Son of Khyber (Thorn of Breland #2, Eberron) by Keith Baker review

    SON OF KHYBER is the second novel in the Thorn of Breland series, which follows the adventures of the titular Thorn as she does black ops for her fantasy nation. They are spy novels that just so happen to take place in a fantasy world of airships and industrialized magic. I tend to describe them as steampunk but they're like a magical Great Depression with swords and wands instead of machine guns. I really enjoyed this books return to Sharn and the handling of some heavy topics like systematized oppression.

    The premise for Son of Khyber is that Thorn has been sent to infiltrate House Tarkanan, an organization that represents the disenfranchised aberrant dragonmark bearers. In Eberron, you either belong to the megacorporation-like Twelve or are a monstrous outcast hunted by them. They've recently moved from being a purely criminal organization to violent political activism (read: terrorism) and the Twelve want Thorn to kill their new leader. The Son of Khyber is also a name that roughly translates as "The Son of Hell" in-universe so he's probably not a nice guy or so Thorn thinks.

    Essentially, this book is kind of an Eberron version of Homeland or Lioness. Thorn has gone deep undercover and starts sympathizing with the Tarkanans a lot more than she expected to do so. This is especially the case due to the fact Thorn is rather empathically devoted to Breland above all things (subtly critiquing nationalism as we, the audience, know that her belief it should won the Last War to rule everyone else is an insane viewpoint). 

    Part of Thorn's discomfort is due to the fact she has some dangerous new powers of her own but it's also because Thorn hates the Twelve buying her government's assistance. Yes, they're strong allies to Breland but it's very much the Military Industrial Complex giving orders to the CIA (as happened in RL, except it was the fruit and oil companies). Thorn thinks of herself as one of the little people so the Son of Khyber's rhetoric resonates with her. 

    Ironically, it's also situational as I winced in RL when Thorn planned to blow up an illegal Creation Forge (that make the living golems of the setting) and all I could think was how it was a crime against all warforged that just want to continue their race. 

    Keith Baker doesn't make the mistake some other D&D fiction might have by making House Tarkanan just a bunch of unfairly maligned do gooders, just as he doesn't depict them as one dimensional terrorists either. Being oppressed doesn't automatically make the Tarkanan good people and there really are reasons people are wary of them. Aberrant dragonmarks are dangerous to outsiders and unbalances the mind when wielded. It just also makes it clear that the persecution of aberrant dragonmark wielders drives them to become the very danger the Twelve claim they are. As said in my Supervillainy Saga books, "It turned a potential fight [with superhumans] into a certain one."

    In conclusion, I really liked this book and my only complaint about it is that the Son of Khyber's identity spoils the ending of The Dreaming Dark and potentially nullifies any potential follow up. It's still a fantastic story and one that really captures what makes Eberron different from other DND settings. Some of the impact will be lost if you haven't read The Dreaming Dark but I still recommend it as a continuation of Thorn of Breland series.

9/10 

Available here 

Golden Axe (2026) review

    I was initially uninterested in the prospect of watching Golden Axe. I saw the initial trailer for it and it looked like it was going to be another shameless cash grab with no interesting content. Worse, it vaguely offended me because I remembered being a ten year old enjoying putting quarters into an old arcade machine to play the game that inspired this series. 

    It seemed like they were going to just revive a nearly abandoned IP, do a goofy parody, and it would be terrible. The first two are correct while the third is very wrong. Golden Axe is a lot of fun. Is it great? No. However, it is fun and that's sometimes all that matters.

    What is the show's premise? Gilius Thunderhead (Matthew Rhys), Tyris Flare (Lisa Gilroy), and Ax Battler (Liam McIntyre) are sword and sorcery heroes who defeated the evil Death Adder. Which is the plot of the original side-scrolling beat-em-up. It turns out that Death Adder is incapable of being permanently slain as long as he wields the Golden Axe. 

    Understandably frustrated, Gilius suggests they go acquire the legendary Emerald Blade to kill Death Adder permanently. An argument ends with the group splitting up and both acquiring a replacement for their lost teammate(s). In Gilius' case, it is a weak wannabe hero named Hampton Squib (Danny Pudi) and for Tyris as well as Axe Battler, it is Chronos "Evil" Lait (Carl Tart).

    The episodes more or less consist of the two groups wandering across the lands of Yuria, getting into trouble, until they reach Death Adder's castle. These include stories of enchanted towns that are forced to be nice to one another, a pair of giant bounty hunters chasing them, visiting Hampton's parents, and being caught in a magical fear curse. They're mostly fun adventures even if not exactly groundbreaking.

