Sell me on Sharn

[Wraith Form]

by the way, reat = "Great". Sigh.

I'm waffling on this one. I've heard some say it's text is less exciting than watching paint dry. Others are giving it high scores. I've even heard a debate as to whether it's comparable to Waterdeep.

Talk to me, people.

Two great tastes that go great together: "sell me on..." + poll = joy for all

 

[Nightchilde-2]

As much as I hate to see the local crack & ho scene get stiffed out of money, I'd have to recommend Sharn if....

a) You play Eberron and...
b) You plan to feature Sharn.

Otherwise, it might be a bit useless. It really is about Sharn, unlike some books that describe "city X and the surrounding environment." The majority of the crunch (and there isn't that much) is really only useable in Sharn (or some other Syrania manifest zone).

However, if you want a book with a lot of fluff (even though, yes, some of that is a bit of a dry read), then Sharn is a great book.

Well, it's a great book anyway, but I think you know what I'm saying.

However, if you don't subscribe to a) or b) you could probably mine the book for some bits and pieces but you're going to get far less use out of it; even less use if you don't subscribe to a).

 

[Wraith Form]

As much as I hate to see the local crack & ho scene get stiffed out of money, I'd have to recommend Sharn if....

a) You play Eberron and...
b) You plan to feature Sharn. ** SNIP **

Thanks. Now, do you consider Waterdeep to be "Realms-exclusive" just as Sharn is "Eberron-exclusive"?

 

[Wraith Form]

As much as I hate to see the local crack & ho scene get stiffed out of money

To be fair, I'm sure you don't really need to worry about that....I got it under control, lol

 

[dravot]

I haven't seen the Waterdeep book, so the comparison is lost on me. I pretty much agree with Nightchilde: it loses it's appeal if you're not playing Eberron, and it loses some of it's appeal if you don't want to use Sharn within Eberron.

Seeing as there's not much Eberron stuff, I like it just for any info on the world at large, regardless of the specificity of the material. It's easier for me to imagine what life might be like in Karrn'ath by having read Sharn (and so on).

 

[johnnype]

I'm not done reading it so take this with a grain of salt but I like it and I'm glad to own it. I like the fact that it's mostly fluff (I'd say about 80% fluff). From WotC that's rare. Some recent FR hardbacks less fluff than that. There are a few feats and prestige classes in the book buy thankfully it's kept to a manageable level.

Yes, some of the material is a bit dry. For example, there is entirely too much writing on the different restaurants in the city. Who TF cares? It would be enough to list their names and locations but we don't need an entire paragraph on each. Just my opinion of course.

You should read the preview WotC has on their website. It gives you a good idea of what to expect.

 

[Arnwyn]

IMO, Sharn doesn't even compare to Waterdeep (box + Volo's Guide, etc). It's okay, but Waterdeep is far superior, AFAIC.

With that said, I did buy Sharn, and have put it into my FR campaign - I'm still trying to decide whether I'll place it in Halruaa or Nimbral.

 

[Desdichado]

Presumably your comparing this to a 2e product? The Waterdeep book isn't out for a few more months, right?

I quite like Sharn, even though we do have a local Eberron game, and I'm starting up a PbP Eberron game as well. I'd use a lot of material from it in homebrew as well.

If you play in, say Forgotten Realms, though, for example, you'd have a trickier time using it.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Cthulhu is better.

If you are waffling DON'T get it, get something you are not waffling on because no matter how you feel about it you will hold it against the setting. Game books go through a 'hot, warm and cold' phase, Sharn was just released and is in the hot phase because it is new, wait and see if it goes to the warm or cold, I think you may be seeing it going into that warm about now, people will say it is good BUT...

Side note: Bluffside as stood the test of time, being a strong and solid product.

 

[Jaws]

If you are waffling DON'T get it, get something you are not waffling on because no matter how you feel about it you will hold it against the setting.

I was waffling and did get it. Now I regret it.

Everyone above gave sound advice too.


Peace and smiles

j.