Syrania
Imagine a perfect blue sky, stretching off into the horizon. There’s no sign of the sun, but the sky is clear and bright, and the floating crystal towers gleam as if caught in a sunbeam. A warm, gentle breeze brushes over you, and there’s a faint sound of distant chimes. You feel absolutely calm; in this moment, all anger melts away.
This is Syrania, the Azure Sky. While people often think of its floating towers and crystal spires—the same magic that sustains the great towers of Sharn—Syrania is the plane of peace and all that flourishes in peaceful times: commerce, education, reflection. There are no vast armies here, no dangerous monsters. The magic of Syrania allows all creatures to communicate and dispels aggression. As such, it’s a common crossroads for beings who do travel the planes, and the Immeasurable Market of Syrania is the safest place to interact with fiends, slaadi, and other extraplanar beings. However, while bloodshed is rare in the Azure Sky, you can still make deadly enemies; mortals are always wise to tread lightly in the cities of angels.
Geography
Rather than being divided into separate layers in the same way as many other planes, Syrania is comprised of crystal spires floating in the seemingly infinite void of the Open Sky. The space within a spire may be far larger than it appears from the outside, whether the spire leads to the multiple towers of the University or the vast expanse of the Immeasurable Market. However, all of these regions are connected through the medium of the spires and the Open Sky.
The majority of spires aren’t all that vast. Most are the seats of a dominion, who is attended by a few virtues and additional angels as needed. These have the general flavor of a library or museum, with additional facilities to allow the dominion to practice or study its subject. The spire of a dominion of nature has gardens, while the tower of a dominion of war has displays of armor and a dueling chamber. But these are still places for study and contemplation; the seat of a dominion of war isn’t an impenetrable fortress, and the spire of a dominion of nature has cultivated gardens, not the wilderness one finds in Irian and Lamannia.
Localized Phenomena
Syrania encourages communication and negotiation, and grants all creatures the gift of flight. The Open Sky of Syrania is an endless void, and without flight, you could fall indefinitely; fortunately, all creatures find that they can move through the air just as naturally as walking.
Unburdened. A creature gains a flying speed equal to its walking speed, unless it already has a flying speed greater than or equal to its walking speed, in which case that speed increases by 10 feet.
Gentle Thoughts. A creature has advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and disadvantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks.
Standard Time. Time passes at the same pace as on the Material Plane, and is consistent across its layers.
Universal Understanding. A creature can understand the literal meaning of any spoken language that it hears and can understand any written language that it can see. This doesn’t decode secret messages or reveal the meaning of symbols that aren’t part of a written language.
Absolute Peace. To make an attack or cast a damaging spell, a creature must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it doesn’t make the attack or cast the spell, but the action is lost.
Fauna & Flora
Syrania is a curiously empty plane. While the Immeasurable Market is always bustling, most of this traffic is comprised of creatures from other planes. Syrania’s other spires have comparatively few inhabitants—not so few that they feel desolate or barren, just enough so that it always feels slow and peaceful. There’s no need for people to perform menial tasks in Syrania, nor does this plane have manifestations to populate it; damaged structures gradually repair themselves, and litter and debris slowly dissolve.
The native inhabitants of Syrania are winged humanoid immortals, collectively referred to as angels, though they differ from those of other planes in some important ways. While they’re considered to be celestials, most angels of Syrania are neutral in alignment. They aren’t champions of justice or bringers of hope; rather, they’re observers and scholars, defined by their domain of study. The lesser immortals are simply referred to as angels, while the higher orders have titles—virtues, dominions, and thrones. These higher angels are bound to the contemplation of a particular concept, based on their domain, and devote their existence to contemplating and understanding it. Some believe that it’s through this contemplation that the concept continues to exist (though most inhabitants of other places—mortal and immortal alike—consider this to be highly unlikely). The appearance of Syranian angels is influenced by their domain, so the Dominion of Storms might be wreathed in lightning and have wings formed of storm clouds, while the Dominion of Trees could have bark for skin and moss for hair.
Unlike lesser angels and visitors to Syrania, virtues, dominions, and thrones are immune to the effects of Syrania’s Absolute Peace property, and are capable of taking aggressive action to defend Syrania, or when pursuing their domain—so a virtue of war could fight. However, they always try to find nonviolent or nonlethal solutions to threats.
Angels
Angels are the least of the immortals of Syrania. They have no names or domains and are generally interchangeable; they serve as scribes and guides, performing minor tasks. They do not engage in combat and their statistics are largely inconsequential.Virtues
Virtues are a higher order of angel, with names and broad domains—Hazari, Virtue of Nature. They act as assistants and emissaries of the dominions. Virtues spend much of their time contemplating their domain, but they also gather information for their dominions—either by fetching existing records within Syrania, talking with creatures who visit the plane, or by venturing beyond Syrania and discretely observing. A dominion is always aware of everything that happens to its virtues and immediately knows all information they collect. Virtues typically use the stat blocks of devas, and they change their forms to conceal their presence while gathering intelligence They can only use commune to answer questions tied to their domain, and can cast plane shift once per day, but only when acting in the direct service of a dominion.Dominions
Dominions focus on a very specific aspect of a single domain, like wolves or swords. They have names and specific domains, along with extra titles for pomp—Tezaria, Angel of the Storm, Dominion of the Seventh Spire. They typically spend their time in contemplation and use virtues as their eyes and hands, but occasionally a dominion acts directly—especially if its spire is threatened in some way. As neutral observers, dominions have no sympathy for mortals, but they’re often willing to discuss their domain with a mortal who has an interesting perspective on it. It’s important to recognize the di fference between a warrior angel of Shavarath and a dominion of Syrania with the domain of War. The Shavaran is an angel who fights wars, and this has no place in peaceful Syrania. On the other hand, the dominion of Syrania—perhaps called the Angel of Swords—understands war, and in particular, knows everything there is to know about a single thing: swords. They know sword-fighting techniques from every mortal and immortal culture. They can recognize any sword, know the locations of a number of long-forgotten legendary blades, and may have a few in their possession. They’re likely one of the deadliest swordfighters in existence, but they don’t actually desire to fight, because that’s not the point: they are the Angel of Swords, and they contemplate swords. Dominions often use the statistics of a planetar, substituting the spells and skills appropriate to their domain; however, they maintain the ability to cast detect good and evil and invisibility at will, and use the latter to move unseen when observing on the Material Plane. Dominions might also possess additional abilities reflecting their absolute knowledge of their domain. For example, the Angel of Swords could be immune to any damage inflicted by a sword; perhaps they know perfectly how to defend against such an attack, or the sword itself might even refuse to strike them.Thrones
The greatest angels of Syrania are the thrones. There’s a single throne for each domain, and they have a profound knowledge of their entire domain. Unlike lesser angels, thrones are known only by their domain, with no other name—the Throne of War. They’re bound to all the dominions whose studies lie within their domain, and they know everything experienced by those dominions. They largely remain in deep contemplation, acting only if Syrania itself is threatened or if a dominion succumbs to corruption. A throne has powers equal to or greater than a solar, though when using spells such as commune, it can only answer questions tied to its domain. A throne also has access to the skills and spells of their domain. As a bonus action, a throne can strip the benefits of Syrania’s Unburdened property for any number of creatures it can see—so flightless creatures who cause trouble may find themselves falling forever through the Open Sky. The thrones are the most powerful entities that can be encountered by mortals, but many sages assume that they are themselves tied to a greater force who knows everything that they experience, and who shapes the plane itself.History
Manifest Zones
Manifest zones tied to Syrania can reflect one or more of the properties of the plane, but often in more limited ways. The manifest zone containing the city of Sharn has a lesser aspect of the Unburdened property; it doesn’t grant flight, but it enhances effects that grant flight or levitation, enabling the skycoaches and flying buttresses that support the towers. A zone that has the Absolute Peace property might have a lower DC for the saving throw, or it might encourage peaceful behavior without actively enforcing it. Temples are often built on Syranian zones with the Absolute Peace property while universities and House Sivis search for zones with the Universal Understanding property. In addition to standard manifest zones, there are a few portals to the Immeasurable Market hidden in Eberron. These take many forms; a back door could be an actual door, a large chest, or a shallow pool of water. A back door only opens under speci c circumstances: when opened with a special key, when used at a certain time, when blood is spilled, or when a heart is broken. Most who discover these portals jealously guard them; a merchant with access to the Immeasurable Market can acquire remarkable goods!Coterminus & Remote
When Syrania is coterminous, goodwill spreads across the world and people find it nearly impossible to contemplate violence. These periods brought welcome moments of peace during the Last War, and there are stories of enemy soldiers coming together to share stories or play games. During these times, the Absolute Peace and Gentle Thoughts properties apply across Eberron. However, if a creature is attacked, harmed by a spell, or witnesses its friends being harmed, that creature is unaffected by Absolute Peace for one minute. The influence of Syrania limits violence, but once conflicts break out, it can’t stop them. While Syrania is coterminous, the skies are clear and the weather is calm—it’s believed that if you’re in a Syranian manifest zone during this time, it’s possible to fly into the Open Sky simply by flying straight up to the edge of the sky. This may be apocryphal or only true in certain manifest zones...there’s only one way to find out! When Syrania is remote, the skies are gray and the sun can’t be seen. People feel quarrelsome and it’s difficult to come to an understanding. Creatures have disadvantage on all Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Outside of Syranian manifest zones, all flying speeds are reduced by 10 feet, to a minimum of 5 feet. Traditionally, Syrania is coterminous on the 9th day of the month of Rhaan, once every ten years. Followers of the Sovereign Host celebrate this day every year as Boldrei’s Feast, a time for people to come together and resolve their grievances; the tenth-year coterminous celebrations are especially grand. Syrania is remote once every ten years on the same day, five years after the coterminous period. This day is still celebrated, as people make a conscious effort not to give into anger.Syranian Artifacts
Syrania’s greatest treasure is the Immeasurable Market itself, with all manner of exotic goods available there. Many of the dominions of Syrania are more interested in collecting relics tied to their domain than in creating them, but there are a few who do both; the limits of what they can produce are tied to their domain. Other Syranian items are usually linked to the plane’s universal properties. The power of Syrania enhances flight; there’s a stall in the Market that sells wings of flying that resemble the wings of an angel. Things that encourage or enforce peace may come from Syrania, along with items that enhance a character’s diplomatic ability.
Alternative Name(s)
The Azure Sky
Type
Plane of Existence
Included Locations
