[Raven Bloodmoon]

Hello all,

I am back with yet another way to complicate life. I was looking at the half dragon template when I realized that some dragons are stronger than others. Then I checked the ability scores for half-dragons. My suspicions were correct--the half dragon was equally strong for every type of dragon. What sort of foul sorcery is responcible for this? I decided that a half-white dragon should not be as strong as a half-red dragon, so I did something I probably shouldn't have--began downteh slippery road of making individual half-dragons for each type. I used an averaging of the stats for an adult dragon of a given type and a human to derive the ability score adjustments, as well as spell resistances, caster levels, and the so on. Have fun responding to this mess. I'll post the Half Black Dragon below. Note, I am using the same 4th level human fighter that the MM uses as a base creature to simplify comparisons. The differences are interesting to say the least.

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Half Black Dragon (Template)
Half black dragons result from the joining of an adult black dragon and another creature.

Sample Half Black Dragon
Half Black Dragon 4th Level Human Fighter
Hit Dice:  4d10+20 (47 hp)
Initiative:  +1
Speed:  20 ft. in full plate armor (4 squares); base speed 30 ft.
AC:  29 (+1 Dex, +9 natural, +9 +1 full plate armor), 11 touch, 28 flat-footed
Attack/Grapple:  +4/+9
Attack:  Masterwork two-bladed sword +11 melee (1d8+10/19-20) or javelin +5 ranged (1d6+5)
Full Attack:  Masterwork two-bladed sword +9 melee/+9 melee (1d8+10/19-20, 1d8+10/19-20) and bite; or javelin +5 ranged (1d6+5)
Space/Reach:  5 ft./ 5 ft.
Special Attacks:  Breath weapon
Special Qualities:  Darkvision 60 ft, immunity to acid, sleep, and paralysis, low-light vision, spell resistance 9, spellcasting 1st level.
Saves:  Fort: +9, Ref: +2, Will: +5
Abilities:  Str 20, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 10
Skills:  Climb +4, Intimidate +3, Jump –2, Listen +4, Spot +5
Feats:  Exotic Weapon Proficiency (two-bladed sword), Iron Will, Power Attack, Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (two-bladed sword), Weapon Specialization (two-bladed sword).
Environment:  Temperate plains
Organization:  Solitary
Challenge Rating:  7
Treasure:  Standard
Alignment:  Often chaotic evil
Advancement:  By character class
Level Adjustment:  +4

This half-dragon is based on a 4th-level human fighter with the following ability scores:  Str 14, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10.

COMBAT
Half black dragon fighters use two-handed (often exotic) weapons.  Aggressive and temperamental, they’re usually itching for a battle.  They often lead other evil warriors, but fight as individuals.

Breath Weapon (Su): 30-foot line, once per day, damage 6d4 acid, Reflex DC 15 half.  The save DC is Constitution-based.

Possessions:  +1 full plate armor, masterwork two-bladed sword, 2 javelins.

Creating a Half Black Dragon
“Half black dragon” is an inherited template that can be added to any living, corporeal creature (referred to hereafter as the base creature).

A half black dragon uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type:  The creature’s type changes to dragon.  The base creature’s size changes as shown on the table below.  Do not recalculate base attack bonus or saves.

Initial Size..New Size..Bite Damage..Claw Damage..Breath Weapon Range
Fine..................Tiny..............1d3...................1d2......................30 ft.
Diminutive........Small.............1d4...................1d3......................40 ft.
Tiny.................Small.............1d4...................1d3......................40 ft.
Small..............Medium...........1d6...................1d4......................60 ft.
Medium...........Medium...........1d6...................1d4......................60 ft.
Large...............Large.............1d8...................1d6......................80 ft.
Huge................Large.............1d8...................1d6......................80 ft.
Gargantuan.......Huge.............2d6...................1d8.....................100 ft.
Colossal............Huge.............2d6...................1d8.....................100 ft.

Hit Dice:  Increase base creature’s racial HD by one die size to a maximum of d12.  Do not increase class HD.

Speed:  If the base creature has a fly speed, the hybrid does as well.  Otherwise, a half black dragon that is Large or larger has wings and can fly at twice its base land speed (maximum 120 ft.) with average maneuverability.  A half black dragon that is of Medium size or smaller does not have wings.

Armor Class:  Half black dragons gain a +9 natural armor bonus.

Attack:  A half black dragon has two claw attacks and a bite attack, and the claws are the primary natural weapon.  If the base creature can use weapons, the half black dragon retains this ability.  A half black dragon fighting without weapons uses a claw when making an attack action.  When it has a weapon, it usually uses the weapon instead.

Full Attack:  A half black dragon fighting without weapons uses both claws and its bite when making a full attack.  If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack and its bite as a natural secondary attack.  If it has a hand free, it uses a claw as an additional natural secondary attack.

Damage:  Half black dragons have bite and claw attacks.  If the base creature does not have these attack forms, use the damage values described on the table above.  Otherwise, use the values above or the base creature’s damage values whichever are greater.

Special Attacks:  A half black dragon retains all the special attacks of the base creature and gains a breath weapon.  The breath weapon is a line of acid of a length indicated on the table above usable every 1d4 minutes; it deals 6d4 acid damage.  A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + ½ half black dragon’s racial HD + half black dragon’s Constitution modifier) reduces damage by half.

