"Iconic" 4 (or 6) Player Eberron Party?

[Wasp]

Hey everyone!

Now that Eberron has been released I would like to ask your opinion on an “iconic party” for that setting:

More precicely, what 4 player party would you design as a well-rounded party that’s highlighting some of the unique or new features of the setting…

I was thinking maybe
- Mark of Making Artificier
- Warforged Battlemaster
- Changeling Warlock/Bard
- Kalashtar or Shifter Druid

But what would be your “iconic” four player Eberron party?

Edit: And if you can't reduce it to four characters, let's do a 6 player party instead...

[Anderlith]

Sadly there is just too much good content in Eberron to cover in just four characters. I mean, one would want at least one Nation + Class, combo just to cover the main setting.

[Wasp]

Ok, if you can't go with 4 I'll allow 6! :smallcool:

[Bobthewizard]

I like yours. Here's a few more you could mix in, depending on what people wanted to play:

Valenar elf hexblade with a revenant blade
Halfing rogue of Boromar gang
Halfing shepherd druid from Talenta summoning dinosaurs
Half-orc Mark of Finding Inquisitive
Half-elf Mark of Storm swashbuckler airship pilot
Any of the other Dragonmarks

[Sexyshoeless]

I would say in order to really experience some of the most unique and pervasive things about Eberron you need a number of things.

1) artificer
2) warforged
3) dragonmarked member
4) a cleric to explore Eberron's unique religious dynamics
5) a fighter or someone with a war-like background
6) a monstrous race character that helps subvert the FR expectations

So the party I would have in mind is the following:

1) Mark of Making Artificer
2) Warforged Battlemaster
3) Halfling Mark of Hospitality Cleric
4) Half-Orc Druid

[Anderlith]

Ok, if you can't go with 4 I'll allow 6! :smallcool:

Female Human Thrane Silver Flame Archer Cleric
Male Making Human Cyre Refugee Artificer
Male Warforged Houseguard Eldritch Knight Fighter (friend of Artificer)
Female Changling Breland Rogue
Female Half Elf Valenar Sovereign Host Paladin
Male Halfling Taleena Dino Ranger with a broad brimmed hat
Female Scribing Human Aundair Wizard
Male Human Karrnathi Hexblade (Bone Knight)

Take your pick of these 8

[Comaward]

ICONIC 4
Human Mark of Making Artificer, House Cannith
Halfling Clawfoot (Wolf) Totem Barbarian, Talenta Plains
Half-Orc War Cleric, Church of the Silver Flame
Warforged Battlemaster Fighter, Cyre/Mournland

ADDITIONAL 2
Elf (High) Necromancy Wizard, Aerenal
Dwarf Hexblade Warlock, Mror Holds

[MrCharlie]

Warforged Artificer; make him a war vet with ties to the Lord of Blades, because always have ties to the lord of blades. For added fun, bring in some subterfuge; one of my players pretended to be a way vet, but was actually strangly new, and no one remembered him before two years ago...a patent impossibility, given no new warforged exist...They basically exist to embody the pushing of bounds with magic, and you can also tie into that question of "are we merely a product of what came before?"

Dragonmarked housemember, I'd pick D'Orion or Lyrander and make him a paladin of the silver flame. You can both bring in the dragonmarked houses and the religious affiliations here; this character basically represents "the establishment" thematically, either by rebellion or association. They also interact with the warforged due to, similarly, being given a defined purpose from birth, but have negative connotations with the Shifter as they are intimately tied with the society that persecuted them-more so if they are a Paladin.

Shifter Monk/Druid/Barbarian; this character embodies the persecuted minority, and also has a natural connection that can tie into the industrialization of the setting. They also represent an outside perspective in some ways; they aren't biased in the same way characters who grew up in the madness that is society are. In some ways they are a foil, in others a chance to make a statement that being a foil to one person doesen't define you.

Kalashtar Monk/Paladin/Cleric/Sorcerer; they embody the mystic archetype, but also the quiet hero, who is secretly part of a shadow war that few know of. I admit to know only a little about Kalashtar, so the player would have to handle this one, but there is a place for them. Likely to interact with the Shifter and Changling, as their powers make it more likely they would be able to identify the mind in question versus the body, and their enlightenment, while different than the shifters, is still a potential connection with nature.

