The Campaign Builder's Guild

As long as you have an explanation for each and every thing you put into your world, you'll keep it from feeling to "... and the kitchen sink", if you know what I mean.

I've decided to rename lizardfolk to dragonfolk for the moment. It reflects their draconic nature more than lizardfolk does.

 [spoiler] There are four species of dragonfolk. The lowest order of dragonfolk, the commoners, have the basic stats as lizardfolk from the Monster Manual. These dragonfolk don't rise to any decently high place in dragonfolk society. Common dragonfolk hold basic positions in society, most commonly trades like weaving or carpentry. Common dragonfolk aren't looked down upon per se, but the high orders of Ilvorn dragonfolk believe that it was the flaws of common dragonfolk that led to their decline in favor with True Dragons.

The second species, slightly higher in class than the common dragonfolk, is the Diamondscale dragonfolk. The Diamondscales are the warrior class of dragonfolk, being powerfully built and having a love for warfare of all kinds. Diamondscales make up the elite knights of the Ilvornum military. The Diamondscales command conscript commoner troops for the most part, though all in the nation of Ilvornum report and are subservient to higher species of dragonfolk.

Poison Dusk dragonfolk are magic users. They are the only truly abundant users of arcane magic anywhere, since most other races favor psionic power over arcana. However, Poison Dusks, who lay equal in status to Diamondscales, almost always prefer arcane power over psionics. No one is truly sure why this is, but Poison Dusks refuse to worship Sardior due to their perceived view that the Ruby Dragon has an obsession with psionic power, without acknowledging arcana at all. In this, they are somewhat against their cousins, most especially the Ilvorn dragonfolk who are raised to worship Sardior with all their heart and soul from birth.

Ilvorn dragonfolk are the rulers of the nation of Ilvornum. They are the only species of dragonfolk who were granted wings due to, they say, their dedication and love for their True Dragon idols and the god Sardior. The winged dragonfolk are the only dragonfolk who, according to them, are loved by Sardior enough to wield clerical powers. Ilvorn dragonfolk are raised from hatching to believe strongly in both Sardior and their superiority. The Ilvorn do not view themselves as superior merely to dominate their less worthy cousins, but they are brought up to believe that their purpose in life is to promote worship of Sardior and to help their cousins of lower status learn the error of their ways. Both of these purposes, however, serve to advance their ultimate goal: Bringing all dragonfolk back into the fold as the most beloved of True Dragons.

Thousands of years ago, dragonfolk were cast from their True Dragon masters due to a horrific crime, a crime that defies any description, a crime vile enough to condemn all four races of dragonfolk. A group comprising of the unheard-of unholy alliance of members of all four races of dragonfolk worked together, outside of dragonfolk law and society, and KILLED a powerful True Dragon. True Dragons from all corners of the world came together to discuss this, the first killing of a True Dragon by a lesser species. The True Dragons were outraged, and cursed the dragonfolk to spend thousands of years in penance trying to regain their lost status. Dragonfolk were no longer accepted as servants or followers by True Dragons, and the race was exiled from the True Dragon homeland upon the Crystal Moon. Dragonfolk were sent to Syonicus as a punishment for the death of a single True Dragon. The dragonfolk continue to serve this punishment in homage to their wondrous, benevolent but stern True Dragon idols.
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So far that's all I have written for the dragonfolk, but I'm still working on it. I'm not completely sure if I like the name dragonfolk, but it's all I have for the moment. Any and all feedback is welcomed and truly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and Happy Holidays to all!

I thought some more about the orc race, so here's what I've got so far.

Orcs

 [spoiler] Orcs undergo ritual tattooing during any major event in their lives. These tattoos document the story of that particular orc, and as such are extremely important. The more important the event, the more elaborate and detailed tattoo. A set of tattooing equipment is an orc's birthright. Each orc is taught as a child how to ritualistically give themselves tattoos.

