Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 accuser Aug 03, 2010 22:24:06	TL;DR - Anyone have creative ideas for finding synergies with the "correct" races for Dragonmarks?  Especially for Detection, Healing, and Hospitality?  Share! Long version: So the stated goal of the Dragonmark feats, per the D&D podcast, was to make the marked characters the kings of whatever it is that they do. That said, I'm having an awfully hard time figuring out how to build "thematically correct" characters around some of these marks.  A half-elf Medani, for instance, is really hard to shoehorn into a class that has the Wisdom to utilize Perception and Insight checks without redundancies (Prescient Bard is the closest I could get, but being a Bard makes the feat almost pointless as you already get everything the feat grants except the double rolls on Perception). I know there are no race restrictions on the Dragonmark feats.  That's fine.  But I'd sure like it if the officially dragonmarked races had some synergy with what they supposedly do. Ones I'm having trouble with and the best I can do with them: Medani - Ardent, Battlemind, Bard, Paladin. Three not really the right flavor, one redundant, but that's the best I can do. Jorasco - Bard. Doesn't seem like the right flavor, and has redundancies, but it's really your only choice. Ghallanda - Likewise, Bard. Perfect flavor, but again with redundancies. Does anyone have better solutions, apart from just house-ruling?  Combos I'm not seeing? For houserules, honestly, for Medani, I was thinking I'd just tack on a clause saying, "You can use either Charisma or Wisdom as the base stat for Insight or Perception checks."  That's a relatively simple fix and opens up more options for Medani characters (though it still doesn't really help them be the uber-thematic Rangers they should be). Jorasco and Ghallandra are harder, though, because Halflings don't really excel at any healing class but Bard, and sort of Cleric if they stretch.  Perhaps a bit drastically, I'm considering saying that a Halfling who takes either of these feats can choose two stat bonuses from the following three: +2 Dex, +2 Wis, +2 Cha.  Then they make good Bards, Clerics, Shamans, and Ardents. Come to think of it... they already make decent Ardents, minus the small size problems.  Hm.  Maybe it's not so grim for them in the first place.  Though Shaman seems very appropriate given the dino-riding exploits of Eberron Halflings.  Thoughts?
#2 sevoo Aug 04, 2010 1:35:07	So, taking the Medani case, I'll rephrase the question: what classes use both Wisdom and either Charisma or Constitution? The Warden's about as good of a fit stat-wise as the Paladin, and maybe slightly better flavor.  Shaman and Druid both have a Wis/Con build, and while I have a little trouble imagining a Medani Druid, I wouldn't find a shamanic detective all that far-fetched (though it begins to feel a little like Shadowrun.) Regarding the halflings, the Leader-role classes that use either dex or cha are: Ardent, Bard, Cleric, Warlord (though in the case of the Cleric & the Warlord, that's only a secondary stat).  I agree with the idea that they already make decent Ardents. The dragonmarked houses aren't usually Psionic, but I don't know how big of a deal that might be. That said, the Mark of Hospitality works not only for a healer, but for somebody supporting a healer ("whenever you or an ally within 10 squares of you...").  A halfling ranger d'Ghallanda, travelling in the retinue of a leader, strikes me as flavor-ful and efficient. This is fun!  What combinations are you preferring for the other marks? (I have a spreadsheet.  I love my spreadsheet.  Does it show?)