Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Pixel_Shock 02-22-06, 03:07 PM	It's been a few years since I've played D&D regularly. Most of my D&D experience has been with the old red/blue boxed sets and 2nd Ed AD&D. (Started playing back in '83.) What I want to know is, how does Eberron stack up to older campaign settings like the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk and Dragonlance? I'll assume it has a different feel to it--care to differentiate? I hope to dive back into DMing soon with 3.5. Unlike the olden days, I don't expect to have the luxury of all the prep time that I used to. I never used to bother using published settings "as is," but it's looking like an attractive option right now. It'd be nice to try something new, but is is Eberron worth my time or should I just stick with my old setting material?
Grymar 02-22-06, 03:20 PM	Where do we start? It is the same old D&D, but with a twist. Kind of like if you put spicy BBQ sauce on a Big Mac; it's the same sandwich you've had for years, but it is somehow different and zesty, too. Virtually all of the core races got a flavor change...elves are no longer Tolkien's glowing, tree-loving folk. Now they are death-obessed mages and warriors trying to live up to an impossible standard. Gnomes aren't tinkerers or comic relief, they are spies and masters of information. Halfings ride dinosaurs, 'nuff said. Goblins are a fallen race that had the greatest of civilizations a few thousand years ago. Orcs are the most natural and druidic of the races. Dragons are xenophobic astrologers. The whole feel of the game changes a bit, more urban, more modern, less hack and slash. Everyone has an agenda. Alignments don't matter. Check out the Beginner FAQ here on the boards. If you have any specific questions, please shout out.
Cyber-Dave 02-22-06, 03:21 PM	You would do better comparing Eberron to settings like Planescape, or Darksun. Its more of a noir pulp setting, just like those were. Eberron has a strong magic-punk feel to it. By magic punk, I mean steam-punk, but with magic instead of steam based objects. You have a "lightning rail" which is pretty much a magic railway. You have magic flying sky ships. You have a ton of cool new races... changelings (think those face shifting guys from Dune), warforged (living constructs designed for war), and shifters (a descendant race from humans and lycanthropes... or if some shifter legends are to be believed, the race that spawned lycanthropes. Either way, think wolverine or sabre-tooth). You have a very greyscale alignment system, where there are many shades of gray, and nobody is truly pure "good" or pure "evil". Eberron is a world that is in many ways a mix between 1400's, 1600's, 1800's, and the present (socially). Personally, I think the setting is a thousand times more interesting than Forgotten Realms, Grayhawk, or Dragonlance (which I hate for their black and white simplicity). Eberron is a setting with a bit of depth, and something interesting to say.
Missekat 02-22-06, 03:21 PM	If you want a setting with a lot of boxed material to use "as is", then don't go for Eberron. Don't get me wrong: I love this setting and would like to sell it to as many people as I can, especially veterans ;) But Eberron is a setting that throngs with "open ends". That it - in essence - what we all love about it. You get hooks, ideas and inspiration.. and a flavour, feel and mood to go with, but the great absolutes like: Why did the country of Cyre blow up and who did it? And: Does the gods really exist, or are they just metaphors and filisofies given name and faces? How was the world created? You are given a myth for that, but you are also told that its only that. A myth. No definite answer. You can rule that it is otherwise. They aren't answered. Ever. You have to make that up for yourself. If you're low on time and want a setting you don't have to work on, and you can use as is, then buy one of the old ones. You'll have to make decisions, flesh out places, (the setting comes with a huge map of land, and only 10% has anyting fleshed out in it.. and thats just one of the 3 continents + 1 isle), and choose directions constantly. On the other hand, it's easy to rip of old adventures and get inspiration for new: The feel is dark and high adventure. Great if you like ripping off movies like Indiana Jones or Casablanca.. The Maltese Falcon and Brotherhood of the Wolf is other examples of the flavour. The setting allows for enough reality, to use news from TV and papers easily. Conlicts between muslims and christians are easily converted into politics in the game. So is wars, financial news, diseases, etc. Everything has a place, and it always amazes me how easy it is to make anything into an eberronian adventure. The best you can do is use a week or two on reading the threads in here, and possibly borrow a copy of the setting corebook, (ESC), and look it through.. Wether Eberron is something for you, depends a lot on what you want to use the little time you have for. And what you like about DM'ing.
