Xen'Drik

Xen'Drik est un continent situé dans l'hémisphère sud au sud du continent de Khorvaire.

Géants built the first civilization on Eberron eighty thousand years ago on the continent of Xen'drik. At the height of these empires they covered much of the continent. The Géants and their slaves, Drow and Elfes, built sprawling cities and massive temples throughout the land.

After twenty thousand years of building their Empires in Xen'Drik, Géant explorers left the continent and started exploring the world and the Mers d'Eberron.  Crossing the Mer Sombre these Géants encountered the ancient race of Dragons for the first time on the shores of their homeland Argonnessen. Fascinated by the much-younger race, eventually collections of Dragons traveled to Xen'Drik and began sharing their knowledge of Magic and the Arcane with the Géants.

The Géants quickly mastered the lessons taught by the Dragons and began constructing hundreds if not thousands of artifacts and locations that sixty thousand years later have not been equaled. Growing conflict and intrigue in their homeland casued the Dragons that had settled in Xen'Drik to return home, leaving the Géants and their slaves in peace.

The Géants began to teach their slaves, the Elfes, this magic. This instruction at first was to help the smaller Elfes overcome their diminutive stature in the eyes of the Géants. In time, this instruction evolved in teaching Elfes more and more of the arcane magic. For another twenty thousand years the Empires of the Géants flourished in Xen'Drik.

Forty thousand years ago, living nightmares from Dal Quor, the plane of dreams, crossed the planes and entered in the primal plane of the Géants.  For a thousand years the Géants and Elfes battled the interdimensional foes throughout Xen'Drik. A conclave of the greatest Arcanists in all of Xen'Drik was assembled and a weapon of cataclysmic power was unleashed, severing the connection from Dal Quor to the primal plane. The power of the weapon was so devastating that the cataclysmic result nearly equaled the damage caused by the war itself.

Magical curses, maladies, blights and turmoil afflicted the lands and people of the Géant empires. For a thousand year the empires of the Géants sought to regain control of the land. Wars between the various empires erupted and the slaves saw an opportunity to throw off their yoke and rise up. The empires of the Géants were forced to unite against the Commun foe the Elfes, their former slaves.

In this war, the Géants again called upon their conclave of arcanists to use magic to put down the Elfique Slave Revolt. With Géantish magic unleashed the Dragons of Argonnessen returned to Xen'Drik. The Dragons were forced to call upon their greatest magics to stop the Géants from destroying the world. No one knows how close the Géants came to destroying the world or even how much power the Dragons exerted to stop the Géants.

In the aftermath of this war the empires of the Géants were no more. The great cities, temples and monuments of the Géants were left for ruin.  Xen'Drik was destroyed. For thirty-five thousand years the echoes of the conflict between the Dragons and Géants have distorted the lands of Xen'Drik. The unleashed echoes of eldritch power have created bizarre monsters and twisted landscape in its path. Formerly enslaved Elfes fled to Aérénal. Géants devastated by the war were left shattered and hopeless. Their civilization Perdu, the Géants began degenerating into primitive and violent beasts. The wilds of Xen'Drik returned and the glory of the continent's ancient culture was forgotten in myth and legend.

Two centuries ago adventurers and explorers from Riedra and Khorvaire began delving into Xen'Drik; those that returned brought with them fantastic stories of unimaginable wealth and glory hidden deep within the heart of the land. 

The mysterious continent of Xen'drik is a massive landmass south of the continent of Khorvaire, beyond Les Dents de Shargon and the Mer du Tonnerre. Around the end of the Dernière Guerre, agents of the Four Nations began to explore the land in hopes of making profit from the numerous relics found there among vast natural resources. South of Xen'drik is the land mass of Everice.

Jungles dominate the north-east of the continent. Deserts cover most of the north-west of the continent. The mountains are scattered throughout the continent, but are most extensive near the border of the icy waste. Along the southern coast is the icy waste.

For nearly thirty-eight thousand years Xen'Drik has been an unsettled and untamed wilderness according to the scholars from Khorvaire and Sarlona. Over the past two hundred years a few settlements on the fringes of Xen'Drik have emerged as points of entry into the wilds. A few of these settlements have lasted long enough to be note on a map or two. Originally a pirate hideout built amongst the ruins of the Géant Civilization the city of Cap-Tempête has become the largest settlement on the continent as has become the primary entry point for expeditions into the vast continent.

