Straight Dope on Eberron . . .

[Hellcow]

So, what we're looking at here is a land mass that's unsafe at any speed? Or am I one of the few who remember that car?

What can I say? Instead of subraces, we decided to focus on drag races. VROOOM!

One minor point about monstrous races, though. Those high ECLs are what may make you think twice before playing a doppelganger; all of the new races are ECL 0. Mat's point in his article is that if you want to play a doppelganger, or an ogre, or what have you, at least some of these creatures have defined cultures and territory, and the DM has some sense of how the people of Sharn are going to react towards you. It's not that Eberron was designed with the expectation that people would play monstrous characters; it's simply the case that if you want to, the setting supports it reasonably well.

 

[Gez]

Are changelings faerie-touched characters, or is the noun used outside of this traditional meaning?

 

[Hellcow]

Are changelings faerie-touched characters, or is the noun used outside of this traditional meaning?

I know that future Eberron previews will be focusing on the new races (issue 317, I think), so I'm afraid I can't say much about them at the moment. Sorry!

 

[Desdichado]

Khorvaire

So, what we're looking at here is a land mass that's unsafe at any speed? Or am I one of the few who remember that car?

Remember it? I had a friend who had one, and for whatever reason a hole had developed between the glove compartment and the front trunk. He had it rigged so someone could sit inside the trunk, someone else in the front passenger seat could pass him water balloons, and the guy in the trunk could pop it open strategically, throw your weapon of watery destruction, and then pull the hood back down as the car "raced" away. Good times!

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

I think you hit the nail on the head. If magic was in fact real and people had the opportunity to fully develop it the setting would evolve very differently than, say, Grayhawk or FR. In all likelihood schools of magic would become both profitable and ubiquitous. Trading guilds would also evolve significantly and become powerhouses financially as commerce evolved with magic. Corporations of all types would probably spring up each trying to make a profit by providing services to those willing to pay. Large populations would be more believable if given the tool to support them. All of this would involve extensive use of magic. Magic that is both cheap and easy to produce and after hundreds of years it should almost be expected to be.

It's actually a logical premise. I find it a little difficult to believe that it has taken this long for someone to create a setting like this. I'm looking forward to it.

Well, as
Urbis shows, he wasn't the only one who thought of this at the time...

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

"Hellcow" ?

...sounds bucolically threatening!

FYI: You can use your old login/password still if you use the new site URL instead of the old one you probably had bookmarked

Either way, thanks for answering questions, and clearing up some misconceptions here...

 

[Hardhead]

Subraces don't play a major role in Eberron; the focus is more on cultural differences than physiological differences. There are multiple elven nations that are quite different, but in terms of statistics,they're all elves.

WOOT!

Oh, and thanks for responding!

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

WOOT!

Oh, and thanks for responding!

I second the WOOT!

 

[Katerek]

Thanks for the reply Keith.

That is a good way of looking at it. The whole telportation thing is something that has always bothered me as well. The concept of being on a train while it is being robbed has always apealed to me as an interesting encounter, so I look forward to your take on all this magi-tech.

Good luck, by the way, as one of the 10,999 I am anxiously awaiting your efforts!

BTW The Dragon Shards sound very interesting...

 

[romp]

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.

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.

-Keith

Hello Keith,

Thanks for clearing up that misconception about the orcs as Nazis. When i read the intro the image from some game art i picked up at a convention popped into my head. There was an orc wearing a WW2 Nazi helmet and uniform and grinning evilly. I assumed the worst and thought that Orcs would be the jackbooted thugs of Eberron. I am glad that they are not, gives you the chance to do something different and possibly fun.

I also think that I see now how Eberron's tone will be adaptable to any style of play. Dungeon Diving will be in there. While GMs who do groups running around cities (like myself) interacting with the citizenry will find plenty to like in Eberron.

As far as buying it, If I am intrigued enough by the artwork, I just might. I find that I am a little to creative to be restricted to a published setting. Usually I just mine the setting for whatever crunchy bits I like and just incorporate them into my home game. Eberron will have bits in there for that, I am sure. Depends on the cover price and the niceness of the artwork as for whether I will put it on my buy list.

The teenybopper comment was meant as a decry against a trend in media nowadays to make everything cinematic and "like a movie". Do not get the wrong impression here, I love John Woo style action. But I am really tired of when writers make their books and stories like a movie script. Case in point is the Kevin Anderson and Brian Herbert Dune prequels, they write like they are more worried about how much the movie option will sell for instead of the how well they are following Frank's style and thematics. This was not meant as a blast against Eberron directly.

I wish you were writing more of the marketing coming from WotC, the marketing peeps up there just seem to get it backwards because they want to be leading yet not revealing, and just end up making a mess of things.