Ian_Maelstrom 02-22-06, 03:41 PM	for me, i found Eberron to be highly refreshing as a DM. There is a drastically new take on several of the old school races and classes, and a very well detailed (yet surprisingly open) history. Everything in it seemd so "new" that it was hard to put down, even just reading it.
Rechan 02-22-06, 03:44 PM	Read this (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=345851). It particularly compares Eberron to Faerun.
Derys_the_Blade 02-22-06, 03:45 PM	I've played DnD for 21 years. I have never played in any world like Eberron. It really is an original thing. It's dynamic, fluid, faction-oriented. No matter who the players choose to play, there will be 4 to 5 to 6 different factions gunning for them. It is the most streetwise world I've seen created. It's kind of like playing cyberpunk and DnD together. The world is going through a renaissance after a long war, and there are many opportunities for espionage between nations, espionage between Dragonmarked Houses, who themselves are like multi-national corporations. For someone who is interested in "why" things are the way they are in a world, Eberron is perfect for me. Everything is explained. Not everything is laid out, but if you want to start playing in Sharn, the largest city in the world, there's an entire sourcebook that runs through it neighborhood by neighborhood. This post really doesn't do it justice.
Radazim 02-22-06, 03:58 PM	The thing I like most about Eberron is that they have said (and I trust them to keep their word) that they are not going to advance the timeline. I like the description that it feels like a blend of cyberpunk and fantasy - especially for Sharn. This allows me to invest a lot of my time in (a) reading Keith's novels and (b) reading all of the Eberron sourcebooks (I have all but XHB and 5N) without worrying that some novel or accessory is going to come along and radically change things on me. My biggest complaint is that the world is so vast, and the number of actors and organizations so large, that there is a temptation to try to learn it all, or include it all in a single campaign. For now, I'm focusing on developing a campaign that is based in Sharn, with some excursions to other locales, especially Xen'drik.
igotsmeakabob!! 02-22-06, 04:15 PM	Eberron is a land of magic. Instead of technology, the humanoids of Eberron have mastered common magic. Air-elemental bound trains ride the lightning rail, transporting people from one nation to another. Fire-elemental bound airships soar the skies. Water-elemental bound ships speed across the seas, transporting adventurers from Sharn to Xendrik. (Basically lots & lots of low-level magic supports society, there are few level 13+ beings in the world) While I don't have the time to write a long persuasive arguement for Eberron, I can say that its a breath of fresh air compared to Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, and Greyhawk. The setting is... very well written (Praise Keith). The history is interesting, the current world filled with intrigue and great potential for adventure. On Khorvaire, the main continent, the five nations of Breland, Thrane, Aundair, Cyre, and Karrnath have signed the Treaty of Thronehold, causing an end to the war over the throne of Galifar. Tensions still run high and minor skrimishes erupt occasionally. Well, thats not entirely true. Cyre has not signed the Treaty. That is because Cyre is the cause for the signing of the Treaty. Excerpt from Sharn: City of Towers "The Last War was a time of horrors. With every passing decade, deeper scars were carved into the surface of Khorvaire. But through a century of war, nothing had prepared the people of the Five Nations for the events of 20 Ollarune 994 YK-the day when the nation of Cyre was destroyed, leaving the Mournland in its wake. The nature and cause of the cataclysm remains a mystery, but on 20 Olarune those who survived the fall of Cyre to gather to remember their lost kingdom." Cyre was the future, but on that date, its said that a grey mist rolled out from the capital of Cyre (not sure if thats fact), and now Cyre is called The Mournland. A dead, grey, mutated land, the only life that exists there now are the warped and mutated creatures that 'survived' the Mourning, and the Lord of Blades and his warforged followers. Xendrik is a continent of mystery and ruin. The great Giant empire that ruled with arcane might was toppled a long time ago. They were at war with the realm of dreams, and they built a mighty weapon to change the natural order of the planes and remove the threat. The dragons of Argonessen became furious with the giants, for it was the dragons who had taught the Giants their magicks. In changing the orbit of Dal Quor to end the war on their land, they created a new one, one they could not win. The dragons decimated the giant empire, leaving few alive and making sure that they would not rise again. Now adventurers scour the ruins, searching for ancient artifacts of power (think Indiana Jones). Barbaric dark elves live in the jungles of Xendrik, presenting a threat to any who wander out of the city of Stormreach, the only piece of civilization on Xendrik. Well it looks like I wrote alot more than I intended to, but it doesn't seem enough to convey the greatness of this setting... but I suggest picking up a copy of the Eberron Campaign Setting and deciding for yourself. Theres also the 4 new races. The Warforged, the Shifter, The Changeling, and The Kalashtar. Oh and the Orc Druids, the Gatekeepers... they're one of my favorite parts of the history of Eberron. Oh crap I forgot the Dragonmarked Houses.. well.. I'm sure others will post on them.
