Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MagicMouth 12-30-06, 04:23 PM	A few days ago, I got an idea for a future campaign where the different kinds of Dragons were the true masters and creators of the Sublime Way (as described in Tome of Battle). Thereafter I considered changing the Dragonsī innate spellcasting ability with effective Initiator Levels instead so that, for example, an Adult Blue Dragon would know and ready maneuvers like a 5th Level martial adept of some kind. The discipline access could be changed for different types, however. Basically, I would like to know what you think about this: good or bad idea, how would the CR be affected, which one of the three classes would fit best, etc.
CipherTheory 12-30-06, 05:07 PM	Try to picture, in your mind's eye, a greatwyrm blue dragon actually performing swordsmanship effectively. Imagine this gargantuan four-legged beast weilding a sword with the grace and precision necessary for master swordsmanship. Go on, imagine it. Don't worry, I'll wait... ... ...Can't do it, can you? Oh sure they could have changed to human form to do it, but as a dragon it's really unweildy as well as rather pointless. Dragons have enough physical power already that they rarely use their magical abilities in combat. Why would they bother to perform martial maneuvers when a breath weapon or swing of their tails will likely do? If you choose to go ahead with this, I'd recomend having each dragon tied to a particular style to make it work better conseptually. Blue dragons would be naturals for the Desert Wind, for example. I think that the Swordsage would probably be the best class to mimic the prowess (maneuvers known, etc) of for this purpose, but feel free to disagree with me. Lastly, I suggest an increase in CR since initiator levels compliment the dragon's natural attack modes very well. An increase of (1/3 Initiator Level) is a quick guestimate, and play-testing is strongly suggested before you set one of these up against your PCs.
JiCi 12-30-06, 05:14 PM	I worked on a new dragon based on the Sublime Way: Here it is: Martial Dragon (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=691542)
MagicMouth 12-30-06, 05:31 PM	CipherTheory: Thanks for the suggestions. :) Well, they would probably rely on their own natural weapons in each discipline, and the favored weapons could have been adopted by the humanoids who later learned some of the draconic secrets. And yes, Swordsage would probably be the best choice. Regarding the ties to particular disciplines, I thought this would work: Black - Shadow Hand Blue - Iron Heart Brass - Desert Wind Bronze - Devoted Spirit Copper - Setting Sun Gold - no particular tie, the focus varies with each individual Green - Diamond Mind Silver - White Raven Red - Stone Dragon White - Tiger Claw JiCi: Cool :D, that could be really useful, thanks.
Sphyre 12-30-06, 08:37 PM	Instead of modifying old dragons I think it would be a bit more interesting to create a new type of dragon that uses the sublime way instead of casting. but leaving the regular dragons as is. It leads to having a whole new different flavor of their own. Much like JiCi linked. That's nice. I'll run one of those sometime. It looks fun.