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[D&D 3.P] Those Worthy of Eberron's Claw (No SV, we're starting at level 16)

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Your adventuring party has already saved the world from the Dreaming Dark. You all wield power to rival legendary figures and enjoy fame and fortune. You are sung of by bards as Guntram the Vindicated, Flerentia the Tempered, Xaket the Cityspeaker, Sakikhad the Arrowsage, Oriana the Fluid... and you, Jhevaar the Timecutter.

What greater heights can be reached, and what unprecedented new threats could the world possibly face? Eberron's Claw shall guide the way...
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0.1: The Prologue to the Legend (broad strokes party creation, plus main character selection)
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    • Pteryx

    Pteryx

    Pronouns
    She/Her
    0.1: The Prologue to the Legend

    Over a hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Galifar began to fragment into a civil war that engulfed most of the continent of Khorvaire. As the conflict stretched on, it drove innovation and further fragmentation of the kingdom's five provinces. Five years ago, however, a mysterious cataclysm called the Mourning destroyed Cyre, scaring all parties to the negotiating table. It has been three years since the Treaty of Thronehold was signed, officially ending the so-called Last War. While relatively few of each side's powerful champions survived to the end of the war, countless adventuring parties sprung up to fill the need for heroes in this new age.

    One and a half years ago, the six of you combined your nascent, distinct, complementary skills into a fledgling adventuring party. A new adventuring party needs a few threads to bind it together, and for yours one of those threads was where you came from:

    [] (Land of Origin) Aerenal, the island continent where elves live lives honoring their ancestors.
    [] (Land of Origin) The magical kingdom of Aundair.
    [] (Land of Origin) The proudly free land of Breland.
    [] (Land of Origin) Cyre... back when it still existed, that is. The Mournland sits there now.
    [] (Land of Origin) Darguun, the rising nation of the dar — better known to the gath'dar as "goblinoids".
    [] (Land of Origin) The Demon Wastes, last bastion of the ancient Age of Demons.
    [] (Land of Origin) Droaam, the unrecognized nation of monsters.
    [] (Land of Origin) The Eldeen Reaches, a simple land of unspoiled forests.
    [] (Land of Origin) Karrnath, a hard, cold land of warlords and necromancers.
    [] (Land of Origin) The Lhazaar Principalities, where pirate nations rise and fall.
    [] (Land of Origin) The Mournland, the newborn magical wasteland created by the cataclysmic Mourning.
    [] (Land of Origin) The Mror Holds, mountainous homeland of the thirteen mercantile dwarven clans.
    [] (Land of Origin) Q'barra, a small land of swamps and jungles, ignored until idealistic war refugees came.
    [] (Land of Origin) The Shadow Marches, where humans and orcs alike live off the swampy land.
    [] (Land of Origin) The Talenta Plains, ancestral home of nomadic halfling tribes who coexist with dinosaurs.
    [] (Land of Origin) Thrane, home of the holy Silver Flame and the purest of its faithful.
    [] (Land of Origin) Valenar, the staging point from which Tairnadal elves seek to glorify their ancestors.
    [] (Land of Origin) Zilargo, land of the wise — which is to say, gnomes living under the eye of the Trust.
    [] (Land of Origin) Not a nation, but one of the Dragonmarked Houses, magical guild-families which transcend borders.
    [] (Land of Origin) You have members from each of the Five Nations that once made up Galifar — Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane.
    [] (Land of Origin) You all hail from different obscure corners of the continent of Khorvaire, and helped each other navigate the strange human-dominated lands.
    [] (Land of Origin) You're from farther afield than Khorvaire and its immediate vicinity...


    Since then, you have gone on enough adventures together to become powerful and famous. To say that you have collectively risen head and shoulders above other adventuring parties would be an understatement; some of the capabilities you wield are of the sort most people only hear about in legends. Of all your many adventures, one accomplishment stands head and shoulders above the rest — one which has shifted the balance of power on Eberron:

