I usually talk about the map in these posts, but this one is what it says on the tin. It’s a stable/livery/hatchery for dragons. Let’s talk about Council of Wyrms instead.
Council of Wyrms was a 2nd Edition D&D boxed set with rules for making dragon player characters. And it was absolutely terrible. Did I buy it? Yes I did. In my defense, I was 15 and a lot of stuff seems like a better idea than it is when you’re 15.
I tried it for one session before realizing what the problem was with letting the players be dragons. At level one, they can fly. And they have innate spellcasting abilities. And a lot of hit points. And they can blow away just about anything with their breath weapons. And, if being really big and scary is a problem for some reason, they can shapeshift into a human. Keep in mind, this isn’t one dragon. This is the whole party. So, imagine trying to write an encounter that’s challenging for four dragons. Here’s what that looks like:
“Roll for initiative. What are you going to do?”
“I’m gonna barf hot death on all the enemies.”
“Same.”
“Same.”
“Same.”
“The bad guys all take nine billion damage. You win.”
Did anyone else ever run a Council of Wyrms game? If so, let me know how it went for you. I struggle to imagine what a successful campaign would look like, but who knows? It’s probably happened at least once.
Next up, I’ll be getting back to the Stygian City. This thing is about halfway done and I feel like it should be finished by the end of the year, or at least close. There’s going to be an underground river in this area and a kuo-toa settlement in the ruins. I’m not sure what the lore around the kuo-toa will be, but if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. So far, all I can tell you is that they’ll be rivals with the myconids living further down.
Anyway, that’s it for now. Please do not buy Council of Wyrms. It is very, very bad.
I’m imagining the kuo-toa filling glue-coated fish bladders with magic gas so they float, attaching a shiny gem and a reel of spider silk, and letting the bladder float up the shaft until a hungry or greedy creature tries to grab it.
Reverse fishing!
On further thought, it seems like if you’re gonna use Kua Toa you should use their “make a weird god” ability to have an absolutely deranged interpretation of the pit.
For example, if the lowest levels of the pit are flooded they believe a “great fish god” lives there, that they depict as a goldfish with insanely powerful psychic powers.
Or they believe that the pit is actually a digestive tract for a god that becomes one with the worshippers they ingest. Inpatient Kuo Toa cover themselves with sauce and jump into the abyss, while their elders council patience so as to not give God indigestion.
Or they believe the pit is the birth canal for the entire world and they are hanging out here in the hope of being reborn into pristine wilderness when the “World is Birthed Anew,” which should happen any time now.