The Book of Dragons

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The Book of Dragons, Living Room Games, © FASA Games

"Your pardon, Master, but how does a Cathay dragon fly if they have no wings? ~Tiabdjin the Knower

An excellent treatise on the dragons of Barsaive, told in two books. The first, Concerning the Nature of Dragons, is told from the perspective of Tiabdjin the Knower, a Scribe of the Great Library of Throal, during time spent with Vasdenjas, the Loremaster of the Great Dragons of Barsaive before he met his end during the Second Theran War. The second, Dragons of Barsaive, is provided as a series of intercepted intelligence dossiers on dragons provided by the Outcast to his agents, with commentary by Mountainshadow. The lore sections of the book are followed by Second Edition game rules for dragons.

Concerning the Nature of Dragons

The first section Dragons provides an overview the lifecycle of dragons, culture, methods of communication, lifestyle, perspective on magic, and the known types of dragons.

Lifecycle of Dragons in the Fourth World

From Vasdenjas, through Tiabdjin, we learn dragons have several forms, including:

• Egg State
• Hatchling
• Adolescent
• Metamorphic Phase
• Named Adult
• Great Dragon

For more details on the development cycle of dragons, see the wikipage.

Culture of Ritual

The dragons of Barsaive observe a society focused heavily on ritual and etiquette. Many are their titles, and among their own kind, each has a name they call each other by. The known rituals covered include:

• The First Rite of Mating
• The Second Rite of Mating
• The Dance of Courting
• The Dance of New Life
• The Rite of Refusal
• The Ritual of Battle
• The Petition of Caregiving
• The Dance of the Fallen
• The Rite of Succession
• The Ritual of Quintessential Feast
• The Rite of Change
• The Ritual of Challenge
• The Ritual of Humble Veneration, p. 13
• The Second Posture of Formal Regard, p. 13

Draconic Politics and Perspectives

This section details a general overview in the Second Edition lore of the relations between dragons and the major powers of Barsaive before the Second Theran War. In particular, Throal's relation to Icewing and Earthroot are noted, Alamaise claim to the Blood Wood and its elves, and their general distaste for Thera. To dragons, the Namegiver races, which they call the Young Races, are generally ignored, except for a select few Great Dragons like Mountainshadow and Dvilgaynon.

Life as a Dragon

The day-to-day and century-to-century life of dragons is also reviewed, including their lairs, hoards, and ability to take on Namegiver forms. Of particular note is the unique exploration of shal-mora, a mystical meditative state dragons spend much of their time in. Additionally, unique draconic modes of communication are reviewed, including Dragonspeech and memory crystals.

Dragons & Magic

A detailed section is provided for draconic perspectives on magic, including their ability to innately craft spell patterns at will but also their use of spell magic for safety in the Horror corrupted Fourth World. As detailed, dragons have strong ability in thread magic, and a distaste for blood magic. Notably, Tiabdjin explores a powerful type of magic, called Ritual Magic, that dragons have access to, but share little of.

The Origins

The tale of the origin of the world is conveyed, or at least the draconic one. In this tale, Vasdenjas spins a story of how dragons Named themselves at the dawn of time, in the Age of the Dark One. In this age, Nightslayer, the First Named and spawn of the Dark One, seperated from its kin, the horoi. In this story, Night Slayer sired Dayheart, the First Dragon, and in battled with the Dark One, died. Through Dayhearts, their descendants became the dragons of the Fourth world. It is noted here that the Dark One, and the Horror Verjigorm, the Great Hunter, are one and the same.

The Forms of Dragons and Their Kin

In his writings of conversations with Vasdenjas, the types of dragons are related in a manner of the four elements:

• Leviathans: Native to the oceans of the Fourth World, the dragons of water stay aloof of the politics of Barsaive and Thera.
• Feathered Serpents: Rare in Barsaive and the known Fourth World, feathered serpents are dragons of fire. They are noted to be called Quetzal, in the far lands of Araucania.
• Western Dragons: Called "Common" by those with a death wish, these are the dragons of earth. Most of the known Great Dragons are Western dragons, and they lair in the swamps and caves of Barsaive, clawing their lairs from the earth itself.
• Cathay Dragons: Long, serpentine, and ethereal, the Cathay dragons are the dragon of air. Though with no wings of their own, the yet fly.

Other forms of dragonkind are also detailed, including drakes, false drakes, and the abominations nown as hydra. It is clear that wyverns are not of any draconic line, and their similarity to hatchlings should not be mentioned in the presence of a Great.

Dragons of Barsaive

This section provides for a very interesting read. The meat of the material is dossiers crafted by the Outcast on the major Great Dragons of Barsaive, for more details see their individual pages. Each entry provides a great lore and flavor overview of the dragons "nature", often including a physical description and perspective of the personality of the dragon. Additionally, notes on the subjects lair, horde, servants and goals are provided. Though Vestrivan is known to be passed and neither Asante or Nightsky qualify as Greats, in the Revised and Expanded edition, the following are included:

• Mountainshadow
• Aban
• Alamaise
• The Mated Pair
  • Asante
  • Nightsky
• Charcoalgrin
• Dvilgaynon
• Earthroot
• Icewing
• Usun
• Vasdenjas
• Vestrivan

In the subsequent dossiers, the clutches of the Greats of Barsaive are detailed, including:

• Thunderwing
• Firedancer
• Smokeweaver
• Hydra's Bane
• Greissval
• Lotiara

As always, the death of a dragon is a rare thing, and never assumed to be permanent, particularly among great dragons. In the dossiers provided, those said to be passed, or still-living in some way, include:

• All-Wings
• Cloudtamer
• Thermail
• Yuichotl

Game Rules & Adventure Frameworks

This section provides solid gaming mechanics for sample dragons, dragon powers, dragon specific knacks, and uses of magic by dragons. Several vignette storytelling frameworks are provided, including:

• Reluctant Messengers
• Last Words
• The Parabola of Arithonicus
• The Last Voyage of Deadman's Rest
• The Legacy of El-Aethor

External Sources

• Dragons, The Earthdawn FASA Wiki