FreakyCheeseMan
2013-02-06, 06:33 PM
This is a campaign setting I've been working on for a few years now. There's a lot too it, so I'll try to break it up as well as I can. If anyone knows a better format for me to put this in - or a site that would let me host it - don't be shy.
There's a lot of material to post, so for now I'm going to restrict myself to the major races active in space today- and even then, I'm cutting some of the more esoteric ones out of this document.
Planets of Magic is a fantasy world, set across multiple planets; humans and other races uses enchanted ships to travel between the stars.
Races
Humans
The original human homeworld has long sense been lost, and many believe it destroyed. Today, the term "Homeworld" refers to any planet where humans were seeded by the great Dwarven ships during the Clan Wars. Dwarves suffered from an abysmally low birth rate; during the wars, they could not risk leaving what few people they had vulnerable on the surface. Instead, they used humans as slave labor, uprooting entire populations and moving them into mining camps with minimal supervision. When the Clan Wars finally ended, these camps were abandoned to fend for themselves, and human societies grew and evolved across dozens of systems.
The first Human society to achieve space travel was the totalitarian aristocracy of planet Ogtheria, who built the first fleet and used it to subjugate every planet they came across (starting with the Halfling homeworld of Ba'amba'ut, located in Ogtehria's home system.) Eventually, the subjugated worlds stole the secrets of space flight from their oppressors, and a wave of revolts swept the Ogtherian empire, culminating in the Liberation Wars. Today, numerous human factions spar for control over resource-rich colonies and mining worlds, and human-controlled ships outnumber those of every other race combined.
Neyferi
The Neyferi are a blue-skinned race with a somewhat slighter builder than humans. Native to the planet Neyfer, the Neyferi spent most of their history as migrant tribes, clinging to survival in the face of their own deadly ecosystem. In the years since first contact with humans, however, Neyferi populations and society have bloomed, and their planet is now widely considered to be the pinnacle of civilization in the galaxy. The entire surface has been given over to a massive nature preserve, while Neyferi themselves live in floating cities, held aloft by the planet's prodigious magical field.
The rapid rise of the Neyferi empire has its roots in the collective consciousness of the race. Individual Neyferi still make their own choices and have their own personalities; however, they instinctively sense the location and emotion of others of their race, and become distressed if they attempt to take action that goes against the well-being of the collective - distress that the collective can sense. Neyferi also dream of one another's experiences, and the dreams tend to contain relevant skills or knowledge; a Neyferi apprenticed as a blacksmith, for instance, will dream of the formative moments of the most talented Neyferi smiths throughout history. Finally, the hive mind handles much of the logistics of managing the powerful Neyferi race, all but elimating the need for bureaucratic or administrative personnel. While Neyferi society does have designated rulers, they are needed only for rare and immediate decisions; the bulk of the Neyferi government comes in the form of an automatic natural democracy, with individual thoughts and preferences informing the collective consciousness, and the collective consciousness directing the actions of individuals on an instinctive level. For Neyferi, service to the community almost always comes above the needs of the individual - one of the many reasons they distrust humans and other races.
Because Neyferi share their insights and information through dreams, they have become one of the most advanced races in the stars, by measure of pure knowledge. Decades ago, Neyferi mastered the art of weaving enchantments into plants as they grew; modern Neyferi warships are shaped from colossal trees, with decks and cabins woven between the roots and branches. The mighty Neyferi Arboreal Dreadnoughts are among the most feared ships in space, second only to the mountain-sized Dwarven clan ships.
While the vast majority of Neyferi remain bound to the collective, individuals can and do choose to have themselves severed. Officially, it is the right of any adult Neyferi to request such severance at any time - however, there is a heavy stigma attached with doing so, and those who undergo the process often find themselves the subject of distrust from their former fellows. To avoid this stigma, Neyferi may choose to take a pilgrimage to the planet's surface upon being severed; if they can survive independently in the wild, they are judged to be proven, and worthy of individuality. As the Neyferi Empire has secrets it chooses to keep even from itself, these severed Neyferi often find themselves in leadership positions in the military, or fighting in special operations units.
