I've talked into a game of DnD. Whoo!

If anyone else so happens to read this and wants to play a bit of light DnD online with us, feel free to pipe up.

Setting is Eberron, and starting ECL is 6, standard WBL.

Here are our characters:
-Ertia, CG Warforged Wildshape Ranger 5/Master Of Many Forms 1 (Frenetic-Kinetic)
-Gankhad, CG Kalashtar Ardent 6 (Tome-The-Dragon)

And some details on the setting and mechanics, with more to be added as I have time:

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Setting

Eberron, the planet upon which this is set, is world of ancient history. Unfortunately, your character only has Knowledge: Nature, Knowledge: Geography and Knowledge: Dungeoneering, so you only get to hear about the basics of most of it.

The most common origin myth involves three progenitor dragons, Khyber, Siberys and Eberron. Khyber and Siberys fought, and Siberys was shattered into pieces. Eberron the enveloped Khyber, trapping him within. This resulted in the formation of the current world, named after the dragon that formed it. The endless caves and tunnels that run below the surface, filled with demons and monsters, are named for Khyber, and the ring of crystal shards that hangs above the planet is the ring of Siberys. A different type of magical crystals can be found in each, all of which are rare, valuable and useful in making magic items. They are, without a doubt, the single most valuable resource on the planet. In fact, you, as a Warforged, probably have a fair few crystals, known as Dragonshards, in you yourself. It should be noted that Eberron shards are the most common on Khorvaire, and Siberys the rarest as the meteor showers that bring them down from the ring tend to fall on the other continents.

There are five main continents on Eberron. Khorvaire, the most populous continent, is the one where the game is centered and also your home. More on it later. The next is Argonessan, where the dragons live and study the ancient draconic prophecy, an ancient thing built into the very nature of the world. Xendrik is a massive, rainforested continent, home to the ruins of the ancient empire of the giants, who where destroyed by their elven slaves and the dragons. It's treasures are vast, but so are it's dangers. Finally there's Sarlona, the land where humans originated. It is ruled by the strangely benevolent Inspired and their empire of Riedra, who supposedly channel benevolent spirits and wield powerful magic. They are, however, secretive and highly xenophobic. Frostfell, to the north, is basically the north pole. Not really much to say, as it only really gets one mention. Apparently it's where the Dwarves are from.

Khorvaire itself has a long and interesting history, having recently ended the seemingly endless, centuries long Last War. The continent was originally ruled by the Dhakaan empire of the goblinoid people (Goblins, Hobgoblins, Bugbears and Kobolds mostly). It fell ages ago. Moving to more more recent history, we come to the Last War. Started by an argument over succession to throne of the empire of Galifar, it continued for literally hundreds of years as the empire splintered into separate countries. It was for this war that the Warforged, that's you, were constructed by House Canith Artificiers and sold to the highest bidder. This ended with the Day of Mourning, a vast magical cataclysm that annihilated one of the main countries of the war, Cyre, in a single instant and shrouded it in a deadly mist.The treaty of Galifrey that indicated the official end of the war freed the Warforged from slavery and acknowledged their rights as self-aware beings, but many places have yet to acknowledge it.

I've mentioned House Canith, right? They're one of the Dragonmarked Houses, vast commercial organisations that center around the use of Dragonmarks, strange birthmarks that grant unique magic related to a particular theme. Each one has it's own specialities and it's own mark, each of which may only be possessed by members of a certain bloodline, and a vast staff of non-Dragonmarked members. They have power on the scale of nations, but mostly tried to remain neutral in the last war. House Canith, who possess the Mark of Making, are expert at magical construction and artifice and are the ones who created the Warforged.

A map of Khorvaire. [link]

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Nations:
-Aerenal: Island nation of elves. They remain neutral politically and have little to do with the outside world. Ruled by the deathless Undying Council, the greatest elves to have ever lived preserved beyond death. Isolationist and somewhat xenophobic.
-Aundair: One of the Five Nations that were the start of the whole Last War business. Mostly agricultural, with a lot of woodland.
-Breland: Another of the Five Nations. Pretty average, but one of the most powerful nations. Has a pretty awesome leader.
-Darguun: A nation of Goblins, Hobgoblins, Bugbears and Kobolds, trying to revive the ancient Dhakaan Empire. Composed of large clans with a strong martial tradition, their current leader is all that's keeping them from splintering and going to war with each other.
-The Demon Wastes: A wasteland where the Lords of Dust are strong. Populated mainly by human and orc barbarian tribes.
-Droaam: Nation of monsters. Not actually too bad, considering how many of it's citizens class humans as food.
-The Eldeen Reaches: Mostly untamed forests with some farmland and small settlements. Ruled by the druids.
-Karrnath: Another of the Five Nations. Ruled by King Kaius III. Notable for it's use of zombies as a labour force, as any citizen who dies has their body reanimated. Used to be tied strongly to the Blood of Vol.
-Lhazaar Principalities: Pirates. Lots of pirates. Technically, some of them are merchants. Situated on a group of storm-swept islands.
-The Mournland: The remains of Cyre, one of the Five Nations, now consumed by enchanted mists and unimaginably dangerous. Warforged, not technically being living things, have an easier time surviving here than most.
-The Mror Holds: The Dwarven nation. Fairly standard.
-Q'Barra: Frontier nation of swamps, marshes and jungles. More sparsely populated than most, and a lot more rugged.
-The Shadow Marches: Another place of swamps and marshes, though a more established nation. Populated mostly by orcs and humans.
-The Talenta Plains: Wide open plains inhabited by dinosaur riding Halfling nomads. They are awesome.
-Thrane: Another of the Five Nations. Became a Theocracy during the war, and is still dominated by the Silver Flame.
-Valenar: Small nation of warlike, ancestor-worshipping elves. They tend to ride some very nice horses, dress in silk and wield scimitars.
-Zilargo: Gnomes. Secretive but friendly. Has THE best intelligence service, even if no one can prove it exists.

Religions:
-Blood Of Vol: A religion that believes blood is essence of life. It's members believe in a philosophy of self-improvement and meditation, with some opting to become undead, losing their chance at enlightenment, in order to practice. Most only know it as an undead-worshipping cult that was formerly dominant in Karrnath before being banned. Their military arm is the Order of the Emerald Claw.
-Silver Flame: Dominant religion of Thrane. Worships the Silver Flame, a divine entity (or at least something that claims to be divine) that manifests as a pillar of flame within their capital city, Flamekeep. Big on smiting evil, healing and all that stuff, but the church has serious problems with corruption and smiting the wrong people for the wrong reasons, including at least one partial genocide. Their current leader is eleven-year old Jaela Daran.
-Cults of the Dragon Below: Various cult that worship Khyber. Big on blood sacrifice and unleashing things they probably shouldn't.
-The Gatekeepers: Druidic group that dates back to the goblinoid empire. They fight to keep the a whole slew of sealed evil in a can from getting loose, most notably the Delkyr of Xoriat.
-The Lords of Dust: Ancient demons sealed within Khyber, also referred to as Rakshasas.
-The Wardens of the wood: Another druid sect. More widespread than the Gatekeepers, but without their purpose.
-The Sovereign Host: The mainstream religion of most of Khorvaire. Worships a pantheon of nine deities.
-The Dark Six: Counter to the Sovereign Host. The names of these six deities have been erased, and the embody somewhat less wholesome concepts. Except for the Traveller, who is pretty much the Trickster god and often counted separately form the others.
-The Undying Court: The ancestor worship-based religion of the Elves of Aerenal.
-The Disciples of the Becoming God: Minor religion composed almost entirely of Warforged. Since they don't have a god, they're building one.


Dragonmarked Houses:
-House Canith: They've got the Mark of Making, which shows up on Humans, and are specialists in creating enchanted, as well as mundane, items. The Warforged, the Lightning Trains and a thousand other conveniences are their work, although the creation of new Warforged was banned by the treaty of Galifrey.
-House Deneith: Some of it's human members carry the Mark of Sentinel. They do mercenaries and a bit of bodyguarding.
-House Ghallandra: It's Halfing (think Hobbits, but as thieves and dinosaur riding barbarians who actually wear shoes) members may bear the Mark of Hospitality. They do food, inns and restaurants.
-House Jorasco: The other Halfling house, carries the Mark of Healing. They do hospitals and medics.
-House Kundarak: Dwarven house, has the Mark of Warding. They're bankers and moneylenders.
-House Lyrandar: Half-Elves have the Mark of Storms. This house does weather manipulation, sailing and airships.
-House Medani: More Half-Elves, this time with the Mark of Detection. They do bodyguards and security.
-House Orien: A third human house, this time associated with the Mark of Passage. They do couriers, caravans and other forms of transportation.
-House Phiarlan: Elven house, with the Mark of Shadow. They do artists and enterainers. Secretly, they're actually spies.
-House Sivis: Gnomes with the Mark of Scribing. They do translators, mediators, laywers, scribes and messengers.
-House Tharashk: Half-Orcs with the Mark of Finding. They do tracking, guides, mining and prospecting.
-House Thuranni: An offshoot of House Phiarlan. Pretty much the same as their parent house, though there's a lot of bad blood between the two.
-House Vadalis: Another Human house, this time with the Mark of Handling. They do animal breeding, handlers, trainers, teamsters and stable keepers.

Other:
-The Aurum: Merchants' guild, essentially. Originated in the Mror holds, and still has a lot of dwarf members. More of a resource than an active force.
-The Chamber: The governing body of the Dragons of Argonnessan, or the closest thing they have to one. Chiefly interested in the Draconic prophecy and Dragonmarked races. You don't know this exists.
-The Library of Korranberg: A big library/university in Zilargo. They seek even more knowledge on any subject you can imagine and send out expeditions to recover relics and lost knowledge.
-Morgrave University: Rival organisation to the Library of Korranberg. Less of the Library, more of the treasure hunting. Think Indiana Jones.
-The Twelve: The big organisation for Wizards. Mages' Guild, essentially.
-The Wayfinder Foundation: Pretty much the adventurers and explorers guild.

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