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Ok all, here's a topic:
Would someone tell me a bit about Eberron, what they like about it, what they dislike? I haven't even cracked an Eberron book, mainly because WotC turned me down on my idea and picked Eberron instead...oh no..that's not it :)
Actually, I never investigated it because of some of the things I heard about it before it's release. Primarily, that WotC was afraid that they were losing their audiance, that fantasy had changed and been influenced by animae and the younger crowd, so vital to the hobby's continuence, did not have the same definition of fantasy as the old school players. Thus the Warforged, the Artificers, the land saturated in magic and magic as a replacement for technology were key aspects in reigning in another generation of players with a fantasy setting that matched their expectations. It all seemed a little BESM to me, so I gave it a miss (Aside: Not that I dislike animae or BESM, just that I wanted the genres to remain independent). Now though, I hear a lot about it and must admit I am at least a little intrigued. So, I would like to hear from people on their experiences with the setting and perhaps get a brief overview and a comparison to either the FR or Greyhawk settings.
Any takers?
Ok all, here's a topic:
Would someone tell me a bit about Eberron, what they like about it, what they dislike? I haven't even cracked an Eberron book, mainly because WotC turned me down on my idea and picked Eberron instead...oh no..that's not it :)
Actually, I never investigated it because of some of the things I heard about it before it's release. Primarily, that WotC was afraid that they were losing their audiance, that fantasy had changed and been influenced by animae and the younger crowd, so vital to the hobby's continuence, did not have the same definition of fantasy as the old school players. Thus the Warforged, the Artificers, the land saturated in magic and magic as a replacement for technology were key aspects in reigning in another generation of players with a fantasy setting that matched their expectations. It all seemed a little BESM to me, so I gave it a miss (Aside: Not that I dislike animae or BESM, just that I wanted the genres to remain independent). Now though, I hear a lot about it and must admit I am at least a little intrigued. So, I would like to hear from people on their experiences with the setting and perhaps get a brief overview and a comparison to either the FR or Greyhawk settings.
Any takers?
Since no one has replied I will give you my take on it. However, my experience is really from a game that was released based on the Eberron setting.
I cant seem to wrap my head around the warforged, especially allowing them to be things like monks and wizards. I cant see it happening. I've heard from other people that they really like the setting, more so than Greyhawk or FR. I like true fantasy so I stick with the Greyhawk and FR. As I understand it they have trains and airships in Eberron, powered by magic.
It wouldnt hurt to pick it up and take a look at it. One site I like to read about the SCAP has a warforged artificer as a PC in it (as well as a mummy) but Im certain he doesnt play in Eberron.
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I have played in the setting but I mainly played in a set in Greyhawk and I have plans to set up a campaign for FR. I am a very big FR fan. A lot of Eberron's little bells and tricks I feel come from other sources. Eberron has airships and 'ligthening rails' (basically railroads that use air elementals to power the trains to travese on the rails.) FR has had airships in it's campaign for a many number of years as well as another DnD campaign that had airships in it too. The warforged are different in that they are basically half alive half construct and healing spells are only half effective (but there is a psionic power they fixes constructs that will work on em) Also with some of the newer Eberron books like the Magic of Eberron they have the Psi-Warforged varient which is basically like a normal warforged but has psi-crystal infused all over it and it is basically made to be either a psionic warrior or a psion etc etc.
In the campaign book for eberron they also mention that basically that you can find things from any other campaign in eberron and use it (ie spells, feats, PrCs etc etc)
It does have some elements I like but I do prefer FR or even Greyhawk over Eberron. The relgion seciton is a little convoluted. I know some will say FR with it's hundreds of gods can be said the same but with Fr's Gods I know what's going on. Eberrons whole cosmology and pathoeon is way different.
Overall it's not bad but I still prefer FR.
Tallknight
Eberron is based on the idea that a large unified kingdom had what, in essence, was a war of succession. This war lasted 100 years and fractured the previously peaceful kingdom into five nations. The magic rich nations were spurred to peace in part due to the devastation caused by a magical cataclysm that destroyed the entirety of one of the nations. The war had lasted 100 years.
Because the human civilization was built over a crumbling goblinoid one, goblins, orcs, bugbears, and the like are more integrated into civilization than in most other settings - it's not safe to simply assume they are monsters.
New Races:
Shifters (humanoid race with lycanthrope blood and minor traits); Changelings (humanoid race with doppleganger ancestry); Kalashtar (humans fused with sentient dream entities); and Warforged (sentient living constructs originally built for the war)
Magic and Tech:
A magic rich society, the five kingdoms function with the aid of artificers and magewrights who keep the magic of the society working. In addition, the major humanoid races: humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, and half-orcs sometimes manifest a dragonmark - a magical birthmark resembling a tattoo that provides them with certain powers. The culture binds elementals to certain large tasks, such as the lightning rail and air ships.
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Eberron is a richly envisioned setting... it manages to bring some excitement to standard races that puts them on an even footing with the newer introductions. Personally I really enjoy the setting - it manages to be strikingly different than FR and Greyhawk, while still being Dungeons and Dragons. While I love the classic feel of Greyhawk, and the highmagic/epic feel of FR, I think Eberron stands on its own. The differences between FR/Greyhawk and Eberron make it more work to convert adventures, but Eberron, as a new setting, is getting coverage in Dungeon and Dragon magazines, and has a two-three hardbacks gaming books a year coming out as support.
- Ashavan
When the setting came out, I hated it.
I have since changed my mind.
