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The Future of Cyre

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
bailey91
Nov 17, 2010 23:27:46 I've always wondered what will happen to the people of Cyre across the world as a result of having no homeland. Has anyone ever done anything with them as a people? I'd like to know so I can have some inspiration to use them as a plot device. They're my favorite culture in Eberron!
#2
naturax
Nov 18, 2010 9:25:15 I haven't yet decided what I want to do with the Cyran diaspora on the whole in my campaign, but I love making use of Dannel's Wrath (described in City of Stormreach). I'd suggest featuring them an occasional antagonist across Khorvaire at the very least.
#3
Juums
Nov 18, 2010 9:59:24 The Cyrans are, above all else, a building people: Wherever they settle, a flurry of new construction should follow, much as night does day. And if they settle in place that does not have need of things constructed from wood and stone, then they begin to construct cultural and institutional edifices. One of the things that always bugged me about how the sourcebooks depicted the Cyran diaspora was that it teetered between despondancy over what had happened to Cyre and angst or anger over its inability to find acceptance in the wider world. All of which rung rather hollow for me, as what I always thought the dominant theme of the Cyran diaspora would be rebuilding everything from their daily lives to the nation they had fled.

I'm currently running a game where "rebuilding Cyre" is a major plot-point. By that, though, I do not mean "fixing" the Mournland: That is too big a task for my PCs, at least at this juncture. A little backstory is required to proceed: My vision of Eberron features Cyre, during the Last War, having utilized large-scale of internal colonization of its wilder realms -- modern-day Darguun, Valenar, and the Talenta Plains -- to establish some strategic depth. As a result, all of those nations include sizable post-war settler populations, though in Valenar and the Talenta Plains it's on the order of parity with the native halfing and elven populations. The leadership of the Cyran remnant is attempting to reforge Cyre out of its old possessions in the Talenta Plains and Valenar, as well as Q'barra. (The last of which was, after all, established by a Cyran noble and was colonized by predominantly by able-bodied Cyrans.) The PCs got involved by being signing up to join an expedition to Metrol to recover the Cyran crown jewels, as you can't very well crown Oargev king without those.
#4
dan_vk
Nov 18, 2010 13:28:29 If I remember correctly (I will probably edit this later since I do not have any source books handy to verify this), only Breland was willing to take Cyran refugees.

In my campaign, the Cyrans are analogous to the Jews after World War II but before the creation of Israel. King Boranel plays the role of President Truman in calling for nations to reform their treatment of these displaced people. He urges nations to work together in Throneport to find a place for the Cyrans to permanently relocate to. He also loosened immigration laws for Cyrans only. New Cyre began as a displacement camp but, over time, has become a large town like any other in Breland because its citizens are treated like immigrants and not refugees. In fact, the majority of them are immigrants, with only a few, like Prince Oargev, choosing to self-identify as Cyrans and not former Cyrans. Karrnath plays the role of Poland in that Cyrans began repatriating from Thrane to Karrnath (their pre-Mourning homes were near Vurgenslye) and were murdered by locals (like the Kielce pogrom).
#5
bailey91
Dec 02, 2010 0:50:57 I really do like that diaspora aspect of the Cyrans. They just have this angst that almost seems like a character in itself, especially in regards to their homeland. Somehow, I feel like no matter how atrocius the act, I could still sympathize with whatever they would do towards gaining a homeland. It definitely lend itself as a source of inspiration for anyone that wanted to play a dark anti-hero. I even had this idea of them somehow rallying support to attempt to purge Darguun or Valenar of its inhabitants in a horrible act of "reclaiming their homeland". Of course I'm sure there are some dark masterminds willing to lend aid to such a cause!
#6
yossarius
Dec 25, 2010 16:21:41
One of the things that always bugged me about how the sourcebooks depicted the Cyran diaspora was that it teetered between despondancy over what had happened to Cyre and angst or anger over its inability to find acceptance in the wider world. All of which rung rather hollow for me, as what I always thought the dominant theme of the Cyran diaspora would be rebuilding everything from their daily lives to the nation they had fled.

It occurrs to me that this could be interpreted as how outsiders might see them rather than how they really are. When you consider that peoples perceptions are tinted by their expectations, this would only made sense. What else would anyone expect of refugees than to be broken and lost? Certainly, some of them would be the way the books describe them. Others would have not changed at all, personality-wise, from who they were before the Mourning, and others still would have changed in other ways.

One of the things I like about Eberron is that it discourages you from painting your NPCs with such a wide brush, relative to other settings. Yes, Thrane is peopled with fanatics, yet there are exceptions everywhere, if you simply look beneath the surface. New Cyre ought to be the same. Yes, many of its inhabitants are despondent and lack the will to rebuild their lives. But there should be exceptions everywhere, if one takes more than a cursury look.
#7
focusgents
Feb 02, 2011 14:21:01 I definitely agree that Cyrans as a diaspora are a rich vein for storylines, and that they are unfairly discounted in the books and by the NPC's in general. But we also have to consider that all that land is just sitting there, contaminated or not, this is a huge resource. I think it will lead to an eventual war between Karrnath and Breland.

