The Shadow War
Before the Beginning
The Story
The story below occurred before the current year of 998 YK, before the event known as the Mourning. The divided nations of Khorvaire are still at war with each other.
SETH ROSETHORN (VILLAIN):
Seth Rosethorn believes himself to be human at first but later on in the story he discovers that he carries the modified blood of the ancient Kalashtar people and a mysterious entity from the land of the Dreaming Dark. Because of Seth's nature, he is a perfect candidate to serve as a vessel as an Inspired, but I'll think more about that later.
He is the son of Hosho Rosethorn & Layla Rosethorn. House Cannith is always on the hunt for innovation and is never content with what they have already accomplished. The Last War spurred and encouraged this attitude in House Cannith. Although this was good for progress, if left unchecked, could spell disaster for Khorvaire.
HOSHO ROSETHORN (VILLAIN):
This attitude for innovation attracted all kinds of talents. Hosho was one of them. Despite not having the mark of making, he was still a great inventor and scientist and was greatly valued for his mind and skills. Although he was brilliant, he had an obsession with the dark arts that came from the distant lands of Aerenal and carried out his experiments without caring about ethics or morality. Hosho, however, was also great at hiding this dark side of himself and was also strangely charismatic with good communications skills.
LAYLA ROSETHORN:
About 30 years ago, during the Last War, a strange, dark, meteor-like object hit the small village of Woodhelm. Hoping that the object could open doors for innovation, House Cannith hired a team from House Tharashk and sent Hosho with a team of scientists-explorers to the crash-site to investigate. Layla Azlon, later known as Layla Rosethorn, was part of the expedition. The team set up base in the village as they conduct their investigation.
THE INVESTIGATION:
Upon arrival to the village, they found many human-looking people with glowing eyes locked in a meditative state. The team later found one of the more powerful Kalashtars who could still telepathically communicate with them, unlike the rest. Eventually Hosho befriended the Kalashtar and got him to explain their story to the rest of the expedition team.
The team discovered the existence of a nomadic tribe of ancient Kalashtar people who roamed the lands of Khorvaire. These Kalashtars were different from the others and are called "The First". They held greater connection to the spirit plane and could communicate with the spirit of Eberron itself, or the one known to them as the "Great Spirit".
The communication with Eberron could not be proven as the humans from the team did not have any spiritual connections but the powers these Kalashtars possessed were evident.
The nomadic Kalashtars were on a journey to a place known as the 'Altar' where they were supposed to sing the song of light and end the cycle of darkness in their homeland, Sarlona
and help the spirits they are connected with.
Once they've accomplished their task, they will begin their journey back to Sarlona and return their spirits home. They do not have a map that leads to the Altar neither do they need it. The purity of their spirit meant that they could hear the song of the Great Spirit which they simply follow until they find the Altar.
Fearing the end of the cycle of darkness, members of the Dreaming Dark sent the mysterious object crashing into the continent. The object is actually an egg that contained the ender spirits from the Dreaming Dark. Once hatched, the ender spirits tracked those who contained the spirit of light and killed them.
The Kalashtars lost a lot of their people to the ender spirits as they were hunted down relentlessly. As a result, a small team of Kalashtars separated themselves from the main group and conducted a ritual. They sacrificed their bodies to imprison the ender spirits so that the rest can continue on to the Altar. This however, meant that the Kalashtars left behind are forever trapped in a meditative state. The Kalashtars left behind knew that this would be their fate before offering themselves for sacrifice.
After hearing their story, Hosho began obsessing himself with the new discoveries made and slowly began experimenting on the Kalashtars imprisoning the ender spirits in the caves nearby. Vishdan from House Tharashk found out what he was doing and was uncomfortable with Hosho's actions. Vishdan first personally confronted Hosho which later became a heated argument between the two. Vishdan pleaded for Hosho to find his sense of morality while Hosho argued that he was simply doing his job. Vishdan knew that his teammates would support him, so he threatened to reveal Hosho's deeds to them and the Kalashtar. Enraged, Hosho murdered Vishdan.
Hosho then dismissed House Tharashk and convinced them that both he and Vishdan had a falling out and Vishdan had already left in a fit of anger. The House Tharashk team wanted to know more but Hosho refused to answer and even threatened to report them to their employers if they didn't leave.
