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[SPOILERS] Enhancing Tomb of Annihilation
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<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7383562" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>Continuing from my earlier post about Zindar, I've read up on the <strong>dragons of Chult</strong>. I understand the adventure minimizing the presence of dragons to focus on dinosaurs in ToA, but there's some interesting bits of lore from older D&D books that dovetail with what ToA does tell us.</p><p></p><p>In 1374 DR, prior to the Spellplague, the following dragons were alive in Chult:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Cirrothamalan (male “old” Ancient Mist Dragon):</strong> Mentioned in 2006 <em>Dragons of Faerûn</em> as inhabiting the River Olung. Considering no mention of him is made in ToA & the hermet-like philosophical mist dragons aren't in 5e, I suspect Cirrothamalan is in Mezro’s demiplane (or wherever the <em>actual</em> Mezro is), serving as some kind of protector. Furthermore, mist dragons are described as rivals of green dragons; given that a bunch of Batiri goblins killed the adult green dragon Ormalagos using quipper swarms & nets (see "Needle's Bones", ToA), it would be believable if a certain mist dragon provided the goblins with the means to transport so many quippers. As an aside, given Ed Greenwood's <a href="https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/03/20/chult-what-lies-on-the-close-by-island-of-the-dawn-warrior-pt3/" target="_blank">talk of the Dawn Warrior</a> having lots of green dragon wyrmlings, I suspect Ormalagos once used it as a breeding ground.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Esmerandanna (female “great wyrm” Ancient Emerald Dragon):</strong> Esmerandanna appears in several sources, dating back to 1998 <em>Demihuman Deities</em> where she is described as inhabiting the Emerald Crater of the wild dwarves. She rarely leaves, having dwelt there since 77 DR, and guards the sacred runestones of the wild dwarves who regard her as the daughter of Thard Harr (god of wild dwarves). Originally, the Emerald Crater was said to be NW of the Peaks of Flame as a collapsed "fourth peak", but it fits better on ToA's map directly East of the Peaks of Flame. Her presence near the Peaks of Flame – even if she is so old she never leaves anymore – helps explain why Tzindelor (the young red dragon) lairs in Wyrmheart Mine as opposed to the volcanoes. In fact, if I were to roll a "Dragon, Red" random encounter in the Peaks of Flame, I'd have a surreal multi-tonal roar echoing from the hidden Emerald Crater frighten off Tzindelor!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Kraxx (female “mature” Adult Topaz Dragon):</strong> Mentioned in 2006 <em>Dragons of Faerûn</em> as inhabiting the Wild Coast. I'd be inclined to have Kraxx plaguing the Wild Coast still – just one of many possible hazards sailors may encounter there. Moreover, the dangers of the Wild Coast described in AD&D's <em>Jungles of Chult</em> – whirlpools, strange shoals/reef, mists/storm – are listed as Regional Effects of a topaz dragon's lair in the <em>Gem Dragons of Faerûn</em> supplement I mention below.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Mergandevinasander (male “wyrm” Ancient Black Dragon):</strong> First mentioned in the 1991 Drizz't novel <em>Sojourn</em>, and further detailed in 2008 <em>A Reader's Guide to R.A. Salvatore's Legend of Drizz't</em>, Mergandevinasander is described as a violet-eyed black wyrm who hatched in Zakhara in 659 DR and was cast from his mother's nest. We can make a few inferences. First, according to Al-Qadim lore, dragons were cast from Zakhara by the genies "long ago", so Mergandevinasander is likely one of the last dragons to have hatched on Zakharan soil...and may even have a rivalry with the dao Keshma al-Wazir (who is trapped in the Tomb of the Nine Gods, Area 22). Second, black dragons favor swamps as lairs and the only swamp on the map of Chult is the Aldani Basin (some maps list this as the "Swamp of Sorrows" – but that appears to be a fan-created name that doesn't appear in an official sources); as the Aldani were proud fishers laid low by a curse, this suits a black dragon favoring living among the wreckage of fallen peoples. Third, there is no mention of Mergandevinasander, or him subjugating the aldani, or even black dragon bones anywhere in ToA's writeup of Aldani Basin or the nearby floating Heart of Ubtao. What befell Mergandevinasander? My theory (in my version of ToA) is that Zindar's gold dragon sire "Ayazingi" drove the black dragon off & there is lore describing the battle; in the process, he likely left behind some of his treasure hoard, some of which may be among Valindra Shadowmantle's things and some among the aldani (giving PCs more of a reason to explore the Aldani Basin).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Zyx (male Faerie Dragon):</strong> Mentioned in 2006 <em>Dragons of Faerûn</em> as inhabiting the River Olung. I'd just use the name "Zyx" if I rolled a "Dragon, Faerie" encounter along the River Olung.