The United Federation of Charles

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Thirteen 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 young woman's book for females of means as well as those who dream of being so. Manners and Marriages is practically required reading for a lady of a certain age these days. The book and its many unauthorized sequels follows the adventures of a young Brelish aristocrat who falls in love with an Aundarian dragonhawk rider. They briefly fell out of popularity due to the Last War but have since found a resurgence.

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. 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 Droam. 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.

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Thirteen Tips to Running Eberron in 5th Edition

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.

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Supergirl (2026) review

SUPERGIRL (2026) is not great. I would go so far as to say it's not good. This is a shame because I genuinely loved the Superman reboot and most of the spinoff media by James Gunn like Peacemaker and the Creature Commandos. Basically, this movie struggles to settle on a tone and when it does settle on a tone, it doesn't really seem to work very well for the character of Supergirl. I never read WOMAN OF TOMORROW so maybe I'm missing out on something with the adaptation but the simple fact is that I am judging the movie on the basis of its own merits. It's not terrible but if I were to rate it, it would be a three star at max and more like two and a half stars.

The premise is that Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) is a drunk survivor of Krypton (technically Argo) that lives her life moving from bar to bar in order to drown out the memories of her homeworld. She has no interest in being a hero as far as I can tell and is comforted only by her dog, Krypto. A young girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), comes to her after a bar fight with a request to help her get revenge on the evil Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). Along the way, they run into Lobo (Jason Momoa) and there are shenanigans until they finally dismantle Krem's human (alien) trafficking business.

This movie is a mess. I'm not one of those internet guys who goes into things trying to hate them and I am generally overly positive about things in fact. I tried to defend Bloodlines 2 for Caine's sake. But if I were to describe the plot of the movie, it is one part True Grit, one part John Wick, and one part Taken with the veneer of Guardians of the Galaxy. To explain why these things don't go together, True Grit is about a revenge story where the revenge is meaningless, Taken is about killing a bunch of Eastern European sex traffickers, John Wick is about avenging man's best friend, and the Guardians of the Galaxy movies are wacky crime dramas. All of these are good movies but none of them make sense when mushed together.

To explain what I mean, True Grit is about a young girl who obsesses over the man who murdered her father even though its fairly clear he's going to die one way or the other. John Wick is about revenge as emotional catharsis over an innocent animal dying. Taken is about punishing people who have committed horrific atrocities that we like seeing get dismantled. Ruthye wants revenge and Kara thinks that's bad but Krem is an irredeemable monster who continues to commit atrocities left and right throughout the movie. Kara wants to save Krypto after he's poisoned but seems bored versus desperate and never seems to think about how she's running out of time.

There's a lot of things that would have been more interesting than Supergirl just going from planet to planet looking for the Brigands (great name, real original). The flashbacks to where Supegirl is on Argo are the best parts of the movie and it would have been fantastic to see her adjusting to Earth as well as talking with Clark about how she doesn't "want" to fit in our small blue planet. Instead, their biggest scene together is one where he doesn't speak Kryptonian and she doesn't speak English. Doesn't he have robots for this? An app on his phone? He understood Kryptonian in the previous movie, he just didn't have the other part of the message.

Jason Momoa is also not a cameo but not really in the movie either. A better writer, not saying me but me and I'm a journeyman at best, would have had Supergirl as an idealist who wants to bring Krem to justice via the Green Lantern Corp's science cells while Lobo wants to kill him for the cash reward from his victims. You could have them play angel and demon on Ruthye's shoulders but Supergirl barely cares and thinks Krem should die herself but a child shouldn't be the one to do him in.

Basically, Supergirl is less Kara Zor-El in this movie and more female Wolverine (which would be X-23 now that I think about it). Krem is also a terrible villain and not just because he feels like someone tried to do Highlander's Kurgan with half the charisma but he doesn't have the power to pose a proper challenge to Kara. This is space, guys, give him strength akin to a Kryptonian or other superpowers. Instead, they just have Kara depowered repeatedly for increasingly dumb reasons. I was also confused by all the Earth music drops since Kara presumably is not familiar with most of these.

