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June Q&A Mailbag! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-06-03 17:42:39
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Hi everyone!

June belongs to House Lyrandar, and I'll be posting Lyrandar articles throughout the month. There will be two live Q&As:

Saturday June 7 at 10 AM Pacific: Subject TBD. This will be a focused Q&A, but I don't have a topic yet. Post topic suggestions here or in the Discord, and I'll post a poll tomorrow!

Wednesday June 18 at 6 PM Pacific: Mailbag Miscellany. As usual, this will be where I'll answer questions on any topic from you.

POST QUESTIONS HERE. You can ask questions about anything: Eberron, my other games, game design in general, what I'm reading at the moment, 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. As a general rule, I will only answer a maximum of one question per patron per month, so if you ask a lot of questions I'll only answer one of them, but you can always pose unanswered questions again next month!

The image here is the formal seal of the Air division of the Windwright's Guild, as depicted by Matthew Johnson. Watch out for the River and Sea divisions later in the month.

Thanks for your support!

Files

Comments

Felix Shafir

Are members of the Dragonmarked houses who are interested in academic pursuits required to join the Twelve? Or can they work at other academic institutions instead? For example, could a Medani be a professor at Morgrave University?

Inquisitor Thomas

The big canon mysteries of Eberron was a big topic last Q&A, and I’m curious about the Dwarven Connection to Risia. I know we probably won’t get a definitive answer, but the tie between Dwarves and Risia feels odd, nothing about the Dwarves in Eberron feels particularly Risia coded or adjacent. Are there any in world theories on the tie or logic you use for why you chose to connect Dwarves to Risia and not some other plane like Fernia?

Sims

Recycling from last month/week: 1.) Is there any mixing of the cultures or faiths in Eberron that interest or would interest you? Similar to the above question, but more broad. For example, the Restless Watch reveres both the Keeper (Dark Six) and Aureon (Sovereign Host). Is there an ogre clan in Western Droaam who fights with the Silver Flame, potentially led by a Bel Shalor Oni line? A Breland industrialist descended from Druids and can cast Awaken and has made self-moving carts where each piece is a living organism? A good real world example in the Maronite Catholic Church. When the Crusader County of Tripoli was established, the local Syriac Maronites got along so well with the Southern French Catholics that the Maronite Church actually agreed to fall under the Catholic hierarchy, despite the difference between the Eastern Christian Maronites and Western Christian Catholics being more pronounced at that time than say, Catholics and Protestants, or Protestants or Baptists. The Maronite Pope is actually a Catholic Cardinal, and (had he not exceeded the age limit) would have had voting powers this last Conclave. 2.) I’m not sure if you’re still thinking of “Monster Articles” but the 25MM introduced a stat block to the Gulthias Blight (it also seems to insist plants have eyeballs) which is a massive, vampiric death blight tree. How might this stat block monster work in Eberron? Obviously, Mabaran manifest zones, Blood of Vol and the Grim Lords (particularly the Ghost Gardener) could for a straight conversion (but how?), but I could also see with some changes (notably necrotic to psychic), it could be a minion or blight or wonderful creation of Avaash. 3.) Trolls. Obviously Trolls play a major part in Droaam, but unless I missed it, I don’t think we’ve seen or covered the special trolls, like the Venom, Rot, Spirit, Dire, Mutate, Amalgam or even Ice Troll. What about Fenrirs, the Troll cousins who look like Frost Giants and turn to stone in daylight?

FalseAesop

Let's talk cutlery. Across Khorvaire what does tableware look like? Forks and knives? Chopsticks? Runcible spoons?

Dragonback Lancer

What are some magical technologies you could imagine being developed in the next 30-50 years of the setting?

Micaerys

Hi Keith! This question is from my friend and GM who first told me about Eberron: Metrol is close to the eastern edge of the Mourning, but would you say it's close enough for people to travel there regularly and have "secured" that area, or does the fog or monsters have time to even within that margin? Thanks in advance!

hyperewok1

Can a changeling shapeshift into a warforged?

Zachary Butler

You've mentioned King Boranel's death as a significant potential event for the setting. By canon, Boranel also has many children. In 998 YK , who is Boranel's heir? If there isn't one canonically, what would you see as the broad-strokes political turmoil that his successor would have to navigate?

Earth Seraph Edna

I am interested in portraying a cult themed around simply... escaping from the woes of the world. It could be an Orlassk cult that petrifies themselves, hoping to be unpetrified in a better age down the line. It could be a cult that travels to a rare safe spot in Risia, where they can live in stagnant eternity. It could be both, tapping into both the stillness of Orlassk and the stillness of Risia. Which do you think would work best?

Dan Smith

Hope you’re doing well Keith. I’ve got one repeat from last month and a few new inquiries: 1. Eberron is primarily designed for adventures in the Noir and Pulp genres, and in Kanon has a pretty well established baseline for defining Good and Evil. I’m curious, what areas and/or eras of Eberron would you use for a Sword&Sorcery adventure or campaign; a genre which, in part, tends to focus on Order vs Chaos instead of Good vs Evil. 2. What were some of the common threats/enemies that the military of Galifar had to deal with? Are there any particularly interesting wars that the Kingdom of Galifar fought besides civil wars (including the Last War)? 3. What does Zil dueling and poison etiquette look like? 4. The River Elves of Aundair (seemingly) lack ancestral ties to Shae Tirias Tolai. We know that the necromantic practices found in most elven cultures in part stems from their ancestry from the City of Silver and Bone. Are there any unique “arcane” or magical practices/specializations among the River Elves and if so what are they? 5. Are there any advanced Giant cultures that existed on Eberron outside of the continent of Xen’drik?

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. Radiant Idols (at least with the additional material on your blog) have a very strong design identity that ties into their themes and lore. What properties would fallen angels from the planes OTHER than Syrenia have? Would they similarly be stripped of a core aspect of their plane as part of being cast down? 3. In what cases would Punishment in the Inescapable Prison be an actual possibility for a creature not already in Daanvi? What would a mortal have to do on the material to warrant that punishment? What about beings like Archfey? Q&A suggestion: Arcane Academia. How do the different educational institutions of Khorvaire study and teach magic, the planes, religion, and other supernatural aspects of Eberron. You cite a lot of in-world scholarly theories, how do you go about coming up with those and using them to add depth to the lore?

Lucas J.W. Johnson

As an author and game designer/producer I have a more meta question I'm curious about! When you put together new books and articles, such as these recent House articles, how much of that is you *coming up with new information* that fits within existing canon vs. how much of it is *stuff that you had already designed and just hadn't previously had the space / time / wordcount to recount*? I'm thinking especially about, for example, the origin of the word Medani and the history of the house and the different enclaves or families or the idea of the gestalt, etc. etc. Thanks!

Sekhmet the Wolf, cat Bean counter.

I'm interested in what the aesthetics of the various major religions of Eberron would look like. I have my own ideas, but I'm interested in what you would think about it. Pardon me if someone else has asked this before.

man-of-bvz1n3ss

(okay, I know this is off-topic from Lyrandar but) What is the city of Medykyr like? It's the center of House Jorasco and home to the most talented healers in Khorvaire. In particular, I'm wondering how resurrection impacts the culture of the city- is there a higher level of resurrection there? Do Medykyr residents have a different attitude towards life and death to, say, your average joe in Breland who knows the Jorasco clinic can MAYBE bring you back from the dead if you've got the dough? Additionally, since it's become an official third-party class, where do you think you might implant the Illrigger into Eberron?

Matt Dance

Hello, Keith! One of my favorite parts of Chronicles is the section on Riedran provinces, especially the discussions of how the provinces have been shaped by the influences of particular planes. Of course things are a bit different in Sarlona, thanks to the wild zones. But I’m curious: do you have similar ideas about the nations of Khorvaire, or at least the Five Nations? For example, I know you’ve said Thelanis manifest zones are relatively common in Aundair - are there any other common planar connections that have shaped Aundairian culture? By canon, Karrnath has strong connections to Mabar, at least around Atur and the southern fortresses - anything else that has made it what it is? Obviously Sharn has a strong and unusual manifest zone to Syrania - but is that a rarity in Breland, like the Gloaming in the Reaches? what of the rest of the country? Just curious. Obviously this *could* be the sort of question that needs more time to answer. But if you have any quick and broad thoughts, I’d love to read or hear them!

Jack Carpenter

Eberron dragonshards are refined into residuum in order to increase their efficiency/output. Could a similar process be applied to Khyber and/or Syberis shards, and if so what might the benefits of doing so look like?

