Mabar mobs are disappointing

[Chaimberland]

I was actually glad to hear about the non-undead in Mabar now. I get the theme and agree undead should be prevalent, but one problem with the event has always been how some classes tear through the mobs while others are almost useless. I play just one character and will likely be a rogue when Mabar comes around this year and I'm hopefully maybe I'll actually be useful against something in there.

Use disruption weapons.

[Havok.cry]

Shadar-kais are not creepy either anyway. They are just boring. If they HAVE TO put new mobs in here, I'd like much more werewolves, rats, hags, takens.

I agree with this mostly, except for semantics. I just don't think shadar kai should be in it because they are not from ebberon. Everything else you mentioned is.

[Qaliya]

I guess part of it is interpretation. I always thought of Mabar as a Halloween themed event, not a specifically undead event.
...
I'd also be okay with goblins, witches, bats, and other things in there.

Good point... especially given the timing and the pumpkins everywhere.

While obviously some people want every single mob to be undead, that's not carved in stone anywhere and in no way "ruins" the event. It makes it more interesting than just having the same 6 mob types or whatever.

I do agree that the Faerun/Eberron crossover is pretty bizarre from a lore standpoint, though.

Use disruption weapons.

.. which inconveniently have stopped dropping, I believe. I may have to resort to swinging my triple-positive maul, despite being in no way spec'ed for it.

ETA: Those pretending that undead don't have a specific immunity that makes rogues ill-equipped to deal with them and thus far, far less efficient than many other classes are simply wrong. You can kill any mob with any character, but some are much better at certain types than others.

[TrinityTurtle]

Shadar-kais are not creepy either anyway. They are just boring. If they HAVE TO put new mobs in here, I'd like much more werewolves, rats, hags, takens.

OMG! THis is why I would fail as a developer. Not only did I forget the werewolves, but I also forgot the hags , rats, and takens. *bangs head on desk* I guess I should be happy I thought of the ones I did. And spiders. Spiders are great for Halloween. I think they could add a bit to the décor too, maybe drop a few bodies lying amid the pretty pumpkins to gore it up a bit. Or just bits of bodies.

Although I still think Succubi (as demons) and Shadar-kai (as grisly serial killer types) still fit, although I do acknowledge you don't find them creepy looking like I do.

And for those who are stuck on the Faerun/eberron split, please go to Dejuba's (spelling?) post. It's enlightening.

[ericrd]

ime an old person i find all change initially upsetting

ime not against new mobs but why shads and succubi instead of the many more halloweeny type mobs in game

hags,werewolfs,will o wisps and others ime sure ime forgeting

as for the clericcentric comment from some posts earlier in thread ALL caster types rule in mass spawn situations like these

first 2 events i ran on my wiz,he killed just fast as the clerics i ran later...a two handed cleaveing toon does pretty well also

[Urist]

So we're getting succubi and goths? That's not really as much to do with Halloween itself as with office parties and trick-or-treating.
What's next? Kobolds in Elvis costumes? Night Hags dressed as sexy nurses?

[Drwaz99]

I believe it's pretty obvious: it's a (poor) attempt at promoting the "Xpack". Toss elements of the Xpack into a FTP event (I think it's FTP, I've always been VIP so don't know for sure. Delera's is Premium, so maybe not) in order to pull in and bolster possible waning sales. It makes sense from that standpoint - and makes sense as a marketing ploy in regards to how Turbine seems to strategize in this area. It also explains the lack of a explanation. They never comment on marketing.

However, if there a packs of invisible assassins running around hitting for 150-300 pts of damage like they do in quests I'm not going to be very happy. It will become very annoying, very fast.

[silinteresting]

after i moaned earlyier in this thread ive come to a important conclusion.

MABAR MABAR MABAR

your friend sil

[dejafu]

Shadar-Kai DO NOT BELONG in an Eberron themed Event!

Sure they do, since SHADAR-KAI DO EXIST IN EBERRON !

Back when Eberron was first being promoted as a setting by Wizards, the #1 thing that was listed in the "Ten Things You Need to Know About Eberron" was "If it exists in D&D, then it has a place in Eberron." Usually with a different backstory, but the concept and rules are all there.

I've been a hardcore Eberron fan from the day the setting was first released, but I'm always baffled by other fans of the setting who complain about adding new supplement material to it because it "didn't belong in Eberron." Everything belongs in Eberron. It was designed to be that way.

[Havok.cry]

Sure they do, since SHADAR-KAI DO EXIST IN EBERRON !

Note that that is 4e lore, not 3.5e lore. I don't recall any mention of shadar-kai in ebberon in any 3-3.5 edition lore, the setting the game is based on.

[TrinityTurtle]

Note that that is 4e lore, not 3.5e lore. I don't recall any mention of shadar-kai in ebberon in any 3-3.5 edition lore, the setting the game is based on.

