RogetThesaurii

Though lagging the others, Garkyn never slowed down. He kept chugging along and when they had nearly reached their target, he didn't bother to ease his stride. With purpose, and a heavy fist, Garkyn smashed into the front door, thumping the heavy portal with his mailed fist and bellowing like an ox to be let inside. He could hear the sounds of chaos inside, and no one rushing to answer the door.

Stuff Thabo does about The Manyfold... Thabo's 2 weeks are kinda already set in that he has meetings lined-up as wells as normal business to attend to, on top of circulating among his businesses setting up ManyFold Defenses. --Many Fold Defenses- --Purchase Wand of Lightning bolt for Bumble. --Purchase wand of Lightning Lure for Alphonso the Intern, as well as any other new zheng recruits capable of attuning to wands --Rubberize leather cloaks for using as protection from Acid. Lining is rubberized to conceal our "secret corporate tech" --Distribute rubber booties. Talked to BR about. Basically dipping leather boots in rubber from the vats at our production plant to keep costs and time low, as opposed to making full rubber boots. Also, just lining the soles help with the corporate secret. --Placing barrels of water in tactical locations in all Zheng holdings. Kramp and Thabo, with Bumble and Alphonso the Intern assisting, draw up plans for rigging the barrels to be dumped by lever. --Repeat with barrels of Acid --Gist is dump barrels of water to create temporary flood. Capable Zheng use their lightning attacks. hopefully water forces disadvantage on saves or vulnerability or some sort of "buff/debuff" while booties protect my troops --same with Acid barrels except cloaks provide protection.

The Axes The Weapons: (all are +2 Battle Axes) Pointer Biter (Vicious Goblinbane, 3x/day it can be used to cast Continual Flame, wielder has Adv on saves vs goblin spellcasters and traps) Minter Cutter (Keen - ignores slashing resistance and immunity is only resistance, 1/day can crit on Nat 19; wielder can negate one critical hit on themselves once per day) Lopper (Giantslayer, 2x/day it can be used to cast Reduce on a giant, target suffers DisAdv to the save; Wielder has a +1 to AC vs the attacks of Giants) Smelter (unique Flametongue; Wielder has resistance to Fire damage when weapon is aflame, immune to cold damage; 2x/day the weapon can be used to Dispel a Cold effect such as Wall of Ice) Denter (Adamantine Sundering, 2x/day it can be used to cast Shatter (4th level Spell Slot). This affects only objects and constructs. however. Weapons and armor not carried by the wielder in a 15' radius must save or suffer damage, possibly being destroyed. Killing a golem returns 1 of the maximum 2 charges.

The High King of the Dwarves, Hakon Khaerzed III, is, officially, High King and Chief Marshal of the Bearded Folk, Protector of the Faiths, Keeper of the Runes, Lord of the Hollow Hills and Master-Miner of The Deep Well. This last bit, Master-Miner, is an allusion to the role of the monarch in delving the lands claimed by the dwarves. Clanned Khaerzed has several notable offshoots, as a long-reigning monarchy might. Best known are the Spectors, the largest family in the Clan. King Hakon and the last four rulers have been Spectors. Arvel Spector is one of the most famed of the family, a well-known politician and diplomat in Cordoba. Other noted families are the Frothers, the Düms and the Sharp-Axes. The last monarch not a Spector was Olivia Sharp-Axe, Great Aunt of her successor, Hakon Spector, called Hakon Khaerzed I. The Hollow Hills Kingdom was founded by Clanned Glümwrax, of Glüm. Using economic pressure, a marriage alliance and debilitating attacks by orcs on Kherg, Fafnird Khegz, patron of Clanned Glümwrax, united the four cities, previously independent city-states. With a shaky alliance of dwarves from many families and nine different clans, Fafnird marched against the orcs, relieving the siege of Kherg and smashing the orcs in the region into tiny, scattered bands. All five tribes represented at the siege were broken. Their warlord was slain in single combat by Freyga Khegs, Fafnird's sister and wife of the patron of Clanned Schweigl, rulers of Kherg and close kin to Clanned Glümwrax. Fafnird's rule was characterized by minor political intrigues and disputes among the newly-merged city-states. He established territories and settled all border disputes. The fractious period dragged on for most of the nearly two centuries Fafnird ruled. His nephew, Freyga's son Faefyg, assumed the throne of a relatively peaceful dwarven kingdom. It was under his rule that The Rails project was begun. Teams of warriors and specialists explored and secured much of the tunnels, mapping the terrain and securing major caverns and points of interest, such as bridges over chasms. Dwarven settlements sprang up all along these established routes, further securing the territory. By the time Faefyg passed rule to his daughter, Freggla FairHair, dwarves were building small outposts and founding colonies connecting the far-flung kingdom beneath, and above, the surface. This activity was not without cost. Inheriting a nearly bankrupt kingdom, despite the vast mineral wealth being pulled from the kingdom's many mines and delves, Freggla turned to small, but wealthy, Khadez for a solution. Clanned Khaerzed's price was steep: the hand of the High Queen's daughter, her heir, in marriage. With few options open to her, Freggla accepted the deal and almost six hundred years after Clanned Glümwrax founded the Kingdom, Clanned Khaerzed took the throne. Freggla's grandson hector Sharp-Axe, called Hector Khaerzed I, succeeded his own mother Hildë after less than five decades. Hector was almost eighty, the youngest sovereign in the Hollow Hills history. Hector's Sharp-Axe family held the throne for the clan through the first four hundred years before the current ruling family, the Spectors, took power over the clan. Olivia Sharp-Axe had no children of her own, taking a wife of her own instead of a husband. Instead, she named her favorite nephew Hakon Spector, an explorer, Rail Ranger and famed adventurer who managed to recover one of the Lost Axes (see The Axes entry below). His great Grandson and third of the name sits the Ruby Throne currently. The Hollow Hills counted the Lisezian Empire as an ally, and was on cordial terms with Pidduppi, Ispep and even factions in far Lai-Not, when the collapse of the Lisezian Empire forced them to abandon most of their surface holdings as emboldened orcs began creeping down out of the mountains to attack outposts and enclaves. Less than a century after the Empire collapsed, and mere decades after the end of the Pidduppi Jihad, the Upper Kingdom was empty and the Door at Khazed was closed and hidden. It has remained closed ever since. Today, though relations with Pidduppi have begun once again, only Dardania is considered a true ally. On two known occasions the small kingdom has sent troops to occupy the outside of the Door at Khadez when raiding orcs in great number tried to bring a mass assault. It is not known if underground assaults have also shared troops for the engagements. Dwarven traders operating from Dardania bring outside goods to the kingdom and dwarven goods to the world. The Rail between Dardania and Khadez ensures a good deal of the wealth of the world trickles first through the fingers of Clanned Khaerzed, enriching the clan and making it easier to remain on the Ruby Throne. As a result, though a forest kingdom, Dardania hosts many dwarves, especially at its capital city Evindton. 'Little Khazed' is a large Eyvindton district of fine dwarven goods shops and taverns featuring the largest selection of fermented beverages in the known world. Every tavern has its own brews and rivalries are fierce. Game ContentOn the surface of the Hollow Hills are scattered and abandoned-for-centuries dwarven outposts and 'villages' amidst wilderness. Below the surface, there are thousands of dwarves living in four major cities and dozens of small-to-large 'towns' scattered along tunnels and caverns throughout the region. The reason this 'works' is because the dwarves have trains. They run trains between the cities, and the rail lines are studded with little communities, just like in the real world. There's a crap-ton of mineral wealth below the Hollow Hills. The dwarves fight fiercely to protect their kingdom from incursions from both above and below because they understand how valuable their home is. It is this mineral wealth that also marks them as the 'center of Dwarfdom' on the planet. Nowhere else in the world have they, or anyone, encountered as much concentrated mineral wealth in such a small area. The Hollow Hills is a region approximately the size of New England and NY state on the surface. Below-ground they run anywhere from at-the-surface to more than a mile deep with their explorations. This wealth is seen as a blessing from Moradin, to show the dwarves where he wants them to live and dig. The Hollow Hills are heavily mapped. The dwarves know where their stuff is and who can threaten it locally. Most major dangers, like dragons, etc, are closely watched and patrolled and Rangers routinely go 'hunting' for creatures that menace The Rails.

