Lizardfolk is a name for the collective reptilian tribes that inhabit the jungles of Eberron. Some lizardfolk, like the poison dusk and blackscale tribes, live in the wilds of Q'barra, where they defend their lands from the human colonists of New Galifar and Hope, destroying what they see as the "human infestation."[2]
History[]
The Age of Demons[]
The lizardfolk of Eberron have existed for thousands upon thousands of years. They inhabited Eberron during the Age of Demons, where they watched the dragons and couatls fight the Overlords and their rakshasa servants. One such Overlord was Masvirik the Cold Sun. Masvirik, a cousin to Tiamat, who drew the light from the sun itself, created the great citadel Haka'torvhak in modern-day Q'barra. From his fiendish citadel, Masvirik began corrupting the lizardfolk tribes in the area. Some myths say that he manipulated the lizardfolk, creating the kobolds and the troglodytes. Regardless, various species of lizardfolk emerged; the larger blackscale lizardfolk and smaller poison dusk lizardfolk soon emerged as separate species.[3][4]
The dragons and couatls defeated the Overlords and trapped the ruthless Overlords deep within Khyber, burying them beneath the earth in locations all across Eberron. The dragons and couatls trapped Masvirik deep within Haka'torvhak. Towards the end of that war, the couatls freed the lizardfolk from Masvirik's rule, and planted seeds in the collective unconscious of the lizardfolk, so that they would remember the horrors of the past. The dragons would guard Haka'torvhak, making sure that the Cold Sun never emerged again.[3]
Over the millennia, the corruption of Masvirik began seeping through the jungles of modern-day Q'barra. While the original lizardfolk resisted the corruption, thanks to being touched by the couatls, the other species were not so lucky. The blackscale and poison dusk lizardfolk began to suffer from Masvirik's taint.[3]
At some point in time, the great dragon Vvaraak visited the lizardfolk of modern-day Q'barra, teaching some of them the ways of the Gatekeeper druids.[5]
Rhashaak and the Freeing of Masvirik[]
The dragon Rhashaak
About 14,000 years ago, the great black dragon Rhashaak was sent from the continent of Argonnessen to guard Haka'torvhak. Dragonborn explorers followed Rhashaak, and landed on the continent of Khorvaire. Over time, the colony grew, as the dragonborn clans either conquered or annexed the various kobold and lizardfolk tribes in the area. They thrived in the jungles of Q'barra, so reminiscent of the jungles within Argonnessen. As they grew, the dragonborn were on the verge of becoming a major power on Khorvaire.[3][6]
However, the dragonborn did not know that on the other side of the Endworld Mountains, the goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears had united into the great and militant Dhakaani Empire. As the empire stretched eastward across Khorvaire, they faced the numerous lizardfolk tribes that inhabited the Talenta Plains. The goblins' military forces drove the lizardfolk tribes back across the Endworld Mountains into Q'barra. The Talenta lizardfolk were pushed back to the Torva River and the Basura Swamp. Meanwhile, the dragonborn came into conflict with the Dhakaani forces, as the dragonborn empire began crossing the Endworld Mountains and exploring the Blade Desert.[2][3]
Unfortunately, each of these great empires would fall from within. The Dhakaani Empire was besieged by the daelkyr from Xoriat, while the dragonborn contended with an escaping Masvirik. Masvirik eventually corrupted his guardian, the black dragon Rhashaak. From there, the Cold Sun soon began corrupting the lizardfolk. The blackscale and poison dusk lizardfolk began worshiping the Cold Sun, and his agents tried to free the Overlord. However, two forces stopped Masvirik's freedom: the dragonborn empire turned to defeat Masvirik, and the remaining lizardfolk touched by the Silver Flame of the couatls formed the Masvirik'Uala, or the Cold Sun Federation. These forces pushed Masvirik back, and trapped not only Masvirik again, but also the corrupted Rhashaak. The victory, though, all but crushed the dragonborn empire.[3]
Recent Q'barran History[]
Lizardfolk and troglodyte worshipers of the Cold Sun
Over the next 10,000 years, the three species of lizardfolk all fought with the dragonborn, kobolds, and troglodytes for territory within Q'barra. The Cold Sun Federation remained true to their goal of keeping Masvirik trapped, and allied with the dragonborn of Ka'rhashan. The couatls had placed a failsafe to keep Masvirik trapped: they infused the dragonshards near Q'barra with the essence of the Silver Flame, and the Cold Sun Federation must protect these shards in place to keep the Cold Sun trapped.[3]
The coming of humans to Khorvaire has caused nothing but problems for the lizardfolk of Q'barra. Some 2,400 years ago, the lizardfolk on the coasts of Q'barra faced the plundering of Malleon the Reaver. More recently, during the Last War, human colonists came to Q'barra searching for a new life. These humans sought to create settlements on existing lizardfolk lands, and came into conflicts with both the worshipers of the Cold Sun, but also the Cold Sun Federation. Even though the Cold Sun Tribes have negotiated a fragile peace with the new nations of New Galifar and Hope, conflicts between the human settlements and the lizardfolk continue to this day.[2][3]
The Lizardfolk of Xen'drik[]
Xen'drik lizardfolk find an interloper in the Ring of Storms
