Draconomicon (AD&D Fantasy Roleplaying, Forgotten Realms)

130 Pages·1990·9.01 MB·English

by  TSR Staff

by Nigel Findley, et al.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Reference ................... .2 Chapter 8: Hunter(cid:146)s Guide .............. .80
Chapter 2: Geography ................. .34 Chapter 9: Miscellaneous Information ..... .34
Chapter 3: Dragon Psychology. .......... .39 Adventures
Chapter 4: Role-Playing Dragons ......... .46 The Millennium Dragon (C.S.) .......... .90
Chapter 5: Dragon Hall of Fame. ......... .56 Invitation to a Robbery (C.K.). ..........100
Chapter 6: New Dragon Species .......... .64 The Servants of the Verdant Cloud (J.T.) . .109
Chapter 7: Magic ..................... .73 Draco Holy Wars (W.T.). .............. .120
Credits:
Reference Material Design: Nigel Findley
Adventure Design: Christopher Kubasik, Carl Sargent,
John Terra, William Tracy
Editing: Mike Breault
Project Coordination: Anne Brown, Bruce Heard
Proofreading: Anne Brown, Bill Connors
Color Art: Brom, David Dorman, Keith Parkinson
Black and White Art: Terry Dykstra, Fred Fields, Robin Raab,
Valerie Valusek, Karl Waller
Graphic Design: Roy Parker, Stephanie Tabat
Typography: Angelika Lokotz, Gaye O(cid:146)Keefe
Keylining: Paul Hanchette
Cartography: Steve Beck
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PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION(cid:153)
Terminology other, score upon score, they bent have been scribed with great preci-
their breath against the body of sion.) This combination of lan-
Several new Asgorath, and the skies rang with guage and script explains the
terms are re- their lamentations. Only one of the difficulties and delays involved in
quired before Spawn of Asgorath withheld his translating the tome.
one can con- breath. Instead, he pulled a shard From its content and the mythic
veniently talk of the Crystal Sun from the flesh of forms used, it is obvious to
about dragons. Asgorath, and used it to draw scholars that the Book of the World
Throughout blood from his own flesh, and this is an example of holy literature(cid:151)
this book, the blood fell upon the face of the that is, it once was at the center of
word dracoforms is used to refer to World. a body of religious beliefs. The na-
dragons and their obvious kin. (cid:147)As before, there was movement ture of some of those beliefs can be
(Thus a wyvern is a dracoform, as where the blood fell, but the crea- inferred from the myths contained
is a gold dragon.) The word dra- tures that came forth from this in the Book, but there is insuffi-
conic is used as the adjective for blood were not of the pure red. Col- cient cultural context to confi-
matters relating to dragons ored like the products of the World dently analyze the belief structure.
((cid:147)things draconic(cid:148)). they were, like the unliving (For example, it is not known
metals. And the Renegade raised whether the creation myths are
Draconic Origins
his voice, and his voice was a trum- symbolic or intended to be taken
pet: (cid:145)I too have Created.(cid:146) as absolute truth.)
(cid:147). . . The World was still flat, here
(cid:147)The form of Asgorath began to The sheer volume of mythic ma-
before the beginning of Time, be-
stir, as the Renegade knew it must. terial within the Book, and the rel-
fore Asgorath the World-Shaper
The Renegade spread his wings atively organized chronological
folded the cloth of existence into
and flew, and the Spawn of the and contextual structure used
its final form. The World was flat,
Renegade followed him into the throughout, imply that it origi-
and above it hung the Crystal Sun
farthest reaches of the world.(cid:148) nated from a fairly sophisticated
that Zotha had wrought before
culture. This is paradoxical, since
Asgorath cast him down. Asgorath
(cid:151)from the (cid:147)Book of the World(cid:148) nocultures of sufficient sophistica-
soared above the World and looked
tion apparently ever arose in
down upon it, and she saw that it
Excerpted from The Origin Asram. The possibility cannot be
was good.
Myths(cid:151)A Treatise by Dunkelzahn overlooked that the Book was
(cid:147)And so Asgorath bent her form
of Candlekeep, 1354 DR transported from elsewhere and
around the Crystal Sun, and
abandoned in Asram, but that the-
touched her breath to it. And the
Perhaps surprisingly, there are ory also has its problems. There is
Crystal Sun burst into fragments
very few origin myths that relate no modern culture that contains
that pierced the flesh of Asgorath,
directly to dragons. One of the few even the vaguest mythological or
and her blood fell on the World.
is a tome known as the Book of the symbolic echoes of the Book(cid:146)s con-
Where the drops fell, the Powers of
World. Only one copy of this book tent.Judging from the oxidation of
the World and the Powers of the
has ever been found(cid:151)and that in the Book(cid:146)s metal pages, the speci-
Crystal Sun came together, and
the land of Asram, about 100 years menunder examination was prob-
the Spawn of Asgorath came forth
ago. The language of the book is ably no more than 500 years old.
upon the face of the World.
Thorass(cid:151)more correctly, an even In that time, it seems unlikely that
(cid:147)Red, they were, red that would
more archaic form of Thorass than an entire religio-mythic tradition
later depart from its purity But
most samples of this language(cid:151) would vanish from Toril. But that
here before the beginning of Time,
but the script used is a simplified seems to be the case here. (The
their red was the pure red of the
runic form. (No doubt the selection wild speculations that the Book of
shattered Crystal Sun. They
of runic script was necessitated by the World did not arise in Tori1 at
spread their wings and took to the
the construction of the book: it all are discounted by most reputa-
skies, circling around the still, cold
consists of 300 sheets of thin, flexi- ble scholars.)
form of Asgorath. One after an-
ble metal onto which the runes The Book provides a fascinating
2
origin myth relating to dragon- close a correlation(cid:151)can Asgorath diverged from
kind. From a close reading of the be Tiamat and the Renegade be the great apes
text, it becomes obvious that Bahamut? a little more
Asgorath the World-Shaper is a An interesting speculation has than 17,000
dragon. The implication(cid:151)that a recently arisen. It has long been years ago.) It is
dragon created the universe, and thought that the Book of the World obvious, then,
that dragons were the first crea- represents a body of human, demi- that the hu-
tures to exist(cid:151)is quite fascinating. human, or humanoid myth. Is this manoid races
A further point arises from the sen- a short-sighted and humanocen- once dwelt in a
tence that reads, (cid:147)And so tric assumption? The key features world without
Asgorath bent her form around the of the origin myth(cid:151)sacrifice, be- dragons as we know them.
Crystal Sun, and touched her trayal, and rebirth(cid:151)are common How does that fit in with several
breath to it.(cid:148) In the original to almost every humanoid ethos, ancient elvish myths(cid:151)particu-
Thorass, the word (cid:147)breath(cid:148)(cid:151)nor- but in all of those myth-bodies the larly the Parwiccan Cycle(cid:151)that
mally used as a singular or un- central characters are anthropo- deal with (cid:147)dragons(cid:148) and
countable noun in this context(cid:151) morphic. In other words, human- (cid:147)wyrms(cid:148)? The key phrase is
has been given a plural suffix oid myth-builders create gods in (cid:147)dragons as we know them.(cid:148) It is
((cid:147)breaths(cid:148)). Is this meant to imply their own image. In the myth pre- our contention that the creatures
that Asgorath is a multi-headed sented in the Book of the World, described in the Parwiccan Cycle
dragon? there is not a single humanoid are not true dragons, but dragon
The text is clearer when it comes character. precursors. Our evidence indicates
to the (cid:147)Spawn of Asgorath.(cid:148) There Might not the Book of the World that these (cid:147)pre-dragons(cid:148) were
can be no doubt that these crea- present an origin myth that was considerably smaller than modem
tures are red dragons. The follow- originally developed by dragons(cid:151) specimens, with little or none of
ing sentences hint that this probably red dragons(cid:151)them- the daunting array of powers
religion holds the red dragon as selves? At a later date, humanoids shown by true dragons. In addi-
the most important species of adopted the myth, and incorpo- tion, it seems obvious that these
dragon. All others would (cid:147)later de- rated it into the Book(cid:151)for the creatures were not sentient; in
part from . . . purity.(cid:148) Book of the World is obviously a fact, they probably had no more
When the Renegade ((cid:147)bahmat(cid:148) humanoid artifact. than animal intelligence, and
in the original Thorass) duplicates Dragons have never been hence the most borderline form of
the actions of Asgorath, the drag- thought to be great mythogra- self-awareness. Thus, the (cid:147)drag-
ons that arise are (cid:147)not of the pure phers. Does this statement tell us ons(cid:148) that figure so centrally in the
red,(cid:148) but rather (cid:147)colored . . . like more about dragons or about the Parwiccan Cycle are little more
the unliving metals.(cid:148) The implica- prejudices of researchers? than large, winged lizards.
