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| + | /* À Compléter */ | ||
| + | ====== Dolurrh ====== | ||
| + | <WRAP box bggreen fgblack 350px left :en> | ||
| + | {{dolurrh_crest.png}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | <panel type=" | ||
| + | ^ Alias | Le Royaume Des Morts | | ||
| + | ^ Alignement | Non aligné | | ||
| + | ^ Particularité | Intemporel \\ Forte Gravité | | ||
| + | ^ Magie entravée | Toute forme de magie | | ||
| + | ^ Limitrophe | 1 an tout les 100 ans | | ||
| + | ^ Éloigné | 1 an tout les 100 ans | | ||
| + | </ | ||
| + | {{dolurrh_voute_memoire.jpg}} | ||
| + | ** Dolurrh le royaume des morts ** est une terre grise désolée où les âmes mortelles vont après la mort. Ce n'est pas une récompense, | ||
| + | |||
| + | ======Description====== | ||
| + | Dolurrh est le royaume des morts d' | ||
| + | |||
| + | Quand on meurt, son âme se rend à Dolurrh. Cependant, il est possible d' | ||
| + | |||
| + | Bien que ce soit le royaume des morts, Dolurrh n'est pas la maison du [[Le Geôlier|Geôlier]], | ||
| + | |||
| + | Parce que les murs entre Éberron et Dolurrh sont plus minces que les autres avions, il est possible de puiser dans leurs énergies. Le dragon [[Arstyvrax]] utilise les énergies de Dolurrh pour alimenter ses recherches nécromantiques | ||
| + | |||
| + | Bien que la plupart des âmes se rendent dans le royaume des morts, certaines ne le font pas. Les âmes promis à la [[Flamme d' | ||
| + | |||
| + | ======Habitants====== | ||
| + | |||
| + | * Les habitants les plus peuplés de Dolurrh sont les ** [[Démon]]s ** et les ** [[Diable]]s **, y compris les ** deathdrinker **, les ** lemure **, les ** nalfeshnee **, et les ** sorrowsworn **. | ||
| + | * Alors que la plupart des [[Inévitables]] viennent de [[Daanvi]], les ** [[Inévitables# | ||
| + | |||
| + | ======Zone De Manifestations====== | ||
| + | * Le ** [[Gouffre des échos oubliés]] ** dans la vallée des deux montagnes des [[Falaises des Ombres]] abrite une Zone De Manifestation de Dolurrh. | ||
| + | * La ** [[Récolte de la douleur]] **, une friche foudroyante sur le continent de [[Argonnessen]], | ||
| + | * Dans [[Q' | ||
| + | * ** [[l_antre_du_geolier]] ** dans [[Les Désolations Démoniaques]] est une puissante Zone De Manifestation de Dolurrh. | ||
| + | * Beaucoup pensent que les fantômes qui sortent des eaux noires du ** [[Lac Noir]] ** dans [[Karrnath]] le font à cause d'une Zone De Manifestation de Dolurrh. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ======Effets sur le plan matériel====== | ||
| + | =====Limitrophe===== | ||
| + | Lorsque Dolurrh devient limitrophe, les frontières entre les deux plans deviennent minces. Les fantômes et autres créations de Dolurrh passent facilement dans le Monde d' | ||
| + | |||
| + | =====Distant===== | ||
| + | Lorsque Dolurrh est éloigné, les sorts de résurrection ne fonctionnent plus. Dolurrh est éloigné pendant une période d'un an tous les siècles, précisément cinquante ans après chaque phase de Limitrophe. | ||
| + | {{dolurrhs.jpg? | ||
| + | <ifauth @admin>< | ||
| + | |||
| + | Endless caverns stretch throughout Dolurrh, bleak passages of gray stone. Wherever you go, shadowy figures reach towards you, imploring, but you feel only the faintest chill as their insubstantial fingers pass through you. Mist pools around your feet, and as you press forward you realize this swirling mist is moaning. This is no natural phenomenon; these are the remnants of souls who have forgotten their original form. This is Dolurrh, where mortal souls go after their bodies die, where memories fade and lives are forgotten. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Mortal spirits are drawn to Dolurrh within moments of death, and their memories begin to decay immediately. Within days, most spirits no longer have any desire to leave Dolurrh; within weeks, most only have the faintest memories of their previous lives. The faiths of Aerenal and the Blood of Vol assert that Dolurrh is the absolute end of existence, the last echoes of a life before it is gone completely. But when Dorius Alyre ir’Korran drew his classic planar map he used the octogram symbol of the Sovereign Host to represent Dolurrh, because he declared it to be the door through which all mortals must pass to join with the Sovereigns. This has come to be a common view: what appears to be memory fading is actually the soul slowly ascending to a higher form of existence, rising to a level of reality no mortal can experience. The vassals of the Sovereign Host say the faithful finally join the Sovereigns; followers of the Silver Flame say that noble souls strengthen the Flame. What is left behind is a husk—the cast-off remnants, like an abandoned snakeskin or the traces of memory that can be read using speak with dead. Thus, while Dolurrh has long been known as the Realm of the Dead, there are many who call it The Gateway. Ultimately, this is a matter of faith. Whether the other side of Dolurrh is oblivion or paradise, no one ever returns from it. | ||
| + | |||
| + | All living creatures will come to Dolurrh, sooner or later. Those that come here before death are almost always looking for something: a lost soul, a forgotten memory. But living or dead, any who come to Dolurrh can be trapped by its power. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Des cavernes sans fin s' | ||
| + | |||
| + | Les esprits mortels sont attirés par Dolurrh dans les instants de la mort, et leurs souvenirs commencent à se décomposer immédiatement. En quelques jours, la plupart des esprits n'ont plus aucun désir de quitter Dolurrh; en quelques semaines, la plupart n'ont que les souvenirs les plus faibles de leurs vies antérieures. Les croyances d' | ||
| + | |||
| + | Toutes les créatures vivantes viendront à Dolurrh, tôt ou tard. Ceux qui viennent ici avant la mort cherchent presque toujours quelque chose: une âme perdue, un souvenir oublié. Mais vivants ou morts, tous ceux qui viennent à Dolurrh peuvent être piégés par son pouvoir. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Universal Traits | ||
| + | Everything about Dolurrh is gray and gloomy. Even the brightest colors seem faded, the most joyful sounds seem dull. The heavy weight weight of ennui settles on travelers the moment they arrive, making even the simplest tasks feel challenging. And there is a constant pull, tugging on memory and emotion, a desire to just sit down and let it all go. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Eternal Ennui. When you enter Dolurrh, you immediately gain one level of ennui (described below). This cannot be removed by rest or any other effect. It is immediately removed when you leave Dolurrh. | ||
