Dragon #356

[Razz]

I might make use of some of the fictional metals--mithral, adamantine. I know those exist as epic dragons, but since I don't use epic material much, I can reuse.

Mithral dragons don't exist in 3E and I don't recall them in past editions, either. Adamantine dragon was supremely powerful in 2E, but Dragon Magazine released them a couple of years ago in one of their anniversery issues as a planar dragon from Bytopia. Which makes sense, because the only prominent adamantine dragon I can think of from 2E actually does live in Bytopia according to the Planes of Conflict boxed set for Planescape.

 

[LRonKnieval]

And it claims that Cyan Bloodbane is a dracolich. As the one who came up with that idea, and has watched the official DL line disavow it for the past four years, I found the Dragon mention of it amusing.

It's all your fault Matthew, not being the uber Dragonlance fan I went to the ultimate reference site for my research...Dragonlance Nexus. I'd actually put a plug in there for you as well (so people could get Cyan's stats), but it looks like the editors nixed it on me.

Since Dragon is "official" I guess the irony of your speculations should be appreciated.

 

[LRonKnieval]

What about Wormy?

Wormy and Growf had equal votes and Nick and I considered putting them in as a tie (all of the entries were tallied from fan votes), however Dave Trampier's mysterious departure from D&D (and indeed from society) makes it tough to ask his permission to publish his work.

I love Wormy.

 

[Cam Banks]

It's all your fault Matthew, not being the uber Dragonlance fan I went to the ultimate reference site for my research...Dragonlance Nexus.

All you had to do was ask...

Cheers,
Cam

 

[M.L. Martin]

It's all your fault Matthew, not being the uber Dragonlance fan I went to the ultimate reference site for my research...Dragonlance Nexus. I'd actually put a plug in there for you as well (so people could get Cyan's stats), but it looks like the editors nixed it on me.

You must have missed the disclaimer at the end where I said that Cyan as dracolich wasn't official.

Ah, well. While I'm sorry for the problems this causes the MWP people, I don't think it will do any real 'harm'.

 

[Nepenthe]

Edit: Removed, no use whining about it now, I guess.

/N

 

[Dragonhelm]

It's all your fault Matthew, not being the uber Dragonlance fan I went to the ultimate reference site for my research...Dragonlance Nexus. I'd actually put a plug in there for you as well (so people could get Cyan's stats), but it looks like the editors nixed it on me.

Since Dragon is "official" I guess the irony of your speculations should be appreciated.

That article is in our fan rules section, which doesn't always conform to canon. The Lexicon is where you need to go for all the facts. Good stuff there.

I appreciate that you tried to get a mention of the Nexus in there.

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

But... Chromium? Cobalt? Tungsten?

Ugh.

I realize that D&D isn't meant to represent the historical medieval world, but it still yanks me right out of my suspension of disbelief to use scientific terms/names that were completely unknown until after the renaissance. And honestly, even if the terms were viable for the time/culture, I cannot see someone seeing a dragon and thinking "You know what? That resembles tungsten."

I realize that this dates back to the original article; I'm not blaming the current writers for it. It just rubs me the wrong way, and I'll definitely be changing the dragons' names before using them in a campaign.

Well, other than ferrum, the other 4 weren't discovered til the 18th century (most of the elements actually). Just use older names like krypton comes from "hidden" (Greek - "kryptos") but someone will undoubtedly make a Kal-El connection.

Cobalt has its origins from kobolds (German "kobalt") since it tended to contaminate the desired ores like nickel and copper. 1735.

Nickel probably comes from either "nickel" (Satan or Old Nick) or "kupfernickel" (Old Nick's copper), also German origin. 1751

Chromium's got a Greek origin for "color" (chroma) since its various compounds can provide many colors. 1797

Tungsten comes from Swedish "tung sten" (wolfram from volf rham from Lupi spuma) since the extraction gobbled up tin like a wolf does sheep. 1783

All from Wikipedia entries.

If further dragons are named after elements, what about the older origins of the alkali metals and the halogens, both of which are among the most reactive of all? Add in the alkaline group if need be. Say, a kalium dragon or barys dragon instead of a cupric dragon or auric dragon. But that's getting too complicated.

