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So, I've had this idea for a story that centers around summoning dragons. This idea was originally created for a freeform role-play, but it could prove to be an interesting Pathfinder Campaign setting. Just one problem though... vanilla Pathfinder rules would seriously put a big hole in how this setting is supposed to work. Think we can solve that problem?
The Dragon Master Campaign Setting
Introduction: Two Races, Two Realms, One World…
That is a truth that we must not forget. Once long ago, we dragons used to come from your world, little humans. And we were once like you. So foolish and prideful. In fact, we were worse.
Yes, there was a time we Dragons used to wield magic. In those days, we had vast stores of knowledge, and a thirst for new knowledge to match it. We had no rules, no control, no limits, and our curiosity and vanity fueled us. We had so much to offer the world, but because of our faults, we lost it all. But in our pride and arrogance we delved too deep, and through our folly the world was shattered. We called it the Cataclysm. The seas boiled and over flowed, the land cracked and split, and the very face of the land was changed. Our great nation fell, and the survivors were banished from the fabric of your reality. Such is what happens when you tap into forces that you have no hope of comprehending.
In that time, we recovered, but we lost all the knowledge of the past. Now we are but a shadow of our former selves… Our connection to magic, twisted and corrupted by the Cataclysm. Our knowledge destroyed. For eons we have dwelled in the land of Draconica, for many years we have survived… but never have we even come close to reclaiming what we lost so long ago.
And yet, you Humans have achieved in mere centuries what took us thousands of years to build up and in an instant was shattered. While we stagnated and fell, you have rose up, and have clearly surpassed us in magical talent. But be warned, little humans… will you make the same mistakes we did?
Important Worlds: Illnora (Material Plane) and its twin Draconia (Permanent Demiplane)
World Notes: Illnora and its causing Draconia are two halves of the same world. During the Cataclysm, the dragon nation was reft from its location in the middle of the Illnoran super content and thrust into its own dimension. The two worlds are still tied together through strong magical bonds, and what happens in one world will effect what happens in the other.
Illnora is your typical world of the material plane. Draconia on the other hand is harsh and unforgiving, and filled with many exotic and dangerous beasts.
Lore:
Before humans even started forming civilization, the Dragons were at the peak of their power. But when the Dragons tapped into dangerous magics, in their lust for knowledge, the Cataclysm occurred. The survivors found themselves in Draconia, with their ability to use magic lost and with their civilization shattered. Food shortages became common.
Many years later, the humans established their civilizations on Illnora. In a short period of time the humans soon discovered magic, and began studying it in earnest. Within a short period of time (compared to dragons), the humans soon became extraordinarily proficient in its use, to the point of rivaling the dragon civilization at the peak of its power before the Cataclysm.
Meanwhile, the famine within Draconia has only gotten worse, but luckily for the dragons, a few of them discovered that the cataclysm had mutated their genes and imbued them with the ability to shift between Illnora and Draconia. (However this ability physically exhausts the dragon, so making the jump requires a few days recuperation afterwards) The dragons send an Expedition to scout out the land and bring back some food.
While investigating Illnora, the dragons eat some Humans livestock, accidentally destroy forests with their breath weapons, and leave giant dung heaps all over the place. Naturally, this eventually pissed the humans off, and when the Humans confront the dragons, one thing leads to another and things go south from there. Long story short, the Humans and dragons got into a long and bloody conflict that basically resulted in a stalemate. (Human’s superiority and versatility in Magic as well as numerical advantage being able to effectively counter the natural might and power of the Dragons)
To end the war, one noble wizard decided to parlay with the Dragon leader, and eventually the two of them hashed out a deal. Since the dragons were short on food, and the jump between dimensions drained the dragons of what magic they could store up, the wizard offered the services of his magic users. The wizards Would summon the dragons to the human world, in exchange for a period of servitude. During this time the dragon would be fed and allowed to hunt, until his time was up. The wizard soon learned that only the younger dragons could be sustained in this manner, as none of the native fauna in Illnora could come close to sating the appetite of the larger dragons… but the fauna in Draconica could...
