Eberron for Dummies [Archive] - Wizards Community

Eberron for Dummies [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Griffonheart
06-24-06, 08:36 PM Hello all,

I am planning to start a new campaign in Eberron and would like to provide all of my players with something of a primer for the Eberron campaign setting. I am hoping that people out there are willing to give me a hand with it. Basically what I want to include is a brief timeline of Eberron, I am sure I have seen this somewhere already I just don't have access to my books right now and can't remember which one it is in anyway. I would like to include information on the 13 dragonmarks and the 14 houses (I include the house that had the mark of Death since Vol is likely to figure heavily in my game). I would also like to include brief descriptions of the various regions of Khorvaire (sp?) so that the players can get to know the place. Beyond that does anyone have any suggestions of what should be included in such a primer and where I might be able to find this information?

Thanks a lot for all your input.
RedUncle
06-25-06, 12:13 PM I've recently undertaken the task of preparing a new Eberron campaign -- I've read half a dozen Eberron books (and, of course, the three core books) back to back several times each --- I've also reused my old Forgotten Realms books for backup information ---- and tried incorporating FG elements like the city of Waterdeep (which works surprisingly well!) and even NOW, after all this effort, do I feel utterly confused --- I'm swamped with information!!

my best advice: create a really slick, high-impact campaign idea -- almost like the pitch for a stand-alone, self-contained action/thriller movie ---- and then proceed to "look up" the Eberron-specific data as needed ----------- I suppose you could provide your players with a brief history of the game-world... that's easy enough to find... (just look it up on wikipedia)

but as far as mapping out how all the disparate organizations/power centers interconnect ---- man, seriously it's mind boggling how much detail is available ------------ there's too much information to digest in one sitting....

in my case, I've based my entire campaign in a Northern section of Aundair --- the thought of preparing a Sharn-based mission (or campaign) is still daunting ------- considering its size, I don't want to sell it short by arriving ill-prepared......

I guess what I'm saying is... I've looked up exactly what I need -- and
focused exclusively on crafting my own campaign (which is extremely limited in scope/scale) ------- Eberron is massive!! I look forward to reading what others have to say about this!!

love
Griffonheart
06-25-06, 03:34 PM Thanks RedUncle I have my story plan all set up for right now and your right, there is a lot of information out there to be had. I think I have a pretty firm grasp on everything I am going to need to know I just want to provide the players with some basic setting knowledge the sort of stuff that people who had grown up in the world would know. I hadn't even thought to check Wikipedia where was my brain there.
Sythion
06-26-06, 01:35 AM Look a good book or story with a lot of background, the information should be handed out slowly, and in digestable amounts.

If at all possible do not give the players history lessons of the game UNTIL they come into play. Read the 10 things all players should know about Eberron, let them make their characters, and then get started.

You mentioned Vol, and the 13th dragonmark (or house), so perhaps once your players get used to fighting the blood of Vol, or the Emerald Claw, they come across a priceless book that happens to give the history of the House of Vol.

Characters coming from different regions should have information that they should already know (which would of course be impossible for a new player). If it's going to come into play, I let them know in advance. For instance, if you have a character from Karrnath who comes into contact with the Blood of Vol, he should already know his country's general outlook on the religion, and be able to share that info with the rest of the players.

Finally, I do encourage the players to read and access info in the ECS and player's handbook (which is a trimmed down version of the ECS made for players) if they are at all interested in any aspect of the world.
Soloran
06-26-06, 07:27 AM Yeah, I just started playing Eberron last week with my old buddies, and let me tell you, it was a blast. First off, we haven't played D&D in years, so I tried to make Eberron a place where all my wild and crazy DMing ideas come to fruition.

In my case, I just used Forgotten Forge to kick start our adventures and in between, I've interspersed character specific 'personal quests' for each character. For example, the monk of the party (who is a no good scoundrel btw) is now a proud owner of a nightclub and a member of the Daask after killing a goblin mole in a heavily guarded Boromar combat. The wizard of the party, and also dragonmarked heir, has recently been forced into marriage by his mother, the House Jorasco matriarch in Sharn. Anyways, I like the pre-made adventures so I think I'll run that adventure thread. But in between, I like to tailor make each encounter so each character feels like he is a part of the world.

One piece of advice, lessen the amount of encounters, but make each fight a no holds barred, high octane thrill ride. They'll love you for it. And remember, the most important thing is for both you and your players to have fun.
Sythion
06-26-06, 01:18 PM To help keep the fights interesting, try and throw one or more dynamics at the characters. Perhaps they are fighting on a lightning rail, or airship. Maybe they have to guard a special item for a certain amount of time against overwhelming odds, or grab an item from a group that could beat it in straight-forward combat. These kind of things can intensify combat quite a bit!
Melvin the Mediocre
06-26-06, 05:08 PM My groups is very new to Eberron (we've had 9 sessions so far) and so I made them a player cheat sheet in excel that I could send you. PM me your email and I will send it your way. It has:
A very breif entry on each of the nations that emerged from the Thronehold treaty
A very breif entry on each of the gods
Common food and drink (so that they can order in a tavern)
A listing of the days of the week and names of the months / moons
Entry on the Dragon marked houses and guilds
And some other stuff as well.

