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The Mar have fought the Drakes for resources for centuries, but even the wizards fear those rare times when the Drakes organize an invasion. To better understand why, read the book.

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Spiny tailed guer

Spiny tailed guer are warm-blooded bipeds with reptilian skin that stand between four and five feet high. They have long, whip-like tails covered in small, poisonous, barbed spines that break off readily in human flesh. The poison is not fatal, but the venom contained in a few spines is enough to slow the reflexes of a Mar. They have four-fingered hands with opposable thumbs and are gifted tool-makers on the level with Mar or kobolds. There is currently some question about whether these Drakes are guer at all, as it was recently learned that spiny tailed guer bear live young rather than laying eggs as do other guer.

Spiny tailed guer are omnivorous, but they can live comfortably on a vegetarian diet. They have a complex social system and are fiercely loyal to other spiny tailed guer. It is known that they engage in communal agriculture north of the Fens of Reur, and there have been rumors of vast cities of spiny tailed guer for centuries. Scholars suspect that spiny tailed guer are the among the most numerous of all Drake races. Historically, they have made up the largest part of the Mass, but they are seldom seen south of the Fens of Reur.

(Introduction contributed by Nightfire Tradition)

Tactics

It is unusual for a Mar to encounter a stinger guer south of the Fens of Reur. They make up the bulk of the Drake army during invasions by the Mass. Given how well-represented they are in these attacks, Seruvus only knows how many stingers there actually are. In military formations, stingers usually employ shield walls to protect themselves from missile attacks long enough to close to melee range, where they can bring their soporific tails into play. It's dangerous to assume this is the only trick in their bag, though. Stinger guer are maddeningly clever and well-organized. While not as individually intelligent as kobolds or damnens, they work together more effectively than either. Stinger generals will use missile weapons, guerilla tactics, and even simple siege engines to their advantage. Often, their field troops are better-equipped than their Mar opponents, though wizards certainly even the odds.

Stingers commonly wield a weapon in one hand and carry a shield in the other. To survive an encounter with one, it is imperative you do not forget that stinger tails are long enough to strike an enemy up to arm's length in front of it. A couple spines is all it takes to make your arms feel as heavy as muddy boots. Stinger warriors usually fight conservatively, hoping to land a couple blows against an enemy with their tails so they can finish off the weakened opponent.

A clever warrior can use a stinger's caution to his own advantage, though. The extra weight of their favored equipment, coupled with their smaller size, reduces a stinger's stamina compared to a Mar. A nimble opponent who is careful to stay out of the tail's reach while still threatening the guer can quickly wear out a stinger. A tired stinger is as likely to make a fatal error as a tired Mar, after all.

(Tactics contributed by Weard Girdag Langat)

Editor's note: The proper name for this race is spiny tailed guer, but most mapmakers call them stinger guer or, more often, stingers. Weard Langat disagreed with my original decision to correct his entry, because those Mar most likely to need his tactical advice wouldn't know what a spiny tailed guer was, but they would instantly recognize a stinger by name. For the record, then, "spiny tailed guer" and "stinger guer" are two names for the same creature.