One of my more reliable players is out of town for three weeks, but I plan on starting up an 'off night' campaign when he gets back, in addition to jumpstarting the old MRQ game. Anyway, I thought I'd try something new, and write up a brief for the campaign so my players, those who like to read anyway, have something to follow.  So without further ado...

The Great Game Eberron Campaign brief:

Synopsis: The characters are involved in the actions and intruiges of the various factions in Eberron, as agents, as patsies, as Players. Action is going to focus more on actions that help or hinder one or more factions, rather than dungeon crawling. Characters are under no obligation to work for the same side, though should be willing to work together for short term goals.

Character creation:

1: Attributes: Standard 4d6, discard lowest system.

2: Race: All core races, plus Eberron specific races (Warforged, Changlings, etc) to include lizardmen and other monsterous races available on request. No Planetouched.

2.5: Alignment: Not required. Detect Alignment only determines supernaturally augmented faith/alignment (clerics and paladins will 'show' the alignment of their faith.  Note: Classes with an alignment requirement still require a type of behavior appropriate to that class. Paladins that fail to uphold the good of their faith and their community wellbeing (law...) will still risk losing their class. Monks that fail to adhere to a code of conduct will not be able to progress as Monks, etc.

3: Core Classes: PHB, Eberron, or Psionics Handbook only. Clerics and Paladins are expected to pick an Eberron specific pantheon, or in exceptional cases, God, to worship. Note that churches are also factions in the Great Game. Varient classes (urban ranger) upon request. Race specific classes acceptable. Addendum: Gun Mage and Iron Kingdoms Scout classes allowed.

4: Prestige Classes: Eberron Specific,  IK prestige classes:Pistoleer, Rifleman, second story man. Psionics Handbook prestige classes. All others require the player to present the case for how/why they exist in setting.

5: Skills: Unchanged.

6: Feats: No 'society' style feats, those are earned 'in play', including Favored in House. Any feat built on the assumption of social connection should instead be ignored.  Dragonmark feats should not be taken: If a character qualified for a Dragonmark (ie a dragonmarked race) they may take the Least dragonmark feat for free, or the Aberrant Dragonmark feat instead. If they do not qualify they may still take the Aberrant Mark.  If the player wishes, they may take a feat to upgrade their mark, or they can wait until an appropriate level/adventure that will qualify them for a free upgrade.  The Siberys marks may still only be taken with the heir of Siberys prestige class, and possession of a Dragonmark is still a disqualifier.  Gun related feats from Iron Kingdoms are authorized with one caveat: To prevent Feat Bloating, if a feat is merely a 'gun' varient of an existing melee or ranged feat, use the base feat instead.  Warforged body feats: Adamantine or Mithril are available at the player's choice, warforged can not have a dragonmark at all.  

7: Membership in a House, Guild, Church, or other organization is assumed to start with. A character can chose to be a free agent instead, though this is not recommended. At the very least consider 'joining' a mercenary band or some other minor group that can provide some measure of protection from larger powers. Players are encouraged to seek higher positions within their organization and may even consider forming their own sub-organization or entirely new groups if they think it will advance them.

8: Equipment: Regarding weapons and armor the character is assumed to possess a full 'load' of appropriate gear. One masterwork item, which may or may not be of special material (bronzewood, densewood, Beshyk, etc) at the player's option. Masterwork item may be considered an heirloom or something custom made just for them, a 'signature item' so to speak. Mages of all stripes, including artificers, may have 1d6 alchemical items of their choice, any character with appropriate skill at 4+ may have a kit if there is one assosiated with it (theives tools, healer's kits, climbing sets) within limits.   Characters also have 100gp in discretionary funds. Selling starting gear for extra funds is verboten and will be grounds for banning from the table.

9: Background: In the Eberron book is a list of origin regions. Pick one appropriate for your character (Q'barra is only appropriate choice for Lizardmen, Xendrick is only appropriate choice for Drow), the skills listed will always be class skills, and the one of the listed feats maybe taken for no cost. If the region's preferred classes are different than the racial one (Humans need not apply) then the character may pick one as their 'racial' class.

