Eberron Questions

[Glyfair]

My feeling is that GMs should change the answers to those mysteries if their players have read the ECS. My Order of the Emerald Claw is secretly controlled by King Kaius for example.

I disagree. IMO, those things are supposed to be the commonality that links people's experience of the setting.

It would be like deciding to change who Darth Vader really is in a Star Wars game just because the players have seen the movie. Part of the experience is sharing the world and changing such major elements significantly impacts this.

 

[Jhaelen]

I believe they also talk about Sarlona being both east and west of Khorvaire, but I can't find that reference right now.

In Secrets of Sarlona several common ship routes are described to travel between Khorvaire and Sarlona. Some of them arrive at the western side of the continent and some on the eastern side.

 

[Doug McCrae]

IMO, those things are supposed to be the commonality that links people's experience of the setting.

Why should there be such a commonality?

If discovering the answer to a particular mystery is important in a game, such as what is the true nature of the Order of the Emerald Claw, it's not going to work if the players already know the answer. That's like reading the last chapter of a murder mystery first.

 

[Glyfair]

Why should there be such a commonality?

Because it's more fun that way. Look at a lot of the discussions about why the early D&D modules are so well thought of, even though some of those are actually not that good looking at them today.

One of the things that is brought up is the shared experience. People talked about their forays against the giants and drow, their delve into the Tomb of Horrors, finding the lost space ship in the Barrier Peaks.

Even other games had it. In Runequest had almost everyone defending Gringle's Pawnshop in Apple Lane, looking for the Windsword at Griffin Mountain, searching for Balastar's Axe in Pavis.

The shared experience and being able to compare their experiences was a big draw. I think it would be a big draw today, if it wasn't diluted by so many options. I think taking that experience away isn't a good idea without a good reason.

There is no reason that the players shouldn't know that the Emerald Claw are the soldiers of the Blood of Vol. Any player worth their salt can keep that knowledge out of character. If you want a plot element to surprise the player's, then choose something else, instead of one of the few "public secrets" of the campaign world (i.e. the secrets that anyone who reads the sources knows).

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

About the round thing, Eberron is referred to as a planet in the core book a few times (some being pg 129, 3rd paragraph and pg 130, 1st paragraph). I believe they also talk about Sarlona being both east and west of Khorvaire, but I can't find that reference right now. It's definitely round, but I don't think they come out and say it in those words.

Eberron is also surrounded by a ring of Syberis shards. Somewhat hard to do unless you have a round planet. Of course, this could work with a cylinder as well, but IIRC they showed a map of the northern polar continent in the Player's Handbook...

 

[Destil]

"Approximately fifteen hundred years ago, humans landed on the western shore of the Shadow Marches. These refugees fled Sarlona to escape the growing power of the Inspired and collided with the orcs."

From the shadow marches entry in the ECS.

So you can see that you can get between Khorvaire and Sarlona either way, east or west. Lhazaar landed 3000 years ago, before the Inspired began controlling Sarlona, so her route is most likely the easiest. The Atlantic & Pacific ocean analogy works for me.

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

Because it's more fun that way.

This depends entirely on what you are trying to get out of the game. If your goal is a fun shared experience, then it may well be more fun that way. If your goal is something else, you may not care for novels to be canon for the setting.

One reason to ignore the novels is if you do not like how the writer presented a certain topic. Another reason is if the novel contradicts your game.

For you, it may very well be that using the novels as canon adds to the experience, but that isn't the case with everyone.

The shared experience and being able to compare their experiences was a big draw. I think it would be a big draw today, if it wasn't diluted by so many options. I think taking that experience away isn't a good idea without a good reason.

I think forcing the shared experience isn't a good idea without good reason. The groups that I've run games for do not hang out with gamers and would not gain anything from this shared experience, anyway. Others that I run for would gain something.

The most important thing to consider, however, is not the shared experience. It's the campaign/game. If sticking to the novels as canon detracts from the game, then it shouldn't be done. Furthermore, your shared experience assumes that the GM actually reads the novels. If I am running an Eberron campaign, I am under no obligation to purchase and read the novels just so that my players can have a shared experience with another group.

There is no reason that the players shouldn't know that the Emerald Claw are the soldiers of the Blood of Vol.

Unless that isn't true in someone else's version of Eberron. Unless the GM hasn't read that and doesn't know, so he decides something different.

Any player worth their salt can keep that knowledge out of character. If you want a plot element to surprise the player's, then choose something else, instead of one of the few "public secrets" of the campaign world (i.e. the secrets that anyone who reads the sources knows).

Well, that's all well and good, but any GM worth his salt can customize the setting in any way that he feels will improve the game for his players. If the players are enjoying themselves then it's all good.

 

[Glyfair]

This depends entirely on what you are trying to get out of the game. If your goal is a fun shared experience, then it may well be more fun that way. If your goal is something else, you may not care for novels to be canon for the setting.

My point isn't directly about the novels. The novels specifically aren't canon.

I was using them to point out that any one that reads them will have access to the "open secrets" of the campaign setting. This information is in the campaign setting book and many of the sourcebooks.

IMO, a lot of DMs seem to not respect their players and assume they have to keep them in the dark about things there character wouldn't know. They go to great lengths to hide this information.

My point is that knowing that information isn't a bad thing. It has some value in the players knowing and just keeping it out of character. Save the secrets you keep from the players for things that are specific to your game, things in published adventures or the built-in secrets of the setting (i.e. "what caused the Day of Mourning?")

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

My point isn't directly about the novels. The novels specifically aren't canon.

I was using them to point out that any one that reads them will have access to the "open secrets" of the campaign setting. This information is in the campaign setting book and many of the sourcebooks.

IMO, a lot of DMs seem to not respect their players and assume they have to keep them in the dark about things there character wouldn't know. They go to great lengths to hide this information.

My point is that knowing that information isn't a bad thing. It has some value in the players knowing and just keeping it out of character. Save the secrets you keep from the players for things that are specific to your game, things in published adventures or the built-in secrets of the setting (i.e. "what caused the Day of Mourning?")

Ah, much more clear. I can agree with that, but I also hold nothing against a DM who changes the canon from the setting book. I don't think that either approach is inherently superior to the other, but I do understand what you are saying.

 

[D'karr]

My point is that knowing that information isn't a bad thing. It has some value in the players knowing and just keeping it out of character. Save the secrets you keep from the players for things that are specific to your game, things in published adventures or the built-in secrets of the setting (i.e. "what caused the Day of Mourning?")

I played in an RPGA game with Keith Baker at Winter Fantasy 2006. He was running an adventure. During the adventure we asked him a question about something that appears in the books as "canon". His answer was refreshing and illuminating. His answer was that "canon" is whatever the DM decides for "his" version of Eberron. That was also one of the reasons that there is not a pronunciation table for words inherent to Eberron. Two characters from different parts of the world could have completely different pronunciations for the same thing.