In conclusion, I'm glad I saw this movie but it is very flawed. Milly did a great job but I would have preferred a Kara who had a lot of Superman's integrity and heroism. You can do a dark Kara as My Adventures with Superman showed but this one just feels like they missed the El symbol is a symbol for hope. I can't help but think if they'd just had a movie about Kara, Lobo, Krypto, and New Girl hunting the female pirates from midway through the film then it would have been a pretty awesome movie by itself.

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2: The Flower and the Flame review

Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 is widely considered to be a disappointment by both the fans as well as the creators. The game was an action adventure that had a lot less roleplaying than the original Bloodlines as well as few characters as iconic as the original’s cast. There was no Prince La Croix, Nines, Voorman Sisters, or even Heather the Ghoul. Damsel made a brief cameo but the only characters that really stood out were Phyre themselves (not always for the best reasons) and Fabien the Malkavian Detective. Fans rejected the game and it proved to be a financial failure.

Despite being a strong defender of the game, I was really hoping they would attempt to fix the game and add the necessary content to make it as great as it deserved to be. This proved to be unlikely with only two DLC planned and both of them dealing with villains from the main game versus more adventures for Phyre themselves. I enjoyed Loose Cannon, which did give a bit more development to Benny the Brujah Sheriff but it also gave some much-needed improvements to the gameplay with the ability to use melee weapons as well as a pistol that applied to the main game once downloaded.

The Flower and the Flame‘s premise is that we are taking the role of Ysabella Moore, the Toreador Primogen of Seattle. Basically, the head of her vampire clan in the city. The Toreador are the artsy Anne Rice-esque vampires and hedonists to the extreme. Ysabella has grown bored with her mundane vampire existence and has allied herself to the brutal vampire cult known as the Sabbat.

Surprisingly, The Flower and the Flame focuses on character development over mindless violence. We actually get a lot of information about Ysabella Moore. We find out how she was embraced, how she rose to power in Seattle, and what ultimately drove her to corruption. The DLC’s latter half seems suspiciously similar to the Toreador flashback sequence of Swansong but I think that’s a definite improvement over not developing the character. I also feel the first half of the DLC is kind of generic and uninteresting while the latter embraces its gonzo narrative (and is thus much better).

Unfortunately, Ysabella is just not that deep of a character and if you manage to try to preserve your humanity or free will then you will have it overridden at the end by the Big Bad of the main game. Which is something of a problem with people. The game also adds a lot more gunplay to both this as well as the main game, which is definite improvement to Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 that should have been there from the beginning. It’s an okay work on its own but does little to redeem the legacy of the game.

Sunday, August 23, 2026

The Book of Dagon is now available!

Hey folks,

I'm pleased to say that we've got a new book in the BOOKS OF CTHULHU series on Amazon. In this case, it is THE BOOK OF DAGON, which is a collection of stories related to the horrifying Deep Ones and their god that may or may not be Cthulhu.

Something ancient lurks beneath the waves…and it is waiting for you…

H.P. Lovecraft’s Dagon is the giant amphibious horror who spawned Deep Ones, hybrids which look human early in life but gradually take on their sire’s monstrous form. Lovecraft created the mythology surrounding these beings in his stories “Dagon” and “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”, and the nightmarish fish-people have been inspiring weird fiction ever since.

In The Book of Dagon, seven Neo-Mythos writers known for cosmic horror explore aquatic terrors: C.T. Phipps (Cthulhu Armageddon), Matthew Davenport (The Adventures of Andrew Doran), David Niall Wilson (The Call of Distant Shores) David Hambling (the Harry Stubbs series), David J West (Let Sleeping Gods Lie), Andrea Pearson (Mosaic Chronicles) and Philip Hemplow (Sarcophagus, Exoteric).

The stories revisit Innsmouth itself, and the events leading up to and following its destruction. Others range wider, chronicling encounters in the Wild West, and in seemingly peaceful South London. There is horror out on the ocean, and on a routine business trip to a small town in Utah.

The Book of Dagon is the latest in the acclaimed Books of Cthulhu series inviting you to face the terrifying creatures that lurk just beyond the edge of human understanding.