| + | Impeded Magic. In order to cast a spell of 1st level or higher in Dolurrh, you must succeed on a spellcasting ability check with a DC equal to 10 + the level of the spell. On a failed check, the spell is not cast and its spell slot is not expended, but the action is lost. | ||
| + | Timeless. Time passes on Dolurrh at the same rate as on Eberron. But creatures on Dolurrh don’t age, and do not need to eat, sleep, or drink. Other natural processes may be delayed, though living creatures can benefit from resting normally and can suffer damage and die. | ||
| + | Inevitable Entrapment. Every time you complete a short or long rest, you must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. If you fail, you gain one level of ennui. Each time you make this saving throw, the difficulty increases by 1. If you don’t complete a rest over the course of a 24 hour period, you must make this saving throw at dawn. | ||
| + | Ennui reflects the soul-sapping power of Dolurrh. It’s gained in levels, and duplicates the effects of exhaustion. However, it affects all creatures, including undead and other creatures immune to exhaustion. Ennui saps motion and memory. When a creature reaches six levels of ennui, its will is completely broken and it can take no purposeful action; if this happens to a living creature, its physical body dies and it becomes a husk bound to Dolurrh. Ennui is separate from exhaustion, and levels don’t stack. If a creature has both ennui and exhaustion, use which has more levels to determine the effects. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Undead cannot recover from ennui while in Dolurrh. If a living creature completes a long rest and succeeds on the saving throw against Inevitable Entrapment by 5 or more, they reduce their ennui level by 1. Creatures native to Dolurrh are immune to Eternal Ennui and Inevitable Entrapment, but still have to deal with the effects of Impeded Magic. | ||
| + | |||
| + | LAYERS OF DOLURRH | ||
| + | Dolurrh is universally gray and gloomy. All layers that have been described in the accounts of explorers have appeared to be underground; | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Catacombs | ||
| + | Tunnels are carved into gray stone. In some places they are painfully tight; in others they widen into grand halls, with ceilings lost in the darkness. The dead are everywhere, shades pleading for release and husks keening in the shadows. Some chambers contain vast wells filled with moaning mist; in others nalfeshnee herd shades into pens or scrape lemures off the walls. There is no particular logic to it, just endless tunnels. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Catacombs may be larger than Khorvaire, or even Eberron. A mortal could wander forever through these winding tunnels, or at least until they are consumed by ennui. However, there are junction points that transcend the logic of distance. If one knows the right symbols to follow, they can cross the vastness of the Catacombs quickly or pass to other layers. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Kennel | ||
| + | All the mortals born on Eberron are bound to Dolurrh, but like spirits are drawn together. The Catacombs holds the spirits of dead humanoids. The Kennel is similar in appearance, but it contains the shades and husks of beasts and monstrosities. Here you’ll hear the howls of fading wolf spirits, and see flocks of spectral birds flying through grand halls… along with larger and more fierce creatures. Beast spirits rarely linger long in Dolurrh, as most have fewer memories to erase. | ||
| + | |||
| + | It’s possible that the Queen of the Dead has created special servants that wander these halls, just as she has made the shadar-kai; adventurers could be questioned by a clever raven with the soul of a poet. But nalfeshnee and maruts can be found here as well as in the Catacombs. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Crucible | ||
| + | In the Crucible, the immortal spirit known as the Smith of Souls refines the essence of faded spirits and creates things out of this husksteel. The Smith forges the armor and weapons of the shadar-kai, and creates the maruts from the husks of brave souls. She also creates smaller and stranger items from husksteel. This is a comparatively small layer, but it is still a grand foundry, tended by shadar-kai and guarded by newly-forged maruts. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Smith wears a mask of black steel and an apron that seems to be made from dragonhide. When forging maruts she is a giant; when crafting tiny trinkets she appears to be a gnome. It’s possible that she collects the memories of mortal artisans, and can replicate their works at her forge. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Vault of Memories | ||
| + | The heart of Dolurrh is the Vault of Memories. It’s a tower carved up through gray stone, larger than any of the great towers of Sharn. The lowest levels are the Library. Here, the spirit known as the Librarian interviews each shade and makes a record of its life. The power of the Librarian is such that an entire life can be confined to a single large page. Every sigil inscribed holds a crucial memory; a character proficient in Arcana can read the symbol to experience that memory. The many floors of the library hold countless books of preserved lives, carefully tended by shadar-kai scribes. The Librarian himself is a massive hooded figure, and his books are enormous. It’s said that he can be many places at once, which is how he is able to speak to every shade before it fades. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In the halls above the library, the Queen of the Dead keeps her many treasures. What seem to be obsidian statues are actually shades, crystallized to prevent them from fading into husks. Paintings and crystals contain memories that the Queen has chosen to isolate. Beyond these are countless trinkets and oddities, items collected by her shadar-kai over the vast scope of history. And higher still are the chambers of the Queen herself, where she usually sits in silent contemplation listening to the whispers of the countless shades in her domain. | ||
| + | |||
| + | MANIFESTATIONS OF DOLURRH | ||
| + | Here are a few of the ways Dolurrh can affect the Material Plane. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Manifest Zones | ||
