Good Inspirational material for Eberron

[Klaus]

Any novel concerning the Shadow, the Spider, Doc Savage or the Phantom. Yank all '40's/'50's descriptions of pulp-tech and replace with magical equivalents.

Read Fu Manchu by Max Rohmer (spelling?).

Fory mysteries, some Agatha Christie might not hurt....although more '20's in flavor, she might inspire some mystery adventures just the same.

Read Raymond Chandler, obviously, as well as Dashiel Hammett (again, spelling?).

If your eyes haven't fallen out and your brain imploded from all that reading, there are some decent Dark Horse comics of The Shadow. Some Hellboy might not be bad either--although the tone is off kilter, the topic is spot on.

The Difference Engine is a great book (Bruce Sterling & my hero, William Gibson). "Steampunk," yes, but I see it meshing with the aforementioned Leage of Extraordinary Gentlemen motif nicely.

OK, now your brain should implode.

That's Sax Rohmer.

And yes, Fu Manchu is the epytome of the pulp mastermind.

 

[Glyfair]

One book that I bought, but misplaced before I could read it does seem like it might fit very well, Doc Sidhe by Aaron Allston (who has his own excellent gaming credentials). There was also a sequel, Sidhe-Devil.

Basically, it was a fantasy pulp adventure with strong Doc Savage elements. There must have been some ideas usable in Eberron in the two books.

After some quick research, I note it's available for free on the Baen Books website, too - http://www.baen.com/library/aallston.htm

 

[JPL]

One book that I bought, but misplaced before I could read it does seem like it might fit very well, Doc Sidhe by Aaron Allston (who has his own excellent gaming credentials). There was also a sequel.

Basically, it was a fantasy pulp adventure with strong Doc Savage elements. There must have been some ideas usable in Eberron in the two books.

"Sidhe-Devil" was the sequel. Good reads, by an author with considerable RPG chops. Modern humans cross over into a 1930s-meets-fantasy world, with a hero who is sort of Doc Savage as the King of the Elves.

Docs Savage and Sidhe are both very high level characters surrounded by a diverse, colorful group of lower-level [yet formidable] associates. An interesting alternative model for a party of PCs.

 

[Glyfair]

"Docs Savage and Sidhe are both very high level characters surrounded by a diverse, colorful group of lower-level [yet formidable] associates. An interesting alternative model for a party of PCs.

Oddly enough, I find the Justice, Inc. supplement, Lands of Mystery, has an excellent section on how to make this sort of party makeup work. The odd part is that this book on run a pulp lost worlds type campaign was written by Aaron Allston.