Jump in time: The Year of Rogue Dragons

[Thrym]

I would like citation on non epic spells being unable to stop epic spells myself. I reread the section after you posted it, and the closest thing I can find is that you can still cast them in antimagic fields with a caster level check.

Furthermore, how is permanently changing the behaviour of someone using an 'Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind Affecting]' not a Compulsion granting ongoing control?

On a sidenote, getting permanent protection from evil is amazingly easy. On top of my head, binding a lowly lantern archon and having it stay near you or simply going into an area under a hallow spell will keep you under PfE for as long as you care, and I'm sure there are even simpler methods to be found if one bothers to look for them.

In regards to people not realizing it's caused by a mythal:

1. Dragons suddenly go mad.

2. Anyone who casts detect magic anywhere on Faerun detects an overwhelming Enchantment aura due to being in the area of said spell ('All Faerun').

Now, if I was living in Faerun and an overwhelming enchantment aura suddenly covers the entire world followed by dragons running amok, I dare say I and anyone else who hears it will at the very least suspect that there might be a connection between those two things. Sure, they won't know it's a mythal and how it's called, but ... seriously. Everyone would make the connection between oddly behaving dragons and a worldwide super-enchantment spell.

Considering that, I'd say someone trying out casting PfE on a dragon is pretty much a given. The dragon will probably try do it himself if he hears of other dragons going mad - after all, most dragons will succeed their saves easily for a few days. Just watch what happens any time any DM plot on FRC looks like someone is using mind control, all spellcasters will immediately start casting PfE if they aren't under it already.



Lastly, I personally think that if we are going to skip the year anyways, then 'Sammaster messed up big time by overlooking his epic spell is defeated by a level 1 spell' is the easiest and best solution aside from not having this dracorage thing happen at all. It certainly is better then confusing everybody by having all RDDs and mages with dragon-familiars on the server suddenly claim they've been gone/familiarless/insane for a year when you just had a chat with them yesterday. We have non cannon cities rebelling against the crown, we can manage not having a dracorage happening during a timeskip.

Mind you, I'm all for a DM plot dracorage, that'd sound quite interesting, and it's not like the problems with the Mythal can't be fixed (mild reflavouring of how it works and simply moving to another school) or even handwaved if one is so inclined, but... as said above, I think having all RDDs and a bunch of familiars go crazy during some year-long timeskip that will probably be ignored for all other running plots quite silly.

@soulfien: You wouldn't let if fly in pen and paper? Heh, I totally would. If me and my epic NPC mess up that badly, they messed up that badly. A player pointing out to the BBEG his plan is foiled by a piddly level 1 spell would be a moment everyone'd remember forever! Not that I'm criticizing you, it's simply a style difference, hehe.

@eastern Enterprise: Check your PM box. *shifty eyes*


On a final note, I do in general agree that epic spells should not be foiled by low level magic (though I think it's the duty of the DM to make sure it's not possible without too much rule zeroing - this is DnD, not magical teaparty) - I'm just pointing out this one is by RAW (if not by protection from evil then I'm recalling like half a dozen other low level spells that'll stop it, though most are not in NWN obviously), and that the people at WotC who got paid to make it should be ashamed. Well... at least a little bit. After all, everyone who ever DMed Pen and Paper knows that if it has stats, no matter how arbitrarily high you make them and how invincible you think they are, it means the PC will manage to take it out in some way you totally overlooked.

Still, I'm advocating against any confusing timeskipped insanity bouts.

EDIT: Ahh, found the part Cat Mage was refering to, it's in the Mythal's own description, not the general epic spellcasting rules. Indeed, that most likely counters PfE. Well, immunity to mind affecting effects luckily isn't exactly hard to get, but I'll rejoin this discussion tomorrow. For now, it's 3 am here and I need sleep.

[Deleted]

Excluding permaspell situations like Thrym mentioned...well..PfE only lasts 1 minute per level. Dragons piling into hallowed areas to avoid the dracorage effects would have caused mass havoc (probably worse than the rage caused as they piled into highly populated areas in mass).