In addition to those in Q'barra, there are lizardfolk on the continent of Xen'drik. The discovery of all three species of lizardfolk called into question the origin of the lizardfolk at the hands of Masvirik. One theory, though, says that the dragons brought the lizardfolk to Xen'drik when the Heart of Siberys fell to Eberron in the location now called the Ring of Storms, and charged the lizardfolk with protecting the Heart from interlopers. These lizardfolk are called the "Children of the bolatashi" or "Children of the great mother".[7][8]
Just like their Q'barran counterparts, these lizardfolk are divided into tribes, though some of them have been tainted by the magics of Xen'drik.[7] Most tribes are centralized around a central maternal leader. These tribes consist of warriors, rangers, shamans, and beasts of burden, such as dinosaurs or monitor lizards.[8] One tribe of blackscale lizardfolk is ruled by Tyrosian-Baed, a great black dragon who rules his small kingdom in Xen'drik's swampy interior.[5] Other tribes are servants to the yuan-ti, one of them ruled by a yuan-ti anathema named Tava Rassa.[9]
Tribes[]
Religion[]
The blackscale and poison dusk lizardfolk have been corrupted by the Overlord Masvirik, the Cold Sun, and thus worship him like a god. They treat Masvirik's servant, the ancient black dragon Rhashaak, as the avatar of their lord.[2][3][10]
Those lizardfolk who do not revere Masvirik and Rhashaak worship the Dragon Gods or other powerful dragons.[2][10] Some lizardfolk revere the Devourer,[9] while others worship the Cults of the Dragon Below.[11]
Notable Names[]
- Essthus: a blackscale lizardfolk who works for the yuan-ti anathema known as Tava Rassa.[9]
- Krustach: a gray-skinned, elderly lizardfolk pilgrim and a member of the Cold Sun Tribes.[12]
Appendix[]
Behind the Scenes[]
In 3rd-edition Dungeons & Dragons, the lizardfolk were originally introduced as one species in the Monster Manual. With the advent of the Eberron Campaign Setting, Keith Baker introduced two new lizardfolk species: the blackscale and the poison dusk. These species were treated as modified lizardfolk from the Monster Manual until they received their own entries in Monster Manual III.
However, 4th edition changed how the lizardfolk were handled and there were no longer unique species of blackscale and poison dusk. Between this and the creation of the dragonborn, the definitions of the "Blackscale", "Poison Dusk", and "Cold Sun" tribes changed. These three distinct tribes became multi-racial, with membership including all of the reptilian races of Eberron. For instance, the poison dusk tribe now contained kobolds and troglodytes as well as lizardfolk. This new flavor of lizardfolk tribes was introduced in the "Backdrop Q'barra: Poison Dusk, Black Sun" article written by Keith Baker for Dungeon #185.
External Links[]
- Lizardfolk article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014). Monster Manual (5th Edition). (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 204–205. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, & James Wyatt (2004). Eberron Campaign Setting. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 194–197. ISBN 0-7869-3274-0.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Keith Baker (December 2010). “Poison Dusk, Black Sun: Explore Q'barra, Part 2” (PDF). Dungeon #185 (Wizards of the Coast) (185)..
- ↑ Andrew Finch, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Chris Perkins (August 2004). Monster Manual III. (Wizards of the Coast), p. ?. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Keith Baker, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Nicolas Logue, & Amber Scott (2007). Dragons of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 11. ISBN 0-7869-4154-5.
- ↑ David Noonan, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb (2009). Eberron Player's Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 34. ISBN 0-7869-5100-1.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Keith Baker, Jason Bulmahn, & Amber Scott (2006). Secrets of Xen'drik. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 62–63. ISBN 0-7869-3916-8.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Keith Baker (May 2005). “The Ring of Storms”. Dungeon #122 (Paizo Publishing) (122)..
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Ari Marmell, & C.A. Suleiman (2006). Faiths of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 68. ISBN 0-7869-3934-6.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Keith Baker (2005/04/18). The Role of Dragons. Dragonshards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016/11/01. Retrieved on 2021/07/03.
- ↑ James Wyatt, Keith Baker, Luke Johnson, Steven Brown (2006). Player's Guide to Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 87. ISBN 0-7869-3912-5.
- ↑ Stephen Schubert, Tim Hitchcock, and Nicolas Logue (2007). Eyes of the Lich Queen. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-4319-X.
Connections[]
| Races |
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| Player's Handbook Races: Dragonborn | Drow | Dwarf | Elf | Gnome | Half-Elf | Half-Orc | Halfling | Human | Tiefling |
| Eberron Races: Bugbear | Changeling | Goblin | Hobgoblin | Kalashtar | Orc | Shifter | Warforged |
| Other Races: Armand | Asherati | Bhuka | Doppelganger | Dragon | Gnoll | Goliath | Kobold | Lizardfolk | Medusa | Sahuagin | Shulassakar | Thri-kreen | Yuan-Ti |
| Outsiders: Aasimar | Angel | Archon | Daelkyr | Demon | Devil | Elemental | Genie | Githyanki | Githzerai | Inevitable | Mephit | Quori | Slaad |