The Lords of Dust, a chaotic evil cabal of rakshasas and other fiends, have been playing games with the common
races for thousands of years. They hide in the shadows of Khorvaire, plotting to free their ancient masters from the depths of Khyber, scheming to use them to gain greater power, or spreading pain and suffering among the common races. The group has bases of operation in the Demon Wastes and Aundair, among other places. The cabal uses a stylized silhouette of a broken tower to identify its members.
The Lords of Dust have little interest in complex hierarchies. The most powerful fiends occasionally gather in the ancient capital of the rakshasas to discuss their current schemes and goals, but they have no leader. Membership is earned and kept through cunning and personal power. The organization also includes a host of weaker fiends, lesser rakshasas and other demons content to serve the scheming lords.
The Lords of Dust are immortal, and their motivations are difficult for creatures of flesh and blood to understand. Sometimes their actions serve a clear purpose; other times they seek to cause chaos for its own sake, toying with the common races like pawns on a chessboard. These games can continue for centuries. It is entirely possible that the destruction of Xen’drik and the collapse of Galifar were ultimately engineered by members of the Lords of Dust—fiends subtly unraveling the threads of civilization to watch the suffering and pain as societies collapse.
The most cunning and clever fiends always search for ways to increase their own power. Some seek to release the rajahs they once served. Others explore ways to drain power from their former masters to exploit as their own.
The Lords of Dust are masters of deception, and they rarely deal openly with mortals. Rakshasas can read the thoughts of others and shift their shape to mimic any humanoid form, and they have infiltrated many governments, guilds, and other organizations. Even other schemers, such as the Aurum or the Cults of the Dragon Below, have been compromised by the Lords of Dust. But the plans of the fiends can take decades or centuries to unfold, and a rakshasa infiltrator may spend an entire human lifetime waiting for the right moment to make its move. So, almost any organization can be tricked into serving the Lords of Dust, at least temporarily. The one force that knowingly serves the rakshasas is the barbarian tribes of the Demon Wastes.
Two powerful forces oppose the Lords of Dust: the dragons of Argonnessen and their agents in the Chamber, and the Church of the Silver Flame. The dragons helped to defeat the rajahs in the Age of Demons, and many among the Lords of Dust still yearn for vengeance. Whenever the Lords of Dust manage to identify one of the goals of the Chamber, they will seek to oppose it; in turn, the dragons do their best to expose or destroy rakshasa infiltrators and to prevent the release of their imprisoned masters.
The knights templar of the Silver Flame serve the same power that holds the rajahs beneath the earth, and they are relentless in their pursuit of this ancient evil. Mortal flesh can be weak, however, and members of the Church of the Silver Flame can be fooled, bribed, or corrupted by the powerful fiends.
The Lords of Dust are the purest manifestation of evil to be found on Eberron. There is no place within the cabal for mortals, except as tools, playthings, and servants. Most often, adventurers fight against the Lords of Dust, either directly or by exposing their schemes. It is possible for heroes to be tricked into serving the Lords of Dust; a rakshasa in the form of a trusted ally could send them on a quest that causes more harm than good.
Dragons and The Lords of Dust
The immortal Lords of Dust still remember the war between dragon and fiend. Many are willing to wait for their vengeance; once the Overlords of the Age of Demons are released, the dragons will suffer. But a few enjoy matching wits with the dragons, whether they target rogues, agents of the Chamber, or the draconic Prophecy itself. As immortals, the sages of the Lords of Dust have had tens of thousands of years to study the Prophecy. A few of the members of the Council of Ashtakala have been fighting a long shadow war with the dragons, using the Prophecy as a battleground. The rakshasas have won their share of victories, and some of the darker events in history could be a result of this manipulation. The rakshasas also enjoying using their knowledge of the Prophecy to set up situations in which the dragon prophets know that draconic interference would have disastrous results in the future; as such, the dragons must either use agents dictated by the Prophecy—adventurers, perhaps—or play into the rakshasas’ twisted hands.
Durastoran Wyrmbreaker (LE male ak’chasar rakshasaMM3 loremaster 5/fatespinnerCAr 5) has been one of the most active lords in this battle over the Prophecy. Wyrmbreaker has a force of lesser fiends and human agents at his disposal, scattered across Khorvaire.
ADVENTURE SEEDS
The PCs can come into conflict with the Lords of Dust in a couple of ways.
The Lesser of Two Evils: A rakshasa openly approaches the party, revealing its true nature. He asks for the PCs’ assistance in opposing the Chamber, saying that the dragons are interested only in what’s good for Argonnessen. Indeed, the mission he wants them to perform will save humanoid lives and help their homeland or house (in the short term, at least). Are the adventurers willing to work for a fiend?
Who to Trust?: A close ally of the PCs, who has aided them time and again, begs them to perform a task that could save her life. The ensuing adventure leads them into conflict with a Chamber dragon, who says that their friend is a servant of the Wyrmbreaker and that their mission will shift the Prophecy down a dark path.
Do they trust their friend and fight the dragon, or abandon an ally on the word of Argonnessen?
Source: Dragons of Eberron, Eberron Campaign Setting
Typical Lords of Dust Member: Zakya rakshasa fighter
5; CR 13; Medium outsider (native); HD 7d8+35 plus
5d10+25; hp 119; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.; AC 29, touch 12,
fl at-footed 27; Base Atk +12; Grp +18; Atk +20 melee
(1d10+9/17–20, +1 bastard sword) or +18 melee (1d4+5, claw)
or +15 ranged (1d8+6/×3, masterwork composite longbow);
Full Atk +20/+15/+10 melee (1d10+9/17–20, +1 bastard sword)
and +13 melee (1d6+2, bite) or +18 melee (1d4+5, claw) and
+13 melee (1d6+2, bite) or +13/+13/+8 ranged (1d8+6/×3,
masterwork composite longbow with Rapid Shot feat); SA
detect thoughts, spell-like abilities; SQ change shape,
damage reduction 15/good and piercing, darkvision 60
ft., outsider traits, spell resistance 22; AL LE; SV Fort
+14, Ref +8, Will +7; Str 22, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 13, Wis
13, Cha 11.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +14, Climb +15, Conc entration
+15, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +14, Intimidate +17, Jump
+19, Listen +11, Sense Motive +11, Spot +11; Blind-Fight,
CleaveB, Combat Refl exesB, Exotic Weapon Profi ciency
(bastard sword), Improved Bull Rush, Improved Critical
(bastard sword), Point Blank Shot, Power Attack B, Precise
Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (bastard sword), Weapon
Specialization (bastard sword)B.
Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day—chill touch (DC 11), true strike,
vampiric touch (DC 13). Caster level 7th; save DC 10 + spell
level. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Possessions: +1 chainmail, heavy steel shield, +1 bastard
sword, masterwork composite longbow (+6 Str bonus) with
20 arrows, false identifi cation papers.