The Hollow Hills is home to one of the largest Dwarven kingdoms on the planet. Spanning hundreds of square miles, mostly below the surface, the vast caverns that give the Hollow Hills their name serve as perfect spots for dwarven cities to rise and the Hills host four major dwarven cities in their kingdom, as well as laying kingship on most of the dwarven colonies around the globe. A notable absence from those claimed as subjects are the dwarves of Xashi, who have their own king and kingdom. The four cities of the Hollow Hills host more than twenty thousand dwarves each. The chief city, Khadez, has a surface component, though this was mostly abandoned during the fall of the Lisezian Empire. Large tracts of the surface city still lie in ruins, centuries later. Behind the closed door of Khadez sits a vibrant city, the largest in the kingdom, and its capital. The other cities, Kherg, Haefed, and Glüm, are connected to each other and Khadez via The Rails, a series of tunnels traversed via steam-powered engines hauling vast lines of carriages behind them. These carriages are divided between those for freight, and those for travelers, for both are utilized. The Rails spans most of the Hollow Hills and is considered one of the greatest engineering feats in the world, though few know of their existence outside the kingdom. Mining makes up the bulk of the industry of the kingdom, and the Hollow Hills are rife with veins of metal ores and gemstones. Of particular significance are the rubies pulled from outside Haefed. Closest to Dardania, the Haefed ruby mine is connected via The Rails to the closest Dardanian sapphire deposit. Dwarves from Haefed routinely hire on with Dardania to mine the precious, nearly black, sapphires for which that tiny kingdom is so well-known. This Rail line is the only one to connect outside the kingdom and is a result of diplomatic work done by Dardania's founder, Eyvind Dardanus, and the WitchQueen Carmen, in her capacity as ally and adventuring companion to Dardanus. The Rails are fraught with danger daily. The lightless tunnels hide Underdark marauders of all stripes, from drow and svirfneblin, seeking trade or espionage, irrespectively, to more dangerous creatures, such as gugs from the depths, goblin-kin and orcs of all stripes, and even darker horrors never seen in the light of day. Rail Rangers accompany all the Engine and Carriages trips. Most dwarves stay below the surface in the kingdom. Few dwarven surface dwellings remain occupied, more than half a millennia after their abandonment. With the collapse of the Lisezian Empire, the dwarves let go of their surface locales in favor of increasing the protections of their underground cities. Most dwarven citizens will spend hundreds of years without ever venturing aboveground. The exceptions are merchant traders, and civil servants on missions for the crown. The High King, a title held for more than 1,600 years by the king of the Hollow Hills, claims sovereignty over all dwarves of the continent of Lise-dduppi, as well as all those colonies in The Grey established by and manned by dwarves. Most colonies do not dispute this, as more than two thirds of them were founded by Hollow Hills dwarves sent abroad. As previously noted, Xashi has its own dwarven monarch and kingdoms. The High King of the Hollow Hills has extended the courtesy of a 'state visit', but it is unknown if this offer has ever been taken up and consummated.

Panting breaths and labored breathing echoed through the sudden silence after the battle. Then, as if on cue, one of the young boys began to wail. Garkyn noticed it was the injured lad, the one he'd seen cut down seconds before Kaylee arrived, lending magical healing across the civilians to save lives while the Watch engaged the animated objects. The young woman, who soon introduced herself as Wynette 'Wynnie' D'Urberminsk, nanny to the young boys. "Sarana and I take care of them. Their mother is quite important in the family business and she is often away. Their father is a ship captain. Seldom home and not for long when he is. My thanks, officers. You saved us all!" Her eyes gleamed brightly as she appraised the handsome tiefling who had helped whisk her and her charge to safety. Kaylee leaned into letting Raz do the talking here. She concentrated on the investigation. Where had that little menace gotten off to now? With help from a late-arriving Xander' who's acrobatic antics seemed to help calm the boys, Wynnie got Sarana to take the youngsters inside to clean them up and get them a snack and something to drink after their traumatizing experience. She hung on Raz's bicep as she gave her statement. It was breathy, and her heaving bosom was firmly on display for the tall tiefling, but he remained professional in his duties. While the girl talked, Kaylee, with Garkyn and Izzy's help, scoured the garden area. They took into account things Wynnie said as they conducted their searches. "I took the boys Downslope yesterday morning, to get them some exercise and to see some ships. Its part of their education and its a good walk, good exercise for them. They have a lot of energy! I'm sure you know the feeling?" Wynnie's big brown eyes drank in Raz's crimson features and dark, inhuman eyes like he was a fountain and she'd just come in from the desert. She squeezed his bicep 'good-naturedly' and gushed on with her tale. "As we were returning from the jaunt, the boys wanted to stop into a toy store one of their friends had mentioned. Escarra Delaney, Owing Delaney's granddaughter? As in Delaney's Crabs? Master crabber of Cordoba, if you're unfamiliar. His ships are the largest fleet of crabbers in the bay." Wynnie's digression had her lead Raz back to the stone bench where she'd swooned earlier. "The boys attended a garden party at her family's Garden District holiday house last week and the girl simply raved about a wooden owlbear 'as big as me!' She said it so many times. I guess she showed the boys and nothing would be acceptable but they'd need to have something from the same toy store. I agreed. Technically, I do work for them." The girl sat and dragged Raz down beside her on the bench, turning to face him at closer range. She leaned close and smiled. "The boys clacked and dueled all the way back from Dockside. When they got home we did some practical lessons based on what they'd seen of the ships we'd explored. The swords were forgotten out here in the garden. Just after breakfast today, the boys had some lessons to finish and then they were taking a morning play, supervised, when that little wooden creature appeared and zapped the swords with a magic ray of some sort. Next thing I know, the swords had broken free of the boys' grasps and were menacing them, chasing them! I leapt up and tried to shield the boys. I screamed for Sarana, but, well, you've seen her. A tad aged..." "One of the blades must have struck me in the head. I was swatting at them but they easily avoided my feeble attempts. The next thing I knew, you were rescuing us!" Wynnie pressed herself against Raz, snaking her arms around him 'appreciatively', though they roamed over his shoulders and back a bit too... exploratorily. Disengaging herself slowly, Wynnie looked at Raz from just inches away. "Is there anything... I can do to repay your help, sir?" She bit her lip and waited for a response, as if the rest of the squad wasn't even present. For their own part, Izzy, Garkyn and Kaylee made neat work of the garden. Criss-crossing each other, they covered the same ground three times in the time it normally took to go over it once. Efficient action was becoming natural as their team gelled. "It was here for the swords, no doubt," Izzy chimed in as Kaylee and Garkyn nodded knowingly. "Disappeared from over here, boss- er, Kaylee." Squort pointed the officers towards the bench far across the central garden area from Raz and his fan-girl. It was Garkyn's sharp eyes that saw the evidence. "Broken twigs here. See? And there's a bit of this branch that's been sat upon for some time. This thing watched those boys, from a secluded blind, before it attacked. It made itself a little ambush spot. For kids!" The dwarf's ire was rising and Kaylee and Izzy didn't blame him. "He's used magics to leave, not simply disappear. That's my guess. Not leaving us a lot to work with, but my gut says we should hot-foot to the Garden District. He's got a head start on us." Kaylee coughed discreetly and Raz caught her eye. She gestured back towards the front of the house and the street. Time to go. The tiefling nodded slightly and extricated himself from Wynnie's embrace. "Thank you, miss. I'll be sure to enter your statements into the record. If you'll excuse us?" And just like that, the squad was heading back through the short hedge mazes leading from front to back of the property. A loud whistle from Garkyn summoned Xander from a second story window where he was helping amuse the lads. He regaled the young boys with his skills as he swiftly made his way back to earth down the side of the house and joined the other departing officers. The stern quiet of the squad was part jogging to their next destination and part contemplation of the mystery of this case. What was this tiny creature? Why was it up to these shenanigans? How could it be stopped? Were there more victims, besides this young girl, that needed to be found and possibly saved? Only time would tell. Sweating, panting and strung out along nearly a full city block, the squad, led by Izzy and trailed by Garkyn, arrived at the nearest entrance to the Garden District not more than half a bell later. Izzy snagged the first member of the Brethren they saw and asked about the house used by the Delaney family. With address provided, the squad raced towards the house, hoping they would still beat the little creature to its next target. They almost made it. Barely a hundred paces from the house, a scream of a woman and the breaking of a window signaled something was amiss. The broken window sported a bloody-faced man half hanging out of it. The roar of some beast echoed out from the room behind the shattered window. The squad exploded with renewed energy and closed on the house. OoCOk! I moved us forward to see if this can get our story back on track. Billy is on the road again so I am acting as Xander if he is needed. The squad has had no rests, it is not quite lunch time when they arrive back in the Garden District. The house is still a hundred feet ahead of the party. They are jogging through what feels and looks like a pleasant city park. The house is two stories, and has a few rooms on each floor. Kayli would be familiar with these types of houses, as would Izzy. Noble families share these homes, as there are so few of them, and all the houses have the same basic layout inside. Stairs to the second floor would be right inside the front door. A 'fire escape' style ladder would give access around back to the second floor. The broken window is on the front of the house and a man is half hanging out it, clearly bleeding and unconscious. It was his body impacting the window that shattered it. Screams can be heard inside from the 2nd floor. We are not yet in initiative.

