Asimov's Foundation in Eberron - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Asimov's Foundation in Eberron

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
galoistheomnipotent
Dec 28, 2008 14:16:00 Hi!

I am planning to run a campaign based on the ideas developed by Asimov's Foundation series.

The idea would be the same: the empire (The Five Nations) is about to fall, according to maths/seers/psychohistorians. Someone/Something (an existing or new organization/NPC) is willing to prepare for the next empire to replace the existing one.

1. Is there anything like this in Eberron right now so that I don't have to create it from scratch? I see how I could use the Draconic Prophecy, but I fail to recognize why the dragons would want The Five Nations/Khorvaire to be recreated... unless the Prophecy says something about that.

2. And there's also the issue of the Robot... Which could be Eberron itself...

Any ideas on how I could use the idea?

Thanks!
#2
Gilo
Dec 28, 2008 17:29:08 Not to say that it wouldn't work with kingdom of Galifar - but you could also consider the Dhakani Empire or the Xen'drik Giants for "the empire" since their civilization reverted to savagery. then the "psychohistorians" could be the Dhakaani Dirge Singers or the Valenar Keepers of the Past.
#3
AvonRekaes
Dec 29, 2008 13:37:49 What about the Dreaming Dark? What with Jarot's nightmare-fuel paranoia being a huge factor in starting the Last War, I always thought that the Quori were in the middle of engineering the same Sundering they performed on Sarlona with the Reidran Empire.

So Galifar could be your empire, the Dreaming Dark/Inspired could be the organization waiting for the next empitre, and Reidra II could be your new empire.

Having not read Asimov's Foundation, I couldn't tell you what to do about the Robot and Eberron. (The comparison of a Progenitor Dragon/Planet to a robot strikes me as incomprehensible, though.)
#4
julescarv
Jan 05, 2009 3:21:22 One issue: the Foundation series is essentially based on a materialistic, deterministic view of history. Eberron is essentialy based on a Great Man view of history. Think of how much the Mule screws up the Seldon Plan in Second Foundation. The Seldon plan is based on the view that people respond in a reasonably predictable manner to their circumstances, that insofar as they aren't predictable idiosyncratic action tends to be negligible in its effects on average behavior over large numbers, and that certain negative feedback mechanisms tend to keep history "on course."

In Eberron, on the other hand, the wills of a few people with great destinies -- epochal heroes and villains -- determine the fate of the world. The great people are not made by the world in which they live: they make it. In short, the Mules of Eberron (the PCs, Erandis d'Vol, the Lord of Blades, etc) writing the pages of history would not be anamolous, as it is in the Asimov universe, but are an integral part of the setting which control the destiny of the world according to the basic premises of the setting.

Okay, that aside, one possibility if you're going for the "two foundations" concept would be to put the "first foundation" in Q'barra (which the Seldon-equivalent might have forseen -- or possibly engineered -- as being a future redoubt of Galifarian loyalty after Galifar collapsed, as well as being remot, equivalent to Terminus) and have the "second foundation" in Thronehold (equivalent to Trantor).

Another possibility is that the course of history could be determined by the orbit of the planes. The Last War could be explained by Shavarath being coterminous while at the same time Syrania's benign influence was remote and blah blah blah. You could have the future-predicting types of the Foundation using a lot of prreries of the planes.
#5
SteelMirror
Jan 05, 2009 18:48:40 I think the idea is workable, and I love Asimov. This is how I would start my brainstorming for such a campaign.

Instead of saying that the Five Nations were about to fall, assume that your "psychohistorians" predicted that the old nation of Galifar was about to fall, and set up something as their "Foundation" to ensure that the intervening period was going to be as short as possible, and be reborn as an even stronger Empire as soon as possible.

Now, as for what that foundation could be take your pick. To fit Asimov's narrative the foundation should be out of the way but rich/technologically (or magically) advanced. They should also live in comfort relative to their neighbors, and be forced to deal with the fallout from that. Breland is an ok fit, but the fact that they were one of the major antagonists in the last war ruins them for me. I would go with Q'barra or the Eldeen reaches, reflavored to have a more robust repository of magical knowledge in the form of a library or arcane school or something. But there may be better fits.

Next you have to figure out what the Second Foundation should be. I would go for the Arcane Congress manipulating events according to the Prophecy as they understand it, to ensure that the mortal races (as opposed to the dragons or fiends) remain the dominant species on Eberron for the foreseeable future.

Finally, to be interesting the campaign has to have conflict as opposed to a preordained outcome that "the foundation will always win". Asimov did it with the mule, I nominate the day of Mourning. Nobody predicted it, nobody saw it coming, and now it has screwed up the Arcane Congress' calculations. Now they have to set things right, and it falls to the PCs in some fashion to ensure that this happens.

