Campaign "Saviours of the kobold race" [Archive] - Wizards Community

Campaign "Saviours of the kobold race" [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Cifer
06-19-06, 11:19 AM In case any of my players stumbles across this board: Stay out...

Greetings!

I am going to start an all-kobold campaign soon and would appreciate your help.

The background: In the world the players play in, kobolds are threatened by extinction - in fact, they live only because of being of no relevance to just about anyone. They have forgotten large parts their culture, are often illiterate and mostly don't worship Kurtulmak anymore. In this situation, Kurtulmak or one of his unearthly servants ressurect with their almost last power kobolds from ages past. They shall unite the scattered tribes and lead them to the promised lands where the mighty dragons dwell.

The players: The three players that I have at the moment (possibly I can get some more) play an incarnum totemist of a tribe which was formerly charged with protecting the mountain tops, a cleric of Kurtulmak and an artificer. The first shock for them will probably be that they die at the end of the prelude...

The game unfolding:
The first objective for the players will be to collect the scattered tribes which will be finished around the middle of the campaign. When they get them to realize that they are sent by a deity that cares for kobolds most of the tribes will help the pcs in any way they can.
A good part of the game will consist of roleplaying inside the tribe, teaching the kobolds the old ways and why it's better to be below the surface. Also, most of the time the pcs will have a fortified home base - their kobold warren, full with all those nasty traps usual PCs encounter.
As soon as the PCs reach the "promised lands" they will realize that most of the dragons died a long time ago in a great battle and the last few fled to the south. After going there and reaching the last dragons, the pcs will finally have to make war with their ages-old opponent: The gnomish empire...

The houserules:
Because of the rather unusual nature of the game, several houserules take place.
There are no gp: Just about no race will want to trade with kobolds while inside their tribe, the PCs are seen as messiah-like figures - the few things the kobolds can spare will be given to the PCs without payment. Spellcosts and enchantment will be handled by "virtual gp": You don't enchant a sword by slowly disintegrating 4000 gp, but by using up ritual materials worth 4000gp. Thus, one can easily say "You can proceed the corpse of the defeated basilisk in order to get, say, 150 points of ritual materials". The artificer of the group can then use those to build and enchant stuff.
Real Alignment seperated from detected alignment: Since after reading about kobolds in Races of Dragon I had no idea from where the "usually lawful evil" came, I seperate the alignment. The kobolds can have any moral outlook they want (except for the fact that the tribe comes first), but any paladin or mage will detect them as evil, since I don't want to lose one of the reasons of racial hatred.
Knowledge has to be earned: Spells outside the PHB and infusions except in the Eberron CS are not known to PCs, not even those who usually know every spell of a certain level. These spells can be learned from the wallscribblings of abandoned warrens. The same applies to most wondrous items.

The tribes:
With every tribe, the PCs get more and better stuff the kobold tribes can supply them with. They will find the following sets of tribes (working titles, I will later look up some nice draconic ones):

-Scavenger: The tribe the PCs find first. This tribe has lost almost everything. They scavenge for food and retreat any time there is something dangerous nearby. Advanced weaponry means a club with a nail driven through.
-Bandit: The second major tribe. These kobolds make a living by ambushing travelers and merchants and thus have better weapons like... a short bow.
-Miner: The third major tribe. Those are the first kobolds which do the decent thing: Living beneath the earth and mining for precious materials.
-Trainer: The fourth major tribe. They specialize in the mighty cavalry of kobolds: Dire Weasles. Tremble!
-Grafter: The fifth major tribe, living in the valley the kobolds first think of as the promised land. They have made a home in the huge graveyard that is a relic of the time when the dragons were killed. The pcs will have the chance to outfit themselves with cool draconic grafts made from the corpses of the dragons lying there.