    [] (Previously On) You uncovered and thwarted a conspiracy in the heart of the Blood of Vol faith — a millennia-spanning effort by "Lady Illmarrow", aka the "Queen of the Dead" that the Order of the Emerald Claw answered to, aka the long-lost Erandis Vol. She was using the religion as a tool by which to ascend to rulership over the afterlife plane of Dolurrh. Now, only the last remnants of the Blood of Vol's corruption are being rooted out, and the country of Karrnath and the other faiths of Khorvaire are beginning to make peace with them.
    [] (Previously On) You successfully unmasked nothing less than an attempt by the nightmare fiends of the remote plane of Dal Quor, the Realm of Dreams, to seize control of the dreams of all the civilized peoples of Khorvaire, just as it turned out they already did to the people of the country of Riedra that dominates the distant continent of Sarlona. Thanks to your valiant efforts, the conspiracy is thwarted, Sarlona is free, and the kalashtar can meditate to facilitate the Turning of the Age in peace.
    [] (Previously On) You fought off both armies of the Warforged Wars, saving Khorvaire from two superficially similar but very distinct threats at once. On one front, Merrix d'Cannith weaponized his popularity amongst more freedom-loving warforged in an attempt to seize full control of House Cannith, a Dragonmarked House of brilliant inventors. On the other front, the Lord of Blades led malcontent warforged in a campaign of attempted genocide against fully organic life. Today, warforged rights are taken more seriously.
    [] (Previously On) You prevented the Heirs of Dhakaan, underground pockets of survivors of the goblinoid empire that rose and fell on Khorvaire long before humans came, from using their ancient knowledge and the unique war technologies they've invented in the meantime to reconquer the whole continent. You have helped to normalize relations as well, so that each side can learn from the other. Darguun is theirs now, and thus the inheritor of Dhakaan in more than just name, even if it is far smaller than the old empire.
    [] (Previously On) You exposed and thoroughly proved the existence of a pair of warring ancient conspiracies beneath the surface of Khorvarian society, each of which would have been considered absurd before: machinations by rakshasa and other native fiends to release the Overlords that defined Eberron during the ancient Age of Demons, and a counteroffensive by dragons to prevent the same. Each side tries to manipulate an impossibly complex, ever-changing Prophecy inherent in the structure of reality.
    [] (Previously On) You lifted the twin curses that left the mysterious continent of Xen'drik in chaos for millennia. The Traveler's Curse warped space and time in the continent's interior and made mapping impossible, while the "madness of crowds" shattered significant gatherings of civilized minds. Now, sanity has returned to Xen'drik, and thus the continent can be explored as never before. Ancient truths can be properly charted, and colonies established to the extent that the local peoples allow it.


    Your unparalleled collective might has resulted in your party of six having discovered an ancient citadel in the Astral Plane, one scaled for enormous creatures and formed of some sort of blue marble with white and faint gold veins. At first you thought that it might be some sort of outpost of Xen'drik's long-fallen empires from the Age of Giants, but as you've explored and overcome the terrifying guardian beasts, you've come to realize that this is no humanoid-made structure. The architecture favoring width over height, the reptilian design of the constructs that guard the place, and most of all the libraries full of impenetrable texts about interpreting patterns in natural phenomena all suggest that nothing less than dragons lived here. Little do you realize that you are about to stumble upon a relic of unparalleled power which predates the rise of mammalian humanoids — one only worthy of being wielded by:

    [] (Role Selection) A master wielder of physical weapons.
    [] (Role Selection) A stalwart defender of one's allies.
    [] (Role Selection) A clever wielder of noncombat expertise.
    [] (Role Selection) An arcane spellcaster or psionic manifester.
    [] (Role Selection) A divine or primal miracle worker.
    [] (Role Selection) A jack of all trades or unpredictable wildcard.
     
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    Character Sheets
  • Informational
    • Reserved for when character creation is complete.

    Basics Combat Skills Feats Traits
    • Name: Jhevaar Kuur'guulen
      Your clan's name serves well enough to fulfill the Galifarian expectation of a surname. It translates as the Speakers of Strength; your people believe that shared knowledge strengthens the dar in ways many other tribes have yet to catch up to.

      Species: Uul'dar (Blue)
      A variety of golin'dar with unusual psionic potential, uul'dar are a subject of some controversy. Do they represent the future of what golin'dar and the dar in general of capable of becoming, or are they a side-effect of daelkyr meddling or even the Kapaa'vola?

      Size: Small
      Golin'dar are around the same size as halflings and gnomes. Uul'dar simply look like golin'dar with a bluish coloration, and are the same size.

      Background: Arcane Student
      You were born after the conquest of Darguun, and agreed with Lhesh Haruuc and your tribe that the best way forward for Darguun is unification as a civilized nation. One of the important markers of civilization of Eberron is arcane science, so you did your best to study whatever scattered materials were available on the subject, even spying on and infiltrating less cooperative clans in order to learn what they knew. Of course, magic is a potent weapon that can be used in defense of your new nation, too.

      Class: Swordsage 2/Wizard 5/Bladecaster 9
      The eclectic path you have taken is a mixture of having needed to compensate for there being fewer arcane materials available in Darguun than you wished, and the realization that magic's limitations in combat could be compensated for through mastery of eclectic sword arts that have been passed down since the time of Dhakaan. By now, you have nearly perfected your integration of these paths.

