Oriental Eberron? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Oriental Eberron? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
WynnHuntr2
02-21-06, 06:00 PM Im at work and dont have access to my books but a thought popped into my head. Is there an Oriental Adventures type area on Khorvaire or one of the other areas, I cant remember if there is or not. Thanks in advance for any potential help.
ieattrollsforbreakfast
02-21-06, 07:04 PM No, there is no purely oriental flavoured region on the face of Eberron. The Eberron cultures don't reflect any of the real world cultures entirely, they are unique, and share aspects of many different real world cultures.
That's not to say you can't use oriental material of course, you just have the spread it out and shift the flavour a little. Ninjas could be found among the houses of Shadow, and among the Dhakaani goblin clan known as the sharaat'kesh. Samurai might be found among the Dhakaani, or perhaps among the Riedrans who swear their lives to the Chosen and Inspired.
Romulus LoneWolf
02-21-06, 07:08 PM Im at work and dont have access to my books but a thought popped into my head. Is there an Oriental Adventures type area on Khorvaire or one of the other areas, I cant remember if there is or not. Thanks in advance for any potential help.

Short answer, No there's not.

Longer answer is that while there's no perticular Eberron culture described as "Oriental" per se, just about all of the "Oriental" cultures have been adapted to fit here and there on Eberron, via the Player's Guide to Eberron. For exemple, the Shugenja Class (from Oriental Adventures and Complete Divine) are part of a new religious movement that reveres the dragons of Argonessen themselves as ascended elemental beings; meanwhile, the Samurai Class (from Complete Warrior) represents warriors of a martial tradition started in the final decades of the Last War, followed by warriors who devote themselves entirely to individual nobles descended from the lines of Galifar.
dang
02-22-06, 01:38 AM or you could just take the cheap way out and plop it in sarlona... if you don't mind the psionic flavor, it could certainly work well enough. we barely know anything about that giant landmass, anyway. good luck!
Derys_the_Blade
02-22-06, 04:03 PM The cultures of Sarlona, to me, seem a little Eastern.

The dwarves of the Mror Holds have Samurai.
There are followers of the Dragons who are Shugenja.
There are Wu Jen various frontier cultures.
The elves of House Phiarlan and House Thulanni, as well as a few Dhakaani goblin tribes, train ninjas.
Arcane Guyver
02-22-06, 04:58 PM PGtE has lots of good ideas about these 'oriental' classes. The Wu Jen and Shugenja have particularly inspired adaptations. The Samurai adaptation works well, but seems a bit tacked on when taken into context with the rest of the campaign setting material.

Ninjas are great shadowy sneaks without relying on the shadowdancer PRC (I wonder if the Oathbreaker drow in 'The Shattered Land' novel are ninja, what with the crazy leaping). Don't limit them to just elves and a certain sect of goblins.
Nimrud
02-24-06, 10:40 AM Just bear in mind that the 'Oriental' classes come with a lot of baggage. I would suggest abstracting the 'Oriental' flavour elements, and re-interpreting them in an Eberronian context. For example, you might not call members of an elite Hobgoblin warrior caste 'samurai', and substitute a hobgoblin-sounding term. You might also substitute the samurai's devotion to a daimyo with a devotion to reviving the ancient Dhakaani empire and its martial traditions.

At the same, you might accept all the class features and mechanics, perhaps changing their terminology. Or you might decide to tweak the mechanics a little to suit the Eberron setting better. For example, instead of emphasising the daisho, the Hobgoblin 'samurai' might focus on flails and the spiked chain.
Kinger
02-24-06, 11:55 AM Don't the Samurai classes emphasize two-weapon fighting? Bastard and short sword, isn't it?

I wouldn't think it far off to substitute the Dire Flail (rather than spiked chain) for Dhakaani hobgobs, War Axe and Hand Axe for Mror dwarves, and even Double Scimitar for a Valenar adaption.
treehouse916
02-24-06, 12:07 PM Don't the Samurai classes emphasize two-weapon fighting? Bastard and short sword, isn't it?

I wouldn't think it far off to substitute the Dire Flail (rather than spiked chain) for Dhakaani hobgobs, War Axe and Hand Axe for Mror dwarves, and even Double Scimitar for a Valenar adaption.

