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Scalenex
2011-01-26, 10:50 PM
I'm creating a homebrew world where before the various PC races debuted, dragons were the dominant mortal species. They created cities and monuments. Then extreme decadence led to infighting between dragon nations and religious factions making them vulnerable to extraplanar invasions coupled with uprisings from their slave populations. The surviving dragons mostly live alone, no longer aspiring to civilization but still hording the greatest aspects of it (treasure).

Dragon ruins dot the landscape. I figure ruins of dragon cities and fortifications make great dungeons. They also could stand as landmarks.

By late arriving humans and elves, they could also...

1) be raided for stones in new construction
2) be used as garbage pits/landfills
3) be used for planting/crops
4) be used as animal corrals
5) be the basis for later cities/fortifications
6) be converted into shrines

However I choose to use them, I need to figure out how dragon architecture woudl differ from humanoid architecture besides on scale. I figure dragons would be fond of towers or vertical pits (for underground equivalents) with social levels stratified by height. A great many towers would now be fallen on their side. I figure walls would often have lots of jutting out claw holds for dragons to grip the walls or even full perches.

There's a wide range in dragon sizes. I don't know if buildings would be scaled towards younger dragons or older dragons. Younger dragons would be more numerous and older dragons could use alternate form abilities to shrink biases towards smaller dragons. On the other hand, I figure the older dragons would love to lord it over the younger ones (that was the main internal division that led to their civilization's fall) which would bias towards larger dragons scaling the buildings to themselves.

The Draconomicon never mentioned whether dragons defecate or urinate. That answer would determine whether the dragons had to have plumbing or some other organized system or removing waste. I'm leaning towards their efficient digestion would make that unnecessary but I'm curious to what other forumites think. I wonder what dragons would do with their mundane garbage and what kind of mundane garbage they would produce.

What other physical traits would you believe would be present in dragon architecture?

Mando Knight
2011-01-26, 11:55 PM
Dragons... generally aren't social creatures. On the other hand, 4e's generic Points-of-Light setting refers to the ancient Arkhosian Empire, ruled by Dragon elite and their Dragonborn subordinates. Even if you don't like 4e, it'd be a good idea to read up on its bits about Arkhosia, just because it's the closest thing I can think of to a Dragon Empire.

A couple of notes:
1.) Walls. City walls as we're used to them are useless for Dragons, unless they've had to fight land-bound creatures, since even the feeblest True Dragon can fly.

2.) Dragons are huge. Think about how large New York's plumbing systems are... the sewers can be likened unto rivers. A city of only a few hundred or a couple thousand Dragons would require similar plumbing. Consider shaping the world's geography so that what are rivers to the young races are the remains of Draconic plumbing, winding by and through the mountains which hide the Moria-like Dragon cities.

3.) Surviving buildings would be grandiose... or at least used to be. Colossal doorways, temples and fortresses hewn out of the mountains themselves, etc.

4.) Stone and metal are the only things that a dragon civilization could reliably build with, except possibly acres upon acres of redwoods. The basic stone walls would be built with blocks the size of the largest ones used in the pyramids.

One Tin Soldier
2011-01-26, 11:56 PM
An interesting question. Typically, dragons are portrayed as more wild and solitary creatures, so the idea of dragon civilizations and architecture, and what they would be like, is a pretty new one.

Thing about this is that the scale is a bit hard to manage, along with the fact that they simply aren't bipedal humanoids. Constructing buildings is something really meant for people that can effectively manipulate tools, get into tricky corners, and whatnot. This could be accounted for via shapeshifting or just slave labor, but no matter what the individual components would be on a bigger scale, so they can actually manipulate them. (A brick of theirs equivalent to ours would be about as big as a man, i bet) Alot of things that we take for granted would be changed. For example, doors. The logistics of a dragon opening a door are a bit too silly for them to really consider them, I think. I would think that the entrances would most likely have wide, cave-like openings, most likely one on each level. If they want privacy, then there would most likely be a passage that wraps back and around, kinda like how public bathrooms often do.

Also, I doubt that they would build many complex buildings with interior separation, or would even be designed for staying in and working in. There woudn't be any interior hallways, entrances for each room would lead outside, probably with a walkway around the building. And just about any structure designed to have more than 2 dragons in any one place would probably just be an enormous atrium.

You should also consider that dragons living together will take up a LOT of resources, too much for truly large numbers to live together in any one place. A dragon "city" would probably be no more than a small town, population wise. I'd say 100-500 for a large town, 500-1000 for a city, 1000+ for a metropolis. IMO, anyway.

Anyway, draconic architecture would mostly be big, spacious, and simple. There should probably be big support columns all over the place, and lots of domes, or maybe pyramidal shapes if you feel like it. Towers, like the one I described above, might be living spaces for people, though social level would be more likely to be determined by location than by height since there's unlikely to be more than a few levels on each, 10 at most, without being ridiculously tall. (besides, the size difference on living spaces would be too big to realistically be done in the same building)

I have no idea about how dragon waste works, but I highly doubt there would be indoor plumbing of any kind. I would go with some wort of draconic outhouse. Mundane garbage would work however medieval societies usually deal with it (not sure what that is), or just by landfill. Idk.

Hope my perspective has been helpful. I may have to crib this idea someday, when I do DMing of my own. :smallsmile:

Milo v3
2011-01-27, 01:06 AM
What tech level was thier society?

Also Waste is the easist issue to fix, IMO. Especially since dragons can naturally cast spells. Create a portal to the elemental plane of water. Thier would have to of been non-living (The smell & to last a long time) creatures near the portal to stop monster from passing through.

DragonOfUndeath
2011-01-27, 01:29 AM
First forget doors. Windows would work as doors. Basically make an underwater city. Have massive rooms that lead directly into each other and outside.

Plumbing can be done simply: Fly-by droppings. Have a series of Decanters of Endless Water around a giant pit that drains into a portal to the Plane of Water. This would still be working if left untouched as the portal would be Permanent and it's a Decanter of ENDLESS Water.

Population density: anywhere from 100-10,00 Dragons in a city at once. Simply because of food problems. Expect farms of Large and bigger foodstock simply to feed such massive Dragons. Tarrasque farms are viable if more than one exist. Trolls may work if domesticated.

Bibliomancer
2011-01-27, 01:33 AM
Assuming you're keeping default draconic nature more or less intact, a dragon civilization would be rather similar to the one outlined in Dragons of Eberron. Specifically, each dragon still has a lair, but there would be massive hatching grounds and specific segregated 'youngling lands' for youths to get violence out of their system.

The adult areas would consist of many dragon lairs, each a solitary mountain wrapped in its own unusual magical and/or atmospheric pattern. Thus, the ruins would primarily take the form of huge, geographically out of place mountains honeycombed with passageways.

