Which Eberron books have proved the most useful at your game table?

[buzz]

I realize there was a similar thread just a few weeks ago, but I wanted to make use of a poll to get a little more systematic.

So, of the Eberron supplements published so far, which have you found to be the most essential or useful at your game table? I'm not talking about which one you enjoyed reading the most (though feel free to comment on that); I'm talking about which ones best served to enhance your Eberron campaign. Which ones added cool bits to your adventures, or gave players nifty tools for their PCs, or best enhanced the setting as implemented in your campaign?

Also, while I don't have poll options for them, if there are any of the Eberron novels published so far that you thought were a) good, and 2) added something to your play experience as a DM or player, feel free to comment.

I ask because while I own all the Eberron supplements, I haven't managed to read most of them yet. Ergo, I want to prioritize my reading list.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Anti-Sean]

I voted for Sharn: CoT and Five Nations, as they've had the most directly applicable use for me so far. Those two books really helped to give me a sense of the lay of the land, prevailing attitudes, ideas, movers and shakers, and the like on both the micro (Sharn) and macro (Khorvaire) levels. We've spent most of the campaign so far in Sharn, and that book has been my lifeline. FN My players haven't had much much need for any of the excellent crunch that Races of Eberron, but two of their characters might at some point. They'll most likely run afoul of some of the options presented there soon, though. Faiths of Eberron and Dragonmarked have helped me come up with oodles of background ideas and plot hooks, but none of them have been implemented yet.

As far as novels go, I don't usually read D&D fiction, but I enjoyed the heck out of Hellcow's Dreaming Dark Trilogy. Plus, the first book, City of Towers, has an *excellent* glossary in the back.

 

[Voadam]

Dragon magazine articles. That's all I own. I've used warforged from there.

 

[Anti-Sean]

I forgot about them earlier since they weren't in your list, but as always, the Dragonshards articles on WotC's website deserve a mention; there's some fantastic stuff there.

 

[WayneLigon]

I have everything but the Sarlona book, and feel that eventually everything will prove useful. For me as GM, the most useful books are Sharn, Five Nations, and Dragonmarked.

For novels, so far the most useful to me is Blood and Honor, followed closely by Claws of the Tiger. They both show how inquisitives work and how the various shadow-plays are still going on under the surface of the current peace. The Dragon Below series was very useful, especially for someone doing things in the Shadow Marches or Droaam. All of them emphasize how frieakin' big Khorvaire is, and how long it takes to get from place to place.

 

[shilsen]

I forgot about them earlier since they weren't in your list, but as always, the Dragonshards articles on WotC's website deserve a mention; there's some fantastic stuff there.

Absolutely. I have them all saved on my computer and might flip through a dozen over the course of a week preparing for a session.

As for books, besides the ECS I've only purchased Sharn:CoT, Races of Eberron, PGtE and FIve Nations, and the Sharn one has come in most handy, since I'm running a predominantly Sharn-based campaign (see sig). Even if I weren't, it's a really good book for stealing things from. The other book that's very handy is the PGtE, which I frankly think is much, much better for DMs than players.

 

[Beckett]

Races of Eberron and Five Nations have contributed the most to the games I've been a part of. I've played a Bone Knight, and the setting details in 5N have helped flesh out parts of the game set in Karnath and the Mournlands. RoE has lots of crunch goodness.

Secrets of Xendrik has been a little bit useful, but my campaign was mostly done with Xendrik by the time of release.

I guess I should have marked Player's Guide, as that has been pretty nice for a 2 page synopsis on a region. Next time around, I'll make my players borrow it so they have a little idea where they're adventuring.

I expect to get some more use out of some of the books (Magic and Faith, in particular) when I revisit the setting for a new game. Since they were released mid-campaign, it was harder to work them in.

 

[drothgery]

Five Nations has probably had the most effect on my characters, so that's what I picked. But it's really background/character development stuff (except for one PC that was a Silver Pyromancer), not stuff where I needed the book at the table.

 

[blargney the second]

Secrets of Xen'drik, Player's Guide, and Races of Eberron have had the most impact on my games. Of the novels, my favourites are the Dreaming Dark series by Keith Baker, the Dragon Below series by Don Bassingthwaite, and the Tales of the Last War anthology.