Many dragons who follow the Thir faith seek to emulate one of the Sovereigns. By embodying a Sovereign in life, a dragon hopes to ascend and assume this role after death.
Pursuing a Sovereign archetype is a lifelong goal, and it is reflected in a dragon’s behavior and outlook on life. Dragons are still individuals; one loredrake might be dry and serious, while another is cheerfully manic. But both are utterly dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. As such, the choice of a Sovereign archetype should provide a DM with a thumbnail sketch of a dragon’s motivations and personality.
All true dragons have the potential to use arcane magic. Most have the ability to select spells from the cleric spell list and certain domains. This variant rule instead provides a dragon with a special ability based on the Sovereign archetype it chooses to follow. This special ability replaces the optional spell selection abilities a dragon normally possesses; as such, a silver dragon that adopts the child of Eberron archetype can no longer cast cleric spells or those from the Air, Good, Law, and Sun domains. Those wholly unable to cast cleric spells (black, green, and white) lose nothing when they adopt a Sovereign archetype.
Dragons don’t have to follow archetypes. Indeed, many of the archetypes require training and discipline. If the DM uses this rule, he must decide if dragons that do not have an archetype can gain access to cleric spells as described in the Monster Manual, or if such dragons are limited to standard arcane magic.
CHILD OF EBERRON
All natural life sprang from the progenitor dragon Eberron, and the child of Eberron honors the Great Mother and defends her works. Many draconic prophets are children of Eberron, since the Prophecy appears in soil and stone. Others are guardians, protecting the land. And a few—such as Vvaraak—become allies of the lesser creatures, teaching nondragons the secrets of nature.
This archetype embodies two paths to ascension. One follows nature’s bounty, which humans would associate with Arawai. Other children of Eberron embrace nature’s fury, the role of the Devourer. These dragons can be fearsome ravagers, but they can also be stalwart guardians, bringing the full force of nature to bear against fiends and aberrations.
Sovereigns: Arawai and the Devourer.
Benefit: A child of Eberron learns to speak Druidic without spending skill points. Survival is added to the list of class skills. A child of Eberron can cast spells from the druid spell list as arcane spells.
FLAME OF THE FORGE
Many people think of dragons as lazy creatures sleeping atop hoards of stolen treasure. But industrious innovators exist among the dragons of Eberron. Using disintegrate, fabricate, and the pure power of dragonfire, flames of the forge have crafted many wonders and mighty artifacts. From the Pit of Five Sorrows to the Great Aerie of Argonnessen, the work of the forge wyrms can be seen across Argonnessen.
Many flames of the forge rely on construct assistants or nondragon companions. However, some of the most brilliant forge wyrms work in absolute solitude, using magic to accomplish their work.
Sovereign: Onatar.
Benefit: Craft and Use Magic Device are added to the list of class skills. The dragon’s effective caster level is increased by two for the purpose of creating magic items. When the dragon can cast arcane spells of the appropriate level, the following bonus spells are added to his spells known or spellbook for that class: 0—mage hand, mending; 1st—Tenser’s f loating disk, magecraft, unseen servant; 2nd—unseen crafterRE; 5th—fabricate, permanency; 8th—true creation. Finally, when the dragon reaches a caster level of 9th or higher, he gains the retain essence class feature of the artificer (ECS 32).
FORTUNE’S FANG
These dragons prefer travel to solitude, and enjoy moving among other creatures, whether they are dealing with dragons or mingling with humanity. Many serve as spies within the humanoid nations, but others prefer the path of the minstrel. Some simply wander across Argonnessen, enjoying the many wonders of their homeland.
Sovereign: Olladra.
Benefit: Bluff and Disguise are added to the list of class skills. A fortune’s fang can cast cleric spells and spells from the Feast, Luck, and Trickery domains as arcane spells.
GUIDE OF THE WEAK
The guide of the weak acts as a shepherd of the lesser creatures, moving among them and shaping their cultures. Although some are gentle beings who simply wish to help others, a guide can also be a ruthless tyrant who believes that imposing harsh order on his subjects is best for them.
Sovereign: Boldrei.
Benefit: Diplomacy and Intimidate are added to the list of class skills. A guide of the weak can cast cleric spells and spells from the Community and Protection domains as arcane spells.
LIGHTKEEPER
As Siberys fought Khyber, the lightkeeper stands against Khyber’s offspring and other forces that threaten Eberron. Guardians who watch over the resting places of fiends often follow this path. Lightkeepers place great value on personal honor and sacrifice, and dragons following this path tend toward lawful alignments.