It is also possible for a group of Neyferi to choose to be severed together, so they maintain (and even strengthen) their connection to one another, while losing it to the society as a whole. The rules are much the same as for an individual severance, except that the group undergo their pilgrimage together. Neyferi who go through this process together become closer than family, and sense one another's thoughts and actions so closely that they act almost as a single individual - giving them a well-deserved reputation in combat.
Elves
Elves are among the youngest races in the cosmos, second only to the gnomes- and their origins are equally shrouded in mystery. In the last centuries before humans ascended into space, a rash of changelings plagued a number of human homeworlds. Human babies were stolen in the night, and the first Elven infants were left in their place. While no one, least of all the Elves, are exactly certain who was behind these substitutions, blame usually falls on the Fey, with whom the Elves share a certain similarity.
Physically, Elves are almost human in appearance, albeit thinner and fairer-featured. To add further mystery, Elves are fully capable of breeding with humans- something no other known alien race is capable of. By nature, Elves tend to be wilder and more adventurous than humans, and prone to (sometimes dangerous) frivolity. Between these traits and their dubious origins, Elves have always been subject to distrust and suspicion.
When Humanity spread to the stars, Elves (and their half-elven offspring) went with them. Over the decades since, Elves have begun to make contact with one another- often for the first times- and the first truly Elven communities have sprung up. Within the last few decades, Elves even claimed a homeworld for their own, though to date it is little more than a colony. While the oldest Elves are entering their third or fourth centuries of life with no signs of aging, Elven society and culture is still in its infancy, and many question what the future will hold for them.
Halflings
The pygyesque inhabitants of the jungle moon Ba'amba'ut have their own term for themselves, which translates simply as "The People." The name "Halflings" originated as a derogatory term, used by the Ogtherian slavers that visited their world. As the overwhelming majority of modern Halflings are descended from former slaves of the Ogtherian Empire, they retain little of their native culture.
Halflings are known for their slight stature, prodigious birthrate and brief lifespans; even excepting unnatural causes, it is rare for a halfling to reach the age of fifty. Halflings have integrated into most human cultures with varying degrees of success. While they tend to be friendly and helpful, their birthrate has always ensured that there are more Halflings than there are places for them, and they often end up as urchins, transients and criminals.
Despite this, Halflings tend to have close-knit (albeit large) families, and will usually work to take care of one another. As a race, they bear an almost universal hatred towards Ogtheria- an understandable bias, considering the number of Halflings still enslaved in the Empire's capitol.
Gnomes
Of the known sentient races in the universe, Gnomes are the youngest and least populous - an easily understood fact, given their personalities. Gnomes are blessed with intelligence and burdened with curiosity - almost the entire race is engaged in some area of academia or another.
Gnomish pregnancies last over a year, and infant Gnomes are born almost entirely self-sufficient, often speaking their first words within a week of their birth, and learning to feed themselves just as quickly. This early independence is imperative to the survival of the gnomish population, who tend to view their own young as either distractions or experimental subjects, on the rare occasion that they remember their existence at all.
As Gnomes mature into the prodigious intelligence that is their birthright, they are often recruited as lab partners or research assistants by their parents, during which their parents may grudgingly teach them whatever basic skills or knowledge they failed to pick up on their own. This partnership lasts until the younger Gnomes grow old enough to question their parents or pursue scientific inquiries of their own, at which point they are usually kicked out into the world.
Adolescent Gnomes's lives are given over to sating their boundless curiosities. While some are recruited as researchers by the more advanced laboratories and enchanteries, most turn to adventure, eager to discover forgotten knowledge or cosmological phenomena of their own. Many Gnomes die during their adolescence; recklessness and curiosity make a poor combination, though eventually, experience and magical power begin to compensate.
