[Raven Bloodmoon]

Axel, on Jul 2 2006, 02:14 AM, said:

Hmmm.... and kobolds?

Uh...the local lizard population near a nuclear powerplant? I don't know. >.<

[Axel]

Ok, along with the "didn't there used to be dwarves here?" dragon scenario, the Kobolds worshipped the dragon as a diety, in exchange for sacrifices he allowed them to occupy his territory (though never too close to his lair) Their government collapsed after the dragon was killed, a general dissatisfaction with the government (considering their protector god was dead) and the sudden onslaught by humans, dwarves, and gnomes looking to grab any dragon-goods not bolted down.

[Rintaran]

It makes sense. The dragon could also have used the kobolds as a regular supply of food. They breed quickly, so it's not a real loss to them, and it would give the dragon another reason for keeping them around in addition to inflating his ego.

This would also set up several small segments of kobold society that were already displeased with their government prior to the death of the dragon, which in turn, makes the governmental collapse all the more plausible, it being torn down from within as well as from the death of the dragon.

[Axel]

Seems reasonable. Any intellectual in a theocratic society dedicated to the worship and service of a giant lizard who is too lazy to rule himself would naturally hate that government. It's concievable that there would be an entire anti-government movement within Kobold society. With the dragon dead that movement would gain a sudden surge of support, enough to overthrow the previous society starting.... Starting a full scale revolution. The intellectuals who started the government would soon lose power to the angry masses that followed their anti-government banner, and would find themselves suffering the same fate as the church and government officials at the hands of that mob.

[Rintaran]

So... Will Kobold society have decended into anarchy? Or will it be at the temporary plateau just before the intellectuals are overthrown? Or will something else have sprung up in the meantime? It's all good to know the direction things can head (especially when it's put into action during the campaign), but you need to know where they are at the put-out point of your setting.

[Axel]

This has to be some decades after the dragon's downfall, in order for expansion to have gotten underway. So we're probably after the fall of the first republic and into the reign of terror. A few power-hungry kobolds have seized on the fear and anger of the masses, putting themselves up as near dictators, and ruthlessly eliminating any who they view as a threat to their power, including those members of the original anti-government group that began the revolution. Those who fear being targetted, including former supporters of the government and revolutionaries, have fled to the human frontier. It also makes sense for those same leaders to have initiated a massive draft, building up the army to defend their now dragonless border and to reduce the size of that angry, frightened mob; along with providing an external focus to keep attention from internal problems.

[RedSlayer]

I gotta say, I'm sure your players will get quite a laugh to find the kobolds have taken the same route as the U.S.S.R and Stalinist Russia...

Might I recomend a polar opposite force to the kobolds? Gnomes might make an interesting and fun choice...

[Axel]

I wasn't thinking of Stalin, I was thinking of someone else. Any guesses on who?

But you're right, gnomes do need more fleshing out. They may go well with dwarves, but there still needs to be more to them and their relationship with dwarves than just that. Hmmm....

[Axel]

Still no thoughts on Gnomes, so I welcome any suggestions. But I have had a few thoughts on halflings. Seems like they always get the short end of these things, halflings are always peripheral in the history of campaign worlds. A group of nomads, though, wandering through the lands of others would certainly be key to the development of civilization in those lands. I'm getting the idea that the halfling language might become a pidgin of every other language, a collection of the tongues of every land they go through. And more than that, halflings may easily be the ones who brought writing to humans. Perhaps in the days before the Empire, back when elves still had their own kingdom, the halflings learned the elvish alphabet and adapted it to their own use. Halfling merchants would have plenty of use for written records, and might then spread that tool to the human tribes they encountered. They would also probably be responsible for the spread of technological developments, the rise of one human tribe to conquer the others could well be because they gained some key war technology (say stirrups) from halfling traders. Back to them elves, halflings could also easily be one of the ways elves escape serfdom. Their nomadic lifestyle would give halflings an inherrent love of freedom, the freedom of the road, and they'd be glad to take any newcomers, including elvish serfs, so long as those comers do their share to support the caravan. Could be every caravan has an elf or two aboard.

