Lately I've been toying with ideas for alternate versions of; or totally new dragons to implement into my lore. Since Dys exists at the exact intersection of Where and When, I wanted to include more (or less) evolved dragons for diversity's sake. A few examples follow:
Gold Dragons are more primeval, being larger, more prone to aggression, have bulkier plate scales in patches and a breath attack that can be used to disorient OR destroy because its a mildly corrosive gas that reacts explosively to any sparks or flame.
Pearlite Dragons are smaller than average as they don't eat meat. They're the most friendly towards non dragons that they encounter and don't resort to violence unless necessary. For their breath attack, they blow a multicolored ring of Dragonsmoke at the target. It causes vivid, full sensory hallucinations and causes catatonic paralysis. This combined with their friendly nature makes them highly sought after by unscrupulous alchemists trying to make quick money.
Midgey-dragons were really just a humorous idea that I had but my players liked it so I added it to the game. They are what happens when a pixie-dragon and a Pseudodragon breed and produce young. Basically, they resemble a tiny yellow and green mottled OR red and white mottled pixie dragon. They have 4 dragonfly wings and can speak. When at home and or with a companion around, they act like talkative scaly housecats. NOTE! they are quite skilled at the catching and removal of small insects and rodents from a residence.
There are also Stumpfdragons. They are smaller, land dwelling cousins to the dragon-turtle. They are more talkative, can spray boiling water instead of breathing steam and are incredibly long lived! A Stumpfdragon can live easily to be over 1,000 years old.
I revamped the old Iron dragons from prior DnD to make them more amicable and want to help mountain travelers in storms, allowing small groups of travelers to wait out harsh mountaintop storms in their lairs. Preferred repayment takes the form of a game of riddles or a trinket/token made by hand.
There's also now Cobalt Dragons. These I liken to a big scaly version of Banshee from the X Men. They hold a particular hatred for evil dragons as well as any who would use power to abuse lesser beings. (This comes about because of them being evolved from lesser creatures into true dragons.) They can fly extremely fast and have incredible eyesight. Their breath weapon is a high powered blast of sound that does thunder dmg. It can buffet and ground another flying creature, or if applied carefully and properly; can give the Cobalt dragon a near ultrasonic burst of speed. Sometimes, they let humanoids ride on their backs to get somewhere really quickly. There's always bleeding ear drums and vomiting and ground kissing afterwards. (though not always in that order)
Also of note; I changed Black Dragons into Blood Dragons. These monsters have a horrible way of feeding. The front four to six teeth in a Blood Dragon's maw are hollow and they use these to bite deeply into prey and drain it of blood before gorging on the meat and viscera like other dragons. Though not actually vampiric or even close other than dining habits, a Blood Dragon making its residence nearby casts a malaise over the areas closest it. Wild game becomes sluggish or is not seen at all, birds never sing or nest in an area inhabited by one. Characters attempting to navigate the area that it lairs in, find it difficult to traverse any terrain there. Plants almost seem intent on snagging in clothes and or hair, vines always seem to be at just the right height to trip you, ect... They no longer breath acid either, they instead spit globs of tar, similar in viscosity to the Dilophosaurus venom from Jurassic Park, but non-toxic. If it gets on your clothes or armor, it can ruin an otherwise brand new piece of armor by seeping into the joints and soft areas and then drying.
I know there's already a gold dragon, they're just a less evolved form of them. Dys exists at the exact central nexus of time and space, so you'll find less evolved or more advanced versions of several things. That was just a personal thing, I didn't care very much for the "old reclusive philosopher" mentality that pervades the gold dragons in the 5e monster manual.
And my Primal and ascendant dragons are supposed to be some of the oldest, largest and most powerful beings in existence. They are some of the only beings that were counting their years when mankind first started to record history.
Another (albeit non-dragonic) example is the Rhinotaur monsters that are here. Instead of man and bull, they are man and rhino
The "taur" in Minotaur means "bull" (Minotaur = "the bull of Minos", its master was King Minos) so Rhinotaur is like saying "Rhinobull" which is a tad redundant: male rhinos are called bulls. Also Rhino actually means "nose" (the name Rhinoceros means "horn on nose" or "nose horn"). All these terms are Greek so consider instead "Anthrotaur" (basically "man bull").
