DL10 _Dragons of Dreams_, Tracy Hickman
DRAGONLANCE _Chronicles_ Vol. 2, _Dragons of Winter Night_, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
DRAGONLANCE _Chronicles_ Vol. 3, _Dragons of Spring
Dawning_, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
DRAGONLANCE _Heroes_ Vol. 1, _The Legend of Huma_, Richard Knaak
DLR3 _Unsung Heroes_, "Cyan Bloodbane" writeup, Norm Ritchie
DRAGONLANCE Conspectus
_DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE_ Dramatic Adventure Game, William W. Connors & Sue Weinlein Cook
_The Sylvan Veil_ Dramatic Supplement, William W. Connors & Sue Weinlein Cook
DRAGONLANCE: _The War of Souls_ Vol. 1, _Dragons of a Fallen Sun_, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
"Report on the Order of Creation and the Progression of Souls", Appendix to DRAGONLANCE: _The War of Souls_ Vol. 3, _Dragons of a Vanished Moon_, Tracy Hickman and Matthew L. Martin
Special thanks to Cam Banks for design advice and for applying the dracolich template from the _Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting_.
Cyan Bloodbane (K'rshinthintl)
One of the many dragons hatched from the eggs spread across by Deathfyre in the years before the Third Dragon War, Cyan (his dragon name being K'rshinthintl) was a direct descendant of Tyrannus Bloodbane, an infamous green dragon from the earlier days of the Age of Dreams. Despite his exalted lineage, Cyan was something of a weakling among dragons, and utterly lacking in true courage or loyalty. He possessed a mind cunning and subtle even beyond the norm of the green serpents, though, and used that to his advantage. Dragons who sought to take advantage of Cyan's weakness found their ire gently redirected towards the young green's other enemies, or making choices that led them to their own dooms.
Cyan's intellect and talent for manipulation brought him to the attention of Galan Dracos, the Mage of Chaos and chief lieutenant to the Queen of Darkness during the last days of the war. Taking the green under his wing, Dracos used a combination of education and magic to train Cyan in both the arcane arts and in the understanding and domination of mortal races. With the defeat of the Dragonqueen at the end of the war, Cyan was forced into dragonsleep like most of his kindred, but the lessons he had learned from Dracos stayed with him during those centuries of slumber.
When the Dark Queen awakened her children in the Fourth Age, Cyan was at first reluctant to heed her call. Soon, though, he realized that service to the Dragonqueen carried the potential for power, and he joined the ranks of the dragonarmies. He never bore a rider, though, and used his talents in strategic planning and subversion, only rarely engaging in direct combat. The Queen of Darkness found his talent for corrupting and manipulating others appealing, and when Lorac Caladon of Silvanesti used the dragon orb, she ordered Cyan to heed its call. Cyan agreed readily; like many of Ansalon's green dragons, he bore a special hatred for the Silvanesti as usurpers of the green dragons' ancient homelands and as paragons of the Goodness that the wyrms despised.
Cyan entered Silvanesti to find the realm awash in wild magic, its king enspelled by the spirit of the dragon orb. Coiling himself around the throne in the Tower of the Stars, he whispered horrifying suggestions and nightmarish tales into Lorac's ear. Lorac's bond to the orb and the land, and the power of the ancient artifact, turned the king's nightmares into reality.
Eventually, the Heroes of Legend broke the spell that the orb had cast over Lorac and drove Cyan Bloodbane from Silvanesti. Retreating to Neraka, Cyan began building a power base among the other dragons, using flattery and deceit to win himself allies. He also found himself fending off challenges from younger, more hot-blooded dragons, who desired to attain status of their own by defeating the old Bloodbane. Though Cyan managed to avoid most of those fights, he found himself forced into a few, even killing one young red in a quarrel over a deer. The red, unfortunately for Cyan, was a special favorite of the Dark Queen's, and the Mistress of Dragons imprisoned Cyan beneath Neraka--ostensibly for this crime, but some suspect that she had begun to see the cunning and self-interested dragon as a threat to her control over her minions.
At the end of the War of the Lance, Cyan was released from his prison and enslaved by Raistlin Majere. For the next two years, Cyan served as a steed and agent for the Master of Past and Present, being rewarded with arcane lore and magical items. Among those items was a unique amulet that allowed Cyan to conceal his body in a pocket dimension and send forth his soul in mortal guise. Though he detested mortal form, Cyan quickly saw the potential of this item for his plans of vengeance.
After Raistin died in the Abyss, Cyan returned to Silvanesti, making a lair deep beneath the Tower of Shalost and formulating plans to punish the elves he despised. He refused to participate in the Chaos War, seeing no need to risk himself
even for the preservation of the world. Ten years later, he completed his plans and began to stir from his den. Disguising himself as the Silvanesti mage Glaucous, he worked with the elf Rillion Dawnbringer, whom he had encountered and corrupted during the Summer of Chaos, to persuade Military Governor Konnal to approve their plans for the Silvanesti Shield--the shield that would keep outsiders out of Silvanest, while draining the energy of all others living within it. The Shield's foul magic would slowly kill the elves, reduce the forest to an ashen wasteland, and make Cyan one of the most powerful dragons on Krynn. Relying on Dawnbringer to manipulate Konnal at first, Cyan eventually disposed of his pawn and maneuvered himself into a position as Konnal's chief advisor, at the same time letting himself be 'discovered' by the elves often enough to keep them afraid and distracted.
The War of Souls saw Cyan's schemes approach completion--and end in disaster. Letting Silvanoshei, son of Alhana Starbreeze and Porthios, into Silvanesti, Cyan managed to assume the position of regent to the young Speaker of the Stars. Only the intervention of Mina, who revealed the dragon for who he truly was, prevented Cyan from attaining total dominion over the dying realm of Silvanesti. Shot down by Silvanesti archers, Cyan crashed into the forest outside Silvanos and was presumed dead by all.
But Cyan Bloodbane refused to die, to surrender his soul to the grasp of the Queen of Darkness, who considered him a traitor. For long days, Cyan resisted her dark call. When the other gods returned to Krynn, Chemosh, Lord of the Undead, offered to allow Cyan to escape death. Accepting, Cyan found himself transformed into a dracolich. Finding a cavern within the regions of Silvanesti most ravaged by the Shield, Cyan now broods, considering ways to use his new powers to punish both the Silvanesti elves and the minions of the Queen of Darkness, while keeping himself safe and undetected.
Like their mortal counterparts, dracoliches possess phylacteries. Chemosh, with his sinister sense of humor, has bound Cyan's spirit to the remnants of the dragon orb he once used to control Lorac and defile Silvanesti. Cyan has no knowledge of the orb's location, and fears being trapped within it beyond the range of any new bodies to possess. He constantly seeks it, and will not risk 'death' until he manages to recover it and move it to a safe location.
Cyan Bloodbane, Male Ancient Green Dragon, CR 20; Gargantuan Dragon (Air) (40 ft. long); HD 32d12+ 160; hp 368; Init +0; Spd 40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy), swim 40 ft.; AC 37 (-4 size, +31 natural), Atk +38 melee (4d6+10, bite), +33 melee (2d8+5, 2 claws), +33 melee (2d6+5, 2 wings), +33 melee (2d8+15, tail slap), crush (4d6+15, DC 33), tail sweep (2d6+15, DC 33); SA breath weapon, frightful presence, spells (cast as Sor13); SQ acid immunity, water breathing, DR 15/+2, suggestion 3/day, dominate person 3/day, plant growth 1/day, blindsight 300 ft., darkvision 1000 ft., SR 27; AL LE; SV Fort +23, Ref +18, Will +27; Str 30, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 28, Wis 29, Cha 29
Skills: Alchemy +25, Bluff +43, Concentration +25, Diplomacy +41, Hide +28, Gather Information +41, Intimidate +41, Knowledge (Arcana) +41, Knowledge (Dragons) +41, Knowledge (Nature) +41, Knowledge (Silvanesti) +41, Listen +41, Move Silently +32, Scry +41, Search +41, Sense Motive +43, Spellcraft +41, Speak Languages (Common, Draconic, Mountain Dwarf, Ergot, Goblin, Kagonesti, Ogre, Magius, Qualinesti, Silvanesti, Solamnic), Spot +41
Feats: Empower Spell, Extend Spell, Maximize Spell,
Quicken Spell-Like Ability (suggestion), Quicken Spell, Skill Focus (Bluff), Skill Focus (Sense Motive), Silent Spell, Still Spell
SA--Breath Weapon (Su): 60 ft. cone of acid gas (20d6 points of acid damage,
Reflex save DC 33 for half, usable every 1d4 rounds)
