Dragonborn: A bit of blue-skying

[Goken100]

Seems to me that most people are hung up on Tolkien's world building without realizing it. Just because he explained the origin of every race doesn't mean you need to. And even if you do, it doesn't mean the origin has to be either mystical or creationist! Check out Stephen Erikson's books to see how an interesting fantasy world is made (the guy's an archaeologist, so you know anthropology's going to be involved!).

Part of what I'm ranting about is how everyone was upset at the suggestion that humans might believe that they arose through evolution, which is contradictory to all the creation myths of the other races. So what? Who says creation mthys have to be right? Just because gods are real doesn't mean they aren't creations of their worshippers.

In my world, most people have no idea where dragonborn, elves, and humans came from. The priests would like to tell you, but who can trust them?

P.S. Dinosaurs might be involved in the creation of the dragonborn. How different are these guys from intelligent raptors anyway?

 

[Irda Ranger]

I'm planning on a couple ideas. Since I like Dragonlance, I think it's a natural fit that the Dragonborn are the result of breeding among Draconians. All that "funky stuff" (like turning to stone upon death, or exploding) would only be true for "first generation" Draconians right from the egg, but the Draconians that are conceived and "born" (Dragonborn, get it?) are the race in the PHB.

I already have a pretty cool story written about how elven and Solamnic prisoners of war manage to "convert" some of their Dragonborn captors away from evil, and how there is an uprising and an exodus of good and neutral Dragonborn from Neraka.

As for "implied setting world", I probably won't go into too much detail. I might just say that all Lizardmen are now Dragonborn, and divide them into civilized types and primitive tribes. There's a whole draconic ecology ranging from kobolds up to "true" dragons (similar to how humanoids range from halflings up to Titans).

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Concept the Second:
Dragonborn are born to mortal parents, without apparent rhyme or reason. Perhaps it's the influence of the heavens, or a norterly wind blowing at the time of their conception. There are many theories, but no answers.

These children suffer various fates, according to where they are born. Some communities have them killed outright, or abandoned in the wilderness. In other places, they are honored, or even worshipped.

They know the language of dragons, these children, without ever having been taught. They have powers that set them apart from the mortals around them. But it is their task to act as intermediaries between the Dragons and the lesser races....

I happen to like this idea as it works for one of the racial concepts in my 3E homebrew.

 

[JohnSnow]

In Michael Stackpole's Dragoncrown War series, dragons go through several distinctive "life stages."

In Stage 1, they're just beasts - the classic ravenous wyrms of myth. Then they go into a cocoon of sorts and emerge, in Stage 2, as draconic humanoids, wherein they develop their intellect and abilities.

The first two lifestages take a couple centuries, IIRC. Finally, they become true dragons (after another magical transformation). They assume a dragon form similar to that of their first life stage, but retain their intelligence. Many also possess the ability to transform into human form.

It sounds like Dragonborn would work really well for representing Stackpole's second life stage of dragons.

I like the concept in general. I may shift their origin from campaign world to campaign world. But I'm now looking forward to Races & Classes even more, so I can get started on my 4e homebrew.

 

[glass]

In Michael Stackpole's Dragoncrown War series, dragons go through several distinctive "life stages."

In Stage 1, they're just beasts - the classic ravenous wyrms of myth. Then they go into a cocoon of sorts and emerge, in Stage 2, as draconic humanoids, wherein they develop their intellect and abilities.

The first two lifestages take a couple centuries, IIRC. Finally, they become true dragons (after another magical transformation). They assume a dragon form similar to that of their first life stage, but retain their intelligence. Many also possess the ability to transform into human form.

Can I just say, yoink!


glass.

 

[Larrin]

as long as they aren't halfbreed something, i can accept them. A legitimate race of dragon people isn't so hard to swallow even if i've never considered it before and thus really don't have a place for it in my worlds. I went through a phase where i was very into the half-dragon concept, but never really like the half-dragon explanation. Dragonborn as a seperate soverein race gets rid of 1) half dragon template (as far as PC's need be concerned) 2) dragon disciple (it was so great it was in the DMG for 3.5....except it really wan't great) 3)stupid claims of dragon's in human/elf/dwarf ancestry (now we have what descendants of dragons are, magic can come from other places). Beyond that its just some new race, like the warforged,shifters, changeling were for eberron, allowing new builds and archtypes to appear. Its an odd choice for a 'generic' setting, but i guess they wanted to throw in some spice with the vanilla races.