The
Dragonlord's Forum
Welcome and thank you for joining our family. The following is the necessary information you will need. For those that have been here a while, there are some tasks that will demand our attention. Good luck to you in battle or adventure.
(These are upcoming online events.)
Events
10.03.1998
Feast of Laughter at Brett's Base Camp
on the Dumnonian Front Line; Battle; Aftermath.
(Special Note: To be
held on AOL in Private room Centuria, 6 PM PST)
Monday, March 23, 1998
16.05.1998
Feast of Pain at the King's Camp
in Dumnonia; Need two additional plots.
Monday, April 27, 1998
2.07.1998
Feast of Shadows at Sandy Plains Castle
in Dumnonia; Camel and Horse Races;
Need additional plot.
FROM THE EXERCISE MASTER:
Greetings! Since we are about to go into
an online battle and since I'm fairly sure most of you have not read all the Centurian
novels yet, I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain exactly what your Dragons and
Riders can do in aerial combat.
To participate in aerial combat you have to have a Dragon and Rider. For the
upcoming combat, you need to have Bond Partners who are assigned to Brett's base
camp, Darrell's base camp or Gavain's base camp. If you do not have such
characters, there are some available for adoption. I can put through adoptions very
quickly, in plenty of time for this event, so let me know if you want one of these
characters.
You probably want to check out the Dragon Size Chart as
well. How big your
Dragon is can play an important role in aerial combat. A Young Adult has high
maneuverability, while an Honored Ancient has the cornering ability of, if you will
excuse the mundane reference, the Titanic. Make sure you note whether your Dragon
is small, medium or large for his or her age category, and take that into account.
Prior to battle, the Exercise Master drills the Pairs on the dunes outside their base
camp by sending them through the Ban-kai stretches. This has the double purpose of
limbering up the Riders while bringing the Dragons into close mental links with their
Partners and with their commanders. The Dragons kneel in humanform beside their
Riders, facing the Exercise Master. The Exercise Master relays commands through
his Dragon to the Dragons of the century, who pass the instructions onto their Riders.
The goal is to have the entire century dancing in unison prior to taking to the air.
The most obvious draconic weapons are the two breathweapons. The Dumnonian
Bronzes can breathe either a bolt of magical light or a cloud of scent. With the bolt of
magic, one target may be struck per use. You can score a direct hit, a partial yet
major hit, a partial but minor hit, or a complete miss. Nonmagical creatures are
usually reduced to ash by a direct blast. Magical creatures generally suffer
significantly less damage. With the cloud of scent, think of a predator's reaction to a
skunk. This is a range weapon and can affect multiple targets. An Honored Ancient
produces a much bigger and stronger cloud than a Young Adult, so be reasonable in
your descriptions of size. A Young Adult might affect three or four targets while an
Honored Ancient could affect thirty or forty, all depending on the size and distance of
the target from the attacker. Cinnamarian forces tend to take one whiff of the Bronze
Dragon's stench and flee. The scent is most effective against lesser demons and
devils, minor magical characters. Nonmagical characters may retreat for a short
distance, then return to the battle. For extremely powerful magical characters, there is
a chance that your target will actually shake off the effect of the stench and keep
coming. (Remember, however, that the target's mount may be more susceptible than
the target. A major demon may be able to recover from the scent, but that will do him
preciously little good if his mount is heading south with him still planted on its back.)
Dumnonian Bronzes come equipped with several natural weapons as well.
Consider the jaws with all those, to borrow a phrase from Monty Python, "nasty sharp
pointy teeth." A Young Adult has jaws that look something like those of a
Tyrannosaurus Rex--only the teeth are metal (magically reinforced bronze). The
Honored Ancient could swallow a T-Rex in one bite. Then there is the razor-sharp
metal claws. The Dragon can use all four--the front pair as well as the back
pair--while in full flight. Think about all the things that can be done with such
weapons. In addition to simple slashing, your Dragon could perform raking attacks,
grab-and-pierce, snatch (to drop or drag the opponent), or even kick. Wings can be
used for buffeting as well as for flying. And, last but not least, all Dumnonian Bronzes
are precision trained to lash with their whip-like tails.
Your Rider can carry weapons, too. You may require a scimitar for hand-to-hand
combat or a jambiya to cut yourself free from a net. Distance weapons (such as
bows or lassos) may be used, but you might have to drop them if you need your
hands for something else (such as Speedflying). (You might have to get creative
about where you are going to tie off something like a lasso. The spikes are too
smooth and tapered for a tie to hold. There is no saddle so you don't have a saddle
horn. And using yourself as an anchor when you aren't attached to anything would be
a very bad plan.)
Armor-wise, your Dragon has that marvelous metal hide for protection. Your
Rider, however, as Katrell likes to note, is "pretty squishy" in comparison. The odds
are that your Dragon will come through the combat with scarcely a scratch while your
Rider could very easily wind up as a dark smear on the sand. Your Dragon is trained
to keep that in mind and to fight accordingly, shield your Rider with his or her hide
whenever possible.
