I cannot express how truly excited I am about regular Hellcow in my DDI subscription! I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that Eye on Eberron factors HEAVILY into my decision to resubscribe.
Long Live Keith!
As you say, Avon, my resubscription is back on the horizon with these eye on eberron articles!
Long Live Keith!
Are you accepting suggestions? I've always been interested in "Fort Zombie" and would love a detailed description of the town.
Completely agree - great to see Eberron background material in Dragon magazine again!
Yours,
JMH
Are you accepting suggestions?
Absolutely!
Are you accepting suggestions?
Absolutely!
First off, this is great, and...
I have a few ideas:
- The taarka'khesh (there's a Dragonshards article on the shaarat'khesh, but none on their cousins)
- The King's Dark Lanterns and the Royal Eyes of Aundair (some elaboration on them, i.e. structure, numbers, training)
- Morgrave University (what it looks like, typical classes, possible artifacts contained)
- The fall of the Glass Tower in Sharn (it's mentioned, but nothing more, I'd like to know more of what kind of place it was)
The fall of the Glass Tower in Sharn (it's mentioned, but nothing more, I'd like to know more of what kind of place it was)
You might check out the adventure "Fallen Angel" - issue 117 of the print Dragon, I think. That's set in Fallen and deals with the ruins of the tower.
Are you accepting suggestions?
Absolutely!
First off, this is great, and...
I have a few ideas:
- The taarka'khesh (there's a Dragonshards article on the shaarat'khesh, but none on their cousins)
- The King's Dark Lanterns and the Royal Eyes of Aundair (some elaboration on them, i.e. structure, numbers, training)
- Morgrave University (what it looks like, typical classes, possible artifacts contained)
- The fall of the Glass Tower in Sharn (it's mentioned, but nothing more, I'd like to know more of what kind of place it was)
Some more ideas:
-Lost in Droaam (changelings city) or maybe the Gray Tide principality,
-A tour of the Tower of the Twelve,
-Thronehold,
-Volaar Draal
I´m really relieved that there is some support for eberron in DDI again. The fact that Hellcow is doing the support makes it even more exciting!
And there might just be some other Eberron content popping up in dribs and drabs.
If this is an adventure anything like The Darkwood Mask (showcasing Eberron's unique tone and feel) I heartily approve and await (not so) patiently.
To be honest, I have mixed feeling about the article. I love the fact that there will be a regular Eberron column, but 2.5 pages to describe a city to me feels like either too much or too little. There is also little new stuff in there, but I admit that might be becaus of having read The Dragon Below series. On the other hand, there are references to stuff without even providing hints to what a DM could do would it. For example the mention of the representative of the Droaam and his growing influence on the local goblins (which is cool, but it does not even include suggestions on what he might want), but then never mentioning the existence of street goblin gangs within the city. Had I not read the Dragon Below series the remark would have come a bit out of the blue. Where are the interesting NPCs, bussinesses and locations with plot-hooks attached to it? Granted, you cannot write a Gloomwrought product, but still... I am not sure where I read it, but I remember a designer mentioning that mysteries are cool, but that without at least offering suggestions/hints for the DM to use, it was not all that usefull to the DM in the end, and I agree with that comment.
As for suggestions, how much can you do with mechanics in the article, because I would absolutely love to see more on dragonmarks, especially aberrant dragonmarks?
As for fluff, even a recap on the various Overlords and Daelkyr plus their personalities agendas and servants would be great. As it is now, that information is spread out way too much. I would also love something generic on Dhakaani ruins, where to find them, what sets them apart from other ruins, what kind of dangers inhabit them (especially in regards to Daelkyr created monsters), what you might find there and how the goblins would react to a PC walking around with such artifacts.
Major Cities and/or regional gazetteers, especially for areas not covered extensively in the 3e material (Lhazaar, Droaam, Darguun, ZILARGO, the holds, the plains - Kinda like what you did with Q'barra.)
Quori!
Organizations
Languages
Races - Discussions of various minor races and where they might fit in; kinda like the d-born portion of the Q'barra articles, or the Kobold dragonshard. (This would be a great place to fit in Goblinoid racial stats, if that were your cup of tea)
I'd like to see mechanics, but it's not a major issue if it's not there.
Also, ditto on length. Increase it, if you can!
There's been a dearth of Eberron content, so I am glad to see that finally being remedied!
To be honest, I have mixed feeling about the article. I love the fact that there will be a regular Eberron column, but 2.5 pages to describe a city to me feels like either too much or too little.
