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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9884969" data-attributes="member: 6750502">Chapter 3: Meet the Resistance, Part 1Tyranny is an iron fist: its grasp crushes and warps whatever it catches, with hope, love, and dignity the first to perish. It turns law-abiding citizens into enacters of cruelty, normalizes sadism and selfishness behind the mask of safety and security, erodes the social bonds of those who live under it by turning friends and family into informants, and changes otherwise Goodly people into fearful bystanders and collaborators. Tyranny can perpetuate Evil as efficiently as the most violent raiders and necromantic defilers, and unlike these others it can do all this with but a minimum of bloodshed.But tyranny is fragile. It is an ever-hungry, all-consuming force that can never rest, trapping the powerful as well as the powerless. The dictatorship's leaders will never give up power willingly, lest all those they wronged rise up against them, and thus must fabricate ever more reasons for the continuation of its existence. There must always be an enemy, either within or without, to justify its making of swords over ploughshares. There must always be justification of sacrifice and tribute for its subjects, for speaking honestly of naked greed will cause their subjects to realize them as robbers. Tyranny is a cowering man clutching an archmage's staff, a sickly knight breathing his last in untarnished armor, a broken mirror twisting the light of virtue into unrecognizable vice.~From the Scrolls of Reginold Müller, Cleric of Zivilyn, dated 23 PC in explaining the initial Thirteen Signs of Warning predating Istar's fall. This transcript is dated three weeks before his arrest by the Knights of the Divine Hammer.Takhisis' victory over the forces of Good seems all but assured. The Whitestone Armies have fallen, the Plains of Dust stained red from the elven death march, and temples to Takhisis are turning the next generation of Ansalonians into devotees of darkness. The few kingdoms holding out are fighting a losing battle, as the Dragon Empire as it currently stands can outlast or surround them.But while valiant heroes might have lost the Dark Queen's War, other freedom fighters have risen to take their place. Takhisis isn't the only god who has returned, and the rest of Krynn's pantheon are empowering their own priesthoods to advance their causes in Ansalon. Elves, kender, and other people marked for death by the Dragon Empire have nothing to lose and everything to gain, giving rise to continual insurgencies. Even the Dragonarmies aren't immune to weakness, as Emperor Ariakas' increasing hand in the management of the Red Dragonarmy leads Highlords of the other four to fear losing their own power.How to Use the Following Factions: Below are ten rebel groups for the PCs to join and/or work alongside in fighting the Dragonarmies. They are a mixture of completely original groups as well as those drawn from pre-existing canon, albeit with my own personal touches. A DM can use as many or as little as they desire, making certain groups more prominent in the campaign's narrative than the others.VIPs indicate NPCs of importance within the faction.Major Bases details the faction's headquarters and regional areas of influence.Practical Goals covers what the Faction prioritizes in the here and now.Ideological Goals covers what the Faction views as longer-term goals, such as what kind of society they want to build should the Dragon Empire be overthrown.One thing a reader might notice is that not all of the factions are straightforwardly heroic. This is an intentional choice, reflecting the fact that the Dragon Empire has many enemies and being in line with the "evil turns on itself" narrative rule of the Dragonlance setting. It also showcases the common points of tension among disparate groups of fighters allied against a common threat. While they may be united against Ariakas and the Highlords, their end goals and reasons for doing so aren't always things they have in common. Many revolutionaries focus on realpolitik and the now, but what Ansalon looks like after war's end is nonetheless a worthy question to ask.<img src="https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b2dde2ec24bc.