THE ELEMENTS HAVE TEETH

Dragons are already enormous, armoured, magical predators with an unfortunate tendency to sit upon things other people would like to own.

Apparently, this was not sufficient.

Fistful of Foes #2 unleashes a family of Elemental Dragons for fifth-edition-compatible fantasy games, providing new variations upon one of the genre’s most iconic monsters.

Earth.

Air.

Fire.

Water.

Metal.

Void.

Six fundamental forces, each given wings, claws and the sort of territorial instincts normally associated with landlords.

This instalment in the Schlocktoberfest series offers quick-and-dirty monster material for Games Masters who want something fresh, dangerous and immediately usable without purchasing another enormous bestiary or reading a speculative essay on draconic digestive arrangements.

ELEMENTAL DRAGONS

These are not merely dragons painted different colours.

Each Elemental Dragon provides a different theme around which Games Masters can construct encounters, lairs, regions and entire adventures.

Their elemental nature can influence where they live, what they guard, how local people understand them and what sort of devastation follows when somebody decides stealing from one would make a splendid retirement plan.

Use them as solitary monsters, ancient guardians, living natural disasters or the rulers of territories reshaped by their presence.

EARTH DRAGON

The Earth Dragon belongs beneath mountains, within deep caverns and among the buried remains of forgotten civilisations.

It might sleep beneath a fortress, coil around a mineral deposit or emerge when miners break into something that should have remained sealed.

An Earth Dragon can become:

• The guardian of an underground kingdom

• The cause of tremors and collapsing tunnels

• A creature worshipped by miners or subterranean peoples

• The protector of buried treasure

• The threat awakened by excavation

• The heart of a dungeon built inside the earth itself

Characters may seek precious metals, ancient ruins or a route beneath hostile territory.

The dragon may consider all three part of its hoard.

AIR DRAGON

The Air Dragon belongs to high mountains, storm clouds, floating citadels and places where the ground is a distant and increasingly theoretical concern.

It can dominate trade routes, mountain passes and the skies above entire kingdoms.

Use an Air Dragon for:

• Battles among the clouds

• Attacks upon airborne travellers

• Aerie lairs accessible only through dangerous climbing

• Storm-wracked mountain expeditions

• Aerial chases

• Adventures in which falling becomes a recurring tactical consideration

The characters may be prepared to fight a dragon.

They may be less prepared to do so while standing upon a ledge three inches wide.

FIRE DRAGON

Fire and dragons have enjoyed a long and productive relationship.

The Fire Dragon takes that association to its logical conclusion.

Volcanoes, scorched wastelands, burning cities and ruined forges provide natural homes for a creature linked to flame.

A Fire Dragon can serve as:

• The living heart of a volcano

• The destroyer of a settlement

• The guardian of a legendary forge

• A weapon courted by ambitious rulers

• A creature demanding tribute to spare the surrounding lands

• The final threat in an adventure already suffering from an excessive quantity of lava

Everyone expects a dragon to breathe fire.

That does not mean they are prepared for how much fire.

WATER DRAGON

The Water Dragon belongs to oceans, rivers, flooded ruins and lightless caverns beneath the surface.

Its hoard may consist of drowned ships, submerged cities or offerings cast into the water by generations of terrified sailors.

Use it as:

• The terror of an important shipping route

• The ruler of a drowned kingdom

• The guardian of an island or hidden lagoon

• A monster inhabiting a flooded dungeon

• The reason a river repeatedly changes course

• The creature responsible for ships vanishing without wreckage

A conventional dragon fight is dangerous.

A dragon fight in an environment where the characters cannot breathe is considered advanced play.

METAL DRAGON

The Metal Dragon suggests iron, industry, weapons and the treasures drawn from beneath the ground and hammered into instruments of civilisation.

It might dwell in an abandoned foundry, ruined fortress, ancient arsenal or mountain riddled with mines.

