Post by Rabbit on Dec 14, 2010 12:22:14 GMT -5
A crash course on some Eberron basics that could come up in the campaign. You, the player, do not need to be a scholar on this info, but a basic familiarity will help. A well educated and informed PC would likely be semi-knowledgable about these topics (but that can be covered in Knowledge checks.)
Sharn, The City of Towers
Sharn is the largest city in the kingdom of Breland and indeed, the continent of Khorvaire. It is a melting pot of all races, with the human population being the largest but still only a third of the total.
A vertical city, the land under Sharn is linked with the plane of Syrania, granting enhanced power to flight and levitation magic, a feature that the city's residents have used to build towers that rise higher into the sky than any other place on Khorvaire and possibly the world of Eberron. Sharn has been built and rebuilt for over a thousand years. First by hobgoblin warlords and later by human conquerers. It is a city built upon a city, which is built upon an even older city. Indeed, Sharn’s foundations and secrets both run deep.
This dynamic city will be the point of origin for the adventure series. Characters need not be from Sharn, but they will start the game here.
Nations of Khovaire
The continent of Khovaire was united under the Kingdom of Galifar for nearly one thousand years until a war of succession broke out. The original five nations fell into conflict for a one hundred years war known as The Last War. At the war’s end several territories established their independence from the original nations.
The descriptions below include the nation's name, the primary(and secondary) races common for the area, a brief bio, and the effects of The Last War.
Khorvaire’s present day nations are;
Aundair; Human (Half-Elf) (Elf): arcane institutions and agricultural bounty.
The Last War: Lost the region that is now The Eldeen Reaches. Mainly fought Thrane and Karrnath.
Breland; Human (Gnome) (Half-Elf): Includes Sharn, the continent’s largest metropolis and exports heavy industry. Democratic Monarchy.
The Last War: Lost the region that is now Droaam. Mainly fought Crye and fended off Eldeen Reaches’ expansion attempts.
Crye [The Mournland]; was Human (Warforged): The Day of Mourning turned the once beautiful nation into a dead wasteland. Cryan’s take pride in the fact that their royalty were the true heirs to the throne of Galifar; according to the planned succession.
The Last War: Crye fought epic battles with Karrnath and Breland during The Last War.
Darguun; Goblins (Hobgoblins) (Bugbears): nation held together by warlords.
The Last War: Broke from Crye through a violent uprising.
Droaam; Gnoll (Orc) (Goblin): Ruled by three hags, The Daughters of Sora Kell, and their army of ogres.
The Last War: The hags led a revolt from Breland.
The Eldeen Reaches; Human (Half-Elf) (Shifter): Sacred woodlands with some cities, mainly on the nation’s boarder regions.
The Last War: Succedded from Aunidair during the Last War. Attempted to take more land from Breland, but largely failed.
Karrnath; Human (Dwarf) (Halfling): Undead soldiers and fine ales get them through the hard winters.
The Last War: Major battles between Karrnath’s undead armies and Crye’s warforged armies were the most devastating of the entire war.
Lhazaar Principalities; Human (Gnome) (Half-Elf) (Changling): Pirates, sea barons, and merchant traders.
The Last War: Remained nuetral for much of the war and gained independence in the Treaty of Thronehold.
Mror Holds; Dwarf (Human) (Orc): mountains and canyons with prescious minerals. Dwarven homeland.
The Last War: Declared independence when the Kingdom of Galifar collapsed.
Q'Barra; Lizard Folk (Human): Dangerous frontier nation with violent tribes of Lizard Folk, Valenar Warbands, Lhazaar raiders and Kobold marauders.
The Last War: Refugees moved here during The Last War searching for a new start. The humans and (most) lizard folk have an uneasy truce.
The Shadow Marches; Orc (Human) (Goblin) (Half Orc): backwater swamps with orc tribes and the origins of the first druids, The Gatekeepers.
The Last War: Other than the swampland’s notable supply of Dragonshards the Shadow Marches escapes the rest of Khorvaire’s interests, even during the war.
The Talenta Plains; Halfling (Human): vast grasslands with dinosaur riding halflings.
The Last War: Invaded by Karrnath and Crye who both claimed dominion. The local tribes united to repell both forces.
Thrane; Human (Half-Elf): Theocracy ruled by the Church of the Silver Flame.
The Last War: One of the original five nations of Galifar, Thrane was taken over by the Church progressivly during The Last War. They battled Aundair, Breland, and Crye.
Valenar; Elf (Human) (Halfling): Deserts and open plains controlled by elves who revel in war and song.
The Last War: Mercenary elves saw The Last War as an opportunity to take control of the region from Crye.
