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Eberron (D&D 3.5 manuals) #5
Magic of Eberron
The ultimate magic sourcebook for the newest Dungeons & Dragons® world.
Magic of Eberron explores the variety of magic available in the Eberron world. It introduces a wealth of new arcane and divine spells, and artificer infusions. Chapters explore the more unusual manifestations of magic in Eberron, such as elemental binding, dragonshards and dragon magic, and the corrupted magic of the daelkyr. A chapter on lost magic explains how to make the discovery of new magical secrets a central feature of any Eberron campaign.
Magic of Eberron explores the variety of magic available in the Eberron world. It introduces a wealth of new arcane and divine spells, and artificer infusions. Chapters explore the more unusual manifestations of magic in Eberron, such as elemental binding, dragonshards and dragon magic, and the corrupted magic of the daelkyr. A chapter on lost magic explains how to make the discovery of new magical secrets a central feature of any Eberron campaign.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2005
46 people want to read
About the author
Bruce R. Cordell
165 books123 followersBruce R. Cordell authored books for Dungeons & Dragons over the course of 4 editions (2nd Edition through 5th Edition D&D). These days, he’s a senior designer for Monte Cook Games, LLC designing Numenera , Gods of the Fall, and The Strange. Also a novel author, his credits include several titles set in the Forgotten Realms. Bruce’s tenth novel, Myth of the Maker, is just out from Angry Robot Books:
http://brucecordell.blogspot.com/2017...
http://brucecordell.blogspot.com/2017...
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 28, 2019
This is the first supplementary sourcebook from Eberron that I've looked at. It's generally divided into three areas (but not always grouped together): options for "magic" characters, stuff for "magic" characters, and new enemies.
Chapter 1 starts off with explaining the concepts and perspectives of magic as they are in Eberron. It presents things like cities in Eberron being a magic-heavy but still a pre-industrial society.
It goes into more detail with very Eberron-specific stuff like elemental binding, dragonshard harvesting and supply/demand, and also daelkyr magic. Personally, I find elemental binding to be akin to slavery so I've never been of it (although I admit the vehicles were a great idea). Other forms of magic are briefly touched upon, specifically those from Aerenal, Argonnessen, Karrnath, and Riedra.
The chapter closes with two new organisations and some adventure hooks scattered about. They're not much to write about and not very memorable.
Chapter 2 presents 2 new races and 1 core class variant, along with your expected slew of new feats. The new races are the Daelkyr Half-Blood and Psiforged. Not very creative to be honest, with the former being evident in the name, and the latter just a psionic version of a warforged. The new class is basically a psionic version of the artificer, named.... Psionic Artificer. The feats are only somewhat mildly interesting, but they run the gamut from elemental binding feats to item creation to artificer feats, all quite Eberron-specific.
Chapter 3 showcases 8 new prestige classes that I personally would never want to try. I found them to be subpar, particularly in how the concept of the class gets translated into mechanics. For example, the Dragon Prophet is all about the Draconic Prophecy, yet he gains bonuses not through knowledge, but when being in a sort of trance. And also the Renegade Mastermaker of House Cannith. From the name alone, you simply would not have guessed that all of them start off replacing their hand with a mechanical hand, and their end goal being to literally turn into a warforged. Each prestige comes us adventure material like sample organisations, a random map here and there, but there's really not much value to them as they feel pretty arbitrary.
Chapter 4 is one of the better chapters I think. It contains new spells, new infusions, and new psionic powers. I don't know much about psionics, so no comment there, but the new infusions and spells are quite interesting (in a fun way, rather than powerful way), with only a few being Eberron-specific.
New items, equipment, and other options are in chapter 5. There's a good selection of stuff, with heavy Eberron-flavouring, which is a good thing. It has new materials, new vehicles, and dragonshard-powered items. The only bit I didn't like is the grafting section. You get options to graft elemental parts (which I found to be completely nonsensical), deathless parts (ok, although it felt really odd that the Aereni would even consider it), and plant parts (and perpetuated by druids no less, which I also found to be difficult to accept).
The sourcebook ends with Chapter 6, which contains just a few entries on symbionts (for the new race and one of the prestige classes), new homunculi (which I liked), two new Quori spirits, two extremely weird undead and some aberrations. It's a very short chapter that doesn't really tie into the whole "magic of Eberron" topic.
All in all, it's a decent "general" sourcebook, as opposed to being actually "focused" on the magic Eberron. It treats "magic" more like a "science" and briefly touches them in a broad spectrum. If you're looking for something that provides a in-depth look at the state of magic in Eberron, I don't think this is it. But if you're looking for more character options, then the sourcebook does provide, although I found them to be uninspired and generally somewhat bland.
Chapter 1 starts off with explaining the concepts and perspectives of magic as they are in Eberron. It presents things like cities in Eberron being a magic-heavy but still a pre-industrial society.