Hatching grounds would be giant valleys or caverns walled off from outside dangers, with their protective enchantments and boosted food sources still lingering.

The youngling lands would be still-barren expanses of obsidian and dragon fire scorched rock, and would be the natural domain of the evil humanoids in the present.

If you are instead assuming a much more social form of dragons, most cities would be spread out, probably, with high perches and enclosed passageways separated by room in which to fly.

Personally, I interpret the highly efficient metabolism to mean that no sewage system would be required. Like many D&D apex carnivores, dragons mostly live on magic.

Coidzor
2011-01-27, 01:33 AM
Dragons of Eberron (3.5) has a bit of a take on this subject, along with what they'd design for their servitors, in case you have any means to get access to that.

Except for things basically for their servitors and their servitors alone, I wouldn't have anything smaller than Huge construction and that for areas specifically devoted to younger dragons and their minders/caretakers/overseers/educators/whathaveyou.

Flickerdart
2011-01-27, 01:37 AM
Dragons can eat anything due to their metabolisms, so it's a safe bet to assume that their organisms don't need to excrete anything either since they consume everything and burn the rest inside.

You also need to consider all the Planar dragons. What relation do they have to the Material Plane - did they live on their own planes or come by to chat, leaving portal structures behind?

Tiki Snakes
2011-01-27, 01:42 AM
Everything that lives, consumes and excretes.
Dragons have to poop like everyone else.

DragonSinged
2011-01-27, 02:04 AM
There's a lot to think about with something like this, and from the sounds of it, you've read the Draconomicon, but I'd suggest giving it another look-through.

Towards the end of the book, where it gives you an example of every age category of every type of true dragon, it also shows some example artwork of each type's style of lair, which raises some interesting points.

First of all, in this ancient civilization, did Metallic and Chromatic dragons live together, or did they have separate civilizations and societies?
For that matter, did the various metallic dragons live with each other, or did they tend to separate themselves into social groups based on their own metals?

This is somewhat important, as a Gold Dragon's architecture style is vastly different from a Red Dragon's, or even a Silver's.

For one - preferred habitat. Silver Dragons, for example, prefer to live on mountaintops or in the clouds themselves, crafting their lairs out of cloudstuff and magic.

Gold Dragons are less picky about environment, but their architecture is not necessarily going to be all gargantuan-sized - Gold Dragons do enjoy shapeshifting, after all. (Side-note - Gold and Silver Dragons often enjoy spending large periods of time shapeshifted into humanoid forms. Did they still enjoy doing this when there were not all the core races on this planet? If so, what sort of forms did they assume?)


Edit - Interrupted by Wild Phone Call! -

A White Dragon, of course, is going to be pretty uncomfortable living in a city built in a desert or, say, tropical region, where a Blue would be much more at home, and the architecture would probably reflect this. Also, White Dragons tend to be the least intelligent of the Dragons, something else that would probably be reflected in their cities - Cruder, lest sophisticated structures.

A City that was designed primarily by Copper Dragons would be much more whimsical - The example lair in the Draconomicon has an labyrinth entrance for entertaining guests - Or rather, for entertaining the Dragon while observing the guests making their way through. A labyrinth of this sort could make for an entertaining dungeon dive for a party of adventurers, centuries later - after hostile monsters have inhabited the place, of course.

Another_Poet
2011-01-27, 02:30 AM
Here is a dragon's temple/monastery complex that I wrote up, along with the dragon's stats and tactics, which won an award (silver medal I believe) on the WotC forums. A lot of the architecture and her personal tastes are described so maybe it will be useful:

Sinn; or, the Dragon-Papess of the Moon

Sinn; or, the Dragon-Papess of the Moon

On an altar, in a temple, in the lofty mountains in the north part of the world she lies: she lies, gazing upward with a face carved of mother-of-pearl; pearl with the sheen of whitest silk; silk like the silent wings of*moths dancing in the night breeze. Iridescent scales, violet whiskers and frosty blue eyes adorn the dragon's face. Moonlight bathes her as she stares up through a great opening in the center of her temple roof.

The Moon Dragon is a one-of-a-kind being. She serves as a priestess and living embodiment of the goddess of the moon. As such, she is imbued with special abilities and lives far longer than other dragons. It is said that when the Moon Dragon dies, intense darkness wreathes the full moon and meteor showers pelt the land for three days and nights. Some believe that the first person to swallow a piece of moonstone from one of these meteorites will become the next Moon Dragon; others say the only way to achieve the office is by bathing in the heart-blood of the previous Moon Dragon.

However she got the title, Sinn has it now. She is a stately dragon, risen from silver dragon beginnings to be the highest pontiff of the jewel of the night sky. She has always loved the moon, and as a wyrmling she would fly as high as she could trying to catch it in her talons or wrap her body around it. As she dedicated herself more and more to the worship of the heavens, she slowly moved away from the manners of her silver dragon kin and became a sort of mystic. Her only worldly concern is reflecting the beauty of the heavens.

Sinn subsists off of two main staples: moonstones (cut or uncut) and mercury. Moonstones are frequently brought to her as tribute by the lycanthropes who live in her temple, but mercury is harder to find. There are pools and fountains of it flowing in the gardens on the temple grounds, but Sinn does not drink from them—those are part of the temple ornamentation and not for her own use. Whenever some visitor is thoughtful enough to bring her a spot of mercury it brightens her mood and warms her to their petition. (Of course, the portion must be dragon-sized: a firkin (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=define:firkin) or more of the stuff!)

Although Sinn herself remains at her altar day and night, the rest of the temple grounds are hardly empty. Situated high in the mountains, the temple is the perfect refuge for lycanthropes who have been spurned by their home communities. Hundreds of afflicted and natural were-creatures have moved into the ruins of the monastery that adjoins the temple, and they have patched it up in recent decades to make a small community. The lycanthropes have formed a sort of tribe with its own loose government and a general pact of mutual respect among members. Occasionally they fight amongst themselves or seek Sinn’s council on some serious matter, but generally they hunt the mountains around the monastery and keep to themselves. One Cloud Giant were-viper in particular makes regular trips to Sinn’s lair to make offerings and play the lute for her.

Sinn is generally even-tempered. She will receive visitors politely, though she is unlikely to offer them assistance beyond words of advice. Lycanthropes are the exception; she has grown fond of the were-folk who live on the temple grounds and is often willing to help lycanthropes as long as they are reverent and sincere. Lycanthropes who bemoan their condition or think of it as a curse are more likely to draw her ire than her aid.

Sinn is also well disposed toward druids, rangers, and clerics or paladins of nature deities. She will not suffer any insult from such characters, however, as she (rightly) believes that she outranks them.