EvilDrPuma 02-22-06, 04:52 PM	Rather than repeat others' endorsement points, I'll show you how to learn more for yourself. At this link, (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/archeb/ds) you'll find the archived Dragonshards articles--each written by Keith Baker, and most of them presenting additional background on one or another element of the setting beyond what the sourcebooks offer. Marvel at the good-natured cutthroat sneakiness of the gnomes! Behold kobolds that actually register on the Cool-o-Meter! And there's some fun stuff with hags, if you're into that sort of thing.
Thramzorean 02-23-06, 05:55 AM	Hmmm... one important point that hasn't been touched on previously is that it's initially pitched for low level play with the setting's NPCs and executive power holders all being low level i.e. majority 10th level or less. Makes for a nice counter balance to say Dark Sun etc. Otherwise I'd recommend it very highly to you Pixel_Shock, as one veteran to another ;) . The setting is well balanced and well supplied with more than enough variance that you can organize any sort of campaign you would like to run with ease. And it makes a very refreshing, game enthusiasm invigorating change.
Sereno 02-23-06, 08:59 AM	Otherwise I'd recommend it very highly to you Pixel_Shock, as one veteran to another ;) . The setting is well balanced and well supplied with more than enough variance that you can organize any sort of campaign you would like to run with ease. And it makes a very refreshing, game enthusiasm invigorating change. Seconded by another veteran (I started back when D&D came in thin booklets in two boxes: "Basic" and "Expert"). Eberron is, I think, the best setting to come out for the D&D game, and it's the most fun I've had DMing in a long time. The subtle differences in tone and feel bring, IMO, a breath of fresh air into the genre. I like the fact that it has both a modern feel, but is still clearly D&D. I like the consistency of the setting. The fact that there are very few high-level NPCs to "save the day." I like that there's coherent religion that feels far more "real" than any other I've ever gamed with. I love the planar cosmology with the "orbiting" planes instead of the "Great Wheel". Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.
Tom McCarthy 02-23-06, 10:05 AM	When I was young and learning D&D, there were a few things that inspired my imagination. The dragon rising out of the underground lake on the cover of the red box was OK. The owlbear mauling the adventurers inside the cover of B2 Keep on the Borderlands was very inspirational. The illustrated booklet with C1 Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan was terrific. The adventurers battling the aspis of A1 was great. Gradually, that excitement wore away. The boxed City of Greyhawk didn't do it for me. All those Ravenloft setting books went by and none gripped me like the peek I got at adventure I6. I stopped playing D&D. When I needed a break from GMing Champions, one of the players started a D&D campaign in Greyhawk. It promptly disintegrated into the stuff 'Save My Game' columns are made of. I stepped in and ran a D&D campaign which was to have followed the arc of older, published material (B2, A1-4, G1-3, D1-3, Q1, maybe an S module). We were just 4 months into that when Eberron came out, and I picked up to loot it for ideas. It inspired me. It made me want to tell stories set in Eberron. The pulpy tone where adventurers worked for patrons of strong, weak, or dubious moral character. The intrigue filled setting of a post-war world, where the number of interested parties was nearly limitless (organizations, churches, dragonmarked houses, nations). The roleplaying opportunities for playing warforged, shifters, changelings and kalashtar, all who brought something new to the questions of identity. The new cosmology, the hints of new origins and actual secrets buried in the past. It was the first D&D setting where I truly believed that espionage was occuring. The first D&D setting where magic had actually dragged the society beyond medeival Europe. The first D&D setting where the players couldn't tell who was good and evil without observing them and seeing how they act and react. The first setting where I could have adventures span the globe. The first setting where I truly believed that a trade guild could establish a real monopoly. And, the publisher came right out and said they would be leaving some parts of the map blank, the better to let each DM tell their own story. There's 3 published Eberron modules that follow loosely from the adventure in the back of the Campaign Sourcebook. There's another 4-5 decent to very good adventures published in Dungeon. And the Sharn city book is one of the best supplements. It's a great setting, and reading up on Eberron should be a lot more fun than deciding where in the Greyhawk setting timeline to set your campaign.
