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DRACONIC CAMPAIGNSChromatic dragons can ultimately serve as the basisof entire campaigns. More than a series of dragonthemedadventures strung together, a successfuldraconic campaign involves long-term schemes andefforts on the parts of the dragon (or dragons) and thePCs. At the conclusion of such a campaign, the playersshould feel a true sense of accomplishment, measurednot only in the number of dragons overcome but alsoin the significance of the goals they have achieved—orhave prevented enemies from achieving.Although a draconic encounter or adventure canpresent a dragon as just a big, bad monster, a draconiccampaign works best with dragons acting more likeNPC villains. Each dragon should be more than just aferocious opponent. It should have a name, a personality,and goals. Even if the PCs never learn all thesedetails, such details go a long way toward enabling youto portray the dragon richly. Such details also aid youin making decisions about how the dragon reacts tocircumstances. (Fleshing out the details about dragonsworks well in shorter adventures as well, becauseit makes dragons stand out against other monsters.)As with any campaign that has an ongoing themeor plot line, not every session or adventure mustrevolve around dragons. Include nondraconic adventuresin a draconic campaign. Show other eventshappening in the world around the PCs, so that confrontationswith dragons or draconic agents take ongreater meaning. Feel free to change things up, regularlyand frequently.Two campaign arc examples follow, showcasingways to build a draconic campaign. Their broadstrokes allow you to fill in the details or co-opt theconcepts as you see fit.Fabulous DragonslayersA campaign based on dragons in their traditionalrole—that is, as monstrous and malicious adversaries indesperate need of adventurers to wipe them out—canreveal the potential consequences of PCs becomingknown as “the best there is at what they do.”Heroic Tier: Rise UpAs the campaign begins, the PCs find themselvesin a traditional adventuring environment: a regionfull of scattered villages and communities, the wildsbetween them crawling with an array of monsters.Indeed, the first few adventures betray little sense ofa larger picture.Slowly, the PCs come to realize that the seeminglyunconnected monsters have a common connection.The lizardfolk tribe in the region’s far east seemsprepared for the tactics the PCs used against thehobgoblin bandits in the north. Thieves that comeafter the PCs in town know exactly what items thePCs found in the last dungeon they explored—andthe thieves attempt to steal only the most valuable ofthose items.Rumors and gathered information reveal that onlytwo kinds of people disappear from the main roads:the richest of travelers, and messengers sent to callfor help from communities beyond. Other passersbycontinue in safety. Someone or something guides theefforts of the region’s monsters.By questioning survivors, the PCs eventually learnof their enemy: Sulveras, an adult black dragon thathas more or less ruled the region for decades. Someof the governing officials in the various towns knowabout him but elect to keep quiet, even paying himtribute and feeding him information to avoid riskingovert attacks on their lands and people.Still too weak to face Sulveras on their own, thePCs must travel the region seeking allies willing tooppose the draconic tyrant. Some allies might offerto aid them in combat. Others might provide refuge,information, magical aid, or funding.As these activities progress, the dragon makesan appearance, terrorizing local communities in aneffort to locate the PCs who have been interferingwith its minions. Townsfolk might turn against thePCs, hoping that revealing them to the dragon willcause the beast to spare their homes and lives.Finally, at the culmination of the heroic tier, thePCs have the might to confront Sulveras, putting anend to his reign of terror over the region and causinghis minions to scatter to the four winds.Paragon Tier: So Many VoicesFor a time, the PCs enjoy their well-earned victoryand engage in unrelated adventures. Eventually, however,as word of their victory against Sulveras spreadsbeyond the local region, their reputation as dragonslayersgrows (perhaps magnified in the telling). Theyencounter new problems. People from distant lands—well, relatively distant—come to them with everydragon-related complaint imaginable. Some tales arepure hysteria, perhaps spawned by the presence ofgiant lizards, wyverns, or hunting drakes. Other tales,however, might obligate good-hearted PCs to help allcomers or might tempt mercenary characters withoffers of rewards and opportunities to raid a dragon’shoard. Between lesser adventures, the PCs might dealwith the following three scenarios.1. An adult gray dragon has taken up residencenear Upper Whitewall, a small, independent city.The gray demands regular tribute—both gold andtasty citizens—from the city and has forged a pactwith Upper Whitewall’s formerly unimportant guildDRACONIC CAMPAIGNSCHAPTER 2 | DM’s Guide to Dragons57