Darkness.
You stirred, twitching within the confines of your egg. Your hearts beating in...
You stirred, twitching within the confines of your egg. Your hearts beating in...
From the Egg to the Stars (A Dragon Quest)
- Thread starter Jeboboid
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Hatching
Jeboboid
Draconic GM
- Location
- United Kingdom
Darkness.
You stirred, twitching within the confines of your egg. Your hearts beating in tandem, your lungs unused as you wait in dark.
Heat.
You feel intense, incredible heat diffuse through the shell of your egg and work its way through your translucent scales and skin, deep into your bones. But it does not hurt. In fact, it feels comfortable, natural, and you feel something stir within you, a well of power which waits beyond your reach.
Contact.
A mind, greater and vaster than you can believe, reaches out to touch your own. But instead of snuffing you out like a candle, it offers comfort, support, and soothes your soul. It is not time yet. The mind whispers to you. Sleep…
The mind withdraws, and you feel yourself drifting on tides of light and soothing heat. You briefly feel three other minds, roughly the same size and shape as your own, falling away as you are into a deep and silent sleep.
When consciousness comes to you again, the first thing you feel is the tightness of your egg. Pressing in on all sides, it constricts you in a way which is fast becoming uncomfortable. Pushing outward, you try to find space in which to flex your claws, your wings and tail, but there is no space for you in this shell.
You scratch now, on the inside of your shell, attempting to break free. Your claws are weak though, and your lungs begin to burn from the need to breathe. Your eyes flash open as a claw catches on something and you pull. The resulting crack seems thunderous in the confined space, and all at once, the shell gives.
Tumbling free, you take your first breath, filling your lungs before hunger rips into you and you find yourself crying out in need. But as your eyes adjust to your new surroundings, it comes to your attention that something is very very wrong.
You are alone. Your scales dull in the fading light of day as your keening cry of hunger echoes back at you. You cannot see far beyond the edge of the small clearing that you appear to be in, and there is nothing in the clearing besides you and the remains of your egg.
And so, it is that the second cry to issue from your mouth is that or despair and loneliness. It too echoes back at you, but more softly. You wait there for a time, instincts telling you that your mother will be there for you shortly, and that you should wait for her for as long as it takes.
Slowly, you find exhaustion beginning to assail your mind, clouding your thoughts and making your head droop. You lay yourself down on the grass, eyes slowly drifting shut as your cries recede into a sullen, empty silence. You doze, thoughts drifting for a time on the distant clouds of light that you remember from your dreams.
You waken, hunger gnawing at your belly as you hear something coming through the trees. Lifting your weary head, you peer towards the sound through eyes clogged with poor sleep as you spot a two-legged thing picking its way through the forest towards you, singing to itself as it does. Clambering to your feet, you send a questioning chirp their way and when they look at you, it's as if time has frozen.
Who has found you out here in the Wilderness?:
[ ] A Mage (Evil)
[ ] A Mage (Good)
[ ] A Druid
[ ] A Woodsman
[ ] A Party of Adventurers
[ ] Someone Else? (Write in)
You stirred, twitching within the confines of your egg. Your hearts beating in tandem, your lungs unused as you wait in dark.
Heat.
You feel intense, incredible heat diffuse through the shell of your egg and work its way through your translucent scales and skin, deep into your bones. But it does not hurt. In fact, it feels comfortable, natural, and you feel something stir within you, a well of power which waits beyond your reach.
Contact.
A mind, greater and vaster than you can believe, reaches out to touch your own. But instead of snuffing you out like a candle, it offers comfort, support, and soothes your soul. It is not time yet. The mind whispers to you. Sleep…
The mind withdraws, and you feel yourself drifting on tides of light and soothing heat. You briefly feel three other minds, roughly the same size and shape as your own, falling away as you are into a deep and silent sleep.
---
When consciousness comes to you again, the first thing you feel is the tightness of your egg. Pressing in on all sides, it constricts you in a way which is fast becoming uncomfortable. Pushing outward, you try to find space in which to flex your claws, your wings and tail, but there is no space for you in this shell.
You scratch now, on the inside of your shell, attempting to break free. Your claws are weak though, and your lungs begin to burn from the need to breathe. Your eyes flash open as a claw catches on something and you pull. The resulting crack seems thunderous in the confined space, and all at once, the shell gives.
Tumbling free, you take your first breath, filling your lungs before hunger rips into you and you find yourself crying out in need. But as your eyes adjust to your new surroundings, it comes to your attention that something is very very wrong.
