Eberron - Rising from the Last War

214

THE VOICE OF

JM�AN(

DO THEY KNOW

THE WAR IS OVER?

Against all logic and reason, people in Breland continue

to argue that the warforged-creations of House

Cannith, lest we forget-are living people with souls,

deserving of the same rights as the rest of us. And yet,

while philosophical debates rage and street protests

grow heated, warforged who inhabit the dead land

of Cyre continue to fight as if the war had not ended,

launching raids out of the "dead-gray mist" to the neigh­

boring lands-including, of course, Thrane. Proclaiming

allegiance to something called the "Lord of Blades,"

these warforged don't seem to recognize the people

ofThrane as living people with souls, so it's hard to

appreciate why we should treat them that way.

LORD OF BLADES NPCs

The Lord of Blades highlights the issues surrounding

the creation of the warforged. He and his followers are

ready antagonists, employing deadly methods in pursuit

of their aims, but their ire isn't born from evil. The Lord

of Blades' greatest desire is to ensure that his people

have a future, but his methods are colored by his anger

at the injustices the warforged have suffered, and in

some cases are still being subjected to. Examples of vil­

lains linked to the Lord of Blades appear in the Lord of

Blades NPCs table.

LORD OF BLADES NPCs

d6 NPC

A House Cannith apprentice warforged becomes ob­

sessed with the Lord of Blades' message, disrupting

house operations in the hope of becoming a warrior

in the Mourn land.

2 A warforged druid devises diseases and poisons that

have no effect on warforged, and starts to unleash

them on the general populace.

3 A warforged ranger relentlessly hunts creatures of

flesh in the wilderness near the Mournland.

4

5

6

A warforged assassin poses as a simple workshop

assistant while exterminating those who speak out

against the rights of the warforged.

A mad artificer is trying to reactivate a destroyed war­

forged colossus.

A band of warforged attacks a lightning rail, intent on

stealing something in one of the cargo carriages.

CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES

LORD OF BLADES CAMPAIGN THEMES

The Lord of Blades is a charismatic leader seeking to

incite the warforged to violence and thereby to take ven­

geance against their former oppressors. Although low­

level characters might not be prepared to face the Lord

of Blades himself, they can easily encounter a squad of

his followers anywhere on Khorvaire.

While the Lord of Blades and his minions can be a

straightforward foe, it's also possible to add more depth

to the conflict. Perhaps a squad of warforged attacks a

foundry in Sham. After repelling the attack, the adven­

turers realize that the owners are mistreating the war­

forged who work the forges. What do they do?

Another way to explore the facets of this issue is to

introduce a warforged supporter of the Lord of Blades

who doesn't engage in violence personally, such as a

bard who moves among the warforged of a major city

while speaking about the many abuses leveled against

warforged. Especially if one of them is a warforged, how

would the characters react to this individual?

The Lord of Blades can serve as a long-term op­

ponent, as he continue to escalate his attacks over

the course of the campaign. While he builds up his

stronghold in the Mournland, he is also gathering the

components to construct eldritch machines and other

weapons. What would happen if the Lord of Blades were

to discover the power that caused the Mourning and un­

leashed that power across Khorvaire?

LORD OF BLADES

ADVENTURE HOOKS

The Lord of Blades Adventure Hooks table sets out

some reasons how the characters could come in contact

with the Lord of Blades.

LORD OF BLADES ADVENTURE HOOKS

d6 Adventure Hook

A newly awakened docent (see chapter 5) tells its new

owner that the Lord of Blades is the only hope for

averting a coming catastrophe.

2 A military officer hires the characters to retrace the

steps of a lost scouting party into the Mourn land and

rescue the commander, who is the officer's son.

3 Warforged go missing over the course of several

weeks; then one resurfaces, badly damaged and

raving about the Lord of Blades.

4 Characters strike out into a ruin held by the Lord of

Blades and recover a lost relic that has resurfaced in

the possession of warforged soldiers.

5 A warforged accused of murdering several members

of their mercenary company claims to have no mem­

ory of the night in question.

6 The characters are met by a warforged who delivers a

written summons from the Lord of Blades himself.