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April Q&A Mailbag! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-04-04 19:56:19
Imported:
2026-06

Content

I’ve just stepped off the plane from running D&D in a Castle; the pic above is me in my Atur outfit, along with my fellow Castle DM and Legacy of Worlds costar Elisa Teague. All this travel has slowed me down, but in the next week you should see the House Orien article, the March Mailbag Q&A recording, and an account of my Castle campaign. Meanwhile, this month we will have two live Q&As:

Wednesday April 9 at 6 PM Pacific: Dragonmarks and the Dragonmarked Houses. Following up on the House Orien article, I’ll answer questions about the houses and Dragonmarks in general.

Saturday April 26 at 10 AM Pacific: Mailbag Miscellany. I’ll answer questions you ask here! And with that in mind…

The sad truth is that I simply don’t have time to answer every question, but it’s faster for me to TALK about a topic than it is to write about it. So: POST QUESTIONS HERE. You can ask questions about anything: Eberron, my other games, game design in general, D&D in a Castle, my favorite pasta shape, or anything else. If I can answer a question in a few minutes, I might answer it here. Otherwise, I’ll answer the most interesting questions when I do the Mailbag Miscellany Q&A at the end of the month.

Thanks for your support!

Files

Comments

Earth Seraph Edna

We know from your article in 4e Dragon issue #416 that Rak Tulkhesh's prison is split across twelve shards (e.g. one worn as a ring around Mordakhesh's finger, one carried by the Razor Wind Carrion Tribe, one underneath Thaliost). We also know from the article that: "The Rage of War has the power to shatter kingdoms. When he breaks the bonds that currently keep him in check, the mortals around him will become the savage vanguard of an ever-growing army, a force dedicated to slaughtering those that are too weak to serve their fiendish master. His return will usher in bloodshed beyond anything seen in the Last War. Those who resist the call to join his army of reavers will still feel his touch, urging them to acts of hatred and aggression. Minor arguments will spin into bloody feuds and massacres, and law will collapse in the face of vigilante violence." We also know from 5e Chronicles of Eberron, p. 120, that: "At full strength, an unbound overlord exerts influence over a broad region, but this dominion is finite; it might cover a country, but not an entire continent." So what does a hypothetical release of Rak Tulkhesh look like, logistically speaking? Is it twelve nation-scale apocalypses based on the twelve locations of his prison shards? Is it twelve smaller (e.g. city/province-scale) apocalypses based on the twelve locations of his prison shards? Is it a single nation-scale apocalypse based on whichever prison shard is geographically closest to the creature or event that triggered the Draconic Prophecy verse necessary to unseal the Rage of War?

Inquisitor Thomas

What defines the “Giant” creature type in Eberron? I’m not just talking the true giants but also things like Ogres, Trolls, Oni, etc. Since there are certain magic items that are effective against Giants as a creature type there must be something that makes an Oni or Ogre more closely related to the True Giants of Xen’drik then let’s say an equally tall, equally bipedal demon, or construct, or monstrosity.

Earth Seraph Edna

The "Welcome to Eberron" chapter of 5e Eberron: Rising from the Last War opens with the following line: "In an ancient ruin beneath the Demon Wastes, a band of heroes races to claim the Reaper's Heart. If the agents of the Emerald Claw reach it first, they'll reignite the Last War and un­leash an army of undead." What is the Reaper's Heart, then? Is it related to Katashka, the Gatekeeper, or his prakhutu, Mazyralyx? Is it the Orb of Dol Azur (5e Chronicles of Eberron, p. 83)? Is it an artifact belonging to a poorly known, undeath-related daelkyr (e.g. whoever made the dolghasts from 3.5 Magic of Eberron, pp. 143-144), held in a Khyber demiplane that just so happens to be accessible via the Demon Wastes? How could it possibly be used by the Emerald Claw to restart the Last War, and why is it also useful for raising an army of undead?

Johnny Davis

Not a question but I feel like relaying this. I've been playing or running Eberron games since it was released. Now I'm fighting cancer and will know Monday if I'm going to die from it or not. That campaign world has brought me such happiness over those years. Thank you so much for making this world. I hope I get to play or run it for many more years. Thank you so much for taking that leap for the wotc contest.

hyperewok1

What major psionic traditions exist outside of Rierdra/Adar and the Gith?

