So this is another expansion of the work i have been doing on my lakeport setting. Today i’m going to talk about the Dragons of this world, and how they helped shape it into what it is. There’s a companion article (really three companion articles) that detail the Dragon Gods, and then a companion piece about Dragonborn and Kobolds. This group of articles should do a fairly solid job of putting these races together and give you a wealth of information on who they are and what they do. Let’s start with the Dragons themselves (and then we’ll talk a little bit about them and how they experience the world) We’ll also have a brief description of a new monster to the setting the Drakkenghul.
The History of the Dragons
Lakeport has been visited by many creatures since it was created. The first visitors were the Fey, who shaped the world, but close on their heels were the Elder Wyrms of Dragonkind. Three Dragons visited the world as it was forming, and kept to themselves for a time. The eldest, Haderack, the Wyrm that shakes the world, visited the other deities and treated with them for many different things. The other two Wyrms, both younger and their names unrecorded, spent their days and nights exploring their new world together. The Dragons were siblings of a sort, and Haderack forbid them to mate with each other.
The Celestial Wyrm, the female dragon, was dutiful and kept to her obligations, studying the world and seeing the wild places that the Fey had built. The Abyssal Wyrm, the male dragon was much less dutiful, and spent his days playing with magic and tricking the lesser beings. The two traveled everywhere together, and were each other’s only company. A taboo love grew out of this time spent together, and in secret lairs and nests across the world, the two of them mated and founded the bloodlines of dragonkind. Many happy years passed and the dragons continued to create more and more dragons, until Haderack came calling. His rage was terrible at the betrayal of their values, and a terrible battle was fought.
The Abyssal Wyrm fled the fight early, carrying as many of his draconic children as he could. While he carried the children to safety, their mother fought with every ounce of energy she had, but Haderack was older and more powerful. She thought her life was going to end there. The Abyssal Dragon returned to the fight and between the two of them, they managed to drive off their Elder. He and his servants continue to haunt the Dragon gods to this day, and their children have powerful enemies lurking in the darkness. Out of the violence of this battle came the Kobolds, the Dragonborn, and the murderous Drakkenghul.
The Fey War
The Fey War was mostly avoided by the Dragons and their children. An individual Wyrm might get involved in the war on their own, but there was no unified front for Dragons during the conflict. After the War, the Dragons either helped rebuild areas, establish kingdoms of their own, or find a new and interesting way to interact with the world. Dragons are notoriously independent and rarely agree with each other.
Modern Dragons
Dragons are by no means common in the world and they tend to be territorial creatures towards other Dragons. They tend not to care about other creatures living in their territory, but Dragons are aware of each other when they cross territorial lines. Certain places are considered open to all Dragons, and there are great rituals of meeting and greeting and matters of etiquette are essential to the way Dragons interact with each other.
They are a long lived race, capable of spanning centuries and even millennia. They spend their days pursuing their own individual goals and desires, and most have little to do with the rest of the world around them. Each Dragon is an individual to be dealt with, and playing upon its familial relationships or bloodlines can be a risk. Some dragons seek to emulate the path their parents have taken while others are cutting their own path in the world.
Appearance
Dragons are quadrupedal reptillians with long tails, long necks, and wings. Their bodies are covered in thick scales that have the consistency of high grade steel. They have sharp claws on all four limbs and razor sharpened teeth. As a Dragon ages, it becomes significantly larger, until it reaches its final age and can wrap its body around the peaks of mountains. Dragon’s have spectacular variation in coloration and physical characteristics, though the most readily identifiable feature on a dragon is its scale color.
Dragon Scales
A Dragon’s scales are a unique blend of magic and genetics. A Dragon’s scales have two primary color components: The main scale color and its edge color. Most Dragons have a specific scale color and a very different edge color, which gives most of them a two-toned coloration of a solid color full of accents. Some dragons have color matching scales, while others have multiple different colorations across their bodies.
Personality
Dragons are ruggedly independent creatures that prefer to be left to their own solitary pursuits. They will sometimes disguise themselves as other creatures to gain access to a specific objective, but these ruses rarely last for long. Dragons are loathe to admit that any creature might know more than they do, and their tolerance for being lectured by other creatures is very low. When approached as experts, they can provide a wealth of information about their pursuits. They don’t usually mind creatures they consider their inferiors occupying space in their territory so long as they stay out of the Dragon’s way. Even good aligned Dragons are headstrong and can be very hard to deal with. Evil Dragons can be terrible monsters.
Society
Dragon Society is Ageist, with the eldest dragons commanding respect and obeisance from their younger kin. The Oldest dragon in a given territory is the titular head of the region and is responsible for policing the actions of other dragons in that territory. There is a feudal hierarchy among Dragons, and there are Barons, Dukes, and there is theoretically a King or Queen of Dragons, but this particular noble Dragon is a particular of Dragon business and not spoken of with lesser beings. Kobolds and Dragonborn are the preferred minions of Dragons, owing to their shared heritage.
Unique Abilities
Dragons are powerful arcane beings and often have the ability to cast spells like sorcerers. Some take this ability further and learn divine magic in nearly the same way. Every Dragon can breathe a lethal form of magic that manifests as the Dragon wishes. This selection is made while the Dragon slumbers in its egg, and once made is a permanent choice. It may look like acid, fire, or lightning, but it is at its essence pure magic.
Religion
Dragons are not necessarily religious, but all pay respect and fealty to their ancestors the Celestial Wyrm and the Abyssal Dragon. The Mother of Dragons and the Lord of Dragonkind are detached observers but they do keep an eye on their children, and clerics of these gods from other races are almost treated with the respect owed to a true dragon.
Rules addendums
Dragons will have their own entry in the Monsters of Lakeport section of this book.
Drakkenghul
Drakkenghul are a result of the battle fought between Haderack and the two young wyrms. Horrible wounds were inflicted by all the dragons in that battle with each other and rivers of draconic blood and viscera flowed freely throughout that mountain lair. Where the blood and gore of all three Wyrms mixed, terrible monsters spawned. The Dragons that survived these battles refer to these as Drakkenghul.
A Drakkenghul is the twisted mockery of a dragon, with thick bone plates covering it’s skin. Membrane-less wings sprout from its back and it’s short tail ends in a stout clump of bone and muscle that it uses to batter opponents into the ground. Even it’s neck is shortened and it lacks the traditional breath weapon of a Dragon. Instead, it’s maw drips with lurid energy, and every snap of its jaws sprays this energy around the Dragon’s Maw. Woe be the creature that is bitten by this, for the energy is entropy fueled by a cruel malice.
Drakkenghul are either encountered by themselves in isolated regions far from the attention of other creatures. Some powerful worshippers of Haderack are known to command Drakkenghul and harness their terrible powers to hunt down and destroy the children of the Dragons.
Stats will follow in the Monsters of Lakeport
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