It goes into more detail with very Eberron-specific stuff like elemental binding, dragonshard harvesting and supply/demand, and also daelkyr magic. Personally, I find elemental binding to be akin to slavery so I've never been of it (although I admit the vehicles were a great idea). Other forms of magic are briefly touched upon, specifically those from Aerenal, Argonnessen, Karrnath, and Riedra.
The chapter closes with two new organisations and some adventure hooks scattered about. They're not much to write about and not very memorable.
Chapter 2 presents 2 new races and 1 core class variant, along with your expected slew of new feats. The new races are the Daelkyr Half-Blood and Psiforged. Not very creative to be honest, with the former being evident in the name, and the latter just a psionic version of a warforged. The new class is basically a psionic version of the artificer, named.... Psionic Artificer. The feats are only somewhat mildly interesting, but they run the gamut from elemental binding feats to item creation to artificer feats, all quite Eberron-specific.
Chapter 3 showcases 8 new prestige classes that I personally would never want to try. I found them to be subpar, particularly in how the concept of the class gets translated into mechanics. For example, the Dragon Prophet is all about the Draconic Prophecy, yet he gains bonuses not through knowledge, but when being in a sort of trance. And also the Renegade Mastermaker of House Cannith. From the name alone, you simply would not have guessed that all of them start off replacing their hand with a mechanical hand, and their end goal being to literally turn into a warforged. Each prestige comes us adventure material like sample organisations, a random map here and there, but there's really not much value to them as they feel pretty arbitrary.
Chapter 4 is one of the better chapters I think. It contains new spells, new infusions, and new psionic powers. I don't know much about psionics, so no comment there, but the new infusions and spells are quite interesting (in a fun way, rather than powerful way), with only a few being Eberron-specific.
New items, equipment, and other options are in chapter 5. There's a good selection of stuff, with heavy Eberron-flavouring, which is a good thing. It has new materials, new vehicles, and dragonshard-powered items. The only bit I didn't like is the grafting section. You get options to graft elemental parts (which I found to be completely nonsensical), deathless parts (ok, although it felt really odd that the Aereni would even consider it), and plant parts (and perpetuated by druids no less, which I also found to be difficult to accept).
The sourcebook ends with Chapter 6, which contains just a few entries on symbionts (for the new race and one of the prestige classes), new homunculi (which I liked), two new Quori spirits, two extremely weird undead and some aberrations. It's a very short chapter that doesn't really tie into the whole "magic of Eberron" topic.
All in all, it's a decent "general" sourcebook, as opposed to being actually "focused" on the magic Eberron. It treats "magic" more like a "science" and briefly touches them in a broad spectrum. If you're looking for something that provides a in-depth look at the state of magic in Eberron, I don't think this is it. But if you're looking for more character options, then the sourcebook does provide, although I found them to be uninspired and generally somewhat bland.
May 30, 2012
Stuff I Read D&D Edition – Magic of Eberron
And straight off the heels of Sharn City of Towers is Magic of Eberron, which I probably should have read a while ago. I mean, I have a pdf of the book, and for that very reason kind of waited to get the book itself. But finally I have it and have read through it and it just reminds me why I like Eberron as a campaign setting. Because the magic of Eberron is something that is in a state of evolution and innovation. It does not rest dormant, nor is it content to let the world pass it by. It is dominated by factions and organizations who are very invested in furthering magic, in discovering new and lucrative magic to help themselves while advancing the technology of magic. And maybe that is the key, that this just isn’t magic that has its ultimate source from a deity that gets to be the one to decide what is known and what is not. Eberron is much more a place where the magic is almost unlimited, and the key to advancing magical knowledge is by experimentation and discovery of ancient techniques.
The book itself hits a few areas in particular and leaves the rest pretty much alone. It does cover a number of areas, though, including elemental binding, daelkyr magic, dragon totem magic, some new psionics, and a few others. Each is interesting and is built in such a way that an entire campaign could be built around just that one aspect of the world. Each is interesting and moves magic in a new direction, or at least progresses it past anything that I have seen in core D&D. Elemental binding is expanded and includes some very interesting aspects of history to work with, as well as introducing the idea that elementals have basically been enslaved by the people of Eberron and complicated by the idea that there are factions within the gnomes who want to work with the elementals, getting them to volunteer to assist them. And the dragon totem magic is interesting as well, though it doesn’t really get to much into the story of it. As it concerns the dragons, this was the weakest of the magic’s, in my opinions. Especially when you get to the prestige class that necessitates oversight by a dragon NPC, which I don’t much care for. It is still interesting and new and that is always good, though.