    Matthew Rhys does a fantastic job as a grumpy old dwarf, using his natural Welsh accent that seperates him from all the Scottish accented dwarves out there. Gilius is a fun contrast to Tyris and Ax as both are noble self-serious fantasy heroes that just happen to be caught in an absurd world. Hampton is, unfortunately, far too many stereotypes and it takes a little too much time to get him to develop any skills.

    If there was one character I felt was done dirty, though, it is Death Adder. They had a good opportunity to make a memorable dark lord character and bungled it. Death Adder in the cartoon isn't menacing enough to be scary and he isn't goofy enough to be entertaining. Which is a shame because Mike McMahon is usually quite good at balancing that sort of thing. Worse, Death Adder is shown up by several of the lesser villains in the show.

    Do I think they could do better? Yeah. However, I think this is just a matter of the fact we don't really know the land of Yuria that well. I think if they get a second season, they should focus on making standalone fantasy episodes that will gradually fill in the world. I think the comedy is always most effective when the ridiculousness isn't lampshaded but contrasted to the absurdities of the world. 

    In conclusion, Golden Axe is pretty good but you aren't going to make this your favorite series of all time. It's definitely worth giving an afternoon's binge, though. It's funny, gory, and has some decent character writing. I wouldn't mind watching a sequel. Still, it's not anywhere in Lower Deck's league either.

    8/10 

The Queen of Stone (The Thorn of Breland #1, Eberron) by Keith Baker review

    THE QUEEN OF STONE by Keith Baker is the first novel in the Thorn of Breland series. I was a big fan of his The Dreaming Dark trilogy and very excited to see him continue writing novels in the setting he, himself, established. After all, no one does it better than the creator. In this case, this is a series about an agent of the Brelish Dark Lanterns. More or less MI6 for the fantasy set, this is a spy novel set in the fantastic steampunk (or dungeonpunk if you prefer) world of Eberron where sorcery has been used to roughly immitate 19th century technology with a few additions like airships.

    The premise is that Thorn starts the adventure on a mission to recover an ancient book from a goblin merchant who has made the questionable decision to steal it from one of the Daughters of Sora Kell. The Daughters of Sora Kell are three powerful Baba Yaga-esque evil witches (or “hags”) that rule the unrecognized “monster” nation of Droaam. Unlike Mordor, Droaam is actively seeking recognition of its status as a nation of laws and treaties with diplomats from all over the continent coming to discuss the issue.

    I really like when fantasy settings get into the legal trappings of things like international relations and embassies. In this case, there’s just something that tickles me about the concept of a bunch of evil sorceresses trying to wine and dine other nations. This is not the main focus of the story, though, as Thorn has her spy mission with this as a backdrop. She must find the legendary hero, Harryn Stormblade, and free him from his state of petrifaction at the hands of the Queen of Stone.

    Part of what I like about this book is it gives us a look at the kind of heroes who existed in Eberron before the Last War. Galifar is basically a more typical Dungeons and Dragons setting with heroic knights and wizards battling evil in far off lands but Eberron deconstructs this setting. The lands of evil remember these knights as murderers coming to slaughter them for existing. Harryn Stormblade is not just a subversion of heroic knights, though. The book implies heavily he was a lot more complicated figure than history chose to remember him as.

    Thorn is a great protagonist because in addition to being a snarky heroine, she’s also severely flawed. Thorn is passionately loyal to Breland when nationalism is far more ambiguous in its morality. She is also bigoted against warforged and monsters, holding opinions similar to the majority of humans in the setting. Equally good is her awakened dagger, Steel, who serves as her handler and is even more devoted to Breland than her. It’s very subtle political satire and all the more effective for the fact it is applicable to any number of real life attitudes.

    Droaam is a fascinating mix of being an "evil" kingdom full of cannibalistic monsters and ruled by cackling witches but goes into the fact that these people are still going about their day. It asks, 'what would Mordor be like on any given day and if it was trying to be at peace with its neighbors?' If you could be at peace with a land full of monsters, shouldn't you be or is such a thing impossible by the nature of the differences? The hag monarchs certainly don't help their case with the fact they can't NOT act like they want to kill Dorothy and Toto.

    I was very fond of the characters Harryn Stormblade and Sheska too. The legendary hero out of myth is understandably confused about waking up to find out his kingdom is divided by civil war, a nation of monsters is trying to emerge, and betrayed by a most unusual love. Harryn Stormblade is not just a typical heroic knight, though. The book implies heavily he was a lot more complicated figure than history chose to remember him as.  Sheshka, the Queen of the Medusa, is perhaps the biggest sign that Eberron's monsters are not what they appear to be. Like the original Medusa in our world, she is a character maligned by Eberron history as a monster but perhaps due for a reevaluation.

