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K -BCitadel of Xoriat, contains secrets that weren t meant to be revealed for centuries. By reading it now, you are shifting the focus of the maze of reality and destroying the world

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  • Keith-Baker.com

    CreditsLead Designer: Keith BakerAdditional Designers: Will Brolley, Laura Hirsbrunner,

    Wayne ChangGoblin Language Consultants: Don Bassingthwaite,

    Jarrod Taylor

    Editor: Laura HirsbrunnerSensitivity Readers: Gabriel Hicks, Anne Gregersen,

    Imogen Gingell

    Art Director: Wayne ChangLayout Designer: Laura HirsbrunnerGraphic Designers: Cody Faulk, Darrin Scott

    Cover Illustrator: Thomas BourdonCartographer: Marco “MA4PS” BernardiniInterior Illustrators: Benjamin Hubel, Carolina Cesario,

    Dante Ezio Cifaldi, David Auden Nash, Ekaterina Yastrubetskaya, James Austin, Juho Huttunen, Júlio Azevedo, Katerina Poliakova, Kelly Brown, Kristóf Köteles, Laura Hirsbrunner, Luca Bancone, Lucas Bonatto Guerrini, Marco “MA4PS” Bernardini, Mariana Suarez Otero, Matthew Riley, Olie Boldador, Simon Zhong, Vincentius Matthew

    Additional Illustrators: Bob Greyvenstein, Bruno Balixa, Dean Spencer, Forrest Imel, Juan Diego Dianderas, Marin Iurii, Storn Cook, Tithi Luadthong, Wren Hunter, additional art courtesy of Wizards of the Coast

    Producer: Wayne Chang

    Playtesters: Alex D’Amico, Andrew Bishkinskyi, Anne Gregersen, Colin Marriott, Dorius Alyre ir’Korran, Imogen Gingell, Jarrod Taylor, Joseph Meehan, Kristian Serrano, Patrick Dunning, Sadie Lowry, Steve Fidler, Tim Hirsbrunner

    Special Thanks from Keith: Thanks to Jennifer Ellis for her endless inspiration, and to Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins, Bill Slavicsek, James Wyatt, and the many others who made Eberron the world it is today.

    Special Thanks from Wayne: Thanks to all the friends and fans, your enthusiasm along this journey was scintillating! Thank you, most of all, to Abigail, Gabriel, and Joanne, patiently waiting for their father and husband to return from the depths of Eberron.

    Disclaimer: Linear time is an illusion. This book, published in the Unseen Citadel of Xoriat, contains secrets that weren’t meant to be revealed for centuries. By reading it now, you are shifting the focus of the maze of reality and destroying the world that could have been. That future is a banana that will now remain unpeeled.

    ON THE COVERWith the aid of Droaam's enigmatic Daughters of Sora Kell, the bold adventurers known as the Badgers have opened a portal to Dal Quor—an achievement long thought to be impossible. Can the artificer Dela d’Cannith master the dream-lost Orb of Dol Azur before her comrades are overwhelmed by du’ulora and tsucora quori? This scene is brought to life by Thomas Bourdon.

    Spells marked with XGE are available in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.

    First Printing: July 2020. PDF Version: 1.04.

    DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.

    This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

    All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by KB Presents and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

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  • ContentsPreface ............................................................................ 5Chapter 1: Discovering Eberron................................. 7Ages Past ......................................................................................7

    The Dawn of Creation ...........................................................7The Age of Demons ...............................................................7The Age of Giants ..................................................................8The Age of Monsters .............................................................9

    Recent History ...........................................................................10The War of the Mark ...........................................................12The Kingdom of Galifar ......................................................12The Silver Crusade ..............................................................13Untold History ......................................................................13

    Cyre: Before the Mourning ......................................................14The Last War .............................................................................18Magic in the World ....................................................................25Artificers: Invention and Innovation ......................................29Chapter 2: Races of Eberron ..................................... 33Changelings .................................................................................33Elves of Aerenal ..........................................................................36Kalashtar ......................................................................................40Shifters .........................................................................................43Warforged ....................................................................................45Chapter 3: Faiths of Eberron .................................... 49The Role of the Divine ..............................................................49The Silver Flame ........................................................................52The Blood of Vol .........................................................................57Sovereigns and Six ....................................................................60The Cults of the Dragon Below ..............................................66Unusual Faith ............................................................................74Aasimar .......................................................................................76Chapter 4: Uncharted Domains ................................ 81Droaam .......................................................................................81

    Droaamish History ..............................................................81What Defines Droaam? .......................................................83The Denizens of Droaam ...................................................87The Daughters of Sora Kell ...............................................90The Gnolls of the Znir Pact................................................93

    The Heirs of Dhakaan ..............................................................96Goblin History ......................................................................97What Defines the Dhakaani? .............................................99The Kech Dhakaan ........................................................... 101

    Goblin Glossary ...................................................................... 110The Mror Holds ...................................................................... 112

    Mror History ...................................................................... 112What Defines the Mror? ................................................... 114The Realm Below ............................................................. 116The Ruling Clans .............................................................. 121

    The Thunder Sea .................................................................... 127Open Waters ...................................................................... 127The Eternal Dominion: Sahuagin ................................. 131Karakala: Merfolk ............................................................. 136The Valraean Protectorate: Sea Elves .......................... 138Aboleths: The Darkest Depths ....................................... 141

    Chapter 5: Planes of Existence ...............................143Eberron and Its Planes ......................................................... 143

    About the Planes ............................................................... 143The Material Plane ........................................................... 145The Astral and Ethereal Planes ..................................... 146

    Khyber: The Worlds within the World ................................ 147Daanvi: The Perfect Order ................................................... 149Dal Quor: The Region of Dreams ........................................ 153Dolurrh: The Realm of the Dead ......................................... 156

    Concerning Resurrection ................................................ 159Fernia: The Sea of Flame ..................................................... 161Irian: The Eternal Dawn ....................................................... 165Kythri: The Churning Chaos ................................................ 169Lamannia: The Twilight Forest ............................................ 173Mabar: The Endless Night .................................................... 177Risia: The Plain of Ice ........................................................... 182Shavarath: The Eternal Battleground ................................ 185Syrania: The Azure Sky ........................................................ 189Thelanis: The Faerie Court .................................................. 194Xoriat: The Realm of Madness ............................................ 199Chapter 6: Character Options .................................205Backgrounds ........................................................................... 205

    Changeling Traveler ......................................................... 205Dhakaani Goblinoids ....................................................... 207Malenti ................................................................................ 207

    Races ........................................................................................ 208Aasimar .............................................................................. 208Aereni Elves ....................................................................... 209Ruinbound Dwarves ......................................................... 209Dhakaani Ghaal’dar (Hobgoblins) .................................. 210Dhakaani Golin’dar (Goblins) ......................................... 211Dhakaani Guul’dar (Bugbears) ....................................... 211Gnolls.................................................................................. 211

    Racial Feats............................................................................. 212Class Options .......................................................................... 214

    Artificer: Forge Adept ....................................................... 214Artificer: Maverick ........................................................... 215Artificer Infusions ............................................................. 215Bard: College of the Dirge Singer .................................. 216Cleric: The Mind Domain ................................................ 217Druid: Circle of the Forged ............................................. 217Monk: Way of the Living Weapon .................................. 218

    Chapter 7: Treasures ................................................221Common Magic Items ........................................................... 221Dhakaani Magic Items .......................................................... 222Dragonmarks .......................................................................... 224

    Dragonmark Focus Items ................................................ 224Siberys Dragonmarks ...................................................... 227

    Miscellaneous Magic Items .................................................. 229Symbionts ............................................................................... 230Chapter 8: Friends and Foes ...................................233Daelkyr ..................................................................................... 233

    Valaara ................................................................................ 234Fey Rulers ............................................................................... 236

    The Forest Queen ............................................................. 236The Forgotten Prince ....................................................... 239

    Meld .......................................................................................... 242Merfolk ..................................................................................... 243

    Merfolk Stormcaller ......................................................... 243Quori ........................................................................................ 244

    Du’ulora Quori ................................................................... 245Sahuagin ................................................................................. 246

    Claw of Sha’argon ............................................................. 246Plasmid .............................................................................. 246

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    Preface

    Wizards of the Coast announced the Fantasy Setting Search in 2002: a call for a new world for Dungeons & Dragons. They received thousands of entries, including my world—which would ultimately become Eberron. I worked with James Wyatt, Bill

    Slavicsek, Christopher Perkins, and many more to develop my original idea into Eberron as you know it today.

    I’m extremely proud of the world we’ve created. However, there are elements I love that I’ve never had the opportunity to explore in an official book. When first designing the world, I included aquatic nations—considering the civilizations that the merfolk, sahuagin, and other intelligent undersea species might build. We developed a unique system of planes for Eberron, something with a very different flavor than the well-established Great Wheel. We presented the idea of a proud empire of goblinoids that ruled Khorvaire long before humanity arrived. But there are only so many pages in any sourcebook, and these ideas had to be trimmed down—or in some cases, cut entirely—in our original Eberron Campaign Setting. The planes exist, but there was never enough space to describe them in more than a paragraph apiece, which isn’t nearly enough to understand what makes Fernia different from the Elemental Plane of Fire, or how you might set an adventure in Mabar. From canon material, we know the sahuagin exist and have ambassadors in Stormreach, but nothing is revealed about their civilizations.

    From the very beginning, I hoped that we might see a Planes of Eberron sourcebook, but it never came to pass— and when Eberron returned in the fourth and fifth editions of D&D, sourcebooks needed to prioritize the key foundations of the setting, and didn’t have space to explore these hidden corners. So while I’ve always had dreams of Droaam and the planes in my head, Eberron is the intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast, and only they could publish new Eberron material. That all changed in 2018, when Wizards of the Coast worked with me to create the Wayfinder’s Guide to Eberron, a PDF supplement released on the Dungeon Masters Guild website . . . and with that release, they made it possible, for the first time in Eberron’s history, for anyone to create new content for Eberron through the Dungeon Masters Guild. The next year, in creating Eberron: Rising from the Last War—the official fifth-edition hardcover—the design team expanded on the story of the Mror dwarves. But once again, there wasn’t enough room to focus on their conflict with the daelkyr and the mystery of the Realm Below.

    That’s where Wayne Chang, who works with me on the podcast Manifest Zone, entered the picture. Together, we sketched out a plan for a book that delves into many of the topics I’ve always wanted to explore—the planes, the Dhakaani, and undersea nations—as well as a few more recent developments, like the Mror. And so, this book was born!

    As it turns out, writing a book of this size is a tremendous amount of work. Laura Hirsbrunner accomplished herculean tasks as both editor and layout designer, while Will Brolley developed immersive monsters, magic items, archetypes, and more. Since working in a vacuum is a good way to die of asphyxiation, I’m incredibly grateful to Laura, Wayne, and Will for being a constant source of feedback and inspiration.

    We also worked with a host of artists to develop original art for this book. From Katerina Poliakova's wonderful portrait of Tira Miron, which opens chapter 3, to Marco Bernardini's amazing planar map with its miniature views of every plane, it's been thrilling to see these unexplored aspects of the world come to life. In some instances, to convey a concept to an artist, I put my own limited artistic skills to work. Below is my first draft of a sahuagin city built around one of the slumbering kar'lassa—and in chapter 4, you can see how Vincentius Matthew made sense of my sketch!

    I’d be remiss if I didn’t also call out the community of Eberron players, DMs, and creators who are all keeping Eberron alive—including our excellent playtesters! And, of course, my brilliant wife, creative partner, and co-founder of Twogether Studios, Jennifer Ellis—who is always willing to have a conversation about undercover shark people or tourist attractions on the Plane of Peace.

    Before I lay this book before you, one disclaimer: This is a vision of Eberron as I run it at my table. You’ll find a few details that don’t align with previous sourcebooks; it’s up to you to decide which to use. But remember that there’s always a third option: using your answer. From the beginning, nearly two decades ago now—when we chose not to present the cause of the Mourning or reveal the powers of the Mark of Death—we wanted Eberron to inspire players and Dungeon Masters, not to limit them. This is a book of ideas for you to build upon—and some, you might even ignore. This presents my Eberron, but I’m always thrilled to see people making the world their own.

    And now—Eberron awaits!

    Keith Baker, creator of Eberron

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  • Chapter 1: DisCovering eberron

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    You think it’s safe?” The crackling arcs of energy wreathing the elemental engine cast a pale blue light across the plat-form. Dela smiled back at him. “It’s perfectly safe, Rev. Haven’t you been on a lightning rail

    before? What you see there is just a secondary manifestation—”“Not that.” The warforged soldier’s voice was deep and

    solemn, like a heavy drum. “This task. The mountains. The island. The journey into dreams. Rusty says it’s impossible.”

    “Just because something's never been done doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It just means it’s a problem I’ve never tried to solve. But safe? No, it’s definitely not safe.” She reached up, resting her hand on his steel shoulder. “That’s why I’m bringing you.”

    Rev gave a single, slow nod. A series of clicks emanated from his right arm, a sound quite familiar to Dela; the warforged was testing his embedded armblade, preparing it for release.

    Eberron is a world shaped by the rise and fall of great ancient civilizations. It’s a setting scarred by the impact of the Last War and defined by the ongoing evolution of magic and artifice. What were the weapons of the Last War? How is magic a part of everyday life in the Five Nations? What events of the distant past could play a role in the present day?

    Ages PAstThe present is shaped by the past. The shadow of the Last War hangs over Khorvaire, setting the stage for conflicts ahead. But Khorvaire also bears the marks of struggles far more ancient. The goblins in Sharn’s slums are descended from the founders of a mighty empire, and they rightfully feel that humanity stole their homeland. The purging of lycanthropes early in the ninth century strains relations between humanity and shifters. The Church of the Silver Flame was founded at the end of the third century, but it's simply the latest manifestation of a conflict that began at the dawn of time—a battle still fought in the shadows by the fiendish Lords of Dust and the dragons of the Chamber.

    Eberron: Rising from the Last War touches briefly on Eberron's history, but a detailed accounting of the world's hundred-thousand-year recorded history could easily fill an entire book. This section provides an overview of ancient history, focusing on aspects that are particularly relevant to adventurers—presenting echoes of each era that can be seen in the present day and suggesting story elements that could inspire modern adventures.

    the DAwn of CreAtionPeriod: Dates unknownBefore history began, legend holds . . .• The three Progenitor dragons created the planes.• In a cosmic quarrel, Khyber destroyed Siberys. Eberron then

    bound Khyber within her own body, forming the world.No one knows what came before the world’s creation. In some accounts, Xoriat once encompassed everything; some cults of the Dragon Below assert that the daelkyr are simply trying to restore the original balance of reality. Others contend that there was nothing before creation—that the Progenitors descended

    from a higher level of reality, the same unknowable realm that lies above and beyond Dolurrh. But almost all cultures agree on the forces that brought reality into existence.

    Three beings wove the planes into existence, then used these concepts as the foundation of the Material Plane. The giants assert that these three beings were some form of titan, but the common interpretation is that of the Progenitor Wyrms: three vast, cosmic dragons. Regardless, the tale ends in conflict. After completing the creation of the Material Plane, Khyber struck without warning and tore Siberys apart, leaving his remnants drifting in the golden Ring of Siberys around the world.

    Knowing she couldn’t defeat Khyber, Eberron coiled around her, becoming the world itself and binding Khyber within a living prison that holds to this day. Thus, the world as we know it is made from the intersection of Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber: the Dragon Above, the Dragon Between, and the Dragon Below.

