Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 obiwaynekenobi Apr 28, 2011 14:27:17	I'm brainstorming possible character concepts for a Paragon-level Eberron game I'm going to be playing in the next few weeks; the concept as presented to me by the DM is sort of like the "A-Team", with ties to Breland.  This will be my first time actually playing in Eberron although I have devoured the sourcebooks and read a few novels since the setting was released.  I'm a big fan of the setting and the unique take on D&D it brings. Now, apart from myself and to a much lesser extent the DM, the other players know little or nothing about Eberron.  Because of this I'm trying to make a list of possible concepts I can run with that will not only be fun to play but will help showcase the overall feel of Eberron (versus say, Forgotten Realms or the generic "Points of Light" setting) to the other players.  Something that screams "This is Eberron!" and proceeds to kick them down a bottomless pit (okay, not quite...). What really sets an Eberron adventurer apart from being just another standard D&D setting adventurer?  Is it a hard-boiled Inquisitive investigating a murder scene on the streets of Sharn?  A daring Indiana Jones type dodging traps in Xen'drik using his wits and a cornucopia of magical gizmos?  A Lyrandar scion commanding the winds from the bridge of an airship?  What, to you, defines Eberron in terms of character concepts and mental imagery?  If you were in my position, and about to play an Eberron campaign with players who have barely even heard of the setting, what would you create to really make them understand that this isn't a normal D&D world?
#2 apparit Apr 29, 2011 5:35:07	Phreid Harrowcress. He is a random ex-brewer who, upon walking in a mugging, slaughtered all of the muggers and the woman he was trying to save as his Aberrant Dragonmark emerged, knocking himself unconscious from the pain in the process. He is a Warlock - or rather, he learns to be - except that he draws his powers from his aberrant dragonmark, not from any dark pact. He would have hunted down and executed if it wasn't for the Dark Lanterns' doomed operation to the end of the Last War, but even in that, he was abandoned in Darguun as all of his friends were slaughtered. Constantly chased by the authorities for his accidental crimes and his true nature, he struggles to catch his breath and decide who he actually is anymore or whose side he could be taking. I think this character exemplifies Eberron as he is a character who walks a tightrope between good and evil, about to slip at any moment, and presents a massively interesting character to roleplay, one that isn't defined to you as soon as you make it/choose it. Unlike others' CN, his neutrality isn't from a permanent lack of alignment with good and evill, rather, he knows he has such an alignment, he just isn't sure which he is.
#3 bofdm Apr 29, 2011 12:13:34	One of the main draws of eberron for me, as both a player and as a GM is the blending of technology between victorian, and world war I-II that is based on magic. Call it steampunk, magicpunk, whatever you want. But a society that has harnessed magical power to create moving *trains* and *airships* is amazing. I have had players who became successful playwrights and entrepeneurs, who by the end of the game, invented the first recorded sound technology and even an eldritch machine based on radio technology. I have yet to have the chance to play this character - don't even have a name for him yet. But I want to play an illusionist. A wizard who graduated from Arcanix in Aundair - with high honors in enchantment and illusion. Who hires himself out to various organizations for his eidetic memory. The purpose of all this? He recreates whatever he sees with his illusions. In essence, a walking movie projector. Sights, sounds, the feel of the humidity in the air - the taste of the morning dew in the talenta plains. He's *good* at his job. But it's also rather dangerous. "We want to send you to the Talenta Plains for a few months, we need some good imagery of Fastieths up close and personal. Apparently there's a relative of King Boranel that wants to show off his hunting trips at the next Tain Gala. You'll be there to provide the footage." This kind of concept is not in the normal realm of possibilities in other campaign settings. But in Eberron? Damn right.
#4 Siberys Apr 29, 2011 12:19:55	Another thing less prevalent in other settings are groups like the d'marked houses. They're fantasy megacorps, and megacorps aren't something you get to play around with a lot in fantasy settings.
#5 Elton74 Apr 29, 2011 22:33:13	Another thing less prevalent in other settings are groups like the d'marked houses. They're fantasy megacorps, and megacorps aren't something you get to play around with a lot in fantasy settings. Actually, they are a combination of a family and a guild.  A megacorporation is a good approximation of what they do.
#6 Ogiwan Apr 30, 2011 8:48:39	Actually, they are a combination of a family and a guild.  A megacorporation is a good approximation of what they do. Agreed.
#7 Siberys Apr 30, 2011 8:56:21	Oh, I know. I was exagertaingly simplifying to get a point across, i.e. corporate espionage and crazy mixed-up business-politics sounds fun.
#8 obi1jedidroid Sep 18, 2011 1:29:14	In other settings, you go to the dungeon to loot it/ defeat the bbeg. In eberron, you do it for that reason too, but also to benefit/hamper the nation/city/guild/House. (choose one or more options as appropriate) Forgotten realms is a world of magic and mystery, from the dark ages or, the renaissance. Eberron is one part early Victorian era, one part cold war, with a splash of hiroshima, a dash of Dumas served with a side dish of spaghetti western. Salt to taste.