Races of the Dragon is a D&D supplement that focuses on various “draconic” races, specifically, those that share some manner of heritage with dragons, be it simple like the half-dragon, magically bestowed like the dragonborn or mythic like the kobold. The book covers their origins, culture, physiology and psychology and of course adds a variety of new feats, spells, psionics, equipment, prestige classes and racial substitution levels that one expects from these types of supplements. The focus is on letting players play “dragon” type characters, without actually playing dragons.
In brief, the races covered in the book are the “dragonborn” (other humanoid races “reborn” as humanoid shaped dragons by Bahamut to bring the fight to Tiamat and her twisted draconic monstrosities. Think “draco-paladin”.), “spellscales” (sort of like “uber-sorcerers” whose draconic blood extends to giving them brightly colored scales on their skin), kobolds (come on, you know, those underestimated trap-making vermin?), and the “dragon-descended” (Everything from half-dragons down to the only mildly dragony).
Dragonborn were interesting, in that they were a conscious choice and not an accident of birth, and that they have an obvious purpose in life. The information on the race was detailed, but really, in the end, they’re basically scaly paladins out to stop evil dragons. However, this focus isn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least no worse than your average paladin.
Spellscales, on the other hand, bother me. They’re a “new” race, but seem to have developed a nearly psychotic “culture” already. Certainly they will be the same kind of bane as Kender used to be. While their draconic blood makes sorcery and magic more interesting and natural for them, it doesn’t really explain why they, for example, never explain themselves and never apologize. Apparently Spellscales never take unintentional actions, they just occasionally receive unintentional results. They also tend to “ritualize” daily actions in an obsessive-compulsive fashion, though these particular rituals can change from day to day or month to month. While these might make interesting characters, their outlook on life is pretty alien for a race that was until relatively recently born from normal humans. At the very least you’ll want to make sure that only your mature, experienced players try to play one of these things or only your party’s paladin is going to be able to keep the others from killing it.
Kobolds are just kobolds, and unfortunately their culture makes them outright little bastards, but there’s nothing from stopping a player from playing a “black sheep” type kobold or the DM from making Kobolds in her campaign less antagonistic. The Kobold chapter is nice in that it give an insight into Kobold culture, their fascination with traps, their belief that they are descended from the first dragon and their almost hive-minded attitude of betterment of the tribe over betterment of the individual. There’s also a neat little ritual that a Kobold can undertake to grant him a once-per-day sorcerous spell-like ability.
Half-Dragons and Draconic characters are also covered in depth. Again, there are quite a few “stereotypes” described for a race that is essentially an oddity within another culture, although in this case they are usually described in broad strokes and often incorporate the Dragon-descended’s sometimes bigoted home environment as a rationale for their personalities. Unlike the special rules for Dragonborn or the basic racial traits for Spellscales and Kobolds, Dragon-descended characters are created by Template.
The prestige classes here were designed for the draconic races, though a couple can be used by other races as well. The prestige classes offered in the book are the “Disciple of the Eye” (a sort of draco-monk with extra-sensory perception and the ability to stare-down opponents), the “Dracolxi” (a spellcaster who can use Draconic “power words” to enhance himself), the “Dragon Devotee” (a dragon wanna-be that manages, through study and practice, to actually become a draconic creature), the “Dragonheart Mage” (a mage that plays on his (necessary) draconic heritage to enhance his spellcasting ability and to breath fire or whatnot), and “Singers of Concordance” (clerics whose job it is to bring peace and happiness to dragons and draconic characters).
There are a couple of extra details added to the Craft, Handle Animal and Profession skills and a bunch of draconic feats. The feats, of course, allow characters to take advantage of their racial abilities, tweak their breath weapons, or emulate draconic side effects, like “Draconic Presence” which renders lower HD creatures “shaken” when you cast a spell. Many of the spells and psionic powers in the book focus on emulating or avoiding draconic abilities, or giving an edge to a smaller opponent (like Kobolds).
Then there are Draconic Grafts. These are like magical bioware, for you cyberpunk fans out there. Essentially, dragon parts are grafted onto the character, granting him magical dragon abilities. However, these aren’t “magic items” or even “items” and so they have some advantages over standard magical equipment.
The book finishes up with helpful tips for using these races in a campaign, sample NPCs, a randomized list of “adventure ideas”, a small Draconic lexicon so you can curse at your enemies in Draconic and a listing of draconic deities with their alignment, domains, etc.
Overall it seems like a pretty good book, though not of much use if you don’t have a draconic fetish or players who do, though the chapter on Kobolds is good for making the often underestimated race a bit more interesting.
Races of the Dragon
Hardbound
ISBN: 0-7869-3913-3
Suggested Retail: $29.95 US