Dragonmark

Dragonmarks are spell-like abilities that certain races can acquire as a racial feat. They can then be improved via the racial enhancement tree.

Most races have a specific racial dragonmark associated with that race. Neither Drow nor Warforged can be dragonmarked, and no races native to Forgotten Realms (i.e. Iconic races) can acquire dragonmarks.

Some races have more than one dragonmark available to choose from, however a character can never have more than one dragonmark feat.

Types of Dragonmarks
Dragonmarks are abilities that come in three tiers of power: Least, Lesser, and Greater. "Least" dragonmarks are feats; "Lesser" and "Greater" are enhancements which upgrade the feat.

Every race that can possess a Dragonmark has a Tier 1 racial enhancement ( Dragonmark Focus) with 3 ranks: Least, Lesser, and Greater. Each rank gives +1 to the respective Dragonmark skill, plus one extra Dragonmark use per day. Although the Least abilites are available immediately (without spending Action Points on the racial enhancement tree), taking the feat is a prerequisite for the Lesser Dragonmark and Greater Dragonmark enhancements available to that race.

Metamagic Feats affect spell-like abilities associated with Dragonmarks' tiers.

Least Dragonmarks
Least Dragonmarks feats grant a +2 bonus to a skill associated to the power of the dragonmark. They also bestow the ability to use a spell-like ability three times per rest. The caster level of the dragonmark ability is equal to your character level, and the DC is usually equal to 10+level of the spell+your Charisma modifier (Gnomes use Intelligence instead). A character can only be dragonmarked by one mark at a time, however it is possible (in the case of Humans) to exchange one Dragonmark for another via Fred.

Lesser Dragonmarks
Lesser Dragonmarks can be purchased by a dragonmarked character as a Tier 2 racial enhancement. The selected mark must be the same as the Least Dragonmark. A Lesser Dragonmark bestows a second spell-like ability twice per rest and gives an extra use per rest of the Least Dragonmark's spell-like ability.

In some cases, unlocking the Lesser Dragonmark will also give you the option to get an extra spell-like ability from a racial Tier 2 enhancement.

Greater Dragonmarks
Greater Dragonmarks can be purchased by a dragonmarked character as a Tier 3 racial enhancement. The selected mark must be the same as the Lesser Dragonmark. A Greater Dragonmark bestows a third spell-like ability once per rest and gives an extra use per rest of the Least and Lesser Dragonmark's spell-like ability.

In some cases, unlocking the Greater Dragonmark will also give you the option to get an extra spell-like ability from a racial Tier 4 enhancement.

Races & their Dragonmarks
With most races, each has a specific and usually unique dragonmark associated with that race, although Half-Orcs share the Mark of Finding with their Human cousins. Humans may have one of four different dragonmarks.

Gnome
Unlike most dragonmark abilities, illusory marks are not restricted by charges per rest. They do have a cooldown of 1 minute though.

Drawing on the Face
Dragonmarks are patterns on the skin, more like a birthmark than a tattoo. In order to let us see them, they are displayed by default on the face of your character. A player can remove it from his character's face via options/ui settings (default Ctrl) and selecting "Do not show dragonmark on self".

History
Currently, dragonmark feats are freely available during character creation or later to all player characters of appropriate races.

Originally, dragonmarks had to be unlocked separately for each character by completing the Hall of the Mark quest from Lockania in The Marketplace, northwest of the auctioneer. This meant that, previously, dragonmarks could not be taken during Character Creation, but only at Level 3 at the earliest.

The Hall of the Mark quest is still available, although it is no longer required to acquire a dragonmark. This is a no-encounter quest and can be done at any time, once per character life; the quest rewards are 5 platinum pieces, and one Feat Respec Token for Fred in the House Jorasco enclave. (This was originally intended for adding a dragonmark to an existing character, but can be used to train any feat for which the character is eligible).


 * Note: Even Drow and Warforged, who cannot get dragonmarks, may want to complete this quest just to obtain the rewards. (5 pp and a free Feat Respec Token.)

Lore
Three thousand centuries ago, strange drawings appeared on the skin of certain races and particular bloodlines, the first being elves from the Kingdom of Aerenal. These drawings looked more like a birthmark than a tattoo. These were the first so-called "dragonmarks", and gave their bearers abilities that have been a source of power and conflict for centuries.. These marks drew together their brethren into the forming of great houses, each with a specialty that arose due to their inherent magical nature.

The first two houses were House Phiarlan and House Vol. The marks seemed to follow one of the two possible patterns. The Phiarlans gained abilities of stealth, detection, and misdirection, while Vol gained powers* over death and undeath. Those marks were later named the Mark of Shadow and the Mark of Death, respectively. Phiarlan has an enclave presence in Stormreach.


 * (* No record of the specifics of these powers remain as that mark is now extinct, all members long ago either slain or having become undead.)

