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Cyclone231
2007-10-31, 11:10 PM
How legal and how socially acceptable is the use of the skill Profession (Oldest) in Eberron? It's not in the index of the ECS, so I have no idea.

Nonah_Me
2007-10-31, 11:17 PM
Prof. (Oldest)?

*EDIT: Oh man, duh. It was late, and I was at work.

DiscipleofBob
2007-10-31, 11:18 PM
There's definitely mention of it in Sharn: City of Towers. Specifically the Firelight district and some of the changeling "businesses." Seems there are legal and illegal versions to me.

Iku Rex
2007-10-31, 11:33 PM
"Legal in Eberron" doesn't make much sense since there are a wide variety of nations and laws. But based on "Sharn: City of Towers", prostitution is legal in Breland.


Most illegal activities in Sharn occur under the supervision of one of four criminal guilds or gangs, which also have fingers in legal but shady activities such as gambling and prostitution.-- page 14

(Let's see if wizards.com allows hotlinking:)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/sharn_gallery/84571.jpg
You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

Ralfarius
2007-10-31, 11:35 PM
Prof. (Oldest)?
The skilled trade of courtesans, ladies of the night, women of easy virtue, paid company, umm... Anatomical sales associates?

Cyclone231
2007-10-31, 11:46 PM
Prof. (Oldest)?
You know, the oldest profession?

It's a euphemism for prostitution.

There's definitely mention of it in Sharn: City of Towers. Specifically the Firelight district and some of the changeling "businesses." Seems there are legal and illegal versions to me.Thanks for the tip. Is it only mentioned in the "red-light districts" (Sharn's Welcome, Dragonseyes and the Firelight district), or is there a section on the business in general?

Starsinger
2007-10-31, 11:46 PM
The skilled trade of courtesans, ladies of the night, women of easy virtue, paid company, umm... Anatomical sales associates?

I prefer the term sexual engineer... it seems very PC.

Chronos
2007-11-01, 12:15 AM
Heh. For the first three posts, I thought that this thread was about somehow earning a living through being really, really old. Or that "oldest" was maybe an honorific for some sort of church functionary.

Skjaldbakka
2007-11-01, 12:17 AM
Maybe in some churches.:smallwink:

Hzurr
2007-11-01, 02:12 AM
You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

Hehe, that reminds me of a post by Randel a few days ago:




Human: Hey elf, you look like a girl.
Elf: To a human, everything must look like a girl.
Human: What?
Elf: Half-orcs, half-ogres...
Human: ... shut up.
Dwarf: Half-dragons, half-kobolds.
Human: I said shut up!
Elf: ...
Dwarf: ...
Human: ...
Elf: Centaurs.

MrNexx
2007-11-01, 02:43 AM
Wow... that was rough.

Townopolis
2007-11-01, 03:06 AM
You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

Centaurs?

Did I win? Did I win? Huh, huh? Did I?

boomwolf
2007-11-01, 04:38 AM
Actually I think tieflings and drow are dominating there...(kinky!)

honkuimushi
2007-11-01, 10:06 AM
You only get one guess as to which race tends to dominate the business.

Gnomes?


(This is just for length)

Frosty
2007-11-01, 10:18 AM
I figure changelings would probably dominate the more expensive end of the business, while whatever race is poorest probably would work in the lower ends more.

DiscipleofBob
2007-11-01, 02:23 PM
Changelings dominate the prostitution business in Sharn.

I forget the name of the group, but the changeling-dominant criminal gang pretty much controls the trade.

For more information, look up the business section in Sharn. They cover typical prices for "escort" and "companion" services in a table towards the beginning.

arkol
2007-11-01, 02:27 PM
For more information, look up the business section in Sharn. They cover typical prices for "escort" and "companion" services in a table towards the beginning.

In what book/site/whatever can I find that again?

DiscipleofBob
2007-11-01, 02:28 PM
In what book/site/whatever can I find that again?

Sharn: City of Towers. I can give you page numbers later tonight.

MrNexx
2007-11-01, 02:43 PM
Gnomes?


(This is just for length)

Hey, length is why gnomes dominate the business.

;-)

MCerberus
2007-11-01, 02:46 PM
This thread is fast turning into another "house of horrors" thread. Also I'd avoid giving RP XP for them while they make their profession checks... kind of creepy.