Spike Hemphill

1. In your Eberron what are Lady illmarrow inner circle and highest lieutenants like ? Mostly undead or living ? She probably has both powerful intelligent undead ,and mortal necromantic mages and warriors but does she prefer one type of servants over other? Also while I could see few mummy lords and powerful vampires in the Emerald Claws , I don't know about Death Knights and other Liches? They are both rare and unique entities. Not sure how Lady Illmarrow would react to other Liches knowing her backstory. 2. In 3.5 edition a Quori could only invade a dream once per day. Do you still hold them to this limitation in your games? I know Dal Quor time runs faster than Eberron so they probably can invade more dreams in a day in the material plane. I was wondering you keep this rule or ignore it.

Dragonback Lancer

Not at all related to Eberron, but the Tarkir: Dragonstorm set is coming out for Magic the Gathering. Was wondering If you had any thoughts on that

man-of-bvz1n3ss

What are wyverns in Droaam like? What about the Mror manticores?

Benjamin Tucker Marcus

1. What steps would you follow when designing a hagborn Oni for a game, and as a rule, how bound up in story would they be compared to members of less fey-related species? 2. What are some abilities and cult attributes you'd give to a Radient Idol built around the concept of prophecy and fate? 3. How commonly do you see the classic "bag of holding bomb" being used in the Five Nations? You mentioned that the astral rifts they spawn led to the loss of part of the Library of Korrenberg early on in their mass production, so do the more modern bags have safeguards like the thunder coaches, or does astral banishment remain a threat for people who go up against enemies who could get a hold of multiple bags?

Jarrod Taylor

Sharn's sourcebook has an entire section on crime, but branded PCs aren't very common, and Dreadhold is often referenced with characters breaking people out rather than being locked up themselves. How would you make the punishment for crimes engaging for players, and/or how do you balance common PC tactics like larceny and graverobbing while making those endeavors riskier than failing skill checks or alerting more guards that get mulched?

Leann Davis

I have a small question that I thought of as I was plotting the first BBEG confrontation for my players. My evil guy has a dragonmark and faked his death, and I was looking at the Clone spell as the method he used (or a variant of Simulacrum). Would his dragonmark carry over to the clone, or would it die with his original body? On a similar vein, could a variation of Clone possibly be utilized to give Erandis Vol a new living body and thus a functioning Mark of Death?

James McConnell IV

I want to build a lightning rail where there isn't one yet and I want the PCs to raise the funds necessary to do so from businesses and nations and such. How much does it cost to put a lightnight rail together, can you break it down for me?

Selerian

I plan to have an enchanter wizard player in my campaign, so I'm trying to understand how enchantment magic fits into the world. What is the general outlook for enchantment magic in the general populace? Do people fear it like necromancy outside Karnath and shun enchanters? Charm person and friends cantrip has "person knows they were charmed by you", what are the law consequences of charming usual citizen, noble or agent of dragonmarked house? I could imagine powerful people have some precautions like Medani agents or wards or magical items? I want enchantment to be very useful but not broken and have realistic consequences in the world. Thanks! P.S. Stunning outfit!

Trinity Vaughan

What kind of training/experience is required or provided in order to pilot an airship or Lightning Rail? Is it similar to how it is irl with specific schools for studying or is there something special that must happen due to the elementals bound?

Micaerys

In "Son of Khyber" we learn that Baron Merrix d'Cannith is married to one Lady Ilana d'Cannith. Is that relationship something that came up during the writing of the novel, or was the Baron always meant to have his "First Lady", even if she wasn't as prominent in the dynamics of the house?

Ender Darkos

In the Denizens of the Age of Demons article, you mentioned Kolkonoran as the logistic expert. We know Ourelonastrix was the magic expert and de facto leader and we know of Dulazurak and Dularrahnak. Which brings me to ask this: What was, in your eberron, the composition of the party that challenged the Overlords?

Leann Davis

A while back when researching House Tarkanan, I came across something about a dragonmark plague that afflicts people with regular dragomarks but not aberrants. I can't remember the source and for the life of me I can't find it again, but it's something I'd love to use. Is that something "official" in the Bakerverse and if so is there a link to it?

Jaxson Lueb

The Dahkanni Empire's disinterest (?) in magic and their skill in Adamantine is a part of Eberron that fascinates me, especially considering the Magical Industry that magic is capable of in Eberron. I am curious how the Goblins might have used Adamantine versus modern smiths and Artificers and how that connected to their continent-spanning Empire. Did they have Adamantine ships like the Iornclads of our world? Did they create a Adamantine Alloy or smithing technique that might be akin to Damascus Steel? Was it utilized in their architecture or was it rare and precious for only Emperors and Heroes to wield?

