Converting True Dragons

[RavinRay]

Comparing it to the (nerfed) faerie dragon in Draconomicon is going to be interesting because now we're gonna have two fey-themed dragons, one lesser and one true. And ironically the latter is called drake and not dragon.

An advanced 3.5 faerie dragon can reach Huge size according to Draconomicon. We'll have to decide how large faerie drakes can get.

With the variable body color, maybe we can use a d10, d20 or d100 to determine which variety will be encountered, with a DM's approval.

 

[freyar]

Odd, the ToH faerie dragon is probably more faithful to the original than the Draconomicon version, but the Draconomicon one may be more useful here. Huh.

 

[Shade]

It looks like they have full 1e dragon age categories.

Size is a bit trickier, as nothing seems to indicate that they do indeed grow larger. Since the shadow drakes and demon drakes in the same article do list size by age category, I'm guessing that faerie drakes remain the same size. The other drakes only grow to about 3 feet, anyway, so it seems the intent is for them to remain miniature dragons.

 

[freyar]

Sounds like you're right. Faerie dragons/drakes have really had a lot of different viewpoints over the years, haven't they?

 

[Shade]

Indeed. And oddly, this article was geared towards making them familiars. Imagine having an ancient dragon as a familiar! I'd think the wizard would be the more likely "familiar" in that arrangement.

 

[freyar]

You could make it an extension of the Draconomicon rules for dragon PCs: how to get a human familiar. Actually, I guess the dragonkith template is kind of like that.

 

[Shade]

Shall we keep 'em Tiny across age categories, then?

If so, physical ability scores can remain constant.

We'll need to figure out mental scores. Since they cast both mage spells and druid spells, I'd recommend we go with the typical dragon sorceror casting, allowing spells from the druid list to be cast as arcane spells. Following that route, we'll need Cha to be at least good enough to cast the minimum spell level granted at a given age category.

Draconomicon faerie dragon is Small, with the following ability scores: Str 13, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 16.

Tome of Horrors revised has them Tiny with Str 11, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 16.

 

[freyar]

Well, I kind of like the higher Dex, so what about Str 11, Dex 18, Con 13, and some progression for all mental stats?

 

[RavinRay]

For comparison purposes, the true dragons with the slowest size progression are the steel dragon of Waterdeep and the dzalmus of the Endless Waste east of Faerûn, which go from Small to Huge.

Normally Int and Cha progress identically with Wis two points behind, so we can keep that. With the high Dex should flight maneuverability be high?

 

[Shade]

I agree with the suggested physical scores, mental progression, and maneuverability.

Shall we use the Tome of Horrors faerie dragon's mental stats (Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 16) as a mid-range number, and add or subtract two each way from there?