As Gnomes enter adulthood and old age, they begin to suffer from a strange version of dementia. While their intellect does not fade - if anything, it grows - they begin to lose perspective and restraint. Most Gnomes of this age become hermits, locking themselves away in laboratories or dedicating themselves to solitary adventure and exploration. While young Gnomes may be bubbly and exited to share their discoveries with anyone who will listen, willing or otherwise, old Gnomes become jealous and paranoid, and will often die rather than sharing their discoveries. Elder Gnomes are known for putting their own research above any other considerations; more than one catastrophy has its roots in Gnomish experimentation.
Occasionally, two adult Gnomes will discover that their lines of research have intersected; this usually results in one Gnome killing the other, stealing whatever of the dead Gnome's notes and materials relate directly to their area of interest, and destroying or abandoning the rest. On rare occasions, it results in the brief and distracted liasons that allow for the continuation of the Gnomish species.
Oddly, Kobolds are among the only races whose presence elder Gnomes willingly tolerate- probably because the diminutive reptiles provide an endless and renewable source of experimental subjects, manual labor and expendable assistants.
Dwarves
While the Dwarven race one ruled a region of space greater than all the modern human nations combined, by now they have almost withdrawn from the world. It was the Dwarves who were first responsible for seeding Humanity throughout the stars, using the more populous race as slave labor in their endless arms race, mining the rare material that powered their Clan-Ships, Sourcerite.
It was only after the wars had waged for several human generations that Dwarves learned the fact that undid their empires; prolonged exposure to Sourcerite had neutered them magically. They retained control of their powerful starships, but were unable to enchant them further, or to repair any damage they sustained. With no ability to recover from their wounds, the Clan Wars petered out. The Dwarven Homeworld had long since been rendered uninhabitable by orbital bombardment, and the Dwarves feared attack by another clan if they abandoned their ships to live on another world; so, for the most part, they're still drifting through space, searching for anything that can end the stale mate in their favor.
Since then, a few Dwarves have abandoned their ships and clans, and even regained some use of magic- but only after decades away from their Sourerite-powered ships. Meanwhile, the Clan wars have slumbered but not died, and the Clans share a deep-seated animosity toward one another. While even a single Dwarven ship boasts enough firepower to be an even match for the average fleet, Dwarves to date have kept themselves out of human conflicts and affairs.
Physically, Dwarves are as short and stout as their name suggests, less than five feet in height but easily as strong as the average human. In terms of their appearance, Dwarves of a given clan are almost entirely alike. In order to identify themselves from one another, they weave their bears into unique patterns. Over the centuries of Dwarven existence, these patterns have taken on great meaning, and change and evolve to reflect the events of Dwarf's life.
While far from stupid, Dwarves lack the all-encompassing curiosity that drives the Gnomish race; however, they are known as dedicated and consummate workers, and often spend decades working to perfect a single craft. Few Dwarves turn to spellcasting, but many bury themselves in the art of enchantment, creating some of the finest magical items in the known cosmos..
Kobolds
By some estimations, Kobolds are now the most populous race in existence, outnumbering even humans. While individually capable of becoming as intelligent as any other race, Kobold society remains primitive, and even the most progressive planets view them as little more than vermin.
Physically, the average Kobold is only a foot or two tall, with a narrow head and small skeleton that allows them to fit comfortable through holes much smaller than they are, in a manner similar to rats. Kobolds are hermaphroditic, and can reproduce asexually if no mates are available. A single Kobold is capable of laying hundreds of eggs at a time. Kobold eggs are strangely resilient, and are immune to most atmospheric poisons, extremes of hot and cold, and even the void of space; as Kobolds like to lay their eggs in hidden, hard-to-reach places, it is very difficult to rid a ship or structure of a Kobold infestation once it has taken root.
