42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Captain Jandor Reviews Eberron Campaign Guide, August 18, 2009
This review is from: Eberron Campaign Guide: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement (Hardcover)
Hey there space cadets,
All of the fans of D&D out there know this already, but it bears repeating: this month sees the release of the second Campaign sourcebook for Eberron, and the second campaign guide for 4e. The question to be answered here is simple. Is the Eberron Campaign Guide worth my $30+ dollars?
The short answer is yes.
The longer answer is maybe. (By 2 letters!)
First all, to anyone out there reading this who isn't a DM (and has no aspirations to be one) this book will not be of use to you. Go get Divine Power this month instead.
Now, to my fellow DMs: ask yourselves a question. What kind of stories do I like to tell?
If the answer is high action, swashbuckling, intrigue filled, noir-influenced, gritty, pulp, etherpunk (thanks goes to a buddy of mine for that word) style games, then Eberron is a perfect match. If your answer is high fantasy, good vs. evil, light vs. dark, order against chaos, heroes and villains, ancient swords and reborn kings, then you probably want to look at Forgotten Realms. But then again, maybe you need a change ...
Eberron games have been described (by the folks at Wizards, no less) as cinematic in nature. Encounters (both combat and social) are set pieces, with one major item of information to be imparted during the course of the scene. And there is plenty of cinematographic stuff: the high towers of Sharn, battles on flying airships, monsters on the high seas, train robberies on the lightning rail, eldritch monsters from the age of demons trapped in ancient ruins deep beneath the earth, old jungle temples choked with vines and dark spirits, and on and on. And Eberron is full of factions who seek everything from information to ancient maps to treasure forgotten by time, factions who aren't necessarily friendly, and who may or may not have the heroes interests in mind ...
The reason this sort of setting is a good match for 4e is the nature of the game itself. Traps and hazards are set up to be less punishing and more group interactive; the tiers of power allow a simple measure of what threats are realistic for your players; the healing surge mechanic is great for time-sensitive missions; monsters are more varied and have more staying power, allowing more complex encounters and a better chance of recurring villains; item creation is faster and simpler, allowing artifice to play a much bigger role; the new Dragonmark mechanics emphasize marked characters as being the best of the best, rather than giving you a minor and highly circumstantial boost or two; and the integration with all currently (and subsequently) published materials eases play and saves your wallet. Plus, you can still use all of the 3rd edition stuff (at least as far as fluff is concerned) and you only need 2 books to get up to speed with 4th!
You're probably thinking: "That's all fine well and dandy, CJ, but what does this book offer me that makes it worth my [..]" Well there are several things.
The guide contains advice on how to run Eberron games that feel like Eberron games. It has expanded information on the various antagonistic factions throughout the land, including example monsters/NPCs associated with said factions. It has information on threats and challenges for your heroes ranging from 1st level all the way to the completion of an epic destiny at 30th. It comes with an adventure, ready to play, with two battle maps. It comes with two battle maps. It has a huge map of Khorvaire. It has expanded cosmology rules and information on how to bring the planes into play. And it has expanded information on history, locations and the world in general.
All in all its a pretty solid resource for grabbing ideas and frameworks around which to build a delve, an adventure or a full on campaign. It supports (out of the box) all published material to date. It's also a damn cool setting, and worth checking out or your idea mill if nothing else. So my final verdict? Yeah. If you have money to spare, or need need to use up that gaming budget this month; if you like pulp noir etherpunk stories; if you have always wanted to make your players run away from a giant boulder into a hostile jungle full of unfriendly drow (ala Indiana Jones); and if you like stories set in a world torn by war, where magic abounds and you can't trust anyone, least of all the person you're working for ... the Eberron Campaign Guide is for you.
[...]
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book has so much adventure in it, it oozes from the pages, July 24, 2009
This review is from: Eberron Campaign Guide: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement (Hardcover)
NOTE: At the moment I have only had about 1 solid hour of time to browse through this book. But it has definitely left an impression on me already.
This book is filled to the brim with information to bring this Campaign world to life. I have not owned the Original 3.X guide, so I can't compare this to that, but I can say that I think it is head and shoulders above the 4E Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.
The world seemed much more interconnected than the 4E Forgotten Realms guide. With the various Faiths, Dragonmarked Houses, nations, and other organizations all interacting with each other working towards their own agenda, Eberron seems a lively and interesting place where any type of adventurer can find something interesting to do.
If you are new to 4E, and are trying to decide which Campaign guide to get. Jump into Eberron, I don't think you will be disappointed.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A well done campaign guide for a setting that's good match for 4th Ed. D&D, July 24, 2009
This review is from: Eberron Campaign Guide: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement (Hardcover)
I just got this book last night, and I'm very excited about it so far. It gives a great overview of the world geographically, historically, politically, and more. There is a lot of information to inspire many adventures. The same can be said for the art work, since I think I came up with several adventure ideas just from some of the illustrations.
This is a campaign setting that encourages pulp action, political intrigue, fantasy noir, steampunk-like elements (except being magical instead of industrial and steam driven).
The Eberron setting is a really great match for the 4th Edition D&D rule system, and this book is an excellent resource for a DM who wishes to run a game in this setting. If you are a player (and not the DM), you should get the Eberron's Player's Guide instead of this, however this is an excellent book for the DM. It's definitely an improvement over last year's Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.
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