Of course, as time passed, both sides soon began to abuse the treaty. Young Dragons rebelled against their elders, and would make the jump to Illnora themselves in order to keep their freedom in tact. Humans, on the other hand, soon began seeing the dragons as inferior servants at best, and as slaves at worst. Dragon Masters were sent out to tag the rouge dragons with a tracking spell, so that when they made the jump back, they could be summoned. As time passed, the knowledge of the treaty was all but forgotten, except by a small few, and the summoned dragons would serve in increasingly inhumane situations for longer and longer periods of time. Both races were outraged at the abuse suffered by the other side, but… neither dared to open hostilities against each other, for fear of the destruction a total war would bring. And so the darkness continued.
It was around this time, that a talented and kind-hearted young Dragon Master, by the name of Bairn, actually took the time to learn about the treaty. As he grew in proficiency, he began to look upon his fellow Dragon Masters with distain, and came to realize that Dragons weren’t slaves, but people, with their own thoughts and emotions, and desires. From then on, he would take the time to befriend each dragon he summoned, and treat them with the utmost respect. Often however, he found it necessary to humble the prideful young dragons that came into his care, but once they were humble the two would inevitably get along.
Now, Bairn has taken upon himself to change the world, and repair the relationship between man and dragon… and restore the treaty to full prominence, by any means necessary.
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Playable Races: Humans and Dragons
Dragons: Dragons are one thing that require a complete overhaul for this setting. And one thing that is liable to give me complete headaches.
1. Dragons cannot cast spells.
2. Dragons are weaker than their vanilla counterparts. Physical stats are superior to humans, they are superior to humans, but mentally they are about the same as humans.
3. Only one race of dragons exists. Scale color is determined by genetics and not dragon subraces.
4. Dragons only live around 1000 years. Age Categories are: Wyrmling (0-3 Years), Young (4-15), Juvenile (16-30), Adult (Merges Young Adult through Mature Adult, 31-500), Elder (501-800), Ancient (801-1000+). (I could easily toss this one if I had too.)
5. Dragons gain breath weapon according to their bloodline, (In game terms a dragon chooses one breath weapon) but can learn additional breath weapons with practice (AKA getting breath weapon feats). Breath Weapons are more deadly to compensate for lack of magic.
6. All Dragons have a single humanoid form of Medium size. While in this form a dragon can cast spells (Although it is harder for them to learn how), but loses access to their breath weapons and dragon abilities.
7. Dragons behave differently from their vanilla counterparts. All Dragons no matter their age are extremely curious, and have a lust for knowledge of any kind. Older dragons are more reserved and have learned to temper their impulses, but younger dragons are often overcome by their curiosity.
8. Dragons take a liking to forming collections, usually in the form of shiny objects or items that store information: such as books. When given a chance, a dragon will pilfer or buy such objects that catch their eyes and fits their individual taste. Often, these objects come to have meaning to the dragon, becoming tied to a past memory, an aspect of their personality, or perhaps something that the dragon likes. (For instance, a dragon may have befriended a Human knight while visiting the world of Illnora. When the knight dies, the dragon took his sword and stored it in her lair, taking care to polish and sharpen it regularly.) This practice, of course is the origin for the tales that dragons hoard vast amounts of treasure in their lair.
Magic: The other major thing that would require a major overhaul for the setting, and liable to give me even more headaches than the one for
1.Primal Energy: Energy in its raw form. From it the basic building blocks of reality, the fundamental forces of reality, and laws of nature are formed and governed. All things are a derivative of Primal Energy in one form or another. Primal Energy is extremely hard to manipulate, to the point that it can't be used as a direct energy source for spells, although it can be purified into mana.
2.Pure Energy: Refined primal energy. Also known as Mana or Life Force, pure energy is what sparks the gift of life in beings. Easy to manipulate and direct, it is the primary source of all magic. Can be harvested from living creatures or created synthetically from Primal Energy through a process called Charging.
Excess energy can be stored within a person's body (At risk of the subject exploding), or can be stored within a Mana Battery.
3.Casting Spells: Casting spells is typically accomplished by harnessing stored Mana and directing it through the use of Gestures (Somatic Components) and Incantations (Verbal Components). More experienced Magic Users can craft a Focus, which can allow the user to cast a spell faster, with less mana, or even bypass the needed Gestures or Incantations.