There is a little room on it for you to stuff in things that you think your players would like.
Griffonheart
06-26-06, 05:11 PM Yeah I am ready to go on combat. Bascially all the DM stuff is ready to go, I just want to pass out an Eberron Primer since most of the players haven't got the ECS nor do any of my players have the time to read the whole thing before the game starts. Does anyone have any thoughts about what sort of information a person who had lived his whole life on Khorvaire would know without asking?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Griffonheart 06-24-06, 08:36 PM	Hello all, I am planning to start a new campaign in Eberron and would like to provide all of my players with something of a primer for the Eberron campaign setting. I am hoping that people out there are willing to give me a hand with it. Basically what I want to include is a brief timeline of Eberron, I am sure I have seen this somewhere already I just don't have access to my books right now and can't remember which one it is in anyway. I would like to include information on the 13 dragonmarks and the 14 houses (I include the house that had the mark of Death since Vol is likely to figure heavily in my game). I would also like to include brief descriptions of the various regions of Khorvaire (sp?) so that the players can get to know the place. Beyond that does anyone have any suggestions of what should be included in such a primer and where I might be able to find this information? Thanks a lot for all your input.
RedUncle 06-25-06, 12:13 PM	I've recently undertaken the task of preparing a new Eberron campaign -- I've read half a dozen Eberron books (and, of course, the three core books) back to back several times each --- I've also reused my old Forgotten Realms books for backup information ---- and tried incorporating FG elements like the city of Waterdeep (which works surprisingly well!) and even NOW, after all this effort, do I feel utterly confused --- I'm swamped with information!! my best advice: create a really slick, high-impact campaign idea -- almost like the pitch for a stand-alone, self-contained action/thriller movie ---- and then proceed to "look up" the Eberron-specific data as needed ----------- I suppose you could provide your players with a brief history of the game-world... that's easy enough to find... (just look it up on wikipedia) but as far as mapping out how all the disparate organizations/power centers interconnect ---- man, seriously it's mind boggling how much detail is available ------------ there's too much information to digest in one sitting.... in my case, I've based my entire campaign in a Northern section of Aundair --- the thought of preparing a Sharn-based mission (or campaign) is still daunting ------- considering its size, I don't want to sell it short by arriving ill-prepared...... I guess what I'm saying is... I've looked up exactly what I need -- and focused exclusively on crafting my own campaign (which is extremely limited in scope/scale) ------- Eberron is massive!! I look forward to reading what others have to say about this!! love
Griffonheart 06-25-06, 03:34 PM	Thanks RedUncle I have my story plan all set up for right now and your right, there is a lot of information out there to be had. I think I have a pretty firm grasp on everything I am going to need to know I just want to provide the players with some basic setting knowledge the sort of stuff that people who had grown up in the world would know. I hadn't even thought to check Wikipedia where was my brain there.
Sythion 06-26-06, 01:35 AM	Look a good book or story with a lot of background, the information should be handed out slowly, and in digestable amounts. If at all possible do not give the players history lessons of the game UNTIL they come into play. Read the 10 things all players should know about Eberron, let them make their characters, and then get started. You mentioned Vol, and the 13th dragonmark (or house), so perhaps once your players get used to fighting the blood of Vol, or the Emerald Claw, they come across a priceless book that happens to give the history of the House of Vol. Characters coming from different regions should have information that they should already know (which would of course be impossible for a new player). If it's going to come into play, I let them know in advance. For instance, if you have a character from Karrnath who comes into contact with the Blood of Vol, he should already know his country's general outlook on the religion, and be able to share that info with the rest of the players. Finally, I do encourage the players to read and access info in the ECS and player's handbook (which is a trimmed down version of the ECS made for players) if they are at all interested in any aspect of the world.
Soloran 06-26-06, 07:27 AM	Yeah, I just started playing Eberron last week with my old buddies, and let me tell you, it was a blast. First off, we haven't played D&D in years, so I tried to make Eberron a place where all my wild and crazy DMing ideas come to fruition. In my case, I just used Forgotten Forge to kick start our adventures and in between, I've interspersed character specific 'personal quests' for each character. For example, the monk of the party (who is a no good scoundrel btw) is now a proud owner of a nightclub and a member of the Daask after killing a goblin mole in a heavily guarded Boromar combat. The wizard of the party, and also dragonmarked heir, has recently been forced into marriage by his mother, the House Jorasco matriarch in Sharn. Anyways, I like the pre-made adventures so I think I'll run that adventure thread. But in between, I like to tailor make each encounter so each character feels like he is a part of the world. One piece of advice, lessen the amount of encounters, but make each fight a no holds barred, high octane thrill ride. They'll love you for it. And remember, the most important thing is for both you and your players to have fun.
Sythion 06-26-06, 01:18 PM	To help keep the fights interesting, try and throw one or more dynamics at the characters. Perhaps they are fighting on a lightning rail, or airship. Maybe they have to guard a special item for a certain amount of time against overwhelming odds, or grab an item from a group that could beat it in straight-forward combat. These kind of things can intensify combat quite a bit!
Melvin the Mediocre 06-26-06, 05:08 PM	My groups is very new to Eberron (we've had 9 sessions so far) and so I made them a player cheat sheet in excel that I could send you. PM me your email and I will send it your way. It has: A very breif entry on each of the nations that emerged from the Thronehold treaty A very breif entry on each of the gods Common food and drink (so that they can order in a tavern) A listing of the days of the week and names of the months / moons Entry on the Dragon marked houses and guilds And some other stuff as well. There is a little room on it for you to stuff in things that you think your players would like.
Griffonheart 06-26-06, 05:11 PM	Yeah I am ready to go on combat. Bascially all the DM stuff is ready to go, I just want to pass out an Eberron Primer since most of the players haven't got the ECS nor do any of my players have the time to read the whole thing before the game starts. Does anyone have any thoughts about what sort of information a person who had lived his whole life on Khorvaire would know without asking?