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Those who enjoy books full of game mechanics will be disappointed here. While there are five new prestige classes and several new monsters, the book is otherwise devoid of game mechanics (except for stat blocks for major NPCs). The upside to this is that the product has a lot of Eberron specific flavor, and both DMs and players can mine this book for many interesting ideas to spice up their roleplay. Unfortunately the product spends too much time on new prestige classes (25 pages), monsters, and rehashed material all the while managing to talk in broad generalities.
The Physical Thing
This hardcover 160 page full color book showcases above average production values. The formatting is excellent, leading to a very readable product. The art is of good quality and the scenes being depicted are interesting and flavorful. What’s more, this book has many detailed full color maps of the nations and regions of Khorvaire, complete with lightning rail routes and cities. This makes it extremely helpful for anyone who wants to run a game that involves travel across Khorvaire. Finally, the product contains an excellent index-like table of contents which makes finding information quick and easy.The Ideas
As you would expect, this product presents information on each of the five nations of Khorvaire. This includes the standard history, geography, and politics but also extends to customs, notable exports, and widely recognized talents of the populace. This allows the book to be a valuable player aid for anyone that wants to flesh out their character in terms of region of origin. Given the frequent plot hooks and intricate political web between nations, many lengthy campaigns could be launched using this book alone.Under the Cover
This product contains five chapters, one devoted to each of the five nations, as well as an introduction that presents the history behind the formation of the five nations.General Presentation
Know that each entry is different and gives a slightly different presentation. Some sections might focus a bit more on the past (Cyre) than others while some others (Thrane) will pay more attention to the major organizations within their borders. They all contain many similar qualities, however, as discussed below.
Each chapter kicks off with a general overview of the nation, often including information about its history over time. The current government is discussed, along with details about the current ruler and a list of rulers going back six hundred years. This is nice because the names alone will let DMs have NPC nobles talk about their lineage without the need to create their own content. “My greater grandfather was the Champion of the Flame in service to King Daran.”
Every chapter has at least one full color map that takes up an entire page. These maps are moderately detailed, with political boundaries, cities, lightning rail routes, roads, bridges, points of interest, and other appropriate content. They’re very nice and have been quite helpful for my last two campaigns.
A Day In The Life is another common section, which goes into detail about the customs of the people of each of the five nations. Songs, five things every citizen knows, general cultural influences, how the people feel about different topics, and similar information is presented. Art, architecture, and other cultural elements are also discussed.
Every chapter has a section on important Plots and Factions within that nation. These are always diverse, covering everything from the current rulers to religious organizations and wizards societies. The really great thing here is that many plot hooks are provided, and they’re given just enough detail to be interesting while still being general enough to easily incorporate into an ongoing campaign. Full NPC stats for major characters which is nice for those that want to run more epic games that involve meeting with (or fighting against) these people.
Nation At A Glance is a nice footnote provided at the beginning of each section. It lists national motto, capital, population, area, heraldry, climate, and other generally useful information for anyone that wants a quick overview of one of the five nations. The full color illustrations of the national symbols are particularly nice. Footnotes expand on existing topics throughout the book and allow the reader to easily pick up extra, but not necessary, information about the topic currently being discussed.
Finally, each section provides information concerning several different interesting adventure locations within that nation. These aren’t the mini-modules found in some other products, but are instead flavorful discussions of the area. This ranges from major cities to weird objects and magical regions to haunted forests and even wildlife preserves.
While each section gets a good standard write up, special attention is paid to each nation. This means that a reader looking at the entry on Cyre will get information on what the nation was like before the Mourning, but will also find information on the Mournland, New Cyre, and what has happened to all of the past refugees. The entry on Thrane contains information on the Church of the Silver Flame, a very important institution in Thrane. This results in a product that provides a standard format for presenting general information on these nations while also being willing to discuss important concerns specific to that nation.
While all of this information is flavorful and worth having, this book is not as detailed as one might expect. With 160 pages for five nations as well as prestige classes, monsters, rehashed setting bits, and other such material there is a surprising lack of information on the nations. What is here tends to be good, and the cultural information is particularly enjoyable, but the book really isn’t as detailed as it otherwise could be. It’s not really important what magic items the Brelish King carries around with him, nor are the stats for the other rules particularly useful for most games. As with some other Eberron products, this book does have the general feel of a product that is trying to stretch out a small amount of material to fill a 160 page book.
