Eberron or something else?

[Fulmen]

Hey, I am planning on purchasing a few core rulebooks soon and I need some opinions. I will be picking up 3 books, DnD Player's Handbook 3.5 (been using a not so legit pdf version of the book for awhile now), Warhammer (love the different way it presents characters and character creation), and something else. I am think possibly Eberron or maybe a Whitewolf book or something. Has anyone played in the Eberron Universe yet? If so how does it play compared to Forgotten Realms? Also if anyone feels that there is a certain corebook that I "must have" please tell me what it is and tell me how it plays. If you don't prefer Eberron how about some of the Whitewolf stuff? it seems to be pretty popular. Would you reccomend Werewolf, Vampire, or something else they have?

Pretty much, I need a 3rd rulebook. Tell me what is good, why you think it is good, and how it plays. Thanks!

[LynMars]

I like Eberron; it's different. I played a bit until work kept me from playing, and my GM was a little wacky. Action Dice change a bit of the dynamic from normal DnD games; make it a little more swashbuckley, a bit more like d20 Modern or Future. The setting is rich and well-detailed, and allows for many alternate rules, like psionics if you allow such things (I personal like that option myself, and have played a Kalashtar Psion for the campaign, to test. Not bad at all). Plenty of choices available, and lots of room for adventure. :)

I like the d20 Modern and d20 Future rules; they work very well for what they're made for. I don't like forcing settings made with other rules into the d20 mold, but I do like using those rules for what they're already made for. Tends to work better that way.

[Fulmen]

Well, after looking into some WoD stuff it appears that the latest additions of WoD, Werewolf, and Vampire have taken some bad turns as far as veterans are concerned. I think I will stay away from that for now.

I noticed that the new Shadowrun 4th Edition recently came out. Has anyone played it? Is it worth picking up? Looks like right now I will end up buying either 4th Edition Shadowrun or Eberron.

I won't be making this purchase until about a week from now though. Does anyone have any other systems that they like that I should know about? As a side note, please do not bring BESM into this thread (not a big anime fan, don't think I could get into the book). Also, I don't really want to buy the exalted book either. I am open to suggestions for anything else though.

[BigRedRod]

I noticed that the new Shadowrun 4th Edition recently came out.
That one managed to slip under the radar. I kept hearing bits and pieces about it but I assumed there would be lots of talk when it actually was released. How very strange

Eberron is a pretty swish setting. Some people say it is the same as FR, those people are idiots so you can safely ignore their opinions. If you have a root around the WotC site you should find enough previews to get you a decent taste of the setting. The one major complaint is that they kept all of the standard races in play when most of them are no longer needed given the new ones.

[Fulmen]

Reason Shadowrun 4th has "slipped under the radar" is because it comes out this month, but it isn't out yet. Mistake on my part.

Anyway, the only real downside I see about buying Eberron really is that I am wanting to get some diversity for each of the three books. I am getting DnD and Warhammer, which has a completely different character creation/progression system and a deadlier world. If I get Eberron I think it may be too much of the same as what I will be getting with DnD, while if I buy other systems it give me the diversity that I want.

While Eberron seems good and I will likely want to play a campaign in that world I think it may be one of those "buy it when you need it" books. If I want to play an Eberron game I can buy that book and easily jump into the world, where as if I wanted to play say a Shadowrun, WoD, pretty much any different system it would take a few days to review the rules, and maybe even a little longer to get comfortable with the system.

So, I think I may put Eberron to the side for now and focus on something a little more diverse or unique from the DnD setting. Right now Shadowrun is the leader, but I would love to hear from people about other systems that they enjoy.

[Lando The Archmagi]

that there is a certain corebook that I "must have" please tell me what it is and tell me how it plays. If you don't prefer Eberron how about some of the Whitewolf stuff? it seems to be pretty popular. Would you reccomend Werewolf, Vampire, or something else they have? Pretty much, I need a 3rd rulebook. Tell me what is good, why you think it is good, and how it plays. Thanks!

Having started with Greyhawk, and gone through Krynn, Al-Qadium, Darksun, Kara-Tur/FR with D&D I can say its all upto you where you want to go if you go with Eberron, my brother in law bought it and he seemed to like it, but I got 5 D&D worlds so I don't need another. However, if you want something not D&D, but still Sword and Sorcery, nothing beats Conan. The Pocket Conan is the best buy option. See my PBP game here and check out for yourself.

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com

I shall be running the second chapter of my Conan game at Dragon*Con 2005 in a few weeks.

I also recommend OGL Wild West or Sidewinder:Recoiled if you want that Wild West/OGL flavor. (both good)

The original Storyteller games are still fun, I preferred Werewolf and Mage, Mage being my favorite of them. You can likely find one of those discounted somewhere since they're out of print now.

As for other games, just ask, I got about 30 or so in my library, will give you straight up on them. I've never played Warhammer, so can't give you any insight on that one.

[LynMars]

If I get Eberron I think it may be too much of the same as what I will be getting with DnD, while if I buy other systems it give me the diversity that I want.

Eberron is a DnD supplement; you need the DnD core books to play/run it, anyway. None of those setting books stand alone; DnD, you can make your own setting with the core rules, or use one of the setting books, like Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, or Eberron. They just add more detailed setting info, and more rules particular to that world.

I played an old version of Warhammer, but it was a short game and a long time ago. It was fun, and not too difficult, but I don't know enough to really say much. I've never enjoyed the tone of Shadowrun, though the setting is interesting, and the rules good. Just....something about that game doesn't mesh well with me, I guess.

[Omar]

Concerning White Wolf stuff, don't go soley off of what the oWoD players say. Alot of them are bitter about their gamelines ending, or they are looking at the new games as new versions of Masquerade/Apocalypse; they're not, they're entirely different games. I stumbled into White Wolf after the nWoD was released, and I think Requiem and Forsaken are both amazing. There are alot of oWoD vets that like them too. Only problem is, to play either one, you need to have the WoD rulebook, so that's two books you have to buy. The WoD corebook is mostly rules, but there's some good setting and flavor stuff in there as well, especially the intro fiction.