is a fantasy comic created by Ryan Smith that began on October 5th, 2009. The story is set in a realm engulfed in a century-long war between the Parliament and Seditionists. Far from the main battle, a small town is saved by a hero who is revealed to be a man saying he must perform good deeds to remove a curse that turned him half dragon. This is where the comic begins.Spoilers follow here. It's worth reading the comic first before reading the rest.
The cast of characters include:
- Coven, cursed 125 years prior to the events in the comics, wanders the continent trying to accumulate the good needs required for the curse to be broken. He's not very good at it.
- Rawn Daphne Braden, a charming young woman with amateur magical powers. Filled with the spirit of helping others, Rawn accompanies Coven on his quest.
- Servant of Magicka, a phantom-like ally who materializes when a friend beckons. Servant is an inquisitive being whose powers include shape shifting, mind reading and phasing through solid objects.
- Wizard, the initial antagonist of Coven and Rawn. Wizard is a selfish, misogynistic creep who is only happy when getting what he wants. Magic is his primary passion and he is adept in its many forms. Everyone addresses him as "Wizard" except Humpbrett, who refers to Wizard as "Master".
- Humpbrett is the diminutive assistant to Wizard. Unlike his master, Humpbrett is generally kind and helpful to others. His loyalty lies exclusively with Wizard, however. Humpbrett loves cats.
- Sansregret once acted as a lieutenant in the Corvus army until joining team Wizard. She is very malicious, conceited and seems to get along perfectly with her new partner. Sansregret has no memories of her past, thanks to Lord Dudgeon, but has access to a powerful arsenal of spells from the magic helmet she summons.
- Wylla was a singer in a town called Sunrose until discovering Coven during a mission. Determined to write the empire's next hit song, she follows the dragon to record his exploits. Her pushiness makes it difficult for others to like her.
- other characters who appear:
- Romyn Braden, Rawn's older brother who fought in the Battle of Vangarde and lost his arm to a golem.
- Lord Dudgeon is the acting Lord of War of Corvus (formally the Eastern Province) who spearheaded the war against the Parliament.
- Doctor Sharpe acted as the town doctor in Elgin (Rawn's home town) and now teaches at the Lavenham University. Doctor Sharpe considers Rawn family and acts as her mentor.
- Damskov is another of Lord Dudgeon's lieutenants. He is a master strategist and is famous for the helmet he forever wears.
- Lalancette Danton, also known as Earl Danton, or Lance. As his father, the Duke of Castle Morden, engages in affairs with the Parliament, Lalancette rules over Castle Morden and safeguards the Southern Province from Seditionists.
- Scarrow, the ranger who does whatever you need for the right price.
- Doctor Sian is a professor at Lavenham University who specializes in the human psyche.
- Samuels acts as Chief of Security in the city of Lavenham and is good friends with Lalancette Danton.
- The Governor keeps the city of Lavenham under strict Parliament rule, with very little tolerance for anyone magically gifted.
- Noella maintains Manastyr Manor and dutifully serves Miss Helaine. She happily welcomes any guest in need.
- Pidherny Sophasath is an enigmatic elder who seems to know much more of what's happening in the realm than anyone else.
- Vilhelm Figgens appears to be a younger version of Pidherny Sophasath, except this time he's a wandering minstrel.
Accursed Dragon contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Wylla and Rawn.
- Animal Eye Spy: The Tiger Eye allows its user to see from the perspective of anything depicting a tiger.
- Animal Superheroes: Coven has shown examples of regeneration/quick healing, physical endurance, tolerance to poisons and is an animal...
- Animate Dead: It's commented that Lord Dudgeon has a unique gift to animate the dead. This comment is validated when it's revealed a golem's body is nothing but animated corpses.
- Art Evolution: Definite improvement of character designs, and details are added more and more, as the comics progress.
- Attacking Through Yourself: Samuels breaks out of a hold this way.
- Beast Man: Coven.
