Dragonborn
From planet Perndragon, along with dragons and Kobolds. 3 separate races that evolved on the planet, shrouded in mystery and all are enemies.
Wide spread, have a few city states of note scattered in mountain regions, hills and cliffs along the Dapha coast. Easily defended locations, they are open to outsiders for trade. Few but dedicated merchants, refugees, or warriors want to live in volatile Dragonborn enclaves. Dragonborn Can be found in other cosmopolitan city states. Clans often will become explorers, colonists and settlers if they think it will bring their clan a chance at new honor.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Dragconic humanoids, they are digipeds, and have tails. Their bodies are covered in layers of scales, and are warmblooded. Dragon born have clawed hands and feet. Some have horns, spines, and other hereditary features that are similar to Dragon species. Coloration can vary and range from chromatic to metallic. In addition dragonborn have evolved several specialized organs to spray breath weapons or emit rays and electricity.
Biological Traits
Warm blooded reptilians they are clad in scales, and have a diverse variety of colors, horns, spines, plates and other distinctive marks. Their most distinctive trait is their breath weapons. They evolved from a common ancestor on Perndragon, their homeworld, which they shared with Kobolds and Dragons. They share this breath weapon set of organs with dragons, albeit on a much reduced scale. These organs are all very different, some act like capacitors and can release a bolt of lightning, other are designed to spray poisonous vapors, or concentrated acid, and of course some have the ability to spit flame. This tends to follow familial lines, however a recessive gene may be expressed and they may have a different breath weapon from the rest of their family. This set of organs is usually present, but there are congenital diseases that can result in them being under developed or ineffective, but this is a rare condition.
Genetics and Reproduction
Dragonborn reproduce by laying eggs in clutches of 4 to 6 every 3 to 4 years. These are usually 75% fertile so dragonborn can have a large number of siblings.
Growth Rate & Stages
Dragonborn can walk in 5 hours of hatching, and talk in 4 to 6 weeks. In 3 years they will be easily mistaken for a 10 year old. They reach maturity at age 15. Dragon born can live to be 80. Most dragon born don't show symptoms of old age until around age 75, then quickly decline.
Ecology and Habitats
Dragonborn prefer mountains and rugged areas, and can tolerate high temperatures and low temperatures. They are found mostly on Origin Island where they are common, but can be found through out the world in smaller groups.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Dragon born are omnivores and eat a variety of food. They are lactose intolerant and avoid dairy products.
Biological Cycle
Dragon born have fertility cycles every 4 to 6 years when they are primed to lay eggs. This cycle ends at age 75, so a single dragon born can sire up to 40 children in a life span.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Dragon born belong to clans which are the center of their social structure. These related families inter-marry and form strong bonds of obligations, duties and positions. Members from other clans may marry into a family after a long period of negotiation with their clans. Obligations to parents are over ridden by the clan, obligations to king, lords, and others are overridden by the the needs of the clan. Your clan's reputation is your reputation, anything you do to dishonor your clan could cause your ostracism and banishment which is a fate considered worse than death.
Facial characteristics
Dragons have a variety of facial shapes, from bony plates, to narrow jaws to thick and heavy brows with a variety of scale shapes, plates, knobs, horns, ridges and spines possible. some combinations are closely linked to certain clans, and lacking these features can make an individual an outcast. Their eyes are deep set and provide excellent forward vision. Their ears are usually just a flap behind scales. Their mouths are usually wide and contain sharp teeth.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
The bulk of the population lives on Origin Island, Dragon born cities are fairly isolated in mountain valleys. Over the thousands of years many clans have spread out to other civilized parts of the globe. In the areas under control of dragon born city states most live in clan groupings, usually a fortified village, or carved out of the living rock of the mountains.
Average Intelligence
On average Dragon Born are equal to a human in intelligence, but develop that intelligence much faster. Their emotional intelligence distribution is higher than the average human. Draconic brains are more suited for magic, but the distribution of magic users is about the same as humans.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Dragon born have enhanced vision and can see in darkness, but have similar to human senses otherwise.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Their birth family gives them a clutch name which they call the by. When they enter the brood they will get a nickname that they will generally go by in public. Then when they reach age 15 they will take their clan name as their first name, followed by their family name and then finally their given or brood name.
