Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JulesCARV 06-25-06, 02:47 PM	I saw Howl's Moving Castle quite a while ago, and I also started playing Eberron a while ago, but the connection between the two never really occurred to me. Anyway, for those who have seen it, I suppose the connection between the world of HMC and late Last War-era Khorvaire shouldn't require too much of a stretch of the imagination. It's interesting to think of an elemental who's smarter and a more active participant in the binding process than the typical Eberron bound elemental, like Calcipher (though both Calcipher and Howl seemed rather dissatisfied with the deal, and once it was reversed, calcipher was still powerful enough to power the second version of the castle, and Howl lived, so I'm really not sure why either of them did it in the first place). I suppose the mightiest elementals typically have a -4 int penalty, but if an elemental with random abilities "rolled lucky" on intelligence and happened to get an natural 18, then that's still a fairly-bright 14 -- more than enough to learn common and the like.
Paulon 06-25-06, 11:40 PM	In the original book, which the movie doesn't follow very closely towards the end, Howl and Calcifer made the deal because without it Calcifer would have died. Howl just felt sorry for him, and neither knew what the long term effects of the deal would be. Later they met the Witch of the Waste who had once made the same mistake... and was most decidedly not the better for it.
Thanqol 06-26-06, 12:37 AM	Argonan, the Mobile Fortress much? It's under the Breland entery. As for intelligent bindings, I see that more if you're binding a celestial or demon rather than a nigh-mindless elemental.
yrogerg 06-26-06, 08:32 AM	Well, how smart does it need to be? Elder elementals have intellegence 10, which is supposed to be average human intellegence. I would hazard to say that the odd Greater or Elder elemental should be smart enough to learn a second language, over time: just move a couple of its skill ranks out of spot and listen.
Zuj 06-26-06, 11:35 AM	I think rather than putting it into strictly game terms with the elemental, just treat the moving castle as an Eldritch Machine. I've seen the movie (but never checked out the book), and I think it could fit quite well.
JulesCARV 06-26-06, 12:03 PM	Ah... yes. Elder air, water, and earth elementals can all have default intelligences of up to 10. It seems that only fire elementals are stuck with 6. Naturally, that's what I looked at when I thought of Calcipher.
Tyryt 06-26-06, 12:10 PM	Of course, the higher intelligence could be because of the binding as well. After all, familiars gain in intelligence as their master levels......
Mulliganster 06-26-06, 03:55 PM	Why not bind a nobel Salamander? They have an int of 16 I think.
BoneLord_of_Skullthrone 06-27-06, 12:53 AM	When I watched Howl's Moving Castle, my first thougth was of Eberron. My second thought was of a book in my collection called Doom Striders, written by Sam Witt, published by Bastion Press. Doom Striders are basically mobile weapons platforms that are more like effigies than elementally bound vehicles, but they can also be made as a kind of arcane "powered armor". They are best used for ranged artillery, siege work, stomping entire units of infantry, and fighting other Doom Striders. They are powered by magic items thrown into an "arcanofurnace" (I imagined using charged eberron dragonshards), or by draining the life force from either the crew, or victims hanging from the hull by hooks and chains. :devil: Doomstriders also have a habit of binding to certain people, who become the pilots. I imagine using them being built by Karrnath (with vampiric engines), or supplied by the forces of madness to the forces of Sora Kell for some unfathomably sinister reason, or being found in the form of ancient construction plans in Xen'drik or Dhakaani ruins. They could also be newly built by House Cannith to compete with the gnomes of Zilargo. Imagine what kind of tension that would cause with Zilargo and within the house! Anyway, I give the book *** for content, ** for organization, and **** for the amount of potential Eberron adventures that could stem from this. Howl's castle is basically a gargantual doom strider with passenger/cargo platforms on the inside. (Now immagine puting 20 of those on the outside of a colossal Doom Strider and having 100 archers firing from a mobile, elevated position. :) The Strider could even be equipped with siege weapons or the thundercannons mentioned in the book for air defense. :cool: )
Melvin the Mediocre 07-03-06, 03:34 PM	I had never heard of htat book or movie until this thread. I watched it and really liked it. So thanks! But it got me to wondering if a druid, shape shifted into an elemental, could be bound to a kyber shard and then used to power an elemental vehicle. And if so... wow... its like Druids: The Alternative Fuel of Khorvaire. I can see Aundarians sucking up the most powerful and vocal opponents to the re-assimilation of the Eldeen Reaches, never to be heard from again. :D
ArcTan 07-03-06, 03:47 PM	High Elemental Binder from PGtE for the familiar-like elemental. As an aside, I haven't seen the film, but in the original novel (which is somewhat different) Howl made the deal with Calcifer out of compassion for him, because Calcifer was originally a falling star who was going to die if he didn't bind himself to a human and become a fire-demon. Reversing the deal *would* have killed Calcifer if not for Sophie's unique magical talent, which extended Calcifer's natural lifespan by ten thousand years before undoing the deal.
