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The Breland Ledger

Welcome to the Breland Ledger, your source for news, links, and fan-created content for the Eberron campaign setting.

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Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Airship maps at the Dundjinni forums

Tmaas, a poster at the Dundjinni Mapping Software forums, has posted an excellent map for use with D20 system miniature gaming. The airship Liralen, conceived by world-reknowned pilot Ravien d'Lyrandar, is an unparalleled vehicle for elite expedition travel. Its ten beautifully-detailed levels will make the journey to your next destination an adventure in itself.

Lightning Rail fare and distance table

When you can't catch an airship and even a Valenar stallion isn't fast enough, your best bet for cross-Khorvaire travel is the Lightning Rail. But how much does it cost to get around, and how long will it really take? Eberron fan Jason "Chaosbug" Burris noticed that the official sourcebook maps aren't perfectly in scale with one another, so he used the popular map of Khorvaire created by Sebastien "Sebby" Chouinard. The result is a handy chart of Lightning Rail distances, fares, and times.

A similar chart for Khorvaire's roads is underway. When complete, expect to see both hosted at the Eberron Journal.

Sunday, August 29, 2004

Dragonshards: What Do You Know?

The latest Dragonshards article is up.

It is called What Do You Know? and focuses around character knowledge and, of course, the knowledge skill.

Looking for an Eberron Game?

If you're having trouble finding local gamers to run or play Eberron, then the Breland Ledger is here for the rescue.

If you're willing to look into gaming on IRC stop by The Breland Ledgers Chatroom for some gaming action.

Tuesday Nights at 11pm EST, Neko Ali runs a 3rd level game with 5 players. The game is currently full, but lurkers are welcome. Who knows if a spot for you may open up? In this game, the characters are hired by an elvish agent of the Undying Court to preform jobs for them, as their prophecy has said they would. Unknown agents attempt to stop them.

Thursday Nights at 5pm EST, Spore will be starting a brand new Eberron game which will be light-hearted lovecraftian noir in theme. Involving moderate amounts of combat, with emphasis on inter-party relations! Spots are available for this game, so if you're intrested visit the chatroom and join quickly. The game draws upon the PHB, ECS, and XPH (in limited amounts) as far as allowable rules go.

Friday Nights at 8pm EST, Nitessine runs a game which began the week the ECS was released and started with the adventure in the rear of the book. Slated to restart on September 11th come watch the action as they adventure through the depths of Sharn. There are currently player openings so contact Nitessine soon.

All games take place in side chatrooms so not to disturb #eberron, though the primary chatroom is used for out of character chat as well as a rally point for games. If you want more info or to join, meet the DM's there.

Intrested in running a game? Join the chatroom, hang out, and talk to BrooklynKnight.

Monday, August 23, 2004

Eberron Bestiary now live!

Regular forum visitors have long enjoyed ieattrollsforbreakfast's Monster of the Week creations, well-balanced D&D monsters created specifically for the world of Eberron. Now those monsters are collected in the Eberron Bestiary, a site that will update every week with new foes for your Eberron PCs.

Another feature of the website is 'Close Encounters'. Here you will find short encounters written especially for use in Eberron campaigns. These can be used either as random encounters or to launch an on-going plot, and each includes a map to use with the encounter. The first in the series takes place on the Lightning Rail, as a Valenar warband attempts to board the train. Coming soon: a band of Silver Flame extremists animate a wicker man to purge the lands of shifter filth.

GenCon Eberron Seminar Report

Breland Ledger reporter Brueklen D’Cannith was on the scene at GenCon yesterday to chronicle the Eberron Seminar. The cast included Eberron designers Chris Perkins, Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, and James Wyatt, as well as Peter Archer, Brand Manager for novels at Wizards of the Coast.

The following information was announced at the seminar:

Keith’s first Eberron novel, City of Towers, will be released in February 2005

The “Eberron Preview” Flash movie was shown again; it contained art from the Eberron Campaign Setting Book and concept images not used in ECS.

A slide show was displayed, including images from announced Eberron products and novels, including cover images.

Bill discussed how Eberron was chosen. It was the 11th setting summary chosen by the council. Keith’s 100-page bible was actually 125 pages.

Some of the game material was developed around art concepts. James created the Carcass Crab from an art concept drawing.

Shadows of the Last War, Whispers of the Vampires Blade, and Grasp of the Emerald Claw tie together.

As previously reported, the Sharn: City of Towers regional sourcebook includes a bonus CD of Eberron-inspired background music.

Races of Eberron gives you new “toys” to play with, similar to other race books like Races of Stone. It covers the new races as well as entries on all the standard races in Eberron.