Much more interesting to me were the daelkyr magicks and the magic surrounding the undead of Karnath and Aerenal. The undead magicks were fun because they approach it in two entirely different ways, and because the blood magic seems really cool. I mean, it is something that seems like it would be very powerful and is also something I have been kind of using in my campaign so it makes it that much cooler to me. I like it when I preempt things in books, because it makes me feel like I know what I am doing. And normally I do it in different enough a way that it is still unique to what I am doing. So added plus. And the daelkyr magic just seems so creepy. I like the new race that is introduced, as well, the half-daelkyr, though not so much as player as a DM. I mean, I like the story of it, but not necessarily the stats. But I can definitely live with them and it gives me ideas. The magic of twisting realities to make different monsters and creatures is also fascinating, and I think there is a lot of potential there for stories and monsters and new threats. But I get ahead of myself.
The psionics are, as always, a bit beyond me, as I never really bothered to read up on psionics, but the psiforged seem cool and their origins are a neat bit of history and could easily be adapted to a campaign that seems like it would be both complicated and crazy. So right up my alley, really. And otherwise the book also introduces a slew of new prestige classes. All in all they are all right, with some being very focused, and while none really appealed to me as a player I could see myself wanting to incorporate some of them into NPCs. The feats and items and all of that help to further round out the book, and while this felt a little light as a supplement, it is really only because much more of it is taken up by things like prestige classes and magic and things of that nature, which make for a faster read. But I was pleased with the book, and like that the setting sets up magic as a more fluid force, governed by laws that are beyond most mortals. But they can be uncovered by study and experiment, so I like that it is the science of magic, and not the magic of magic. I give this book an 8.25/10.
And straight off the heels of Sharn City of Towers is Magic of Eberron, which I probably should have read a while ago. I mean, I have a pdf of the book, and for that very reason kind of waited to get the book itself. But finally I have it and have read through it and it just reminds me why I like Eberron as a campaign setting. Because the magic of Eberron is something that is in a state of evolution and innovation. It does not rest dormant, nor is it content to let the world pass it by. It is dominated by factions and organizations who are very invested in furthering magic, in discovering new and lucrative magic to help themselves while advancing the technology of magic. And maybe that is the key, that this just isn’t magic that has its ultimate source from a deity that gets to be the one to decide what is known and what is not. Eberron is much more a place where the magic is almost unlimited, and the key to advancing magical knowledge is by experimentation and discovery of ancient techniques.
The book itself hits a few areas in particular and leaves the rest pretty much alone. It does cover a number of areas, though, including elemental binding, daelkyr magic, dragon totem magic, some new psionics, and a few others. Each is interesting and is built in such a way that an entire campaign could be built around just that one aspect of the world. Each is interesting and moves magic in a new direction, or at least progresses it past anything that I have seen in core D&D. Elemental binding is expanded and includes some very interesting aspects of history to work with, as well as introducing the idea that elementals have basically been enslaved by the people of Eberron and complicated by the idea that there are factions within the gnomes who want to work with the elementals, getting them to volunteer to assist them. And the dragon totem magic is interesting as well, though it doesn’t really get to much into the story of it. As it concerns the dragons, this was the weakest of the magic’s, in my opinions. Especially when you get to the prestige class that necessitates oversight by a dragon NPC, which I don’t much care for. It is still interesting and new and that is always good, though.
Much more interesting to me were the daelkyr magicks and the magic surrounding the undead of Karnath and Aerenal. The undead magicks were fun because they approach it in two entirely different ways, and because the blood magic seems really cool. I mean, it is something that seems like it would be very powerful and is also something I have been kind of using in my campaign so it makes it that much cooler to me. I like it when I preempt things in books, because it makes me feel like I know what I am doing. And normally I do it in different enough a way that it is still unique to what I am doing. So added plus. And the daelkyr magic just seems so creepy. I like the new race that is introduced, as well, the half-daelkyr, though not so much as player as a DM. I mean, I like the story of it, but not necessarily the stats. But I can definitely live with them and it gives me ideas. The magic of twisting realities to make different monsters and creatures is also fascinating, and I think there is a lot of potential there for stories and monsters and new threats. But I get ahead of myself.
The psionics are, as always, a bit beyond me, as I never really bothered to read up on psionics, but the psiforged seem cool and their origins are a neat bit of history and could easily be adapted to a campaign that seems like it would be both complicated and crazy. So right up my alley, really. And otherwise the book also introduces a slew of new prestige classes. All in all they are all right, with some being very focused, and while none really appealed to me as a player I could see myself wanting to incorporate some of them into NPCs. The feats and items and all of that help to further round out the book, and while this felt a little light as a supplement, it is really only because much more of it is taken up by things like prestige classes and magic and things of that nature, which make for a faster read. But I was pleased with the book, and like that the setting sets up magic as a more fluid force, governed by laws that are beyond most mortals. But they can be uncovered by study and experiment, so I like that it is the science of magic, and not the magic of magic. I give this book an 8.25/10.
November 1, 2015
great read about magic items & spell!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews