Runequest Thursday #46 - Creature file - The Dragonfang!

Dragonfangs are a possible result when a dragonewt attempts to reincarnate in a higher form. Some scholars suggest that a dragonfang is the result of a life spent too martially, or too acquisitively, or too lazily. The truth is impossible to determine. Most dragonfangs encountered are actually the descendants of first generation dragonfangs that have themselves mated or have paired with a daggerfang. The bestial intelligence reflects the degradation of the dragonewt’s influence over its offspring’s abilities over time.

            First generation dragonewts are a different and much more dangerous matter. Often crazed, or deeply angered, by their failure, many first generations are terrible, implacable foes that will pursue chosen prey over miles of broken wasteland. Occasionally, some retain more of their former nature, and may even remember their previous lives and respond to those who knew them. it is difficult to tell which welcome one might receive however, and, given the strange and savage nature of the dragonfang, both welcomes – one after the other – is equally possible.

            Dragonfangs are rarely found in company, preferring to keep their shame to themselves. They are considered anathema to other dragonewts, who avoid them whenever possible. When a meeting does occur, the dragonewts treat their fallen kindred with a stiff formality and a sense of injured honor. They will go far out of their way to slay one, regardless of its demeanor or behavior.

            Dragonfangs lair in caves, caverns or ruins, and are drawn to magically potent places. They sometimes collect or guard treasures they find therein, even gathering them and collecting them for preservation. This may be out of a sense of their former selves, as it is most common among those who were formerly beaked warriors. In the River of Cradles, dragonfangs are found in the eastern reaches of the Great Bog and the wasteland surrounding it. it is thought that this me be related to the not uncommon finds of relics for the era of the Empire of the Wyrms' Friends in that region.