The Wyvern Raik: The Tears of Dhakaan

Eberron

The Eberron setting primarily takes place in Khorvaire, a continent that was ruled by goblinoids of Dhakaan in ancient times. Humans are now the most populous race in Khorvaire, living primarily in the area known as the Five Nations. Southeast is the small continent of Aerenal, ruled by elves. Due south is the jungle continent of Xen'drik, once ruled by an empire of giants that collapsed, now largely wilderness, with some areas under tribal dominion of the drow. Frostfell is an unexplored land of ice in the north. The other two main continents are Sarlona (a continent ruled by quori, creatures from the Region of Dreams) and Argonnessen (a continent inhabited by dragons). The world of Eberron has twelve moons; some sages believe there is a thirteenth moon that has vanished or is invisible to the naked eye.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Tears of Dhakaan

This dungeon takes you to the Arzag-Khor Sewer. This dungeon is populated by high level hobgoblins and is rather difficult. The difficulty comes primarily from the spellcasters, who will cast a nasty cloud spell which can be the death of a party. You can not cast spells while within the clouds, but you can use wands.

Starts at NPC:	Kamat Thaar
Starts in Zone:	House Phiarlan
Level	7
Quest Length	Very Long

Map of Arzaq-Khor. You probably need a full party for this one. Hirelings can work, but they're just no substitute for a real player, no matter what the Hirelings Union Local 42 tells you. The shrines are behind locked doors, and there are a few traps -- bring someone with some rogue levels.

Some of the shards are hidden behind doors which need a high attribute score (20+). You'll need at least one person with 20 strength, one with 20 intelligence, one with 20 wisdom. Buffs are fine; hirelings with the appropriate scores can open these doors, though our wizard hireling was a pain in the ass about opening his. If your hireling doesn't want to trigger a door opening, then make sure s/he is standing *right* next to it before you give the command to use it.

One shard is hidden through an underwater tunnel at the intersection of three corridors. It's a middling swim -- people in light or medium armor can probably make it without trouble. People in heavy armor may take a little damage unless you can cast waterbreathing on them somehow.

One shard is hidden above the waterfall in the hobgoblin village - you'll need to jump across some fairly narrow ledges to the left as you enter the village. Featherfall helps you make the jumps. There's a clay golem waiting above the waterfall -- acid damage heals him, and he's immune or resistant to basically everything else. You'll need an adamantine or metalline weapon, preferably a bludgeoning weapon, to bypass his damage reduction.

The quest is very long, but the loot and the XP are excellent--5,000+XP. It's also pretty fun if you have a full party of real players. Trying to solo it or do it with only 2-3 people will likely prove frustrating.