Threshold: Sarvus'Kor and the Khaar'paal (Patreon)

Reposted—Sorry, Patreon's changed how they do polls and I couldn't edit the existing one to fix the problem! 

Greetings, Patrons!

It's been a tough month. I'm no longer testing positive with COVID, but I have some lingering symptoms that continue to slow me down. I've been playing catch-up on all of the work that I missed while I was out of commission, and I'm also currently traveling to take care of my family. For these and other reasons I won't be at GenCon this year, so my apologies to any of you who were hoping to see me there! I'm still working on the Skyrates article and haven't had time for other writing. However, time and Threshold march on! We'll be setting a time for the next session soon, but I'd like our kobold cleric Sarvus'kor to be available as a character for the next session.

First of all, it's important to note that Sar isn't from the chib culture of the Barrens. Her people are part of an independent kobold culture in the Graywall mountains, the Khaar'paal. Here's a (very early draft) excerpt from Frontiers of Eberron talking about the role of the mageblood kobolds in Threshold.

The Khaar’paal are a group of about sixty kobolds camped on the southern edge of the Tents. They don’t work metal; their tents are made of leather, their tools of wood and stone. At a glance most assume these kobolds are a primitive nomadic tribe; this assumption is wrong on every count. Khaar’paal means mageblood, and the Khaar’paal kobolds have an innate talent for arcane magic not unlike that of a sorcerer. They may not use metal, but they have talented magewrights who make use of mending, prestidigitation, magecraft, continual flame and similar magical techniques and tools, and work with exotic materials like quickstone and wyvern hide. Their wands may not be as well-tooled as those produced by House Cannith, but the Khaar’paal scouts are wandslingers and as capable as any Brelish arcane dragoon.

The first common mistake is to assume the Khaar’paal are primitive; the second is to think they’re nomads. The Khaar’paal have a subterranean town in the Graywall Mountains that is considerably larger than Threshold, and the kobolds think that Threshold is something of an eyesore. The Khaar’paal in the tents aren’t a tribe, and they didn’t bring their children or families; they’re a workforce, hired by House Orien to support the western expansion of the lightning rail. Between their skill at working with stone and their natural affinity for elemental energies, the Khaar’paal have a remarkable talent for the work required to prepare and place conductor stones. Orien has used Khaar’paal artisans as specialists on other rail lines, and given the proximity to their home, this time Orien hired a larger force of them. Some assume that the kobolds are cheap or expendable laborers; little could be further from the truth. The Khaar’paal are paid more than the typical stonelayer, and they’re worth every coin.

Like the Grizzlies, the Khaar’paal camp is largely self-sufficient; they came prepared with hunters and the artisans they need to care for their own. The priest Sarvus’kor is a servant of the Fury and can’t heal the sick with magic, but she’s a capable herbalist who works with mundane medicine. Skaivus is a “spell-crafter,” who follows the Khaar’paal tradition of artifice; he’s capable of producing common magic items, and more if he acquires exotic components. Vanon’dor is the overseer, a specialist in working with the conductor stones and a deadly wandslinger who stands ready to protect his people. Together, Sarvus’kor and Vanon’dor lead the camp: Sarvus is the spiritual guide (devoted to the Cazhaak Six), while Vanon directs the workforce and maintains discipline.

While the Khaar’paal weren’t involved in the fighting on the western front, many of the townsfolk were initially uncomfortable with this force of Droaamites on their doorstep. Today the Khaar’paal still remain largely isolated, but the communities are slowly growing closer; kobold scouts display their acrobatic prowess at the Rose Theater, and Khaar’paal occasionally play traditional music (involving drums and the sar’duur, a unique form of nose flute) at the Crown. A few of the townspeople now join in the Aram’ja revels at the Khaar’paal camp. Nonetheless, there are still many—especially among the Grizzlies—who distrust the kobolds.

So, looking to basic facts: Sarvus'kor is a cleric of the Fury, who also performs the rites of the Cazhaak Six. She respects the Daughters of Sora Kell, but her first loyalty is to her people. As an NPC she is an adept and doesn't possess healing magic; as a player character she's going to be a full cleric, so we can ignore that limitation. One question to consider is whether this represents a recent shift in her powers. In this campaign, has she ALWAYS been a full-fledged cleric? Or has she recently had a revelation of divine purpose—perhaps tied to the Discovery feature of the Hermit—that was accompanied by a surge in power? This could explain why she's about to take a more active role in the troubles of the town than she has in the past.

We know a number of mechanical details about Sarvus'Kor. She's a Cleric of the Fury—but what domain will we used to reflect that? The Mind domain would reflect the Fury as the source of powerful emotion. "Sarvus'kor" means Red Candle, the flame lit to call for vengeance, and with this in mind she could use a slightly reflavored Light domain to burn the unjust. Or she could go with the War domain, focusing on the aggressive defense of her people.

The next question is her Background. If she's an Acolyte, it means that she has a reputation that reaches beyond her community; she'll be treated with respect by all followers of the Cazhaak Six. If she's a Hermit, she's had a personal spiritual revelation that will have to be established in the future. On the other hand, one of the things she's known for is presiding over the Aram'ja revels of the Fury; she could be an Entertainer, who specializes in charging up a crowd.

In a first pass on her sheet, I've decide to give her the Skill Expert feat as her 4th level benefit. With this in mind, I want to decide on her skill specialty, which she'll have expertise with. Is it Intimidation, reflecting an almost supernatural ability to inspire fear? Persuasion, instead reflecting a talent for stirring positive emotions? Or Insight, reflecting her ability to sense the emotions of others?

Finally, we have a key question: What's her motivation? Why is she about to take a more active role in the town and start working with easterners after largely ignoring you for 15 sessions? Has a Divine Revelation shown her that she needs to forge a closer bond between the townsfolk and the Khaar'paal if they both are to survive a great danger? Is she acting as a Missionary, hoping to lure townsfolk to her faith? Or is this simply Business—the Khaar'paal are in Threshold because House Orien is paying them, and Sarvus'Kor could be looking for other ways to earn gold for her people.

That's all for now—Thanks for your support!