      Alignment: Neutral Good
      The dar officially have a nation of their own at this point. You believe that if the people of Darguun would only unite and work together, your people would have no need to harm anyone who doesn't try to strike you first. On the other hand, that does not mean that the clans need to be dissolved for the greater whole; Galifar thrived for hundreds of years as the synthesis of multiple viewpoints, and you believe Darguun can be much the same if the clans can only overcome their baser impulses.
    • Hit Points: 96/96
      Armor Class: 29 (touch 22, flat-footed 24); +2 armor vs. evil outsiders
      Damage Reduction: None normally; DR 2/- vs. evil outsiders
      Energy Reduction: None normally

      Action Points: 13
      If an Action Point is spent on one of your d20 rolls, you roll 3d6, keep the highest of the three results, and add it to the roll as a typeless bonus. This represents a heroic tendency to overcome long odds, rather than any specific in-world ability. It is also possible to spend Action Points on other twists of fate or acts of heroic determination.

      Initiative: +6
      Speed: 40'       (including Speed of Thought)

      Saving ThrowBonusNotesSpecial
      Fortitude+12Includes +4 Cloak of Resistance
      Reflex+14Includes +4 Cloak of Resistance
      Will+18Includes +4 Cloak of ResistanceGreater Crystal of Mind Cloaking provides additional +5 vs. mind-affecting, and one reroll of such a Will save per day.

      AbilitiesScoreModifierNotes
      Strength20+5Includes +4 Belt of Physical Might.
      Dexterity20+5Includes +4 Belt of Physical Might.
      Constitution14+2
      Intelligence24+7Includes +4 Headband of Mental Prowess.
      Wisdom22+6Includes +4 Headband of Mental Prowess.
      Charisma11+0

      Base Attack Bonus: +13/+9/+3
      Unmodified Melee: +19/+15/+11
      Unmodified Ranged: +19/+15/+11
      Grapple: +16

      WeaponRange IncrementStandard AttackFull AttackDamageThreat RangeCrit Multiplier
      +3 metalline short swordN/A+23+23/+19/+151d4+819-20x2
      +1 sling50'+20N/A1d3+620x2

      Weapon Special Traits:
      Metalline: As a standard action, you may speak a command word to change the weapon to adamantine, cold iron, silver, or ordinary steel.
    • AbilitiesScoreModifierNotes
      Strength20+5Includes +4 Belt of Physical Might.
      Dexterity20+5Includes +4 Belt of Physical Might.
      Constitution14+2
      Intelligence24+7Includes +4 Headband of Mental Prowess.
      Wisdom22+6Includes +4 Headband of Mental Prowess.
      Charisma11+0

      Skills will generally be rolled in a Skill Bonus + Ability Modifier fashion; i.e., Animals + Dex to ride a creature, Acrobatics + Cha to put on a gymnastic performance for a crowd, etc.

      SkillBonusBreakdownConditionals
      Animals+00 ranks, +0 training+4 to ride
      Mobility+1512 ranks, +3 training
      Perception+118 ranks, +3 training
      Psicraft+1917 ranks, +2 training
      Society+128 ranks, +3 training, +1 competence
      Spellcraft+2117 ranks, +3 training, +1 competence+4 to cast arcane spells defensively.
      Stealth+1912 ranks, +3 training, +4 size
      Warcraft+2017 ranks, +3 training+2 to ID Riven Hourglass maneuvers
    • Background: Spell Focus (evocation): +1 to DCs of Evocation spells you cast.
      While it is said that the people of Dhakaan did not know of the school of Evocation, the Ghaal'dar clans took an interest in it during their struggles with the peoples of Galifar. They learned more about it through raiding less protected parts of Galifar early on, and their fleeting time as the trendy mercenaries of choice later. Times change, indeed.

      Level 1: Adaptive Style: As a full-round action, reassign all your readied martial maneuvers.
      The primary limitation of the path of the swordsage compared to other approaches to the Sublime Way is that meditation in mid-combat to recover access to only a single maneuver can be prohibitive. This technique is a common workaround for that limitation.

      Flaw: Forlorn: You cannot obtain a familiar.
      While wizards typically learn to form a magical bond with a creature for a number of benefits, you suspected that such a being would be a liability on the front lines. Instead, you opted to learn techniques more appropriate to a warrior-arcanist...

      Feat from flaw: Combat Casting: +4 to skill checks to cast on the defensive (Spellcraft for arcane spells).
      When one combines esoteric sword arts with magical ability, one does not always have the luxury to simply step away from the thick of combat in order to cast a spell.

      Wizard 1: Scribe Scroll: You can spend time scribing consumable scrolls of spells you know, at a cost.
      Learning the techniques of scribing one's own scrolls goes hand in hand with learning how to record spells in a spellbook; the skillsets heavily overlap.

      Level 3: Improved Counterspell: You can counterspell with similar spells, not just identical ones, opposite ones, and dispels.
      According to ancient Dhakaani legends, those who learned best how to combine magical techniques with the Sublime Way first honed their ability to counter enemy magic. As such, you learned to do the same.

      Level 5: Advanced Study: You learn two new martial maneuvers, if you already have levels in an initiating class.
      It would not do to let your ability as a martial initiator languish simply because you were learning more about the finer points of arcane spellcasting at the time.