Aside from these things....come on guys, I realise I am one of the biggest DnD rules nerds there is, but...have some bloody imagination. Thinking that an ancient form of Mythal magic is going to be so easily sidestepped by protection from evil is sort of ..well..for lack of a better way to describe it..."weak".

It's like one of those moments as a DM when a player ruins your well thought out plot and refuses to relent because the rules say they are right.

Anyhow, it's unlikely that every dragon on Faerun would have been able to keep PfE active to shield them for the entire duration of the dracorage.

If the dracorage could be stopped by a level 1 spell that nearly any mage or dragon can cast, it wouldn't have recurred over and over throughout the history of the FR.

[DM Hawk]

Just to chime in here...

The Year of Rogue Dragons(YoRD) trilogy is the most descriptive portrayal of the Dracorage that shook Faerun during the year in question. Understanding that events in novels are often not forced to comply with game rules and mechanics...they do add a lot of flavor.

Sometimes the story is bigger than the game mechanics.

During the YoRD dragons dealt with the Dracorage differently. Many evil dragons tried to resist it on their own...and eventually gave in to the madness. You can bet many of them employed all means at their disposal to avoid going mad - because they knew when they lost control they would most likely eventually be killed. This would include most or all spells available to player characters. They were not strong enough to resist the Dracorage for long, even with magic...and they never were strong enough. Further to this...

*SPOILER*...


...Sammaster intensified the Dracorage and was having it sustained indefinately. Even the most determined / resourceful dragon would give in eventually...as we see with some of the heroic dragons in the novels.


Most goodly dragons avoided the madness of Dracorage through the ages by falling into an enchanted slumber until the rage was over. In the case of the most recent Dracorage, it wasn't enough. When dragons would rise for short periods of time to stand watch they found that they were more vulnerable to the rage than they had been before.

The bottom line is that it was established that every dragon on Faerun would eventually give in to the rage if it wasn't stopped. Mortal spells would not hold the rage for long. (Again with such precautions, even well intentioned dragons began to give into the rage). Ancient draconic magic that was proven against the rage before was beginning to fail.

Dragons could bail out of Faerun to another plane, take another option that would be a spoiler, or give in to the Dracorage eventually unless it was stopped.

Regardless of game mechanics or spell descriptions...the Dracorage trumps them where Dragons are concerned.

And...if you haven't read the Year of Rogue Dragons trilogy, I highly recommend them. Especially if you love dragons. You'll see just about every type of dragon portrayed in the trilogy at one time or another and the non-dragon characters are pretty neat too. Shameless promotion. They don't even pay me a commission



PS - Soulfiend - That's what I'm talkin about!

[Thrym]

*reads what was written while he was gone*

And here I was going to make a list of stuff that makes you immune to mind affecting effects, ability damage, or otherwise negates the mythals effect without ever directly interacting with it. I had found nine ways in about twenty minutes already!

Alas, it seems that it doesn't even matter how you negate the spell due to most people apparently thinking the spell should work no matter what the PCs or one of the 375639 epic spellcasters zapping around the FR do, unless it's going to out to find the MacGuffin.

I must say I find this kind of attitude pretty odd - mortal means can't stop it, ever? Why not? Figuring out what spells allow you to counteract the problem at hand and change the plot is half the fun of playing a wizard in D&D. Might as well be reading a novel if you don't make any attempts to thwart the BBEGs plans aside from going after the MacGuffin.

But I think I've been getting this off topic enough. If anyone wants to keep ranting at me and being ranted back at, feel free to PM me. ;D

So, how will the dracorage be handled on FRC? Does every RDD and mage with a dragon familiar have to come up with some story of going crazy off screen? I personally still vote for not having it happen at all unless it's an actual DM plot. Seeing as current FRC is already quite different from canon 1372 anyways, why would we follow the official timeline past this point anyways? What's the actual benefit to a dracorage that happens off-screen during a one year time skip most people will probably ignore for most RP purposes anyways? I was under the impression that this is just OOCly pushing the cloak forward a bit for realisms sake, seeing as we've been in 1372 for many, many years now. After all, assuming all ongoing plots stopped for a year only to be picked up again suddenly is pretty silly.

