1. Ok, so I glanced through the newbie sticky thread, and im trying to get a solid feel for Eberron, so tell me if I'm on mark or not: Does the world feel something like Final Fantasy 6, like with the magitek and so on? I'm kinda getting that vibe and I like it. If it's not like that, then could someone come up with another setting that Eberron is perhaps close to?
2. I'm new to Eberron, but not D&D. I've been playing for many many years now. I am totally in love with 4th Edition thus far, and since this is a new edition, I thought I'd celebrate with a new campaign setting as well. FR has typically been my campaign setting of choice, and while I do like the overall changes in the realms, and have picked up the new campaign guide, like I said, im looking to expand my horizons. So I said all that to say this: how different are FR and Eberron? Vastly different? Only a little? Somewhere in the middle?
3. Seeing as how I am new to Eberron, I have not kept up with when the 4th Edition Eberron Campaign Guide is coming out. Any release dates? And how significant are the changes (if any are known).
Thanks ahead of time for any and all resonses!
2. Well it depends. The 3x editions of Eberron and FR were basically the polar opposites of the Fantasy Genre. FR was high fantasy, where gods walk the Earth and interfere with the lives of mortals. High powerful characters hire level 1s just because they can, even though they could do it themselves. And the fact there even are high level characters everywhere. Eberron on the other hand, represents mysteries and a "pulp-noir" feel, high action mixed with intrigue. There are, as I said above, few high level characters, and games should focus on epic moments and memorable battles instead of battling whatever you find. Eberron also has lots of room for creativity. There is no cause of the Mourning, there are no exact stats of ruins in Xen'drik, etc. In Eberron, it's not even known if the gods exist. They have never walked around, never contacted any being, and can't be found on any plane. Clerical powers derive themselves from faith rather than worship. And as Edy has made a somewhat famous extreme example of, worshiping a shoe could give you as much worship of the gods. Those are your domain, and you can add or change anything you want. In 4e, Wizards is attempting to make all settings the same so all products work in all settings. Forgotten Realms is now basically a copy of Eberron in order to attract Eberron fans to it, while keeping FR fans in name. FR has it's own Mournland, it has Dragonmarks, it's lost it's high-level characters, and the gods, like Eberron, have now been scarred off and don't interfere in Mortal lives, with people doubting they exist.
3. Also, as I said above, Eberron is meant to be a DM's playground. Because of this, it will never be moved forward in time. They have decided to add how you could, but most people on the forums are already rather firmly planted that they won't be changing and if they do eventually plan to, it will be things they choose to change. The novels are never canon, and the timeline is the only one that will be made. Every Eberron game you play in, even with the same plot, will be different already. As for the dates, Eberron is going to be the 2nd campaign setting released (there are several settings planned for 4e, each getting a single year for 3 books). Eberron is planned for 2009.
1. So the gods dont play a big role. Are there any official gods of the setting, or the DM has to come up with them entirely?
2. How expansive is the world? Are the usual geographical locations included (ie. a desert (with or without a desert empire), vast temperate forest, vast tropical forest, plently of mountains, oceans, so forth), or is the landscape different from typical fantasy environs?
3. And finally, how is the cosmology treated? I know that with the switch to 4th Ed. it is likely to follow the core cosmology (shadowfell, feywild, etc.). Are there any unique planes?
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!
2. The world is made more or less. There are countries, mountain ranges, and forests. But the temperature of those places, or what can be found in them, is the DM's decision. One DM might make King Boranel's personal hunting forest just that. Others might make it the location of an ancient seal of the creature's of Xoriat (Eberron's Far Realm), with the guards who keep watch actually cultists trying to free it's inhabitants.
3. It had been confirmed that Eberron's planes will be the same as in 3.5, but they will also be changed a bit to fit more with the core planes. Eberron already had a plane of Fey (Thelanis), and plane of Shadow (Mabar), etc. So it's not too drastically different. There's also Risia and Fernia, planes of ice and fire respectively, Shavarath, the endless battlefield where angels, devils, and demons all fight in an eternal battle, and several other original planes. Eberron also has two other original planar features. Manifest zones, where certain planes are particularly influential on the world. The next original thing, or things rather, are conterminous and remote. These are the times when the planes are closest or farthest away, and have the most impact on the world. While Mabar is conterminous, lights will seem especially dull, and even the sun will seem like it's behind a thin cloud. Most people ignore their in game effects due to needing to track a calendar or finding the manifest zone (though as said above, DMs can add them in wherever), but they can be worked into backstories and story lines well. A fire genasi might be a human who was born in a Fernia Manifest Zone when Fernia was conterminous for example. Or a ritual made to create a creature made of ice will only work when Risia is conterminous.
