Drak Sen, revisions and you.
The reason for this post:
After talking with a few of the primary Drak Sen players and mulling over the write-up as it currently is, I have a few ideas I’d like to propose. But before that a disclaimer to get out of the way.
I’m not looking to change any combat mechanics or add/remove classes. This write-up is more for description and flavor, creating more separation between the appearances of the different sects. I will propose a few ideas regarding wings and flying.
Thank you to Dias`Eesha and Menhir for brainstorming with me (and me brainstorming with you both) on IRC. I hope this does our collective ideas justice.
Scales
Metallic Scales: Gold, Silver, Copper (Possible additions: Bronze & Cobalt)
Earthen Scales: Pearl, Jade, Jasper (Possible additions: Marble & Coral)
Bejeweled Scales: Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire (Possible additions: Diamond & Amethyst)
Mineral Scale: Onyx, Mercury, Lava (Possible additions: Slate & Bismuth)
Reason for Additions (also Jade/Quartz): After write what I wrote in in Rei-Kai’s ‘Drak Sen Reborn’ thread (add link), I did some thinking about whether or not it would be fine to add new scale types. The most it would do is add more options for those players who’d want to create a Drak Sen. I tried to pick options that didn’t get co-opted by the other sects while also remaining separate in and of themselves. Bronze and Copper, for example, look entirely different. The naming conventions for Earthen Scales left a bit to be desired, so I added Jade and Jasper instead of ‘Deep Green’ and ‘Dark Brown’.
The Mineral Scales also have a weird one: Lava. There’s nothing remotely similar to it, so I left it as is. I assumed it was a grayish type scale with ‘flowing’ bands of magma/lava for a soft glow.
Credit to Rei-Kai for his fantastic write-up, I just didn’t think this would get much justice as an addition to another thread.
Wings
Currently, Drak Sen have the ability to either be Wingless, have two wings or four wings. As a result (I believe), they cannot fly (because if someone chooses to not have wings, they’d still have the ability to fly unaided). Since dragons can fly, it would normally and naturally make sense that drak sen should have the ability to fly, right? I imagine that’s where the trade-off is.
The three races that can fly: Torian, Chirot, and Magi, have pretty hefty restrictions: Chirot, regardless of class, can only wear A class armor. Torian, regardless of class, can only wear A and B class armor. For Magi, it actually doesn’t say what classes of armor they can wear on their race page, so I’ll assume the same as Torian, in being A & B.
As a result, Drak Sen can’t fly because they have access to heavier armor (C Class). If we want this race to be able to fly, we’d have to lower the armor classes they can access. Is this good or bad? If a Drak Sen really wants to fly, they can get the Fly spell.
Next wing-related proposal:
Can we make wings have more roleplay color/flare? Perhaps adding a weapon like the Drak Sen stinger that only Drak Sen can use (since they do not use their wings for flight) that allows them to equip ‘blades’ (use *Basic/Mithril* sword modifiers).
In addition to the base models of wings, I have a few proposals:
Metallic: Metallic Scales are supposed to be the ‘royal’ drak sen according to their creation story, so this is what I came up with:
The Metallic Scales, granted dominion over the Autumn and were the ‘First’ by their Dreamers, can have wings with membranes that are longer by a sizable margin, mimicking the appearance of a royal cloak. Their wings are jointed in a fashion that allows the thumb joints on the wings to clasp together, further cementing the air of royalty the metallic sect has. It flows behind them, along with their tail, glimmering and glittering of whatever scale type they are, though with musculature retraction, they can ‘tighten’ the membrane to be more mundane – but what metallic drak sen would ever admit to being mundane?
Earthen: The Earthen Scales are those most closely aligned with the Gaean creatures (The Fae races and Satyr), so it made sense that their wings have an almost faerie-like tone to them.
The Earthen Scales, looked upon the earth they were bound to protect and the dreams they were forged from – that of the fae races: nymphs, satyrs, pixies and nixies. Their wings are vast and voluminous. At rest, they look ordinary and simply. But as their wings flare, it’s almost like what a dragon believes a butterfly’s wings might look like. The appendage itself is scaled, like all drak sen’s are, but the membrane has a stained-glass look, mirroring the various shades of their scale’s color. Rather than being concave, or arching upwards towards the wing’s joints, Earthen wings are convex and arc away from the joints, creating a ‘rounded’ appearance to almost ethereal looking wings.
Bejeweled: This one was a little odd. The Bejeweled sect are the wanderers. Despite that, they also have the ‘brightest’ scales of the four sects, making them stand out. They watch the world of Belariath (moreso than the other races) and bring their beauty for all to see. So I had to consider what sort of wing variation they might have. The general idea is that their wings become ‘banners’ from which to fly their colors (Scale Sect).