Temjinstrife 02-23-06, 10:08 AM	I'm by no means a "veteran" but I've had plenty of D&D experience in the past 8 years or so. Eberron rekindled an interest in DMing again. Plots and politics are accessible, volatile, and numerous. The nations (for the most part) are intriguing and different. The new races (especially the warforged and the changelings) and the dragonmarks make for interesting characters. The new artificer class is one of the most versatile in existence and is an absolute blast to play. Whether you want to deal with intrigue and plotting, Indiana Jones-styled treasure hunts, full-on large-scale war, being an air pirate (very fun), or any number of other ideas, there's some organization or idea given to help or hinder your characters. The sheer number of plot hooks available boggles the mind.
Ozymandias V. 02-23-06, 06:10 PM	We shouldn't have to "sell you" on the idea. Go to the bookstore, take a copy of the ECS over to a coffee table or something, and read it. Then make your own decision.
aelryinth 02-23-06, 09:58 PM	As a 35 year player, DM, and collector of TSR stuff. 1) Compared to FR - Complete freedom from the history of the setting. That's both good and bad...you can't interact with all the hugely detailed world Ed has made for us. You also don't have to put up with questions about why the Chosen don't take care of this urgent business. No high power characters and magic everywhere you turn your face...supermages don't line the roads, and every hamlet doesn't have someone level 12. Your characters are the power. No one is going to come help them save the Realms, because they ARE the mighty heroes. And yes, there really are parts of the map where you can put anything. 2) Compared to Greyhawk. Greyhawk is a medieval world with some powerful people who happen to use magic. Eberron is a world where magic at a low key is everywhere, its part of the setting. Greyhawk makes a great drop and shop campaign. If you want to put in published material from anywhere, you can drop it on Oerth easily...you've got many different nations, different gods, and there isnt' the supercharacters everywhere meddling in things that FR has...your characters can be the heroes because everyone is doing their own thing. Eberron does the same thing, but instead of a fractured, never unified continent, you have the aftermath of WWI...everyone USED to be part of the same family, and now they are not. So, the ties that bind...there's actually a very good reason all the nations tend to speak the same languages and have the same religions. It's European, but advanced from the m iddle ages to post wwII, for a mindset...or maybe WWI, because the whole world is waiting to be explored...whereas in Greyhawk, the whole world has actually been explored (at least, for Oerik...the rest of the planet is not much detailed). I think Greyhawk works every bit as well as Eberron for prepublished stuff, and likely better, simply because it IS more fractionalized, and you don't have to shoe in Eberron's history. On the other hand, Eberron dispenses with a lot of the classic archetypes that Oerth embraces (and FR relies on) so you get a totally new feel and flavor, and the sense that the characters can and will make things happen, because it IS so new and different. -- And of course, the designer of the setting likes to share his thoughts with us, just like Ed does for FR, which keeps FR people as happy as Hellcow keeps us. ==Aelryinth
RedUncle 02-24-06, 03:34 PM	i've been playing Forgotten Realms campaigns since 1995 --- Eberron reminds me of what i was HOPING D&D would be BEFORE i started playing ----- it's a world in which anything can happen without disrupting the setting and in-game "rules" --- alignments are open and there's a much greater feeling experimenting with concepts such as "ends justifying the means" type campaigns which i LOVE (being a Conan fan) -------- it's okay to be morally dubious ------ unlike many FG DMs i've dealt with who are ridiculously hellbent on maintaining absolute purity for no other reason than to emulate Tolkienesque views of fantasy... in other words: predictable and a little boring... Eberron has it's own identity -- and as a result, the player feels greater freedom of expression / freedom to actually define the Eberron world themselves through play -- as opposed to FG in which (in a worst case scenario) the player feels like little more than a vehicle for conveying speech bubbles/movement to pre-rendered stereotypes ----- this breaks away from those stereotypes and embraces the unknown... --------------------------- rad
Rechan 02-24-06, 04:49 PM	So, Pixel_Shock, what's the verdict?
