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June Q&A Mailbag (Patreon)

Published:
2026-06-01 18:27:24
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Hi Everyone!

This is the place to post your questions! You can ask questions about anything: Eberron, my other games, game design in general, 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 on Thursday, June 25th. 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!

Thanks for your support!

Files

Comments

Jimberish

Hello again, Keith! I hope things have settled a bit for you re: your unexpected upheavals. My question relates peripherally to your Fallen Angel adventure. Now that angels have been more fleshed out in Exploring Eberron, do you have any thoughts about what sort of Domain might be appropriate for Sythrael and, if so, how his fallen status may have corrupted the way he embodies said domain? I'd love any bonus insights you might have regarding Lady ir'Taela as well! I'm leaning hard towards her being a Chamber agent though instead of Silver I was tempted to go with Crystal 🤔 Thank you!

Michael Hughes

Hi Keith! How do you outline a campaign / decide on the length of one? I’ve often seen you refer to running campaigns that seem to be on the shorter side, so I was wondering how you decide what the right length might be in advance.

Micaerys

Hi, Keith! I hope you have a nice week! Not Eberron related, but... What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow a creative career (like writing TTRPG and other stories) in a world that doesn't necessarily favor it?

Inquisitor Thomas

Copied over from the Deep Dive Comment: I feel like there’s a problem with the argument that Aurala is good because she’s unwilling to personally dirty her hands with violence like Kaius, since I feel like most people would argue that not murdering and torturing people isn’t exactly above and beyond altruism, especially since the neutral alignments exist. Also while yes, Aurala is uncomfortable inflicting violence on people, she seemed comfortable disenfranchising the Cyran refugee population by denying them a right to representation at the Treaty of Thronehold, a people she thinks she’s entitled and qualified to govern, because… I feel like Aurala needs for Kanonical acts of altruism, because from where I’m sitting she seems like she’s an Aundairian Cultural-Chauvinist who fights and advocates only for other Aundairian Cultural-Chauvinists. What is Aurala’s vision for a reunited Galifar?

Leann Davis

Hi Keith! First off, I LOVE your mug and 1000% agree. Now for the question: in my campaign we're gearing up to undo the Mourning and restore Cyre. The party has been working with Prince Oargev to secure the aid of the Houses in preventing the nations -and others - from just racing in and grabbing up everything they can, essentially buying time for Oargev to get into a place where he can make a stand. My question is, how would you have the other nations react in your Eberron? Is it realistic that they would hesitate to take on the Houses and agree to amend the Thronehold Treaty to include Cyre?

Sims

Hey, Keith. Hope all is well! Excited for the Jorasco articles and the evils of Eberron’s health insurance system. 1.) Inspired by the many strains of lycanthropy, do shifters have different steak strains? Could they? The majority of shifters are from the Eldeen Reaches where they might be influenced from the Wild Heart, Lammania or the primal powers of the Towering Wood itself. But there’s also a significant Shifter population in the Hual Maleer in Dol Maleer, where there is no Wild Heart. Are Hual Maleer shifters the results of the Lammania Wild Zones, werebeasts that ran wild from Adar in a scheme by the Unmaker or even the descendants of Reacher shifters who traveled Lammania? Would they have different traits by their lack of either a Wild Heart origin of Wild Heat influence? 2.) What are some other Sahuagin cultures? Are Sahuagin off the Demon Coast prone to taking on fiend traits, eating fiends like the Dire hynena ancetsors that became gnolls? Are Marcher Sahuagin more likely to have made deals with Daelkyr? 3.) When a Sahuagin consumes a Khalastar in order to become a Malenti, they gain their psionic powers. Does the Quori fragment transfer over immediately? A moment where it redistributes the extra bit back out to the bloodline before being yanked back to this interloper? Does the Malenti Khalastar produce a Malenti Quori - separate personality with the powers of the consumed fragment? 4.) How might you run a star spawn in Eberron? Since they come from Elder Evils (I believe) which don’t know if they interact with Eberron, are they instead cultists of a Daelkyr who took it too far? 4b.) How might you run a Star Spawn Emissary from Van Richten’s (and maybe the upcoming Horrors Within?) which is clearly a DND version of John Carpenter’s “The Thing?” 5.) In City of Stormreach, the book introduces a high level wizard called the Dragonhawk who turns out to be Mordain’s apprentice and head researcher of Aundair’s Seven Stones projects, which experimented with both Daelkyr and Overlord Magic, before she was whisked away to Stormreach by her mentor and Adal ir’Wyrnarn. What horrors did this Aundairan war criminal create? How might you use her in a campaign or story? 6.) This is one is less of a question for now, but more a question/topic for the Tharashk organization article, but City of Stormreach (unfortunately the acronym CoS is more famous for a different book) talks about the local branch of the Dragonne’s Roar, recruiting “monstrous” races from Xen’drik as mercenaries or laborers, to include Xen’drik ogres and Rusheme Giants; however, they have yet to have much success with Drow. How does the Xen’drik branch fit into the greater Dragonne’s Roar? Are their Giant-speaking ogres and Goblin-speaking ogres working together in Sharn? 7.) City of Stormreach also mentions the “gang” the Shrouds, led by the cleric Whisper and her brother-turned-bodak. According to the book, the living elves may have zombified their faces like in Aerenal. OR, this small group of elves are descendants from an elven society (Qarbarlin?) who never left and their deformities are the result of inbreeding. Do you have any further thoughts on Whisper and the Shrouds now than you did when Stormreach was published?

