Can anybody help me? The Empire of Dhakaan, how big was it?
Using the modern day map of Khorvaire how much would it take up?
I understand it certainly filled the southern half of the continent but what about north, for example the areas inside Aundair, the Eldeen, Thrane etc? Thanks 
Let's see what I can find in the 3.5 Player's Guide to Eberron....
"In the South of Khorvaire, the first goblinoid kingdoms began to rise...Until finally the Dhakaani united these disparate nations into one grand empire that held sway from the egdes of the Shadow Marshes to the foothills of the Endworld and Ironroot Mountains." -pg 76
"Lizardfolk have lived in Q'barra's jungles for millenia, ever since the Empire of Dhakaan forced them from the Talenta Plains." -pg 129
Going off these admittedly sparse details, I'd say the Dhkaani Empire covered Droaam, Breland, Aundair, Thrane, Zilargo, Darguun, Cyre/Mournland, Karrnath, the Talenta Plains, maybe the Eldeen Reaches, and maybe Valenar, though I believe that the Tairnadal fought with the Dhakaani for control of Valenar.
I have to admit that is all I have found from the various rulebooks I own. I'm just unsure about Aundair and Thrane though. Thanks though.
The Tairnadal didn't hold Valenar, so to speak - they'd established a colony on the land, and it lasted about a century before war eventually broke out and the elves were driven back to Aerenal. The extent of elf territory during this time isn't described anywhere that I can see - it's likely that it was all technically hobgoblin territory, with the Tairnadal (true to form) just decided to build war forts in. (We DO know that there were elf fortresses somewhere in modern Valenar built during this time - Taer Sadaen is a legendary example - but it's not clear if they were part of any true territorial claim or whether they were part of a military operation. Given what I know of the Tairnadal, I suspect it's the latter.) This ancient foothold was what the modern Tairnadal used as their justification for claiming the land of Valenar in the modern sense, which included much more of southern Cyre than just that old colony. (I don't think its exact location was ever revealed, though it would make sense if Taer Valaestas was built there during the modern claim to Valenar.)
A Dhakaani ziggurat features prominently in Whispers of the Vampire's Blade, and it's in Thrane (the exact location isn't pinned down; it's somewhere in the wilderness), so we know the empire reached at least to Thrane. (That said, this particular ruin is described as belonging to a small sect that's been largely forgotten even by modern scholars of Dhakaan; this wasn't exactly a cultural foothold for the empire. Five Nations has other references to generic Dhakaani ruins scattered throughout Thrane, suggesting they're actually reasonably common here.) Presumably other ruins in other parts of the continent are described as Dhakaani as well. For instance, Five Nations says that there are references in Dhakaani texts to Whisper Rock, which is on the northern shores of Aundair, so the territory was known to the Dhakaani even though it's not clear if the region was part of its empire or simply a place they'd explored.
The borders themselves definitely fluctuated (Droaam is described as the borderlands between the Dhakaani empire and the orc barbarians, who were (I think) the other major Humanoid force during that age), so it's pretty easy to claim that, at least for a while, it expanded to however large you need it to.
Thanks for the heads on the adventure will re-read it again.
I would say as big as you need it to be. Especially since there could have been any number of colonies or splinter groups.
Why? What's your plan?
The plan is to have a good old dungeon hack campaign with an Eberron twist but I wish to run it in if possible in Aundair or Thrane and Dhakaan seemed to me to be a good ancient culture to use. While I can just make it up (of course) I am kind of a sucker for cannon if possible , so I was wondering if anyone knew. Who knows maybe the Infernal Bovine himself can help.
admcewen wrote:
Tempest_Stormwind wrote:
A couple of quotes from the 4e Campaign Guide:
"The cause of the goblins· downfall was an extraplanar invasion. Fleshshapers from Xorlat. the Realm of Madness. opened portals in Ihe western extent of the Dhakaani Empire. The otherworldly horrors called the daelkyr decimated the populace and sowed chaos among goblins and orcs alike."
Since most references to portals to Xoriat involve either the Marches or the Reaches, an argument could be made that one or both were in the "western extent of the Dhakaani Empire".
"The fall of the Dhakaani Empire aIlowed halnings to begin building societies of their own. Unlilthis point. halflings were firmly under the thumbs of the goblins and orcs"
I think it was in Talenta as well.
"Numerous communities in Droaam are built on the ruins of ancient goblin settlements from the Empire of Dhakaan."
Seems self explanatory.
"However, 10,000 years ago, the goblins of the Dhakaani Empire drov'e the IIzardfolk of the Talenta Plains and the Blade Desert into Q'barra,"
Definitely in Talenta. Not in Q'Barra, though: per 4e canon, a that time dragonborn had an empire of their own there.
From Five Nations:
"For five hundred years, the five human settlements grew and fought with the neighboring goblinoids—the remnants of the once-powerful Dhakaani Empire."
Implies that Dhakaan was present in parts of each of the (pre-Last War) Five Nations.
"Whisper Rock is at least as old as the early days of Galifar, and fragmentary references from the Dhakaani Empire suggest it might be thousands of years older."
Looks like they were in Aundair.
They were definitely in Breland (Sharn, plus lots of other references).
If they were in Breland, and they were in Talenta, it seems likley they were in Cyre.
"Last year, a tribe of goblins affiliated with the Dhakaan moved in, claiming the [Caves of the Skeletal Hand, in Karrnath] as their historic home from when the Dhakaani Empire was extant, more than six thousand years ago."
Good argument that they were in Karrnath.
"Characters who aid the Church might also be called upon to root out evil cultists lurking in Flamekeep, slay evil monsters haunting an ancient Dhakaani ruin..." and "The realm of the Silver Flame offers countless places for PCs to explore, from ancient Dhakaani ruins and cities rife with intrigue to war-torn battlefields and forests crawling with monsters."
They were in Thrane.
I expect if I searched other sources I would find more references, but I'm out of time.
Well spotted in the 4th ED campaign guide Beoric, going to have to check those quotes out.
Tempest, I agree that Canon shouldn't be a major issue, but it's always nice if you can follow it.
Meh, I sit corrected. While I love my 4e EPG and ECG, I haven't reviewed them in some time.
I'm just shamelessly bumping this for an answer from the Infernal Bovin.
To the best of my knowledge no one's ever made a map of the Dhakaani Empire. However, the core idea is simply that the Dhakaani spread to claim all the best land in Khorvaire, pushing the orcs and other races into the edges and into less fertile regions - places like the Ironroot Mountains and the Shadow Marches. After Dhakaan fell, humans showed up and did the exact same thing to the goblins, claiming that best land for themselves. So in short, anything currently held by the Five Nations was likely originally held by the Dhakaani. Consider also that the goblins have been in Khorvaire far longer than humanity and that Dhakaan lasted longer than Galifar. We've always said that there's a lot of open territory in Khorvaire - that there are patches of heavily populated land, but that overall the Five Nations claim more land than their people actually need. By contrast, the goblins probably USED more of that land - which is why you can run into Dhakaani ruins wherever you happen to need a dungeon.
If you do have a question for me personally, your best bet is to ask directly at Keith-Baker.com!
Thanks Keith, will do next time.
I'd think it likely that the Dhakaani considered all of Khorvaire theirs but there were practical limits on some areas:
Demon Wastes - Blasted hell-hole full of demons, not worth colonising.
Shadow Marches - Swampy ground with tough and stubborn inhabitants. Too hard to invade.
Eldeen Reaches - Thick forest with cunning inhabitants. Tricky ground to hold with lots of cover.
Q'Barra - Thick Jungle terrain, mountains in the way, Lizardfolk are keen on keeping a hold of it. Let them have it.
Lhazzar Principalities - Seafaring isn't quite our speciality, and island governers seem to have a habit of not listening to the empire.
That said, the Dhakaani would probably be keen on keeping forts in any of these areas just to let the regional powers know who's really in charge, so basically anywhere in Khorvaire is good for them.
(I turned the castle in Treasure of Talon Pass into a fort on a rocky outcrop in The Shadow Marches, representing the westernmost reaches of the Dhakaani Empire.)
Also of course there are questions of how unified the Empire was over it's lifetime. There may have been secessions or even ruins left over from before the empire was fully formed.
Long story short, you can go nuts.
I've generally placed the heart of the Empire in what is now northern Breland and expanding outward from there, leaving a good chuck of of eastern and norther Khorvaire to be populated with other powers and client states. What good is an empire without a few enemies?