However over the long count of years (since the 90s) Forgotten Realms has taken this slow dive, compromising, changing and becoming something it wasn't, and with the Plague I simply don't recognize it anymore.
So a seeking a new setting I did, and I rediscovered Eberron. It looks alluring, but I can't seem to shake off the fact it's not traditional fantasy. Yet it seems to be everything I want.
I know the people reading this are most likely fans, and I want to know:
What makes Ebberon work for you?
Why Ebberon and not some other setting?
If you had to convince an old fashioned fantasy lover like me to go to Ebberon, what would you say?
Is Ebberon superior to other settings right now? Why?
I'd love to hear your feedback.
1. The fact that it isn't traditional fantasy is a big part of it. It throws the stereotypes on their heads (Orcs are nature-loving druids, elves are violent warmongers ... or necromancers). It asks, and answers, the question "If magic is a controllable, manipulable, teachable, harnessable force, what effects would it have on societal development?"
2. Eberron drips with coolness and adventure. It isn't clogged with high level meddling NPCs. You can do anything from traditional dungeon crawls to political intrigue to exploration to freakin' sky pirates to fighting stuff that would make C'thulhu wet himself. Culture is more important than race. Religion is actually religion, not fact.
3. I probably wouldn't bother, to be honest. I would just think 'This isn't something he'd like' and move on. Different people like different stuff, and that's cool. I wouldn't like it if someone tried to convince me that Dark Sun didn't suck, so I'm not gonna try to push Eberron down someone else's throat.
4. I think so. I think it's the best setting ever, period; I've little desire to play or run anywhere else, for the reasons stated above in questions 1 and 2. I've gotten quite sick of 'traditional' Fauxrope/Tolkien fantasy over my decades of playing D&D; I love the fact that Eberron is different. I also prefer the 4e Realms to 'Realms Classic'.
Anyways. For me, the selling point is that its actually easier, in my opinion, for people to grasp the culture, since a.) socially, Eberron is a lot closer to 19th or early 20th century social norms, and b.) the effect of nationalism. You don't have to worry about pseudo-feudal(ish) ideas tripping up either the players or the DM. Why do Thranes hate Karrnath? Because as a nation, Karrnath did stuff Thrane wasn't a fan of. Why am I not a fan of Iran or China? Because, as nations, they did/do stuff that I'm not a fan of. Sure, in traditional fantasy, you may have this too, but traditional fantasy political units are often homogeneous, and consist of one predominant race. In Eberron, an Elf, a Human, and a Dwarf from Thrane will all probably not be too keen on a Karrn Bone Knight.
Another key point to me is the socioeconomic ramifications of magic are actually explored. I am a history guy, and whenever I look at the traditional fantasy, I see this pseudo-Middle Ages Europe world and culture with magic slathered artificially on top. There are castles....which don't take into account the ability of casters to cause earthquakes? They are predominantly agricultural societies....and ignore the fact that there are people who can make it rain regularly, which would boost crop yields, and thus boost the population.
Sure, people may bag on it for being Steampunk (which is, in my eyes, utterly untrue. TVTropes calles Eberron Dungeon Punk). They may hate on the lightning rail. But, if your party needs to get somewhere, they can either spend 9.5 days walking the 285 miles from Sharn to Wroat, or.....they hop on the Lightning rail, spend 10 hours, and they're there. Plus, fighting on an airship or magical train? Pulpy as hell, and iconic. I ran Whispers of the Vampire's Blade in....2007, it was, and I have a player who still talks about the fight on the Lightning Rail. A player in my current game points to a fight on an airship (and the race to escape it as it plummeted towards the ground) as the most iconic scene in my current game, and....he wasn't even there for that encounter.
Eberron, to me, is a setting that I love because it feels real. It takes stuff that contemporary humans can relate to (nationalism, an economy with a credit system, a postal/message system, etc), but mixes it with the logical development and socioeconomic ramifications of magic. It makes sense.
BTW, Salla, did you get my message?
I love Eberron for its lack of stereotypes. Yeah, sure, in Forgotten Realms, you've got Drizzt, but he's about the only one who defies the stereotype, and only to an extreme. Tribal drow sounds cooler and more practical, anyway. I've never liked the idea of races being relegated to a particular subset of values or personae (elves are hippes, dwarves are drunks, orcs are savages, that sort of thing), but Eberron pretty much encourages you to defy the establishment...or follow it.
I also love the technology (if that's what you consider it). To know you've got airships, a lightning rail, a gigantic city, among other things. There's a multitude of possibilities. I like the idea of a Wild West train robbery, mob wars in Sharn, going on a crusade, or investigating the Aurum.
The idea of nationalism is also another thing. It creates a greater, more realistic role-playing experience.
As for superiority, I believe it is. It's different, it's fun, it's chock full of flavor and variety, you can understand why a lot of things exist or work (the "why" is important to me), and the epic-level characters don't stick their nose in matters the way FR characters do (I actually hate FR for a number of reasons, this being one). You can include an epic-tier enemy early on in a lesser capacity (the fence who's disguised as a dragon or rakshasa, the Blood of Vol cultist who has direct contact with Vol herself, you get the idea)
I would give a high recommendation for Eberron. Hell, I'd say you wouldn't go wrong getting the 3.5 AND 4E books.
You can include an epic-tier enemy early on in a lesser capacity (the fence who's disguised as a dragon or rakshasa, the Blood of Vol cultist who has direct contact with Vol herself, you get the idea)
Done it. The PCs met the Chessmaster BBEG when they were first level.