And so Hosho began experimenting on the Kalashtars unimpeded. Hosho's team did not protest against him for they also agreed that they were doing their jobs. Eventually, the elder Kalashtar knew what Hosho was up to and refused to speak with Hosho ever again. But desperation soon caught up with him and the elder knew he had to find a solution soon. He used his remaining powers to find goodness in at least one of Hosho's followers. He found one in a man named Gash who also had doubts in Hosho's doings but was too afraid to speak up or stand up against him.
He began speaking with Gash when Hosho wasn't present and eventually revealed his plan. He evaluated the risks and decided that he could release one of his Kalashtars, a young female by the name of Zahari Kokri to run away with Gash. Hosho could potentially be a much bigger threat than the ender spirits so time is short. Eventually Gash submits and decided to work with the Kalashtar.
One night he executed his plans and Gash ran off with the Kalashtar Zahari. Once they were far away from Woodhelm, Zahari realized she could no longer hear the Great Spirit's song and had no idea how to track and find the other Kalashtar group or the Altar. Not sure what the Elder's plan was, Gash decided to bring Zahari to the city of Sharn to figure out what to do next. Eventually they fell in love and had a daughter. They named her Athena. Hosho and his team did notice Gash's absence but in the end decided that their work was more important than finding him.
Meanwhile, Hosho made several breakthroughs and began playing with the idea of combining the powers of the ender spirits and the Kalashtars with the aid of the dark arts. With the dark arts, he turned Vishdar into a hybrid undead and kept him hidden somewhere in the depths of the village where he could not be found. During this time, Hosho also began courting his colleague Layla and later had a child with her who will later be known as Seth.
He later convinced Layla to begin experimenting on their child with Hosho's discoveries in the name of innovation to which she agreed. As time went on Layla started feeling immense guilt about her actions and fell into a deep depression but was afraid to let Hosho know. Some time later, Seth was born but was taken away from his mother the moment he was birthed. Layla died shortly afterwards, never having the chance to hold her own son. The experiment however, did not just affect Seth. Layla started experiencing the effects of the experiment after her death.
Hosho continued monitoring Seth and through his studies found that Seth had the potential to be an exceptional soldier. Later, he sent him to the King's Sword to be refined as a soldier while Hosho continued his work. During this time, he never revealed what Seth truly was, only that he was his son. He then used what he learned from Seth and applied them to his future experiments. Hosho had never shown Seth any signs of affection and even treated him more like a test subject than his son for that matter. As Seth continued serving the King's Sword, he never saw his father again and grew to detest him for abandoning him. Over a span of many years, Seth even forgot how his father looked like but he never forgot his name.
As time went on, Hosho's experiments yielded results. Seth quickly rose through the ranks and proved himself to be the one of the Sword's finest soldiers with fighting prowess unlike any other. With Seth's immense abilities, he led the outnumbered Brelish army to victory and managed to defeat the Cyrans at Breland's borders, forcing them to retreat. Seth was regarded as the war hero of that conflict. Even though Seth was well received in the King's Sword, Seth wasn't sure why he felt alien among his peers. Seth resorted to contending with his feelings as he continued flourishing in his career.
Soon, the Dark Lanterns had a growing interest in recruiting Seth as a master hunter for the branch and offered him an even higher position with them to which Seth agreed.
HOUSE CANNITH:
House Cannith saw prosperity during the Last War until the Mourning occured and destroyed their main base of operation. Although broken, the surviving leaders of House Cannith still held immeasurable power in politics, finances and many more.
Adventure's Story Begins Here:
The characters all come from a small village known as Woodhelm and start their story at their adolescence. In this part, it is recommended that the DM encourage their players to come up with connections with Smitty Karken. Players should already know that Smitty is a childhood friend of theirs but they are free to come up with their own connections as well as events that solidified their friendship with her.
Players can also decide if they were more introverted or extroverted in their younger days and how well they knew they people of the village.
The characters are about to leave the village and travel to the capital city, Wroat to become King's Sword soldiers. However, they could not let anyone else know that they are actually travelling to Wroat to become Dark Lantern agents, a secret espionage agency that serve the King and the good of Breland.
Players are also encouraged to come up with their own stories as to how they were noticed by the Dark Lantern organization and how they impressed them so much that they were considered for the initiate position.
The characters at this point are also aware of a very popular figure known as Seth Rosethorn. They do not know his backstory but his heroic victory against the Cyrans is known far and wide across the country of Breland. If they wish to, the characters could also be motivated to be a hero like Seth or aspire to meet him one day.
SMITTY KARKEN:
An outgoing, extroverted and friendly Brelish half elf. Smitty comes from the village of Woodhelm and is a dear childhood friend of the characters. In her younger years, Smitty helped her father run a small shop that produce drinking water for the village.
Years later after the Hosho completed his experiments with the Kalashtars, Woodhelm became a small lumber village for a community of Brelish people.
The Kalashtars were all used for Hosho's experiments and all evidence of what truly happened in the area disappeared, at least on the surface. If one were to dig deep enough, the area's history will be uncovered. Hosho and his team left a long time ago but Hosho was not known to be a careful person. He left a lot of his research notes, the egg and experiments that he considered 'failures' behind as he moved on to new endeavours like finding the Altar and his team member, Gash who mysteriously disappeared.
OPTIONAL QUEST IDEAS:
A few days before the characters leave for Wroat, they decide to meet up with their friend Smitty. Smitty is saddened to hear of their departure but is also proud of them for being chosen to be part of the King's Sword.
Smitty hopes that before they leave, they could help her make runs around the village to deliver water filters for old time's sake. Also, she has a gift for them but will only hand it to them if they agree to help her. They first make a pit stop at her father's Water store.
Life's Elixir: A small water shop at the corner of Woodhelm. Ran by the Karken family. Smitty's father, Shogun Karken currently runs the place. Shogun is a kind man who's not afraid to give a warm smile. Smitty and her father are very close, almost like best friends. Shogun also congratulates the characters for getting themselves into the King's Sword and gives them his best wishes.
There are 3 places for the characters to deliver the filters to and the items can be delivered in any order:
Fusu's General Goods Store: Ran by the Fusu family, this store sells adventuring gear not exceeding 1gp in the PHB. The store is tended by a friend of Smitty's and the eldest son of the human Fusu family, Rendale Fusu. Rendale has a small crush for Smitty but has also heard the news of the characters leaving. Rendale pays for the last filter.
Gold Dragon's Inn: Ran by a halfling family, currently tended by an elderly halfling known as Shea. Shea treats Smitty as if she were her own granddaughter and is extremely nice and welcoming. Shea pays for the last filter.
Draconic Quality Repairs: A repair shop in center of the village. Ran by a gnome with a terrible temper known as Jammit. Upon reaching this shop, Jammit reprimands Smitty and complains about the quality of the last filter, which Smitty apologises profusely. Jammit then refuses to pay for the last filter but Smitty answers that he could not do that because of the agreement he already made with her father.
Characters can make a DC 5 Persuasion or Intimidation check to convince Jammit to pay his fees.
AFTER delivering the goods, Smitty walks the characters back home and gives them a carving consisting of the characters' faces and Smitty's on a piece of refined Dragonwood with the words: "Don't Forget About Me".
After gifting them the item she bids farewell to the characters and says that she hopes to see them again.
In this part the players bid farewell to their village and leave for the capital city, Wroat.
WROAT
While learning to be Dark Lantern agents, the characters constantly hear stories about Seth Rosethorn and how he earned the title of the 'Hero of Breland Border' or also known as the 'Hero of Vathirond.'
(Refer to the story above). Characters also learn that many other initiates of the King's Sword idolize Seth and joined the King's Sword to become a war hero like him.
After spending weeks training in HQ, it's time for the characters' first mission.
MISSION TIME!
The Dark Lanterns teach their students to be ghosts. You infiltrate. Do what you need to do. You get out. All without letting anyone know you were even there in the first place until it is too late.
However, DnD isn't built to be an espionage RPG game. They have chapters in the handbook dedicated to combat alone. So we'll have to make do with what we have and use some house rules to enhance the experience wherever possible.
Characters can use whichever method they feel is appropriate. When running the encounter below be sure to roll initiatives first.
STEALTH RULES v1.0
A mission that is labelled a 'Dark Lantern Mission' uses the Stealth Rules detailed below.
STEALTH: If characters end their turn behind cover or in places where they can't be discovered, they roll their stealth checks with advantage, unless otherwise stated. If they end their turn in places with no cover, the character has to roll stealth checks with disadvantage. Characters can choose to fall prone in places with no cover and roll a stealth check with no disadvantage.
Rolling Stealth checks uses a standard action.
DISTRACTION: If characters intend to distract their enemies, they have to use a standard action to roll a deception check. Distracting forces the enemy to make a Wisdom ability check. On a failed check, the enemy must use their next turn to move towards the source of the distraction. After distracting an enemy, the character cannot make a hide action afterwards but can use the stealth check from the previous roll.
