Converting True Dragons

[freyar]

I can agree to swap in undetectable alignment instead of zone of truth.

Superficially, the Chaotic subtype would make sense, but true dragons don't seem to have alignment subtypes much. In fact, on a spot check through the CC (and SRD), I didn't find one with an alignment subtype, including dragons highly associated with Bahamut. So I'm thinking we should probably leave it off. That sound ok to you?

 

[Cleon]

I can agree to swap in undetectable alignment instead of zone of truth.

Updating Pearl the Moon Dragon Working Draft with said spells swapped.

Superficially, the Chaotic subtype would make sense, but true dragons don't seem to have alignment subtypes much. In fact, on a spot check through the CC (and SRD), I didn't find one with an alignment subtype, including dragons highly associated with Bahamut. So I'm thinking we should probably leave it off. That sound ok to you?

Well the Fiendish Codex II version of an Aspect of Tiamat has alignment subtypes (Lawful, Evil), although most 3E incarnations of her only have the Extraplanar subtype.

More pertinently, the Chaos Dragon in the 3.5 edition Draconomicon has an alignment subtype. I award no prizes for guessing what it is.

Oh, and the Draconomicon's Abyssal Drake has the Chaotic and Evil alignment subtypes.

So there are precedents among the planar dragons for making Pearl a Dragon (Chaos, Extraplanar) and I'd be in favour of doing so.

 

[freyar]

That's good enough precedent for me! Chaotic subtype it is.

3rd-- bestow curse, cure serious wounds, dispel magic, inflict serious wounds, magic circle against law, nondetection, remove curse, wind wall
?

 

[Cleon]

That's good enough precedent for me! Chaotic subtype it is.

3rd-- bestow curse, cure serious wounds, dispel magic, inflict serious wounds, magic circle against law, nondetection, remove curse, wind wall
?

Pearl's SLAs include at-will greater dispel magic so the dispel magic is superfluous. The rest of the selection is fine.

I'd go for either contagion or clairaudience/clairvoyance (Knowledge Domain) as a substitute.

Actually, that reminds me. I ought to mark which of the Cleric Spells are Domain Spells.

I believe it's currently 1st—protection from good (Evil Domain), 2nd—invisibility (Trickery Domain). We still have to decide on whether her alignment's Chaotic Evil or Chaotic Neutral.

 

[Cleon]

That's good enough precedent for me! Chaotic subtype it is.

Oh, and before I forget again.

Updating Pearl the Moon Dragon Working Draft with MOAR KHAOZ!

 

[freyar]

I get the sense that she should be CN.

Let's go for clairaudience/clairvoyance.

I don't have time to look at the 4th level spells, but hopefully I can start keeping up a little better from here on out this summer.

 

[Cleon]

I get the sense that she should be CN.

I'm undecided. In BECMI Chaos creatures are generally malevolent entities while Lawful creatures are benevolent, which suggests Chaotic Evil, but contrariwise some Mystaran Chaotic creatures are Chaotic Neutral in the 2E Monstrous Compendium, including a good few dragons.

So I could go either way.

Let's go for clairaudience/clairvoyance.

Agreed.

Updating Pearl the Moon Dragon Working Draft.

I don't have time to look at the 4th level spells, but hopefully I can start keeping up a little better from here on out this summer.

No hurry. I'm used to waiting!

 

[freyar]

It's true about BECMI, but she is going to represent chaotic metallic dragons now, too, so I think we need to go with CN.

4th: chaos hammer (D), control water, cure critical wounds, dismissal, freedom of movement, inflict critical wounds, restoration, tongues ??

 

[Cleon]

It's true about BECMI, but she is going to represent chaotic metallic dragons now, too, so I think we need to go with CN.

Well you seem more committed to this question than I am, so I'll accede to your preference and make her Chaotic Neutral.

I was thinking The Great Dragon would likely be pure Neutral, so I guess Diamond will be Lawful Neutral when we get round to him.

Come to think of it, I'll go through and make sure all Pearl's gender pronouns are correct in the text. There are a few stray "him" and "it" that should be "her" and the like.

It's true about BECMI, but she is going to represent chaotic metallic dragons now, too, so I think we need to go with CN.

4th: chaos hammer (D), control water, cure critical wounds, dismissal, freedom of movement, inflict critical wounds, restoration, tongues ??

She's already got chaos hammer as an at-will SLA so we need to swap that out.

Also, shouldn't she have telepathy and/or tongues as a Special Ability. Isn't that a standard feature for divine-equivalent creatures in 3E?

…well that's curious, I checked my notes and for the current 3E Dragon Rulers:

Bahamut the Platinum Dragon had telepathy and tongues in 2E, but neither ability in 3E.
Tiamat the Chromatic Dragon has tongues in 2E, but neither telepathy or tongues in 3E.
Gruaghlothor the Ferrous Dragon has "an ability to communicate with any intelligent creature" in 2E which Enworld converted to a telepathy 120 ft. SQ in 3E.
Sardior The Ruby Dragon has telepathy as a SQ in 2E. In 3E he has "read all languages and speak directly to all beings within 8 miles" and presumably can use his knowledge of all psionic powers to speak mind-to-mind if necessary.

How about giving Pearl telepathy to, say, a few hundred feet? Maybe 300 feet like the majority of 3.5 edition Demon Princes (i.e. Demononicon entries)? I'd go down to 200 or 150 ft. if that seems too high, but wouldn't fancy 100 ft. like most 3.0 Demon Princes had (i.e. Book of Vile Darkness).

I've just noticed Sardior's WotC website stats don't list a manifester level for his psionics. If he uses the default SLA caster level for divine rank 8 he'd be CL 18th, which is lower than all his thanes who have CL 21 or 23 (or rather ML). Plain old mindlink is only Telepathy 1 and with ML 18th has a 90-foot range for establishing the link, which is "works over any distance (although not from one plane to another)" once established. I'd think he'd be, say CL 25+ to be higher than his minions though, which'd give his mindlink a 105+ foot range.

 

[Cleon]

4th: chaos hammer (D), control water, cure critical wounds, dismissal, freedom of movement, inflict critical wounds, restoration, tongues ??

Getting back on track, I'd swap chaos hammer for confusion since that's on the Pearl Domain Spells list and isn't on the standard Cleric list. I'd also drop tongues in favour of adding a telepathy SQ and instead give it, say, divination. That'd make it:

4th: confusion (D), control water, cure critical wounds, dismissal, divination, freedom of movement, inflict critical wounds, restoration.

Oh, and I'll update Pearl the Moon Dragon Working Draft to be "Always chaotic neutral" (and consistently female!).