Why is Eberron being pushed so hard?

[trancejeremy]

Well, WOTC did pay, what, $130,000 for it? (I think $100,000 for the main prize, but 3 $10,000 ones). If you spend that much money on a contest for a setting, I imagine you'd want to push it a lot.


Greyhawk did finally get a game - Temple of Elemental Evil.

(Even Hollow World got a game - one for the Genesis...)

 

[Faraer]

Wizards is gambling that Eberron will become a lucrative licensing property, which their existing worlds can't be for legal reasons.

 

[Desdichado]

I thought Eberron was great. Until I picked up my Iron Kingdoms book a few weeks later!

 

[Jakar]

I like Eberron. It is a lot fresher than say the FR and Greyhawk.

For me it isgood because it is fresh. I will be interested to seewhere it goes.

 

[WizarDru]

Really? What was it called?

D&D Heroes mentions Greyhawk dieties in number, while the Scourge of Worlds DVD is plainly set in the world of Greyhawk.

Temple of Elemental Evil was also a Greyhawk game.

One can only hazard a guess where the AD&D game for the Intellivision was set.

 

[Ranger REG]

I've read some reviews and I've even flipped through the book. I know it's interesting but does it really deserve to be fed to us so much?

Or am I just an old gamer to set in my classic ways?

Yep. It's time you face reality ... and Metamucil. You're as old as I am.

As you said, you have been a fan of FR and DL so you have connected with them for a very long time that they're more than just familiarity, they're a source of intimate comfort.

Remember when FR came out in 1987 and then later become the de facto setting for 2nd edition AD&D? That must have ticked off the senior gamers who are fans of Greyhawk. They criticized how FR hog the spotlight with many series of novels (compared to the Greyhawk's Gord the Rogue series) and a host of electronic game software, even to this day.

Now, we're the "grumpy Greyhawk gamers" and the wet-behind-the-ear college-age students (18-25) see Eberron as their generation's FR.

Also, the RPG and gaming market are much more competitive now than in the late 80's and 90's, with new hobby trends appearing almost every year (from TCG, to CMG, and lately CSG). You either reinvent yourself like Madonna, or end up like FASA.

 

[Desdichado]

Wow, Ranger REG; I think that post may have had the highest analogy to wordcount ratio I've yet seen on these boards! Congratulations, man!

 

[Mouseferatu]

Now, we're the "grumpy Greyhawk gamers" and a wet-behind-the-ear college-age students (18-25) see Eberron as their generation's FR.

Well, just to throw a different spin on things...

I hail from the Greyhawk days of 1st Edition, and the Known World of Basic. I didn't dislike FR being the default setting because it replaced GH. I disliked it being the default setting because it's never, in all its years, appealed to me as a setting.

I like Eberron better than Greyhawk. I like Greyhawk better than Forgotten Realms. Other people disagree, and that's cool. But honestly, while I'm sure age (and past experience with D&D) play into this to some extent, I don't think it's as major a factor as many people suggest. Most of the long-term players I know personally also really like Eberron, and like the fact that it's being pushed hard.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I am grumpy that they decided to make Eberron the setting for the D&D online game. That kind of sucked out my anticipation for the game. But for me D&D will always = Greyhawk so I'm probably in for a lot of dissapointment in my gaming life.

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, just to throw a different spin on things...

But there are also some GH fans who see Eberron as the proverbial final nail on the GH coffin, unless Wizards of the Coast outsource it like they did with Blackmoor (now in the hands of creator Dave Arneson). And who knows? In a couple of years, FR will also phase out.

IMHO, it sucks to stay in the RPG/D&D hobby for so long to see discontinued support of your own favorite longtime published world.

You like your Greyhawk. That's cool. Don't begrudge me for liking FR. And if FR goes, I either be content with what I have in my pile of books and continue playing, or just retire.