Unearthed Arcana 9/10 - Dragonmarks

[jaappleton]

https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/UA_Dragonmarks.pdf

[Kadesh]

Anyone know if these are different from The Wayfarers guide?

[KingWhipsy]

Looks pretty cool from a quick glance, though I dont think it's necessary to limit the Marks to specific races.

[Mjolnirbear]

The Mark of Healing is the same. This document includes Aberrant dragonmark rules, but not the Greater Dragonmark feat.

A quick skim gives me the impression this is copied directly from WgtE. I was initially annoyed at the lack of new material, but it appears to be how the Devs want feedback on WgtE, so it makes sense.

[Mjolnirbear]

Looks pretty cool from a quick glance, though I dont think it's necessary to limit the Marks to specific races.

It is necessary due to lore. That said, there's nothing stopping an individual DM from deciding his version of Eberron can have Warforged with the Mark of Healing, if he wants to create rules for it.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Looks pretty cool from a quick glance, though I dont think it's necessary to limit the Marks to specific races.

That’s kinda like saying you should allow the drow subrace on gnomes. The marks replace race/sub racial traits. These are effectively new race options.

[KingWhipsy]

That’s kinda like saying you should allow the drow subrace on gnomes. The marks replace race/sub racial traits. These are effectively new race options.

Except it's a dragonmark and not a race. Your analogy is comical at best.

[Dr.Samurai]

KingWhipsy, you gain the dragonmark by choosing your race. If you want the Mark of Healing, you have to be a halfling. So his analogy is spot on.

[ATHATH]

Except it's a dragonmark and not a race. Your analogy is comical at best.
But these are subraces, not feats.

[Foxhound438]

I enjoy the fact that there's dex based dwarves, especially with how much they seem to be pushed in the direction of being good rogues. 10/10 would arcane trickster.

[dejarnjc]

They bigger they are might make dominate beasts an actual useful spell...


Also makes conjure animals even cooler

Strike that, the wording on conjure animals should mean that this trait doesn't affect that spell.

[Asmotherion]

Since Wayfinder's Guide to Eberon is already online, I think it's obsolate. I like the Dragonmarks as they are actually.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Except it's a dragonmark and not a race. Your analogy is comical at best.

Read the document they function as races not as feats. Because you are supposed to be born with dragon marks. There’s no other way to accomplish this except as races.

[Dr.Samurai]

I enjoy the fact that there's dex based dwarves, especially with how much they seem to be pushed in the direction of being good rogues. 10/10 would arcane trickster.
I would be tempted to as well except for the limitation on the school of spells an Arcane Trickster can learn. A Kundarak dwarf with the Mark of Warding that uses his powers to bypass wards and the like would be good at infiltration and bypassing hazards and traps, and illusion/enchantment spells don't really jive with that.

(Of course, you could just not go with the idea that your class abilities are based on your dragonmark abilities, and then it's a-ok.)

[ATHATH]

Read the document they function as races not as feats. Because you are supposed to be born with dragon marks. There’s no other way to accomplish this except as races.
Well, back in 3.5, they WERE feats (and a prestige class (not counting the prestige class that let you mimic having one))- when you took the feat, the Dragonmark manifested, and you could take further feats to improve it.

Heck, I think one of 5e's UA takes on Dragonmarks let you take them as feats.

[Dr.Samurai]

Right. But for this particular take on them, you can't just be any race and have a dragonmark, because it is directly tied to your race/subrace.

[Luccan]

Well, back in 3.5, they WERE feats (and a prestige class (not counting the prestige class that let you mimic having one))- when you took the feat, the Dragonmark manifested, and you could take further feats to improve it.

Heck, I think one of 5e's UA takes on Dragonmarks let you take them as feats.

The problem being that in 3.5, everyone got level 1 feats. So playing a Dragonmarked from level 1 was actually possible. If they were feats in 5e, only humans could have dragonmarks at level 1, which doesn't really make sense.

Edit: to be clear to the people arguing it shouldn't be tied to race: dragonmarks have been tied to race since Eberron was created and ties into the setting lore. Allowing anyone of any race to have any dragonmark as a default would be a huge departure from lore that would significant ramifications on the setting.

[Foxhound438]

Also, I'm guessing aberrant dragonmark is a feat? it looks like it could be a better magic initiate, since the option to upcast could be relevant depending on spell choice. Charm person could be a neat gamble wherein you can potentially cause two things to not hit you, but on the same action you damage yourself and might lose concentration immediately. Damage spells in general seem like a losing bet, since you probably scale by like a d8 or worse, and you can take as much damage or more in return. in a decidedly low-level game (say, a level 3 one shot or something), sleep might be a fine choice for a variant human.

[Tetrasodium]

Except it's a dragonmark and not a race. Your analogy is comical at best.

