NUELOW Games: The Dragon and the Presidents of the United States of America

Sunday, January 19, 2025

The Dragon and the Presidents of the United States of America

Brigid is an ancient red dragon who enjoys being with humans.

Since 1701 A.D., Brigid the Dragon has maintained at least one dwelling ("lair" to the traditionalists) in what is presently the United States of America, with her oldest being in the mountains of Virginia. She has always loved the idea of a republic, and she found she loved it even more when a stripe of democracy was thrown into the mix. She REALLY loved the idea of branches of government being at odds with each other in certain ways, ensuring that the totalitarian bent that is so fundamental to humans wouldn't creep in. Well, it wouldn't creep in if humans weren't so easily corrupted by greed and lust for personal power and glory.

Since George Washington was first elected President of the United States in 1789, Brigid has been meeting with them shortly before they are to assume the office. Since the 1930s, she has tended to have the meeting take place with both the outgoing and incoming president, because she wants to be sure that there is no miscomprehension about the fact that so long as the American government remains centered in the Constitution, she would provide support to a president who has legitimate claim on the office.

Joe Biden, Brigid, and Donald Trump in November of 2024

Her support is expected to be kept secret from the public, advisors, and anyone not approved by Brigid. Still, she works occasionally with the U.S. military and intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Basically, she's an open, but deeply classified government secret, like the existence of space aliens and Immortals.

But what is the support Brigid offers? Aside from the perspective of a highly intelligent and creative being that is almost 400,000 years old, she grants a magical blessing to the President. Here is that blessing in d20 System terms, presented as a feat.

THE DRAGON'S BLESSING [Dragon Magic, Supernatural]

By sharing a drink and/or a meal with a mortal whom the dragon wants to help overcome great challenges, the dragon bestows a magical gift to the character.

Prerequisite: The character must be the leader, or key participant in executing, of some great enterprise that will benefit untold numbers of other mortals. The character must accept the invitation of the dragon to have the meeting and then must partake in the food and/or beverage the dragon offers.

The sharing of food and drink is a subtle ritual through which the dragon

Benefit: For a number of years predetermined by the dragon (4, 8, 12, 16, or 20), the recipient of the Dragon's Blessing gains the following bonuses:

* +4 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive skill checks

* +2 bonus to all other Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based skill checks

* +1 bonus to all Dexterity- and Constitution-based skill checks.

The bonuses last from the person's first day undertaking the mighty task and/or playing an important role in the organization to which the belong, through the exact end of the period specified. The blessing ends early if the recipient breaks promises made, acts against the expected morality or purpose that the recipient is supposed to defend/working toward.

Special: This feat temporarily replaces another feat the character possesses that gives bonuses to skill checks; the player of the character gets to choose which one is replaced. Dragon's Blessing overrides the specified feat until the end of the duration set by the dragon. If the character loses the benefits of the feat through actions contrary to his or her vows and duties, the other feat still remains ineffective until the duration of the blessing has ended.

While the blessing is in effect, the character can choose to shift this feat into a feat slot gained through level advancement instead of choosing a new feat. The feat that was replaced by the Dragon's Blessing once again provides a benefit in this case. When the Dragon's Blessing ends, the feat slot opens, and the player must choose another feat to fill it.

And to round out this post, here are a few pictures of Brigid with U.S. presidents of the past many years, mostly while meeting them either in her Virginia or Arizona homes. Two of the three are among her favorite presidents. Can you guess which two?