SilverLeaf167
2013-09-15, 04:54 AM
Like a lot of fantasy gamers, I've always had a thing for dragons. However, I don't particularly like the typical D&D way of handling them. Having a countless amount of different species, with individuals being basically identical, and with alignments set in stone, really degrades their formidable and legendary role. Also, players very quickly become familiar with the abilities of each type of dragon; a single look in the Monster Manual will suffice.
So, in the setting I'm building, I'm thinking of doing something quite different. I'm planning on removing the whole deal with subspecies, and making every true dragon unique. They could be any alignment and have almost any powers. True dragons would also be very rare, and a dragon egg or even just a half-dragon child would be incredibly valuable and sought after, but the existence of dragons would still be very concrete. Think a little Tolkien-ish: dragons exist, but not a single one is seen in the main trilogy, and in the hobbit we see a single Red Dragon that is feared by all and only slain through what is basically a miracle (can't say about the Silmarillion).
A lot of niches that are currently sort-of filled by true dragons would be instead filled with other dragons: wyverns and sea serpents, for example. Dragon-like in appearance, but not in power or intellect.
Of course, I'll need to do a lot of homebrew, but it wouldn't be too bad since I'd only need to design them on a case-by-case basis (instead of making a dozen different variants all at once) and could use the existent stats as a basis, just slapping on the special stuff.
The main questions are:
What do you think of the idea itself?
Do you think something very important, fluff or crunch, would be lost beyond simple refluffing?
As a bonus, do you have any cool ideas for unique dragons?
Thanks in advance for any feedback :smallbiggrin:
So, in the setting I'm building, I'm thinking of doing something quite different. I'm planning on removing the whole deal with subspecies, and making every true dragon unique. They could be any alignment and have almost any powers. True dragons would also be very rare, and a dragon egg or even just a half-dragon child would be incredibly valuable and sought after, but the existence of dragons would still be very concrete. Think a little Tolkien-ish: dragons exist, but not a single one is seen in the main trilogy, and in the hobbit we see a single Red Dragon that is feared by all and only slain through what is basically a miracle (can't say about the Silmarillion).
A lot of niches that are currently sort-of filled by true dragons would be instead filled with other dragons: wyverns and sea serpents, for example. Dragon-like in appearance, but not in power or intellect.
Of course, I'll need to do a lot of homebrew, but it wouldn't be too bad since I'd only need to design them on a case-by-case basis (instead of making a dozen different variants all at once) and could use the existent stats as a basis, just slapping on the special stuff.
The main questions are:
What do you think of the idea itself?
Do you think something very important, fluff or crunch, would be lost beyond simple refluffing?
As a bonus, do you have any cool ideas for unique dragons?
Thanks in advance for any feedback :smallbiggrin: