A History

Beyond the reach of any record, the dragon calamity occurred. During an ancient war among the gods, Io, the perfect god of all dragons, was split in-two by the King of Terror’s adimantine axe. The two half’s formed Tiamat and Bahamut and locked all dragon kind into strict slavery to the alignments of their gods for millennia. It was a lit fuse that would lead inevitably to war. But the war isn’t interesting, and it’s not the point of the story. It’s what came next.

At the end of the most destructive war ever fought in the multiverse, a miracle happened. Tiamat and Bahamut were re-joined, and Io was reborn. The war was over, Io had freed dragon kind from their divisions and solitude. Io breathed a new plane into existence and made this a home for the dragons – perfect for them. This became The Prime Horde.

The Prime Horde

For two thousand six hundred years, dragon society has developed in the safety of the Prime Horde. The plane is small, perhaps only two thousand miles in diameter total, with the spherical reaches shrouded in the soft rainbow light of the Chromatic Nebula. A thousand-mile diameter ring serves as the resting place for the oldest dragons – the Elder Ring. It is there that many sleep upon heaps of coins and gems.  Next are the Legacy Spheres, homes to the old dragon families, one for each of the original colors, stones, and metals.

The place of activity is the Nuclean Trove. Appearing as a hollow moon, shot through with gaping holes, it is both museum, college, laboratory and training ground. And it is here that the adventure begins.

The Expeditionary Force

For Dragon Kind, the Prime Horde is a kind of paradise, a utopia. There is no thing needed, and its citizenry could live forever happy without disease or famine. Many are satisfied with this life, raising the next generation, reading in the Library of Infinity, or experimenting with new forms of magic. However, the hunger for treasure never truly left the race, and there are some who yearn to explore the multiverse and capture new wealth, contributing forever to the glory of the Horde.

Dragons in the Force have ventured to worlds sparkling with technology to obtain a rare work of art, roasted gangs of goblins for rare magic items, and bargained with Fey for rare novels. Some return with piles of gold and jewels, others are lost to the dangers that lurk, but the most coveted trophies are unique items - things that by their nature exist exactly once in all of reality.

You will play young dragons who have joined the Expeditionary Force and are looking forward to teleporting to new worlds in search of special treasures to bring home – and face the dangers that may guard them.

Character Creation

To create a character for this adventure, you will need to build a 13th level character of any class and background, using the race and statistics array values that follow:

Ability Score: apply the following stats to your six base stats similar to using the standard array for a normal character: 17, 16, 15, 12, 11, 10. In addition, dragons get +2 STR and +2 CON. For this adventure, 23 is the new stat max.

Heritage: You are a descendent of the fifteen original dragon families. The Chromatic Dragons, Red, White, Blue, Black and Green. The Metallic Families, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Brass and Copper. The Gem Families, Amethyst, Crystal, Emerald, Sapphire and Topaz. Since the migration to the Prime Horde, the families have begun to mix. You may choose any background for your character - a Pure Silver dragon, a Topaz-Brass dragon, or a rainbow, incorporating them each. Mechanically, this will only affect the type of damage your breath weapon produces.

Languages: You know Draconic, and three other languages of your choosing.

Vision: You have darkvision to a radius of 120ft.

Movement: Walk 40ft, Fly 80ft, Swim 40ft.

Natural Armor: Your draconic scales provide a natural base AC of 18.

Bite or Claw Attack: As an action on your turn, you can make an attack using your bite or your claw +STR+PB to hit, dealing 1D8+STR piercing or slashing damage, as appropriate.

Breath Weapon: Your heritage determines the type of damage your breath weapon produces. If you have more than one ancestry, you may choose the type.

The exhalation manifests as either a 25ft cone or a 40ft line (choose during character creation). The target(s) make a DEX save vs 8+CON+PB and deals 6D6 damage, or half on save. You can use this up to three times per long rest, but only once per encounter. It can be re-charged during an encounter by spending a bonus action on three turns.

Size: Your size is Huge (3x3 squares). this has some unusual effects on some spells, but we will work through them as they come up.

After applying this, take a background as normal and then apply your class(es), including normal Ability Score improvements.

Primer

You represent a squad, and have been studying to venture out from the Horde together now for sometime. Each of you have one or more mentors, but collectively, your professor is a lithe, gregarious Amethyst dragon named Avranador. She is a resource for you and has helped prepare you for planar travel.

The method of travel involves the Arkon - a set of five elongated octahedrons. Each one will float, rotating gently along its long axis. When placed near each other with intention, a weak field will appear around them. To open a portal, a destination key is required. Each key appears as a large (2in dia) coin, much heavier than it should be. If a key is tossed into the field, it dissolves and a portal is opened. The portal will stay open until the Arkon are pulled out, at which point the key will re-form on that side and flip up into the air. The exception is the key to the Prime Horde – this portal will remain open for only 1 minute and then close on the Horde side – this is a security measure.

One of you has been mentoring with a dragon named Lukon - who is now missing. in possession of his notes, it seems obvious to you that he meant for you to find him, and perhaps the unique magic item he was seeking…