Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Ventus_Frago Jun 23, 2008 12:15:48	Hello All! I'm going to be starting my 4th edition campaign shortly and I had a few questions about how people were integrating new campaign concepts with the core plus some other plot ideas; here are my issues. 1. The Raven Queen - My current proposed solution is use the Raven Queen like an avatar of the realm of death. She is the final gatekeeper. Not a god, but like an angel. 2. Lady Vol -- With the Raven Queen an active force enforcing death as a final law, am I wrong in assuming that she would be actively trying to destroy both her and the undying court? 3. Thelanis -- I plan on using Thelanis as the Feywild since that's what I read Keith as saying it was going to be in the 4th ed. ECS, but was going to set up a fey/faerie War between them and Lamnia, specifically the Fomorians. 4. I have a player who wants to be Shadar-Kai and I don't really like their emo background and am looking for something more setting specific. Any help would be appreciated!
#2 Alas Jun 23, 2008 13:03:30	1. The Raven Queen - My current proposed solution is use the Raven Queen like an avatar of the realm of death. She is the final gatekeeper. Not a god, but like an angel. Have you considered portraying the Raven Queen as a darker aspect of Arawai or a lighter aspect of The Keeper? Alternately, she could be the negotiator between them-- representing the moment of death, perhaps. 2. Lady Vol -- With the Raven Queen an active force enforcing death as a final law, am I wrong in assuming that she would be actively trying to destroy both her and the undying court? Well, if you make the Raven Queen remote and unknowable like the rest of Eberron's gods, technically it would be her followers trying to destroy Vol. They might be a little less antagonistic towards the Undying Court (all sorts of technical qualifiers on their undead label), but I wouldn't expect them to be philosophical allies, no. 3. Thelanis -- I plan on using Thelanis as the Feywild since that's what I read Keith as saying it was going to be in the 4th ed. ECS, but was going to set up a fey/faerie War between them and Lamnia, specifically the Fomorians. Sounds pretty good. 4. I have a player who wants to be Shadar-Kai and I don't really like their emo background and am looking for something more setting specific. Hm, a little more complicated. Some brainstorming: Shadar-Kai are humans who survived the Mourning by stepping into the Shadowfell (which leads to Mabar and Dolurrh). They now live a precarious existence, like ghosts with flesh. This option requires making some pretty big decisions about the causes and effects of the Mourning. Shadar-Kai are occasionally born to human parents when the plane of Mabar is in conjunction with Eberron. This option puts them on par with elemental genasi and half-daelkyr (and pre-4th edition tieflings and aasimar): no culture of their own, but fringe status in the Five Nations. Shadar-Kai are reclusive tribes from The Gloaming in the Eldeen Reaches and the Nightwood in Karrnath. The troubles of the Last War have shaken their secluded sanctuaries, forcing them to trade with their neighbors for the first time in centuries. The Shadar-Kai are, in fact, elves with the Mark of Shadow. This option kind of locks the player into Phiarlann/Thuranni stories and may not be what he/she wants at all, but it's a neat opportunity to adapt a racial power into a Dragonmark. The Shadar-Kai are the descendants of Ohr Kaluun, the pre-Quori Sarlonan kingdom that (in Eberron) also gave us skulks. They have kept a few of their occult powers and traditions, living in small bands here and there in Khorvaire. Those are just ideas off the top of my head. When dealing with a player request for an uncommon race, I think it's important to find out why they want to play that sort of character. Knowing what appeals to the player will suggest what elements you want to play up (and which you can ignore) when putting the race into an Eberronian context. Is it the Shadar-Kai's shadow origin and otherworldliness? Their funky insubstantiality power? The picture in the Monster Manual?
#3 Astos Jun 24, 2008 16:32:19	I asked Keith Baker the following question on his Live Journal: Thanks so much for these posts, Keith! Are you allowed/will you be able to give us some hints on how the other planes and gods will be handled in Eberron? From this example I have the idea they might all eventually sort of "merge" in some way--either as gateway planes or duplicate planes, and that the gods might do the same thing in one way or another (The Raven Queen is just another name for the Keeper, etc.) I am trying to decide if I should go ahead and house rule it; if oracular guidance is coming, though, I will wait! His answer: I don't particularly expect to see the core gods mentioned in Eberron material. Sure, the Raven Queen could be seen as an interpretation of the Keeper (similar to the way the Guardians of Rusheme or the Restful Watch view the Keeper), but I don't think that's going to be called out; it's easy enough for you to do if you want. For the moment, that is the logical path to follow for clerical feats; pick the feat that seems most appropriate for the deity in question. Now, a question DMs will have to decide is how to handle the pahtiestic faith of the Host... so Dol Dorn might give you Kord's Favor, but as a cleric of the Sovereign Host, I ALSO respect Olladra... so can I take Sehanine's Reversal as well, or can I only pick one? Like I said, DM's call. --- I also have a PC who is going to play one (shadar-kai paladin of the RQ). Personally I have decided that the RQ is indeed just another name for the Keeper, and have allowed her, when worshiped in that way, to be an Unaligned deity. I have otherwise kept the shadar-kai's history as-is. I rather like it. I haven't yet figured out what "tribe" they originally were before they made their bargain with the RQ, but I don't really need to know that yet. We are emphasizing the surreal nature of the Shadowfell. The RQ is the god of "Fate", and so her followers (in my campaign) are guided in her service by signs and portents, which are especially strong and prevalent in the Shadowfell itself. I have substituted the Blood of Vol as an arch-enemy to the RQ instead of Orcus, much as you suggest as well. The reason the PC has come over to the "real world" is to foil a Blood of Vol-ish plot revealed to him in a portent.