Dragonmuncher
2007-11-01, 04:32 PM
Hey, length is why gnomes dominate the business.

;-)

So there's a lot of people in Eberron who are attracted to long noses?

Cyclone231
2007-11-01, 04:56 PM
Sharn: City of Towers. I can give you page numbers later tonight.
I've got it open.

Here they are:
p.14: Companionship, the business in a nutshell.
p.50: Sharn's Welcome, a red light district, located in Cliffside.
p.77: Firelight district, a red light district, located in Lower Menthis Plateau.
p.97: Dragoneyes, a red light district, located in Lower Tavick's Landing.
p.155: The Tyrants, shapeshifter guild that runs most of the bordellos.

I don't know of any additional information in there, though there might be.

Frosty
2007-11-01, 06:22 PM
For a change of pace, one city in a campaign should have a red-light district where the workers are all male.

Aquillion
2007-11-01, 06:27 PM
For a change of pace, one city in a campaign should have a red-light district where the workers are all male.Hey, the business is run by changelings. Who knows? Maybe they're all like that.

Nerd-o-rama
2007-11-01, 06:30 PM
Hm. Rekkenmark or Thaliost? They're on a very long bridge, albeit a white one and not a golden one.

But hey, Changelings can gender-swap. In districts where they dominate, they can serve pretty much any clientele. Although they're probably better at being their natural sexes.

Freaking ninja.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-01, 07:31 PM
Y'know, I never understood WHY that job was called the oldest profession, at all. It seems to me that it would only come to be a profession once some kind of city had been established. Hunting would seem to be more fitting for oldest profession, since that was the thing that was most prioritary in the beginning of all races, wasn't it?

SurlySeraph
2007-11-01, 07:59 PM
Y'know, I never understood WHY that job was called the oldest profession, at all. It seems to me that it would only come to be a profession once some kind of city had been established. Hunting would seem to be more fitting for oldest profession, since that was the thing that was most prioritary in the beginning of all races, wasn't it?

Well, hunting's less a profession than a way to survive. You didn't get paid for hunting, you got food by hunting. Prostitution is something you can get paid for.

Of course, this all depends on how we're defining "profession," and on what we consider a form of payment. You see, the ancient Mayans... *launches into highly academic rant*

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-01, 08:07 PM
Aye, but the mayans were already a civ. Hunting was there long before, and people traded things for food long before they felt lonely enough for "company".

Nerd-o-rama
2007-11-01, 08:34 PM
Perhaps it's the oldest luxury service; a profession that is not necessary to society, and provides no concrete benefit to its practitioners other than the money they are paid for it. There were certainly prostitutes before there were, say, barbers.

Enzario
2007-11-01, 08:37 PM
Y'know, I never understood WHY that job was called the oldest profession, at all. It seems to me that it would only come to be a profession once some kind of city had been established. Hunting would seem to be more fitting for oldest profession, since that was the thing that was most prioritary in the beginning of all races, wasn't it?

You know, there are documented cases of certain species of penguin trading sex for prime nesting sites/materials... but this is coming dangerously close to a derailing.

But I digress.
In eberron, where magic pervades absolutely everything, I would say that the oldest profession is no different, and it's probably viewed as no more strange than, say, that creepy gnome down the street that sells "magic juice" from his alchemy shop.

Zeful
2007-11-01, 08:47 PM
There may have been prostituets before barbers but not before farmers. Also currency is usless unless you believe in it, which still make hunting and gathering valid professions before prostitution. Also art came a couple of thousands of years before cities, so artists and artisans can be added to list of professions before prostitution. So it's obvious that it's not the oldest profession or even the oldest luxury profession. It's somewhere in the middle when abstract values were used to create both currency and poverty.

Cyclone231
2007-11-01, 08:52 PM
It's called the "oldest profession" because people have been having sex since before there were people. Yes, they weren't necessarily paid for it, but neither is a hunter in a pre-currency society.

MrNexx
2007-11-01, 10:18 PM
Y'know, I never understood WHY that job was called the oldest profession, at all. It seems to me that it would only come to be a profession once some kind of city had been established. Hunting would seem to be more fitting for oldest profession, since that was the thing that was most prioritary in the beginning of all races, wasn't it?

