Category: ttrpg

You’ve grown up in a family that valued knowledge and its practical use. Fortunately, you also found a community that holds the same values, as they hired you (either through public funds or a wealthy patron) to educate the local children.

Your academic prowess is not as vast or as deep as the ocean, but you know more than the average adolescent and you’ve never stopped learning, so you get by.

Skill Proficiencies: History or Insight, and Persuasion or Performance
Languages: Two of your choice
Equipment: A book of local history, a small slate, 5 pieces of chalk, a set of traveling clothes, a set of formal clothes, a ruler or yardstick, a pouch containing 10gp

D&D has Chromatic and Metallic dragons, and they work quite well. What if, however, there was a third category? One that came about since the dawn of civilization, and included dragons that took on some of those aspects for themselves? Here are three examples.

Paper Dragon

• Color: White, turning yellowish as it ages
• Breath Weapon: Cone of small, fibrous slivers that do double damage to unarmored areas
• Alignment: Any Lawful
• Quirk: Likes to build its lair in monasteries, universities, etc. – often  forming a partnership with the administration of those buildings. After all, a dragon knows the location of every item in its treasure hoard, and card catalogs can get unwieldy as a collection grows…
• Preferred Treasure: Knowledge – books, scrolls, etc.

Coal Dragon

• Color: Matte black
• Breath Weapon: Cloud of black dust that can asphyxiate victims, but is also extremely flammable to the point where any spark or ember will ignite it into a fireball
• Alignment: Any Chaotic
• Quirk: Preferred lairs are mines, ideally ones that have abundant coal seams. Enjoys everything about metalworking, to the point where some Coal Dragons have been known to kidnap blacksmiths and force them to work in their lairs, the large beasts slowly falling asleep to the sound of hammer on anvil.
• Preferred Treasure: Any metalwork that shows great skill or effort, especially larger mechanical contraptions

Sewer Dragon (Come on, you knew this would end up here.)

• Color: Various shades of browns, with specks of green appearing as it ages.
• Breath Weapon: Stinking Cloud, as per the spell
• Alignment: Any Good
• Quirk: One would think sewer life would lead to a sour disposition, but a Sewer Dragon’s sinuous body and immunity to disease and odors makes it ideal for this environment. Some Sewer Dragons have been known to train rats to seek out discarded items.
• Preferred Treasure: Jewelry of any kind, though gold rings are ideal