Eberron: The XTREME D&D Setting!

[Ashrem Bayle]

Mmm, irony. The iconic Midnight fanatic, complaining about hype for a setting.

I've got no problem with hype. As I said above, I've got high hopes for Eberron and I've been checking out every scrap of info they release about it. The more hype, the more info that gets released. This is a good thing.

However, that has nothing to do with the fact that they plan to make a prestige class called the Extreme Ranger and the fact that I think it's a very bad direction to take the new setting.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

It'd be funnier if the ork just simply said "Owned." I half expected legolas to say the same thing right after he killed that oliphaunt in rotk

In one adventure, we came across the bones of a dragon who'd been crushed by a Really Big Rock trap a delver'd set. The halfling psion used Object Reading on one of the larger bones (in an attempt to find out the dragon's name)...and found the previous owner was the delver, since, after all, the delver ownzed him. ;-)

The DM is big on describing people's skillz as being "leet", and our going after "phat lewtz", but that's mostly tongue-in-cheek, and used when he doesn't want to bother rolling things.

Brad

 

[Dogbrain]

(Missing the mark by ten years or more, by contrast, is strangely endearing. The "Gnarly Explorer" has a certain ring to it.)

Like, dude, like totally, you gotta just go out there and FIND those waves, man! They won't come and knock at your door, or anything. You got any marshmallows, man?

 

[~Johnny~]

On the other hand, based on my little brother and the folk he role-plays with, well, I'm sure Eberron will have its audience, much to my chagrin if it turns out to be what it seems it might be...

Ay, there's the rub. The high-level stuff, the quick phrases like "magic train" and "halflings on dinosaurs" and "extreme ranger" ...those sound like a tween-targeted game that's taking advantage of the themes you see in pop culture and video games.

But if you dig into the meat of what's out there, you're looking at a neat, complex campaign setting with lots of opportunity for roleplaying and intrigue. Keith Baker did Crime & Punishment for Atlas Games and he's definitely into creating deep, mature stuff. I like his description of Eberron as "a world with a logical place for all the varied elements of D&D."

It's hard to say whether the marketing stuff or Keith's quotes are a more accurate reflection of the setting. A lot of buzz out there seems to suggest this is a quirkier setting, along the lines of Dark Sun, but if you talk to Keith, you get the impression that it's a detailed world intended to be a long-running "vanilla" setting like Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms.

 

[Trickstergod]

It's hard to say whether the marketing stuff or Keith's quotes are a more accurate reflection of the setting. A lot of buzz out there seems to suggest this is a quirkier setting, along the lines of Dark Sun, but if you talk to Keith, you get the impression that it's a detailed world intended to be a long-running "vanilla" setting like Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms.

As I brushed upon with the Iron Kingdoms, if I were to just see a little blurb here or there about the setting, it's entirely possible I'd be shuddering in revulsion depending on just how it were worded. However, getting an actual good look at the setting, through the Monsternomicon or the like, and I have an honest interest in it for when it finally comes out.

So the same could be true with Eberron. It could entirely be a matter of just the way they're wording things, or what the previews have focused on, that cause my disgust.

But all that grabs my disdain could also be true, because much as it might pain me to admit, there is an audience for that type of stuff, and it's more sizable than I might like. Not that there's anything wrong with folk enjoying that stuff, necessarily; just that it's popularity and proliferation can wedge out my seeing the things I want to see, or unduly influence things I already like as they try to cash in on similar ideas.

 

[Davelozzi]

Might I suggest "Daring Explorer" or "Fearless Explorer"?

Or how about simply "Explorer"?

That said, I agree that the use of "Extreme" is annoying but overall I like the class, and from what I've seen so far, I'm interested in checking out the setting. It's very different than the kind of gritty, low magic campaign that has traditionally appealed to me as a DM. However, some of the experiences that I've had in the past few years has made me realize that the from an actual playing (rather than world-building) point of view, high action and over the top stunts are lots of fun. I like the mix of traditional D&D & pulp elements.

 

[Felon]

How about..."The L33T Explorer"?

No?

Maybe "The Uber Explorer" then?

Not gonna cut it?

OK, let's settle for "Blatanly-Inspired-by-the-First-Ten-Minutes-of-Raiders-Where-Indy-is-Dodging-Poison-Darts-While-Extreme-Hustling-to-Escape-the-Giant-Rolling-Ball Explorer"?

 

[Acid_crash]

Gosh, it kinda sounds like a bunch of bickering about something so trivial in this thread. It's the name of a class, that's it. If ya don't like it, change it. For me, I like the idea of jumping on an oliphant while firing arrows and killing twenty people and then sliding down its trunk and landing on my feet... if you don't like that kind of possibility, then i'm glad i'm not in your game.

I give WotC kudos for being so brave with the whole Extreme thing...

now if a person wants to get technical and compare this Action Point thing to Exalted and its stunts system, then I can see an argument and what WotC is doing is copying over the Stunts system, renaming it, and putting a small d20 spin to it...and I will still buy Eberron because, unlike Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms, which it what most of you sseem you wanted anyway, this setting seems actually cool and at most definately not boring.

 

[Felon]

I give WotC kudos for being so brave with the whole Extreme thing...

"For being so brave"....? Lol y'know, Acid, they're not exactly donating bone marrow.

Heck, while we're at it, let's give props to George Lucas for that bold "Greedo shoots first" idea. Might not have been a good idea, but when a guy does something that fans come forward and decry as lame, he should at least be commended for having had the courage to not concern himself with their irrelevant opinions, yeppers.

 

[Trainz]

From the beginning I wasn't interested in Eberron. "Extreme" and all don't bother me in this case, because they don't change my stance.

I was hoping for something original in the setting search, but not something so drastically different than the core mood of D&D.

Back to my homebrew...