The Bejeweled Scales, those who wandered the lands to reach all that inhabited it, rejoiced in their beauty and wished to share it with all to see, so that it might give them hope. Given that all Drak Sen’s wings are useless for flying, the Dreamers gifted the Bejeweled with wings like a pair of banners. The wings themselves extend at sharp angles, with their thumb-joints pointing directly towards the sky. The wings themselves extend up behind their head and then outwards, membrane barely framed by the appendage. This also has the advantage of making them ‘look’ bigger from behind, but it exposes more scale and membrane surface to flaunt the beauty that their Dreamers created.
Mineral Scales: So out of all the scale sects, this one makes the least amount of sense to have wings. Their Dreamers are dragons that live in the deep, dark places of Belariath. So, I thought perhaps their wings would have a greater utility to them. They would keep the wing-flaps/membranes closed more times than to favor
The Mineral Scales, born of the dreams and nightmares of the deep, dark places, were created with those very places in mind. While some are created with wings, as the great Elder Dragons are prideful, some are created with their environment in mind. The thumb juncture on a Mineral Scale’s wings is far larger than the norm, sporting multiple digits with a thicker padding that have skeletal structure balancing them through the membrane. As a result, their wings not only look quite chiropteran when stretched out but are used as additional sets of ‘hands’ that they can climb and grasp outcroppings, branches and the like. These additional digits do not have any manual dexterity and can only grip things tightly, but some particularly creative drak sen can use them for locomotion on the ground, creating an eerie, if not nightmarish image.
Horns
As it is written, Drak Sen can only have little horns. That, in and of itself, is enough to prevent them from wearing most head armor. I can understand why this restriction is in place (the head-armor one). So, I’d like to present one of two options.
Option One: Allow Drak Sen to have modified helmets. If they have simple enough horns, it stands to reason that they could have ‘holes’ put in a leather helmet, chainmail coif, or full plate helm, that would allow the horns though while allowing them all the defensive benefits of that armor.
Option Two: Allow a greater variety of horn-types. I feel that we can broaden this a bit so long as it’s not outlandish. Having curled, ram-like horns, or several rows of head-spikes nestled within their hair, could be allowable. A Drak Sen would not have elk/moose like antlers, for example. Nor would it change their inability to use them in combat. The Dreamers/Elder Dragons created the Drak Sen with ornamental and aesthetic appeal in mind – their skeletal structures and musculature is not built to headbutt smash someone for increased damage. Given that the Dreamers/Elder Dragons create the Drak Sen from the collective dreams of everyone within their range, it stands to reason that they’d have more aesthetic options available as humanoids. (Nothing that makes them remotely look bestial).
Base Physical Appearance
Drak Sen cannot breed. Full Stop. However, they are created by Elder Dragons to emulate the humanoid races, so it stands to reason that they’d have a variety of body shapes. The Elder Dragons have their biases, though. Like their wings, they can appear however they like, but there are archetypical appearances present too.
Metallic Scales: Being that they’re considered royalty, their preferred body type would be the atypical human or elf shape. Could have rounded ears or pointed, could be tall and stately or squared and muscular (human standard). This is the atypical drak sen appearance now and I don’t see much reason to alter it.
Earthen Scales: These drak sen are stronger and stockier in appearance, given that supposedly most of their population are males. Built like barrels, like barbarians. Even the females are built thicker and have stronger cores as a result. We’re talking Scottish caber-tossing levels of oomph. Also, considering their ties to the fae races, the females can be quite luscious and bountiful while being able to crack a bowling ball between their thighs.
Bejeweled Scales: The depictions of elegance. These dreams might tend to be agile and lithe… ballet dancers to cirque du soleil acrobatics. Their muscle-mass is dense, not bulky and like, being fine-boned, thin fingers and toes. Very petite with smaller and softer curves in the case of the females.
Mineral: This one gave me issues. What dreams and nightmares do the Elder Dragons pull from in the deep dark? From Dark Elves, specifically, and the many races they keep enslaved. So these can take on darker skin tones, like dark elves, but they can also look… monstrous? Spindly, some might have trollish or ogrish appearances, with fingers just a little too long, or a jaw a little too wide. These drak sen are the only ones who can have ‘ugly’ drak sen. Do they view themselves as such? No, because they’re created to look as such by their Dreamers and nothing their Dreamers make could ever be ‘hideous’ or ‘ugly’. On the flip side of that, they could look as if they have an ephemeral, almost alien beauty to them, taking tidbits from the minds of Moriel Matrons, Duessa, and other sentient beings in the darkness. Reasoning? Not every drak sen has to be the epitome of beauty and the nightmares would best reflect this for those willing to play as such.
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So that's my proposal for revision, with a few options sprinkled about, because not everyone may agree or like, but might not know how to word it. Discussion invited!
