Customer Reviews

Eberron Campaign Setting (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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'.

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

I don't know, maybe I have seen the Pulp/noir setting too much recently for me to think of Eberron as a fresh or original idea, since there are a number of comic books and novels out that have come up with this idea, and a few fantasy rpg settings as well. But, that doesn't mean this isn't an interesting campaign setting. It really is the only setting since Dark Sun to really make an effort to include the psionic rules *(which seem to be an internet fan favorite) but for most of the games I play in Psionics isn't favored. It is considered to be a little munchkin... most gamers that I know prefer the grim and gritty low magic campaigns, where psionics doesn't fit very well into imo. But, I do know that a large number of new players love this stuff, and it is great that a setting is taking advantage of the rulebooks that are being produced and this should be a ray of sunshine for all the psionic fans out there that have been hoping for something interesting.

Even thou I am not that excited about the pulp/noir setting, I still feel this is a great campaign world to have fun adventures in. It is really set up to go exploring... sorta of reminds me of the Earthdawn game form FASA awhile back. While Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms are very involved settings, with lots of detail, (Greyhawk less now then it use to be) I find that they are hard to place a campaign into easily. Greyhawk as it stands now doesn't really have much information for new DMs to really entertain. The Realms is a little overwhelming, placing a game in FR normal stomps on the feet of historians who read all the books, and are quick to point out inconsistency. While I feel Mr. Baker has made Eberron an easy fit to start up a game for new and old players a like, I worry that it may start becoming stale after awhile. Will the flashy new races and spell technology hold its luster overtime?

My only real issue with the book is that it does seem very balanced at times. The Weretouched are not balanced at all, the bearform is just overpowering. There are some races that seem like they should have ECLs added to them, and in general it seems like it's a land for the power gamer. Oh I take that back I have one more issue. The editing is horrid, no fault to Mr. Baker and the other writers (your editors should catch this stuff) as it is a rather large book, but tons of errors and just wrong information (also a bad batch of books was sent out with bad page numbering and a number of major goofs). An Errata will soon follow I am sure, but I have noticed in recent releases that WotC is not doing a very good job of editing and proof reading their books.

The art is decent and at times amazing, but also not up to par in a lot of cases. Not a big fan of Walker and his Mignola Hellboy rips, but some of the comic books stuff works (Ted Beargeon). This book has much better art then their last book, Complete Divine. I also like the fact that comic books and pulp sort of go hand in hand, so I like the art direction.

For people looking to just add new rules and ideas to their campaigns this books is great. The Action Point rules (which other 3rd party games have been using for some time (Mutants and Masterminds for one) is a great addition to a D&D game. The Warforged (not something I care for and to me is a rip from Battlechasers and any Final Fantasy game) is an interesting idea and seems to be there to excite the fans of Japanese rpg games (I am guessing this comes from Mr. Bakers video game background), and the Dragonmarks are an interesting idea to spice up characters (even thou they remind me of Bloodlines from Birthright).

I think if you are new to D&D this is a great starter campaign setting and if you are bored of traditional settings this might spark your interest.

I still prefer the originality of Darksun and Planescape over Eberron, but those two campaigns haven't made the 3rd edition, so it looks like Eberron is the alternative for something different but still maintains what is D&D. In time we will see if Eberron is just a fade campaign world or if it has some staying power. I am sure their will be a lot of diehard fans that will keep it alive.

I gave it 3 stars based on the Editing... I think the content and production value is almost 4 stars and may have concidered it a 4 star book if the bad taste of getting one of those bad books wasnt still in my mouth.

I don't think I will run a campaign in Eberron, but I know I will use some of the ideas from it. But who knows if the support material that comes out is good, maybe my campaign will be based in Eberron someday.

Disclaimer: I did not submit a campaign idea to WotC, so my review is non biased. A lot of reviews you will read are either from fanboys ( wotc can do no wrong) or bitter designers who didn't get their world picked. Read between the lines on any review you read for Eberron or go to your local book or gaming store and flip through it before purchasing.

A good campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons should do three things:

1. Be a useful resource to the Dungeon Master.
2. Stay within the boundaries of D&D, yet be different from what has already been published.
3. Get the players excited about their characters and the DM excited about the world.