When the eggs hatch, infant Kobolds are born into an immediate struggle against starvation. The strongest steal food from the weakest, the most cunning discover sources of food the others overlook, and the rest die. If there are adult Kobolds surviving in the area, they will try to provide some food to the younglings- but, a sizable number of each generation are always lost to starvation.
While the average Kobold grows to somewhere between one and two feet in height, Kobolds vary wildly in size; the smallest never grow above the size of rats, while the largest approximate Halflings in stature. It's unknown whether this height is a result of genetics, or if only the most successful Kobolds get enough food to grow to their full potential- however, these "Greater Kobolds" are generally the leaders of what passes for Kobold society, and the most likely to successfully integrate with humans.
Kobolds possess next to no familial instinct, and, left to themselves, rarely choose to raise or educate more than one or two of their young. Kobold societies tend to fall into natural hierarchies, with the strongest or most intelligent securing the position of leader, while lesser Kobolds serve as lieutenants or underlings. While a strong leader can sometimes meld a Kobold population into a more organized and effective group, such order rarely outlives the leader. Even after a few days of the leader's absence, the population will generally revert to form, or a new leader will seize power.
Despite this, Kobold's intelligence and natural curiosities ensures that a steady stream of mages appear in even the most downtrodden Kobold population. While few of these mages ever graduate beyond basic cantrips and illusions, they still form one of the definitive aspects of Kobold infestations.
Interestingly, non-Kobolds are also able to bend Kobolds to their will, through the right mixture of politics, cunning and force. Many Gnomes, in particular, foster populations of Kobolds to serve as their servants, assistants and guards.
In spite of all of this, individual Kobolds have an almost limitless capacity for learning, which they do not lose later in life. As a result, a few Kobolds have risen above the vermin-like stigma of their race, and earned reputations for themselves as powerful mages or adventurers.
To date, no one is exactly certain of the location of the Kobold Homeworld- an uncertainty resulting from the number of planets to which the reptilian race has spread. Kobolds often stow away aboard star ships at port, and while captains and dock owners have gone to great lengths to secure themselves against infestation, these measures are rarely met with any degree of success.
There's a lot of material to post, so for now I'm going to restrict myself to the major races active in space today- and even then, I'm cutting some of the more esoteric ones out of this document.
Planets of Magic is a fantasy world, set across multiple planets; humans and other races uses enchanted ships to travel between the stars.
Races
Humans
The original human homeworld has long sense been lost, and many believe it destroyed. Today, the term "Homeworld" refers to any planet where humans were seeded by the great Dwarven ships during the Clan Wars. Dwarves suffered from an abysmally low birth rate; during the wars, they could not risk leaving what few people they had vulnerable on the surface. Instead, they used humans as slave labor, uprooting entire populations and moving them into mining camps with minimal supervision. When the Clan Wars finally ended, these camps were abandoned to fend for themselves, and human societies grew and evolved across dozens of systems.
The first Human society to achieve space travel was the totalitarian aristocracy of planet Ogtheria, who built the first fleet and used it to subjugate every planet they came across (starting with the Halfling homeworld of Ba'amba'ut, located in Ogtehria's home system.) Eventually, the subjugated worlds stole the secrets of space flight from their oppressors, and a wave of revolts swept the Ogtherian empire, culminating in the Liberation Wars. Today, numerous human factions spar for control over resource-rich colonies and mining worlds, and human-controlled ships outnumber those of every other race combined.
Neyferi
The Neyferi are a blue-skinned race with a somewhat slighter builder than humans. Native to the planet Neyfer, the Neyferi spent most of their history as migrant tribes, clinging to survival in the face of their own deadly ecosystem. In the years since first contact with humans, however, Neyferi populations and society have bloomed, and their planet is now widely considered to be the pinnacle of civilization in the galaxy. The entire surface has been given over to a massive nature preserve, while Neyferi themselves live in floating cities, held aloft by the planet's prodigious magical field.
