d10 Draconic Symbioses

In some games, Dragons are powerful setting defining creatures.🕇 They shape entire regions, soaking with terror every soul within reach. Something as notorious as a kaiju flying lizard that can turn to ash entire cities takes a lot of attention. Followers and remora wanting to live off of that power will sprout, it's just a matter of time.

1. An arctic city is heated by the underground sleeping dragon. In return, the peasantry makes sure slumbering music and aromatic candles keep the fat lizard asleep.

2. Cultists drink this dragon's blood to go berserk. Has to be done through the dragon's eye (only spot without scales). Of course, this dragon loves the flattery of worship.

3. Yaach are hairy bison-like creatures, their pelts reaching the ground mutating its coloration to blend into their environment, making them very hard to spot. Their huge trunks are used to drink and eat (mice, oversized insects). They are mammals, but wish otherwise. Will hatch a dragon's egg for as long as needed, given their protective instincts.

4. The dragon lives in its tower, overseeing and protecting the duchy with a menacing gaze towards external threats. The fierce rule of Law reigns here! Every seventh year Tribute hits, and the dragon takes a maiden as payment for its services.

5. A Red Dragon is flying over a Pickle the size of a galley, impaled on top of the Cathedral's spire. Every so often, the dragon dives into the cucumber and takes a lick, doing so makes it regain d6 HP and go into an elated stupor. (See here)

6. This Black Dragon is at the center of the Ghoul oligarchy. Improvised sage, counselor, confidant. There is mutual respect and understanding, but utter dependency. See, an addict, the Dragon depends on the oligarchs to provide the drug it needs to feign death.

7. Gets teeth pulled to be used as magical daggers, by mousefolk and wererats. Gets trinkets and candy in return, perpetuating this arrangement. This, in turn, evolved into a children's tale.

8. Selling its offspring, the eggs land on a powerful but wealthy wizard. The magician likes them scrambled with salt & cheese. He gives spells and rare books for the dragon's lain eggs in exchange, and as a dragon's hoard is the most important...

9. The Pink Fog and Mist of the Yahaleh Steppes is magical in form and nature. Source of a 1000 gruesome tales, feared by merchants and travelers, it gets avoided if possible. An ancient dragon, however, has taken residence within in the last year. Breathing the fumes for that amount of time makes it (as if by a Geas) incapable of telling the truth. On the flip side, the Pink Fog caused Sapphire Gems to grow on the barren land like tubers, which the wyrm gladly harvests.

10. Actually this dragon is the "little sister" in this relationship. Serving as the furnace of a kingdom of fire giants underground, underneath a mountain complex. Outraged by the working conditions and wage, it is planning an uprising.

🕇 Some people take offense at only seeing dragons in the mid- to high levels of play. "But it's on the bloody title!". This is a known (perceived) problem since 1974. And of course there are a lot of ways to have them present in the game from level 1 on. I personally have thrown a lot less dragons at my players than I should have, and for that, I repent.

d10 Takes on Halflings

1. Naturalistic natives. Vassals of the Elfs, yet more reliable than goblin servants. Feral. Guerilla warfare constrasts with communion and a great respect with the Wilderness.

2. They are just shaven dwarfs.

3. Halflings and Goblins are two sides of the same coin. Anger a halfling enough, and you just get a goblin. That's why halflings are pestering you with their jovial attitude, and everyone behaves so politely around them.

4. A failed reduction spell by the wizard Ralagazzam spawned the first couple, centuries ago. Copious inter-breading and incest in the generations since then.

5. Halflings are just unattended children. The orphans of wars past. Rascals with an impulse to run away from home in search of equal doses of nourishment and excitement. Of course they've got no shoes and their feet are covered in muck and worse!

6. Halflings are just utopic delusionals. Too much of the right sentiment makes them appear. Maybe they come from a different dimension? Regardless, if you leave your (fairly) peaceful community to go adventuring die in a hole, you are a contrarian moron.

7. Halflings are just beings stranded from the stars. There, they are a species of giants. At their arrival they were utterly terrified and confused. Time and its fading memory meant acceptance.

