The Kwalen, known to some as Kobolds, are a small, reptilian species whose very forms and destinies are marked by the powerful entities, vast energies, or ancient technologies they choose to venerate. Every Kwalen instinctively understands the importance of power, and many are inclined to align themselves with formidable patrons, whether they be ancient Rift-Entities, sprawling Mega-Corporation AIs, or the raw, untamed force of Mana-wells. When incubated near such loci of power, their eggs take on physical traits (and sometimes unique abilities) similar to those of the warren's benefactor, leading to a dazzling array of physical variations. Ascending from the treacherous and resource-rich asteroid fields and cavernous derelicts of the Outer Sphere, Kwalen are ingenious crafters and devoted allies. Still, for outsiders trespassing into their territory, they prove to be inspired skirmishers and clever ambushers.
Core Identity: Pragmatic Veneration, Cunning Survival, and Inherited Power Kwalen are fundamentally driven by a pragmatic understanding of power dynamics and an ingrained cautiousness that ensures their survival. They believe that true strength comes from aligning oneself with a greater force, leveraging its influence for protection and prosperity. They are masters of analyzing their surroundings, always looking for ambushes, advantageous terrain, and swift escape routes. Their ingenuity and resourcefulness are legendary, especially when it comes to constructing intricate defenses and cunning traps. While outwardly subservient or secretive around powerful creatures to avoid becoming victims, this meekness quickly fades once Kwalen secure a formidable benefactor or a potent source of cosmic energy. Their loyalty is profound but pragmatic; once their power source fails or seems doomed, their morale breaks swiftly, and they seek a new, more promising patron.
YOU MIGHT...
Seek out powerful benefactors or sources of energy to align yourself with.
Prioritize cunning tactics, ambushes, and intricate defenses for survival.
Adapt quickly to new power dynamics, always looking for the advantageous position.
Take pride in your ingenuity and your ability to craft clever traps and devices.
OTHERS PROBABLY...
Underestimate your intelligence or combat prowess due to your small size.
Are wary of your pragmatic loyalty and your tendency to switch allegiances.
Seek your expertise in trap-setting, guerrilla warfare, or understanding power dynamics.
Are impressed by your ingenuity and your ability to leverage external power.
Physical Description
Kwalen are small, reptilian humanoids, typically about 3 feet tall, with slender bodies, long tails, and stout horns. Their physical traits are highly varied, often reflecting the powerful benefactor or energy source near which their eggs were incubated. This can manifest as glowing crystalline growths, vestigial energy wings, enhanced scales, or even subtle elemental auras. Their scales come in a wide range of colors, from earthy tones to vibrant, iridescent hues.
Kwalen prefer practical, often scavenged attire that allows for quick movement and blending into their environment. They frequently carry an assortment of tools for crafting traps or small, specialized weapons. Their movements are quick, darting, and often accompanied by subtle hisses or chitters, reflecting their cautious and cunning nature.
Society
Kwalen society is meticulously organized after military hierarchies or corporate structures, often mirroring their current benefactor. Even civilian groups within their asteroid warrens or derelict station communities arrange themselves into regiments, companies, and divisions. Veterans who have successfully navigated dangerous alliances or salvaged powerful tech hold high places, usually becoming leaders or advisors.
Outer Sphere (Benefactor Warrens & Strategic Skirmishers): This is the heartland of Kwalen civilization. Their warrens are complex, often multi-layered constructions carved into asteroids, repurposed derelict starships, or hidden within hazardous nebulae. These communities are fiercely loyal to their current powerful benefactor, whether it's a sentient Rift-Anomaly, a reclusive Ancient AI, or a powerful Resource Baron with overwhelming force. They act as expert skirmishers and engineers in the Resource Wars, setting traps and ambushing rivals for their patrons.
