Gareth Hanrahan, Gary Gygax and Jon Crenfield
Credits
Contents
Developer
INTRODUCTION
2
THE DESOLATION OF THE DRAGON
4
Nick Robinson
WAT W ATCHERS CHERS ON THE MOUNTAIN
11
SERVANTS SERV ANTS OF THE DRAGON
22
DRAGON LAIRS
44
Interior Illustrations
FLATTERY FLATTER Y AND RIDDLES
67
Tony Parker, Brent Chumley, Stephen Shepherd, Patricio Soler, Richard Otey, Otey, Chris Quilliams, Fred Rawles, Gillian Pearce, Shane Coppage, Andrew Jordan, Oliver Erikson, Renato Guedes, Scott Purdey, Jesus Garcia Lopez, Alexandre Benhossi, Rom, Rom, Aneke Murillo, Murillo, Marcio Fiorito, Drew Langston
TACTICS AND WARFARE
72
DRAGON ANATOMY
86
Cover Art Ben Ellebracht
HOARDS
106
AGE ADVANCEMENT ADVANCEMENT
112
DRAGON FEATS
126
DRAGON DESIGN
133
DRACOS INVICTUS
142
NEW DRAGONS
148
Playtesting
DRAGON MAGIC
186
Mark Howe, Daniel Scothorne, Mark Sizer, Michael Young, Young, Mark Billanie, Billanie, Daniel Haslam, Jamie Jamie Godfrey, Godfrey, Alan Moore, Leigh Anne Reger, John R. Ivicek Jr., Mike Mang, David S. Souza
LIFECYCLE
202
ON THE HERIT HERITAGE AGE OF DRAGONS
206
HATCHING HA TCHING AND RAISING DRAGONS
213
CAMPAIGNING
220
Special Thanks
A MORTAL MORTAL MISCELLANY
234
Adam Gulwell
SCENARIO HOOKS AND IDEAS
240
Proofreading Ben Hesketh
Van Graaf ’s Journal of Dragons is ©2011 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of non-Open Game Content of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. Van Graaf’s Journal of Dragons is presented under the Open Game Licence. See page 248 for the text of this licence. All text paragraphs and t ables containing game mechanics and statistics derivative of Open Game Content and the System Reference Document are considered to be Open Game Content. All other signicant characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Compatability with the Pathnder Roleplaying Game requires requires the Pathnder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLc. See http://paizo.com/ pathnderRPG for more information on the Pathnder Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, Publishing, LLC does not guarentee compatability and doesnot endorse this product. Pathnder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC and the Pathnder Roleplaying Game and the Pathnder Roleplaying Game Compatability Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, Publishing, LLC and are used under the Pathnder Roleplaying Game CompatabilityLicense, See http://paizo.com/pathnderRPG/compatability http://paizo.com/pathnderRPG/compatability for more information on the compatibility license.
Gareth Hanrahan, Gary Gygax and Jon Crenfield
Credits
Contents
Developer
INTRODUCTION
2
THE DESOLATION OF THE DRAGON
4
Nick Robinson
WAT W ATCHERS CHERS ON THE MOUNTAIN
11
SERVANTS SERV ANTS OF THE DRAGON
22
DRAGON LAIRS
44
Interior Illustrations
FLATTERY FLATTER Y AND RIDDLES
67
Tony Parker, Brent Chumley, Stephen Shepherd, Patricio Soler, Richard Otey, Otey, Chris Quilliams, Fred Rawles, Gillian Pearce, Shane Coppage, Andrew Jordan, Oliver Erikson, Renato Guedes, Scott Purdey, Jesus Garcia Lopez, Alexandre Benhossi, Rom, Rom, Aneke Murillo, Murillo, Marcio Fiorito, Drew Langston
TACTICS AND WARFARE
72
DRAGON ANATOMY
86
Cover Art Ben Ellebracht
HOARDS
106
AGE ADVANCEMENT ADVANCEMENT
112
DRAGON FEATS
126
DRAGON DESIGN
133
DRACOS INVICTUS
142
NEW DRAGONS
148
Playtesting
DRAGON MAGIC
186
Mark Howe, Daniel Scothorne, Mark Sizer, Michael Young, Young, Mark Billanie, Billanie, Daniel Haslam, Jamie Jamie Godfrey, Godfrey, Alan Moore, Leigh Anne Reger, John R. Ivicek Jr., Mike Mang, David S. Souza
LIFECYCLE
202
ON THE HERIT HERITAGE AGE OF DRAGONS
206
HATCHING HA TCHING AND RAISING DRAGONS
213
CAMPAIGNING
220
Special Thanks
A MORTAL MORTAL MISCELLANY
234
Adam Gulwell
SCENARIO HOOKS AND IDEAS
240
Proofreading Ben Hesketh
