Remaster Preview: Oh, my! It’s a mirage!

Huzzah!

The real question is if we're seeing the actual Mirage Dragon or if it's just an illusion...

Excited for more dragons! I wonder where the inspiration for some of these is coming from... Tian Xia efforts? Something else? Where might we find Mirage Dragons in Golarion?

Mirage dragons love to gaze upon their own reflections and hoard gold pieces polished to a mirror shine, as well as reflective metals, large mirrors, and other treasures to line their lairs.

I bet you could get a mirage dragon to part with its gold if you offer enough platinum or silver.

These dragons sound so pretty! I know the sketches don't do a dragon like this justice, but I love their catlike physique. I also adore the flat dragon on the bottom. I know that's just concept art, but I want to believe that's how mirage dragons sleep. FLOP. Kent Hamilton's work is fantastic!

I honestly wish we got more concept art-y sketches in the books. I know it's not PF2's style, but I always find that sort of thing really charming.

Golden dragons: out.
Golden ratio dragons: in.

Interesting read. Does this mean the core dragons are now hardwritten as casters? Or does the mirage dragon have both regular casting and innate casting, thus only losing a portion of it when gaining Momentum?

Another great piece...WOW!

Really looking forward to seeing these in full color!

"The fins on the dragon’s head open up into a radiant display that can captivate foes" OK now i need an illustration of this!

Oh I can't wait to see what these guys look in colour!

Oh gosh these are gorgeous, I can't wait to see them in color.

IDk but I imagine a quest where the party had to steal from or parlay with an illusion dragon to get a mythical mirror. Perhaps one that is especially helpful against fighting a mythical medusa, or perhaps the mirror is a portal to a plane or mirror dimension and need to go there to save a friend.

Not a fan of the head shape specifically the jaw and snout, but otherwise the design is super cool!!! I love that it’s lithe and skinny and not bulky like other dragons, which fits well

Unfortunately this post doesn’t have information on mirage dragon behaviors.

How do they act? Are they good and friendly like metallic dragons or are they evil like diabolical dragons?

How would a GM role play as one? Why would they be an npc that sponsors a party or sends them on a quest if they are good or why would they be a threat that needs to be dealt with if they are evil like diabolic dragons?

Golden dragons: out.

Golden ratio dragons: in.

I heard one of those dragons are called “Gyro”

The golden ratio dragon is on a mission to save an innocent wyrmling from being executed by the government of a country known for “pizza mozzarella”

Not a fan of the head shape specifically the jaw and snout, but otherwise the design is super cool!!! I love that it’s lithe and skinny and not bulky like other dragons, which fits well

Unfortunately this post doesn’t have information on mirage dragon behaviors.

How do they act? Are they good and friendly like metallic dragons or are they evil like diabolical dragons?

How would a GM role play as one? Why would they be an npc that sponsors a party or sends them on a quest if they are good or why would they be a threat that needs to be dealt with if they are evil like diabolic dragons?

I think saving some of that info for the actual book is a good idea. But It could be some of these new dragons morality/behavior are not as tied to the group, and more based on the individual.

But we do have some qualities we can pick up on. They like to look at their reflections could be mean they are vain, and place a strong emphasis on visual appearance.

CaptainRelyk wrote:

Not a fan of the head shape specifically the jaw and snout, but otherwise the design is super cool!!! I love that it’s lithe and skinny and not bulky like other dragons, which fits well

Unfortunately this post doesn’t have information on mirage dragon behaviors.

How do they act? Are they good and friendly like metallic dragons or are they evil like diabolical dragons?

How would a GM role play as one? Why would they be an npc that sponsors a party or sends them on a quest if they are good or why would they be a threat that needs to be dealt with if they are evil like diabolic dragons?

I think saving some of that info for the actual book is a good idea. But It could be some of these new dragons morality/behavior are not as tied to the group, and more based on the individual.

But we do have some qualities we can pick up on. They like to look at their reflections could be mean they are vain, and place a strong emphasis on visual appearance.

I still think they should give us some information on the dragon

I want to know if I can befriend it or if I have to fight it

Before my favorite of the chromatic and metallic dragons was the blue because of its snake-y shape, and the shape of its horns. This might be a fairly worthy follow up, also arcane! Feels a bit like a spiritual successor. I would however be very stoked for a feathered dragon

I still think they should give us some information on the dragon

I want to know if I can befriend it or if I have to fight it

I feel the same way about humans. Unfortunately I have to actually interact with them to find out what sort of people they are. Generalizations are not reliable.