Inner Sphere (Covert Cells & Specialized Artisans): In the dense ecumenopolises of the Inner Sphere, Kwalen maintain a discreet presence. They often find their place as highly skilled, if eccentric, crafters, specializing in intricate (and sometimes volatile) technological devices or defensive systems. They might form alliances of convenience with cabals or corporations, offering their ingenuity and unique knowledge of hidden passages in exchange for protection or access to powerful technology. Their ability to sense a "sinking ship" makes them adaptable to the shifting political currents.
Frontier (Rift-Archaeologists & Unstable Experimenters): The most daring Kwalen venture into the uncharted Frontier, drawn by the raw, untamed power of the Rift. They are fascinated by primordial Mana, ancient Rift-Entities, and forgotten cosmic artifacts. They might establish precarious outposts within unstable Rift-Burgs, experimenting with volatile energies and attempting to establish a connection with powerful, sentient anomalies. They are a valuable (and often suicidal) asset for factions seeking to understand or exploit the Rift, though their pragmatic self-preservation often ensures they have an escape route.
Connection to the Rift and Power Incubation
The Kwalen's inherent connection to power is intrinsically linked to the psychoreactive energies of the Rift. When laid near concentrations of Mana, powerful energy sources, ancient AI cores, or even in areas of intense Rift-Taint, their eggs absorb subtle energies. This phenomenon manifests in their varied physical traits (such as glowing crystalline growths, vestigial energy wings, or enhanced scales) and, crucially, in their inherited abilities. They don't typically practice magic themselves, but their entire existence is a testament to the harnessing of external power.
The Rift-Storm Cataclysm was a period of immense energy flux that, for the Kwalen, created unprecedented opportunities for new "benefactors" and the incubation of uniquely empowered offspring. While it brought chaos, it also unveiled new sources of power for them to venerate and adapt to. They are adept at analyzing Rift-Taint for its potential utility, often devising clever traps or defenses that utilize its unpredictable nature. Their ultimate goal is to find their place within the cosmic power structures, always seeking to strengthen their warrens through cunning and strategic alliances.
Beliefs
Kwalen beliefs are centered on a pragmatic understanding of power dynamics and an ingrained cautiousness that ensures their survival. They believe that true strength comes from aligning oneself with a greater force, leveraging its influence for protection and prosperity. They typically do not adhere to rigid theological doctrines, but rather embody a philosophy of cunning survival, strategic alliances, and the efficient use of power. They might revere abstract concepts like "The Ultimate Benefactor" or "The Flow of Power."
They believe that every Yom is a resource to be efficiently managed, every Dei a strategic objective to be achieved. The Rift-Storm Cataclysm was a period of immense energy flux that created unprecedented opportunities for new "benefactors," reinforcing their core philosophy.
Popular Edicts: Align with power, leverage influence, secure your warren, craft cunning traps, adapt to shifting currents.
Popular Anathema: Challenge powerful entities without a plan, waste resources, ignore power dynamics, act without caution, betray a beneficial alliance prematurely.
Kwalen Mechanics
Kwalen are a Humanoid, Kwalen ancestry.
Hit Points: 6
Size: Small
Speed: 25 feet
Ability Boosts: Dexterity, Charisma, and one Free Ability Boost.
Ability Flaw: Constitution.
Languages: Common, Sakvroth. You can learn additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it's positive). Choose from Aklo, Diabolic, Draconic, Dwarven, Empyrean, Fey, Gnomish (Vividi), and Petran, and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).
Senses: Darkvision (You can see in darkness and dim light just as well as you can see in bright light, though your vision in darkness is in black and white.)
Traits: Humanoid, Kwalen
Kwalen Heritages
At 1st level, choose one of the following Kwalen heritages.
Asteroid-Climber Kwalen: You live in a vertically-oriented home, carved into asteroids or derelict ships, and you're a consummate climber. You gain the Combat Climber skill feat, even if you don't meet the prerequisites. You can use your clawed feet and tail to Climb, leaving your hands free. Additionally, if you succeed at an Athletics check to Climb, you critically succeed instead.