[Charon's Claw]

Jan 1, 2010 4:47:26 GMT -5 Thrym said:

What's the actual benefit to a dracorage that happens off-screen during a one year time skip most people will probably ignore for most RP purposes anyways?

Why do we RP? For fun. Some people are curious about their character's reactions to things, and sometimes like to have ill to crazy things happen to them to fuel character development. This is just something for draconic oriented characters to maybe have a bit of fun with and growth from, hehe.

[Kelandros Armelis]

I am by far not as knowledgable as many of you when it comes to lore nor do I play a char which is a RDD or has any dragon familiar.
While this is some quite big event when it comes to lore, i would like to bring up a reply Munroe did to a question I posted in the Q&A section of the forum regarding the timeswitch, he gave an example of the the Spellplague which will hit the realms:

We reserve the option of deviating from Grand History of the Realms where it works better to do so. Notably, don't expect the Year of Blue Fire to play out the same way.

I think in this matter it is best to have the DM´s come with something up to explain why the Drachorage did not hit as it should have. It would not be canon but would keep the gameworld running. Players of RDD´s or with dragon familiar still can come up with something for their background but it would have to be in consense with the DM´s and their solution to keep it believeable.

I´d like to quote Thrym:

After all, assuming all ongoing plots stopped for a year only to be picked up again suddenly is pretty silly.

Since it was announced that we will switch to 1374 I did assume we were in 1373, despite the "neverending 1372" setting.
Why? Because it is more believeable. Switching a whole year is leaving out alot of events IC wise and assuming we were already in 1373 will save the DM´s much more work when they come up with a ruling why the dracorage did not hit as it have should, to keep it believable and not having them to leave out a whole year IC where anything could have happened. In this matter I think the cannon lore needs to be altered to preserve the believability of the gameworld.

[EDM Neo]

Jan 1, 2010 5:14:56 GMT -5 Charon's Claw said:

Jan 1, 2010 4:47:26 GMT -5 Thrym said:

What's the actual benefit to a dracorage that happens off-screen during a one year time skip most people will probably ignore for most RP purposes anyways?

Why do we RP? For fun. Some people are curious about their character's reactions to things, and sometimes like to have ill to crazy things happen to them to fuel character development. This is just something for draconic oriented characters to maybe have a bit of fun with and growth from, hehe.

I understand what people are saying, that mechanics shouldn't get in the way of a good story, but I actually do get Thrym's point here... basically, why bother with an event like this if there's nothing our PCs are going to be able to do with it?

Part of the fun of this sort of game is not just being able to see their character's reactions to things, but being able to influence the world around our characters, and to actually react to events, being part of the story and influencing it in cooperation with the storyteller (DM). Not just being railroaded around watching a DM tell a story without having any ability to participate in it; as Thrym said, if your roleplay can't have any impact on the story, you might as well be reading a novel or watching a movie.

Even more so here, because it's off-screen railroading... sometimes, it can be a necessary evil, if it helps to tell an interesting story and everyone ends up enjoying it, but there's not really much to be gained otherwise.

If it were happening on-screen, I'd object if a DM told me my favorite character was going to be essentially unplayable for the better part of a year, and that, because I wasn't the protagonist of a novel, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it but to put off the inevitable for a couple of days... it just plain wouldn't be fun, but I might be able to put up with it if it gave other players a good story... but even then, only if they -actually- got a good story out of it, meaning they were able to go and attempt to do something about the madness themselves. NPCs hunting down the macguffin and dealing with the problem makes for a good read, I'm sure, but I don't think I'd enjoy playing that out here if PCs couldn't influence the plot.

