I'm considering buying the Eberron Campaign setting. Can anyone explain it a a paragraph or two?
Eberron in a nutshell
- Thread starter sedarfaery
- Start date
Frostmarrow
First Post
Eberron is fantasy pulp action.
Thats like the skeleton of the campaign. I'm looking for the organs, muscles and the flesh and blood that make up the setting too.Frostmarrow said:
Doug McCrae
Legend
It's a fantasy version of Earth c. 1930, or that world as viewed by the pulps. There are analogues of New York (Sharn, City of Towers), the US, France, Germany, the Orient, the Dark Continent and the Great War. There's magic versions of railroads, airships (powered by elementals) and the telegraph. Magic is even more like technology than standard D&D. The world is fairly low powered, 10th is sort of maximum level for NPCs though there are a handful of exceptions.
Everything in standard D&D is to be found in Eberron, but with a pulp and/or cinematic spin. Noir is also an influence but not as strong as the other two. Imo the major artistic influence is Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In the typical Eberron adventure the PCs start off in Sharn, investigating a murder. The clues lead them to Xendrik, the dark continent. They travel there by airship and have a cinematic fight on board. In Xendrik they have a standard D&D dungeon bash. When the PCs leave the dungeon, they're jumped by the Order of the Emerald Claw, nazi analogues, who try to steal the PCs Ark of the Covenant.
Everything in standard D&D is to be found in Eberron, but with a pulp and/or cinematic spin. Noir is also an influence but not as strong as the other two. Imo the major artistic influence is Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In the typical Eberron adventure the PCs start off in Sharn, investigating a murder. The clues lead them to Xendrik, the dark continent. They travel there by airship and have a cinematic fight on board. In Xendrik they have a standard D&D dungeon bash. When the PCs leave the dungeon, they're jumped by the Order of the Emerald Claw, nazi analogues, who try to steal the PCs Ark of the Covenant.
Elves are death-worshiping necromancers who are so stuck on matching their ancestor's achievements that they don't try anything new on their own.
Gnomes are the masters of information and treachery. In their home country of Zilargo, the triple or quadruple cross is common and respected.
Halflings are nomads who ride the plains on dinosaurs. The civilized halflings run the top organized crime gang in Sharn.
Dwarves are former barbarians turned bankers.
Goblinoids are the left-overs of the largest and greatest empire on the continent, which lasted over 10,000 years before being destroyed a few thousand years ago by a war against abberants.
Orcs are the original druids and guardians of nature, especially against outsiders.
Dragons are former slaves turned philosophers and oracles. They quietly turn the events of the world from the shadows, working to fulfill the Draconic Prophecy.
Giants are also left-overs from a vast high-magic empire on the continent of Xen'drik, but they were destroyed by the dragons when they dared to do something too dangerous.
Into this mess, you add a few families who have developed Dragonmarks, essentially magical tattoos which are passed down genetically and give the bearer spell-like abilities. These twelve families found ways to leverage their abilities into massive monopolies which control the economy of the world.
The humans founded an empire in the ruins of the old goblinoid empire. This new empire lasted a thousand years before falling apart. The ensuing Last War lasted 100 years and ended just two years ago. While the war has ended, peace is fragile. The main event which keeps nations in line is that just four years ago one of the nations, Cyre, was utterly shattered in an event called the Mourning. The entire population was killed in an instant and the land turned into a mist-shrouded monster-haven called the Mournlands.
The PCs in the world are tossed into this mess of multi-national corporations, ancient empires, terrible sleeping evils, forgotten tombs and scheming nations.
I hope you enjoy it, as you can tell I do!
Gnomes are the masters of information and treachery. In their home country of Zilargo, the triple or quadruple cross is common and respected.
Halflings are nomads who ride the plains on dinosaurs. The civilized halflings run the top organized crime gang in Sharn.
Dwarves are former barbarians turned bankers.
Goblinoids are the left-overs of the largest and greatest empire on the continent, which lasted over 10,000 years before being destroyed a few thousand years ago by a war against abberants.
Orcs are the original druids and guardians of nature, especially against outsiders.
Dragons are former slaves turned philosophers and oracles. They quietly turn the events of the world from the shadows, working to fulfill the Draconic Prophecy.
Giants are also left-overs from a vast high-magic empire on the continent of Xen'drik, but they were destroyed by the dragons when they dared to do something too dangerous.
Into this mess, you add a few families who have developed Dragonmarks, essentially magical tattoos which are passed down genetically and give the bearer spell-like abilities. These twelve families found ways to leverage their abilities into massive monopolies which control the economy of the world.
