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==A Mother's Blessing== | ==A Mother's Blessing== | ||
− | It is said that when the world was young, the first | + | It is said that when the world was young, the first Forest Dragon turned to his mother and asked her to explain the secrets of life to him. He said that he was frustrated by the fact that dragons seemed not to be truly alive, living above and around the natural world rather than as a part of it. He had the insight to recognise that even the smallest animal in the forests below had a greater connection to the harmonious patterns of Lifeforce. |
− | The Mother Goddess told him he was wise, and that | + | The Mother Goddess told him he was wise, and that she would grant him insight if he wished, though he might not thank her for it. The Forest Dragon promised that he would be grateful and promised her that he would never be bitter for any gift of wisdom. |
− | She smiled, and breathed over him, and in doing so blessed him with the gift of mortality. No longer would the | + | She smiled, and breathed over him, and in doing so blessed him with the gift of mortality. No longer would the Forest Dragon or his breed exist as other dragons do, fearing multiplication and eventually calcifying into stone. Instead, from that day on, Forest Dragons would age and die as all mortal animals must. |
− | The | + | The Forest Dragons are thankful for the blessing that the Mother Goddess gave them, and over the millennia have kept their promise to be grateful. Each year a Forest Dragon will offer a prayer of devotion to her for her gift, and as a Forest Dragon dies he will whisper his thanks to his Mother for the blessings she has given them. |
− | Hand in hand | + | Hand in hand mortality (and a shortened lifespan) the Forest Dragons have won freedom from the curse of Birthing Sickness, and gained insight into the cycles of life in a way that only a mortal creature can. They pity the other breeds who are unable to enjoy the blessings of a short life, lived fully. They forever stand apart from the other breeds, living in their own way, in their own realm. |
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==Character Creation: Game Rules== | ==Character Creation: Game Rules== | ||
− | + | ===Sphere Ratings=== | |
− | + | * '''Soma 3''' | |
+ | * '''Sophis 4''' | ||
+ | * '''Pneuma 5''' | ||
− | |||
− | + | ===Birthrights=== | |
− | + | ||
− | + | '''Freedom of Fertility''' - Forest Dragons do not suffer the birthing sickness as other dragons do. | |
+ | |||
+ | '''Vitality''' - Forest Dragons roll one additional dice on any dice roll to cast Life-aligned magic. Also, they fear death less than other dragons, and roll one additional dice on any test of courage regarding threats to life or limb. | ||
− | '' | + | ''The sub-breed of '''Jade Dragons''' do not gain the two birthrights above, having "freed" themselves from the Mother's blessings.'' |
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− | ''' | + | ===Breed Weakness=== |
− | + | ||
+ | '''The Mother's Blessing''' - Forest Dragons do not grow more powerful as they age, instead entering senescence at the age of 250. Instead of gaining Sphere rating at 250 years, they instead lose -1 from Pneuma, Soma and Sophis, and lose a further -1 each 3D6 years afterwards. When any score hits zero, they die of old age. In Senescence, a Forest Dragon ceases to be fertile. | ||
− | + | ''The sub-breed of '''Jade Dragons''' do not gain the above flaw, and instead age as other breeds of dragons do. Instead they have the flaw below:'' | |
− | '''The | + | '''The Withered Soul''' - Jade Dragons have reduced fertility. Their Pneuma is reduced by -3 for the purposes of breeding rolls. |
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==Physical Appearance== | ==Physical Appearance== | ||
− | '''Forest Dragons''' are predominantly green-scaled, though their shade and patterning varies greatly. The majority of | + | '''Forest Dragons''' are predominantly green-scaled, though their shade and patterning varies greatly. The majority of Forest Dragons (who dwell in the vast Heartswood) have leaf-green scales with dappled brown patches, and are slight and aerobatic in frame. In contrast the less numerous Jungle Dragons are a subspecies that have far darker green colouration, are much more heavily built, and oftem have thin red and yellow bands running along their torso. Finally, the rare Jade Dragons of the cold north have almost translucent pale-green skin that is entirely unpatterned, and have red eyes in contrast to the yellow eyes of the southern Forest Dragons. Horns vary also within the Breed, with long horns, spiral horns and other variations found across all the various subspecies. |
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==Society and Culture== | ==Society and Culture== | ||
