Tag Archives: Droaam

IFAQ: Mror Manticores and Wyverns of Droaam

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A fierce Wyvern with wings outstretched.
A Wyvern from the 2014 Monster Manual, art by Brynn Metheney.

When time permits, I like to answer questions posed by my Patreon supporters. Questions like…

What are wyverns in Droaam like?

This article talks about wyverns in Thrane, saying…

Wyverns are to Thrane as dragonhawks are to Aundair. For tens of thousands of years, the cliffs around Flamekeep have been home to wyverns. The least of these are typical wyverns as presented in the 5E Monster Manual… generally Large in size and incapable of speech. But there is an exceptional strain of wyverns—typically known as elder wyverns, regardless of their age—that are both more intelligent than their cousins and grow to far greater sizes; as presented in the 3.5 Monster Manual, these wyverns can grow to Gargantuan size. While they are on average less intelligent than humans, elder wyverns are capable of speech. The early settlers of Daskara made peace with the elder wyverns and the rulers of Daskara always had wyvern “advisors.” During the Year of Blood and Fire the wyverns were also threatened by the forces of Bel Shalor, and Tira Miron rallied the elders to her cause; the wyvern Ashtarax carried her in her final confrontation with the forces of Bel Shalor. Following Tira’s sacrifice, the wyverns themselves adopted the faith of the Silver Flame; they consider the defense of Flamekeep to be a sacred duty. The wyverns have relatively little concept of the wider Five Nations and don’t care to know; they serve the church because they believe it serves the Voice of the Flame, and they say that Tira continues to guide them. So, Thrane can field lesser wyverns in battle, but it is the gargantuan elders who spread terror. An elder wyvern can can carry a crew into battle, and early in the war Thrane pioneered new techniques of aerial combat; their trademark was the use of vast bags of holding to drop massive rocks and divinely-infused explosives on their enemies. While the great wyverns lack the powers of dragons, some of the elders have such deep faith that they can channel the power of the Silver Flame; a wyvern might strike at enemies with sacred flame, or even greater powers.

The key part of this sentence is The least of these are typical wyverns as presented in the 5E Monster Manual… generally Large in size and incapable of speech. This is the TYPICAL wyvern found elsewhere in Khorvaire. In the heart of the Five Nations, wyverns were killed off long ago; but they still flourish in the Graywall and Byeshk Mountains, and other parts of the region that is now known as Droaam. These wyverns are carnivorous creatures that don’t have the equivalent of human consciousness and don’t possess a language; they are purely dangerous predators, who will often target goblins or kobolds traveling across the Barrens. Because of this, the Daughters of Sora Kell have placed a bounty on wyverns. The four primary fangs of a wyvern are worth 50 gp each in Droaam; its 46 smaller teeth are worth 10 gp each.

A fierce manticore snarling at the viewer.
A Manticore from the 2014 Monster Manual, illustrated by Zack Stella

What about the Mror manticores?

Manticores are intelligent and can speak. However, it’s a mistake to think that this means that they think like humans. Manticores are carnivorous creatures. They don’t have hands and typically don’t use tools. Because of this, they typically live alone or in small family groups. When the population grows too large for the region to support it, the youngest manticores will leave the clan to establish themselves elsewhere. While manticores can learn to speak humanoid languages, their own form of communication is song. Manticore song has similarities to whalesong and human throat-singing, reaching into ranges beyond human hearing; manticores can hear the songs of distant relatives as far as a hundred miles away. While this is their primary form of communication, manticore song isn’t comprised of individual words and statements; instead, it conveys mood and experience.… A mighty battle, sorrow of pain. Most manticores have no desire to interact with humanoid creatures; they recognize that intelligent foes are dangerous prey, and beyond that, most manticores find humanoid creatures deeply disturbing—monsters with the heads of manticores poised on horrible soft spindly bodies. So most manticores keep to the highest peaks, places inaccessible save by flight, and prey upon beasts. You may hear their songs echoing across the valley, but they want nothing fo do with you.

There are a few exceptions to this rule. On the whole, manticores aren’t religious. For a Mror manticore, singing is a meditative act, something that connects them to distant family; most don’t feel a need to connect to a higher power. But a few do. Manticores are intelligent, and as such the seeds of a Cult of the Dragon Below can take root in their minds. The most pernicious and lasting cult seen among the manticores of the Mror Holds is that of the Wild Heart. Those manticores who hear the song of the Wild Heart feel a call to prove themselves to be apex predators, to seek ever more challenging prey—a desire that drives them to hunt humanoids. These Hunters of the Heart are cruel and clever, delighting in sowing terror and toying with their prey. This is the source of the common myth of the manticore as evil and cruel. These manticores often learn Common or Dwarvish through their ties to the fiend, the better to taunt and terrify their prey. Hunters of the Heart often have the ability to cast Hunter’s Mark; they can only do this once per day and it requires concentration, but they can maintain it for up to 24 hours. These manticores will often start an attack with a strafing run, wounding landbound enemies with their spikes and marking a foe… and then withdraw, only to attack and retreat again and again, using the mark to track their prey.

The Hunters of the Heart have risen and fallen many times over the centuries, but there’s a younger Manticore cult that has only appeared in the last century. In 943 YK, the illithid Dyrrashar broadcast the message known as Dyrrn’s Promise in Lorran’s Gate. There were five manticores in the mountains who received this telepathic message… and it changed them. Scholars would identify them as following the cultic path knows as The Transcendent Flesh. Three of the five have been slain over the course of the century, but two remain at large, and in the past these “Apostles” have corrupted other manticore clans to their cause. “Transcendent” manticores lose their hair and eyes. They receive a +2 bonus to their natural armor class and have Blindsight with a range of 300 feet, and can spit acid. This has a range of 100 feet and inflicts 2d8 acid damage, with the same attack and damage modifier as their Tail Spike attack; this may be done once per round in place of a Rend or Tail Spike attack. The two Apostles of Dyrrn are especially strong and fast; the DM can increase their stats as appropriate to threaten the adventurers facing them. In addition, the apostles regenerate. A Manticore Apostle of Dyrrn regains 10 hit points at the start of each of its turns. This is negated for one turn if the manticore takes damage from a byeshk weapon; an Apostle can only die if it starts its turn at zero hit points and doesn’t regenerate.

