Eberron FAQ 10/7/2010: Pronunciation, the Planes, and things I can’t answer!

I’m playing a character from Eston. How would he pronounce Cyre & what is a citizen of Cyre called?

People from Cyre are called Cyrans. As for the pronunciation, the stance we’ve always taken is that there is no official pronunciation; it’s entirely regional, just like “Missouri” or “tomato” in our world. I personally pronounce Cyre “SEER-ee” (and its citizens “SEER-ans”); I’ve heard it “SIGH-ur”, “KYE-ur”, and “SEER”, and in my opinion those are all valid pronunciations somewhere in the world. With that said, you may already be aware of that and be asking “OK, it’s regional – what’s the regional dialect of Eston?” I’ve never personally nailed it down at that level. So the short form is that he’d pronounce Cyre the way YOU pronounce Cyre – and anyone who pronounces it differently than you clearly isn’t from Eston.

I see Khorvaire’s climates, geography, and history more like North America’s than Europe’s. Was that by design?

We weren’t trying to mirror any terrestrial continent or culture too closely. There’s places that are certainly inspired by historical sources, but usually there’s a blend involved; the Dhakaani have a touch of Rome, a touch of feudal Japan, and unique flavor of their own with their Dirge Singers and tri-racial caste system. In any case, no: we weren’t intentionally modeling Khorvaire on North America.

I’d like to know about the political tensions between Aundair and the Eldeen Reaches and the villagers there.

And I’d love to tell you, but that’s really a broader subject than I can address in this format (and for free – I do need to eat!). Let the DDI people know you want to see an Eldeen article!

Also, is it possible for a Dark Lantern paragon path for the Eberron setting?

Perhaps, though it’s also something that would be better addressed on DDI. I will note that the recent D&D Essentials playtest version of the Executioner Assassin is the first 4E thing I’ve seen that I’ve felt would work well for Thorn (who was originally written as a 3.5 assassin). It needs some tweaking for her particular “utility abilities”, but it’s definitely a good foundation.

How do you recommend keeping the world relevant when PCs become planar travelers?

Honestly, my problem is usually the reverse: How do you make the planes relevant when the PCs become planar travelers?

The nature of Eberron is that the planes don’t have much interest or regular traffic with the world. The war on Shavarath is a symbol as much as anything else; it’s been fought forever and it will be fought forever. The meditating angels of Syrania have no interest in traffic with mortals. Xoriat and Dal Quor may pose threats to Eberron, but you can’t defeat the Dreaming Dark by going to Dal Quor and killing il-Lashtavar; in a very real sense, il-Lashtavar is Dal Quor. The Quori themselves are immortal on their home plane; kill them and their spirits will eventually spawn again from the heart of il-Lashtavar. It might be a place for a key skirmish (as in The Gates of Night), but by and large a war with the Dreaming Dark is something that’s going to be resolved by dealing with its forces on Eberron, not by heading out to the planes. Likewise, Eberron isn’t threatened by Orcus or Tiamat reaching out from outer planes. Instead, the overlords – Tiamat included – are on Eberron. The daelkyr are on Eberron. The Dreaming Dark threatens the world due to its foothold on Eberron.

So the planes may be an interesting side trip, but it’s not the case that you reach a certain level and suddenly it’s all about fighting evil gods on other planes – because in Eberron, the overlords are ON EBERRON. The demons you’re going to be fighting are the demons born of Khyber, because the ones on Shavarath couldn’t care less about you. Even looking to Xoriat, the forces that care about destroying Eberron are already on it; what remains in Xoriat are the Azazathothic entities who may be far more powerful than the daelkyr, but have no interest in the material world.

So in my opinion, the planes aren’t a long-term destination for high-level players. Instead, they are interesting side treks. They are places you might go to find a piece of knowledge you need, to acquire some form of magic or ritual that doesn’t exist in Eberron, to gain some unique boon or temporary aid. If you look to Babylon 5, you can think of the planes as being like Vorlon space. Perhaps at some point you’ll need their help to challenge the Shadows. But at the end, what matters is what the Shadows are doing in HUMAN territory; the show doesn’t suddenly shift focus to Vorlon space just because the heroes have reached a point where they can negotiate with the Vorlons. You may go to the planes to acquire a tool or an ally – but it’s the fate of Eberron that’s the issue, and that’s always going to be driven by Eberron.

It may be that the question you’re really asking is “What plotlines can support an epic-level campaign in Eberron?” If that’s the case, ask again and I’ll address that point. But you can certainly have an epic arc on Eberron without abandoning it for the planes.

As a side note, because it’s not always clear: In Eberron, demons come in different flavors. If you want to use a vrock in Eberron, you can do it without going to Shavarath. There ARE vrocks in the demon armies of Shavarath, but there are also vrocks in the Demon Wastes; these creatures are Khyber-spawned, part of the armies that clashed with dragons and couatl in the dawn of time. Rakshasa are the most common fiends of Eberron, but any demon or devil COULD be spawned by Khyber if that suits the needs of the story. The fiends of Shavarath are first and foremost symbols of war. The balors of Fernia are embodiments of fire – of the chaotic nature and destructive power of fire. It’s the balor of Khyber that will come closer to the traditional “demon” motivation… because in Eberron, the mightiest fiendish overlords are right here. While the balor of Fernia and balor of Khyber would be mechanically identical, there are physical differences, and an Arcana check providing basic creature knowledge will tell you the origin of the creature.

Got questions? Post them here or @ them to HellcowKeith on Twitter. And as a reminder, if you haven’t already done it, please take a moment to fill out the novel survey at the middle right of the official D&D page. The fate of Eberron is definitely uncertain, and if you want to see more Eberron novels in the future – or any sort of strong Eberron support – it’s vital to show WotC that there is an interested audience.