tion here is obvious: The Spawn of Although these pre-dragons
the Renegade are the metallic(cid:151) were probably long-lived by hu-
and primarily good-aligned-drag- (The following is excerpted from man standards, we believe that
ons, What the Book of the World an address to the Council of Sages their life spans were but a fraction
contains is not only an origin myth by Kelmara of Arabel, 1346 DR) of those of modern dragons. If their
of dragons(cid:151)which makes it im- life span was even as short(cid:151)rela-
portant enough in its own right(cid:151) Dragonkind represents some of tively speaking(cid:151)as 200 years,
but also one of the few surviving the newest species on the face of however, a question arises. Evolu-
evil-oriented origin myths. Toril. My colleagues and I find the tion proceeds at a rate directly pro-
It is easy to speculate, based on evidence incontrovertible: Drag- portional to the life span of the
this myth. The plural inflection of ons, as we know them now, arose creature(cid:151)or so our research indi-
the word (cid:147)breath(cid:148) might be taken no more than 10,000 years ago. cates. How could the pre-dragons
as implying multiple heads; the (For comparison, our research in- evolve into true dragons so rap-
Thorass word for renegade is dicates that humanity(cid:151)the idly? A climatic or other environ-
(cid:147)bahmat.(cid:148) It seems almost too youngest of the humanoid races(cid:151) mental upheaval of unparalleled
3
violence would speculations concerning a global Their ascent was guided by
be required. upheaval, we all know well her lik- powers beyond our ken. As evi-
The Parwic- ing for apocalyptic philosophies. dence of this, take the fact that, in
can Cycle And depending on the Parwiccan every world and in every sphere,
comes to the Cycle for substantiation is like and on every alternate plane we
rescue again, walking on thin ice(cid:151)your support have yet explored, there are drag-
with its talk, may at any moment vanish from ons. And these dragons differ not
variously, of beneath you. one whit from those native to Toril.
the (cid:147)month of Take, for example, the phrases Dragons are beyond the reach of
mist,(cid:148) the quoted by my learned colleague. A our biology, I fear(cid:151)even beyond
(cid:147)seven-turn winter,(cid:148) and (cid:147)Tear- (cid:147)seven-turn winter(cid:148) certainly such far-flung and ill-supported
fall.(cid:148) It seems clear to us that Tori1 seems to be evidence of climatic theorizing as that characterized by
was struck by one of the large upheaval; seven years of winter my worthy colleague.
rocks that comprise the Tears of would, anyone must agree, be a ca-
Selune, upsetting the world(cid:146)s cli- tastrophe. But a little research un- (Kelmara(cid:146)s response to Verilux(cid:146)s
matic balance. Such a global ca- dermines the certainty of this rebuttal, in its entirety 1346 DR)
tastrophe could easily cause the conclusion. At the time and in the
extinction of some species, and the language in which the Parwiccan Collops!
