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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5084506" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 170: June 1991part 2/6Crossing dragons with everything: Now this, on the other hand is easily recognisable as part of a long thread that gradually got a larger part in D&D as the years went by. They haven't got to the point where draconic hybrids become playable, or templates let you combine them with anything with minimal effort, but it's only a few years away. Greg Detwiler does his part to advance the idea here, with some rough guidelines and sample creations. Mantidrakes look curiously similar to Arcanine from Pokemon, but let's not hold that against them. Since they can fly (clumsily) and have two quite effective ranged attacks, they can be pretty effective against unprepared adventurers. Strafing is one of those combat manoeuvres I don't remember seeing used that much in comparison to it's appearances in films. Dracimera take an already draconic creature, and make it all the weirder, with two heads up front, and one where the tail should be. This means they get a lot of attacks all round with widely varying damages, and it's rather hard to backstab them. Should also make for an interesting fight. Wyvern Drakes are also not very surprising, since wyverns are relations of dragons anyway. Once again, they give you the chance to combine the iconic breath weapon and immunities with the tactics of a somewhat weaker creature, so you don't have to deal with the vast array of mental and magical powers full dragons have, just a tough straight-up fight with flight, instadeath poison and almost as lethal breath weapons. Seems like that's a very definite axis of conflict amongst writers. The big smashy lizard vs cosmically connected wise creature of the ages battle is a tricky one, and in a game like D&D you need to cater to both ends. On the whole this is another vaguely unsatisfying article, as the sample monsters aren't hugely interesting, and it lacks the rigour of later attempts at this. The dragon's bestiary: We've certainly had no shortage of new dragon species over the years. But for their 15th anniversary they try something a little more ambitious, setting up a new draconic family in an attempt to get them into common use like the Gem Dragons. So say hello to the Ferrous Dragons. Now, there are actually only 3 naturally magnetic metals, but that doesn't stop them from stealing from the rest of the transition metals to make up the full 5. So this does seem like slightly shaky ground, especially as they don't have a particular theme binding them together like alignment or the celestial bureaucracy. Still, they've pulled together things with even less of a foundation before, so let's test this pudding the hard way. Nickel dragons have a pretty critical typo in their statblock that means while they're intended to be the weakest, they're actually the toughest. Dear oh dear. That aside, like white dragons, they fill a dim but mobile niche, able to breathe underwater, swim, fly and assume gaseous form. They'll surprise you, pounce on you, and gobble you up. Tungsten dragons are the nice guys of this extended family, complete with the lack of initiative that means they don't accomplish a huge amount in the wider world. They're also prone to being a bit intolerant. Seems a bit Pooterish, if he could make you spontaneously combust by glaring disapprovingly. Cobalt dragons are as colourful and toxic as their namesake, with powers that encourage trickery and striking from a distance using the terrain to their advantage. They're a good rival for green dragons, in another example of evil not being even slightly monolithic.  Chromium dragons are also pretty nasty, their cruelty matching their shininess and capacity for complex chemical reactions. Their control over ice makes them another one very able to exploit their natural terrain to their advantage. Like all the previous ones, they have a natural rival, in this case silver dragons. Seems like the writer is setting these up for interesting conflicts. Iron dragons are the bosses, of course. As neutrals, they can be friend or foe to your party, and as shapeshifters, they can get all over the place. They seem quite friendly to humans as a whole, which means one could serve as a mentor or employer to the party. They also get lots of rock controlling powers, curiously enough. Seems like all the ferrous dragons will have better designed lairs than the average dragon. Gruaghlothor is their onomatopoeicly named ruler. He's a good deal more badass than Sardior was, keeping up with the 2nd ed upgrade, but not godly like bahamut and tiamat. This means he's a beatable adversary for high level parties if you can avoid being splatted by his breath weapon. He maintains their fairly solid set of design principles, with attention to lairs and rivalries paid. This has definitely been an article I've warmed too along the way, and looks like it could make a decent addition to a game, especially if you have lots of dragon NPC's that aren't immediately for the killing.</blockquote>

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