Best Eberron books to have [Archive] - Wizards Community

Best Eberron books to have [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
andinel
09-28-06, 01:57 AM I'm going to start up a campaign in Eberron hopefully within a month. I already have the ECS book, but nothing else. Which are the best Eberron books to get to supplement it? I'm thinking Races of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, and Player's Guide to Eberron, but I'm not sure.
miscellany
09-28-06, 02:08 AM I'm just starting to play a cleric in an Eberron Campaign. My friends have all the books and I have found the Player's Guide, Five Nations and of course Faiths of Eberron to be the most useful.

I like Five Nations because I like knowing where my character is from and how to role play properly. I think a DM would like this book as well for making and playing good non player characters.
Salla
09-28-06, 02:12 AM Races of ... and Magic of ... have recieved mixed reviews 'round these parts, but I found them quite handy.

The Player's Guide is a must-have, IMHO. Let the players read it before making characters so they have some idea what they're getting into.
Save-vs-DM
09-28-06, 03:19 AM The Player's Guide to Eberron is just about the best second purchase an Eberron player can make. So long as you ignore the sidebars it's a smashing good read and an excellent source of info. I call it my "Eberron Dictionary."

As for Races of Eberron...well, I'm a rather vocal opponent of the book, for the most part. Nearly all the fluff is either a right out contradiction or just multiple pages saying the same basic thing. Now, if you play on playing a Kalashtar, it might be worth it, because the Kalashtar chapter was done by Keith. That chapter is actually worth it (and about the only reason I bought the book). However, if you ignore most of the fluff, the crunch is quite good. There are some tasty Shifter and Warforged feats in the book, but I think this one could probably wait.

Now, Magic of Eberron has got some excellent material for Artificers and spellcasters, but not a whole lot to offer the other classes. If you're going to be playing an Artificer or a spellcaster, then I might think about picking it up. If you're not sure, then I have a few other suggestions.

Five Nations is a good book for pretty much any character (at least one from the five nations). It's got a ton of fluff and advice on playing characters from one of the five nations. I find it to be very, very valuable. I'd really recommend this book, myself.

If you plan on playing a divine type character, Faith's of Eberron is definitely an excellent read and well worth the money. It really does a lot to flesh out the religions, most of which havn't gotten a lot of treatment in the other books.

So, my general suggestion is: Player's Guide to Eberron, Five Nations.

Also, be sure to check out the Dragonshard! (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archeb/ds) Free Eberron goodness straight from Keith!

Cheers, and welcome to the boards and Eberron!

Save vs DM
Peobp
09-28-06, 06:50 AM Order of good stuff to read and get more fluff and crunch for your campaigning needs IMHO are in order of priority to buy:
Faiths of Eberron (Best book so far by a longshot IMO)
Five Kingdoms
Players guide to Eberron
Races of Eberron

After that depending on where your campaign and players go or classes they play:
Secrets of Xen'Drik
Magic of Eberron
Adhevan
09-28-06, 07:53 AM Sharn:City of Towers can be extremely useful if you plan on the city playing a strong role in your campaign. My personal favorite, though, is Five Nations.
Tyveil
09-28-06, 09:11 AM Dang this message board is unhealthy to my bank account. Must add Players Guide and 5 Nations to my collection (ECS and S:CoT)! :D
ORC_Paradox
09-28-06, 09:19 AM Best books to have? All of them. Problem solved.

:D
Kreistor1
09-28-06, 10:25 AM Sharn:CoT first. That gives you a home city to base them in.
Five Nations second. That gives you places for them to go.

What to buy next depends on what your needs as a DM are.

If you want prepared locations that all you need to do is flesh out, then the next buys would be:
Explorer's Handbook
Secrets of Xendrik

If you just want better descriptions of places, people, and things that you can use to inspire your ideas:
Player's Guide to Eberron
Faiths of Eberron

I would leave Races of E and Magic of E to the last. All they add are some feats, PrC's, spells, and whatnot for races specific to Eberron. You probably have no shortage of those already. What you want are inspiration and things you can use at the campaign level, and these books aren't them. They're useful for the PC's, but for the DM Races and MAgic are the weakest of the bunch, IMO.
Nived
09-28-06, 11:42 AM Five Nations is the Eberron suppliment I've gotten the most milage out of myself. Of course that's only because I set my game IN the Five Nations (Karrnath/Aundair boarder specifically)
Glupinickname
09-28-06, 01:03 PM I'm going to start up a campaign in Eberron hopefully within a month. I already have the ECS book, but nothing else. Which are the best Eberron books to get to supplement it? I'm thinking Races of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, and Player's Guide to Eberron, but I'm not sure.
I own most of the Eberron books and from the first hand I can tell you that their usefullness greatly depends upon the type of game you plan on running. So, what kind of adventures would you like to have in Eberron? Urban adventures? Intrigue and espionage? Swashbuckling adventures? Horror game? Dungeon crawls? Exploration?