Available here

Friday, August 21, 2026

The City of Towers (The Dreaming Dark #1, Eberron) review

EBERRON is my favorite Dungeons and Dragons setting and also the most difficult to describe with the possible exception of Planescape. It's kind of a magical steampunk 1920s where the Last War stands-in for World War One and you're all closer to Pulp heroes or detectives that do battle with goblin gangsters, fascist necromancer knights, or Cthulhu-like cultists. It's full of elemental airships, trains, and the occasional carriage with no guns but plenty of wands. If I had to recommend any media 'like' Eberron then I'd recommend The Legend of Korra, Netflix's Arcane, and the Garrett PI books by Glen Cook.

THE CITY OF TOWERS by Keith Baker is the first book of the Dreaming Dark Trilogy. The premise is pretty good for explaining what Eberron is all about with the last day of the Last War. Rather than victory, it ends with the catastrophic destruction of Cyre, a nation that was one of the main participants in the war. I say rather than victory because no one knows who or what did this so every other nation signs an uneasy peace treaty that satisfies no one. Because that always works in real life.

The protagonists are Daine, Lei, Jode, and Pierce. All of them are survivors of the Mourning (as it comes to be known) and have spent their past couple of years in a Mad Max hellhole trying to survive before arriving in the neighboring country of Breland. They're remarkably well-adjusted for this and it's commented on that they seem to have only a vague memory of their ordeal. Unlike Dragonlance or even the Legend of Drizzt, our heroes are not primarily interested in fighting evil upon their arrival. Instead, they need coin for survival and dealing with the fact they're homeless refugees hated by the Brelish.

Yes, The City of Towers is fantastic noir and really does invoke a lot of the same beats as detective fiction with goblins and Mourners standing in for minorities despised by the human majority. It's not really about racism, though. That's just the backdrop for the murder mystery of Lei's betrothed that was supposed to be their meal ticket as a party. Hadran D'Cannith was a vastly wealthy man that ends up knocked off not a few minutes after finding out Lei is alive and heading his way (in the opening chapter). From there, the plot involves betting on flying animal racing, body horror cults, and a sphinx giving a prophecy in a ratty old, abandoned church.

One thing this book deserves credit for along with Eberron in general is the fact that it was one of the first settings to throw out a lot of D&D unquestioned tropes. Goblins, harpies, and other "monster" races live in the same city as humans or elves. Daine gets an earful when he treats changelings as innately suspicious because they're shapeshifters. Level scaling in-universe is also well done with very few NPCs having the kind of world-shaking power that Elminster or even Drizzt has. Daine is a very tough fighter, but he is shaken down by five or six corrupt city guards. Despite this, low-level magic is ubiquitous with Sharn providing most guard with Feather Fall tokens so they don't end up falling over the side of lifts like stormtroopers (have you considered railing?).

This is Keith Baker's first novel but functions well as a contrast from the typical "popcorn" fantasy of Dungeons and Dragons. Expect a lot of fight scenes and weird creatures but that's why I come to these novels. It's occasionally awkward when Lei explains things that her fellow party members should already know about the world like how Dragonmarks work (which is extra ridiculous given two turn out to be members of the houses themselves). However, if you want a good "starter" book for Eberron, it's hard to say this is a bad choice. Even if you aren't familiar with the tabletop RPG setting, you'll get a good sense of the fantastic Great Depression in a city of giant towers.

8.5/10

Available here

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

101+ Eberron Adventure Hooks

Eberron is my favorite D&D setting in the stiff competition of Planescape, Ravenloft, and Dark Sun. It is a steampunk-adjacent (or dungeonpunk) setting where magic is used to replicate technology up to a 19th century level. The Last War has devastated the continent of Khorvaire but is finally over, which leads to the bigger question: what now?

1. While traveling on an airship, the PCs find themselves under attack by a renegade Lyrandar corsair that has been corrupted by the Dragon Below.

2. See #1. The PCs find that the airship has a Lyrandar apprentice who is happy to pilot the second vessel for them as he's terrified of going "home" given what he did under his unwilling boss.

3. A traveling sideshow salesman has a massive dragonshard with the head of a prehistoric Warforge inside it. He wants the PCs to guard him as he transports it to a buyer.

4. See #3, the object is real and from Xen'drik, which terrifies the owner.

5. See #3, the object is a fake but a very well made one that was created by a warforged trying to create a pre-war history for his kind.

