It was a bright and blustery morning at the start of winter in the realms, I was well overdue to leave my tower and retreat to the Highhand spire near Mintarn island, which didn't get completely coated with ice from the gales a frigid temperature freezing the very sea froth against the ancient stone of Candlekeep. My pseudodragon friend Makrotaxel was getting a little fiesty with me, as far as he was concerned, I was overstaying in his lair, my chambers were sealed off but he had his access via a chimney into my study room and kept the rats and other vermin from devouring all my books and keepsakes while I was away, he also, occasionally, had a nest, some youngsters and I lost some treasured leather bound tomes to little dragon teeth and claws as the hatchlings got a little more mobile before leaving the lair at the start of summer. This was how I got to be friends with Makrotaxel after all, a few decades ago.
Dragons were the order of business on that morning though, I was outside the keep, crouched out of the wind behind a boulder, watching two rams smacking their curled horns together in the long, tough grass as the little wild herd of sheep watched on. They didn't stir until the last minute, then suddenly they caught sight of whom I was waiting for and scattered in terror, sprinting everywhere before gathering and charging off down the coast toward the still rising sun.
My friend Olidmardramo, who many call Feather, roared at them and this sound transformed very strangely into a braying donkey sound, and then into the hearty bellowing laugh of a portly Sembian merchant, I stood up immediately to catch a look at her true form, but alas, I missed it and the look on my face must have spoken volumes as Feather spread his hands and shook his head.
"Oooh sorry old Rune, I know you like to see me in the nude, but I don't want your little hermits firing a spell off at me, or one of those nasty big ship crossbows... yes yes, I know what they are called, don't correct me".
I gave the merchant a hug and stepped back and offered a respectful bow "How are you Olidmardramo, hows the kids?"
The humanoid form she was wearing snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Oh who knows? I haven't spoken to any but Ormeremymarin in the last ten years and that was a letter from the far east"
"Kara-tur? Really? I didn't think that place was very hospitable to dragons?"
"Oh you thought that did you? Well, something I can educate you on for a change, old sage, come on, lets go inside, you are starting to make me feel cold with your bare feet"
"hmmm? Oh, yes, sorry, I put a pot of that broth you like on"
"With the rock crabs? and the onions? oooo yes yes, after you".
A few minutes later and I was walking through the perimeter gardens toward the rear wall and towers, and the dragon huffed in distaste beside me.
"Don't they ever decorate around here? A few statues, a fountain or two, some decorative tiles, even shape some of these shrubs into topiary forms more pleasing to the eye"
"Well, those are rare medicinal and alchemical plants Feather, we don't just hack them into shapes to make them look nice, they have better uses"
"There is no better use for a plant Sage"
"As you say, but I think botanists might not agree"
"mmm then I will eat them"
"No you won't"
"I could you know"
"Think of the mess"
"Quite right, it would be dreadful"
When we did get to my chambers, Makrotaxel, along with all the Pseudodragons along the western sea wall, had vanished.
"Make yourself at home dear Feather"
The merchant looked around, eyes fixing on one item after another all lining my shelves and resting against furnishings and wall space. He let out a low whistle as he peered closely at a little chunk of meat with a dry old eyeball in it.
"What is this?"
"Part of a domesticated Beholder from Deep Imaskar"
He turned and stared at me for several moments.
"Where?"
I shook my head "Much too dangerous a location to reveal, sorry Feather, I barely escaped and lost a few years of my life just doing that"
"That's the first time you have ever denied me the answer to a question sage, so I will take that warning quite seriously"
"Good, anyway, you said you had to see me... what about?"
"Murghom, the dragon princes"
"Ahhhh, good, I've been wanting to hear more, all I have heard is rumors this far west of the sea of Seros"
"Well, we have a lot to talk about as always!" and with that, he closed the chamber door and grabbed a large bowl of crab soup.
Electrum dragons are few in number, they are a distinct lineage of the metallic dragons and lost a large number of their population tens of thousands of years ago during the great religious wars which ripped the dragonic civilisation on Toril apart, at the same time they were in a genocidal war with the Giants, this is the reason you don't see a lot of the Gem dragons or the more neutral dragons, who were part of the leadership in the faiths and lost a lot of their relatives through the civil war and greater global conflict.
