Races of Eberron Cover Art and Petition

[Gez]

So all you people petitioning this would rather the awesome cover art be COVERED UP (or swallowed up) by the current Eberron cover setup? I'd rather see more of the image of the actual cover image. I prefer the new.

In every Eberron hardcover up to now, you have a whole 2-page spread of the whole cover art. Something you do not have with the FR covers nor with the "base" D&D covers.

 

[edbonny]

Is this what all the angst is really over:

A Bait-n-Switch where Eberron fans were first shown one Eberron-based cover, then surprisingly and inexpliquably shown a second one that seems to "de-Eberron" the book. The reasoning behind such a move (as stated before) seems rooted in marketing the book to a broader base and thus boost the bottom line. The book's author has stated that the content within is pure Eberron and that it has not changed or been "core-ifiied." So there you have it -an Eberron book with a more core-like cover.

It seems that many of us (myself included) like grouping our books by appearance which up until now was mostly defined by rules offered, setting, etc. All my Eberron books are on the left, Realms books have their own shelf, Monster books placed together, etc.

For whatever reason, the uniform, orderly appearance of my D&D library satisfies some instinctual book-need in me... but I accept that there have been other books that don't follow this trend. Take the appearance of Libris Mortis and Draconomicon (two books I group together that stick out like sore thumbs). The Fiend Folio doesn't match the other Monster Manuals either. So my desire for book cover perfection has already been dashed. I'll live and I will end up putting my Races of Eberron book on the left side of the case with all my other Eberron books. I may even let out a wistful sigh that it doesn't match the other Eberron books I do know for sure though that I won't even care about the different cover the day after I buy the book.

- Ed

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

While I'm disappointed in the switch in covers, that wasn't a deal breaker for me. I am however greatful for this controversy, since it has brought to light the fact that the book will contain reprinted material. I'd have been a bit pissed if I paid full price for the book, but if I can pick it up at a good discount I won't feel as though I'm paying for the redundant information.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

Well, after almost 2 days the petition has reached a bit over 200 signatures. It seems to be slowing down now. I doubt it will reach 1000. At some point next week it will get forwarded to Custserv at WOTC to be sent to marketing, for whatever good it will do.

 

[atom crash]

It seems that the response, based on this thread, is overwhelmingly "I'm deeply disappointed with WotC but I'll still buy the book, regardless of what the cover actually looks like."

Sort of the same response to all the editing errors that keep being brought to light in recent WotC books. "I'm deeply disappointed with WotC but I'll still buy the book, regardless of the errors in the material."

But you don't vote with an online petition. You vote with your dollar. And you can't expect to make demands unless you are willing to exact a price if the demands aren't met. Especially when the message being sent loud and clear is "I'll grumble and compalin but I'll buy the book anyway."

(I don't mean to insult anyone here and that's not my intent; I'm just voicing my observations. The above three paragraphs are not aimed at anyone in particular so please don't interpet this as an attack.)

For myself, it's a toss-up which book line makes this more of a "don't need, won't buy" item. I've found the Races of X books extremely disappointing, especially since so much space has been taken by a new race in each book that -- to me -- just seems goofy and completely unfit for my campaign. Stony-skinned primitive hunter guys who are large but not large? Humans living on the Plane of Shadow who have magical words circling their heads? No, thanks. In the next book we can look forward to flying bird people that will be able to help Flash Gordon take on Ming the Merciless.

And while I have to admit I like the Eberron setting, I will get no use out of an Eberron setting book. I got a free copy of the CS book and flipped through it, liking what I saw. But I already have a campaign going, and I have no plans to spend $30-$35 on a book I will not be using.

Questions I'd like answered: How many non-Eberron people will buy a $30 book for 4 races from that setting when they could buy the setting for $35? And if there is more setting-specific info about those races in the book, doesn't that qualify it as a setting book rather than a races book? And will a nice chunk of the book be devoted to a new race that also doesn't fit into my setting?

 

[Pants]

It seems that the response, based on this thread, is overwhelmingly "I'm deeply disappointed with WotC but I'll still buy the book, regardless of what the cover actually looks like."

Sort of the same response to all the editing errors that keep being brought to light in recent WotC books. "I'm deeply disappointed with WotC but I'll still buy the book, regardless of the errors in the material."

Maybe because the cover really isn't that important as opposed to the editing inside.

I'm not going to refuse to buy a book just because the covers don't match my other books, it's the content on the inside that really matters.

Even so, I liked the Eberron-styled one much better.

 

[atom crash]

Maybe because the cover really isn't that important as opposed to the editing inside.

I'm not going to refuse to buy a book just because the covers don't match my other books, it's the content on the inside that really matters.

Even so, I liked the Eberron-styled one much better.

Agreed, on all points. I really like the art -- and the style of art -- for Eberron, and I think it makes a way cooler cover.

It's kind of a silly issue, at best. But if the book is aimed at Eberron people -- some new campaign-specific info on the races included in the campaign setting -- it seems to me that it should have an Eberron cover. And if the book is aimed at non-Eberron people -- no new information other than how to generalize the races and plug them into other campaigns -- it's probably going to miss its market.

For the record, I thought the cover and interior artwork for Complete Adventurer was awful. Ditto for the Planar Handbook. But I bought them both.

 

[Hellcow]

I am however greatful for this controversy, since it has brought to light the fact that the book will contain reprinted material.

Do you mean the racial statistics? If so, sure, but that's four pages of material, and is the key that makes the book useful to someone who only has the core books. If not, what reprinted material are you refering to?

I think that some people are jumping to conclusions based on a picture and a marketing blurb, which let's face it, wasn't written by any of the authors of the book. If you're remotely interested in Eberron or any of the races, pick it up and look at it in a store if you have the chance. I think you'll find that it's not chock full of reprinted material, that it expands upon Eberron, but that it also presents interesting races that can be adapted to other settings.

As I've said on other boards: Any new race requires adaptation. Take goliaths. Their culture is described. Their religion is described. They don't fit into ANY setting: if you want to use them, you'll need to decide where to place them, how to fit them into the history of your world, and what to do with things like their religion, which may not mesh with your cosmology.

Races of Eberron is the same thing, except that the races DO already fit one setting: Eberron. Their history, religion, culture, legends, etc provide information that automatically fits into and expands an Eberron campaign. If you're going to use them in another setting, there will be things that you'll either have to ignore or adapt: but you'll still be able to use the central idea of the race, its mechanics, and you'll have an insight into culture, traditions, and behavior. The lycanthropic purge is an event in Eberron that has had some impact on Shifter culture, and RoE addresses that. But it hasn't had SUCH a major impact that you can't choose to ignore it. We discuss folklore, famous shifters who fought in the purge on one side or the other - as a non-Eberron DM, you can decide to ignore this or to adapt the idea of the purge to your game. The warforged chapter discusses the history of the warforged, and that means the Last War and House Cannith. If you want to use the warforged in a different setting, you'll either need to adapt that to a new war or just ignore their history - but the book will still give you all the rules you need to use them and ideas about their psychology and traditions.

It's not generic material. It's based in Eberron, and adds more depth to the world (for example, shedding far more light on the kalashtar than you get in the ECS). But with some adaptation, it can be used outside of Eberron - just as with some adaptation, goliaths and illumians can be used IN Eberron.

I can't convince you that it's a worthwhile purchase. But I know what's inside, and that goes beyond a marketing blurb and a cover image. If you've ever been interested in the book and are now turning away because of the cover, I hope you'll still take a look and give the content a chance to speak for itself.

 

[ecliptic]

I won't be buying it. I will not be supporting that stupid cover.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

Amen.


(See ya tommorw Keith)