There are also some minor tribes which mainly just outline some secrets to the pcs. Some of the tribes may already be extinct and their secrets would only be found in their - still heavily trapped and possibly repopulated - warrens:
-Alchimist&Poisoner: Finally a well-staffed laboratory for the party alchimist! Also, the pcs will now be able to regularly poison their weapons and other stuff they want poisoned. And what would kobolds be without their famous ditherbombs?
-Weaponsmith: Finally good martial weapons for the pcs!
-Sieger: Yep, kobolds who know how to besiege other people's cities.
-Cleric: The real reason the pcs were able to be reincarnated. Kurtulmak has some followers left who are still praying to him.
-Chitin: Kobolds who still know how to use giant beetles to form chitin armour.
-Deepminer: Kobolds who are capable of mining the better ores like adamantium and mithral.

What do you think about the whole concept? Are there parts you would like to see changed? What ideas have you got for single episodes in the kobold struggle for freedom? Would you like to play in this campaign or are there parts you can't stand?
Feather
06-19-06, 12:12 PM Gotta have the artificer make liberal use of Craft Trapmaking, maybe with a magic item that speeds up trap creation. Traps are fun.

I'd personally alter the kobold beginning stats for these racial heroes too, make them less godawful. Have ritual tasks of ancient legend for this trio to complete, fulfilling prophecies. A gnomish BBEG that wants all kobolds dead would be great as well.
Cifer
06-19-06, 12:25 PM Gotta have the artificer make liberal use of Craft Trapmaking, maybe with a magic item that speeds up trap creation. Traps are fun.
As someone in the trapmaking thread said:
"Ok, I'll dig a ten-feet-hole into the ground" - "Ok. Pay the 1800 gp and wait for several weeks" - "Are we talking about the same kind of holes there? The ones you dig with a shovel in three hours of work?"
So yes, traps will definitely be easier than the DMG suggests. How could I not give kobolds the possibility of making traps?

I'd personally alter the kobold beginning stats for these racial heroes too, make them less godawful.
I actually did that, not wanting to have them ressurected when one critical lands on a pc it is not supposed to land on.