Rift-Stalker Kwalen: You hatched in a warren with narrow tunnels that was also home to a being of primal earth energy (or a stable Rift-anomaly), which has made you limber and flexible. When Climbing rock walls, stalactites, and other natural stone features, you move at half your Speed on a success and at full Speed on a critical success (and you move at full Speed on a success if you have Quick Climb). This doesn't affect you if you're using a climb Speed. If you roll a success on an Acrobatics check to Squeeze, you get a critical success instead.
Warp-Scaled Kwalen: Thanks to your warren's association with a powerful energy source or ancient entity (perhaps a mutated space dragon, or a being infused with raw Rift energy), your scales are sturdier than other Kwalen's. You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 6. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saves against energy breath effects, effects with the incapacitation trait, and effects that would make you paralyzed.
Essence-Heart Kwalen: When you hatched, you imprinted on a creature strongly associated with a core cosmic element or Mana type (e.g., a powerful elemental, a fluidic Rift-entity, or a being of pure energy). Choose cold (air), electricity (earth), fire (fire), sonic (metal), acid (water), or poison (organic/wood) for your elemental benefactor. You gain resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1) to the damage type associated with your elemental benefactor.
Star-Scribe Kwalen: Your connection to wise and celestial imperial entities (perhaps ancient Vaelen or enlightened AIs) has led others to seek your advice. You can speak Draconic (or an ancient AI language, GM's discretion). Whenever you critically fail a Diplomacy check to Make an Impression or Request, you get a failure instead.
Leviathan-Born Kwalen: Your proximity to a mighty space leviathan or a colossal Rift-beast has caused you to grow strong and hardy. You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 6. Instead of the normal attribute boosts and flaws, you can choose to gain a boost to Strength, a boost to Charisma, and a flaw in Intelligence.
Conduit-Horn Kwalen: Since hatching in the vicinity of a powerful source of cosmic energy (a Mana-well, a powerful artifact, or an an ancient AI core), a trace of it flows through your veins. Choose one common cantrip from the arcane, divine, or occult spell list (your choice). You can Cast this Spell as an innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up. You are trained in the spell attack modifier and spell DC statistics, and your key spellcasting ability is Charisma.
Power-Jaw Kwalen: Your warren is noted for their powerful jaws and sharp teeth, either to help protect against natural predators or due to reverence of a mighty beast or even cybernetic enhancements. You gain a jaws unarmed attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage. Your jaws are in the brawling group and have the finesse and unarmed traits.
Void-Surfer Kwalen: You grew up in a warren crisscrossed by zero-g passages or fluidic conduits, and were influenced by a powerful aquatic entity or being of fluidic Rift-energy. You gain a swim Speed of 15 feet or a Fly (zero-g only) Speed of 15 feet (your choice).
Bio-Venomtail Kwalen: Thanks to the proximity of a venomous creature (a Rift-mutated beast or a bio-engineered horror) to your warren, you were born with a vestigial spur in your tail that secretes deadly venom. You gain the Tail Toxin action.
Tail Toxin [one-action] (manipulate) Frequency once per day; Requirements You are wielding a piercing or slashing weapon; Effect You apply your tail's venom to a piercing or slashing weapon. If your next Strike with that weapon before the end of your next turn hits and deals damage, you deal persistent poison damage equal to your level to the target.
Kwalen Ancestry Feats
You can select Kwalen ancestry feats from the following options.
1st Level Feats
Cringe (Common, Emotion, Kwalen, Mental, Visual) Feat 1: With pitiful posturing, you cause your foe to pull back a deadly attack. As a reaction when an enemy makes a melee Strike against you, you can attempt an Intimidation check against their Will DC. On a success, they are flat-footed against your next attack (if any) before the end of your next turn.
Benefactor's Favor (Common, Kwalen) Feat 1: You have an affect that powerful entities find unusually pleasing—and when that fails, you know when to duck. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks when interacting with powerful individuals (GM's discretion) and a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC against the first attack roll of a creature that has an Ally, Master, or Minion relationship to your Benefactor.
