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Secrets of Sarlona
"Secrets of Sarlona" explores the continent of Sarlona and gives players and Dungeon Masters their first real glimpse inside the empire of Riedra. The book delves into the mysteries of Adar and presents new options available to Sarlonan characters.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2007
About the author
Keith Baker
73 books195 followersI've been interested in games since I first fell under the sinister influence of the Dungeons & Dragons boxed set, back in sixth grade. Over the last few decades I have managed to turn gaming from a hobby into a career. Here is a list of the highlights of my life as a game designer. If you have any questions, let me know!
From 1994-2002, I fell into the computer games industry. My first job was with Magnet Interactive Studios, in Washington DC. Sadly, Magnet never managed to hit the big time as a game developer. I worked on a number of projects during my stay at Magnet; for a time I was lead designer on a game called BLUESTAR, a position that was held at other times by such roleplaying luminaries as Ken Rolston and Zeb Cook. However, the only work that ever saw the light of day was some level design on the abstract arcade game Icebreaker.
Magnet began a slow implosion in 1996, and along with a number of other people I went to work for a Colorado company called VR1. I started as lead designer on VR-1 Crossroads, a text-based MUD centered on warring conspiracies – The X-Files meets Illuminati, with a world of dreams thrown in for good measure. When VR1 decided to move away from text games, I started work on a graphical MMORPG based on the pulp serials. After a few twists and turns, the project ended up being known as Lost Continents. But early in 2002 I decided that I'd had enough of the computer games industry and left VR1 to focus on writing. Then in June of 2002, Wizards of the Coast announced their Fantasy Setting Search, and I thought: What about pulp fantasy? And the rest is history. . .
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
From 1994-2002, I fell into the computer games industry. My first job was with Magnet Interactive Studios, in Washington DC. Sadly, Magnet never managed to hit the big time as a game developer. I worked on a number of projects during my stay at Magnet; for a time I was lead designer on a game called BLUESTAR, a position that was held at other times by such roleplaying luminaries as Ken Rolston and Zeb Cook. However, the only work that ever saw the light of day was some level design on the abstract arcade game Icebreaker.
Magnet began a slow implosion in 1996, and along with a number of other people I went to work for a Colorado company called VR1. I started as lead designer on VR-1 Crossroads, a text-based MUD centered on warring conspiracies – The X-Files meets Illuminati, with a world of dreams thrown in for good measure. When VR1 decided to move away from text games, I started work on a graphical MMORPG based on the pulp serials. After a few twists and turns, the project ended up being known as Lost Continents. But early in 2002 I decided that I'd had enough of the computer games industry and left VR1 to focus on writing. Then in June of 2002, Wizards of the Coast announced their Fantasy Setting Search, and I thought: What about pulp fantasy? And the rest is history. . .
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 27, 2017
Sarlona is a continent on the D&D campaign world of Eberron, written originally for the 3.5 edition of that game. It draws heavily on the psionics system of that game. Translating over to the newer editions would be difficult at best.
Sarlona is the Asia to Khorvaire's Europe. Yet like the main parts of the Eberron world these are not historical cultures lightly dressed up and dropped into a fantasy world. As one example the continent is dominated by an empire ruled by incorporeal beings from another plane who manifest inside specially bred and trained nobles called the Chosen. They use giant towers to keep the the population in line by controlling their dreams. They even send out Public Service Announcements in dream form. Everyone has the exact same dreams. The dreams tell you that you are happy and fulfilled in your service to the state and the Chosen.
The background is helpful for running campaigns in the rest of the world of Eberron, or as a visit to an exotic locale. It would be difficult to set an entire campaign there, but that is my ambition. I really appreciate the world building and the originality of this supplement.
Sarlona is the Asia to Khorvaire's Europe. Yet like the main parts of the Eberron world these are not historical cultures lightly dressed up and dropped into a fantasy world. As one example the continent is dominated by an empire ruled by incorporeal beings from another plane who manifest inside specially bred and trained nobles called the Chosen. They use giant towers to keep the the population in line by controlling their dreams. They even send out Public Service Announcements in dream form. Everyone has the exact same dreams. The dreams tell you that you are happy and fulfilled in your service to the state and the Chosen.
The background is helpful for running campaigns in the rest of the world of Eberron, or as a visit to an exotic locale. It would be difficult to set an entire campaign there, but that is my ambition. I really appreciate the world building and the originality of this supplement.
May 30, 2012
Stuff I Read D&D Edition – Secrets of Sarlona
Ah, the good thing about overtime is the money that comes with it, which is why I have been getting more Eberron books. The latest is Secrets of Sarlona, a book that explores the large and rather sinister continent of Sarlona. Unlike the Secrets of Xen’drik book that I reviewed earlier, though, this book deals with the concretes of that continent. Sarlona is not the blank slate that Xen’drik is, though the book does leave a lot of space for DMs to play. In reality the book reminds me a lot of the Oriental Adventures in 3.0, because the culture of Sarlona is one based on discipline and obedience to those in charge, in this case the Quori who work through the Inspired. And really it is that aspect of the continent that defines everything else, as unlike Khorvaire the continent is basically all unified under one nation, Riedra. This does not mean that politics are nonexistent, however. Instead, it means that Riedra and the Inspired dominate this setting, making Sarlona an interesting place to visit, though I’m not sure I’d want to live there.