Ruines de Xen'drik dot the landscape throughout the continent from the fallen city states of the Géants to the drow and Elfique cities of ages past. Explorers and Adventurers who spend even a few months in Xen'drik will know of a dozen or more ruins. Hundreds of sites from single Quorien monoliths to sprawling cities can be found across the land. It is a wild and untamed place with fabulous Machine Occultes along with unimaginable treasures, still largely unexplored.

Hidden within the wild and untamed lands are the Dévastation ruins of the ancient Géant civilization. After battling the Quorien, the Géant's civilization was destroyed by the Dragon population of Argonnessen when they attempted to use their highly advanced devices to put down an Elfique slave revolt.

The Malédiction du Voyageur alters Xen'drik temporally and spatially. The effect is that adventurers will find that maps sometimes fail them. On the positive side, sometimes the curse will cause a person to arrive where they need to be earlier than they anticipated. Or even better, the curse can cause a treasure seeker to find an unexplored ruin filled with treasure. No one knows what causes the curse. Interesting, it has less effect on natives to Xen'drik, like Drow and Géants. And strangely, the Malédiction du Voyageur has no effect on Thri-kreen.

Xen'drik is now mostly inhabited by drow and degenerate Géants, long-disconnected from their glorious empire of the past. Aérénal Elfes trace their origins to Xen'drik in the long forgotten past.

The Drow prefer to remain in isolation from other cultures, their seclusion forming another of Xen'drik's many mysteries. The strength and numbers of each of these cultures has not been determined. Living throughout all of Xen'drik, three known distinct drow subcultures have arisen from the ashes of the cataclysmic end of the Géant empire.

The most Commun drow culture to encounter are tribes and clans who worship Vulkoor. These settlements can be found ranging from the Menechtarun desert to the Jungles de Xen'drik.

The Sulatar, an advanced drow culture, still utilize some of the knowledge, magic, and teachings of their former masters, and can be found in the ruins of the Cité d'Obsidienne.

The Umbragène have taken to a life deep within Khyber, beneath the Anneau de Tempêtes.

There are also reports of many other drow cultures. There are drow to be found in the Montagnes de Xen'drik who ride on the backs of wyverns. And there are drow in southern parts of the continent who wield weapons that seem to be made of ice. The details on these and many other drow cultures are unknown.

80,000 years ago the Géant Civilization of Xen'drik rises from the ruins of the Dragon-Fiend Wars. Enslaving both Drow and Elfee alike the Géant Civilization began the process of pulling the Commun races out of their primitive states. Learning Arcane magic from the Dragons of Argonessen, the Géant Civilization created wonders that have yet to be equaled by any modern culture.

The Quorienen invaded Xen'drik 40,000 years ago through a planar gate connecting Eberron with Dal Quor, the Plane of Dreams. Calling upon the magic of the Dragons of Argonessen, the Géants were able to destroy the gate. This cataclysmic event reshaped the continent, plunging great sections of it into the sea.

What remained of the Géant civilization never recovered from the war with the Quorienen or the cataclysmic destruction that followed the planar gate's destruction.

The ensuing plagues and curses weakened the Géant Kingdoms, allowing the Drow and Elfee slaves to rise up in open revolt. The Géants again turned to the Dragon magic used to destroy the planar gate, but before they could release a second cataclysm, the Dragons of Argonessen destroyed what remained of the Géant civilization.

The Elfique slaves fled to Aérénal and the Drow were scattered throughout Xen'drik.

Clans of Géants still live throughout Xen'drik where they have regressed to a primitive state.

Beginning with the littoral transistion from land to sea and into the depths of the oceans you will find the Sahuagin, an amphibious race of Humanoïdes that thrive underwater as well as they do on land. The Sahuagin are a clan based society that can be found all over the world, though they are very Commun in the Mer du Tonnerre and especially throughout Les Dents de Shargon.

Sahuagin raiders like to pray upon the ships traveling between Khorvaire and Xen'drik. A Commun practice to minimize the likelihood of being a victim of Sahuagin is for ship captains or owners to hire Sahuagin guides. Hiring Sahuagin guides is not foolproof, as sometimes a Sahuagin guide is simply from the wrong clan.

The Thri-kreen are a Humainoïde race that resemble a praying mantis. A small community of Thri-kreen can be found under the city of Cap-Tempête and larger communities can be found in the Menechtarun dessert.

