Gatekeepers

The Gatekeepers are a druidic sect dedicated to protecting the natural world from unnatural forces. They battle aberrations and guard against extraplanar invasions and the release of ancient evils.
The Gatekeepers maintain the oldest druidic tradition on Khorvaire. Over fifteen thousand years ago, the green dragon Vvaraak came to the Shadow Marches and gathered a following from among the orcs of the region. In her studies of the Prophecy, Vvaraak had foreseen a great threat that could be stopped only by the younger races. So she taught the orcs the secret language of the natural world and showed them how to work with stone and soil, and how to read the future in the movement of the Ring of Siberys. She charged her students to remain ever vigilant against the threat that was to come, and to protect nature from those that would corrupt it.
Thousands of years later, the daelkyr (see chapter 6) opened gates from the plane of Xoriat and unleashed hordes of mind flayers, beholders, and other foul creatures into the world. The conflict that followed destroyed the goblin empire of Dhakaan, and the daelkyr's invasion left scars across Khorvaire. Ultimately, Vvaraak's students sealed the gates and imprisoned the daelkyr in Khyber. Even after this triumph, the orcs couldn't be sure if they had turned back the threat Vvaraak had foreseen, or if a greater danger lay ahead. So, in addition to guarding the seals that bind the daelkyr and keep Xoriat at bay, the Gatekeepers remained vigilant against the possibility of worse to come.
In the millennia since that struggle ended, the Gatekeepers have shared Vvaraak's wisdom and druidic magic with humans, shifters, and others who came to Khorvaire. New interpretations of Vvaraak's teachings gave birth to new druid sects: the Wardens of the Wood, the Greensingers, and the Ashbound. Today, the Gatekeepers are one of the smaller sects, and many of the sites of their long-ago battles have been abandoned and forgotten. But some Gatekeepers still remain in the Shadow Marches and the Eldeen Reaches, continuing their vigil to this day.
The Gatekeepers in the War The Last War had only minimal impact on the Gatekeepers, and vice versa. The druids' primary concern was to prevent military activity from disrupting the seals they guarded. Occasionally the Gatekeepers attacked groups of scouts or military patrols, driving them away to ensure that battles didn't erupt in their vicinity. Sometimes the Gatekeepers failed in those efforts, and Xoriat's corruption spread over some remote regions while the war raged around them.
Gatekeeper Seal The seals forged by the Gatekeepers have a variety of purposes and forms. Some are tied to specific daelkyr, keeping those individuals bound in Khyber and stripping them of some of their powers. Others ward against aberrations in general, or suppress the influence of the plane of Xoriat. Some seals are amulets, objects that can be carried and stolen. It's said that one of the seals is a druidic bloodline, and it will last until the last member of the line is slain.
The most common form of Gatekeeper seal is a great stone slab set into the ground or a cavern wall. It is carved with mystical symbols that hedge out the influence of Xoriat and maintain the barrier. The map depicts one such seal, along with the druidic trappings and dwellings surrounding it.
Gatekeeper Seal Features Map 4.4 shows what a Gatekeeper seal might look like. A seal is a protected site, usually attended at all times by Gatekeepers who live at or near the seal. The one depicted in the map lies on the edge of a swamp, but it could be located in any kind of terrain. A circle of standing stones serves to focus the magic of the area toward the seal itself, and the stones also serve as a place of worship for the druids' devotions and ceremonies.

Map 4.4: Gatekeeper Seal
(Player Version) Gatekeeper Seal Adventures The location of a Gatekeeper seal might be the site of an adventure's climax, or the characters might need to find one in order to consult with the guardians there. The Gatekeeper Seal Adventures table presents some possibilities.
Gatekeeper Seal Adventures d4 Adventure Goal 1 Deliver a specially treated Khyber dragonshard to the Gatekeepers to repair a widening crack in the seal. 2 Petition the keepers of a seal for information on an aberration that has been terrorizing the countryside. 3 Assist the Gatekeepers in an annual ritual that will reenergize the seal and keep it shut for another year. 4 Escort a new Gatekeeper guardian safely to the seal after its previous guardians were corrupted. Gatekeeper NPCs Gatekeepers are sworn to protect the world, and thus are more likely to be encountered as allies than as enemies. It's always possible, though, for even noble Gatekeepers to fall prey to madness and corruption, thus becoming the very evils they are sworn to fight.
Gatekeeper NPCs d4 NPC 1 The spirit of a long-dead Gatekeeper lives on in the body of an ancient toad. It speaks in a deep, croaking voice. 2 A half-orc Gatekeeper works in House Tharashk as an investigator, searching for signs of planar disturbances. 3 A human Gatekeeper is on a pilgrimage, carrying an amulet that serves as a seal on a journey to a number of sacred sites to restore its power. 4 An old orc ranger is murdering people in Sharn, claiming that they've been corrupted by the daelkyr. Gatekeeper Campaign Themes The Gatekeepers are the remnants of an ancient order. Once they saved the world. Now they are all but forgotten, and the world needs saving again. The surviving Gatekeepers might not have the strength to win the fight alone, and that's where adventurers come in. Gatekeepers can serve as patrons or advisors, providing crucial information or setting the adventurers on the proper path. They can also come to the rescue of adventurers who are close to being overwhelmed by mind flayers or dolgaunts.
At certain points in a campaign, the Gatekeepers might seem to be villains. The druids' mission to protect their seals and to oppose the rise of aberrations is of the utmost importance. Anyone who threatens a seal or assists the machinations of the daelkyr, no matter how unwittingly, risks making relentless enemies in the Gatekeepers. A simple shift in circumstances, such as the death of a noble that causes ownership of a trackless parcel of land to change hands, could bring the characters into sudden conflict with the Gatekeepers.
Gatekeeper Adventure Hooks Gatekeepers can be at the center of any number of potential stories. The Gatekeeper Adventure Hooks table offers some options.
Gatekeeper Adventure Hooks d8 Adventure Hook 1 While pursuing rumors of lycanthrope activity, the characters discover a good-aligned werebear that is working with the Gatekeepers to stop an incursion from Khyber. 2 A Gatekeeper seal in the form of a stone tablet falls into the characters' hands. They must return the seal to the Gatekeepers before its magic fades. 3 A logging operation is moving close to the area protected by a seal, and the party must convince the loggers to relocate before their work touches off a conflict with the Gatekeepers. 4 Working with an agent of the Chamber, the Gatekeepers are convinced the actions of the characters will bring a daelkyr one step closer to freedom. 5 The characters discover evidence suggesting that the rituals performed by the local Gatekeepers are weakening their seal, not empowering it. 6 Pilgrims traveling through a forest draw the attention of Gatekeepers, who think they are spies sent to sabotage the nearby seal. 7 One of the kidnapped victims who was rescued from a marauding band of aberrations turns out to be a Gatekeeper initiate. 8 The adventurers are sent to the Mror Holds to investigate the activity of Dyrrn the Corruptor and uncover a daelkyr cult among the dwarves.