10: Magic Items: While not technically part of character creation this is something to consider when making your character; magic items in Eberron fall into a specific pattern: Disposable utility devices (wands, etc) usable with minimal training, dragonshard items/psionic crystals which work best with dragonmarked abilites, elemental bound items and 'ancient artifacts' of questionable ability.  It is not my intent to excessively restrict magic items, but the majority of what you gain will be cheap utility, and casual permanent enchantments are very rare outside the above list. Thus you must either seek out artifacts of great power in dangeous places (Xendrik, The Mournlands/Cyre) or take them from people with powerful connections. There is one other option, however: A single item of the character's (masterworked weapon or armor...), if retained as a 'signature item' will grow in power with the character.  For this to occur, however, the player is encouraged to make the item part of the character's growing legend: Use it to accomplish legendary deeds, even if a 'better item' is available, get it blessed or have minor enchantments woven into it, name it... etc.  This is, like a dragonmark, the player's choice, however.

A note on 'Component' Items for Warforged. there is one minor change to component Items: In many cases the Compenent, particularly if it replaces an existing appendage (weapon arms, commonly) the old appendage is 'surgically removed' prior to attachment. Components are, therefor, permanent. However, Warforged can still use conventional magic items in place of Components. On the off chance it comes up: A warforged CAN absorb multiple Docents, however: Each Docent absorbed becomes part of the first one, adding one to all it's attributes (increasing Ego) and whatever random power it had. If the Docent ever grows powerful enough to control the Warforged full time it takes over and the Warforged becomes and NPC until/unless someone determines a way to remove the docent without killing the Warforged first. (not playable, Docents will not have the class, levels, or skills/feats of the Warforged, just it's physical attributes (including adamantine body).

11: Further notes on Warforged:  If a warforged does not have Feat armor they can chose to have custom made armor to wear. However, this must be made particularly for them, no one crafts warforged armor for random sale. It will cost twice the ordinary cost of the armor plus masterworking, and will have a dex penalty one greater than ordinary armor of that type. There is no benefit to masterworking. Non-custom armor will simply not fit, attempting to wear it will result in double the dex penalty and at best half the AC benefit.  Warforged with Adamantine or Mithril body can not wear additional armor any more than any other character could layer armor over armor.


As stated in the synopsis and throughout the character creation process there are powerful organizations that the characters can be a part of. As a general rule, the character can only have one affiliation to start with, with some caveats.

Any Great House character can also be affiliated with a guild faction within the House, and in many cases multiple guilds within the House.

No character can be a part of more than one house. If you wish to be a double agent, do it in play.

A member of a House can have a secondary, minor affiliation with a Church or Government body, and vice versa. The player should declare which one is dominant for the character.

Monks should have as an affiliation either one of the Churches or a Monastery which does not have to be aligned with a Church. Each Monastery (and church affiliation, if one exists) will have a specific flavor, so don't assume that all monks look or act the same.  One monk might drink while another's faith keeps them teetotaling, etc.

Lizardmen and Drow are not required to join a greater organization, though they are assumed to be members of a tribe. Such characters should explain what they are doing out of their homeland (assuming the players don't wish to start in Xendrix or Q'barra), which may imply a tie to an organization.

Churches include the Silver Flame, the Sovereign Host&The Dark Six (one pantheon, two 'churches') The Blood of Vol, Cults of the Dragon Below, the Path of Light, and the Undying Court. The Sovereign Host/Dark Six are the universal pantheon of Eberron, all races worship them as a default unless another faith has taken root and supplanted them.  Note that racial differences may alter how a given species views the Gods.  Also: The Drow worship a Scorpion God, rather than the Host, though some theologians consider their diety to be a mask of one of the Dark Six, though there is debate as to which one...  It is permissable to worship a single god of the Host rather than the Pantheon, and many monastaries of the Host are focused on a single diety. The Cults are not a unified organization, but a collection of similarly aligned groups and the Undying court, much like the Path of the Light represents a spiritual philosophy more than a religion.  There are no priests and demogogues per se, but Undying Councilors are viewed as more spiritually advanced. Clerics and Paladins represent those who seek enlightenment on those paths, and gain the appropriate powers according to their faith. It is permissable for a psionist on teh Path of Light to call themselves a cleric, and for a cleric of the Path to refer to their divine spells as psionic powers, though mechanically there is no change.