    In conclusion, The Queen of Stone is a great novel and I enjoyed it even more than any of The Dreaming Dark novels. The plot is just a little bit juicier, the characters a bit richer, and the setting more intriguing. I’m a big fan of Droaam and the fact it interrogates a lot of attitudes built into more standard D&D settings works well with it. I think this would also work well as a beginner’s introduction to Eberron.

9/10 

Available here 

The Gates of Night (The Dreaming Dark #3, Eberron) by Keith Baker review

    THE GATES OF NIGHT is the third and final book of The Dreaming Dark Trilogy by Keith Baker. I’ve always felt the Eberron books were underrated examples of Dungeons and Dragons fiction, getting lost in the shuffle of so many other campaigns when WOTC was re-orientating its business model. I’m still waiting for the big Baldur’s Gate style RPG (or even a Rogue Trader style) video game RPG with all the airships it deserves. In this case, this is the conclusion of the adventures of Daine, Pierce, and Lei. For now.

    The premise is that our heroes were left in a really bad spot at the end of The Shattered Land. They were trapped in an ancient giant’s research facility, surrounded by fire-worshiping drow, the enemy had gotten away with a priceless artifact, and some murderous warforged wanted to talk with Pierce about his loyalty to the meatbags in the group. Without spoiling too much, they manage to find a way out but that just dumps them in the feywild.

    The Feywild and D&D have a long history but Eberron had its own version long before it became a major part of the main setting. In Eberron, it is called Thelanis and it is the Plane of Stories where humanity’s collective imagination deals with archetypes from its cultures. This has an extra humorous effect on our heroes as Daine never grew up with any fairy tales, Pierce has no childhood, and Xu comes from a wildly different cultural background than the other heroes.

    Thelanis is fully realized in this book and our heroes struggle to deal with its obscure rules as well as dream-like logic. At one point, they find themselves bargaining for a night at an inn to recover their strength where the innkeep wants one of their voices rather than any payment in coin. Just how bad an idea it is to bargain with the fae is realized with the fact that the inn’s fire is warmed with human bones.

    I really enjoy the new character of Xu and it’s easy to see her as a replacement for Jode’s character in an ongoing D&D campaign. The drow in Eberron are wildly different from the ones over in the Forgotten Realms and she plays the role of the outsider in the party. I also liked the fact that despite the feywild being European coded, she’s far more savvy about its nature than Lei who considers herself an expert.

    Much like The Shattered Land, The Gates of Night is depicted like a D&D campaign that consists of a lot of encounters before getting into the central plot. In this case, it is a road trip where our heroes just desperately want to get home. A goal that is interrupted by the inconvenient fact that they have to save the world from the Dreaming Dark. I was actually surprised at how quickly the stakes escalated as I’d been enjoying the street level adventures our heroes had been engaged in until this point.

    The ending was a bit frustrating, though, because the book ends on a cliffhanger that is only loosely picked up in The Son of Khyber in another series by Keith Baker. The story is not lacking for climaxes or dramatic revelations, though. Keith Baker has said that he’ll never reveal the true cause of the Mourning but this book shows numerous secrets of House Cannith as well as the fact that, whatever the Mourning was, some people saw it coming.

    In conclusion, The Gates of Night is a fantastic story conclusion that shows Thelanis in all its surreal glory. The character interaction is top notch and I’m disappointed we’ll probably never get a novel with the cast of characters. Keith Baker did a lot to make it one of my favorite Dungeons and Dragons series in a short amount of time. If you are looking for a fun read to introduce you to the Eberron setting then The Dreaming Dark trilogy is easily the best place to start.

Available here 

The Shattered Lands (Dreaming Dark #2, Eberron) by Keith Baker review

    THE SHATTERED LAND by Keith Baker is the second volume of The Dreaming Dark trilogy set in the Eberron universe of Dungeons and Dragons. Try saying that three times fast. Eberron is a fantasy steampunk (or "dungeonpunk" if you want to be one of *those* guys) setting where airships and lightning rails substitute for planes and trains while wands replace guns. It's a great setting and I rank it up there with Vampire: The Masquerade and Call of Cthulhu for my all-time favorite places to visit in my imagination.

    The previous book was a noir detective story about investigating a mysterious serial killer of dragonmarks operating in the fantastical city of Sharn. Lei, Jode, Pierce, and Daine are a group of exiled Cyreans whose country was eradicated by a mysterious magical disaster that has left them refugees. It dealt with topics of racism, classicism, prejudice, and corruption without being tied to any real life events. Overall, I really enjoyed it and was anxious to see what the second volume would tackle.

