Converting True Dragons

[Shade]

Yep, I meant mental stats like the green and physical for the copper.

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

They rarely interfere with the affairs of men, though when confronted they can prove very helpful or harmful. Stone dragons share the same general characteristics that all dragons do, but they lack wings. Instead, stone dragons can leap five times per day as if using the first-level magic-user spell jump.

Jump grants a +10 enhancement bonus on Jump checks. The enhancement bonus increases to +20 at caster level 5th, and to +30 (the maximum) at caster level 9th.

Rather than giving it Jump as a 5/day SLA, how about just giving it a racial bonus on Jump checks that improves at several age categories?

Stone dragons are gray in color, each looking very much like a clump of rocks. If located in rocky terrain, a stone dragon has a 55% chance of blending in with the rocks, effectively concealing itself.

Racial bonus on Hide checks in rock terrain? Fixed bonus or variable by age category? Perhaps they become more rocklike as they age, granting bonus equal to age category?

Sharp weapons do half damage and must save vs. crushing blow on contact with such creatures, breaking and doing no damage if they fail; missile weapons must also save or be destroyed. Blunt weapons do full damage and will not break.

Something like this?

Reflexive Sunder (Ex): The armor plates that cover a rukanyr shift and rub against each other in combat, creating a jarring sound like that of trees rubbing together in a high wind. Anyone who strikes a rukanyr with a slashing or piercing melee attack must make a Reflex save (DC 11) or the armor plates shift and crush the weapon, dealing 4d6+5 points of damage to the weapon and tearing it from the victim's grasp. The weapon lands at the attacker's feet if it is not broken by the damage. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Stone dragons save vs. fire and acid at - 1, and take + 1 hp damage per die of damage done on these attacks. Stone dragons save vs. cold at + 1, with damage being - 1 per die.

Rather than a save bonus/penalty and +1/-1 damage per die, how about vulnerability (+50% damage) to fire and acid and scaling resistance to cold?

Earth-based spells that normally have no saving throw do only half damage or have half the effect against a stone dragon; for example, animated rocks and conjured earth elementals only do half damage when they hit, and earthquake has a 1 in 16 chance of killing a stone dragon. Earthbased spells that do allow a saving throw do half or no damage to stone dragons, depending on the dragon's saving throw. Flesh to stone and mud to rock (and their reverses) have no effect on stone dragons.

A modified form of evasion/mettle?

Stone dragons prefer gems over the more common types of treasure, and will readily trade other treasures for them, sometimes paying a price twice the item is worth.

Treasure: Standard coins; quadruple goods (gems); standard items?

Upon reaching the fifth age category, a stone dragon receives the ability to cast stone shape once per day. At the seventh age category, he may cast it twice per day. At the eighth age level, the stone dragon may cast a statue spell once every two days with no chance of system shock failure.

Stone Shape (Sp): A young adult stone dragon may use stone shape as a spell-like ability once per day. Upon reaching mature adult, the stone dragon may use stone shape 2/day.

Statue can simply be a 1/day SLA at old category.

Additionally, all stone dragons receive the following spells, each gained at successive age categories starting from very young age: allies, shatter, passwall, transmute rock to mud, wall of stone, conjure earth elemental, stone tell, and earthquake. Allies is a spell-like power that acts as a charm monster spell and takes one turn to cast. It affects only rock-based creatures (i.e., rock reptiles, xorn, umber hulks, earth elementals, etc.). The creature gets a saving throw to avoid the effects. All other information on this spell is treated as the charm monster spell.

It looks like that rather than having traditional spellcasting, stone dragons get a truckload of SLAs. Rather than just assigning them at 1/age category beginning at very young, let's spread them out a bit more so earthquake arrives at great wyrm.

 

[freyar]

Whew, that's a lot. But I like all the suggestions. I'll try to come back to this one in more details once I'm on vacation.

 

[RavinRay]

Rather than giving it Jump as a 5/day SLA, how about just giving it a racial bonus on Jump checks that improves at several age categories?

I'd go this way as well.

Racial bonus on Hide checks in rock terrain? Fixed bonus or variable by age category? Perhaps they become more rocklike as they age, granting bonus equal to age category?

For comparison purposes, a mountain landwyrm has a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks in mountainous terrain (+8 when immobile). What about the mountain wurm? Does it have a similar bonus that goes up with age?

Reflexive Sunder (Ex): The armor plates that cover a rukanyr shift and rub against each other in combat… Anyone who strikes a rukanyr with a slashing or piercing melee attack must make a Reflex save (DC 11) or the armor plates shift and crush the weapon, dealing 4d6+5 points of damage to the weapon and tearing it from the victim's grasp… The save DC is Dexterity-based.

This sounds good.

Rather than a save bonus/penalty and +1/-1 damage per die, how about vulnerability (+50% damage) to fire and acid and scaling resistance to cold?

I'm fine with the fire/acid vulnerability, undecided on cold.

Stone Shape (Sp): A young adult stone dragon may use stone shape as a spell-like ability once per day. Upon reaching mature adult, the stone dragon may use stone shape 2/day.

There's another dragon with an SLA that just increases in use/day with age, can't recall which. So there is precedent. Plus, a brown dragon gets to summon an increasingly more powerful earth elemental with age, so this is also similar.

It looks like that rather than having traditional spellcasting, stone dragons get a truckload of SLAs. Rather than just assigning them at 1/age category beginning at very young, let's spread them out a bit more so earthquake arrives at great wyrm.

Earthquake's definitely for great wyrms.
Are we still going to add tunneling at wyrmling?

 

[Shade]

For comparison purposes, a mountain landwyrm has a +4 racial bonus to Hide checks in mountainous terrain (+8 when immobile). What about the mountain wurm? Does it have a similar bonus that goes up with age?

Nope, just a flat +8 racial bonus to Hide checks in their home environment.

There's another dragon with an SLA that just increases in use/day with age, can't recall which. So there is precedent. Plus, a brown dragon gets to summon an increasingly more powerful earth elemental with age, so this is also similar.

I can't find it, but I recall another dragon with increase use/day as well.

Are we still going to add tunneling at wyrmling?

Absolutely! Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Shade]

Updated.

For the Jump bonus, how about +5 at wyrmling and an additional +5 at every other age category thereafter?

Shall we stick with the static +8 bonus on Hide?

I'm not sure the reflexive sunder ability is a good fit for these guys. How about something more like this?

Weaponbreaker (Su): Any piercing or slashing weapon that strikes a young adult or older stone dragon takes damage equivalent to the dragon's damage reduction.

 

[freyar]

Skill bonuses sound about right.

Weaponbreaker looks really good, actually. Only question: allow the weapon a save to avoid damage?

 

[Shade]

Hmmm...my gut reaction is no save. Striking an ooze with the acid ability grants a save, but it is versus complete destruction. I suppose hardness could apply?

 

[freyar]

Ok, no save. I'm not sure about hardness, since I don't want to strip this ability of its teeth. If hardness applies, it wouldn't really affect anything until mature adult and bladed weapons until even later. So let's either say no hardness or bump up the DR a bit.

 

[Shade]

Let's just ditch hardness to keep the DR reasonable.