So, if you're an FFVI and FFIX (and, to a very smaller degree, FFXII) fan, go for Eberron, you won't be disappointed^^
One last question I guess: I'm fully commited to 4th Edition, and plan to get the 4th Ed. Eberron CG, but would it be worth it to pick up the 3.5 Eberron CG?
P.S @ TheDerangedOne: Yes, Final Fantasy VI is absolutely amazing. ;)
One last question I guess: I'm fully commited to 4th Edition, and plan to get the 4th Ed. Eberron CG, but would it be worth it to pick up the 3.5 Eberron CG?
I'm going to say yes. It has been stated that a lot of things already almost fully detailed in the original ECS are going to be basics that way theres room for stuff that got only a couple sentences in the original. I'm sure lots will overlap, but if nothing else, you can start your Eberron game a year early.
Mystrich has answered pretty much all your questions and rather well, so yeah all I cant comment on is the final question. Yes I would say it is worth getting the 3.5e Eberron Campaign Setting book. If for no other reason than it's going to be around a year until we get out hands on the 4e ECS book and that's a long time to play without such a book.
If you can't get your hands on a physical copy I'd recommend trying online .pdf websites such as DriveThruRPG and the like. They usually stock a digital version (100% legal and kosher) and it's good quality. If you've got a bit of spare money you could also look at getting some of the other Eberron books in either physical or digital issues.
Oh and Deranged and Mystrich, Kefka was the bomb. The bad-guy won, w00t!
1. So the gods dont play a big role. Are there any official gods of the setting, or the DM has to come up with them entirely?
The Gods as personal entities don't play too big a role but religions certainly do. There's a book 'Faiths of Eberron' given over to fleshing out the major religions which is definitely worth checking out (like most Eberron books it's mostly fluff so it's worth gettin even if you're playing in 4E). There's one definite (and perhaps a couple more) exception[s] to the 'we don't know if the Gods exist or not' trend an that is the Undying Court of Aerenal - it's made up of the Deathless (positively powered undead) ancestors of the elves who as a collective consciousness wield the power of a god but that power is bound to the geographic location of Aerenal due to manifest zones to Irian the Endless Day (positive energy plane).
2. How expansive is the world? Are the usual geographical locations included (ie. a desert (with or without a desert empire), vast temperate forest, vast tropical forest, plently of mountains, oceans, so forth), or is the landscape different from typical fantasy environs?
from memory
Desert - check. Though it doesn't have an empire itself the Blade desert borders the Talenta Plains (occupied by dinosaur riding/herding halfling barbarians!) and Valenar (a fledgling nation of expansionist elves from Aerenal, this nation is scary as). Also Xen'Drik has deserts along with anythign else you want. I don't have Secrets of Sarlona can't say if that has deserts or not.
Vast Temperate Forest - check. The Eldeen Reaches. Used to be part of Aundair but broke away during the Last War. Druid central (various druidic sects that co-operate or fight to various degrees)
Rain Forests - Xen'Drik. Also the King's Forest is suposedly a jungle.
There's plenty of mountain ranges don't worry - The Mror Holds, the Byhesk Mountains of the top of my head.
Oceans - yep! Lhaazar Principalities is probably my favourite region. Loosely aligned federation of pirate princes ruled over by a High Prince with a history as old as Galifar.
3. And finally, how is the cosmology treated? I know that with the switch to 4th Ed. it is likely to follow the core cosmology (shadowfell, feywild, etc.). Are there any unique planes?
Mystrich covered the unique cosmology features better than I could. Apparently the Eberron cosmology is staying pretty much as it is in 4E but is having the new planes inserted as transitory planes between the pre-existing planes. Eberron uses an Orrery model at the moment as opposed to the Great Wheel or the Great Tree but in 4E this is going to be only one possibly metaphor for the planes (according to Kieth)
anyway, hope that helps...
Eberron Cosmology complete with Orrery.
From the looks of things, this appears to be a great place to have a campaign. I particularly like how it's not overly detailed so that DM's can customize it easily without completely wiping away vast amounts of lore.
I guess here soon I am going to pick up the 3.5 Eberron Guide, and settle in for some deep reading.
I look forward to posting here!
Edit: The planes seem to be interesting, if familiar. Although I will admit to being quite fond of 4th Editions Astral Sea cosmology....Hmmmm, I might have to find a way to blend the 2.
Tell us how your campaign turns out AE, sharing is caring!
It is great to have on while you are writing adventures and encounters also. :D