Dragons
Dragons are one of the most powerful creatures in all of Forcelia. They are intelligent and ancient, and many are as good as immortal, without the need of magic. Dragons are most infamous for the tendencies of the less intelligent members of their species; killing people and livestock, razing villages, and breathing fire. Just like humans, there are good dragons, and there are bad ones, and there are some that are just too immature to know the difference. There are many forms and subspecies of dragons, some of which are intelligent, and some that are no better than gigantic beasts.
Dragons are not playable, and there are no such things as dragon-kin (half-dragons) in Lodoss. Dragons should be considered either monsters or NPCs depending on their intelligence and alignment.
According to legend, Dragons, in their highest form as Drakes, were born from the body of Atsuki, the giant from whose body the gods were born. These beings are immortal, and near the gods in power and wisdom. They are immortal, as in they will never die of old age or disease, but nearly all were destroyed in the War of the Gods. One of the few to survive was Augosu, who was sent to slay the neutral gods who fled the battle on Alecrast to hide in Crystania. The gods were able to seal Augosu, and he remains to this day in the Cave of the Sealed in Crystania.
Higher dragons rarely reproduce, and because of this fact, little is known about their reproductive habits. A female lays a single, nearly indestructible egg deep within a mountain lair, which hatches many years later. It is unknown whether the mother will care for the egg or hatching at it's most infantile stage.
Dragons do not sleep, but spend many years in hibernation, which isn't so much of a period of sleep, but meditation. Periods of hibernation can last for hundreds of years and often are a benchmark between phases of growth—mentally and physically.
The higher dragons generally are four-legged, winged reptilians of awesome size. They are heavily armored with scales that are nearly impossible to pierce with normal steel. Dragons are most vulnerable beneath the chin, where the head meets the neck, and on the underside. It's always been a good bet to aim for their eyes as well.
Dragon Types
Lesser Dragons
Young dragons are very dangerous and want little more than to eat, and as long as it's meat, they're happy. They don't distinguish between people and animals, and will kill indiscriminately to sate it's hunger. It has very little intelligence at this point, and only the most basic reasoning skills.
Once they reach technical adulthood, they have the intelligence of a goblin, but with far less fear. At this stage, they are lesser dragons. They are proud and arrogant, and think they know it all—dragon teenagers, if you will. At this age, they may go looking for fights with other dragons or humans. As you can imagine, this attitude doesn't lend itself to a high survival rate. They learn to speak Karojit, the language of the Lizard Men, early on, though they may begin learning the human language at this point.
There are currently no lesser dragons in Lodoss.
Greater Dragons
Given they survive their "teen" years, dragons draw upon the lessons learned and often settle on an alignment of good, evil, or neutral. At this point, they are considered great dragons. They speak mainly Karojit, but can also speak the common tongue and several other languages.
There are possibly only a dozen or so great dragons in Lodoss at this time, but they are rarely seen, preferring to keep to their mountain lairs. The greater dragons in existence today are all between five and seven hundred years old, hatched during the Age of Magic. At least five greater dragons live in Moss, and they are all aligned with Mycen and can be considered good dragons.
The rest of the greater dragons are scattered across other Lodoss mountain ranges, most of whom are neutral or evil in alignment. Those living in the mountains of the Wildlands were allied with Shooting Star and are mostly evil, while those in the White Dragon Mountains were allied with Bramd and are good. There are a few dragons in the Central Mountains who are mainly neutral and will defend their lairs if trespassed upon.
Ancient or Chromatic Dragons
The ancient dragons are the most familiar of all. Possibly the offspring of the original drakes born of Atsuki's body, these dragons allied themselves with the gods. Each of the major gods had a dragon that fought along side them. When the gods annihilated themselves, only a dozen of their dragons survived.
When Kastuul rose, the mighty sorcerers devised a way to control the dragons for their own means, and when Kastuul fell, many of the dragons died fighting one another. Only five ancient dragons were left by time civilization began to recover from the fall of Kastuul, and each were charged with guarding the most powerful relics of Kastuul. Then, when the wars against Marmo arose, the remaining ancient dragons awoke once more. By the end of the War of the Destroyer's Resurrection, all of the ancient dragons had died but Mycen, the Golden Dragon of Moss, and Narse, the black dragon of Marmo.
