NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9712407" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/pAML0MF.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 598px" />Dragons of Valerna is a deep dive into the landmark monsters of the setting. It has pretty much everything save for stat blocks, which are detailed in the Bestiary chapter towards the end of the book…but which we'll be covering here for ease of reference!Unlike typical D&D settings, there are no chromatic or metallic dragons in the world. Instead, we have six new species, or breeds, of dragons. The original dragons were created by Kadmos, one of the godlike Protogons responsible for the creation of all other life forms. After Kadmos lost a war against the other Protogons, the dragons were banished to Drakha, the Red Moon, which severed their ties to Vaala and robbed them of their immortality and access to magic. But once every 27 years, a portal known as the Eye of Kadmos opens, allowing travel between Rhaava and Drakha. During such times, the dragons would raid the lands for captives and magical energy to consume before returning through the eye, but a few remained on Rhaava either by choice or an inability to return in time.Each of the six dragon breeds is capable of flight and possesses up to three breath weapons: one is of fire, and the two others represent some element foundational to their kind as they advance in age. The book describes dragons as carnivorous and "eat anything they can get their claws on," which technically would make them omnivorous. Vaala is most nutritious to dragons, as it can sustain them for years and helps extend their lifespan. Draconic humanoids known as dragonkin were also created by Kadmos, and dragons run the gamut of views towards them: as little better than animals at worst, to equal brethren at best.Dragon culture is overall quite individualistic, with appointing the eldest among their brood as a leader known as an azhurma being the only real form of hierarchy practiced. While dragons can organize into extended family units and even cities, they are prone to infighting and clashes over territory. Being unable to make use of magic like mortals can,* dragons discovered a workaround via Kadmic Runes, magical writings taught to them by their Protogon creator. The knowledge of these runes is traditionally passed down from parent to child. Captives from Valerna taken in raids were done either to keep as livestock or to serve as living batteries of Vaala for magical experiments. However, as no living being born on Drakha can make use of Vaala, such experiments were utter failures, and most descendents of captives now live in Aureus' Golden City where they are second-class citizens.*With the exception of Coatl dragons, although the text doesn't acknowledge this contradictionDragon Broods are the primary classification of dragons by common lineage, tracing their family tree to a common azhurma. The book notes that the six broods listed aren't the only ones that exist. This section also talks about lairs, lair actions, and calculating the DC for variant abilities of dragons, but as we don't get stat blocks until several chapters later, that's quite disorganized. So I'm going to break with convention and talk about dragon stats in this post.Dragonbond dragons have your typical true dragon features: high hit points and Armor Class, fly speed and other possible movement speeds, darkvision and blindsight, various natural weapons, a fire breath weapon at Wyrmling and older, an alternate breath obtained at Young and Adult, immunity to fire damage for Young and older, Frightful Presence at Adult and older (save for Coatl, who lack it), Legendary Resistance and Legendary Actions at Adult and older, and all age categories have Drakhan Resistance which grants a persistent advantage on all saves vs spells and immunity to the Maze spell. Dragons also make use of the four age categories in the Monster Manual (wyrmling, young, adult, ancient) plus a new Hatchling category that is even weaker than wyrmling and of a fractional Challenge Rating. They all have the same size and year range for each category: Tiny and less than a year for Hatchlings, Medium and 1-5 years for Wyrmlings, Large and 6-100 years for Young dragons, Huge and 101-800 years for Adults, and Gargantuan and 800+ years for Ancient. Dragons of Wyrmling and older also have access to Kadmic Runes, allowing them to cast spells from the Cleric and Wizard list whose total number and maximum spell level is determined by their age category. One other thing that Dragonbond dragons get over core rules dragons is that each has special abilities they can use as bonus actions and reactions, letting them take better advantage of 5th Edition's action economy during combat.On the fluff side of things, we also get tables for each brood to generate a dragon's Personality Traits, Ideals, Flaws, and Goals, along