Post/Author/DateTime	Post
CrimsonPhoenix 07-24-04, 11:13 PM	First of all I'd like to say that, in comparison with each other, the different dragons are about even (a young brass at ecl14 is about even with a very young silver at ecl14). Other than that, however, dragons are slightly, but clearly, underpowered. A human fighter at ecl14 can have 3 attacks with a two handed weapon dealing 2x power attack damage (4 with a speed weapon), and a two-weapon fighter can have 6 attacks (each dealing normal power attack but still more than a dragon). A dragon at this level has, at most, 5 attacks. All of these are FAR weaker than a greatsword (or whatever) fighter, and still weaker than the two-weapon fighter. You have less HP, less attack bonus, and 1-2 fewer feats. You gain the ability to have plenty of AC (still doesn't matter since it seems that 90% of things in MM have attack of +289429724 or so), a breath weapon that really isn't good enough to make a difference, and maybe FIRST LEVEL SPELLS. AT LEVEL 14!!! HOW AMAZING!!! Anyway, my point is a dragon cannot keep up with a human or other common humanoid race. I've figured out the reason why. You pay for most of the abilities you gain twice. Once as LA. Again as Racial HD. Racial HD lack class abilities, and therefore are clearly weaker. In order to balance dragons, it would be necessary to figure out how many of the dragon's abilities can be put into the HD as "class abilities" to make the HD the equivalent of taking levels in a class. Then these abilities must be ignored when determining LA. What's the problem, then, with me doing this? I'm not a game designer... I can only estimate this because I don't know enough about minor balances to be able to do this properly. If only the game designers had known what THEY were doing, which it seems they didn't...because this was stupid on their part. In any case, I'm proposing a reduction in LA of 1 for every dragon, all the way up the chart. It probably isn't quite enough, but it is significantly better than before. By reducing EVERYTHING by 1, all the charts in the Draconomicon (and Dragon #320) are still valid and usable, simple subtract 1 level of LA from everything. Anyone else think this will work? If I can get enough responses I will consider emailing it around and seeing if it can be made "official" (or at least looked into) in future products. I've learned long ago that small actions like this can go a long way...
strenoth 07-25-04, 09:07 PM	I tend to agree with you, but don't forget the effects of yoru boosted stats too. Your strenght, con, and mental stats are higher than a human fighter's are going to be. Of cours,e you loose out on max Skill Ranks too, so the many more SP you get per HD aren't as helpful as they seem, though a 14th level Gold is going to be a better diplomat than a 14th level fighter if you max out your Diplomacy.