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| 3nigma07-09-07, 12:21 AM | Okay so my birthday is on Sunday, and I want to ask my wife and players (I'm the DM) to get me some Eberron books. I also am going to hit-up my parents to get me a book, since they like to still do that, hehe. So I think I can ask for one book from my wife, one book from my parents, and one book from my playergroup (they can each chip in $5 and it would buy one) What TOP THREE BOOKS should I get? I already have the Campaign setting, DMG, PHB x4, DMG, MM, MM2, etc. So only Eberron books are needed. I am looking for LOTS OF FLUFF. I don't need a whole lot of crunch, I prefer my crunch to come in adventure modules, and I can make up my own crunch for other stuff. I want a lot of filler-fluff-material to fill out the world of Eberron. Also, I want it to be general Khorvaire stuff, not specialized niche products or areas. So here are my thoughts: Sharn: City of Towers - Very desirable, quasi-niche-ish, but extremely usable niche-ish (but maybe too much crunchy details than I would want? I would LOVE more filler-fluff on Sharn though, I would LOVE it). Races of Eberron - I heard it only has good fluff on Kalashtars, which aren't heavily used in our gaming, so I don't think I need this right now (am I wrong?). I don't need more details on shifters, changelings, and kalashtar for now than what the ECS gives me (although I would LOVE more info on teh Warforged, but I don't want to get the book just for that). Five Nations - Probably the best fit for my description of general Khorvaire fluff, but I heard nobody loved this book. I am very uninterested in the main 5 nations, and am more interested in the nations like Droaam, Lhazaar Principalities, Eldeen Reaches, Shadow Marches, etc., but there is no sourcebook material on these. Would this still be good fluff material? Would this make me more interested in these top 5 nations that matter most? I would really enjoy this book if it would make me more interested in these top 5 nations. Explorer's Handbook - The WoTC description and Wikipedia description of this book make it sound like too much crunch and detail-oriented material (travel papers, ship floorplans, etc.) than the fluff that I am more interested in (cultures, politics, nations, etc.). Is this accurate? Magic of Eberron - Not really interested, just another spell-filled-crunch book to me, maybe a book I would buy if I already had all of the other books Player's Guide to Eberron - I won't buy it because of all the spoilers (I cannot believe that WoTC botched their chance at such a perfect sourcebook, ultimate opportunity and ultimate disappointment) Secrets of Xendrik - I will get this later, we don't go to Xendrik right now (I'll save it for higher levels and bigger adventures, I want Khorvaire for now) Faiths of Eberron - I think I would like this book a lot for fluff and filling out the religions and cultures of Eberron, but I think that this would be lower on my priority list than top 3. Maybe I am wrong? Dragonmarked - At first I didn't think I wanted this or was interested in it, but now I think it might be my top pick (more info on politics, forces at work shaping Eberron, etc.). I don't want a bunch of dragonmark-ability-crunch, so this is probably half-n'-half, but I'm not sure. Secrets of Sarlona - Same as Secrets of Xendrik, not right now The Forge of War - I think this might be my top pick from the description, filling out more general information on the Last War, but I may be mistaken. So I think that my top choices would be: The Forge of War Dragonmarked Sharn: City of Towers Five Nations Faiths of Eberron MAYBE Explorer's Handbook (?) I could really use some insight! Please let me know your opinions ASAP, so I can get it on my wishlist and send it out, before Sunday approaches =). Thanks guys! -3nigma |
| LoneStranger07-09-07, 12:56 AM | I'd put it this way: Races of Eberron Faiths of Eberron Magic of Eberron Five Nations Dragonmarked That will give you quite a bit to work with for background and story ideas. After that Sharn: City of Towers and the adventure modules (if you want the modules that is). People will argue about the quality of the info in Races of Eberron but it does give a few other character options (yeah I know I'm mentioning the crunch but really it's not bad). |
| PoeticJustice07-09-07, 12:58 AM | In terms of quality, you're likely to be please with any of the choices you've listed. However, if you actually want to run a campaign and you're the only one with a copy the ECS, then buy another copy or two. It really helps just being able to lend them out and pass them around. |
