ZEITGEIST Surviving Dragon Tyrants

[Andrew Moreton]

What other surviving dragon tyrants have people had turn up in their campaigns , I figure I should have another 3 or 4 kicking around Risur all of them much weaker than Gradiax/Pemberton.
So far I am thinking of Miss Pemberly Stanton , Head mistress of Stanton's school for Girls . A Blue dragon which is quietly running the best boarding school for young ladies in Risur and at the same time building up a spy network of ex students spread across the country to keep her informed. every 30 or 40 years she takes the role of a new Head teacher, and everyone talks in awe about the terrible fate which befell a group of bandits who hijacked a carriage transporting young ladies to the school a few years ago.
I am thinking a Black or Green being a crimelord in one of the other Risuri cities , and another dragon being a professor at the university

 

[RangerWickett]

Maybe a Green dragon who works in the big thicket, brokering deals with fey and occasionally kicking their butts, in exchange for him getting profits of the lumber business. He invested heavily in tree stuff, and didn't realize until too late that industry was where it was at, so now he's struggling because he knows if he brings in machinery the fey he has pacts with will turn on him.

 

[EarthSeraphEdna]

I like the idea of highlighting the importance of Terakalir. She is a very interesting character, being a cyborg dragon with an magical gem for an eye and steam-powered prosthetics for wings and an arm. Her 4e incarnation is particularly intriguing, given that she has high Intelligence and a proficiency with magical curses.

Terakalir would unironically make for a very interesting queen for Risur. Dragons are no slouches as leaders, and the nation could be her new hoard. Much like Aodhan before her, Terakalir has familiarity with both technology and magic, fitting for Risur's love of blending the two. I think she would have gotten a solid education in technology, magic, and business and leadership skills from her father, Gradiax.

Terakalir would be able to work well with Harkover Lee, another flame-aspected dragon. Jiese, the local plane of fire that allows precision technology to work in the first place, also happens to be dragon-themed, so there is a strong thematic link between dragons and technology. That could be a cool motif for Risur moving forward with its arcanotechnological advancements.

Ber would be incensed by this, of course, but Risur could always pull the card of having taken care of the last remaining dragon tyrants on Ber's behalf. It would be a tense dynamic to be sure.

 

[gideonpepys]

I had a green dragon in the Dreaming, protected by the fey. My characters went there early, during a buffer adventure between instalments of the AP. (Wrath of the River King by Wolfgang Baur.)

 

[Andrew Moreton]

I think a Green Dragon lumber baron in Bole could be interesting with Fey ties. I specifically have to avoid major side plots for this campaign as it will take long enough anyway and I let the Way of the Wicked get badly side tracked when I ran that with about another AP's worth of bits stolen from several AP's.
Teraklir is interesting but she can't be one of the existing sheltered dragons and her fate will be decided on Monday when she engages the constables. It does give me the idea of a Red academic and engineer having worked on the Coal tongue to help develop the Brand

Black Jakes Salvage company , A black dragon run company specialising in wreck salvage and smuggling out of Shale

 

[hirou]

There is a rumor in my campaign that is indefinitely in state of uncertainty because my players haven't got any time to verify it in full. At Ob convocation in adv.7 Nicodemus happened to mention that "whole southern Lanjyr is already controlled by dragons, and they're trying to spread their power to the north". That may have been just one of the things he says to make the people feel important - they're saving the world from new dragon tyrants! and it's urgent! - or that may have been true. Consider:

• Harkover Lee is the first minister and trusted advisor of the king, basically the second person in Risur. He doesn't try to seize the crown but he can stay in that position indefinitely, ruling from the shadows.
• Gradiax/Benedict Pemberton in my campaign moved most of his operations to Yerasol. It was relatively easy to sell the idea of Independent Nation of Yerasol Archipelago to the native population of the islands, with him proclaimed a chosen ruler. He's keeping a fragile balance, using the land as a neutral territory between Risur and Danor, with neither nation willing to attack first. For now.
• Now Ber, of course, has crushed the dragon tyrants and is forever free from their influence... Is it? There is a person in Ber whose position can be compared to that of Harkover Lee, who can influence the person on the throne (whoever that may be at the moment), who's away from the attention of the public, who has undetermined magical powers. Of course, I'm speaking about El Extrano, Minister of Shadows and true king of Ber. Of course he's proclaiming his undying hatred for dragon tyrants of the past - they're his direct competitors (and of course he gloats over Pemberton's failure of a coup)! He alone managed to find a way not only to survive the dragon purge of King Boyle but to unify the whole country under his rule.

 

[Andrew Moreton]

I have had several player theories about El Extrano and the secret Kobold conspiracy behind the throne including having him as a dragon and I agree it makes a lot of sense . However just to confound my player expectations I intend them to find no evidence that El Extrano is a dragon , and he probably is not.
The idea of Pemberton taking over Yerasol is interesting, in the short term I can't see Danor allowing it just because they have to have Axis island and they don't want to make it obvious that they are focused on that.

My long term post episode 13 idea for Pemberton is for him to move on Danor and/or Crissily which are weakened by the death and discreditation of most of their governments.

 

[arkwright]

El Extrano being dragon-allied could be interesting, particularly if you use it to explain his glaring absence in Book 6. For a spymaster who pops up regularly thereafter, his absence during the party's visit to his beat is a touch strange. Perhaps Extrano secretly supported Pemberton's conquest, or at least agree to keep his claws off for the duration.

 

[Zipster]

I put a small rumor in my game about a former dragon tyrant ruling the slaver colony in Elfaivar.