On Dwarven Culture, History and Settlements...

Eller Danalos, Gornrog Human Bard 1 Strength 13 +1 Dexterity* 15 +2 Constitution 15 +2 Intelligence 13 +1 Wisdom 9 -1 Charisma* 15 +2 * - Proficient Languages: Common, Dwarven, Orc Prof Bns: +2 Spd: 30' AC: HP: 10 Melee Attk: +3/+1 Ranged Attk: +4/+2 Spell Attk: +4/+2 Initiative: +2 Saves: Charisma, Dexterity Armor: Light Armor Weapons: Simple Weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords Tools: hand drum, lute, reed flute, horn Skills: Athletics, Survival, Persuasion, Bluff, Stealth Gear: a hunting trap, set of tribal tattos indicating Eller is of the Red Elk band of the Everstars Tribe, set of travelers clothes, pouch containing 10 gp, longsword, leather armor and a dagger, lute, entertainer's pack Ability Score Increase: +2 to Strength, +1 to Constitution (Gornrog Human variant) Size and Type: medium humanoid Languages: You can speak, read and write Common and 1 other language of your choice (Dwarven), subject to GM approval. Hard to Kill: Gronrog humans roll death saves with Advantage. Feat Affinity (Oversized): Gornrog humans are larger than other humans, and can manage, with training, to wield weapons of a size category one larger, adding an additional die of damage 1/round to attacks made with the oversized weapon. Gornrog humans may take the Oversized feat, which allows them to use Large weapons without penalty. For example, a Gornrog human with the Oversized feat wielding a Large-size longsword would deal 2d8+Str modifier damage on one successful attack/round. Other successful attacks in the round would deal 1d8+ Str modifier, as normal. Gornrog Heritage You have an excellent knowledge of not only your tribe's territory, but also the terrain and natural resources of the rest of the Gornrog Plains. You are familiar enough with any wilderness area that you find twice as much food and water as you normally would when you forage there. Additionally, you can call upon the hospitality of your people, and those folk allied with your tribe, often including members of druid circles, tribes of other Gornrogs, etc. Personality Traits: I'm driven by a wanderlust that led me away from home. Ideal: Greater Good - It is each person's responsibility to make the most happiness for the whole tribe. Bond: My family, clan, or tribe is the most important thing in my life, even when they are far from me. Flaw: There's no room for caution in a life lived to the fullest. Spellcasting You have learned to untangle and reshape the fabric of reality in harmony with your wishes and music. Your spells are part of your vast repertoire, magic that you can tune to different situations. Cantrips You know two cantrips of your choice from the bard spell list. You learn additional bard cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Bard table. Spell Slots The Bard table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your bard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. For example, if you know the 1st-level spell Cure Wounds and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast Cure Wounds using either slot. Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher You know four 1st-level spells of your choice from the bard spell list. The Spells Known column of the Bard table shows when you learn more bard spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the table. For instance, when you reach 3rd level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the bard spells you know and replace it with another spell from the bard spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots. Spellcasting Ability Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your bard spells. Your magic comes from the heart and soul you pour into the performance of your music or oration. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a bard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier Ritual Casting You can cast any bard spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag. Spellcasting Focus You can use a musical instrument (found in chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells. Bardic Inspiration (d6) You can inspire others through stirring words or music. To do so, you use a bonus action on your turn to choose one creature other than yourself within 60 feet of you who can hear you. That creature gains one Bardic Inspiration die, a d6. Once within the next 10 minutes, the creature can roll the die and add the number rolled to one ability check, attack roll, or saving throw it makes. The creature can wait until after it rolls the d20 before deciding to use the Bardic Inspiration die, but must decide before the DM says whether the roll succeeds or fails. Once the Bardic Inspiration die is rolled, it is lost. A creature can have only one Bardic Inspiration die at a time. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier (a minimum of once). You regain any expended uses when you finish a long rest. Your Bardic Inspiration die changes when you reach certain levels in this class. The die becomes a d8 at 5th level, a d10 at 10th level, and a d12 at 15th level. Spells (2; 2/) 0) Prestidigitation, Vicious Mockery 1) Cure Wounds, Heroism, Silvery Barbs, Speak with Animals

Eller Danalos, Gornrog bard roll

Lyla o' the Wood Wood Elf Druid (Dreamer) 1 Strength 9 -1 Dexterity 15 +2 Constitution 13 +1 Intelligence* 13 +1 Wisdom* 19 +4 Charisma 11 +0 * - Proficient Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven Prof Bns: +2 Spd: 35' AC: HP: 9 Melee Attk: Ranged Attk: Spell Attk: Initiative: Saves: Wisdom, Intelligence Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields (druids will not wear armor or use shields made of metal) Weapons: Clubs, daggers, darts, javelins, maces, quarterstaffs, scimitars, sickles, slings, spears (always: Longsword, Shortsword, Longbow, Shortbow) Tools: Reed Flute, Herbalism kit Skills: Perception, Athletics, Survival, Medicine, Nature Gear: a staff, a hunting trap, a trophy from an animal you killed (owl claws necklace), a set of traveler's clothes, a pouch containing 10 gp, wooden shield, leather armor, scimitar, explorer's pack, druidic focus (tiny dreamcatcher made from squirrel fur, elm wood, spider silk thread and thrush feathers) Ability Score Increase: Increase your Dexterity by 2 and your Wisdom by 1 (Wood Elf) Size and Type: medium humanoid Darkvision: Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. Fey Ancestry: You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep. Trance: Elves do not sleep. Instead they meditate deeply, remaining semi-conscious, for 4 hours a day. The Common word for this meditation is "trance." While meditating, you dream after a fashion; such dreams are actually mental exercises that have become reflexive after years of practice. After resting in this way, you gain the same benefit a human would from 8 hours of sleep. Keen Senses: You have proficiency in the Perception skill. Elf Weapon Training: You have proficiency with the longsword, shortsword, shortbow, and longbow. Fleet of Foot: Your base speed increases to 35'. Mask of the Wild: You can attempt to hide even when you are only lightly obscured by foliage, heavy rain, falling snow, mist, and other natural phenomena Origin (Guide) You've been to strange places and seen things that others cannot begin to fathom. Consider some of the distant lands you have visited, and how they impacted you. Wanderer You have an excellent memory for maps and geography, and you can always recall the general layout of terrain, settlements, and other features around you. In addition, you can find food and fresh water for yourself and up to five other people each day, provided that the land offers berries, small game, water, and so forth. Personality Trait: I place no stock in wealthy or well-mannered folk. Money and manners won't save you from a hungry owlbear. Ideal: Change - Life is like the seasons, in constant change, and we must change with it. Bond: An injury to the unspoiled wilderness of my home is an injury to me. Flaw: I am slow to trust members of other races, tribes, and societies. Druidic You know Druidic, the secret language of druids. You can speak the language and use it to leave hidden messages. You and others who know this language automatically spot such a message. Others spot the message's presence with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check but can't decipher it without magic. Spellcasting Drawing on the divine essence of nature itself, you can cast spells to shape that essence to your will. Cantrips At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the druid spell list. You learn additional druid cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Druid table. Preparing and Casting Spells The Druid table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your druid spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these druid spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list of druid spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the druid spell list. When you do so, choose a number of druid spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your Druid level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you are a 3rd-level druid, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell Cure Wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells. You can also change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of druid spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list. Spellcasting Ability Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your druid spells, since your magic draws upon your devotion and attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a druid spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier Ritual Casting You can cast a druid spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared. Spellcasting Drawing on the divine essence of nature itself, you can cast spells to shape that essence to your will. Cantrips At 1st level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the druid spell list. You learn additional druid cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Druid table. Preparing and Casting Spells The Druid table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your druid spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these druid spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list of druid spells that are available for you to cast, choosing from the druid spell list. When you do so, choose a number of druid spells equal to your Wisdom modifier + your Druid level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you are a 3rd-level druid, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With a Wisdom of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination. If you prepare the 1st-level spell Cure Wounds, you can cast it using a 1st-level or 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells. You can also change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of druid spells requires time spent in prayer and meditation: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list. Spellcasting Ability Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for your druid spells, since your magic draws upon your devotion and attunement to nature. You use your Wisdom whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Wisdom modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a druid spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Wisdom modifier Ritual Casting You can cast a druid spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell prepared. Spellcasting Focus You can use a druidic focus as a spellcasting focus for your druid spells. Spells (2; 2/) 0) Druidcraft, Magic Stone 1) Absorb Elements, Cure Wounds, Faerie Fire, Goodberry, Purify Food and Drink StoryLyla is a rarity among the elves: an invited resident of the WitchQueen's forest. Lyla was drawn to Carmen's wood by dreams that portended greatness for her, if only she would make the journey. Taking ship from the Elven Isle as part of her decade of service at sea, she jumped ship on a dark night off the coast of the WitxhQueen's lands and swam to shore. There, she joined a small coterie of other elves, drawn from near and far like herself, in dreams. Dreams of a happier, shinier place. The fey magics of the wood gave powers to the burgeoning druid circle, and Lyla was one of them. Her first assignment: journey among the dwarves, and understand their actions. And so, following her dreams, Lyla now finds herself following a Hearsk Spector, with notions why, but nothing confirmed. His unawareness that Lyla has joined his party is a minor inconvenience, dealt with when necessary...