The War-Torn Novel Deadline Submission is August 31.

We will be seeing more and better maps for Eberron.

In regard to low-level characters after war, Keith noted that Eberron is like a pulp movie. The majority of the world doesn’t have to follow the same XP rules. They just don’t have the same potential that characters do. Keith enjoys starting PC’s in the war at 1st level, and jumping forward to the current date for their 2nd level.

When will we see more information on the Mark of Death? Bill wants to hold off on that.

What happened on the Day of Mourning will remain a secret.

What was the main inspiration for Eberron? Keith said, “I’d been spending lots of time watching pulp/noir. When the setting search came along I submitted seven ideas. What became Eberron was one I did just by having fun writing it. I was just trying to toss in all the interesting things in D&D that don’t make sense.”

Chris joked, “Keith is much easier to control then Ed Greenwood.”

What steps went into balancing the Warforged? Warforged were originally 2 races, Warforged Scout, and Warforged Warrior, originally ECL +1 and +2. Bill shot it down and wanted everything to work out of the gate and Warforged Warrior was redesigned for +0. Warforged Scout appears in Monster Manual III.

Races of Eberron has a prestige class based on the warforged embracing the living part of his ancestry, the opposite of the Warforged juggernaut that embraces the construct part.

Races of Eberron will not include new races. Eberron focuses on cultural differences within a race, not so much on separate subraces.

Races of Eberron has options for warforged to help them blend in with the other common races.

Races of Eberron has a possible origin story for the Lord of Blades. Another product (yet to be named) will have another set of different stats for him and another possible creation story. No solid stats for him will ever be posted.

Races of Eberron will include racial substitution levels. It also gives information to play Eberron races in any setting.

Atari, along with Turbine and Liquid, will be developing games along the entire Eberron lifeline.

As previously reported, the City of Stormreach in Xen’drik is the home base in D&D Online.

How difficult is it to merge Eberron to other campaign settings? James: “We wanted Eberron to be believable. There is no reason FR can’t have shifters… The Plane of Shadow has a mythical property that connects all the campaign settings (including D20 Modern).”

Why no firearms in Eberron? The goal is to keep it a fantasy world. James: “We tried to avoid crossing the line between letting magic take the place of technology and where you have telephones that use message spells. The Lightning Rail is the closest thing to an analog of modern technology.”

Keith: “Magic is science, so they aren’t looking to advance or create new techniques that aren’t magic.”

Going forward, at least one adventure a year will be produced for each line.

There will be an advancing storyline in Eberron, which will be very carefully coordinated between Wizards of the Coast's novel and RPG departments.

The climate of Xendrik is equatorial, but DMs should make it whatever they want it to be. It has suffered magical cataclysms over thousands of years.

There are artificer-based prestige classes planned.

Xendrik is meant to be mysterious, it’s a place for DM’s to use to add and create what they want.

Epic-level play is possible in Eberron. The setting was designed with challenges for all levels of play.

A Player’s Guide to Eberron, if it gets written, would include rules and options for all PC classes, and epic level options.

Bill “can’t” tell us that a book called The Five Nations may come out some time next year.

The design team claims that they are very pleased with the reception Eberron has received, financially and otherwise.

In response to a question about the biggest thing removed from the earlier drafts of Eberron, the design team answered that it had a different name. Nothing was really removed from the original one-pager, although it does have a slightly different tone.

What was added? The shifters, which came into their current form from group brainstorming.

Atari's "Virtual GenCon" Wrap-Up

Atari, publisher of the forthcoming Dragonshard real-time strategy PC game, used this year's GenCon as an opportunity to share screenshots and concept images. Here's a list of all the images shared by "atari_dm" on the official forums!

Screenshots
A massive beholder zaps some good guys
Silver Flame knights charge
Riders in the marsh
Battle in the snow

Concept Art
Baine, Silver Flame leader
Dwarven berserker
Order of the Silver Flame City
Umbragen death knight
Sunless Vault
The Underworld
Obsidian Tomb
Silver Flame rogue

For true Eberron fans, Atari's also posing the challenge of four trivia questions:

  1. What Dhakaani goblin tribe has started practicing wizardry and artifice?
  2. What uniquely valuable resources is believed to be found only on Xen'drik?
  3. Who is the current Keeper of the Flame of the Church of the Silver Flame?
  4. In what Year of the Kingdom did the drow go into hiding in Xen'drik?
Think you have the answers? E-mail dungeonmaster@atari.com and they "may just hook you up with something special..."

Dragonshards: Magewrights

In Eberron, the most skilled tradesmen in a given city are likely to be magewrights: artisans and experts who weave minor magic into their daily work. To learn more about magewrights, from augurs to wordsmiths, check out Keith Baker's latest Dragonshards column.

