dragon-magic-oef

Illus. by R. Horsley
ore than any other creatures, dragons are
intimately tied to the primal forces of magic.
Even the greatest arcanists only scratch the
surface of what a dragon can do in that arena.
What it achieves effortlessly with magic would take many
mortal lifetimes to master. In essence, dragons are created
from a blend of magic and the most basic elements, bonded
powerfully to the magical world. Just as an individual magic
item or locale might be a focal point for magical energies,
dragons are focal points for the flow of magic—living,
breathing conduits between its raw potency and the rest of
the world.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that dragons inspire a wide
range of magical traditions. Whether the spells, powers,
invocations, and other options in this chapter represent
mortal attempts to mimic the innate talents of dragons or
are traditions created and taught by dragons is immaterial.
Scholars agree that many spells and magical abilities indeed
originated with draconic lore, though most have been diluted
over the years to the point where they are mere shadows of
the magic wielded by dragonkind. However, some students
of magic dedicate their lives to learning new ways to emulate
the awesome powers of dragons—sometimes, ways that even
the dragons never imagined.
This chapter opens with a variety of new
spells that owe some fragment of their identity
to the mighty dragons, whether as creator,
wielder, or inspiration. Next, it presents new
dragon-themed options for psionic characters
(psionic powers), dragonfire adepts (breath effects and
invocations), warlocks (invocations), incarnum-wielding
meldshapers (soulmelds), and leaders who boost the talents
of their allies (marshals and dragon shamans, from
Miniatures Handbook and Player’s Handbook II, respectively).
Further, it describes the vestige of Ashardalon,
a great dragon who once threatened all of reality and
now exists in a realm beyond life and death, available
to be summoned and bound by mortals.
The chapter concludes with two new systems of
harnessing the magic of dragons. First, draconic
auras allow characters to project a semblance of
draconic power that benefits themselves and their
allies. Second, dragonpacts provide characters with
a means by which to forge a mystical bargain with
a powerful dragon, gaining spell-like abilities in
trade for gold and a small sliver of their own arcane
talent.
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