Eberron Guide to Tomb of Annihilation

by BRIAN HAMILTON

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©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 2 Obsidian City ...... 12 Introduction ...... 5 Ring of Storms ...... 12 Story Overview ...... 5 Zantashk ...... 12 Syndra Silvane...... 5 The Mausoleum of Ssra-Tauroch ...... 14 Ras Nsi ...... 5 Approach ...... 14 Omu...... 5 Keyed Areas ...... 14 Nine Trickster Gods ...... 5 1. Plateau ...... 14 Fall of Omu ...... 6 2.Tribute Hall ...... 14 Fane of the Night Serpent ...... 6 4. Hallway ...... 14 The Soulmonger ...... 6 5. Priests’ chambers ...... 14 Welcome to Xen’drik ...... 7 6. Book Shrine ...... 14 Getting to Xen’drik ...... 7 7. Hall of Statues ...... 14 New NPC: Thaddeus Nimblemind ...... 7 8. Sarcophagi ...... 14 Stormreach ...... 9 9. Obervation Floor ...... 15 The Storm Lords ...... 9 10. Guard Room ...... 15 Factions in Stormreach ...... 9 11. Sacrificial Pit ...... 15 The Aurum ...... 9 12. False Tomb ...... 15 Blood of Vol ...... 9 13. Cavern passages ...... 15 Church of the Silver Flame ...... 9 14. Petroglyphs ...... 15 Dragonmarked Houses ...... 9 15. Ssra-Tauroch’s Tomb ...... 15 House Deneith ...... 10 Quori Observatory ...... 16 Morgrave University ...... 10 Approach ...... 16 Order of the Emerald Claw ...... 10 Keyed Areas ...... 16 The Gatekeepers ...... 10 1. Hillside ...... 16 The Land of Xen’drik ...... 10 2. Resonating Chamber ...... 17 The Traveler’s Curse ...... 11 3. Orrery ...... 17 Locations in Xen’drik ...... 11 4. Control Room ...... 17 Camp Righteous ...... 11 Appendix: New Monsters ...... 18 Camp Vengeance ...... 11 Animated Objects ...... 18 Dar Qat...... 11 Giant Mummy ...... 18 Forsaken City ...... 11 Inspired ...... 19 Heart of Banor the Bloody Spear ...... 12 Kalashtar ...... 20 3. Antechamber ...... 14 Quorcraft Warforged ...... 21 Last Chance...... 12 Sample file

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“We’ve found it Krunk! The lost city of Omu!” And it’s completely abandoned!

“Don’t be so certain, Varius.”

“The inhabitants of places like this have a habit of turning up when you Sampleleast expect it.” file

