D&D 5E What's to Like about Eberron?

[Retreater]

I know next to nothing about Eberron, and seeing how it's the next big book coming out from Wizards (really, the only new thing on the horizon for the rest of the calendar year), maybe some of you can tell others and me why we should be excited about the setting?

I thumbed through the book at a Barnes & Noble when it was released in the 3.5 era. That perusal didn't catch my attention because it seemed so blasted weird. At the time it caught a lot of flak online and many gamers never gave it a second thought. Then a book came out during 4E, and probably fewer people saw that book (because, you know, 4E).

So what makes it so special that it's the first campaign world (excepting a city guide for a media tie-in) released for 5E - and the only resource not affiliated with the Realms?

 

[iserith]

I have run Eberron campaigns in D&D 3.5e, D&D 4e, and (currently) D&D 5e. What appeals to me about the setting is the emphasis on pulp action and fantasy noir in a setting rife with political intrigue in the shadow of a devastating war, one that dark forces conspire to see happen again.

It's a good place for over-the-top heroes and villains in a backdrop that has a lot of possibilities given its emphasis as magic-as-a-tool, faster-then-regular-D&D travel, and somewhat morally gray viewpoint.

Also warforged.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Keith Baker had a good idea. He noticed that Indiana Jones is a lot like D&D. That's it, that's the concept. What if D&D but twinned with the 1930s?

 

[Retreater]

Keith Baker had a good idea. He noticed that Indiana Jones is a lot like D&D. That's it, that's the concept. What if D&D but twinned with the 1930s?

Hmm. I've never seen that connection. I guess I would just run it in Hollow Earth Expedition, Savage Worlds, or something like that. D&D just seems like you have to change too much about the assumptions of the game - like forcing a square peg into a round hole.

 

[iserith]

Keith Baker had a good idea. He noticed that Indiana Jones is a lot like D&D. That's it, that's the concept. What if D&D but twinned with the 1930s?

Right, if you like your PCs like Indiana Jones, Eberron's the way to go. And I really do like that.

 

[Charlaquin]

Hmm. I've never seen that connection. I guess I would just run it in Hollow Earth Expedition, Savage Worlds, or something like that. D&D just seems like you have to change too much about the assumptions of the game - like forcing a square peg into a round hole.

I dunno, I feel like Indiana Jones fits pretty perfectly into D&D’s... hole... That didn’t come out right.

 

[Retreater]

I dunno, I feel like Indiana Jones fits pretty perfectly into D&D’s... hole... That didn’t come out right.

My understanding is that one of D&D's core conceits is resource management, dungeon crawling, wilderness travel, and the adventuring party. Indy is swashbuckling, cinematic, and (basically) a loner.
Are there Nazis? Not obviously, but like a universal evil organization?
And I wouldn't consider Indy a morally gray character. He's trying to keep religious artifacts from Hitler.

 

[Leatherhead]

Hmm. I've never seen that connection. I guess I would just run it in Hollow Earth Expedition, Savage Worlds, or something like that. D&D just seems like you have to change too much about the assumptions of the game - like forcing a square peg into a round hole.

It's a bit hard to see because Baker explicitly left out guns. Which is especially glaring considering how much of an impact the new guns had on the WW1 era. (I really hope the next new D&D setting is designed with guns in mind, it's long overdue)

The rest of the setting is more or less "D&D has had all of these weird things added to it over time, lets mix it up a bit and see how everything fits at the start of world building instead of cramming it in post"

 

[iserith]

My understanding is that one of D&D's core conceits is resource management, dungeon crawling, wilderness travel, and the adventuring party. Indy is swashbuckling, cinematic, and (basically) a loner.

You can still do that. It's just the setting is different. Though I will say I think Eberron is best with set piece encounters and event-based adventures rather than big dungeon crawls.

Are there Nazis? Not obviously, but like a universal evil organization?

There are a lot of "evil" organizations, but again, it's kind of a morally gray place. So it kind of depends on your point of view. It's not like class D&D where good and evil are very clear. It could be said the Emerald Claw is kind of the "Nazi's" of Eberron.

 

[Parmandur]

Guildmasters Guide to Ravnica isn't a "city guide," it's a campaign setting book for an Ecumenopolis, a planet that is one city. It is as much of a setting as any other.

Eberron is a post-WWI 20's-30's style fantasy setting, with 19th-20th century pulp tropes: think Maltese Falcon, Indiana Jones, the Thin Man, Tarzan, mobsters, newspapers, archeology, conspiracies, Eldritch horrors, Lost World, etc.

It is one of the most popular D&D settings of all time, which is one of the prime reasons WotC is making it: market demand.