Not Mordakhesh

If you could play a long Eberron campaign yourself, what character would YOU love to play as, and what kind of mystery would YOU like to see solved in someone else’s Eberron?

Jarrod Taylor

Topic suggestion: Cults. We have Cults of the Dragon Below, which vary greatly, and Three Faces sects, Radiant idol Cults etc. Where does the line blur between what is accepted as a facet of an established faith vs a weird outlandish cult, does moving the gibbering mouther from the basement to the altar as the Voice of Arawai give a cabal more bearing?

Patrick Reupert

Outside of House Orien and their steeds, how common are Unicorns in wider Khorvaire? Are they natural, celestial or fey in nature? I assume it's probably akin to "why not all of them?"

James McAtamney

Reposting from last month: What exactly are creation patterns, and how exactly do they work? ECS just says they let someone "replicate an item faster and with less effort than someone working without a pattern," but are they meant to be foci that reduce time/gold/XP costs for building items, or doodads that can fulfill some prerequisites for making a given item, or semi-sentient magic items that can carry out some steps of the crafting process for a magewright or artificer, or repositories of alternate crafting "recipes" that are simply faster and cheaper than the by-the-book ones, or...? And how do the schemas that make up creation patterns fit into things? Magic of Eberron says individual schemas have their own powers, but the adventure series featuring Xulo the sentient creation pattern says its constituent schemas don't do anything until the pattern is fully assembled; which is closer to the kanon take on them?

Jessie Harris

Besides Irian, which plane of existence would you most like to live on?

Leann Davis

1. Not precisely a question but a request for more details about Pylas Maradal and Lyrandar's role and reach in Valenar. One of my players is the Lyrandar heir and the party is setting up a bastion there. 2. I very recently read an old Dragonshard article that talked about the Wind Whisperers in the L.P. How bad of an idea would it be for said Lyrandar heir to venture into their territory or even try going to Blackrock itself? 3. Slightly unrelated but the aforementioned Lyrandar heir is looking for his brother whose ship went down in the Dragonreach. Can you go into detail about that area of the ocean and what (besides dragons) might be found under the surface? I'll probably be back with more but that's all for now. As always, thanks for your time!

OHeyItsRick

Hello! I have a feeling you have covered this previously, though I'll be damned if I can find where, but here is my question: If you were to convert Curse of Strahd to Eberron (with the idea being this version of Eberron is cut off from the greater multiverse), how would you go about it? What would you alter to make it more setting appropriate (and less inherently problematic in places)?

Selerian

Why Dhakaani prefer tigers as mounts? Do those tigers have some magic abilities? Maybe, this is somehow related to conflicts with rakshasa?

Legatha

A minor question, but what does a dragonmark *feel* like? It looks very different and obviously magical, so it feels like if you touched one it shouldn't just feel like skin, but then what? Smooth, maybe crystalline?

Beoric

Hi Keith! I was browsing through the 4e EPG and saw the "Hand of Orien" stat block. I was wondering, who are the Hands of Orien, and what role do they have in the House?

Ender Darkos

Maybe a stupid question, but how are the Vol liches made? You mentioned there were a few liches in Shae Deseir and the overall Vol domain but I wonder because like. With the emphasis on Vols being peaceful, I don't see them accepting liches that easily (considering that most sources speak of a foul ritual and that in 5e, liches feast on souls, which to my understanding, they didn't in earlier editions SPECIFICALLY because so many were sacrificed to become a lich)

Carlton Anderson

In the highly unlikely event that the nations of Khorvaire ever decided to invade Aerenal, what would it take for them to meet with any real success in such an endeavor? I’m assuming Aerenal’s high level of magical development and the existence of the Undying Court would prove major hurdles. How might the combined military might of Khorvaire overcome those advantages, and what others might the Aereni bring to bear that are less obvious?

Jarrod Taylor

Question: Are there any immortals on the planes who claim to have firsthand interactions with the Progenitors before the Material was created, or have they always been hidden behind the green curtain as it were?

Jarrod Taylor

Question (that might be too much for a mailbag): Who were the Six Kings individually?

Zed Bundershot

If you were going to create a triangle-trade between Stormhaven, Stormreach, and Taer Valaestas, what idea / commodity would you assign? (If you're in a weirder mood, put some sky-pirate sauce on that trade answer.)

