I know sometimes I’m a grognard for many reasons, but I feel like one of the genuine critiques of more recent editions is that they progressively water down Artificer each edition. We quit 4e before I could try them, but I read that they were just a casting leader class. In their 3.5 form, though, when Eberron was fresh from @HellcowKeith 's mind, Artificer was a casting class that had both arcane and divine "infusions" that were neither truly arcane or divine, and iirc, they had to be cast on an object every time.

— Christmas Isn't In Fucking November (@steamboat28) November 11, 2021

What I miss most from the 3.5 Artificer is Spell Storing Item, an infusion that let you potentially create up a one-use wand of nearly any low-level spell. It was risky and had a cost, but it was great for the MacGuyver “I can make just what we need” moments. I like 5E's approach to artificers using tools as their spellcasting foci—something I discuss in more detail in Exploring Eberron—but there are definitely things I miss from the 3.5 class.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) November 11, 2021

Are there any human ethnicities in #Eberron? Like significant differences in appearance or physiological traits? The question came up in a game I’m in, can you tell someone is Karrnathi (for example) on sight? So, Khorvaire was colonized from people from different parts of Sarlona, a continent with unnaturally diverse and intense environments. Galifar was a cosmopolitan society with a lot of interaction between nations; officers from all nations trained at Rekkenmark.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) November 11, 2021

With this in mind, the people of Khorvaire are physically diverse. Jaela Daran is described as having dark skin; Cardinal Krozen is pale; both are Thranes. Add to this the fact that when I talk about “Thranes,” I’m also talking about elves, Khoravar, dwarves, tieflings, etc. So yes, generally people of the Five Nations can look at someone and say "She's a Thrane," but that's not based on the color of their hair or skin; it's based on their clothing, their demeanor, their accent, their mannerisms. These apply equally to Thrane humans and Thrane elves.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) November 11, 2021

I’m *sure* this has been asked before, but I couldn’t find a real answer… do spells cast from an aberrant dragonmark require all of the spell’s typical components to cast the spell? (Or does “cast through your mark” mean you forgo materials for instance?) I'm not an official source on rules, but as I read the feat in Rising, it say nothing about eliminating the need for components, and therefore it requires the standard components. I'd personally allow a caster to use a spellcasting focus that seemed appropriate to their mark.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) August 6, 2021

However, I discuss components at length in the following article. Just because a spell requires verbal and somatic components doesn’t mean that a spell from an aberrant dragonmark uses the SAME words and gestures as a wizard uses. That article specifically talks about how you could flavor a standard sorcerer as using an aberrant dragonmark to produce their magic!

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) August 6, 2021

is there a stock market or similar in eberron? I was pondering some gang activity… not sure if that’s too close to 20th century for the setting I don't know enough about the history or operations of the Stock Market to make an informed decision. I'd want to consider the impact of magic, the semi-feudal structure of the Five Nations, and crucially, the near-monopoly position of the Houses to determine if it should exist.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) July 18, 2021

House businesses would never be publicly traded, and that eliminates a vast chunk of commerce. I could imagine it as a new, small experiment — the Mror Stock Exchange, which only deals in business in the Mror Holds and is underwritten by the Aurum.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) July 18, 2021

They're very different. Teraza intuitively KNOWS things. The student of the Prophecy sees a map of possible paths of the future; they don't just know a fact, they see the dominos that lead to that event and those that will fall because of it.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) February 21, 2021

Sora Teraza doesn't have to WORK for her insight the way a student of the Prophecy does; but the student of the Prophecy can create a map of POSSIBLE futures and the consequences of each.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) February 21, 2021

ok i am running an eberron game, and one of my players got access to true rez. They might be going up against Vol and a thought came up. If Vol returned to life, what kind of powers does her mark give her? Power over undeath or true death?? I don't think true resurrection would work on Erandis. Per the 5E description, it only extends up to 200 years and only works if the soul is "free and willing". Erandis died thousands of years ago and I don't actually think her soul is "free;" it's bound to her phylactery.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) May 3, 2021

In previous articles I’ve written about the idea that Erandis herself doesn’t know where her phylactery is, and that there’s times that she’s tried to destroy herself but been unable to do so. Nonetheless, in terms of what the Mark of Death could do, here's one piece from articles I've written about it. But keep in mind that Erandis's mark is an apex mark, something greater than even a Siberys mark, and is essentially a plot device. pic.twitter.com/zlkfW5yLIw

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) May 3, 2021

All of that is perfect thank you!!! I know Vol would give anything to restore her bloodline. Would a wish do the trick? My players are trying to restore the 13th mark because they feel that it wasnt right what happened to her family… *I* would probably make it something more involved, but if it's not the focus of the campaign and it's something you want in the story, it's really up to you to decide how difficult it needs to be. Will casting a wish FEEL dramatically satisfying? Is it a good story?

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) May 3, 2021

but is there any correlation between the color of dragonshards, and the dragonmarks? Or more broadly, do these two things share any connection? Not in canon, no. Dragonmarks are primarily depicted as blue, which isn't a standard dragonshard color.

— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) October 27, 2020