Inside the Dragon Cult

The origin of this enterprise lays with two figures, Ran Tethrik and Erin Kamina, half-orc and human. They founded a temple dedicated to studying the dragon, learning its ways, its strengths and weaknesses, it's style and technique in the air or in battle. The copper dragons felt a kinship with them, and fed them detailed information usually reserved for dragon-kin. They talked with them for long hours, shared secrets and relics of their treasure hoards, and fostered their spread.

As the years went on, the dragons because concerned that the cult was attracting orcs and other evil creatures more akin to red dragon worship than the good alignment of the copper dragons. This alarmed the dragons, and caused them to become guarded in their interactions with the cultists. Gradually, they settled into an unspoken truce. The cultists were content to keep their practices secret, and the dragons became content to sit high on the hills and watch.

That sets the backdrop for the evolution of the cult. The question, though, is what makes it up now? Are they human or orcs, or a combination of them and others? Another question on my mind is when this group formed (how long ago)? What happened with Ran and Erin, and who is in charge now?

Part of me thinks the cult works best as a group of human and orc types. They can be either, they can be any class, and various levels. Another thought, and this one might go too far, is for Erin to have become a lich or demi-lich, and still be in command. If I wanted to be cruel, Ran could be a death knight as well. I think both are too powerful, but maybe a lesser undead presence would fit.

Another thought would be for them to have had falling out... maybe she was seduced by the red dragon's power and hatched the plot to betray the party and win the allegiance of the copper dragons to get an artifact from them feared by the red dragon. He didn't see her alliance with the red dragon, and began to resent the change in her. She became more evil, he became more scared. Eventually they fought, and either he left or was destroyed by her. Some shade of him could linger in the hills or the fortress, an prove a boon to the party's success against the cult.