Even more simply: what kind of movies or novels would you like to imitate in your games? Or: what parts of ECs did you find most inspiring as DM?

:)
Robert_Ir_Danth
09-28-06, 01:12 PM Players guide give you a very good start.
andinel
09-28-06, 07:06 PM So, what kind of adventures would you like to have in Eberron?

Well, I was interested in Mark of Heroes, but I can't look at the adventures right now since I have to schedule an event first. I usually am into urban campaigns as my players know, but it might be a nice change to do a few wilderness-centered games for a change.
OneWinged4ngel
09-30-06, 03:46 PM I'm going to start up a campaign in Eberron hopefully within a month. I already have the ECS book, but nothing else. Which are the best Eberron books to get to supplement it? I'm thinking Races of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, and Player's Guide to Eberron, but I'm not sure.

Five Nations and Sharn: City of Towers are probably the most useful supplements. The Sharn book is very useful *EVEN IF YOU NEVER GO TO SHARN*. I'm completely serious.

Also, READ THE DRAGONSHARDS if you haven't already. Great, free resource. So is the AKB thread and Keith's homepage.

From there, it depends on what you want. More on the races? Races of Eberron is a bit iffy in crunch (in dire need of errata) and is kind of hit or miss on the flavor, but is great for certain races (especially if you want to include Kalashtar). Want to run a game in Xen'drik? Secrets of Xen'drik is well done. Want more on religion? Check out Faiths of Eberron.

Player's Guide to Eberron mostly reiterates things in the ECS, and I've not found it too useful. For the things they add (similar to Eberron Expanded, but not near it in quality) they seemed to throw darts at a map to place some of the stuff.

Explorer's Guide is something you can afford to pass on.
Magic of Eberron is probably my least favorite supplement, for a variety of reasons.
ccerose
09-30-06, 07:21 PM Sharn:CoT first. That gives you a home city to base them in.
Five Nations second. That gives you places for them to go.

What to buy next depends on what your needs as a DM are.

If you want prepared locations that all you need to do is flesh out, then the next buys would be:
Explorer's Handbook
Secrets of Xendrik

If you just want better descriptions of places, people, and things that you can use to inspire your ideas:
Player's Guide to Eberron
Faiths of Eberron

I would leave Races of E and Magic of E to the last. All they add are some feats, PrC's, spells, and whatnot for races specific to Eberron. You probably have no shortage of those already. What you want are inspiration and things you can use at the campaign level, and these books aren't them. They're useful for the PC's, but for the DM Races and MAgic are the weakest of the bunch, IMO.
Your list pretty much sums up my position, with only one exception. As much as I like S:CoT, I've gotten far more use out of 5 Nations.
Estelindis
10-02-06, 11:24 AM Most useful to the DM? Definitely Five Nations. It has lots of information about Khorvaire to supplement what you see in the Campaign Setting - much finer details on the countries, NPC stats for iconic characters, etc.

The Explorer's Handbook is also a great DM's aid - lots of information on specific sites and the people and creatures you'll find there.

If you plan on adventuring in Sharn, the Sharn book is pretty much a necessity - but it's not as much fun to read as many of the others.

In terms of what's most helpful to players, I'd say the Player's Guide (sounds rather obvious, I know).
DoveArrow
10-02-06, 04:50 PM I think it really depends on what you're looking for. If you want books that add a lot more flavor to the campaign setting itself, I would go with Sharn: City of Towers, Five Nations, Races of Eberron and maybe Player's Guide to Eberron (I don't like that last one, but a lot of people do, so I mention it).

