Statting out How To Train Your Dragon dragons.

[aphoticConniver]

I'd like to implement, in my next campaign, the dragons featured in HTTYD as a suppliment to the traditional D&D dragons. I want to keep the D&D dragons more powerful than a good portion of the new ones, and have the new ones be explicitly animalistic and biological. Any thoughts on how some would be statted?

[Draken]

I'd like to implement, in my next campaign, the dragons featured in HTTYD as a suppliment to the traditional D&D dragons. I want to keep the D&D dragons more powerful than a good portion of the new ones, and have the new ones be explicitly animalistic and biological. Any thoughts on how some would be statted?

You would probably do well by using slightly modified griffons.

[woodlandkammao]

Maybe if you need some low-level dragons buff pseudodragons

[Gritmonger]

I'd recommend kind of a pseudo-character build. Start with a base stat dragon example - a flying 5HD large creature with a simple projectile attack. Then come up with some alternate special attacks or features and add no more than two to a build. For instance, for a Night Fury, you might include extra flying speed and quiet flight, making flying at night effectively invisible. Try and keep most of the abilities true to what you'd expect, but make all of them EX instead of SU.

[kaoskonfety]

an interesting exersize...

Speed and manoeuvrability varies drastically. Size ranges from "fat pony" to frigging colossal - the average seems to be in the horse range though?

Some re-skinning on the "young" dragon entries? they are about the right size yes? Mess around with the con/strength/AC/ flight speed numbers to get the varied "slow and tough vs too fast to see"

Limited use of breath weapons "per encounter" - probably long rest cool down? maybe short? The breath weapons themselves had a fair amount of variance (AOE, odd effects, single target etc.). Most of this can probably be pillaged from spell effects or other monster abilities.

I'm going to have to ask my nephew questions for the specific though (I've seen the movie, but the specific names, uses per day relative flight speeds etc? no clue. But by god he will know.)

[Draken]

Two more things from my part.

1. This is addressing Gritmonger's final point in his post. "Ex" and "Su" don't exist in 5th.

2. This is my opinion, but for the "average dragons" (such as the ones most used by characters as mounts) young dragons of any color are very likely simply too strong (too many hit points, primarily) to serve as a baseline. I would still recommend using something CR 2 or 3 as the base, mainly griffons.

[kaoskonfety]

Two more things from my part.

1. This is addressing Gritmonger's final point in his post. "Ex" and "Su" don't exist in 5th.

2. This is my opinion, but for the "average dragons" (such as the ones most used by characters as mounts) young dragons of any color are very likely simply too strong (too many hit points, primarily) to serve as a baseline. I would still recommend using something CR 2 or 3 as the base, mainly griffons.

CR's a bit high, Granted.

I'd find this to be more a question of "how bad-arse are the vikings". If the youth on this island full of fire breathing monsters are level 7 by the time they can shave everything is fine :smallwink:

The way the Senoir Vikings are all "oh, it's dragon the size of a castle... well crap - hand me my ax, everybody else run." stinks of level 20

Assuming they are a more resonable level 1-8 ranged (youth in training to the veteran adults) a lower CR base monster would certainly be applicable.

Some of the small diansaurs, giant bats, griffons, war horses, rhinos... could all serve as starting block. Given the variance in the breeds of dragons this might actually work better for getting the varied feel.

[cobaltstarfire]

I think actually the official website would be a good tool as well, because it gives the dragons "stats" so that you have a better idea of how they relate to each other.

Here's Toothless for example. (https://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/explore/dragons/toothless) Includes general size ideas too.

They also have some dragons as babies to give you an idea of how they grow I guess.


I think refluffing medium/large animals that are already statted may be a good start for a base when it comes to the dragons we see around Berk in particular.

[JonathonWilder]

I think it can be said if you wish to create HtTYD dragons, you will need to completely toss what D&D has as default for dragons. In D&D, Dragons are too powerful, too magical, and too intelligent to even think of look to them as a starting point and looking to Magical Beasts may be a better bet.

Are there any resources, third party or otherwise, perhaps even from Pathfinder, which have a "Build Your Own Monster" focus to it? That would be a good place to start looking, especially if they have a point system of sorts that allow you to create dragons that are decently balanced with each other but different as well with a variety of abilities/strengths/weaknesses.