A Source of Inspiration 

Disclaimer: Eberron is property of Wizards of the Coast. I am not an employee of Wizards of the Coast, and any answers given here are in no way sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast. This is NOT official material, and may be contradicted in future Eberron sourcebooks or articles. My answers are in this forum my opinions and reflect how I might run a situation in MY personal campaign – nothing more.  

July 27, 2006

My last two segments were spawned by a single question, concerning the impact the Dreaming Dark could have on a campaign. Along the way, I've received a number of narrower questions relating to the Quori. Trust me – starting next time, we'll move on from Quori! Until then, don't forget to send in questions!

What will accomplish the turning of the age?  This seems like a good Epic-Level Psionic Campaign goal.

For those who don't understand the question, this refers to the transformation of the Quor Tarai – the cycle that will transform Dal Quor from the realm of the Dreaming Dark into the Great Light.

Honestly? It's not something that is supposed to be forced. The Kalashtar have been working at it for 1,800 years, and their belief is that is something that simply will occur naturally, given time… that they simply need to survive, continue their devotions, and do what they can to make sure that the Dreaming Dark doesn't somehow derail the process. Essentially, think of the cycle as a great clock. When it strikes twelve, the world changes. The Dreaming Dark is trying to find some way to stop the clock… but all the kalashtar need to do is make sure it keeps on moving.

With that said, if you're running an epic-level psionic campaign, you could decide that there's some way to speed up the clock. However, this would be a remarkable discovery – remember, the kalashtar have been fighting this war for centuries! One possibility is that there is a clue or a tool to be found in the ruins of Xen'drik. The Quori-giant conflict was based around the Quori of the last age seeking to stop the last turn of the age; as such, there may be knowledge hidden in Xen'drik that could provide new insight about process of the turning.

Another possibility is that the PCs, working with the kalashtar, determine that the Quor Tarai should already have changed… but that it is being held at bay by the network of monoliths the Quori have built across Reidra. Essentially, they've already lost – but the monoliths are acting as a life-support system for the Dreaming Dark. While you could have a "Hop around and destroy every monolith" steeplechase across Riedra, that seems a little unlikely to me; I'd be more inclined to have a campaign that ends with the PCs having to go to Dal Quor itself and somehow sever the connection to the monolith network on that end. Of course, that might mean that the PCs will be trapped in Dal Quor when the change occurs… what will this do to them?

Despite these suggestions, I personally wouldn't turn the age. The Dreaming Dark and the Quori are really intended to be long-term villains; while they are fighting for the survival of their race, they think that they still have a century or two to work with, allowing the subtle, long-term actions I've discussed before. If the age is about to turn, it should provoke them to more direct, panicky action. Furthermore, if the age DOES turn, then what? In theory, all the Quori spirits will be drawn back to Riedra and reshaped. What will become of the Kalashtar? What will happen to Riedra, when the spirits guiding the Inspired vanish? You could decide that the kalashtar maintain a connection with the new spirit, but the kalashtar themselves think there's a good chance they will just be pulled back into Dal Quor and completely reborn, as spirits with no connection to Eberron. Furthermore, the kalashtar believe that the rise of il-Yannah will be reflected by a great age of light on Eberron itself. Do you want to explore that? Will the Lords of Dust and other evil forces somehow be hindered?

Lots of possibilities, but it would be a significant change to the world – so I'd make sure you're ready for the consequences before starting the campaign!


What happened to Taratai?  Is she drifting aimlessly in the ethereal plane?

This is covered on page 67 of Races of Eberron. Like the cause of the Mourning, this is a question we have intentionally chosen not to answer, and I do not expect you to ever see an official answer to this; we want you to be able to make your own decision. For those who don't know, Taratai was the leader of the rebel Quori who created the first kalashtar. All her kalashtar hosts were destroyed. Most likely, her spirit was drawn back into the Dreaming Dark and reborn in a new (and most likely evil) form. But it is possible that she escaped this fate, and could somehow be found and returned to Eberron.


Would the characters need to visit Dolurrh, the Realm of the Dead and contact the human spirits of Taratai's former hosts?

The thing about Dolurrh is that it wipes away memories. Some believe that once the memories are wiped away, the spirit itself moves on – either being reincarnated or transitioning to a higher plane (the latter being a theory favored by followers of the Sovereign Host who like to believe that there is a pleasant afterlife with the Sovereigns somewhere out there). Whatever the truth, a thousand years in Dolurrh would wipe away the memories of a former host.

However, if a former host had been killed with a Keeper's Fang weapon (ECS page 266), it might be trapped in the Lair of the Keeper (ECS page 162); if it could be recovered from this place, it would still have memories intact.

Just what are those headdresses/crests the kalashtar wear?

The odd accoutrements worn by both kalashtar and Inspired are crafted from a substance called sentira. This is a psiactive material that is essentially solidified emotion. It is shaped by thought and has a texture similar to horn or shell. Sentira objects possess a psychic resonance that Inspired and kalashtar find comforting, and the material also serves as an ideal foundation for many psionic items.
 

Do they have a name?

The horned sentira headdresses often seen on quori-influenced characters are called pela, as in "sentira pela". 
 

Are there magical versions with plusses to something or other?

While you could enchant them, you're more likely to find them with embedded psionic abilities. You remember psicrowns from the Expanded Psionic Handbook? Bingo. At the DM's discretion, a pela could also serve the same function as a crystal mask, even though it doesn't fully cover the face. And there are others with lesser embedded effects.

Secrets of Sarlona - coming out in 2007 – will go into more detail about Inspired/kalashtar fashions, customs, and tools.


My question is about the Quori Creation Forges, published in Secrets of Xen'drik. We all know that the Quori are inclined to use psionic powers, so I found it a little bit odd that the forges they used to create the Quorcrafted Warforged were arcane in origin. What's the explanation for this?

The specific sections you're referring to were written by the esteemed designer Jason Buhlman, and I can't tell you exactly what his thoughts were on the matter. However, there's a few ways to answer the question.

• The creation forge is described as "pulsing with arcane power". However, it is essentially an artifact-level eldritch machine – an item which by its nature transcends the normal rules. A high level wizard can't simply decide to build a Quori creation forge, or for that matter a Quorcraft warforged (or a normal warforged). As such, a Quori creation forge may very well combine arcane and psionic power.  
• Tied to this: the Quori of the present day don't use arcane magic much. But the Quori of the previous age are a complete unknown. While it's safe to assume they had some knack for psionics based on the general theory that Dal Quorr is a natural source of psychic power and inspiration, the previous Quori may very well have had a gift for arcane magic the modern Quori never developed.
• Another possibility is that the Quori stole the warforged design from the giants – that the "Quori" creation forges were originally created by giant wizards, before being captured and converted to Quori use.

At the end of the day, the origin of the warforged is really in your hands. While Secrets of Xen'drik suggests that the Quori created the first model of warforged, the many differences between Quorcraft warforged and modern warforged prove that someone (The giants? House Cannith? A currently unknown force?) made significant advances in the design over the centuries. If you don't like the idea that the Quorcraft warforged were the first warforged, change it. Xen'drik is a mystery – and it's always possible that this is just one more misleading legend.