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Geiger Counter
2010-04-24, 10:45 PM
I'm just wondering in case this ever becomes an issue.
Can a party consist of two dragon marked individuals from different houses?
What about unmarked people who still belong to different houses?
Is it forbidden? frowned upon? just business as usual? Encouraged?

Godskook
2010-04-25, 12:03 AM
Can a party consist of two dragon marked individuals from different houses?

Depends on the house, mark, and individuals involved, really.

Easiest to deal with would be individuals with Syberis marks, as such a character isn't, by backstory, bound to house politics, at all.


What about unmarked people who still belong to different houses?

Still depends on the houses and individuals, but you can make it work more easily by keeping it secret. In some houses, this secrecy is actually likely, too.


Is it forbidden? frowned upon? just business as usual? Encouraged?

Yes?

Imagine that the houses are like modern political parties. Sometimes you get bipartisanship, sometimes you cut each other's throats. It really depends on the season. Interacting with the other houses is pretty much a requirement of Eberron, due to their specializations and monoplolizations. One house is *the* transportation system of Eberron. If you want something transported, you'll eventually be doing business with them. Another is *the* animal farm, and Eberron, while advanced, still hasn't out-grown the wagon. Besides, dinosaurs make great mounts.

All in all, it depends more on the players' decisions about where their character's loyalties lie, tied in with how much politics your DM wants to throw at you. If he's using eberron as a back-drop to more generic adventures, you'll probably be fine, but if he wants to do a deeply political struggle between the houses to decide a new king, you're going to get knee-deep into problems if player's aren't group-loyal.


Take the above as you will, as I'm not the most familiar with Eberron, but that's my limited take on it.

AslanCross
2010-04-25, 05:09 AM
I think the houses that are least likely to coexist are Phiarlan and Thuranni, for obvious reasons. However, I don't think members of rival organizations are necessarily going to kill each other on sight. Heck, in my upcoming party I was able to get a Thrane, a Karrn, and a Valenar Elf cooperate.

TheMadLinguist
2010-04-25, 05:31 AM
Some of the houses are really buddy-buddy (like Orien with whoever originally invented the lightning rail cars). Others, not so much.

cupkeyk
2010-04-25, 05:51 AM
Some of the houses are really buddy-buddy (like Orien with whoever originally invented the lightning rail cars). Others, not so much.

Sivis. The mark of scribing is necessary to bind the elementals to the boat/train. The mark of passage controls the elemental of the lightning rail, or the mark of storm does it for the airship or elemental ship. Deneith has a code of conduct to cooperate with anyone who can pay or their services, but this is true for almost all the houses. If a project needs a tharask ranger cooperating with a medani seer to reclaim something stolen from a kundarrak bank while in transit on the lightning rail, you can be assured of enough dragonmarked spoons to spoil the broth.

Yuki Akuma
2010-04-25, 05:55 AM
It's also possible to have a dragonmark without belonging to a house. They can't force you to join. (At least, not legally.)

Teron
2010-04-25, 01:09 PM
Sivis. The mark of scribing is necessary to bind the elementals to the boat/train.
It isn't, actually. However, only Zil artificers know the process (NOT House Sivis; the dragonmarked houses are independant of any nation, and the Trust is very protective of the secret), so they have to be involved in the construction of any elemental-powered vehicles or other items. In fact, since Zilargo has some of the best shipwrights in Khorvaire, they usually do most of the work.

Steveotep
2010-04-25, 02:36 PM
The only limitation I know of is someone with a dragonmark should only marry within the same house. Children born of mixed unions have Aberrant Marks, which lead to the Second War of the Mark and the fall of civilisation.

Draxar
2010-04-25, 03:18 PM
The only limitation I know of is someone with a dragonmark should only marry within the same house. Children born of mixed unions have Aberrant Marks, which lead to the Second War of the Mark and the fall of civilisation.

Aye. As long as you're not making the Rakshasa with two backs, you're not breaking any specific prohibitions.


Easiest to deal with would be individuals with Syberis marks, as such a character isn't, by backstory, bound to house politics, at all.

Well... they have to either conceal their ability, or be part of the house and therefore its politics.




I'd disagree with the metaphor – modern political parties are competing over limited common resources – votes and popularity.

Dragonmarked houses are more like corporation/megacorporations, with specific monopolies which don't have too much crossover. Indeed, the best comparision is the guilds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild) that the concept is essentially built on.

Essentially, there can be disagreements, competition, but the different areas of expertise means those will be over areas of crossover (e.g. selling super-enhanced horses versus lightning rail/teleportation).


[qupte]Interacting with the other houses is pretty much a requirement of Eberron, due to their specializations and monoplolizations. One house is *the* transportation system of Eberron. If you want something transported, you'll eventually be doing business with them. Another is *the* animal farm, and Eberron, while advanced, still hasn't out-grown the wagon. Besides, dinosaurs make great mounts.

Interaction is required, dependence less so. If you're transporting in bulk, or very frequently, then you'll talk to House Orien. But if you just need to get across the country once, then your house probably has someone who can cast Teleport.

cupkeyk
2010-04-25, 06:11 PM
It isn't, actually. However, only Zil artificers know the process (NOT House Sivis; the dragonmarked houses are independant of any nation, and the Trust is very protective of the secret), so they have to be involved in the construction of any elemental-powered vehicles or other items. In fact, since Zilargo has some of the best shipwrights in Khorvaire, they usually do most of the work.

But I thought the mark of scribing and the corollary skill, truenaming necessary? So we are looking at a smaller section of the house that is particularly based in Zilargo, which is a gnome country anyway.

Teron
2010-04-26, 08:58 AM
But I thought the mark of scribing and the corollary skill, truenaming necessary? So we are looking at a smaller section of the house that is particularly based in Zilargo, which is a gnome country anyway.
The only requirements are Craft Wondrous Item and CL 9, and the actual process requires a planar binding spell. The mark of scribing has nothing to do with it, and I can't even guess why you brought up truenaming...

aivanther
2010-04-26, 10:03 AM
Think of houses as corporations. Corporations often, in fact usually, cooperate. This is especially true when dealing with things over which they don't compete and their cooperation makes them both much more wealthy. Since the houses usually aren't involved in the same trade, they often can get along.

However, like modern corporations, there is times when they overlap, and the knives are sharpened behind closed doors. Also, when it comes to lobbying, you don't want to come out screwed, so rivalries can peek up.

I guess it's easiest to say that it depends on the individual, situation, and goals. If we're trying to find the artifact of infinite golds, they'd be slitting each others throats. If they're hunting down some aberrant dragonmarks they'll be all in and happy to be at it together.