Favored in House revision? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Favored in House revision? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Syltorian
01-09-07, 10:24 AM So far, the prerequisite of "Favored in House" is: "member of the appropriate dragonmarked race and house." (ECS p.53). However, Dragonmarked gives several examples of houses that allow other races than those able to bear their dragonmarks into the house.

(All the following page numbers are from Dragonmarked):
Deneith allows non-humans to achieve "honorary status" as house members (p.25), Medani similarily allows marrying elves and humans (p.53), Orien is racially exceptionally open, and has half-elves and half-orcs with a future in the house (p.60), Tharashk allowed Orcs since the days of the ECS, but also allows, rarely, other races (p.77), While it says nothing about other races, Vadalis heirs may marry for love and are known for their tightnit family ties (p.89).
Are all these members barred from the Favored in House feat? The by-the-letter reading of the rules would make this so, but after reading Dragonmarked I wondered whether the spirit of the law had not changed.

What would you think about rewriting the prerequisite of Favored in House to read simply: "member of the approriate dragonmarked house", and keep the race requirement only for the dragonmark itself - i.e. a half-elf of Orien can be Favored, as can an Orc of Tharashk, even if they never get a Mark (short of taking 10 levels in Cataclysm Mage).

The houses which are more traditional/closed than those mentioned above would naturally not be affected, since Lyrandar would not allow a human into their midst, nor Cannith a warforged or Phiarlan anything but an elf.
Grymar
01-09-07, 11:05 AM My feeling is that those other races are allowed to join the house and can even become honored...but not favored. Favored is something exceptional only available to the most promising members of the house, those who are in the best possible position to help the House both prosper and to pass on top quality traits (including dragonmarks) to the next generation.

Of course it could be a bit more nepotistic (I think I just made up a new word) than that....a favored nephew of a powerful Baron or similar. But still I think to be a Favored in House you have to be of the House's core race.
mhacdebhandia
01-09-07, 08:38 PM I tend to agree with Grymar. No matter how skilled or dedicated, a member of another race really can't be as important to the house as a whole as one of their blood heirs - hell, even if you don't have the house's mark, you can still have a child who does.

I think this chauvinism is an essential part of the dragonmarked houses, because that kind of barrier is great fodder for stories.
Syltorian
01-10-07, 12:45 PM In House Tharashk, there have been Orc triumvirs before (p.80, Dragonmarked). As the patriarchs or their house, they must surely have been "favoured" before. Certainly orcs can pass the mark on, should they marry a human or half-orc (I assume, for the latter). But so can a human or elf marrying (or otherwise joining) Medani, for example, and I believe even something as weird as a kalashtar in House Deneith might be able to do so, if the gender fits the non-kalashtar parent (anyone know what happens to the child of a changeling or shifter and a human?).

Personally, I believe that the dragonmark is important to the House, but not essential at this stage of their development. The Houses have created great financial empires, and could, conceivably, run without the dragonmarks (though with much less ease and flavour). What they need most is capable administrators and agents. Such talents are not limited to those actually fitting the racial majority of the house, and certainly not to the possession of a dragonmark.

Family relations and being a lovable character are two of the three reasons for Favored in House mentioned in Dragonmark; passing on the Mark isn't one. I might help, but it isn't a necessity. The last one way to obtain favoured status is service to the house.

Thus a Medani baron marrying, say, a human, and having a human child (I believe it is possible for the child of a half-elf and a human to be a human?) is not frowned upon by the house. And that child certainly has the right connections to the top, with daddy being so important. He fills the "family relations" role. Of course I see the potential for a story to have him denied that favor where his half-elven brother gets it; but that is adding another dimension to it. On his own, he should benefit from the favored status.

Similarily, the daughter of an Orien human and a half-elf who married into the House of Passage, could be such a likeable gadabout that she could make the right connections, despite being a half-elf. After all, half-elves are much more social than humans, as a rule. She knows people, is friends with them, has helped them, knows some of their secrets, and is the darling of her uncles and aunts; in short, can reasonably expect to gain favours from them. This would fill the "gadabout" role. You could even have a story of her less charismatic human brother being jealous because he lacks these relations and is considered a bore, thus reversing the story above.