Zilargo; Gnome (Human) (Dwarf): nation of knowledge hungry gnomes and close allies of Breland.
The Last War: Remained neutral for much of the war, but eventually forged an enduring alliance with Breland.
Dragonmarks
Dragonmarks are physical manifestations of a Draconic Prophecy. They have appeared on seven races. More intricate than a birthmark and more distinct than a tattoo. There are twelve families of dragonmarks, originally there were thirteen, but no living creature on Eberron possesses the destroyed mark of death, Vol. The remaining dragonmarks have developed into “Houses” with great power and influence. In addition to being a status symbol in Khorvaire the dragonmarks provide the bearer with magical talents. Family of those with dragon marks (including cousins, second cousins, etc.) are often involved in the House and Guild business though those with the marks almost always have greater position and prestige.
The Mark of Detection (House Medani) Half-elf; security and intelligence.
The Mark of Finding (House Tharashk) Human and Half-orc; The Finders Guild, dragonshard excavation.
The Mark of Handling (House Vadalis) Human; animal breeding(including mage-bred beasts.)
The Mark of Healing (House Jorasco) Halfling; The Healer’s Guild.
The Mark of Hospitality (House Ghallanda) Halfing; The Hosteler’s Guild (taverns and inns.)
The Mark of Making (House Cannith) Human; The Tinkers Guild and The Fabricators Guild (created Warforged.)
The Mark of Passage(House Orien) Human; The Couriers Guild and The Transportation Guild (created Lightening Rail.)
The Mark of Scribing (House Sivis) Gnome; The Messenger’s Guild and the Korranberg Chronicle (national newspaper.)
The Mark of Sentinel (House Deneith) Human; Sentinal Marshals and body guards.
The Mark of Shadow (House Phiarlan) Elf; arts, entertainment, and spy networks.
Also the Mark of Shadow (House Thuranni) Elf; split from House Phiarlan during The Last War.
The Mark of Storm (House Lyrandar) Half-elf; The Raincallers Guild (created Air-Ships.)
The Mark of Warding (House Kundarak) Dwarf; The Banking Guild and The Warding Guild.
Others:
The Mark of Death (House Vol) [currently "lost"] Elf. House Vol was wiped out by a union of dragons and elves who saw the house as an abomination.
Aberrant Dragonmarks (House Tarkanan) Mixed. Psuedo-dragonmarked house based in Sharn consisting mostly of bearers of aberrant dragonmarks. House Tarkanan more closley resembles a crime syndicate than it does the other dragonmark houses.
Sharn, The City of Towers
Sharn is the largest city in the kingdom of Breland and indeed, the continent of Khorvaire. It is a melting pot of all races, with the human population being the largest but still only a third of the total.
A vertical city, the land under Sharn is linked with the plane of Syrania, granting enhanced power to flight and levitation magic, a feature that the city's residents have used to build towers that rise higher into the sky than any other place on Khorvaire and possibly the world of Eberron. Sharn has been built and rebuilt for over a thousand years. First by hobgoblin warlords and later by human conquerers. It is a city built upon a city, which is built upon an even older city. Indeed, Sharn’s foundations and secrets both run deep.
This dynamic city will be the point of origin for the adventure series. Characters need not be from Sharn, but they will start the game here.
Nations of Khovaire
The continent of Khovaire was united under the Kingdom of Galifar for nearly one thousand years until a war of succession broke out. The original five nations fell into conflict for a one hundred years war known as The Last War. At the war’s end several territories established their independence from the original nations.
The descriptions below include the nation's name, the primary(and secondary) races common for the area, a brief bio, and the effects of The Last War.
Khorvaire’s present day nations are;
Aundair; Human (Half-Elf) (Elf): arcane institutions and agricultural bounty.
The Last War: Lost the region that is now The Eldeen Reaches. Mainly fought Thrane and Karrnath.
Breland; Human (Gnome) (Half-Elf): Includes Sharn, the continent’s largest metropolis and exports heavy industry. Democratic Monarchy.
The Last War: Lost the region that is now Droaam. Mainly fought Crye and fended off Eldeen Reaches’ expansion attempts.
Crye [The Mournland]; was Human (Warforged): The Day of Mourning turned the once beautiful nation into a dead wasteland. Cryan’s take pride in the fact that their royalty were the true heirs to the throne of Galifar; according to the planned succession.
The Last War: Crye fought epic battles with Karrnath and Breland during The Last War.
Darguun; Goblins (Hobgoblins) (Bugbears): nation held together by warlords.
The Last War: Broke from Crye through a violent uprising.
Droaam; Gnoll (Orc) (Goblin): Ruled by three hags, The Daughters of Sora Kell, and their army of ogres.
