Introducing myself

[Eorla]

-Gaming systems you use
   D&D, D20, Seven Seas, and Scion
-General gaming history
   I was introduced to gaming late, a little over a year ago.  Before that I was blissfully unaware of the world of table top gaming.  Since then I have played most in the Forgotten Realms, with occasional forays into Eberron, Seven Seas, and a brief stint in Scion.  After our only two veteran gamers moved away, our gaming group was left with players who had played for as long (or as short) as I have, and I picked up the DM-ship.  Currently I am co-DMing a campaign that was originally supposed to be located in Faerun, but has been altered to the point that it is a hodgepodge of worlds and ideas.  I am looking for new ways and ideas to separate the world even more from the Realms, and give it's own style and feeling.
-Personal likes and dislikes
   In the real world my name is Kathleen, and I am university student.  I like reading, writing, linguistics, history, sagas, sailing, and the ocean.  I also like boring un-epic things like baking, which are fairly irrelevant here.  In gaming I like ideas, and the feeling of sinking into a world.  I am comfortable with the D20 system, but I am also occasionally frustrated when cumbersome game mechanics interfere with the illusion of reality in game.
-Strengths and weaknesses in game design
   My strengths lie in the larger scope of a game '" the larger story arc, and in characterizations.  I am weak in the are of implementing those ideas in the nitty gritty details of individual skirmishes.  I am fortunate to have a co-DM whose strengths counterbalance my own.  I am also a novice, and so I have inexperience to work against.  
-What published settings have you used/do you like?
   Forgotten Realms was the first world I used, and it is the setting that I'm the most familiar with.  I like Eberron but I find some things annoying within it.  
-Major influences on your world-building
   I hate to say Tolkien, but those are the books I grew up with.  The Earthsea Trilogy books also heavily shaped my idea of what magic is like.  I'm also influenced by more historical things '" Roman and Greek history, Norse Sagas, and the Crusades.  

[Ishmayl-Retired]

Welcome Kathleen, aka Eorla.  What can you tell us about your setting/world?  Also, where does the name "Eorla" come from?

[Eorla]

The current setting is in a jumbled transitional stage.  We are currently using the Faerun map, keeping a few names, and little else.  The Sea of Fallen Stars has kept it's name, so has the Savage Frontier (because how can you not love something called the Savage Frontier).  Cormyr has a different name, and a different king, but has still kept it's feeling of the typical medieval everytown.  The names of the deities have also remained. Everything else is gone, and major world players have been replaced by the idea of Academies - powerful martial or mage schools that affect the politics and economy of the surrounding regions.  We've also changed arcane magic to be a base of true name magic (sort of like how it is explained in the Tome of Magic book).  I don't know if it counts as being "making my own world" right now - but we are all new gamers, and the basic feeling was that we would start in the Realms because it was easy (for both us new DMs, and new players), and we have been changing things bit by bit as we grow more comfortable and sure in what we would prefer.  Right now it stills seems very Realmsy to me, but I have larger plans for what I want it to turn into.  
Eorla was the name of my first sailing boat - a tiny 6 foot dinghy with one sail.  I was a very big Tolkien fan when I was younger, and it was an attempt to change an elven word, presumably meaning "alone" into a feminine form (because the boat could only fit one small person and always looked sort of lonely by itself).  I'm fairly sure that it doesn't mean that at all, and that it was a botched attempt and that there are many elven afficionados out there ready to correct me, but I've always liked the way it sounded.  The boat met an untimely demise and I've used it as a screen name for as long as I've had screen names.

[Lmns Crn]

Eh, my own setting began as a very bland knockoff of the general PHB-flavored D&D setting-- that is to say, Greyhawk without any detail-- to which I had added a couple of races, some gods, and a crudely-drawn map. Everybody starts somewhere, and all of those starting places are derivative of something, to varying degrees. I'd say it counts.

Welcome to our little home away from home. I have a feeling you'll fit right in.

[LordVreeg]

Yes,
Welcome to you.

[blockquote=EORLA]and major world players have been replaced by the idea of Academies - powerful martial or mage schools that affect the politics and economy of the surrounding regions. We've also changed arcane magic to be a base of true name magic (sort of like how it is explained in the Tome of Magic book[/blockquote]
I liked this, By the way.  And your screen name story.

[Eorla]

Thanks, all.  Nice to meet you  :D

[Elemental_Elf]

Hi, I'm Elemental_Elf, nice to meet you!

I was intrigued by you use of the word 'Co-DM.' I've heard many people use the term before but I've never talked with a person who actually uses a Co-DM (or rather Co-DMs with another person). How does that work for you and in general? Is it fun?

