Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Huzzah! 02-16-07, 11:06 AM	It says in the ECS that the magebred template can be applied to "any living animal." Would it be too far of a stretch to say that vermin could also have the magebred template? I'm thinking of Aundair releasing some magebred elm beetles into the forests of the Eldeen Reaches...
Syltorian 02-16-07, 11:26 AM	It says in the ECS that the magebred template can be applied to "any living animal." Would it be too far of a stretch to say that vermin could also have the magebred template? Would it be unbalancing? No, I don't think so. You'll get some beetles that are faster or tougher, but not overly so. However, I don't think the flavour fits. One of the main advantages of magebred creatures is that they learn more tricks and are easier to handle. Vermin are mindless, so they cannot learn any tricks or be tamed under normal circumstances (Blessed of Vulkoor or Vermin Companion aside, of course). The vermin type runs counter to what the template is supposed to do. I'm thinking of Aundair releasing some magebred elm beetles into the forests of the Eldeen Reaches... Here are some other problems with this plan, which you might consider before finalising it. House Vadalis, the only one who can magebreed, has its strongholds in the Eldeen Reaches. While the dragonmarked house is technically neutral, it will still not put its main holdings into the line of fire - and that's where will unavoidably come, since the beetles will be very difficult to control. They'll also get all the druids in the area hostile; the Treaty may make Vadalis neutral with regards to nations, but here we have an attack on nature itself. Alright, the Children of Winter might be happy, but everyone else... Aundair could, however, create advanced beetles (perhaps adapting the horrid template), hire a vermin-lord, or something of that kind, bypassing Vadalis and magebreeding alltogether. Still, with its druids the Eldeen Reaches will probably be the least vulnerable nation of Khorvaire to this attack, despite the Elm Beetle's effect on trees. I'd expect the beetles to be sent back rather quickly to Aundair.