The Last War

Khorvaire is still rising from the ashes of the Last War. The consequences of a century of conflict can’t be offset with a single treaty. The Last War didn’t end because people resolved their differences, and it didn’t end with a victor. It ended when the Mourning destroyed Cyre, because people were afraid that the war itself was the cause of that cataclysm, and that continuing the struggle could doom them all. Many are sick of the endless conflict and embrace the peace. But just as many yearn to finish what their ancestors started, and others see potential profit for themselves in war. Some leaders focus on healing the lingering wounds of the conflict, while others work to ensure that their people will have an edge when fighting begins anew.

The Last War is one of the primary themes of Eberron. When developing an adventure in Khorvaire, consider how the lingering impact of the war could affect the story. Some element of the war could drive the entire adventure; the heroes could be tasked with recovering a relic lost in the war, or capturing a fugitive war criminal. But it can also be a background note that simply adds flavor to a story. If the adventure features a group of bandits, perhaps they’re deserters, which can be all the more interesting if they once served in the army of the same nation as one of the player characters.

This section looks at the different ways that the Last War can influence an adventure.

Personal Impact

As players develop characters in an Eberron campaign, you can work with them to determine the role that the war played in their background. Here are a few topics for conversation:

Military Service. Did the character fight in the war? If so, which nation did they serve and what role did they fill? If more than one of the characters fought in the war, did they serve together (or as allies) or fight on opposing sides? Military service can be the basis of a strong connection for two or more characters.

Civilian Life. If the character is from one of the Five Nations and didn’t fight in the war, how and why did they remain on the sidelines? Did they oppose the war? Did they do something to avoid conscription, or was there a reason they were considered unsuitable for service?

Personal Loss. What did the characters lose during the war? Did members of their family die, and if so, how? Was the village they grew up in destroyed, and if so, who was responsible? If the characters are from Cyre, they have lost their nation. Do they have any loved ones left? Did they spend time in a refugee camp or in the outpost of New Cyre in Breland? Do they support Prince Oargev as the leader of Cyre, or do they have other ideas for the nation’s future?

For example, when an Aundairan player character meets a group of Eldeen druids, it’s an opportunity to exploit the bad blood between Aundair and the Eldeen Reaches and to determine if this interaction has any personal relevance to the character. If a player character has the soldier background, you can introduce an NPC as a former comrade and work out the details with the player on the spot. The Personal Impact table provides ideas for plot hooks that could directly involve a player character in a scenario.

Personal Impact

Bitter Grievances

Alliances shifted during the war, and almost every nation has grievances with every other one. Some of these postwar feuds rage more fiercely than others. One of these sources of tension could play a role in a character’s back story, the plot of an adventure, or the reactions of an NPC. Although the nations are afraid to return to all-out war, any of these feuds could escalate.

Aundair and The Eldeen Reaches

Forty years ago, the farmers of western Aundair joined with the druids of the Towering Woods in seceding from the kingdom and founding the Eldeen Reaches. Most Aundairians consider this an unforgivable act of treason committed at a time of national weakness. The Reachers say their actions were precipitated by the neglect and corruption of the Aundairian nobles. Now that the war is over, many Aundairians believe Queen Aurala should reclaim the Eldeen Reaches, whether through diplomacy or force.

Breland and Droaam

Monstrous raiders from the western wilderness have plagued Breland for centuries. A decade ago, the Daughters of Sora Kell united the scattered warlords of the region under the flag of Droaam. Furious clashes erupted between Breland and Droaam, centering on the fortress of Orcbone and Brelish settlers in the west. Breland led the opposition to recognizing Droaam as a nation under the Treaty of Thronehold, and some Brelish believe King Boranel should take dramatic action to end this threat.

Cyre and the World

Cyrans maintain that they alone were in the right during the Last War, which began when the other nations refused to acknowledge the Cyran queen’s rightful claim to the throne of Galifar. Proud until the end, Cyre clashed with all the other nations. Now Cyre is destroyed, and Cyran refugees everywhere are dependent on the kindness of their former enemies. But many of those people believe that Cyre deserves no mercy, and that the refugees should be treated as enemy combatants rather than offered charity and compassion.

Karrnath and Thrane

The enmity between these two nations runs far deeper and longer than what was wrought by the Last War. Thrane is the bastion of the Church of the Silver Flame, while Karrnath resorted to necromancy in the course of the war. Thranes accuse Karrns of being morally bankrupt; Karrns say that the Thranes are arrogant and naive. This long-standing rivalry led to intense conflict in the early days of the war, and it only grew worse. When Thrane became a theocracy, Karrns seized on this act as proof that the nation had abandoned the traditions of Galifar. When Karrnath integrated undead into its armies, Thrane swore it would never be at peace with those who would use such foul magic. Both nations have accepted the terms of the Treaty of Thronehold, and the Karrnathi king has forsworn the creation of new undead soldiers, but the treaty has done nothing to ease the enmity between the two.

Thaliost

The ancient city of Thaliost was once part of Aundair, and it has many proud ties to the history of that nation. It was seized by Thrane during the Last War, and the Treaty of Thronehold ratified its occupation of the place. Thrane placed an Aundairian archbishop, Solgar Dariznu, in charge of the city, and it has become a haven for Aundairian followers of the Silver Flame. But many of its citizens consider themselves to be Aundairians, and many prominent citizens of Aundair are putting great pressure on Queen Aurala to retake the city. The tension has been exacerbated by Archbishop Dariznu, who has taken brutal action to suppress Aundairian opposition to Thrane’s occupation of the city.

