[Eberron] Timeline Advancement?

[Hellcow]

I've been doing a weekly Eberron Q&A on my website, and I recently got the following question:

Is there any plans to advance the Eberron timeline for 5e? Perhaps addressing (among other topics) the Cannith leadership dispute?

First off, I don't know what sort of support Eberron will receive in DDN. I don't think anyone at WotC has made that decision. But if there IS going to be support, it's a valid issue. I know MY answer, but in many ways your opinion is more important than mine.

I've started a thread on my website for people who'd like to discuss it there, since it's easier for me than trying to monitor many different forums. I'll say that it's something we considered in 4E and ultimately decided against. 998 YK is a particularly critical point in time. If we only advanced it a short period, we tread on the toes of your campaign, potentially resolve interesting conflicts, and generally tell OUR story as opposed to letting you tell more. If we jump forward further, it could become a very different world, as much of the current tone is set by the influence of the Mourning and the scars of the Last War. However, if it stays at 998 YK, what does a new campaign setting book have to offer people who've played before? It has to make the world accessible to people who don't know it, so it can't simply go into detail about things we haven't discussed. If you look at the 4E book, if you want to add a subject that's not covered, something that's there now would have to go. What would make a new 998 sourcebook worth having?

I'll primarily be monitoring the thread on HDWT, but I'll certainly check back here. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Ichneumon]

It wouldn't surprise me to see some effort put into making "All of the Above" a viable solution.

I'd be in favor of moving the timeline forward a few years, and plunging the Five Nations back into war. This would highlight Eberron as the only campaign setting in the midst of warfare, giving it a unique flavor. An appendix in the campaign guide could mention changes to make for DMs who wish to start their games in the 998YK prewar state. In these games, all the signs could herald that war is imminent, with the PCs having the chance to prevent it.

 

[CAFRedblade]

I'd kinda like to see what officially develops across the world.

I can easily start at the original time point, and integrate any changes I like from the following years/decades.

 

[Tehnai]

I'd say a few decades/a generation or two later. We have the 3.5 and the 4E books and can extrapolate the setting for 998 from there.

Maybe have a few sidebars of "What if XYZ storyline was resolved with my group?", for example, say my group defeated the King of Blades, and my players want to play a continuation of that campaign a few generations later, what are the consequences of his defeat, etc. Essentially, if the setting can embrace modularity as a setting as much as 5E aims to do it with the system...

 

[Siberys]

I'd err toward leaving it at 998YK, but I would not be against a section of possible near futures; the war has restarted - here's some possible reasons/effects; extraplanar invasion, here's a scenario; et cetera. Like what Tehnai is suggesting, but on a shorter timeline - a few generations is too much, IMO.

 

[Traken]

A few generations might actually just be long enough. It gives time for the world to develop in meaningful ways.

On the political side, it takes a couple generations to actually change things. As the old geezers from the war start to die out, there can finally be a chance for peace (boo!). Or the hatred and mistrust has been boiling over and a cold war has broken out again. Or even complete war breaks out again.

On the technological side, it gives the Houses enough time to develop cool new gadgets that change everyones lives. It also gives enough time for something drastic to happen. Personally, I've never been too fond of how industrialized Eberron seems to be. A spellplague would definitely stir things up a bit.

I don't know if I'd really see a point of having a third Eberron setting in D&DN that has been done before. If the setting is not going to change in significant ways, I'd rather just have a small sourcebook be developed: "Themes of Eberron" or something. Basically just a small splatbook that has specific rules for Eberron but skips a lot of the fluff that everyone knows.

 

[mcmillan]

I think keeping the current time makes sense, as you say this seems to be a critical time, that changing it a few years can define things a lot depending which direction you decided to take. The suggestion of framing things as a set of different "possible futures" could be a good way to do it without stepping on too many toes. Fluffwise I can see explaining it as viewing parts of the Draconic prophecy that are in flux could also be a good way of hinting how to use it in games even if people keep the current time.

On the other hand I initially thought if you focus on a different time I'd like to see more about what was going on during the Last War, and this seems less likely to interfere with ideas people may already have in motion.

 

[DEFCON 1]

With two separate game editions with the same exact current background, I think you'd have a hard time getting people to buy a third version of the same information.

I think advancing it a couple decades would be smart because you'd have 20+ years of new background info and history to create. It would make players who already own the 3E & 4E books more likely to buy the 5E.

Truth be told... while I bought the 4E Eberron books to support the line and have the stuff on dragonborn and eladrins in the setting right at hand... there was very little in the book that was necessary-- especially with the character mechanics appearing in DDI shortly after release.

 

[Hellcow]

Truth be told... while I bought the 4E Eberron books to support the line and have the stuff on dragonborn and eladrins in the setting right at hand... there was very little in the book that was necessary-- especially with the character mechanics appearing in DDI shortly after release.

I'm happy with the 4E ECG, because I feel that we were able to focus on aspects of the tone that weren't made clear in the 3.5 ECS - the ongoing impact of the Last War, the tension between the dragonmarked houses and the nations, the nature of the Prophecy, etc. We were also able to draw together elements from scattered sourcebooks and articles to create a more cohesive guide - House Tarkanan info from Sharn & Dragonmarked, Lords of Dust info that was previously only in the print issue of Dragon, etc. It's not absolutely necessary if you have all the existing 3.5 material and understand the themes of the setting, but especially for new players I think it's a good summary.

However, I don't know that there's a third iteration of the same material. There are TONS of topics and regions I'd like to cover in more detail for 998 YK - the issue is what would have to be removed to make space for them. I'd love to write more about the dwarves, or the war, or possible futures... but what material would you drop out of the 4E ECG to make space for that?

Mind you, this is an entirely hypothetical question right now. On the other hand, if there's a clear voice asking for a particular product, that may influence future decisions.

 

[Klaus]

I'm happy with the 4E ECG, because I feel that we were able to focus on aspects of the tone that weren't made clear in the 3.5 ECS - the ongoing impact of the Last War, the tension between the dragonmarked houses and the nations, the nature of the Prophecy, etc. We were also able to draw together elements from scattered sourcebooks and articles to create a more cohesive guide - House Tarkanan info from Sharn & Dragonmarked, Lords of Dust info that was previously only in the print issue of Dragon, etc. It's not absolutely necessary if you have all the existing 3.5 material and understand the themes of the setting, but especially for new players I think it's a good summary.

However, I don't know that there's a third iteration of the same material. There are TONS of topics and regions I'd like to cover in more detail for 998 YK - the issue is what would have to be removed to make space for them. I'd love to write more about the dwarves, or the war, or possible futures... but what material would you drop out of the 4E ECG to make space for that?

Mind you, this is an entirely hypothetical question right now. On the other hand, if there's a clear voice asking for a particular product, that may influence future decisions.

I voted for 998.

As you said, there's tons of uncovered regions (Demons Wastes, Eldeen Reaches, Lhazaar Principalities, Darguun, just to name a few), and it'd be great to have all the material from the 3.5 books reviewed, polished and expanded upon.

Much like The Forge of War offered a detailed look at the Last War, some sourcebooks could come out with possible events for Eberron (Last War reignited, Quori invansion, the Silver Flame's last flicker), without making any of them mandatory.