If you had to choose any one Eberron sourcebook, which would it be? [Archive] - Wizards Community

If you had to choose any one Eberron sourcebook, which would it be? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Cuaglar
12-05-07, 11:16 AM I ask because I'm deciding on my Christmas wishlist, and I've decided to limit the number of D&D books I wish for to at most 2. I've already sort of decided on the MIC or the Spell Compendium, but I really like reading the various Eberron sourcebooks, so I was wondering what, in your opinions, are the single best of the lot? And if they are a worthy choice over my previous decisions.
Nerdicus
12-05-07, 11:45 AM I personally believe that the Sharn: City of Towers supplement is the best all around buy for Eberron books.
Nived
12-05-07, 11:50 AM That is a tough one, a real tough one, because I feel when buy8uying books now you have to look at the crunch to fluff ratio as a new edition is on the horizon.

Dragonmarked is probably my most used suplimental book. However it does have a bit more crunch in it than say Five Nations, Forge of War, Dragons of Eberron, Faiths of Eberron, and Sharn: City of Towers
Cuaglar
12-05-07, 11:50 AM I'd also like to note that most of my campaigns take place on Mainland Khorvaire, so, while they are interesting reading, I probably wouldn't use Secrets of Xen'drik, Secrets of Sarlona, or Dragons of Eberron.
Arz
12-05-07, 12:05 PM Since you didn't mention it: ECS!

After that I'd say RoE, MoE, and FN in that order for the player. As GM I'd go FN then S:CoT. Dragonmarked, Faiths, and Explorer's are good but depend on the focus of your campaign.
Cuaglar
12-05-07, 12:07 PM I have the ECS. :) But I've decided to go with Five Nations. Only one adventure that I've written so far ventured beyond Khorvaire's shores, so I think it would be the most useful. Thanks for your help, everyone.
Edymnion
12-05-07, 12:50 PM Personally, I would recommend the Players Guide to Eberron, as long as you put duct tape over the sidebars, its one of the best out there.
Cuaglar
12-05-07, 01:02 PM I think a lot of the material in the Player's Handbook (most of it, anyway) is included in the Dragonshard articles here on the website. I did consider it, though.
Amaril
12-05-07, 01:02 PM Even the sidebars in PGtE can be useful.

In any case, for a Khorvaire campaign, I'd recommend

Sharn:City of Towers
Forge of War
Five Nations
Dragonmarked

In that order, too.

Sharn: City of Towers is like a setting within a setting. It's richly detailed and the players could enjoy an entire campaign set within the city alone. It's comparable to Ptolus in breadth (the city, not the book).

Forge of War is pretty critical if you want to really drive home the impact The Last War had on all of the nations of Khorvaire.

Five Nations is a great overview of the nations of Galifar across Khorvaire, but it doesn't cover the other regions.

Dragonmarked is very rich in details about the Dragonmarked Houses, but a dragonmarked campaign is pretty narrow in scope.
Burch
12-05-07, 01:51 PM There's really no right answer to this question. However, a lot of the first gen Eberron releases, while they covered important topics, were not as good as recent releases, which covered secondary material.

If it were me. If I had to pick one Eberron supplement and that was it, I think I'd have to pick the Forge of War. Unlike most of the other line supplements, there is little information about the Last War available for free whereas a lot of other strong releases have free netbooks/dragonshards. Economically, its your best bet.

Also, there's a LOT of fun reading in Forge of War. For DMs not looking for next feat or whatever, there's probably more text in this book than any other Eberron product except the campaign setting. What little "crunch"it does have is very good.

