12
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Dragons come in many colors,
<> sizes, shapes, && alignments.
Two sorts of
dragons (the Chromatic
Dragon and the Platinum Dragon) are
singular
individuals, and there are
no others of their type. Each dragon sort will be
treated individually herafter.
General info and common
characteristics will be given here.
The ten
<> species of dragons have three general size categories (small,
average, and huge)
according to the size typical of each. This
categorization is determined
by die roll.
An 8-sided die is rolled:
1-2= small, 3-7= average, 8 =
huge.
This size determination
indicates the number of HD a dragon has.
Dragons
pass through eight ages in their lives. These growth stages are:
| 1. | very young (1-5 years) | 1 HP per die |
| 2. | young (6-15 years) | 2 HP per die |
| 3. | subadult (16-25 years) | 3 HP per die |
| 4. | young adult (26-50 years) | 4 HP per die |
| 5. | adult (51-100 years) | 5 HP per die |
| 6. | old (101-200 years) | 6 HP per die |
| 7. | very old (201-400 years) | 7 HP per die |
| 8. | ancient (401+ years) | 8 HP per die |
To determine the age (and
thus the number of HP per die a dragon
has) simply roll d8, the
# rolled indicating the age as
shown above.
Q: How many eggs do
dragons lay in
a single clutch? How much
time
passes between the laying
of
clutches?
A: This is not difficult
to determine from
information given on page
30 of the MM.
Since any group of two or
more dragons is a mated
pair with young,
the maximum number of eggs
in a clutch
is the maximum number of
dragons appearing,
minus two. Since most dragons
appear in groups of one
to four, most
dragons lay one or two eggs.
Faerie
dragons, which appear in
groups of up to
six, lay up to four eggs.
The minimum
number of eggs laid is one.
If one assumes
that young dragons stay
with their parents
at least until they reach
the subadult stage
at 16 years, each clutch
must be at least 16
years apart, since dragons
would be found
in larger groups if they
laid eggs while
rearing young.
(131.63)
All dragons see equally well in daylight or darkness (infravision, 60’).
SA: Some Lake Geneva
campaigns
gift dragons
with ultravision, since they
can "see equally well in
daylight or darkness
" (MM, page 29).
(127.14)
They have excellent sight,
smell, and hearing. Because of these keen senses, all <smell:
DSG>
dragons are able to detect
hidden || invisible creatures within 1” per age level.
ADQ: At what level
do dragons cast
spells?
ADA: That is a function
of the spell level
that they can cast. If a
dragon can use
4th level spells, that is
also the level of its
ability. On the other hand,
if the DM has a
particularly old dragon,
it is conceivable
that the dragon could have
attained a higher
level of mastery, but the
decision should be
up to the DM.
(Polyhedron #20, answer
by Gary Gygax)
Q. Can a spell-using
dragon have a
familiar?
A. Dragon spells,
although identical in
effect to magic-user spells,
are not
acquired in the same way.
Most
dragons acquire spells as
they grow
older -- the exact spells
are determined
randomly by the DM (gold
dragons may actually have
spell <wu jen spells are recommended for gold dragons>
books). In no case does
a dragon need
material components to cast
a spell.
Despite
these differences, we can
see no reason why a dragon
should
not have a familiar. Find
familiar is
not a very 'logical' spell
for a dragon
to know, because of its
limited utility
in everyday life, but if
it is one of the
spells the dragon knows,
then it
ought to be able to cast
it, and obtain
a familiar.
We also
tend to think that a
dragon's familiar should
be out of the
ordinary -- after all, a
toad is not
going to last long in the
company of a
red dragon -- and we find
it difficult
to take some possible familiars
seriously
(a green dragon with a weasel?!).
We suggest that a dragon
would
automatically have a special
familiar, as appropriate
to its alignment (see
the Players Handbook
p66)
(Imagine #16)
Dragons
also develop the power to panic enemies as they mature.
At adult age and older they
radiate a powerful aura which causes a {fear}
reaction, when a dragon
flies overhead or charges, as follows:
1. All
creatures under 1 HD, as well as non-carnivorous
creatures of
any sort
which are not trained for warfare or basically not fearless
or aggressive
will flee in panic. Such rout will be made at fastest
speed
possible, and it will continue for 4-24 turns.