Zuruve

Based on the idea that apex dragonmarks allow their bearers to become planar powers, where would an avatar of Passage fit into the cosmology of Eberron?

David Mitchell

How are frostfell, Everice and Risia different from each other and what different kind of stories do they lend themselves too?

SancCar128

Ok i have to ask these 2 questions: first, have House Cannith ever tried to infuse Dragonmarks on the Warfored during the building (just like the dragonforged and else) and if they tried what could be the result beyong the aberrant dragonmark? Second: has the dragonkmarked Houses had real competition, like another company/clan/familiy whose ancient trade actually make a rival of the dragonmarked houses?

OHeyItsRick

(Editing my question for clarity) Hello! So, I had a question regarding the spell bolts as shown in Chronicles of Eberron: How would you see them working if a Cannith heir were to, say, try and create an arrow equivalent for use with a longbow? *Could* that work, in theory? Also, from a mechanical standpoint, would they need to *know* the spell being imbued into the arrow, or would it work similar to if they were using a scroll? I've also noticed, given the restrictions laid out for their creation in Chronicles, that there doesn't appear to be any 3rd-level wizard spells that adhere to the rules you presented. Is that by design, or how would you work around that? (All of this is in aid of the character I'm creating - a marked Cannith heir - whose personal project is adapting the principles of the Cannith crossbows to a longbow!) Any insight would be appreciated.

Eric Smith

I have really enjoyed your writings on the Fury, red candles and the idea of a scholarly sort of barbarian who channels the Fury and watches for red candles to be a sort of violent investigator. For the person who lit the candle, is this something most people would not want to talk about? Especially in a Sovereign heavy area.

Earth Seraph Edna

How strong would an artifact have to be to render a powerful fiend (think around the level of Durastoran, Hektula, or Mordakhesh) mortal, permanently killable, and lower-level/CR? Is this the kind of artifact that some very powerful dragon of Argonnessen could craft in this day and age, or is it the kind of artifact that would have to be taken from the planes, from the ruins of old Sarlonan kingdoms or Xen'drik giants, etc.?

Sagaptor

Despite the fact that Irian should be extremely important in the religion of Aereni I have found no mention of any events related to the cycles of this plan on Aerenal. Given that Irian's cycles are some of the most regular of all the plans, I wonder what festivals or other events the Aereni might hold around it.

Parker Wimberly

Are there any underwater gods that the underwater cultures of Eberron worship I know the sea elves are follower of the undying court and the eternal dominion has Sha'argon.

Matt Dance

What is the attitude of Houses Phiarlan and Thuranni toward members of Aerenal’s Cairdal Blades who carry the Mark of Shadow? Conversely, what is the attitude of the Blades, especially those who carry the Mark, toward the Houses? How much do they even know about each other? And what connections or interactions do they have, if any?

King Canuck

So knowing and understanding the point there is to the player characters being the main Heroes of the day, how would you compromise with the vision of there being Heroes of other stories within the world? Specifically, I like to play around in my head that Sharn has vigilante types that are just a little better than the average NPC that the party could meet or get an assist from, like a daredevil type, but while trying to not lose focus of the players as the actual focus.

Sims

I’m late to the game this month, but if I think of more, I’ll add/edit them in… 1.) A few locations described in E:RftLW that interest me are Blood Crescent, Desolate and Thronehold. The first seems to be a military outpost from the Marches with a short expanse over the water to this frontier against pure evil. The second is a Roanoke-esque settlement deep in the Demon Wastes. And the third is marketed as a political intrigue ala UN. How would you run one or any of these personally?

WebbRosson

So the chamber and the coatl implemented numerous safeguards against Masvirik, like the dawnshards and Rhashaak. Do the other overlords have similar failsafes, or is Masvirik especially powerful as to warrant them?

Carlton Anderson

Following up on my mailbag question from last month, what sort of effects would the influence of Val Gultesh have on a person, place, or thing? How would you have its influence manifest in both its bound and unbound states, and what sort of powers should its servants (cultist, warlock, prakhutu, etc) be able to bring to bear, levels and CR notwithstanding?

Peter S.

Before elemental binding House Orien had dragonshard roads to move faster with animal-drawn carts. What would house Lyrandar had to maintain the monopoly of water-routes, in particular rivers, before the elemental binding technology? Thank you!