Because some people regard any form of sex as rape, and if you're exchanging services in addition to that, it's prostitution.

captain_decadence
2007-11-01, 10:45 PM
I think it's called the oldest profession because it is seen as the first job that was done not for sustenance purposes. Sure, farming came before hand but for the longest time, farming was someone used to supplement hunting/gather. Also, exchanging extra food for sex is just as much prostitution as giving coins, just different economies.

Remember also, prostitutes did not only appear when cities did. There is actual sociological research (it's rather interesting) about how prostitution works in small communities even today where something like a street walker or a brothel worker would never work. You could (and did) have someone who is literally the village whore back when everyone was doing hunter/gathering living.

I wonder in fantasy games where prostitution could be relatively safe (a nice cure disease and atonement spell really solves all the problems I can see with prostitution and that's only if your god doesn't like it), is it still illegal and frowned upon? Is there a market for "exotic girls"?

Brothel Owner: These are all our girls. The most fair maidens, the darkest beauties, the wild seductresses, anything your heart desires sir."
Customer: Do you have any girls a little bit more...exotic?
Brothel Owner: Of course, Shar'een is a lovely elven maid that can sate any man's palate.
Customer: *nervously* I mean a little bit more..unusual.
Brothel Owner: Well, how bout her? Jaset is the most beautiful halfling lass this side of Sharr.
*Customer whispers into Brothel Owner's ear*
Brothel Owner: OH! You mean...'exotic'. *walks to a door in the back* Hey, Many-Whelps, you got another customer.
*Large female Gnoll walks out from the back, wearing only a carefully placed blue scarf and escorts the man to the back*
Brothel Owner: Never could understand the draw in that. Well girls, I'm going back to the wife. Thrunhilda Rocksplitter, all you girls remember that if you work hard you might land a man like me as she did. Finest dwarven courtesan in these parts.

horseboy
2007-11-02, 12:41 AM
It's called the "oldest profession" because people have been having sex since before there were people. Yes, they weren't necessarily paid for it, but neither is a hunter in a pre-currency society.

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=010f6f300613daa5c7e4431d3d0b1003
On a side note I saw this line on Pepe Le Pew's Bio:

"all you need is a little occupational therapy, like making love."

Temp
2007-11-02, 01:00 AM
*Large female Gnoll walks out from the back, wearing only a carefully placed blue scarf and escorts the man to the back*Heh, hyenas.
Fellow's in for a shock.


Anyway:

I wonder in fantasy games where prostitution could be relatively safe (a nice cure disease and atonement spell really solves all the problems I can see with prostitution and that's only if your god doesn't like it), is it still illegal and frowned upon?
That's really a pretty good point. There would be no physical repercussions for anybody involved provided they have the money for a couple Cleric Insta-Cures.

Which makes me think: How would the Modify Memory spell modify the business? Could Krusk open a no-contact brothel?

DiscipleofBob
2007-11-02, 01:14 AM
One of the girls in an Eberron campaign was a half-elf Lyrandar heir who grew up in a brothel. The only real item she was ever truly interested in acquiring (besides her airship), was a periapt of health so she didn't have to worry about STD's.

why123
2007-11-02, 04:12 AM
There's definitely mention of it in Sharn: City of Towers. Specifically the Firelight district and some of the changeling "businesses." Seems there are legal and illegal versions to me.

Frosty
2007-11-02, 06:32 PM
All prostitutes should takes classes that gives them immunity to disease. It'd make things much safer :p

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 06:35 PM
Heh, Paladin Prosty PrC'ing into Sacred prostitute. Scary thought.

On a side note, if two players agree to play in combo, isn't a level 5 sacred prosty tremendously broken? I mean, it allows wizards to double their spells.

Nowhere Girl
2007-11-02, 06:44 PM
All prostitutes should takes classes that gives them immunity to disease. It'd make things much safer :p

Aha.

We've finally found a use for the monk class.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 06:48 PM
Waitaminit. Hey, it's official now, Monk is the other classes' whore!

Fax Celestis
2007-11-02, 06:50 PM
Aha.

We've finally found a use for the monk class.

"Flurry of Blows" has a whole new meaning.

Frosty
2007-11-02, 06:50 PM
Don't druids get immunity to disease as well? Or just poisons?