A wildhunt shifter scout who has been granted honorary status in House Deneith due to his exceptional talent at tracking - and who might even have joined the Marshals in tracking down criminals - could outstrip his human comrades so much that he becomes a main asset to the house. His bloodhunter talents have enabled Deneith to gain an edge over Tharashk bountyhunters in the area where he is stationed. There, he is essential to the house's dominance over its rivals; he might become the basis of a campaign as House Tharashk plans to get rid of him. This would fill the "service to the house" role.

Regarding the chauvinism, I agree up to a certain point. It applies to many of the houses - in fact, the majority. But there are exceptions. Deneith, Orien and Medani foremost amongst these. Allowing the favoured in house feat to be available to anyone who manages to join the House would not destroy the flavour, I believe. It would even help it, by making the difference between an "open" house like Medani, and a "closed" one like Lyrandar much clearer. You can get great roleplaying potential there: A reason why you might back one house rather than another, for example.

If you want to use the barrier as a fodder for stories, and I agree it can be a good one, you have Cannith, Jorasco, Kundarak, Lyrandar, Phiarlan, Sivis and Thuranni, and to a lesser extend Ghallanda (they allow only halflings, but are the only house to embrace aberrant-marked heirs) and Tharashk (they accept Orcs as well as their marked bearers, but not much more). If you want to use greater interaction, you have Deneith, Medani and Orien, and possibly Vadalis.

It is the best of two worlds, really. You get some houses for chauvinism, and some houses embracing other races. You get interesting debates in the Twelve as each group tries to impose its world-view on the others, with the chauvinist houses probably trying to bring their more lenient counterparts to heel, and a "favored" character of the wrong race in one of the open houses becoming the centre of attention and adventure. You get a great motivation for your character, who can attempt to become favored in his house despite not matching the core race: it will be difficult, but possible. You can have fractions in the house: those in Deneith who believe that only humans should be in charge subtly plotting against a half-elf favored in house, or the above mentioned brother angry at his half-elven sister more likeable than he is turning on his own human house out of spite. The shifter scout mentioned above might have worked for Tharashk, but found that Deneith had much more to offer, in terms of social position - which makes Tharashk hate him even more. Lots of story potential there too, as far as I can see.
Grymar
01-10-07, 03:47 PM I think you underestimate the importance of Dragonmarks. Their minor abilties are handy and cool, but it is what they can do with their dragonmark + certain items that make the Houses so powerful.

Gust of Wind is nice, but aside from giving that swimsuit model a windblown look, it doesn't do much. But by being a bearer of the Mark of Storm the scion of the house can now use a Wheel of Wind and Water to control an elemental galleon or an airship.

Lightning Reigns, Altars of Resurrection, and in my game even Cannith Creation Forges all require a Dragonmark to use. There are a thousand other small magic items that work this way too...I created a specialized navigation tool for sailors that show nearby weather patterns and true north at all time, but it requires the Mark of Storm to activate.

IMC Cannith uses specialized Cannith Forges to create items, both mundane or magical. A forge can combine the class levels of up to four artificers to make higher level items if the master of the four has at least a Lesser Mark of Making. This allows lower levels artificers to make higher level items including rings.

The Dragonmarks are CENTRAL to the monopolies of the Houses. That doesn't at all mean you are wrong, just that you and I interpret it differently. I've gone so far (I wouldn't suggest this) to make the non-marked members of the Houses impossible to reach the highest levels of the House. It is motivation for one of my characters who hates the fact that he isn't fully respected in Cannith because he doesn't have a mark. He's is driven to take Heir of Siberys when he can so he can show them how they were wrong to ignore him.
mhacdebhandia
01-10-07, 04:24 PM It's certainly possible to treat it as a case-by-case issue, and I agree that Tharashk is very likely to be more relaxed about treating orc members of the house as equivalent to any unmarked human or half-orc member.
Syltorian
01-10-07, 04:56 PM I agree that I have downplayed the importance of dragonmarks in my above post: dragonmarks were vital in building the houses, and still are central to them. But I believe that the dragonmarked houses would by now be strong enough to do without. Certainly, it would give them a serious headache. They would make much less money than before because their costs would skyrocket. It would require a serious rethinking of their ways of doing business.