Just my 2 cents.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 galoistheomnipotent Dec 28, 2008 14:16:00	Hi! I am planning to run a campaign based on the ideas developed by Asimov's Foundation series. The idea would be the same: the empire (The Five Nations) is about to fall, according to maths/seers/psychohistorians. Someone/Something (an existing or new organization/NPC) is willing to prepare for the next empire to replace the existing one. 1. Is there anything like this in Eberron right now so that I don't have to create it from scratch? I see how I could use the Draconic Prophecy, but I fail to recognize why the dragons would want The Five Nations/Khorvaire to be recreated... unless the Prophecy says something about that. 2. And there's also the issue of the Robot... Which could be Eberron itself... Any ideas on how I could use the idea? Thanks!
#2 Gilo Dec 28, 2008 17:29:08	Not to say that it wouldn't work with kingdom of Galifar - but you could also consider the Dhakani Empire or the Xen'drik Giants for "the empire" since their civilization reverted to savagery. then the "psychohistorians" could be the Dhakaani Dirge Singers or the Valenar Keepers of the Past.
#3 AvonRekaes Dec 29, 2008 13:37:49	What about the Dreaming Dark? What with Jarot's nightmare-fuel paranoia being a huge factor in starting the Last War, I always thought that the Quori were in the middle of engineering the same Sundering they performed on Sarlona with the Reidran Empire. So Galifar could be your empire, the Dreaming Dark/Inspired could be the organization waiting for the next empitre, and Reidra II could be your new empire. Having not read Asimov's Foundation, I couldn't tell you what to do about the Robot and Eberron. (The comparison of a Progenitor Dragon/Planet to a robot strikes me as incomprehensible, though.)
#4 julescarv Jan 05, 2009 3:21:22	One issue: the Foundation series is essentially based on a materialistic, deterministic view of history. Eberron is essentialy based on a Great Man view of history. Think of how much the Mule screws up the Seldon Plan in Second Foundation. The Seldon plan is based on the view that people respond in a reasonably predictable manner to their circumstances, that insofar as they aren't predictable idiosyncratic action tends to be negligible in its effects on average behavior over large numbers, and that certain negative feedback mechanisms tend to keep history "on course." In Eberron, on the other hand, the wills of a few people with great destinies -- epochal heroes and villains -- determine the fate of the world. The great people are not made by the world in which they live: they make it. In short, the Mules of Eberron (the PCs, Erandis d'Vol, the Lord of Blades, etc) writing the pages of history would not be anamolous, as it is in the Asimov universe, but are an integral part of the setting which control the destiny of the world according to the basic premises of the setting. Okay, that aside, one possibility if you're going for the "two foundations" concept would be to put the "first foundation" in Q'barra (which the Seldon-equivalent might have forseen -- or possibly engineered -- as being a future redoubt of Galifarian loyalty after Galifar collapsed, as well as being remot, equivalent to Terminus) and have the "second foundation" in Thronehold (equivalent to Trantor). Another possibility is that the course of history could be determined by the orbit of the planes. The Last War could be explained by Shavarath being coterminous while at the same time Syrania's benign influence was remote and blah blah blah. You could have the future-predicting types of the Foundation using a lot of prreries of the planes.
#5 SteelMirror Jan 05, 2009 18:48:40	I think the idea is workable, and I love Asimov. This is how I would start my brainstorming for such a campaign. Instead of saying that the Five Nations were about to fall, assume that your "psychohistorians" predicted that the old nation of Galifar was about to fall, and set up something as their "Foundation" to ensure that the intervening period was going to be as short as possible, and be reborn as an even stronger Empire as soon as possible. Now, as for what that foundation could be take your pick. To fit Asimov's narrative the foundation should be out of the way but rich/technologically (or magically) advanced. They should also live in comfort relative to their neighbors, and be forced to deal with the fallout from that. Breland is an ok fit, but the fact that they were one of the major antagonists in the last war ruins them for me. I would go with Q'barra or the Eldeen reaches, reflavored to have a more robust repository of magical knowledge in the form of a library or arcane school or something. But there may be better fits. Next you have to figure out what the Second Foundation should be. I would go for the Arcane Congress manipulating events according to the Prophecy as they understand it, to ensure that the mortal races (as opposed to the dragons or fiends) remain the dominant species on Eberron for the foreseeable future. Finally, to be interesting the campaign has to have conflict as opposed to a preordained outcome that "the foundation will always win". Asimov did it with the mule, I nominate the day of Mourning. Nobody predicted it, nobody saw it coming, and now it has screwed up the Arcane Congress' calculations. Now they have to set things right, and it falls to the PCs in some fashion to ensure that this happens. Just my 2 cents.