You know, it's too bad a Valarian's Beloved can't also be a Sacred Prostitute. Give your unicorn mount huge bonuses by doing the deed!

Fax Celestis
2007-11-02, 06:51 PM
Don't druids get immunity to disease as well? Or just poisons?

Just poisons. Only Paladins and Monks get disease immunity.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 06:52 PM
Yes, but druids are only nature's whores. God, that allows for so many double entendres.

Heh, we need to get this stickied, if only for the potential hilarity.

Nowhere Girl
2007-11-02, 07:00 PM
Monks are actual ideal prostitutes.

They're lawful, so they'll be loyal, trustworthy, honest workers. They can be of any alignment on the good/evil axis (ideally neutral) and don't have Detect Evil as an ability, so they're not going to be as finicky about their customers as, say, a paladin would be. Their class abilities operate at a higher level of efficiency while they're naked (or all but naked) than most other classes, and they have exceptional survivability, so they can still defend themselves pretty well if someone unruly comes along ... or run away faster than most can follow, if need be. They eventually get an ability that enables them to speak with any living creature, as well as another that enables them to ignore aging penalties (which could be interpreted as also retaining a youthful appearance). And they even have Diplomacy and Perform as class skills.

There it is. Monks finally have a role.

Nowhere Girl
2007-11-02, 07:01 PM
"Flurry of Blows" has a whole new meaning.

xD

That's bad. :smalltongue:

Arbitrarity
2007-11-02, 07:03 PM
Also, monks can select Improved Grapple as a bonus feat.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 07:03 PM
Yes. The monks were evidently sentenced to be Sacred prostitutes from the start, and to be the other classes' whores.

Oh, and Perfect Self could be reworked to say it gives BIG bonuses in Perform and Bluff, etc. Hmm, smells like a monk brew is cookin' up.

Nowhere Girl
2007-11-02, 07:09 PM
Yes. The monks were evidently sentenced to be Sacred prostitutes from the start, and to be the other classes' whores.

Oh, and Perfect Self could be reworked to say it gives BIG bonuses in Perform and Bluff, etc. Hmm, smells like a monk brew is cookin' up.

Well, per the Book of Erotic Fantasy, the one weakness of monks as prostitutes is that they don't have Bluff as a class skill. I think that's the big issue to address in order to make a successful monk.

Perform (sexual techniques) covers their actual work. Throw in Versitile Performer, and you can add whatever else (erotic dance, perhaps) to add to the whole.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 07:13 PM
And make Perfect self give you a perfect body, which gives you a nymph-like blinding sight ability. WHAT a perfect body is is up to interpretation, but we assume every creature sees the monk as their own version of perfect.

Rachel Lorelei
2007-11-02, 07:14 PM
Changelings can change their body, physically, in minor ways. This has such drastic implications for potential pleasure it would basically ruin one for other races.

Don't sleep with Changelings. You'll never be the same again.

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 07:16 PM
Or with a wiz with alter self as a spell like ability. Particularly a Pun-Pun wiz, because then....well, be afraid, since you're about to rock 'n roll all night...and next day... and week... and year.

Nowhere Girl
2007-11-02, 07:21 PM
Pun-Pun could of course be the ultimate prostitute, but so could, say, L-sama from the Slayers universe. I think multiversal ultimate beings usually feel they have better things they could be doing with their time. :smallwink:

Arbitrarity
2007-11-02, 07:23 PM
Pun-Pun could of course be the ultimate prostitute, but so could, say, L-sama from the Slayers universe. I think multiversal ultimate beings usually feel they have better things they could be doing with their time. :smallwink:

Time? Nah. It's the percieved time that counts when you can take any action you please in an infinitely small period amount of time. (Divine Impetutus + infinite CHA score + Greater Celerity + immunity to dazing)

MrNexx
2007-11-02, 07:24 PM
"Flurry of Blows" has a whole new meaning.

*blows kiss to crowd* Goodnight everybody!

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 07:24 PM
Yeah, multiversal beings could probably create a continuous item of sex, and then go doin' something different. But then again, this means significant others become less meaningful for most, so what's the point in that?

Dervag
2007-11-02, 07:37 PM
The skilled trade of courtesans, ladies of the night, women of easy virtue, paid company, umm... Anatomical sales associates?Ladies of negotiable affection?