MikeZ

Hi Keith, I have a question about Sarlona. Do the people of Sarlona, or at least some of them — especially in Riedra — know the myth of the three progenitor dragons? If so, are their names known there? Also, are dragonshards called “dragonshards” in Sarlona, or do they have another name? And if they are known, are they associated with, or named after, the individual progenitor dragons?

Eric Smith

Apparently, the new Ravenloft book will have a sort of Frankenstein-esque Artificer. Would that most likely be a thing in Karnath or somewhere else?

小绵羊海兔

Hi Keith, I'm curious what Mastery Properties you would give to the Double-Bladed Scimitar?

Leigh Major

Hi Keith! I'm looking at introducing the Dragonmarked Houses as antagonistic forces in my game. So, in the wake of the War, how are they trying to innovate and expand? What's the new Lightning Rail, Creation Forge, or even Magebreed that they're on the cusp of?

Brian Blagg

Hey Keith! There are a number of written guilds (Esoteric Order, Starlight & Shadows, etc) and knightly orders. Has any come up in a game or non published work that you enjoyed as a concept?

The Bard Himself

Canon makes it out the Ashbound have some of the lowest population of members within the Eldeen Druidic Sects, usually around a thousand, and it was mentioned somewhere the Ashbound are also the druidic order that stands most firmly against the fiends that trickle in from the Demon Wastes. How can the Ashbound justify their attacks against arcane Industry to the east when they are so few and the Shadowcrag and Icehorn are so vast? Do the Ashbound actually have a larger number in kanon, does a different order maintain the Mountain boarder with the Demon Wastes, or is this a threat that really dosnt happen often enough to justify keeping a patrol

Matt Dance

Thanks for all things Eberron, Keith! You’ve written that the goblinoids likely originated underground, and of course they are comfortable in subterranean environments. So my question is: Did the Dhakaani Empire make use of demiplanes in a way similar to that of the dwarves of Sol Udar? If not, why not? But if so, how? And do any of the modern Kech Dhakaan make use of demiplanes as their ancestors did? (Kech Ghaalrac may be a special case here?)

Lucas J.W. Johnson

Hi Keith! You've stated that it's reasonably normal for Dragonmarked scions and nobles to marry (as with Aurala etc.) as long as one or the other gives up their heritage (i.e. leaves the House). Is this also true of scions with dragonmarks? I'd assume the house would be a little upset at the loss, but it's still generally accepted? The follow-up and actual main question: let's say Syra ir'Wynarn returns from Xen'drik and eventually takes the throne of Breland. And then manifests a Mark of Detection. What would happen?? (I'm sure there would be questions of the legitimacy of her crown given presumed parentage, but as long as she's not part of House Medani would it otherwise be acceptable, at least legally?)

The Colonel

So I had a question come up regarding Thora Tavin while I was watching the House Tarkanan QNA from October (yes very late I know). You described her as more Magneto to a players Charles Xavier. What made her to be the Magneto half I have not been able to find much on her in the books I have. Would you be able to elaborate on that?