That is not at all accurate. Dragonmarks are the humanoid evolutionary equivalent of hellhounds/blinkdogs/etc & the individual dragonmarked houses are at their core tied to the fact that only that bloodline of that race (or races in the case of tharashk & mark of finding) have that mark. Dragonmarks are not simply the equivalent of magic initiate. If being 7feet tall were as noteworthy as having a dragonmark you could consider shawn pbradly to be that race (https://news.byu.edu/news/byu-genetic-researchers-solve-giant-mystery-how-shawn-bradley-got-be-so-tall) because it's in his genes.... The same could be said about Laron syndrome individuals (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2303479/The-Ecuadorian-dwarf-community-immune-cancer-diabetes-hold-cure-diseases.html) who are resistant to growth hormones.


Having the dragonmarks as a race rather than a feat makes a lot of sense given 5e's structure. The fact that they were feats at all in 3.5 is an artifact of how prevalent feats were in 3.5 & how races were structured.

[Nifft]

The Mark of Healing is the same. This document includes Aberrant dragonmark rules, but not the Greater Dragonmark feat

Greater Dragonmark feat is on page 7.


Also, I'm guessing aberrant dragonmark is a feat? it looks like it could be a better magic initiate, since the option to upcast could be relevant depending on spell choice. Charm person could be a neat gamble wherein you can potentially cause two things to not hit you, but on the same action you damage yourself and might lose concentration immediately. Damage spells in general seem like a losing bet, since you probably scale by like a d8 or worse, and you can take as much damage or more in return. in a decidedly low-level game (say, a level 3 one shot or something), sleep might be a fine choice for a variant human.

Aberrant Dragonmark gives you a Sorcerer cantrip and level-1 Sorcerer spell which are both cast using Con.

I want this on a Barbarian.

[Daithi]

Mark of Finding is not the same from WgtE. In applies to half-orcs and humans in WgtE, but it only applies to half-orcs in UA.

This is one of my favorite marks for characters that track down targets -- bounty hunters, gambler/loan shark skip tracers, tracking down thieves, investigators tracking down witnesses or runaways, etc. Works especially well with druids and rangers. So... not too happy it only applies to half-orcs now.

[Tetrasodium]

Mark of Finding is not the same from WgtE. In applies to half-orcs and humans in WgtE, but it only applies to half-orcs in UA.

This is one of my favorite marks for characters that track down targets -- bounty hunters, gambler/loan shark skip tracers, tracking down thieves, investigators tracking down witnesses or runaways, etc. Works especially well with druids and rangers. So... not too happy it only applies to half-orcs now.

it applies differently to humans & half orcs in wgte too not just "this set of stats is for both humans & half orcs"

[Mjolnirbear]

Greater Dragonmark feat is on page 7.



Aberrant Dragonmark gives you a Sorcerer cantrip and level-1 Sorcerer spell which are both cast using Con.

I want this on a Barbarian.

Ugh. Skimmed too fast. Don't know how I missed it, sorry

[RickAsWritten]

Also, I'm guessing aberrant dragonmark is a feat? it looks like it could be a better magic initiate, since the option to upcast could be relevant depending on spell choice. Charm person could be a neat gamble wherein you can potentially cause two things to not hit you, but on the same action you damage yourself and might lose concentration immediately. Damage spells in general seem like a losing bet, since you probably scale by like a d8 or worse, and you can take as much damage or more in return. in a decidedly low-level game (say, a level 3 one shot or something), sleep might be a fine choice for a variant human.

After just a quick perusal, I like Absorb Elements and Chaos Bolt as my preferred options for an Aberrant Mark. Upast AE, resist the damage, take some HD damage(possibly less than the original damage was before resistance), then drop the hammer on your next turn.

Chaos Bolt just fits flavor-wise. It's not particularly powerful, but is thematically perfect.

[Beechgnome]

Also, I'm guessing aberrant dragonmark is a feat? it looks like it could be a better magic initiate, since the option to upcast could be relevant depending on spell choice. Charm person could be a neat gamble wherein you can potentially cause two things to not hit you, but on the same action you damage yourself and might lose concentration immediately. Damage spells in general seem like a losing bet, since you probably scale by like a d8 or worse, and you can take as much damage or more in return. in a decidedly low-level game (say, a level 3 one shot or something), sleep might be a fine choice for a variant human.

No worries on Charm Person as it is not concentration.

[Ogun]

Is an Aberrant Dragonmark any better than Magic Initiate?
I'm seeing few great choices here, no Find Familiar, no Hex,no Goodberry.
Mage Armor and GFB might be ok...

Also, anyone notice that the Mark of Hospitality grants Friends, a spell that ends with them hating you?
So much for repeat business...

Mark Of Making is all kinds of win, Forge Cleric in a feat, or take both, and magic up armor and sheild for stupid good AC.

[Nifft]

Is an Aberrant Dragonmark any better than Magic Initiate? +1 Con, -1 cantrip, cast using Constitution, spend a HD to up-cast (which ought to scale with level but doesn't)


I'm seeing few great choices here, no Find Familiar, no Hex,no Goodberry. Yeah there's still plenty of reasons to take Magic Initiate. This isn't a strict upgrade -- it's a separate thing for people who don't want any mental ability scores.


Also, anyone notice that the Mark of Hospitality grants Friends, a spell that ends with them hating you?
So much for repeat business... Yeah that's a bad choice for Hospitality; better for Finding ("Hey buddy, have you seen this fugitive? Thanks, let's never meet again.")


