Creating Rock Dragons.

[Mistah J]

Wait! Wait!

If the secondary breath weapon of the Slate Dragon is going to have a sonic theme (based on nails down a chalkboard), then maybe we want it to disorientate or stun victims. I hope I'm not backtracking too much, I just thought I should put that out there.

As for the pecking order, alignment and the like - I'm all for it!

Any ideas for the special abilities a Slate Dragon gets with age? Or should something else be worked out first?

 

[Gez]

Actually, the Slate's secondary breath weapon looks to be going to be the mindfog stuff. Blank slate.

But a sonic attack could be given to it as one of the special abilities it gains.

Personally, I think it should get to have at least one of the image spells (silent image, minor image, mirror image, etc.). What about silent image thrice per day at Very Young, then mirror image twice per day at Young Adult and finally major image once per day at Old?

 

[Knight Otu]

Flip the Basalt and Granite dragons and you have a deal,

Make basalt equivalent to a gold, maybe? and granite as either blue or silver? Of course, that'd mean there'll be a small gap...

 

[Shade]

We should probably come up with the slate's "theme" within the rock dragon family. It sounds like based on its good alignment, its breath weapons, and Gez's spell-like suggestsions so far that it is a trickster that likes to frustrate its foes. I picture it kind of like Obi-wan....deflecting and sidestepping blows without counterattacking, while its opponent grows weary.

Since' slate is produced by low grade metamorphism, which is caused by relatively low temperatures and pressures'", I think it's terrain should be cold aquatic (shorelines and marshes). Cold or Water subtype?

Going with this theme, sanctuary and persistent image might be other good spell-likes, as would hallucinatory terrain and mirage arcana.

 

[Ferret]

We should probably come up with the slate's "theme" within the rock dragon family. It sounds like based on its good alignment, its breath weapons, and Gez's spell-like suggestsions so far that it is a trickster that likes to frustrate its foes. I picture it kind of like Obi-wan....deflecting and sidestepping blows without counterattacking, while its opponent grows weary.

Since' slate is produced by low grade metamorphism, which is caused by relatively low temperatures and pressures'", I think it's terrain should be cold aquatic (shorelines and marshes). Cold or Water subtype?

Going with this theme, sanctuary and persistent image might be other good spell-likes, as would hallucinatory terrain and mirage arcana.

I agree. Very much sidesteppy.

 

[Krishnath]

I think cold would be best regarding the subtype, as it goes well with both it's breathweapons. As for the starting HD, well, I am not sure, I think it would be best if we ignored the exisiting convention from the printed dragons when deciding the different rock dragons HD, if we for example detrmine the slate dragons HD should be somewhere between 3 and 6, thus we could randomly roll 1d4+2 to determine the starting HD of the Slate dragon. *rolls 1d4+2, rolls a 2, which gives a final result of 4*, so if we assume the slate dragon has 4 HD as a wyrmling (a good place to start for the smallest of a family), and increase the wyrmling HD by 1 or 2 for each subsequent rock dragon, we should get a good range, while ignoring existing dragons and still keep a air of chaos among the rock dragons.

* Note that the Starting HD isn't rolled randomly for each Slate Dragon, but rather only once to determine the starting HD for *all* slate dragons.

Comments? Thoughts? Anything at all? Bueller? Bueller?

 

[Gez]

Even the Chaos Dragon uses the "+3 HD per age category" formula.

So if we pick 4 as the slate's starting HD, then it should have 7 as a Very Young, 10 as a Young, 13 as a Juvenile, and so on, until 37 as a Great Wyrm.

Giving it more or less HD per age category would make guesstimating the CR much harder, because we couldn't as easily compare it to an existing dragon of same age and size.

 

[Knight Otu]

* Note that the Starting HD isn't rolled randomly for each Slate Dragon, but rather only once to determine the starting HD for *all* slate dragons.

Now that would be a trick.

Even the Chaos Dragon uses the "+3 HD per age category" formula.

I don't think Krishnath wants to overthrow that convention. Just the pattern of the starting Hit Dice.

 

[dedicated]

Originally Posted by Gez
Even the Chaos Dragon uses the "+3 HD per age category" formula.

he wasn't sayin +1 or two hit dice per age category, he was saying the next most powerful rock dragon would have one or two more wyrmling HD then the slate

4 sounds like a good place to start (only 1 away from white)

 

[Krishnath]

Now that would be a trick.


I don't think Krishnath wants to overthrow that convention. Just the pattern of the starting Hit Dice.

Exactly! Give the man a prize! All I am saying is give peace a chance, no wait, that's not what I meant ro say, gah!... What I meant to say is, we should not compare the new dragons we create to what is allready created until it is finished and it is time to determine CR. So if we for example as I mentioned above decided the weakest of the fives starting HD randomly by rolling 1d4+2 (I rolled a 2), we would be much better off. They are dragons born of chaos after all, just as the gold are born of good, and the chromatic evil.

Does everyone agree that they should start with 4 HD?