Teredahar History & Mythology - Dragonblight

No force in history is more powerful than disease. In real-world history disease is a far more effective killer than battle and war. The same is true in Teredahar. Disease is inescapable, and no disease has had a greater impact on the world's history than Dragonblight.

Dragonblight is a rapidly-spreading airborne fungus that grows on and under the scales of most lizards. If allowed to grow, the blight secretes chemicals that cause the scales to become brittle and break off prematurely. Most lizards shed scales often enough that the blight's effects do not cause any significant harm. Dragons, however, live so long and grow so slowly after reaching adulthood that they cannot regrow scales fast enough to keep up with scale loss caused by the blight. As the blight spreads, dangerous gaps in an afflicted dragon's scales begin to open up. Dragonblight itself is not deadly; rather these scale gaps leave the dragon vulnerable to injury or infection which eventually prove deadly.

It is believed that Dragonblight was brought to the Dragons' homeworld Prime when the Teredahar continent was conjured. The Elves of Tan'Rar built Teredahar by intentionally merging several Shards drifting in the Void into Prime. Elvish scholars suspect that the Dragonblight fungus came from one of these shards. Regardless of where it came from, it first infected dragons and drakoni during their wars on Teredahar.

The infection spread quickly through ranks of drakoni footsoldiers and their true-dragon masters. It takes weeks for an infection of dragonblight to start showing symptoms. The delay meant by the time its effects were first noticed among the forward troops the blight already had already spread to the Home Islands and had much of the high command in its sights. Rampant dragonblight infections proved disastrous for the dragon forces, causing the collapse of their occupation of Tan'Rar. Efforts to eradicate the fungus from the Home Islands were unsuccessful. Untimately, more than three-quarters of dragons over 150 years of age and nearly all of the Acnient dragons died in the following millennia. Drakoni, who can resist the blight's effects, became the ruling class of dragon society. Their culture eventually replaced that of dragons in the draconic-speaking world.

Gameplay Notes

• Dragons. Are. Rare. There's less than a handful of great wyrms left in the world. Most dragons don't live through adulthood. 
• Blighted Dragons have reduced natural armour and physical stats depending on how advanced the blight's damage is. 
• Advanced dragonblight leaves the sufferer open to other diseases. Common secondary symptoms of dragonblight are blindness, lethargy, and insanity. 
• Surviving wyrms seclude themselves from other dragonkin (Dragons, Drakoni, Lizardfolk, etc.) who can carry blight spores and disease without knowing it.
• An example, Kezzadraz the Desert King is a blue great wyrm who secludes himself inside a cave overlooking the Drakoni city of Voltac. Nobody has seen him in years. He only allows select personal handlers into his presence and rumor has it his mind is going.

Next Time

This concludes Dragon Week. Bit of a downer ending, I know, but the Drakoni have a rich culture that carries on the dragons' legacy. I've got articles planned that will explore their culture in exquisite detail and I guarantee it will make them stand out from other races like the Dragonborn of D&D.

Next week will premiere the second new article-series of 2015: Cities in-depth, wherein I'll describe one of the major cities of Teredahar complete with notes on its architecture, layout, culture, and a stat block for use with Pathfinder.

Factions of Teredahar - Drakoni Castes

New article series! Each Factions of Teredahar will article will provide details on one or more related factions that characters might take as allies or enemies. Because this is Dragon Month, this first article will cover the four castes of modern Drakoni society.

Four Equal Castes

Most Drakoni are divided into four castes: Growers (KasKhenda), Smiths (KasShenéth), Scholars (Nalethséth), and Keepers (KasNókrasharRhokar Sendar). Each caste has its own internal politics and laws (Caste Law) that are superseded by Council Law.

Castes are expected to take care of their own. Grievances and disputes between members of the same caste are expected to be dealt with by that caste's leaders. Conflict between castes is rare but not unheard of. Causing inter-caste strife is a serious crime in Drakoni society.

Each caste also contributes its own warriors to Drakonia's military force, the Legion Drakoni. 

Caste Membership

A newly-hatched Drakoni is a member of his or her mother's caste throughout childhood. During this time they are taught by caste members but no caste-specific education happens. Upon reaching adulthood at 90 years of age all Drakoni undergo a ceremony ritual Life-Choosing (Khanalvarnketh).