    To my mild disappointment (but only mild), The Shattered Land bypasses all of the seedy underbelly of Sharn and politics of Khorvaire to go on a mission to the continent of Xen'drik. Xen'drik is every pulp adventure jungle story combined with it being the place that Eberron's fantasy Indiana Jones and Lara Croft would inhabit full time. Daine is dying of a constant assault on his consciousness by a dream demon called a quori and his acquaintance, Lakashtai, says his only hope lies in the far off land.

    Xen'drik is kind of fascinating in that it's the primary means that most people will encounter Eberron out "in the wild" due to being the place where Dungeons and Dragons Online was set and the video game Dragonshard. I suspect because it would take a lot more effort to realize the more mechanized continent of Khorvaire (Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magics Obscura is the closest RPG available right now and its decades old). Anyway, we get the corrupt city of Stormreach, meet multiple feuding drow tribes, and also get some insight into the lost giant civilization. 

    The real appeal of the Dreaming Dark trilogy is the characters, though. Daine, Pierce, and Lei have a great dynamic between them even if Jode's absence is noticeable. Daine is the cynic who refuses to believe in anything bigger and wider than himself but is still a good friend. Pierce is the loyal follower but starting to think that life is more than just obeying orders. Lei is the most curious and idealistic but also suspicious of anyone who gets too close to Daine. We also have the mysterious Lakashtai that really surprised me with so many unexpected twists regarding her.

    I think this is definitely Pierce's book as we see him deal with warforged who are clearly traumatized by their time of slavery and want to punish humanity for their crimes. Seeing Pierce lured in by that, not because he hates humans but because he's desperately lonely for the camaraderie of his own kind, is an interesting commentary on radicalization. It also has an entirely sexless romance that appealed to me as he connects with his own mechanical version of a femme fatale.

    I think if you're looking for how to play the cultures of Xen'drik and its societies then this is the book for you. The drow not being Underdark dwelling evil matriarchs was a choice I really enjoyed. Here, they're every secret native group protecting or trying to break open ancient evils that you see in things like The Last Crusade or The Mummy. They also have their own unique attitudes far removed from the typical morality or ethics of the Khorvaire but understandable given their situation.

    In conclusion, The Shattered Land is a fantastic follow up to The City of Towers. Do I miss some of the fantastic noir sensibility of the previous book? Yes. I definitely hope Keith Baker will someday return to the mean streets of Sharn. However, we get to see a proper pulpy jungle adventure here as well as insight into drow that don't worship the Spider Queen. I'm definitely reading the sequel.

9/10 

Available here

Thirteen Fictional Books for Eberron

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15. 13 Fictional Books for Eberron 

In-universe fiction is something I quite enjoyed in the Elder Scrolls and it inspired me to add a bunch to my Eberron games in order to help expand the world. After all, a pseudo-19th century world is bound to have plenty of books that literate PCs have read.  

1. ADVENTURE! magazine by Various: A cheap publication that is made by a orphan House Sivis editor, Ketler Sprocketsworth, and a collection of dedicated magewrights with some old House Cannith printing machines (supposedly) salvaged from the Mournland. Adventure Magazine publishes heavily embellished travelogues and supposed "true stories of adventure" that occur across Eberron plus some actual fiction. The latter is for deniability because a surprising amount of their content is highly controversial, changing names and fictionalizing places to disguise they tell the stories of Eberron's "heroes." 

Ketler is anti-Next War, Anti-Twelve, and a believer in a variety of apocalyptic threats to the world that the people have to come together to face. Ironically, his politics mostly get ignored because of how sensationalized the stories are and their fanservice-heavy art. Ketler pays for a typical story about 10 to 30 GP but has an audience across multiple kingdoms. A typical installment of the magazine costs ten copper pieces and comes out quarterly. He is about to switch to a bimonthly model and has plans of creating variant magazines dedicated to specific topics like Xen'drik (EXPLORATION!), Mournlands (HORROR!), and mystery (INQUISITIVE!).

2. The Rights and Justifications of Khorvaire by Unknown: A banned book that has, nevertheless, been rapidly spread across Breland in part because of its censorship. It is essentially the holy text of the Swords of Liberty that describes the failures of monarchy, the Treaty of Thronehold, and the changing nature of the economy. The original book is notably anti-racism and argues for a new pan-continental society to replace Galifar but the pamphlets made from it are frequently far more reactionary. 

The book does, however, paint Breland as a nation that has a far better system than the other nations as well as argues it is a model they should all follow. This is heavily implied to be by force if necessary. The actual book, when found, is about 30 CP but the pamphlets are either free or only a CP when distributed by Swords sympathizers.

3. The Secrets of Goblinkind by Maxwell Freed or "The Red Book": One of a series of publications but generally only known for the first volume. The Secrets of Goblinkind is a centuries-old libelous book that collects nightmarish stories about goblins and their horrific practices against humans. Essentially, it suggests that virtually all of their communities are riddled with Dragon Below worshipers and they're an innately evil species that should never have been liberated from slavery. The book is quite readable for those inclined to its politics and was preserved for posterity by an Aurrum dwarf who paid for its regular republication. This is ironic because one of the latter volumes was a not particularly flattering look at dwarf clans. A typical copy costs about 20 CP but is often found in libraries where supporters have donated it.

4. Kaynith's Calamitous Constructs by Rikel Kapec: A "magic futurism" House Phiarlan play that was written before the creation of the warforged but has since been popularized by it. It has since been adapted to novels and a few graphic serials. Essentially, the story is about the creation of sentient golems by the barely fictionalized dragonmarked house that proceed to rise up and destroy humanity. Due to the play's content, it is possible to view it as both pro and anti-warforged depending on what elements you emphasize. Most warforged find the play worth discussing even if they find unintentional comedy with Haydee the Warforged that looks like a human girl. It was a favorite of Lei D'Cannith's parents. House Phiarlan is willing to license copies of the play for 50 CP.

5. Illmarrow by Pierre Aundair: An incredibly popular books that has unfortunately inspired quite a bit of violence by Emerald Claw agitators who consider it blasphemous (and has done nothing to reduce its popularity). Illmarrow has also been adapted into plays and has numerous knock offs that change details. The book is essentially "sexy lich" fiction and created an entire genre about the evil sorceress who terrorizes a bunch of minor aristocrats before being ultimately destroyed by the power of love. Some have attempted to read political or religious meaning into the story but most agree the author just stole a mythological figure's name before writing vaguely risque prose about her. What Erandis D'Vol, herself, thinks of it is unknown.

6. The Khyberian Codex by Flavius Dorvac: A highly sought after book that supposedly teaches black magic related to the summoning of demons, daelkyr, and quori as well as predicts the end of the world by the rising of the overlords. Many Dragon Below cults possess this book and it is banned in Thrane as well as Karrnath both. Scholars of the occult are frustrated by this book and its ubiquitous because it is almost certainly a hoax written less than thirty years ago. 

Certainly, none of the rites work and a large chunk is wildly inaccurate. The great irony, though, is that the book's description of the quori is almost completely accurate and many people who had never heard of them otherwise would find a lot of information related to their destruction of the giants. A first edition copy of the book runs about 200 CP while knock offs are about 30 to 50 CP. Frequently, hucksters attempt to sell an "uncorrupted" copy of the book for 500 GP or more.

7. Manners and Marriages by Louise ir'Preston: A wildly popular book set during the heyday of Galifar and published fifty or sixty years before the Last War. It is the story of a poor young Brelish aristocrat with a strong will who falls in love with an arrogant Aundarian dragonhawk rider. One of the classics of the romance genre, it been adapted by House Phiarlan many times. The books fell out of popularity during the Last War's worst period but are gradually returning to popularity.

The book's popularity seems to be primarily due to the fact it's stories about trivial social problems ("Oh no, Lord Grathias has lost the ring!") when actual life seems so burdensome Post-War. Others believe it was a masterwork of satire and class consciousness that resonates today. You can argue it in the Morgrave Literature Department. A new copy costs about 20 CP but you can easily pick up a used one for 5 CP or from a local library. They are often used in public education.

8. The Silver Prince of Thaliost by Randal Kraaghammer: A rousing series of adventure novels set around a dashing Aundair nobleman, his artificer companion, and a beautiful changeling cat burglar in the titilar series. The books are largely considered to be harmless unless you're a Thranish or Silver Flame adherent due to the fact that the Church of the Flame is depicted as entirely consisting of evil zealots. Kraaghammer was a dwarf citizen of Thaliost driven out of it during the Last War and longs for the day the Silver Flame can be driven out of it. Ironically, the books are good enough that most people consider criticisms to be overreactions. 

9. The Ecology of Monsters by Brother Vaudin: A mammoth tome that is often divided into smaller volumes for publication but depicts the research conducted by Silver Flame monk Brother Vaudin and his brother, warrior wizard, Arnaud, as they spend fifteen years in the lands that would eventually become Droaam. The book is about five hundred years old and single handedly responsible for a huge number of stereotypes regarding everything from Aarakocra to Zartan. 

Vaudin generally divides his research into "good", "evil", and "natural" monsters with his one-page summaries of their culture accompanied by methods to slay them as well as what benifits can be derived from them alchemically. Bizarrely, Vaudin thought that he was contributing to peace between the species by dispelling misapprehensions. He certainly did not think monster hunters would be using his books as guidebooks. The complete guide costs 5 GP and fills a bookshelf. Antique copies can go for hundreds due to their historical importance as well as value to collectors.

10. The Demon Queen of Cyre by Publius Suetonius: A century old book written by a former courtier for Cyre that was royal historian before fleeing the country for various reasons that are either a half-elf maid's unexpected pregnancy, financial misappropriation of funds, or a principled stand against tyranny. The book is essentially a shockingly lurid depiction of Queen Mishaan ir'Wynarn as a mad woman guilty of every imaginable perversion as well as tyranny. 

The book was heavily promoted by Wroan of Breland and Kaius I's supporters as a justification for their rebellion at the start of the Last War. It has since become synonymous with anti-Cyrean bigotry despite its author being Cyrean himself. The book is presently out of print and costs about 2 gold for a copy to be made or 5 GP for an original copy. Most libraries no longer carry it but it is available at Morgrave University on request.

11. The Wizard's Primer by Angus Shackleton: Essentially, the foundational book for magical study in Eberron. The Wizard's Primer explains in the most basic language possible how magic functions, its various forms, and instructions on preparing the mind as well as the body for the casting of basic cantrips. Studying the book generally takes three or four months and doesn't lend itself to mastery by itself but is something almost all arcane magic users have done if they didn't learn directly from a mentor. Despite its importance, it is expensive at 5 GP and every magic school insists on users paying for their copies. Used copies are barely any cheaper and any at a library is frequently stolen. Shackleton's great-grandson, Argyle, would write The Artificer's Primer.

12. Tally Ho!: The Road to the Crown by King Boronal ir'Wynarn: The autobiography of Breland's king, it was scandalous when it was released last year due to how boisterous and grandiose it was. Ironically, Boronal (or at least his ghost writer) was good enough to make sure he didn't come off as a braggart or liar. The book chronicles his days as prince, his hunts, and military experience. It also heavily details his romance and tragic loss of his wife, Chaseva. The books only controversial point being a chapter dedicated to explaining why he took in Cyre's refugees. Otherwise, it is beloved by all Brelish. The cost for a copy being 20 CP but it was made in such large prints, it is easy to get a second hand copy for 10 CP.

13. The Automated Consciousness by Merrix D'Cannith: Not a novel but a recorded series of monologues by the self-proclaimed head of House Cannith. Much to the surprise of almost everyone who knows his reputation, the works are extremely practical discussions of warforge construction and psychology. They were presented at the Treaty of Thronehold as evidence for warforged emancipation and while Merrix's dry, clinical discussion of them is hardly endearing, it presents an extremely persuasive argument for their personhood. Moreover, someone who listens to the monologues and understands artifice can develop a basic understanding of how to bestow consciousness to objects. Limited as this may be. The monologues are about fifteen hours long and cost over 200 GP to get a copy from House Cannith.

Thirteen Tips to Running Eberron in 5th Edition

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15. 13 Fictional Books for Eberron 

Eberron is one of my favorite D&D settings but describing it to potential fans is hard. What elements separate it from the Realms or other settings? What is the feeling that makes a game in Khorvaire different from one on Krynn? You can do a typical D&D game in the Five Kingdoms but that misses out on a lot of what makes the place special. So here are thirteen tips as a longtime Eberron DM and player to capture the feel of the fallen kingdoms of Galifar. Unlike Planescape and Dark Sun (which has now been set for release), Eberron does have a 5th Edition supplement in Rising from the Last War but I hope these will give my thoughts as a third edition die-hard.

1. Eberron is having a Magical Industrialized Age 

Eberron's biggest difference from other Dungeons and Dragons settings is that it has hit its version of the Industrial Revolution with magic substituting for science. House Cannith and the Artificer class means that there are limited production factories producing countless devices that are finding their way into the hands of ordinary mortals. The cotton gin is less likely to exist, though, that a family of weavers using cantrips daily to make money in place of doing it by hand. 

Guns don't exist (unless the ST wants them to) but who needs them when your +3 crossbow can rapidly reload and pin a guy against a wall like a rail gun or you possess a wand of magic missiles? In simple terms, it has a lot of D&D elements like swords and sorcery but the equivalent of technology bouncing between the 19th and early 20th century. Magic is less practical than technology in some ways but can also do things machines can't. Plus, one of the player character races are mass produced sentient constructs called warforged.

2. Good and Evil are real but complex 

Good and evil are things that exist in Eberron with the forces of Khyber representing wholly destructive corruptive forces that will never be any good. However, the difference between supernatural evil versus mortal evil is very different. In Eberron, there's no such thing as Always Chaotic Evil and while hobgoblin society may be martial and brutal, that doesn't translate to malevolent. In Eberron, orcs are a naturalist primal species with a history of fighting the forces of darkness with druidic magic. 

But on a simple level, mortal evil doesn't necessarily translate to "smite" for most people on Eberron. An evil innkeeper pinches pennies and abuses at his staff but he's not plotting world domination. You may have an evil counselor on your staff but that man may be absolutely loyal to you as well as your cause. Even the most fanatical religions believe that mortals should be redeemed if possible versus executed (unless they have committed crimes due to their alignment). Good and evil is also difficult to gauge as Know Alignment can be easily fooled with all priests of a "good" god registering as good.

3. The Gods are Mysterious, if they exist 

The gods are far more remote in Eberron than they are in typical D&D settings. You cannot visit the home of Dol Arrah and if the Keeper has a lair, he's probably not physically there. This actually makes religion far more important as you can't just ask the divine what they want. You have to interpret the signs and anyone who claims to have heard the voice of the Silver Flame has to be investigated because he could have been hearing from the demons inside it.

The Overlords are an exception and are the imprisoned Great Old One-esque beings that if they are freed will end the world. So far, the world has managed to keep them inside their prisons but it's an easy source of adventures that your players may have to do a globe trotting campaign to stop a cult from releasing them.

4. Level scaling is lower than higher

A thing to understand is that PC levels are rare in Eberron and a person who is a level 1 fighter is like saying, "Level One Special Forces Operative." By the time the PCs reach 8th or 9th level, they'll be among the most talented people on Earth and those who reach 12th or 13th level will be world-shaking forces. You can theoretically reach 20th level in this game world but if you do then you are definitely the kind of legend who will shape the politics for centuries to come.

Related to this, the PCs are the stars of this setting in a way that other settings do not support. The highest ranking benevolent NPCs are Oalian and Pontifex Jaela but they are limited by their places of power. Heck, Oalian is a talking tree. Whereas Drizzt Do'Urden is a Balor slaying badass, Daine of Cyre has trouble with a half-dozen city watchmen. No one is going to upstage the PCs if they decide to plan a populist revolution or plan to found their own kingdom. It's also up to them to save the world if there's a threat because no one else is.

5. The Shadow of the Last War 

What does a group with a goblin, warforged, elf, dwarf, and a human all have in common? In Eberron, they might have all been part of the same unit serving the same country. Almost every adult man and woman has a connection to the hundred year conflict in Khorvaire over who would rule the lost empire of Galifar (answer: no one). 

While racism exists to an extent in Eberron, national ties are a lot more prevalent because the continent has been relatively cosmopolitan for the past thousand years. Those who wish to create racial nation states like Darguun and Valenar are reactionary with questions of whether they're chasing dead civilizations' glory. Everyone has a shared experience and if you want to hate someone as a Brelander, you're probably as likely to despise Aundarians and Karrnath of all species as goblins or elves in particular.

Even more so, the Last War's biggest shadow is when it will resume rather than if. It has only been two years since it officially ended and no one thinks the detente will last. The Treaty of Thronehold satisfied no one and few are working to heal the wounds leftover from a century of war. Sound familiar?

6. Pulp Hero, Cosmic Horror, and Spy Novel Adventures

Your typical Dungeons and Dragons game is Frodo, Conan, Elric, and maybe some Discworld or Monty Python and the Holy Grail depending on your group. Eberron, by contrast, is a mixture of Tarzan, the Shadow, Phillip Marlowe, James Bond, and Titus Crow. You can do the Three Musketeers in Thrane and explore just as many tombs as Lara Croft or Indiana Jones but the big cities are part of nation states with all the complications that entails. This allows you to steal from, I mean adapt, a whole new set of stories if you want to stay in-theme for the setting.

Hugo Drax, the exiled Karrnath nobleman Emerald Claw member, may be planning to build a gigantic airship that will cover all of the city of Thaliost with a Cloudkill spell. James Bond, Dark Lantern, can team up with a beautiful half-elf agent to stop Drax's plan only to figure out that said agent is working for the Aurum to steal the airship for themselves. Want to do a gunfight at the OK Corral? Well, now its crossbows at the halfling ranch where they herd dinosaurs. Eberron gives you permission to get weird as long as its big and dramatic. 