So, yeah, the Forge of War stands on its own as the best Eberron supplement currently released, IMO.
Amaril
12-05-07, 01:59 PM Forge of War is a great choice because it not only gives a history of the war, it also illustrates some of the roles the supplemental character classes played during the Last War. Dread Necromancers, Warmages, Duskblades, Scouts, etc. are all mentioned as special military units for the various nations.
PlaDeDump
12-07-07, 11:18 PM I only own one supplement besides the ECS and that is Sharn: City of Towers. I'm hesitant to buy any more books, even though I want too, because of the impending release of 4th edition. I want books that are fluff heavy. This has been a good thread because I've gotten a good idea about what the available sourcebooks are about.
lugnut71
12-09-07, 12:41 PM I only own one supplement besides the ECS and that is Sharn: City of Towers. I'm hesitant to buy any more books, even though I want too, because of the impending release of 4th edition. I want books that are fluff heavy. This has been a good thread because I've gotten a good idea about what the available sourcebooks are about.

Most of the Eberron books are fluff heavy though. I would say they almost are at least 60% fluff. Some more but I really don't think any or less.
lonewolf
12-11-07, 07:54 PM Im a huge fan of Faiths of Eberron. The way they took a rather bland religion(Souvereign Host) and made it really interesting suprised and impressed me totally.
Dont look at the Planar Shepherd too closely though. It might cause you to set the page on fire or something.
Burch
12-12-07, 04:27 PM While I agree that most Eberron books are crunch-light, if that is your criterion then I recommend you avoid the following books

Races of Eberron
Magic of Eberron
Player's Guide to Eberron
Secrets of Xen 'Drik
Secrets of Sarlona
Dragonmarked

I happen to like most of these books, but they've got a lot of crunch in them, comparatively.
Kensan_Oni
12-12-07, 04:38 PM Dragonmarked, Forge of War, and Five Nations are all very useful books,a nd I figure that you would be pleased if you got any of those three.

... I also happen to like the Dagons of Eberron, as it covers the Council, a faction that I tend to use in my games, but your milage may vary.

