Playing Dragon PCs

[doctorbadwolf]

Because holding your arrow is not the only thing that takes time when you draw a bow. When I made my argument I didn't even think about reaching for the arrow from a quiver.

Okay man. Whatever. Moving on.

 

[aramis erak]

Not only that, but you don’t keep a crossbow readied for very long without shooting. It puts needless strain on the moving parts (arms and cord) and it risks accidental fire, or loss of the arrow.

loss of the arrow: The issue with crossbows that most hold the bolt ready only by it sitting in the groove. Any turbulence? arrow lost.

There's also the issue of most crowsbows require 3 limbs to ready, not two.

 

[niklinna]

Castle Falkenstein featured dragons as a playable PC species, and I believe they could shapechange (they could definitely do magic in a unique way). Check it out!

(I had all the books and read them, but never found anybody to play it with.)

 

[aramis erak]

Castle Falkenstein featured dragons as a playable PC species, and I believe they could shapechange (they could definitely do magic in a unique way). Check it out!

(I had all the books and read them, but never found anybody to play it with.)

CF's Dragons also aren't classic dragons... the species binomial is telling Pterodraconis sapiens.
They're literally just sentient Pterosaurs.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Absolutely.

You can fire a bow much faster, you’re less likely to lose arrows, and you don’t need to either have a buddy to help you or improve the tech of the weapon to not need a lot of power to load.

loss of the arrow: The issue with crossbows that most hold the bolt ready only by it sitting in the groove. Any turbulence? arrow lost.

There's also the issue of most crowsbows require 3 limbs to ready, not two.

 

[Umbran]

There's also the issue of most crowsbows require 3 limbs to ready, not two.

So, on dragonback, your saddle has a horn you use to brace for pulling the string back, rather than your foot. Or something - it can be managed.

This is one of those quibbles that seems out of place when you have flying beasts larger than elephants. Really, getting a crossbow cocked isn't the big problem here.

 

[Umbran]

Thoughts?

So, I think the idea can have legs, but there are questions that probably need to be hashed out for an RPG that don't usually need to be hashed out for a story.

Dragons - assuming they are like D&D dragons - big, powerful, can take down a whole town if there aren't some really epic people around to stop them. They can shapeshift into humanoids...

... so why do these dragons need non-dragons around? I mean, they have all the power of a dragon, but hands with thumbs and the ability to go indoors when they want to, too. What are the humans around for? With what we'd expect to be a pretty massive power disparity here, how do you handle the spotlight-sharing issue that usually accompanies power-disparity?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So, I think the idea can have legs, but there are questions that probably need to be hashed out for an RPG that don't usually need to be hashed out for a story.

Dragons - assuming they are like D&D dragons - big, powerful, can take down a whole town if there aren't some really epic people around to stop them.

I’m not sure they are as powerful as dnd dragons, but they’re still powerful.

They can shapeshift into humanoids...

... so why do these dragons need non-dragons around? I mean, they have all the power of a dragon, but hands with thumbs and the ability to go indoors when they want to, too. What are the humans around for? With what we'd expect to be a pretty massive power disparity here, how do you handle the spotlight-sharing issue that usually accompanies power-disparity?

I’m not sure the dragons need non-dragons around, but they can’t (and most aren’t inclined to) exterminate them, so they’ve gotta coexist to some degree.

There is a place for ancient draconic powers, but they’re something like gods, or Fizban’s Great Wyrms (if the Great Wyrms had always been such, rather than growing into that power).

Like how many gods look human because they are concerned with mortal affairs, the great dragons look draconic.

What mortals can hang out with are more similar to Pern dragons, And they’re generally horse sized in body with wingspans similar to quetzalcoatlus. I’m undecided on whether they have 4 or 6 limbs.

that still leaves a powerful creature, though. One way to balance spotlight time is to give less powerful characters more narrative control, and tools for driving social scenes, etc. Something like how Monster of The Week balances the mundane guy with the chosen one.

Another is to give the dragon character less stuff from outside their Ancestry. So less of thier power comes from Archetype, to make up for a noticeably stronger Ancestry.

Or bring up the power level of humans to match dragons!

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

If you want an example of a game that balances dragons with humanoids, Fantasy Craft has the Drake PC species.

 

[Aldarc]

So, I think the idea can have legs, but there are questions that probably need to be hashed out for an RPG that don't usually need to be hashed out for a story.

Dragons - assuming they are like D&D dragons - big, powerful, can take down a whole town if there aren't some really epic people around to stop them. They can shapeshift into humanoids...

... so why do these dragons need non-dragons around? I mean, they have all the power of a dragon, but hands with thumbs and the ability to go indoors when they want to, too. What are the humans around for? With what we'd expect to be a pretty massive power disparity here, how do you handle the spotlight-sharing issue that usually accompanies power-disparity?

Quadratic Dragons, Linear Humans?