Eberron Feats [3.5]

[Exthalion]

I am creating a character for an Eberron campaign and am going outside my fluff comfort zone.

I am playing as a Chosen, aka Empty Vessel, and have just finished reading Secretes of Sarlona. After finishing, I have some questions on how to build this character.

First: Are the Dream Scion line of feats any good? Flavorful yes, but they are useful while sleeping or once per day for a limited number of rounds (I know it goes up to 3 times per day, but that is by level.) Also, some of the bonuses aren't that good, only +1 on saves and such and the state lasts for 3+Wisdom mod rounds perday.

Second: Is there any reliable way to keep from getting possessed? A way to do this at low levels would be very helpful.

Third: Given that most people in the five nations know very little about Sarlona, how would an Empty Vessel come off?

Fourth: What are good Psion feats? I know this has little to do with the above, but I don't really play psionic classes.

[Beelzebub1111]

Third: Given that most people in the five nations know very little about Sarlona, how would an Empty Vessel come off?

Your average joe would probably think that they are Kalashatar.

[classy one]

I am creating a character for an Eberron campaign and am going outside my fluff comfort zone.

I am playing as a Chosen, aka Empty Vessel, and have just finished reading Secretes of Sarlona. After finishing, I have some questions on how to build this character.

Why an empty vessel? It's like you are being a kalashtar but with a level adjustment. Granted optimization isn't the most important thing playing a Chosen presents some problems. As in you support a evil, alien regime bent on controlling the dreams of all mortals. Not that heroic. Some of your other question also emphasis why Chosen/Inspired are hard to play.

First: Are the Dream Scion line of feats any good? Flavorful yes, but they are useful while sleeping or once per day for a limited number of rounds (I know it goes up to 3 times per day, but that is by level.) Also, some of the bonuses aren't that good, only +1 on saves and such and the state lasts for 3+Wisdom mod rounds perday.

Dreamtouched states are not bad, in fact they are pretty good especially if you plan on taking more in the future. They are not really great for combat if that is what you were looking for. That being said, if you read the Secrets of Sarlona, you would know that most law abiding Reidrans love having their dreams manipulated by the monoliths. As a Chosen this is even more so, so from a RPing aspect it doesn't make sense.

Second: Is there any reliable way to keep from getting possessed? A way to do this at low levels would be very helpful.

For a Chosen? If a Quori (ie your DM) wants to possess you he will and you do very little about it. I highly doubt your DM will let you keep your PC while you have become an Inspired, since that would mean you having to RP the 40 hours a night you spend in Dal Quor while the rest of your party sleeps.

Third: Given that most people in the five nations know very little about Sarlona, how would an Empty Vessel come off?

This was answered already.

Fourth: What are good Psion feats? I know this has little to do with the above, but I don't really play psionic classes.

Look up in BG forums for a psion handbook for all your psion needs.

[AslanCross]

First: Are the Dream Scion line of feats any good? Flavorful yes, but they are useful while sleeping or once per day for a limited number of rounds (I know it goes up to 3 times per day, but that is by level.) Also, some of the bonuses aren't that good, only +1 on saves and such and the state lasts for 3+Wisdom mod rounds perday.

Interesting, but not spectacular. Frankly, a lot of SoS's material is like this, apart maybe from Tashalatora.

Second: Is there any reliable way to keep from getting possessed? A way to do this at low levels would be very helpful.

Have your friendly neighborhood caster cast this.

Third: Given that most people in the five nations know very little about Sarlona, how would an Empty Vessel come off?

As mentioned above, they usually can't tell the difference between Inspired or Kalashtar; you could even pass yourself off as human.

Fourth: What are good Psion feats? I know this has little to do with the above, but I don't really play psionic classes.

I'm always a fan of Psionic Meditation and Speed of Thought. Psionics is very big on attaining psionic focus, and Psionic Meditation allows you to get there without the trouble of a full round action. Speed of Thought is great for charging into battle or running away. Magic of Eberron has a feat that allows you to gain back 1d6 spent power points by burning an action point; I forget the name.

[Exthalion]

Perhaps some background would be a good idea. The DM is letting us writeoff one (1) level of LA. My character realized the truth of the Dreaming Dark and it appalled him. The Path of Inspiration is not an Evil religion, it is just a front for one.

My character is still faithful to the Path, but not to the Quori. He discovered that they are the ones possessing the Chosen, or at least that one tried to possess him. As such he fled.

Finally, protection from evil doesn't last very long.

[Cieyrin]

Perhaps some background would be a good idea. The DM is letting us writeoff one (1) level of LA. My character realized the truth of the Dreaming Dark and it appalled him. The Path of Inspiration is not an Evil religion, it is just a front for one.

My character is still faithful to the Path, but not to the Quori. He discovered that they are the ones possessing the Chosen, or at least that one tried to possess him. As such he fled.

Finally, protection from evil doesn't last very long.

Just to note, not all Quori are evil, as evidenced by the Kalashtar. It's just the current regime in Dal Quor doesn't want the cycle to continue to a new version. Even then, there are non-evil Quori among the Dreaming Dark, they're just hiding the fact to avoid being ganked to make new Quori.

As such, I can see two possible avenues for making sense: 1) You're a vessel for one of those rare non-evil Quori and it's busy trying to keep its existence continual, leaving its vessels alone on Eberron. 2) There are quite a few Quori that don't make the shift from Dal Quor, even though they have vessels available to them. So, regardless of its alignment, your resident Quori could be content with not coming over. This may change, of course, depending on how noticeable your little rebellion against your fellow Riedrans is and that's just plot icing for your DM to play with.

[peacenlove]

Impotent possessor and imprison possessor from BoVD last until dispelled and take care of ANY possessing spirit currently inhabiting you.
2 drawbacks: Both 5th level spells (IIRC), must be cast by somebody else when you are possessed (else the spirit will try to break your casting).
Liberal use of dismissal/banishment (4th and 7th level respectively) will also get the message across and the fiend will search for less protected individuals to possess.

[Cieyrin]

Liberal use of dismissal/banishment (4th and 7th level respectively) will also get the message across and the fiend will search for less protected individuals to possess.

I'd think the Quori owner would get a mite miffed if his Chosen are rejecting him and report the incident to the proper group in the Dreaming Dark to try other methods of recapture, probably the Thousand Eyes.

[peacenlove]

I'd think the Quori owner would get a mite miffed if his Chosen are rejecting him and report the incident to the proper group in the Dreaming Dark to try other methods of recapture, probably the Thousand Eyes.

Oh i know next to nothing about Eberron spirits, following only the rules of possession in the Fiendish codex 1. What are the thousand eyes?

[Cieyrin]

Oh i know next to nothing about Eberron spirits, following only the rules of possession in the Fiendish codex 1. What are the thousand eyes?

The Quori's legion of spies and assassins, IIRC. I think there may be another group that works for the Thousand Eyes that does the assassinating, though. Fuzzy memory is fuzzy. ~_~

[0Megabyte]

Yeah, while not every empty vessel has a quori host inside, certainly not at all times, I'd say that if a quori isn't posessing the empty vessel, it's for a reason.

A reason like what I've seen in Secrets of Xen'drik. By which I mean, certain legendary weapons designed to knock quori spirits out of the bodies of the Inspired... for example, what if someone working for the Kalashtar, like a group of PC-style adventurers, found them, or weapons like them, and brought them over to Atur? Why not train an Empty Vessel (or five) to high level without having him/her have any quori spirits inside, to fight back?

---

Even with that, I can't see empty vessels as protagonists unless you are going for a "villains serving the Dreaming Dark" style storyline, which would honestly be rather fun.

[Coidzor]

The individual quori whose line you're tied to has the ability to get in pretty much freely as far as I've been able to tell, I'm trying to remember, but I could almost swear there was some mention of mental defenses not being useful in that way against the quori one is tied to... or maybe that's just my misremembering the inability to save against that possession. If you're a young Chosen though, the quori could be one of the ones which mostly just lives more-or-less full time in one host until it gets old and less pretty.

I believe you get a will save against quori you don't belong to trying to enter you, though most chosen willingly fail them.

The principle problem with Chosen is that they are so vulnerable to their quori (as they were designed to be) and once a quori gets in there, the original personality and mind is overwritten by the beliefs/attitudes/personality of the quori and whatever knowledge the quori learns/expresses while in that body.

But renegade Chosen who realize what's going on *are* one of the potential interpretations of Chosen as characters that they went on about in the books. It's just, y'know, difficult and unlikely. But when has that stopped PCs?

