Draconian, General Information

Draconians, also known as dragonmen, are vile monstrosities resembling a cross between a humanoid and a dragon. These creatures were created from the corrupted eggs of good dragons. Originally serving as special troops of the Dragon Highlords during the War of the Lance, the surviving draconians are among the most dangerous and repugnant in habitants of Krynn.

Background: In the year 2645 in the Age of Light, anti-dragon sentiment ran high in Krynn, thanks in large part to acts of terrorism by the evil dragons. A great Solamnic Knight named Huma successfully drove the evil dragons to a negative plane, where they were ordered to sleep for the rest of eternity. To preserve the balance between good and evil, the good dragons agreed to depart as well. Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness, managed to secure an oath from the good dragons that they would remain in hibernation on the Isle of Dragons, far from the mainland of Ansalon. To ensure the oath, Takhisis held the eggs of the good dragons hostage in the dark tunnels beneath the city of Sanction.

Unknown to the good dragons, the eggs were not sheltered and protected as promised, Instead, Takhisis betrayed the oath by corrupting the eggs to create the evil draconians. The corruption involved foul magic performed by the evil triad of Wyrllish the cleric, Dracart the mage, and the ancient red dragon Harkiel, the Bender. Through arcane spells, they caused the eggs to grow and their occupants to multiply. Wyrllish opened a gate to the Abyss, and souls of the Dark Queen's minions, the abishai, rushed forth to inhabit the draconian spawn.

The draconians became an important part of the Dark Queen's forces when she attempted to conquer Krynn in the War of the Lance. They were ideal soldiers, more predictable than humans and more apt to follow orders than the ogres and goblins that made up the bulk of the army. Ultimately, the Dark Queen's plans were thwarted when the good dragons learned of her betrayal. Once the good dragons joined forces with the good races of the world, the evil armies were defeated and Takhisis was driven from Krynn.

Without Takhisis to guide them, the surviving draconians fell into disarray. The weaker leaders in the Dragonarmies found that the draconians no longer responded to their orders, while many of the more dictatorial leaders found the dragonmen rebelling against their control. Draconians without positions of responsibility in the armies lost interest in their posts. Though some draconians remained loyal to their leaders, most abandoned the armies to fend for themselves.

Today, most draconians exist as small bands of marauders, living in desolate wilderness areas where they practice banditry, extortion, and murder. Draconian bands living near cities or villages often turn on the populace in frenzies of pillage, arson, and slaughter. Though they remin loyal to Takhisis, the draconians show only occasional interest in the schemes of the their former Dragonarmy masters. While draconain units are sometimes found in evil human armies, they remain aloof from other races. Draconians are drawn to evil dragons, but have no particular affinity for any other creature.

Draconian Races: There are five distinct draconian races: the stony Baaz, the magic-wielding Bozaks, the poison-tongued Kapaks, the shape-shifting Sivaks, and the ultra-powerful Auraks. A sixth race, the Traag or proto-draconian, are included here; but most scholars do not consider them to be true draconians. Each race arose from the corrupted eggs of a particular good dragon. Baaz and Traag from brass dragon eggs, Bozaks from bronze eggs, Kapaks from copper eggs, Sivaks from silver eggs, and Auraks from gold eggs.

Each draconian race served specific roles in the Dragonarmies. Kapaks, wielding poison blades and arrows, were used as assassins and archers. The magic-using Bozaks, wielding short swords, were used as special forces to command draconian squads. Sivaks formed the elite forces, wearing heavy armor and swinging twohanded swords. Baaz were the foot soldiers, comprising the bulk of the troops. They were often disguised in robes and used as scouts. The Auraks were rare and special generals of the draconian armies, also used as special agents since they could pass undetected among humans.

Various draconian races were often assigned to the same armies during the War of the Lance. Today, however, draconians of different races never combine into bands. The antagonism between Baaz and Kapak, for instance, is as strong as that between draconians and humans. It is this intense rivalry and interracial hatred that prevents draconians from becoming a dominant power in their own right.

Appearance: All draconians have the same general appearance. They have humanoid bodies with the tails and heads of dragons. Small scales cover them from head to toe: the scales are a duller shade of those of their original parents for instance, Bozak scales are a dull bronze). They have elongated snouts, razor-like tangs, and beady eyes.

Draconians have thick, stocky bodies and range in height from 5½ feet (Baaz) to nine feet (Sivaks). Sharp claws extend from their toes and fingers. They can manipulate tools and weapons as easily as humans can. They drag their bulky tails behind them; the tails are useless as weapons but help the draconians balance themselves. They have huge feet, with three splayed toes in the front and a single toe in the back.

All but the Auraks have a pair of leathery wings growing from their backs. Bony projections line the bottom edge of each wing, and a single projection extends from the top. A draconian's wings are nearly as large as its body.

All draconians are reasonably intelligent and are adept at several languages. In addition to their own tongue, which sounds like a combination of hisses and wheezes, most can speak common as well as the languages of evil dragons and other evil races.

General Abilities: Though all but the Auraks have wings, only the Sivaks can sustain flight (Bozaks can fly for a single round). Draconians can flap their wings while running on all fours, which enables them to move quite fast. They can also use their wings to glide a distance equal to four times the height from which they launch themselves (for instance, a draconian launching itself from a 100-foot cliff can glide 400 feet).

Draconians are not affected by a dragon's fear ability. Actually, draconians enjoy the company of evil dragons and eagerly ally with them. When a draconian is serving an evil dragon, it gains a +1 bonus to its attack rolls while within 120 feet of the dragon.

Draconians are creatures of magical origin, and thus ail of them radiate magic. When draconians arc slain, the arcane enchantments that formed them create spectacular death scenes that can be deadly to bystanders. Each race's death scene is unique (see the individual entries for details).

The banishment of Takhisis did not cause the draconians to vanish or wither away. But it does mean that the only method of creating new draconians is no longer available. Draconians are incapable of mating (there are no meaningful distinctions between the draconian sexes), and they are biologically incompatible with other races. Therefore, the population of draconians will inevitably decline.

Since draconians were created from the eggs of the most longlived of Krynn's monsters, they are not susceptible to aging in any noticeable way. Though there have been no recorded instances of draconians dying from old age, it is estimated that their life spans easily exceed 1,000 years. Thus the draconian population shrinks only through combat and accidents.

Draconians are not vulnerable to any known disease, and they can subsist for long periods with little food or water.