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DESIGNERS: ERIC L. BOYD AND EYTAN BERNSTEIN

ADDITIONAL DESIGN OR DEVELOPMENT: EVAN JAMIESON, THOMAS M. COSTA, GEORGE KRASHOS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Using this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

The Dracocentric Campaign . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Rage of Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

The Dracorage Campaign . . . . . . . . . . 5

Turning of the Great Cycle . . . . . . . . . 6

What You Need to Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

1: True Dragons of the World . . . . . . . . 7History of Dragonkind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Time of Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Under the King-Killer Star . . . . . . . . . 8

Dragonfall War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Followers of the Scaly Way . . . . . . . . . 9

Return of the Dragon Queen . . . . . . . 9

Time of Troubles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Rise of the Dragon King . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Year of Rogue Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Turning of the Great Cycle . . . . . . . . 10

Dragon Roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

True Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Aerosclughpalar, “Gildenfi re” . . . . . . 12

Antasillix, “Defender of the Pit” . . . 14

Arsekaslyx,

“Guardian of the Well” . . . . . . . . . 15

Arveiaturace, “The White Worm” . . 17

Buchembrallor,

“The Terror of Velen” . . . . . . . . . . 18

Claugiyliamatar, “Old Gnawbone” . . 18

Iryklathagra, “Sharpfangs” . . . . . . . . 20

Jalanvaloss,

“The Wyrm of Many Spells” . . . . 24

Nartheling,

“Master of the Mountain” . . . . 27

Olothontor,

“The Minstrel Wyrm” . . . . . . . . . . 29

Protanther, “King of the Ice” . . . . . . 30

Saryndalaghlothtor,

“Lady Gemcloak” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Taraunramorlamurla,

“Serenescales”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Tchazzar, Chosen of Tiamat . . . . . . . 37

Tostyn Alaerthmaugh,

“the Silver Flame”. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Wyrms of the North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Undead True Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Alasklerbanbastos,

the Great Bone Wyrm . . . . . . . . . . 44

Dretchroyaster,

“The Monarch Reborn”. . . . . . . . . 48

Ghaulantatra, “Old Mother Wyrm” 48

Iltharagh, “Golden Night”. . . . . . . . . 49

2: Cult of the Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52History of the Cult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Dragon Cult Cells. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Dragonwell Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Mourktar Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Sembian Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Wyrmsmoke Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Followers of the Scaly Way . . . . . . . . . . 57

Magic of the Cult. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

The Cliffs of Karthaut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Encounter Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Karthaut Lighthouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

The Underground Complex . . . . . . . 62

Concluding the Adventure . . . . . . . . 68

3: Tyranny of the Dragon Queen. . . . . 69Unther: Realm of the Dragon Queen. . 69

Threskel: Land of the Bone Wyrm. . . . 70

Life and Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Major Geographical Features . . . . . . 71

Important Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Regional History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Plots and Rumors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

The Church of Tiamat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Servitors of the Five-Headed Queen 74

The Altar of Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Encounters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Concluding the Adventure . . . . . . . . . 87

4: Orders of Dragonkind . . . . . . . . . . . . 88Blood of Morueme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Church of Tchazzar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

The Confl uence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

House Orogoth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Sisterhood of Essembra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Talons of Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

5: Dragon Lairs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101Lair Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

CR 6 Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101

CR 7 Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

CR 8 Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

CR 9 Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

CR 10 Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Lair Hazards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Chlorine Haze (CR 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Dracolich Slough (CR 6) . . . . . . . . . 103

Dragon Mold (CR 5). . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Fear Moths (CR 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

Gem Dragon Dust (CR Varies) . . . .104

Magic Shrieker Moss (CR 3) . . . . . .104

Shadow Slime (CR 7) . . . . . . . . . . . .105

Dragon-Related Creatures . . . . . . . . . . .105

Dragonblood Subtype . . . . . . . . . . . .105

Bluespawn Stoneglider. . . . . . . . . . . .105

Krathbairn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Redspawn Birther. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Spectral Creature (Template). . . . . .109