| 3nigma07-09-07, 01:01 AM | Also- I don't want to get flamed for bringing up this thread topic again, because I wanted to present my own specific needs and wants for books, rather than in general, "what are the best?" Here is some information I found, what are other insights you can offer me? Five Nations has a good amount of fluff mixed with crunch. I've got most of the Eberron books, and it ranks in the top three when roaming Khorvaire. Faiths of Eberron, D'marked, and S:CoT are awesome for DM's looking for Fluff, and I agree with Rechan about PGtE for your players. ExH has a few useful things here and there, so I agree with gensuke626 (not bad, just limited usefulness). I haven't read through FoW yet, but what I've seen so far has my fan-boyish side in a tizzy. MoE has a lot of crunch, mostly built for the use Artificers, but IMHO it's potential is best served by the plot ideas it can spawn. For pure reading pleasure, I'd say Faiths of Eberron beats all other D&D supplements. Staying in the limits of the setting, Secrets of Sarlona is marginally worse, followed by Five Nations. Sharn is good, too, but a bit to fractured (and lacking an index). I consider the following to be the "core" of Eberron: ECS (Duh) Player's Guide to Eberron (ignore the sidebars) Dragonmarked Faiths of Eberron Five Nations well, I own all of the Eberron books and think they are all worth while. However, as many have said before, it depends on where your campaign will run. I agree that PGtE is a general must have for the players, and I think that Faiths of Eberron is also a very good choice for fleshing out the religons in Eberron. After that, my three favorite books, and the one's I would recommend are Secrets of Sarlona, for the awesome detail of the largely, up 'till now, unknown continent, Forge of War, for the simple fact that the war had the biggest effect on the current atmosphere in Eberron, and Dragonmarked, since the houses are among the most powerful cabals driving industry. I think that my TOP PICKS right now are theses: 1) Five Nations (despite complaints) 2) Faiths of Eberron 3) Dragonmarked (too much crunch?) 3) Forge of War (historical and not present-day, will it be less applicable, albeit awesome?) I also wanted to ask this question in light of Forge of War being on the shelves now, as it looks fantastic, as if it could be in the top-resource books. Thanks again, -3nigma |
| 3nigma07-09-07, 01:10 AM | I'd put it this way: Races of Eberron Faiths of Eberron Magic of Eberron Five Nations Dragonmarked That will give you quite a bit to work with for background and story ideas. After that Sharn: City of Towers and the adventure modules (if you want the modules that is). People will argue about the quality of the info in Races of Eberron but it does give a few other character options (yeah I know I'm mentioning the crunch but really it's not bad). It sounds like you may be coming from a player-standpoint more than a DM standpoint, do I infer that correctly? I will opt out of Races, I won't need character options. I also won't need Magic, just 'cause I know it'll be LOTS of crunch and only some fluff, even though I'm sure I would love the tiny fluff it has. In terms of quality, you're likely to be please with any of the choices you've listed. However, if you actually want to run a campaign and you're the only one with a copy the ECS, then buy another copy or two. It really helps just being able to lend them out and pass them around. In our games, the players don't want to know the details of the ECS that are secretive that their characters aren't supposed to know yet, so it will be a more dramatic unfolding. We share our ECS pretty dang well, as usually nobody actually ever needs it other than myself (the DM), as a result of this playstyle. Five Nations will be a must for me, now. One down, two to go. Faiths of Eberron is sounding like a "must". I really don't want more information specifically on the religions/faiths of Eberron, but if this is the package that will deliver me more fluff about the culture and world and campaign setting, then bring it on. Sounds like this might be my second one. Dragonmarked I would love for the hypothetical content of filling out more fluff on the Houses and their political reach and influence, but I keep hearing that it is a crapload of crunch for players who want to play characters with Dragonmarks and the abilities and Prestige Classes and stuff, which I am wholly uninterested in. Can anyone offer more insight into this directly? Finally, the brand new "Forge of War" sounds like a perfect match, but I am unsure as to since this is historical information and building the historical richness of the setting, will it be less applicable than present-day immediate-applicable information, such as found in the ECS? Dragonmarked, for example, would contain a lot of present-day fluff, in addition to (supposingly) historical House stuff. Am I headed in the right direction, here? -3nigma |