Frightful Presence (Ex): 300 ft. radius, Will save DC 35
Spells Known (cast as 13th level sorcerer):
0 (DC 19)--dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, flare, ghost sound, light,
mage hand, resistance
1st (DC 20)--cause fear, charm person, hypnotism, sleep, ventriloquism
2nd (DC 21)--darkness, detect thoughts, hypnotic pattern, magic mouth, scare
3rd (DC 22)--dispel magic, hold person, major image, suggestion
4th (DC 23)--charm monster, confusion, emotion, polymorph self
5th (DC 24)--dream, mind fog, nightmare
6th (DC 25)--mass suggestion, mislead
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Suggestion 3/day (DC 22), dominate person 1/day (DC 24)
Cyan Bloodbane, Male Ancient Green Dracolich , CR 23; Gargantuan Undead (40 ft. long); HD 32d12; hp 256; Init +0; Spd 40 ft., fly 200 ft. (clumsy), swim 40 ft.; AC 37 (touch 7, flatfooted 37), Atk +38 melee (4d6+10+1d6 cold + paralyze, bite), +33 melee (2d8+5+1d6 cold + paralyze, 2 claws), +33 melee (2d6+5+1d6 cold + paralyze, 2 wings), +33 melee (2d8+15+1d6 cold + paralyze, tail slap), tail sweep (2d6+15+1d6 cold + paralyze, DC 33); SA breath weapon, frightful presence, spells (cast as Sor13), control undead, paralyzing gaze, paralyzing touch; SQ half damage from piercing or slashing weapons, immunities (acid, cold, polymorph, electricity, standard undead immunities), invulnerability, water breathing, DR 15/+2, suggestion 3/day, dominate person 3/day, plant growth 1/day, blindsight 300 ft., darkvision 1000 ft., SR 30; AL LE; SV Fort +23, Ref +18, Will +27; Str 30,
Dex 10, Con --, Int 28, Wis 29, Cha 31.
Skills: Alchemy +25, Bluff +44, Concentration +25, Diplomacy +42, Hide +28, Gather Information +42, Intimidate +42, Knowledge (Arcana) +41, Knowledge (Dragons) +41, Knowledge (Nature) +41, Knowledge (Silvanesti) +41, Listen +41, Move Silently +32, Scry +41, Search +41, Sense Motive +43, Spellcraft +41, Speak Languages (Common, Draconic, Mountain Dwarf, Ergot, Goblin, Kagonesti, Ogre, Magius, Qualinesti, Silvanesti, Solamnic),
Spot +41
Feats: Empower Spell, Extend Spell, Maximize Spell,
Quicken Spell-Like Ability (suggestion), Quicken Spell, Skill Focus (Bluff), Skill Focus (Sense Motive), Silent Spell, Still Spell
SA--Breath Weapon (Su): 60 ft. cone of acid gas (20d6 points of acid damage, Reflex save DC 33 for half, usable every 1d4 rounds)
Control Undead (Sp): Once every 3 days, Cyan can control undead as a 15th level
sorcerer. He cannot cast any other spells while this is in effect.
Frightful Presence (Ex): 300 ft. radius, Will save DC 36
Paralyzing Gaze (Su): 40 ft range, Fort save DC 36, paralysis for 2d6 rounds.
Paralyzing touch (Su): With any physical attack, Fort save DC 36 or paralyzed for
2d6 rounds.
Spells Known (cast as 13th level sorcerer):
0 (DC 20)--dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, flare, ghost sound, light,
mage hand, resistance
1st (DC 21)--cause fear, charm person, hypnotism, sleep, ventriloquism
2nd (DC 22)--darkness, detect thoughts, hypnotic pattern, magic mouth, scare
3rd (DC 23)--dispel magic, hold person, major image, suggestion
4th (DC 24)--charm monster, confusion, emotion, polymorph self
5th (DC 25)--dream, mind fog, nightmare
6th (DC 26)--mass suggestion, mislead
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): Suggestion 3/day (DC 23), dominate person 1/day (DC 25)
Note: These stat blocks were developed for D&D 3.0; I'm not familiar enough with 3.5 to do a full revision, but I do know enough to suggest the following changes:
--Change alchemy to Craft (alchemy)
--Set his DR to 15/magic
--Replace the _emotion_ spell with _crushing despair_.
Note 2: The last two paragraphs, as well as the stat blocks, are not part of Current Standard Continuity. The dracolich idea is where I was headed when I put the bit about Cyan Bloodbane into the Appendix to DoaVM, but it doesn't appear to have been adopted as part of CSC.
Much appreciated!Originally posted by Amaron Blackthorn
Nice stroy, but one flaw. The dragonorb of Silvanesti was claimed by Raistlin and was later derstroyed by him in the War of the Twins.
That's why I referred to the "remnants of the dragon orb". :-)
Matthew L. Martin