D&D 5E What's to Like about Eberron?

[Doug McCrae]

An AMA with Keith Baker on reddit that addresses some of the issues raised in this thread.

Actually, the original pitch for Eberron specifically called out that it WASN'T like, say, Arcanum. Steampunk fantasy often plays to a clash between technology and magic, whereas in Eberron the idea was always that magic was being used to solve the same problems we solved with technology. We don't have firearms because we have wands and enchanted bows. Warforged aren't robots, they're magical golems. The biggest steam-punky element is obviously the lightning rail, but it's still supposed to be a fundamentally magical thing... this is a way to deal with mass transit using low-level magic.

So to answer the question, I'd probably say 4? 5? Not SUPER steampunk, but obviously the warforged, airships and lightning rail will always have some of that.

There were a few different inspirations for Eberron. The first was the fact that I'd been working on a pulp-based MMORPG (called Lost Continents, it was cancelled after three years of development for Dilbert-y reasons), and I'd spent 3 years watching pulp serials annd movies... and I've always loved Noir. So that was in my brain and I thought "What would that look like in D&D?"

The second was a long-term frustration of mind that in D&D magic behaves in a scientific manner but never affects the world in that way. You have 18th level wizards living in towers but somehow it doesn't affect the flavor of the world. The question in my mind was "If we'd had arcane magic as it works in D&D in the Renaissance instead of technology, what would the world look like now" - although really, Eberron is more in a late 19th-century/early 20th level of development.

 

[Doug McCrae]

So people who think Eberron is inspired by pulp and people who think Eberron addresses science fictional concerns - what would really happen if magic was real? - are both correct!

 

[Parmandur]

So people who think Eberron is inspired by pulp and people who think Eberron addresses science fictional concerns - what would really happen if magic was real? - are both correct!

Well, yes. The unique thing, though, is the post-War milieu, echoing themes from 20's-30's fiction.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Excerpt (long) from a Q&A on Keith Baker's blog

If you named a bunch of books, or films, or TV shows, or whatever, whose inspiration has been critical in creating Eberron, in a sort of multimedia Eberron Appendix N, which would they be?

I could swear there’s a two page list in one of the 3.5 sourcebooks, but a quick search isn’t turning it up. Putting together a list of every book, show or film that I think could possibly inspire people working on Eberron would take more time than I currently have. For example, I have a FEELING that some people might find China Mieville’s books to be inspiring for Eberron, but I’ve never actually read them (which is embarrassing, as all accounts suggest they are awesome – I’ve just never gotten around to it). Likewise, I’ve never played a Final Fantasy game. So I’m going to list a few things, but these are simply a few things that personally inspired me – not every possible source of inspiration.

Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and almost any Film Noir movie.

The original one sentence description of Eberron was “Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Maltese Falcon meet Lord of the Rings.” Anything in this vein will help inspire adventures tied to dirty dealings on the mean streets of Sharn… and I’ve always described Graywall in Droaam as “Casablanca with ogres.” For what it’s worth, I prefer The Maltese Falcon as a movie and The Big Sleep as a book.

Two-Fisted Tales of Adventure!

The Mummy. Any Indiana Jones movie. Any Republic serial (such as “Nyoka and the Tigermen”). Anything by Edgar Rice Burroughs or Jules Verne. I originally came up with the idea for Eberron because I’d spent a few years working on a pulp-flavored MMORPG that ended up being cancelled, and I’d been watching a LOT of pulp serials.

Neuromancer

William Gibson’s Neuromancer is one of the early cyberpunk novels. It combines aspects of a dystopia future with some basic film noir tropes. There are certainly ways in which the Dragonmarked Houses are inspired by the classic cyberpunk megacorps, with the basic question of what happens when corporate power equals or exceeds the relevance of nations. Almost any cyberpunk novel can provide inspiration for a House-heavy game, but Neuromancer remains my favorite.

Steven Brust

Brust’s Taltos series are pulp stories set in a fantasy world, and deal with many of the same issues as Eberron… though Dragaera is more magically advanced than Eberron; teleportation and resurrection are basic tools available to civilization and everyone effectively has a psionic cell phone. I’ve often considered running a Taltos-style campaign in Eberron, in which the PCs are small time operators in the Boromar Clan trying to hold their turf and expand their reputation and influence. I also like Brust’s Phoenix Guards series, in part because it’s set in an earlier age and there’s an opportunity to see how the science of magic evolves. And as long as we’re mentioning The Phoenix Guards, you also can’t go wrong with anything by Alexandre Dumas.

