PDA

View Full Version : Best Eberron sourcebook?



Comet
2016-03-04, 10:00 AM
People really seem to love Eberron. I know the basic aesthetic of the setting but have very little information beside that.

What's the one book to get for someone who wants to understand what Eberron is all about? Rules don't really matter all that much in this case, unless they really sell some aspect of the setting itself. I mainly just want to sit down with well-written text and cool illustrations and soak in the magical technology, interesting factions and exotic locations. Whatever makes Eberron cool, that is.

Daedroth
2016-03-04, 11:15 AM
People really seem to love Eberron. I know the basic aesthetic of the setting but have very little information beside that.

What's the one book to get for someone who wants to understand what Eberron is all about? Rules don't really matter all that much in this case, unless they really sell some aspect of the setting itself. I mainly just want to sit down with well-written text and cool illustrations and soak in the magical technology, interesting factions and exotic locations. Whatever makes Eberron cool, that is.


Eberron Campaign Setting (D&D 3.5)

Depending on what you want to explore, most of Eberron sourcebooks are golden.

Ravian
2016-03-04, 01:36 PM
Sharn: City of Towers is a good one, has a nice in-depth look at a huge city shaped by Eberron's magitek.

I'm a fan of Five Nations even though it's one of the more tame ones (Khorvaire isn't quite as exotic as some of the other continents.) but I enjoy it because I feel it makes the nations feel real, with a good look at how their culture and politics work and how one would make some nice political intrigue. Races of Eberron is similar in that way, in that it gives a good look at how the people of Eberron would behave, this time on a racial basis rather than a national one.

Can't really go wrong with secrets of Xen'drik, especially if you want exotic.

Dragonmarked is nice to really look at how magical technology shapes the world. Gives a nice look at all the creations of the houses. Magic of Eberron is somewhat similar, but I feel it involves magic that is more "outside" society. (aside from Elemental binding) if you want something exotic as far as magic goes, its great, but not a ton of it helps with showing how society uses it.

Faiths of Eberron is also a big favorite of mine. Mostly because it gives a very nuanced view of the religion in a fantasy setting. Rather than taking the typical fantasy approach of "this god appeals to my specific set of interests, I will worship it." it actually tells you why someone would like a religion, and what that religion actually believes. It works really well given that Eberron's religions are more similar to our own, given that they don't know what the gods truly want or if they even exist, so a lot of their religions are shaped by that lack of knowledge.

(Much more interesting than just calling up your god on the divine magic phone and asking him what's up.)

Frankly I just really love Eberron in general and you can't really go wrong with most of the books. I will note that Forge of War isn't a favorite of mine. It reads a little too much like a dull history book, and it runs into a few too many problems and inconsistencies, such as characterizing Thrane's armies as unorganized rabble without a ton of ranged support (ignoring the fact that the Silver Flame's favored weapon is the longbow) Keith Baker can't really denounce it, but he's made it clear that it doesn't match with his vision of Eberron.

On that note, I would also recommend checking out Keith Baker's blogs. He's posted a lot about Eberron over the years and while his words are not necessarily canon, he does a great job at clarifying interesting aspects of the world.

Fable Wright
2016-03-04, 05:24 PM
All these books are indeed good, but they are poor introductions to the setting. I tried to get into Eberron no less than three times, and was driven off twice.

Then I looked at the 4e Eberron Campaign Guide, and I finally found an accessible and interesting way into the setting. I cannot recommend it enough as a broad overview and compilation of all the Eberron lore introduced in 3.5e. The other books are fantastic at augmenting your understanding, but if you chop out all the 4e mechanics, it is hands-down the best standalone book of Eberron lore you can get your hands on. Eberron Player's Guide is absolute rubbish, though.

Kelb_Panthera
2016-03-04, 05:48 PM
It might not be quite what you're looking for, but I really enjoyed Secrets of Sarlona. Orwell's nightmare as a medieval fantasy where big brother is psychic outsiders from the realm of dreams.

Zombimode
2016-03-05, 07:18 AM
People really seem to love Eberron. I know the basic aesthetic of the setting but have very little information beside that.

What's the one book to get for someone who wants to understand what Eberron is all about? Rules don't really matter all that much in this case, unless they really sell some aspect of the setting itself. I mainly just want to sit down with well-written text and cool illustrations and soak in the magical technology, interesting factions and exotic locations. Whatever makes Eberron cool, that is.

The book explaining the setting is obviously the Eberron Campaign Setting.
Another book worth checking out for an overview of the setting is the Eberron Players Guide. It is shorter the the ECS and neatly divided, pretty much like a lexicon. Although, much like a lexicon, the entries aren't really connected. It presumes that you already know the general gist of Eberron.

As for supplementary books, as mentioned most of the are rock solid. I second the recommendation of Faiths of Eberron. It touches an often neglected topic in an elaborate, smart and respectful fashion. If you have any interest in fantasy religion, even if you don't care about Eberron, it is worth a read.

The Forge of War is a really unfortunate case. Personally I want to know more about the Last War in all its history lesson-y detail (I read wikipedia articles on historic topics for fun), but the history provided by this book is... not adequate. It feels like the writers didn't know much about the setting.

Kalmageddon
2016-03-05, 12:03 PM
Secrets of Xen'Drik and City of Stormreach are both really good sourcebooks for that part of the setting but they also contain some background for things happening elsewhere in the world.
Sharn: City of Towers is also very good, as Sharn is usually central to at least part of a campaign set in Eberron and one of the more unique and interesting parts of the setting.