There’s one final group of Mror manticores that break all of these traditions. The Harshaak Clan are a family of manticores that dwell in the mountains of Kundarakhold. Long ago, Dolon d’Kundarak climbed the high peaks and bargained with the clan elder. It’s said that Dolon sung the manticore song, though this should be impossible for a humanoid throat. Whatever the truth of it, Dolon forged an alliance between Kundarak and Harshaak. The Harshaak manticores descended to the lower peaks, and through their interactions with the dwarves they were able to increase their numbers far beyond what the natural environment would support in their high aeries. Now Harshaak manticores form bonds with Kundarak riders, working together to patrol over Kundarak vaults; there is a squad of Harshaak manticores stationed at Dreadhold. Having worked with humanoids for centuries, the Harshaak manticores primarily communicate using humanoid languages, and most speak Common and Dwarvish. They usually wear barding to improve their armor class, and some learn to cast Mage Hand to facilitate their lives in humanoid settlements. While the Harshaak still think humanoids are creepy, they’ve grown used to these spindly half-manticores.

It should be noted that the Dark Lantern Thorn reported an encounter with an unusual creature. While she described the creature as a manticore, the analyst Steel noted that the creature possessed a scorpion’s tail and a number of other remarkable qualities; Steel theorized that the creature might have actually been an unusual sphinx or lamassu.

That’s all for now! If you want to see more articles like this one—or to ask your own questions—check out my Patreon!

Monsters of Eberron: Quaggoths and the Gaa’aram

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The Quaggoth as depicted in the 2014 Monster Manual

Frontiers of Eberron is out on the DM’s Guild, and I’m going to be writing some supplemental articles tied to Quickstone and the Western Frontier over the next few weeks. But I also answer questions for my patrons on Patreon. And every now and then, something that SEEMS like an obscure question takes on a life of its own. Case in point: “What’s the role of quaggoths in Eberron?” And if you don’t care about quaggoths, there’s another way to use these concepts — consider the Gaa’aram! 

Now,  I’ve never actually SEEN a quaggoth. But I’ll tell you a story. If you know your history, you know that there wasn’t any sort of indigenous culture on Aerenal when the elves landed there. They didn’t arrive as conquerors or colonizers—they were desperate, starving refugees lucky to escape the destruction of Xen’drik. It was a stroke of good fortune that they found such a fertile, uninhabited realm. 

That’s what history says, and what the typical elf believes. But it’s not quite true. The valleys and fields of the island were uninhabited, yes. The elves came in peace, and as they laid down their roots and raised their walls, all they had to deal with were their own restless dead. But as time passed they spread farther and dug deeper. The line of Tolaen went the deepest of all. The Tolaen were from the evernight jungles of Xen’drik, and they were well used to working with wood. They made a business of lumber, and it’s a path on which they’ve prospered; to this day, it’s the Tolaen who sell soarwood to the gnomes and bronzewood to the smiths. But every path has a beginning. The Tolaen set their sights on the vast jungle they call Jaelarthal Orioth. In this wood they saw a treasure as rich as any dragon’s hoard. But the Moonsword Jungle is deep and wide, so vast that a people could live there for ten thousand years and never be seen by those beyond its edge. And so it was with the quaggoths. They had lived in the deepest part of the Orioth since before elves were elves, minding their own business and taking no interest in the world beyond the woods. Quaggoths are primal creatures on the line between beast and humanoid, more bear than bugbear. They have a simple language and use basic tools, but they are driven by instinct as much as reason. I can’t tell you how the war between Tolaen elf and quaggoth began. It’s easy to imagine it was the Tolaen that struck the first blow. Of all of the Aereni lines, they’ve always been steeped in war; Tolaen champions are as fierce as any Tairnadal. But it could have been the quaggoths who struck first. They’d never encountered any humanoid species before, and the Tolaen came for lumber; the quaggoths might have seen them as alien and abominable, a foe that had to be destroyed at all costs. Most likely the truth lies somewhere between; the quaggoths saw the elves as defilers, and the Tolaen responded to the attack as they would to an assault by giants or dragons. Whoever struck that first blow, it was no fair fight… and once the Tolaen begin a thing, they see it through. By the time the war was over there were no quaggoths living in the Moonsword Jungle. The Tolaen buried the story along with the bones of the quaggoths, and today there is no Tolaen still living that knows the tale; only the dead and the deathless remember it. 

But not all of the quaggoths died in the Jaelarthal Orioth. As their people were falling, a quaggoth clan fled east, making their way to a place where no elf would follow them—the shunned shadows of the Madwood. The roots of that jungle run all the way to Xoriat, and there are cracks and chasms that lead to the heart of Khyber. The soil soaked up the anger and despair of the quaggoths, and it bloomed in the shadows. A pure force of fury flowered in the Madwood, and it flowed into the veins of the quaggoths. Nothing can live in the Madwood for long, and the quaggoths made their way down into the sheltering darkness of Khyber. There they’ve remained for thousands of years. Their pale fur has forgotten the sun, but their hatred still burns bright… and that fury gives them power. 

DRIVEN BY RAGE

While quaggoths have a simple language, they have always possessed an intuitive empathy that allows them to understand one another. The quaggoths who fled into the Madwood were driven by fear and anger—and hatred of the alien abominations who defiled their home and slaughtered their kin. Through that empathetic link they carried all the rage of the quaggoths that had fallen with them into the Madwood, and the power within that place crystalized that into a force with a life of its own. The Quaggoth Rage is a psychic power tied to every quaggoth descended from those original survivors, in much the same way that the kalashtar are tied to their quori spirits. It is not a sentient entity that communicates with the quaggoths; but it is a potent force within their subconscious, burning anger waiting to be unleashed. Young quaggoths learn to contain this rage, so as not to lash out at their own kind—but it is always there, and can be seen when an injured quaggoth enters their Wounded Fury. Usually a wounded quaggoth has an enemy they can focus on; but when there are no enemies, it can be a challenge for the injured quaggoth to control their rage and avoid attacking their own allies. 

