Man I know it probably isn't in the plan, but talking about the Shadow Marches, the Eldeen Reaches, and the influence of the Dragonmarked houses would be a great 2nd video.
@@AcranifyAs a longtime Eberron DM, my advice is to start with Sharn. The adventures in both the 3rd and 4th edition Eberron core books are set there and serve as great jumping off points for campaigns.
"Yes, hello, Dungeon Masterpiece? Can I get two units of geopolitical fundamentals delivered to my veins? "...why, yes, I am a Tremere Anarch. "...yes, I'll hold."
I am a massive Eberron fanboy and this was great, please if you can find it in your schedule to make more videos on the setting please do. It's so hard to find good content on this particular world setting.
See THIS is the stuff that I find deeply intriguing about Ebberon and why I would love to play in a campaign in the setting. Dealing with the possibility of another war, or trying to prevent it? It’s so intriguing. Hell for a bit I had a character lined up for this who wanted to invent a big ol’ mechanical dragon, wanting protect people from dragon attacks. Fighting fire with fire if you will. But watching this video I realized I effectively would have been playing the guy who invented rocket powered flight only to be met with the very real prospect of them being used for Nuclear missiles.
@@sentientwaffle535 It's okay. All the lore from 3e is still valid since they don't advanced Eberron's time line. The Noir focus in 5e Eberron only comes about because Guildmaster's Guide to Ravinica thematically overlaps the Dragonmarked Houses and much of the dungeon punk adventuring style has been pulled into 5e in general. Granted, the dungeonpunk thing in 5e happened because we Eberron fanboys are noisy and didn't want to wait for a splat to start playing Eberron in 5e. And the Artificer still doesn't quite feel right.
Woohoo, Eberron! I don't know that Thrane actually has the power to expand like that, though they definitely have the imperative to. The Aundarians and Brelish would be united against them, and Droaam and the Eldeen Reaches would be very motivated to join them, considering the history of the Silver Flame in those nations. Add to this how dominant Breland is in Industry, and Aundair's magical prowess, and I don't think paladins are going to be able to do anything other than kick off the other nations fighting over what parts of Thrane they get to keep afterwards. Their opening might be if Aundair's extremist history with the church breaks the nation before the war, with religions/conservative separatists who undermine Aundair's ability to function before any conflict kicks off...in which case, I would see Aundair itself being the central instigator of conflict, but already joined with Thrane. That said, I would love some analysis of the non-Five Nation regions of Khorvaire, since they might end up as a very important factor in the coming conflicts.
It probably starts in Thaliost. Thranian oppressive occupation and the broken economic system due to the ruined Whitebridge have agitated the desperately impoverished Aundairan community. It will go badly.
I mean, that's if they go it alone. I can see Thrane reaching out to Karrnath, whose King is trying to shed their ties to the Blood of Vol, and offering parts of Aundair, as well as promises for forgiveness for their old apostasy. Meanwhile both nations would be planning to stab the other in the back as soon as Aundair was conquered. It might end up being much like Germany and the Soviet Union working together to invade Poland in WW2. Thrane would probably think they could easily deal with the Karrnathi undead armies with their holy troops later. An attack into Breland with an alliance with either Valenar, Darguun, or Droam would be less about taking portions of Breland (at first) and more about stopping them from intervening in the invasion of Aundair.
@@gkbur85 yes, the king is trying to shed their ties to the Blood of Vol, and a German/Soviet WW2 dynamic is kind of what they’d be going for…but offering just parts of Aundair but I don’t think that they would go for it…at this point. Aundair would present Karrnath with the same issues it does with Thrane…and the Church of the Silver Flame would certainly be something the Karrn king would be wary of joining in an alliance, even if he’s attempting to get rid of the Blood of Vol. I actually think it is more likely that Aundair and Thrane combine into a theocratic nationalist alliance/nation, at this point.
They have the population, food, and border advantage against Aundair specifically, Aundair just makes trench warfare costly on the defense. I think between Thrane and Breland, though, I agree with Baron that Thrane just needs to fight over the 'easy' areas and hold trade routes to isolate Breland and make them want to negotiate. The *real* question is whether Thrane could take Passage like the video implies.
i don't think they're in a great situation to achieve much of anything, but i think the point was they see themselves as in such a bad situation they'll feel they have to start something, which could probably plunge the whole region back into turmoil based on the lore I'd say Karrnath is another big powederkeg for this, but they're at least a little contained by where they've found themselves now
Very interesting analysis. One thing to point out is that the Mournland incident would be the trigger point for the destabilization of the region. In our history, the Krakatoa eruption in the 500s was the trigger event that is considered the boundary between the ancient world and the modern world. After the massive eruption, the next few hundred years saw the beginning of the modern world as the ancient nations fell because of the effects of the eruption. In this world, having an event such as the coming of the fog would start to destabilize the region and would certainly trigger a change of the political landscape.
Dude... you've really outdone yourself with this one. I was never interested in Eberron until now. But also this really helped convey how to apply this stuff to my own setting.
What's interesting is that all the things people tout as the interesting parts of the setting are the things that I was least interested in and it kept me turned off from the setting. I'm actually interested in playing in this setting now that I've done this video.
It's been a long time since I ran an Eberron campaign and I forgot that the setting isn't just detailed but that it's full of not just adventure hooks but campaign hooks each of which can easily spin off into all kinds of complex emergent story lines. Such a great setting, I wish it got more love.
Keith Baker actually published an article about this subject called "the Near Future". The queen of Aundair very much wants another war, but isn't going to start one unless she has some reason to believe that Aundair will win. Some suggestions that Keith threw out include developing some powerful superspell that nobody has, an unbeatable alliance with Empire of Riedra, etc.
Thrane’s situation has long struck me as that of Lothar I (grandson of Charlemagne, one of the three brothers who inherited the Carolingian empire after Charlemagne’s son passed)-and the fact that they’re either going to have to conquer or be conquered is something I ponder sometimes staring at the map. This video was fantastic - thank you!
This was an amazing video. I'm running an Eberron campaign at the moment and this has given me a few ideas on how to bring other nations into the currently very Breland-focussed game. I know a lot of other people in the comments are echoing this, but more Eberron videos alongside your other planned projections would be great!
Thank you for this video, I really enjoyed it and I gave me some fun ideas for a meta plot for a Eberron campaign I’ve been working up! I hope you’ll do more, I’d love to hear a bit more about Aundair which was my characters home in my longest running ebberon game and a nation I got strongly attached to. Also I’d love to hear more about the politics of the periphery states.
I do enjoy how you broke down Thrane's relationship to their neighbors. It sparks a few ideas of a political intrigue story that could be explored. Furthermore, while you didn't touch on the subject, the destain that the most militant members of the Church of the Silverflame has against lycanthropes and how it extends to Shifters in the Eldeen Reach makes for a fascinating area of discussion as I always looked at it that the Church would want to control the Reaches and establish a vassal state... and all the resources the land could provide their military needs for the ambitious project of consolidating the entirety of the north in the name of their church.
I don't even play TT D&D proper, but I've been getting back into DDO lately and reading through Rising from the Last War. I just immensely enjoy worldbuilding. This channel is a gem for me, so skillfully edited and professionally done while giving real world history lessons. Instantly subbed! Ps. Read another comment that recommended other non-D&D settings, and I completely second that motion!
Wow, you impress us with each new video! Your geopolitical analysis videos are so fun and insightful to watch, even to my friends who don't play Dungeons & Dragons. You might want to consider branching out this series to a few non-D&D ips, like the world of Tamriel in the Elder Scrolls Series or Middle-Earth!
Aerenal elves are content to sit on their archipelago, with only minimal interference in the outside world. The Undying Court is also unable to properly project its power elsewhere. They are safe defensively, but they wouldn't be able to take over Khorvaire through either economic or military means themselves if they've tried. Dragons of Argonessen certainly have the power, but not the will to mess with the outside world after what happened the last time they did. Anything they do, they do as individuals or small interest groups. They are themselves pretty impervious to outside influences. Riedra is working on the whole "ruling the world" part, but prefers to use subversive and subtle means, even though they'd likely be able to take over Khorvaire through military action if they wanted to, but their primary concern is stability.
We play the same eberron campaign for around 5 years and this was amazing! It's nice to take a step back sometimes and get a better look at things. Please make part 2 talking about the dragon houses power struggle within this complex geopoliticl situation.
Please, please god consider a follow-up video. You should be incredibly proud of this. I'm a huge fan of Eberron, but it has a 'no-loose-thread' problem, where the situation is generally tense but stable whenever you restart a game at 998YK, war just ended and everyone is afraid of magical dirty bombs. An additional video just talking about 'these are the most likely groups to act out first in peactime and why and how long would they wait' would just be a critical asset to players of this setting specifically.
I hope you revisit Eberron in this series. Khorvaire is very large and complex. For example you only touched on Aundair, who, next to Cyre, lost the most in the last war. Thaliost was Aundair’s capital and the Eldeen reaches, while never particularly loyal was all Aundairan before the treaty as well. But despite its smaller size is significant because of its agriculture and the lighting rail hub of passage.
Truely excellent video. Eberron remains a very impressive remix of standard DnD and the worldbuilding displayed in the geography and politics of a world moving beyond feudalism through magical and technological advances.
Thank you for making this video. It was inspiring for a politcal intrigue campaign. I look forward to a second video looking at the other nations of Khovaire.
As someone that occasionally plays Risk, I can confirm that it is better to take over 4 territories so you can defend only one border, rather than sit and defend 3 borders.
I'm a big fan of Eberron and I am thoroughly impressed by the quality and thought put into this video. Instantly subscribed and I hope to see more Eberron content and maybe deepdives on individual nations.
Ooooh finally, going to devour this video. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but: the thumbnail has a typo! It should be Eberron, not Ebberon (it's so common that this is the rogue/rouge of D&D settings, though)!
Great video, brother! Been excited for this one. Eberron is one of the settings that I have spent the least time in, but it always seemed an interesting candidate for a geopolitical analysis. Thanks for an interesting watch and some great food for thought.
Interesting video! In my version, based on other historical and geopolitical anecdotes, it is Breland which will trigger the war. Brelish see themselves as superior in terms of their parliamentary political system (especially if the prime minister succeeds in its plot) and the vanguard of freedom. That, tied with its superior industrial arms production (and ties to a Cannith branch) will likely lead it to expansionist aggressive wars in the name of “freeing” others to prevent future attacks (ala preemptive self defense arguments, which the UN deemed unlawful) and “liberating” other peoples, akin to the Napoleonic wars post French Revolution and US attacks against other countries (plus, leadership can be decisive, and Jaela the current Speaker of the Flame is a pacifist tolerant one who seeks reconciliation)
Breland does have the potential to spawn a Robespierre or Napoleon once the old Bear dies and they have no reason to obey his useless children. Though one of Breland's wastrel heirs is getting Rekkenmark training and may be more competent than thought/
I am playing in an Eberron setting with a Q'barran lizardfolk. So to hear the description "The human State of Q'barra", while true in the international diplomacy sense, felt funny, haha. I would love to see more videos explaining the relations between the nations and groups of Eberron or other DnD settings! You explain it so nicely using real-life examples, I like it.
I think a follow-up video looking at some of the non-government groups that could bring an end to the tentative peace in Khorvaire (intentionally or otherwise) would be interesting - the Swords of Liberty, the Dragonmarked Houses, the Lords of Dust, maybe even criminal organizations like the Boromar Clan and Daask.
My group plays in a version of eberron 30 years after our party killed the lord of blades in a previous campaign, after which my character worked with the warforged factions to build Hearth, a nation for the warforged in the Mournlands. At this point Hearth is an emerging power, and a pariah among the Five Nations. Then they finish building a mechanical God and it breaks the Hearth's beloved warhero/criminal out of Dreadhold, sparking the Second Last War. I didn't intend for this comment to be this long but geopolitics are one of my favorite parts of worldbuilding
Good stuff. I would toss out a corollary for Karrnath. While its isolated from "the West", "the West" is also isolated from Karrnath. While the western nations all politically maneuver and maybe even fight, the Karns can quietly consolidate all of the East. It does not have to purely military action - for example, it could be a greater prosperity sphere of influence. Also military assistance to Mror Holds (against the horrors from below) and the Halfings against the Valenar would essentially take over those areas (look at the population sizes - Karrnath is population dense in comparison to all its land neighbors combined). Even if there is military action in the east, are the western nations going to risk all out war to stop Karrnath in the Talenta Plains? I think old Kaius III saw the opportunity to rebuild and expand in the east when Cyre blew up (his military check in the east), thus he was a big proponent of the Treaty. Even with the potential rise of a power from the Mournland, only Karrnath can easily fight there via the undead legions. I could even see an early non-aggression pact where Karrnath helps get Warforged to the Mournland in exchange for getting preserved Karn bodies out to then be reanimated. Yes he will have to fight them later, but its akin to the Germany/Soviet Union non-aggression pact in the late 1930s. Just goes to show the potential of this setting.
It is unfair to call Thaliost separatists because the city is ex capital of Aundair occupied by Thrane. Leaving the city with occupiers was probably the most unfair part of Thronehold treaty.
Agree, there are a lot of cool facts like this - but they are basically obscure lore and not necessarily are possible to deduce from just looking at the map
My favourite published setting being covered by you is a perfect treat. This is an excellent analysis at the issues at hand the continent faces as far as Five Nations are concerned, I will not touch on unmentioned regions as I imagine a part 2 might be in the works. Two addendums I'd add as I feel they are relevant for this video: -Karrnath was formerly a necromantic power, though no longer (officially). The state religion of the time is no longer backed by the government and many of the relevant structures disbanded - the origin of the Emerald Claw. They do have existing forces in reserve but officially, they are not looking to expand them. This is pretty dividing for the populace, as some follow either religion and feelings on the monarch vary. -The Treaty of Thronehold (as many other parts of the setting) is intentionally pretty vague. We have no official list beyond the recognition of (most of) the current nations borders and the ban to the creation of Warforged. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on what other items might be included in what is surely very geopolitically inspired document.
the geopolitical problem with Thrane is that they sit in the same place Germans did: they are surrounded by other powers that would happily devide their lands among themselves. Aunundair can get their province back; Breland can create their own "New Cyre" in their Northeastern regions + Southern Thrane; Karrnath can stablish a protectorate over Northern Thrane in order to access the continental trade routes. thing is: a stronger Karrnath will pose problems to everyone east of the Mournlands, but who cares about dino-riding desert Halflings anyway?
Oh by the way Eberon is not bortderline Steampunk it's Arcanepunk which is a very high magic setting where maqic is used like tech today is. Where as Steampunk as when limited magic meets 18th-ealry 20th century tech and hard stops at WW1. Which there is also Cyberunk tech run a muck and Diselpunk or WW2 tech run a muck.
Wish you had also talked about Droaam and it’s place in all of this as a nation within the borders of Breland whose sovereignty is not recognized by the other treaty of Throne Hold
Here's a slight variation on that... Thank does exactly what you describe, but fails. How and why is irrelevant, but they try to expand and fail. They wouldn't cease to exist, but in losing would be hobbled with debts and forced treaties. However, their land would be extremely hard to occupy for the same reason that they feel trapped there- too many dangerous neighbors, and too little intrinsic wealth to build strength. This lack of future options is the perfect setting to create a renegade state. A totalitarian, theocratic state, cut off from the world and economically punished... Iran comes to mind.
Paladins does not sound like something that would easily invade huge swathes of plains with their heavy armour. If they want to control such land they would need a cheaper and more mobile army. An example that I will use is the Cossacks of the Russian empire, semi independent pioneers atop of horses that would colonise the Eurasian plains under the name of the Russian monarchy. If Thrane wants to dominate the plains, I would argue something similar might be needed, especially with their western border.
@@geoDB. oh yes, but they really do not have a way to deal with it. I actually think it is more likely that Aundair will have either a nationalist movement or Silver Flame extremist movement that allies with Thrane and becomes the problem in Khorvaire rather than Thrane being the direct instigator.
@@geoDB. the Aundarians even have that claim on the territory that is now in Thrane, and have a history with extremism related to the Silver Flame…I get some strong feelings that is the way it would go. It would have to be to deal with Breland’s industry and the new nations formed after the Last War that definitely have issues with Aundair and Thrane because of past atrocities. They basically need each other to continue the war.
Excellent video as usual, except for three minor issues: At 4:05, you typoed "shnu" in the visual... should be "snhu". Voiceover was correct. In the dooblydoo there appear to be two typos. In the first line: "gam" instead of "game". in the last line, "Belligerent" seems unnecessarily capitalized.
I like how you made a poll asking how people pronounce Cyre and you didnt have the version you now use in the poll but it was suggested by many people:P
I find it completely bizarre how the bulk of this video is simply a setup for the ultimate conclusion of "Thrane will most likely be the nation to restart the Last War." I know that High Cardinal Krozen is a ruthless Cardinal Richelieu type, but this video posits a scenario that I find out-of-character even for Krozen, who is far from an authoritarian zealot. The video comes across like an in-universe rant from some Aundairian, Brelander, or Karrn trying to paint Krozen as a warmonger who must be deposed at all costs. Never mind that he is not the sole authority in Thrane, and that the other cardinals and Jaela Daran likely take more moderate stances.
So Geopolitics is based off the works of someone who lived at the height of the British Empire who thought that the most powerful nation's ruled Eastern Europe. Making academic claims when the greatest nation of the time never ruled those areas sounds very authoritative.
I really don't see Thrane as instigators of a war, since it contradicts most of the canon. And the ''Thrane is a bunch of zealots'' is a overused oversimplification. The church of the silver flame is a real power of goodness. Jaela the voice of the flame has major political pull over the council of cardinals if needed. If Thrane acts in anything other than in defense and or in the perspective of annihilating evil, i see the Voice stomping it down. Yes there's like you said concepts of the heartland and everything but i don't see it applying that much to Khorvaire. love the videos btw, i just disagree with that part of the video.
I know this video is a year old; but I am very averse to this interpretation of Thrane as a authoritarian and war-hungry nation of zealots. Particularly disgruntled over the use of fanart, not showing up in any official books, which depicts the Church of the Silver Flame dressing in similar vestments as the KKK. I agreed with many of your other interpretations in this video, but this description of Thrane feels very obtuse and lacking your regular nuance.
Man I know it probably isn't in the plan, but talking about the Shadow Marches, the Eldeen Reaches, and the influence of the Dragonmarked houses would be a great 2nd video.
Agreed! Make this a series!
eberron is such an intresting setting, been trying to start up an eberron campain but not sure where to start it
@@AcranifyAs a longtime Eberron DM, my advice is to start with Sharn. The adventures in both the 3rd and 4th edition Eberron core books are set there and serve as great jumping off points for campaigns.
"Yes, hello, Dungeon Masterpiece? Can I get two units of geopolitical fundamentals delivered to my veins?
"...why, yes, I am a Tremere Anarch.
"...yes, I'll hold."
YES! This is our major campaign setting. So pumped to watch this after work.
I am a massive Eberron fanboy and this was great, please if you can find it in your schedule to make more videos on the setting please do. It's so hard to find good content on this particular world setting.
See THIS is the stuff that I find deeply intriguing about Ebberon and why I would love to play in a campaign in the setting. Dealing with the possibility of another war, or trying to prevent it? It’s so intriguing.
Hell for a bit I had a character lined up for this who wanted to invent a big ol’ mechanical dragon, wanting protect people from dragon attacks. Fighting fire with fire if you will. But watching this video I realized I effectively would have been playing the guy who invented rocket powered flight only to be met with the very real prospect of them being used for Nuclear missiles.
Eberron is my favourite setting. I've been looking forward to a potential video on it since I found your channel!
Hope you enjoy it!
I only have the 3ED version of Eberron, but I can easily see this. Nice overview of Khorvaire. Makes me want to reread my Eberron books.
I can highly recommend the 5e book even as just a setting book, too
@@sentientwaffle535 It's okay. All the lore from 3e is still valid since they don't advanced Eberron's time line. The Noir focus in 5e Eberron only comes about because Guildmaster's Guide to Ravinica thematically overlaps the Dragonmarked Houses and much of the dungeon punk adventuring style has been pulled into 5e in general. Granted, the dungeonpunk thing in 5e happened because we Eberron fanboys are noisy and didn't want to wait for a splat to start playing Eberron in 5e. And the Artificer still doesn't quite feel right.
That's the better version to have.
3e book is still the best
Woohoo, Eberron!
I don't know that Thrane actually has the power to expand like that, though they definitely have the imperative to. The Aundarians and Brelish would be united against them, and Droaam and the Eldeen Reaches would be very motivated to join them, considering the history of the Silver Flame in those nations. Add to this how dominant Breland is in Industry, and Aundair's magical prowess, and I don't think paladins are going to be able to do anything other than kick off the other nations fighting over what parts of Thrane they get to keep afterwards. Their opening might be if Aundair's extremist history with the church breaks the nation before the war, with religions/conservative separatists who undermine Aundair's ability to function before any conflict kicks off...in which case, I would see Aundair itself being the central instigator of conflict, but already joined with Thrane.