An orc's tattoos are an orc's most important possession. An orc will reapply the tattoo if portions are scarred or destroyed. Orcs view psionic tattoos with scorn, since psionic tattoos disappear after they discharge the psionic energy within them. However, orcs see tattooed monks as exemplars of the power of tattoos.

Orcs despise scars. Scars get in the way of their tattoos. Scars, to an orc, are ugly and despicable. Though orcs have a fierce love for battle, they prefer to show their prowess as warriors through their artistic tattoos. Orcs don't like scars, but they respect others who look on scars as orcs look on tattoos. [/spoiler]

Orcs[spoiler]
Orcish government is mostly tribal. Orcs favor small, isolated villages. Orcs don't like cities, they feel that urban environments get them too far from the natural world that they love. Orcs know that power corrupts, and they fear that. They see what happened to the hobgoblins of Morgak and they fear the same thing happening to them. For that reason, orcs embrace a democratic system in their tribes. Many factors are looked on when choosing a leader for themselves: battle strength, intelligence, leadership experience, and the story of their tattoos. Orcs typically won't elect a cruel, evil orc as chieftain, as they fear having a leader who thinks only of conquest and death.

A surprising amount of orcs like to live in trees. Several tribes on the border of Quinlan built their homes high in the trees to give them a tactical advantage of height over any enemy that would try to attack them. Several of these tribes actually joined with groups of wild elves. These combinations of wild elves and orcs are some of the most dangerous places for an enemy to attack on the entire planet. The orcs wade into melee combat while elves fire their precise, deadly longbows as covering fire. The only weapon these elves and orcs don't use is anything flammable, as that could destroy their homes.  [/spoiler]  

Let's make comments!

Hey Illithid00, this is looking pretty topnotch.  I'm enjoying the flavors.  You're taking common D&D devices and twisting them, making them interesting.  I love the orcs!  It really makes me want to play a Syoni'cus orc.  Orcs that work with elves are splendid.  

Your new dragonfolk sound quite similar to draconians from Dragonlance, if you've read it.  Either way, they're quite cool.  Are you going to rename the Poison Dusk?  I do hope so.  Diamondscale dragonfolk sound really cool and craft a great image.  

Are any of the dragonfolk races going to be non-LA, playable races?  I'm sure the flying ones won't, but what of the rest?

The tattooing is quite interesting.  The idea that they don't like scars is actually rather unique.  Feels slightly contrived though, I'd work on that.  Rather than saying that orcs despise scars, simply say that orcs despise their tattoos being ruined, such as through things like scars and burns.  It sounds more earnest then.

Good job, and I look forward to seeing more!

Actually the flying dragonfolk are LA+0 races, as I'm using the stats of raptorans from Races of the Wild. I probably will rename Poison Dusk as soon as I think of a better name. Poison Dusk are LA+1, but one of my players is using one now, so I figured I'd include them in my playable races list. I'll try to make the dragonfolk and Diamondscale dragonfolk LA+0, but that's still in the making. I'm really working on fluff a lot more than crunch at this point. Maybe I'll put my description of them on the WotC forum and see if someone has a homebrew race with stats that fit the bill.

I think I'd have to agree with the comment about orcs and scars now that I think it over. What I meant was that orcs dislike scars because scarred skin leaves them less room for their magnificent tattoos.

As for dragonfolk being from DragonLance, I have to agree. I didn't really think about it, but DragonLance was one of my major subconscious influences here. Personally, DragonLance is my favorite fantasy setting, so I'm sure I'll be using concepts from there at some point.

Thanks for the comments, and I hope to have more posted soon!

Dragonlance was my first real fantasy setting love and in my first couple settings I couldn't help but bring in influences.  For example, I never liked orcs (I didn't think of orcs as being core fantasy), and so I often dropped them and just kept goblins and ogres.  It would always be after the fact that I realized that I was copying Dragonlance.

C'est la vie, right?

