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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9559582" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/X2UeXGO.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="600x572" style="width: 473px" />Image From Monster Manual Expanded IIDeep Scion (Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse): Deep scions are made, not born. Each one is a person modified by the fell magic of a powerful undersea entity. Krakens and aboleth in particular rely heavily on servants who can move and survive on land to keep them abreast of news in these unreachable areas. Unlike sea spawn, skum, and chuul, deep scions are infiltrators engineered for extended operation inland. Their unique ability to telepathically transfer their memories to their masters is an effective and cost-efficient means of long-distance communication, and their ability to change shape into a humanlike form helps them avoid fear and harassment. Unless possessed of special talents and training before their enthrallment or given it afterwards, deep scions do not have innate magical and psionic abilities beyond their telepathic screech and memory-sharing. Their masters rarely send them into battle or high-risk areas, instead preferring the chuul and other creatures for those purposes.The increased amount of traffic in the Thunder Sea due to exploration and colonization of Xen’drik is of great interest to Eberron’s oceanic civilizations, particularly in regards to retrieved valuables and eldritch artifacts. Additionally, the immigration of kalashtar from Sarlona escaping Riedran aggression, as well as Riedran trading vessels, brings opportunity of the psionic variety from this distant continent. Recent centuries saw a cabal of Thunder Sea aboleth preying upon smugglers, pirates, and gangsters. People whose deaths come as little shock to anyone, and who already have connections in the criminal underworld and fearsome reputations.Criminals formerly believed lost at sea that come back as deep scions are given a cover story after being conveniently deposited in a port town. Ideally they’d reconnect with their comrades and be welcomed back into their organization. By implanting these double agents, the aboleth seek to use Khorvaire’s organized crime syndicates to enmesh themselves in its black markets. Deep scions are frequently found on missions involving the smuggling of intercontinental magic items and artifacts, slave trafficking of Sarlonan refugees and Xen’drik natives, raiding places of interest to the aboleths under the guise of an existing pirate fleet, and blackmailing dockmasters, naval officers, and other persons of authority. Most syndicates are unaware of these double agents, although a few willingly enter into deals with the aboleths in exchange for power. The former group can be allies to PCs who are enemies of the aboleth and who can stomach working with the lesser evil.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/nzH4gfY.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="640x457" style="" />Lycanthrope: Once more numerous, lycanthropes are nearly extinct on Khorvaire. The survivors of the Silver Crusade fled into the more remote reaches of the continent, Droaam being one such destination. As a land that shared a hostile stance against the Church of Silver Flame, this outweighed its reputation as a monster-filled region for some survivors. In modern times Droaam is notable for having two organizations of lycanthropes: the Beast Brigade mercenary group and the Dark Pack. The latter of whom still seek to keep their existence hidden, despite being given protection by the Daughters of Sora Kell.As the curse of lycanthropy only affects humanoids, a sizable percentage of Droaam’s population are immune to it. Most Droaamish lycanthropes (both natural and afflicted) are drawn from orcish, gnoll, goblinoid, kobold, and shifter stock. Natural lycanthropes are part of their own close-knit communities made up of extended family members. They are careful to only infect volunteers who earned the community’s trust. When using their natural weapons in battle, they take pains to infect someone they are confident enough in killing. This is to avoid others from discovering their existence should a foe manage to flee. The vast majority of unintended infections come from afflicted lycanthropes, who don’t have full control of themselves. Most lycanthropes choose to remain either in animal or their base form, changing shape into hybrid form when the opportunity for discretion is long past. Animal forms are used to take advantage of unique senses and methods of locomotion, such as increased size to scare off rivals, excellent hearing or smell to detect ambushes and track down quarry, and natural weapons to ensure that one is never truly unarmed. It’s for these reasons that the weaker species of Droaam most often seek out lycanthropes, viewing their powers as a means to gain an edge. Most of the time they’re