House Sivis Echoer Station

*as a 1910's reporter wearingna fedora with notepad in hand ambushing you as you go about your daily life* Keith, the new Ravenloft book has a pronounciation section and has the pronounciation for Cyre as "Seer", would you like to make a statement on this action by the writers of Wizards of the Coast?

Patrik Malý

Hi Keith! Just a quick question this month. Would creatures in the current editions (2014 and 2024 5th edition) with natural truesight (i.e., a Planetar from Irian or a mighty lich) get their sight blocked by spells like Cloak of Khyber, or does it protect only from spells and abilities (so, something like a clever combination of Nystul's Magic Aura and Nondetection)?

James McAtamney

Reposting two questions from last month and adding a new one, answer whichever you'd like: 1) Can you talk a bit about your out-of-game inspiration for the kar'lassa and what kinds of in-game explanations you might offer for their origins? The "esoteric biopunk" themes around their exploitation by the sahuagin feel fairly daelkyr-ish, but they also reminded me a lot of the draeden from BECMI and Planescape, and I was interested in hearing more about the thought process behind them. 2) My current game has been going on long enough in-setting that the calendar will soon be flipping over into 1,000 YK. How do the people of Khorvaire generally celebrate the new year (assuming they do), and what kinds of major events do you think might happen at the turn of the millennium, for good or ill (a once-a-century festival, an arcane Y2K Bug equivalent, etc.)? 3) Secrets of Sarlona says that "charming Inspired ambassadors are fast becoming fixtures among the upper classes of the Five Nations," but how much do the people who interact with those Inspired really know about them? Do the movers and shakers of Khorvaire know (and believe) that the Inspired are possessed? If so, how do they usually feel about that, and how do the Inspired explain the "il-altas" to foreigners—spirits unique to Sarlona, or some kind of obscure Syranian angel, maybe? Has Reidra generally gained the Five Nations' trust, or do some or all of them suspect there's something sketchy about Riedran society?

Zachary Butler

Hey Keith! I'm reposting a question from a couple months ago. You'd replied that it would be covered in the Q&A but it didn't make it into the recording. Can you describe how the non-theocratic political heirarchy of the Church of the Silver Flame works? Part of my confusion is that I thought of the organization of the capital C Church as flowing out from the Keeper in Flamekeep, so that Brelish bishops have a chain of command that connects back to cardinals in Thrane. I know you don't like comparing the Silver Flame to real world religions, but is Flamekeep more Vatican City (the center of a multinational heirarchy) or Jerusalem (significant mainly in its history)? What does that mean for any random church in any random city?

Rat Queen

I am once again letting you pick which of these questions to answer. How easy is it to access the sealed ruins of Old Sharn? Some source books say all the doors are magically sealed, but other books mention the ruins as a potential dungeon for adventurers to explore or as a potential source of a threat that endangers the modern city. Can any wizard/artificer undo the seals, or is it more complicated than that? And don’t people have to travel through the ruins to get to the cogs? Are the Cogs older or newer than the ruins of Old Sharn? Why didn’t Jarot’s children (and their descendants) call themselves rulers of all of Galifar if they claimed to be the rightful rulers of the entire kingdom. Why would Mishann limit herself to just Cyre when all of Galifar was rightfully hers? Calling herself Queen of Galifar would've further undermined her opponents’ claims to the throne, wouldn’t it? Why was the Tower of the Twelve built in Korth when it was the brainchild of House Cannith (from Metrol) and/or of House Sivis (from Zilargo)? Was it because Karrnath was the only real nation back then?

Vencyl's Vigils

Hey Keith hope this month is going well! I've been wondering about the kraken Zlortharkis, described in City of Stormreach. I've been getting the vibe that the krakens are to Khyber what dragons are to Siberys, and spotting this lorebit had me pondering more on how they interact with the world. "In recent months, kraken activity has increased in the Thunder Sea. The sahuagin who deal with the sailors of Stormreach say that this is the work of the kraken Zlortharkis, an aquatic fiend of tremendous cunning and might. A number of ships have fallen to the mighty tentacles of the King beneath the Waves, but the kraken has never struck a Lyrandar vessel. This fact might simply be coincidence, but a myth within the house claims that the first Lyrandar lords live on as krakens in the depths. If there is any truth to this legend, the kraken Zlortharkis could be Lyran himself, and his actions could be the beginning of a new campaign to ensure that his children have supreme dominion over the waves. Whether Zlortharkis has the mind of a fiend or a Lyrandar patriarch, he is a threat to the sahuagin of the region and the people of Stormreach. He might seek to subjugate the sahuagin or demand tribute from the Storm Lords. A quest to defeat the King beneath the Waves could lead to an alliance with the sahuagin, as adventurers from the surface world join forces with the heroes of the deeps to hunt down this mighty beast." I've been wondering how is this kraken's relationship with House Lyrandar, specifically Zlortharkis operations around Stormreach (given the Dominion I'm assuming he's lairing somewhere in Shargon's Teeth) and what could that mean for the House and the stories in Stormreach?

