Post/Author/DateTime	Post
AskaniPsion 06-10-05, 08:41 PM	The saying for Eberron is "If it is found in D&D, it is found in Eberron". But yet I don't see any Oriental cultures in it. Am I just missing it or does it indeed not exist in Eberron?
stone_dog 06-10-05, 08:46 PM	That phrase refers more to the three core books than it does to other books like Oriental Adventures. Forgotten Realms is D&D too and spellfire isn't assumed to exist! That being said, the goblinoid empire of Darguun is a good place to slide a more primal version of Oriental Adventures. There are a few comments about the topic in the Keith Baker FAQ and the dragonshard article "Hiers of Dhakaan" has some hints. EDIT: Because Spellfire is such a FR specific thing, I thought I'd also point out another example. As Keith said recently, Libris Mortis is niether a core D&D book nor an Eberron supplement. Eberron vampires are not assumed to operate under the expanded rules detailed in that book.
Gurv 06-10-05, 08:59 PM	There are no real-world cultures on Eberron at all. Although some aspects of Eberron cultures are shared with those of Earth, none are meant to be direct analogies. There is no "asian" culture, just as there is no "european" culture or a "spanish" culture. There are aspects of each shared by some culture in Eberron though. I think the best place for some of the Oriental material is amongst the Orcs and Goblinoids. The orcs have a spiritual "zen thing" going for them, which fits some of the spellcasting classes like wu jen and shukenja. Goblinoid warrior clans have a lot in common with samurai and ninja, IMO. Of course, my understanding of Oriental cultures is pretty much limited to action movies and gaming material. While I understand that said view is therefore flawed and limited, it does work rather well for producing stereotypical battles with ninja in D&D games.
Master of shaarat'khesh 06-10-05, 09:03 PM	The cultures of Eberron do not mirror earth cultures the way other settings do (ie Forgotten Realms) The cultural differences tend to be an amalgum of various cultural elements. You might recognize in a particular regions people or culture and say the people from there look like they are aztec inspired but you might also see American indian influences as well. It's really great the way they did Eberron because it give us the ability to shape a culture anyway we like. Having said that, people here (on the boards) for the most part (but not all) tend to agree that Reidra and Adar of Sarlona tend to lean the most oriental as far as Human culturally. I happen to follow this as well. I see the Sarlonans (especially in Adar) with their psionics and monastic traditions to be very similar to ancient china and what you'd see in a Wuxia style movie or story. Sort of over the top and mystical. the people of Sarlona are indeed very different than Khorvaire culturally. I read about it and instantly thought of Anime style action and storys and every ":) bad :)" Shaw bros. kung fu movie I'd ever seen just not as cheesy. I also get the sense of high culture that you might think of when you think of the peak of any mighty empire like ancient China or Egypt or Babylon, just very regal and mighty. But there is also Xen'Drik if you're not on that boat. It will never be fleshed out in any real detail so we as DM's and players are able to do whatever we want with it. If you want a mirrored Asian culture you might make up your own that hail from the mysterious Xen'Drik. If you don't have time for that I know alot of people have transplanted Oriental Adventures setting Rokugan to be a small part of Xen'Drik. Edit: edited to add above thoghts and I forgot to add this: If you're looking for something a little different then I agree with the Dhakaani empire leaning heavily toward an Oriental as the others have pointed out as well. Although Goblinoid I envision their society to be very similar to Ancient Japan. In the end though it's all up to you. It's your world, your players only live in it... :)
D4rkchylde 06-10-05, 09:35 PM	I have to agree with Goblin/Orc society being the closest thing to a Oriental Culture. In my game the shaarat'khesh are Ninjas ;) No multiclassing Rogue/Monk for me! I can see how Dhakaani Hobgoblins could easily be Samurai: "They are the most disciplined of the goblinoids, both in battle and in court. The hobgoblins rule Dhakaani society, and their power is rarely contested; their leadership skills have been proven over the centuries so that the bugbears and goblins accept their respective roles in society. " - Excerpt from the Heirs of Dhakaan By Keith Baker. I know it does not specifically state that the Dhakaani society is Oriental in nature but the Samurai were also "highly disciplined" and where it says "their leadership skills have been proven over the centuries so that the bugbears and goblins accept their respective roles in society" reminds me of the strict caste system you would find in any oriental culture, specifically Japan, where the Samurai ruled the Bushi, Heimin and Eta. Anyhoo that’s just my opinion, it’s your game if you want an Oriental society, simply choose a society and make it so!
