Perilous Gateways

The Dragons' Claw Portals

By Robert Wiese

Dragons live across the length and breadth of Faerûn, doing evil or good as their natures dictate. The one commonality is that they all hoard treasure, whether in caves or hollows in forest floor. Solitary by nature, they compete with each other as much as they maraud among the humanoids. Most people think that dragons don't build and use portals, and for the most part they are correct.

Exceptions do exist, however. This month, meet a dragon wizard who has built a portal network for the use of evil dragons. The portals are collectively called the Dragons' Claw, but in truth the name sounds more awe-inspiring than appropriate. True, the portals have a vaguely claw-like pattern across the continent, but the name really implies that no place is truly beyond the reach of treasure-seeking dragons.

Learn the secret connections of the portals in the Dragons' Claw:

Statistics and supplemental information:

You can weave this set of portals into a long-term campaign, with the characters gleaning piece after piece of information before they try to seal the portals and stop the black dragon who builds them. Thus, most of the portals can be introduced separately; suggestions are included with each portal. Then, you can start tying them together as the characters become powerful enough.

About the Author

Robert Wiese's love of gaming started in the Boy Scouts, where you'd think there was enough to do to keep one from playing roleplaying games. Through college he has played in some great home campaigns, and he discovered the RPGA Network at a small game day in 1991. He worked for RPGA Network for six and a half years, filling almost every job duty that exists on the staff at one time or another. Now honorably retired from service as the RPGA Operations Manager, he lives in Nevada and writes gaming goodies from time to time. He also gardens a lot and devotes as much time as possible to his beloved fiancé.

Portals of Faerûn