 

[Shade]

I realize that this dates back to the original article; I'm not blaming the current writers for it. It just rubs me the wrong way, and I'll definitely be changing the dragons' names before using them in a campaign.

We thought "lodestone" would've made a nice additional member of the bunch. That name might work better for one of them, since it already appears in D&D.

A nifty article in all other respects, though. I kind of like the idea of pitting the ferrous dragons against the linnorm, as the metallic and chromatic are traditional foes.

Nice idea! Most of them are chaotic evil, so they split on the axis rather nicely.

Cobalt has its origins from kobolds (German "kobalt") since it tended to contaminate the desired ores like nickel and copper. 1735.

That provided inspiration for tying them in with kobolds.

Tungsten comes from Swedish "tung sten" (wolfram from volf rham from Lupi spuma) since the extraction gobbled up tin like a wolf does sheep. 1783

We worked that one into the sample tungsten's name. I wish now we'd worked a hart in there as well.

BTW, the sample iron dragon's name was originally Octomare, an intentional easter egg for a small group of gamers. It changed somewhere along the way, though, to Ortimaze.

 

[Shade]

I received my copy the other day and was able to compare what we turned in with the final draft. Consider this the web enhancement.

Gruaghlothor
Gruaghlothor is the supreme ruler of the ferrous dragons. His power was once equal to that of Bahamut and Tiamat, before they achieved godhood. According to ferrous dragon legends, Gruaghlothor was the first of the ferrous dragons, and was responsible for creating the hierarchy that all ferrous dragons strictly follow. Several powerful red dragons banded together and destroyed Gruaghlothor, but he swore a dying curse to return for vengeance and not rest until all red dragons are destroyed. As a result of this curse, Gruaghlothor was indeed reborn, but not as the same creature. Should the current Gruaghlothor perish, the great wyrm iron dragons meet to choose one from among their ranks to become the new Gruaghlothor. Through a secret ritual that lasts exactly one year, the new Gruaghlothor emerges to lead the ferrous dragons and plot the extermination of red dragons.

Gruaghlothor possesses a constant telepathic link with all ferrous dragons, and thus even the most evil of the species will not defy his will, for he will know instantly.

Here are a few other sidebars that were trimmed:

Other Ferrous Dragons
Ancient lore tells that twelve or more species of ferrous dragon existed before the great wars that nearly destroyed them. Two species were definitely driven to extinction, though none know the fate or current whereabouts of the other five species, not even the other ferrous dragons. The nature of the seven unknown species remains a mystery, but at least one is probably the magnetite (lodestone) dragon.

The Iron Wars
Several millennia past, civil war erupted between the good and evil ferrous dragons. The impetus for this war, now known as the first Iron War, has been lost to history, but rumors suggest that it began with the discovery of a particularly large deposit of iron ore. Regardless of the cause, many losses were suffered by the ferrous dragons, and their empire began its decline.

The second Iron War was initiated by a group of chaotic dragons known collectively as the rock dragons. Rivalry had long existed between the two groups, but open conflict rarely occurred. Sensing the weakened position of the ferrous dragons, the rock dragons moved in for the kill. The second Iron War ended in the near-extinction of both draconic empires. Tiamat sent her chromatic dragons to crush the last remnants of both.

As a result of the centuries-long Iron Wars, Gruaghlothor has very little tolerance for in-fighting between the ferrous dragons. Instead, he prefers that their enmity be channeled towards the chromatic dragons, particularly the reds.

Here are a few other cut bits:

Treasure
Like other true dragons, ferrous dragons hoard treasure. All varieties have triple standard treasure for their Challenge Rating. Ferrous dragons are particularly fond of coins and metallic items, hoarding them over gems and other non-metallic treasures.

Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (arcana) can learn more about ferrous dragons. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC Result
15 This is a ferrous dragon. This result reveals all dragon traits.
20 Ferrous dragons can sense ordinary metals, making it hard to sneak up on one if using metal armor or weapons.
25 The lawful ferrous dragons have a strict hierarchy, with the higher dragons dictating the laws to the lower ones. The hierarchy, from highest to lowest, is iron, chromium, cobalt, tungsten, and nickel.
30 Gruaghlothor, the supreme ruler of all ferrous dragons, maintains a constant telepathic link with all his subjects; should any of them defy his will, he will know instantly.