Asenneas' Bestiary: Dragonlings

​Dragonlings
From the annals of one of Greyhawk’s most mysterious and least know Archmages, Asenneas, the Alchemist, we delve into his research and creation of Dragonlings. Dragonlings are a hybrid mix of kobolds with dragon materials to give us a new species of small draconic influenced creatures.
Asenneas' fondness for dragons is reflected in many of his creations, but none as obvious as Dragonlings. Asenneas used kobolds in his tower and dungeons as a cheap and inexpensive workforce. However, their volatile nature and general disdain for nearly all other races made them hard to work with. To remedy this, Asenneas decided to try and merge the kobolds with certain aspects of dragons to make them more manageable.
After several failed batches he eventually found the right combination of ground-up dragon scales, percolated dragon’s blood, and magic that when infused into a kobolds system brought about a stable transformation. Of course, Asenneas did not settle on creating just one type of Dragonling as his curiosity wouldn’t allow him to stop at just one successful experiment. Unfortunately, he concluded that his process was only successful when using chromatic dragon ingredients. He hypothesized that the genetic material from metallic dragons was rejected by the kobold genes, while the chromatic for some reason was not.
Eventually, after testing his new creations, Asenneas settled on blue Dragonlings as his new workforce and sold off the others or set them free into the world. Asenneas often as a final test of his subject’s releases some into the wild if he considers them successful to watch them and record how they fare in the real world.
Personality: One of the biggest reasons Asenneas decided to produce the Dragonlings was because of his trouble with the kobold’s lousy temperament. While they followed orders without question from Asenneas, they would continuously quarrel with his other minions. By infusing them with the draconic materials, they took on specific aspects of dragons.
Red Dragonlings
Red dragonlings proved to be too headstrong and nearly as unwilling as regular kobolds to work with others. They also became highly overconfident, thinking that they could defeat any foe. This overconfidence did not manifest into outright stupidity, at least not in all of them, but as a replacement for his current kobold workforce, the red Dragonlings were a failure.
Black Dragonlings
Black Dragonlings became even more cruel and ill-tempered than the original kobolds, proving that they were also a poor replacement for regular kobolds. While they retained their abilities to work in a group while amongst themselves, they still despised all other forms of creatures besides other black Dragonlings.
Blue Dragonlings
Blue Dragonlings lost much of the latent kobold cruelness, but it was replaced by a desire to try and manipulate and deceive others. While they might not openly attack or disobey others, they will look for loopholes in orders and agreements that they can bend to their favor.
Green Dragonlings
Green Dragonlings lost most of the kobold cruelness as well, but it was replaced with a deceptive and highly territorial nature. This territorialness also made it hard for them to work with other minions in or out of their perceived territory. This fact, along with a general fondness for intrigue led to infighting amongst them.
White Dragonlings
White Dragonlings are savage little creatures that are the only version of the Dragonlings that hated other creatures even more than the kobolds did. While other Dragonlings will tolerate ones of different colors, white Dragonlings despise them the most. This inability to work with others at all found they booted out into the wild first among the Dragonlings.
Combat: Dragonlings, for the most part, excluding white Dragonlings who will simply attempt to mob their enemies, and red Dragonlings that sometimes succumb to their overconfidence, prefer to ambush their prey and enemies. They use bows and spears, preferring to stay at a distance in combat, especially against larger foes. If they begin to lose a battle, Dragonlings are not so proud that they won't flee in the hopes of surviving to fight another day or to prepare an ambush for their enemies. The exception to this rule is, of course, the white Dragonlings that work themselves up into such a frenzy that they don't even realize they are losing an engagement.
Dragonlings prefer to set traps and ambush when they can, and if encountered in their lair, they will have several traps set throughout it. Another favorite tactic of Dragonlings is using the elements that they are naturally immune to in battle. Red Dragonlings will throw firebombs even amongst their own troops, and usually unleash a salvo of them before they charge an enemy. Another trick is to use some of their kind as bait to lure unsuspecting adventurers into an oil-soaked room only to set it ablaze and then rush in. Green Dragonlings use poison gas bombs and gas-filled pit traps. Blue Dragonlings have invented ways of electrifying floors, and white Dragonlings are known to fight in freezing water.
Society: Dragonlings are tribal, and much like their kobold forebears are industrious creatures. They prefer to spend their time living beneath ground mining and constructing surprisingly high-quality goods. While nowhere near the quality of craftsmanship that one finds produced by dwarves and gnomes, their wares are superior to those crafted by most other humanoid races.
