Has anybody tried to run a 5th edition Eberron campaign?

[Clistenes]

I feel that 5th edition's rules would fit a relatively low level world like Eberron (low level foes are dangerous even for higher level PCs). However, Eberron is rich in low level magic, and has very specific stuff like Dragonmarked Houses, Shards, Artificers, Elemental Binding-powered vehicles...etc.

Unearthed Arcana give a few clues about how to adapt the setting to 5th edition, but it looks very little to me...

So, has anybody tried it? How well does Eberron mesh with 5th edition?

[D.U.P.A.]

Just play it as regular d&d, with fluff of Eberron, you can draw material from previous editions. Someone already homebrew some monsters from Eberron https://daemonsanddeathrays.wordpress.com/

[Clistenes]

Someone already homebrew some monsters from Eberron https://daemonsanddeathrays.wordpress.com/

Thank you.

[Flashy]

I don't run Eberron, but I run a homebrew magitech world that probably makes for a reasonable point of comparison.

The real key is not to give out items with enhancement bonuses. So the players can find tons of potions, magic gear with minor but interesting effects, scrolls, even wands, but you aren't handing out loot with stacking bonuses.

On the whole I find the system works just fine for magitech.

[VelixNobody]

Or, or, or, or really, you could indeed throw tons of magic items at your players anyways. I've found that since encounter building doesn't account for magic items, you can simulate the tougher enemies, by actually throwing tougher enemies at them. It will feel swingy until you get the hang of it, but it is a legitimate way to run an Ebberon campaign, at least in my experience.

Take my suggestion lightly though, since more magic items means a lot more bookwork and potential headaches.

[Flashy]

Or, or, or, or really, you could indeed throw tons of magic items at your players anyways.

Totally! My point was just that I find that the hardest items to rebalance for are the ones with enhancement bonuses so I tend to give the items out with the +1 to +3 stripped off. It will definitely still work with the items as written, it's just more of a pain.

Good magic item play in 5e is much more about handing out stuff with crazy powers than it is about strict arithmetic increases.

[AvatarVecna]

My IRL gaming group is playing an episodic series of adventures in the Eberron setting, with our characters being a small-time adventurer's guild operating out of Stormreach. It's definitely proving interesting so far.

[D.U.P.A.]

Totally! My point was just that I find that the hardest items to rebalance for are the ones with enhancement bonuses so I tend to give the items out with the +1 to +3 stripped off. It will definitely still work with the items as written, it's just more of a pain.

Good magic item play in 5e is much more about handing out stuff with crazy powers than it is about strict arithmetic increases.

I also hate this hunt of +1s, which was very abundant in 4e. But yes, Eberron should have many magic items which have more mundane use than strictly combat.

[charcoalninja]

I dispute that. Most of the nations of the world just got finished fighting what amounted to a combination of the Hundred Years War and WW2 but with MAGIC instead of industry. IMO +1s would be all over the place.

[Steampunkette]

I also hate this hunt of +1s, which was very abundant in 4e. But yes, Eberron should have many magic items which have more mundane use than strictly combat.

QFT.

Mundane Magic is the core of Eberron. You don't ride on a sailboat from Sharn to Q'barra. You're riding around in an elemental powered submarine. You don't light a lantern, you activate your Glowstone and raise it high overhead. Or set it to float while you fight.

Eberron should have tons of magic. But 90%+ of it should be ambient magic. Stuff that makes the setting unique. Not another +3 legendary dagger for the Barbarian to throw.

How about, because of the Last War's significance, providing troops with armor that self-repairs, weapons that don't need polishing/maintenance, or a bag of rations that doesn't run out? While a +1 sword would slightly improve the combat efficacy of your average troop, just keeping his weapon sharp or his belly full will do as much or more on the long marches and hard days of fighting and dying.

[AvatarVecna]

I dispute that. Most of the nations of the world just got finished fighting what amounted to a combination of the Hundred Years War and WW2 but with MAGIC instead of industry. IMO +1s would be all over the place.

:confused: "Most"?

No, no, no, this wasn't the equivalent of WW2, or even WW1, because those involved the whole world; this was one continent, and not even the whole continent. The Eberron setting, after the war, has a lot of similarities to real-world mid-late 19th century. Tell me if this sounds familiar:


In the Western Hemisphere of this world, there are two primary continents. The southern one is large, mostly covered in jungles and mountains, and contains many ancient ruins that are all that's left of a now-dead culture; these ruins are often looted for the treasures they contain by outsiders looking to strike it rich. The northern one is primarily dominated by one nation (which forced the indigenous people into small, out-of-the-way areas that weren't wanted); this nation is united together against a rough world that would grind it down. Unfortunately, due to political disagreements, a change in government causes a schism between different factions of this nation, which quickly lead to a long and bloody war; the bloodiest this nation has ever seen. In the last 1/3 of the war, a new kind of soldier is seen on the battlefield: this soldier is considered little more than a mindless servant, a piece of property, and is put to work serving the causes of the various factions. At the end of this war, when the factions are forced to band back together under a peace treaty that no side expects to last very long, it is determined that the slave-soldiers are people too, and they are set free; some of these slave-soldiers continue operating as such for their old masters, having no better idea on what to do other than what they've always done; some wish to go do their own thing, but can't afford to maintain themselves without being another's servant; some that manage to afford this run off to be with their own kind, gathering under an outspoken member of their own race, in a land torn apart by the war. Meanwhile, several industries have been monopolized by a small number of incredibly large clan/guild groups, each monopolizing a particular industry, including long-distance communication, banking, long-distance travel, and security.

That description could be about Khorvaire; it could also be about North America right around the Civil War. This isn't a world war: those are on the horizon.

[Corey]

Wasn't it Eberron that introduced daily-use wands?

[MeeposFire]

Wasn't it Eberron that introduced daily-use wands?

They had everlasting wands that gave you one or two charges a day or something like that.


I agree that Eberron magic items should be plentiful but to make that work I like the idea of using lots of specialized items that help situationally such as a sleeping bag that is comfortable to sleep in all kinds of temperatures and on all sorts of ground. Such a thing has flavor and practicality but not boost general combat power (thus leaving typical balance concerns unchanged). Tie those items to Dragonmarked houses whenever possible. My sleeping bag could be made by the House of Hospitality for instance.

[JackPhoenix]

Though I haven't had a chance to play it yet, I have an 5e Eberron campaign planned after we finish our current PF one. I agree with the idea of all-present but low magic. It's not like every soldier is equiped with artifact weapons, but if you give them sword that doesn't give any combat bonuses, but doesn't break and always stays sharp, cloak that keeps him dry and warm or cool as needed, bedroll that allows to sleep in comfort even on rocks and a cooking pot that doesn't need fire, or even a flask and pouch that create water and rations from nothing, you'll have an army with huge logistic advantage without breaking the game's math.

I think there should be a lot of minor magic items based on spells like Prestidigitation.... wand that cleans your clothes, magical light sources (great think in otherwise medieval setting...you can continue working even at night without risking fire or needing fuel), boxes that keeps food fresh...take our modern everyday items (with some limits based on Dragonmarked Houses, Sivis certainly won't like everyone to have their own personal Speaking Stone) and try to think about a magitech equivalent. Even though it's useless for typical party, most magic items should be based on utility, not combat.