Eberron Books

[GoodKingJayIII]

I've been flip-flopping about the next game I'd like to run. But I think I've finally decided that I'd like to stick to good ol' DnD 3.5 and I'll use the Eberron setting as a backdrop.

I bought the campaign sourcebook right when it came out, but I haven't really kept up with the expansions. Does WotC have a comprehensive list of the Eberron books they've released? More importantly, what are the important expansion books for the setting? Are there any "must haves?" Anything that should be strictly avoided?

 

[Nightchilde-2]

I've been flip-flopping about the next game I'd like to run. But I think I've finally decided that I'd like to stick to good ol' DnD 3.5 and I'll use the Eberron setting as a backdrop.

I bought the campaign sourcebook right when it came out, but I haven't really kept up with the expansions. Does WotC have a comprehensive list of the Eberron books they've released? More importantly, what are the important expansion books for the setting? Are there any "must haves?" Anything that should be strictly avoided?

Dragonmarked is a VERY good book IMHO. So is Faiths of Eberron.

Magic of Eberron was only so-so, but Sharn: City of Towers was awesome. And if you plan on playing in Xen'drik, you can't really go wrong with Secrets of Xen'drik.

 

[The Lost Muse]

The Player's Guide to Eberron is really good - it has a lot of background information on a whole range of subjects. I'd suggest running your campaign out of the ECS to see if you like it, and then picking up supplements as you go.

 

[Grymar]

My opinions here...

Sharn: City of Towers - 5 out of 5 If you want to go for the urban Eberron noir feel, than this book is worth its weight in gold.

Races of Eberron - 2 out of 5 - Some nice fluff, but also some inconsistencies and errors. I've used a few of the warforged feats in this book, but otherwise nothing.

Five Nations - 3 out of 5 - Very good if you want information on the five nations that made up Galifar. Mechanically, it isn't so great, but good fluff.

Explorer's Handbood - 4 out of 5 - I liked it, others didn't. I think it has great information on the airships, elemental galleons, and lightning rails. Also it has some very neat locations around the globe for adventure sites.

Player's Guide to Eberron 4 out of 5 - This isn't actually for players, IMO. Good information but also some inconsistencies. A DM can take selected articles and pass them on to players, but too many secrets are blown in this book for it to really be a player's book.

Secrets of Xen'drik --- I haven't looked into it yet. My campaign isn't heading to Xen'drik any time soon, so I haven't spent the time to read this.

Dragonmarked - 4 out of 5 - Good stuff! It has great information on the Houses and some neat feats for Dragonmarked characters. A few of the PrCs are pointless, but overall it is a good book.

I hoped this helped.

EDIT: I missed two.

Faiths of Eberron - 3 out of 5 - Has some good information, but I found most of the articles to be stretched out too long. They said something about the faith, and then repeated it for three pages. It is a good book and does help, but it is low priority compared to the others.

Magic of Eberron - 2 out of 5 - I had to go back and look at this book to even remember what was in it...that says something. It is a bunch of filler options that just don't fit anywhere else. I have used exactly one monster from this book in my game, nothing else. Skip it.

 

[Echohawk]

Does WotC have a comprehensive list of the Eberron books they've released?

Here's a complete list, excluding novels:

• Eberron Campaign Setting (Jun 2004)
• Shadows of the Last War (Jul 2004)
• Whispers of the Vampire's Blade (Sep 2004)
• Sharn: City of Towers (Nov 2004)
• Grasp of the Emerald Claw (Jan 2005)
• Deluxe Dungeon Master's Screen (July 2005)
• Five Nations (July 2005)
• Deluxe Eberron Character Sheets (Aug 2005)
• Explorer's Handbook (Aug 2005)
• Magic of Eberron (Oct 2005)
• Player's Guide to Eberron (Jan 2006)
• Voyage of the Golden Dragon (Apr 2006)
• Secrets of Xen'drik (Jul 2006)
• Faiths of Eberron (Sep 2006)
• Dragonmarked (Nov 2006)
• Secrets of Sarlona (Feb 2007)
• Curse of the Dragon's Eye (Apr 2007)
• Forge of War (Jun 2007)

 

[Grymar]

Here's a complete list, excluding novels:

• Eberron Campaign Setting (Jun 2004)
• Shadows of the Last War (Jul 2004)
• Whispers of the Vampire's Blade (Sep 2004)
• Sharn: City of Towers (Nov 2004)
• Grasp of the Emerald Claw (Jan 2005)
• Deluxe Dungeon Master's Screen (July 2005)
• Five Nations (July 2005)
• Deluxe Eberron Character Sheets (Aug 2005)
• Explorer's Handbook (Aug 2005)
• Magic of Eberron (Oct 2005)
• Player's Guide to Eberron (Jan 2006)
• Voyage of the Golden Dragon (Apr 2006)
• Secrets of Xen'drik (Jul 2006)
• Faiths of Eberron (Sep 2006)
• Dragonmarked (Nov 2006)
• Secrets of Sarlona (Feb 2007)
• Curse of the Dragon's Eye (Apr 2007)
• Forge of War (Jun 2007)

Keep in mind that these below are actually adventures, not sourcebooks.

• Shadows of the Last War (Jul 2004)
• Whispers of the Vampire's Blade (Sep 2004)
• Grasp of the Emerald Claw (Jan 2005)
• Voyage of the Golden Dragon (Apr 2006)
• Curse of the Dragon's Eye (Apr 2007)

 

[diaglo]

isn't there also a Races of Eberron hardback. i think i own that one.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Cool, thanks everyone.

Keep in mind that these below are actually adventures, not sourcebooks.

• Shadows of the Last War (Jul 2004)
• Whispers of the Vampire's Blade (Sep 2004)
• Grasp of the Emerald Claw (Jan 2005)
• Voyage of the Golden Dragon (Apr 2006)
• Curse of the Dragon's Eye (Apr 2007)

I did know that actually, which brings me to my next question: how are the adventures? I was thinking of running SoLW as an opening adventure and breaking off from there. I haven't really studied the source material in a while, so it might be useful for me as well, to re-familiarize myself with the setting.

 

[Morrow]

I did know that actually, which brings me to my next question: how are the adventures? I was thinking of running SoLW as an opening adventure and breaking off from there. I haven't really studied the source material in a while, so it might be useful for me as well, to re-familiarize myself with the setting.

I've got the first three. They aren't that impressive. IMHO all the best Eberron adventures have appeared in Dungeon.

Morrow

 

[Grymar]

Cool, thanks everyone.



I did know that actually, which brings me to my next question: how are the adventures? I was thinking of running SoLW as an opening adventure and breaking off from there. I haven't really studied the source material in a while, so it might be useful for me as well, to re-familiarize myself with the setting.

If I remember correctly, the first three are actually a continuing series. I haven't run them, but I read through them and they seemed to be pretty good. A bit railroad-ish, but that isn't uncommon in adventures.

Golden Dragon is an airship adventure which from what I've heard isn't that structured, it is more of a framework (npcs, maps, and plot hooks) for the DM to work with. That may be wrong since I haven't seen it myself, so get someone else's opinion.

There are also a series of adventures in Dungeon magazing, the best of which (IMO) is Chimes at Midnight in Dungeon #133. It is a mystery/crime adventure in Sharn for level 4-6 characters and is excellent.