Sunday 4 August 2024

Chagrinspire Secret Rail Network 3 Kobold Line





































Well I'm glad nobody built this embarrassment
But it's interesting for a dungeon or maybe the first version of the Black Sphere inside

Vol 2 of Chagrinspire is mostly done now on Patreon - just have to revise the contents page and page numbers which i will do next few days.

https://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2024/07/chagrinspires-secret-rail-network-1.html
https://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2024/07/chagrinspire-secret-rail-network-2.html

Before a kobold train arrives off a regular route kobold cranked rail carts use the tracks to scout ahead before a kobold invasion force comes in a train. Eight to twelve kobolds ride one cart and several keep alert with loaded weapons. These carts are very sturdy and also called a Kobold Kalamazoo. Other peoples use these and some power them with slaves or zombies.

I might add new kobold tribes for deeper in the dungeon.

As there are two games about smXfs out at the moment i feel my kobold and small 3 foot tall chums need new tactics.

Dogpile
Each kobold may grapple one body part and hang on
Will use the reduced fighting space they need to overwhelm enemies
Two kobolds can fight in space of one medium or large humanoid requires
Kobolds will climb over otherkobolds performing this manoeuvre
Legs - 3 Mov rate per kobold at zero save per round or fall prone
Arms - cant use weapon, shield, may limit spell casting if both restricted
Torso - kobold will bite or stab with a shank or knuckledusters up close d3 per round
Head - blind enemy while attacking for a d3 without a full helmet or 1 with standard helm or full armour suits. If reduced to under zero may remove eye, nose, tougue, ear or skin off face if fail a save and the kobold keeps going

Two persons in a 10ft/3m square would face 4 kobolds in the front and four more with pointy sticks or javelins or other missile weapons with more ready to fill any gaps

If any kobold grappling others can move to the front and join the dog pile so a lot could attack you. Maybe rear ranks could throw a kobold over the first two ranks.

Kobolds are good climbers and a train could be crawling with them all over willing to leap onto other trains.

Kobolds may have incendiaries or grenades with a fuse and hot charcoal in a bowl to light the fuse fast and throw. Some will charge with a device to get close and may even grapple with a fuse. Only saddest kobolds do this or they are blackmailed.

Kobold Express Train  LE
Kobolds have used the network longer than anyone and have discovered advanced rail secrets. They have different styles of engines for their trains. They are clean as they waste nothing. They even transport freight and work crews around the region. 

d12 Current Route & Destination
1 Upper Chagrinspire - into upper levels of Chagrinspire
2-3 Central Line - into the mid-levels of Chagrinspire
4-6 Lower Line - into the ground and first four levels of Chagrinspire
7-8 Underground Line - into sub-ground Chagrinspire kobold areas
9 Wasteland Express - to support kobold factions in the waste
10-12 Gatehouse Level Loop 

d4 Kobold Engine Class
1 Commuter Train - basic autopilot golem of the ancients run loop circuit routes inside Chagrinspire and the wasteland. The kobolds ride these trains like nomads or gangs. It somehow gets power from rails or stops at a refuelling depot. These commuter gang kobolds often are lower-tech groups or youth gangs and use improvised or primitive weapons. Use an automated golem engine and use 6+d6 commuter cars. Requires no specialist engineers but might have a pet. Will claim to control train and to be as good as proper kobold trains.

2 Kobold Engine - made from dead golems, the parts are infused with poltergeists which move as required into complex machines. Shamen are required to operate them and turning undead interferes with the engine but they need no fuel. Will have an ancestral temple car. These kobolds use +30& extra undead crew (zombie or skeleton) also and tend to conventional weapons rather than guns with shaman priest engineers or mechanics. 

3 Kobold Golem Engine - created from parts of incomplete golems made operational by kobolds. These golems obey the engineer and protect their passengers who worship and feed the engine gems for fuel 100gp per hour. They often roam searching for more gems and use Kalamazoo to scout and save fuel. They will have a library car and a golem workshop car. Kobold wizards operate these with well-armed kobolds in medieval splendour

4 Koboldium Engine - made from incomplete golems and fueled with koboldium-infused coal which requires several specialist tribes to produce but is more affordable than gems. These kobolds have an alchemist engineer and they use more guns and bombs and technology but are often scaled down for kobolds

Each engine has a 5th Lv+ magical engineer operating the vehichle depending on the engine type and 2d4 mechanics with one level in the same type of magic.