The rapid rise of the Neyferi empire has its roots in the collective consciousness of the race. Individual Neyferi still make their own choices and have their own personalities; however, they instinctively sense the location and emotion of others of their race, and become distressed if they attempt to take action that goes against the well-being of the collective - distress that the collective can sense. Neyferi also dream of one another's experiences, and the dreams tend to contain relevant skills or knowledge; a Neyferi apprenticed as a blacksmith, for instance, will dream of the formative moments of the most talented Neyferi smiths throughout history. Finally, the hive mind handles much of the logistics of managing the powerful Neyferi race, all but elimating the need for bureaucratic or administrative personnel. While Neyferi society does have designated rulers, they are needed only for rare and immediate decisions; the bulk of the Neyferi government comes in the form of an automatic natural democracy, with individual thoughts and preferences informing the collective consciousness, and the collective consciousness directing the actions of individuals on an instinctive level. For Neyferi, service to the community almost always comes above the needs of the individual - one of the many reasons they distrust humans and other races.
Because Neyferi share their insights and information through dreams, they have become one of the most advanced races in the stars, by measure of pure knowledge. Decades ago, Neyferi mastered the art of weaving enchantments into plants as they grew; modern Neyferi warships are shaped from colossal trees, with decks and cabins woven between the roots and branches. The mighty Neyferi Arboreal Dreadnoughts are among the most feared ships in space, second only to the mountain-sized Dwarven clan ships.
While the vast majority of Neyferi remain bound to the collective, individuals can and do choose to have themselves severed. Officially, it is the right of any adult Neyferi to request such severance at any time - however, there is a heavy stigma attached with doing so, and those who undergo the process often find themselves the subject of distrust from their former fellows. To avoid this stigma, Neyferi may choose to take a pilgrimage to the planet's surface upon being severed; if they can survive independently in the wild, they are judged to be proven, and worthy of individuality. As the Neyferi Empire has secrets it chooses to keep even from itself, these severed Neyferi often find themselves in leadership positions in the military, or fighting in special operations units.
It is also possible for a group of Neyferi to choose to be severed together, so they maintain (and even strengthen) their connection to one another, while losing it to the society as a whole. The rules are much the same as for an individual severance, except that the group undergo their pilgrimage together. Neyferi who go through this process together become closer than family, and sense one another's thoughts and actions so closely that they act almost as a single individual - giving them a well-deserved reputation in combat.
Elves
Elves are among the youngest races in the cosmos, second only to the gnomes- and their origins are equally shrouded in mystery. In the last centuries before humans ascended into space, a rash of changelings plagued a number of human homeworlds. Human babies were stolen in the night, and the first Elven infants were left in their place. While no one, least of all the Elves, are exactly certain who was behind these substitutions, blame usually falls on the Fey, with whom the Elves share a certain similarity.
Physically, Elves are almost human in appearance, albeit thinner and fairer-featured. To add further mystery, Elves are fully capable of breeding with humans- something no other known alien race is capable of. By nature, Elves tend to be wilder and more adventurous than humans, and prone to (sometimes dangerous) frivolity. Between these traits and their dubious origins, Elves have always been subject to distrust and suspicion.
When Humanity spread to the stars, Elves (and their half-elven offspring) went with them. Over the decades since, Elves have begun to make contact with one another- often for the first times- and the first truly Elven communities have sprung up. Within the last few decades, Elves even claimed a homeworld for their own, though to date it is little more than a colony. While the oldest Elves are entering their third or fourth centuries of life with no signs of aging, Elven society and culture is still in its infancy, and many question what the future will hold for them.
Halflings
The pygyesque inhabitants of the jungle moon Ba'amba'ut have their own term for themselves, which translates simply as "The People." The name "Halflings" originated as a derogatory term, used by the Ogtherian slavers that visited their world. As the overwhelming majority of modern Halflings are descended from former slaves of the Ogtherian Empire, they retain little of their native culture.
