Ztlin

The cold-blooded Lizardmen dwell in the dense swamps of Dragonscale Marsh where thousands upon thousands of eggs are laid, incubated, and then hatched in vast birthing pools regulated by the humidity of the inhospitable bog. Tens of thousands of eggs can be expected to introduce new lizardmen to the ranks of the Hive with each birthing cycle. None could identify their parents, and would most likely appear indistinguishable from one another to the human eye outside of the physical differences associated with the four-tier Lizardman cast system. Lizardman eggs hatch randomly into one of four broad castes: Lizardmen, Lizardmen Brutes, Channelers, and Spectrals. Those born into the ordinary and Brute castes are effectively beasts of burden with very limited critical thinking skills. Channelers are capable of independent thought and can wield primitive magics, but the Spectral lizardmen are the brains of the Hive.

The loss of all Spectral Lizardmen over centuries of war with the dwarves dealt an enormous blow to the Lizardmen, giving the dwarves free rein to mine further and further underground and poison the adjacent Marsh with more and more toxic runoff and acidic smog. The recent birth of Ztlin has dramatically improved the Lizardmen’s fortunes, the first Spectral in nearly a century and probably one of the most powerful Lizardman sorcerers of the last thousand years.

Anointed the title of the “Great Prophet” by the Lizardmen soon after his birth and abilities became known, Ztlin, a figure of worship and veneration among his people, has led the Lizardmen out of their dark hiding places and into several successful engagements with the dwarfs. As a Spectral, Ztlin is capable of much more complex thinking than the lower castes, who are naturally obedient to their superior. Ztlin has in fact unified the Hive into an unbreakable unity through the aid of Channelers who telepathically convey his commands to the lower caste Brute and ordinary Lizardmen. Ztlin’s incredible telekinetic powers do not even require conscious intervention: a telltale sign of Ztlin’s ponderous meditations is a wall of shimmering energy that Ztlin’s mind automatically generates to shield itself from potential intrusions when vulnerable. This power can be channeled into violent electrical storms that have been known to tear well-made dwarven armor from their bodies like leaves blown by the wind. For all intents and purposes, the dwarves may appear to control the Mountain Kingdom, but Ztlin might already have the strength to flush these noxious inhabitants out with a concentrated strike with his increasingly massive army. Ztlin is nothing if not a careful planner and must be assured of victory beforehand. His forces have been steadily moving through the mines, attacking peripheral settlements while cutting off escape routes or trapping fleeing warriors with magic. Dwarves can only watch on in horror as contact is lost with one outer settlement after another, and from which no survivors return to tell of what happened. Ztlin knows the hour is coming when the Mountain Kingdom will once again belong entirely to the Lizardmen.