Eberron - Rising from the Last War

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LIBRARY VAULT

Map 4.9 shows a library vault maintained by the Order

of the Emerald Claw. The order collects dark materials

and forbidden magic and holds them for safekeeping in

these heavily defended locations. Each vault also func­

tions as a chapter house or a sanctuary for a local cell.

LIBRARY VAULT FEATURES

Library vaults can be found in a variety of locations.

Some of them are crypts or dungeons secreted away

underground, while others are hidden in plain sight

inside a home or a business. Whatever its specific loca­

tion, a vault is always equipped with defensive features,

some of which remain active even after the outer door

is breached.

LIBRARY VAULT ADVENTURES

The Library Vault Adventures table outlines some possi­

bilities for adventure involving one of these locations.

LIBRARY VAULT ADVENTURES

d6 Adventure Goal

2

3

4

Destroy a scroll containing an incantation that allows

even non-spellcasters to animate the dead.

Steal the journal of a powerfu l necromancer that's

being held in the vault's collection.

Trade a powerful dark magic weapon in return for the

rescue of important hostages taken by the order.

Steal a suit of armor that contains the soul of a hero

slain during the Last War.

5 Search the collection for information on the Queen of

the Dead, or "Lady Ill marrow," as she is known.

6 Infiltrate the vault to get close to a new Emerald Claw

recruit, then convince them to come to their senses

and return to their family.

ORDER OF THE

EMER ALD CLAW NPCs

Given the undeniable nature of the order, villains asso­

ciated with the Emerald Claw present an opportunity to

provide characters with adversaries that are memorably

evil, and that revel in their villainy.

EMERALD CLAW NPCs

d6 NPC

Though mortal, this fanatical warrior drinks the blood

of those he slays in battle.

2 A cleric tries to convince her enemies to embrace the

order, promising eternal life through undeath.

3 A noble with sym pathies toward the order hides a

cell's library vault within the grounds of their estate.

4 A suave vampire would rather charm its enemies than

crush them in battle.

5 An artificer is obsessed with infusing necromantic

curses into their construct creations.

6 A changeling necromancer often poses as a vampire

or a mummy, even though it's still alive.

CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES

EMERALD CLAW CAMPAIGN THEMES

At low levels, adventurers can clash with Emerald Claw

skeletons and zombies. As the characters grow more

capable, the threats escalate. They might have to protect

a village from a necromancer who is sucking the life out

of the land, or race through a dungeon to acquire a nec­

romantic relic before the Claw can claim it. The Emer­

ald Claw is ideally suited to pulp action; it's a force that

is blatant in its villainy and has hordes of evil minions

to do its bidding. Defeating the schemes of the Emerald

Claw should always feel like the right thing to do.

Although many members of the Emerald Claw believe

that they are fighting for Karrnath, they are truly serving

the lich Lady Illmarrow (see chapter 6). The greatest

necromancer of the age, she seeks to unlock the secrets

of her inactive dragonmark, the Mark of Death. If she

succeeds, she could come to possess unimaginable

power. This makes her a formidable villain to drive the

action of an entire campaign.

EMERALD CLAW ADVENTURE HOOKS

The Emerald Claw Adventure Hooks table offers some

options to kick off adventures featuring the Emerald

Claw that take place outside their sanctuaries.

EMERALD CLAW ADVENTURE HOOKS

d8 NPC

What at first appears to be a renegade group of

Aundairian soldiers turn out to be undead under the

order's control.

2 The order strikes at a small keep, demanding the

inhabitants surrender a particular volume from their

library.

3

4

5

6

Investigating strange lights and sounds emanating

from a crypt in the dead of night reveals the Emerald

Claw experimenting on the corpses within.

The Emerald Claw violates graves near a small village,

animating the corpses into undead laborers to help

build an eldritch machine.

The Emerald Claw claims a village's town hall for its

own use, and any who come near are attacked. The

sounds of torture ring out from within the building.

Investigating disappearances among an elf commu­

nity reveals that the Order of the Emerald Claw has

been attempting to inscribe something like a dragon­

mark in their skin, then reanimating the failed experi­

ments as zombies.

7 While searching for a magic item in Dhakaani ruins

across southern Khorvaire, the characters discover

that Emerald Claw agents are looking for the same

thing and seem to have access to information the ad­

venturers lack.

8 A large force of Emerald Claw knights offers the char­

acters a choice: join the order, or submit themselves

to death and an eternity of servitude from beyond the

grave.