Post/Author/DateTime	Post
polt 08-13-05, 04:28 PM	The book is out. Give your opinion about it? Better or worse than Five Nations? What did we like, what didn't we like? How's the art? Did the book meet your expectations?
Edymnion 08-13-05, 07:22 PM	I wouldn't say that it's City of Towers quality, or Five Nations quality, but its still a good book. The feeling that I got from reading it is "It sounds like it was written by Monty Python", its got a really light hearted feel to a lot of it. The introduction is supposed to be an in-character speech by a half-orc bard that basically says "Stop reading this, and go on an adventure so I can get some new material!" Its got a lot of good material, but its just not an enjoyable read like Five Nations was, or as useful for the game as a whole as CoT was for Sharn. However, it does introduce some HANDY new ways of presenting material. Like instead of the standard stat blocks, it breaks things up into "defense section" with all the things like HP, AC, and saves, "attack section" with their attacks and damage, etc. And they're using the new style for PrC. The Windwright Captain alone takes up nearly 6 full pages. The art is very nice, and there are LOTS of maps for those who like that sort of thing. Only thing I've seen so far that pokes me is that it has a section in the back for what kind of treasure you'd find in differant areas (which is good!), but it doesn't really mention what SIZE the items are for the Giants. It talks about wonderous items, wands made out of a special kind of wood that tells how many charges are left in it, differant works of art, etc, but it seems to work off the assumption that they are all sized for the PCs. Wha? Land of giants, making things for themselves, why would they have made anything to fit a lousy little human? Although, to be fair, several of the new magical item descriptions say that they resize to fit the wearer "because not all giants were the same size", which makes some sense. And it specifically mentions a Large Two Bladed Sword. Still doesn't explain things like the shields and chain shirts that are human sized, but at least they tried. I'd peg the Explorer's Handbook as a "Good Book, but not a Must Have". However, for an Eberron DM (there's very little PC level information here, which is good) thats feeling overwhelmed by all of the options Eberron gives you, I'd pop this up to a must have book, as it'll help you sort a lot of stuff out.
Illvillainy 08-13-05, 08:33 PM	Only thing I've seen so far that pokes me is that it has a section in the back for what kind of treasure you'd find in differant areas (which is good!), but it doesn't really mention what SIZE the items are for the Giants. It talks about wonderous items, wands made out of a special kind of wood that tells how many charges are left in it, differant works of art, etc, but it seems to work off the assumption that they are all sized for the PCs. Wha? Land of giants, making things for themselves, why would they have made anything to fit a lousy little human? Although, to be fair, several of the new magical item descriptions say that they resize to fit the wearer "because not all giants were the same size", which makes some sense. And it specifically mentions a Large Two Bladed Sword. Still doesn't explain things like the shields and chain shirts that are human sized, but at least they tried. Drow and elf sized.
Edymnion 08-13-05, 09:01 PM	Drow and elf sized.Yeah, thats one thought, although a lot of the armor are things like Mithril Chain Shirts with the Twilight enchantment on them, among other things. Which means "ultimate arcane spellcaster armor" since it has 0% ASF and no check penalties. That means they were intended for spellcasters. Teaching your slaves how to throw fireballs doesn't strike me as a very good idea...
Orion Polaris 08-13-05, 09:07 PM	They didn't have to learn it from Giants. Doesn't it say somewhere that the Elves and Drow learnt dragon magic at the same time the giants did?
Arden Blackleaf 08-13-05, 09:13 PM	A quick question. Does the Explorers Handbook have any fluff on/Maps of Xen'drik?
taski 08-13-05, 09:36 PM	They actually did handle the size issue on page 149, in the paragraph just above "treasure preferences." Basicly, Giants came in two sizes already, Large and Huge, and so needed their own items to size-change; that the items can change to Gargantuan, Medium, and Small is more a "side effect of the arcane techniques" than purposeful.
Fordel 08-14-05, 12:57 AM	Yeah, thats one thought, although a lot of the armor are things like Mithril Chain Shirts with the Twilight enchantment on them, among other things. Which means "ultimate arcane spellcaster armor" since it has 0% ASF and no check penalties. That means they were intended for spellcasters. Teaching your slaves how to throw fireballs doesn't strike me as a very good idea... Certainly wasn't, and it likely bit them in the behind once the elves got all rebellious ;)
Psymnotica 08-14-05, 12:58 AM	A quick question. Does the Explorers Handbook have any fluff on/Maps of Xen'drik? Actually, they have two sites that specifically deal with Xen'drik. The first is Pra'xirek, the Lost City of the Giants, while the other is Tharkgun Dhak, an orge settlement in the ruins of a giant city that has some sinister connections. Additionally, there are some new magic items that were created by the giant civilizations of Xen'drik.
