Creating dragons [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creating dragons [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Lady Maedhros
04-07-06, 07:46 AM I want more dragons.

Specifically, i want a chromatic dragon with the (earth) subtype, a metallic dragon with the (air) subtype, i want a chromatic and a metallic dragon with a sonic breath weapon, and i want them all to be Neutral on the Law/Chaos axis (wtf with no neutral true dragons in the MM? and yes i know about the MMII and beyond).

I have ideas on how to do this, what these four dragons will look like, what colors/metals they'll be associated with, and what breath weapons they'll have. But quite frankly, i look at true dragons and i don't even know where to start.

So, you vetran monster-makers, do you have advice for me? What's the best way to make a dragon? Start with a single age category, determine abilities and CR and extrapolate from there? Cascade, starting with the whole life cycle's Hit Dice progression, then stats, then AC et cetera? Pick a pre-existing dragon and putz it until it looks the way you want?

Any help would be most appreciated. :help: There might even be cookies in it for you.
RavinRay
04-07-06, 09:33 AM This is a fairly popular topic that crops up every now and then.

I have 17 homebrew dragons (and counting), some of them posted in old threads on these boards. I started off by making a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of the stats of all the true dragon I have, down to the independent and independent variables and the formulae used. To create a dragon of a particular CR progression, I average the stats of specific dragons. Once all the numerical stats are calculated, that's where the grittier part comes: adding special qualities and attacks (choosing a breath weapon, clerical domains available for spellcasting, etc.) Finally, a species name, general personality, alignment, elemental subtype, and environment.

The five energies used as breath weapons are acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. Poison, light, dehydration, force, thorns, antithetical energy, salt have also been used.
Lady Maedhros
04-08-06, 04:41 AM ... oi. :mymy: That's a lot of work you've done there.

I suppose it may come down to that for me, and i'm not opposed to doing some hardcore data compilation for the sake of my gameworld. But seriously, wow. I don't suppose anyone has a quick'n'dirty shortcut?
RavinRay
04-08-06, 08:47 AM Well, I can create a customized spreadsheet and post a link using sample OGC dragons and some hybrids. Like a tumbaga dragon (gold x copper), electrum dragon (gold x silver), or billon dragon (silver x copper). (These are actual names of alloys.)
Lady Maedhros
04-10-06, 07:50 AM Would you? That would be awesome, thank you so much.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lady Maedhros 04-07-06, 07:46 AM	I want more dragons. Specifically, i want a chromatic dragon with the (earth) subtype, a metallic dragon with the (air) subtype, i want a chromatic and a metallic dragon with a sonic breath weapon, and i want them all to be Neutral on the Law/Chaos axis (wtf with no neutral true dragons in the MM? and yes i know about the MMII and beyond). I have ideas on how to do this, what these four dragons will look like, what colors/metals they'll be associated with, and what breath weapons they'll have. But quite frankly, i look at true dragons and i don't even know where to start. So, you vetran monster-makers, do you have advice for me? What's the best way to make a dragon? Start with a single age category, determine abilities and CR and extrapolate from there? Cascade, starting with the whole life cycle's Hit Dice progression, then stats, then AC et cetera? Pick a pre-existing dragon and putz it until it looks the way you want? Any help would be most appreciated. :help: There might even be cookies in it for you.
RavinRay 04-07-06, 09:33 AM	This is a fairly popular topic that crops up every now and then. I have 17 homebrew dragons (and counting), some of them posted in old threads on these boards. I started off by making a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of the stats of all the true dragon I have, down to the independent and independent variables and the formulae used. To create a dragon of a particular CR progression, I average the stats of specific dragons. Once all the numerical stats are calculated, that's where the grittier part comes: adding special qualities and attacks (choosing a breath weapon, clerical domains available for spellcasting, etc.) Finally, a species name, general personality, alignment, elemental subtype, and environment. The five energies used as breath weapons are acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. Poison, light, dehydration, force, thorns, antithetical energy, salt have also been used.
Lady Maedhros 04-08-06, 04:41 AM	... oi. :mymy: That's a lot of work you've done there. I suppose it may come down to that for me, and i'm not opposed to doing some hardcore data compilation for the sake of my gameworld. But seriously, wow. I don't suppose anyone has a quick'n'dirty shortcut?
RavinRay 04-08-06, 08:47 AM	Well, I can create a customized spreadsheet and post a link using sample OGC dragons and some hybrids. Like a tumbaga dragon (gold x copper), electrum dragon (gold x silver), or billon dragon (silver x copper). (These are actual names of alloys.)
Lady Maedhros 04-10-06, 07:50 AM	Would you? That would be awesome, thank you so much.