D&D 5E Chronicles of Eberron Is Keith Baker's New D&D Book, out now!

After a few days of teasing, Eberron creator Keith Baker has announced his new book -- Chronicles of Eberron! By Keith and Imogen Gingell, the 200-page book will be available on DMs Guild in December.

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Hektula is the Scribe of Sul Khatesh, the Keeper of the Library of Ashtakala, and the Chronicler of the Lords of Dust. Her treasured tomes hold arcane secrets still hidden from human and dragon alike. What lies beneath the Barren Sea? What powers does Mordain the Fleshweaver wield within Blackroot? Who are the Grim Lords of the Bloodsail Principality? All these secrets and many more can be found in the Chronicles of Eberron…

• Chronicles of Eberron is a new 5E sourcebook from Eberron creator Keith Baker and designer Imogen Gingell.
• This book explores a diverse range of topics, including lore and advice for both players and DMs, along with new monsters, treasures, spells and character options.
• Chronicles of Eberron will be available on the DMs Guild as a PDF and print-on-demand.

But that's not all! There is a collaboration with Hero Forge and new T-Shirts!

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[Bitbrain]

I've had people tell me they don't want to try Eberron due to the "steampunk" aspect. I'm always baffled, because Eberron is solidly fantasy. The "factory" is a place where people use a magic item to crank out magic swords. There are no guns. It's basically fantasy, with a reliable transportation network and magical communication. For example, the communications house (House Sivis, primarily) is like if someone in a standard D&D world just standardized wizards with sending spells as a guild.

I’ve got a similar problem, so I sympathize with you. I really like Eberron (my third favorite setting after Dark Sun and Mystara) but two of my players don’t.

The first thinks Eberron would be a better setting if it were actually steampunk. The second says that everything he likes about Eberron, “Shadowrun did first and does better”.

 

[Reynard]

The second says that everything he likes about Eberron, “Shadowrun did first and does better”.

Bizarre.

 

[Bitbrain]

Bizarre.

I think he was referring to the Dragonmarked Houses. Going on missions to investigate or undermine them, to be exact.

 

[Reynard]

I think he was referring to the Dragonmarked Houses. Going on missions to investigate or undermine them, to be exact.

I mean, I totally think you could run manapunk or aetherpunk adventures in Eberron -- it is a great fit for An Arcane feeling campaign -- but I don't understand how someone could think "Shadowrun did it better" and I really like Shadowrun.

 

[Chaosmancer]

where instead of D&D's magic it's substituted for something else (Psionics in Sarlona).

If you have ever been inclined to run an Indiana Jones or Wild West campaign in D&D or one that focuses a lot on political/religious intrigue, Eberron is absolutely the setting to do it in. And, IMHO, Eberron does "explore the other planes of existence" better than Planescape does. Hot take, I know.

I want to take a moment to talk about Sarlona, because it is way more intense than just "DnD but psychic instead of magic". I played a game focused there and it was crazy.

Sarlona is basically the height of communist/Facist China backed up with the rulers being literal psychics and convincing the people that they are the great heroes protecting them from the demons in the mountains (who are the only rebels left).

The leaders are revered as reincarnated heroes (actually psychic dream monsters puppeting bodies) and there is a heavy emphasis on spirituality and community (to drive down emotions and individuality to make the populace more docile). Their dreams are controlled through psychically powered pylons, and not only is their conditioning reinforced through their dreams (home is safe, sudden terror from beyond, home is safe) but since their dreams are curated removing them from the influence of the pylon to have real dreams freaks them out that demons are invading their minds.

It is a land where the enemy has won, and convinced the people that they are the real heroes, after all, do you want to go back to the chaotic mess of a world where all those wars happened? (Ignore the fact that the enemy secretly instigated those wars). If you ever want to play "Paranoia, but DnD" Sarlona is the place for it.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Exactly. Its not steampunk, nor really magiteck either. There's no real scientific revolution fuel by a new power source, just readily available spellcasting. Only the Cannith makers are really more modern-ish, and even then you can replace it with more traditional medieval alchemy/golem making/ rune magic etc.

My biggest grippe with Eberron is that it uses, again, the same tired D&D races, even if they get a new spin at least. Were I to return to Eberron, I'd remove halflings, half-orc, elves and dwarves, putting more focus on goblinoids, harengon, minotaur, hexborn, satyr and yuan-ti, in addition to the more unique Eberroninan races such as shifter and warforged.

I'd keep the elves, I like their presentation, but I could easily drop the others (halfling, half-orc, dwarf). I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Dar, and they have basically become my default view of Goblins. So brilliant.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Don't Eberron Dragonshards fill that exact role?

Not really? Dragonshards have existed since the Age of Demons. They were formed at the creation of the Universe and people have always used them to power their rituals and magical items.

You could see them as a coal analogue, but they have always been used so there wasn't a moment of "and now we found a fuel source that can triple the energy output"

My biggest gripe about Eberron is probably that I think the Dragonmarks would work better if they were all spread amongst a more diverse array of the setting's races. The Goblinoids and Orcs should have had a few, at least in my opinion. And I do wish that the Dragonmarks' connections to the moons and other planes of existence was made a bit more explicit in the books.

I'd agree with that. The Dragonmarks are kind of oddly distributed. I like the houses and the Dragonmarks to make the houses, but a more even distribution would have been cool.

 

[ChaosOS]

While dragonshards have existed forever, the techniques to use them are more recent

Dragonmarks: Arcane History

This is my third article on this topic, following Arcane Science and The Arcane Arts. Arcane magic is a part of everyday life in Khorvaire. But how did we get to this point? If you travel back a th…

keith-baker.com

Dragonmarks: Arcane Industry

Sora (Sahra Syrralan d’Sivis) by Julio Azevedo Previous articles have discussed the basic principles of Arcane Science, delved into Arcane History and the evolution of the Arcane Arts, and di…

keith-baker.com

 

[grimslade]

Eberron has greatly benefitted from the continuing presence and involvement of Keith Baker. There is no other setting that is as connected to one person, albeit with sizable input from others, into the present. He is a steady hand on the tiller that continues to keep Eberron refreshed and reinvigorated. His articles on incorporating Spelljammer into Eberron with a Khorvaire space is inspired.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

Eberron has greatly benefitted from the continuing presence and involvement of Keith Baker. There is no other setting that is as connected to one person, albeit with sizable input from others, into the present. He is a steady hand on the tiller that continues to keep Eberron refreshed and reinvigorated. His articles on incorporating Spelljammer into Eberron with a Khorvaire space is inspired.

And having DMsGuild to get his ideas published without direct WotC supervision has been a gift to us as well.