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 4 ritual transformation, becoming a yuan-ti malison. As a yuan-ti, Ras Nsi imposed his terrible will on the evil Introduction snake people and became their leader. Welcome to Xen’drik, a land of cyclopean ruins, forgotten magic, and untamed dangers. This document contains advice and information on how Omu you can adapt the Tomb of Annihilation adventure to fit into the world of Eberron. Omu is an ancient city built by the elves after the This document assumes that you are familiar with Age of Giants had passed. Built in the Valley of at least the introduction, chapter 1, and chapter 2 of Shadows near the southern shores of Xen’drik, the Tomb of Annihilation. If you have not read these city gathered wealth in abundance from the Siberys sections of the adventure yet, you may want to do so and Khyber dragonshards found in the valley and before reading this document. surrounding mountains. To enter Omu, it was said, was to enter the gates of paradise itself. No one is certain what happened to the ancient city Story Overview of Omu. Some say it was greed on the part of the Much of the story overview as presented in the Omuan rulers. They enslaved the lesser elves who Tomb of Annihilation adventure remains the same, eventually organized an uprising against them. Some with the following changes. say it was the Du’rashka Tul, “the madness of crowds,” a Xen’drik legend that says any civilization that rises to a certain size falls to homicidal madness. Syndra Silvane Whatever the case, the Omuan civilization eventually fell into depravity. Syndra Silvane is a retired adventurer and professor at Morgrave University. As in the Tomb of Annihilation adventure, Syndra is wasting away as a Nine Trickster Gods result of the death curse. Her contacts within Morgrave University have learned that the death According to the Tairnadal elves, when the giants curse is the result of an ancient eldritch machine, enslaved the elven race, a few wise and stealthy elves known as the Soulmonger. These contacts received managed to escape. Forging alliances with the forces their information from a lich who says that the of nature, these elves formed a druidic sect known as Soulmonger was constructed long ago by the the Gyrderi, which enabled them to transform into Qabalrin, a reclusive sect of elves who pioneered powerful creatures of the wild. many of the necromantic techniques of the modern When the elf uprising against the giants began, the era. Though the Qabalrin civilization was destroyed Gyderi came to the elves’ aid and were instrumental by a massive Siberys dragonshard that plummeted in some of their earliest victories. Unfortunately, the from the sky, the Soulmonger somehow survived. giants found a way to trap the druids in their wild Syndra’s contacts know little about the Soulmonger shapes, relegating them forever to the forms of other than the fact that it is located in the land of animals. Xen’drik. Adventurers willing to help Syndra must While some among the Gyrderi are believed to have travel to Xen’drik and destroy the Soulmonger. traveled to Khorvaire and become the ancestors of the Valenar warhorses, nine of the Gyrderi remained and founded the city of Omu. Like the Aerenal elves Ras Nsi worship the Undying Court, the elves of Omu worshipped the Gyrderi as living gods. Drunk with Ras Nsi is a mythic villainous figure among the power, the Gyrderi became divisive and cruel, fighting people of Khorvaire. Ras Nsi was a human paladin amongst each other and forcing the elves to build and a sworn protector of Karrnath. During the Last elaborate temples to each of them. On holy days, the War, Ras Nsi betrayed his oaths and staged a military mettle of the aspirant priests was tested in their nine coup against King Kaius III. Banished for his shrines, with deadly consequences for failure. The treasonous acts, Ras Nsi retreated to Xen’drik where trials provided entertainment for the degenerate he attempted to wrest control of the city of Omuans and fed their weakling gods with much- Stormreach from the Storm Lords by raising an needed sacrifices. undead army. This would be tyrant was defeated and banished once more. Leaving his undead army to Sample file roam unchecked throughout the jungle, Ras Nsi retreated to Omu. Bitter over the loss of his power, he forged an alliance with the yuan-ti and underwent a Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 5 Fall of Omu The city of Omu fell over a century ago when the bloody trials of the Omuans attracted the attention of the archlich Acererak. Amused by the Gyrderi and their petty squabbles for power, he slew them. He then enslaved the city’s inhabitants and forced them to carve out a tomb for their defeated gods. When the tomb was complete, Acererak slew the Omuans and entombed them with the Gyrderi.

Fane of the Night Serpent Beneath the cracked and broken streets of Omu lies a secret yuan-ti temple called the Fane of the Night Serpent. This temple is dedicated to the Devourer, who the yuan-ti worship as a giant serpent that will one day consume the world. Ras Nsi holds sway over these yuan-ti and plots to bring about the end of the world.

The Soulmonger The Soulmonger is an eldritch machine constructed long ago by the Qabalrin in order to draw on the powers of Mabar, the Endless Night. Recently, the Soulmonger was rediscovered by Acererak, the archlich, who brought the eldritch machine to Omu and hid it in the heart of the tomb he built for the Gyrderi. Acererak now uses it to trap the souls of the dead and to feed an undead horror, called an atropal. It is Acererak’s hope that when the atropal consumes enough souls, it will become a powerful, evil god.

Sample file

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 6 Welcome to New NPC: Thaddeus Xen’drik Nimblemind With the exception of a few coastal settlements, Xen’drik is an untamed wilderness: dense jungles and snaky rivers bordered by mountains to the south and desert to the west. The rivers are so sluggish that it can be difficult determining which direction is upstream and which is down. The rivers pick up speed only where they thunder down through steep- sided gorges. The safest entry point into this overgrown realm (“safest” is a relative term in this context) is the port of Stormreach. Zantashk may provide safe haven for the members of House Tharashk and Dar Qat a place for those hailing from Riedra. The rest of the continent is a breeding ground for bloodsucking, disease-bearing insects, monstrous reptiles, carnivorous birds and beasts of every variety, giants Thaddeus Nimblemind is a gnome noble and of every form, drow warriors eking out an existence professor from the Library of Korranberg. For years, among the jungles, and murderous undead. The he’s been researching the ancient giant civilization farther one moves from the coast, the more humid, that once dominated the continent of Xen’drik. Recent hot, and inhospitable the land becomes. research has led him to the discovery of a previously

unknown tomb of a scholar from the Age of Giants (see The Mausoleum of Ssra-Tauroch). Thaddeus Getting to Xen’drik has mounted an expedition to Xen’drik aboard an airship to find the scholar’s tomb and determine what, if anything, remains. The characters likely first encounter Thaddeus while trying to book passage to the continent of Xen’drik. Thaddeus is a talkative fellow and he loves to expound upon the history of the Age of Giants to anyone who will listen, whether they’re interested or not. If the characters are willing to help Thaddeus find the ancient tomb, he’d be happy to pay for their passage.

