Brainstorming ideas for modern Eberron + Eberron Real City Analogs?

[Wik]

Hey guys,

a player in our regular 4e game is going to be AWOL for a few weeks, so we figured it'd be best to put the game down for a bit, and try something else. The group voted, and the D6 system was what most of the group agreed on. As is our usual rule with d6, the group creates the world, with each player stating one feature the world has to have.

However, this time around, they all sort of agreed on a "modern" Eberron world. When I said "no, you have to each state one thing you'd like the world to have" (a mistake on my part) they reversed engineered things, with one person saying "magic", another saying "steampunk", a third saying "last war" and yadda yadda yadda.

The idea is this: it's the Eberron setting (with some changes, particularly to the races and how magic works), advanced about one hundred years. The way I've got it set up, there are a lot of industrialists that are beginning to make technological items to rival magical creations - a train might be slower than a lightning rail, but it's definitely a lot cheaper to make, and you don't need particularly skilled personnel to run it. And a rifle might not be as effective as a wand of magic missiles, but anyone can use it.

And so on, and so forth - so there's a battle between magic and technology. The dragonmarked houses are corporations now (Lyrandar Aerodynes, Orien Shipping and Receiving, Cannith masterworks, and so on). The Mournland is still radioactive and gross, but people now live there - and the PCs will start off near the mournland as "junkers" (scavengers/archaeologists).

Anyways. That's the basic idea. I was just hoping people could come up with some ways to adapt the existing Eberron material and advance it. What about the Last War? What happens to the Five Nations in the intervening hundred odd years? If Karrnath were to become Communist, would the Lhaazaar Principalities be able to fight off Karrn agents? What happens to Valenar, or the Talenta Plains, in such a setting? Should I trigger another Mourning? And any other ideas you can come up with.

Also, the major cities in Eberron could use some explanations for me. I find it's easier for me to base fantasy cities on real cities, to help give them flavour. Sharn, for example, is a combination of mid century New York, Chicago, and modern day Hong Kong (in my mind). Stormhome could be compared to a city like San Francisco. And ThroneHold reeks of Casablanca or something.

 

[blargney the second]

What prompted all the technological advancements? Discovery of oil fields beneath the Talenta Plains and Valenar!

 

[Wik]

Oo la la. And communists of course want all that oil! Actually, I never even thought of oil in Eberron. Definitely worth considering... maybe near Q'Barra, so I have a reason why Q'barra is still independant - sort of an Eberron version of Kuwait city...

 

[amerigoV]

A "modern" Eberron has been in my thoughts from time to time as well. I view Eberron's current "magic/tech" level to be somewhere in the post WWI era. Rail is still king, but technology from the war is more accessible to the everyday "man." So moving forward 100 years puts them pretty much on par with us. There likely was one other war to "finish" the Last War (no one is really satisfied at the end of the first). But it was likely bloody and short (and hopefully the Emerald Claw was destroyed - I got tired of VERY module trying to use them as the bad guys).

So Sivis might run the Eberron equivalent of the Internet (SivNet!). I like the idea of tech rivaling magic - so the oil in the "liberated" countries is a great idea to give them economic punch. Flight would be common and faster- so now it is cheaper to get on a Lyrander Skyship, but conditions are crowded and no free meals unless first class. Of course, someone rammed one into a tower in Sharn and everyone has to suffer innane security measures at the SkyPort.

Orien (they have ships, right?) runs the equivalent of Carnaval cruises to Xen'Drik. Big, hulking pleasure ships will all the conviences.

Just grab snapshots of Coruscant for Sharn.

Travel to the Moons are just now becoming available for rich people.

 

[Wik]

A "modern" Eberron has been in my thoughts from time to time as well. I view Eberron's current "magic/tech" level to be somewhere in the post WWI era. Rail is still king, but technology from the war is more accessible to the everyday "man." So moving forward 100 years puts them pretty much on par with us. There likely was one other war to "finish" the Last War (no one is really satisfied at the end of the first). But it was likely bloody and short (and hopefully the Emerald Claw was destroyed - I got tired of VERY module trying to use them as the bad guys).

So Sivis might run the Eberron equivalent of the Internet (SivNet!). I like the idea of tech rivaling magic - so the oil in the "liberated" countries is a great idea to give them economic punch. Flight would be common and faster- so now it is cheaper to get on a Lyrander Skyship, but conditions are crowded and no free meals unless first class. Of course, someone rammed one into a tower in Sharn and everyone has to suffer innane security measures at the SkyPort.

Orien (they have ships, right?) runs the equivalent of Carnaval cruises to Xen'Drik. Big, hulking pleasure ships will all the conviences.

