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The dragon at the top of the Imperial hierarchy. Each Imperial House (there's one for each of the ten major colors of dragons) reigns for a full millennium before handing over power to the next, and appoints a member of the house to the position. Should an emperor die or otherwise be found incapable of ruling before the thousand-year term is up their House appoints a new one. The current emperor, Mezzenbone, is a particularly cruel red dragon 40 years into his reign as the first chromatic to hold the coveted position.
The Dragon Empire slides into this when the chromatics have authority over it. Before the unification their Asamet Empire was this too.
Thought the lack of martial law and mass executions meant Mezzenbone maybe wasn't such a bad guy after all? Then stop that, because it's all just a part of his catastrophic plan millennia in the making. If he succeeds, worlds will burn and billions will perish as the galaxy is once more plunged into the abyss of absolute destruction.
The Dragon War between metallic Qesemet and chromatic Asamet five millennia before "present day" claimed countless lives and threatened destruction on a titanic scale before the two sides came to their senses and decided to unite instead.
Practiced by Gundancers, a prestige class with mostly monk members who blend spiritual discipline with firearms artistry. They even have an ability named Gun-Fu.
The halflings of the Empire are a generally friendly lot and excel at computer programming, seeing it akin to riddles to be solved.
The bronze throneworld of Endagar is over 90% water, and occasionally suffers the wrath of the larger denizens of the abyss. A kraken attack about a century before "present day" caused enough damage to shut down the Long Road for a week. There are also space kraken to trouble starships.
The elves grow organic spaceships. The mind flayers of the Dark Zone have their own, more eldritch variants.
Most technology is mundane, but some of it, like Soulmechs and starcasters, need a magical component to create and/or use. The Technomancer prestige class is all about this.
They're the same kinds of dragons as in normal D&D, but here they rule an interstellar empire. There are also space dragons and star dragons, but they prefer to stay far away from galactic civilization.
Non-dark elves are typically concerned with ecological matters, given how nature tends to suffer under the spread of high technology. Drow, on the other hand, are Emperor Mezzenbone's favorite non-dragons and make up his Secret Police. Under the scourge of chromatic dragons common elves have it rough, especially with the particular dislike green dragons hold for elves and fey.
On Primogen II there's an age-old conflict between good and evil, and the ISPD supplies both sides with advanced weaponry in order to prevent either from gaining an advantage and threatening Imperial affairs on the planet.
The Long Road is a 20-lane portal highway that connects the throneworlds. It is also rumored that the Imperial Palace structures on each throneworld are connected to each other by way of secret teleportation circles, and the prototypical Outlands Station is in fact ten stations all tied together with portals, one station at the border of each Imperial House's domain.
The gnomish Forongorn Confederation of the planet Aranal was the first civilization to develop interstellar travel. When they inevitably encountered other inhabited worlds they soon founded the Star League, but the incorporation of dragons into their power structure led to tensions, and tensions led to the Star League falling apart and the dragons forming the kingdoms of Qesemet and Asamet. Thus began the Dragon War.
There's always been an Imperial Police, but Mezzenbone went a step further and introduced a drow-staffed Imperial Special Police Directorate. They're about as pleasant as you can imagine a Gestapo of dark elves under a chaotic evil dragon would be. Working closely with (and maybe even training) the ISPD is the black dragon-led Adamantine Order.
The Dragon War never really ended, it just turned more subtle. Not that anyone really knows what counts as winning or losing anymore.
The narrator of the Starfarer's Handbook introduction is an exiled prince named Caspian.
A planet destroyed by order of Mezzenbone was named Khazad.
Also called "skyhooks", the most famous example is the one on the silver throneworld of Aelding that has greatly helped make the planet the leading producer of spacecraft in the Empire.
Lord Shul, a half-black dragon Yuan-Ti assassin, leads the Adamantine Order agency and has the favor of Emperor Mezzenbone. Shul's former subordinate, the drow Avix Vazenorn, serves a similar role as leader of the Emperor's Secret Police.
The Black Hole Syndicate is a loosely-organized criminal empire with roots in pre-Empire times, currently led by the decadent rakshasa rogue Bazzrit.
Magitek devices known as starcasters give starships the ability to instantly travel across Imperial space.
Asterwraths are giant space aberrations that look like asteroids and eat spaceships, and occasionally battle space krakens.
Sorcerers are seen as superior to Wizards (and indeed all non-dragons) in the Empire because their natural magic is officially deemed to be a result of dragon blood.
The Primogen system, designed as a starting point for campaigns, is intentionally left vague in terms of its location. The book gives some advice but ultimately leaves it up to the GM to decide where in the galaxy to place it.
John Caspian wanted nothing more than to avenge his father the king… then the Dragon Empire forcefully brought his world into its midst and he became conscripted into the Imperial Legions. He still plans to deal with the whole revenge thing eventually.
Mezzenbone views himself as unto a god and the center of the universe.
Grand Duchess Ivaldor, the black dragon leader, is a bloated and decadent creature.