You are alone. Your scales dull in the fading light of day as your keening cry of hunger echoes back at you. You cannot see far beyond the edge of the small clearing that you appear to be in, and there is nothing in the clearing besides you and the remains of your egg.
And so, it is that the second cry to issue from your mouth is that or despair and loneliness. It too echoes back at you, but more softly. You wait there for a time, instincts telling you that your mother will be there for you shortly, and that you should wait for her for as long as it takes.
Slowly, you find exhaustion beginning to assail your mind, clouding your thoughts and making your head droop. You lay yourself down on the grass, eyes slowly drifting shut as your cries recede into a sullen, empty silence. You doze, thoughts drifting for a time on the distant clouds of light that you remember from your dreams.
You waken, hunger gnawing at your belly as you hear something coming through the trees. Lifting your weary head, you peer towards the sound through eyes clogged with poor sleep as you spot a two-legged thing picking its way through the forest towards you, singing to itself as it does. Clambering to your feet, you send a questioning chirp their way and when they look at you, it's as if time has frozen.
Who has found you out here in the Wilderness?:
[ ] A Mage (Evil)
[ ] A Mage (Good)
[ ] A Druid
[ ] A Woodsman
[ ] A Party of Adventurers
[ ] Someone Else? (Write in)
Character Sheet
Jeboboid
Draconic GM
- Location
- United Kingdom
Name: Neptune (Neppy to some)
Race: Dragon
Gender: Male
Age: 1 Day (or thereabouts)
Life Stage: Hatchling
Appearance (In about three months):
Attributes:
Strength (Str) - 1 (0/6) - You have barely just hatched, As such, you're not quite strong enough to lift more than your own weight yet.
Dexterity (Dex) - 3 (0/12) - Surprisingly nimble for a newborn lizard the size of a kitten.
Endurance (End) - 2 (0/9) - You a tiny and squishy, getting stepped on would be Bad. As you sleep beneath the Jeweltree's boughs, life magic seeps into your bones, making you hardier, filled with life.
Intelligence (Int) - 2 (0/9) - You may be a hatchling, but you are still a Dragon.
Charisma (Cha) - 3 (0/12) - You are a charming little thing. ("Gleep!")
Wisdom (Wis) - 2 (2/9) - You remember everything that has ever happened to you (Though this isn't really that impressive considering you're about 6 hours old...)
Skills:
Introspection (Wis) (Rank 1) (0/2) - The art of sorting through your own mind, to know yourself and resist negative mental effects.
Knowledge (Dragons) (Int) (Rank 2) (0/6) - what you know of dragons. This knowledge covers a large amount of dragonlore, but in a rather general sense.
Agility (Dex) (Rank 1) (0/2) - The art of moving both quickly and nimbly.
Climbing (Str) (Rank 1) (0/4) - The art of... You guessed it, climbing things. This skill is useful for doing so quickly and efficiently.
Stealth (Dex) (Rank 2) (0/3) - The art of being sneaky, hiding your presence and moving about without being noticed.
Will (Wis) (Rank 2) (0/6) - The art of imposing your will upon the world. One of the necessary skills to use magic effectively. Also effects mental strength.
Investigation (Int) (Rank 1) (0/2) - The art of searching through information, finding what you're looking for amidst a wealth of other knowledge.
Traits:
Adorable - You are roughly the size of a kitten and are quite frankly adorable. (-1 to difficulty of Cha tests to charm people, +1 to difficulty of Cha tests to intimidate people.)
Small - People have a difficult time catching something as small as you. (-1 difficulty to Dex checks to evade the harmful actions of others.)
Magic Sense (level 1) – Allows you to sense sources of magic and the types of magic said sources are.
Gift of Tongues – A gift specific to dragons, allows you to understand the speech of any creature in the realms with ease.
Dreamwalker – A rare ability, creatures with this trait find travelling the world of dreams a lot safer. They also find that their abilities are stronger and easier to call forth within their dream. (-1 difficulty to tests while dreaming. Leads to other traits)
Race: Dragon
Gender: Male
Age: 1 Day (or thereabouts)
Life Stage: Hatchling
Appearance (In about three months):
Attributes:
Strength (Str) - 1 (0/6) - You have barely just hatched, As such, you're not quite strong enough to lift more than your own weight yet.
Dexterity (Dex) - 3 (0/12) - Surprisingly nimble for a newborn lizard the size of a kitten.
Endurance (End) - 2 (0/9) - You a tiny and squishy, getting stepped on would be Bad. As you sleep beneath the Jeweltree's boughs, life magic seeps into your bones, making you hardier, filled with life.