Wounded Fury is a trait all quaggoths share. But some quaggoths have a closer connection to the Rage, and can manifest its power in different ways. Some draw on the Rage to strengthen themselves in battle, but others learn to manipulate the rage in subtle ways. These quaggoths are called thonots. They serve as the spiritual leaders and champions of their people, filling the same role as clerics or paladins. But thonots aren’t drawing on a divine force; they are channeling their own ancestral rage, and their supernatural abilities are psionic in nature. The choices of a powerful thonot can shape the direction of an entire quaggoth community. A Thonot can use their gifts to contain the rage of their people, drawing the anger away from them and helping to maintain a stable, peaceful community. On the other hand, an angry thonot can amplify the Rage, broadcasting it through the empathic connection, driving an entire clan to roam as aggressive nomads seeking endless conflict to satiate their bottomless rage. The Rage is, ultimately, directed at elves—but most subterranean quaggoths have never seen an actual elf. Encountering an elf for the first time can be an intense trigger for even the most peaceful quaggoth; they don’t remember the details of what happened to their ancestors, but they feel an intense desire to spill elf blood. 

The Power of Rage

Under the 2014 rules of fifth edition, all quaggoths possess the Wounded Fury trait. In my interpretation, quaggoth champions could draw on the Rage to produce more dramatic effects. Here’s a few abilities a DM could choose to give to an elite quaggoth. I wouldn’t give one quaggoth ALL of these abilities; the point is to have the Rage manifest in different ways and to make quaggoths interesting and unpredictable.  

  • Reckless Attack. When the quaggoth makes an attack roll using Strength they can choose to gain advantage on the roll; if they do so, all attack rolls made against them have advantage until the start of their next turn. 
  • Vengeful Strike. When the quaggoth is struck with a melee attack, they can use their reaction to make a melee attack against the attacker. 
  • Destructive Fury. When the quaggoth makes a successful melee attack, they can enter a state of fury that lasts for one minute or until the quaggoth triggers its Wounded Fury, whichever comes first. While in this state, the quaggoth deals an additional 7 (2d6) damage to any creature it hits with a melee attack, but when it does so it suffers 3 (1d6) damage that cannot be reduced in any way.   
  • Terrifying Blow. When the quaggoth strikes an enemy with a melee attack, they can channel their Rage to strike with devastating force and terrify their foe. If they choose to do so, both the quaggoth and the target suffer an additional 7 (2d6) damage and the target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw (based on the champion’s Strength or Dexterity, default 13) or be frightened of the quaggoth until the end of its next turn. 
  • Psychic Howl. When the quaggoth drops to half its total maximum hit points or below, it can immediately use a reaction to emit a psychic howl of pain and rage. All enemies within 30 feet must make a Wisdom saving throw (based on the champion’s Strength or Dexterity, default 13); those who fail are frightened of the quaggoth until the end of its next turn. 

Thonots, Revisited

The 2014 rules give quaggoth thonots Innate Spellcasting (Psionics). The thonot can cast a number of spells without need for components, using Wisdom as their spellcasting ability. This concept works, but the spells don’t particularly fit my concept of the thonot manipulating or channeling rage. As such, here’s a few different options you could grant to thonots, reflecting different ways of harnessing the Rage. 

  • Forceful. The forceful thonot channels the Rage into telekinetic force. They can cast the following spells: Eldritch Blast, Mage Hand; Entangle, Levitate, Shatter, Shield. When cast in this way, Entangle reflects manifestation of telekinetic threads rather than vines.   
  • Fury. The furious thonot projects the Rage as a telepathic assault, terrifying or paralyzing enemies. They can cast the following spells: True Strike, Vicious Mockery; 1/day Cause Fear, Crown of Madness, Hellish Rebuke, Hold Person. When cast in this way, Hellish Rebuke deals psychic damage. 
  • Empath. The rarest form of thonot, the empath uses their understanding of rage to absorb fury, soothing friend or foe. They can cast the following spells: Guidance, Message; 1/day Calm Emotions, Detect Thoughts, Enthrall, Sanctuary. 

This is a general set of rules for reflecting typical thonots. A more powerful thonot could have an expanded spell selection. Beyond this, powerful thonots could have broader abilities that affect a larger region. A thonot fury might modify the Wounded Fury trait of quaggoth allies to trigger when a quaggoth reaches half its hit points. Less mechanically, it would generally drive the quaggoths around it to aggression; a campaign of quaggoth attacks could be stopped by defeating the thonot enraging the clan. On the other side, a thonot empath might have a permanent sanctuary effect—negated for a round if it takes an aggressive action—and reduce the aggression of quaggoths in its clan. 

Scattered Across The Deep

Quaggoths descended into Khyber long ago and were scattered across its passages and demiplanes. As a result, they could be found almost anywhere. 

  • A quaggoth clan could be found in the Realm Below under one a Mror Holdfast; they could be fighting against aberrations, or they could be enslaved by neogi or illithids and forced to fight the surface dwellers.
  • A clan could be allied with Umbragen drow beneath Xen’drik, perhaps joining forces to fight a Sileus Tairn warclan. 
  • A new village in Aundair or the Eldeen Reaches could be plagued by a series of elf disappearances. The murderer is a quaggoth driven by their ancestral fury, not even truly knowing why they are compelled to kill these pointy-eared softskins; this could be the key that draws the adventurers to uncover the hidden shame of the Line of Tolaen. 
  • Thonots are sensitive to rage and hatred. A thonot could be drawn to the heated emotions of Thaliost. A thonot fury might unintentionally amplify the rage of the locals and trigger greater outbreaks of violence; a thonot empath could create a pocket of peace by consuming the rage, even if the locals don’t know the source of this. 

Part of the idea of the quaggoths is that they initially just appear to be aggressive berserkers, but that if adventurers dig deeper they discover that the quaggoths aren’t driven by simple cruelty or by an overlord, but rather that they are haunted by their own ancestral rage. The quaggoths themselves don’t know their perfect history, but adventurers could find a way to get to the truth and to reveal the ancient crime of the line of Tolaen; there may be Tolaen deathless who took part in the original massacre or even set it in motion. Can the adventurers help settle this ancient injustice? 

No Quaggoths? Meet the Gaa’aram.