Bubba333 06-10-05, 09:57 PM	I'm putting it in Sarlona with all those Inspired. I like the idea of psionic opium-kings and kalashtar samurai. All-in-all I like the ideas in Oriental Adventures and Rokugan d20. I'm just polishing my ideas. Anyone else please feel free to add yours! :D
AvonRekaes 06-11-05, 01:34 AM	I agree with the Sarlona placement of oriental elements. Even before Eberron was released, before even the Across Eberron booklete was revealed, I had always felt that psionics and oriental elements would be natural partners. With psionics (prior to the Wilder) being very discilplined and structured, it seemed to go hand in hand with the archetype of the meditative monk. I remember I placed psionics in Kara-tur for my FR game. In Eberron, I'm simply doing the reverse, that is placing an oriental flavor into a psionic nation. Samurai and ninja can pretty much be found on both sides of the Reidra-Adar conflict, but wu-jen and shugenga were discriminated against by the Inspired and were either exiled to, or escaped to Adar. (The Inspired have attempted to remove all trace of arcane and divine magic from their realm, making their psionic powers seem all the more fantastical so as to "prove" their divinity.) "normal" classes can still be found in Sarlona, since the continent was the birthplace of human civilization, and I don't believe that Khorvaire's culture necessarily "evolved" from an oriental one. Sarlona used to be a continent with many more political borders than it does now, with many cultures and traditions. In my version of Sarlonan history, the Inspired mainly showed up in the eastern half of Sarlona, and that is where the major concentration of "oriental" culture was. This follows human migratory patterns quite well, I think. Lhazzar and her fleet sailed from the western coast of Sarlona to the eastern coast of Khorvaire. If "West Sarlona" was a more pseudo-european-ish culture then the settlers who spread across Khorvaire and formed the Galifar Kingdom would be of that culture. The second migration from Sarlona was of humans sailing from the east coast of Sarlona to the west coast of Khorvaire (mostly landing in the Shadow Marches). Now there isn't a HUGE influence of oriental culutre in the Shadow Marches, but if you look at this picture (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/eb_gallery/82124.jpg), you can definately see a few oriental elements (like the kasa he's wearing). This would be in keeping with the merging of native orc culutre and the culture of the refugees from eastern Sarlona. Also, the strong reliance on clan structure might indicate that it was part of both culutures to begin with. Perhaps the human clan structure was similar to that of feudal japan? In my game I made it so. So those are my thoughts on an Oriental Sarlona. Since I forsee a very long delay in a Sarlona Sourcebook (if there ever is one, knock on wood), I plan on running it this way to add more depth to the unknown continent. The blurb in Races of Eberron that Reidra is a large number of small thorps and towns, with a few megalopolises to rule them, it also makes for a very feudal-system feel, and I think the oriental culture gives some depth to the setting.
Korhal_IV 06-11-05, 02:49 AM	You could easily transplant Oriental flavor into any of the Khorvairian nations too, if you wanted. For instance, Thrane could be restructured into a pseudo-Chinese structure - a highly rigid theocracy run by the advisors to a child empress, obsessed with proper reverence for ancestors and warfare with the savages across the national boundary (in China they built the Great Wall, in Thrane they have a river handy). Karrnath could be restructured into a pseudo-Japan - a society in which the aristocratic warrior class values battle so much that even after death they're reanimated to continue the valiant battle (Aerenal fits this too).
