dragon-magic-oef

CHAPTER 5
DRACONIC
CAMPAIGNS
Illus. by E. Widermann
132
INTRODUCING
DRACONIC ELEMENTS
Dragon Magic offers plenty of new ideas and game rules, many
of which are designed to be core elements of a campaign. The
dragonfire adept class is built to stand shoulder-to-shoulder
with sorcerers, fighters, and rogues, and other characters can
benefit from dragonpact magic, draconic feats, draconic auras,
and everything else. But while these elements are robust
enough to be placed in a campaign from the beginning, you
don’t have to restart an ongoing game to use them. Everything
in Dragon Magic can be added to an established game
to enhance threats and opportunities without invalidating
adventures that have already taken place.
IT’S JUST RARE
One option is to decide that dragonfire adepts, draconic
auras, dragonpacts, and the like have existed
all along but are so rare that no player character
has run into them before. This method works
well for campaigns with little previous dragon
interaction. Thus, you’re not introducing new
game mechanics so much as opening the characters’
eyes to the true diversity of the world.
If the PCs encounter a red dragon with a
special draconic presence that deals fire
damage to nearby creatures, they will
most likely be surprised, but it’s also
possible that they’ve heard whispers
of such a thing, perhaps with an
appropriate bardic lore or Knowledge
(arcana) check.
Similarly, the draconic campaign
models presented in this chapter
can be introduced as the way things
work in distant or unknown lands.
Rather than “reveal” that a local evil
king has been a polymorphed
dragon all
along, or arrange to
have a dragon take
over an established kingdom,
you might find it
easier to move such elements
to a far-off corner
of the world that the
PCs have never visited.
In fact, having the
party go on a quest (or
just follow a map) to
lands where everything
from Dragon Magic is
commonplace is a great
plot point. In essence, the
new elements are treated
as no more special or unexpected than a new 4th-level spell
discovered in an ancient tomb. They’re just more evidence
that the characters inhabit a complex and dynamic world.
IT’S ALL NEW
Another way to work the elements of Dragon Magic into an
ongoing campaign is to present them as brand-new discoveries,
never before seen in any part of the world. This approach
prevents any sense of disbelief from the players that their
characters never noticed such major concepts before.
You can use this method to establish new rules and new
styles of play at the same time. For example, you can alter
your current campaign by introducing a major event that
results in a gradual (or sudden) shift to one of the draconic
campaign models in this chapter, along with all the new game
mechanics that would entail. This way, the players discover
the new dragon plots and powers at the same time their
characters do, coping with the terrible realization that
some of the most formidable creatures in the world
now command even greater abilities and are growing
more active in the campaign.
For instance, you could have a fearsome green
dragon conquer a forest kingdom the PCs
have been to only a few times, declaring
itself to be the new king. Reports
suggest the draconic ruler has already
set up other dragons as
nobles under him, many of
which exhibit new and strange
powers. Hurriedly, a council of
nearby kingdoms is called, and
good-aligned dragons attend to give
advice. This council asks the player
characters to explore the new domain
and spy on its dragon lords to learn
the true extent of their new abilities
and separate fact from rumor.
While on this mission, the PCs encounter
curious members of the First
Scroll (see page 141), who also seek
to investigate the changes, as
well as grim members of the
Harrowers (see page 143),
who want to eliminate the
new threat.
During the course of
the adventure, the PCs
face dragon foes with
unexpected powers, confront
enemy sorcerers
who wield dragonpact
abilities, ally with dragonfire
adepts who work
for the First Scroll, and
A campaign might trace all new dragon magic to a single instructor
capture the journals need-