I was thinking about how I was gonna show off my cool new lawful good black Dragonborn when I was caught up in the question of “what even are Dragonborn? How do they fit into games when half-dragons exist and like most people don’t know about the lore that actually was written for them?”
I wanna know. Do you just sort of say “yeah they’re half dragons” and call it a day (which is what I do), or did you take up the task of making lore for them that fits your setting (or at least to provide an explanation of how they’re different than half-dragons)?
I was thinking about how I was gonna show off my cool new lawful good black Dragonborn when I was caught up in the question of “what even are Dragonborn? How do they fit into games when half-dragons exist and like most people don’t know about the lore that actually was written for them?”
I wanna know. Do you just sort of say “yeah they’re half dragons” and call it a day (which is what I do), or did you take up the task of making lore for them that fits your setting (or at least to provide an explanation of how they’re different than half-dragons)?
If you would like to know about the cool new lawful good black Dragonborn in question, then ask please.
Dragonborn are cool but they seem to lack some lore. I just imagine them as a draconic people group that lives out and away from the rest of civilization. They can survive harsher environments so white and silver dragonborn clans dwell in the frigid arctic, gold and red dragonborn clans travel across sweltering deserts, black dragonborns live in noxious swamps, etc.
I also come up with cities where large communities of dragonborn all exist. They would be led by a council that consists of the head of each dragonborn clan. These dragonborn citadels often are built around the ruins of a dead dragon's lair, or they might be led by a living dragon. I think clans should be an important part of their culture, and even if their entire clan dies, the one survivor would still go by their clan name and never truly join another.
They are different from and they despise half-dragons because half-dragons are people who have been transformed into dragon creatures, while dragonborn have been born that way. I think they would look upon half-dragons as horrible monstrosities that would need to be slain.
There could also be evil clans of dragonborn who are driven by dragon greed. They attack and raid surrounding communities and steal all their wealth, building up a hoard of immense size. These clans start out nomadic, but once their hoard becomes too large to move, they settle down in a fortifiable area and start to send out raiding parties. They often attract other dragons who come from the hoard. The other dragons may fight and steal it, or they might take over the clan and control the people, using them to gain more wealth. Particularly powerful clans can fend off other dragons and may steal dragon eggs or make deals with young ones. They would raise the dragons and use them for war, and the dragons gain access to the hoard to draw power from.
I imagine dragonborn as a proud and powerful people who typically separate themselves from other nations, but they still may send merchants and craftsmen out to increase their wealth. Some traces of dragon greed may be found in them, especially the chromatic ones. They would have a strong urge to build up a hoard of wealth and other dragonborn may determine another dragonborns status depending on the size of their hoard. They honor dragons greatly and do not take slaying one lightly, only doing so to protect others or for some other noble cause.
Dragonborn just come from a single far-away source. It is a very insulated community. They leave the community to see what the world is like and they seem to never return. If they ever filled three ships, The Nina, The Pinta and The Santa Maria, who knows what would happen.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
A big part of any problems with Dragonborn is that they are very setting dependant and that there are at least 3 variants beside half dragons that need to be considered. In pre 5e lore you had the draconian in the Dragonlance setting - and no where else. Then you had the Saurials in the Forgotten Realms setting of 3.xE and then Dragonborn from Abier added in in 4E. Then 5e just dumped the Abier style Dragonborn into all the settings without any clear origin myths. Drawing primarily on the FR lore half dragons are the offspring of a dragon - human mating (aided and abetted by magic) while Dragonborn are a dragon created servitor species that is thousands of years old and breeds true whatever it’s actual origins were. The saurials are from a different crystal sphere/wildspace and are actually described as dinosaur descended not draconic in nature. The Dragonlance Draconians are technically full dragons being made from stolen metallic dragon eggs that are then corrupted to create the draconians. You can have Abierian (standard D&D) Dragonborn anywhere via spelljamming from Abier, portal/worldwalking/Gatling from Abier at some earlier time or transported by powerful beings/groups for some lost reason. Or you can do what’re world building you like to give them your own source myth as they are pretty much undefined and fairly recently added to the D&D universe.
In my world, Dragonborns come directly from the blood of Io, the ancient multi-aspect god of all dragon kind. During the ancient creator wars, Io was slain by an elder primordial while protecting a young World Tree, the budding primal soul of the world the gods were fighting to save from elemental destruction. From his divine essence, four new gods were formed in Tiamat, Bahamut, Sardior, and the World Serpent, and wherever his divine blood landed on the continent of Thaczil, a Dragonborn was spawned.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
I was thinking about how I was gonna show off my cool new lawful good black Dragonborn when I was caught up in the question of “what even are Dragonborn? How do they fit into games when half-dragons exist and like most people don’t know about the lore that actually was written for them?”
I wanna know. Do you just sort of say “yeah they’re half dragons” and call it a day (which is what I do), or did you take up the task of making lore for them that fits your setting (or at least to provide an explanation of how they’re different than half-dragons)?
If you would like to know about the cool new lawful good black Dragonborn in question, then ask please.
I don't think it's necessary to explain their origin unless its important for the campaign. Same goes for all species.
You could introduce a few legends about their origins, but none are verified to be 100% true or accurate.
According to some, they could be former dragons cursed into a miserable humanoid form.
Some could say they were originally people like humans who dedicated their lives to dragon and were gifted this capable and beautiful form in return.
Another legend could say that DB arrived from another plane, accompanying a dragon god.
And another could say that they were created by a dragon god.
Even if you yourself knew the truth, I'd still only offer the players these legends. If they want to know the truth, you could make a quest out of it.
Finland GMT/UTC +2
I don't have them in my campaign. Tieflings are also out. Don't see a need for them - there are far too many playable species as it is
Dragonborn are cool but they seem to lack some lore. I just imagine them as a draconic people group that lives out and away from the rest of civilization. They can survive harsher environments so white and silver dragonborn clans dwell in the frigid arctic, gold and red dragonborn clans travel across sweltering deserts, black dragonborns live in noxious swamps, etc.
I also come up with cities where large communities of dragonborn all exist. They would be led by a council that consists of the head of each dragonborn clan. These dragonborn citadels often are built around the ruins of a dead dragon's lair, or they might be led by a living dragon. I think clans should be an important part of their culture, and even if their entire clan dies, the one survivor would still go by their clan name and never truly join another.
They are different from and they despise half-dragons because half-dragons are people who have been transformed into dragon creatures, while dragonborn have been born that way. I think they would look upon half-dragons as horrible monstrosities that would need to be slain.
There could also be evil clans of dragonborn who are driven by dragon greed. They attack and raid surrounding communities and steal all their wealth, building up a hoard of immense size. These clans start out nomadic, but once their hoard becomes too large to move, they settle down in a fortifiable area and start to send out raiding parties. They often attract other dragons who come from the hoard. The other dragons may fight and steal it, or they might take over the clan and control the people, using them to gain more wealth. Particularly powerful clans can fend off other dragons and may steal dragon eggs or make deals with young ones. They would raise the dragons and use them for war, and the dragons gain access to the hoard to draw power from.
I imagine dragonborn as a proud and powerful people who typically separate themselves from other nations, but they still may send merchants and craftsmen out to increase their wealth. Some traces of dragon greed may be found in them, especially the chromatic ones. They would have a strong urge to build up a hoard of wealth and other dragonborn may determine another dragonborns status depending on the size of their hoard. They honor dragons greatly and do not take slaying one lightly, only doing so to protect others or for some other noble cause.
Dragonborn just come from a single far-away source. It is a very insulated community. They leave the community to see what the world is like and they seem to never return. If they ever filled three ships, The Nina, The Pinta and The Santa Maria, who knows what would happen.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
A big part of any problems with Dragonborn is that they are very setting dependant and that there are at least 3 variants beside half dragons that need to be considered. In pre 5e lore you had the draconian in the Dragonlance setting - and no where else. Then you had the Saurials in the Forgotten Realms setting of 3.xE and then Dragonborn from Abier added in in 4E. Then 5e just dumped the Abier style Dragonborn into all the settings without any clear origin myths. Drawing primarily on the FR lore half dragons are the offspring of a dragon - human mating (aided and abetted by magic) while Dragonborn are a dragon created servitor species that is thousands of years old and breeds true whatever it’s actual origins were. The saurials are from a different crystal sphere/wildspace and are actually described as dinosaur descended not draconic in nature. The Dragonlance Draconians are technically full dragons being made from stolen metallic dragon eggs that are then corrupted to create the draconians. You can have Abierian (standard D&D) Dragonborn anywhere via spelljamming from Abier, portal/worldwalking/Gatling from Abier at some earlier time or transported by powerful beings/groups for some lost reason. Or you can do what’re world building you like to give them your own source myth as they are pretty much undefined and fairly recently added to the D&D universe.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
In my world, Dragonborn are related to Kobolds the way Hobgoblins are related to Goblins.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
In my world, Dragonborns come directly from the blood of Io, the ancient multi-aspect god of all dragon kind. During the ancient creator wars, Io was slain by an elder primordial while protecting a young World Tree, the budding primal soul of the world the gods were fighting to save from elemental destruction. From his divine essence, four new gods were formed in Tiamat, Bahamut, Sardior, and the World Serpent, and wherever his divine blood landed on the continent of Thaczil, a Dragonborn was spawned.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills