FLIGHT OF THE DRAGONS
Yes, Dragons. Dragons
are coming to Idalos, and I finally have some stuff I can share with you in regards to Dragons and what all their arrival will entail. But first, I'm going to answer a few brief questions that I've seen floating around. After that, we'll take a look at Dragons in general, as well as a sneak peak at the first Dragon we've developed. Finally, we'll answer a few questions I expect to be asked after the reveal.
What took so long? Yeah, for those not in the know, Dragon Development was announced last year, and then some more details were given on Dragon Appreciation Day of this year. As it is now mid August, allow me to explain the delays. First off, when I announced Dragon Development, I said that development on Dragons had begun, and that was quite literal. That was the very day the process of making Dragons a thing started. Shortly after that, however, the project was put on hold due to staff departures, as we had to resolve issues like The Call, Spiritborn, and The War of Death and Souls, among other things. There was a lot going on, and we had to focus on what was already in play.
Development picked up again, though, and it went fairly smoothly until late last year, when real life basically kicked me in teeth. Early last year, my father had been diagnosed with kidney failure and had gone on dialysis. So that was already distracting. Then my grandmother passed away just before Thanksgiving due to a mixture of old age, diabetes, and dementia. The day after, my father was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. It killed him two weeks later. So needless to say, I was not exactly firing all cylinders and pretty much anything I was doing slowed way the hell down. Hell, some of the stuff I was doing off-site was either cancelled altogether or still hasn't resumed.
Then, shortly after I recovered enough to start working on things again, Covid-19 hit the USA and everything slowed down again as we adjusted to that. Then, for even more fun, I had to move house in April. So packing for that, and then unpacking after, took a bunch of time and focus. So yeah, time to make Dragons was lacking.
However, real life being all kinds of hell was not the only thing making this take so long. See, as this announcement will explain, Dragons are not just animals in Idalos. They come with special mechanics that we had to pretty much develop from scratch. This is, put simply, not a short or simple process and several ideas were suggested and then either scrapped or heavily reworked over the development time to arrive at the format we're going to be using for Dragons. Alongside various changes made as Lore Analysis progressed, just developing the outline and format we're using for Dragons took time.
Will it be this long before the next update? No. While it will still take some time for Dragon Development to be finished, updates will be coming faster from now on, barring more real life shenanigans. This is due to the outline and format being finished, so all the foundational work, the most difficult part of the process, is already done.
Will there be little pocket Dragons? Yes, but those won't be covered in this update. Rest assured, I have not forgotten Rumours pocket Dragons, and they'll have a place on the site.
Right, on to some reveals.
Dragons First Dragons themselves. In our setting, Dragons are not just big reptiles with a bad attitude. They part of the original Pantheon of Idalos, before the Originals came and made the Immortals. They are an ancient power, stronger than even the Immortals and a primal part of Idalos itself. Indeed, while Idalos exists, so do the Dragons that were made to safeguard it. However, some were sealed away, whether by the Originals or other, far more ancient powers. Others were slain, and their souls have been waiting all this time to be reborn and and take wing over Idalos once more.
In short, Dragons are godlike beings of immense power who have been away from Idalos for a very, very long time. Some might bear old grudges against the Immortals, others might never have heard of them, and others still may consider them to now be a natural part of the world. Either way, the arrival of Dragons will have a substantial impact on the setting. However, Dragons are not coming alone. Each Dragon has a flight of Dragonlings in tow, smaller draconic creatures that are nonetheless powerful on their own.
The first Dragon we've developed is Frosvinndur, the Lord of Winter Winds. Sealed behind the Northern Barrier and recently discovered by a small group of PC's, Frosvinndur has been sealed away since long before the Originals ever arrived on Idalos. He is, as you might have guessed, a winter themed Dragon with direct power over cold and wind, as well as a few other tricks hidden under his wings.
Here's a glance at what Frosvinndur will look like on the wiki.
Dragonlings Dragonlings are smaller draconic creatures that serve their associated Dragon. Dragonlings have powers of their own, and they can grow stronger. They are bound to those who serve their Dragon, often acting as mounts for Bearers of a Dragons power. Each Dragonling flight is unique, with powers derived from their Dragon, and each one has different speeds, powers, personalities, and they all interact with their Bearer in different ways.
Quick thing to note, while all Dragonlings can serve as mounts, not all of them are flying mounts. Some will have other abilities depending on their Dragon. For instance, a sea based Dragon might have Dragonlings with abilities that make them good for underwater or cross-oceanic travel. An underground Dragon might would have a Dragonling flight that can travel by making tunnels and such. Other Dragonlings may have special abilities of their own.