Indeed, the possibilities for running a campaign in Sarlona seems more limited to the party being set against the Quori, though this might just be my experience. The general populace is far too controlled to make ideal PCs, especially given that PCs tend to hate to play controlled characters. Resistance fighters are more likely, or outside agents drawn into the continent seem more likely, and the book certainly plays more to that than having a party of loyal Riedrans. That said, it does provide the necessary tools to do so, and a few ideas might be mined to make a workable campaign. Really the biggest draw to Sarlona is getting an even bigger canvas to work with when used in the context of the larger Eberron system. It also expands the role of psionics and the Quori, two aspects that I personally find very interesting. The way in which the Quori operate is very calculating, and while the book takes steps to not spell out everything, to leave a few options for the DM to make, like how involved the Quori are in maintaining the border regions or the extent they are involved in overseeing the resistance movements against themselves. But these options are all rather heavily implied in one direction.
I suppose it attempts to keep a bit of the mystery, in the same way that the Eberron Campaign Setting gives options and clues about similar aspects that the DM must ultimately decide. And unlike the other supplements I have read, this book operates much more as just an extension of the Eberron Campaign Setting, offering more areas, races, and story ideas within a defined area. As such it feels complete but incredibly whole. And perhaps that doesn’t make any sense, but I mean to say that the continent seems most interesting only when combined with the Khorvaire. Or, rather, it doesn’t feel like it completely stands on its own. It is a supplement, after all, and seems to work best as a sort of new area, a place to take a campaign. It seems more powerful and rather more devious than other areas, and so it just seems like a setting that invites progression to. Not that it cannot handle original campaigns or anything like that, but that it was not originally conceived as such and it shows.
And I feel a little bad in saying so because I greatly enjoyed reading about the ins and outs of Sarlona. But it just doesn’t carry the feeling that a campaign started there would have the momentum or impact because of the pervasiveness of Riedra. Like the setting would require an outside force to make change, because Riedra is so in control that groups forming there are almost doomed before they begin. Only by breaking that wall of isolation does it seem like a campaign would have a sense of importance or potency. Again, not that it cannot happen, but that it just seems unlikely given the setting. I like the new tools presented, the new areas and politics, and I have a lot of ideas that would involve taking established campaigns to the area, or having Sarlona as the endgame for other storylines. But as its own setting I am less than convinced. That said I still give Secrets of Sarlona a 7.75/10.
Ah, the good thing about overtime is the money that comes with it, which is why I have been getting more Eberron books. The latest is Secrets of Sarlona, a book that explores the large and rather sinister continent of Sarlona. Unlike the Secrets of Xen’drik book that I reviewed earlier, though, this book deals with the concretes of that continent. Sarlona is not the blank slate that Xen’drik is, though the book does leave a lot of space for DMs to play. In reality the book reminds me a lot of the Oriental Adventures in 3.0, because the culture of Sarlona is one based on discipline and obedience to those in charge, in this case the Quori who work through the Inspired. And really it is that aspect of the continent that defines everything else, as unlike Khorvaire the continent is basically all unified under one nation, Riedra. This does not mean that politics are nonexistent, however. Instead, it means that Riedra and the Inspired dominate this setting, making Sarlona an interesting place to visit, though I’m not sure I’d want to live there.
Indeed, the possibilities for running a campaign in Sarlona seems more limited to the party being set against the Quori, though this might just be my experience. The general populace is far too controlled to make ideal PCs, especially given that PCs tend to hate to play controlled characters. Resistance fighters are more likely, or outside agents drawn into the continent seem more likely, and the book certainly plays more to that than having a party of loyal Riedrans. That said, it does provide the necessary tools to do so, and a few ideas might be mined to make a workable campaign. Really the biggest draw to Sarlona is getting an even bigger canvas to work with when used in the context of the larger Eberron system. It also expands the role of psionics and the Quori, two aspects that I personally find very interesting. The way in which the Quori operate is very calculating, and while the book takes steps to not spell out everything, to leave a few options for the DM to make, like how involved the Quori are in maintaining the border regions or the extent they are involved in overseeing the resistance movements against themselves. But these options are all rather heavily implied in one direction.
I suppose it attempts to keep a bit of the mystery, in the same way that the Eberron Campaign Setting gives options and clues about similar aspects that the DM must ultimately decide. And unlike the other supplements I have read, this book operates much more as just an extension of the Eberron Campaign Setting, offering more areas, races, and story ideas within a defined area. As such it feels complete but incredibly whole. And perhaps that doesn’t make any sense, but I mean to say that the continent seems most interesting only when combined with the Khorvaire. Or, rather, it doesn’t feel like it completely stands on its own. It is a supplement, after all, and seems to work best as a sort of new area, a place to take a campaign. It seems more powerful and rather more devious than other areas, and so it just seems like a setting that invites progression to. Not that it cannot handle original campaigns or anything like that, but that it was not originally conceived as such and it shows.
And I feel a little bad in saying so because I greatly enjoyed reading about the ins and outs of Sarlona. But it just doesn’t carry the feeling that a campaign started there would have the momentum or impact because of the pervasiveness of Riedra. Like the setting would require an outside force to make change, because Riedra is so in control that groups forming there are almost doomed before they begin. Only by breaking that wall of isolation does it seem like a campaign would have a sense of importance or potency. Again, not that it cannot happen, but that it just seems unlikely given the setting. I like the new tools presented, the new areas and politics, and I have a lot of ideas that would involve taking established campaigns to the area, or having Sarlona as the endgame for other storylines. But as its own setting I am less than convinced. That said I still give Secrets of Sarlona a 7.75/10.
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