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#1 azezel Jul 11, 2007 12:06:12

I should point out, at this very beginning, that 'the rules of the game' mentioned in the title of this thread are not those rules found in the manuals and handbooks. I speak not of the mechanics, the plus ones and the difficulty classes. I refer to the more fundamental, although unwritten rules. The basic assumptions that we make. The planet on which the game is set is indeed a planet – it's fairly spherical, orbits some variety of star and it has basic properties such as gravity, weather and a diurnal cycle. Obviously, these are all highly mutable, my own campaign setting is not a planet, but a disc with a hole in the middle, for example. Nevertheless, unless explicitly told otherwise, we expect these basic rules to be followed, we don't even ask 'This place has clouds, right?'. All well and good. There are other assumptions though. Other rules. A small band of heroes can shape the fate of the world, possibly some other worlds too. Silly words can turn a manticore into a vole of you say 'em well enough. That's also fine – we expected that when we arrived. We know there are rules. Our characters don't know the rules, but they know that the rules exist. As players, we know rather more, we know what these rules are – we agree them by consensus. Most important of all – the rules are consistent. I cannot stress that enough. The rules sooth that part of the brain that is supposed to tell you what is and is not real. For just a few hours on a Friday night, one can stop being whatever it is one has to be all week – it's Barbarianing time. Groovy. Then the rules are broken. A new player joins the group, she's brought a book with her. Yes, it's the Expanded Psionics handbook! Until now, everyone knew, in character and out, how magic works. The rules were absolute. A spellcaster can use a certain number of spells in any given day. And those spells are divided into groups. It's a simple rule, and it has always been consistent. But no more! The Psion's presence jars the gentle slumber of your brain. The suspension of disbelief, always so simple, requires work, if it can be achieved at all. A game I played in began as a very normal D&D game. It was fun. We did some heroing and we slew some ogres. The rules were intact and all was well. Then the aliens landed. It made no sense. Why had no-one ever suspected the existence of life on other worlds? The off-worlders worshiped the same gods – so why had these gods never told us of them? No Diviner ever divined them? Why had no planewalker ever encountered one on some exotic plane? To these and every other question, no answer ever came – because of course, there was no answer. The rules were broken and never again in that game could I feel any kind of immersion. Of course – that is as extreme an example as one could imagine. The more subtle versions, the introduction of psionics, say, is not nearly so catastrophic. Yet, the same result looms. The new player, the one with the Psion has another book. She lends it to the group, and suddenly, a Warblade is born. The rules are shattered into smaller peices. He is no spellcaster, yet his sword is sheathed in flame at his wish, and he does this as often as he cares, with a moment's preparation. Suspension of disbelief at this point is a distant memory. Things grow worse with every new rule set. With Tome of Magic, with Spell Points, by the time Incarnum rolls around, it's a free for all, no-one has a clue what's going on and no-one really has the energy to care. So what has this got to do with Eberron? Well, it goes something like this. Eberron claims to have room for every element of vanilla D&D, and for a boatload of new concepts. As anyone whose tried to assimilate Paladins, subjective morality and extremely remote 'deities' will tell you, this is stretching the truth a little. However, it goes deeper than that. It goes all the way down to the rules. When I sit down to play d20 Future, I'm prepared to accept the idea of faster-than-light travel. No matter how much my mind may baulk at the idea of real FTL, it's just a game – I'm prepared to make allowances. But my brain – and yours too, I suspect – only has so much capacity for this sort of thing. I can accept FTL, I can even take ideas like exploitable zero-point energy and, artificial gravity deck-plating on board. I can hold these concepts in my mind and still suspend my disbelief. None of the rules have been broken. It's all good in-genre stuff. The moment magic spells start flying – I remember where I am – in a dark room, rolling dice. (and yes, technomages count.) The same applies to fantasy games – I have no objection to sci-fi – I love it. But the moment spaceships land in front of my Wizard, the game is spoiled. Which brings me on to Eberron. You are asking me to simultaneously accept a high-tech noir setting full of robots and trains, and a world of wizards and knights. The two simply do not mix, there is no emulsifier which will force my brain to hold the two. There is no logic behind a world which has both. You are also asking me to accept a world with people granted divine powers by divinities which, apparently may not actually exist. Eberron makes no sense – I can forgive that – no fantasy world makes sense. Mine sure as hell doesn't. Just trying to picture the food-chain in a wilderness area with a tribe of ogres, some shocker lizards, the occasional bullette, some dire elk and bunnies nibling the grass makes my head hurt. What I ask, what I demand, is that the world be internally consistent. I demand it obeys the rules. I don't care what rules, so long as they are obeyed. Instead in Eberron I have a laundry list of exceptions, provisos and mutually exclusive double-blind catch twenty-twos. This piece is becoming dangerously long, and I know the attention span of the typical internet surfer – so I'd best draw to a close. I'd like to close by asking you a favour. Well, another one, I appreciate your reading this, so that counts. People of Eberron. Stop trying to sell me your campaign setting. It's been three years. At this point, every person on the WotC forums has heard of Eberron. In fact – there is an 'Eberron' button on the forums – right underneath a big red d20. You cannot miss it. Point is – word-of-mouth and recommendations are good, in fact, that is almost the only way our hobby grows, but Eberron is, at this point, beyond that. It is not an obscure third-party setting that needs all the help it can get. Everyone has heard of it – everyone with any interest in it has looked into it and either bought it, or decided that, on closer examination, it does not appeal. So here we are, I've justified my reasons. They are good enough for me. Please, stop trying to sell me on Eberron.