Load me up with Eberron!

[megamania]

For role playing Races is a good book.

For the DM to get a good starting place Sharn is excellent and Five Nations has lots of ideas.


After that it depends where you are going. Players Guide I like but it is more a DM's tool. Dragonmark book was good if you want to follow up on them.


I'm really looking forward to the Dragon book.

 

[PoeticJustice]

I have been looking more closely at this setting, though still from afar, as it were. It has occurred to me that I might like to run it some day. And I like some of Keith Baker's other works, so. . .

Anyway, what would you recommend a DM get, if they want to inflict the Eberron experience in its full might and glory on some unsuspecting (but experienced, adult) players?

I recommend two to three copies of the ECS, unless you have a group of people willing to buy their copies. If you don't, then you should buy at least two- one for yourself, another for the table to look at or borrow.

 

[PoeticJustice]

And, of course, every Eberron player should own at least three copies of Gloom. That's just common sense.

Oh no! I've only got two (seriously).

 

[Asmor]

Oh no! I've only got two (seriously).

I've only got one-- and I don't even have the expansion!

I know, I know, I'm so ashamed!

 

[Vocenoctum]

Interestingly, I was going to say that Races of Eberron is really the only Eberron-focused book I didn't care for. No disrespect to the authors--they're all good--but in this particular instance, their choice of how to expand on the races often didn't fit with my own preferred methods and ideas. (This is particularly true of the warforged.)

I loved Races of *, great book and fleshed out stuff in a way I liked. What fits your definition for me was Faiths of * and Forge of War, both really went directions I didn't care for. Magic of * also lacked IMO.

Players Guide to * was probably the neatest book, hopefully Dragons will be cool.

Sharn, as a city I do not like, as a book it's great. Daca is my favorite NPC ever.

Secrets of Sarlona and Secrets of Xen-Drik are both fun book, but regionalized. Sarlona has a lot more flesh to it, but is also more focused on that place, whereas Xendril's modular approach gives more usefulness overall.


And of course, none of this matter if they jump Eberron forward a bit by igniting another Last War or some other apocalyspe to justify the changeover to 4e. In such a case, it will probably invalidate half the setting and given that Eberron players aren't as important as others, we won't be getting anything until 09 anyway.

In addition to the gnome change, it's one of the principle things that will drive me from 4e, at least through 08.

 

[Hellcow]

I recommend two to three copies of the ECS, unless you have a group of people willing to buy their copies. If you don't, then you should buy at least two- one for yourself, another for the table to look at or borrow.

While you're at it, get a few more - they make great placemats, coasters, and cutting boards. Personally, I bathe in ECSs, which might explain the smell.

Daca is my favorite NPC ever.

Hurray! I love Daca (even if I didn't work her into the novel).

And of course, none of this matter if they jump Eberron forward a bit by igniting another Last War or some other apocalyspe to justify the changeover to 4e. In such a case, it will probably invalidate half the setting

I certainly understand the concern, but I don't think there will be anything that extreme. The set up of being on the brink of the war is a central part of the setting. I can see tensions rising, issues in some of the more unstable nations and the like, but restarting the war would be SUCH a huge change... I just don't see it happening. Eberron also fits the "points of light" philosophy fairly well as it is; it's just had the Mourning to shake things up, and I don't think another one is required.

Of course, I could be wrong. But James Wyatt is in charge of story development at the moment, and he was part of the original Eberron team; personally I trust his understanding of what Eberron is about, because he helped establish that tone to begin with.

 

[GAAAHHH]

I have :
the Eberron Campaign Setting
Sharn: City of Towers
Faiths of Eberron
Secrets of Xen'drick

I would recommend all of them (though you could get by without Faiths of Eberron, but it has lots of information about the religions. I have found it tremendously useful.)

I plan on getting Five Nations and Dragonmarked to round out my collection.

I didn't care for Magic of Eberron. Player's Guide to Eberron was cool, but I thought a second copy of the Eberron Campaign setting would be more useful.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Hurray! I love Daca (even if I didn't work her into the novel).

It was just a neat concept that is certainly very useful in a game. Fun too.

I certainly understand the concern, but I don't think there will be anything that extreme. The set up of being on the brink of the war is a central part of the setting. I can see tensions rising, issues in some of the more unstable nations and the like, but restarting the war would be SUCH a huge change... I just don't see it happening. Eberron also fits the "points of light" philosophy fairly well as it is; it's just had the Mourning to shake things up, and I don't think another one is required.

I dunno, way too much civilization, easy methods of safe travel. I've always liked Eberron because it let me play just about anything, I could strand the players somewhere, or move them across the world easily, as the plot needed.