6: Dragon-Related Spells . . . . . . . . . . .111Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

New Assassin Spell . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

New Bard Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

New Blackguard Spells . . . . . . . . . . .111

New Cleric Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111

New Druid Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

New Paladin Spell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

New Sorcerer/Wizard Spells . . . . . .112

Epic Spells by Spellcraft DC . . . . . .112

New Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Abate Dracorage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

Aggravate Dracorage . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Antidragon Aura, Greater . . . . . . . .113

Blunt Natural Weapons . . . . . . . . . .113

Chromatic Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113

Compel Breath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Cone of Euphoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Diminish Breath Weapon. . . . . . . . . 114

Dragon Blight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Dragonblood Affi nity . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Dragonblood Spell-Pact. . . . . . . . . . .115

Dragoncall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Gaze Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Gem Tracer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Icy Claw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Light of Xymor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116

Pacifi cation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Platinum Ray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Pebble Wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Scattergloom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Shadow of the Dark Queen . . . . . . .118

Spectral Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Steelsting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Threesteel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Epic Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Rules for Epic Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

New Epic Spells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

7: Magic Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123Magic Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Dragontooth of Lareth . . . . . . . . . . 123

Silver Sickles of Soranth . . . . . . . . . 123

Sword of Dragonblood . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Other Magic Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

Amber Acorns of the

Moonwood Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

Crown of the Death Dragon . . . . . .125

Crown of the North Wind. . . . . . . .126

Crownring of Tchazzar. . . . . . . . . . .126

Dragon Blight Bomb. . . . . . . . . . . . .126

Dragon Dowsing Rod . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Dragon’s Draught . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Dragonskull Talisman. . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Dragonspectre Flute . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Idol of Apostasy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Ring of Draconic Deception . . . . . .128

Ring of Dragons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

Rods of the Dark Lady . . . . . . . . . . 129

Scalebane Bottle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

Scepter of Cimbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Stone of Aerial Alarm . . . . . . . . . . .130

Minor Artifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Chassabra’s Pendant. . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Diamond Scepter of Chomylla . . . .131

Helm of Supreme Wizardry . . . . . .131

Major Artifacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Fanged Shield of Shyk Korort . . . . .132

Ghazir the Desert’s Edge . . . . . . . . . 133

Kayas the Krakenscourge . . . . . . . . .134

Kuraltaar the Demonshield . . . . . . .135

Monocle of Bagthalos. . . . . . . . . . . .137

Staff of Shoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Chapter 8: New Dragons . . . . . . . . . . .138Mercury Dragon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

Steel Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Mist Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Appendix: Roll Call of Dragons . . . . . 145

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4

The greatest scholar of draconic mysteries on the

Sword Coast looked out over the walls of Baldur’s

Gate toward the Sea of Swords and the setting

sun. He thought to himself, “At last, a moment’s peace from the

incessant voice that keeps yammering at the back of my skull.”

“Master Velsaert, if I may, I have another question about the

Dracorage,” spoke a high-pitched whine of a voice.

“Blast! There it is again,” he sighed.

With a barely controlled snarl, plastered over with a smile,

the great sage turned around to greet his latest apprentice, Baltron

Q uillfeather, late of Twilight Hall.

“Ah yes, Master Baltron, what a surprise. You’ve been here,

what, nearly a ride now? And yet we still haven’t begun to ex-

haust your store of questions, apparently. I do believe I’ve come to

understand why the wise leaders of Those Who Harp thought to

send you here to further your studies. Please proceed.”

