Draconids and Dragons

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

The thing is, while I can tell that these new iron basilisks are a cross between a basilisk and a wyvern, we don't know what basilisks are in the first place.

As for the shadowpath....we still have no information on it whatsoever, except that even the draconids are afraid of it.

My guess would be some sort of magical DNA manipulation.

 

[Xath]

Right, but manipulation of what? Are the creatues in the MM still basic creatures, or are they all genetically manipulated anomolies. Wyverns and Dragons existed previously, but that does not give the genetic makeup to create all of the variety we've seen.

Celestial/Dire snakes? What makes up a reptus or a yuan-ti?

 

[The_Universe]

What you're *mostly* seeing is humanoid shaped creatures with reptilian/draconic traits. Some have stronger reptilian traits (dahaka, ladonid, reptus) while others are only slightly tainted (mordredin). You have a reasonable guess that you can get mordredins from elves, humans, etc. and whatever source of reptilian essence makes them. Ladonids, dahaka, kerren, etc. might be a further corruption of man-like creatures, or their own race entirely. They might be a pre-existing unknown reptilian race, with draconic properties given to them....

What you do know is that they speak a language that shares an ancestor with many of the currently spoken ones on the great ring.

 

[Xath]

Right. So the question is what is that essence and how does the shadowpath infuse it with living creatures? As a character who is fluent in both Draconic and the Draconid tongue, what would the linguistic similarities suggest about the time of language separation?

Do we know that dragons can breed with anything? We know dragons previously existed. Were there many half-dragons running about?

Seriously. Dragons can breed with anything. I think there could be an oak tree with the half-dragon template slapped on it.

 

[The_Universe]

Right. So the question is what is that essence and how does the shadowpath infuse it with living creatures? As a character who is fluent in both Draconic and the Draconid tongue, what would the linguistic similarities suggest about the time of language separation?

This has been posted before. The language would have departed about 1000 years ago.

Do we know that dragons can breed with anything? We know dragons previously existed. Were there many half-dragons running about?

There were no known half-dragons, though that may have been more a matter of preference than possibility. The common thread about sorcerer's attributing their power to draconic blood is not common in the game world....dragons (when they existed) were serious, aloof...and not terribly interested in the affairs of the lower races.

 

[Xath]

Well, maybe the next time a full-grown dragon attacks us, we should try to ask it some questions.

 

[The_Universe]

Well, maybe the next time a full-grown dragon attacks us, we should try to ask it some questions.

It's not likely to be terribly talkative.

 

[Xath]

Are dragons not sentient in this campaign?

 

[The_Universe]

You don't know.

But you can bet that it's not likely to lay out it's autobiography while trying to kill you, even if it is.

The two most recent living dragons you are aware of (Uther and Aureliana) were both sentient. However, they are both presumed dead or otherwise gone from the world.

 

[Xath]

Is the knowledge of the correlation between color/alignment/element known amongst the populace? Do we know that metallic dragons are generally good and chromatics are evil? Can we assign resistances and weaknesses to color?