1. Locations

Dolurrh: The Realm of the Dead

Plane

Endless caverns stretch throughout Dolurrh, bleak passages of gray stone. Wherever you go, shadowy figures reach toward you, imploring, but you feel only the faintest chill as their insubstantial fingers pass through you. Mist pools around your feet, and as you press forward, you realize this swirling mist is moaning. This is no natural phenomenon; these are the remnants of souls who have forgotten themselves. This is Dolurrh. It’s not the embodiment of the idea of death or dying, both of which are reflected in Mabar. Rather, Dolurrh is where mortal souls go after their bodies die, where memories fade and lives are forgotten.

Mortal spirits are drawn to Dolurrh within moments of death, and their memories begin to decay immediately. Within days, most spirits no longer have any desire to leave Dolurrh, and within weeks, most only have the faintest memories of their previous lives. The faiths of Aerenal and the Blood of Vol assert that Dolurrh is the absolute end of existence, the last echoes of a life before it’s completely gone. But when Dorius Alyre ir’Korran drew his classic planar map (seen at the beginning of this book), he used the Octogram symbol of the Sovereign Host to represent Dolurrh, because he declared it to be the door through which all mortals must pass to join with the Sovereigns. This has come to be a common view: what appears to be memory fading is actually the soul slowly ascending to a higher form of existence, rising to a level of reality no mortal can experience. The Vassals of the Sovereign Host say the faithful finally join the Sovereigns; followers of the Silver Flame say that noble souls strengthen the Flame. What is left is only a husk—the cast-off remnants, like an abandoned snakeskin or the traces of memory that can be read using speak with dead. Thus, while Dolurrh has long been known as the Realm of the Dead, many call it the Gateway. Ultimately, this is a matter of faith—whether the other side of Dolurrh is oblivion or paradise, no one ever returns from it.

The sage Annolysse of Arcanix declared that Dolurrh must be the thirteenth plane, for it has no opposite. It doesn’t embody an idea so much as it serves a purpose—that of gathering, collecting, and (perhaps) transitioning souls. Mortal actions are judged in Daanvi; by contrast, Dolurrh doesn’t judge and it doesn’t punish. It’s simply the end of the journey—or depending how you look at it, the beginning of a new one.

All living creatures come to Dolurrh, sooner or later. Those that come here before death are almost always looking for something—a lost soul, a forgotten memory. But living or dead, any who come to Dolurrh can be trapped by its power.

Source: Exploring Eberron


When a mortal soul dies, it is drawn to Dolurrh, a place defined by despair and apathy. Over time, memories are leached out of these trapped spirits until only husks remain. Although this seems a bleak fate, most religions maintain that Dolurrh isn’t the end of a soul’s journey; it is a gateway to whatever lies beyond. They assert that what appears to be dissolution is the natural process of the soul moving to a higher plane of existence that mortals can never realize: joining with the Sovereigns, merging with the Silver Flame, or simply rejoining the cycle of life in a new form. That claim notwithstanding, Dolurrh is a gloomy plane filled with the lingering traces of the dead.

Dolurrh Manifest Zone Features

d4 Feature
1 Bodies buried here reanimate in 1d4 days, possessed by restless spirits. These spirits might be malevolent or benign.
2 Any necromancy spell of 1st level or higher cast within the zone is treated as if it were cast at a level one higher than the spell slot that was expended.
3 Spells and abilities that raise the dead have a 50 percent chance to bring back 1d4 angry spirits as well. These might be banshees, ghosts, shadows, specters, wraiths, or other incorporeal undead.
4 In order to cast a spell of 1st level or higher in the zone, the caster must succeed on a Constitution check with a DC equal to 10 + the level of the spell. On a failed check, the spell is not cast and its spell slot is not expended, but the action is lost.

Source: Rising from the Last War

Denizens

In many ways, Dolurrh is a machine. The pull that draws spirits to Dolurrh is a mechanical effect, part of the fundamental nature of souls. The denizens of Dolurrh are the cogs of that machine, here to keep the system running.

The Quick

The native creatures of Dolurrh are bound to the cycle of transition, and all have some role to serve in this process. All of the Quick are immune to the ennui condition.

