Xen'drik

Xen'drik is a continent found on the southern hemisphere of Eberron. It is the homeland of the giants, who built one of the most powerful civilizations in Eberron before the continent was devastated by the dragons of Argonnessen. Giant ruins still dot the jungles of Xen'drik. Many other peoples, including the drow, also call Xen'drik home.

Geography

The continent of Xen'drik is a massive landmass south of the continent of Khorvaire, beyond Shargon's Teeth and the Thunder Sea and southwest of Aerenal. It is believed to be larger in size than Khorvaire, but has never been fully surveyed.[2] South of Xen'drik is the land mass of Everice, separated by the Icemaw Sea.[3][4] The Sea of Lost Souls to the west, and the Dark Sea to the east separate Xen'drik from Argonnessen[4]
Parts of Xen'drik lie beneath the Ring of Siberys, making it the primary location where Siberys dragonshards can be found.

Biomes

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. Xen'drik has several mountain ranges, including: the Ash Cauldrons, Bluespire Peaks, Fangs of Angarak, Scimitar Spires, Skyraker Claws, Sun Pillars, Tempest Spine, and The Titan's Teeth.

Settlements

Xen'drik is sparsely populated, and many of the creatures who inhabit the continent are nomadic or inhabit giant ruins.[1] Over the past two hundred years a few settlements around Xen'drik's Skyfall Peninsula have emerged as ports of trade with the other continents. Many of these ports are ephemeral, but the two oldest and most notable are Stormreach and Dar Qat. The city of Stormreach has become the largest settlement on the continent and is become the primary entry point for expeditions into the vast continent from Khorvaire. Dar Qat is a Riedran outpost in Xen'drik.
In addition to modern settlements, ruins dot the landscape throughout the continent – from the fallen city states of the giants to the drow and elven cities of ages past. Explorers and Adventurers who spend even a few months in Xen'drik will know of a dozen or more ruins.

The Traveler's Curse

The Traveler's Curse 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 giants. And strangely, the Traveler's Curse has no effect on Thri-kreen.

Inhabitants Xen'drik is home to all sorts of people and creatures, but the most prominent inhabitants are the drow and giants, long-disconnected from their glorious empire of the past. Xen'drik is also home to strange peoples that haven't been seen by civilized people in the Modern Age. Aarakocra, Gith, Harengon, Kenku, Leonin, Loxodon, Tabaxi, Thri-keen, Tortle, Triton, Vedalkin, and Yuan-ti all maintain civilizations of differing degrees of sophistication that are largely unknown to the peoples of Khorvaire. The Aereni elves also trace their origins to Xen'drik but have since left the continent behind.[1]

Drow

The drow prefer to remain in isolation from other cultures. 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 Giant empire.

The most common drow culture to encounter are tribes and clans who worship Vulkoor.[24] These settlements can be found ranging from the Menechtarun desert to the jungles of 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 Obsidian City. The Umbragen have taken to a life deep within Khyber, beneath the Ring of Storms.

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

Giants

While most modern giants are a shadow of their counterparts in the Age of Giants, they are still one of the most prominent races in Xen'drik. Modern giants have split into various types, such as jungle giants or fire giants and can be found throughout Xen'drik.[21] A few giants are primordial giants, who more closely resemble the ancient giants. Most giants are part of small disorganized tribes, but a few larger factions of giants do exist, including the Battalion of the Basalt Towers, the Dominion of Purity, the Giants of Rusheme, and the Scriveners of the Sky.

Sahuagin

Sahuagin are very common in the Thunder Sea and especially throughout Shargon's Teeth north of Xen'drik. Sahuagin raiders like to prey upon the ships traveling between Khorvaire and Xen'drik. A common practice to minimize the likelihood of being a victim of Sahuagin is for ship captains or owners to hire Sahuagin guides. They can also be found in Stormreach's harbor.

Thri-kreen

The Thri-kreen are a humanoid race that resemble a praying mantis. A small community of Thri-kreen can be found under the city of Stormreach and larger communities can be found in the Menechtarun desert.

Yuan-ti

Yuan-ti are originally from Sarlona, but fled to Xen'drik to escape extermination by the Inspired. They favor living in giant ruins deep in Xen'drik's jungles, but some can also be found near Stormreach.