Dragonborn
Dragonborn of Hestoria are draconic humanoids that can be found in most all places. They come in a range of scale colors given by their draconic ancestry, and look like small, wingless dragons with powerful builds, thick tails, and a natural breath weapon.
Basic Information
Biological Traits
Dragonborn exhibit many draconic features, including a scaly hide, a large muscular body, the capacity to use a breath weapon, and resistance to the same elemental energy they can breathe, thanks to their draconic heritage. Because of thousands of years of interbreeding, the scales of a dragonborn's hide are scarlet, gold, rust, ochre, bronze, or brown in hue, though a few dragonborn with an stronger draconic heritage have scales resembling those of true dragons. The color of their scales bears little correlation to a dragonborn's draconic heritage, however. The scales are typically in their greatest concentration around forearms, lower legs, feet, shoulders, and thighs, with a very fine leathery covering over the rest of the body.
Genetics and Reproduction
Dragonborn lay eggs, typically three to four months after mating, in a cluster of 2 to 3 eggs.
The Mother will not lay another clutch of eggs until the children are near maturity, around 10 to 12 years old.
Growth Rate & Stages
Young dragonborn, who hatch from eggs like their draconic relatives, grow at an impressively rapid rate, much faster than most other races, reaching the equivalent maturity of a human child of 10 by age 3. Dragonborn nurse their hatchlings for several months before teeth began to come in. A dragonborn will then slowly introduce soft food and then move towards normal dragonborn eating habits, which contain more meat than is typical of most other races.
Their rate of maturation slows dramatically within a few short years and they are not considered physically mature until the age 12, when their bodies reach their adult height and appearance. Not all dragonborn develop a breath weapon but those that did usually obtained it during these years of growth.
Psychologically, dragonborn are considered mature as a human adult by age 12, and when they reach age 15 they are considered legally adults in dragonborn society. Once they do reach adulthood, dragonborn can expect a lifespan identical to that of humans.
Ecology and Habitats
Like dragons, dragonborn are often mistaken for reptiles, but are in fact warm-blooded draconic creatures. In fact, the internal body temperature of the dragonborn is warmer than that of most similar races, being so hot as to seem feverish to the human touch. While this might seem disadvantageous, the lack of hair and large mouth allows the dragonborn to displace body heat at an effective rate, meaning dragonborn are comfortable in cold climates while remaining no more vulnerable to heat than humans.
Biological Cycle
A Dragonborn will show its age by the luster in their scales. As they age, the brightness of their scales will dim and then begin to fade around age 60.
Behaviour
Dragonborn have a well-known dedication to honor, but how deeply rooted this trait is remains debatable. However, all dragonborn tend to view all living things, even hated enemies, as deserving of courtesy and respect. To dragonborn, honor is more than a word and is often considered more important than life itself. Cowardice is not simply undesirable among dragonborn, it was considered outright repulsive.
Part of the roots of this honorable attitude lays in the dragonborn's drive for self-improvement. The draconic nature of dragonborn gives them a strong self-consciousness and a tendency for strong emotions. Both of these combined to make dragonborn particularly wanting for the approval of others. Dragonborn place great value on the skill of an individual, including themselves. Failing at a task is anathema to dragonborn and as a result they will sometimes push themselves to unhealthy extremes of effort. This aspect of the dragonborn mind means few of the race take a laid-back approach to any skill or ability, striving always to become the masters of a particular skill, and dragonborn respect those among other races who approached life in the same manner. As a result, most dragonborn adventurers come to their way of life through a desire to prove themselves and win respect from their brethren.
Other races might see dragonborn as proud or even arrogant because of this dedication to excellence and high standards. It is true that dragonborn are typically proud of their race's accomplishments. However, dragonborn are also more than willing to recognize with respect the accomplishments of other races in turn, whether or not the race in question is an ally or enemy.
More so than other races, dragonborn often wear their hearts on their sleeves, typically hiding neither anger nor joy. Dragonborn are enthusiastic about life, particularly success, and brood about failure for only a short time before their disappointment is shaped into a strong drive for improvement. Only a handful of dragonborn actually demonstrate traits that might be considered timid or reserved, and the vast majority of the race has no qualms asking for what they need or taking time to improve themselves. Trust is a major factor in the lives of all dragonborn and each expects others to be just as open and forthcoming with them as they were.
