Today's Topic is Favorite Playable Race as we continue our celebration of International Original Dungeons and Dragons Month!
Over the years I have mostly played humans and more recently an elf, a dwarf and a half-elf, but mostly humans. A few years ago I had a player that wanted to play a dragon and so I was forced to think about how I wanted to do that. The player was a college age son of a friend in the game that was in town for a few months. IMC dragons are Immortal, so how was I going to reconcile that with a PC dragon. So I did it and we play tested until he went back to school. I would love to play this as a character myself if I ever get the chance.
Here is the public part of the write up that I have posted to date over on The Ruins of Murkhill forum.
This is only one of several different ways that I have run dragons over the years. This write-up was created when I had to reconcile my vision of dragons as immortal with dragons as a PC. In this description there are three phases of dragonhood and only the second phase can be PCs.
Please feel free to comment using with as much detail as you want, I am using OD&D and will be going fairly barebones. In OD&D there are six varieties of Dragons, each with separate characteristics in particular and other things in common. There were only six age groups with Very Old being 100+ years. They ranged from 5 HD to 12 HD. In addition, there are rules for subduing dragons.
IMC I have always from bitd till now viewed dragons as being immortal unless they meet a violent death and I have house ruled that a number of different ways over the years. In addition, dragons IMC can have up to 50 HD for Ancient dragons of 100,000+ years of age, although they mainly sleep on their hoard and only rouse themselves occasionally to eat, living mainly on energy absorbed directly from the environment.
IMC dragons are hatched in clutches of a fifty-thousand eggs at a time as tiny worms of which only a few dozen make it to 499 years old and 5-7 feet in length and weighing 100 to 150 lbs and during this time their intelligence slowly increases decade by decade. Then they enter a well-hidden cocoon phase which lasts about a year and from which they emerge with the familiar dragon appearance. They are able to shape change once a day into humanoid form and back. They are now first level and this is the most curious and adventurous phase of their lives and where they interact most with other creatures including man. This phase lasts until they obtain 12th level which requires a total of 2,000,000 XP and not a set age. At 12th level they can now shape change 4 times per day. Of the few dragons that make it to this point they now enter a second cocoon phase from which they emerge as fully adult at which time they seek a mate, dragons mate for life and are extremely devoted to each other. Dragons in the 2nd and 3rd phases of life do interact with each other and parent/offspring do recognize each other. Fully adult dragons are very intelligent and very territorial and as noted the older and larger they become the less they paradoxically need to eat. Dragons normally only remain fertile until the age of 3000 years and lay eggs once every 50 years; however, if adult dragons do not encounter any 2nd phase dragons for a period of 1000 years their fertility will re-exert itself up to the age of 50,000 years, as the sense of species preservation is an extreme imperative with dragons. Adult dragons tend to live in remote areas and do not interact much with other species unless provoked or intrigued. Dragon protectors of orcs villages and such are always 2nd phase dragons.
IMC there are way more than 6 types of dragons but not necessarily any of those in other editions of D&D. I have never really been comfortable with the subdual option so I house rule that fully adult 3rd phase dragons can not be subdued. If a dragons mate is killed, then the survivor will recruit other dragons including all known offspring to seek scorched earth revenge, so if you kill one fully adult dragon you might want to make sure you get them both.
I do have different types of dragons gain their first spell at different levels, modified by have they spent time with human magic users, so it does get an individual tweak. Although in one version I ruled that dragons at levels 1-12 did not get any spells until they passed into the 3rd phase of life and being full adults. If I change something and it would be general knowledge or something players could easily find out I make that info available. In any event once they become full adults their magic becomes more powerful. That is partly to keep them from being too powerful as PCs. Different types of dragons have different spells and if they spent the 2nd phase of life hanging out with human magic users that also affects the spells they might have. The minimum HD for Dragons IMC for spell casting is normally 6th level, but it can happen sooner if they hang out with human magic-users.
My OD&D dragons, from the Adult all the way up to Ancient are very powerful, with an Ancient dragon being a match for a half-dozen of the next most powerful monster(s).