roll Lyla o' the Wood

Hearsk Spector Dwarf Ranger - Hunter 1 Inheritor Strength 15* +2 Dexterity 11* +0 Constitution 17 +3 Intelligence 12 +1 Wisdom 14 +2 Charisma 14 +2 * - Proficient Languages: Common, Dwarven, Orc Prof Bns: +2 Spd: 25' AC: () HP: 14 Melee Attk: +4/+2 Ranged Attk: +2/+0 Spell Attk: +4/+2 Initiative: +0 Saves: Strength, Dexterity Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields Weapons: Simple Weapons, Martial Weapons (always: battle axe, Hand axe, light hammer, warhammer) Tools: Smith's Tools, Gaming Dice Skills: Survival, History, Athletics, Nature, Perception Gear: scale mail, hand axe, light hammer, dungeoneer's pack, long bow and 20 arrows, The DwarfDial^, a set of traveler's clothes, gaming dice, a pouch containing 15 gp ^ - The DwarfDial is a magical trinket, like a compass, that points unerringly towards dwarven artifacts and ruins, so long as the dial is set correctly: artifact, dwelling place, monument. Setting the dial is a manipulate object, but actually using the stone is an Action. It does not indicate distance. Ability Score Increase: +2 to Con, +1 to Wisdom (Hill dwarf) Size and Type: medium humanoid Speed: Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor. Darkvision: Accustomed to life underground, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray. Dwarven Resilience: You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage. Dwarven Combat Training: You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, light hammer, and warhammer. Tool Proficiency: You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice Stonecunning: Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus. Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarvish. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak. Dwarven Toughness: Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level. Inheritance: Choose or randomly determine your inheritance (The DwarfDial, a trinket) from among the possibilities in the table below. Work with your DM to come up with details: Why is your inheritance so important (a Spector family heirloom, left to him by Lord Spector at the time of his death), and what is its full story (it was used by Lord Spector as a youth...)? You might prefer for the DM to invent these details as part of the game, allowing you to learn more about your inheritance as your character does. The DM is free to use your inheritance as a story hook, sending you on quests to learn more about its history or true nature, or confronting you with foes who want to claim it for themselves or prevent you from learning what you seek. The DM also determines the properties of your inheritance and how they figure into the item's history and importance. For instance, the object might be a minor magic item (I'm treating it kinda like a PF Wayfinder, but for dwarven relics/ruins only), or one that begins with a modest ability and increases in potency with the passage of time. Or, the true nature of your inheritance might not be apparent at first and is revealed only when certain conditions are met. When you begin your adventuring career, you can decide whether to tell your companions about your inheritance right away. Rather than attracting attention to yourself, you might want to keep your inheritance a secret until you learn more about what it means to you and what it can do for you. Personality Trait: If someone is in trouble, I'm always willing to lend help. Ideal: Sincerity - There's no good in pretending to be something I'm not. Bond: I protect those who cannot protect themselves. Flaw: I have a weakness for the vices of the city, especially gambling. Favored Enemy Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy. Choose a type of favored enemy: aberrations, beasts, celestials, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, giants, monstrosities, oozes, plants, or undead. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid (such as gnolls and orcs) as favored enemies. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on Intelligence checks to recall information about them. When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies (Undercommon), if they speak one at all. You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level. As you gain levels, your choices should reflect the types of monsters you have encountered on your adventures. Natural Explorer Also at 1st level, you are particularly familiar with one type of natural environment and are adept at traveling and surviving in such regions. Choose one type of favored terrain: arctic, coast, desert, forest, grassland, mountain, swamp, or the Underdark. When you make an Intelligence or Wisdom check related to your favored terrain, your proficiency bonus is doubled if you are using a skill that you’re proficient in. While traveling for an hour or more in your favored terrain, you gain the following benefits: Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel. Your group can’t become lost except by magical means. Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger. If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace. When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would. While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area. You choose additional favored terrain types at 6th and 10th level. StoryHearsk is a distant cousin of Lord Spector, and much younger by more than two generations. At barely eighty, Hearsk is nearly a juvenile among his own folk, and unknown in their innermost circles. His appointment in Lord Spector's will as successor to Arvel's role as a relic-finder of the dwarven people was a surprise to everyone, not least of which was Hearsk himself. These days, Hears awaits word from the High King on his approval to continue Arvel's final unfulfilled quest: the recovery of axes dear to the dwarven race, and scattered to the four corners of the world. He already has his sage of record, Luxor, an archeologist who specializes in dwarven lore and ruins.