Also, you said you find something annoying with Eberron. I'm curious to know what you find annoying. I ask this, as I ask all people who have problems with Eberron, because I get a different answer each time. Each of those answers helps me, as a DM, to understand flaws in my favorite pre-fab world, which in turn makes the world I present to my players better (when we use Eberron).

Anyways, nice to meet you. ^_^

[Eorla]

Nice to meet you too!
 As far as the Co-DMing goes - basically after our old DM moved away the party was almost entirely newbies, and none of us felt we were really "ready" to be a "real" DM.  But at the same time we still wanted to game.  Two of us got together and decided that we would finish up the campaign where the old DM had left off.  We would get together and talk about the general gist of things, and each do some research and pre-work.  During the game if one of us started to get a little overwhelmed, the other would pick up.  It was very haphazard.  We managed to end the campaign reasonably well considering how overwhelmed we felt (it was the first campaign either of us had ever played ever), and it was  a practical solution, but there were definitely flaws.  We both had ideas about where we wanted things to go, and were both afraid of stepping on the other's toes.  It was not the ideal situation, and I think that we both would have preferred playing with one good DM, and not having to worry about it.

For the new campaign, everyone has a little more experience under there belt.  Also it is co-run by myself and a different player,  and it is run much more simply - I think out the plot and the NPCs - I describe the towns that people enter, and do all of the "social" aspects of the game.  He only steps in during combat and he runs those portions. We recently finished a dungeon crawl which lasted several gaming sessions and was run almost entirely by the other DM - that allowed me a break to spend a lot of time planning what was going to happen when the finally got back to town, and him some time to show off his dungeon making skills.   I hope that is not too long winded of a reply.  But basically - it is fun, and it has worked wonderfully so far, but I think mostly because we do different things.

As far as Eberron goes - I loved the new halflings! Dinosaurs!  Boomerangs!  How exciting!  But for some reason the Houses bugged me a little.  I think I maybe interpreted the marks a little differently when I first read them, and then when I read further the house would be different than what I had hoped.  I always felt like I should like them, but then didn't. I constantly wanted to say "well can't the houses be like this instead?"   Also, and you are going to laugh at me - I missed the old pretty elves.  I liked the new ones, I thought they were interesting, but in the end, I missed the old ones.

[Eorla]

Also - the reasons for sharing the DMship this time around are different.  The first time I had a coDM basically because I did not feel ready to do it by myself, but there was no other option.  Now, I  would feel confident running this game by myself, as would my coDM.  However, neither of us have the time to devote to beginning a new campaign by ourself.  This cuts the work load in half, and plays to both of our strong suits.  Okay, enough, I'm done rambling. Time to sleep.

[Elemental_Elf]

That's an interesting system you set up with your co-Dm. Its actually pretty cool because both of you play off your strengths, which makes for a better game all around! I have a question though, what happens when your Co-Dm is doing combat? Do the two of you share a character or do you wait on the sidelines for the combat to finish?

As for Eberron, I can understand your reasoning fairly well. Its always a bummer to think and love that something is one way then find out it is a different. That happened to me as well, though with a friend's homebrew setting but that's beside the point. The easiest way to eliminate your problem with Eberron, is to simply re-interpret the Houses to what you like or just de-emphasize them. A friend of mine runs an Eberron game that has no Warforged, no Dragonmarked House and now Dinosaurs. Its still feels like Eberron, in most ways... Anyways, every setting should be run the way you like it because if it isn't than you're probably not having fun! ^_^

Also, I had to laugh about your Elf comment. I agree with you, pretty old elves are missed, though I like the new ones almost as much, lol.

[psychoticbarber]

Greeting to Eorla! I used to do tweaking of D&D settings, oh yes I did, and I know exactly where you're coming from. I have decided to go back to my first system love (The Hero System, much like GURPS, only slightly less insane), however, because of my frustration with D&D, so I'm not sure my up-and-coming (I'll put something together soon, I promise) setting will even work in D&D.

[Eorla]

I have a question though, what happens when your Co-Dm is doing combat? Do the two of you share a character or do you wait on the sidelines for the combat to finish?

Hmmm - well, I don't know if this is bad form or not - but we actually both have characters.  We try very hard to be unbiased.  And we try to save a few surprises for each other.  

[Elemental_Elf]

I have a question though, what happens when your Co-Dm is doing combat? Do the two of you share a character or do you wait on the sidelines for the combat to finish?

Hmmm - well, I don't know if this is bad form or not - but we actually both have characters.  We try very hard to be unbiased.  And we try to save a few surprises for each other.  

So long as your players don't mind, it is not bad form ^_^