Eberron - Rising from the Last War

(Joyce) #1

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LEAVING THE MROR HOLDS
d8 Reason for Leaving
A fe ud with a rival clan has gotten out of hand, and
it's best that you spend a few decades away from the
Holds while things cool down.
2 You come from a large family and there's no room for
you to shine in your hold, so you hope to make a name
for yourself in the wider world.
3 Your clan has arranged your marriage and your future,
and you've decided to have a few adventures before
you settle down.
4 You're pursuing a ve ndetta with a personal rival, seek­
ing to defe at them either in battle or in business.
5 Yo u're searching fo r a legendary dwarven artifact, sto­
len centuries ago by a Karrnish noble.
6 You want to assemble champions who can help you ex­
plore the ancient ruins beneath your ancestral home.
7 You've rejected your clan's attitude toward daelkyr
magic, earning the enmity of powerful dwarves.
8 You want to understand how the other peoples of
Khorvaire-especially the goblins and ores-have
fought the daelkyr.

DWARVES OF THE FIVE NATIONS
Dwarves are spread across Khorvaire. Dwarf soldiers
and engineers were part of the armies that united the
Five Nations, and dwarf masons laid the foundations
of the greatest cities of Galifar. Traditionally loyal to
family and clan, dwarves who were born outside the
Mror Holds tend to transfer their fierce clan loyalty to
their new homes-and particularly to the edifices of
stonework that symbolize the permanence and stabil­
ity of those places. A Brelish dwarf might fe el a deep,
personal connection to the towers of Sharn or the great
walls of Wroat; some dwarves love the great Cathedral
of the Silver Flame in Thrane more than devout follow­
ers of the Silver Flame. Ultimately, the typical dwarf in
wider Khorvaire is more patriotic than the average hu­
man of the Five Nations, and many dwarves fought for
their nations in the Last War, at least for a time.
When creating a dwarf character from the Five Na­
tions, consider both your national loyalty and the role
your family plays in your life. Do you live near family?
What kind of work do your closest family members pur­
sue, and is that reflected in the background you choose?
Are you close to your relatives, or have you had a falling
out? Did you lose kin in the Last War?

DWARVES AND DRAGONMARKS
The Mark of Warding appears on dwarves of House
Kundarak, which had its origins as one of the clans of
the Mror Holds. Kundarak dwarves live across Khor­
vaire while maintaining close ties to the Mror Holds and
their loyalty to the house over any particular nation.
In addition to providing all manner of security, House
Kundarak dominates Khorvaire's banking industry. As
a dragonmarked house, it is obliged to remain neutral
in the politics of all nations, including its homeland. As

CHAPTER 1 I CHARACTER CREATION

a result, Clan Kundarak is no longer represented on
the Iron Council that rules the Mror Holds. However, it
wields an influence over the other clans that reflects its
wealth and its status in the world beyond the Holds, and
the voice of Kundarak members arguing against the use
of daelkyr magic carries significant weight.

ELVES


PUT UP YOUR SWORDS AND TALK OF PEACE, OR HIDE
behind your walls of stone. When the host of Valenar thun­
ders forth, neither will save you.
-Shaeras Vadallia, High King ofValenar

Te ns of thousands of years ago, the elves of the distant
continent of Xen'drik rose up against the giants who
ruled over them. This rebellion is the defining event in
elf history. As the ancient war progressed, the mage­
breeders of the giants bound magic into the elves who
remained loyal to them, forming the drow-assassins
bred to prey on their other kin. Ultimately, the elves fled
from Xen'drik and settled the island nation of Aerenal,
where they split into two distinct cultures: the intro­
spective Aereni and the warlike Tairnadal. Thus, a war
nearly forty thousand years ago established the pattern
of how elves live today.
Neither the Aereni nor the Tairnadal (which include
the elves of Valenar) have much interest in human ac­
tivities, but small numbers of elves have immigrated to
Khorvaire over the centuries and have more or less inte­
grated with the cultures of the Five Nations. The drow,
though, are virtually unknown on Khorvaire.
As a whole, elves are driven by tradition and respect
for the past. Where humans value innovation, elves
strive to master and perfect the techniques of their
ancestors over the course of studies lasting centuries.
Elf society has changed little over the last five thousand
years, while Khorvaire is constantly evolving. Whatever
the origin of your elf character, consider your relation­
ship wit.h the past: Do you value the traditions of your
ancestors? Or do you fe ar that your people are too
mired in the past, and need to find a way to adapt and
move forward?

HIGH ELVES: THE AERENI
For thousands of years, the island nation of Aerenal
has been ruled and protected by the godlike power of
the Undying Court, a council of undead high elves. The
greatest heroes of the Aereni join the Undying Court af­
ter death, joining their heroic ancestors in immortality.
The Aereni are isolationists who have little interest
in the world beyond their island. The Five Nations are
a place of chaos and war, so why would any sensible
elf venture into that madness? As you make an Aereni
elf character, decide what has caused you to leave your
island home and the protection of the Undying Court in
order to wander the world. Are you in search of a power
that could earn you your place in the Undying Court?
Have you been given a quest by one of your own death­
less ancestors? Or are you an exile, banished from your
homeland for some crime against your people's rulers?
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