By J.D. Simmons (jsimmons-der@worldnet.att.net)
The Sidhe nobility looked across the charred wastelands of the Brood's fighting and became outraged that so noble a race would be so blindsighted as to the result of its infighting, and demanded that the Brood stop before they ravaged all of Arcadia. The Brood looked about at the destruction they had caused, and abashedly stopped fighting. A concord was prepared for and all Brood were in attendance, save a few who were above the pettiness of such things as sides and had decided that neither Seelie nor Unseelie was worth fighting over. These few continued their lives, ignoring the silly meeting for things they had already worked out. The Concord was held inside a massive cave, inside a massive mountain and was going well; the Brood listened attentively to both sides of the debate, and a compromise seemed likely. About three days into it, a certain Seelie Brood called for a brief recess so that he could get a breath of fresh air. He quickly rushed from the cave, and as he stepped out several powerful Sidhe mages joined him. They rolled a massive boulder in front of the cave, the Brood within unaware as they had yet to even begin moving from the depths of the Concord. The Seelie mages then sealed the opening and boulder with the most powerful warding and binding Cantrips they could muster. Then they summoned forth the very power of the Dreaming and sank the entire mountain into the ground. The Sidhe then fashioned a large binding keyhole in the ground, and an equally large key, then locked the keyhole, thereby locking the mountain into the ground.
The key was then duplicated, though none of these duplicates had the power to open the mountain, and spread the keys throughout Arcadia, each one going to a separate place of power. The Sidhe had already decided on how to do this, and sent the keys out in such a way that even they didn't know which was the real key, this way making it that much harder for the Brood to ever escape. The Sidhe feared the decision of the Concord; they feared the Brood might decide to reclaim their old thrones, or to all side with the Unseelie, and could not take the chance of either of those things ever happening. To further prevent the release of the Brood, a great tree was grown atop the keyhole, then several around it, and so on and so forth until there now grew a mighty forest where once there was a mountain. The Sidhe then took the betrayer Brood and placed him into the tree, making him the prison's eternal guard.
Thinking that now all the Brood were eternally trapped beneath the surface of Arcadia, unknowing of the few who still roamed free, the Sidhe cast a great Cantrip in all kingdoms that removed the memory of the Brood from the minds of all Kith and all written and magick text, effectively causing everyone to think that there had never been a Brood, and that the Sidhe had always ruled. The Brood themselves, however, were unaffected, as were certain Fae who were not in Arcadia at the time. So now a few very old and powerful Fae remember, as do the Brood themselves, but all others have forgotten the great legacy of the Brood.
It is said that some years later the useless keys were found and that they were fashioned into a sword, though the fate of that sword is unknown. Those few Brood who are still free quickly mastered the art of Primal and used it to imitate Pooka, or simply imitated Sidhe. Of those who imitated Pooka, some were lost, forgetting who they truly were, and instead became caught up in their own ruse. Surely these Brood could be reawakened, but that is a matter of another Brood presenting the truth to them, and many are unwilling to present the truth to anyone or anything.
In the middle ages a group of Brood somehow managed to escape into the human world. How is unknown, and it is suspected they were actually summoned there, but they found themselves in the human world without the benefit of a Seeming. They tried fitting in, but eventually they began to slip and dragons were born into the world. After the first Seeming slip, many found themselves stuck in their dragon forms, and that is why dragons were born as mundane creatures. No one is sure as to why either of these events occurred, but it has shaped mythology ever since....
Modern Brood flaunt their Dragon natures, but claim that they are Pooka that the Dreaming has blessed with a strange gift. As earlier stated, many learn Primal to further convince the other Fae of this. No one seems to remember the events of the past, however, so the Brood are truly safe.
Wilder Brood are very adventurous; they always want to run around hunting, and those who can't get very involved in role-playing games that let them. Also, the Wilder phase often extends far into adulthood for the Brood.
Grumps are often more sedate than either of the two younger Seemings, though the love of adventure never dies. They still like to wander and adventure; it's just that they are the quiet, staid members who intervenes to save everyone.
Pups are baby dragons. They aren't so much fearsome as cute, though they can inflict grievous harm on someone who isn't ready. They are often about the size of a calf (though very different proportionally) and walk upright. Their forelegs can grasp, but aren't big enough for fine motor skills. Any dragon who does not have any Elementals yet (see below) is green. Most tasks are performed with their mouths. They have tails which they can swing with to try to trip up opponents. Pups get the following Stats: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5. They can Bite for Strength +2 damage, Tail Swipe for Strength -1 damage (but it will knock the opponent down), or they can breath a Dragon Breath attack which inflicts 3 dice of damage + any elemental modifiers (see below)
Warriors are like the Dragonkin of Arcadia: the Wyld Hunt. They stand on their hind legs, about a foot taller than before. They have a pair of horns which grows back from their foreheads, and wild hair. They are otherwise humanoid, with normal length and usable arms, and athletic bodies. They have wings which can be used for flight, and claws and teeth. Their tails are long and whip like, unsuitable for anything but balance. This form is strange, because it doesn't really look like either of the other age forms. It looks more humanoid, while both Pups and Great Dragons look more like dragons than humans. Warriors get the following modifiers: Strength x2, Dexterity +3, Stamina +3, Bite: Strength +1, Claw: Strength +1, Breath: 4 + elemental modifiers.
Great Dragons are the dragons of legend. They have thick bodies, long necks, long tails, wings, and fearsome maws. They have long wild hair, and long snouts, they are truly fearsome to behold, and very dangerous to anger. Like the pups, they walk on their hind legs, though they are bent over allowing their tails to flow out behind them. Their forearms are short, but strong, and aren't very combat effective, but are great for carrying. Strength +8, Dexterity +0, Stamina +6, Bite: Strength +4, Tail: Strength -1(usually sends the opponent flying), and Breath: 5 + modifiers. Great Dragons are -3 difficulty to hit due to their immense size.
Elemental Merge: With this power a Brood can accept pieces of an Elemental spirit into itself. How the Brood finds the elemental is up to him and the Storyteller. However, with a Stamina roll (difficulty 6 for willing spirits, 10 for unwilling) they can take a piece of the elemental into them. They may only do this once per Elemental type, and this small piece gives them a +1 to their breath attacks, and allows them to get a +1 to soak that type of damage. Also this absorption changes their dragon color to one fitting of it (red for fire, black for death, white for holy, light blue for ice, dark blue for water, etc.). they can assume one aspect at a time, and their breath is that type. They still get all the breath bonuses, but their breath can only be one at a time.
For example, if Zerach, a wilder, has gotten three Elementals to favor him, he has a total breath attack of 6, and can assume the type of one of those. So if he had absorbed fire, electricity, and darkness Elementals, he could have a six point fire, electricity, or dark breath.
Some sample Elementals:
Curse of the Dragon's Thirst: The Brood are insatiably curious and often read quite abit, and are well suited to adventuring. They hunger for knowledge, and often seem to go out of their ways to get it and to try new things. Many are sensation junkies. Finally, most are honor bound. They lose great amounts of respect, both culturally and personally if they break their word. Sometimes they feel so bad as to the point of suicide, but that is rare. Note that this is not a supernatural effect like the Troll's weakness, but a personal one.