Eberron: Shadows of the Last War

[GrayIguana]

For anyone who has DM'd this adventure, do you think it is absolutely necessary that the DM has the Eberron Campaign Setting?

I am normally the DM for our games, but I've talked someone into being the DM for a while. He may run this module since I expressed interest in the setting. The downside is that he doesn't have the ECS yet, and he may not by the time we play next.

By reading the 2 reviews on this site, I have the general impression that he should be able to get a feel for the world without having the setting yet, and I may print off some of the Dragonshard articles for him to give him somemore background. I also have the impression that this is a pretty good adventure, so I'm really psyched about being a player for a change.

 

[2WS-Steve]

I don't think it's necessary to have the CS -- can the DM at least borrow your book for a bit to check out the feats and races?

The scenario did strike me as a little hard -- so it might be worthwhile to run the short scenario in the back of the ECS book, and, if you can get it, the short Eberron scenario in Dungeon #113. This gives a nice foreground to the module and helps prepare the characters for the challenges of the adventure.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I also would suggest running the intro adventure in the back of the ECS book first.

Since Shadows of the War -- and even the intro adventure -- is a little bit railroadish, he shouldn't have too much trouble if he doesn't have the book yet because there's little chance the group will go off on an unexpected tangent.

But do loan him your copy of the ECS book so he can at least look over things and get a feel for the setting. This will help him with his descriptions and explanations.

 

[GrayIguana]

Thanks

Thank you. I appreciate the input. I am offering my copy of the ECS, but I'm fairly certain he won't read much of it. In fact that seems to be the main reason I am stuck in the role of DM. I'm REALLY excited to play a character. In fact I don't think I've played a character in several years. It seems that every few years (3 to 4) I convince someone in my group that they should DM. Unfortunately, most of the people I play with see the amount of reading and prep work as too large of an obstacle. In fact, I'm a bit afraid of even showing him the ECS. I think he'll run away screaming if I show him a text book sized work and tell him "here's a little background information".