Almost without thinking, the Balduran loremaster immediately

tuned out the intricate and thoroughly irrelevant question that

followed, perceiving little more than a rapid fi re burst of high

pitched squealing. How many apprentices had he had over the

years? What was it about this one that irritated him so? Baltron’s

mission was a noble one, to review and analyze all available lore

regarding the Dracorage so that the Harpers might know how to

proceed in the face of reports of spreading madness among the

continent’s great dragons. And yet, there was something so insistent,

so demanding about Baltron’s questions that Velsaert could barely

contain his frustration. Couldn’t the bookish young human accept

that Faerûn’s great wyrms simply succumbed to madness from

time to time, no matter how noble they might otherwise be?

“Arrgh!” Velsaert screamed in frustration, rending the

soft meat between his claws into a bloody pulp. “Get out of my

head!”

This book gives you everything you need to make dragons a

focal point of your FORGOTTEN REALMS® campaign. Dragons

are the embodiment of all that is the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®

game, and an epic confrontation with a powerful dragon is the

highpoint of many campaigns. Dragons are an integral part of

life in Faerûn, and their depredations and intrigues play a great

role in shaping its history.

Using this BookThis book is of benefi t to players and DMs who wish to play a

dracocentric campaign or even just a dracocentric character in

Faerûn.

Chapter 1: True Dragons of the World. This chapter details

the history of dragonkind and integrates the Dragonfall War

(introduced in Races of the Dragon) into Faerûn. It then details

a sampling of powerful wyrms and their younger kin, focusing

on their intrigues and entanglements in recent years (including

the Year of Rogue Dragons). DMs can draw general inspiration or specifi c foes from this chapter, while players can fi nd draconic

patrons and learn what their knowledge of draconic lore has

taught them.

Chapter 2: The Cult of the Dragon. This chapter details

the Followers of the Scaly Way, legendary creators of Faerûn’s

powerful dracoliches, who instigated the Rage of Dragons that beset Faerûn in the Year of Rogue Dragons (1373 DR). Players of

power-hungry evil characters can tie their history to the Dragon

Cult, while DMs can use the group as sinister opponents of a

good-aligned group. This chapter also includes an adventure for

mid-level PCs.

Chapter 3: Tyranny of the Dragon Queen. This chapter details

the Church of Tiamat, followers of the ascendant Dragon Queen,

who overthrew the last god-king of Unther and now seeks to

rule the South in his stead. This chapter also updates the state

of affairs in Threskel and Unther. Players of dragon-loving evil

characters can tie their history to the Dragon Queen’s faith, while

DMs can use the group as powerful opponents of a good-aligned

group. This chapter also includes a high-level adventure.

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5

Chapter 4: Orders of Dragonkind. This chapter details six

dragon-focused organizations of varying alignments. Players

can associate their character with groups such as the Blood

of Morueme, the Church of Tchazzar, the Confl uence, House

Orogoth, the Sisters of Essembra, or the Talons of Justice, while

DMs can use diametrically opposed groups as draconic-themed

foes. This chapter also summarizes rules for playing some more unorthodox player character races of the half-dragon variety and

gives details for those seeking to worship draconic deities.

Chapter 5: Dragon Lairs. This chapter details a variety of

dragon-related challenges, including new dragon-related monsters

and traps and hazards commonly encountered in dragon lairs.

Chapter 6: Dragon-Related Spells. This chapter details a

variety of new spells. Some are useful to PCs battling dragons,

while others are useful to DMs pitting dragons against their play-

ers’ characters. This chapter includes several epic spells as well,

including the epic spell responsible for the Rage of Dragons.

Chapter 7: Magic Items. This chapter details new magic to

help characters battle dragons as well as fi tting rewards for dragon

slayers who manage to plunder a dragon’s hoard. This chapter also

includes a discussion on the consequences of releasing historical

artifacts into the modern age.

Chapter 8: New Dragons. Here you’ll fi nd descriptions of

three new dragon varieties—mercury, steel, and mist—presented

in the classic Monster Manual format, with statistics and rules

text updated to refl ect the v.3.5 version of the D&D game.

