Dragonbait the saurial paladin
Dragonbait, real name, Champion, is one of the two main heroes (the other being Alias) of the Finder's Stone trilogy of Dungeons & Dragons novels by Jeff Grubb and Kate Novak.
He is a paladin of the Saurials, a race of humanoid dinosaurs from another world who moved to Toril to escape from the rotten god Moander. He soon became the tag partner and soul-brother of Alias the swordswoman.
Appearance[]
Dragonbait as he appears in the Forgotten Realms comic series.
Dragonbait is a bit short for human standards (1,6 m), with a blunt muzzle, powerful short teeth, smooth green scales and yellow eyes. His face is more dragonlike than human, and a single fin grows from between his eyes to the top of his head. Dragonbait is part of the Finhead sub-species of Saurials.
Personality[]
Dragonbait using his paladin powers to heal Priam Agrivar.
Dragonbait is pious, brave, adaptable and quite intuitive. This is demonstrated by his status of being a paladin, and by the ease he adapted to the alien world of Toril and the continent of Faerun, as well as being capable of reading Alias' and other human's intentions.
Unless he is with Alias, Dragonbait has no immediate outlet to make his thoughts known to those who speak Common. He understands that Thieves' sign language that Alias taught him. Dragonbait's people use clicking and whistling noises, body language, and a scent generating process to display their emotions. Dragonbait's scents and the emotions they correspond to are: Brimstone = Confusion, Roses = Sadness, Lemon = Happiness, Baked Bread = Anger, Violets = Fear, Ham = Nervousness and worry.
While he can't speak it, Dragonbait understands Common perfectly well. Many assume that since he can't speak Common, the reptilian creature is less intelligent and capable than mammalian humanoids. Dragonbait usually does nothing to disprove this for two reasons: Because he's too humble to show off, and because potential foes might underestimate him.
Much of what happens inside Dragonbait's head he keeps it for himself. It is known that he has a deep bond with Alias, loving her like a sister. His initial goal was to stir the artificial warrior woman to the path of good.
Like every paladin, Dragonbait is devoted to justice. His experience taught him patience; he will not rush off to an adventure without proper preparation. He's an excellent observer and withholds his thoughts until he has the information he needs and time for action has come. He his the sworn protector of the surviving Saurials, far from their home and still recovering from the battle against Moander.
History[]
On the Saurial homeworld, the paladin we know as Dragonbait served the God of justice. He was in love with a cleric named Coral who served the goddess of luck. Dragonbait was proud of himself and his god, and was devoted to the cause of justice. The goddess of luck was not always just, however, as she was fickle and would not give her blessing to those in need. Because of this, Dragonbait tried to convince Coral to stop worshipping the goddess. The two saurials argued as Coral refused to abandon her goddess.
Dragonbait knew that because he loved the priestess, he would come to accept her choice should he remain with her. He feared that his feelings for one who served an unjust deity would taint him. He decided to leave his tribe and go to fight fiends in the plane of Carceri. It was there that the demon Phalse captured Dragonbait to be used as sacrifice as part of the process that created Alias.
Phalse was not aware of the Paladin's origins and homeworld. Hanging from chains in Cassana and Phalse's dungeon, Dragonbait was visited by the goddess of luck. She said that she didn't care about the paladin but the God of justice asked her to help save Dragonbait. If Dragonbait agreed to perform a service for the goddess, she would free him from the dungeon. Dragonbait wanted to live, of course, and accepted the goddess' offer. That day, Dragonbait learned that justice cannot always prevail against evil without some luck. So the paladin now serves both the God of Justice and the Goddess of luck, and aids Alias and her companions against the forces of evil.
Azure Bonds[]
Dragonbait was to be sacrificed to empower Alias, but Alias woke up early, and with Finder Wyvernspur's help, Dragonbait fled with the semi conscious Alias to Suzail, the capital of Cormyr.
The name Dragonbait was given to the saurial by Alias, who threatened to make him into a dragon's bait if he does a wrong move. Since he had no real way to translate his actual name, he adopted the name Dragonbait as his own. Alias would much later learn from the saurial wizard Grypht that Dragonbait's real name roughly translates as Champion.
