Post/Author/DateTime	Post
lucas 04-07-06, 07:29 AM	in a game im playing at the moment, having a few questions come up..... 1st blade purple dragon.... is given orders buy a blue dragon sword captian.. both are pc's... having a laugh, but just to know whats the story on this... are they different armys or the same, does a blue dragon have authority...? thats it... (or does the purple dragon flip the bird....) thx...
GothicDan 04-07-06, 12:50 PM	I assume you're referring to the Purple Dragons of Cormyr.. What's a Blue Dragon? (I also assume you don't mean the actual big, lightning-breathing type.)
lucas 04-07-06, 05:30 PM	yeah it is cormyr.........................and blue dragons are the navy
Old Sparky 04-07-06, 07:00 PM	That's a new one on me.
Alac Luin 04-07-06, 07:44 PM	I may be wrong, but I think the term "blue dragons" for Cormyr's navy is a fan created thing. My first exposure to this was from the Realms mailing list, a nice series of articles detailing the the organization. EDIT: I was mistaken, pointed out below is two instances that I was unfamiliar with. To the OP, rank typically crosses armed forces branches. But, an officer from one branch would typically need a good reason to be issuing orders to lower rank from another branch. If these PCs are working on missions given to them by their higher ups in Cormyr's government, the sword captain has the legal authority to issue orders to the 1st blade. This is a good reason to be issuing orders If they are working on personal missions, the sword captain has no real authority. Say they are sitting in tavern and the sword captain orders the 1st blade to clean the table, or buy the drinks, this can be seen as an abuse of power and considered "unbecoming an officer". This is why many militarys have an anti-fraternization rules.
ericlboyd 04-07-06, 08:57 PM	I believe the concept of Cormyr's navy being called "Blue Dragons" is introduced in the 2e product "Cormyr". --Eric
Faraer 04-07-06, 10:28 PM	The term is used in Volo's Guide to Cormyr p. 16.
Alac Luin 04-07-06, 11:23 PM	I'll take the correction :) I even did a search on my .PDFs, though I did "Blue Dragon" not "Blue Dragons" Sorry :embarrass
Jerryd 04-08-06, 01:14 AM	I can't provide a specific cite - I'm going off of a vague memory a couple of years old and don't have time to dig up old notes to verify it at the moment - but I think that Ed Greenwood (or at least a sage of Realmslore close to him) mentioned that the Purple Dragons and Blue Dragons are completely separate chains of command and that a member of one can't give orders to a member of the other. Also, swordcaptain is a Purple Dragon rank; the Blue Dragons would have a different rank structure and not use the same ranks.
Chloramantis 04-10-06, 12:34 PM	A Captain of the Purple Dragons (Army) is of a lower grade/rank than a Captain of the Blue Dragons (Navy). So, lets look at it this way, it they were both in the Navy, it would be like a Lieutenant giving orders to a Captain, which wouldn't happen. The Blue Dragons are mentioned in a number of accesories, they are real! I was actually using Green Dragons (Special Forces) in my campaign.
Chloramantis 04-10-06, 12:38 PM	in a game im playing at the moment, having a few questions come up..... 1st blade purple dragon.... is given orders buy a blue dragon sword captian.. both are pc's... having a laugh, but just to know whats the story on this... are they different armys or the same, does a blue dragon have authority...? thats it... (or does the purple dragon flip the bird....) thx... I didn't realize you were from Ireland. My Green Dragons would be an equivalent to the British Royal Marines or the SAS!