D&D 5E Keith Baker: Exploring Eberron

Eberron creator Keith Baker has been busy recently! He has unveiled the cover to his new book, to be released in July on DMs Guild in PDF and Print on Demand hardcover. It will dive into parts of Eberron that have received little attention in prior books, including the undersea civilizations and the planes.

Keith sent Sly Flourish a PDF copy of the book, which Sly flipped through


Also, check out the KB Presents Twitter for past previews

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I agree with ChaosOS -- that Vadalis is more likely to tweak things that already exists than to make something entirely new. I also feel that they primarily work with beasts, or with monstrosities that are themselves variations of beasts (griffons, hippogriffs, owlbears). So if someone wanted to have a winged cat as a Vadalis creation I might allow it; but I don't see Vadalis making tiny beholders.

Makes sense.

Tiny beholders would be super weird, but miniature displaced beasts...

 

[tetrasodium]

Speaking of putting spectral tentacles on a cat, how free are you (and any other Eberron DMs in the thread) with creating weird new creatures for players to have as Vadalis magebred pets?

I break it down into two groupings. Magebred animals that range from designer pets to gmo cow/horse/guard dog type stuff at one end that most anyone could probably get given funds & such is the first grouping. The second grouping is War Beasts/Animals... These range from horrid beasts/owlbears/winterwolves/etc to a lot of the beast-like creatures (frankly that's most of them) in this. They are almost exclusively found roaming the wilderness or terrorizing villages after being left as landmine type obstacles during the Last War or being prepared for the Next War. The permits, care needs, etc required for many of those War Beasts are well beyond what a player could gain since Vadalis is not keen on selling the beasts meant for dropping on areas in need of depopulating in the next war to private actors (not to mention it being horribly broken if they did).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

On the topic of "Exploring Eberron", has their ever been much published about the oceans? Is the deep ocean part of Khyber? Are krakens and aboleths daelkyr creatures?

 

[ChaosOS]

Dragonmarks 12/26/14: Under The Sea and Eberron Expanded -- Lords of Madness get into some of it, but the new book will have more. No canon answer on Krakens, but Aboleths are native and rules the seas during the Age of Demons.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I break it down into two groupings. Magebred animals that range from designer pets to gmo cow/horse/guard dog type stuff at one end that most anyone could probably get given funds & such is the first grouping. The second grouping is War Beasts/Animals... These range from horrid beasts/owlbears/winterwolves/etc to a lot of the beast-like creatures (frankly that's most of them) in this. They are almost exclusively found roaming the wilderness or terrorizing villages after being left as landmine type obstacles during the Last War or being prepared for the Next War. The permits, care needs, etc required for many of those War Beasts are well beyond what a player could gain since Vadalis is not keen on selling the beasts meant for dropping on areas in need of depopulating in the next war to private actors (not to mention it being horribly broken if they did).

I’ve no issue with players getting something like an owlbear as a reward, tbh. I just compare it to a magic item in order to determine what impact it will have on the game.

 

[tetrasodium]

I’ve no issue with players getting something like an owlbear as a reward, tbh. I just compare it to a magic item in order to determine what impact it will have on the game.

I don't so much have an issue with it, just 5e is so different from 3.5 & it doesn't mesh too well with the mechanics IME. Maybe once the artificer/UA ranger/druid pet stuff is a little more settled just not yet,

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I don't so much have an issue with it, just 5e is so different from 3.5 & it doesn't mesh too well with the mechanics IME. Maybe once the artificer/UA ranger/druid pet stuff is a little more settled just not yet,

Idk about the 3.5 stuff. I’d just work out basic 5e stats using the MM and DMG guidelines.

But I do think the Artificer style stats could work if you want to, say, have a magical connection to the pet.

 

[Hellcow]

On the topic of "Exploring Eberron", has their ever been much published about the oceans? Is the deep ocean part of Khyber? Are krakens and aboleths daelkyr creatures?

There will be a section on the oceans (well, the Thunder Sea specifically) in Exploring Eberron, the unofficial book I'm working on.

 

[ChaosOS]

Hi Keith! Question about the planes writ large - are the Talenta Plains and Eldeen Reaches actually more plane-touched or is that just authors writing more about manifest zones when there aren't cities to discuss. If they are, how does that compare to Sarlona, which per SoS is extra sensitive to the planes.

 

[Hamburger Mary]

Hmm.