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="1890x1710" style="width: 484px" />Image taken from the 4th Edition DraconomiconBrazen Horn: Interpersonnel conflict between Dragonarmy troops has been a problem for the Empire since its founding. When Ariakas brought together various groups to central Ansalon for a united purpose, lingering intercultural tensions wrought from generations of battles and hardship threatened to tear apart the foundations Takhisis had so carefully laid for centuries. The Dragonarmies dealt with this at first via dividing military camps by race and culture. They also focus on increasing morale by judiciously supplying the hometowns of soldiers with clerical magic and the spoils of war. Grudges still occurred, although officers rarely intervene as long as such incidents didn't escalate beyond non-fatal brawls and hazing.During the Dark Queen's War, it was easier for Dragonarmy troops to focus on military goals of conquest. But with most of Ansalon pacified and brought to heel, many soldiers fell into old habits now that they lacked major overarching threats. Goblin soldiers found themselves reassigned to positions of menial labor; minotaur mercenaries feared that they were doomed to spend the remainder of their days patrolling bone-chilling polar tundras and dust-strewn plains; the newest batch of draconian breeds hatched from chromatic eggs  were particularly resistant in fulfilling acts of Imperial oppression and prone to desertion. Slowly but surely, small and individual acts of rebellion grew among the races least likely thought to turn on the Dragon Empire.The organization known as the Brazen Horn originated among a collection of draconian officers. The most notable among them is General Kang, a bozak draconian who learned that his race was hatched from eggs via a magical ritual, and seeks to find and reclaim said eggs so that draconians have a greater hand in the propagation of their own species. Via various backchannels, he learned about Captain Hazor, a lightning draconian assigned to western Solamnia who convinced his squad to desert. After Hazor discovered that the Blue Dragonarmy was using a supposed undead outbreak as a false flag attack to take over and enslave a mining town in Solamnia, he knew that the divine visions he was receiving from the Gods of Light spoke true and became a paladin of Kiri-Jolith. Lastly, a slave revolt among human and minotaur prisoners of war on the island of Saifhum seized several experimental vessels capable of outrunning conventional Blood Sea warships. Led by Helati de-Sumarr, they round out the Brazen Horn's forces via a respectable navy.By making use of messenger pigeons and Sending spells among sympathetic wizards, General Kang brought these disparate groups together. They dubbed themselves the Brazen Horn, reflecting their shared background as monsters and former servants of the Dragon Empire who realized that they were fighting for the wrong cause. Or who simply wanted revenge against a regime that took them for granted. Most Horns from an ex-military background, so most of their activities take this form, and their members both know how the Dragonarmies operate and can more easily blend in as non-human soldiers. While Captain Hazor and his supporters encourage ethical means of engagement and prioritize gaining support among civilians, other members of the Horn aren't so discerning. Unfortunately, quite a number of rebels are effectively bandits and pirates, obtaining funds and supplies via violence and intimidation against towns.VIPs: General Kang is the bozak draconian officer and engineer who discovered the partial truth behind his people's creation; Captain Hazor is a lightning draconian paladin of Kiri-Jolith who is based in Castle Starmont; Helati de-Sumarr is a minotaur pirate and leader of the Saifhum slave revolt, primarily responsible for moving Horns across northern and eastern Ansalon.Major Bases: Castle Starmont is located in the city of the same name in the Solamnic region of Gaardlund. Its proximity to the region of Nightlund means that few Dragonarmy units relish the idea of patrolling the border, which the Brazen Horn uses to their advantage. Hazor's divine magic is indispensable in fighting off the undead, where grateful locals provide the organization with supplies and safehouses. Smaller bases are located along Nordmaar's northern and eastern coasts, blending in with the thick Sahket Jungle.Practical Goals: The Brazen Horn wishes to fully uncover the secret of how draconians are made and make it so that it can be done without the aid of the Dragon Empire's magical minds. General Kang knows that his people are created somewhere in central Ansalon, with the hypothesized location dubbed the "Lizard Farm" both in Dragonarmy military jargon and among the Brazen Horn. For now, though, the Horn needs to seize and strengthen more bases of operation, forming "rebel provinces" that can hold their own against the Dragonarmies. Ideally this would be a place that dragons cannot easily maneuver in or survey. The rainforests of Nordmaar are viewed as an ideal location, as the treeline provides ample cover and the