Dragon #356

[M.L. Martin]

I had wondered about that. I've never seen any other references to him being a dracolich, but figured Dragon must have it right, and I'd missed something since Dragons of a Lost Star.

It was hinted at in the Appendix to the hardcover version of Dragons of a Vanished Moon, but the folks at SP/MWP have shot down the idea whenever it's been brought up in online discussion.

 

[Razz]

It was hinted at in the Appendix to the hardcover version of Dragons of a Vanished Moon, but the folks at SP/MWP have shot down the idea whenever it's been brought up in online discussion.

Are they scared of using dracoliches? They really want DL to be completely separate from mainstream D&D eh?

Probably the reason no orcs exist, heh.

 

[DMH]

Ferrous Dragons,The article opens by describing their shared traits, ecology, society (which is surprisingly cohesive, but then, all of these dragons are lawful)

Since when? Nickel dragons are in decline because they randomly consume their offspring and chrome dragons are CE.

 

[Shade]

Since when? Nickel dragons are in decline because they randomly consume their offspring and chrome dragons are CE.

Since now.

When we set out to update the ferrous dragons, we tried to remain as true to the original source material as possible. Changing the alignments to all lawful was probably the biggest retcon we made. We did this for two reasons: First, it helped give them a more identifiable niche in the true dragon milieu. Chromatics are evil; metallics are good; gems are neutral. Since the bulk of the ferrous dragons were already lawful, and their society seemed so obviously lawful, we decided to take the plunge and retcon the others into an all-lawful alignment. The second reason was to pave the way for another group of dragons that are all chaotic. I don't have a copy of the issue yet, so I'm not sure if the reference remained, but in the original submission we mentioned this chaotic group by name.

I hope the retcon isn't too jarring. We made it with the best of intentions.

 

[Razz]

Since now.

When we set out to update the ferrous dragons, we tried to remain as true to the original source material as possible. Changing the alignments to all lawful was probably the biggest retcon we made. We did this for two reasons: First, it helped give them a more identifiable niche in the true dragon milieu. Chromatics are evil; metallics are good; gems are neutral. Since the bulk of the ferrous dragons were already lawful, and their society seemed so obviously lawful, we decided to take the plunge and retcon the others into an all-lawful alignment. The second reason was to pave the way for another group of dragons that are all chaotic. I don't have a copy of the issue yet, so I'm not sure if the reference remained, but in the original submission we mentioned this chaotic group by name.

I hope the retcon isn't too jarring. We made it with the best of intentions.

I love it. Giving old creatures a new and improved twist do indeed enhance them both in identity and as niches in D&D. Great job again fellas!

 

[Razz]

Oh, wow, the scale mail letter about the modrons was...me again! LOL Thought it'd be someone else. I must be really vocal about those Hierarch Modrons.

 

[Cam Banks]

Are they scared of using dracoliches? They really want DL to be completely separate from mainstream D&D eh?

We have no problem with dracoliches. Cyan just isn't one, that's all.

I sure wish I knew who told them he was, though. He's an excellent iconic green dragon and lumping him in with the guy who takes up the #1 spot just diminishes all of that.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[PaulKemp]

Confession, by Paul S. Kemp - This short story, told in the first person, doesn't seem to be set in a D&D campaign setting. I won't give any spoilers here, but it's quite an enjoyable tale, particularly for being so concise!

Alzrius,

You are correct. "Confession" is not set in a shared/licensed world. Instead it takes place in a setting of my own creation (though the setting is little more than implied in this story). Some future short stories of mine will feature the same setting.

And I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

 

[jonesy]

I sure wish I knew who told them he was, though. He's an excellent iconic green dragon and lumping him in with the guy who takes up the #1 spot just diminishes all of that.

I just want to know why his bounty is listed in gp. Or does that mean that he's an interstellar criminal?

 

[Mouseferatu]

You know, I really like the article on the ferrous dragons--mostly.

They're great critters. I like the idea of a type of dragon that's universally lawful (or, alternatively, chaotic; need to work on that), but vary on the moral scale. And the stats seem solid enough.

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.

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.