Factions
Claws of Veeshan
The dragon court of Velious. The hardest faction grind in the era, gating Skyshrine and high-end dragon content.
The Claws of Veeshan are the dragon-aligned faction that inhabits Velious's Temple of Veeshan, Skyshrine, the Western Wastes, and Cobalt Scar. Veeshan herself — the dragon goddess who scored Norrath with her claws and seeded the world with her eggs — is long departed. Her Claws remember, and they have spent ages defending her ancestral domain against the giants of Kael Drakkel and the dwarven incursions of Thurgadin.
The Claws are not a single court. They are a loose hierarchy of dragon factions split between the Sleeper-aligned dragons (Yelinak's court at Skyshrine), the Sleeper-opposed dragons (Vulak'Aerr's circle in the Temple of Veeshan), and the dragons of Cobalt Scar (Tantor and the cobalt drakes). Reaching positive standing with one branch typically costs standing with another.
Lore
Dragon politics on Velious turn on a single question: should the Sleeper, the dragon god dreaming beneath Sleepers Tomb, be allowed to wake? Yelinak's Skyshrine court says no — the Sleeper's waking would end the dragon civilization as it currently stands. Vulak'Aerr's circle in the Temple of Veeshan says yes, and they have spent centuries plotting to break the Sleeper's binding. The Claws of Veeshan as a single faction is a useful fiction; the reality is a cold war between two dragon courts that hate giants and dwarves about equally.
Vulak'Aerr is the apex predator of the era — a raid encounter at the top of the Temple of Veeshan considered one of the hardest pre-PoP fights. Yelinak holds court at Skyshrine and gates access to the Western Wastes through a series of questlines that require positive Claws standing.
The Cobalt Scar branch is its own subculture. Tantor and the cobalt drakes hold the southern coast and operate semi-independently of both Skyshrine and the Temple of Veeshan. They share the broader Claws hatred of giants but engage with mortals more readily, and their questgivers are the most accessible Claws NPCs in the era. Players grinding Claws faction often start at Cobalt Scar precisely because the entry barrier is lower.
Why grind it
Claws of Veeshan is the hardest faction grind in the era. The reward is access to Skyshrine vendors (Velious-era spell components and rare reagents), the Wakening Land armor questlines (one of the better mid-tier Velious armor sets), and the right to traverse the Western Wastes without being killed by every wandering wyvern and drake. For raid guilds, Claws faction also gates several scripted dragon raid encounters that cannot be triggered while the relevant dragons are KOS to the raid leader.
Wakening Land armor turn-ins are the canonical efficient grind. Each step grants Claws faction alongside Wakening Land-specific standing and unlocks the next tier of the armor chain. The grind pairs naturally with Coldain work — both factions hate giants — but pulls in opposite direction from any character who wants to keep Vulak'Aerr's circle viable as a future raid target.
Notable NPCs
- Yelinak — lord of Skyshrine, apex of the Sleeper-aligned court
- Vulak'Aerr — apex of the Temple of Veeshan, one of the era's hardest raid encounters
- Tantor and the Cobalt Scar drake court — most accessible Claws-aligned questgivers
- Wakening Land armor questline NPCs — entry-tier dragon-aligned faction work
- Skyshrine councilors who gate the Western Wastes questline
Faction path
+faction
- Killing Kromrif Frost Giants in the Great Divide and Eastern Wastes
- Killing Kromzek Storm Giants in Kael Drakkel
- Wakening Land armor questline turn-ins (the canonical efficient grind)
- Skyshrine-issued faction quests once standing reaches Apprehensive
- Killing dragon-opposed wyverns in the Western Wastes
- Cobalt Scar entry questlines (lowest barrier)
-faction
- Killing Skyshrine dragons or Western Wastes wyrms — massive faction loss
- Killing Cobalt Scar drakes and dragons
- Allying with Vulak'Aerr's circle — grants opposite-court standing
- Killing Sleeper-aligned dragons even by accident in raids
- Killing dragon-aligned drakes in the Wakening Land
The Last Camp any-race-class adjustments
Every character starts hostile to the Claws regardless of race or class — there is no good-aligned starting position. The grind is identical for everyone: kill giants in the Great Divide, Eastern Wastes, and Kael Drakkel until Skyshrine guards stop attacking on sight, then switch to Wakening Land questlines for the slow climb to Apprehensive and beyond. Most players never push past Indifferent. The handful who push to Ally do so as part of long-running raid guild objectives, and the grind typically takes weeks of dedicated raid time. Players who maxed Coldain faction (giants killed) get a substantial head start; players who maxed Kromrif faction must pick one and reset the other.