Dungeon Day 344 to 462 - Continues
Even if the gnolls valued their packs, it wasn’t a value truly born out of necessity, and outside of times when they were united by a stronger leader, most packs of gnolls tended to be around a few dozen at most. And when they did function as a pack, all gnolls were still rather individualistic, and though they worked together, it was more due to the upsides of a pack than any true want to build any familial bonds. The truth was that the more gnolls there were, the safer they were and the easier they could get whatever they wanted.
Completely opposing the gnolls were the kobolds. The small dragon people were all about genuinely working as a pack for the benefit of all. They each placed the well-being of the warren above all else and were not ones to put their needs before the warren. In a way, the kobold warren was very similar to an ant nest. One of the main differences was the variety found in a kobold warren.
Usually, an ant nest was divided into three casts. There was the queen at the top, then the warriors, and finally the workers. These casts were all very similar in nature in that one individual wasn’t different from another within that same cast. Of course, kobolds needed much more diversity than a simple ant nest, at least if they wanted to survive against monsters and other humanoids.
To begin with, the leaders of a kobold warren were much more individualist than any other cast. These kobolds had a knack for leadership, planning, creativity, and general thinking that let them see the entire picture, not just one particular section. These kobolds weren’t born all-knowing but had traits that facilitated better learning, which helped lead to the survival of their species. Unsurprisingly, other kobolds could “see” this trait in their leaders, which inherently made them want to follow and listen to them.
Now, even in the leader cast, there was a hierarchy. Some leaders were born as workers, but due to their ingenuity, their mental quirks focused on a specific section of the big picture. Other leaders came to be soldiers and had a better knack for fighting and strategy. Finally, there were the leaders, usually a leader at the very top whose mind was able to plan within the entire picture and thus command the other leaders accordingly.
Of course, Dan had noticed that even though these leaders were much more quirky, holding unique personalities. It did not mean that other normal kobolds were simply drones. Each kobold was born in a cast, sure, but they still had their own likes and dislikes involving things outside of what their respective cast was meant to do.
To simplify what Dan saw in the kobolds, a warrior cast would never dislike fighting, but he could dislike certain weapons or form opinions on other things such as drinks, food, and even other kobolds. However, the dislike of other kobolds was a rare trait, and most times, they were of no mind to care about such things. After all, the kobolds were meant to work together as a unit for the good of the warren.
In the warren, the kobolds in charge set a direction for the warren, and as Dan had observed the kobolds, this direction was inherently chosen by what the leaders believed was best for the warren. It seemed that even the top leaders had an ingrained trait that ensured they almost always tried to do everything they could for the good of the warren. This trait could be steered wrong, much like when Lady Diba got too high and mighty and attempted to capture Dan’s worms. At the time, the kobold knew it was probably best to submit to the clear display of power, but her own personal want to be in charge had derailed her. From what Dan saw of her memories then, the kobold convinced herself that the best thing for the warren was to keep herself as a ruler, which, in a way, wasn’t wrong.
Anyways, after a course was set for the warren, the various other leaders would be tasked with multiple jobs by the leader of the warren. Naturally, there would be discussions as they all devised a proper plan. This involved clarifying what the current warren was capable of carrying out and adjusting to compensate. For example, if the main leader or leaders decided the warren needed to eliminate a nearby threat, they would call for military force. From there, the military leaders would input whether they had the manpower and weapons to accomplish the task. If they didn’t, then it was a task for the crafter leader to get production moving or the hatchery to produce more warrior kobolds. In turn, if they needed more food or resources to produce more weapons or kobolds, the main leader was tasked to figure out how to procure said resources. This then involves said leader making a plan to get the resources, which would start the cycle again until a full-on series of events fixed the various issues the warren faced until the original plan was accomplished.
Another important aspect of the warren was that the leader types weren’t the only ones with complicated jobs. Plenty of kobolds were born with the mind to be alchemists, smiths, or hold other such jobs. It was just that these basic kobolds could not problem-solve outside of their very specific tasks, and even more so, they lacked the creativity to invent new things. Usually, a leader kobold involved in alchemy would come up with a new recipe, and from there, the recipe would be passed down to kobolds with the required skills.
All in all, Dan had spent quite a while watching the kobolds and understanding their process so as not to ruin the immersion. He was going to create more kobolds, and the general direction for the warren was already being set for him, but there were a few other things that the kobolds would handle on their own.
In The Rocky Caves, the game the kobolds, gnolls, and adventurers were going to play was going to be much more live-action and unplanned than something like in The Rolling Hills or Green Territory. In those sections, Dan had planned out the patrols and general events. The green skin event would be much more organized in general, with the occupants having little to no say in the actual workings of the area. They would still act as if they did have a say, sending out patrols, but in truth, Dan was doing that to be immersive, and pretty much everything was controlled. Essentially, he was giving adventurers a controlled environment in which to play.
The Rolling Hills was somewhat controlled by Dan, but only the general direction in which the event would progress, and a few things of how the npcs moved about. Outside of not letting the bosses leave the camps and enacting certain strategies, the hills would be a much more free-for-all space where the trolls and ogres were much freer to roam about.
