Eberron Cosmology and Spelljammer

[Negflar2099]

While reading through the excerpt from the upcoming Eberron campaign guide I came across a blurb about the dragon above and the farthest reaches of the Dragon Above are the endless expanses of the Astral Sea.

That seems to imply that the Astral Sea and Eberron are actually on the same plane and that got me wondering, do you suppose that's the default assumption for other worlds in 4e, such as FR? I mean is the default cosmology that there are basically three planes, the Astral Sea, the Far Realm and the Elemental Chaos and the "world" whatever world that is, just sits in the Astral Sea like any other domain? Or is that there is only two planes (the Universe and the Far Realm) and the Elemental Chaos and the Astral Sea are part of the same plane?

I'm really confused by this cosmology. I mainly ask because I'm interested in running a Spelljammer campaign and I'm trying to piece it all together in my head.

I know that in the default cosmology there are supposedly thousands of "worlds" but my question is do those worlds each exist on their own plane? Exist all in one plane apart from the Astral Sea? Or do they all bob along within the Astral Sea?

 

[stonegod]

That seems to imply that the Astral Sea and Eberron are actually on the same plane and that got me wondering, do you suppose that's the default assumption for other worlds in 4e, such as FR? I mean is the default cosmology that there are basically three planes, the Astral Sea, the Far Realm and the Elemental Chaos and the "world" whatever world that is, just sits in the Astral Sea like any other domain? Or is that there is only two planes (the Universe and the Far Realm) and the Elemental Chaos and the Astral Sea are part of the same plane?

The World, the Astral Sea, and the Chaos are separate planes in Eberron; you just can theoretically get there from here (by flying/going deep enough).

I know that in the default cosmology there are supposedly thousands of "worlds" but my question is do those worlds each exist on their own plane? Exist all in one plane apart from the Astral Sea? Or do they all bob along within the Astral Sea?

The Manual of the Planes suggests that if you go *reaaaaaly* far that you might reach other worlds.

 

[Siran Dunmorgan]

As nearly as I can eke out from the present Eberron Player's Guide, the authors have mapped the World Axis cosmology onto the setting.

Where the World Axis has the immortal realm above, the natural (and fey and shadow) realm between, and the elemental realm below, the present Eberron cosmology has Syberis above, Eberron between, and Khyber below.

It's indistinct in the present text whether Syberis and Khyber are the borders between the natural realm and the immortal and elemental realms, or whether the Progenitors are the immortal, natural, and elemental realms.

That is, Khyber, the underdark, is described as being a border region between the world and the Elemental Chaos, but Syberis is spoken of as synonymous with the Astral Sea, also known as the Sea of Syberis.

Xoriat and Dal Quor seem to have taken their places as the Far Realm and Dream, respectively [1]

Most of the former planes seem to have been elided into Astral or Elemental dominions, or regions of the Feywild and Shadowfell.

Combining these changes with the information from Manual of the Planes suggests that, yes, a spelljammer should be able to reach the Ring, the moons, and the astral realms beyond, simply by traveling far enough, or, if one can find sufficiently wide tunnels, fly 'down' through Khyber and reach the infinity of the Elemental Chaos beyond.


—Siran Dunmorgan


[1] This seems to do some violence to the concept of Xoriat: one of the things I liked about the place is that it was not the incomprehensible source of un-nameable entities: it was madness. Certainly illogical, utterly insane, but still fundamentally a state that could be reached by merely mortal minds. Something like the art of Bosch or Dali or the Black Paintings of Goya.

The Far Realm has always seemed to me something different, something wholly incomprehensible and ultimately unapproachable by any sort of what we would recognize as "mind."

Also, this would suggest that Xoriat and Dal Quor lie outside the Prophecy.