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Inner Circle: Daily Questions (Patreon)

Published:
2017-09-14 15:03:02
Edited:
2017-09-14 15:04:11
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Hey patrons! Thanks again for supporting the site. 

Writing a post on the scale of an Imperial Dispatch or the Ghaash'kala Dragonshard takes a significant amount of time - it's going to be a little while before I have enough time to put together the article I'd like to write on the planes of Eberron, for example. But I'd love to start writing SMALLER posts on a more regular basis - addressing a single interesting question that I can cover in fifteen minutes or so. 

With this in mind: ASK ME SOME QUESTIONS. These questions could tie to PHOENIX, EBERRON, GENERAL GAME DESIGN, or anything else that's in my wheelhouse. Post your questions in the comments. I can't promise that I'll address questions daily, but it's something where if I have a spare moment I'd love to have a repository of questions to answer. 

CRITICAL POINTS: I'm looking for questions that meet the following criteria.

1. NARROW FOCUS. I need to be able to answer these questions in two paragraphs or less. I'm looking for very specific subjects, not broad or vague questions. 

2. GENERAL INTEREST. Likewise, I'm going to pick the questions that will be interesting to the widest audience. If a question is really only possibly interesting to one player in your personal campaign, it's not a great choice.

GOOD QUESTIONS are things like...

"What happens when you fly an airship into the Mournland?"

"What are some character hooks for Phoenixes from Ilona?"

"What are some adventure hooks for a game in Droaam?"

"How do you add cinematic flavor to a combat scene?"

"What's your favorite thing about the Lhazaar Principalities?"

"What's one of your favorite board games you didn't make?"

"What's an RPG you've always wanted to play?"

"Why are all the cards in Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Card Game double-sided?"

BAD QUESTIONS are either too broad or too narrow. 

Too broad...

"What was pre-Mourning Cyre like?" 

"How do you make a world?"

"Tell us more about Skavia." 

Too narrow...

"Who was the leader of the Cannith forgehold in Making on the Day of Mourning?"

"What's your opinion on Munchkin Cthulhu?"

 

That's it! Ask me anything. 

Comments

Joe Shadduck

We all know that a lot of DM's cut their teeth on dungeon delves and straightforward, classic adventure stories. Eberron can deliver these in spades, but it also gives great incentive and foundations for mystery and intrigue, which is much more challenging to newer DM's. What are your top (3-5) tips for structuring a mystery adventure?

Tales from the Fandom

How are the traditional Talenta Plains tribes set up? We ran it as Matriarchal based, with numerous different small tribes that would come together in times of crisis - but on the move every 2-3 months.

Serpen Thrope

Did you establish the 13 Eberron-exclusive planes to discourage world-hopping from other settings, and if so why? (If not, what are your thoughts on world-hopping?)

Zed Bundershot

Have you imagined any sports more widely practiced than Sharn's Race of the Eight Winds; something multi-city, national, or international? Have any, 'only in Eberron' sports come about since then end of the war? In the way that jousting was popular peacetime entertainment and gun clubs developed after the US Civil War; is there a Society of Magic Missileers? Is there an Olympics-type competition demonstrating national skill or martial prowess? Do Dragonmarked Houses sponsor sports that promote their products & services: Vadalis hosting magebred bear polo tournaments, Tharashak organizing MMA bouts with magical, monstrous, and construct divisions? Are there magebred horse/dog/pigeon/owlbear/elemental vehicle races (with attendant gambling & corruption)?

Thursday Garreau

How likely is it that Breland will shift to a parliamentary democracy after Boranel's death? Is there any opposition to homosexuality in the Five Nations? What do you think of Powered by the Apocalypse games, and are there any you want to try or have tried and enjoyed?

Chris H. | End Days Engine

What *is* your favorite thing about the Lhazaar Principalities? Who is your favourite Pirate Nation?

Jarrod Taylor

If the dragonmarks are living aspects of the Prophecy, why hasn't the Mark of Death resurfaced in other bloodlines?

Darrin Katzska

Can you share examples of items you've used in your games that open up possibilities for future plot hooks? I'm thinking of things like the Darkwood Staff from the Dreaming Dark trilogy. I want the treasure I hand out on Eberron to be meaningful. Thanks!

Darrin Katzska

Can you provide any reasons elves from Aerenal would be actively exploring Xen'drik in 998YK instead of ten thousand years ago? I'm looking for some excuses! Thanks!