Government bodies: Aside from declaring allegiance to one of the Kingdoms of Eberron (the Five Kingdoms, Valenar, Droamm, Mror Holds, Lhazaar Principalities and so forth) the character must chose how they serve. There are many options available, from swearing directly to the Crown, being a member of a noble family, serving in the military or intelligence agencies. Most regions have their own subgroups named already, and provided the concept is sound multiple ties are acceptable. The Character may also, with approval, have a secondary affiliation to a Dragonmarked House (note:Nobles can not also be members of a House...at least in the Five Kingdoms. Mror Holds Dwarves may also be members of the Dwarven House) or Church.

Secret Organizations: there are a variety of secret organizations, with some cross over (Blood of Vol, for example, is also a Church). Characters that belong to a secret organization may not also belong to another group. Exceptions: Dragonmarked characters may always chose to belong to that House, having a secondary affiliation with a secret society does not remove primary affiliation.

Colleges and Academies: These are common, if secondary groups that exist. There are several of note in the setting, and lesser ones exist that have not been named.

Non-House guilds:  Poor second cousins of the setting, outside the five kingdoms these have more power and autonomy. In the Five Kingdoms the Houses maintain a near monopoly on most organized activities identified with their house. There are exceptions, some houses are less inclined to force others to join them, but the citizenry tends to reinforce this trend by preferring House affiliated goods and services.

Criminal Groups: Widespread organized crime does not generally exist in Eberron, but smaller, local groups can be powerful in their own rights. Piracy outside of the Lhazaar Principalities can be organized to a limited degree, inside the LP it already is!  Considering that most groups have power bases, the limited regional power of a criminal group is hardly a major limiter of what they can be involved in.

Primary Affiliation: this is how the character self identifies, where their ultimate loyalty belongs (at the start of play anyway). The majority of their efforts should be on behalf of this group.

Secondary Affiliation: The character may also consider themselves part of this group in addition to their primary, there can be more than one secondary provided they do not conflict. This is like saying mafia guy who is also catholic. Mafia is primary, catholic is secondary. A devout Catholic who has ties to the mob would reverse primary and secondary.  In times of conflict between primary and secondary affiliations the character would be expected to obey the primary, though a compromise solution between the two would be acceptable.

Note that primary and secondary affiliations only exist to help the player get a grasp on their character. There are no mechanical benefits to this. A Breland Military Chaplain is assumed to put his country before his church, while remaining faithful, but that does not preclude having one's church and faith mean that the character wishes to make Breland a theocracy... or that the character could not sever all ties and found a splinter sect of militant fanatics with himself at the head. Once play has started there is no real limit on affiliations, and the difference between primary and secondary is purely a matter of what the character choses to do.


Beginning point:  The players should take the time prior to the start of the game and determine how they know each other and why they assosiate with one another.  They should also decide where they want to begin and what sort of activities they wish to perform on behalf of their respective patrons.