For most requests, including those that come from lycanthropes or nature worshippers that she deems insolent, the Moon Dragon will only help if the petitioner shows their devotion to her and to the moon goddess. Gifts of moonstones make a good impression, but large gifts of mercury or rare meteor rocks are more meaningful sacrifices. For lycanthropes, she may require a period of service protecting the monastery in exchange for her help – usually she will ask for seven years, but can be bargained down if reminded of the short life-span of humanoids.

If those approaching her have nothing in particular to offer she is likely to send them on a quest for mercury. Any moon-related artifact relevant to your campaign story could be substituted here.

Meeting Sinn
PC’s may encounter Sinn for a number of reasons. If one of their party members is afflicted with lycanthropy, they may hear rumors that she can help the individual control his shapeshifting (Gather Info DC 32; 28 if speaking to lycanthropes). They may even hear (mistakenly) that she can cure lycanthropy (DC 28, 24 with lycanthropes).

Druids in the party may wish to meet with her to learn about nature and about the heavens. Followers of lunar deities may simply consider the privilege of meeting her to be reward enough. (DC 24 to hear about her at all.)

Characters of any sort may desire to kill her so as to bathe in her heart-blood and thus gain her powers. (DC 26 to know about this legend.)

Once the characters enter the mountains where her temple is situated they will be under constant surveillance from lycanthropes who will take animal form to avoid being noticed. If they try to enter the temple grounds themselves, a legate of were-folk in their natural forms will approach and ask what the newcomers want. If the PC’s seem hostile or simply lost they will turn them away and use force if necessary. If the PC’s express an interest in peaceably meeting the Moon Dragon, the lycanthropes will let them in but send a heavily armed escort with them. Under no circumstances will the lycanthropes admit to their were-creature status, masquerading instead as regular humanoids who are employed to protect the temple grounds.

Sinn makes no effort to keep people out of her lair, preferring to receive visitors and talk to them directly. As long as the PC’s have not shed the blood of the lycanthropes they will get in without trouble. Hostile PCs will find that the temple is full of ambushes for them, as lycanthropes of all sizes, types, and levels try to take their revenge on the intruders. Either way, numerous divination devices are hidden about the temple and Sinn will know guests are coming long before they enter her altar room.

The Lair
The lair itself is a domed rotunda with a 20 foot opening at the top. The main altar is on a dais in the center; smaller shrines line each of the twelve walls. The walls and domed ceiling are studded with thousands of silver moon emblems, carefully placed to form a star map. A character who makes a successful Knowledge (Nature) check will realize that this star map accurately depicts real constellations (DC12), that the view of the sky they depict could only be seen from the north pole (DC 21), that the stars would only align in such a way on the winter solstice (DC 28) and that they form a “snapshot” of the sky from the north pole on the winter solstice exactly 312 years ago (DC36). This date is effectively meaningless, being the date that Sinn took over the ruined temple as a lair, but it should keep any savvy characters guessing for a long time.

Each of the twelve side-shrines has a zodiac symbol on it. Sinn uses these to track the movement of the moon through the various signs, but their secondary purpose is to resemble some sort of elaborate puzzle to fool intruders. A search check on any of the side altars (DC28) will reveal a hidden switch that does nothing when pushed. The zodiac symbol over each altar can be rotated (and “clicks” into place in twelve different positions). If Sinn ever has to abandon her lair after a fight gone badly, she hopes the intruders will waste time fiddling with the false puzzle of the twelve zodiac symbols when they could be making off with her hoard.

Combat
Sinn really has very little need to kill any opponents unless she is particularly hungry. Hostile creatures who are not fascinated by her Terrific Presence will be hit first with a Cone of Moonlight and then, a few rounds later, with a Cone of Charm. Sinn hopes to Fascinate or Charm all combatants without having to hurt any of them. She may then lecture and scold them for their foolishness, and even give them a sermon before tossing them out of the room (minus their weapons and magic items, of course).

If these tactics don’t succeed she will use her Confuse and Baleful Polymorph abilities, still staying at a distance to avoid damage. Often she will fly up to the opening in the roof and peer through it at the enemies below, giving herself cover (+4 AC) and keeping her out of melee. She will also use her divine magic to wreak havoc on her assailants. She may fly away long enough to buff herself with Divine Power and Righteous Might (together adding +10 to her Strength score and allowing her to Crush medium enemies), and she will hold the charge of an Inflict spell on her claws for when she finally enters melee. She is also fond of summoning monsters to aid her in melee.

Of course, if Sinn is threatened by a lycanthrope she will immediately lock its shapeshifting ability and if she is threatened by undead she will rebuke them for her own purposes.

Getting all of the wealth in Sinn’s lair will take quite some time, and she is not afraid to fly away from the lair long enough to heal, regain spells, or seek reinforcements amongst her lycanthropes.


Sinn
Huge Moon Dragon (Mature Adult)
HD: 25d12 + 125 (287)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft, fly 150 ft (poor)
AC: 32 (-2 size, +24 natural) touch 8, flat-footed 32
Base Atk/Grapple: +25/+42
Attack: Bite +32 (2d8+9) or Claw +32 (2d6+4) or Wing +32 (1d8+4) or tail slap +33 (2d6+13)
Full Atk: Bite +32 (2d8+9), 2 Claws +30 (2d6+4), 2 Wings +30 (1d8+4) and 1 tail slap +31 (2d6+13)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft. (15 ft. with bite)
Special Attacks: Breath Weapon, Crush +32 (2d8+13) (works on Small or smaller creatures only)
Special Qualities: DR10/magic, SR 24, Alternate Form, Ascend to the Moon, Blindsense, Immunities, Keen Senses, Lycanthrope Liege, Terrific Presence, Turn/Rebuke Undead, spells, spell-like abilities,
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +14, Will +21
Abilities: Str 29 (+9), Dex 10 (+0), Con 21 (+5), Int 18 (+4), Wis 24 (+7), Cha 22 (+6)
Skill Ranks: Bluff +8, Concentration +28, Diplomacy +20, Escape Artist +8, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (Arcana) +12, Knowledge (Nature) +28, Knowledge (Religion) +16, Listen +20, Search +28, Sense Motive +28, Spot +20, Use Magic Device +28, Jump +8.
These skills and Disguise are all considered class skills for the Moon Dragon.
Feats: Improved Initiative, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Flyby Attack, Heighten Spell, Hover, Multiattack, Power Attack, Snatch, Weapon Focus (tail slap), Wingover,
Environment: Temperate Mountains
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 19
Treasure: Quadruple Standard (see Hoard, below)
Advancement: By character class
Alignment: True Neutral


Special Attacks and Qualities

Alternate Form (Su): The Moon Dragon can assume any animal or humanoid form of Medium size or smaller as a standard action three times per day. She can remain in her animal or humanoid form until she chooses to assume a new one or return to her natural form. Sinn rarely uses this ability, preferring her natural dragon form.