Some Magic Users can just bend pure energy to their whims with their thoughts alone, with no need for focuses or complicated spells (although doing so can make casting a spell much easier). However, even the Greatest of Magic Users can only achieve this feat after years of training and practice before one can even think about accomplishing this.
4.Charging: All Magic Users are born with the ability to generate Mana through a process called Charging. In this process, a Magic User reaches out with their mind and "turns a faucet" to allow a torrent of Wild Energy to surge through their mind, which purifies the energy into mana. A magic user can adjust the flow of Wild Energy into their mind; this process can be akin to pipes... the stronger the magic user, the larger the flow of energy the magic user is able to withstand. Increasing the flow of Primal Energy increases the pressure of the energy. Higher pressure means more mana gets generated at any given moment.
While this is an efficient process, it is of course dangerous. The process of Charging exhausts the caster physically and mentally, and if the person is exposed to too much energy or exposed for too long, then they risk serious damage to their mind and body, which often results in the caster going insane... or even death. While some can endure for longer periods than most, even the strongest of magic users can and will eventually succumb to the effects of overexposure if they aren't careful.
5.Overcharging: When a magic user of sufficient strength is able to cast spells while simultaneously Charging up their mana. Often thought to be impossible, this is a very rare and dangerous ability that only the strongest of casters seem to be able to pull off. This ability cannot be maintained for very long, as it exposes a person's mind to the full force of Primal Energy, and can do massive damage to someone's mind if kept up for longer than that person can handle. Most Magic users can't Overcharge for more than a minute or so before their bodies start to wear out and their mind starts taking damage.
6.Focuses: Special magical items, attuned to the magic user that crafted it, which makes it easier to cast spells. Often takes the form of a wand, ring, or staff. Many experienced wizards forgo the use of Gestures and Incantations in favor of using Focuses, to the point where most become almost completely dependent upon their Focus. A few clever spellcasters often carry around multiple focuses in case one of them gets lost or stolen, or practice using Gestures and Incantations so that they are never entirely helpless.
7.Mana Batteries: Gemstones and Precious Metals can be used to safely store Mana. When charged with such Energy, it is called a Mana Battery. Mana Batteries are often seen as orbs of metal, or a carved gem set on a ring or the tip of a wand. Many spell casters use their Focus as a Mana Battery, or have a gem set into their focus which acts as a mana battery.
8.Weaknesses: Because of how magic works, Magic Users while versatile and powerful, still have their weaknesses. If you bind and gag them, or take away their focuses and mana batteries, then it becomes really hard for most of them to cast spells.
A few more things regarding magic:
1. Magic functions the same no matter what, and is drawn from the same sources of energy, so there is no such thing as Arcane, Divine, or Nature based casters. It all functions the same way, regardless of whether the person gains their magical ability through natural talent (Arcane Equivalent), through communicating with Dieties (Divine Equivalent), or Nature Spirits (Nature Equivalent)
2. All spells cast are spontaneous, NEVER prepared.
3. Material Components are never needed to cast spells.
4. Magic would draw from the same spell list. (this screws with classes a lot, but I think something could be figured out)
5. Spell casting is mana or spell point based instead of spell slot based (This is gonna hurt quite a bit...)
So... any suggestions for how to implement these things. Or is this a lost cause? Would I have to toss some of what I was hoping to get away with in order to make this work in Pathfinder? Are there ways to accomplish what I desire without having to change too much or is breaking the system kind of necessary to pull all of this off?
Any ideas or comments?
This sounds pretty interesting. I have some questions:
1) Why can't dragons stay in Illnora once summoned there?
2) Why can't other creatures from Draconia be summoned?
3) Though the two worlds are separate as part of the back plot is there any possibility of them being reunited?
4) What exists in the area of Illnora that Draconia came from? I'm presuming part of the world is literally missing, but I'm not sure how this manifests.
5) Is there something more sinister behind the famine in Draconia?
6) Can humans go to Draconia? If not, why not?
7) Are there any old dragon artifacts around? It seems unlikely they'd have all confined themselves to one area on Illnora. What happened to dragons that weren't in the middle area? Were they all sucked in, did they become extinct, did something turn them feral?
8) Why can't Illnora support the older dragons now in terms of food? It could before. Did the Cataclysm change the flora and fauna?
