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where tyrannical dragons demand worship as gods, local
populations are forced to build pyramids on which they give
sacrifices. Depending on the dragon, these might be valuable
goods, crafts, beasts and herd animals, or members of the community.
Evil dragons demand such ceremony because they
are vain and because it helps keep populations cowed. Indeed,
the dragon might not take the sacrifices, simply destroying or
killing anything offered, leaving corpses to be buried nearby.
To ensure that no other creature steals a sacrifice once it is
attached to the post, a small building is constructed near the
pyramid. Members of the community keep vigil here, watching
over the sacrifice (and possibly listening to its plaintive
cries) until their dragon overlord comes to take it.
TEMPLE OF TIAMAT
Mounted atop a rocky hill, this massive ring of stones is stark and
rough-hewn. Five stone columns, 40 feet tall and equally wide, support
a ring of stone with a vast opening in the middle. Sitting on
the ring, centered above each column, are cauldrons of flame. Each
of the five cauldrons burns with differently hued fire, with white,
red, blue, green and black flames. The floor between the columns is
covered in a vast mosaic showing the necks and heads of dragons,
each matching the color of one bonfire. At the center of the mosaic
is a huge pyre, nearly 30 feet across, holding the remains of animal
bones, valuable woods, and metallic offerings. Though the wind
whips through the columns with a whistle, the hilltop smells of
fire and death.
Worshiped by many evil dragons, the deity Tiamat demands
respect, obedience, and tribute from her followers. Because
the dragons that revere her don’t wish to draw her gaze onto
their own hoards, few keep shrines to her in their lairs.
Instead, they stock vast caverns with tribute or build outdoor
shrines. This methodology is especially common in areas
where several evil dragons hold sway. Unwilling to trust
each other in the close confines of a cavern, they have slaves
construct hilltop shrines open to the air. There, they gather
to worship Tiamat and give her offerings, but they also keep
an eye on one another and stand ready to flee in case a rival
tries to spring a trap. Most of the time, though, an outdoor
shrine is neutral ground where evil dragons can discuss their
differences and make plans.
THE BATTLE OF
DRAGON FALL
The Battle of Dragon Fall is a sample adventure that employs
many of the new classes, options, and ideas presented in
Dragon Magic. It can serve as an introduction for new draconic
rules and concepts or simply as a typical adventure for
a dragon-heavy campaign. Because dragons are most common
in campaigns above 10th level, the adventure is specifically
designed for higher-level characters (11th–13th), but you can
modify it for mid-level or epic-level characters by increasing
or decreasing the age categories of the dragons fought. The
Battle of Dragon Fall is designed as a short adventure that
can be run in one or two sessions, but you can expand it by
adding random encounters or extending some scenes into
multiple encounters. With some work, you could revise the
entire adventure to eliminate all the new rules from Dragon
Magic, but of course, doing that would remove many of its
unique elements.
ADVENTURE BACKGROUND
According to dragon myths, when the first dragons roamed
the lands and flew the skies, many among their number felt
their innate connection to magic could be used to control all
forms of magic. These ancient dragons believed they could
combine their powers to harness, augment, or restrict the
spells of wizards, sorcerers, clerics, druids, and bards. Magic
would then be available only to those who served dragons,
making them the ultimate power in the world.
While many dragons protested that such an effort was
doomed to failure, especially since it required interfering
with spells granted by the deities, enough of the first
dragons thought it worthwhile to try. Good dragons hoped
the undertaking would be the first step toward making the
world a fair land under their stewardship, while evil dragons
lusted to gain control of the power such a task would make
available.
The first step in this task was to construct a great focus,
through which the power of dozens of dragons could be
combined. This focus was to be a location, much like a
temple, tied to the threads of magic that flowed through
dragonkind and the world itself. The construction was a
massive undertaking, requiring the efforts of many dragons,
but in time it was finished. Called the dragonfont, the focus
was successfully able to combine the power of dozens of
dragons toward a single effect.
Ironically, the very fact that it could channel such strength
was the dragonfont’s undoing. Being proud, self-sufficient, and
strong-willed creatures, no group of dragons that large could
ever agree on a single purpose for their combined powers.
Many dragons that had helped construct the dragonfont
had grown wiser as they aged and were no longer willing
to risk the wrath of the deities—not to mention dangerous
mortal creatures—if they tried to make themselves supreme.
Further, they refused to allow a smaller group of dragons to
use the dragonfont to advance minor goals, claiming it was
too formidable a tool to leave in the hands of the young and
brash.
As it became clear that the dragonfont was a source of contention
rather than a boon to dragonkind, the eldest among
them foresaw a dragon war being waged over its ownership.
Rather than allow this, the elder dragons declared the place
forbidden. They moved the dragonfont to a new location,
hidden deep in the mountains, and built a shrine to guard
its entrance. Because the shrine was necessary to prevent the
various kinds of dragons from falling to infighting over the
dragonfont, it was named the Shrine of Dragon Fall.
CHAPTER 5
DRACONIC
CAMPAIGNS
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