TEXT: Lords of Gossamer & Shadow 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   by Matt Banach 
  
   
   
   
   
  Rite Publishing Presents: 
   
  Gossamer Worlds: 
  Dragonhearth 
   
  Explorer (Author): Matt Banach 
  Seeker (Editor): Steven D. Russell 
  Searcher (Cover Artist):  Marek Rakučák 
  Trailblazers (Interior Artists): David Revoy, Michael 
  Richards, Louis Icysage, Marek Rakučák, Emma Lazauski, 
  Malcom McClinton,  Vincent Ptitvinc, Bruno Balixa, Lu 
  Chi-Chun, Trung Ta Ha, Benoît Dromby, Ilker Yüksel   
  Pioneer (Trade Dress): James “Devin Knight” Hazelett  
  Lost Boy (Layout and Publisher): Steven D. Russell 
   
  Special Thanks to Jason Durall for his help in developing this.  
   
   
  Based on Lords of Gossamer & Shadow by Jason Durall 
   
   
   
  Gossamer Worlds: Dragonhearth  Copyright © 2015 Steven D. Russell All rights reserved. Lords of Gossamer and Shadow Copyright © 2012-2013 Steven D. Russell All rights 
  reserved. Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing and associated marks and logos are trademarks of Diceless by Design Publishing, LLC, and are used under license. See 
  http://Rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=1447 for more information on Erick Wujcik’s Diceless Role-Playing. Some Illustrations are licensed under 
  a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/ 
   
  
   
  Dragonhearth 
   
   
  “The invisible staircase descended 
  from the darkened void above, winding 
  down in a lazy gyre which made me feel 
  like a raptor circling prey. Eventually I 
  alighted upon a landing before an open 
  archway spilling over with warm orange 
  light. The room beyond was small and 
  circular, like the top of a tower, wrought 
  in gleaming brass and lit by spigots of 
  flame which protruded from the walls. 
  The atmosphere felt like a sauna, or the 
  inside of a boiling kettle, and a brush of 
  my hand confirmed the burnished walls 
  to be scalding hot. In the room was a 
  single Door made of solid gold set with 
  gemstones, its frame inlaid with twisting 
  serpentine spines and its spiky golden 
  knob worked in the shape of a snarling 
  dragon's head.”  
   
   
  - Yaeger's Travelogue 
   
  Description 
  Dragonhearth is a world of dragons.  
   
  I don't mean that Dragonhearth is a 
  world in which you can find dragons, 
  though you absolutely can. I don't mean 
  that it is a place ruled by dragons, though 
  it absolutely is. What I mean is that 
  Dragonhearth is an entire world where the 
  very fabric of gossamer reality is dragon-
  stuff, from the serpentine wavelengths of 
  light propagating through space, to the 
  myriad draconic life forms inhabiting the 
  realm, to the ancient wyrms whose living  
   
   
  breath forms the clouds and whose bodies 
  make 
  up 
  the 
  verybedrock 
  of 
  the 
  mountains. The entire realm is dragons, 
  dragons, dragons, everywhere and in 
  everything, and it is truly marvelous.  
   
  Also dangerous – did I mention 
  exceedingly dangerous?  
   
  Life is abundant and aggressive in 
  Dragonhearth. Much of the terrain is 
  mountainous, with stony spires and 
  daunting cliffs providing roosts and 
  perches for the screeching, soaring 
  multitudes 
  of 
  dragonkind. 
  Towering 
  forests fill the valleys between the 
  highlands, and in the warmer regions 
  there are dark jungles and sucking 
  swamps teeming with exotic draconic  
  
   
   
   
  flora and fauna. There are extreme 
  regions – icy wastes of flesh-freezing cold 
  and volcano-fields sweltering in blood-
  boiling heat – but in a world where 
  breathing blasts of the raw elements is as 
  common as regular breathing, there's no 
  shortage 
  of 
  perfectly-adapted 
  beasts 
  filling every ecological niche. Even the 
  plants are vicious – I once almost got a 
  finger bitten off by a lovely-smelling but 
  too-literal snapdragon. Species roles tend 
  overwhelmingly toward the predatory, 
  with greater predators preying upon their 
  lesser cousins all the way up the food 
  chain; only the eldest of the ancient 
  wyrms dare to boast the title of 'apex 
  predator' in this savage land, and even the 
  eldest have reason to fear the combined 
  might of the younger dragons. 
   