8. Halflings are born as humans. When in adulthood, solitude is bliss and curse. But Community, that's when things get interesting. As a human gets more and more involved in their Community (church attendance, clubs, social gatherings, etc), their physique morphs and shrinks. Being a Halfling is both a sign of tossed individualism and adopted Community.

9. As medieval pechts (see this post).

10. Dark Sun also has a decent take.

Halfling Ranting

Halflings. Part of the original trifecta (dwarves, elves), but with a lot less historical roots, and a weaker reason to BE. I sometimes feel we are all sequestered by Tolkien's fixation with his view of the British burgueoise, and everyone is too busy riffing off similar concepts to talk up and show the middle finger to this bland concept. Name change? No problem. Interesting update? Nah.

But we already have at least three recognizable lawful character options. Dwarfs? And toss in the gnomes. Do we really need three small-folk races/ancestries/species that blend together, and get confused all the time?

Halflings are something that in my experience a lot of players like to bring to the table. And I like them myself! The jovial attitude and small folk are charming. But I see no real justification to have them as a separate option on the menu. They are just too damn close to humans. Or at least an aspect of them that I would expect in a LOT of adventurers.

My point here is not to encourage you make your halflings shoot eye-lasers and have ballsacks filled with singing gems. Just take them in a slightly different direction. Or drop them and play youngsters and children humans instead. The Urchin. The Lazarillo! It's right there, literally the dawn of the picaresque!

I'm just sad we are at a point where these little suckers are so expected in the DnD vanilla mileau, they are ingrained in our fantasies. And we didn't do anything to let them go. Or invigorate them into something more pallatable and rich. I suppose they are just too damn likeable as they are.

d10 Striking Headwear

1. Wooden bucket
Good for retaining liquids. Or pouring them.

2. Helmet with oversized-candle up-top
Good for illuminating the dark beyond, leaving your hands free. Need good balance, and a steady head.

3. Ramming rhino-horn
Good for charging at the unaware foe.

4. Porcelain Mask of the Lunar
Impossibly ornamental alien patterns translate into a flabbergasted reaction from anyone lying eyes on this piece of art.

5 Air-filtering Buffe
Rags around the mouth. Makes it hard to breath, which is exactly the point; dungeons are filled with excrement and maleficence. Plus, it keeps neck biters away.

6. Shielding Beret
Perl-dust coated beret. Keeps the head warm and the thoughts sharp. A famed enchantress put a spell on it. Said to shield the wearer from curses, illusions, and mind-altering effects.

7. Great Helm of the Silver Lioness Mercenary Company
Striking piece with intricate ornament, some motifs in silver. Every being in the continent has heard of the spoils of the Company. Inspires confidence in the ally, and fear and despair in the foe.

8. Turban of Sufrith the snake-charmer
When unrolled and laid on the ground, and pouring a droplet of one's blood, the turban animates. Encroached by a snake's spirit, it is anywhere from indifferent to helpful to the owner.

9. The Sun blockadder
Straw hat, impossibly wide. Wearing it is a balancing act. Blocks the sun, and restricts vision. Can double as a shield.

10. Dragonglass visor
Attached to a regular helmet. Precious and near indestructible material. Gives visions of nearby vital power to whoever looks through it as a lens.

Gamey Effects

#2: illuminates as torch. But running, attacking, or any other significant activity has a 4-in-6 chance of extinguishing the flame.

#3: get an extra attack (d6 damage) if charging against an enemy.

#4: +1 to reaction rolls.

#5: +1 to saves vs poison against anything breathable; +2 AC against vampires and their ilk.

#6: probably utterly useless. But it does keep the head warm.

#8: duration as the spell snake charm, summoning costs 1HP. Roll reaction when summoned. Probably a pit viper.

#10: after a round observing, learn the HD number of the target on display. 1-in-6 you also get the spell list of the target (if applicable).

d10 Bulky Treasures

1. Rugs of exquisite quality, very bulky, each 10 x 10 feet if unfolded. Red background, with floral patterns in gold and purple.