Dragonfolk Culture[spoiler]
Dragonfolk are extremely religious. Religion, the worship of True Dragons, is the central binding force that holds the four species together. Each dragonfolk decides which of the Three Dragon Gods to worship, in addition to all True Dragons. The highest allegiance of any dragonfolk is not to the country of Ilvorn, but first to whichever one of the Three that is worshipped, and second to all True Dragons.

In the home of each dragonfolk, there are two shrines. One is a shrine to whichever of the Three that particular dragonfolk worships, and the other is to True Dragons. A dragonfolk's home is almost always constructed in such a way that the dragonfolk can see the shrine from any room in the home. Dragonfolk feel comfort in knowing that their lives have purpose, and see their shrines as visible, tangible symbols of that purpose.

Dragonfolk settlements are laid out similar to that of a dragonfolk home. In the exact center of any city lies a temple dedicated to True Dragons and the Three. Just outside that, a ring of buildings dedicated to the religious orders are laid out in a circular pattern. Beyond that is land that is built in a circular pattern that can be used by the citizenry for either residential areas, warehouses, shops, etc.

Dragonfolk government is very strict. The ruling body of any city is made up of a triad with one member from each Church: Dhlorm (basically Bahamut), Kelzyn (counterpart to Tiamat), and Sardior (neutral balancing force to Kelzyn and Dhlorm). The Three Churches usually stand for strong discipline and strict readings of religious dogma. Since the entire purpose of the nation of Ilvorn is to regain favor with True Dragons, the Triads believe that the only way to achieve this is through incredibly strict and disciplined lives dedicated body and soul to Dragonkind.

A ruling body that governs all of Ilvorn is made up of Seven Advocates of Dhlorm, Seven Advocates of Kelzyn, and Seven Advocates of Sardior. The Council of Twenty-One is the highest form of law in all the land, and rules over all Ilvorn. Their word is law, and the punishment for breaking of religious laws, even minor infractions, is usually death. [/spoiler]

Here's what I have for the race of dwarves so far. [spoiler]Dwarves- The race of dwarves is broken into two main groups: the Iceland Dwarves and Thardun dwarves  
   Iceland Dwarves- Also know as the dwarves of the north (or south if that is where you plan on putting them) are dark in complexion, after generations of living in lands of snow and ice their white hair deflexs the sun while their dark skin absorbs the light, making their vision in the snowfields impeccable and almost unbeatable. They are fairly tight nit with in families and clans and can be as cold to outsider as their snowy land. The common magic practiced is that of cold elements. Most become wizards, sorcerers, barbarians, rangers or fighters. Clerics are not uncommon either, though paladins are few. One can tell the rank and social statue just by looking at them. For even though their skin helps prevent snow blindness, they traditionally still wear a charcoal flourish to announce rank and occupation.
   
The relationship between the differing groups is less than polite. While the one group blames the other for the hardships they face. The Iceland Dwarves view the desert dwarves as whimsical fools, who don't even have the decency to build a suitable home for their families. While the Thardun dwarves view their counterparts as cold, cruel, and harsh.

Religion- While all dwarves recognize the Three Dragon Gods as supreme, their minor deities differ greatly. The Iceland Dwarfs revere Teberrk. He is a neutral god who embodies the spirit of cold, ice, and snow.  [/spoiler]

here's some on halflings [spoiler].  Halflings of the sand- Unlike their cousins in the north, the desert halflings are nomadic herdsmen. With a deep respect and liking for the musical art, they tend to welcome others of other races. Brads are revered and honored guests in these villages. Many have a streak of wanderlust; the tribe holds no grudges to these individuals and welcome the knowledge gained from the experiences lived when those individuals return.  They wander ceaselessly, herding (still trying to find the appropriate animal, working on one from scratch) to the resources as they change with the season they guard the secret to taming their herds with a fierce passion, only one who has done them a great service is allowed one of the offspring, and even then with only few secrets and with a oath of silence.


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