Luxor, Wizard - Abjurer 1 (Sapphire Dragonborn) Archeologist Strength 12 +1 Dexterity 16 +3 Constitution 15 +2 Intelligence* 18 +4 Wisdom* 15 +2 Charisma 15 +2 * - Proficient Languages: Common, Draconic, Dwarven Prof Bns: +2 Spd: 30 AC: HP: 8 Melee Attk: +3/+1 Ranged Attk: +5/+3 Spell Attk: +6/+4 Initiative: +3 Saves: Wis, Int Armor: None Weapons: Daggers, Darts, Slings, Quarterstaffs, Light X-bows Tools: Cartographer's Tools Skills: History, Survival, Arcana, Investigation Gear: Quarterstaff, Arcane Focus (Dwarven Worry-stone from first dig; 1,200 years old), scholar's pack, spellbook, wooden case containing a map to a ruin or dungeon, a bullseye lantern (Signature Item; wrought of cold iron and shaped like the eye of a dragon, dwarf-crafted), a miner's pick, a set of traveler's clothes, a shovel, a two person tent, a trinket recovered from a dig site (See Arcane Focus), and a pouch containing 25 gp Ability Score Increase: Increased three by +1 (Int, Wis, Cha) Size and Type: medium humanoid Gem Ancestry: Choose one type of dragon from the Gem Ancestry (Sapphire). Breath Weapon: When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with an exhalation of magical energy in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus). On a failed save, the creature takes 1d10 damage of the type associated with your Gem Ancestry. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage. This damage increases by 1d10 when you reach 5th level (2d10), 11th level (3d10), and 17th level (4d10). You can use your Breath Weapon a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Draconic Resistance: You have resistance to the damage type associated with your Gem Ancestry (thunder). Psionic Mind: You can telepathically speak to any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don’t need to share a language with the creature, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. Gem Flight: Starting at 5th level, you can use a bonus action to manifest spectral wings on your body. These wings last for 1 minute. For the duration, you gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed and can hover. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Language(s): You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language (Draconic) that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. Historical Knowledge When you enter a ruin or dungeon, you can correctly ascertain its original purpose and determine its builders, whether those were dwarves, elves, humans, yuan-ti, or some other known race. In addition, you can determine the monetary value of art objects more than a century old. Personality Trait: I'm happier in a dusty old tomb than I am in the centers of civilization. Ideals: Dignity - The dead and their belongings deserve to be treated with respect. Bond: I won't sell an art object or other treasure that has historical significance or is one of a kind. Flaw: When given the choice to go either left or right, I always go left (bc Fudge the right!) Spellcasting As a student of arcane magic, you have a spellbook containing spells that show the first glimmerings of your true power. Cantrips At 1st level, you know three cantrips of your choice from the wizard spell list. You learn additional wizard cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Wizard table. Spellbook At 1st level, you have a spellbook containing six 1st-level wizard spells of your choice. Your spellbook is the repository of the wizard spells you know, except your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind. The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizard's chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library. Copying a Spell into the Book. When you find a wizard spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell level you can prepare and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying a spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation. For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells. Replacing the Book. You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book-for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell. If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe place. The Book's Appearance. Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous spellbook in a mishap. Preparing and Casting Spells The Wizard table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your wizard spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell's level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list of wizard spells that are available for you to cast. To do so, choose a number of wizard spells from your spellbook equal to your Intelligence modifier + your wizard level (minimum of one spell). The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you're a 3rd-level wizard, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination, chosen from your spellbook. If you prepare the 1st-level spell magic missile, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn't remove it from your list of prepared spells. You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest. Preparing a new list of wizard spells requires time spent studying your spellbook and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spell: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list. Spellcasting Ability Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your wizard spells, since you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one. Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier Ritual Casting You can cast a wizard spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you have the spell in your spellbook. You don't need to have the spell prepared. Spellcasting Focus You can use an arcane focus as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells. Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher Each time you gain a wizard level, you can add two wizard spells of your choice to your spellbook. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Wizard table. On your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbook. Arcane Recovery You have learned to regain some of your magical energy by studying your spellbook. Once per day when you finish a short rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your wizard level (rounded up), and none of the slots can be 6th level or higher. For example, if you're a 4th-level wizard, you can recover up to two levels worth of spell slots. You can recover either a 2nd-level spell slot or two 1st-level spell slots. Spells (3; 2/) 0) Acid Splash, Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost 1) Mage Armor, Shield, Protection from Evil and Good, Detect Magic, Comprehend Languages, Witchbolt StoryLuxor has studied dwarven archeology for some time. He applied for, and was approved to, work with Lord Spector's dig team in Cordoba. However, the death of the famed nobleman, and the dissolution of his estate, left Luxor's future in limbo for months. The appointment of Spector's successor, Hearsk, gave the dragonborn a new focus for his plans and soon the sapphire dragonborn had enlisted himself as the sage of record for Hearsk's first expedition.

roll Dragonborn (Sapphire) Wizard - Abjurer signature=hooded lantern (his bullseye)