Intelligence (Int) - 2 (0/9) - You may be a hatchling, but you are still a Dragon.
Charisma (Cha) - 3 (0/12) - You are a charming little thing. ("Gleep!")
Wisdom (Wis) - 2 (2/9) - You remember everything that has ever happened to you (Though this isn't really that impressive considering you're about 6 hours old...)
Skills:
Introspection (Wis) (Rank 1) (0/2) - The art of sorting through your own mind, to know yourself and resist negative mental effects.
Knowledge (Dragons) (Int) (Rank 2) (0/6) - what you know of dragons. This knowledge covers a large amount of dragonlore, but in a rather general sense.
Agility (Dex) (Rank 1) (0/2) - The art of moving both quickly and nimbly.
Climbing (Str) (Rank 1) (0/4) - The art of... You guessed it, climbing things. This skill is useful for doing so quickly and efficiently.
Stealth (Dex) (Rank 2) (0/3) - The art of being sneaky, hiding your presence and moving about without being noticed.
Will (Wis) (Rank 2) (0/6) - The art of imposing your will upon the world. One of the necessary skills to use magic effectively. Also effects mental strength.
Investigation (Int) (Rank 1) (0/2) - The art of searching through information, finding what you're looking for amidst a wealth of other knowledge.
Traits:
Adorable - You are roughly the size of a kitten and are quite frankly adorable. (-1 to difficulty of Cha tests to charm people, +1 to difficulty of Cha tests to intimidate people.)
Small - People have a difficult time catching something as small as you. (-1 difficulty to Dex checks to evade the harmful actions of others.)
Magic Sense (level 1) – Allows you to sense sources of magic and the types of magic said sources are.
Gift of Tongues – A gift specific to dragons, allows you to understand the speech of any creature in the realms with ease.
Dreamwalker – A rare ability, creatures with this trait find travelling the world of dreams a lot safer. They also find that their abilities are stronger and easier to call forth within their dream. (-1 difficulty to tests while dreaming. Leads to other traits)
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People You Know
Jeboboid
Draconic GM
- Location
- United Kingdom
Princess Alaina - She thinks you're adorable. You think she's very nice.
Laurel - She's a little wary of you. This is probably because she has never seen a dragon before outside of heraldry. Cathy thinks she's very smart.
Matron - The lady who runs the kitchens. She appears to have a soft spot for Princess Alaina and has no idea what to make of you. Probably likes you just a bit because you happily ate her cooking.
Princess Catherine - Princess Alaina's big sister. She thinks you're pretty cute. She knows a lot about dragons and is in a relationship with Alaina's bodyguard/Lady-in-Waiting Laurel
The King - You like his shiny hat.
Sorella - Your mother, a great dragon who soars the skies in search of her lost children. Extremely happy to know that at least you and your sister Harmony live.
Aribeth - The Dryad of the Jeweltree, she looks after Alaina's dreams, keeping her magical prowess obscured until she can learn to control it. She is also apparently related to the royal family somehow?
Laurel - She's a little wary of you. This is probably because she has never seen a dragon before outside of heraldry. Cathy thinks she's very smart.
Matron - The lady who runs the kitchens. She appears to have a soft spot for Princess Alaina and has no idea what to make of you. Probably likes you just a bit because you happily ate her cooking.
Princess Catherine - Princess Alaina's big sister. She thinks you're pretty cute. She knows a lot about dragons and is in a relationship with Alaina's bodyguard/Lady-in-Waiting Laurel
The King - You like his shiny hat.
Sorella - Your mother, a great dragon who soars the skies in search of her lost children. Extremely happy to know that at least you and your sister Harmony live.
Aribeth - The Dryad of the Jeweltree, she looks after Alaina's dreams, keeping her magical prowess obscured until she can learn to control it. She is also apparently related to the royal family somehow?
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Quest Mechanics
Jeboboid
Draconic GM
- Location
- United Kingdom
This post will be about the mechanics of the quest and the growth you'll undergo as the quest continues, I will likely cut this down into easier to read chunks when I have the time.
Growth comes in three categories, the first is Attribute growth, to increase an attribute by one level, you need to gain enough "points" in it equal to the new level multiplied by three. So advancing to level two is 6, level 3 is 9, and so on. The upside of attribute growth, however, is that it facilitates faster skill growth and can be applied across a wide range of checks, saves and skills.
The second is Skill growth, like attributes, you need a certain number of "points" in them to grow to a new level, but you need far less in order to do so. So if you're growing to a level at or below the related attribute, you only need a number of points equal to the new level. However, if you're advancing a skill beyond it's related attribute, you need twice the new level in order to reach it. The downside to this is that skills are much more specialized than attributes, so have more limited use.