Streamweaver 06-11-05, 10:19 AM	The saying for Eberron is "If it is found in D&D, it is found in Eberron". But yet I don't see any Oriental cultures in it. Am I just missing it or does it indeed not exist in Eberron? You're misquoting 1st rule of Eberron in a very significant way. What it says is "If it exists in D&D, then is has a place in Eberron." not "found" in Eberron. Just because it exists in D&D you do not have to find some mention of it in Eberron and there is no obligation for them to put it somewhere. Having a place simply means there is room in Eberron to put any of the various expanded materials without th other portions of the world precluding it. The work is still on the shoulders of the individual DM who wants to put a specific material in.
treehouse916 06-11-05, 10:48 AM	AvonRekaes, I like your ideas for Sarlona. Consider them -snatched-. I wonder if you could port some actual Rokugan over to Reidra? I am thinking here of some of the clans and locations. That would be a fun project. Instead of the Crab standing at the gates of the Shadowlands, they are on the border of Adar, keeping the 'dangerous insurgents' from destroying the Reidran way of life.
donpepe 06-11-05, 11:16 AM	oriental in eberron? keith suggested in akb that sharaat kesh goblinoids have ninjas and sort of oriental stuff. try 'ninja' search in akb faq; PAGE 5 "I haven't had a chance to really look at the ninja yet, but I'm certain that it would fit among the shaarat'khesh goblins, among other places; the suggestion that they are monk/rogues is in many ways an attempt to create a ninja-like class." by the way, take a look at the chapter start at http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/5n_gallery/89982.jpg definetely oriental ive identified breland, karrnath, mournland, thrane and aundair in th artwork, but, hum, chapter 2, i really dont know
Damien_Hiro 06-11-05, 12:47 PM	In my campaign all of Korvaire is Oriental flavored, Sarlona is too. I am asian, so I made Eberron to fit my image, I was getting tired of all the European game settings. It is entirely up to you how much or how little oreintal flavor. It is similar to making Ramen noodle, some people want little water and a lot of flavor, while others like it vice versa.
Gez 06-11-05, 02:48 PM	I can see samurai as clanwardens in the Mror Holds; Shaman, Wu Jen and Shugenja among the various "hippies" (shifters, centaurs, greensingers, etc.) of the Eldeen Reaches; Sohei in kalashtar communities, and Ninja as agents of the Trust in Zilargo. For the Prestige Class section, the Singh Rager and Bear Warrior are obvious choices for any shifter -- and maybe the most extreme of the becomer changelings -- while the monk prestige classes (henshin mystic, tattooed monk, etc.) would do well for the Kalashtar, and maybe some Reality Seekers among the Changelings. Witch Hunter seems a good choice for some inquisitors of the Silver Flame. Yakuza can fit anywhere. Shadow Scout can be adapted to the Mournland, and would fit Karrnathi, Talenta, Brelish, and Thranish soldiers or freelancers watching the boundaries with what was Cyre. Ninja Spy is easy enough to place anywhere, again, the Trust is a good place.
Gurv 06-11-05, 03:02 PM	In my campaign all of Korvaire is Oriental flavored, Sarlona is too. I am asian, so I made Eberron to fit my image, I was getting tired of all the European game settings. It is entirely up to you how much or how little oreintal flavor. It is similar to making Ramen noodle, some people want little water and a lot of flavor, while others like it vice versa. That is what I like about Eberron's dealing with culture. It is flavorful in its own way, not in the exact same way that parts of the real world are flavorful. It is easy for people from different cultures on Earth to describe Eberron in different ways, because Eberron never says "Thrane is like Rome". It instead says that Thrane is very religious minded and focused on cleansing the world of all it deems evil (while harboring some corruption itself). While I might see that as being similar to some Catholic organizations, someone else might view it through the scope of an asian or indian background and portray it as being similar to their religions.