Just grab snapshots of Coruscant for Sharn.

Travel to the Moons are just now becoming available for rich people.

Funny. I always see Eberron's base tech level as being something similar to 1850... meaning if we take things forward 100 years, it's actually post WW2. I guess different people look at the same setting differently!

The way it's set up now, magic is effectively at a level similar to our own society, except it's expensive, while technology is probably in the 1920s or 30s, but cheaper. Guns are a little bit behind (they're a new invention, after all!), and a lot of things are still powered by steam.

We had our first session today, and it was a lot of fun - zombies, ship crashes, and some pretty nice light banter. Can't wait for session two!

 

[karlindel]

I think where the tech level is compared to our world depends on whether you include the magic as part of the technology. I think that actual technology in Eberron is at roughly the mid-1800s, but the industrial magic puts things closer to post-WWI. Of course, it also depends on what part of Eberron you are in, as there is a wide disparity in technology between the large cities, towns, and rural areas. And, of course, different technologies are at different levels relative to the real world.

If you are fast forwarding Eberron 100 years, there's a lot of room for creative changes. I would recommend thinking about what kinds of adventures you want the group to have, and use that to help determine what happens in the intervening years.

You should also think about how closely you want things to parallel our own history. For example, Karrnath going communist, a second "Last War", and the like.

You should also think about what the prime movers and shakers have been doing in the last 100 years. Who is the current King of Breland, and how much power does he have? How far has Lady Vol come in her machinations? Is Kaius still in charge of Karrnath, and has his secret been discovered?

How international do you want the campaign to be? Also, is it going to be technology vs. magic, or technology and magic blending together? After all, the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive in Eberron. You can highlight the differences between the two if you focus certain areas on normal technology and other areas on magical technology. The druids would naturally be strongly opposed to normal technology as it disrupts the natural world, but probably would not care about some magical technologies. Sharn would probably blend the two together, as it has natural advantages with air magic and a strong base for industry. Karrn might become a major industrial center for normal technology. The Mournland is another likely place to center industrial growth, as there is nothing left there to be despoiled by factories and the like.

Are there Warforged? If so, are they only ones that remain from the Last War, or was the ban on their production lifted? How are they viewed in the current society?

 

[amerigoV]

Are there Warforged? If so, are they only ones that remain from the Last War, or was the ban on their production lifted? How are they viewed in the current society?

That is a good ponderable. One could see the Mournlands becoming a Warforge nation since they can tolerate it better, if the other nations do not allow production. I am sure they could find a Forge in all those ruins somewhere to keep their numbers up.

Of course, they could go all Cylon "we have a plan - lets figure out how to breed" too.

Xen'Drik would be intersting to think about. After 100 years of the little people poking around, it might jolt the giants out of their malaise to restart their civilization.

 

[Grymar]

Breland - The Parlimentarians won the push and the monarchy has been dissolved (maybe a figurehead?). This had further led to an explosion of wealth and productivity putting the already wealthy nation far ahead of the others. It's long unguarded boarder with Zilargo is a near free-trade zone, but the Zil Trust watches it heavily. It's western boarder with Droaam is the counter-point...the longest fortified boarder in the world. Think the Great Wall of China with cannons and light rail ready to move troops quickly from point to point.

Karrnath is the exact opposite. Powerful militarily, but struggling to feed the populace. It stands at the opposite of Breland at every negotiation. The legions of undead have grown and are fully integrated into society now. Having annexed much of the Talenta Plains and the Mournlands, it now looks greedily to the rich mountains of the Mror's.

Thrane has closed its boarders and become isolated, not trusting those who do not openly wrap themselves in the faith. Only priests and paladins freely leave to do good works here and there. The people of Thrane have become a paranoid people and impoverished, which they blame on the evil in the world trying to starve them out of their pious retreat.

Aundair has rejected technology for their advanced magics, but have found themselves left behind. They have fully lost any claim on the Eldeen Reaches and are struggling to find a way to stay relevant in a world that can produce the same effects for far less.

Darguun fell just after the death of Lhesh Haruuc when the civil war was quickly won by a young Dhakaani emperor who could trace his lineage back to the last of the ancient line. His well-equipped and trained armies quickly overwhelmed the rampaging hoards of the lowland goblinoids. Not long after, Cannith explorers found the gift of what they call the Emperor's Blood (Kruud'oil in the goblin tongue). The black gold has been a boon for the monsterous nation and has made them a rising power in the world. It has also funded their long twenty year war against the elves of Valenar.

Wow, that was fun. I'm out of time to look at Aerenal, the Principalities, and all, but I hope there is something useful in that mess.