I've been wondering about that as well... does the strong draconic heritage in the world tend to lead to more or less racial tensions?

A black skinned dwarf in a 'standard game' (if there is such a thing) would probably be labeled a duergar and get killed right along with the drow. Does the fact that a good number of people have black, even green, blue, copper, or red tainted skin lead to a bit more tolerance before the lynch mobs break out?

You know... "Mayhap he's not a dark elf, but a moon elf with some black blood in him. We must study his actions before we fly into a murderous rage..." type thing. Or does a very obvious chromatic bloodline tend to cause people to mistrust sooner than normal... "Watch that one when he gets near your things... he's got a white wyrm's blood in him."


I'm trying to get a feel for what the "average Joe" is like before I react in a way that doesn't fit this campaign setting.

I would think that in this world the folks would be more tolerant since dragons are rulers in most places at one time or another and had a propensity for chasing the pretty face.

In a regular D&D game most mixes are looked down on. and both the drow and dwarf would of been used for target practice long before adulthood.

Shaithis, can you roll a spot check for me to see if Ixion sees the Monk shadowing the party? We're both moving alongside the path in about the same area, and I'm curious to see if our two characters get close enough discover one another.

I don't have the spot check yet, so I don't know if he actually saw anything... my last post was mostly just fluff with the purpose of pointing out that Ixion isn't trotting along beside the group, he's been shadowing the party's movements from the woods beside the path (almost in the same place as Hammer's Monk.)
Sorry if I wasn't very clear about this when we all took off after the Kobolds.

Shaithis, if my spot check turns out to be below Hammer's hide check, I can just say it was a rabbit or deer or something and go back.


Also, is the Q&A the best place to ask for skill checks that come up as a result of someone else's post?

..... this is very interesting!

From all the activity I thought the group ran ahead and the suspicious guy looking for the Monk behind the bush had run after them!

I will just wait for all this to be sorted out before posting again!

sooner than this. For some reason, I wasn't subscribed to this thread. That has been remedied.

I would first like to say that this realm, as all realms I run, but especially a custom realm like this, is shaped by the players within it. That is not to say that you tell the story, but the story, and most importantly, the world around the characters, is formed by the ideas of the players. This means that your opinions and ideas take permanent root in the game world.

The material for this game world that already exists is from the previous games run in this world. There are obviously empty spaces that can easily be filled as necessary with a little attention.

The skin issue.
Doesn't matter. Almost every living soul in the Black Fey region is in some small manner related to the black dragons that infest the area. This does not translate into "the population of the Black Fey region is evil." However, many traits, both psychological and cultural, will show through in their general manner. Each region is similar based on the traditional color / metal of the region.

Black Fey Marshes, Black Fey Lake
As said, these people are related to the black dragons who ultimately descend from an ancient wyrm named Sulphisextantus. He is the sire of over 20 full-blooded dragons, 500 half dragon / dwarves, /elves, and /humans. Each of them, over the last few hundred years, we given whatever they desired, including public office, land, riches, and yes, wives, husbands and consorts. The infamous Thur-Eckt-Null, his third halfbreed son, a half orc, was rumored to have had sixty wives, three harems in three towns, and a dungeon under Six Towers that was allegedly used for violent orgies involving captured enemies. The main point of all this, is in the last two thousand years, almost every village around the lake has black dragon blood. There are black skinned halflings in the foothills of the mountains that separate Devil's Spire from Black Fey Marsh.

I got off track...

Black Fey folk are generally thought to be equivalent to poor baijou folk. They are generally unwashed, speak about a hundred dialects of common, and other people tend to watch their possessions around them. Not to say they are given to theft. They are opportunists. Black Dragons are selfish, cruel and enjoy being alone. Their humanoid descendants are possessive, envious and do not like outsiders... or as Torigad shows us, have difficulty with strangers.

East Rose and Sodgrove
This area is strong with the blood of blue dragons. There are also some green and a few silver or bronze. There are more nondraconic people in this region than Black Fey. However, Antagony is the mother of fifteen full blooded blue dragons, aged in a range between 12 and 750 years old. She has a brood of over sixty-five halfbreeds, and eight of her full blooded children have similar broods. Blue dragons are vain, sexual, childish and sometimes emotional. They are meticulous record-keepers, and enjoy the tedium of financial management. This makes them excellent vassal rulers, which is why Hosteratix initially gave this region to Antagony so many years ago.
Descendants of blue dragons are typically vain, tempermental and led by their emotions. Very much like Virgos in common modern astrology.

Bizzux
This region is filled with metallic dragons. The city of Bizzux itself was once a city of light and reflection, the spires of the Metropolis covered in mirrors and glass architecture: the Holy Temple Academy's roof is made of mirrored shingle tiles.
Metallic dragons in general are compassionate, empathic and generally interested in conversation and good times. Philosophy, the arts, sciences and magic are all held in high regard. There were at least fifty silver dragon family names before the Metallic Purge. This is not to be confused with the "peasant human" purge in East Rose. When the Shade Lord tricked the king of all dragons and turned him onto a shadow dragon, he immediately and very quickly ambushed each of his 75 full blooded children, starting with his oldest, the 2600 year old Ioetaxicux, and turning them into shadow dragons too. Then he went on a purge, attacking the forum and the silver dragon council, killing many of them. The rest fled, some managed to escape with their hoards, but most did not. Hosteratix commanded his children to collect all the abandoned hoards and now sits on the greatest hoard of treasure ever seen. Rumors say it is a mountain of gold fifty feet high.
Anyway, the Silvers escaped into the surrounding countryside, separated and on the run. In the Empire of Hosteratix the Eternal, to be a silver dragon is to be a heretic. Other countries do not necessarily subscribe to this, but who knows what a person will do for a bounty of gold these days?