[Axel]

I did finally have an idea for gnomes, beyond simply excluding them. (I'd appreciate opinions on which is the better option) At one point the dwarf kingdom blocked access to the frontier, although this kept humans and elves from moving into that territory, some dwarven adventurers and settlers did move out. When the dragon came it cut off their only access to their civilization, lacking the great forges of the cities, the knowledge of their priests and wizards, and their leadership the dwarves regressed. Survival became their foremost concern, isolated villages turned to farming, some others became hunter-gatherers. Their reasonably good relations with the Centaurs helped these Nomes, as the centaurs called them (for No-Home) survive on the frontier. Centuries later there is a marked difference between the Gnomes and Dwarves, Gnomes have spent most of their lives above-ground, although they prefer to burrow their homes into hilltops, and are more accostomed to light. They are also slightly shorter and thinner than their cousins, though what influence caused this is uncertain. Gnomes are scattered throughout the areas nearer the main pass that allows for expansion, though they were always careful to stay well away from the dragon's territory. Their reaction to the settlers ranges from those who view newcomers as intruders and those who try to join the growing society the Empire is building.

Also had some decent ideas for Giants, Ogres, and Trolls. According to legend, in the ancient days a race of huge men, called Giants roamed the land. They could traverse mountains as easily as a grown man climbs a hill, and never ceased wandering along the land, preying on those they encountered. They feared only the Elves, whose kingdom then was united and strong. Dwarves cowered in their tunnels at the approach of giants, coming out to fight only when the entrances to those tunnels were threatened. Humans could do nothing but try to flee, and hope the Giants contented themselves with what was abandoned. Until a large group of nomads, desperate for food after all the game had been killed or scared off, attacked a small Giant encampment in the dead of night. The tribe became known as Giantslayer, and attracted followers from the tribes who had been decimated by Giant attacks. The Giantslayer tribe began to roam the human lands, having gathered enough warriors to defeat even large Giant bands. The Giantslayers devoted themselves entirely to warfare, they kept themselves fed and stocked from the spoils of their war with the Giants and gifts from the grateful tribes they protected. The leader of the Giantslayers laid the foundation for the Empire by collecting a group of smaller tribes under his protection, he asked donations of food and other provisions for keeping his army prepared. He seperated the tribe into garrisons to protect the villages and hunt down other monsters within the area. Other warleaders began following his example, creating their own kingdoms and oligarchies, with groups of tribes banding their warriors together for defense. The River Guardian tribe, in particular, became known for having an army that rivaled even the Giantslayers. The humans soon declared all out war against the Giants, mercilessly hunting down all they could find. Giants began to fear Human lands as much as Elvish, and they had never gained anything by attacking Dwarves. The Kobolds at this time were unknown to the giants, living in hidden communities beneath the mountains and Orcs were also unkown, living beyond Elvish lands. The Giants all but died out, only a few held on in remote corners of the world, living as they could on wild game, until finally the Empire killed the last of them. This much is known and remembered by the Loremasters
On the frontier the Centaurs remember a race of a massive two legged beings who once roamed the world freely. The Centaurs called them Ogres, and had no fear of them. No ogre could run remotely fast, even a child could easily outpace them. But they did gobble up game and force the centaur tribes to move on. Sometimes a tribe would fight them, to keep the game in an area pletiful, but usually it was safer to run. But, inexplicably, their numbers began to shrink, and they took to hiding in the remote areas, on mountains on hills, in deep forests where it was hard to run. And they began to shrink, growing smaller even as their numbers did, until they were not much taller than a normal Centaur. The Centaurs called these strange, reclusive ogres, Trolls, and avoided the areas they inhabbited. Centaur legend holds that the gods grew angry with the Ogres for gobbling up all they did without thought for what would happen to others, or for if the game would ever return. In punnishment the gods made the game too fast for them to catch, so that they would starve and shrink. Trolls haunt the areas where their ancestors fled, hoping to prey on the unlucky and the unready, constant reminders of the price of greed.