Using his Shen Sight, Dragonbait saw that Alias is fundamentally a good person but with the potential to do great evil or great good. The paladin promised Finder that he would protect Alias, even though it is likely Dragonbait would have done so anyway, given his selflessness.
When the conspirators behind Alias' creation captured the two heroes, it was the pair's willpower that broke the enchantment that held Alias to her creators. The cost for the final victory over the bad guys was Dragonbait's holy sword that Alias used to stab Phalse and then hurl them into the Positive Material Plane where the demon and the sword exploded.
Dragonbait had to use a nonmagical sword for a time, but he eventually gained a flaming sword that activates with the word Toast.
Song of the Saurials[]
Dragonbait and Alias' next big adventure begins in Shadowdale, one year after the events of Azure Bonds. Elminster had convinced the Harpers to reopen the case of Finder Wyvernspur, the Nameless Bard, and Alias and Dragonbait were waiting to see if they could be of any assistance. The heroes stayed at the Old Skull inn, where Alias entertained the patrons with Finder's songs.
One evening, Alias and Dragonbait's old companion, the mage Akabar Bel Akash returned to Shadowdale from Turnish. He came along with his wife Zhara (one of Alias' clones created by Phalse), and he warned about his nightmares about the possible return of Moander. When Dragonbait suggested that Akabar's dreams were significant, Alias dismissed. She soon left with Akabar to the tower where the Harpers' examination of Finder was taking place. Dragonbait stayed at the inn with Zhara, and they were soon attacked by a magical device of Moander. Together, the two of them destroyed it.
Dragonbait and Zhara then went to the Harper's tower to tell Alias and Akabar of the attack. Alias took the pair to the room where Akabar was resting, but the mage was gone, with the remains of Kyre (an Harper agent that was posessed by Moander) in his place. Alias, Dragonbait and a ranger named Brock Orcsbane set out to find Akabar. Zhara wished to go with them, but Alias was jealous of her and Brock suspected that her husband was the one who killed Kyre and wanted to avenge her. Dragonbait, who trusted her, gave Zhara the armor of Alias and told her to follow them.
While Brock was tracking Akabar (and the saurial mage Grypht who was travelling with him), the heroes were attacked by Treants enslaved by Moander. After defeating the Treants, Brock discovered that Zhara was following them. This led to a catfight between Alias and Zhara before the group made peace and resolved to continue the search for Akabar.
Before long, the heroes manage to reunite with Akabar and Grypht. Grypht reveals that at least a thousand saurials have been brainwashed by Moander and brought to Faerun to facilitate the evil god's return. It was at this point that Alias used the Finder's Stone to cast a tongues spell so she and Dragonbait could communicate verbally.
Soon afterwards, Dragonbait learned that Alias has the saurial ability of Soul Song, a hereditary ability that Dragonbait's mother had possessed and that Alias had apparently inherited through her connection with Dragonbait. The Soul Song reflects a saurial tribe's state of being, and the group learned that they had to locate Finder Wyvernspur.
Using the Finder's Stone, the heroes teleported to Finder's Keep. Where Finder and the halfling Olive Ruskettle were fighting a Beholder enslaved by Moander. Once all the heroes were reunited, they used the Finder's Stone to teleport to the Lost Vale, where the enslaved saurials were located. In assembling a plan to liberate the saurials and defeat Moander, Dragonbait pointed out that cold temperatures made saurials sluggish and lethargic, and thus easy to control. The group agreed to use magical cold to stop the saurials without injuring them if they attacked the heroes.
While scouting the vale, Dragonbait encounters his old love Coral, now a servant of Moander, and tried to purge the god's vines from her using the paladin Cure Disease spell. After the spell was seemingly successful, the two saurial lovers reconciled. Coral then led Dragonbait to the saurials' camp. As it turned out, Dragonbait's spell didn't work and Coral led him to a trap. Alias learned that Dragonbait has been captured while using the Soul Song ability. The heroes set out to free Dragonbait and destroy Moander once and for all. Olive recovered Dragonbait's flaming sword, and Alias used the sword to set fires that would push the saurials into a position where Akabar and Grypht would use wands of frost to immobilize them.