The world of Eberron can feel kind of crowded when you start squeezing in every monster that’s ever existed. What I like about the quaggoths is the idea of a species scarred by an ancient trauma that has grown in strength and that they carry with them. Quaggoths are aggressive not because they are evil, but because they are literally haunted by the pain inflicted upon their ancestors. However, there’s another way to use these idea—a culture driven by lingering rage, whose champions and shamans channel its power—without adding a new creature to the mix. Meet the Gaa’aram orcs of Droaam—the “Children of Wrath.” Exploring Eberron says…

The Gaa’aram orcs embraced the chaotic, raiding lifestyle of the Barrens. Where the goblins and kobolds were often enslaved by more powerful creatures, the Gaa’aram voluntarily rallied around the most powerful leaders and served as fierce warriors. To an orc of the Gaa’aram, who you fight for is less important than the fact that you fight and fight well. As such, Gaa’aram orcs were often encountered as raiders; they’re the reason for the name of the Orcbone fortress that guards the Gap of Graywall. Gaa’aram orcs can be found in all of the diverse cities, and they’re passionate supporters both of Droaam and their local warlords. 

The Gaa’aram could adopt all of the ideas suggested here for the quaggoths. Rather than being driven into the depths by the elves, the Gaa’aram were driven to the edge of the Barrens by the Dhakaani. Rather than the Madwood, it was Dyrrn the Corruptor who crystalized their Rage and bound it to them, making them another point of chaos in the final days of the Dhakaani empire. The idea remains that the Gaa’aram are linked to their ancestral Rage; it’s not just that they LIKE fighting, it’s that they cannot contain their own anger; it’s only by directing it outward at enemies that they keep from tearing themselves apart. If I were to use this Quaagoth story for the Gaa’aram, I’d do the following. 

  • I’d add the Wounded Fury trait of the quaggoth to Gaa’aram orcs: While it has 10 hit points or fewer, the gaa’aram has advantage on attack rolls. In addition, it deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage to any target it hits with a melee attack.
  • I’d add thonots to Gaa’aram culture; they could be Vola’Aram, “Wrath Speakers.” I’d likely drop the idea of Gaa’aram empaths, BUT I could see adding mystics with the abilities of the thonot empaths to the OTHER orc culture of Droaam, the peaceful Gaa’ran. A twist would be that the Gaa’ran ALSO feel the Rage but manage to contain it; that they are pacifists because they refuse to give into that burning fury, and that if they began to fight they might not be able to stop. Their secret, essentially, is that they’re always angry. 

As the Gaa’aram are an aggressive part of Droaam and notably make up part of the population of Turakbar’s Fist, this is something you can easily use in a Frontiers of Eberron campaign! 

Why Does It Matter? 

Many of you, like me, may never have used a quaggoth in your campaign and you may wonder why write about quaggoths? As I mentioned above, I like the idea of taking these monsters long depicted as savage beserkers and cannibals and saying that they are in fact driven by ancient injustice and trauma; that they are in some ways prisoners of the pain inflicted upon their ancestors. Beyond that, I like the idea of this parallel to the Kalashtar—that there is a psychic force bound to a humanoid bloodline that can grant them psychic power. And I like the idea of creatures so tied to rage that they can either be drawn to aggression in places like Thaliost—or that, as with the empath, they are so attuned to fury that they have learned to disperse it. Meanwhile, the Gaa’aram have been a part of Droaam since Exploring Eberron. Here again I like the idea that it’s not just that they are a militant culture, but that they are involuntarily tied to this ancestral rage that drives them onward; that if they don’t find an outlet for it, they will essentially explode.

A Gaa’aram orc is an easy option for a player character, if someone chose to explore it. This could be reflected by an orc barbarian, but it could also be a path for any of the psionic subclasses in the 2024 rules, looking to the Rage as the source of their power. Quaggoths don’t exist as a playable species. Aside from their fury, their dominant traits are immunity to poison, a climbing speed, and claw attacks. One option would be to use tabaxi for a quaggoth character; the tabaxi has claws and a climbing speed. The tabaxi’s Feline Agility could be represented as furious adrenaline, or a DM might be willing to exchange it for resistance to poison damage and advantage on poison saving throws. A player character wouldn’t have the Wounded Fury trait, but this could be reflected by a barbarian’s rage. 

So for the thousands of you wondering about the role of quaggoths in Eberron—your long wait is finally over! Thanks as always to my Patreon supporters, who both determine the topics of these articles and make it possible for me to write them—if you want to see more articles like this one, check it out! 

IFAQ: Troll Origins

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The Chib is a chill troll in Graywall. Art by Matthew Johnson.

As time permits, I like to answer interesting questions posed by my Patreon supporters. Questions like…

What do you see as the origin of trolls in Eberron? They are so different from other giants, they almost seem like aberrations to me – maybe some Daelkyr or other experimented with ogres?

In my Eberron, there has never been a nation of trolls; they have always been found in wild places on the edges of civilization, but never amassed in great numbers or forged a kingdom. A common folk belief is that they are the children of hags; whether or not they are directly related, trolls are often found in the vicinity of story hags. The dominant theory among Korranberg scholars is that trolls began as native fey—that the first trolls were the literal embodiment of the monster under the bridge and the predator in the shadows. This explains both their remarkable healing ability and the fact that in spite of this incredible gift, they haven’t spread to dominate the region or the world. They aren’t entirely real and don’t follow the same basic logic as natural creatures. Their fertility rate fluctuates so that there’s always just enough of them to maintain their role in the story. This also supports a difference between trolls and ogres. Both are large and powerful, but ogres are more human in their behavior and aspirations. Much like the supporting cast of Thelanis, trolls are often patient and content to play out their role in a tale; the point being that a troll might be content to sit beneath a bridge for a century, while an ogre would get bored after a day or two. The fly in the ointment is that trolls aren’t fey. The Korranberg assertion is that trolls began as native fey but that those who left Thelanian manifest zones slowly became more real, as has been seen to occur with eladrin. With this in mind, trolls encountered in Thelanian manifest zones—or in Thelanis itself—may be fey instead of giants.

The region of the Barrens that is now the domain of the Prince of Bones was never a nation in the same way as the Cazhaak Draal or the Venomous Demesne. It’s a region of ruins, haunted and dominated by trolls, lesser hags, and roaming monstrosities. The Prince of Bones is the largest and oldest troll—a legend who blends elements of traditional troll and annis hag. With the guidance of the Daughters of Sora Kell, the Prince of Bones is working to change the story of his domain, and towns are rising among the ruins. But the ruins remain, and there are still monsters that prefer lurking in the shadows to living in the light; it’s still one of the wildest and deadliest regions of Droaam.