Phillip K. Dick

I prefer PKD’s short stories to his novels, but I love the questions he raises in his work. The warforged essentially spring from my long love of Blade Runner, bringing us back to cyberpunk. What is the nature of life? What do you do if you were made to be a weapon and there is no war?

H.P. Lovecraft

If you’re going to get into the Cults of the Dragon Below or the Lords of Dust, you should delve into some Lovecraft.

I’m going to stop here because I could keep this list going for pages, and I’m out of time… but anyone reading, post your inspirational films and stories in the comments! For honorable mention, as authors I’ve read and enjoyed who may or may not have directly influenced Eberron: Jack Vance (anything to do with the Dying Earth); Tanith Lee (Night’s Master or Tales From The Flat Earth); J. R. R. Tolkien; George R. R. Martin; Michael Moorcock; Robert E. Howard; Sheri S. Tepper; Neil Gaiman; Patrick Rothfuss; William S. Burroughs (maybe not useful for Eberron, but great if you’re running Over The Edge)… I’ll stop there, but I’m sure I’ll think of a dozen more as soon as I post this.

 

[Parmandur]

True, Baker does cite Cyberpunk: but those tropes originate in post-War fiction!

 

[Doug McCrae]

Well, I've learned something from reading those Keith Baker quotes. I had thought Eberron was purely 'pulp and noir meets D&D' without recognising the cyberpunk and other SF influence.

 

[Kurotowa]

What I like most about Eberron is that it's the opposite of the "Points of Light" situation. Open frontiers are few and far away, most of the continent is settled, and society is complex and interconnected. Not that PoL doesn't have its place, but I get a bit tired of it after it's been the default for so long.

In Eberron, you're not just some random murderhobo who decided to pick up a sword and seek your fortune one day. I mean, you might still be a murderhobo, but you're probably either an unemployed war vet or a refugee who lost their home in the Last War. Both of those give a lot more context and perspective, and you exist in a world where being a rootless violent mercenary evokes strong opinions in the population.

Or maybe you're not rootless. Maybe you're part of a team who got legit jobs as rental security with House Deneith, you've got to play backup for a rich brat with more ideals than sense who keeps getting you into scrapes. Or maybe instead you got hired by Morgrave University to go to one of those far away frontiers to locate a missing research team, and they picked you because you've been there before in the war, only you're the only one who came back from that last mission and you've got unfinished business of your own there. Or maybe being a rootless mercenary is only a cover story, maybe your team are deep cover Karrnathi special forces on a secret mission to infiltrate the Order of the Emerald Claw and unmask their leadership.

If you actually pull back and look at it, the Forgotten Realms are a post-apocalyptic patchwork of fallen empires and ruined civilizations that locks up its books and digs in the trash heaps of the past for treasure. Eberron is a setting where progress is on the march, although that also comes with the weapons of war advancing, and not everyone is happy about all the changes. That's a very different flavor and I quite enjoy it.

 

[Doug McCrae]

If you actually pull back and look at it, the Forgotten Realms are a post-apocalyptic patchwork of fallen empires and ruined civilizations that locks up its books and digs in the trash heaps of the past for treasure. Eberron is a setting where progress is on the march, although that also comes with the weapons of war advancing, and not everyone is happy about all the changes.

You're absolutely right that progress is on the march in Eberron, but it's also a setting where there's digging in trash heaps for treasure AKA archaeology.

After all in Indiana Jones the Nazis had access to plenty of technology but they still wanted the Ark of the Covenant.

 

[Kurotowa]

You're absolutely right that progress is on the march in Eberron, but it's also a setting where there's digging in trash heaps for treasure AKA archaeology.

In Eberron there's at least the possibility that you're recovering lost ancient magic so you can learn how it works and then spread the knowledge to the right parties to put it into practice. In most settings recovered artifacts are used purely for the betterment or gratification of the finders, so they can show off their cool relic sword or use a super-weapon to carve a new kingdom out of the wilderness. Which is not to say that can't be someone's goal in Eberron, but those the Belocs of the world and they're quite clearly villains to be stopped.

 

[Reynard]

It's worth noting that Baker isn't really the singular authority on Eberron. He created the setting, certainly, but its development was always by WotC. This means that Baker's influences are not the only influences or even the primary ones necessarily. This is especially true for Eberron as a mature setting.