    While this tale is known to all, some traditions give it more weight than others. In the Five Nations, most consider it a simple metaphor for sky, earth, and the monsters that lurk below. Even those who consider it literal truth (as do many druids) don’t worship the Progenitors in the same way as they might the Sovereign Host. Siberys is dead, and Eberron is the world itself; she’s the source of all life, but doesn’t actively intervene in any way. However, a few cults (notably among the kobolds of Khorvaire) do worship the Progenitors directly.

    Whether literal truth or metaphor, the battle of these mighty Progenitors took place in the distant past. Its impact upon the present is most importantly this: that there is a present. As this act of creation brought all things into existence, scholars of Khorvaire have yet to find any relics or records of this time before time. If a story involved an object from a deeper past, it would likely possess vast power and be of tremendous scholarly interest.

    The Age of DemonsPeriod: More than 100,000 years agoDuring the Age of Demons, myths tell us . . .• Eberron was dominated by the overlords, thirty archfiends

    who shaped reality to their will.• Champions, later known as the Sovereign Host, fought the

    overlords with an alliance of dragons and couatl.• The sacrifice of the couatl bound the overlords with a force

    that formed the Silver Flame.According to the Progenitor myth, Eberron became the world and all natural creatures are her children. But in the first days of the world, the children of Khyber—fiends, aberrations, and other monsters—rose up from the darkness and claimed dominion over the world. The greatest among these were the overlords, immortal archfiends embodying the evils that plague mortals. Each overlord shaped the world to match their whims, and no civilization could challenge them. It was a time of chaos that lasted for untold millennia.

    The Age of Demons came to an end after an extended war between the overlords and a legendary group of champions—now known as the Sovereign Host. Believed by some to be dragons, by others, gods—or perhaps something else entirely—these rebels raised an army of dragons allied with the couatl, native celestials said to embody the last light of Siberys. As the immortal overlords couldn’t be destroyed, countless couatl sacrificed themselves, their spirits combining into a prison of

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    Chapter 1 | DisCovering eberron

    pure celestial energy that could bind the overlords. Even today, the overlords remain bound and the world protected from immense evil by this force, now known as the Silver Flame.

    Why Does It Matter?The Age of Demons ended a hundred thousand years ago, long before the foundation of any civilization that exists today. But the time lingers in myth and continues to shape modern life. It’s commonly believed that the deities of the Sovereign Host walked the world during this time and physically battled the overlords. However, many scholars assert that these myths are actually based on the deeds of heroic dragons—for example, the myths of the Sovereign Aureon might be inspired by the deeds of a dragon named Ourelonastrix. It’s up to the DM to decide the truth, but it could be possible for adventurers to find places or relics tied to the Sovereigns from this age. You might find the lance Dol Arrah used when battling Katashka the Gatekeeper, or the site where she and Dol Dorn flayed the Mockery for his treachery. Whether tied to gods or dragons, these sites and relics still hold power.

    While the overlords may have been defeated, they cannot be destroyed. Each overlord is bound in a Khyber dragonshard and held in its prison by the power of the Silver Flame. Though bound, an overlord can influence the world in the region around its prison . . . and there’s no official list of all of the overlords or where they are bound. So if a story calls for a region where the restless dead rise and prey on the living, this could be the prison of Katashka the Gatekeeper. If a region is suddenly overcome by ice and snow, perhaps the shard-prison of Dral Khatuur has been brought there.

    Each overlord can only be freed if a particular passage of the Draconic Prophecy comes to pass. The fiends known as the Lords of Dust work to discover and enact these prophecies, while the dragons of the Chamber try to stop them. Both sides frequently use mortals as pawns, so adventurers can easily find themselves caught up in these schemes. As they reach higher levels, adventurers might even become active participants in this struggle instead of mere pawns. Though few mortals are aware of it, this is a constant cold war that determines the fate of the world.

