214
THE VOICE OFJM�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.
456A 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 ADVENTURESLORD 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.