the Hydra Princes

 Voj’Karron want to establish a prosperous salamander colony on the Material Plane, taking captives and resources from any who stand in their path. 

 Voj’Karron tirelessly seek out the approval of their father, the king, despite never quite being able to secure it. 

Voj’Karron bicker ceaselessly with each other, which sometimes prevents them from making timely decisions or delivering effective orders to their subordinates.

Voj’Karron are a pair of conjoined salamander twins born to King Gostarchos of the Court of Conflagration on the Elemental Plane of Fire. The left twin is named Voj; the right, Karron. The twins each have their own neck and head, but share one pair of arms and a single body with nine serpentine tails. Had the twins not been born into such high status within salamander society, they would surely be eaten by the other salamanders for having been deemed weak, deformed, and abominable. Their royal heritage and potential heirship to their father’s throne, however, ensured that they would be protected and live to adulthood. Though it saved them from an early death, the status of their birth brought with it the crushing pressure of expectation, made more intense by their father’s obvious preference for his first son and presumed heir, Zeca. Voj’Karron’s father made clear that his throne would pass to the offspring of his which had rightfully earned it through their acts of power. Since birth, Voj’Karron have struggled to prove their worth and make their case for their father’s throne in the shadow of their brother. 

Voj’Karron came to learn that to have any chance at succession, they would have to set a new precedent of achievement. While their brother rampaged across the Plane of Fire raiding in their father’s name, Voj’Karron set their sights on a new frontier: the Material Plane. Salamanders had historically believed that the Material Plane had little to offer them, but Voj’Karron had heard stories of great dwarven forges in the mountains on the Material and reckoned that if they searched diligently and benefited from some luck, they might find a portal that put them close to an opportunity for great wealth. Voj’Karron ordered their underlings to find as many existing elemental rifts as they could, and for their evocators to open new ones where the elemental energies allowed. They then sent scouts through these rifts, searching within a few miles on the other end for raiding targets. After over a year of searching, Voj’Karron broke through. Their scouts had found a rift that connected them to the inside of a mountain that was home to a thriving dwarven clan. Voj’Karron gathered their troops and organised a wide-scale assault, planning to establish a foothold in the mountain and gradually take more and more territory as they reinforced themselves, with the ultimate goal of colonising the mountain and taking the dwarves’ resources for themselves. So far, Voj’Karron’s plan has been successful. The salamanders have established a foothold in the mountain within a former dwarven stronghold and threaten to take more dwarven territory by the week. 

 under their authority. Eager to prove themselves as worthy members of their tribe, the salamander fledglings compose the bulk of Voj’Karron’s forces on the Material Plane and fight viciously to earn their status. The fledglings almost always fight to the death, for to return to the tribe in retreat would be a show of weakness that would surely mean exile. 

 that has served Voj’Karron faithfully for many years. Though many other salamanders have a low opinion of Voj’Karron because of their physical condition, Sroswi has been a friend of the twins since the three of them were fledglings. Court politics on the Plane of Fire are not favourable to Sroswi, and so he believes that he can take more power for himself on the Material Plane alongside Voj’Karron. Voj’Karron have relied and continue to rely heavily on Sroswi to locate convergences of elemental energy where portals might be opened.

A new frontier brings new opportunities. The salamander Iyathasa, alongside Voj’Karron and Sroswi, saw the potential colonisation of the Material Plane as a chance to raise his own status. Iyathasa led the initial raids on dwarven territory on behalf of Voj’Karron to great success, earning himself the title of 

Iyathasa has been granted the privilege of overseeing the tactical and military operations of the salamanders on the Material Plane. Though Vaj’Karron don’t  know it, Iyathasa would slay the twin princes and take power for himself the moment the opportunity presented itself. 

Voj’Karron wanted to establish spawning pits on the Material Plane as soon as possible to strengthen the legitimacy of the colony and eventually help to provide reinforcements. To protect the eggs laid in the first spawning pit of the foothold, Voj’Karron brought Masha, a 

, through a planar portal. The hydra princes had little friends in their younger years and so spent much time with Masha near the spawning pits, bonding with the wyrm. That was many years ago, but Masha, now an elder wyrm, remains just as strong and ferocious in her old age. 

A fraction of Voj’Karron’s forces are composed of a few dozen 

 from the Elemental Plane of Fire who had long been allies of the Court of Conflagration. The molten salamanders are led by one named Namvri, who has his own personal reasons for wanting to leave his native plane. Some months ago, Navri made an infernal pact with a visiting devil, and the time has come for him to repay his end of the bargain. Instead, Navri is hoping to shake the devil off his trail by fleeing to the Material Plane. The other molten salamanders know nothing of this; he has convinced them that the colony presents them all with opportunity for wealth and glory. 

As Voj’Karron and the salamanders advance through the mountain, the dwarves who realise their strongholds will be lost to the extraplanar invaders usually attempt to destroy their forges so that they will never be sullied by the salamanders. Voj’Karron and the salamanders were prepared for this, and so have brought with them many 

 which they use as temporary, mobile forges in which they can repair and reforge their weapons while they work to capture new dwarven forges or attempt to repair the ones that have been destroyed. 

Voj’Karron relish bloodshed and, if anything, can be easy to provoke and reckless in battle. In combat, they use their bonus action on their white hot flames ability every round. They use their rechargeable scorching rays ability at the start of combat and at every other opportunity as the ability recharges. Voj’Karron will generally prioritise a single target with all three rays in order to remove them from the fight if possible, preferably targeting enemy combatants outside of melee range. Voj’Karron spend their legendary actions every round on their tail barrage ability until they have four tails left or less, at which point they spend their legendary actions on one fire breath ability and one scimitar attack as applicable.

These conjoined sons of a prominent salamander king are intent on capturing new territory in order to prove themselves in the eyes of their father. 

Voj'Karron

The Hydra Princes