      Wizard 5: Smiting Spell: If you prepare a touch spell at a higher level than normal, you can cast it on your weapon.
      This specific technique is a more modern one favored by Aundairian warrior-arcanists, but its applicability to your own path was obvious.

      Level 7: Practiced Spellcaster (wizard): The potency of the spells you know is not easily hampered by unrelated training.
      Much as you did not wish for your study of magic to come at the expense of your study of sword arts, neither did you wish for the opposite to happen once you began to combine them in earnest.

      Level 9: Reactive Counterspell: You can counterspell as an immediate action, not just a readied action.
      While you did need to learn how to exploit the weaknesses of spells in order to truly learn how to become a bladecaster, the basic techniques were impractical in practice, and you wished to make your knowledge more applicable in a real battle.

      Level 11: Advanced Study: You learn two new martial maneuvers, if you already have levels in an initiating class.
      While by now you were learning your two trades in tandem, it still required more focus to learn large numbers of sword arts than it did to collect large numbers of spells.

      Level 13: Speed of Thought: While psionically focused, you move faster.
      As you matured in your combat technique, it grew clear that mobility was one of your greatest strengths — and since by now you were actively fighting the Dreaming Dark in earnest, kalashtar were eager to teach you ways to tap your psionic potential to further that strength even more.

      Level 15: Extra Readied Maneuver: You can ready one more martial maneuver than before.
      As your training on your dual path continued, you wished to lessen your need to rely on mid-battle meditation simply to be able to use whatever sword art the situation called for.
    • Species Traits
      Type: Humanoid (goblinoid, psionic)
      Darkvision 60': Dar are well-adapted to live underground, though see the value of the surface for agriculture.
      Naturally Psionic (minor): You have 1 bonus psionic point, allowing you to take psionic feats.
      +4 to Animals checks to ride: Golin'dar and uul'dar may be quick for their small size, but they traditionally ride wolves or worgs to become quicker still.

      Class Abilities
      Quick to Act      : Swordsages get a +1 bonus on initiative checks.
      Discipline Focus: You are treated as though you have the Weapon Focus feat for all weapons associated with the Riven Hourglass discipline. (This is why you favor the shortsword.)
      AC Bonus: You add not just your Dex bonus to AC, but your Wis bonus as well, as long as you're not burdened enough to slow you down.
      Swordsage Maneuvers: You know a number of esoteric martial maneuvers from the disciplines of Desert Wind, Shadow Hand, and Riven Hourglass. You may ready up to eight of these at a time. Wisdom is your initiation ability. Your maneuvers are currently as strong as those of a level 13 swordsage, and your current strongest maneuvers are of the sixth belt, though seventh belt maneuvers are already within your reach in theory.
      Martial Stances: You may switch between any martial stances you know as a swift action.
      Wizard Spellcasting: You can prepare specific arcane spells you have recorded in your spellbook at the start of each day. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability. Your spells are currently as strong as those of a level 16 wizard, but you only have the spell slots of a level 13 wizard. Currently, your strongest spells are of the seventh circle, where spells of the ninth circle are the strongest mere mortals can cast.
      Martial Caster (light): You may cast arcane spells in armor light enough not to slow you down.
      Arcane Steel: When you cast a spell, lingering energy from it protects you, granting you a few temporary hit points that last for the rest of the encounter or until used up.
      Arcane Recovery: You may make the desperate move of expending the power of a prepared, uncast spell in order to recover a martial maneuver of the same level or lower, as a free action. If you do this, then you cast your next arcane spell as though two levels higher (so as a level 18 wizard) if it's within the next minute.
      Battlecaster's Strike (Improved): Seven times per day, you may instantly combine a touch spell or a ranged touch spell with a martial maneuver, affecting the victim with both if you hit. The spell must be of the same level as the maneuver or less.
      Arcane Ruin: When you hit foes with a martial strike, they suffer -2 to their AC and all their saving throws against your spells until you recover your maneuvers (thus, for no longer than 10 minutes).
      Martial Counterspell: If a spell or paraspell targets you specifically and you succeed at a skill check to identify it, you may attempt to counter it by expending a martial counter instead of a spell. This works similarly to counterspelling, except that you use your initiator level instead of your caster level.

    Coming soon...

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  • Informational
    • Rule Information
  • Informational
    • For the purposes of this game, there will be 16 very broad skills, only loosely related to specific ability scores.

    Athletics: Specializing in capabilities such as jumping, climbing, swimming, lifting heavy objects, and the like.

    Mobility: Acrobatic feats as tumbling, balance, and contortion.
    Stealth: Hiding, moving silently, camouflaging areas, and covering your trail.
    Thievery: Opening locks, disarming traps, picking pockets, and similar feats.

    Endurance: Putting in sustained efforts and enduring hardship, from forced marches to double shifts to tolerating extreme temperatures to holding your breath for long periods.

