Getting into 4e Eberron

Hey there, players and player-haters (i.e., fellow GMs). I've been running a New World of Darkness game with my friends. I love the nWoD setting, but I find the system isn't a perfect fit for my players. I think they would like the defined roles that come with having character classes, and I know they would like a little less talky intriguing and a little more face-bashing with a side of gut-slashing. So, I've been looking around for a new game to play with them, and I think the Eberron setting of D&D would be a great compromise. I'm somewhat familiar with D&D mechanics, though I don't actually have any sourcebooks at all. So the question is: what would be the basic set of books I would need to find to get started with a 4th Edition game in the Eberron setting? Do I just need the D&D 4e Dungeon Master's guide and the Eberron Campaign Guide? Or do I need some of the Player's Handbooks, etc.? (Aside: I know a lot of 3.5e and older D&D players detest 4e. I get that. But the things you hate about it sound great for my friends and I, who are all pretty new to tabletop gaming.) TL;DR version: What are the bare minimum books I need to get to start a 4e Eberron game?

I'd say you'd need: DM Guide, Player's Handbook for all the basic rules, The Eberron Campaign Book, and The Monster Vault, alot of people will suggest that you not get any Monster Manuals prior to 3, something about the monsters actually being less challenging, but that's ultimately up to you. Otherwise, you could get the other Player Handbooks if you want to but not necessary.

DDI subscription will get most everything you need besides specific information on Eberron. I would get the Dungeon Masters Kit box set it is the most updated instead of the DM's guide, also the Rules Compendium is wonderful to have for reference while you run or play 4e. If you can find them the old 3e Eberron books are wonderful for setting information and fluff about the world. The timeline only advanced a year or two between editions.

Wow, the D&D Insider subscription is quite tempting, especially having that big digital rules compendium available. But it's also not really necessary for my games, since one of the ways I got my players to agree to play with me was to tell them they wouldn't have to buy rule books. Therefore, I rely very heavily on the Rule of Fun. Our game has gotten pretty house-rule filled pretty fast. The Dungeon Master's Kit, I think, is exactly what I need for the D&D foundation, especially since I can buy a PDF version. Does anyone who plays Eberron know if I'll need more than just the Eberron campaign guide? I can't quite tell if the races and classes specific to the setting are only in the Player's guides. Thanks, John and Question.

Rule Compendium, DMG1/DMG2, 4e Eberron Campaign book. I daresay there's enough online in the form of wiki's and whatnot to not need the latter though. I highly recommend DDI. I wouldn't play 4e without it (and I play a lot of 4e). Some of the best advice for DMing comes from the 4e DMGs as well. Pay no mind to the edition warriors - they don't seem to understand that different editions of D&D are different games with different assumptions entirely and really can't be compared one-to-one.

Thanks, Headhunter. I think I've talked myself back into DDI, too. I'll share the username and password with my players so they can use the character builder tool, which I think they'll all love. You know, because it makes character creation feel like KOTOR and other D&D-ish video games they're familiar with. That will give me the online Rule Compendium as well. I assume that's the "Rule Compendium" you were referring to, Headhunter.

There's a few reasons 3.5 DnD players, especially Eberron detest 4e Eberron. There's also a reason that they never made ANY supplements besides the Campaign and Player's Guide for 4e after the MASSIVE success 3.5 Eberron Supplements had. First of All 3.5 Eberron was designed around the 3.5 system, it just had the advantage of not needing to be converted/translated like any of the other editions. Second it was designed as a new way to reuse the system, based around widespread low level magic. Classes created like Artificer and Magelight were ways of showing a world constantly having access to magic and not magic users being Gods among commoners. The 4e version of the game simply cannot allow that. The three tiered system of powers in 4e killed the entire concept of these almost NPC prestige classes in 3.5 that became core parts of your character. The reworking of magic items, magic itself, all ruined the mechanically well oiled feel that made eberron flow. Settings in Roleplaying games are ruled by Mechanics as much as tone, and when the two conflict the game stops working.