Power's Aura (Common, Kwalen) Feat 1: Prerequisites Warp-Scaled Kwalen heritage. As kin to mighty cosmic entities, you project unflappable confidence (that collapses catastrophically against the deadliest foes). You project an aura of confidence. Allies within 10 feet who can see you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Will saves against fear effects.
Kwalen Lore (Common, Kwalen) Feat 1: You attentively learned key Kwalen survival strategies, trap-setting techniques, and Benefactor protocols from your elders. You gain training in Kwalen Lore. If you were already trained in Kwalen Lore, you instead become an expert.
Kwalen Weapon Familiarity (Common, Kwalen) Feat 1: You gain access to all uncommon weapons with the Kwalen trait (e.g., electrified traps, plasma whips, compact railguns).
Hidden Network (Uncommon, Kwalen, Uncommon) Feat 1: Due to your discreet nature, your warren maintains hidden networks. You gain training in one Lore skill of your choice related to communication or information networks (e.g., Data Lore, Underworld Lore).
Scamper (Common, Kwalen) Feat 1: You Stride up to your Speed, with a +5-foot status bonus to your Speed, and you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to AC against reactions triggered by this movement.
Slither (Common, Kwalen) Feat 1: You are an expert at moving through extremely tight spaces, like ventilation shafts or dense wreckage. You can Squeeze through a space that is normally too small for you at your full Speed, rather than half, if you succeed at the Acrobatics check.
Snare Setter (Common, Kwalen) Feat 1: Trained in Crafting. You are adept at the time-honored Kwalen art of making traps and defensive emplacements. You gain the Snare Crafting skill feat.
5th Level Feats
Ally's Shelter (Common, Fortune, Kwalen) Feat 5: You follow your allies' example. Once per day, when an ally within 30 feet succeeds at a saving throw against an area effect or an attack that targets multiple creatures, you can use your reaction to also succeed at that saving throw, even if you would have failed. This is a fortune effect.
Duck! (Common, Kwalen) Feat 5: Your long experience with your erratic patrons and their peers has given you a lot of practice in hitting the deck when you hear the rumbling of a powerful entity or an incoming energy blast. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Reflex saves against area effects from creatures two or more sizes larger than you.
Friend of the Benefactor (Common, Kwalen) Feat 5: Prerequisites Star-Scribe Kwalen heritage. You come from a long line of imperial Kwalen who served powerful entities—if you meet a stranger who has some standing in a major power structure, they might know someone from your family line or warren. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks to Make an Impression on individuals with high authority.
Grovel (Common, Auditory, Concentrate, Emotion, Kwalen, Mental) Feat 5: Trained in Deception. You convince your foe you're less of a threat. As a single action, you can appear utterly pathetic and non-threatening to one creature within 30 feet. They must succeed at a Will save against your Deception DC or treat you as indifferent for 1 round. This ends if you take a hostile action.
Snare Genius (Common, Kwalen) Feat 5: Prerequisites Snare Crafting; Expert in Crafting. If the snare normally takes 1 minute to Craft, you can Craft it with 3 Interact actions instead.
Winglets (Common, Kwalen) Feat 5: Through the lingering influence of your warren's patron (perhaps a celestial entity or a powerful energy being), you've sprouted a small set of energy-infused or biological wings. You gain a Fly (Winglets only) Speed of 10 feet. This flight is clumsy.
9th Level Feats
Between the Scales (Common, Kwalen) Feat 9: You've learned to take advantage of slips in your foes' defenses. When you successfully Flank an enemy, that enemy is flat-footed against your next attack even if your flanking ally moves away.
Environmental Ambusher (Common, Kwalen) Feat 9: When you're in difficult terrain from an environmental feature (like wreckage, dense asteroid dust, or entangled Rift-flora), you can Take Cover, even if the feature wouldn't ordinarily be large enough for you to Take Cover.
