Half-dragons, should they be allowed?

[diaglo]

Woo! I voted correctly then.

(I voted "no", not allowed for PCs IMC.)

sucka punch here.

ouch.

 

[The Shaman]

Your modern hang-ups about "speciation" and "genetics" equally offends my fantastic sense of "only four elements" and "no such thing as DNA."

Did I say anything about genetics or DNA?

Creatures are as the gods created them - mere mortal beings cannot undue divine perfection (at least not without honkin' big spells).

 

[diaglo]

Well, if it exists in the world and is credibly playable at all, I don't see why that would be that big of a difference.

playable is key.

most loner type races... don't play well with a game based around party mechanics.

a game based on a group of player characters getting together to explore together and fill a niche in the party.

loner races or ones with say needs... like an non air breathing aquatic race... make it so believability escapes the table too much sometimes.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Your modern hang-ups about "speciation" and "genetics" equally offends my fantastic sense of "only four elements" and "no such thing as DNA."

Heh, for my gameworld I did go into the genetics of the humanoid species. I snuck in some surprises and things that have never come up in the history of the world.

Elf+Human=sterile hybrid
Orc+Human=fertile hybrid (in other words - genetically orcs are humans.)
Dwarf+Human=Nothing, dwarfs are not interfertile with humans.
Dwarf+Elf=Nothing, dwarfs are not interfertile with elfs.
Halfling+Human=Human, 2 half-halflings have a 25% chance to produce a full halfling. (Recessive gene.)

Ogres in my world are slightly smaller than their standard D&D counterpart, and are by default Lawful Neutral.
Human+Ogre=Nothing (This includes orcs.)
Elf+Ogre=Nothing
Dwarf+Ogre=sterile hybrid (genetically dwarfs are giants! Just very short giants.) But in the history of the world it has never happened.
Dwarf+Gnome=Dwarf or Gnome, the difference between the two races is cultural and dietary, not genetic. A dwarf baby raised by gnomes is a gnome. Dwarfs eat a lot more protien and perform heavier labor...

The fey are a special case, and handled individually, but are largely unavailable as PCs. Goblins in this world are fey. Offspring from a union with the fey are always fey, but the difference may be hidden, even from the offspring. There are feats for fey heritage, and sorcerers as well as bards get their start from the fey. To be a sorcerer or bard you must either choose the class at 1st level or a feat that allows the choice later. The feat is exchanged for an item creation, bardic, or metamagic feat when the character takes a level of sorcerer or bard. SInce most of the fey offspring are passing as human they can use their racial bonus feat for this purpose.

Dragons would be similar, but so very rare as to be less than one per ten human generations. And in fact the dragons are only now returning after a millineum long hiatus. One of the first events in the campaign was a dragon spawning... the river running with sleek, fire-breathing, reptillian creatures.

Humans (including orcs), and Elfs are prone to rapine, most halfbreeds are a result of such transgressions.

How is that for a 'modern hang-up about "speciation" and "genetics"'?

The Auld Grump, believe it or not that is important for the campaign...

 

[Arnwyn]

and is credibly playable at all,

And there's the rub.

Guess it does make a difference.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Yes, yes I would, dragons get around.

Yep... although my half-dragon paladin has yet to discover the truth about her father..... She thinks that she morphed into one after a chance meeting with the gods.... she came out a half-dragon and my other character, the cleric in the epic game, came out a half-celestial... But so far, she hasn't been back home to find out the "truth" and right now, under the milder version of the effects of the Dragon Rage, she might be less able to handle it....


But then that DM allows really strange stuff in the game, if the player is willing to deal with the effects the character would have on their peers/commoners and the level adjustments required.

 

[snarfoogle]

"Let me consult the MM. Yep, pretty much. If it's got pulse you can make a Half-Dragon otta it."

I must now include a half-dragon Gelatinous Cube in my next adventure.

"You see nothing... until a huge stream of fire comes blazing down the hallway!"

 

[Napftor]

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[arscott]

No actual half dragons, but I might use the template.

I like my dragons to be a bit more unique and exotic that the standard set from the MM. IMC, no two dragons are alike. So I might use the half-dragon template to create a particularly unusual dragon. The resultant creature, like all other dragons, is a unique, immortal being incapable of procreation.

 

[Goobermunch]

Allow 'em? Heck, I can't wait to spring them on the party.

Sure, half-dragon Kobolds only have a few hit points, but what they lack in stamina, they make up for in fire breathing.

And since my campaign might best be described as "Anime Cthulhu Ghostwalk Adventures," if a PC wanted to be a half-dragon, I wouldn't object.

--G