Changling Bard/Hexblade/Cleric (Traveler, natch); This character represents chaos and violation of social norms. They can change their very identity, and are masters of derailing plans. They also tie into the moral ambiguity of the setting-they probably worship a deity reviled by all, but whom is neither really aligned against people or civilization. They interact with the Shifter by similarly being "rebels", but while the Shifter is constantly subject to prejudice, the changling is under no threat and can quite easily never have anything to do with their heritage-but why woulden't they?

Half-Orc Mark of Finding Rogue (inquisitive/arcane trickster); the straight guy, natch. We have all these freaks, magically empowered monsters, talking robots, and other crazies. I just find people; I may use magic but I'm not an expert, I can handle myself but I'm not a swordmaster, and I may be a member of a house but Tharashk isn't obsessive about all these forms of address and other nonsense. He's likely to sympathize with the shifter, know the paladin, may have worked with the artificer in the past, and may be pursuing the changling-under another name. Helps bring the party together.

All in all, the one thing I can recommend above all else, even if you reject my schema here, is that there be connections between the party. People should know each other, and should have connections to each other in their backstories or session 0.

There are lots of characters I didn't bring in, but someone should have a stake in most dealings this way.

[Ason]

Warforged Fighter
Talenta Halfling Druid
Valenar Elf Swashbuckler Rogue
Cyran Changeling Bard
Brelish Human Mark of Making Artificer
Beasthide Shifter Paladin who follows the Silver Flame

[T.G. Oskar]

Well, there's the Dwarf Artificer, the Warforged Fighter, the Shifter Wizard and the...Elf Ranger? There's also the typical Eberron adventuring party of a Dwarf Cleric, a Warforged Monk with a quarterstaff, a Kalashtar Psion, a Shifter...Ranger, I think, and a Half-Elf...I dunno, Fighter/Rogue with a magic scimitar and a normal dagger? (Kudos if you know what pictures I refer to).

However, if you really want to go for the Iconic 4 (or 6) Eberron adventuring party, you have to choose from one of the following choices:

Thorndred, Dwarf Artificer. Once worked creating warforged, now works as an adventurer exploring Xen'drik.
Corrash, Halfling Barbarian. Hailing from Talenta, he's basically working as an adventurer with three other misfits, alongside his trusty dinosaur mount. Finds being in Sharn is pretty cool, but he wants to prove his worth to his people.
Vanira, Gnome Bard. She's basically a roving reporter for the Korranberg Chronicle, but is currently hounding up news on the Eldeen Reaches.
Kudlith, Half-Elf Cleric of the Sovereign Host. She's basically anti-war, and now earns her living in Corrash's group, though her focus is on the Mournlands
Janar, Half-Orc Druid. He got wanderlust in his youth, has a wolf companion named Oru, and is currently looking for the Gatekeepers, because they're orcy druids.
Azm, Warforged Fighter. He's a veteran, fought during the last year of the Last War, and now travels with a dwarf artificer. Also, he realized he can upgrade himself.
Kasha, Human Monk. Having her monastery attacked, she's trying to find out the culprits. but as a recluse, she's pretty naive about the world. She's looking for this guy who might know something about the attack, who happens to be a Kalashtar.
Thiera, Human Paladin. She's the guard of the attacked monastery where Kasha lived. Feeling guilty over the attack, she's made her quest to find out what the heck happened. She's the strongest-willed of the duo, but secretly has doubts.
Halharan, Kalashtar Psion. As with all Kalashtar, he's fighting the Dreaming Dark, but now belongs to Corrath's group, and has to stop to help those guys.
Sarav, Elf Ranger. A former scout for Aundair, he deserted and became an adventurer after the war.
Tam, Changeling Rogue. A former criminal turned private eye after someone captured her and basically convinced her to be a good girl. She has this kind of relationship as Lupin and Inspector Zenigata with her previous captor, but her captor is secretly proud of her for dropping crime. The only one that's not affiliated to the rest.
Ural d'Orien, Human Sorcerer. The seventh son of a Orien patriarch, he's adventuring because he likes it, and works with Corrash's gang in his...well, "free" time.
Baristi, Shifter Wizard. A curious girl that apprenticed to a wandering wizard, after her father and the wizard realized she was too curious for her own good. She's too in love with knowledge. Sometimes travels with Azm and Thorndred.