    Craftsmanship: Examining, assessing, designing, and creating manmade objects.
    Nature: Geography, geology, herbalism, orienteering, understanding plant creatures, finding edible plants and water on a timely basis, knowing things about primal classes, and the like.
    Psicraft: Understanding psionic theory, identifying psionic classes and psionic effects, and manipulations of one's own mind.
    Religion: Grasping religious and philosophical subjects, understanding the planes of existence beyond the Material, knowing things about undead and extraplanar beings, and knowing things about divine classes.
    Society: All forms of cultural knowledge, whether historical or contemporary, along with linguistics. Includes knowledge of humanoid creatures.
    Spellcraft: Understanding magical theory, grasping details about arcane classes, identifying magical effects, and knowing things about magical creatures native to the Material Plane.
    Warcraft: Combat strategy, military logistics , assessing the relative strength of forces in a tactical situation, and understanding martial classes.

    Animals: Training, riding, hunting, placating, and knowing things about ordinary animals, as well as tracking creatures in general and animal-centric professions.
    Perception: All things related to physical and mundane emotional perception.

    Influence: Diplomacy, questioning people in the area for information, subtly pumping information out of someone during a conversation, or calming people down.
    Performance: Entertainment, oratory, inspiration, costuming, deceit, and intimidation.

    Because of this, skill points are calculated differently.
    2 + Int mod becomes 2 + half Int mod.
    4 + Int mod becomes 3 + half Int mod.
    6 + Int mod becomes 4 + half Int mod.
    8 + Int mod becomes 5 + half Int mod.
    Half points are not rounded, but add up to spendable full points.

    Skill points are doubled at character level 1. Maximum ranks are character level + 1. Class skills with at least 1 rank in them get a +2 bonus; this increases to +3 when you have 9 levels in classes which have the skill in question as a class skill, and +4 when you have 17 such levels. (Note that if a skill is always a class skill for you, all levels count towards these increases.)

    As a side-effect of the reduced number and increased effectiveness of skill points, skill tricks (Complete Scoundrel) cost 1 point.

    HP is calculated via a complicated formula that generally favors early levels over late levels and narrows the differences.

    The background mechanic from Tome of Secrets is in play; otherwise, all mechanics are from Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, and Dreamscarred Press sources.

    Fractional BAB and saves are in play. The +2 to a good save applies only once.

    At BAB+11, the penalties on a full attack change to -0/-4/-8. At BAB+16, they change to -0/-3/-6/-9, and a standard attack becomes -0/-5.

    Special size modifiers for grapple checks:
    Fine -12, Diminutive -8, Tiny -4, Small -2, Medium +0, Large +2, Huge +4, Gargantuan +8, Colossal +12.

    An "encounter" is 10 minutes, the same as an old-school exploration turn.

    0-level spells are usable on a per-encounter basis.

    Damaging 0-level spells are buffed to scale very, very slowly — typically 1d4 at caster level 0, 1d6 at CL 5, 1d8 at 10, 1d10 at 15, and 1d12 at 20.

    The "animal buffs" last 10 minutes per level.

    Non-epic weapon enchantment costs are as non-epic armor enchantment costs +1000 gp.

    The minimum idle period to regain spells or power points is 4 hours. (Species that need 8 hours sleep still require such sleep; the penalty for an ambush in the middle of the night is just less absurd, and elven trance isn't treated as absurdly broken.)
     
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  • Informational
    • I look forward to how this goes, and love the setup you've provided so far!

    [X] (Land of Origin) You have members from each of the Five Nations that once made up Galifar — Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane.

    Mixed origins are always nice, especially having one Cyran. Perhaps our quest will see a possible solution to Just What Happened In Cyre?

    [x] (Previously On) You successfully unmasked nothing less than an attempt by the nightmare fiends of the remote plane of Dal Quor, the Realm of Dreams, to seize control of the dreams of all the civilized peoples of Khorvaire, just as it turned out they already did to the people of the country of Riedra that dominates the distant continent of Sarlona. Thanks to your valiant efforts, the conspiracy is thwarted, Sarlona is free, and the kalashtar can meditate to facilitate the Turning of the Age in peace.

    Reconsidered upon thinking.

    [X] (Role Selection) A clever wielder of noncombat expertise.

    Of course I will always glance towards the likes of Rogue and Bard and Psychic Rogue and Psychic Bard (I swear I saw a homebrew for that somewhere) - or for a slightly more morally grey party, a Beguiler mayhap!
     
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    NekoIncardine said:
    Of course I will always glance towards the likes of Rogue and Bard and Psychic Rogue and Psychic Bard (I swear I saw a homebrew for that somewhere) - or for a slightly more morally grey party, a Beguiler mayhap!
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    You did see such a homebrew. Keith Baker made it.

