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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9396186" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/dmOf7UU.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Jackalwere: Calling themselves the “Chor’eska,” or “hounds of the desert” in Goblin, the jackalwere are related to lycanthropes rather than being a unique subtype. During the downfall of the Empire of Dhakaan, their people sought to rid themselves of the lunar curse via an alliance with a powerful city-state of lamia mages. They lost their ability to pass on their lycanthropy to others and could freely choose their forms at will, and also gained the ability to induce magical slumber by merely looking at nearby creatures. Ever since, the Chor’eska and lamia have had strong ties with each other, the former often acting as honor guards and scouts to lamia rulers.Now that lamia have a respected place in the new nation of Droaam, so too do the Chor’eska. Although they are immune to conventional physical harm from non-silvered sources, they make for poor soldiers on account of finding direct violence distasteful, preferring ambushes, strength in numbers, and using the power of shapechanging and sleep to trick foes. They are fragile to magical attacks and cantrips, and aren’t as physically resilient as typical lycanthropes.Although not as well-spoken as their lamia allies, Chor’eska are well-learned in the matters of Deception, so they often take up occupations suited to this. Merchants overselling the value of their products, charlatans preying on the judgment of others, and spies for Daask and the Dragonmarked Houses, are but a few of their most respected paths in society.The slumber-inducing gazes of Chor’eska give them some unconventional yet still useful roles. In the medical field it’s used as a pain reliever, and for hunting and animal husbandry it can calm down and subdue beasts of burden and prey. As it is most effective on creatures lacking good judgment, it’s a potent equalizer against physically imposing yet weak-willed monsters like ogres. This is how the Chor’eska survived for so long in Droaam and shaped their mentality. A few establishments in the country employ Chor’eska to non-lethally subdue disagreeable customers. Some kalashtar and mystics who study Dal Quor have sought out Chor’eska, seeking to use their powers to delve into unwaking mysteries.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/onheRLT.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Nothic: Creations of Belashyrra, one of the daelkyr, nothics were cursed to possess great knowledge yet unable to use such power for their own betterment. Each nothic contains generational memories of countless magical secrets, yet none to this day are known to have mastered even the most meager of cantrips. From breaking into arcane laboratories for new magical innovations in hopes of reversing their condition to sending prayers to the Shadow who remains silent to their pleas, nothic are more desperate than ever in modern times to attain the spells that now dominate daily life in Khorvaire.Given their powers and aberrant connections, most lands shun nothics. But Sora Teraza saw promise in them, particularly their vision of truesight and ability to derive secrets from others. A few influential warlords and Daask cells retain a nothic as a resident spiy and interrogator. By sending a disguised or invisible one out into a population center or fortification for a night, they can accumulate a large dossiers’ worth of blackmail material and confidential information from a variety of inhabitants. Furthermore, nothics make for invaluable countermeasures against illusionists, ethereal beings, and all manner of shapechangers thanks to their truesight. Due to their abilities, it’s common for nothics and berbalangs to work together; the nothic finds some secrets, and then shares their findings as payment for the berbalang’s services.But in spite of their capabilities, most people hold nothics at arms’ length, or attempt to gain some leverage on the monsters in order to prevent their betrayal. At times this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as the fear of a nothic learning too much causes the ally to plot against the monsters, who in turn severs their loyalty at the earliest convenience. The few people comfortable enough to work with these monsters long-term are those who feel that they have nothing to hide, are so sure of their standing or personal power that they don’t worry about being ruined from a nothic’s revelations, or managed to gain the unconditional trust of said nothic. And in the post-Mourning cold war of Khorvaire, there are precious few people in power who qualify for any of these.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/FR0sVa3.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Troll Types (various sources): From the ice trolls whose hearts brim with powerful magic to the ghostly spirit trolls that can phase through materials, the giants’ vaunted regenerative capabilities grant them great diversity in the evolution of potential powers. Such variants existed in the past as rare individuals often coming out of unintended circumstance, as trolls themselves rarely have the foresight to bring about such changes themselves. As Droaam’s army heavily draws from this race, the Daughters of Sora Kell spared no expense in researching the limits of trollish power.Most non-standard troll types in Droaam are serving in some military capacity, with the greatest number found among Sora Maenya’s elite forces in the Great Crag. They aren’t numerous enough to form their own unique subcultures, although their powerful status often means that they’re more arrogant and fearless than the average troll…which is saying something!Venom trolls were designed for biological warfare by infusing troll flesh with copious amounts of poison and germs to turn their bodies into incubators. Their skin is supple enough that even the merest harm from any non-psychic source causes their blood to spray onto nearby targets, and the trolls can do this themselves by cutting their own bodies. They used this during the Last War to sicken Brelish soldiers and taint their rations, causing casualties far in excess of direct violence.Ice trolls (Rime of the Frostmaiden version) were a magical experiment by the Daughters, seeking to breed a variety of troll who can store ambient magical power within their bodies. Upon their death, an ice troll’s heart can be extracted and used for a variety of purposes, such as granting the heart’s consumer regeneration or cold resistance. But its more potent effects include rituals that can summon blizzards or being formed into magical talismans that lower the surrounding temperature to dangerous. The creation of blizzards was used to great advantage during the Last War to cut supply lines and hinder travel.Troll Mutates were made via experimentations conducted at a manifest zone to Xoriat in the Shadow Marches. By slaughtering local Gatekeeper guardians with aid from a Cult of the Dragon Below cell, the Daughters subjected troll soldiers to maddening torture. Such trolls are far smarter than their kin, and their variant forms such as elastic bodies and wings allow some of their number to be more mobile than the standard breed. They all possess blindsight and telepathy, making making them skilled tacticians that caused more than a few foes to underestimate these supposedly “dumb, giant brutes.”Rot trolls have similar origins as troll mutates, but originated in manifest zones to Mabar instead. The necrotic energy coursing through their bodies is continually pushed out by their inherent regeneration, causing them to emit a damaging field that harms adjacent creatures. This harms plant and animal life, so the Daughters of Sora Kell haven’t made much use of them in Droaam proper due to fears of collateral damage. But they have been useful in destroying food supplies and farms of foreign countries, and have been used by Daask for extortion purposes.Spirit trolls are the rarest breed, and what few exist are currently working in Daask cells. Made from exposure to psychic energy, these trolls are incorporeal and have resistance to acid and fire. In fact, only psychic and force damage stops their regeneration, making them nigh-invulnerable against most foes. They serve as the equivalent of “ghostly special forces” soldiers, able to ignore physical barriers and shrug off most attacks. Their greatest foes tend to be mentalists and warlocks who have access to their weaknesses, so spirit trolls rarely work alone or without allied mages from other races.The dire troll and troll amalgam are unique creatures, existing in the tunnels beneath Great Crag for the Daughters of Sora Kell to unleash as doomsday weapons. Or inadvertently unleashed to run wild in the city, depending on the adventure. Made from gruesome experiments involving the consumption and fusion of many trolls together, they look like giants haphazardly glued together into bizarre, painful-looking forms. In addition to great size, strength, and endurance, these troll subtypes are resilient against mental effects and magic along with possessing keen senses. However, they are only a little bit smarter than the average troll, and given their lack of contact with wider society they don’t know much of the world beyond what the hag coven tells them.That's Cheating! I'm aware that I'm violating my own rule in regards to the troll subtypes, as they're all above CR 6. However, since trolls have such an important role in Droaam and one in particular has a hag-specific use (the ice troll's heart), I made an exception with this write-up. Like ogre mages and mind flayers, they still exist in Droaam, but are appropriately rare in number so as not to violate Khorvaire's overall low-powered nature.</blockquote>

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