Halflings are known for their slight stature, prodigious birthrate and brief lifespans; even excepting unnatural causes, it is rare for a halfling to reach the age of fifty. Halflings have integrated into most human cultures with varying degrees of success. While they tend to be friendly and helpful, their birthrate has always ensured that there are more Halflings than there are places for them, and they often end up as urchins, transients and criminals.
Despite this, Halflings tend to have close-knit (albeit large) families, and will usually work to take care of one another. As a race, they bear an almost universal hatred towards Ogtheria- an understandable bias, considering the number of Halflings still enslaved in the Empire's capitol.
Gnomes
Of the known sentient races in the universe, Gnomes are the youngest and least populous - an easily understood fact, given their personalities. Gnomes are blessed with intelligence and burdened with curiosity - almost the entire race is engaged in some area of academia or another.
Gnomish pregnancies last over a year, and infant Gnomes are born almost entirely self-sufficient, often speaking their first words within a week of their birth, and learning to feed themselves just as quickly. This early independence is imperative to the survival of the gnomish population, who tend to view their own young as either distractions or experimental subjects, on the rare occasion that they remember their existence at all.
As Gnomes mature into the prodigious intelligence that is their birthright, they are often recruited as lab partners or research assistants by their parents, during which their parents may grudgingly teach them whatever basic skills or knowledge they failed to pick up on their own. This partnership lasts until the younger Gnomes grow old enough to question their parents or pursue scientific inquiries of their own, at which point they are usually kicked out into the world.
Adolescent Gnomes's lives are given over to sating their boundless curiosities. While some are recruited as researchers by the more advanced laboratories and enchanteries, most turn to adventure, eager to discover forgotten knowledge or cosmological phenomena of their own. Many Gnomes die during their adolescence; recklessness and curiosity make a poor combination, though eventually, experience and magical power begin to compensate.
As Gnomes enter adulthood and old age, they begin to suffer from a strange version of dementia. While their intellect does not fade - if anything, it grows - they begin to lose perspective and restraint. Most Gnomes of this age become hermits, locking themselves away in laboratories or dedicating themselves to solitary adventure and exploration. While young Gnomes may be bubbly and exited to share their discoveries with anyone who will listen, willing or otherwise, old Gnomes become jealous and paranoid, and will often die rather than sharing their discoveries. Elder Gnomes are known for putting their own research above any other considerations; more than one catastrophy has its roots in Gnomish experimentation.
Occasionally, two adult Gnomes will discover that their lines of research have intersected; this usually results in one Gnome killing the other, stealing whatever of the dead Gnome's notes and materials relate directly to their area of interest, and destroying or abandoning the rest. On rare occasions, it results in the brief and distracted liasons that allow for the continuation of the Gnomish species.
Oddly, Kobolds are among the only races whose presence elder Gnomes willingly tolerate- probably because the diminutive reptiles provide an endless and renewable source of experimental subjects, manual labor and expendable assistants.
Dwarves
While the Dwarven race one ruled a region of space greater than all the modern human nations combined, by now they have almost withdrawn from the world. It was the Dwarves who were first responsible for seeding Humanity throughout the stars, using the more populous race as slave labor in their endless arms race, mining the rare material that powered their Clan-Ships, Sourcerite.
It was only after the wars had waged for several human generations that Dwarves learned the fact that undid their empires; prolonged exposure to Sourcerite had neutered them magically. They retained control of their powerful starships, but were unable to enchant them further, or to repair any damage they sustained. With no ability to recover from their wounds, the Clan Wars petered out. The Dwarven Homeworld had long since been rendered uninhabitable by orbital bombardment, and the Dwarves feared attack by another clan if they abandoned their ships to live on another world; so, for the most part, they're still drifting through space, searching for anything that can end the stale mate in their favor.