In the meantime, little clean-up efforts (like the Thousand-Yard Stare and Jorasco's land-healer Sahemi) are starting to bring civilization back into Cyre, so I think it's only a matter of decades before Khorvaire starts a real clean-up project (a la Superfund), and maybe only a century or two until Cyre is usable again.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bailey91 Nov 17, 2010 23:27:46	I've always wondered what will happen to the people of Cyre across the world as a result of having no homeland. Has anyone ever done anything with them as a people? I'd like to know so I can have some inspiration to use them as a plot device. They're my favorite culture in Eberron!
#2 naturax Nov 18, 2010 9:25:15	I haven't yet decided what I want to do with the Cyran diaspora on the whole in my campaign, but I love making use of Dannel's Wrath (described in City of Stormreach). I'd suggest featuring them an occasional antagonist across Khorvaire at the very least.
#3 Juums Nov 18, 2010 9:59:24	The Cyrans are, above all else, a building people: Wherever they settle, a flurry of new construction should follow, much as night does day. And if they settle in place that does not have need of things constructed from wood and stone, then they begin to construct cultural and institutional edifices. One of the things that always bugged me about how the sourcebooks depicted the Cyran diaspora was that it teetered between despondancy over what had happened to Cyre and angst or anger over its inability to find acceptance in the wider world. All of which rung rather hollow for me, as what I always thought the dominant theme of the Cyran diaspora would be rebuilding everything from their daily lives to the nation they had fled. I'm currently running a game where "rebuilding Cyre" is a major plot-point. By that, though, I do not mean "fixing" the Mournland: That is too big a task for my PCs, at least at this juncture. A little backstory is required to proceed: My vision of Eberron features Cyre, during the Last War, having utilized large-scale of internal colonization of its wilder realms -- modern-day Darguun, Valenar, and the Talenta Plains -- to establish some strategic depth. As a result, all of those nations include sizable post-war settler populations, though in Valenar and the Talenta Plains it's on the order of parity with the native halfing and elven populations. The leadership of the Cyran remnant is attempting to reforge Cyre out of its old possessions in the Talenta Plains and Valenar, as well as Q'barra. (The last of which was, after all, established by a Cyran noble and was colonized by predominantly by able-bodied Cyrans.) The PCs got involved by being signing up to join an expedition to Metrol to recover the Cyran crown jewels, as you can't very well crown Oargev king without those.
#4 dan_vk Nov 18, 2010 13:28:29	If I remember correctly (I will probably edit this later since I do not have any source books handy to verify this), only Breland was willing to take Cyran refugees. In my campaign, the Cyrans are analogous to the Jews after World War II but before the creation of Israel. King Boranel plays the role of President Truman in calling for nations to reform their treatment of these displaced people. He urges nations to work together in Throneport to find a place for the Cyrans to permanently relocate to. He also loosened immigration laws for Cyrans only. New Cyre began as a displacement camp but, over time, has become a large town like any other in Breland because its citizens are treated like immigrants and not refugees. In fact, the majority of them are immigrants, with only a few, like Prince Oargev, choosing to self-identify as Cyrans and not former Cyrans. Karrnath plays the role of Poland in that Cyrans began repatriating from Thrane to Karrnath (their pre-Mourning homes were near Vurgenslye) and were murdered by locals (like the Kielce pogrom).
#5 bailey91 Dec 02, 2010 0:50:57	I really do like that diaspora aspect of the Cyrans. They just have this angst that almost seems like a character in itself, especially in regards to their homeland. Somehow, I feel like no matter how atrocius the act, I could still sympathize with whatever they would do towards gaining a homeland. It definitely lend itself as a source of inspiration for anyone that wanted to play a dark anti-hero. I even had this idea of them somehow rallying support to attempt to purge Darguun or Valenar of its inhabitants in a horrible act of "reclaiming their homeland". Of course I'm sure there are some dark masterminds willing to lend aid to such a cause!
#6 yossarius Dec 25, 2010 16:21:41	One of the things that always bugged me about how the sourcebooks depicted the Cyran diaspora was that it teetered between despondancy over what had happened to Cyre and angst or anger over its inability to find acceptance in the wider world. All of which rung rather hollow for me, as what I always thought the dominant theme of the Cyran diaspora would be rebuilding everything from their daily lives to the nation they had fled. It occurrs to me that this could be interpreted as how outsiders might see them rather than how they really are. When you consider that peoples perceptions are tinted by their expectations, this would only made sense. What else would anyone expect of refugees than to be broken and lost? Certainly, some of them would be the way the books describe them. Others would have not changed at all, personality-wise, from who they were before the Mourning, and others still would have changed in other ways. One of the things I like about Eberron is that it discourages you from painting your NPCs with such a wide brush, relative to other settings. Yes, Thrane is peopled with fanatics, yet there are exceptions everywhere, if you simply look beneath the surface. New Cyre ought to be the same. Yes, many of its inhabitants are despondent and lack the will to rebuild their lives. But there should be exceptions everywhere, if one takes more than a cursury look.
#7 focusgents Feb 02, 2011 14:21:01	I definitely agree that Cyrans as a diaspora are a rich vein for storylines, and that they are unfairly discounted in the books and by the NPC's in general. But we also have to consider that all that land is just sitting there, contaminated or not, this is a huge resource. I think it will lead to an eventual war between Karrnath and Breland. In the meantime, little clean-up efforts (like the Thousand-Yard Stare and Jorasco's land-healer Sahemi) are starting to bring civilization back into Cyre, so I think it's only a matter of decades before Khorvaire starts a real clean-up project (a la Superfund), and maybe only a century or two until Cyre is usable again.