Friday, October 11, 2019

Dragonborn of Monvesia

RETCON NOTE:  In addition to providing new information for the campaign setting, this post also necessitated edits to "Dragons of Monvesia" and "Lizardfolk of Henjal."  With lizardfolk, dragonborn are a part of a class of humanoids called scalikind; this grouping also includes kobolds, nagi, and even yuan-ti.  The scalikind races are all originally native to Henjal.
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Language Analog: Dragonborn speak the monster language Dragon, which has no real world analog.
Inspiration: Dragonborn lore; dragons of the Palladium Megaverse
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Tainted Counterpart: None; dragonborn are immune to taint
Temperamental Association: By color--
  • White - Altruist
  • Gold - Materialist
  • Green - Dynamist
  • Blue - Idealist
  • Red - Vitalist
  • Black - Nihilist
For the sake of starting Alignment Points, dragonborn gain 2 AP for the listed Temperament at character creation.
Names: As presented in the Player's Handbook; it is not uncommon for a dragon to have their draconic name (imprinted in their racial memory by their mother or parents) as well as a common youth name chosen based on the cultures in which the dragonborn spends their early years.

In the world of Monvesia, dragonborn are young dragons.  Dragons, and therefore Dragonborn, are native to the continent that bears the name of their race: Dragon Island.  Specifically, Henjal (where they once ruled their Scalikind Empire) and Prace (a frontier during the Empire).  Dragonkind declined millennia ago, their population greatly diminishing some time after the bulk of Raviq fell to the HMDJVNW. Today, few dragons remain. However, several clutches of dragon eggs have survived--and they have begun to hatch over the last century.  Almost all of these can be found in the Panjou Mountains of central Henjal and western Prace.

Dragonborn hatch into adolescence with a racial memory shared by all dragons--including the draconic language.  In a few weeks, they quickly learn the local "common" language (human langauge in Prace, or trade pidgin in Henjal or Raviq).  Dragonborn often raise themselves--while they know who their parents are, they have no personal knowledge of them.  They emerge from clutches throughout Prace and Henjal, and slowly integrate themselves into humanoid society.

For many dragonborn, their earliest companion would be one of the guard drakes that protected the clutch, something like the family dog.  Several drakes will be found around dragon clutches, so it is not uncommon for one to follow a newly hatched dragonborn.  There is a relationship between the dragon and drake species, but the exact connection is known to few.

As the dragonborn ages, they take on more plainly draconic features.  These traits (including wings) are available as race-specific feats.  Physically, a dragonborn does not stop growing until they attain the size dictated by their coloration.  Ultimately, the dragonborn will grow into full dragon stature--but this often will not occur for player dragonborn until after 20th level.  This process is not considered ascension or transcendence--the dragonborn is always a dragon, it does not become one.

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