Shooting Star — The Fire Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain
The Fire Dragon Shooting Star was, without question, the most powerful dragon remaining after the fall of Kastuul. Shooting Star made his home in an active volcano in the northwest of Lodoss. Here, in the old lava caverns he hide away his vast treasures of gold, magical armor, enchanted weapons, and the most powerful magic item of all—the Scepter of Domination.
Shooting Star was an evil dragon who enjoyed destroying villages and terrorizing mortals. He did not often come out of his volcano, and had been relatively quite for some time. On occasion, in the past, he had taken flight and destroyed villages from time to time. Brave warriors would go on expeditions to slay the mighty dragon, but none returned. When Shooting Star was hibernating in his hellish, lava home, the people could only pray he would not rouse from his fiery slumber. Shooting Star had a wingspan estimated at two hundred meters, and was just as long from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail.
When the villages of Flaim began to grow out and encroach on his feeding grounds, Shooting Star came out once more and decimated those villages. In an act of vengeance, King Kashue lead his army against the dragon. But the forces of Marmo were also after the dragon, for Lord Ashram wished to possess his treasure, the Scepter of Domination.
In the battle against him, Shooting Star was wounded and eventually slain. His dying body fell into the lava pit of his volcanic home and was consumed. The Scepter of Domination was also lost to the scorching fires of the volcano.
Narse — The Black Dragon of Marmo
Narse was a dragon of darkness who fought along side Kardis, Goddess of Destruction in the ancient War of the Gods. When Kardis was killed, and her shattered spirit fell to the island of Marmo, Narse followed her and made his home in the caverns near where her dead soul lay in perpetual death. In time, Castle Conquera was erected over the same spot, and beneath it, the underground Temple of Kardis. Narse lived under Castle Conquera, and guarded a great treasure of gold and magic items, including the legendary Ferroniere of Knowledge.
As a dragon of darkness, Narse is extremely evil and malevolent. However, he has done little for the past five hundred years and spends most of his time hibernating in the caverns beneath Conquera. Narse is not as large as Shooting Star, but is still very impressive, with a wing span of three to four hundred meters, and measures four hundred meters from nose to tail. He actually has two tails, a feature that distinguishes him from most other dragons.
During the final battle of the War of the Destroyer's Resurrection, Narse was awakened by Karla to "test" the heroes who had come to stop the resurrection of Kardis. However, Narse was intercepted by the Dragon Rider Knights and the good dragon Mycen. Though both dragons exchanged heavy blows, it was Mycen who triumphed. Narse was badly wounded, and after his defeat, he retreated to his cave to return to hibernation.
Mycen — The Golden Dragon of Moss
The Golden Dragon Mycen is beloved and awed by all. The only female of the group, she took her name to honor King Mycen of Moss who freed her of her curse. Like all the ancient dragons, she had been cursed to guard a relic of Kastuul, hers was the Staff of Life, which could heal any wound. When King Mycen came to power, he freed her of her curse and in return, the Golden Dragon took his name and helped him rule Moss. She is now the guardian and protector of the Kingdom of Moss, located in the southwest quadrant of Lodoss. Moss is heavily populated by dragons, and the people of Moss are quite found of them. Few evil dragons reside in Moss, and to the Mossians the Dragon is a symbol of prosperity and luck.
Mycen helped build the Kingdom of Moss, and jointly rules with the Dragon Rider Knights, commanded by Prince Jester. Mycen lives in a large cave located just north of the capital Dragon Breath, where a large fortress/shrine stands in her honor, guarded by a regiment of Dragon Rider Knights.
Mycen is a large golden feathered serpent dragon, with a wingspan of three hundred fifty meters. She is only three hundred meters long, as her tail is somewhat shorter than most dragon tails. Appearing much more bird-like, Mycen's tail is basically several large scale-feathers, used for stabilizing her fight. This reduces her mobility on the ground, but Mycen is unmatched in the air.
Mycen's treasures are far less spectacular than the treasures of other dragons, as she used much of his treasure to fund the building of the Kingdom of Moss. Mycen is one of the last Ancient Dragon still alive.
Abram — The Water Dragon of Blue Dragon Island
The Water Dragon Abram lived in the ocean off the northern cost of Raiden, in the underwater caves and coral reefs of Blue Dragon Island. There he safely hid his precious treasures of gold and magic.