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I ended up scrapping the idea, and since my current campaign is on hiatus, I've been working on something that's kind of a "pet pre-project" that's been incubating for many months in the back corner of my brain. It involves a lovely little emulsion of Norse mythology and the Fey from a short story I wrote whilst in college.
Instead of just two Fey Courts, I have 4; one for each season and they all behave differently towards non-Fey and each other.
The Fairies of Spring reside in the Court of Ballads and are the scribes, historians and musicians of the Fey. Once a year, they hold a Court Recital which is the only good chance to see these reclusive Fairies for most mortals.
The Summer Fey reside in the Court of Valor and are more driven to pursue and destroy evil than any other Fey. Once a year, they hold the Contest of Valor, a no holds barred tournament between the Summer Fey, any mortal chosen to be the champion of an Elder Fairie and unaffiliated mortal combatants in general. The top two fighters from the Fey and their champions and the top two unaffiliated fighters all four win. The victors are all given a private audience with Queen Titannia of the Summer Fey, whereupon she grants each combatant a single wish, or gifts them with an artifact of the Elder Fey.
The Autumn Fairies are the mischievous tricksters and prank masters of the Fey. Theirs is the Court of Pageants, and many of the stories you hear that pertain to "fairy rings" or music that you always get lost from following to the sheer existence of Elderberry Wine, are thanks to these wise guys. Once a year, they host the Pageant of Mystery, where Fey and mortals all co-mingle in a grand outdoor masquerade ball. Many Fey hold back their lascivious tendencies all year to fully unleash them at the Pageant.
Lastly, the Winter Fey; The Court of Bones is not a place you'd choose to visit if you were wise. The denizens of this benighted Court are inhospitable towards outsiders on their best days, on their worst, they may try and kill you as soon as they see you. They don't hold with the pomp, pageantry and pizzazz of their less serious cousins from Spring or Autumn, and have an absolutely hateful relationship with the Court of Valor.
Admittedly most of your writings are really not to my tastes but your 4-courts of the Fey are very interesting, well done.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
And they have an inter-court dynamic as well. The Court of Valor and The Court of Bones don't get along at all, The Court of Ballads tries to get along with all three of the other courts since it is their job to chronicle all Faerie history, and the Court of Pageants is full of Fey that don't care if their pranks end badly, for either the prankster or the prank-ee
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...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
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Lately I've been toying with ideas for alternate versions of; or totally new dragons to implement into my lore. Since Dys exists at the exact intersection of Where and When, I wanted to include more (or less) evolved dragons for diversity's sake. A few examples follow:
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
There are also Stumpfdragons. They are smaller, land dwelling cousins to the dragon-turtle. They are more talkative, can spray boiling water instead of breathing steam and are incredibly long lived! A Stumpfdragon can live easily to be over 1,000 years old.
I revamped the old Iron dragons from prior DnD to make them more amicable and want to help mountain travelers in storms, allowing small groups of travelers to wait out harsh mountaintop storms in their lairs. Preferred repayment takes the form of a game of riddles or a trinket/token made by hand.
There's also now Cobalt Dragons. These I liken to a big scaly version of Banshee from the X Men. They hold a particular hatred for evil dragons as well as any who would use power to abuse lesser beings. (This comes about because of them being evolved from lesser creatures into true dragons.) They can fly extremely fast and have incredible eyesight. Their breath weapon is a high powered blast of sound that does thunder dmg. It can buffet and ground another flying creature, or if applied carefully and properly; can give the Cobalt dragon a near ultrasonic burst of speed. Sometimes, they let humanoids ride on their backs to get somewhere really quickly. There's always bleeding ear drums and vomiting and ground kissing afterwards. (though not always in that order)
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
Also of note; I changed Black Dragons into Blood Dragons. These monsters have a horrible way of feeding. The front four to six teeth in a Blood Dragon's maw are hollow and they use these to bite deeply into prey and drain it of blood before gorging on the meat and viscera like other dragons. Though not actually vampiric or even close other than dining habits, a Blood Dragon making its residence nearby casts a malaise over the areas closest it. Wild game becomes sluggish or is not seen at all, birds never sing or nest in an area inhabited by one. Characters attempting to navigate the area that it lairs in, find it difficult to traverse any terrain there. Plants almost seem intent on snagging in clothes and or hair, vines always seem to be at just the right height to trip you, ect... They no longer breath acid either, they instead spit globs of tar, similar in viscosity to the Dilophosaurus venom from Jurassic Park, but non-toxic. If it gets on your clothes or armor, it can ruin an otherwise brand new piece of armor by seeping into the joints and soft areas and then drying.
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
Neat ideas, though a few things stuck out to me.
First, there is already a gold dragon.
Second, remember that true dragons (of faerun) are split between the good metallic dragons and the evil chromatic dragons.
Third, all true dragons also live over 1000 years.
I know there's already a gold dragon, they're just a less evolved form of them. Dys exists at the exact central nexus of time and space, so you'll find less evolved or more advanced versions of several things. That was just a personal thing, I didn't care very much for the "old reclusive philosopher" mentality that pervades the gold dragons in the 5e monster manual.
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
And my Primal and ascendant dragons are supposed to be some of the oldest, largest and most powerful beings in existence. They are some of the only beings that were counting their years when mankind first started to record history.
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
Another (albeit non-dragonic) example is the Rhinotaur monsters that are here. Instead of man and bull, they are man and rhino
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
The "taur" in Minotaur means "bull" (Minotaur = "the bull of Minos", its master was King Minos) so Rhinotaur is like saying "Rhinobull" which is a tad redundant: male rhinos are called bulls. Also Rhino actually means "nose" (the name Rhinoceros means "horn on nose" or "nose horn"). All these terms are Greek so consider instead "Anthrotaur" (basically "man bull").
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I ended up scrapping the idea, and since my current campaign is on hiatus, I've been working on something that's kind of a "pet pre-project" that's been incubating for many months in the back corner of my brain. It involves a lovely little emulsion of Norse mythology and the Fey from a short story I wrote whilst in college.
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
Instead of just two Fey Courts, I have 4; one for each season and they all behave differently towards non-Fey and each other.
The Fairies of Spring reside in the Court of Ballads and are the scribes, historians and musicians of the Fey. Once a year, they hold a Court Recital which is the only good chance to see these reclusive Fairies for most mortals.
The Summer Fey reside in the Court of Valor and are more driven to pursue and destroy evil than any other Fey. Once a year, they hold the Contest of Valor, a no holds barred tournament between the Summer Fey, any mortal chosen to be the champion of an Elder Fairie and unaffiliated mortal combatants in general. The top two fighters from the Fey and their champions and the top two unaffiliated fighters all four win. The victors are all given a private audience with Queen Titannia of the Summer Fey, whereupon she grants each combatant a single wish, or gifts them with an artifact of the Elder Fey.
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
The Autumn Fairies are the mischievous tricksters and prank masters of the Fey. Theirs is the Court of Pageants, and many of the stories you hear that pertain to "fairy rings" or music that you always get lost from following to the sheer existence of Elderberry Wine, are thanks to these wise guys. Once a year, they host the Pageant of Mystery, where Fey and mortals all co-mingle in a grand outdoor masquerade ball. Many Fey hold back their lascivious tendencies all year to fully unleash them at the Pageant.
Lastly, the Winter Fey; The Court of Bones is not a place you'd choose to visit if you were wise. The denizens of this benighted Court are inhospitable towards outsiders on their best days, on their worst, they may try and kill you as soon as they see you. They don't hold with the pomp, pageantry and pizzazz of their less serious cousins from Spring or Autumn, and have an absolutely hateful relationship with the Court of Valor.
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways
Admittedly most of your writings are really not to my tastes but your 4-courts of the Fey are very interesting, well done.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
And they have an inter-court dynamic as well. The Court of Valor and The Court of Bones don't get along at all, The Court of Ballads tries to get along with all three of the other courts since it is their job to chronicle all Faerie history, and the Court of Pageants is full of Fey that don't care if their pranks end badly, for either the prankster or the prank-ee
...Ehhh, whatever. It was a dumb idea anyways