That said, I would love some analysis of the non-Five Nation regions of Khorvaire, since they might end up as a very important factor in the coming conflicts.
It probably starts in Thaliost. Thranian oppressive occupation and the broken economic system due to the ruined Whitebridge have agitated the desperately impoverished Aundairan community.
It will go badly.
I mean, that's if they go it alone. I can see Thrane reaching out to Karrnath, whose King is trying to shed their ties to the Blood of Vol, and offering parts of Aundair, as well as promises for forgiveness for their old apostasy. Meanwhile both nations would be planning to stab the other in the back as soon as Aundair was conquered. It might end up being much like Germany and the Soviet Union working together to invade Poland in WW2. Thrane would probably think they could easily deal with the Karrnathi undead armies with their holy troops later. An attack into Breland with an alliance with either Valenar, Darguun, or Droam would be less about taking portions of Breland (at first) and more about stopping them from intervening in the invasion of Aundair.
@@gkbur85 yes, the king is trying to shed their ties to the Blood of Vol, and a German/Soviet WW2 dynamic is kind of what they’d be going for…but offering just parts of Aundair but I don’t think that they would go for it…at this point. Aundair would present Karrnath with the same issues it does with Thrane…and the Church of the Silver Flame would certainly be something the Karrn king would be wary of joining in an alliance, even if he’s attempting to get rid of the Blood of Vol.
I actually think it is more likely that Aundair and Thrane combine into a theocratic nationalist alliance/nation, at this point.
They have the population, food, and border advantage against Aundair specifically, Aundair just makes trench warfare costly on the defense. I think between Thrane and Breland, though, I agree with Baron that Thrane just needs to fight over the 'easy' areas and hold trade routes to isolate Breland and make them want to negotiate. The *real* question is whether Thrane could take Passage like the video implies.
i don't think they're in a great situation to achieve much of anything, but i think the point was they see themselves as in such a bad situation they'll feel they have to start something, which could probably plunge the whole region back into turmoil
based on the lore I'd say Karrnath is another big powederkeg for this, but they're at least a little contained by where they've found themselves now
Very interesting analysis. One thing to point out is that the Mournland incident would be the trigger point for the destabilization of the region. In our history, the Krakatoa eruption in the 500s was the trigger event that is considered the boundary between the ancient world and the modern world. After the massive eruption, the next few hundred years saw the beginning of the modern world as the ancient nations fell because of the effects of the eruption. In this world, having an event such as the coming of the fog would start to destabilize the region and would certainly trigger a change of the political landscape.
Dude... you've really outdone yourself with this one. I was never interested in Eberron until now. But also this really helped convey how to apply this stuff to my own setting.
That's the fundamental reason I make these videos!
Yeah, I also didn't know Eberron's lore was so deep until I watched this video. 🤯
I've never used the setting, but this has got me very interested in taking a look.
What's interesting is that all the things people tout as the interesting parts of the setting are the things that I was least interested in and it kept me turned off from the setting. I'm actually interested in playing in this setting now that I've done this video.
Absolutely love the video, love Eberron. Though unlikely, I would love to see follow up videos on it.
It's been a long time since I ran an Eberron campaign and I forgot that the setting isn't just detailed but that it's full of not just adventure hooks but campaign hooks each of which can easily spin off into all kinds of complex emergent story lines. Such a great setting, I wish it got more love.
“God Damn it not again” - every Warforged on the continent
"We're back in business, boys!" - the Dragonmarked houses.
Great overview and I love your intertation of Eberoen not being a cold war anolog but an between WW1 and WW2 one.
Keith Baker actually published an article about this subject called "the Near Future". The queen of Aundair very much wants another war, but isn't going to start one unless she has some reason to believe that Aundair will win. Some suggestions that Keith threw out include developing some powerful superspell that nobody has, an unbeatable alliance with Empire of Riedra, etc.
Thrane’s situation has long struck me as that of Lothar I (grandson of Charlemagne, one of the three brothers who inherited the Carolingian empire after Charlemagne’s son passed)-and the fact that they’re either going to have to conquer or be conquered is something I ponder sometimes staring at the map. This video was fantastic - thank you!
Yesss! Khorvaire is such a geo political hot mess! Glad to see you cover this!
This was an amazing video. I'm running an Eberron campaign at the moment and this has given me a few ideas on how to bring other nations into the currently very Breland-focussed game. I know a lot of other people in the comments are echoing this, but more Eberron videos alongside your other planned projections would be great!
Thank you for this video, I really enjoyed it and I gave me some fun ideas for a meta plot for a Eberron campaign I’ve been working up! I hope you’ll do more, I’d love to hear a bit more about Aundair which was my characters home in my longest running ebberon game and a nation I got strongly attached to. Also I’d love to hear more about the politics of the periphery states.
I do enjoy how you broke down Thrane's relationship to their neighbors. It sparks a few ideas of a political intrigue story that could be explored. Furthermore, while you didn't touch on the subject, the destain that the most militant members of the Church of the Silverflame has against lycanthropes and how it extends to Shifters in the Eldeen Reach makes for a fascinating area of discussion as I always looked at it that the Church would want to control the Reaches and establish a vassal state... and all the resources the land could provide their military needs for the ambitious project of consolidating the entirety of the north in the name of their church.