Flying in general is up to the Dragon, although the Rider can offer suggestions as
to direction. Your Dragon can theoretically stay aloft all night, but most battles only
last a candlescar or two. As the battle goes on, your Dragon will become increasingly tired,
especially if he or she has to engage in many physical attacks or has been flying
patrol duty prior to the start of the battle. Your Dragon is trained to fly acrobatic
patterns to prevent your Rider from falling off (plus the Dragons use a natural magic
spell to help keep the Rider in his or her seat), but Dumnonians do not tie themselves
to their mounts. (The restraints would prevent the use of maneuvers such as
Speedflying.) Riders can be knocked off by a magic bolt or physical blow from an
opponent (one of the leading causes of death among Dragonriders).
Speedflying is a special maneuver used to take up a position or, more frequently,
to get out of the way of an attack, without teleporting. In Speedflying, the Dragon
must start from a great height (That's why most Dragonlords like to engage their
enemies at a considerable altitude.). The Dragon dives. As the Dragon approaches
the ground, the Rider grabs the flying straps and kicks her legs out behind her. As
the Dragon levels off, the Rider "flies" rather like a kite over the Dragon's deadly
spikes. To land, the Rider waits for the Dragon to slow, then tucks and catches
herself on her knees before resuming her seat. This requires precise timing or grave
injury to the Rider results. Flying too fast will kill the Rider. This is another major
cause of deaths in battle.
Teleportation is another special maneuver, but it is seldom used--except to get out
of the way--once the enemy is engaged by the full century. Teleportation is usually
practiced in formation and demands the full concentration of both Dragon and Rider.
Dragon and Rider each supply an image of what their world would look like from their
new location. The images blur together to form a new image. When the new picture
is formed, the teleportation occurs. Two Pairs transporting to the same location at the
same time may wind up inside each other, so individual use of the maneuver is
discouraged in actual combat. A Dragonlord may order certain Pairs to teleport into
specific positions (usually off the wings of the Dragonlord's Dragon), but this generally
takes time since the Dragons tend to check with each other to make sure everyone is
clear about who is going where. A Dragon can teleport by himself, but a Rider greatly
increases his accuracy. This is one of the main benefits of having a Rider. (The
other main duty of the Rider during combat is to act as a "spotter" for the Dragon.)
Battles start out fairly organized, with an attack generally set for a specific time
and location. Once the fighting starts, however, things quickly dissolve into individual
fights. Rarely does anyone have any idea how well or poorly the combat is going on
the whole until the order is given to disengage and the bodies and injuries are
counted.
All spoils are collected from a battlefield following the engagement, and the
Exercise Master divides them equally among the survivors at dawn--unless the
Dragonlord issues other instructions.
So, there, in a dragonshell, you have the basics you need for the upcoming online
combat. If you have any questions, ask (prior to the event if possible)! You can
e-mail me privately or post to the message board (I prefer messages on the board
since several people might be interested in the answer; it'll save me repeating
myself.).
Until next time,
Eternal Death to the Dark One!
Exercise Master
February:
Month 1: Feast of Light
Month 2: Fast of Darkness
Month 3: Feast of Laughter
Month 4: Fast of Sorrow
Birthdays
For Members:
3--Linda A. Malcor AND Allison M. Mitchell
For Characters:
7.01.1986--Lord Rellix
8.01.1984--Fighter Jakel
8.01.1960--Sahib (Journeyman Caravaneer) Kellen
9.01.1936--Dragonrider Mannann
10.01.1980--Dragonrider Dominic
13.01.1959--Dragonrider Sandy
14.01.1969--Dragonrider Nila
4.02.1980--Apprentice Beast Guilder (Jockey) Sarice
7.02.1929--Servant Nonna
19.02.1951--Exercise Master Krin
20.02.1935--Dragonrider Morgain (deceased)
1.03.1996--Lady Lesana
1.03.1982--Pretty Boy the Sprite
6.03.1951--Lord Gavin
6.03.1929--Fosterer Yahto
7.03.1973--Journeyman Beast Guilder (Jockey) Sebra
8.03.1988--Shaina (child)
8.03.1978--Lord Kristopher
10.03.1935--Journeyman Caravaneer Koalan
10.03.1990--Wanche (child)
2.04.1957--Dragonrider Frida
2.04.1984--Dragonrider Vilera
7.04.1934--Fosterer Wyome
10.04.1982--Lord Garret
(You might consider this as an option prior
to Monday’s event)
Adoptables
These positions need to be filled as soon as possible:
Contact Exercise Master Krin at
Positions Vacant
You have completed your assignment thus far; continue to strive onwards.
Until next forum, keep safe!