Close Quarters (Common, Kwalen) Feat 9: If you're Small or smaller, you can end your movement in the same square as a Small or smaller ally.
Evolved Conduit-Horn (Common, Kwalen) Feat 9: Prerequisites Conduit-Horn Kwalen heritage. Your inborn energy manipulation grows. The cantrip you gained from Conduit-Horn Kwalen heritage is now heightened to a spell rank equal to your level, instead of half your level rounded up.
Fleeing Shriek (Common, Auditory, Kwalen, Sonic) Feat 9: You let out an ear-piercing screech. As a single action, you can emit a high-pitched screech. Creatures within 30 feet must succeed at a Fortitude save against your class DC or spell DC (whichever is higher) or become deafened for 1 round.
Snare Commando (Common, Kwalen) Feat 9: Prerequisites Snare Crafting; Expert in Deception or Expert in Intimidation. Your snares are so befuddling that your victims rarely notice you slipping out of sight. When a creature triggers a snare you crafted, you can immediately Hide as a free action if you have cover or concealment.
Winglet Flight (Common, Kwalen) Feat 9: Prerequisites Winglets. Intense use and exercise have made your winglets more powerful. Your Fly Speed from Winglets increases to 25 feet, and its clumsy trait is removed.
13th Level Feats
Imperial Artifact Potion (Common, Kwalen) Feat 13: Prerequisites Expert in Crafting; Star-Scribe Kwalen heritage. During your daily preparations, you can spend 10 minutes to create a variant energy breath potion, which has the Kwalen trait in addition to its normal traits. This potion's damage type reflects your benefactor's primary energy (e.g., plasma, radiation, cold).
Leviathan's Footfalls (Common, Kwalen) Feat 13: Prerequisites Leviathan-Born Kwalen heritage. You channel the might and mass of a cosmic leviathan or colossal Rift-beast. Your Powerful Charge damage increases by 1d6. When you hit with a Powerful Charge, you can attempt to Trip or Shove the target as a free action.
Resplendent Conduit-Horn (Common, Kwalen) Feat 13: Prerequisites Evolved Conduit-Horn. Your inherent energy manipulation continues to flourish. The cantrip you gained from Conduit-Horn Kwalen heritage is now heightened to a spell rank equal to your level + 1, instead of your level.
Tumbling Diversion (Common, Kwalen) Feat 13: Prerequisites Expert in Acrobatics; Expert in Deception. Attempt to Tumble Through an opponent's space. If you succeed, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your next Deception check to Create a Diversion against that opponent before the end of your next turn.
Vicious Snares (Common, Kwalen) Feat 13: Prerequisites Snare Crafting; Expert in Crafting. You deal an additional 1d6 precision damage with damage snares you craft.
17th Level Feats
Benefactor's Majesty (Common, Kwalen) Feat 17: You tap into the grandeur of your warren's benefactor. Once per day, as a 2-action activity, you can emanate an aura of fear in a 30-foot burst for 1 minute. Creatures entering or starting their turn in the area must succeed at a Will save against your class DC or spell DC (whichever is higher) or become frightened 1.
Cantorian Restoration (Common, Healing, Kwalen, Vitality) Feat 17: The life energy that flows in your blood, perhaps due to your powerful benefactor, can save a life in the direst of times. Once per day, as a single action, you can touch a creature that has been reduced to 0 Hit Points and cause them to regain 2d8 Hit Points.
Rallying Shriek (Common, Auditory, Kwalen) Feat 17: You call out to your allies and push them to give their all in combat. Once per day, as a single action, you can unleash a powerful rallying shriek. All allies within 60 feet who can hear you gain a +2 status bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks for 1 minute.