So throughout the history of Khorvaire, trolls have played the role of monster, rarely seen in large numbers and rarely organized. This has changed with the rise of the Droaam and the appearance of war trolls. These are the backbone of Maenya’s Fist: an army of disciplined troll soldiers, well equipped and skilled in the use of weapons. There’s no precedent for such a force in history, and no one knows exactly how Sora Maenya assembled this army or how long it took. One theory is that Sora Maenya has a massive fortress deep in the roots of the Byeshk Mountains, where she has been building her army for centuries; according this theory, most of the war trolls are her children or her descendants. Others assert that Sora Maenya essentially worked epic magic to craft a story… that in the same way the first trolls may have embodied the idea of the monster beneath the bridge, that Sora Maenya wove a tale of the Legion of Monsters. So even more so than the domain of the Prince of Bones, if there is a true city of trolls to be found, it is Maenya’s Keep below the Byeshk.

While the idea that the first trolls were native fey is the most popular academic theory, there is a second idea proposed by scholars at Morgrave University. They believe that goblins, bugbears, and hobgoblins are magebred species—that some ancient civilization bioengineered the Dar subspecies to fill specific roles in society. This theory suggests that trolls were products of these same magebreeders—but that they proved wild and uncontrollable, and weren’t integrated into dar civilization. The question remains who these magebreeders were. Most proponents of this idea suggest that dragons were responsible, as it’s known that there was a Draconic civilization on Khorvaire that completely collapsed and disappeared. Others believe that it was a humanoid species—the protodar—who were either exterminated by their creations or who potentially destroyed themselves through civil war, leaving their dar soldiers behind. A final theory combines both of the above, suggesting that the trolls were engineered by the creators of the dar, but that they were then influenced by Thelanis, which is what made them uncontrollable.

Whether their roots are as fey or as living weapons, trolls are long lived and durable, but have a very low rate of reproduction; they have never been as populous as ogres, let alone the dar. Their role in Droaam—both with the war trolls of Maenya’s Fist and the domain of the Prince of Bones—represents a new shift in the role of trolls within Khorvaire.

Thanks to my Patreon supporters for their support! If you have your own questions, you can ask them on Patreon.

IFAQ: Kobold Character Hooks

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As time permits, I like to answer interesting questions posed by my Patreon supporters. This month, someone asks…

Could you expound on the role of kobolds in Eberron? They often seem to be lumped together with goblins as “small, chaotic humanoids oppressed by those in power,” but they don’t have anything as interesting as the Dhakaani or Khesh’dar hooks that the goblins have. What are some interesting hooks for kobold characters?

Before looking at kobolds, take a moment to consider orcs in Khorvaire. In the Demon Wastes, the devout Ghaash’kala fight fiends and channel the power of Kalok Shash. In the Mror Holds, the Jhorash’tar follow the Path of Bones. In the Shadow Marches you have the rising corporate power of House Tharashk, the ancient primal Gatekeepers, and those who cling to the Old Ways of the Dragon Below. Just next door in Droaam, there’s the peaceful culture of the Gaa’ran and the aggressive Gaa’aram.

Kobolds are just as diverse as orcs; we just haven’t had time to explore many of their cultures in depth. I don’t have time to go into detail now, but here’s a quick overview of some of the canonical kobold cultures.

The Seawall Mountains. Kobolds have a strong presence in the Seawall Mountains and have often clashed with Zil gnomes seeking to expand their mining operations. This is one of the main places where you’ll find the iredar and irvhir cultures described in this early Dragonshard article. Rather than the traditional association with flesh and blood dragons, these kobolds believe that they have a direct connection to the PROGENITOR dragons.

Zil Kobolds. The Zil clash with the iredar and irvhir in the mountains, but over the centuries there are kobolds who have chosen to live alongside gnomes, sharing their cultures. This isn’t as strong a blending as you see between orcs and humans in the Shadow Marches; there’s only a few such villages along the edge of the Seawall Mountains. But because of this, you can find kobold agents of the Trust, kobolds teaching at Korranberg colleges, and so on.

Stormreach. City of Stormreach infamously suggests that there’s a bounty on kobold hides in Stormreach. This is a nod to the grinding needs of the video game set in Stormreach, and not something I use in my campaign. In my Stormreach kobolds have an important role in the community maintaining the sewers and serving as guides to the lower levels of the ancient city. And, of course, the kobold Hassalac Chaar is one of the most powerful spellcasters in the setting.

Q’barra and the Poison Dusk. We haven’t talked much about the peaceful kobolds of Q’barra, and they could follow the same iredar/irvhir traditions as the Seawall kobolds. But what we have said is that the kobolds of Q’barra are especially vulnerable to the influence of the Cold Sun and are frequently found within the Poison Dusk—recently discussed in this article. So if you’re looking for kobolds serving an evil dragon, Rhashaak and the Poison Dusk are what you need.

The Oppressed People of the Barrens. As called out in Exploring Eberron, kobolds and goblins have long been oppressed in the Barrens of what is now Droaam. This is beginning to change with the rise of Droaam, most notably because of Kethelrax the Cunning and Shaarat Kol. However, Kethelrax is still fighting on behalf of Shaarat Kol and of those smallfolk still suffering cruelty at the hands of tyrannical chibs.

Kanonical Kobolds of Droaam. Just as you have the Gaa’aram and Gaa’ran orcs in Droaam, there are multiple kobold cultures in Droaam. Frontiers of Eberron discusses the Khaar’paal, kobold spreads across the Graywall Mountains. The Khaar’paal are referenced in the Kethelrax article I linked above, but here’s another tiny preview from Frontiers. Keep in mind that this specifically refers to a small group of Khaar’paal artisans living on the edge of Quickstone; they come from a city in the Graywall Mountains that is largely and considerably more sophisticated than Quickstone.

The Khaar’paal are a group of about sixty kobolds camped on the southern edge of the Tents. They don’t work metal; their tents are made of leather, their tools of wood and stone. At a glance most assume these kobolds are a primitive nomadic tribe. This assumption is wrong on every count. Khaar’paal means “mageblood“, and the Khaar’paal kobolds have an innate talent for arcane magic not unlike that of a sorcerer. They may not use metal, but they have talented magewrights who make use of mending, prestidigitation, magecraft, continual flame and similar magical techniques and tools, and work with exotic materials like quickstone and wyvern hide. Their wands may not be as well-tooled as those produced by House Cannith, but the Khaar’paal scouts are wandslingers as capable as any Brelish arcane dragoon.