Frosvinndur's Dragonling is the Kaldvind, a fairly fast Dragonling with the ability to create snowdrifts around itself even in the hottest of temperatures to allow the Bearer to make better use of some their powers. They've also got a pretty nifty tail blade that can tear up an opponent and are pretty sturdy creatures on top of that. They're also cool to the touch, which is handy on summer days.
Here's a glance at what Kaldvinds will look like on the wiki.
Effigy What the hell is Effigy? Well, it's the powerset associated with Dragons, like how Blessings are associated with Immortals. Each Dragon will have their own Effigy they can grant to people. Those who have Effigy are known as Bearers and will have access to no less than
fifty powers from their Effigy. Now, Effigy does not progress like Blessings. Blessings are a linear progression that requires serving the Immortal who bestowed the Blessing and developing a relationship with them. Effigy does not work like that.
Effigy, first off, has a non-linear progression. It's divided into branches and you can progress up each branch separately. In addition, Effigy is progressed purely through EXP, allowing you to spend points on your Effigy to learn new powers. As you move through each branch, powers will cost more. There are, of course, some other differences. Effigy powers are based less on cooldowns than Blessing powers, and have a pretty wide range of effects. In addition, there are powers that can give the Dragonling additional powers or give the Bearer new passive features, like wings, claws, or a tail, among other interesting tricks depending on the Dragon.
There are also a few constants across each Effigy. There are always four branches, and the first two branches are divided into sub-branches. The first power, given for free, is always a Breath power, though what this does is unique to each Effigy. Some Breath powers may heal, others may turn the ground to ice, others may turn the surrounding air toxic. The last power is always a transformation power, allowing the Bearer to take a form similar to their Dragon, giving them a few new powers unique to that form as well.
Frosvinndur's Effigy is, of course, largely based around winter, with powers that make use of wind, snow, ice, hibernation, and even crystals. His Bearers will have powers that allow them to create blizzards, freeze the area around them, send enemies into a hibernation step, fly, heal people around them, trap people in crystals, and more. In addition, while Frosvinndur is primarily associated with winter, he also has powers over warm winds, which adds to his powers.
Here's a couple glances at what Frosvinndur's Effigy will look like on the wiki. The first is the beginning of the page, with a look at how it effects the Bearer.
The second is a look at how the whole Effigy is laid out and a glance at the first power.
And finally is a look at how powers themselves look on the wiki.
Right, so, more questons!
Will I be able to get Effigy as soon as Dragons launch? That depends, honestly. Effigy is a Tier 2 powerset and will require the player to have spent 2500 total EXP in order to be able to get Effigy, same as Tier 2 skills. The decision to make Effigy Tier 2 was largely based on the fact that we already have nearly
fifty Tier 1 powersets, between Blessings and Magic, that are available to every starting PC. Adding a whole new category of powersets to Tier 1 felt a bit extreme.
How will Dragons come to Idalos? Dragons will not just all burst out of a wormhole over the Orm'del Sea or something. Many Dragons will be discovered by players, whether by finding where they've been hiding as with Frosvinndur, or being their to see them reborn. These plots are not, however, something that you can ask for. Staff will be keeping an eye on all ongoing plots and we'll decide if you find a Dragon or not. The plots will not be easy, not will you be able to accomplish them just by sitting at home and spinning your wheels. If you want to be fortunate, or perhaps unfortunate, enough to meet a Dragon and help them return to Idalos, best be getting up to some major plottage. Note that this will probably change as we get closer to Dragons being released, and some Dragons will find their way back to Idalos of their own accord.
Is Abanaxus a Dragon? Does he have Dragonlings or an Effigy? No. Abanaxus being a Dragon is a bit of IC confusion and some misunderstanding about what Dragons were. Abanaxus is his own, admittedly very dangerous, thing separate from Dragons.
How long until the next update? And what will updates be? I can't say for sure how long until the next update. I'd like to have at least one a month, but I can't promise that. What I can do, however, is say that each update will contain a sneak peak at stuff that will be included when Dragons launch.
Wait, will there be stuff besides Dragons in the update? Quite possibly! I don't want to make any promises here, but part of the update will be expanding the setting of Idalos, and who knows what else might be lurking behind those barriers.
I wanna help develop Dragons and/or stuff to be released alongside Dragons! How can I help? Join staff. Our wiki workers and peer reviewers are wonderful and wonderfully helpful, but this kind of site-wide major update is very much staff's responsibility. I would note, however, that everything that gets developed by staff is subject to a very in-depth feedback process to ensure quality control. So don't expect developing things, especially for this update, to be easy.
Aaaaand that's all for today folks. I hope you all enjoyed this reveal and the sneak peeks, and I'll be back as soon as possible with more information for you all.
-Basilisk, Lead Developer