They were a part of Dragonlance from the very beginning. Draconians, or dragonmen, are the basic troops of the dragonlords as described in DL1 Dragons of Despair. But they grew to be much more in the story and in the imaginations of the fans. Let’s learn a little bit more about Draconians! Buy Dragons of Krynn: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/29540/Dragons-of-Krynn-35?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
These truly original creatures born from the eggs of good dragons through an evil ritual prove that you are not always the result of where you come from.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Draconians. I would like to take a moment and thank my collaborator patrons, the Heroes of the Lance, and invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel by visiting the links in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing the Dragons of Krynn sourcebook for this information. If I misspeak or leave something out, please let me know in the comments below.
Discussion
They were introduced in DL1 Dragons of Despair as Draconians, or dragonmen, who are the basic troops of the dragonlords. But they evolved in the modules, novels and fans imaginations to be much, much more. There were four known types of draconians originally, but over time, even that evolved as the stories and even the species changed in the campaign world. Let’s take a closer look at these fantastical creatures from their origins to their current variety.
When draconians were first introduced to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, they were a pretty original amalgamation of different species traits. Even in the Dragonlance world, they were not the first ‘shock troops’ of the Dark Queen’s imagination. In the Age of Might, after the death of Huma Dragonbane, the Black Robes of the Third Dragon War had the freedom of experimenting on the creatures of Krynn. Galen Dracos created horrid undead dread wolves. Brenn of the Black Robes actually captured a Silver Dragon and her eggs, and began studying the essence of dragons and would experiment on the eggs with the intention of creating a human-dragon hybrid. His vile experiments were halted by Kaz the Minotaur.
In the Age of Despair the evil dragons and bakali raided the Dragon Isles, and stole the good dragon’s eggs, delivering them to the Lords of Doom. The red dragon Harkiel confronted the good dragons on behalf of Takhisis, demanding that they stay neutral in the coming war if they want their eggs back. The good dragons agreed. The plague mold of the Zhakar was used to create the first base version of Draconian called Traags. They were ineffective in battle however. Then the Sesks were created from the Silver dragon eggs, but they were unfit as soldiers. Both were shipped to Taladas and forgotten to perish on their own. Dracart the Black Robe, Wyrllish the priest of Takhisis and the Red Dragon Harkiel created the first true draconians.
It may have taken the Queen of Darkness’ wizards and priests thousands of years to perfect the ritual, but when they finally came into being, they burst onto the gaming scene as formidable monsters to face off against the strongest of heroes. As described by Gilthanas and Silvara, having witnessed their creation firsthand under the Lords of Doom: “Joining hands, the dark-robed clerics and wizards began chanting, causing the egg to darken. It turned to a hideous green before darkening into a dull black and growing to a grotesque size. Through arcane and divine spells, they forced the eggs to grow and their occupants to multiply. The shell became leathery and slimy. As the larva-like egg split open, miniature draconians crawled into the open.”
The ritual would produce five varieties of draconians, depending on the metallic dragon egg used. Aurak’s from Gold dragon eggs, Baaz from Brass dragon eggs, Bozak from Bronze dragon eggs, Kapak from Copper dragon eggs and Sivak from Silver dragon eggs.
Near the end of the War of the Lance, after the good dragon eggs were liberated from the Temple of Luerkhisis in Sanction, Lord Ariakan commissioned Dracart to create Draconians from evil dragon’s eggs. They quickly learned that chromatic draconians refused to serve their evil cause. These were referred to as Noble Draconians, and due to the law of balance in Dragonlance, if evil draconians came from good dragon’s eggs, good draconians would inevitably result from evil dragon’s eggs. The evil mage would eventually create the Heart of Dracart which would greatly expedite the creation process from a single draconian.
Noble dragonians, like their evil cousins, result from a specific type of chromatic dragon egg. Frost from White dragon’s eggs, Venom from Black dragon’s eggs, Vapor from Green Dragon’s eggs, Lightning from Blue Dragon’s eggs, and Flame from Red Dragon’s eggs. Noble draconians were slaughtered, sold to slavery and hunted down. Only a handful of each variety exists to this day, and they live in secret for their own safety.
Each type of dragon egg spawns a different type of draconian, but all share similar traits. They all have snouts, scaly skin, clawed hands & feet, and lizard-like tails. They vaguely resemble the dragon from whose egg they were created from. Most draconians have wings, but only Sivak, Lightning and Flame draconians are able to fly for long. Draconians have three types of movement: Walking, running and gliding. Traditionally they prefer to charge into battle using their wings to boost their speed. Each type of draconian is dangerous in its own right when alive, but when they die, there is an added element of danger . They are all resistant to magic, but until the end of the second cataclysm, were unable to reproduce.
Shortly after the Second Cataclysm, draconians who lived in the Teyr region rediscovered lost female dragon eggs which twenty female draconians hatched from. They were now a self reproducing species, no longer doomed to extinction. The nation of Teyr underwent a civil war with long silent factions of internal and foreign interests vying for power, and that is the current state of Draconians on Krynn.
In the Age of Mortals, Khellendros, or Skie, the blue Dragon Overlord began magical experiments on captured draconians in an attempt to create the perfect receptacle for Kitiara Uth Matar’s spirit. Through his experimentation, he discovered that by fusing the body of a human with the essence of a draconian and one of his own tears, he could create dragonspawn. Creatures of utter loyalty whom he made an army from. Other dragon overlords discovered the dragonspawn and the secret to their creation.
Dragonspawn are named after the color of the Dragon Overlord that created them. Black from Onysablet, Blue from Khellendros, Green from Beryllinthranox, Red from Malystryx, White from Gellidus, and Sea from Brynseldimer. All dragonspawn have wings, claws, scales, and tails. In addition, they often bear striking similarities to their Dragon Overlord creators, such as a fin on the head of a green dragonspawn or a horn on the nose of a blue dragonspawn. When Mina and the One God began exterminating the Dragon Overlords, most of the dragonspawn perished with the death of their masters. They cannot reproduce, and very few remain in the territories of their now extinct creators.
Outro
And that is all I have to say about Draconians and their cousins. Do you have a favorite Draconian type? Were there too many Draconian variations? And finally do you play Draconians as a player race? Leave a comment below.
I would like to once again invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel, and you can pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link, all of which are in the description below.
This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
Sometimes it hurts to care, doesn’t it, Caramon? But it’s better than being empty inside.
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