Daydream's Dragon Hoard of Random Ideas

[Avaday Daydream]

Watch this space.

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Idea 1: What if kobolds were pieces of dragons?
D&D/Pathfinder worldbuilding concept.

Dragons steal gold and jewels, you know, from men and elves and dwarves, wherever they can find them; and they guard their plunder as long as they live (which is practically forever, unless they are killed), and never enjoy a brass ring of it. Indeed they hardly know a good bit of work from a bad, though they usually have a good notion of the current market value; and they can't make a thing for themselves, not even mend a little loose scale of their armour. -The Hobbit

Every kobold knows that their slight frame belies true, mighty draconic power. They are ingenious crafters and devoted allies within their warrens. -Kobold Ancestry, Pathfinder 2e.

Something took hold of Cia and forced the light from her heart. I'm that light. I'm what was driven out of her. -Lana, Hyrule Warriors.

It's a common trope for kobolds to hold themselves up as being connected to, even descendants of, dragonkind. Well, what if they were dragons, in a sense?
Suppose the following premise; when a dragon is changed by powerful magic, such that their very nature is altered, whatever part of their soul that's warped or destroyed in the process doesn't vanish, but escapes into the ether and is reborn as a kobold.

With this premise, mythologically, dragons may have held vast empires in the past (Arkhosia, anyone?), forging vast clans and almighty magical artifacts. But they then came under a divine curse, which stripped them of their gifts of civilization and community, forcing them to live as solitary beasts. The fragments of those dragons souls' that were stripped away were eventually reborn as kobolds, far weaker than their progenitors, but forming great communal warrens and possessing a keen instinct for craftsmanship.

Continuing the line of thought, you could have a scenario where, after a great celestial dragon and champion of good is captured and corrupted by fiends, their 'light' might be reincarnated into a kobold with an innate talent for holy magic. Or, after a mighty evil dragon or dracolich is utterly destroyed, their soul might shatter and be reborn as many different kobolds, one of whom retains the dragon's evil desires and seeks to sacrifice his 'soulmates' to absorb their soul fragments and return to their true form.

If you took the 'divine curse' idea above, you could even have a kobold Cult of Reunification, a cult seeking to break the ancient curse and re-combine themselves with dragons, seeking to grant whatever draconic patrons they revere the gift of invention once more.

[Avaday Daydream]

Assorted character ideas:

I keep going back and looking at old characters I made, so, I might as well share them here whenever I go look at one. Expect things with horns and scales.

King of Beasts, Typhir: Mutants & Masterminds/God-game

Theomachy
A sacred beast and guardian of nature, who is resurrected every time he is killed. He serves as prey for worthy heroes to hunt, a predator towards those whom would despoil nature, and as food for the poor and impoverished. Wherever his blood is spilled, barren ground becomes fertile soil and flora explodes with life.

Typhir is built for speed, strength, and above all stamina; as well as being a big tanky beast, he possesses healing breath, which he can use to regenerate, heal others, and supercharge animals. In addition, his horns (if sundered) can be used as powerful weapons by other characters, his hide provides immense protection, and his blood can be used to make powerful elixirs.
His desires line up with his duty as a divine being; to hunt, be hunted, and revitalize nature where it's been wounded or left barren. Outside his obligations, he also likes music, tasting gourmet food, studying the mortal perspective on biology and experimenting on life within his lair within Cal-Arbor.

Moonwood Unicorn, Sylvanus: D&D 3.5

Cruinne'ce Comhnard
A unicorn and caretaker of the Moonwood, a mystical forest rife with illusions and phantasms. Possessing a powerful ability to see through illusions, his normal life involved tending to the Moonwood and helping travelers navigate its illusory depths. Recently, he's been approached by a ranger named Artemicion, asking for his help with battling the monsters of the world, those that threaten nature and civilized lands alike.

Sylvanus has an odd mix of abilities; the protective and healing powers of a unicorn, but also extraordinary powers of perception and abilities to see through illusions and deceit, due to having adapted to the Moonwood. His class of choice is Cloistered Cleric leading to a variation of Church Inquisitor, for its unicorn-esque abilities and ability to pierce illusions; if gestalt, he uses Warlock as well for its illusory/anti-illusory invocations.

Bardulf Wilde, Fey-Blessed Werewolf: Mutants & Masterminds/Pathfinder

The Thornkeep Experiment
When Valdus Wilde rescued a trapped fey beast, he was blessed so that his children would have the strength of wolves. When Bardulf (and his siblings Sigmund and Mathilde) were born, he learned that the fey was being literal.
A natural werewolf, a werewolf lord at that, Bardulf is more comfortable in wolf skin than human skin; though he grew up hunting with his father, he never quite developed an attachment to the land, and after a few false starts began developing skills as a blacksmith. Before long, however, his skills and natural durability led to him being recruited as a cohort by adventurers, then as a squire by a paladin named Pelias, who ended up teaching him divine magic and recommending him for the Pathfinder Society.

Bardulf was actually originally built in M&M 3e, but his stats are meant to emulate a dire werewolf lycanthrope ranger. He isn't exactly self-motivated or ambitious; he fell into adventuring somewhat by accident and tends to go along with whoever's holding the proverbial leash or whoever needs help at the time. Left to his own devices, he tends to do canine things like chase sticks or howl (LOUDLY) at the moon.

Watch this space.

Edited April 21 by Avaday Daydream (see edit history)

[Avaday Daydream]

Assorted race ideas:
The same thing as the above, but relating to races I've made for civilization-building or god-games.

Holomons: Animon Story

Mon Toy Tournament
Though this unfortunately never got started, the game planning thread stirred a few ideas.

Turtrees are Torterra-inspired, plant-ish turtles that feed off sunlight and soil/seawater and have berry bushes sprouting on their backs. Turtrees from different environments produce different fruits.

Garglakes are akin to gargoyles or living statues; they like to perch in one place for a long time and water the place with their water breath, until something edible shows up.

Zapybaras are the obligatory electric rodents in every mons game; they generate a magnetic field when they run which can be used to charge batteries.

Lumimoths are big, glowing, adorable poodle moths that soak up sunlight during the day and radiate it out during the night. They're popular companions for navigating dark places.

Jellavas are floating jellies that absorb fire and heat to generate nutrients and grow bigger. They're often nibbled on by other creatures because they're nutritious and taste like cake.
A Jellava that stockpiles a lot of resources can evolve into Jellazer, forming a crystalline shell around itself that resembles a disco ball and lets it fire prismatic light at opponents. If it manages to store even more power, it can further evolve into Sollazer, transforming into a living sun that can nourish other Jellavas and can be used in Holomon fusions.

Zaltreant is a mighty Holomon, an animated tree that sways like a snake and can drain the energy from foes, using it to produce powerful energizing fruits for its allies. Its pre-evolved forms Zaltwig and Zaltrunk aren't too powerful, but Zaltrunk's fruits have potent healing properties and Zaltwig is just nice to have around.

Superplushy is, in-universe, a guest fighter Holomon and the mascot of the Astrobot Dynamics astronautics corporation. An intelligent robot made of high-tech textile fibers, they can re-weave themselves into a wide variety of creatures and tools, which lets them adapt to almost any situation.

Watch this space too.