You’re in the world of Eberron
Eberron is a planet in the Material Plane, a safe zone, surrounded by 13 other orbiting planes of existence
The 13 rings/planes in space each have dangerous effects, like a plane where the world is covered entirely in fire, etc.
Occasionally, due to their revolutions around the Material Plane, the other planes come close into contact leading to odd effects
Generally it will be something like the ice plane comes close & makes cold areas even colder
The main continent is Khorvaire, generally populated by humans & is the most powerful continent
Centuries ago Khorvaire was ruled by goblinoid kingdoms
The most powerful are the Dragonmarked Houses
The world is reeling from the ongoing (?) Centuries War
You’re currently in the continent of Xen’drik
Xen’drik is a resource-rich but mysterious continent, shaped by the after-effects of dangerous magic used 40k yrs ago in a war between ancient Dragon Lords, that used to rule Eberron, vs. ancient Giants known for their technological & magical crafting skills
It is expensive to travel to Xen’drik, generally from Sharn to Stormreach
The “Thunder Sea” separating Xen’drik from Khorvaire is extremely volatile, so the best way to get there is by magically-enhanced-boats from House Lyandar
Most boats, from inexpensive to expensive, will hire a Sahaguin guide, fish people from Xen’drik who were generally hostile until the War made travel Xen’drik more common
Major cities:
Stormreach
Major port nearest to Khorvaire
Hub for most business
Dar Qat
Ruled by the Inspired, psychic lords from Sarlona
Hostile to foreigners
Zantashk
Pirate town generally ruled by monster races like orcs
Close to Zantashk there is a hostile mining city (Emil) inside a mountain
Not much is known about the city other than it is ruled by a line of Dwarven nobility, the Bronzeshield’s
The city’s ruler, Torr Bronzeshield, was very close to the now-dead King Galifar - former King of Khorvaire
After Galifar died Torr Bronzeshield took up residence in the mountain for a haven from The War
Used to be friendly but now their armies will attack strangers
The armies are, strangely, rumored to battle to the death against each other
Xen’drik is the best place to get dragonshards from, it falls from the sky here from the Siberys Interplanetary Ring way up in space
All the politically powerful rely on the resources exclusive to Xen’drik, mostly khyber & siberys dragonshards, but also ancient giant artifacts that grant powers
Dragonshards (listed by most-to-least rare)
Siberys
The most expensive & mostly found in Xen’drik
Used to enhance dragonmarked powers
Khyber
Can bind elements together into powerful artifacts
e.g. Lightning rail & flight use artificier khyber technology
Eberron Shards
Enhances magical items & can be used as a Material component for casting spells
The Travelers Curse
You can’t map Xen’drik (shift zones)
Most of the land, outside of the major cities, is susceptible to shifts that day-to-day change the entire environment (e.g a stretch of jungle changes to arctic tundra)
You can hire guides, best are half-giants or drow, to avoid shift zones