Since then, a few Dwarves have abandoned their ships and clans, and even regained some use of magic- but only after decades away from their Sourerite-powered ships. Meanwhile, the Clan wars have slumbered but not died, and the Clans share a deep-seated animosity toward one another. While even a single Dwarven ship boasts enough firepower to be an even match for the average fleet, Dwarves to date have kept themselves out of human conflicts and affairs.
Physically, Dwarves are as short and stout as their name suggests, less than five feet in height but easily as strong as the average human. In terms of their appearance, Dwarves of a given clan are almost entirely alike. In order to identify themselves from one another, they weave their bears into unique patterns. Over the centuries of Dwarven existence, these patterns have taken on great meaning, and change and evolve to reflect the events of Dwarf's life.
While far from stupid, Dwarves lack the all-encompassing curiosity that drives the Gnomish race; however, they are known as dedicated and consummate workers, and often spend decades working to perfect a single craft. Few Dwarves turn to spellcasting, but many bury themselves in the art of enchantment, creating some of the finest magical items in the known cosmos..
Kobolds
By some estimations, Kobolds are now the most populous race in existence, outnumbering even humans. While individually capable of becoming as intelligent as any other race, Kobold society remains primitive, and even the most progressive planets view them as little more than vermin.
Physically, the average Kobold is only a foot or two tall, with a narrow head and small skeleton that allows them to fit comfortable through holes much smaller than they are, in a manner similar to rats. Kobolds are hermaphroditic, and can reproduce asexually if no mates are available. A single Kobold is capable of laying hundreds of eggs at a time. Kobold eggs are strangely resilient, and are immune to most atmospheric poisons, extremes of hot and cold, and even the void of space; as Kobolds like to lay their eggs in hidden, hard-to-reach places, it is very difficult to rid a ship or structure of a Kobold infestation once it has taken root.
When the eggs hatch, infant Kobolds are born into an immediate struggle against starvation. The strongest steal food from the weakest, the most cunning discover sources of food the others overlook, and the rest die. If there are adult Kobolds surviving in the area, they will try to provide some food to the younglings- but, a sizable number of each generation are always lost to starvation.
While the average Kobold grows to somewhere between one and two feet in height, Kobolds vary wildly in size; the smallest never grow above the size of rats, while the largest approximate Halflings in stature. It's unknown whether this height is a result of genetics, or if only the most successful Kobolds get enough food to grow to their full potential- however, these "Greater Kobolds" are generally the leaders of what passes for Kobold society, and the most likely to successfully integrate with humans.
Kobolds possess next to no familial instinct, and, left to themselves, rarely choose to raise or educate more than one or two of their young. Kobold societies tend to fall into natural hierarchies, with the strongest or most intelligent securing the position of leader, while lesser Kobolds serve as lieutenants or underlings. While a strong leader can sometimes meld a Kobold population into a more organized and effective group, such order rarely outlives the leader. Even after a few days of the leader's absence, the population will generally revert to form, or a new leader will seize power.
Despite this, Kobold's intelligence and natural curiosities ensures that a steady stream of mages appear in even the most downtrodden Kobold population. While few of these mages ever graduate beyond basic cantrips and illusions, they still form one of the definitive aspects of Kobold infestations.
Interestingly, non-Kobolds are also able to bend Kobolds to their will, through the right mixture of politics, cunning and force. Many Gnomes, in particular, foster populations of Kobolds to serve as their servants, assistants and guards.
In spite of all of this, individual Kobolds have an almost limitless capacity for learning, which they do not lose later in life. As a result, a few Kobolds have risen above the vermin-like stigma of their race, and earned reputations for themselves as powerful mages or adventurers.
To date, no one is exactly certain of the location of the Kobold Homeworld- an uncertainty resulting from the number of planets to which the reptilian race has spread. Kobolds often stow away aboard star ships at port, and while captains and dock owners have gone to great lengths to secure themselves against infestation, these measures are rarely met with any degree of success.