Dark Sun Style Themes for Eberron?

[BlackTiger]

This came up while I was talking to some people at the Dark Sun game day yesterday (21st) and I realized it was something I'd really like to use if I ran a 4E Eberron game.

The trouble I suppose is that the themes are rather extensive - I've only just began looking into them, but it's potentially up to 9 powers and two paragon paths (Although reusing existing ones seems ideal)

While I think many of these features could easily be houseruled on a casual basis, I was thinking of working on this as a more robust project - Eberron easily has 10 or 20 potential themes to recommend to the system.

War veterans of the different nations, agents of each House (Dragonmarked or not) plus regional niches (Valenar Outrider, Eldeen Ranger as an homage to the old Prc) all stand out.

So, does Eberron have niches distinct enough to make Themes out of them? Can you recommend any, and how would you lay them out?

 

[WhatGravitas]

I thought the same thing (and I'm on the 4e General board, somebody had similar thoughts)!

Since the themes are fairly complex, I don't see the absolute need for 20 themes, especially since some niches are already occupied by existing Paragon Paths.

As a rough draft, I would suggest the following ideas:

Aereni Traveller - Divine Striker
Cyran Survivor - Martial Leader
Extreme Explorer - Martial Striker?
Inquisitive - Martial Striker
House Courtier - Martial Leader
Last War Veteran - Martial Defender
Magewright - Arcane Leader
Sovereign Priest - Divine Leader
Valenar Outrider - Martial Striker
War Refugee - Martial Defender

That's a pretty broad spectrum of "occupations" and should cover a lot of stuff, especially with PPs following.

Cheers, LT.

 

[P1NBACK]

This is a really good idea. I think you should pitch this to D&D Insider.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Inquisitive - Martial Striker

Your list is a great start, LT. The Inquisitive is the only one I would change. Aren't most Inquistives Rogues or Bards? I see this as a "Leader," not a Striker.

I don't have the books in front of me, but I recall that a Bard is an Arcane Leader. The Rogue is a Martial Striker, of course.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Your list is a great start, LT. The Inquisitive is the only one I would change. Aren't most Inquistives Rogues or Bards? I see this as a "Leader," not a Striker.

Yeah, it was something I wasn't sure about - but I thought putting it down as "striker" makes sense for one reason: Noir detectives never play well with others!

Cheers, LT.

 

[jelmore]

I thought the same thing (and I'm on the 4e General board, somebody had similar thoughts)!

This is from a post I made in a similar thread on the general 4e Discussion forum:

Looking at the themes in the Dark Sun Campaign Setting book, I can see some easy translation to Eberron:

Athasian Minstrel -- Thuranni/Phiarlan Entertainer
Elemental Priest -- Ashbound or Child of Winter
Dune Trader -- Dragonmarked House Guildmate (bah, clunky name)
Gladiator -- Gladiator (think Darguun or Droaam)
Noble Adept -- Inspired Adept
Primal Guardian -- Eldeen Guardian
Templar -- Aundarian Agent or Sentinel Marshal
Veiled Alliance -- The Aurum
Wasteland Nomad -- Demon Wastes Nomad
Wilder -- Empty Vessel

I get the idea that a Theme is meant to add some crunchy color to your character's background (as opposed to Paragon Paths and Epic destinies, which provide a path to the future); that is how I am going to approach any Themes I feel like creating.