I have different types of dragons gain their first spell at different levels, modified by have they spent time with human magic users, so it does get an individual tweak. Although in one version I ruled that dragons at levels 1-12 did not get any spells until they passed into the 3rd phase of life and being full adults, I have since changed that and dragons get spells at some during the 2nd phase of life and the rest in the 3rd phase. If I change something and it would be general knowledge or something players could easily find out I make that info available. In any event once they become full adults their magic becomes more powerful. That is partly to keep them from being too powerful as PCs. Different types of dragons have different spells and if they spent the 2nd phase of life hanging out with human magic users that also affects the spells they might have. The minimum HD for Dragons IMC for spell casting is normally 6th level, but it can happen sooner if they hang out with human magic-users.
2nd Phase Dragons can polymorph self 2X per day and 3rd Phase Dragons start at being able to polymorph self 4X per day up to Ancient 3rd Phase Dragons can do 8X per day.
First I will post a bit of info for 2nd Phase Dragons. The 2nd Phase of life is when they exit the cocoon and start their journey from Level 1 to 12. This is the only time period that a player can take a Dragon PC.
Level One Stats for Phase 2 Dragons - All 2nd Phase Dragons are Neutral in temperament. Note that at level one they have no treasure yet and the main difference is starting hit dice, other things change as they age(level up).
And yes, I know a lot of things in these tables are the same and some is not, that will change when I get around to finishing them.
4th Level stats for 2nd Phase Dragons
The Ages and Phases of a Dragons Life:
There is a lot more that is not yet made public and is not planned to be anytime soon, but that is always subject to change. The above tables are not in final form, mainly since I have not had anyone else want to play a dragon and I have not fully varied the different types of dragons, but one day I will.
The player that ran his did a lot of scouting, air cover for the party and would attack from behind the opponent with the breath weapon and other attacks, he was also chased on more than one occasion by a dragon whose territory he accidentally invaded and would have to figure out how to get back in touch with the party. He was with the party during land bound adventures and during their sailing ship adventures, both were a blast.
If you made it this far the topic for tomorrow is 30 Day D&D Challenge - Favorite Game World.
Over the years I have mostly played humans and more recently an elf, a dwarf and a half-elf, but mostly humans. A few years ago I had a player that wanted to play a dragon and so I was forced to think about how I wanted to do that. The player was a college age son of a friend in the game that was in town for a few months. IMC dragons are Immortal, so how was I going to reconcile that with a PC dragon. So I did it and we play tested until he went back to school. I would love to play this as a character myself if I ever get the chance.
Here is the public part of the write up that I have posted to date over on The Ruins of Murkhill forum.
This is only one of several different ways that I have run dragons over the years. This write-up was created when I had to reconcile my vision of dragons as immortal with dragons as a PC. In this description there are three phases of dragonhood and only the second phase can be PCs.
Please feel free to comment using with as much detail as you want, I am using OD&D and will be going fairly barebones. In OD&D there are six varieties of Dragons, each with separate characteristics in particular and other things in common. There were only six age groups with Very Old being 100+ years. They ranged from 5 HD to 12 HD. In addition, there are rules for subduing dragons.
IMC I have always from bitd till now viewed dragons as being immortal unless they meet a violent death and I have house ruled that a number of different ways over the years. In addition, dragons IMC can have up to 50 HD for Ancient dragons of 100,000+ years of age, although they mainly sleep on their hoard and only rouse themselves occasionally to eat, living mainly on energy absorbed directly from the environment.