Guide D'Jorasco 08-14-05, 01:59 AM	I love the Explorers Handbook. You can't say which one was truly better (no including errors and inconsistences) because these books are written from different authors perspectives pertaining to Eberron. This is a great way to create books as it brings many ideas and spices to the flavor of Eberron. I thouroughly enjoyed the specific parts on where your party can start off (i.e. Lightening Rail station in Nowhere). This is a great book and it's a great addition to any Eberron fans collection.
Arden Blackleaf 08-14-05, 10:05 AM	Actually, they have two sites that specifically deal with Xen'drik. The first is Pra'xirek, the Lost City of the Giants, while the other is Tharkgun Dhak, an orge settlement in the ruins of a giant city that has some sinister connections. Additionally, there are some new magic items that were created by the giant civilizations of Xen'drik. Looks like I'll be adding this book to my B-day list.
Arcane Guyver 08-14-05, 07:26 PM	Some of the "official" rulings are a mite unsettling (airships naturally buoyant and float without elementals? Gith are just more altered humanoids?) but I liked the breakdown of travel, which was something I found unexpectedly important. The maps and locations were all spiffy, too. Final judgement? Great fun to read, though probably not as necessary as the other splatbooks thus far.
Zalaz Mavi 08-14-05, 07:52 PM	I've been reading the book backwards. Not literally, but I started with the last chapter and have been steadily working toward the front. The last half of the book was very entertaining and I want to build a campaign that includes as many of those locations as possible. The first half of the book I'm finding to be tedious. In fact, I'm skimming large sections of text on the way to, what I hope, is more interesting/inspiring reading. Overall, nothing in the book does anything to shake the feeling of ambivalence I've had since the book was first announced. The word I'd use to describe it is "workman" — useful, reliable, but lacking in flair...
Just another user 08-14-05, 08:00 PM	Some of the "official" rulings are a mite unsettling (airships naturally buoyant and float without elementals? Gith are just more altered humanoids?) but I liked the breakdown of travel, which was something I found unexpectedly important. The maps and locations were all spiffy, too. Final judgement? Great fun to read, though probably not as necessary as the other splatbooks thus far. if it unsettle so much you could always say that an empty airship float, but an airship at full charge fall, slower than it should, but still fall. (i.e the wood have enough bouyancy(sp) only to lift itself and some little more, add something else, like,for example , the crew and the cargo, and the ship is heavier-than-air again.
Seadevil 08-15-05, 01:03 AM	I liked it very much. I may not have as much use for it as I would Five Nations or City of Towers, but I still enjoyed and liked it. Who says how useful something is is a measure of how good it is? A lot of things in life have absolutely no use, but people still love these things. :P
Gishsarath 08-15-05, 01:14 AM	I heard there was a picture of a Drow sportin' an impressive 'stache. Are these rumours true?
aelryinth 08-15-05, 02:20 AM	check the illustration of the Elder Drow for the Handbook pics on the WoTC site for Eberron. ==Aelryinth
Ravenscroft 08-15-05, 02:47 AM	Well i would have bought The Explorer's Handbook just because Rich Burlew's name is on it (no disrespect to his co-authors). I especially like the Wayfinder Foundation Travel Tips. All of it is useful for my Eberron game , and the Prestige Classes are way cool (and fun).Especially the Cataclysm Mage. If anything lacked , i would have wanted an actual location in the Frostfell , but a shipwreck site is always handy. Combined with StormWrack and especially the Hadozee player race , i will have a lot more fun on the High Seas. :w00t:
Kalanth 08-15-05, 04:22 AM	After flipping through the book I could only think about how this book should have been printed before the modules. :) I think the book is great, and definetly worth the purchase, especially because I wanted to create an aspiring Airship captain as my next character and now I have a PrC to shoot for as well.
zentr 08-15-05, 08:47 AM	If anything lacked , i would have wanted an actual location in the Frostfell I think Frostfell is meant to be covered by all the FR sourcebooks. ;) All those cold mountains and all. On topic: I just got the book yesterday. I am enjoying it so far. Required for any DM in Eberron, I should think. Lots of useful info, flavor, and adventure seeds. The artwork is much better in actual size. And what the Art Gallery doesn't show you is all the maps for the adventure areas/scenes, the comic booky chapter heading artwork (now with more colors!), and of course, the two page cover artwork. As far as I understand, the new stat block format for NPCs is introduced. Like before, but organized, which I appreciate. I'm sure someone else can say something more intelligent about it.
Edymnion 08-15-05, 01:33 PM	The artwork is much better in actual size.Yes, the covergirl is much cuter in person :P
Brastan 08-15-05, 02:51 PM	I'm biased on this one actually. I've been wanting more info on the Wayfinders Foundation since the setting came out. Now I've got it and it makes me very happy. :tongue: So far I've haven't read anything that I can't compensate for with a good understanding of a setting. The vehicle entries could have been better but still it's nice to have them all collected in one place and with some lengthy descriptions on their uses and appearance. I like having examples, it makes my ad-hack DMing style easier. The destinations and starting points were good for that. At least for me they were. I also go a better understanding of how 'sports' oriented the Galifar empire was, and still is. Just about anything can be made into an organized competition of some sort, it's great. I your group likes kicking in doors and raiding old ruins then the Wayfinders offer some great opportunities. I especially like the investment system for expeditions. In terms of use, the EH will get more active use in my DMing and 5N. This is because to me 5N filled in the world so if the players deiced to take a detour on their lighting rail route I have material and an understating of place so they just don't walk into a half created void. Like how some doors in digital RPGs won't open because "this floor was never modeled or rendered". What does EH do your you? One word, Travel. Which is, if your not playing Sharn only, an important part of the setting.
Edymnion 08-15-05, 02:59 PM	In terms of use, the EH will get more active use in my DMing and 5N. This is because to me 5N filled in the world so if the players deiced to take a detour on their lighting rail route I have material and an understating of place so they just don't walk into a half created void. Like how some doors in digital RPGs won't open because "this floor was never modeled or rendered".I think this is the key differance between the books. Five Nations was more about the flavor of Eberron, giving you a good generic grip on how the world feels, how it acts, etc. Explorer's Handbook goes the other direction, giving specific detail on specific locations. 5N gives more useful information for how the world feels, but EH gives you more useful on how the world works.
The White Sorcerer 08-15-05, 03:04 PM	I heard there was a picture of a Drow sportin' an impressive 'stache. Are these rumours true? No.
a_psh 08-16-05, 12:59 AM	Five Nations was more about the flavor of Eberron, giving you a good generic grip on how the world feels, how it acts, etc. Well, some of it (Breland in particular) was. Other bits (Aundair and Karrnath) were more like the aforementioned random locations. Is it correct to assume that the Explorer's Handbook stuff has more meat (i.e. better descriptions, more interesting locations, more flavor, maybe a map or two, and a lot less Hogwarts) to it than, say, the Arcanix or Crying Fields sections?
mistakeagian 08-16-05, 01:25 AM	Explorer's was much more specific. it was a book of locations rather than cultures and countries. I liked both Five Nations and Explorer's, though, I think Five Nations will be more useful. I liked the idea that Eberron wouldn't be as detailed in minutea as other settings, and would offer more broad strokes which a DM could fill in as needed. So for me Explorer's got a little too detailed. I will be changing a little bit about each location, and not even using one. The Xen'Drik locations were nice. It was cool to see different idea of what is there and not simply two interconnected sites or something. The Argonessen stuff was interesting. The Rierdran site was, well, dissapointing. I would think that the Inspired would make something a little more powerful, and useful than that. I was thinking of the monoliths more like the tales of the Pyramids. Maybe even seeing them as grounding stations. Not just simple PP pools, let alone PP pools with few PPs. I dunno, thats me. ;)
DBlizzard 08-16-05, 02:13 AM	I would think that the Inspired would make something a little more powerful, and useful than that. I was thinking of the monoliths more like the tales of the Pyramids. Maybe even seeing them as grounding stations. Not just simple PP pools, let alone PP pools with few PPs. I dunno, thats me. ;) Honestly, I think the monoliths do much more. Keith has hinted as much. It's just something that wouldn't come out from visiting one. For example, if enough of them are built (a lot more than there are now), and if they collect enough power, eventually the Dal Quor will become conterminous with Eberron again.
ChronosCrow 08-16-05, 04:16 AM	It's not exactly what I expected it to be. However I didn't really read the synopsis on its description. I assumed it to be a lot like the book of the Five Nations and expected them to do the same kind of run down for Droaam, Zilargo, Q'barra, Talenta, Demon Wastes and maybe the other 3 continents briefly just like in the Five Nations. That would have been relativly awesome indeed. What it is now is OK in my opinion, however the countires run down and brief more info on the other 3 continents would have been MUCH better.
ChronosCrow 08-16-05, 04:16 AM	For example, if enough of them are built (a lot more than there are now), and if they collect enough power, eventually the Dal Quor will become conterminous with Eberron again. Honestly, that's my opinion too.
Deadguy 08-16-05, 05:32 AM	Honestly, I think the monoliths do much more. Keith has hinted as much. It's just something that wouldn't come out from visiting one. For example, if enough of them are built (a lot more than there are now), and if they collect enough power, eventually the Dal Quor will become conterminous with Eberron again. Ahhh... but the nice touch is that the Explorer's Handbook gives etails of what the PCs will encounter if they enter Riedra and spend time in or near a monolith. It still leaves open exactly what the Quori use them for. I mean, I agree that if we want to go with Keith's thoughts, they serve to draw Dal Quor 'near'. But it's still open, so if instead I want them to be psychic batteries for secret Inspired ritual psionics then I can make them so. Generally, Explorer's Handbook has respected the Eberron ideal of leaving the big picture open to interpretation.
cmanos 08-16-05, 07:35 AM	I'd like it....none of the local stores have it in and none of the mail order companies have decided it is time to ship yet.
jknevitt 08-16-05, 09:57 AM	I picked up my copy yesterday (and was quite happy, too, since I thought it was going to be out on the 24th). I've finished the first chapter, and I like it. Parts are tedious reading, only due to the particular writing style. From what I've seen, the rest of it looks pretty awesome. I love that it's full of USEFUL information, like transport times/costs/distances, etc. It's full of answers to all those questions that you know a player will ask (and that you haven't prepared for).
Zalaz Mavi 08-16-05, 05:13 PM	Having finished the book, my final thoughts on it are of what my ideal Explorers' Handbook would've been: 1) Chapters 1 + 2 trimmed down to a single, short chapter. Only a small fraction of the material was useful information; the rest felt like an effort to push for every penny of that $.03/word. 2) While D&D in general has absolutely no more use for clutter, a short equipment chapter was conspicuously absent. Certainly, there are other sourcebooks that can be mined for items, but there are surely some things that would be Eberron exclusive. 3) In the location chapters, I would make some additions. For Frostfell, a dwarven ruin, or manifest zone for Risia with some fantastical ice whatnot would have been welcome. I would trade out the giant border fort for two or three locations along the lines of the Ring of Storms; exotic sites that aren't necessarily giant or drow related. Finally, I remember seeing a mention that during Eberron's design phase there was talk of an underwater nation — unfortunately scrapped due to space constraints. EH would have been a great opportunity to revisit that concept in brief. A sahuagin city, or some other submerged metropolis would fit as well. Given the write-up on the submersible craft, it seems a bit odd that no aquatic locations were included. If anything, it could generate cross-over appeal with Stormwrack. Other possibilities: Dhakaani sites; Daelkyr sites; uncharted islands; and mountains (Eberron has to have a number that no one has ever reached the summit). All in all, not a bad book. Not a book I would pay full price for (and I didn't), when for the same $30, I could do myself far better service with a year subscription to National Geographic. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...
Medesha 08-16-05, 07:01 PM	Everytime I see this thread title I want to go out and picket. "What do we like?" "The Explorer's Handbook!" "How do we like it?" "A lot!"
Mike Czaplinski 08-16-05, 10:18 PM	For me, the sections on the Lightning Rail cars are much appreciated: my planned campaign will feature a lot of lightning rail travel and having set rules for fighting from the top of them is quite useful. I also like the 'official' layouts for the variant rail cars. MikeC
DogOnWheels 08-17-05, 12:03 AM	Finally, I remember seeing a mention that during Eberron's design phase there was talk of an underwater nation — unfortunately scrapped due to space constraints. EH would have been a great opportunity to revisit that concept in brief. A sahuagin city, or some other submerged metropolis would fit as well. Given the write-up on the submersible craft, it seems a bit odd that no aquatic locations were included. If anything, it could generate cross-over appeal with Yeah, I like that idea, someone, Edy, I believe posted a picture in another thread the other day of an underwater city that was very evocotive of Eberron & adventuring as a whole...the Lost Empires book?? Anyways, Wow!
twelvedrunkenmonkeyz 08-17-05, 11:05 AM	Personally I was a little let down with the explorer's handbook. I figured it would give us more information about Xen'drik, Argonessen, Sarlona, and Frostfell. In reality it was little more then a book of Eberron Adventures (which I don't have a problem with). I do think that the book was very useful, but I still want to learn more about the other continents. Personally I would like to see a book released for each one, with detailed maps. Many of the monsters from MMIII are useless for the simple fact that they name locations in the game that uncharted.