2. Creatures
with fewer than 3 HD must save versus magic or be
paralyzed
with fear (50%)or panic as above (50%).
3. Creatures
with 3 or more HD will fight at a penalty of -1 on their
hit dice
unless they also save versus magic.
4. Creatures
with 6 or more HD automatically disregard the aura
affect.
5. The
aura of adult, old, and very old dragons is not as powerful as
that
of ancient dragons, so saving throws applicable to their auras
are at
+5, +3, and +1 respectively. Thus, a 2nd level fighter,
normally
having to score 16 (75%) or better to save against magic
(the
dragon's aura in this case), would gain a bonus of 5 on his
saving
throw versus an adult dragon's aura; so any score of 11 or
more
would save him from panic.
A considerable percentage
of dragons have the ability to speak one or
more human
languages in addition to the language of their species.
Similarly, a fair number
of dragons which can speak are able to employ
magical spells. The chances
for either of these abilities occurring in any
given individual dragon
are shown under the specific treatment by
species. The chance that
any given dragon will be asleep will likewise be
so given.
Sleeping Dragon:
A sleeping dragon is only
found in its lair, and it will
always awaken upon hearing
loud noise such as talking, shouting, forcing a door, etc.
if it is within 30' to 120'
(depending on baffling factors; walls,
doors, etc.) and the volume
of sound. It will awaken if attacked. It will also
awaken on a roll of 6 on
a 6-sided die. If a sleeping dragon is attacked, its
opponents get a bonus of
+3 to strike it, but as soon as the dragon is
awake, the bonus is lost.
Dragon's Lair
Attacking
a Dragon: Dragons may be attacked two ways: to kill or to
subdue.
The attack form must be
announced prior to combat or it will
automatically take the killing
form. Once selected, attack form cannot be
changed with respect to
any given dragon.
Certain weapons will be more
or less effective than others against the
vorious types of dragons.
This is indicated on the following chart, the
number indicating the addition
or subtraction for the probability of hitting
as well as the amount of
damage done.
Attack by:
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* Includes attack by aerial
servant, air elemental, djinni, invisible stalker, or "whirlwind"
** Includes attack by earth
elemental, xorn, or umber hulk
***
Includes attack by efreet, fire
elemental, or salamander
**** Includes attack by
triton or water elemental
<the above 4 notes should
be reworded. include: ", and other natives of the elemental plane of X"?>
Dragons can attack by claw/bite
or breath weapon. The latter can be used
but three times per day,
max.. If a choice is possible roll percentile
dice. Any score above 50%
indicates the dragon will breathe. The breath
weapon causes damage equal
to the dragon's hit points (half that amount
if a saving throw is made)
on each and every creature hit by the breath
weapon. Cone shaped breath
weapons are %" diameter at point of origin.
Subduing a Dragon:
An attack on a dragon to
subdue, and thus capture it
may be opted for if such
intent is announced in advance of combat. Silver,
gold,
chromatic,
and platinum dragons cannot be
subdued. Note that it is
impossible for creatures
with less than average intelligence to attack to
subdue. Subdual is accomplished
as follows:
Upon announcement of intent
to strike to subdue, all hit points of damage
scored by attacks upon the
dragon are considered non-fatal
battering/bruising damage.
The total number of hit points scored each
melee round is stated as
a ratio; hit points scored ore rotioed over the
number of hit points the
dragon has, and this ratio is converted to o
percentage chance; this
percentage chance is the chance that the dragon
will be subdued by the hit
points of subduing damage it has received at
the end of any given melee
round. This percentage could be 0%. 1%, 35%.
99% or whatever.
Percentile dice are then
rolled, and if the number they show is equal to or
less than the percentage
ratio the dragon is subdued. It is always subdued
when the ratio of subduing
damage to hit points equals or exceeds 1:l
(100% or greater).