Special Qualities:  A half black dragon has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus darkvision out to 60 feet and low-light vision.  A half black dragon has immunity to sleep and paralysis effects, and immunity to acid.  A half black dragon also has spell resistance 9 and can learn and cast spells as a 1st level sorcerer.

Abilities:  Increase from the base creature as follows:  Str +6, Con +4, and Wis +2.

Skills:  A half black dragon gains skill points as a dragon and has skill points equal to (+ 6 Int modifier) x (HD + 3).  D not include Hit Dice from class levels in this calculation—the half black dragon gains dragon skill points only for its racial Hit Dice.  Hide, Knowledge (any; taken individually), Move Silently, Listen, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, and Swim are considered class skills with regard to any half black dragon skill points acquired; all other skills are cross-class skills.

Environment:  Same as the base creature or warm marshes.

Organization:  Same as the base creature.

Challenge Rating:  Same as base creature +3 (minimum 4).

Treasure:  Same as the base creature.

Alignment:  Usually chaotic evil.

Level Adjustment:  Same as base creature +4.

[Dthclaw]

This seems a whole heckuva lot more powerful than the normal half-dragon. +9 nat armor by itself should be worth a +2 or 3 level adjustment. Personally, I wouldn't mess with the half-dragon template, because then you will start getting wildly different level adjustments and powers compared to the normal template.

[RedSlayer]

And of course, powergamers would just pick the most powerful half-dragon to be, and the lesser of them would never be played. Why play a copper half-dragon, when a gold-dragon would be a lot more powerful?

[dragonhand777]

Only a part of the dragon's traits carry over. So why is it not possible for all half-dragons to carry the same strength.

You've done a good job at what you have so far, but I think I'll stick to using the template in the MM.

Once you've finished you might consider sending it to the resources section of the site. There's always someone looking for a new template or two.

[blacxthornE]

I don't see why a half-white dragon shouldn't be as tough as a half-red dragon. Because they're not really half-dragon/half-base race, they're in fact part-dragon/part-base race. Usually the dragon part is far less than half in strength, and that's why the CR boosts a certain number of points, not to the average CR of the dragon and the race.

Still, it's good work for those who want this kinda half-dragon template. I say post them to the resources section too, preferably as "Alternate Half-Dragon Templates"... or maybe "True Half-Dragon Template"?

[Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri]

Why do huge, gargantuan, and colossal half-dragons shrink?

[RedSlayer]

My question is, how do you even get something like a Red Half-Dragon? It makes sence that a gold or silver dragon could breed, with their alternate form ability, but how could a red dragon do it without killing the poor girl in the process?

[blacxthornE]

RedSlayer, on Aug 10 2005, 09:19 AM, said:

My question is, how do you even get something like a Red Half-Dragon?  It makes sence that a gold or silver dragon could breed, with their alternate form ability, but how could a red dragon do it without killing the poor girl in the process?

The thing is that this is a little off-topic. Could be a whole other discussion, like the one about demon-breeding we discussed.

A red dragon could do it just as any demon, devil, or orc could. Why don't they kill the girl in the process? The core rulebooks say that this type of breeding is a magical one. So it could be anything. Besides, you could always find a reason: The "evil seed" is a cliché, but it's still useful.

Still, this is off-topic and should be discussed under another topic. And probably be split from the previous message on.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Sorry I didn't respond sooner. Work's been rough.

Firstly, who said that a real half-dragon would have the same stats as the MM template. In fact, the MM template is grossly underpowered. That was the point of making these templates--to set it straight.

Secondly, who said any player would be alowed to take any of these half-dragon templates.

Thirdly, I agree with Blackthorn, I'll call it "True Half-Dragon" or some such.

Forthly, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal half dragons shrink because the dragon progenitor is only Large in size, and the offspring is the average of their sizes. Thus, the offspring will always be smaller than the larger of the two progenitors, except in the case where both are the same size. In this instance, the offspring will be the same size as its parents.

Fifthly, listen to Blackthorn. He has great wisdom.

[Axel]

In this circumstance the only appropriate response is: "The sheer mechanics are mind-boggling."

[Raven Bloodmoon]

As I explained clearly to Red, polymorph self can be quite useful.

[Axel]

And all dragons are now capable of speach, not to mention spellcasting? There was a time when we had stupid dragons whose massive size, armor-like scales, razor-sharp claws, and breath weapons were enough.

[RedSlayer]

Yup, all dragons are capable of spellcasting...and wouldnt you knowit they're charisma based spells too!

[Axel]

Ok, we have a new entrant in the stupidest rules category. I think I'll stick with the old rules, when a dragon could just be a rather large stupid animal.

[Ssri-Tel-Quessir Hitokiri]

Well to power up half-dragons, I do three things:

1) Wings - A medium creature has a 75% chance of getting wings. A small creature has a 50% chance of getting wings. Anything smaller has a 25% chance of getting wings.

2) Breath Weapon (times per day) - A half-dragon can use its breath weapon a number of times per day according to the following table:

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Character Level                            Time Period (Once Every)
      1-5                                            4d4+4 rounds
      6-10                                          2d4+4 rounds
      11+                                            1d4+4 rounds

3) Breath Weapon (DC) - The DCs presented in the template are only the base DCs. They are modified by the half-dragon's Cha Modifier. For example, if the half-dragon has a Cha score of 15, the DC is modified by +2. Conversely, if the half-dragon has a Cha score of 7, the DC is modified by -2.