Card Notes

Swords

The cards provide renown (and sometimes noteriety). As part of your background, you must create the stories that go with these effects. How did you become a hero? What Firstboprn did you kill? What is the story of this great love affair?

Note that the war hero cards (Swords-2, 4, 6, and 8) do not stack. You get the renown benefit of the best card only. All other renown effects do stack (to the limit of the renown rules).

Keep in mind, that your characters, even if not Firstborn, might be centuries or millenia old and that the events that made you famous may have happened long ago. For instance, if you get the Criminal card, Swords-1, maybe you really did commit some terrible crime long ago and long ago did pennance for it.

If your character is a dragon, you may be too young for some of these effects. You will need to work with the referee to come up with alternate effects.

For those renown effects that are not world-wide, you may substitute another land other than Eidos with the referee's permission.

Dragons

Dragon-1: "Raised among Dragons" can be interpreted loosely. You might have been raised in a dragon cave. Or perhaps you were raised in the Eidos palace in the dragon-rider guild. If your character is already a dragon, you still get the knowledge feat.

Dragon-2: Fina is a Duchess in Eidos. She is quite powerful and a useful ally. If you are dragon touched, you may opt to have her as a relative, albeit distant. If you are part or whole dragon, discuss it with the ref. We may adjust Fina's color to allow her to be a parent or grandparent.

Dragon-3, 5, 7: these cards stack (in fact they are much more useful stacked.) You can take the item as either magic bracers or as magic armor of any normal type from padded to full platemail. If you have all three cards, the armor or bracers are intelligent. This will be worked out by the referee but you can expect it to be quite useful.

Dragon-6: Note that, as the card says, you must have the feat that allows you to have a dragon companion to use the card. This feat will then grant the best possible dragon companion to you. You may being the game with the dragon or take it any time later although you know the dragon from the beginning of the game (it just may not yet be traveling with you).

Dragon-8: this item is modeled on an amulet in Draconomicom worth 85,000. Blindsense is quite useful.

Dragon-9: to use this card you must have the dragon-touched template. And to get that template, you must have at least two Dragon-suit cards (three if you don't want to pay a level for it).

Stars

The cards of this suit describes your birthright. As with the Swords suit, you will need to elaborate on the bare description provided in the cards.

Stars-1: for your dispossesed estates, you may select anything except for royal heritage. Note that this card is not incompatible with the estate cards (Stars 3 & 6). It is possible (and even common) for people to have some estates and claim others.

Stars-2: this card can be used to change the alignment of your PC. You can use it to supercede the alignment on the figure card. But note that you will have the languages of your adopted race and you will not necessarily be comfortable among your own kind.

Stars 3 & 6: Estates. You are probably a noble if you have estates but this need not be the case. If you wish to be noble, work the details with the referee. These card effects stack. That is, you can have both major and minor estates, most likely in different parts of Eidos.

Stars-4: one of your parents is unknown to you. The referee will work this into the campaign at the appropriate moment. You would be wise to periodically remind the referee of this card.

Stars-5: note that this card can be used to change the alignment of your figure. It overrides the alignment on the figure card.

Stars-7: you were raised in the palace. You must describe how you came to be raised here. You might have served as a scullery maid in your youth; your parents may have been guards in the palace; if a noble you may have been fostered here.

Stars-8: Relative of Draco. See page on Draco for details. Draco can be a very valuable contact.

Stars-9: Royal blood. You are a member of the royal family. However, you are not from one of the prime branches. You are automatically considered noble but only have estates if you also have the estates stars cards.

Gems

Since this suit deals with portfolios and both your PC and backup PC are part of the same portfolio but get their own set of suit cards, there can be complications resolving the cards of this suit for each character. Many of these cards state that their effect can only be applied once in a portfolio even if the card is present in your hand for both your PC and backup PC. This is too avoid overly complex (or even impossible) portfolios.

For instance, if your PC and backup PC both end up with Gems-9 in their hands. You still can only make one friend or foe a Firstborn. You cannot make two Firstborn. Basically the effects of one of the two Gems-9 cards only counts towards your starting money for that character.

Note that Gems-1 can be used to give yourself a dragon cohort if you happen to have one of the dragons in your portfolio and select it as a friend.

Gems-7: instead of saving the life of the foe, you can create a different circumstance that still creates a bond between you and your foe. For instance, perhaps your foe is an estranged spouse or child. Or perhaps you both are members of the same order.