So how about some hooks?

The above examples are just some of the kobold cultures in Eberron. But any of these could provide a foundation for a kobold adventure. Consider…

  • A Zil kobold sage—a former Korranberg professor who might secretly be an agent of the Trust.
  • A Stormreach kobold sorcerer who’s a child of Hassalac Chaar. They could be adventuring on a mission from their father, or they could just be a nepo baby out on a lark.
  • A Droaamite champion of the Dark Six. Proud to be a vessel of their deity, and willing to challenge anyone who dares look down upon them. A cleric or bard tied to the Fury could seek to rally and inspire allies; a kobold paladin of the Fury could be a holy avenger determined to right the wrongs they see in visions.
  • A Droaamite agent of Kethelrax the Cunning, sent out into the wider world to gather allies and resources for Shaarat Kol, and perhaps to hunt down envoys of Rhesh Turakbar or others who have abused the smallfolk of Droaam in the past.
  • A Khaar’paal wandslinger looking to make their fortune among the slow-moving softskins of the east.
  • A Seawall iredar kobold druid or ranger who believes they are guided by Eberron herself, following a series of visions.
  • A Q’barran kobold warlock who was part of the Poison Dusk. They broke the fiendish hold of the Poison Dusk and they’ve fled Q’barra to put some distance between them and its influence, but they are still tapping its powers and gifts as a warlock… slightly afraid that every use of its power could be pulling them back into its thrall.

Random Kobolds

So, there’s a lot of options for kobolds. When you meet a kobold on the road, what could their story be? You can easily choose the answer drawing on any ideas above, but if you know me you know I love a random rolling table, so here’s one for kobolds. While this can get you some very random possibilities, you can generally figure out which culture they might relate to. Kobold warlocks are probably tied to irvhir or the Poison Dusk… though they don’t have to be! Likewise, a kobold artificer could be a Khaar’paal alchemist, or perhaps they’re a Zil prodigy who studied evocation at Korranberg and designed siege staffs during the Last War!

d8A…Kobold…Who is…
1EnthusiasticSorcerer… Working for the Trust.
2GrimWarlock… Possessed by a fiend.
3ElderlyCleric… Fabulously wealthy.
4BrilliantWandslinger… Seeking revenge.
5ArtisticArtificer… Carrying a powerful magic item.
6YoungPaladin… Guided by a vision.
7EmotionalBard… On the run.
8ArrogantNoble… Possibly a dragon in disguise.

That’s all for now! If you’d like to see more articles or ask your own questions, check out my Patreon! I run a monthly campaign that patrons can play in, and I’ll be doing a live Q&A for patrons on June 28th.

IFAQ: Cyclopes in Eberron

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2023 continues to be an extremely busy year. Among other things, I’m taking part in the liveplay session Destiny of Worlds, where I play Merrix d’Cannith of Eberron next to Ed Greenwood as Elminster of Shadowdale! If you haven’t seen it yet, the first two episodes are available here. I’m working on a larger article I’ll have out in the next few days, but in the meantime I wanted to address a few more questions from my patrons on Patreon. Such as…

How would you use cyclopes in your Eberron?

I’ve never used cyclopes in a campaign, and I think this raises an important secondary aspect to this sort of question… which is not just how I’d use a thing in Eberron, but WHY I’d add whatever that thing is to a campaign. While there’s a place for everything in Eberron, just because you CAN add something doesn’t mean you SHOULD. My question is always how will this make my story more interesting? Why will encountering a cyclops be a compelling experience for the players… and how will it be different from dealing with an ogre chib or an ettin in the Barrens? Fourth edition made cyclopes fey, tying them to fomorians and playing up the idea of the “evil eye.” But in fifth edition they’re just giants with poor depth perception. If I’m going to use those cyclopes in my campaign, I want to add something that makes them interesting.

Sight is the thing that immediately stands out with a cyclops. 5E gives them poor depth perception, but I like the idea of balancing that with a supernatural gift. Two thoughts immediately come to mind.

Plane Sight. It’s said that the first cyclopes were giants who yearned to see things no one else could see. They were so driven that they each plucked an eye from their skulls and cast them into the void; each found their way to a different plane. Now every cyclops sees two worlds at once they see the material plane through the eye in their head… but each cyclops is bound to another plane, and they perceive that plane overlaid atop the material. This is similar to my vision of the kuo-toa of the Thunder Sea, but where the kuo-toa are all bound to Dal Quor, each cyclops is tied to a different plane.

The first thing I like about this is that it gives me an immediate foundation to make every encounter with a new cyclops unique, because its personality and abilities may be affected by its unique vision. Consider…

  • A cyclops who is an unexpectedly sophisticated warrior, because they see into Shavarath and have studied the combat techniques of the celestials and fiends. Such a cyclops could be a dangerous foe, but they could also potentially be a swordmaster who’s able to teach manuevers that can’t be learned anywhere else on the material plane.
  • A cyclops who lives in a desolate cave but who is a surprisingly erudite sage; they perceive Syrania and while sitting in their cave, they are reading books in the library of a Dominion of Knowledge.
  • A cyclops who perceives Dal Quor, who sees the nightmares of their enemies. Do they use this knowledge to frighten enemies in battle, or do they actually use it to try to help people understand their dreams and face their fears?

Even following this model, not every cyclops has to be so clever and sophisticated; as presented in 5E, the default cyclops only has an 8 Intelligence and 6 Wisdom. So for every Shavarath-linked cyclops who has mastered celestial martial arts, you could have four more who are just especially aggressive because they perceive themselves as being constantly surrounded by war. Likewise, a cyclops who sees Dal Quor COULD just be confused by these visions—reacting to the dream-personas of adventurers rather than their physical selves—as opposed to making clever use of this model. I prefer to play with the more intelligent cyclops, but they can still be brutes if that’s what your story calls for.

Piercing the Veil. Rather than seeing into other planes, another option is to allow cyclopes to see into the Ethereal Veil. What I like about this idea is that it could lead to cyclopes dwelling in haunts, because they perceive the haunted echo of what once was. A cyclopes lives in the burnt-out ruins of a manor because it still sees Lady ir’Halan’s grand ball. Some cyclopes could take this further and serve as mediums, learning to communicate with ghosts and shades. Less sophisticated cyclopes might see the denizens of the haunt, but be unable to communicate with them; but they could still see these ghosts as companions. Either way, a cyclops could be an interesting way to draw adventurers’ attention to a haunted location. If I went down this path, I would probably go ahead and grant cyclopes the ability to see invisible objects and creatures, as see invisibility also grants ethereal sight.

But where are they from? My basic inclination is to keep cyclopes as being rare and remarkable, rather than to introduce a nation of cyclopes somewhere in the world. There’s a few options. They could be creations of the daelkyr Belashyrra; do they have any loyalty to the daelkyr or was this purely an abstract experiment? They could be native fey, each with a story, much like I’ve said of hags in this article. They could be the devolved descendants of giants from the Group of Eleven. However, what I would do is to make them a strain of ogre—making cyclops sight a rare, recessive trait that occasionally appears among ogre communities. In the ancient nation of Borunan, these eye-seers were celebrated for their plane-sight, which was usually tied to Shavarath or Fernia. They are rarely seen in the present day, but can still appear in any ogre bloodline. In Khorvaire they’re mostly found in Droaam, but can potentially be encountered anywhere on the continent.

That’s all for now! Thanks as always to my Patreon supporters for making these articles possible. And check out Destiny of Worlds!

Dragonmark: Kethelrax and Shaarat Kol

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Art by Julio Azevedo

KETHELRAX THE CUNNING

Kethelrax the Cunning is the warlord of Shaarat Kol. Sometimes known as the Goblin Prince, Kethelrax has been a rallying figure for people who have been oppressed throughout the history of the region. Kethelrax was born into one of the Khaar’paal kobold clans of the Graywall Mountains. Gifted with sorcerous power, these kobolds have largely remained in their fortified tunnels, ignoring both the humans to the east and the raiders to the west. Young Kethelrax was curious and keen to explore the western lands—but soon after he ventured into the Barrens, he was taken prisoner by an ogre chib who dominated a village of kobolds and goblins. For a time, Kethelrax served this ogre, learning the ways of the Barrens and his oppressed cousins. Before the Daughters exerted their influence over the land, the Barrens were violent and unstable; the ogre chib was in turn slain by minotaur raiders, who took Kethelrax and some of the others back with them to the fortress then known as Haalrac’s Fist. Kethelrax had many opportunities to escape; he’d been honing his sorcerous talents throughout his time in the western lands, and his captors had no idea of what he was capable of. But Kethelrax wasn’t content to escape alone. As a servant, he managed to manipulate the warrior Turakbar, playing on the minotaur’s ego. Kethelrax convinced Turakbar to slaughter the reigning clan lord, Haalrac, and in the ensuing chaos the kobold was able to free a host of goblins, kobolds, and others forced into service in Haalrac’s Fist. Kethelrax led this band south, hoping he could convince the Khaar’paal to take in these refugees. But during the long journey, Kethelrax was visited by a blind hag who urged him to take shelter in Dhakaani ruins in the foothills of the Graywall Mountains. Sora Teraza told Kethelrax that change was coming to the Barrens—and that there was a need for a leader who could inspire the small folk of the Barrens, rallying goblins and kobolds alike. Over the few years, Kethelrax and his band targeted weak chibs in the region, freeing their prisoners and building a significant force. It wasn’t easy, and Kethelrax suffered a number of bloody defeats—but he and his people remained strong. In 985 YK, Sora Katra came to Kethelrax. She explained the Daughter’s vision for the region, and made a bargain with Kethelrax: if he could seize the fortress now known as Shaarat Kol, he could hold it as a warlord of Droaam, creating a haven for goblins and kobolds. Kethelrax agreed, and over a decade later he reigns as the Goblin Prince of Shaarat Kol.

Ketherax the Cunning lives up to his epithet. He is both clever and charismatic, able to inspire his people but equally adept at deceiving his enemies. His primary motive is always to improve the lives of the kobolds and goblins of the western plains, and this has led him to be one of the most trusted allies of the Daughters of Sora Kell. While some warlords chafe at the Daughters’ rule and yearn for greater power, Kethelrax recognizes that a strong and united Droaam holds many opportunities for his people. He continues to improve Shaarat Kol, working to make it a haven for both smugglers and honest traders. With that said, he still has a number of old scores he’d like to settle with those chibs and warlords that have long oppressed the small folk. He has been unable to convince the Khaar’paal kobolds to ally with the Daughters, but he continues to work on it.

Kethelrax is a red-scaled kobold. He’s a charismatic speaker who possesses both arcane gifts and a knack with a knife. He’s known for his ability to conjure blades of flame (something that mimics both flame blade and fire bolt, as he can fling his fiery daggers). He prefers to outwit enemies rather than to rely on force to solve his problems… but he’s deadly when he needs to be.

Rumors About Kethelrax the Cunning…

  • Kethelrax is a champion of the Dark Six. The Fury has empowered him to avenge the suffering of the goblins, and the Mockery cloaks him in shadow when Kethelrax doesn’t want to be seen.
  • Kethelrax is no kobold at all: he is a dragon who has taken on kobold form. 
  • Kethelrax has sworn that he will kill Rhesh Turakbar by the end of 998 YK. 

SHAARAT KOL

Population: 6,600

In Brief: City of goblins and kobolds, smuggling and manufacturing center

Key Inhabitants: Kethelrax the Cunning (male kobold warlord)

Shaarat Kol is a city in southeastern Droaam, set against and into the western face of the Graywall Mountains. Like Cazhaak Draal, it is built on the foundations of an ancient Dhakaani city; unlike Cazhaak Draal, far more of the original city remains intact. The city was either abandoned or completely depopulated during the wars with the daelkyr. Those parts of the city that were above ground were damaged by battle and the passage of time. An ogre chieftain built a simple fortress within these ruins, and this changed hands many times over the centuries. But much of Shaarat Kol was underground, and in its last days its gates were sealed with both arcane locks and adamantine bars. None of the chibs and chieftains who claimed the fortress on the surface were ever able to delve below. None, at least, until Kethelrax the Cunning. In 985 YK Kethelrax was the leader of a band of goblins and kobolds—rebels hiding in the Graywall Mountains and raiding the thuggish chibs. Sora Katra came to his camp, and the two talked for hours. In the month that followed, Kethelrax led his followers in a daring attack against the ogres and their ettin chib who currently held the ruins of Shaarat Kol. It was a vicious fight, but Kethelrax’s forces won the day and claimed the fortress… and using the knowledge Katra had shared, Kethelrax was able to open the gates of the old city and discover the true face of Shaarat Kol. The name of the city is Goblin for “Forge of Swords” and it was once an industrial center of the Dhakaani, home to some of their greatest forge adepts. The city was largely intact and contained resources untouched for thousands of years; while some of these resources were lost to time, adamantine doesn’t age. However, the city was lost in war, and the ancient daashors left countless traps along with their treasures. There are amazing facilities and other wonders to be found in Shaarat Kol, but claiming them is a slow process. Even now, more than a decade later, the denizens of Shaarat Kol have only reclaimed an estimated 20% of the ancient city.

