I should start by saying that Eberron did not save D&D for me, but it rather breathed a new, healthy interest into the hobby for myself. I waited for months like many others, listening to the naysayers who were so convinced that it was going to bomb royally, and picked up the book without reading any reviews by others who bought it.It was everything that I expected, and more. Ranking in at 320 pages, the book is not going to set any records, but the existing detail that was packed into the space is amazing.
The Introduction sets the tone of Eberron nicely, and gives a list of 'Ten Things That You Need To Know About Eberron'. It also gives a list of pulp and film-noir movies like the Maltese Falcon that fit the mood of Eberron nicely.
Chapter One deals with character races, introducing the Changeling (human with a doppelganger ancestor that has the ability to alter her appearence at will), Kalashtar (psionic race, long backgound that I'll have to skip here), Shifter (humans with lycanthrope ancestors, extremely well done), and the Warforged (constructs powered by magic that have souls and intelligence, they were built as elite units during the Last War). The chapter also gives descriptions of the existing races and how they fit into Eberron. Some, like the elves and gnomes, go through a major reenvisioning that I think is definetely for the better.
Chapter Two deals with Character Classes, introducing the Artificer (a type of mage who infuses items with magic, kind of like limited use staves or scrolls, and is very big with crafting items) and giving example characters and backgrounds for each of the other classes. The Artificer is very unique and well-thought out, and fits in well with a party that has a warforged 'tank'.
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Chapter Three deals with Heroic Characteristics, describing Action Points (a similar system is found in the SW RPG with Force Points and d20 Modern) and the 70-odd new feats.
Chapter Four introduces us to 8 new prestige classes, actually 12, because one, the Eldeen Ranger is actually five-in-one (its' abilities are adjusted depending on which druidic sect you choose). My personal favorite is the Master Inquisitive, a 5 level prestige class perfectly suited for pulp detectives and some bounty hunters.
Chapter Five deals with Magic and the Planes of Eberron. The beginning of the chapter summarizes nicely what role the magewrights (a new working NPC class of mages, fulfill the low-level industrial uses of magic, like lighting continual flame lanterns in the streets) and the Dragonmarked houses fulfill in everyday life. It also introduces a new concept of 'manifest zones' for the planes. Every so often, one of the planes will stray close to Eberron (all of them are on an 'orbit', remiscent of the planets of our solar system around the sun) and in the area that is affected, certain spells may be extended or maximized for example, and others may be impeded. The chapter ends with numerous new domains and spells, many devoted to aiding or injuring constucts.
Chapter Six details Adventuring Equipment, mainly exotic weapons, weapon/armor materials, and identification documents that most of the upper-class uses while traveling.
Chapter Seven, Life in the World, in easily the longest section at 96 pages. It describes each of the nations of Khorvaire in detail, as well as Aerrnal and the other continents in Ebberon (Xen'Drik, Argonnessen, and Sarlona in case you were wondering). It ends with a timeline of the World, the first dated entry being a whopping 10,000,000 years ago!
Chapter Eight describes the various Organizations of Eberron, along with example characters. I can't say too much without giving some brilliant stuff away, but many of the evil forces in the world have their sticky hands in some high places, to say the least.
Chapter Nine gives you advice on how to Run an Eberron Campaign, ranging from how to get the party together to pulp-noir mission types.
Chapter Ten deals with Magic Items, the most notable being the three types of Dragonshards that make late 1800's-eque technology available in a pulp-fantasy setting. Two new concepts include elemental bound items (which are exactly what they sound like, items that have an elemental bound inside them, giving various bonuses) and warforged components, items that specifically take up slots meant only for the warforged. A mystery surrounds some, since some are tens of thousands of years old and function only on the warforged (who were first produced 30-odd years ago).
Chapter Eleven gives statistics and decriptions for new types of monsters in Eberron, as well as information on how to fit existing ones into your campaign.
The book ends with an example adventure meant for four 1st level characters in the city of Sharn. I don't plan on running it myself, but the overall tone of it looks quite suited for a pulp campaign.
The artwork in the book IMO is well-done, although not all may approve of the new comic book style of some pieces, mainly traditionalists. Some of the artwork, like the overview of the Aundairian countyside on page 140 is awe inspiring, while others like the warforged wizard on 112 I could live without.
I believe that this is best setting sourcebook that I have ever bought for D&D, and would recommend it to anyone that wants to try out a different style of campaign then the straight out genocide of the orcs and goblinoids.
My only drawback about the book is that there is no fold out map. Fortunately, some resourceful people online made one of their own, complete with towns and places of interest.
Keep an open mind while reading this friends, this is brilliance in a bound cover here.
Au revoir