woodlands have lots of natural resources. Caverns are a distant second, mostly favored by goblinoids, fine for smaller cells but not ideal in which to build a rogue state.The organization also wishes to hinder the Dragon Empire's operations in the Blood Sea. Many minotaurs don't want to see their homeland (literal or ancestral) fall under foreign occupation, even if they're not supporters of Chot es-Kalin. Whether or not outright helping es-Kalin is a point of contention; many minotaurs of the Brazen Horn resent their Emperor sending them to fight for the White Dragonarmy, and while they're no allies of Takhisis they don't necessarily want to preserve the Minotaur Empire's status quo.Ideological Goals: The Brazen Horn prioritizes self-determination, both for draconians' reproductive capabilities and the more ideal of seeking a better life than the menial positions and indentured servitude while in the Dragonarmies. Many were once loyal supporters of the Dragon Empire, but grew disenchanted with their station for a variety of reasons. General Kang hopes for a future where draconians can be something other than soldiers, Captain Hazor believes that the group's example can help Ansalon's otherwise monstrous races live peaceably among others and find atonement from past injustices, and Helati de-Sumarr vowed that nobody else shall enslave her people again. Such sentiments boil down the ranks to various degrees, but not necessarily consistently. There are minotaurs who are abolitionists primarily when it comes to their own people but not others, for example, and there are draconians who find common cause with other gods than Hazor's patron deity Kiri-Jolith. So far this hasn't rent the Horn asunder, as working with other soldiers you wouldn't necessarily like is a reality in military life, and the three leaders' goals don't conflict with each other that much at present. But certain issues might very well become problems in the future; would Hazor's followers tolerate working with the Minotaur Empire? What about the dragons eggs, and the possibility of returning them to their true parents even if it means effectively ending the draconian line?<img src="https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/c9a2ec8acc3c.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="853x1280" style="width: 341px" /><a href="https://jesika-art.artstation.com/projects/3L9WY" target="_blank">Elemental Monk D&D by Sakuya's World</a>Devotees of the Heart's Path: During the Second and Third Ages, monasteries were centers of learning and refuge built by devotees of the god Majere. In addition to typical clerics, Majere's following included special warriors known as monks who mastered a rare and obscure form of magic known as the Power of the Heart. Much like Primal Sorcery, it isn't empowered by an external entity such as gods or the moons, but by one's internal life force and personal force of will. The Ways of monks never fell under jurisdiction of the Wizards of High Sorcery, partly because most outsiders presumed their abilities to be a form of clerical magic and thus fall under regulation of Majere, and partly because most monasteries were politically isolated and self-sufficient to the point that they weren't well-known in the first place.While the discipline of the monk originated among a religious order, the beauty of it is that theoretically any mortal can learn to take advantage of it. Instead of spellbooks, holy symbols, and spell components, one uses intense exercises, repetitive chants, and meditations to reshape their body, mind, and soul in order to achieve powers that appear indistinguishable from some forms of magic. After the Cataclysm, much of their teachings faded out of memory, but a mysterious figure known as the Roadside Teacher began spreading word of it across Ansalon within the last 50 years. Bandits, monsters, and other miscreants mistaking her for an easy target found her more than a match, and she took on students in various communities during her travels. Gradually, these students started an informal movement known as the Devotees of the Heart's Path, consisting of wandering warriors and sages who protect settlements and individuals too powerless to defend themselves.It was inevitable that such Devotees would run afoul of the Dragonarmies. At the moment, most people think them to be mage-warriors, shapeshifting monsters, or other explanations for how an otherwise meek elf or gnome can suplex an ogre. While dismissed by many as "kender tales," such accounts serve to spread hope, of how even the powerless can resist insurmountable odds and that you don't have to be a mighty mage, god-blessed, or wielder of legendary weapons in order to fight evil.VIPs: The Roadside