The Dracocentric CampaignDragons can play a central role in a FORGOTTEN REALMS cam-

paign in a variety of fashions. If some or all of the players are

descended from dragons (such as draconic creatures, half-dragons,

or creatures with certain sorcerous bloodlines) or aspire to become

part dragon (by taking the dragon disciple prestige class) or serve

one or more dragons (by taking one of the various prestige classes

found in Draconomicon, by joining a dragon-ruled organization,

or by simply pledging themselves to serve a particular dragon),

then the campaign can revolve around their ties to dragonkind

and the confl icts and intrigues thus entailed.

Alternatively, dragons are well suited to play the role of promi-

nent opponents in a Realms-based campaign. Such campaigns

might focus on a specifi c, powerful wyrm such as Iryklathagra,

Dragon Q ysara of Shoon, and the countless historical threads

the tie into her plots and schemes. Such campaigns might also

focus on a group of dragon-oriented villains such as the Church

of Tiamat or the Cult of the Dragon or a dragon clan, such as

the Blood of Morueme or House Orogoth.

The Rage of DragonsThe Year of the Rogue Dragons trilogy (The Rage, The Rite,

and The Ruin) by Richard Lee Byers, as well as Byers’s Q ueen

of the Depths, his short story “Traitors” in Realms of the Elves,

and the anthologies Realms of the Dragons and Realms of the

Dragons II, collectively tell a tale of the greatest peril to all

living creatures of Faerûn, a tale rooted deep in the arcane

mysteries of the past.

Thousands of years ago, before the Reign of Giants and

Elven Crown Wars, Faerûn lived in the Time of the Dragons,

an age when dragons ruled with impunity over all the lesser

races (“meat”). The elves in particular chafed under the yoke

of the dragons and sought a way to free themselves from their

oppression. After years of secret research in the frozen north of

Faerûn and extensive debate about the costs and risks, the elves

weaved the Dracorage mythal*, a permanent crafting of elven

high magic and one of the most powerful spells ever woven into

the Weave. This epic spell made it impossible for dragonkind

to continue its collective dominion of Faerûn. The Dracorage

mythal caused all dragons (including those of type dragon and

creatures with the dragonblood subtype) to become reckless and

run amok across their lands, slaughtering their young and vas-

sals, and destroying all in their wake, but it also gave the Fair

Folk the opportunity to break free of dragon rule, marking the

denouement of the Reign of Dragons. As a result of this ancient curse, dragons have periodically gone

berserk, rampaging across the Realms. Like some sort of disease,

the so-called Dracorage (sometimes known as the Dragon Rage

or simply the Rage) lays dormant, erupting forth every several

decades or even few centuries—an event seemingly associated

with the reappearance of the King-Killer Star (actually a bright

red comet that winks like a baleful eye)—to infect dragons for

several tendays at a time.

The intensity, breadth, and duration of a Dracorage has his-torically depended on the astrological position of the King-Killer

Star. As a result, sometimes the effects of the Dracorage have

been localized, leading to a so-called “fl ight of dragons.” The

most recent Flight of Dragons occurred in the Year of the Worm

(1356 DR) and resulted in the destruction of cities and deaths of

thousands across the Moonsea, Dalelands, Cormyr, and beyond.

At other times (approximately every 300 years, but recorded

intervals have ranged from 100 to 700 years), the Dracorage has

affected all Faerûn, precipitating a full-blown Rage of Dragons.

The last true Rage of Dragons precipitated by the King-Killer

Star occurred in the Year of the Dracorage (1018 DR).

The Dracorage CampaignThe most recent Rage of Dragons occurred prematurely in the

Year of Rogue Dragons (1373 DR) as a result of the manipula-

tions of the mighty lich and leader of the Cult of the Dragon,

Sammaster, and not the wanderings of the King-Killer Star

across the heavens.

