Sharn: How is it?

[Pants]

If these it true and you have a world of low level weenies running around they would have been dominated a long time ago.

The Daelkyr - Imprisoned in Khyber and Xoriat. Small cults sometimes worship them, but... the cults are a loose-knit 'organization' and sometimes come into conflict with each other!
The Dreaming Dark - A whole continent away (where they rule actually) and they only have small cells of spies within Khorvaire.
The Rajahs - Imprisoned by the Dragons ages ago. Their servants, the Lords of Dust, secretly rule the Demon Wastes and actively plot against... well, everyone. The dragons of Argonessen still actively oppose them

 

[Shadowdancer]

The only problem I foresee is digesting all of the districts, wards and neighborhoods. There are literally, hundreds of them.

Literally hundreds? Not by my count. About a hundred is more accurate. But overall it is a very good book, with lots of good background info for use as a campaign setting all its own.

 

[jaults]

Sounds promising, guys, especially for an other-planar city. Which is, in fact, what I was hoping for. Thanks for the good discussion...

Thanks,
Jason

 

[Storminator]

I saw an 18th level NPC, a 17th level NPC, a 14th level NPC and numerous 12th & 11th level NPCs. Didn't seem unreasonable to me. I really liked that most of them didn't have more than level info. I've not seen a whole lot that seems like it easily ports to other games. But it's pretty fantastic for an Eberron game.

PS

 

[Hand of Evil]

Actually, even if they wanted to do so, I think it's close to a insurmountable task with Sharn (at least if you wanted it usable). Sharn is very much a 3D city, with parts of the city being as high as a mile. Maps to detail even a single ward would probably take a lot of pages and a lot of cross-referencing.

Just surprised no pull out map, which could have been color coded for levels.

 

[Arc]

Around the time Eberron came out, there were a several threads discussing the reasoning behind the lack of high level NPCs in the world, and the general reason was something like this:

The PCs are the heros.

Villians are often given stats at various levels, with the recommendation that they be leveled up to challenge the PCs, rather than ever appearing overwhelmingly powerful. In essence, PCs can start fighting the "major" villians at low levels, and keep fighting them well into higher levels, without ever feeling overshadowed by anyone else.

If Sharn has high level NPCs... I'm rather dissappointed in the book. I'm currently playing in an excellent Eberron campaign (set in Sharn, actually), and the real joy of the game lies in the fact that the low level challenges we face feel epic... instead of feeling like we're slogging through enough goblins and orcs until we get to the "real" challenges. I suppose some may like a world with a preset power structure, but fluctuating nature of Eberron's political situation makes me feel like my (newly) 4th level character can make a very major difference in the world, instead of acting as an errand boy for a real mover and shaker.

Instead of having a sense of "there's always something bigger", I get the feeling (through play experiance), that it's more of a race to keep up with the challenges... rather than try to rise to their level, defeat them, and move on to the next set of baddies waiting in the wings. While the two setups seem similar, the difference between them is very important. It's a subtle difference, but as a player, it definitely motivates me to immerse myself in the setting much more.

 

[Spatula]

If Sharn has high level NPCs... I'm rather dissappointed in the book.

Well, one of those is a 17th level commoner (discussed in an earlier thread here), who is simply a really good (and really old) cook. I'm not sure who the 18th level NPC is, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's an expert or the like.

 

[Glyfair]

I saw an 18th level NPC, a 17th level NPC...

Plus, they are an adept and a commoner. Not exactly "powerhouses" of high level characters.

 

[Hellcow]

If Sharn has high level NPCs... I'm rather dissappointed in the book.

The highest level residents of the city use NPC classes, just as most of the population is supposed to. So you have an 18th level adept as high priest of the Blood of Vol. Sure, he's 18th-level -- but when you add it all up, that's roughly comparable to a 9th-11th level cleric, really. There are a number of characters in the range of 9th-12th level, which is unusual for Eberron, but tie to the fact that yes, this is Sharn, and a lot of big power players are here.

There's also a 17th-level commoner. I give stats for her here, along with a 8th-level expert who is a fellow city councilor -- and the fact of the matter is that the expert is a better councilor. The commoner is just able to be insanely good at her chosen profession (being an elf who's spent 300 years perfecting it), while the expert is far more rounded. If you want to see my argument of how you get to be a 17th level commoner, well, check the thread.

I believe that the highest-level PC class character is a 17th-level Inspired Psion. However, she's not actually a resident of the city; she passes through occasionally, and is mainly notable because a number of NPCs are her mind seeds. However, she could certainly turn up if you have a need for someone that powerful to oppose high-level players.

Anyhow, it is still the case that in Eberron, 9th-12th level characters are a big deal. The highest level wizards in the mages guilds are 9th level. We have no plans to change it, and it's not just a "it's not FR" thing; it is, as others have said, the goal of making the PCs the heroes of the world. Villains like the rajahs are held in check at the moment; the point is that one could escape whenever the DM decides, and if that happens, the PCs might be the only people who could stop it. The idea of villains that scale with the PCs, like the Lord of Blades and Demise, are also part of that, and I hope that's something we can present more of in the future. I'd rather present a character at 4th, 8th, and 12th level and let the DM choose the one that suits the campaign and have her grow in power over time (assuming, of course, that she escapes to fight another day) than just list her at 12th and wait for the PCs to reach her... though in some cases (Vol, the Daughters of Sora Kell) you want known, high level villains that the PCs can use as benchmarks for their progress.

On the statement "9th-12th level characters are a big deal", I'll note that one of the things that was trimmed during editing (due to my overwriting - my bad!) was the fact that the Redcloaks (page 140-141) are heroes of Breland; Brelish bards would definitely have tales of the heroic deeds of Meira the Huntress and Khandan Bloodhammer, or for that matter of Banarak Tithon, Knight-Marshal of the Citadel (p 139). Even the 17th-level commoner is a legend for her skills (just call her Iron Chef Sharn). So while that Inspired psion or priest of Vol keep a low profile, generally speaking, high-level NPCs are remarkable people and should be treated as such - just as the PCs will be at that level.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I discovered a major disappointment while reading through the Sharn book last night: no details on House Phiarlan.

Why not? In the Eberron setting book, it says Sharn is the headquarters of House Phiarlan, and that they have a major complex there. But no where in the Sharn book does it say what ward that complex is in, nor does it profile the house in the chapter covering important organizations.

I would think that House Phiarlan, which is based in Sharn and does a lot of espionage work for Breland, would be considered an important organization in Sharn. Also since it controls the entertainers and artisans guild.

I was looking forward to finding out more about this specific dragonmark house for a character concept I have. But the info's not there. Major bummer.