In the Tomb of Annihilation adventure, the characters arrive in Xen’drik with Syndra Sylvane via the teleport spell. While it’s certainly a viable option, half the fun of an Eberron campaign is getting where you’re going. The characters start off in Sharn at Morgrave University, where they first encounter Syndra Sylvane.Sample From there, it’s up to them how they want to file get to Stormreach, Xen’drik’s largest port of call. Information on travel times and cost can be found on page 13 of Secrets of Xen’drik. Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 7

Sample file

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. 8 Blood of Vol Stormreach The Blood of Vol is a predominantly human religion While there are smaller settlements located that worships no god or deity but instead the divinity throughout the jungles of Xen’drik, Stormreach is the that lies within all mortals. It devotes itself to the only city that is friendly to explorers from the figurative and literal meaning of blood – the continent of Khorvaire. For this reason, Stormreach mysteries of heredity, death, and the undead – makes the ideal setting as a replacement for Port believing that blood is the source of life and that Nyanzaru from the Tomb of Annihilation adventure. undeath is a path to divinity. The city of Stormreach is described in detail in both Like the Red Wizards of Thay, described in the the Secrets of Xen’drik and the City of Stormreach Tomb of Annihilation adventure, the Blood of Vol are supplements for the Eberron Campaign Setting. Below in Chult to steal the Soulmonger. Their leader is are a few notes that you can use to more easily adapt Valindra Shadowmantle, who takes direct orders the Tomb of Annihilation adventure to this setting. from Erandis Vol. She has occupied the Heart of Banor the Bloody Spear (otherwise known as Balinor, the god of the Sovereign Host), while mages work The Storm Lords with members of the Order of the Emerald Claw to Stormreach is governed by five hereditary nobles: comb the ruins of Xen’drik for clues to the the Harbor Lord and the four Coin Lords. Together, Soulmonger’s whereabouts. they are known as the Storm Lords. The current Harbor Lord is Jonas Wylkes (male half-elf). The Coin Lords are Varen Lassite (male Church of the Silver Flame human), Yorrick, Amanatu (male dwarf), Kirris Sel Shadra (female gnome), and Paulo Omaren (female Like the Order of the Gauntlet described in the human). Each of these characters are nobles. Tomb of Annihilation adventure, members of the The Storm Lords are equivalent to the Merchant Church of the Silver Flame vow to protect others from Princes described in the Tomb of Annihilation the depredations of evildoers. Placing their faith in adventure. the Silver Flame, they bring the strength of their faith, their hearts, and their weapons to bear against villainy. The church has committed considerable Factions in Stormreach resources toward quelling the undead menace in Like Port Nyanzaru, Stormreach has many factions Xen’drik. Its forward base, Camp Righteous, was who are vying for power and looking to tap into the overrun by undead. The church, undaunted, built a wealth that Xen’drik has to offer. Some of these new fortification even deeper in the jungle. Dubbed factions can aid the characters. Others will try to Camp Vengeance, it has fallen on hard times. Its hinder them. commander is a woefully inept noble, named Niles Breakbone. His lieutenants are more likely to share useful information or offer aid, but only if the The Aurum characters offer some form of assistance to Camp Vengeance in return. The Aurum is a shadowy alliance of some of the All members of the Church of the Silver Flame are wealthiest citizens of Khorvaire who use the power of unflinchingly brave, but many of their expeditions gold and platinum to increase their influence in the fare poorly or meet with outright disaster when world. Like the Zhentarim described in the Tomb of confronted by conditions that confound their training Annihilation adventure, members of the Aurum and contradict their mindset. pursue wealth and power through any means, though the public face of the organization in Xen’drik appears Dragonmarked Houses much more benign – the Aurum provides some of the best mercenaries that money can buy. Dragonmarked Houses are extended families of a The Storm Lords of Stormreach hire Aurum single race whose members sometimes manifest mercenaries to protect hunting, lumbering, and dragonmarks. They often have a near-monopoly on Siberys dragonshard mining operations in the jungles certain kinds of businesses and are considered and foothills. The Aurum uses this wide-ranging neutral in any affairs between the nations of access to the city to set up its own woodcutting camps Khorvaire. Although not a perfect substitute, the andSample dragonshard mining operations. It also mounts dragonmarked houses can be fileused to replace the treasure-hunting expeditions. Lords’ Alliance described in the Tomb of Annihilation adventure.

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