Eberron: The Metaphor

[LostSoul]

Re: the Lord of Blades

...where he's a terrible villain to the world as a whole, but cares about the proletariat and is a true hero to them. Capitalists made the warforged to work and die for them; the LoB is simply turning that weapon back against the masters.

Just something that jumped out at me as I read the paragraph.

 

[Kai Lord]

I see the Lord of Blades as the John Byrne-era Doctor Doom, where he's a terrible villain to the world as a whole, but cares about his 'people' and is a true hero to them.

Say no more. John Byrne's run on the Fantastic Four might be my all time favorite comic book storyline ever. You're a genius.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Wow. I had the same idea about the post-WWI world when I was reading the descriptions of the nations of Khorvaire. I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who found some parallels.

Some of the artwork made other parallels to our world leap to mind. The Shadow Marches = Southeast Asia. Aerenal = Haiti. To me, the architecture of Xen'Drik suggests the Mayan ruins of the Yucatan and Central America; I haven't read the text description yet.

All in all, it's a very fascinating setting. I can't wait to explore it further through gaming.

 

[Henry]

The amusing thing to me is that our group's DM had a setting submission that basically took place DURING World War I. It's nice to know we were on the right track.

I ordered my Eberron this weekend, by the way. Looking forward to 300 + pages of fantasy goodness.

 

[MavrickWeirdo]

And of course, you do have the Lord of Blades. But while you might make the LoB/Hitler comparison, the problem is that the Warforged themselves are relatively few in number, and they certainly have a lot of valid grievances; they're not quite as straightforward bad guys, especially if you have warforged PCs in your group. Personally -- your mileage may vary -- I see the Lord of Blades as the John Byrne-era Doctor Doom, where he's a terrible villain to the world as a whole, but cares about his 'people' and is a true hero to them. Humanity made the warforged to fight and die for them; the LoB is simply turning that weapon back against the masters.

If you are looking for "real world" models for the LoB then you have to consider Malcom X and Crazy Horse. I am NOT saying that those men were evil, but each of them advocated violence as a way to reclaim freedom.

 

[Psion]

"Yuan-ti! Why did it have to be yuan-ti?"

Got me with that one. Award yourself one laugh point.

 

[LoneWolf23]

Okay, now this Metaphor thing's got me interested... See, my own homebrew campaign setting basically uses a fictional version of Medieval Europe, although I've recently considered belnding together the Medieval, Renaissance, Victorian and now perhaps Pulp versions of Europe together as a single setting, with magic as technology...

So my Britain analogue would have Knights in shining armor, some riding on horses, others on magical motorcycle-like vehicules, traveling across a land where magical industrialisation would be becoming common, causing something of an exodus amongst the countryside as young ones travel to the newly growing cities, searching for opportunities, either as apprentices to Magi and Artificers or as work force in the new Factories; meanwhile, still powerful land-owning noble houses would jockey for prestige and influence in the royal court, while trying to deal with the rise of new merchant houses and mighty dragonmarked guilds...

So, now that I have the book, I just gotta ask... Which country in Eberron would be a better fit for nations like Britain or Germany, if only to swipe for references and stuff?

 

[The_Gneech]

Which all leads me to ask, "Why not just play Justice, Inc.?"

-The Gneech, crying quietly in the corner 'cause nobody will run Justice, Inc. for him

 

[The_Gneech]

Y'know, the more I think about this, the more cheesed off I get. Pulp setting games don't sell more than five copies, but when a D&D setting does "pulp fantasy," that's exciting??? WTF is that about?

What next? D&D martial arts adventures, since Street Fighter was a flop? Are people going to be excited about their Shaolin Gnome? Spelljammer already did "D&D in space" so we don't have to bother with science fiction any more. How about D&D does the Old West? "Black Bart and his gang o' half-orcs gone and shot up the elvish settlement! Paladins, summon your mounts and let's ride! But under no circumstances let us play a straightforward western game!"

The whole promise of the d20 system was to be able to go beyond D&D -- so why can't the gaming community friggin' DO that?

Oy.

-The Gneech

 

[Oni]

How about D&D does the Old West? "Black Bart and his gang o' half-orcs gone and shot up the elvish settlement! Paladins, summon your mounts and let's ride! But under no circumstances let us play a straightforward western game!"

Heh, I've actually kind of been hoping someone would do something like this, and thought about trying to slap something together like this to run myself.