LM

Hello Keith, this might have been asked before, but would it be possible for you to go into a bit more detail regarding how the Dreamspace might work and how reality might look through the eyes of someone able to see into it?

Zuruve

In Khorvaire, is it well known that becoming Undead deactivates a person's dragonmark? And if it is, what do people think of the phenomenon? I imagine Vassals could interpret it as the Sovereigns revoking their blessings but I'm curious about the opinion of non-religious sages.

Charlotte McHenry

In Exploring Eberron, you mention a Domain in Syrania that is the Angel of Swords, but don’t give a specific name. Do you have any suggestions for a possible name for that character? I’m designed some custom Magic the Gathering cards based on Eberron and thought they would make an interesting card.

James McConnell IV

Hey Keith, thanks as always for the chance to ask you questions. The Kar'lassa in EE are an awesome world building creation. I was thinking of putting the bones of the kar'lassa associated with Dal Quor in the Talenta Plains and creating an adventure around that. What regional effects do you think the bones would have, if any, and what kind of tools could be made from them?

Dragonback Lancer

I'm a big fan of the idea of player characters being unwittingly manipulated by the Lords of Dust into progressing the prophecy towards specific outcomes. Do you think it's better to think of what conditions the Lords want fulfilled at the start of the campaign and then try to lead the PCs into doing those things, or to wait and see what the PCs decide to do and then say that those were the things the Rakshasa planned for them all along? The latter would help to make the Lords of Dust feel more powerful and omnipresent (and also ensure that any sort of final boss fight against an Overlord you want to cap off your campaign with actually happens), but it could feel sort of cheap and contrived as well

Humberto

What would you say it's the biggest obstacle when going from tabletop to video games and what's key for a successful adaptation? (e.g. Baldur's Gate saga)

Ryan Royce

We've recently begun a new Eberron campaign and the DM was reading up on the lore when he discovered the entry on the Sibling Kings of Aerenal referring to them as "bonded brother and sister". He believes that means an incestuous marriage. I doubt that interpretation, thinking they share power but not beds. Which of us is correct?

David Armstrong

I notice that in some of the Eberron novels, there are some characters who can control/operate an airship, none of which have Lyrandar dragonmarks. It is my understanding that per canon, only those characters with a Mark of Storms can successfully command the fire elementals that operate an airship. I understand that the novels are not canon, but I'm curious as to your take on this, Keith... Can anyone else operate an airship other than those with the House Lyrandar dragonmark? Limiting it to those beings would certainly pigeonhole the house's monopoly on air travel, but it makes certain stories or themes (sky pirates, anyone?) unfeasible. Is there any other way to operate an airship without the mark of storms? And while we're at it, exactly how does operating an airship work, game-mechanically? Are there any rolls involved, or do such creatures just grab the wheel and it automatically works for them? Does it require concentration? What if more than one creature wants to assume command, are their opposed skill checks or anything?

Sharon Woodward

Hi Keith. In my world, the players are in Sharn. The Daask are working with The Lords of Dust to release an ancient entity into the world, and start A New Age of Demons. A world wiped clean of humanity and where monstrosities rule the lands and oceans. They have stolen 2 ancient artifacts to start off their ability to open Portals to different manifest zones. 1 is the Tablet of Resurrection, set within an altar that was in the hands of the Jorasco family, but was stolen the night of the Tain Fair, in the month of Vult. Symbols of the Boromar Clan were scratched into doors, making them scapegoats for the apparent raids, as a distraction. The 2nd artifact was the Heart of Lorkan (a homebrew item), named after a wizard who discovered the art of opening portals and rumour has it, brought through an entity that lead to the destruction of Cyre. The Heart was "taken" by the party rogue/bard. The party cleric received a vision (she presumes was Arawai) showing the setting of the Heart in the anchor in Kyber's Gate would save Sharn. They have just reached level 9. The Heart of Lorkan helped set Sharn back into the Manifest zone, after the sigils were being "turned off" and caused destruction across Sharn as the zone lost its anchors. The Heart needed to be set, so the portals work. Undead are "released" when a portal opens, which seems to emanate from the cemetery outside Sharn, with Vol the lich being the Guardian to the Plane of Death. She can be either a foe or friends, having an uneasy alliance with the party. I was wondering if you could help with the Lore and name of this demonic entity, who craves release, gets stronger with adoration and have a cult following. It would be the final BBEG.