− | The ''Heart Forest'' runs the entire | + | The ''Heart Forest'' runs the entire North-South length of the realm, covering its Western border. It varies from frozen pine forests in the northwest, to steaming jungles in the southwest, with temperate forest and other forms of woodland inbetween. |
− | + | Forest Dragons are found throughout the Heart Forest, with different societal structures. The Northern Jade Dragons tend to more solitary, feeling uncomfortable in the presence of other dragons, even those of their own breed. The Southern Jungle Dragons are similarly solitary, but their's is a more aggressive and alien lifestyle, centred on respect for masculine strength and a bull-dragon's territory, and the "possession" and rape of female breeding stock. The vast majority of the Breed, however, are part of the meta-civilisation that encompasses the Forest Dragons proper. | |
− | The | + | The Heart Forest Dragons tend to dwell in small family units of six to twelve, mostly peacably but occasionally with self contained feuds between neighbours. Most Heart Forest Dragon families will centre themselves on a single "nest", at the centre of a few hundred square miles of forest domain. The forest is vast though, and many Forest Dragon nests do not have any contact with the rest of their breed at all. |
− | Despite their disparate and scattered existences, the | + | Despite their disparate and scattered existences, the Forest Dragons (excluding Jungle and Jade sub-breeds) do have a shared culture and history, mostly thanks to the efforts of the ''Seers of the Green'', a society of druidic animist adepts who function as priests, arbitrators, leaders and messengers across the Forest. The Seers have a tradition of oral storytelling that stretches back to the dawn of history, and lead the Forest Dragons in prayer and ritual. It is because of the Seers that the Forest Dragons all keep a sacred grove in each Nest, and plant a birth-tree for each newborn. It is through the Seers that the centennial Gathers are organised, when Forest Dragons tend to find new mates, catch up on news and join in celebration. Only the Seers can officiate over family-bindings (the closest thing Forest Dragons have to marriage), can give a wandering Forest Dragon leave to move beyond the Heart Forest, or insist that a stranger be given free passage through another's territory. The Seers themselves are factionalised of course, and have no single leadership or agenda save for the continuation of their traditions. |
− | + | Because Forest Dragons are an insular breed, it is rare for them to be seen beyond the Heart Forest. It is suspected that their numbers equal those of the other breeds combined, but it is unusual for Forest Dragons to wander far from home. Those that do are usually either malcontents and outcasts, or working directly on the instructions of the Seers to achieve a particular goal before returning home. | |
− | + | The Forest Dragons have shown no interest in joining the Alliance, and have no spokespersons to allow the breed as a whole to join anyway. Some displaced individuals have found a place there, but they are the exception rather than the rule. | |
− | The | + | The Forest Dragons have even less interest in joining the Ascendancy, as the Ascendancy's religion and ethics run counter to Forest Dragon thinking. The exception to this rule is the Jade Dragons, of whom approximately half have joined the Ascendancy, usually to pursue arcane knowledge. The Forest breed proper bears no hatred or ill will for the Jade sub-breed, but does see them as fallen from grace, and worthy of pity. In return, the Jade Dragons see the main Forest breed as fools who bear a horrific curse of shortened lives, and who don't even realise they are cursed. |
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==Lifepaths and the Forest Dragons== | ==Lifepaths and the Forest Dragons== | ||
− | With their short lives, it is uncommon for | + | With their short lives, it is uncommon for Forest Dragons to pursue more than one (or at most two) Paths over their entire lives. Forest Dragons don't tend to seek to master every field of endeavour, but rather pick one role that suits them. |
+ | |||
+ | Generally a single family unit will have a particular preference of Lifepath, which most family members will follow, simply because they have easy access to mentors from that path and are exposed to it from an early age. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The [[Age of Dragons: Physical Adept|Physical Adepts]] of the Forest Dragons see their calling as gaining harmony with nature, both by understanding their physical forms and by wearing the skins of other animal races. Because of this, families of Forest Dragons on this path often describe that they are responding to the ''Call of Harmony''. These families will often maintain nests that share territory with animals and mortals, and seek to coexist rather than to dominate or rule. | ||