Perhaps it best a child sits on the throne of Thrane. I don't imagine she'd be eager for war.
I don't even play TT D&D proper, but I've been getting back into DDO lately and reading through Rising from the Last War. I just immensely enjoy worldbuilding. This channel is a gem for me, so skillfully edited and professionally done while giving real world history lessons. Instantly subbed!
Ps. Read another comment that recommended other non-D&D settings, and I completely second that motion!
Wow, you impress us with each new video! Your geopolitical analysis videos are so fun and insightful to watch, even to my friends who don't play Dungeons & Dragons. You might want to consider branching out this series to a few non-D&D ips, like the world of Tamriel in the Elder Scrolls Series or Middle-Earth!
I plan on it!
@@DungeonMasterpiece 😍
"He who rules Khorvaire rules the world."
Argonessen, Aerenal, and Riedra: "Excuse you?!"
Aerenal elves are content to sit on their archipelago, with only minimal interference in the outside world. The Undying Court is also unable to properly project its power elsewhere. They are safe defensively, but they wouldn't be able to take over Khorvaire through either economic or military means themselves if they've tried.
Dragons of Argonessen certainly have the power, but not the will to mess with the outside world after what happened the last time they did. Anything they do, they do as individuals or small interest groups. They are themselves pretty impervious to outside influences.
Riedra is working on the whole "ruling the world" part, but prefers to use subversive and subtle means, even though they'd likely be able to take over Khorvaire through military action if they wanted to, but their primary concern is stability.
So many new ideas for my ongoing Eberron campaign! Please make more Eberron videos, PLEASE!!!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍
I NEED more breakdowns of Eberron, best video yet!
We play the same eberron campaign for around 5 years and this was amazing! It's nice to take a step back sometimes and get a better look at things. Please make part 2 talking about the dragon houses power struggle within this complex geopoliticl situation.
I like how the way it's set up you'd think Karranth would become facist, but looking at this, the most likely would be Thrane
Please, please god consider a follow-up video. You should be incredibly proud of this. I'm a huge fan of Eberron, but it has a 'no-loose-thread' problem, where the situation is generally tense but stable whenever you restart a game at 998YK, war just ended and everyone is afraid of magical dirty bombs. An additional video just talking about 'these are the most likely groups to act out first in peactime and why and how long would they wait' would just be a critical asset to players of this setting specifically.
The main thing is it'll remain relatively stable so long as the mystery isn't found out.
Fantastic video as always! Maybe eventually aftet every other fictional setting has been checked, Mystara geopolitical analysis can happen xD
I hope you revisit Eberron in this series. Khorvaire is very large and complex. For example you only touched on Aundair, who, next to Cyre, lost the most in the last war. Thaliost was Aundair’s capital and the Eldeen reaches, while never particularly loyal was all Aundairan before the treaty as well. But despite its smaller size is significant because of its agriculture and the lighting rail hub of passage.
Nice to see "Cyre" (Sire) won despite not being on the initial voting list!
Truely excellent video. Eberron remains a very impressive remix of standard DnD and the worldbuilding displayed in the geography and politics of a world moving beyond feudalism through magical and technological advances.
Thank you for making this video. It was inspiring for a politcal intrigue campaign. I look forward to a second video looking at the other nations of Khovaire.
Great to see this video as Eberron is the most political of the published settings, so this topic really goes well with it.
I've been waiting for this video since I found your channel. It did not disappoint
As someone that occasionally plays Risk, I can confirm that it is better to take over 4 territories so you can defend only one border, rather than sit and defend 3 borders.
I'm a big fan of Eberron and I am thoroughly impressed by the quality and thought put into this video. Instantly subscribed and I hope to see more Eberron content and maybe deepdives on individual nations.
Thanks for the analysis! You did it right when I was thinking about introducing a espionage game before the bigger conflict.
Ooooh finally, going to devour this video. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but: the thumbnail has a typo! It should be Eberron, not Ebberon (it's so common that this is the rogue/rouge of D&D settings, though)!
And he's corrected it! Mans fast XD
Lol i saw it as SOON as i published it. I was like "DOH"
@@DungeonMasterpiece I spell gray as grey
Great video, brother! Been excited for this one. Eberron is one of the settings that I have spent the least time in, but it always seemed an interesting candidate for a geopolitical analysis. Thanks for an interesting watch and some great food for thought.
This was a great video! Thank you for that break down, it's probably the most interesting discussion on Eberron I've heard
I mean…that’s kind of the whole *point* of the Khorvaire map.
Interesting video! In my version, based on other historical and geopolitical anecdotes, it is Breland which will trigger the war. Brelish see themselves as superior in terms of their parliamentary political system (especially if the prime minister succeeds in its plot) and the vanguard of freedom. That, tied with its superior industrial arms production (and ties to a Cannith branch) will likely lead it to expansionist aggressive wars in the name of “freeing” others to prevent future attacks (ala preemptive self defense arguments, which the UN deemed unlawful) and “liberating” other peoples, akin to the Napoleonic wars post French Revolution and US attacks against other countries (plus, leadership can be decisive, and Jaela the current Speaker of the Flame is a pacifist tolerant one who seeks reconciliation)
Breland does have the potential to spawn a Robespierre or Napoleon once the old Bear dies and they have no reason to obey his useless children. Though one of Breland's wastrel heirs is getting Rekkenmark training and may be more competent than thought/
I am playing in an Eberron setting with a Q'barran lizardfolk. So to hear the description "The human State of Q'barra", while true in the international diplomacy sense, felt funny, haha.