Perhaps paradoxically, given the often rigid conditions of their society, dragonborn have a strong sense of independence and self-worth. Most dragonborn, however, do not view this as a need to break away from society as other individuals might, but rather to shape it for the better through their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, dragonborn see themselves as responsible for those around them, with the group ultimately reflecting on the individual. In this way, the successes and failures of each dragonborn are the successes and failures of the group they associated with, giving dragonborn a very collective sense of self while retaining their individuality. Ultimately, dragonborn hold themselves accountable for their choice of allies and poor judgment is considered no excuse for failing to uphold the standards all dragonborn hold themselves to.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Clan and family bloodlines are both preserved among dragonborn and are highly important to dragonborn culture as a whole. Both are different, though the distinction is subtle to non-dragonborn. Family refers specifically to actual blood relatives, as far as could be traced, whereas clan, in the dragonborn context, refers to a confederation of families united by mutual purpose in ages past, organized along military lines. Of the two, clan is usually considered more important and it is to the clan that dragonborn owe their most loyalty, particularly in Hestoria.
Clans are led by wizened, aged clan-masters chosen for their ability to lead who are looked to for guidance by their lieges. Dragonborn do not forget the past, and ties to clan and family determine much about how one dragonborn is viewed by others. All clans have reputations, for good and ill, that often last for generations. A dragonborn's actions are expected to bring favor and good will to his or her clan, improving this reputation. For this reason, dragonborn typically go by their clan names rather than their family names, hoping to bring honor and glory to their clan. Dragonborn who worship gods are usually expelled from their clans because traditionalist dragonborn believe worshiping such beings was equal to selling themselves to dragon slavery again.
This pressure to either right the wrongs of the past or continue a clan's glory can define a dragonborn's life. Some dragonborn flee from the imposing responsibilities their clan puts on them, choosing infamy over such a burden. Others accept the responsibility or even turn it into an additional drive for their ambition, hoping to one day become the clan-master.
Overall, compared with clan ties, family is secondary and private to dragonborn, as reflected by the fact that most dragonborn family names are kept secret, shared with only the closest friends and other family members. The usual family unit is quite small, often composed of only two individuals: a mated pair or a parent and its child. Dragonborn marriages are arranged by the clan leaders along old pact lines. Dragonborn lack the association of love with marriage that many races have, instead wedding purely for reproductive reasons. Once a dragonborn child reaches 3 years old the wedding is typically dissolved, with the parent who is the same sex as the child rearing it for the remainder of its childhood.
The parent–child relationship during the formative years between the marriage's dissolution and the child's adulthood are incredibly important. Parents, along with other adults from the community, are expected to not simply act as loving caretakers but teachers as well, using storytelling and direct action to instill the virtues of society within a child. In addition to scholarly studies and moral lessons, parents are also expected to focus the drive of a child and teach them basic martial skills for the purpose of defense. Dragonborn believe this in-depth mentorship is necessary not only for the child's education but also for their morality. It is thought that without this imposed discipline, a dragonborn's fierce passions might give way to a feral savagery. Within a large dragonborn community, the parent maintains the position of authority, but other adults are allowed to act as surrogate parents and teachers, giving a young child multiple examples to learn from.
Facial characteristics
A dragonborn's head featured a blunt snout, a strong brow, and reptilian frills on the cheeks and ears. On the back of the head, a crest of hornlike scales forms what resembled a mess of ropy hair. Dragonborn eyes are usually red or gold in color.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
In Hestoria, dragonborn can be found in large numbers in The Wind Lands
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Physically and mentally strong, capable of using dragon breath, rapid growth, energy resistance
Dragonborn have a number of abilities that set them apart. Dragonborn are both stronger and more charismatic than the typical humanoid, traits inherited from their draconic relatives. Dragonborn are also quite durable and when injured have an inner strength that can push them to accomplish even more than when they were at their best. Dragonborn also heal more easily than other humanoids. Most potent of all is a dragonborn's breath weapon, which, like that of a dragon, varies in nature, depending on a dragonborn's draconic heritage. However, unlike with dragons, the skin color of a dragonborn does not vary depending on its breath weapon. Dragonborn also have a natural resistance to the same kind of energy of their breath weapons.
Civilization and Culture
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The dragonborn drive for honor carries on into the culture of the race. Among dragonborn, the most horrible crime is oath-breaking; honesty is expected whenever a deal is struck. Commitment to a word is expected to be carried out to the letter and all parties in a transaction are held accountable and responsible for failings. Ultimately, those who fail to meet their word are expected to accept the consequences and, in fact, most dragonborn do so. So widespread is this value of honor and honesty that it is commonly believed that dragonborn never break their word.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Because of their position as slaves of the dragon lords for so long, dragonborn do not have a tradition of magic, though they have a significant affinity for certain forms of it. The race's natural abilities are well suited for the path of a warlock, though few dragonborn are willing to actually take up the career since it forces them to deal with powers beyond their control. Some dragonborn warlocks do exist, usually social outcasts or those who have justified it as a form of individuality. Dragonborn arcane spellcasters are, however, far more often wizards or sorcerers, attracted by the often secretive and eccentric ways that both paths involved.
