Chromatic Dragons (SD)

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Chromatic dragons are fierce, devestatingly powerful flying reptiles with elemental breath. They were created to be the worlds apex predator, and quite likely will succeed at that role for some time, if not for eternity.
==Description==
Chromatic dragons come in five varieties, each with their own unique physical features and breath. The color of a dragon will also often relate to their character, though whether this is a result of cultural differences (dragons of different kinds rarely get together for overly long) or some sort of innate mental genetics is unclear.
Red dragons are the most powerful of dragons, having a scarlet hew and a firey breath. Of course power is in general, in comparison to other dragons of their age category: weaker and stronger individuals exist, and a smaller dragon will almost always fall to a larger one regardless of their kind. Red dragons know of their power however, and take great pride in it. They are perhaps the most 'stereotypical' of the dragons, as their temper is as heated as their breath, and their pride leads them to believe that they have no need to consider others. If a red dragon wants something, it will simply take it, or attempt to anyway. Usually this is rather straightforward, but smarter red dragons may make schemes, though they tend to be fairly simplistic ones.
Black dragons, on the other hand, make far, far more cunning schemes. A black dragon has glossy black scales and an acidic breath, and is the only species of chromatic dragon that could be called semi-aquatic, or even consider it an alternative to land or sky. This speaks much of their character, for a black dragon is as deep and dark as the waters they swim in, and thrives on ambushes to catch prey rather than simply crushing them with power... both literal prey and figurative ones. In terms of intelligence, a black dragon is leaps and bounds over all its other kin, and they often mull over things while waiting to ambush prey. Sometimes, this leads them to take action, and when a black dragon takes action it is a frightening thing to behold as they slowly push the pieces of the board they have assembled to fulfill their goals, usuall the aquisition of great amounts of treasure from rival dragons or the settlements of other races.
Blue dragons could perhaps be called the most noble of the chromatic kind, though that might simply translate to 'most likely to leave you alone on a good day'. Most dragons take pride in their hoardes, and their hoardes alone more or less when they don't gather up minions to serve them. Blue dragons on the other hand thrive on being physically more able than any of their comrades. This is especially the case in the speed of their flight, where blue dragons will often shoot bursts of lightening out and attempt to race it to their target. Such is their speed that they sometimes win. Speed, though the primary concern, is not the only one. Strength and stamina are also highly revered, and some often gather gold simply to show off how much of it they can lift to their comrades.
Green dragons inversely are some of the most feared of dragonkind. It's hard to say why exactly it is... perhaps it's because they are found in The Woods and other forests more than other dragons and have its primal strength, or maybe they are simply not on the same level as other dragons. Whatever the case, green dragons are only a step above behemoths and other predators in terms of intelligence, thoughtfullness, and civility. A green dragon will often go berserk at the merest provacation, and many are so backwards that they make hoardes of flesh scraps rather than gold. They are intelligent however, and often show respect for those who can match its savagery and strength. Ironically, their almost animalistic nature means they can be the easiest of all dragons to deal with. Though most other dragons will look for a catch at a bribe of gold of flesh, or attempt to exort more, green dragons will often happily take it without another question and leave the offerer alone. After all, they might come back some day with more things if they do, and it has the current bribe to enjoy.
White dragons are a bit of an enigma to most. After all, few see them. White dragons tend to live in the colder, more isolated parts of the world, and prefer a life of seculsion rather than raiding and raging. Not to say that they don't do it on occassion, but while most dragons consider it a social experience, white dragons do it more out of necessity, and to show off to close friends rather than dragonkind at large. Possessing a bit of a social stigma, many white dragons take up hobbies in their lairs. Many take up ice sculpting, others raid towns for numerous manuscripts and fancy themselves scholars. While a white dragon will be as vicious as any other if you invade it's home, if you enter in a friendly enough manner and offer riddles, goods or other things, they will often invite you in and have a chat, though as with any dragon giving up a part of its horde is out of the question! Aside from being the quiet type, white dragons are notoriously stubborn, and will rarely budge from anything unless given an extremely good reason. Compared to the flighty or adaptive nature of their other kin, this is a particularily noticeable trait.
==History==
Chromatic dragons were created by Althas. Seeing the world beyond The Wood, he realized that it was barren, and that life he created back there would be ill suited for the harsh sun. And so, he created predators that could rule the entire world with an iron claw, strong enough to hunt or oppose anyone or anything.
After creating them, Althas found he needed the aid of one to pursue his Enemy. However, in exchange, he had to create gold for dragons to horde, so that they could prove among themselves who was the greatest among the greatest.
Many years after they were created the greatest of there kind was approached by Swift, After a long talk that lasted many days the elder dragon sword allegiance to Swift in return swift would supply them with a leader who would help inspire there kind. Swift gifted the dragon with the riches of gems and the dragons begun hoarding gems along with gold and other rare minerals.
In return for there loyalty and prayers swift gifted the elder dragons of each kind with a wealth of gems, he also created metallic dragons so chromatics would have a worthy creature to hunt and compete with for they grew bored of the short lived lesser races of the world, He further created draconic magic a kind of psionic that allowed those of draconic decent to wield both the magic of the weave and the psionics that swift brought into being. Over the years swift did the dragons many other great favors and earned there prayers fear and respect,
==Important Settlements==
Dragons are fairly spread out, and aside from forming the odd scourge (see below) they rarely form settlements. However, many times an individual dragon will form a mighty lair that will echo through the ages are truly stupendous. None such lairs exist as of yet, however.