I would love to see more videos explaining the relations between the nations and groups of Eberron or other DnD settings! You explain it so nicely using real-life examples, I like it.
Just coming back to this in preparation to run a campaign. Thanks so much for this!
I think a follow-up video looking at some of the non-government groups that could bring an end to the tentative peace in Khorvaire (intentionally or otherwise) would be interesting - the Swords of Liberty, the Dragonmarked Houses, the Lords of Dust, maybe even criminal organizations like the Boromar Clan and Daask.
My group plays in a version of eberron 30 years after our party killed the lord of blades in a previous campaign, after which my character worked with the warforged factions to build Hearth, a nation for the warforged in the Mournlands. At this point Hearth is an emerging power, and a pariah among the Five Nations. Then they finish building a mechanical God and it breaks the Hearth's beloved warhero/criminal out of Dreadhold, sparking the Second Last War. I didn't intend for this comment to be this long but geopolitics are one of my favorite parts of worldbuilding
An excellent video--I would love to see a whole series on Enerron geopolitics!
Finally! I've been looking forward to this for months.
Good stuff. I would toss out a corollary for Karrnath. While its isolated from "the West", "the West" is also isolated from Karrnath. While the western nations all politically maneuver and maybe even fight, the Karns can quietly consolidate all of the East. It does not have to purely military action - for example, it could be a greater prosperity sphere of influence. Also military assistance to Mror Holds (against the horrors from below) and the Halfings against the Valenar would essentially take over those areas (look at the population sizes - Karrnath is population dense in comparison to all its land neighbors combined). Even if there is military action in the east, are the western nations going to risk all out war to stop Karrnath in the Talenta Plains?
I think old Kaius III saw the opportunity to rebuild and expand in the east when Cyre blew up (his military check in the east), thus he was a big proponent of the Treaty. Even with the potential rise of a power from the Mournland, only Karrnath can easily fight there via the undead legions. I could even see an early non-aggression pact where Karrnath helps get Warforged to the Mournland in exchange for getting preserved Karn bodies out to then be reanimated. Yes he will have to fight them later, but its akin to the Germany/Soviet Union non-aggression pact in the late 1930s.
Just goes to show the potential of this setting.
It is unfair to call Thaliost separatists because the city is ex capital of Aundair occupied by Thrane. Leaving the city with occupiers was probably the most unfair part of Thronehold treaty.
Agree, there are a lot of cool facts like this - but they are basically obscure lore and not necessarily are possible to deduce from just looking at the map
I eagerly await a part 2 🎉
More please! Love eberron!
Love your content! Reinvigorated a life long DM making me the most excited I've been for D&D in a long time.
Wow lots of great points and given me lots of new ideas to incorporate into my campaign I host. Thanks loads!
My favourite published setting being covered by you is a perfect treat. This is an excellent analysis at the issues at hand the continent faces as far as Five Nations are concerned, I will not touch on unmentioned regions as I imagine a part 2 might be in the works.
Two addendums I'd add as I feel they are relevant for this video:
-Karrnath was formerly a necromantic power, though no longer (officially). The state religion of the time is no longer backed by the government and many of the relevant structures disbanded - the origin of the Emerald Claw. They do have existing forces in reserve but officially, they are not looking to expand them. This is pretty dividing for the populace, as some follow either religion and feelings on the monarch vary.
-The Treaty of Thronehold (as many other parts of the setting) is intentionally pretty vague. We have no official list beyond the recognition of (most of) the current nations borders and the ban to the creation of Warforged. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on what other items might be included in what is surely very geopolitically inspired document.
Keith did an episode about the Treaty on his podcast. And it’s still super vague haha 😅
@@billyrigby4839 I'd still very much like to see this channel's idea of what might be in, a fresh perspective on it. Good shout but still
This all sounds exactly like that "When you see a lore video for a franchise you know nothing about" video.
Wow, now I'm interested in reading Eberron material.
How did I miss this video coming out, omg?!
Currently playing in an Ebberron game. Thanks for this video, it's very helpful
I would see an entire serie about Eberron world
Me: So, how smart are you?
DM: My videos are sponsored by a University
the geopolitical problem with Thrane is that they sit in the same place Germans did: they are surrounded by other powers that would happily devide their lands among themselves.
Aunundair can get their province back; Breland can create their own "New Cyre" in their Northeastern regions + Southern Thrane; Karrnath can stablish a protectorate over Northern Thrane in order to access the continental trade routes.
thing is: a stronger Karrnath will pose problems to everyone east of the Mournlands, but who cares about dino-riding desert Halflings anyway?
Oh by the way Eberon is not bortderline Steampunk it's Arcanepunk which is a very high magic setting where maqic is used like tech today is. Where as Steampunk as when limited magic meets 18th-ealry 20th century tech and hard stops at WW1. Which there is also Cyberunk tech run a muck and Diselpunk or WW2 tech run a muck.