A max. of one human-sized
attacker per 3 linear feet of exposed
dragon (excluding tail)
is possible. Thus, a dragon with a 15' long body,
fully exposed, would offer
opportunity for a maximum of 11 humans to
attack it (5 per flank plus
one at its head).
Example
of Subduing a Dragon: Two 8th level fighters, a 7th level
dwarven fighter, an elven
4th level fighter/6th level magic-user,
and a halfling thief of
9th level stumble upon a huge red dragon
peacefully asleep upon o
veritable mountain of treasure. After a
hurried, whispered debate
the porty opts to strike to subdue as that
will a) give them a dragon
to use or sell, b) save treasure from
destruction by avoiding
the fireworks of a general melee, and c)
the subdued dragon will
have to point out and help carry out the
choicest treosure items.
The smaller, quiet party members circle the
dragon. None stand at the
beast's head. With a shout the party
strikes with a general bonus
of +3 to hit. They all succeed, and the
halfling thief gains quadruple
damage bonus of striking from
behind! They score a total
of 44 hit points of subduing damage. The
first melee round is over.
As the drogon is ancient, it has 8hit points
per die, as it is huge it
has 11 dice, for a total of 88 hit points. The
referee rolls percentile
dice, any score of 1% to 50% indicates
subdual; a 61% is rolled.
Combat goes to round two.As the dragon
has just awakened, the party
again strikes first. Four of them hit,
and another 23 hit points
subduing damage is scored. The dragon
chooses to breathe (dice
score 99%), so he turns his head and fires
right where the elf, dwarf
and halfling are attacking. Saving throws
indicate that each takes
44, 88, and 44 hit points damage
respectively. All three
char and die. The round is over, and the
referee ratios 67 over 88-76%
is the chance for subdual, but o 92
is rolled. The dragon fights
on. Initiative dice are rolled, the dragon
wins, decides to bite, and
scores a hit doing 23 hit points of damage
to the second 8th level
fighter. The two fighters strike, one hits, and
the dragon takes another
10hit points of subdual. The third round is
over, and the chance for
the dragon being subdued is n:88(7/8) or
87.5% (treat as 88%). The
referee rolls an 89. The fighters win
initiative, strike, and
score 12 hit points, so the dragon is subdued
automatically before it
can attack. The garnering of loot now
begins.
Larger towns && cities
will usu. have a
market for dragons. If a
dragon is sold, it usually goes out of the game,
although the referee may
wish to assign it to some one of his special non-
playing characters whom
he runs for encounter in the town/city. The
selling price of a subdued
dragon ranges from 100 to 800 gp per
HP. This price is subject
to adjustment by the referee. Offers are
typically determined by
rolling an 8-sided die. Subdued dragons con be
ridden.
Length
of Subdual: A dragon remains subdued for an indefinite period,
but if the creature is not
strongly held, well treated, given ample treasure,
and allowed ample freedom,
it will seek to kill its captor and/or escape.
The older and more powerful
the dragon, the less the likelihood of it
remaining subdued. Likewise,
an intelligent, spell-using dragon is not
likely to remain subdued.
In fact, the latter sort of dragon is likely to
attempt to take over its
captor and rule his holdings. Evil dragons will
never serve a good master
for long, and good dragons are 50% more likely
to kill/escape from a neutral
coptor as opposed to one whose alignment is
the same as their own. Players
may always opt to sell or give a dragon to
any other player or keep
the monster in their own service. Note that
dragons cannot be re-subdued
unless they actually regain their freedom.
Q: How long will a
dragon stay
subdued?
A: A dragon remains
subdued indefinitely,
as long as the subduing
party clearly has
the upper hand. An unintelligent
dragon
whose alignment is not diametrically
opposed to its captor's
alignment and
which is weaker than its
captor is unlikely
to attempt escape as long
as it is treated
well (given its own treasure
hoard, fed
well, disciplined firmly
and frequently,
and allowed a small measure
of freedom).
Intelligent, spell-using
dragons are disloyal
even if relatively weak
and dangerous if
they believe they are as
strong or stronger
than their captors. Such
a dragon spends
every moment scheming to
escape or to
slay its captor and usurp
his holdings.