At the Khanalvarnketh ritual a Drakoni chooses either to stay with his or her mother caste or join a different one. Often all Drakoni of an age within a settlement undergo this ritual together. During the ritual representatives from each caste attempt to recruit new members. Everyone is taught about all of the castes from a young age, but this is the only time and place that overt recruiting is permitted. Once the ritual is complete, whatever caste a Drakoni chooses is his for life. Switching caste afterwards is not permitted.

The Four Castes

A Female Drakoni of the Nalethséth

Growers

KasKhenda

Farmers, herders, gardeners, and trackers are some of the roles this caste encompasses. Generally speaking this caste deals with the wilds and things that live and grow. Most of the Legion's infantry come from the Grower Caste.

Sniths

KasShenéth

This castes' members are mostly artisans and craftsmen. This caste's role in society revolves around artifice. As you might expect, of all the castes this caste has the most followers of The Way of the Forge. Members of the Smith Caste make up much of the Legion's logistical and equipment support.

Scholars

Nalethséth

Drakoni mages are almost exclusively members of the Scholar Caste. Members of this caste are academics, authors, and explorers concerned with new discoveries and creating new ideas for the advancement of Drakonia. The Scholar Caste also trains and equips war-mages to serve in the Legion.

Keepers

KasNókrashar

The Caste of Keepers are the defenders of Drakonia's history, monuments, and relics. The Keepers provide guards for important cultural sites and maintain large archives where records and historical artifacts are kept. During times of war the Keepers provide maps, intelligence, and aid in communication between Legion forces.

Next Time

Next week's article will be a mythology article on The Dragonblight, an affliction that has severely reduced the number of dragons in the world.

Module - The Fall of Beacon City (CR 7+)

I've (almost) finished another module. This module is the first episode of a plane-hopping campaign I originally ran a couple years ago using Pathfinder. It has been converted to 5th Edition and formalized way more than it used to. Some parts are still incomplete and it has yet to be playtested.

Summary

The party are a group of former-adventurers drafted into the army of Headmaster Azan (a Hebdomad) to defend Prime against the approaching armies of Zero the Unifier. They've been deployed to a city well behind the front lines to help prepare its defenses when the enemy arrive early and in far greater numbers than expected. The city is quickly overrun and they must now escape before they're found and killed.

This module introduces players to many of the concepts of Teredahar's expanded cosmology, including the Hebdomad, Shard planes, and the races that live both on Prime and throughout the multiverse. The Pyren are introduced in this module as a major enemy race that will be encountered numerous times again throughout the campaign.

Download Link

View/Download (PDF)
Note: Appendices and playtesting are still incomplete. Feedback appreciated. 

License

This module uses the Open Game License. The setting is also usable under Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0. So if you want to use it for anything else, you just need to credit me. I'd appreciate feedback, though. Tweet me @too_many_knives.

Module - The Green Ridge Incident (CR 5)

Update: The module's boss mechanics have been modified significantly following playtesting. 

Small announcement here. I've finished the first draft of a tiny adventure module using 5E rules and set in Teredahar. This is my first go at writing a formal adventure module. It has been an interesting exercise. I'll be writing at least one more of these next month.

View / Download (PDF)

License

This module uses the Open Game License. The setting is also usable under Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0. So if you want to use it for anything else, you just need to credit me. I'd appreciate feedback, though. Tweet me @too_many_knives.

Teredahar History & Mythology - Drakoni Religion

During the millennia of living as a worker/soldier underclass among Dragon society, the Drakoni were unwelcome in Dragon religious circles. During this time they formed their own spiritual beliefs more suited to their place in society.

The Way of the Forge

Kos Szar ha kos Széth

The Drakoni religion is centered around the notion that work itself is sacred, and that all objects of artifice are imbued with a bit of divine power. The blacksmith at his forge creates a sword imbued with a fragment of divinity using tools that are themselves religious objects. The symbol of a blacksmith forging weapons, armour, and other tools is commonly used in religious teachings, giving the faith its common name, The Way of the Forge.

