D&D General Eberron - why don't you run it? [-]

[pukunui]

I'm not sure I even realised noir was part of Eberron, but I guess I haven't looked too much into it so may have missed it when reading through what books I have.

Which books do you have? The original 3.5e Eberron Campaign Setting doesn't use the word "noir" much, preferring "dark" instead. There's a sidebar with a list of inspirational movies, including The Maltese Falcon, The Mummy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.

The 5e book has a section in the first chapter labeled "Noir Intrigue": "Eberron draws inspiration from noir and hard-boiled fiction. It’s a world where stories don’t always end well, and where there isn’t a perfect solution for every problem. In developing characters or stories in Eberron, consider the following concepts."

Its sub-sections include "Everyone Has Regrets", "Personal Motives", "Shades of Gray", and "Something to Lose".

 

[Remathilis]

I've always taken Eberron's pulp/noir elements as a scale that you set. The pulp side likes bombastic action, clear heroes and villains, and larger than life settings. Noir wants subtle character driven stories, gray morality and unclear alliances, and smaller, more intimate settings. You want Indiana Jones for pulp and Hercules Poirot for noir. Most Eberron games will fall in between, or at least shuffle between them.

 

[Argyle King]

I highly enjoy the idea Eberron. When it released for 3rd Edition, I bought it.

Unfortunately, as I've detailed in past threads, a bad experience that I had with a DM (and how they repeatedly used Changelings as a way to make it virtually impossible to interact with any NPCs in meaningful way) so thoroughly soured me on the setting that I still can't enjoy it now, even 2 editions later.

I like to use ideas that came from or were inspired by Eberron, but I don't enjoy games set in Eberron.

 

[cbwjm]

Which books do you have? The original 3.5e Eberron Campaign Setting doesn't use the word "noir" much, preferring "dark" instead. There's a sidebar with a list of inspirational movies, including The Maltese Falcon, The Mummy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, etc.

The 5e book has a section in the first chapter labeled "Noir Intrigue": "Eberron draws inspiration from noir and hard-boiled fiction. It’s a world where stories don’t always end well, and where there isn’t a perfect solution for every problem. In developing characters or stories in Eberron, consider the following concepts."

Its sub-sections include "Everyone Has Regrets", "Personal Motives", "Shades of Gray", and "Something to Lose".

I've mostly read through the 3.5 book and a few of the 3.5 eberron supplements. I do have the old 5.0 eberron book but I haven't read that in a while. Entirely possible that if noir is mentioned in that one that I missed it.

 

[pukunui]

I've mostly read through the 3.5 book and a few of the 3.5 eberron supplements. I do have the old 5.0 eberron book but I haven't read that in a while. Entirely possible that if noir is mentioned in that one that I missed it.

Rising from the Last War's section on Noir Intrigue starts on page 8. (It's in the table of contents, too, FYI.)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If I can't get the intended flavor of the setting, I don't think I would be playing Eberron. Or that's how I think.

A setting is a place. It has names and dates an people and organisations.

Flavour is whatever.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Hercules Poirot

Hercule! But I wouldn’t consider Agatha Christie all that noir/ish, even if we did have a PC based on Miss Marple in our previous Eberron game. Marlowe is much more on brand, and if you have never read Chandler, you really should, it’s excellent.

Also a call out for Campion (Margery Allingham) because that moves between pulp adventure and detective noir.

 

[Remathilis]

Hercule! But I wouldn’t consider Agatha Christie all that noir/ish, even if we did have a PC based on Miss Marple in our previous Eberron game. Marlowe is much more on brand, and if you have never read Chandler, you really should, it’s excellent.

Also a call out for Campion (Margery Allingham) because that moves between pulp adventure and detective noir.

Feckin autocorrect!

I was trying to avoid the Sam Spade reference and Hercule has a similar role despite not being the hard boiled gumshoe. Though admittedly, I'm only familiar with Murder on the Oriental Express and Death on the Nile (which both felt very Eberron).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Feckin autocorrect!

I was trying to avoid the Sam Spade reference and Hercule has a similar role despite not being the hard boiled gumshoe. Though admittedly, I'm only familiar with Murder on the Oriental Express and Death on the Nile (which both felt very Eberron).

The books or the movies? There has been a trend lately to do Agatha Christie adaptations that are much more grimdark than the original novels. I blame Nordic Noir.

Of course, people getting Poroit's name wrong is a running joke in the novels.

 

[Remathilis]

The books or the movies? There has been a trend lately to do Agatha Christie adaptations that are much more grimdark than the original novels. I blame Nordic Noir.

Of course, people getting Poroit's name wrong is a running joke in the novels.

Movies lead me to the books. But I couldn't say I am enough of a mystery buff to dive deeper.