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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hellcow" data-source="post: 3634557" data-attributes="member: 15800">Essentially, however, that's exactly what I said. The point on concept artists is a good one. If, on the cover of an adventure, you have an image of characters fighting atop a lighting rail with a pack of masked warriors on clawfeet running alongside, I'm going to expect pulp action from that adventure. Nothing about that suggests noir, and that's fine. Not only don't you need noir elements to be in Eberron, it's expected that many DMs will actively choose to avoid them. On the other hand, an adventure like "Steel Shadows" is aimed entirely at the noir side of things. Good and evil play almost no role; it's about greed, madness, and the tragic aftermath of war. It's a slow mystery, not a high-octane "grab the McGuffin" expedition.Again, the key to Eberron is that it was designed with both adventures in mind. If you want the pure pulp, there are locations and villains specifically created to serve those adventures. The Order of the Emerald Claw essentially exists to fill the role of COBRA - they are the pulp black hats, the people we KNOW are up to no good. On the other end of the spectrum, the Chamber are the dubious allies who could turn into enemies at any time, whose goals may or may not even serve the interests of humanity. The dragonmarked houses are driven by love of gold and the quest for power. So I'm not worried about putting a zeppelin chase in the Maltese Falcon, because there's nothing in the setting requiring you to do so. Again, the core statement of the setting was "Lord of the Rings meets Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Maltese Falcon" - but the point there is "Lord of the Rings meets Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Lord of the Rings meets The Maltese Falcon" - not necessarily "Raiders of the Lost Ark meets The Maltese Falcon". Page 250 of the ECS states that "Eberron supports two styles of play - swashbuckling pulp adventure and dark intrigue." If you can do both, great; certain villains and plots work well for this. But by and large it is a spectrum, and as you move closer to one extreme you move away from the other. The legacy of the war and threat of the Mourning are examples of things that can serve either style of play. But in an adventure that deals with the Mourning, are you primarily dealing with the despair it's created and the effects of the refugees it's driven from home - or the horrifying monsters it's spawned and the treasures left hidden within?I'd certainly agree that the adventurers printed by WotC have been almost exclusively pulp. The Paizo adventures often go the other way. Nic Logue is interested in the darker aspects of the setting, and much of his work reflects this. For my part, "Steel Shadows" certainly plays to the noir side, while "Fallen Angel" is dark urban action, but still about action more than intrigue or mystery.  So yes, the SUPPORT for the world has been weighted more towards pulp adventure than noir. But *I* still see the noir, and still look forward to exploring it further when the opportunity presents itself.</blockquote>

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