Fair enough. Personally, I'd love to have had the space to do something on par with my Graywall article, but 2.5 pages is what we have to work with. This is something to bear in mind for folks making suggestions for future articles; it's a fairly small space to work with. Honestly, I fear that next month's article suffers a little from the same problem, but I hope to be used to the space limitations by #3.
As for suggestions, how much can you do with mechanics in the article, because I would absolutely love to see more on dragonmarks, especially aberrant dragonmarks?
The directive on EoE articles is minimal mechanics, if any. I would like to do more with dragonmarks (and have pitched the idea), but it would be a separate thing.
I would also love something generic on Dhakaani ruins, where to find them, what sets them apart from other ruins, what kind of dangers inhabit them (especially in regards to Daelkyr created monsters), what you might find there and how the goblins would react to a PC walking around with such artifacts.
Interesting idea!
That being said, my main suggestions are to cover areas of the world that haven't already been explored.... either in gaming materials OR novels. It might seem a little selfish, but being a dedicated Eberron fan, I've read nearlly all the novels (at least, the good ones >_>), and through them I feel like I have a decent grasp of many places already. (Like Zarash'ak. I knew most of what was going to be in there having read the Dragon Below trilogy. A well written summary, but still a recap from my perspective.)
Basically, this is a long-winded way of saying "yeah, what Siberys said!". I wanna see more regional stuff on things that haven't been focused on yet. I feel like that's the kind of support Eberron needs, currently. (And when we're done with all those... I want more on what makes Eberron's Planes unique!.... Hey, here's a challenge for you Keith, if you feel up to it.... Make Eberron's Baator Eberrony.)
Specific adventure-sites within a plane are entirely welcome as well. Probably moreso than a broad overview. You can only describe Shavarath in broad terms so many times. Tell me about a specific Archon Fortress (are the forces of good still referred to as archons there, or is it just angels now?) and why it's important, and you have me hooked.
This, definitely. I also second the idea of making Baator feel more Eberrony (Eberronian? Eberron-esque?). I know there have been threads about it here and elsewhere, but I'd love to see your take on it, Keith. Maybe some fluff on how Eberron's devils are different than standard ones and/or a setting-specific take on some existing Archdevils?
I agree with Madfox, though, it did seem short. However, if that's all the space you have to work with, well....that's all the space you have to work with.
Still, carry on, Keith!
I agree with Madfox, though, it did seem short. However, if that's all the space you have to work with, well....that's all the space you have to work with.
It's a question of choosing subjects that can be effectively covered in the space. But yes, you're not going to get something like the Graywall article in EoE!
Fair enough. Personally, I'd love to have had the space to do something on par with my Graywall article, but 2.5 pages is what we have to work with. This is something to bear in mind for folks making suggestions for future articles; it's a fairly small space to work with. Honestly, I fear that next month's article suffers a little from the same problem, but I hope to be used to the space limitations by #3.
It comes as no surprise you had no say in the page count, and I know how frustrating (although it also has its benefits) it can be to write stuff within a page count. In that case though I either prefer a more detailed subject or a broader one ;) Mind you, I prefer something a bit more generally useful like my suggestion about the goblin ruins then something very specific like an archon city in Shavarath. The first I am likely to be able to use, but the second is unlikely to be of much use since it is just too specific. Although, if the article about such a location might actually make it more appealing to use ;)
If you're taking suggestions, I always love to see more on the dragonmarks and the houses (especially since they factor heavily in my current campaign
). More information on Cannith East and West would be helpful; I don't recall much more than very broad stroke mentions of what they're like, what they're up to, and what characters from those branches would be involved in. Also, maybe a specific cell of House Tarkanan and what they're up do, with reasons for the PCs to get involved with them or against them.My friend is also suggesting articles on ideas to use the floating fortresses of Breland as an adventure site, and expanding upon New Cyre.
Anyway, I'm just happy to see a regular Eberron article again.
Mind you, I prefer something a bit more generally useful like my suggestion about the goblin ruins then something very specific like an archon city in Shavarath. The first I am likely to be able to use, but the second is unlikely to be of much use since it is just too specific. Although, if the article about such a location might actually make it more appealing to use ;)
Madfox, that's precisely why I even mentioned an archon fortress. I really just pulled something out of my head that HASN'T seen much use. By focusing on specific adventure-locals in the lesser-used planes, I feel like it could bring a much richer experience to the game.
