Eberron - Rising from the Last War

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Gatekeepers

The Gatekeepers are a druidic sect dedicated to protect­

ing the natural world from unnatural forces. They battle

aberrations and guard against extraplanar invasions

and the release of ancient evils.

The Gatekeepers maintain the oldest druidic tradi­

tion on Khorvaire. Over fifteen thousand years ago, the

green dragon Vvaraak came to the Shadow Marches

and gathered a following from among the ores of the

region. In her studies of the Prophecy, Vvaraak had

foreseen a great threat that could be stopped only by

the younger races. So she taught the ores the secret

language of the natural world and showed them how

to work with stone and soil, and how to read the future

in the movement of the Ring of Siberys. She charged

her students to remain ever vigilant against the threat

that was to come, and to protect nature from those that

would corrupt it.

Thousands of years later, the daelkyr (see chapter 6)

opened gates from the plane of Xoriat and unleashed

hordes of mind flayers, beholders, and other foul crea­

tures into the world. The conflict that followed destroyed

the goblin empire of Dhakaan, and the daelkyr's inva­

sion left scars across Khorvaire. Ultimately, Vvaraak's

students sealed the gates and imprisoned the daelkyr

in Khyber. Even after this triumph, the ores couldn't be

sure if they had turned back the threat Vvaraak had fore­

seen, or if a greater danger lay ahead. So, in addition to

guarding the seals that bind the daelkyr and keep Xoriat

at bay, the Gatekeepers remained vigilant against the

possibility of worse to come.

In the millennia since that struggle ended, the Gate­

keepers have shared Vvaraak's wisdom and druidic

magic with humans, shifters, and others who came

to Khorvaire. New interpretations of Vvaraak's teach­

ings gave birth to new druid sects: the Wardens of the

Wood, the Greensingers, and the Ashbound. Today, the

Gatekeepers are one of the smaller sects, and many of

the sites of their long-ago battles have been abandoned

and forgotten. But some Gatekeepers still remain in the

Shadow Marches and the Eldeen Reaches, continuing

their vigil to this day.

THE GATEKEEPERS IN THE WAR

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

they guarded. Occasionally the Gatekeepers attacked

groups of scouts or military patrols, driving them away

to ensure that battles didn't erupt in their vicinity. Some­

times the Gatekeepers failed in those efforts, and Xori­

at's corruption spread over some remote regions while

the war raged around them.

GATEKEEPER SEAL

The seals forged by the Gatekeepers have a variety of

purposes and forms. Some are tied to specific daelkyr,

keeping those individuals bound in Khyber and strip­

ping them of some of their powers. Others ward against

aberrations in general, or suppress the influence of the

plane of Xoriat. Some seals are amulets, objects that

CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES

can be carried and stolen. It's said that one of the seals

is a druidic bloodline, and it will last until the last mem­

ber of the line is slain.

The most common form of Gatekeeper seal is a great

stone slab set into the ground or a cavern wall. It is

carved with mystical symbols that hedge out the influ­

ence of Xoriat and maintain the barrier. The map de­

picts one such seal, along with the druidic trappings and

dwellings surrounding it.

GATEKEEPER SEAL FEATURES

Map 4.4 shows what a Gatekeeper seal might look like.

A seal is a protected site, usually attended at all times

by Gatekeepers who live at or near the seal. The one

depicted in the map lies on the edge of a swamp, but it

could be located in any kind of terrain. A circle of stand­

ing stones serves to focus the magic of the area toward

the seal itself, and the stones also serve as a place of

worship for the druids' devotions and ceremonies.

GATEKEEPER SEAL ADVENTURES

The location of a Gatekeeper seal might be the site of

an adventure's climax, or the characters might need to

find one in order to consult with the guardians there.

The Gatekeeper Seal Adventures table presents some

possibilities.

GATEKEEPER SEAL ADVENTURES

d4 Adventure Coal

Deliver a specially treated Khyber dragonshard to the

Gatekeepers to repair a widening crack in the seal.

2 Petition the keepers of a seal for information on an

aberration that has been terrorizing the countryside.

3 Assist the Gatekeepers in an annual ritual that will re­

energize the seal and keep it shut for another year.

4 Escort a new Gatekeeper guardian safely to the seal

after its previous guardians were corrupted.

GATEKEEPER NPCs

Gatekeepers are sworn to protect the world, and thus

are more likely to be encountered as allies than as ene­

mies. It's always possible, though, for even noble Gate­

keepers to fall prey to madness and corruption, thus

becoming the very evils they are sworn to fight.

GATEKEEPER NPCs

d4 NPC

The spirit of a long-dead Gatekeeper lives on in the

body of an ancient toad. It speaks in a deep, croaking

voice.

2 A half-ore Gatekeeper works in House Tharashk

as an investigator, searching for signs of planar

disturbances.

4

A human Gatekeeper is on a pilgrimage, carrying an

amulet that serves as a seal on a journey to a number

of sacred sites to restore its power.

An old ore ranger is murdering people in Sharn,

claiming that they've been corrupted by the daelkyr.