New Game Mechanics
The chapter on Breland presents a few small game modifiers (plus one to two skills, minus one to two skills) for three regions of origin. NPC stat blocks are presented for the most influential people in Khorvaire. Otherwise the only new mechanics presented are five prestige classes.
The Knight Phantom are specialized cavalry in service to Aundair who ride phantom steeds into combat. This fighter/mage prestige class offers 9/10 spell casting progression, good BAB progression, a good Fort save, and a few special abilities. The class gains several phantom oriented powers, culminating in the ability to turn their weapon into a brilliant energy weapon for 10 rounds a day. All around a decent prestige class, though the fiction and description is bland. The Knight Phantom gains a d8 Hit Die and 2+Int mod skills.
The Dark Lantern represents elite spies and assassins in service to Breland. With medium BAB progression, a good Reflex save, and +5d6 Sneak Attack progression the class seems like a simple continuation of Rogue at first. However, with only 4+Int mod skills per level and a smaller skill list this prestige class trades off higher skill ranks for many more special powers. Permanent nondetection, Skill Mastery, Slippery Mind, and Hide in Plain Sight are all gained through this 10 level class. While it has more flavor than the Knight Phantom, this prestige class is still little more than “the elite spies/assassins of Breland.” It’s worth mentioning that all of these classes take up a lot of room. The Dark Lantern takes up five pages alone. The Dark Lantern has a d8 Hit Die.
For Cyre there is a five level prestige class called the Cyran Avenger. The Avenger has a Ranger focus and is meant to represent characters who indulge in their own pet theory about the destruction of Cyre and are out to punish a given nation. Gull BAB, 4/5 spell casting progression, good Fort save, and several class specific abilities. Detect Lies once per day, Speak with Dead once per day, Enemy Region (bonus while fighting in another nation), Heroic Spirit, and Avenging Strike (similar to a Smite but can be used when a Cyre citizen has been harmed). Overall the class is far from impressive, and the flavor text that accompanies it is extremely vague. The Cyran Avenger has a d8 Hit Die with 4+Int skills.
The Bone Knight is meant to be a military leader in the service to Karrnath which commands armies of undead. Medium BAB, good Fort, 9/10 divine spell casting progression, and at least one ability every level. It’s a neat, theme oriented class but generally seems to exist to fulfill the role of a bad guy commander in a military campaign. Many of the abilities gained involve taking command of undead troops, bolstering them, and otherwise advancing a skeleton theme. The Bone Knight has a d10 Hit Die with 2+Int skills.
Finally, the Silver Pyromancer is meant to be a devout arcane follower of the Silver Flame. The class requires the ability to turn undead and cast 3rd level arcane spells, which means Cleric or Paladin will have to be splashed with the arcane caster levels. Poor BAB, 4/5 spell casting, and several class abilities that involve turning spells partially into sacred energy spells and using turn attempts to burn undead. The roleplaying flavor text focuses on the characters love of fire, is good, and that members are generally left to do as they will. As with the other prestige classes here, there is little to get excited about in terms of fiction. The Silver Pyromancer has a d6 Hit Die with 2+Int skills per level.
My Take
The book presents good information on the peoples and cultures of the five nations, as well as other generally interesting material. The maps, in particular, are nice to have and useful for running a game. However, this book does not offer anywhere near the detail that other similar game products have presented. It is hopelessly vague at times and provides unnecessary (and perhaps useless) stat blocks for major NPCs. A lot of space is wasted on the prestige classes and monsters as well, which add nothing to the product and are really just there to compel players to buy something that is otherwise strongly DM focused. While a player may enjoy fleshing out their character with some of the information provided, it’s hardly worth buying the entire book for.If you want more information on the peoples of Eberron this isn’t a bad choice. If you want an abbreviated discussion of each of the five nations, along with their coats of arms and other useful information, then you’ll find it here. However, if you currently feel that the information presented in the Eberron Campaign Setting is adequate for your games then this one might be worth passing.
