Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Approved NPC Pearl Dragons

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OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent
: Expand on the Shadow Knights.
Image Credit: Here. It is difficult to find pictures of drow cryomancers. Or just of properly clothed drows, for that matter. The above pic is supposed to be the unit symbol.
Role: Elite infantry.
Permission: Permission for all ArmaTech gear here.
Links: Xioquo, Caerith Tyari, Angelii, Eldorai.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Unit Name
: Pearl Dragons.
Affiliation: Kaida Taldir, Shadow Knights, Yseult Faerin, Daymana Thael, Court of the Shadows, Court of the Four Elements.
Classification: Force Infantry.
Equipment:

Armour:

Rifles:
Sidearms:
Melee:
Support:
Misc:
Description: One of the few notable advantages Eldorai and their sub-races have over humans is the fact that a higher proportion of their population is Force-Sensitive. This is an edge the elves have milked for all it is worth, especially those who only have limited access to high-tech equipment. It has manifested itself in the formation of various special units. Training for Force-Sensitives is mandatory across the races, though the degree of severity varies.

The Shadow Knights are no different in this regard. The Pearl Dragons are one of their units. The Shadows are concentrated on a rag-tag nomad fleet. They only have limited resources and a lot those go into maintaining the migrant fleet. Lacking the means of an interstellar government or galactic megacorp, they rely heavily on hit and run tactics and small elite groups. The Court of the Four Elements, one of the corporatist bodies in Shadow Knight society, is responsible for identifying, vetting and training Force-Sensitives and assigning them to specific roles in the nomad fleet. Service guarantees citizenship in Shadow Knight society, and military service is valued highly.

The Pearl Dragons are an elite unit of cryomancers. Elemental Force abilities are quite common among Force-Sensitive elves who belong to the Eldorai family of races. Force-Users tend to specialise in one element, especially those who are trained for combat purposes. In the case of the Dragons, it is the element of ice and water. This makes them particularly strong in a support role, as they can shape the battlefield. Ice also has offensive capabilities, but these are less direct than say fire or air. The emblem of the Pearl Dragons is an ice dragon. This references a frostwyrm they bested in the far north of Tygara.

In contrast to a number of Shadow Knight groups, the Pearl Dragons are a mixed unit. They are composed of both Xioquo and Eldorai cryomancers. The Xioquo have a natural resistance to the cold and an affinity for it. Having spent millennia living beneath the earth, the sunlight has become painful for them. By the standards of Tygara, they were very technologically advanced, but held back by internecine strife, an oppressive slavocracy and constant power struggles between the ruling oligarchs. With the Xioquo making their way into the stars, some of the drows have split off from the main flotilla.

Most of the Eldorai members are Forsaken. This is the term those Eldorai who were left behind on Kaeshana during the Great Exodus call themselves, as they believe they were abandoned by the Eldorai Matriarchy. A number of them received military training during national service, but returned to civilian life afterwards instead of joining the Angelii. Several of them are former Dark Eldorai insurgents. They are hardened by the time of struggle on their post-apocalyptic homeworld.

The mixture of races has not come without difficulties, as racism is a sin many Eldorai are eager to indulge. Officially the Shadow Knights preach a form of pan-Asuran nationalism, proclaiming that all Asurans are siblings and need to band together. While there are Shadow Knights who practice what they preach, there have also been unfortunate cases of racism. The unit has ties with Kaida Taldir. She and the Xioquo worked together to escape the arctic wasteland and she brought them into the fold. Kaida is about as welcoming as a glacier, but oddly fair in her treatment of others.

Narulan Tanuth is the senior Eldorai member of the unit. It is commanded by Axa'Viquar, a Xioquo ice mage. Narulan is a strong elementalist in her own right and privately a bit resentful about having to take orders from a Xioquo. She was a friend of Ioelena Daegella, an Eldorai who used to command the unit but died in battle fighting the Kraal. Viquar and Daegalla, who was a bit xenophobic, did not get on and the Xioquo was put in charge after the battle. As a result, there is some tension between the two.

Viquar used to be a Xioquo raider and explorer. Cut off from the Underealm after an expedition into the icy north went ended with her being marooned, she had to reinvent herself. She discarded her old allegiances and teamed up with Xioquo rebels and later Eldorai renegades in the name of survival. Viquar is independent-minded and very protective of her people, regardless of their origins. Eldorai who dismiss Xioquo as 'darklings' and 'primitives' get short shrift from her. She is cunning, cool and collected.

Viquar has adopted pan-Asuran beliefs, but is pragmatic about them. Unity of the elf races is no license to push her and her people around. The drow came late to literacy and knew nothing of spaceflight until the sky people arrived, but is catching up fast. She has become a bit of an advocate for Xioquo interests in the migrant fleet. The downfall of the old order as well as being stranded in the arctic has taught her that blindly following those in power is folly.

