"Prerelease": Eberron Player’s Guide

Note: This is big enough, and I still havent gotten through the entire thread. I’ma start another post with more info later.

Its that time of the month. Well, its a bit different seeing as I’m cribbing an EnWorld thread instead of in addition to RPGnet. Jack99 also has Kingdom of Ghouls, but no one really cares about that. Anywho. There are five chapters in all:

• Life in Eberron
• Races (including changelings, kalashtar, and warforged)
• Classes (including artificer, nine paragon paths, thirteen dragonmarked paragon paths, four epic destinies)
• Character Options (roughly 50 heroic feats, but only four paragon and epic feats)
• The World of Eberron

The Feywild is called Thelanis, and the Shadowfell is called Dolurrh. There is mention of the planes affecting Eberron when coterminous as well as mention of manifest zones.

Races

Changlings get some nifty stuff!

• +2 Dex or Int, +2 Cha
• +2 Bluff, +2 Insight
• +1 Will defense
• Changling disguise (at-will change self)
• Changling trick (minor encounter that grants you combat advantage until the end of your next turn)

Devas are former allies of the couatls. They still dont like demons and rakshasas.

Dragonborn have been ret-conned to originate from Argonnessen, where there may-or-may-not be dragonborn city states bickering over the Dragon Prophecy. I have no problem with this, but I know others will for whatever reason. They also gets props from Q’barra, which also makes sense to me.

Eladrin were apparently, “there the whole time.” They just got stuck out of the Feywild Thelanis on the Day of Mourning. I guess they are still trying to get back? Keith Baker said that there is more to the story than that, but its in Eberron Campaign Guide.

Goliaths are from Xen’drik, which is a place that everything non-standard comes from. In all seriousness, it makes sense to a degree, though I could also see a few coming from Mror Holds.

Genasi are super rare and dont even know what they are. They have no homelands at all.

Kalashtar are revealed!

• +2 Wis, +2 Cha
• +2 Insight, +2 to any skill you fucking want
• Make saves at the start of your turn against daze and dominate effects
• Bastion of Mental Clarity: You and allies within 5 a +4 to Will as an immediate interrupt

That? That makes me actually want to play one. The only player to touch the kalashtar race in the years we played Eberron was Bat Jew. In fact, I’ma work on an Eberron character after this… Also, feats!

• Quori Shield grants resist 5 + half-level psychic damage.
• Telepathic Sensitivity grants a +5 bonus to Perception when detecting creatures.
• Group Mindlink lets all allies communicate via telepathy. Fucking rad.
• Extended Telepathy (paragon) increases your telepathy range to 10.
• Quori Backlash (paragon) deals psychic damage to any creature that dazes, dominates, or deals any psychic damage at all to you.
• Quori Desperation (epic) prevents you from dying or falling unconscious when you are reduced to 0 or less hit points once during an encounter until the end of your next turn. Neat!

Shifters have no new types, but get three Heroic feats:

• Eldeen Champion lets your beast companion benefit from your shifter powers.
• Sturdy Shifter gives you temporary hit points when you use your racial power.
• Shifter’s Agility gives you a +5 to Athletics and Acrobatics when shifting.

Tieflings mostly come from corrupted bloodlines in Sarlona before the Inspired took over. Personally, I like the idea of tieflings striking bargains with/corrupted by rakshasa. Of course, I can always do both.

No information on playing goblinoids. Oh well, we at least have them as Monster Manual races, and that works for me.

Backgrounds are included, but mechanically work as they always have. New stuff by region and whatnot.

Classes

Artificer
Good god, its like the entire class is online already… This section started as four lines, then just grew and fucking grew. Enjoy.

• The other artificer build is the tinkerer, which emphasizes building constructs. I guess he functions a lot like a summoner build. Too fucking cool.
• Artificers have four at-wills to choose from at this point.
• Artifices follow the rules for summoned creatures, so its less wonky and more standardized. I can dig it.
• One artificer daily has her conjure an elemental spirit that she binds to an object, animating it.

