Dracon

Dracons were a race of dragon-like centaurs.

Description
A dracon had a heavy, gray body that resembled the body of a brontosaurus with a long tail and flat feet akin to those of an elephant, the upper body of a human, and the head of a dragon. They could run considerably faster than humanoids. Their hands had six fingers each, ending in claws.

Dracons spoke Draconic and their own language. Although capable of speaking Common, they lacked fluency and did so with a thick accent.

Personality
Dracons were sometimes described as stuffy, and more ready to retreat than to join a fight.

Combat
As a highly civilized race, dracons abode by a strict and stylized dueling code when solving disputes among themselves. Despite not expecting other races to be bound to their terms, dracons were honor-bound to accept them if properly challenged by an outsider, except in special cases.

The challenge code proceeded according to the following steps:


 * 1) One dracon challenged another;
 * 2) The challenged dracon had the choice of weapons;
 * 3) The challenger named the terms of the challenge (to the death, first blood, etc.);
 * 4) The challenged named the location and time for the duel to happen (within reason).

Their weapons of choice were thin longswords, but dracons were also proficient in wrestling and with their claws. They were also fond of darts and halberds, which were most commonly used as ceremonial weapons. They wore armor that was also ritualistically donned before battles.

Society
Dracons were vegetarian and possessed a strong herd instinct. They usually traveled in family units, led by their eldest, who was known as its kaba. If a dracon became separated from its family, it became ill until reunited or found a proxy family or group to join in order to recreate its family structure. For that reason, it was sometimes common for members of other races to adopt stranded dracons as honorary family members. Similarly, it was also common to find dracon family groups that had adopted humanoids.

The choice of a kaba was based on intricate genealogical scrutiny that was carried out to determine who was the eldest in a group. To an outsider, the process seemed easy to exploit, since an ill-intentioned dracon could invent the appropriate relations in order to obtain leadership. The position of kaba, however, was seen as a duty, so there was no shame in being deposed by another dracon for the position: it was seen as a relief from duty and an opportunity to rest from the obligations.

When two dracon herds met, their respective kabas met to exchange favors and to make decisions in name of their respective groups.

Assisting the kaba, every dracon herd also included one or more shalla, or high priest, who was usually a cleric. The shalla's function was to advise the kaba, to heal the herd, and to carry on the ritual traditions.

Spacefaring dracons were typically seen on spelljammers that resembled modified galleons, but they could also be seen using hammerships. These ships were usually adapted to the dracons' tall stature.

The dracon homeworld was little known, but was described as dry and arid, dominated by grasslands and desert terrain, with shallow seas and an inclement climate. The planet was also reported to have one moon. The reluctance of dracons to describe their home planet to other races was attributed to their distrust of other races, but others speculated that the spacefaring dracons were in fact lost and could not find their planet.

Despite their caution, dracons maintained cordial relationships with humans, elves, dwarves, and even mind flayers. They were all collectively referred to by the dracons as "the deformed", and were all considered to be a single race. Dracons usually confusedly described other humanoids as possessing mixed traits that belonged to multiple races. They regarded lizardfolk as their disabled kin, and frequently adopted lizardfolk into their herds. Centaurs were regarded as allies, beholders as comical beings, and dragons were seen with awe. Dracons hated the neogi.

Religion
The dracon religion embraced dracon counterparts to human, elven, and dwarven deities. The dracon pantheon, known as the Herd of the Ub-Kalla, was pictured as a great herd that always moved together. It was led by Ub-Kalla, the Full Leader, a deity of wisdom and leadership who always knew the right course of action. The term also referred to mortals whose decisions were in perfect accordance with dracon ideals. It was a great honor for an individual to be called Ub-Kalla.

The pantheon included a spider-like Dark God, an evil tempting deity who snatched children who strayed too far from their herds. Its physical description led some sages to believe that it represented the neogi.

History
Dracons had never been seen in the known crystal spheres until the mid‒14 century DR. Strangely, they were permitted to form a colony on Radole, a thing unheard of for any other non-native race to that paradise planet.

In 1362 DR, two young dracons, named Chirp and Trivit were guests of the elves at Evermeet, having come with the elven wizard Vallus Leafbower and the human from Krynn, Teldin Moore. They were seeking answers about the Cloak of the First Pilot and the legendary ship Spelljammer. While not granted an audience with Queen Amlaruil, the two dracons were permitted to explore the palace gardens, something that they were more than delighted to do.

Notable Dracons

 * Chirp
 * Trivit

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Dungeon #36, "The Sea of Sorrow"
 * Novels
 * The Maelstrom's Eye &bull; The Radiant Dragon
 * Card Games
 * AD&D Trading Cards