[JackPhoenix]

Melee:
Orc OotA paladin, Gatekeeper affiliated. Shows the different place monstrous races have in Eberron. Represents one of the different druidic sects (despite being paladin), ties to Khorvaire'S history. To better fit Gatekeepers, I would switch extra damage of Divine Smite and Turn the Faithless effect from undead and fey (respectively) to aberrations. Another options I've considered: halfling barbarian with dinosaur mount (not the best choice mechanically), valenar elf (while the culture is nice, a-hole warlike elves aren't that unique).

Healer
Human (life or grave domain) cleric of Blood of Vol. Shows Eberron's take on religions and alignment by having good aligned cleric from somewhat morally dubious faith being followed by a bunch of skeletons. Also, I like BoV in general, so I wanted to fit them in somehow. In comparison, Silver Flame doesn't stand that much: while it has some interesting features, it's generic good religion at first glance. And Sovereign Host needs a deeper look to notice differences from standard D&D gods.

Spellcaster
Warforged wizard. Shows warforged, and while warrior types are more obvious choices with WFs, wizard make it more obvious that the character is more than simple construct. Evocation, abjuration or war magic school to fit the warforged's original purpose as tools of war. On related note, I'm glad envoy WF didn't make it to the final release. It was too popular, too obvious pick for a WF character, yet not fitting with what WF were made for and should've been only a minority of WF produced.

Skill character
Cannith dragonmarked artificer. Shows dragonmarks, commonplace magic and use of magic items in Eberron. Now, it's not a skill-focused character like rogue or bard, but I put artificers into the same category due to lingering memories of 3.5. Also, thieves' tools proficiency.

While changelings, shifters and kalashtar are races unique to Eberron, and each has something going for it, they aren't as iconic and unique as the warforged are. For 6-character option, I would include changeling investigator, to show another side of Eberron (doesn't matter if it's rogue or bard), and propably the aforementioned halfling, just because they are fun, even if they are far from optimized.

[Wasp]

I like yours. Here's a few more you could mix in, depending on what people wanted to play:

Valenar elf hexblade with a revenant blade
Half-orc Mark of Finding Inquisitive
Half-elf Mark of Storm swashbuckler airship pilot
Damnit, I love all of these! :smallbiggrin:



1) Mark of Making Artificer
This seems to be THE iconic Eberron character!



Male Halfling Taleena Dino Ranger with a broad brimmed hat
<snip>
Take your pick of these 8
In a pulp adventure I would pick this one!



Half-Orc Mark of Finding Rogue (inquisitive/arcane trickster)
<snip>

All in all, the one thing I can recommend above all else, even if you reject my schema here, is that there be connections between the party. People should know each other, and should have connections to each other in their backstories or session 0.

There are lots of characters I didn't bring in, but someone should have a stake in most dealings this way.
I totally agree and the Half-Orc Inquisitive is growing on me. Completely different flavor for the monster race!



Beasthide Shifter Paladin who follows the Silver Flame

Oh, that is definetly a bit unusal, but you are right, it seems the church doesn't discriminate against shifters.


Well, there's the Dwarf Artificer, the Warforged Fighter, the Shifter Wizard and the...Elf Ranger? There's also the typical Eberron adventuring party of a Dwarf Cleric, a Warforged Monk with a quarterstaff, a Kalashtar Psion, a Shifter...Ranger, I think, and a Half-Elf...I dunno, Fighter/Rogue with a magic scimitar and a normal dagger? (Kudos if you know what pictures I refer to).
Damn it, I don't! :smallbiggrin: And I like your other unusal combos!




Spellcaster
Warforged wizard. Shows warforged, and while warrior types are more obvious choices with WFs, wizard make it more obvious that the character is more than simple construct.
I really like the reasoning behind that!

Wow, I really like the diversity of character here, keep 'em coming!

[T.G. Oskar]

Damn it, I don't! :smallbiggrin: And I like your other unusal combos!