I would give a high recommendation for Eberron. Hell, I'd say you wouldn't go wrong getting the 3.5 AND 4E books.
I think that, as a setting guide, the 4e ECG is better than the 3.5 ECS.
Salla, you're not forcing anything. I'm asking, so it's not forcefully.
Lugnut, you're right, FR is not like Tolkien at all, despite that Tolkien was a major inspiriation for D&D. For many years, my players and I ran Realms close to Middle-Earth, but as we read the rulebooks and became more familiar with the setting, our ideal was not matching with the "reality" of the Realms, resulting in some disillusionment.
I ran a game once where I created an undercity that boasted a bar ran by an Illithid. He could read minds to get orders and levitate drinks to customers. The players loved it. Later I got to looking at Realmslore and realized that it could never fit into the setting. Illithids don't run bars, they are evil masterminds who dwell in damp caves craving human brains. Ok, not too diverse a plot device...
But then I was looking into Eberron, and it seemed like just the place for bars run by illlithids. I guess that's what draws me.
Even as a fan of the Realms, given all the meta-plot shenanigans tied to the Realms (especially since the Spellplague), I'm going to agree that Eberron seems a more user-friendly setting to run with.
In what ways is the ECG better than the ECS?
I 'won' the 4E ECG from a promotion but haven't looked at it since I don't play 4E or Eberron currently. I think I'll take a look at it the next chance I get.
T
I ran a game once where I created an undercity that boasted a bar ran by an Illithid. He could read minds to get orders and levitate drinks to customers. The players loved it. Later I got to looking at Realmslore and realized that it could never fit into the setting. Illithids don't run bars, they are evil masterminds who dwell in damp caves craving human brains. Ok, not too diverse a plot device...
But then I was looking into Eberron, and it seemed like just the place for bars run by illlithids. I guess that's what draws me.
Stolen.
In what ways is the ECG better than the ECS?
I'll grant you that the ECS has demographic and economic information, but the ECG just has a crapload more hooks, awesome little groups, and so on. Off the top of my head, two new groups are the Medani's Western Mournland Working Group (popularly known as the "Thousand Yard Stare") and Jorasco's Jade Hands. Plus, the map that comes with the ECG is boss.
I'll grant you that the ECS has demographic and economic information, but the ECG just has a crapload more hooks, awesome little groups, and so on. Off the top of my head, two new groups are the Medani's Western Mournland Working Group (popularly known as the "Thousand Yard Stare") and Jorasco's Jade Hands. Plus, the map that comes with the ECG is boss.
You mean the demographic information that is a complete and utter waste of space, unless you're intent on running a game in a world that makes Manitoba look crowded? (What? Me, bitter? Hardly! ...stop looking at me like that.)
I'll grant you that the ECS has demographic and economic information, but the ECG just has a crapload more hooks, awesome little groups, and so on. Off the top of my head, two new groups are the Medani's Western Mournland Working Group (popularly known as the "Thousand Yard Stare") and Jorasco's Jade Hands. Plus, the map that comes with the ECG is boss.
You mean the demographic information that is a complete and utter waste of space, unless you're intent on running a game in a world that makes Manitoba look crowded? (What? Me, bitter? Hardly! ...stop looking at me like that.)
Good point.
The demographic information that tells you what percentage of a country's population is what race. The population numbers are laughable.
In what ways is the ECG better than the ECS?
I'll grant you that the ECS has demographic and economic information, but the ECG just has a crapload more hooks, awesome little groups, and so on. Off the top of my head, two new groups are the Medani's Western Mournland Working Group (popularly known as the "Thousand Yard Stare") and Jorasco's Jade Hands. Plus, the map that comes with the ECG is boss.
Feel free to steal it, that's what this community is all about.
In what ways is the ECG better than the ECS?
I'll grant you that the ECS has demographic and economic information, but the ECG just has a crapload more hooks, awesome little groups, and so on. Off the top of my head, two new groups are the Medani's Western Mournland Working Group (popularly known as the "Thousand Yard Stare") and Jorasco's Jade Hands. Plus, the map that comes with the ECG is boss.
That does sound interesting. I'll pull the book down from the shelf when I get a chance.
Good to hear about the map, the one for 4E FR looked rather dull and blocky.
Thanks for all the feedback!
Salla, you're not forcing anything. I'm asking, so it's not forcefully.
Lugnut, you're right, FR is not like Tolkien at all, despite that Tolkien was a major inspiriation for D&D. For many years, my players and I ran Realms close to Middle-Earth, but as we read the rulebooks and became more familiar with the setting, our ideal was not matching with the "reality" of the Realms, resulting in some disillusionment.
I ran a game once where I created an undercity that boasted a bar ran by an Illithid. He could read minds to get orders and levitate drinks to customers. The players loved it. Later I got to looking at Realmslore and realized that it could never fit into the setting. Illithids don't run bars, they are evil masterminds who dwell in damp caves craving human brains. Ok, not too diverse a plot device...
But then I was looking into Eberron, and it seemed like just the place for bars run by illlithids. I guess that's what draws me.
Yep that would work in Eberron, it doesn't have hard wired alignments, most of them are evil masterminds still, but because of how cosmopolition Eberron is, a mind flayer showing up in a major city isn't cause for immediate alarm. (Also most city guard couldn't do anyting about it anyways).