A Few Eberron Character Tidbits

For Ben:
1. Karrnath suffered quite a bit during the war. They used undead troops to bolster their forces, and continue to rely on the undead in their armies. Rumors insist that the Blood of Vol have a toehold in the government. The government itself is a strict military dictatorship that has the country in martial law. Every citizen serves a term in the military, and every citizen practices with the local militia. Battles between Karrnath and Cyre were especially bloody, and mostly took placeon Karrnath soil. This makes it seem extremely likely that you and Nate were on the opposite sides of a battle, and that he might have been in Karrnath when Cyre became the Mournland. Or, if you guys feel like that's too much of a potential strain on PC's relationship, he was somewhere else. Either way, you'll probably both harbor a little resentment, as your nations were bitter enemies. However, Thronehold, the city where the Last War treaty was negotiated, is in Karrnath, and King Kaius III was one of the first to press for peace.

2. Perhaps it was unease with the undead units that led you to leave Karrnath and seek your fortunes elsewhere. Perhaps you were just tired of being ordered around and wanted a taste of freelance military life beyond being part of a mercenary unit. Whatever the case, your travels lead you to Morgrave University, where they could use veterans to teach basic combat, tactics and recent military history as well as providing muscle on frequent expeditions, both for educational purposes and for recovering artifacts from around the world, including the lost continent of Xen'drik.

5 Things Every Karrn Knows: 1. How to play a chesslike boardgame called Conqueror. 2. Their own family tree going back at least four generations. 3. A bit about military organization. 4. An appreciation for art, spurred by the propaganda posters produced by artisans during the war. 5. A keen sense of the weather, even if only being good at answering the question "How hot was it yesterday?" in Cliff Clavin-like detail.

For Nate:
1. Before the war, Cyre was known as a place that was on the artistic and cultural cutting edge of Galifar. Think of it as Paris or Milan in terms of setting trends in art, fashion, etc. However, during the war, the nobles began to take this avant-garde lifestyle in a direction that was more decadent and immoral, even as the common people struggled to hold onto their values in the face of a conflict that they were deeply involved in. Your character might have an artistic bent as a result of living amongst Cyrans.

2. After the war ended, perhaps your desire to study and work on less war-heavy aspects of artificing led you to Morgrave University, which is rough and tumble enough to employ a veteran warforged in its magical studies department without blinking an eye. Probably you are an assistant professor to a higher-ranking artificer who continues to teach you lessons about artificing and magic as well.

5 Things Every Cyran Knows: 1. Where they were on the Day of Mourning - "Tomorrow in Cyre" has become an expression of hope, a reflection of sadness and a promise to win back what was lost. 2. Some form of artistic expression. 3. The Cyran appreciation, which promotes the appreciation of beauty and magic in avant-garde and unconventional ways. 4. What happened on the day of Mourning. Every Cyran has a different version, but everyone believes they know what happened to Cyre on that day. As a less emotional warforged, your character might be exempt from this one. 5. How to perform a Cyran tago, a frenetic and beautiful dance. Again, as a warforged, your character probably does not know this one.

For Chris:
1. If you want, you can take a Regional Education benefit. Educated in Breland gives you a +1 bonus on Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) and Profession checks and a -1 penalty on Concentration and Knowledge (Religion). Educated at Morgrave gives you a +1 on Decipher Script and Knowledge (Geography), a -1 on Diplomacy and Knowledge (religion), one lesser underworld contact in Sharn and 25 less gold. Educated in Sharn gives you a +1 on climb and knowledge (the planes) and a -1 on Handle Animal and Knowledge (geography). Or you can go with a general street education and skip all of this.

2. Breland is probably the most prosperous nation in Sharn, and it has the makings of a diplomacy in its Brelish Parliament, even though it also still answers to a king. Think of it as England at the height of its empire.

3. The battle within The Tyrants (your guild) came down to Cord Lanner, a long-standing human in the guild who runs a profitable information brokerage and Ree, a changeling upstart who started up her own information/blackmail business. You had to back one of them when they came into conflict. Tell me which one it was and I'll work up more specifics. When you chose sides, your backer got you into Morgrave University at the library by forgiving a gambling debt owed by one of the librarians. My suggestion would be that this librarian (and the other PCs) are the only ones who know your true nature, and that everyone else knows you as a human library/research assistant with a false name and identity.

5 Things Every Brelish Knows: 1. The Galifar Code of Justice, which breaks down mostly to the right to defend yourself, the right to confront your accuser and the right to open debate. 2. That different is just different, which means that the Brelish tend to be tolerant of different races, faiths, cultures, etc. 3. Something about the weather. 4. The virtues of democracy. 5. The wisdom of Beggar Dane, an anonymous street bard whose columsn in The Sharn Inquisitive sound suspiciously like D&D versions of the Poor Richard's Almanac by Ben Franklin.

For Jason:
1. We now have in the party a Changeling Rogue, a Human Dragonmarked Fighter and a Warforged Artificer. There's room for just about anything, but you might consider a Sorcerer, Wizard, Bard or Cleric if you want to add a dimension of support the group doesn't have, or another fighter/barbarian/ranger type if you want to add muscle. You guys are without a healer, but with the halflings of House Jorrasco in every major city in Eberron, that's less of an issue than it might be in other campaigns. You're also without a powerhouse mage, but with an artificer and a dragonmarked fighter in your ranks, you'll be pretty handy with magically-assisted combat. So basically, feel free to explore whatever options you want. I'd suggest, in order to keep things sort of uniquely Eberron, playing a Shifter or someone with a dragonmark, but certainly with the regional flavor you can probably play just about anything.

2. The decision was made that you all will be working for Morgrave University, a somewhat less than reputable university in Sharn, City of Towers. Each of you will have a "day job" as a teacher or something along those lines, but you will also be doing freelance adventuring and adventuring on behalf of the University.