</li> </ul><p></p><p>NOTE: Details on gem dragons can be found in this Kobold Press release by James Haeck: <a href="http://www.dmsguild.com/product/180402/Gem-Dragons-of-Faerun" target="_blank">Gem Dragons of Faerûn</a>.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 7383562, member: 20323"] Continuing from my earlier post about Zindar, I've read up on the [B]dragons of Chult[/B]. I understand the adventure minimizing the presence of dragons to focus on dinosaurs in ToA, but there's some interesting bits of lore from older D&D books that dovetail with what ToA does tell us. In 1374 DR, prior to the Spellplague, the following dragons were alive in Chult: [list][*][B]Cirrothamalan (male “old” Ancient Mist Dragon):[/B] Mentioned in 2006 [I]Dragons of Faerûn[/I] as inhabiting the River Olung. Considering no mention of him is made in ToA & the hermet-like philosophical mist dragons aren't in 5e, I suspect Cirrothamalan is in Mezro’s demiplane (or wherever the [I]actual[/I] Mezro is), serving as some kind of protector. Furthermore, mist dragons are described as rivals of green dragons; given that a bunch of Batiri goblins killed the adult green dragon Ormalagos using quipper swarms & nets (see "Needle's Bones", ToA), it would be believable if a certain mist dragon provided the goblins with the means to transport so many quippers. As an aside, given Ed Greenwood's [url=https://www.sageadvice.eu/2018/03/20/chult-what-lies-on-the-close-by-island-of-the-dawn-warrior-pt3/]talk of the Dawn Warrior[/url] having lots of green dragon wyrmlings, I suspect Ormalagos once used it as a breeding ground. [*][B]Esmerandanna (female “great wyrm” Ancient Emerald Dragon):[/B] Esmerandanna appears in several sources, dating back to 1998 [I]Demihuman Deities[/I] where she is described as inhabiting the Emerald Crater of the wild dwarves. She rarely leaves, having dwelt there since 77 DR, and guards the sacred runestones of the wild dwarves who regard her as the daughter of Thard Harr (god of wild dwarves). Originally, the Emerald Crater was said to be NW of the Peaks of Flame as a collapsed "fourth peak", but it fits better on ToA's map directly East of the Peaks of Flame. Her presence near the Peaks of Flame – even if she is so old she never leaves anymore – helps explain why Tzindelor (the young red dragon) lairs in Wyrmheart Mine as opposed to the volcanoes. In fact, if I were to roll a "Dragon, Red" random encounter in the Peaks of Flame, I'd have a surreal multi-tonal roar echoing from the hidden Emerald Crater frighten off Tzindelor! [*][B]Kraxx (female “mature” Adult Topaz Dragon):[/B] Mentioned in 2006 [I]Dragons of Faerûn[/I] as inhabiting the Wild Coast. I'd be inclined to have Kraxx plaguing the Wild Coast still – just one of many possible hazards sailors may encounter there. Moreover, the dangers of the Wild Coast described in AD&D's [I]Jungles of Chult[/I] – whirlpools, strange shoals/reef, mists/storm – are listed as Regional Effects of a topaz dragon's lair in the [I]Gem Dragons of Faerûn[/I] supplement I mention below. [*][B]Mergandevinasander (male “wyrm” Ancient Black Dragon):[/B] First mentioned in the 1991 Drizz't novel [I]Sojourn[/I], and further detailed in 2008 [I]A Reader's Guide to R.A. Salvatore's Legend of Drizz't[/I], Mergandevinasander is described as a violet-eyed black wyrm who hatched in Zakhara in 659 DR and was cast from his mother's nest. We can make a few inferences. First, according to Al-Qadim lore, dragons were cast from Zakhara by the genies "long ago", so Mergandevinasander is likely one of the last dragons to have hatched on Zakharan soil...and may even have a rivalry with the dao Keshma al-Wazir (who is trapped in the Tomb of the Nine Gods, Area 22). Second, black dragons favor swamps as lairs and the only swamp on the map of Chult is the Aldani Basin (some maps list this as the "Swamp of Sorrows" – but that appears to be a fan-created name that doesn't appear in an official sources); as the Aldani were proud fishers laid low by a curse, this suits a black dragon favoring living among the wreckage of fallen peoples. Third, there is no mention of Mergandevinasander, or him subjugating the aldani, or even black dragon bones anywhere in ToA's writeup of Aldani Basin or the nearby floating Heart of Ubtao. What befell Mergandevinasander? My theory (in my version of ToA) is that Zindar's gold dragon sire "Ayazingi" drove the black dragon off & there is lore describing the battle; in the process, he likely left behind some of his treasure hoard, some of which may be among Valindra Shadowmantle's things and some among the aldani (giving PCs more of a reason to explore the Aldani Basin). [*][B]Zyx (male Faerie Dragon):[/B] Mentioned in 2006 [I]Dragons of Faerûn[/I] as inhabiting the River Olung. I'd just use the name "Zyx" if I rolled a "Dragon, Faerie" encounter along the River Olung.[/list] NOTE: Details on gem dragons can be found in this Kobold Press release by James Haeck: [url=http://www.dmsguild.com/product/180402/Gem-Dragons-of-Faerun]Gem Dragons of Faerûn[/url]. [/QUOTE]
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