I suspect we are going to see a wider spectrum of creature morality going forward than we have in the past. Not every creature is going to behave the same and judging them purely by creature type will be problematic.

Honestly, I like that.

Are they good and friendly like metallic dragons or are they evil like diabolical dragons?

Nope!

ya know, in a way this is revival of the concept of non-canon thamaturgic dragons(which included things like illusion dragon, necromancy dragon, etc for all schools) from the 3.5 dragon revisited book that got name dropped and then never explored again :D

Honestly, Captain, I think you do the writers a disservice by suggesting the post lacks information on behavior. The blog post doesn't say "this dragon is good" or whatever, because alignment isn't going to be a thing anymore, but it does talk about the personality. Mirage dragons love to gaze upon their reflections and specifically collect mirrors. That's super cool! It suggests that they're generally rather vain or preoccupied with surface-level beauty.

I get the impression that "dragon morality" will be handled one of two ways.

1. Most dragons will be somewhat in the middle--dangerous, ambiguous, and unlikely to be your friend, but not necessarily out to kill or subjugate everyone, either. Kind of like D&D's enigmatic gem dragons.

2. A given dragon type might have certain leanings--mirage dragons towards vanity, for example--but how those leanings are expressed will vary based on the individual. A given mirage dragon might be a dangerous narcissist, or it might express its vanity in love for both its own appearance and an eagerness to uplift others. Vanity isn't inherently a vice, after all.

EDIT: Gosh, Corvus, now I want an "esoterica" dragon type.

Before my favorite of the chromatic and metallic dragons was the blue because of its snake-y shape, and the shape of its horns. This might be a fairly worthy follow up, also arcane! Feels a bit like a spiritual successor. I would however be very stoked for a feathered dragon

Feathered dragons and furry dragons. Dragons with antlers and fluffy pom-pom ears. Dragons that chew cigars. Bioluminescent dragons. I want dragons to get weird!

Oh gosh we would love a feathered dragon.

Oh gosh we would love a feathered dragon.

Ojutai from Magic the Gathering is a feathered boy. I mean, the way I see it dragons are like dinosaurs, birds are also dinosaurs. Many non-avian dinosaurs such as dromeosaurs had feathers. Therefore, dragons should be feathered

I don't even care about the science of it or whether dragons are more like cats or dinosaurs or fish or whatever, I just want weird dragons with weird physiologies!

I love the weird kinda-masked face shape. Excited to see what these pair with - perhaps a divination-focused Truth Dragon?

A feathered Dragon would be a breath of fresh air. May Be a Primal dragon for monster core 2 remaster?

A feathered Dragon would be a breath of fresh air. May Be a Primal dragon for monster core 2 remaster?

More like a breath weapon of fresh air, amiright?

... I'll see myself out.

There's a feathered dragon species, the ones from Nirvana, the bliss dragons. They are among the planar dragons, who were confirmed to still be a thing in PF2.

Mirage dragons remind me of rainwings from Wings of Fire ngl

Beautiful!

A very tricksy dragon! I like it!

Reading between the lines, I wonder if this suggests that in the future these categories will be fleshed out more, so Arcane Dragon is basically it's own set like Chromatic and Metallic are or were. Caster focused dragons for the different magic schools would be pretty awesome, and like someone already brought up, the Thaumaturgic Dragons have already been mentioned, even if it was something that was sort of "retconned" away as early Pathfinder weirdness.

I still think they should give us some information on the dragon

I want to know if I can befriend it or if I have to fight it

It's a stealthy dragon that likes to hoard gold, and its main abilities are illusions and hallucinations. A solid foundation for trust...

You might be able to befriend it for a price in gold.
You can fight it if you can find it.

Other non canon dragons from the book that would be funny if they made come back(that isn't the virtue and sin dragon):

abomination dragons, humour dragons(as in body humors), mineral dragons

...Ya know, out of those, I'm not surprised we didn't get mineral dragons since paizo didn't want to do the "true dragons are all based on various materials" thing and humour dragons sounds just kinda weird, but hoarfrost, rot, ruin, rust, and suffocation dragons sound actually pretty cool even if they overlap a bit xD

Humour with "u" and no paizo never made them, they are one of non canon dragons listed in 3.5 dragons revisited book.

Oh gosh these are gorgeous, I can't wait to see them in color.

IDk but I imagine a quest where the party had to steal from or parlay with an illusion dragon to get a mythical mirror. Perhaps one that is especially helpful against fighting a mythical medusa, or perhaps the mirror is a portal to a plane or mirror dimension and need to go there to save a friend.

Or talk about a really cool way to introduce a Thaumaturge's Mirror implement for a player.

The more I look at these reveals, the more I start hoping for a Golarian-based version of the old (3e) Draconomicon. Not sure if the market would support it, but I think it would a great way to showcase some of the diferences and changes that Paizo is bringing to PF2e.

I love the idea of each arcane dragon being tied to a school of magic and thus a Thassilonian virtue/sin. Makes me want to run Rise and sub out Karzoug's blue buddy with whatever the Greed dragon is going to be.

The mirage dragon seems like kind of a combination of enchantment and illusion, from my reckoning. That would mean they're not what you're hoping, but it would also mean that we can have even more combinations of dragons.

The mirage dragon seems like kind of a combination of enchantment and illusion, from my reckoning. That would mean they're not what you're hoping, but it would also mean that we can have even more combinations of dragons.

The only potential reference to enchantment I see is the word "captivate", and the fascinate condition belongs to both illusion and enchantment. Given everything else only mentions illusions, I think it's just the one school.

The more I look at these reveals, the more I start hoping for a Golarian-based version of the old (3e) Draconomicon. Not sure if the market would support it, but I think it would a great way to showcase some of the diferences and changes that Paizo is bringing to PF2e.

I am so on board for this! I still have my Draconomicon from back then and love referencing it for ideas!

I've met some people with hallucinatory breath, but then I politely offered them a mint and it was a little better. :D

I love the idea of a dragon just hanging out in "plain sight" with illusions keeping everyone away, or them just interacting with a dragon as if it was a merchant stall or something. "Yes, hello! I am normal merchant man, selling wares for your shiniest gold!"

Spectacular concept!

This blog post isn't real, you won't fool me.

Please send Kent Hamilton my compliments for his lovely, lovely art.

The mirage dragon seems like kind of a combination of enchantment and illusion, from my reckoning. That would mean they're not what you're hoping, but it would also mean that we can have even more combinations of dragons.

It definitely feels mostly illusion to me, and the mirage dragon did get paird with Xanderghul on the cover of GM Core which also helped me see the implication of illusion.

I love the weird kinda-masked face shape. Excited to see what these pair with - perhaps a divination-focused Truth Dragon?

I could see an illusion-focused caster taking the Magaambyan Attendant archetype and having a mask familiar based on a Mirage Dragon.

They'd be covering their face with a mask of the face of a mask-faced dragon, and it could turn into a little mirage dragon made of colored light. :)

It seems pretty thematic to me.

Kobold Catgirl wrote:

The mirage dragon seems like kind of a combination of enchantment and illusion, from my reckoning. That would mean they're not what you're hoping, but it would also mean that we can have even more combinations of dragons.

The only potential reference to enchantment I see is the word "captivate", and the fascinate condition belongs to both illusion and enchantment. Given everything else only mentions illusions, I think it's just the one school.

Oh, I also misread their breath as a confusion attack, but rereading, it seems pretty focused on hallucinations. You must be right!

QuidEst wrote:

Kobold Catgirl wrote:

The mirage dragon seems like kind of a combination of enchantment and illusion, from my reckoning. That would mean they're not what you're hoping, but it would also mean that we can have even more combinations of dragons.

The only potential reference to enchantment I see is the word "captivate", and the fascinate condition belongs to both illusion and enchantment. Given everything else only mentions illusions, I think it's just the one school.

Oh, I also misread their breath as a confusion attack, but rereading, it seems pretty focused on hallucinations. You must be right!

Curiously, the image mentions concave openings in the neck that intake air for the dragon's flames. I wonder if they actually intended the breath weapon to be fire originally or if that was just a placeholder.

Okay, I'm convinced. I like these new dragons more than the conventional dragons.

I wonder if every school of magic is going to get its own dragon if Mirage dragons cover "Illusion".

Okay, I'm convinced. I like these new dragons more than the conventional dragons.

I wonder if every school of magic is going to get its own dragon if Mirage dragons cover "Illusion".

I'd really enjoy that, personally. That'd be four monster cores worth of arcane dragons if they decided to do the same rate, and it'd be cool to see an arcane necromancy dragon, or get a look at how an enchantment dragon would appear. We've had plenty of necromancy-related dragons, but never any that weren't just evil.

It would make sense, honestly! Divine dragons also have a lot of room to expand with all the different planes and cosmic powers out there, and as for Primal and Occult, well, there's plenty of natural wonders and weirdnesses to base them around.