with 3 adventure seeds each for ways to incorporate them into Dragondbond sessions. We also get semi-detailed writeups on each brood's azhurma, covering their history along with their current goals. To be honest, there's not really much to said azhurmas besides them being general ruler types who exemplify the best qualities of their kind. We also get Variant Abilities for dragons of all kinds, representing alternative breath weapons, Kadmic Runes, and other abilities to diversify individual dragon NPCs.Thoughts: There's an awful lot of material here to make dragons fleshed-out characters that feel unique from each other, both in combat and out of it. Once again the book suffers from poor organization, where you have stuff specific to stat blocks such as Lair Actions and Variant Abilities not placed alongside the actual dragon stats much later in this book. I particularly like the implementation of Kadmic Runes, which grants dragons access to a common archetype that they strangely lacked in 2014 5th Edition D&D.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/Lh2tUQH.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 385px" />Coatl are scholarly, feathered dragons who prefer the use of magic over physical might in combat. They have an innate curiosity, seeking to explore the world and its many mysteries, with the younger dragons preferring to explore while the older ones build upon their existing networks of knowledge to pursue breakthroughs. They build lairs in well-fortified, academic places such as ruins and towers if possible, and make heavy use of runes and traps to guard their findings. Their alternate breath weapons are a damaging aura of blue flames and a dispelling line that deals force damage, their supernatural abilities and Lair Actions hew heavily towards illusionary debuffs, and they can divert elemental damage to a nearby target as a reaction.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/5xV6A1y.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 386px" />Ehryla are dragons who love to craft all kinds of things, and often live close to volcanic vents which they turn into impressive forges. They are more introverted and less social than other breeds, eschewing politics and tests of oneupmanship, being satisfied and content in finding purpose in their work. Ehryla are responsible for inventing some of the most powerful metals and magic items. Their alternate breath weapons are spitting globs of magma that explode upon contact and choking ash clouds, and their supernatural abilities and Lair Actions center around the creation and manipulation of heat and metal as well as being able to suppress and "turn off" magic items.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/EehQH0H.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 387px" />Exor dragons embrace their role as apex predators in a world where they have only other dragons as equals. Predictably, their culture values Social Darwinist principles where relationships are broken down into exploiter and exploited, and all Exor seek to become or maintain a position among the former. They can survive in any environment, but prefer arid regions. For their lairs, Exor excavate subterranean catacombs which can eventually expand into mazelike dungeon environments rich in secret passages. Their alternate breath weapons are blasts of blinding sand and restraining molten glass, they can kick up an obscuring dust cloud as a reaction, deal additional damage when they burrow out of the ground and attack a creature, and their Lair Actions make use of desert-themed terrain effects such as changing the ground into quicksand, or coating their bodies in crystal to impose disadvantage on enemy attack rolls against them.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/pj1Jle4.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 387px" />Fulgen dragons view themselves as the natural rulers of all dragonkind, and have the most complex systems of laws out of all the broods. They spend just as much time researching and debating civics and magic as martial pursuits, and impress upon their children the value of academia. Fulgen also rule the only metropolis of note on Drakha, the Golden City, which is where most of them make their lairs. But Fulgen on Valerna often live in abandoned structures near major population centers, demanding other creatures renovate it to their liking. Their alternate breath weapons are an aura dealing fire and force damage and a line of restraining molten metal, and their supernatural abilities and lair actions tend to involve mental domination of others to impose negative conditions or denial of actions and mobility.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/ZPGnju1.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 391px" />Magnifex dragons are the Epicureans of dragonkind, indulging in worldly desires and collectors of aesthetic beauty. They have high standards for everything, from making lairs in only the most desired and exclusive of locations, the most beautiful art for their hoards, and only the most delicious of prey. Magnifex differ wildly in what they find personally pleasing, and what may be striking and innovative to one dragon may be ugly and gauche to another. While eager and willing to fight, they prefer to engage their enemies in social combat first, often spending time enacting elaborate scenarios and schemes of sabotage, one-upmanship, and ego-boosting to prove that they are the superior being to third party witnesses. Their alternate breath weapons are a spray of poisonous crystals and a rolling ball of petrifying crystals, and their supernatural and lair actions tend to revolve around shiny-yet deadly things, such as turning a nearby statue into a golem or showing off their scintillating scales to charm onlookers.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/k1sz8zr.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 399px" />Nix dragons are the black sheep of the broods, having embraced necromancy to become immortal undead beings. They are not born, instead originating as a transformed dragon from another brood. This can even be done upon dragons still in their eggs, and the Nix have been known to infiltrate the lairs of other dragons to steal such eggs to make more of their own. Every such dragon is actually a phylactery for their azhurma, Nixis, who propagates the species in order to better ensure her immortality. Nix prefer remote lairs in environments hostile to life that have classic "evil monster lair vibes," such as dismal swamps and ashy wastelands. Their alternate breath weapons are an exploding orb of black flame that deals necrotic and fire damage and life-draining fumes that restore the dragon's hit points. Their supernatural abilities and lair actions are predictably necromantic in nature, such as twisting the limbs of distant creatures to damage and immobilize them, animating undead servants to fight for them, and creating sinkholes of mud and water that restrain and drown targets stuck in them.Thoughts: I do admit missing the traditional chromatic/metallic brood, although I do find these six new varieties interesting enough on their own to stand out. They all also have means of coming up with adventure opportunities: Ehyrla for finding, crafting, or discovering the purpose of a powerful magic item, the Coatl and their desire for knowledge and research, etc.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/fQt5lxa.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 613px" />Dragonbonding is the section of greatest relevance to the PCs, the process where a dragon and mortal soul forge a supernatural connection to each other that allows them to share Vaala. The process is spontaneous and happens in less than a second, but why it occurs is unknown. The bond is mutually beneficial, for it provides the dragon continual access to the mortal's Vaala and thus doesn't hunger for it anymore, while the mortal gains the benefits of a dragon's extended lifespan. However, should one of them die, the other will as well.Although its existence has been known for millennia, the Dragonbond had huge social and political repercussions in Valerna and Drakha. For one, it caused the bonded dragons to develop better understanding and empathy for creatures they traditionally hunted and raided, and thus were likelier to aid Valernian civilization against their brethren. Bonded dragons also grew confident enough to fight the Protogons. However, pride goeth before a fall, and when a group of Dragonbonded attempted to use Vaala to permanently close the Eye of Kadmos, the process instead opened up a portal…elsewhere, causing the Null to enter reality. Closing this new portal took great sacrifice, where the powers of the Dragonbond itself were wiped from Valerna as the ultimate price. This lasted for a thousand years until recent decades, when the seals holding back Null weakened, allowing the Null back into Valerna in an event known as the Second Null War. But it also allowed the ability for mortals and dragons to enter a Dragonbond once again.Forming a Dragonbond is more of an art than a science, but a universally-shared requirement is when two prospective bondmates view each other as genuine equals. This commonly comes from when a dragon and non-dragon share similar outlooks and have more things in common than not, and once a Dragonbond is formed it cannot be avoided or done away with. When it comes to PCs, the circumstances of a Dragonbond are determined by DM Fiat by default and what makes sense for the story, but there are hard and fast rules for determining the maximum age category a PC can bond to based on their level: 1st level for Hatchling, 3rd for Wyrmling, 7th, for Young, 13th for Adult, and 18 for Ancient. Additionally, once a PC reaches a certain