by Jeff Francis on Apr 26, 2011
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Salutations, my friend. I’m pleased to see you here at the
Halfling’s Armpit on such a fine evening. Sit down, order an
ale, and I’ll tell you more of the world of Eberron and how
to prosper, not just survive, in
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">
style="font-style: italic;">Dungeons and Dragons
Online.
Let the knowledge gleaned from a lifetime of experience illuminate your
mind
as you listen to the golden oratory of the master loremaster
Prelixin, your humble servant.
On your previous visits, we discussed several of the
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo/guides/newbie/basics">basic
concepts of how the gods
determine success and failure in
style="font-style: italic;">DDO,
the
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo/guides/newbie/classes-races">classes
and races from which to choose
from, and the special abilities (
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo/guides/newbie/skills-feats-enhancements">feats,
enhancements, and skills) that
breathe life and power into your character. For this discussion, we
will discuss the various factions to be found in Eberron, how to curry
favor with them, and what rewards you can gain by doing so. Now that my
mug is refreshed, let us begin.
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There are a dizzying amount of factions to be found in Eberron, ranging
from powerful Houses to religious sects. Each faction has their own
agenda, so be careful not to get ensnared in any intrigues! I once had
a traveling companion who got caught between two warring clans with
tragic results. Rofar was a mighty barbarian who was the object of much
pursuit by many a pretty lass. Sadly, he was captured in one
clan’s harem trying to steal some incriminating letters held
by a concubine that were written by the rival clan’s leader.
His punishment
was harsh indeed for he no longer can enjoy the company of a beautiful
woman…but I digress!
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You can see your favor totals
by opening up your Adventure Compendium by clicking on the icon or by
hitting (P).
You can gain favor with the various factions by doing adventures for
the benefit of their faction. The amount of favor that you can gain in
each adventure varies from quest to quest. However, you can gain more
favor in a quest by completing it at a higher level of difficulty,
which I will more fully discuss in a moment. As you gain favor with a
faction, you will hit certain plateaus that will bump you up to the
next level of favor. Each new level gives you some sort of reward with
that particular faction. That reward may range from a new item to the
ability to purchase discounted items from that faction. Each faction
has a particular set of names attached to the different favor levels,
but the amount of favor needed for each level is the same. They are:
As for gaining favor, you can accumulate favor by completing quests.
Each quest has a patron, which is the faction that is asking you to
undergo the quest. Once you complete the quest, you will gain a number
of favor. The amount of favor that you get from completing a quest is
determined by the difficulty of the quest. Each quest has a base favor
amount, which is the favor you will receive from doing the quest on
Normal. If you do the quest on Casual (Solo), you will get half the
Base Favor, rounded down. If you complete the quest on Hard, you will
get double the Base Favor. You will get triple the Base Favor if you
complete the quest on Elite.
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You can keep track of how much
favor you have earned per quest
by opening up your Adventure Compendium by clicking on the icon or by
hitting (P).
Let us say that the Coin Lords have asked you to break up a smuggling
ring by going to a warehouse and killing all the smugglers. For this
service, you will be rewarded with 3 Base Favor with the Coin Lords. If
you completed the quest on Casual, you would get 1 favor; you would get
6 favor if you did the quest on Hard and 9 favor if done on Elite. One
thing to keep in mind, my friend, is that you can only gain a maximum
of favor per quest equal to completing the quest on Elite. If you had
already completed the quest on Normal, you would get no favor for doing
it on Casual and get only 3 favor if you completed it on Hard. If
you’re not looking for experience and only for increasing
your favor, it would behoove you to join with those who have already
unlocked the higher difficulties for a quest.
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As I have mentioned, you can receive benefits from increasing your
favor with the various factions to be found in
style="font-style: italic;">DDO.
Let us run through
the various factions and see what rewards you can earn from each one.