Points of Light seems counter to that. In addition, the magic system changes seem to require some kind of world-tipping, ala Magic Plague or whatnot.

Of course, I could be wrong. But James Wyatt is in charge of story development at the moment, and he was part of the original Eberron team; personally I trust his understanding of what Eberron is about, because he helped establish that tone to begin with.

It just seems that there are a lot of roadblocks between me and 4e right now. Making Green Dragons ugly? Removing Gnomes? Not publishing Eberrons 4e conversion until 09? Lots of names I trust with 4e, and yet they're consistently pushing in an opposite direction to what I want. I'll pick up the PHB most likely, but the No Gnomes thing might be a game-breaker for me.

 

[Hellcow]

I dunno, way too much civilization, easy methods of safe travel.

Well, I've written about this elsewhere, but to summarize my "Why Eberron works with Points of Light with little change" thoughts:

• Khorvaire has a low population density. "Points of Light" has ALWAYS been the model. In Breland, you have a lot of villages and hamlets around Sharn, Wroat, Starilaskur... but you have a lot of empty space between. There's not SUPPOSED to be a lot of villages right along the edge of the King's Forest. So around Sharn or Wroat it's very civilized, but halfway between you are out in the open.
• Eberron DOES have easy methods of safe travel. That's why the previous point works. Most people going from Sharn to Wroat will take the lightning rail, not walk. The main point to this is that there are still things in land claimed by the Five Nations that are, essentially, undiscovered (remember, untill the war began, Droaam was labeled as Breland on the map). You CAN find ruins from the Age of Demons or Dhakaani empire. Not in the dense central areas, but they are out there.
• Then you have the Mournland. The point here is that the central heart of the nation just got turned into one massive dungeon. Between ruined cities, strange areas created by the event, and monsters from the Mourning spilling out, there's lots of possibilities.

I've always liked Eberron because it let me play just about anything, I could strand the players somewhere, or move them across the world easily, as the plot needed.

And that's what I'm saying. As it stands, you CAN strand someone in Eberron. The world's just HAD an apocalyptic event - I don't think it needs another one.

Points of Light seems counter to that. In addition, the magic system changes seem to require some kind of world-tipping, ala Magic Plague or whatnot.

I'm of a few different minds on this.

One approach would be to simply ignore it. As long as NO ONE uses Vancian magic any more, I actually think it's a stronger approach. Eberron is a world with magewrights and wizards. If I'm basing my D&D campaign on a pre-existing novel - Lord of the Rings, say - I'm probably not going to change Middle Earth and say "Gandalf has to learn magic all over again". I'm just going to change the way magic works in the world and say "In 4E, Gandalf is a 15th level loremage, even though in 3.5 I had him as a wizard/archmage/loremaster." He didn't start all over again, I just had to figure out the best way to reflect his abilities under the new rules.

Essentially, the only reason I see a need for a magic-changing event in world continuity (for Eberron - not my place to make statements about FR) is if SOMEONE is still using Vanican Magic - or if there's something about the new system of magic that ought to have a huge impact on the world that hasn't been taken into account by current history, like teleport or sending being first level spells.

I don't like clumsy retconning. If it's decided that elephant-people are a core race, I would want to come up with a strong explanation for the presence of elephant people in 4th Edition Eberron, not just say "What? You didn't notice the elephant people before?" But unless the new system of magic SHOULD change the flavor of the world, I think it's easier to say "The 3.5 ECS says Mordain the Fleshweaver is the best Transmuter in the world. In 4th edition, transmutation magic works different, so Mordain is now a transmogrifier, but he's the best transmogrifier in the world." As long as the net result is the same - Mordain can turn you into a toad - I don't actually want to rewrite everything to say "Mordain used to use a spellbook but now he doesn't"... because it doesn't really matter if he did. And I don't want to say "Mordain can't use magic at all any more because it changed."

Essentially, if you just read the fluff of the 3.5 ECS, what things do you find that say "This can only happen in a world with Vancian magic?"

WITH THAT SAID - I haven't seen much of anything about the 4E magic system. If it's something that really WOULD change the history of the world if it existed in the past, that's a very different situation.

And with THAT said... even there, you could still essentially have a magical "aftershock" of the Mourning affect the way magic works without, say, having a second Mourning that nukes Breland. OMG! First the Mourning destroys Cyre, than four years later the aftershock transforms magic! What if the next aftershock kills us all?"

I'll pick up the PHB most likely, but the No Gnomes thing might be a game-breaker for me.

Well, there's still going to be gnomes in Eberron, at least AFAIK.

 

[Glyfair]

Well, there's still going to be gnomes in Eberron, at least AFAIK.

Indeed, James Wyatt has been pretty adamant about this.