  The struggle of young versus old is an 
  eternal conflict in Dragonhearth. The 
  eldest dragons have life spans measurable 
  by epochs, so they have a terrifying 
  capacity to soak up and hoard power over 
  time. Every so often a cabal of middle-
  aged dragons tries to take out some of the 
  older generation; in this you can see the 
  influence of the Umbra, doing what 
  entropy does by nudging crystalized 
  accumulations of energy back toward 
  dispersion and disorder. Every so often 
  the usurpers win and the power of the 
  elders disperses, but more often than not 
  these 
  generational 
  coups 
  fail 
  catastrophically, resulting in massacres 
  which only serve to widen the gap between 
  the incumbent elder dragons and the next 
  tier of would-be rivals. 
   
  
   
   
   
  Reincarnation is a fact of spiritual 
  existence in Dragonhearth. Dragons have 
  souls, and those souls respect a karmic 
  hierarchy where meritorious living earns 
  incarnation as a higher species of draconic 
  creature in the next life. 'Meritorious 
  living' in this context means being being 
  the best and strongest and most cunning 
  dragon one can be, without any soft-skin 
  nonsense about being kind or generous or 
  forgiving people. The dragons believe 
  their treasure hoards have spiritual value 
  in these end-of-life karmic calculations, 
  which explains their covetous tendencies 
  and willingness to defend a giant pile of 
  jewels even in the face of certain death. 
  Through reincarnation a draconic soul 
  might climb the rungs from a small 
  feathered serpent to a wyvern, then to a 
  majestic red dragon, only to tumble down 
  to the level of a lowly fire-eel if their 
  fortunes fail. A draconic soul may retain 
  important memories or strong affinities 
  from one life to the next, and it is not 
  uncommon for a soul to keep the same 
  friends and enemies from life to life. 
  Metamorphosis 
  is 
  a 
  common 
  biological characteristic of the dragons of 
  Dragonhearth, so a draconic soul need not 
  wait for death and rebirth in order to 
  change. 
  Some 
  metamorphoses 
  are 
  gradual, 
  with 
  dragons 
  changing 
  incrementally during the process of 
  molting their skins or during growth 
  spurts following a gorging feast. Some 
  metamorphoses are radical, like the 
  caterpillar transforming into the butterfly, 
  with the dragon entombing itself in a hard  
  chrysalis or silky cocoon for anywhere 
  from a month to millennia, then emerging 
  with 
  substantial 
  upgrades. 
  Metamorphosis 
  can 
  also 
  be 
  devolutionary, with dragons hibernating 
  after a humiliating defeat only to crawl 
  back out as something lesser than before. 
   
  All dragons belong to both the Eidolon 
  and the Umbra, waxing and waning 
  between stronger and weaker phases of 
  affinity for either throughout the course of 
  their existence. These shifts and phases 
  usually coincide with the vicissitudes of  
  
   
   
  Khemezatron 
   
  the 
  draconic 
  soul's 
  cycle 
  of 
  metamorphosis and reincarnation; so 
  while an acid-spewing drake might be 
  chaotic and destructive in a waxing 
  Umbra phase, in its next incarnation the 
  influence of the Umbra wanes as the drake 
  becomes a grumpy basilisk, eventually 
  transforming into a disciplined crystal 
  wyrm in some later waxing-Eidolon 
  phase. This constant churning between 
  the two cosmic forces produces a great 
  deal of magical friction, and is one of the 
  reasons 
  dragons 
  are 
  so 
  mystically 
  powerful. This ever-moving but roughly 
  balanced juxtaposition of the Eidolon and 
  Umbra has held for eons, and until quite 
  recently Dragonhearth was a healthy 
  example of cosmic balance. 
   