And so, that said, if the players of draconic characters/familiars feel they'd enjoy an off-screen, incurable, unfightable madness for a year, and feel it would be interesting for their characters to undergo, I don't see anything wrong with letting it happen... but if others with draconic characters/familiars wouldn't enjoy it, well, their feelings should be taken into account, too. Because it's happening off-screen, it's no huge deal either way... I don't have a strong preference myself, not having any characters who would be directly effected.

[Charon's Claw]

Heh, well since the whole year is happening off screen anyway, whoever wants to can just write up a story about it, or just make up IC what happened. There -ARE- ways to overcome it as many are pointing out. It's just silly to think it something that affects a great great area can be overcome by a first level spell due to a technicality. I believe there were even thoughts of traveling planes by some people to escape it? If that's not something an epic mage can do well I dunno what is? lmao. People ARE saying it can be overcome, just not by more "mundane" means, as mundane as magic can be considered.

Novels are great, but when we write our own novels many think it may be silly to hear. Wow, did you hear about the dracorage? Like this huge red dragon came and went berserk! "Oh yeah, I just cast PfE all day and I'm all good." I guess to me that's like going up against Garagos with a butter knife and saying "Oh yeah, I hit his jugular, he's dead now."

I don't think anyone was pointing out that it's impossible to overcome, just impossible to overcome by mere spells a novice mage would know. That being said one doesn't have to solve all the problems one may have themselves. Perhaps in a time of strife one turns to an outside source, one they hate? One they love? One they're indifferent about to overcome this. Granted not everyone is a story teller, but those are just thoughts. *shrugs* At least I feel myself ((as a player not a DM)) that events a bit more elaborate than casting a minor spell make for a better story.

Anywho I'll butt out since I'm pretty much done on this topic, heh.

Disclaimer: Events in question are still in debate by the DM team, what I say here is merely my personal views as a player ect ect more legal disclaimer crap.

[DM Justicar - Creator of FRC]

The time moving forward will be addressed in a narrative to appear on these forums today. It will be impossible to neatly package everything that could have happened into a simple narrative so I will merely be explaining what has happened in reference to our servers timeline. While I hope our narrative will suffice I am certain *someone* will have issues with it.

Given that we are moving time forward we are all just going to have to use our imaginations a bit and understand that there is a larger campaign at work on FRC. Like any campaign ours can make small deviations from canon to suit the purposes of the greater whole. While I am making every effort to explain what has transpired as best I can there are inevitably going to be some blanks that can be filled in as long as they make sense with the greater campaign.

We are not planning a YoRD campaign or event however... oddly there are other things in the works that need attention and we will be addressing those primarily.

I hope that helps.

[longearmage]

Jan 1, 2010 15:55:44 GMT -5 DM Justicar - Creator of FRC said:

The time moving forward will be addressed in a narrative to appear on these forums today. It will be impossible to neatly package everything that could have happened into a simple narrative so I will merely be explaining what has happened in reference to our servers timeline. While I hope our narrative will suffice I am certain *someone* will have issues with it.

Given that we are moving time forward we are all just going to have to use our imaginations a bit and understand that there is a larger campaign at work on FRC. Like any campaign ours can make small deviations from canon to suit the purposes of the greater whole. While I am making every effort to explain what has transpired as best I can there are inevitably going to be some blanks that can be filled in as long as they make sense with the greater campaign.

We are not planning a YoRD campaign or event however... oddly there are other things in the works that need attention and we will be addressing those primarily.

I hope that helps.

*cheers*

[Savoie Faire]

For that to work an epic magic of elvenfolk would have to be evil in origin. It's the Mythall which is responsible for the rage, not the dead-dragon lover who flips the on-switch.

[JCrux]

Does anyone have any source material on how to RP the affect of the dracorage? I assume the rage is very violent and mindless, at least that's what I think of when I see the word rage. Are the dragons and half-dragons aware of what they are doing, just not able to control themselves? Do they still care about other things, for instance, would Sharteel really care about the quality of the chains binding her while she's in a rage? I haven't read the novels that cover this and I'm not sure if any source books provide more information other than it happened.

