Right. I have been working my way through all the Shadowrun lore/fluff stuff (Working backwards, from Forth Edition to First. I just hit the Second Edition stuff ) and something I cannot figure out is what the Rite of Succession stuff is. In that its mentioned a few times, like in the Ancient History stuff about dragons, but I have no idea what is was.

Anyone care to explain, or point me towards a source that explains it? (This isnt me being confused about the details, this is me completely lacking in knowledge about what it is)

It's a draconic ritual challenge acted out after a Great Dragon (or possibly a dragon) dies, to determine who can divvy up his stuff. In SR, a Rite of Succession was held after Dunkelzahn's demise in the campaign Survival of the Fittest. Its one of many draconic rites for determining general pecking-order.

The Rite of Succession is the "traditional" way dragons decide who will inherit the wealth and position of a dead dragon. This is only used when a dragon dies from something other than being killed by another dragon, if killed by another dragon the killer inherits everything. Dunklezahn flouted this custom by using a will probated under human laws. Most dragons went along with this, especially Lofwyr who gained the best part of the deal by becoming "Loremaster." The only holdouts, most notably the great dragon Nachtmeister, were not in a position to enforce their desires.

The emergence of Ghostwalker changed this. In the campaign book "Survival of the Fittest" Gw forces a belated Rite over Lofwyr's position as "Loremaster" with surprising results.


Hope this is what you're looking for.

It is. Thats basically what I thought it was, however I was not certain. Gonna go and see if I can find a copy of Survival of the Fittest (Out of Print makes me a sad panda. The Internet having most of the older books stored away on file does not) and have a read up.

Thank you