  Then came the machines. 
   
  A few years ago, the golden dragon 
  Khemezatron – a Warden of the Grand 
  Stair and explorer of the multiverse – 
  returned home to Dragonhearth after a 
  long sojourn, bringing with her a 
  psychotechnic virus from an alien world 
  where 
  psychic 
  communication 
  had 
  converged with computer science at the 
  bleeding edge of nanotechnology. Hardly 
  an 
  innocent 
  or 
  unwitting 
  carrier, 
  Khemezatron returned with specific aims 
  to conquer her homeland and her fellow 
  dragons with the insidious aid of the alien 
  virus. Nowadays, half-cyborg dragons 
  infected with the psychotechnic virus are 
  constantly on the prowl, seeking out other 
  dragons to overpower and subject to 
  infection and Khemezatron's mental 
  control. The battle for the souls of 
  Dragonhearth has begun. 
   
   
  
   
  Dragonbonds 
   
  The dragonbond is an intense psychic, 
  spiritual, 
  and 
  mystical 
  connection 
  between a dragon and any other living 
  being – another dragon, a humanoid, or 
  even some lesser creature. The two parties 
  to a dragonbond are referred to as 
  'dragonmates', though only one of them 
  need be a dragon. The emotional 
  character of the relationship between 
  dragonmates can vary greatly; a powerful 
  dragon might loom as tyrannical master 
  over a submissive thrall, a partnered pair 
  of dragons may be soul-entwined lovers, 
  or 
  a 
  dragon 
  and 
  its 
  non-dragon 
  companion may share an unbreakable 
  bond of friendship and mutual respect.  
   
  The formation of a dragonbond is 
  always a unique and personal story, 
  varying wildly in the amount of time, 
  effort, and contact required. Bonds can be 
  formed through sleepless weeks of intense 
  ritual and spiritual communion, or 
  instantly as two souls reach out for each 
  other as destiny intended. Some elder 
  dragons possess psyches so powerful they 
  can force the dragonbond upon any 
  creature who meets their gaze.  
   
  Dragonbonds are tenacious and long-
  lasting. Breaking a bond is always difficult 
  and 
  traumatic, 
  usually 
  requiring 
  a 
  combination of psychic surgery and the 
  use of a Power, such as a specific Sorcery 
  ritual or creative use of Invocation to 
  detangle the dragonmates' True Names. 
  Death alone will not break a dragonbond,  
   
   
  and it is possible for a creature to remain 
  bound to a corpse. It is not uncommon for 
  dragonmates remain bonded through 
  reincarnation and resurrection, twining 
  together in an endless cycle of shared 
  lifetimes. 
   
  Dragonbonds are either weak or 
  strong. A creature may sustain multiple 
  dragonbonds, both weak and strong, 
  between multiple different dragonmates, 
  though typically a creature's capacity for 
  multiple bonds is a function of its age and 
  power. Lesser creatures can hold only a 
  single bond, whereas ancient dragons can 
  hold entire ecosystems in their sway. 
   
  A weak dragonbond allows dragon-
  mates to communicate empathically over 
  short distances (typically no further than 
  one mile), feeling each other’s emotions 
  and exchanging basic ideas such as 
  'attack', 'hunt', 'flee', 'help me', etc. Simple 
  directions can be given and obeyed, 
  
   
  though 
  each 
  dragonmate 
  ultimately 
  retains its free will to choose its actions. 
   
   
  A strong dragonbond grants all the 
  benefits of a weak bond, and also allows 
  dragonmates to communicate telepath-
  ically, share senses and memories, and 
  instinctively locate each other. If either 
  dragonmate has the power to access the 
  Grand Stair, both can sense and pursue 
  each other across realities via Attunement 
  to the Grand Stair: Search Through 
  Worlds. Also, dragonmates with a strong 
  bond can share Powers easily, with uses 
  such as gaining simultaneous benefit from 
  protective effects, casting Sorcery spells 
  through each other, or joining their 
  strength when invoking the Eidolon or 
  Umbra. The intense connection of a 
  strong dragonbond has its drawbacks. 
  One dragonmate in a strong dragonbond 
  can attempt to impose its will upon the 
  other dragonmate by defeating it in a 
  challenge of Psyche, giving suggestions 
  the force of command. Also, dragonmates 
  in a strong bond feel each other's mental 
  and physical pain to some degree, though 
  a creature may use its Endurance to 
  endure such discomfort without being 
  overwhelmed. 
   
