Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gwenfloor 12-03-06, 07:10 PM	I have a Gatekeeper Druid in my party, and he wants to fight the Ashbound by joining their ranks. He also wants to know if you can take more than one Initiate feat. He wants to take both the Ashbound and Gatekeeper Initiate. Is this allowed? Also, what would be the consequences of a blown cover? How do the Ashbound and Gatekeepers view each other? The main reason the player wants to become a double agent is that he wants two Initiate feats. Sounds like a powergamer. I did tell him that the Ashbound are not very nice people, even to other Druids, and simply training for the feat puts his life at an unnecessary risk. What should I do? Also, what would you do if you had such a player? It is an interesting idea, I just think that two Initiate feats would be too unbalanced.
Bluebrush 12-03-06, 07:58 PM	I can't make a call on the rules factor, but you can be considered a member of an organisation without the relevant feat. Especially if he's a double agent, the Ashbound are going to take a while before they're willing to induct him into their secrets. I think there's info on the Ashbound/Gatekeeper relationship in Faiths of Eberron.
Gwenfloor 12-03-06, 08:03 PM	I do not have the book.
Lujayne34 12-03-06, 10:58 PM	I do not have the book. Well I think the Wardens and the Gatekeepers view the Ashbound as terrorists. Or maybe its just the Wardens that think that? I will have to check when I get home.
Destil 12-04-06, 12:45 AM	The ashbound are all over the board. The level of dedication to destroying the unnatural (and what they consider unnatural) varies from member to member greatly. They seem like the least consistant of the druidic sects as presented in the books, mostly held togeather by a charsmatic leader and a variaty of personal agendas. Also, remember that many Ashbound will be just as willing to crack some demonic skulls as the gatekeepers. (Likewise it's mentioned that the children of winter hate the undead, death is a part of nature, undeath is just wrong). IMC I don't think the gatekeepers would care. The ashbound fight the unnatural. They might be extreme and crazy, and what they consider unnatural is much broader than the Gatekeepers. But they actually are the clostest in some ways to the view of the Gakepeepers: protect nature from the unnatural with a big stick, earth and fire. The wardens certinaly have problems with some ashbound. But the Gatekeepers shrug their shoulders and enjoy the manpower if they're going after beholders or whatever. As long as they leave the dimentional seals alone (and since it's druidic magic this seems likely) it's largely outside of the gatekeeper's domain. The gatekeepers aren''t the church of the silver flame, they don't convert much, they don't tend to the needs of the common men much (there are other sects for that). They fight their forgoten war in the dark places of the world and tend to live short lives ending with messy deaths.
Paranoia833 12-04-06, 11:05 AM	Personally I'd rule that while your druid could conceivably fool the Ashbound into believing he's one of them, I wouldn't allow him to actually take the Initiate feat unless he genuinely believed in the principles of the organisation. After all, the Initiate feats aren't just clubcards, they're special powers the druid has access to due to learning the mystical secrets of the sect, since divine magic functions on faith unless he has faith in the Ashbound he doesn't get the kewl powerz. He can still join the Ashbound even without the feat though, as not all Ashbound are even druids (pretty sure there's some ranger members of the various sects and the Children of Winter even have a few warlocks in their number if I remember right). The feats just represent special abilities the most dedicated followers of the sect have access to. Not to mention, if you go by Faiths of Eberron then your guy REALLY doesn't want to take the Initiate feat if he's planning to betray them, as being a fully inducted member of a sect means a druid has extra conditions to obey that will cause his powers to fade if he goes against them.
Hellcow 12-04-06, 11:12 AM	Personally, I consider the initiate feats to be akin to clerical domains. They aren't just a matter of training, but also of devotion. If the character truly BELIEVES in the doctrine of both sects, and actively follows the creeds of both sects, I would allow him to take and benefit from both feats. However, just hanging out with a sect when you don't actually share their beliefs would not, in my campaign, allow you to take their feat. Divine casting is about faith, and druids need faith just as much as clerics do. So I'd let a power gamer take both feats - but I'd require him to adhere to the behavior expected of both sects or risk losing the benefits of the feats. And as has already been pointed out, you can be a member of a sect without possessing the feat in question... just as you can worship the Silver Flame without being a cleric or adept. EDIT: Paranoia beat me to it!
Gwenfloor 12-04-06, 04:04 PM	It appears that my Druid's player is going to be in over his head. I may have to talk with him about the Initiate feats next time we meet. Although he is a powergamer, it is fine, though. He is minimizing his weaknesses, and maximising his strengths. Plus, he is a good roleplayer and knows how to act Druidic.