Wik
First Post
What about a draconic harem? It wouldn't just be filled with human females, either... I'm sure dragons would have some very.... peculiar tastes concerning matters of the flesh. We could have Eladrins, giants, and all sorts of other fun ones. The emir's concubines would be interesting, to say the least! And I'm sure they'd command quite a bit of power.
You could even take that a step further, and say that the harem also doubles as the Emir's elite bodyguard. When the PCs wonder why the Halfling, Banshrae, Ettin, and Efreet are so protective of their leader, and then find out that the dragon is also their lover? That's just cool. Maybe a bit gonzo, but still cool.
Also, perhaps many of the emir's ordinary "citizens" worship a specific god. We tend to equate desert cultures with religion, and you can get some mileage out of that. The average merchant and artisan worships god X, and if the Dragon wants their support, he better look like he cares about X, too. So, he gets a high priest (A "Mullah", perhaps?) to educate him in the proper terms of respect towards this religion.
So, the dragon would have an advisor following him around, demanding that the dragon pary at certain times of the day, and follow sabbaths or whatnot. It'd be a fun angle, at least... especially if the dragon was coerced into doing things it otherwise hated. Putting it in a foul mood for the PCs' otherwise innocuous request. Think of the RP potential!
The scene I keep thinking of here is the Mos Eisley spaceport, in Star Wars. Lots of weird humanoids in the region, all of them scum and villains. Adobe buildings. And weird merchants selling weirder supplies on street corners. You could start plent of adventures here, with some random schmoe hawking a strange, unpolished lamp that just HAS to be magical...
Arabic Ninja Assassins, with a religious bent similar to the historical assassins, could be a nice tough, too. Especially if they were the loyal shadow servants of the dragon. They would use their talents to enforce the dragon's whims without dirtying the dragon's reputation. Everyone knows that the dragon is behind the slayings and intimidations of the assassins, but pretends that the two are unrelated.
So, they fear the dragon, but they're also afraid of acknowledging that fear, because if they do, it means they know the dragon is behind an illegal group, which would mean they'd be next on his list. And the great thing about a sect of fanatic assassins is that you can use them against your PCs while they're in the city... and if they kill some assassins, the dragon can still pretend like the PCs aren't involved, to maintain his public facade. If the PCs wipe out a bunch of assassins, the dragon might give them the scale as a gesture of his "gratitude", while secretly planning revenge later on.
...but I still think a tree full of flying monkeys would be plain cool.
You could even take that a step further, and say that the harem also doubles as the Emir's elite bodyguard. When the PCs wonder why the Halfling, Banshrae, Ettin, and Efreet are so protective of their leader, and then find out that the dragon is also their lover? That's just cool. Maybe a bit gonzo, but still cool.
Also, perhaps many of the emir's ordinary "citizens" worship a specific god. We tend to equate desert cultures with religion, and you can get some mileage out of that. The average merchant and artisan worships god X, and if the Dragon wants their support, he better look like he cares about X, too. So, he gets a high priest (A "Mullah", perhaps?) to educate him in the proper terms of respect towards this religion.
So, the dragon would have an advisor following him around, demanding that the dragon pary at certain times of the day, and follow sabbaths or whatnot. It'd be a fun angle, at least... especially if the dragon was coerced into doing things it otherwise hated. Putting it in a foul mood for the PCs' otherwise innocuous request. Think of the RP potential!
The scene I keep thinking of here is the Mos Eisley spaceport, in Star Wars. Lots of weird humanoids in the region, all of them scum and villains. Adobe buildings. And weird merchants selling weirder supplies on street corners. You could start plent of adventures here, with some random schmoe hawking a strange, unpolished lamp that just HAS to be magical...
Arabic Ninja Assassins, with a religious bent similar to the historical assassins, could be a nice tough, too. Especially if they were the loyal shadow servants of the dragon. They would use their talents to enforce the dragon's whims without dirtying the dragon's reputation. Everyone knows that the dragon is behind the slayings and intimidations of the assassins, but pretends that the two are unrelated.
So, they fear the dragon, but they're also afraid of acknowledging that fear, because if they do, it means they know the dragon is behind an illegal group, which would mean they'd be next on his list. And the great thing about a sect of fanatic assassins is that you can use them against your PCs while they're in the city... and if they kill some assassins, the dragon can still pretend like the PCs aren't involved, to maintain his public facade. If the PCs wipe out a bunch of assassins, the dragon might give them the scale as a gesture of his "gratitude", while secretly planning revenge later on.
...but I still think a tree full of flying monkeys would be plain cool.
-- and who wrap all visitors in chains before bringing them before the Great Dragon, who is usually magnanimous while discovering what he can take from his guests.