Someone was also kind enough to post up some artificer powers:

• Static shock: Melee/ranged 5; Int vs. Reflex; 1d8 + Int mod lightning damage, and the next attack made by the target takes a penalty equal to your Con modifier.
• Magic weapon is mostly the same, except the damage bonus equals your Con or Wis modifier.
• Thundering armor: Close burst 10; you or one ally gains a +1 power bonus to AC, and you make an Int vs. Fort attack against an adjacent enemy; 1d8 + Int modifier thunder damage, and push 1.

Addendum: we have the class features, too.

• Arcane Empowerment gives you one charge, plus one charge every milestone. You can use this to recharge a daily magic item power, but it can only be recharged once. You can also burn a charge to instead to supercharge a weapon or implement once per day. This charge gives you a +2 bonus to one attack roll that must be made before your next extended rest.
• Arcane Rejuvination: When an ally uses a magic item daily, they gain temp hp equal to your level + Int mod.

Healing Infusion got a major overhaul. You get two healing infusions during an extended rest that you can burn in order to trigger either curative admixture or resistative formula.

• Curative admixture burns a healing surge, adds your Wisdom modifier, and scales up with your level.
• Resistive formula grants a +1 bonus to AC for the entire encounter. The target can end the effect whenever to gain temp hp equal to their surge value plus your Con modifier. It scales with level.

Allies can burn healing surges during a short rest to restore spend infusions. Essentially, you pool your healing surges as a party, which evokes the idea that an artificer is creating healing potions in her free time.

Addendum-dum: MOAR artificer powers. I guess half their dailies are called sigils, they seem to be activated using minor actions, and apparently stack.

• Icebound sigil (level 1 daily) lets you add your Con modifier in cold damage to all attacks to an ally’s weapon for the entire encounter. You can end this effect to immobilize (save ends) a target.
• Corrosive sigil (level 5 daily) causes you to deal ongoing 5 acid (save ends) every time you hit someone. If you end the effect, the creature takes an AC penalty (save ends) equal to your Con modifier. Holy shit.
• Obedient servant (level 1 daily) is a summoning daily that creatures a Medium sized construct that has a melee and ranged attack that deals 1d10 + Int modifier damage. If it nails someone with an opportunity attack, that critter is also marked. Enemies starting adjacent to it take Wis modifier damage automatically.
• Vorpal edge (level 16) causes a weapon to crit on a natural 18+ for the entire encounter.
• Diminutive bodyguard is a level 22 utility that grants all adjacent allies resist 5 all, and can grant an ally within 5 a +4 bonus to all defenses as an immediate interrupt when hit by an attack.

Paragon Paths

• Alchemist Savant
• Battle Engineer
• Chameleon
• Clockwork Engineer
• Exorcist of the Silver Flame
• Gatekeeper Mystagogue
• Lightwalker
• Self-forged
• Warforged Juggernaut

Dragonmarked Paragon Paths

• Cannith Mastermaker
• Deneith Protector
• Ghallanda Sanctuary Guardian
• Jorasco Jadehand
• Kundarak Ghorad’din
• Lyrandar Wind-rider
• Medani True-seer
• Orien Swiftblade
• Philarlan Phantasmist
• Sivis Truenamer
• Tharashk Wayfinder
• Thuranni Shadowkiller
• Vadalis Griffonmaster

Epic Destinies

• Champion of Prophecy
• Dispossessed Champion
• Mourning Savior: You are destined to lift the curse on Cyre. I love it!
• Sublime Flame

Feats
Master Crafter is an artificer feat that lets you create magic items of your level + Int modifier using Enchant Item. Nifty, given that item creation in 4E isnt punishing, now.