Priest-Masters

Vánáhaek

It is expected that when a follower of The Way of the Forge can no longer practice their profession due to injury or age they become priest-master. Priest-masters are part cleric, part teacher, and part judge. It is the duty of each priest-master to ensure that his or her profession keeps a healthy number of apprentice and journeyman members and maintains high standards of both instruction and product quality. Priest-masters evaluate apprentices and journeymen and decide when they may move up in the ranks. They are also able to reprimand bad teachers and shoddy workmen, imposing demotions, fines, or in extreme cases banishing members from their profession.

Tools are divine.

Haß-sen Hrak

Any craftsman's tools are considered religious artifacts, because they are used to perform work in sacred professions. The Way of the Forge recognizes any crafting profession as an expression of faith, but primarily its practitioners are weaponsmiths, armourers, scribes, tanners, fletchers, and alchemists. Practitioners' tools are often of the finest quality, built of durable materials and adorned in ways that do not impede their function. Retired crafters who become priest-masters often posses less functional, decorative versions of their tools made which they display or carry as religious icons.

Crafting is worship.

Váháleth kha Shenéth

Certain recipes, designs, and methods are sacred to the Way of the Forge. Using these are akin to performing religious rites. They are precise and must be followed correctly or risk reprimand from a priest-magister. These recipes do not encompass all products; rather they are a standardized set of commonly-needed artifacts. Examples are sword blades, armour plates, and inks.

Divinity is made.

Shenéth-sen Haßkar

The act of making some piece of artifice imbues it with with a piece of the craftsman's soul, as well as the souls of the makers of all of that craftsman's tools. The combination of these souls is called the kash verséth (lit. "small power"), the power of the souls in the artifact. Craftsmen make tools for other craftsmen who use them in their own trade, spreading the power of their souls throughout the world.

Gameplay Notes

Followers of The Way of the Forge are primarily Drakoni, but some Dwarves identify with and follow the Way as well. Here are some notes for playing followers of this religion.

• Practitioners of The Way will be invested in a crafting skill and own a masterwork set of tools for their craft.
• The religion's alignment is Lawful Good.
• The religion's domains are Artifice, Law, Rune, and Knowledge.
• If a follower uses a holy symbol, it will be an ornate but functional tool of their chosen crafting skill. Golden holy symbols are often steel with golden inlays rather than pure gold as it is a soft metal generally not suited for tools.
• A follower will know at least one priest-master either directly or through their teacher
• Priest-masters function as a psuedo-governmental / regulatory body for most crafting professions in Drakoni-controlled regions

Next Time

Next week's article will introduce a new article series: Factions. It will cover the Drakoni caste system and the factions within it.

Races of Teredahar: Drakoni

The first Drakoni were found on a remote island in the Dragon Sea around TR 500. The Dragons found them living among a tribes of Lizardfolk, who worshiped them as physical gods. They were disturbed by the implications raised by the existence of the Drakoni, so it was decided to bring several specimens back to the Home Islands for study.

The Drakoni as a species share a common ancestor with Lizardfolk and lesser Dragons. They are not hybrids of any living species. On the Dragon Home Islands a small colony of Drakoni were settled and allowed to flourish (much like the Elves in Goldgrace; see last week's article). Within greater Dragon society the Drakoni became a class of servants and foot-soldiers.

When the Dragons invaded Teredahar in the late 6100s it was the Drakoni doing most of the fighting on the on the ground and in the skies.

In recent years with the Dragonblight killing off many of the world's dragons (more on this in a later article), the Drakoni have come to take over Draconic society. They now rule the Home Islands and have only intermittent contact with Teredahar.

Drakoni are fully reptilian and have crocodile-like features. They're cold-blooded, hatch from eggs, and only need to eat every few days at most. Average Drakoni height is 7 feet and they weigh about 250 pounds. Female Drakoni are bulkier than males but otherwise hard to tell apart visually. They don't have the bold colouring of true dragons; rather their scales are mostly mottled grey with a hint of colour. They have broad wings capable of flight which fold tightly behind their backs when standing. Some Drakoni have small horns on the tops of their heads. Some have modified scales growing from the backs of their head that resemble thick, cable-like strands of hair. All Drakoni have clawed hands and feet though most file their claws to be better able to use tools and weapons.