Nalfeshnee demons patrol the Catacombs of Dolurrh, dispersing melds and lemures and dealing with mortal intruders. They appear as large humanoids whose features are shrouded in gray mist, and they delight in crushing mortals and pulling the shades from their corpses, as well as consuming lemures

Marut inevitables are powerful guardians, crafted in the Crucible of Dolurrh, forged from husksteel, and tasked to preserve the cycle of life and death. Maruts are occasionally dispatched to Eberron to intervene with acts of resurrection, or when a lich or mummy is created. No one’s sure what triggers this deadly intervention—perhaps the resurrection defied the Prophecy—but Jorasco healers always cast augury before raising the dead. If the result is “woe,” they refuse the job, lest a Dolurrhi marut appear, destroying the resurrected creature, its healer, and possibly the whole healing house in the process.

Shadar-kai are servants of the Queen of the Dead, shades granted new life. Though their new forms appear elf-like, they might’ve been any sort of humanoid in their previous life; when they caught the Queen’s attention, she preserved their soul from entrapment. The shadar-kai serve in the Vault of Memories, and occasionally as her hands on Eberron. They might clash with necromancers (especially the agents of Lady Illmarrow), collect trinkets, or target mortals with no rhyme or reason. Many sages attempt to explain these enigmatic actions, often speculating that they’re collecting especially tragic memories for the Vault. Other denizens of Dolurrh are unique, such as the Librarian, found in the Vault of Memories, and the Smith of Souls, who dwells in the Crucible.

The Dead

The spirits of those who have died are omnipresent in Dolurrh, from shades huddled in the shadows to layers of moaning mist. The Dead might be considered manifestations of Dolurrh, but the plane didn’t actually create them—all were once mortals.

Shades are mortal souls that are freshly arrived in Dolurrh. They maintain a portion of their memory and original appearance, though they’re insubstantial and can’t interact with material objects. Shades are susceptible to ennui, and as they gain levels, their appearance blurs and their memories slowly fade. Shades can speak, and they may cry or beg adventurers to help them; however, most are incapable of taking any actions on their own. They’re often found lost in thought, trying to remember something they’ve forgotten, or fixating on a past mistake.

Husks are harmless shades that have been overcome by ennui and possess only the vaguest memories of their mortal existence. Most retain a semblance of their mortal shape, but they continue to fade over decades, eventually merging with other husks to form masses of moaning mist. Having no true consciousness of their own, husks are immune to ennui’s effects. Occasionally, a group of husks cluster around a strong memory, forming an ectoplasmic mass that prowls in search of more scraps of memory, absorbing other husks. Such a creature is called a meld, and its statistics are provided in chapter 8.

Ghosts are formed when a shade clings to a particular memory with such intensity that even Dolurrh can’t completely eradicate it—perhaps a terrible mistake or a bitter grudge. The rest of the spirit’s memories fade, and it becomes immune to ennui, but this ember remains, defining its existence. Ghosts are driven by a primal desire to return to Eberron, to haunt the place where they died or where their anchoring memory was forged; they might escape to the Material Plane when Dolurrh is coterminous or when a resurrection goes wrong. Ghosts that are destroyed eventually reform; they can only find peace if their unfinished business is resolved.

Other forms of undead are rarely seen in Dolurrh. The entities found in this plane are the spirits of the dead, slowly fading, transitioning—or trapped in that process. Corporeal undead such as ghouls, skeletons, and zombies have no place here, while undead that hunger to consume life belong in Mabar.

The Lingering

Memories of joy and happiness do no harm in Dolurrh. But memories of pain, of cruelty, of anger . . . these don’t fade so easily, and they can hurt others. Even if they don’t trap shades as ghosts, this psychic residue can build up in the gears of the spiritual machinery of Dolurrh. It often takes the presence of a mortal to trigger it; when this occurs, the lingering pain and hate coalesces into a solid form. The least of these are lemures, formed from hateful memories or deeds. The emotional residue of hundreds or thousands of people can form deadly sorrowsworn—the Angry, the Hungry, the Lonely, the Lost, and the Wretched—as presented in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes. The Lingering are formed in Dolurrh and are immune to ennui, but they’re a waste product, not the plane’s desired result. As such, nalfeshnee, maruts, and other guardians destroy the Lingering whenever they are found.

Source: Exploring Eberron Chapter 5


A meld is formed from the faded souls of mortals—husks whose memories have been consumed by Dolurrh. These husks are typically harmless, but sometimes an aggressive nucleus gathers other husks, forming a deadly gestalt. In essence, a meld is a fusion of half-formed ghosts; it has an amorphous shape, with vague faces and limbs projecting from the mass, then being consumed once more. It makes no sound when it moves, but mortals around a meld hear cries of pain, pleading voices, and unearthly moans. Its Conflicted Soul action reflects it projecting some of its husks into a mortal body, temporarily overwhelming the victim with conflicting desires and visions.

Denizens of Dolurrh. Melds are born in Dolurrh, and prowl the endless caverns searching for scraps of memory. This hunger can draw them to Eberron through manifest zones or when planes are coterminous. A meld can also manifest when someone is raised from the dead, following in the wake of the soul being drawn back to the world of the living. Melds that enter Eberron rarely stray more than one mile from the point where they arrived.

Hunger for Memory. A meld has the barest traces of dozens of souls. It remembers scraps of the most powerful moments of its component husks, but it can’t place these in any context. The meld yearns to consume other spirits, to feast on their memories and emotions. While highly unusual, it’s possible for a powerful personality within a meld to exert temporary control; this might cause the meld to pursue a particular individual or draw it to a specific location. When a meld kills a living creature and consumes its spirit, the flood of memories can also shift the purpose of the meld, as it suddenly acts on the desires of its most recent victim. A meld loose in Eberron retains the spirits it consumes, preventing them from transitioning to Dolurrh. This prevents the spirit from fading; a character could hear the whispers of a trapped spirit within a meld, and a husk could hold the souls of people who died long ago. A side effect of this is that creatures slain by a meld cannot be resurrected or raised from the dead until the meld is destroyed.

Undead Nature. A meld doesn’t require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Source: Exploring Eberron Chapter 8


Nalfeshnee (demon), lemure (devil), marut (inevitable).

Monster Manual III: Sorrowsworn (demon), ephemeral swarm, plague brush.

Universal Properties

Everything about Dolurrh is gray and gloomy. Even the brightest colors seem faded, the most joyful sounds seem dull. The heavy weight of ennui settles on travelers the moment they arrive, making even the simplest tasks feel challenging. And there’s a constant pull, tugging on memory and emotion, a desire to just sit down and let it all go.

Eternal Ennui. When a creature enters Dolurrh, it immediately gains one level of ennui (described in the “Ennui” sidebar). While in Dolurrh, this level of ennui can’t be removed by rest or by any other means. It’s immediately removed when the creature leaves Dolurrh. Creatures native to Dolurrh are immune to this property’s effects.

Impeded Magic. In order to cast a spell of 1st level or higher, a creature must succeed on a spellcasting ability check with a DC equal to 10 + the level of the spell. On a failed check, the spell is not cast and its spell slot is not expended, but the action is lost.

Inevitable Entrapment. Whenever a creature finishes a short or long rest, it must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it gains one level of ennui. Each time it makes this saving throw, the DC increases by 1. Whenever a creature ends a 24-hour period without finishing a long rest, it must make this saving throw as if it had just finished a rest, but its roll is made with disadvantage. Creatures native to Dolurrh are immune to this property’s effects.

Timeless. Time passes at the same rate as on the Material Plane, and is consistent across its layers. Creatures can benefit from resting, suffer damage, and die. However, a creature on Dolurrh doesn’t age, and doesn’t need to eat, sleep, or drink.

Ennui

Ennui drains motion and memory, reflecting the soul-sapping power of Dolurrh. This special condition is measured in levels, and has the same effects and rules as exhaustion (as presented in appendix A of the Player’s Handbook), with one exception—ennui affects all creatures that aren’t native to Dolurrh, including undead and other creatures immune to exhaustion. Ennui is separate from exhaustion, and exhaustion levels don’t stack with ennui. If a creature has both ennui and exhaustion, use whichever condition it has more levels of to determine the effects.

Undead can’t recover from ennui while in Dolurrh. Whenever a living creature with 2 or more levels of ennui finishes a long rest, if it succeeds against its saving throw against Dolurrh’s Inevitable Entrapment property by 5 or more, it reduces its ennui level by 1. When a creature leaves Dolurrh, all levels of ennui are removed.

When a creature reaches 6 levels of ennui, its will is completely broken and it can take no purposeful action; if this happens to a living creature, its physical body dies and it becomes a husk bound to Dolurrh.

Layers

Dolurrh is universally gray and gloomy. The accounts of brave explorers describe the sense of being underground, and no mortal has seen the moon or sky of Dolurrh. Unlike most planes, the layers of Dolurrh don’t embody different ideas; instead, they serve different functions in this grand machine dedicated to processing souls.

The four layers discussed below are the only ones described in the records of mortals who ventured to Dolurrh—and returned. But there could be more, as yet undiscovered, each likely serving a critical purpose. It’s known that the Librarian has recorded the lives of dragons in the Vault of Memories; accordingly, sages theorize there may be a layer dedicated entirely to the spirits of dragonkind, which may linger longer than the spirits of simple humanoids.

Planar Manifestations

Source: Exploring Eberron

Here are some ways Dolurrh can affect the Material Plane.

Manifest Zones

Manifest zones tied to Dolurrh rarely possess all of the plane’s properties; travelers generally aren’t entrapped by ennui simply by passing through one. But these zones are still close to the Realm of the Dead and exceptionally haunted, though not blighted, as Mabaran zones typically are. Shadows move in disturbing ways, and travelers may hear whispers they can’t quite make out.

The restless spirits of Dolurrh yearn to return to the Material Plane, and it’s easier for them to do so in manifest zones. They might manifest as ghosts, or animate the corpses of people buried in the zone, causing them to return as revenants or zombies. In some Dolurrhi zones, raising the dead can be dangerous; if spells or abilities that raise the dead are used in such a zone, roll on the Dolurrhi Resurrection Mishaps table to determine the result.

Dolurrhi zones can also have positive effects. In many zones, it’s easier to return people from the dead, halving the cost of any material components. In others, anyone can cast speak with dead as a ritual that takes an hour to perform, as long as they have a personal connection to the deceased whose corpse they’re questioning.

The most dramatic manifest zones are those that serve as gateways to enter the Catacombs of Dolurrh—and hopefully, to return. Opening such a gateway might call for a special ritual or significant sacrifice, perhaps under a particular alignment of the moon Aryth, or when Dolurrh is conterminous.

Coterminous and Remote

Dolurrh has a slow planar cycle. Traditionally, once a century, it becomes coterminous for a full year. Fifty years after that, it’s remote for a full year. It can also have shorter phases, tied to the movements of the moon Aryth.

While Dolurrh is coterminous, it’s easier for ghosts to slip from the Realm of the Dead into the Material Plane, especially around Dolurrhi manifest zones. Any spell or ability that raises the dead can also serve as a conduit for unwanted spirits; roll on the Dolurrhi Resurrection Mishaps table when any such spell is cast.

While Dolurrh is remote, traditional resurrection magic, such as revivify or reincarnate, can’t pull spirits back from Dolurrh. The only way to raise the dead in these times is by traveling to Dolurrh itself and pulling the shade back to the world, as described earlier in this section. Surprisingly, ghosts are also especially common in this time—but these aren’t ghosts that return from Dolurrh. Rather, if Dolurrh is remote when someone dies in the grip of great emotion or with vital unfinished business, their spirit can more easily resist Dolurrh’s pull, remaining on the Material Plane.

Dolurrhi Resurrection Mishaps

d12 Effect
1-4 The spell functions normally.
5-6 The spell functions, but the wrong spirit returns in the body—is it hostile or friendly? If the body being resurrected was that of a player character, it’s possible the player may wish to play the new personality, either using the same character sheet, or a new one to reflect different skills.
7-8 The spell functions normally, but 1d4 ghosts or melds (from chapter 8) appear, pulled through from Dolurrh.
9 The spell fails, and 1d4 ghosts or melds (from chapter 8) appear. The spell slot is expended, but the material components are not.
10 The spell functions normally, but a hostile marut appears.
11 The spell functions normally, but a nalfeshnee possesses the raised character.
12 The spell fails, and the material components and spell slot are expended.

Dolurrhi Artifacts

The most common Dolurrhi artifacts are creations of the Smith of Shadows, formed of husksteel, the fused essence of faded souls. Despite the name, husksteel can appear not only as dark metal, but also as slick black leather, dark iridescent cloth, or other substances. Such an object could be crafted from a single spirit—a dagger whose edge is forged from a single moment of pain—or from the emotional residue of multiple husks.

In creating a husksteel object, consider the memory or emotion that’s the heart of the item. For a magic item, this should reflect its purpose. A husksteel cloak of elvenkind could be formed from a secret. A husksteel variation on a dagger of venom might be formed from a moment of absolute terror; when its power is invoked, it could deal psychic damage and, on a failed Wisdom save, make the target frightened of the wielder.

Other Dolurrhi items are largely curiosities. The Dolurrhi Trinkets table provides examples.

Dolurrhi Trinkets

d8 Item
1 A hand mirror periodically shows the reflection of a particular dead person or an event from their memories.
2 A monocle shows the last thing seen by its previous ownerbefore they died.
3 A stuffed toy sings softly when it’s placed in darkness.
4 A pen writes a specific message when dipped in ink and left untouched.
5 A small leather journal contains a poem, story, or piece of music by a beloved creator—written after they died.
6 A battered copper coin flips itself if placed heads-down.
7 A battered steel locket depicts two images—one is someone who has died, and the other, someone who’s about to die.
8 A pouch of ashes. When a pinch is thrown on the ground, it forms a specific word or symbol.

Dolurrhi Stories

Source: Exploring Eberron

Dolurrh can inspire many simple stories through its manifest zones and escaped ghosts. A husksteel trinket could provide a flash of memory that sets the adventurers on a particular path, and finding a way to rescue a shade from the underworld is always an epic tale. Here are a few deeper stories to consider.

The Once and Future Queen of the Dead. The Queen of the Dead is an enigmatic figure who wields great power in Dolurrh. But there’s another being who uses this title: Erandis Vol, the last heir of the Mark of Death. Through her agents in the Order of the Emerald Claw and beyond, Erandis seeks to restore the power of her dragonmark; no one knows what godlike powers she might wield if she unlocks its full potential. Meanwhile, Dolurrh’s Queen of the Dead seems to oppose Erandis, and often sends her agents—both shadar-kai and adventurers she’s restored to life at a price—to interfere with Vol’s schemes. This could be exactly what it appears; the Queen of the Dead may despise necromancers, and Vol is seeking to depose her. But perhaps there’s more to it. Time works in strange ways when dealing with the planes and beings of vast power. Perhaps the Queen of the Dead isn’t trying to stop Erandis, but guiding her down a very specific path. Perhaps Erandis will become the Queen of the Dead, in which case, she’ll have always been her. Or perhaps that’s what’s supposed to happen, but there’s a way in which it could still go wrong . . . which could destroy the Queen of the Dead and throw Dolurrh itself into chaos.

Agent of Death. The adventurers kill a nefarious villain that’s long eluded them—but soon, their foe reappears alive and well. This happens time and again. How is the villain escaping from Dolurrh? Are they acting as an agent for the Queen of the Dead, or have they simply found a back door to the Realm of the Dead? Either way, what can the adventurers do to lay them to rest once and for all?

Devastating Sorrow. When Dolurrh becomes coterminous, a powerful sorrowsworn emerges and devastates the region. The adventurers may not have the ability to defeat the sorrowsworn in battle, but if they understand the circumstances of its creation—the emotion that drives it and the event that triggered it—they might be able to disperse the deadly monster by defusing this emotion. When an adventurer touches—or is touched by—one of Dolurrh’s Dead or Lingering, they might sense a flash of any lingering memory or emotion that creature possesses. Can this help them solve the mystery, or will they die in the attempt?

The Warforged Soul. There are many who believe that warforged are simply tools; House Cannith may be able to infuse something with life, but it can’t create a soul. Others say that it’s not a question of science; the warforged are clearly alive, and thus, they have souls. But is the soul unique? Or could it be that warforged recycle souls, drawing husks drained of memory from Dolurrh and using them as a foundation? These questions are intentionally left unanswered; it’s up to each DM to determine the true nature of warforged souls. But there’s one simple fact: a warforged can be restored to life with revivify or raise dead. Which means that the answer must lie in Dolurrh, and someone— Arcanix? Merrix d’Cannith? The Lord of Blades?—could fund an expedition to find the answer.