[Deleted]

Jan 2, 2010 19:02:44 GMT -5 JCrux said:

Does anyone have any source material on how to RP the affect of the dracorage? I assume the rage is very violent and mindless, at least that's what I think of when I see the word rage. Are the dragons and half-dragons aware of what they are doing, just not able to control themselves? Do they still care about other things, for instance, would Sharteel really care about the quality of the chains binding her while she's in a rage? I haven't read the novels that cover this and I'm not sure if any source books provide more information other than it happened.

The best source material on the dracorage would likely be Dragons of Faerun. The Year of Rogue Dragons trilogy of novels would also be insightful.

[JCrux]

Jan 2, 2010 20:33:41 GMT -5 @dmhighherald said:

The best source material on the dracorage would likely be Dragons of Faerun. The Year of Rogue Dragons trilogy of novels would also be insightful.

D'oh! I forgot that there's a few pages of history in there. Below are some of the entries that explain dracorage, the Dracorage mythal and such. Most of this information should be considered OOC. While its safe to assume everyone knows about the Dracorage of 1373, I'll let the DMs decide what anyone knows about the Dracorage mythal and Sammaster's role in what happened.

Time of Dragons

....

The Time of Dragons, also known as the Dawn of Ages, began circa -30,000 DR and lasted some six millennia. Individual dragons and dragon clans ruled large swaths of territory and battled with rivals for control of the land, seas, and skies. ....

The Time of Dragons drew to an end with the dawning of the Rage of Dragons. The High Mages of the Fair Folk hit upon a plan that involved the creation of a high magic effect tied to appearances of the King Killer Star (also known as the Kingslayer Star among the Fair Folk) in the heavens. In an ancient citadel in the northernmost reaches of Faerun, they created the Dracorage mythal, encompassing all Faerun and periodically dring Faerun's wyrms to madness. The King Killer Star appeared in the heavens just often enough for the Dracorage mythal to disrupt the dominance of the dragon race over the continent, but not so often as to prevent the rise of humanoid kingdoms in the inter-Rage periods.

Under the King-Killer Star

IN the twenty-five millennia that followed, the collective power of Faerun's wyrms waxed and waned, but dragonkind never reclaimed its absolute rule over Faerun. Every time individual wyrms or dragon clans sought to reestablish their dominance over large swaths of Faerun, either the lesser humanoid races united to bring them down or, failing that, the King Killer Star returned to drive them into madness, destroy what they had wrought, and turn them against their own offspring. Only once did an allied group of dragons come close to unraveling the Dracorage mythal, but the long-forgotten wyrms of that day turned aside by the sacrifice of nearly the entire subrace of avariels, who mustered a great crusade to fly north and defend the ancient citadel that housed the Dracorage mythal capstone.
....

Followers of the Scaly Way

In the Year of Fell Pearls (887 DR), a former Chosen of Mystra named Sammaster became convinced that dead dragons would one day rule Toril, a path he named the Scaly Way. Sammaster created his first dracolich in the Year of Queen's Tears (902 DR), and the ranks of the Cults of the Dragon soon swelled. In the years that followed, Sammaster suffered a series of setbacks, but the Cult of the Dragon continued to follow his teachings.

After his last defeat in the Year of the Blacksnake (1285 DR), the lich Sammaster returned to unlife once again thanks to the magic of his phylactery. Once he did, however, Sammaster saw little point in resuming command of the Followers of the Scaly Way immediately, for he had tried that path before. The founder of the Cult of the Dragon was frustrated by the inability of the secret society, strong in magic but numerically weak, to stand against its foes, and by the reluctance of many evil dragons to embrace his vision for a future when they, as undead dracoliches, would rule supreme. Plainly, he needed a new strategy, and he sought inspiration in ancient texts and places of power.