  Typical Denizens 
   
  There are a lot of dragons here, but by 
  now that should be fairly obvious. The 
  number of variations upon the draconic 
  theme cannot easily be counted. There are 
  faerie dragons, feathered serpents, and 
  dragon turtles. There are wyverns, 
   
  sinuous wingless wyrms, and a prolific 
  assortment of the classic four-legged, two-
  winged reptiles adorned with myriad 
  assortments of horns, spines, and frills. 
  There are elemental dragons whose 
  bodies are roaring flame or crashing 
  waves, and diffused draconic spirits who 
  drift like ghosts or the blowing wind. 
  Some dragons are labeled based upon the 
  color or physical composition of their 
  scales, but those simplistic and small-
  minded naming conventions hardly reach 
  a 
  sufficient 
  depth 
  of 
  individual 
  morphological nuance; that said, most 
  people understand that when I yell 'red 
  dragon!' they should run away from the 
  big scary thing which is likely about to 
  incinerate us with its fire breath, so the 
  simple names have a tendency to stick. 
  
   
  In addition to the overwhelming 
  preponderance of 'regular' dragons great 
  and small, there are a number of 
  humanoid draconic races. You could refer 
  to the them as 'dragon-men', but I 
  wouldn't do so to their faces. To wit:  
   
  The Quetzali are a race of bipedal 
  wingless feathered serpents with long 
  wispy tails, willow-thin frames, and 
  colorful frills of feathers which conceal 
  their poisonous spines. Found around the 
  stepped pyramids of Dragonhearth's 
  warmer 
  deserts 
  and 
  jungles, 
  the 
  shamanistic 
  Quetzali 
  are 
  excellent 
  psychics 
  and 
  sorcerers, 
  adept 
  with 
  consciousness-altering 
  venoms 
  and 
  dangerous 
  dream-magic. 
  They 
  are 
  masters of the dragonbond, and can 
  create, strengthen, and sever such bonds 
  through sacred psychic rites passed down 
  and preserved since ancient times. 
    
  The 
  Dracon 
  have 
  short-snouted 
  draconic 
  heads 
  atop 
  well-muscled 
  humanoid bodies, with short vestigial 
  tails. Lording over a small empire of 
  medieval technology heavily augmented 
  by spellcraft, the Dracon are proud and 
  bellicose, quick to take offense or seize an 
  advantage. While they have a nagging 
  inferiority complex regarding their status 
  beneath the 'true dragons' of Dragon-
  hearth, they're not to be underestimated; 
  Dracon enchanters equip their arcane 
  knights with ensorcelled weapons and 
  armor the rival of any dragon's scales or 
  claws. 
   
   
  Dracon 
   
  If you visit Dragonhearth, you may 
  also encounter a supposed race of fey-like 
  dragon-kin who call themselves the 
  Faelen Draga, appearing as comely men 
  and maidens with brows kissed by scales 
  and the glint of summer lightning in their 
  teeth. They'll wine and dine you and 
  promise you the secret heart of the 
  kingdom after an evening's passion, but 
  it's all a ruse and a trap. They're nothing 
  but a gang of low-down shapeshifting 
  faerie-dragons intent on robbing blind 
  any gullible humanoid they can find. 
  Charlatans. They're the worst. Not that 
  I'm bitter or anything. 
   
