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Okay, so here's the deal. I have a player who wants to play a Chelaxian Dragon Shaman, the class from PHB 2. To do so you must pick a specific totem dragon, to which he picked Brass. Now, according to Dragons Revisited, Brass Dragons are sort of ADD socialite manipulators, not really something his character aspires to so I can't see him choosing the breed as a whole as his totem.
So instead we went with the notion that there is instead a specific Brass in the area of Korvosa, which inspires him and taught him the route to personal power, as a sort of personal paladin in training. I think we're going to go with the story that the Brass saved our young noble hero from some less than hospitable creatures and then tutored him while letting the Shaman-in-traing help guard his lair.
Now for the real fun part, I need to invent a dragon which would fit into the Korvosan area well. With them being socialites, I'm sure that at least one would be interested in the political intrigue of Korvosa, and perhaps even have something to do with some of the future events? Maybe even placing the Dragon Shaman, unbeknownst to him, for the specific purpose of bringing someone to power that the Brass approves of.
I'm thinking the Dragon's lair could be in the Cinderlands somewhere, and I would like the dragon to be older, but only old enough that he knows about Kazavon through stories. I'm also thinking about maybe a minor affiliation in the area amongst the Brass's contacts.
So that's what I have so far, what I would like for some suggesions is A) A name for my big bad Brass (I'm terrible at naming dragons), B)Some ways for him to be inserted into Korvosa's happenings, mostly unobtrusively obviously. and C) Some opinions on the aforementioned affiliation.
Thanks again, you guys on this site are awesome.
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It wouldn't be too difficult to
** spoiler omitted **
Cool idea,
although I do like Vencarlo Orsini as Blackjack. It might not be too hard to make them one and the same; I mean a brass doesn't have Alternate Form as a special ability like a Bronze or Silver, but that's not to say he doesn't have a polymorph ring or something similar. For a brass so desperate to be involved in local politics a polymorph ring just may be his best investment, so long as no pesky true seeing spells come into play. I like that idea though, it gives me a nice "contact" that everyone can "coincidentally" be sent to see together.
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You know, If it were me, I would make him
Neolandus, the Seneschal. That would explain how he escaped the Red Mantis, he would "Disapear" for the first 2 and a half mod's and give that PC an incentive to find him. If you want him around to mentor then this plan will not work. In that case I would choose...
Cressida Kroft she is an easy mentor NPC or Thousand Bones as a shoanti he would be in the Cinderlands a lot and his style is a bit brass dragony, though a little less talk than brass Dragons usually are. He has the mystic tie in so can sneak his dragony abilities in here and there and he has a rather un-shoanti need to negotiate peace with Korvosa.
Either way, let us know what you decide to do.
I did a search for Korvosa in Dragons Revisited (memory was nagging that they mentioned some there) and found the following info for you (bold emphasis is mine):
p. 36 -- "For this reason, gold dragons are rumored to live in numerous cities of questionable morality throughout Avistan and Garund, including Ardis, Egorian, Korvosa, Pangolais, and Sothis."
p. 50 mentions the red dragon that plagues the city periodically (Glarataxus). "It was recently revealed by the brass dragon Thehydrax that Glarataxus is likely deaf, so Korvosa readies for his next return with large slate tablets and oversized sticks of chalk. For more information, see Guide to Korvosa." (Hmmm ... there's a named bronze for you in connection to Korvosa <G>)
The Guide to Korvosa only has when Glarataxus has visited in the timeline.
If you need your dragon to be able to take humanoid form, give him the ability. He might be from a brass/gold bloodline which sometimes manifests this ability. Or there's a draconic ritual that bestows this ability to dragons.
The rulebooks are ultimately guidelines, not prison bars!
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Thehydrax could be the dragon you need, then. Alter self no longer has the type or size restriction and simply says medium or small humanoid, so he could cast that easily enough. I'm sure you can find a metamagic feat to increase the duration (persistant spell? is that right?) to a meaninful duration. Either that, or I remember a certain human suit from SCAP that might be of use as a convenient plot device. :)
p. 36 -- "For this reason, gold dragons are rumored to live in numerous cities of questionable morality throughout Avistan and Garund, including Ardis, Egorian, Korvosa, Pangolais, and Sothis."
Huh.
So what do we do with this information? We could put a gold dragon, for instance, on the faculty of Theumanexus, though actually they'd be more likely to be sorcerers than wizards. I'd love to preserve this element, but won't it invariably disrupt the AP?
Maybe the gold dragon is tied to the answer of what happened to the local lamia matriarch?
p. 36 -- "For this reason, gold dragons are rumored to live in numerous cities of questionable morality throughout Avistan and Garund, including Ardis, Egorian, Korvosa, Pangolais, and Sothis."Huh.
So what do we do with this information? We could put a gold dragon, for instance, on the faculty of Theumanexus, though actually they'd be more likely to be sorcerers than wizards. I'd love to preserve this element, but won't it invariably disrupt the AP?
Maybe the gold dragon is tied to the answer of what happened to the local lamia matriarch?
Since golds are hardly shrinking violets, I'd say the "resident" gold of Korvosa has been off on a jaunt for a while, seeking something elsewhere, or on a visit home to grandmom ::chuckle::
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Since golds are hardly shrinking violets, I'd say the "resident" gold of Korvosa has been off on a jaunt for a while, seeking something elsewhere, or on a visit home to grandmom ::chuckle::
Or was an early victim of the Queen's schemes. While it probably couldn't be killed, it could be mislead to undertake some sort of fool's errand or incapacitated in some way. Maybe it was asleep and the queen took steps to keep it out of the way? Maybe it's tarnished and a willing ally?
It only says "rumoured to be", not that there actually is one.
The gold being tarnished is unlikely (they almost never tarnish), but even if there is a dragon, it isn't necessarily a great wyrm. Maybe it's a fairly young one, who investigated those weird doctors and met a fell end when some cultists caught it...
I want to expand on this and explore it further, but we're getting seriously off-topic (plus this thread has no spoiler warnings and so might be read by players). Time for a new thread!
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Just wanted to let everyone know what story I went with for the brass dragon patron.
I decided to make Thehydrax a brass/gold hybrid, with just enough gold in him to help reign in the brasses notorious short attention span, although he is still a bit flighty. The other gift given to him by his gold parentage was the Alternate Form ability, which allows him to live amongst the humanoids of the land with relative ease. He also inherited a bit of the pride and haughtiness of his golden father though, and tends to think of himself quite grandly, especially in comparison to other brasses.
Like many brasses, Thehydrax fought against the Rise of House Thrune in Cheliax, but obviously failed. The dragon is a devout follower of Abadar, with aspirations to become a true herald of his god in death, bringing civilization and law to the people of Golarion. As such a devout follower of Abadar, Thehydrax was enamored with the spread of colonial cheliax, and greatly supported it. Seeing the nation in civil strife broke his huge draconic heart. Now he still clings to the old ideas of colonization, but has utter disdain for the diabolist regime in power, and so he works from the shadows to bring unity to Varisia, under a different king, and bring Varisia to the heights that Cheliax once knew.
Thehydrax currently lairs in The Cinderlands, close to the Skoan-quah clan of the Shoanti people. As the brass was so enamored with pre-diabolist cheliax, his lair is littered with many trinkets and artifacts from early days, much of it taken from looters during riots. He has several clay golems guarding the mouth of his lair, and a few chosen Shoanti, but aside from the lair is largely undefended, both as a result of lack of forethought, and because the dragon doesn't spend enough time in his lair to see that it is needed.
The brass is currently posing as Thousand Bones, amongst various other people, and it is with this contact that he tries to bring the Shoanti and the Korvosans together. It his ultimate goal to see Korvosa integrate the Shoanti population, appoint a fair king (which he will most likely choose for them) and declare themselves a seperate nation, and in the Thousand Bones disguise he is making progress on both ends. The Shoanti believe Thousand Bones to be a powerful mystic, chosen by the gods, and who will outlive the tribe because of the gods decree, so his longevity never really comes into question.
Another disguise the crafty brass sometimes dons is that of Blackjack, when Vencarlo needs an alibi.
Thehydrax has spread a network of agents throughout Korvosa and the surrounding area; not all of these agents are aware that they actually work for the dragon, but they are all working towards his goals regardless. Some of his primary agents in korvosa are: Cressida Kroft (Whom he helped ascend to power), Vencarlo Orsini (An open collaborator against injustice in the city. Thehydrax invented blackjack decades ago, and has been helping his replacements since), and Zenobia Zenderholm (A fellow cleric of Abadar).
Most recently introduced to Korvosa is the aforementioned Player Character, the Dragon Shaman Morvius Paldrum of House Jeggare. The dragon has always been a supporter of House Jeggare, especially old Montlarion who did so much for the colonization effort in Korvosa. Thehydrax arranged to "meet" the young hero at an early age, and has been shaping him as his active agent in town. With the recent death of the king, the dragon's plans took a snag and so he sent young Morvius in to meet Field Marshall Kroft and try and get a good look at the situation from the ground. And that's where we pick up our game.
If anyone is interested in Thehydrax's stats, I will be writing them up, as well as doing up his lair at a later date. Let me know what you think.
Well done :)
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A first draft of his stats, sorry about the poor layout, I'll clean it up later.