2. Barrels filled with deliciously aged wine. Hanging from over a net, on the warehouse's ceiling (20' high). Be quick, or the smugglers will return!

3. Tablets with engraved religious scriptures, valuable for a sage, historian or church.

4. A golden bell, the size of a stocky dwarf. When carried, sudden movement, the slightest drop or altercation makes it ring, echoing through the dungeon. And attracting monsters!

5. Accurate sized portraits that almost come to life out of the canvas. A ghoul is disposing of them by throwing these pieces of art into the fireplace. Too many memories of past lovers.

6. Dragon carcass. Recently slain beast, still fresh. Has to be transported swiftly back to town to salvage as many parts as possible. The smell attracts other vermin in the dungeon.

7. Blue lotus flower: have to bring back absurd quantities! Sacks and sacks! Then, the petals are dried and treated by the local alchemist into a single vial of concocted poison.

8. There's a map of the stars carved on the cathedral's dome, details never before revealed elsewhere. Incredibly detailed, hard to read, and byzantine. You can spend time copying it (hard to see details from down here), or get up there, hire a mason, and chip the stone out. Or with enough paper and charcoal trace the whole thing out.

9. 2d6 delicate, crumbling scrolls. Have to be packaged individually in linens, and in a scroll case (light but obnoxiously bulky!)

10. An immovable ladder made of solid platinum. Fixed to the white marble ground.
Where does it lead?

d10 Fantastic Libraries

1. Tomes scattered across the towns' private homes. Volumes are crumbling, dry, and weathered, so they are to be presented and perused only with silken gloves. Membership requires a donated book to the library.

2. Twelve stories of impeccable architecture. Floors, shelves, and furniture made of glass. Clockwork automatons make sure there's not a single speck of dust. To be admitted and become a lifelong member you have to present a handful of gemstones.

3. Interconnected network of underground tunnels, filled with pipes and tubes. Whistling sounds resembling marimba. Music sheets, vinyl, and records of all music exists here. Mandatory silence in the premise, or the librarians will dispose of you. Free admittance, but the network is tricky to find.

4. Entrance through a forgotten closet with rejected tomes. Pocket dimension space behind it is infinite, full of rows of packed shelves. The first tome contains a thousand empty pages. The second just a single letter "A" on the first page. This continues on until all permutations have been reached. All works are here. Admittance and membership are free, but good luck finding the exit.

5. Inside the hollow of an enormous oak tree. Ran by a family of yellow dragons. Any book read is immediately scorched after consumption. No exceptions. No memberships, to be admitted you have to bring twice the number of tomes you are going to read in that particular visit.

6. Inside a citadel's bunker, under siege. Place is being destroyed by the detonations. Fine tomes and relics on demonology and astrology, could help bring any angel or demon forth. To enter you have to find a way past enemy lines.

7. A throne reaching the skies. A tower made of books, tomes, and stacked paper. The library is the collection. Hanging from their thumbs, for all to see, suffer thiefs, textbook scribblers, and loud rascals. Atop the throne sits The Despot, overseeing their collection. Membership requires an offered infant.

8. An archipelago amidst a restless sea, with the aquatic god-duo of ignorance and envy sluggishly pounding the land. On each island, a colony of gnomes resides within a mirror palace. Each gnome has memorized works, in alphabetical order, which they can recite. Trade goods, fuel, food, and tools will be taken in exchange. There are ancient feuds between the colonies. And there are the gods.

9. A collection of walled gardens. Admittance is completely free. Visitors are treated to tea, pastries, and the most exquisite cigars. The collections are writings, thoughts, and musings of other members, which can discuss under the most strict supervision, censoring, monitoring, and excessive advertising. Once you enter, you can't leave. If you leave, everything you ever did, said, or thought will be part of the gardens. Forever.

10. The lighthouse at the end of the Universe. The lone guardian gladly journals all happenstances that she oversees or cross her mind, as she pets her companion frog. She loves the quiet and reflective nature of her existence, but welcomes visitors to converse about history, ethics, and philosophy. Admittance is free, pastries encouraged. Good luck getting there, though.