I have a player who wants to play a monk who is actually the resurrection of an ancient gold dragon. I've managed to steer it in a less "destiny" oriented direction, and the player is happy with the way it's gone, so now I'm looking for some feedback on my plot!
As with the other thread - if this is you and your character, stop reading now!
This has been added to the history of the world I'm making:
The Dragons
Many years ago, the world was ruled by Dragons. Their kingdoms were each presided over by a single Ancient dragon, and they ensured the longevity of their rule by exiling or killing those dragons who became to powerful beneath them. This cemented their rule for many hundreds of years, but from the West a band of heroes arrived, and they sought out each dragon and killed them, putting those that they had ruled over in charge of the kingdom. The heroes saw the dragons as tyrants and the people of their kingdom as slaves, and sought to free them from their masters. After only a few years, there were but 3 Ancient Dragons left.
Shilauthrus, The Ancient Red dragon, fearing for her gold, destroyed her kingdom, burying herself in a self-made tomb within her volcano lair, wiping out all traces of her verdant and beautiful kingdom beneath a great pyroclastic of hot ash and lava, leaving nothing but a great scree field to mark its passing.
The Ancient Dragon Turtle, whose name has been lost to time, is thought to have returned to the western seas to seek a new life, leaving his kingdom on the edge of the western desert to lapse into decay.
Gryrrad, the Ancient Gold Dragon, would not abandon the kingdom he had built, and instead sought a way to survive the coming doom. The Heroes, now leading an army, were beyond even his might, and he knew that by death or desertion, he was to leave his kingdom. So he sought out the ancient libraries of the wizards, scattered throughout the lands, and managed to learn the magic he needed to preserve his soul against death itself. Abhorring the concept of the phylactery of the lich, Gryrrad sought to preserve his soul in his kingdom itself, and so started the Holy Order of the Golden Dragon - Gryrrad was not known for his modesty - to worship him and preserve his soul in the very belief of his kingdom - something which he knew could not be destroyed by the heroes without them destroying the kingdoms and slaying the people they had come to "save". And so, when the heroes came, Gryrrad was ready - his Holy Order was instructed to preserve his body in preparation for his return - and he met the Heroes ready to die.
Whether the heroes had worked out Gryrrad's plot, or perhaps they suspected that he went down too easily, or maybe they simply sought to celebrate the final vanquishing of the dragon lords we will never know, but what happened next was unique among the dragons slain; they took Gryrrad's body and destroyed it, and then they took the gold from his vault - at the cost of many lives, for the vaults of a Golden Dragon are nigh-impregnable even after its demise - and they spent it as they returned across the kingdom to spread the news of their success. The Holy Order of the Golden Dragon lived on, and with it the soul of Gryrrad, but with no body to return to, Gryrrad's spirit remained tethered to this world only through the worship from the Holy Order.
A Thousand years or more later, the Holy Order of the Golden Dragon still stands; its holy shrine carved from the vault of Gryrrad, only accessible by the most devout of the Order, and a great city has grown around the Shrine, seeded by Gryrrad's kingdom, and surrounded by sprawling, terraced farmlands and paddy fields full of rice and water chestnuts. Ruled over by the Holy Order, the city of Gryrranor is a peaceful and wealthy kingdom.
The Inner Sanctum of the Golden Order
The Inner Sanctum of the Golden Dragon is carved from the vault of Gryrrad, deep within the mountain. It is only accessible by the highest of the Holy Order; the Seers of Gryrrad. The seers receive visions of the treasures lost from the vault; a countless volume of gold and jewels, and they see each piece - what it is, and where it is now. They send out the Seekers of the Order - those who aspire to become a Seer - to retrieve these lost treasures, and return them to the Inner Sanctum. It is here that the greatest secret of the Holy Order stands; a colossal effigy of the Golden Dragon, forged from the treasures stolen over a thousand years ago, built over the course of a hundred generations as a vessel for Gryrrad's soul.
The Holy Order have foreseen the return of Gryrrad; his soul borne into his new body by one of his bloodline, to resume his rule over Gryrranor and to spread the light and power as he once did. However, a thousand years is a long time in which to lose something, and those of the bloodline of Gryrrad are one of those things which time has misplaced. So the Holy Order waits, knowing that whoever can return Gryrrad to them will surely come from their own Order, and will doubtless be gifted with the Sight - a gift bestowed upon those whose devout efforts have built the effigy. However, despite a hundred years of waiting, the Effigy stands empty; a golden statue, resplendent in every detail, but cold and lifeless nonetheless.
The characters backstory is that they were an Apprentice Seeker, sent on a mission in a team but they were the only survivor, with no idea of how to return to the city. They have since worked as a mercenary, carrying the treasure they were sent to reclaim (a single gold piece) with them, trying to find their way back.
What they don't know is the whole section of the inner sanctum - the golden statue, the dragons new body - and they don't realise that the coin they carry is one of the last pieces of treasure. A while into the adventure, it will become the last piece, and Seekers will come to take it back - with or without the character. If they go back, which they probably will, they will be taken to the golden dragon statue and they will return Gryrrad's soul to it, fulfilling the prophecy. The player thinks they are going to be the conduit for Gryrrad, this will be news to them - I'm not sure how they will take it, I hope it won't be overly disappointing for them, I will certainly be giving them some draconic gifts for completing the questline. I'm not a huge fan of them becoming a dragon, because it would be the end of their storyline (I ain't having a character be a dragon when everyone else isn't!).
The gold dragon, if he is resurrected in his metal body, will be a good ruler of the kingdom and the lands around will prosper. It could be that he will come to loathe his metal body, and seek to use dark magic to steal the body of another gold dragon, becoming something of a villain - I haven't really decided his future roles in the world yet.
The golden dragon will be a powerful ally for the PCs make sure you have a villain that can rival or overpower it. As for the player make sure they know their role in this, if they expect to become a dragon at the end of their quest they will be disappointed, if they understand their role they will enjoy the powerful and grateful ally. Over all the lore is a different take on immortal then I’ve seen before and I think it is something worth added to my setting.
The golden dragon will be a powerful ally for the PCs make sure you have a villain that can rival or overpower it. As for the player make sure they know their role in this, if they expect to become a dragon at the end of their quest they will be disappointed, if they understand their role they will enjoy the powerful and grateful ally. Over all the lore is a different take on immortal then I’ve seen before and I think it is something worth added to my setting.
I'm glad you like the concept! I will be discussing the goals of the PC with them, I feel (rereading their requests) that it won't be an issue as they were planning to multiclass into draconic sorcerer and have their draconic links explain the power, so I am no longer thinking they wanted to ascend to dragonhood! The golden dragon will have its own kingdom to rule and be fairly preoccupied - it will be a safe place for them to go to if they need one, and they will be welcomed, but the Golden Dragon might not do a lot more helping unless it really fit in.
I have a player who wants to play a monk who is actually the resurrection of an ancient gold dragon. I've managed to steer it in a less "destiny" oriented direction, and the player is happy with the way it's gone, so now I'm looking for some feedback on my plot!
As with the other thread - if this is you and your character, stop reading now!
This has been added to the history of the world I'm making:
The Dragons
Many years ago, the world was ruled by Dragons. Their kingdoms were each presided over by a single Ancient dragon, and they ensured the longevity of their rule by exiling or killing those dragons who became to powerful beneath them. This cemented their rule for many hundreds of years, but from the West a band of heroes arrived, and they sought out each dragon and killed them, putting those that they had ruled over in charge of the kingdom. The heroes saw the dragons as tyrants and the people of their kingdom as slaves, and sought to free them from their masters. After only a few years, there were but 3 Ancient Dragons left.
Shilauthrus, The Ancient Red dragon, fearing for her gold, destroyed her kingdom, burying herself in a self-made tomb within her volcano lair, wiping out all traces of her verdant and beautiful kingdom beneath a great pyroclastic of hot ash and lava, leaving nothing but a great scree field to mark its passing.
The Ancient Dragon Turtle, whose name has been lost to time, is thought to have returned to the western seas to seek a new life, leaving his kingdom on the edge of the western desert to lapse into decay.
Gryrrad, the Ancient Gold Dragon, would not abandon the kingdom he had built, and instead sought a way to survive the coming doom. The Heroes, now leading an army, were beyond even his might, and he knew that by death or desertion, he was to leave his kingdom. So he sought out the ancient libraries of the wizards, scattered throughout the lands, and managed to learn the magic he needed to preserve his soul against death itself. Abhorring the concept of the phylactery of the lich, Gryrrad sought to preserve his soul in his kingdom itself, and so started the Holy Order of the Golden Dragon - Gryrrad was not known for his modesty - to worship him and preserve his soul in the very belief of his kingdom - something which he knew could not be destroyed by the heroes without them destroying the kingdoms and slaying the people they had come to "save". And so, when the heroes came, Gryrrad was ready - his Holy Order was instructed to preserve his body in preparation for his return - and he met the Heroes ready to die.
Whether the heroes had worked out Gryrrad's plot, or perhaps they suspected that he went down too easily, or maybe they simply sought to celebrate the final vanquishing of the dragon lords we will never know, but what happened next was unique among the dragons slain; they took Gryrrad's body and destroyed it, and then they took the gold from his vault - at the cost of many lives, for the vaults of a Golden Dragon are nigh-impregnable even after its demise - and they spent it as they returned across the kingdom to spread the news of their success. The Holy Order of the Golden Dragon lived on, and with it the soul of Gryrrad, but with no body to return to, Gryrrad's spirit remained tethered to this world only through the worship from the Holy Order.
A Thousand years or more later, the Holy Order of the Golden Dragon still stands; its holy shrine carved from the vault of Gryrrad, only accessible by the most devout of the Order, and a great city has grown around the Shrine, seeded by Gryrrad's kingdom, and surrounded by sprawling, terraced farmlands and paddy fields full of rice and water chestnuts. Ruled over by the Holy Order, the city of Gryrranor is a peaceful and wealthy kingdom.
The Inner Sanctum of the Golden Order
The Inner Sanctum of the Golden Dragon is carved from the vault of Gryrrad, deep within the mountain. It is only accessible by the highest of the Holy Order; the Seers of Gryrrad. The seers receive visions of the treasures lost from the vault; a countless volume of gold and jewels, and they see each piece - what it is, and where it is now. They send out the Seekers of the Order - those who aspire to become a Seer - to retrieve these lost treasures, and return them to the Inner Sanctum. It is here that the greatest secret of the Holy Order stands; a colossal effigy of the Golden Dragon, forged from the treasures stolen over a thousand years ago, built over the course of a hundred generations as a vessel for Gryrrad's soul.
The Holy Order have foreseen the return of Gryrrad; his soul borne into his new body by one of his bloodline, to resume his rule over Gryrranor and to spread the light and power as he once did. However, a thousand years is a long time in which to lose something, and those of the bloodline of Gryrrad are one of those things which time has misplaced. So the Holy Order waits, knowing that whoever can return Gryrrad to them will surely come from their own Order, and will doubtless be gifted with the Sight - a gift bestowed upon those whose devout efforts have built the effigy. However, despite a hundred years of waiting, the Effigy stands empty; a golden statue, resplendent in every detail, but cold and lifeless nonetheless.
The characters backstory is that they were an Apprentice Seeker, sent on a mission in a team but they were the only survivor, with no idea of how to return to the city. They have since worked as a mercenary, carrying the treasure they were sent to reclaim (a single gold piece) with them, trying to find their way back.
What they don't know is the whole section of the inner sanctum - the golden statue, the dragons new body - and they don't realise that the coin they carry is one of the last pieces of treasure. A while into the adventure, it will become the last piece, and Seekers will come to take it back - with or without the character. If they go back, which they probably will, they will be taken to the golden dragon statue and they will return Gryrrad's soul to it, fulfilling the prophecy. The player thinks they are going to be the conduit for Gryrrad, this will be news to them - I'm not sure how they will take it, I hope it won't be overly disappointing for them, I will certainly be giving them some draconic gifts for completing the questline. I'm not a huge fan of them becoming a dragon, because it would be the end of their storyline (I ain't having a character be a dragon when everyone else isn't!).
The gold dragon, if he is resurrected in his metal body, will be a good ruler of the kingdom and the lands around will prosper. It could be that he will come to loathe his metal body, and seek to use dark magic to steal the body of another gold dragon, becoming something of a villain - I haven't really decided his future roles in the world yet.
So, what do you think?
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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I like this, its really good it all goes together nicely
All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.
-Sun Tzu
The Art Of War
It's a little weird because gold dragons are the most evil of the metallic dragons but otherwise it's nice.
The golden dragon will be a powerful ally for the PCs make sure you have a villain that can rival or overpower it. As for the player make sure they know their role in this, if they expect to become a dragon at the end of their quest they will be disappointed, if they understand their role they will enjoy the powerful and grateful ally. Over all the lore is a different take on immortal then I’ve seen before and I think it is something worth added to my setting.
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Um,
"The most powerful and majestic of the metallic dragons, gold dragons are dedicated foes of evil."
I think you've got that one backwards...
I'm glad you like the concept! I will be discussing the goals of the PC with them, I feel (rereading their requests) that it won't be an issue as they were planning to multiclass into draconic sorcerer and have their draconic links explain the power, so I am no longer thinking they wanted to ascend to dragonhood!
The golden dragon will have its own kingdom to rule and be fairly preoccupied - it will be a safe place for them to go to if they need one, and they will be welcomed, but the Golden Dragon might not do a lot more helping unless it really fit in.
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
Yep, totally red that backwards lol
to be fair golds are the greediest of the metalics but that's because gold and gems are their food
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