dragon-magic-oef

Illus. by R. Horsley
ragons are an iconic part of the DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS game, which is hardly surprising given
that they have a starring role in its name. They
serve as major threats and villains, wise allies, and occasional
sources of mystery or repositories of lost lore. But despite
being the best-known creatures in most campaign settings,
they make appearances only rarely. As the Dungeon Master,
you’re probably used to saving dragons for major events,
which means PCs seldom encounter them, and then only
in higher-level adventures.
But if you change that assumption, what kind of campaigns
and adventures become possible? Dragons can be featured in
encounters at any level, so why reserve them for the climax
of a high-level game? They are powerful, cunning, long-lived,
and able to settle in every environment imaginable. And
if you add in dragonfire adepts, draconic prestige classes,
dragonpacts, draconic auras, and other elements from Dragon
Magic, their influence and presence can only grow. Indeed,
part of the concept of this book is to consider what happens
when dragons stop being aloof observers at the edges of the
world and involve themselves in the affairs of lesser races.
How might that alter a campaign? What happens when
dragons rule kingdoms, form guilds, and go on adventures
of their own?
Certainly, you could make radical, sweeping changes to
the world, but it’s also possible to shift focus so the campaign
simply becomes more dragon oriented. This chapter
presents several campaign models in which dragons can
be wise kings, curious sages, cunning merchants, vicious
bandits, secretive assassins, or, of course, massive overlord
monsters in the centers of vast dungeons. Any adventure
appropriate for a low-dragon world still works in a
draconic campaign. The main difference is that player
characters have a chance to see, fight, and associate with
the most popular monsters in the game.
Of course, not everything remains the same. Dragons
view the world differently from the way that smaller,
weaker, shorter-lived races do. You can replace the
benevolent human king of a major country with a
gold dragon, but that doesn’t mean the dragon will
act the same way the king did. Dragons have access
to considerable power, lore, and wisdom. This inevitably
leads to the formation of new organizations
that support, investigate, or oppose dragons that
take major roles in humanoid politics and life in
general. And as new opportunities develop, the player
characters must decide what side they’re on and how
they’ll react to their new draconic friends and foes.
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