Eberron

Eberron's two best genres are pulp and noir. Pulp involves swashbuckling heroes engaged in dramatic conflicts with dastardly villains in larger than life adventures. Noir is the shades of gray, where heroes make difficult choices, it's unclear who the real villain is, and victory comes with a question mark.   Khorvaire, the primary continent of the setting, has turned arcane magic into a science. Eberron is not a steampunk setting with gunpowder and electricity. Instead, it is an arcanepunk setting. Wandslingers roam the Q'barran frontier, dueling at high noon. Low-level utility magic is common and improves the lives of the many, including Lighting Rails powered by Lighting Elementals and even Air Ships, new to Eberron, that are powered by imprisoned Air Elementals. High-level magic and archmages are extraordinarily rare and still maintain their mysticism and wonder, for all their study of it magic is still a great mystery to even the greatest of minds at the best universities.   The Last War, a hundred year-long war that has forever fundamentally changed the political (and geographical) nature of Khorvaire, has ended - sort of. Two years ago, twelve nations came together to sign the Thronehold accords to end a war that had lasted a century. Still, tensions are high as the only thing that brought them together is the fear of a second Mourning, a magical disaster that completely wiped the country of Cyre off the map. Who, or what, had the power to destroy a whole nation in a matter of hours, and could they do it again?   Meanwhile, even dragons and demons conspire amongst themselves and through the lives of the lesser races. The creation of the world came with mystic secrets wrapped into every crevice. The demons and dragons each seek to manipulate and control the prophecy, setting in motion schemes that may take centuries.   The dragon prophecy is perhaps most obviously seen in the Dragonmarks, which grant powerful abilities to those who wield it. Twelve lines of common races - humans, dwarves, elves, halflings, gnomes, half-orcs and half-elves - bear mystic symbols granting innate arcane power. Over the millennia houses which are made up of these individual lineages have grown to dominate industry, providing licensing and training while pushing out competition. Players will often not just walk into a random tavern - they walk into a Golden Dragon Inn run by House Ghallanda. Fueling them are Dragonshards. Imbued with mystic power, these natural resources fuel the arcane advancements of Khorvaire. Alleged to be the crystallized blood of progenitors, Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber shards can be difficult and dangerous to acquire but come with great reward.