Expanded Psionics Handbook Races
In April 2004, Wizards of the Coast released its most significant 3.5 update book to date, the Expanded Psionics Handbook. While most D&D 3.5 books included minor updates and balancing, the heavily-criticized 3.0 psionics system called for a more comprehensive overhaul. The resulting book has been well-received and has opened players' eyes to the use of psionics. In fact, some players feel that the new psionics system is more exciting and useful than the standard magic system.
Luckily,
Eberron fans don't have to choose between the two. In Eberron, magic and
psionics are linked but distinct. Dal Quor, the plane that mortals visit
nightly in their dreams, serves as a nexus for powers of the mind. While
psionics are rare in Khorvaire, the setting for most Eberron campaigns, an
entire continent exists that is as defined by psionic powers as Khorvaire
is by magic. Sarlona's primary nation, Riedra, is isolated and ruled by
deceptively benevolent tyrants called the Inspired, humans possessed by
evil Quori spirits. The Eberron Campaign Setting also introduces
the kalashtar, a playable race of humans bonded to good-aligned Quori
spirits that have been irreversibly banished Dal Quor.
One of the Expanded Psionics Handbook's exciting additions is a set of new playable races. While Eberron was designed with the Expanded Psionics Handbook rules in mind, it has no official place for those races. A campaign that focuses on the use of psionics, though, may want to introduce psionic races beyond the kalashtar. The following descriptions show how the Expanded Psionics Handbook races might be placed in the Eberron campaign setting. In general, the official descriptions still serve as the foundation for these flavor conversions, with any exceptions specifically noted. Introducing all of these at once might be overwhelming, but a DM should consider including at least one or two as options for psionic PCs.
Dromite
"No
wonder humans must dream in order to manifest. Your minds are so chaotic!
Compared to you, even the most rebellious dromite has a mind like sharp
edges and straight tunnels."
In Eberron,
psionic power springs from minds brought together in unison. When most
psions manifest powers, they are tapping a source of energy created by
the collective subconscious of the common races, the same power that forms
Dal Quor. The plane of dreams is not the only psionic wellspring, however.
Before the rise of human civilization, a proud insectoid race explored
the known world. They had a simple but civilized society and communicated
through a hive mind. Individual members of the race learned to tap the
collective sentience and became Eberron's first psions. The race eventually
fragmented into two lesser species, including the small but brilliant
dromites. Living beneath Sarlona, the dromites developed a complex culture
and prospered in isolation.
In recent decades,
however, the dromites have outgrown their city-hives beneath the earth.
They have sent scouts above ground, drawing the attention of both the
Inspired and the kalashtar. The castes are currently in a heated debate
about the best course of action. Many Fire Caste members support an alliance
with the Inspired, while Glimmer Caste members favor the kalashtar. Ice
Caste members oppose any further expansion and suggest controlled breeding
to facilitate continuing isolationism. Voice Caste members are generally
undecided, aware of the dangers in any course of action.
Duergar
"In the Mror Holds, there are few greater shames than to discover
a natural aptitude for psionics. A wild talent is usually a sign that
a dwarf has the blood of Duergar, the clan whose very name is now used
as a curse."
The dark dwarves
of the Duergar clan were once one of the most respected clans in northern
Khorvaire. Unparalleled miners, their skill and greed took them into the
unexplored depths of Khyber. For a while they found wealth, but eventually
they were attacked and enslaved by illithids, and over the millennia they
were consumed by insanity. By the time they finally overwhelmed their
masters and escaped, their minds and spirits were permanently twisted.
Through this process, they gained the ability to tap into the psionic
energy of Xoriat, the plane of madness.
If the Duergar
have a central homeland beneath Eberron, it is a mystery to even the most
experienced adventurers. Their small underground cities are found throughout
Khorvaire and serve as staging areas for their war of vengeance against
aberrations. They shun surface dwellers and relentlessly hunt illithids
and beholders, believing that no act is evil if it furthers the destruction
of Xoriat's spawn. A few of the less insane sometimes pursue nobler goals,
but any Duergar faces suspicion and fear among surface-dwellers, especially
among Mror dwarves.
Elan
"In defeat, our enemies become our weapons."
While
most Quori who opposed the Dreaming Dark fled Dal Quor thousands of years
ago, new traitors are occasionally discovered. To punish these rebels,
the Quori devised an eternal torture: immortal imprisonment in the limited
mind of a human. Unlike the willing possession attained by the Inspired
or the shared symbiosis of the kalashtar, elan hosts are not influenced
by the spirits they hold. The Quori spirits inside elans are incapacitated
and helpless to do anything but observe.
When a few of the
first elans unexpectedly manifested powerful psionic abilities, the Inspired
reported the problem and the Dreaming Dark ceased to use it as a punishment.
Now, however, a secluded kalashtar metamind has discovered a technique
for creating new elans. This could represent a turning point in the war
between Adar and Riedra, as it provides a way to eliminate the tenacious
Inspired.
However, the process
is complicated: it requires a subdued Inspired to be slain with a dagger
carved from a large Khyber dragonshard, which in turn must be psionically
augmented. While the kalashtar desperately search for dragonshards, many
human members of the rebellion have volunteered to serve as the hosts.
Their motivations range from vengeance to lust for power, and the lucky
few who become elans have the opportunity to pursue both.
Half-Giants
"No, we aren't half human. We're just half of what we should
be."
During
the last Dal Quor incursion, the giants and the Quori clashed in a titanic
struggle that destroyed Xen'drik and shook Eberron to its core. During
the many years of the conflict, a group of powerful Hashalaq Quori invaded
the dreams of sleeping giantesses and planted an insidious curse. As a
result, the entire next generation of giants was a race of children who
never grew. Stunted and weak, most were put to death by their parents
before they reached adolescence. Only a few survived, sheltered by caring
mothers or hidden among the elves.
When the giants
finally drove the Quori away, the surviving half-giants assembled and
left Xen'drik. Traveling together, they delighted in towering over the
goblins and orcs of Khorvaire. They also discovered an unintended side
effect of the Quori curse that created them: every half-giant is born
with an innate talent for psionics. For centuries, half-giant communities
dotted the western part of the continent, but they were eventually driven
toward the coast by human settlers. Now Eberron's largest community of
half-giants lies in the Demon Wastes, far from the persecution that has
defined their history.
Maenads
"The first thing our people learn is to fear the passion inside
us. Once we understand that, we can learn how to harness it."
During
the Dal Quor incursion, when the plane of dreams was coterminous with
Eberron, many humans manifested psionic powers for the first time. In
Maena, an early human nation on the continent of Sarlona, a group of women
became powerful wilders overnight, a change that left them mad with power.
When other humans refused their demands for sacrifice and tribute, the
bloodthirsty Maenads massacred the people of their nation. It was not
until the Dal Quor was thrown out of alignment that the Maenads came to
their senses and understood what they'd done.
The Maenads swore
never to lose control again. In a secret ritual, they channeled all their
psionic might into psicrystals, then shattered those crystals and permanently
absorbed the shards into their bodies. The psicrystals served as reservoirs
for psionic energy and made power manifestation a matter of discipline
rather than emotion. Since that first generation, the Maenads' children
-- both male and female -- have been born with crystal-flecked skin that
holds a trace of their forbears' psionic abilities.
Few Maenads know
the true history of their people, but they are all taught that their race
must atone for past sins and prevent future tragedies by suppressing their
powerful emotions. They live an ascetic life as nomads on Eberron's oceans
and preserve the matriarchal traditions of ancient Maena. Because trade
is the only way they can acquire cherished metal goods, they regularly
visit coastal towns in Khorvaire and Xen'drik. Few stay behind, however,
and those who travel inland would be regarded as true exotics.
Thri-Kreen
"If you're headed that far into the interior, beware of the mantis
men. They prefer the taste of drow-flesh, but will settle for any sort
of humanoid."
The
same hive mind race that spawned dromites also developed into thri-kreen,
an insectoid race that stalks the sandy wastes of central Xen'drik. If
the dromites are descended from workers, the thri-kreen are clearly meant
to be warriors. Their chitinous armor, strong limbs, and sharp mandibles
are just as dangerous as the psionic powers available to their alien minds.
Thri-kreen culture
is primitive by human standards, but thri-kreen warriors maintain efficient
hierarchies and sustain prosperous populations. Once regarded by giants
as mere nuisances, they learned to use group tactics and leaping ambushes
to overwhelm even the largest foe.
In the furthest
reaches of the thri-kreen's shared racial consciousness, a memory lingers
of betrayal by the elves. The exact circumstances of this incident are
a mystery, but it motivates an almost universal hatred among the thri-kreen
for elves and elf-kin. Drow folklore presents the mantis and scorpion
as eternal foes, and the two cultures clash wherever their territories
overlap.
Xeph
"Every day I find new ways to impress myself."
The
once-human xephs make their home in eastern Argonnessen, where they have
developed in isolation for thousands of years. Descended from the dark-skinned
Serens, the xephs were philosopher-warriors who believed in maximizing
human potential through art, battle, and meditation. They broke off from
their people and settled in the shadowy depths of a vast canyon, far from
the eyes of powerful dragons. As the centuries passed, their unique training
and a rigorous eugenics program have turned them into a genetically distinct
race.
Xephs are witty
conversationalists who enjoy riddles and debate, but have a tendency to
be hopelessly self-centered. While they value physical prowess, their
selective breeding has favored speed and mental development over brute
strength. They see conflict as a chance to prove themselves, using brilliant
strategies to end battles quickly and decisively. A few xeph soulknives
have been so sure of their skills that they left the canyon to prove themselves
in the world as dragon slayers, but none have been heard from again. Less
ambitious xeph adventurers have traveled beyond Argonnessen, as far as
Zilargo and Sharn, where they are generally mistaken for slight, eccentric
humans.
This article was written and written by Johnny "Jhonen Olain" O'Neal, with significant input from the members of the official Eberron message board. All associated images and copyrights are property of Wizards of the Coast.