As the House of Vol grew in power, the bearers of the Mark of Death started experimenting with the crossbreeding of elves and dragons, resulting in the creature known to this day as the Lady Vol. When these experiments became more widely known, they were looked on as an abomination by both races. The decision was taken on, by both elves and dragons (one of the few joint endeavors the races have ever undertaken), to destroy every single bearer of the Mark of Death. The single survivor, if one could call it that, was The Lady herself, who in death became a powerful lich. And in that undeath, the last of the blood-line of the Mark of Death fell silent and unusable.

House Phiarlan had suffered great political unrest during and after the Last War. Part of the house broke off to form another house, House Thuranni, which though the same bloodline also carries the Mark of Shadow, and while currently weaker than their former familiar house, continue to use its power in espionage and intrigue in direct competition with them.

In the halflings of the Talenta Plains, two marks emerged. The Mark of Healing became the power behind House Jorasco, which runs the well established and profitable Healers Guild and provides both mundane and magical healing for those that can afford their hospitals and enclaves, one of which resides in the city of Stormreach. The Mark of Hospitality fell to the halflings of House Ghallanda, some of the best and most hospitable people in the realm. Owning many restaurants and inns across the land, they use their powers of entertainment and the creation of food and locales of relaxation that make them the power they are.

House Sivis is the sole dragonmarked house of the gnomes, holding the Mark of Scribing. This house specializes in written and verbal power. The greatest communication networks across the continent of Khorvaire are run by this house, and several great translators and diplomats have arisen as well.

The Mark of Warding is held by House Kundarak, the dwarves. As the mark grants benefits that allows its bearers to protect things, this house is widely known as the Banking Guild and the Warding Guild, providing defense of whatever has great value in Khorvaire. Their enclave in Stormreach serves as a meeting area for guilds to buy and store materials, keeping them safe in the great Vault of Night.

The Half-elves of Khorvaire breed true, and those that might dispute the fact are simply made aware of the two dragonmarks that follow the half-elven bloodlines alone. The first being House Lyrandar, bearer of the Dragonmark of Storm. This mark grants various magical abilities allowing the control of the winds and waves. As such, it made it easy for this house to own and operate the airship transport business across the realm, while others provide much needed rain and good weather for farmers. The second but no lesser half-elven dragonmark is the Mark of Detection, held by House Medani, allowing its bearers to detect threats, and making sentries and intelligence gathering its primary focus.

As for Humans, the diversity and adaptability of this young but prolific race may indeed be the cause of the diverse and numerous dragonmarks that have appeared to them.

The first humans to manifest dragonmarks were those of House Deneith, a mercenary powerhouse that gained its status through the appearance of the Dragonmark of Sentinel. Using inherent abilities that keep others from harm, they have many locations and in some places serve as the sword and shield of cities that use their services. They have a strong presence in Stormreach.

House Vadalis, the holders of the Mark of Handling, gained magical benefits related to calming and controlling animals. Magebred animals are a booming trade, and everything from mounts to guards, or pets, can be bought, for the right price. They also run some of the best stables and training facilities, and also maintain lines of communication to smaller outposts using their system of mounted messengers.

Although the half-elves of House Lyrandar are the esteemed pilots of airships everywhere, it is House Cannith and their Mark of Making that are the ones that build such marvelous machines. These artificers and magewrights are responsible for most of the innovations of the past one thousand years. While other remarkable creations include the lightning rail system used for fast cargo movement, nothing has had more impact than their making of the Warforged. Half mechanical, half organic, these soldiers were easily and quickly manufactured for the Last War for all sides of the conflict. Not simply constructs but sentient and unique creatures, they were given freedom after the war's end, but continue to show the power and ingenuity of this great house. Their enclave in Stormreach houses the formidable creation forge, where many warforged were created.

Of the humans of House Orien, it can be said that they get around. Using the Mark of Passage grants various and power magical travel and teleportation magic. They are the go-to people when you must move yourself or cargo over great distance in little time. While teleportation is one of their specialties, they also lead caravans as guides and oversee the use of the Lightning Rail, built by House Cannith.

The very recent House Tharashk is made up of Humans and Half-Orcs bearing the Dragonmark of Finding. Named for its magical properties granting the abilities to locate people and objects, this mark has brought ragtag humans and their half-orc offspring from the swampy marshes up into widespread business enterprises that mesh well with the gnomes of House Sivis, who are mentoring and working in great harmony together.

All told, there have been thirteen dragonmarked bloodlines, with the House of Vol and their Mark of Death being eradicated, leaving twelve behind. To bind these houses together, to share in the economic and political power decisions, a group was formed. Made up of the houses but to be independent from them, The Twelve attempts to further magical research and to gain knowledge that has been lost over time and death.

The dragons of Argonnessen recognize dragonmarks as part of the Draconic Prophecy. They study these marks as they represent their appearance on the so-called "lesser races."