    Indeed, pretty much anything with high skill points can be slotted into this place in the party of six. I figure that with dozens upon dozens of classes out there, it's best to narrow down what kind of class we go for first — though it is a firm fact that the party includes all six of these roles. This vote is just for picking which of them is the main character for the purposes of this quest, and in turn the exact nature of Eberron's Claw.
     
    Why am I unsurprised that was Keith himself who did that.

    I also reconsidered which threat the party previously handled to one with a potentially stronger psionic bent.
     
    This is intriguing.

    [X] (Land of Origin) You have members from each of the Five Nations that once made up Galifar — Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane.

    Transcend the folly of the war!

    [X] (Previously On) You successfully unmasked nothing less than an attempt by the nightmare fiends of the remote plane of Dal Quor, the Realm of Dreams, to seize control of the dreams of all the civilized peoples of Khorvaire, just as it turned out they already did to the people of the country of Riedra that dominates the distant continent of Sarlona. Thanks to your valiant efforts, the conspiracy is thwarted, Sarlona is free, and the kalashtar can meditate to facilitate the Turning of the Age in peace.

    Freeing an entire continent sounds great to me.

    [X] (Role Selection) A jack of all trades or unpredictable wildcard.
    [X] (Role Selection) An arcane spellcaster or psionic manifester.

    I like the idea of a wildcard with various tricks to pull out. Otherwise, I'd go with the Arcane/Psionic spellcaster. Broken wizardly planning, prep and UNLIMITED POWER.
     
    All of those Previously Ons are appealing, and Althea appreciates the current leading option, but I may have to go somewhat differently.

    [X] (Land of Origin) Droaam, the unrecognized nation of monsters.
    [X] (Land of Origin) You all hail from different obscure corners of the continent of Khorvaire, and helped each other navigate the strange human-dominated lands.


    Alternately, I might offer a write-in:
    nevermind, this was already an option, I just misread the prompt. Added above.

    [X] (Previously On) You exposed and thoroughly proved the existence of a pair of warring ancient conspiracies beneath the surface of Khorvarian society, each of which would have been considered absurd before: machinations by rakshasa and other native fiends to release the Overlords that defined Eberron during the ancient Age of Demons, and a counteroffensive by dragons to prevent the same. Each side tries to manipulate an impossibly complex, ever-changing Prophecy inherent in the structure of reality.

    Of all the things to completely blow the lid off of, this is pretty big, and the aftermath seems likely to be complex.

    [X] (Role Selection) A jack of all trades or unpredictable wildcard.
     
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    Coming to Eberron from a single, rather focused campaign and then D&D Online (which plays very fast and loose with the canon, what with the first actual Big Bad being Lolth, followed closely by Strahd Von Zarovich, then an original arc bad), it's interesting because the Prophecy comes up as a major thing in the tutorial quest chain in DDO - so that being big enough that outing it properly could be enough to reach 16th level feels odd to me.
     
    [X] (Land of Origin) The Talenta Plains, ancestral home of nomadic halfling tribes who coexist with dinosaurs.
    [X] (Previously On) You successfully unmasked nothing less than an attempt by the nightmare fiends of the remote plane of Dal Quor, the Realm of Dreams, to seize control of the dreams of all the civilized peoples of Khorvaire, just as it turned out they already did to the people of the country of Riedra that dominates the distant continent of Sarlona. Thanks to your valiant efforts, the conspiracy is thwarted, Sarlona is free, and the kalashtar can meditate to facilitate the Turning of the Age in peace.
    [X] (Role Selection) A divine or primal miracle worker.
     
    NekoIncardine said:
    Coming to Eberron from a single, rather focused campaign and then D&D Online (which plays very fast and loose with the canon, what with the first actual Big Bad being Lolth, followed closely by Strahd Von Zarovich, then an original arc bad), it's interesting because the Prophecy comes up as a major thing in the tutorial quest chain in DDO - so that being big enough that outing it properly could be enough to reach 16th level feels odd to me.
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    The vague idea that dragons have some kind of interest in prophecy is out there among scholars and experienced adventurers, to my mind, but for most people, the idea that dragons and fiends are playing a massive, subtle game of cat-and-mouse over such a thing is silly. It's almost certainly that way on purpose from both sides, since it benefits them both to be able to manipulate pawns more freely. This is a conspiracy that has existed on the fiendish side since early in the Age of Giants, and on the draconic side since the end of the Age of Giants. The entire Age of Monsters and the current age so far (which I'm surprised doesn't have a canonical name like Age of Dragonmarks) — many thousands of years combined — have passed without the population at large seriously believing that conspiracies this big with effects this subtle could be real. It's a bit like the problem of getting everyone to accept human-caused climate change, but far worse. At least in climate change's case, we know corporations are greedy and manipulative in our current society, and some effects of climate change have manifested visibly over the course of decades whereas the real aims of Prophecy manipulation can take centuries to play out.