rapid evolution of others. Cycle was written, (cid:147)turn(cid:148) was
In response to the environmen- used in varying ways by various
tal upheaval, the pre-dragons groups. In some writings, (cid:147)turn(cid:148) (The following is excerpted from
quickly evolved into the multiple refers to a circuit of Tori1 around its An Ecology of the Planes by Garth
dragon species known today. primary(cid:151)a year. In others, how- of Suzail, 1354 DR)
ever, (cid:147)turn(cid:148) refers to a circuit of
Selune around Toril(cid:151)a month. The (cid:147)diffusion theory(cid:148) has often
(The following is excerpted from a Still others use (cid:147)turn(cid:148) to refer to a been invoked by philosophers to
rebuttal by Verilux to the address single rotation of Toril around its explain why creatures on planes
by Kelmara of Arabel, 1346 DR) own axis(cid:151)a day. While a seven- totally removed from each other
month winter might be inconven- should be biologically indistin-
Kelmara speaks with great assur- ient, it could hardly be classed as a guishable. The most commonly
ance about the link between life catastrophe. held version of the theory asserts
span and evolution rate. Even if (cid:147)Tearfall(cid:148) is a strong, emotive that each creature arose(cid:151)whether
one were to accept fully the evolu- image, and I wish to congratulate this be by evolution or no(cid:151)on a
tionary theory(cid:151)and I do not(cid:151)it my colleague on its selection. single world. Then individual crea-
should be obvious to even the most Watching your faces as she spoke, tures somehow were removed
addle-pated student that life span members of the Council, I saw the from their home plane and trans-
would have very little relation to profound effect it had on you. How ferred to others, where they
evolutionary rate. More important much would that effect be less- thrived. The necessary removal is
by far would be the length of a gen- ened should I tell you that the orig- speculated to occur by various
eration, which I define as the dura- inal word (cid:151) ileleste (cid:151) could also be means: spontaneously-opening
tion separating a single creature(cid:146)s translated as (cid:147)falling rain(cid:148)? gates (or (cid:147)fistulae,(cid:148) to use the term
sexual maturity and the sexual Nay, I fear my colleague has commonly in vogue), purposeful
maturity of that individual(cid:146)s first failed to convince me of her posi- attempts at (cid:147)cross-pollination(cid:148)
offspring. Depending on the spe- tion. It seems obvious to me that performed by plane-traveling sen-
cies involved, dragons reach sex- dragons did not evolve on Toril as tients, accidental transfers (as
ual maturity not much later than Kelmara wishes us to believe. when a pack animal or a pet es-
do humans. Thus a dragon genera- They may, perhaps, have arisen capes on an alien plane), or even
tion is little longer than a human from baser creatures, but this divine intervention.
generation. transcendence was not under the (There is a more extreme version
As to my learned colleague(cid:146)s blind drivings of natural selection. of the diffusion theory that will be
4
discussed in more depth later in of dragon seems to be a subset of lier.
this text. It holds that one single properties belonging to one or Eliminating a
plane is the source of all life, and other of the archetypes. Or, con- shadow(cid:151)as by
that creatures diffused throughout versely, each archetype seems to shining a light
the multiverse from this source.) possess a superset of the proper- on it(cid:151)has no
At first glance, it would seem that ties possessed by the appropriate effect on the
the diffusion theory can be proved class of dragonkind. creature cast-
or disproved by close examination Some sages truly believe this ob- ing the
of the fossil records of several servation to be representative of shadow. But
planes, searching for traces of a the truth of the matter. According what is the
certain species. If evidence for the to this theory, the very existence of effect on shadows when the crea-
evolution of that creature occurs the two archetypal forms(cid:151)Baha- ture casting them is removed from
on one plane but not on others, mut and Tiamat(cid:151)is responsible the scene?