IMC dragons are hatched in clutches of a fifty-thousand eggs at a time as tiny worms of which only a few dozen make it to 499 years old and 5-7 feet in length and weighing 100 to 150 lbs and during this time their intelligence slowly increases decade by decade. Then they enter a well-hidden cocoon phase which lasts about a year and from which they emerge with the familiar dragon appearance. They are able to shape change once a day into humanoid form and back. They are now first level and this is the most curious and adventurous phase of their lives and where they interact most with other creatures including man. This phase lasts until they obtain 12th level which requires a total of 2,000,000 XP and not a set age. At 12th level they can now shape change 4 times per day. Of the few dragons that make it to this point they now enter a second cocoon phase from which they emerge as fully adult at which time they seek a mate, dragons mate for life and are extremely devoted to each other. Dragons in the 2nd and 3rd phases of life do interact with each other and parent/offspring do recognize each other. Fully adult dragons are very intelligent and very territorial and as noted the older and larger they become the less they paradoxically need to eat. Dragons normally only remain fertile until the age of 3000 years and lay eggs once every 50 years; however, if adult dragons do not encounter any 2nd phase dragons for a period of 1000 years their fertility will re-exert itself up to the age of 50,000 years, as the sense of species preservation is an extreme imperative with dragons. Adult dragons tend to live in remote areas and do not interact much with other species unless provoked or intrigued. Dragon protectors of orcs villages and such are always 2nd phase dragons.
IMC there are way more than 6 types of dragons but not necessarily any of those in other editions of D&D. I have never really been comfortable with the subdual option so I house rule that fully adult 3rd phase dragons can not be subdued. If a dragons mate is killed, then the survivor will recruit other dragons including all known offspring to seek scorched earth revenge, so if you kill one fully adult dragon you might want to make sure you get them both.
I do have different types of dragons gain their first spell at different levels, modified by have they spent time with human magic users, so it does get an individual tweak. Although in one version I ruled that dragons at levels 1-12 did not get any spells until they passed into the 3rd phase of life and being full adults. If I change something and it would be general knowledge or something players could easily find out I make that info available. In any event once they become full adults their magic becomes more powerful. That is partly to keep them from being too powerful as PCs. Different types of dragons have different spells and if they spent the 2nd phase of life hanging out with human magic users that also affects the spells they might have. The minimum HD for Dragons IMC for spell casting is normally 6th level, but it can happen sooner if they hang out with human magic-users.
My OD&D dragons, from the Adult all the way up to Ancient are very powerful, with an Ancient dragon being a match for a half-dozen of the next most powerful monster(s).
I have different types of dragons gain their first spell at different levels, modified by have they spent time with human magic users, so it does get an individual tweak. Although in one version I ruled that dragons at levels 1-12 did not get any spells until they passed into the 3rd phase of life and being full adults, I have since changed that and dragons get spells at some during the 2nd phase of life and the rest in the 3rd phase. If I change something and it would be general knowledge or something players could easily find out I make that info available. In any event once they become full adults their magic becomes more powerful. That is partly to keep them from being too powerful as PCs. Different types of dragons have different spells and if they spent the 2nd phase of life hanging out with human magic users that also affects the spells they might have. The minimum HD for Dragons IMC for spell casting is normally 6th level, but it can happen sooner if they hang out with human magic-users.
2nd Phase Dragons can polymorph self 2X per day and 3rd Phase Dragons start at being able to polymorph self 4X per day up to Ancient 3rd Phase Dragons can do 8X per day.
The types of dragons
listed are all venomous and all are colored as the real world snake they are
named for.
First I will post a bit of info for 2nd Phase Dragons. The 2nd Phase of life is when they exit the cocoon and start their journey from Level 1 to 12. This is the only time period that a player can take a Dragon PC.
Level One Stats for Phase 2 Dragons - All 2nd Phase Dragons are Neutral in temperament. Note that at level one they have no treasure yet and the main difference is starting hit dice, other things change as they age(level up).
And yes, I know a lot of things in these tables are the same and some is not, that will change when I get around to finishing them.
