Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Start by eliminating D&D's traditional dragons. Then add dragons back to the game.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9064268" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>I have intentionally kept dragons a "sometimes food" for my game. There have been <em>exactly</em> four dragons in the entire run thus far, though (presumably many) more are known to exist on the other side of the ocean in Yuxia (or its elemental otherworld equivalent, Fusang.) For dragons, somewhat like Celestials, gender is elective, so while some identify as male or female, this is not fixed nor inherent.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tenryu Shen ("family" name first, so he goes by Shen), a gold dragon from Yuxia who is tracking down the next on the list. Close ally of the party but has to keep his head down to avoid alerting his quarry. Has strong "team dad" energy.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">An unnamed black dragon. They don't know Shen is present but are keeping their head down to ensure the success of their mission: making Al-Rakkah (main city) their "hoard." They have had 200 years to get their plans in motion and could be anyone or even pretending to be several people. While it is not known exactly how, this dragon and Shen are connected somehow.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">An origami dragon "statue." It has bound to it a sleeping "spirit dragon." Whoever they are, they will grant a wish for the person who can wake them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Oleander Pierpont Mortcombe, a time dragon from outside the circles of the PCs' world. They aided him by "pulling" him through a magical barrier which is designed to prevent outsiders (who are multidimensional beings) from <em>escaping</em> the world the PCs live on. He then travelled back in time to before that barrier was built and left, but made sure to leave some rewards for the party to find as gratitude for his rescue.</li> </ul><p>And that's it! Four dragons. I have endeavored to show restraint and build things up in a meaningful way.</p><p></p><p>In the case of the gold vs black dragon, this color difference occurs because, being <em>like</em> Celestials, true dragons physically reflect the nature of their souls in their natural form. Thus, it is not that chromatic dragons are evil; it is that <em>evil dragons are chromatic.</em> The black dragon the party is chasing USED to be a good dragon, but fell from grace and now must be stopped.</p><p></p><p>Dragons, in this setting, are beings of the same class as genies and (apparently) eladrin (or, as the locals would say it, "el'adrin"): all are called "Guardians." A Guardian is a formerly mortal being that has taken on power from a celestial or spiritual source in order to protect and nurture creation. It confers functional immortality (no death by age nor sickness) and powerful magic, but it is a <em>pact,</em> with requirements, and failure to uphold those requirements can lead to problems. (However, much of that power can be inherited without the pact proper; this is how sorcerers happen, and most modern-day Jinnistani nobles are basically supercharged sorcerers who got more of the power than most do.) Unlike (almost all of) the genies, the vast majority of dragons have upheld their end of the exchange, which means they are probably slightly more powerful, but much more constrained by da rules. Like the difference between Gandalf and the Balrog: both Maiar, one stronger but fettered, the other weaker but unrestrained.</p><p></p><p>Perhaps there is special significance to the colors of dragons beyond what I have already mentioned. Nothing has been explicitly said about that yet. We'll find out!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 9064268, member: 6790260"] I have intentionally kept dragons a "sometimes food" for my game. There have been [I]exactly[/I] four dragons in the entire run thus far, though (presumably many) more are known to exist on the other side of the ocean in Yuxia (or its elemental otherworld equivalent, Fusang.) For dragons, somewhat like Celestials, gender is elective, so while some identify as male or female, this is not fixed nor inherent. [LIST] [*]Tenryu Shen ("family" name first, so he goes by Shen), a gold dragon from Yuxia who is tracking down the next on the list. Close ally of the party but has to keep his head down to avoid alerting his quarry. Has strong "team dad" energy. [*]An unnamed black dragon. They don't know Shen is present but are keeping their head down to ensure the success of their mission: making Al-Rakkah (main city) their "hoard." They have had 200 years to get their plans in motion and could be anyone or even pretending to be several people. While it is not known exactly how, this dragon and Shen are connected somehow. [*]An origami dragon "statue." It has bound to it a sleeping "spirit dragon." Whoever they are, they will grant a wish for the person who can wake them. [*]Oleander Pierpont Mortcombe, a time dragon from outside the circles of the PCs' world. They aided him by "pulling" him through a magical barrier which is designed to prevent outsiders (who are multidimensional beings) from [I]escaping[/I] the world the PCs live on. He then travelled back in time to before that barrier was built and left, but made sure to leave some rewards for the party to find as gratitude for his rescue. [/LIST] And that's it! Four dragons. I have endeavored to show restraint and build things up in a meaningful way. In the case of the gold vs black dragon, this color difference occurs because, being [I]like[/I] Celestials, true dragons physically reflect the nature of their souls in their natural form. Thus, it is not that chromatic dragons are evil; it is that [I]evil dragons are chromatic.[/I] The black dragon the party is chasing USED to be a good dragon, but fell from grace and now must be stopped. Dragons, in this setting, are beings of the same class as genies and (apparently) eladrin (or, as the locals would say it, "el'adrin"): all are called "Guardians." A Guardian is a formerly mortal being that has taken on power from a celestial or spiritual source in order to protect and nurture creation. It confers functional immortality (no death by age nor sickness) and powerful magic, but it is a [I]pact,[/I] with requirements, and failure to uphold those requirements can lead to problems. (However, much of that power can be inherited without the pact proper; this is how sorcerers happen, and most modern-day Jinnistani nobles are basically supercharged sorcerers who got more of the power than most do.) Unlike (almost all of) the genies, the vast majority of dragons have upheld their end of the exchange, which means they are probably slightly more powerful, but much more constrained by da rules. Like the difference between Gandalf and the Balrog: both Maiar, one stronger but fettered, the other weaker but unrestrained. Perhaps there is special significance to the colors of dragons beyond what I have already mentioned. Nothing has been explicitly said about that yet. We'll find out! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Start by eliminating D&D's traditional dragons. Then add dragons back to the game.
Top