Size: Gargantuan Challenge Rating: 21 Alignment: Lawful Good
Languages: Draconic, +10 Languages
Hit Dice: 30d12+ 210 (390)
Space/Reach: 20ft./15ft. (20 with bite)
Speed: 70ft, Burrow 40 ft. , Fly 270 ft. (poor)
AC: 35 (-4 Size, +29 natural) Touch 6, flat-footed 35
Initiative: +0
Str: 34 Dex: 10 Con: 24 Int: 20 Wis: 21 Cha: 24
Fortitude: +25 Reflex: +17 Will: +22
Base Attack/Grapple: +29/+53
Attack: +38
Attacks: Bite +38 (4d6 +17), 2 Claws +33(2d8 + 8), 2 Wings +33(2d6 + 8), 1 Tail Slap +33(2d8 + 25), 1 Crush (4d6 + 25), 1 Tail Sweep (2d6+ 25)
Special Attacks: Crush (Ex):
Tail Sweep (Ex):
Breath Weapon: 12d6 (32)
Frightful Presence DC: 34
Damage Reduction: 15/Magic
Immunities: Sleep, Paralysis, Fire
Vulnerable: Vulnerable to Cold
Spell Resistance: 26
Special Abilities: Blindsense 60 feet. Keen Senses, Darkvision 120 Feet., Speak With Animals, Endure Elements, Alternate Form, Detect Gems, Suggestion, Bless, Luck Bonus, Geas/Quest
Breath Weapon: Thehydrax has two types of breath weapons. First is a 120 ft line of fire which is slightly more powerful thanks to his gold parentage, dealing 12d6 fire damage; and second is a 60 ft. cone of sleep. Creatures within the cone must succeed on a will save DC 32 or fall asleep, regardless of HD,for 1d6+ 9 rounds.
Frightful Presence: Creatures within 405 feet of Thehydrax with less than 30 HD are subject to his fearsome presence whenever the dragon attacks, charges or flies overhead. A potentially affected creature that succeeds on a will save DC 34 remains immune to that dragons frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failure creatures with 4 or less HD become panicked for 4d6 rounds and those with 5 or more HD become shaken for 4d6 rounds.
Skills: 11x 33, max 33 ranks in any one skill; Listen, Search, Spot, Concentration, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge, Sense Motive, Use Magic Device, Heal, Bluff, Gather Information
Concentration +22, Diplomacy +35, Bluff +32, Sense Motive+38, Gather Information +40, Use Magic Device +30, Knowledge (Arcana) +25, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) +25, Knowledge (Local) +38, Knowledge (Nobility) +38, Knowledge (Geography) +35, Knowledge (History) +35, Speak Language +10, Spot +15, Listen +15, Search +15
Feats: 1 +10; 1) Snatch, 2) Awaken Frightful Presence (Draconomicon), 3) Draconic Knowledge (Draconomicon), 4) Improved Speed (Draconomicon), 5) Improved Flight (Complete Adventurer), 6) Spell Focus (Divination), 7) Craft Wand, 8) Scribe Scroll, 9) Craft Magic Arms and Armor 10) Brew Potion, 11) Craft Wondrous Item
Spells: As 13th Level sorceror (6/8/8/8/7/7/5)
Sorceror Spells Known: 9 0 lvl, 5 1st lvl, 5 2nd lvl, 4 3rd lvl, 4 4th lvl, 3 5th lvl, 2 6th lvl
0 – Arcane Mark, Mage Hand, Mending, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Prestidigitation, Light, Detect Poison
1 – Comprehend Languages, Nystul's Magic Aura, Silent Image, Identify, Unseen Servant
2 – Locate Object, Detect Thoughts, See Invisibility, Invisibility, Misdirection
3 – Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Arcane Sight, Tongues, Nondetection
4 – Charm Monster, Locate Creature, Scrying, Detect Scrying
5 – Rary's Telepathic Link, Private Sanctum, Teleport
6 - Summon Monster 6, Legend Lore
Luck Bonus (Sp): Once per day an adult or older gold dragon can touch a gem, usually one embedded in the dragon’s hide, and enspell it to bring good luck. As long as the dragon carries the gem, it and every good creature in a 10-foot radius per age category of the dragon receives a +1 luck bonus on all saving throws and similar rolls, as for a stone of good luck (see the item description, page 267 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). If the dragon gives an enspelled gem to another creature, only that bearer gets the bonus. The effect lasts 1d3 hours plus 3 hours per age category of the dragon but ends if the gem is destroyed. This ability is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell.
Detect Gems (Sp): An old or older gold dragon can use this ability three times per day. This is a divination effect similar to a detect magic spell, except that it finds only gems. The dragon can scan a 60-degree arc each round: By concentrating for 1 round it knows if there are any gems within the arc; 2 rounds of concentration reveal the exact number of gems; and 3 rounds reveal their exact location, type, and value. This ability is the equivalent of a 2ndlevel spell.
Spell-like Abilities: At Will – Speak With Animals, 3/day – Bless, Endure Elements, 1/day Suggestion, Geas/Quest
Thehydrax is not a very combat oriented dragon, he is focused more on social aspects and makes an excellent contact or patron. He has terrible perception abilites, a fact he attempts to make up for by guarding his lair with other creatures more perceptive than he. He is constantly flying around between cities and locations where he has to pose as one of his alternate personalities, and so he has quickened his pace over time. He deals in information, and so his spells are mainly Divination focused. He does use Summon Monster 6 to provide a distraction for when he might have to retreat, to buy time for his teleport spell.