  Scattered 
  sparsely 
  throughout 
  Dragonhearth are a few non-draconic 
  inhabitants, though all of them are non-
  natives, transplanted here from another 
  gossamer world sometime in the recent or 
  distant past. Some of these are refugees, 
  
   
  brought 
  here 
  pursuant 
  an 
  inter-
  dimensional exodus facilitated by a 
  meddling Warden of the Grand Stair, like 
  the tribes of blue elves who dwell in the 
  city-trees of the equatorial jungles, or the 
  isolated villages of humans left over from 
  the ill-fated Fanfomir Expedition. Other 
  non-natives are the minions – or the 
  descendants of minions – of the various 
  Gossamer Lords who have established 
  holdings in the common ground of 
  Dragonhearth over the ages, staffing 
  various castles and fortresses while their 
  masters galavant across the multiverse. 
  Regardless of their origins, these non-
  natives have an additional challenge in 
  that their non-dragon biologies are 
  treated as unwelcome foreign bodies by 
  the gossamer reality of Dragonhearth; this 
  rejection manifests physically as various 
  wasting diseases referred to generally as 
  'soft-skin sickness'. Non-natives afflicted 
  with soft-skin sickness can abate the 
  condition by making their bodies or souls 
  more draconic – usually by forming a 
  dragonbond with a native dragon, or by 
  consuming a regular diet of fresh dragon 
  blood. Thus, for the sake of survival (and 
  because it is profoundly awesome), the 
  sacred companionship of dragonbonds 
  are an essential way of life for all the 
  inhabitants of Dragonhearth. 
    
   
  Threats 
   
  Dragons are dangerous. If you didn't 
  know that already, you know it now. A  
   
   
  foolish Gossamer Lord or Lady might 
  assume that just because dragons are 
  commonplace in this gossamer world, the 
  common dragon is therefore unremark-
  able in power and threat. That's a risky 
  assumption. While it is true that the 
  majority of the dragons in Dragonhearth 
  are no real match for we high-and-mighty 
  walkers of the Grand Stair, bear in mind 
  that dragons are the very essence of this 
  particular gossamer reality, and that 
  inherent synergy can translate into a 
  powerful home field advantage. Also, due 
  to the unpredictable power-dynamics of 
  reincarnation and karmic metamorph-
  osis, draconic specimens who don't 
  appear at first glance to be the top of food 
  chain might nevertheless possess the  
  
   
  power and aptitude of countless lifetimes. 
  So the small ember-drake perched on 
  your shoulder might be the equivalent of a 
  winged house cat, or it might be potent 
  enough to melt your face off if you don't 
  let it eat the rest of your lunch. Unless or 
  until you've gotten to know an individual 
  dragon and assess its power level, do 
  yourself a favor and assume they're all 
  caution-worthy. 
   
  Dracoliches are ancient elder dragons 
  who possess such power they have 
  transcended the constraints of mortality, 
  returning to corporeal form in defiance of 
  death time and again. Some dracoliches 
  are undead in the classical necromantic 
  sense – serpentine corpses rising from 
  their graves on skeletal wings wearing 
  only tatters of rotten flesh. Others have 
  attuned themselves to the elements so 
  completely their spirits can reform their 
  bodies from fiery lava or the bedrock of 
  mountains. A few dracoliches reincorp-
  orate themselves through even stranger 
  means, assembling new bodies from flesh-
  warped amalgams of their dragonbonded 
  thralls, 
  inhabiting 
  golden 
  simulacra 
  wrought from their vast treasure hoards, 
  or possessing an endless series of arcane 
  clones grown to house their souls for 
  perpetuity. Dracoliches draw upon both 
  the Eidolon and the Umbra; they can sow 
  madness and destruction, but they're also 
  
   
  domineering overlords and calculating 
  empire-builders, unwilling to discard 
  their well-established legacies and face 
  the unthinkable prospect of starting 
  anew... or ending. Over time dracoliches 
  collect vast resources, including armies of 
  dragonbonded minions held in thrall by 
  the dracolich's overwhelming psyche. The 
  only saving grace of these ancient wyrms 
  may be their glacial patience, which 
  permits them to sleep away centuries or 
  even millennia in between relatively brief 
  eruptions 
  of 
  activity. 
  Only 
  a 
  few 
  dracoliches stir in the present age; the rest 
  lay dormant. There is terrible potential 
  there, 
  for 
  if 
  even 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  Dragonhearth's known dracoliches were 
  roused at the same time, the catastrophes 
  to ensue would surely be apocalyptic. 
   
