Have you been disillusioned by Eberron?

[Arc]

Were it not for one big item; Or, should I say, a lack; I'd like Eberron. Øverall it's interesting, but it's missing something. Namely, people. Its rather sparse in population. Too much territory for too few folks.

To me, population numbers have seemed screwy in every campaign setting. Greyhawk, FR, Dragonlance... it always seems that the numbers are too low or too high. Maybe it's just personal taste.

Regardless, if the issue is that big of a deal... change it. The book is there as a guideline, and if you feel like saying "All distances on maps are now half of their original values, and all populations are doubled" (or any other set of scalar multipliers)... then how much does that really change the setting? I don't think the pulp atmosphere, interesting views on races and cultures, and logical explorations of magic on a medieval society will suddenly vanish with the changing of a few numbers.

I like Eberron a lot, and expect to keep liking it. It does, however, take a little adapting to get used to its new style. And its main strength, in my opinion, is that it can be easily adapted to different styles as well. It just needs a little DM imagination.

 

[I'm A Banana]

That could happen with Eberron (though I hope it doesn't), but right now it exists as a kind of playground, with hints of big secrets (the Draconic Prophecy, the origins of the Warforged, what the 'gods' are, the continent of Argonessen, etc.) and metaplots, but it falls to the DM to take it where he wants. And yes, you could potentially do 'anything' in Eberron, though I guess I just don't see it as a bad thing.

I agree. I just don't see any reason to do something in Eberron vs. doing something in any other campaign setting or homebrew right now. The 'do anything' capability is nice, but it's not what I look for in a campaign setting, because I don't need a campaign setting to 'do anything'. I could 'do anything' without Eberron. I don't feel I need Eberron's *permission*, and I feel that in Eberron's rush to grant that permission (which, again, is a good thing) it stops short of making itself different. The CS has seeds of this difference, but the things that have come after seem to have ignored these seeds in favor of being adaptable.

The playground feel is good. But D&D is already a playground. Eberron has to be a different sort of playground, and saying "It can be any sort of playground you like!" seems weak sauce to me. It's a cop out. Eberron needs to grow up, get it's own personality, and stop imitating everything around it.

It's not that the imitation is bad. It's that there needs to be more, for me. You can't win me over by saying "You can play D&D here!" You have to say "The play experience is what we offer you that non-Eberron D&D can't easily mimic."

To put it in terms that the Marketing department might understand, Eberron feels like a D&D knock-off. It's the Street Fighter II TURBO to D&D's Street Fighter II. The dial is up to 11.

I don't need another Street Fighter. I need a Mortal Kombat. Eberron is a lot of things, but it's no Fatality.

 

[MadMaxim]

I like Eberron a lot and is currently running a very succesful campaign in it (more precisely in Sharn). The way they treat magic as a science, corruption growing in every corner of the world, the threat of the Inspired from Sarlona and the list goes on. There's a ton of stuff to do and see in Eberron. Agreed, there may not be completely unique trait about Eberron yet, but give the setting a chance to develop and I'm sure it'll become just as fascinating and unique as other settings before it.

 

[Jolly Giant]

Too technological for my taste. Don't like the concept of warforged much either. Living constructs are okay as a rare oddity from another plane (there was a race like that in Fiend Folio, IRC), but as standard race it is a bit much.

Plus, Eberron doesn't have enough Vikings!

 

[Pants]

I agree. I just don't see any reason to do something in Eberron vs. doing something in any other campaign setting or homebrew right now.

Yeah, well I can say this about every campaign setting out there.

Personally, I think it has it's own voice that makes it very different from FR or many of the other CS out there. Whether you like it's voice is your own perogative. Maybe Eberron needs to be a little more distinctive, but I think it has enough of it's own voice to stand out.

You could be playing detective in Sharn, searching for Cults of the Dragon below, investigating corrupt officials, hunting Daask agents in the cogs, and evading the strings of the Council members.
Stopping high-speed heists on the Lightning Rail.
Trying to discover ancient secrets related to the Mark of Death which brings you into conflict with the Emerald Claw and the Blood of Vol.
You could be preparing for another onslaught from the Daelkyr lords as Xoriat threatens to become coterminous again.
You could be serving on the Karnnathi Border Forts, fighting daily raids against Valenar Elves.
You could be hunting the Lord of Blades and searching for clues as to who/what he really is.
You could be looking for clues as to what happened on the Day of the Mourning.

Could you do this in a homebrew? Yeah, of course, but technically I can do anything in a homebrew, so who needs Campaign Settings then?

 

[KB9JMQ]

Well when it was first announced I thought I would like it.
When I finally got it I loved it. Still do.
It may not be the last setting I ever use but it is pretty fun right now.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I was neutral to it when I first heard about it, and remained so through most of the previews. I was quite impressed with it when I got it - I hadn't been entirely sure that I would get it, but a quick look in the store hooked me.

I like that it's low-powered in terms of NPCs. I dig the logical progression of magic in the areas of communications and travel. I like the concept of the warforged, but I'm not too keen on the mechanics used to define them in game terms. Overall, I find it a good, solid setting, different enough to be distinct, but with enough familiar elements to keep more traditional gamers comfortable.

 

[GVDammerung]

I was initially unimpressed with Eberron. Then, I got the Sharn sourcebook. It is, IMO, one of the best and most unique urban game environments I have encountered. While there are still a number of aspects of Eberron that leave me cold, Sharn is a campaign setting by itself for all intents and purposes. I consider myself a Sharn fan and an Eberron fan to at least that degree.

 

[toberane]

I'm relatively new to Eberron, but I have enjoyed nearly everything about the setting. I have just wrapped up the first Eberron adventure I have DMed, and it went over extremely well.

I was a relatively late adopter on this campaign world, even though I have thought it sounded great since it first came out, but I have yet to be disappointed by it. I can't imagine growing tired of it (the way I have started to grow tired of the Forgotten Realms after plaing in that campaign setting almost exclusively for the last 6 or 7 years), but I'll reserve judgement on that until I've played it for a year or so.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Personally, I think it has it's own voice that makes it very different from FR or many of the other CS out there. Whether you like it's voice is your own perogative. Maybe Eberron needs to be a little more distinctive, but I think it has enough of it's own voice to stand out.

Yeah, my only gripe is that not ENOUGH has been done with what does make Eberron distinctive. I do like Eberron's voice, but I haven't seen it come through since the Campaign Setting.

You could be playing detective in Sharn, searching for Cults of the Dragon below, investigating corrupt officials, hunting Daask agents in the cogs, and evading the strings of the Council members.
Stopping high-speed heists on the Lightning Rail.
Trying to discover ancient secrets related to the Mark of Death which brings you into conflict with the Emerald Claw and the Blood of Vol.
You could be preparing for another onslaught from the Daelkyr lords as Xoriat threatens to become coterminous again.
You could be serving on the Karnnathi Border Forts, fighting daily raids against Valenar Elves.
You could be hunting the Lord of Blades and searching for clues as to who/what he really is.
You could be looking for clues as to what happened on the Day of the Mourning.

Most of those have real potential. How many of those have been supported in a significant way since the Campaign Setting?