Hopper Car xd3
Car with open to usually the first will hold fuel for train and others usually carry building rubble and ore. You might get chased by mechanics or crew and its a bit risky jumping from car to car in a rush

Armoured car
These mobile barracks carry 24 kobolds and a a small cannon or balistia siege weapon.  The car is armoured with slots to shoot from and solid hatches to keep away the unwelcome. A +1Lv sub boss will be here and a d4 mechanics and possibly some pets.

Commuter car xd3
Stark bare car of plain benches for those making short trips. Each has a 1in3 chance of a dozen kobold passengers or youth gang members. Often graffiti covers inside

3rd class car xd3
Each car has a d4 x6 kobolds mostly on way the way somewhere and don't want to fight

Galley Car
A kobold kitchen with a dozen cooks in tiny chef hats and amazing knife skills work here making slops, soups and gruels or roasting whatever they can catch. There is a cafeteria section for 2d4 kobold passengers to get meals mostly slopped into a tin cup with a spoon

Parlour Car
Better-heeled kobolds spend time here including a visiting magician of another faction, d4 train mechanics, 3d4 veteran kobold war heroes with +1 level as fighters working here as stewards and bar staff. There are silver spitoons, a bar, little tables, and a small stage a few kobold dancers grind away to to a kobold bard playing. Kobolds here won't put up with rude behaviour and didn't survive the war for this. The boss of the train is here with a d4 servants enjoying shows and dinks.  

Baggage Car
Full of tiny carpet bags and trunks and sacks with kobold name tags. A kobold guard is here with his pet giant spider or some similar guard beast.

Cattle car xd3
Overcrowded cars occupied by d4 1=hungry poor kobold refugees 2=kobold soldiers of allied faction with a d4 groups of x12 with a veteran sergeant 3=goats or chickens in cages 4=empty except for a d4 kobold hobos drifting a ride

Boxcar xd3
Boxes, crates and sacks of kobold goods roll each car d4 1=building materials 2=food 3=arms & armour 4=post between kobold communities. Check encounters here.

Hospital Car
4d4+4 wounded kobolds and a d4 kobold nurse and a specialist healer as appropriate to the faction or tribe. The nurses beg for mercy and mostly have food and bandages to steal

Corpse Car
d100 +20 kobold corpses in sacks hanging from roofs and some in parts in barrels or clay urns for taking to the ancestral burial ground.Also here is d4 1=monsterous vermin 2=shaman or necromancer 3=invisible imp 4=poltergiest 5=30 kobold zombies 6=40 kobold skeletons

Alchemy Car
A laboratory where a second engineer and 2d4 mechanics rest from engine duty here and play with an alchemist lab to make potions, refine fuel, make undead or other uses.

Toxic Car
Drums of toxic waste from the lab and possibly inside has d4 1=mutant kobolds 2=shoggoth 3=sick old kobold stowaway 4=monsterous fungus. Kobolds travel over the roof and not through this car. Warning runes and a locked heavy door are common.

Guard Car
The rearmost carriage is a guard car often fortified and with a d4 x dozen kobolds. Each dozen have a +1HD Sargeant and all are commanded by a +4HD Kobold hero. Half use muskets or bows, and others try to melee. The ranking leaders have 2 devices each from a grenade or an incendiary

d12 Encounters
1 Guards Squad of 12 kobolds and a +1HD sarge, light muskets d6 & bayonets looking for trouble makers
2 Invisible imp plays tricks or triggers guard alarm
3 Kobold elderly 4d4 with cleaning supplies, fed up with mess makers and can go berserk if anyone does
4 Kobold children laughing and playing
5 Ticket collector kobold with a change purse and a stick and a roll of tickets - if feels intimidated gets guard team as result 1
6 Kobold prostitutes d4 who ride the circuit for work then return to regular jobs 
7 Primitive kobolds from wilds with hunting tools 4d4 investigating wonders of kobold rail
8 Furry yappy cute foreign dog kobolds on a diplomatic trip from mysterious west d4+4  
9 Kobold necromancer 
+5Lv with 2d4 zombies
10 Kobold shaman priest +5Lv with 2d4 assistants travelling to ancestral holy place  
11 Kobold wizard +5Lv with 2d4 apprentices on way to a conference
12 Kobold alchemist +5Lv with 2d4 apprentices with guns

