Here are my metaplot notes for my AU campaign (borrows liberally from the Diamond Throne core story):
The Dragons Return:
The Metaplot for Eric’s AU Campaign
Something is not right in the lands of Terrakal. Something is out of balance. Something has been missing for too long, and must be set right. The dragons, now only creatures of legend and myth, must return.
What did the dragons of old do?
o Created the dramojh as soldiers in their own dragon vs. dragon war, then left the world of Terrakal, leaving the dramojh behind to slaughter and enslave entire sentient populations.
Why did the dragons of old leave?
o The dramojh were too powerful for the dragons. The dramojh had been created, after all, to attack and destroy dragons – metallic dragons at first, but they evolved and changed and became a danger to all dragons.
Why did the giants of old arrive?
o They arrived to keep the dramojh horde from destroying a beautiful and ancient land, and a deserving and honorable people.
o The leader of the giants of the east entered into an agreement with the dragons of the west. If the dragons would withdraw, the giants would come and rid the land of the dramojh.
Where are the dragons now?
o The dragons now exist in a state of half-awareness in a demiplane. They can reach into the prime material plane through the dreams of mortals. They can both witness dreams occurring as well as subtly affect the dreams of those they view. They use dreams to communicate their desire to return to the world to selected mortals of destiny.
What is the current legacy of the dragons?
o Myths, legends and stories. The majority of such tales cast the dragons as rapacious villains. A minority feature dragons that are sagacious, wise, and even willing to advise human allies in matters of magic and history.
o Fear, anger, hatred because of the dramojh. Even though no living human, litorian, verrik or faen now alive has seen a dramojh, the legacy of that conflict still runs strong throughout civilized culture. It was the defining event of current society.
o The mojh race and their latent ability to spawn half-dragon creatures, and ultimately help the dragons return.
o Certain places of power are remnants of the magic of the dragons of old.
o Some strange creatures alive today were initially the creations of the dramojh and thus are an indirect legacy of the dragons.
o Some mortals suffer strange dreams about dragons and their return.
What is the mojh/dragon connection?
o The mojh unwittingly keep the dragons an active, though subtle, part of the world as it is today. Only recently have certain mojh begun to discover that they, indirectly, hold the key to the return of the dragons.
o When a mojh spawns a kobold, he has essentially created a “more pure” mojh – one with more draconic essence and less of the human.
o Mojh flesh and kobold flesh have magical, transformative properties.
o When an animal, magical beast, or aberration of animal intelligence eats a significant portion of a mojh’s body, or an entire kobold corpse, it transforms into a half-dragon of a random chromatic type over the next day. These half-dragons can breed further half-dragons, albeit at a very slow rate. Known half-dragon types include: marsh stalker (wingless black dragon/crocodile), swamp wyrm (winged green dragon/monstrous snake), firefly (winged red dragon/stirge with small breath weapon), seaflame drake (winged red dragon/huge shark), storm drake (wingless blue dragon/monstrous lizard). Reptilian and aquatic creatures often make the best half-dragons, but all half-dragons are ravenous predators, and all are hideous to behold for they are inherently “wrong” in appearance and behavior.
o When a kobold eats a significant portion of a mojh’s body (could be its “parent” mojh or another mojh), it transforms into the “perfect” half-dragon kobold, known as a dracha. This is the most perfect “dragon” that currently exists in the world. Anyone who looks upon a dracha is struck by its “rightness” – unlike the animal or beast half-dragons, there is nothing hideous about it. It is beautiful, strong, charismatic, and just seems “right.”
o Unlike mojh and kobolds, dracha are fertile and possess gender. If the mojh that spawned it (in its kobold state) was originally a male, the dracha is a male; and if the spawning mojh was originally a female, the dracha is a female. A dracha can mate with another dracha and produce pure dracha offspring. The dragons have methods for creating more dracha as well.
Why is the return of the dragons important?
o Balance – the dragons are part of this world, and their absence has left a hole in the “rightness” of Terrakal. And the giants are contributing to further imbalance by not fostering human leadership of their own lands.
o Lore and history – the dragons know much that even ancient giants have now forgotten.
o Magic – the dragons are the masters of magic and can help develop or uncover new ways to use it. (Over centuries, much magical lore has been recorded but much of it by people who no longer understand what they record. The dragons can help unravel these mysteries.)
o The dragons have changed. They are no longer split along chromatic/metallic lines; each one is a unique individual. Some may be heroes, some may be villains, and some may simply keep to themselves, but like all sentient beings in the world they each deserve their chance to experience life and make choices.
o Avert future catastrophe – In preparation for an even greater threat, against whom all sentient beings (dragon, giant, and mortal) must unite or all will perish (a future metaplot: the arrival of aliens from a "far realm," and the discovery of the “living earth”).
Who wants to stop their return?
o The giants, who believe the dragons abandoned these lands to leave humans and other sentients to their dooms. The giants believe the dragons have no right to return, and suspect that the dragons will wish to dominate all life in these lands.
o Many humans and other sentient beings who know them only from their ancient deeds, their legendary evil, and the legacy of the dramojh and their creations.
Who wants to aid their return?
o Practitioners of mystic arts – they believe the dragons hold the keys to even greater sources of magic.
o The mojh, who (perhaps too optimistically) believe that returning dragons will see the mojh as partners.
o Those who desire to “evolve” – it is said dragons can implant changes in a hero and help him to grow into something more than he could ever be on his own.
o Those who desire to know more of history – akashics, scholars, lorekeepers who realize that the history they know has only been told by one side, the giants.
o The Order of the Axe and similar political organizations – they feel the giants have overstayed their welcome and overextended their power and influence. These are primarily humans of ancient noble lineage who wish to see human lands ruled by humans. They are in the minority at the moment, for most humans are all too content to let the giants take care of the business of government. The human “will to rule” – the spark of ambition, the urge to take charge, the drive to create order from chaos – has been beaten out the human psyche through centuries of defeat and subsequent giantish stewardship. But it lies dormant within each human (and not so dormant in some), and with dragon allies perhaps the giants will leave and the humans can resume their rightful place as leaders of these lands.
Why do the giants want to stay?
o Most giants believe that the humans, litorians, verrik and faen of the lands of the Diamond Throne are better off with wise, forward-thinking giants to guide them. They do not see this as hubris and bristle at accusations that they want nothing more than power over other sentient races.
o They also want to make sure a catastrophe like the rise of the dramojh never happens again.
What is the campaign’s overplot?
o Draygo the Dragonling, a dracha, is driven by dreams sent by the dragons to find a way to open the gate that will allow the dragons to return to the prime material plane from the plane of dreams. The heroes should be allowed to meet him, speak with him, and decide if they want to help or hinder him. Either way, the dragons will be returning -- but the PCs actions and reactions will help shape under what circumstances this return takes place.
o The key to the dragons’ return is an ancient ruin deep in the heart of the Marshwood. The ruin is somehow out of phase or in a different timestream – it needs to be summoned forth first. Within is an akashic node that holds all sorts of memories and knowledge related to the dragons and their return. In this place, Draygo learns that he can’t bring the dragons back on his own – he needs to make the “ultimate sacrifice” and even moreso needs the participation of a representative swath of sentients from Terrakal in a powerful summoning ritual.
