Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 AvonRekaes Dec 02, 2010 18:05:07	Explore Q'barra, Part 2 Poison Dusk, Black Sun Part 2 is up! I'm really liking this backstory of the region. The added background for Dragonborn is very welcome, as I felt the ECG and EPG erred too much on the side of caution. I understood they kept the mention of the Dragonborn Empire to a minimum so as not to create the "shoehorn" vibe, but I always felt there was just a little more they could have said about the fall of their Empire to wet my DM pallet. I love the inter-connectivity between the three races, and I really dig the depiction of the Lizardfolk. Keith, I'm wondering if any of the Q'barran lizardfolk you describe in this article have any cultural ties to the lizardfolk guarding the Heart of Siberys in the Ring of Storms? Do all Lizardfolk share the same cultural references and dreams across the globe, or is this a local effect around the prison of the Cold Sun? I also really dig the little snippet saying you can easily map Zehir to Masrivik, and using Yuan-ti as Poison Dusk-corrupted humans. Would've have absolutely died and went to crazy-go-nuts heaven if the articles included PC-suitable write-ups for kobolds and lizardfolk, but I'm not gonna complain for their lack. (We desperately need Dhakanni PCs first, anyway). I love your Backdrop/Explore articles. You've managed to take one part of Khorvaire I really didn't know what to do with and by the time I finished reading this article I now have at least five different adventure hooks I could try (not to mention the ones I got from Part 1). Now I just need to figure out a way to get my PCs to Q'barra.... (Might actually divert them there from my planned expedition to the Mournland. And I think if you've managed to tempt me to let Q'barra steal the spotlight from the MOURNLAND... well, mission accomplished!) I really really can't wait for more of these Backdrop/Explore articles. My hope is that one day they collect about 10 or 12 of them in a "Dragon - Explore Eberron" compilation hardcover or something.
#2 Hellcow Dec 03, 2010 0:46:23	Keith, I'm wondering if any of the Q'barran lizardfolk you describe in this article have any cultural ties to the lizardfolk guarding the Heart of Siberys in the Ring of Storms? Do all Lizardfolk share the same cultural references and dreams across the globe, or is this a local effect around the prison of the Cold Sun? My thought was that the dreams of the Masvirik'Uala are local to the Q'barran lizardfolk; they were set up to guide them in the challenges they face. I could see other lizardfolk having a similar link, but I'd still see it as a local effect tied to region or bloodline. Of course, an interesting possibility: the Inspired use the Hanbalani to control dreams within a particular region. Did the couatl use a different technique (binding these dreams to bloodline) - or are they using the dawn shards to accomplish the same effect? This would be another thing that would make the Inspired interested in the region - and something that could potentially be a vital tool, if the couatl effect shields the lizardfolk from Quori manipulation. Looking specifically to the Ring of Storms, however, we run into 3E/4E complications. The Lizardfolk Dreams were set up by the couatl. The guardians of the Ring of Storms were brought in by the dragons... which raises the question of whether they should be lizardfolk or dragonborn. In either case, I see the dreamweaving technique as a secret of the couatl that the dragons haven't mastered. In any case, I'm glad you enjoyed the article!
#3 Ogiwan Dec 03, 2010 7:48:22	I'm going to have to give you kudos, Keith. I have never really had much use for Q'Barra; I've even made a motivational poster that says, "Q'BARRA: Like the New World. Except nobody cares." This article, paired with the part I, has opened my eyes. Will there be a part 3, perchance?
#4 Chigaru Dec 03, 2010 12:04:54	As I mentioned on the "official" discussion in Dungeon/Dragon Articles for this article, I also loved it, especially as an Eberron fan. I'll have to write up some hooks to get my players interested in Q'Barra for when they get back from Xen'drik, all shiny and paragon.
#5 AvonRekaes Dec 04, 2010 1:00:26	Keith, I'm wondering if any of the Q'barran lizardfolk you describe in this article have any cultural ties to the lizardfolk guarding the Heart of Siberys in the Ring of Storms? Do all Lizardfolk share the same cultural references and dreams across the globe, or is this a local effect around the prison of the Cold Sun? My thought was that the dreams of the Masvirik'Uala are local to the Q'barran lizardfolk; they were set up to guide them in the challenges they face. I could see other lizardfolk having a similar link, but I'd still see it as a local effect tied to region or bloodline. Of course, an interesting possibility: the Inspired use the Hanbalani to control dreams within a particular region. Did the couatl use a different technique (binding these dreams to bloodline) - or are they using the dawn shards to accomplish the same effect? This would be another thing that would make the Inspired interested in the region - and something that could potentially be a vital tool, if the couatl effect shields the lizardfolk from Quori manipulation. Looking specifically to the Ring of Storms, however, we run into 3E/4E complications. The Lizardfolk Dreams were set up by the couatl. The guardians of the Ring of Storms were brought in by the dragons... which raises the question of whether they should be lizardfolk or dragonborn. In either case, I see the dreamweaving technique as a secret of the couatl that the dragons haven't mastered. In any case, I'm glad you enjoyed the article! That brings up an interesting element that I drew from your Dreaming Dark trilogy about dragons. I vaguely recall the Draconic Eidolon that Daine and his companion encounter saying it was some guardian-entity constructed so dragons has somewhere safe to dream, outside of the prying eyes of the Quori no matter what Age the heart of Dal Quor was. If you say that dreamweaving and collective dreaming is out of the reach of Dragons that has some itneresting implications. (Of course, the novels aren't cannon, but as long as they don't directly interfere with what I have planned in a campaign, I keep them as my personal cannon to add flavor to the world.) Perhaps this Eidolon was a gift to the Dragons, created by Couatl? Maybe it IS a couatl, plane-shifted to Dal Quor and living there as an immortal being untouched by the turn of the age? Maybe it knows more about the Quori's past than even the Dragons themselves do.... This is why it's so great to have you around Keith! It's like you're Zeus, and instead of Athena popping out of your head fully formed, it's just pure gaming gold.
#6 superdeadsmurf Dec 07, 2010 10:27:05	The best Dungeon article this year, excepting part 1.
#7 Aegeri Dec 11, 2010 6:18:41	It was really good and filled a hole that the ECG has left me wondering about for a while. I was disappointed not to get any example monster stat blocks though.
#8 xirr2000 Feb 25, 2011 13:43:17	Explore Q'barra, Part 2 Poison Dusk, Black Sun Part 2 is up! I'm really liking this backstory of the region. The added background for Dragonborn is very welcome, as I felt the ECG and EPG erred too much on the side of caution. I understood they kept the mention of the Dragonborn Empire to a minimum so as not to create the "shoehorn" vibe, but I always felt there was just a little more they could have said about the fall of their Empire to wet my DM pallet. I love the inter-connectivity between the three races, and I really dig the depiction of the Lizardfolk. Keith, I'm wondering if any of the Q'barran lizardfolk you describe in this article have any cultural ties to the lizardfolk guarding the Heart of Siberys in the Ring of Storms? Do all Lizardfolk share the same cultural references and dreams across the globe, or is this a local effect around the prison of the Cold Sun? I also really dig the little snippet saying you can easily map Zehir to Masrivik, and using Yuan-ti as Poison Dusk-corrupted humans. Would've have absolutely died and went to crazy-go-nuts heaven if the articles included PC-suitable write-ups for kobolds and lizardfolk, but I'm not gonna complain for their lack. (We desperately need Dhakanni PCs first, anyway). I love your Backdrop/Explore articles. You've managed to take one part of Khorvaire I really didn't know what to do with and by the time I finished reading this article I now have at least five different adventure hooks I could try (not to mention the ones I got from Part 1). Now I just need to figure out a way to get my PCs to Q'barra.... (Might actually divert them there from my planned expedition to the Mournland. And I think if you've managed to tempt me to let Q'barra steal the spotlight from the MOURNLAND... well, mission accomplished!) I really really can't wait for more of these Backdrop/Explore articles. My hope is that one day they collect about 10 or 12 of them in a "Dragon - Explore Eberron" compilation hardcover or something.
#9 Gilo Feb 26, 2011 3:03:16	Ok, how do I find the part 1 of this article? Blood and Dragonshards, Backdrop Q'barra, Part 1
#10 Ogiwan Mar 03, 2011 15:32:30	Thinking about it, wouldn't it make sense to have a stickey in the "Eberron lore" section that links to all DDI articles about Eberron?
#11 Gilo Mar 03, 2011 15:57:53	We have it on the Running Eberron fourm: community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/758...
#12 Ogiwan Mar 03, 2011 16:16:43	Well. I sit corrected. ....new bookmark....aaaand....done.