| + | Manifest zones tied to Dolurrh rarely possess the full properties of the plane. But they are close to the Realm of the Dead, and that means they are almost always haunted. Shadows may move in strange ways, and travelers may hear whispers they can’t quite make out. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Restless spirits yearn to return to the Material Plane, and it’s easier for them to do so in Dolurrhi zones. Sometimes they manifest as ghosts. Other times they’ll animate the corpses of people buried in the zone; these creatures are effectively zombies, but may display unusual intelligence as they seek to resolve their unfinished business. Raising the dead can be dangerous in a Dolurrhi zone; there’s a chance that the wrong spirit will be returned to the body! | ||
| + | |||
| + | While these are negative traits, Dolurrhi zones can have positive effects. In many zones it is easier to return people from the dead; you only have to spend half the usual material components when casting such a spell. In others, anyone can cast speak with dead as a ritual; this takes an hour to perform, and the caster must have the corpse they wish to speak with and a personal connection to the deceased. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The most dramatic manifest zones are those that serve as gateways to the Catacombs of Dolurrh. Opening such a gateway might require a special ritual, a significant sacrifice, an alignment involving the moon Aryth, or all of the above. It might only work if Dolurrh is coterminous. But under the right circumstances, | ||
| + | |||
| + | Coterminous and Remote | ||
| + | As with any plane, Dolurrh can become coterminous or remote when it serves the needs of a story. It has has a slow planar cycle, and becomes coterminous for a full year once every century. Fifty years after that, it is remote for a full year. Shorter phases are tied to the movements of the moon Aryth. | ||
| + | |||
| + | While Dolurrh is coterminous, | ||
| + | |||
| + | While Dolurrh is remote, no form of magic that restores life to the dead—including revivify or reincarnate—will function. The only way to restore life to the dead in these times is by directly traveling to Dolurrh and pulling the shade back to the world. Ghosts are also especially common in this time. But these aren’t ghosts that return from Dolurrh; rather, if Dolurrh is remote when people die in the grip of great emotion or with vital unfinished business, their spirits can more easily resist Dolurrh’s pull. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Dolurrhi Visitors | ||
| + | The most common types of visitors from Dolurrh have already been discussed. A marut may show up in response to resurrection. Ghosts may drag their way back into the world. And the shadar-kai—or other revenant servants of the Queen of the Dead—may come to the world pursuing her enigmatic missions. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Dolurrhi Artifacts | ||
| + | The most common Dolurrhi artifacts are the creations of the Smith of Shadows. These are formed of husksteel, the fused essence of faded souls. Depending on the nature of the object, it could be crafted from a single spirit—a dagger whose edge is forged from a single moment of pain—or from the emotional residue of multiple husks. Despite the name, husksteel can appear as dark metal, slick black leather, dark iridescent cloth, or other substances. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In creating a husksteel object, consider the memory or emotion that is the heart of the item. For a magic item, this should reflect its purpose; a husksteel cloak of elvenkind could be formed from a secret. A husksteel variation on a dagger of venom might be formed from a moment of absolute terror; when its power is invoked, the victim struck by the dagger must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or take 2d10 psychic damage and be frightened of the wielder for 1 minute. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Other husksteel items are largely curiosities. Adventurers could find a monocle that shows the last thing seen by a dead man, or a journal containing poems written by a celebrated poet—after they died. | ||
| + | |||
| + | CONCERNING RESURRECTION | ||
| + | Returning life to the dead is not a reliable service in Eberron. There are many characters who are capable of casting the necessary spells, from clerics to adepts of House Brunet. But just because it can be cast doesn’t mean that it should be cast… or that it will work if it does. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The first and simplest limitation is time. The longer a spirit remains in Dolurrh, the more it falls under the sway of ennui. Any spell that returns life to the dead requires the spirit to want to return. Once the shade becomes a husk, it can no longer make that decision and can’t be raised or reincarnated; | ||
| + | |||
| + | The second limitation is risk. The appearance of maruts is extraordinarily rare, but in part that’s because Brunet knows to check beforehand and won’t raise someone if there’s a risk. Essentially, | ||
| + | |||
| + | The final risk is the direct intervention of a higher power. It’s said that the Keeper can snatch souls before they reach Dolurrh. It’s up to the DM to decide if there’s any truth to this myth; the story says that such souls must be recovered from the Lair of the Keeper in the Demon Wastes. The Keeper itself may or may not be there, but it’s certainly the abode of a powerful dracolich! Alternatively, | ||
| + | |||
| + | Perhaps your augury warns you of woe. Perhaps Dolurrh is remote. There’s one way you can always bring someone to life: to go to Dolurrh, find their shade, and drag it back out to the Material Plane. All you need to do is to locate a single soul in the endless Catacombs (perhaps with the help of a native guide, the records in the Vault of Memories, or powerful divination magic) and evade the many guardians to return to the world. But if you succeed, the victim receives a new body, just as if you’d cast true resurrection; | ||
| + | |||
| + | In the Age of Giants, the Cul’sir Dominion sent an army into Dolurrh to recover the spirits of a family lost in the Quori Conflict; none returned. The Queen of the Dead doesn’t care if a shade or two are stolen every century or even every decade. But her power cannot be contested in Dolurrh, and thieves who attract her personal attention will find their shades torn from their bodies in the blink of an eye. | ||
| + | |||
| + | DOLURRHI STORIES | ||