REACTION: Characters are free to use their standard action as a reaction. If the reaction consists of an attack, refer to the combat rules below.
MOVING BODIES: Carrying a body inconspicuously requires the characters to move at half speed and a bonus action to begin carrying it. Characters can drop the body with a free action.
DETECTION: Enemies who are not on alert use their passive perception during their turn. Discovering a body or detecting any of the characters place the enemies in an alert state. While alert, if characters go into hiding again, the enemies can choose to make an active perception check, taking results that are higher than their passive perception to try to find the characters. To make an active perception check, enemies will have to use their bonus action to do so. Upon detection, the enemy can use their standard action to begin attacking.
COMBAT: If the characters are detected and have no other options available to them OR decide to surprise their enemies, they will have to engage the enemy in combat. Characters have 3 rounds to take down their enemies, failing to do so causes the enemy to call for backup. Usually 1d4 or 1d6 of their allies will show up to join the fight in the next round. If the characters fail to take down their enemies in the next 3 rounds, the enemies in the mission are fully aware of their presence and cannot use their standard actions to distract or hide and cannot surprise enemies during the mission.
OPENING/CLOSING DOORS: Opening a closed door is a free action but closing the door behind them in the same turn requires a bonus action. Any door that is already opened can be closed with a free action. Opened doors can draw enemies' attention.
OPENING A LOCKED DOOR: Characters can make a thieve's tools Dexterity check to lockpick a door. This, however, uses a standard action.
ASSASSINATION MISSIONS:
Some missions might require the characters to assassinate a target so they are free to use other weapons in such a scenario. Even so, non-targets in the area are encouraged to be taken out non-lethally with a bludgeoning weapon.
MISSION 1: LOW KEY
The Dark Lanterns have come to learn about the location of some war plans in the hands of a military officer of Eldeen Reach who goes by the name of Domik.
Domik currently resides in a gated elite estate in the captial city. The Dark Lanterns have caught wind of the Eldeen Reach's new hired army that is being sent to reinforce the main army attacking Breland at its borders.
OBJECTIVE: Your job is to infiltrate the estate and falsify the information to lead the army elsewhere. Breland is already under a lot of pressure fighting several fronts. The army is currently marching towards Greenheart from the Twilight Demesne to receive instructions from Domik,giving you a bit of time to intercept the information.
You will be transported there via a stealth air ship, a state-of-the-art invention by House Cannith commissioned by the Dark Lantern Agency.
PART 1: ARRIVAL
"You are successfully sent to a remote location a few miles from Greenheart's gated estate. The stealth craft risk detection if it were to send you any closer. The area is filled with beautiful homes expertly designed to fit with the garden-like aesthetic. Lavish greenery can be seen all around the estate.The area however is crawling with Eldeen soldiers. Time to get to work."
SKILL CHALLENGE:
When the characters need to move towards and into the gated estate, have them all make a Stealth, Deception or Performance roll, depending on their actions. The DC is 12.
If anyone of the characters make 3 failures or successes, refer to the table below.
| FAIL | 1d6 guards have detected the party (or party member) and begins attacking. |
| SUCCESS | The party (or party member) successfully avoids detection. |
On a failure, the characters have 6 rounds to defeat the guards. If they don't, an alarm sounds and another 1d6 guards appear.
PART 2: Domik's Room
Refer to the Stealth Rules above to run this encounter.
However the characters to get through the last part, they now find themselves climbing into the rear window of Domik's suite. Just like before, this area is also crawling with a few guards on patrol with fixed patterns.
MONSTERS: 6 guards.
Characters start at the rear and will have to make their way to Domik's room in the North side of the map. Once they make it to Domik's room, they see the war plans laid out beside his bed. Domik has already been reading the war plans so the characters will have to think of a way to falsify the instructions to the army once they arrive.
Whichever ways the characters choose to approach this, once they are successful they need to exfiltrate and make it back to the stealth craft to end the mission.
===CONCLUSION===
Once the characters have all completed the mission and exfiltrated successfully, they each receive 15 gold crowns.
Succeeding on this mission means the Brelish army has lesser strain and stress when fighting Eldeen Reach and increase Breland's chance of achieving total victory... or so they believed at the time. The characters are asked to return to training. They have to keep themselves ever-ready and ever-vigilant for the next mission.
During their training, the characters know of some jobs being offered in Clifftop by the Adventurer's Guild. If they are in need of extra cash they can always drop by and tackle those jobs first. If they choose not to, they proceed to the next mission in the 'Thieves of Starilaskur'.
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