-- ReginaldGusto - 08 Nov 2015

“It’s been a long time coming,
I think you got the message now.
I was never going.
You’re the one who’s GOING DOWN!”

—The Sick Puppies

“These were the first, the primal of primals, and even Father concedes, ‘He looks like his Mother.’”

—Nibiru Yog Sothoth

The Dragon

The Dragon is a Kaiju that knows it's a Kaiju and revels in it. He lives to bathe himself in the primal fires of the Unconscious, and to swim free in the Deep Waters. For the Dragon, the raw power of his own existence is everything, and "eruption" is a matter of degree. A Dragon is calculating in his eruption, since the impact of reputation is half of his power.
A player playing a dragon will likely want to focus on the dragon as a character, congruent in his independence, raw strength, and destructive power, even if a benevolent creature. A Dragon tends to be proud, sometimes arrogant, megalomaniacal, and considering himself or herself peerless. They will most likely consider any attempt to command, direct, or humble them to be a direct insult. While they may be truly powerful, they likely harbor a lingering insecurity in their power. They will not know need without shame, and while they may have followers, they probably have few if any friends. They will likely be suspicious and paranoid. They may have much treasure, but they will likely live outside society and therefore have no way to use it.
The touchstone, whether the Dragon himself or not, will likely be a warrior of some fashion, whether he be a proud silent warrior, a stoic leader, a clever and quick-thinking jack, a terrible tyrant, a bloodthirsty blackguard, a legend in his own realm, or the like. He will, like the dragon, rely on his violent discipline and predatory mind to get him through the task, and he intends to glory in victory. The task of his friends and loved ones is to keep him stable, make sure he doesn't go off the deep end in his quest and end up sacrificing his own soul to succeed. They will need to remind him of who he is, and how he feels love. They will need to remind him to need without shame. There are many ways to be a warrior, and the best way is to not become what you hunt. Another downfall of a Dragon Kaiju touchstone is that they may feel the need to prove themselves against poisons, such as heavy drinking or drug addiction--they may feel the poison literally or symbolically makes them stronger--and it may be necessary for their friends and loved ones to intervene and tell them when they have crossed Paracelsus's fine line between medicine and poison.
It is also worth noting that the visual shape of a Dragon does not have to be the traditional long, scaly saurian with bat wings, aerodynamic snoot, clawed forelimbs, and spinal ridge. That image is certainly the most common one, but being a Dragon is in the person, not the shape. The same shape could be any of the other subgenres as well. Elliott, from Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon,” was a Guardian, whereas Emil Blonsky, the Abomination, from Marvel’s Incredible Hulk movie, had a form more like the Hulk, but was very much a Dragon.

Eruption:

Upon deciding to go forth and kick ass, the first thing a Dragon does is issues challenges. If you watch the movies, no dragon ever bursts out of his cave and goes to burn down an empty field, or punch his pillow to alleviate his boundless rage. No, he finds the nearest settlement of sentient beings, or the nearest creature as large and mean as himself. Like the Giant, he has destruction on his mind, but with some key major differences: A) his destructive intent is targeted, not indiscriminate, B) He might be satisfied with something other than destruction, C) his will is conscious and proactive, not unconsciously reactive.
What the Dragon seeks is interaction, Which might seem unusual given the image of the dragon sleeping alone on his hoard of gold in a secluded hideaway for so long between flights. We typically think of dragons as introverted creatures, because of their fear of need. To them, to need interaction is shameful and weak, and so on the rare occasion they condescend to do seek it out, they feel they must be adequately rewarded for it: Gold, virgins, territory, fame, new thralls, or newfound respect from their old thralls. But when they must interact, they try to squeeze every bit of energy out of it they can: banter, riddles, games, posturing and posing, flexing their wings, beating their chest, proclaiming their might and deeds, showing off, dancing, dueling, and fighting. Every interaction is an exchange of energy, and they do it because they secretly need the exchange. It is best to let those best equipped for the exchange deal with an erupting dragon. The hope is that the responder who does so will understand the dragon's hidden need and deal with the matter respectfully. If you can give a dragon the interaction he wants and can do it safely for you, by all means, have at it. Just make sure you ate your Wheaties that morning.

Details:

Domain: “Territory.”
Celestial Counterpart: “The Questor.”
Title: The Dragon will tell you how to address him. My advice is call him whatever he wants.
Human Support Structure: “Thralls.” A very lucky Human might be called “posse” or “coterie,” a “right hand,” or even a “Rider.” If a Human is called Rider, there is no better way to incur his Dragon’s wrath than to mess with him outside of combat.
Trigger: Shame, threat
Manifestation: Transformation, Permanence

Subgenre Features:

The Dragon must take one Alternative Sense, and a 3 KP vulnerability.

Artistic examples:
Smaug
Fafnir
The Gmork
Freddy Krueger
Lord Voldemort
General Zod
Hellboy