The Art of Eberron: AWESOME new WOTC Update!

[Hand of Evil]

I just keep wondering what UA rules we will find in Eberron?

 

[Henry]

Thank you for the info, Keith - now go to bed! (Hopefully you're there by the time I'm writing this).

I'm still enjoying the previews, don't get me wrong - I'll be still waiting to see this. Assuming it still lives up to its core ideal, I'll still be interested in this as a campaign setting.

 

[D.Shaffer]

Just one comment about cannons.

Would you consider 3rd level spells as 'high level'? Lets say you could produce an enchanted crossbow bolt to hold a sigle Fireball spell that erupts when the bolt impacts. If you could produce enough to give most rank and file soldiers at least one per squad (If not one per archer), would you really NEED cannons? Heck, do something similar with ballistas and higher caster level fireballs and you wouldnt need cannon.

 

[Kai Lord]

but comparing the wand of fireballs to the cannon -- it's true that it can't be used by any old schlub, but assuming you have someone who can use it, it has the advantage of being far more mobile, extremely accurate, and more difficult for the enemy to spot;

Right, I already knew how a wand of fireballs can be tactically superior than a cannon. Its the "assuming you have someone who can use it" part that raises the issue of why cannons (or better) aren't made for everyone else. Does gunpowder just "not work" for some reason? Do the gods of Eberron treat certain technological advancements as "Towers of Babel" and smite them if they are put into production?

I absolutely love the flavor of the setting but I'm curious as to whether or not a society with access to a great deal of shared knowledge through the Lightning Rail and other wonders has a reason for not developing steam engines (or steam hammers), lighter than air devices, cannons, rifles, and so on. If someone can make Warforged soldiers with human level intelligence does that mean it would be that much easier to create less intelligent Warforged to serve as manual labor and act as servants in every household?

I'm really hoping enough thought was invested in the setting to answer these questions reasonably without having to resort to, "oh its fantasy just don't think about it too hard."

 

[Greatwyrm]

I'm really hoping enough thought was invested in the setting to answer these questions reasonably without having to resort to, "oh its fantasy just don't think about it too hard."

Well, there's a certain amount of suspension of disbelief when you play D&D in the first place. If you can already handle people disintegrating their enemies, travelling to alternate planes of existance, and invisible servants that do your laundry, I don't see why "it's fantasy" doesn't hold water.

That aside, if you had a world of magic I think it's logical that you'd spend most of your time refining magical research than working on non-technological solutions. If you look at our own world, more energy is typically spent on refining things we already have than creating new stuff. Just look at how many modifications have been made to the internal combustion engine in the last hundered years compared to how many power sources have been created that use some other process.

Even with that, maybe gunpowder was already discovered and abandoned? Why invest so much time in a material that's dangerous to produce, useless if wet, and hazardous to store when you can take a couple of days to make a safe and easy wand of fireballs? Sure, not everybody can use it, but there seem to be enough people to make that a good alternative.

 

[Henry]

Even with that, maybe gunpowder was already discovered and abandoned? Why invest so much time in a material that's dangerous to produce, useless if wet, and hazardous to store when you can take a couple of days to make a safe and easy wand of fireballs? Sure, not everybody can use it, but there seem to be enough people to make that a good alternative.

Plus, has anyone ever had an official answer as to how long it REALLY takes for someone to gain a level of wizard? A year? six months? three months?

Assume it only takes three months for a person to gain level 1 spell-casting ability, and full wizard skills. THAT'S a fireball wielder.

How long does it take to train someone in skilled use of heavy weaponry in the army? Maybe not three months, but a month, perhaps?

Now, that puny private with the LAW or RPG skills is basically proficient; can he hit ANY target in sight? A fireball wielder states distance and direction, and BLAM! Fireball, 20' radius, small chance of friendly fire accidents.

So it may not be an exact analogy, but it's not THAT far of a stretch for a fantasy army to put together a corps of fireball wielding first level mages - replete with expeditious retreat to get back out with a burst of speed.

 

[hong]

The panoramic battle scene reminds me a bit of that "heroic setpiece" Games Workshop style.

EDIT: resized to 640x508

 

[Henry]

My Eyes! Aaaah! The Goggles, They Do Nothing!

ANy chance of sizing that down a notch, Hong? It's skewing my 1024 x 768 browser something fierce, and I can imagine what it's doing to the 800 x 600 crowd.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I'm really hoping enough thought was invested in the setting to answer these questions reasonably without having to resort to, "oh its fantasy just don't think about it too hard."

It's strange, I could swear that you haven't actually read Keith's responses on this thread...

 

[Kai Lord]

It's strange, I could swear that you haven't actually read Keith's responses on this thread...

Responses that don't directly address the question aren't what I was hoping for.