Return of the Dragon Queen

In the Year of the Bloodbird (1346 DR), after centuries of silence from the Dragon Queen, the few remaining followers of the Nemesis of the Gods successfully summoned an aspect of Tiamat known as the Dark Lady to Unther, an event that has been heralded centuries before by Ochair Naal, prophet of Tiamat. Over the next dozen years, the Dark Lady secretly formented rebellion throughout Unther, seeking to overthrow the hated Gilgeam, and the ranks of her followers swelled once again (elevating her to the rank of demigod).

Unknown to her followers in Unther, the Dragon Queen had her own reasons for finally answering their prayers. While the Church of Tiamat grew in opposition to the despotic rule of Gilgeam, the Dragon Queen turned her baleful gaze to Sammaster's studies, in which she saw suggestions of mad genius. Through subtle hints and divinely inspired bursts of intuition, Tiamat helped Sammaster rediscover the secrets of the Dracorage mythal without revealing to him that his discoveries were shaped by the claws of a dark god. In time, roaming the Moonsea region and the Cold Lands in disguise, Sammaster discovered the existence of the Dracorage mythal and its secrets. As Tiamat had hoped, he set about harnessing the power of Dracorage for his own ends.
....

Year of Rogue Dragons

In the Year of the Rogue Dragons (1373 DR), Sammaster finally completed his transformation of the Dracorage mythal, tying this phylactery to the chamber that server as the capstone of the ancient Dracorage mythal so that the mythal's effects were no longer constrained by the appearance of the King-Killer Star in the heavens, but linked instead to his own life force. Only dracoliches would remain unaffected by Sammaster's endless, ever-intensifying Dracorage, and wyrms of every species would have to ally themselves with the Cult and accept transformation into the form of a Sacred One, or suffer permanent madness. The lich then set about reasserting his control over individual Cult of the Dragon cells across Faerun. From the isle of Tan in the Pirate Isles to Dragonback Mountain, northernmost peak of the Riders to the Sky mountains, Cult members transformed their secret strongholds into laboratories in which dozens if not hundred of dragons could be transformed into dracoliches in a short period of time.

As the Rage of Dragons spread and worsened, chromatic dragons across Faerun either succumbed to its effects and turned on whoever crossed their path or desperately embraced the Dragon Cult as an alternative. Rampaging wyrms wrecked great destruction across Faerun, from As'agrem to Calimport and from Asavir's Chennel to the Tanneth Mountains, but Sammaster's guiding hand focused their destruction on Damara, Impiltur, Nerfell, Sossal, Vassa and the Cold Lands north of the Moonsea. Communities such as Bloodstone Pass, the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, Uluvin, and Ylraphon were destroyed or nearly so by dragons who succumbed to madness, and other groups, such as the Thousand Fists orc tribe of the Nether Mountains and the navies of Cimbar and Soorenar, were decimated the dragons wrath.

Lareth, sovereign of the gold dragons, called for a great council in the Galena Mountains, where he unveiled his plan for all the metallic dragons to enter a magical slumber until the Dracorage subsided, as his kind had done time and again. (While many elder metallic dragons had the magical ability to flee to another plane, due to long-standing draconic traditions regarding territorial claims, they did not do so, fearing the effect of "abandoning" territory on the Material Plane to their hated chromatic cousins.) Although many wyrms agreed with the King of Justice, a few rebels rejected this approach, maintaining (thanks to subtle hints from the Lord of the North Wind) that this episode of Dracorage was like no other and would last forever. Displaying the first tinges of madness, Lareth threatened to sue his minions to coerce or destroy any dragon who resisted. In time, the great gold wyrm Tamarand, second only to Lareth, was forced to destroy the King of Justice, but he refused the mantle of royalty.

Only the gem dragons largely escaped the effects of the Dracorage, for they had the power (and the willingness) to flee to the Inner Planes for however long it lasted. However, a few waited too long and succumbed ot the effects of the Dracorage as well.

