Dracons (CSH)

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==Dracons==
The dracons are dragon-centaurs that have recently appeared on the fringes of the Known Spheres. They have heavy, gray four-legged bodies with broad, flat, elephantine feet and long tails. Their torsos and arms are human, although their six-fingered hands end in claws. Their heads are reptilian, with the horns and flanges of a dragon.
Dracons are herd creatures, and their lives are comprised of a series of formal rituals designed to allow them to interact with the herd with no dissension. To humans, dracon formality is seen as weak and snobbish; this is superficially supported by the dracon's willingness to flee or discuss a situation rather than fight. More than one human has been surprised, however, at how effective dracons are once the herd has made up its mind.
A lone dracon is a freak. Most dracons cannot survive outside the family unit, and become sick and confused if denied access to the leadership of the eldest of their herd for extended periods of time. A dracon left by itself will try to find another dracon family to adopt it. If this is impossible, it will attempt to form a new herd, even including nondracons in its "family."
Dracons use thin-bladed long swords in war. However, many dracon contests are resolved through a complex form of wrestling that doubles as an effective unarmed fighting form. Since their first contact with humans, the dracons have adopted many human weapons.
Dracons view humans, mind flayers, elves, and dwarves as "the deformed." They are polite and interested in nondracon society but view any creature with fewer than six limbs as disadvantaged. They are not good at distinguishing between the various nondracon races, particularly humans and demihumans, whom the dracons view as one race. Dracons hate the neogi but consider the beholders comical.
Dracon families are huge, and there is good evidence that all dracons are members of one enormous kin-group. Dracons use these kinship structures to figure out which dracon should head any herd, particularly if two herds merge, and leadership is always yielded to the more senior bloodline.
The dracon homeworld is dry, with grassy plains, desert, and shallow seas. Seasonal changes keep the herds moving across the landscape, preventing the dracons from establishing any large cities of their own. The exact location of their homeworld is not known to outsiders.
Dracons may be clerics (maximum 12th level) or fighters (maximum 14th level). Dracon clerics are called shalla; they draw their spells from the spheres of Animal, Combat, Creation, Divination, Guardian, Healing, Necromantic, Protection, and Sun. They may not be multi-classed.
Dracons speak their own language and the languages of dragons. A few speak common, although haltingly and with thick accents. In addition, they may speak other languages at the DM's discretion. The number of languages they speak is governed by their Intelligence (see Table 4 in the Player's Handbook) or by the number of proficiency slots devoted to languages (if the optional proficiency system is used).
Dracons have long thumb-claws that inflict 1-4 points of damage in combat. If not using a weapon, dracons can attack with both of these thumb-claws in a single round.
Dracons run faster than humanoids. Their base movement rate is 18 (instead of the normal human base of 12). All movement and encumbrance effects are based on this higher speed.
Because of their size and build, dracon characters take damage from weapons as "larger than mansized" targets. Dracons add 1 to their Strength scores, but their bulk makes them more clumsy than humanoids, so they subtract 1 from their Dexterity scores.
Note that the Strength score for dracons refers only to their upper-body strength, whether lifting objects, swinging weapons, bending bars, lifting gates, opening doors, or performing a military press using their arms. A dracon can body-slam a heavy or stuck door, gaining +4 to its die roll to succeed. All dracons have a carrying capacity separate from their Strength scores. A dracon can carry up to 150 pounds of weight in properly fitted containers on its back and still move at normal speed. It can carry up to 300 pounds at two-thirds speed (12) and up to 450 pounds at one-third speed (6). A dracon can also drag a wheeled or greased-bottom load of up to 1,000 pounds at one-third speed (6) with a properly fitted harness.