Keith Baker (1) (1969–)

This is a very detailed guide to the world of Eberron, a possible campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons. It has a very different feel to the Forgotten Realms: more steampunk, more noir, more grittiness. I liked the little excerpts from newspapers of the various cities covered by the book, and there are some great ideas for adventures. It was rather a lot for me to take in, though, and I skimmed rather a lot of the last two chapters. I also find it mildly upsetting that the lightning rail show more trains are powered by binding elementals, and the overall gritty noir atmosphere is not something I want to be reading about these days. That said, this book did give me ideas for a possible character (yes, I am perpetually stuck on the Character Creation screen for D&D), so it was worth reading. Definitely felt it was worth borrowing from the library! show less

As the most recent campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons adventures, Eberron has the advantage of having been written entirely under and for a single edition of the rules (in this case, d20 3.5). That fact alone would make it an attractive purchase for most players, as it makes the setting highly compatible with other popular supplements.

Eberron's real strength lies in providing enough information to hook players, but leaving enough blanks that adventure becomes necessary. With the show more conclusion of the Last War, the golem-like warforged race built to fight in it have been emancipated-- but to what fate? The fractured remnants of the Empire of Galifar have achieved a delicate peace-- but who or what caused the terrible Day of Mourning that shocked them into a ceasefire? Trade routes to the continent of Xen'drik have reopened-- but what secrets hide in its jungles and deserts? Every group of players will have the motivation and the license to answer such questions on their own.

In addition to the setting's new races (the warforged, the bestial shifters, the dream-touched kalashtar, and the master-of-disguise changelings), several old favorites from the Player's Handbook get a makeover. Implicit in the radical changes (halflings are dino-riding barbarians, while orcs are religious recluses) is the idea that nationality matters more than genetics. An elven mage raised in the nation of Breland will have more in common with a human compatriot than with the equestrian warriors of the Valenar elves, or the ancestor-worshipping necromancers of the Aerenal elves. The character classes (including the crafty new artificer) are assumed to be relatively rare in Eberron, practically assuring that the player characters' actions have real impact once they start rising in level and power.

The organization of the book is excellent-- players at the table will be able refer to it quickly for maps, rules, and information. The artwork is attractive and evocative, the tone of the text eager and intriguing. Eberron is worthy of a spot on the shelf with other favorites like Forgotten Realms and Planescape. show less

This is a review of the game book, not the game itself, since I haven't actually had a chance to play or run it yet. A very interesting and original game concept here, with I think a lot of opportunities for interesting roleplay: Player characters are are phoenixes, humans reborn with special abilities that vary depending on how/why they died, and who can be reborn again if they die, but only seven times. But each time they die, they come back stronger, and in dying, they can accomplish show more tasks that would otherwise be beyond them. The world setting, its history, the mechanics, and the introductory story arc provided in the book are all tightly woven together, so it's not clear to me at this point whether the game how well work with a different or variant setting.

As for the book itself, it is, like the rest of the game's components, beautiful and well made. It's generally clearly written, although I think the final readers must have already been familiar with the game, because as you read through the text, there are a number of references to things that haven't been mentioned yet, but without forward page or section numbers. Like most gaming books, it would have been improved by the employment of a reasonably skilled proofreader; typos are common enough that they're worth mentioning, although in most (all?) cases they don't obscure the meaning as long as one is thinking just a little bit.

I'm looking forward to running this game and finding out whether it actually plays as well as it reads. show less

An interesting and fun-to-read setting, though I'm not sure I'll ever get to play it. Also not sure I would give up my beloved Planescape to play in this world. Lots of neat ideas in here, though, and lots of world info to get into and muck about it.