Source: Psion's Primer
Psionic power is a form of magic inherent to the Eberron campaign setting, though it is often placed just out of focus of the setting’s main conflicts. The kalashtar’s shadow war with the Inspired, for example, can easily be overlooked, and the psionic aspects of the mind flayers and their cults can be downplayed. But if one chooses, there is a plethora of lore about the origins of psionic power in Eberron and societies that employ psionics as adeptly as the Five Nations does arcane magic, hidden just below the surface.
Planes of Thought
Psionic power typically flows from one of two planes of existence: Dal Quor or Xoriat. The essence of each of these planes is inherently tied to the mind. Fernia is the Sea of Fire and home to beings of elemental flame. Dolurrh, the Realm of the Dead, is where ghosts and spirits of death reside. But as the planes of Dream and Madness, respectively, Dal Quor and Xoriat touch upon the power inherent to the mind like no other planes.
Dal Quor: The Region of Dreams
In the world of Eberron, mortals psychically project their minds into another plane of existence whenever they dream, and that plane is Dal Quor. The dreamscapes of mortals swirl around the borderlands of this plane, each a bubble of light in an ever-roiling expanse of darkness. These dreamscapes wink in and out of existence as their mortal dreamers slumber and wake, forever revolving around the stable center of the plane. At the center of Dal Quor are the great cities and strongholds of the quori, a massive civilization of pure terror and malice given form by the nightmarish heart of the plane, il-Lashtavar, or the “Darkness That Dreams.”
The quori and other beings with strong ties to Dal Quor, such as the kalashtar and thri-kreen, have inherent psionic abilities that they draw from this plane. Others can hone their natural connection to Dal Quor and draw energy from the emotions and pure imagination that make up that plane of existence, manifesting their thoughts on the material plane as psionic powers.
While the current nature of Dal Quor is that of a dark nightmare, the inherent essence of the plane remains that of all dreams, so psionic powers originating from Dal Quor are not inherently evil.
Xoriat: The Realm of Madness
Xoriat is often misunderstood as a realm of alien entities and unnatural horrors beyond imagining, but it is actually formed from the wildest possibilities of the sentient mind stripped of its limits. All thinking minds touch upon the Realm of Madness, some to a greater degree than others. And while Xoriat is an inherently evilaligned plane of existence, not all of those with a strong connection to the Realm of Madness need be a detriment to society. While the insane cultist acting upon violent delusions is a reflection of Xoriat, so too is the genius artificer innovating brilliant, never-beforethought-of designs.
Cultists and aberrations that draw their psionic power from this plane often refer to it as the Realm of Revelations, rather than one of madness. To them, Xoriat is the truth of reality, and one can only see the truth when they accept that their mind has the ability to create reality.
The Sea of Siberys
While Dal Quor and Xoriat are the most commonly identified planes of thought in Eberron, psionic potential may also be drawn from the Sea of Siberys, also known as the Astral Sea or Astral Plane. The Astral Sea is the medium through which Eberron’s outer planes orbit the Material Plane. Currents of psychic wind churn in the vast silver void of the plane, and the rare few natives of the plane often possess psychic potential. While Dal Quor and Xoriat are focused, distilled expressions of thought, the Sea of Siberys is diffuse and ephemeral in its connection to the mind.
Psionic Societies
While psionic power originates from the planes in Eberron, cultures that employ psionics exist on the material plane itself. The most organized, established, and advanced of these are the psionic societies of Sarlona, though several cults of the Dragon Below in Khorvaire also nurture psionic power among their numbers.
Khyber Cults
Secretive cults dedicated to the powers of the Dragon Below hide among all levels of Khorvairian society. They are not, however, a monolithic force. Each cult has its own independent circle of followers, culled from the insane, the desperate, and the vulnerable. Some of these cults arise naturally from societal pressures and charismatic leaders. Other cults originate from aberrations and creatures of Khyber manipulating the downtrodden and performing obscene experiments on them which may result in the manifestation of psionic powers.
Madness Manifested. Though most links to Xoriat were sealed by the Gatekeeper druids some nine millennia ago, several manifest zones tied to the Realm of Madness still exist, predominantly in the deep swamps of the Shadow Marches. Sometimes people born within one of these zones are gifted with raw psionic potential. These people are typically called “wild savants” and are ostracized by others for their strange abilities. If driven too far into the fringes of society, they may find greater psionic power by succumbing to the call of Xoriat, and begin forming their own cults in service to their mad egos or mounting delusions.
Mind Flayer Thralls. Illithids and their kin are the most widely feared and psionically potent aberrations in Khyber, and they often create hereditary cults dedicated to them to ensure a steady diet of humanoid brains. Members of these cults with psionic potential are seen as possessing the blessing of the mind flayers and are exempted from harvest, becoming lieutenants in the cult hierarchy. In reality, their illithid masters merely see them as useful thralls and puppets, elevated from livestock.
The Silent Cults. Some of the Khyber cults that most commonly attract psionic followers are those dedicated to the Master of Silence, one of the horrific entities from Xoriat known as the daelkyr that were sealed in Khyber at the end of the Xoriat Invasion nine millennia ago. The Master of Silence is whispered to possess the most immense psychic might of all the daelkyr. Admittance into cults dedicated to this entity usually impose a vow of silence onto their initiates, as uttering even a single word is blasphemy to these cults. Instead, communication is nonverbal, with those capable of telepathy being the most blessed and favored, often leading the cults of Silence.
Sarlona
Sarlona is a continent in the eastern hemisphere of the world of Eberron and the birthplace of humanity. It had a long and storied history of both divine and arcane magical traditions, and when Sarlonan settlers emigrated to Khorvaire these traditions formed the basis for the magical knowledge of what would become the Five Nations. After the events known as the Sundering of Sarlona 1,500 years ago, however, Sarlona saw a sharp decline in the use of all forms of magic other than psionics. The Sundering was a continent-spanning conflict that saw most existing nations and power structures of Sarlona collapse. From the devastation, the Inspired rose and formed the Unity of Riedra.
Inspired Riedra. The Unity of Riedra dominates the continent of Sarlona and is ruled by the Inspired, a caste of people the populace believes to be spiritually guided by the enlightened spirits of their ancestors. The populace attributes the peaceful golden age following the Sundering to the enlightened, benevolent rulership of the Inspired. In truth, the Sundering was orchestrated by the quori, malevolent beings from Dal Quor, and the Inspired leaders of Riedra are mortal vessels eugenically bred for quori possession. The Riedran empire is ruled by psionic fiends, and the populace is kept controlled by nightly psychic broadcasts projected into their dreaming minds.
While psionic ability in Sarlona is not as widespread as arcane knowledge is in Khorvaire, the Inspired and their favored servants tend to be more powerful than typical spellcasters in the Five Nations. Most Sarlonan settlements are locked in simple agrarian lifestyles, while rare Riedran cities benefit from psionic conveniences and marvels, such as a network of permanent teleportation gateways, reserved exclusively for the use of the Inspired and their entourages.
The Kalashtar and Adar. The Sundering of Sarlona, the arrival of the Inspired, and the near-total unification of the continent under the Riedran empire did not occur by mere happenstance or whim. Before the empty vessels for Inspired possession were created, the first mortal vessels for quori were sixty-seven human monks from a single monastery in the mountain range of Adar. Unlike the quori that would come to dominate Sarlona nearly a millennium later, the first quori to arrive on the Material Plane were virtuous rebels and refugees, dissatisfied with the everpresent evil and darkness of their home.
Adar had always been a place of refuge, so when these runaway quori came to Adaran monks in their dreams and begged for asylum, it was granted. The quori merged with their willing human hosts, creating the kalashtar bloodlines.
Since then, the techniques and disciplines of psionic power have become widespread in Adar, even outside kalashtar lineages. The safety of the region itself is ensured by the Shroud, a massive psionic barrier that protects the mountains and monasteries from invasion. The Shroud has defended Adar from a centuries-long siege by the Inspired aimed at wiping out the kalashtar and the rebel quori who have merged with their bloodlines.