It would, naturally, do irreparable damage to the setting from a metagaming point of view - so I am of course not arguing to remove their dragonmarks.

Yet my position is that, at this stage, each house has networks, knowledge, relations and power that make it the equal, if not superior to the shattered nations of Galifar. They can crush any businesses that try to rival them, long before they become a serious threat and the advantage of a dragonmark come into it. They are like the huge companies of the modern world, who do not need magical talents to destroy any potential rivals before they can even take root.

To give an example: House Lyrandar does benefit a lot from its Wheel of Wind and Water. Their ships run faster than those of everybody else, and they can command elementals without any risk. But assume that the dragonmarked disappeared from one moment to the next. Lyrandar loses its airships and other elemental vessels, because few people are willing to risk standing on one when the pilot loses control. But its airships are few and far between and at this stage an experiment rather than what makes their money. It still has its extremely large fleet of regular seagoing vessels.

People will still use Lyrandar vessels, because there is no alternative. Anyone trying to built up their own fleet will have to contend with the massive Lyrandar navy already present. In my campaign, the houses are extremely ruthless when it comes to dealing with would-be rivals.

Lyrandar can try to buy up such a promising new enterprise, or else turn some of its ample profits towards driving its new enemy out of the market by driving the prices down. If that fails, they have alliances with Sivis who can give the new shipowners legal trouble, Phiarlan and Thuranni who can discredit them (or even resort to sabotage and murder), Kundarak who can give them financial trouble, and its own fleet of experienced mariners who can turn privateers at a moment's notice. Besides their dragonmark, they have huge stores of knowledge about wind and water in their enclaves, which their wizards can learn and their security can keep reasonably safe as trade secrets.

Magic can, at great expense I admit, replace dragonmarks. What it cannot replace is administrative talent, a flair for business. What would be more detrimental to the house? A sharp decline in dragonmarks or a sharp rise in administrative and economical blunders? I'd be inclined to go with the latter. It is what is currently happening to House Cannith. Their leadership is disunited and shattered, and their talents at reuiniting it leave much to be desired.

Lyrandar will put a dragonmarked on the ship to hold the wheel. But they'll give the job of the actual captain to the person who knows best how to read a chart, predict the weather, command a crew, find out where to sell which goods and at what price, and know which jobs to take and which to refuse. This person may be dragonmarked, but doesn't have to be. It's a bonus if he is, certainly; but not a necessity. It is also, to continue with the Lyrandar example, why the House of Storm has hardly any business in Lhazaar: dragonmark or not, the Lhazaarites are better sailors. I'm sure Lyrandar would pay dearly to add some of their expertise to their own navy.

With that said, I also firmly agree that it can be a great motivation for characters if they are looked down upon because they do not have a dragonmark. Just because I am saying that talent is more important than a magical birthmark doesn't mean that the birthmark might not be important, or that everyone in the houses should have my opinion.

I believe that it first of all depends on which House you belong to. Cannith I have always seen as the most blatantly arrogant of houses. They'd be rather likely to look at someone as less than a human because he hasn't developped a mark.

Vadalis, on the other hand, is a family first and foremost; so the dragonmark is good, but hey... it's your cousin, after all; it is not his fault he has not developped the mark. Just have a nice big hug and it's all okay. Even if in my campaign, you need the Mark of Handling (greater magic fang) to magebreed animals.

