Brass Dragonborn
Brass Dragonborn are a subspecies of Dragonborn, known for their brass scales and usage of fire breath. Descended from Brass Dragons, gregarious, sun-loving drakes of the deserts, Brass Dragonborn are born with golden-bronze scales that shine like burnished copper in the sun. Their eyes gleam with mischief, intellect, and a constant hunger for conversation. It’s not just a personality trait—it’s practically a biological drive. To a Brass Dragonborn, silence is unnatural. They feel closest to their heritage when speaking, storytelling, debating, or even just asking questions. In fact, some believe that conversation is how they connect to their ancestors, channeling the wisdom and charisma of their draconic lineage.
Brass Dragonborn often serve as Diplomats and Orators, able to disarm conflict with charm and clarity, Lorekeepers, preserving knowledge without a single quill, Court Bards or Truthspeakers, their words carrying authority backed by tradition or Wanderers or Mythmakers, collecting and spreading cultural richness wherever they go. Outside their communities, some see them as charming chatterboxes, others as dangerous manipulators. But few can deny their magnetism or their capacity to make even enemies pause and listen.
Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Brass Dragonborn society is built around speech. Entire communities are oral-centric, and talking is not only encouraged, it’s ritualized. This has led to the formation of sprawling desert oases known as Spoken Sanctuaries, where ideas, stories, and speech itself are the currency of life. Brass Dragonborn have several tenets that many of them adhere to. First and foremost, is that All Voices Matter; every Brass Dragonborn, and indeed, any other creature, has the right to speak, and listening is considered as sacred as talking. Furthermore, oral agreements are binding and verbal storytelling is more valuable than written texts. Philosophical sparring is considered a spiritual activity, and heated arguments are often celebrated with a drink and laughter afterward. In addition, much like in Fey culture, naming something (or someone) in their culture carries weight and names are rarely given lightly and often change over a person’s life based on their deeds or rhetoric.
Societal roles are largely defined by rhetorical skill. Lorebinders serve as historians, Voicekeepers act as judges, and Tongueflame Duelists resolve disputes through sharp-tongued contests instead of blades. Written language exists, but it’s often reserved for contracts or laws—everything else lives in memory and mouth.
Common Customs, traditions and rituals
Brass Dragonborn live in tightly knit communities where nearly every activity; farming, cooking and guard duty are paired with dialogue. Silence is never hostile, but it’s unusual, often prompting curiosity or concern. In order to combat any potenial silence, communal meals where stories are “served” between courses. Interrupting someone’s story is a grave faux pas; unless you’re dramatically contradicting it, which is fair game.
Young Brass Dragonborn often take to the road as Speechseekers, collecting tales and dialects to return with. Some never come back, becoming beloved legends in distant lands. While not arcane in the traditional sense, some of these Speechspeakers are trained in “The Convincing Tongue,” a rhetorical art form believed to nudge fate or twist the will of others through precise, persuasive speech.
Their fire breath is rarely used in combat within their society, and is only used as a last resort. However, ritual flame displays are common in storytelling, lighting up the night as punctuation during tales.
Common Myths and Legends
The Brass Dragonborn adhere to 'The Myth of Unity' in which they believe that all creatures can be brought together through the gift of speech.
Historical figures
There are several influential Brass Dragonborn individuals throughout history, such as:
- Mael Vos, The Thousand-Tongued. A legendary wandering Bard who claims to have spoken with every race and learned a hundred languages. Rumor says they once stopped a war by reciting both armies’ ancestral epics simultaneously from memory.
- Yssa Embervoice. The first Voicekeeper of the largest Brass Dragonborn sanctuary, Suncall Dunes. She resolved a three-year civil dispute between desert tribes with a single 13-hour speech, now retold as a cornerstone myth of unity.
- Kellin of the Broken Voice. A former Speechseeker who lost his ability to speak after a cursed duel. Now a silent monk, he travels teaching through dance and gesture; his refusal to speak drew massive philosophical interest from his homeland, and was banned from Suncall Dunes until his death.
- Brixor the Flame of Many Lies. A charming con artist and legend in rogue circles, and once convinced Suncall Dunes he was a minor god of conversation, an aspect of Vox. The city still celebrates “Talkday” in his honor, much to the annoyance of the local clergy.
Encompassed species
Related Locations
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