AskaniPsion 06-11-05, 04:30 PM	I was also thinking of making Reidra asian-themed. In Oriental cultures & in Reidra, they treat their leaders as divine beings so it seemed a perfect fit. The Kalashtar I would have as non-asian but people who fled from Reidra are Asian in appearance. The refugees & the Kalashtar then formed a very harmonious culture. So this way some Asian themed culture also exists in Adar. The Inspired despise any spellcasters so I doubt the Wu-Jens & Shujs would be found there but they would be welcomed in Adar due to their nature themed type of magic. Ninjas could be used by the Inspired to hunt and assassinate any Kalashtar found outside of Adar. The Kalashtar would have Thoughtsingers, Psi-Rogues & Erudites also. The Inspired do not allow psionic/magic users in their lands beside themselves anyway as AvonRekaes said. Samurai would fit in more with the Orcs/Goblins as many have described. Are there any maps on Xen'Drik yet? Thanks everyone for their feedback. I really appreciate it :D
AvonRekaes 06-11-05, 07:12 PM	AvonRekaes, I like your ideas for Sarlona. Consider them -snatched-. I wonder if you could port some actual Rokugan over to Reidra? I am thinking here of some of the clans and locations. That would be a fun project. Instead of the Crab standing at the gates of the Shadowlands, they are on the border of Adar, keeping the 'dangerous insurgents' from destroying the Reidran way of life. It would probably be very easy to, with each clan representing either one of the megalopolis city-states, or powerful family. The Scorpions may have knowledge of what the Inspired really are, and serve them anyway (in keeping with their trecherous nature). Personally, I don't want to use the Rokugan flavor at all. I'm not trying to make Sarlona a legend of the five rings setting, I'm just making it oriental, and the shadowlands taint and clan histories don't mean anything to me. (I started with 3.0, so I have no attatchment to Kara-Tur either, but I still wasn't particularly interested in Rokugan). That said, I'm not above using Rokugan mechanics but I would convert alot of things to a more "generic" oriental flavor. The Samurai class would no longer be tied to one of the Rokugani clans, but rather different schools or styles of bushido. (For instance, you would no longer be a "Crane Clan Samurai", you would be a samurai that follows "The Way of the Butterfly Edge"). Perhaps to add even more flavor, the Ancestral Daisho would change depending on which style of bushido you followed. For instance, a samurai with a more mounted archery style of bushido would have a longbow and shortbow for his daisho.
ussie 06-11-05, 08:52 PM	just what i did in my setting... Thrane; byzantinian mixed with naboo (love the concept of using naboo queen costume for the speaker of the voice) and a lil bit of minis tirith. Karranth: mix of anglo saxan and east euro some of my houses (the half elven one, not the house lyrander, the other one, i forget the name and i cant find my book ) are highly asian, i liked the concept of half elves looking like east asians.
Roxlimn 06-12-05, 12:15 AM	Shrug. All the humans in Khorvaire came from Sarlona originally, no more than ten thousand years ago or so. I imagine most of them would share many core cultural similarities, and would share the same ethnic group. In short, I would say that the great majority of Humans in Khorvaire can be considered part of "Oriental Adventures", especially with that "monk-is-a-person-in-your-neighborhood" thing. And what's wrong with that, I wonder? Nothing, except that it would alienate most Caucasians because of unfamiliarity with the most numerous race on Khorvaire. Of course, since I'm Asian, I don't really have a problem with that.
AvonRekaes 06-12-05, 12:46 AM	WEll keep in mind, Sarlona was far from monolithic in culture. Only in the last thousand years it has become so thanks to the Inspired. At the time Lhazzar left with her fleet, Sarlona was comprised of many human nations and therefore logically many human cultures. In my Eberron, I basically run it that pre-Inspired Sarlona was alot like the supercontinent of Eurasia. The east and west coasts might have had very little to do with each other, and with such a big continent, it was probably difficult to stay in touch back before lightning rails and airships. Not to mention sivis speaking stones. So on the east you had your Euro-Sarlona and in the west you had your Asian-Sarlona. Basically, what I'm trying to do with adding oriental culture into my Eberron is to add it to a blank culture. The cultures of the Five Nations are fairly set in the ECS, and with the Five Nations sourcebook coming out next month, I doubt there will be much support for an Oriental Five Nations. Not that there is anything wrong with making it such for your game, but my intent wasn't to change the setting, but to add to it. With Reirda and Adar being barely mentioned (Even in RoE, the Kalashtar chapter was more about the Khorvarian Ghetto Kalashtar, not the Fortress Monastaries of Adar Kalashtar), I figured there was an ample space to fill with oriental culture.