Within the houses, it will also depend on the people around you. Some parents might be so disappointed that their child has failed the Test of Siberys that they make him feel it at every turn. Others might shake their heads over those with dragonmarked who believe they are a godsent and wasted all their lives in leasure rather than learning their business. I could also see how some members of Lyrandar, believing that their mark is a divine gift, would see those who are not marked as somehow not having the "grace of the gods". The younger dragonmarked might also tease those who do not develop a mark; they might also be furious at their house for ignoring them even though they have a mark - but no dedication to go with it.

In short, I would see the importance of whether an individual is dragonmarked or not as depending much more on what house and what individual you are currently dealing with.

All that, of course, is but my interpretation about the dragonmarked houses. Thanks for reading this monster of a post! I hope I have been able to give a clear idea of my way of seeing the current position and nature of the houses.

And the dragonshard items you have developped seem very interesting, too! You wouldn't have them detailed somewhere, by any chance, would you? :)
Edymnion
01-11-07, 12:44 PM I remove the racial prereq for the feat in my games, and also expand it to allow other organizations (such as "Favored of the Flame").

My reasoning is that, as written, FiH has nothing to do with race, gender, or anything else. It is purely a matter of "You hold some influence in your organization, and can use that pull to get favors from time to time".

I do not see the Houses as being so racially segregated that they refuse to help another race, no matter how important they are to the organization, simply because of their race. My Eberron, at least, is not filled with bigots and racial supremists.

Sure, there is the proverbial glass ceiling, where members of other races have trouble breaking through to the higher levels, but thats more of an issue of the percieved importance of dragonmarks, and the differant race never having the potential to manifest the House's mark. It would be hard for another race to gain major importance, but not impossible.

And since FiH is never really presented as "The entire house is in awe of you and bows to your every demand", but more of a "You know people who know people that can find stuff out for you", race shouldn't be an issue.

And like I said, I also expanded it to any sufficiently large organization, as there is no reason that *ONLY* the Dragonmarked Houses would be willing to help a member out.
Siberys
01-12-07, 07:49 AM Besides what Edy said, "Member of the appropriate Dragonmarked Race and House" could be read as being a member of any d-marked race, and a certain house. Its a very liberal reading of it, though.