As Sammaster's plot unfolded with astonishing swiftness, a group of heroes led by Dorn Graybrook (CN half-iron golem [augmented Vassan human] fighter10/ranger3) and Karasendrieth (CG female adult song dragon sorcerer3/bard 2) worked to unravel the effects of Sammaster's Art. In locales such as the Gray Forest, the Monastery of the Yellow Rose, Northkeep, and Thar, the heroes retraced Sammaster's path, seeking the lore first found by the lich that allowed him to manipulate the Dracorage mytha.

Eventually, the allies discovered how to counter the Dracorage mythal (using the spell abate Dracorage) and turned their efforts toward find the Dracorage mythal's capstone. Their search led them to a lost elf city in the Novularond Mountains in the heart of the Great Glacier and from there, through a portal, to the ancient citadel in the northernmost reaches of Faerun in which the mythal had been raised millennia ago. After a great battle with Sammaster and his summoned planar dragon allies, the heroes prevailed, destroying the lich, his phylactery, and the Dracorage mythal once and for all, thereby forever ending the magical madness that had long afflicted the dragons of Faerun.

Turning of the Great Cycle

In the wake of Sammaster's Rage of Dragons, Faerun's wyrms returned to their lairs, greatly reduced in numbers. Many had died unleashing orgies of destruction on the lesser races of Faerun. Others had embraced dracolichdom, and some now found themselves magically beholden to the Dargon Cult's Wearer of Purple. Few among the dragonkind races realized that Tiamat had set in motion the events that led to the destruction of the Dracorage mythal, but word quickly spread that Sammaster and the Cult were behind the most recent rage (thanks to skilled rumormongering led by both the Harpers and the Church of Tiamat). Even fewer realized the end of the Dracorage marked the Turning of the Great Cycle, the long foretold resumption of religious fervor among dragonkind.
....

[JCrux]

So, it seems to me that

• the dracorage is something that happens gradually
  
• that the dragons are well aware of what is happening
  
• that the dragons are able to make intelligent, logical decisions as it creeps up on them
  
• and it seems that some areas are impacted harder and faster than others
  

Since Cormyr isn't listed in the text I'll assume that other lands are impacted sooner and that news about dragon attacks spreads to Cormyr and all across Faerun. So, assuming half-dragons feel the effect the same as dragons, I think it's safe to assume our 10th level dragon disciples feel the onset of madness gradually, know that many (if not all) dragons are being driven to madness, and have time to decide on what they'll do about it.

[Munroe]

Does it affect all creatures of the Dragon type or only True Dragons?

(Note that in this distinction, half-dragons don't qualify as True Dragons.)

[longearmage]

Jan 3, 2010 10:01:58 GMT -5 Munroe said:

Does it affect all creatures of the Dragon type or only True Dragons?

(Note that in this distinction, half-dragons don't qualify as True Dragons.)

In the "Year of Rogue Dragons" trilogy, it affected the faerie dragons as well as chromatic and metallic dragons. So i think it affects all creatures of the Dragon type.

[ashaffer]

Might it be possible for a DM well versed in dragon lore to run a plot concerning this, and to say that the War Wizards have found a way to block the effects of the insanity in players who don't wish for their RDD PC to be basically unplayable for a whole year?

[EDM Neo]

Jan 3, 2010 14:49:17 GMT -5 ashaffer said:

Might it be possible for a DM well versed in dragon lore to run a plot concerning this, and to say that the War Wizards have found a way to block the effects of the insanity in players who don't wish for their RDD PC to be basically unplayable for a whole year?

I think that the Dracorage occurred during the "time skip" between 1372 and 1374, so that, while ICly, they were basically unplayable for a year, OOCly, all of this unplayability took place off-screen and the raged RDDs are all once again sane.

[Deleted]

Jan 3, 2010 10:01:58 GMT -5 Munroe said:

Does it affect all creatures of the Dragon type or only True Dragons?

(Note that in this distinction, half-dragons don't qualify as True Dragons.)

