Eberron 3.5 or 4e?

[Feeroper]

Hey everyone, I am new to the Eberron setting but am thinking of making my next campaign in that setting based on the reading about it that Ive done.

My question is this, should I go 4e or 3.5? Would there be a benefit to getting both campaign guides from each edition? Currently we are playing 4e so I am leaning 4e, but would there be any benefit fluff wise to get the original 3.5 campaign guide?

I was also wondering about the 3.5 Players Guide to Eberron. I know that its not really a players guide but more of an encyclopedia, would that be a worthwhile purchase for flavour purposes? Ive found that the 3.5 Eberron books are fairly cheap on the amazon marketplace, so I was thinking of picking a couple of them up if they are worht it.

 

[samursus]

Not having played Eberron, but owner of the 3.5 and 4e Campaign/Setting guides, I would say that if you are serious into using the setting for all its worth, it would be wise having at least some of the fluff from 3.5. Eberron hasn't changed too much in the edition change, and WOTC has stated that 3 books/setting is the way its gonna be...at least for now.

IIRC 3.5 Eberron books were a lot of fluff so you should get much use out of them...

However, you really don't NEED anything but the ECG ... you could fill in the details yourself.

As far as the edition goes, play whichever one your group enjoys the most... giving more weight to whoever DM's, IMO.

 

[Glyfair]

4E works exceptionally well for Eberron. I say 4E vs. 3.5 is mostly a matter of which you prefer.

As for fluff, nothing really has changed except for a handful of additions. All the non-mechanical bits in old Eberron books works fine in 4E. Given that, the general consensus is that given a choice between the 4E Campaign Guide and the 3.5 Campaign Guide, the 4E one works much better for setting up a campaign.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'd say whichever system has the mechanics you're the most comfy with is the one you should go with...then use whatever fluff you want.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

4E works exceptionally well for Eberron. I say 4E vs. 3.5 is mostly a matter of which you prefer.

As for fluff, nothing really has changed except for a handful of additions. All the non-mechanical bits in old Eberron books works fine in 4E. Given that, the general consensus is that given a choice between the 4E Campaign Guide and the 3.5 Campaign Guide, the 4E one works much better for setting up a campaign.

I would probably get the 4E campaign guide in your case. But if you want more, there is nothing wrong with getting some other 3.5 Eberron supplements. You might want to read reviews or ask around about the fluff/crunch ratio before getting any, of course.

 

[Jhaelen]

My question is this, should I go 4e or 3.5? Would there be a benefit to getting both campaign guides from each edition? Currently we are playing 4e so I am leaning 4e, but would there be any benefit fluff wise to get the original 3.5 campaign guide?

I was also wondering about the 3.5 Players Guide to Eberron. I know that its not really a players guide but more of an encyclopedia, would that be a worthwhile purchase for flavour purposes? Ive found that the 3.5 Eberron books are fairly cheap on the amazon marketplace, so I was thinking of picking a couple of them up if they are worht it.

When I decided to use Eberron as a campaign setting for 4e I immediately started looking for the 3e supplements. I'm not sure if I'd get the 3e ECS, since that's pretty well covered by the 4e books.

I'd definitely get the 3e player's guide, because it has tons of additional, detailed info.
If you're planning to spend a lot of time in Sharn, you should probably also get the 3e Sharn sourcebook. The same is true for the regional sourcebooks: Sarlona, Argonessen, X'endrik, etc.

Since I was able to get the books for a very low price I pretty much bought them all... now I just have to find the time to read them all

 

[questing gm]

I agree with sticking to 4E and buying the 3.x Player's Guide. Some other 3.x supplements that I would highly recommend for their fluff is Sharn and Five Nations.

Forge of War if you are interested in running a campaign during the Last War.

 

[Engilbrand]

Go with the 4e stuff. The Player's Guide isn't bad. When it comes to the flavor and history, there's something that was talked about a few months ago called the Grand History of Eberron. It doesn't have many pictures, but it's basically all of the non-crunch information on Eberron. It's also about 500 pages.
The Grand History of Eberron

 

[Asmor]

The 3e Player's Guide to Eberron is one of the best D&D supplements to come out of the edition, IMHO. I can't recommend it highly enough. Definitely get it, regardless of the setting you use.

Personally, I think 4e is a great fit for Eberron. The artificer feels a bit weird, but that's the only real complaint I have.

If you don't already have the 3rd edition books, go ahead and get the 4e campaign guide. It's a very good "survey" of things, lots of breadth but little depth. If there are things that you're particularly interested in, I'd also get the specific 3e books which deal with them, e.g. Sharn: City of Towers.

 

[karlindel]

I think that 4e is the better system for Eberron, and if your group is already happy with it, you should stick to that. The 4e campaign guide does an excellent job of setting up antagonists and suggesting adventure ideas.

The 3.5 Eberron books are an excellent value. Many of them are mostly fluff, which transfers between editions with only rare issues. I will rank them below based on the utility I think a typical 4e GM would get out of them.

I highly recommend Five Nations, as it gives a good overview of the different nations, which is useful no matter where you plan to be. 5 out of 5

The Dragonmarked book is useful if you have a character that is a member of a dragonmarked house or if you want the dragonmarks to feature prominently in your campaign. 4 out of 5

Races of Eberron showcases the racial cultures of the Eberron races, and is particularly useful if you have characters of those races. It does a good job of fleshing them out and has a lot of ideas you can base an adventure on (shifter contests and sports come to mind). 4 out of 5

Faiths of Eberron goes into more detail on the various religions of Eberron. It is useful to flesh out potential allies and enemies, with information on the philosophies of the faiths, holy days, and the like. 4 out of 5

The Sharn book is also excellent, as it is a central hub and most Eberron campaigns will pass through there. If you plan to have a significant portion of your campaign set there, it is a must have. 3 out of 5

The 3e Campaign Setting has a lot of overlap with the 4e Campaign Guide, but can still be a worthwhile purchase, as it has a different focus in some areas, and not all of the information is duplicated. It also has some useful mechanical/flavor ideas that are not in 4e could be ported over with some work, such as the Siberys Dragonmarks and tiered dragonmarks. 3 out of 5

The Forge of War has useful information if your campaign is going to involve the Last War. It is useful to think about how the war affects modern life, as many people consider the current peace to be only temporary. Less useful if you want to keep the war in the background, a must have if you want to bring it to the forefront. 3 out of 5

The Player's Guide to Eberron is good, has a lot of interesting trivia, and is worth picking up, but I would not put it at the top of the list. 3 out of 5

Explorer's Handbook has useful information on exploring Eberron, travelling, and the like. It is versatile and can be useful for plot hooks, but does not add as much to the game as some others. It has more utility if you plan a campaign heavy on travelling around the world. 2 out of 5

Secrets of Xen'drik is useful if you plan to use the continent of Xen'drik in your campaign. Since it is a great area for pulp action, I think it is fairly useful, although you could do without it. 2 out of 5

Dragons of Eberron gives some more specific information on the Eberron dragons. It has some useful information, and if your campaign focuses on the Draconic Prophecy and will include multiple dragons, then you will want to pick it up. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. 2 out of 5

Secrets of Sarlona will be useful if the Kalashtar, Riedrans and Dreaming Dark feature prominently in your game. Also useful as an alternative setting in Eberron if you want to go that route. 2 out of 5

City of Stormreach is handy if you plan to use Xen'drik heavily in your campaign. Even if the PCs only go there once, it can be useful. However, you can get by without it. 1 out of 5

I would avoid Magic of Eberron, as it was more crunch heavy, and I was not particularly impressed by it even in 3.5. 1 out of 5