Dragon Breed
|
Number
Appearing |
Armor
Class |
Move in
Inches |
Hit
Dice |
% In
Lair |
Type or
Amount of Treasure |
Alignment
|
Western Diamondback
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Eastern Diamondback
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Timber Rattler
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
King Cobra
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Death Adder
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Saw Scaled Viper
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Chain Viper
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Philippine Cobra
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Tiger
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Black Mamba
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Green Mamba
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Taipan
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Eastern Brown
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Black-banded Krait
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Inland Taipan
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Many-banded Krait
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Jararaca
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Bushmaster
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Black Desert Cobra
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
King Brown
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Boomslang
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Cottonmouth
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Copperhead
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
1
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
Fer-de-lance
|
1-4
|
6
|
9/15
|
2
|
20%
|
None
|
Neutral
|
4th Level stats for 2nd Phase Dragons
Dragon Breed
|
Number Appearing
|
Armor Class
|
Move in Inches
|
Hit Dice
|
% In Lair
|
Type or Amount of
Treasure
|
Alignment
|
Western Diamondback
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+3
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Eastern Diamondback
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+3
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Timber Rattler
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4+1
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
King Cobra
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+3
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Death Adder
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4+2
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Saw Scaled Viper
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Chain Viper
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Philippine Cobra
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+3
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Tiger
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Black Mamba
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+2
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Green Mamba
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Taipan
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Eastern Brown
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+1
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Black-banded Krait
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Inland Taipan
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+3
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Many-banded Krait
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Jararaca
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4+1
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Bushmaster
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+2
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Black desert cobra
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+1
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
King Brown
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Boomslang
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+1
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Cottonmouth
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4+1
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Copperhead
|
1-4
|
5
|
9/15
|
4
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
Fer-de-lance
|
1-4
|
4
|
12/18
|
5+2
|
20%
|
Type A1
|
Neutral
|
The Ages and Phases of a Dragons Life:
Age in years
|
Description
|
Next Up
|
Hit Dice
|
Hatchling as tiny worm -
499
|
Very Young
|
At 499 years Enter Phase
1 Cocoon
|
Up to 1 d8
|
499-500
|
Metamorphosis
|
Spend one year in Phase 1
Cocoon
|
8HP
|
1st-3rd Level
|
Young
|
Familiar Dragon Shape and
Look
|
1-4 d8
|
4th-6th Level
|
Juvenile
|
At 6th Level Begins to
Gain Spells
|
4-8 d8
|
7th-9th Level
|
Sub-Adult
|
Continues to Gain Spells
& Grow in Power
|
5-10 d8
|
10th-11th
|
Young Adult
|
Continues to Gain Spells
& Grow in Power
|
6-13 d8
|
12th (520-1000 age range)
|
Near Adult
|
After a year at 12th
Level Enter a Phase 2 Cocoon
|
7-14 d8
|
Spend a Year in Phase 2
Cocoon
|
Metamorphosis
|
Emerge after one year as
Full Adult Dragon
|
|
Emerges from Cocoon
|
Full Adult
|
Fully Adult - May be
521-1001 Years Old
|
7-14 d10
|
521-1001 Years
|
Full Adult
|
During the next 100 years
Seeks Mate
|
7-14 d10
|
Normal Fertility Until
3000 Years
|
Full Adult
|
Dragons Lay about 50,000
eggs every 50 years
|
9-17 d10
|
3001-10,000
|
Old
|
In the absence of contact
|
10-20 d10
|
10,001-25,000
|
Very Old
|
with Phase 2 dragons
|
13-26 d10
|
25,001-50,000
|
Ancient
|
Fertility will Return
More Powerful than any other 6-12 Monsters |
15-30 d10
|
50,001-100,000
|
Venerable
|
More Powerful than any
other 12+ Monsters
|
20-40 d10
|
100,001+
|
Great Wyrm
|
More Powerful than any
other 12+ Monsters
|
30-50 d10
|
There is a lot more that is not yet made public and is not planned to be anytime soon, but that is always subject to change. The above tables are not in final form, mainly since I have not had anyone else want to play a dragon and I have not fully varied the different types of dragons, but one day I will.
The player that ran his did a lot of scouting, air cover for the party and would attack from behind the opponent with the breath weapon and other attacks, he was also chased on more than one occasion by a dragon whose territory he accidentally invaded and would have to figure out how to get back in touch with the party. He was with the party during land bound adventures and during their sailing ship adventures, both were a blast.
If you made it this far the topic for tomorrow is 30 Day D&D Challenge - Favorite Game World.
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