Dragonbait was free from his captors and confronted Coral. Dragonbait was forced to release his lover from Moander's control by decapitating her with his sword. He then rejoined Alias but they were too late to save Akabar and Finder. Ultimately, Akabar and Finder sacrificed their mortal lives to destroy Moander.
The surviving saurials decided, on Elminster's advice, to remain in the Lost Vale and repair the damage they caused while under Moander's control. Dragonbait and Alias were invited to celebrate with them and they accepted.
Masquerades[]
Several years later, Dragonbait and Alias travelled to the crime infested city of Westgate to exchange a magical stuff for a scrying device that would allow the saurials of the Lost Vale to better protect themselves from possible enemies. The pair met the human wizard Mintassan. Mintassan describes himself as a planewalker, one who travels between the planes of existence in the Great Wheel, looking for adventure.
The three discussed the current situation of the city. Mintassan talks about the Night Masks, the thieves guild that rules Westgate from the shadows. Dragonbait and Alias already fought a few members of the Night Masks when they arrived in town and decided to stay to see if something could be done about them. Due to the events that happened around Westgate in the first book, Alias is recognized as a heroine and she and Dragonbait received an offer of employment from the legitimate ruler of the city, Luer Dhostar. Lord Dhostar wanted to hire the two heroes as a means to weaken the Night Masks' grip on the city.
From Luer's son, Victor, the heroes learned of The Faceless, the mysterious leader of the Night Masks. The trio also met Olive again, who was employed by a group of halfling merchants. Victor informed the heroes of the lost treasure of a wizard who once ruled the city. After some investigation and several escapades, the heroes tracked the Night Masks' trail of protection money to the home of a man named Melman. As it turns out, Melman's house is the same one that Cassana, one of Alias' creators, lived in.
Gaining access through a secret door, the heroes entered the house, where they discovered Melman being tended by a healer. Melman had a falling out with The Faceless and his face was magically scarred. Before more information could be gained, assassins sent by The Faceless attacked the house to kill Melman. The heroes fled with Melman, after making him promise to tell them more about the Night Masks.
From Melman, the heroes learned the location of the Night Masks' leaders meetings. When they explored the lair, they came across Victor Dhostar, who claimed to have stumbled upon the place by himself. Dragonbait, suspicious of Victor, used his Shen Sight and learned that the young aristocrat is not evil. This was good news for Alias, as she was developing a romantic attraction to Victor.
The heroes found out the truth when The Faceless launched a plan to frame Luer Dhostar as being The Faceless himself. After the plan was set in motion, Victor Dhostar revealed himself to be the real Faceless. He had been using a amulet of misdirection to hide his true alignment from Dragonbait.
The adventure reached his climax when Victor discovered that the treasure he was looking for was hidden in a pocket dimension atop a castle. The heroes chased Victor and battled him in the pocket dimension. Dragonbait convinces Alias to let go of her grudge against Victor, who manipulated her and broke her heart, as the negative feelings kept her trapped in the pocket dimension. Dragonbait held off Victor's last ditch attack until the portal to the pocket dimension was closed.
After Victor's death, Alias and Dragonbait returned to the Lost Vale.
The Tomb of Annihilation[]
Over a hundred years later, circa the 1480s DR, Dragonbait teamed up with an ex-Harper Artus Cimber after meeting him in Port Nyanzaru. Together they embarked on a quest through the jungles of Chult, the land of dinosaurs, to the ruins of Orolunga, trying to reunite Artus with his wife, Alisanda Rayburton. The adventure took them to the ruins of Camp Righteous, the Heart of Ubtao where they spied on the nefarious Red Wizards schemes, Jahaka Anchorage where they tried to save pirates' prisoners, Kir Sabal meeting with the local aarakocras, and Orolunga. Eventually, they joined a group of adventurers to destroy the dangerous artifact Soulmonger.
Parting ways with Artus, Dragonbait eventually came across the charlatan Volothamp Geddarm, and together they continued adventuring and exploring on.
Trivia[]
- Dragonbait is a recruitable character in Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms.
External Links[]
- https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dragonbait on Forgotten Realms wiki.