Adeleana said:
After a long awaited d'ebut with a ooc build up the Cage opened. Although it's a setting where the fighting restrictions have been removed, it doesn't get much action. Sure the crowd comes and goes, but I'm talking on an average night. It's taken this long for the Rotundra and Meeting place to pick up.
This is absolutely true. I use the cage as much as I can, but you are correct in that it doesn't get as much action as what it probably should. I still think the cage is an awesome idea. Whose to say that the same wouldn't happen to an Eberron room?
...well, honestly, in the long term, I don't think it would happen. Eberron is quickly becoming one of the strongest supported D&D settings wizards is producing, next only to Forgotten Realms. In terms of D&D accessories and resources, Eberron seems to be releasing more then FR (which seems to be focused on novels this year, in terms of sales).
What does this mean for a freeform RP chat room? Well, for those that DON'T know anything about dnd, or Eberron, not a whole lot. They might try out the room, like it, not like, and then move on.
BUT:
((From Enworlds help page))
At its core, EN World is a news and reviews website for Dungeons & Dragons and other d20 games.
We are HOSTED on this website. I'm not saying that because we're hosted on a dnd community we have to revolve everything around it. Its a freeform chat, always will be. What this means, however, is that our MAJOR source of new players and ISRP freeform newbies probably play dungeons and dragons. Is it possible that in the LONGTERM, an Eberron setting (backed rather heavily by wizards advertising and products at the moment) on a dungeons and dragons website might actually attract more players and get more frequent use due to the growing nature of the setting? ((Constructive debate tone here)).
Death being final could get a backlash from people about their right to freewill.
I agree on this point entirely. Limiting deaths is not a suggestion I've made, nor wish to enforce. That would take away from the Freeform nature of this chat site. The idea about death I wish to convey is that in Eberron it's usually hard to get out of, but not at all impossible.
A room that is intended for lower level characters with those types of setting restrictions, on a site that is use to playing near gods. It would be a lot of work trying to uphold such strict rules.
Then perhaps we need them less strict? In Eberron, you could have a vampire turn into a bat, lycanthorp shift, or heck, a mummy sipping tea and no one would much bat an eye lash in an Eberron room. It is NOT a strict setting, anything you can probably find an excuse to have in the room - except godlike characters, or characters wielding excessive power.
Is that hard to define? I'd like to think those four train rules I posted did the job pretty good (well, I think they did)- simple rules that restrict (at the least) ridiculously overpowered characters. Are they strict? Well, those four rules aren't really. They allow for relatively powerful character to still be present. So your characters strong enough to lift a train? Well, long as he doesn't do or say that in the setting, theres probably going to be no problems.
Those rules convey the feeling of a low-level setting. People (like me) wishing to go out of their way to challenge those limits would probably have a hard time getting past those four explicit four rules (again, this is just what I think, counter examples anyone, please?)
Would it be hard to enforce? My hope is that the atmosphere and nature of the setting and restrictions would keep most offenders at bay, but I could be thinking the best of people. Those few offenders that are present I still think are going to have a hard time explaining how their 'pet dragon actually isn't really that strong, so can't really de-rail a train, hes just pretending to'.
As mentioned, finding those limits would be very difficult. I know it would be enough to make me want to pull my hair out.
That's why it's a community - work now to get it right so that later the Magi aren't suffering for lack of planning and thought.