Eberron Campaign Guide: Roleplaying Game Supplement Hardcover – Box set, July 21, 2009

After the terrible, terrible Forgotten Realm books put out last year, I was pretty darn hesitant to purchase another 4th edition setting. Seeing it was written by the amazing James Wyatt and Keith Baker, I went ahead and took the chance; I am so glad I did.The other reviewers have done a great job describing the setting and who it might appeal to, so I just wanted to say a few words about the overall design of this product.I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons for over 15 years now, and never have I seen a setting book organized so well I could literally run a legit game after a few hours of flipping around the pages. One need only to skim the first chapter (plot, background, and flavor), read all 10 pages of Chapter 2 (the city of Sharn), and then skip straight to the adventure at the end and PLAY! If anything does come up, the book is so well laid out it should only take seconds to get the answer.After the first adventure, grab the adventure  Seekers of the Ashen Crown: A 4th Edition D&D Adventure for Eberron which takes place right after the adventure in this book. This will give the DM plenty of time to finish the book while still keeping the players actively adventuring in Eberron. When that adventure is finished, the DM now has the entire world at his disposal, with all its political intrigue, vast dungeons, incredible technology, and war-torn history.Too cool...

...but not if you prefer your fantasy the old fashioned, traditional, Tolkienesque way. If you like: magical skyships boarding sky pirates for loot or treasure; magic that can function as technology (but not technomagic); elves that live in magical towers and seem to be from another dimension; gnomes who have developed magic to amazing levels and have created their own realm; a continent ruled and governed solely by dragons; ancient jungle ruins ala Indiana Jones; a world that has over a dozen moons; magical automatons that were constructed for an old war (and that can be played as player characters); shapechangers as a race; magical floating cities and high fantasy with a noir feel (and by this I mean intrigue, swashbuckling and murder/mystery) then Eberron is for you.This book is for the DM of the group, if you want to play then pick up the Players book which is the companion to this one. I have to admit that of the current D&D settings this is the one that has sparked my imagination like no other (except Dark Sun, which is another gorgeous setting). Me, I prefer this type of fantasy role playing action to the somewhat cookie-cutter/bland feel of Forgotten Realms. But that's just me. Enjoy!

Eberron is a setting unlike any other blending fantasy, pulp, intrigue, serial adventure, and more and this book masterfully brings it to life for the DM. One of the things I really like about this book is how each nation or area is detailed with at least a couple of pages to include not just a writeup of the major NPCs but also lore, plotlines, and backstory making it easy for the DM to give the players a lot of information just out of the book as well as providing many, many threads and ideas from which to work. The history section goes into good detail and covers not just the events but some of the intrigue and plots behind them. One thing 4e is emphasizing more than 3e did is the ramifications and tensions resulting from the recent end of the Last War which is good as it brings more role-playing and plots to the table. I thought I knew Eberron before I got this book but this brought it to a new level of ideas and appreciation for me.

NOTE: At the moment I have only had about 1 solid hour of time to browse through this book. But it has definitely left an impression on me already.This book is filled to the brim with information to bring this Campaign world to life. I have not owned the Original 3.X guide, so I can't compare this to that, but I can say that I think it is head and shoulders above the 4E Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.The world seemed much more interconnected than the 4E Forgotten Realms guide. With the various Faiths, Dragonmarked Houses, nations, and other organizations all interacting with each other working towards their own agenda, Eberron seems a lively and interesting place where any type of adventurer can find something interesting to do.If you are new to 4E, and are trying to decide which Campaign guide to get. Jump into Eberron, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Simple if you were a fan of the 3.5 edition...get this book it provides all the flavor of the last edition with 4.0 flair and gusto! The art is stunning as you would expect from WotC and the layout is nice. I was able to find all the info that I need to run a campaign in Eberron using 4.0 rules.In all fairness I bought my copy used as I am on a tight budget but still if I could afford it I would have bought it new. If you are looking to start a new game world and want some well written, thought out ideas and direction then pick up this book and then get yourself a copy of the Eberron players guide for the players and you will have yourself a very complete world to game in.But this book!

The ECG brings the Eberron campaign setting fully into D&D's fourth edition (4e), and does a fine job of it. Keith Baker and James Wyatt do, for the most part, and excellent job on integrating the 4e rule set into the setting and retain its style from 3.5. There are a few things that don't quiet mesh for some players of the previous edition, such as the cosmology and some of the Fey Spires, but for players new to the setting and/ or edition the ECG does a fine job introducing them to the system and the world. A definite must buy for Eberron fans and PnP RPGers looking for a less traditional fantasy setting.

Very nice book itself of course, as all of them are, but the content inside has been very pleasing as well. Lots of very high quality information to get started in the world of Eberron. While most of it centers on Khorvaire, as most campaigns probably will anyway, it does give decent starter ideas for other continents as well.Overall, a very helpful guide to beginning, and even continuing, a campaign in Eberron.

By this stage the P.C. assumptions were starting to creep into the game. Also the desire to be "clever" (leaving it vague whether the Gods exist - and the idea of creating a new universe by some change in consciousness, very left coast) grates a bit.

If you're running an Eborron campaign this is a must have for background information.My only complaint is that there is much more in the 3.5 edition and you really need this as well to fill in the gaps.

This should really be called the DM's Guide, since it's specifically for DM's, but whatever :)If you like gritty noir-esque settings, then this is the D&D 4th Edition setting for you!It has tips and suggestions for running all sorts of Eberron games and can take you comfortably between tiers of play.

This book would have come with the poster map had it been new. That being said, I'm satisfied with the shipment and it was as described otherwise. The book itself is a bit rough, there's some damage to the interior part of the spine. It's still very usable though!

Another great layout and standard fair from Wizards with the D&D liscence. You cannot really say anything poor about their books, the layout is standard and fantastic, some of the best fantasy artists in the business doing the art work, and lastly the updated lore following the spell plague though I am sure that the spell plague has nothing to do with Eberron since it is a completely different world from the realms.Once again the only real downside to this book is the fourth edtion ruleset for me.