Yeah I’ve encountered those things as well. Even in Reavers of Harkenwold, which a lot of folks consider the best adventure arc in 4e, there’s a sidequest that’s basically “If you want us noble woods-dwelling elves to help you, please go kill that bunch of goblins, our hated enemy.” I changed that entire section to have a group of nomadic shifters instead of elves, and they want you to help them restore a sacred site of theirs that had been desecrated (no combat involved). But other times I’ve replaced “orcs” or “goblins” etc with dolgrims, wights, or even “bandits” of all types.
But yeah in general, I’ve found the majority of pre-written adventures (even Eberron ones) to be either unusable or only worth stealing a few NPCs or concepts. It’s really satisfying though when you can make them work with just a couple of changes.
Also I’d be remiss if I didn’t plug the fan-made Tiefling Treatise, which has its own take on the Venomous Demesne. It names the four houses as: Kashkar, Sirran, Xuth’tel, and Zelvoth.
Oh cool, yeah I can see a fun red herring situation where some translation from Abyssal results in something like “Prince of Frost,” perhaps leading the party to Taer Syraen, only to find it’s an entirely different Prince of Frost they’re after!
As for this community: I was mainly interested in creating a landing zone for folks who might be leaving reddit but want to have a similar environment for discussing Eberron. The discord is great, but its format makes it hard to keep up with the discussion if you aren’t on it every day. I’m aiming for a chill, welcoming environment here.
That’s awesome! Congrats on finishing a campaign. Does your campaign feature the archfey Prince of Frost?
I’m glad you like it! I’m subscribed to a few, but which would you recommend?