A Metal Dragon could become:

• The guardian of a legendary weapon

• The ruler of a city built around smithing and industry

• A living siege engine

• The result of magical or alchemical experimentation

• The master of constructs and metallic servants

• The reason local armourers have developed extremely nervous expressions

Perhaps it gathers precious metal.

Perhaps it collects weapons.

Perhaps it regards every sword, shield and suit of armour within the kingdom as property temporarily borrowed by humans.

Negotiations may be difficult.

VOID DRAGON

The Void Dragon belongs to darkness, absence and the places beyond ordinary understanding.

It may inhabit a lightless ruin, the space between worlds or a region where reality has begun developing inconvenient holes.

Use the Void Dragon when an ordinary physical threat is insufficient and the campaign requires something stranger.

It can become:

• A guardian of forbidden knowledge

• A creature from beyond the known world

• The cause of disappearances and empty spaces

• A monster worshipped by apocalyptic cults

• The inhabitant of a place where natural laws no longer function properly

• The final consequence of a wizard’s entirely theoretical experiment

The other dragons belong to elements found within the world.

The Void Dragon suggests something outside it.

That distinction is unlikely to comfort the adventurers.

BUILD AN ADVENTURE AROUND THE ELEMENTS

Each dragon can provide more than a single combat encounter.

Its presence may shape the surrounding landscape, economy, culture and politics.

A village near the Earth Dragon may survive through mining while fearing every hammer blow.

A coastal city may pay tribute to the Water Dragon in exchange for safe passage.

An ambitious kingdom may attempt to capture the Metal Dragon and transform it into a weapon.

A cult may believe the Void Dragon will liberate creation from the inconvenience of continuing to exist.

The characters might be asked to:

• Slay an Elemental Dragon

• Steal from its hoard

• Negotiate with it

• Rescue someone from its lair

• Prevent another faction from controlling it

• Discover why it has recently awakened

• Return something stolen from it

• Decide whether the dragon or its supposed victims represent the greater danger

Dragons are intelligent, powerful and potentially ancient.

They need not simply wait in a room for adventurers to arrive and begin subtracting hit points.

They can bargain, threaten, manipulate and plan.

They can have servants, enemies and ambitions extending far beyond the boundaries of their lairs.

A dragon is a monster.

It can also be a faction.

AN ELEMENTAL CAMPAIGN

The six named dragons can also be used together.

Perhaps they are rival members of an ancient brood.

Perhaps each guards part of a seal holding back some greater catastrophe.

Perhaps their territories represent an unstable balance now being disrupted by war, magic or the arrival of treasure-hunters with more confidence than sense.

An entire campaign might involve:

• Locating each Elemental Dragon

• Recovering something from every lair

• Preventing the dragons from going to war

• Choosing which dragon should dominate the others

• Repairing an ancient elemental balance

• Discovering what created them

• Learning why one of the six has disappeared

• Realising that the dragons were guarding the world rather than threatening it

One dragon can anchor an adventure.

Six can ruin a continent.

QUICK, DIRTY AND READY TO USE

Fistful of Foes #2 is designed for Games Masters who want new creatures without extensive preparation.

Use the Elemental Dragons as:

• Major campaign villains

• Powerful guardians

• Wilderness encounters

• Living natural disasters

• The rulers of isolated regions

• Patrons with dangerous requests

• Climactic opponents

• Inspiration for adventures and settings of your own

Take the creatures as presented, alter them to suit your campaign or use the elemental concepts as the foundation for something larger.

The monsters provide the statistics.

You provide the lairs, schemes, victims and treasure.

The players provide the poor decisions.

DESIGNED FOR THE SCREEN

The supplement is presented in a screen-friendly size and format for easy reference from a tablet or laptop during play.

Keep it open beside your campaign notes and introduce the appropriate dragon when the characters have become wealthy, confident and insufficiently flammable.

This is a PDF electronic download for use with fifth-edition-compatible fantasy role-playing games.

You can find the other Fistful of Foes and fifth-edition supplements here.

Earth below.

Air above.

Fire before you.

Water all around.

Metal closing in.

Void waiting beyond.

Pick a direction.