The Art of Eberron: AWESOME new WOTC Update!

[Andrew D. Gable]

That picture is just lovely, really. Melikes.

 

[Christian Walker]

I love the illos, but they don't do too much to set the setting apart from current Wizzo products. I'm not seeing art that grabs me because it's newjack, a la the art I found in Planescape back in the day.

 

[Christian Walker]

It's got all the depth you'd find in the Realms. But in Eberron, everything is amplified. The action is more intense. Everything is more interesting --

-- it's D&D, but better.

Dude, it's D&D but it goes up to 11!

 

[MrFilthyIke]

The level of technology in ebberon sure as heck seems to go past what the contest rules called for. Just calling it magic instead of technology was a poor sidestep IMHO.

If you keep this up, they may call you Mr Coffee (ie bitter).

It's going to not eveyone's cuppa tea, and I understand how you
feel. I believe ANY previously published author should've been
disqualified, leaving it open to new blood. But all grumbles aside,
I like the look and "style" portrayed so far, but will reserve final
judgement till I see it.

Just my 2cp,

PS: No hard feelings about the Mr Coffee intended, just a sarcastic crack.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Dude, it's D&D but it goes up to 11!

Maybe it needs more dwarves and stone icons?

 

[MrFilthyIke]

The art looks good. I am interested in this setting. Well if only cause I love Keith's work.

Wow,...a non-Scarred Lands compliment! Congrats Nightfall, that's the first of the 12 steps.

 

[Kai Lord]

Why develop cannons when you have someone who can throw fireballs?

Because wielding magic of that nature is a rare and specialized process, whereas any old bloke can light the fuse of a cannon. It seems that it would be much easier to mass produce cannons (particularly in a world featuring constructs such as the lightning rail and warforged), than to train an army of war mages.

Will the campaign setting feature an in-world reason why this isn't done?

And you mentioned late 19th century tech era "magical conveniences." A car is a convenience, and was invented in the time period you mention. Will there be an in-world reason mages in Eberron don't start animating "horseless carriages" for personal or commercial use, or will they actually be a part of the campaign?

 

[Gez]

Because wielding magic of that nature is a rare and specialized process, whereas any old bloke can light the fuse of a cannon. It seems that it would be much easier to mass produce cannons (particularly in a world featuring constructs such as the lightning rail and warforged), than to train an army of war mages.

True. This was the same reason guns replaced bows. The first guns were inferior to bows in all aspect (range, efficiency, cost, and -- of course -- time to reload), but they needed less training.

 

[Deadguy]

I would wonder, Kai Lord, if the reason for the lack of automobile-equivalents is just cost-effectiveness? A car is a personal transporter first and foremost, whilst a train is designed from the start to move large numbers of people and lots of cargo. As such, one individual or small group must meet the costs of developing and operating a 'car' analogue. Not that it couldn't be done - a car is really a variant form of a golem or animated object - but it's too expensive for what it represents. Probably a case of saying it's much cheaper to hire a groom and driver, and get a good quality carriage and horses.

As for cannons, I would agree that the argument is weaker. There exists magic that can produce high-quality bronze artifacts - through the spell is quite high level in Eberron terms. Perhaps it's more a matter of lack of inspiration. The world, it seems, looks to magic to produce its tools. Want to be able to do damage over long distances? Create an appropriate Warforged and let it loose. That is, the very idea of the cannon just isn't in their technological vocabulary. That's not exactly unreasonable. Of course, only Keith can tell us how he rationalises this absence (hint, hint!).

 

[Hellcow]

As such, one individual or small group must meet the costs of developing and operating a 'car' analogue. Not that it couldn't be done - a car is really a variant form of a golem or animated object - but it's too expensive for what it represents. Probably a case of saying it's much cheaper to hire a groom and driver, and get a good quality carriage and horses.

Exactly. The juggernaut from Monster Manual II is a nonhumanoid construct and a clear example of how a magical vehicle (if a heavily armored one) could be made. Such horseless carriages are sure to be found somewhere in Eberron (more likely in some places than others). However, they would be very expensive to make, and unless they ended up being much faster than horses (speed not being something magical constructs are noted for) it usually isn't worth the expense. Mainly they would be status symbols, although the tireless aspect obviously has its advantages. So it's not that there are NO personal magical conveyances anywhere in Eberron; it's just that they are still rare luxuries, not the common mode of transport.

I should note that when I mentioned the 19th century, I didn't mean to imply that Eberron is a mirror of 19th century Earth, any more than it reflects 1930s Earth. My point was more that where there is magical "technology", it is generally less widespread and less advanced than 20th century technology. Fundamentally, Eberron is still a medieval setting, but with a number of magical enhancements - things that just seem to make sense in a world where arcane magic exists. Rather than saying that people acquired magic around the time that Western civilization started working with gunpowder, and then saying Eberron is now in the 19th century, a more accurate parallel would be to say that the Roman Empire discovered magic and that the western world is now in the Middle Ages or the Renaissance (depending where you are) -- and that magic has simply been incorporated into the evolution of cultures over the centuries. Of course, Eberron is home to a number of different cultures... there is a considerably difference between the Sarlonan cultures, the kingdoms of old Galifar, and, say, the Shadow Marches (as seen in the recent art article).

As for cannons, well, any old shlub can fire an arbalest or a catapult, too. Without going into a big essay -- which I'd love to do if I only had the time -- "not in the vocabulary" is the basic idea. All of the traditional pre-gunpowder tools of war are still seen on the battlefield, possibly enhanced by magic (so get that flaming arbalest loaded). There are a few new options for wands that I can't go into at this point, but comparing the wand of fireballs to the cannon -- it's true that it can't be used by any old schlub, but assuming you have someone who can use it, it has the advantage of being far more mobile, extremely accurate, and more difficult for the enemy to spot; if you add flight into the mix, a flying character with a wand becomes a very versatile and dangerous opponent. Though with that said, not everyone can use wands (let alone fly). This is still a world where the common soldiers use crossbows; you don't have magic missile blasters all over the place.

Could cannons be useful? Absolutely. But the basic idea is that magic has always been a part of society, and it is what the scholars and philosophers have focused their energy on. They know that fireball exists, and have therefore worked on ways to produce fireballs more efficiently. They know how to enchant weapons, so they have produced enchanted siege weaponry. Perhaps some culture will eventually produce gunpowder weapons. But at the moment, magic is a versatile enough tool that people have not felt the need to look beyond it.

Though again, all of this really applies to the nations of old Galifar than to Eberron as a whole. Warfare, magic, and other cultural elements may vary dramatically from nation to nation.

Anyhow, it is rather late where I am at, so this may or may not make sense... and I may or may not retract it all in the morning. But there it is!