Agents
of Argonnessen: This faction
are the envoys sent out by Dragonkind to represent their interests in
the mortal world. They look like mortal beings (elves and such), but
some could be actually dragons in mortal form. They are in Eberron to
follow the dictates of the dragonic prophecy and their number have
increased over time, which probably means that things are going to
start hopping! It’s a good thing that I’m an old
man, so I don’t really worry any more about the world.
The
Silver Flame: This noble
group is a holy order whose sole mission is to protect the world of
Eberron from evil. You will know them very well as that many priests of
their order act as the spirit binders (spawn points) in taverns. In
addition, these spirit binders can cure diseases and remove
curses…for a price. They don’t have much of a
sense of humor though.
House
Phiarlan: This faction is one
of the Dragonmarked Houses to be found in Stormreach. A Dragonmark is a
birthmark that is magical and looks like a tattoo, but actually grants
magical powers to its owner. House Phiarlan is an elven house that
specializes in entertainment (music, acting, performing), but I can
tell you that they are also heavily involved in spying and subterfuge.
It is not wise to make them an enemy unless you wish to
“disappear” while taking a midnight stroll!
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The members of House Phiarlan
seem harmless, but there is a dark side to their pursuits.
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House
Kundarak: This house is a
Dragonmarked House and is dwarven. House Kundarak’s influence
lies with banking and money lending. They have tremendous wealth, and
like most dwarves, are very reluctant to part with any of it. You
never, ever want to owe them money. My Halfling rogue friend, Kryssa,
had to hide out from them for over a month once because she got behind
in some payments. I always tried to tell her to be more careful with
her money, but she loves to wear fancy things.
House
Jorasco: This Dragonmarked
House is comprised of Halflings and their area of expertise is in
healing and herbs. They can heal practically anything, if you have the
coin to pay for it. The other side benefit of staying in House Jorasco
is the cooking. Halflings always set a fine table!
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The mysterious abode of The
Twelve.
The
Twelve: This faction
specializes in magic and in magical research. You want to stay on your
guard when visiting them as you don’t want to knock something
over or spill something and have some hideously powerful spell go off.
Their favor levels are different from the other factions.
House
Deneith: This Dragonmarked
House is comprised of humans and specializes in mercenaries. If
you’ve got the coin, they can provide the army. They can be
useful, but their conversations are pretty dull as they tend to revolve
around sharp, pointy things and little else.
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The
Yugoloth: This race is
otherworldly beings that travel for profit and power. They can best be
viewed as conniving bastards who will help you get what you want for a
price, but will also help out those who you’re working
against for a price as well. They are not to be trusted, but they can
be of some use. I use them to buy various beverages that the local
lords frown upon or tax too heavily for my tastes.
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The majestic palace of the
Coin Lords.
The
Coin Lords: This faction is
comprised of the merchants and traders who, on the surface, rule
Stormreach. If truth be told, their power has decreased over the years
and the Houses have a great deal of sway in their own right. However,
they are the figurehead of the controlling interests of Stormreach and
you will deal with them on a regular basis if you make Stormreach your
home.
The
Free Agents: This faction is
a loosely-aligned group of smugglers, thieves, and merchants. Their
sole interest is in their own personal well-being and fortune and not
of the city or world at large. For being members of the seedy
underbelly of Stormreach, they are actually the most honest in that
they state up front that all they care about are themselves.
There’s no smoke being blown into your eyes like you get from
other groups, such as those who aspire for political power.
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Some of the honest,
straight-as-an-arrow members of the Free Agents.
The combined total of all your favor with the various factions is your
total favor. You can unlock special rewards by reaching certain levels
of total favor, which I will list below.
Well, my friend, the hour grows late and this tired old bones need to
rest. It seems that I can’t drink as many mugs of ale as I
could in bygone days. I hope this talk of factions and favor helps you
plot your way through the maze-like complexity of politics here in
Stormreach. There are great rewards for making yourself well-liked by
the various groups to be found here. Indeed, I spend many nights dining
at various Houses by those who remember my deeds from the old days and
wish to honor my service. Plus, even a legendary loremaster like myself
does not turn away free food and drink! Until next time, may your
sword, and your wits, stay sharp.
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