Examples: Five kingdoms: Sharn or one of the other major cities: Largely urban play and plenty of political maneuvering, spying and investigative work.
                 Q'Barra or Xendrick: These are largely unexplored jungle areas, perfect for exploration of ancient mysteries and 'Safari' adventure. Perfect for those who wish to escape the demands of House and the pressures of war, or those who want to spread the faith. Much more adventure focused, though even in these areas one cannot escape the Great Game entirely.
             Eldeen reaches: Closer to the Five Kingdoms and Civilization, yet still wild and untamed, the proximaty to the Demon Wastes makes it perfect for those who wish to explore arcane mysteries, fight against the darkness... or serve it. Also the primary home to druids.
                 The Mournlands: While not technically set IN the Mournlands, this starting point is much like Xendrick or Q'Barra, where exploration and treasure hunting are the name of the day, and the Great Game takes a back seat to the dangers of the environment. However, much like the Eldeen Reaches, the characters are closer to civilization as well.  Adventures in the Mournland can verge on 'Personal Horror', in contrast to the Demon Wastes, where the Horror is more Eldrich and Inhuman.
                  Droaam & the Shadow Marches: This is the territory of the Orcs and Goblinkind, and most character types will be here on sufferance. The characters will be the outsiders here, in every way... unless they all made half-orcs or monsterous humanoid characters!  There is one Dragonmarked House local, and politics will be more direct and violent, while the "Great Game" is almost non-existant.
                 Argonnesen and Sarlona: Not available as starting areas. Argonnesen is the Dragon Continent, and is forbidden to all but the barbarian tribes that call it home, exploring there is an adventure in its own right (not that players can't be Argonnesen Barbarians, that is perfectly valid). Sarlona is under the dominion of the Inspired, character could go there as ambassadors, but again, it is a place to adventure, not to start.

Note that these are examples, not hard and fast rules. If everyone wants to play a Drow on Xendrick, that is the groups call.  There are other regions as well, though play in them can be restrictive to start (Valenar, Aerenal, Talenta Plains, even the caverns of Khyber (underdark) are all possibilities). If possible the players wish to play outside of the one of the easy defaults (Five Kingdoms, Q'barra/Xendrick explorers, Eldeen Reaches or Mournlands) they should provide a week's notice to allow extra prep time.

Characters start with 1000 xp, or second level for non-ECL modified races.


Changes to combat rules: All optional, if the players agree the following apply:

Crits: A crit represents a particularly spectacular/effective blow. Thus nothing is truly immune to Crits. If something is 'immune to crits', for example oozes or undead, instead they simply reduce the chance down one step. Fortification or other crit reducing abilities function the same (two levels of fortification reduce it two steps). If the chance is reduced to less than (20) then instead reduce the multiplier down. If the multiplier is reduced to less than x2 than is simply becomes 'max damage'.

Armor as DR: If the players agree (majority rule) than armor will function as DR as per Unearthed Arcana Rules.  Magic weapons do not entirely ignore DR, however. Instead the magical damage (typically +1-+5) is the minimum that can get through the DR. Bonus damage dice do not affect the minimum, but add to the total damage of the strike.  This rule applies to all DRs unless specifically vulnerable to magic.

Weapon Groups: As per Unearthed Arcana.

Varient Classes: By race or unearthed Arcana, racial substitiuions always allowed, UA varients require GM approval, but assume they are allowed.

Rule of One and Rule of Twenty apply to all rolls (d20, anyway), including skills.

Random Dice from Heaven: Players roll dice at the damnest times and for the damnedest reasons. If you do so, or if you attempt something for which there is no rule, then the dice roll influences the result. While solving non-combat situations without dice is preferred, if the player rolls it, it stands. That 20 you just rolled? Means the Gods are looking out for you, that 1? Yeah, the other guy is blessed today... Divine Intervention stands: If a character with faith calls for help specifically and rolls a twenty then their god steps in. Non-faithful get help from a random power (not always a good thing). Either way there is a price to pay for such aid, the character will be cursed (-1 to all rolls) until they perform some act specific to the helping deity.  Note: If no divine intervention (roll fails), and the character succeeds in whatever task it was they were praying for they are still expected to fulfil their promises to the gods (curse applies anyway). Rolling a 1 means that an opposed power intervenes... typically a demon or Khyber demigod. Their intervention is going to be more direct, and the payment more painful, though they generally lack the ability to curse the character directly. Use at your own risk. Note that specific Faiths will have different results, depending. Khyber cults reverse the results, but have no effect on a failure or a 1 result, the gods ignore them.

