Eberron Campaign Setting Review

 

 

Ah, the Eberron Campaign Setting.  A long time ago, about twenty years ago, Wizards of the Coast did a setting search.  I sent my proposal in, and so did thousands of others.  All hoping for a chance at fame for producing the next Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting.  Keith's setting made the cut.  Called Eberron by Bill Slavicsek, Keith Baker's setting became a new setting for Dungeons and Dragons.  Although still for D&D, it's different than what came before. The Eberron Campaign Setting describes a world that is unlike anything before.

Inspirations

Eberron is inspired by the pulp era of the 1930's. The book suggests you watch several movies inspired by the same era.  Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark was one of these. Casablanca was another (though I don't know how it was an inspiration -- but it's a classic movie).  The original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard certainly counts as inspiration. The Lensman series by Doc E.E. Smith also certainly counts. Certainly Buck Rodgers also counts, along with the classic Flash Gordon movies. However, thanks to the novel series and collaboration by others than just Keith Baker, the Eberron setting grew and evolved.

Innovations

Eberron, due to it's pulp era inspiration, brought a few innovations to the D&D game. These include Action Points, new races, dragonmarks, a new heroic class, and the philosophy that if it exists in D&D, there is certainly a place for it in Eberron.  This included psionics and other things as well.

Action points was one of the new innovations.  Eventually, Paizo would create hero points for Pathfinder (1e), which was based on the same idea.  Basically, you can spend a hero point to modify your d20 rolls.  This means, if a d20 roll wasn't the result you desired, you can spend an action point to modify your roll with a d6.  This is to reflect that in Eberron, your characters are larger than life heroes.  Which was already a thing in D&D.  Eberron characters just stand out.

 

The new races included certainly don't have dragonmarks.  But they represent something new about the setting.  These races include the changelings, the warforged, the kalashtar, and the shifters.  Changelings are beings that can shapeshift into other persons by using a supernatural ability that works like the alter self spell in D&D.  This shapeshifting is so complete that the changeling can replicate other beings exactly.  This makes them useful as spies and rogues.  They do not have dragonmarks.

Warforged are living constructs.  They were constructed by House Cannith to basically serve in the Last War.  Which, I promise, we will come back to. Anyhow, like the Changelings, the warforged do not have dragonmarks.  But they do have souls, which can be worked into adventures exploring that fact. Because of their constructed nature, warforged have bonuses to AC and living construct traits.

Kalashtar are the result of man bonding with Quori spirits in the past. Because these spirits are good and trying to be good, Kalashtar tend also to be good.  They are also beautiful persons, with an ethereal quality about them. And because the Quori are from the region of dreams, the Kalashtar also tend to be psionic.  Like the Changelings and the Warforged, the Kalashtar cannot have dragonmarks.

Shifters are the result of lycanthropes breeding with humans.  The result is a race that is capable of shifting with animal like features.  This brings into question that the Shifters represent the fusion of man with the natural world.  Like the warforged, kalashtar, and changelings, shifters can't have dragonmarks.

Dragonmarks are a new thing brought into being with the Eberron Campaign Setting.  The idea that the seven common races in the PHB (and incidentally, Pathfinder) can have dragonmarks.  They are purchased with a feat.  A dragonmark allows a person to have a certain spell-like ability depending on it's strength. indviduals with stronger dragonmarks have stronger spell-like abilities. While some races get only one dragonmark, and humans get five.  Also, the dragonmarks are tied to the Draconic Prophecy.  They are manifestations of the Draconic Prophecy and the dragons are trying to understand them. What the dragonmarks did was allow the formation of the Dragonmarked Houses -- financial, political, and social institutions that have at least a near monopoly on certain services.  Such as crafting and healing.

Artificers are another addition to D&D by Eberron. Artificers are a class that is made to represent the construction of magic items and constructs.  Artificers achieved this through the use of craft points and the various craft item feats.  In D&D 3e, however, the class was broken.  It wasn't balanced and so DMs would disallow the class in their games.  In fourth edition, they received an overhaul.  Which I didn't like anyhow.  When Paizo released the Advanced Player's Guide for Pathfinder, there was a contender for the Artificer called the alchemist.  Although the class was meant to represent something new to Eberron, it would take Advanced d20 Magic to provide an alternative to crafting magic items that would make this class viable.

If it Exists in D&D, then it fits in Eberron

This philosophy is the guiding light of Eberron campaigns.  Everything about D&D exists in Eberron somewhere.  This means that you can have exotic items from D&D in your Eberron campaign, like psionics.  Although each monster was given a certain flavor in order to exist in Eberron.  Mind flayers are aberrations from Xoriat, and orcs aren't seen as automatically evil. Alignments aren't concrete in Eberron either.  This means you can have good creatures do things that are thought of as evil, and evil creatures push for good things all around.

Eberron's History

The history of Eberron reflects its pulp nature.  There once was a continent spanning empire in Eberron, called the kingdom of Galifar.  This lasted for nearly a thousand years.  The empire of Galifar (lets just call it what it is) was a time of peace and prosperity.  It was divided into five geopolitical areas known as the five nations.  The scions of Galifar would rule each nation and the eldest of the scions would ascend to the throne.  However, there was a devastating war that split the kingdom of Galifar into thirteen separate kingdoms.  Called the Last War, it was almost every man for itself.  As each nation warred to have it's king or queen to ascend to the throne of Galifar. Due to a devastating attack on the nation of Cyre, which utterly destroyed the nation, the last war was brought to a halt and a treaty was signed.

Tensions run high, however.  It's almost like a cold war has replaced a hot one.  The nations spy on each other, and there are small conflicts on the borders of certain nations. While the dragons are obsessed with the Draconic Prophecy, they did little to halt the conflict once it began.

 

Eberron's Technology

Eberron is definitely set apart by it's high technology.  As reflected above, the most obvious example is the Lightning Rail, a train that runs on magnetic levitation.  Produced during when the Kingdom of Galifar was at it's height, the lightning rail represents what can be done with magic in Eberron. Magic is definitely seen as a tool by everyone that uses it.  Through magic, man and other races have created great wonders. But, like what happened to the Mournland (Cyre) and what happened to Mordain the Fleshweaver, magic itself is a tool that can be misused.  Although Eberron is described as medieval, it's technology certainly places Eberron in the late Renaissance era.  It's more like modern times, like the early 1920's of our history.  What else sets Eberron apart from other campaign settings is the lack of gunpowder.  There is no gunpowder on Eberron.

Looking forward to the Future

The Eberron Campaign Setting is certainly innovative. It describes a setting that is not like other settings. Unlike Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Dragonlance, and others -- it certainly has potential moving forward.  I foresee that the Eberron Campaign Setting certainly has potential and this has been realized in the Dungeon Masters' Guild.  Where anyone can contribute to the setting.  This has certainly been good for the setting as a whole.  Certainly more novels will be produced in the future, and more pulp campaigns will be realized. The Eberron Campaign Setting certainly has a bright future ahead of it.  Although I could have discussed more about what was in this setting, mind you this is only a review and I could not talk about everything.