Dungeons & Dragons Online Designer Diary #1

Turbine's Ken Troop has penned the first designer diary for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach over at GameSpot, in which he discusses the reasoning behind why the Eberron setting was chosen for the game. Check it out:
All I know is this: It's much easier to create a character in the Eberron milieu that makes sense, that feels right. And though many people will make their campaigns sing in that fashion, regardless of the world setting, it's refreshing for the whole world to be so ripe in purpose and identity that you have a plethora of vibrant character backgrounds and motivations to choose from.

So that was my personal reaction to Eberron. But there was also that whole "Was it a good setting for the game?" question to consider. The Eberron sourcebook listed a number of characteristics of an Eberron adventure. Here is an excerpt of a summary I wrote for the team about two years ago on the tone of Eberron: "Player characters are heroes! Player characters are not slightly better than run-of-the-mill commoners, they are far better. They are heroes, unique and powerful in Eberron. Cliffhanger action! From the book, Eberron is about edge-of-your-seat action. Combats should be fast and furious... The odds will be tight and the stakes should be high. Excitement! Danger! Eberron has a very pulp-action feel to it. This is reflected in the diversity of settings and the long history behind the world."