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Originally Posted by Gary Thomas
Anyone with a playtest review gets an atta boy from me. Thank you for that. That you actually used this product, as opposed to just read it, makes this review more valuable in my opinion.
Considered from a non-d20 angle, it would be interesting to compare it to the FR main book (or Midnight, or any other main setting book for d20) to see which has a higher ratio of system specific crunch. I get the impression that Eberron is pretty light on the system stuff.
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Thanks Gary. In this case i'm not sure that playing in and running Eberron games contributes to a general review of the book, as that's more of a mechanics related issue. No doubt a person that ran HERO 5th Eberron would find that the game feels differently and that the character capabilities are quite different.
Off the top of my head i'd say that this book ranks in at about the same ratio as Midnight. From what I remember of 1st edition Midnight there was a lot of great setting stuff, but there were also extensive modifications to D&D involving bonus feats and such from Bloodlines.
I would not call it light on the system stuff, however. If you buy this book you will be buying extensive d20 specific information. I don't want anyone picking this up thinking that they'll have a largely system-free product. It's a d20 book, it has prestige classes, feats, magic items, etc. I like all of that, as I think d20 is great for certain types of games, but i've also spent a lot of time working with other game systems such as HERO 5th and GURPS to try and convert Eberrons ideas to draw in a larger player base (many local folk aren't into d20). On the whole I think there is a great setting here that can really entertain folk who don't like d20.
The most fun i've had working with the setting so far was running a Law & Order style campaign based in Sharn. The characters were high level members of the watch who worked as detectives, supporting the barristers to bring the crooks down. It was a lot of fun, and thanks to the modern influences of D&D and Eberron it was a type of game I probably couldn't have run in most other fantasy settings.