Dragons: how do you tweak them for your campaign?
Apr 9, 2015 14:09:18 GMT -5
tetramorph, The Semi-Retired Gamer, and 1 more like this
Post by Admin Pete on Apr 9, 2015 14:09:18 GMT -5
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 few 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 for the first 1500 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, 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 sub-dual 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.
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 few 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 for the first 1500 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, 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 sub-dual 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.
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