The color of the polished orb made from volcanic stone changes dramatically in the light.
At times perfectly black, one subtle tilt and it suddenly appears to radiate blazing
crimson with white strata shot throughout.
This orb has been well-prepared, perfectly sized for a spellcaster to hold in one hand.
Hello everybody Jorphdan here the PH is silent and today we’re talking about the powerful
artifact within D&D known as the Orb of Dragonkind.
I originally thought this would be a simple video on the orbs' history in Dragonlance;
but this artifact was created multiple times throughout the multiverse.
It has the ability to summon evil chromatic dragons from up to 40 miles away and in some
instances control them.
Originally there were five created, or eight, or sometimes twelve in the old stories.
An artifact of immense power that could “wyrm” it’s way into your game.
Let’s dive in.
The orb of dragonkind can be found all the way back in AD&D first edition, and has appeared
in every edition of Dungeons and Dragons since.
The orb’s history is unknown.
Each culture, each world has multiple stories about where the orbs came from; none or all
of them could be true.
The elves would tell you they created the orbs, and the dragons were so overcome with
how wonderful the artifacts were their souls left their bodies to become one with the orbs,
enchanting the objects with magical powers.
The dwarves believe the dragons commissioned their ancestors to make the orbs, twelve years
it took to craft twelve orbs.
When presenting the orbs to the dragons and requesting payment the dragons took the orbs
and laughed.
They attacked the dwarves and killed all but their leader.
Untrusting of the dragons the dwarves did build in a magical fail safe into the artifacts.
Their leader said a magic phrase triggering the orbs.
Each one captured a piece of the dragon lord's essence within it, changing their form to
be of different colors and making it so they could not trust one another.
Thanks to the dwarves the dragons could no longer organize and wouldn’t enslave the
civilized races anymore.
The silliest one would be the humans, who were enslaved by the dragons.
The people cried out for help but their draconic oppressors cared little for human well being.
However the gods heard the pleas of mortal man.
The gods spoke to a young pig farmer and bid him go to the mountain of the dragons and
teach them respect.
The pig farmer said “naaa….
I’m good.”
But the gods were persistent and away he eventually went.
Twelve days it took him to get to the top of the mountain and each night he slept on
the mountain he had a vision from one of the gods.
They gave him some mystical information on the dragon lords above.
Once reaching the top of the mountain he was admitted to an audience with the dragon lords.
No one truly knows what happened after that but weeks later the pig farmer returned to
his village with 12 crystal orbs.
He said the dragons gave them these orbs as insurance they would be left alone from now
on, no longer ruled by the dragons.
The orbs of dragonkind were hidden away and the dragons ruled mankind no more.
Or as of 5th edition the orbs come from Dragonlance.
The Dragonlance story of the Orbs of Dragonkind is nothing new to dnd, and can be found way
back in 1st edition.
Most likely there was an artifact and authors wove it into their stories set in Dragonlance.
Many many years ago in the history of Kyrnn there was a war between humanoids and dragons.
Being elves, humans and dwarves.
Powerful wizards known as the Wizards of the Towers of High Sorcery came together to create
artifacts that could shift the war in their favor.
They created five orbs of dragonkind, each one a magical etched crystal orb that contained
the essence of an evil dragon.
The wizards split up the five orbs between them taking one to each of the Five Towers
of High Sorcery.
The history of Dragonlance is long, but the first mages of Krynn built these Five Towers
of High Sorcery in magically rich places.
I like to think of them as magical ley lines throughout Krynn.
The Towers of High Sorcery brought some stability to magic, as well as focusing it for specific
uses.
The Orbs of Dragonkind really wouldn’t have been able to be researched and created if
it were not for these Towers.
Since there were five towers it was agreed that five orbs would be created and distributed
between them.
It is believed that two of these orbs were destroyed, leaving only three roaming about
the Multiverse.
The orbs of dragonkind have the power to summon dragons telepathically.
The dragons feel compelled to go to the location of the orb.
This way dragons could be pulled away from fights, or lured into traps.
The wizards could fight and defeat the dragons on their own terms.
The Orbs of Dragonkind go back all the way to 1976 when they were printed in the supplement
‘Eldritch Wizardry’ along with other famous items like the Hand of Vecna and the Wand
of Orcus.
In this supplement there were five orbs that had randomly rolled benefits along with their
traditional dragon controlling powers.
There was the Orb of the Hatchling, Orb of the Dragonette, Orb of the Dragon, The Great
Firedrake’s Orb, and the Orb of the Eldest Worm.
The first three were strong magical items, but the fourth orb, the Great Firedrake’s
Orb, had an intelligence and an ego.
It could potentially control the user, and the Orb of the Eldest Worm was exactly the
same except more powerful and more difficult to control.
The Orbs of Dragonkind were printed again in the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide; but
now there were eight orbs which reflected the eight stages of growth for dragons at
the time.
Flash forward to the Book of Artifacts for 2nd edition and we have more expanded lore.
Now there are 12 orbs of dragonkind.
Each orb is a sphere of fine crystal with faint magical etchings on the surface.
The ancient language is lost to current civilizations.
Each orb corresponds with a dragon type and when the orb is used it glows with the color
of it’s dragon type.
However in this book it clearly states that the Dragonlance Orbs of Dragonkind are not
these 12 orbs, and they should be thought of as completely different artifacts.
Jumping ahead to 5th edition the Dungeon Master’s Guide has done away with much of this 12 crystal
orb history and embraced the Dragonlance history.
Humans and Elves fighting dragons, the wizards of the Towers of High Sorcery.
Which do you prefer?
Dragon Magazine 230 explains that many artifacts are sometimes created through slightly different
means on dozens of worlds in the multiverse.
The Orbs of Dragonkind have been recorded on six different worlds.
Each set comes in different sizes and power but all have a common function of mastery
over dragons.
Case in point the 4e version of the Orbs of Dragonkind states that it was an Eladrin wizard
who crafted the first orb.
Dragons were subjugating eladrin in the feywild back when the barriers between the prime material
and the feywild were more open.
The orb was created to push back the dragons and give the Eladrin the freedom they wanted
in the Feywild.
To destroy an orb of dragonkind seems relatively easy compared to other artifacts.
A disintegrate spell will do it, or a nice blow from a +3 magic weapon.
More interesting ways though are found in the Book of Artifacts.
You could sacrifice yourself by casting ‘magic jar’ and releasing the draconic essence
inside the orb; also trapping you in the orb for all eternity.
In order to destroy the orbs of dragonkind all 12 must be ground simultaneously under
the Great Millstone of the Gods!
Finally you can destroy them by traveling back in time and locating the original makers.
There you will learn the Orbs’ destruction secret.
If you want an Orb of Dragonkind centric adventure you should play Dragons of Dreams, a dragonlance
adventure module that deals directly with the history of the orbs, the towers, and those
involved.
It’s pretty neat.
If you are looking elsewhere for the Orbs current where-a-bouts are unknown.
However if you’re looking in the Forgotten Realms I’d check the Tomb of Damara southwest
of Shadowdale.
Although many have gone searching for the rare artifact none have claimed it, if it’s
still there.
The beginning flavor text of this video was provided by dScryb, check out their website
at dScryb.com/jorphdan.
They host wonderful text that wonderfully describes magic items, locations, npcs, and
more!
During the month of June they’re having a giveaway that includes a full year subscription
to their service and a $50 credit with Hero Forge to make a custom mini!
Check them out at dscryb.com/jorphdan.
Thanks for watching everyone.
Links to all the material that inspired this video in the description, under references.
I’ve got a discord, a podcast, and another channel all linked below.
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your support.
I’ll see you all in the next video.