(142.10)
Encountering
Multiple Dragons: If two or more dragons are encountered
outside their lair it will
be a mated pair if two are encountered ond sub-
adults if three or more
are encountered. If two or more dragons are
encountered in their lair
it will be a mated pair -with their young if
applicable. Moted pairs
are always 5th through 8th age categories. Any
young in lair ore eggs (10%)
or very young (90%).If young dragons are
attacked both adults will
automatically breathe and then melee to bite,
gaining a ferocity bonus
of +2 to hit and +1/+3 in clawinglbiting
damage. If either of the
mated pair is attacked the other dragon will rush
to its defense, goining
the ferocity bonuses stated above, unless it is
attacked simultaneously.
Very young dragons will usually
have no treasure, but there is a
10% chance that they will
have one-quarter the possible listed treasure.
Young dragons have 25% chance
for one-quarter the possible listed
treasure. Sub-adults have
a 50% chance far one-half the possible listed
treasure. Young adults,
and old dragons have normal treasure. Very old
and ancient dragons are
50% and 75% likely to have 150% and 200%
respectively of the listed
treasure.
Weaknesses
of Dragons: The innate cowardice of dragonkind is shown by
the fact most can be subdued.
Dragons' egoistic nature makes them
subject to flattery, and
it also makes the more stupid of them prone to
attack other powerful creatures
whom they view as disputing their
dominating position. Greed
and avarice are major motivating factors in all
but the loftiest of dragons
(40% of silver, 80% of gold, and the platinum
dragon), so they are subject
to manipulation by very clever persons or the
prospect of actual treasure
and the promise of more forthcoming.
Q: Actual legends
of dragons usually
mention "the weak spot in
the armor"
Why isn't this in the
game?
A: The AD&D
game system does not
allow for hit location,
as it gets very
detailed and slows the game
considerably.
Look through the Notes
For the
Dungeon Master article
in this issue for
more discussion of realism.
(Polyhedron #6)
Dragon
Saves:
When a dragon attains 5
or more HP per die, its saving throw is calculated by dividing its total
hit points by 4, thus giving a higher number of hit dice than it actually
has.
This reflects the magic
resistance and general toughness of this creature.
Conversely, even a very
young dragon gains the benefit of the actual number of its hit dice
even though the hit point/die
are but 1 each, for determining scores required.
This reflects the same nature
of dragonkind, i.e. magic resistance
and toughness.
Aerial
Combat (from the DMG) : 24" or 30", class E.
Lack of maneuverability
due to large size may seem to put dragons at a disadvantage in the air,
but their powerful breath
weapons somewhat make up for this.
On an attack pass, a dragon
can either bite or use its claws - never both.
A dragon may choose to breathe
on an approach and then pass and slash with fang or claw.
The dragon is the sacred animal of Anu and Ptah.
<make sure that all of
the dragon pages link back to this one!>
A
worm found a knight its hoard stealing,
not knowing his fate
he was sealing.
Worm grimaced and said,
"It's not killing I dread,
But the time that it
takes for the peeling."
-- Toni Leigh Perry
TheDungeonDelver wrote:
A question on dragons in
D&D, Gary...
Throughout some of the modules
(I'm thinking particularly of G3 and nasty ol' Brazzamael) dragons are
given "odd" numbers of HP. Braz., in particular has like 63 or 52 or something
like that. Is this indicitave of just good ol' seat of the pants DMing/module
design or is there something about the dragon hit
dice situation I'm missing.
I always thought the progression was 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88 with
the last being max. The odd number sorta threw me.
A Game Master is just that,
and any of them can freely alter stats and hit dice/points as desired.
thinking back i likely should have gven that critter 96 hit points, eh?
Quote:<>
Also: there's a newish edition-nonspecific
book on dragons you did and now for the life of me I can't recall what
it was titled. A vendor at the last con I was at had a copy and curse me
I didn't go back and buy it. What was it called again>
That would be the Slayers
Guide to Dragons by jon Creffield and mE, published by Mongoose.
It is done for D20, but
the information can be corrected to apply to better systems;)
Cheers,
Gary
predavolk wrote:
...Where does the 11hp progression
come from, or are we not talking about 1AD&D
here (that's not even 2nd)?
Check the HPs for the other
dragons, and you'll see the progression 
Cheers,
Gary
predavolk wrote:
ALL RIGHTY THEN! :oops:
I wrote out the logic but couldn't follow it myself- that's a good signal
that I should go for lunch as clearly my brain has already gone without
me! :?
But the female was very
old (7) x medium size (6), while the male was ancient (8) x large (7),
so 42/56 works for me.
FWIW, what I was planning
in a revision was giving dragons a base d12 rather than a d8.
(bold added)
Anonymous wrote:
Gary, I have noticed that
ADandD
1st edit. and other versions of the game don't mention if there are
any TN-alignment dragons. Does such a creature exist for any version of
the game?
In a word, no.
There are many non-intelligent creatures of neurtal sort, of course....
Cheers,
Gary
Anonymous wrote:
thanks for your answer,
Gary, but I thought there should be at least one type of dragon that goes
with each alignment.
The TN one that I am talking
about can embrace the ethos of balance intellectually? After all, the dragons
who already exist are known to have above-average intelligence.
For your ADandD
1st edit. game, can a TN-alignment dragon be created by the DM
and used by players as an adventuring partner?
Dms can always do as they
wish, including creating a strangem TN dragon that is not primarily interested
in itself or some greater purpose.
Cheerio,
Gary
serleran wrote:
Oh... and a semi-related
note-- are the dragon colors inspired by the game "Go?"
I came up with the colors
of the dragons out of my imagination--the colors
suited the breath weapon each one had.
Happy New Year,
Gary
Quote:
Originally posted by
Zarthon
I wish I could sit in on
this chat, but I have an important test on Wednesday and the fact that
the chat is usally about 3-4 am for me. I will just have to wait for the
log
Here is my questions for
Gary: How many dragons have you killed in alll your years of gaming?
To the best of my recollection
my PCs have managed to slay only a few.
Of course Mordenkainen and
party did subdue a couple of red dragons.
The last time Mordie was
involved in dragon slaying was in an OAD&D
campaign run by my son Ernie.
Two ancient white dragons
had ambushed his main players' PC party, killed most. So they sought help,
Mordenkainen agreed to the deal,
and lead the survivors and
some new PCs into the dragons' lair.
a Power
Word Stun took care of one, and the other, lurking invisibly above
on a ledge was then assailed and laid low--
many a Magic Missile lightening
the combat load on the other characters in the melee.
Gary
Quote:
Originally posted by
Draco
Argentum
You're still here answering
questions? Thanks for humoring us.
Gary where did the idea for having the cromatic and metallic dragons come from?
Humoring y'all? No way!
It's more like sitting around with a big bunch of fellow game devotees
and enjoying a good bit of talk.
I should thank all the posters
for making my days more fun--writing game still all the time gets to make
one somewhat stale, so these breaks are fun and refreshing.
Anyway, to your question:
If you read the intro to the SLAYER'S GUIDE TO DRAGONS fromMongoose, you'll
see therein how I came up with the chromatic dragons.
Some colors other than red
were needed, hues that would be harmonious with their breath wespons.
When I'd done the four new
additions to the CHAINMAIL red dragon, it
seemed a good plan to have a LG dragon, one of gold color that was based
on the Oriental model.
From that I worked on the
rest of the metallic species.
Of course, such potent creatures
needed great leaders or masters, so I delved into mythology for the names--Tiamat
and BAhamut--and thus came up with the
Evil Queen and good King of the chromatic and the metallic dragons.
Cheerio,
Gary
Quote:
Originally posted by
jasper
Exactly how did you play
dragons?
In 1st edition they had
as many hit points as the adventurers. Hey all critters had a d8.
Liked your Slayers Guide,
some good ideas, some repeats from your and others articles in the dragon
mag.
Thanks, and when I was the
DM most of the PCs were charry indeed when about to face a dragon. I assumed
the role of that creature as if it were my own PC, and played it thus.
Of course I made sure the initial setting and all would give the dragon
some advantages. One time a party of two mid-level PCs were nearly slain
by a yound red dragon that used spider climb and invisibility to surprise
them from above when they entered it's lair. It ain't the stats that count
so much as the verve with which the critters are played.
Cheerio,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by talinthas
here's another question
for ya, Gary. Could you explain the concept behind Chromatic and Metallic
Dragons?
i mean, the evil dudes make
sense, what with breath weapons that more or less match their color, but
how did you decide on the five metallics, and why give them two BWs? and
why brass, which is just an alloy of bronze and copper, instead of some
other naturally occuring metal?
Originally there were the
five "chromatic" and evil dragons, each with a color that suited their
breath weapon, and a sixth good dragon patterened on the Oriental model
of that imaginary creature. As it was bpth or different origination and
alignment I desiced to empower the gold dragon so as to more closely resemble
the potent Oriental sort.
So it got more of everything,
including two breath weapons.
There came a time thereafter
when more 'metallic" dragons were desirable so as to expand the roster
of good, Oriental-type ones.
Thus all of them were modeled
on the gold dragon template, had two breath weapons.
Logically, with metal value
being used as the basis for potency, platunum (Bahamut)
being the highest, then gold and silver, the sequence should have been
platinum-gold-electrum-silver-copper-bronze.
However, I thought bronze
looked more potent than copper, and skipped then to brass--that metal conmveying
some not-so-benign connotations.
Somehow having good Oriental-model
dragons relate to metals such as irridium, tin, and zinc, lead, or iron
for that matter, just didn't cut it
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calico_Jack73
Hmmmm... Now you've got
me thinking about making up some other dragons using other elements from
the Periodic Table.
[snip]
Sorry Gary, I just couldn't resist!
As for metallic dragons,
wouldn't a Chromium Dragon be flashy?
The real shifty and heavy-weight
one would be the Mercury Dragon, of course 
Actually, there are some
serious chromatic hybrids covered in the Slayer's Guide to Dragons
book from Mongoose...
although some folks might
find a pink (red-white
cross) dragon somewhat hard to take seriously
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gray
Mouser
Gary, I was wondering how
common encounters with dragons were in your original campaign. I know Robilar
ended up subduing that family of Green dragons and, IIRC, Mordenkainen
had a run in or two with some wyrms but form what I have read I get the
impression that they weren't exctly common encounters (even for high level
PC's). I could be wrong as I don't know the history of the original Greyhawk
campaign as well as some.
Gray Mouser
Encounters with dragons
were not common, quite rare, all things considered. Mordenkainen encountered
several over his years of adventuring, subdued two red ones, the very old
Gorki and the young Porki (thank you for naming them Rob...)
During a wilderness excursion Robilar met one hiding in a cave, the beast being served by a human flunkie that brought in heroic victoims to feed it. It was sleeping, but as Robilar entered the cave, the flunkie shouted a warning, but luckily for Our Hero, his reactions were much quicker than the awakened dragon, so both it and its treacherous servant were slain.
On the other hand I has a
small one that had a couple of spells that sent Melf packoing, glad to
escape with his life
I posted a pair of dragins on a dungeon level, and those were loosed by the main adventurers in the dungeons--Tenser, Robilar, Terik, and some associated PCs who I can't recall.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by EvilPheemy
One of the things I remember
about the stories surrounding the Greyhawk ruins was the epic consequences
that occurred. The (unintentional?) release of Fraz'Urb'Luu and Graz'zt
primarily. Though I've noticed that few of the old stories featured encounters
with Dragons. Do you have any fondly-remembered dragon adversaries who
matched wits with Bigby, Tenser, and company? I'd love to hear about them.
Actually. very few dragons
were encountered by my PC team. I suspect that was to keep them from gaining
yet more magical goodies.
Mordenkainen and his henchmen
managed to subdue and capture an ancient red dragon (that Rob named Ghorki
in spite) and then a second very young one (that Rob named Phorki). Ghorki
remained behind to guard the Citadel, but little Phorki often accompanied
expeditions into the surrounding terrain to rid the area of undesirable
elements...and take their stuff. Uncorking him from a "merchant's wagon"
was an effective diversionary attack 
The story of the two black dragons in the dungeons is well known. Not so widespread the tale of the young red dragon that had both spider climb and invisibility spells that used to ambush the unwary from the ceiling of his cave.
