On Magnate's Scales (Dragonriding Quest)

[Eventua]

CHARACTER SHEETS ALLIES INVENTORY QUESTS WORLD JOURNEL

• Name: Rell ???? and Ozerilet
  Background:
  --- Born into the Heritage Clan, the chosen people, on a most auspicious night - the laying of a clutch of new dragon eggs. At the age of three, Rell was weaned and taken for the hatching, where Ozerilet hatched and chose to bond with Rell, creating a pact that has forever bound their hearts.
  --- Rell has been given the elixir of the ancients, and thus has biological immortality - once Rell reaches about the age of twenty-five, they'll stop aging.
  
  RIDER (Rell)
  Age & Appearance: 19
  Skillsets:
  ---- Riding (Novice)
  
  Strengths:
  ---- Passive Sensesharing: Since Rell and Ozerilet made their pact at such a young age, their base degree of sensesharing is higher than that of riders from other societies, where pacts are made much later in life.
  
  Weaknesses:
  
  DRAGON (Ozerilet)
  Type: True Dragon; Middle-Weight, approximately 8 meters long
  Age & Appearance: 16
  Diet:
  Senses
  --- Sight: Shared+
  --- Sound: Shared+
  --- Taste: Shared+
  --- Touch: Shared+
  --- Pain: Synchronized
  --- Balance: Shared+
  --- Thought: Shared+
  --- Purpose: Shared+
  
  Strengths:
  --- Jack of All Trades: Her balance of weight and power lets her use her inner fire in a wide range of ways; and has a good balance of speed and agility in the air.
  --- Passive Sensesharing: Since Rell and Ozerilet made their pact at such a young age, their base degree of sensesharing is higher than that of riders from other societies, where pacts are made much later in life.
  
  Weaknesses:
  --- Master of None: Against lighter dragons she could be outmaneuvered, while against larger dragons she risks being outpaced and overpowered.
• Essme and Saernaulinos
  Marr and Tornaulimet
  ???? and ????
  Milo
  Anne
• RELL
  Trainee - Riding Clothes (equipped)
  Flight Mask
  
  OZERILET
  Riding Harness (equipped)
• [TO BE UTILIZED IN FUTURE CHAPTERS]
• The Heritage Clan
  Rell's people, an ancient but somewhat isolated culture most famed for their long history of dragon riding and the religious significance they place on it. Dragon eggs can take a number of years to mature and hatch, so when a child of the clan is born on the same day as a new clutch of eggs, they are weaned after several years and brought to the clutch. When it hatches, one of the newborn dragons will form a pact with the child, and they will remain partners for life.
  
  The Taslodite Pactlords
  A heavily divided people whose noble lineages control vast territories across the globe through their dragon riders, the Pactlords, the Taslodites are ancestral enemies of the Heritage Clan who have settled into an uneasy peace where neither side bothers the other - despite each seeing the way the other handles dragon riding to be absurd or heretical.
  
  The Accionite Empire
  A nation that only recently came to power but has conquered vast stretches of territory between and beyond the mantlejaw mountains to the Heritage Clans' east, thanks to their recent and mass-enslavement of dragons. They are a dangerous enemy and currently at war with several Taslodite houses, as well as with your people.
• [TO BE UTILIZED IN FUTURE CHAPTERS]

 

[Eventua]

I'm thinking either mercenary or heritage clan.... Any ideas what the benefits are, aside from the number of other riders?

Click to shrink...

Ah, wasn't sure if it might bog down the descriptions to much. Currently, there are no plans to introduce abstract gameplay mechanics - at least for now this is purely a narrative quest. Rather, faction/background is a big deal for Rell and Ozerilet's relationship to each other, their home, and other dragons/nations.

In the short term, each faction will have sent a different number of dragons on this mission. The Heritage Clan will have sent four; the Accionite Empire will have sent three; and the Pactlords or Mercenaries will have sent two.

More long term...
--- The Accionite Empire relies on a large, disciplined, and well-oiled military in the pursuit of expanding their territory far beyond the small collection of city-states they started as. Besides having instituted the concept of "citizen-soldiers" on a large scale (that is, conscription), their military might comes from having recently discovered methods for controlling mantlejaws and riding dragons. The official stance of the government is that dragons aren't fully people, and you will have had it engrained into you since childhood that dragons not aligned with the empire are automatically a dangerous threat. The other dragons and their riders with you on this mission are colleagues and fellow soldiers, and so there's a mutual respect that comes from that. However, you are looked down upon by non-rider elements of the military.

--- The Taslodite Pactlords are land-holding noble lineages that long ago allied with dragons for protection and as symbols of their authority. Although you are the youngest child of a relatively small noble house - only having a handful of dragons in your family total - you are still automatically deferred to and revered by the serfs and laymen of your nation, but will generally be looked down upon by other dragon riders who are older and more experienced. Dragons and dragon riders that aren't aligned with the Taslodites are viewed with distrust, but in an awed, respectful sort of way.

--- The Heritage Clan are a relatively small, isolationist society that has survived larger and much more aggressive neighbours through the centuries because they long ago created bonds of friendship and understanding with dragons, attaching a sort of religious significance to the bond between dragons and their riders, and you have been given biological immortality (agelessness) for this reason. You will have been taught to view all dragons with respect, but to look down on dragon riders from other societies. The other dragons and their riders with you on this mission are considered to be your close friends and equals, both mentors and students, and you would have grown up closely with some of them as part of growing up with Ozerilet.

--- As part of a Mercenary Band you only know the others here loosely, in passing, or from prior business arrangements. Dragon riders who work as mercenaries often tend to either stick closely to one band for consistency of work, or - as is your case - will be loners who attach themselves to a mercenary band temporarily as part of a contract.

 

[Eventua]

By the way, how strong are dragons in this world compared to other beings? Are they considered a true force multiplier or are they just considered decent beasts of war(from the Empire's perspective.)

Click to shrink...

Thank you for the thoughtful comments!

And dragons with riders are consistently a massive force multiplier, depending on the environment they're fighting in (generally, dragons are most effective against densely packed field troops or wooden fortifications and settlements, as well as heavy ground cavalry; and less effective in cavernous or swampy environments or against scouting infantry and massed archers). There are a number of "primordial kinds" in different parts of the world who are potentially more dangerous than dragons under certain circumstances or can do things dragons can't, but as far as a balance of raw physical threat and informational/scouting advantage there's not much that can take them on.

The Heritage Clan (and its member clans - Icewater; Saltwater; Lakewater; Riverwater; Earthwater; and Cloudwater) for example is a relatively sparce, low-tech society spread over a wide area but their long history of dragon riding has been enough to prevent successful large-scale incursions even from larger nations with dragon riders of their own (see also: the Pactlord crusades over the centuries that did little more than ruin the reputation of some noble families and poisoned long term political/cultural ties and goodwill).