A Male Drakoni Paladin

Drakoni Racial Stats (24 RP)

Ability Score Racial Traits: +2 Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution; +4 Wisdom; -2 Charisma
Type: Drakoni count as Dragons despite being more closely related to Lizardfolk.
Size: Medium
Base Speed: 30 feet. A Drakoni wearing light or no armour can fly with a speed of 30 feet and clumsy maneuverability. Drakoni wearing heavier armour cannot fly but can use their wings to slow their fall or glide.
Starting Languages: Common (Elvish) and Draconic.

Defense Racial Traits

Natural Armour: Drakoni scales provide +2 natural armour.
Immunities: Drakoni are immune to sleep and paralysis effects.

Offense Racial Traits

Claws: Drakoni have claws that can be used as nautral weapons. Drakoni have two claw attacks that deal 1d4+Strength damage. These cannot be used if wielding a weapon or carrying a shield.

Senses Racial Traits

Darkvision: Drakoni have darkvision to 60 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Drakoni can see twice as far as Humans in dim light.

Starting Age

Drakoni reach adulthood of 90 years of age and live about 800 years.

Drakoni Monster Stat Block

Drakoni Soldier

CR 1

XP 400
Drakoni Warrior 1
Medium Dragon
Init +1; Senses Perception +3, Darkvision 60', Low-Light Vision

Defense

AC 18 (+4 Armour (Chain Shirt), +1 Shield, +1 Dex, +2 Natural); Flat-footed 17; Touch 11
HP 6 (1d10+1)
Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +1
Immune Sleep, Paralysis

Offense

Speed 30', fly 30' (clumsy)
Melee Warhammer +4 (1d8+3, x3)

Statistics

Str 16, Dex 12, Con 12, Wis 12, Int 10, Cha 6
Feats Power Attack
Skills Fly +1, Perception +3
Languages Common, Draconic

Next Time

Next week's article will cover the religion practiced by the majority of Drakoni.

Teredahar History & Mythology: The First & Second Dragon Wars

Happy New Year! Welcome to Dragon Month. All this month I'll be writing about Dragons an their bloody history with the Elves. 

Planar Collisions

Ten thousand years ago the Elves' homeworld was shattered by the wars of its would-be stewards. This cataclysm flung pieces of their world outwards into the Void, becoming what are called Shards. These Shards carried terrain, raw materials, and even survivors of the cataclysm outwards across the Void in all directions. Currents in the Void brought some of these Shards to Prime, where they collided with it.

A plane collision isn't like a meteorite. They don't fall from the sky in balls of fire or create massive explosions when they land. Rather, a collision is more like stacking sheets of transparent plastic. One minute there's an ocean, the next there's an island. Whatever was there before is displaced, either out into the void or to somewhere else on the same plane (usually in a million small pieces).

What does this have to do with the Dragon Wars? Well, the Dragons had never seen a plane collision before. If one minute there's a city and the next there's a mountain, would it not be reasonable to think you were under attack? The cataclysm caused hundreds of shard collisions all over Prime.

First Contact

The Elves arrived on Prime in the year zero their calendar (TR 0), early in the wave of shard collisions that would continue until TR 317. In TR 40 the Elves' new civilization caught the interest of the Dragons. First contact was made that year when the Dragons' council sent the Gold Dragon Praetor Khalizanth to meet with the Elvish King Amastatica. Khalizanth granted the Elves a broad tract of uninhabited land on the world's southern continent (Goldgrace, Loraida) as their domain, and let them be.

Disaster and War

By TR 150 the Elves had outgrown Goldgrace and claimed more territory on Loraida without the Dragons' leave. This did not yet attract the Dragons' ire, not until three things happened: A wave of plane collisions across the south transformed large swaths of dragon-held mountain steppes into grassland, Elvish settlers began openly worshiping their own gods and built their first temples, and a plane collision erased the Grand Citadel of Bahamut from existence, replacing it with an inland sea (The Eye of Eternity). The highly religious Dragon deemed that the Elves' gods sought to destroy their own, and ordered the destruction of the Elves.