  Khemezatron is an elder dragon who 
  awakened to the existence of the Grand 
  Stair centuries ago and, like so many of us 
  did when presented with the possibilities 
  of an infinite cosmos just beyond the 
  nearest Door, stepped out of her home 
  world to go exploring. When she left 
  Dragonhearth, Khemezatron was already 
  a powerful golden dragon who had 
  mastered the Eidolon as well as the art of 
  Invocation, but her otherworldly travels 
  changed her. On a futuristic gossamer 
  world where computer science and 
  psychic communications are sides of the 
  same coin, Khemezatron was infected by a 
  psychotechnic 
  virus. 
  The 
  virus 
  transformed 
  her 
  into 
  a 
  being 
  of 
  enlightened psionic circuits – and a 
  devastatingly effective disease vector.  
  Deathless Dragons 
  Dracoliches come in many varieties, each 
  individual a unique and terrifying beast 
  unto itself, but most dracoliches have, at a 
  minimum, the following qualities: 
  • Immense Vitality [4 Points] 
  • Double Speed [2 Points] 
  • Tireless Stamina [4 Points] 
  • Combat Reflexes [2 Points] 
  • Deadly Damage [4 Points] 
  • Resistant to Firearms [2 Points] 
  • Psychic Barrier[4 Points] 
  • Danger Sensitivity [2 Points] 
  • Regeneration [4 Points] – which may 
  be suspended at the whim of the 
  dracolich, should it wish to rest for a 
  while in a death-like torpor. 
  • True Name is Warded [2 Points] 
  • Mold Gossamer Reality [4 Points] – an 
  individualized 
  array 
  of 
  potent 
  supernatural abilities, e.g. elemental 
  summoning, 
  necromancy, 
  weather 
  control, one or more of the Powers, 
  etc. 
   
   
  Khemezatron has returned home to 
  Dragonhearth as a messianic mother-
  conqueror, proselytizing to her fellow 
  dragons that they shouldn't consider this 
  a takeover, but an upgrade. 
   
  Khemezatron, the Golden Circuit 
   
  Attributes 
  Psyche – 65 Points 
  Strength – 45 Points 
  
   
  Endurance – 30 Points 
  Warfare – 25 Points 
   
  Powers 
  Eidolon Mastery [50 Points] 
  Warden of the Grand Stair [10 Points] 
  Invocation [20 Points] 
   
  Artifacts & Creatures 
  Technobonded Army [30 Points] – 
  Khemezatron commands a diverse army 
  of cybernetically-modified dragons whose 
  dragonbonds have been replaced by 
  Khemezatron's technobonds, rendering 
  them her obedient slaves.  
  • Double Vitality [2 Points] 
  • Combat Reflexes [2 Points] 
  • Double Damage [2 Points] 
  • Paragon Stamina [2 Points] 
  • Resistant to Normal Weapons [1 
  Point] 
  • Psychic Resistance [1 Point] 
  • Horde [x3 Points] 
   
  Khemezatron's Golden Armor [12 Points] 
  – this shape-shifting suit of golden armor 
  is made of Khemezatron's own scales, 
  bolstered by the strength of the Eidolon 
  and inscribed with the True Names of 
  several creatures or objects into which 
  Khemezatron can transform. The armor 
  has been thoroughly infested and altered 
  by the psychotechnic virus which afflicts 
  Khemezatron, and acts as an infection 
  reservoir 
  to 
  ensure 
  she 
  does 
  not 
  reflexively rid herself of the virus. 
  • Invulnerable 
  to 
  Conventional 
  Weapons [4 Points] 
  • Self Healing [1 Point] 
  • Named 
  and 
  Numbered 
  Alternate 
  Forms [2 Points] 
  • Confers 
  Named 
  & 
  Numbered 
  Alternate Forms on Wearer [5 Points] 
  - Seven alternate forms, including a 
  human woman in a golden dress, a 
  gold-plated android, a warhorse with 
  golden barding, a water serpent bound 
  in golden rings, and a black and gold 
  1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. 
   