==Society==
Dragon society is an odd matter. For one thing, dragons do not have towns. Rather, each dragon stakes out for itself a territory, which it will defend against other dragons with its life. For the most part, territories are decided more by food availability than size... a territory in The Woods (though few dragons dare tread there, as they are often swarmed by dryads if their breath goes awry and wipes out a few miles of fores in a blaze) might only be a mile across if even that, while a territory in the more barren parts of the waste might be miles upon miles upon miles across. Obviously appetite comes into it too, and the larger dragons often need larger territories than their smaller kin. Another odd thing is that often dragons will leave one territory for another, or even trade territories, as different territories appeal to different personalities. Greedy dragons who lust for gold prefer wide territories, as it means they have a larger chance of finding pockets of gold as they fly, and will likely in the long run get a much larger horde without having to risk raiding another dragons territory. Lazy dragons on the other hand would prefer a small territory with much food, as it means they don't have to put nearly as much effort into getting a simple meal. These are two extremes, most dragons fall in between the two somewhere.
Despite living in their own large territories, and having no central towns or the like, at least for the most part, dragons have regular interactions with eachother. At least, regular in their terms. For most it would seem like dragons rarely see eachother, but for them with their long lifespans and love of their own company it's all very sociable. For the most part, interaction is simply with their neighbours, for dragons usually have territories adjacent to eachother out of necessity. There is only so much of the world after all. Dragons will often fly to their borders and chat with eachother, and of course show off eachothers strength, speed, and more importantly horde. A dragons horde is the measure of who they are. The greater the horde, the greater a sucess the dragon is deemed to be. Dragons will often show off their horde to eachother to talk pridefully of it, and the hard work it took to achieve it. A dragon remembers the origin of every treasure, and ever clump of gold in its pile, and will go on for days about it all if allowed. Though of course dragons like to show off their superior horde, even showing a lesser horde is a matter of pride to them. Some prickle at feeling inferior, but most are far more sporting about it. It is not always a matter of 'this is how important I am' after all. There is also a matter of pride in 'this is how much I have grown. This is how much I have worked to get better.'
Draconic interactions go beyond simply chatting to neighbours however. On an irregular and rare basis, dragons will travel together, going from territory to territory picking up more and more dragons, becoming a scourge of travelling predators. These dragons will go through eachothers territories, the dragon who owns it playing host to the others by allowing them to dine on its prey and sleep in its lair, or in the area about it anyway. These tours serve two very important purposes. For the first, it allows the dragons to look not just at the hordes of their neighbours, but ALSO the hordes of a vast amount of dragons in their basic area. This is an extremely important thing for any dragon, as it shows the variety of wealth the world has to offer, teaches them new skills in terms of hunting for both wealth and prey, and just makes them a little more world wise. Even dragons that don't desire the trip for the second part often participate for the pleasure of the first. The second part is also very important however... the entire thing is a strong social experience, and is one of the few times, excepting when a dragon is lucky enough to have an amiable neighbour, when a dragon can find and couple with a mate. Of course, a scourge must end, the entire trip taking a round tour where each dragon is picked up one by one from their territories, then brought back there as the loop is completed.
To say that dragons mate for life would be technically accurate. When a dragon finds a mate, it will seldom have another, and will often never find another even when their mate dies. However, their mating habits are still far, far different and far, far stranger than most other races. For one thing, even though they never couple with another, the dragons never share territory, and will often never see eachother except for scourges. Rather, they will spend the time together, mate (they ALWAYS prefer to mate in hordes, but aside from their own when the scourge wheels around to them this is rarely an option) and then part until the next scourge, though some couples do infrequently perform cross country flights to see eachother on a rare basis. Though mating won't always result in it, often it will get the female pregnant, and she will lay a clutch of eggs.
Many would say that dragons don't make overly good parents, and perhaps they're right. From a strictly technical standpoint, dragons don't spend much time in the infant stage. They are ready to fly with hardened scales mere hours after hatching, and will be speaking within a week, though with a childish vocabulary. As such, there isn't really much to do to raise dragons. The female lets them live in her lair, and feeds them from her hunts, but other than that and keeping them safe and warm there is little educating or nourishing to be done. Child dragons always accompany their mother on scourges, and that will often be the most interaction they have with their father. Not to say that the father doesn't appreciate it, oh no, they do, and will spend as much time with their hatchlings as possible, taking pleasure in their company and teaching them as much as they can. But a dragon has an odd approach to company, and what we consider tragically little is more than enough for them. Eventually, a hatchling grows old, and is ready to leave the nest. When they are, the mother will send them to their father, who will give them each a small portion of his horde, a great sacrifice for a dragon and a reason many do not take mates. After that, he will go with his children to find territory for them, then make sure they are settled before returning to his own home, rarely seeing them again except for scourges, and not even then if their territory is far enough away.
==Names==
Dragons choose grand names, believing themselves to be grand enough to deserve them. They often take names that are evokative of their color or element, for instance, red dragons favor R name, while Black dragons often have numerous S's in their names to evoke the cunning of a serpent. Rhazorium, Ssitharvius, Sapphirna and Dhiamalial are all examples of dragon names. A dragon will often try and make their name notorious to other races, both as a mark of pride and to give themselves enough of a reputation that no-one would dare plunder their horde.
==Stats==
They're freaking dragons, they don't have PCs. However, for monster stats, use those in the Monster Manual.
==Sample Member==
Category:Races
Category:Races (SD)
Category:Swift Foot (SD)
Category:Swift Foot