The first world was a place of lizard folk & troglodyte empires ruled by dragon kings and half dragon tyrants and warlords. The dragons of this world craved power and worship as much as gold. Those days are long gone and now it is an ancient planet with a fading sun, its red light at high noon no brighter than twilight in ours and almost all plant life is extinct and various giant fungi and molds grow in profusion wherever any surface water remains as well as beneath the surface. The surface is covered in the ruins of past civilizations and the air is unbreathable to most races 100' above sea level.
The dragons of the surface lost dominance as the sun faded to illithids who have subjugated the remenants of the surviving races to serve under their lash. Having had time to breed the perfect slaves the illithids have made the gorgs, bred mainly for labor, a mix of goblin races, orcs and a touch of ogre for strength and flavor, as well as the dran, a mix of drow and human bred for intelligence and taste. The gorgs in turn raise kobolds(the other red meat) as a food source and to maintain the otyugh pits and tend the dire rat warrens (the other other red meat). The dran serve as craftsmen, officers and the favored dish of the illithid nobility. The aboleths are allied with the illithids and enjoy their position as historians, advisors and inquisitors since they get a steady diet of suspected rebels, sages, and captured enemies.
Most dragons fled creating gates
to other worlds, some taking loyal minions with them, others leaving their faithful behind to start anew. Once a world was found they sealed the gates behind them, if not suitable to their needs they built aother gate and traveled on. A few black dragons stayed behind and the craftiest made good use of their troglodyte minions and half dragon children, and made pacts with diabolical powers.
The few dwarves left live in small family bands and are constantly on the move, the ruins of their once great underground realms are now the private hunting preserves of illithid nobles. The fungus swamps of the surface are home to various psionic beasts, trolls and other monstrosities.
Long ago the dragon gates were sealed or destroyed but the myths are still the favorite among the dran and the dwarf children. The two most common myths are that one of the good dragons will return and lead them through to freedom on a new world or about a hero that discovered the secret of the gates.
Outside the illithid empire the darkness holds things yet fouler, black dragons bound their young and had them slain by ghouls and perform the rites to become liches, sacrificed all their followers in gigantic rituals opening gates to fiendish regions and summoned hordes of diabolic creatures. The black dragons regularly open their gates to summon more hordes and establish colonies to raise fiendish slave soldiers to fight in their ancient struggle against the illithid empire. A few deep dragons and shadow dragons lead rebel dran and less than a dozen brown dragons dwell in low desert valleys on the surface.
These are the same old dragons just with a different skin, attitude, and favored habitat and they just might make your jaded players hesitate.
Wingless and green when they reach the young age catagory they gain the ability to polymorph into any reptilian animal or reptilian humanoid. They begin to get darker when old and at very old they are solid black. Otherwise treat as black dragons except that their charm reptiles ability works on reptilian humanoids as well as reptilian animals. They enjoy the worship and adoration of reptilian humanoids and particularly favor warlike lizardfolk and troglydyte leaders and have been known to sire and sometimes raise half dragons to lead local tribes. Those tribes that have had dragon blood mixed in the gene pool live twice as long and their older members turn solid black.
Wingless and white they are immune to fire and cold and have icewalking when they are wyrmlings and live in any cold land deep beneath the surface, when very young they gain the ability to polymorph self but always have pure white skin and fur/hair. They like to cook their food and then freeze it buried in a snowbank, they move (including burrow & swim) as a white dragon. Otherwise they resemble red dragons in all other aspects, including fire breath weapon, size, HD, immunity to fire, etc. They enjoy interacting with frost giants and have been known to sire and sometimes raise half dragons to lead local tribes.
Born a light green they grow to a dark mottled green and the edges of the scales turn brown when they reach young age they gain the ability to polymorph into an elf or dire wolf. Other than habitat they resemble brass dragons in all other aspects. Those that are not part of a family have been known to dwell with forest elves rather than be solitary and have sired children with local tribes on occasion as well.
Wyrmlings are light blue as they approach adulthood their color slowly deepens, very old dragons develop a greenish tint on the edges of their scales. They are more social but otherwise they are identical to bronze dragons. They enjoy the company of lawful good beings, they are known to have lived and battled along side dwarves & humans, and sired many famous half dragon heroes.
Wingless and an off white color as hatchlings they slowly darken to gray as adults and very old dragons develop a black tint on the edges of their scales. They are chaotic neutral but most turn chaotic evil when they become ancient. Otherwise they resemble silver dragons as far as stats are concerned. They test those they meet in the form of something in distress, those that aid them are not eaten, but as they grow older they become more cruel and the tests more difficult to pass.
Other than their more social tendencies, light blue color and habitat of mountain tops and cloud islands these are identical to gold dragons.