On the other hand, if you're looking to add a lot of new crunchy bits to your campaign, I would go with Magic of Eberron, Races of Eberron and maybe Explorer's Handbook (I really like that last one, because it gives a lot of cool information about the different modes of transportation in Eberron. However I don't know if I would say that you really need it. I've used it maybe once in game). If you're thinking about adding psionics, it might also be a good idea to take a look at Expanded Psionics Handbook, and Complete Psionic.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
andinel 09-28-06, 01:57 AM	I'm going to start up a campaign in Eberron hopefully within a month. I already have the ECS book, but nothing else. Which are the best Eberron books to get to supplement it? I'm thinking Races of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, and Player's Guide to Eberron, but I'm not sure.
miscellany 09-28-06, 02:08 AM	I'm just starting to play a cleric in an Eberron Campaign. My friends have all the books and I have found the Player's Guide, Five Nations and of course Faiths of Eberron to be the most useful. I like Five Nations because I like knowing where my character is from and how to role play properly. I think a DM would like this book as well for making and playing good non player characters.
Salla 09-28-06, 02:12 AM	Races of ... and Magic of ... have recieved mixed reviews 'round these parts, but I found them quite handy. The Player's Guide is a must-have, IMHO. Let the players read it before making characters so they have some idea what they're getting into.
Save-vs-DM 09-28-06, 03:19 AM	The Player's Guide to Eberron is just about the best second purchase an Eberron player can make. So long as you ignore the sidebars it's a smashing good read and an excellent source of info. I call it my "Eberron Dictionary." As for Races of Eberron...well, I'm a rather vocal opponent of the book, for the most part. Nearly all the fluff is either a right out contradiction or just multiple pages saying the same basic thing. Now, if you play on playing a Kalashtar, it might be worth it, because the Kalashtar chapter was done by Keith. That chapter is actually worth it (and about the only reason I bought the book). However, if you ignore most of the fluff, the crunch is quite good. There are some tasty Shifter and Warforged feats in the book, but I think this one could probably wait. Now, Magic of Eberron has got some excellent material for Artificers and spellcasters, but not a whole lot to offer the other classes. If you're going to be playing an Artificer or a spellcaster, then I might think about picking it up. If you're not sure, then I have a few other suggestions. Five Nations is a good book for pretty much any character (at least one from the five nations). It's got a ton of fluff and advice on playing characters from one of the five nations. I find it to be very, very valuable. I'd really recommend this book, myself. If you plan on playing a divine type character, Faith's of Eberron is definitely an excellent read and well worth the money. It really does a lot to flesh out the religions, most of which havn't gotten a lot of treatment in the other books. So, my general suggestion is: Player's Guide to Eberron, Five Nations. Also, be sure to check out the Dragonshard! (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archeb/ds) Free Eberron goodness straight from Keith! Cheers, and welcome to the boards and Eberron! Save vs DM
Peobp 09-28-06, 06:50 AM	Order of good stuff to read and get more fluff and crunch for your campaigning needs IMHO are in order of priority to buy: Faiths of Eberron (Best book so far by a longshot IMO) Five Kingdoms Players guide to Eberron Races of Eberron After that depending on where your campaign and players go or classes they play: Secrets of Xen'Drik Magic of Eberron
Adhevan 09-28-06, 07:53 AM	Sharn:City of Towers can be extremely useful if you plan on the city playing a strong role in your campaign. My personal favorite, though, is Five Nations.
Tyveil 09-28-06, 09:11 AM	Dang this message board is unhealthy to my bank account. Must add Players Guide and 5 Nations to my collection (ECS and S:CoT)! :D
ORC_Paradox 09-28-06, 09:19 AM	Best books to have? All of them. Problem solved. :D
Kreistor1 09-28-06, 10:25 AM	Sharn:CoT first. That gives you a home city to base them in. Five Nations second. That gives you places for them to go. What to buy next depends on what your needs as a DM are. If you want prepared locations that all you need to do is flesh out, then the next buys would be: Explorer's Handbook Secrets of Xendrik If you just want better descriptions of places, people, and things that you can use to inspire your ideas: Player's Guide to Eberron Faiths of Eberron I would leave Races of E and Magic of E to the last. All they add are some feats, PrC's, spells, and whatnot for races specific to Eberron. You probably have no shortage of those already. What you want are inspiration and things you can use at the campaign level, and these books aren't them. They're useful for the PC's, but for the DM Races and MAgic are the weakest of the bunch, IMO.