So at the moment, Shaarat Kol is essentially two cities. The Upper City is the surface, which is being expanded and rebuilt in the new Droaamite style seen in Graywall and the Great Crag. Most of the people of the city live in the Upper City and it’s where most business takes place. But there’s also the Undercity, which lies beyond the ancient gates. This is where Kethelrax holds court and where his most loyal and talented followers dwell. Should there ever be a serious attack, Kethelrax could seal the gates—and when those gates were last sealed, they held off intruders for thousands of years.

The Upper City of Shaarat Kol is a haven for trade, known for the vast Goblin Market. This is an even larger cousin of the Bloody Market found in Graywall. All manner of independent artisans, hunters, and magewrights sell goods and services. You can hire mercenaries, buy plunder from raiders, find trinkets scavenged from Dhakaani ruins or dangerous imports from the Venomous Demesne. The Goblin Market is a vast open space largely filed with tents and temporary housing. Looking to the permanent buildings, roughly two-thirds of the structures are built for the comfort of small creatures, with a another third of the city being designed to accommodate medium and large creatures. Kethelrax has sworn that Shaarat Kol will be a haven for goblins and kobolds, who have long been oppressed in this region; he’s building this city first and foremost for his people.

The Undercity of Shaarat Kol uses the intact infrastructure of the ancient Dhakaani city. This was an industrial center and it contains mines, foundries, and forges; Kethelrax and his people are working to restore these facilities and to make use of them. While some of the great daashors were hobgoblins, the golin’dar (goblins) were the primary artisans of the empire, and much of the city is designed for their comfort. As noted before, the process of reclaiming the Undercity is slow, and there are always teams at work exploring new sections and trying to clear out traps and defenses. But just in the area that’s been reclaimed Kethelrax has been able to get a foundry and an ore processing facility working, and they are learning a great deal about the process the Dhakaani used to create and work adamantine. This is only the start, but Shaarat Kol has the potential to play a very important role in the future of Droaam.

Unlike Graywall, Shaarat Kol has made little effort to welcome the Five Nations. There’s no Orien trade route and no Dragonmarked outposts in the City of Goblins. The coastline to the south is rocky and dangerous, and it is difficult for large ships to land. Kethelrax is actively working to build a safe port so that Shaarat Kol can rival Vralkek as an important shipping destination. For now there are a few safe havens for those who know them, but they only support small ships. All this means that the people of the Five Nations who come to Shaarat Kol are mainly smugglers. There’s all kinds of valuable goods available in the Goblin Market, including many that are taxed or prohibited in the Five Nations. Some use paths and hidden passages through the Graywall Mountains, while others dare the dangerous coastline in small boats. While Kethelrax and the Daughters haven’t tried to bring the Dragonmarked Houses to Shaarat Kol, he’s happy to deal with legitimate traders, hence his work on the port; he just wants to finish securing the Undercity and unlocking its potential before bringing easterners into the city in large numbers.

Goblins and kobolds make up nearly 90% of the population of Shaarat Kol. Many of these were formerly subjugated by brutal chibs, and either fled on their own or were released from their bondage by the Daughters and allowed to go to Shaarat Kol. There is a tremendous sense of camaraderie among the people of the city; throughout the city you’ll see people working together and helping their neighbors. There’s only a small (literally) city watch, but that’s because anywhere that there’s trouble a mob of citizens will come together to deal with the problem. There are a number of large trade schools that are teaching the skills needed to use the facilities of the Undercity, and Kethelrax has brought in mentors from the Khaar’paal kobolds to help kobolds harness their sorcerous potential. As a result, Shaarat Kol has far more magewrights than any other city in Droaam. The city is still growing and finding its footing, but there’s more casual comforts than one can find even in the Great Crag. The denizens of Shaarat Kol have largely embraced the faith of the Cazhaak Six, and there’s a temple maintained by the medusa priest Shalaasa and a number of Khaar’paal adepts. In general, Shaarat Kol is one of the safest cities in Droaam, as long as you don’t start any trouble. On the other hand, the camaraderie among the small denizens means that the criminals and con artists of Shaarat Kol ply their trade on the visiting tall-folk; keep an extra eye on your purse and don’t buy a deed to a Byeshk mine, no matter how good the price is.

 Interesting Things About Shaarat Kol

  • The Undercity of Shaarat Kol holds undiscovered wonders. There could be an armory stocked with Dhakaani artifacts, or the forge that was used to make them. There’s certainly an opportunity here for adventurers willing to brave the countless traps. But it’s also possible people who dig deeper will find that there are daelkyr forces left behind as well—as the Mror found when they dug too deep into their ancient past.
  • The Heirs of Dhaakan may be interested in reclaiming Shaarat Kol or at least recovering relics from the Undercity. This could lead to a deadly conflict between Kethelrax and the Kech Dhakaan. It’s quite likely that agents of the Shaarat’khesh are already hidden among the people of Shaarat Kol, evaluating the situation and passing information to the clans.
  • Kethelrax rose to power by fighting other chibs. He’s made many enemies, most especially Rhesh Turakbar. Any of these foes could attempt to assassinate Kethelrax or at least sabotage Shaarat Kol.  

This is an excerpt from Frontiers of Eberron, which I’ve been working on since I released Exploring Eberron. I’m currently running a poll on my Patreon to help me decide where I go from here—whether I continue to develop this book for Eberron and the DM’s Guild, or whether I use it as the foundation of an entirely new setting. There’s many factors in this decision and I won’t be making it quickly. Regardless of what happens, thanks to my patrons and to everyone else who’s supported Eberron over the years!