Dragonborn Dexterity Penalty

[Omegaxicor]

The 3.5 Dragonborn entry says something like "The Dragonborn are tough but unused to their new form" since you are supposed to perform the ritual at say level 5 and carry on as the character but if you start at level 1 as a Dragonborn and say you have been one for 250 years why do you still have the Dex penalty, surely you would be used to your own body (say 30 years as a Human compared to 250 as a Dragonborn, who would remember their Human days)

Is it wrong to think that it would have disappeared by now?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Perhaps you never, ever get used to it?

 

[cjosephs1s]

Think of it as a racial thing. You're just not as dexterous as something with no penalty. If you'd like an analogy here's one..

STR. You can lift weights all you want but genetics says you will only bench press so much. It just can't be overcome.

Same thing here with Dex. Probably something to do with Dragons not having great Dex scores too.

 

[Omegaxicor]

I would agree with you, "They are tough but their skin is heavy so they find it hard to move" would be perfect but it says "but are awkward in their newly formed bodies" but after 300 years they are not newly formed any more, why put such an odd description

I just wondered if there was something that says that you can't start as a Dragonborn it has to be something you take up later in life (minimum level for example) so the body would be newly formed for your whole career

 

[krupintupple]

As its just flavour text, I typically substitute my own whenever I come across something like you did.

"Dragonborn are preternaturally quite strong for their size, but this added muscle was added at the expense of their former flexibility."

...and if this fails?

"Magic."

 

[the Jester]

If we cut to the chase, racial penalties are there for reasons of balance. Thus, removing such a penalty is a Bad Idea imho.

 

[Omegaxicor]

@krupintupple I just think something less...temporary should have been used

[MENTION=82555]the[/MENTION]jester I am inclined to agree with that but I wondered if such an odd phrase was used because after so long the penalty disappeared or else why not use one of the many variations of "they are tough but slow"

 

[Alan Shutko]

The 3.5 Dragonborn entry says something like "The Dragonborn are tough but unused to their new form" since you are supposed to perform the ritual at say level 5 and carry on as the character but if you start at level 1 as a Dragonborn and say you have been one for 250 years why do you still have the Dex penalty, surely you would be used to your own body (say 30 years as a Human compared to 250 as a Dragonborn, who would remember their Human days)

Is it wrong to think that it would have disappeared by now?

I'd say that the formative years are crucial. A baby learns so much in the first years, but the rate and ability to learn slow down as he ages. I could easily see that someone who was basically rebuilt completely would have a permanent penalty.

 

[the Jester]

[MENTION=82555]the[/MENTION]jester I am inclined to agree with that but I wondered if such an odd phrase was used because after so long the penalty disappeared...

No, I'd say it was phrased that way for flavor. If the penalty disappeared at a certain point, the description would state that explicitly. Also, if the penalty disappeared at a certain point, it would break the race's balance.

or else why not use one of the many variations of "they are tough but slow"

Again, it's more flavorful and a more explicit explanation of the reasoning behind the penalty.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Perhaps they have become cumbersome...to their world
They have become cumbersome...can't be hurled

Too heavy too light
Too black or too white
Too wrong or too right
Today or tonight...cumbersome





In all seriousness, some RW People are clumsy despite being themselves their whole lives...imagine how it must be to find your entire anatomy changed from the inside out.