Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dreaming_in_the_void 11-26-04, 05:19 PM	A question for the DM's out there, how harsh is the power creep in Eberron? I have good, but somewhat twinkish players. I am also considering buying the Eberron setting, but have hang ups with some non-core materials. Will the new classes, PrC's, feats, and spells overwrite and make less survivable the basic characters from the core books? I would like a few characters (lvs. 2-4) to transfer over into the setting, but only if they would stand a chance at survival. I don't want them to be like a party from FR trying to scrape by in Darksun. Additionally, if the Eberron material completely supplants the core books, I'm afraid the players may never return to a standard fantasy setting because they're all heffed up on superfeats. Thanks for the help!
Mythtify 11-26-04, 05:25 PM	Eberron, as presented in the campaign sourcebook, is a low level campaign. There are very few high level characters. The new races and classes play well with the core races and classes. You should check out the Eberron FAQ on this message board.
Korhal IV 11-26-04, 06:07 PM	Agreeing with Mythtify here - Eberron was specifically designed as a low-level, low-powered setting. The feats are not categorically superior to core ones, nor are the spells. Action points are a new buffer that do power up PCs, but not by much - and special NPCs get them too, so the playing field's rather level. :) There are a few "bumps" here and there, but largely the errata takes care of that - Syberis Mark of Making should have an XP cost, Talenta Sharrash's critical has been powered down, etc. It's an eminently compatible setting.
m15a 11-26-04, 06:13 PM	most things aren't particularly twink friendly. lots of feats that are more for flavor than anything else. some things i'm sure could be abused, but not any more than any other sourcebook with similar amount of info. more or less, most core things fit in. one thing that makes the character more powerful is action points, but it's difficult to *exploit* and is more a general bonus to all PCs, so it's not a problem. might want to make sure you read through the errata and the ask keith baker faq, especially if you have an artificer in the group. (some of the rules are easy to get wrong.)
Bluebrush 11-26-04, 06:16 PM	What do people have to say about Adamantine body warforged? That, in my mind, is what could be an overpowering element at lower levels. Or am I just worrying too much?
Korhal IV 11-26-04, 06:24 PM	An adamantine warforged is pretty danged tough, no question about it, but it's not too powerful - after all, the warforged can't wear regular armor, so in essence he's getting about 1000 gp and DR 2/- from his feat. A human fighter will have worse armor to begin with, but by 4th or 5th level can switch out for full plate, adamantine or otherwise, and still have an extra feat slot. He can also take that armor off as the situation warrants - say, as he's sinking off the side of the ship, or trying to sneak into a house, or walking on a very old, very narrow bridge. The warforged can do none of these, and that is a clear limitation of his powers which the DM should use judiciously. In addition, the warforged is wasting his only feat on Adamantine Body, a feat he could have spent on Weapon Focus, or Power Attack, or what have you. Instead, he will start feat chains later. Getting Cleave at 3rd level instead of 1st can make quite the difference, especially when it comes to prestige classes or what have you. In addition, DR doesn't apply against spell and energy attacks, so the enemy mage's Burning Hands and Magic Missiles still apply against the warforged. It's a powerful option, and it's probably a good one, but it's by no means the be-all and end-all of munchkinism. DR 2/- is significant at 1st level, but by 4th it's become nearly worthless. Of course, if your DM also allows Complete Warrior, with its Greater Resiliency feat (add +1 to your DR), then Adamantine Body could become a significant threat, but only if you were willing to invest significantly in it.
Doomhawk 11-26-04, 06:44 PM	Eberron seems pretty well balanced against core stuff. For instance, none of the PrC's are automatic "gimmes" - that is, they're not the kind of PrC that is too good not to take. The Warforged Juggernaut gets some good immunities, and lots of bonuses when charging, but on the other hand he also takes a hefty penalty to all social interactions, loses BAB, and can't get healed by Cure spells any more (that one hurts). The Dragonmark Heir is nifty and makes great usage of her dragonmark powers, but not much else (which means it's not really worth it for spellcasters, and doesn't do too much for frontline fighters either - in fact, it's not much good for PC's in general... except maybe rogues or bards, in some cases...). The feats introduce some new concepts and abilities, but none of them are broken. More efficient item creation is possible, although not drastically so. Action points allow for some cool abilities. There are also a lot of "flavor" feats which give abilities that are really useful in the right situation, even though they're not terribly awesome in combat (for instance, Research is really good if you have to find info, but useless for fighting orcs; and Gatekeeper Initiate gives strong abilities against aberrations but not much else). The Artificer isn't a new concept, although it is the best execution of the class I've ever seen. I really like this Artificer (compared with the FR Gnome Artificer, it's so well done it makes me want to cry). There aren't very many new spells either (they all fit on a few pages), and none that I can think of will disrupt a game. So I'd say that normal D&D characters could transition pretty smoothly to Eberron, although the introduction of action points might make a few things wonky.
Dreaming_in_the_void 11-26-04, 10:13 PM	Thank you all. No chance to read before I mail order, so I appreciate the help. So far, it seems things to watch for; Warforged at low levels (but it will equalize later on) Artificer (be really careful when reading the rules and look for abuse) Action Points (sounds pretty crunchy, just have to take a look when I get there) Thanks again!
Bluebrush 11-27-04, 05:53 AM	Of course, if your DM also allows Complete Warrior, with its Greater Resiliency feat (add +1 to your DR), then Adamantine Body could become a significant threat, but only if you were willing to invest significantly in it. Isn't there a feat Warforged can take which enhances their DR? And if they're Adamantine bodied, they're allowed to take multiple times?
Beleriphon 11-27-04, 07:00 AM	Thank you all. No chance to read before I mail order, so I appreciate the help. So far, it seems things to watch for; Warforged at low levels (but it will equalize later on) Artificer (be really careful when reading the rules and look for abuse) Action Points (sounds pretty crunchy, just have to take a look when I get there) Thanks again! You know action points tin D20 Modern, they work the same way, only not as good. As it is they are an adaption of what already appears in Unearth Arcana and as such are now available to all DnD players without using Eberron. Also warforged are no more or less powerful at low levesl than any other race. Yes they are tough to kill, or in some cases even hurt, but all told if you make yourself to tough to hurt you're giving up something else like the ability to actually dish out damage. The artificer is the only real problem since the rules aren't perfectly clear without the errata. Most of the major problems came from somewhat unclear descriptions, the class in and of itself is very cool. As for power creep the setting actualy seems to be getting some what less powerful with each product that comes out, not more powerful.