Future of LEB [Poll/Thoughts] (Closed)

[stonegod]

The Poll is closed. LEB is going 4E

LEB has been dwindling over the last year since 4E came out with loss of all its judges except myself and a drop in player base. As such, we are at a crossroads. I'm posting this poll here to get some thoughts from people who are still here.

There are a few options:
- Let LEB Die: Its been a fun ride, but w/o active judges, DMs, and players, there is little to sustain. It will just be an archive.
- Someone else takes over: I hold the keys as the last active judge, so a group of enthusiastic people would need to present me their thoughts on taking it over.
- Convert it to 4E: 4Eberron comes out this month and next. This will require a lot of effort as well, though there is already Living 4th Edition to base it off of. Again, this would require significant community effort.
- Other: Someone else have an idea?

In any of the situations above, I'll be stepping down as judge/LEB runner. I'll help with advice and what not, but that'll likely be it.

Please let me know your thoughts.

[CaBaNa]

Cheers,

Pending more information on the "significant community effort" Living 4Eberron would need, the conversion sounds like a great option.

This could even be used to sync the L4W and L4E, creating a larger pool to gather necessary community support.

Then again, keeping L4W and L4E firmly split may be better all around...

either way, what would a conversion entail?

[Deuce Traveler]

I would be interested in either playing or judging under 3.5 rules, depending on needs. I would not be interested in 4e. I have not played Living games before, so it would be a neat first.

[stonegod]

Originally Posted by CaBaNa

This could even be used to sync the L4W and L4E, creating a larger pool to gather necessary community support.

Then again, keeping L4W and L4E firmly split may be better all around...

either way, what would a conversion entail?

It would require similar effort that was needed to get L4W off the ground, though a lot of that could be reused. It mainly would need a sizable group of people to handle the details.

L4W and LEB4 (or L4E) should be separate games, however, as the settings are quite different. The judges/etc. might be the same and use the same voted upon settings, though that wasn't the norm between LEB and LEW.

[stonegod]

Originally Posted by Deuce Traveler

I would be interested in either playing or judging under 3.5 rules, depending on needs. I would not be interested in 4e. I have not played Living games before, so it would be a neat first.

Then that would require you and a group of others who feel the same way to be willing to take LEB over (the judging, recruiting of DMs/players), etc. That interest has not been seen for the last year or so, however, you'd have to demonstrate you had that group. Otherwise, we're in the same state we have now: No games and no judges.

I'm not trying to sound pessimistic, but keeping LEB alive will require a plan and work.

[Lord Sessadore]

I wouldn't mind seeing it converted to 4e; I've toyed with the idea of putting together a character for LEB, but I don't really want to get back into 3.5. That would leave the 3.5 Eberron fans out in the cold, though, which I'd rather not do unless there was support from the already-existing LEB community.

I don't think converting the setting to 4e would be too difficult,<---{The more I think about this, I don't think it's true. A conversion will take time and effort and a plan, and most importantly a group of people who want to do it and see it through. That's the biggest obstacle.} especially with L4W to use as a framework, but the really hard part would be converting characters (and adventures?) to 4e. It would be easier now than when 4e was initially released, what with the PHB2 and various other splatbooks, but still a large chore, especially for high-level and/or multiclassed characters. I assume that conversion responsibility would fall to the players, though. Another reason existing-community support would be needed for a conversion.

Also, I think it would be better if L4E had its own set of judges, as the workload in L4W seems to be keeping us judges over there pretty busy. Not to say that L4W judges couldn't choose to be L4E judges as well, just that forcing one to go with the other might be too much of a workload, and potentially discourage possible future judges from 'making the leap'. That's something that should be avoided - judges will go occassionally, and we want new ones coming in to keep things running smoothly.

Also, FWIW, I agree that if LEB were to be converted to 4e it should remain a separate world from L4W. As stonegod said, they're very different settings, and I'd like to maintain that.