roll Dwarven Ranger - Hunter

Akunda Ceyed was the victim of a raid on his people when he was but a pup himself. He barely recalled his time 'under the stars' and could not have lived more than a year on the broad plains of the east. He was too young for the lion priest that took him in to allow his fellows to slaughter the 'child'. Akunda spent several years with the priest, who's name he refused to divulge until the day he died. He would only note. "One day, those adventurers decided they'd had enough, and they retired, bought a bar in Cordoba, and brought me to the big city. Lived here every day since." By the time he was an adolescent gnoll, Akunda was well-known in the Dockside neighborhood now known as GnollMarket. At the time, it was a variety of sea-faring folk, from fishers who worked the bay daily to random sailors drifting through from port to port and crew to crew. Travelers found a variety of taverns and flophouses amidst small businesses relevant to the foot traffic passing by: sea folk and travelers. When Akunda was barely a dozen winters old, the lion priest died and Akunda was soon forced from his life working in the bar and sleeping in his 'father's' home. Now on the streets, the once-friendly neighborhood he'd known quickly turned on him, showing the true colors of many he'd called friend. Akunda was homeless, jobless, penniless and starving. He was desperate. Enter a gnoll hoodlum and 'manservant' to a seedy pair of siblings from Ispep: Lükmuh No-Hands. The disfigured gnoll sported a pair of rough hooks where his hands should have been. Rust-red iron caps fused to the swollen wrists allowed attachments to be changed, but Lükmuh had only the hooks, so those were what he wore. His masters, Inyì and Rünoc Herpedeoc were ethnic Ispepans who controlled their bar, and a thriving market in narcotics, along with some prostitution. Lükmuh served as their personal servant and the bartender of the establishment. Lükmuh took the young flind under his protection, such as it was, and kept Akunda from starving on the streets. No-Hands regaled the younger gnoll with tales of his own wild youth ass a free gnoll. Those days ended when he was badly wounded in a raid and left for dead by his own kind. The Ispepan merchants, who had been targets of the raid for slaves to market in Pidduppi, instead had a surgeon in their group save Lükmuh's life, at the cost of his hands. He quickly found himself sold into slavery himself and after a short time in Ispep, he, and his new owners, set sail for Cordoba, where they took up shop in their bar. Akunda came to be used as a thug and leg breaker soon enough. The Ispepans assumed he was no smarter than the animal he appeared to be, and left him to little more than muscle work. But Akunda was smart. He paid attention to how the rackets worked, who was important, and who was not. In the end, he found that, other than some dubious connections to Ispepan gangsters supplying the narcotics, the twins had little value to their own organization. Akunda began making a plan. First, Akunda asserted himself as the dominant muscle in the organization. Supplanting the twins' bodyguard, a Gornrog killer and well-known 'tough guy', was easy enough. Akunda embarrassed the man in front of the twins, forcing him to react. Akunda was wily. He'd waited until the man had already been hurt, engaging enemies on the street. A 'failure' to defend the twins, when the man had returned from the affair, prompted the fight. Akunda had kept another threat hidden. Lükmuh was one of a few gnolls in Dockside, and the gnolls were a small faction of monstrous races scattered across the Dockside underworld. Akunda had promised them a role in 'his' organization, if only they would help him seize one. The 'attack on the twins' was really an attack on the Gornrog, 'Dry Rot' Detrick. His wound was poisoned, a slow-acting venom. Akunda's blades supplied a catalyst that lurched the venom already in Dry Rot's blood into action. Akunda suffered a nasty swipe from Dry Rot, and gave back a daring and painful jab to Dry Rot's inner upper arm. He let the venom play out and within seconds Dry Rot was screaming, then dying, then gone. And Akunda was now in charge of the twins' security. Over the next three months, Akunda deciphered how to do what little the twins did, to meet and understand the relationship with outsiders and foreigners that brought the twins' value to their organization. When he knew who to talk to, where to meet, and what to pay, he made his move. Increasingly popular among the twins' men, and increasingly working to bring other gnolls, and a few monsters, under his influence, Akunda had developed a small but dangerous following. On a rainy night in late summer, Inyì and Rüpoc went to a planned 'meeting' with a potential new wholesale client. They entered a boathouse and were never seen again. Most believe Akunda's assassins met them, chummed them into the bay, and disappeared into the night. With the twins now out of the way, Akunda set up 'monster' shop. Gnolls working for other organizations suddenly jumped ship, and those that were slaves had their services purchased. In a matter of six months, half of Akunda's network were gnolls. Former employees, driven out by the 'monsters', tried to retaliate. Akunda anticipated their ambush, sent undercover Blue legs in instead, and set off a destructive chain of events that got several Blue Legs killed. Most of Akunda's disgruntled ex-employees were killed along with them, and all the action fell on the Blue Legs themselves. Having made a name for himself and secured the reputation of his new organization, the 'dog patch' blossomed. The gnolls were careful to first only push prostitution, increasing the stable of workers on their roster from a handful to several dozen. They were beginning to replace narcotics as Akunda's primary revenue. Which was a good thing, because communications with his suppliers had broken down. Unable to produce the twins for a meeting, and failing to do so after several requests by the Ispepan faction, resulted in the severing of Akunda's relationship with the supplier. If Akunda wanted to stay in business, he needed to replace the lost, fairly sizeable, income of drug dealing. Akunda fell on a different strategy to survive. Rather than replace his supplier, he decided he would simply take what others were being supplied, hurting his competition and helping himself at the same time. Akunda arranged for a series of daring raids on his local competitors, attacking them with his gnoll-and-monster forces and stealing their product before hitting the streets to liquidate it quickly. Even if the former owners of the drugs were able to get an attack together quickly, their supply was usually gone already, peddled for quick and cheap coin. Akunda's fame grew. The flind wasn't trying to fight his way to the top, though. He knew better. Akunda offered a truce to anyone who would pay his tax. Acknowledge his rule, take the lighter, and more regular, tax, and Akunda would stop the violence. Most agreed. Those who did not, his men tore to pieces. Literally. The bloodshed was enough to draw the full attention of the Watch, but the damage had already been done. Sudden ambushes by gnolls who used claws and teeth to tear apart their enemies before scattering could not be ignored. Akunda's forces were dangerous, and growing. Even as he tore down his enemies, other gangs began to pay his tax unasked, as tribute. Akunda was becoming a Boss, and the underworld could see it. His next move cemented him as one. With the threat of multiple difficult and deadly arrests before them, and Akunda's war chests full, with troops ready to stay at war, the BLM interceded in the police investigation. Akunda was accosted by two Inspectors in his bar, along with an 'exploratory patrol' that 'investigated suspicious activity' for the Inspectors. The flind didn't take the bait. He accepted the affront, and replied with a request to meet, to 'make amends'. Akunda's meeting with the BLM resulted in an agreement that gave Akunda real power. He would exert the 'physical' influence the BLM needed in Dockside Underworld affairs, and Akunda's men would be left alone to pursue their activities. Selling their protection, other gangs paid the gnolls to shelter their business, rather than face law enforcement. And the BLM partnered with Akunda to give him what he still lacked: a narcotics supplier. The established BLM network soon fed into Akunda's and the gnoll, and his BLM allies, began raking in the coin. The Zanathar Guild, barely established itself as a major, made some attempts to woo back the core monster recruits that Akunda had seduced to his gang. They had a little success, but this inability to break the flind's loyalty lock on his lieutenants kept their organization effectively second-tier in their own territory. Akunda was never accepted as a major, but perhaps he should have been. The gnoll spent all his profits on real estate. He owned everything from major buildings to empty warehouses to residential lots. And Akunda was always building. Gnoll Market was a result of buying up most of his former neighborhood, then flattening and contouring it and building the three towers of Gnoll Market itself. He then began what no one had expected. Early on, Akunda had sent Lükmuh away, on an errand that disappeared the elder gnoll from Cordoba for some months. He had set sail for the east, first taking ship to Pidduppi, then crossing the north of that country on foot to the badlands between northern Hammaddi and northern Pidduppi. There, on the plains, he began to 'hunt' gnolls. For most of the next nine months, Lükmuh tracked down and recruited gnolls to return with him to Cordoba. When he did so, it was with more than a hundred other gnolls. their yipping, yapping arrival bolstered Akunda's small army of thugs, offset the losses he'd had in retention to the Zanathars, and Akunda ensconced them in his newly renovated GnollMarket property. These powerful allies kept the BLM from ever feeling comfortable making a major move against Akunda. The flind worked hard to make sure they didn't have a good reason to, either. Akunda and his gnolls did damage on behalf of the BLM in the underworld, they worked as the major dealer for the BLM and they worked to keep a solid reputation on their own amongst the underworld. This long term approach gave Akunda surprising allies that allowed him to escape entrapment schemes by enemies, frenemies, and actual law enforcement. Akunda was respected, and most gangs under his control or influence actually preferred his relatively hands-off leadership. More than a decade after his meteoric rise to power, Akunda's luck began to run foul. He worked with someone in government on a scheme to collect valuable items from an assortment of targets, stealing locked boxes and using proxies for most of the work. Those proxies, however, would eventually betray Akunda, fleeing with whatever they had gleaned from the boxes. His employer, whomever this was, angrily set about putting legal issues before Akunda. The flind scrambled to keep barristers between him and sudden investigations across several of his business relationships. After several months of active investigations and working to get his allies, the BLM, to end them, Akunda found a way to get out of his troubles: Gate Street. Recent troubles for the largest and one of the oldest gangs in Cordoba, increasing tensions with the BLM, left the flind an opportunity to get out of his troubles. Gate Street members of middling rank had been quarreling with the emerging BLM. The result was a conflict that both gave rise to the Twine Street Board of Review as well as placed Gate Street on a collision course with history. In a bold move, Captain Bernard McNuttely himself conducted a series of raids on Gate Street businesses, arresting more than two thirds of the ruling council of the gang in a single day, locking up respected underworld figures on the flimsiest of excuses. With all of the underworld waiting to see how this gambit would play out for the BLM, Akunda's trouble-making proxies returned from afar, and brought with them a treasure: the Eye of Eregork, a huge emerald. Akunda and his men were made aware of the return and greeted them at the docks, just after debarking. Because of their blunder, Akunda had spent months fending off enemies and even his own one-time partners, the BLM. He respected the moxie of the one-time employees, so he let them keep the Eye, but he managed to 'broker a deal' for them to sell it, and took a hefty cut for his 'services'. As recompense, Akunda incorporated these adventurous toughs into his plan. No one knows for certain if Akunda himself directed the plan, nor is anyone certain of the identities of the perpetrators. Their identities were unknown, but being actively investigated, when they had slipped out of town for months. After nearly a year, their return was short and they once again departed the city. What is known is that, stemming from the sale of the Eye to an unspecified source, Akunda's mercenaries purchased powerful magics and weapons and used their relative anonymity in the underworld to gain access to BLM secrets, including the keys of two prison guards for the Duke. With keys and secrets, the mercenaries broke into the Duke's prison, freed all members of Gate Street and escaped the City. None of them were ever arrested or identified, and three of the five members of Gate Street who participated in the escape remained hidden until their charges had been cleared. Two never returned to leadership in the gang and disappeared into retirement. It is the only successful escape from the Duke's prison in more than a two thousand years of continuous use. In one fell blow, Akunda had made himself a powerful new ally, repaid the partner who had betrayed him, reaped vengeance on the criminals who had created his problems, and taken in quite a healthy reward for his efforts, all while ending all focus on him and the investigations into his businesses. While a prison burned, Watch across the city scrambled impotently, once-proud gangsters bowed their heads, and previously haughty 'frenemies' glared impotently as the flind counted new riches and relaxed. Akunda never faced a crisis like that, but he certainly came to the attention of the Duke. And that would ultimately end his reign. It would take years, and the rise of the new Seat, a duchess cruel and angry at how Akunda had escaped any justice for his slight to her family's honor. Barely a month after the coronation of the new duchess, a series of raids were undertaken by Ducal forces, supported by the Watch, at all of Akunda's businesses and many of his properties. It was a catastrophe of major importance. Akunda's paranoia and pique, combined with the overwhelming assault of the Duchess' forces nearly destroyed the largest district in the city...

