[Long] Ending Eberron Campaign - Konrad, Stay out!

[The Lost Muse]

I am relocating in a month, and want to end my Eberron Campaign with a BANG!

Here's what has happened thus far (mostly my meta-plot):

• The hobgoblin tribes in Darguun united under a new warlord, and invaded Zilargo; they captured the country with amazing speed.
• Breland came to the aid of the Zil, and was making good progress in the south until the death of King Boranel during a massive ambush.
• The Brelish Parliament appointed a "Lord Protector" instead of coronating a new King
• The Zil refugees, congretating in Trolanport and Korranberg (for the most part) are shocked at the betrayal of Breland, as soldiers are withdrawn without completely liberating Zilargo
• Meanwhile, Queen Aurelia has convinced the Keeper of the Flame that she has wholeheartedly converted to that faith, and the two countries have formed a long-term political and military alliance]
• A mysterious artificer has been creating Warforged since the middle of the Last War, and has numbered them, One through One-Hundred. (The Lord of Blades is One.)
• The Draconic Prophesy has suggested that a new King (of Galifar) has been born
• The Lord of Blades has arrived at Thronehold, and summoned the rulers of Khorvaire nations to a summit to be held in one month
• The 13th moon will reappear in one month...

The PC's will shortly discover a plot to create docent-like devices which allow Quori spirits to possess warforged, whether or not they are willing. Dreaming Dark agents are planning to capture the Lord of Blades and use him and his army to kill the rulers of Khorvaire and plunge the continent back into the Last War.

(Keep in mind, this is an extremely bare-bones account of what will take place.)

The PC's from my first Eberron campaign are about level 15, and the PC's from the current campaign are about level 5. Each player will be playing both of their characters.

I would like advice on what various factions may be up to at the Thronehold summit, input on what the Mark of Death may or may not do (should it reappear), what the return of the 13th moon may be an omen of, and suggestions on making this ending as climactic as possible.

As far as factions present I have brainstormed the following list:

• Dreaming Dark Agents/Q'barrans
• Brelanders
• Zilargo
• Aundair/Thrane
• Karrnath
• Lord of Blades followers
• House Deneith
• Darguun Hobgoblins
• Agents of the Chamber

Thanks for your help and suggestions in advance.

 

[Timeboxer]

Well, here's one possible idea:

The coming of the 13th Moon and the reappearance of the Mark of Death actually prophesy the end of Eberron itself. Expect the dragons to be very concerned with this.

The docents perform something similar to the great monoliths in Sarlona, except on a smaller but more widespread scale: They tap into the latent psionic soulstuff of each warforged, turning each one into a mini-monolith, and the harmonic resonance resulting from this brings Dal Quor ever-closer to the material plane.

Plunging the entire continent of Khorvaire into another Last War is actually a well-calculated psionic ritual enacted by the quori, which harvests each soul that dies in the war to become a part of a planar engine whose purpose is in fact to merge Eberron with Dal Quor. In this way, they can establish a completely static world and prevent the dawning of the New Age.

 

[Aeric]

I read somewhere (Keith Baker FAQ on the WotC boards, perhaps) that each moon has a corresponding plane. So IMC, the thirteenth moon was tied to the plane of Dal Quor, and when it reappeared, it did so because the quori had finally succeeded in returning Dal Quor to its regular orbit. This threw the Khorvairean calendar for a loop, and for the sake of both simplicity and ill omen I put the thirteenth month at the end of the year, making winter a month longer. Nothing like an "unnaturally" long winter to put fear in the hearts of people.

I also had the Mark of Death return IMC, although it wasn't the true mark, it was the side-effect of a PC absorbing a Hand of Vecna-like artifact into his body. The moon reappeared shortly after the false mark appeared on the PC's body, causing the party to assume that the moon was tied to the mark. IMC, the Mark of Death had powers relating to undeath--animate dead, invisibility to undead, etc. Basically, what the PC wanted from it (he was a necromancer).

 

[Aeric]

The docents perform something similar to the great monoliths in Sarlona, except on a smaller but more widespread scale: They tap into the latent psionic soulstuff of each warforged, turning each one into a mini-monolith, and the harmonic resonance resulting from this brings Dal Quor ever-closer to the material plane.

I like this idea! Consider it yoinked for my next campaign!

 

[The Lost Muse]

For the mark of Death I was thinking:

Least: Inflict Moderate Wounds, Death Knell, or Ghoul Touch (1/day)

Lesser: Enervation, Inflict Critical Wounds, or Blight (1/day)

Greater: Slay Living, Death Touch (as per Death Domain Power), Circle of Death (1/day)

Siberys: Finger of Death (1/day)