One day when I was feeling ornery, I had Robilar encounter an NPC that told him of a great red dragon sleeping on its horde of treasure, He volunteered to lead the way there for a slight reward, s apecial necklace he sought. When Robilar suspiciously agreed if the leather-clad fellow would lead the way, agreement was reached. Onve inside the cave, the thief slipped away into the shadows and vpoced a warning shout to awaken the firedrake. It did, and a battle royal ensued. Of course the thief was counting on the survivor being sufficiently weak to enable him to do him in so all the loot would be his. Robilar managed to exit the cave, lay in wait and slay the thief when he fled the place. The dragon remained unmolested thereafter.
Cheers,
Gary
The many monsters I devised
for the A/D&D games came from a variety of sources including mythology,
legends, medieval bestiaries, folklore, fairy tales, and authored fiction.
The various colors and metallic-hued
dragons I made up mainly on my own, the other bad ones being permutations
of the red, fire-breathing drake, the metallic dragons coming from.
I made up the Latin names
for the dragons with much huffing and puffing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odnasept
I now have two more dragon-related
questions:
Firstly, is there any reason why the other Metallic dragons (the Silver in particular) look somewhat- to considerably less oriental in design than the Gold Dragon, or was it simply so that they would fit better into a game which tends to focus largely on a mediaeval Western world-style milieu?
Artists whim alone, and
not any desire on my part. They were all to be more serpentine in form
as is typical of the Oriental dragon.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odnasept
Secondly, what is your stance on the increase in power dragons received upon the release of the 2nd Edition AD&D game? They were always beings of great power, but the non-unique dragons went from being inferior to the most powerful of giants to being able to surpass them and perhaps even Titans as well once they reached the eldest age categories (I persynally almost always supported this change, though my reason is primarily due to an inherent love of dragonkind and ambivalence toward giantkind).
I am much appaled by the
over-emphasis of the prowess of the Occidental dragon.
They were continually slain
by humans, so what is the justification for the power increase?
Nothing but the hubris of
the inept designer.
OTOH, if proper stats were
desired, the Oriental dragons are the ones that need be vastly improved
in their capacities.
This is not to say that I
did not intend to beef up these critters in a revised edition of the AD&D
game.
I was planning to move the
base HD from d8 to d10 or maybe d12, and give them additional attack damage
equal to the number of HD possessed, this in an incrimental scale (intended)
based on the HPs per HD possessed. As i mentined previously, all large
and robust critters were to have gained d12 HD base, HP spread based on
50% of HD + a variable addition above that equal to up to another 50%,
along with damage addition based on HD#. (I have dine this in the camopaign
material I have created for the C&C RPG system.)
In short, I do not believe
that dragins were everm or should be now, the toughest monsters in the
marches, and I will not cave in to pressure to change my mind in that regard.
Heh!
First, I believe I had better
wotch the typos I make...blasted worn keybord aside
Frank was given leave by
me, and that means virtualky free rein, to develop the D&D, as opposed
to AD&D, game in a direction that led to super-powerful PCs if the
DM so desired.
That assuredly led to what
I consider over-powered dragons 
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odnasept
Hisssss! You have displeased
Tiamat! Dragons must be all-powerful! Curse the giants! Cuurrrssssse themmm!!!
Seriously though, I have often found that smaller, more cunning dragons could present an especially well-played challenge to PCs (this October will mark the ten-year anniversary of my players' lamentation of the power and strategy of a 28-hit-point Young Adult Black Dragon and her 8-hit-point hatchling, for example) without having to be restricted to the status of 'unkillable gods' as one DM I know has done. Your statements also remind us of the fact that your game predates the video game RPG and had instead traditional and classical mythology as inspiration, which (at least in the West) does not require dragonkind to be at all all-powerful.