Eberron does all of these things. The book is well laid out and contains much useful information. The only part lacking is that there is not a poster map of the world included. There is one available in Dungeon magazine #113, but it lacks detail.

The adventures in Eberron are typical D&D, with expeditions of groups of adventurers to ancient ruins, combats with monsters, and finding treasure and magic. But there are twists. Eberron adventures feature intrigue and swashbuckling adventure. This is accomplished mostly through two things: Magic, and the style of the organizations featured in the book. A system of action points also help make Eberron adventures more cinematic.

Magic is more pervasive on Eberron in the areas of transportation, communication, and other goods and services. That is not to say that it is overabundant; you won't see every first level fighter with a magic sword. But you might use the lightning rail to travel across country, then receive a message from a telegraph-like magical service, and finally ride out to a dungeon on a magebred horse. Magic on Eberron enhances adventuring by getting you to where the action is more quickly, speeding up the pace of adventuring.

Organizations on Eberron add to the go include the Dragonmarked Houses and many secret or at least deceptive societies, and several nations who until recently were at war for many years. The Houses are not loyal to any particular nation, and are basically family based corporations. The nations each have very different cultures and conflicting goals. The atmosphere is similar to the 1920's or 30's; you get the feeling that you are between two world wars.

Players and DM's have a lot of new material to inspire them. There are several new races in Eberron, including the shapeshifting changelings, the descendants of were-creatures called shifters, the psionically gifted kalashtar, and the mechanical warforged. Psionics are integrated into the setting, but not emphasized on the main continent, so they are easily included or ignored as the DM wishes. There is also a well written new class, the artificer, who can craft items better than anyone and use infusions to enhance items on the fly. New feats, prestige classes, equipment, spells, and monsters all help make the world unique.

A decent adventure in the back can help get your campaign started.

The book is well written, well illustrated, and full of great ideas. I highly recommend it for all D&D players and DM's, even if you don't choose to run an Eberron campaign.

Eberron is a finely-crafted fantasy milieu, with lots of evocative settings, races, and potential for mystery. (The artificer, for example, may well find a way into 3.5 canon due to its fun factor and quality.) But the big question for any DM is: Is this the setting for you?

That depends.

Eberron is the pinnacle of what I call the "anime movement" in WotC-era D&D. If you like exotic PC races, overpowered PCs, crunchy tactical powergaming, anachronistic touches, pulp action (in which PCs beat the odds with cinematic flourishes), and high magic, you'll love this setting. It was built for you. It has elements of steampunk, noir, and what I call "John Carterism" that you'll find very fun.

If, on the other hand, you prefer traditional races (for a Greyhawk or Tolkien-inspired feel), balanced PCs who fear death, storytelling on an equal level with combat feats, a medieval-level setting, gritty action, and low magic, this is not for you. To you I would recommend MERP, Greyhawk, the upcoming C&C, and perhaps Warhammer Fantasy Role Play.

Each reader will have their own preconceived bias. I, for one, love Dinotopia, China Mieville, Castle Falkenstein, Earthdawn, and all the rest, but prefer my D&D to be about solemn magi and knights in shining armor. If you want traditionalist fare, run far, far away. But if you want your D&D spiced with that pulp/anime style that seems to fuse M:TG to the D&D chassis, this is the finest setting out there.

Eberron, when advertised, claimed it would bring something new to the D&D world. Surprisingly, it has delivered and done so with style and grace.

The first thing to remember is that Eberron is a campaign setting, not the new face of D&D that negates what came before. Eberron is an option, a world that actually feels modern while staying true to the roots of magic.

In Eberron, there are constructs (magic powered robots) who have become sentient known as warforged. This "race" is rather young, or at least this incarnation of it--its possible they are in fact 1000 or more years old. There's also Sharn, the city where magic has given birth to technology meaning there's a lightning powered train, air ships like in anime, and many more surprises. There is even a class dedicated to making magical constructs and items known as an artificer.

Eberron continues this "modern" take with a loosening of the alignment system, making it less defined and once again more akin to our real world politics.

