Steel Dragon
A steel dragon is one of the six colors of metallic dragon. Uniquely among dragons, their shapeshifting abilities primarily manifest in a series of semi-permanent humanoid forms they take over the course of their lives. Steel dragons are so deeply integrated in mortal society that few, if any, people ever learn their draconic identity.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The essential draconic form of a steel dragon has the same general body plan as any other dragon. They have a quadrupedal saurian-like body that grows to enormous sizes and a pair of leathery wings whose outstretched span match or exceed its body length. Each of their five-toed feet end in massive curved claws, similar in shape and size to a wood elven katana. Their long, flexible prehensile tails end in hard spikes.
The scales of a steel dragon are unusually hard and inflexible, resembling steel of exceptional quality. Steel dragons are also distinguished by their two upwards-curving horns, the ruff of short spikes at the base of their skull, and the winglike ridges on the sides of their head and the top of their spiked tail. Their neck is proportionally short in comparison to most dragon species.
Genetics and Reproduction
In their mortal incarnations, steel dragons reproduce in the same methods as any other member of that incarnation's species, with the same levels of fertility and length of pregnancy. Humanoid children with steel dragon ancestry carry sorcerous blood, though these powers sometimes remain dormant for one or more generations.
Steel dragons only experience ovogenesis during their draconic respite. As with other dragons, they lay eggs when settled in close proximity to another dragon's territory; the color of the egg is determined by which of the dragons in the area is more powerful (both in terms of age and hoard size). Steel dragons seem to exert more genetic influence over ovogenesis than expected, given that they typically retain no physical hoard during their respite; the leading theory among draconologists is that the memories of their mortal lives constitute an "intangible hoard" that inflates their relative power.
Growth Rate & Stages
Steel dragons experience the same hatchling and wyrmling growth stages as any other dragon until they are approximately 50-60 years old. At this point, they require progressively more sleep over a roughly nine-year period until entering a hibernation similar to dragonsleep for the last nine months. During this period, they are said to dream of mortal life, and they slowly shrink and transform into a humanoid baby, beginning their first mortal incarnation.
A steel dragon in their first mortal life is indistinguishable from a baby of the same species (most commonly human, half-elf, or half-dwarf). This stage of their lives is incredibly vulnerable—a steel dragon who dies before they reach adulthood and learn their true draconic name remains mortal and dies outright.
During the late adolescence or early adulthood of their mortal species, a steel dragon starts to have draconic dreams, beginning with the revelation of their true draconic name. They have little to no memory of these dreams upon waking. In the first few decades of this life, the dragon also finds a goal or ideal precious to them that will act as a guiding principle across all of their mortal lives.
In each life, the steel dragon creates, discovers, or otherwise deeply bonds with one or more important items related to their life's work. These items comprise the steel dragon's hoard, known as their opus. The dragon will be extremely reluctant to part with the items of their opus, both in the life where they first bind to it and in subsequent lives. If the dragon's mortal life ends before they are able to add a new item to their opus, all memories of that life are permanently lost.
Upon dying in mortal form, a steel dragon can will themselves into one of two fates. They can choose to remain in their mortal body, which decomposes quickly into a spirit form that reincarnates near an item from their opus. Alternately, they can resume their draconic form, entering an intermediary period known as a draconic respite. During this nine-year period, they live full-time as dragons and are able to lay eggs in the normal draconic fashion. Steel dragons who feel they have reached a satisfying end to their mortal life can also willingly enter a draconic respite before natural death, and often choose to do so in the face of old age or terminal illness.
After completing their first mortal incarnation, steel dragons start to develop a stronger connection with their draconic form. Their memories of being a dragon become stronger, and they can take on their draconic form for short bursts of time. They also gain more specific control over where and how they are reincarnated in each subsequent life. In their oldest lives, knowledge of who they were in their past is often fully retained, though explicit memories of these past lives is sealed away unless they are in physical contact with relevant items from their opus.
A steel dragon experiences nine mortal lives in total. Later lives of a steel dragon gain more knowledge of their other incarnations and greater control over their draconic transformation. Older and more powerful steel dragons have been said to cheat violent or sudden deaths by turning partially or wholly into their draconic form, allowing them to absorb an injury that would kill a mortal. (This ability does not work in reverse; steel dragons killed violently in their draconic form simply die.) Later lives are also more likely to take on physical traits that hint at their draconic nature—steel-colored hair and eyes, unusual height or strength, heightened senses (particularly sight), and even innate magical affinities. The eyes of an elder incarnation of a steel dragon are said to flash red in moments of anger or fear.