Actually, that was the main flavor reason that I hadn't adapted the Samurai yet for the Dhakaani. I'm snatching this post-haste :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WynnHuntr2 02-21-06, 06:00 PM	Im at work and dont have access to my books but a thought popped into my head. Is there an Oriental Adventures type area on Khorvaire or one of the other areas, I cant remember if there is or not. Thanks in advance for any potential help.
ieattrollsforbreakfast 02-21-06, 07:04 PM	No, there is no purely oriental flavoured region on the face of Eberron. The Eberron cultures don't reflect any of the real world cultures entirely, they are unique, and share aspects of many different real world cultures. That's not to say you can't use oriental material of course, you just have the spread it out and shift the flavour a little. Ninjas could be found among the houses of Shadow, and among the Dhakaani goblin clan known as the sharaat'kesh. Samurai might be found among the Dhakaani, or perhaps among the Riedrans who swear their lives to the Chosen and Inspired.
Romulus LoneWolf 02-21-06, 07:08 PM	Im at work and dont have access to my books but a thought popped into my head. Is there an Oriental Adventures type area on Khorvaire or one of the other areas, I cant remember if there is or not. Thanks in advance for any potential help. Short answer, No there's not. Longer answer is that while there's no perticular Eberron culture described as "Oriental" per se, just about all of the "Oriental" cultures have been adapted to fit here and there on Eberron, via the Player's Guide to Eberron. For exemple, the Shugenja Class (from Oriental Adventures and Complete Divine) are part of a new religious movement that reveres the dragons of Argonessen themselves as ascended elemental beings; meanwhile, the Samurai Class (from Complete Warrior) represents warriors of a martial tradition started in the final decades of the Last War, followed by warriors who devote themselves entirely to individual nobles descended from the lines of Galifar.
dang 02-22-06, 01:38 AM	or you could just take the cheap way out and plop it in sarlona... if you don't mind the psionic flavor, it could certainly work well enough. we barely know anything about that giant landmass, anyway. good luck!
Derys_the_Blade 02-22-06, 04:03 PM	The cultures of Sarlona, to me, seem a little Eastern. The dwarves of the Mror Holds have Samurai. There are followers of the Dragons who are Shugenja. There are Wu Jen various frontier cultures. The elves of House Phiarlan and House Thulanni, as well as a few Dhakaani goblin tribes, train ninjas.
Arcane Guyver 02-22-06, 04:58 PM	PGtE has lots of good ideas about these 'oriental' classes. The Wu Jen and Shugenja have particularly inspired adaptations. The Samurai adaptation works well, but seems a bit tacked on when taken into context with the rest of the campaign setting material. Ninjas are great shadowy sneaks without relying on the shadowdancer PRC (I wonder if the Oathbreaker drow in 'The Shattered Land' novel are ninja, what with the crazy leaping). Don't limit them to just elves and a certain sect of goblins.
Nimrud 02-24-06, 10:40 AM	Just bear in mind that the 'Oriental' classes come with a lot of baggage. I would suggest abstracting the 'Oriental' flavour elements, and re-interpreting them in an Eberronian context. For example, you might not call members of an elite Hobgoblin warrior caste 'samurai', and substitute a hobgoblin-sounding term. You might also substitute the samurai's devotion to a daimyo with a devotion to reviving the ancient Dhakaani empire and its martial traditions. At the same, you might accept all the class features and mechanics, perhaps changing their terminology. Or you might decide to tweak the mechanics a little to suit the Eberron setting better. For example, instead of emphasising the daisho, the Hobgoblin 'samurai' might focus on flails and the spiked chain.
Kinger 02-24-06, 11:55 AM	Don't the Samurai classes emphasize two-weapon fighting? Bastard and short sword, isn't it? I wouldn't think it far off to substitute the Dire Flail (rather than spiked chain) for Dhakaani hobgobs, War Axe and Hand Axe for Mror dwarves, and even Double Scimitar for a Valenar adaption.
treehouse916 02-24-06, 12:07 PM	Don't the Samurai classes emphasize two-weapon fighting? Bastard and short sword, isn't it? I wouldn't think it far off to substitute the Dire Flail (rather than spiked chain) for Dhakaani hobgobs, War Axe and Hand Axe for Mror dwarves, and even Double Scimitar for a Valenar adaption. Actually, that was the main flavor reason that I hadn't adapted the Samurai yet for the Dhakaani. I'm snatching this post-haste :D