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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5768268" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Magazine Issue 260: June 1999</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 4/7</p><p></p><p></p><p>Draconic design: Who wants to build their own unique dragon with random rolls?! Well, that's taking things a step further than Lew Pulsipher did way back in issue 50. Yes, it looks like it's back to the old skool time again, with an idea that could have been done 20 years ago, but they never got round to it. Greg Detwiler once again puts together two ideas that have been done before to create a result which hasn't. The joys of combinatoric math. The result isn't that comprehensive, you still need to do quite a bit of the mechanical work yourself, but that does make it less system specific. And it is grounded pretty well in myths from around the world. So this is workmanlike rather than inspired, but pretty useful and fun both in playing around to see what you get, and in it's potential to provide lots of encounters for your game that the PC's won't instantly know what to do with. It seems he's still quite valuable in making sure they have enough good articles to fill their issues. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Spawn of tiamat, Children of Bahamut: Tiamat and Bahamut were two of the original unique monsters from the very first Monster Manual. While there have been a few more over the years, such as the Corpse Tearer and the Steel & Grey Dragon, it hasn't caught on like doing new Demon Lords has. I think that part of this is because regular great wyrms are so incredibly scary, anything capable of reliably kicking their ass would be a real challenge for even a level 20+ party. And indeed, even a quick scan of their stats show these guys do not match up to the average great wyrm, which makes them a bit problematic when put in context. </p><p></p><p>An-Ur, the wandering death lives on the ethereal plane and gorges itself on ectoplasm and proto-matter. With the ability to semi-materialise and attack while staying near invulnerable, and send people scattering to random other planes, it'll be a real pain to fight if you don't have easy access to planeshifting powers, even if it doesn't kill you. So at lower levels it'll be more a plot device than something that gives you a TPK, and even at higher levels you'll have to play it smart to win. Interesting. </p><p></p><p>Dhrakoth the Corrupter is also rather weaker physically and magically than a good wyrm, but makes up for that with energy draining. It's curiously slow as well, so you'll be able to outrun it if outmatched. Without the versatility of spellcasting, and zombies it's only minions though I can't see it sustaining a long-term plot. </p><p></p><p>Mordukhavar the Reaver is the only one of these that matches up to a regular red wyrm in terms of general toughness, and even it may lose out in a slugfest due to the lack of damage bonuses on it's physical attacks. Still, compared to the Devils it actually hangs out with, it has more than enough magic to compete in the 9 hells political games, and the muscle to kick a pit fiend's ass no trouble. It's all about comparison. </p><p></p><p>Medrinia is the undersea emissary of Bahamut. She's almost the equal of a great wyrm bronze dragon, but not quite, and she can summon large amounts of dragon turtles to back her up if she needs to make a point. I think that'll make up for any shortcomings against an individual superpowerful monster. </p><p></p><p>Xathanon isn't hugely powerful or versatile, but can move at unlimited speed, and empower others, temporarily turning them into great wyrm gold dragon proxies to kick ass in it's stead. This is obviously a huge opportunity for the players if they play their cards right. I approve. </p><p></p><p>Vanathor the golden Harpist sees them fail music theory as well as game mechanics. 6 octave vocal range is not enough to go from subsonic to glass-shattering. Still, that means it does get 6 breath weapons, and it also has 19th level spellcasting abilities, so once again what he lacks in power he'll make up in versatility. So this article has lots of cool ideas, but doesn't back them up with the mechanical rigor and research they need to fit into AD&D's established power ranges. Rather disapointing, really. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Dragon names: As with the elven name guide, it's time to string together some long chains of syllables. A long life means plenty of time to rack up the achievements, and add on more descriptives and superlatives to bolster the ego. Keep rolling, adding on more until you have too many for a player to remember, so the dragon then has good reason to get pissed off at them when they fail to use it's full name when referring to it. Tee hee. This is very much fluffy filler to round off the themed section. Still, we've had worse.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5768268, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Magazine Issue 260: June 1999[/U][/B] part 4/7 Draconic design: Who wants to build their own unique dragon with random rolls?! Well, that's taking things a step further than Lew Pulsipher did way back in issue 50. Yes, it looks like it's back to the old skool time again, with an idea that could have been done 20 years ago, but they never got round to it. Greg Detwiler once again puts together two ideas that have been done before to create a result which hasn't. The joys of combinatoric math. The result isn't that comprehensive, you still need to do quite a bit of the mechanical work yourself, but that does make it less system specific. And it is grounded pretty well in myths from around the world. So this is workmanlike rather than inspired, but pretty useful and fun both in playing around to see what you get, and in it's potential to provide lots of encounters for your game that the PC's won't instantly know what to do with. It seems he's still quite valuable in making sure they have enough good articles to fill their issues. Spawn of tiamat, Children of Bahamut: Tiamat and Bahamut were two of the original unique monsters from the very first Monster Manual. While there have been a few more over the years, such as the Corpse Tearer and the Steel & Grey Dragon, it hasn't caught on like doing new Demon Lords has. I think that part of this is because regular great wyrms are so incredibly scary, anything capable of reliably kicking their ass would be a real challenge for even a level 20+ party. And indeed, even a quick scan of their stats show these guys do not match up to the average great wyrm, which makes them a bit problematic when put in context. An-Ur, the wandering death lives on the ethereal plane and gorges itself on ectoplasm and proto-matter. With the ability to semi-materialise and attack while staying near invulnerable, and send people scattering to random other planes, it'll be a real pain to fight if you don't have easy access to planeshifting powers, even if it doesn't kill you. So at lower levels it'll be more a plot device than something that gives you a TPK, and even at higher levels you'll have to play it smart to win. Interesting. Dhrakoth the Corrupter is also rather weaker physically and magically than a good wyrm, but makes up for that with energy draining. It's curiously slow as well, so you'll be able to outrun it if outmatched. Without the versatility of spellcasting, and zombies it's only minions though I can't see it sustaining a long-term plot. Mordukhavar the Reaver is the only one of these that matches up to a regular red wyrm in terms of general toughness, and even it may lose out in a slugfest due to the lack of damage bonuses on it's physical attacks. Still, compared to the Devils it actually hangs out with, it has more than enough magic to compete in the 9 hells political games, and the muscle to kick a pit fiend's ass no trouble. It's all about comparison. Medrinia is the undersea emissary of Bahamut. She's almost the equal of a great wyrm bronze dragon, but not quite, and she can summon large amounts of dragon turtles to back her up if she needs to make a point. I think that'll make up for any shortcomings against an individual superpowerful monster. Xathanon isn't hugely powerful or versatile, but can move at unlimited speed, and empower others, temporarily turning them into great wyrm gold dragon proxies to kick ass in it's stead. This is obviously a huge opportunity for the players if they play their cards right. I approve. Vanathor the golden Harpist sees them fail music theory as well as game mechanics. 6 octave vocal range is not enough to go from subsonic to glass-shattering. Still, that means it does get 6 breath weapons, and it also has 19th level spellcasting abilities, so once again what he lacks in power he'll make up in versatility. So this article has lots of cool ideas, but doesn't back them up with the mechanical rigor and research they need to fit into AD&D's established power ranges. Rather disapointing, really. Dragon names: As with the elven name guide, it's time to string together some long chains of syllables. A long life means plenty of time to rack up the achievements, and add on more descriptives and superlatives to bolster the ego. Keep rolling, adding on more until you have too many for a player to remember, so the dragon then has good reason to get pissed off at them when they fail to use it's full name when referring to it. Tee hee. This is very much fluffy filler to round off the themed section. Still, we've had worse. [/QUOTE]
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