The Mark of Death for 4e - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

The Mark of Death for 4e

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
wizardmon
Aug 07, 2009 18:38:50 Okay, so, does anybody know if there has been a Mark of Death made for 4e? I can't find it in my EPG or ECG, (but I don't think that means it does not exist.) If so, could someone tell me where I might find it?

If not, I am interested in having it an available options to PCs. You see, as Dragonmarks in 4e can appear on any PC, I think it is reasonable to believe that for whatever reason, a PC could also manifest a Mark of Death. Tell me what you think of this:

Mark of Death
[Insert picture of the Mark of Death here.]

#2
malignant_narcissist
Aug 07, 2009 23:59:17 I do not wish to influence any one else's ideas, but I'm quite content with the mark of death being totally gone. I see the loss of the thirteenth moon as more of a "See, look. This aspect of creation is gone," and a part of prophecy it's self. However, I have occasionally wondered if Vol helped cause the schism of House Phiarlan to try to turn the Thuranni bloodline.

That being said, I have never liked the idea of The Mark dealing with undead creation it's self, but something more like funerary powers such as gentle repose, and other things along that line [Sorry, I do not have any rituals in any source memorized].

But if in someone else's game they want undead making marks, I guess it works. Maybe the non-ritual portion could be altered so that anyone can use it [As of now, it looks more like the Mark of Storm where only a very small subset of a class can use it wonderfully.]
#3
pivotal
Aug 08, 2009 9:28:37 Malignant Narcisist: Actually, according to keith bakers novels the moon being gone is linked to the plane of xoriat being taken away from what I remember.

Also, yes ofcourse if you as a DM want the mark of death to reappear on a player that is interesting choice. I am going to do something similar in my campaign, but not until late paragon levels.

The cumulativeness of the power might be a bit too powerfull for as you could abuse it against a solo monster. Hit with a bunch of necrotic powers, not to hard in a long fight really, then just have a wizard throw sleep at it or some such. However, it does seem like a good idea flavorly. Perhaps do some small nerfs to it.

Make it not be cumulative all the time, but as a daily free action you can make the power cumulative until the end of the encounter. This will prevent the character from trying to abuse this in every encounter and it still is a powerfull and good mark. I do however think it might be too powerfull to get on heroic levels. Perhaps make it a paragon level feat?
#4
malignant_narcissist
Aug 08, 2009 14:55:23
Malignant Narcisist: Actually, according to keith bakers novels the moon being gone is linked to the plane of xoriat being taken away from what I remember.

Right, I know that; but I can't get out of my head conencting the loss of both synonyms [Both things related to that type of prophecy mark], as being something related to prophecy in some way.
#5
wizardmon
Aug 08, 2009 15:42:31
Right, I know that; but I can't get out of my head conencting the loss of both synonyms [Both things related to that type of prophecy mark], as being something related to prophecy in some way.

I think you are probably right - to an extent. If the Prophesy were a book, it would say that it is more like brutally ripping a page out of it. And by that, I mean that I think that some of the fragments of power that these sybols had would likely remain in splintered, "vestige"-like forms. IDK how to apply that to my campaign, necessarily, but I am just saying.

Also, I tweaked the feat. I changed it so that instead of being cumulative, attacks with daily powers allowed to penalty to be "save ends." Also, I removed the Spirit Idol ritiual, as I seem to recall that feat being explicitly part of elf religion, which would have developed the ritual independently from the mark.

Also, some thoughts on the Mark of Death: I think that it should have more rituals on its list than what is there. The Mark of Death is very much something that PCs are not supposed to have, just like necromancy rituals. As such, I feel that when more necromancy rituals come to be printed "officially," that select ones should be added to the Mark's list.

Also, what if the Mark of Death was a Paragon tier Dragonmark feat instead of a Heroic tier one? I know that makes little sense in a "how could you be born with it" sense, but it would allow the mark to be markedly more powerful.
#6
pivotal
Aug 08, 2009 19:08:38 Wizardmon: People aren't born with dragonmarks, they manifest sometime during your lifetime, usually at a important or stressing time in your life. If they were to only manifest on birth they would have to be taken at first level.

Also, remember that such a dragonmark would be EXTREMELY highly sought by Vol as she wants to reactivate her own Mark of Death. And ofcourse, the Chamber would want to prevent this from happening, perhaps by aiding the PC or even by killing him.
#7
wizardmon
Aug 08, 2009 21:20:58 I thought that in 3.5 they did have to be taken at first level - My mistake, and I thank you for notifying me of it. It is an important detail that dragonmarks manifest for the first time in the same way for all people, regardless of their heritage.

Also, I do recognize the importance of "aberrant" Marks of Death, but I appreciate your perspective all the same. I wouldn't have thought of Vol's desire to restore her own mark - and the ramifications thereof.
#8
pivotal
Aug 09, 2009 8:18:42 Well yes, in 3.5 they also had several types of dragonmarks. Since 4.0 is ignoring that I am going to put it into my game with custom feats and such.