Olidmardramo was of the opinion that dragons predated the existence of the gods and had no business in the outer planes or worshipping any gods, but also informed me that Electrum dragons were respected scholars in the celestial courts of Kara-tur and many of her kin lived there, particularly on the hundreds of isolated islands to the far east. She neglected to warn me that some of those islands were also home to colossal monsters as large as the walking statues of Waterdeep, but then, I never asked.
Electrum Dragons are predominantly solitary creatures whose chosen abodes emphasize isolation and reflection. Typically found in remote and imposing locales, these dragons choose habitats that include remote mountain peaks, ancient caverns, and even abandoned architecture that has withstood the test of time. These lairs often double as sanctuaries where the dragon can observe the world in a state of near-perpetual reflection—almost as if they were statues carved from living stone on high peaks.
Unlike many other draconic beings that are solely driven by hoarded treasure or sheer destructive power, Electrum Dragons possess an intrinsic philosophical bent. They often retreat into solitude not out of malice or inclination toward isolation, but rather to devote themselves to contemplation, study, and debate. Their lairs are not merely repositories for gold and gems; instead, they are filled with objects of beauty—books, art, and rare information, all carefully collected over centuries.
This commitment to wisdom is also seen in their interactions with other beings. When visitors manage to locate these reclusive dragons, they might be greeted not with hostility, but with an invitation to engage in trade, bargaining, or even intellectual discourse. The curious nature of these dragons encourages them to observe nearby creatures, often from great distances, in matters of combat and conflict, they employ the same sort of distant and wise reserve, using minions, spells and their breath attack before enemies get anywhere near them. But, they are formidable in physical combat, they are true dragons after all, every limb is a weapon them employ, including their wings, they are well known for devastating fly by attacks, using their rear legs and tail to rip through enemies, unleashing magic and their mind melting Ray of enfeeblement or confusion that serves as their unique breath weapon options. Magic though, oh the Electrum dragons are masters of it, they can read it from the moment they hatch and innately detect magic near to them, they also have a magical resistance and the ability to enhance their breath weapon to include blinding and deafening effects on top of the enfeeblement or confusion. They are natural artists and statues that come to life to fight for or otherwise serve them are very common in their lairs.
They may be wise philosophers, but if you present them with something that is as deadly as it is beautiful for their lair, they will trade handsomely for it. A wander around their home unsupervised is highly likely to get you horrifically killed and if ever there was a place for some of Grimtooth's more asthetically clever and pleasingly fiendish traps, this would be it, outside of dwarven strongholds or wizard's towers of course.
Electrum Dragons also have distinctive reproduction cycles. They mate infrequently—often only once per century—reflecting their long lifespans and slow, deliberate lifestyles. The mating ritual itself is a display of both aerial acrobatics and arcane exchange; the dragons engage in playful flight formations that are accompanied by the exchange of spells. This ritualistic behavior symbolically ties together their intellectual pursuits with natural instinct.
Approximately one year after mating, female Electrum Dragons will lay a clutch typically consisting of one to four eggs.
Their eggs are rubbery and measure about 1 foot (30 centimeters) in length I am told and once laid, the eggs hatch in a few days. I'm not sure exactly what elemental energy type they employ during this stage, but the hatchlings have pale gray skin and scales with rather large eyes of bright green. I think they are quite cute, like copper hatchlings, very talkative with a million questions and long periods of sleep and growth, occasionally they will cast a spell when sleeping, so give them plenty of room and don't wake them up unless you really have to.
As they get older and bigger, their scales gain a polished lustre and start to take on a pearl-like sheen, their eyes remain that bright green but start to become like gems, eventually like liquid mercury in their full maturity, they do tend to read a lot for dragons and its not unknown for them to wear reading glasses, not because their eyes are weakened with age, far from it, no they like owning wondrous items, such as lenses of true seeing and the like, but if it makes others think they have a disadvantage, why correct that assumption?
I often hear from Roleplayers that its difficult to represent a creature that is certainly a lot more intelligent than a human, given centuries of study and experience, so here is my advice... don't, let the game do it for you, you have the power to say "The dragon saw that coming and counters it immediately, annoyed you would try something so obvious, they make a scoffing noise and mimic your voice mockingly, pretending to congratulate themselves, as you, on how clever they are".