A gnomish BBEG that wants all kobolds dead would be great as well.
Sounds interesting... an industrial lord, wanting to claim the mountain regions where the dragons went in order to mine there. Of course, those pesky kobolds who went there a while ago will have to disappear.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Cifer 06-19-06, 11:19 AM	In case any of my players stumbles across this board: Stay out... Greetings! I am going to start an all-kobold campaign soon and would appreciate your help. The background: In the world the players play in, kobolds are threatened by extinction - in fact, they live only because of being of no relevance to just about anyone. They have forgotten large parts their culture, are often illiterate and mostly don't worship Kurtulmak anymore. In this situation, Kurtulmak or one of his unearthly servants ressurect with their almost last power kobolds from ages past. They shall unite the scattered tribes and lead them to the promised lands where the mighty dragons dwell. The players: The three players that I have at the moment (possibly I can get some more) play an incarnum totemist of a tribe which was formerly charged with protecting the mountain tops, a cleric of Kurtulmak and an artificer. The first shock for them will probably be that they die at the end of the prelude... The game unfolding: The first objective for the players will be to collect the scattered tribes which will be finished around the middle of the campaign. When they get them to realize that they are sent by a deity that cares for kobolds most of the tribes will help the pcs in any way they can. A good part of the game will consist of roleplaying inside the tribe, teaching the kobolds the old ways and why it's better to be below the surface. Also, most of the time the pcs will have a fortified home base - their kobold warren, full with all those nasty traps usual PCs encounter. As soon as the PCs reach the "promised lands" they will realize that most of the dragons died a long time ago in a great battle and the last few fled to the south. After going there and reaching the last dragons, the pcs will finally have to make war with their ages-old opponent: The gnomish empire... The houserules: Because of the rather unusual nature of the game, several houserules take place. There are no gp: Just about no race will want to trade with kobolds while inside their tribe, the PCs are seen as messiah-like figures - the few things the kobolds can spare will be given to the PCs without payment. Spellcosts and enchantment will be handled by "virtual gp": You don't enchant a sword by slowly disintegrating 4000 gp, but by using up ritual materials worth 4000gp. Thus, one can easily say "You can proceed the corpse of the defeated basilisk in order to get, say, 150 points of ritual materials". The artificer of the group can then use those to build and enchant stuff. Real Alignment seperated from detected alignment: Since after reading about kobolds in Races of Dragon I had no idea from where the "usually lawful evil" came, I seperate the alignment. The kobolds can have any moral outlook they want (except for the fact that the tribe comes first), but any paladin or mage will detect them as evil, since I don't want to lose one of the reasons of racial hatred. Knowledge has to be earned: Spells outside the PHB and infusions except in the Eberron CS are not known to PCs, not even those who usually know every spell of a certain level. These spells can be learned from the wallscribblings of abandoned warrens. The same applies to most wondrous items. The tribes: With every tribe, the PCs get more and better stuff the kobold tribes can supply them with. They will find the following sets of tribes (working titles, I will later look up some nice draconic ones): -Scavenger: The tribe the PCs find first. This tribe has lost almost everything. They scavenge for food and retreat any time there is something dangerous nearby. Advanced weaponry means a club with a nail driven through. -Bandit: The second major tribe. These kobolds make a living by ambushing travelers and merchants and thus have better weapons like... a short bow. -Miner: The third major tribe. Those are the first kobolds which do the decent thing: Living beneath the earth and mining for precious materials. -Trainer: The fourth major tribe. They specialize in the mighty cavalry of kobolds: Dire Weasles. Tremble! -Grafter: The fifth major tribe, living in the valley the kobolds first think of as the promised land. They have made a home in the huge graveyard that is a relic of the time when the dragons were killed. The pcs will have the chance to outfit themselves with cool draconic grafts made from the corpses of the dragons lying there. There are also some minor tribes which mainly just outline some secrets to the pcs. Some of the tribes may already be extinct and their secrets would only be found in their - still heavily trapped and possibly repopulated - warrens: -Alchimist&Poisoner: Finally a well-staffed laboratory for the party alchimist! Also, the pcs will now be able to regularly poison their weapons and other stuff they want poisoned. And what would kobolds be without their famous ditherbombs? -Weaponsmith: Finally good martial weapons for the pcs! -Sieger: Yep, kobolds who know how to besiege other people's cities. -Cleric: The real reason the pcs were able to be reincarnated. Kurtulmak has some followers left who are still praying to him. -Chitin: Kobolds who still know how to use giant beetles to form chitin armour. -Deepminer: Kobolds who are capable of mining the better ores like adamantium and mithral. What do you think about the whole concept? Are there parts you would like to see changed? What ideas have you got for single episodes in the kobold struggle for freedom? Would you like to play in this campaign or are there parts you can't stand?
Feather 06-19-06, 12:12 PM	Gotta have the artificer make liberal use of Craft Trapmaking, maybe with a magic item that speeds up trap creation. Traps are fun. I'd personally alter the kobold beginning stats for these racial heroes too, make them less godawful. Have ritual tasks of ancient legend for this trio to complete, fulfilling prophecies. A gnomish BBEG that wants all kobolds dead would be great as well.
Cifer 06-19-06, 12:25 PM	Gotta have the artificer make liberal use of Craft Trapmaking, maybe with a magic item that speeds up trap creation. Traps are fun. As someone in the trapmaking thread said: "Ok, I'll dig a ten-feet-hole into the ground" - "Ok. Pay the 1800 gp and wait for several weeks" - "Are we talking about the same kind of holes there? The ones you dig with a shovel in three hours of work?" So yes, traps will definitely be easier than the DMG suggests. How could I not give kobolds the possibility of making traps? I'd personally alter the kobold beginning stats for these racial heroes too, make them less godawful. I actually did that, not wanting to have them ressurected when one critical lands on a pc it is not supposed to land on. A gnomish BBEG that wants all kobolds dead would be great as well. Sounds interesting... an industrial lord, wanting to claim the mountain regions where the dragons went in order to mine there. Of course, those pesky kobolds who went there a while ago will have to disappear.