The humans founded an empire in the ruins of the old goblinoid empire. This new empire lasted a thousand years before falling apart. The ensuing Last War lasted 100 years and ended just two years ago. While the war has ended, peace is fragile. The main event which keeps nations in line is that just four years ago one of the nations, Cyre, was utterly shattered in an event called the Mourning. The entire population was killed in an instant and the land turned into a mist-shrouded monster-haven called the Mournlands.
The PCs in the world are tossed into this mess of multi-national corporations, ancient empires, terrible sleeping evils, forgotten tombs and scheming nations.
I hope you enjoy it, as you can tell I do!
Patrick O'Duffy
First Post
Here's a bit from the handout I sent my Eberron players, focusing on mood and tone rather than hard setting details; I think that's more useful as a selling point than explaining how elves are different.
--
There are four key elements to Eberron’s tone and feel.
Heroic Fantasy: A band of adventurers brave an ancient tomb in search of treasure and glory. A righteous paladin faces down a battalion of evil cultists to protect a village. Brothers put aside their grudges to fight a deformed monster in the ruins of a Mournland city. This is what D&D does best – high fantasy action, dungeons, swords, spells, monsters and everything else. Heroes are larger than life and able to make real changes in the world by taking up arms against their foes.
Pulp Adventure: A masked sorceress wages a vigilante war against the crimelords of Sharn. A two-fisted scholar dodges deathtraps to retrieve an ancient artefact for study. A world-weary detective battles a madman on the deck of an airship to prevent his plan for world domination. This style of adventure is usually associated with 1920s pulp movies and books, but it translates perfectly into fantasy. Eberron isn’t a pastiche or parody of pulp adventure, but draws earnestly upon the same inspirations and aesthetics.
Noir Intrigue: A courtier plots to reignite the Last War so that his king might take control of all the Five Nations. A dragonmarked aristocrat arranges the assassination of his rival, not caring who is hurt in the process. A secret society turns allies against each other at the command of a shadowy, inhuman figure. Eberron isn’t a simplistic world, despite its focus on colour and adventure; it’s also a world of moral greys and uncertainties, where heroes need both brains and brawn, and where actions have consequences.
Widespread Magic: An artificer plants dragonshards into an amulet in a workshop illuminated by an ever-burning lantern. A warforged soldier with runes etched into his body buys a sword while his human partner stocks up on healing potions. A traveller flies across Khorvaire on an elemental-powered airship, while her rival boards a carriage on the Lightning Rail. Magic is a constant presence in Eberron, and even though most people have no magical skills, they still benefit – or suffer – from its power every day.
--
There are four key elements to Eberron’s tone and feel.
Heroic Fantasy: A band of adventurers brave an ancient tomb in search of treasure and glory. A righteous paladin faces down a battalion of evil cultists to protect a village. Brothers put aside their grudges to fight a deformed monster in the ruins of a Mournland city. This is what D&D does best – high fantasy action, dungeons, swords, spells, monsters and everything else. Heroes are larger than life and able to make real changes in the world by taking up arms against their foes.
Pulp Adventure: A masked sorceress wages a vigilante war against the crimelords of Sharn. A two-fisted scholar dodges deathtraps to retrieve an ancient artefact for study. A world-weary detective battles a madman on the deck of an airship to prevent his plan for world domination. This style of adventure is usually associated with 1920s pulp movies and books, but it translates perfectly into fantasy. Eberron isn’t a pastiche or parody of pulp adventure, but draws earnestly upon the same inspirations and aesthetics.
Noir Intrigue: A courtier plots to reignite the Last War so that his king might take control of all the Five Nations. A dragonmarked aristocrat arranges the assassination of his rival, not caring who is hurt in the process. A secret society turns allies against each other at the command of a shadowy, inhuman figure. Eberron isn’t a simplistic world, despite its focus on colour and adventure; it’s also a world of moral greys and uncertainties, where heroes need both brains and brawn, and where actions have consequences.
Widespread Magic: An artificer plants dragonshards into an amulet in a workshop illuminated by an ever-burning lantern. A warforged soldier with runes etched into his body buys a sword while his human partner stocks up on healing potions. A traveller flies across Khorvaire on an elemental-powered airship, while her rival boards a carriage on the Lightning Rail. Magic is a constant presence in Eberron, and even though most people have no magical skills, they still benefit – or suffer – from its power every day.
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