Emperor Mezzenbone has been the highest authority within the chromatic dragons of Asamet for five thousand years, and while he didn't abolish civil rights and declare himself ruler for life upon ascending to the Imperial throne like many feared he would he's still as cruel and sadistic as they come, sending his Secret Police and personal assassins to eliminate threats to his reign and ordering mass exterminations of Outlands worlds that are particularly bothersome (if you're compliant he's only slightly nicer to you).
Khelorn, the gold dragon who formed Qesemet and ruled the Empire for the first millennium, is still in charge of his house and is the most influential metallic dragon alive.
Whenever a new world is incorporated into the Empire its leaders are made to offer up able-bodied men and women to the Imperial Legions for a five-year tour of duty, a practice introduced in later years by Mezzenbone.
The red throneworld of Arangorn is a hellish, barren landscape too hot for normal people to survive on its surface without protective gear, and is on top of that highly tectonically active.
The Dragon War ended when an unknown superweapon was detonated on the yellow dragon world of Krellis, blowing the planet to smithereens and killing over a billion, dooming the yellows to near-extinction. The sheer destruction convinced the two sides to end the war.
The Dark Zone is a region of space outside the reach of the Empire that is home to mind flayers and other aberrations. Few explorers ever return from it, and the few that do don't describe it in very flattering terms.
Emperor Mezzenbone has a crack team of assassins known (though not by many) as the Black Talon at his disposal.
Rumors say that the death of Asamet's blue king Lazalius during the last stages of the Dragon War was caused by his successor and the current emperor, Mezzenbone.
Imperial House | Subspecies | Star System | Throneworld | Grand Duke | Cycle Rotation | Kingdom |
Esmer | Green | Parvan system | Malaval | Lemradon | 1 | Asamet |
Sarava | Silver | Casenore system | Aelding | Daernatha | 2 | Qesemet |
Osorus | Blue | Heridor system | Thormorath | Doraith | 3 | Asamet |
Deserene | Gold | Arlant system | Galador | Khelorn | 4 | Qesemet |
Mazorgrim | Red | Andragus system | Arangorn | Mezzenbone | 5 | Asamet |
Handor | Bronze | Idradon system | Endagar | Adenil | 6 | Qesemet |
Noros | Black | Kalain system | Morngond | Ivaldor | 7 | Asamet |
Aranath | Brass | Magrant system | Ambrant | Parlion | 8 | Qesemet |
Altara | White | Eloine system | Rilion | Nimgroth | 9 | Asamet |
Golion | Copper | Savain system | Meneer | Kupric | 10 | Qesemet |
Religion
- Dualist Heresy
- Unification Church
- Hybrid Faiths
Dragon Nobles
- Emperor Khelorn
- Emperor Kupric
- Emperor Mezzenbone
- Aristo Corps
- Dragon Emperor
- Medals
Dragon Houses
House Qesemet
- House Deserene - the GoldDragon house
- House Sarava - the SilverDragon house
- House Handor - the BronzeDragon house
- House Aranath - the BrassDragon house
- House Golion - the Copper Dragon house and the former imperial house
House Asamet
- House Mazorgrim - the Red Dragon house and the present imperial house
- House Osorus - The Blue Dragon house
- House Esmer - the Green Dragon house
- House Noros - the BlackDragon house
- House Altora - the WhiteDragon house
Organizations
- Imperial Society
- ISPD - Imperial Special Police Directorate
- Imperial Legion
- Imperial Police
- Royal Exploratory Service
- Task Force Sanctuary
Locations
The Throneworlds
Domain, system, planet
Altara, Eloine, Rilion?
Aranath, Magrant, Ambrant?
Deserene, Arlant, Galador?
Esmer, Parvan, Malaval?
Golion, Savain, Meneer?
Handor, Idradon, Endagar?
Mazorgrim, Andragus, Arangorn?
Noros, Kalain, Morngond?
Osorus, Heridor, Thormorath?
Sarava, Casenor, Aelding?
Other systems and planets in the Empire
System, planet, moon or station
Altara domain
Canatar
Chevron
Danteven
Laraban
Pinnacle
Rielak
Aranath domain
Aumbry
Faras
Kulas
Lordran
Tangorn
Deserene domain
Cadis
Harbor Deserene
Perland
Raza
Rovan
Serenity
Esmer domain
Amaril
Banshee
Beacon
Golion domain
Arador
Baranda
Epic
Savell
Turasir
Handor domian
Buliban
Echo
Irdal
Labanin
Rinur
Mazorgrim domain
Holdfast
Inferno
Scepter
Noros domain
Anarth
Bastion
Canin
Giana
Harbor Noros
Rialda
Osoros domain
Birinas
Endragar
Gorogond
Gulinar
Penbigan
Tinas
Sarava domain
Casenor, Andrin Station
Fargul
Farathorn
Galdarast
Kalban
Taran
Zinas
Planets in the Outlands
System, planet
??, Drelga?
Primogen, Primogen I
Primogen, Primogen II?
Primogen, Primogen III
Primogen, Primogen IV
Primogen, Primogen V