Axelle McNarrow

Hello Keith, I have a homebrew on the back-burner (from october 2024, focus has been hard to come by) about the Drows of Xen'drik. Given the differences between the Vulkoori, Sulatar and Umbragen it would make little sense to use the 2024 Drow subspecies as is, so I was thinking of treating it as a species with three subspecies (or more, if I remember correctly there are probably more) Do you have any suggestion for their respectives traits ? Especially for Sulatar ? Thanks

Jeff H

I'm running a campaign where most of the characters are Cyran. So I want to know do the various nations have a general attitude toward Cyran refugees--hostile, pitying, suspicious, etc.? And how does it differ between the government and the people? (For example since he allowed the founding of New Cyre, I imagine King Boranel is sympathetic, but that doesn't mean the Brelish parliament and citizens feel the same.)

Herbert Helzer

In the current edition, Gorgons are Constructs, but are still the sigil beast of House Cannnith. Naturally any DM can retcon them back to being Monstrosities, but I’m imagining a more tragic fate: Gorgons are extinct on Eberron, or at least in Khorvaire. Keith, what is your take? Are today’s Gorgons House Cannith creations, complete with a petrifying breath that would have been terrifying in wartime mass production? Are living Gorgons now found only in remote areas of Sarlona or Xen’drik, or on a plane like Thelanis, Shavarath or Daanvi?

hyperewok1

Given that Wrogar ir'Wynarn had originally supported Mishann's claim to the throne, when did (presumably) one of his descendents decide to push their own claim instead? Was there a specific incident that led to the split from supporting Cyre?

SH H

Hi Keith! As the Ravenloft sourcebook is about to release, what alternative capstone would you like to give for the new Reanimator subclass, like the really cool artificer capstones in Exploring Eberron?

Ben

Hey Keith, given how the Church of the Silver Flame isn’t limited to Thrane, I have a question about whether the Keeper of the Flame often comes from outside of Thrane. Jaela Daran is notable for being from Thrane, but surely some wartime Keepers hail from nations that Thrane was at war with during the Last War? I ask because Five Nations makes vague references to assassination attempts against Jaela by other nations, and some suspect that her aged predecessor Keeper Lavira Tagor was assassinated (perhaps, even by Krozen). Seems like it could be a bold play to get more sympathetic leadership from outside Thrane in charge….

David Mitchell

Reposting from the another post. Obviously this may be beyond the scope of one question but would be interesting to find out some elements of this so the last war feels more organic than 5 nations at each others throats with no shifts of alliances etc. Famously Aundair supported Cyre's claim at the start of the war, where did you see that breaking down? Also were other alliances marketed between the big 5 at any points either strategic or two countries backing the same claimant to the throne. Or what alliances were forged that helped the smaller newer nations find their independence if any at all?

Nedgehog

Hi Keith! I was wondering whether myths like the Progenitor Dragons or stories about the Sovereign Host could be found in Thelanis, and if so what that might look like. If not, what is the difference between mythology and stories?

Carlton Anderson

Just how much power would you have the Lake of Shadows grant its Warden within Atur, and how does Lord Davian Karla use this to his advantage as Atur's Grand Duke?

Earth Seraph Edna

Can genies (e.g. Fernian efreet) have children among themselves? If so, how does this affect the Fernian population? Alternatively, is it the case that some genies have "always" been "family" with one another, since the dawn of creation? Can genies have children with mortals, producing genasi?

Dragonback Lancer

Does Khorvaire have refrigeration? If so, for how long? That doesn't seem like it'd be too difficult to accomplish with magic, but it's also quite a big leap in terms of logistics

DungeonNoir

Hello, Mr. Baker! In the original Eberron CS book you all listed 9 movies to inspire us. If given the opportunity again, what novels would you recommend?