Freeport and Eberron

[Morrow]

The gods wouldn't be that big of an issue, as the gods don't take an active hand, it's mostly through their worshippers - be they serpent people, or priests, assassins, etc. The Cthonic elements are also easy to assimilate: The Daelkyr and the Cults of the Dragon Below would fit easily there, but I swear not being able to run Madness in Freeport unadulterated would be a crying shame.

I don't think I agree. While the Unspeakable One might be easy to treat like one of the Eberron cults, Harrimast and Yarash are a different story. In Black Sails Over Freeport they both take very active rolls both in the adventure and in the history of Freeport. However (trying to solve my own problem) in Eberron you don't have to be a god to have clerics and worshipers. Perhaps the correct question to ask is, "If Harrimast and Yarash aren't gods, what are they?"

Morrow

 

[Desdichado]

I don't think I agree. While the Unspeakable One might be easy to treat like one of the Eberron cults, Harrimast and Yarash are a different story. In Black Sails Over Freeport they both take very active rolls both in the adventure and in the history of Freeport. However (trying to solve my own problem) in Eberron you don't have to be a god to have clerics and worshipers. Perhaps the correct question to ask is, "If Harrimast and Yarash aren't gods, what are they?"

That depends on the scope of the question. Is it about running the Freeport modules in Eberron while retaining that Eberron feel? Is it about simply putting Freeport in Eberron? Is it about concentrating on the "freeport" feel with Eberron being more of the backdrop?

It might be difficult to really concentrate on both the Freeport and the Eberron feel at the same time, but it's certainly not hard simply to put Freeport in Eberron. I'd do it in a heartbeat. But you'd have to minimalize either some of the Freeport specific flavor or the Eberron specific flavor and capture both of them on a higher (rather than more detailed) level. I see no particular challenge in putting firearms in Eberron or removing them from Freeport either one, for instance. Or having the Freeport gods be active in terms of their cults, but not in terms of them actually being active. Although naturally, if I did that, I couldn't run Black Sails. YMMV, but I don't think it'd be too hard to mix the too.

 

[Henry]

In Black Sails Over Freeport they both take very active rolls both in the adventure and in the history of Freeport.

Thanks for the info - I'm afraid I only read the first three modules, and the Freeport Hardcover; Black Sails escaped me for the active deific intervention, and I assumed incorrectly that the rest of the material kept the same flavor as set by the original materials in regards to divine intervention. That said, with the kind of power the Daelkyr ran around with, it's not too difficult to rationalize those two gods are merely horribly powerful outsiders with their own cults. If it's good enough for Beholders, Mind Flayers, and Daelkyr...

...you'd have to minimalize either some of the Freeport specific flavor or the Eberron specific flavor and capture both of them on a higher (rather than more detailed) level. I see no particular challenge in putting firearms in Eberron or removing them from Freeport either one, for instance.

I was mainly drawing on the Eberron Design team's philosophy of using magic instead of firearms and technology to accomplish effects, as well as Green Ronin's devoting a whole chapter to Firearms in their core Freeport book. Those, as well as the hidden city defenses of Freeport, strike me as too far from Eberron's flavor, though mechanically as you say there's nothing overpowering about Freeport's firearms; they're basically one-shot wonders that occasionally have the bigger models blow up on you, if I recall correctly.

You're right, of course; trying to focus on both will skew one or the other flavor-wise, but it's probably easier to remove the firearms than introduce them to Eberron, ESPECIALLY if the campaign moves outside of Freeport in the future.

 

[Desdichado]

You're right, of course; trying to focus on both will skew one or the other flavor-wise, but it's probably easier to remove the firearms than introduce them to Eberron, ESPECIALLY if the campaign moves outside of Freeport in the future.

I quite agree. In fact, although there are some pretty good Freeport rules for firearms (that I use in my completely non-Freeport game, as a matter of fact) I'm not sure that they really are an integral part of the game. You could easily run the Freeport modules without them, for instance, without really altering their flavor.

 

[kigmatzomat]

However (trying to solve my own problem) in Eberron you don't have to be a god to have clerics and worshipers. Perhaps the correct question to ask is, "If Harrimast and Yarash aren't gods, what are they?"

I've only got a two Freeport products and skimmed Eberron. Having said that, IIRC, Eberron has the floating planes system with the conjunctions. What if Harrimast and Yarash are from planes that are rarely nearby? It really doesn't matter *what* they are (renegade dieties, elder gods, a super-solar and uber-balor, etc) just that they are and only a very small group knows about them and how to contact them.

The Goblins have their early society and who is to say the snake people weren't contemporaries of the goblins who were decimated far more? The rituals for the "Unspeakable" will hasten that conjunction while the forces of good are willing to let nature take its course, only thwarting evil.

I personally run a campaign of "lost elder races" and am slightly bummed that I didn't lay my hands on Freeport earlier when I could have integrated it.

 

[Morrow]

Thanks for the info - I'm afraid I only read the first three modules, and the Freeport Hardcover; Black Sails escaped me for the active deific intervention, and I assumed incorrectly that the rest of the material kept the same flavor as set by the original materials in regards to divine intervention. That said, with the kind of power the Daelkyr ran around with, it's not too difficult to rationalize those two gods are merely horribly powerful outsiders with their own cults. If it's good enough for Beholders, Mind Flayers, and Daelkyr...

Harrimast is actually rather problematic even within the context of the rest of the Freeport material. If I'm remembering correctly, according to the background published in the EN World Player's Journal (#4, I think), Harrimast started out as a mortal. He encountered Yarash, who was some kind of undead/ demonic being. Yarash drove Harrimast toward the iconic pirate status that made him a god. Not coincidently, Yarash rode Harrimast's coat tails becoming his divine right-hand-man (thing?) and first mate. There's really no precedent for that kind of thing in Freeport, where the gods are either merely inscrutable (Yig, the God of Knowledge, the God of Justice) or unknowable and somehow malevolent in the old time Lovecraft tradition (the Unspeakable One).

My interest in this subject isn't entirely theoretical. I love Freeport and am currently putting together a Freeport Campaign in Plymouth, NH. I've really enjoyed the Eberron material that has been published so far and have been considering placing Freeport there instead of in the patchwork campaign framework that I've worked up. Little details like how to fit Black Sails into Eberron's view of the gods are the things that are keeping me from combining two great tastes that would surely taste great together.

Morrow

 

[Mythtify]

Thanks for all the great input. After listening, I think that I will go for it. When conflicts between the feel or the two worlds arise, I'll lean more towards eberron than freeport. As for the gods, I'll have to read it to decide for sure. I am confident that I can work it out though.

Fire arms are out though.

Again, thanks for the feed back.

 

[Von Ether]

Thanks for all the great input. After listening, I think that I will go for it. When conflicts between the feel or the two worlds arise, I'll lean more towards eberron than freeport. As for the gods, I'll have to read it to decide for sure. I am confident that I can work it out though.

Fire arms are out though.

Again, thanks for the feed back.

My GM ran all three Freeport adventures and the guns did nothing other than add swagger to our strides. Not one shot fired the whole time.

If you make the Freeport gods powerful outsiders or even a splinter cults from Dragon Below, you should have most of your problems solved. You should think out your modules before hand though. Some adventures will be a little more straightforward if your warforge doesn't need to swim or breathe, just walk on the sea floor. On the other hand, that just means one less person to buy water breathing potions for.

To be really evil, you could make a few NPC changelings and then party will never figure something out. >)