This desire to craft and create is visible in their homes as the lairs. Dragonlings lairs are well-constructed networks of tunnels and rooms all painstakingly trapped and designed to help them defend themselves against invaders, usually other humanoids, looking to plunder their goods and treasure. One common denominator found in all dragonling lairs is the fact that the ceilings are rarely over 5' in height. This height restriction comfortably accommodates the tallest of the Dragonlings and hinders larger adventurers and humanoids that seek to raid them.
Dragonlings are drawn to live in regions similar to those preferred by the dragons they share a color with. Blue Dragonlings preferring arid and desert-like locations, reds migrate to mountainous areas, Black Dragonlings to swamps, green Dragonlings to thick forests, and white Dragonlings to colder climes. Green Dragonlings can be found either in tunnel complexes below the forest or high in the trees themselves with huts tucked into the branches of them. Black Dragonlings tend to always live above ground in dens that are constructed much like beaver lodges.
Dragonling society, like kobolds, is based on the might makes right philosophy with the strongest of their kind taking up the position of chief of the tribe.
Dragonlings, like kobolds, are not fond of other creatures, except dragons, and will fiercely defend, and eliminate any opposition that they feel interferes with the welfare of the tribe. Dragonlings hate kobolds most and will attack them on sight and capture them to be slaves when they can. The exception to this rule is where white Dragonlings are concerned as they hate other Dragonlings slightly more than kobolds.
Where dragons of their same color are concerned, Dragonlings will seek out to serve them, provided they are adult dragons. To Dragonlings, the chromatic wyrms of Greyhawk are to be revered as the mighty beasts that they are.
The ambitions of Dragonlings are simple, gain power and influence within their tribe and try as hard as they can to retain it. They respect the authority of those that have proven to be their betters, however white and red Dragonlings will only acknowledge other Dragonlings or dragons themselves in this regard.
Language: Dragonlings speak draconic as their primary language, but they also understand the kobold tongue. Speaking in the kobold language to another Dragonling is a high insult, and Dragonlings will only talk in kobold to non-dragonlings.
Religion: Upon the Dragonlings release from Asenneas' dungeon, they quickly converted to the worship of draconic gods, and chief among them was Tiamat. The Dragon Queen is held in the highest regard, and each Dragonling type depicts her differently, with the head of their color being the center and most dominant one.
Diet: While dragonlings will eat most animals and intelligent beings such as humans, goblins, or even lizardmen, they refuse to eat kobolds, and while they can eat most animals, dragonlings prefer to catch fish and tend herds of domestic animals.
 
Special Traits and Abilities:
Red Dragonlings
Red dragonlings are, on average, the largest of the Dragonlings growing to heights of 3.5' to 4' tall and are slightly more robust than other Dragonlings. They are also immune to all forms of non-magical fire damage and resistant to magical fire damage. Unfortunately, a trait that carried over from their kobold heritage is an aversion of sunlight, and they have the sunlight sensitivity trait.
Black Dragonlings
Black Dragonlings are at home in the water and have a natural swim speed and are amphibious. They are also immune to all forms of non-magical acid damage and resistant to magical acid damage. Unfortunately, a trait that carried over from their kobold heritage is an aversion of sunlight, and they have the sunlight sensitivity trait.
Blue Dragonlings
Blue Dragonlings have an innate sense of detecting illusions and have advantage when it comes to saving throws regarding them. They are also immune to all forms of non-magical lightning damage and resistant to magical lightning damage. Unfortunately, a trait that carried over from their kobold heritage is an aversion of sunlight, and they have the sunlight sensitivity trait.
Green Dragonlings
Green Dragonlings are very sneaky, and while ambushing is a favorite tactic of all Dragonlings, they have mastered the craft. Green dragonlings are proficient in stealth and have advantage on all stealth checks. They are also immune to all forms of non-magical poison damage and resistant to magical poison damage. Unfortunately, a trait that carried over from their kobold heritage is an aversion of sunlight, and they have the sunlight sensitivity trait.
White Dragonlings
White dragonlings are, on average, the smallest of the Dragonlings growing to heights of only 2.5' to 3' tall and are slightly weaker than other Dragonlings. They, however, make up for this with their tenacity when fighting in groups gaining the pack tactic trait. They are also immune to all forms of non-magical cold damage and resistant to magical cold damage. Unfortunately, a trait that carried over from their kobold heritage is an aversion of sunlight, and they have the sunlight sensitivity trait.