− | + | In contrast, [[Age of Dragons: Sky Dancer|Sky Dancer]] families are fairly uninterested in the world below the canopy, and instead focus on closeness to the Mother Goddess high in the skies. Forest Dragons on this path describe that they hear the ''Call of Clouds''. They represent the exuberance and joyfulness that is the best aspect of the youthful culture of the Forest Dragons. | |
− | + | Finally, families which follow the path of the [[Age of Dragons: Beast Unbound|Beast Unbound]] seek to dominate their environments, and tend to be amongst the most vicious and feral of their breed. They describe that they have listened to the ''Call of Thorns'', and believe that a short life should find joy in spilt blood and ferocious struggle. Such philosophies are more prevalent the further you head South in the Forest. | |
− | + | Outside the family-based structure of society are the ''Seers of the Green'', who almost universally follow the lifepath of the [[Age of Dragons: Animist Adept|Animist Adepts]]. Traditionally, in a brood of four or more hatchlings, the youngest will seek out the Seers to join their number. Often, the Seers will pick out these youngest siblings at Gathers, and guide them into choosing to join their number. | |
− | + | Because Forest Dragons have no standing army, Choosing the [[Age of Dragons: Warmaster|Warmaster]] lifepath is never a trivial decision. Mostly, Dragons take up this path only when the Seers send out a call to arms. Most will return to their previous lifepaths once the battle is over and done, though a few will find a liking for the warrior life, and join the ''Emerald Branch'' - a brotherhood of champions who choose to dedicate themselves to the Seers' service, travelling with them as bodyguards or soldiers. It is almost unheard of for a Forest Dragon to become a [[Age of Dragons: Warmaster|Warmaster]] without first trying another Lifepath, and the ''Emerald Branch'' themselves do not accept any Dragon who has not at the very least spent twenty five years in a normal life. | |
− | + | [[Age of Dragons: Scholar-Sage|Scholar-Sages]] and [[Age of Dragons: Ambassador-Courtier|Ambassador-Courtier]] are also uncommon, as their roles are for the most part covered by the ''Seers of the Green''. Only where the Seers have no authority (such as in the snow covered pinewoods to the North) do these paths emerge: indeed, most ''Jade Dragons'' will naturally gravitate towards these lifepaths, finding that their strong arcane affinity and predisposition towards cunning and manipulation serves them well in these directions. | |
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==Outlook== | ==Outlook== | ||
− | '' | + | ''Tooth and Claw'', Hunter from the ''Wall Breaker'' Sky Tribe, tells it like it is: |
− | * '''Pure Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Pure Dragons''' - ''"The Mother Goddess is on the wind that lifts my wings, in the joy of the hunt and in the blood of prey. Where she is '''not''', is within their little temple buildings."'' |
− | * '''Argent Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Argent Dragons''' - ''"Nature has only one law - survival of the fittest, and the rule of the strong. I have no use for their petty codes of conduct."'' |
− | * '''Solar Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Solar Dragons''' - ''"They try to fly with our tribes, so to draw us into their war against the North. We have our own war to fight and it is a far older and closer one."'' |
− | * ''' | + | * '''Forest Dragons''' - ''"Young cousins to the west, rulers of their domain as we rule ours. They keep to their lands, and we to ours, as it should be."'' |
− | * '''Storm Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Storm Dragons''' - ''"I have never seen a Storm Dragon, but I hear they live in the underwater realm. Is such a thing even possible?"'' |
− | * '''Ashen Dragons''' - ''"They | + | * '''Ashen Dragons''' - ''"Defiling scum! They will perish beneath my bloodied claws!"'' |
− | * '''Velvet Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Velvet Dragons''' - ''"Pretty to look at, but soft, weak and useless - just liek civilisation."'' |
− | * '''Chimerical Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Chimerical Dragons''' - ''"I don't pretend to understand them. Are they even dragons?"'' |
− | * '''Ghost Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Ghost Dragons''' - ''"They make me shiver, these creatures. I am glad that they did not stop in our lands, as I want nothing to do with them."'' |
− | * '''Blood Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Blood Dragons''' - ''"They are almost wise, in that they recognise the beast within. They are fools though, because they have fallen into atavism."'' |
− | * '''Sable Dragons''' - ''" | + | * '''Sable Dragons''' - ''"A distant threat, to the far North. They know betetr than to cross our skies. They fear us." |
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− | [[Category:Age_of_Dragons | + | [[Category:Age_of_Dragons]] |