7. The Mystery of the Mourning 

The Mourning is the most consequential event that most Khorvaire will have in their lives. Just like you can probably think of one news event in your lifetime that redirected the course of your country's history and possibly the world's. The big thing about the Mourning is not that it is something that necessarily directly effected a character (unless they're from Cyre) but that they almost certainly were indirectly affected by it and have an opinion on it. It's after all, an event equivalent to, say, France being eradicated by an asteroid (or nuke) during WW1.

Everyone wants to know what happened on that fateful day and the consequences of a concrete answer could be cataclysmic. If it was an accident of nature, say a convergence of the moons, then people will want to develop a defense but also feel okay with going back to war. If it was the work of one of the nations, others will want to duplicate the work or perhaps feel inclined to give their unconditional surrender. The fact no one has taken credit or accepted blame means that it is just a big unknown that shows even the strongest nations are vulnerable. 

8. The Golden Rule: He Who Makes the Gold Makes the Rules 

George R.R. Martin said (paraphrase) one thing he complained about the Lord of the Rings was that he didn't know Aragorn's tax policy. Most D&D settings do not have more complex an economy than, "kill goblin for gold, use gold on wenches and ale." By contrast, Eberron is a fully formed economy that drives a huge amount of characters' actions. The Dragonmarked Houses are like megacorporations in cyberpunk, controlling vast wealth and power via their magical monopolies. The Aurum are based on Bond villains, working against the Dragonmarked Houses with their own fiendish plans. This is in addition to all the various greedy individuals from mob bosses to nobles that you might run into.

There is simply way more to buy, sell, and trade in Eberron. Player characters can set up their own trading companies or be penniless sell swords depending on the way the DM or players want to go with their activities. Money has a power in Eberron even if, sadly, the people who have the most of it aren't easily robbed and you'll have to do a heist in the Mror Holds to get at their cash.

9. Transportation is it's own adventure 

In the various Dungeons and Dragons settings, you tend to either travel by horses, sailing ship, or portals. Taking a page from steampunk or Final Fantasy, airships are a huge deal in Eberron. Virtually all of my games have the players sailing the skies in one of these elemental vessels. However, there are also Lightning Rails for those who feel like doing a magical train heist. Lightning carriages also exist but they haven't yet reached a point where highways exist in this world. Thankfully, we have hippogriffs and other flying creatures for even more fun with transport. Because of this, the journeys in Eberron can be as exciting and random encounter filled as you want or they can also be practical.

10. The Future is Yours

Eberron is eternally set in the year 998 YK and this has both its ups and downs. While I love the various metaplot driven timelines like the Old World of Darkness, Forgotten Realms, and Rokugan, they also mean that player characters are forced to essentially go along with existing changes that may not reflect what they've accomplished or become disconnected from a canonical timeline. In Dragonlance, you'll always have the War of the Lance hanging over your characters' heads. 

In Eberron, what is going to happen is always subject to the players' actions and however the ST wishes things to shake out. The Second War may happen within a year or be averted entirely. The Mourning may have been a diabolical demon plot or the sad result of overuse of war magic in an environmental parallel. Some mysteries will never be officially solved and the frozen timeline means that their answers will always be at the DM's discretion.

11. The Planes are always Close

One element that Eberron does better than just about any other setting than Planescape is that it incorporates the Outer Planes extremely well. Through manifest zones, any plane can be interacting with the setting at any given time. You can have places that are incredibly haunted, at war with hordes of angels and demons, or possessed of flying cities without really having to explain why. There's simply places that are extradimensionally touched. The exception to this is the realm of dreams and that is an entire continents worth of adventures.

12. Magic is ubiquitous but not powerful 

One thing I like about Eberron is the fact that it is a setting where large amounts of loot isn't game breaking. Yes, it's my inner munchkin talking about if your character is a magic gunslinger with wands in their holsters as well as a bunch of potion vials around their belt, that is perfectly normal in the setting. It's a good setting to fill up with mass produced weapons, armor, and consumables without feeling like you're aping a video game. 

13. Don't hesitate to use new races 

The Warforged are the most popular of the new creations for the setting as they offer a unique player experience as living constructs. However, that doesn't mean you should ignore the other new options of the setting. Shifters have a complicated history as relatives to lycanthropes that were purged from the world by the Silver Flame (possibly unjustly). Changelings offer fantastic opportunities for stories about palace intrigue but also potentially stories of identity as well as culture. Changelings can pass for everyone but maybe they want something for themselves and to be accepted as themselves. Which, admittedly, is why every changeling I ever play ends up as Mystique from the X-men. Frontiers of Eberron also gives the chance to play such unique monsters as harpies and medusa.