Why is Eberron being pushed so hard?

[kdanger]

I just wanted to say that I think a lot of what Eberron was designed to do was change the image of DnD. Is there a real difference between Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms? I love em both, but they are both high fantasy worlds. Elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes and all that good stuff pretty much in the same roles. Eberron has taken the high fantasy and changed it to a pulpy-steam punk type of setting. They are also changing trying to change the external image from "the party goes and to kill the dragon" to espionage, mixed with an Indiana Jones type feel, after the war to end all wars, with a some Cthulhu thrown in there for good measure, and lets not forget the changes to religion (clerics and deities don't necessarily have the same alignment)...lotsa fun!

I do think that there are some trade offs for the MMORPG (has anyone thought the banking system in Eberron is just a little too much like Everquest?) and we all know that as a high fantasy setting EQ2 is really going to be the 800 pound gorilla.

Anyways, I like all three for different reasons, but that is just my two cents.

 

[DaveMage]

Never underestimate the culture of a large company. Nobody at WotC can point to Greyhawk or the Forgotten Realms and say, "I did this."

I think that's a good point, but at the same time, they still went "outside" to get the idea for the setting. Granted, there are WotC employees who undoubtedly added great value to Eberron, but the same can be said for the 3E version of the Forgotten Realms.

 

[Sir Elton]

I admit I never really cared for it. I had my Forgotten Realms and my Dragonlance and wa content.

I then recently heard that thier is a new D&D MMORPG coming out and it's set in Eberron. What? Why? Greyhawk and Faerun have dedicated fans and tons of history that legions of fans are familiar with, so why the new kid on the block. I was gonna play it but not now... be playing EQ2 anyways =D

Also I saw a D&D RTS coming out, also set in Eberron, again! I'd love to have an RTS set in Faerun! But nah, New kid on the block again.

What else do I come to learn? Eberron is the new Flagship setting for D&D! Greyhawk to old and boring? Last time I checked none of Eberrons news races are in the PHB. Nor is it's gods.

Meh. Meh I say!

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?

I hate Eberron. I'm still Jealous.

 

[Ranger REG]

I think that's a good point, but at the same time, they still went "outside" to get the idea for the setting. Granted, there are WotC employees who undoubtedly added great value to Eberron, but the same can be said for the 3E version of the Forgotten Realms.

Well, when FR was just a series of Dragon articles, it was all Ed Greenwood. Then it was later acquired by TSR, and assigned Jeff Grubb to work with Ed to collaborate on the FR Campaign Setting boxed set. Later, many other designers have added to the world, (e.g., David "Zeb" Cook found a place for Kara-Tur)

Greyhawk got the same treatment. In addition to Gary Gygax the creator, Carl Sargent have been the second-most notable names attached to the GH line. In fact, there is an ongoing debate whether Sargent's GH is better than Gygax's.

Let's face it. They have to do this to attract new gamers, while the old gamers are retiring or ... no longer here. Although it does perpetuate a generation gap. For example, I grew up listening to Run-DMC and LL Cool J's rap music, but this generation's Eminem is just noise to me.

"Eberron ... It's not your daddy's Greyhawk."

 

[Mouseferatu]

2) I'll agree that Eberron is like Exalted, especially in appearance. Seriously, crack open both books, and you'll find they feel very very similar, and even have the same little 'comic scenes' and such, with the same general art styles.

I have both, I've played both, I enjoy both, and I didn't get that impression at all. Exalted is anime/wuxia-style fantasy taken to the extreme. Very Asian, very animated. Eberron is pulp fantasy, far less over the top, and with a very different style.

*shrug* Guess it's all in how you look at it. Honestly, until someone mentioned it earlier in this thread, the notion of anyone thinking Eberron and Exalted were similar never even occurred to me. I still don't personally see it.

 

[schnee]

I really don't see what the stink is about.

Classic fantasy has been done to death. FR may be exceptionally detailed and rich, but it's basically the same old fantasy schtick - wizards, warriors, dragons, extra-planar bad guys - with a coat of paint. Greyhawk may bring back a lot of fond memories, but it's still been around forever.

Is Eberron gaudy? Sure, but so was all the pulp fantasy it all came from. Just because Tolkein approached fantasy with the attidude of a reverent scholar doesn't mean we should forget any other way of looking at things and paint everything a tasteful, muted forest green. Here's another analogy... historians are up in arms over the restoration of the Last Supper because the colors are way more vivid than they grew up with... how shocking! The original vision was so gaudy! OMG! Heresy!

I think they're pushing it because Greyhawk and FR are... IMO... stale. Same old. Done before. They have to push something new - that's just life, evolve or die - and they have to go beyond the 'same old same old' to expand the current (and very, very small) pool of gamers.

Also, they have to make it splashier because ALL media is splashier. We're a visual, stimulated society, right or wrong... we all want the shiniest thing we see. Wag your fingers, sigh in dismany, but that's human nature. If you want to look down your nose at it, go right ahead, but I bet the people who don't care about your elevated standards will be having a lot of fun... maybe even more than you. It's not like Elvis fans listened to their parents either.

Anyway, some random musings from a 35-year old who started with the blue boxed set... coloring in the numbers of my dice with a crayon. I don't fear change, or Eberron, or 'Jonny Playstation' or whatever. Bring it on.

 

[Cheerful Coffin]

Ebrreon feels like Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger, that's probably why it's doing so well..

Techno and Fantasy go good together. I especially like Dark Sun (The dune of D&D.) and SpellJammer.

 

[Belegbeth]

... Classic fantasy has been done to death. ...

The sad thing is that TSR/WotC has NEVER done a classic fantasy setting.

After pushing FR for many years -- an "over-the-top-with-uber-magic-and-everything-you-could-ever-want-except-coherence" setting if ever there was one -- they decide to go ONE STEP FURTHER.

I would be delighted if WotC took a risk, and tried a "classic fantasy setting" for once!

 

[Belegbeth]

Techno and Fantasy go good together. .

Like pickles and ice cream ... :\

 

[schnee]

I would be delighted if WotC took a risk, and tried a "classic fantasy setting" for once!

You want Beethoven. The world wants Rock & Roll.