Table Rules:

Snacks are the responsibility of the players. I will provide some of the time, but promise nothing. Sharing is expected but not demanded. Pizza is ordered only if enough people chip in, those who chose not to chip in when pizza is ordered are not garaunteed a slice.

If your character is not there, please do not attempt to participate in/influence the action going on.  Gross metagaming is frowned upon. If a player is stuck, a reasonable amount of advice is tolerated.   Exception: During PC to NPC conversation, if you say it, your character says it. I don't demand you 'speak in character', telling me what your 'message' would be is acceptable, but player conversations are fair game if held in front of NPC's during conversation.  Again, if your character is not there and the player is stuck a reasonable amount of advice is tolerable, likewise, the NPC's won't frown too much if another character steps up to take over a conversation if one player gets stuck.  On the other hand, if five people all try to talk to one NPC at once then they will react as if five characters all started talking at once...

XP is handed out on a discretionary basis. Randomly killing stuff is not rewarded, but a very busy, but otherwise combat free session is not penalized. XP is handed out as a group award, though penalized play (excessive metagaming) is handled individually. Two bonus awards of 10% are given out each night on group vote: Best player of the Night and Boobie Prize. Best player is by group concensus, Boobie Prize goes to the player with the worst luck, either dice or random bad stuff happening, and is also on concensus. GM's call to allow either award, though default is yes. GM may nominate, but does not vote.

Do NOT roll the dice until asked. Rolling without a call for it is asking for the GM to screw with you.  

Characters are created under the big boy program. Make your own. However, they still require approval to ensure they fit the world.  Feel free to hold off until you've spoken to the GM and/or the other players if you wish, but you are not required to do so.

Backgrounds: Every player is expected to provide a one or two line background on their character, stating what they do, where they are from and the nature of their ties to their primary affiliation.  Most of this is already on the character sheet, but putting it down in world terms is still appreciated. Longer backgrounds are acceptable but not rewarded. The GM will read all backgrounds, longer more detailed ones are liable to be edited and commented on for better or worse.  If you put something down it is fair game for the GM, likewise if you do not detail something logical about your character (Parents, where you learned your 'class'...) then it is fair use for the GM to make it up for you.

Teflon Ninjas: If your character has no ties to the setting at all, for example no living family, no freinds or mentors, no allies... this is frowned upon but your choice. However, you may find that you lack opportunities that other characters have, particularly to resources and connections. If your character actively avoids all participation with the party or the adventure then you will not gain experience that session.  

Chaotic Stupid: Since alignment is a strictly voluntary system at this table, chosing to act in ways that make no sense is a purely voluntary act. If a player is actively disruptive then it may be put to a vote to remove them from the table. The offending player may not vote and the GM will only vote to break a tie.

Ghost Characters: Players who do not attend do not have to worry about their character... mostly. Absentee characters are not present, no matter how illogical it may seem, and may pop up when the player does whereever the party is.  Failure to attend too many sessions in a row, particularly without notice, will result in NPCization. Often this means the character will enter retirement from adventuring, may give up any 'party treasure' they hold and until they are fully retired (depending upon where they decide to retire from...) may be vulnerable to things that affect the party, as any NPC hanging out with adventurers might. At a player's request, their character can be played in their absense as an NPC under nominal control of another player, earning a partial share of treasure and XP, but losing immunity. Note, however, that the controlling PLAYER is awarded any bonus XP (best player, booby prize, etc), regardless of which character they earned it with.  Typically, NPC play is worth 25%, though the players decide treasure splits themselves.  