Ascend to the Moon (Su): As a standard action once per century, the Moon Dragon can dissolve into spirit form and rise immediately to the moon. Ascending to the moon leaves behind no physical remains, and any items worn or held by the Moon Dragon dematerialize and go with her. Other creatures cannot be taken along.

Once the Moon Dragon has risen, she resides in the center of the moon in a semi-conscious state, only vaguely aware of the surrounding world. She feels a constant sensation of contentment and peace, and cannot return to material form until the next lunar eclipse. At that time (or during any subsequent lunar eclipse) she may choose any place on the Material Plane to return to, and she regains her physical form exactly as it was but cured of all hp and ability damage. Ability drain and other conditions are not healed. She is aware of how much time has passed but not of what specific events have transpired since she ascended. Normally, she chooses to return to the same place from which she ascended. Lunar eclipses happen roughly once every six months.

Sinn has spent many long centuries drifting happily inside the core of the moon, and it is because of this ability that she lives so much longer and ages so much more slowly than any other dragon. It also makes her much harder to kill than most dragons; if she is forced to flee combat by ascending she is likely to seek revenge on the aggressor (or the aggressor’s descendants) when she returns.

Blindsense (Ex): The Moon Dragon can pinpoint creatures within a distance of 60 feet. Opponents she can’t actually see still have total concealment against her.

Breath Weapon (Su): The Moon Dragon has two types of breath weapons, a 50’ Cone of Charm and a 50’ Cone of Moonlight. Creatures within a Cone of Charm must make a DC 27 Will save or be affected by Charm Monster as per the spell. Creatures within a Cone of Moonlight must make a DC 27 Fortitude save or take 7 points of Wisdom damage.

Crush (Ex): The Moon Dragon can land on opponents size Small or smaller as a standard action, using her whole body to crush them. A crush attack affects as many creatures as can fit under her body. Creatures in the affected area must succeed on a DC 27 Reflex save or be pinned, automatically taking bludgeoning damage during the next round unless the Moon Dragon moves off them. If she chooses to maintain the pin, treat it as a normal grapple attack. Pinned opponents take damage from the crush each round if they don’t escape.

Immunities (Ex): The Moon Dragon is immune to all sleep, paralysis, and mind-affecting affects. Unlike other dragons she has no special vulnerabilities.

Keen Senses (Ex): The Moon Dragon sees four times as well as a human in shadowy illumination and twice as well in normal light. She also has darkvision out to 120 feet.

Lycanthrope Liege (Su): At will, the Moon Dragon can affect the shapechanging ability of any (natural or afflicted) lycanthrope within 210 feet. Unwilling targets can make a DC27 Control Shape check (as per the lycanthrope entry in the Monster Manual) to negate the affect. If the check succeeds the Moon Dragon cannot affect that subject until dawn of the next day. If it fails or if the subject is willing, the Moon Dragon can impose any of the following affects: she can permanently lock the subject into its natural, animal, or hybrid form (her choice); she can permanently disallow any of the three ways the subject can shapechange (full moon, hp damage, and voluntary Control Shape checks); she can impart a permanent +10 circumstance bonus to the subject’s Control Shape checks; she can grant a permanent +4 enhancement bonus to the subject’s Strength and Constitution scores while in animal form only; or she can remove any of the above affects. None of these affects actually cure lycanthropy, though they can allow a subject to be transformation-free for the rest of their days.

Terrific Presence: Unlike most dragons, the sight of the Moon Dragon fills other creatures with awe and admiration rather than fear. Creatures within 210 feet of the Moon Dragon must make a DC 28 Will save; failure means the creature is Fascinated for 4d6 rounds. Creatures who succeed on the saving throw are immune for 24 hours; creatures with more than 25 HD are automatically immune. Unlike Frightful Presence, other dragons are subject to the affects of Terrific Presence.

Turn/Rebuke Undead (Su): the Moon Dragon can turn or rebuke undead (her choice) as a 10th level cleric.


Spells

The Moon Dragon casts spells as a 10th level cleric, not a sorcerer. However, she does not have any domains or granted powers, nor the ability to spontaneously cast Cure or Inflict spells (although she can prepare and cast them normally). For spells that have both a holy and an unholy version (such as Righteous Might) the Moon Dragon can choose which to use.

Spells/Day: 6/6/6/5/4/4

Sample Spells Prepared:
0th: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Guidance, Guidance, Purify Food and Drink, Resistance,
1st: Bane, Comprehend Languages, Entropic Shield, Obscuring Mist, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith (+3),
2nd: Aid, Bear’s Endurance, Lesser Restoration, Silence, Spiritual Weapon (warhammer), Spiritual Weapon (warhammer),
3rd: Bestow Curse, Invisibility Purge, Prayer, Searing Light, Searing Light,
4th: Cure Critical Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds, Divine Power*, Inflict Critical Wounds
*Does not change the Moon Dragon’s Base Attack Bonus
5th: Blindness/Deafness (heightened), Dismissal (heightened), Righteous Might, Summon Monster V


Spell-Like Abilities

1/day—Baleful Polymorph (DC 21); 2/day—Confusion (DC 20)


Hoard (worth 252,563 or 219,563 gp)
Perhaps Sinn’s greatest sacrifice to her goddess is offering all her wealth for the temple. In her lair there are no heaps of coins, no ancient treasure chests, no armory of jewel-encrusted swords. Sinn’s entire hoard has been converted to decorations for the temple.

When would-be dragon slayers die at Sinn’s hands she converts all of their coins and valuables to raw materials and then religious artwork (the several artisans amongst the lycanthrope community have been invaluable for this). Magic weapons are the exception, given as payment to the were-people for their service.

She is not fond of gold, but she ends up with a lot of it; thus many of the silver- or platinum-plated objects in her lair have solid gold cores. A Knowledge (Nature) check (DC 15) will tip off any character who picks up such items that they are far too heavy to be made of silver alone.

The hoard consists of the following art objects and temple fixtures:

Roof: 51,300 or 21,300 gp
The domed mosaic ceiling is made of 6,000 cobalt glass beads (each worth 3 sp) and 6,000 polished black stones (each worth 7 sp). Altogether the beads of the mosaic, if removed and sold at market, are worth 6,000 gp. This would require weeks of work and a scaffold. Additionally the roof is studded with 170 metal stars, each with a gold core and thin silver plating. Individually the stars are worth 90 gp each; 15,300 gp together.

The roof as a whole is enchanted to make it lightweight and architecturally stable. If Detect Magic is cast a faint Transmutation aura can be perceived radiating from the entire domed roof. Individual parts of the roof lose the enchantment if pried off; if more than 10% of the roof is dismantled the entire spell disappears. If the roof is somehow removed and sold as one piece (perhaps to a temple or king) its value, with the enchantment and craftsmanship, is 30,000 gp greater than the value of the parts alone.