Magic in Eberron: Magewrights

Sunday, August 22, 2004

Gencon: Whisper of the Vampires Blade

Whisper of the Vampires Blade, the 2nd adventure in a 3 (4 if you count the adventure in the back of the ECS) part story has been released here at Gencon.

The heroes must chase a Brelish spy turned vampire across Khorvaire to Karrnath.

Also, A summary of the notes taken at the Eberron Panel have been sent to Johnny for editing and formating. I wasnt able to write everything said, but wrote down any new information I cought from the session.

Saturday, August 21, 2004

Gencon: More information on Eberron releases

More news came out of GenCon today, including several Eberron-related anouncements.

The third standalone Eberron adventure will be Grasp of the Emerald Claw by Bruce R. Cordell.

The next book in the creature-oriented line that started with Draconomicon and continues with Libris Mortis will be Codex Anathema: the Book of Aberrations. It's of particular interest to fans of Eberron, a setting where aberrations play a major role in history.

The Wizards.com catalog has updated with images of more Eberron 2005 releases, including the Races of Eberron sourcebook and the first two Eberron novels: City of Towers by Keith Baker and Marked for Death by Matt Forbeck.

Stay tuned for more, including a full GenCon report from Breland Ledger chronicler Brueklyn d'Cannith.

Gencon: Monster Manual III Released

The Monster Manual III by Wizards of the Coast was released yesterday at Gencon, nearly a month before it was scheduled to hit store shelves.

Many of the book's monster entries describe how to place the monsters in Eberron or the Forgotten Realms. Warforged and Changelings are also included in the book.

A new warforged monster from Monster Manual III

Additionally, later today is the Eberron Seminar. I'll be there taking notes to report back to you with!

Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Dragonshards: Heirs of Dhakaan

Wizards of the Coast has posted another of Keith Baker's Dragonshards articles.

Dragonshards: Heirs of Dhakaan

Of all Keith's articles so far, this provides the most new world information. It explores the ancient goblins of Khorvaire, providing details that will help DMs set them apart from generic fantasy goblins.

Monday, August 16, 2004

The Breland Ledger @ Gencon

Hi folks,

In the entry below, I posted Keith Bakers Gencon Schedule. I'd like to let you know that The Breland Ledger will also be at Gencon this year. I, Brueklen d'Cannith, will be attending Gencon. I plan to attend the Eberron Seminar, and spend some time hanging out with Keith as well.

I'll have my laptop along so I'll try my best to take notes at the Eberron Seminar so I can give you a full report from Gencon.

Keith Baker's Gencon Schedule

Keith Baker, the creator of Eberron, has graciously provided us with his Gencon Schedule for those fans who wish to meet the great man in person, ask questions, and get their books signed.

Thursday
10:00am - 12:00pm; 2:00pm - 4:00pm: WOTC Celebrity Table (Wizards of the Coast Booth)
6:00pm - Unknown: WOTC's D&D Epic Level Party

Friday
12:00pm - 2:00pm: WOTC Celebrity Table (Wizards of the Coast Booth)
2:00pm - 4:00pm: D&D 30th Anniversary Celebrity Panel Seminar
9:00pm - 11:00pm: Enworld Ennies Award Ceremony
11:00pm - Unknown: Enworld Ennies After Dinner Gathering

Saturday
10:00am - 12:00pm: Eberron Seminar
2:00pm - 4:00pm: WOTC:Celebrity Table (Wizards of the Coast Booth)

Sunday
12:00pm - 2:00pm: WOTC:Celebrity Table (Wizards of the Coast Booth)

The Wizards of the Coast Celebrity table is set up by WOTC specifically for the purpose of meeting Keith, and other WOTC Celebrity authors, to get something signed or ask questions. Aside from the Eberron Seminar, the other events listed are either an award ceremony or a casual event. Please use convention ettiquete when approaching Keith. We all agree he is a great man, but lets not overwhelm him with all of our new stories about Warforged Druids and Shifter Paladins. Unless, of course, he asks. In that case, knock 'em dead!

Saturday, August 14, 2004

Korranberg Chronicle: Issue Three

The third issue of the Korranberg Chronicle is now available! To create a more consistent, professional product and streamline production, the makers of the Chronicle have decided to offer it exclusively in PDF format, viewable using Adobe Reader.

Korranberg Chronicle #3 (full version)

Korranberg Chronicle #3 (plain version)

With 16 pages of all-new content, it's a must-see for any Eberron fan.

Get your (computer) game on

Here at the Breland Ledger, we cover more than just the pen-and-paper Eberron RPG. We report on stories about all Eberron licensed products. Of those, the most exciting are the two new computer games under development by Turbine and Liquid Entertainment, both published by Atari. A number of previews have been written for both games.

Dragonshard
IGN preview #1
IGN preview #2 (new!)
Gamespy preview

D&D Online
Gamespy preview #1
Gamespy preview #2
Gamespy roundtable interview
IGN interview
CVG preview

For breaking news on Eberron: the

Stratics is a side dedicated to massively multiplayer games. At Turbine Nation, they were able to take some "shaky cam" in-game footage. It's not perfect quality, but worth a look.

For ongoing D&D Online announcements, check out the Vault Network message boards. You can also brose the official Eberron forum for posts by atari_dm, who's there to talk about both of Atari's announced Eberron games (and their other D&D titles).

Thanks to Joni-San for help with this link roundup!

New fan-created Eberron character sheet available

D&D fan Emanuele has created a great-looking new Eberron character sheet, available through his website. It's of special interest to spellcasters and psionic characters, featuring comprehensive spell lists for the core spellcasting classes, Expanded Psionics Handbook classes, and artificer.

Ema's Eberron Character Sheet (color)

Ema's Eberron Character Sheet (black & white)

Ema's Eberron Character Sheet (blank pages)

For more great RPG character sheets and GM utilities, visit emass-web.com today!

Monday, August 09, 2004

New Dragonshards Article: Intrigue and Betrayal

The Official Eberron Site has been updated with the latest Dragonshards Article; Intrigue and Betrayal.

In this article Keith Baker discusses various methods that can be used to introduce betrayal to the party, and gives varied examples so not to "burn" the party or ruin the fun.

Friday, August 06, 2004

Can't find that Eberron game?

Have you been having trouble finding someone to play Eberron with?
Are you just dying to try that Warforged Druid or Changeling Rogue?

The Breland Journals Official Chatroom, hosts online real time D&D games set in Eberron. If you're looking to join a game then join our chatroom.

Our Dungeon Masters include Nitessine, Sutekh, and Spore. If you're intrested in joining their games, inquire with them.

We are also always looking for people who wish to run more Eberron games with us. If you're intrested inquire with BrooklynKnight (aka Brueklen d'Cannith).

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

New information on D&D Online

Gamespot has posted a feature article on D&D Online based on a hands-on session with the game. Check it out for the latest gameplay information:

Gamespot's D&D Online Preview

The article also features a screenshot gallery.

Atari officially announces Dragonshard

Today Atari officially announced and revealed the title for its forthcoming PC game set in the world of Eberron. Developed by Liquid Entertainment, the game will be called Dragonshard and will belong to the real-time strategy genre, a type of game popularized by titles like Command & Conquer, Warcraft, Starcraft, and Age of Empires. A full story is available through Business Wire:

Atari partners with Liquid Entertainment, announces "Dragonshard"

The article reveals a new Eberron race, the Umbragen. They are the descendents of Xen'drik elves and possess the power to manipulate shadows for combat and defense. Centuries ago, they descended to Khyber to fight aberrations, but emerged as twisted and evil as those they fought. The article also mentions a place within Xen'drik called "the Ring of Storms" and says that players will be fighting ancient elven constructs, perhaps precursors to modern-day warforged.

For more on Liquid, visit their website. And stay tuned to the Breland Ledger for more news about the first PC game set in Eberron!

Original Art section added to the Eberron Journal

The Eberron Journal's steadily growing Lore section has a new addition, a page of fan-created, Eberron-inspired artwork:

Original Art

This gallery features art by Darren Calvert, a talented artist whose work has been published in several RPGs. Darren is currently working on a Gamma World project for White Wolf games. Perhaps one of these days we'll see his work in a future Eberron release!

Official Site updates with Swashbuckling 101

The official Eberron site has updated with a new Dragonshards article with suggestions on how to make combat in Eberron match the cinematic nature of the world. Check it out:

Swashbuckling 101: Combat

One way to make combat more exciting is to use "set pieces." To participate in a brainstorming discussion about set pieces, check out this thread on the forums.

When reading the new Dragonshards article, you may notice that the official site has been overhauled as part of the larger Wizards.com redesign and now features a helpful introduction to Eberron for new players. If you're new to Eberron, you might also want to take a look at thus unofficial FAQ for Eberron newbies.

Monday, August 02, 2004

Official Site updates with Cosmology and Calendar Tool

The official Eberron website has been updated with a very comprehensive, automated, Cosmology/Calendar Calculator.

The primary function of this tool is to determine the alignment of the various planes on any given calender year.

Special thanks goes out to WizO_Mark for posting this at the official forum.