Abram was an evil dragon, legendary among sailors for his persistent attacks on both merchant and pirate ships alike. Abram was said to gut the bottom of a ship and steal away any treasures that might spill out, hoarding them away in his undersea caves. Needless to say, Abram had a massive collection of gold and treasure. Abram was entrusted with the Soul Crystal Ball, one of the more powerful magic items of Kastuul.
Abram was eventually killed by Ashram in his quest to find the Scepter of Domination, and the Soul Crystal Ball was taken. It is unknown if the rest of his treasure remains unguarded in his cavernous lair.
Bramd — The Ice Dragon
Bramd was the oldest and wisest of the Ancient Dragons. Though immortal, time has taken its toll on this primordial creature, born in the age when the gods were still young. Bramd rarely left his home in the tall frozen mountains in the northeast of Lodoss, and was still partially in hibernation when he was killed by Ashram.
Bramd, in his wisdom of ages, was a dragon of light. He was the dragon counterpart of Marfa, just as Narse was the dragon counterpart of Kardis.
Bramd was charged with protecting the Mirror of Truth and a great treasure of riches. The High Priestess of Marfa, Neese, released Bramd from the spell cast upon him by Governor Saluvan, and in return he gave her all his treasures. The Mirror was stolen by Karla afterwards, though it was of no matter to Neese. She sold the rest to his treasure to pay for the upkeep of the glorious Temple of Marfa.
Drakes
The drakes were born at the same time as the gods of Forcelia, from the body of Atsuki, the first god. This is the mature form of the dragon, they are far superior in strength, intelligence, and power to great dragons. The five ancient dragons were lesser Drakes, even though they are thousands of years old, they were the offspring of the original drakes. Higher drakes could be considered the kings of their race. After the War of the Gods, most of the drakes had fallen in the titanic battles during the war. The only higher drake known to survive is Augosu, the drake sent to slay the gods who had fled to Crystania. He was imprisoned by those gods in a cave and has slept there ever since.
Dragon Subspecies
Sea Serpents
Sea serpents are the dragons of the ocean. It is unknown how many sea serpents there are, for the oceans are vast and uncharted. Few ships have meet with a sea serpent and returned. Those that do return, or the survivors from a ship that was destroyed, bring us the only information on these great monsters of the sea.
Sea serpents are very long, so long they can coil themselves around even the largest galleon ship and crush it to splinters. Arrows seem to be ineffective against its slimy-scaled body, but remember, a solid hit to the eye can drive such a serpent away. It is unknown why a sea serpent attacks a ship. It is possible they feel threatened when a ship crosses over their domain. They may also mistake a ship for a whale, as whales constitute the bulk of a sea serpent's diet.
Thunder Dragons
Thunder dragons are one of the more common types of dragons found in Lodoss. They often rest in deep caverns, ruined castles, or the collapsing tunnels from the old dwarven Kingdom of Stone. Thunder dragons are land dragons, incapable of flight. They walk on all fours, and have the appearance of a brontosaurus. They are not overwhelmingly large, but are still quit big, measuring twenty to thirty meters from end to end and massing ten to twenty tons.
Thunder dragons do little more than lay around and sleep, and rarely cause a problem unless their domain is intruded upon. Even so, they do occasionally go in search of a mate or a new home, and a wandering thunder dragon is a creature best to be avoided. Thunder dragons do avoid cities, but they some times stumble across a village, the effects of which can be catastrophic.
Thunder dragons are heavily armored with scales and are extremely tough. As with most dragons, they are unarmored on their underside and have a week spot where the neck meets the head.
Wyverns
The wyvern dragons of Moss are the only truly domesticated dragons known. These are the dragons used by the Dragon Knights. Wyverns are large reptilian dragons with short necks and tails, two legs, and two wings. They have a wing span of about twenty meters and are fifteen to twenty meters from head to tail. When ridden, a set of bit and bridle are placed on their head, and the rider sits on a mount on the wyvern's back.
The wyverns of Moss are kept in large caves, which is why the Mossians have their fortresses near the mountains. The wyverns are allowed to fly free, but are trained to stay within a certain range of there caves and return when called. Wild wyverns are also common in Moss, and these should not be treated as docile or domestic ridding beast. Wild wyverns can be quite temperamental and violent. Wyverns also live on Blue Dragon Island.
A player may have a wyvern as a in place of a horse, but it is mainly limited to knights of Moss. Exceptions may be made for Mossian nobles or possibly a dark elf of Blue Dragon Island.
