Straight Dope on Eberron . . .

[Ranes]

Whatever software company is doing the DnD online game is taking a huge gamble with it. It will be set in Eberron. I don't know if thisa is WOTC's wishes or the software devlopers. But if people don't like the setting, the game will bomb. WOTC is promoting it to death.

I can't help thinking Eberron is the best setting WotC could have chosen for D&D Online (I'm sure it was WotC's decision but, of course, that's just a hunch). The reasons why I think it's suitable and will work are these:

No-one knows the setting that well. That means fewer preconceptions to overcome. It also means fewer random encounters with, "It's not supposed to be like this," bores.

In a massively muli-player zzzzz, the faster players can travel from one place to another, the happier they tend to be. Eberron seems to have mass transportation covered.

Product synergy: coo! Well, take EQ players, please. EQ Atlas and similar sites were always tremendously popular with players. When a hardcopy EQ Atlas was published, it sold in serious numbers. D&D Online players will be pushed towards the WotC books and WotC book buyers will be pushed towards the online game. It can't hurt the marketing and sales of either product.

Of course, none of those reasons guarantee success for either product and there will be stiff competition from other online games but I wish Eberron and D&D Online well, because their success will be good for, er, us. Huzzah, etc.

Naturally, I'm reserving judgment on whether or not Eberron and D&D Online are Good Things until they're released.

 

[shadowlight]

It's steampunk? I thought it was fantasy?

"The setting combines traditional medieval fantasy with pulp action and dark adventure."

It goes on to talk about how the world progressed through magic yada yada yada....

I don't see thw words 'steampunk' in there anywhere.

I guess by "steampunk" I really mean fantasy with a relatively high level of technology.

 

[JPL]

It's steampunk? I thought it was fantasy?

"The setting combines traditional medieval fantasy with pulp action and dark adventure."

It goes on to talk about how the world progressed through magic yada yada yada....

I don't see thw words 'steampunk' in there anywhere.

The society as a whole is apparently more industrialized than the default D&D. It sounds like some of the social structures might be, too --- having a "private detective" seem to imply the existence of at least a Victorian level of culture [inasmuch as that's when that archetype first emerged].

These mass-production working-class mages are very interesting.

Shoot. I really have too many gaming books as it is, but this sounds more and more like My Kinda Thing...

 

[Nifft]

I like the ideas, and will probably buy the setting for ideas to steal for my homebrew high-power high-magic setting.

-- N

 

[Ashy]

Like Nightfall, I have faith in Keith Baker - he's never written a stinker that I've seen and as such, I will snag this site unseen. However, being an old Planescape fan at heart, I too wish that WotC would support some of the older settings, however, I know it's not profitable for them and as such, it is pretty much a pipe dream...

Back to the topic at hand, this setting looks cool, but then again, I've always liked those "out there" settings (a la Planescape, Spelljammer, Oathbound, etc...)

 

[Krypter]

Orb of the Seven Moons? From what I've seen, it copies a lot from the Talislanta setting, right down to the windships. And the dwarven detective? That sounds like Shadowrun exactly. So now we'll have film noir with elves and dwarves in a pseudo-steampunk setting. Ugh.

I don't have high expectations for this setting, but I do like some of the drawings. The travelogue format is neat (Tamerlin's Journal anyone) and it will probably have some cool monsters at least. But I can't really see myself playing in this world, it's just too much of a mishmash of everything.

 

[Kesh]

This went from 'mildly curious' to 'must have'.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Like Nightfall, I have faith in Keith Baker - he's never written a stinker that I've seen and as such, I will snag this site unseen. However, being an old Planescape fan at heart, I too wish that WotC would support some of the older settings, however, I know it's not profitable for them and as such, it is pretty much a pipe dream...

If I'm not mistaken, they gave planescape over to the planewalker website, who have been promising to release something for, oh, about 3 years now.

 

[Ycore Rixle]

I have to admit, I like the looks of this setting. If anything, I wish they would have increased the level of "magical technology" even more. I wouldn't call it steampunk - not from what we've seen - because there isn't any steampower, just magicpower. The pulp archetypes are intriguing. I find myself asking, Is this too far out there to be D&D, and then I find myself answering, Who cares, it's really cool.

 

[diaglo]

I have faith in Keith Baker. He's a very innvative(sp) freelancer. I also think while Eberron isn't quite my cup of tea, it's certainly has some interesting developments and stands out in a crowd. So we'll see.

what has he written exactly?

at the seminar he said he hadn't had much luck. that only a couple computer game systems companies had picked up any of his work.

unless of course he is the same Keith Baker who writes children's books. but i don't think he mentioned that.