  Draconis, Khemezatron's Ruby Horn [7 
  Points] – the ruby horn protruding from 
  Khemezatron's forehead is a powerful 
  psychic amplifier and a focus for her 
  Invocation-based ability to transform 
  dragonbonds into technobonds. 
  • Connected to Invocation [1 Point] 
  • Mold Gossamer Creatures [2 Points] 
  • Confers Mold Gossamer Creatures on 
  Wearer [5 Points] – if Draconis were 
  to be destroyed, all of Khemezatron's 
  technobonds would unravel and cease 
  to exist. 
   
  Stuff 
  Bad [+2 Points] 
   
   
  Technobonds vs Dragonbonds 
  Khemezatron's 
  mastery 
  of 
  the 
  psychotechnic virus allows her to “hack” 
  an existing dragonbond, severing (or at 
  least suppressing) the bond between two 
  dragonmates and inserting herself as one 
  of the parties to the bond. To do so, the 
  victim creature must be exposed to some 
  source of the virus (physical contact with 
  
   
  an infected creature is sufficient) and 
  Khemezatron must defeat the victim in 
  psychic combat. If/once Khemezatron is 
  successful, the victim's dragonbonds are 
  all suppressed and replaced by a single 
  'technobond' 
  binding 
  the 
  victim 
  to 
  Khemezatron 
  as 
  she 
  hijacks 
  the 
  connection of the bond and redirects it to 
  herself. The nature of every technobond is 
  a controlling relationship between master 
  and slave, and Khemezatron may impose 
  her will on her technobonded minions 
  with 
  minimal 
  effort. 
  Khemezatron 
  automatically learns the True Name of 
  any creature she subjects to a technobond, 
  granting her all the appurtenant benefits 
  which come with such intimate and 
  profound knowledge. 
   
  A technobonded creature acts robot-
  ically, experiencing episodes of confusion 
  and fugue while its mind struggles against 
  the psychotechnic virus. Victims gets the 
  shakes 
  and 
  display 
  other 
  physical 
  symptoms of infection as their nervous 
  systems are replaced by circuitry, with 
  metallic contact nodes protruding from 
  their skin and lattices of golden wires 
  replacing their irises.  
   
  There is still a residual psychic 
  connection between a technobonded 
  creature and its former dragonmate(s) – a 
  hollow channel filled with awful psychic 
  static and echoing with pangs of loss. A 
  technobonded creature can use this 
  residual connection to attempt to subject 
  its former dragonmates to the technobond 
  via the same method of infection and  
   
   
  The Kur 
   
  psychic combat, and by this means the 
  psychotechnic 
  virus 
  can 
  propagate 
  without Khemezatron's direct action, 
  appropriating entire dragonbond net-
  works as it spreads. 
   
   
  Notable Locations 
   
  The Kur is an enormous mountain 
  range which bisects the middle of 
  Dragonhearth's largest central continent, 
  running from north to south in a crest of 
  stony spires and jagged peaks which can 
  be spied in the distance all across the 
  world. The Kur's thousand summits are  
  
   
   
   
  The Valley of Bones 
   
  tall and nearly impossible to traverse on 
  foot, broken up by dark chasms but also 
  protected valleys filled with scaly pines 
  and a wealth of draconic life. In addition 
  to being an unmistakable landmark, Kur 
  is also the largest, oldest, and most 
  powerful dracolich in all the realm. 
  Slumbering in the ground (as the ground) 
  since before the eldest dragons cracked 
  their shells, the ancient elemental dragon 
  has not stirred in ages... though it does 
  dream. 
  Ghostly 
  dream-projections 
  created by Kur's godlike psyche haunt the 
  mountain range, pantomiming echoes of 
  ancient memories and silently watching 
  the goings-on. Much like an elephant 
  staring blankly in the direction of a gnat, 
  Kur doesn't react to much, which is a good 
  thing, since if it ever so much as shifted in 
  its sleep half of Dragonhearth would rip 
  apart at the seams. 
   
