THE LORDS OF DUST
Evil entities spawned at the dawn of time still haunt
Eberron. The cities raised by those ancient overlords
are now only ashes, but the Lords of Dust still dream of
restoring their primordial dominion. These fiends bide
their time in an inconceivably long game, sparring with
the dragons of Argonnessen as they manipulate events
in order to fulfill the words of the Draconic Prophecy in
a way that will bring them victory.
Though the Lords of Dust are mighty enough on their
own, they serve greater masters known as the overlords
(see chapter 6). Unfathomably powerful fiends, the over
lords were bound at the end of the Age of Demons by the
power of the Silver Flame, and an overlord can be re
leased from this binding only if doing so can be made to
fulfill the Draconic Prophecy. Every fiend spawned from
Khyber owes fe alty to one of these overlords.
In many ways the Lords of Dust are a reflection of the
Chamber. Each group is trying to steer the fulfillment
of the Prophecy to serve its own ends. The goal of the
Lords of Dust is to release the overlords from their
bindings and loose them upon Eberron in a new age of
darkness. Despite this unified goal, the Lords of Dust
operate as an alliance of like-minded cabals rather than
a single monolithic organization. Each cabal serves its
particular overlord above all others, and the conditions
that release one overlord could actually contradict those
that would free another.
Accomplished shapeshifters, the Lords of Dust have
agents spread across Khorvaire. Some might wonder
why, with all their talents, they haven't tried to conquer
the world already. The reason is that they have no in
terest in ruling this world; they want to return it to the
state of unnatural glory that existed before. Their only
interest in humanoids races is in directing them and
their affairs down the paths necessary to release their
overlords; aside from that, dealing with mortals is a te
dious chore.
THE LORDS OF DUST AND THE WAR
The Lords of Dust took part in the events of the Last
War whenever they saw opportunities to further their
dark version of the Prophecy. It remains difficult to
identify what events might have been manipulated by
one of these fiends, because their schemes take so long
to play out. Far in the future, it might become apparent
that a seeming victory for the forces of good, or a battle
averted that spared hundreds from death was ultimately
the first step in an overlord's release. (For instance, a
soldier who was otherwise fated to die in the battle that
was avoided goes on to tempt a good-hearted priest into
becoming corrupted.)
In the years since the Thronehold Accords, the Lords
of Dust continue on as they ever have, advancing one
small step at a time.
DEMON RUIN
The Lords of Dust maintain a variety of safe houses and
sanctums across Eberron, but their most tightly bound
locations are the ruins left behind from the Age of De
mons, scattered across the Demon Wastes.
DEMON RUIN FEATURES
Map 4.7 what a demon ruin might look like. A demon
ruin is an echo of grandeur swathed in flame and rav
aged by time. Despite the rich appointments and impec
cable construction evident even in the broken remains
of the building, the place carries the unmistakable air of
anguish and torment.DEMON Rum ADVENTURES
The Demon Ruin Adventures table offers some reasons
why characters might risk death in the Demon Wastes.DEMON RUIN ADVENTURES
d4 Adventure Goal
Make a desperate request for aid from a Lord of Dust
who is, by all accounts, an enemy of the characters'
adversary.
2 Escort an innocent who is prophesied to destroy the
Lord of Dust to the ruin, and there confront the fiend.
3 Carry an artifact to the river of black lava that runs
through the demon ruin, which is the only place
where the item can be truly destroyed.
4 Gather obsidian shards from the ruin as components
for a rare spell.LORDS OF DusT NPCs -----
Most of the Lords of Dust are rakshasas, but any sort of
fiend-devil, demon, or otherwise-could be part of this
organization. Such fiends are spawned in Khyber and
aren't actually from the Outer Planes. These fiends gen
erally work through a wide network of duped pawns and
indebted servitors.
Each overlord has a chief servant, and these leaders
meet in the ruins of Ashtakala in the Demon Wastes.
Chapter 6 contains statistics for the overlord Rak Tu lk
hesh and his speaker, Mordakhesh the Shadowsword.
The overlord Sul Khatesh is served by the rakshasa
Hektula, also known as the First Scribe. Durastoran the
Wyrmbreaker is the speaker of Bel Shalor, the overlord
said to be bound in Flamekeep.
The Lords of Dust NPCs table describes some possi
ble antagonists who might cross paths with adventurers.LORDS OF DUST NPCs
d6 NPC
A virtuous paladin is hunting and destroying those
who might one day thwart the Lords of Dust.
2 A possessed lord or lady spreads corruption through
out the noble house.
3 A wizard who sought to accelerate their own power
by making a dark bargain must now pay the price de
manded by their sinister patron.
4 A powerful demon has corrupted the local ruler in the
name of its overlord.
56A succubus or incubus tempts a mercenary warlord to
engage in greater and greater battles.
One of the characters' most trusted allies or servants
turns out to be a rakshasa in disguise.CHAPTER 4 I BUILDING EBERRON ADVENTURES
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