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Dragonmarked genocide

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
paulos
Nov 02, 2010 15:00:32
I'm wondering what would happen to Eberron society and history (short-term more than long-term) if a generally socially accepted genocide against all of House Lyrandar began?

In my game, Medani half-elves are already pretty much wiped out by the totalitarian eladrin/vampire empire for alleged treason for spreading conspiracy theories (Admittedly, The only parts of Eberron I'm using are dragonshards and the dragonmarked houses, all else is homebrew) Still I'm curious what repurcussions would follow a state-sanctioned genocide of Lyrandar. Orien would love the transport takeover. Who else would benefit, or resist the measure? How would Lyrandar respond to the threat?
#2
phoenixrevival00
Nov 02, 2010 20:44:06

I'm wondering what would happen to Eberron society and history (short-term more than long-term) if a generally socially accepted genocide against all of House Lyrandar began?

In my game, Medani half-elves are already pretty much wiped out by the totalitarian eladrin/vampire empire for alleged treason for spreading conspiracy theories (Admittedly, The only parts of Eberron I'm using are dragonshards and the dragonmarked houses, all else is homebrew) Still I'm curious what repurcussions would follow a state-sanctioned genocide of Lyrandar. Orien would love the transport takeover. Who else would benefit, or resist the measure? How would Lyrandar respond to the threat?

I can see House Lyrandar making a very bloody war via arial combat. The house would have almost complete domination of the air and possibly sea. Cannith would likely remain neutral as they have the most to gain from war as well as the most to lose if they alienate a faction who then stops buying their weapons, armor, magic items, ships, etc. Orien would be the only House who would have anything major to gain. The rest just merc themselves out (in one form or another) to any bidder but I'm fairly sure (in Eberron anyway) House cannot fight against house directly.

Beyond that it really all depends on your world. If it's a different world than Eberron, the politics on supply and demand based on who has the wood the airships are made from and who has the capability to bind the elementals to drive them. In Eberron Zilargo has the monopoly on the elemental binding thing and Aerenal has the supply of soarwood (please correct me if i'm wrong on that name).
#3
Madfox11
Nov 03, 2010 8:20:54 Depending on your setting it might also have a huge impact on the weather. In Eberron it is mostly the Valenar elves that are dependend on Lyrandor's services. Their land is not really able to support the current number of horses without the weather magic. Other lands might be more or less effected, but there is no detailed info on it (weather magic and farming is not exactly all that interesting to the average adventurer). In other settings I have come across whole forests that depended on weather magic and were the forests died with the loss of weather control causing great trouble.

As for society, that depends a bit too much on your setting. In Eberron it would be extremely unlikely for this to happen. The other dragonmarked houses would only even consider it if some house wide threachery is reveiled, and even then, it is an unlikely reaction. It would mean a serious blow to their own economical powers, and no nation at this point would be able to oppose it. I also suspect the Chamber would step in. It is one thing when they wipe out a dragonmark, but to let some silly mortals meddle with the Prophecy that would set a dangerous precedent ;)
#4
Hellcow
Nov 03, 2010 13:45:13 Since you're only partially using Eberron, it's difficult to say. In Eberron, one of the themes is the rise of corporate power against the existing governments. The Twelve exists to facilitate that, and that's why you don't see open warfare between rivals like Orien - Lyrandar and Deneith - Tharashk. They'd all like to have a bigger piece of the pie, hence the competition we do see - but they also realize that their united strength in the Twelve is what gives them the power to prevent things like the Korth Edicts in the future and to maintain the near-monopolies they do have. Galifar could control the houses, but it's broken; now their union is the strong one. So the Twelve would definitely act to stop such a thing, as it's the governments asserting brutal control over a dragonmarked house.

Beyond that: The idea of the Lyrandar monopoly on air travel isn't just that they've convinced the gnomes to make ships locked to them, but rather that elemental airships are very difficult to control; to date, the Lyrandar heir is the only fully effective way to pull it off. Zil binders are trying to improve this, and if they've found a way to squeeze out Cannith and Lyrandar, that changes things. If not, then in wiping out Lyrandar you're basically talking about destroying the air travel industry. That's good for Orien, but potentially very bad for commerce over all. On top of that, Lyrandar's shipping interests shouldn't be underestimated; that's an industry Lyrandar has dominated for centuries, and not something Orien could casually pick up. Numbers aside, Lyrandar elemental galleons are mechanically superior to ships of the Five Nations. For the most part, they aren't built for war - but if you're having a naval battle with a ship whose captain can control wind and weather, he's got two powerful weapons right there.

Which brings us to Madfox's point. Lyrandar's aerial and naval fleets are a potential force to be reckoned with, as are their Valenar allies. But at the end of the day, that means little compared to their power to control the weather. Tornados in Sharn? Killing frost at the height of of Aundair's harvest season? Floods? Droughts? This might not be enough to stop people from hunting them down, but they could inflict some serious long-term economic damage. On that note, bear in mind that most of the houses' greatest powers are tied to dragonshard focus items that enhance their natural abilities - letting them perform effects that are more efficient that spells or cover a wider area. I think it's very likely that a force like the Storm Front or someone like the Kraken of Stormreach has been developing tools to more effectively weaponize weather control, especially because of all the houses they are one that has been actively trying to increase its potential military power (as shown in the Valenar alliance).
#5
gladiusstormhand
Nov 15, 2010 12:00:36 I'd imagine that an entire line of half-elves, who can manipulate the weather to create places like Stormhome, could seriously ruin someone's day. Think Hurricane Katrina, dropped near any large body of water, whenever you want one. I totally see Lyrandar having the magical equivalent to strategic nukes in their arsenal...

