OSR Why B/X?

[overgeeked]

The only point I would add to this is that I don't think Eberron caused these changes; it merely codified trends that had already been brewing in the late '90s and early '00s in a mainstream D&D product.

This is speculation, but I imagine a root cause of the popularization of the magitech trope was the maturation of the generation weaned on JRPGs, most especially Final Fantasy VII.

Maybe. But the window you're suggesting is awfully tight. FF7 came out in 1997. Eberron came out in 2004 but it was submitted to a WotC setting content in 2002 and likely in development for a few years before that.

ETA: Nope. In a few articles on his website Keith specifically states he started working on the setting because of the contest.

 

[Voadam]

I would say high magic taking things away from more medieval aesthetics was a big thing before 3e Eberron. Continual light lamps lighting up certain city streets. 2e shifted a lot to a more renaissance level baseline tech and aesthetics before adding on the magic and fantasy. Forgotten Realms and Mystara had a lot of high magic non medieval aesthetic areas and magitech type stuff.

 

[overgeeked]

I would say high magic taking things away from more medieval aesthetics was a big thing before 3e Eberron. Continual light lamps lighting up certain city streets. 2e shifted a lot to a more renaissance level baseline tech and aesthetics before adding on the magic and fantasy. Forgotten Realms and Mystara had a lot of high magic non medieval aesthetic areas and magitech type stuff.

Crashed space ships and buried nuclear reactors.

I remember getting into arguments with people when 2E came out and committed the sin of having firearms. Some people were beside themselves about that. Now we have robots and magic engineers as default options for PCs.

 

[TwoSix]

Maybe. But the window you're suggesting is awfully tight. FF7 came out in 1997. Eberron came out in 2004 but it was submitted to a WotC setting content in 2002 and likely in development for a few years before that.

That's....half a decade. It only takes one formative media property to really cement a concept in the popular imagination.

 

[overgeeked]

That's....half a decade. It only takes one formative media property to really cement a concept in the popular imagination.

Five years isn't that long. But, eh.

 

[Yora]

The only point I would add to this is that I don't think Eberron caused these changes; it merely codified trends that had already been brewing in the late '90s and early '00s in a mainstream D&D product.

This is speculation, but I imagine a root cause of the popularization of the magitech trope was the maturation of the generation weaned on JRPGs, most especially Final Fantasy VII.

Yes. And Dragonlance didn't really cause the previous change either.
They are both examples of the company fully embracing a newly emerging approach to marketing with a new flagship product.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Five years isn't that long. But, eh.

If it's a good enough idea, it can have almost an immediate impact. See: John Wick.

 

[Parmandur]

If it's a good enough idea, it can have almost an immediate impact. See: John Wick.

And FF1-6 also exist, and we're importing their steampunky whimsy from checks notes Mystara.

 

[Voadam]

Crashed space ships and buried nuclear reactors.

I would say those are more straight out of place isolated high tech in fantasy rather than common integrated magitech civilization stuff like in Eberron though.

That type of stuff straight tech mix is present in Swords and Sorcery stories (I think there is a German steampunk dimensional traveller in Lankhmar at one point), but you don't have elemental trains or such in most.

I remember getting into arguments with people when 2E came out and committed the sin of having firearms. Some people were beside themselves about that. Now we have robots and magic engineers as default options for PCs.

Are warforged and artificers going to be in the new 2024 PHs as default options? I was disappointed warforged did not make it into the 2015 PH.

 

[cbwjm]

I tend to think of different eras as:

1. I'm gonna die! (Up to 2e)
2. I might die. (3e)
3. I'll be fine. (4e and 5e)