THE DRACONIC PROPHECY AS CROUP PATRON
Though it is not a sentient force that can control or reward
your party, the Draconic Prophecy can be similar to an Im
mortal Being patron. The Prophecy can act as a guide for
adventurers who seek to fulfill it-or to steer its fu lfillment
in a particular direction. You stand among the heroes of
the present age; surely you have a role to play in the un
folding prophecy.
In order for the Draconic Prophecy to work as a patron,
one or more of the characters needs to have access to
words from the Prophecy. Yo ur group might adventure to
seek out places where the Prophecy is written: mountain
sides and cavern walls, ancient text and crumbling ruins,
or the patterns of moons, stars, and the Ring of Siberys
(best interpreted at an observatory). A dragon marked char
acter might gain insight into the Prophecy from the marks
on their skin. Alternatively, a character might hear words
from the Prophecy in dreams or visions, or surfa cing from
some deeply buried memory of a traumatic event.
Given access to the words of the Prophecy, it's up to
the characters to decide what they mean. The Prophecy
is notoriously difficult to interpret, and a given passage
might be fu lfilled in different ways (or, possibly, in multiple
ways over the course of centuries). For example, take a
prophetic snippet like the one mentioned in the book's
introduction: "If the Bear King is slain by a sorrowful as
sassin in the Shadow of the Mourning, the Crown will fall
from his nation." This might mean that if King Boranel of
Breland is killed in the Mournland, the kingdom of Breland
will be dissolved, and if dissolving the monarchy is the
characters' goal, they can try to bring about those circum
stances. On the other hand, it could mean that if an awak
ened bear in the Eldeen Reaches declares himselfking of
the forest, and if the bear is killed on the anniversary of the
Mourning, the tallest tree in the domain he claimed (the
Crown of his nation) will fall. If that is the characters' goal,
for whatever reason, they might try to bring those circum
stances about.
The currency of favors that defines most patronage re
lationships is tricky when your group's patron is a series
of vague oracular verses rather than a person. However,
bringing about the fu lfillment of the Prophecy in a certain
way often has immediate or long-term benefits that are
equivalent to the favors another patron might grant your
group. To ppling the Crown in the Bear King's domain
might give you access to a spell inscribed in the ancient
tree's rings, for example.SERVING AN IMMORTAL
The tasks you perform for your immortal patron can be
mysterious, even trivial seeming, but they always have
implications within the immortal's larger plans. Often
it's hard to tell what those implications might be-and
stumbling upon hints of an immortal's broader agenda
might prove frightening. Yo ur tasks could involve ful
filling prophecies in deliberate ways, preventing proph
esied events from coming to pass, or even engaging in
seemingly random actions that further designs invisible
to mortal eyes. Immortal beings might send you on all
manner of adventures, such as those shown on the Im
mortal Missions table.
CHAPTER 1 I CHARACTER CREATION
IMMORTAL MISSIONS
dB Mission
While in the tower of Morda in the Fleshweaver, spill
blood on the stairs between the third and fourth floors.
2 As you pursue a Cult of the Dragon Below into the cav
erns of Khyber, retrieve one (and only one) of a specific
variety of mushroom from a cave where twelve crystals
glow.
3 Ensure that the villain you are pursuing dies by falling
from a great height, not by any other means.
4 Remove the obstacles that prevent a retired adventurer
from marrying the nobleman she loves, so that their
child can grow up to carry out another part of your
patron's plan.
5 Plant a magical seed in a remote location to ensure it
grows into a mighty tree and bears fruit that will give
power to future heroes.
6 Defeat a dragon-blooded sorcerer who is doing the
bidding of the Chamber-and wreaking havoc in Dar
guun in the process.
7 Destroy an eldritch machine, created by a rogue
Cannith artificer, that is drawing on the energy of an
imprisoned rakshasa-and that will, unknown to the
inventor, lead to the rakshasa's release.
8 Protect a kalashtar monk who is being targeted by
Dreaming Dark assassins as she studies a path that
might eventually prevent the quori from projecting
themselves into the Material Plane.IMMORTAL CONTACTS
Immortal beings sometimes use mortal intermediaries
to contact their agents, but most of them possess magic
powerful enough to communicate with you directly, even
over impossible distances. Consult the Immortal Com
munication table to determine what mysterious method
your patron uses to direct your party.IMMORTAL COMMUNICATION
dlO Means of Contact
1 A party member speaks to your patron in dreams.
2 A ghostly projection of your patron appears before you
to deliver messages.
Random people are suddenly seized by your patron's
will and, glassy-eyed, deliver messages to you.
4 You have a sending stone connected to one in your
patron's possession.
5 You are adept at interpreting your patron's messages
from the movement of smoke in the air.
6 A secretive cabal of other mortal agents summons you
to meetings in various locations.
7 Certain animals speaks to you in your patron's voice.
8 Your patron teleports you to their presence, expresses
their will, then returns you to where you were.
9 Supernatural messengers deliver your patron's
messages.
10 Your patron unexpectedly appears in person.