Dragon: The Embers Core Book - MrGone's Character Sheets

As a good rule of thumb, a limb that
has suffered bashing damage (of any amount)
should inflict a -1 situational penalty to
activities involving that limb. If the wound
(or wounds) suffered were lethal, -2 would
stand as a better penalty. And if the limb
has suffered any kind of aggravated damage,
a -3 situational penalty to actions involving
its use is not unreasonable.
Anatomy Anatomy Anatomy of of the the Heart
Heart
The Oroboroi Heart consists of nine
chambers, four of which are atria with the
remaining five serving as ventricles. The
Oroboroi Heart is essentially two
independent Hearts drawing from two
separate oxygen sources, connected by a
center ventricle which pumps oxygenated
blood throughout the body.
The Left Heart, or rather the left four
chambers of the Oroboroi Heart, gathers
low-oxygen blood (in the dorsal left atrium)
from the body and sends it to the lungs
(from the dorsal left ventricle), where it
becomes high-oxygen blood if the lungs are
in use. High-oxygen blood is then received
in the Left Heart again (in the ventral left
atrium), where it is sent to the center
ventricle (from the ventral left ventricle). If
the Dragon is currently not utilizing her
lungs, the low oxygen blood is blocked out
of the center ventricle by means of a
specialized nervous reaction, instead being
redirected to the first atrium of the Right
Heart (The ventral right atrium)
The Right Heart, or rather the right
four chambers of the Oroboroi Heart,
gathers low-oxygen blood just as the Left
Heart does (in the ventral right atrium), but
sends it off to the gills instead (from the
ventral right ventricle), where it becomes
high-oxygen blood if the Dragon is
submerged in water. Returning from the
gills, high-oxygen blood (in the dorsal right
atrium) is then pumped into the center
ventricle (from the dorsal right ventricle). If
the Dragon is currently not utilizing her gills,
the low oxygen blood cannot enter the
central ventricle due to the same nervous
reaction that occurs in the Left Heart.
Finally, the central ventricle stores
oxygenated blood and pumps it throughout
the body. It only ever contains oxygenated
blood, and will only pump if it has blood in
it. Because of this, a Dragon who has had
both her sources of oxygen cut off will not
have a pulse, as the low-oxygen blood
simply flows back and fourth between the
Left and Right Hearts.
Of course, that’s how it would work
if a Dragon kept her Heart in chest. All of
these functions are performed
sympathetically with the Heart’s beat, so it
needn’t actually hold the Dragon’s blood at
all. An astral bond connects the body with
its blood muscle, and some say a silver
string can be seen connecting the two if you
look hard enough. Though, it could be jade,
too.
An interesting thing to note is the
fact that Dragons possess both gills and
lungs. Due to the design of their Heart, the
Oroboroi are capable of life on land or sea
without consequence, even if they are not
manifesting a single Aspect. There are
rumors of Dragon cities beneath the waves,
but each is colored by legends of horrid
creatures that sleep where ocean swallows
the light.
Grafts
Grafts
What’s this? The thesis summary of
this chapter mentioned nothing about Grafts.
Best to consider it a bonus. The Graft Merit
(page XX in Chapter 2) gifts a Dragon one
of these boney devices, but what are they,
exactly? And what do they do?
Creating a Graft involves the death
of a mortal, mainly when said mortal
touches a heavily cursed item. The Graft
itself is comprised of the slain mortal’s body,
compressed tenfold and shaped in gruesome
fashion. It is mystically charged by the
former life that created it, and by grasping