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 paulos Nov 02, 2010 15:00:32	I'm wondering what would happen to Eberron society and history (short-term more than long-term) if a generally socially accepted genocide against all of House Lyrandar began? In my game, Medani half-elves are already pretty much wiped out by the totalitarian eladrin/vampire empire for alleged treason for spreading conspiracy theories (Admittedly, The only parts of Eberron I'm using are dragonshards and the dragonmarked houses, all else is homebrew) Still I'm curious what repurcussions would follow a state-sanctioned genocide of Lyrandar. Orien would love the transport takeover. Who else would benefit, or resist the measure? How would Lyrandar respond to the threat?
#2 phoenixrevival00 Nov 02, 2010 20:44:06	I'm wondering what would happen to Eberron society and history (short-term more than long-term) if a generally socially accepted genocide against all of House Lyrandar began? In my game, Medani half-elves are already pretty much wiped out by the totalitarian eladrin/vampire empire for alleged treason for spreading conspiracy theories (Admittedly, The only parts of Eberron I'm using are dragonshards and the dragonmarked houses, all else is homebrew) Still I'm curious what repurcussions would follow a state-sanctioned genocide of Lyrandar. Orien would love the transport takeover. Who else would benefit, or resist the measure? How would Lyrandar respond to the threat? I can see House Lyrandar making a very bloody war via arial combat. The house would have almost complete domination of the air and possibly sea. Cannith would likely remain neutral as they have the most to gain from war as well as the most to lose if they alienate a faction who then stops buying their weapons, armor, magic items, ships, etc. Orien would be the only House who would have anything major to gain. The rest just merc themselves out (in one form or another) to any bidder but I'm fairly sure (in Eberron anyway) House cannot fight against house directly. Beyond that it really all depends on your world. If it's a different world than Eberron, the politics on supply and demand based on who has the wood the airships are made from and who has the capability to bind the elementals to drive them. In Eberron Zilargo has the monopoly on the elemental binding thing and Aerenal has the supply of soarwood (please correct me if i'm wrong on that name).
#3 Madfox11 Nov 03, 2010 8:20:54	Depending on your setting it might also have a huge impact on the weather. In Eberron it is mostly the Valenar elves that are dependend on Lyrandor's services. Their land is not really able to support the current number of horses without the weather magic. Other lands might be more or less effected, but there is no detailed info on it (weather magic and farming is not exactly all that interesting to the average adventurer). In other settings I have come across whole forests that depended on weather magic and were the forests died with the loss of weather control causing great trouble. As for society, that depends a bit too much on your setting. In Eberron it would be extremely unlikely for this to happen. The other dragonmarked houses would only even consider it if some house wide threachery is reveiled, and even then, it is an unlikely reaction. It would mean a serious blow to their own economical powers, and no nation at this point would be able to oppose it. I also suspect the Chamber would step in. It is one thing when they wipe out a dragonmark, but to let some silly mortals meddle with the Prophecy that would set a dangerous precedent ;)
#4 Hellcow Nov 03, 2010 13:45:13	Since you're only partially using Eberron, it's difficult to say. In Eberron, one of the themes is the rise of corporate power against the existing governments. The Twelve exists to facilitate that, and that's why you don't see open warfare between rivals like Orien - Lyrandar and Deneith - Tharashk. They'd all like to have a bigger piece of the pie, hence the competition we do see - but they also realize that their united strength in the Twelve is what gives them the power to prevent things like the Korth Edicts in the future and to maintain the near-monopolies they do have. Galifar could control the houses, but it's broken; now their union is the strong one. So the Twelve would definitely act to stop such a thing, as it's the governments asserting brutal control over a dragonmarked house. Beyond that: The idea of the Lyrandar monopoly on air travel isn't just that they've convinced the gnomes to make ships locked to them, but rather that elemental airships are very difficult to control; to date, the Lyrandar heir is the only fully effective way to pull it off. Zil binders are trying to improve this, and if they've found a way to squeeze out Cannith and Lyrandar, that changes things. If not, then in wiping out Lyrandar you're basically talking about destroying the air travel industry. That's good for Orien, but potentially very bad for commerce over all. On top of that, Lyrandar's shipping interests shouldn't be underestimated; that's an industry Lyrandar has dominated for centuries, and not something Orien could casually pick up. Numbers aside, Lyrandar elemental galleons are mechanically superior to ships of the Five Nations. For the most part, they aren't built for war - but if you're having a naval battle with a ship whose captain can control wind and weather, he's got two powerful weapons right there. Which brings us to Madfox's point. Lyrandar's aerial and naval fleets are a potential force to be reckoned with, as are their Valenar allies. But at the end of the day, that means little compared to their power to control the weather. Tornados in Sharn? Killing frost at the height of of Aundair's harvest season? Floods? Droughts? This might not be enough to stop people from hunting them down, but they could inflict some serious long-term economic damage. On that note, bear in mind that most of the houses' greatest powers are tied to dragonshard focus items that enhance their natural abilities - letting them perform effects that are more efficient that spells or cover a wider area. I think it's very likely that a force like the Storm Front or someone like the Kraken of Stormreach has been developing tools to more effectively weaponize weather control, especially because of all the houses they are one that has been actively trying to increase its potential military power (as shown in the Valenar alliance).
#5 gladiusstormhand Nov 15, 2010 12:00:36	I'd imagine that an entire line of half-elves, who can manipulate the weather to create places like Stormhome, could seriously ruin someone's day. Think Hurricane Katrina, dropped near any large body of water, whenever you want one. I totally see Lyrandar having the magical equivalent to strategic nukes in their arsenal...