| OneWinged4ngel07-09-07, 04:06 AM | Okay so my birthday is on Sunday, and I want to ask my wife and players (I'm the DM) to get me some Eberron books. I also am going to hit-up my parents to get me a book, since they like to still do that, hehe. So I think I can ask for one book from my wife, one book from my parents, and one book from my playergroup (they can each chip in $5 and it would buy one) What TOP THREE BOOKS should I get? I already have the Campaign setting, DMG, PHB x4, DMG, MM, MM2, etc. So only Eberron books are needed. I am looking for LOTS OF FLUFF. I don't need a whole lot of crunch, I prefer my crunch to come in adventure modules, and I can make up my own crunch for other stuff. I want a lot of filler-fluff-material to fill out the world of Eberron. Also, I want it to be general Khorvaire stuff, not specialized niche products or areas. So here are my thoughts: Sharn: City of Towers - Very desirable, quasi-niche-ish, but extremely usable niche-ish (but maybe too much crunchy details than I would want? I would LOVE more filler-fluff on Sharn though, I would LOVE it). Excellent, fluffy book, with a lot of information on the setting that is useful *even if* you never even go to Sharn. As a Keith Eberron book, you can expect quality. Races of Eberron - I heard it only has good fluff on Kalashtars, which aren't heavily used in our gaming, so I don't think I need this right now (am I wrong?). I don't need more details on shifters, changelings, and kalashtar for now than what the ECS gives me (although I would LOVE more info on teh Warforged, but I don't want to get the book just for that). Races of Eberron sucks. Do a quick search to see MANY rants about why. Only redeeming part was the kalashtar section by Keith Baker, for me. The rest had me cringing throughout the read at numerous glaring issues. Five Nations - Probably the best fit for my description of general Khorvaire fluff, but I heard nobody loved this book. I am very uninterested in the main 5 nations, and am more interested in the nations like Droaam, Lhazaar Principalities, Eldeen Reaches, Shadow Marches, etc., but there is no sourcebook material on these. Would this still be good fluff material? Would this make me more interested in these top 5 nations that matter most? I would really enjoy this book if it would make me more interested in these top 5 nations. This and Faiths of Eberron are easily the best books without Keith's name on the cover. Five Nations gives you a good deal of fluff on all of the five nations. Cool stuff. Explorer's Handbook - The WoTC description and Wikipedia description of this book make it sound like too much crunch and detail-oriented material (travel papers, ship floorplans, etc.) than the fluff that I am more interested in (cultures, politics, nations, etc.). Is this accurate? Explorer's Handbook has some fairly lame crunch, a few interesting bits, but mostly... not a first pick. Magic of Eberron - Not really interested, just another spell-filled-crunch book to me, maybe a book I would buy if I already had all of the other books Magic of Eberron is kinda nyeh. It's not like it's that bad. It's just that it's not that good either. So nyeh. Player's Guide to Eberron - I won't buy it because of all the spoilers (I cannot believe that WoTC botched their chance at such a perfect sourcebook, ultimate opportunity and ultimate disappointment) As you say, PGtE does a *terrible* job delivering on this book. There's tons of info in there that isn't for players. In fact, in the BoV chapter, it gives you NEXT TO NO INFO useful to players, *only* telling you about the deep conspiracy behind it. (The ECS also gives little info on the actual practices of the Blood of Vol, which is all the more reason to get Faiths of Eberron). Secrets of Xendrik - I will get this later, we don't go to Xendrik right now (I'll save it for higher levels and bigger adventures, I want Khorvaire for now) SoX is a DM book, and it gives you tools for adventures in Xen'drik, rather than many details about Xen'drik itself. It is certainly built with creative freedom in mind. As a Keith book, it's definitely solid, but I wouldn't put it on the top of my list. Faiths of Eberron - I think I would like this book a lot for fluff and filling out the religions and cultures of Eberron, but I think that this would be lower on my priority list than top 3. Maybe I am wrong? Faiths of Eberron is almost completely fluff, and it's some good fluff. Ari Marmell does a great job on his chapters, and the others are some nice fluff. Probably one of the best fluffy books, giving you just about everything you need to know about the various faiths of Eberron. Only has a few pages in the back of crunch, plus one PRC per major faith. Dragonmarked - At first I didn't think I wanted this or was interested in it, but now I think it might be my top pick (more info on politics, forces at work shaping Eberron, etc.). I don't want a bunch of dragonmark-ability-crunch, so this is probably half-n'-half, but I'm not sure. Lots of info on the Dragonmarked houses, and Keith does some excellent work. There's a whole slew of PrCs and feats in here, too, but you apparently care little for that. However, there's a good deal of info on the dragonmarked houses outside of this book, so you might be well-enough off anyways. I wouldn't label it as an essential unless you're running a game in the dragonmarked houses or something. Secrets of Sarlona - Same as Secrets of Xendrik, not right now Secrets of Sarlona is a fantastic book, giving you everything you need to run a game in Sarlona. But if you don't want to run a game in Sarlona, pass it up. The Forge of War - I think this might be my top pick from the description, filling out more general information on the Last War, but I may be mistaken. The only book I don't have. I've heard some good things, but I've also heard some very bad things. Note that there are some... inconsistencies with the general fluff that one of the brand new Eberron writers did a bad job with. So I think that my top choices would be: The Forge of War Dragonmarked Sharn: City of Towers Five Nations Faiths of Eberron MAYBE Explorer's Handbook (?) I could really use some insight! Please let me know your opinions ASAP, so I can get it on my wishlist and send it out, before Sunday approaches =). Thanks guys! -3nigma So there you go. Five Nations is great, Sharn is great if you're in Sharn, and still good even if you're not. Faiths of Eberron gives you plenty of attractive fluff, and of course in a setting like Eberron just about everyone's religious, so it's quite helpful (it also handles some of the religions a lot more elegantly than some other sources... and is probably the only one that covers the Blood of Vol nicely, seeing as ECS is kinda vague on it and PGtE only tells you about the conspiracy described in the ECS for some incomprehensible reason). Dragonmarked really expands the options for dragonmarked characters and really gives a lot of handy fluff for the dragonmarked houses. Secrets of Xen'drik and Sarlona are predominantly only good if you're going to those places, and Sarlona has a lot more material on the setting while Xen'drik is more like an adventure-building aid. Explorer's Handbook isn't something I'd buy if I was getting 3 supplements. It has lame crunch, and it has a rather amusing style, but it doesn't actually give much new fluff. Races of Eberron is the most reviled book to come out for Eberron thus far. Player's Guide to Eberron breaks its promises and doesn't really cover a ton of new ground that isn't in the other books. Magic of Eberron is kinda just okay (definitely passable), and doesn't add a lot of new fluff. I haven't read Forge of War yet, but I've heard that it's got its highs and lows: Some glaring issues (apparently from one writer involved in it) and otherwise solid. Hope that helps you out. I think that my TOP PICKS right now are theses: 1) Five Nations (despite complaints) 2) Faiths of Eberron 3) Dragonmarked (too much crunch?) Sounds like some good choices to me. Faiths of Eberron and Five Nations will not disappoint. Dragonmarked *does* have a healthy application of crunch that really expands the options for dragonmarked characters, but it's also got a lot of solid fluff too. And since Keith's writing it, it goes without saying that it's good fluff ;) You seemed interested in the Sharn book, and I think you'd like to know that, although it primarily focuses on Sharn (of course), City of Towers offers a good deal of cultural info that applies throughout Breland and other places in Khorvaire (and indeed, insight into many various cultures as they come together in Sharn). If you get it, you will be getting useful, fluffy material not only for Sharn, but for the rest of the setting as well. Secrets of Sarlona fills out Sarlona almost as thoroughly as Khorvaire in the ECS. This does a *lot* for "fleshing out the world" like you said you wanted. However, you didn't seem interested in the Kalashtar or psionics (a shame, really). Also, if you haven't already... check out Keith's Dragonshard articles, and the Ask the Dreaming Dark section on his site (and check out his posts on the board in general). Lots of sweet, free fluff right there. Oh, and... ... ... ... ... ... ... :clap: :cheer: :cheer: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! (http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=0PBF22048BC-Today_is_my_Birthday.gif#23):cheer: :cheer: :clap: (You received a birthday link! Congratulations!) |