    Dungeons from the Age of Demons are rare, few surviving the passage of time. Any remaining sites would be infused with fiendish or celestial power. A vault created by the couatl could hold a deadly artifact tied to an overlord. An obsidian fortress might be imbued with Rak Tulkhesh’s power, and people who settle there are consumed by homicidal rage. One of the best documented sites is Ashtakala, an ancient city in the heart of the Demon Wastes said to be the sanctuary of the Lords of Dust.

    CharaCter IDeasThough the overlords are bound and the Sovereigns no longer walk the earth, consider these ways your character might be caught up in their legendary struggle:• You have a dragonshard embedded in your flesh, the

    source of some of your class abilities (e.g. warlock magic or barbarian rage). This is a sliver of an overlord’s prison. How did it come to be a part of you? Do the Lords of Dust want to take it from you, or are you destined to become an avatar for an overlord?

    • You possess an object your parents swore once belonged to a Sovereign. Currently it has no magical powers, but perhaps there’s some way to activate its potential.

    • You were born in the Demon Wastes and spent your life battling fiends. Have you traveled south pursuing a particular fiend? Or do you follow visions granted by the Silver Flame?

    The Age of giAnTsPeriod: 80,000–40,000 years agoDuring the Age of Giants, scholars describe how . . .• Giant nations in Xen’drik unlocked secrets of arcane magic

    still unmatched in the modern age.• The giants fought the inhabitants of Dal Quor, ending the

    conflict by destroying a moon and thereby breaking Dal Quor’s link to Eberron.

    • The giants threatened to crush an elvish rebellion with dangerous epic magics, prompting the dragons to step in, utterly destroying Xen’drik and cursing the land.

    In the wake of the Age of Demons, the dragons were the most powerful force in Eberron. Some dragons helped guide lesser creatures, including the giants of Xen’drik, in their mastery of arcane magic. As the dragons’ increasing dominion caused a surge in the Daughter of Khyber’s power (see chapter 3), the dragons were forced to withdraw to isolation in Argonnessen. They remain there to this day, in hopes of preventing her power from increasing further.

    Multiple nations of giants arose on Xen’drik. The Sulat League specialized in elemental binding and magebreeding. They created the drow as living weapons to deal with rebellious elves, and it’s thought that fire giants are remnants of the Sulat. The Group of Eleven was an alliance of eleven city-states, each led by a powerful empyrean mage. Their diverse culture valued internal and external competition, believing it drove evolution. The Cul’sir Dominion was ruled by mighty empyreans and sought to dominate all reality. They explored the planes as well as the world; it’s not known whether the Cul’sir attacked Dal Quor or whether the quori of the time sought to invade Eberron, but the two powers fought an extended war. The giants ended the conflict by destroying one of the moons of Eberron with cataclysmic magic, damaging the planar connection between Dal Quor and the world. Since then, the quori have been unable to physically travel to Eberron, and there are no longer any manifest zones to Dal Quor.

    These actions had devastating repercussions for giant civilization. In the upheaval, many Cul’sir subjects used the opportunity to rebel, but the largest uprising was that of the elves—both those oppressed by the Cul’sir, and warrior elves who had never been conquered by the giants. When the Cul’sir threatened to draw on their most dangerous magics once more to destroy the elves, the dragons emerged in force from Argonnessen. They utterly devastated the civilizations of Xen’drik, giant and otherwise, then laid curses on the land that are beyond the comprehension of the modern age. To this day, the scourge of the land prevents any advanced civilization from rising again. The Traveler’s Curse warps space and makes travel in Xen’drik unreliable. The curse known as the Du’rashka Tul—“the madness of crowds”—causes civilizations that become too advanced or widespread to collapse into madness. Draconic curses are believed the reason the giants devolved from mighty titans into hill giants and the other giants known today. The full extent of these draconic curses is unknown, but the impact is unmistakable.

    Why Does iT MATTer?The curses laid on Xen’drik mean that the entire continent is in essence a vast dungeon, a land that can never be fully mapped or explored. The giants mastered secrets of arcane magic as yet unmatched by humanity or even by the elves, and as such Xen’drik is a source for powerful artifacts, spells, and eldritch

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