Dragon Nobles (Dragonstar)
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The nobility of the empire is judged on dragon blood. Dragons rule the Dragon Empire, and the ranks of nobility are based on dragon blood. The purer the dragon ancestry, the nobler the scion. Each dragon noble is expected to personify the virtues of the Dragon Empire: aloftness, charisma, and self-confidence.
The language of the nobility is draconic, and woe to the young upstart whose language skills are deficient. Though the upper echelon of the Dragon Empire buerocracy uses draconic every day, and important petitions and inter-world diplomacy must be conducted in draconic, there is no ambition to spread knowledge of the language far and wide. It remans the province of the privileged, a small mark of nobility and breeding.
These are the basic ranks of nobility, in descending order of rank.
True Dragons
75% Dragon Blood
Truebloods are without peer the greatest nobles of the empire. TrueDragons rule the galaxy, are the governors or important planets, hold the highest military offices and lead the Aristo Corps. There are very few TrueDragons. Young dragons are probably kept in isolation; surprisingly few appear each year to become active nobles.
It is a well-kept secret, but it is possible for TrueDragons and HalfDragons to true - so not all TrueDragons have purely draconic genes.
Half Dragons
25% Dragon Blood
These halfbreed form the next echelon of the nobility,and hold most higher management posts in the empire. TrueDragons are few and far between, and HalfDragons take up the slack.
In the game, Half Dragon is a racial template with an ECL modifier of +3.
Thickbloods: These are Half Dragon sorcerers, and are accored slightly more respect than other HalfDragons.
Thinbloods: HalfDragons who have not show aplitude for sorcery have a decidedly lower social status than other HalfDragons.
Dragonblooded
5% Dragon Blood
The Dragon Blooded, or quarter-breeds as they are sometimes derisively called, are considered nobles of a low order, the result of a lack of discipline among Half Dragons. No such discipline is ever demanded from the dragons themselves.
In the game, this is represented by the Dragon Blooded racial template with an ECL modifier of +1.
Dragonbloods
1% Dragon Blood
Some characters can demonstrate a draconic bloodline. These include the descendants of HalfDragons who did not breed true, down to the third generation (more than 5% dragon) and those who show draconic physical traits without being HalfDragons. They are accorded lightly more respect than sorcerers, but are still considered to be nobles.
In the game, Dragonblood is a feat.
Sorcerers
0.1% Dragon Blood
Characters who are not full HalfDragons, yet who show signs of draconic heritage by practicing sorcery, form the second lowest tier of the nobility. Some, like House Osorus, do not count mere sorcerers as nobles at all, though they have invented various classes of "gentry" which turns out to be almost the same thing. Fact is, even if sorcerers are considered to be lowlifes among the nobility, they still remain way above commoners.
Dragon Knights
0% Dragon Blood
These are characters without draconic bloodline who have acheived noble rank on their own merits, by being admitted to the Order of the Dragon. Includes high military officers and exceptionally successful civilians. Technically, they are of a lower class of nobility than sorcerers and dragonbloods, but in practice these exceptional individuals rank among the HalfDragons in influence.
The title of Dragon Knight is not inheritable; only true dragon blood grants that status. But a Dragon Knight can often find at temporary mate among the TrueDragons, to produce Half Dragon offspring. For the non-monogamous dragons, this is not a grerat sacrifice, and the potential gain is great. In this way, vast wealth and influence has passed into dragon bloodlines.
Dragon Empire | Order of the Dragon
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