The life, success, and finally the failure of Akunda Ceyed: flind, gangster, 'dog'father of the downtrodden 'dogs of Dockside'....the gnolls of Cordoba

Mendoza's northern border is the western arm of the Wolves Fang Mountains, just south of the arctic circle. These same mountains swing north and west into the arctic as they leave the north-western borders of Mendoza and enter Corbitti. South of the mountains, Mendoza's roads swing westward towards Gaulta, Vestre Fel and the western duchies. Straight south, Cordoba's northern borders abut Mendoza and lead trade down the coast of the Cordoban peninsula to the city and the sea. The capital of Mendoza is Malacioni, a sprawling city of more than two hundred thousand souls abutting the foothills of northeastern Mendoza, far from the borders of the western duchies. Once a wooden city, fires plagued the location four times in the first twelve centuries and when the predecessors of the current ruling family seized power, they began a campaign of replacing the city's wooden structures with stone, quarried from the mountains and brought down from Fretania. The bulk of Macioni is now stone buildings, including all government structures, from a small tax office to the Duchess' palace itself. The palace, known as Rimeshadows, sits on a hill overlooking the city around it. Originally the site of a fort-turned castle, the Rimeshadows sits in the northeastern corner of the city and overlooks the Mountain Road to Fretania...

In Game Terms, the Gornrog barbarians were in a space ship when they exited a wormhole near this planet, which is how they traveled. Upon arrival in this galaxy they immediately detected, then endured a temporal-spatial anomaly that disabled their ship and started it into what would become a crash. The Xashi Cataclysm, traveling as a wave backwards in both space and time, slammed into their wormhole-hopping ship's drive and blew it right to smithereens. The ship careened through space until gravity grabbed it and slammed it into the ground here. This allowed for most of the people aboard to safely evacuate, because there was time to organize, but the ship itself was lost. The Great Canyon is evidence of its impact and crash and detonation. The elves record this bright light and disturbance in their earliest annals, spurring their first colonial wanderings deep into the mainland. The last Gornrog scout ship actually found the elven isle, and was circling, looking to figure out if it was still inhabited, by whom, etc, when the elves shot him down. Its a big secret that humans ever walked on the elven isle, and the WitchQueen Carmen unearthed this state secret during her own investigations of her clandestine organization. It was very X-Files. Most of the Gornrog landed in evacuation pods in the eastern Hollow Hills, right at the edge of the plains themselves. They wizard cabal that rules there now actually use the assembled pods as the main structure of their dwelling. Most outsiders do not realize it is not one single structure, but many individual ones, strung together and engineered into a base camp. Encounters with goblins and orcs kept them from advancing west into the mountains and forests and deeper into the hills. The swamps of Ispep and the badlands and rough desert of northern Pidduppi kept them traveling the plains for survival. They were driven from their crash site by repeated attacks from orc raiders and goblin thieving/harassment. Over twelve millennia later, they no longer know their own origins, but those wizards do, ironically. The Gornrog are modeled after a variety of different 'barbarian' tropes. The Golden Grass are Mongol horsemen, the Everstars are germanic-style berserkers. The Wind Watchers are like plains indigenous North American tribes (the Sioux, for example). The Great Pride are kinda like the Zulu. The Rim-walkers are Australian Aboriginals. They are, as variant humans, 'blessed' with a +2 to Str and a +1 to Con. They do not add +2 to any ability score, like other humans. They can also qualify for a feat that allows them to use over-sized weapons of the melee variety without penalty. Gornrogs roll with Advantage when making Death Saves.

Dempsey followed the relayed directions from Inez to Strom to the driver himself. He slid the carriage into a slot along the street across from the dressmaker's storefront. Findelathra's Finery sat prominently at the top of The Grapeway, only three blocks from the Embassy District gates. Taking up three full storefronts, the massive business was mostly window space, featuring spectacular examples of the merchant's wares. A steady stream of day-dreaming window-gawkers walked back and forth along the length. Strom and Rob each took a flanking position on the carriage and walked out into oncoming traffic blithely, halting the flow and providing a window for the ladies to cross easily. The men followed a few paces behind, backs straight and hands at their sides. Their scuffed boots and worn armor still looked mightily out of place and they seemed comfortable staying outside on the street rather than traipsing through a dress shop. Inside, pink dominated the eye. The walls were draped in it, in varying shades and swathes. Most shelving along the walls was covered in the color in various materials. A prominent corner of the store contained a literal rainbow of other colors, from red to indigo; examples of the options and the materials available. Three girls a few winters younger than Penny, escorted by an older woman and a much older dame were speaking with two half-elven women wearing a Findie's Sash over their outfits. Inez knew Fifi was familiar with procedure, but she explained for Geneva, Penny and Mathhilda's benefit. "So, look for someone fashionably dressed, wearing one of those red and white 'Findie's' sashes. Those are the store reps. They'll help us." Seeing a handbell on a nearby stand, Fifi took a step closer and rang the bell lightly before returning it to the stand. All of the women in the other group looked up and one of the be-sashed women raised a hand in acknowledgement before returning to speaking with the young girls. She scribbled on a slate board and handed one from a stack she carried to each of the young girls. Swanning out of the back of the store came a tall half-elf woman of Lai-nu heritage. Though she herself was already almost six feet tall, she piled on an additional two feet of hair-do, a waterfall of glossy black locks braided and combed and pinned in a tower of some weight. She wore a dress in gold and green silks, fanning out behind her in a luxurious train nearly four feet long itself. It was pinned and draped around her artfully and with purpose. She was gorgeous. "Your Grace, My lady Inez! Most welcome is your party today! Tell me, no! Let me guess... these are friends? Or is this for business only?" Findie glanced at Mathhilda, holding herself to Geneva's side and carrying her lady's purse-and-train, with a big smile. Squatting down closer to eye level with 'Tilda, Finde said, "I'm gonna dress you in daisies, and it'll be airy, and flowy, and with a bow... there!" Findie's hand shot out to Tild'as rib in a tickle the fascinated girl had not anticipated. She squealed a laugh as Findie relinquished and rose back to standing, all smiles. The half elf woman paused and stared at Geneva and Penny, and a bit at Tilda, too. She quirked her mouth up and leaned back, posing. Her eyes roamed across both women before her for some time. While she was quiet, a pair of young girls in sashes came from where Findie had come from, carrying a low table and a tray of drinks. They set the table with the tray and directed the group to each take a glass of what appeared to be sparkling wine before retreating. Findie finally spoke. "Those boots under the dress are fine work. That's real Parcian reed-stitching there. I'd say it was Generia, or maybe one of her younger cousins. They're too worn to be her grandson's. And there's few enough I know who wear boots that well-made outside of cavalry officers and boot fetishists. And Gaultans. That would make you 'Neva?" She let Geneva affirm her guess and Findie turned on Penny. "Slight frame, hell-hued, 'cared-for' seamstress-work, spectacles and barely big girl yet. Can't be else but young Penny." Findie said something in a language Penny recognized with a start, though the others understood not a word of their exchange. Findie explained herself. "I've magics for speaking the native tongue of most anyone. Penny here prefers her mother-tongue still for easiest communication, so I switched there. She's too shy for that pretty! We can't keep hiding the pretty, so we'll have to lose that shy! Now, what can Findie do for you today, ladies?" OoCFindie recognizes the work of the boot-maker Generia of Parciae, the 'capital' of Gaulta. Generia is famous in Gaulta as the finest bootmaker there. Few people know about Generia unless they happen to be a boot fanatic, a horseman or, a Gaultan. Hell-hued is a polite covers-all reference to tielfings and their various colors of skin. Both Fifi and Inez have talked about their friends with Findie before. She recognizes them from stories told to her about 'the confident Gaultan noble lady' and 'the tiefling scholar/young girl'. Both Fifi and Inez alone are important enough to get the owner's full attention and special service. Both together with friends? Break out the champagne...