- Big Bad: It was foreshadowed near the very beginning that Lord Dudgeon was the malevolent force behind everything bad in this world, but hints are popping up that something worse is lurking behind the scenes.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Wizard sure delights in causing mayhem when trying to get what he wants, but his plots just don't work out very well.
- Birds of a Feather: Sansregret and Wizard bounce off each other almost too well.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: "Have you met the inspector? I hear he's a devilishly good-looking one!"
- The Chessmaster: Lord Dudgeon, AKA Deacon, AKA the Red Dragon, Ayari.
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: "Take them to...the bath!"
- Curse Cut Short: Quick! Cover the kitty's ears!
- Cursed with Awesome: Coven, for not doing any good deeds nearly 100 years ago, was turned into a dragon. Of course living a life where a city you just saved went out of its way to drive you out in fear of what you are can make this Blessed with Suck just as easily. Despond suggests that it isn't a curse, that Coven made a contract that resulted in his transformation.
- Cryptic Conversation: Pidherny Sophasath usually speaks this way. He says it's so that he doesn't accidentally reveal what comes next.
- Death Seeker: Damskov
- Eldritch Abomination: Despond
- Eldritch Location: Wizard summoned the Onyx Pyramid, from where Despond originated from we can only assume, but it was conveniently invisible. Upon becoming visible it's obvious this pyramid (which is sentient and named Sylence) is an enemy of humanity.
- Elemental Powers: Lord Dudgeon can attack with blasts of fire. Sansregret favors lightning bolts. Coven later develops ice powers.
- Embarrassing but Empowering Outfit: Actually, it's the way that Wizard's flight spell has to use his hat that's embarrassing, but same effect.
- Embarrassing First Name: Lalancette. Wizard mocks him for it to make Lalancette obsessed with proving his manliness.
- Enemy Mine: Often.
- Coven and Scarrow team up against Wizard in Sprague.
- Coven and Rawn reinforce the Governor's position. It lasts for about 5 pages.
- Coven and Sansregret vs Lord Dudgeon
- Wizard tries to side with Lalancette against Damskov. Lalancette instead sides with Damskov against Wizard.
- Exotic Equipment: Rawn asks Coven if he has an internal penis typical of most reptiles. Judging from his expression, he probably has no idea what she's talking about.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep", err Wizard that is.
- Evil Laugh: Lord Dudgeon does it and it's very creepy!
- Evil Makeover: When Wizard uses a spell from his book on Sansregret, she almost becomes a brand new woman.
- Flight: When activated, Wizard's cap inflates like a hot air balloon.
- Foil:
- Coven and Wylla
- Wizard and Humpbrett
- Eye Scream: Bad news for anyone who becomes a Lieutenant for Lord Dudgeon. Both Sansregret and Damskov have their eyes stabbed.
- Face Doodling: Happens to Coven here.
- Foreshadowing: Has its own page. Beware of spoilers.
- For Science!: Doctor Sharpe is seen holding a turtle over a candle to see if it sweats. Why? "Science, my dear. SCIENCE!"
- Genuine Human Hide: Rawn attempts to turn Coven human again with magic, but it only affects his shirt,
turning it into human skin. - Get a Room!: A non-romantic example; Wizard shouts this to Lalancette and Coven as the latter two wrestle in a cemetery.
- Grand Theft Me: The main focus of Chapter 7, "Soul Swap".
- Greater-Scope Villain: Despond, the malevolent presence in Wizard's pyramid.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Servant relinquishes the magic he borrowed from Rawn to give her a boost, without knowing what would happen to him.
- I Have No Idea What I'm Doing: Sansregret says something along those lines here.
- Imagine Spot: Lalancette gets one when Coven says that Rawn can make him a sword out of wood.
- Kick the Dog: Scarrow calls his dog "Stupid Bitch". Used almost literally here.
- Meaningful Name: Sansregret. ("Sans" means "without.")
- Mood Whiplash: Oh so much. It can be hilarious or startling.
- Mr. Fanservice: For someone who's supposed to be a hideous monster, Coven has a lot of shirtless and bathing scenes.
- My Eyes Are Up Here: Rawn coughs when Sansregret stares at her amulet.
- Named Weapons:
- Ravaging Blade
- Helmet of Harrow
- No Indoor Voice: The Servant of Magicka.
- Not What It Looks Like: Soldiers get the wrong idea when they see Rawn standing over a body with a sword drawn.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Wizard as The Inspector.
- Perma-Stubble: Coven, during the time he has facial hair. This disappears during the second book, and is replaced by regular hair which receives a hair style later. A later transformation removes all hair.
- Progressively Prettier: Coven's earlier designs were somewhat Grotesque Cute, though he became much prettier with Art Evolution.
- Psychological Torment Zone: Manastyr Manor
- Onyx Pyramid
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Time Kitty
- Right Behind Me: "The deranged dark colored cripple oddity with the sword! You know!"
- Rule of Three: Squeak squeak squeak.
- Running Gag: Time Kitty meows out the current hour when someone mentions the word "time" around him.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Despond
- Mortlock, a minion of Despond, also emerged from imprisonment only to be immediately sealed up again in a tomb.
- Shirtless Scene: Coven has a lot of them.
- Lalancette also has one when he tears off his shirt in a fit of rage.
- Lalancette also has one when he tears off his shirt
- Shout-Out:
- On April 1st, 2010 an Accursed Dragon comic was put up featuring many webcomic cameos.
- A painting of Hanna (from Octopus Pie) in a princess outfit.
- Young Kate Beaton (from Hark A Vagrant) and her fat pony.
- On April 1st, 2010
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Demonstrated in these two pages.
- Split Personality: Dr. Sian and Scarrow.
- Spanner in the Works: Damskov deviates from Dudgeon's carefully-laid plan, which results in hundreds of soldiers dead, the loss of the battle for Lavenham, Mortlock's escape from the Abyss, and Despond's return.
- Spring Cleaning Fever: The majority of Castle Morden's staff while preparing for a royal inspection.
- The Faceless: The Bride
- The Heart: Rawn
- Themed Aliases: Coven tends to anagram the names of the towns he's in to use as aliases.
- Time Skip: When we next meet Coven after Lavenham, he's travelling alone and has become more human. Rawn's disappeared, in hiding from the Parliamentarians.
- Time Stands Still: Time Kitty's secret ability, which is exploited by Humpbrett.
- Time Travel: Rawn's amulet has this power. Deacon and Pidherny Sophasath also continually go back in time (but not forwards) by unknown means.
- Transformation Comic: Time Kitty came into being from a rather ornate looking clock after Wizard tested a spell from his newly acquired Book of Magicka.
- Not to mention that Coven was transformed into a dragon, and Humpbrett is implied to have been transformed into a human.
- Unsound Effect: Originally, the comic used close-to-sound effects, like smash and snort, but later, unsound effects became more of the norm.
- Vancian Magic: How Wizard's spell book works. Each spell can only be used once, and then disappears forever.
- Villainous Crush: Sansregret has the hots for Coven. Coven gets semi-swept up for a moment in the heat of battle but still hates her.
- Wardrobe Malfunction: After discovering Rawn can use magic, Coven orders her to cast a levitation spell on him. She accidentally casts it on his clothes instead.
- Was Once a Man: Coven.
- We Can Rule Together: Damskov proposed this idea to Lalancette Danton near the end of the siege of Lavenham.
- Weirdness Magnet: Coven is a magnet for the magical and otherworldly.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist:
- Lalancette Danton (on his father's orders) basically opened the gates for the invading Corvus army to take over the Southern Province. His reasoning was he'd end the century long war and bring a new age of peace by helping Lord Dudgeon achieve his victory for Corvus (the Eastern Province).
- Lord Dudgeon may have brought about this war in the first place in an attempt to thwart an entirely separate, baleful entity.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Deacon / Lord Dudgeon has lived through the same century four times, trying to prevent the rise of Despond and failing each time. No matter how Deacon / Dudgeon changes history, though, Despond will rise in some form.
- You Were Trying Too Hard: The Ritske riddle found by Rawn, Coven and Lalancette inside an empty coffin.
