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View Full Version : Eberron book reccomendations



Bryn
2007-01-16, 04:48 PM
I recently came into a position where I might be able to buy a couple of books. The Complete Scoundrel is one, but I'm also interested in expanding my collection of Eberron books (of which I have only the Campaign Setting so far). I have looked around Amazon, but I can't really trust their reviews (the CPsi has 5 stars, which completely conflicts with everything I heard about it).

So, which Eberron books would you reccomend, both now and in future? I'm currently playing a Changeling (and a Beguiler at that), so Races of Eberron seems a good choice for the info, PrCs, etc that Changelings get. I also like airships, so the Explorer's Guide also seems worthwhile (although it got generally somewhat poor reviews on Amazon). Are there any other books that are generally essential (or just merely good) for Eberron players?

Sorry if there was a similar thread in the past, I have searched, but I couldn't see anything.

Fax Celestis
2007-01-16, 04:49 PM
Races of Eberron, if your interested in the races thereof.

ImperiousLeader
2007-01-16, 05:13 PM
Races of Eberron is a solid choice, there are some good feats that your Changeling Beguiler would probably like. I really like "The Player's Guide To Eberron", there's something in it for everyone, but it's more Fluff than crunch.

Emperor Tippy
2007-01-16, 05:16 PM
RoE is good, Explorers handbook is excellent, Magic of Eberron is pretty crappy, Five Nations is reasonably well done, the Players Guide to Eberron is ok but nothing spectacular, And Sharn, City of Towers is one of the best D&D books that I have seen in a while.

IM me if you want some advice on how to "acquire" them.

Bryn
2007-01-16, 05:20 PM
Thanks, Races of Eberron will be my next buy, with the Explorers Handbook, Sharn, and the Players Guide as future choices.

Emperor Tippy: Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather stay out of legal grey areas, which that sounds like.

Ashes
2007-01-16, 10:55 PM
Well, the books are kinda specific. But as I've got nearly all of them (missing only Dragonmarked Houses, which I really want, BTW) I'll list my preferences.

Races of Eberron: Good. Easily the best of the Races of... books and the only one I've bothered to spend money on. A bit of the fluff sucks though, (Changeling life-roles, specifically).

Secrets of Xen'drik: A bit meh, though it provided me with some good insight in the drow society (for me they suck in every other published setting that Eberron, on Xen'drik, they are just damn cool). The part about Stormreach was great as well, that city is just cool. Also contains the worst bit of crunch/fluff in all of Eberron, which i blatantly sneer at and ignore; the secrets behind the Warforged. Bleh.

Faiths of Eberron: Yes! Great book. The religions are really fleshed out and it is all very well written, kinda surprising when you see that two of the authors are Suleiman and Marmell. I missed a bit more info and crunch on the druids though.

Magic of Eberron: A bit meh. Take it or leave it, I say. Though it has its moments of glory.

Five Nations: Another Yes!-book. It's all good, and really sets Eberron apart as a world, rather than just a setting.

City of Towers. Great. Just great.

Player's Guide to Eberron: While it has a few gems, I really do not like this book. It's just a way for WOTC to place all the weird stuff in Eberron. With this I mean the oriental classes (which do NOT fit in Eberron) and the weird Races of... races (Goliaths, catfolk, birdguys (can't remember their name) etc.). If you really want to know where they placed them all, I can tell you. They live in Xen'drik. After reading that book, "They live in Xen'drik" became just as nonsensical, annoying and silly as "A wizard did it".
Also, while there are bits of crunch in there, there might as well not be, as it's almost impossible to reference this book in any meaningful way. Bad book, NOT recommended.

Explorer's Handbook: Niche, but very nice. If you intend to do an Indiana Jones- or follow-the-red-line style campaign, it's good, if you want to focus more on one place (Sharn, for instance) skip it. Not bad, though.'

I've got this feeling I've missed something, but I can't remember what it is. :S

Jack_of_Spades
2007-01-16, 11:05 PM
Yeah, Races of Eberron has been very useful for me. I use the Shifter and Warforged in most of my campaigns because they're very interesting to me.

Sharn: City of Towers was helpful for making my campaigns use more vertical areas.