COMBAT INFORMATION:
Unit Size: Medium
Unit Availability: Unique
Unit Experience: Elite.
Combat Function: The Pearl Dragons are a crack unit of cryomancers. They specialise in manipulating the element of ice and water. Ice is more of an inherently defensive/support element, though it can still do good damage, albeit in a different way than fire. The Dragons are best of all for tactical positioning. Their ability to create thick fog, slip up enemies with ice, use it to make areas such as roads virtually impossible to traverse, freeze rivers, and create ice walls allows them to shape the battlefield to their advantage and that of their allies. If they work together as a unit they can summon a blizzard, but this takes time.

Ice can be used to shield allies, but also function as an area denial weapon. Moreover, they can use their abilities to sneak up on foes. Not only can they reduce visibility by creating a thick fog, they can also escape scans that track body heat by using their powers to drastically lower their body temperature.

Furthermore, they can use their abilities to create real darkness, providing concealment. This can allow them to close in and surprise enemies by engaging them with blasters, shotguns, grenades, blades, ice spears and cone of ice type blasts. The Dragons can enter a Force Meld to enhance effectiveness and coordination, drawing strength from each other. However, the boost provided by it can turn into a double-edged sword. A great disturbance in the Force could overwhelm the melding participants as they receive the pain through their enhanced senses. If the pain is caused by the minds the melding participants are touching, it could have very negative repercussions for the participants. It can also be disorientating if they are in a meld, then it is suddenly dissolved due to proximity to a ysalamiri bubble. They carry the MK II Boltgun, which is less powerful than the MK I, but more practical in close quarters and has a higher rate of fire.

The cryomancers can create ice spikes and propel them at lethal velocities, using a variation of ballistakinesis. This means they are a good support unit, but can also be deployed offensively. The Dragons have good Force Senses, potent precognitive abilities and are gifted in Force Sight. This is particularly helpful in conditions of low visibility.

They can use the Force to enhance their physical attributes. For melee combat a Dragon carries a Sarix, which is essentially an Eldorai energy sword that has some, but not all, traits of a lightsabre. The unit has several Xioquo members. The drows are naturally stealthy and have impressive night vision, enabling them to see in the dark without using tech. They are also resistant to the cold, but unprotected exposure to the sun is painful to them. Both Eldorai and Xioquo have impressive senses and dexterity.

Unsurprisingly, the Pearl Dragons perform best in cold climates, and are at a disadvantage in extremely hot ones. Hoth or Belsavis would be far more to their liking than say Tatooine or Mustafar. The Dragons largely forego heavy weapons, relying more on their elemental Force abilities. This can be an issue when they find themselves facing tanks or walkers head-on. Though they train extensively without the Force and with ysalamiri, robbing them of their preternatural powers deprives them of their biggest advantage. Their ice abilities must be used tactically, as careless use can make them a hazard for allies as well as adversaries.

Strengths:

  • Potent cryomancers. Their powers are ideal for tactical positioning and shaping the battlefield to their advantage. Control over the environment can give them and their allies an edge over the enemy.
  • Crack infantry unit. Discipline, courage and skill are characteristics well-represented among the members of the Pearl Dragons.
Weaknesses:
  • Being an infantry force, they are at a disadvantage against heavy armour formations in open combat. They lack integrated heavy support.
  • Weaker in especially hot climates, since their main skill set is cryomancy.
  • While they train extensively with ysalamiri and the like, depriving them of the Force robs them of their biggest advantage.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION

The Shadow Knights are a revolutionary movement that has split off from the Eldorai Matriarchy, striving to build what they consider to be a more just and egalitarian social order than can be found in the Monarchy. The group came into being during the Eldorai Exodus. The devastation of Kaeshana left Eldorai society deeply fractured. While the majority of the space elves could be evacuated before the cataclysm, some had to be left behind. Those who survived the calamity had to eke out a primitive existence in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that was hit by an impact winter.

Supplies were scarce, and violence endemic, as gangs, cults and warlords vied for power. The survivors called themselves the Forsaken, and they cursed the exodites who had managed to flee. The Shadow Knights were one of the groups that were formed to protect the Forsaken communities against warlords as well as pirates who preyed on the Eldorai. The Shadows were a rag-tag coalition of deserted Eldorai soldiers, former insurgents and exiles who had left Kaeshana a long time ago, but now heeded the call to aid their people.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and so they became a group of hardened survivalists. Grudgingly they took up arms alongside their estranged brethren during the Battle of Kaeshana. However, their defeat forced the Shadows to flee the ruined homeworld. They formed a nomad fleet, vowing to find a new home. Though initially an Eldorai nationalist group, in time the Shadows broadened their definition of what constituted an elf, adopting a pan-Asuran ideology that embraced their Tygaran 'cousins'. When the Tygaran elves made their first steps into space, the Shadows carried out a recruitment campaign on the lost elf colony, recruiting those unwilling to accept the new order the humans of Firemane had imposed. The Pearl Dragons are one of the fruits of this at times uneasy partnership.

Axa'Viquar was a Xioquo raider who served one of the noble houses before the Twilight. She had participated in several skirmishes with Firemane and its allies. She fought the Qadiri during the Mirza of Lakish's failed attack on the Underealm. However, her life took an unexpected turn shortly before Firemane's invasion. Viquar was part of an expedition that was supposed to look for ancient treasures and artefacts that could aid her people against the outsiders. However, they were shipwrecked in the icy north far from home. The leader of the expedition, a dark Xioquo sorceress, perished. Viquar was one of the few survivors and now had to endure an icy wasteland.

Away from the dark influences of the Underealm, she missed the final battle, the awakening and death of Mystra as well as the accession of Queen Lia. In order to survive she had to work together with Xioquo rebels who had sought refuge on the island to escape the tyrannnous oligarchy that held sway over the Xioquo. Being away from the Underealm gave her a taste of freedom and made her step up as a leader. Adversity made her grow stronger. Her powers as an ice mage helped her survive in the wasteland. Viquar and her party joined a group of Eldorai who had been sent to gather recruits in order to overcome the ice.

From them she learned that a new order had arisen in the Underealm. For the first time in millennia, the Xioquo had a queen, but she was a vassal of the humans of Firemane. The leader of the Eldorai group was a former royalist called Kaida Taldir. Once she had served the Crown. Indeed, she had participated in the assault on the Underealm. But over time she had become disillusioned with the Matriarchy and defected to a rebel group.

Viquar faced racism from some of the Eldorai, who seemed to be of the belief that they were superior to the 'darklings', but their leader was strangely egalitarian. Or rather Kaida was chily to everyone, which made her fair. She appreciated the Xioquo's pragmatism and survival instincts. The two groups worked together to overcome a powerful storm, which Viquar likened to an angry dragon. They soon faced a real dragon when they battled a frostwyrm. Ironically, the sorceress who had led the expedition had wanted to bend it to her will. Once they had managed to escape, the Xioquo party was at a crossroads. Viquar had learned a bit about the stars and the manifold possibilities that could be found beyond Tygara.

Viquar had broken with her old mistresses, but did not want to return. Some of the Xioquo in the group elected to go home, but the rest stayed with Viquar and decided to join their pale cousins. They were driven by a mixture of xeno-nationalism, unwillingness to submit to their people's new rulers, a sense of adventure and the mystique of the stars. The dark elves helped the Shadows recruit more Xioquo to the cause and conduct raids to seize armaments and supplies. Kaida later recommended giving the Xioquo raider a commission. Her report was typically laconic. The cryomancers adopted the name Pearl Dragons.

At first the unit was put under the overall command of an Eldorai officer by the name of Ioelena Daegella. The Dragons were amalgamated with her formation. Viquar resented this deeply and clashed with her pale skinned cousin, who was patronising and believed Xioquo were like children who needed to learn from their 'big sisters'. Having fought the Xioquo before defecting from the Matriarchy, she had seen their worst side and judged them on that basis. Linguistic barriers were also an issue. The Xioquo did not speak Basic or Eldarai and only a few Eldorai spoke Xio. The Eldorai expected Eldarai to be the language of command, but using translation devices in combat was far from optimal. Viquar considered absconding with one of the Eldorai's 'sky-ships'.

Things came to head during a fight with the warlike Kraal. While barbaric, the lizardmen were cunning and ferocious instead of being mere brutes. The Shadows had recently fought some small skirmishes with them, but managed to prevail. This made Daegella and her superiors overconfident. A desire for justice also played a role, as the lizardmen had enslaved fellow Eldorai. The intelligence the Shadows had received turned out to be faulty. Indeed it had been leaked to them. Thus their assault on a Kraal raider base went poorly, as the defences were far stronger than anticipated. Most of the slaves had already been moved. Moreover, the Kraal had acquired war droids and new armaments from Archangel, including bolters.

Daegella was killed in the battle. To her credit, she went down fighting. Viquar stepped up as leader. Leading her cryomancers as well as some other surviving members of the task force, she organised a fighting retreat. The cryomancers used their powers to shield allies, freeze or delay enemies. Viquar was injured during the fighting, but slew one of the Kraal war leaders, a shaman, taking advantage of the lizards' vulnerability to the cold. Explosives and ice were used to block their pursuers. Their transports had been destroyed, but the surviving Shadows managed to seize a Kraal ship. Though pursued by Kraal fighters, they managed to escape.

Following their return to the nomad fleet, the Court of War, the Shadow Knight body responsible for military affairs, appointed a board of inquiry to determine the reasons for the defeat and assess the conduct of the officers involved. As is often the case with such inquiries, it was a messy affair. Two Shadow Knights were court-martialled for cowardice and executed by firing squad.

A senior Eldorai officer tried to pin the blame on the 'primitive, duplicitous' Xioquo. One of Viquar's fellow dark elves tried to sell her out to score points. But surprisingly several Eldorai soldiers who had been part of the mission spoke out in favour of Viquar and her people. Finally, she was honoured for her leadership and bravery under fire. The Xioquo ice mage was confirmed as commander of the Dragons. Kaida did not congratulate her, but gave her a Sarix, which is her idea of being nice.
 
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[member="Kaida Taldir"]

Armed to the teeth as always I see, so the only thing I really need fixed is that your link to the image just takes me immediately to the Facebook page and I have no idea which picture it is you want to reference
 
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