Van Graaf ’s Journal of Dragons is ©2011 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of non-Open Game Content of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. Van Graaf’s Journal of Dragons is presented under the Open Game Licence. See page 248 for the text of this licence. All text paragraphs and t ables containing game mechanics and statistics derivative of Open Game Content and the System Reference Document are considered to be Open Game Content. All other signicant characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Compatability with the Pathnder Roleplaying Game requires requires the Pathnder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLc. See http://paizo.com/ pathnderRPG for more information on the Pathnder Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, Publishing, LLC does not guarentee compatability and doesnot endorse this product. Pathnder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC and the Pathnder Roleplaying Game and the Pathnder Roleplaying Game Compatability Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, Publishing, LLC and are used under the Pathnder Roleplaying Game CompatabilityLicense, See http://paizo.com/pathnderRPG/compatability http://paizo.com/pathnderRPG/compatability for more information on the compatibility license.
Introduction Humanity’s myths are dreams of dragons. No other creature is quite so present, so dominant, in our stories. Almost every culture has its own tales of the serpents. Our fantasy reects this and dragons have been one of the dening elements of the fantasy genre for decades and their pedigree in adventure gaming is obvious. There is good reason for this pre-eminence – no other creature has the power or the terrifying majesty of the dragons, no other creature has the curious mixture of horror and glory making dragons so wonderful. On leathern wings, they soar across the skies of our imagined worlds. Their re threatens the world but also illuminates it.
few last moments before the dragon employs its Tactics and Warfare to wipe them out.
Van Graaf’s Guide to of Dragons is designed to be the denitive guide to using dragons in a game.
The nightmarish fruits of that system are presented in New Dragons , ranging from the parasitical Sin Dragons to the noble Heraldic Dragon and chaotic Planar Dragons.
If by some miracle the party survive, they can delve into the fabled Hoards of the dragons, or even into the carcass of their foe with reference to Anatomy of the Dragon.
After this, we move on to customising dragons. Age Advancement presents a variant method for creating dragons especially skilled in warfare, magic or some other eld of expertise. A selection of The simplest adventure game is going into the dungeon, killing the new Feats (with special emphasis on the feared breath weapon) monster and bringing back the treasure. Turn that monster into a follows. The rules in those two chapters are then used as the basis of a system of Dragon Design. dragon and you have got a myth resonating through the ages.
Overview The rst half of this book traces the path of an adventuring party as they approach a dragon. The Desolation of the Dragon describes the region around a lair and explores the effects dragons have on their environment. Watchers on the Mountain provides a system for tracking the progress of the party and the responses of the dragon and its servants. Servants of the Dragon has details on the various kinds of warriors and pawns used by dragons to defend their lairs and affect the mortal world. dragon’s lair, from Dragon Lairs has all the detail needed to design a dragon’s a dank cave lled with rotting remains of previous adventurers to an ancient ruined city despoiled by the beast. When the party nally encounter the dragon, Flattery and Riddles lets them have a
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Dragon Magic has new spells and items for dragons (and their enemies). Lifecycle and the Heritage of Dragons delves into the physiology and history of the draconic species. Hatching and Raising Dragons examines the egg. Campaigning contains advice on using dragons in a game, as symbols, enemies, allies, mounts or even characters. Finally Finally,, a Mortal Miscellany deals with the response of the lesser races to the dragons.
The Van Graaf’s Guides Van Graaf’s Guides are a new series of books from Mongoose Publishing, each examining an element of fantasy gaming in glorious detail. Each book contains new rules, new ideas and insightful essays to bring a particular aspect of the game to life in your campaign.
I see you there, there, thief. Yes, even in the shadows. Don’t Don’t be so coy. coy. Come forth. Come Come forth or burn burn to death. Ah. The diplomacy diplomacy of dragonfire dragonfire never fails. fails. You thought you would catch me sleeping. Ah, innocence. I heard your footsteps through the stone, thief and I can taste your sweat on the air. Even in this dim light, I mark your trembling lip and shaking hands. hands. Your fear pollutes pollutes you. Be Be not afraid! afraid! I mean you you no harm. That’s a lie, of course. Dragons lie on beds of gold, which is what drew you here, thief. Do you like my hoard? I see that you do. Your eyes, quivering behind their curtain of tears, flicker between two magnificent sights – me and my hoard. Even now, with your death close at hand, you cannot help but desire my gold. That is an avarice I can respect. No, that does not mean you can keep the cup you stole. Put in down – wipe your grease off it, first. Now…what shall we do with you, thief? Killing you is little sport. My teeth can tear through plate armour forged by dwarves and warded by elven-spells and my claws can shatter granite, while you are wearing what smells to be dried cow-skin. I don’t suppose you’re some sort of superhumanly agile acrobat who can evade my strikes like the wind. *snitkt* No, obviously not. Oh, stop whimpering. The wound isn’t that deep. I barely scratched you. It will heal and scar. Now, you will run. You will run back the way you came, through the tunnels and winding worm-guts of my mountain. My defences will not slow you, my guardians will not bar your path. You will run to whatever fetid city or canker of a village you call home. Run home, dripping blood all the way. It will be long years before I come for you, thief. That wound wound that wells wells up hot ruby blood now, it will will be an old grey scar and a dull ache before I come for you. The dragonfear will never leave you; it will soak into the marrow of your bones and the sinews of your heart. You will listen in the night for the sound of leathern wings. Every shadow that passes overhead shall be a presage of doom. Every crackling fire shall carry the promise of my breath. And I shall surely bring that fire. When you are old and grey, thief, when the short years of your life are running out and you are thin as a dried stick, then shall I take flight. I have marked you, scarred you; you; I have have tasted your blood blood and know your your scent. I shall find you you and I shall burn you and all your kin and all you hold dear. I shall scatter the ashes of your bodies and sift them for gold, I shall raze your your home and set all the lands lands aflame in in the glory of my wrath. You are a thief, thief and and you will pay for daring daring to steal from from my hoard. hoard. You will burn. burn. What more did you expect? You descended into the dungeon and you found the dragon.
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THE DESOLATION OF THE DRAGON On rare occasions, a traveller may nd a ghastly signpost on a country road – the burnt and crushed corpse, often that of an armoured knight. If any of the cadaver’s face survives, the expression is invariably one of terror. The corpse stands propped against a tree or stone, one hand outstretched. In that hand is a single gold coin, scarred by the marks of huge claws. This solitary coin is the wyrm-gild, the fraction of a dragon’s hoard that the wyrm gives away freely. The traveller may take the coin without consequences. The broken corpse shows the consequences of trying to take more than that single coin. In leaving the wyrm-gild, the dragon marks the borders of his territory and declares it has given the rest of the world its due. Anything beyond that coin must be bought with blood.
Domains Dragons are solitary creatures by nature. While there are nests or cities where several wyrms dwell, these places are very much the exception. Most dragons establish their lair in some cavern or dwarf-hold, then claim the surrounding territory as their domain. These domains bear little resemblance to the geographic or p olitical borders of the region. Other dragons within the domain must either be driven out or forced to yield - chromatic and younger metallic dragons engage in physical combat, while the elder metallics resolve conicts of domain using riddle-contests or negotiation. If a dragon yields to another, it becomes a vassal wyrm (see On The Heritage o Dragons). Only other dragons and – rarely – other powerful beings are taken into account when a dragon claims its domain. The great egotism of the dragons prevent them from considering humans and other races as anything more than a quick snack or pets.
It is a great blessing that most dragons spend much of their time asleep or fasting. If a dragon indulges its appetite fully, it can depopulate its whole domain in a season or two. This is not because the dragon literally eats everything and everyone in the area, as even the most voracious monsters have limits to the amount of
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food they can catch but a roused dragon might set forests alight, burn the life from a river, or smash a town into cinders purely because it can. Dragons do not merely hunt for food, they hunt to possess and selshly destroy. Everything in a dragon’s domain exists at the dragon’s whim and, when the dragon’s ire is raised, the dragonre will claim it.