| Shady31407-09-07, 04:14 AM | I'll second OneWinged4ngel's analysis. |
| itraylor07-09-07, 06:19 AM | If I were you I would go: Players Guide to Eberron Faiths of Eberron Dragonmarked I have all of the books but I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. I personally like more information on Dragonmarked characters etc. I didn’t really like Forge of War as much as I would have liked and I like Five Nations even less. Sharn: City of Towers is really good, a must if you are gaming in Sharn; if you are set against PGtE then buy Sharn: City of Towers. That’s just my opinion. |
| OneWinged4ngel07-09-07, 07:22 AM | If I were you I would go: Players Guide to Eberron Faiths of Eberron Dragonmarked I have all of the books but I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. I personally like more information on Dragonmarked characters etc. I didn’t really like Forge of War as much as I would have liked and I like Five Nations even less. Sharn: City of Towers is really good, a must if you are gaming in Sharn; if you are set against PGtE then buy Sharn: City of Towers. That’s just my opinion. I don't see why you would like the PGtE so much. It was supposed to do one thing (give a player-relevant view of the general Eberron setting) and they didn't even do a decent enough job to leave the dang spoilers out! Heck, parts of it are mostly DM info. The BoV chapter has next to no player info, only really paying attention to the "DM's secret" side, which is just stupid in a "player's guide." Pretty much all of its fluff is covered just as well better elsewhere, anyways. |
| 3nigma07-09-07, 03:56 PM | Secrets of Sarlona fills out Sarlona almost as thoroughly as Khorvaire in the ECS. This does a *lot* for "fleshing out the world" like you said you wanted. However, you didn't seem interested in the Kalashtar or psionics (a shame, really). I absolutely LOOOOOVE psionics. We just don't have them a lot in our game, due to player interest and making the rules a little more complicated. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in our gaming group interested in Psionics, which is such a shame! Also, if you haven't already... check out Keith's Dragonshard articles, and the Ask the Dreaming Dark section on his site (and check out his posts on the board in general). Lots of sweet, free fluff right there. Oh, and... :clap: :cheer: :cheer: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! (http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=0PBF22048BC-Today_is_my_Birthday.gif#23):cheer: :cheer: :clap: (You received a birthday link! Congratulations!) I love the Dragonshard articles, definitely. It'd be nice to have had them in the ECS, but they are absolutely awesome- 100% fluff. That birthday link was hysterical, by the way, LOL. If I were you I would go: Players Guide to Eberron Faiths of Eberron Dragonmarked I have all of the books but I guess it just depends on what you are looking for. I personally like more information on Dragonmarked characters etc. I didn’t really like Forge of War as much as I would have liked and I like Five Nations even less. Sharn: City of Towers is really good, a must if you are gaming in Sharn; if you are set against PGtE then buy Sharn: City of Towers. That’s just my opinion. It sounds like you're coming from a PLAYER'S perspective, rather than a DM. I think as a DM, Five Nations would have more appeal than to a player, and PGtE would have more appeal than to a DM. Thanks for the info guys. I think this is where I am at: 1) Five Nations - FOR SURE 2) Faiths of Eberron - FOR SURE (hopefully =) 3) Sharn: City of Towers OR 3) Forge of War I thought I had ruled out Sharn, but I love that freakin' city. We don't explore it much, we just use it as a base of operations and leave the city from there, but it really would be nice to have. I really hate errors in writing and discrepencies, so that makes me want to pass on Forge of War. Any other insight anyone can direct me specifically between Sharn:CoT and Forge of War? Thanks again, 3nigma |
| AntiSean07-09-07, 04:15 PM | Any other insight anyone can direct me specifically between Sharn:CoT and Forge of War? I haven't had a chance to look at FoW yet, but I can't recommend Sharn:CoT enough. While the bulk of it deals with the titular city, there is still enough material that applies to the setting as a whole (holidays, the Galifar Code of Justice, etc.) that easily justifies the purchase. Even if your party never sets foot in Sharn, the flavor oozing off of damn near every page of the book can help inspire details for your campaign. |