Dragonmarks are handled by taking a feat. Benefits include a bonus and access to rituals, regardless of your ability to otherwise handle rituals. Me likey. Me likey a lot. I might actually pick up a dragonmark, now.

• Mark of Passage gives a +1 to all shifts and teleports granted by a power. Rituals not mentioned.
• Mark of Storms lets you slide when you hit with a thunder/lightning power, gain a +1 bonus to Speed when flying, and master the rituals Endure Elements, Enhance Vessel, Summons Winds, and Water Walk.
• Mark of Hospitality makes it so that when you use healing powers during a rest, that it heals the maximum possible. You can also master and use the ritualsEye of Alarm, Fantastic Recuperation, Secure Shelter, and Traveler’s Feast.

Aberrant Dragonmarks

• Mark of Contagion: Enemies hit by your dailies take a -2 against ongoing damage until the end of the encounter.
• Mark of Madness: Enemies hit by your dailies take a -2 to Will for the entire encounter.
• Mark of Terror: Enemies hit by your dailies take a -1 to attacks for the entire fucking encounter.

Equipment
Universally superior weapons.

Superior one-handed weapons

• Cutting Wheel, +2, 1d6 | light blade | defensive, off-hand.
• Drow long knife +3, 1d6, 5/1 | heavy blade | heavy thrown, off-hand.
• Talenta tangat, +2 1d8 | heavy blade | high crit, versatile, can be used 1-handed by small characters.

Superior 2H weapons:

• Talenta sharrash, +3, 1d8 | heavy blade, polearm | high crit, can be wielded two-handed by a small character.

Superior Double Weapons:

• Double Scimitar, +2, 1d6/1d6 | heavy blade | defensive, high crit, off-hand.
• Zulaat +2, 2d4/2d4 | heavy blade, polearm | defensive, off-hand.

Superior one-handed ranged weapons:

• Talenta boomerang, +2, 1d4, 10/20, | light blade | light thrown
• Xen’drink boomerang, +2, 1d6, 6/12 | light blade | light thrown

Dragonshards
These are magic items you can affix to magic weapons for an extra property.
The siberys shard of merciless cold, aside from having a long fucking name, gives you a +1 bonus to damage rolls with Cold attacks using that weapon.
On the other hand, the khyber shard of life drinking gives you a daily power that triggers when you bloody a target: regain 10+ hit points depending on the tier.

Command circlet is a warforged component that gives you telepathy 20 as well as an immediate reaction that lets an ally make a save against a Fear effect.

Arcane Power "Prerelease", Part 2

SpringsBoundlessThorns has posted like, all of the familiars on RPGnet. If you like these, then look forward to this Monday when Dragon introduces even more familiars to the mix.

FEATS

First, feats. You need to take Arcane Familiar to get one, and you can apparently take the feat more than once to give it a defense bonus.

Bonded Familiar allows you to communicate via telepathy.

Shielding Familiar grants you a Reflex bonus while your familiar is passive, and you can destroy your familiar to reduce the damage from an attack that hits you.

Spellseer Familiar grants you a bonus to attacks against creatures next to your familiar and lets you reroll a missed arcane attack once per day.

I like these because these are feats I’d actually want to take. 3rd Edition had some minor feat trees for familiars, but were generally far too underpowered to make it worth your while. I can see many arcanists picking up at least Spellseer Familiar just for the reroll. I mean, I’d even consider Shielding Familiar for the Reflex boost and ability to take half damage from an attack. Those are pretty cool.

FAMILIAR LIST

Bats have blindsight, can fly, grant you +2 on Perception and Stealth, and can remove concealment from enemies adjacent to them.

The book imp flies, grants a bonus to Arcana and History, helps you understand Infernal, grants fire resistance, and it can turn invisible until the end of your next turn. I really wanted a bat familiar just to irk Adrian, but this seems perfect for a fire-based tiefling. Le sigh…

Cats can have vestigial wings as a quick (see below).