  The Crystal Cliffs lay far to the 
  northeast of the Kur, looming high above 
  the icy coast of the Sea of Watatsumi's 
  Tears. Thousands of alcoves large and 
  small pock-mark the cliff's sheer vertical 
  face along its expanse, most leading into a 
  vast cave system which riddles the 
  crystalline bedrock and up into the 
  permafrost of the frozen plateau above. 
  The golden dragon Khemezatron dwells 
  here, 
  surrounded 
  by 
  her 
  army 
  of 
  technobonded 
  dragons 
  and 
  cyborg 
  minions. In addition to commanding the 
  minds of its infected inhabitants, the 
  psychotechnic 
  virus 
  has 
  thoroughly 
  transformed the environment as well,  
  
   
   
   
  Vigil 
   
  turning multiple square miles of the 
  geode-like interior of the cliffs into a 
  massive psychic supercomputer. The 
  entire area is overwhelmingly saturated 
  by the Eidolon, giving Khemezatron a 
  pronounced advantage when invoking the 
  Eidolon against anyone foolish enough to 
  challenge her in her lair. 
   
  The Valley of Bones is nestled in the 
  lowlands to the west of the Kur, along a 
  southerly-flowing river which empties 
  into the nearby Daggermaw Fjords. The 
  valley is strewn with the moldering 
  skeletons of hundreds of dragons who fell 
  in battle a century ago during an ill-fated 
  attempt to defeat the mighty storm 
  dragon 
  Shen-lung. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  slaughtering every challenger, the spiteful 
  Shen-lung defiled their corpses with a 
  binding curse so the dragons' souls would 
  forever languish in their bones. Tragically, 
  the dragonbonded companions of the 
  cursed dragons are also unable to move 
  on, so the valley is frequented by aging 
  sidekicks 
  – 
  some 
  draconic, 
  some 
  humanoid – forever pining over the 
  remains of their fallen dragonmates. 
  These mournful survivors have formed a 
  small monastic village named Vigil in the 
  skull of one of the larger skeletons, and 
  the Door to Dragonhearth opens up here, 
  into the common room of the village's 
  tavern, where many a glass is raised to 
  memories of winged friends. 
   
  Final Thoughts  
   
  Dragonhearth is an amazing place, full 
  of bold and majestic dragons who inspire 
  awe and stoke the imagination simply by 
  being. I love this place, and I urge you to 
  visit and see if there's a toothy fire-
  breathing beast out there who wants to be 
  
  your soul mate – but don't enter into such 
  ties lightly, for dragons are not the sort of 
  creatures one can afford to spurn. It's too 
  bad the realm is presently suffering from 
  the unbalance of Khemezatron's invading 
  machine infection, but something tells me 
  Dragonhearth won't be tolerating that for 
  long before it brings out the big big guns.  
  ~ Yaeger Zane
  Dragonhearth Domain Table
  Technology 
  Level: 
  Medieval/Other (psychotechnic machine invasion) 
  Magic 
  Level: 
  Commonplace 
  Security: 
  Type: 
  Control: 
  Influence 
  on the 
  Powers: 
  None 
  Common Ground [2 Points] (multiple simultaneous owners, but 
  presently experiencing a power-grab by owner Khemezatron) 
  Control of Contents [1 Point] (limited to the territory of one's bonded 
  dragons*) 
  Eidolon – Average 
  Umbra – Average 
  Wrighting – Easily Used 
  Special*: 
  From Dragons, All Things Flow – The bodies, energies, and influences 
  of dragons are the essential building blocks of gossamer reality in this 
  realm. In order for Gossamer Lords and Ladies to exercise control over 
  a portion of the world as a Domain, that control must be exerted through 
  one or more bonded dragons. The Powers of Eidolon Mastery, Umbra 
  Mastery, and/or Sorcery are half as effective and take twice the effort 
  and time when not channeled through a bonded dragon 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Amber/Lords Of Gossamer And Shadow/Gossamer Worlds/Dragonhearth.pdf