level for an age category, the bonded dragon will immediately mature to that age if applicable.Should a DM wish to further gamify the process of achieving a Dragonbond, alternate rules make it so that it can only be triggered when a character in the presence of a dragon rolls a 20 on a saving throw or ability check for a skill associated with the particular dragon brood. If more than one dragon is present, the DM decides which dragon would be most appropriate for the Dragonbond. Afterwards, both the character and dragon go through two additional stages of ability checks much like a skill challenge, requiring rolls from both of them. Should the process fail, the character can't ever try to bond with that dragon again, and neither can attempt to bond with another mortal/dragon for 1d4 weeks.A successful Dragonbond provides alterations to both the Dragonbonded mortal and bonded dragon. The mortal learns Draconic if they don't already speak it, becomes immune to the breath weapons of the bonded dragon's brood, gains darkvision equal to the bonded dragon's range if it's less than the dragon's, and can speak telepathically to all dragons. As for the dragon, it will not willingly act to harm the bonded mortal and will prioritize the character's survival over other PCs. The dragon can only recharge their breath weapons on a short or long rest rather than refreshing on a 5-6 on a d6, or the Dragonbonded mortal can spend 4 points from their Vaala pool to recharge it immediately. The dragon also lsses access to its Legendary Resistance, Legendary Actions, Lair Actions, and lair regional effects. Both mortal and dragon cannot die of old age, and they can either act on their own initiative or choose to act on the same initiative where one of them rolls for both. They also keep their own hit point values, but should either be reduced to 0 hit points then both of them are reduced to 0 hit points and must both make death saving throws. If one dies, then the other dies.Lastly, a bonded dragon and mortal can enact an hour-long ritual to link the spirits of non-bonded mortals, granting the non-bonded participants fluency in Draconic, resistance to the damage type of of the dragon's breath weapons, and darkvision equal to half that of the bonded dragon or +10 feet to it.A bonded dragon, despite gaining a deep connection to a PC, is still a free-willed creature, and thus still acts on its own. However, the book suggests the DM grant control of the dragon to the player of a Dragonbonded PC during combat, but with the former considerations in mind and to take control back if the player abuses this privilege.The section wraps up with a list of four particularly famous Dragonbonded pairs, one for each of the major four civilizations in the setting who achieved fame during the Second Null War. They are Itza and Reganna of Nahuac, the former being the scholar penning the in-universe version of this book for newly-fashioned Dragonbonded; Elyse and Ferellon of Allaria, the former being a silver elf noblewoman who became Queen after proving herself in the Second Null War and seeking to steer the country in a more progressive direction; Adrael and Nagasha, the former claiming the throne of Tyveria and seek to turn it into a meritocracy albeit still a rather ruthless one; and Oryan and Rakzor of Ysval, a pair of great warriors who forged their bond in the thick of battle, and are responsible for building a new order of Dragonbonded at the temple of Ret Sajuut.Thoughts: The book definitely delivers when it comes to providing rules for true dragon companions, and as the Dragonbond itself doesn't specify any particular stats or mechanics for the new dragons of this book, it can be adopted to use for the chromatic/metallic dragon broods in other settings as well. As even Young dragons are Large size and have fly speeds, the classic image of a dragon-riding hero is easily achievable by the 2nd Tier of play.However, the Dragonbond raises some serious questions regarding balance. Even if the true dragons end up debuffed, they still stand head and shoulders above the typical animal companion-style NPC minion. And unless the gaming group is okay with "playing favorites," I can see every player wanting a draconic mount as their own, which will require some extensive rebalancing of encounters. Guidelines and advice that the book sadly doesn't deliver.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/F6ygUQ7.