The form of the dragon's ninth and final life bears a striking physical resemblance to their first life, always sharing the same species and gender. The dragon spends this lifetime collecting their opus and tying up as many loose ends from their life's purpose as possible. Near the end of this life, they often seek out a single warlock as a future caretaker for their opus and heir to their legacy. At the end of this life, the steel dragon transforms into their draconic form and enters dragonsleep. Because of the relatively small size and deeply personal nature of their hoard, draconologists theorize that they may relive some or all of their past lives during dragonsleep.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Steel dragons integrate fully into humanoid society and keep their company almost exclusively. Their interactions with other dragons mostly occur in wyrmlinghood and during draconic respites. An elder steel dragon who discovers the mortal incarnation of a younger steel dragon often seeks them out and forms a mentor-mentee relationship with them. This is an efficient, if relatively uncommon, way to find a caretaker for their opus who will let them reclaim it in their next incarnation.
Average Intelligence
Like all true dragons, steel dragons are highly intelligent, far more so than any typical humanoid. They possess less raw intelligence than copper dragons and less wisdom than gold or brass dragons, but they are considered the most charismatic of the metallic dragons.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Like all metallic dragons, steel dragons have both elemental and superconscious breath weapons. Their elemental breath weapon is a magenta-colored acid, emitted in a straight line with little spray. Their superconscious breath weapon emits subsonic waves that induce temporary confusion and minor memory loss in those within range—particularly useful for muddling bystanders' memories of their transformation from their mortal form.
Steel dragons have the same exceptional sense of sight as other dragons when in their draconic form. As mortals, their sight is slightly better than the average for their species and remains largely undiminished into old age. In their final life, an elder steel dragon can manifest short bursts of truesight while maintaining their mortal form.
The hoard of a steel dragon is known as its opus. It consists of a limited number of extremely personal and high-quality treasures that the dragon creates during each of its mortal lives. The items in a steel dragon's opus are infused with a sympathetic bond that draws the dragon towards them in subsequent incarnations. If the dragon finds a piece of their opus in someone else's possession, they can subtly manipulate that bond to charm its current "owner" into selling or giving it to them.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Steel dragons are intensely symbiotic with humanoids. Their first mortal incarnation cannot survive to adulthood without mortal caretakers any more than a humanoid infant could. In return for this early care, the steel dragon almost always finds a purpose that is beneficial in some way to humanoid society at large.
Civilization and Culture
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Steel dragons are intensely symbiotic with humanoids; as a result, they lack the general condescension towards them that other true dragons have. Most known historical examples of steel dragons were famously protectors of mortal society during their various lives.
In contrast, steel dragons often maintain some distance from other metallic dragons. The itinerant nature of their life cycle prevents them from establishing and defending a territory of their own. Thus, they often settle quite close to other dragons during their draconic respite. This induces egg-laying for the dragons whose territory they share—sometimes unexpectedly. Other metallic dragons do not see steel dragons as suitable mates due to their rapid (on a draconic time scale) reincarnations, and many consider them a nuisance or dismiss them for being so close with mortals. In return, steel dragons usually feel only a loose allegiance to most other metallic dragons, since they spend vastly more time in mortal society than draconic society. (The near-universal exception in the current age is Astrydiâlos—the incubator, protector, and adoptive mother of many of them—who is widely beloved by steel dragons.) Still, a few steel dragons ally themselves with the Golden Guard in their later lives, when shifting to their draconic form for long periods of time becomes easier.
Steel dragons generally despise chromatic dragons, perhaps moreso than most other metallic dragons. Many chromatic dragons will hunt steel dragons for sport if they know the identity of their mortal forms, hoping to truncate the dragon's life cycle or prey on them when they revert to a weakened draconic form. Steel dragons in wealthy or powerful positions will often fund adventurers on quests to slay nearby chromatic dragons.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
1200-2000 years
Average Height
10-30 ft.
Average Weight
18,000-60,000 lbs.
Average Length
20-60 ft.
Average Physique
The mortal forms of steel dragons tend to be slightly taller and more physically fit than average for other humanoids of the same species.
Related Ethnicities
Discovered by
by mezzopatricia (design by ShysterCrook)
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