then surely the diffusion theory for the existence of dragons
would be proven. Unfortunately, throughout the multiverse. In met-
however, there is not one explored aphorical language, dragons are (The following is excerpted from
plane where the fossil record is the shadows that the archetypes Evolution and Creation by Terr-
anywhere near complete. There cast across the planes. As shadows ance Balancehand of Scornubel,
are puzzling gaps, anomalies, and are, in a sense, subsets of the crea- 1356 DR)
even apparent reversals of causal tures casting them(cid:151)as they must
events, which make us question be, since shadows are two-dimen- The case of dragons has been used
how much we will ever be able to sional(cid:151)so are the (cid:147)shadows(cid:148) of as a major supporting point for
learn categorically from fossils. the dragon archetypes subsets of both sides of the ongoing (cid:147)creation
And here the conversation must those archetypes(cid:146) characteristics versus evolution(cid:148) argument.
turn to dragons, for in these spe- and powers. (The shadow analogy The creationist argument won-
cies the diffusion theory seems to is actually quite an elegant one. At ders how evolution can explain the
be the only suitable explanation your leisure, examine the shadow occurrence of dragons on virtually
for their wide-spread existence. cast by a simple object such as a every known plane, and in virtu-
Dragons are the only creatures for cube. Depending on the viewer(cid:146)s ally every crystal sphere of the uni-
which there exist archetypal orientation to the cube and to the verse. The fact that dragons(cid:151)
forms. In dragonkind, these forms surface on which the shadow is almost indistinguishable, biologi-
are Bahamut, the Platinum cast, the shadow can take the form cally, from one another(cid:151)can be
Dragon, and Tiamat, the Chro- of a square, a rectangle, a paral- found in Realmspace, Greyspace,
matic Dragon. All of the (cid:147)core(cid:148) lelogram, or more complex poly- and other spheres ad infinitum is
species of dragonkind(cid:151)the good- gons. This simple experiment only explicable if one accepts that
aligned metallic dragons and the shows how different shadows of some Unitary Principle (i.e., god or
evil-aligned chromatic dragons (ig- the same source can be as different association of gods) created them,
noring for a moment those fringe as a green and a red dragon.) simultaneously, throughout the
species like crystal dragons) seem Is it any wonder that many drag- universe. The problems with this
to be pale reflections of their arche- ons worship the archetypal forms? position are that there is strong
typal forms, displaying some but If this theory of shadows is true, fossil evidence in several spheres
not all of that archetype(cid:146)s charac- then the archetypes truly are the for an evolutionary process, plus
teristics. For example, a red creators of dragonkind, although an undeniable evolutionary tree
dragon possesses some but not all the sense of creation is diluted in that explains how various draco-
of the characteristics attributed to this case, since it seems to lack the forms diverged from one another.
Tiamat, while a gold dragon pos- aspect of an act of will. The evolutionary point of view
sesses some but not all of the char- What are the consequences if plays heavily on the biological evi-
acteristics attributed to Bahamut. this theory turns out to be correct? dence for the kinship of dragons
Indulging in mathematical lan- One possibility arises from a con- and dracoforms such as wyverns
guage for a moment, each species sideration of the analogy used ear- and drakes, and repeatedly touts
5
the fossil re- in this or any world). How much This is how I view the creation
cord that more elegant for the creator(s) to versus evolution controversy. The
shows (cid:147)dragon set up initial conditions whereby worlds we live in arose from the act
precursors(cid:148) in the evolution of those very same of will of a Unitary Principle. But
various lo- dragons is inevitable according to after that initial act of will, all other
cales. Why the laws of nature, magic and, sci- developments were according to
would a Uni- ence? Some readers may be fa- the laws of the world. Dragons(cid:151)
tary Principle miliar with the game of (cid:147)pockets,(cid:148) and elves and humans and orcs
actively at- which reputedly was widely and the rest(cid:151)did evolve, but only
tempt to de- played in the ancient land of because the Unitary Principle cre-
lude its (cid:147)children(cid:148) by planting Mulhorand. The purpose of the ated the initial conditions so it was
such evidence? The problem with game is to strike a single (cid:147)key(cid:148) inevitable that they evolve.
this position is that evolutionists ball with a stick, in a very precise This explains how dragons(cid:151)
are at a loss to explain how drag- way, so that it contacts other balls and other species too, of course(cid:151)
ons that evolved in Realmspace on a table, and causes those balls could have arisen in so many dif-
and Greyspace(cid:151)two significantly to fall into holes or pockets posi- ferent places in the universe. The
different ecosystems(cid:151)have tioned around the table. When one Unitary Principle(cid:151)through the
evolved so convergently that it is views the end result of the game(cid:151) original, one-time act of creation(cid:151)
impossible by any means (short of all balls but the key safely residing so designed the initial conditions
asking dragons) to determine their in the pockets(cid:151)the most simple in each of those diverse regions
sphere of origin. conclusion to draw about how that dragons could not avoid
And so it is from these contradic- they ended up there is that some- evolving.
tory positions that I select dragon- one picked up the balls and placed Creation and evolution are then,
kind as the ultimate support for them in the pockets. (This it becomes obvious, not contradic-
my thesis. equates, in my mind, to the (cid:147)spe- tory theses, but merely different
Evolution and creation are not cial creation(cid:148) theory.) It is cer- stages within the process that is
contradictory and mutually exclu- tainly a simple way of reaching the the development of the universe.
sive, as most sages would have end result. But how much more
you believe. The two are inti- elegant it would be if(cid:151)instead of
mately and elegantly linked, two placing the balls individually and (The following is excerpted from
sides(cid:151)as it were(cid:151)of the same somewhat arbitrarily in their an inebriated tirade by Corkitron
coin. I believe it is impossible to eventual pocket homes(cid:151)the same Allinamuck, member of Halflings
deny that dragons evolved to their result were reached with a single Inc., of no fixed address, 1357 DR)
present state in the Forgotten striking of the key ball? Theoreti-
Realms. It is also impossible to cally, a powerful and precise There(cid:146)s always been dragons, and
deny that the same thing occurred enough stroke of the key ball there(cid:146)s always going to be dragons,
in the world of Greyhawk, and in would cause all other balls to end that(cid:146)s what I think. You want to
the many other spheres that have up in pockets, creating a complex know any more, why don(cid:146)t you ask
been visited by spelljamming ves- and artistically pleasing dynamic the darned dragons?
sels. How, then, can this quandary pattern as they did so.
be solved? Once the key ball is struck, all Evolution
The problem lies in the tendency other motions of the balls are ac-
to view creation as a single act in cording to the laws of motion The following theories related to
which a Creator says, (cid:147)Let there known to sages and mathemati- the evolution and interrelation-
be dragons,(cid:148) and there were drag- cians. If one did not actually wit- ship of dracoforms are drawn from
ons. Such a kind of special crea- ness the original striking of the key the writings of a group of sages
tion seems somewhat arbitrary, ball, one could come to believe that known only as the (cid:147)Club of
and far from subtle (and I will ad- the eventual outcome was a result Candlekeep.(cid:148) These sages, al-
mit that I view subtlety as one of of those laws only, and not involv- though members of the Order of
the greatest attributes of divinity ing any act of volition at all. Candlekeep, are more interested
6
in exploring the pageant of the The variety of dinosaurs was characteristic
past than plumbing the mists of truly staggering. Every ecological of the wyvern
the future through the predictions niche was filled by some form of (such details
of Alaundo the Seer. reptilian creature. There were fly- rarely fossilize
No one knows the identities of ing dinosaurs, walking dinosaurs, well, however).
the members of the Club. None of and swimming dinosaurs; crea- Skull size indi-
their writings(cid:151)which have been tures that fed on plants, and those cated that the
distributed fairly widely through- that fed on other dinosaurs. Over creature had a
out the Realms(cid:151)claim individual spans of millennia, evolution and slightly
authorship; all are identified only natural selection experimented smaller brain
as having been written by the with literally thousands of differ- than the wyvern (which is no great
Club. ent designs: small, fast carnivores; thinker, even today). This was al-
The writings of the Club of huge, slow herbivores that de- most an order of magnitude larger
Candlekeep(cid:151)particularly those pended on size to protect them than the brains of its contempo-
relating to dragons(cid:151)are highly from predators; heavily armored raries, however, giving it a huge
controversial. For each sage who herbivores; gigantic, ferocious competitive advantage in the nat-
accepts their findings, there(cid:146)s at predators. In many cases, these ural selection sweepstakes.
least one other who claims that the experimental models were carried Parallel with the development of
Club members are tin-pot liars, or to totally illogical extremes(cid:151)for eodraco, reptilian creatures at the
at least sadly deluded. It can(cid:146)t be example, monstrosities so heavily other end of the size scale were de-
denied, however, that the Club(cid:146)s armored that they were unable to veloping characteristics that
writings do show a level of internal move out of the way of even the would eventually cause their de-
consistency otherwise unheard of slowest mud-flows. It seems scendants to be classified as mam-
in the debate over dracoform ori- highly unlikely that any of these mals. From these small, scurrying
gins. early creatures had anything close creatures, all mammalian inhabit-
to intelligence or self-awareness. ants of the world today would
The Fossil Record In the period between 12 million eventually develop.
and 10 million years ago, this About ten million years ago,
When examined closely, and with
changed. A single reptilian species something catastrophic happened
the purpose of answering certain
arose that showed the rudiments to the ecosystem in which
specific questions, the fossil record
of intelligence. With the ability to eodraco, the pre-mammals, and
of Toril is rife with gaps and contra-
anticipate and plan, it avoided the the dinosaurs lived. (Even the
dictions. When viewed with a wide
natural disasters that befell its Club of Candlekeep seems divided
enough focus, however, the story forebears. With the ability to coop- on the nature of this catastrophe.)
that it portrays is clear and very
erate, groups of individuals were Some theories hold that the cli-
compelling. The broad picture
able to survive the predation of mate changed due to a diminished
that it produces is incontestible.
creatures that could easily over- output from Toril(cid:146)s sun; other theo-
According to this record, drag-
power a single specimen. The Club ries(cid:151)like that promulgated by
ons as we know them arose some
of Candlekeep refers to this crea- Kelmara of Arabel(cid:151)blame an im-
ten million years ago. Before that
ture as eodraco (meaning (cid:147)dawn pact on Toril of one of the Tears of
time, there were no intelligent life-
dragon(cid:148) in a language whose ori- Selune. Still others credit divine
forms on Toril(cid:151)at least, none that
gin has long been forgotten). intervention from some deity who
still survive. The most common
From incomplete fossils labori- wanted to give intelligence a help-
creatures in existence were the
ously reconstructed, sages deter- ing hand. A lunatic fringe believes
huge reptilian creatures we call di-
mined that eodraco was similar in that a climatic upheaval was
nosaurs. These were, according to
size and configuration to the mod- caused by certain semi-divine
the fossil record, larger than virtu-
ern wyvern, averaging 35 feet creatures using Toril as a battle-
ally any creature alive today(cid:151)
long, with a 50-foot wingspan. No ground.
larger, definitely, than any planet-
evidence was found indicating In any case, in an almost unbe-
bound form of dragon.
that eodraco had the tail sting lievably short time(cid:151)evolution-
7
arily speaking, show an astounding number of dracoform can learn how to best
of course(cid:151)the other variations which(cid:151)for one use its developing intelligence,
dinosaurs be- reason or another(cid:151)proved not to and it can train numerous batches
came extinct. be viable. A strain of winged, of offspring in this effective use.