Experience has taught me, as a DM, that some settings are not suited to a high magic environment. Greyhawk is one such setting, more traditional, old school (One of the best and my first), and with a lot of history. FR also, though more suited to a higher magic range.
Eberron is a high magic setting built around and from the 3.x edition rules. High level challenges and ways to explore the entire world are built into the system (giants and drow in Xendrik, The Rakshasha, airships, etc.). It is not that magic acts like technology, it is more like magic has evolved to replace technology.
Think of warforged as sentient golems (in a very simplistic fashion). Data from Star Trek was an android, a sentient construct who could learn and eventually, feel.
Magic flows strongly in this setting, allowing the use of the core rules as it seems they were meant to be used. Thik high fantasy meets Indiana Jones, and throw in just a smattering of Full Metal Alchemist (minus the tech).
Based on what Ive read here I may pick up the campaign setting to give more options to my players. I play in Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms. I like Greyhawk now because I can put anything I want in to it. Factions, locations, people from FR are easily relocated to Greyhawk. I can do the same with Eberron.
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I made my first foray to Eberron quite late in the game (so to speak), which is to say just in the last three months. Like most of the posters I grew up on Greyhawk (very traditional fantasy with occasional Lovecraft/Vance/Asimov overtones, cf Barrier Peaks, Vale of the Mage, et al), moved on to Dragonlance, then almostly completely an FR maniac after DL took a dive into some completely different setting so different from the Ansalon I knew as to be unrecognizable, but don't get me started... I personally tend to be a quarterly-reader: I have seasonal moods, which occasionally bleed into one another, but for the most part, and for 35 years now, I read horror and mainstream in the summer, mystery and non-genre lit in the fall, fantasy in the winter, and sci-fi in the spring (very telling, psychologically, I know...); so, this means it's very easy for me to be behind in the times, and typically I won't pick up a trilogy or series until all the books are published, which with the odd WoTC publication schedule can mean I actually read a trilogy a couple years after its said and done; this is all meaningless drivel and only goes to describe why I'm behind in Eberron. There's also the fact one of the posters mentioned about being turned-off by the whole anime/sci-fi/fantasy commercial amalgam it sounded like WoTC was developing to hook a new, younger audience. The cover art for the Eberron books and novels, while engaging, also follows this newer style reminescent of Akira, et al. Not my cup of tea. Nonetheless, my wife picked up the first novel in the Lost Mark trilogy. I was VERY skeptical but my wife went out of her way to buy me a book she thought I'd enjoy, etc etc. I started reading, with no knowledge of the setting...WOW! No Great American novel here, but it's a whole new style of D&D story (literally, the writing style of these books and modules is modern and full of energy)! Really amazing, and to shorten this up: I'm hooked. So I bought the campaign setting, read through it, and I love this world! I know, I know, you wanted a description, but I can sum it up by saying Eberron is the perfect flagship for v3.5: it embodies all the best of all the past campaign worlds, and some of the coolest aspects can easily be incorporated into other settings! A very well-structured, detailed and engaging setting, it manifests what v3.5 espouses and strives to be. I'm very pleased (and I'm Old School) with the setting.
I've never played an Eberron campaign, but am putting together a homebrew that includes nearly all of the new playable races from Eberron. It's in the new races that I think Eberron really shines. To me, there's something fresh about changelings, shifters, and warforged, yet they fit comfortably alongside traditional D&D races.
The greatest thing about Eberron is that the playing characters are truely the heros. They are the ones that in the new age of peace are going to be getting all the fame and glory. In forgoten Realms every one else has done everything already. Its more like the characters are seconed to every dungeon. Thats just my oppion. But don't get me wrong I love Forgoten Realms and all the stories its just that Eberron is all about new experiences. I love how Psionics are right there along the side of magic.
First off I have to say that I am a little for, yet mostly very opposed to ebberron. I like the New world feel. The fact that the players are stating out in an uncharted world without all the dangerous area and famous ruins all nicely layed out for them, I have a love hate relationship with the pantheon, and the fact that the churches are rotting from the inside out with corruption. And I think they could have been a little more creative, Elemental cars, Trains, and airplanes, thing is booring. Why would I want to play "fantasy" in a world where the majority of the population takes a subway to their 9 to 5's. But I wouldn't mind altering that to have a high magic world. Which is a concept I like.
What I do NOT like AT ALL. are the new races. Lycanthropes, iron golems, and dopplegangers, are all super cool monsters to play! Lets rip them apart and take out all the cool powerful stuff that makes them special and with whats left we will make a PC race. It makes perfect sense. Then we will make the warforged like a bunch of mechs you can bolt armor and weapons too so that nothing they do ever feels original. Oh I almost forgot the changlings, take a look in the magic items section of the DMG, hat of disguise, it costs 1800gp and it is far better than the ability that the entire class is based around.
Just to make sure I am completely disagreeable I also have a problem with psionics and thats a stike against the setting as well.
One last problem, Dragons. They are frightening, they are powerful, and they are a staple of the game. dungeons and DRAGONS. But overusing them stops them from being special. In Ebberron DRAGONS ARE EVERYTHING, litterally I'm pretty sure that Ebberron is the name of the dragon that the world is actually a part of. Dragon tattoos, dragon gods, dragon classes, dragons, dragons, bloody freaking dragons.
I feel that the core concept is a good one, but it is smothered in a bunch of flashy "hey look at me! I'm a golem/Dragon/Tank surfing the hood of a flying car!" crap and it ruins the experiance for me. I'm not even old school. I am the younger crowd and I just plain don't like it.