Pixel_Shock 02-25-06, 01:53 PM	So, Pixel_Shock, what's the verdict? After carefully weighing the evidence, I've decided to give Eberron a chance. :) The whole setting sounds like a refreshing change of pace from typical D&D fantasy. A few things in particular jumped out at me that I liked: The low-level setting, common (but low-powered) magic, the political campaign elements, the different takes on old races. Also, the never-advancing timeline--I hope that bit of info is true! I never follow post-release commercial timelines. A fully developed commercial setting that avoids post-release timelines completely almost seems like too much to hope for... Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I appreciate the info.
igotsmeakabob!! 02-25-06, 03:56 PM	It probably is too much to hope for but WotC have said that they plan on keeping Eberron right where it is time-wise.
Edymnion 02-25-06, 04:08 PM	It probably is too much to hope for but WotC have said that they plan on keeping Eberron right where it is time-wise.Yeah, as of right now the sworn oath we are getting is that the Eberron timeline will not advance. Honestly, its only a matter of time before WotC renegs on this deal (anybody else remember them swearing on a first born child that the rules update was only going to be minor, fix a few things here and there, and that you could put a 3.0 player and a 3.5 player in the same game, and they'd never know they weren't using the same rules? Yeah, we saw how much those promises were worth). But for now, we're good to go :D And with all the flavor Eberron has to offer, hopefully it will be a good long time before WotC has to advance the timeline to get new material. In particular, I suggest you buy the Eberron Campaign Setting, the Players Guide to Eberron, and Sharn: City of Towers. Those are the absolute best books in the line, and they will give you a great idea on the way things work. :)
igotsmeakabob!! 02-25-06, 05:41 PM	Ooo I love Sharn, and the Player's guide has some good information, and while some of it is DM stuff, it'll give your players alot of info on the organizations of Eberron and give them even more fluff to play with. Love the fluff.
Rechan 02-25-06, 06:09 PM	After carefully weighing the evidence, I've decided to give Eberron a chance. :) We have seduced a new one! One of us! One of us! Gobbilty gook! Gobbilty gook! ;)
EvilDrPuma 02-25-06, 10:13 PM	After carefully weighing the evidence, I've decided to give Eberron a chance. Well, then, I hope that you decide we've steered you right.
talion09 02-26-06, 04:02 AM	...In particular, I suggest you buy the Eberron Campaign Setting, the Players Guide to Eberron, and Sharn: City of Towers. Those are the absolute best books in the line, and they will give you a great idea on the way things work. :) Not sure if Edymnion was stating those 3 books in any particular order, but I'd say buy the ECS first, for the obvious reasons. Then pick up Sharn:City of Towers. It is the best sourcebook out there right now, and Sharn is a good place to base a campaign, since pretty much every organization and major plot line either happen in Sharn (to some degree) or came be easily reached from Sharn via Lightning Rail or Airship. The Player's Guide is great, but if you have gone through the Dragonshard articles as I believe someone else suggested above, then a lot of the material isn't going to be news to you. There is a fair bit of new material, but it is redundant on a lot of the major topics if you have already gone through the dragonshards and/or the Ask Keith FAQ. So you get better bang for the buck by picking another sourcebook like Sharn instead.
Rechan 02-26-06, 10:49 AM	The Player's Guide is great, but if you have gone through the Dragonshard articles as I believe someone else suggested above, then a lot of the material isn't going to be news to you. There is a fair bit of new material, but it is redundant on a lot of the major topics if you have already gone through the dragonshards and/or the Ask Keith FAQ. IMHO the PGtE is a crucial book for one reason: Players. Not everyone at the table is going to have read the Dragonshards or the FAQ if they're new (hell, they may not even be board members!). So the PGtE is a great resource to just hand to new players and go 'here, read this' and get them up to speed faster than handing them the ECS, which is chocked full of spoilers.
LugWrench 02-27-06, 01:27 AM	Heck, check out the thread about the 1001+ Things the Worst Crew in Eberron is Forbidden from Doing. Any setting where these geeks can get away with half this stuff is well worth it, just for the laugh value alone.