On the other hand, The Rocky Caves was an area that was truly going to be run by its inhabitants. Sure, Dan was setting their course, but the strategies the two sides would use were up to their leaders or adventurers to decide. It was the reason why Dan wanted both camps working so well. There would be times where he intervened, but he wanted each run to be different. He could have set both sides to perform the same moves every time and only let the adventurers make the changes, but that would be boring.
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Instead, the kobolds and gnolls would strategize on their own, and each of the capture-the-zone events would be different. They wouldn’t remember what happened in previous events, and Dan was sure there would be repetitions, but he hoped the gnoll's erratic behavior would add some surprise to the event. Naturally, that wasn’t even accounting for whatever strategies adventures would bring to the table, which would add even more outcomes to the entire game.
So, feeling like he had a good hand on the kobolds, he adjusted various things and plans and began making more of them.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? Humanoid Statblock ??
Rank: Mid D Rank.
Name: Bror.
Type: Humanoid - Kobold.
Choice: Kobold Defender.
Size: Small.
Hierarchy: Minion.
Arcane Mana: 500/500.
Arcane Mana Regen: +8 Per Minute.
Pure Arcane Mana: 250/250.
Pure Arcane Mana Conversion: +4 Per Minute.
Innate Abilities: 10.
Dark Vision. Dragon Blooded - Earth. Earth Attuned. Nimble. Pack Tactics. Warren Born. Defense Cast. Presences. Mana Storage. Enhanced Defenses.
Proficiencies: 7.
Shield. Shortsword. Spear. Light Armor. Medium Armor. Basic Tactics. Body Enhancement.
Spells: 2.
Body Enhancement - General and Resilience.
Techniques: 2.
Tough Skin. Enhanced Strike.
Respawn Timer: 2 Hours.
Respawn Cost: 46 Mana.
Creation Cost: 92 Mana.
??
Looking at the kobold stats, Dan was, yet again, unsurprised by what he saw there. He had guessed the kobolds were descendants of earth dragons, and that was definitely correct. Seeing the Dragon Blooded, he was curious about the difference between a dragonkin and a kobold but decided not to poke that bear of creation. As for the rest of the kobold’s abilities, well, Nimble obviously made a kobold more agile.
The Defense Cast, marked the kobold as some sort of defender, at least if their Choice was anything to go by. This particular kobold, with his Defense Cast, was a bit larger than most kobolds with the addition of thicker scales and a greater number of them in critical areas, like the chest.
The rest of the kobold's abilities were relatively straightforward, forward, like Pack Tactics, which helped their kind coordinate and work better as a group. Meanwhile, Warren Born was what gave the kobolds the cast system and the general sense that they needed to place the warren above all else. This particular ability was one of the things that made kobolds, kobolds.
Of course, Dan wanted to make the kobold and gnoll area harder and had already made the gnolls a force to be reckoned with, and naturally, he had to give the kobolds something as well. For the Defense Cast, this meant Enhanced Defenses, which boosted their scale's defensive properties even further.
In terms of proficiencies, spells, and techniques, Dan couldn’t give much to the kobolds; this applied even more so to the Defense Cast, which were meant to be tanks, and as such, Dan barely gave them anything that would increase their offensive powers. For offensive and even utility capabilities, the kobolds would already have a rather tactical advantage with their earthen powers and general addition of casters to their forces.
?? Crystal Notice ??
?? Humanoid Statblock ??
Rank: Mid D Rank.
Name: Threy.
Type: Humanoid - Kobold.
Choice: Kobold Caster.
Size: Small.
Hierarchy: Minion.
Arcane Mana: 500/500.
Arcane Mana Regen: +8 Per Minute.
Pure Arcane Mana: 250/250.
Pure Arcane Mana Conversion: +4 Per Minute.
Innate Abilities: 10.
Dark Vision. Dragon Blooded - Earth. Earth Attuned. Nimble. Pack Tactics. Warren Born. Magic Cast. Innate Earth Magic. Presences. Mana Storage.
Proficiencies: 7.
Dagger. Shortsword. Spear. Light Armor. Basic Tactics. Basic Cunning. Body Enhancement.
Spells: 1.
Body Enhancement - General.
Techniques: 0.
Respawn Timer: 2 Hours.
Respawn Cost: 40 Mana.
Creation Cost: 81 Mana.
??
Most kobold casters had something that other casters Dan had made didn’t have. This was Innate Magic. The kobold cast that identified as the Magic Cast took their dragon blood further and manifested the ability to innately use Earth Magic. This ability let them sling magic around without needing chants, which was already powerful. Then, the fact they could basically shape the magic however they saw fit, as long as it stayed within the confines of what Earth Magic could do, meant that the kobold casters were a powerful force. For this reason, Dan had not given them any actual spells, even the very basic Shield spell he usually gave all casters. Dan wanted the kobold casters to be a power to be reckoned with but one that was effectively a glass cannon.
Further pushing the idea of a glass cannon kobold along was the fact that these casting kobolds had much less protective scales than most of their kind. They were also slightly smaller than most kobolds and often had scale patterns that could set them even further apart from their brethren. Still, and to be fair, Dan would keep a close eye on The Rocky Caves to make sure their uniqueness didn’t unbalance the general state of the kobold vs. gnoll scenario.
