Brass Dragons
Brass dragons are the weakest of the metallic dragons, and also one of the most benign of all species of dragon. The most gregarious of all the true dragons, brass dragons are famous (some would say infamous) for their love of conversation. They love to talk, to the exclusion of most else. They love to engage friends and foes alike in hours of long-winded conversation. It is not unusual for a brass dragon to be fluent in several hundred different languages, although they obviously prefer to converse in Draconic whenever possible.
Many draconid races refer to a talkative individual as 'brassy', referencing the well-known brass dragon talkativeness.
Although the dragonforging artifacts could potentially turn any type of chromatic into any type of metallic, the majority of brass dragons came from red dragons.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Brass dragons have short, raylike triangular wings that run from their shoulders all the way back past the tips of their tails. The wings get most of their support from long spines running perpendicular to the backbone. The wings are longest at the shoulder, and taper gently as they reached the tail. The neck is stubby and thick, with a comparatively long body. When the body is viewed from below, the chin horns are visible. Their scales seem to radiate heat and light. A brass dragon has a tangy odor redolent of hot metal or desert sand.
Genetics and Reproduction
Brass dragon eggs, 1 foot long, are incubated in a nest of open flames. Gestation takes around 120 days and incubation takes approximately 480 days. The eggs, usually three to five, are typically tended by both parents, so that they can talk together as they maintained their vigil. The egg must be kept in an open flame or in a temperature of at least 140°F. The newly hatched brass wyrmling is not remarkable in appearance; its scales are a dull brown. The scales become lighter and more brilliant as the dragon matures. Brass wyrmlings probably learn to talk more quickly than the young of any other sapient species. They talk constantly about anything and everything, and they will talk to anybody: friends, family, enemies and small creatures that could not talk back, or even to itself if nobody else is near. When exposed to a new language, a brass wyrmling will usually become fluent in under an hour. Their scales are a dull brown at a young age, becoming more glossy and brass in appearance as they age.
Growth Rate & Stages
At birth, a brass dragon’s scales are a dull, mottled brown. As the dragon gets older, the scales become more brassy until they reach a warm, burnished appearance. The wings and frills are mottled green where they join the body, and have reddish tints at the outer edges. These markings darken with age.
They are considered wyrmlings for the first five years, very young until age 15, reach the juvenile stage at 26 years, and become sexually mature at 51 years, being considered fully adult at 100. They are considered mature at 200, old at 400, very old at 600, and ancient at 800 years. Beyond 1,000 they are considered wyrms, and great wyrms after 1,200 years.
Ecology and Habitats
Brass dragons are native to hot, arid regions, particularly sandy deserts; and crave sunlight and dry heat. The brass dragon prefers to dig its lair inside a desert peak, spire, or high, rocky cave. They also prefer to have the bulk of their lairs face eastwards, so that the rising sun will warm the lair for the bulk of the day. A brass dragon's lair is well-constructed and quite extensive, with many twisting corridors and dead ends to confuse and discourage hostile intruders. The centerpiece of any brass dragon's lair was the Grand Conversation Hall, where it spends the majority of its time entertaining friends and visitors. A typical lair also contains an elegant foyer, a gallery for the artwork the dragon collected, a sleeping chamber, and a storage room.
All brass dragon lairs have several small entrances, known as bolt holes, often dug into the bases of cliffs where the desert winds have piled up sand. The dragons burrow tunnels parallel to the cliff face in the hard-packed sand. They can move quickly along these tunnels, exiting into subterranean caverns, or out other burrows farther down the line. These multiple entrances allow a brass dragon to easily escape an attack by a blue dragon or other predator. Dungeon-dwelling brass dragons often make their lairs near heavily traveled areas where they can satisfy their desire for conversation.
Brass dragons love intense, dry heat and spend most of their time basking in the desert sun. Their territories always contain several spots where they can sunbathe and trap unwary travelers in conversation. A brass dragon will talk for hours with any creature capable of putting two syllables together.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Brass dragons can and will eat almost anything if the need arises, but they normally consume very little. They are able to get nourishment from the morning dew, a rare commodity in the desert, and they go forth at dawn to gently lift minute beads of dew off plants with their long tongues.
Additional Information
Social Structure
For all their love of conversation, what brass dragons seem to prefer the least is the company of other brass dragons. Each one remains in loose contact with its neighbors, and brass dragons will band together whenever a common enemy threatens, but otherwise they keep to themselves.
Facial characteristics
A brass dragon’s head has a massive, fluted plate sweeping back from its eye sockets, forehead, and cheeks. The onepiece plate is dished like a plowshare and curves upwards into two points. When burrowing in the sand, the dragon often uses its head like a plow. A brass dragon also sports two bladed chin horns that grow sharper with age. It has supple, expressive lips and a long forked tongue. As the dragon grows older, its pupils fade until the eyes resemble molten metal orbs.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
Though it values all precious things, a brass dragon prefers organic treasures over cold stone or metal. Its hoard often includes items made from rare woods, textiles, and other examples of fine handicrafts rendered in exquisite materials. The warm, dry air of its lair helps keep these delicate treasures from deteriorating with age. A brass dragon takes great care to keep its fiery breath weapon well away from its delicate treasure, and often keeps its hoard in a separate chamber within its lair.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Many brass dragons create vast networks of confidantes and informants, including various humanoids. The dragons use these networks to keep apprised of local events and to stay in remote communication with distant brass dragons.
Brass dragons very rarely engage in combat, preferring to talk rather than fight. If an intelligent creature tries to leave without engaging in conversation, the dragon might force compliance in a fit of pique, using suggestion or a dose of sleep gas.
Though basically friendly, brass dragons are quick to act if they feel threatened, and often use their nonlethal sleep breath to knock out aggressors. A creature put to sleep may wake to find itself pinned or buried to the neck in the sand. The dragon then converses with its prisoner until its thirst for small talk is slaked. When faced with real danger, younger brass dragons fly out of sight, then hide by burrowing into the sand. It will fight and use its fire breath only as an absolute last resort. Older dragons tend to avoid pitched fights unless they have some tactical advantage.
They share many similar habitats with blue dragons, which often leads to conflict. Blue dragons are both more powerful and more aggressive, so brass dragons usually cope with attacking blues by using their superior speed to escape, either through the air or by burrowing to safety.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Genetic Descendants
Lifespan
3,200 or more years.
Average Height
7 feet
Average Weight
2,500 pounds
Average Length
31 feet long, with a 13 foot long body, 7 foot long neck and 11 foot long tail
Average Physique
They are typically 5 feet wide, with a maximum wingspan of 27 feet, though they can fly through a space only 18 feet wide.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
As their name implies, brass dragons tended to have brass-colored scales.
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