Turning of the Great Wheel
Between Hyltades at the forefront of the apocalypse and Tyldriss actively attempting to prevent it, a Turning of the Great Wheel has begun. In this era of warfare among dragonkind, lines are both being blurred and irreversibly crossed as dragons are forced to choose against ideologies rather than each other. No matter which side you choose to support, a dragon will be dying, and another will be rising from their absence.
To run a Turning of the Wheel mission, choose whether your party will be defending a location from dragon attack or invading a dragon's lair. For particularly ventorous GMs, you may even consider starting with one and transitioning to the other (for example, repelling a dragon's attack and pursuing it back to its lair, or invading its lair and prompting it to leave its lair and seek out a nearby vulnerable target your party is obviously not defending because they're here). While the Turning is primarily in Chromatia, it has spread across the multiverse in some fashion or another.
Maligned Dragons
Many chromatic dragons have aligned themselves with Hyltades, for better or worse. Some do it because they believe it is the only way to win their freedom back from what they feel was unjust subjugation at the talons of metallic dragons for the past several centuries. Others do it for their own reasons, some no more complicated than wishing to inflict harm and feeling this is the best way to do so. There are even some known gem and metallic defectors, often for insane, unreasonable, or otherwise unknowable reasons. Whatever the case, this allegiance has bought them the support of... unusual creatures. In addition to a dragon's normal supporting repetoire (kobolds, elementals, dragonborn, and other "lesser" dragons), dragons considered on the side of discord also find (sometimes with great displeasure) the service of aberrations, fiends, monstrosities, and undead. Examples include Mouths of Grolantor (hill giants warped by Shuriig's hunger), Draconians (the warped offspring of metallic dragons twisted in the egg by Shuriig's power), kruthiks, star spawn, and core spawn. That's of course not a static list, but the point is, dragons that have chosen to align themselves with being part of the problem will have creatures that are part of the problem in their employ, either as part of their attacking forces or bolstering the defenses surrounding their lairs.Aligned Dragons
Metallic dragons have by-and-large aligned themselves with protecting existence from Hyltades threat at the behest of Tyldriss and the other great wyrms. The resurging gem dragons have generally also thrown themselves in with this lot, though not necessarily out of any interest in allying with metallic dragons or for the sake of protecting mortals. They simply want to preserve existence from destruction. There are even some chromatic dragons that have been known to take this side, believing it better to survive and find compromise than to take everything with them in a blaze of defiant glory. Whatever the case, these are dragons who have chosen to fight the good fight. In addition to a dragon's normal minions, a dragon on this side will often have the alliance or service of similarly aligned creatures that might not typically appear in a dragon's service, such as celestials, fey, and giants. Consider including these in any attacking forces or lair defenses.Demonstrating Conflict between Dragons
While each of the above sections detailing the "sides" of the conflict are presented with the assumption whatever encounters you craft will be facing dragons on that side, it is war. Don't be afraid to ally party members with a dragon and/or its supporting forces for the duration of a mission (this can also be a handy way of balancing an encounter's difficulty in the event your party is weaker than your intended target). As a general rule, most dragons will flee from combat once bloodied or after exhausting all their legendary saving throws - even the least intelligent dragons aren't stupid, and this gives you plenty of opportunities to make your dragon a recurring nemesis or rival for future parties in your missions.Not every dragon has picked a side. There are plenty out there who've chosen no side at all, for whatever reason they prefer.
Comments