It affects those with the dragon type. At least I believe that is what I read in Dragons of Fearun. I'll go back a little later today and look into it when I have some time to make doubly sure. I know it at the very least affects the half-dragon template.

[catmage]

In Dragons of Faerun, the Mythal's effect works on all dragons and creatures with the dragonblood subtype, which includes kobold, draconic creatures, the creatures collectively known as the Spawn of Tiamat, and other such creatures.

[DM Justicar - Creator of FRC]

Jan 3, 2010 14:57:04 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

Jan 3, 2010 14:49:17 GMT -5 ashaffer said:

Might it be possible for a DM well versed in dragon lore to run a plot concerning this, and to say that the War Wizards have found a way to block the effects of the insanity in players who don't wish for their RDD PC to be basically unplayable for a whole year?

I think that the Dracorage occurred during the "time skip" between 1372 and 1374, so that, while ICly, they were basically unplayable for a year, OOCly, all of this unplayability took place off-screen and the raged RDDs are all once again sane.

Correct.

[ashaffer]

Jan 3, 2010 16:44:03 GMT -5 DM Justicar - Creator of FRC said:

Jan 3, 2010 14:57:04 GMT -5 EDM Neo said:

I think that the Dracorage occurred during the "time skip" between 1372 and 1374, so that, while ICly, they were basically unplayable for a year, OOCly, all of this unplayability took place off-screen and the raged RDDs are all once again sane.

Correct.

Ooops... With all the discussion about The Year of Rogue Dragons, I was under the impression that this was something that was going to be played out IG. *shrugs*

Glad that people's RDD PCs being unplayable was addressed, and the year skipped by the DM Team. It's this type of consideration that helps foster better relations between the DM Team, and the player base.

[Munroe]

Actually, we were skipping it to line up with Leap Years between the Gregorian Calendar and the Calendar of Harptos. That it helps the RDDs not get shelved for a year just happens to be a happy side effect. (That issue didn't come up when we were talking about the years. The Dracorage was mentioned but not the draconic players specifically. So it's just good that it works out.)

We'll still take credit for it though. ;-)

[easternenterprise]

Jan 1, 2010 15:55:44 GMT -5 DM Justicar - Creator of FRC said:

The time moving forward will be addressed in a narrative to appear on these forums today. It will be impossible to neatly package everything that could have happened into a simple narrative so I will merely be explaining what has happened in reference to our servers timeline. While I hope our narrative will suffice I am certain *someone* will have issues with it.

Given that we are moving time forward we are all just going to have to use our imaginations a bit and understand that there is a larger campaign at work on FRC. Like any campaign ours can make small deviations from canon to suit the purposes of the greater whole. While I am making every effort to explain what has transpired as best I can there are inevitably going to be some blanks that can be filled in as long as they make sense with the greater campaign.

We are not planning a YoRD campaign or event however... oddly there are other things in the works that need attention and we will be addressing those primarily.

I hope that helps.

I just got a chance to read your campaign post for YoRD and I have to say, I like it alot. That isn't easy to do.

We half-dragons were given a real nice alternative. I can allow my half-dragon to 'live' still in Cormyr and continue doing her chores at the Academy. Which by the way, as a member of the guild, we greatly appreciate the academy being mentioned in the post.

And this alternative was certainly more colorful than stuffing an epic dragon disciple in an imprisonment spell >.<

[soulfien]

hmmm.... so a lvl 13 half- iron golem half human took with him a lvl 5 adult song dragon to go find and destroy a dracorage mythal? And together they destroy an ancient lich and former favored of Mystra?

Seems the last person I'd take with me would be a very low level and a dragon that could also fall victim to the madness

Interesting story- nto sure about the ending though

[EDM Neo]

The inflated levels of the general populous here on FRC might've jaded people to it a bit, but there's really no reason you need to be epic level to go on an epic quest. The right people in the right place, even if they can't defeat the big bad in a head on confrontation, can make all the difference.

...that said, I haven't actually read the novels, so take anything I say with a grain of salt. I'm just speaking generally.