Geography of Ixalan
The center of the world is the great continent known as Ixalan, which has given its name to the plane as a whole. A tropical land covered in lush rain forest, soaring mountains, lofty plains, and winding rivers, Ixalan is shaped like a large crescent enfolding a vast inner sea. Its history has been shaped by the interaction between the Sun Empire and the River Heralds. Both peoples lived in balance while the Sun Empire maintained its stewardship of the Immortal Sun. But that balance was upset when the emperor abused the artifact's power. Now the Sun Empire has been pushed to the coastal lands of Ixalan, while the River Heralds dominate the interior.
Ancient Sites
The Sun Empire was once larger than it presently is, and remnants of its past glory still lie scattered throughout the jungles of the Great River. Some of these remnants are no more than heaps of rubble overgrown by hardy plant life, potentially interesting for the sake of inscriptions that might remain on worn stone surfaces, but otherwise remarkable only as landmarks for those traveling through the uncharted wilderness. However, several whole cities also lie in ruins scattered throughout the jungle.
Quetzatl was once the home of a self-proclaimed king who challenged the authority of the emperor. Its ruins betray the violence used to tear its buildings down stone by stone, and legend holds that spirits of the dead, including the Pretender King, still haunt those ruins.
The city of Pecatli was known for its grand temple, which boasted three great spires for the three aspects of the sun. The spires have long been toppled, but the diamonds, emeralds, and rubies said to have crowned them have never been found.
Techepec was a retreat for the emperor and the imperial family, a place where they could escape the trials of life at court for a time. In fact, Emperor Huatzan II used Techepec as a sort of capital-in-exile during a brief period of insurrection, when another pretender sat on the throne in Orazca.
Azcanta, now called the Sunken Ruin, was a thriving population center until a prolonged conflict with the River Heralds caused it to sink into the waters of the Inner Sea. Its buildings are still largely intact far beneath the waves, and some pirates now seek the city's treasures.
A few lone shrines and temples dot the jungle as well, the last remnants of cities whose wooden buildings have long since rotted away. These include Tonalixco, the temple of the eastern sun, which marked the western edge of the empire in the fortress-city of Tanaztac. Icalaquiampa, the temple of sunset, was the focus of a religious sect that tried to replace the emperor with a high priest and establish theocratic rule.
Aclazotz was a temple dedicated to a bat god of the night, opposed to the Threefold Sun and the empire devoted to the sun. The temple makes an appearance in "X Marks the Spot", a special D&D Ixalan adventure created for Extra Life 2017, but there's much more to this legendary site. Aclazotz was partially inspired by the classic D&D adventure The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan, which appears in updated form in Tales from the Yawning Portal. If you want to more fully explore the ruins, you might use that adventure as a starting point. Perhaps this is where Elenda, the knight who brought the rites of vampirism to the Legion of Dusk, underwent her own transformation.
Of course, the grandest ruin of the ancient Sun Empire is Orazca, the glorious golden city where the Immortal Sun still lies hidden. It was the empire's capital for many centuries, and tribute from across the breadth of Ixalan was brought to adorn its palaces and temples. Gold covers nearly every building in the city, and jade inlays reflect the influence of the ancient merfolk who shared Orazca with the humans of the empire. But the world has since closed up over the golden city, hiding its secrets and its treasures from all who seek it. Three golden spires are now the only visible signs of Orazca where they rise above the forest floor.
Treasure
Treasure is an important part of adventuring in any Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and that is perhaps more true on Ixalan than on most planes in Magic's Multiverse. You can use cards (including Treasure tokens) as inspiration for the kinds of treasures that adventurers might find. When a treasure hoard includes art objects, you can use these tables to provide a distinctive flavor to Ixalan's treasures. (If you look closely, you'll see many of these objects in the art on Treasure token cards, reproduced on these pages.)
- 25 gp Art Objects
- 250 gp Art Objects
- 750 gp Art Objects
- 2,500 gp Art Objects
- 7,500 gp Art Objects
When adventurers discover magic items as treasure, you can use this table in place of the one in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide to determine the character of any particular magic item.