1. If it exists in the Dungeons and Dragons game, then it has a place in Eberron.
A monster or spell or magic item from the core game may require some modification in its lore to match Eberron’s tone and overarching story, but otherwise, everything that appears in any of the Edition core rulebooks or sourcebooks has a place somewhere in Eberron. It’s a big world; there’s a place for everything.
2. Eberron possesses a very distinctive tone and attitude.
Eberron combines traditional medieval high fantasy with dark heroic fantasy and pulp noir. Alignments are only relative ages of a character or creature’s worldview and not absolute barometers of affiliation or intent. Put simply, sometimes good people do bad things and even confirmed villains might have a soft spot for puppies. It is possible to encounter an evil metallic dragon or even a good vampire. Traditionally good-aligned creatures might wind up opposed to your heroes, while well-known adherents of darkness might provide timely assistance. In Eberron, nothing is simple and nothing is as it seems.
3. Eberron is a world defined by arcane magic and technology based on magic.
Eberron is a world whose cultures developed not through the advancement of science but through the mastery of arcane magic. This reality allows the existence of certain conveniences which would be impossible in a truly medieval or Renaissance-era civilization. The magical binding and harnessing of elemental creatures make airships, elemental galleons and lightning rail transport possible. An artisan class of minor mages called magewrights uses spells to provide energy, illumination and other necessities in most of Khorvaire’s civilized towns and large cities. Advances in the creation of magic items led to everything from self-propelled farming implements to the birth of the sentient, free-willed constructs called the warforged.
4. Eberron is a world of swashbuckling adventure.
From the steaming jungles of Aerenal to the colossal ruins of the giant civilizations of Xen’drik, from the high towers of Sharn to the perfectly ordered bastion cities of the Inspired in Sarlona, Eberron is a world that presents constant opportunities for action and adventure. These adventures can and should draw heroes from one exotic location to another across multiple nations, continents and even the entire world for the most epic of journeys. Even other planes should eventually come into play.
5. The Last War has ended—for now.
The Last War, which plunged the continent of Khorvaire into a century-long conflict of enormous destruction, ended with the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold and the establishment of twelve recognized nations that succeeded to the territory of what had once been the united Kingdom of Galifar. At least publicly. This peace has held for almost two years as the campaign begins. However, the conflicts, the anger and the grief engendered by the long war remain and the new nations seek every advantage as they prepare for the inevitable new war that will eventually break out on the continent.
6. The center of civilization on Khorvaire lies in the Five Nations.
The human-dominated kingdoms of the continent of Khorvaire trace their lineage to the Kingdom of Galifar, which was made up of five distinct provinces, or nations. These were Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane. Four of these states survive in the present day as independent kingdoms; Cyre was utterly destroyed several years before the start of the campaign and was the event that essentially ended the Last War. The devastated territory that was once Cyre is now known as the Mournland. A common epithet among the peoples of Khorvaire is, “By the Five Nations!” or some version thereof. The Five Nations refers to the Kingdom of Galifar and harkens back to that empire’s legendary time of peace and prosperity when the civilization of Khorvaire advanced in leaps and bounds.
7. Eberron is a world of constant intrigue.
The war is over, and the nations of Khorvaire now try to build a new age of peace and prosperity. Ancient threats from long before the outbreak of the Last War linger, however, and the world desperately needs new heroes to take up its cause. The nations of Khorvaire compete on many levels—economic, political, diplomatic, territorial and magical—each looking to maintain or improve its current standing in the game of kings by any means short of open war. Espionage services find enormous amounts of employment across the continent. The dragonmarked houses, churches both pure and corrupt, crimelords, monster-run gangs, psionic spies, arcane universities, royal orders of knights and wizards, secret societies, sinister masterminds, dragons in disguise and a multitude of other organizations and factions jockey for position in the afterglow of the Last War. Eberron simply teems with conflict and intrigue.
8. The economy of Khorvaire is dominated by the monopoly enjoyed by the dragonmarked houses.
The great dragonmarked families are the barons of industry throughout the kingdoms of Khorvaire and beyond. Their influence transcends all the political boundaries of the continent and they remained mostly neutral during the Last War. While not technically citizens of any nation, the matriarchs and patriarchs of each house live in splendor within their enclaves and emporiums located throughout Khorvaire. These dynastic houses of economic power derive their position from the power of their dragonmarks—unique, hereditary arcane sigils that manifest on the bodies of certain individuals within a series of related families, granting them limited but very useful arcane magical abilities associated with the trade guilds their house controls.
9. Magic on Khorvaire is enhanced by the existence of dragonshards.
Ancient legends and the most common creation myths describe Eberron as a world divided into three parts: the golden ring that circles the planet above, the subterranean realm below the world’s crust and the surface of the world between. Each of these divisions of the world was tied to a great Progenitor dragon of legend—Siberys, Khyber and Eberron, respectively. Each section of the world produces crystals imbued with unusual arcane powers—dragonshards. With dragonshards, dragonmarks can be made more powerful, elementals can be controlled and bound to service and magic items of all sorts can be crafted and shaped. These shards, however, are rare and difficult to come by, making them expensive and often the goals of great quests and adventures.
10. Eberron, and indeed perhaps all of the cosmos itself, is governed by the Draconic Prophecy.
The dragons who called the continent of Argonessen home study the world around them for signs and portents. The dragons, long-lived and patient in all things compared to the “lesser races,” seek meaning in the patterns of nature they see all around them. These patterns are interpreted as part of the Prophecy, a record of things to come that has been unfolding since the days of the Creation. Many dragons spend a great deal of effort charting the movement of Eberron’s multiple moons and the stars, studying the patterns of the Dragon Above, interpreting omens and watching for signs and portents. The draconic Prophecy is as complex and as mysterious as the dragons themselves. A few among the humanoid races learn and study snippets of the huge and constantly accumulating text, but only the dragons have the time and perspective to see the Prophecy for what it truly is. There are few traditional texts containing parts of the Prophecy. Instead, the dragons believe that the world itself is a living text that carries and reveals the passages of the Prophecy to those who can see it, in the form of what is called Prophecy marks—and the dragonmarks themselves. Passages appear throughout the world, above, below, and between. Signs are revealed in the changing shape of the Ring of Siberys. Prophecy marks appear on the sides of mountains or the walls of caves, though some of these can only be read when the moons and stars are in certain alignments, or through the application and proximity of certain dragonshards. Recently, at least from a dragon’s point of view, a new canvas for dragonmarks appeared in the world: the “lesser races,” especially humans and their close demihuman kin, began to manifest dragonmarks about three thousand years ago.
The appearance of dragonmarks among the humanoid races led to much debate among the dragons. For whatever reason, the Prophecy apparently has decided to reveal a portion of itself through humans and their related races. What is the nature of the Prophecy that so consumes the dragons of Eberron? Much is ambiguous or open to many different interpretations, even among the dragons. The Prophecy hints at events of doom that will overtake the world as often as its passage can be used to push the world towards a more exalted future. Most scholars believe that the ultimate purpose of the Prophecy is transformation, rather than destruction or perfection. Beyond that, the prophecy remains an alien, mysterious and ultimately fundamental force in the lives of every living thing on Eberron and the rest of its cosmos.
Note: The information on this page was taken whole cloth from The Grand History of Eberron (found in the Useful Links page, and edited for clarity). Use of this material does not construe a challenge to either Keith Baker, Wizards of the Coast, or Christopher J. Monte who compiled and edited all of the information together from a dozen sources. The information is placed here for ease of access to my players. -B