6. See #3, the object's buyer is Merrix D'Cannith who wants to revive the warforged head for its secrets.

7. The PCs are hired to investigate a nationalist militia that has been specifically targeting veterans of the Last War.

8. See #7, it is a recruiting place for the Emerald Claw that uses charm spells and nonmagical conditioning to create the goons that they use in all of their missions. The washouts are killed and made into undead.

9. See #7, it is a recruiting place for the Swords of Liberty who are preying upon the disaffection of veterans in hopes of creating disruption that they can take advantage on a national scale.

10. See #7, their employers are Dark Lanterns who suspect one of their former members is the one responsible for this.

11. A House Valdis outpost has gone dark and the PCs are hired by their discretion to investigate it. It turns out that it was a magebred facility that has been corrupted by Daelkyr cultists. The PCs will be paid extra if they destroy all the evidence, including the survivors.

12. A fire giant from Xen'drik has escaped a traveling circus and set himself up in a nearby farm where he's eating the local livestock. The PCs don't have to slay him but he doesn't speak the local language and was not taken to Khorvaire voluntarily. He very much would like to go home but that may be impossible.

13. The PCs are hired by House Cannith to recover a strange mechanical part. The part is a Creation Forge part that could be used to repair one of the destroyed ones. It is in the hands of a group of warforged renegades.

14. A family of shifters claims that a fanatical Thrane knight wants to slaughter them and has been harassing them for weeks.

15. See #14, they're a family of lycanthropes and the paladin wants to confirm it before slaying them.

16. See #15, they are in fact lycanthropes but are Lawful Good werebears.

17. See #16, this doesn't impact the paladin's plans to slaughter them as diseased monsters.

18. The PCs are contracted to serve as couriers in a secret set of negotiations with Prince Oargev and King Boranel. They're supposed to do this at a ball and relay letters as well as messages while no one is the wiser. Dancing, food deliveries, and other oddities are afoot.

19. See #18, the negotiations are Prince Oargev being offered to be made Duke of New Cyre but giving up his claim to Galifar's throne. Which multiple parties would rather Oargev die than happen.

20. See #19, King Boranel actually wants to fund New Cyre settlers in Xen'drik or Q'barra or "elsewhere" with the profits of this all for New Cyre but meant to keep their numbers in Breland low.

21. See #20, it is a marriage contract to one of his daughters (or sons). Which would tie them intristically together.

22. A dying Dark Lantern agent has discovered the identity of the murderer of King Boranel's wife. The PCs have the encrypted message but the people trying to kill the agent are Dark Lanterns themselves (or appear to be at least).

23. Once a year, Pontifex Jaela is allowed a day off and the PCs are asked to provide security lest the church see her doing things that are fun like riding dinosaurs or watching clowns. The Cardinal simultaneously considers this a massive state secret and vital for her spiritual health.

24. A riot has broken out in Thaliost over the murder of a citizen by the Church's Templars. Possibly. Who was killed and why seems to constantly change based on who is doing the telling. If the flames (no pun intended) are not put out soon, it may turn into a full-fledged uprising.

25. See #24, the riot was organized by the spirit of the Overlords and designed to merely cause as much misery and horror as possible.

26. See #24, the riot was done by a Aundair Duke who plans to "restore" order and claim the city for Aundair once more despite how likely this is to reignite the Last War or at least a Thrane-Aundair war.

27. See #24, the riot is just a naturally occurring one but Cardinal Krozen is letting it play out because he wishes to justify a violent suppression followed by property confiscations to replace Aundair-loyal citizens with Thranish ones.Surely that will work out fine.

28. A mysterious tablet is recovered from an archaelogical site in Droaam. It is then stolen by the Emerald Claw in full Indiana Jones villain glory. A beautiful Morgrave University researcher needs the PCs help to recover it! According to her research, the tablet is legendary magic that can bestow a WISH.

29. See #28. The archaeologist is Emerald Claw herself and working directly for Lady Illmarrow. The WISH tablet is the only way she might be restored to her living status and give her back her Dragon Mark. The Emerald Claw renegades worry she will betray her undead followers then.

30. The PCs end up drugged and wake up enslaved on a massive dreamlily plantation by an obsese member of the Aurum with the aid of his Inspired allies. They are on the borders of Droaam and have been slaving both humans and monsters both to create as much of the drug as possible. They also play the two groups of slaves against one another to keep then in line.

