D&D Eberron: Race for the Crab Temple Coming to PAX East

A new Dungeons & Dragons adventure set in Eberron is debuting at PAX East this weekend. Wizards of the Coast has announced that D&D Eberron: Race for the Crab Temple, a new D&D adventure set in Xen’drik, will make its convention debut at PAX East. The Level 3 adventure will feature premade characters made using 2024 Player's Handbook rules along with options from Eberron: Forge of the Artificer.

As its name suggests, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer will update the Artificer class for 2024 5th Edition rules. It will also update all Eberron-specific species for the revised ruleset. The new rulebook comes out on August 19, 2025.

The full description of the new Eberron adventure can be found below:

Your group has been dispatched by Morgrave University to travel to Xen’drik and seek out the Crab Temple. It’s a race between your expedition and a rival to discover its secrets! Premade level 3 characters are provided, featuring rules from the new Player’s Handbook and first looks at options from Eberron: Forge of the Artificer!

 

[Reynard]

A player of mine played a Warforged druid and flavored it as a transformer. It was great.

 

[Xethreau]

Eberron has lots of flavors within it, and like Star Wars there isn't much that won't fit somewhere in the setting. There's absolutely an art nouveau Dragonmarked House sociopolitical drama in there.

Undoubtedly. What I am saying is, I hope that it is not the center of Eberron going forward but merely a part.

As you can imagine, I am a little sensitive after the previous Eberron 2024 art depicting airships in a more generic dirigible type fashion. To say that Eberron's airships are dirigibles is a retcon.

That said, Eberron has always been increasingly stronger for whenever the designers have said "yes and". And I am just fine with art nouveau in the mix as long as the turn of the century dungeonpunk is still there. [Edit] I have nothing against Warforged with five fingers as long as warforged with three fingers are still the norm. [/Edit] My concern is only that this represents a new, revisionist vision for the setting.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Hopefully this adventure and the upcoming books means that there will be more Eberron stuff in this 5e24?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

That warforged looks like something from Isaac Asimov robot visions

I don't think the thought would have clicked for me for quite a while, but you're absolutely right. It distinctly reminds me of the Lije Bailey detective novel covers, and the way they depict non-humaniform robots like R. Giskard. Not quite zeerust, but a close kin--stylized enough to seem like it could be a plausible future aesthetic for a couple thousand years in our future, but still quite rooted in the retrofuturism of Fritz Lang's Metropolis.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

After seeing MTG's 1920's adaptation of new capenna, I was hoping the art for eberron would shift in a similar direction. I really liked that style and used that art repeatedly for images in my home games

 

[Xethreau]

After seeing MTG's 1920's adaptation of new capenna, I was hoping the art for eberron would shift in a similar direction. I really liked that style and used that art repeatedly for images in my home games

I definitely do not want to see Eberron become New Capenna, but I admit that there are times and places where the settings are similar.

 

[Yaarel]

After seeing MTG's 1920's adaptation of new capenna, I was hoping the art for eberron would shift in a similar direction. I really liked that style and used that art repeatedly for images in my home games

Looking at some Capenna art. Beautiful. Definitely it works for Eberron.

From a quick impression, Capenna seems more art deco and less art nouveau.

The deco resembles nouveau but is more solidly architectural and less organic. So its more racecar symmetry and geometric tile patterns, with fewer areas with plantlike curves.

 

[Xethreau]

Looking at some Capenna art. Beautiful. Definitely it works for Eberron.

From a quick impression, Capenna seems more art deco and less art nouveau.

The deco resembles nouveau but is more solidly architectural and less organic. So its more racecar symmetry and geometric tile patterns, with fewer areas with plantlike curves.

Point well taken, and indeed Deco has a place in Eberron.

I just don't think that place is the center. And I sure hope it doesn't involve narrative revisionism.

 

[Yaarel]

Point well taken, and indeed Deco has a place in Eberron.

I just don't think that place is the center. And I sure hope it doesn't involve narrative revisionism.

Can you paste examples of Eberron images whose style you feel should be central to the setting?

 

[Reynard]

Point well taken, and indeed Deco has a place in Eberron.

I just don't think that place is the center. And I sure hope it doesn't involve narrative revisionism.

Eberron is set in a ambiguous "time" that straddles the high medieval to post WW1 Europe. Almost anything fits.

I don't even know what "narrative revisionism" would look like, but I bet Keith Baker is guilty of it on his blog and in his books, since the Eberron you want to preserve is WotC's, nothing Keith's.