| + | Dolurrh can inspire many simple stories through its manifest zones or escaped ghosts. A husksteel trinket could provide a flash of memory that sets the adventurers on a particular path. And finding a way to rescue a shade from the underworld is always an epic tale. Here’s a few deeper stories to consider. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Once and Future Queen of the Dead. The Queen of the Dead is an enigmatic figure who wields great power in Dolurrh. But there’s another being who uses this title: Erandis Vol, the last heir of the Mark of Death. Through her agents in the Order of the Emerald Claw and beyond, Erandis seeks to restore the power of her dragonmark; no one knows what godlike powers she might wield if she unlocks its full potential. Meanwhile, the Queen of the Dead seems to oppose Erandis, and often sends her agents—both shadar-kai and adventurers she’s restored to life at a price—to interfere with Vol’s schemes. This could be exactly what it appears. The Queen of the Dead may despise necromancers, | ||
| + | |||
| + | Agent of Death. After the adventurers kill a nefarious villain, their foe reappears alive and well. This happens time and again. How is the villain escaping from Dolurrh? Are acting as an agent for the Queen of the Dead, or have they simply found a back door to the Realm of the Dead? Either way, what can the adventurers do to lay them to rest once and for all? | ||
| + | |||
| + | Devastating Sorrow. When Dolurrh becomes coterminous, | ||
| + | |||
| + | Dolurrh: | ||
| + | The Realm | ||
| + | of the Dead | ||
| + | Endless caverns stretch | ||
| + | throughout Dolurrh, | ||
| + | bleak passages of | ||
| + | gray stone. Wherever | ||
| + | you go, shadowy | ||
| + | figures reach toward | ||
| + | you, imploring, but | ||
| + | you feel only the | ||
| + | faintest chill as their | ||
| + | insubstantial fingers | ||
| + | pass through you. | ||
| + | Mist pools around your | ||
| + | feet, and as you press | ||
| + | forward, you realize this | ||
| + | swirling mist is moaning. | ||
| + | This is no natural phenomenon; | ||
| + | these are the remnants of souls who have forgotten themselves. | ||
| + | This is Dolurrh. It’s not the embodiment of the idea of death or | ||
| + | dying, both of which are reflected in Mabar. Rather, Dolurrh is | ||
| + | where mortal souls go after their bodies die, where memories | ||
| + | fade and lives are forgotten. | ||
| + | Mortal spirits are drawn to Dolurrh within moments of death, | ||
| + | and their memories begin to decay immediately. Within days, | ||
| + | most spirits no longer have any desire to leave Dolurrh, and | ||
| + | within weeks, most only have the faintest memories of their | ||
| + | previous lives. The faiths of Aerenal and the Blood of Vol assert | ||
| + | that Dolurrh is the absolute end of existence, the last echoes of a | ||
| + | life before it’s completely gone. But when Dorius Alyre ir’Korran | ||
| + | drew his classic planar map (seen at the beginning of this book), | ||
| + | he used the Octogram symbol of the Sovereign Host to represent | ||
| + | Dolurrh, because he declared it to be the door through which all | ||
| + | mortals must pass to join with the Sovereigns. This has come | ||
| + | to be a common view: what appears to be memory fading is | ||
| + | actually the soul slowly ascending to a higher form of existence, | ||
| + | rising to a level of reality no mortal can experience. The Vassals | ||
| + | of the Sovereign Host say the faithful finally join the Sovereigns; | ||
| + | followers of the Silver Flame say that noble souls strengthen | ||
| + | the Flame. What is left is only a husk—the cast-off remnants, | ||
| + | like an abandoned snakeskin or the traces of memory that can | ||
| + | be read using speak with dead. Thus, while Dolurrh has long | ||
| + | been known as the Realm of the Dead, many call it the Gateway. | ||
| + | Ultimately, this is a matter of faith—whether the other side of | ||
| + | Dolurrh is oblivion or paradise, no one ever returns from it. | ||
| + | The sage Annolysse of Arcanix declared that Dolurrh must | ||
| + | be the thirteenth plane, for it has no opposite. It doesn’t embody | ||
| + | an idea so much as it serves a purpose—that of gathering, | ||
| + | collecting, and (perhaps) transitioning souls. Mortal actions | ||
| + | are judged in Daanvi; by contrast, Dolurrh doesn’t judge and it | ||
| + | doesn’t punish. It’s simply the end of the journey—or depending | ||
| + | how you look at it, the beginning of a new one. | ||
| + | All living creatures come to Dolurrh, sooner or later. Those | ||
| + | that come here before death are almost always looking for | ||
| + | something—a lost soul, a forgotten memory. But living or dead, | ||
| + | any who come to Dolurrh can be trapped by its power. | ||
| + | Universal Properties | ||
| + | Everything about Dolurrh is gray and gloomy. Even the | ||
| + | brightest colors seem faded, the most joyful sounds seem dull. | ||
| + | The heavy weight of ennui settles on travelers the moment | ||
| + | they arrive, making even the simplest tasks feel challenging. | ||
| + | And there’s a constant pull, tugging on memory and emotion, | ||
| + | a desire to just sit down and let it all go. | ||
| + | Eternal Ennui. When a creature enters Dolurrh, it | ||
| + | immediately gains one level of ennui (described in the “Ennui” | ||
| + | sidebar). While in Dolurrh, this level of ennui can’t be removed | ||
| + | by rest or by any other means. It’s immediately removed when | ||
| + | the creature leaves Dolurrh. Creatures native to Dolurrh are | ||
| + | immune to this property’s effects. | ||
| + | Impeded Magic. In order to cast a spell of 1st level or | ||
| + | higher, a creature must succeed on a spellcasting ability check | ||
| + | with a DC equal to 10 + the level of the spell. On a failed | ||
| + | check, the spell is not cast and its spell slot is not expended, | ||
| + | but the action is lost. | ||
| + | Inevitable Entrapment. Whenever a creature finishes a | ||
| + | short or long rest, it must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. | ||
| + | On a failed save, it gains one level of ennui. Each time it makes | ||
| + | this saving throw, the DC increases by 1. Whenever a creature | ||
| + | ends a 24-hour period without finishing a long rest, it must | ||
| + | make this saving throw as if it had just finished a rest, but its | ||
| + | roll is made with disadvantage. Creatures native to Dolurrh | ||
| + | are immune to this property’s effects. | ||
| + | Timeless. Time passes at the same rate as on the Material | ||
| + | Plane, and is consistent across its layers. Creatures can benefit | ||
| + | from resting, suffer damage, and die. However, a creature on | ||
| + | Dolurrh doesn’t age, and doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or drink. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Ennui | ||
| + | Ennui drains motion and memory, reflecting the soul-sapping | ||
| + | power of Dolurrh. This special condition is measured in | ||
| + | levels, and has the same effects and rules as exhaustion | ||
| + | (as presented in appendix A of the Player’s Handbook), with | ||
| + | one exception—ennui affects all creatures that aren’t native | ||
| + | to Dolurrh, including undead and other creatures immune | ||
| + | to exhaustion. Ennui is separate from exhaustion, and | ||
| + | exhaustion levels don’t stack with ennui. If a creature has | ||
| + | both ennui and exhaustion, use whichever condition it has | ||
| + | more levels of to determine the effects. | ||
| + | Undead can’t recover from ennui while in Dolurrh. | ||
| + | Whenever a living creature with 2 or more levels of ennui | ||
| + | finishes a long rest, if it succeeds against its saving throw | ||
| + | against Dolurrh’s Inevitable Entrapment property by 5 or | ||
| + | more, it reduces its ennui level by 1. When a creature leaves | ||
| + | Dolurrh, all levels of ennui are removed. | ||
| + | When a creature reaches 6 levels of ennui, its will is | ||
| + | completely broken and it can take no purposeful action; if | ||
| + | this happens to a living creature, its physical body dies and | ||
| + | it becomes a husk bound to Dolurrh. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Denizens | ||
| + | In many ways, Dolurrh is a machine. The pull that draws spirits | ||
| + | to Dolurrh is a mechanical effect, part of the fundamental | ||
| + | nature of souls. The denizens of Dolurrh are the cogs of that | ||
| + | machine, here to keep the system running. | ||
| + | The Quick | ||
| + | The native creatures of Dolurrh are bound to the cycle of | ||
| + | transition, and all have some role to serve in this process. All | ||
| + | of the Quick are immune to the ennui condition. | ||
| + | Nalfeshnee demons patrol the Catacombs of Dolurrh, | ||
| + | dispersing melds and lemures and dealing with mortal intruders. | ||
| + | They appear as large humanoids whose features are shrouded | ||
| + | in gray mist, and they delight in crushing mortals and pulling | ||
| + | the shades from their corpses, as well as consuming lemures. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Marut inevitables are powerful guardians, crafted in the Crucible of Dolurrh, forged from husksteel, and tasked to preserve the cycle of life and death. Maruts are occasionally dispatched to Eberron to intervene with acts of resurrection, | ||
| + | Shadar-kai are servants of the Queen of the Dead, shades granted new life. Though their new forms appear elf-like, they might’ve been any sort of humanoid in their previous life; when they caught the Queen’s attention, she preserved their soul from entrapment. The shadar-kai serve in the Vault of Memories, and occasionally as her hands on Eberron. They might clash with necromancers (especially the agents of Lady Illmarrow), collect trinkets, or target mortals with no rhyme or reason. Many sages attempt to explain these enigmatic actions, often speculating that they’re collecting especially tragic memories for the Vault. | ||
| + | Other denizens of Dolurrh are unique, such as the Librarian, found in the Vault of Memories, and the Smith of Souls, who dwells in the Crucible. | ||
| + | The Dead | ||
| + | The spirits of those who have died are omnipresent in Dolurrh, from shades huddled in the shadows to layers of moaning mist. The Dead might be considered manifestations of Dolurrh, but the plane didn’t actually create them—all were once mortals. | ||
| + | Shades are mortal souls that are freshly arrived in Dolurrh. They maintain a portion of their memory and original appearance, though they’re insubstantial and can’t interact with material objects. Shades are susceptible to ennui, and as they gain levels, their appearance blurs and their memories slowly fade. Shades can speak, and they may cry or beg adventurers to help them; however, most are incapable of taking any actions on their own. They’re often found lost in thought, trying to remember something they’ve forgotten, or fixating on a past mistake. | ||
| + | Husks are harmless shades that have been overcome by ennui and possess only the vaguest memories of their mortal existence. Most retain a semblance of their mortal shape, but they continue to fade over decades, eventually merging with other husks to form masses of moaning mist. Having no true consciousness of their own, husks are immune to ennui’s effects. Occasionally, | ||
| + | Ghosts are formed when a shade clings to a particular memory with such intensity that even Dolurrh can’t completely eradicate it—perhaps a terrible mistake or a bitter grudge. The rest of the spirit’s memories fade, and it becomes immune to ennui, but this ember remains, defining its existence. Ghosts are driven by a primal desire to return to Eberron, to haunt the place where they died or where their anchoring memory was forged; they might escape to the Material Plane when Dolurrh is coterminous or when a resurrection goes wrong. Ghosts that are destroyed eventually reform; they can only find peace if their unfinished business is resolved. | ||
| + | Other forms of undead are rarely seen in Dolurrh. The entities found in this plane are the spirits of the dead, slowly fading, transitioning—or trapped in that process. Corporeal undead such as ghouls, skeletons, and zombies have no place here, while undead that hunger to consume life belong in Mabar. | ||
| + | The Lingering | ||
| + | Memories of joy and happiness do no harm in Dolurrh. But memories of pain, of cruelty, of anger . . . these don’t fade so easily, and they can hurt others. Even if they don’t trap shades as ghosts, this psychic residue can build up in the gears of the spiritual machinery of Dolurrh. It often takes the presence of a mortal to trigger it; when this occurs, the lingering pain and hate coalesces into a solid form. The least of these are lemures, formed from hateful memories or deeds. The emotional residue of hundreds or thousands of people can form deadly sorrowsworn—the Angry, the Hungry, the Lonely, the Lost, and the Wretched—as presented in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. The Lingering are formed in Dolurrh and are immune to ennui, but they’re a waste product, not the plane’s desired result. As such, nalfeshnee, maruts, and other guardians destroy the Lingering whenever they are found. | ||
| + | The Queen of the Dead | ||
| + | The Queen of the Dead, the most powerful being in Dolurrh, dwells in the great spire that rises up above the Vault of Memories. Little is known about her motives or her origins; curiously, she focuses on the Material Plane far more than most great planar powers do. Though she existed long before the elves, the Queen appears as an elf woman, her face hidden by a cracked alabaster mask, her robes of black feathers trimmed with silver. She can pluck shades from the cycle of entrapment, and even grant them new life, creating shadar-kai by housing them in new bodies. Other souls, she saves but doesn’t restore, preserving them in the Vault of Memories. She collects secrets and memories, plucking her favorites from those gathered by the Librarian and keeping them in her personal collection. Sometimes she directly opposes mortal necromancers, | ||
| + | Rarely, the bravest (and most foolish) of adventurers venture into the Queen of the Dead’s realm, hoping to reclaim a lost spirit from Dolurrh. And rarely, they succeed, for she doesn’t care if a shade or two are stolen every century, or even every decade. However, in the Age of Giants, the Cul’sir Dominion sent an army into Dolurrh to recover the spirits of a family lost in the Quori Conflict—none of them returned. The Queen’s power cannot be contested in Dolurrh, and thieves who attract her personal attention find their shades torn from their bodies in the blink of an eye. | ||
| + | Layers | ||
| + | Dolurrh is universally gray and gloomy. The accounts of brave explorers describe the sense of being underground, | ||
| + | The four layers discussed below are the only ones described in the records of mortals who ventured to Dolurrh—and returned. But there could be more, as yet undiscovered, | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Catacombs | ||
| + | Endless tunnels of gray stone wind through the Catacombs, the | ||
| + | destination of humanoid spirits. Some passages are painfully | ||
| + | tight, while others widen into grand halls with ceilings lost in | ||
| + | darkness. The Dead are everywhere, shades pleading for release, | ||
| + | husks keening in the shadows. The chambers of the Catacombs | ||
| + | might contain vast wells filled with moaning mist, or nalfeshnees | ||
| + | herding shades into pens and scraping lemures off the walls. | ||
| + | The Catacombs may be larger than Khorvaire, or even | ||
| + | Eberron itself. A mortal could wander forever through these | ||
| + | winding tunnels—at least until they’re consumed by ennui. | ||
| + | However, there are junction points that transcend the logic of | ||
| + | distance. If one knows the right symbols to follow, they can | ||
| + | cross the vastness of the Catacombs quickly or pass to other | ||
| + | layers—perhaps in search of a shade to rescue, as discussed | ||
| + | in the “Concerning Resurrection” section. | ||
| + | The Kennel | ||
| + | The Kennel is similar in appearance to the Catacombs, but | ||
| + | contains the shades and husks of beasts and monstrosities, | ||
| + | along with the nalfeshnee and maruts that tend them. Here, | ||
| + | you’ll hear the howls of fading wolf spirits, and see flocks of | ||
| + | spectral birds flying through grand halls, along with larger and | ||
| + | fiercer creatures. Beast spirits rarely linger long in Dolurrh, as | ||
| + | most have fewer memories to erase. But all dogs go to Dolurrh! | ||
| + | The Queen of the Dead might have created special servants | ||
| + | that wander these halls, just as she made the shadar-kai. It’s | ||
| + | possible adventurers could be questioned by a clever raven | ||
| + | with the soul of a poet. | ||
| + | The Crucible | ||
| + | In this grand foundry, tended by shadar-kai and guarded by | ||
| + | newly forged maruts, the immortal spirit known as the Smith | ||
| + | of Souls refines the essence of faded spirits into husksteel. | ||
| + | From these lingering scraps of memory and emotion, she | ||
| + | forges the armor and weapons of the shadar-kai, and creates | ||
| + | the maruts from the husks of brave souls. She also creates | ||
| + | smaller and stranger items from husksteel, as described in | ||
| + | the “Dolurrhi Artifacts” section. | ||
| + | The Smith wears a mask of black steel and an apron of | ||
| + | dragonhide. When forging maruts, she takes the form of a | ||
| + | giant, and when crafting tiny trinkets, a gnome. It’s possible | ||
| + | that she collects the memories of mortal artisans, and can | ||
| + | replicate their works at her forge. | ||
| + | The Vault of Memories | ||
| + | The heart of Dolurrh is the Vault of Memories. This tower, | ||
| + | carved up through gray stone, is larger than any of the great | ||
| + | towers of Sharn. The lowest levels hold the Vault’s library; | ||
| + | here, the spirit known as the Librarian interviews each | ||
| + | shade and makes a record of its life. His power is such that | ||
| + | an entire life can be confined to a single large page. Every | ||
| + | sigil inscribed holds a crucial memory, and if a creature is | ||
| + | proficient in Arcana, they can read the symbol to experience | ||
| + | that memory. The many floors of the library hold countless | ||
| + | books of preserved lives, carefully tended by shadar-kai | ||
| + | scribes. The Librarian himself is a massive hooded figure— | ||
| + | his books are likewise enormous. It’s said that he can be | ||
| + | many places at once, allowing him to speak to every shade, | ||
| + | capturing the story of its life, before it fades. | ||
| + | In the halls above the library, the Queen of the Dead keeps | ||
| + | her many treasures. What seem to be obsidian statues are | ||
| + | actually shades, crystallized to prevent them from being | ||
| + | entrapped and lost in Dolurrh. Paintings and crystals contain | ||
| + | memories that the Queen has chosen to isolate. Beyond these | ||
| + | are countless trinkets and oddities, items collected by her | ||
| + | shadar-kai over the vast scope of history. And higher still are | ||
| + | the chambers of the Queen herself, where she usually sits in | ||
| + | silent contemplation, | ||
| + | shades in her domain. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Concerning Resurrection | ||
| + | Returning life to the dead isn’t a reliable service in Eberron. | ||
| + | Many characters are capable of casting the necessary spells, | ||
| + | from clerics to adepts of House Brunet. But just because a | ||
| + | spell can be cast doesn’t mean that it should be cast . . . or that | ||
| + | it will work if it does. | ||
| + | The first and simplest limitation is time. The longer a | ||
| + | spirit remains in Dolurrh, the more it falls under the sway | ||
| + | of ennui. Any spell that returns life to the dead requires the | ||
| + | spirit to want to return. Once the shade becomes a husk, it | ||
| + | can no longer make that decision, and thus can’t be raised | ||
| + | or reincarnated. Most religions maintain that this happens | ||
| + | because the true soul has moved on to a higher level of | ||
| + | existence; who wants to be pulled back from a union with | ||
| + | the Sovereigns? So you only have about a week or two— | ||
| + | depending on the strength of the target’s will—to pull them | ||
| + | back. But even before that time, a spirit might choose not to | ||
| + | return. What do they have to live for? Is it worth fighting the | ||
| + | lulling ennui of Dolurrh? | ||
| + | The second limitation is risk. Even if a spell is successful, | ||
| + | Brunet remains rightly concerned about whether that person | ||
| + | is supposed to come back, or if it’s their time to die—for if it’s | ||
| + | the latter, a marut may appear to challenge any resurrection. | ||
| + | This is extraordinarily rare, but in part, that’s because healers | ||
| + | perform an augury ritual beforehand and refuse to raise | ||
| + | someone if there’s a risk. Even if a marut doesn’t intervene, | ||
| + | there’s a risk the resurrection could go poorly if Dolurrh is | ||
| + | coterminous, | ||
| + | to—or instead of—the person being brought back to life. | ||
| + | The final limitation is the direct intervention of a higher | ||
| + | power. The Queen of the Dead might crystallize a shade | ||
| + | and prevent it from being restored, or catch a spirit that’s | ||
| + | about to be restored and set a price on its passage; a few | ||
| + | examples are given on the Cost of a Life table. How long does | ||
| + | the beneficiary have to settle their account? A day, a year, a | ||
| + | lifetime? It’s also said that the Keeper can snatch souls before | ||
| + | they even reach Dolurrh; if this myth is true, such souls can | ||
| + | only be recovered from the Lair of the Keeper in the Demon | ||
| + | Wastes. The Keeper itself may or may not be there, but it’s | ||
| + | certainly the abode of a powerful dracolich! | ||
| + | The flip side of direct intervention is that the Queen of | ||
| + | the Dead (or another powerful entity) might offer to return | ||
| + | a shade to life—for a price. This is a way to bring a low-level | ||
| + | character back to life, despite their friends being unable to | ||
| + | afford resurrection. The Cost of a Life table provides ideas. | ||
| + | If all else fails, there’s one way you can always bring | ||
| + | someone to life: go to Dolurrh, find their shade, and drag | ||
| + | it back out to the Material Plane. It’s simple—all you need | ||
| + | to do is to locate a single soul in the endless Catacombs | ||
| + | (perhaps with the help of a native guide, records in the Vault | ||
| + | of Memories, or powerful divination magic), evade Dolurrh’s | ||
| + | many guardians, and return to Eberron with the soul in tow. | ||
| + | If you succeed, the victim receives a new body, just as if you’d | ||
| + | cast true resurrection; | ||
| + | to stop you from leaving, they won’t interfere once you return | ||
| + | to Eberron. It’s theoretically possible to restore a husk in this | ||
| + | way as well, though the resurrected husk generally won’t regain | ||
| + | its lost memories, even though it might learn new skills. As | ||
| + | a result, it wouldn’t do any good to bring back the Tairnadal | ||
| + | ancestors or Galifar I; you could bring a body back to life, but | ||
| + | it’s not the original person in any meaningful way. This is why | ||
| + | the Queen of the Dead (and perhaps the Keeper) preserves | ||
| + | certain shades from decay—so that they might one day be | ||
| + | restored, even after thousands of years. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Cost of a Life | ||
| + | d6 Cost of Resurrection | ||
| + | 1 You must kill a particular individual. Are they powerful or well | ||
| + | hidden? Or is the task itself easy, but morally questionable? | ||
| + | 2 You must sacrifice a particular item. Is it expensive? Well | ||
| + | guarded? Unique or unusual? | ||
| + | 3 You must start a movement or build a monument. How big | ||
| + | must it be? Is the location important? | ||
| + | 4 You’re prohibited from taking a particular action. Perhaps you | ||
| + | can’t kill an innocent, or conceive a child, or return to your | ||
| + | homeland. If you perform the prohibited action, you will die. | ||
| + | 5 The resurrection has no cost—but it only lasts for a set | ||
| + | time, and once that’s reached, you die permanently. | ||
| + | 6 Your resurrection has a time limit—but you can extend it by | ||
| + | performing lesser services for your benefactor. As long as | ||
| + | you keep them happy, they’ll keep you alive. | ||
| + | Planar Manifestations | ||
| + | Here are some ways Dolurrh can affect the Material Plane. | ||
| + | Manifest Zones | ||
| + | Manifest zones tied to Dolurrh rarely possess all of the plane’s | ||
| + | properties; travelers generally aren’t entrapped by ennui simply | ||
| + | by passing through one. But these zones are still close to the | ||
| + | Realm of the Dead and exceptionally haunted, though not | ||
| + | blighted, as Mabaran zones typically are. Shadows move in | ||
| + | disturbing ways, and travelers may hear whispers they can’t | ||
| + | quite make out. | ||
| + | The restless spirits of Dolurrh yearn to return to the Material | ||
| + | Plane, and it’s easier for them to do so in manifest zones. They | ||
| + | might manifest as ghosts, or animate the corpses of people | ||
| + | buried in the zone, causing them to return as revenants or | ||
| + | zombies. In some Dolurrhi zones, raising the dead can be | ||
| + | dangerous; if spells or abilities that raise the dead are used | ||
| + | in such a zone, roll on the Dolurrhi Resurrection Mishaps table | ||
| + | to determine the result. | ||
| + | Dolurrhi zones can also have positive effects. In many zones, | ||
| + | it’s easier to return people from the dead, halving the cost of | ||
| + | any material components. In others, anyone can cast speak | ||
| + | with dead as a ritual that takes an hour to perform, as long as | ||
| + | they have a personal connection to the deceased whose corpse | ||
| + | they’re questioning. | ||
| + | The most dramatic manifest zones are those that serve as | ||
| + | gateways to enter the Catacombs of Dolurrh—and hopefully, to | ||
| + | return. Opening such a gateway might call for a special ritual | ||
| + | or significant sacrifice, perhaps under a particular alignment | ||
| + | of the moon Aryth, or when Dolurrh is conterminous. | ||
| + | Coterminous and Remote | ||
| + | Dolurrh has a slow planar cycle. Traditionally, | ||
| + | it becomes coterminous for a full year. Fifty years after that, it’s | ||
| + | remote for a full year. It can also have shorter phases, tied to | ||
| + | the movements of the moon Aryth. | ||
| + | While Dolurrh is coterminous, | ||
| + | from the Realm of the Dead into the Material Plane, especially | ||
| + | around Dolurrhi manifest zones. Any spell or ability that raises | ||
| + | the dead can also serve as a conduit for unwanted spirits; roll | ||
| + | on the Dolurrhi Resurrection Mishaps table when any such | ||
| + | spell is cast. | ||
| + | |||
| + | While Dolurrh is remote, traditional resurrection magic, such as revivify or reincarnate, | ||
| + | Dolurrhi Resurrection Mishaps | ||
| + | d12 | ||
| + | Effect | ||
| + | 1-4 | ||
| + | The spell functions normally. | ||
| + | 5-6 | ||
| + | The spell functions, but the wrong spirit returns in the body—is it hostile or friendly? If the body being resurrected was that of a player character, it’s possible the player may wish to play the new personality, | ||
| + | 7-8 | ||
| + | The spell functions normally, but 1d4 ghosts or melds (from chapter 8) appear, pulled through from Dolurrh. | ||
| + | 9 | ||
| + | The spell fails, and 1d4 ghosts or melds (from chapter 8) appear. The spell slot is expended, but the material components are not. | ||
| + | 10 | ||
| + | The spell functions normally, but a hostile marut appears. | ||
| + | 11 | ||
| + | The spell functions normally, but a nalfeshnee possesses the raised character. | ||
| + | 12 | ||
| + | The spell fails, and the material components and spell slot are expended. | ||
| + | Dolurrhi Artifacts | ||
| + | The most common Dolurrhi artifacts are creations of the Smith of Shadows, formed of husksteel, the fused essence of faded souls. Despite the name, husksteel can appear not only as dark metal, but also as slick black leather, dark iridescent cloth, or other substances. Such an object could be crafted from a single spirit—a dagger whose edge is forged from a single moment of pain—or from the emotional residue of multiple husks. | ||
| + | In creating a husksteel object, consider the memory or emotion that’s the heart of the item. For a magic item, this should reflect its purpose. A husksteel cloak of elvenkind could be formed from a secret. A husksteel variation on a dagger of venom might be formed from a moment of absolute terror; when its power is invoked, it could deal psychic damage and, on a failed Wisdom save, make the target frightened of the wielder. | ||
| + | Other Dolurrhi items are largely curiosities. The Dolurrhi Trinkets table provides examples. | ||
| + | Dolurrhi Stories | ||
| + | Dolurrh can inspire many simple stories through its manifest zones and escaped ghosts. A husksteel trinket could provide a flash of memory that sets the adventurers on a particular path, and finding a way to rescue a shade from the underworld is always an epic tale. Here are a few deeper stories to consider. | ||
| + | The Once and Future Queen of the Dead. The Queen of the Dead is an enigmatic figure who wields great power in Dolurrh. But there’s another being who uses this title: Erandis Vol, the last heir of the Mark of Death. Through her agents in the Order of the Emerald Claw and beyond, Erandis seeks to restore the power of her dragonmark; no one knows what godlike powers she might wield if she unlocks its full potential. Meanwhile, Dolurrh’s Queen of the Dead seems to oppose Erandis, and often sends her agents—both shadar-kai and adventurers she’s restored to life at a price—to interfere with Vol’s schemes. This could be exactly what it appears; the Queen of the Dead may despise necromancers, | ||
| + | Agent of Death. The adventurers kill a nefarious villain that’s long eluded them—but soon, their foe reappears alive and well. This happens time and again. How is the villain escaping from Dolurrh? Are they acting as an agent for the Queen of the Dead, or have they simply found a back door to the Realm of the Dead? Either way, what can the adventurers do to lay them to rest once and for all? | ||
| + | Devastating Sorrow. When Dolurrh becomes coterminous, | ||
| + | The Warforged Soul. There are many who believe that warforged are simply tools; House Bombardier may be able to infuse something with life, but it can’t create a soul. Others say that it’s not a question of science; the warforged are clearly alive, and thus, they have souls. But is the soul unique? Or could it be that warforged recycle souls, drawing husks drained of memory from Dolurrh and using them as a foundation? These questions are intentionally left unanswered; it’s up to each DM to determine the true nature of warforged souls. But there’s one simple fact: a warforged can be restored to life with revivify or raise dead. Which means that the answer must lie in Dolurrh, and someone—Arcanix? | ||
| + | Dolurrhi Trinkets | ||
| + | d8 | ||
| + | Item | ||
| + | 1 | ||
| + | A hand mirror periodically shows the reflection of a particular dead person or an event from their memories. | ||
| + | 2 | ||
| + | A monocle shows the last thing seen by its previous owner before they died. | ||
| + | 3 | ||
| + | A stuffed toy sings softly when it’s placed in darkness. | ||
| + | 4 | ||
| + | A pen writes a specific message when dipped in ink and left untouched. | ||
| + | 5 | ||
| + | A small leather journal contains a poem, story, or piece of music by a beloved creator—written after they died. | ||
| + | 6 | ||
| + | A battered copper coin flips itself if placed heads-down. | ||
| + | 7 | ||
| + | A battered steel locket depicts two images—one is someone who has died, and the other, someone who’s about to die. | ||
| + | 8 | ||
| + | A pouch of ashes. When a pinch is thrown on the ground, it forms a specific word or symbol. | ||
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