Wish you had also talked about Droaam and it’s place in all of this as a nation within the borders of Breland whose sovereignty is not recognized by the other treaty of Throne Hold
What a funny short sighted way to view the world High Cardinal Krozen :P
Great video
Here's a slight variation on that...
Thank does exactly what you describe, but fails. How and why is irrelevant, but they try to expand and fail. They wouldn't cease to exist, but in losing would be hobbled with debts and forced treaties. However, their land would be extremely hard to occupy for the same reason that they feel trapped there- too many dangerous neighbors, and too little intrinsic wealth to build strength. This lack of future options is the perfect setting to create a renegade state. A totalitarian, theocratic state, cut off from the world and economically punished... Iran comes to mind.
Thank you so much for this video!
YES FINALY EBERRON!
Paladins does not sound like something that would easily invade huge swathes of plains with their heavy armour. If they want to control such land they would need a cheaper and more mobile army. An example that I will use is the Cossacks of the Russian empire, semi independent pioneers atop of horses that would colonise the Eurasian plains under the name of the Russian monarchy. If Thrane wants to dominate the plains, I would argue something similar might be needed, especially with their western border.
I think they need to attempt something, but they do not have the actual capabilities to do large invasions like that.
The giant open border with aundair is an issue that needs to be addressed in the long term
@@geoDB. oh yes, but they really do not have a way to deal with it. I actually think it is more likely that Aundair will have either a nationalist movement or Silver Flame extremist movement that allies with Thrane and becomes the problem in Khorvaire rather than Thrane being the direct instigator.
I definitely think a unionfication of the two realms would make for a decently strong major power in the continent
@@geoDB. the Aundarians even have that claim on the territory that is now in Thrane, and have a history with extremism related to the Silver Flame…I get some strong feelings that is the way it would go. It would have to be to deal with Breland’s industry and the new nations formed after the Last War that definitely have issues with Aundair and Thrane because of past atrocities. They basically need each other to continue the war.
Great video i dont know how this would wotk but would be great to hear your take on the plane of ravnica and the guild situation
I'd love to see your geopolitical video on Rokugan.
Please do Pathfinder geopolitics next!
Yeah! Show some love for Eberron!
@0:17: Correction: Aix-la-Chappelle (Seven Years’ Way 1748), Frankfurt am Main (Franco-Prussian War 1871), or Versailles (World War I 1919).
Great summary
You mentioned Thrane taking the roads connecting Aundair and Breland but you forgot an important detail house Orien
In what way were they forgotten?
@@DungeonMasterpiece I think they're wondering whether the House would let Thrane take Passage.
Excellent video as usual, except for three minor issues:
At 4:05, you typoed "shnu" in the visual... should be "snhu". Voiceover was correct.
In the dooblydoo there appear to be two typos. In the first line: "gam" instead of "game". in the last line, "Belligerent" seems unnecessarily capitalized.
I love love love eberron, thank you so muc!
Please, make a video about Barovian geopolitics!
I like how you made a poll asking how people pronounce Cyre and you didnt have the version you now use in the poll but it was suggested by many people:P
running an eberron game myself, this should be handy!
It’s here!!🎉🎉🎉🎉
Eberron is the best
Barelly related but:
Opinion about Anbennar mode(announced not released) for Victoria 3? And specifically the geopolitics of a world like that.
Ansalon next!
I find it completely bizarre how the bulk of this video is simply a setup for the ultimate conclusion of "Thrane will most likely be the nation to restart the Last War." I know that High Cardinal Krozen is a ruthless Cardinal Richelieu type, but this video posits a scenario that I find out-of-character even for Krozen, who is far from an authoritarian zealot. The video comes across like an in-universe rant from some Aundairian, Brelander, or Karrn trying to paint Krozen as a warmonger who must be deposed at all costs. Never mind that he is not the sole authority in Thrane, and that the other cardinals and Jaela Daran likely take more moderate stances.
Halflings of Polenta?
Not me running the middle of a delightful/full of peace goofy ahhh eberron
@Dungeon Masterpiece I think you have bots invading your comments. I reported the message.
But what of the tensions between Graustark and Ruritania?
This was a very interesting video but i feel like you rushed it a bit. You can take your time. We don't click away after the 10 minute mark :D.
Eberron does not get enough love in 5e.
So Geopolitics is based off the works of someone who lived at the height of the British Empire who thought that the most powerful nation's ruled Eastern Europe. Making academic claims when the greatest nation of the time never ruled those areas sounds very authoritative.
Eberron 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Comment for the algorithm
300xp
I really don't see Thrane as instigators of a war, since it contradicts most of the canon. And the ''Thrane is a bunch of zealots'' is a overused oversimplification. The church of the silver flame is a real power of goodness. Jaela the voice of the flame has major political pull over the council of cardinals if needed. If Thrane acts in anything other than in defense and or in the perspective of annihilating evil, i see the Voice stomping it down.
Yes there's like you said concepts of the heartland and everything but i don't see it applying that much to Khorvaire.
love the videos btw, i just disagree with that part of the video.
I know this video is a year old; but I am very averse to this interpretation of Thrane as a authoritarian and war-hungry nation of zealots. Particularly disgruntled over the use of fanart, not showing up in any official books, which depicts the Church of the Silver Flame dressing in similar vestments as the KKK.
I agreed with many of your other interpretations in this video, but this description of Thrane feels very obtuse and lacking your regular nuance.