“The dragons are gone, but we remain. Their blood courses through our veins, and while we stand they are not forgotten. We belong to the storm, and we fight with pride.” – The Creed of House Roaring Thunder
Contents
Who are the Drakeblooded?
Fierce, proud and determined to live up to the legacy of their ancestors, the Drakeblooded are one of the playable species in Five Oaths. If you’re playing a Drakeblooded, your character could be a member of one of the great Drakeblooded Houses and an heir to an age-old tradition. Or perhaps due to a terrible defeat you were fostered as a child, either to another House not your own or even another species, and you strive to surpass the memory of what you have lost. A Drakeblooded character inherits a rich history, and carries it with them wherever they go.
The Drakeblooded Houses are great bloodlines, traced back to the days when the storm dragons still ruled the skies above Tirneach. These days, you could find a member of any of the Drakeblooded Houses almost anywhere in the Five Realms, especially in places with a sense of history and tradition, only coming together for the Bloodmeet once every five years. The exception to this is House Roaring Thunder, who are sworn to protect the Réig and their family and so will be found mainly in Uasa or abroad with royalty.
Drakeblooded often seek greater glory and wealth amongst the gallóglaigh, where they are welcomed due to their reputation as warriors and the storm magics they can deploy, using the power of the ancient dragons that flows through their veins. Though they can be haughty and superior, Drakeblooded are typically loyal to those they consider worthy of it.
Origins of the Drakeblooded
Long ago, dragons walked the lands, flew in the skies and swam in the seas. Not only were they colossal beasts, but they were also shrewdly intelligent and powerful in magic. It is believed they were first made by the Shaper to act as heralds to all of the Shaper’s children, and guardians to sacred sites. Some of them lost their way, and terrorised the weaker species, demanding worship and tribute, but many more fulfilled their original purpose as protectors and sages. The dragons are gone now, long dead, but traces of their influence live on in their descendants, the Drakeblooded.
In Tirneach, there were Storm Dragons who lived in and guarded the most important shrines and places of power along coasts, rivers and mountaintops. Beings of thunder and lightning, howling winds and pummeling waves, they kept the shores of Tirneach safe from invaders, and destroyed the Gwyllt wherever they found them. Their descendants in Tirneach still hold some of their power, a tingle of lightning coursing through their veins, the echoing boom of thunder in their throat, and silver, green, or purples scales adorning their skin.
Playing a Drakeblooded
To play the descendant of a dragon, you will need to get a little bit scaly! Drakeblooded have normal human skin tones, ranging from pale to dark, but overlaid on top of that is a pattern of scales, in silvers, greens, and purples. We will be putting up some tutorials on how you can make a scaly pattern that looks great and is reasonably easy to apply here on this website in the future, so keep an eye out for them!
Drakeblooded are able to echo and control the fearsome powers of the dragons that spawned them. Drakeblooded characters start play with the Roar of the Dragon Feat, which allows them to instill fear in their enemies by channeling the dread voice of their ancestors. Drakeblooded Peacesworn characters instead recognise fear in others, and help to stoke their allies’ courage against threats they will face.
The Drakeblooded are renowned throughout the Five Realms, and are generally welcomed as people of intrigue and majesty. Some Drakeblooded may choose take advantage of this reputation for personal gain, although if they bring their House into disrepute too often they may get an unexpected visit from an angry cousin. Many Drakeblooded strive to live up to their name, and do great deeds as a consequence.
The lifespan of the Drakeblooded:
Average life expectancy: 80-90
Maximum life expectancy: 140
Common causes of death: Assassination, combat.
How Drakeblooded view the other Species:
Creidhe: They can’t fight, but they can fix just about anything. They are worth keeping in your land.
Fathach: We swore to protect this land, and they are big chunks of that same land torn up and stuffed with stolen magic. The Vartach have so much to answer for.
Firetouched: Our fiery cousins from the East lost their ancestors. And now here are people who claim fire courses through their blood? Don’t turn your back on them.
Humans: They will talk your ear off about all of their fantastic ideas on how to bring back dragons. Listen to them if they can ever actually follow through.
Krieger: Unwelcome invaders, our ancestors kept them out while they were still alive to guard our sacred shores.
Leasiar: Our ancestors guarded this entire land, not theirs. Theirs just lived here and leached off the land. Remember that.
Vartach: They killed our ancestors. Never forget. Never forgive.
Wildlings: The only ones who have as deep a connection to this land as we do, that earns them some respect.
Some Drakeblooded You Might One Day Meet…
Guaire is a young Drakeblooded of House Roaring Thunder. Destined one day to act as bodyguard to the Réig, Guaire has left his family home in Uasa to go to join the gallóglaigh, as his parents and siblings did before him. His older brother was killed at the Battle of Traitor’s Tears, but he died a hero so Guaire has big shoes to fill. One day, he knows he will return to Corroch as a famous gallóglach and join the Réig’s Guard, he just needs to prove himself.
Oidhreamh is a scholar of the declining House Crashing Rain, many of whom make their home in the Baolach Highlands. She has become obsessed with discovering the true reason for the extinction of the storm dragons of Tirneach, and is sure that if she can discover how to resurrect them she can redeem her House. She has spent months now in the Great Library of Uaircinn among the Lowlanders of Baol, seeking the name of even one of the lost dragons so that she can speak with it using the rituals of the Shaper. Once she has the name, she will use the Ritual of Communion and find the answers she seeks, and edicts of the Orders be damned!
Mealla is an older Drakeblooded of House Velvet Mist. She was once a gallóglach, and wielded lightning and axe against the Gwyllt in the depths of the Great Forest. Now she is retired from that life, but her duties are not yet done. As the oldest of her siblings, she has now assumed the sacred post of Guardian of the Blind Coast, a mantle that has been handed down for generations from the last of the Sea Dragons. Lesser minds wonder how she can be the guardian of anything while sitting in a tavern in Béalcaoch, but she is greatly respected for her past deeds, and members of the Pilot’s Guild regularly seek her blessing before embarking on a dangerous voyage.