31. See #30, the Daughters of Sora Kell know about this atrocity but are bribed into letting it happen. They will just blame human evil if it is discovered after all and have even been selling some of their dissidents to it.

32. A Cyrean Avenger attempts to recruit the PCs to kill a Valenar warlord visiting their location. The Avenger claims that the warlord massacred thousands of Cyrean refugees fleeing the Mourning. Whether the PCs agree or not, he ends up dead and the Avenger both in unrelated murders that trigger a massive dust up between the Cyrean locals and the visiting Valenar delegation. It is actually a member of House Lyrandar who arranged this. The warlord wanting the Lyrandar to no longer administrate their lands in Valenar or, worse, pay higher tribute.

33. A Cyrean Avenger wants the PCs to come across the border to murder every overseer and guard in a slave plantation in Dargunn to liberate the Cyreans held in bondage for decades. It potentially risks retaliation but these people have been held in bondage for years. As an ironic twist, the Lesh actually will look the other way as eliminating pro-slavery warlords helps his position.

34. An insanely rich and well-respected Lyrandar noblewoman has been working with House Cannith for decades on the ultimate airship variant: a void ship that she intends to reach the moons with. This "Spelljammer" is something that is about to launch and she wants the PCs to help guard it against sabotage.

35. The PCs are approached with an offer by House Sivis to buy the rights to their adventures. If the PCs agree, they soon find a large number of printed stories across the continent with incredibly inaccurate (bordering on exploitation) versions of their adventures with sleazy covers. It does massively improve their reputations in...some ways.

36. The Bloodsail fleet successfully surrounds Dreadhold, seizes control over the location, and threatens to release the worst prisoners unless Saeria the Lich is returned to them. Which confuses a bunch of people as they were under the impression they were in Dreadhold.

37. A Cyrean refugee claims a Lightning Rail is transporting a huge amount of stolen goods from the Mournlands to their Aurum buyers. It's time for a train robbery!

38. See #37, the people guarding the train are adventurers who recovered the loot themselves and consider it finders keepers.

39. See #37, the loot is actually on its way to Prince Oargev and the "refugee" who wants to steal it back is the man supposed to recover it but tired of living in desperate poverty.

40. A patriarch of House Kundarak has died and his goods are needing to be recovered from his trap-filled dungeon vault since he left no heirs. The PCs are thus hired to recover it with the House neglecting to mention they'd hired a second team of evil adventurers who have decided to keep the contents for themselves.

41. House Cannith and House Phiarlan have created a device called the "Magical Moving Lantern" that can store illusionary recordings of performances in dragonshards. The financial benefits from this are beyond imagination. But someone has stolen the prototype!

42. See #41, it's a member of House Thuranni who are tweaking their sister house's nose.

43. See #41, it's a member of House Phiarlan who believes this will ruin the market for live shows.

44. See #41, it's the inventor who knows it doesn't work because the dragonshard is rapidly used up.

45. See #41, it's all of them in a comedy of errors.

46. The Emerald Claw is seeking to unleash a biological plague that can turn people into zombies via a bite and are demanding a king's ransom not to do it. House Jorasco are willing to pay the PCs a vast sum to assault their fortress and destroy all samples.

47. See #46 because House Jorasco was the group that created the plague and the fortress is their secret lab.

48. It's the Race of Eight Winds time again and the PCs are asked to serve as their jockey's bodyguards as this one is going to be particularly nationalist. Mobsters, spies, and more will be all attempting to influence the race.

49. See #48, Prince Oargev is also planning to fix the race to win a vast amount of money that he'll use to help the people of New Cyre...or so he says.

50. See #48, if one of the PCs is a skilled rider, they must take the place of their patron when they're discovered to have been poisoned before they even became their bodyguard.

51. Gadzooks! Strange unidentified flying objects are circling around farmlands, leaving mysterious circles, and kidnapping locals! Is it Illtihids? Githyanki? Aboleths?

52. See #51, it's a bunch of fairies having fun.

53. See #51, it's actually a group of gnome illusionists covering up an illegal dragonshard mine and kidnapping locals to serve as slaves. They plan to bury everyone alive once they've cleared out the vein.

