Eberron - Rising from the Last War

(Jeff_L) #1
CALENDAR
In the common calendar of Khorvaire, days are 24
hours long, divided into day and night. Seven days make
up a week, four weeks a month, and twelve months a
year. The months correspond to the twelve moons of
Eberron (see the Eberron Months table), and the prom­
inent moon carries the name of the month in which its
orbit brings it closest to the planet.
The seven days of the week, in order, are Sul, Mo!,
Zol, Wir, Zor, Far, Sar.
The common calendar of Khorvaire tracks the years
since the founding of the kingdom of Gali far, using
the abbreviation YK. The last king of Galifar, Jarot
ir'Wynarn, died on 12 Therendor 894 YK. The Day of
Mourning occurred a century later, on 20 Olarune 994
YK. By default, a new Eberron campaign begins on 1
Zarantyr 998 YK.

EBERRON MONTHS
Month Name
Zarantyr (mid-winter)
2 Olarune (late winter)
3 Therendor (early spring)
4 Eyre (mid-spring)
5 Dravago (late spring)
6 Nymm (early summer)
7 Lharvion (mid-summer)
8 Barrakas (late summer)
9 Rhaan (early autumn)
10 Sypheros (mid-autumn)
11 Aryth (late autumn)
12 Vult (early winter)

CURRENCY
Merchants and nobles use letters of credit to handle
large transactions, drawing on the reserves of the dwar­
ven banks of the Mror Holds. But most day-to-day trans­
actions use coins of precious metal. With the collapse of
the kingdom of Galifar, each of the Five Nations began
to mint its own currency, along with the Mror bankers.
However, while the designs imprinted on these coins
vary based on the source, each of these factions has
continued to use the same metals, weights, and denom­
inations set forth in the days of Galifar, maintaining a
simple standard for commerce across Khorvaire.
The copper crown (cp) traditionally depicts the crown
of Galifar on one face. The crown is the lowest denom­
ination of coin minted under the rule of Galifar, which
spawned the saying, "In Galifar, even the beggars
have crowns."
The silver sovereign (sp) bears the face of a living or
recent ruler. An unskilled laborer can expect to earn a
sovereign for a day's work.
The gold galifar (gp) bears the image of Galifar I, the
founder of the old kingdom.
The platinum dragon (pp) bears the image of one of
the dragons of legend. With a value of one hundred sov­
ereigns, these coins are used only by the wealthiest citi­
zens of Khorvaire, and the average peasant might never
see such a coin.


A number of other coins remain in circulation, such as
the double crown of Breland (2 cp) and the silver throne
of Cyre (5 sp). However, all the major nations of Khor­
vaire make use of the four basic coins described above.

PULP ADVENTURE
Eberron is a world of swashbuckling adventure.
Whether you're a DM developing an adventure in the
world or a player preparing to explore it, consider the
following elements.

EXOTIC LOCATIONS
Lightning rails, airships, and other forms of transporta­
tion facilitate travel to exotic locations. Adventures could
take you to the colossal ruins left behind by the giants
of Xen'drik, the warped landscape of the Mournland, or
the dark demi planes within the underworld of Khyber.
Even if you prefer to stay in a town, you could explore
the mile-high towers of Sharn or the ancient goblin tun­
nels that lie beneath it.

REMARKABLE HEROES
Eberron is a world in need of heroes. Lingering ten­
sions of war remain. From the fanatics of the Emerald
Claw and the mad cults of the Dragon Below to the
flesh-warping daelkyr and ancient archfiends, Eberron
faces many threats, and few people besides the player
characters are able to stop them. The gods are distant
and don't directly intervene. The Silver Flame is a divine
force of light, but it can act only through mortal cham­
pions. The few powerful benevolent NPCs have limita­
tions: the Keeper of the Flame loses her powers if she
leaves her citadel. The Great Druid, the spiritual leader
of the Eldeen Reaches, is a tree. Most of the powerful
people in the world focus on selfish goals. If an angry
dragon attacks Sharn, there's no one else to deal with
the problem: the fate of the city is in your hands.
Consider a dynamic backstory when developing your
character and choosing your background, whether you
take a background fr om the Player's Handbook or the
house agent background in chapter 1 of this book. If
you take the soldier background, you might have played
a role in events of the last few years. What did you do
during the Last War? What was your greatest triumph
or defeat? If you're a spy, are you a prized agent or did
you disavow your organization after they pushed you too
far? Don't think of your character as a set of numbers:
even at 1st level, you're remarkable in Eberron.

DM TIP: HIGH STAKES
What's better than a battle on the deck of an airship? A
battle on the deck of an airship that's about to crash! A
DM should look for ways to raise the stakes of an Eberron
scene, so players feel that every decision matters. This
could be driven by the consequences of failure: your ac­
tions protect your friends, your house, or your nation. It
could involve time: the alarm's been triggered, and you
only have 6 rounds before security arrives. Such things can
even be incidental. Did you start a fight in an alley behind
a bar? Now you notice the drunk ogre sleeping in the shad­
ows. If she wakes up, this could get ugly.

WELCOME TO EBERRON
7
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