Saturday, September 10, 2016

Odekor - Day 10

Troglodytes.
Deep in the lost Underdark, far below the shallow realms where the drow and duergar made their homes, was the realm of the troglodytes.
When most people think of troglodytes, they think of the brutish, reptilian humanoids infamous for their stench and their penchant for cannibalism.  The fact of the matter is that these troglodytes, the ones encountered most often by drow and duergar, were the reviled castoffs of the main troglodyte society.
Deep in the earth, below where even dwarves hesitate to delve and drow do not go, the troglodytes built a sophisticated culture.  They carved cities out of pale stone, most of them situated around vast thermal vents, that were the equals to anything produced by the dwarves or drow.
Their culture was martial and ascetic. The chaos and gluttony expressed by their exiled brethren were anathema to these troglodytes.  Raised in communal creches, troglodytes often had their entire existence mapped out for them before they were even hatched.
The War changed all of that.
When a planar breach flooded the Underdark, most of the troglodytes drowned.  However, some troglodyte colonies in the volcanic southwest of Choan did survive.  They adopted a siege mentality, securing their homes and ruthlessly dispatching any creature that entered their territory.
Eventually, once the godstorms subsided, the troglodytes softened their stance.  They sent out scouting parties to assess the status of the surface.  Other parties were dispatched to investigate the Underdark.  When these scouting parties returned, the surviving troglodytes learned just how precarious their situation had become.  The surface and the Underdark had been devastated, and it did not appear as if either would return to normal any time soon.
They are one of the more common races to survive on Odekor, and control the area southwest of the Mountains of Desh.  Since the War ended, they have come together in the caldera of an extinct volcano, Mount Zedik, and built a fortified city called Ykysno.
After the aarakocra, the troglodytes are the most martial of Odekor’s surviving peoples. The two races respect one another, but do not get along.  Troglodytes do not allow aarakocra to establish citadels in their territory, and aarakocra will not tolerate troglodyte incursions into their protectorates.
If war is to come again to Odekor, it will most likely spring from the territorial animosity between the aarakocra and the troglodytes.

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