The D&D book I’m most excited for has finally broken cover, and honestly? I still can’t believe that publisher Wizards of the Coast doesn’t do more with the setting.
Sure, I’m excited for July’s Dragon Delves and its anthology of one shot adventures. The upcoming Forgotten Realms books are a welcome return to one of the most popular fantasy worlds around too (if that isn’t ringing a bell, it’s where Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place). But none of these projects has fired up my imagination as much as Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, due to arrive in August. If you ask me, this is the most interesting setting D&D has in a library overflowing with cool ideas – and I doubt many players outside of longtime fans know it exists.
If you’ve not encountered Eberron before, it’s a radical departure from garden-variety swords ‘n’ sorcery. This is a steampunk world of airships, mystical trains, magical guns, and pulpy, noir action. Rather than your usual tomb robbing, it’s more likely to have you solving crimes as a jaded private detective… who also happens to be a clockwork robot. You’d be hard pressed to find a cooler, more distinctive universe amongst the best tabletop RPGs. Particularly because it introduced the Artificer class, an expert tinkerer who can make robotic companions or the medieval equivalent of Iron Man armor.
Honestly, it’s freakin’ awesome and is entirely my jam.
That’s why I’m so excited it’s getting an encore this year via Forge of the Artificer. Besides bringing the (very underrated) Artificer class in line with D&D’s new 2024 rules, it allows you to furnish your games with a host of new backgrounds, species, feats, bastions, and magic items. It also provides a framework for creating adventures based on three distinct genres – noir, political thriller, and pulp adventure.
Honestly, my only complaint is that it isn’t a bigger project. Eberron hasn’t had much fuss made over it in the 10 years that Fifth Edition has graced our shelves, not in the grand scheme of things. That’s a scandal in my eyes. Yes, I know we got Rising from the Last War (which provided an overview of the world) in 2019. But we haven’t had a fully-fledged Fifth Edition adventure for that setting yet, unlike almost every other universe in the D&D book library.
Because it’s such a rich vein to mine, I can’t fathom why. From its skyscraper-filled city of Sharn to a haunted, off-limits country that was swallowed during the Last War, Eberron is home to countless inspiring scenarios begging to be messed with. It’s entirely unlike anything else in D&D’s repertoire.
Forge of the Artificer will scratch that itch, but not fully. With that in mind, I hope this is just the start of Eberron’s comeback.
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