Which leads me to another
somewhat dragon-related question, though I promise it will be the last
at least until I come up with the next one. 
I recall the appearance of 1st Edition AD&D stats for the characters
of the Arthurian Legends (I believe that Merlin was 23rd Level 
), and as I read more of them I have become curious to what extent they
may have inspired/influenced any aspect of AD&D (I am thinking also
of various chromatic colours of dragon that appear therein).
Once again, thank you for all your insightful replies,
A fellow gamer and designer,
Odnasept
Mileus never did a decent
motion picture in his life as far as I am concerned 
What you say about small dragons is quite so IMO. One of my toughest encounters was with a young red one that had both spider climb and invisibility spells... A surprise breath attack from above, then a plummeting one with fang and claw wrought a lot of havoc.
Can't say who did the Arthurian
Legend sa=tats--surely in The Dragon magazine. Although I am a fan
of Celtic myth and John Boorman films, I do not care for Authurian Legend
at all. If you have read my short story, "Duty," written from Excaliber's
POV, you'll note just how little I enjoy the story. 
May inspiration never desert
you,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey
Gary, how do you treat small,
very young dragons in your A/D&D games?
Do you make them significantly
shorter than the lengths listed in the Monster Manual?
And, if so, do you make
the area covered by their breath weapons significantly smaller?
As a matter of fact I have
not utilized itty-bitty dragonlings in my campaign play...nothing like
the Norweigen Ridgeback in the Harry Potter flick.
If I were going to do so
I would certainly make these creatures considerably smaller than the first
listed dragon entry in the MM,
and limit the range and
damage
from their breathe weapon accordingly.
Cheerio,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffith
Dragonlake
Hi Gary,
Starting with OD&D (1974), all dragons had a % chance to talk, and all but the white dragons a % chance to use magic.
What was your inspiration for talking and/or magic-using dragons? I'm at a loss to find any European mythological or pre-20th century literary sources for magic-using dragons (aside from the East Asian ones).
Howdy,
Actually, you have the source
of that inspiration, the Oriental
treatment of dragons.
It seemed a good idea to
me to enable Occidental dragons to be able to converse and use magic in
order to make them more dangerous and complex.
Christmas best wishes,
Gary
Yuletide
Greetings Great Bear King
That is an interesting idea
for a lengthy adventure,
although it assumes dragons
of a far less predatory and rapacious sort that ae typically presented.
Not a bad idea at all 
Christmas best wishes,
Gary
<add predatory, rapacious
to the AL fields for the Chromatic dragons?>
Small Dragon
| Age Categories | HP per die | Body Lgt.(') | Tail Lgt.(') | AC | THACO | Saves | Breath Weapon | Spells Wizard/Priest | MR | Treasure Type | XP Value |
| 1. very young (1-5 years) | 1 | ||||||||||
| 2. young (6-15 years) | 2 | ||||||||||
| 3. subadult (16-25 years) | 3 | ||||||||||
| 4. young adult (26-50 years) | 4 | ||||||||||
| 5. adult (51-100 years) | 5 | ||||||||||
| 6. old (101-200 years) | 6 | ||||||||||
| 7. very old (201-400 years) | 7 | ||||||||||
| 8. ancient (401+ years) | 8 | ||||||||||
| 9. Venerable | 9 | ||||||||||
| 10. Great Wyrm | 10 |
Medium Dragon
| 1. Very young | |||||||
| 2. Young | |||||||
| 3. Sub-adult | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 |
Large Dragon
| 1. Very young | |||||||
| 2. Young | |||||||
| 3. Sub-adult | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 |
Small Dragon, Spell-using
| 1. Very young | |||||||
| 2. Young | |||||||
| 3. Sub-adult | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 |
Medium Dragon, Spell-using
| 1. Very young | |||||||
| 2. Young | |||||||
| 3. Sub-adult | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 |
Large Dragon, Spell-using
| 1. Very young | |||||||
| 2. Young | |||||||
| 3. Sub-adult | |||||||
| 4 | |||||||
| 5 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||
| 7 | |||||||
| 8 | |||||||
| 9 | |||||||
| 10 |