Teacher is perhaps the most famous Devotee, although details about her appearance and background are inconsistent. This leads many to presume that the name is but a title rather than a single individual. Another notable Devotee includes Yorthcha Mossdew, an Estwilden lizardfolk who provides inspiration and guidance to people who come to him for aid. He dispenses his wisdom in the form of a parable story, using the symbology in a Talis deck to divine peoples' futures.Major Bases: The Devotees of the Heart's Path are organized at the individual level, where a single mentor holds sway anywhere from one twelve pupils depending on their living situation and circumstances. Senior pupils might be tasked with aiding the mentor in lessons and instructions, but otherwise they all share resources equally and live frugally. Pre-Cataclysm monks typically lived in monasteries, but nowadays most keep on the move in semi-nomadic lifestyles where they pick up trades and form contacts on the road to keep themselves sheltered and nourished. However, there's rumors of a hidden monastery on the unapproachable island of Claren Elian. It is believed that first Ways of the monk were learned here, and would serve as a great boon to whoever finds a means to set foot on its hidden shores.Practical Goals: The Devotees of the Heart's Path appear quite straightforward and simple in their motives. They abide by strict codes of conduct for everyday behavior, learning to do with little while being charitable in the aid they provide to others. When they're not defending a community from conventional threats, they're helping out with domestic tasks and chores in exchange for food and places to sleep. After the Dark Queen's War, most are hunted down by the Dragon Empire, but they earned enough goodwill that many communities are willing to help them evade patrols.Ideological Goals: The Devotees seek to learn the mysteries of the cosmos through introspection and rigid discipline. Material wealth, traditional arcane and divine magic, and formal education are viewed as incomplete pathways at best, distractions at worst. Upon completing the Heart's Path, a mortal can ascend to a higher state of being, bridging the gap between mortal and immortal, creature and object, living and unliving. Some Devotees who reached perfection are said to have achieved great feats, such as having all creatures understand the meaning of their spoken words regardless of language or intelligence, aging far beyond their race's average lifespan, and even temporarily separating their spirit from their body to peer into the afterlife.<img src="https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/7b4e7cf29868.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="1920x1148" style="width: 593px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/gYrqK" target="_blank">A meeting with the Dragon Seer by Artur Treffner</a>Draconic Ascendancy: When one thinks of those who dare to defy the Dragon Empire, one might typically think of the valiant-yet-doomed Solamnic Knights; the Wizards of High Sorcery and their Moon gods' rivalry against Takhisis in the war of the heavens; races marked for destruction such as the elves and kender; and ordinary folk driven by revenge who care not for survival, but only by how many of their hated quarry that they can take down with them. Should one suggest that the very creatures for which the Empire is named might wish to see its downfall, that person would surely be mocked.But the Draconic Ascendancy is no laughing matter, for there is a very real conspiracy among a faction of chromatic dragons who seek the death of Emperor Ariakas and the Dragon Highlords. It started as the brainchild of Darghesha Skygouge, a blue dragon indispensable in the subjugation of eastern Solamnia during the Dark Queen's War. One day, he and the human Flight Marshal who rode him into battle made a stop in the kingdom of Lemish to meet with the governor of Elmwood regarding supply lines and logistics. The governor's servants received the pair with what they thought were great honors. The Flight Marshal was promised the finest lodgings in the castle's guest room and gifted an ancestral set of dwarf-forged plate armor. As for Darghesha, the dragon was promised a modified and expansive accommodation in the castle's stables.Darghesha turned the governor into a smear upon the ground as soon as he heard the word "stables." This perceived insult deeply wounded his ego, realizing that most of Ansalon viewed the role of his kind in serving the Dark Queen akin to that of a trained animal. In spite of their valued status and iconography in this new Ansalon, people still saw dragons as beasts. Awe-inspiring, yes, terrifying even, but still