Mark Of Making is all kinds of win, Forge Cleric in a feat, or take both, and magic up armor and sheild for stupid good AC. Hell to the yes. It's even thematic.

[JackPhoenix]

Also, anyone notice that the Mark of Hospitality grants Friends, a spell that ends with them hating you?
So much for repeat business...

How else are you supposed to get unwanted guests out of your establishment without violence?

Once they are on the street, the doormen may take care of the rest, your furniture is no longer in danger.

[Dr.Samurai]

Also, it's less the direct ability and more the services/goods that someone with the magical power to make friends might be able to provide.

[Ogun]

Good point about mental scores.
I rather like the up casting mechanic, and I'd love more spellcasting tied to Con, except, balance is a thing, right?

My default magic item of cantripyness would be a hammer of Control Flames, for pure Forge God flavor.
Best thing ever!
Of course,I might be a little biased, Ogun is the Orisha of Iron and War..

[Tetrasodium]

Is an Aberrant Dragonmark any better than Magic Initiate?
I'm seeing few great choices here, no Find Familiar, no Hex,no Goodberry.
Mage Armor and GFB might be ok...

Also, anyone notice that the Mark of Hospitality grants Friends, a spell that ends with them hating you?
So much for repeat business...

Mark Of Making is all kinds of win, Forge Cleric in a feat, or take both, and magic up armor and sheild for stupid good AC.

Keith Baker has talked about that one a few times, it's pretty simple though.People know that the halflings who run those kinds of establishment can do that sorta thing. The mark of hospitality is House Ghallanda's thing & they run hotels/taverns/etc. it's not a big deal if you cast friends on a patron to help himpour his soul out to you while you keep his tab going & there is no reason to be upset about it, you might even order it off the menu as a service. If you didn't want to be at risk of pouring your soul out to a friendly barkeep or something, there are other establishments not run by House Ghallanda where you can do that & now that you emptied your soul you feel better so don't really care.

Also keep in mind that dragonmarks also grant a marked individual the ability to use dragonmark focus items linked to the mark

[Luccan]

Keith Baker has talked about that one a few times, it's pretty simple though.People know that the halflings who run those kinds of establishment can do that sorta thing. The mark of hospitality is House Ghallanda's thing & they run hotels/taverns/etc. it's not a big deal if you cast friends on a patron to help himpour his soul out to you while you keep his tab going & there is no reason to be upset about it, you might even order it off the menu as a service. If you didn't want to be at risk of pouring your soul out to a friendly barkeep or something, there are other establishments not run by House Ghallanda where you can do that & now that you emptied your soul you feel better so don't really care.

Also keep in mind that dragonmarks also grant a marked individual the ability to use dragonmark focus items linked to the mark

This would mean the spell Friends doesn't work like the spell Friends when cast in this manner. Which is great, because Friends sucks, but such an exception should be noted in the text.

[Regitnui]

This would mean the spell Friends doesn't work like the spell Friends when cast in this manner. Which is great, because Friends sucks, but such an exception should be noted in the text.

"The target realises you used magic to alter its mood and becomes hostile to you." Well, if you asked for the barkeep to give you a mood lifter, you might feel grouchy afterwards, but you're not going to attack the halfling. After all, the spell doesn't explicitly say that the target turns violent, just hostile, which is mechanically the least friendly the creature can be. That doesn't mean they automatically attack. It means they might. It's like being drunk.

[Daithi]

it applies differently to humans & half orcs in wgte too not just "this set of stats is for both humans & half orcs"

The only difference between the way it applies to half-orcs and humans in wgte is the STR ability score is +1 for half-orcs and DEX is +1 for humans. Otherwise it is the same dragonmark with all the same features for both races.

[Tectorman]

The problem being that in 3.5, everyone got level 1 feats. So playing a Dragonmarked from level 1 was actually possible. If they were feats in 5e, only humans could have dragonmarks at level 1, which doesn't really make sense.

Edit: to be clear to the people arguing it shouldn't be tied to race: dragonmarks have been tied to race since Eberron was created and ties into the setting lore. Allowing anyone of any race to have any dragonmark as a default would be a huge departure from lore that would significant ramifications on the setting.

They weren't explicitly tied to race in 4E, though player characters were strongly encouraged to either stay within the established lore or face the repercussions for existing outside the status quo (for example, if/when the dragonmarked houses find out, they either spare no expense trying to recruit you or failing that, neutralize you). I.e., the established lore remained the established lore (everything up to 998 YK stays exactly like it is anyway), and PCs just had the option of being recent challenges (for example, possibly an unforeseen and distantly related consequence of the Mourning).

That said, tying them to race via subraces/variant races the way they did represents the first time tying them to race made sense to me. Though, not happy about humans not having the Mark of Finding.

Did anyone notice the text for the Mark of Scribing inside the Mark of Sentinel text?

[Foxhound438]

No worries on Charm Person as it is not concentration.

whoops, lol

that's what I get for assuming everything that is good is concentration. Even better then, though taking damage to prevent taking damage could still be an interesting risk.