Archetypes: D

You are a genteel master of style, culture, and decorum, aware of even the subtlest rules of etiquette. Whether you were born into status, acquired it later in life, or merely pretend to possess it, you look and act your part to manicured perfection.

As rippling explosions bring a castle's walls tumbling down, you grin and wipe the stone dust of your handiwork from your face. Brute force might work for others, but applying science to place the right explosives in just the right spot is essential to your craft.

The rippling waves of fear, the rustling of thick scales, and the beat of immense wings signal the arrival of a great dragon. The awe-inspiring presence of these creatures makes them worthy of reverence—or even outright worship. Dragon disciples dedicate themselves to becoming like these great beasts, with each disciple striving to typify one variety of dragon. Sorcerers of draconic blood, barbarians with the dragon instinct, and many kobolds with close ties to their draconic predecessors become dragon disciples, but anyone who has encountered one of these terrifying creatures might follow this path.

As a dragon disciple, you study and learn from the example of dragons, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you admire the dragons you emulate. While most dragon disciples do indeed revere their chosen dragon, countless tales are told of dragon disciples born of great personal tragedy at the hands of boundless draconic fury. These disciples have transformed themselves into what they despise in order to gain the power to destroy their draconic tormentor and at long last earn their revenge.

Some drow take skill with the hand crossbow to new heights. You've learned the secrets of these fabled drow shootists. With fearlessness and swagger, you can accomplish amazing deeds with hand crossbows.

You have entered a druidic circle and learned a few of the order's secrets, granting you primal power.

You're able to effortlessly fight with multiple weapons simultaneously, weaving your weapons together into a storm of quick attacks. To you, continual offense is the best form of defense, and you leave little room for your foes to avoid your whirlwind of weapons.

Across the world, students in martial academies practice with their blades to master one-on-one combat. The libraries of such schools hold deep troves of information detailing hundreds of combat techniques, battle stances, and honorable rules of engagement. Those who gain admission to such schools might train in formalized duels—and that's certainly the more genteel route to take. However, others assert that there's no better place to try out dueling techniques than in the life-and-death struggles common to an adventurer's life.