Off topic, did any book go into any further detail about the Lords of Dust yet?
Paulon
12-12-07, 09:54 PM Not in any of the WotC books, but Keith wrote an article about them for Dragon 337.
Wed
12-13-07, 03:59 AM If you're looking for fluff stuff I recommend you Five nations and Sharn (I didn't read yet Forge of war so I can't say anything about it). But I also recommend you Dragonmarked and Races of Eberron. They have a little more crunch than the others (specially Races) but they are great books with a lot of interesting information and I have found them really usefull.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Cuaglar 12-05-07, 11:16 AM	I ask because I'm deciding on my Christmas wishlist, and I've decided to limit the number of D&D books I wish for to at most 2. I've already sort of decided on the MIC or the Spell Compendium, but I really like reading the various Eberron sourcebooks, so I was wondering what, in your opinions, are the single best of the lot? And if they are a worthy choice over my previous decisions.
Nerdicus 12-05-07, 11:45 AM	I personally believe that the Sharn: City of Towers supplement is the best all around buy for Eberron books.
Nived 12-05-07, 11:50 AM	That is a tough one, a real tough one, because I feel when buy8uying books now you have to look at the crunch to fluff ratio as a new edition is on the horizon. Dragonmarked is probably my most used suplimental book. However it does have a bit more crunch in it than say Five Nations, Forge of War, Dragons of Eberron, Faiths of Eberron, and Sharn: City of Towers
Cuaglar 12-05-07, 11:50 AM	I'd also like to note that most of my campaigns take place on Mainland Khorvaire, so, while they are interesting reading, I probably wouldn't use Secrets of Xen'drik, Secrets of Sarlona, or Dragons of Eberron.
Arz 12-05-07, 12:05 PM	Since you didn't mention it: ECS! After that I'd say RoE, MoE, and FN in that order for the player. As GM I'd go FN then S:CoT. Dragonmarked, Faiths, and Explorer's are good but depend on the focus of your campaign.
Cuaglar 12-05-07, 12:07 PM	I have the ECS. :) But I've decided to go with Five Nations. Only one adventure that I've written so far ventured beyond Khorvaire's shores, so I think it would be the most useful. Thanks for your help, everyone.
Edymnion 12-05-07, 12:50 PM	Personally, I would recommend the Players Guide to Eberron, as long as you put duct tape over the sidebars, its one of the best out there.
Cuaglar 12-05-07, 01:02 PM	I think a lot of the material in the Player's Handbook (most of it, anyway) is included in the Dragonshard articles here on the website. I did consider it, though.
Amaril 12-05-07, 01:02 PM	Even the sidebars in PGtE can be useful. In any case, for a Khorvaire campaign, I'd recommend Sharn:City of Towers Forge of War Five Nations Dragonmarked In that order, too. Sharn: City of Towers is like a setting within a setting. It's richly detailed and the players could enjoy an entire campaign set within the city alone. It's comparable to Ptolus in breadth (the city, not the book). Forge of War is pretty critical if you want to really drive home the impact The Last War had on all of the nations of Khorvaire. Five Nations is a great overview of the nations of Galifar across Khorvaire, but it doesn't cover the other regions. Dragonmarked is very rich in details about the Dragonmarked Houses, but a dragonmarked campaign is pretty narrow in scope.
Burch 12-05-07, 01:51 PM	There's really no right answer to this question. However, a lot of the first gen Eberron releases, while they covered important topics, were not as good as recent releases, which covered secondary material. If it were me. If I had to pick one Eberron supplement and that was it, I think I'd have to pick the Forge of War. Unlike most of the other line supplements, there is little information about the Last War available for free whereas a lot of other strong releases have free netbooks/dragonshards. Economically, its your best bet. Also, there's a LOT of fun reading in Forge of War. For DMs not looking for next feat or whatever, there's probably more text in this book than any other Eberron product except the campaign setting. What little "crunch"it does have is very good. So, yeah, the Forge of War stands on its own as the best Eberron supplement currently released, IMO.
Amaril 12-05-07, 01:59 PM	Forge of War is a great choice because it not only gives a history of the war, it also illustrates some of the roles the supplemental character classes played during the Last War. Dread Necromancers, Warmages, Duskblades, Scouts, etc. are all mentioned as special military units for the various nations.
PlaDeDump 12-07-07, 11:18 PM	I only own one supplement besides the ECS and that is Sharn: City of Towers. I'm hesitant to buy any more books, even though I want too, because of the impending release of 4th edition. I want books that are fluff heavy. This has been a good thread because I've gotten a good idea about what the available sourcebooks are about.
lugnut71 12-09-07, 12:41 PM	I only own one supplement besides the ECS and that is Sharn: City of Towers. I'm hesitant to buy any more books, even though I want too, because of the impending release of 4th edition. I want books that are fluff heavy. This has been a good thread because I've gotten a good idea about what the available sourcebooks are about. Most of the Eberron books are fluff heavy though. I would say they almost are at least 60% fluff. Some more but I really don't think any or less.
lonewolf 12-11-07, 07:54 PM	Im a huge fan of Faiths of Eberron. The way they took a rather bland religion(Souvereign Host) and made it really interesting suprised and impressed me totally. Dont look at the Planar Shepherd too closely though. It might cause you to set the page on fire or something.
Burch 12-12-07, 04:27 PM	While I agree that most Eberron books are crunch-light, if that is your criterion then I recommend you avoid the following books Races of Eberron Magic of Eberron Player's Guide to Eberron Secrets of Xen 'Drik Secrets of Sarlona Dragonmarked I happen to like most of these books, but they've got a lot of crunch in them, comparatively.
Kensan_Oni 12-12-07, 04:38 PM	Dragonmarked, Forge of War, and Five Nations are all very useful books,a nd I figure that you would be pleased if you got any of those three. ... I also happen to like the Dagons of Eberron, as it covers the Council, a faction that I tend to use in my games, but your milage may vary. Off topic, did any book go into any further detail about the Lords of Dust yet?
Paulon 12-12-07, 09:54 PM	Not in any of the WotC books, but Keith wrote an article about them for Dragon 337.
Wed 12-13-07, 03:59 AM	If you're looking for fluff stuff I recommend you Five nations and Sharn (I didn't read yet Forge of war so I can't say anything about it). But I also recommend you Dragonmarked and Races of Eberron. They have a little more crunch than the others (specially Races) but they are great books with a lot of interesting information and I have found them really usefull.