54. Two dinosaur barons in the Talenta planes are feuding over grazing patches for their thunder lizards. They've escalated to everything short of murder and the townsfolk want the PCs to meditate the issue. A war between them would destroy the economy.

55. A non-Cannith artificer has figured out a way to used spent dragonshard powder, charcoal, saltpeter, and a long metal tube to allow non-magic users to create a very cheap wand of magic missles or staff of eldritch blast. The only downsides are you have to aim it. He'd like the PCs to be angel investors in his possibly terrifying weapon of war.

56. A gnoll warlord in Droaam claims he has a new dragonmark and is the founder of a new House. Hehas begun gathering an army around himself while the Twelve declare him an Abberant.

57. See #56, he is actually a reincarnated Deneith mercenary who has come to love the people who he identifies with now. This is his misguided plan to get them some more respect.

58. The Swords of Liberty are employing a renegade Sivis scribe to print pamphlets across the kingdoms that are full of horrific libel. They're designed to exploit existing divisions and rouse the populace into violent lynch mobs as well as riots. King Boronal is not interested in fighting words with words and offers the PCs a sum to find their print shop as well as writers before slaying them.

59. See #58, the actual reason for this is that one of their insane theories is actually correct but which one?

60. The Boromar clan of Sharn has invited the PCs to the wedding of one of their daughters. This actually isn't a trap or some weird way to make a job offer, the daughter is just a huge fan of the PCs adventures. Then, of course, House Daask decides to kidnap her.

61. House Tarkanan has had multiple members of their clan murdered and dissected in horrible ways. They believe the Twelve are hunting them. Others attribute it to a deranged serial killer.

62. See #61, it is a deranged copper dragon wanting to study the abberant marks.

63. See #61, it is a Cult of the Dragon Below who is attempting to harness their power.

64. See #61, it is a member of House Tarkanan attempting to seize power by blaming the Twelve while he eliminates his rivals.

65. The Galifar Aquila is a dragonshard relic of incredible value to the Royal Family and has been lost for centuries. A series of murders and thefts put the object in the hands of the PCs with a House Daask troll, a beautiful elven femme fatale, and a weasally halfling all after it. But does it belong in a museum or, perhaps, a particular royal family?

66. Morgrave University is showing a display of orcish native art at a gala when it is attacked by a bunch of drow warriors to recover them. Weirdly, they're interrupted by another group of orcs who fights them. Both groups claim one of the relics in the collection is a prison for a powerful demon while the other is trying to free it.

67. See #66, both are lying and the relic contains a map that leads to a House Tharashk payroll transport the orcish mercenaries robbed before turning on one another. The fact they can't find it is a sign its magically warded or something has gone catastrophically wrong.

68. See #66, that's because the idol IS a prison for a demon and he's promised the prize to whoever frees him.

69. One of King Kaius' brides is making a legal challenge on vampire persondom in the Brelish court systems. She knows his true nature but is hiding it even as many individuals want vampires to remain legally dead. The PCs can side with or against her.

70. An Eldeen Reach village wants to hire the PCs to hire them to proetct them against a group of a few dozen bandits. The PCs would be accompanied by a few other oddball characters.

71. See #70, the bandits are actually the mercenaries the villagers hired to clean out a nearby forest of monsters before cheating them.

72. See #70, the village is a bunch of Dragon Below cultists and the "monsters" were Gatekeepers. They hope to have more slaughter so they can awamen the creature in the now-unprotected forest.

73. The PCs are sent into the Mournlands to recover the Crown Jewels of Cyre from Metrol, only to find an apocalypse cult of cannibals devoted to the Devourer and other survivors engaged in a low grade civil war. They can side with any of the factions they want or none of them to get in and out.

74. See #73, there's a mad artificer from House Cannith who claims he can reveal the secret of the Mourning if the PCs rescue him.

75. A changeling claims to have had the PCs baby from a short relationship or one night stand. If the PC is dragonmarked, they have the dragonmark despite being a changeling. The changeling is very nervous about the safety of their child and will die if they leave the PCs sight for more than a day.

76. A radical group of Kalashtar want to sabotage trade negotiations between Karnath and Reidra. They reveal the whole Dreaming Dark conspiracy.