No offense, but with adventures like Seekers of the Ashen Crown and novel sources like the Heirs of Dhakaan, I feel like I have a good enough handle on Dhakanni ruins by now. One more isn't going to do me any good. But Archon Fortresses in Shavarath, Ice Palaces of Risia (if they even exist?), or the Crystal Cities of Syrannia aren't seeing much use in my home games cause right now I have honestly not seen much use in the PCs going there.
If anyone can fix that, though, it's the Hellcow.
No worries Keith, I figured we were dealing with a huge lead time anyway.
When asked for a Region to cast an eye at I would choose the Lhazaar Principalities. There is not very much information about the port cities and the fleets of the sea barons (as far as I know, at least). Something like a rogue (Air-) ship dockyard would be nice, too.
Long live to Eye of Eberron !
Prepare a special expedition, fly your airship on there and start a "spelljammer" style campaign where you're travelling from plane to plane. You'll have the planes moving in and out of phase with Eberron and one another limiting travel options.
IIRC, just as it was always possible to get to Khyber and the lower planes (now synonomous with the elemental chaos), or get to it was also possible to reach Syberis and the upper planes (now synonomous with the astral sea) by flying very very high. It was simply a very rare event given that very few things can get that high. I remember it being written somewhere that Syrania, the Endless Sky was more easily accessible on particularly bright and clear days.
Prepare a special expedition, fly your airship on there and start a "spelljammer" style campaign where you're travelling from plane to plane. You'll have the planes moving in and out of phase with Eberron and one another limiting travel options.
When Syrania is near to Eberron, then you can reach it by flying very high. I already thought about that, but I wonder how business is going on in the astral sea. As far as I understand, the eberronian planes are not designed to coexist in one soup, but the plane above book describes the astral sea as a kind of ocean where the planes are floating in like islands and there is lots of traffic in the space between them. I would like to see this transferred to eberron, with the special flair eberron offers. For example some kind of a solar system, with the planes circling eberron like moons (I think I read about this somewhere in the forums)
The 4e cosmology goes with the "world between" split like the core setting does. You have your World, you have your Fey and Shadow mirrors of it, and then "above" it you have your Astral Sea and Dominions, an "below" it you have our Elemental Chaos and Abyss and "elemental regions".
The 4e cosmology splits Eberron's original 13 planes (plus Baator out of nowhere) into Elemental Regions and Astral Dominions. So, unlike the Great Orrery which connected all planes to the Astral Sea, the 4e cosmology says that no matter how thorough you search, you will never find a way into Risia or Fernia, the planes of Ice and Fire, by sailing the Astral Sea.
The 4e ECS book will detail which planes are placed in The Astral Sea and which are placed in the Elemental Chaos (which is literally below the surface of the world. Head into Khyber, the Underdark, and keep going down, and eventually you reach the Elemental Chaos and the Abyss).
The Great Orrery is still cannon within the setting, and is debated amongst scholars in academic arenas versus the 4e cosmology, except now the Great Orrery's orbiting planes is more seen as a metaphor for the strength of their influence on the world, rather than a literal interpretation of their metaphysical "movement" through the astral sea. This wouldn't be much of a big deal, because who's to say "metaphysical movement" is anything but a metaphor anyway, but the two cosmologies are mutually exclusive for the sole fact that one says the Astral Sea borders all the planes, and the other says it only borders a portion (approximately half) of them. I guess it's up to you which one is true once your players reach the Astral Sea.
By the way, here's a link to an official flash application depticting the Great Orrery of Eberron's original cosmology: www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eb/200...
Getting to Fernia (and most other elemental planes) still required you to go into a volcano, into the earth, underwater, into shadows, etc, and getting to the Syrania (or any of the celestial) planes didn't- like going into the sky, towards the sun, into a ring of trees, etc.
The common link there was Eberron. The great orrery model seemed to (and still does) work better as a means of determining the effects of different planes on Eberron- which itself is the major pathway between the worlds. Practically useless in regards to figuring out how to get to Thelanis from Malbar.
As for the Ring of Siberys being the Astral Sea, I believe that in some metaphysical sense, that's a correct assumption. However, the Ring of Siberys is literally a ring comprised of literal, physical objects in the material plane, those objects being Siberys dragonshards. Perhaps the Sea of Siberys is contained "within" the gestalt of these shards, and every time some of them shardfall down to Eberron the Astral Sea gets that much smaller. However I believe it was postulated once that if you attempted to pilot, say, an Airship into the Ring of Siberys it would just be pulverized by thousands of dragonshards tearing it to shreds. It requires magic (be that a ritual, mcguffin, or plot-based conjunction of planar influences, etc) to actually travel "into" the Sea of Siberys.