What do you mean by abberant Marks of Death? A Mark of Death is not really ever abberant, but in 4.0 it is considered as such on another race then it is normally. Mark of Deaths normal race would be elves only. Vol is a half-dragon elf lich. Her lichdom is what is preventing her mark from functioning. I believe the new Eberron Dmg book talks about the War of the Mark which should give you an idea of the importance of the Mark of Death, how it ties in with the prophecy and so on.
#9
salla
Aug 09, 2009 14:23:24 As a side note, the Lich Transformation ritual is unsuitable for player use. Templates do not go on PCs.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 wizardmon Aug 07, 2009 18:38:50	Okay, so, does anybody know if there has been a Mark of Death made for 4e? I can't find it in my EPG or ECG, (but I don't think that means it does not exist.) If so, could someone tell me where I might find it? If not, I am interested in having it an available options to PCs. You see, as Dragonmarks in 4e can appear on any PC, I think it is reasonable to believe that for whatever reason, a PC could also manifest a Mark of Death. Tell me what you think of this: Mark of Death [Insert picture of the Mark of Death here.]
#2 malignant_narcissist Aug 07, 2009 23:59:17	I do not wish to influence any one else's ideas, but I'm quite content with the mark of death being totally gone. I see the loss of the thirteenth moon as more of a "See, look. This aspect of creation is gone," and a part of prophecy it's self. However, I have occasionally wondered if Vol helped cause the schism of House Phiarlan to try to turn the Thuranni bloodline. That being said, I have never liked the idea of The Mark dealing with undead creation it's self, but something more like funerary powers such as gentle repose, and other things along that line [Sorry, I do not have any rituals in any source memorized]. But if in someone else's game they want undead making marks, I guess it works. Maybe the non-ritual portion could be altered so that anyone can use it [As of now, it looks more like the Mark of Storm where only a very small subset of a class can use it wonderfully.]
#3 pivotal Aug 08, 2009 9:28:37	Malignant Narcisist: Actually, according to keith bakers novels the moon being gone is linked to the plane of xoriat being taken away from what I remember. Also, yes ofcourse if you as a DM want the mark of death to reappear on a player that is interesting choice. I am going to do something similar in my campaign, but not until late paragon levels. The cumulativeness of the power might be a bit too powerfull for as you could abuse it against a solo monster. Hit with a bunch of necrotic powers, not to hard in a long fight really, then just have a wizard throw sleep at it or some such. However, it does seem like a good idea flavorly. Perhaps do some small nerfs to it. Make it not be cumulative all the time, but as a daily free action you can make the power cumulative until the end of the encounter. This will prevent the character from trying to abuse this in every encounter and it still is a powerfull and good mark. I do however think it might be too powerfull to get on heroic levels. Perhaps make it a paragon level feat?
#4 malignant_narcissist Aug 08, 2009 14:55:23	Malignant Narcisist: Actually, according to keith bakers novels the moon being gone is linked to the plane of xoriat being taken away from what I remember. Right, I know that; but I can't get out of my head conencting the loss of both synonyms [Both things related to that type of prophecy mark], as being something related to prophecy in some way.
#5 wizardmon Aug 08, 2009 15:42:31	Right, I know that; but I can't get out of my head conencting the loss of both synonyms [Both things related to that type of prophecy mark], as being something related to prophecy in some way. I think you are probably right - to an extent. If the Prophesy were a book, it would say that it is more like brutally ripping a page out of it. And by that, I mean that I think that some of the fragments of power that these sybols had would likely remain in splintered, "vestige"-like forms. IDK how to apply that to my campaign, necessarily, but I am just saying. Also, I tweaked the feat. I changed it so that instead of being cumulative, attacks with daily powers allowed to penalty to be "save ends." Also, I removed the Spirit Idol ritiual, as I seem to recall that feat being explicitly part of elf religion, which would have developed the ritual independently from the mark. Also, some thoughts on the Mark of Death: I think that it should have more rituals on its list than what is there. The Mark of Death is very much something that PCs are not supposed to have, just like necromancy rituals. As such, I feel that when more necromancy rituals come to be printed "officially," that select ones should be added to the Mark's list. Also, what if the Mark of Death was a Paragon tier Dragonmark feat instead of a Heroic tier one? I know that makes little sense in a "how could you be born with it" sense, but it would allow the mark to be markedly more powerful.
#6 pivotal Aug 08, 2009 19:08:38	Wizardmon: People aren't born with dragonmarks, they manifest sometime during your lifetime, usually at a important or stressing time in your life. If they were to only manifest on birth they would have to be taken at first level. Also, remember that such a dragonmark would be EXTREMELY highly sought by Vol as she wants to reactivate her own Mark of Death. And ofcourse, the Chamber would want to prevent this from happening, perhaps by aiding the PC or even by killing him.
#7 wizardmon Aug 08, 2009 21:20:58	I thought that in 3.5 they did have to be taken at first level - My mistake, and I thank you for notifying me of it. It is an important detail that dragonmarks manifest for the first time in the same way for all people, regardless of their heritage. Also, I do recognize the importance of "aberrant" Marks of Death, but I appreciate your perspective all the same. I wouldn't have thought of Vol's desire to restore her own mark - and the ramifications thereof.
#8 pivotal Aug 09, 2009 8:18:42	Well yes, in 3.5 they also had several types of dragonmarks. Since 4.0 is ignoring that I am going to put it into my game with custom feats and such. What do you mean by abberant Marks of Death? A Mark of Death is not really ever abberant, but in 4.0 it is considered as such on another race then it is normally. Mark of Deaths normal race would be elves only. Vol is a half-dragon elf lich. Her lichdom is what is preventing her mark from functioning. I believe the new Eberron Dmg book talks about the War of the Mark which should give you an idea of the importance of the Mark of Death, how it ties in with the prophecy and so on.
#9 salla Aug 09, 2009 14:23:24	As a side note, the Lich Transformation ritual is unsuitable for player use. Templates do not go on PCs.