Kid SixXx 07-04-06, 08:29 AM	High Elemental Binder from PGtE for the familiar-like elemental. Indeed. If you're going to move towards binding of intellegent elementals, the HEB would be the way to go. I'd go even further and tinker with the mechanics of Sha'ir / Genie Magic from the old Al-Qadim setting. I like to think that the hallmark of the HEB would be to actually convince intelligent elementals into temporary servitude (ie. power my machine for 3 centuries) in exchange for other favors (ie. I'll only use the machine 4 days out of the week, will make the machine a suitable lair for you, & will provide the machine with [insert appropriate elemental consumable, not necessarily for sustainance but for holistic purposes]). Small touches like that might help to differentiate Gnomish artifice from other forms, or perhaps you could even save the superior Sha'ir mechanics for use with the Xen'Drik Drow, so you can show that not even the Gnomes haven't mastered the intricacies and subtleties of Elemental Binding that allow the Drow to forge mutually beneficial relationships with some elementals. Or perhaps the Zil simply don't care about forging relationships, and that is the reason that Khorvaire elemental binding resembles dimensional entrapment. The Zil version of HB only covers half of the spectrum, but since it works pretty good so far, the Zil aren't interested in pursuing the science further. Or some such. So many possibilities from one film.
ArcTan 07-04-06, 05:09 PM	Indeed. If you're going to move towards binding of intellegent elementals, the HEB would be the way to go. I'd go even further and tinker with the mechanics of Sha'ir / Genie Magic from the old Al-Qadim setting. I like to think that the hallmark of the HEB would be to actually convince intelligent elementals into temporary servitude (ie. power my machine for 3 centuries) in exchange for other favors (ie. I'll only use the machine 4 days out of the week, will make the machine a suitable lair for you, & will provide the machine with [insert appropriate elemental consumable, not necessarily for sustainance but for holistic purposes]). Small touches like that might help to differentiate Gnomish artifice from other forms, or perhaps you could even save the superior Sha'ir mechanics for use with the Xen'Drik Drow, so you can show that not even the Gnomes haven't mastered the intricacies and subtleties of Elemental Binding that allow the Drow to forge mutually beneficial relationships with some elementals. Or perhaps the Zil simply don't care about forging relationships, and that is the reason that Khorvaire elemental binding resembles dimensional entrapment. The Zil version of HB only covers half of the spectrum, but since it works pretty good so far, the Zil aren't interested in pursuing the science further. The Power of Purity organization in MoE is an organization that goes against typical Zilargo principles of binding, claiming that forming voluntary relationships with elementals is not only more ethical but also gives better results. It's because of the fact that they *do* produce the best elemental-bound items that their philosophy is tolerated. They're the source of elemental grafts, which have to be made using a willing donation of elemental flesh and therefore can only be obtained by Purity members. Or some such. So many possibilities from one film.[/QUOTE]