Finally, there's Trait growth. Traits are a little more random than skills and attributes, and you'll gain and lose them throughout the quest. Traits can be both positive, like "Brave" which decreases the difficulty of checks which require you to be brave and generally courageous, and may come into effect against fear spells and the like, or negative, like traits gained from being wounded. Traits will never affect the total number of dice you have for any given skill check, only the difficulty of said check.
That said, I would also like to talk a little about checks themselves and successes. I've divided the results of skill checks into several categories. The first is failure. failing to roll a single success in a test will result in a failure, but rolling a failure AND rolling a 1 in the check will result in a critical failure, which would have more drastic effects than an ordinary failure. the second are the tiers of success. 1 success on a test is an ordinary success, you manage the thing you were attempting to do. Three successes is a good success, you've managed to complete your task with style, possibly managing something else as well. Five successes is a great success, which means you've done brilliantly, possibly granting a trait or skill xp depending on the roll. Finally, there is 7+ successes, which is an outstanding success, which will definitely grant a concrete, possibly rather powerful bonus to any following rolls as you blow the opposition away. Succeeding in such a manner will likely grant you a trait, at least for the remainder of the scene, possibly permanently. Rolling a 10 on the dice will always be a success, and will also grant another dice for the test in question.
Finally, I would like to talk a little about omakes and the bonuses granted from them. Omakes are very much welcome, and depending on the quality, you'll be allowed to apply 1-3 xp to whatever skill/attribute the writer wishes, or even, if the omake is really good, gain a permanent trait of your choice.
Growth comes in three categories, the first is Attribute growth, to increase an attribute by one level, you need to gain enough "points" in it equal to the new level multiplied by three. So advancing to level two is 6, level 3 is 9, and so on. The upside of attribute growth, however, is that it facilitates faster skill growth and can be applied across a wide range of checks, saves and skills.
The second is Skill growth, like attributes, you need a certain number of "points" in them to grow to a new level, but you need far less in order to do so. So if you're growing to a level at or below the related attribute, you only need a number of points equal to the new level. However, if you're advancing a skill beyond it's related attribute, you need twice the new level in order to reach it. The downside to this is that skills are much more specialized than attributes, so have more limited use.
Finally, there's Trait growth. Traits are a little more random than skills and attributes, and you'll gain and lose them throughout the quest. Traits can be both positive, like "Brave" which decreases the difficulty of checks which require you to be brave and generally courageous, and may come into effect against fear spells and the like, or negative, like traits gained from being wounded. Traits will never affect the total number of dice you have for any given skill check, only the difficulty of said check.
That said, I would also like to talk a little about checks themselves and successes. I've divided the results of skill checks into several categories. The first is failure. failing to roll a single success in a test will result in a failure, but rolling a failure AND rolling a 1 in the check will result in a critical failure, which would have more drastic effects than an ordinary failure. the second are the tiers of success. 1 success on a test is an ordinary success, you manage the thing you were attempting to do. Three successes is a good success, you've managed to complete your task with style, possibly managing something else as well. Five successes is a great success, which means you've done brilliantly, possibly granting a trait or skill xp depending on the roll. Finally, there is 7+ successes, which is an outstanding success, which will definitely grant a concrete, possibly rather powerful bonus to any following rolls as you blow the opposition away. Succeeding in such a manner will likely grant you a trait, at least for the remainder of the scene, possibly permanently. Rolling a 10 on the dice will always be a success, and will also grant another dice for the test in question.
Finally, I would like to talk a little about omakes and the bonuses granted from them. Omakes are very much welcome, and depending on the quality, you'll be allowed to apply 1-3 xp to whatever skill/attribute the writer wishes, or even, if the omake is really good, gain a permanent trait of your choice.
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DeepWaters
No one will be the wiser.
- Location
- Land of Spiders and Shipping Charts
[X] A Party of Adventurers
[X] A Druid
Enthusiast#117
This is not the Profile you are looking for
- Location
- United States
[X] A Woodsman
Set Complete!
Set Complete!
Jeboboid
Draconic GM
- Location
- United Kingdom
Not quite, there hasn't been a write-in yet
Easter
Laziest lazier
- Location
- Bed
That just makes it better.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[x] A Mage (Evil)
Burn, maim and take.
Burn, maim and take.
- Location
- Europe
[X] A Party of Adventurers
- Location
- Texas
So, let's look at this rationally.