One of the worlds the dragons did not settle on is A dark and gloomy place filled with sentient spiders, amphibian humanoids, snake men, vampires, and lycanthropes. Few places of good exist, most are evil or neutral. Goblins are this world’s greatest merchants and explorers, so the goblin language is the common tongue here.
The snake men empire is growing in power, the amphibian humanoids are waning, the deep ones are almost extinct, only their ancient temples to dagon remaining. The goblins have their fingers in everyone’s pie, the ghouls dwell in nearly every ones graveyard. Humans are split into many cultures, & warring factions none gaining any ground over another, the orcs are almost all subjugated by powerful undead. Other powerful undead rule entire islands and kingdoms of weaker undead, the dwarves are slowly losing ground to orcish hordes but fighting every step of the way. The red talon dark elves rule their continent with animal savagery, the tremere dark elves are slowly gaining ground for the Silver Lotus Empire, both hating the other. Kingdoms of colossal giants watch the chaos and laugh, while primitive hobgoblins, centaurs, ogres, wildmen, beast men, wolfen, and others try to avoid the slavers lash. This chaotic world is in constant turmoil with evil gaining ground each year, the innocent and good need champions and heroes to try and stem the dark tide, or at least patch the wounds it leaves in its wake. Mercenaries, visionaries, and would be heroes abound, few will succeed, many will perish, but with evil temples and overlord’s vaults brimming with treasure many more will try and change the world or at least line their pockets.
Ptah created this world for his new wife, Bast. He created his first ones, the dwarves, who helped him create the world. Then Bast created her first people who walked as men in the day and as cats in the night. When they had a son, Netermest-Uaynu, the pains of birth awoke the spirit of the world, Nefertegi. Nefertegi awoke with tears of empathic pain for Bast, these tears formed Airam, goddess of oceans and love. Netermest-Uaynu immediately fell in love with Nefertegi and they were married that day.
Airam left and formed the fish from her own tears and her first people merpeople to keep her company and watch over the creatures of the sea.
Netermest-Uaynu and Nefertegi had twin sons, Nayakepu-Uaynu & Pesshetaup. Pesshetaup created animals and his first people who walked as men in the day and as beasts at night as his grandmother Bast had done. Nayakepu-Uaynu created his first people the gnomes to help him make the forests as his grandfather Ptah had done with the dwarves. When all was done the first people (dwarves, lycanthropes, merpeople, & gnomes) were told to live in harmony and wisdom.
This lasted for ten thousand years, but during this time the first people had grown apart, each making its own language. Nayakepu-Uaynu had also taken to hunting the first people (lycanthropes) of his brother when they were in beast form, as they had taken to hunting (the gnomes) his first people.
When Pesshetaup confronted his brother they grew angry and began to fight, the drops of blood from Pesshetaup that spilled upon the ground formed the wolfen, the blood of Nayakepu-Uaynu that fell formed the elves, where their blood mixed the were-elves/wolves rose. Nefertegi stopped her sons before they killed each other but was struck once and her blood formed the halflings. This strife attracted the attention of Set, he looked upon Ptah's newest world and wife with envy and formed a wife of his own from a piece of Bast's shadow and the cold and dark of the void, Nire. Nire gave birth to 100 daughters, the lilitu, and to six sons, Bokra, Focalar, Dagon, Sebek, and ? and ?? (I just ran out of names, help please). Set then created his first people, humans, and Nire created her first people the succubi. O.k. then let me know what you think, additions are welcome.
Ptah: Creator of the world, god of scholars, architects, artisans, and dwarves.
Bast: Wife of Ptah, goddess of pleasure and cats.
Netermest-Uaynu: Son of Ptah and Bast, god of magic & warriors.
Nefertegi: Spirit of the world, earth goddess, wife of Netermest-Uaynu, goddess of fertility, agriculture, domestic animals & halflings.
Airam: Created by Nefertegi, goddess of oceans, love, storms, anglers, & merpeople.
Nayakepu-Uaynu: Twin brother of Pesshautaup, son of Nefertegi & god of gnomes, forests, hunting, & elves.
Pesshautaup: Son of Netermest-Uaynu, twin brother of Nayakepu-Uaynu & god of lycanthropes, wild animals, & wolfen.
Set: God of evil
Nire: Wife of Set, goddess of torture, cold, ice, & deceit.
Lilitu: the 100 daughters of Set & Nire are all lilitu demons.
Bokra: Son of Set & Nire, demi-god of humanoid lizards and amphibians.
Focalar: Brother of Bokra, demi-god of battle-lust, murder, & fire.
Dagon: Brother of Focalar, demi-god of sea monsters, fish folk & deep ones.
Sebek: Brother of Dagon, demi-god of crocodiles, necromancers, & assassins.
?: Brother of Sebek, demi-god of trolls, giants, & ogres.
??: Brother of ?, demi-god of thieves, merchants, traders, wealth, & goblins.
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