Here are a few adventure hooks designed to appeal to a Kwalen Player Character, leveraging their unique traits, pragmatic veneration, and cunning survival instincts within the Starfall Galaxy:
Adventure Hooks for Kwalen Player Characters
The Fading Benefactor:
Hook: The powerful entity or energy source that your Kwalen warren venerates – perhaps an ancient Rift-Entity that provides subtle Mana, a Mega-Corporation AI that offers protection and resources, or a Mana-well that fuels your community – is weakening or showing signs of instability. This threatens your warren's prosperity and even its unique physical traits. Your elders task the Kwalen PC with investigating the cause of the decline and finding a way to restore your benefactor's power, or, failing that, identifying and securing a new, more formidable patron before your warren collapses.
Kwalen Appeal: This hook directly challenges the Kwalen's core drive for pragmatic veneration and survival. The PC would be motivated to ensure their warren's future, using their Kwalen Lore and Conduit-Horn Kwalen (if applicable) to understand the benefactor's plight. Their Benefactor's Favor might open doors, and their cunning for Snare Setting and Environmental Ambusher would be vital for navigating dangerous territories to find a solution or a new power source.
The Rift-Tainted Archeological Dig:
Hook: A newly discovered, ancient Vaelen or Automaton ruin in the Frontier is rumored to contain powerful pre-Cataclysm technology or vast concentrations of Mana. However, the site is heavily saturated with Rift-Taint, causing unpredictable temporal distortions and manifesting as dangerous, shifting Rift-Entities. A desperate Ysoki tinkerer (seeking lost tech) or a Lashunta scholar (seeking ancient knowledge) offers a significant reward for a Kwalen PC to infiltrate the ruins, bypass its defenses, and retrieve specific artifacts, believing the Kwalen's adaptability to power and traps makes them uniquely suited for such a hazardous environment.
Kwalen Appeal: This hook is a perfect opportunity for a Kwalen to demonstrate their ingenuity and cunning. The PC would be drawn by the promise of powerful artifacts and the challenge of a dangerous, trap-filled environment. Their Snare Genius and Slither feats would be invaluable for navigating the ruins and setting up diversions, while Warp-Scaled Kwalen or Essence-Heart Kwalen could provide crucial resilience against the Rift's effects.
The Corporate Espionage & Trap-Setting Gambit:
Hook: A powerful Mega-Corporation in the Inner Sphere is attempting to acquire a rival's highly sensitive data or sabotage their latest technological breakthrough. Klaris security forces and advanced Android sentinels heavily guard the target facility. The Mega-Corp, aware of the Kwalen's reputation for cunning and trap-setting, approaches the Kwalen PC, offering a lucrative contract and access to advanced tech. The mission: infiltrate the rival's headquarters, deploy a series of intricate traps and diversions, and extract the data or disable the prototype without direct confrontation.
Kwalen Appeal: This hook plays directly into the Kwalen's pragmatic survival and their skill as ingenious crafters. The PC would thrive on the challenge of outwitting a superior force, using Snare Commando, Tumbling Diversion, and Hidden Network to navigate the corporate labyrinth. The promise of wealth and access to new technology would be a strong motivator, and the opportunity to prove their value to a powerful corporate benefactor would be appealing.
The Grolak Marauder's Uninvited Guests:
Hook: A Grolak Marauder Horde has established a temporary, but heavily fortified, base within a resource-rich asteroid field in the Outer Sphere that your Kwalen warren considers its ancestral foraging grounds. The Grolak are too numerous for a direct assault, but their crude defenses are vulnerable to cunning tactics. The Kwalen PC is tasked with leading a small, covert operation to disrupt the Grolak's operations, set up devastating ambushes, and force them to abandon the territory, all while minimizing direct losses to the Kwalen warren.
Kwalen Appeal: This hook allows the Kwalen to leverage their cunning and skirmishing abilities against a larger, less subtle foe. The PC would use Between the Scales for tactical advantage, Fleeing Shriek to disorient enemies, and Vicious Snares to inflict maximum damage. Their Cringe and Grovel might even be used as a deceptive tactic to lull the Grolak into a false sense of security before unleashing their traps.
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