rebuffed at best, killed at worst should they be lucky enough to find a community. But for those who earn this dubious honor, sometimes the rumor of a lycanthrope in a goblin or kobold clan can deter raiders and rivals in looking for easier pickings.While the various animal forms common to lycanthropy aren’t as dangerous to an ogre or troll as they are to the average human, their immunity to all forms of nonmagical physical damage that doesn’t come from a silver source gives them an amazing edge in fights with Droaam’s monstrous population who mostly rely on brute strength. This has given risen to a popular saying: “a brawl between a troll and a werewolf” is an indicator of a conflict or dispute with no clear solution in sight. However, the myriad unique features of Droaam’s various monsters has been quite the equalizer: venomous creatures can still harm lycanthropes provided that their method of injection doesn’t require breaking the skin, a medusa's petrifying gazes work just as well, and hags and other monsters with psionic and magical attacks can easily make up for a lack of silver. These factors do much to convince arrogant newcomer lycanthropes that Droaam isn’t a region they can effortlessly take over.During the Last War, lycanthrope soldiers would afflict an enemy soldier or civilian and let them free during nights on or close to the full moon. If the infection remained undetected, they would transform and turn on their allies and neighbors. This tactic, while accepted as a necessary evil when fighting Breland, is much less popular when Droaamish citizens fight each other. One for the fact that biological warfare is less easily controllable, and two for the fact that this can tip off a previously-unaware community to the lycanthropes’ existence in their midst. Several lycanthropes who sought to apply their wartime tactics to resolving personal disputes begotten tragic consequences of spreading intra-community paranoia, unintended casualties, and encouraging people to start finding silver weapons and hunting lycanthropes down like the days of old. In wartime, the lycanthropes had the aid of other monsters when fighting the Brelish. in peacetime, they no longer have that ace up their sleeve.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ULeBV26.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="508x600" style="" />Ogres of War (Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse): During the Last War, ogres were least-adapted among Droaam’s monsters in fighting the more industrialized Brelish soldiers. Harpies and gargoyles had aerial capabilities, hill giants could throw massive objects at great distances, Znir Pact gnolls had the best archers and their own regimented martial culture, oni had ample magical powers, medusae could turn others to stone with but a glance, trolls could safely ignore most sources of harm, and orcs and goblinoids could repurpose most weapons and armor from the Five Nations. The ogres had none of the aforementioned advantages, and combined with their large forms they suffered some of the highest casualties from siege weapons and wandslingers.The advantages of ogres in number and physical strength was still too much of a boon to give up, so the Daughters of Sora Kell came up with ways to adapt ogre soldiers to modern warfare. The Skullcrusher Ogres served as distinguished members of their species. Raised from childhood for the purposes of war, they had quality equipment and training in comparison to their peers.Although Skullcrushers were the most famous unit, Droaam created other less prestigious yet effective ogre units. The Bolt Launchers adopted ballistas as portable weapons, taking advantage of their long range and devastating power in order to reliably engage with distant combatants. Battering Rams were designed to destroy enemy fortifications and siege weapons while also preventing cavalry and vehicles from passing by them in key chokepoints in the Graywall and Byeshk Mountains. Howdahs were made to provide protection to Small-sized archers and double as troop transports given the lack of lightning rails in the country. Chain Brutes were outfitted with whiplike chains to knock down multiple enemies at once.These ogre units find no lack of opportunities in post-war times. Chibs still find reasons to fight each other, and House Tharashk heavily recruits ogres from these four units. Some even found applications of their gear and talents in civilian jobs. For instance, a legion of ogre firefighters and construction workers  in Graywall use Battering Rams to engage in controlled demolitions and in breaking down the walls and doors of burning buildings to rescue people. Howdahs hire their services as multi-passenger rickshaws. More than a few goblins and kobolds of means have taken to hiring their own personal howdahs as status symbols, relishing the ability to literally look down on others for a change of pace.</blockquote>

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