So we can't expand with the modern lore of the setting, but only use the out of print lore because that is what the mechanic rules were based on? I find the idea really sad and disheartening as a player in this game. While I'd agree mechanics should be treated carefully, as I have zero idea how compatible they would be with 3/3.5, I think lore should be open and reflect all the possibilities of a setting, not closed down to one specific edition set.

[dejafu]

Note that that is 4e lore, not 3.5e lore. I don't recall any mention of shadar-kai in ebberon in any 3-3.5 edition lore, the setting the game is based on.

Shadar-kai first appeared in the 3rd edition Fiend Folio.

The #1 rule of Eberron from day 1 is that "if it exists in D&D, then it exists in Eberron."

So even if you buy into the tired argument that 4e material "doesn't count," there is still precedent for Shadar-Kai in Eberron.

I much prefer TrinityTurtle's argument, but in recognition of the way that setting-purist logic works, I submit the above.

[nibel]

So having non-undeads in an undead themed event is WAI?

Wow. Just wow.

Mabar is NOT a undead-themed plane. It is the Plane of Night, and have focus on darkness and evil.

The undead-themed plane is Dolurrh.

In the new cosmology, both are located inside the Shadowfell.

[TrinityTurtle]

Mabar is NOT a undead-themed plane. It is the Plane of Night, and have focus on darkness and evil.

The undead-themed plane is Dolurrh.

In the new cosmology, both are located inside the Shadowfell.

No real point here, just a turtle hug for her Mossa! And a question...Dolurrh. The way my son described it to me (he plays way more Eberron than I do) is that it's the plane of the dead, and everyone goes there regardless of how they lived their lives and faces the same decay into apathy and despair. Is that really how the plane works or is the offspring having one over on old mom who spends most of her gaming time in Faerun, Ravenloft, and Greyhawk?

[Varinox]

Sure they do, since SHADAR-KAI DO EXIST IN EBERRON !

Eww, you made me look at a 4th Edition Forum *shudder* Pass the Brain Bleach!

Back when Eberron was first being promoted as a setting by Wizards, the #1 thing that was listed in the "Ten Things You Need to Know About Eberron" was "If it exists in D&D, then it has a place in Eberron." Usually with a different backstory, but the concept and rules are all there.

Finish reading what you Linked/Quoted:

1. If it exists in D&D, then it has a place in Eberron. A monster or spell or magic item from the core rulebooks might feature a twist or two to account for Eberron's tone and attitude, but otherwise everything in the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual has a place somewhere in Eberron.

I can't find Shadar-Kai in my Players Handbook, Monsters Manual or Dungeon Masters Guide.

The main reason I'm opposed to it is they just seem very much not Ebberon to me and I would much rather see effort spent on making Eberron more distinct from other places, instead of making it more bland.

Despite that, if they introduce the Shadar-Kai into Eberron properly with the aforementioned backstory, I wouldn't have any objections.

However, just dumping the Shadar-Kai, introduced in a Faerun Expansion, and currently only found in Faerun, into an Eberron themed event with no backstory, rhyme or reason is just wrong on so many levels.

I've been a hardcore Eberron fan from the day the setting was first released, but I'm always baffled by other fans of the setting who complain about adding new supplement material to it because it "didn't belong in Eberron." Everything belongs in Eberron. It was designed to be that way.

It was designed so everything could belong, not that everything did belong.

Just because something is created for a different setting, doesn't mean it should be diluted by instantly being put in every other setting, otherwise why don't we just throw the Orbs of Dragonkind into Eberron, along with Faerun as a previously undiscovered continent and oh why not Cannibal Halflings and Dragon Kings for good measure!

Some differentiation and distinction between settings is nice, even when it's possible for the characters to move between them.

[Saravis]

I believe it's pretty obvious: it's a (poor) attempt at promoting the "Xpack".

Which is kind of funny, with how much of a killing grind Mabar is, people would be more likely to get sick of Shadar-kai than they would be to find any interest in them.

[Vordax]

OMG! THis is why I would fail as a developer. Not only did I forget the werewolves, but I also forgot the hags , rats, and takens. *bangs head on desk* I guess I should be happy I thought of the ones I did. And spiders. Spiders are great for Halloween. I think they could add a bit to the décor too, maybe drop a few bodies lying amid the pretty pumpkins to gore it up a bit. Or just bits of bodies.

Werewolves wouldn't fit the plane of night theme. I can see shadar kai. But werewolves are pretty much extinct in Eberron. If a bunch were found in one spot like a graveyard, Thrane and the silver flame would probably send a huge military force to kill them.

[Krelar]

Werewolves wouldn't fit the plane of night theme. I can see shadar kai. But werewolves are pretty much extinct in Eberron. If a bunch were found in one spot like a graveyard, Thrane and the silver flame would probably send a huge military force to kill them.

That sounds exactly like what our role in the event is.

[TrinityTurtle]

That sounds exactly like what our role in the event is.

Great, now I have "Who you gonna call...GHOSTBUSTERS!" stuck in my head.

[Miow]

Where are the bone dragons...sad face.