As a young, relatively vulnerable dragon, just getting started in life, our early choices are going to strongly affect our future opportunities.
Signing up with a woodsman is a clear career mistake, unless he turns out to secretly be a lost prince or a retired general or something. Woodsmen, good-hearted or otherwise, are very common in fantasy wildernesses. You can't throw a stick without hitting one. So, if we decide later that we want a woodsman, we can always pick one up later, relatively easily. And in terms of treasure, woodsmen are a poor investment. Your woodsman is likely going to be a poor but honest, salt of the earth type. We'll never get a decent treasure hoard started hanging out with a woodsman.
A mage, either good or evil, is superficially appealing, because he or she will have power and decent earning potential. However, mages are notoriously bookish and reclusive, and some of them do unsavory things to magical creatures. We might end up being a spell component, or getting turned into a dragonscale hat. Best case, mages have expensive needs, so even though there may be lots of treasure around, much of it won't be falling in to our claws. The mage will want to selfishly hoard it him or herself.
I don't think I even need to address the poor ROI associated with druids. They just hang out in the woods befriending deer and bunnies and things.
A Princess, on the other hand, has excellent treasure potential. Princesses are, by definition, closely related to people with lots of wealth and possibly taxing authority. That means they have lots of treasure available, and don't have to be stingy about sharing it. Plus, princesses have many of the advantages of the other possible choices. Druid? A singing princess can befriend delightful woodland creatures just fine. They do that sort of thing all the time. Woodsman? They're her loyal subjects. Mages? Probably has one on retainer.
An adventuring party is superficially appealing, but consider: with princess and a dragon, we're already most of the way to being an adventuring party. We just have to recruit a gruff but good-hearted warrior type, who might be a woodsman, and a plucky comedy-relief sidekick, and we're set to learn valuable life lessons and accumulate gold. (It's possible either we, or the princess, IS the plucky comedy relief, but that doesn't really impact the scenario.)
As a young, relatively vulnerable dragon, just getting started in life, our early choices are going to strongly affect our future opportunities.
Signing up with a woodsman is a clear career mistake, unless he turns out to secretly be a lost prince or a retired general or something. Woodsmen, good-hearted or otherwise, are very common in fantasy wildernesses. You can't throw a stick without hitting one. So, if we decide later that we want a woodsman, we can always pick one up later, relatively easily. And in terms of treasure, woodsmen are a poor investment. Your woodsman is likely going to be a poor but honest, salt of the earth type. We'll never get a decent treasure hoard started hanging out with a woodsman.
A mage, either good or evil, is superficially appealing, because he or she will have power and decent earning potential. However, mages are notoriously bookish and reclusive, and some of them do unsavory things to magical creatures. We might end up being a spell component, or getting turned into a dragonscale hat. Best case, mages have expensive needs, so even though there may be lots of treasure around, much of it won't be falling in to our claws. The mage will want to selfishly hoard it him or herself.
I don't think I even need to address the poor ROI associated with druids. They just hang out in the woods befriending deer and bunnies and things.
A Princess, on the other hand, has excellent treasure potential. Princesses are, by definition, closely related to people with lots of wealth and possibly taxing authority. That means they have lots of treasure available, and don't have to be stingy about sharing it. Plus, princesses have many of the advantages of the other possible choices. Druid? A singing princess can befriend delightful woodland creatures just fine. They do that sort of thing all the time. Woodsman? They're her loyal subjects. Mages? Probably has one on retainer.
An adventuring party is superficially appealing, but consider: with princess and a dragon, we're already most of the way to being an adventuring party. We just have to recruit a gruff but good-hearted warrior type, who might be a woodsman, and a plucky comedy-relief sidekick, and we're set to learn valuable life lessons and accumulate gold. (It's possible either we, or the princess, IS the plucky comedy relief, but that doesn't really impact the scenario.)
DeepWaters
No one will be the wiser.
- Location
- Land of Spiders and Shipping Charts
This is a pretty good argument, for people who are voting like a dragon. (Not for me, though. I just think the adventuring party has the best potential for wacky hijinks.) However, I must point out that you're making the assumption that the princess is going to still have access to her wealth. It'd be sort of weird for a princess to be in a forest unescorted, after all, and what kind of escort would let a princess adopt a baby dragon on a whim? If we get a princess, she's probably going to be on the run from her usurper uncle or something.
(Not that I would mind that; that would be great in my book. Just pointing out that the reasoning isn't necessarily sound.)
Easter
Laziest lazier
- Location
- Bed
You didnt take into account the god one.