Moon Symbols: 48,000 gp
48 moon symbols are fixed along the top of the walls where they meet the bottom of the dome. The moon symbols include platinum full moons (12 of them worth 1,500 gp each); silver-plated crescent moons with gold cores (24 of them worth 1,000 gp each) and tarnished silver new moons with gold cores (12 of them worth 500 gp each). Total value 54,000 gp.

Banding: 49,000 or 46,000 gp
A band of carved scrollwork along the walls is inlaid with 100 moonstones (worth 100 gp each) and 200 sapphires (worth 150 gp each). There are also fake gems made of glass, 100 that look like moonstones and 200 that look like sapphires (either type worth 20 gp each). Removing the entire banding without damaging the plaster would be difficult and the banding could only be installed whole into a building of the same size. If that is possible the craftsmanship adds 3,000 gp to the price of the materials.

Floor: 13,640 gp
The entire floor is tiled with 620 quarter-inch thick metal plates. 310 of them are made of white bronze while the other 310 are made of dark silver. They are laid in checkerboard order in concentric circles, and must be pried off of the underlying slab to be resold. The magic necessary to remove the floor whole would be more expensive than the labor cost to reinstall the tiles at a new location. Individual tiles are worth 22 gp each.

Side Altars: 13,980 gp
The side altars are solid stone blocks that are built into the walls, and as such cannot be removed whole without endangering the physical structure of the temple (and anyone inside). These stone blocks are encased in mahogany, teak, and mother-of-pearl, with white gold fittings. These ornate casings can be removed in panels and applied to other altars or tables. There are twelve of them, each worth 600 gp.

Additionally, each side altar has four white gold candleholders with a line of pink pearls spiraling down them (48 candleholders total, each worth 130 gp). The candleholders contain beeswax candles which are included in the price.

Over each altar is a bronze and silver representation of one of the twelve zodiac signs, worth 45 gp each (540 gp total).

Rugs: 237 gp
Three huge (20’x35’) wool rugs adorn the floor, one to either side of the altar and one on the side away from the door. Each is of finely spun wool from fat northern sheep, woven into a stylized water lily pattern and worth 79 gp on the market.

Main Altar: 44,910 gp
The dais on which the altar rests is made of the same tiles as the rest of the floor and is included in the floor price above. The altar itself is a block of white granite with a high quartz content and if removed is worth 110 gp.

Encasing the sides of the slab are purified silver lattices with a henbane and ivy motif etched into them. Real flowers that have been transmuted into silver adorn the corners of the lattices. There are four lattices, two of them worth 3,000 gp each and two of them worth 5,000 each (16,000 total).

The top of the altar is a large slab of platinum nearly 2 inches thick. The sides continue the floral pattern from below, whereas the top is engraved with the orbits of the planets. In the center is a starburst pattern made of 36 diamonds set into the platinum. The diamonds on their own are worth 300 gp each; the entire altar top including the diamonds is worth 28,800 gp.

Ritual Equipment: 3,550 gp
On the altar are several objects that can be easily moved. On the left-hand side is a massive illuminated book with pages of griffin vellum, sandalwood covers adorned in griffin leather, gold leaf ink and incredibly detailed illustrations of the heavenly bodies and their movements. The book is written in Sylvan (of all things) and anyone who can read that language can see it is entitled “Lunar Ephemeris, or the movements of the bodies of the Heavens as they accord with the Holy Queen”. The book is not particularly useful unless a character wishes to study astronomy, but it can be sold to collectors for 1,800 gp.

On the right hand side of the main altar is a ceremonial owl mask made of steel and dark silver, with a hooked beak and indigo patina on the steel portions. It is sized for a Medium humanoid and can be used as the helm for any masterwork suit of armor (this does not raise the AC bonus of the armor). It is worth 900 gp.

In front of the mask are two smaller objects: a bright blue hand mirror (bronze with a blue patina) set with ice opals and a ceremonial masterwork dagger with a three-sided blade (piecing damage only) and 108 small pearls wrapped around the handle. The pearls are meant to shimmer and clack together when the knife is handled. The mirror is worth 60 gp and the dagger is worth 790 gp.

Lunar Calendar: 5,200 gp
A tall, wide screen like a room divider (8’ tall x 9’ long) stands behind the altar. It has a buffed hazel wood frame and hundreds of strands of thread-like silver. On the threads are strung numerous tiny amethysts and moonstones. They are organized into a large diagram that serves as a lunar calendar to those who can interpret it (Knowledge (Nature) DC 26). It is worth 5,200 gp to art collectors or priests who can use it.

Waste Basket: 1,746 gp
Behind the altar is a basket just larger than a bassinet. It is made of silver mesh, and is completely full of Moon Dragon scales. Sinn is very meticulous in cleaning the altar room and she deposits any dropped scales in the basket. It’s been a while since she has bothered to take them out, however, since they are rather pretty and she is considering making something out of them. The basket is worth 96 gp; it contains 55 scales each worth 30 gp (1650 gp for the lot) to a taxidermist or jeweler.

The scales resemble mother-of-pearl but are much more durable and almost hypnotic to behold. Because there is no actual hide they cannot be turned into dragon hide armor.

The Bed: 21,000 gp
Underneath it all Sinn is still a dragon, and she can’t get a restful day’s sleep without a pile of valuable metal to sleep on. Even though she has converted most of her wealth to offerings, she maintains a “simple” bed that resembles a courtyard-sized blanket of chain mail. The blanket is wadded up into a big bundle on the far side of the altar room (away from the door). The bundle is thick, and just barely wide enough for Sinn to snuggle up on. The links are made of silver, platinum, and mithral in different sections giving it a “patchwork quilt” look. Even from a distance all those wrought rings of precious metals are a breathtaking sight to behold; anyone who curls up on it with closed eyes would swear they’re lying on a pile of loose coin. To Sinn, the blanket is a spartan and almost monastic concession; to armourers it is worth 21,000gp.


Waste basket for the win.

gkathellar
2011-01-27, 06:51 AM
Bear in mind that the space each individual dragon would need is huge. Bipeds are uniquely suited to dense, highly social living spaces because physically, we don't require much space. But dragons, even the small ones, are physically imposing quadrupeds with large wingspans. Nearly all are adapted for flight, and many are skilled swimmers or diggers, and nearly every creature that has access to a mode of locomotion likes to use it. Humans need space to walk, stand, stretch and move. Dragons need all of that, and room to swim, fly and dig, and they need all of it on a much larger scale.

Any draconic city would be vast, and whether humans could even identify it as a single settlement is difficult to say. A flying, swimming engine of destruction has little use for human conventions based largely on physiology, and many of the assumptions we make about urban planning go entirely out the window. For example, does a draconic city even need streets? Or does it have them solely to provide vast sprinting spaces for the enormous reptile that needs to stretch its legs? Now consider the problems of preferred habitat.

Water-breathers might prefer to reside underwater, requiring vast aquatic complexes to accommodate them - and is the water fresh? Is it marshy, or sparkling and clean? Tunneling dragons would likely feel most comfortable in relatively close quarters, cramped spaces where dragons that spend significant time airborne would be uncomfortable. Of those airborne dragons, climate plays a significant role - some, for example, might prefer hot, dry air. Others love to feel the wind and the rain lashing against their backs. What sort of geographic location accommodates both? And what about arctic dragons, or those that prefer volcanic heat?

Also, keep in mind discrepancies of size. Older dragons take up more space than younger ones. Perhaps younger dragons live with their family - but they are big animals, and require significant room to move around, which compromises the parent. Either way, dragons are not known for watching their young closely, and their is little reason to believe they would want to start for the sake of city planning. So young dragons will need space for themselves, but those spaces will be smaller, introducing the beginnings of a class system.

Where this becomes tricky is the consideration of size discrepancy by species. If a White Wyrm is sharing space with an Old Red, then your class system has transcended status-by-age and achieved racial discrimination. The city's society is now beneficial to powerful dragons, and an insult to the weaker species. Dragons, being the prideful creatures they are, would likely not tolerate this. The smaller dragons would leave, either to found their own city or disgusted by the idea of one.

All this leads to the conclusion that draconic cities would have to segregate themselves based on species. This is only a step away from segregating themselves based on preferred geography, but the upside to this is that dragons are, again, huge. A draconic city might be the size of a nation, or even a continent - and whether humans would be able to call it a city is doubtful. What characterizes a city-state is centralized politics, defense, and infrastructure, not architecture - which would vary wildly based on species.

Infrastructure would almost certainly derive from slavery, or in the case of "good" dragons, slavery by another name (service in return for protection = feudalism). Dragons are not tool-users, and they're proud, so they would find tool users with more humility to do construction for them. These slaves might be aware that they were serving a larger draconic society, or they might not. It wouldn't matter. The dragons would get their roosts and caves and meeting halls and irrigation systems, and their slave races wouldn't be treated as foreign invaders and slaughtered by giant, scaly killing machines.

Scalenex
2011-01-27, 07:08 AM
First of all, in this ancient civilization, did Metallic and Chromatic dragons live together, or did they have separate civilizations and societies?
For that matter, did the various metallic dragons live with each other, or did they tend to separate themselves into social groups based on their own metals?



When I originally came up with the concept of an Age of Dragons, I thought that I would have all dragons start off as one race and the various subspecies of dragons the result of their race polarizing. But my entire group pretty much memorized all the dragon stats so I didn't like them being color coded for our convenience that way. Also I thought most worlds aren't big enough to realistically hold ten separate species the size of dragons with the genetic diversity to sustain themselves so I decided that all dragons are the same species and any male dragon could thereotically mate with any female dragon and produce viable offspring. No dragon is predestined to be Good or Evil. Good dragons in the Age of Humanity are apt to act as guardians or teachers to the lesser races (humans, elves, kobolds, etc). Evil dragons try to dominate or subvert the lesser races. Neutral Dragons mostly just want to be left alone and lair in the most innaccessible locations they can find. There is a general tendency for both Good and Evil dragons to become isolationist as they grow older shifting towards a Neutral viewpoint.

I posted the details on my dragons in another post much earlier.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30196


What tech level was thier society?



I was planning on having technology in the Age of Dragons be a case where magic and science are one and the same. I figure a lot of buildings would be erected from spells like stone shape, or their many slaves such as the delvers (who would make tunnels for them and were placated with metal items).

I figure the ancient dragons would have been at least as advanced or better in every category compared to the Age of Humanity. The exception might be weapons and armor which would be less advanced cause I view dragons as likely to rely on their natural weapons and defenses.

I figure most surviving magical items of dragon manufacture would qualify artifacts or lesser artifacts. I came up with the idea of one such item being Life Stones, items created by ancient dragons to feed themselves. Life Stones increase the fertility of an area. Underground they let fungus grow without any organic material and thus sustain underdark ecosystems. Above ground they drastically increase the rate of plant growth. Most mortals, even dragons have forgotten about lifestones and just noticed that certain areas are much more fertile than their surroundings.



You also need to consider all the Planar dragons. What relation do they have to the Material Plane - did they live on their own planes or come by to chat, leaving portal structures behind?

I wasn't really planning to include planar dragons at all. I don't have a very many planar dragons in the sourcebooks I have access to. I'm also using mostly homebrew planes. I figure most planar dragons would be elevated souls of dead dragons given new powers in exchange for a lifetime of service to a particular deity, not unlike the excellent dragon concept Another Poet described. If I DID have planar dragons I like your idea of them living in their own planes but potentially leaving portals to quest for.

Amnestic
2011-01-27, 07:24 AM
Everything that lives, consumes and excretes.
Dragons have to poop like everyone else.

Excretion doesn't necessarily mean faeces though. They might excrete their waste through sweat glands, or the like, depending on how adaptive and robust their disgestive system is.

Another_Poet
2011-01-27, 11:37 AM
Excretion doesn't necessarily mean faeces though. They might excrete their waste through sweat glands, or the like, depending on how adaptive and robust their disgestive system is.

Agreed, and for that matter they might poop mithral ingots. It's a fantasy beast that can eat minerals and gems... you can make them do whatever you want :)

Also, dragons are normally very solitary creatures (in most fantasy literature, at least). The idea that there are enough of them in one area to leave behind expansive dragon ruins requires some explanation. What purpose brought all these dragons together to form a town/city/loosely connected homeland? Whatever it is, you could orient all of their architecture around that purpose. For instance, if they came together for the birth of Bahamut's avatar, the whole townland could be laid out in concentric circles around the temple where that happened. If they came together to work on some magical purpose, perhaps each of their homes has an astronomical observatory or a meditation room.

I'd think about the purpose of their society and design around that.

Tiki Snakes
2011-01-27, 12:00 PM
Excretion doesn't necessarily mean faeces though. They might excrete their waste through sweat glands, or the like, depending on how adaptive and robust their disgestive system is.

Perfectly sound argument. They might very well.

But as far as I am concerned, as much as they and the elves would like to pretend otherwise, they've got to poop like everyone else. :smallwink:

With the implied carnivorous diet, et cetera, it seems right.

Tankadin
2011-01-27, 12:17 PM
Wasn't there a 2nd edition campaign setting called, "Council of Wyrms"?

Basically, the idea was some kind of Dragon United Nations to deal with common threats (a race of humans dedicated to slaying dragons, for example) and to keep them from fighting to death.

If I remember correctly, most dragon settlements were pretty stereotypical reflections of a particular dragon type. Silver dragons loved mountain peaks shrouded with clouds, the main Red dragon city was built around a semi-active volcano, the Topaz settlements were elaborate underwater grottos.

The actual Council building was a massive structure carved out of a mountain that was magically moved to the location, and one of the main features it had were tons of large flat areas for landing and sunning. The main chamber's roof was basically a massive airport. The main chamber itself was large enough for something like 15 old dragons and a maybe that many younger dragons to hold a Council session. That said, the representatives weren't wyrms or great wyrms. Those dragons typically stayed at the seat of their respective governments (also they probably wouldn't fit).

The one constant, I think, would be areas to easily take off and land. The city might be crowded and you might have to spend a lot of time polymorphed and cramped, but...there's a lot of room in the air to stretch out and remember how awesome it is to be a dragon.

Coidzor
2011-01-27, 02:24 PM
Perfectly sound argument. They might very well.

But as far as I am concerned, as much as they and the elves would like to pretend otherwise, they've got to poop like everyone else. :smallwink:

With the implied carnivorous diet, et cetera, it seems right.

How do you think their hoards really increase in wealth as they age? That's right. They are master alchemists, the lot of them, refining dirt into copper, copper into silver, silver into gold, gold into gems, gems into other gems or platinum, occasionally taking a lot of gems and turning them into magic items. :smallbiggrin:

Meat into Kobolds! <_< >_> or just more dragon...

Adds a nice little value of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs to the situation. :smallamused:

Chilingsworth
2011-01-27, 03:27 PM
One thing, I didn't notice you mention, OP: What about the (traditionally) Lawful Metallic dragons' alternate form abilities? Did your progenitor race have these abilities? If not, did the abilities develop before or after the age of draconic construction ended? That would be a huge influence on what draconic arcitecture looks like.

Mando Knight
2011-01-27, 03:42 PM
One thing, I didn't notice you mention, OP: What about the (traditionally) Lawful Metallic dragons' alternate form abilities? Did your progenitor race have these abilities? If not, did the abilities develop before or after the age of draconic construction ended? That would be a huge influence on what draconic arcitecture looks like.

(Non-Ferrous) Metallic dragons are traditionally Good. Only the Silvers and Golds (who are the best Metallic Dragons anyway) are primarily Lawful.

Ungvar
2011-01-27, 03:53 PM
I've been developing a draconic civilization for a campaign, but the vast majority of the "people" are more like draconians, or winged kobolds. That way, the scale of most of the architecture is roughly the same for PC races. Only the nobility can or is allowed to grow to the sizes we think of when we imagine dragons, with the ruler of a given draconic nation-state usually being the only great wyrm of his kind.

All the other, much younger and smaller dragons keep perishing in the endless wars among the draconic states. The states battle against each other, ostensibly, for reasons of land, resources, and national pride, but really the elder rulers use the wars to eliminate potential challenges to their rule.

You still need to account for the architecture of the structures inhabited by the noble dragons, but that would probably amount to little more than their homes and the "castle" of the ruler. And maybe a gladiator arena or an opera house or something, someplace for them to be entertained. After all, you don't see nobles going down to the market to pick out the days' groceries.

Chilingsworth
2011-01-27, 04:10 PM
(Non-Ferrous) Metallic dragons are traditionally Good. Only the Silvers and Golds (who are the best Metallic Dragons anyway) are primarily Lawful.

Bronze are also listed as Lawful Good, at least in the MM.

The three Core dragons with inate alternate form abilties are the Gold, Silver, and Bronze. All are listed as Lawful Good.

Ormur
2011-01-27, 04:53 PM
I haven't included any dragon cities in my campaign but I've still thought a bit about the architecture of the dragon lairs. I decided one lived with his mate in a mountain overlooking a city but that decision has troubled me a bit after something was pointed out to me in this forum. Namely that dragons have a much greater advantage against attackers out in the open where they can strafe them with their spells and breath weapons while flying as fast as they do.

In light of this the lair must be absurdly spacious and be designed to give fast flyers with poor manoeuvrability an advantage over walking or slowly flying invaders. Escape routes, arena like caverns where the dragon can run rings around the invaders, maybe even collapsing ceilings and antimagic zones where nothing can outgrapple or out-fullattack the dragon.

AslanCross
2011-01-27, 06:06 PM
Excretion doesn't necessarily mean faeces though. They might excrete their waste through sweat glands, or the like, depending on how adaptive and robust their disgestive system is.

As per Draconomicon, their digestive systems sort of resemble powerful blast furnaces that can digest practically anything (which is why they tend to eat inorganic things like gems). Of course, I don't know how cold-based dragons do that, as it's easy to imagine acid-based dragons having simply highly corrosive digestive systems, fire-based dragons having high-heat incinerators, and lightning-based dragons having arc furnaces for stomachs.

Ravens_cry
2011-01-27, 06:38 PM
In a very cultured dragon culture, I imagine them lounging around on enormous versions of these (http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/224071/224071,1235217647,2/stock-vector-vector-illustration-of-cleopatra-lounging-on-a-bed-25342393.jpg), carved out of the living rock of the cave or some other stone.
Very genteel.

JaronK
2011-01-28, 04:41 AM
I imagine Kobolds would do a large amount of the construction, meaning many dragon ruins might have Kobold warrens hidden underneath. Also, dragons like grandiose displays of wealth, but don't want to risk their treasure, so I'd imagine they'd do things like create huge archways over entrances to their cities made of stone with kobold made reliefs of the dragon's history cut into them, which would then be enhanced by a Permanent Image spell over the relief that makes it look like gleaming gold and gems (a red dragon might seem to be represented with ruby, for example). In time, some of the arches may have been destroyed, but the illusionary facades would stay floating in space, now with the stone that backed them fallen below.

JaronK

Xefas
2011-01-28, 05:13 AM
Of course, I don't know how cold-based dragons do that, as it's easy to imagine acid-based dragons having simply highly corrosive digestive systems, fire-based dragons having high-heat incinerators, and lightning-based dragons having arc furnaces for stomachs.

Well, they're dragons. They have magic organs full of raw elemental energy. Even if it's "cold" elemental energy, it may still be able to just rip material apart in a storm of magic to prepare it for digestion.

About architecture, you may get some ideas from Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, which has some notes about various dragon cultures and (to a small degree) architectures. Chinese dragons (probably the most advanced, insofar as developing their own separate-from-humans culture goes), for instance, tend to favor giant open pavilions with stone floors that have a space underneath for fire to be set for warming the stones (the floors also have crude vents that funnel the smoke from the fire outwards and upwards).

Ravens_cry
2011-01-28, 05:37 AM
So a Hypocaust? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocaust)
Neat.

Scalenex
2011-01-28, 06:11 AM
Also, dragons are normally very solitary creatures (in most fantasy literature, at least). The idea that there are enough of them in one area to leave behind expansive dragon ruins requires some explanation. What purpose brought all these dragons together to form a town/city/loosely connected homeland? Whatever it is, you could orient all of their architecture around that purpose. For instance, if they came together for the birth of Bahamut's avatar, the whole townland could be laid out in concentric circles around the temple where that happened. If they came together to work on some magical purpose, perhaps each of their homes has an astronomical observatory or a meditation room.

I'd think about the purpose of their society and design around that.

The world was created by a tyranical god named Turoch who create mortals just to consume their souls. Turoch grew to fat and lazy to manage the world himself so he created servants to manage the world for him. The servants eventually rebelled and reshaped the world into something more benevolent. The bravest and strongest souls of mortals aided the gods in their rebellion and the few that survived became the first dragons, for all who won the battle became much stronger (that's why those who win at battles gain exp and become stronger). The dragons were given first crack at the world as a reward for their bravery. The purpose of the dragons was simple. They were simply to thrive and worship the gods.

Their society's purpose was much complex. As their numbers expanded, their society developed as a means of apportioning resources. Older dragons wanted to use their civilization to allow them to reign in the ambitions of the more numerous dragons that might threaten them. Younger dragons wanted laws to protect them from bullying more powerful older dragons. Dragons of all ages wanted to see what glories their collective works could entail. When Greymoria the NE Goddess of Magic decided that she wasn't being worshipped enough and the dragons deserved punishing she created hordes of monsters powerful enough to destroy lone dragons. This forced dragons to band together for protection. These same protective groups also protected dragons against rival dragons out to steal their resources.


One thing, I didn't notice you mention, OP: What about the (traditionally) Lawful Metallic dragons' alternate form abilities? Did your progenitor race have these abilities? If not, did the abilities develop before or after the age of draconic construction ended? That would be a huge influence on what draconic arcitecture looks like.

For a long time dragons were the only sentient race in the world. Alternate Form started as a means of reducing their size to save space to allow large gatherings. I thought about having their original alternate form be that of modern kobolds but decided that wasn't grand enough, so I just had them possess the ability to turn into smaller dragons.

The ability only evolved into it's current form much later. Dragons with the size changing ability eventually evolved a shapechanging ability to enable them to relate to (or infilitrate) humanoid societies better.


I imagine Kobolds would do a large amount of the construction, meaning many dragon ruins might have Kobold warrens hidden underneath. Also, dragons like grandiose displays of wealth, but don't want to risk their treasure, so I'd imagine they'd do things like create huge archways over entrances to their cities made of stone with kobold made reliefs of the dragon's history cut into them, which would then be enhanced by a Permanent Image spell over the relief that makes it look like gleaming gold and gems (a red dragon might seem to be represented with ruby, for example). In time, some of the arches may have been destroyed, but the illusionary facades would stay floating in space, now with the stone that backed them fallen below.

JaronK

I like the idea of Permanent Image spell decorations lingering. But I'm less sure about Kobold labor. Kobolds in my world have three separate origin stories, none of them really fit into mass enslavement.

The Timalan Kobolds believe that a dragon queen and her supporters tried to ressurect the fallen god Turoch and were punished by the gods by being turned into lowly kobolds. They can attone by living good lives in the eyes of the gods. A kobold who lives well can expect to be reincarnated as a kobold sorcerer or favored soul. A sorcerer or favored soul who lives VERY well will be reincarnated as a dragon. All other Kobolds have given up on attonement and wallow in sin.

The Gilgren Kobolds believe that the first kobolds were created by Greymoria, goddess of magic, from the flesh of a dead tyranical dragon king and charged by Greymoria to punish the petty tyrants. They took down dragons with their numbers and cunning and hastened the already begun decline of the Age of Dragons. They continue their attacks on tyrants fighting the Elves during the Age of Elves and now fighting humans in the Age of Humanity. They hope to create a golden age where no race dominates the others. All other Kobolds have forsaken Greymoria and are blasphemers.

The Laershen Kobolds believe that a pair of fanatical and deranged dragon cultists to Greymoria willingly sacrificed their children to hatch several the first kobolds instead. Then they forced them to breed to large numbers and used them as cannon fodder against their dragon enemies. Nearly exterminated the survivors fled to survive in hidden alcoves. Now they seek peace between kobolds and other mortals (or at least to be left alone). All other kobolds are willing or ignorant dupes of Greymoria unwittingly inviting the other races to practice genocide against the whole kobold race.


Agreed, and for that matter they might poop mithral ingots. It's a fantasy beast that can eat minerals and gems... you can make them do whatever you want :)



I was going with they excrete energy in the form of their breath weapon. Firebreathers radiate heat, lightning breathers static, acid breathers drool acid, etc. But now I'm stuck on the idea of them having solid waste products of coal and petrolium. After all I wanted these things to exist in my world but it lacks millions of years of plants decaying in swamps. I think the absurdity in using ancient dragon pee to fuel lanterns though would be very distracting for the players. "Throw another dragon turd on the furnace, it's cold outside!" Of course the PCs needn't know where fossil fuels come from, but why have that tidbit at all if no one knows it?

One Tin Soldier
2011-01-30, 02:56 PM
Their society's purpose was much complex. As their numbers expanded, their society developed as a means of apportioning resources. Older dragons wanted to use their civilization to allow them to reign in the ambitions of the more numerous dragons that might threaten them. Younger dragons wanted laws to protect them from bullying more powerful older dragons. Dragons of all ages wanted to see what glories their collective works could entail. When Greymoria the NE Goddess of Magic decided that she wasn't being worshipped enough and the dragons deserved punishing she created hordes of monsters powerful enough to destroy lone dragons. This forced dragons to band together for protection. These same protective groups also protected dragons against rival dragons out to steal their resources.



For a long time dragons were the only sentient race in the world. Alternate Form started as a means of reducing their size to save space to allow large gatherings. I thought about having their original alternate form be that of modern kobolds but decided that wasn't grand enough, so I just had them possess the ability to turn into smaller dragons.

The ability only evolved into it's current form much later. Dragons with the size changing ability eventually evolved a shapechanging ability to enable them to relate to (or infilitrate) humanoid societies better.

Ok, this makes alot more sense of why basically solitary creatures would form cities and an organized civilization. Thanks for clearing that up. :smallsmile:

I kinda like the idea that someone put forth earlier in this thread, that dragon cities could be in hollowed-out mountains, riddled with passageways and huge caverns, kinda like a combination of Salamandastron and Farthen Dur. Actually, come to think of it, the dead volcano crater thing would work really well, even if it was actually just a regular mountain hollowed out by the dragons.

Also, I can definitely picture such a draconic city being taken over by kobolds or dwarves or something, with a bunch of additions to make it more suitable for small terrestrial creatures.