A craft homunculus not only turns enemies into statues, but also imposes a penalty to use alchemical items and is itself immune to them.

Dragonlings can fly, give you Draconic, grant bonus hit points with a healing surge usage, and it can use a breath attack.

Falcons can fly, grant a bonus to Perception and against opportunity attacks, let you determine range from their position once per encounter, and can go twice as far from you as normal.

Owls have low-light vision, fly, add a variable bonus to Insight checks, and you can see through its eyes as a standard action.

Rats grant a bonus to Stealth, can carry objects up to 2 lbs., and can make Thievery checks with a +2 bonus! Thats fucking rad. Also, they get a +5 to Stealth.

Serpents grant a bonus to Bluff, let you ignore a difficult terrain space for shifting, and they can stop all adjacent creatures from making opportunity attacks for a turn.

Spiders can climb, grant a bonus to Athetics for climbing purposes, impose a penalty to saves against immobilize and slow conditions, and can slide an object within 5 squares 2 squares as long as it doesnt weigh more than 5 lbs.

Ravens can fly, grant a big Perception bonus to find hidden stuff, and can speak any language you know. They can converse with other creatures, and you can hear everything it says and also dictate what it says. Interesting.

Now, these are much, much better than their 3rd Edition counterparts, which were almost entirely character dressing that didnt do much except perform as a Tiny-sized XP writeoff. They couldnt really do much of anything because they were too stupid until you hit a certain level, and honestly you were probably better off just not taking one until higher level because they instantly got all the cool shit. That is, assuming you didnt prestige-out into something actually useful, like elemental savant or mage of the arcane order, of course.

I have a couple arcane characters right now, and I’m going to give a bat to my tiefling cunning bard, and probably a book imp to my tiefling summoner wizard.

Quirks are suggestions for various familiars to make them more interesting, I suppose. SpringsBoundlessThorns didnt really go into detail on this. There is apparently a section on how your familiar changes from passive to active mode (appearing in a puff of smoke, changing from a stone statue to flesh, etc).

Familiars cannot be attacked unless they are in active mode. This makes it a lot easier to manage them in 3E where it was possible for t hem to randomly die due to an area attack unless your DM was kind and/or forgot that they were even there.
They only got 1 hit point, basically functioning as a minion. If they die, they dont hurt you in any way, and reform after a short/extended rest. They arent magically treated animals: they are “mystic energy given form”, which sounds a lot more thematic and interesting than before.

Arcane Power "Prerelease"

The new bard virtue is prescience, and allows her to grant an ally hit by an attack a bonus to a defense once per encounter. Apparently its good for a “ranged” bard build.

Sorcerers get two new spell sources: storm and cosmic. We’ve already seen cosmic on a preview, and storm magic lets you shear away defenses and gain flight if you crit with an arcane power. There are a lot of new powers for all four spell sources.

We already knew about the aegis of ensnarement, for swordmages, and there are new powers for all three aegis types. Aegis of ensnarement is linked to Constitution.

Likewise, we also already got the vestige pact preview. Some of the new powers function for two pacts, giving you a different kicker effect depending on which pact you have.

Wizards get the tome implement, but there is also a new implement feature for the other implements (Orb of Deception being cited). Lots of illusion and summoning powers, including globe of invulnerability, prismatic wall, and “spells that summon abyssal hordes and living mountains that occupy a 3 x 3 square space”.
The new wizard at-wills are illusory ambush, phantom bolt, and storm pillar (a one-turn summon that deals damage if creatures get too close).
This is good to know, as I’m going to rebuild Ignus in Adrian’s game completely to a summoner (I was just cobbling together the stuff I had based on previews).

There is also a listing of paragon paths for each class, but nothing mentioned about any of them so far.

The current list of familiars is bat, book imp, bound demon, cat, crafter homunculus, dragonling, falcon, owl, rat, raven, serpent, and spider. The homunculus apparently turns every creature it kills into a statue.