The Gornrog people are spread across the vast plains of their namesake grasslands, a barbarian people, mostly nomadic, following vast herds and travelling with the seasons. They are a tall, broad people, towering over most humans they encounter, such as the native Lisezians and Pidduppi-Hammaddi peoples, as well as the various folk of Lai-Not. The Average Gornrog stands at nearly 7' tall for males and females only slightly shorter at 6'6". They are muscular and densely-packed muscle lends them power beyond even what their larger size and mass would equal. The Gornrog people feature hair of every natural shade from red-head to blonde to brunette. They are a universally pale-skinned people but growing up in the open soon darkens their natural coloring to the burnished tan more often associated with them. Men grow prodigious, nearly dwarven levels of body hair, though many shave their hair and extremities. Both women and men feature intricate braiding of head hair, and men of facial hair. Now found in cities and towns across the continent and still the dominant folk of their namesake plains, the Gornrog people are non-native humans who hail from an ancient and generally unknown event in the history of the world. One tied to the deepest levels of elven secrecy and the natality of the WitchQueen Carmen. Over thousands of years they have fallen far from their origins. Originally, the Gornrog were a star-faring race, traveling across the universe via wormholes. While traveling near this particular planet, an anomaly in space-time disabled their craft and forced them into a crash-landing. The survivors found themselves in the north-center of a strange continent on a stranger planet. Though scout craft were sent out to divine where they were and what their options might be, a bare handful returned, and none without damage. Native fauna, aerial winged lizards, both smaller versions with stinging tails, and larger ones that blasted electricity and fire from their mouths, like mythical beasts, attacked several of the scout craft. Others encountered far stranger things. Most never reported anything, simply disappearing. The last scout ship disappeared shortly after identifying what it considered humanoid dwellings amongst trees on a large island far south and east of the crash site. The scout went back for a second pass, reported confirmed humanoid sightings, and then went silent forever. Over the first few centuries, plagues and a general lack of knowledge of their new world decimated the population. Only the hardiest survived. As technology broke down, the original command structure collapsed until the hunter-gatherer specialists of the group claimed higher authority, since it was they that provided most for the group, kept it safe, and fed. Tribal leadership evolved as the humanoids studiously avoided encounters with other humanoids. Early oral histories of the Gornrog speak of being born from the heavens as falling stars that became men and women when they crashed to earth on the Gornrog plains. They tell a tale that is fraught with attacks from beasts, and raving savages, and the very land itself. Scholars point to these early tales as evidence of the Gornrog being blocked from westward expansion by first green, then grey savages which likely were early goblin and orc tribes. The way south and west was blocked by swamps and badlands ending in high desert, indicating the Ispepan swamps and bogs and what is modern-day northern Pidduppi. All the grasslands were free of other humanoids, and it was here the Gornrog scattered into small hunter-gatherer tribal groups that would eventually come to encompass the great tribal masses that now dominated the plains, in small and large groupings. The only center of permanent encampment lay along the rim of the great canyon splitting the plains in eastern and western sides. There, all tribes are welcome. The Gornrog no longer recall their space-faring past, more than ten millennia behind them. They have forged a new identity here, as the largest humans, with great strength and endurance, a distinct difficulty in killing them. And they still evince a fear and distrust of magics, particularly arcane magics. Among their own, most spellcasters are earth-priests and naturists, with the majority of others being priests of beast cults. Rarely, sorcerers grow to prominence, but these are usually outcasts from their communities, cultural pariahs. This distrust of arcane magics is generally laid at the feet of the wizard-kings who ruled Pidduppi before Amer's jihad united into an empire. The Gornrog became popular slaves for the wizards, and many slaving expeditions visited the plains, kidnapping the youth and capturing the adults. Eventually, Gornrog bodyguards were common among the wizards. When the jihad freed them, most died in defense of their masters, and Pidduppi's continued slaving has often found subjects on the plains to the north. There is little love between the Pidduppi and Gornrogs. The most prominent tribes among the Gornrog are The Great Pride, lion-cult worshippers and the largest tribe; the Golden Grass Lords, great horsemen of the eastern plains, near the far side of the Dragonwall; Wind-watchers, the farthest-roaming tribe; the Rim-walkers, a smaller tribe but very spiritual, who dwell only along the rim of the canyon; and the Everstars, red-and blonde-bearded reavers and ravers from the far northwestern plains, near the Hollow-Hills and the artic circle south of the Wolves Teeth Mountains.

The Origins of the Gornrog People

Dogma of the Cat Cat is a capricious deity, simultaneously male and female, alive and a spirit, in the real world and in the dream. Cat is dedicated to self determination. He will do what he will do. Her affections are surprising and genuine; she does not suffer cruelty but he does like to play with its prey. Servants of the Cat are as varied as cats themselves. Tenets: Curiosity is natural; investigate anything. But, curiosity kills. Be wary and ready to jump away. While you are not responsible for other kittens, to guide them is honorable. Each one should teach one, to pass on what is known. Suffer no indignity in silence. Tell your story, and loudly. With your enemies, be fierce and show no mercy; with your prey, leave room for play, but control the game. The Dream is Cat's demesne. All cats are welcome, all must defend it when threatened. You are a sovereign. Act like one.

What the Duke is Committing: 650 soldiers, almost all sappers and rangers w/tunnel experience (Cordoba is very mountainous, so lots of caves) 25 Knights, and their personal cohorts totaling another 300 or so men, about half of which are fighting men and the other half are specialists/personal servants Command Team of about 3 dozen officers, led by a Colonel, the 3rd in Command of the army itself and his foremost field officer, Nigel of Lothgraeham (Fretania) 1,000,000 sp annually and 10 months to three years of occupation. A small fortress will be erected as a permanent bastion of the Duke's power and a seat of his own forces, should he need to marshal troops there. A permanent garrison of approximately 250 is planned. Smaller than Thabo's fortress, but a firm position. What the Zanithars field: approximately 900-1,200 goblins, equivalent to levies and the least trained troops (most of these are more loyal to Cher than Boris) a company (150) of hardened hobgoblin soldiers (most, but not all, are loyal to Boris and Sanjeet; 1 in 5 are more loyal to Cher) 2 platoons (60) of bugbear scout-rangers (these guys mostly follow Sanjeet; about a dozen total follow Cher and another 1/2 dozen are closer to Boris specifically) a coterie of 2 dozen doppelganger spies/assassins (under Kostkoh's leadership; outwardly there are only about a half dozen, but most are masquerading as hobgoblins or bugbears, spying on these factions and both Boris and Sanjeet) 5 beast handlers and their beasts (amphiptere x3, these are mini-wyverns; 1 bukavac, giant horned frog w/thunder-croak/gore/bite/claws/sticky-tongue; carrion beetlex2; dogmole juggernaut x2; 1 gbahali, huge 'chameleon' crocodile variant adapted to the Underdark; serpopard x2, serpent-leopards) (beast handlers are loyal to their beasts first, themselves second and then the Zanithars) That slave trade angle with the Illithid might work. That makes sense to them. Enforcing taxes might be hard, but if Thabo concedes some things to the illithid, he might be able to use them as an 'example' of how to take in taxation. They pay without a fuss, and help others accept this is a new norm, and Thabo gives them something like the first pick of slaves idea, or better still, give them the entire prison dump for their own feeding/sale. It's a solid lever to use to get Fl'Hur'h on board and to separate from Boris and the Zanithars. He could also use them against Fl'Hur'h: give them to his rivals within the illithid community to bolster them against Fl'Hur'h, endangering his mastery over the slave trade. Cher can help with a goblin labor recruitment. It's also a good lever to use to push her away from the Zanithars. Contracts with Thabo to use her goblin labor effectively pays her. Giving Cher access to Zheng drugs to push, Zheng guards to take her drugs to other Underdark communities, and Zheng coin to keep her goblins employed and kicking up to her is an easy recruitment for Thabo or Bumble. And, built-in labor leader... Cher can also help with getting a Zheng (hob)goblin squad. She can turn him on to the addicts who are reliant on her or who work for her already, as well as who is easiest to turn among those at Skullrock. Same with bugbears. She knows a few he could pull in, and a few who already work for her/are addicts relying on her. Challenging and beating down that lizardman guy is a definite way to make a name for Thabo as a fierce warrior in his own right. Thabo is like 13 levels higher than him, so it's an easy beat down. If he chooses to make it public, like all him out in the gladiator pit, well, that's just free advertising. He can't stay in LowTide and ignore the public challenge, either. If Thabo is magnanimous in a public victory, there's another recruitment opportunity for him to establish some leadership in LowTide beholden to him.