Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 johnsnow Nov 05, 2009 12:00:53	Good people of the forums, I have a conundrum! I wasn't sure exactly where to post it, so I put up one thread in "Running Eberron" but I figure this is really about campaign-building, so this seemed like a place to get some good feedback. Regardless, this is probably where I want to be for feedback as I put the campaign together. That said, let me move on. I'm very fond of many of the elements of the Eberron setting. I've often said that Eberron was similar to the setting that was kicking around in my head that I never gave form to. However, similar is not exact. There are some "weird" elements to Eberron that I could do without, and there are some aspects of other settings that I'd like to work in as well. That said, I'm looking at a setting that shares 50-75% of its elements with Eberron. What I can't decide is whether to: a) start with Eberron as a base and cut, spindle and mutilate; or: b) start with a blank sheet and port in the Eberron elements I like - even if it's a lot of them. The first is, obviously, easier. The second would, I think, make for a more interesting setting in the long run, but I'm concerned about how much of it would be derivative. Now, it's not a huge issue with my current players, because I don't think any of them are familiar with Eberron, and so I doubt it would feel like a "ripoff" setting to them. So in a sense, the "problem" is all in my head. Just to give some specifics: Things I Like: Medieval fantasy, swashbuckling action, Pulp-noir, intrigue, world-spanning adventures, Warforged, Shifters, the Last War, Elemental Airships & Galleons, the Sovereign Host, the Dark Six, the Silver Flame, the Dragonmarked Houses, some Organizations, Sharn, Xen'drik, some Nations. Things I Dislike: Aerenal Elves, Shadow Marches Orcs, Talenta Halflings, Khorvaire's geography, Sending Stones, elemental land carts, other organizations, other Nations. Things I'm Not Sure About: the Lightning Rail, Gnomes, the Mournland. Things I Want to Add/Modify: Athas-like Sorcerer-Kings (a few), Goliaths, Devas. Obviously, some of categories 2 & 3 could be put into category 4. But I wanted to call out a few things specifically. One idea I had was to modify the Mournland and put some Dark Sun sensibility into it. So, anybody have any comments?
#2 silvercatmoonpaw Nov 05, 2009 13:43:42	Things I Like: Medieval fantasy, swashbuckling action, Pulp-noir, intrigue, world-spanning adventures, Warforged, Shifters, the Last War, Elemental Airships & Galleons, the Sovereign Host, the Dark Six, the Silver Flame, the Dragonmarked Houses, some Organizations, Sharn, Xen'drik, some Nations. Things I Dislike: Aerenal Elves, Shadow Marches Orcs, Talenta Halflings, Khorvaire's geography, Sending Stones, elemental land carts, other organizations, other Nations. Things I'm Not Sure About: the Lightning Rail, Gnomes, the Mournland. Things I Want to Add/Modify: Athas-like Sorcerer-Kings (a few), Goliaths, Devas. You mention that you dislike some geography and regional race variants.  That suggests you're not wedded to the physical arrangement of those elements. You mention you like Sharn, flying ships, and warforged but don't like (or are not sure about) most of the rest of the magitech elements.  That suggests you feel closer to more traditional expressions of technology-like magic. I would say from this it's likely you'll get more out of the experience if you rearrange everything on a blank.
#3 shadowhntr7 Nov 05, 2009 14:25:54	Simply throwing half of Eberron and half of something else, plus dashes of a few other things, will seem rather unreleastic and off-putting. For that reason, I'd suggest building ground-up (or top-down if there are specific things you HAVE to have). If, for instance, Sharn is thrown as itself into your campaign, then why not just play Eberron? Instead, make something similar and relevant without ripping off another setting. Port towns, especially those at the major waterways, will always be more prosperous and settled than other, inland places. Maybe the 'new Sharn' is nestled in mountains, with two sides of the city protected by mountains and a third the sea/major river. As population grows, they expand into the mountains, creating a city out of the mountainside. That would be a good way to find dungeons, as well- over time, abandoned areas will accumulate, or perhaps miners stumbled upon a slumbering dragon.
#4 sfurtwangler Nov 06, 2009 8:45:37	If your players have had ANY exposure to Eberron, I would suggest that you start with a fresh slate, and bring in thigns you like (even if it is a lot). Why? Because if your players think your campaign world is "Eberron, with some changes" they are likely to fill in the gaps of anything you have not explicitly changed with what they know about Eberron, even if you intend to change that bit. If, instead, they get the idea that your world is "not Eberron, but has a few things from Eberron in it" then the default assumption becomes that your world is un-like Eberron, except where you have said that it is the same. Then, if your players are not sure if something from Eberron exists in your world, in the same fashion, they would be more likely to ask, rather than to assume that it is there just because Eberron has it.