D&D General Let's Talk About Eberron

[Reynard]

In a few weeks I will be starting a new Eberron campaign (in 5E, using Shadows of the Last War, and on Fantasy Grounds). I am interested in talking about Eberron both as a setting in general and specifically about adventures in Eberron and how to best run Eberron for players that don't necessarily know a lot about it.

I purchased the Eberroninomicon and am considering picking up Morgrave's Miscellenary, so let's start there: I have read that Morgrave's can be a bit unbalanced and unpolished in its design. Is this true? Is it a real problem? Is there anything in it that is a must have, or a must avoid?

Also, what are the best pre-written Eberron adventures, or adventures that aren't designed for Eberron but make good Eberron adventures? I won't want to run an AP, but individual episodic adventures would be helpful.

 

[TwoSix]

Most of what I've read about Morgrave's Miscellany has been a net negative, so I didn't pick it up. I would prefer to wait for Exploring Eberron, which should be out in just a few weeks.

 

[Ringtail]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record I'd recommend the Book of Lairs from Kobold Press. (They also have follows up like Eldritch Lairs which I don't own) They are mini dungeons that I think take about a session and are completely contained little quests. They do tie loosely to Midgard and often use monsters from the Tome of Beasts (another product I would recommend). However they are easy to separate. For example I can think of three that can slot into an urban environment (Like Sharn or a smaller city) prety easily: The Riverfront Rat Gang, The Den of the Rotten Kings & the Cistern. There are also others I like such as Lost Halls of the Everforge. They span all level ranges. I also like Prepared! and Prepared 2! which are a similar concept but not as dungeon/lair focused.

In terms of specifically Eberron I am aware of two 3rd Party adventure paths on the DMs Guild, though I have not run either. The first is Convergence Manifesto which is by Across Eberron, the team behind the Eberronimfjwhatsit. It has 13 parts and the first is AE01-01 Fired & Forgotten. The second is Oracle of War which seems like it is officially associated with AL. It is incomplete with 6 adventures, the first being EB-01 The Night Land.

 

[jgsugden]

My advice: Eberron is more about the setting, themes and setup than the mechanics. It was designed to be run at one point in time - which is the same point in time for both the original release and the current release. If I were you, I'd pick up the old materials from the prior edition. It is the best way to get to know Eberron and really play a 'true to setting' game. While you can put your own spin on it, the spin that they built into it is pretty incredible to explore.

 

[Reynard]

At the risk of sounding like a broken record I'd recommend the Book of Lairs from Kobold Press. (They also have follows up like Eldritch Lairs which I don't own) They are mini dungeons that I think take about a session and are completely contained little quests. They do tie loosely to Midgard and often use monsters from the Tome of Beasts (another product I would recommend). However they are easy to separate. For example I can think of three that can slot into an urban environment (Like Sharn or a smaller city) prety easily: The Riverfront Rat Gang, The Den of the Rotten Kings & the Cistern. There are also others I like such as Lost Halls of the Everforge. They span all level ranges. I also like Prepared! and Prepared 2! which are a similar concept but not as dungeon/lair focused.

I have often considered picking up both Lairs and Prepared to have on hand. Perhaps I should finally do that.

In terms of specifically Eberron I am aware of two 3rd Party adventure paths on the DMs Guild, though I have not run either. The first is Convergence Manifesto which is by Across Eberron, the team behind the Eberronimfjwhatsit. It has 13 parts and the first is AE01-01 Fired & Forgotten. The second is Oracle of War which seems like it is officially associated with AL. It is incomplete with 6 adventures, the first being EB-01 The Night Land.

Maybe I was unclear -- I DO NOT want an AP, but am interested in some of the stand alone Eberron adventures (even from previous editions).

 

[Ringtail]

I have often considered picking up both Lairs and Prepared to have on hand. Perhaps I should finally do that.
Maybe I was unclear -- I DO NOT want an AP, but am interested in some of the stand alone Eberron adventures (even from previous editions).

Sorry I missed that part. Still these seem to follow the AL format so I think (though am unsure) that each book may stand on its own, with ties to connect them if you wish.

And yes I would recommend Prepared and the Book of Lairs. Excellent products I've used many times.

 

[Reynard]

My advice: Eberron is more about the setting, themes and setup than the mechanics. It was designed to be run at one point in time - which is the same point in time for both the original release and the current release. If I were you, I'd pick up the old materials from the prior edition. It is the best way to get to know Eberron and really play a 'true to setting' game. While you can put your own spin on it, the spin that they built into it is pretty incredible to explore.

I figure my best bet is to do a "whirlwind tour" style campaign -- an edventure in Sharn, and then one in the Mournland, and then one in Xendrik, and so on. Rather than a "home base" campaign. Although I guess an airship sould be a mobile home base...

 

[Fenris-77]

Also at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'd recommend Here's to Crime by Jimmy Merrit. Its a short book (pamphlet? It's short) with rules to help running heists and the like, originally sorta meant for Dragon Heist, I'm sure, but it doesn't actually connect. Mostly, the book ports over some of the key mechanics from Blades in the Dark for use in 5E, including the flashback mechanic. Given Eberron's focus on patrons, factions, and noir skulduggery, it could be a useful piece for you.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I bought Morgrave Miscellany and while my group didn't use any of the subclasses from it... the one thing I love about the book is that it gives very concrete examples of what classes and subclasses would work for the various character types and factions across the setting. Which means players can come at it from two ways... one, if they know Eberron and they want to play a specific type of character in the setting ("Hey, I want to play a Valenar Elf with a double-ended scimitar"), the book gives you several examples of class/subclass that would work for that idea... or if the player knows of what class and subclass they want to play, the book can tell you what Eberron characterization would make the most sense for them ("The Bard College of Whispers makes sense for X, Y, and Z..."). The book helps give more specificity for class and subclass selection and really draws you into the setting.

As far as short adventures for the setting... the adventures written for the 3.5 release are all good in my opinion. There's the group of four connected adventures -- The Forgotten Forge (found within the Eberron Campaign Setting book), Shadows of the Last War, Whisper of the Vampire's Blade, and Grasp of the Emerald Claw that all form a really nice bunch of adventures that hit many areas of Khorvaire and Xen'drik and show off a lot of what makes the setting cool. The longer Eyes of the Lich Queen adventures is also really nice for showing how the dragons of Eberron interact with the setting, and highlights the southeast corner of Khorvaire (Q'Barra and Llhazaar Principalities) and Argonessen in a way that most other Eberron material does not. Q'barra is cool because Keith Baker uses the area in it called Hope as a location for a "wild west" kind of adventure setting and has talked about what he's do with that on his blog. Q'barra is also the nation recommended for placing Ghosts of Saltmarsh (if you own that book and want to use those adventures within the setting.)

 

[Reynard]

As far as short adventures for the setting... the adventures written for the 3.5 release are all good in my opinion. There's the group of four connected adventures -- The Forgotten Forge (found within the Eberron Campaign Setting book), Shadows of the Last War, Whisper of the Vampire's Blade, and Grasp of the Emerald Claw that all form a really nice bunch of adventures that hit many areas of Khorvaire and Xen'drik and show off a lot of what makes the setting cool.

Does anyone have any experience with the conversions/updates on DMsGuild for these?