tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139498400908952220.post4640343843006797533..comments2024-02-11T22:33:45.430-08:00Comments on Baker's Field: Fantastic Horror, Benghazi, The NutcrackerRichard Bakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10329182427795648081noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139498400908952220.post-24332470931921423322012-11-25T17:01:47.966-08:002012-11-25T17:01:47.966-08:00Hi, Nicolas -- I think Eberron was a missed opport...Hi, Nicolas -- I think Eberron was a missed opportunity because 7-8 years ago steampunk was beginning to surge in popularity. Ten years ago, I'd walk around GenCon and see scores and scores of interesting fantasy costumes in the convention-going crowd. Five years ago, all of the sudden, half of those costumes were steampunk costumes instead. I saw the same thing in the costume pieces sold by vendors at the show. Eberron was well-timed to be the D&D steampunk setting; a stronger focus on the steampunk features of the setting might have paid off in a big way. That doesn't necessarily mean that Eberron would have been *better* as a steampunk setting, but I sure think it could have been more commercially successful. Moving on to issues of personal tastes, I feel that Eberron suffers a bit from the "kitchen-sink" phenomenon that afflicts RPG settings. In my experience, so much is invested in the effort to create and sell a new world, it's very tempting to try to find something for *everybody* to like and put it in that setting. It would have been a more focused and, well, marketable idea if the key beats were more strongly featured and not diluted by competing ideas. My suggestion is that steampunk D&D could have been that key beat, and would have worked quite well--imagine if all the attention paid to dragonmarks (for instance) had been devoted to steampunk mechanics and themes. But if a steampunk D&D setting wasn't what you were looking for, well, you would naturally hold a different opinion.Richard Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10329182427795648081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4139498400908952220.post-41246261343986718122012-11-25T05:33:16.312-08:002012-11-25T05:33:16.312-08:00Hi Rich. I would like to ask you why you think Ebe...Hi Rich. I would like to ask you why you think Eberron was a missed opportunity. I find it as my favorite CS alongside Birthright, and feel that perhaps its designers intentionally decided to not make it steampunk but follow several inspirations and make it something unique. Any insights on the setting from when you worked in WoTC? Thanks!Nicolás Carrillo Santarellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07787122481885960272noreply@blogger.com