Darrin Katzska

Do you have any ideas for how Thora Tavin could work towards getting justice for the aberrants betrayed by Breland? Is there proof in The Citadel that she needs to get her hands on? What, in your mind, actually happened during Thora's last mission? I want to use her as a patron for my aberrant PCs. Thanks!

Serpen Thrope

Well, other people are asking multiple questions, so why not: Do you think there's a reason Changelings and Shifters don't manifest Dragonmarks, or are their lines just late coming into existence?

Bicarb

since you mention it, what are some good hooks for a droaam game/campaign? :D

Igfig

I'm going to be pretty vague here to avoid accidental massive Phoenix spoilers, so please let me know if I need to clarify. All the major Dread manifestations in the book seem to be H. manifestations. Are there any major A. manifestations, or are they all on a smaller scale? What might an A. manifestation serious enough to need Phoenix attention look like?

Serpen Thrope

Well, people are still asking questions, so I guess I'll go with a third (ties into my earlier question): You said in your podcast that anyone with a Dragonmark isn't going to hide it, and a race that doesn't normally develop Dragonmarks is going to be a world-shaking event. Could you justify it being a secret if a Changeling developed an Aberrant Mark and just hid it? Also, how would the Changeling know the difference between an Aberrant Mark and simply being the first of a new Dragonmarked Line?

Chuck Huber

In your article on death and resurrection, you mention that character advancement is a major attraction in most role-playing games. However, in some cases, campaigns begin to fall apart as PCs attain higher levels of power. Generally speaking, do you prefer systems where advancement in personal power caps out at some point (as is currently the case in D&D 5e), or where the game system significantly changes at some point of advancement (D&D 3.5 epic levels or Runequest -> Heroquest), or open-ended advancment in the same system (some older editions of D&D)? Or is the answer simply that all campaigns should be finite - the characters work toward an ultimate objective, and then the curtain falls, everyone takes a bow...and you generate new characters? (Phoenix sort of falls in this catagory, although you could have a single campaign with new characters replacing the burnt-out Phoenixes in "grandfather's axe" fashion. My two cents: While finite campaigns can be fun, don't have a bottomless well of new characters like some players. if i get invested in Character A, to the point where I can really roleplay them, I want to be able to play them a long time. I've rarely had a campaign last long enough for the characters to get to the "Warning - System broken!" level so I'm nt sure how I'd vote on how to handle it.

Chuck Huber

If you had the chance to to another Eberrron city book on the sacle of Sharn or Stormreach, which city would be your first pick and why?

JoeSchlabotnyk32

You have spoken before about magic being used in place of technology. Other than gunpowder, what forms of technology have NOT been discovered on Eberron? Crop rotation? Fertilizer? Horseshoes? The various types of Damascus pattern steels?

Bicarb

I'd like to give my players some spells developed during the war, what are some examples of spells that might have been developed by different involved powera during the war? It feels almost certain that the various powers involved in the last war would have placed at least some effort into developing spells specific to the unique needs of The War over the needs specific to a group of 3-6 players fighting a level appropriate encounter. A 6d6 fireball is extreme overkill for significant portions of the armies & could only hit a potential max of around a couple dozen conscripts being killed a few times over; but in that situation a 100-300 foot cone/blast dealing 1d6 after a couple rounds of casting could turn the tide of a battle

Scott Mosquera

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions Keith, I guess I have 2. What books/movies do you find have profoundly influenced or inspired your creations? Also, what ideas do you have about how a Daelkyr lord would indirectly influence a parties actions to achieve it's own goals? I apologize if the second one is a little broad, I wasn't really sure how to word it. Thanks again.

Thomas Belmore

I remember a few weeks ago you asking about interest in different Eberron cities. I wish I had asked about Thronehold. It seems so cool! Old capital; location of the famous treaty; international city with districts controlled by the surviving kingdoms. Thronehold has always seemed romantic and fantastic. What got me thinking of Thronehold tonight was looking at the map of Khorvaire and the Scions Sound (which seem cool in its own right!). Then I saw how the Mournland covers the political boundaries of Cyre which means that the Mournland looms over Thronehold! I'd love to hear anything about Thronehold or the Scions Sound, but a specific line of wonder: what is is like having the Mournland so close? Are there a large number of Cyrean refugees here? Are Thronehold residents and officials especially worried about the mourning's spread? Is the region of the Mournland in that upper peninsula distinct as a result of its geography? How are expeditions from Thronehold different than those from New Cyre? I love your work and appreciate how active and supportive you are in the community. thank you.