Page 21 - Eberron -Rising from the Last War_Neat

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LEA I N G T H E M R O R H O L D S a result, Clan Kundarak is no longer represented on
d 8 Reason for Leaving the Iron Council that rules the Mror Holds. However, it
wields an influence over the other clans that reflects its
A feud with a rival clan has gotten out of hand, and
wealth and its status in the world beyond the Holds, and
it's best that you spend a few decades away from the the voice of Kundarak members arguing against the use
Holds while things cool down. of daelkyr magic carries significant weight.
2 You come from a large family and there's no room for
you to shine n your hold, so you hope to make a name E L VES
i
for yourself in the wider world.
3 Yo r clan has arranged your marriage and your future, PUT UP YOUR SWORDS AND TALK OF PEACE, OR HIDE
u
and you've decided to have a few adventures before behind your walls o f stone. When the host o f V a lenar thun­
you settle down. ders o rth, neither will save you.
f
4 You're pursuing a vendetta with a personal rival, seek­ -Shaeras V a dallia, High King ofValenar
ing to defeat them either in battle or in business.
5 Yo ' re searching fo r a legendary dwarven artifact, sto­ Tens of thousands of years ago, the elves of the distant
u
len centuries ago by a Karrnish noble. continent of Xen'drik rose up against the giants who
6 You want to assemble champions who can help you ex­ ruled over them. This rebellion is the defining event in
elf history. As the ancient war progressed, the mage­
plore the ancient ruins beneath your ancestral home.
7 You've rejected your clan's attitude toward daelkyr breeders of the giants bound magic into the elves who
remained loyal to them, forming the drow-assassins
magic, earning the enmity of powerf l dwarves.
u
bred to prey on their other kin. Ultimately, the elves fled
8 You want to understand how the other peoples of from Xen'drik and settled the island nation of Aerenal,
Khorvaire-especially the goblins and ores-have where they split into two distinct cultures: the intro­
fought the daelkyr. spective Aereni and the warlike Tairnadal. Thus, a war
nearly forty thousand years ago established the pattern
DWAR E S OF THE FIVE NATIONS of how elves live today.
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Neither the Aereni nor the Tairnadal (which include
Dwarves are spread across Khorvaire. Dwarf soldiers the elves ofValenar) have much interest in human ac­
and engineers were part of the armies that united the tivities, but small numbers of elves have immigrated to
Five Nations, and dwarf masons laid the foundations Khorvaire over the centuries and have more or less inte­
of the greatest cities of Galifar. Traditionally loyal to grated with the cultures of the Five Nations. The drow,
family and clan, dwarves who were born outside the though, are virtually unknown on Khorvaire.
Mror Holds tend to transfer their fierce clan loyalty to As a whole, elves are driven by tradition and respect
their new homes-and particularly to the edifices of for the past. Where humans value innovation, elves
stonework that symbolize the permanence and stabil­ strive to master and perfect the techniques of their
ity of those places. A Brelish dwarf might feel a deep,
personal connection to the towers of Sharn or the great ancestors over the course of studies lasting centuries.
walls of Wroat; some dwarves love the great Cathedral Elf society has changed little over the last five thousand
of the Silver Flame in Thrane more than devout follow­ years, while Khorvaire is constantly evolving. Whatever
ers of the Silver Flame. Ultimately, the typical dwarf in the origin of your elf character, consider your relation­
wider Khorvaire is more patriotic than the average hu­ ship wit.h the past: Do you value the traditions of your
man of the Five Nations, and many dwarves fought for ancestors? Or do you fear that your people are too
their nations in the Last War, at least for a time. mired in the past, and need to find a way to adapt and
When creating a dwarf character from the Five Na­ move forward?
tions, consider both your national loyalty and the role H I GH E L VES : THE AERENI
your family plays in your life. Do you live near family?
What kind of work do your closest family members pur­ For thousands of years, the island nation of Aerenal
sue, and is that reflected in the background you choose? has been ruled and protected by the godlike power of
Are you close to your relatives, or have you had a falling the Undying Court, a council of undead high elves. The
out? Did you lose kin in the Last War? greatest heroes of the Aereni join the Undying Court af­
ter death, joining their heroic ancestors in immortality.
DWARVES AND DRAGONMARKS The Aereni are isolationists who have little interest
in the world beyond their island. The Five Nations are
The Mark of Warding appears on dwarves of House a place of chaos and war, so why would any sensible
Kundarak, which had its origins as one of the clans of elf venture into that madness? As you make an Aereni
the Mror Holds. Kundarak dwarves live across Khor­ elf character, decide what has caused you to leave your
vaire while maintaining close ties to the Mror Holds and island home and the protection of the Undying Court in
their loyalty to the house over any particular nation. order to wander the world. Are you in search of a power
In addition to providing all manner of security, House that could earn you your place in the Undying Court?
Kundarak dominates Khorvaire's banking industry. As Have you been given a quest by one of your own death­
a dragonmarked house, it is obliged to remain neutral less ancestors? Or are you an exile, banished from your
in the politics of all nations, including its homeland. As
homeland for some crime against your people's rulers?

CHAPTER 1 I CHARACTER C R EATION
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