Gnomes?


(This is just for length)I so did not need to see those two sentences in the same place at the same time.


There may have been prostituets before barbers but not before farmers.Like hunting, farming wasn't so much a profession in those days as a lifestyle. It was what people did by default.


Also currency is usless unless you believe in it, which still make hunting and gathering valid professions before prostitution.Steak remains valuable even in the absence of currency. Perhaps the first prostitute's fee was a steak, or a basket of fish, or some such thing.


Because some people regard any form of sex as rape, and if you're exchanging services in addition to that, it's prostitution.The euphemism predates this interpretation, but that may well explain why some people use it.


Heh, hyenas.
Fellow's in for a shock.Is that better or worse than the possibility that he knows what to expect?


Time? Nah. It's the percieved time that counts when you can take any action you please in an infinitely small period amount of time. (Divine Impetutus + infinite CHA score + Greater Celerity + immunity to dazing)In which case they've already done as much as they could ever want of anything they want to do, and have long since grown bored of anything they could ever grow bored of.

Arbitrarity
2007-11-02, 07:45 PM
In which case they've already done as much as they could ever want of anything they want to do, and have long since grown bored of anything they could ever grow bored of.

Heresy!

Actually, now I must make a character who is Pun-pun, stat him out (sorta), fill out a backstory, and attempt to figure out what he DOES in his spare time. Maybe he roleplays.

Then again.... (http://www.xkcd.com/244/)

Azerian Kelimon
2007-11-02, 07:56 PM
I've an answer to boredom: MMORPG's. If you stop time, you feeze the elec, the skills never cool down, etc. Who said infinite power meant using it?

Temp
2007-11-02, 08:10 PM
Is that better or worse than the possibility that he knows what to expect?

Aack!

...

:smalleek:

fireinthedust
2007-11-02, 08:45 PM
woo! finished the whole thread...

Anyway, interesting thing: I work in social services, and come into contact with a number of prostitutes on a regular basis. Thing is, they're all in it for the drugs. The money is great, for some, but in general where there are prostitutes there are drugs. In fact, all the ones who sneak into my building are drug dealers.

Not that there arn't perfectly lovely people out there who are prostitutes, but the profession and culture brings with it serious issues. The girls are generally there for the drugs, or because their boyfriends (read pimps, but they'd call them boyfriends in this case) will beat them up otherwise.
That's not to say there arn't girls out there doing this sort of thing because that's what they do (I took a trip to Amsterdam once, and found my hostel was in the heart of the red light district; met acouple girls, one of them might not have been on crack or had a bf/pimp; and I've met strippers who are darlings and nice, but jury's still out). However, professionally I find it doubtful these Sharn Changelings just happen to ALL choose to be prostitutes... also it's missing a story opportunity!

so: what are these eberron Changelings forced into all over sharn? addicted to "the dust of the white lotus", or magically charmed by an enchanter or dreaming dark agent who wants to use their abilities to steal information on other nations? I mean really, why would so many changelings go into this en masse? It may not be as simple as one thinks.

1) the PCs have to stop an info exchange a patron's diplomat spilled in the brothel
2) they learn the Changelings are enslaved by several masters who are using them to get information; special white powder that affects them specifically, no save (charm person-oriented)
3) they're hunting the source of "white powder" that's used to control specifically changelings: artificer (magic powders), with an order of evil monks working for him/her.

There, badda-boom, badda-bing. Your Eberron plot.

dyslexicfaser
2007-11-02, 09:31 PM
I wonder in fantasy games where prostitution could be relatively safe (a nice cure disease and atonement spell really solves all the problems I can see with prostitution and that's only if your god doesn't like it), is it still illegal and frowned upon?
Human nature being what it is, magical cure-alls would probably open up not just doors, but whole new unsavory vistas to explore. I'm not going to get into exactly where my mind went with this (I'd like not to be outcast and shunned from the GitP boards, thanks), but you can draw your own conclusions.

BAM! Moral decay and the downfall of society, all thanks to a loving and benevolent god who gave his clerics cure disease.

Ralfarius
2007-11-02, 09:47 PM
Ladies of negotiable affection?
I respectfully request everyone try and add as many euphemisms to this list as they can craft.