| Azazyll07-09-07, 04:43 PM | Get Sharn over Five Nations. Five nations was a huge disappointment, there's really not much in there that you couldn't get out of the ECS. If you really want cultural flavor, get Sharn. It's really not that limited to the city, there are large sections that deal with things like law and politics that are applicable anywhere, and you could easily transport half of the ideas elswhere and still never finish using the other half in sharn. the same simply cannot be said for five nations; it's largely re-hashing old material with a whole bunch of obvious extrapolation. Frankly, you learn more about the five nations in Forge of War. The historical background is crucial for understanding how these nations really grew and evolved into what they are today. The complaints I have heard (notably on how the Silver Flame would have acted) are purely opinion except for a minor note on using archers, all of which can easily be explained by the dark voice in the flame. In fact, the history chapter is spoiler free as far as I could tell, and makes a better player's reading than the ECS, PGtE, or FN. There is also a huge amount of information on present day repercussions that is highly useful no matter where your campaign goes, and a very useful discussion on using war flashbacks that would be useful for any DM. PGtE is not a player's guide. It's an addendum to the ECS. A lot of stuff in it is already in the Dragonshards, but the rest is still well worth having, although it would definitely be in my second tier. Don't think of it for players, because in no way is it intended for them. It's a DM's book. Explorer's handbook and (sorry Keith) Secrets of Xen'drik are very, very sub par. EH because it's often lacking in refined material and often misses Eberron's tone, and SoX because there's just not much there but a bunch of adventure ideas. They are at the bottom of the barrel, just below Five Nations in my book. There's some neat stuff in MoE, but none of it's crucial, and there's a lot of bad stuff too. Just above FN. Secrets of Sarlona is fantastic, probably the best on the fluff side other than Sharn or FoW, but clearly only relevant if you want it to be. Faiths of Eberron is good...but don't expect a whole lot of culture. It's definitely the best non-keith book after FoW. The Crunch is solidly lackluster, but that's not important to you. Wouldn't be in my top five, but just barely. I seriously wish we eberron fans got the same treatment FR folks got. Many of our supplements have been complete disappointments when it came to really fleshing out the world (I'm looking at EH, SoX, and FN in particular). The only two that are really up to snuff, in my opinion, are Sharn (clearly in the lead) and FoW, with Dragonmarked, Faiths of Eberron and Secrets of Sarlona only slightly below what I would have liked in terms of fluff. MoE is definitely lackluster, and PGtE is good but loses ground when compared to the dragonshards. here's my top five, in order: Sharn City of Towers Forge of War Dragonmarked (you''l love the crunch, believe me) Secrets of Sarlona Faiths of Eberron Bottom of the Barrel (from best to worst) Magic of Eberron Five Nations Explorer's Handbook Secret's of Xen'drik Frankly, I only have the last two for the sake of completeness, and FN only barely makes grade. perhaps, I'm a little too hard on it because it was just such an amazing disappointment after the ECS and Sharn, but I'm still mad that they wasted the book with such sub-par material. the core of Khorvaire deserved the best treatment, and what came out was poorly edited, clearly uncoordinated, and in general unimaginative. Like I said, you're better off just re-reading the regional sections in the ECS. |
| taski07-09-07, 05:59 PM | Well, I guess I'll have a go at it. For the record, I favor fluff over crunch, and I DM a mostly noir-themed campaign. Sharn: City of Towers - Very desirable, quasi-niche-ish, but extremely usable niche-ish (but maybe too much crunchy details than I would want? I would LOVE more filler-fluff on Sharn though, I would LOVE it). Sharn has only about 30 pages of crunch (monsters included). The other 160 pages are fluff. It's a spectacularly fluffy book, with enough factions and possibilities to keep an adventuring party busy their entire lives. And that's not hyperbole. Races of Eberron - I heard it only has good fluff on Kalashtars, which aren't heavily used in our gaming, so I don't think I need this right now (am I wrong?). I don't need more details on shifters, changelings, and kalashtar for now than what the ECS gives me (although I would LOVE more info on teh Warforged, but I don't want to get the book just for that). RoE has some good fluff, but a good chunk of it is devoted to crunch. I've only used it a little. Five Nations - Probably the best fit for my description of general Khorvaire fluff, but I heard nobody loved this book. I am very uninterested in the main 5 nations, and am more interested in the nations like Droaam, Lhazaar