Why is Eberron being pushed so hard?

[Jakar]

Fun? What is this 'Fun' you speak of Earth-man?
Does it have something to do with the D&D of which you speak?

Heeheehee. Ok, I needed that after a crap day at work....

 

[Nisarg]

Indeed, Bob.
Anyways, Eberron's claim to medieval-ness is mostly that they still use swords and bows rather than mechamobiles and plasma rifles and horse-drawn carts still exist in fair numbers.

A better term is "while magictech exists, technology itself is no more advanced than in default D&D".

Well need I point out that swords and bows were around for literally THOUSANDS of years before the medieval period, and (along with horse-drawn carts) right up until last century were used, so long after medievalism ended.

There's NO reason why Eberron couldn't have been at least Renaissance and thus have been more culturally realistic...

Nisarg

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Well need I point out that swords and bows were around for literally THOUSANDS of years before the medieval period, and (along with horse-drawn carts) right up until last century were used, so long after medievalism ended.

There's NO reason why Eberron couldn't have been at least Renaissance and thus have been more culturally realistic...

Nisarg

But when we hear about bows and swords and horsedrawn cards, we associate it with medieval.

If we here about gladiators, we associate it with the Roman Empire.
If we here about great philosophers, we associate it with the Old Greek.

It´s just the way people think, "connect the dots", so to say. If someone says medieval, we will always think of knights in shining armor, bows and swords, even if there were several thousands of years in which they were used.

 

[Belegbeth]

Stop The Insanity!!!

 

[Staffan]

Does FR have things that really stretch the limits of what is credibly "medieval"? Yes.. but usually in the areas of the realms where they do, the culture is specifically explained as NOT medieval or not Medieval anymore (places like Amn or Calimsham, or the more fantastic areas away from the FR "heartlands").

You don't get more heartlandy than the Dalelands in FR, and those are pretty darn non-medieval, what with not having kings and stuff. Beyond that, you have many, many city-states around in the Heartlands - the Moonsea, the Vast, the Dragon Coast, and the Western Heartlands basically consist of city-states, and those aren't any more medieval than Breland with its infant democracy. The only area of FR that's "credibly medieval" is Cormyr.

 

[WizarDru]

There's NO reason why Eberron couldn't have been at least Renaissance and thus have been more culturally realistic...

Except that cultural realism would have had a major impact on 'teh fun', IMHO, without much benefit.

I mean, Eberron (and in truth ALL D&D settings) grants women equal rights and priveleges to men. That, by itself, is a massive difference from cultural reality...one which should have vast ripples across the cultural spectrum...but we ignore it, because it doesn't make the game more fun to include such aspects. The same applies for infant mortality, medical technology and whole schools of cultural thought. I mean, Faust as a cautionary tale loses some of it's punch when the Dragonmarked exist, doesn't it?

The concept of selectively finding concepts that do or don't fit for a given world-setting merely strikes me as somewhat odd, I guess. Eberon is fairly internally consistent for a RPG game-world, which is what it is and what it was designed to be. I know that I'd be pretty unhappy if five pages were wasted making excuses for why a given cultural paradigm is different from real world history, rather than be given more chances for adventure. YMMV.

 

[Desdichado]

Of course, unlike the general discussion of post-WW1 ideologies in Europe and abroad, this doesn't really have anything to do with Eberron... unless the Lord of Blades started a, say, anti-Dragonmarked House movement in constructs and organics alike.

I can see the LoB appealing more to the unwashed peasant in Breland or the common laborer in Sharn more than "those snooty 'Marked SoBs thinkin' their better than everybody else because they're different... I'll bet they're scheming to bring down our beloved (insert country here), ever since they stopped us from winning the Last War!"

Although, the Blood of Vol or some other organization might be more appropriate for *that* kind of Eberron "Nazis"...

Hmmm... I like the way you think.

Not that I'll be running Eberron anytime soon, but those are some nifty ideas there.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

I LOVE ENWorld

Whenever I have an inkling that someone is off the wall, 6 people with the right knowledge pop out of the woodwork.

Couple of things, though...

There's NO reason why Eberron couldn't have been at least Renaissance and thus have been more culturally realistic...

So, changing the word "medieval" in the marketing to "renaissance" would solve your problem?

Does FR have things that really stretch the limits of what is credibly "medieval"? Yes.. but usually in the areas of the realms where they do, the culture is specifically explained as NOT medieval or not Medieval anymore (places like Amn or Calimsham, or the more fantastic areas away from the FR "heartlands").

And breaking your rules is OK, as long as the fluff text cops to it?

This whole mess is an overblown semantic issue?!

Yep. You're an academic.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Before posting, please think about puppies, butterflies and kittens.

Then try to post politely without calling people names.

Thanks.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Before posting, please think about puppies, butterflies and kittens.

Then try to post politely without calling people names.

Thanks.

If this was directed at me, I do apologize. Though, really, I'm an academic, so I'm not sure I can be called on the carpet for calling someone else one, vile appelation though it be.

Of course, as a mere biologist, I can but aspire to the level of discourse on the subject of fantasy world sociology and real world history evident in this thread of late.

I give good developmental biology, though.

Anybody up for neuroanatomy of the Shifter?