Also, fireinthedust is certainly on to something. A dark and unpleasant look into the business of pleasure, with any number of potential plot hooks. Do the characters know a changeling? Perhaps this acquaintance has disappeared, only to resurface on the streets with a severely altered demeanour. Looking into what happened to this unfortunate only leads the characters deeper into the secrets of such an under-world. Lots available for a group comfortable with 'mature themes'.

Duke Malagigi
2007-11-02, 10:00 PM
BAM! Moral decay and the downfall of society, all thanks to a loving and benevolent god who gave his clerics cure disease.

The nuns of Sune have been around for centuries and nothing that bad has happened on Faerun as a result of their trade.

Cyclone231
2007-11-02, 10:44 PM
After a bit of research in Sharn: City of Towers, this is my conclusion:

The oldest business is legal in Sharn (aka Eberron City), but it is wrapped up in organized crime (it's mostly controlled by the Tyrants, a gang of doppelgangers and changelings).

But here's the thing: the Tyrants do not deal in poisons, charms or alchemy. Rather, they work with the oldest profession, setting people up to take a fall, blackmail, plastic surgery, and spying (also probably some similar jobs I missed). Further, the Tyrants are made up of an inner circle of doppelgangers (8 of them) and the rest of the membership is almost all changelings (122 of them), the later of which were likely involved in the business end of the organization before they joined it.

It's entirely possible that they resort to unsavory tactics to keep their business in line, but mind control is out of character for them. They'd probably just set any rebellious types up to get sent to jail for a some crime or blackmail them.

Thus, by the book, any such mind control business in Sharn would almost certainly be restricted to bordellos controlled by other, less powerful gangs, and thus not the majority of them.

Dervag
2007-11-02, 10:52 PM
Heresy!

Actually, now I must make a character who is Pun-pun, stat him out (sorta), fill out a backstory, and attempt to figure out what he DOES in his spare time. Maybe he roleplays.

Then again.... (http://www.xkcd.com/244/)The problem is that Pun-Pun has infinite spare time, just as he has infinite everything else. Could a being with an infinite amount of time on their hands not get bored? It's possible, but it isn't necessarily true.


I respectfully request everyone try and add as many euphemisms to this list as they can craft.Well, that one's from Pratchett.

The seamstresses' guild insisted on it. And when I say "seamstresses," I mean as in:

"A search of the harbor district found nine hundred twenty three seamstresses... and two needles."

Nowhere Girl
2007-11-02, 11:44 PM
The nuns of Sune have been around for centuries and nothing that bad has happened on Faerun as a result of their trade.

Let's not forget Sharess.

And let's not forget the entire drow race. You want to get into cultures that aren't sexually repressed ... I think that's pretty much the only positive thing in mainstream drow culture. :smalltongue:

Duke Malagigi
2007-11-03, 12:23 AM
Let's not forget Sharess.

And let's not forget the entire drow race. You want to get into cultures that aren't sexually repressed ... I think that's pretty much the only positive thing in mainstream drow culture. :smalltongue:

Well, the drow are run by a bunch of nymphomanic warrior-priestess/warrior-nuns. Basically the clerics of Lolth, Sune and Sharess are sexually active nuns and priestess, in some cases with their own children and lovers (which would probably double as food for drow priestesses) and some times with loving husbands. A few of them might even make money as prostitutes, in their goddess's name of course.:smallbiggrin: But that has nothing to do with Ebberon of course.

fireinthedust
2007-11-03, 07:53 AM
Thus, by the book, any such mind control business in Sharn would almost certainly be restricted to bordellos controlled by other, less powerful gangs, and thus not the majority of them.

Or so one would think. firstly, I'm not sure whether Keith Baker has actually hung out with real prostitutes (or "escorts", either), or they'd be more shadey in the books (ie: more crack, more drugs, more corruption, and it wouldn't be legal; even Netherlanders don't really like what got legalized, I hear, as shadey people go there for girls and pot).