And there are Chosen who go their entire lives without being possessed, sometimes even being trusted enough to be sent off on assignments or as diplomatic envoys/attaches.

So you can easily explain how you're still you rather than your quori. More problematic is preventing you from being possessed by quori or word getting back to your quori (if it's still extant) once you start coming into conflict with Riedra and/or the Dreaming Dark.

[AslanCross]

Finally, protection from evil doesn't last very long.

That's all you get at low levels. Magic Circle Against Evil is just the same thing, with an area of effect. Mind Blank is the closest you can get.

Unless you can get a continuous item of protection from evil (which probably costs a lot), there is no invulnerability to possession at low levels.

[Foryn Gilnith]

there is no invulnerability to possession at low levels.

Shape Soulmeld (Planar Ward) is useful. Basically continual Protection from Alignment.

[Prime32]

Interesting note: In Eberron, an elan is created when a quori is sealed powerlessly inside a human as punishment (think Jinchuuriki). The psychic powers are an unexpected side-effect.

[classy one]

Chosen are bred to be vessels for the Quori. They can be taken over anytime even without the consent of the Chosen. They were bred to have no resistance to possession from Quori. Mechanically this means you get no saves, no resistance, it just happens because it is hardwired into your DNA.

A lenient DM could allow you a saving throw and negate the fluff but that would really take a lot of the umf out of your PC's backstory IMO.

A Quori would respond to a resistive Chosen by keeping it possessed until it died. It views Chosen as cattle and outfits, to be put on and used when suited, and thrown away when it is done with them. It would not say "oh you don't want to be possessed, I'll leave you alone then" their pride would simply not allow it.

[Prime32]

I'd suggest asking the DM if you can have an artefact which protects you from possession while it is worn. Or at least removes the link between you and "your" quori so that it can't possess you automatically.

Could lead to interesting plot points. Maybe the kalashtar want the artefact as a component for some big strike against the quori, but you're too scared to take it off. Maybe the Dreaming Dark don't want to risk copies being made of it. Maybe it contains the lost kalashtar ancestor.

[classy one]

Only thing that I know that can give complete immunity to possession is Quori Mindhunter, which traps a Quori in your mind and leech power from it. Not a bad PrC, especially if you are planning on taking on the Inspired.

[peacenlove]

Chosen are bred to be vessels for the Quori. They can be taken over anytime even without the consent of the Chosen. They were bred to have no resistance to possession from Quori. Mechanically this means you get no saves, no resistance, it just happens because it is hardwired into your DNA.

A lenient DM could allow you a saving throw and negate the fluff but that would really take a lot of the umf out of your PC's backstory IMO.

A Quori would respond to a resistive Chosen by keeping it possessed until it died. It views Chosen as cattle and outfits, to be put on and used when suited, and thrown away when it is done with them. It would not say "oh you don't want to be possessed, I'll leave you alone then" their pride would simply not allow it.

Again Impotent possessor makes sure that the spirit, while inside you, cannot influence you in any way, and imprison possessor traps it in your body permanently. So yeah it can possess you freely but it will be trapped inside you powerless until you die or the spells are dispelled.

[Starbuck_II]

8th level Church inquisitor gains totally immunity to possession. Minimum 11th level to gain though (Cleric3/Inquisitor 8).

[Greenish]

Again Impotent possessor makes sure that the spirit, while inside you, cannot influence you in any way, and imprison possessor traps it in your body permanently. So yeah it can possess you freely but it will be trapped inside you powerless until you die or the spells are dispelled.

Grand, so after you've found someone who can cast 5th level spells, you only have to hang around and wait for a quori to drop by. Then the caster has to notice the quori is around before the quori smells trouble, and manage to cage it there.

Then you both can spend rest of your days dodging the Thousand Eyes.

[peacenlove]

Grand, so after you've found someone who can cast 5th level spells, you only have to hang around and wait for a quori to drop by. Then the caster has to notice the quori is around before the quori smells trouble, and manage to cage it there.

Then you both can spend rest of your days dodging the Thousand Eyes.

Problem solved AND endless adventure/risk.
I don't see a problem

[Greenish]

Problem solved AND endless adventure/risk.
I don't see a problem

The problem would be finding and securing the help of a 9th level + spellcaster with nothing better to do, in Eberron.