Roxlimn 06-12-05, 01:15 AM	What makes you think Asia is monolithic in culture? Asia is possibly the most culturally diverse continent you will ever see. I don't see any reason why the Five Nations can't be played as if they were Asian. In fact, I don't seek to change the Five Nations so much as to make sense out of them. Great Empire splintering into multiple nations because of national pride? Sounds like the Three Kingdoms to me. What about all those monks interspersed in among the general populace like they belonged there? Sounds very much like East Asia. There are even the Lhazaar Principalities who could mimick Malaysian and Indonesian kingdoms. Because of the continent-wide scope, the varied history and landscape, and the various elements in and around the continent, I find more in common between Asia and Khorvaire than between Europe and Khorvaire, though there are similarities there, too. There seems to be no comment that running a Euro-leaning Khorvaire implies changing anything. Why would running an Asian-leaning Khorvaire imply changing anything, either? It doesn't, or at least, both require about equal amounts of gratuitous change.
AvonRekaes 06-12-05, 02:30 AM	Well, I would just like to say that what we have here is a plain old difference of opinion. I didn't mean to undervalue any of your opinions about what you would like to do with the setting. It seems that I think the Five Nations was intended with a pseudo-european culutre to begin with, where you disagree with me. And I appologize for the monolithic culutre thing. That was very ignorant of me.
vivid_disorder 06-12-05, 04:05 AM	I personally would disagree that the goblinoids should represent a "primal" version of oriental societies: we've got to remember that goblins ruled an empire for like a bajillion years. They're not primal, just reduced in power/stature. For me, though, the answer to "where is Oriental culture in Eberron?" is "Everywhere". I'm increasingly seeing Eberron all over the place. The publicity material for the DVD of "Full Metal Alchemist" (the everyday story of a young artificer and his warforged) just looks so Eberron-y to me. If you watch the Takeshi Kitano remake of "Zatoichi", you can see just how sophisticated goblin drumming could be (as well as see a bard/assassin in action). With it's monstrously powerful daelkyr constantly attempting to seize control of the world (using tentacles, already), tiger-headed rajahs and bizarre towering cities, not to mention the airships and stern hobgoblin "samurai", the whole of Khorvaire looks like a manga movie to my ignorant gaijin eyes.
Roxlimn 06-12-05, 08:03 AM	Exactly. Where is Oriental culture in Eberron? Everywhere. Where is European culture in Eberron? Likewise, everywhere. You see as you choose to see it, and there's plenty of room for interpretation either way. Full Metal Alchemist (an excellent series, by the way) is expressly pseudo-European in culture. The lead character is named Edward Elric, his brother is Alphonse Elric, their father is named Hohenheim and they refer to their leader as "fuhrer". It's very pseudo-Germanic, if you ask me. Having said that, because the series was made in Japan, by Japanese, for Japanese, they can't help but inject a fair amount of native culture into the series. This amalgamation of Euro/Asian culture, and the somewhat gratuitous intermixing of the two, plus the "magic" of alchemy and the grim atmosphere makes Full Metal Alchemist very ripe material for plucking Eberron material from. Too, Final Fantasy VII is likewise very, very suitable for plucking Eberronish material from, what with the airships, and the magic-functioning-as-technology bit, not to mention the occasional dark turns the epic takes. It wouldn't be unfair to say that Eberron is uniquely translatable into anime, Japanese style, especially anime of the darker variety like Noir or Gunslinger Girl. Even so, this is more because of the variety and scope that exists within anime, not because Eberron is wholly Japanese, or even Asian. It would be equally correct to think that it's also very good material for translation into a Hollywood style intrigue or action extravaganza. I say that Khorvaire is more like to Asia simply because Asia is much more diverse, and that is what Khorvaire has. Pirates? Got 'em. Europe does not have pirates of the appropriate sort, unless you count the Corsairs, and even those are really closer to North Africa - not really mainland Europe. Of course, you could argue Carribean, but that's not exactly what the Lhazaar Principalities are, either. The regions and kingdoms of Sulu and Borneo are really closer to that. Rakshasa villains? Got that, too. Indian folklore is rife with tales of evil rakshasa geniuses acting from behind the scenes to take over the world. Dragons of varying alignment, from evil to good? Yep, got those. Vast Empire splintering into nonetheless potent warring kingdoms? Got those. Man-like constructs animated with life-force? Sure! Chinese and Japanese folklore supports that, and popular anime is rife with sentient magical constructs. Airships? Yeah. Rail? Got that. Submerged monster culture from an earlier age? Yup, got those. It's frighteningly appropriate. If I didn't know any better, and if the names had been changed to be more overtly Asian, I'd say that Eberron was the new setting for 3e OA!
