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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 7900228" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/cbZ1B7Z.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Book 1, Chapter 4: Other DragonsThis chapter details six new true dragon clans. Two of them are warped by Chaos’ touch, while the other four have mostly uncertain origins. There’s a bit of a watery bias, in that three of the four non-Chaos clans involve the habitation of underwater realms.Amphi Dragons are toad-like dragons who can live on both land and water. They are rather clumsy out of water and as such tend to make their lairs in sea caves and shipwrecks. They are quite aggressive in spite of their relatively small size in comparison to the chromatic and metallic clans, and instead of wings they can attack with a long grasping tongue in addition to spitting a line of corrosive acid. Nobody else, even other dragons, have managed to make peaceful contact with them, so what is known about their society is that they are solitary hunters in coastal and swampy regions. Lord Toede is the only person known to have had such a dragon as a mount.It’s not in this entry, but amphi dragons are created when a black and sea dragon (detailed later) mate.Aquatic Dragons are good-aligned beings who worship Habbakuk. They claim to come from Krynn’s northern pole, having once lived in isolated caves of ice in a civilization known as Saturnalia. They were forced to migrate south during the War of Souls when a sea dragon known as Urchin wrecked their civilization and placed a curse upon it. Their diets are similar to whales, eating small sea creatures filtered through their mouths. They can survive in warmer ocean climates but prefer to find lairs which remind them of home. They tend to be rather whimsical and curious, and often act as protectors of natural oceanic ecosystems such as coral reefs.Fire Dragons were creations of Chaos after the breaking of the Graygem, and reflect this entities’ destructive nature. It is theorized that they were artificial creations rather than a true species in their own right by this ungod, but it seems that his mad designs exceeded beyond anyone’s wildest imaginings and now they are effectively a true clan all their own. They appear to be made of animated magma, and although sapient do not seem to possess any free will or higher intellect. They seek only to destroy, and even in combat alter their attacks between enemies at random. The only times it seems when they do not act violently is when it comes time to mate, and the mothers raise their children until they come of age at which point they’re violently driven off to spread Chaos.Frost Dragons are the other Chaos Dragon clan, and have origins far older than Fire Dragons. When the Graygem made its way across Krynn during the Age of Dreams, a group of white dragons within vicinity grew warped and insane from Chaos’ mind. They exiled themselves to the farthest south pole of Krynn in Icereach’s wasteland, and came north when the Graygem broke to lay waste to Creation. After their patrons’ defeat, they are now doing their best to survive in a realm alien to them, competing with the white dragons for territory. Frost dragons have no emotions: they are driven by the need to fill their all-consuming hunger, and are immune to fear-based and mental manipulations. Sea Dragons are the evil counterparts to Aquatic Dragons. They have not been known to the people of Ansalon until the Fourth Age, although the sea dragon Midori is the oldest known creature on Krynn. Their origins are unknown, but scholars theorize that they were either created by Zeboim as a means of competing with Takhisis at creating her own dragon clan or an offshoot of black dragons. Most are native to warm waters and reside in remote ocean trenches, coming out of hibernation to embark on a destructive path of seemingly endless gluttony. They are sadists who get off on torturing others, care for nobody else, and only reproduce due to an instinctual drive. They only bothered to worship the evil gods if blackmailed or sufficiently threatened.Shadow Dragons have unknown origins even compared to the other dragon clans, and have grayish-dark scales which blacken with age. True to their name, they stick to the most lightless environments possible. It is theorized that they are not ‘born’ so much as artificially created: the first known shadow dragon, Necridian, was believed to have been a chromatic dragon who made a pact with Nuitari for unique powers. The shadow dragon Whisper, who was summoned by Fistandantilus to watch over his fortress during the Dwarfgate Wars, is believed to hail from the Plane of Shadow. As such, they do not have a typical family social structure and tend to make alliances of sorts with other races, although said relationships are usually superficial given their chaotic evil natures.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/NhyMvOn.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Book 1, Chapter 5: the Dragon IslesThe final chapter of Book 1 details the remote homeland of the metallic dragons. Although detailed to some extent in the War of the Lance sourcebook, this update is more in-depth and discusses things in the more modern Age of Mortals. This archipelago’s ecosystem has been artificially shaped to be an ideal tropical resort for the metallic clans, and is capable of teleporting around Krynn’s oceans to prevent others from easily discovering it barring a selected few.* Although they lived all over the place, the five clans retreated to the Dragon Isles after the end of the Third Dragon War as part of a pact wrought from Takhisis’ defeat. The only time the Isles came into real danger was when the chromatic clans stole the eggs of the metallic dragons during the Age of Despair, and later on during the Age of Mortals when the Second Cataclysm caused deadly storms and invasion by the forces of Chaos.*The Isles always maintain their equatorial feel regardless of where they’re present.As of now the Dragon Isles are still a largely peaceful place, albeit with more isolated corners full of monsters. Chromatic dragons and pirates in particular linger on isolated roads and the fringes of waterways. There are various non-draconic races living here in small villages with no hint of racial strife, and the capital city of Auralastican is a grand place with mansions sized for both humanoid and dragon occupants. It is ruled by a council of dragons made up of the five clan leaders in theory, but in reality they leave most communities to govern themselves save in times of crisis. More political factions arose after the end of the War of Souls. The first is the Cirraculum, a cabal of wizards who inhabit a floating citadel and gather magic items of all kinds to destroy them. It is thus believed that they want to destroy magic itself. The Harmony of the Heart was formerly a religious movement preaching peace and equality for all people, but has been perverted into a xenophobic and violent sect seeking to keep the Dragon Isles free of foreigners. The Legion of Steel operates openly as a legitimate faction in several villages. Finally, the Order of Brass is a joint humanoid-brass dragon organization which uses supplies and resources to guard their island against outside threats and also handle immigration matters.We have a list of interesting places to adventure in, such as five mysterious brass pyramids visited at night by strange creatures performing rituals, a magical coral reef home to magical seaweed which grants the ability to temporarily breathe water to those who eat it, a once-pristine silver mountain lake whose scenic nature has been disturbed by what people believe to be Chaos spawn, a massive growing sinkhole in the center of the forested island of Alarl, and a Chaos-touched goblin cave lord* who has taken control of a once-peaceful tribe of goblins to perform more warlike pursuits.*A special subrace of uber-goblinoid unique to Dragonlance, who gain more power by feasting on the flesh of their fellow goblinoids.Thoughts So Far: The newer dragon clans don’t really hit that sweet spot like the traditional ten do. They feel a bit one-note in function and their lack of history among the historical Paladine-Takhisis rivalry makes them feel out of place. There are no true stats for them either, meaning that you’ll have to consult the Bestiary of Krynn sourcebook for mechanical information.The Dragon Isles during the War of the Lance era were like the Shire: a mostly-ideal utopia which is the type of place PCs defend from outside evil rather than having adventures involving domestic problems. The War of Souls changed things around quite a bit, and making its magical seclusion from the world no longer work forces its inhabitants to deal with outside problems. I overall like these changes, although there is still the inevitable question of “why aren’t the powerful true dragons handling this” that will come up even if the metallic clans are less numerous than ever before.Join us next time as we move on to Book 2 and learn of all things Draconian!</blockquote>

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