Random Notes:

Gods:

As stated before the Soveriegn Host/Dark Six are the only primary Gods of the setting, worshipped by all races under various guises. They are typical gods, they do not incorporate on face of Eberron. The Host are considered facets of the Dragon Siberys, while the Dark Six are variously considered mirror aspects of the Host or facets of the Dragon Khyber.  For those unfamiliar with the setting, Eberron was created by three primal dragons, Siberys was the heavenly dragon, Khyber the dark, evil dragon, and Eberron the world dragon between them. Some theologians consider the Host to be made up of Six each facets from Siberys and Eberron, with the Dark Six being manifestations of the Dragon Khyber. Other Theologians consider the entire pantheon to be opposed to the Dragon Khyber, with the Dark Six being manifestations of darker emotions. The Gods, typically, do not talk to their followers directly, though they have been known to do so.

The Scorpion God of the Drow and the Silver Flame are second teir godlike beings. The Silver Flame is reputed to be the merged power of a demigod level Coatl, or the Coatl species, and a powerful demon, merged with the blood of the Dragon Eberron (the Silver Flame itself). Unlike the Host, the Silver Flame is purely manifest in Thrace, a part of the world, if you will. Likewise, while even the Drow don't claim vast knowledge of their God, their stories and rituals put is squarely in the manifest world. Obviously, both powers are capable of providing divine boons to followers, regardless of distance, and have some ability to perceive their followers regardless of physical proximity.  Theologians suspect that the Scorpion god of the Drow is a power, not unlike a Demon, from another plane of existance trapped on Eberron, possibly gaining power from its worshippers and their rituals. These Gods tend to favor direct communication with their followers, and are easily spoken to, though such practices are not without risk.

The Path of Light (and its counterpoint worshipped in Sarlona) are viewed as spiritual paths rather than actual gods, much as the Undying of the Elves. One does not worship so much as one seeks enlightenment, typically through following examples of previous followers.  However, some suspect that these Paths are merely methods of worshipping extra-planer Gods who chose not to make themselves known, citing the fact that followers have access to the same sorts of powers that worshippers of the other Gods do.  Those who do not believe this tend to believe that there is much about the practice of worship and divine boons that is not understood. It is important to note that it is impossible therefore to communicate directly with such powers, though contacting a more enlightened being is not unheard of. For example, if a divine intervention roll succeeds for the Undying, then a disembodied ancestor will intervene on behalf of the character, often far more directly than one of the Host.  Divine Intervention rule unchanged, however: calling for aid may be viewed as 'straying from the path of self discovery' or what have you, and thus the character suffers until they've atoned by some act.

The Blood of Vol: Do not dismiss this faith when discussing Gods. While some Theologians view it as the mirror of the Undying, to say it is a path of enlightenment, such a view has many problems. Aside from the doctrine of 'necromancy and undeath', there are no real teachings of enlightenment to follow, and worshippers specifically view Vol as a Goddess, not a 'more advanced being', as they would one of the Undying. It is not uncalled for to suggest that Vol has become, in and of herself, a source of divine power, that worshippers gain power directly from her as if she were a Goddess. What little is known of the Blood suggests this is the case, making Vol the only known case of Apotheosis in Eberron. Note: Divine Intervention from Vol is almost unheard of, directly anyway. On occasion a call to her results in a powerful undead in the area coming to the aid of the character (much as a Demon, however, they will generally demand repayment), and in some cases merely results in the character returning from death as a powerful undead (vampire typically). Like the Cults, however, there is no result on a one, and no curse for a success.

The Cults draw their power, in theory, directly from the Dragon Khyber, which would at once support the theory that the Three Dragons are not myth, but real Ur-Gods, while simultaniously debunking the idea that the Dark Six are facets of the Dragon. However, there are numerous cults which instead draw their power from Demons, powerful denizens of the Khyber mazes, including former occupants of Xoriat and other outsider powers. In short it is nearly impossible to tell if any given Cult truly draws power directly from Khyber itself. In fact, some Khyber cults 'openly' worship members of the Dark Six AS Khyber, further clouding the issue. However, the fact that these Demons and Xoriat outsiders, among others, can provide worshippers with 'divine' powers speaks dark volumes about the nature of faith.  Only the difference in Divine Intervention results truly seperates them from other gods.