Damien_Hiro 06-12-05, 08:30 AM	I based Galifar off of the Han Dynasty. When it collapsed there were three kingdoms, Wei, Shu and Wu. Eberron has five, not a big difference. The Lhazaar Principalites are islanders, like the Philippines. Karnnath is very pseudo-japanese, I do not have them worshipping the sword as much as Rokugan, but a more historical samurai exists there. Sharn is a Shanghai equivalent, circa late 1800's. The elves of valenar are like the mongol hordes mixed with japanese culture. The talentar halflings are native americans, except they unite under one banner. The Frostfell is full of Inuit and Siberian tribes. Orcs and goblinoids are are orientalesque, but like the monstrous humanoids of myth they have their own culture, but are similar to nearby ones. I do not have any paladins, but use the sohei, warrior-monks, to spread faith. The Soveriegn host are like the Celstial Bureaucracy, because they are not directly connected with the world, but through "agents" they make their present home. I also have the Inspired and Riedra represent the Indian culture, with swami's and holy warriors, I basically used the web enhancement for the OA there. That is how I saw it when I was reading the ECS. Sorry, but I saw much more asian elements instead of European ones. Maybe it is because we put ourselves and our culture into things we read, but a friend of mine saw American culture in the ECS when he read it, late 1870's time period.
AskaniPsion 06-12-05, 10:17 AM	What is that land mass south of Xen'Drik called? It isn't even showed in full on the map in the Eberron Campaign book. I guess an asian culture could exist there instead of altering the Adar. Someone could make that just like Rokugan with its clans. I am sure there is alot of land that hasn't been fully shown so the world can keep growing.
talion09 06-12-05, 12:15 PM	Someone asked Hellcow in the AKB thread about that, and I believe the answer was that it was part of Xendrik as well. Originally the two parts (north and south) were one land mass that got cracked in half by the cataclysm that destroyed the Giant civilization. Which incidently makes that gulf (sea? divide?) a great location for a DM to place sunken cities, aboleth lairs (think Ryleth & Cthulu), more undersea civilizations, etc
AskaniPsion 06-12-05, 08:49 PM	Have they stopped making D20 Rokugan books? Their new 3rd edition looks like it is using non-D20 rules.
Rechan 06-12-05, 08:50 PM	You could easily transplant Oriental flavor into any of the Khorvairian nations too, if you wanted. For instance, Thrane could be restructured into a pseudo-Chinese structure - a highly rigid theocracy run by the advisors to a child empress, obsessed with proper reverence for ancestors and warfare with the savages across the national boundary (in China they built the Great Wall, in Thrane they have a river handy). Karrnath could be restructured into a pseudo-Japan - a society in which the aristocratic warrior class values battle so much that even after death they're reanimated to continue the valiant battle (Aerenal fits this too). Bingo. Folks should remember that not Every Nation has to be like One culture. You can have characteristics of the Native American and Aboriginal tribes of Austrialia in the Talenta plains. Thrane can be Rome (Pre and Post Christian Empire) and China cobbled together. Aerenal? Aztec, French, and Chinese Ancestrial Worship. The Valenar? Muslim and Samurai, the same that could be said for Mror; in the dwarves case the warrior is prized just above education. The Lhazaar could be anything from Malaysia to Tahiti to Icelandic Norse to Easter Island or a cobling together. Shifter and Orc culture? Celtic/Druid and Shinto. Kalasthar? The Path of Light screamed of Buddhist influence. Don't make This culture = this place. Mix and match to give them distinct feels. And the organizations can have flavor too. House Deneith is about warriors, and some of them may be Samurai quality, what with their family lines and clans and such. The Elven houses? Romanian Gypsies with ninja, respectively. The same with the people of Khorvaire - you could have mocha skin, red hair and almond eyes; dark skin with blonde; pearl white and green hair. This is fantasy folks. As for specific classes and such, take the Samurai variations (Unicorn, Scorpion, etc) and mix them among the nations. The same with the Ninja and the Mark of Shadow houses. The Shaman? Shifter, totally. The ... 'I whip my sword out and make you die in one strike'? Soulknife, possibly, but I don't remember how the class works.
stone_dog 06-13-05, 12:34 AM	Have they stopped making D20 Rokugan books? Their new 3rd edition looks like it is using non-D20 rules. Yes they have. They have returned to their classic system with a few smoothed edges.
AskaniPsion 06-13-05, 05:51 PM	Yes they have. They have returned to their classic system with a few smoothed edges. Too bad - I liked their D20 stuff - oh well
Sucros 06-13-05, 06:30 PM	Aside: Finding places for the oriental classes in eberron seperately Samurai: A key point of the feel of a samurai is it's lawful nature. A samurai must be as a horse to their lord. Their lord says, "stab yourself in the gut", samurai stabs himself in the gut. Lord can take many meanings, so a samurai could, in eberron, be a follower of an empty vessel (the sarlonan religion closely resembles the "celestial heiarchy" of previous oriental adventures boods), close protectors of the dragonmarked houses (especially deneith, kundark, and medani), as well as specialized fighters in lawful societies, (especially thrane, karnath, darguun and mror). However, individual organizations, which can even be chaotic in alignment, could have a cadre of absolutely devoted fanatics. A fallen angel in Sharn could have a host of samurai followers who believe they are ascending themselves in the celestial heiarchy and will follow their superior to the death. Wu Jen/Shugenja: Both of these classes have a very spiritual, elemental feel. They fit well into places with ties to nature, or an introspective culture. Aundair, with it's focus on magic is a good place to start, but I can see a monastary of shugenja meditating under the waterfalls in eldeen. They can also be wizards who follow a different path, perhaps a dying culture from cyre, nearly wiped out by the mourning. Kalashtar and adarans fit the feel of these classes well. Ninja: Eberron is a place of intrigue. Ninja can be ANYWHERE. The royal eyes of aundair or any other spy agency. The trust. The dragonmarked houses of shadow. Darguun. Ninjas fit into house tarkanen with ease. Talenta hunters could be ninja. They even fit into the intrigue of feuding princes in lhazzar, causing ninjas and pirates to finally throw down their arms and join together in awesomeness.
Morgenstern 07-02-05, 05:19 AM	Check out the picture of Red Owl in the art gallery for Five Nations... :cool: Gotcha covered.
Psionycx 07-02-05, 06:25 PM	If the question is: "Where are the Wu Jen, the Celestial Bureaucracy and such?" then the answer is: nowhere. Those are fairly setting-specific elements, particularly to pseudo-Earth cultures that have been built into settings like the Forgotten Realms, which also has pseudo-Egyptian (Mulhorand), pseudo-Aztec (Maztica) and pseudo-Arabic (al Quadim) sub-settings. However, as has already been mentioned here, there are many "oriental" elements to Riedran and Adaran cultures on Sarlona. Even in behavior. For example, it has been mentioned (in the Sharn sourcebook) that Riedrans abstain from alcohol and consider it just one of many signs of the "barbaric" nature of Khorvaire society. While the knee-jerk reaction to the Inspired is to imagine that Riedra is just like Khorvaire except with human peasants working the fields controlled by Inspired masters, that view is very simplistic. Indeed, with very little adaptation Riedra and Adar do come across as very "oriental". The shrine to the Path of Light in Sharn sounds an awful lot like a Zen Bhuddist shrine. Both the Riedrans and the Adarans favor ornate clothing that has an almost Asian look to it. Roles like samurai are instead held by psychic warriors, but in many ways they seem similar. So Sarlona really is sort of the "orient" of Eberron, and in the eyes of people from Khorvaire (much as in the eyes of Europeans on Earth) it is a source of strange exotic goods (clothes, spices, etc...), strange non-deistic religions (worship of the Inspired, the Path of Light...), people who have an ancient culture with many rituals and strange (to people from Khorvaire) cultural taboos and behaviors.
Mula 07-02-05, 06:45 PM	I’m sure the people of Sarlona think of Khorvairians as ‘oriental’, too. After all, they do deal with demons and other unsavory things…
Psionycx 07-02-05, 07:03 PM	And in fact they do. But consider real world relations in the Middle Ages between the Orient and Europe. Europeans commonly viewed Asians as "barbarians", largely because they were not Christians and practiced either pantheistic religions, ancestor worship or abstract religions, or sometimes all of the above. Their culture, like their religious beliefs, were very different and strange, as were their art and science. The Asians, for their part, had a long standing ancient culture and traditions with rituals for almost any occasion. They saw European culture as being very "disorderly" and spontaneous. They had considerable scientific knowledge of their own that was independent of European influence. China at least was a great and long-standing Empire that was every bit as organized and efficient as the Roman Empire had been at it's peak. And remember that by the Middle Ages the Roman Empire had fallen to barbarians and Europe was ruled by fragmented fuedalism. And so it is with Khorvaire and Sarlona. The average Riedran probably feels proud to be part of a vast, stable continental empire unlike the fragmented nations of Khorvaire. Their Inspired overlords are living "deities" imbued with great "wisdom". They have a rich culture and an orderly way of life in a highly Lawful (albeit Evil) society. In this regard the parallels between Medieval Europe and China especially are glaring. This is not to say that the Riedrans may not covet Khorvaire goods. As with the real world something had to be traded in an exchange of goods. Also, if their Inspired lords have designs upon Khorvaire they may see it as "civilizing" this disorderly, alcohol-imbibing, idol-worshipping culture. Likewise, people from Khorvaire, especially followers of the Silver Flame, may see the Riedrans as "godless heathens" and seek to save their souls, as well as benefit from trade with them. The whole thing really is very similar to real-world Sino-European relations when you look at it.
Modenstein 07-03-05, 11:39 PM	I can't help but picture the Shadow Marches as Chinese or SE Asian, both because it is a orc + half-orc + human culture, and because the humans that came from Sarlona to settle there came at a different period and direction from those that settled the rest of Khorvaire (as I remember the Galifarians were derived from settlers coming west from Sarlona to the Lhazar region then across Khorvaire heading west and south, while the Shadow Marchers came eastward from Sarlona, landed in the Marches and largely stayed there). I see the small villages having a chinese style 'headman' and the cities being run by warlords and clans. If I was going to model the are on a specific real world culture I think I might go for Thailand, never a large 'empire' but a waxing and waning kingdom that managed to stay independent despite the Chinese, Indians, French, British, etc. trying to muscle in and take over.
Psionycx 07-04-05, 01:43 PM	Well, I think it almost goes without saying that Adaran culture is very similar to the Tibet or highland Chinese regions. Maybe the Keepers of the Word, arcane spellcasters hiding out in Adar along with the kalashtar, practice a magical tradition analogous to that of the Wu Jen? I imagine that Riedran society is very like that of Imperial China, except that instead of venerating the Celestial Bureaucracy and the Emperor, they venerate the Inspired much the way some people in Southeast Asia venerated kings and monks. The big difference of course is that magic will be almost non-existent outside of Adar, so psionic classes will take the place of magical ones.
Kesh 07-04-05, 05:56 PM	Sarlona is a good choice for this. You could slowly add oriental flavor to your Eberron campaign through interaction with kalashtar or Inspired. Personally, I'm leaning towards making the Lhazar Principalities more oriental in flavor. Specifically, Japanese and Pacific islander cultures (depending on which islands you're on). Though this is more for culture, than for statistics. One reason I'm hesitant to use Sarlona is the pervasiveness of psionics there. You could use the culture, but some of the classes (wu jen, shugjena, etc.) no longer fit in. By sticking to Khorvaire, I can more easily fit the magical classes from OA/Complete X into Eberron without adversely affecting Sarlona's psionic tendencies.
Psionycx 07-04-05, 06:37 PM	That was why I mentioned Adar and the Keepers of the Word. They've been in relative isolation for millenia, which means that their magical traditions are probably very different from those of Khorvaire. Magic on Khorvaire is heavily informed by contributions from the elves and gnomes. Adaran magic has been developed and preserved apart from external influences since the coming of the Inspired. Which means that they could easily use Oriental Adventures magic there..