Keith Baker (creator of Eberron) Q & A thread

[Hellcow]

OK, sorry to bypass those who asked first, but I'm out of time, so I'm going to answer the quick questions. I'll start over again at the begining when I have a little more time for the complicated questions.

Does the campaign book show a map of the ENTIRE Eberron globe?

Yes. The map on the end pages is the full globe.

Was Eberron your own campaign setting before you decided to publish it?

Eberron draws on different aspects of multiple homebrew worlds I have run in the past. I was also inspired by the pulp MMORPG I'd been developing before quitting the computer biz (though that was pure Indiana Jones-style action). However, the product as it stands was invented over the course of the setting search. For what it's worth, I submitted 6-7 ideas to the setting search; I actually just submitted Eberron because I love pulp and film noir and had fun writing the proposal. I was shocked when it made the cut.

Did you dance a happy jig when WotC told you that you were picked?

For about three days. The hard part was not being able to tell anyone until it was announced.

Can a Warforged become undead?

Warforged are constructs, not humanoids. As a result, by the rules, they cannot become vampires or liches. I'd rule out skeletons because the effects of the skeleton template don't make sense with the non-decaying warforged body (even if a warforged has something mimicking a skeletal system, it would never rot away until only its skeleton was showing). Given this, my inclination would also be to leave out warforged zombies -- while they may be "living creatures with a skeletal system" on some level, I think the intention of the restrictions is "flesh and blood". I'd be more inclined to create an entirely new template for an undead warforged.

In this thread, a parallel is drawn between Eberron and post-WW1 Earth. Was this intentional?

In many ways, yes. The goal was not to directly parallel human history. Obviously the technology does not match up even with the use of magic, some things being more advanced, others being less advanced. And the countries are not intended to be direct parallels to any earthly nations. However, the film was patterned on both pulp and film noir, and certain aspects of WWI and WWII certainly have a major impact on that genre.

So it's not an accident -- but it's not like I sat down and said "OK, these guys are going to be the Germans."

OK, now I must get back to work...

 

[Hellcow]

Oops, almost forgot my question....Chunky or smooth?

Jif for smooth, Skippy for chunky.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Caliban]

Is the footnote on the magical artisan feats (indicating that they can be taken multiple times and their effects stack) a mistake? Otherwise you can have high level casters creating magic items for no XP, no gold, and taking no time...

 

[Caliban]

The Weretouched prestige class. Is it's only purpose to make the DM's eyes explode out of their head?

It just seems a little overpowered, what with the Bear version getting a +16 to strength, on top of the strength bonuses already available through shifter feats and traits.

Only the Tiger version comes close, and the other creatures seem kind of overshadowed by the Bear weretouched.

 

[dwilgar]

Keith, a somewhat off-the-wall question:

Eberron seems to be very sparsely populated. For a continent that is 2500 by 5000 miles (and maybe on the order of 8 million square miles) a total humanoid and civilized monster population of 16 million seems rather small (2 creatures per square mile - compare this with the USA in 1790 which had 4.5 people per square mile. If this density is applied to the USA today the population would be just over 7 million as compared to the actual ~290 million). Was there any particular rationale behind these low densities? Are they a reflection of toll of the Last War?

Just want to add this is an excellent piece of work Keith. Kudos to you and and your fellow authors/developers. I look forward to future Eberron products.

Dwilgar

 

[Henry]

Keith, a somewhat off-the-wall question:

Eberron seems to be very sparsely populated...Was there any particular rationale behind these low densities? Are they a reflection of toll of the Last War?

I'm not Keith, and I don't have the book, but I may be able to help, by saying you hit the answer right there. If I understand it correctly, the Last War ended MAYBE all of two years before the setting of the campaign. What with 100 years of war, the destruction of Cyre through the Mourning, and the general devastation, it sounds like the population would be depressed for some time to come. Think more along the population figures for Europe post-World War II than the U.S. and the ensuing baby boom.

 

[Hellcow]

Is the footnote on the magical artisan feats (indicating that they can be taken multiple times and their effects stack) a mistake? Otherwise you can have high level casters creating magic items for no XP, no gold, and taking no time...

I'll jump on this because it's quick. Yes, this is a mistake. You should not be able to take any of these feats multiple times. Although for what it's worth, their effects stack with one another.

The Weretouched prestige class. Is it's only purpose to make the DM's eyes explode out of their head?

Yes.

 

[Krieg]

Thanks for your feedback!

No prob. There's so much bad stuff out there *cough* GWPHB *cough*, that I like to make a point to recognize the folks who are doing a superior job (Midnight, Grim Tales, SWS etc etc etc).

 

[Kai Lord]

Just like the other core races, the Drow are culturally significantly different from their counterparts in other settings.

Awesome. Thanks for responses! One last quick question on the Drow. Are they mechanically any different than Drow from other settings? It seems they would be.

 

[coyote6]

However, the film was patterned on both pulp and film noir, and certain aspects of WWI and WWII certainly have a major impact on that genre.

The film, eh? Typo/think-o, or a Freudian slip of the typing fingers that hints at possible future examples of Eberron in other media?