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 569px" />Draconic Combat is the final part of this chapter, providing deeper rules for mounted and aerial combat to account for the dragon-riding focus of the setting. Rules for mounting/dismounting and controlling a mount are reprinted here for ease of reference. Mounts are divided into three types in this system: unintelligent mounts, who have Intelligence of 1-3 or don't speak a language; intelligent mounts, who have an Intelligence of 4 or higher or speaks a language; and bonded dragons, which are normally classified as intelligent mounts but provide additional benefits when their bonded rider is mounting them.We get a new feat called the Valernian Martial Tradition, which represents generations' worth of combat techniques developed for fighting against and alongside dragons. The feat grants +1 to an ability score of choice and three maneuvers which are similar to a Battlemaster Fighter. There are 13 maneuvers to choose from, 8 of which have rest or round-based refresh rates, 5 of which have unlimited uses, and the save DC for maneuvers is based off of the user's choice of Strength, Dexterity, or Intelligence. The maneuvers include such options as Bladespike Climb (can move across a creature's body as difficult terrain if you successfully attack it, dealing 1d4 piercing per movement), Full-Body Slam (you direct your flying mount to spasm into a smaller target, dealing more damage the greater in difference of size categories between mount and target), Imbue Attack (dragon ally breathes on your weapon, replacing its damage type with the breath weapon's type, longer duration if dragon ally is bonded to you), Reactive Shove (can shove a target as a reaction if it provokes an opportunity attack from you, an intelligent mount or bonded dragon gains a reaction-based attack on target if they are shoved into their reach), Tumbling Advance (move up to half your speed as a reaction if you succeed on a save against an AoE), and Winged Special (flying mount uses its wing as a springboard to fling you at a target, rider can make a bonus action attack dealing extra damage to target).Aerial Combat is a new subsystem for battles involving multiple airborne participants. It uses an abstracted measure for distance and positioning, where placement on the battlefield is divided into Range Spheres. A Long Sphere encompasses the entire battlefield. Within are multiple potential Medium spheres, which can have various Close Spheres representing creatures close enough to engage in melee combat. A creature can use all of its flying movement to move from one sphere to an adjacent one (Close to Medium, Medium to Long), so using the Dash action combined with normal movement can move a character two spheres. Attacks and effects with a range of 60 feet can only be used in a Close sphere, 61 to 150 feet can be used to target creatures in an adjacent sphere, and 151+ feet can target up to 2 spheres away. Close spheres are effectively treated as melee combat, where moving from Close to Medium can provoke an opportunity attack, and ranged attacks are rolled with disadvantage. A creature can run away and "exit" an encounter by using all of its movement in the Long sphere while taking the Disengage action.This section provides a visual representation of what aerial combat would look like via the use of Range Spheres, as well as more specific rules and circumstances for aerial combat. For example, there are rules that cover what happens if a creature is KO'd or reduced to 0 feet and thus how long they fall before exiting the Long sphere, rules for landing upon or climbing a larger creature, and how certain actions such as Hide, Dodge, etc are altered by the Aerial Combat rules. One notable rule is that Dragonbonded do very well when attacking in tandem while the rider is mounted on the dragon. Should one make an attack against a creature, the other bonded partner gains advantage on attack rolls against that same target.Thoughts: The Range Sphere rules are a good compromise between theater of the mind and the unenviable difficulty of tracking grid-based movement in a three-dimensional environment, and the Valernian Martial Tradition is a cool and appealing feat. That being said, I see some cases where certain archetypes work extremely well with these rules. A Warlock with the Eldritch Spear Invocation can hit anyone anywhere in the battlefield with their Eldritch Blasts, while dragonriding Rogues will have an easy source of Sneak Attack damage whenever they fight the same target as their draconic mount. That being said, it's now much easier for enemies to close the gap with a mere Dash, so they won't be getting several rounds' worth of free attacks before their foes get in range.Thoughts So Far: Overall, I like this chapter. It helps make dragons in the setting into distinct characters and more than mere monsters to slay, and dragons of the same brood and age category can be sufficiently different based on their Kadmic Runes and Variant Abilities. The Aerial Combat rules look nifty enough to adopt, although I haven't tested them in play to see how well they hold up. My main point of contention is the lack of DMing advice for rebalancing encounters for parties that have true dragon allies.Join us next time as we check out more PC-friendly options in Chapter 4: Items and Chapter 5: Magic!</blockquote>

Verification