Nived 09-28-06, 11:42 AM	Five Nations is the Eberron suppliment I've gotten the most milage out of myself. Of course that's only because I set my game IN the Five Nations (Karrnath/Aundair boarder specifically)
Glupinickname 09-28-06, 01:03 PM	I'm going to start up a campaign in Eberron hopefully within a month. I already have the ECS book, but nothing else. Which are the best Eberron books to get to supplement it? I'm thinking Races of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, and Player's Guide to Eberron, but I'm not sure. I own most of the Eberron books and from the first hand I can tell you that their usefullness greatly depends upon the type of game you plan on running. So, what kind of adventures would you like to have in Eberron? Urban adventures? Intrigue and espionage? Swashbuckling adventures? Horror game? Dungeon crawls? Exploration? Even more simply: what kind of movies or novels would you like to imitate in your games? Or: what parts of ECs did you find most inspiring as DM? :)
Robert_Ir_Danth 09-28-06, 01:12 PM	Players guide give you a very good start.
andinel 09-28-06, 07:06 PM	So, what kind of adventures would you like to have in Eberron? Well, I was interested in Mark of Heroes, but I can't look at the adventures right now since I have to schedule an event first. I usually am into urban campaigns as my players know, but it might be a nice change to do a few wilderness-centered games for a change.
OneWinged4ngel 09-30-06, 03:46 PM	I'm going to start up a campaign in Eberron hopefully within a month. I already have the ECS book, but nothing else. Which are the best Eberron books to get to supplement it? I'm thinking Races of Eberron, Magic of Eberron, and Player's Guide to Eberron, but I'm not sure. Five Nations and Sharn: City of Towers are probably the most useful supplements. The Sharn book is very useful EVEN IF YOU NEVER GO TO SHARN. I'm completely serious. Also, READ THE DRAGONSHARDS if you haven't already. Great, free resource. So is the AKB thread and Keith's homepage. From there, it depends on what you want. More on the races? Races of Eberron is a bit iffy in crunch (in dire need of errata) and is kind of hit or miss on the flavor, but is great for certain races (especially if you want to include Kalashtar). Want to run a game in Xen'drik? Secrets of Xen'drik is well done. Want more on religion? Check out Faiths of Eberron. Player's Guide to Eberron mostly reiterates things in the ECS, and I've not found it too useful. For the things they add (similar to Eberron Expanded, but not near it in quality) they seemed to throw darts at a map to place some of the stuff. Explorer's Guide is something you can afford to pass on. Magic of Eberron is probably my least favorite supplement, for a variety of reasons.
ccerose 09-30-06, 07:21 PM	Sharn:CoT first. That gives you a home city to base them in. Five Nations second. That gives you places for them to go. What to buy next depends on what your needs as a DM are. If you want prepared locations that all you need to do is flesh out, then the next buys would be: Explorer's Handbook Secrets of Xendrik If you just want better descriptions of places, people, and things that you can use to inspire your ideas: Player's Guide to Eberron Faiths of Eberron I would leave Races of E and Magic of E to the last. All they add are some feats, PrC's, spells, and whatnot for races specific to Eberron. You probably have no shortage of those already. What you want are inspiration and things you can use at the campaign level, and these books aren't them. They're useful for the PC's, but for the DM Races and MAgic are the weakest of the bunch, IMO. Your list pretty much sums up my position, with only one exception. As much as I like S:CoT, I've gotten far more use out of 5 Nations.
Estelindis 10-02-06, 11:24 AM	Most useful to the DM? Definitely Five Nations. It has lots of information about Khorvaire to supplement what you see in the Campaign Setting - much finer details on the countries, NPC stats for iconic characters, etc. The Explorer's Handbook is also a great DM's aid - lots of information on specific sites and the people and creatures you'll find there. If you plan on adventuring in Sharn, the Sharn book is pretty much a necessity - but it's not as much fun to read as many of the others. In terms of what's most helpful to players, I'd say the Player's Guide (sounds rather obvious, I know).
DoveArrow 10-02-06, 04:50 PM	I think it really depends on what you're looking for. If you want books that add a lot more flavor to the campaign setting itself, I would go with Sharn: City of Towers, Five Nations, Races of Eberron and maybe Player's Guide to Eberron (I don't like that last one, but a lot of people do, so I mention it). On the other hand, if you're looking to add a lot of new crunchy bits to your campaign, I would go with Magic of Eberron, Races of Eberron and maybe Explorer's Handbook (I really like that last one, because it gives a lot of cool information about the different modes of transportation in Eberron. However I don't know if I would say that you really need it. I've used it maybe once in game). If you're thinking about adding psionics, it might also be a good idea to take a look at Expanded Psionics Handbook, and Complete Psionic.