The First Dragon War was a near-total rout for the Elves. By some estimates three quarters of Loraida was burned when the Dragons struck. Only intervention by Khalizanth and his Golden Army saved the Elves from being wiped out. Once again the Elves were boxed in on Goldgrace; forced to renounce their gods and live meagerly.

Aside: Time & Generations

It may seem a little preposterous to have a civilization exist for 2000 or 10000 years and not advance further than this. To that I say, "what a very Human perspective." Elves are not humans. Dragons are not humans. Both races have average lifespans an order of magnitude longer than Humans. Why should their society advance at the same speed as ours? Elves don't even reach adulthood until they're 110 years old! Dragons are about the same. Both races can live to be over 1000 years old. Two lifetimes from grass huts to massive cities seems pretty fast now, doesn't it? For some parts of the real world that's about spot on.

Peace

By TR 317 the plane collisions stopped. Two years later the King of Tan'Rar negotiated control of more territory for the Elves (mostly grassland) to expand their kingdom. Centuries of relative peace followed and Tan'Rar continued to grow. As long as the Elves were good tenants, the ruling council of the Dragons allowed them to live and flourish.

The Elves were forbidden from settling outside of their land grants, but allowed to travel and explore. This peace became the Age of Exploration. There were four key discoveries during this age: The locations of the Dragons' capital and major colonies (ca. TR 440), Humans (ca. TR 655), The Mana Well (ca. TR 1000), and Levistone (ca. TR 1530). In two thousand years (~17 generations of Elves) the Elves had gone from living in grass huts to having massive cities of stone, mages, cannons, and airships. Tan'Rar was bursting the bounds of the Dragons' land grants, and the Dragons were becoming uneasy with the Elves advancement.

The Battle of Rakos Bridge

A show of force was called for to put the Elves back in line. Arsaan the Red was sent with a dozen of her brood to destroy the Elves' grand academy and burn their library at Rakos Bridge. It was thought this would set the Elves back a few hundred years and discourage them from expanding further. Things did not go as the Dragons had planned.

The Elves had invented divination and knew the attack was coming. When Arsaan and her red brood descended upon Rakos Bridge, they were greeted with airships armed with hooked net launchers, harpoons, drug-raged Human berserkers and Elvish wizards hurling acid and lightning. Arsaan and her reds were wiped out. The Elves mounted Arsaan's head above on the gates of the Rakos Bridge academy and used the scales of her brood to make armour and plate airship hulls. The Second Dragon War had begun.

The Conquest of Loraida

Using their new weapons the Elves were able to expand out in all directions, pushing the Dragons clear from the southern continent (which the Elves call Loraida). Only when they reached the ocean were the dragons able to hold. Elvish airships of the time were vulnerable without mages on the ground for support, and their sailing ships had all been burned in the first stages of the war. A truce was reached: The Elves could have Loraida and continue trading with the Humans, but any ship within 100 miles of Dragon territory would be destroyed on sight.

By TR 2110 the Kingdom of Tan'Rar had expanded into an empire controlling all of Loraida and the Elves were once again at peace with the Dragons.

Gameplay Notes 

(Rob: I'll be including sections like this with bullets on storytelling, roleplay, and game rules in all future history & mythology articles.)

• Dragons and Elves hate eachother, almost universally, and to a far greater degree than any other race. Dragonkin and anyone else raised in Draconic-speaking culture have probably been raised to hate Elves as imperialist conquerors. Elvish- and Human-speaking cultures likewise raise their members to fear Dragons as tyrannical monsters. 
• The world's southern continent, "Loraida", is littered with ruins of old Elvish settlements dating back to the expansionist days of Tan'Rar. 
• Planar collisions still happen from time to time. They rapidly and permanently change the terrain and can bring features with them including new terrain, buildings, and life forms. 
• Planar collisions can be caused intentionally by powerful magic, though the precise knowledge of how to do this is lost to the ages. The continent of Teredahar was created in this way.
• Planes and Shards can also have a "glancing blow" or pass through each other without merging. This can create any number of effects including slight weather changes, hauntings, natural portals, and invasions of Outsiders.

Next Time

In TR 2300 a new race emerged amongst the Dragons: Drakoni. This isn't a modified race but rather my own take on the "humanoid dragon race" trope. I'll profile this race, their history, and provide both racial stats and monster stat blocks.