Review by C.J. Bunce
The latest from Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of the Coast arrived over the holidays–Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, available with standard cover here or gameshop cover here, a different kind of sourcebook for the 5th Edition. It’s a “rules expansion,” which basically means it’s an addendum to an earlier sourcebook and adventure from 2020: Eberron: Rising from the Last War, still in print and available here at Amazon. The new sourcebook claims you don’t need the earlier book to run a campaign, but it relies on so much of it that it seems like it would be difficult without it.
It all revolves around the Artificer, a class updated in this volume to jibe with the 2024 rules update. The vibe leans into steampunk and noir, and this expansion makes some of its components available outside the Eberron setting.
At 112 pages this is one of D&D’s leaner options. It does provide more than just the underlying sourcebook, so if you liked the Eberron setting and want more then this is for you. It provides four revised Artificer subclasses (Alchemist, Armorer, Artillerist, and Battlesmith) and one new subclass–the Cartographer–able to unlock five spells and a magical atlas.
The five revised species are shape-shifting Changelings, human and spirit hybrid Kalashtar, half-elf Khoravar, lycan Shifters, and the Warforged, a sort of cyborg combination being of sentient wood and metal. You’ll also find 18 backgrounds and 28 feats.
The most interesting feature of the book is the updates to Dragonmarks. Before, Dragonmarks were species-specific, but now they are feats in their own new category. In addition to the Dragonmarks feats, thirteen new General feats represent greater Dragonmarks, while another increases its potency. Plus there is one new Epic Boon: the Boon of Siberys, which can be used for different purposes. But the key new element is the ability for any species to take a Dragonmark feat and manifest a dragonmark.
Chapters explain new spells, bastions, and nine magic items, as well as three different campaign models with guidance for building fantasy noir, political thriller, and high-adventure campaigns in the Eberron setting. Steampunk fans won’t want to miss the chapter on airships.
To round it out the book introduces twenty new monsters, each inspired by a campaign model.
The standard cover features artwork by Michael Broussard, with the gameshop cover created by Patrick Gañas.
For any roleplayer looking to take the Eberron setting in new directions, check out Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, available now at Amazon with standard cover here or gameshop cover here.
