Dragonborn
- Draconic Fallen Empire
- ???
- ???
Necessarily, dragonborn must be "uncommon" because they're still pretty new, but I would put forward the following alternatives besides the classic fallen empire.
2.
Martial Republic, likely a colonizing one. A fusion of Athens and Sparta: no slavery, but a sort of fusion of the idealized versions of both societies, with a dash of Sun Tzu, where the
ideal soldier also studies poetry and art and philosophy. Unafraid to take land by force, but not warmongering just to warmonger. Possibly something of an upstart, or their homeland is far away and only their colonies are known. This emphasizes the long-term ambitions of the dragonborn, and gives a nod to the implicit higher degree of egalitarianism in their society since women are effectively equivalent to men (and don't need to spend several months pregnant.)
3.
Nomadic Clans. Taking inspiration from the Mongols, Turks, Vikings, Sea People, and other highly-mobile, martially-inclined societies. Whether they sail, herd, follow a seasonal cycle, or some other motive, they don't often settle down and form civic societies--but they can still be a massively dangerous force to be reckoned with, especially if someone can unite them under a single common banner. As above, unafraid to take land by force, but usually too caught up in clan warfare to do so. This emphasizes more the stereotypical social structure ascribed to the dragonborn and their competitive streak.
Basically, the way dragonborn are presented, they have a dual nature. On the one hand, they have the intense pride and "do it myself" attitude of their proper dragon cousins. On the other, they care a great deal about the bonds of family and the legacy they leave behind, which creates a strongly pro-social urge. The Martial Republic version emphasizes the pride, filtered through the pro-social lens. The Nomadic Clans emphasizes the family and legacy, filtered through the prideful lens. This is a good opportunity to show a society that has many different sub-groups, that don't always get along, but which respect one another as fellow members of the blood (or the like.)
Dragonborn present an almost-unique opportunity to have a martially-inclined society which is
not the stereotypical "brutal, savage, and ugly." It's one of the things I like most about them. So lean into that! Respect for the chain of command, respecting the value of both strategy and morale alongside physical strength, employing engineering solutions, that sort of thing. For example, I like to think that Archimedes, with all his crazy war machines, would've either been a dragonborn himself, or would have been held as "a dragonborn in spirit, regardless of his blood" kind of things, out of deep respect for his work in both peace and war.