d12 Decor
1 Clan heraldic shields and banners
2 Walls covered in bones which kobolds snack on
3 Graffiti from Kobold youth gangs
4 Stench of sulphur or urine
5 Kobold dung or pee in a bucket
6 Stuffed and mounted heads of larger humanoids
7 Copper coins d4cp or dropped train ticket
8 Empty bottles 1in6 chance filled with pee
9 Portrait of the ancient leader of the black sphere repainted as a kobold in a fancy uniform
10 Painting of a kobold god being heroic 
11 Shed kobold skins left uneaten  
12 Mummified kobold ancestor with devotional shine

d12 Hazards
1 Pile of corpses are really zombie guardians
2 Crossbow trap with poison arrow, kobold knows how to not trigger a tripwire or line connected to a door
3 Imp invisible here to prank and offers souls contracts with hell
4 Poltergiest defends train from intruders - sometimes kobolds leave a d4 bottles of acid for the poltergeist hidden up high near the ceiling on a ledge. Knives are also commonly left here
5 Chained small coffin with a dangerous undead kobold, which could be unlocked by a kobold who flees if enemies attack
6 Monster in a cage with a trigger to open the door releasing a beast
7 Invisible stalker seeking a specific person sent by the Black Sphere
8 Fleas! save or pick up vermin risking disease and infestation
9 Poison needle trap with fake treasure bait
10 Chest or bag rigged with a cast iron hand grenade or incendiary device with a self-igniting fuse
11 Cursed protecting a tempting item like gem eyes in a statue or a gold plaque
12 Items protected by a spell trap like a bag, book or holy symbol

d12 Adventures
1 Kobolds want support for a raid on a station occupied by humanoids or monsters
2 Kobolds want to capture a rival train
3 Kobold boss has had children form a gang on the computer line and won't come home, go fetch them
4 A kobold tribe or faction want to replace the leader or a magician and needs outsider assassins to take care of them
5 Kobolds have found a steel door in a tunnel that might be a black sphere spy base and want it destroyed 
6 A kobold train has been surfacing via tunnels to raid a scavenger village and they want help defending them
7 A gang of scavengers want to hijack a kobold train when it takes on supplies or crosses the surface, help them ambush the train
8 Kobolds require magic fuel or parts and need help stealing more
9 Kobolds complain human slavers are preying on them and need families rescued from the slaver compound
10 Kobold scouts riding a Kalamazoo explored a mysteriously cleared passage and have not returned, recover the Kalamazoo and if possible the kobolds 
11 A train of dragon cult kobolds have a dragon on their train and have been raiding other kobolds who need help to destroy the dragon cult
12 A kobold leader has been despotic and cruel craving war constantly. His pact with hell has made life unbearable and a rival cult needs help to take over

d20 Items
1 Flint knife d3 with magic +1 
2 Fighting Bone d4 
with magic +1
3 Kobold size bone war bonnet +1 protection
4 Kobold carpet bag can fit ten kobolds inside and equipment, anything put in that's not a kobold or held by one winds up in a kobold gods palace in hell. It takes one round per kobold to enter or exit
5 Ancient kobold chronicle in old koboldish, a precious relic kobolds desire
6 Kobold Teeth in a bag of 2d4, when cast at the ground a kobold appears keen to fight, once fight is over they vanish joyously to the kobold paradise
7 Copper Hatchet d6 and +d3 electrical damage and can ignite flammables from the sparks that strike targets. These are gifts of a kobold god and kobolds will demand these on sight, gifting one with a kobold will help make friends
8 Boots of Skating - most are small for kobolds or children but bigger ones are sometimes found, when clicking heels together wheels pop out +50% speed but stopping or turning more than 45 degrees requires a save or skill roll 
9 Darts of Fury +1 often in a bundle of a d3, target save if hit or go berserk, usually the kobolds retreat and wait till the berserk or allies dead. Kobolds sometimes use these on each other like to make a fleeing subordinate fight or provoke a rival
10 Hell Trident of red iron d6+1 throwable and has no penalties to hit in water, 1in6 are +2 and the wielder can cast burning hands three times per day. All have a stamp of manufacture in hell and the sigil of an archdevil armoury
11 Hell coin of red gold, each day hold it on person save or become protective of it and more greedy for more. Remove the curse to cure the craving
12 
Hellblade a d6 shortsword +1 +2 vs chaos or good made from red bronze. The blade squirms if a chaotic or good person within 1 range of wielder. 1in6 have a +2 basic plus but are sentient and dangerous advocating lawful evil conduct and making noises of pleasure when it kills

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