The Last War: The hags led a revolt from Breland.
The Eldeen Reaches; Human (Half-Elf) (Shifter): Sacred woodlands with some cities, mainly on the nation’s boarder regions.
The Last War: Succedded from Aunidair during the Last War. Attempted to take more land from Breland, but largely failed.
Karrnath; Human (Dwarf) (Halfling): Undead soldiers and fine ales get them through the hard winters.
The Last War: Major battles between Karrnath’s undead armies and Crye’s warforged armies were the most devastating of the entire war.
Lhazaar Principalities; Human (Gnome) (Half-Elf) (Changling): Pirates, sea barons, and merchant traders.
The Last War: Remained nuetral for much of the war and gained independence in the Treaty of Thronehold.
Mror Holds; Dwarf (Human) (Orc): mountains and canyons with prescious minerals. Dwarven homeland.
The Last War: Declared independence when the Kingdom of Galifar collapsed.
Q'Barra; Lizard Folk (Human): Dangerous frontier nation with violent tribes of Lizard Folk, Valenar Warbands, Lhazaar raiders and Kobold marauders.
The Last War: Refugees moved here during The Last War searching for a new start. The humans and (most) lizard folk have an uneasy truce.
The Shadow Marches; Orc (Human) (Goblin) (Half Orc): backwater swamps with orc tribes and the origins of the first druids, The Gatekeepers.
The Last War: Other than the swampland’s notable supply of Dragonshards the Shadow Marches escapes the rest of Khorvaire’s interests, even during the war.
The Talenta Plains; Halfling (Human): vast grasslands with dinosaur riding halflings.
The Last War: Invaded by Karrnath and Crye who both claimed dominion. The local tribes united to repell both forces.
Thrane; Human (Half-Elf): Theocracy ruled by the Church of the Silver Flame.
The Last War: One of the original five nations of Galifar, Thrane was taken over by the Church progressivly during The Last War. They battled Aundair, Breland, and Crye.
Valenar; Elf (Human) (Halfling): Deserts and open plains controlled by elves who revel in war and song.
The Last War: Mercenary elves saw The Last War as an opportunity to take control of the region from Crye.
Zilargo; Gnome (Human) (Dwarf): nation of knowledge hungry gnomes and close allies of Breland.
The Last War: Remained neutral for much of the war, but eventually forged an enduring alliance with Breland.
Dragonmarks
Dragonmarks are physical manifestations of a Draconic Prophecy. They have appeared on seven races. More intricate than a birthmark and more distinct than a tattoo. There are twelve families of dragonmarks, originally there were thirteen, but no living creature on Eberron possesses the destroyed mark of death, Vol. The remaining dragonmarks have developed into “Houses” with great power and influence. In addition to being a status symbol in Khorvaire the dragonmarks provide the bearer with magical talents. Family of those with dragon marks (including cousins, second cousins, etc.) are often involved in the House and Guild business though those with the marks almost always have greater position and prestige.
The Mark of Detection (House Medani) Half-elf; security and intelligence.
The Mark of Finding (House Tharashk) Human and Half-orc; The Finders Guild, dragonshard excavation.
The Mark of Handling (House Vadalis) Human; animal breeding(including mage-bred beasts.)
The Mark of Healing (House Jorasco) Halfling; The Healer’s Guild.
The Mark of Hospitality (House Ghallanda) Halfing; The Hosteler’s Guild (taverns and inns.)
The Mark of Making (House Cannith) Human; The Tinkers Guild and The Fabricators Guild (created Warforged.)
The Mark of Passage(House Orien) Human; The Couriers Guild and The Transportation Guild (created Lightening Rail.)
The Mark of Scribing (House Sivis) Gnome; The Messenger’s Guild and the Korranberg Chronicle (national newspaper.)
The Mark of Sentinel (House Deneith) Human; Sentinal Marshals and body guards.
The Mark of Shadow (House Phiarlan) Elf; arts, entertainment, and spy networks.
Also the Mark of Shadow (House Thuranni) Elf; split from House Phiarlan during The Last War.
The Mark of Storm (House Lyrandar) Half-elf; The Raincallers Guild (created Air-Ships.)
The Mark of Warding (House Kundarak) Dwarf; The Banking Guild and The Warding Guild.
Others:
The Mark of Death (House Vol) [currently "lost"] Elf. House Vol was wiped out by a union of dragons and elves who saw the house as an abomination.
Aberrant Dragonmarks (House Tarkanan) Mixed. Psuedo-dragonmarked house based in Sharn consisting mostly of bearers of aberrant dragonmarks. House Tarkanan more closley resembles a crime syndicate than it does the other dragonmark houses.