Friday, November 1, 2013

Dark Sun: Dragonbron AKA The Dray



The Dragonborn (not to be confused with the one from Skyrim...) are one of the cooler and strongest races in 4e. Not only is their Dragon's Breath encounter power really cool, but they tend to make the best martial class characters and even make for great paladins. My favorite 4e PC was a Dragonborn Blackguard who hated Bahamut for abandoning him and became a dragonslayer.

In Dark Sun, the Dragonborn are referred to as Dray. They are clan-based and were created by a sorcerer king in order to be sorcerer warriors. Already, you see a marked difference. The Dray on Athas are the primary sorcerers, being born out of magic and being principally skilled in it. Because they live on the fringes of society and are very powerful arcane users, they are usually sought after by nobles to serve as mercenary magicians.

In a party, a Dray brings a host of possibilities, including being on of the races where being an arcane user slips right into the story. The Dray could be an exalted dignitary, an ambassador between nobles and sorcerer kings, he could be an outcasted clan member who now sells his skills to the highest bidder, or he could be a mafioso in a corner of Balic focusing in the slave trade and money-lending. 

It's really interesting how the changes in Dark Sun force you to take a different look at these races. I normally would never play an arcane Dragonborn, but now it makes so much sense that I can't imagine playing a non-arcane Dray.

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