Xorvintaal

Xorvintaal, often referred to as "The Great Game," is a highly complex and ancient form of strategic competition played by dragons. It's a game that uses entire regions, cities, and even kingdoms as playing pieces, with mortal creatures often unaware that they are pawns in a vast, dragon-centric contest.
Key Elements of Xorvintaal: 1. The Dragons' Game
Purpose: Xorvintaal is essentially a way for dragons to compete for status, power, and influence without engaging in direct physical combat. Dragons that participate in this game are often ancient or adult dragons who have tired of traditional draconic pursuits, such as hoarding treasure or conquering lands. Players: Only highly intelligent dragons, typically of the older age categories, participate. They compete with each other in a long-term strategic game that involves controlling territory, accumulating resources, and manipulating events and people.
2. The Rules
Abstract Victory Conditions: The rules of Xorvintaal are poorly understood by outsiders, but the general goal is to gain "points" by achieving certain objectives, such as acquiring influence, manipulating mortals, capturing rivals' pieces, or controlling strategic locations. Pieces: The "pieces" in Xorvintaal are the agents, minions, and resources that dragons use to accomplish their objectives. These can include humanoid adventurers, entire armies, magical artifacts, and other creatures or treasures. These pieces are often unaware of their role in the game. Manipulation: Dragons typically use indirect methods, like political influence, magical manipulation, or even creating rivalries and wars between kingdoms, to advance in Xorvintaal.
3. Abandoning Old Ways
Sacrifice of Hoard: One of the most notable aspects of joining Xorvintaal is that dragons who play must give up their traditional hoard. Their focus shifts away from treasure and toward the abstract victory conditions of the game. They may keep some resources for the game itself, but wealth as a direct measure of status is abandoned. Decline of Direct Combat: Dragons in Xorvintaal typically do not engage in direct combat with other dragons or their rivals. Instead, they use intermediaries and indirect strategies to achieve their goals.
4. Xorvintaal Pieces
Player Dragons: The dragons are the primary "players" of the game, each acting as a mastermind behind numerous schemes. Vassals and Pawns: Mortal creatures, like humanoid adventurers, hired mercenaries, or manipulated kingdoms, become the vassals or pawns in the game. They might be unaware that they are being used to gain an advantage in Xorvintaal. Minions: Dragons often employ a network of lesser creatures—drakes, dragonborn, kobolds, or charmed/enslaved humanoids—to do their bidding and act as the moving "pieces" on the Xorvintaal board.
5. Long-Term Play
Slow and Subtle: Xorvintaal games can span decades, centuries, or even millennia, with dragons patiently orchestrating their moves. Some actions might not reveal their significance until long after they've been taken. Shifting Rules: The rules of Xorvintaal are ancient, but they are also fluid and subject to interpretation. Dragons often disagree on the precise methods of play, adding to the complexity and intrigue of the game.
Impact on the World:
Kingdoms as Pawns: Entire nations may rise or fall as a result of Xorvintaal. Wars can be sparked, peace treaties brokered, and rulers manipulated, all in the service of a dragon’s grand strategy. Adventurers: Adventurers might find themselves caught up in Xorvintaal, working for or against dragons without even realizing it. They may be recruited as agents or unknowingly interfere with a dragon's plans. Rivalries: The game often creates rivalries between dragons that were once allies. It also involves competition with those outside the game, such as other powerful spellcasters or beings who are unaware of its existence but whose influence could affect the board.
Xorvintaal transforms the traditional image of dragons as solitary, treasure-hoarding creatures into cunning strategists who wield power on a grand scale through subtle manipulation. For adventurers, getting entangled in this ancient game can lead to unforeseen dangers and complexities.