Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zencorners Mar 08, 2009 17:38:07	So, my most recent game is running and as the DM, I am at a bit of a crossroads as to where to go next. I am mixing in the past of Eberron (Daelkyrs War and the mind flayers and Dragons Below as foe) with aspects of settings that I have really enjoyed (thinking of mixing in some Spelljammer and similar steampunk-esque settings). What are some "crossroads" that the various DMs and Players have faced in Eberron campaigns that they have not faced in more traditional settings (i.e., Forgotten Realms & Greyhawk as examples)?
#2 Alex_ Mar 18, 2009 12:30:17	Mostly, I think are just general misconceptions. Gods may or may not exist, but SOMETHING does. Something is giving someone powers when they worship. Most people do believe it's some sort of divine being granting these abilities. Some do not. Life itself in shades of gray, but Alignment still exists. Good and Evil are concrete cosmic forces, but Evil can result in beneficial effects and Good can be used to facilitate unintended disasters. While genocide might be considered Evil in a cosmic sense, the person in Eberron will say, "We ended up saving more lives compared to if we had invaded". Sacrificing yourself to save an innocent child may be Good in a cosmic sense, but the person in Eberron will say, "You could have lived on and saved hundreds or thousands more." Warforged are not robots or even really Golems. They are living things made by artificial means. A creation fo and from elements of non-living things. A Creation Forge is not an assembly line, but a big magical object into which raw ingredients are dumped in and magically congeal into a Warforged, which then emerges. When dealing with the Church of the Silver Flame, think more Jedi- especially those in the KOTOR games or towards their fall in the prequal movies. Well intentioned, but short sighted, bound by tradition, and when they fall, they fall hard. The Keeper of the Flame is more like the Dali Lama than the Pope. The bow is the faith's favored weapon, not the sword. They use Catholic terminology and rank, but they are not Catholics. Corruption is not exclusive, or even most common in the Church of the Silver Flame. It is only most prominent because of all the faiths in Eberron, they are the one most devoted to following a rigid code- making such transgressions more obvious. Magic in Eberron is like dinosaurs and rocks in the Flintstones. Instead of a shower, Fred had a wooly mammoth. Instead of a record player, he had a bird and a stone disk. Instead of guns, they had sling shots. Likewise, in Eberron, instead of trains, we have a magical lightning coach. Instead of guns, people use magic crossbows and wands. Instead of zepplins, people have magical flying ships. Eberron civilization is sort of inspired by pulp from the 20's through the 40's. Think Johnny Quest, the Rocketeer, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Indianna Jones. The Lightning Rail is so that you can have an Orient Express adventure. The Airship is so you can fight Nazi Zombies (Emerald claw Agents) miles above the ground. Sharn is so you can have Gotham City. It's not technologically advanced, so much as its stylized. The above is mostly in regards to Thrane, Breland, Aundair, Zilargo, and Karrnath. The Mror Holds to a lesser extent. They make up only a fraction ot Khorvaire. You leave these areas and you're dealing with Hag ruled despotic lands, Goblin warlords, Orc swamp dwellers who sacrifice you to monsters, and Elves that live only to make war. Speaking of the Valenar... They're *******s. They live to make war, and invaded Khorvaire in order to provoke a fight. Their danger lies not in their ability to win a stand up fight. Their numbers are few, and when they ride horses into battle, they are skirmishers, not massed chargers. They are masters of assymetric warfare and not above using poison, deception, or traps to win. They are the Viet Cong and Mongols, and they like to initiate fights against people who are bigger and tougher than they are. People like them anyway...