How Do You Present The Eberron Campaign Setting?

[Kaodi]

Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms have this thing going on where you can have a serious debate about what version of the setting should be presented in the next edition of D&D (I try to call it 7e). That is because those settings have a long history of being changed, and thus there is a question of what version(s) of the setting you put in a new campaign book.

Eberron sort of has the opposite problem, from a publishing perspective. Eberron is more or less the same in 4E as it was in the original run, and I think there has always been fairly widespread agreement that the timeline should not be moved forward. But how do you publish basically the same setting book for the third time, only changing the mechanical details?

You could, I suppose, just bite the bullet and make the next book basically the same as the last two, and put enough crunch in it to make it worthwhile for folks who own the older books.

A second option would be to maybe adjust the default perspective of the setting, if that is even possible. Before it has always sort of been presented as the Five Nations looking outward, but maybe you could make it more of the periphery looking in by making the breakaway nations more detailed (and thus partially making up for the fact that there was never a counterpart to the Five Nations books). Or you could make Sharn, Stormreach, or Q'barra the focus of the campaign setting, cribbing from how they approached Neverwinter. Maybe you even call it the " Stormreach Campaign Setting " (Or Hell, the Sarlona Campaign Setting, if you release it a the same time or after the inevitable psionics module).

The most radical option might be to just make the setting feel different by adding an " alternate map " that leaves out many of the settlements on the original and instead marks different places. I mean, we all know that the settlements marked on the map represent a mere fraction of the population of Khorvaire. You could practically make it a different setting by just using a different set of cities and towns outside the capitals and the iconic ones.

Whatever happens, I hope that Eberron is supported at some point in the next cycle. Even if, once again, it is left on the backburner for a while.

 

[TwinBahamut]

It is certainly an interesting challenge. You have some good ideas for altering the presentation by changing which details are focused upon. Certainly, doing something like creating new cities and areas to flesh out the different nations would be a start. As would introducing new characters or even totally new major organizations. Having a few more potential allies or enemies never hurt a setting.

There is also the ever-present option of simply altering core details of the setting in a new book. The basic world, tone, and time period can remain the same, but countless other details can be adjusted for various reasons to provide an alternate version of the setting. They've generally managed to avoid creating the idea that there is canon in the setting (a huge benefit over the Realms, which is mired in it), so any changes made to it could be described as alternatives or options rather than retcons or canonical transformation.

 

[Spatula]

The thing is, Eberron has a lot of mechanical stuff that's unique to the setting that is going to require porting over. So even if the setting material is basically the same, I think that most fans are going to buy the book because they need the new crunch to run the setting.

Races: Shifters, Changelings, Kalashtar, Warforged
Classes: Artificer
PrCs/PPs: druidic orders, dragonmark houses, etc.
Feats: Dragonmarks
Monsters: Daelkyr, dolgrim, dolgaunt, the undead elves, etc.

 

[TwinBahamut]

Feats: Dragonmarks

You know, ever since they mentioned the idea of Themes in the seminars I've been under the impression that a Dragonmark is pretty much the ideal Theme. It doesn't impact class and is compatible with the idea of differing race, it has a major impact on the background of the character and the character's place in the world, and it has a clear set of mechanics that are neither insignificant nor overwhelming. If Themes as a whole had the same amount of impact as a Dragonmark, I'd be pretty happy.

 

[Mattachine]

An even bigger point to consider: Eberron has an ongoing venture independent of the TTRPG. Dungeons & Dragons Online.

 

[Savage Wombat]

An even bigger point to consider: Eberron has an ongoing venture independent of the TTRPG. Dungeons & Dragons Online.

Valid point. So, if they were to write a campaign setting "Eberron DDO - the tabletop version" - would it be noticeably different from the original?

If so, maybe they should go for it that way.

 

[Kaodi]

At the same time DDO id taking a turn for the weird with its Eberron/Forgotten Realms crossover. For that reason I do not think it would necessarily be a good idea to make a " Stormreach Campaign Setting " too much like the game. People might start thinking this crossover plot was a real thing then...

 

[Glade Riven]

Well, the transition from 3.5 to 4e did clean some things up for Eberron, but some of the new 4e stuff still felt a little shoehorned. Following 5e's modularity, things like the arrival of Eladrin Cities or the shoehorning of Dragonborn & Devas into the setting may be optional.

Then again, if it exists in the D&D world (AKA core), it exists in Eberron. With a lighter or modular core rulebook, I can see a new Eberron Campaign Setting book being designed around not only adding the new, setting specific stuff, but also how to use add-on and varient systems presented in Core.

 

[I'm A Banana]

What is excellent is that Eberron has its own feel and fiction behind it that deserve a home all their own. The magitech (warforged, artificers), the noir feel (inspectors, changelings), the unique cosmology and history (the Mourning, the Inspired, the Deathless Elves, the tribal halflings, the spy-network gnomes) all mean that the setting always has new ideas to add to the pseudomedieval fantasy of D&D. Indeed, what with FR so tarnished with a history of cataclysms, I think Eberron represents how you do a new book in a new edition right.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

Don't change it. Just update the rules material and trade dress, fix errors, and print the books. If you want it to be more appealing, add some new art and maybe a few additional, special touches. Maps, flavor text, details on various languages. Throw in a ribbon bookmark.