[Atanatotatos]

I very much agree with Sessadore. Like him, I've been looking for an Eberron game for a long time, since I've always loved the setting, but I'm not very comfortable with 3e anymore, starting to forget the rules, being used to different low-level potentials, etc.
So yeah, I'd love a L4E too. Separated from L4W, that's for sure, although, as it's been said, many things can be used (like, the wiki templates, method of judging, etc.).
I think making conversions possible is a good idea, expecially since this would effectively substitute the 3e version, so the characters would just disappear otherwise. I think it could be handled loosely, not a real conversion, just making a new character, keeping the fundamentals. Like, converting an elf wizard to an eladrin wizard, etc.
I suppose I could help in the making of this, although I have no ability whatsoever with wikis etc, but if there's a lack of judges/character approvers, I'd be willing to participate.

[Manzanita]

Sadly, I am probably no help. I don't have the energy or drive to keep this world alive. If someone started a good 3.5e adventure, I might join. But that's all I've got in me. Thanks for keeping this going as long as you have, Stonegod.

[Theroc]

Well, I had intended to create a character for LEB 3.5 once I managed to get my mitts on some of the approved materials, as I currently don't have any access to it, unfortunately.

However, I'm not really that interested in investing in the 4E books, so I'll have to simply wish you all the best of luck, should you choose to convert.

[stonegod]

Originally Posted by Manzanita

Sadly, I am probably no help. I don't have the energy or drive to keep this world alive. If someone started a good 3.5e adventure, I might join. But that's all I've got in me. Thanks for keeping this going as long as you have, Stonegod.

Thanks, Manzanita. Raven still is the highest LEB PC.

Originally Posted by Theroc

However, I'm not really that interested in investing in the 4E books, so I'll have to simply wish you all the best of luck, should you choose to convert.

No change has been decided yet; if you can find a passionate group of 3.5e folks (or they find this thread on their own) and take it over, LEB will stay 3.5. Those people just haven't shown up in the last 6mo or so.

[stonegod]

FYI: This change isn't going to happen overnight and I'm going to keep this poll/thread open at least a week or so to give time for feedback. While I didn't come up for the idea for LEB, I've been here from the start so I want to make sure we do right by it.

[Atanatotatos]

You may want to keep the thread open for more than a week or so, stone. After all, people will want to take a look at the Eberron 4e books to see if they like the new version of the CS...

[stonegod]

Originally Posted by Atanatotatos

You may want to keep the thread open for more than a week or so, stone. After all, people will want to take a look at the Eberron 4e books to see if they like the new version of the CS...

Its a bear min, and I'm pretty confident that 4Eberron is a much smaller departure than 4FR was. That being said, if there is a lot of response before the end of the week, there's little reason to keep the discussion going.

[Walking Dad]

Convert to 4e. Maybe with slightly higher starting level (around) to separate it a bit more from the 'normal' Living 4e.

Maybe should use the same allowed/disallowed stuff as Living 4e (+ Eberron )

[Velmont]

I think the best chance of survival for LEB is to become 4e edition. I might even do a comeback as a player if it become 4e, but I'm losing interest in the 3rd edition at the moment, and I am still not enough familiar with Ebberon setting to have the inetrest to continue with my characters here at the moment.

[renau1g]

I like Eberron, I do, but it might really benefit from the 4e treatment (assuming they don't radically alter the world and it doesn't seem that way). I like a lot of 4e's streamlining and survivability additions to lower level PC's, which almost all of us are in 3.5e living worlds. I would definitely have my interest re-kindled here if this was to happen.

[JoeNotCharles]

Actually, I think the L4E setting could easily accomodate a portal to Eberron. From L4E's point of view it would be just another Far Land. Even if the settings are kept mostly separate, I think there would be some value to letting characters jump between them for single adventures. It might help revitalize Eberron to get a pool of already existing L4E characters who want to try out the setting briefly. (Or it might lead to one of the two settings dominating the other and sucking away all the attention from it as characters and DM's vote with their feet.)

[Atanatotatos]

Eberron's so great and complex and beautiful that it needs, no, it deserves its own living world. As much as I love the transitive isles, it doesn't even begin to compare...

[renau1g]

Originally Posted by Atanatotatos

Eberron's so great and complex and beautiful that it needs, no, it deserves its own living world. As much as I love the transitive isles, it doesn't even begin to compare...

Agreed. Although to be fair, the level of effort in a published, supported setting is significantly higher than our hodge-podged setting.

[Atanatotatos]

Not sure I get what you mean, ren.