Valenar

The elves of Valenar have broken the terms of the Treaty of Thronehold on several occasions. They regularly antagonize their neighbors, raiding and provoking everyone in reach of their war bands; some independent war bands have even crossed the Talenta Plains to raid across the borders of Karrnath and Q’barra. High King Vadallia insists that these are the actions of individual soldiers, but he refuses to take action against the perpetrators. Some scholars believe Vadallia and the Valenar are trying to provoke a full-scale conflict — by the strictures of their religion they don’t want to be conquerors, but they want a powerful enemy to attack their nation. If this hypothesis is true, they might continue to escalate their activity until Karrnath or another powerful nation is forced to react.

Though the Valenar regularly raid their neighbors, these attacks rarely target civilians. The elves aren’t interested in wealth or territory; they are looking for challenging battles. They might attack military outposts, patrols, adventurers, or other brigands — any force that seems like it could put up a good fight.

Everyday Impact

There’s no place in Khorvaire that escaped the Last War unscathed. Even villages that were never attacked lost their children to conscription or suffered from shortages. Some towns far from the front lines suffered damage from long-distance magic weapons or terror attacks. Any time you are setting a scene, you could add some element that speaks to the ongoing impact of the Last War. The Everyday Impact table offers some suggestions for these elements.

Everyday Impact

The Cold War

No one knows what caused the Mourning, and the fear of repeating this cataclysm — not the Treaty of Thronehold — is what keeps potential combatants at bay. No one is happy with the outcome of the war, but no one dares to continue fighting, since all believe that renewed full-scale conflict could result in utter destruction. That said, the general belief is that the mystery of the Mourning will eventually be solved. Either someone will learn how to control the power that caused the Mournland, or the precise cause will be determined and people will be able to tell if it still poses a threat.

Many people truly hope that the Last War will live up to its name forever. But others prepare for more war even as they pursue peace. First and foremost, every nation wants to unravel the mystery of the Mourning; a nation that could learn how to use this power would be unstoppable. Other forces are searching for weapons or forgotten powers that could turn the tide if another war breaks out. Adventurers could find themselves racing through ruins in Xen’drik, trying to destroy a weapon of the ancient giants before the Emerald Claw can claim it for Karrnath and Lady Illmarrow.

The characters can stumble into a web of intrigue without seeing the sticky strands. Perhaps a patron hires the adventurers to transport what seems to be an ordinary backpack full of goods, and they don’t realize that it has a secret magical compartment until enemy spies come looking for whatever is inside it. Or a dying spy presses an amulet into the hand of one of the adventurers, saying, “The fate of Breland depends on you getting this to Boranel. Don’t trust anyone!” Assuming the adventurers care about the fate of Breland, they’re pressed into an urgent adventure that has implications they might not see or understand.

Playing During the Last War

In your campaign, you might want to take a look back at the war as it unfolds. Setting an adventure during the Last War puts the characters in a tumultuous time of political intrigue, tenuous alliances, and brutal conflicts. Consider these ways to make the Last War a present reality in your campaign:

• The players create new characters who live during a specific phase of the war. These characters could be figures of legend whose great deeds are known to the present-day characters, or they could be unknowns caught up in events much larger than themselves. In either case, the adventure they undertake can set the stage for events in the “present day” of your campaign.
• You might run an introductory session or flashback set during the waning years of the war, bringing the characters’ backgrounds to life. Maybe the characters are all part of the same unit in the war, or they might be enemies forced to cooperate when disaster strikes. Are the characters participants in a memorable battle? Do they take actions they’ll later regret? Do they make a bitter enemy who comes back to haunt them years later, when the campaign continues in the present day?
• A magical phenomenon might send the characters back in time, putting them in the middle of the conflict. Are they transported there to learn something? To alter the course of history? Or are they just stranded in a twisted time stream? How will they escape the horrors of the war and get back to their own time?

Villains of the Last War

Just as adventurers are shaped by their experiences in the Last War, villains often carry the physical and mental scars of the conflict. When developing the details of a villain’s background, consider the following options.

War Criminal

chapter 6) could have overseen a camp where prisoners of war were used as subjects in necromantic experiments. Is the villain infamous for their crimes, or yet to be exposed for what they did? Do they believe that their crimes were justified? Is the criminal protected by powerful people in their nation, or reviled by the people they served?

Grim Inspiration

Something the villain saw or experienced during the war made a lasting impression that still drives them today. Perhaps their family was killed in a senseless attack, and everything they are doing is motivated by a desire to avenge this loss. Maybe they think that they were betrayed by their own nation. Perhaps they were caught in the Mourning, and even though they somehow survived it, what they lived through drove them insane.

Former Comrade

A former comrade-in-arms can be a useful hook to draw adventurers into a story — or a compelling villain. Which one of the characters served alongside the villain? Were they equals, or was one of higher rank? Did the villain abandon or betray the adventurer, or was it the adventurer who betrayed the villain? This option can be especially interesting for a warforged villain; while searching for their own identity following the war, they have embraced a dark path. If you use this motif, it’s important to develop the story in conjunction with the players whose characters are connected to the villain — either establishing crucial details ahead of time, or developing them together by way of a flashback.

War-Torn Survivor

At first meeting, the villain of an adventure might seem to be a person of honor, or at the least a hardscrabble survivor doing what they think is right after surviving the war. The villain might have experienced some of the same things in the war that the characters did, making it easy for the characters to understand the villain’s point of view — or at least to harbor a sliver of doubt that makes them think twice before rushing to condemn the villain. The War-Torn Villains table suggests twists you can add to villains mentioned elsewhere in this chapter to give them and their schemes a tie to the Last War.

War-Torn Villains