A New Race: The Dragontouched

[RobNJ]

Re: Great idea!

I like the concept and how you handeled it overall, though if I were you I would devide the race up into dragon lineages like the genesai.

I specifically didn't want to do that, because I wanted this to be more about "dragonness" than any particular type of dragon. Partially because there are just too many dragons and partially because the planetouched don't split up what they are based on what their ancestor is, not even the genasai. Yes, the genesai are attuned to one of four alignments (or para-elements), but if you got your ancestry from one kind of elemental fire creature or another, it doesn't matter, you're still a fire genasai.

It seems silly to me that the half-white and half-gold dragons both recieve the +2 to Int.

Well, neither get it in my way of doing things . It's Strength and Charisma. Separating them by dragon type is certainly possible, but keep in mind most of these are extremely separated from their ancestor, a la an aasimar or tiefling, and that's what I wanted to model in my race.

 

[FoxWander]

I like it and there is definitely a place for this race. But after seeing your comparison with the aasimar, the wyrm-touched almost seem a tad weak for a +1 ECL. Plus, aside form the odd looks (Which are kewl!) they don't feel very "dragon-y".

My suggestions:
1. Drop the weakness to dragon favored-enemy bonuses. THose come from the other classes specific study of dragons, their tactics and unique abilities. Just because the Wyrm-blooded are, well, wyrm-blooded, they don't look, fight or have the abilites of dragons. So the bonuses shouldn't apply. Dragon-bane weapons would certainly work though.

2. I'd change thier type to Dragon. That alone would both balance them with other "touched" races and add low-light vision and immunity to sleep and paralysis. Plus it adds to that "dragonness" you spoke of.

3. Drop Prestidigitation 1x day (While certainly neat, it doesn't feel particularly dragonlike, but this does...) and give them Frightful Presence 1x day instead. It's not an overpowering ability as it only applies to lesser hit die creatures and allows a save, but it really adds the Wyrm to wyrm-touched!

What do you think?

 

[trentonjoe]

After reading your reply and the new races in the latest Dragon I know agree with ECL of +1.

Also, I like the Presdagition (I hate that word!) spell. It adds alot of fun to the character.


IF you take Foxwanderd suggestions this thing is going to get real good real quick!

 

[RobNJ]

I like it and there is definitely a place for this race. But after seeing your comparison with the aasimar, the wyrm-touched almost seem a tad weak for a +1 ECL. Plus, aside form the odd looks (Which are kewl!) they don't feel very "dragon-y".

Well, there's also their strength, charisma, and the personality section on their arrogance and greed. I picked prestidigitation because it's an easy balance with light and darkness. I may think about frightful presence, though. That might be useful. Just more work .

I find your improvement-suggestions interesting, but I worry. I see the logic in taking away the favored enemy bonus, but then I worry that having Strength as a bonus instead of Wisdom (when compared to the aasimar) would be unbalanced if I also gave them the charm and domination (etc.) immunity. Also, I was looking at the kobold. Kobolds are more inhuman than the wyrm-touched, but they are not Type: Dragon. They have the subtype of reptile (which I might consider doing here, but I don't know the game rule effect of that).

The reason that the planetouched are outsiders is because outsider is a state of the soul. Being a dragon, on the other hand, is not. Being a dragon has to do with anatomy, physiology, etc. While it could arguably work for balance to make them Type: Dragon, it wouldn't work for what Type: Dragon means, in my opinion. Also, Type: Dragon gets a lot more abilities than Outsider, if I remember correctly, without most of the detriments (vulnerability to planar magic).

 

[FoxWander]

I would say that that having the dragon sub-type would be as a result of their draconic blood. It also easily justifies thier vulnerablility to dragon-bane weapons, as well as spells that target dragons. Granted it also gives immunity to charm and such, but I see that as just putting them on par with aasimar, tieflings and other plane-touched.

As for the bonus to Str instead of Wis, that's balanced by the aasimar/tiefling's FULL TIME resistance to 3 different energy types. Those 3 resistances will come into play MUCH more than the wyrm-touched's resistance to dragon's breath.

I think the suggestions I made put the wyrm-touched on the same level as aasimar/tieflings, but they're my ideas, of course I'll feel that way. At any rate, the version with my suggestions will be the one I suggest to my DM. Thanks for coming up with the idea in the first place though. I've wanted to make a dragonish character for awhile now, but the Half-dragon has too high of a level cost. But I'd sacrifice a level to play one of these!

 

[RobNJ]

I think the suggestions I made put the wyrm-touched on the same level as aasimar/tieflings, but they're my ideas, of course I'll feel that way.

Fair enough. Anyone else want to chime in on that? I'm certainly open to making them more powerful, I just know that the version I had listed above a lot of people thought was way too powerful (not here, but on Usenet).

At any rate, the version with my suggestions will be the one I suggest to my DM. Thanks for coming up with the idea in the first place though. I've wanted to make a dragonish character for awhile now, but the Half-dragon has too high of a level cost. But I'd sacrifice a level to play one of these!

Thanks! I'm glad this is going to get use outside of my campaign (if I ever get to play my campaign again that is). For the record, it appears as though this very same concept appeared in AEG's Dragons suppliment, though I don't know what the statmods on it were, or anything about it, really. So I did come up with it on my own, but it was apparently come up with separately elsewhere too .

 

[Xarlen]

First: I would like to note that Tieflings and such are effected just like Outsiders are by things like a Sword of the Plane, and a Mace of Smiting, so given that, I think they're vulnerable to bane/favored enemies.

Second: Look at elves. They're immune to sleep, +2 vs. enchantment, and get +2 to Listen, Spot, and Search. So giving them say... Immunity to Sleep and Paralysis, or somesuch, wouldn't be unbalancing. Then again, since they're Dragon, Hold person wouldn't effect them. Other suggestions would be a +2 vs. disease, poison, or magical effects (Dwarves have all of these).

Third: Note, also, that it would be fair to equip them as Outsiders, so they can't be effected by 'person' spells. The Genasi/Tieflings and others have the same thing.

Fourth: Tieflings and Aasimar are the HUMAN decendants of half-fiends. Thus, other traits would surface depending on the race, since the Fey'rai in Monsters of Faerun are the elven equivilent of tieflings. If you make it a template, then it'll add with the person's chosen character race. That means MORE abilities. Thus a Dwarf Wrym-Touched would have a +2 to Con, Str, and no effect to Cha due to the -2/+2, the same for Elves.

I'd add I Liked the +2 to spell effects, and I like the Fear effect.