The title pretty much says it all. I enjoyed the whole idea and prospect of the Magi-punk setting, but Eberron flat out blew the north wind. The setting lacked a certian...freedom to it, in my opinion, confining it's GMs and players with concrete "facts" about the setting itself giving little room for creativity. Now, I think that the crunch they made for it was fabulous and flavorful. I think a wonderful setting could be made from the ashes of Eberron. Your thoughts?
Eberron is a tight-knit setting,but you can be creative running it. I have created homebrew advenutres with in the setting, a DM can do changes to suit what they want in thier game. I would not create a new world in out of the setting. And I think Someone is doing that here on this site.
I like Eberron, but have changed many things to suit Pathfinder and my own playing style.
For example Artifacters are an added class and they are the ones who know how to make guns.There is also a number of Drow who have moved into Stormreach and many Drow practice a form of slash and burn agriculture similar to Tribes in Central America.
What about applying Eberron mechanics and flavor to a homebrew setting?
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I really like Eberron as a setting (much more so than Forgotten Realms or Golarion), and although its not a Points of Light setting, there are still areas where you can get that feel (Shadow Marshes, Droaam etc).
Having said that I could see Dragon Marks being used in a different setting, perhaps where they are rare, only just beginning to emerge; so no Dragon Marked houses etc. Maybe cults would be formed around some individuals, whilst others may be more like monks etc.
What about applying Eberron mechanics and flavor to a homebrew setting?
Are there any mechanics in particular of which you're thinking?
Might Add one thing I like about Eberron is how they tossed Racial alignment out the window. Take the Clan Orcs of the Shadow Marches. Mostly peaceful farmers who just want to be left alone and who welcomed the Human Refugees who fled there.
After all if Intelligent creatures have free will should not more then a few change sides as it where.
What about applying Eberron mechanics and flavor to a homebrew setting?Are there any mechanics in particular of which you're thinking?
In general, I like the whole concept of the Magipunk setting. I just don't like the world, and that is perfectly fine. I just want to take it, strip it from Eberron, add a little more steam technology, make it all ancient technology, and build a world around it. I'm having a pretty successful go at it. I guess my question really is "can you take the magipunk out of Eberron and make something, while still magipunk, completely unrecognizable"?
Quite frankly I am surprised to hear someone say this about Eberron. I have always believed one of Eberron's greatest strengths is its lack of excessive detail. I would urge you to take another look at the setting, but this time with a different set of lenses on. This time, look at is as, "Here are some ideas. Take them and run with them in whatever direction you like!" Vast swathes of the world are undetailed or left specifically vague. The whole world, except for a couple cities, is practically a giant sandbox. Xen'Drik is the perfect example. Secrets of Xen'Drik doesn't tell you so much what is in Xen'Drik and where, but what MIGHT be there and where it MIGHT be located. Aside from a small map of a BIG continent with a mere handful of landmarks, the continent is practically a blank slate.
Compare Eberron to a more established setting like Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk. Now those are two settings that I would definitely call a bit constrained, unless you want to go "off the map." And if you consider the novels to be canon, well then you don't hardly have a single story that hasn't already been told. But with Eberron you get a total of two cities (count 'em, there's two) that are given any significant detail and both are on the same continent. The Five Nations are given their own book, but the descriptions of them leave so much room for interpretation. And let us also remember the "alignment is gray" rule within Eberron. You don't like the Church of the Silver Flame being Lawful Good? No one said it absolutely had to be. Heck, of the few priests who are actually given write-ups, a good number are Lawful Evil.
But if you don't like anything about Eberron lore, using the mechanics in a setting of your own design, or even mashing it with another setting is perfectly acceptable. It might be a lot of work, but the magipunk is a great deal of fun. I run my D&D campaigns in Eberron almost exclusively these days and I find the more players who discover it, the more they like it. But it's MY Eberron. There is very little true canon to adhere to (if you even care to adhere to canon) and so many potential plot hooks left for you to develop in any direction you wish.
Best thing about Eberron: no one has claimed it. There are no Harpers who dominate the affairs of an entire continent. There is no ultimate Circle of Eight wizards who are far and away more powerful than your PCs will ever be. There are no Sorcerer Kings who rule with an iron fist. Few Eberron NPCs are even beyond level 10! (And many of those who are have levels in NPC classes like Aristocrat or Warrior.) Eberron is a true world for your players to make their own mark upon and I love it for that.
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I have to agree, Eberron (which I originally hated, but have more recently begun to become interested in) is one of the least explained and codified settings out there. Dragonlance is too, but in a different way. There is so much room for interpritation and filling in however you want it to be, I honestly have no idea what the OP is taking about here, except that maybe it is the one setting that pretty much has everything from basically any book auto included in it from the start.