Xen'drik

It rises out of the mist to the south of Khorvaire, beyond Shargon’s Teeth and the Mer du Tonnerre. Today, Xen’drik is a continent of secrets and mystery, a wild place full of promise and danger. In the distant past, Xen’drik was home to a great civilization of Géants, and the remains of these kingdoms hide within the dense jungles of the continent. Géants of all types still roam the jungles and mountains of Xen’drik, but they are primitive and disorganized compared to the society of the distant past. The elves of Aérénal also trace their origin to these mysterious shores, and the darkskinned elves called drow still live among the ruins of the Géant civilization.
The sahuagin guard the seas leading to Xen’drik, making the trip to the mysterious continent dangerous. Some sahuagin tribes can’t be reasoned with; they attack any who attempt to pass through Shargon’s Teeth to reach the jungles of Xen’drik. Other tribes, however, make a living by selling their services as guides and leading ships through the hard_to_navigate waterway. Working through malenti intermediaries, these friendlier sahuagin regularly trade with and assist explorers and merchants from Khorvaire, and many people in Sharn have standing deals with these tribes.
In many ways, Xen’drik is a Perdu continent. It’s a huge place, and only a fraction of it has been explored. Ancient ruins, dungeons, tombs, and treasure vaults abound, and monsters of all types roam the land or lair in these sites. Explorers from Khorvaire have mapped portions of the coastline, but much of the interior of the continent remains a mystery.
Cyclopean ruins have been found in the deep jungle, the remnants of a bygone civilization of Géants that came to an end quickly and violently. Primitive clans of Géants, regressed socially and technologically, still inhabit many of the enormous ruins. Some of the ruins have been overrun by monsters, and still others serve as home to organized tribes of drow who have the most advanced society on the continent.
The Anneau de Siberys circles the world high above Xen’drik, and when Siberys Fragments de Dragon fall to the ground, they land on the mysterious continent. Thus, Xen’drik is the only source of Siberys Fragments de Dragon. (Some believe Argonnessen may also contain Siberys Fragments de Dragon, but the dragons won’t let anyone in to check.)
A trade city sits at the tip of Xen’drik’s northern peninsula. Called Cap_Tempête, it was built as a pirate hideout but now serves as the first stop for expeditions to the continent of secrets. All the Maisons Marquées Du Dragon have agents in Cap_Tempête, and many have outposts and emporiums as well. Some of the Géant tribes living in the area trade with the city, but the farther one travels into the interior of the continent, the more inhospitable the denizens become.

Cap_Tempête

Sharn to Cap_Tempête Transport Travel Time Cost

Aéronef 3 days 1,440 gp 4d4 days Sailing ship 31 days 45 gp 1d3 days Sailing ship, Lyrandar 11 days 792 gp 1d6 days Sailing ship, Bois-Flottant 16 days 77 gp 1d4 days Wind galleon 3 days 432 gp 2d4 days Pylas Talaear to Cap_Tempête Transport Travel Time Cost Next Ship Aéronef 6 days 2,880 gp 4d12 days Sailing ship 59 days 85 gp 3d4 days Sailing ship, Lyrandar 20 days 1,440 gp 4d4 days Sailing ship, Bois-Flottant 29 days 144 gp 2d4 days Wind galleon 6 days 864 gp 4d4 days Port_de_Trolan to Cap_Tempête Transport Travel Time Cost Next Ship Aéronef 3 days 1,440 gp 4d8 days Sailing ship 32 days 45 gp 1d6 days Sailing ship, Lyrandar 11 days 792 gp 2d6 days Sailing ship, Bois-Flottant 16 days 77 gp 2d4 days Wind galleon 3 days 432 gp 2d6 days Zarash’ak to Cap_Tempête Transport Travel Time Cost Next Ship Aéronef 4.5 days 2,160 gp 4d8 days Sailing ship 57 days 82 gp 1d8 days Sailing ship, Lyrandar 19 days 1,368 gp 2d6 days Sailing ship, Bois-Flottant 28 days 124 gp 2d6 days Wind galleon 6 days 648 gp 4d4 days

Rising: XEN'DRIK I n Xen'drik, you could … • Seek to destroy an ancient mystical weapon before it falls into the hands of villains. • Battle savage giants in the ruins of their ancient cities. • Match wits with cunning drow in the depths of a primordial jungle. Any follower of the Sovereign Host knows this story about Xen'drik. In the dawn of time, the Sovereigns bound the fiendish overlords and freed the world from chaos. The mighty giants had fought alongside the Sovereigns, and in gratitude Aureon granted them dominion over the continent of Xen'drik. Aureon taught giants the secrets of wizardry, and they grew powerful. The giants built towers that touched the sky and seemingly endless cities. The mightiest among the giants was the titan Cul'sir. His power was so great that he pulled the thirteenth moon from the sky and crushed it in a fit of anger. The giants ruled many lesser races, and eventually the elves rose up against them. Cul'sir unleashed plagues upon the rebellious elves. He made assassins of elven shadows and turned them back against their owners. Still the rebels persisted. In his anger, Cul'sir prepared to pull down the rest of the moons to hurl them at his enemies, even though he'd destroy the world in doing it. But the giants had gone too far, and Aureon set the dragons of Argonnessen upon them. The dragons destroyed the vast cities and leveled the towers. Cul'sir was slain and his people scattered. The Sovereigns and Six each laid a curse upon the land. Aureon decreed that the creatures of Xen'drik would have no knowledge of law, and B oldrei proclaimed that no city would stand. The Traveler distorted the land so that no path followed twice. The Devourer unleashed fire and storm. And so Xen'drik remains a land of mystery, a realm that cannot be mapped, a place that holds secrets that could shatter the world. This story bears at least some truth. The elves were once slaves of the ancient giants, and the dragons did eradicate the civilizations of Xen'drik. Great magic has warped the land. The environments of Xen'drik are extreme and unpredictable, and travelers might find a glacial expanse in the midst of a vast desert. Tens of thousands of years have passed, yet no civilization has risen to the heights of the fallen giants; some believe that Aureon's and Boldrei's curses ensure that any city that grows too large collapses into madness. The Traveler's Curse twists space, and explorers might follow the same path twice only to end up in entirely different locations. Xen'drik is a continent that defies control. Expeditions have unearthed artifacts of immense power, as well as fields of Siberys dragonshards (see chapter 5), but once you leave a site, you might never find it again. Giants still roam Xen'drik, but these creatures have never regained the glory of their ancestors. Tribes of drow-said to be the shadow-assassins created by the Emperor Cul'sir-linger in the darkness. These represent just a few of the threats in this vast land.

NOTABLE LOCATIONS Many ports dot the coast o f Xen'drik. In addition to the treasures of the giants, Xen'drik is a source of Siberys dragonshards and other exotic resources. Scholars and merchants come to Xen'drik on business, smugglers seek to make extra gold, and pirates prey on everyone. Ports come and go, falling prey to monsters or natural disasters. But two harbors have stood the test of time.

Dar Qat. Dar Qat. The Inspired lords of Riedra are just as interested in the resources of Xen'drik as the people of Khorvaire. Dar Qat is a Riedran port, a fortress built from glittering crysteel (grown crystal as strong as steel) and dwarfed by a nearby monolith believed to serve as a psychic anchor for the city. Outsiders are rarely welcome within the walls of Dar Qat.

Cap-Tempête. Once a haven for pirates and smugglers, Cap-Tempête has become a thriving port that serves as the passage to the Xen'drik interior. All the dragonmarked houses have outposts in the city, and it is home to refugees, renegades, criminals, and others who have no place on the other continents. The city is ruled by the council of Storm Lords, who hold absolute power. As Cap-Tempête is built on the foundations of an ancient giant city, ruins abound around and below the city. Some fear that if the city continues to expand, the growth will trigger an ancient curse. But for now, Cap-Tempête is a prosperous community and a gateway to adventure.

XEN'DRIK'S INFLUENCE IN KHORVAIRE I n Khorvaire, you might … • Befriend a drow making their way in the new world. • Stop the Emerald Claw from using a giant artifact to destroy a city. • Aid a scholar in deciphering a book of prophecy found in the heart of Xen'drik and brought to Cap-Tempête. The tremendous diversity of the people of Xen'drik means that no single trait defines objects and artifacts from this land. The primitive drow make armor comparable to studded leather using the chitin of giant scorpions. Rumors abound of more advanced drow civilizations in the layers of Khyber that lie beneath Xen'drik. The elves lived and fought in Xen'drik before the exodus that took them to Aerenal, and elven artifacts remain scattered across the region. And the grandest treasures include the work of the giants-which can often be difficult to use because of their size. The spell book of a giant wizard might hold priceless secrets, but the bulky tome can be quite awkward for smaller folk.

TR I N K E T S F R O M X E N 1 D R I K d8 Trinket A punched ticket for a voyage from Sharn to Storm reach 2 A scorpion's barb engraved with a si ngle Elvish letter 3 A copper coin so big you could use it as a d i nner plate 4 An i mage of an elf warrior engraved on a giant's tooth 5 A single page from a giant wizard's spell book, bearing an i n complete spell 6 A scrap of parchment, part of a m a p of Cap-Tempête 7 A s m a l l book titled Feersome Beests of Zendrik 8 A scri mshaw carving of a sahuagin

The Lands of Xen’drik Xen’drik is a vast land of harshly contrasting environments, from the burning wastes of the Menechtarun Desert to the deep jungles of the west. However, nature is not the only force that has shaped the continent. The arcane forces used to sever the ties between Eberron and Dal Quor created mystical shockwaves that rippled out from manifest zones and quori beachheads, causing reality itself to buckle in their wake. In many ways, Xen’drik is a land drawn from dreams, and the laws of nature bend and break across the continent. Adventurers might crest a desert dune to find a vast expanse of arctic tundra stretching out before them. For the most part these regions are fi xed, but in areas where the magical effects of the forty-thousand-year-old war between giant and quori still linger, reality is never entirely stable. A tropical river passing through such an area might freeze solid one day, then transform into molten lava or a sheet of glass the next. Travelers in such areas are generally unaffected, but flora and fauna native to a shifting zone often become transformed with the environment. When a jungle becomes an ice plain, a tiger might transform into a smilodon without even noticing the change. The existence of these shifting zones is one of the main reasons explorers hire native Xen’drik guides. Identifying a shifting zone requires a successful DC 30 Survival check, with characters who have served at least fi ve years as a Xen’drik guide receiving a +5 bonus. Of course, simply knowing the location of a shifting zone might not allow a party to avoid it; some zones are dozens or even hundreds of miles across. Ultimately, Xen’drik’s shifting zones are a tool for DMs seeking to challenge players with unusual and deadly environments.

The Hostile Land Different wilderness environments can prove as great a challenge as any dungeon, and this is especially true in a land where adventurers are typically far from the safety of civilization. Individual DMs can decide how much of a role they want the environment to play in a Xen’drik adventure. Calculating the effects of hypothermia adds a level of complexity to a game, but also creates a sense of realism in the challenge of venturing deep into uncharted territory. By the same token, characters who insist on wearing +2 full plate of heavy fortifi cation in the desert should run the risk of heatstroke. If the DM and the players prefer to keep things moving, though, these rules can be easily ignored. The wild and uncivilized nature of Xen’drik also makes food and water a signifi cant concern. With so few villages or outposts in the south, a party that loses its supplies to raiders, monsters, or ration rot moss (page 43) has to rely on the Survival skill or divine magic to ensure their safe return to Cap-Tempête. The hliska (page 54) pose no physical threat to adventurers, but they have doomed many an expedition by stealing into a party’s saddlebags at night. In a realistic game, the outfitters of Cap-Tempête can be an adventurer’s best friends. Dalun Havulak can recommend cold-weather or warm-weather clothing, educate parties on the threats posed by the environment, and provide substances such as vermin ointment (page 139). If your game makes use of the Frostburn or Sandstorm supplements, Havulak Prospecting is an excellent source for the new equipment presented in those books. The primary resource for environmental hazards is the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Pages 302–304 discuss general environmental dangers, including the effects of starvation and thirst. Pages 86–98 provide extensive information about adventuring in different wilderness environments, and any DM running adventures in Xen’drik should review this material when preparing for a game. Chapter 2 of this book provides detailed information on a number of specific environments and sites, which can be used as guidelines when conducting adventures in similar areas. One key factor to bear in mind while creating adventures in Xen’drik is the wondrous and often primeval nature of the land itself. Terrible magic and extraplanar forces were once unleashed here, and the shattered continent has passed through tens of thousands of years of savagery. The King’s Forest in Breland is wilderness, but it remains part of Breland: Wroat and Sharn are not so far away, and the worst horrors of the woods were defeated long ago by the ancient knights of Galifar. However, no one truly knows what lurks in Xen’drik, and even the trees themselves are twisted and angry. The ruins of the giants are scattered everywhere, and explorers never know when they might stumble over a massive stone face staring up out of the dirt—a fallen monument of an empire long forgotten. Any or all of the following environments might challenge a party seeking the secrets of Xen’drik. Jungle: While Xen’drik is home to glaciers and deserts, the majority of those who return from it speak of its vast jungles and rain forests. Dark elves lurk in the boughs of enormous trees, and ancient ruins are hidden beneath shrouds of choking vines. Forests can encompass a vast range of environments, from chill woodlands where every tree seems to have a twisted human shape, to dense rain forests where the heat can be a threat as deadly as the creatures that hide in the shadows. Forest environments are described on page 87 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Sidebars discussing jungle environments can be found on pages 43 and 54 of this book. Desert: The eastern desert of Menechtarun is over a thousand miles in length, and its deadly heat has long hindered adventurers seeking to claim its secrets. Smaller deserts and burning wastes can be found across the continent. The Desert Canyons site (page 31) can be used to represent any of Xen’drik’s desert regions. The Sandstorm supplement can be used to add additional levels of detail to adventures in Menechtarun. This vast desert is home to the bhuka and asherati races from that book, in addition to the thri-kreen of the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Volcanic Fields: Ties to Fernia, tectonic instability, and the work of ancient magic create regions where lava flows like water and scalding heat can kill the unwary. Xen’drik also includes a number of active volcanoes, one of which might tempt a party of adventurers with rumors of ancient treasure hidden in its depths. The Volcanic Fields map (page 47) details one example of such an adventure site; see page 303 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for the dangers of extreme heat. Marsh: From humid coastal regions to murky inland fens, marshland is common in Xen’drik. Much of the ancient continent was f looded in the fall of the giants, leaving fantastic ruins and countless bodies half-buried in silt and soil. Other swamps have existed since the dawn of time, home to all manner of monstrous vermin and terrible creatures. The Dreary Marsh site (page 33) is one example of a Xen’drik swamp. Additional information on marsh terrain can be found on page 88 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Crystal Waste: At fi rst glance, a crystal waste appears to be a plain of smooth, glittering ice except for its coloration, often a deep red or pale purple. Closer examination reveals such plains to be massive sheets of solid crystal. Crystal wastes are inhospitable environments, even more unforgiving than deserts. They hold no oases, no place for vegetation to flourish, and no shelter for animal life. However, the Riedrans prize the crystal of the plains for its psionic resonance, and the slabs they mine there form the base of Riedran crysteel (ECS 127). Riedran mining camps dot the edges of crystal wastes, where workers quarry blocks out of the plains and prepare the material for transport to Dar Qat. The smoothness of a crystal waste makes it treacherous terrain. Each square counts as 2 squares of movement, and the DC of Balance and Tumble checks in the area increases by 5. A successful DC 10 Balance check is required to run or charge through a crystal waste. A crystal waste shares many of the features of a desert. If you are using the Sandstorm supplement, the information on glass seas provides additional details. The most dangerous places in a crystal waste are the fi elds where Siberys shards have struck the glass, shattering the crystal and creating fields of razor shards that can be whipped up to create a deadly fl aywind. Such a storm deals 1d4 points of damage each round to those caught within it (Sandstorm 22). Arctic Environs: Xen’drik stretches to the southern pole of Eberron, and these far reaches are lands of endless ice and snow. At the same time, glaciers can be found in high mountains throughout the continent, and a shifting zone could bring an ice fl at into existence in the center of Menechtarun itself. Perhaps a city of ancient giants remains perfectly preserved within the heart of a glacier, the result of a desperate attempt at mystical selfpreservation in the last days of the empire. Arctic environments are harsh and deadly. The Mountain Glacier site (page 39) offers a general setting for arctic encounters in Xen’drik, while page 302 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide provides information on the dangers of extreme cold. The Frostburn supplement contains a host of resources for arctic adventures, and the numerous hazards and creatures presented in that book make excellent additions to Xen’drik’s frozen wastes.

TRADE GOODS OF XEN’DRIK Khorvairian adventurers come to Xen’drik in search of ancient treasures and fantastic wealth, but a much wider range of commodities drives a healthy merchant trade between the continents. Precious mineral wealth flows north from its mines and dragonshard fields, and a variety of animals and plants are hunted and harvested in Xen’drik. Here are a few of the more notable trade goods of the mysterious continent. Eternal Rations: Xen’drik is home to many exotic forms of flora and fauna, two of which share the same unnatural trait. Both the long corn plant and the gurk’ash beast possess a supernatural quality that slows their initial decomposition after death or harvest, allowing them to be processed into rations that never spoil. Farming and herding in Xen’drik can be a dangerous way to make a living, but such crops can earn a healthy price abroad. Dragonshards: Xen’drik possesses the richest fields of Siberys dragonshards anywhere on Eberron, along with deep deposits of Khyber shards. Crysteel: The key material in crysteel—a psionically resonant substance that the Riedrans use both as a building material and to create tools—is found in the crystal wastes of Xen’drik. To date, the people of Khorvaire have found little use for this crystal, but the Riedrans devote much effort to quarrying it. Ungava: The berries of the Ungava bush can be used to produce a wide variety of alcoholic beverages, most notably the gin typically called Ungava. This drink is popular with sailors across Eberron, and it is in great demand in the taverns of Sharn and Zarash’ak. Dream Serpents: These rare magical beasts (see page 76) have many fantastic properties. Nonnative hunters typically take only the skin and teeth of the serpent. The drow, who have hunted dream serpents for thousands of years, have also learned to extract the venom glands from the creature and to detoxify its meat. They remove the eyes and grind the serpent’s bones to powder, using both components in tribal rituals. Tilxin Blood: The tilxin bird feeds on the nectar of magical plants, and its blood has potent properties. It is a useful component for the creation of any magic item, but it is particularly useful for haste spells. The blood of an adult tilxin can allow a character to create a potion of haste without expending experience points, or it can take the place of the haste spell (allowing a creator to make the potion without casting or emulating the spell). If it is used as an additional material component for haste, tilxin blood grants a +3 bonus to the user’s effective caster level. Maison Bombardier pays 100 gp for live tilxin birds; as a result, the creatures have been hunted ruthlessly and are hard to fi nd around Cap-Tempête.

THE TRAVELER’S CURSE The shifting zones make Xen’drik a wildly unpredictable realm, but they are not the only challenge facing travelers and cartographers. A force is at work in Xen’drik that defies even magical explanation—an effect that seems to encompass the entire continent and yet does not behave in any predictable fashion. The consensus of the Morgrave scholars is that this is a lingering effect of the ancient cataclysm that ended the quori invasion, but the fi rst human explorers of this land had a different explanation. They called it the Traveler’s Curse, blaming the capricious deity of the Dark Six for the unpredictable nature of exploration in Xen’drik. The Traveler’s Curse twists time and distance, both in perception and reality. Two parties of explorers set out from Cap-Tempête in search of a specifi c ruin, but though both follow the same path, it might take the fi rst group one week and the second group three weeks to make the journey. No logical explanation exists. The fi rst group might find that it has covered the distance in an impossibly short time. The second might perceive a reasonable length for the journey, only to find on their return to Cap-Tempête that far more time has passed. Under some circumstances, this effect can be a blessing, speeding a party through dangerous terrain. However, the Traveler’s Curse can just as easily lead explorers into unexpected danger or cause them to arrive at a different destination than the one they sought. This phenomenon is one reason why no reliable maps of Xen’drik exist, and why it is always possible to stumble into new ruins within striking distance of a settlement or in areas the party has explored before. The Traveler’s Curse ebbs and flows, but it seems to have the strongest effect on those not native to the land. Parties led by a drow or giant guide are more likely to reach their intended destinations. Scholars have also noticed that the effects are weaker on the few established roads in Xen’drik—the paths connecting Cap-Tempête to the closest trading outposts. Some believe that aspects of intent are at work: Knowledge of a destination holds back the effect, and a strong-willed individual might resist or even control it. The curse has no specific game mechanics associated with it. It is an optional effect left entirely to the DM’s discretion and could change from adventure to adventure. If the PCs know their exact destination, perhaps they’ll make it there without diffi culty. Simply remember that Xen’drik is a land of mystery—and that when explorers stumble onto a hidden city that has remained undiscovered only miles from Cap-Tempête itself, the Traveler’s Curse is what makes it possible.