The Dreadnaught Dragoons are a pirate crew we encountered briefly in a dungeons and dragons campaign. While we didn't spend a lot of time interacting with this pirate crew during the campaign, I really liked them so I set out to draw a picture of how I imagine they, including their mighty pirate ship, would look.

Dreadnaught is a young adult red dragon. He was kidnapped from his parents when he was young by a band of True Pirates. True pirates are pirates who have forsaken every last morale possible, including those such as having honor amongst thieves, obeying the Pirate's Code, and respecting dragons, of course. They captured him as a whelp and forced him into a life of servitude aboard their vessel, using and leveraging his strength as a red dragon to further their pirating endeavors. To say the least, Dreadnaught wasn't exactly happy with the abduction, with never seeing his parents again, with being forced to serve others without even receiving any of the treasure, nor with any of his living arrangements.

Thankfully, he was rescued by a kobald crew named the Dragoons! Kobolds live to serve dragons so when they saw a dragon in servitude to another crew, they had to save him, awed by his glorious, shimmering red scales, fierce facial frills, and spectacular horns. They defeated the crew of pirates who kidnapped him. Gracious for the rescue and admittedly becoming a tad fond of the lifestyle of a pirate, he joined the Dragoons, turning the crew’s name into the Dreadnaught Dragoons and greatly increasing their ... firepower.

Now he sails the seas aboard their fine vessel, a customized sloop with a tall deck of sails for extra speed. He's not the captain but has been given the grand title of First Mate. Why would he want to be the captain anyways? Everybody aboard the vessel knows who the true boss is and without being the actual captain it means none of the responsibilities fall on his shoulders. He has more time to count his treasure, after all.

Speaking of which, one may be curious to know what the ornate artifact that he wears around his neck is. Well, a pirate ship needs a port to call home else it becomes very difficult to restock on food, water, wood, repairs, medical supplies, and, of course, rum --- definitely rum, which Dreadnaught drinks by the barrel. It so turns out he most frequently docks in the port of Puerto del Sol - the port of the sun. In exchange for not plundering the port for all its treasure and not taking everything he can without giving anything back, the fine citizens of Puerto del Sol graced him with a wonderful treasure, a tribute you could say. It took all the gold of the entire village, all the finest gems, and all their riches combined to fashion him this gorgeous necklace which he accepted in exchange for allowing the port to service his vessel and sparing its residents. They called it the Amuleto del Sol, or, the Amulet of the Sun. A great deal, I'd say!

Needless to say he won't part with this centerpiece of his treasure hoard, of which he keeps on his neck at all times. It doesn't go all the way around his head, leaving a gap at the back for his frill. It comes apart into two halves, which fit together behind the center ruby. If you look closely, you can see where it splits into two. The quickest way to anger Dreadnaught is to try and steal or tamper with the Amuleto del Sol. He will not leave it behind or see it stolen. Ever!

After being rescued by the Dragoons, Dreadnaught quickly found he absolutely loves a life of piracy when he's calling the shots and when he's given the freedom to pillage, plunder, loot, and steal any and every treasure that comes across his territory. He loves it! Quite a pirate he has become, hoarding tremendous treasure that he's plundered from the bountiful, treasure-laden seas. He regularly carries a gigantic, dragon-sized sword which he prefers to wield with one of his wings. He can fly with it too, holding it with his wing thumb. It deals the same damage and has the same area of effect as his Fire Breath, except he deals slashing damage with it instead of fire damage, giving Dreadnaught an alternative and equally deadly attack should fire be undesirable to use on any who dare challenge him on the high seas. He also carries a literal dragon-sized, handheld cannon which is almost as big as the twin nine-irons which are built into his ship. It deals the same damage as a regular Cannon and he can load and fire it taking two of his three multi-attack actions that he’d normally use on Bite or Claw. He can also load the cannon with Chain Shot, dealing double damage to masts and sails at the expense of half damage to everything else. He’s quite a monster of a pirate, being rather equipped as a major threat of a pirate.

Now I can give a bit of information about the rest of the Dreadnaught Dragoons - the kobalds.

Fitty Bitz is a kobald artificer that also dabbles in potions and alchemy. He is responsible for the innovations and upgrades the Dreadnaught Dragoons have added to their pirate ship, including the installation of the twin nine-iron cannons and the painting of the rather fierce markings on the ship. The cannons are forward-facing, aggressive, and rather deadly while on the attack. He enjoys manning the cannons during naval encounters with other vessels. Compromising the structural integrity of their ship was not of concern when he was installing the nine-iron cannons into the deck of the ship. He may be a bit crazy in a way similar to that of a mad scientist.

Rocky is a kobold rock-dropper. He may look a bit like a dragon, but he's rather small and is simply a kobold who was blessed with the gift of functional wings that allow him to fly. He is always on the lookout for nice, heavy, round rocks or other heavy, dense objects that he can stash in the crows nest of the ship. During the most exciting part of piracy - the taking of others' treasures and shiny things - he ferries back and forth between the crows nest and whomever the Dreadnaught Dragoons may be trying to plunder from, dropping rocks or other heavy things on top of their heads. He has excellent aim and rarely misses. After the battle, he recollects all the heavy things he threw and puts them back into the crows nest for use on their next pirating excursion.

Snarlcrow could be said to be the smartest member aboard. As a dragon, Dreadnought is technically smarter, though he doesn’t act it. Snarlcrow is a kobold sorcerer and tends to stand atop the higher deck of their ship, constantly watching in an almost motherly fashion from her vantage point. She's quick to cast a spell or incantation should the situation call for it and is even rumored to be able to alter the seas and winds in the local vicinity of the ship, granting the Dreadnaught Dragoons sunny skies and safe passage on their numerous ventures as pirates. Dreadnought greatly appreciates that, as he doesn’t like the rain at all. Snarlcrow is also the navigator, the keeper of the ship’s inventory, and is even the diplomat. Yep! One can reason with this crew of pirates should one dare to try. With a bit of luck and a good proposal, one may be able to encourage Snarlcrow to get Rocky, Dreadnought, and Fitty Bitz to back down, should it be in their best interest to form an accord of sorts. Be wary, the only way you’d strike a deal with the Dreadnaught Dragoons is if you had a compelling way to grant them even more treasure than they’d get from simply stealing yours, so be prepared!

Now, as for the actual captain of the Dreadnaught Dragoons, supposedly he’s at the ship's wheel and he cannot be seen in this picture. It's said that he's a very fierce, incredibly well-composed and calculating kobold capable of even having Dreadnaught the red dragon technically as his subordinate. Wise he must be to keep Dreadnaught happily aboard and smart he must be to have remained alive for this long. The strange thing is, nobody’s ever claimed to have seen him. Ever. He must be quite the pirating force to be reckoned with.