Straight Dope on Eberron . . .

[romp]

This setting is a must own. The parallels to the time period between WW1 and WW2 are really cool. I can't wait to see who the Eberron equivalent of the Nazi's are!

uhhhhh, the Orcs will be the Nazi equivalents, that much became obvious to me after three sentences into the whole pulp noir thing, at least IMHO the orcs will be Nazis

i was kinda perked up about this setting after all the debate had settled down the first time, but now i am totally turned off. I could have just bought d20 modern for the tech and thrown in Shadowrun artwork to make this campaign for my home game, and my players would have laughed me into the dirt. Now i am not interested anymore.

But the teenyboppers today will find this right up their alley, i think. It will be the equivalent of the movie Dune to the Herbert novel. All the fluff and excitement with none of the thought provoking stuff.

But I digress ...

 

[mxmarkargent]

It reminds me of what I'm doing with Greyhawk. I like it, but I've always had a weakness for dinosaurs, trains and Indiana Jones. Which essentially means I have the same tastes I had when I was four years old. I'll probably buy the setting book and kipe all the crunchy bits and anything else I like.

 

[Hellcow]

Are they thowing in every speicies of monster from the Monster Manuals as well? Hordes of powerful, intelligent species all competing on the same world?

Hey A'koss!

Sorry that it's not for you - as much as I'd like to say that everyone will love Eberron, it will let you lose 50 lbs by Christmas, and it makes mounds of julienne fries, obviously it isn't for everyone. I did want to address this point though. The issue is that all of those powerful intelligent species are *supposed* to compete on the same world. What we have tried to do is create a world in which there is some logic to that. I have always been bothered by the huge number of intelligent humanoid races - orcs, gnolls, goblins, bugbears, hobgoblins, kobolds - not to mention how other powerful monsters can exist alongside sophisticated human and demihuman civilizations. All I can say is that we've tried to address that. This isn't a random kitchen sink. It's an attempt to look at what is out there - psionics, magic, monsters - and create a world where it all makes sense.

-Keith

 

[Tonguez]

Magi-Pulp Ebberon now sits alongside Slaine and Spycraft as the only published settings to ever been interesting enough for me to think - yep gotta have it.

I love pulp and the chance to play Pulp Fantasy - Tarzan the barbarian/ranger/Wildman eeeeew, Andorya Jones and Raiders of the Lost Artifact of Doom! cool

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men - the Psion knows! MWAHAHAHAHA!

 

[MacMathan]

Sorry for the sidetrack but is anyone else having trouble reaching Wizards website? It seems to be down, at least for me.

 

[nopantsyet]

Wow. I really like it. It definitely seems more pulpy than punky. Magitech's cool if you advance society as well. I'm pretty bored with the fantasy medieval society. I'm currently running in a homebrew world where I have advanced things to "fantasy renaissance." But this seems more pulpy and swashbuckling than what I'm doing. I'm definitely more interested than I was with the first teaser.

 

[A'koss]

Originally posted by Hellcow:
I did want to address this point though. The issue is that all of those powerful intelligent species are *supposed* to compete on the same world. What we have tried to do is create a world in which there is some logic to that.

Hey-ho Keith!

Well I am curious to see how you've taken the D&D conventions to arrive at your setting. It'll be interesting to see what "glue" (for lack of a better word) you've used to keep all these... volitile... elements together.

"It's an attempt to look at what is out there - psionics, magic, monsters - and create a world where it all makes sense."

- I couldn't help a nostalgic smile at this, I feel I should thank you for that. These are almost the exact same words I used maybe... four years ago when I was designing my old Namea campaign. The results, however, were a just a little different.

Let's just say, short of divine aid, I saw little chance of the PC races achieving dominance in a world that evolved alongside every MM race. I could go on about the effects of D&D-based advancement and it's impact on society. Especially when you have completely self-sufficient high level characters who hold all the cards - near god-like power, the ability to improve every facet of their being, immense wealth and where death is but a temporary inconvenience. There are a lot of elements in core D&D that, very arguably, lend themselves to self-destructive societies or of the dominance of dozens of more "worthy" races.

Arguably, I probably look too closely at things like this. Over the years things I've certainly taken a more keen interest in campaign ecology, societies, evolution, potentially "setting-busting" magic and so on.

Your setting obviously resonates in a positive way for a lot of people here and again, even if it's not my cup of tea, I wish you all the best of luck with it!

Cheers!

A'koss.

 

[Hellcow]

uhhhhh, the Orcs will be the Nazi equivalents, that much became obvious to me after three sentences

Actually, you couldn't be more wrong here, but I suppose it's not fair of me to say things like this until more information is actually revealed. So speculate away. But believe it or not, we are actually trying keep some of the thought-provoking stuff as well. Pulp is black and white, but noir is all about shades of gray, and Eberron embraces both.

As for "buying D20 Modern for the tech", you wouldn't find much overlap. The goal is to look at ways that the existing arcane magic from the core D&D books could be incorporated into society, and everything is rooted in the magic from the core books. There may be forms of magic weaponry, transportation, or communication, but it's not simply a matter of saying "You've got a gun, a car, and a cell phone, but they're magic." It's still swords & sorcery, not guns & sorcery - it's just a different approach with a different tone. But all of this will become clear in days to come. And of course, none of this means that you will like it - no game will make everyone happy. But it's not the game you currently think it is, so there's always a chance.

Anyhow, I must go back to lurking & working. I'm glad to see that there is interest in the setting - be it positive or negative - and I look forward to being able to say more as additional information is revealed!

-Keith

 

[Frostmarrow]

Alright. With this explanation it does seem more and more interesting. I like the "...but it's not simply a matter of saying 'You've got a gun, a car, and a cell phone, but they're magic.' It's still swords & sorcery, not guns & sorcery..." passage.

You are most welcome here, Hellcow. I hope you will find the time to return soon.

 

[LightPhoenix]

My interest is piqued a bit more than it was earlier, but I'm still waiting until I can actually read the book before I make too many judgements, good or bad.