For the magic, what you might need to establish is whether everyone can use it to some degree or not. It might be controlled by genes to some degree, so that all magic users are, basically, Sorcerers of different kinds. It could be that some classes arise from a particular affinity to certain types of magics: Clerics, for instance, might have more affinity towards healing and protective magics while Bards might have more affinity towards illusion and enchantment magics.
I'm assuming there are no real deities here and that the afterlife is a complete unknown. Or if there is an afterlife it follows some logical route with souls.
You don't mention the tech level, which I think will be very important. If the types of things dragons were summoned for can be more easily and quickly done by some form of magitech then there's going to be fewer reasons to summon dragons.
1: The summoning sort of acts as a Green Card/Visa for dragons. Dragons could stay longer, in fact because of treaty abuse on both sides, many do end up staying for a long period of time. However, the native fauna on Illnora just can't support large dragons. Draconia at least has prey that a large dragon can eat to satisfy their hunger... even if said prey is in short supply.
2: While other creatures could theoretically be summoned by humans, in practice, no human has bothered trying... after all they are busy dealing with dragons, why get involved with any other dangerous creatures from that place.
3. Yes actually there is. In fact thats one of the major plot points of the story, if it ever goes past the first book. (this was originally intended to be a book series)
4. Draconia literally was the central Northeastern portion of the supercontinent that existed before the cataclysm, and had a huge sea shore. As such the area that Draconia used to be a part of was filled with a huge ocean Gulf that now separates the three remaining continents that the supercontinent split into after the Cataclysm.
5. Not really. The famine is caused by overpopulation and overhunting on the dragon's part. The older dragons eat more than the younger ones. Bigger bodies means bigger appetites needed to satisfy their hunger.
6. Again, they could... theoretically. However, it would probably be a blatant violation of the treaty. What possible reason could a human have for entering Dragon Controlled territory? Its just asking for trouble.
7. There are a few old dragon artifacts and ruins left over from before the cataclysm, but most traces of their civilization was destroyed. The dragons that weren't on Draconia were killed by the Cataclysm. Only those that remained on Draconia survived.
8. The tech level is steampunk, IE magic is fueling technology. Specifics have yet to be established. Dragons being summoned for tasks is really just a way for the humans to benefit from the relationship. Dragons get food: Humans get a source of cheap labor with unique abilities. Magictek is all well and good, but dragons still have their uses, and humans are clever enough to find constant new uses for their dragon servants.
9. Being able to use magic is completely Genetic based. Other people can be granted the ability to use magic through supernatural means (IE nature spirits or Deities), but magic still works the same no matter how you got your abilities.
10. Deities and the afterlife are something that I haven't decided on yet. Its open for interpretation.
Any more suggestions?
I'm still confused why Illnora cannot support the older dragons now when it could pre-Cataclysm.
The Cataclysm was a mass extinction event. All the large creatures that dragons ate were wiped out in Illnora, while a few of those on Draconia managed to survive. The smaller and more versatile creatures survived and evolved. Think of what happened at the time of the dinosaurs. The large creatures couldn't sustain themselves and died out while the smaller creatures were able to do so. So yes, The surviving flora and fauna were changed by the Cataclysm.
The creatures that evolved from the post cataclysm survivors just don't provide enough sustinance for the older and larger dragons... A deer would be a full meal for a young dragon, but at best they'd be a small mouthful for an older dragon. They'd wipe out native species just trying to have a decent meal.
Keep in mind that the older dragons are probably somewhere in the gargantuan to colossal range... The size of the largest dinosaurs, heck probably bigger even. A deer or cow just can't sate the hunger of a beast that size. It's like saying eating a single ant can sate our hunger.
Make sense?
I would imagine that an additional factor in the food problem is that the dragons may have originally gotten some of their sustenance from magic itself. When the Cataclysm cut off their connection to magic, they had to rely entirely on physical food.
Feel free to incorporate or ignore my idea.
I would imagine that an additional factor in the food problem is that the dragons may have originally gotten some of their sustenance from magic itself. When the Cataclysm cut off their connection to magic, they had to rely entirely on physical food.
Feel free to incorporate or ignore my idea.
Actually that aint a half bad idea.
Alright, now what about dragons as PC's?
Mental Stats for dragons would have to be about the same as humans, so maybe use the White Dragon's stats as base for Draconia's Race Template?
