Forgotten Realms VS. Eberron. Which should I run?

[rounser]

Eberron = good
Best Forgotten Realms = bad

Four legs good!
Two legs baaaad!

 

[IronWolf]

Thanks for the input

Well I talked to my group and asked them what they wanted. We considered Iron Kingdoms however since the world book isn't out yet we decided to hold off on that. We took a good look at Eberron and considered that while it is definetly a cool setting we thought that something that was familiar was what we wanted in the end. So we chose to go with FR for now. I think I will pick up the Eberron book eventually. The whole uber -powerful PC in FR doesn't bother me. I use them to help the storyline along not to steal the story away.

Good to hear your group made a decision! I am sure it will work out fine since the group seems to be in agreement as to which setting to pursue.

 

[Von Ether]

Good to hear your group made a decision! I am sure it will work out fine since the group seems to be in agreement as to which setting to pursue.

Indeed. There's a classic rpg condrum. The GM has one thing in mind and the players the other.

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

The easy answer is to run what your players want, but in my experience, they may tend to choose what they know...

Sigh... They always choose the devil they know.

 

[Brennin Magalus]

Please refrain from personal insults.

No. It. Wasn't [insulting].

Eberron = good
Best Forgotten Realms = bad

Thank you, fellow Kelt!

 

[Brennin Magalus]

I mean Mithras was Babylonian but he was worshiped by many many Romans.

Mithras was Indo-Iranian, not Babylonian.

 

[Brennin Magalus]

An anachronism is a nonsequitur with respect to time. Since fantasy is ahistorical, it does not and cannot have anachronisms except in its own continuity.

No. FR is supposed to be a parallel earth that has had contact with our earth. Also, fantasy cannot be completely ahistorical or it would be nonsensical (i.e., we have no point of reference if it is not at least nominally grounded in real world history).

The Glacier next to the Desert is a classic non sequitur that generates surrealism. Thus is fully acceptable in the fantasy genre.

To you, perhaps.

Anarouch and the High Ice/Great Glacier are quasi-non sequiturs. They have reasons for being there and the weather and temp patterns around them are explained in a believable way.

To you, perhaps. I think a huge chunk of permafrost coterminous with a dry, sandy wasteland is ridiculous, even for a fantasy setting.

This description is applicable to the Wilderlands and to an extent, Greyhawk also... perhaps you don't like borrowed pantheons... anyways, why care about real world research in a FANTASY world? It doesn't really matter.

You may be correct about the Wilderlands, but you are wrong about Greyhawk.

Anarouch aint all that hot in the north bucko. This is debunked above, in FR background and in real world examples.

I had to write "hot and dry desert" because a certain pedant pointed out that Antarctica is a desert the last time I raised my objection, though he knew full well what I meant.

Even though anachronisms in fantasy have been debunked above, I really don't see what is wrong with this. Babylonian and Egyptian culture existed in our world and the people of these places were brought to Faerun (a Medieval style culture) from Earth. Its not that they developed historically that way, magic was involved.

Uh-huh. First of all, they were brought into the world several thousands of years in the past, as I recall, and yet they have not changed one iota, even though they have been in contact with the "native" Faerunians. Secondly, that explanation about those to cultures being imported from another world is post hoc, as is the one about Anauroch and the Great Glacier (I have the original boxed set and the subsequent hardback from 1990 or so--neither mention those events).

Dissing FANTASY campaign settings based on lack of versimilitude and non sequiturs is stupid. THEY ARE ALL GOOD.

To you, perhaps.

 

[Gez]

To you, perhaps. I think a huge chunk of permafrost coterminous with a dry, sandy wasteland is ridiculous, even for a fantasy setting.

More ridiculous than building buildings atop other buildings for several miles in height, without everything crumbling under its own weight or tumbling down at the first storm? You have that in Eberron.

More ridiculous than people living both on the outer and the inner surface of a hollow world, with rotational inertia (the so-called centrifugal force) being enough to more than compensate for the gravity inside, but not outside, and all that without the whole planet exploding? You have that in Mystara.

More ridiculous than having the very embodiment of primordial Good and primordial Evil rubbing elbows in a gothic city and talking with a fake cockney accent? You have that in Planescape.

More ridiculous than having everything around you, from people to insects to cacti to just plain old dumb rock, possessing psionic powers and personally wanting to feed on your blood? You have that in Dark Sun.

More ridiculous than three whole populations of suicidal midget still living and even thriving despite a mortality rate tenfold the birthrate for countless eons? You have that in Dragonlance.

I can go on, and enumerate all the sillyness inherent in Greyhawk, Spelljammer, Birthright, any D&D setting, including my homebrew and -- just give me mind-reading powers -- your own, if you have made one. It's fantasy. Who cares about weather pattern in a world with druids who can cast control weathers?

 

[Mystery Man]

No. It. Wasn't.

Ah it's the old "yes it is, no it isn't" argurment. Hard to argue with logic like that.

You simply must understand that going out of your way to diss someone elses setting makes you look like a jackass. It's fine to say I don't like this setting "because", it's fine to be critical as long as you give reasons why. No one is going to fault you your opinion. But to be insulting with Ebersuck, or Forgettable Realms is childish. You step on someone elses dreams when you do that, and if it brings you joy and amusment to do so that is not only sad and scary but pretty pathetic as well.

Thanks for the input

Well I talked to my group and asked them what they wanted. We considered Iron Kingdoms however since the world book isn't out yet we decided to hold off on that. We took a good look at Eberron and considered that while it is definetly a cool setting we thought that something that was familiar was what we wanted in the end. So we chose to go with FR for now. I think I will pick up the Eberron book eventually. The whole uber -powerful PC in FR doesn't bother me. I use them to help the storyline along not to steal the story away. I can see of the patheon in FR is annoying. The Gods in the Iron Kingdoms sounds similar to Eberron. They give spells and influence clerics but they are never involved directly with the inhabitants of Caen. Anyhow I'll stop Iron Kingdoms pimping.

Have a good campaign mang.

 

[Bobitron]

Anyhow I'll stop Iron Kingdoms pimping.

Don't stop!

It's the best of all the published settings, and that's before there is even a world book.