Dragons once thrived on the plane of Tarkir. They spawned from mighty elemental storms, filled the sky with their destructive breath, and terrorized the five ancient warrior clans. But the dragons met their fate long ago. For many years, the clans fought a war against the dragons for their own survival, hoping for some way to gain an advantage in the struggle. At a crucial turning point more than a thousand years ago, the dragon tempests stopped coming, and no new dragons were spawned. Their numbers thinned, and the tide of the war changed.
What once soared high above Tarkir is now reduced to a seat.
Ultimately, the warriors of the clans were able to hunt down the last of the sky-beasts and destroy them. Dragons were rendered extinct on the plane, never to return. In the centuries that followed, the five warrior clans claimed dominion over Tarkir, growing and evolving into today’s powerful clans. Led by the five khans, the clans clash with each other to this day, trampling the land in furious battles. Each khan seeks to win territory from the others—and some wish to rule it all. The clans have co-opted ancient draconic magic to disguise their strength and best their foes.
When Sarkhan eventually travelled back in time, he prevented the extinction of the dragons by saving Ugin after his battle with Bolas. Ugin is preserved in a hedron cocoon as he regains his strength. During this time, the elemental storms grew in intensity, with the dragons growing more numerous and powerful and eventually overtaking the clans in an event known as the «Khanfall». In the aftermath, the word «Khan» was abolished among all Clans and five dragonlords and their broods rose to dominate the humanoid races, forming new clans over the remains of the old. These new clans continued to clash with each other over territorial disputes.
In Dungeons & Dragons
The Dragon Throne is actually the skull of a slain dragon, carved in such a way to allow a humanoid to sit on it. Later on it was enchanted by draconic shamans at the service of the Khan to provide majesty to their audiences.
Whoever is attuned to the Dragon Throne can invoke the spirits of the dragonlords. By doing it as an action, the user cast Illusory Dragon (XGtE) without the need of concentrating on the spell, but the type of damage the spell deals, and the advantage to saving throws it provides, depends on the selected dragonlord:
- The aspect of endurance, Dromoka, deals radiant damage and gives advantage on Constitution saving throws.
- The aspect of cunning, Ojutai, deals cold damage and gives advantage on Wisdom saving throws.
- The aspect of ruthlessness, Silumgar, deals poison damage and gives advantage on Intelligence and Charisma saving throws.
- The aspect of speed, Kolaghan, deals lightning damage and gives advantage on Dexterity saving throws.
- The aspect of savagery, Atarka, deals fire damage and gives advantage on Strength saving throws.
While the illusion is active, the user also gains immunity to the same energy the effect deals damage of.
In Eberron
The main problem when dealing with dragons in Eberron is that most of them are hidden in plain sight, unless they are ruling over the continent of Argonnessen. Instead of representing mortals hunting dragons, the Dragon Throne in this setting may represent the blessings provided by five dragons to the leader of the Seren tribes. There are about thirty tribes in all, and each tribe worships a different draconic patron. If their legends are to be believed, the Seren Tribes are the result of ancient covenants with these draconic patrons: usually to defend the lands of Argonnessen from the weak and unworthy. The strongest of their members are the Totem Guardians who are directly responsible for protecting Totem Beach and the Great Barrier of Argonnessen.
How are you planning to incorporate the Dragon Throne of Tarkir in your campaign? Is its current owner an ally to the heroes? Does he provide help or request it from them? Or is the owner an enemy to the heroes?
I rolled the dice and took the category challenge to visit and follow a blog that I thought would be of least interest. I was wrong. There was a time, a long long time ago when I had an interest in Dungeons and Dragons… but then my mentor died and I lost the interest. The way you have described it here (invoking the spirits of the dragonlords—depending on the dragon lord)…. has stimulated interest again… hmmm. Like I needed another hobby…. thanks for that and Cheers,
Crackerberries
Very cool.
Introduced a new dragon on my blog today. So we both had dragons on the mind.
Looking forward to seeing what you do all month.
—
Tim Brannan, The Other Side: 2021: The A to Z of Monsters
Oooh, I’d love to see this one in play! Sounds like fun.
The Multicolored Diary
verdad, siempre senti q hay muchisimos dragones en eberron, o fue mi impresion, o tal vez en mi imaginacion jugandome trucos, llamado comunmente esquisofrenia jajaja