As a certain sylph once said, "I don't make the rules. I just bend them to my purposes." :smirk:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Syltorian 01-09-07, 10:24 AM	So far, the prerequisite of "Favored in House" is: "member of the appropriate dragonmarked race and house." (ECS p.53). However, Dragonmarked gives several examples of houses that allow other races than those able to bear their dragonmarks into the house. (All the following page numbers are from Dragonmarked): Deneith allows non-humans to achieve "honorary status" as house members (p.25), Medani similarily allows marrying elves and humans (p.53), Orien is racially exceptionally open, and has half-elves and half-orcs with a future in the house (p.60), Tharashk allowed Orcs since the days of the ECS, but also allows, rarely, other races (p.77), While it says nothing about other races, Vadalis heirs may marry for love and are known for their tightnit family ties (p.89). Are all these members barred from the Favored in House feat? The by-the-letter reading of the rules would make this so, but after reading Dragonmarked I wondered whether the spirit of the law had not changed. What would you think about rewriting the prerequisite of Favored in House to read simply: "member of the approriate dragonmarked house", and keep the race requirement only for the dragonmark itself - i.e. a half-elf of Orien can be Favored, as can an Orc of Tharashk, even if they never get a Mark (short of taking 10 levels in Cataclysm Mage). The houses which are more traditional/closed than those mentioned above would naturally not be affected, since Lyrandar would not allow a human into their midst, nor Cannith a warforged or Phiarlan anything but an elf.
Grymar 01-09-07, 11:05 AM	My feeling is that those other races are allowed to join the house and can even become honored...but not favored. Favored is something exceptional only available to the most promising members of the house, those who are in the best possible position to help the House both prosper and to pass on top quality traits (including dragonmarks) to the next generation. Of course it could be a bit more nepotistic (I think I just made up a new word) than that....a favored nephew of a powerful Baron or similar. But still I think to be a Favored in House you have to be of the House's core race.
mhacdebhandia 01-09-07, 08:38 PM	I tend to agree with Grymar. No matter how skilled or dedicated, a member of another race really can't be as important to the house as a whole as one of their blood heirs - hell, even if you don't have the house's mark, you can still have a child who does. I think this chauvinism is an essential part of the dragonmarked houses, because that kind of barrier is great fodder for stories.
Syltorian 01-10-07, 12:45 PM	In House Tharashk, there have been Orc triumvirs before (p.80, Dragonmarked). As the patriarchs or their house, they must surely have been "favoured" before. Certainly orcs can pass the mark on, should they marry a human or half-orc (I assume, for the latter). But so can a human or elf marrying (or otherwise joining) Medani, for example, and I believe even something as weird as a kalashtar in House Deneith might be able to do so, if the gender fits the non-kalashtar parent (anyone know what happens to the child of a changeling or shifter and a human?). Personally, I believe that the dragonmark is important to the House, but not essential at this stage of their development. The Houses have created great financial empires, and could, conceivably, run without the dragonmarks (though with much less ease and flavour). What they need most is capable administrators and agents. Such talents are not limited to those actually fitting the racial majority of the house, and certainly not to the possession of a dragonmark. Family relations and being a lovable character are two of the three reasons for Favored in House mentioned in Dragonmark; passing on the Mark isn't one. I might help, but it isn't a necessity. The last one way to obtain favoured status is service to the house. Thus a Medani baron marrying, say, a human, and having a human child (I believe it is possible for the child of a half-elf and a human to be a human?) is not frowned upon by the house. And that child certainly has the right connections to the top, with daddy being so important. He fills the "family relations" role. Of course I see the potential for a story to have him denied that favor where his half-elven brother gets it; but that is adding another dimension to it. On his own, he should benefit from the favored status. Similarily, the daughter of an Orien human and a half-elf who married into the House of Passage, could be such a likeable gadabout that she could make the right connections, despite being a half-elf. After all, half-elves are much more social than humans, as a rule. She knows people, is friends with them, has helped them, knows some of their secrets, and is the darling of her uncles and aunts; in short, can reasonably expect to gain favours from them. This would fill the "gadabout" role. You could even have a story of her less charismatic human brother being jealous because he lacks these relations and is considered a bore, thus reversing the story above. A wildhunt shifter scout who has been granted honorary status in House Deneith due to his exceptional talent at tracking - and who might even have joined the Marshals in tracking down criminals - could outstrip his human comrades so much that he becomes a main asset to the house. His bloodhunter talents have enabled Deneith to gain an edge over Tharashk bountyhunters in the area where he is stationed. There, he is essential to the house's dominance over its rivals; he might become the basis of a campaign as House Tharashk plans to get rid of him. This would fill the "service to the