Only the multi-headed dragons flourished Thus, a semi-intelligent dracoform
smaller rep- for perhaps a million years, but that lives long enough to learn how
tiles, the pre- eventually died out. (There(cid:146)s some to think, and then long enough to
mammals, and evidence(cid:151)but nothing substan- train many offspring, will be more
eodraco sur- tial(cid:151)indicating that the hydras strongly favored evolutionarily
vived. (This and pyrohydras are a surviving off- than a short-lived creature that
isn(cid:146)t intended to rule out the as-yet shoot of this evolutionary dead has one brood of offspring then
unsubstantiated(cid:151)but recurring(cid:151) end.) dies.) The upshot is that ignidraco
rumors that claim dinosaurs still Eodraco split into two main sub- began to grow smarter.
live in various remote and isolated forms at about this time. One(cid:151) The Club of Candlekeep is un-
regions of Toril.) which fairly rapidly died out(cid:151)kept sure exactly when it happened,
Eodraco was never very numer- the same metabolic set-up as its di- but at some time in this process,
ous. As the larger creatures on nosaur ancestors. The other devel- ignidraco split into two major sub-
which it fed died off, the numbers oped an ability to regurgitate genera. One genus(cid:151)labelled in-
of eodraco diminished even fur- intestinal gas and ignite it with an ficedraco (cid:151) developed a
ther. There was simply an inade- enzymatic, hypergolic reaction in personality (if such a term can be
quate food supply to support a the back of the throat. This ability used) of great ferocity, and became
large population of 35-foot-long gave this strain of eodraco (cid:151) called more of a solitary predator. By this
carnivores. ignidraco by the Club of Candle- time, the populations of food ani-
keep(cid:151)the ability to breathe out mals had grown to the point where
The Descent of Dracoforms blasts of fire. the evolutionary pressure select-
As with many lines that derived ing for increased intelligence had
Even. with its diminished popula-
from the pre-mammals, it turned diminished somewhat. So (cid:147)pure,
tion, eodraco as a genus (genus be-
out that intelligence was the most ravening predators(cid:148) (as one anon-
cause it probably comprised a
significant survival trait of all, ymous Club member put it) were
number of diverse species) wasn(cid:146)t
however. Certain derivatives of ig- once again more viable.
out of the evolutionary woods yet.
nidraco began to develop the glim- The other offshoot of ignidraco(cid:151)
Evidence showed that the climatic
merings of real intelligence(cid:151)not the genus labelled by the Club as
upheavals that eliminated the
the rudimentary, little-more-than- ferrodraco (cid:151) tended more toward a
larger dinosaurs continued for sev-
animal thought. processes shown cooperative lifestyle. Without the
eral millennia, putting extreme se-
by earlier eodraco. This was true overwhelming ferocity of its
lection pressure on eodraco. It was
self-awareness, and perhaps even cousin genus, natural selection
at this time(cid:151)according to the Club
the ability to perform abstract continued to push ferrodraco to-
of Candlekeep(cid:151)that certain draco-
thought. (It(cid:146)s unknown(cid:151)and prob- ward greater intelligence.
forms diverged from the main
ably impossible to determine(cid:151) (While it(cid:146)s impossible to tell from
stream of dragonkind. Two major
whether the dracoforms began to fossils what color a creature(cid:146)s skin
examples of such diversion were
develop language at this time.) was, it(cid:146)s obvious from the names
the wyverns(cid:151)whose sheer aggres-
Since it was intelligence, and not selected that the Club believes the
sion made them viable in a com-
randomly-evolved sets of other at- chromatic dragons to be de-
petitive ecosystem(cid:151)and the
tributes, that was the strongest scended from inficedraco, and the
various species of drakes and the
survival trait for ignidraco, natural metallic dragons to be descended
pseudodragon(cid:151)in whom dimin-
selection began to favor longer life from ferrodraco.)
ished size (and hence appetite)
spans. (This makes some sense Both genera continued to un-
proved to be valuable survival
since the ability to effectively use dergo a fascinating series of evolu-
traits.
intelligence is acquired and can be tionary changes. Some
Fossils dating from this period
passed on to offspring. A long-lived maintained the gastrointestinal
8