    Basically, the idea isn't merely proving that yes, there's a giant, sprawling, ever-shifting series of if-then-else statements that determine some of the more important possibilities of the world. It's proving that and that there are warring conspiracies over it that predate the founding of almost every known society and the societies predating those. It's elevating the societies of "lesser races", as most dragons think of humanoids, to the level of being able to start trying to defend themselves, rather than just hoping dragons that scarcely see them as people do it.

    In essence, voting for the option of having exposed the First War is voting for a very investigation-focused and very persuasive party. They can fight effectively, sure, and have no doubt fought various rakshasa and dragons alike who believed that humanoids actually being in on the full secrets of the Prophecy would be against their interests (and in the dragons' case, probably also paternally assuming not even in the humanoids' own best interests) — but that's not their true claim to fame. A vote for this option is also a vote for a party that wants to liberate people, even against the most absurdly extreme odds.

    I could get into this kind of detail about any of the Previously On options.
     
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    [X] (Land of Origin) Thrane, home of the holy Silver Flame and the purest of its faithful.
    [X] (Previously On) You uncovered and thwarted a conspiracy in the heart of the Blood of Vol faith — a millennia-spanning effort by "Lady Illmarrow", aka the "Queen of the Dead" that the Order of the Emerald Claw answered to, aka the long-lost Erandis Vol. She was using the religion as a tool by which to ascend to rulership over the afterlife plane of Dolurrh. Now, only the last remnants of the Blood of Vol's corruption are being rooted out, and the country of Karrnath and the other faiths of Khorvaire are beginning to make peace with them.
    [X] (Role Selection) A clever wielder of noncombat expertise.
     
    [X] (Land of Origin) Karrnath, a hard, cold land of warlords and necromancers.

    [X] (Previously On) You exposed and thoroughly proved the existence of a pair of warring ancient conspiracies beneath the surface of Khorvarian society, each of which would have been considered absurd before: machinations by rakshasa and other native fiends to release the Overlords that defined Eberron during the ancient Age of Demons, and a counteroffensive by dragons to prevent the same. Each side tries to manipulate an impossibly complex, ever-changing Prophecy inherent in the structure of reality.

    [X] (Role Selection) An arcane spellcaster or psionic manifester.
     
    [x] (Land of Origin) You all hail from different obscure corners of the continent of Khorvaire, and helped each other navigate the strange human-dominated lands.

    [x] (Previously On) You exposed and thoroughly proved the existence of a pair of warring ancient conspiracies beneath the surface of Khorvarian society, each of which would have been considered absurd before: machinations by rakshasa and other native fiends to release the Overlords that defined Eberron during the ancient Age of Demons, and a counteroffensive by dragons to prevent the same. Each side tries to manipulate an impossibly complex, ever-changing Prophecy inherent in the structure of reality.

    [X] (Role Selection) A jack of all trades or unpredictable wildcard.
     
    I'm always up for an adventure in Eberron

    [x] (Land of Origin) You have members from each of the Five Nations that once made up Galifar — Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane.
    [x] (Previously On) You lifted the twin curses that left the mysterious continent of Xen'drik in chaos for millennia. The Traveler's Curse warped space and time in the continent's interior and made mapping impossible, while the "madness of crowds" shattered significant gatherings of civilized minds. Now, sanity has returned to Xen'drik, and thus the continent can be explored as never before. Ancient truths can be properly charted, and colonies established to the extent that the local peoples allow it.
    [x] (Role Selection) A master wielder of physical weapons.

    I'm torn between the Sarlona option and Xen'dril option. Saving a whole continent from alien conquerors is big feat, but otoh, the Xen'drik option is, how to put it, have 'feels' more of exploration and discovery.
     
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    [X] (Land of Origin) You all hail from different obscure corners of the continent of Khorvaire, and helped each other navigate the strange human-dominated lands.

    [X] (Previously On) You exposed and thoroughly proved the existence of a pair of warring ancient conspiracies beneath the surface of Khorvarian society, each of which would have been considered absurd before: machinations by rakshasa and other native fiends to release the Overlords that defined Eberron during the ancient Age of Demons, and a counteroffensive by dragons to prevent the same. Each side tries to manipulate an impossibly complex, ever-changing Prophecy inherent in the structure of reality.

    [X] (Role Selection) An arcane spellcaster or psionic manifester.
    [X] (Role Selection) A divine or primal miracle worker.
     
    We seem to have a very competitive vote going on here, to the point that I don't think there's been any point along the way where there's been consensus on all three issues. I'm at least appreciating the early enthusiasm, though! Right now, pan-Galifarian and pan-non-Galifarian are tied for origins, and the other two issues only have their current leading options leading by one. Here's hoping it doesn't take too long for things to sort themselves out into a particular direction.
     
