The Best & Worst of 3rd Edition: Ultimate 3E: Unearthed Arcana, Eberron, Pathfinder

[TerraDave]

Mr Baker: Thanks for stopping by! And good questions.

With 453 Votes, Pathfinder is leading. Followed by Eberron and Unearthed Arcana. Pathfinder is also leading among "registered voters", again followed by Eberron and UA. (Though the margin does seem to be smaller).

But this poll isn't over yet.

 

[Kristian Serrano]

I initially bought into Eberron because it was a campaign setting that would see continued support, assumes or offers a place for all WotC 3.5 rules and supplements, and allowed me to be there from the ground up rather than laden with years of rules revisions and setting histories. Additionally, it is an easier buy-in for players new to D&D altogether.

I voted Eberron because of it's expansive design. It deliberately avoids excessive detail for the sake of making the campaign your own; I still have tons of ideas for campaigns I'd like to run. Even when I'm not DMing, reading articles and sourcebooks about the world is actually interesting to me, which I can't say for most settings I've explored.

Honestly, I was considering Pathfinder out of curiosity, but I was reluctant to forgo the investment in time, interest and money in Eberron. I liked Eberron and had no reason to leave it behind, but I also didn't want to shoehorn Pathfinder's unique components into Eberron. [Note: According to every setting publisher, their setting is compatible with other campaign settings; I've rarely found this to be wholly true.] Additionally, Pathfinder wasn't a setting yet, it was just a series of modules, and I hate nothing more than having to glean bits and pieces of a world from a story or adventure module. Give me the whole setting all at once, not in chunks of TBD material.

Regarding Eberron's uniqueness among d20 settings, I like the modern analogies it presents. It really helps to open the doors and invite players new to RPGs by letting them do things with which they are familiar, and it allows them to roleplay with a tone that they can mimic from their favorite movies whether they are modern, sci-fi, fantasy or whatever.

I also like the static timeline of Eberron. Limiting advancements and drastic changes to the world or events means no arguments over canon and what happens in my Eberron.

The interestingly unique interpretations of the core races is a favorite of mine, too. It really brings a lot of value to the races and the setting as a whole, although I'm somewhat disappointed that dwarves don't have more to them; they seem pretty standard unless I'm missing something.

I like the logical progression of magic as a resource rather than a kept secret only used by the elite snobs. Magic can make everyone's lives easier, so why not use it to the benefit of all. In fact, I like that there are modern-like wonders without the waste produced from using energy sources that are harmful to the environment or limited in availability. Even the production of lumber can be magically aided.

Monstrous races as citizens of the world rather than things to kill gives players something to think about before slaying a hobgoblin, gnoll or orc.

Last but not least, I love the pulp feel of Eberron. Sure, other settings can accommodate it, but other settings aren't built on it.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Voted Eberron, but do not consider Pathfinder to be a legitimate opponent as it is a series of published books. But, this is an internet poll, so reason and fairness are out the window.

 

[Klaus]

I voted Eberron.

The level of imagination in that setting, and the willingness to push the envelope towards uncharted territory, is amazing.

I only wish more space had been devoted to the nations outside the Five Nations. Specially Lhazaar, Demon Wastes, Q'barra, Talenta, Seren and Valenar.

 

[WizarDru]

LOL! My experience is exactly the opposite. Our group is loving Shackled City. Cauldron is a great location for adventuring, and our party has really integrated into the social structure of the city.

Well, that's the benefits of starting one late and the downside of starting the other early, to be sure. If you waited until the Shackled City AP hardcover, you'd have more to work with...but we got half-way through the SCAP before some of the inconsistencies and logical fallacies simply became too much for the players. The setting of Cauldron is fantastic, and my PCs integrated into THAT with gusto...but for us the actual adventures started to take a drastic downturn as the path continued. There were a lot of unresolved plot points and a lack of cohesion overall that was kind of a bummer.


Rich, I nearly chose Eberron, as I said. The reasons are many. The new races were excellent, although they really needed the Races of Eberron book to do anyone but the warforged justice. The setting is rife with potential stories and open to a host of styles: political intrigue, pulp adventure, straight-up dungeon crawls and more. Eberron embraced a lot of D&D's pecularities and made them it's own. Eberron was also one of the first steps in WotC's approach towards removing the parts of D&D that could detract from the fun (things like action points, for example).

I think one of the few things I'm going to miss when we move to 4e is the Artificer. Since my group is 6 players, the artificer is a popular choice for support class and full of unique flavor.

 

[Bluenose]

Well, there are parts of all three products I like.

Unearthed Arcana is a mixed bag. Some parts of it are excellent, and I have no hesitation in using them. Other parts get a resounding shrug from me. There are also bits of it that if I wasn't a professional librarian would see me defacing the book.

Pathfinder, in my view at the moment is primarily an adventure with some supporting material. So I'm judging it solely on the adventure content, and while some have been excellent others really haven't appealed to me as a DM. If the setting book was out and I had more idea of how things fitted in, or if the adventures were as consistently good as the first, then I'd be happy to vote for it.

Eberron has an advantage from the start with me in that it's less of a traditional fantasy setting, in a totally different way to my homebrew. The main things that attract me to it are that there's a serious attempt to make magic a part of the world in a different way to most settings. Magic as a craft rather than a mystery is a fundamentally different approach, and makes a lot of sense considering how the rules deal with it. I also like the way Eberron avoids filling in too many of the gaps, and is explicit in saying that some things should and will (hopefully) remain mysteries. The main thing I dislike is the suggested "noir" feel for parts of it. Even if this was to my taste, it's far too easy to turn it into a parody for me to want to see it. I also think the setting book has too little information in some areas, with the very different planar arrangement being one thing that really needs more development.

 

[hazel monday]

I've read all of these. Pathfinder wins hands down.

It's not even a contest.

If Ptolus was still in the running I might've had to think about the answer a bit before I picked Pathfinder.

 

[DaveMage]

I like them all, but since I had to pick one, I choose UA.

 

[Mark]

I haven't used Pathfinder or Eberron, but I've been backing the UA horse since the start and get a lot of use from it.

 

[Pinotage]

Well, that's the benefits of starting one late and the downside of starting the other early, to be sure. If you waited until the Shackled City AP hardcover, you'd have more to work with...but we got half-way through the SCAP before some of the inconsistencies and logical fallacies simply became too much for the players. The setting of Cauldron is fantastic, and my PCs integrated into THAT with gusto...but for us the actual adventures started to take a drastic downturn as the path continued. There were a lot of unresolved plot points and a lack of cohesion overall that was kind of a bummer.

Yeah, we're using the SC AP Hardcover, which allows you to get the entire story right from the start, and to make sure that everything is well integrated. I don't think the adventures themselves incorporate the overall plot that well, but if the DM knows the entire plot, you can do that quite easily right from the start. The Cagewrights, Canceri, etc. can easily be included right from the start.

I think in future I'm going to wait before playing new adventure paths, particularly because of this issue. Perhaps Curse of the Crimson Throne will be better.

Pinotage