Pillars of Eternity Dragons Lore and Screenshots

Obsidian has pushed another Pillars of Eternity update on the game’s official forum, with a format that is heavily reminiscent of the one used for last week’s update. This time we learn about the lifecycle and habits of dragons, and see how they look during the three main stages of their life thanks to new screenshots. A snippet:

Drakes are the intermediary form between wurms and adult dragons. While wurms have the intelligence of a cat (i.e., mostly basic instincts) and dragons are often much more intelligent than humans, drakes are in-between, possessing cunning rivaling primates. They are clearly not dumb beasts and their eyes/faces should reflect their higher intelligence. In contrast to wurms, drakes have longer torsos with a broader chest. Their most prominent fangs are longer, as are the claws on their forelegs. Their other features tend to vary by subtype. During this period of a drake’s life, they are starting the first stages of becoming “real” dragons. This means their colors start shifting, both overall and more strongly in patches. Some drakes have solid coats of scales, but others have multi-toned or even mottled coats. Because they are relatively young, their scales grow and heal fast, so they don’t show much wear and tear (unlike dragons).

The variation in their heads, mouths, spines, bumps, wings, all reflect the drake’s home climate. A drake from the swamp may be shades of green, brown, and black with yellow eyes, nictitating membranes, and a long, flat snout featuring raised nostrils. A drake that spends most of its time in the sky may be blue and white with scales that seem feather-like, a slender body, and wings that assist with sustained gliding. A drake who lives underground may have earth-tone scales, wide eyes, a compact body, small wings, and powerful forelegs with oversized claws. While all drakes can breathe fire, many also have developed limited alternative breath attacks – lightning, acid, steam, etc. This can also be reflected somewhere on their bodies.

Drakes have developed from wurms but have not reached (and may never reach) the dragon stage. They aggressively defend their territory and, when needed, seek out more. Their coloration reflects the territory they have claimed, and they are most hostile with other drakes, their territorial rivals.