The Frozen North
The white dragons in this area descend from the ancient frozen nightmare, the white dragon Hibberak. Hibberak is not like other draconic progenitors... this one does not speak. In fact, Hibberak is literally a beast. He is a beast who lives on his desires, his impulses, and is very much a primal creature. When he sees something he likes, he is able to shapechange into that creature's race. The barbarous Snow Elves and the primitive White Dwarves all share the region with the pale humans.
White breeds are more in tune with their more bestial side, embracing their baser desires. They are typically more prone to violence and less prone to concern themselves with issues of learning or refinement. They are by virtue of their environment survivalists and excellent at making do with few resources. Most are uncomfortable when its hot.

Norcross
The mystic forest valley that separates East Rose from the Frozen North was once home to the green dragon Seifu. He was a Buddha of sorts, teaching enlightenment and balance. He was a stern master, but many and various kinds of people were attracted to this way of life. Until the Shade Lord came. Seifu rejected the Shade Lord's overtures and banished him from his kingdom. The Shade Lord reacted by attacking the home dojo with his already substantial might, having already conquered Bizzux, East Rose and Black Fey. Seifu and half of his pureblood children were killed in the attack, and the rest of his brood loyal to him were scattered. Green dragons are naturally self saving, though, and many of his line turned on their master's teachings to save themselves.

..... trying to draw me into the action!

But I am just waiting for the update to sort things!

...waiting for me?

..... has now been posted and I await either Shaithus or Deuc to make the next posting!

Previously I was awaiting Shaithus to make a move to clarify the flow of the adventure ... and an interesting move he made!

Now the ball is in Deuc's possession ... with the lives of both of our characters hanging in the balance!

..... need to have my question answered from the two PM messagages I sent you Shaithis, especially about the Chlorine Gas Bombs Manuhol is carrying!

Do they have to be lit or just thrown?

Just PM the rest of the info please!

How far down the path from the pit are the kobolds hiding?

Also, how sparse or think are the trees in this section of the wood? If I were to walk along the left side of the path, the side with the kobolds, would the trees block line of sight and let me slip away?(Make hide & move silent checks)

Sorry for the short posts at the moment but i got GCSE's all next week and week after so after that i will be back to at least half decent posting.

Yes, your estimates on the distances are accurate. So, What I have so far is T'puuli and Manuhol are going to get behind them, and then Torigad, Ixion and Snowlily (I assume) are going to hit them with ranged, flushing them back and into the waiting ambushers. Tellanth, I assume, will be casting support.

The trees are not sparse, but visibility is reduced to about 100 yards. That's not to say that the there are no trees per football field, that means that its the most extreme distance you can possibly see anything.

The path is a rough and extremely muddy ditch that was torn apart by the passage of about 200 head of cattle. Cow pies mark the path and travel is not fun at all on the actual path. Along both sides of the path is a huge messed up tangle of blackberries and other not-fun thorned weeds. The kobolds seem to be hiding underneath it in spots hollowed out by the motion of their thickly scaled sapphire bodies. Chasing them into it would be hard, but chasing them out would be much easier with the proper weapons...

Snowlily and Tellanth... I would like to make sure you guys are in on this plan.

I'll post five rounds of combat at a time, you do not have to describe everything you do, but a general idea of about 30 seconds is good enough. It will be very similar to the player being a coach and the character being the team... you can direct, but you have no direct control over the outcome (as I will roll all the dice and assume responsibility for off the cuff actions.)

Just let me know when everyone is ready.
Ixion, I am going to make you the "caller". This means that you say when everyone's ready, and if the party moves, it will be on your word. This is to allow the party have a say when the story moves on in the event not everyone is able to post, and it doesn't make me the bad guy, lol!

The caller is the person who tells the DM when everyone is ready, and what "the plan" is. Everyone speaking at once is confusing sometimes, so I want to see how it works when the DM takes cues from the "party leader." Keep in mind that this is only for out of character reasons... Ixion is not necessarily the IC party leader... just the player who tells me when I can start combat. I chose him because he seems to post the most often.

Ixion is stalling until he sees some more of the group start to move into position, or discovers that what he overheard isn't what everyone's doing.


So far as I can tell, Snowlilly and Tellanth and T'puuli are all still near the pit and Manuhol is still making his way out and around in a wide circuit back to jump the kobolds. Is this right, or did I miss something in there?

I have the availability to check the Inn multiple times a day, but I know that not everyone has that luxury... so I want to make sure that I don't start the fight before everyone else has a chance to get in some last minute prep stuff. Like I said, Ixion is in a holding pattern right now and he's probably got enough ranks in Bluff to stand there talking to Torigad for a week without making the kobolds suspicious. He's not going to move on until he knows(via your post in the game thread) or I know (via your posts here) that everyone has done and said everything they want to before this fight starts.

This is probably one of the few times where we get to decide when to fight (instead of stuff just getting dropped on us), so I'm fine taking some time to get this up to speed.

Torigad is ready when you are!