Dal Quor
Dal Quor is both impossibly distant and remarkably close. Tens of thousands of years ago, the giants of Xen’drik shattered the ties between Dal Quor and the Material Plane. Since then, it’s been permanently remote, and no naturally occurring manifest zone to Dal Quor has been discovered. Not even plane shift or astral travel can allow direct contact with the Region of Dreams. And yet, it’s also the closest of the planes—to visit, just close your eyes. Dreaming is a form of spiritual travel, as your mortal consciousness is drawn to Dal Quor.
Dal Quor is the realm of dreams, a place of imagination where memory and emotion can shape reality. The stories of Thelanis bring people together in a shared tale; by contrast, the dreams of Dal Quor are unique, individual, and fleeting. They’re defined by our experiences and desires, and we rarely remember them when they’re over. Dreams allows us to sift through our subconscious, and they are ours alone—or at least, they should be...if they aren’t manipulated by an outside force. The denizens of Dal Quor reflect the secondary theme of the plane, and—for now, at least—that theme is nightmares. The quori prey on mortal dreams, twisting them to produce the emotions they crave. This doesn’t mean all dreams are nightmares—but when a quori takes an interest in your dream, it’ll usually become one.
Geography
Dal Quor doesn’t have layers like other planes. Instead, it can be seen as a vast ocean. When a mortal dreams, they fall into that ocean and create an “island”: a dream pocket, shaped by their memories and desires. When they wake, this island disappears. So at any given moment, Dal Quor contains millions of islands, but none last for long. A passive dreamer can’t leave their own island, but a lucid dreamer can find ways to travel between them. Typically this involves portals, doors within a dream that have a psychic connection to the destination—but it’s also possible to break through the psychic border of an island, to fly to another island on a ship of dreams or an imaginary winged beast.
These flickering islands orbit the stable core of the realm, the dark heart of the Quor Tarai. There may be permanent islands in the Ocean of Dreams, following the example of the Uul Dhakaan and the Draconic Eidolon.
Ecosystem Cycles
The Turning of the Age
The layers of Dal Quor are shaped by dreaming minds. The quori believe the heart of Dal Quor is itself the dream of an immense, ancient spirit, and that they themselves are simply part of its dream. They call this the Quor Tarai—the Dream of the Age. But there’s a catch: every dream ends when the dreamer wakes up. Forty thousand years ago, the giants of Xen’drik fought a war with Dal Quor—but none of the current quori remember this war or anything that happened before it. They believe this is because the Quor Tarai came to an end. Dal Quor woke from its dream, then immediately returned to its slumber and began to dream again...but it was a new dream, with entirely new quori. The quori call this transition the Turning of the Age. They don’t know how many times it’s happened before, and they know nothing about the quori of the previous age. But they believe that each incarnation of the Quor Tarai has its own distinct flavor. The present Quor Tarai is il-Lashtavar, the Great Darkness that Dreams. It’s malevolent and cruel, and that’s reflected by the quori it’s created. But a handful of quori didn’t fit in this dream. These are the quori that became the kalashtar, who consider themselves harbingers of transformation. The kalashtar believe that the next incarnation of the Quor Tarai will be an age of hope and compassion; they call it il-Yannah, the Great Light. So all quori know that one day, Dal Quor will wake from its dream, and when it does, all existing quori will be destroyed. This drives the conflict between the kalashtar and the Dreaming Dark. The kalashtar believe their devotions and meditation slowly turn the wheel toward a dream of light. Meanwhile, the agents of the Dreaming Dark believe they can permanently anchor the Quor Tarai in the current age, if only they can control enough mortal dreams—a process begun with Sarlona. It’s up to the DM to decide if the kalashtar can usher in a new age over the course of the campaign, or if the Dreaming Dark will maintain the status quo. If the Turning of the Age occurs, all existing quori will be destroyed and reborn; no one knows what this will do to the kalashtar or foreign creations like the Uul Dhakaan.Localized Phenomena
Dal Quor is a place where impossible things are possible and the surroundings can change in the blink of an eye. What differentiates it from Kythri and Xoriat is that these changes are drawn from the minds of dreamers, both from the mortal subconscious and the ancient dreams of il-Lashtavar itself. Even when you’re exploring someone else’s dreams, your desires and memories can infect the landscape.
Extremely Morphic. The environment of Dal Quor can shift at any moment. These changes are generally drawn from the mind of the current dreamer, but at the DM’s discretion, the thoughts of adventurers might impact another creature’s dream
that they’re currently experiencing.
Extended Illusion. When a creature casts an illusion spell with a duration of 1 minute or longer, the duration is doubled. Spells with a duration of 24 hours or more are unaffected.
Flowing Time. For every 10 minutes that pass in Dal Quor, only 1 minute passes on the Material Plane. While sleeping for 8 hours, a creature could spend 3 days in Dal Quor.
Fauna & Flora
The quori, children of il-Lashtavar, are the most numerous of the native spirits of Dal Quor. But quori aren’t the only creatures dreamers can encounter in the Region of Dreams.
Dreamers
At any given moment, there are millions of dreaming minds creating islands in Dal Quor. Humans, orcs, giants, dragons—any creature that dreams can be found in this plane. A rare few dreamers are lucid and in full control of their actions, due to either training or magic; these are capable of leaving their own dreams and moving between the plane’s dream islands and layers. However, the vast majority of dreamers aren’t lucid. They’re driven by their subconscious, and react based on instinct and deep desires; they likely won't remember the events of a dream clearly. Either way, when a dreamer dies in their dream, they wake up; however, this death can still have consequences.Figments & Drifters
When you have a dream and you meet your old drill sergeant, it’s not actually your old drill sergeant, and it’s (probably) not a quori. It’s simply a figment, manifested from the void by Dal Quor. When you wake up—or even just leave the scene—this manifestation vanishes, absorbed back into the essence of the plane. A figment can be anything—a friend of yours, a zombie version of that friend, a demon, a dragon—but the catch is that it’s drawn from the mind of the local dreamer. When you dream about your old drill sergeant, they can’t tell you a secret you don’t already know, because they’re part of you. On the other hand, if you’re in someone else’s dream—or if a quori has taken control of your dream—then the figments can surprise you, because their capabilities and knowledge are drawn from someone else’s mind. A figment could use the statistics of the creature it represents, or it might be limited, as the dreamer doesn’t know what it’s actually capable of. Conversely, a figment goblin could have the statistics of an ogre—in this dream, that’s one tough goblin. Occasionally, a remarkable figment develops the ability to persist beyond the dream that created it—becoming a truly sentient spirit instead of a simple manifestation. Such figments might be useful guides or allies for mortal dreamers, or become predators that travel from dream to dream and prey on mortal fears. Such free-willed figments are called drifters.The Quori
The quori themselves are figments—figments of il-Lashtavar, the current Dream of the Age. However, these figments are immortal, and don’t disappear when a mortal’s dream ends; if they’re destroyed, they’re simply reborn within the heart of il-Lashtavar. Like other figments, they come into existence knowing the role they are supposed to play: they are shapers of nightmares. Each type of quori feeds on a particular emotion; tsucora quori craft terrifying nightmares so they can feast on mortal fear, while the du’ulora thrive on anger. When a quori enters a dream, it can create new figments, alter the story’s script, or change its own appearance (though its statistics remain the same). If the invading quori is killed within the dream, the story reverts to the original script, so most quori prefer to remain in the background while shaping a dream; however, some are arrogant and can’t resist playing a starring role. The quori don’t create every nightmare; there are millions of dreamers, while the quori number only in the thousands. But the nightmares they personally create are works of art. In the first days of il-Lashtavar, the quori had no purpose aside from preying on mortal dreams. Now they believe they’re fighting for their survival, and they use their abilities to manipulate mortals and the waking world. But always remember that the quori began as crafters of nightmares, and consider how each quori’s favorite emotion may color its actions.Interlopers
History
Ever since the Age of Giants, it’s been nearly impossible to physically interact with Dal Quor from the Material Plane. This forces the quori tied to the kalashtar and the Inspired to act through mortal agents. The only denizens of Dal Quor that can easily enter the world are the fey of the Fading Dream. The plane is always remote; undoing this damage would be an epic quest, potentially returning the thirteenth moon to the sky. But even at a distance, Dal Quor can affect the waking world.
Dreams
Manifest Zones
The metaphysical damage caused in the conflict between Dal Quor and the giants of Xen’drik broke the ties between Eberron and Dal Quor. There are no naturally occurring manifest zones to Dal Quor, and even plane shift won’t allow travel there. However, though natural manifest zones don’t exist, anything is possible with an eldritch machine, whether in the hands of the Dreaming Dark pursuing subtle conquest, or simply an eccentric artificer seeking the advancement of arcane science.Quori Artifacts
While it’s rare to encounter objects on Eberron that come from Dal Quor, the Inspired of Sarlona create objects using quori techniques. The primary substance used in quori objects is a form of solidified emotion called sentira. It has an opalescent, organic texture similar to polished horn; the color depends on the emotion used in its creation, and the wearer can feel that emotion as a constant background presence in their mind. As a material, sentira is light and extremely strong, similar to mithral; an agent of the Dreaming Dark might wear armor that’s functionally mithral armor but actually made from sentira. Quori items generally enhance telepathy or other psychic effects; a ring of mind shielding or crystal ball of mind reading would be logical creations of the quori.
Alternative Name(s)
The Region of Dreams
Type
Plane of Existence
Included Locations