The premature eruption of the Dracorage allows DMs to in-troduce this continent-spanning event into a campaign set roughly

in the current timeframe. (Other than a less appropriate year

name, there is little reason why Sammaster’s Dracorage could not

have unfolded the year before or the year after the Year of Rogue

Dragons, if that works better for your campaign.) A Dracor-

age campaign revolves around a period of aberrant behavior by

Faerûn’s great wyrms. Like all periods of transition, a dramatic

change in the status quo unleashes a period of change that can

in turn precipitate all manner of adventures. For example, the

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INTRODUCTION

PCs might be directly involved in unraveling the secrets behind

Sammaster’s Dracorage, as the heroes do in the Year of Rogue

Dragons trilogy, or they might focus more on the consequences of

a particular dragon awakening from a long sleep or abandoning its

responsibili-

ties as it suc-

cumbs to the

Dracorage. The novel

Q ueen of the Depths

by Richard Lee Byers

gives a good example

of what this type of

Dracorage campaign

might look like.

Turning of the Great CycleAs discussed in Chapter 1, the

Year of Rogue Dragons culminates in

the unraveling of the Dracorage mythal

and marks the turning of the Great

Cycle. In the wake of Sammaster’s

Dracorage (presumably in the Year

of Lightning Storms [1374 DR], but

again the exact year can be varied

as appropriate for the individual

campaign), no barrier re-

mains to the great

wyrms of Faerûn reestablishing the

Reign of Dragons over the Realms. A

post-Dracorage dracocentric campaign is

focused on what comes next. The PCs

might get swept up in the resumption

of the Dragonfall War between the fol-

lowers of Bahamut and the servitors of Tiamat, or they might

get involved in the machinations of a great wyrm such as

Alasklerbanbastos or Tchazzar who seeks to carve out

a new kingdom before rivals claim the terri-tory for themselves. Re-

gardless of their patron or

motivation, the PCs

might become

skilled dragon-

hunters, tracking

down rival wyrms

and eliminating them

and the threat they pose.

What You Need to PlayYou need the three D&D core rulebooks—Player’s Handbook

(PH), Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG), and Monster Manual

(MM)—plus the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting (FRCS)

and Draconomicon (Dra) to make the best use of Dragons of

Faerûn.

Several other books are referenced herein. In many cases,

this reference is in the form of a superscript abbre-

viation of the book’s title, which is tacked

onto the end of the name of a spell,

monster, or some other game

element. The books (including

some of those mentioned

above) and their abbrevia-

tions, when applicable, are

as follows: Book of Ex-

alted Deeds (BoED),

Book of Vile Darkness

(BoVD), Complete

Arcane (CAr), City

of Splendors: Water-

deep (CS), Champi-

ons of Valor (CoV),

Dungeon Master’s

Guide II (DMG2),

Epic Level Hand-

book (ELH), Ex-

panded Psionics

Handbook (EPH),

Faiths and Pan-

theons (FP), Fiend

Folio (FF), Heroes of

Battle (HoB), Libris

Mortis (LM), Lords

of Darkness (LD), Lost

Empires of Faerûn

(LE), Lords of Mad-

ness (LM), Magic of

Faerûn (Mag), Monster

Manual II (MM2), Mon-

ster Manual III (MM3),

Monsters of Faerûn (Mon),

Player’s Guide to Faerûn

(PG), Races of the

Dragon (RD), Sand-

storm (San), Serpent

Kingdoms (SK), Shining

South (SS), Unapproach-

able East (Una), and Un-

derdark (Und).

Throughout this book, an asterisk (*)

denotes a spell, feat, monster, or magic item

described elsewhere in the book.

6

Under the baleful gaze of the

King-Killer Star, the Rage of Dragons

sweeps over Faerûn

Illustra

tion by W

illiam

O’C

onnor

95379720_Ch00_FM.indd 6 5/15/06 3:59:08 PM

Sam

ple

file