I suppose it could be "harder" to reach the Sea of Siberys than the Elemental Chaos (which you need no special magic to reach, just keep heading "down" through Khyber) because of Siberys's shattered state.
Depends. If Siberys just needed to regenerate for a million and a half years, and then will come back to life....will Eberron and Khyber follow suit? Is that how the cycle of rebirth is in Eberron?
That sounds like a good faith for astral sea inhabitants like the Marut.
Avon, if you use the Ring of Siberys as an obstacle, you have to clarify why someone doesn´t just travel around it. Since it is a ring which spans Eberron roughly at the Equator, an airship travelling upwards from one of the planet´s poles should easily overcome the problem.
Whether Eberron exists in a Crystal Sphere ala Spelljammer, a heliocentric Solar System like real-world physics, or some mindboggling astronomical-to-scale mechanical orrery constructed by beings far and away beyond the comprehension of even Dragons and Rajahs.... who knows? Up to the DM I guess.
(I used a combination of the first and last of those suggestions, btw. Specifically: The "solar system" was geocentric, the moons being constructed by Progenitor Dragons, the Sun being the joint creation of Dragons of Argonessen and the Couatl during the Dragon-Demon War, and the entire system being encased in a dimensional sphere to ward off Xoriat, a bubble of "reality" created by the Progenitors in an infinite expanse of madness and insanity.)
Oh, I thought the situation was for an airship heading directly into the Ring of Siberys (On the assumption that the Ring itself was what linked to the Astral Sea). If you go past it you just end up flying into deep space. Most likely if you wanted to go to one of the Moons. (I see the Ring as being closer to the planet than any of its moons.)
OK, I understand. I like the assumption of the ring being a gate to the astral sea. I just want to have it being more... habitated. That´s why I want to compare it with the lattice of heaven. Imagine a large asteroid belt with the dominions and their archipelagos being the largest masses. I don´t know how to incorporate the moons, however.
I still could use the Siberys shard storms to prevent the players from reaching the ring until they find a way to come by it.
(I used a combination of the first and last of those suggestions, btw. Specifically: The "solar system" was geocentric, the moons being constructed by Progenitor Dragons, the Sun being the joint creation of Dragons of Argonessen and the Couatl during the Dragon-Demon War, and the entire system being encased in a dimensional sphere to ward off Xoriat, a bubble of "reality" created by the Progenitors in an infinite expanse of madness and insanity.)
Very interesting assumption. You could adapt the warding theme of the Gatekeeper druids to a galactic scale. Where did you place the sun?
- please excuse my bad english, I´m no native speaker -
(I used a combination of the first and last of those suggestions, btw. Specifically: The "solar system" was geocentric, the moons being constructed by Progenitor Dragons, the Sun being the joint creation of Dragons of Argonessen and the Couatl during the Dragon-Demon War, and the entire system being encased in a dimensional sphere to ward off Xoriat, a bubble of "reality" created by the Progenitors in an infinite expanse of madness and insanity.)
I was under the impression that the moons were the planes, or were very closely related to them.
(I used a combination of the first and last of those suggestions, btw. Specifically: The "solar system" was geocentric, the moons being constructed by Progenitor Dragons, the Sun being the joint creation of Dragons of Argonessen and the Couatl during the Dragon-Demon War, and the entire system being encased in a dimensional sphere to ward off Xoriat, a bubble of "reality" created by the Progenitors in an infinite expanse of madness and insanity.)
I was under the impression that the moons were the planes, or were very closely related to them.
Chemikus: Please don't take my own personal assumptions as cannon. You could easily place your Ring of Siberys as further away from Eberron than the moons, making it a ring around the entire planetary system rather than just the planet itself.
As for where I placed the Sun, I actually had it between the Ring and the Moons. That is, closer to Eberron than the closest moon, but further away than the Ring. In my campaign, the Sun was actually more like a space-station or satillite. It wasn't a gigantic burning ball of gas either, it just emits warmth and light (Compare our Sun, which is a searing ball of hellish heat and radiation that just happens to taper off into comfortable levels by the time it gets to us. I made Eberron's sun more like the Light spell. It has a radiance of illumination and that's it. )
Alex: I kept this connection. The "reality bubble" was created by the Progenitors as well, and Siberys and Eberron worked together to create the massive astronomical system that created it. They also reached into the metaphysical reality of the planes to "anchor" the bubble. Basically the moons are magnets that keep the planes "close" to Eberron. Their orbits don't exactly match planar conjunctions, of course, because it's all one giant physical metaphor.