Drakes are metahumans that can change into the form of a human-sized dragon-like creature. They are in many ways similar to shapeshifters, though there are some obvious differences. Outside of the obvious fact that a dragon is not a mundane animal, drakes also differ from other shapeshifting races by being born metahuman.
Drakes first came into the public awareness in the 2060s but appear to have been around prior to that in the Sixth World. It is said that in the Fourth World they were servants created by the dragons for dragons. At some point, drakes became capable of carrying on their traits to offspring.
Drakes draw their appearance from one of the four dracoforms. In addition, they can be divided into two broad groups: true drakes, who were created by a dragon, and bred drakes, who were born with the traits that manifest at some later point (as of SR4 this distinction has been lost).
References
- Year of the Comet - first appareance of a Drake outside a Novel
- Threats 2
- Dragons of the Sixth World