Page 47 - Serpent Kingdoms

LIZARDS

rarely engage in combat on the front lines. Instead, they track Troglodyte and
prey through the Underdark, lead packs of warriors on hunting Tren Characters
expeditions, or bring their tribes food when they are not engaged
in a raid. Troglodytes and trens make interesting characters. Not only do
Troglodyte lairs are normally caves or underground cav- their odors offend the senses of even the most accepting of the
erns with multiple chambers in which the troglodytes can other races, but their penchant for eating their slain victims
move about freely. Most are normally fi lled with all manner can be revolting to civilized races as well. Nevertheless, some
of waste and fi lth, and many feature standing bodies of brack- characters are willing to accept them in adventuring parties.
ish water. Troglodytes other than the chieftain don’t call any They may feel that the benefi ts of the odor outweigh the nega-
part of the lair home, and they make a practice of bedding tive aspects of traveling with such a foul-smelling creature, or
down in a different room, surrounded by different troglodytes, they may simply have no sense of smell.
every night. Troglodytes most often advance in the cleric class, though
many choose to be fi ghters. Their penalties to Intelligence and
RELATIONSHIPS Dexterity do not automatically preclude rogue or wizard char-
Troglodytes remain with their mates as long as both are alive, acters, but culture and a lack of exposure to those character
but they take new ones when widowed—a state that occurs classes ensure that most troglodytes do not take levels in them.
frequently. Troglodytes and trens can interbreed freely and Troglodytes separated from their subterranean settlements are
with no stigma attached. Close friendships between individuals often interested in the new types of creatures they meet, so they
are rare, but each troglodyte treats all members of its tribe choose to go down alternate paths.
as family. Trens are most commonly barbarians or monks, though they
too can take other classes if they wish. The wizard class is a diffi -
LIFE CYCLE cult option for a tren because of its –4 penalty to Intelligence.
After a female troglodyte lays her eggs, they are secured inside a
leather mesh net and placed in the tribe’s waterway to incubate. Magic of the
A day or two before a clutch of eggs is due to hatch, the trog-
lodytes remove them from the water to dry, so that their shells Troglodytes and Trens
become brittle enough for the young to break.
Members of these two races rarely learn arcane magic, and even
When troglodytes interbreed with trens, each offspring has
clerics are somewhat rare. Thus, troglodytes and trens have never
an equal chance to be of either race. The tren offspring are
developed any new spells or magic items of their own.
separated from the troglodytes immediately to prevent them
from inadvertently injuring the growing troglodytes with their
greater strength. Deities of the
Both tren and troglodyte young are raised by the entire Troglodytes and Trens
tribe rather than by their biological parents. The young can
walk and hold weapons at two years of age. From that point Since troglodytes were originally created by the sarrukh, they
until they reach maturity, they are given practice weapons and initially worshiped an aspect of the World Serpent. After the fall
encouraged to fi ght one another. When they become older, of the sarrukh empires, they shifted their worship to the bloated
they are given steel weapons and sent on hunting expeditions Laogzed. This foul deity, believed to be part demon, exists solely
with the tribal hunters. to consume food—namely, anything made of fl esh and blood
Most troglodytes eventually die in combat. Those who don’t that can be ingested. Laogzed prefers to swallow his food alive,
are considered tribal elders and are valued for the wisdom they so that he can feel it move as he digests it.
are assumed to have accumulated over the years. One such elder The love of food pervades the worship of Laogzed, and
is usually chosen to offer advice to the chieftain. every occasion is cause for a feast. After a victory, the trog-
lodytes feast upon the corpses of their enemies. In order to
FUNEREAL CUSTOMS hold great feasts as often as possible, they often overhunt the
After each battle, the troglodytes gather their dead for a fi nal creatures in the surrounding areas, thus depleting their regular
blessing from the tribe’s clerics. Afterward, the corpses are eaten sources of food.
in a ceremony called as “The Renewal” in which the meat of the Clerics are useful to the troglodytes because they are capa-
deceased is returned to the tribe. ble of dealing out damage in combat and can heal themselves
when wounded. With the low standards for worship Laogzed
imposes on his followers, the troglodytes fi nd it remarkably
easy to be “religious.”

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