Example Monastery:

The Monastery of Ka Tobe: Located in the mountains between Thrane and Breland and Darguun, overlooking the mournlands, the monks of Ka Tobe do not worship the gods, not since the day of Mourning anyway.  They are a militant order, once beholden to the Soveriegn Host, and sworn to uphold the legacy of Galifar, they now view their old allegiances moot. The Gods turned away from them, and Galifar is no more, a dead and broken dream. The Last War was greatly taxing to the order, spiritually, with many torn over who to support during the war, eventually their new recruits were those disillusioned by the constant bloody struggle, many veterans of the war came to their doors.

The days after the Day of Mourning were horrific to the Monks, the mists extend into the mountains, ending mere meters from from their walls. The last Master of the order penned a short text in the immedeate aftermath, absolving the monks from their previous commitments and oaths, laying out a new path for the Order, then walked into the Mists into the Mournlands and has never returned, the Monks have yet to replace him.

The Monks are committed to ensuring that none take up the banner of Galifar, and are committed to fighting any who seek to lay claim to it, making them a threat to the Five Kings. They are highly militant, and their order is filled with ex soldiers, warforged refugees and even Goblins from Darguun, and the monks can freely multiclass to Fighter without penality, and they favor longspears which they may use as monk weapons.

They are also committed to perfection of they body and spirit as one, having taken the view that the Gods do not care for mortals. This makes them akin to the worshippers of the Path of the Light, and some Kalashtar have taken to study there as a means to enlighten themselves. Some view the Monks as hypocrits, for they violently object to expeditions into the Mournlands, particularly by treasure seekers or those with ties to House Cannith, yet they have been said to bring powerful artifacts out of the Mournlands for use by the Order, the truth is unclear, certainly, any trips into the Mournlands from nearby is certain to stumble across bands of Monks inside, seeking to turn them back or punish them.

There is a scism of sorts, older Monks often hold that the Master had no right to absolve them of their old oaths, though there is little dispute with the new path. Some say that those who disagreed followed the Master into the Mournlands. The real split is over the role of Master of the Order. Some, particularly ambitious Monks wish to promote a new Master, while many hold that the Ka Tobe Testament is the 'Living Master' and that the Order should hold no living man as their authority.  Outsiders are forbidden from reading even a copy of the Testament, much less setting eyes on the original writ, meaning that a great deal of the debate is opaque to non-believers.

The Monks are readily identifiable by their appearence. They shave their head but for a short forelock and wear sturdy, simple garments of unbleached wool, thick because of the cold, though an enlightened Monk is expected to ignore discomfort from the cold of the mountains, younger or newer monks often wear simple boots of hide with fur turned in. At one time the Monks swore oaths of silence, though that is no longer the case. A Ka Tobe Monk is expected to eat only simple food and drink only water, enlightenment is partially measured in how little food and sleep the monk needs to survive. Thus spicing foods or drinking alohol is taboo, as is oversleeping.  Sharing passages of the Ka Tobe Testament is the only other taboo of note, as their politics and view towards the Mournlands are already discussed and matters of contention within the Order such that any two given monks are likely to have opposed points of view on what they are expected to do or not do. Violating a taboo prevents progressing towards enlightenment (can not continue to level until atoned).

Are you playing with strangers?

actually: No

But these wacky kids tend to get wild character ideas from books I've never even heard of, so I figured it'd be better to head 'em off a the pass.

For example: one player who I game with (as a fellow player) is running around with a scout that has a base movement of 75... some cat-race.

Quote from: SpikeFor example: one player who I game with (as a fellow player) is running around with a scout that has a base movement of 75... some cat-race.

At what level?

Quote from: hgjsAt what level?

Currently 11th, maybe 12th, but he's been doing it for many levels now...  He will often literally move across the entire battlefeild twice during his action to 'use up' his entire movement... presumably the scout class skirmish bonuses require a chunk of that....