QuoteWhy Eberron Left Me Cold

Take a continent about the size of Asian Russia. Give it a population of around 15 million people. That's total, for the entire continent. Even with the technology available to the typical band of Homo erectus the place is underpopulated. There is no reasonable way those people are going to be able to support incipient agriculture, let alone a magical railroad. Hell, they don't even need agriculture, the resources available to hunter/gatherers are more than adequate to support their numbers.

With medieval technology good farmland can support a hundred or more people a square mile. What with wasteland and marginal terrain, figure an average of 50 people a square mile. So the continent of Khorvaire should have up to 375 million people. More if we're talking steam age technology, as exemplified by the lightning rail.

And where did the lightning rail come from? How did the basics develop, and why don't we see that level of technology in other areas of life? I mean, based on golems and constructs as they are, the warforged are almost plausible, but the lightning rail has no antecedents. As such it makes no damn sense whatsoever.

BTW, huge continent maps have a far different look than small island maps. The map for Khovaire looks like the map for a small island.

I'm a geographer/cartographer.
You are truly speaking my innermost thoughts.

Still, I love my Warforged Scout Scout.

QuoteWhy Eberron Left Me Cold

Take a continent about the size of Asian Russia. Give it a population of around 15 million people. That's total, for the entire continent. Even with the technology available to the typical band of Homo erectus the place is underpopulated. There is no reasonable way those people are going to be able to support incipient agriculture, let alone a magical railroad. Hell, they don't even need agriculture, the resources available to hunter/gatherers are more than adequate to support their numbers.

With medieval technology good farmland can support a hundred or more people a square mile. What with wasteland and marginal terrain, figure an average of 50 people a square mile. So the continent of Khorvaire should have up to 375 million people. More if we're talking steam age technology, as exemplified by the lightning rail.

And where did the lightning rail come from? How did the basics develop, and why don't we see that level of technology in other areas of life? I mean, based on golems and constructs as they are, the warforged are almost plausible, but the lightning rail has no antecedents. As such it makes no damn sense whatsoever.

BTW, huge continent maps have a far different look than small island maps. The map for Khovaire looks like the map for a small island.

I'm a geographer/cartographer.
You are truly speaking my innermost thoughts.

Still, I love my Warforged Scout Scout.

Quote from: BalbinusRe Over the Edge, the rules work very well.  The setting is adolescent shite that is just a bunch of US perceptions of what overseas is like written as if the authors had never flown further than Milwaukee, but the rules work very well for a light game set in a roughly contemporary setting.

I would never have thought of Over the Edge in that sense in the very least.  Rather, it is an RPG inspired by the truly wierd gonzo shit in the spirit of William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson, set in a third-world banana republic.

It isn't "realistic" in the least, but its not meant to be. Its supposed to be surrealistic, by definition. And I don't see it as very adolescent at all.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPunditI would never have thought of Over the Edge in that sense in the very least.  Rather, it is an RPG inspired by the truly wierd gonzo shit in the spirit of William S. Burroughs and Hunter S. Thompson, set in a third-world banana republic.

It isn't "realistic" in the least, but its not meant to be. Its supposed to be surrealistic, by definition. And I don't see it as very adolescent at all.

RPGPundit

I definitely see the Burroughs and Thompson influences, but things like noose neckties and frat houses in a European context are to be adolescent, not terribly surrealistic and in the latter case showing a profound ignorance that Europe is not America.

I was a bit harsh though, it has moments of surreal genius too and the Burroughs is very much there to be seen.  It is to Burroughs as UA is to Tim Powers so fair point.  But it does feel very American to me, I think it would work better if relocated to the Caribbean as it just has no European cultural feel to it at all.

I also think it suffers from having a bit too much in it, some of the ideas are great, some are a bit lame, and all at once means I can't believe it at all as it doesn't follow even twisted dream logic and so I cease to care.  There is a logic to the Interzone, albeit a symbolic logic.

Well, as I recall it, I haven't read Burroughs in about 20 years but as I recall stuff made thematic sense still.

Y'know what I like about OTE?  It's weird.  Like, I don't want to think too hard about it, it's so weird.  It's like this big mish-mash of cultural influences, SF, horror, paranoid delusions, weird science and surrealism.  I just look at it and go, "Baboon Rent-A-Cops?  Okay!  I'm down with that."

I'm totally turned off by Iron Heroes.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Y'know what I like about OTE?  It's weird.  Like, I don't want to think too hard about it, it's so weird.  It's like this big mish-mash of cultural influences, SF, horror, paranoid delusions, weird science and surrealism.  I just look at it and go, "Baboon Rent-A-Cops?  Okay!  I'm down with that."

Hmmm, I am becoming very tempted to sig your last line. Should the temptation overcome me, would you mind if I did?

Exalted - other than the cover of Savant & Sorcerer I don't see the appeal.

Quote from: Dr Rotwang!Y'know what I like about OTE?  It's weird.  Like, I don't want to think too hard about it, it's so weird.  It's like this big mish-mash of cultural influences, SF, horror, paranoid delusions, weird science and surrealism.  I just look at it and go, "Baboon Rent-A-Cops?  Okay!  I'm down with that."

That's fantastic.   And I agree.  OTE is one of those games where you just roll with the punches--accepting strangeness, the macabre, and the unknown just seems easier with OTE, somehow.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstThat's fantastic.   And I agree.  OTE is one of those games where you just roll with the punches--accepting strangeness, the macabre, and the unknown just seems easier with OTE, somehow.

I loved it for the setting. It was seething with coolness.

It was what got me to take a chance on the system.

Which of course, led me to hate the system.

I'd do the game in FUDGE, or a dozen other systems. I think OTE's system is a freaking joke.

Quote from: Mystery ManI'm totally turned off by Iron Heroes.

Really?  I'd be interested to hear what left you cold.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadI loved it for the setting. It was seething with coolness.

It was what got me to take a chance on the system.

Which of course, led me to hate the system.

I'd do the game in FUDGE, or a dozen other systems. I think OTE's system is a freaking joke.

I saw Over the Edge being born in the pages of Alarums and Excursions. Tweet's aim was to produce a game emulating the weirdness of the writings of William S. Burroughs, and he designed the system he did to illustrate the insane surrealism. He wanted it to be a disturbing, disquieting experience. From your reaction it would appear he succeeded.

The system he designed for Everyway was made that way to fit the feel he was going with that game.

Not a big fan of Exalted, either, but it's not really the game's fault - just my own personal druthers. I don't enjoy anime or manga - which I'm reminded of every time I see this line - and the setting isn't my cup of tea.

I know quite a few people who do enjoy it, though, so I'm sure for the right person it's a good game.

I think Exalted is much more anime/manga dependant than the kool-aid brigade is willing to admit.  They'll just too happy to tell you about how it's based on the Ramayana and the Metamorphoses and so on, right up until they launch into how the fights are JUST LIKE INU YASHA OMG.

I like Exalted, and it has everything to do with my enjoyment of fantasy manga.  If I wanted to play tragic high fantasy, there are six million ways to do it without cartoon broadswords and dinosaur-fu.  If I want to run Giant Robo in pan-Asian myth, Exalted's a perfect fit.

Quote from: fonkaygarryReally?  I'd be interested to hear what left you cold.

No one thing really, it just doesn't do it for me.

Avadnu is another one that just doesn't grab me at all.