Domain Size The size of a domain is determined by the strength and size of its ruler. Obviously especially strong dragons or those with access to powerful magical items can safely claim a larger domain. The basic radius of a domain (centred on the dragon’s lair) is the dragon’s age category squared in miles, modied as follows:
Dragon Domain Size Dragon Status Spellcasting Vassal Dragons Mated Pair of Dragons Strength above 25 Intelligence above 25 Charisma above 25
Domain Size Modifer +1 mile per level of spellcaster +1/2 size of vassal’s domain Increase domain size by 50% +1 mile per point above 25 +1 mile per point above 25 +1 mile per point above 25
For example, the average Adult Red Dragon has a domain 51 miles in radius (36 miles due to age, +7 for being a 7 th level sorcerer, +6 miles for a Strength of 31). The dragon can reach anywhere in its domain within two hours if it hustles but it takes around two days at best for grounded travellers to reach the dragon’s lair – and at any point during that frightful march, the dragon could swoop down and incinerate them if their presence is discovered.
Benefits of Domain The size of a dragon’s domain determines how far its control extends. All dragons are paranoid to some extent and with good reason. As a dragon ages, it must sleep more and more, so it requires a strong defensive perimeter to protect its slumbering form. Assassinations, sudden strikes and assaults by dr agon slayers kill far more dragons than disease or hunger. Dragons have an
innate magical tie to the land around the lair, their essence bleeds into the earth and senses the approach of enemies. By claiming a domain and infusing it with the dragon’s essence, as well as establishing a defensive network of watchers and servitors, the dragon is well prepared against attack. This magical tie to the land does not extend to the sky above, so dragons are most vulnerable to other yers and other dragons. Furthermore, grievous injury to the land can disrupt this tie. By wreaking havoc and destruction as it goes, an advancing dragon can ‘blind’ the defending wyrm and allow ground forces to approach undetected by the magical link. This tactic works best on dragons who lack servants and guards, such as most white dragons. A dragon’s own injuries to the land will also blind it, so one of the best times to attack a dragon is just after it has gone on an orgy of re and destruction. However, doing so means attacking at a time when the dragon is denitely awake and active.
heightens the ambient magic in the world. Every scale, every drop of blood in a dragon is charged with magical energy. While the dragon sleeps atop its hoard, its breath ows out into the surrounding land and seeps through the piled coins into the cracks in the ground. This infuses magic into the territory near the lair, transforming it into a reection of the dragon’s nature. This magic can even alter the weather and nature of the region – a black dragon causes swamps to erupt and fester around its lair, for example. This begs the question – do, say, blue dragons make their lairs in deserts because it suits their nature, or does the presence of the blue dragon turn any land into a desert? Generally, the former is the case but over time, even the most lush or icy region will be altered by the presence of a blue dragon. The process may take centuries or longer but as a dragon’s lair is often used by a whole dynasty of successive dragons, the constant magical pressure can accomplish almost any changes given time.
The other major benet of maintaining a domain is food. When a dragon hungers, it must eat voraciously for days. Having a domain The Desolation of the Dragon well stocked with cattle, deer or humans means the dragon is When land is claimed as a domain by a dragon, it quickly becomes assured of having plenty to eat whenever it awakens (for more tainted and ruined. The re and hunger of the beast consumes the details, see Dragon Liecycle). health of the land, while the dragon’s magical presence warps and infects the soil. Life in the shadow of a dragon’s lair, even that of a Younger dragons who are too weak to establish their own domains good dragon, is never safe. often willingly submit to an elder wyrm, becoming vassals protected by their master’s domain. Should invaders enter the This region is referred to as the Desolation of the Dragon by its domain of the elder dragon, it can warn the younger wyrms of t he few inhabitants. This term can often be something of a misnomer, approach of danger (although in some cases, an elder wyrm who as some domains are anything but desolate. Green dragons, for has drawn the wrath of some powerful enemy may sacrice one example, create regions of unnatural fertility and twisted life that or more vassals to save itself). Other young dragons establish lairs bloom vividly even in the depths of winter, while the domains of in the most isolated and desolate regions, preferring security over blues crackle with energy and light. There is always, however, an a ready meal. oppression in the air of such places, drawn from the constant threat A dragon does not have to establish a formal domain. Some prefer to hide in human society, shapeshifted into mortal guise and staying awake for years at a time. These dragons are often pariahs in draconic society, where status is founded partly on domain. Dragon defences are dealt with in the following chapters.
Magic Exhalations Dragons are magical creatures. This is not to say they are created or even sustained by sorcerous powers but their mere presence
of attack from the skies and the constant feeling of terrible draconic power lurking in the heart of the region.
The domains of good dragons may also be referred to as Desolations if the wyrm pays little heed to the lesser inhabitants of the domain. If the dragon attempts to foster good relationships with its neighbours, the domain is called the Sanction of the Dragon. Domains are divided into four sections; Borderlands, Outer Desolation, Inner Desolation and Heartland.
The Tie to the Land
If using the Alert Level system, inicting serious damage on the land immediately adds between 10 and 40 to the Alert Level but also removes the following condition: More than 8 characters in the party +1 per character above 8
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Borderlands The borderlands are comprised of the outer half (or outer third, in the case of especially young or active dragons) of the domain. From the point of view of most people, the borderlands are indistinguishable from the land outside the domain. Dragons rarely range this far out into their domain on hunting trips and y too high to be seen clearly from the ground. The borderlands are also unaffected by the dragon’s magical emanations, so there is no supernatural sign of the dragon’s claim on the region. The borderlands seem entirely free of draconic inuence, except to those who know what to look for. Most borderlands have some markers, like the wyrmgild, to show that the land beyond is claimed. The landscape may bear the scars of ancient battles, fought when the dragon rst claimed its domain. Towns and villages in the borderlands are often inltrated by agents of the dragon but by and large life in the borderlands is peaceful and untroubled by wyrms for decades or even centuries. Communities in the borderlands may have defences and troops designed to fend off the dragon’s attacks but these are often neglected and left to rot in the long gaps between sightings of the dragon.
Outer Desolation While inhabitants of the borderlands may laugh at the idea that a dragon claims their homes as its property, the folk living in the outer desolation are well aware of their draconic overlord. They may only see the shadow of the dragon once every few years but
it looms large in the stories and rumours they tell each other. The outer desolation is often surprisingly healthy and well-stocked despite having a dragon nearby but that is because the outer desolation is the dragon’s larder. It may feed on the inhabitants of the inner desolation every few months but the outer desolation has years of peace and growth broken by sudden bouts of gorging and utter devastation. Most communities here have well-trained troops and defences for use against the dragon but these are aimed at convincing the dragon to devour somewhere else instead of actually attempting to kill the beast. The outer desolation has much clearer signs of draconic presence. High peaks and overhanging rocks have claw-marks on them, showing that a dragon once perched there. Burns or acid scars in the ground are much less overgrown and animal carcasses dropped from a great height can be found. The dragon’s magical inuence is much stronger here, contributing to the fear that oppresses everyone in the outer desolation.
Inner Desolation The inner desolation covers a number of miles equal to the dragon’s age category, stretching between the Heartland and the outer desolation. When the dragon is active, the i nner desolation is the rst place to suffer. The land is scorched and scarred almost to the point of death. Only a few creatures manage to scratch a poor existence from the ruined soil. There is no shelter here, no places to hide from the keen senses of the wyrm. The only people living here are those in service to the dragon, or those who tend – or are – the ocks of food animals. The folk of the inner desolation live with the constant threat of destruction. Some stay because it is their home and they cling to it as ercely as the dragon claims it. Some stay because they know that trying to leave will only draw the dragon’s wrath sooner. Others stay because they are in league with the dragon, or have learned how to placate the beast with suitable sacrices.
Heartland The heartland is the region immediately around the dragon’s lair, usually stretching a number of miles equal to half the dragon’s age category. It is colloquially referred to as the dragon’s doorstep, or the killing eld. The heartland is lled with traps and watchtowers and anything that might give shelter or protection to invaders is methodically destroyed. There are safe paths through the heartland but they
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