The dragon has either done all this before, many times, or they have pondered all the different ways it would pan out, for centuries... any time your players try a tactic that is not completely unexpected, the dragon will be ready for it, waiting for it, crossing it off their bingo list of things stupid humanoids do when raiding your lair or whatever.
You don't outwit them, you don't outsmart them, you can confuse them, use their expectations against them, and hope that they underestimate you and make a silly assumption... dragons hate, absolutely loathe being outwitted, discovered, thwarted and embarrassed, much like cats. Also like cats, a dragon can be too focused on their prey, they may be caught out if they are sure, absolutely certain that the fleeing prey is in a blind panic and running as instinct dictates, they probably would not expect the victim to lead them right into a serious ambush it had no idea was there, because who takes a month to silently creep up the side of a mountain with some seige weapons and a squad of hired archers? Not your typical looting scumbag adventurers, that's who.
Electrum dragons are also scholars and philosophers, to them a great debate is as satisfying as combat, unless they feel very threatened or are protecting some young offspring, they are most likely to at least consider switching from a physical fight to an intellectual one. But don't go into that tactic unprepared, if they grow bored with you, they have already used the conversation as an excuse to get into a good position to bite your head clean off your shoulders. Why? Because they have done this before, maybe dozens of times.
Bring them statues, tapestries, musical instruments, gems, and jewelry; make sure the object is both beautiful and rich in providence, a history, a story or representative of a culture, a time in history, something now lost and only that object remains, these are precious to the electrum dragons and their lairs are full of such things, counter to what you might think, many are handed down among dragons related to or very good friends with each other and they frequently trade items just as you would expect rare and scholarly antique collecters would, its part of the enjoyment of a piece, the fact that it is desired by others.
Electrums fly reasonably well but as Metallics, they have the innate ability to polymorph into other forms, in the case of my friend Olidmardramo she prefered to use male humanoid forms to pass through humanoid dominated lands and had a different persona for Sembia and Turmish, I won't reveal their names but they are known in those lands, well, some might know they are actually a dragon, but you know, I suspect a lot of scholars I meet are dragons in disguise... you never know.
Electrum dragons are very large creatures in their true form though, and being polymorphed for long periods of time is a great strain for them, just the tiny amount that humanoids eat is a problem for their metabolism and being so confined with three limbs missing is a very unpleasant sensation to tolerate for very long. As omnivores, they can quietly accumulate a huge heap of food and drink and just, relax and eat properly, but, they are also predators, they enjoy killing and eating smaller creatures, it's they way they are wired, they find a confused and stumbling drunk human to be... not dangerously erratic, funny or pathethic... they find them to be delicious, slurring your words, acting like a fool and stumbling around them is likely to make them actually start to drool... they are highly intelligent but they are not humanoids, they do not see the world the same way, they have a different moral and ethical outlook and they will never see a little humanoid as their equal. An adult electrum dragon will be no less than 36 feet or 11 meters long, their claws can shred a person just as fast, just as powerful and just as deadly as casually as a Polar bear. As they grow older and larger, they gain more spells that they can cast, such as identify, locate object, dispel magic, telekinesis, some powerful illusions and equally potent healing magic. They are experts on magical texts but not overly fond of elven magic or druidic magic, like most dragons they prefer direct, elemental magical spells and rarely study utility spells, considering metamagic and extending the power of a few core spells that they master over centuries.
Despite being mostly remote and solitary in their lifestyle, they do enjoy trade, welcome visitors and love to engage in debates and the sharing of ideas, there is a lineage of Electrum dragons who are known to be allies of the Elves of Myth Drannor, a location I know little about, but I hear there is a powerful Mythal that permeates that region and the dragons seem to operate within it just fine.
They are also friends to Dwarves, as how could they not admire a culture that produces some of the most gorgeous metal and gem works of art in the world? The lesser dwarven deity named Dugmaren Brightmantle is known to favor the electrum dragons, which makes sense for the dwarven god of scholars and free thinkers. You can blame that god's influence for my friend olidmardramo being obsessed with trying to learn how to read minds.
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