    Pteryx said:
    We seem to have a very competitive vote going on here, to the point that I don't think there's been any point along the way where there's been consensus on all three issues. I'm at least appreciating the early enthusiasm, though! Right now, pan-Galifarian and pan-non-Galifarian are tied for origins, and the other two issues only have their current leading options leading by one. Here's hoping it doesn't take too long for things to sort themselves out into a particular direction.
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    It might be a good idea to set a deadline for the end of the vote, so if need be, we can have tie-breaker votes on what remains.
     
    MrRageQuit said:
    It might be a good idea to set a deadline for the end of the vote, so if need be, we can have tie-breaker votes on what remains.
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    You're not the first to suggest as much, though I feel like I don't yet have enough basis for how long is long enough. Not every tie necessarily needs to be broken, mind you... but I would prefer that, say, where the party came from be narrowed down to a bit less than the entire continent. (Honestly, I was taken by surprise that both of the "half the continent" options are the most popular so far! But that's some of the fun of this, hm?)
     
    [X] (Land of Origin) You have members from each of the Five Nations that once made up Galifar — Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane.

    [x] (Previously On) You successfully unmasked nothing less than an attempt by the nightmare fiends of the remote plane of Dal Quor, the Realm of Dreams, to seize control of the dreams of all the civilized peoples of Khorvaire, just as it turned out they already did to the people of the country of Riedra that dominates the distant continent of Sarlona. Thanks to your valiant efforts, the conspiracy is thwarted, Sarlona is free, and the kalashtar can meditate to facilitate the Turning of the Age in peace.
     
    Adhoc vote count started by Pteryx on Oct 23, 2022 at 4:04 PM, finished with 21 posts and 11 votes.
    • [X] (Land of Origin) You have members from each of the Five Nations that once made up Galifar — Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane.
      [x] (Previously On) You successfully unmasked nothing less than an attempt by the nightmare fiends of the remote plane of Dal Quor, the Realm of Dreams, to seize control of the dreams of all the civilized peoples of Khorvaire, just as it turned out they already did to the people of the country of Riedra that dominates the distant continent of Sarlona. Thanks to your valiant efforts, the conspiracy is thwarted, Sarlona is free, and the kalashtar can meditate to facilitate the Turning of the Age in peace.
      [X] (Role Selection) An arcane spellcaster or psionic manifester.
      [X] (Previously On) You exposed and thoroughly proved the existence of a pair of warring ancient conspiracies beneath the surface of Khorvarian society, each of which would have been considered absurd before: machinations by rakshasa and other native fiends to release the Overlords that defined Eberron during the ancient Age of Demons, and a counteroffensive by dragons to prevent the same. Each side tries to manipulate an impossibly complex, ever-changing Prophecy inherent in the structure of reality.
      [X] (Role Selection) A jack of all trades or unpredictable wildcard.
      [X] (Land of Origin) You all hail from different obscure corners of the continent of Khorvaire, and helped each other navigate the strange human-dominated lands.
      [X] (Role Selection) A clever wielder of noncombat expertise.
      [X] (Role Selection) A divine or primal miracle worker.
      [X] (Land of Origin) Droaam, the unrecognized nation of monsters.
      [X] (Land of Origin) The Talenta Plains, ancestral home of nomadic halfling tribes who coexist with dinosaurs.
      [X] (Land of Origin) Thrane, home of the holy Silver Flame and the purest of its faithful.
      [X] (Previously On) You uncovered and thwarted a conspiracy in the heart of the Blood of Vol faith — a millennia-spanning effort by "Lady Illmarrow", aka the "Queen of the Dead" that the Order of the Emerald Claw answered to, aka the long-lost Erandis Vol. She was using the religion as a tool by which to ascend to rulership over the afterlife plane of Dolurrh. Now, only the last remnants of the Blood of Vol's corruption are being rooted out, and the country of Karrnath and the other faiths of Khorvaire are beginning to make peace with them.
      [X] (Land of Origin) Karrnath, a hard, cold land of warlords and necromancers.
      [x] (Previously On) You lifted the twin curses that left the mysterious continent of Xen'drik in chaos for millennia. The Traveler's Curse warped space and time in the continent's interior and made mapping impossible, while the "madness of crowds" shattered significant gatherings of civilized minds. Now, sanity has returned to Xen'drik, and thus the continent can be explored as never before. Ancient truths can be properly charted, and colonies established to the extent that the local peoples allow it.
      [x] (Role Selection) A master wielder of physical weapons.
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    /pounces while the shuffle between different ties has a workable result >_>
     
    [x] (Previously On) You successfully unmasked nothing less than an attempt by the nightmare fiends of the remote plane of Dal Quor, the Realm of Dreams, to seize control of the dreams of all the civilized peoples of Khorvaire, just as it turned out they already did to the people of the country of Riedra that dominates the distant continent of Sarlona. Thanks to your valiant efforts, the conspiracy is thwarted, Sarlona is free, and the kalashtar can meditate to facilitate the Turning of the Age in peace.
     
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