Now, why does this matter--because going through the campaign you suddenly start thinking about how great it would be to run your favorite anime, or a story like Bladerunner in Eberron, or Indiana Jones. You could even take the Star Wars series and fit it in with a few adjustments. As skeptical as I was, I can pleasantly admit that I was wrong about this setting which gives you a world where Moorcock and Cthullu can be mixed with Dick Tracy without seeming stupid.

Okay, a confession: like a lot of D&D players, I wrote up a setting for the WOTC setting search that led to the creation of Eberron. And like all but one, my idea wasn't picked.

Well, there's a good reason for that: my idea wasn't this good.

Now, being a professional writer, that could really bug me if I let it, and sure I have my excuses for it. But all that aside, it's a simple fact: Eberron is a damn fine setting for D&D, specifically for D&D: its engineered for the implications of the three core books. Magic is plentiful at low levels and exotic at higher: it's not approached like technology, but it is applied to the various issues and problems of daily life. The whole 'pulp/noir' feel is actually integrated into the setting history. Having just endured the Last War, the continent of Khorvaire is in a breathing period between conflicts, as the surviving kingdoms that contested for the place that was once held by the nation of Galifar now lick their wounds and try and understand the order that's been created out of the chaos of that war. Warforged, a race of sapient, living golem-like entities, now try and find a place in the world that isn't the war they were made for. The gods are distant and religion itself is complicated: one can be corrupt and still serve a lawful good god.

It's not perfect, exactly: I would have preferred more information on the other continents of Eberron and more information on Khorvaire itself. A friend of mine objected to how tame the Daelkyr are, who are supposed to be invading entities from a realm of absolute alienation and madness, and I see his point: beautiful humanoids with symbiotic armor and weapons aren't really as strange and insane as I'd hope them to be. (This is where my copy of Call of Cthulu d20 would be coming into play, I think.) Eberron does to some degree suffer from 'everything and the kitchen sink' syndrome. It tries very hard to be THE D&D setting, to have room in it for everything you could possibly cram in from any of the Core D&D products.

It comes really close. And it does so while maintaining its own atmosphere and feel: equal parts Fritz Lieber, Phillip Wylie, and Gardner Fox. (You could list another ten authors in there from Weird Tales like Howard and Clark Ashton Smith and Seabury Quinn and C.L. Moore.) The pulp/noir feel even allows for expressionistic stuff like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to be an influence... you could run a game based off of the alienation of the Lost Generation authors in Eberron easily, if you wanted.

It's not perfect, but it's really good.

I am really excited about this new fantasy world called Eberron. I was one of the many writers that took part in the contest that heralded this work of works, and I'm glad they didn't pick my idea.
Keith Baker has given us a new world, unique in many aspects, presented nicely by Wizards in a 320 page package.
I would like to say first that Eberron excites me most by opening up new avenues for more writers to reach the limelight. I am crossing my fingers that in the near future we will see Eberron versions of great writers like Salvatore, Greenwood (is Baker up to the task?), Kemp, Cunningham, Baker and others. I love the Forgotten Realms and hope that maybe one day this campaign I have been with since the start could amount to such grandeur.

Now, on to the book itself.
I think I will try to disect the book by parts, and examine it piece by piece (for the reader's ease and pleasure!)

I. Background/Originality of the Campaign
Eberron is, as all other fantasy worlds are, the result of years of fantasy/sci-fi evolution. The term 'it's all been done before' applies once again, but as Mr. Emerson once said,"Genius borrows nobly." I could go on about how all modern writers are just professional word thieves, but that is not the topic. The matter is that if I really wanted to play a golem as my character in D&D, I sure as hell would have. But I doubt it would have been half as well created as Mister Baker made it. The new races are a really nice addition, though expected of all new campaigns. My favorite little doohicky that Baker came up with is the Dragonmarks (I'm also a big fan of Sharn, but I'll get to that later). Dragonmarked characters almost force players to come up with a history for their heroes. Consider: "How did DelArimas, the 10th level mage get the greater Dragonmark of Scribing?"
You will never hear: "Well . . . he took the feats." NO! It would be more like: "He is a high ranking and greatly respected member of House Sivis that has mediated in many wars of the past, where he has gained experience as a fighter . . ." and so on. It's fail-proof. If you look closer into the campaign you'll see what I'm talking about as far as 'borrowing'. Orcs, for example, are reminescent of that wonderful game Warcraft.
All in all, the setting simply brings things that people like to play as to the forefront, while adding some nice little twists.