Well, they aren't really unusual, they're actually from the original Eberron campaign setting book from the 3.5 Edition. Just for reference:


http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82144.jpg

That'd be the first group I referenced, which is actually an image of Baristi, Azm, Sarav and Thorndred. Note that Sarav doesn't look AT ALL like an Elven Ranger, but judging by the small tidbits of story on the class section that give examples how each class exists in the setting, the guy with the mug is supposed to be an Elf.

(Oh yeah, and Baristi's image isn't as flattering. The cover page image (https://nerdarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/eberron.png) has a more flattering one. Shifters are often too macho-looking, even the girlier ones. I mean, the most iconic one is female Mel Gibson...)


http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82115.jpg

This is the second suggestion. It's mostly an extrapolation, but if you notice, the Warforged looks like a Monk, and the Shifter looks a bit feral, so it's either Barbarian or Ranger.

[Azuresun]

(Oh yeah, and Baristi's image isn't as flattering. The cover page image (https://nerdarchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/eberron.png) has a more flattering one. Shifters are often too macho-looking, even the girlier ones. I mean, the most iconic one is female Mel Gibson...)

One problem with the art that persisted into 5e is that it's never clear if a given shifter is actually using shifting in any image. So it's never quite clear what they look like by default.

[Sherlockpwns]

4 bards. Be a rock band touring eberron. Nuff said.

[Fable Wright]

Talenta Halfling ranger on Dinosaur.
Cannith human artificer.
Changeling rogue.
Warforged Paladin of the Silver Flame.

[JackPhoenix]

That'd be the first group I referenced, which is actually an image of Baristi, Azm, Sarav and Thorndred. Note that Sarav doesn't look AT ALL like an Elven Ranger, but judging by the small tidbits of story on the class section that give examples how each class exists in the setting, the guy with the mug is supposed to be an Elf.

I don't think the ranger(?) in the picture is Sarav from the story from ranger section. The same character is in the comic on page 6, but the name mentioned is Arlok.

[stoutstien]

This thread is making to want to run a 4-5 all artificer eberrion party. Goblin alchemist,
warforged battle smith, human mark of making artillerist, and a gnomish artillerist.

[RedMage125]

There's so much rich lore that I think I could only come up with an iconic character by subcategories.

For example, if I wanted to do "Iconic by the Five Nations", it would be:
Aundair: Wizard
Breland: Rogue
Cyre: Bard
Karrnath: Fighter
Thrane: Cleric or Paladin

"Iconic by Dragonmark":
Mark of Detection: Inquisitive Rogue
Mark of Finding: Hunter Ranger
Mark of Handling: Druid (Land, Shepard or Moon)
Mark of Healing: Life Cleric
Mark of Hospitality: Bard (Glamor or Lore)
Mark of Making: Artificer (any)
Mark of Passage: Ranger (any) or Monk (Open Hand or Kensei)
Mark of Scribing: Lore Bard
Mark of Sentinel: Fighter (any but EK or AA)
Mark of Shadow: Whispers Bard
Mark of Storm: Storm Sorcerer
Mark of Warding: Rogue (Thief or AT)

"Iconic by Race"
Changeling: Rogue
Kalashtar: Psionic Class, failing that, Monk
Shifter: Druid or Barbarian
Warforged: Fighter or Artificer
Dwarf: Rogue
Valenar Elf: Ranger
Aerenai Elf: Wizard
Human: See "Iconic by Five Nations", above
Halfling: Rogue (if from Sharn) or Barbarian (from Talenta Plains)
Half-Elf (Khorvar): Bard or Sorcerer
Half-Orc: Druid or Ranger
Goblin: Rogue
Hobgoblin: Fighter
Bugbear: Barbarian
Orc: Druid
Dragonborn and Tiefling: not "iconic" in Eberron

[Anderlith]

This thread is making to want to run a 4-5 all artificer eberrion party. Goblin alchemist,
warforged battle smith, human mark of making artillerist, and a gnomish artillerist.

I had an idea way back with the last Artificer UA with an all Artificer party

Sage (Academic type) Artillerist
Criminal (Forger) Archivist
Soldier BattleSmith & his front line Medic Alchemist buddy