Welcome to the world of Eberron! I've been running Eberron pretty much since it was released. We've moved over to 4e, but will probably go back to 3.5 some day. Eberron is the only world to get me out of my own homebrew. There is a ton you can do with it. 3.5 had a lot of great flavor books. I'd check them out on ebay or what not. Also, a lot of the Paizo 3.5 and new 4e modules had modules have Eberron conversions. Also, for another source Dungeons and Dragons Online is based Eberron. It has a lot of kind of cool modules and ideas for adventures that are somewhat generic with an Eberron tinge. Check it out at ddowiki.com if for nothing else then maps, dungeons etc. To run in 4e you definitely need the PHB, and possibly PHB2 as it has some Eberron stuff (shifters). Though really the Eberron players guide has everything to run in the world. I still don't own the DMG for 4e. I have been dm'ing for quite a while, so it just doesn't feel necessary for me. Sure my players don't get fully appropriate 4e encounters balanced ot mathematical precisions, but no one cares. I know what they can handle, and we have fun. I also make up xp as I go along mostly, depending on how they handle an encounter. enjoy! I do agree with darkadvice... 4e Eberron is a pale comparison to 3.5 Eberron. It's almost superfluous. If you do 4e Eberron I'd keep something from 3.5 like rules behind dragonmarks and stuff. ALSO we use 4e but with the 3.5 skill system. Not a fan of 4e skill systems.

@ Jake E: This is the Rules Compendium I was referring to. The DDI Compendium is something else, but it's awesome. I recommend the former because it will give you details that DDI Compendium won't tell you, like how to run skill challenges.

You guys rock. Thanks for all the advice. Headhunter: it seems like the Rules Compendium book is a systems-and-mechanics reference, while the DDI Compendium is a content reference. Is that accurate? Also, I mentioned that there's a Dungeon Master's Kit book you can buy that's intended to be for D&D newbies like my players and I. That might make the rest of you laugh, but it's probably exactly what I need. I figure I can reinforce it with the DDI Compendium. But chime in if you've checked it out and it's no good. As for Eberron itself, I appreciate the insight into different versions. To be totally honest, I expect to use the setting only loosely. I love, for example, that there's a continent (Xen'drik, I think?) that is home to a lost ruined empire. Sounds like lots of adventures. If I know my players, they will basically ignore my story hooks until they've captured a ship and made themselves roving pirate lords. Therefore, I'm probably going to use macro-level setting stuff, like the world map of Eberron more than the micro-level stuff, like the nuances of the rivalries between noble houses. My current game got homebrew-y pretty fast.

Also, is there any reason I couldn't use the 3.5e Eberron player's guide with 4e? Found a 3.5 Eberron Player's Guide in PDF.

Mechanically its likely that you are not going to be able to without some rule working, but some of that information can be useful, especially the 5 Nations Sourcebook, and the Explorer's Guide to Eberron, especially the Xendrick sourcebook.

Aha! Found PDFs of the Rules Compendium (which is awesome. Good call, Headhunter) and the 4e Eberron Player's Guide. I also found a bad scan of the 4e Eberron Campaign setting, and it looks like Feefait was right: it doesn't look like I really need it. I'm going to try to find Explorer's Guide to Eberron, because that sounds like my kind of thing, but otherwise I feel good to roll 'em up and go! Thanks for the help, everyone.

3.5e =/= 4e right down to the rules and base assumptions for play experience. While you can use the 3.5e sourcebooks for inspiration, any mechanics should just be ignored. It's not really important that you follow the setting material very closely since that sort of simulationist play isn't necessary in 4e. Just be sure to identify the major tropes and thematic elements of the setting and turn up the volume on it to LOUD.

We've done Eberron campaigns in the Eldeen Reaches with a a druidic focus. a campaign in Sharn (really just a few adventures before something disrupted us), and now Karrnath with an undead slaying/political intrigue theme. You can pretty much do anything with Eberron. Flying pirates as you mentioned, ruined cites (Xen'drik), psionics... whatever. I personally would not abandon too much of the world flavor if you are in khorvaire. in the outlying continents like Xen'drik or frostfell obviously the house would have a lot less interest. However if your players get an airship and become pirates then there are definitely houses that would be interested in stopping such activities. :)