Having come from Abeir, dragonborn have a very different approach to religion than the other races. On Abeir, divine influence was rare and mysterious, contrary to Toril where it had been relatively common in past ages. Since Abeir was dominated by the primordials who were, according to myth, driven into hiding by the mighty dragon lords that reigned over most of the planet, the dragonborn feel less beholden to gods than the members of other races. For this reason, many dragonborn are entirely agnostic, with no strong feelings one way or another about the gods.
Dragonborn who do embrace religion, however, are well-suited to the path of a paladin. Making the creed and commandments of a god a code by which they can live was in many ways attractive to dragonborn, so long as they are able to get past their natural aversion to beholden to a superior authority they have no control of. If they do join the faithful, dragonborn can become quite devoted in their chosen church, craving the direction and purpose it gives them. Likewise, paladins, unlike clerics, represent an almost martial career path and one that blends well with the militaristic culture of the race.
History
The origin of the dragonborn race was uncertain and shrouded in myth. While the origin of the Tel'Quessir as Corellon's children was well known and dwarves firmly believed in their stony origin, dragonborn were unsure whence they came.
Faerunian sages of the 1470s DR believed that dragonborn were either the original inhabitants of Unther, who were transformed into draconic beings after being exposed to the energies of the Spellplague, or experiments created by the followers of Tiamat in the ruins of Unther. Such beliefs were wrong, however, as dragonborn were denizens from Abeir.
Some legends of Abeir told that Io, the first and greatest of the dragon gods, created the dragonborn as servants for the first dragons. These stories related that the dragonborn, like dragons, were formed from the essence of both the Astral Sea and the Elemental Chaos, though their nature overall favored the elemental over the astral, just like dragons. Yet another, less popular tale told that Io was killed in the war between the gods and the primordials and that the dragonborn sprang from his spilled blood. A slight variation on this was common among the dragonborn of Tymanther, who believed they were bred by the dragon lords of Abeir for a cruel fate as slaves.
The Platinum Cadre posited an alternative theory in their efforts to spread the worship of Bahamut, that the dragonborn were the ancient creations of the Platinum Dragon. However, most of the order was ridiculed or even openly persecuted for their beliefs since, to the dragonborn of Tymanther, the idea of a good dragon, let alone a good dragon god, was completely alien. However, dragonborn were in fact related to the dragonborn of Bahamut, but only a handful of old dragons knew about this relationship.
Ancient history
Regardless of the origin of the race, dragonborn had been the slaves of dragons for millennia. Occasionally clans would rise in rebellion but only a few, such as the nation of Tymanchebar, were ever successful.
Modern history
However, during the Spellplague (beginning 1385 DR), Tymanchebar was believed destroyed, wiped out following the transplantation of its center from Abeir to Toril. Despite this tragedy, the Abeiran expatriates of the new nation of Tymanther remained strong, and by 1479 DR formed a strong and steady homeland for the dragonborn of Toril that began to see acceptance among its neighbors. Some dragonborn migrated from Tymanther to other lands on Toril, though most that were not a part of the nation remain enslaved by dragons, either on Abeir or within the new continent
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Other than their well-known hatred of dragons, dragonborn have few definitive relationships with other races. The dragonborn of The Wind Lands have a known tolerance for races of all kinds, extending their courtesy even to races who are generally disliked, such as tieflings.
Origin/Ancestry
Humanoid
Lifespan
80 years
Average Height
6'2" to 6'8"
Average Weight
220 lbs to 320 lbs
Average Physique
Dragonborn resembl in many ways what their name suggests: humanoid dragons. Standing on average around 6 feet and 2 inches to 6 feet and 8 inches (1.9 to 2 meters), dragonborn were impressively tall with a heavy weight to match, commonly possessing a weight of 220 to 320 pounds (100 to 150 kilograms). Dragonborn feet end with three strong talon-like claws with a fourth claw in the back, while their hands are similar with three claws with a thumb replacing the rear claw.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Scarlet, gold, rust, ocher, bronze, or brown scales
Geographic Distribution
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