestowed on you. During the appropriate month, you gain a bonus action point. If that AP is not used by the end of the month, it is wasted. However, this ONE point of AP does carry-over levels, unlike most APs If you do not have a Dragonmark (very likely for anyone not Human, at least at first level), During the appropriate month, you gain a +6 insight bonus on the appropriate skill. Notes: the above feat is weak, as parts of it only function 1/12th of the time. To offset this, I added the AP thing. Also, I recognize that due to the 1st level requirement, not everyone will have a Dragonmark when they take this feat. Thus I added the effect for if you don't have one. How's that sound, both fluff and crunch? I like it... cheers, Siberys