77. See #76, King Kaius knows about the Dreaming Dark but Reidra offers the chance to gain food independence from Aundair. This year will be a particularly harsh winter too.

78. Mordain the Fleshweaver removed the brain of a particularly annoying psionicist into a self-sustaining jar. It has since gone on to become a powerful crime lord, escaping with its newly enhanced powers. "The Brain" of Sharn is believed just to be a metaphor but he's gradually dominating more and more to his cause with the ability to maintain simultaneous control over ever greater numbers of people.

79. Of all things, the PCs inherit a hotel with an airship dock from one of their admirers. It is a perfect base for their activities but they soon find out House Ghallanda drove the previous owner to ruin before he was mysteriously assassinated.

80. See #79, the Ghallandra who did this wasn't doing it for the House but because there was a hidden treasure inside the hotel when they were adventurers.

81. House Sivis and House Kundarak are going to work together to do real-time trades on ventures at a former stockyard (nickname the Stocks). Almost every other house thinks this is a fantastically bad idea.

82. A group of vampire hunters have successfully killed a powerful Karnath Lord and looted his castle. His daughter is now seeking revenge as a paladin of the Blood of Vol. She is notably not undead herself but possesses some vampiric abilities.

83. An dwarvish artificer is terrified of House Orien coming after him and claims he has an invention that they will stop at nothing to acquire. The invention being a weird black goop that makes roads very smooth and thus much more practical for House Orien vehicles.

84. See #83, the easiest way to resolve this is just make a mutually beneficial contract.

85. A young woman is running away with her half-orc boyfriend despite the fact that she is astoundingly beautiful and does not seem to care that much for him. They offer a shockingly large amount of money for their safe passage. Soon, monsters will start hounding the PCs as she attempts to flirt with any interested. She is a granddaughter of Sora Kell and on the run from her mother who wants to marry her to Gorodan Ashlord.

86. A religious heretec claims that he derives his power from the "Vestige" of Siberys and that will enough believers in him, the Dragon God can be resurrected.

87. See #86, It's a Radiant Idol that has a particularly effective scam going on.

88. See #86, It's a Gold Dragon who sincerely believes this will work.

89. See #86, It will work...after a mass sacrifice of the faithful.

90. A local village is haunted. Literally. Dozens of horrible ghosts are wandering around the area, tormented and harrassing the living. Some of them look famous individuals who suffered suspicious deaths.

91. See #90, it is a manifest zone to Dolurrh that used to be bound by Blood of Vol cultists who kept the spirits appeased with candy and costumes. This tradition was banned the previous year by the local Sovereign Hosters.

92. See #90, a necromancer has grabbed an assassin who used a keeper's fang to kill their lover and are torturing both killer as well as the artifact to try to bring back their spirit from the Keeper's Vault.

93. See #91, this is an ASTOUNDINGLY bad idea and creating a Manifest Zone to Khyber below.

94. There's a gang war going on in a famous "party" town between House Phiarlan courtesans, a group of half-vampire prostitutes, and a changeling brothel that pretends to be a Silver Flame nunnery (the Thranish government was not amused). It used to be peace between the groups but the local ordinances have stated only one can remain open.

95. This is actually a plot by House Ghallanda to replace the town with their own inns and "cheaper" entertainment.

96. Queen Diani of Thrane is getting married and entertaining a variety of suitors including one of Boranel's children, Prince Oargev, an Aundair lord, and a Lhazaar Pirate Prince.

97. See #96. This is part of an attempt to gain support for her restoration of the monarchy and Krozen has hired an assassin to do her in

98. See #97...or so someone wants the public to think. Diani wants the PCs to thwart the threat so she can force the High Cardinal into disgrace.

99. See #98, the Cardinal knows this and has substituted a real assassin. He'll just blame Aundair.

100. See #96, Diani actually wants one of the PCs to marry her (or at least be engaged to her) as a popular hero would be better for forcing the public sentiment against the Church versus a foreign invader.

101. A Dhakaani ruin has been seized by several goblin clans that have claimed it in the name of the revived empire. The Dhakaani do not recognize these individuals as their brethren and are sending a group of troops to slaughter them. The local authorities sees this as a self-solving problem.