[Eberron] Challenges for 13th level 'Anti-Heroes'?

[MavrickWeirdo]

Great Druid Oalian?

 

[Glyfair]

Of the three main options:

Daelkyr: Potentially very powerful "BBEG" with a ton of minions. Having him as an archenemy could bring you into a semi-standard underdark campaign (with Eberron's slight variations seeing play).

Inspired: Good for the fans of the Prisoner and other us against the world themes. You should have no problem setting up a "there are too many of them, and we can't do any permanent damage to them" atmosphere. See Keith Baker's comments about Riedra and the Inspired, especially Khourvaire's reaction to some PCs saying they are really the evil guys ("So, you mean the guys that are helping us rebuild, loaning us money are really invaders from another world. Sure, we have a doctor we'd like you to talk to.")

Lords of the Dust: This could potentially last through an epic level campaign. Start with various minions. Work you way up the ladder until you finally have to deal with a potential release of a Rajah. Based on Keith's comments, Rajah's are well above arch-devils & demon lords. They are likely low-level divine beings. Even epic level players should hope one doesn't get released.

 

[Staffan]

I have since lost the Dungeon mag in which they statted out the Lord of Blades. How tough was he?

The LoB is supposed to be sort of a Schrödinger's NPC - you never know how tough he is until you use him. Five Nations has a version of him that's a Fighter 2/Artificer 5/Warforged Juggernaut 5.

 

[CronoDekar]

Since they are anti-heroes, it might be fun running them in an evil-yet-somewhat-virtuous vs. a plain evil organization, such as Karranath/King Kaius versus the Emerald Claw, or if you own Sharn they could get involved in some of the clan wars there (though which one is the "good guys" -- if any -- is up to you). Keep in mind there are shades of gray!

There's also places that is largely unknown territory with unknown creatures, such as Xen'drik, Argonessen, and Frostfell, and even in Khorivaire you can also find the Demon Wastes and the Mournlands. Sometimes I've also gotten ideas looking at some of the "wonderous locations" in the ECS, such as Black Pit in Breland. You also never know what evils the Khyber cults, Mordain the Fleshweaver, the Lord of Blades, those crazy Dhakanni goblins, the Droaam monsters, or a custom-made NPC of your choice have been cooking up, or have set to unleash. As mentioned, Inspired and the Lords of Dust make good challenges since they're allowed higher "standard" levels than the normal Eberron NPC. There's also some other stuff in Sharn that might come into power, such as the Fallen, the Radiant Idol groups, or perhaps even the Lady of the Plague has returned herself.

For the most part they're the highest level people around Khorivaire at Lv13, so it's pretty likely that if someone needs help, they're going to be getting involved. Hope we've helped!

 

[Reynard]

I think I am going to drop them into the Mournlands near the Karranath border and try and herd them there, so they can become embroiled in the conflict between Kaius "III" and Vol/Emerald Claw. I need to pick up 5 Nations, but in the meantime, other than the Lord of Blades, what (powerful) nasty things live in the Mournlands?

 

[Corsair]

I like the chamber idea myself. Clearly these characters from another world will wreak havoc with the fabric of Eberron, possibly disrupting the prophesy itself! They must be eliminated!

Consider stalking them with a dragon or two eventually. They won't have the "color coded for your convenience" going for them either.

 

[Anti-Sean]

I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the daughters of Sora Kell, as well. They can serve as an excellent wild card to throw into the mix. What other ambitions do they have, besides their new nation of Droaam? And how do the PCs fit in? Perhaps Sora Teraza has seen the PCs in a vision, and she and her sisters intend to PCs to aid them in their schemes, whether they like it or not (or are even aware of it). Perhaps the PCs herald the return of Sora Kell herself...

 

[Klaus]

I think I am going to drop them into the Mournlands near the Karranath border and try and herd them there, so they can become embroiled in the conflict between Kaius "III" and Vol/Emerald Claw. I need to pick up 5 Nations, but in the meantime, other than the Lord of Blades, what (powerful) nasty things live in the Mournlands?

In the Mournlands? Pretty much anything you want to throw at your PCs. The Mournlands are a device for the DM to place any unusual/rare/weird creature if he so wishes. Examples of stuff you can throw at your PCs are: warforged juggernauts, living spells (oooh, living holy word!), aberrations, undead (there's almost no sunlight in the Mournlands, so undead have nothing to be afraid of), parties of raiders/collectors (one of them could lead the PCs to Karrnath)...

 

[Anti-Sean]

Ahh, speaking of living spells... If you really and truly want your players to hate you forever, please allow me to introduce you to Living Disjunction. I am in awe of the cruelly twisted and evil person who created that one. It'll come in especially handy if they're still covered head to toe in nice shiny magical items from whatever world they arrived from. For all the PCs now, they could have landed in some extraplanar hellhole or an apocalyptic future of their homeworld, what with the blasted nightmare of the Mournland. Imagine their surprise when they step out of the dead gray mist and behold the breathtaking views of the rest of Khorvaire's landscape. That is, if they survive...

 

[Nightfall]

A nice band of War Trolls could also exist there...