Principalities, Eldeen Reaches, Shadow Marches, etc., but there is no sourcebook material on these. Would this still be good fluff material? Would this make me more interested in these top 5 nations that matter most? I would really enjoy this book if it would make me more interested in these top 5 nations. I like FN. I get a lot of use out of it. There are lots of cultural/political/etc. details that help differentiate the Nations from each other. Explorer's Handbook - The WoTC description and Wikipedia description of this book make it sound like too much crunch and detail-oriented material (travel papers, ship floorplans, etc.) than the fluff that I am more interested in (cultures, politics, nations, etc.). Is this accurate? The Explorer's Handbook is basically a collection of travel methods and adventure sites. Some contain interesting fluff, some don't. I personally really like the Crimson Ship; it's very mysterious. Magic of Eberron - Not really interested, just another spell-filled-crunch book to me, maybe a book I would buy if I already had all of the other books I own MoE, but I can't say I've used it much. There is some fluff about various cultures' relation with magic, but it doesn't go into depth there. Player's Guide to Eberron - I won't buy it because of all the spoilers (I cannot believe that WoTC botched their chance at such a perfect sourcebook, ultimate opportunity and ultimate disappointment) I haven't used PGtE much, either. Secrets of Xendrik - I will get this later, we don't go to Xendrik right now (I'll save it for higher levels and bigger adventures, I want Khorvaire for now) That's probably a good way to go. Faiths of Eberron - I think I would like this book a lot for fluff and filling out the religions and cultures of Eberron, but I think that this would be lower on my priority list than top 3. Maybe I am wrong? There is a lot of fluff detail in FoE, so much that I haven't had a good close reading of all of it yet. It is great for adding to the cultural "background" of various areas, and provides a little bit of fluff about nations that haven't had much attention yet (mainly Aerenal and the Shadow Marches). Dragonmarked - At first I didn't think I wanted this or was interested in it, but now I think it might be my top pick (more info on politics, forces at work shaping Eberron, etc.). I don't want a bunch of dragonmark-ability-crunch, so this is probably half-n'-half, but I'm not sure. Dragonmarked has a lot about House politics, but there is also a lot of crunch, too. The crunch is handy for making dragonmarked (or aberrant-marked) NPCs with weird abilities... but if you aren't interested in NPC abilities, then that part of the book is a wash. Secrets of Sarlona - Same as Secrets of Xendrik, not right now Understandable. It is very, very fluffy, so perhaps a good one for later. :) The Forge of War - I think this might be my top pick from the description, filling out more general information on the Last War, but I may be mistaken. I think FoW works very well with FN, but it is primarily about past events, while FN is about now-ish. If you want to run a campaign during the Last War, I would recommend you go for FoW first, otherwise, FN may be more useful for starting out. |
| TiwazTyrsfist07-09-07, 07:05 PM | So, I have all the Eberron books out, except one adventure (which I'm going to buy Thursday). That said, here are my three favorite books, in order. Dragonmarked (because I love the dragonmarks, my favorite aspect of Eberron) Faiths of Eberron (Fluff applies to pretty much every game) Magic of Eberron (Mostly crunch, but has my favorite PrC, Renegade Mastermaker) |
| Edymnion07-09-07, 07:47 PM | For fluff, and assuming you have the ECS, I recommend Five Nations, Dragonmarked, and Faiths of Eberron. |
| 3nigma07-10-07, 11:22 AM | This is awesome feedback guys, thanks for all the help- it SINCERELY has helped a lot. I would not have bought Faiths of Eberron without all of this insight, and I was half-n'-half on Sharn, but this helps a lot. Ironically, I sitll have not been able to make my decision, so I have decided to buy two additional books in addition to the three for my birthday, hehe. 1) Five Nations 2) Faiths of Eberron 3) Sharn: CoT 4) Dragonmarked 5) Forge of War I guess I have to have all of them, hehe. And I'm annoyed with myself, I totally have only been looking at the sticker price on the shelf. Amazon and eBay have the books brand new for only $20 each! Knocking off 33% of each book is a crapload, so that helps a lot. Thanks again for all the help guys, I'm definitely going for all of these. And I'm excited for the crunch in Dragonmarked! Thanks again, 3nigma |
| jonthegm07-10-07, 02:21 PM | I am only posting in this thread to remark that the OP's request is an NP complete problem. |