Major Organizations
Dragon tooth brotherhood. This is an unaligned multi-class, multi-clan secret organization that acts as an intelligence gathering body. Their goal is learn of plots against the dragon born, and threats they need to deal with. Their operatives will and contacts will pass on pertinent information to clan elders. Most elders have come to know the brotherhood exists, and are wary of it, but that they are usually right.
The dragon born themselves are rarely the operatives, but they have extensive networks of spies, investigators and informants across the island. Many will have fronts and other covers to hide their true intent. They are deeply defensive and they will disappear or silence anyone they think might betray them, or identify them.
Beauty Ideals
Draconic features, claws and scales. They like raw and natural looking architecture and rough hewn Rock, gnarled roots and trees.
Gender Ideals
Males and females tend to look the same, females have duller scales and lighter eyes, their voices may be a pitch higher than males, but most humans will have a hard time telling them apart. In society females will be found guarding the eggs when they are laid, and raising the young for 3 years then they become part of the Clan brood, all of the young between 3 and 12 who are raised by all of the clan. Here they will be taught skills, history, writing and other rudimentary lessons. Around 12 they will be assigned a career path and will start apprenticing in that trade or profession. This is for both males and females.
Courtship Ideals
Clans will try to match-make for males and females depending on their tradition with available mates. Some have a light touch and will simply hold balls and mixers so they can choose from the right set of available mates, and others arrange marriages when the eggs are hatched. This is why inter-clan relationships can be fraught with danger, those with casual traditions that join more structured clans can accidentally create faux pas and minor scandals. Worst case someone feels they dishonored their traditions.
Relationship Ideals
Pairings are usually for life, but they go through phases. When they are in the mating phase they will live closely, and protect the clutch and raise those that hatch, when the cycle is off they may go for months without seeing each other, but like all things dragon born do, they will honor their bonds and rarely pursue other lovers, the danger being bringing dishonor to the clan. Adultery can sometimes result in expulsion from the clan.
Average Technological Level
The three dragon born cities are not anywhere as advanced as their elven neighbors, but they are familiar with guns, but rarely carry them. They uses scrolls as their media of choice and do have some rotary printing technology used to mass publish scrolls, but there is a limited market. They do not have large casting technology so they lack the ability to make cannons. Being land locked they don't built ships so they are not skilled at ship technology either. They can forge steel and make strong weapons and armor. Often they will send out parties to purchase advanced equipment from other cities. Mining technology is fairly advanced and they are good at extracting gold and silver efficiently using chemistry.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The Draconian language is spoken and written by all dragon born on origin island, and they will not use other languages unless they have to, though they may be fluent in it. This is especially true of clan leadership, who will have a translator at all occasions. Other beings that can speak draconian fluently will have a slightly higher amount of respect.
Draconians that live in other cultures will still be fluent in draconian and they are still proud of it, but they will use other languages.
Common Etiquette Rules
Dragon born deffer to Clan leaders, elders, and their heirs. They stand in their presence, and when dismissed will give a bow at the hips. The usual greeting is to bow the head slightly to those they see as equals, and to no to do so with those beneath them.
Common Dress Code
Dragon born culture doesn't want to see nudity of each other, but don't care about other beings. They will typically wear robes and stoles. depending on their role in society they may have additional tabards, aprons, hoods, armor, sashes and other accessories to denote their status in the clan. They will always have a clan symbol on them either as a piece of jewelry, painted, a crest on a shield or armor and so forth.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Dragon born are proud of their dragon-ness, though they are wary of actual dragons. They are self reliant and proud, and value this in others. Stoicism and survival are their cultural touchstones and what they will emphasize in their stories, songs, plays, and writings.
History
Dragon born know their planet of origin is Perndragon, which they shared uneasily, with true dragons and Kobolds. Legend has it that the clans were able to organize themselves quickly after the crash and they immediately headed west to the mountains carrying supplies and tools. They did so without bothering to try and take a lifter or salvage surface vehicles (which the elves had already absconded with). The Dragon march is an epic saga that heralds the clans that work together to get out of the desert and forge a homestead in the mountains. Also the dragons had awoken and were mooting, and they decided to get out before they got dragged into their plans, known as the Dragon Moot Prophesy.
