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GATE E E P E R S can be carried and stolen. It's said that one of the seals
K
is a druidic bloodline, and it will last until the last mem
The Gatekeepers are a druidic sect dedicated to protect ber of the line is slain.
ing the natural world from unnatural forces. They battle The most common form of Gatekeeper seal is a great
aberrations and guard against extraplanar invasions stone slab set into the ground or a cavern wall. It is
and the release of ancient evils. carved with mystical symbols that hedge out the influ
The Gatekeepers maintain the oldest druidic tradi ence of Xoriat and maintain the barrier. The map de
tion on Khorvaire. Over fifteen thousand years ago, the picts one such seal, along with the druidic trappings and
green dragon Vvaraak came to the Shadow Marches dwellings surrounding it.
and gathered a following from among the ores of the
region. In her studies of the Prophecy, Vvaraak had GATEKEEPER SEAL FEATURES
foreseen a great threat that could be stopped only by Map 4.4 shows what a Gatekeeper seal might look like.
the younger races. So she taught the ores the secret A seal is a protected site, usually attended at all times
language of the natural world and showed them how by Gatekeepers who live at or near the seal. The one
to work with stone and soil, and how to read the future depicted in the map lies on the edge of a swamp, but it
in the movement of the Ring of Siberys. She charged could be located in any kind of terrain. A circle of stand
her students to remain ever vigilant against the threat ing stones serves to focus the magic of the area toward
that was to come, and to protect nature from those that the seal itself, and the stones also serve as a place of
would corrupt it. worship for the druids' devotions and ceremonies.
Thousands of years later, the daelkyr (see chapter 6)
opened gates from the plane of Xoriat and unleashed GATEKEEPER SEAL ADVENTURES
hordes of mind flayers, beholders, and other foul crea The location of a Gatekeeper seal might be the site of
tures into the world. The conflict that followed destroyed an adventure's climax, or the characters might need to
the goblin empire of Dhakaan, and the daelkyr's inva find one in order to consult with the guardians there.
sion left scars across Khorvaire. Ultimately, Vvaraak's The Gatekeeper Seal Adventures table presents some
students sealed the gates and imprisoned the daelkyr possibilities.
in Khyber. Even after this triumph, the ores couldn't be
sure if they had turned back the threat Vvaraak had fore G A T E K E E P E R S E A L ADVEN T U R E S
seen, or if a greater danger lay ahead. So, in addition to d4 Adventure Coal
guarding the seals that bind the daelkyr and keep Xoriat Deliver a specially treated Khyber dragonshard to the
at bay, the Gatekeepers remained vigilant against the
possibility of worse to come. Gatekeepers to repair a widening crack in the seal.
In the millennia since that struggle ended, the Gate 2 Petition the keepers of a seal for information on an
keepers have shared Vvaraak's wisdom and druidic aberration that has been terrorizing the countryside.
magic with humans, shifters, and others who came 3 Assist the Gatekeepers in an annual ritual that will re
to Khorvaire. New interpretations of Vvaraak's teach energize the seal and keep it shut for another year.
ings gave birth to new druid sects: the Wardens of the 4 Escort a new Gatekeeper guardian safely to the seal
Wood, the Greensingers, and the Ashbound. Today, the after its previous guardians were corrupted.
Gatekeepers are one of the smaller sects, and many of
the sites of their long-ago battles have been abandoned GA E K E E P E R N P C s
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and forgotten. But some Gatekeepers still remain in the
Shadow Marches and the Eldeen Reaches, continuing Gatekeepers are sworn to protect the world, and thus
their vigil to this day. are more likely to be encountered as allies than as ene
mies. It's always possible, though, for even noble Gate
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THE GA E K E E P E R S I N THE W A R keepers to fall prey to madness and corruption, thus
becoming the very evils they are sworn to fight.
The Last War had only minimal impact on the Gate
keepers, and vice versa. The druids' primary concern
was to prevent military activity from disrupting the seals GATEK E E P E R N P Cs
they guarded. Occasionally the Gatekeepers attacked d4 N P C
groups of scouts or military patrols, driving them away The spirit of a long-dead Gatekeeper lives on in the
to ensure that battles didn't erupt in their vicinity. Some body of an ancient toad. It speaks in a deep, croaking
times the Gatekeepers failed in those efforts, and Xori voice.
at's corruption spread over some remote regions while 2 A half-ore Gatekeeper works in House Tharashk
the war raged around them.
as an investigator, searching for signs of planar
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GA E K E E P E R SEAL disturbances.
A human Gatekeeper is on a pilgrimage, carrying an
The seals forged by the Gatekeepers have a variety of amulet that serves as a seal on a journey to a number
purposes and forms. Some are tied to specific daelkyr,
keeping those individuals bound in Khyber and strip of sacred sites to restore its power.
ping them of some of their powers. Others ward against 4 An old ore ranger is murdering people in Sharn,
aberrations in general, or suppress the influence of the claiming that they've been corrupted by the daelkyr.
plane of Xoriat. Some seals are amulets, objects that
CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES
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