Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Quithion 01-16-05, 09:43 PM	I am currently looking into bring the dragon marked houses into the my Homebrew caimpaign. I really enjoy Eberron as a whole, but the next caimpaign I am running doesnt seem to fit the world as a whole. I am probably going to be taking Vol and her cult plus the order of the emerald claw with these houses as well as the dragonshards. Any suggestions for incorporating these into a more standard fantasy world ?
TrothgardtheMad 01-16-05, 10:12 PM	I can't see too much hassle putting in dragonmarked houses, as I debating using that idea for a explain away some of the major trades (in the major trade city I was working on). I'm not sure if I could handle all 12/13 houses, with all their specialized trades and political shifts and try to hammer it into my world (square peg, round hole), but YMMV. The dragonshards might be a little tough, but as long as there are some decent backstory, I can't see why their inclusion would be disbarred, as well as the organizations. I have incorporated shifters and artificers into my world with little problem, with Warforged to come (as I have a Big Bad Neutral Artificer working on them currently, as he sells his services to the highest bidder), and perhaps after a time they will be allowed as a PC race (as of now they are nothing more than glorified golems). Although either when I get another group or work on a campaign after this, I might have to go full Eberron, as more material gets released for it. Trothgard the Mad
Gez 01-17-05, 02:52 AM	Long before the Fantasy Search Finalist was even revealed, my group was working on a homebrew where we had the idea to have noble dragonmarked houses... It's set in a sort of fantasy Japan with bits of fantasy India and fantasy China thrown in for good measure. Anyway, a long time ago, the empire was ruled by dragons, who promoted select families to a near-dragonlike status to help them manage the land. Eventually, the dragons left for a mysterious land, leaving behind them the dragonmarked families as administrators. In that setting, the dragonmarks are physical alterations, each family having its own freakishness. It can be presence of scales on the shoulders, unnatural eyes, extra phalanx in each finger, etc. As time passed, however, these marks faded more and more, and eventually nearly disappeared. The "true" (dragonmarked) aristocracy was disappearing and replaced by unmarked, but wealthier, aristocrats. So, of course, when the first details about Eberron were released, I was especially interested in these talks about Dragonmarked Houses... (Note that our dragonmarks were purely cosmetic, without associated feats and prestige classes.)
Just another user 01-17-05, 03:16 AM	Outside of eberron you could just use the dragonmarks without importing the relative house, if you think that 13 are too much to handle. you could even develop some more without being limited by the 12+1 narrative rules, I like the idea of chain of feats that give access to spell like abilities, with some work they could even be the base for an alternative magic system.
Ashfallen 01-17-05, 10:46 AM	Eberron dragonmarks are really just spell-like abilities that you can take a feat to have. It's the backstory, the social status they give and that they're inheritable that makes them interesting. Some possibilities for riffs on the dragonmark concept: (1) Like Piers Anthony's Xanth series, every human has a special ability. Instead of the free feat, choose a first-level spell that you get once per day. You can spend further feats on getting similar spells at higher levels, or more daily uses of your innate spell. (2) The Dragonmark looks the same, but its abilities vary from person to person. Those who have The Dragonmark (which may or may not be inherited) form the ruling class of the nation. (3) In an otherwise standard world, some rare people are born with (or otherwise acquire) a Mark of Making. Only they are accepted into the Artificers' Guild for training. (4) Dragonmarks are magical tattoos. A person must prove to the relevant Tattooed School that they are worthy to bear one - after donation of money and completion of an appropriate quest, the Master of the School may accept the character as a student. Coincidentally, this will happen when the character is eligible for a new feat. (5) Dragons, semi-ethereal creatures who exist in a reality "above" our own, literally mark some rare people with magical writing, indicating the person's destiny to those with the ability to interpret the mark. It is not certain whether these marks grant a power, or if the power already existed in the person and the mark is merely indicative.