Changeling disguising as another race to enter a prestige class.

[Orick]

I have a player whom wants to play a Windwright captain from Eberron (Explorer's Handbook).

This requires the player to be a Half-Elf. He wishes to pose as one and infiltrate House Lyrandar, gain their trust, and eventually become a Windwright captain.

Thoughts?

[Jeff the Green]

The answer is Racial Emulation, a feat from Races of Eberron.

[Nettlekid]

Under normal circumstances, like if you wanted to enter Eternal Blade or Deepstone Sentinel, and you were using the Racial Emulation feat, then I'd say it's entirely valid. You'd lose the benefits of the PrC if you changed form (as per the rules in Complete Warrior and I think Complete Arcane), but for the most part it would do.

HOWEVER. Windwright Captain requires you to have the Lesser Dragonmark of Storm, and Dragonmarks are biological and hereditary. You would need to be born within House Lyrandar, which means you would actually need to be a Half-Elf of House Lyrandar in order to make it work. Now...Maybe you can fluff it so that...an old ancestor was a Half-Elf, who married a Human and had a quater-Elf child, who married a Human and had an eighth-Elf child, etc, until you get a child with only a drop of Elven blood but still the blood of House Lyrandar, who marries a Doppelganger and has a Changeling child, and when that Changeling takes the form of a Half-Elf then the Mark of Storm manifests itself from the Changeling child's blood. It's not very canon, but your DM might allow it, because Dragonmarks and the houses are largely fluff anyway.

EDIT: Also, if you were willing to go well out of your way for this idea, you might take all 10 levels of Cataclysm Mage (from the Explorer's Handbook, same place as Windwright Captain) whose capstone allows you to manifest a Dragonmark or change one you already have. If you were a Changeling with Racial Emulation who could gain any Dragonmark, you could singlehandedly infiltrate every Dragonmarked House. Which would be pretty awesome.

[Blackhawk748]

if you're not in Eberron make him take the Racial Emulation feat and then the Storm Dragonmark, just say it didnt show up until then, if you're not, well he's SooL

[Nettlekid]

if you're not in Eberron make him take the Racial Emulation feat and then the Storm Dragonmark, just say it didnt show up until then, if you're not, well he's SooL

He has to be in Eberron, because the Windwright Captain and Dragonmarks in general are purely Eberron. As were Changelings prior to MMIII, for that matter. The Mark of Storm is hereditary. He would have to have the blood of House Lyrandar in order for it to show up at all.

[Orick]

He is most definitely from Eberron. The Campaign dosen't exactly take place there, nor for the most part on the Material Plane, so I'm being pretty lenient when it comes to that.

[Gildedragon]

@Nettlekid: the only PrCs that revoke their features for ceasing to qualify are those from CW and CA (CM? One of those two)
The rest merely impede one from further advancing in it until one qualifies once again

[Big Fau]

Also, if you were willing to go well out of your way for this idea, you might take all 10 levels of Cataclysm Mage (from the Explorer's Handbook, same place as Windwright Captain) whose capstone allows you to manifest a Dragonmark or change one you already have. If you were a Changeling with Racial Emulation who could gain any Dragonmark, you could singlehandedly infiltrate every Dragonmarked House. Which would be pretty awesome.

You neglected to mention the part about every dragon on an entire continent actively trying to kill him.

[Dusk Eclipse]

You neglected to mention the part about every dragon on an entire continent actively trying to kill him.

I fail to see the problem, more encounters=more exp, which means going epic and taking over Eberron that much sooner :smalltongue:

[Big Fau]

I fail to see the problem, more encounters=more exp, which means going epic and taking over Eberron that much sooner :smalltongue:

Did I forget to mention that said continent has an entire army of Great Wyrms dedicated to stopping things that threaten said continent, and that list includes Cataclysm Mages? And that said army of great wyrms likely all have levels in various PrCs to augment their all ready potent abilities. I highly doubt a player who just finished the Cataclysm Mage PrC will have the time to start leveling in Windwright Captain.

If there's one thing Dragons of Eberron taught me, it's that the Cataclysm Mage PrC is suicide at best.

[Dusk Eclipse]

It was a joke, and perhaps I'm wrong; but I don't think the Chamber would send the most powerful dragons right away since they are somewhat busy guarding Tiamat's prison. They would probably send the dragons that are in Khorvaire (or Xen'drik or what ever country the cataclysm mage is in) which are (probably) not great wyrms... maybe old at most. (I'm pretty sure only young-ish dragons are sent off-continent and they return to Argonessen when they reach the older age categories; but I might be wrong).

[Big Fau]

It was a joke, and perhaps I'm wrong; but I don't think the Chamber would send the most powerful dragons right away since they are somewhat busy guarding Tiamat's prison. They would probably send the dragons that are in Khorvaire (or Xen'drik or what ever country the cataclysm mage is in) which are (probably) not great wyrms... maybe old at most. (I'm pretty sure only young-ish dragons are sent off-continent and they return to Argonessen when they reach the older age categories; but I might be wrong).

I missed the humor then. My bad.

[Nettlekid]

You neglected to mention the part about every dragon on an entire continent actively trying to kill him.

Ahhh, but you're a Changeling! How're they gonna find you? You could be any member of any house, or none of them! You have high level spells to hide you, and True Seeing would probably not show a Dragonmark on a body where it was artificially added, like on your Changeling self. Sure it might be tricky, but I'd say the risk is what makes it fun.

That and liberal use of Craft Contingent Spell, most of which being True Resurrections.

[SaintRidley]

Pretty sure that Races of Eberron has something about the chance a Changeling's child will be a Changeling. Perhaps your Changeling is actually born to a Dragonmarked House through parent posing as another race (in this case, Half-Elf).

[Dusk Eclipse]

Depends if the changeling parent had the Racial emulation feat or not.



Changeling Reproduction
Two changeling parents breed a changeling child. A changeling and a humanoid can mate to produce an offspring with the child having a 50% chance to be of either race. If a changeling with the Racial Emulation feat (see page 110) matches its subtype to that of a partner, a child resulting from the union will always be of that humanoid subtype.
If a changeling in a female form conceives a child, she loses the ability to change her gender until after the child is born.

[Nettlekid]

Huh, so the parent Changeling must NOT have the Racial Emulation feat in order to have a Changeling baby.

Changelings actually make a really good plot device for changing bloodlines between major races. To make a full-blooded Elf with a Dwarf grandfather, have the Dwarf marry a Changeling, who gives birth to a Changeling with Dwarven blood, who then marries a pure Elf and gives birth to a pure Elf. Weird.

[Gildedragon]

Which means a changeling with the racial emulation feat can get the dragonmark feats. Heck they could get 2 dragonmark feats parents are changelings in separate houses...