beasts. Ariakas' proclamations that Takhisis supposedly chose him, as her main voice on Krynn was but confirmation to Darghesha of insubordination. And with the so-called Dragon Highlords coming from tiny, shorter-lived races, this was viewed as evidence that the lesser races were reaching beyond their station and got it in their heads that they were Takhisis' favored souls.The blue dragon learned that he wasn't alone in his thoughts among the chromatic dragons, and over time began hosting meetings between them across the five Dragonarmies. Using their positions within the Dragon Empire, their vast treasure hoards, and scores of obedient soldiers and civilians, the Draconic Ascendancy got its first spark as a growing movement within the Empire's power structure.VIPs: Darghesha Skygouge is the founding father of the Draconic Ascendancy, and the primary host of the organization's meetings between chromatic dragons at his personal domicile in Solanthus. Wraxlay Wrytongue is a green dragon wizard based out of the ogre city of Kernen, conducting spell research in ancient ruins in order to learn how to tap into the moons without the conventional routes of allegiance to the Gods of Magic. He is willing to part with some of his magic items and creations in overthrowing Ariakas. Uilrugar, the Butcher of Qualinost, is a red dragon based out of Gwynned who single-handedly sunk a fleet of Ergothian warships, and is too impatient in waiting for the next war with the minotaurs. Unsatisfied with his Flight Marshal's contented assignment in placid Northern Ergoth, this has left Uilrugar eager to fight any enemy, even the very Dragonarmy he's pledged himself to, in order to bring glory to the Dark Queen and dragonkind.Major Bases: The Draconic Ascendancy is defined by its inner circle of adult chromatic dragon members, and all major operations of the organization are carried out within this closed group. Most Ascendancy dragons are stationed in Dragonarmy camps and citadels close to or within major cities, or in well-defended caverns dating back centuries serving as safehouses and hoard storage. Being Darghesha's residence, Solanthus is the faction's veritable stronghold, but they have a larger-than-normal amount of members in Sanction and Neraka due to those cities' convergence of the five Dragonarmies. The dragons have ready access to long-distance communication and transportation via magic, so they can give orders and move assets much more rapidly than most other rebel factions. But as most lower-ranking members are often dormant sleeper agents awaiting orders from their dragon masters, the Ascendancy's rank-and-file don't often operate independently that often.Practical Goals: The Draconic Ascendancy believes that Emperor Ariakas' proclamations of being Takhisis' chosen are lies, and the goddess' silence regarding the matter is seen as her testing the dragons. To see which are willing to seize their destiny, and which are content to be the lapdogs of upstart humanoids. But although non-dragon may they be, Ariakas and the Dragon Highlords are powerful figures, so the Draconic Ascendancy hasn't yet announced themselves openly. So far they are building up mercenary forces via their treasure hoards, blackmailing and bribing particular Dragonarmy officers into working for them, and spreading propaganda and recruiting draconians to their cause. This last action usually takes the form of convincing draconians that they bear the bloodline of the Dark Queen, and the officers of other races are keeping them down due to fear of competition. Wraxlay Wrytongue is the most proficient in arcane magic among the Ascendancy's leadership, and is responsible for creating various arcane monstrosities that can be sent against Dragonarmy patrols with plausible deniability. The more violent operations are the province of Uilrugar's forces, who stage false flag attacks against garrisons and fortresses. This is usually done to undermine confidence of particular officers and Highlords in order to better pave the way of the dragons overtly seizing power.Ideological Goals: The Draconic Ascendancy seeks to raise chromatic dragons to the position as undisputed masters of Ansalon, and eventually all of Krynn. Chromatic dragons will occupy all positions of political, economic, and religious power in the Empire and its vassal states, with the other races becoming servants or wiped out should they resist this fate. While they have yet to show their hand, the Ascendancy knows that it's only a matter of time until the metallic dragons move to oppose them. Once Ansalon is conquered, they plan on invading the Dragon Isles and kill off Paladine's finest for good this time.</blockquote>

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