house" role. Regarding the chauvinism, I agree up to a certain point. It applies to many of the houses - in fact, the majority. But there are exceptions. Deneith, Orien and Medani foremost amongst these. Allowing the favoured in house feat to be available to anyone who manages to join the House would not destroy the flavour, I believe. It would even help it, by making the difference between an "open" house like Medani, and a "closed" one like Lyrandar much clearer. You can get great roleplaying potential there: A reason why you might back one house rather than another, for example. If you want to use the barrier as a fodder for stories, and I agree it can be a good one, you have Cannith, Jorasco, Kundarak, Lyrandar, Phiarlan, Sivis and Thuranni, and to a lesser extend Ghallanda (they allow only halflings, but are the only house to embrace aberrant-marked heirs) and Tharashk (they accept Orcs as well as their marked bearers, but not much more). If you want to use greater interaction, you have Deneith, Medani and Orien, and possibly Vadalis. It is the best of two worlds, really. You get some houses for chauvinism, and some houses embracing other races. You get interesting debates in the Twelve as each group tries to impose its world-view on the others, with the chauvinist houses probably trying to bring their more lenient counterparts to heel, and a "favored" character of the wrong race in one of the open houses becoming the centre of attention and adventure. You get a great motivation for your character, who can attempt to become favored in his house despite not matching the core race: it will be difficult, but possible. You can have fractions in the house: those in Deneith who believe that only humans should be in charge subtly plotting against a half-elf favored in house, or the above mentioned brother angry at his half-elven sister more likeable than he is turning on his own human house out of spite. The shifter scout mentioned above might have worked for Tharashk, but found that Deneith had much more to offer, in terms of social position - which makes Tharashk hate him even more. Lots of story potential there too, as far as I can see.
Grymar 01-10-07, 03:47 PM	I think you underestimate the importance of Dragonmarks. Their minor abilties are handy and cool, but it is what they can do with their dragonmark + certain items that make the Houses so powerful. Gust of Wind is nice, but aside from giving that swimsuit model a windblown look, it doesn't do much. But by being a bearer of the Mark of Storm the scion of the house can now use a Wheel of Wind and Water to control an elemental galleon or an airship. Lightning Reigns, Altars of Resurrection, and in my game even Cannith Creation Forges all require a Dragonmark to use. There are a thousand other small magic items that work this way too...I created a specialized navigation tool for sailors that show nearby weather patterns and true north at all time, but it requires the Mark of Storm to activate. IMC Cannith uses specialized Cannith Forges to create items, both mundane or magical. A forge can combine the class levels of up to four artificers to make higher level items if the master of the four has at least a Lesser Mark of Making. This allows lower levels artificers to make higher level items including rings. The Dragonmarks are CENTRAL to the monopolies of the Houses. That doesn't at all mean you are wrong, just that you and I interpret it differently. I've gone so far (I wouldn't suggest this) to make the non-marked members of the Houses impossible to reach the highest levels of the House. It is motivation for one of my characters who hates the fact that he isn't fully respected in Cannith because he doesn't have a mark. He's is driven to take Heir of Siberys when he can so he can show them how they were wrong to ignore him.
mhacdebhandia 01-10-07, 04:24 PM	It's certainly possible to treat it as a case-by-case issue, and I agree that Tharashk is very likely to be more relaxed about treating orc members of the house as equivalent to any unmarked human or half-orc member.
Syltorian 01-10-07, 04:56 PM	I agree that I have downplayed the importance of dragonmarks in my above post: dragonmarks were vital in building the houses, and still are central to them. But I believe that the dragonmarked houses would by now be strong enough to do without. Certainly, it would give them a serious headache. They would make much less money than before because their costs would skyrocket. It would require a serious rethinking of their ways of doing business. It would, naturally, do irreparable damage to the setting from a metagaming point of view - so I am of course not arguing to remove their dragonmarks. Yet my position is that, at this stage, each house has networks, knowledge, relations and power that make it the equal, if not superior to the shattered nations of Galifar. They can crush any businesses that try to rival them, long before they become a serious threat and the advantage of a dragonmark come into it. They are like the huge companies of the modern world, who do not need magical talents to destroy any potential rivals before they can even take root. To give an example: House Lyrandar does benefit a lot from its Wheel of Wind and Water. Their ships run faster than those of everybody else, and they can command elementals without any risk. But assume that the dragonmarked disappeared from one moment to the next. Lyrandar loses its airships and other elemental vessels, because few people are willing to risk standing on one when the pilot loses control. But its airships are few and far between and at this stage an experiment rather than what makes their money. It still has its extremely large fleet of regular seagoing vessels. People will still use Lyrandar vessels, because there is no alternative. Anyone trying to built up their