Secondly, this is Eberron we're talking about, and nothing is as simple as it seems. The Tyrants may not deal in poisons, but the dopplegangers (who may not care for their lesser allies) might use it on their underlings exclusively. 122 changelings is also a suspicious number, as it's not a handy mass combat encounter for orc warriors, nor is it a simple encounter of an adventuring band; I'd argue they're mostly mind-controlled. How many bordellos are out there? Who says the tyrants and others don't use it? This seems like a high-level scheme, not just some mini-operation or scam. low-rent brothels can kidnap a few girls, but specialized, high-rent girls? That's big budget stuff, and the more money you pull in the more temptation to exploit further you get (ie: yes you could pay big bucks for hot girls, but why not use relatively cheaper white lotus powder and save those gp for yourself? also that means more control of the "merchandise", who don't get into trouble outside the shop when they're not "on duty")

Who controls the dopplegangers? Well, the lords of dust (cocaine reference? appropriate, I think; this screams them, anyway) could ship in crates from Xen'drik with White Lotus in it. Their goal to sow chaos and destruction where they can is met by the use of these changelings, and I doubt rakshasas would mind enslaving servitors at all. Perhaps it's mind flayers, or agents of Sarlona. Heck, Tyrants sounds like beholders, but that's not eberron-themed (better for Waterdeep, if you get me).

bosssmiley
2007-11-03, 08:57 AM
How legal and how socially acceptable is the use of the skill Profession (Oldest) in Eberron? It's not in the index of the ECS, so I have no idea.

Profession (Flint Tool Knapper) is perfectly legal in all nation in the Eberron setting. It has, however, been largely superceded by Profession (Magewright). :smallwink:

Oh, wait. You meant the other oldest profession? "If sir has to ask, then it is not safe for sir to know." :smallamused:

Serenity
2007-11-03, 10:00 AM
...My next character is totally going to be a swordsage temple prostitute.

Frosty
2007-11-04, 05:52 PM
Is temple prostitute a prestige class or base class?

horseboy
2007-11-04, 07:02 PM
For a change of pace, one city in a campaign should have a red-light district where the workers are all male.
Heh, I was reading through this thread, remembered this post, saw the posts on drow, then remembered back in a Yamara strip in Dragon where they were visiting the drow city and went by the the "infamous infra red district" and there were all these neon signs with lines like "BOYS, BOYS, BOYS". So yeah, you do see them once in a while.

What was my point again? :smallconfused:

thorgrim29
2007-11-04, 07:22 PM
Well..... races of Eberron mention that some changelings are overwhelmed by the sexual side of their shapechanging, and end up prostitutes just for kicks..... I mean, a changeling couple could conceivably NEVER tire of eachother, too many possibilities, so why not make money out of it? A big factor of why prostitutes (is whore politically correct?) are so much into drugs is self respect and the way it ****s up their body image, but changelings have no body image to speak of..... So they could be guiltless prostitutes, and therefore not need the drugs and constant abuse to keep going.

Crow T. Robot
2007-11-04, 07:49 PM
And let's not forget the entire drow race. You want to get into cultures that aren't sexually repressed ... I think that's pretty much the only positive thing in mainstream drow culture. :smalltongue:

Saying that Drow sexuality is positive is like saying the Nazi Joy Divisions were healthy.

We should also remember that FR Drow are quite a bit different then Eberron Drow. Some one said that Drow would be in control of the more kinky aspectrs of Sharn. Which his highly unlikely, as they tend to view non-Drow as a threat, or in some cases as an important source of protean.*

*As in eating them.**

**As in killing someone, cleaning them, then cooking the flesh for consumption.

Frosty
2007-11-06, 05:00 PM
it's not that Drow's sexuality specifically is negative. It's more that their entire culture is rather evil.

Dervag
2007-11-06, 05:13 PM
it's not that Drow's sexuality specifically is negative. It's more that their entire culture is rather evil.I believe the mindset can be summarized by a quote from this alien species in the game Star Control 2, the Ilwrath (http://uqm.stack.nl/wiki/Ilwrath).

"Ha! Evil! Of Course We're Evil!
Dogar And Kazon Would Never Reward A Less-Than-Hideously Evil Species With Their Baleful Grace.
Why We Are The Very Definition Of Evil!
Everything About Us, Within And Without, Reeks Of Heinous Deeds, Deceit And Treachery!
Even Our House Pets Are Rather Evil."

Yes, the capital letters are authentic.

Mike_Lemmer
2007-11-06, 05:32 PM
Bonus points to Dervag for linking prostitution & SC2.