II. Playability
Has anyone noticed the convinient timing of the release of Eberron in relation to the supplement "Heroes of Battle".
Hmm.
Wizards obviously has plans to build on the focuses of Eberron, this war-torn, action-packed world. I'm not to big on how they are making things almost comic-bookish. I don't read comics, I play D&D. The art is cool and all, but I don't know about the whole gameplay aspect. Action Points? Meh. If you say so. The bottom line on playability is basically new opportunities. New places, and new scenarios, as all supplements and campaigns strive to create. Eberron works nicely in such creation.

III. Niftyness
Okay, so I made a word up. But Eberron is pretty nifty. Don't deny it, the book looks sharp. The art is really cool and the new classes, races, and the like are downright spiffy. A Warforged Artificer? I think so. A Shifter Druid? Definitely. A Changeling Rogue? Master of Disguise! There is opportunity for some intense storytelling here. Now, as promised, a commentary on the idea of Sharn. The idea is not original (think Minas Tirith) by any standards, but it's just the concept of magical highrises that gives me chills. I began reading Baker's first novel in Border's the other day and the description of Sharn made me drool. It is just one of those places I want to be (like Hogwarts). I would definitely enjoy being a roguish elven swordsman of House Phiarlan with the lesser Dragonmark of Shadow. Ooo, my next character . . .

Alright, so I think I have "shared my opinion" enough. My final advice is to get into Eberron, I have one of those feelings about it. I will definitely trying to put my work in on the world, but whether of not I can is up to a few editors in Renton, WA. Regardless of whether I can hack it or not, Eberron requires great authors and lots of players to carry on, and I don't think Wizards will let their venture go under too easily.
Expect some interesting developments.

The book is beautiful. Its full color with lavish production quality. The paper stock, art, full page art spreads, and maps make this a wonderful book.

Eberron is a fantasy campaign setting built specifically to house everything found in the Dungeons and Dragons game. This sounds a little silly at first, but what is actually under the cover is an incredibly well detailed world full of adventure and story hooks. It is difficult to turn the page without seeing a dozen ways to involve characters in the setting. I could easily imagine roleplaying in the setting for a lifetime and still leaving content untouched.

What makes Eberron really great is that it embraces the idea that the player characters are the heros. In addition it has a pulp/noir feel to it that encourages action and adventure. From the steamy jungles of Xen'drix to the temperate Talenta plains where dinosaurs still roam, you'll find plenty of opportunities for pulp style roleplaying here. The shadowy alleyways of Sharn, prviate detectives, and lonely investigators waiting in the rain at a train stop for their lovers provide the noir.

For the money the book can't be beat on production quality alone. Combine that with a fantastically interesting setting written with the roleplayer in mind and you've got one high quality product.

Well, in WoTC tradition, the book has a lot of good, detailed information about the world of Eberron. Several new races and a new character class all look promising to try, and the world setting is rich and creative. The world seems somewhat modeled on modern day earth, except cast in a fantasy setting.

Make no mistake, you'll have to revamp the way you do things for this game. From the addition to action points (which represent the 'edge' that PC's have over the rabble) to a much more flexible alignment system (this world can have Neutral Good Red Dragons, and Lawful Evil Clerics serving a Chaotic Good god), there are a host of changes to the world.

In short, this campaign setting caters to the player who loves a game filled with intrigue, but can also be used to fuel a high-action, combat-heavy campaign. The flexibility is what makes it great. I plan on further purchases of support books for Eberron.

Though, like any other new campaign, this book lacks detail in some areas it gives a great introduction to the world of Eberron. I've just started running this campaign and my players are loving the new flavor. It's also nice to finally see a campaign written exclusively in 3E come from Wizards. Greyhawk is extremely dated and Forgotten Realms has gotten awfully stale after nearly 20 years. I personally can't wait to watch this product line develop.