own fleet will have to contend with the massive Lyrandar navy already present. In my campaign, the houses are extremely ruthless when it comes to dealing with would-be rivals. Lyrandar can try to buy up such a promising new enterprise, or else turn some of its ample profits towards driving its new enemy out of the market by driving the prices down. If that fails, they have alliances with Sivis who can give the new shipowners legal trouble, Phiarlan and Thuranni who can discredit them (or even resort to sabotage and murder), Kundarak who can give them financial trouble, and its own fleet of experienced mariners who can turn privateers at a moment's notice. Besides their dragonmark, they have huge stores of knowledge about wind and water in their enclaves, which their wizards can learn and their security can keep reasonably safe as trade secrets. Magic can, at great expense I admit, replace dragonmarks. What it cannot replace is administrative talent, a flair for business. What would be more detrimental to the house? A sharp decline in dragonmarks or a sharp rise in administrative and economical blunders? I'd be inclined to go with the latter. It is what is currently happening to House Cannith. Their leadership is disunited and shattered, and their talents at reuiniting it leave much to be desired. Lyrandar will put a dragonmarked on the ship to hold the wheel. But they'll give the job of the actual captain to the person who knows best how to read a chart, predict the weather, command a crew, find out where to sell which goods and at what price, and know which jobs to take and which to refuse. This person may be dragonmarked, but doesn't have to be. It's a bonus if he is, certainly; but not a necessity. It is also, to continue with the Lyrandar example, why the House of Storm has hardly any business in Lhazaar: dragonmark or not, the Lhazaarites are better sailors. I'm sure Lyrandar would pay dearly to add some of their expertise to their own navy. With that said, I also firmly agree that it can be a great motivation for characters if they are looked down upon because they do not have a dragonmark. Just because I am saying that talent is more important than a magical birthmark doesn't mean that the birthmark might not be important, or that everyone in the houses should have my opinion. I believe that it first of all depends on which House you belong to. Cannith I have always seen as the most blatantly arrogant of houses. They'd be rather likely to look at someone as less than a human because he hasn't developped a mark. Vadalis, on the other hand, is a family first and foremost; so the dragonmark is good, but hey... it's your cousin, after all; it is not his fault he has not developped the mark. Just have a nice big hug and it's all okay. Even if in my campaign, you need the Mark of Handling (greater magic fang) to magebreed animals. Within the houses, it will also depend on the people around you. Some parents might be so disappointed that their child has failed the Test of Siberys that they make him feel it at every turn. Others might shake their heads over those with dragonmarked who believe they are a godsent and wasted all their lives in leasure rather than learning their business. I could also see how some members of Lyrandar, believing that their mark is a divine gift, would see those who are not marked as somehow not having the "grace of the gods". The younger dragonmarked might also tease those who do not develop a mark; they might also be furious at their house for ignoring them even though they have a mark - but no dedication to go with it. In short, I would see the importance of whether an individual is dragonmarked or not as depending much more on what house and what individual you are currently dealing with. All that, of course, is but my interpretation about the dragonmarked houses. Thanks for reading this monster of a post! I hope I have been able to give a clear idea of my way of seeing the current position and nature of the houses. And the dragonshard items you have developped seem very interesting, too! You wouldn't have them detailed somewhere, by any chance, would you? :)
Edymnion 01-11-07, 12:44 PM	I remove the racial prereq for the feat in my games, and also expand it to allow other organizations (such as "Favored of the Flame"). My reasoning is that, as written, FiH has nothing to do with race, gender, or anything else. It is purely a matter of "You hold some influence in your organization, and can use that pull to get favors from time to time". I do not see the Houses as being so racially segregated that they refuse to help another race, no matter how important they are to the organization, simply because of their race. My Eberron, at least, is not filled with bigots and racial supremists. Sure, there is the proverbial glass ceiling, where members of other races have trouble breaking through to the higher levels, but thats more of an issue of the percieved importance of dragonmarks, and the differant race never having the potential to manifest the House's mark. It would be hard for another race to gain major importance, but not impossible. And since FiH is never really presented as "The entire house is in awe of you and bows to your every demand", but more of a "You know people who know people that can find stuff out for you", race shouldn't be an issue. And like I said, I also expanded it to any sufficiently large organization, as there is no reason that ONLY the Dragonmarked Houses would be willing to help a member out.
Siberys 01-12-07, 07:49 AM	Besides what Edy said, "Member of the appropriate Dragonmarked Race and House" could be read as being a member of any d-marked race, and a certain house. Its a very liberal reading of it, though. As a certain sylph once said, "I don't make the rules. I just bend them to my purposes." :smirk: