Page 216 - Eberron -Rising from the Last War_Neat

THE L O R D S O F D U S T DEMON RUIN FEATURES
Map 4.7 what a demon ruin might look like. A demon
Evil entities spawned at the dawn of time still haunt ruin is an echo of grandeur swathed in flame and rav­
Eberron. The cities raised by those ancient overlords aged by time. Despite the rich appointments and impec­
are now only ashes, but the Lords of Dust still dream of cable construction evident even in the broken remains
restoring their primordial dominion. These fiends bide of the building, the place carries the unmistakable air of
their time in an inconceivably long game, sparring with anguish and torment.
the dragons of Argonnessen as they manipulate events
in order to fulfill the words of the Draconic Prophecy in DEMON Rum ADVENTURES
a way that will bring them victory. The Demon Ruin Adventures table offers some reasons
Though the Lords of Dust are mighty enough on their why characters might risk death in the Demon Wastes.
own, they serve greater masters known as the overlords
(see chapter 6). Unfathomably powerful fiends, the over­ D E M O N R U I N AD E N T U R E S
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lords were bound at the end of the Age of Demons by the d4 Adventure Goal
power of the Silver Flame, and an overlord can be re­
leased from this binding only if doing so can be made to M a ke a desperate request for aid from a Lord of Dust
fulfill the Draconic Prophecy. Every fiend spawned from who is, by all accounts, an enemy of the characters'
Khyber owes fealty to one of these overlords. adversary.
In many ways the Lords of Dust are a reflection of the 2 Escort an innocent who is prophesied to destroy the
Chamber. Each group is trying to steer the fulfillment Lord of Dust to the ruin, and there confront the fiend.
of the Prophecy to serve its own ends. The goal of the 3 Carry an artifact to the river of black lava that runs
Lords of Dust is to release the overlords from their through the demon ruin, which is the only place
bindings and loose them upon Eberron in a new age of where the item can be truly destroyed.
darkness. Despite this unified goal, the Lords of Dust
operate as an alliance of like-minded cabals rather than 4 Gather obsidian shards from the ruin as components
a single monolithic organization. Each cabal serves its for a rare spell.
particular overlord above all others, and the conditions
D
R
that release one overlord could actually contradict those LO D S OF u s T NPCs
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that would free another. Most of the Lords of Dust are rakshasas, but any sort of
Accomplished shapeshifters, the Lords of Dust have fiend-devil, demon, or otherwise-could be part of this
agents spread across Khorvaire. Some might wonder organization. Such fiends are spawned in Khyber and
why, with all their talents, they haven't tried to conquer aren't actually from the Outer Planes. These fiends gen­
the world already. The reason is that they have no in­ erally work through a wide network of duped pawns and
terest in ruling this world; they want to return it to the indebted servitors.
state of unnatural glory that existed before. Their only Each overlord has a chief servant, and these leaders
interest in humanoids races is in directing them and meet in the ruins of Ashtakala in the Demon Wastes.
their affairs down the paths necessary to release their Chapter 6 contains statistics for the overlord Rak Tulk­
overlords; aside from that, dealing with mortals is a te­ hesh and his speaker, Mordakhesh the Shadowsword.
dious chore. The overlord Sul Khatesh is served by the rakshasa
Hektula, also known as the First Scribe. Durastoran the
THE LORDS OF U ST AND H E W A R Wyrmbreaker is the speaker of Bel Shalor, the overlord
T
D
The Lords of Dust took part in the events of the Last said to be bound in Flamekeep.
War whenever they saw opportunities to further their The Lords of Dust NPCs table describes some possi­
dark version of the Prophecy. It remains difficult to ble antagonists who might cross paths with adventurers.
identify what events might have been manipulated by
one of these fiends, because their schemes take so long LOR D S OF D U S T N P Cs
to play out. Far in the future, it might become apparent d6 N P C
that a seeming victory for the forces of good, or a battle A virtuous paladin is hunting and destroying those
averted that spared hundreds from death was ultimately
the first step in an overlord's release. (For instance, a who might one day thwart the Lords of Dust.
soldier who was otherwise fated to die in the battle that 2 A possessed lord or lady spreads corruption through­
was avoided goes on to tempt a good-hearted priest into out the noble house.
becoming corrupted.) 3 A wizard who sought to accelerate their own power
In the years since the Thronehold Accords, the Lords by making a dark bargain must now pay the price de­
of Dust continue on as they ever have, advancing one manded by their sinister patron.
small step at a time. 4 A powerful demon has corrupted the local ruler in the
D E MON RU N name of its overlord.
I
5 A succubus or incubus tempts a mercenary warlord to
The Lords of Dust maintain a variety of safe houses and engage in greater and greater battles.
sanctums across Eberron, but their most tightly bound 6
locations are the ruins left behind from the Age of De­ One of the characters' most trusted allies or servants
mons, scattered across the Demon Wastes. turns out to be a rakshasa in disguise.

CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES
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