Their instincts had been right and they found a fertile series of valleys in those mountains that they could settle in. The initial settlers split up and each clan staked out their own village location.
The first true city states formed from alliances between clans to mutually fight off incursions from humans and drawrves driven from Elven expansion or Elven consolidation. Nidab was the first of these cities, and these allied clans built a series of fortifications to defend from the incursions from Forlarith adventurers.
Over time several other cities were founded for defense, and then commerce. For the most part the Dragon Born city states are not interested in conquest, adventures, or alliances with other cities. These have withstood sieges, invasions, raids and treachery.
Dragon born learned sorcery from the elves, and this is their dragon blood make them more connected to the currents of magic than the elves that developed the art. Sorcery and discipline in hard to reach cities seated in remote mountains have been their bulwark for dozens of centuries.
Historical Figures
Glabuxary the Broken King is a tragic historical figure who was from the 3rd millennium lead his clan to plunder the arc ship and bring back weapons to protect their enclave. His clan was gone for many years and they were mourned as lost. a few decades passed and a disfigured dragon born arrived, covered in strange technology, symbiotic bio-organic armor and obviously mutated. He cam demanding Glabuxary's enclave, lands, and treasures as his. The elders decided he was deranged from his exposure to the wastes and agreed he should be put out of his misery. Enraged he activated his powers and laid wast to the city of Ninki, and make himself king of the city. He ruled the city for several years dishonorably and made plans to war on all of his neighbors, he began laying the groundwork to break the clans. Then one morning while he was plotting with his court of traitors a single arrow sailed through a window and he was slain. Within hours his court was put to death by the new clan leaders.
Common Myths and Legends
The prophesy of the Dragon Moot. Each clan has their own heroes and villains, but all clans have the prophesy of the Dragon moot. After the ship crashed, the dragons kept in suspended animation were automatically awoken, there were hundreds of them of all chromatic and metal variants. They had a moot, which most dragons being territorial will not stand for. In this case they we speaking, and only the dragon born and kobolds could understand. They spoke of the galaxy is being consumed and this would come to this new world in time, and when it comes they will have to decide if they should join the beings destroying the galaxy or fight them and it would depend on if the rest of these mortal races were worthy of saving or just devouring. The chromatic dragons were of the opinion that joining would be the smartest route, the Star Walkers couldn't protect them. The metallic dragons argued that fate was theirs to make, and they should make these mortals worthy and stronger. Agreeing to disagree they left to pillage the ship of treasure and left to make lairs on their new world. Don't trust dragons they are plotting to save themselves at all costs from what ever it is that is devouring the stars.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Elves are not trustworthy, always be suspicious of elves and their plots.
Humans are generally honor-less and unprincipled opportunists, those that put honor above wealth and power are rare and should be respected.
Dwarves are greedy but loyal, and if you can earn their trust and you earn their trust they make good allies.
Gnomes are strange flighty people devoid of grand purpose. They are fine folk.
Halflings, keep both eyes on them at all times.
Goblins and other goblinoids are dishonorable, sneaky, and always looking for an advantage, they are good adversaries.
Lizard folk are dangerous, methodical and cautious. They can be dealt with but never trust them.
Aarakocra are strange people, and do strange things. They are unpredictable. proceed at your own risk.
The Gith are scum, never trust them.
Dragon born who live in other cultures have had different histories and will react more in line with their culture's attitudes.
Origin
Perndragon
Lifespan
80 years
Average Height
6'-6" to 7'-6" tall
Average Weight
300 lb to 500 lb
Average Physique
Dragon born are stronger than the human average, they have thicker bones, and extra muscle mass and their metabolism converts to muscle mass over fat, even when sedate.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
The bodies of dragon born are a bronze to crimson hue with a varying degree of metallic sheen. the rest of the body may range in colors from coal like black scale to bright white glossy scales, and everything in between. Females tend to be duller colors.
Geographic Distribution
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