Sovereign: Dol Arrah.
Benefit: A lightkeeper has a divine aura as a cleric of her caster level. The dragon can take the Extra Turning feat even if she does not meet the prerequisites; this allows her to turn or rebuke undead four times per day as a cleric of her caster level. A lightkeeper can cast cleric spells and spells from the GlorySC, Law, Sun, and War domains as arcane spells.
LOREDRAKE
Magic flows through every dragon’s blood. The loredrake devotes her life to harnessing this power and understanding the mysteries of magic. The most accomplished priests of the Dragon Gods and students of the draconic Prophecy are typically loredrakes, and it is the dragons of this path that uncovered the greatest mysteries of arcane magic. Most dragons have great respect for loredrakes, but not all loredrakes are noble creatures. Darkness abides in magic along with light, and a loredrake must decide whether he answers the call of the Shadow.
Sovereigns: Aureon, The Shadow.
Benefit: Spellcraft is added to the list of class skills. Once the dragon has the ability to cast spells, his effective sorcerer level is increased by two. For example, an adult gold loredrake cast spells as a 9th-level sorcerer. In exchange, the dragon’s racial Hit Dice are reduced to d10s.
MASTER OF THE HOARD
Although known for their greed, these dragons are shrewd negotiators and students of history. The hoarders play a critical role in the Chamber, because they have the strongest grasp of economic forces and their influence over human lives.
Some take this one step farther, treating life and death as simple negotiations and seeking to collect actual souls in emulation of the Keeper (a task that can be accomplished using the Keeper’s fang weapons and other binding magics). A few go so far as to become dracoliches, but unless this is sanctioned by the Eyes of Chronepsis—a rare occurrence indeed—the dragon could be hunted down and destroyed.
Sovereigns: Kol Korran, The Keeper.
Benefit: Appraise, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive are added to the list of class skills. A master of the hoard can cast cleric spells and spells from the Charm, Commerce, and Travel domains as arcane spells.
PASSION’S FLAME
Passion, madness, and truth—all are threads on the same skein. The dragons that follow this path might be great artists or poets. They might gain insights into the Prophecy that even the wisest loredrake cannot see. But passion can lead to fury, and when a dragon falls into a blind rage she poses a deadly threat to any creature that crosses her path.
Sovereign: The Fury.
Benefit: Perform is added to the list of class skills. A passion’s flame can enter a rage a number of times per day equal to a barbarian of her caster level, although she doesn’t gain access to the greater rage, tireless rage, or mighty rage features. A passion’s flame can cast cleric spells and spells from the Madness and Passion domains as arcane spells.
STALKING WYRM
Part wyrm of war (see below), part child of Eberron, the stalker revels in the hunt and its own place in the natural world. Often encountered as ravagers searching for challenging prey, stalkers also serve as scouts in the armies of Argonnessen and as guardians of the wilds.
Sovereign: Balinor.
Benefit: Hide, Move Silently, and Survival are class skills. A stalking wyrm receives Track as a bonus feat, and can cast spells from the Air, Animal, and Earth domains as arcane spells. Finally, a stalking wyrm gains favored enemies as if he was a ranger of a level equal to his sorcerer caster level.
WYRM OF WAR
What combatant can match the deadly power of the dragon? Wyrms of war are living engines of destruction, capable of scattering armies with ease. The wyrm of war devotes his existence to honing his martial prowess, becoming the ultimate expression of battle.
Wyrms of war follow two paths. The pure warrior focuses solely on his martial strength and skill. The traitor’s path encourages the use of deception and trickery in battle, wielding cunning as a weapon.
Sovereigns: Dol Dorn, the Mockery.
Benefit: A wyrm of war is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, and all armor (including shields). A wyrm of war receives a bonus feat for every 4 Hit Dice he possesses. He can select any fighter bonus feat, or any combat-related feat tied to draconic abilities (such as Wingover). He must meet the prerequisites for any feats.
A DM using Tome of Battle might instead give wyrms of war access to maneuvers and stances from the Tiger Claw discipline. Treat the dragon’s sorcerer level as his initiator level when determining known and readied stances and maneuvers. To learn a maneuver or stance, a dragon must permanently sacrifice a sorcerer spell slot of the same level.
TRAVELER
No Sovereign archetype is associated with the Traveler. The dragons maintain that this role has its roots in all Sovereign archetypes. They believe that fortune, invention, magic, and war are all aspects of this force of change, and all paths can lead to ascension to this role.